Using the "Competition" to Your Advantage

So the Washington Business Journal recently started sending out a "Morning Call" email each morning. What's so clever about it that I feel the need to write about it?

Unlike their afternoon email, the WBJ Morning Call doesn't just include WBJ stories. They'll link to big stories from the Washington Post, The Gazette, and other local media. And I find that incredibly smart.

Sure, they're sending some of their readers to these other outlets. But they're also becoming a RESOURCE to their readers. It's what reporters always want us PR folks to be -- a resource that isn't just about touting our own products. So it's nice to see this particular media outlet play by the same rules.

Kudos to the WBJ on some smart marketing!

(Geez, I must be in a good mood at this start to a new year. Two posts this week praising what others are doing.)

Kudos to Clever Tchotchkes... this year, from Fixation Marketing

Let's face it. Any of us who serve clients -- or attend trade shows -- find ourselves facing a huge dilemma on a regular basis: What do I use as as an end-of-year gift, a customer appreciation present, or a trade show giveaway? There are the obvious answers, ones I admit I've used in the past -- the branded pen, the branded memory stick... I remember when branded stress balls were all the rage.

One company I worked for gave away canvas bags at trade shows -- and people loved them! You saw people walking around the rest of the trade show floor stuffing other companies' giveaways inside, which meant great advertising for us, the "little guys" compared to many other vendors. And people would search out our booth every year, asking if we had the bags because they liked them and used them so much.

All that said, this year at the holidays, I received what I think is one of the best end-of-year (beginning of the year?) gifts yet: greeting cards.

Fixation Marketing in Bethesda, Maryland, created a box of greeting cards for unusual holidays -- Groundhog Day, Arbor Day, Daylight Savings, Flag Day... They're cleverly designed. They have cute sayings inside. And I'll definitely use them... and remember Fixation for sending them. (I've included the front of the card for Tax Day -- yes, Tax Day -- to the left. Inside it says, "Set Your Money Free.")

So kudos to Fixation for getting creative and providing me with a giveaway that is: unique, useful, and will earn them attention not just with me, but also with those to whom I send the cards.

So now I want to hear from you. What is the best (or worst) tchotchke that you've received or given away, and why did you like it (or not like it) so much?

If You Build It, Will They Come?

I know many of CCG members are interested in social media, so through my day job -- as Communications Manager at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus -- I've teamed up with Network Solutions to arrange an event in January focusing on just that. Details are below:

Event Title: If You Build It, Will They Come? An exploration of social networks, including what's working now and how to build and nurture a community

When: January 14, 6-8 p.m.

Speakers: Two local bloggers who have achieved Blog Stardom...

• Frank Warren of PostSecret.com
• Rohit Bhargava of http://rohitbhargava.typepad.com/

Hear their story on how they succeeded... What Social Media tools they used for their success... What worked and what didn't... And learn how communities are created.

Where: Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus, 9601 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD. Building 3, Room 121. Building on far right when you enter campus from Medical Center Drive. FREE PARKING.

Find out more about this event or register to attend.

CCG Success Stories

Lest you think CCG is nothing more than a lunchtime social, three recent and/or potential CCG success stories:

1. Through CCG, one member met a "social media" guru who is now coming into her office to train other employees on social media so that her office can start using these tools to reach its goals.
2. Through CCG, another member got her new job. About her experience: "I got this job via networking with someone I met at a CCG event. Maybe not directly, but I had a chance to talk with the hiring person to find out more details, etc., about the job."
3. Through a CCG lunch, communications professionals from two government agencies met and are talking about how they can work together on future projects.

I'm sure there are more stories like this out there. We'd love to hear them.