Free PR Tip of the Week: Silence is Golden

In the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, I’d like to give you a piece of public relations advice: shhhh.

It’s a natural inclination to try to fill silence, to defend ourselves against detractors, to make things right when we’ve done wrong … and generally say anything that pops into our head to fill an awkward lull in the conversation.

It’s an old reporter’s trick – they ask a question, the interviewee answers, and the reporter continues to look at them expectantly. Pay attention to what happens … the uninformed start jabbering because they cannot stand the silence. The smart ones just look back and keep their lips zipped.

So practice keeping your mouth shut. I find a great way to do this is to ask your kids a question, then just keep looking at them after they answer. Stare long enough and they’ll admit to stealing toys from Santa just to get you to stop looking at them.

Tiger, if you’re listening, decline the interviews. Quit making statements. Stay home and turn off your ringer. Trust me, someone else will do something stupid and the headlines will shift.

You, Too.

I was in ninth grade when U2’s The Joshua Tree was released, and while they’d released a few albums before The Joshua Tree (and given a phenomenal performance for the Live Aid concert), this was the one that launched them into the stratosphere in the United States.

And here they are, not only still chugging along, but selling out huge arenas during every leg of their last concert tour. All over the world. I was lucky enough to see their last tour thanks to some kind friends with a corporate skybox at Phillips Arena and believe me, it was one amazing show (worth every penny I didn’t actually have to pay.) I’ll be happy to pay top-dollar for their upcoming tour to promote their new album No Line on the Horizon. Which begs the question –

How does U2 stay relevant after 30 years?

I have a couple of theories – and one of them is they use marketing to their utmost advantage. I think we could all take a page out of their book (or liner notes, so to speak):

If you’re launching a new product, be everywhere. Just last week, U2 played five nights in a row on the David Letterman Show, performed on Good Morning America, is playing a “secret” show in Boston March 11, and has been featured in countless magazines (Rolling Stone and People, to name a couple.) As of today, U2 is on track to have its seventh number one album on the Billboard 200 charts, and NLOTH debuted at number one on the London charts, where they launched a similar publicity blitz.

Be relevant – and attract new audiences. The Good Morning America appearance took place at Fordham University. I am sure a majority of the students at the concert weren’t even born when The Joshua Tree was released. U2’s live performance introduced a whole new audience (and age demographic) to their music, but they couldn’t have done that without making sure their music would connect with that age group. My guess is there’s not a kid at Fordham who hasn’t downloaded the album.

Get out of your comfort zone – U2 has been playing stadium-size concert venues for 20 years now, but even they still get a case of the nerves. Last week, Letterman had them read the Top 10 List for the evening, and a couple of the guys were visibly nervous. Interesting, isn’t it – play in front of 20,000 screaming fans? No problem. Read a list in front of a small studio audience? Not so much. They did a great job, and reinforced their reputation as genuinely nice guys.

Produce a great product, every single time – this is the key. If the band didn’t produce great music, they’d be on an episode of VH1’s One-Hit Wonders. Except for a couple of slips in the mid-to-late 90s, their albums are critic and fan favorites alike …. the music is great because U2 sets the bar high and exceeds expectations.

Ask yourself how you can borrow a few of these marketing ideas from one of the greatest bands in the world – and make your product or service stand out. You might not land on GMA or Dave, but even a small-time publicity blitz can pay big-time dividends.

A Gap in (Advertising) Time

A few weeks back I read an article about the Gap eliminating its television advertising for the remaining months of 2008, and their plan to shift to “traditional and non-traditional” marketing tactics.

I will miss the Gap ads this holiday season. Remember the ones from a few years back where the models danced choreographed dances to festive holiday music? I loved those, and bought a few sweaters and pairs of mittens because of those catchy commercials.

So why the sudden turn from traditional advertising? The answer is simple: it is expensive to run television advertising consistently enough to reach your target audience effectively. Really, really expensive when you factor in paying an advertising agency to concept the commercial, make the commercial (and all that entails, from paying the models, stylists and photographers to scouting and paying for locations), to paying for the “spot” – the actual advertising air to run the ad during The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and Grey’s Anatomy -- and any other show the Gap’s research reports its target market is watching.

So exactly what does “traditional and non-traditional” marketing tactics mean? Most likely they will be launching a full-scale publicity campaign, complete with publicity events with high-profile celebrities, giveaways -- and I’m keeping my eyes peeled towards the Oprah’s Favorite Things show. Whether or not they actual land one of those coveted spots remains to be seen, but they’re good marketers over at the Gap. And the smart marketers are pitching (and have been since July) their little hearts out to Ms. Winfrey’s producers.

While I’ll miss those fun commercials, I’m glad for the reminder for all of us small business owners. What reminder? That a giant advertising campaign isn’t necessary to launch an effective marketing campaign. And while smaller businesses are unlikely to hook a big-name celebrity to promote our products in the press, a few news releases can go a really long way toward building your brand in your community.

Let’s all stay tuned on who has the best holiday commercials this holiday season (my money is on Target. You?)

Happy Holiday Marketing!