Caroline Duffy

15 Crystal-Clear Truths Learned After 15 Years

Jul
16

Written by: Caroline Duffy

Jackson Spalding celebrated its crystal anniversary–15 years in business– on July 14. Following are some random lessons I’ve learned while watching our company grow.

  1. It’s easier to achieve your vision if you have one on paper. One of the first things we did as a firm was to develop our vision, our mission and our values. It may sound trite, but this document is like a rudder that guides us in virtually all of our decisions. Really.
  2. Once you have a written vision you have to live it. Easier said than done, but this is how you build a culture and a culture brings your brand to life. A lot of companies have great marketing campaigns, but they fail to live up to it in their day-to-day interactions.
  3. Partners trump vendors every time. If clients view their marketing team as partners the relationship will flourish. Likewise, if partners invest in their clients, they will be rewarded. We invested in our relationship with a major corporation when they hit hard times and it has paid off.
  4. Creativity counts. We once clinched a pitch by writing and performing a song for the client. Our competitors who overheard it as they waited in the lobby made a snide comment as we exited. But, we won the business and today this company is our largest client. Two lessons here: don’t be afraid to be different and be a gracious competitor.
  5. Community involvement is the best marketing. Invest your time and talent in organizations that mean something to you. Your passion will pay you back with patronage a few years down the road.
  6. The best PR people don’t always study PR in college. Some of our best and brightest graduated in majors such as Art History, Forestry and Economics. There are many ways to skin this cat we call PR. Diverse perspectives bring clients value.
  7. Luxury brands don’t always have luxury budgets. ’nuff said.
  8. Take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. We knew this, but when we saw the mantra come to life at one of the top 10 companies to work for in the U.S. it became part of our own DNA. For me, this means the opportunity to work a flex schedule so I can be more involved as a spouse and mother. For others it meant the time to heal from a major illness without worrying about recourse. For still others it is the chance to work virtually from another city instead of looking for a less-satisfying job. I think we all work harder for our clients because of this privilege.
  9. Union bosses are masterful PR people. They know how to work the media and their corporate campaigns are designed to wear down and distract their opponents. If you have a large workforce you’ll benefit by boning up on the union playbook. If you haven’t taken the time to build an internal culture, you better get busy with that.
  10. The truth shall set you free. Despite what the cynics predicted, Ashley Smith, Atlanta’s hostage hero, has put a meth addiction behind her and has built a new life. She is married; has custody of her daughter Paige, will soon have a degree as a radiation technician, and may be the subject of a feature film before too long. In her spare time, she counsels addicts through Celebrate Recovery and inspires audiences as a motivational speaker. God gave her a second chance and she’s taking it.
  11. PR people around the world are a lot alike. I have had the privilege of being active in a global network of the top independent PR firms in the world. From San Paolo to Seattle to Singapore they are some of the best people I know. And, no matter their native tongue, I recently learned that they all can sing-along to Beach Boys tunes in English! The PROI network is far more seamless and connected than the co-branded offices that made up my former global firm.
  12. RFPs are “rarely found productive.” Ask a lot of questions and be sure you have a fighting chance before investing your time and giving away your intellectual property.
  13. Cashing in frequent flyer miles for upgrades is totally worth it. Especially if your business destination is Shanghai. BusinessElite is a rarified world and a great hedge against thrombosis.
  14. Nurture your network. I have been good and bad about this over the years. I’m trying to get back into the “good” column by getting out more and reconnecting with people I care about. If you don’t make time to do it, you will waste away along with this asset.
  15. Time really does fly when you are having fun. I thought 10 years was a record. But now I’ve been here 15 years and my firstborn—the inspiration for my flex schedule—is heading off to college. It must be the fun that has kept my interest. And, the chance to live out a vision.

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Postcards for the hedge: Neighbor sends thanks for sidewalk flowers

Jun
22

Written by: Caroline Duffy

Garden Postcard

As the sidewalk garden grows, so do the expressions of appreciation for it.  You may remember the garden I wrote about in April. This week  I received a postcard from a neighbor who took the time to thank me in writing even though she doesn’t (yet!) know my name.

It’s still nice to hear people shout, “Thank you for growing your garden,” as they drive by in a hurry. But it’s even better to see the thanks in writing.

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Delving into the modern science of Spamthropology

Jun
2

Written by: Caroline Duffy

At least twice a week I receive long emails from perfect strangers wielding arcane or illegitimate words like “append” and “optin.” They are uninvited messages encouraging me to purchase lists of other strangers who I might want my company to assault with our own brand of uninvited email.

Some of these epistles start with cheer, as in “Hope you’re doing great.” Some are downright ominous, as in “Do I have your attention?” All of them are completely off-target and irrelevant, considering Jackson Spalding’s passion for in-person relationship building.

I checked with our Web gurus and they tell me that this scatter-shot sales approach violates one of the cardinal rules of electronic communications:  ask for permission before cyber-selling, lest you be sent to the sp(l)ammer. The sad news is that a recent Microsoft security report estimates that spam represents about 97 percent of all email now sent over the internet.

This growing trend of unwanted email got me thinking about spam and what it says about contemporary global society.  So, I’m keeping an informal log on the emails that are snared in our hard-working spam filter every day. And, another log of all the unsolicited email that creeps past our firewall.

As I sift through my research, it occurs to me that I’m on the frontier of a new dimension of cultural anthropology. Future archeologists will examine our collective computer chips and conclude a troubling legacy for us. Based on my daily traffic, they will paint a picture of a narcissistic, materialistic, sex-obsessed culture that has trouble staying sober, slim, punctual and out of debt.

We, the people, are apparently always on the hunt for Viagra, Vicotin and vacation deals.  And watches.  I don’t know about you, but I already own three very nice watches and I don’t foresee needing another one any time soon. So why this universal craze for cheap timepieces? Is the whole entire world now on billable time?  I hope not.

I can always count on a daily message urging me to enhance a body part that I don’t have. Or, to connect with members of my own sex who apparently have enhanced body parts that God already supplied to me. Sort of creepy, this spam.

And speaking of creepy, isn’t it really weird that Olympian spammers come from places like the Ukraine, Brazil, Nigeria and Poland? Developing countries appear to have an advanced hacker workforce. I’m told that some of these hackers have been successful in cracking into online banking accounts from the comfort of their faraway perches. So, Internet security is becoming more and more important for not only corporations, but also for individuals.

I liked the world better when Spam came in a can and you had the option to purchase or not to purchase at your local grocer.

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Can we rescue journalism from the smut rut?

Apr
28

Written by: Caroline Duffy

Vanity Fair has decided that we need to be acquainted with Tiger’s Tattletale Women.  The photo feature in the May 2010 edition looks more like Playboy eye-candy than a doctors’ office read.  I don’t give a flip about Tiger Woods, although I must concede he’s a hot news commodity.  I just don’t need this kind of hot staring me down from the grocery store shelf.  He’s been to therapy, the Masters are over, so enough already. Can’t we avoid giving his call girls a celebrity launching pad? I guess when they told us to write to a 13-year-old audience in journalism school that this is what they meant.  Geez.  I thought Vanity Fair was a bit more high-brow.

Meanwhile, Entertainment Tonight is airing installments from Hector, the baseball coach, who is claiming a recent affair with Larry King’s wife, Shawn.  I have a hard time imagining that little league baseball or even Larry King are truly entertainment, but hey, it’s a 24-7 news cycle and it begs to be fed.  And Hector probably is hoping for a modeling job.  I doubt that he’s still coaching the young King boys on their batting technique.

In March we had a parade of stories detailing the colorful body shop hook-ups of Jesse James, Sandra Bullock’s husband.  I still haven’t gotten used to the idea of him as a real celebrity and now his freak-showesque harem is vying for the microphone.  I smell a few book deals underneath all that ink.  And, maybe another Oscar nod for Sandy.

A few months ago it was impossible to avoid the news trickle about Rielle Hunter (nee Lisa Jo Druck) who destroyed John Edwards’ marriage and political career with the introduction of baby Quinn. Riellly, do we need all the details?  Does Elizabeth deserve this embarrassment?  Do we have to know about the videotape?

And, Eliot Spitzer is back in the news now that his New York Madam has announced she’s running for governor on the Libertarian ticket with a pitch to legalize prostitution. I can only imagine the campaign parties.

It seems the truth is stranger than fiction these days.  I thought the news was supposed to be about things that rarely happen.  I think that calls for some stories about happy-ever-afters among regular folks from Iowa.

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Conversation magnets: sidewalks, poppies, puppies

Apr
7

Written by: Caroline Duffy

I live on a very busy street where traffic can resemble the Autobahn or a pre-Christmas line at the post office, depending on the time of day. About a year ago, our county decided to install sidewalks, which had many of us wondering how our property values might be affected. At the end of what seemed like never-ending construction, the contractor slapped down a strip of sod in a space between the curb and the sidewalk. My olive-drab patch seemed unlikely to survive, so I decided to replace it with a wildflower garden.

I spent days digging up the rocks and concrete in the shallow space, replacing them with potting soil. It would have been a relaxing activity, except that I had to keep one eye peeled for speeding commuters and the other fixed on the task at hand. Finally, I was relieved to sow my bags of seeds from a standing position, which gave me a fighting chance of survival if an errant vehicle careened in my direction.

Within a few weeks, the flowers began to sprout and I would look forward to getting home each day to inspect nature’s progress. Before too long, neighbors started stopping by, too. I call them neighbors, but they were really just strangers who happened to share my same zip-code. As the poppies and miniature sunflowers began to fill in and nod their heads in the breeze, I began to get comments from drivers who slowed or honked in approval.

“Thank you for growing your garden,” they shout. “It puts me in a good mood everyday.” Lord knows, we need more Atlanta drivers who are in a good frame of mind.

Spring turned to summer and more and more walkers and runners began to populate the sidewalks, often with their dogs in tow. My little roadside garden provided conversation alchemy. Anonymous faces have become casual friends. There is the power-walker in the floppy bonnet who strides by with news about the vacant lot down the way. The nurses who walk and talk over their lunch break, stopping to admire the flowers. The MARTA commuter, relieved for a safer trek to the station. And, our next-door neighbors, who have re-emerged after years behind their fence to offer homegrown tomatoes.

The sidewalk has been good for me, too. It makes me venture out with my frisky Jack Russell, who is a conversation starter himself. He has introduced me to a retired couple several blocks away who have shared offshoots from their purple hydrangas and a Greek seamstress who has offered me a cutting from her fig tree. As I see it, the sidewalk we worried about has actually improved our property values and our quality of life. It’s been the catalyst for conversation and community.

It’s seed sowing time again, so I’ve been back at the sidewalk turning the soil and pulling up weeds. The traffic this year seems kinder and gentler. They de-accelerate as they approach my patch. They smile as they jog and tell me they are looking forward to the flowers. This year, I might add some suggestive signage for the diehards, encouraging them to stop and smell the roses.

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A hang-up I’d like to share

Feb
18

Written by: Caroline Duffy

Cell phones are marvelous inventions.

They allow us to work virtually, to share special moments in real-time and on more than one occasion they have even saved lives.  But, as wonderful as they are, they also have a dark side.   They can rob us of the joy of quiet reflection, they can act as an electronic time waster and they can contribute to serious injuries and even death.

For a long time, I have thought to myself that cell phones needed a warning label, much like we find on beer cans and other consumer products.

I’m amazed at how many intelligent adults lose all sense of decorum when their ear is distracted by the call of their “own private Idaho.” I have squirmed in a nice Chinese restaurant while a man in a business suit reviewed the particulars of his failed marriage within earshot of my grade-school children.  This particular conversation was laced with many small words that they hadn’t yet learned and I didn’t want to define.

I silently seethe as my own sweet sister lets call after call interrupt the beauty and mental continuity of our shared walk on a winding mountain road. What is intended as catch-up time suddenly is tossed aside as a lost moment in time.

I have watched young mothers pick up their toddlers from school with nary a word to their child while yakking away into a palm-sized piece of plastic about something apparently more important.

What kind of messages are we sending with our compulsive communications addiction? Using cell phones is appropriate in certain settings, but not in others. We all need to exercise more self-control.

What disturbs me the most are the hundreds of motorists who seem to think that calling and driving are compatible activities. That’s why I was thrilled when 11Alive asked us to help get the word out about the 11Alive Great Hang Up to educate Atlantans about the dangers of texting and driving.

The station put drivers from all walks of life on a test course and measured how their performance was affected by incoming calls and texts. Turns out, talking on a Bluetooth is just as bad as driving drunk.  You can see for yourself here.

I hope that companies, families and individuals will take the time to watch this coverage and take the pledge to hang up while driving.  You can download the pledge here.   Everyone talks about the importance of having this conversation with young drivers.  I agree, but it’s the adult drivers who first need to hang up and have a conversation with themselves about the example they are setting.

Great Hang Up

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