“Just Win Baby, Just Win”
Posted on July 2, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
- Aristotle
In 1977 Ed DeBartolo Jr., 33, took over ownership of the San Francisco 49ers. The young entrepreneur inherited a franchise on the down spin. His first three years the 49ers combined record was a sub-par 9 - 37. DeBartolo’s response, “just win baby, just win.” DeBartolo pampered his players with an $11,000,000 training facility, arguably the nicest in the NFL. Among other luxuries, DeBartolo gave his players their own rooms on game nights. He would send his players’ wives $500 gift certificates on Christmas. He insisted on extra large jets for his players. His players revered DeBartolo as the most benevolent owner in the NFL. In 1980 his players responded with a slightly improved season, 6 - 10.
In 1981 the 49ers went 13-3 and won the first Super Bowl of the DeBartolo era. In 22 seasons DeBartolo won 5 Super Bowl Championships. DeBartolo is widely renowned for being, the “players’ owner.”
Becky Carroll, author of Taking Care of the People Who Matter Most says, “Think about it: most products and services can easily become commoditized, but competitors cannot duplicate the relationship an organization’s employees have with its customers.”
Recently, I was having breakfast with a politician who graciously takes time from his schedule to share knowledge with me. In our conversation I asked him, “how do you know what relationships are important?” His response was simple…“all of them!”
When you define life in the context of human relationships, you and your business will be successful.
Backyard Olympics: June 28th, 2008. Charlotte, N.C.
Posted on June 18, 2008 - Filed Under Networking, Public Relations, Uncategorized
Steve Giannetto is a fashion designer that I’ve respected for several years. His t-shirts incorporate his distinctive personality and lifestyle; it’s his art. He is also a great friend and a supporter of Silver Bridge Consulting. He was asked to design the t-shirt for a fundraiser / Backyard Olympics event in Charlotte. I love the design and I wanted to share it with you. I believe there are a few extra shirts that are available for sale; email me if you would like to support the event and purchase a t-shirt and I’ll see what I can do.
I will be adding a video to youtube showing the different events after the BYO ‘08…stay tuned.
My vote for best ad campaign of the ’00s
Posted on June 18, 2008 - Filed Under Rob's Musings
Hi everyone, Rob here. I’m mostly silent around here but I figured while I’m working on my treatise on hard work I’d post something quick to let everyone know I’m still alive. Something occured to me recently on the subject of well thought out and implemented marketing campaigns. Arguably the Got milk? campaign of the 90s and the Where’s the Beef campaign of the 80s are some of the best standouts from their decades. Ten and twenty years after they aired they still hold relevance and stand up as solid marketing.
It made me wonder what I’ve seen this decade that really stands out for being well thought out and cleverly implicated. The one that comes to mind isn’ t one that might necessarily come immediately to mind but I think there are reasons for that which I will mention later. So that said, my vote for best ad campaign for this decade is . . .
Enzyte. 
Yes, the male enhancement pill company whose founder was found guilty for fraud. Why would I choose this campaign? I think the answer to that may lie in its industry’s other campaigns. On the whole, ad campaigns for products improving ones sex life run the gamut from sad (Bob Dole for Viagra), bland (all the other Viagra commercials), or sleazy (every other male enhancement product). The Enzyte campaign went for a totally different approach: make it fun. They took a 50s style of filming, an Andy Griffith like jingle, a VERY friendly face, and some good ol boy tongue-in-cheek double entendre’s and made something that was up to that point a very seedy venture with celebrities like Ron Jeremy hawking the compeitor products. You never saw one of those commercials until 1AM. The Enzyte campaign brought the product out of the shadows and made it fun and almost family friendly. I doubt anyone under 12 would even understand the intent of the ads.
So there it is, Enzyte wins my ad campaign of the decade award. But thats just my opinion. What campaign sticks out in your mind as campaign of this decade? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for reading!
rob.
Customer Service
Posted on June 18, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
Interesting thoughts from Zach:
“It is demonstrable that things cannot be otherwise than they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end.” Voltaire, (1759). Candide.
The nose is formed for glasses; therefore we wear glasses. The feet are visibly designed for shoes; accordingly we wear the best shoes money can buy. Motivated customers are nuisances; therefore we have designed answering services accompanied by automated e-mail addresses where customers can vent.
Today I [Zach] had to hash out a discrepancy I found in my phone bill and I was looking to upgrade my service. The catch was that I wanted to speak to an actual human who could intelligently answer a few questions for me before I decided to give them more money. This was not an easy task at 10:00 am on a standard business day. Frustrated for being on hold and listening to the same ridiculous music for twenty long minutes, I gave up and paid my bill on-line like an obedient customer and decided not to upgrade my service.
Seth Godin will tell you that your business’s call center or the folks in charge of handling your mail and e-mail aren’t just there to solve a problem. Correspondence with prospective customers is not a problem; it’s an opportunity. Yes, it will cost you time, energy, and money but it is absolutely necessary.
P.S. Unfortunately for everyone else, we at Silver Bridge Consulting have built our entire organization around the relationship we have built with customers.
Timing and Public Relations
Posted on June 11, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
Timing and Public Relations:
Great publicist or those of us who aspire to be great understand a few key agents in creating powerful public relations and timing is one of those agents.
Tim Donaghy was a NBA referrer for 13 seasons, from 1994 - 2007.
In July of ‘07 Donaghy resigned from the NBA amidst a FBI investigation regarding Donaghy fixing and gambling on NBA games that he officiated. Allegedly affecting the point spread and the outcome of those games.
In August of ‘07 he plead guilty to two of the federal charges.
In September of ‘07 his wife, Kimberly filed for divorce, citing their marriage is “irretrievably broken.” She sought custody of their four children, alimony, and the majority of their assets. The Philadelphia Inquirer, 200-09-08.
In June of ‘08 the NBA demand that Donaghy pay $1,000,000 in restitution.
And so begins a PR nightmare:
Donaghy has lost his family, career, and I am going to guess most of his money. In response to the NBA’s latest move a severely wounded, desperate and disgraced Donaghy along with his lawyer publicly filed court papers on Tuesday that discussed how multiple referees had manipulated two playoff series. One between the Lakers and Kings in 2002 and the other in 2005 between the Mavericks and Rockets.
On Wednesday radio and TV shows, sports pages and blogs across the country discussed these damaging assertions. Donaghy and his lawyer methodically picked their spot to make some noise, hours before game three of the NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics. This epic rivalry has taken a distant back seat to these controversial allegations.
Unfortunately for the NBA this latest incident will cost the league much more than a million dollars; in the minds of many the NBA will forever be tainted. Almost two decades after Pete Rose was banned from baseball he still more remembered for being a cheater, than for being a great hitter.
The quick PR fix:
When the Federal Government came to the NBA, specifically Commissioner David Stern and asked what he would like to seek in restitution damages. Maybe he should not have responded with a million bucks. Perhaps a more PR savvy answer would have been: This dirty money is beneath us. We will respectfully decline this opportunity. We are looking forward to further restoring the integrity of this great game.
I really would like to appropriately sight all of my sources but it was a busy day so this is what I’ll tell you; I listened to Mike and Mike, Jim Rome and I watched ESPN.
Who influences what???
Posted on June 10, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
I have several marketing professionals that I admire but two of them are more famous than the others: Malcolm Gladwell and Seth Godin (See their pictures below).
So, today I received a text message and an email, both inquired as to whether I had finally cut my “fro.” Well, I haven’t. But I thought it was interesting that I either cut my hair really, really short or I let it grow out to the point that it is referred to as a “fro.” And I was wondering what causes this…
Post Script: I thought this was entertaining. I am going to write more on influence later this week.
In other late breaking news…
Posted on June 5, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
So an actor who will remain nameless may have committed verbally to a movie that Silver Bridge Consulting is working with. This is exciting news and we are flattered that this local filmmaker and his team have selected SBC to handle public relations and the role of executive producer. More to follow in late July and early August.
Silver Bridge Consulting & 2112.tv
Posted on June 4, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
Silver Bridge Consulting is pleased to announce its newest client, 2112, pronounced twenty-one-twelve. 2112 is an inovative clothing company the merges a fantastically unique style of art with a trendy and comfortable apparel.
The two individuals that started this company are tremendously ambitious and have an excellent work ethic and vision. SBC is extremely pleased to be working with Derek and Austin.
Mark Potter’s Guide to Life: Part II
Posted on June 4, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
7. Sometimes the best answer is no answer.
8. Authority isn’t given, it’s assumed.
9. Do not big league a big leaguer.
10. Smile: It drastically improves your looks and attitude.
11. Doing the right thing can only make you look good.
12. Above all else, be cool.
Thanks for all of the comments on Part I.
June Book of the Month: Groundswell
Posted on June 1, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
Silver Bridge Consulting now has a book club. This months book, Groundswell. I want to make one very BIG point: this is NOT a book about social technologies; this is a book about relationships and social technologies.
This book is very interesting, very insightful and I am looking forward to reading your comments and learning with you.
