Strategic Lee Speaks

Well we have made it through another intense tradeshow season. And now it is time to take stock of some of the lessons learned. Going to 4 tradeshows in 4 weeks, with completely different PR roles at each show, has been an intense PR 101 refresher. A couple of things that I couldn't have done without:

We happen to do a lot of work with international clients as well as clients across the country. And they are always surprised by the Valley culture - how we really live and breath technology here. Our language, our sense of humor, our clothes, everything reflects tech. And there is an energy or feeling that everything is happening instantly. We seem to be on the cutting edge of everything - including walking, eating, socializing and playing video games. As one client put it, "Its like you live on your own planet." And we do.

In case you hadn't noticed Europe is on fire with technology shows and conferences. Future of Web Apps in London last week was reportedly a great scene. Here are the few worth attending and demonstrating at:

DEMO Germany - October 15th
Web 2.0 Expo Berlin - November 5
Le Web 3 - Dec 11

oh and don't forget Web 2.0 Tokyo - November 15th!

My clients complain about this all the time so I am going to just come out and say it...Whether you are at a meetup, at one of the DEMO conferences or speaking with the media in the hallway, you need to be able to talk about your business in six minutes. If you can't do that, you have lost the attention of your audience and you may not get it back - ever.

I gotta tell ya. I find myself repeating this over and over again. The term "news" actually means new. Not the same product features your competition launched last qtr. Or the thing you announced at a tradeshow 3 weeks ago but now it’s actually available. When you are pitching a story to your most important journalist sit down and think, "What is new about this story?" If there isn't anything new - it may not be for the papers. This doesn't mean that you don't update your clients, give the sales teams collateral or even put a release on the wire. It just means that you should pick and choose the times you reach out to journalists and make sure your news is really new.

I have met several companies in the last few months that are building technology consortium. It has been an interesting process for all of them. Each company has been in completely different market spaces. Bringing companies together for a common good can have successes and failures. Here are a few keys takeaways:

I may need to recount this but the other day I noticed that CNN reported there are less than 90 days left in the year. The I did the math and realized that there are less than 46 working days (subtracting holidays and weekends) until the new year! I am dizzy with panic! What is your company focused on? Closing deals, budgeting for the New Year or launching new product? Have you done your end of the year PR checklist? Do you know what you launch schedule is for Q1 and Q2? Here is a list of things I am working on for clients in order to button up the year and jump start the next:

We all know - some people have the gift of gab and some folks just don't. This is just a quick plug for media training. It is essential that everyone in the organization go through the media training process. Not only does it force a company to develop and deliver a single coherent message, but media training often helps you find out which colleagues should not be spokespeople. And you never know - you may find your best spokesperson on the engineering team - It could happen!

While it is important to have several people media trained not everyone is comfortable with the job. Sometimes, even the CEO isn't up to the challenge. And while it is essential for senior staff to learn, they may need to be paired with someone who is more comfortable in front of an audience. Net Net, train a lot, train often and be prepared to tell even the most senior people they either need more training or might not be the best for media events.

So you had a successful technology launch. You were in TechCrunch and GigaOm and ComputerWorld. Even the Wall Street Journal covered you. And while the buzz was great and your still high fiving the PR team, the customer calls are not rolling in. So now what?

It’s time to move into the ongoing phase of PR. This is the phase where a good, creative PR team helps you connect with buyers on a regular basis. In between the big customer wins and product launches.