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A special thanks to Ted Williams for this article in Charlotte Agenda….
As a digital media guy, I was invited to a special “media event” before the Ritz opened the Punch Room Room (outstanding spot, by the way). I looked around the room on the 18th floor and noticed a bunch of people that didn’t look like traditional media people. I was the nerdiest one there (I constantly tuck in my shirt and wear a Brooks Brothers non-iron).
I thought Heidi (amazing lady that runs the Ritz’s Sales and Marketing team) made a mistake along with her PR agency by not inviting media folks.
Then it hit me. How does the Ritz Punch Room audience consume media? In nerd talk, what media influences this target audience’s discretionary spending? It’s Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. I’m not cool enough to snapchat, but I cyber stalked many of the attendees on Instagram. Sure enough, they had large, engaged followings.
Communications is getting it’s face ripped off. The change is intense. The opportunity is intense.
This doesn’t mean that traditional media awareness and coverage is ineffective. You’ll rarely find a person who believes more in the power of print or long form video than I. But, it does mean that communications will become a priority for senior management teams.
In my opinion, Charlotte PR firms are pivoting and will continue to pivot. Don’t be fooled, this is a huge market because business owners, GMs and marketing directors need partners to help them navigate the new media world and find their authentic voice (sounds like cheesy marketing speak, but it’s true).
Pivot PR
Leader: Drew Porcello, President/CEO
Key Clients: Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar, AvidXchange, Le Meridien
Stats: <10 employees | LinkedIn | Site
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Special thanks to Abby Miressi, who wrote a great piece on Pivot PR found here.
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Thanks for meeting with us, Rick! So you’ve been with Charlotte magazine since 1995. Tell us about your journey to publisher. At that point we were more or less a new magazine. We had just purchased the name Charlotte magazine and that was pretty much it – we started over from scratch. Essentially, I was the guy that did the stuff that needed to be done. I went from editorial assistant to assistant editor to associate editor all before first issue. I was on the editorial side for 18 years—15 as editor—before moving to publisher in January 2013.
Do you like editorial or publishing better? They are very different and I enjoy them both. It’s pretty rare to go into the business side with that much experience in editorial. The role is usually filled from the sales side. When the opportunity was presented to me, I asked a colleague at another city magazine (who had gone from editor to publisher) and he said, “It’s all one hat. Just think about the long term vision of the magazine.”
What is your long term vision for the magazine? We will continue to find ways to grow and connect with our audience, and continue to do what we do, but do it even better. It’s important for us to have a direct relationship with our audience and cultivate it through storytelling. From an advertising perspective, we’re selling exclusive access to our audience, and it’s exciting because some of those opportunities don’t even exist yet. Just think about what we’re doing now that didn’t even exist five years ago. The important thing for us to always keep in mind is why we’re doing it in the first place.
How have things changed given the technology and social media aspect of publishing? We’re doing a whole lot more, and we’re doing it faster. Even three years ago all you could really do was buy an ad. Now you can sponsor an event, sponsor our newsletter, advertise on our website, create a social campaign, etc. There are a lot of different ways to connect with people. All are content-based but each has to be rooted in connecting with our audience so we ensure we’re serving the reader.
We were an early adopter of Twitter. Events have become popular. Our Best of the Best (BOB Awards) event has grown by 100 people each year over the past several years – 750 came last year. The Charlottean of the Year Award (which debuted in December 2014) came out of editorial. We did it because we saw a need to recognize the people that are making our city better, and we thought the city magazine should be the one to do it. We solicited nominations from the community and from community leaders then our editorial board made the final decision.
Tell us a little more about earned media opportunities available? I’ll be honest, when I was editor, a PR person said to me once, “You’re the hardest publication in the state to get into.” I took that as compliment. We work so hard to service our readers. We’re a monthly so there’s not a lot of space, and it’s not all that often a press release finds its way in our magazine. However, for example, if we’re doing a story on hamburgers and we receive a press release about a new restaurant specializing in burgers, it makes us aware and that restaurant may get included.
Securing placement in our magazine really takes an understanding of what we’re trying to do, who we’re trying to reach and the exact type of story we’re looking for. It’s helpful if someone external provides a different angle to an existing trend we’re covering. That’s because we really try to do stories that nobody else is doing and we don’t typically cover something that’s already been covered.
Understanding you’re a long lead magazine, how far out are you planning? Our April issue is going to print now and it was fully assigned 3-4 weeks ago. A lot of our features and longer pieces are over four months out. Our covers, at least the concepts, have been decided over a year in advance.
What about your blogs? Is there an opportunity to cover things you wouldn’t in print? Do they provide an opportunity to cover stories faster? Yes; our blogs are becoming more of the place where we can get out in front of things and be the first with news. Our bloggers get direct pitches. They are looking for content more often, but we make sure they’re quality. We try to take the time to interview folks and come up with interesting and unique angles. Those blog posts are the ones that get the most traffic.
Do you feel like you have competition? That depends on if you ask account reps or editorial staff! When you think about it, we’re really just competing for people’s time. We do things that no one else is doing, or in a very different manner, so we’re not worried as much about what our competition might do. We just do what we do.
Your mantra is connecting with readers so if you had one thing to tell them what would it be? We’re trying to create a great magazine experience. You will find things in our pages you won’t find anywhere else – online, social and print. Our stories are as good as or better than anything you’ll read in the country. That’s why they get picked up and shared nationally through publications like the New York Times and BuzzFeed.
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We recently had a chance to sit down with Kevin Pitts, publisher of the Charlotte Business Journal. The focus was to get a better understanding of their awards programs: Advanced Manufacturing, 40 Under 40, Women in Business, Business Person of the Year, CIO of the Year, CFO of the Year and Healthiest Employer of the Year.
Thank you for meeting with us, Kevin. What is the CBJ’s goal when doing awards?
We want to be the provider of the most credible recognition. We want business people to think, “Of all the awards I qualify for in Charlotte, this is the one I want!” We also want to paint a picture of what success looks like, and share best practices.
I noticed that different programs require different selection processes. Tell us the reasoning for that.
You’re correct. All have different models. For example, 40 Under 40 and Women In Business are nomination driven. We crowd source nominations, then our newsroom will pull together all of that information and research, boil down and select the winners.
We do partner with a third party research company for programs like Best Places to Work. They develop a workplace engagement survey each year that measures employment engagement, then it goes through a modeling process, gives a score and ranks and indexes versus the best-of-best throughout the country. It’s not just local- that way we know where we compare on a national level.
The Advanced Manufacturing Awards are handled by an industry-specific judging panel in the area, who really focus on what the nominees have done to advance manufacturing in our region.
Lastly, we may partner with industry associations to help us make our selections for programs like CIO and CFO of The Year.
Tell us what’s most important when nominating someone. Also, what about the number of nominations a person receives?
It really comes down to the quality of the nomination. The thing we look at first and foremost is business accomplishments and contributions they’ve made to the business community. That’s it — that’s king — the main focus of all programs. It’s not a matter of how long the nomination is, how many nominations or how influential the nominator is. Your nomination should explain very clearly which business accomplishments are germane to the particular awards program. Don’t get me wrong, multiple nominations are fine, but make sure it adds context and a different perspective. If each brings something different to the table, then that’s great.
Can you give us some Do’s and Don’ts?
Skip the fluff! Any accomplishments that can be quantified, such as sales and growth, really strengthen the individual’s case. Also, you’ll typically need to be in Charlotte for a reasonable period of time- at least 2-3 years. Remember, business accomplishments are what this truly boils down to. The community involvement piece is important, but don’t forget about industry associations, and how the nominee works to advance their industry. There’s a lot of wonderful people out there but, it’s not a popularity contest.
Does Size of the organization matter?
Irrelevant. If you look at our class each year you’ll see a good mix. I love to see nominations from entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Any final thoughts?
I like a good party! Every company has a personality. When it comes to marketing, I’ll over simplify it by saying print is about reputation management, digital is transactional and events are about who you are and engaging with others. These types of events and recognitions humanize companies and their people.
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As you know, Mayor Daniel (Dan) Clodfelter was appointed Mayor of Charlotte back in April. Since he has had some time to settle into his role, we thought it’d be a great time to pick his brain a little and learn more about him. Here’s what Mayor Clodfelter had to say…
What are the key areas you’re concentrating on to better Charlotte? How did you choose them?
At present, I’m interested in three broad themes. One focuses on how we can continue to diversify our local economy and build a strong infrastructure to support entrepreneurial enterprises in our City, especially for businesses that emphasize innovative products and services. A second theme centers on strengthening regional partnerships with surrounding cities and counties, with a view toward developing ways to address challenges on a regional basis even when the State government is unable to do so on a statewide basis. A third area involves my longstanding interest in building and supporting strong neighborhoods that are resistant to social and physical decay and that can serve as the focal points for delivery of city services and programs. I believe all three of these are critical for Charlotte to be and to remain a resilient and adaptable City in the decades ahead of us.
What is one thing you want Charlotteans to know about you?
I think I became a “Charlottean” many years ago as a student at Davidson College and long before I finally settled here. I love the sense of pride that people have for this city and how they back it up with an incredible willingness to roll up their sleeves and go to work whenever there is a challenge or an opportunity confronting the community.
How do you balance your role as an attorney with that of the mayor?
Balancing my law practice with the role of mayor has its challenging moments, but I’ve found a system that works well. Certain days are blocked off entirely for the city, and other days I devote entirely to the law practice. I continue to believe there is value in having people serve in elected office who also maintain a work life that is not dependent on political involvement. I find that combination helps me keep a more balanced perspective on “things political.”
You’re coming up on six months as Charlotte mayor. What have you learned about working with the local media?
There are many more influencers on media and reporting than when I served on city council in the 1990s. Deadlines are tighter, the 24 hour news cycle never stops, and social media plays a major role now in shaping stories and news reports. I encourage reporters to grab me when I am out and about at different events, or if I’m already scheduled to attend some occasion or speak to some group. That may be the easiest way to catch me. Of course, they can always contact my office to request an interview, and I will do my best to make myself available to them.
If marketing/communications professionals would like you to attend their event, what do they need to do?
Please make initial contact with Peggy Huffman ([email protected]), who handles scheduling for the Mayor’s office. When sending an email, I recommend attaching background or a press kit on your company/organization so that I can fully understand your mission, goals, etc. While I wish I could participate in all of your events, unfortunately my schedule won’t always allow it. It’s best to submit your event request with as much advance notice as possible to increase the likelihood of my being able to participate. Mondays and Tuesdays are typically the best days for my schedule. If I’m unable to attend, we may have the opportunity to send someone else to represent the Mayor’s office.
We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t ask. Do you intend on running in 2015?
At this time I haven’t made a definite decision as to whether or not I will run for election in 2015. I’m mainly focused on doing the job at hand, working with the City Council to articulate its collective vision for the City, and the community’s vision for itself. I’m trying to keep a sense of how the Council and community feel about the work I’m doing, and I’ll settle on a decision at a time a little closer to the filing period.
We would like to give a special thanks to Ashley Simmons, the press secretary for the office of the mayor, for facilitating our Q&A with Mayor Clodfelter.
