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ChAmber Blog

Get on the Love Train

12/19/2013

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by Alicia Korten, CEO of The Culture Company

Last Friday, at the Arlington Chamber's Annual Meeting, I was struck with the simplicity of the speaker's message.  If you were there, perhaps you were too.  Dr. Matthew Shank, president of Marymount University, laid out a key to business success:

Love your staff
Love your customers
Love your community
And you will prosper

In my work transforming business culture, Shank's message is one I'm hearing from many, sometimes surprising, quarters.

I was just at a trade show for sports clubs­–not exactly a touchy feely bunch. Hotelier and keynote speaker Chip Conley's message:During the recession, his focus on staff happiness caused his company Joie de Vivre to thrive while other boutique hotels died.

It all starts with culture, he let the audience know.  Great culture leads to happy staff.  Happy staff leads to happy customers. And happy customers are what make you thrive.

Among those that embrace the happiness advantage is Southwest Airlines whose stock exchange ticker symbol is LUV.  CEO Gary Kelly says their core value LUV is the secret behind forty years of consecutive profitability.

At a recent conference I was at, Kelly shared a story to shed light on how Southwest thrived during the recession while many airlines were filing for bankruptcy.

While competitors were slicing and dicing flights to find more ways to charge you fees, Southwest Airlines decided two bags fly free. What was the impetus behind the decision?  Surprisingly, it was not happy customers. It was happy staff.
Southwest Airlines knows budget-conscious customers bring bigger, more stuffable check on luggage to get around pesky baggage fees.  And that means attendants lifting heavy bags into overstuffed bins. It means delayed flights.  And it means mad customers. Not a recipe for staff happiness.

When passengers were feeling the pinch of an industry visited by Ebenezer Scrooge, Southwest shared the bags fly free LUV with creative ads like this one.

Free bags served the company's core value: LUV. In CEO Gary Kelly's words, "We put our employees first.  If they are happy, the customers will be happy."

Dr. Shank ended his keynote to the Arlington Chamber inviting local businesses to "Get on the Love Train." His invitation is a mark of the changing tide 
of business.
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How to Pitch to the Media

12/11/2013

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Picture
with contributions from Scott Brodbeck, ARLnow.com; Greg Hamilton, Arlington Magazine; Gregg Micklos, All News 99.1 WNEW; and Jennifer Nycz-Conner, The Washington Business Journal

Every business and organization wants to increase their earned media placement and gain exposure to the community. The question is, with all of the competition vying for attention from media, how do you get your news noticed and picked up by the press?

The Chamber’s Communications Council recently hosted “Back to Basics: How to Pitch to the Media” where four local journalists provided their advice for pitching. Attendees absorbed valuable information from Scott Brodbeck, Founder and Editor of ARLnow.com, Greg Hamilton, Founder and Publisher of Arlington Magazine, Gregg Micklos, News Director for CBS Radio All News 99.1 WNEW, and Jennifer Nycz-Conner, Assistant Managing Editor for The Washington Business Journal. Below are some of the key takeaways the panelists provided for businesses and nonprofits who have news to share with the media.
​
12 Tips for Pitching to the Media 
  • Do your homework. Take the time to understand the media outlet you are pitching. Know what type of stories they typically cover, who their audience is, how often they publish/broadcast, etc. Also make sure you know what type of media outlet you are pitching to.  Don’t say the story will make great visuals when you’re pitching to a radio station.

  • Find out if the outlet serves a specific geographic area. The story may be interesting, but if it is outside an outlet's circulation area, they are not going to cover it.

  • Know who to approach. Take the time to find out whom to pitch your story to. With larger media outlets, there will often be beat reporters who focus on a specific topic. For broadcast, a news director or assignment editor is typically the best contact.

  • Ask about lead or cycle times. Is there a better time of the day, week, month, etc. to approach a media outlet with a story idea? It's ok to call and ask. Keep in mind that monthly publications have longer lead times, so they will need your news further in advance than weekly/daily news outlets.

  • Be timely. Don’t wait to send your news until you’ve hired a PR firm, created an 18-page press release, etc. Get them the news quickly and succinctly.

  • Why will readers care? Before making the pitch, think about why the readers/listeners/viewers will care about the story. Make sure you’re pitching a story that will interest their audience.

  • Email first. A follow up call is okay, just be aware it can get busy during breaking news or near publication time. An editor/reporter may have a very short period of time to talk, so be concise.

  • Skip the attachments and formal releases. A few simple paragraphs about what’s happening and why they should care along with good contact information works best. Attached press releases might not be opened.

  • Include interesting tidbits. What makes your story unique? Include facts, stats, trends, figures, quotes, etc. that will help make your story interesting, credible, and stand out from others.

  • Offer sources. If approaching a media outlet with a well-developed story idea, make sure to offer contacts to provide sources for the story. More importantly, make sure those contacts will be available when the reporter reaches out to you.

  • Don't waste a reporter or editor's time. Editorial staff are often working under tight deadlines, so be as prepared as possible when making a pitch.

  • Most importantly, remember that the job of a media outlet is to serve their audience, not the businesses/organizations who want their news published. The press wants to know what is going on in the community and they want to hear from you, but the news they cover is for the benefit of their readers/listeners/viewers. Present your news to media contacts in a way that shows how relevant and interesting your story will be for their audience.

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Arlington Chamber China Adventure: "A Full-Contact Vacation"

12/5/2013

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by Jasmine Gould, Director of Business Development, Strategic Consulting Partners

In October 2013, the Arlington Chamber of Commerce gave us a unique opportunity to go as a group to China for 10 days to explore the lovely cities of Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.  The itinerary was full of all the famous places to see, fabulous hotels, and one of the best tour companies in the country to show us around.

Every day we were up with the sunrise and came back to the hotel after sunset. We had the opportunity to explore the four cities, learn about the history and see demonstrations of their impressive and gorgeous artistic talents. Our adventure consisted of 12-15 hour days of non-stop sight seeing.  The participants’ nickname for our trip was “the Full-Contact Vacation.”  Despite how exciting and interesting the itinerary was, there was no time for rest, or, according to the Chinese, no time to sleep like a ‘dead pig.’

Our first day was spent walking around one of the biggest man-made lakes in the world at the Summer Place.  As a pleasant surprise, we were lucky enough to see the famous large rubber duck that has traveled all over the world and just so happened to be in Beijing while we were visiting. The most exciting of course, was the climbing the steps of the Great Wall. Pictures and words can only convey so much of the beauty and intensity of being at one of the Seven Wonders of the World. We climbed over 1000 steps that were tattered, broken, and uneven along with large mobs of tourists from all over the world. The Asian tourists seemed to be more interested in taking pictures with us than the Great Wall. They expressed their admiration for our Western features and their excitement to meet us while sharing minimal but memorable words of exhaustion while we climbed the Great Wall together.

Of course the highlights were the Great Wall, Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, and the famous flashing and sparkling lights of Shanghai at nighttime, but we were able to see so much more. The most impressive and intricate was seeing the process of making silk garments, rugs, and extremely detailed silk embroidery pictures. We were able to see the creation of jade carvings and cloisonné after wandering through gorgeous gardens and temples. We also got to learn about Chinese medicine and about the different grades of Green Tea. Although we saw many ‘interesting’ things to eat on the street, like scorpions, snakes, tarantulas, crickets, live chickens, and testicles (only to name a few), our food was provided through the tour company in abundance. 

We shopped until we dropped (at least my family did), ate until we were stuffed, and walked until we couldn't walk anymore. At times I would look up at the high-rise buildings and the modern streets, and forget I was in China. After traveling to Asia many times but never to Mainland China, the itinerary full of fabulous site seeing seemed like a trip worthy of bringing the whole family. 

Strategic Consulting Partners is a member of the chamber and a family business, so it was a great way for us to couple a family vacation with business networking with the other Chamber participants.  It not only was a chance to network, but a great chance to build long lasting relationships with the other Chamber members. The cities, the people, and the history of this gorgeous country were so impressive and dynamic. I am so grateful to have had the amazing opportunity to see the progress, innovation, and intensity of China in person. It was truly a trip of a lifetime! :)
​
Editor’s Note: The Chamber’s China trip is made possible thanks to our partnership with Citslinc International, Inc. The Chamber plans to continue our international destination trips; for more information about future travel opportunities contact the Chamber atchamber@arlingtonchamber.org or 703-525-2400. ​
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