Someday, I will figure out how to use the scanner on our printer
Taking a cake decorating class is something I’ve wanted to do since college, but just recently made the time to do. As I decorated my final cake and finished my second class, I discovered there are many parallels between cake decorating and marketing. I am willing to bet that if you look close enough, these same parallels apply to almost any job that requires both precision and creativity.
Making frosting is a necessary evil.
I LOVE making pretty flowers, fancy borders and fun characters. I HATE making the frosting. Sifting the sugar, measuring out the ingredients, mixing – BORING! But, it’s also the single most important thing you do when decorating a cake. It’s a process that has to be exact – add just one extra teaspoon of water and the frosting is useless.
How much of marketing is like this? Conducting research, planning, and creating all of the backup materials and documentation isn’t always the most glorious part of a project. They don’t look beautiful or generate praise in the hallways, but without these steps, the project won’t accomplish the purpose it was designed to accomplish. It will eventually take up residence in the trash can.
A flower is rarely perfect on the first try.
As I learned how to make each flower, I discovered my own ways of perfecting the technique. It took a little time and massaging to get it right, but eventually I found the best way to achieve the result I wanted.
Like cake decorating, marketing lives somewhere between science and art. While experience has taught us the basic concepts and techniques, each project takes a bit of massaging along the way to get it just right. That’s what I love about it. If I had wanted something more concrete, I would have been a mathematician.
Just because it’s pretty doesn’t mean it tastes good.
Fondant, the kind of frosting that is completely smooth and is laid on a cake rather than spread, is a decorators dream. It makes a cake look beautiful and sophisticated at once. The problem with fondant is that most of the time it tastes awful. While fondant is prettier, I’ll choose a cake with butter cream frosting almost every time.
Likewise, some of our most creative work doesn’t accomplish what we think it will. It can be difficult to acknowledge the more attractive work isn’t accomplishing its purpose and to move on to something else, but you have to decide whether you want to create campaigns that work or campaigns that simply look pretty.
A little praise goes a long way.
Last class, my instructor complimented me on one of my flower techniques. I felt like the best cake decorating student in the entire world and decided to take the next class from this instructor.
Make people feel good about themselves and they are 100 times more likely to do what you ask them. That goes for both the people you supervise and the people you are trying to sell your product or service.
As Julia Child would say, “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
What are you passionate about in your spare time? Have you found any parallels that have helped you at work? Share below.
I’ve heard this question too many times to count, and chances are that every PR practitioner has been on the asking end a time or two. But before you bemoan the journalist who has a beef with your organization or complain about the reporter who just doesn’t get it, ask yourself the following questions:
Is it local?
This is probably one of the simplest questions you will ask yourself, but it’s also one of the most important. If the story is obviously local – for instance, something about a parade taking place in Eloy, Arizona – proceed to question two. If the local tie is not as obvious, you’ll need to be a bit more creative. And if you can’t find a local tie, chances are the story will not be picked up.
Is it urgent?
Evergreen stories are great, and I love reading them. The trouble is there’s no immediate incentive for reporters to write about them. If the story you’re pitching doesn’t have a natural deadline, try creating one by adding a recent statistic or by tying the story to recent events.
Is it human?
Just about any story you can think of will be more likely to get coverage if there is a human angle. Is it a story about a new technology, program or donation? Then talk about the people who will benefit and how their lives will improve. Better yet, ask one of those people to share a story of how they will benefit.
Is this the right person to pitch?
With today’s ever-shrinking newsroom, the reporter you’ve pitched in the past might no longer cover the same beat or even work at the paper. Do your research to make sure you’re pitching the person who will actually care about what you’re saying.
Is this the right outlet to pitch?
Not every announcement is worthy of The Today Show or the New York Times, but chances are your news will be a good fit somewhere. Have you tried pitching the town newspaper, a local blog, a trade publication, or simply posting it to the company web site, Facebook page or Twitter account?
Does it matter?
As one local journalist says: “If it sounds like PR, then it’s BS.” Just because your client or boss thinks it’s a great story, does NOT mean the story is important to anyone else. This can be tough to explain to the person who pays your salary, so you might have to go digging to give the story purpose. Is there a recent study or trend you could leverage? Is there someone who will benefit from this news that can lend a voice to the story or someone local who was involved in creating the news you can profile? Provide this context, and your story will take shape.
