PR Marketing & Strategy Blog

PR Predictions for 2011: What's on your "yes" list?

Tweet  

  

  

 delicious  

  

By Cathy

"Always in motion is the future."

This quote is one of my favorites and yes, it's from Yoda.  Preparing for the unknown is always a waste of time – how do you plan when you don’t know what you don’t know? Instead we keep our heads and hearts open for the future but spend a lot of time reviewing metrics and goals and focusing on what we do, how we do it and why.  Last week, we came together to review 2010 and learn from the past year so we can boldly go - just kidding, no more sci fi movie quotes...so we can head into 2011 armed with the knowledge and lessons of countless hours working together.  

One of the most productive tasks involved the creation of a “no” list and a “yes” list.  We asked ourselves what we want to accept and what we want to avoid in the coming year.  In developing these lists, we mapped out a strategy that illuminates our path in 2011, so here are a few highlights of what makes our "yes" list.

• Creating superheroes: This is one of the reasons why clients and former clients refer their colleagues and partners to us.  We make internal teams look good.  Really good.  Whether our client contact is a marketing vice president or a CEO, the work we do – building integrated media programs, securing coverage, generating leads and creating lasting connections with customers – makes that person shine and understand his value. 

• Taking off the tuxedos: Often, PR companies and the clients who bring them in put on their fanciest clothes and their fanciest PowerPoints for introductory meetings.  Everyone looks pretty and clean, but no one learns much about each other.  We don’t operate that way.  Because we are a goals-based agency, it’s essential for us to talk in realistic terms with clients from day one.  We find out what resources they have and what goals they want to reach, and then we make that work. 

• Passion-driven work: In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about the hedgehog concept, which refers to the sweet spot amidst the earning potential, skill set and passion of an organization.  We work where those elements meet.  We hire professionals who are fervent about the power of words and mastering their craft.   We trust in that passion – which has fueled six years of successful results for Metis clients – and we look forward to seeing where it takes us in the year ahead.