Some shared the news unknowingly, like an IT consultant:

@sohath ReallyVirtual

 Helicopter hovering above Abottabad at 1AM (is a rare event).

Other tweeters were in the know, such as Donald Rumsfeld’s former Chief of Staff:

@keithurbahn

So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.

Intentional or not, these tweets show the power of this social media platform.

Amidst the bin Laden events, the Flint Group Writers were spending a month focused on Twitter, specifically looking to intricately understand the medium and harness its power for our clients and their goals. We found ways to share and enhance our personal and professional interests, from Macs to fringe music to games-in-progress sports action. We see Twitter as a good place to interact with other marketing communications professionals, including media outlets. We understand how Twitter can allow organizations to provide more attentive customer service. Several writers now turn to Twitter first for news, from local happenings in rural areas to major international developments that may affect our clients. Many writers now follow and interact with professionals who will boost Flint’s service to clients. A few are just looking to vent about their favorite sports teams. And all of us are on the prowl for opportunities in and around Twitter that will benefit our clients.

Do you tweet? Personally and/or professionally? What are your Twitter experiences? We always like to from you.

When work excites and inspires you, it’s play. SimmonsFlint shared some playfulness on May 20 at our annual client party. Our theme this year: baseball. We became The Sparks, the newest baseball team in Grand Forks.

Nice lineup, eh? (Notice our catcher?)

The evening included a batting cage, live music, a client Hall of Fame and traditional baseball fare – chili dogs, popcorn, nachos with cheese and beer (but, unlike a baseball game, it wasn’t flat). Best of all – we got to play outside of work and share a great evening in celebration of our clients.

Manager Susan Mickelson keeps her eye on the ball (as usual).

Clearly, we work passionately and play seriously. We play with messaging and strategy, traditional and social media, words and design.
Play is proven to work.
Some insights from Leo Babauta at ZenHabits.com:
When work feels like play, we can accomplish so much more:
+ Unleash creativity for higher productivity levels
Creativity is essential. And not just in the world of marketing, but in any career. The ability to think differently can solve myriad issues in the workplace. Play encourages us to open our minds to new ideas.
+ Revitalize the mind and spirit to regain focus
Does sitting at a desk all day long ever get to you? Running away for two minutes to get an icy cold beverage can do wonders for our mental clarity. So can play. Shutting off the computer (and your mobile) and playing at night gets us recharged and revved for a brand new day. Tomorrow, bring it.
+ Eliminate stress and worry for a fresh outlook
Of course there’s stress in any job. Finding a playful way to relieve built-up stress is not only healthy; it’s fun. Doing something that takes little thought can help you recharge and solve problems.
+ Attract and keep talented employees
Talented employees are not only drawn to fun companies; they stick around longer. Companies who not only work together, but play together, make cohesive teams.
Long ago, Plato said: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” He had a point.
+ Sweep out mental cobwebs and sharpen our thinking
Suffering from jumbled thoughts, hazy memories and anything-but-eloquent speech? Feel like you’ve drunk more than your share of work? Take time to relax and rejuvenate. Your brain will thank you by working smoother and clearer.
+ Discover what brings the most joy
In other words, play helps you find your passion.

The main reason we do the work we do is because we’re passionate about it.
We realize how important all of these things – peak creativity, focus, problem solving, mental clarity and passion – add up.

You’re always welcome to play in our world. It’s bound to be a good time.

That was a point in a discussion that I had yesterday with Roger Reierson, Flint Group CEO and fearless leader. He had handed me an article printed in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that he had kept entitled “In praise of older relationships” by business columnist Simon Houpt. Houpt’s article was in reaction to the news that Chevrolet had dropped Detroit-based Campbell-Ewald as its ad agency after a 90-year relationship. Frankly, long term relationships of that magnitude are rare in our industry, but at the Flint Group we feel blessed that we have bucked those industry averages. Many clients have been with us for more than a decade and several go back to our beginnings in the 1940s.

Houpt interviewed multiple clients and agencies for his article. Like several agency heads he talked to, we’ve lost clients that focused on the next hot agency (he called them the shiny new object) or because we didn’t give them “what they want” without questioning the positioning, the strategy or the impact on the brand. But inevitably their new relationships seem to fail as well.

The article and our discussions internally focus on the same truth, that the best creative work – and the best results – come out of deep, earned trust between an agency and the client. That kind of partnership is about working together, day in and day out. Much like a marriage. Don’t you agree?

Check out SunButter at http://www.sunbutter.com

SunButter, a peanut-free spread made from sunflower seeds, is one of those products that people can’t stop talking about and are constantly praising. We love it so much we keep a supply at the office for employees to enjoy. If you haven’t tried it, try it. It’s so yummy.

The main audience for SunButter is people with peanut allergies. The number of people affected by this food allergy is astounding – more than three million in the US. SunButter appeals to health and fitness buffs and regular joes too,  just because it tastes so  good. The biggest SunButter fans are online – a lot. Social media is abuzz with conversations about the product and the comments are exceptionally positive.  They are extremely creative when it comes to uses for SunButter.  This has become a form of daily entertainment and fascination for me.
Here are some recent examples of what people are posting:

• Just tried SunButter for the first time. Holy moly, where have you been all my life??
• I used to HATE celery but lately, I’ve been enjoying celery with SunButter, which I find more delicious than peanut butter…
• We loved the SunButter samples that Janet Morse was handing out – a treat for those of us who love PB&J sandwich but have a big bad nut allergy.
• SunButter is a great substitute for peanut-butter and makes the best cookies! You can have GF and peanut-free cookies!! Wicked good!
• I just got home from the grocery store and almost started crying because they were out of SunButter.
• Oh, haha, SunButter is “dangerous” because if I have it in the house I am liable to eat more than half the jar in one sitting…
• One company makes a brilliant alternative for the peanut kids called SunButter.
• I really love SunButter.

I encourage you to check the site out, try the product, become a fan and join in the conversation. Coming soon: recipe contests, video blogs and more.

The beautiful showcase kitchen at Meredith Corporation

Last week, we were thrilled to be invited to the fabulous showcase kitchen at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, IA.

The Meredith National Media Group features 23 subscription magazines – including Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal, MORE, Parents, Fitness, and American Baby – and approximately 150 special interest publications. Why were we there? To put a WoodMaster pellet grill to the test. The event included a presentation and demo of the grill, with lunch prepared on the grill for 25 editors and Meredith employees.

WoodMaster Pellet Grill performs masterfully

Meredith Chef, Steve, checks out the new WoodMaster pellet grill

Chuck Gagner, President of Northwest Manufacturing, an extremely intelligent and humble guy, introduced and demoed the grill. As he spoke, the magnificent aroma of cherry-wood grill pellets filled the air. A welcome and unusual smell on such a cold day. Des Moines was incredibly cold while we were there (and this is no exaggeration from a North Dakota girl), but the grill performed beautifully out on the patio.

Before we knew it, delicious bratwurst (specially made for the event by B&E Meats in Crookston, MN), were hot off the grill, along with shrimp skewers (yum), hamburger sliders and chicken breasts.

The chef at Meredith couldn’t get over how easy the grill was to use and how well it performed. He was very impressed by the number of brats on the grill at one time with no flare ups. Actually, he was impressed by the overall performance of the grill so we brought him out to do a little endorsement to the editors.

How did it taste? In a word, fantastic. Juicy, flavorful, and kissed with a gentle flavor of real cherry-wood smoke. The grill did us proud. Check out the WoodMaster pellet grills for yourself. With real hardwood flavor; easy, fast cooking; a three-year warranty and performance that stands up to a frigid February day in Des Moines, you can’t go wrong. They are going fast, so get your order in early.

Interest in WoodMaster Flex Fuel heats up

To get the most out of our Meredith visit, we also scheduled some additional meetings with editors about the latest and greatest furnace options from WoodMaster. We had a great time talking with Meredith editors about the new flex-fuel heating technology from WoodMaster. Living the Country Life posted an article about the WoodMaster Flex Fuel Furnace before the night ended!

SunButter takes the stage

Last but not least, we had an editorial session introducing one of our new clients, SunButter. SunButter is a spread made from roasted sunflower seeds – a tasty, allergy-free alternative to peanut butter. Although the product has been around for more than 10 years, it was new to most everyone in the group at Meredith Corporation. We will be working with some Meredith publications on different options for recipes and recipe contests, as well as providing information appealing to the growing number of peanut-allergy suffers.

If you haven’t tried SunButter yet, look for it on the peanut butter shelf or natural foods section of your grocery store, or order SunButter online. It is so good!

A big thank you goes out to the Meredith folks who made our visit so pleasant and worthwhile. They are an extraordinary company with a remarkable story. And to our clients, Chuck Gagner, Todd Strem and Kelsey Gagner, who remind us everyday why we love our jobs.

Describe Your Business Problem

Many times clients start with the end in mind, i.e. “I need a brochure.” While that sometimes may be the best option, it’s most helpful for you to describe the problem in measurable terms, such as “We would like to increase our share of architects who need our service by 5%.” With the goal in mind, your agency can help you think of other solutions to bring the desired result.

Share mandatory elements including your logo or tagline, brand colors (if your agency hasn’t created the brand), and parameters for any project. Communicate what’s on your mind, but give them the freedom to explore and provide insight into your customers.

Don’t Be Afraid to Over Communicate

Reveal as much as you can about your company, product or service. Take your agency on a tour of your operations, provide monthly sales projections and results, past research, and let them talk to your customers and front line workers. They need to be as informed as they can be to ensure that the strategy and creative executions are on target. Also, know that anything you share with your agency should remain in strictest confidence.

Discuss the Budget in Advance

Often clients have a budget in mind but are hesitant to share it in advance, preferring to see what the agency will come back with. While this approach may work well for a quote on a particular project, it can lead to a lot of wasted time developing multiple plans to get to the budgeted amount you had in mind. Also, an agency can help prioritize your marketing initiatives if you have a ballpark budget in mind. Once a budget and plan are developed, make sure to review it closely so that you understand the proposal, especially what happens if the scope changes.

Reviewing Creative

Agencies put a lot of time and thought into creative concepts. When they share a concept, don’t be afraid to give your feedback – positive or negative. Agencies rely on your understanding of your business and market, but know that they bring outside expertise and perspective and a deep understanding of strategies and tools needed to reach your target audience and bring desired results.

If you love the concept, share what you love so your agency can learn and continue to hit the mark.

If you don’t like the concept, share what you like and don’t like. To simply say, “I hate it” doesn’t help your agency produce the best results and makes it difficult for them to know where to go next. You don’t have to fix the problem, that’s what you pay an agency to do. Simply state what aspect you see as the problem and then ask them for feedback or to tweak it.

If you think the concept totally missed the mark, explain why. Otherwise, your agency may spend a lot of time trying to fix something that can’t be fixed. Revisit the goal and the end result so there can be agreement on the problem that needs to be solved.

Recognize That Everyone is a Marketer

Everyone has an opinion of how you should market your product or service – your board, staff, CEO – but it really shouldn’t be about what appeals to them; it’s all about the customer. Keep that in mind as your make your marketing decisions. Work with your agency to arm yourself with rationale for chosen strategies and tactics.

Share the Results

Your agency should be passionate about their work and want to know the results of a campaign or initiative. Share successes as well as learning opportunities; it only makes your agency stronger on your behalf.

Do you have anything to add to this list? What helps you get the most out of your agency partnership?

Photo by Andy Rob

The fundraising event was one evening featuring culinary creations and incredible silent auction items from seven premiere chefs and their restaurants in Grand Forks. Event attendees sampled the dishes, enjoyed entertainment and bid on the auction items. Highlights:
- The silent auction package from Kim Holmes of Sanders 1907 sold for $1,600
- Centerpieces from Badman Designs were beautiful decorations and, as part of the auction, wonderful fundraisers
- Best of all: The event raised more than $16,000 for babies and their families

We’re parents, aunts and uncles. And we love good food.
Combining great cooking in a lovely evening to benefit babies and their families when they need it most was a perfect fit for our team. We produced the program for the evening, as well as recipe cards of the Chefs’ Signature dishes.

We especially enjoyed interviewing the chefs. For instance, Joey Miranda of Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante has a special connection to the March of Dimes, since he and his wife had twin sons who were born four months early and required months of medical attention: One weighed 1 lb., 10 oz.; the other, 1 lb. 7 oz. It’s a bittersweet story he graciously shared in the program.

Another real treat was editing the chefs’ recipes: Try punctuating properly when you’re drooling for Dakota Harvest Bakers Profiteroles with Fall Fruit Compote, including from-scratch pastry cream!

See the finished March of Dimes Signature Chef program.

We appreciate the opportunity to work with the March of Dimes and are especially proud to have helped make a difference for little ones and their families.

I was familiar with some of the communications agencies in town, but didn’t consider using them. I didn’t understand that an agency can make you look really good – and that it can help you be smarter about your budget.

It seems a little counterintuitive, doesn’t it? Use an agency. Outsource internal work. Pay “big bucks” to do stuff that’s in your job description.

But when you work with an agency, you are really managing your responsibilities better. You’re getting superior creative executions. You’re poised for better results. And you’re getting more mileage out of your marketing budget.

I still cringe at the thought of some of our self-produced videos and television commercials. It doesn’t have to be like that. Now I have some solid experience behind me. I’ve worked with some very intelligent people. And today, I clearly see the value that an agency brings to the client.

I’ve spent much of my career on the client’s side of this kind of this kind of relationship – so I know exactly the dilemmas and challenges of working with an agency. Here are some things that I have learned:

An agency doesn’t want your job. I guarantee it! We want to work for you and with you. We want to make you look good because that makes us look good.

An agency doesn’t want to do everything. We know our expertise and our limitations. We work best when we offer up the things we are best at. Your internal team can execute on the things that they are best at.

A good agency delivers a clear perspective. No matter how well you know your audience, your knowledge is skewed by how your audience interacts with your brand. An agency can, and should, spend a great deal of time understanding your audience with a fresh and unbiased perspective.

An agency wants to be an extension of your team. We feel great pride in helping you achieve your goals. That’s a big deal to us. That’s how we measure our success. The state of your business keeps us up at night too. We want you to do well; that’s the center of our motivation.

We listen. If we are doing our job, we may not always give you exactly what you ask for. Knowing what we know about your audience and about communications, we feel it is critical to our relationship to look out for your best interest. That may or may not mean doing exactly what you say. If you aren’t being challenged by your agency, you might want to look for a new agency.

An agency is broad and deep. Now that I’m on the agency side of communications, what I appreciate most is that you tap into a lot of smart people who concentrate in communications disciplines. This is huge. Who, honestly, can keep up with how quickly our world is changing? One person can’t possibly know everything necessary to make good decisions – or create effective communications.

So… are you concerned that working with an agency will be your downfall? Think again. It just might be the smartest decision you make.