We’ve previously posted about the upcoming Institute of Management Consultants USA 2016 Consulting Conference in Washington, D.C.   PR/PR Public Relations is a Silver Sponsor, will be exhibiting, and I will be a part of a panel discussion on “Growing Your Business” moderated by Marc LeBlanc on Saturday afternoon.

There’s another great opportunity that weekend in DC, and you don’t (necessarily) have to be a consultant to attend.

Henry DeVries and Mark LeBlanc, two best-selling authors, are hosting the Marketing With A Book And Speech Summit on Friday, October 21, in the Washington Marriott at Metro Center (coincidently, the same hotel at the IMC USA conference referenced above).

If you want to attract high-paying clients with books and speeches, there are a few seats still available.  There is no cost to attend this invitation only event. There will be no selling of services.  I’ve attend them before here in Orlando, and they mean it – there is no selling of services.  How nice is that?!

They merely want to help you understand the secrets in the preparation, publication, and promotion of a book that grows your business, puts more money in your pocket, and helps you make the difference that you were meant to make. Henry’s and Mark’s philosophy is the book is the starting line, not the finish line.

Why not come in a day early, stay, and make a weekend of it?  I know I will!

Old industry adapting to new platforms and methods of delivery—it’s a topic that’s constantly circulating in the news. Way, way back I wrote about Netflix targeting cable providers with exclusive content. Last week I pondered the impact of the NFL and Twitter’s agreement to begin streaming Thursday Night Football in 2016.

Notice a trend?

This week, the focus is on the movie theatre, and specifically, how cost-ineffective it is to go see a movie these days. Unless you plan on catching The Jungle Book with the breakfast crowd this Friday, you’re going to be shelling out near twenty-bucks just to walk through the door. Addicted to sugar like me? Toss another eight dollars on top of your ticket price for Sour Patch Kids and an obnoxiously large soda.

You’re now nearly $30 in the hole to see yet another Hollywood remake. With the deluge of pirating films—which has shown absolutely no signs of decline—the film industry is yet another industry exploring new ways to adapt to the changing of the times.

Enter Screening Room.

Screening Room is a new app/digital box that allows you to view day-of releases from the privacy of your own home. Another innovation from Napster founder-turned-Facebook consigliere-turned Spotify sage-Sean Parker, Screening Room’s set-top box hardware will populate with all of the newest movies. No more screaming babies, no more cell phones going off, no more shelling out a king’s ransom for candy.

There’s always a catch, however. Screening Room requires the purchase of its hardware along with the app, and once installed, each individual film viewing will cost you $50 for a 48-hour rental. Couples with kids can save on sitters and the cost of heading to the theatre, a family of four can enjoy a film from their own couch, or a group of friends can pool cash for a group movie night.

It’s another sign of technology keeping up with the market’s shifting winds.

So what say you? Would you pony-up for Screening Room?

As the presidential campaigns heat up, and more candidates are worming out of the woodwork, it’s interesting to see what’s going on behind the scenes as well. Who’s now working for whom, that used to work for whatshisname? They always say that politics makes strange bedfellow and that loyalty is only as good as your last campaign.

That’s what sticks with me: loyalty. I’m blessed to have witnessed it in several forms since taking ownership of PR/PR more than four years ago.

First of all, from my staff. Gen Y has a reputation of not being loyal. From the three, very talented, Gen Y agents I’ve employed, I can tell you this is pure bunk! Amanda was with the agency for more than five years, a Gen Y myth-breaking record for her first job out of college. Lindsay is approaching her five year anniversary this summer, and Carter is right behind her with four. I’m so proud of these “kids” (if that doesn’t make me sound older than I feel), with their energy and creativity and am grateful for them sticking with me.

The second loyalty I’m blessed with is from clients, both current and former. In the past five months we’ve had three former clients return to us. They all left for one reason or another, but they have all recently returned saying they received a benefit from our services and saw a decline after they left. This makes me proud that the work we do, the services we offer, can help people achieve their goals and build their business.

Of course, loyalty needs to be returned. A standing policy of PR/PR is to never raise rates on currently clients. We also say, ”once a client, always a client,“ in that even if a client has moved on we continue to respond to requests from editors for their articles, as well as send that client links and hard copies of placements and posts in perpetuity.

As campaign managers and fundraisers jump ship more quickly than a rat leaving a sinking ship, it will be interesting to see where their loyalties lay, if at all.

– Russell

I love this story.

It reminds me of two times in my life.  Well, that is to say, it reminds me of one story about my life and another I do remember.

Family lore has it that once, when I was a toddler, my parents tried to take me with them out to dinner.  Apparently, I was so fussy my parents ended up taking me out to the car rather than cause a ruckus in the dining room.  The story has it that a gentleman at the next table offered to pay for my parents meal as a reward for being good parents and not putting the rest of the guests through a miserable evening.

The event I do remember, because of the mother’s reaction, was one time I was out to brunch and was headed into the men’s room, when two young boys, maybe 10 – 12, followed me in.  As we all left together, I followed them to their table and asked the woman seated there if they were her children.  She looked terrified and said, “Yes?” I told her what polite gentlemen they were, how well behaved they were, and how they’d washed their hands and put the paper towel in the wastebasket.  Their mother sighed relief and thanked me.  I had, accidently, frightened her by coming up to her, but she truly appreciated hearing that what she’d taught the boys had stuck.

I’ve always believed in rewarding the positive.  If you see behavior you like, say something, and more than likely it will be repeated.  This is a habit that can be used in business and your personal life.

It’s always a good idea to speak up in a respectful way, whether good or bad.  If you’re speaking up about bad behavior, you can change things; if you’re speaking up about something good, you positively reinforce doing that good again.

– Russell

At a recent National Speakers’ Association event I was told by the wife of a client how much she enjoyed PR/PR’s newsletter.  It blew me away that she was even aware of it, let alone read it for the publicity tips she could use in her business (she is not a professional speaker or business consultant).
 
Even more recently, while speaking with another agent’s client he referenced Carter’s current trip to Europe.  Even though I hadn’t had the occasion to tell him about it, he said he’d read it on our blog.
 
Both of these events have recently cemented in me how important it is to practice what we preach.  I’m always on the pulpit about frequency and repetition, not expecting to build a business off a one-hit-wonder.  I also often sermonize about offering content, not self-promoting, but, to use a colloquialism, “if you give away a teaspoon, they’ll buy the bottle.”
 
It also reminds me of learning to play golf.  When a childhood friend’s dad used to take us to the club with him every Wednesday during the summer, we’d play best-ball against him and he’d still always win.  However, every once in a while, a tee shot would go straight down the fairway and stick a landing on the green.  That’s the shot, he’d say, that will bring you back next week.
 
Putting out a newsletter and posting a blog is like that golf lesson.  You never know who’s reading it when, but on the occasion someone comments about it, that’s what will get you to post again.

— Russell