Seasons Greetings

Don't let the headline above fool you. We are in the "season of business survival" right now. Our economy is in deep yogurt, and will be for many months to come.

So what's going to get a business through this? It's certainly not one thing (no silver bullet), but rather a combination of actions.

Does your business survival kit include the following?

1. Planning better.
2. Scrimping, saving and scrutinizing every expense.
3. Pricing so everybody wins.
4. Paying closer attention to clients and customers.
5. Taking a long term view.
6. Marketing relentlessly.

To that last point, when we checked the home voicemail recently there were back-to-back robo-messages from two retailers.

One was from a local Chevy dealer who keeps our family car on the road. The owner of the dealership announced the return of Saturday service hours, free car washes and a co-marketing agreement with a sub shop.

The second message was from a pet shop owner. The message was plenty cutesy, but offered nothing very compelling to distinguish it from the big box pet stores with better prices and broader product choices.

Guess who's going to get my business next?

Time To Be Clever

I recently ran across this request on a LinkedIn message board:

I’m looking for some great ideas for developing PR and marketing campaigns to create a buzz with buyers and consumers for a new product . . . the catch is, that it needs to be done on less than a shoestring budget.

Given the current state of economic affairs, I think we're all looking for ways to meet our marketing & sales goals without breaking the bank {since they did that to themselves already}. Here's my response:

"For a shoestring budget give some thought to partnerships. Look for products/companies/brands that share the same audience, are compatible, don't compete for mindshare or $$$. Then, work out reciprocal arrangements -- trades -- so that both brands succeed.

"Let's say you are trying to promote a new sports drink. Offer sampling to health clubs and in turn you might offer a link on your website back to the club. Working with minimal budgets will be a way of life for all marketers for the foreseeable future."

Snake River Cutthroat

That's me, grinning like a fool on the Snake River last summer. I was in Jackson, WY posing quickly with the very first trout I caught fly fishing.

When I was about 6 years old I caught my first-ever fish with a spinning rod on Spirit Lake in Northwest Iowa. It was a fair-sized Northern Pike, all teeth and splattered blood and guts. To this day I remember telling my Uncle Ralph I didn't know that I was going to kill it.

Fast-forward to a few years ago when I decided to take up fly fishing. Don't ask me why. Maybe it was the great Norman Maclean book, "A River Runs Through It." It wasn't a bad flick either.

After a summer on our neighborhood lake I got adept at clumsily casting for small mouth bass and blue gill. I even worked up the nerve to talk about my new hobby with an old friend and colleague who was also self-taught. He started as a kid at Belmont Harbor in Chicago, and shared with me stories about fishing out West, in Wisconsin, Florida and Belize. All that helped me get hooked.

A few summers back I tried in earnest to fly fish in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I got skunked after hours and hours of trying, but no matter. The scenery was beautiful and I learned that the real reward was in trying.

Last summer, after my eldest son graduated from high school, we all traveled to Wyoming to celebrate. One day we went out on the river with a guide. Drift boating on the Snake is a combination of fishing and whitewater rafting. Everything happens fast.

After about 10 casts, my son, Matt, latched onto his first cutthroat. About two hours later, with my right arm numb from casting, I tricked the prize pictured here to my dry fly, set the hook properly, stripped about 20 feet of line and brought him safely to the boat. Less than 30 seconds later he was back in the water, and with one powerful tail flick, off to deeper waters no worse for wear.

Every once in a while I'm reminded of that fish and I break out in the same silly grin you see on this page.

Who's Next?

Recently I couldn't help but pause when I learned that the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) will cease publishing a daily newspaper. I'll mourn it's passing when the last daily edition is printed next April.

As a young PR exec I once hustled down Michigan Avenue to a Christian Science Reading Room to retrieve a copy of the paper after it published a glowing story I worked on for a client. Placing a story in such a venerable institution was a BIG DEAL.

For much of its 100-year history, the Monitor has been a trendsetter although daily circulation has been declining for 40 years. To keep it afloat big annual subsidies are required from the Christian Science church. CSM will still be around via its website, a daily paid email and a glossy weekly newsmagazine.

Virtually every daily paper is slipping in circulation. Ad revenues -- especially in this economy -- are very tight. Here in Chicago, the Tribune has undergone a radical makeover reducing the actual size of the paper and newshole.

In about 10 years, most pundits predict only a handful of daily papers will survive. Give the Monitor credit for getting out in front of this trend. Their experiment will be watched very closely.

Purple Reign

I'm writing this a few hours before the polls close. Today, the longest presidential campaign in history will finally draw to a close. At least we hope so.

The candidates and their supporters will gather in two distinctly different places -- Obama fans will be in Chicago's Grant Park and McCain followers will be at the Biltmore Resort in Scottsdale.

Much has been said about this era of political polarization. Red states vs. Blue states. I was thinking about this over the last few days and realized that no matter who wins, the next president will be handed a wonderful opportunity to pull us all together. I prefer to think we are actually on the threshold of a Purple Reign.

As voters fill the polls today trailing in the footsteps of the record numbers who took advantage of widespread early voting, we have given the next president a mandate before even tallying the votes. We want something else whether it's touted as "Change" or just being a "Maverick."

Sit back, try to enjoy the election returns tonight and know that no matter the outcome, the people have spoken. If your guy wins, be magnanimous in victory. If your guy loses, be gracious in defeat.

And tomorrow, wear something purple, okay?

Phinally Philly? Give me a Phreakin' Break

Congrats to the Philadelphia Phillies for clinching the 2008 World Series over the surprising Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night. Their fans rejoiced as the Phillies won just their second World Series in the team's 125-year history. The last time Philly won the World Series was in 1980.

While watching FOX-TV for the post-game celebration I swear I heard the notoriously rough Philadelphia fans boo Commissioner Bud Selig as he handed over the championship trophy. It also sounded like they even booed their own team president when he congratulated the Rays for their best season ever. The fans are tough in the City of Brotherly Love.

As a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan I'm relieved that an old-school club such as the Phillies won the Series. From where I sit it's really been sickening to see upstarts like the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Angels, Blue Jays, Twins & Mets win the Fall Classic ahead of the Cubs.

Even before today's World Series finale the hot-stove league was in full roar here in Chicago. Fans and pundits are speculating on what moves the Cubs need to make to avoid a third-straight playoff collapse next year. All I know is my patience has been tested to the max. The last two years the Cubs have had great regular seasons. Baring a total collapse, odds are they'll return to the playoffs in 2009. Here's hoping Cubs management, coaches and players stiffen their spines to reward their fans next year in time for the 101st anniversary of our last World Series title.

It's Easy

Last week was a first for me. I voted early.

Early voting in Illinois is a piece of cake. No crowds. No waiting. I just drove to my township office, flashed my drivers license and stepped to the voting booth. Two minutes after I arrived I was ready to leave.

I was already comfortable with my decisions for president, congress, Illinois Statehouse, local offices and referenda. Instead of waiting until Election Day, I figured I could shut out the campaign noise by taking matters into my own hands. What a relief. Now I happily tune out all broadcast drivel and incessant commercials, as well thankfully skip past all print media coverage and angst.

After inserting my ballot in the voting machine I couldn't help but notice that I wasn't alone in this early voting thing: a full two weeks before Election Day, more than 500 of my neighbors voted before me.

So I Did It ...

Today I launched my blog. Big deal, huh? So I'm now one-in-a-bajillion.

Well, after years of helping clients and others figure out ways to create and maximize a web presence I'll no longer treat myself like the cobbler's child.

View from the Marsh will be a forum {most of the time} for practical communications, PR, branding and marketing ideas. I'll share my own ideas, and I'll shamelessly rip-off great ideas from others. Poke me in the ribs when I fail to give credit, okay?

This space also will be a bully pulpit {some of the time}. I'll rant on the things that bug me, but more often I hope to share stuff I think needs sharing.

We'll see where this goes, and I'll always encourage feedback, support, analysis and criticism.

Thanks, and see you soon!