Brag: Any magazine you’ve been published in, if you’ve ever been on a show, radio show, etc., won any trainer awards, anything you want to put down to brag about how good you are )

Joey Gemelli

http://bulldogreporter.com/ME2/dirsect.asp?sid=AE904517DADE4368B07497E23F1C965B&nm=Winning+PR+Campaigns

PR campaigns always work when there are cute dogs involved

I'm sure we contributed to our fair share of reporters' angst

Sometimes we would include a black and white photo, or transparency if there was a remote chance that they would use color (that came with VERY expensive production costs). Aahh…the days. Now we have to have our fax number written down next to every phone, should anyone call to ask what the number is. What an antiquated piece of equipment! Reporters used to complain about the stacks of press releases and press kits in their in boxes, now they complain about junk email (as do I). So we have come a long way. Gone are the days when we used to have to plan a press announcement a week in advance to secure media coverage. Now we can do it instantaneously (as I just did, a few minutes ago, sending out a wire release and photo). But some things haven’t changed – we still have to beg and plead with the media to cover our event. You’d think that would be more efficient too.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering, what was I stuffing? As home room parent for my son’s class, I’m sending home letters with self-addressed envelopes in hopes of generating more contributions for the teacher’s end-of-year gift. And to think, an ENVELOPE might prompt the response I want!?!?

Thanks to the esteemed Sen. Russell Pearce and the other zealots that passed this moronic code, even little guys like BJC PR are suffering the brunt of the recently enacted anti-immigration legislation passed by our vulnerable (and spineless) elected officials. While most of our clients are based in Arizona, we also represent businesses who have a significant interest in the state, but are based in more inclusive societies such as Canada, Georgia, and yes, even California. And now, much to our dismay but I’m sure to the absolute glee of those whom I happily DID NOT elect to office, we now will assuredly NOT be able to add a high-profile client based in Sonora, Mexico to our roster.

Though there were implied threats, did these so-called “leaders” really consider the ramifications of their this action? They say this isn’t about racism, but aren’t these the same legislators that are attempting to pass the ridiculous “birther bill” requiring presidential candidates to prove U.S. citizenship in order to be on the AZ ballot? If this legislation is about status, rather than ethnicity, then every person in the state should be required to prove citizenship, not just those with olive skin. And how is that efficient? Did those who passed this legislation realize that Scottsdale would lose a convention that was worth so much that the group doesn’t even balk at a $92,000 penalty fee? Or that a small business like ours would lose out on a valuable contract? Did they consider the power of the social media movement in this controversy, or that the Mexican government, city of San Francisco, and individual tourists would boycott the state, branding the entire populace as racists?

We are not a political firm, nor have ever represented a political cause or candidate (other than my dad, many years ago, in his doomed effort to become a state legislator). I don’t want to be identified with this effort, however, because I live and work here, by default, I am a part of it. I beg, plea and pray that those who think they are working in our best interests, see the error of their ways and reverse course, hopefully mitigating any more damage.

Starting tomorrow.

Since this also was our holiday gift, clients got to keep their photo snow globes and digital cameras, as long as they submitted images for us to “snow globe” virtually for this competition. Now, thanks to their efforts, we have this great snow globe gallery for you to enjoy and share … and vote.

Take a few minutes to peruse the images posted to the Snow Globe category of our blog and let us know which one you think demonstrates the best effort in our “Think Snow Globally” competition.  Submit your vote by leaving comments on our blog.  There are some very serious bragging rights up for grabs here [read: we’re too cheap to offer actual prizes]. Lots of people will enter (we hope) but, in the end, there can be only one winner.

So here’s what we need you to do:

1. Check out our Snow Globe Snow Party gallery
2. Vote for your favorite snow globe by posting a comment
3. Share the link for this site with friends, family, co-workers, etc. and encourage them to vote, too

It’s easy. It’s fun. It’s free.  And how else can you enjoy snow in the Valley of the Sun?!

*Truth be told, we really needed an idea to distract our clients from the fact that, due to construction delays on our new office, BJC would not be having its annual Holiday Chili and Fortune Telling Party.  We figured giving clients snow globes, cameras and a few whacky holiday props would soften the no-party blow. After all, doesn’t everybody LOVE playing in the snow, even if it’s the virtual kind?!

Sample snow globes:

Liz's favorite sandals - rescued by the Recession and Tony's Shoe Repair

Do you want to know what’s faring well in this crappy economy? Old shoes and Tony’s Shoe Repair (case in point: me dropping off a favorite pair of old sandals).

I haven’t been to Tony’s Shoe Repair since I was a wee little kid, and then it was only to accompany my Mom who frequented the place. (Big family, modest income, six kids, 12 active feet).

So when I dropped off a sandal that needed repairs – it was like visiting my past, and there was a line of customers who were likely feeling the same way.

Business may be thriving for Tony’s Shoe Repair – but they aren’t taking it for granted. Tony’s still offers the same quick, honest assessment of the needed repair, relatively low repair costs, and no frills customer service. I’d ask them if they need PR services, but why fix something that isn’t broken?! (Unless it’s a beloved but broken shoe, of course.)

When I returned to pick up my sandals, he remembered me (as well as the multicolored button sandal I had dropped off), stuck it in a brown paper bag, and told me the amount due. I handed him a $5 bill, got lots of change back, and walked out feeling pretty darn proud of myself for beating the recession.

I don’t know if anyone will pay attention to or care about my opinions of my parents’ newly constructed senior care residence, a recent auto shop experience, Tony’s Shoe Repair, or my beloved hair stylist. I still feel empowered and impactful … as if I could make a difference in another’s decision to visit an auto shop that treats you like a friend, or one that will tinker with your car, just to create a problem (and YES, I think those kind of businesses DO exist).

Of course, Yelping is easy when you’re saying good stuff about businesses (and NO … I’m not using it to promote BJC clients … yet). The real test will come when the experience isn’t so good. Will I Yelp to vent, without consideration for the business’s side of our exchange? Or will I Yelp to provide some constructive feedback that will help the business and its customers have a more positive experience in the future. As a public relations professional, I prefer to think I will take the high road. If and when I have an experience that has me fired up and angry, I’ll write my review, count to ten, sleep on it, count to ten and then see if clicking “post” still seems like the right thing to do.

Fair and balanced … that’s what Yelpers should be, but aren’t always. That is why it takes consumers like you and me to make Yelp successful. The more populated the Yelps accumulate for a business, the easier for all of us to read between the lines. If a restaurant gets five crappy reviews, and 75 glowing reviews, chances are there was some unbalanced Yelping going on from a very small (and small minded) minority of the restaurants’ patrons.

All biases aside – I still think Tony’s Shoe Repair is one of the best values around. If you care to know my opinions on other matters, go to http://lizyelps.yelp.com … and start Yelping too.

Full time telecommuting has opened up a whole new world of experiences for us. Here’s a smattering of the things we’ve discovered while working from home:

· A lot happens in a residential neighborhood during the day – cars passing by, people taking walks, delivery guys ringing doorbells (UPS man is a regular at the house across the street…hmmm). Guess I figured if I wasn’t here during the work day nobody else was.

· Sweatpants and T-shirts make for FANtastic work attire when your office is your kitchen table. As comfortable as they are, however, we do enjoy looking sharp and finding excuses to wear expensive shoes.

· Personal hygiene isn’t lacking but some days it does get delayed by a few hours. There is NOTHING wrong with taking your “morning” shower at four in the afternoon (EXCEPTION here that Sara is always showered by 7 am – so she says).

· It’s important to make nice with the guys at AlphaGraphics. You never know when you’re going to need them to stop what they’re doing to print and bind 10 copies of your proposal so that you can meet some ever-changing procurement office deadline.

· An iPod and iHome are two excellent investments. Take the time to create several playlists, you’ll be glad you did. Don’t ever think that you have downloaded “enough” music. (I’ve listened to all 1,200+ songs more than once already.) Plus it’s okay to let your head bob along to the music. No one can see you…unlike when you sing along to the radio in the car.

· A house makes lots of noises during the day. Is it haunted??? Probably not, but go ahead and turn up the iHome volume a little louder to at least drown out the sound of the odd creaks and groans emanating from the walls.

· We miss “doing business in the hallways” at the office. Our staff meetings have gone from bi-weekly to weekly, last for up to two hours, and involve a meal of some kind. Of course the upside of this is that we get to enjoy some great local Phoenix restaurants like Scramble and Maizie’s Café.

We will undoubtedly continue to thrive as telecommuters but we’re really looking forward to the new office. That’s our story, and we’re sticking to it.