If your day was like mine, you had to ask someone, “What are you doing barefoot in the mall?” Unbeknownst to me, that was exactly what shoe designer, TOMS wanted me to do as a part of its One Day without Shoes campaign.

The shoe designer behind the barefoot frenzy had one message:  A lot of people all over the world go without shoes every day, and we have the power to change that (by purchasing TOMS shoes).

With a message so simple, it was easy for TOMS to rely on consumers to deliver it.  The delivery went something like this:

TOMS used barefoot people to create a buzz of curiosity and to get the public talking about their brand.  In the end, their goal was to get first time customers to buy a pair or two of shoesand become emotionally connected to the brand.

So how does this relate to writing effectively?

Let’s break it down.  A more simplified version of TOMS’ marketing plan looks like this:

Create Curiosity > Spark Conversation > Achieve Business Goals (sales, awareness, brand loyalty, etc.).

Easy right?  Let’s start with curiosity:

Since we can’t run around barefoot everyday to get people to read our blogs and press releases, we need to use headlines and titles to grab attention.  More often than not, reporters and producers won’t get past the headline in a press release.  The same goes for most internet users and blog posts.  So, if a title is boring or sounds like everything else on the web or in reporter’s inbox, it’s not going to get much attention.

However, be careful that your creative titles are backed up with quality content.  No one likes to feel tricked, so follow through with valuable information.

Engage in conversation

The second thing we can learn from this campaign is to be engaged in the conversation about your company, product, service or whatever it is you do.  In fact, TOMS went a step further.  Instead of just being a part of the conversation about their product or brand, they crafted a scenario in which a lot of loyal consumers had amble opportunities to tell other people about the brand. (And feel good about themselves for promoting a worthy cause).

The lesson here is to direct the conversation rather than be tossed and carried by the waves of chance.  By being a thought leader in your industry, you earn the right to direct the tone of the conversation.  Even better if you can get your customers to do it for you.

Make sure it all relates to your business goals

This is key.  As we saw in the TOMS campaign, engaging consumers, while incredibly valuable, shouldn’t be the end goal.  Instead, it should be a tactic for reaching other business goals.  That might look like calling consumers to action—such as donating to a worthy cause, purchasing your company’s products or recommending your services.  Or, it could be more subtle, such as fostering trust between your company and the consumer.

Overall, both the marketing process and the writing process require a little creativity and a lot of focus on where you are headed, and we applaud TOMS successful campaign.  At GCJPR we are experts in creating content and outlets for engagement at all audience levels. For your business barefoot people may not be the right path, but we can help you develop and guide ideas that work for your business from conception to launch.

Photo featured on Sokoblovsky Farms' Web site, www.petitelapgiraffe.com

Today at 12:30 p.m. my officemate Ashleigh Allen announces her desire for a Petite Lap Giraffe (PLG).

At 12:31 p.m. I crush her dream, “It’s not real.”

“No, look at this… they have a Webcam,” persuades Ashleigh. “I saw him earlier.”

Him being “Vladimir” the PLG breeder’s prized Bull. Ashleigh flips around the Web site and shows me photos of the long-limbed miniatures.

Ashleigh points to different parts of the site, “Mallory, the breeder is in Russia, listen…” she puts on an accent and reads a sentence out loud, “..‘Our customers always supreme happy with the babies. So much so they send photographs and even commercials.’ They’re so cute!”

“There is no possible way that those are real,” I laugh, although I’m starting to teeter on the verge of denial as well. “Ashleigh! Go back to the Webcam, I guarantee Vladimir will be doing the exact same thing he was doing early… because it’s fake!”

As I walk back to my desk a wash of slight unease shades my officemate’s side of the room. Her white flag waves as she laughs, “But I still want one!”

DIRECTV: 1. Ashleigh:0.

For the record Ashleigh Allen is an intelligent, highly efficient professional. But that doesn’t mean she is resistant to the charm of miniature animals or a well devised advertising campaign.

Sokoblovsky Farms, Russia’s Finest Purveyors of Petite Lap Giraffes, has taken a funny television commercial to a viral level. The fantastical breeder’s site does not make reference or advertise DIRECTV services. However, it does host commercials “I am Epic Win” and “Opulence, I has it,” under the guise that the featured PLG, Ivanka, was born on the Sokoblovsky Farm.

As of the moment which Ashleigh fell in love with this tiny version of the Serengeti giant, 351,638 were also intrigued enough to click on the “I want Giraffe, clicking here” button of the fake Web site.

DIRECTV is generating awesome brand recognition without even using its name! Any large business that is clamoring to strike the elusive achievement of going viral must take note. Rather than trying to hawk services, DIRECTV is taking a moment to laugh with its existing and potential customers.

If the phase “go viral” has passed through the lips of someone at your conference table, review what DIRECTV is doing with Ivanka. It is a great case study in what viral marketing actually is.

Everyone is uber friendly, extremely helpful and inviting. This is my third internship in my public relations career, and the experience I’m gaining now before graduation is vital if I want to be hired at any firm post graduation. With that being said, there are few things that every new prospect should know.

These are the top three tips that I think are most important to become acquainted with. Read them, learn them and use them!

1. Always get a business card. With social media taking over the world, you would think that business cards are a blast from the past. But the truth is that they are just as important today as they were 20 years ago. Each business card you have in hand is one more connection, contact or future employer. After any interview, conference or meeting, ALWAYS ask for a business card. With the business card, write on the back where you met that person and the date you met with them. Six months later, when you are looking for a internship or job, you can whip out the business card, know who the person was (in case you forgot) and when you met with them. You can them email them and start the conversation out like this: “Good morning Jim Johnson- I met you July 3rd at the PRSA conference in Phoenix….” When he sees that 1) You know his name, occupation and contact info and 2) you remember the date you met, he will be more than impressed. This is just a simple way to gain a possible gig in the future.

2. Learn how to use social media efficiently. We all know how update our status and send a tweet. But do you know the right times of day to tweet or how to gain more followers? Companies are looking for fresh, young talent, and social media is HUGE. Your future employer wants you to know how to use social media and be able to do it in such a way that gains positive feedback for their company. So take a few minutes every day to learn something new related to social media. Whether it be learning how to re-tweet, how to use bit.ly or learning what a hash tag is, it’ll be 5 minutes well spent.

3. Communicate. Seems like a no brainer, right? Some people think communication is easy, but it can really make or break a relationship. It is vital to learn how to communicate with your fellow co-workers. If there is no communication within the company, then communication with a client is out of the question. My philosophy on communication is this: I would rather over communicate than under communicate. Getting 2 emails verifying the address of any event is better than not getting the email at all. And if you are still unsure about something, pick up the phone and ask. We are all so tied up in our laptops and email that we forget that an old-fashion phone call can sometimes be the best. Once the communication is solid within your company, then you can have effective communication with your clients.

Learning is a life long journey. I am still learning what the public relations world has to offer everyday that I am in the office. Even the most respected and experienced PR pros are tackling new objectives daily. What are some helpful hints that you have learned throughout your career?

Thanks for reading… Keep your eye out for more from The Intern Chronicles in the coming weeks.

In the age of now, Twitter delivers with alacrity.  Many of the same principles for interacting on Twitter can be applied from Facebook, but with a few different twists.  Remember the three C’s of Facebook were community, content and consistency.  Community on Twitter is less about group community and more about personal interaction with a brand.  The sense of community just isn’t there, but being able to have direct contact with a brand and spread positive or negative impressions about it is huge.

Content is as big a driver for Twitter as it is for other outlets.  Many users have Twitter as nothing more than a modified RSS feed.  But because of its 140 character limit, Twitter is a “push” network for content – meaning it links content from other sources such as a blog, Facebook or news site and distributes it to followers.  Be sure you are pushing good content on your feed that is relevant to your base.

Consistency is definitely important with Twitter as well.  The frequency of your posts and how often you interact with other users will help increase the interaction and awareness you’re looking for.  It’s ok on Twitter to post much more and not be 100% consistent, but we recommend posting often and without long breaks in between.  Follow some of these rules and you’ll have a better handle on this micro-blogging medium.

Start with your event date and work backwards. A timeline will keep you from missing important deadlines for weekly and monthly publications and ensure that you get information out about your event to the right places.

A calendar alert is important to send out approximately three months before your event. Most publications have calendars and will include your event information. Writing a press release in AP style that can be copied and pasted into a publication is important as well. Putting all media materials on your event website is essential as media can be directed to the site to download the information.

TV pitches must include great visual components. Think outside the box, can the chef or your event go on a morning show and cook something? If you are doing a fashion show, can you get on a morning show highlighting some of the clothes and models? Getting articles or TV segments about your event will go far with branding and awareness for your organization, but don’t count on it to sell tables or tickets or golf foursomes.

At GCJPR, we are always ready and willing to help you out with your event, your PR or both!

At GCJPR, we focus on the guest and work from there. We want the guests at our events to have fun, learn something and donate at fundraisers. Creating an environment where those are possible starts with keeping the guest in mind during the planning and execution stages.

Creating a timeline is paramount to success. A timeline during the planning stage ensures deadlines are met, invitations are dropped and video production is secured.

We believe that a carefully scripted event will enhance the experience for your guests, allowing the event to flow smoothly and eliminating long winded presenters.

Preparing an event timeline that details what is happening on the stage, including any audio visual needs, as well as event load in and VIP/Cocktail reception helps everyone stay on the same page.

If your event is large and incorporates volunteers you may want to consider holding a volunteer meeting the day before or a few hours before your event. This will allow you to assign jobs to your volunteers and explain the event’s activities.

Short programs are always better than long ones, especially for the audience. Your guests’ eyes will start glazing over from continuous talking, so think of ways to liven up your program like inserting a video or entertainment act. A stage manager will help your event move quickly by having participants backstage, which cuts down on time and ensures smooth transitions between speakers.

Always execute your event with your guests in mind and you will never lose.

GCJPR works on several events year round, however fall encompasses the bulk of functions as event season jumps off. Last weekend we managed Maricopa Health Foundation’s annual CopaBall at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. For the attendees it was only one evening but getting to that point took months of planning and preparation.

To ensure that an event will go smoothly and be enjoyable for attendees, GCJPR recommends starting the process six months out. During planning and preparation stages your human resources are crucial. These people may include but are not limited to; a logistics/site chair, an underwriting chair, a program/staging chair, an auction chair and media/public relations chair.

With a re-occurring event a great place to start is reforming the previous year’s committee. The most important thing at this time is to create a great base of people who will take your event to the next level. Be prepared for the committee to change and even grow.

If you are producing a brand new event this team is equally if not more vital to the process. Reach out to friends and business partners who may be interested in participating or who may know someone who would be a solid committee member.

As event managers, GCJPR fills multiple roles on several committees every year. We are versed in the huge commitment needed to knock an event out of the park and recommend using a firm such as ours to help you get from planning to the day of the event.

In that spirit, we’ve added a new plug-in to the GCJPR blog that will allow users of touch-phone devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, Google Android and BlackBerry Storm to access our content in a faster loading and easy to manage format. If you’re looking to take your brand mobile, we highly recommend adding the WPtouch plug-in to your WordPress blog as well.

It’s easy to get focused searching far and wide for the perfect angle to compliment your story. We all want to try something unique and different, to see something others standing around us can’t immediately see. But often when you get too focused trying to search for some far off idea, you forget to stand back and look right around yourself.

Take some time to step back from the table and look at what is around you. Who are your closest contacts, what can you use around you and do you really have to be looking that far off to tell the story you’re aiming for? When you evaluate your situation and look around, you might just discover something perfect right under your nose.

We’re always trying to take in the big picture here at GCJPR and not just the details. So remember in your next brainstorming meeting, don’t discard an idea simply because it’s the easiest to do or the one closest to you. It might be just the one you’re shooting for.

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making some of the great images for Arizona Highways. Photographic and artistic team John and Julie of J2 Photo Productions traveled up to Cherry Creek Lodge on June 18 and 19 to help tell the story of what makes the Lodge such a great place to visit. Cherry Creek Lodge is owned by GCJPR clients Sharon and Michael Lechter and will be featured in an upcoming publication of Arizona Highways.

The week before traveling up north to Young, John and Julie sat down with Editor Robert Stieve to discuss what his vision was and compiled a shot sheet. Whenever possible, it is always important to be a part of these discussions and suggest ideas based off a familiarity with the area. It could be the difference that provides the atmosphere for that perfect shot.

The first day of the shoot was dedicated almost entirely to scouting out possible locations. John was searching for an area that would offer just the right lighting conditions, tell a story and create a powerful image. After a few hours jetting around on the Lodge’s range rovers, a decision was reached on just the right spot. Jetting back to the Lodge set-up began for a dinner shoot.

Ever seen a natural and pristine looking set table filled with delicious foods and a smiling hostess? Well to create our natural shot required one burst light with a yellow-tinted filter, two flash soft boxes and just the right natural lighting from open windows. It was well over an hours worth of prep work for a single image; proof that the pictures valued most don’t often simply fall into place.

One of the best images of the shoot required an early wake-up at 4:00a.m. to begin preparations, make-up and carting gear over to the photo location. Again to obtain that natural look we were going for, Julie spent nearly an hour on hair and make-up on our beautiful model, a member of the family. The extra effort and blurry eyes were well worth it though upon review. The shot was nailed perfectly.

All told, the photo shoot was a great success. Each “natural looking” photo took a good deal of planning, vision and time. So remember the next time you see those great shots in the magazines, they came together through the vision of the photographer and hard work of his/her team.

To learn more about Cherry Creek Lodge or to book a stay at this wonderfully relaxing retreat amongst the Rim, visit www.cherrycreeklodge.com. Now is the perfect time to escape the scorching summer heat in Phoenix.

Photos credit: Matthew Dutile