The buzz about buzzwords
If you are delayering your company—or, alternatively, pursuing knowledge acquisition—while unsiloing to reduce volume sensitivity, you’re also well-mired in the latest swamp of corporate buzzwords. In the Wall Street Journal Online, reporter Carol Hymowitz harvests the latest crop of buzzwords, as described by management consultants and academics.

In much plainer language, “delayering” means firing managers (a result of “rightsizing” and “downsizing”). “Knowledge acquisition,” on the other hand, is finding the job applicants with the knowledge that will most be most beneficial to the company’s competitiveness. “Unsiloing” simply means ensuring that managers cooperate across departments and functions, sharing resources and cross-selling offerings. A company that is “volume sensitive,” according to Alix Partners Managing Director Al Koch, is a business with massive fixed costs.

The biggest change in buzz-word focus appears to be a new focus on “execution” versus “strategy.” Hymowitz quotes Michael Mankins, a Marakon management consultant, as noting, “The pendulum has swung from endless talk about strategy, which in many cases was never followed, to getting things done.” He adds, however, “If you have a bad strategy, no amount of good execution will help.”

“The latest discussion on strategy and execution may reflect a shifting trend across American business, but we’ve always counseled our clients to recognize the fundamental importance of both intelligent strategy and flawless execution,” said Airfoil President Janet Tyler.
“Too often buzzwords are used to disguise strategies that have become popular in a particular business sector but that may not be the most intelligent strategy for a particular company’s own survival or growth—from “aggressive accounting” to “guerrilla marketing”. Likewise, faulty execution, especially on the political scene, tends to spawn its own family of moderating terms—from the Nixonian “mistakes were made” and the McGovernmental “I’m 1,000% for Tom Eagleton” to such Bushisms as “we’ve got them on the run” and “we’ll bring them to justice.

“The best advice is to spend less time weasel-wording the results of poor strategies and execution after the fact and to put more thought during the planning stage into analyzing their likely outcomes.”

back to top

Targeting local-level media amplifies national results
One-to-one marketing is rapidly gaining on traditional mass-marketing methods across America as online promotions target individual consumers, blogs focus on ever narrow interests, podcasts reach personal subscribers and, most visibly, media become more fragmented. Airfoil’s latest whitepaper, “Local-Level Public Relations: Building Your Brand in the Local Community,” points out that, in every community, we are able to choose our primary source of news information from a much greater array of specialized and general news sources than ever before. Even the most traditional of print newspaper reporters and TV anchors have become bloggers, expressing their own opinions on events and responding to readers and listeners.

Public relations is increasingly focusing on individual local markets around the nation more than on broad-scale national coverage. The whitepaper notes, “New research indicates that small to mid-size businesses view their local media outlets and broadcasts more favorably and more credibly than they do large national publications. While large national brands often tend to measure PR success by the coverage they receive in a New York Times or a USA Today, these studies confirm that, if they wish to influence the majority of business decision-makers in America, they’d be much better served by interviews with the Miami Herald, Crain’s Cleveland Business or Good Morning San Antonio.”

Airfoil has found that market-specific media relations produces a big impact. For clients such as Microsoft, Starbucks and eBay Motors, local-level strategies have gained far more extensive coverage—and have helped them connect more directly with individual consumers in their markets—than a national campaign would.

In developing plans to extend a brand regionally or nationally, then, researching local markets is an extremely worthwhile endeavor. Understanding preferences and issues market by market can help leverage the brand’s message and its influence significantly.

back to top

Kim Komando
Kim Komando, also know as the “Digital Goddess,” has made a phenomenal career of offering advice about computers on air, online and in print. She writes a syndicated column for nearly 100 newspapers and a small-business technology column for Microsoft’s Web site. Her eight books on using computers explore such topics as The Greatest Computer and Internet Tips, Tricks and Secrets; The 50 Biggest Computer Mistakes; and Kim Komando's Complete Guide To Computer Security and Privacy.

She is best known, however, for her weekly radio program that originates on KFYI in Phoenix and is carried by more than 400 stations. The Kim Komando Show is one of America’s top-ten radio talk shows, with weekly listeners totaling more than ten million. Her broadcast has become as important to frustrated computer users as CarTalk has been to puzzled vehicle owners. In addition, the Kim Komando Daily Computer Minute is heard on more than 300 radio stations in North America. She describes it as “60 seconds of no-holds-barred info designed for computer- and Internet-savvy people on the go. Straight talk about the hottest Web sites, hot new software and important tips to make sure you’re getting the best deals online and in the stores.”

Komando’s heritage is more than that of a computer fanatic. Her mother worked on the UNIX development team at Bell Labs, and Kim majored in computer information systems in college. She’s translated that background to radio, print and her Web site at www.komando.com. On her site, she offers daily tips about computer issues, ideas on using shareware, a list of “Kool sites,” and registration for her free newsletter.

“Any company engaged in marketing software, hardware, networking services or other IT-related offerings would do well to become a devoted listener to Kim Komando,” advises Airfoil B2B Vice President Eric Kushner. “The show is a great way to discover what consumers are saying about your product or service, the problems they are having that could impact your sales, and the advice about your offerings that they are receiving from experts.”

back to top

National industry leaders will rely on Airfoil
Airfoil’s national presence continues to expand as it works with a growing number of industry leaders:

OnForce, based in New York, is the first online marketplace for on-site information-technology services. Companies requiring repair, installation or expansion of IT systems visit OnForce on the Web and choose from nearly 14,000 IT service providers situated in virtually every U.S. ZIP code. OnForce is the only online real-time marketplace in the service industry. Airfoil will conduct an extensive public-relations program for OnForce, including media relations, analyst relations, a speakers bureau, and thought-leadership campaigns.

Airfoil’s California office takes root in Redwood City
Airfoil’s new Redwood City office in suburban San Jose, Calif., is providing strategies and execution for the latest programs from a number of the agency’s West Coast clients. The office, headed by Airfoil President Janet Tyler, is helping to launch PayPal’s mobile marketing program, a new version of the ProStores online storefront, and the latest e-commerce safety guide from eBay and PayPal, including a media tour targeting national publications and analysts.

PR program for Microsoft earns top award from automotive council
Airfoil’s efforts on behalf of the Microsoft Automotive and Industrial Equipment unit’s Peak Performance Initiative have earned top honors from the Automotive Public Relations Council (APRC). Airfoil was named a gold winner of the Excellence in Automotive Public Relations Award for outstanding achievement in special events. Airfoil’s program included a Global Automotive Summit featuring Bill Gates and Bill Ford, along with extensive media relations, creation of a white paper, and other elements designed to raise awareness of Microsoft’s role in the automotive arena. The APRC’s annual award honors complete public relations programs that incorporate sound planning, execution and evaluation.

B2C and automotive teams grow
Airfoil’s business-to-consumer area as well as the automotive/manufacturing technology group continue to expand as clients enlarge the agency’s scope of work. Jennifer Korail has been appointed an account coordinator for automotive and manufacturing-technology accounts. Her responsibilities include media relations, event planning and research for clients in the auto industry, alternative energy, logistics and health care.

In the business-to-consumer practice, Gary Pardo serves as an account coordinator, a member of the teams working on media relations and other programs for Microsoft Small Business Accounting, Sun JavaOne, eBay Business & Industrial, OnForce and eBay Market Research.
Kirsten Smith is as an assistant account coordinator, supporting research and media relations for ePrize, eBay ProStores, eBay Business & Industrial and the annual eBay Live! event.

back to top