You get it R

This morning I was on the phone with a potential client ---let's call her R. Here is someone who gets it and very few do! Why? Very simply R:

1. Recognizes we don't work for free

2. Negotiates well and is always acting in the best interests of her employer. We love a savvy and knowledgeable client

3. Has done her homework. R is no neophyte when it comes to PR and the services we provide

4. Understands timing and plans around it

5. Was not all business - we talked about other stuff besides business - bottom line? R is not about being a one-hit wonder. Rather R looks to build bridges

R - I look forward to chatting again Jan 4. Happy festive season

What It Takes To Be A Good Client

Just last week we were pitching a new piece of business and whether or not we win (we were the smallest and least expensive of 3 agencies to be on the short list), the client asked a very intuitive question that I have not heard in several years, "Sacke, what in your mind makes an ideal client?" Clearly, this question does not come up often, for most clients think they can sit back, relax, have us to all the work and then watch the incremental sales come in.

Accuse me for being overly honest, but nothing could be further than the truth.

So George, (sorry to mention you by first name), here's a short elaboration of what we discussed:

1. Bring us to the table early.
This is key. It's no use us being prepped after the gig. Brief us early. Brief us well and tell us the real deal. Leave the sugar coated words at home. Armed with knowledge early in the plan pays massive dividends.

2. Keep away from the "hurry up , but we'll keep you waiting syndrome"
Nothing is more frustrating or disconcerting than having us work through the night to make your last minute deadline, and then waiting a week to get back to us with comments. This is the antithesis of effective PR. Time is of the essence in everything we all do.

3. Trust our counsel
We have won your business - not an easy task. Now you have to trust us. We have dealt with your issues before, so you have now to embrace our counsel. Yes, while any PR agency may err,we promise it will be far less frequent than you will err as it relates to PR. And if we err too frequently for your comfort - fire us!

4. Don't believe the hype
It was the group Public Enemy (a great rap band), who said it best some 20 years ago. We've seen it all before. Tell us reality. Keep it real. Tell us your achievements rather than what you think you'll achieve. While we all agree planning is important, it's far more important that your planning be realistic as opposed to it being just a plan (mired in dreams).

5. Embrace us early, often and warmly
Don't be afraid to ask us our opinion. Tell us what's on your mind. The warmer the hug, the better the results we will deliver. After all, we are not mind readers ... we do everything else though!

That said George. Win, lose or draw, we hope our insights will help in your selection.

Well done - McCain Foods

So the great and mighty UN has designated 2008 the International Year of the Potato ... yup, the lowly Potato. Guess what? Canada's very own McCain Foods will be the sponsor - this is a great PR coup.

Potatoes should be a major component in strategies aimed at providing nutritious food for the poor and hungry, the UN announced recently. Rich in carbohydrates, vitamin C and protein, the potato yields more nutritious food more quickly on less land, and in harsher climates, than any other major crop.

"McCain Foods has a 50-year history of understanding potatoes," president and CEO Dale Morrison said in a news release.

"With our knowledge and our global presence, we are in a unique position to support the objectives of the United Nations in educating the world on the value of potatoes and by introducing potato farming capabilities to developing countries and impoverished nations that will deliver high nutrition, low cost solutions to the world's poor and hungry."

McCain Foods has more than 20,000 employees at 60 production facilities on six continents. Guess what? and here's the kicker --- the privately owned company has annual sales of more than $6 billion and is the world's largest producer of french fries and potato specialties.

Is that a PR win or what? I guess the guys at McCain have been spending a lot of time at the UN of late. Well done!!!

We all have a thing to learn about from Steve Wynn

I was at The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas the week before last, playing poker. Nope, wasn't a tournament - just a regular cash game.

They have the best bottled water I've ever tasted. Better than Dasani. Better than Evian. Better than Perrier. It just feels smooth when I drank it. I'd never had that experience before.

So, when I saw a worker replenish my water, I complimented her on the water.

Her response? Not -- "Thank you." But -- "Does it make you want to gamble?"

Now that's a mission statement!

The Wynn has trained its people to make sure they are consistently aligned with the company's mission -- get more people to gamble more often --- ie. spend money and from the looks of the hotel's decor, that's precisely what they are doing. Big time!

If that means having a beautiful registration area with the most luscious flowers I've ever seen, then order the flowers. If that means having a great restaurant so I don't ever have to leave the hotel, then build it. If that means having friendly staff (and they really were a notch better than any other hotel I've stayed in in Vegas), then teach them to be friendly.

It all comes back to their mission. Everyone in the hotel is on the same page.

Even the elevator is aligned with the message. There are buttons for all the floors, the spa and the casino. That's it. There's no button for "First Floor" or "Street Level" or, heaven forbid, "Exit." That would be inconsistent with the message.

Is your company aligned to its message? Can your employees articulate that message? Wynn does. Can you?

The Big Freaking Idea? (Not!)

We're often asked for a big idea when pitching new business and keeping existing business. Everyone seems to want to get the next best thing since sliced bread, and then, not want to pay for it. Let's forget the money for a minute for something far more important - the big idea itself.

We've been around the block a few times and been asked for the big freaking idea --- at the expense of sounding like a jaded PR guru, I maintain, there's no such thing any longer. The last big freaking idea I saw was when Bill Gates conquered the CN Tower in Toronto and I bet that costs oodles of dough.

Rather, I hold that the big freaking idea is actually a collective of far smaller initiatives, that while perhaps each may lack punch by themselves, when grouped together can be very impactful.

It's the new way of thinking and I like these new ways a lot over the old ways of thinking