Not a single photographer showed up to capture moment. And we were pleased as punch!

Not a single newspaper knew about event. And we received front page coverage in every one!

You can make front page news by keeping media away. But how did we do it? Here is media relations plan we used:

BACKGROUND: A few years ago, I was working for a politician. In fact, he was a Canadian Member of Parliament (MP). That was about time that Canada Post decided not to deliver mail to homes in new developments. Instead, new homeowners had to pick up their mail at community "superboxes" near end of their streets. After laying down big bucks for fancy new homes, people expected same door-to-door service they were used to, and my MP took heat . . . even though Canada Post was an arms-length organization of government.

GOAL: Our goal was to demonstrate that my MP cared, that he was on their side, that he was doing everything he could to help them.

IDEA: One of complaints new residents had was that they were not receiving their junk mail (Go figure!), including weekly grocery specials and, by coincidence, my MP's mailing to constituents. This gave me an idea. Why not send my MP door to door to deliver his bulletin, explaining how he, too, was frustrated that Canada Post would not deliver his bulletin to them.

CHALLENGE NUMBER ONE: But what about majority of people who would not be home to see how my MP shared their gripes? We needed media coverage, so that everyone would read about it in their local newspaper.

CHALLENGE NUMBER TWO: This is a juicy story for reporters. Imagine headlines: "Resident sock it to MP". Imagine photos of angry residents waving their fists in rage against Canada Post. My MP would not look good one bit. The media had to stay away. But how would we get media coverage?

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Summary: You're a small business, or a microbiz. Do you need a brand? Yes you do, and it's easy to create, because your brand is YOU.

Category: Small Business, Marketing

Words: 800

Your Online Brand Is YOU

Copyright © 2003 by Angela Booth

You've decided to make leap. You're going to start selling your products and services online. You're excited. Wow! Millions of people will be able to buy from you.

Let's see --- what will you need to do first? Yep. You'll need to create your own Web site.

Two or three months later, your Web site is complete. You're thrilled. It's exactly what you wanted, your own storefront online. You get to work and do everything you're advised to do: you send out news releases and submit your site to all search engines. You promote your URL on everything from your business stationery to side of your car.

Six months after that, you're starting to see a trickle of traffic, but it's hardly flood you imagined it would be, and you lose heart and interest. The Internet, you decide, is a sham, a haven for sp*mmers and assorted lunatics. You vow that you’re staying with safe and comfy offline world, and you vow never to be taken in again.

What did you do wrong?

Oddly enough, you did nothing wrong. You did everything right --- BUT what about branding?

In real world you create your brand without too much effort. People judge you by your physical presence: by your office, your clothes, your stationery, your advertising and your voice on phone. In virtual world, you lose all those valuable cues which tell people how to pigeonhole you. You must replace them with something.

Offline, your brand is you. It's you online, too. However, it takes more effort to create. You need to create an online persona and a Unique Selling Point. A tagline, or motto, is also helpful.

Important: There is no way you can do this stuff wrong. You just need to do it. If your goals change at some time in future, not a problem -- just change your online persona, your USP and your tagline. Then hey presto chango, a whole new you/ brand.