Sunday, July 27, 2008

Guerrilla Marketing: What is it? Does it really work?

There are two well-known marketing and public relations books with similar titles: Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Levinson and Guerrilla P.R. by Michael Levin. Both give readers advice on using unconventional, low-cost tactics in marketing products and gaining visibility for small businesses.

In fact, the concept has evidently been so successful that since Guerrilla Marketing was first published in 1984, Levinson has written a number of spin-off books including Guerrilla Advertising, Guerrilla Marketing for Free, Guerrilla Marketing Weapons, The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, Guerrilla Publicity, and Guerrilla Marketing in 30 Days.

But do these unconventional tactics really work? In particular, do they work for agricultural businesses?

In my past job with the state ag department, I worked on quite a few promotions that employed what might be called guerrilla marketing tactics. Or maybe you would call them publicity stunts. Take your pick.

One time, for example, a coworker and I put together baskets of farmers' market produce and brought them to Boston area radio stations. The basket included a statewide listing of farmers' markets. One popular rock music station invited us right into the studio, the DJs put us on the air and we were able to plug visiting local farmers' markets during the growing season.

Another time, we did a promotion for local maple products that involved sending an information packet, recipes and a small sample of maple syrup to food writers at daily newspapers. That effort did result in several maple stories in newspaper food sections.

Working with various associations over the years, there have been promotions that involved delivering squash, potatoes, cut flowers, poinsettias, and coffee cake to food editors, business editors, radio stations and television studios. There have been tomato contests, cider taste-offs, zucchini races, pumpkin carvings, corn boils, giant strawberry shortcakes, farm-to-farm bike rides, and all kinds of farm tours.

While many of these efforts have been fruitful in terms of generating publicity and in turn, hopefully, sales for farms, sometimes they're not. While guerrilla tactics are usually low cost, they are often require a lot more work than, say, conventional advertising. If successful, the pay-off can be great, but if not you might be left wondering why you went to all that trouble.

A few things to keep in mind:

1. You're competing with many other businesses and organizations for the attention of the news media and the public. Find a way to make your product stand out and don't get discouraged; be persistent but don't over-do it.

2. When sending product samples to reporters and editors, make sure that they are just samples. Some media organizations have policies against accepting gifts that could be construed as bribes in exchange for coverage. You just want them to have a little taste of your product for evaluation purposes.

3. Showing up at a radio station, especially without an appointment, doesn't guarantee that you'll get on the air. They may just thank you for stopping by and for your product sample and information. Don't be too disappointed or angry; the effort may pay off later on.

4. Sometimes radio and television stations tie appearances on certain programs to advertising. So, if you're not an advertiser, you might not get on. This doesn't apply to news, though.

And sometimes publicity stunts can go wrong. Earlier this year a popular juice company was introducing a new line of frozen juice pops. To get publicity, they created what they hoped would be certified by Guinness as the world's largest frozen pop and planned to erect it in New York City's Union Square on the first day of summer. As it turned out, it was a hot day and the pop started to melt, sending sticky goo all over Union Square. Pedestrians and cyclists started slipping and sliding in it, and a woman was taken to the hospital with a sprained ankle.

That stunt may not qualify as strict guerrilla P.R. since it surely cost quite a bit to stage but is an example of an unconventional tactic that certainly did generate news coverage...perhaps more than if the thing had remained frozen.

Maybe you've been involved in these kinds of guerrilla activities, too, on your farm or through an association. I'd be willing to wager that farmers are particularly adept at guerrilla marketing and publicity tactics because of their natural ingenuity, a need to keep costs down and products that are well suited to this approach. After all, fresh farm products can be fun, wholesome, nostalgic, unusual, trendy, beautiful and always tasty. Which make for irresistible combinations.

Copyright 2005 by Diane Baedeker Petit. This article originally appeared in the October 2005 issue of Growing Magazine.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Do you have a crisis communication plan?

Some people say that all publicity is good publicity. While there may be a certain rationale behind that statement, I'm sure that many small business owners would take issue with it. In the food industry there have been some notable cases of negative publicity and it's hard to imagine that it resulted in increased business for the companies involved.

Whether it's severed fingers in chili, e. coli bacteria in salad bars, Alar on apples or mad cow disease, this is not the type of media coverage food businesses would prefer.

As a food producer, you do all that you can in growing and handling your products to ensure that they are safe and wholesome. You take steps to ensure worker safety and if you are also a food retailer, you ensure that your premises are safe for customers to visit. While these things may be required by law, you also recognize that it's the right thing to do.

But the reality is that bad things, often beyond your control, can happen and it's best to be prepared for how you will respond. How you respond can affect your business' image and ultimately affect your bottom line. That's why a crisis communications plan should be part of your overall marketing plan.

What is a crisis communication plan? It's the process of putting into writing exactly what you will do if a crisis situation arises and how you will deal with the news media and the public. It involves designating a spokesperson, developing key messages, preparing for tough questions, and keeping track of media contacts. Once you have a plan in writing, you make sure that all your employees are familiar with it and review it regularly.

With any luck, developing a crisis communication plan will be a complete waste of time. It may be the one thing you will do for your business that you hope you will never use. But the ramifications of not having one if you do need it are far worse than the time wasted if you never do.

So what kind of crises should you plan for? A crisis can be any situation that threatens the your business' integrity. Such situations often involve negative media attention. These can be situations like legal disputes, illnesses, crimes, accidents or controversies that are related to, caused by, or that affect your business or industry.

Examples can include someone getting sick after eating a product you sold to them, a dispute with your neighbors, an environmental problem on your farm, or an employee being injured on the job.

Since some crisis situations could have legal implications, your lawyer will probably be wary about you saying anything that would imply fault. It is good public relations, however, to acknowledge that a problem exists and explain what you are doing to correct it. And, if someone is injured or upset you'll certainly want to express sincere concern for the person and their family.

Sometimes the crisis might not be confined to your business alone. For example, when a drought strikes the region, the media may want to interview you about crop losses and get pictures of crops withering in the field.

How you respond in that type of crisis can have a direct effect not only on your business but also on other farms in the area. In the case of a drought, usually local produce is still available even if yields are down. Painting a picture of doom to a reporter can cause customers to stay away from all farms in the area, thinking that there is no produce.

Instead, you can acknowledge that the weather is less than ideal but point out that weather challenges are part of farming and farmers do what they can to make sure that local products are available in season. Invite the reporter to come out with a photographer to see the crops that are doing well despite the drought. You might just help kill the drought story in the process.

That's not to say that you should ever, ever lie to a reporter. That would only make a crisis situation worse. But it is a good idea to have a plan that includes accentuating the positive (as the song goes) to keep negative publicity from undoing all your good marketing efforts.

Copyright 2005 by Diane Baedeker Petit. This article originally appeared in the September 2005 issue of Growing Magazine.