Ari Seth Cohen and his grandmother in the header image from his blog.

By Joan Schneider

I had the pleasure this week of attending the Hebrew SeniorLife College of Retirement Series at Orchard Cove in Canton, MA to hear Ari Seth Cohen talk about his favorite subject—Advanced Style—which is also the title of his book and his blog. He talked about how his stylish grandmother—a librarian from New York and a Columbia graduate—profoundly influenced his life. She and her stylish friends paved the way for his passion to convince women of all ages that you can be expressive and creative, no matter what your age.

Ari, single handedly, is helping the fashion industry understand that women from 65 to over 100—can have the type of style and grace that are perfect for fashion ads and magazine covers. The women in the short video he shared were so stylish, articulate and wise—that I have captured some of my favorite quotes below:

“Dressing up is an exercise in creativity, it makes you feel better.”

“You’re treated nicer when you dress up, try it.”

“Don’t be afraid to not look like everyone else.”

“If you go into a store and the sales person says everyone is wearing it, put the dress immediately back on the rack.”

“When asked how old you are, say somewhere between 50 and death—that stops people from asking again.”

“If you don’t have a dress code, why adhere to someone else’s?”

“I may be old, but I think young!”

“If someone doesn’t like what you are wearing—tell them you don’t give a (expletive deleted)!”

On the eve of Mother’s Day, I am reminded of my own grandmother, Rose, who was my muse. She was a true non-conformist. She had three husbands, one of whom was the chauffer of Dutch Shultz, the NJ mobster. She owned a bar in Jersey City, NJ and wore white go go boots, a magnificent mink coat and the trendiest clothes you could buy at Lane Bryant.  She never cared what people said about her—she did her own thing and always bragged that she was the most educated person in her family—she graduated 8^th grade. She was a true original and had her own type of style that could not be duplicated.

To me, the Hebrew SeniorLife seminar was a true testimony to REAGE—the organization’s philosophy that how we deal with aging is changing.  That we are not getting older, we are getting better. That style and vitality are ageless and that you are as young as you feel.  All I have to say is Ari Seth Cohen and I agree.

To learn more about Hebrew SeniorLife’s upcoming College of Retirement Living events visit: www.hslindependentliving.org

Joan Schneider, President and Creative Director

Public relations is all about putting the right message in front of the right people at the right time.  Traditional media is one of the main channels we use to drive our clients’ messages, but, while a great tool, articles can often dilute the clients’ messages.

Enter the byline.  Byline articles, guest columns and op-eds are great ways to get your clients’ messages directly to their audiences without any third party interference.  Bylines are a great tool for PR, but they can also be stressful for practitioners who may not have a journalism writing background. By following a few simple tips you can successfully write and place a byline and position your client as a leader in their field.

1.    Have a target in mind

Choose a publication before you draft anything.  The outlet will help drive the content of the byline, while providing guidelines for length and style.  If you don’t decide where you want to place a story before you write it, it may end up collecting dust rather than reaching your audience.

2.   You aren’t the expert – your client is

Tap into your clients’ expertise for bylines.  Hop on a call to chat about the subject, email them questions to pick their brains or include prompts in a draft of the piece.  This will improve the byline’s content and lessen the chance of massive edits on the client’s end.

3.   Be mindful of length

One of the first things a paper’s editor will tell you is the word length.  Pay attention to it.  You can say a lot more with 1,500 words than you can with 500, so knowing from the beginning will help you get your points in without going over the limit.  Also, save room for your client, who may add 100-200 words during the editing process.

4.   Don’t be afraid to censor the client

While the client is the expert on the topic, you are the expert on the media, so don’t be afraid to share your opinions.  If something doesn’t fit in the byline, say so, but be sure to offer an alternative solution, such as a blog post or video on the new topic.

5.   Do your research

Make your byline as timely as possible by connecting it to breaking news, current events or holidays.  This will make your piece more interesting to your target audience and up the chances of them reading the byline.

Once you’ve written and placed a byline, the work isn’t quite over!  To get the most bang for your buck, make sure you’re sharing the placement through all of the client’s social media channels, writing a blog post on the topic, exploring other outlets for additional coverage or recording a video of the client discussing the topic.  This placement is your opportunity to get the right message across to the right audience – so make sure you’re getting the word out there!

 

Register FREE ($60 value) with shareable code: 2012TopTen 

It’s never been more difficult to launch a new product. Consumers are more fragmented than ever.  With 40,000 products launched each year, how can marketers make sure their launch will stand out?Join us in this Google+ Hangout with brand experts from the 11^th Annual Most Memorable New Product Launches who will share how they leveraged earned, owned and paid media spend to create a launch that captivated consumers and led to incredible sales.

Launch Expert and Author, Julie Hall, Behavioral Research Expert Aaron Reid, and moderator the Founder of The CMO Club Pete Krainik and brand representatives from Taco Bell, Pepsi, and McDonald’s will talk about the 2012 Most memorable new Product Launch findings, like:

• How “Men Are The New Women’ on Madison Avenue
• Why “Made in the USA” is more important than ever
• How social media may not be considered “earned media” anymore
• Don’t launch your new product in an election year, and
• A look back on the best launches of the past decade what marketers can learn from them

It’s the middle of your junior year and you and a friend are looking for that one great internship to complete your nearly perfect résumés. You have the grades, the work ethic, and the writing chops, and you’ve whisked cover letters and CVs into the inboxes of every internship coordinator in a 50-mile radius. Your friend is called in for an interview, but you’re still waiting for a response. What gives? It could be something as simple as your Facebook photo.

As the Intern Coordinator at Schneider Associates, I told my current interns, “When I hired you, I wanted to know you before I met you.” Internships are an investment by the company and the student and it’s important for both parties to be sure the investment is worthy, which is why both company and intern should check each other out. A candidate may have the chops, but their social media activity can be the deciding vote when it comes to being picked out of the position-seeking crowd.

We’ve asked our staff and star interns to recommend their best social media practices, which include:

The Good:

• Inquiry is the best form of flattery. Send a private LinkedIn message or utilize your university’s alumni database to connect with those in your target career field. Don’t post publicly on a potential employer’s personal pages. Ask to meet for coffee and come prepared with thoughtful questions.
• Be one with your surroundings. Share current events and industry-specific news on your active social pages. When trying to land an interview, frame a company’s struggle or success within a current event or find some interesting industry news and speak to your insight on the topic in your inquiry. This will help you stand out from the crowd and peak their interest.
• Use privacy settings, but don’t shut us out. When we look at your profiles, we should have an idea of your personality, interests and what you’re talking about, but we don’t need to see the photos from your friend’s 21^st. If you do keep your profiles (especially Facebook) open, keep it PG.

The Bad

• Personal space. Only connect on social channels with hiring managers if you’ve interacted previously. If you are going to reach out, stick to LinkedIn or a company email address; we like to keep our personal and professional lives separate, too.
• Research is a two-way street. Hiring managers can research you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find them. Do some digging to identify the right person and avoid using “Dear Sir or Madam.” Also avoid the “one-size-fits-all” approach by ensuring your cover letter is personalized for the company to which you are applying.
• Don’t be a fair-weather fan. You may follow a company on multiple platforms, but are you retweeting, sharing and commenting on their content? Show you’re involved before you join the team.

The Ugly

• Typos. We expect you to proofread and use correct grammar in the office, but it’s always a bummer to find sum1s profile dat luks lyke dis. Your profiles and materials represent your first test, so use spellcheck and proper grammar and go through word by word – “if” looks like “of” looks like “off,” but none will trigger that little red line.
• Say my name, say my name. If you’ve found the hiring manager’s name, be sure you spell it correctly. This seems obvious, but I (Jamie) have been called everything from Jaime to Jaimie to Janice.
• If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it. It’s frustrating to be turned down for that dream position, but keep it off social media. Taking unfortunate developments in stride is a benchmark of professionalism, and you never know – maybe you’ll meet the intern coordinator again down the line. Don’t set yourself up for an awkward situation.

Don’t be afraid to get creative. One of my favorite examples of savvy social media use is Rachael King’s living resume. If you’re just starting out, you may still be working up to your own personal living resume, but these tips and tricks will give you the necessary head start.

Jamie Berman, Account Coordinator, Consumer Group

(Photo courtesy phandroid.com)

Yesterday, USA Today featured the results of the 2012 Most Memorable New Product Launch (MMNPL) survey in a snapshot on the front page of the Money section. The snapshot announced the top five most memorable new products of 2012 according to our  survey. Amazon’s Kindle Fire topped the list with a surprising 30% of respondents remembering the product launch, even though it had been almost a year since the Kindle Fire first hit the market. Taco Bell’s comeback was solidified by the Doritos Locos Taco coming in at the number two spot, followed by Tide Pods, a launch whose huge marketing budget clearly made and impression on consumers. Pepsi Next, the reduced calorie soda, and the Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone rounded out the top five, showing that soda can still compete with big tech products when it comes to making a connection with consumers.

Stay tuned for the release of the full results of the 2012 MMNPL survey, including key consumer purchasing behavior insights.

By Joan Schneider, President and Creative Director, Schneider Associates

At Harvard Business School, they always talk about managing by walking around.  It’s hard to have new ideas when you are constantly sitting in the office—talking to the same people, looking at the same scenery, thinking about things in the usual way.

I’ve found that travel is one way to do this, as well as an excellent way to bring color to my work life. Recently, I attended Art Basel in Miami, the global art fair where in one tent alone were featured $2 billion of art.  Painting, sculpture, experiential works—anything you can think of was exhibited at Art Basel.

Art lovers from around the world gathered to see what’s happening in the art world and to be part of the “in crowd” attending this bi-annual event (also held in Switzerland, where the fair began).

The coverage of Art Basel in The New York Times and the Miami Herald focused as much on the fashion, shoes and people-watching at the fair as they did on the art.  It was a scene.

The biggest takeaway for me is how viewing the art inspired me to create art.  I saw this statue that I fell in love with…it was originally a garden statue that had been re-engineered to have a smooth surface in bright green. When I innocently asked how much it costs, I learned there were only two in the world and each costs $325,000—only slightly out of my price range. The good news is this wacky statue inspired me to buy a small statue (from Homegoods at $39, reduced from $100), plus some bright pink paint to create my own art.

Most importantly, I came back to work feeling energized and full of colorful ideas to launch because of three days spent looking at one of the world’s largest exhibits of first class art.  I believe the art of business can be enhanced and enlightened by the business of creating art.

But next year, I am going to spend more time ‘creating’ my outfit, since fashion is an important aspect of the visual experience at Art Basel.  The smarter your outfit, the more people talk to you—the more people that talk to you—the more you will learn and that’s why one makes the pilgrimage to Miami—to shake up the creative molecules in your brain.

Here’s a picture of the statue I created as a result of Art Basel. Her name is Artemesia and she formerly was beige, but after Art Basel, she’s hot pink.  There’s no doubt she’s way more exciting in fuscia.

Joan Schneider, President and Creative Director

To learn more about how WorldCom and its partners give our clients “The Local Advantage”, watch this 75 second video peek.

In the below video case study, Panasonic‘s Marketing Director Stephen Yeo gives a firsthand account of how WorldCom helped Panasonic solve B2B Communication challenges.

Marketing experts discuss new focus on the customer as a channel for new product launches at FutureM

Boston, MA – October 23, 2012 – Julie Hall, EVP and partner at Schneider Associates, the global leader in Launch Marketing, and other prominent Boston-area marketing and communications leaders participated in a panel discussing the important role of “Social Launch” at FutureM during Boston’s Innovation Week on Wednesday, October 23 at Hynes Convention Center.

With more than 40,000 new product launches every year, it is increasingly difficult to introduce a product in the new global, 24/7 marketplace. Understanding the customer has always been key, but involving the customer deeply in your launch hasn’t been possible until now.  Marketing in the new millennium uses the customer as a channel and mandates “Participation” as the fifth “P,” connecting Product, Placement, Promotion and Price. Leading global brands are already encouraging customer collaboration in their marketing, but forward-thinking companies will soon need to harness their social media communities as an additional channel during the launch phase.

The “Social Launch” session at FutureM, which focused on harnessing the power of social communities when introducing a product, was moderated by Hall, who has held strategy and account leadership positions at Arnold Worldwide, Cone, and Manning Selvage and Lee prior to joining Schneider Asssociates.  During Boston Innovation Week, she collaborated with Boston’s top marketing experts to guide the conversation and debate various topics.  Panelists included:

• Aaron Reid- Founder and Chief Behavioral Scientist, Sentient Decision Science- With a Ph.D. in experimental psychology and a published research record in consumer decision-making, Aaron Reid has developed advanced methods of assessing the subconscious drivers of consumer behavior at industry and academic conferences.

• Stephen Springfield- Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Analytics, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay- With 20+ years of experience and a career spanning Music Retailing, Foodservice & CPG roles at both Coca-Cola & PepsiCo, Stephen Springfield has worked as a strategist andconsultant for some of the world’s largest brands.

• Rich Armstrong- Co-founder, my-take, LLC- Rich Armstrong is an executive with a track record of success in a variety of roles with experience in Marketing, Product Management, Sales and Business Development.

• Todd Hoskins- Co-founder, my-take, LLC- A seasoned marketing executive, Todd Hoskins has led brand revitalization efforts, developed and launched successful new products, launched an Effie award winning advertising campaign and introduced grass roots mobile marketing programs.

For more than a decade, Schneider Associates and Sentient Decision Science have been conducting the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey, which forecasts trends in marketing, from word of mouth to social media.  In 2011, more consumers cited social media, like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and forums, as the way they found out about new product launches, collectively rivaling television advertising for the first time in the survey’s ten year history. To harness the power of social media, using the customer as a channel and partnering with them in a meaningful way is not only possible, it has become mandatory.

Schneider Associates is using Most Memorable New Product Launch findings and putting Social Launch into practice at its office in Boston’s Financial District. The agency views Launch as applicable to a wide array of clients and industries – whether they are launching a new product, service, company, technology, organization or community – and applies the lessons learned from marketing new products to all practice areas.

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