Colleges Send Marketing/PR Graduates to Workforce Ill-Prepared

Congratulations class of 2006!

It's June and you have the golden key to success - your degree in PR, Communications, or Marketing. Now you're ready to take on the world and land that high-paying gig running marketing initiatives for the best companies on the market. However, as you'll quickly learn (literally), there's a tremendous chasm between learned arts and practiced arts. And for the most part, it will seem as if you have to relearn everything in order to advance your career, starting at the bottom and working your way up.

Many colleges offer degrees in marketing arts, such as PR, advertising, or Internet Marketing, etc. However, after four years, or shall we say X amount of units/credits, many students – even those who have held internships – are forced to learn the true essence of their craft in the real world. Unlike, say, accounting, journalism, or viticulture, where students actually can actually jump in at a working position, PR and marketing usually places students in account coordinator or mar com (marketing communications) coordinator roles.

This isn’t the fault of the graduates however. I believe that at some level, colleges need to monitor the field for any specialized program where the dynamics evolve so quickly and are different in each industry. And, create internal programs that link students to outside businesses to run them through the ranks before they’re released to the outside workforce.

Hiring grads is a bitter sweet challenge. At one end, graduates are enthusiastic, and motivated. Their energy is an incredible boost to the morale. On the other end of the rainbow, most graduates are uncertain of how to apply what they’ve learned in PR and marketing, whether it’s corporate, government, or agency, and not really sure how any of it impacts the respective business.

Granted, many students have interned and taken away from that experience, tools that help them apply what they’ve learned in class. A brief stint also helps students decide what field and in which direction they may want to pursue a career.

Focusing on PR for a bit…

I host an annual intern program with San Jose State University for PR students, and all interns have shared a common reaction and it’s usually captured in a single word, “whoa.” Students in the program are easily lost in the frantic pace of making news, but always conclude their internship with a better understanding of PR and what’s involved in a typical day.

Writing press releases and writing pitch letters is one thing, but in world where technology is completely changing the face of how news is created and delivered, where readers go for information, and how it ultimately influences behavior – especially in tech PR – graduates have a lot of catching up to do when they join the workforce.

Granted, ambition and fearlessness set apart the brilliant, mediocre and complacent in any field of study. But for almost everyone, the starting point is the same. In my opinion, after spending four years striving for a degree in PR or marketing, graduates hold only a slight advantage over those who may be joining the workforce from a different field or with an unrelated degree.

According to a recent article, “Are Journalists Born, Or Are They Made?” by Swaraaj Chauhan, the debate echoes similar sentiment.

“The stalwarts maintained that you grow into the profession and unlearn what you
learned at a journalism school.”

According to the forthcoming book, The American Journalist in the 21st Century, only 36.2 percent of journalists with college degrees were journalism majors.

Colleges must help their graduates by giving them an advantage. I’m not referring to a job placement program. I’m referring to programs that place students in the PR team of their own schools or local businesses and charge them with their marketing or PR initiatives, similar to what you see the casts endure in The Apprentice, Surreal Life, and The Real World. Working with peers helps drive real-time education, teamwork, experience, and accomplishment – on an even playing field. Educators, help your students learn what it takes to be successful and what failure looks like along with its associated repercussions.

I look forward to the day when I can hire a graduate at a higher level than the usual “ground floor” and have them jump right into the mix – only having to learn the “business” of the business they’re now in and not the tools it takes to successfully market it.

In the meantime, many of us are already reaching out to help students by providing training, mentoring, and also onsite training at their schools by sharing real world experiences and hosting in-class workshops. It’s a start. Changing the infrastructure of the education process is the end-game here. It will only help the students, increase their effectiveness and value, and contribute to the overall success of every graduating student.

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Tags: public+relations PR pr2.0 marketing PR 2.0 blogger blog brian solis

Going Sideways Over Pinot Days in SF This Weekend

Are you ready for mad crowds, broken glasses, drunken humor, long-long lines at the Porta Pottie, and of course, hundreds of wineries pouring their best Pinot Noir, all live in SF on Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY! Coming at cha...

Sunday’s Grand Tasting will showcase 150 producers of pinot noir from 1 - 4 p.m. at Fort Mason. This is the Bay Area’s largest single gathering of pinot producers ever. Yes it's true, in a moment of temporary insanity, we will all have the opportunity to sample god knows how many pinots from every important and up-and-coming region in California, Oregon, Chile and Burgundy. As if that wasn't enough, wine enthusiasts will also have the opportunity to sample a variety of artisan cheeses & other specialty foods.

Whether day or night, Pinot Noir is the ideal anytime, anywhere wine. Especially since today is the first day of summer and expected to hit 100 degrees in the valley. I'm actually craving a glass right now! Whether it's picnics, BBQs, fish, pastas, or just by itself, depending on the Pinot Noir, this varietal can scale from fruity to meaty. Although there are meatier Pinots, which are usually blended with Meunier, Syrah, etc. Chandon in fact, makes a 100% Pinot Meunier, which is rich with flavors of cedar and bacon. Try finding that one!

I am a big fan of Carneros fruit, Domain Carneros, Domaine Chandon, Bouchaine, Sainstbury, Artesa, etc. Lately though, I've been venturing out on my own Pinot Days, trying pinots from different regions including Santa Barbara and the Sonoma Coast. My absolute favorite at the moment is Flowers Grand Boquet and, although it's a blend, their Perennial is delicious.

But, back to Pinot Days. If you've had enought to "taste," they will feature a pinot production demonstration so attendees can learn about the making of pinot from the vine to bottling and every step in between. They will also host an auction with hundreds of pinots, with proceeds going to Project Mexico, a non-profit organization that builds homes in Mexico for the poor and needy.

After this weekend, I'm sure it will be a while before I pick up a bottle Pinot again...so I better make this weekend count.

Cheers!

Event details:
2006 Pinot Days Grand Tasting
Festival Pavilion Fort Mason
San Francisco
Sunday June25th 2006
1-4pm
$45

Tags: Pinot Noir Wine Pinot Days wine pr brian solis

Opening Up the Corporate Kimono - Corporate Blogs are the Heart and Soul of Business

Blogging is nothing new. It’s already propelled many of whom used it as a part-time platform for their opinions and observations into the stratosphere, or shall we say blogosphere. Many bloggers and blogerati are rock stars, regardless of industry and journalistic background. Their intelligence, words of wisdom and associated niches attract legions of loyal readers.

The technologies available today allow writers to easily publish, link, feed, and market globally – all with a bit of simple HTML code on their page. There are even tools to help others launch blogs within minutes – without requiring any technical expertise whatsoever. Many have even left their “day jobs” and have jumped headfirst into the ocean of full time blogging, enjoying advertising and external investments as a means of newfound, lavish support. For many, it’s equivalent to winning the lottery – at varying levels, whether it’s money, influence, networking, career advancement, etc.

However, many of these same tools that make blogging so contagious and wildly popular have already opened-up a new channel of business-to-business communications that is largely untapped, but still set to explode. This represents a tremendous opportunity for B2B companies looking for a voice; searching for a way to communicate with customers; desiring an untraditional platform for grassroots branding; and unmasking predispositions and helping to mold perceptions.

Blogging has become a viable, respected and even, desired channel for corporate communications and customer relations. Some businesses today are experimenting with executive and corporate blogs as a means to tap into this rich and evolving vein of CRM.

What’s new?

After all, blogs are already implemented on many corporate sites right? Well yes, a small percentage of B2B companies are utilizing blogs as part of their sales and marketing strategy. However, many of them fall into the category of online newsletters and sales pitches.

But this isn’t about using the Web as a one-way medium. Blogs integrate several basic principals of Web 2.0 (before 2.0 evolved into its own ecosystem, which could be an entirely other article unto itself.) Most importantly, however, the idea of making web sites interactive, allowing visitors to read, communicate and share with company executives and peers make corporate blogging very 2.0.

Companies truly concerned with their customers at an emotional level (in addition to business of course) will build a bridge without toll booths, increasing traffic and ultimately, sales and loyalty.

Dedicate a portion of the company website to speak to your business audience directly. Remember that your audience is layered by employees, peers, channel partners, customers and competitors. As a CxO, it’s critical to speak to each of them, acknowledging that the crossover is there, but still designate posts to each one your customers, frequently. Frequency + quality + focus = loyalty, sales, and resonance.

The key is not to propagate or pontificate. I can not stress this enough. Instead of using the corporate blog as a typical arm of marketing, i.e press releases, newsletters, and email blasts, etc., I highly recommend identifying the pain of your customers and delivering the painkiller in a direct, personal, and believable fashion.

This is all about opening up the corporate kimono. Expose the soul and personality of the company.

There are several books on this subject, many of which take 200-300 pages to explain what is completely distilled in this, and many other, articles regarding how to leverage blogging initiatives to transcend online text into future sales and customer loyalty.

Blogs are seemingly anti-establishment, yet the good blogs are anti-complacency and pro commincado. They are personal, candid, irreverent, and informal.

Naked Conversations, authored by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, explicitly spells out why and how to leverage a corporate blog to cultivate target markets at national, and even global levels and its associated ROI. Scoble was formerly with NEC and a blogger who frequently criticized Microsoft. Microsoft, in turn, hired him, and encouraged him to continue blogging without censor. Many credit his blogs, along with Lenn Pryor and others, with the humanization of Microsoft among business partners and customers– helping to shift views away from the evil empire facade.

According to the Economist, “Impressively, he has also succeeded where small armies of more conventional public-relations types have been failing abjectly for years: he has made Microsoft, with its history of monopolistic bullying, appear marginally but noticeably less evil to the outside world, and especially to the independent software developers that are his core audience. Bosses and PR people at other companies are taking note.”

Think about a blogging strategy. Sit down with the executive and marketing team, including PR and Web. Chart-out an official plan, identify prospective participants and writers, and dedicate time to making it happen! Work with sales and customer service to learn the real pain-points and needs of the market. Capture it, distill it, and publish often. Most importantly, read the comments and interact. It can only help.

At the end of the day, any company reaching business customers should take the time to understand how their products and services can help them succeed. Blogging is about embracing this unique technology and strategically and carefully opening up windows to expose the corporate culture. Acquiesce the successes and failures of your corporate evolution, in order to prove that your experience and leadership skills are legitimate, respectable, and most importantly, in line with your customer’s objectives.

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Tags: Web 2.0 blogs b2b public+relations brian solis web20 web2.0 PR pr2.0 blogger blogging

Web 2.0 from a Designer's Perspective

While we all debate the true definition of 2.0, its direction, value, lifespan, cease and desist letters, impact on society and eventual impact on the economy, a recent blog post on FontFeed is analyzing the movement from a designer's standpoint....although, I must say, that I disagree with his opening line, "There is no official standard for what makes something “Web 2.0..."

Web 2.0 logos are categorized by softies, futurists, classics, and new classics. If you're starting-up a new site, service, or 2.0 solution, take a look at this post as a collective resource for inspiration for what and what not to do. The post also links to a more comprehensive pool of 2.0 logos at flickr.

My personal favorite tidbit from the post, "the Official Color of Web 2.0: lime green."

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Tags: Web 2.0 logos public+relations brian solis web20 web2.0 PR pr2.0

STIRR Event Tonight in Palo Alto

Tonight I'm attending the STIRR event in Palo Alto, where 5 emerging companies will present on stage to a room full of 240+ entrepreneurs. STIRR.net is an emerging technology network who's goal is to catalyze entrepreneurial activity in the SF Bay Area and beyond.

There will be 5 early stage companies presenting on-stage at 7:30pm. STIRR is unique because it forces the companies to truly master the art of the elevator pitch, having only 60 seconds or less to pitch their company and value proposition.

Tonight's line-up includes:
Loomia, David Marks, CEO
Mozes, Dorrian Porter, CEO
RadioHandi, Brian McConnell, Founder
Sphere, Tony Conrad, CEO
SwapThing, Jessica Hardwick, CEO

STIRR Mixers are a blend of tech-social mixer with a forum for entrepreneurs from in-progress and recently-launched startups to present new products and services to their peers. Judging by the RSVP list, it seems that indeed a sampling of the Silicon Valley 2.0 ecosystem responsbile for tomorrow's innovation.

I'll report more after this evening's event.

Tags: brian solis
Web2.0
PR
public+relations pr2.0

Stowe Boyd's Advisory Capital is a Solid Investment

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to hang with Stowe Boyd to discuss Web2.0 and his ideas around Advisory Capital.

After coffee at the nearby Starbucks, we cruised over to Notre Dame, where he presented these concepts to the SVASE organization.

Advisory Capital, per the man himself, is basically the idea of investing intellectual property as a means to help companies expedite their idea from concept to BETA without the typical Angel or seed funding associated with development.

According to Stowe, "When the underyling economics of innovation have shifted so drastically -- cheaper high-powered servers, open source LAMP stack, accelerated development tools and techniques (AJAX, Ruby, Php, etc.) -- more and more companies can bootstrap from pocket change, and be up and running in less time than it takes to secure capital. As a result, going the VC route is increasingly seen as a brake on this class of tech innovation, not an accelerator, at least in the very earliest
stages."

The premise is that advisory captilists (AC's) have the expertise necessary to help companies avoid "goofs" to expedite time-to-revenue (TTRsm). In exchange for their expert advice, AC's receive stock plus signficantly discounted consulting fees. Our advice, in a variety of fields, albiet PR, software development, coding, marketing, CRM, etc. is proven and seasoned. It's invaluable to those who need these services, and it's up to the expert to determine whether or not the hustle and flow of start-ups is right for them.

Stowe breaks it down this way, "Go without advice from outsiders -- seems to happen a lot, but can lead to big goofs. Go with advice from an extended network of informal advisors -- friends, family, and others well-known to budding entrepreneurs may have
their interests at heart, but may not understand the market that their innovations will be playing in. Look for knowledgeable angel investors -- those well-off individuals who are geared toward making smaller investments in early stage companies can often be knowledgeable about tech in general, but are not necessarily clued into what is happening in the innovators' space. Seek the advice of leading authorities in the market that the product will be competing -- and often, this translates to the leading bloggers, consultants, and authorities writing about the market in question.

He continues, What I think is needed is a fusion of the best of both the venture capital and advisory board models. I call this Advisory Capital."

Advisory Capital is all about "sweat equity." But not just anyone can be an AC. You have to bring to the table a tremendous set of value, not just the ability to "advise" on the development of the company and/or its product and service. We're talking about the value of truly understanding the state of the market and its direction. This is about bringing products to market and already having a proven track record to show for it. Now with that, there should be extra incentive for AC's to play ball. At the same time, companies need to choose their partners wisely and be willing to find a way to compensate them - because their time could be worth millions to you.

Truth is that in one way or another, many of us have been doing AC, but by other names. Sweat equity has been used to categorize this over the years, but I like the sounds of Advisor Capital. It makes better sense. Although my enthusiasm in the past may have curbed my judgement. Many of my stock options have panned out to be worth no more than a can of Diet Coke, but nonetheless, it's all about picking our "investmests" bettter. Afterall, I still have to go to work everyday!

For start-ups, it's all about appreciating AC and not trying to undervalue it's potential. Even though it's not cold hard cash money, AC is the ticket to a better night's sleep. Oh wait, that's the Sleep Train commercial that's stuck in my head. Let me try this again, AC is the Golden Gate bridge to VC funding (if necessary) and ultimately visibility and revenue.

Cheers to you Stowe!

More to follow.

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Tags: Stowe Boyd, Web2.0 Advisory Capital, VC, Venture Capital, pr2.0 Web 2.0, message

Using PR to Reach the IT Market - Q&A with Marketing to IT

Marketing to electronics companies and electronic engineers requires than marketing to other audiences/industries

Q. What's unique/different about marketing to IT?

A. 1st of all, the marketing landscape is completely different than just a few years ago. The channels of influence are varied and in many cases, traditional platforms for influence have shifted in favor of more p2p (peer to peer) aggregation networks emerge. The difference is extreme. Electronics companies and electronic engineers work within a different paradigm. Their produce development lifecycle is constantly expedited, developing products according to Moore’s law as well as expected market demand. The lifecycle for most electronics are unbelievable short compared to other products in most industries. Product mangers and engineers have their blinders on in order to meet goals. They’re looking for solutions that will help them. They simply don’t have time or interest in hype.

Q. What are the obstacles marketers have to overcome to reach and engage this busy, skeptical group?

A. Yes, this is not just a skeptical group, they’re a highly intelligent, sophisticated audience. Simply put, they’re not looking for bull S#!t. So it takes a marketer with a bit of engineering and product development savvy in order to determine the pain and deliver the pain killer – effectively.
The primary obstacle to overcome is the learning curve. Effective marketing to this channel requires a unique, and rare, ability to understand technical capabilities with effective, cutting-edge marketing strategies and tactics. Marketers can’t be effective simply because they’re greater marketeers. As well, engineers aren’t the best source for compelling and creative marketing campaigns. But find someone who can become a jack of both trades, and you’ve got yourself a credible candidate who can unite both fronts.

Q. Are there any special opportunities today for would-be suppliers to this industry?
A. Yes. But they’re not special, they’re just mostly overlooked by people who do not take the time to train the marketing staff in charge of broadcasting the supplier’s capabilities and solutions. The opportunity is education. For those who take the time to truly understand the product and how it fits into the greater scheme of product development, development cycles, budgets and ultimately market requirements, will be successful. You have to take the time to understand how the technology will benefit every stage of development to customer adoption.

What products or services are in high demand by electronics engineers/companies?
Smaller, faster, better, oh yeah, enable wireless in multimedia at the same time. Wireless HDMI and UWB are the next big thing for consumer electronics.

What major trends can savvy marketers take advantage of?

I’m not sure that there are trends per se, but marketers can benefit highly from painting the end-game picture. How is this stuff ultimately going to be used and how is it going to make life better.

Q. What are the best marketing tactics/strategies for b-to-b suppliers to use to reach and engage the electronics/engineering community? What media work best? What types of marketing messages and creative work best?

A. This is a great question, as really, it could be a book, or a real-time blog. Really though, B2B suppliers need to apply all forms of marketing campaigns that help electronics execs/engineers develop killer products. Whether it’s through direct sales, direct marketing, PR, and/or customized print and online advertising, the message has to be consistent. Why should they care about what you do…how do you help them be more successful…how does what you provide help them? Print media is still important. Email can’t be ignored. However, the online community is the next wave to ride. Web 2.0 isn’t just about publishing companies extending print entities online…it’s about the opinionated, educated, grass roots entities out there gaining ground and increasing their audience. All of these outlets combined – along with compelling stories, customized by audience and channel, will help marketers be successful

Q. What mistakes do you see marketers commonly making in reaching and engaging this audience? How can they avoid them?

A. The biggest mistake is that they apply what they learned in marketing 101, PR 101, and advertising 101 to everything they do. It’s so much more sophisticated than that today. Who knew, that along the way, you’d actually have to study. Marketers often forget that their messages and campaigns are aimed at real people with realword needs. So most messaging is the victim of corporate “kool aid” which usually falls flat. This tactic relies on the hopes that savvy recipients will hear their messages and act.

These mistakes can be avoided by doing homework, competitive research, market analysis and thinking like the target demographic.

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tags: PR B2B futureworks

Detroit 2.0 - The New American Sports Car...And its Out of Silicon Valley

I have the need, THE NEED FOR SPEED. Well, that, and cup of coffee in the morning, a good glass of wine in the evening, the winning Lotto numbers...oh, nevermind.

According to a recent press release, Tesla Motors closed $40 million in Series C financing from a host of high-profile venture capital firms and entrepreneurs - including Google Co.'s co-founders - to launch a battery-powered sports car.

The "Christmas Tree" lights are green and the drag race is on in Silicon Valley to develop the next generation electric sports car. It seems as through, venture capitalists are already going along for the ride.

Tesla will unveil further details of its business and its cars in early July - according to the company site.

VantagePoint Venture Partners co-led the round with Chairman Elon Musk, founder of Paypal and chief executive of Space Exploration Technologies. Other institutional investors in the round included Draper Fisher Jurveston and J.P. Morgan Bay Area Equity Fund. Also participating were Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Nick Pritzker (through his investment partnership, Tao LLC), and Jeff Skoll (through his investment company, Capricorn Management LLC).

This is particularly of interest because Silicon Valley has suddenly emerged as a hotspot for electric cars - rivaling new efforts developed in Japan and Detroit. With articles in Business Week, Business 2.0, The Mercury News, among others, I think we're in for a wild ride. If I were in Detroit, I would eye potential investments in one or more of these exciting Bay Area ventures.

PayPal founder Elon Musk, was recently quoted as saying, "The time is right for a new American car company, and the time is right for electric vehicles, because of advances in batteries and electronics. Where's the skill set for that? In the Valley, not Detroit."

But wait, there's more...

Tesla is only one of a growing number of ventures that are developing powerful electric cars for those willing to pay about $100,000 or more. Wrightspeed Technologies - a venture-funded start-up founded by Ian Wright, a former employee of Tesla - is developing a rival electric car called the X1 which can hit 60 miles per hour in three seconds. Wrightspeed is also currently seeking additional funding.

According to the may issue of Business 2.0, last November, Wright towed the X1 to a racetrack near Sacramento to see how his prototype would do against a Ferrari and a Porsche.

In the first matchup, the X1 crushed the Ferrari 360 in an eighth-mile sprint and then in the quarter-mile, winning by two car lengths. In the second race, against the $440,000 Porsche, the two cars were even after an eighth of a mile. But as the Porsche driver let out the clutch in a final upshift, his tires briefly lost traction. The X1, blazing along in its software-controlled performance mode, beat the Porsche by half a car length.

Now we all know that the market for electric super cars isn’t the end-game here, but it is damn sexy! The reality is that these proof-of-concepts will change the auto industry for the better and it will put Silicon Valley in the spotlight, once again. Pedal to the metal and stay tuned!

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Tags: Tesla x1 Ian Wright