Bad Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Public Relations’ Bad PR

When placing stories in the media, you want to highlight you product or service, but you also have an equally important second objective. You want to educate. I don’t think that I can emphasize this point strongly enough. Public Relations has bad PR. It is known for its fluff and hype, for the sleight-of-hand work, and, whereas, all of that exists, the glitter and flash isn’t what makes for an effective campaign. What makes media placement effective is that it tells a story, it educates, it gives the public information on a particular topic or field that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

We represented a physician who was working on a new cancer drug and was in the midst of clinical tests. The first series had been quite promising. He was looking for patients with a certain type of cancer who were interested in participating in the study. He received hundreds of calls after a local TV interview ran, from people wanting to find out more information. These people would have never been aware of the study, and their opportunity to participate in it, if it had not been for the interview they saw. How about a couple of examples that are not quite so serious?

A skin care expert who has created her own make-up line, appeared on a TV segment teaching consumers how to buy cosmetics for less. The piece explained how to read and understand labels and how to shop for quality, yet inexpensive products. She was presented as an expert, her products were highlighted, and the public learned new information.

The President and CEO of an Internet company who specialized in B to B solutions, was interviewed in a national publication on the changing face of the Internet. He was able to discuss his company and the solutions it offered, establish himself as an expert in his field, and educate the public.

All of these pieces highlighted and focused on the client’s company, but they also educated. By watching the programs or reading the articles, the public learned new information. The pieces were informative and (hopefully) added to the quality of the viewers’ or readers’ lives. Done correctly, it educates, instructs, entertains, and whets the public’s appetite to know more. On the marketing end, it also stimulates your target audience to make an appointment, purchase a product, or to visit a store. But the bottom line comes down to presenting yourself as an expert, an educator, as someone whom both the media and the public turn to for information and advice, you are communicating with and educating the public.

How Good Or Bad Are Cartoon Channels For Your Kids?

This is a Question, which keeps haunting parents (mostly mothers) of all kids aged 3 to 10. Should we allow kids to watch cartoons, or should it be totally banned, is it good or is it really bad?

The issue that often pops up when chatting about young children watching cartoon channels is usually about leaving your children alone with cartoons to divert or entertain them, instead of parents giving our precious time to them.

Let’s analyze this million-dollar question!

I am a mother of 5-year-old daughter and have been regularly monitoring her television viewing. And this is what I have analyzed.

Let’s point out the good points first:

Cartoon shows are neither good nor bad. Occasionally cartoons are being used to demonstrate behavior that we would like our young children to adapt or copy, and even many times these cartoon shows are also used to exemplify qualities we would like our kids to avoid. It is up to the parents to help the child learn which is which.

From time to time there have been some good series like Madeline, Oswald, Noddy, Backyard Science, MAD, Mickey Mouse Club House. And some Hindi Indian Cartoons, which I would suggest are Gali Gali Sim Sim, Choota Bheem, Krishna, Ramayan and all Mythological stories.

It helps improve vocabulary; it could be English or Hindi.

It helps kids in analyzing situations. To understand how small little things are analyzed and then how small little decisions are taken by understanding what is right and wrong.

It helps them understand different cultures, societies, people etc.

There are so many shows, which are really educational, for all ages. And some programs show various Art and Craft activities, which can be actually utilized to put them to some creative work.

Now, let’s point out the bad points:

There are some really bad cartoons out there, which are a definite no-no for kids like Hagemaaro, ShinShan etc. The language used is awful.

With the kids watching television all the time, their physical activities which can only be achieved by playing in a playground are not taken care of.

Kids try to imitate what they see on television. Be it language or violence, they just want to behave like their “Super Hero”.

When parents continually leave their children to be entertained by the television it can have negative effects on child’s mind because children are primarily proactive and like to be doing something.

And one of the major concerns is the time kids spent in watching those cartoons. Every mother has a tough time moving her kids away from television. Ideally what I would suggest is to have fixed television-watching timings.

The best way to help your child create connection from television is if you get involved with them and explain what they are seeing, discuss different scenarios or outcomes, ask questions, and compare what you are seeing to what she has experienced.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the Detailed SWOT Analysis

If you are an advertising or marketing student, an entrepreneur or a business professional – be prepared to learn about one of the most basic and functional tools for marketers still practiced heavily today – the SWOT Analysis. Like many topics in school that students seem to avoid (learning the quadratic formula in Calculus, reading a Brave New World for English lit or that extremely uncomfortable topic everyone in health class is embarrassed to learn about) – the detailed SWOT analysis is just something you are going to have to face learning and get used to writing regardless of how advanced our advertising methods get. The detailed SWOT analysis will be around forever and can really help you get a grasp of the environment your product or service is getting into and what you have to give to your potential customers that your competitors have forgotten. So here it is in plain English – the good, the bad and the ugly of the detailed SWOT Analysis.

As a professional marketer that has been working in this field, representing a multitude of companies throughout North America for over 15 years I continuously stand behind the benefits and effectiveness of developing and using a detailed SWOT analysis. Before I start any new project, whether for myself or for a customer, I have, and will continue to include the development of a SWOT analysis. My suggestion to you is that if you want your marketing initiatives to perform like a professionally developed plan then you need to think and act like a professional marketer. In this article I am going to share with you…

o What is Good about developing a proper SWOT Analysis “The Good”

o What is the downside of developing a proper SWOT Analysis “The Bad”

o What if the SWOT analysis doesn’t appear to provide value to my marketing plan? “The Ugly”

So why do seasoned advertising executives claim that a detailed SWOT Analysis of your product/service could open your eyes to an opportunity you had never imagined? Let’s put it this way – if you are the owner of a brand new company and you need to sell your business to your future employees who are ultimately responsible for reselling the idea of your business – it is probably best that you have a clear sense of what your enterprise is about. Your business’ vision, mission and core values are so important to determining whether or not customers see your product/service as a need. Is the product category you are in thriving, full of competition or are you yesterday’s trend? All these answers can be yours – by breaking down your company in a SWOT Analysis.

What’s so great about a SWOT? The easiest way to answer this question – is found in the acronym – plainly stated – a SWOT will tell you what the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are for your business. Strengths and weaknesses are attributes of your business that are identified internally -what’s going on within your own company’s environment? Some of the strengths you may have is that you were the first entrant into a category (i.e. Red Bull in the energy drink category), has your company won any awards, what makes you different from your competitors (do you have something they don’t that difficult to copy?) Weaknesses could be that you were not “one of the originals” and you are lumped in with all the other gazillion varieties of soap available today – you lack that “must-have” feature. Or maybe your product or service is a seasonal item – so your key selling peak only happens during a certain quarter of the year – in which case – how does the company survive for the other 3 quarters? Strengths and weaknesses are easy to identify if you really sit and think about what your company is, stands for and what it offers your customers. Opportunities and threats are identified externally – these are aspects that happen outside of your company that you are unable to control. Going back to the Red Bull example, the fact that the general public was finding themselves more frequently exhausted and looking for a “pick me up” – paved the way for Red Bull to really pack a punch with the public. And perhaps, the easiest example of a threat is something most companies seem to be facing today – the depressing state of the economy and the public cautious with their spending. These four aspects are quick and easy ways to access your company and with a little thought – you may open your company up to opportunities you have not have originally seen.

What’s so bad about a detailed SWOT Analysis – well for a first timer, be prepared this is only one of a gazillion SWOT Analyses you will do on a variety of companies and products. But don’t worry – practice makes perfect. Sometimes the first few SWOT’s can take a fair bit of time to nail down the formula, but soon it will become as simple as riding a bike.

The ugly of the detailed SWOT analysis is very rare but has seen the light of day. Perhaps the product category is so complex that a SWOT really doesn’t answer any immediate questions for your business. Or you’ve finally completed what you thought was an amazing analysis, only to realize that after investing a large amount of money in your “dream project” you’ve entered into an overly-saturated market and your product (with no great added value) will soon be lost in the masses – YIKES! Also, some companies mistake their internal strengths as external opportunities – in which your SWOT analysis becomes skewed and rendered non-helpful.

So even though as a first timer you become frustrated with what makes an attribute internal or external, the fact that sometimes you need to research your category to really get into some interesting opportunities once you become familiar with this process, there’s a good possibility you may begin to dream about SWOT analyses and begin applying them to your everyday life – one of the great things about a detailed SWOT analysis is that it’s a basic structure that really puts your business into perspective for yourself, your employees and most importantly what you have to offer your customers.

Women & Business Partnership – The Good, the Bad and the Synergy

Team sports prepare boys for the corporate model of business. Girls, however, typically play closely with one or two friends. What great preparation for entrepreneurial partnership! So it is fitting, as women continue to start businesses in record numbers, that many are finding partnership is a comfortable format. In fact, business partnership works for women coming from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences including those tired of hitting the corporate glass ceiling, stay-at-home Moms, and women who want to turn their passions and their social connections into business ideas.

Partnership brings a wide variety of benefits including a sense of connection and someone to cover when you go on vacation. On the other hand, many partnerships end in crisis and conflict. To avoid partnership failure, your partnership needs to possess the following seven components of positive partnership.

Shared Values. Partners need a sense of shared standards regarding what is desirable, undesirable, good, and bad. These values will guide partners’ actions, judgments, and choices. Values, which often carry considerable emotion, may range from valuing family, prosperity, ambition, a work ethic, or a political persuasion. In addition to helping partners make congruent decisions, shared values serve to keep partners united.

Different (Complementary) Skills and Traits. Successful partners will possess different (complementary) skills and traits. The broader the partners’ range of skills, the clearer the division of their labor (and power) can be. It may be easy to distinguish the marketing person from the technical person in a business but other necessary variables are often not as easy to see. Michael Gerber’s classic book “The E-Myth” explains that a business owner needs to play three roles, Entrepreneur – the creative visionary; Manager, the administrator who brings planning, order and predictability; and Technician – the craftsperson. Partnerships have a distinct advantage in that two or more invested people are available to perform the three necessary roles.

Sense of Equity. Equity occurs when the rewards of a relationship are proportional to what each side perceives as his or her contribution. Strangers and casual acquaintances maintain equity by keeping track of the benefits they exchange. However, in long-term and more committed relationships it is not healthy to keep track. Instead, a sense of equity should be established. A perception of inequity (I am giving more then I get) takes a tremendous toll on a partnership.

Growing Together. From the moment we are born until the day we die, we are in the process of growing and changing. Partners and their partnerships are continuously undergoing this process of change. However, we are often not aware of the changes we’re experiencing. And, sometimes change is viewed as a threat to the status quo. Successful partners embrace change and growth, knowing that this attitude benefits both their individual and shared professional identities.

Proactive Conflict Management Strategies. Competing and avoiding are not effective conflict management strategies for partnership. Instead, successful partners will use proactive and strategic approaches to conflict management such as accommodation, compromise and collaboration to resolve their differences.

Shared Vision. Partners need a shared vision or plan for the future. Vision is what determines and expresses where an organization wants to go and how it intends to get there. A shared vision allows partners to focus on their goals and the methods they will use to achieve those goals. When partners hold different visions they become discouraged, overwhelmed, and disconnected. In order to create and effectively benefit from a shared vision, four tasks are necessary: creating the initial vision, translating that vision into the necessary physical actions, articulating and selling the vision to others, and holding true to the essence of the vision when reality changes the plans.

An Exit Strategy. It has been said that a graceful exit is proof of a successful venture. Without an exit strategy in place partners can be faced with making crucial decisions at a time when they were least levelheaded. An exit strategy is a shared sense of when and how an alliance will end and one should be included as the end-point in a business plan. However, while planning for the end may be a critical aspect of owning a business, it is also one of the most neglected. Exits are easy to avoid when the issue is not pressing and raising the issue might sour the deal or suggest a lack of trust. Four questions should be addressed when considering an exit plan: what events might trigger an end to the partnership; how will the business be valued at the end; which options for future ownership are acceptable; and what post-alliance ties and restrictions, such as non-compete clauses, need to be included.

When you enter into a partnership that is strong in these seven components you have the potential to create synergy and reap some amazing benefits. True synergy comes about when two (or more) people work together to create results that would have been unobtainable independently. In a synergistic partnership 2+2>4 and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.