Transcript UPSTATE PR TRIP

UPSTATE PR TRIP
November 5-6, 2009
Places We Visited
THURSDAY:
 Michelin Tire North American HeadquartersGreenville, S.C. http://www.michelin-us.com/north-america/past/
 Erwin-Penland Public Relations- Greenville, S.C.
http://www.erwinpenland.com/
FRIDAY:
 BMW Manufacturing Plant and Performance CenterGreer, S.C. http://www.bmwusfactory.com/#/home/
 Jackson Marketing Group– Greenville, S.C.
http://www.jacksonmg.com/
Michelin Tire
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Founded & worldwide HQ in
France
Greenville Corporate Comm
staffers all seem to have been to
France a few or numerous times.
Nice perk!
Some have traveled to numerous
countries around the world to
conferences or Michelin facilities
worldwide
Michelin has 68 manufacturing
locations in 19 countries and has
110,000 global employees
Brazil, India, China, Russia seen
as key growth countries for tires
Space shuttle tires- among many types
of tires Michelin produces worldwide
Michelin North America
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Michelin has 18 plants in
U.S., Mexico, Canada
First U.S. plant- built in
Greenville in 1975
Michelin has several
plants in S.C. and
employees 7,850 in our
state
R&D is in France, Japan
and Greenville
Michelin’s Five Core Values
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Respect for Customers
Respect for People
Respect for Shareholders
Respect for
Environment
Respect for Facts
Michelin’s PR Mission
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The corporate
communications people
see themselves as
stewards and nurturers
of the Michelin brand
Five areas within PR:
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External Communications
Governmental Affairs
Image and Brands
Michelin Development
Internal Communications
International Public Relations
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Michelin’s Lynn Martin, head
of external comm, talked
about the “additional
complexities” of global PR
“Local is global in minutes”
in today’s 24/7 digital
news/media environment
Language is a barrier
Cultural and political
differences
A “cookie cutter” approach
to PR and corporate relations
won’t work today
Global Advertising Campaign
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Just last month Michelin successfully launched its first
global advertising campaign ($20 million)
Effort to attract coverage in business news world with
its global announcement (10/6/09)
Put out a global spokesperson: Senior VP Michelin
Communication & Brands Claire Dorland Clauzel
Complemented by a N.A. spokesperson: Scott Clark,
Executive VP, Michelin North America
http://www.michelinmedia.com/default/kw=TheRight
TireAd
Michelin’s New Ad Campaign
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TV Commercials Airing Worldwide
“Michelin Man Rescues Dog”
“Michelin Man Defeats Evil Gas Pump”
Print Ad:
Targeting Media
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For the global announcement in New York,
specific influential media are targeted including
AP, New York Times, Forbes
The goal is coverage and to “spark tire
conversations” and stress “pillar messaging” of
fuel efficiency, longevity, safety
Michelin very happy with the resulting coverage
Michelin and Social Media
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Most media/advertising is one-way communication–
monologue vs. dialogue
Idea of social media as two-way and conversational
Only 14 percent of people trust advertising
While 78 percent trust peer recommendations
Social Media encourages dialogue, debate, content to
(potentially) a large audience
Michelin is focusing on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,
Flickr and LinkedIn to get out its messages and try to
get it out “above the fold”
Company adheres to “Social Media Principles”
Michelin Man Tweets!
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Today the aged and iconic Michelin Man is hip
to 21st century communications
He tweets “wherever he goes and whatever he
does”
http://twitter.com/michelinmanUS
Michelin’s Evaluation Process
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PR Metric and Analytics Component
How does Michelin’s PR prove the value of its
work?
“How can we measure our results?”
Michelin (and many companies) use Vocus– ondemand software for public relations
management- http://www.vocus.com
New Global Ad Campaign generated $1.6
million in “advertising equivalency”
Erwin-Penland IMC Agency
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Erwin-Penland PR/Advertising- Greenville, S.C.
http://www.erwinpenland.com/
Fourth or fifth largest PR/marketing agency in the
South, employees 250 people. Founded 1986
Is all about IMC– not organized by departments but by
teams--all physically located together in the office
Effective “speed shop” approach—often spends just 23 weeks on a campaign from getting business to launch
No one has an office not even the president
Andy Mendelson, EVP, Creative
Director
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Great time to be in
advertising
Great opportunities for
messaging with so many new
venues today
Good ads make you think
and feel something
TV commercials used to cost
an average of $400,000. Cost
today down due to less
demand for visual perfection
in part because they are being
seeing on smaller screens (i.e.
computers)
Erwin-Penland Drinking the Social
Media “Kool-Aid”
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Case Study– Yes brand car floormats
E-P developed a creative spill interactive site in which you could
poor different things on a woman’s head such as milk shakes,
ketchup
Then quickly shows the spill on the floormat being completely
scrubbed away
The “ad” was Internet-based– they got bloggers to help get it
going
Site was imbedded with codes to track many things such as clickthrough rate
Claim that 10 percent of visitors clicked through to purchasing
the floor mats!
How Sweet the Sound Campaign
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Verizon phone service was noticeably under used in Memphis,
especially among African-Americans
E-P brainstorm session produced idea to have a best gospel
choir competition
Gospel music huge in Memphis
People invited to submit videos of favorite church choirs
E-P and Verizon found way to connect with a demographic(s)
and increased business
Have now held “How Sweet the Sounds” contests in 11 cities
and held a national best church choir competition
http://www.erwinpenland.com/news/details/26
Joe Erwin’s “Tips for Getting a Job
in Advertising”
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Master the process– call,
write, call again, network,
learn the business
Follow the news– know
the key players and pubs
in an industry: Ad Age,
PRWeek, for example
Don’t let mom and dad
do too much, pressuring
their contacts on your
behalf
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Exhibit confidence,
leadership, personality
Be a humble servant
Bust through the resume
trap
Close with tenacity and
manners– be courteous
to all- the art of the
follow-up
Joe Erwin’s “6 Ways to Blow It”
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In the door, you’re “almost home” he says
But never lie
Don’t say or write “I look forward to hearing
from you”
Don’t treat the receptionist poorly
Don’t criticize the company’s work
Don’t talk about yourself excessively
Avoid typos and other “stupid stuff”
E-P HR Recruiter Advice
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Post your resume online with links to things you’ve
written, videos you put on YouTube, your blog, your
website
What is your brand? Sell your brand!
How are you unique?
How are you a fit for this position?
How are you a fit for the E-P culture?
What have you done?
Be “authentic” and be able to demonstrate your value
BMW Plant- Greer, S.C.
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South Carolina assembly
plant opened in 1994
The U.S. plant has
helped BWM increase
American sales from
51,000 to 288,000
Plant employees 5,000
workers
Average pay $25 hour
for plant workers
Boon to South Carolina
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500 X5 and X6 SUVs are
shipped by rail from the
plant to Charleston’s
port daily
The plant has suppliers
in 37 of S.C.’s 47
counties
$30 million in product is
built daily
Role of the Automotive
Communicator
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Engineer– understand and
explain the car manufacturing
process
Labor negotiations- fine
points and sensitivities
Trend setters- cars are part of
popular culture
Social scientist- can’t be tone
deaf to changing consumer
demands and needs
Industry cheerleader- visible
spokesperson for the car
industry
Attributes of Auto Industry
Communicators
From Tom Kowaleski, VP, Corporate Communications
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Constant inquisitiveness
about and knowledge of
the outside world
Understanding of how
cars are a fabric of
society– all societies
Passion and competence
Trust the business to
manage your career
Jackson Marketing Group
Greenville
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This IMC agency was
founded in Detroit in 1980
Found niche with product
launches and car dealer
training
Focus today in on “building
brand value”
Specializes in automotive,
motor sports, business-tobusiness, and Greenville
market
Jackson Marketing Group
http://www.jacksonmg.com/
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Marketing
New Media
Advertising
Public Relations
Motor Sports
Event Management
Video Production
Support Services- such as
inbound/outbound call center services for
market research, order processing, event
registration and customer service surveys.
Motorized Couch Too!
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A Jackson Marketing
staffer (right) tinkered
with a sofa and an
engine…and created this
motorized sofa
Anything to better serve
the client!
YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNL8
vHWViaQ