Recently, I was asked, “how would you define the word “newsworthy?” Pardon the rather academic response, but it’s dead right.

News Elements
What makes your story newsworthy? Check all elements that apply to your individual announcement. Good news stories have more than one of these elements.

Just the facts, ma’m.
- Who?
- What?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
- How?

MAJORITY BELIEVE ELECTRONIC MEDICAL RECORDS COULD ASSIST IN IMPROVING PATIENT CARE 
 
A new Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Healthcare Poll finds that onlyone-third (33%) of U.S. adults are very confident in their physicians and other healthcareproviders having a complete and accurate picture of their medical history. However, thisconfidence increases to half (50%) for those who have an electronic medical record.About one-fourth (26%) of adults say they use some form of electronic medical record,mainly one kept by their physician.  Katherine Binns, Division President for Healthcare Research at Harris Interactive,comments, “There has been more and more talk lately about electronic medical records -from inclusion in Presidential frontrunners’ healthcare reform plans to Microsoftannouncing a consumer website to store and share health information. Insurancecompanies and employers are also jumping on this bandwagon. It is estimated that eachyear billions of dollars are spent on redundant tests, and that many otherwise avoidableinjuries are caused by medical reporting errors. And it is assumed that much of this couldbe eliminated with online health systems that communicate with each other.” One key concept is that patients would have control over an Internet-based medicalrecord and they would decide with whom and when to share that information. But, aswhen banking or shopping first went online, there have been issues of privacy concernsregarding healthcare data as well. As things become more common though, theseconcerns tend to wane, evidenced by a 10-point drop this year (from 61% in 2006 to51%) in those who say electronic records make it difficult to ensure privacy. When itcomes to other online medical services, three-fourths of adults feel that patients shouldbe able to schedule an appointment with their physician via email or the Internet (77%)and communicate with their physician via email (75%). These online applications are bigfirst steps in overcoming privacy concerns. More adults (60%) feel that the benefits outweigh the privacy risks than those who do not(40%). Majorities agree that electronic medical records could reduce healthcare costs(55%), decrease medical errors (63%), and reduce redundant tests (67%) – similar to2006 results. Even more (74%) believe that patients could receive better care if doctorsand researchers were able to share information more easily. However, about one-quarterof adults are just not sure that electronic medical records could provide any of thesebenefits, indicating a need for continued talk about this matter. Source: Survey conducted by Harris Interactive for The Wall Street Journal Online’sHealth Industry Edition, December 5, 2007. Website: www.harrisinteractive.com.28

For many years, consumers born between 1967 and 1977 have been labeled Gen Xers and prided themselves on being independent from corporate America and obvious marketing ploys. In return, marketers tended to target this group with a single strategy. Research by Proximity Worldwide suggests that marketers could have more success if they position messages to appeal to unique characteristics of subgroups in the Gen-X demographic. Here’s an overview:

• Cruisers – this group loves independence and connects best with ‘specialist’ brands
• Nesters – this group maintains a skepticism about marketing but connects with specific brands such as Ikea and Amazon
• Super-Breeders – this group is family and child-focused and actively seeks out organic , fresh and environmentally friendly products.

As Gen Xers move into their prime earning years, the study is an important reminder not to fashion marketing campaigns solely based on age demographics.

Greenberg, Karl. “Gen X is More Than the Sum of its Parts,” Media Post, 6.17.08

I’ve got an idea for political candidates.

Road signs are common for politicians. They don’t work too well at night. Why not produce these signs so that the signs reflect and have impact in the dark of night? Even better, use ink technology that absorbs the sun’s rays during the day and glows at night. That sounds like the very innovation and “green” ideas that we need from our politicians to me.

I’ve researched this . The ink is actually not reflective or phosfluorescent, but there is a printable reflective vinyl which has an adhesive on the back. It could be laminated to sign faces easily. Reflective vinyls must be overlayed with a laminate as well not only for protection against UV and abrasion but for easily handling when applying. Check out the attached picture. This material is mainly used for police vehicles and other auto graphics, but there’s no reason it couldn’t be applied to a sign face.

A Man Wakes Up…

A man wakes up in the morning after

sleeping on an advertised mattress,

under an advertised blanket,

in advertised pajamas.

He will bathe in an advertised shower,

wash with advertised soap,

shave with an advertised razor,

drink advertised coffee after

his advertised juice and

put on advertised clothes and accessories.

He will ride to work in an advertised car,

sit at an advertised workstation,

utilize an advertised computer and

write with an advertised pen.

Yet this man hesitates to advertise

Saying advertising doesn’t pay.

Finally,  when his unadvertised

business goes under,

he will then advertise it for sale.

It has been many years since our industry has been as bruised and battered as in the recent recession and ongoing financial pinch. The kneejerk response in any economic downturn is to cut budgets. Sadly, the first budget to be axed is all too often that of advertising and marketing. Why this always happens is beyond me. It is also beyond most business experts. Historically speaking, it has been demonstrated time and again that companies that maintain or increase their advertising investments in periods of economic downturn increase their sales and share of market, both during and after the downturn.

In short, when times are good, you should advertise; when times are bad, you must advertise.

Consider these facts:

• Economic downturns hit tentative advertisers hard, while those who market aggressively are rewarded.
• Maintaining a strong advertising presence during a downturn, especially when your competition is cutting the ad budget, automatically increases your market share.
• Maintaining market share is much less expensive than having to rebuild it later. Failure to maintain market share risks current and future sales.
• Forward-looking competitors tend to gain market share against companies who fail to maintain or increase ad budget levels in a downturn.
• Brand recognition is maintained through advertising. Failure to advertise through a downturn can damage brand recognition. Advertising through boom and downturns sustains and builds brand recognition.
• Maintaining a company’s advertising through a downturn reinforces an image of corporate stability in a time of chaos. It also offers the opportunity to dominate the media where competitors have cut budgets.
• Companies should regard advertising during a downturn not as a profit drain, but as a profit boost.
  Further, check out these factoids from Advertising in a Recession, a 68-page pamphlet released by the American Association of Advertising Agencies.
• A study of 127 brands advertised on British TV found the brands that increased ad spending by 7% increased market share by 1.1%; those that reduced ad spending by a similar amount lost an average of 1.6% market share. (1993)
• Chevrolet increased its ad budget in the recession of the mid-1970s, while Ford cut back 14 percent. Chevy’s market share increased by 2 points.
• During the Great Depression, Kellogg brands maintained their advertising budget, while rival Post did not. Kellogg has dominated the dry-cereal market for the ensuing half-century. Consumer spending has traditionally increased during every recession in the post-World War II era. In 1960-61, personal consumer spending rose 0.84% from peak to bottom. In 1974-75, it rose 12.28%; and in 1990-91, it rose 11.04%.*

* American Business Media

So why are so many marketing execs retrenching instead of pushing forward aggressively? Beats the heck out of me. Actually, I understand why so many marketing budgets are the first to go in a downturn — it is because agencies are so poor at demonstrating return on investment. Marketing is often seen as an expenditure of questionable necessity and unverifiable results. If we get better at verifying the results of our efforts, we will be seen less as an expense and more essential to profitability. We need to be as good at the business part of advertising as we are at the creativity part.

Take steps to demonstrate more precisely the value of PR and marketing to your CEO and the board. Learn to measure results by tracking and testing your efforts and reporting to your executives how your work supports the business and raises their bottom line. Get better at identifying measurements that you can actually influence. Sales results and increased profits aren’t always immediately impacted by an ad campaign, so look for other measures of success. And take the above arguments to the CEO and make your case. With strong statistical support in hand, and a “Marketing can benefit our business” attitude, you can persuade your CEO to fight the good fight. Together you will emerge the stronger for your efforts when the economic pendulum swings in a new direction.

Casey Jones is new to our agency team. If you haven’t taken the opportunity to meet Casey, you should. We’ve found him to be smart, hard working and an all around nice guy. We are lucky to have him on our agency team. His ideas and his efforts are going to pay big dividends for our agency and our outstanding clients. Thank you, Casey, for all you do!