The CleanPix Blog

At an age when taking a plane or going for a car or bus ride has become a chore, at a time when the security industry has taken every traveler hostage, at a period when climate changes are wreaking havoc with travel plans, the tourism industry is reinventing itself.

Finding the hot button to initiate a new wave of customers is certainly not easy. Quebec City mayor, Labaume, has hired Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, a well-known marketing guru, to carry out a sort of makeover exercise to rediscover the essential “code” of the city. (Dr. Rapaille claims marketing success with his unorthodox methods applied to other large cities, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as to the auto industry and several fortune 500 companies that he names at every turn – thus marketing himself via traditional, repetitive, branding techniques.)

An old obsession resurfaces to the delight of the press
In the Canadian press, we see mixed reviews: some comment on the $300,000 contract with Rapaille, while others are happy to refuel the French-English saga that has always been an easy subject for the press. Rapaille points out that Quebec City’s obsession with French-English relations is a love/hate relationship and, according to him, makes for a very long-lasting “couple”. (He says: “There is pleasure in sadomasochism,” but, as we well know, he also likes to spice up his own image and play to the press.) All that is lots of fun to observe, but the reality is quite desperate. This destination needs reinventing.

The game
Quebec’s population is quickly aging (something that tourism is facing worldwide) and, as a result, the city is in danger of losing its market share as a desirable destination. It is tempting to say that this poking at the French-English, emotional button in the Quebec affair is possibly Rapaille’s way of creating a media buzz, polarizing attention on his notoriously theatrical ways of proceeding (the marketer selling the marketer). But it works. Everyone, or at least the Canadian press, is thrilled with it: “the cost”, “the controversy”, “the flamboyance of Rapaille”, etc., are all superficial snippets, with little to no analysis, reflection, or much attention paid to the fundamentals or to the urgency of the exercise. Nevertheless, the need to reinvent, reaffirm and keep marketing alive is certainly part of the game, and this on all levels, including journalism – a game, I must add, Rapaille plays like no other.

Marketing with a “code”
When we look at the tourism industry across America, it is by and large facing an urgent need to reinvent, to re-launch itself into a quest for the hot tourism button. To re-discover the “code” that would literally move people to travel to a destination. So, I applaud the initiative and the boldness of Quebec’s mayor, and what I find particularly positive is that the exercise is not a superficial undertaking, but, rather, that the intent is really to gain a better understanding of the product’s culture, before launching into yet another marketing campaign. It is a look into the core of this destination. Looking into what it is in contemporary terms, what is its very make-up, its actual product culture. The point is not that this specific exercise or the use of Dr. Rapaille may not be the right way to go, but, rather, that it positions knowledge of product culture squarely as the priority over doing advertising as usual with the risk of a focus that is no longer relevant.

Making a Media PITCH has its rules. 1) Go for the sizzle, 2) Be brief and 3) Pitch the right person are likely the forerunner rules to insure success. Amongst other proven guidelines there are: keep the story fresh and do not be afraid to be out-there. The latter proves to be often the most difficult to conquer. “Is my story too boring? Do I really have to let the media know? It seems such an effort and I am afraid it’s a lot of work and may not pay?” are often the main deterrents or excuses to stall and do nothing.

To get free press coverage you have to PITCH. Others do and the media is starving to hear your take, it is a symbiotic necessity. So let’s get going — it does not have to be a nightmare to undertake. At CleanPix, with the introduction of Pressuite.com, we make the process a breeze, and we offer coaching to the clients who want it. YES, we sometimes help hold the creative pen for a brief moment, but it does not take long before they are well on their way. Those who succeed are consistent and keep at it relentlessly.

To make the task even more productive, we recently added a whole new life to our clients’ sizzling stories published on Pressuite.com by joining Lou Taverna’s Hospitality 1ST Client Network. So now, when a brief is posted on Pressuite by our clients to our 4300+ qualified journalist members, the exposure will take a further leap and be distributed though Lou’s Newsmaker Alert email campaigns (70,000 registered members). We are looking forward to seeing increased success in key media news, as the stories of our clients are picked up by an expanding pool of journalists, travel writers of both print publishing and news blogs.

“CleanPix is so good…” a January 4th 2010 feedback comment from a German journalist user prompted me to write the following:

The spark of an idea.

It seems that every day new gadgets are showing up, new computer tablets, new smartphones, new apps, new toys of trade. They all add up to give us the impression that with these tools come more ease and instant ways to connect with others. But is it so? Some would argue that this connectivity frenzy is setting us back, while others see it as an ever expanding land of opportunities.

Lionel Tiger postulates that Social Media cause users to become conformist, and as I understand it, we are somewhat eroding the path of creativity. He Says: “We have reprimated ourselves“.
Lionel Tiger, Charles Darwin Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers University

Clearly we have the gear, the messengers and the audience, but what appears to elude us is the content. Content often seems like a cluster of darts thrown out there at random, unsure and insecure in direction, intent, target and substance. Opponents of social media tools (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc) call it White Noise. As a result, they are often knocked back by the typical argument: “You don’t get it.” In fact, it is true, and I am one of these that likely do not get it. I suppose I am one of those who do not starve for constant entertainment, nor do I fear to lose contact when I do not look at commercials in the breaks, nor for that matter, if the cell is no longer in “roaming” mode. The need to feed silence with substance is a disease that social media practices exacerbate to no end. I sincerely believe that the SPARK of an Idea, can only happen within a moment of silence, and not allowing space for it is a bad idea.

A fragile thing, “the spark of an idea”, comes with observation and lots of it, a kind of self-reflection, like a mirror one could use to tap in for one’s own creative juices. What does it mean? Can we teach that at school? Unfortunately, we do not teach creativity at school, and ever so rarely in the course of the highest University learning. Nevertheless, creativity is what we especially applaud in the best scientists, politicians, farmers, social workers, doctors and in just plain, ordinary folks. Let’s be clear, in art school we teach mostly about art, not creativity; in advanced marketing and design schools we often talk about “creative” as if it was an ingredient one adds to porridge (I know, I have been a student in some of the top Universities). What we too often teach is how to makes things provoking, how to annoy, how to disturb. We teach, promote and validate through our media broadcasts a culture of shock, we promote the peculiar, the extreme, the terrifying, the disgusting and the disturbing, as opposed to the wise. We all realize that very little of our news is about sparking imagination. This may account for the fact that many of our young adults are becoming bored and disinterested with this output. Perhaps the 101 course on “idea education” could be based in validating an idea’s newsworthiness through its potential to spark imagination as opposed to its entertainment shock value.

I’ve got an idea. If what you have to offer is blue sky, say it, if it is powder snow, say it, and if it is white sand and a beach ball, say it. Say it simply with real emotion as if you were offering it, fresh out of the box yet again… that will always work. Do this TODAY… and tomorrow repeat it anew, with the same vigor and freshness— that is what branding is all about.

It is holiday time and I was thinking of pudding. You know figgy pudding. I have never had any but some how I started to think of the term the proof is in the pudding. I have no pudding today but I  have had some recent conversations with some of our clients about their PressBriefs. I thought I would share them with you and their recipe for PressBrief success. (for the Post Hotel Chrismas Pudding … see below.)

Here are the main ingredients they use in their PressBriefs:

1. Be Brief  (Pinch of This) I mean just a sentence or two.

2. Sell the Media to be interested in the story. (Use Sizzle) The media will write the story not you.

3. Variety in your PressBriefs Culture, Environment, Events. And, it is ok to have a few that are longer in length. That said a PressBrief, is a media PITCH,  it is not a press-release that you have to labor over for hours and let steam over several pages.  ( Think of your Brief as a deligthfull and appetizing Hors-D’oeuvres.)

4. Taste test what you are doing. Look at the reporting and see what is getting the views. Taylor your Pressbriefs to their taste.

5. Link your PressBriefs to the story Ideas page on your website.

6. Refrain from using PressBriefs for postings of a full or partial year events calendar. If you have 10 calendar events, make 10 individual “PITCH” puddings, I mean PressBriefs. Yes, follow the best practice of  a media PITCH, one story with its few sizzle points, fresh hot from the stove. If you make 10 PressBriefs you are launching 10 search leads on Google and feeding multiple RSS feeds … So you see…brief is most effective.

7. Make the PressBriefs fun!!!!!!!!!!!
Example: “It is cold here but fishing is hot“
This one liner was responded to in 5 minutes after being posted on Pressuite.com

8. Try to add in your weblink an image selection or key picture that is consistant with the PITCH. This way the images are immediatly available to the media professional to construct a story for their publications or blogs.

9. Don’t limit yourself to just images. How about adding video to make it more delectable.

10. Weather you cook it at -10 or + 34 degrees Fahrenheit, a few minutes is all it needs from start to finish and you will smell the success.

Pressuite has over 3500 media specialists, journalists and travel-writers from all over the world and 3-5 new members are added every day awaiting to hear from you. They all need fresh pudding to feed their own news networks and blogs…Get cooking… Publish a new brief today.

Enjoy the results and happy holidays. Here is the delicious Figgy Pudding Recipe provided from one family member The Relais and Château Post Hotel.

“Après -Ski” Christmas Pudding
from the Post Hotel, Lake Louise.
(serves 8)
110gr. (3 ½ oz)        Beef Suet
110gr. (3 ½ oz)        Breadcrumbs
280gr. (10 oz)        Dried Mission Figs, cut in cubes
180gr. (6 oz)            Sultan Raisins
120gr. (4 oz)            Brown Sugar
50gr. (1 ½ oz)        Sliced Bleached Almonds
50gr. (1 ½ oz)        Candied Lemon
2                Lemon Zest
3                Whole Eggs
3cl.                Whisky

Mix all above ingredients together and place in buttered Christmas pudding mould. Poach for 3 hours just before serving at 275 F.

Today Internet is on cloud nine. Bravo! It has changed the way we live. 40 years ago, spam was something I put on my toast. Like many of us, I was not wired, 8 to 10 hours a day, in front of a computer screen, did not wear reading glasses, nor did I drive home from work with my GPS and my iPhone in one hand and the proverbial cup of coffee in the other, watching simultaneously the weather forecast projection on the windshield of my hybrid, while the energy consumption indicator pulsed in a 3-D rendering on the LCD dashboard. Let’s celebrate!

My zen guru texts me that multi-tasking does NOT exist. I obstinately pretend it does as I am oohmmmm…ing along. Surely she was right when she said, with great wisdom, that “suffering is optional!” Perhaps the Internet suffers from too much attention from us all.

Just now, I clicked via Google on the link to the UCLA engineering site, where the birth of the Internet took place 40 years earlier. The link showcased, the ephemeral nature of the Internet with — a site error message! … I guess they are busy celebrating!

Coincidence or not: Bats are migrating during the month Halloween is taking place. As a result, Enmax, one of our local energy magnum’s, has mandated a slow down to stand-still of it’s windturbine farm during the bat migratory season. The reason: The turbulent trail of the 3 winged eolian energivores has been found to be deadly to the little bats or at best making them “sickly” green, gasping for air. As a results, the poor things are found by the thousands with their lungs collapsed, lying dead at the feet of the towering white giants.

Contrary to their colleague the birds, bats seams unable to deal with sudden air de-pressurisations flowing in the trailing path of the turbine blades. In the course to design highly efficient wind turbines, who would have thought that bats would get in the way. The cause of their sudden and large mortality rates was but recently discovered thanks to a small team of researchers.

A marvelously simple insight: “the tiny bats don’t like to fly in high winds”, said U of C biology professor Robert Barclay.

…. On the up side, its likely that new university classes on bats are about to be integral curriculum to the equations of aero-dynamic windturbine design? Course: Bat-turbo-eolian dynamics 101.

At the CleanPix head office, we use 100% “green” windturbine generated power, so we are concerned. But do not be scared, we will still be pixing along during the Halloween night. Right now, I have to contact our “green” energy provider friends at Bullfrogpower to find out if they are, like Enmax, scheduling a powering down of their windturbines and leaving the bats migrate though and happily without a further breath of convincing.

—————–
What is nice and to shout the obvious:

First: Green power has admirably more nuances, scruples, self-examination, and instant democratic reactiveness at being eco-friendly in a way never concerted or previously observed over other type of energy generation.

Second (green or not): Clearly using less energy all together is far more palatable and beneficial in real time if one compares it to the efforts it takes for any power generation solutions.

Not that I am in the habit of drooling over photo gadgets, but I must say, when my partner Inese Birstins give me the BBC link below, I was truly dazzled. Our previous entry was all about archiving and the issue of storing/archiving files, ever-increasing in number and size. This new panoramic photo system is breaking all records in this regard: it is about to deliver a gargantuan appetite for storage but, nevertheless, an amazing visual and affordable way to create such files. This is all too dangerous. It works, it costs around $350-$500 (including a low-end digital camera), and it’s fun. The truth is there have been less than practical attempts to replace the legendary Swiss-made Alpa ROTO 360 panoramic camera that cost, in the eighties, a mere $25K. This just does it…  I need one.

Imagine being able to zoom into any part of a panoramic photograph that catches your eye. Plus, even seeing people miles away when the picture was taken.

Richard Taylor Editor, BBC Click

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8004657.stm