PR 101

I don’t watch a lot of late night television. Like most people in my generation, I watched Johnny Carson now and then. However, I was more into the “Midnight Special” and “Saturday Night Live” when it was good. Now, if I watch anything past 10:30 p.m., it is either Nightline, Letterman or once in a great while, Craig Ferguson.

Jay Leno

None of those shows are essential viewing for me. So maybe that’s why I don’t understand all this brouhaha over Jay Leno forcing Conan O’Brien off the air. I mean, come on, these are two people who make their living by helping celebrities plug their latest project. Neither man is one-tenth the interviewer Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley are.  They never, ever tackle a controversial subject. What’s the big deal?

Conan O'Brien

It is not as if one of them had their research grant pulled just as they were about to cure cancer. Or, they served in Iraq or Afghanistan. They are comedians, for goodness sakes.

Heck, I remember a Leno-hosted  “Tonight” show when far right pundit Ann Coulter was on. The other guest was the late left-wing comedian George Carlin. Now, this could have been great television. Coulter and Carlin could have verbally slugged it out. Instead, Leno asked Coulter a bunch vapid questions while Carlin said quietly on the couch. It was just boring.

O’Brien can be very funny. When I worked nights as a reporter, I used to wind down watching O’Brien on “Late Night.” He came on at 11:30 p.m. in the Midwest. I later the discovered I could do the same reading a good book. But you know what – I miss Tom Snyder on the Tomorrow Show. Now there was a great interviewer. Sadly, I don’t think most people today would appreciate Snyder.

Okay, so from a public relations standpoint, NBC really messed up

Yeah, I know NBC messed up the transition. How they handled the switch should be taught in public relations and marketing classes as the way not to do something. Or, conversely, if the goal is to generate tons of negative publicity, handle it the way the people at 30 Rockefeller Center did.

Still, I still don’t get what all the fuss is about.

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I had a lot of comments on my last rant about the Microsoft commercials. Apparently what I missed was that two individuals were fantasizing about what they thought they looked liked when they came up with Windows 7. What can I say; I rarely give Microsoft points for subtly. But, I apparently I didn’t get the joke – which might say something about the ad’s effectiveness.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw what can happen when employees buy into a company’s overall marketing plan. I also saw what happens when a company representative ignores what a company should be doing. In the first case, I will recommend the company to my friends and to you. In the second, I will never talk about them, never endorse them, and if asked, will tell people what I think.

Case One – The Good Guys

The first case involves clothier Lands’ End. I buy a lot of my clothes from them. They are a Wisconsin-based company (albeit now owned by Sears.) I try to shop local whenever I can. But, that doesn’t mean I will forsake quality just because something is made in my home state. Lands’ End makes quality clothing.

(Note to FTC: I have not received any form of payment from Lands’ End. I doubt they even read my blog.)

At any rate, a few months ago I bought a pair of blue jeans from the Dodgeville, Wis. – based company. I wear jeans a lot. If I am working in the office all day, I wear jeans. When I am doing a repair project at home, or working outside, I wear jeans. I expect them to be comfortable and to last for a couple of years.

While the Lands’ jeans were comfortable, they started showing signs of wear with a few weeks. When a hole appeared where I sit, I went to return them to a local Lands’ End store. I had not saved the receipt.

The people in the store could have not been nicer. They looked at the jeans, checked the computer to find my account, and took the pants back no questions asked. The manager credited my credit card for the money I had spent.

What that manager did was ensure I will buy Lands’ End products for a long time. Among the other things it does, Lands’ End promises superior customer service. I am sure it is written into their business and marketing plans. More importantly, I am sure the expectation to provide that kind of service is communicated to the company’s employees.

That’s key to a company’s ethos. It isn’t enough to have a great marketing plan. Employees have to buy into it.

Now, for the other side

Both my children are getting married this year. My son and daughter are marrying wonderful people whom I really like

Since my wife and I parents of the bride in my daughter’s case, we are responsible for handling a lot of the arrangements. One of the key things we are doing is hiring a caterer. I suggested ordering 50 or so pizzas, but no one went for my idea.

Actually, my wife is handling most of the arrangements. She is smarter than I am and much better at this kind of thing.

So, she started contacting caterers. Milwaukee is a large city and we had a lot to choose from. One thing I should note is that my daughter is a vegetarian. When my wife contacted a number of caterers, she specified there had to be a vegetarian option. My wife also did her homework. She contacted friends and some food suppliers to ask which catering companies were best.

After narrowing the list down to two finalists. She emailed them both and asked for information. One responded quickly and provided all of the information requested. We were impressed. The other, frankly, took its time.

When the second caterer responded, they did not include a vegetarian option with their menu. Now, my wife is a very nice person. She patiently explained to the second caterer they did not provide the requested information. We got a nasty response that claimed the information was never requested. Wrong, we have the emails. My wife suggested they be more careful next time.

The reply my wife received read as follows: “THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUGGESTION.” Yes, it was in caps. That means the person was shouting.

I am not naming the caterer because it is not going to mean anything to most of you. And, I still want to give the company the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this person is not representative of the organization. I would not want to sully the entire company because of one idiot.

That being said, if anyone asks my wife or I what we think of this company, we are going to relate the above story. Would you want to hire them after hearing it?

The Moral

Now this caterer might have great business and marketing plans in place. Those plans might call for superior customer service. If they do, it doesn’t matter. Those plans are just so many meaningless words because one employee forgot their job to serve the client.

If you have been reading my blog, you know I am no fan of Microsoft’s marketing. The Redmond, Wash.-based company’s efforts come way too close to the line between truth and fabrication for my taste. Remember the commercials where a “real person,” who turned out to be an actress didn’t really go into an Apple Store, as she claimed.

Oops, they’ve done it again

Well, the company has done it again in the two commercials I have seen for Windows 7. In one, a very tall man named “Jack” claims he had the idea for Windows 7 while in the shower. They show him having his idea in the shower.

However, watch the commercial closely. The guy in the shower is not the same person who says he came up with Windows 7. If “Jack” is a real person, why the body double? Was he too shy to take off his shirt?

The same thing happens in a second commercial. “Steve” tells of having his revelation (complete with Angelic music). But, to me the problem is the “Steve” trimming the bushes when the light bulb is not the same man who is telling the story. Watch the commercial to see for yourself. The gardening one is taller and frankly more buff.

So what’s the big deal?

Why do I care, you ask? Don’t all commercials bend the truth?

Not all of them. In fact, most companies try to be honest. You find out quickly enough if they are or aren’t easily enough. In these days of social media, it is not hard to check claims. Companies who cheat are outed pretty quickly, I have found.

Frankly, given Microsoft’s record with the Apple commercials, I would think they would want to be very careful with their marketing. If they can’t even tell the truth about the people in their commercials, what else isn’t the company not telling us? This is why I am a member of the Apple cult.

I do have to say I like one Microsoft product – Excel. In fact, I love Excel. It is so easy to use and very functional. I also used to use Word because it is so ubiquitous. However, I am now using Google Docs more and more as it is easier to share information.

For almost everything else, I primarily use Apple products. I am writing on MacBook. As I said, I a member of the cult.

So, what do you think?