Holiday Memories

Not to get too corny, but Hayslett Group staff members take a moment to reflect on favorite holiday moments and memories...What's yours?

"As adults we've all learned by now (hopefully!) that giving is better than receiving, but never was the "giving" as delightful as when my daughter was three years old. Anything related to Christmas is met with oohs and ahs from a three year old. There are no opinions on the latest toy fads, no whines over the wrong doll collection and no written lists of unattainable gifts.... just pure elation over anything that blinks, twinkles or has a shiny nose.

Twenty years later, I still remember that 30 minutes of sheer joy and pleasure as I strolled up and down the aisles of the discount store, laughing out loud as I pulled beautiful, but inexpensive shiny new toys and cuddly, furry, lovable things into my cart. And all these gifts were squealed over and hugged on Christmas morning, but mind you, this only lasts for one year!" -Judy Hayslett

"About 15 years ago, my parents decided they couldn’t keep up with all the nieces and nephews likes and dislikes, so they started giving everyone money. (Mind you they are all in their 30’s now!) But they didn’t just hand out a check, a bill or a card. Every year, they hid the money in our house, and the cousins had to find it. For example, one year, my parents folded the bills origami style into everyone’s initials and hung them on the tree like ornaments. Another year they carefully cracked open walnuts, gutted them, put the bills inside the walnuts, glued them back together, and then filled a bowl with the “nuts” and put them out on a side table. My absolute favorite ever though, was the year they got a box of piroulines cookies, those long skinny, delicate cookies filled with chocolate…my father got out his tiniest drill bit ever and gently drilled out the chocolate from the cookies, rolled a bill up as tiny as possible, stuffed it in the cookie, and the “resealed” the cookie on the ends with the gutted chocolate. Of course, these cookies then made their debut on the dessert table….Every year it is so much fun to have everyone “wonder and search” for them, and laugh and remember the crazy and amazingly creative things my parents have come up with in the past. They are pretty cool for parents." -Michelle Clark

"Flocking and decorating the tree was a big deal in the Parker house. We didn't have rigid restrictions as to the date we put our tree up, but there were no Charlie Brown Christmas trees allowed. I guess the fake snow on the tree was meant to complement the real snow on the outside. We usually had plenty by Christmas because I grew up in Illinois." - Jackie Parker

"I remember going downtown to Rich's with my mama all dressed up in my new RED Christmas dress to ride the Pink Pig and see Santa... Rich's had Santa's reindeer so you could see them as you waited to see Santa. All of this was on the top floor of Rich's and you could see the BIG tree right outside. The Pink Pig rode OVER the Rich's TOY Department! Very exciting at age 4! I asked Santa for a little piano and to my surprise Christmas morning....I had a toy black grand piano just my size that I dearly LOVED. I expect my sister didn't love it as much since I 'banged' on it ....no formal lessons yet!" - Denise Grove

"The first Christmas we took our grandchildren, Drew 4 and Emily 3, to a tree farm to cut down a Christmas tree turned out to be a lesson in reasoning with children.

I explained to the kids that we were looking for a tree that was just the right size for us. As we walked around I asked the kids if they liked this tree or that tree. Drew liked all the really big trees, but Emily didn't like any of the trees until she saw a little 'Charlie Brown' type tree. She wrapped her arms around the tree and hugged it saying this was the perfect tree!

Drew looked at the tree and said that it was too little to be a Christmas tree; we needed one as tall as a house. Emily kept hugging the tree. I told her that the tree she selected was just a baby tree, and that it would make the mommy tree sad for us to cut it down until it was big enough to make a wonderful Christmas tree. Emily said okay and gave the tree one last hug. We finally selected another tree that Drew deemed big enough and Emily okayed. However, when Grandfather proceeded to cut the tree down, Emily started crying and yelling, "Stop!" She said we could not cut the tree because it was a mommy tree, and it would make the baby tree really sad. Drew looked around at all of the trees and said that all the big trees were mommy trees...We couldn't cut any of them.

As we walked back to the car, treeless, I asked Drew and Emily if they would like to buy a tree that was already cut or use an artificial tree. Drew said that we could buy a tree that had already been cut because they were orphans and would like to be with a family for Christmas. Emily agreed so off we went to the 'orphan' tree lot."

-Ann Collins

Firms Team Up on Eminent Domain

The Georgia Association of REALTORS® has hired the team of Bigelow Advertising and Hayslett Group Strategic Communications to launch a statewide campaign to push for eminent domain legislation. The REALTOR’s campaign seeks to re-establish private property rights for Georgians following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. New London.

The team has created a multi-faceted campaign that incorporates traditional advertising, media relations, public affairs work and grassroots involvement.

“The Georgia Association of REALTORS is very appreciative of the work this team has delivered,” said Bob Hamilton, GAR’s chief executive officer. “Bigelow and Hayslett Group have developed a comprehensive campaign that gets to the heart of the issue on eminent domain and should serve us well as we move toward being a part of the solution during the next General Assembly.”

Bigelow Advertising designed a look and feel that is carried throughout the campaign’s specially designed website, yard signage, bumper stickers and collateral. The agency also developed a radio campaign that will run in markets across the state.

Hayslett Group officially launched the campaign with a press conference held at the Georgia state capitol in October. A broad media relations effort will extend the reach of the story throughout the length of the campaign, which is expected to run through the next Georgia General Assembly.

Together, the two agencies developed the structure and content for the campaign’s website, www.protectGAprivateproperty.com. The site serves as a hub for the mobilization of a concerted grassroots campaign. With the Association’s 36,000 members across the state, the website operates as a repository for vital information on the issue and provides tools by which citizens can deliver e-mail messages to their legislators requesting support for enacting legislation to curb eminent domain abuse.

“We are very pleased to be working with the Georgia Association of REALTORS,” said Tom Bigelow, president of Bigelow Advertising. “This campaign allows us to develop a quality creative effort that also works toward resolving a very real concern; that being the need to create legislation designed to curb eminent domain abuse.”

Charlie Hayslett, president of Hayslett Group added, “Our firm prides itself on our ability to help groups such as the Georgian Association of REALTORS shape policy for the betterment of the public. The work we are able to do on this campaign should help restore the concept of private property rights for Georgians.”

For the Love of it: HG Pro-Bono work

A local publication for the communications industry, Oz Magazine, recently highlighted several Atlanta agencies and firms for their pro-bono work in an article entitled "Let the Good Works Roll" by Zachary Keebaugh. Hayslett Group was profiled for the piece for our work with Cochran Mill Nature Center in South Fulton. You can read the entire article at Oz' s website, or the short Hayslett excerpt.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Holidays from All of us here at Hayslett Group! Don't eat too much turkey!

New Client Update

Hayslett Group will aid in research and strategic communications planning for Memorial Hospital & Manor, a non-profit community hospital located in Bainbridge, Georgia.

For more information on Memorial Hospital & Manor, go to www.mh-m.org.

And the Phoenix Goes to...

Last night was the lovely Public Relations society of America Phoenix Awards celebration. The dessert was delicious and the conversation delightful. Hayslett Group was honored to receive a Phoenix Award for a speech we wrote for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and two certificates of excellence for an Op-Ed we wrote for the Hyde Family farm several months ago and for our integrated communications campaign for Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, Georgia. In particular, just the fact that our small, rural hospital client was in the running with the National Dairy Association is wonderful! Nothing beats doing quality work with quality clients!

In October, we were honored by the International Association of Business Communicators with a Gold Flame Award for the same speech as above, and two Bronze Flames for a logo we designed for Cochran Mill Nature Center and for our HealthPlex at Sumter Regional Event campaign.

Thanks to all of our clients and staff members for their creativity and hard work! And Congratulations to all the other firms and business that won for their fine work.

Online Marketing Tip

This is short and sweet.

A couple of years ago I realized I didn't know enough about interent and online marketing. I wasn't sure how to maximize the potential of our website, how to track its effectiveness, and how to improve upon it. After all, why have it if it does nothing for you? This was kinda scary, attempting to keep up with all the changing technologies out there, but I figure I better know something and keep pace. I stumbled on to this website, Dr. Ralph Wilson's Web Marketing Today, which is very large and filled with all kinds of information. Almost too much, overwhelming for me, so I just stick to the e-newsletter I get from them every once in a while. I really appreciate and enjoy the little tips. I can't become an expert in this stuff overnight, but little by little I can use the tips and follow up on some of the things that really sound helpful.

And it has worked...I have tracked our web stats over the past two years. The changes to content, increase in our online presence, and increase in traffic leads have resulted in an increase not only in visitors, but quality visitors who are seriously interested in our services. The amount of visitors who have spent over 10 minutes at our site has risen remarkably! Not to mention we have tracked our business leads and have seen a rise and direct link to web referred clients..the ultimate "web conversion."

Enjoy. If you want to ask us about some of the specifics we have done to make our web site a more viable marketing tool, feel free to leave a comment or email us!

Boring! Boring! Boring!

I am thoroughly impressed by how boring a lot of communications professionals' publications are. Half the stuff I get in the mail I can't even read it is so visually uninteresting. I wonder why the very publications that are put out to attract people who communicate for a living are not designed to effectively do so.

Not all of them are boring. Most graphic design and advertising stuff: print, Communication Arts and local pubs like Oz Magazine and Create are fairly interesting to interact with. They are engaging. However, PR and marketing pubs...blech. The majority of them are just not visually interesting, much less stimulating. Why?

I want to learn about the latest trends and tips and studies in PR and Marketing. I want to file away articles and keep back issues on my shelves for years...but I am bored before I even pick them up...half the time publications get left on my desk for months before I finally forget my book at the house and desperately need something to read on the train ride home.

While this seems like a rant, and I suppose it is, I actually was first inspired to write this because of a particularly good, fun, direct mail industry publication I have been getting for the past year or so. It is called Deliver, and it is put out by the USPS for goodness sake, who does a better job of catching my eye, and quite honestly the secretary's eye, than associations devoted to "catching one's eye." After all, the secretary sorts through the mail and makes the first cuts as to what ends up in our mailboxes. I am sure many other company's have the same thing happening in their offices.


Another publication that has pleasantly surprised me in the past year is IABC Atlanta's most recent format for their newsletter, empart. It is interesting and different. A huge improvement on the original. I delight it it's charming size and use of two colors.

In closing, I thank all publications who have dared to make me excited, and I ask all publishers in a general plea on behalf of readers of all kinds: Don't be afraid to make it interesting.

And of course...Happy Halloween!

Yay!

We don't know exactly what level of awards we won yet, but we just heard today that we won something from PRSA for the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta "Hope & Will" speech, a Hyde Farm Op-Ed and the Sumter Regional Hospital "Community Minded...Just Like You" campaign, and from IABC we won something for the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta "Hope & Will" speech,

the HealthPlex at Sumter Regional Grand Opening campaign and pro-bono client, Cochran Mill Nature Center's, "Nature + Nurture" Volunteer Logo.

Yay! We will let you know what level of award when we do!

And PR for all…

A couple of months ago I read an article about a new franchise called PR Store in Inc. Magazine. I read a less positive article about the same franchise a little bit later. This stirred up in me the concept of communications tools being available to all. PR Store’s concept is that everyone, not just the guys who can afford to spend tons on money on it, should utilize the tools of Public Relations in their everyday business plans, and be able to do so at a reasonable price. Too often PR is seen as a luxury method of reaching and shaping audiences’ perceptions, and it is rarely thought of as a standard or cost effective method for small and many medium sized companies.

I believe in the PR Store philosophy. The counterpoint to this sunny idealism is that when you start taking a business service that is considered an “art form,” such as: public relations, marketing, copywriting, advertising and graphic design, and begin to sell it as a bargain basement product, minus the (costly) creative process and the planning involved in high quality business services, you are stripping the service of its value. It is somehow “cheapening,” lowering the art form and diluting the talent pool.

I can see how this might tug at one’s heart. Especially when a communications professional has spent years developing their personal skills, making contacts and honing their practical skills. This sort of commoditizing of art forms happens all the time, and with it comes, yep, mediocre versions of the original form of art.

I say so what. There is a version appropriate for everyone. And God Bless America that for every business need there is a product/service scrambling to fill that need, no matter what the price or market. Yes it stinks that the “art” of what you or I might do for a living is now being be done for a lot cheaper by folks with possibly a lot less experience and skill, but if it means the possibility of extending and extolling the virtues of communications services to more businesses in more markets, I say yay, let there be marketing, copywriting, advertising, graphic design and PR for all…

What do you think?

Fall "Lunch & Learn"

Upcoming Seminar
October 26, 2005, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Public Relations Impact On The Bottom Line

Hayslett Group would like to cordially invite you to join our office and contacts to "Lunch & Learn." We will provide the complimentary nourishment for mind & body. So, come on out to our office and nibble on lunch while we share a PRSA sponsered webcast with you. This is a great way to break up the busy work week and sneak in a mini-study course! All at no cost to you or your company. We look forward to seeing you there!

We are sorry, but there are no longer any seats available for this event.

For more details on this event, visit this issue of our newsletter, Communique, online.

Hurricane Katrina and You

Every time I catch the news or manage to read stories in the AJC or NYT these days, I'm constantly struck by how massive the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina seems to be. There are so many different ways to help!

HG joined in on the efforts to help, and donated school supplies for children affected by the storm through Atlanta's All The Hits Q100, Kathy Cox, Superindent of Schools/State of Georgia, UPS and the Salvation Army. The radio station's goal is to provide backpacks filled with school supplies for the over 5000 children that have relocated to Atlanta because of Katrina. We hope that our efforts in providing these backpacks will help a child feel welcomed to Georgia and more like the other students.

I'm curious, though, as to what the readers of our BloHG and their companies have done, with regard to the ongoing relief efforts. I'm also interested in finding out whether or not your company publicized any of its relief activities. Finally, do you think corporations should publicize their good works via press releases, or do you think it's more noble to quietly contribute?

Extraordinary Examples of Caring

So, we don't want to toot our own horn, but...well, we will.

Recently, Hayslett Group won an Overall LACP Bronze Vision award for the first ever Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals (GACH) Annual Report, Extraordinary Examples of Caring. Of course we are honored, but what was more of an honor, was the act of creating the publication.

Involving the GACH member hospitals in the development of the publication gave us the opportunity to hear and share the heart-lifting stories from various community hospitals around Georgia. We are not saying this just because GACH is our client. The hospitals we featured in the publication truly gave their all in helping us tell their stories, and quite honestly, give their all every day in their communities.

While the client made this project fulfilling, I have to mention that I found the atmosphere at Hayslett Group surrounding the project very exciting also. While Hayslett Group has produced many wonderful publications over the years, and has won over 80 awards for their endeavors, this would be the first annual report Hayslett Group planned, wrote, art directed, designed and produced all in- house. The only outside vendor was our printer. As a team, Hayslett Group worked on the project utilizing every staff member's unique and complementary talents to produce an award-winning, and heart-rending annual report.

It's one of those things I think we could do a better job of telling our clients about....we do it all.

And we do it well.

Too often we get pigeon-holed as a PR firm, but our everyday operations, and our name "Hayslett Group, Strategic Communications," says it all. We are communicators, not just pr practitioners. We are strategists, designers, speechwriters, media reps, marketers, copywriters, producers, fighters, dreamers and believers...okay that got a little hokey, but you get the picture.

Oh yeah, we also happen to love what we do.

Do you? Tell us about it.

Atlanta Traffic

I was thinking the other day, as I sat on Roswell Road (going nowhere fast), how many times I've had to be on time for an important meeting, only to be thwarted by the uncooperative and always-present Atlanta traffic...it's hard to rememeber a time when I didn't rely on my cell phone to call a client or boss, to let them know I might be a few minutes late, thanks to an unexpected lane closure/wreck/thunderstorm on Ga. 400/I-285/I-85/I-75/I-20/elsewhere. I figured this might be a fun thread to ask BloHGers to share their stories about how they managed to make an important meeting PRIOR to the days of Cingular, Sprint PCS and Nextel...tell how your creativity came into play as you tried to get from Point A to Point B!

Meanwhile, I'll sit here and wait...much the same way I do in my car, on a daily basis.... :)

Leap of Faith

Every so often... Wonderful, successful, insightful, inspiring, progressive and innovative ideas and work get all the way through the myriad of levels of client approvals, and pleasantly astonish both a client and the client's industry peers. Examples of this kind of work? Industry professional organizations' competitions showcase extraordinary work and so do industry publications. They are great sources for inspiration and hope that the latest, greatest idea you or your team has had may in fact make it to the other side of the chasm of approvals and land on safe ground. A lot of times, it requires the "leap of faith."

Communicating in new ways, using new tools and ideas, can be overwhelming, confusing and quite honestly, scary for clients used to doing things one way. Change as we all know is not necessarily an easy or fun thing. But some companies are embracing the challenges of being progressive and are pushing forward to establish themselves as new and innovative communicators in industries that are traditionally very conservative.

For example, in the highly educated, specialized worlds of semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, customers and stakeholders were just not getting the message. The challenge? Very often to just make what so many "regular" people consider "boring and complex" stuff actually interesting, exciting and appealing. Many companies feel that they may lose the mystique of their complex industry or are lowering themselves to pander to the crowds, but quite frankly, the companies that strive to listen to, adapt for and reach out to their customers and stakeholders (on their terms) are pleasing and engaging the very people that make a company successfull.


Here are a few examples of exciting communications from conservative companies recently showcased in the magazine, STEP INSIDE DESIGN. The first being a recruiting brochure for Xoma, a biopharmaceutical company hoping to attract energetic and upbeat potential employees. Their website is beautiful also.


This next example is of the annual report for The Semiconductor Industry Association. This annual report was physically smaller than 8.5 x 11, and employed silver inks and bold type treatments...not exactly traditional or conservative...it was instead, engaging and exciting.



Finally, The Baltimore Museum of Industry's quarterly "Nuts & Bolts" newsletter was revamped to hopefully generate a buzz around a museum most Baltimore residents were unaware even existed. The result was very dramatic oversized publication.

Guerilla Communications

With all the stress that is involved in a communications professional's life and work, I on occasion seek refreshing examples of communication in action. I have always been fond of guerilla artists...Artists who take their messages to the street and share random stuff everywhere and anywhere.

For example, in our own Little Five Points here in Atlanta, and actually in other neighborhoods also, you may have noticed "Stop" signs that are stickered or written on to read "Stop berating your self" "Stop acting like your mother" etc. or perhaps you have seen the "Obey" Andre the Giant stickers & posters around...one artist started putting these up years ago, now there is worldwide involvement, a website and a successfull business based on it! Not to mention "Obey" was on the Simpsons a couple of weeks ago. Check out Obey the Giant if it intrigues you.

In any case, today I found a wonderful, happy communications effort, that cheered me up. I share with you the "You are Beautiful" campaign...which has also spread across the U.S. All done willingly and for free by random folks. All communicating effectively a lovely little thought to a whole lot of people who could use it.

Hmm...now I want to join in...

All the Glitters is not Sold

Now I love technology. It is an integral part of every single one of my days. I spend huge amounts of time struggling to keep up with new software, techniques and trends. In particular, trends that are web related.

Our firm has been very proactive about learning and finding out more about RSS, blogs, online media rooms, etc. and how they can help or hinder our clients' communications efforts. Lately though, I have been getting annoyed by all the glitter in technology. What I mean is, all the new animation, effects, super-cool sounds and fancy pants gadgets and gizmos that are soooo distracting if used in a careless manner. These things were developed to help illustrate a message...they are instead becoming the message. I see it all the time. Super cool flash intros on websites (which always have "click to skip intro" buttons on them, which everyone clicks, so I wonder why they make these, and why companies pay for them, in the first place), hi-tech presentations, e-newsletters that flash and blink and move around...I can't concentrate on what I am trying to read when all this stuff is going on around me.

If I am trying to reach my audience with a specific message for them, which is competing with about a jillion other messages to get into a modern day person's media burned out mind, why on earth would I think that adding more "Stuff" to the message will make it clearer?

Not to mention while we think everyone in the world is as up to speed with all the new technology...let's think about it, alot of folks don't even have DSL. Tons still don't have computers!

Yes technology is cool. Yes it all has its place, and when used carefully to highlight our messages, can be very effective. I rant on this over and over again...I apologize for that, but for several years now I have been constantly amazed by all the websites I see that have all the glitter and no message, or a message from 5 years ago because no one has updated it. Or you can't find what you are looking for or navigate the site because it is poorly designed....or the type is so small you have to squint! If you would like to read some website tips that do not include me ranting, check out this article that ran in our newsletter recently.

Okay I am done ranting...I guess you can tell that with me, I prefer clean, simple, user-friendly communications. If it glitters, I am not neccessarily sold.

Its the little things that count

Yesterday I was blown away by a very often recommended and more often than not unused business practice. The personal touch. The handwritten note. Just a month ago at an American Marketing Association meeting, the handwritten note's virtues were extolled. Here is a wonderful example of it in action.

I live in Atlanta and on Wednesday, bought flowers from a tiny local florist in Brooklyn Hts., Ohio for a local family, I had never used them long distance before. I grew up with the florist in the neighborhood, and I know that they in fact work out of their basement. On Thursday, I received in the mail from this tiny florist in an Ohio suburb a handwritten note thanking me for my business, my receipt, a promotional magnet and a "menu" of services. I couldn't believe it. I can't remember the last time a service or product I have spent considerably more money on than the flowers has ever done this. And it impressed me. With that kind of personal attention, it is no wonder they have been in business for over 15 years.

On occasion I would use online flower services for my various long-distance flower needs in Ohio, but no more! I will stick with the little business that showed me they cared...or at least has a really good idea about what communications can do for them!

War of Words

Slate this week weighs in on the Bush administration's attempt to change its name for the "global war on terrorism" to the "global struggle against violent extremism."

Cynicism aside -- and cynicism seems a pretty reasonable response -- the White House's choice of words also seems a little odd.

After all, "war," conducted justly, can have a noble end. It was war that liberated Europe from the Nazis. But my dictionary defines "struggle" as "strife," or "violent exertion." It's not exactly a hopeful term, is it?

Meanwhile, "extremism" seems an odd thing for GOP wordsmiths to struggle against. After all, it was Barry Goldwater, father of the modern conservative movement, who proclaimed, "extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice."

When your medium goes bad...naughty radio

I used to listen to this one radio station alot. But honestly it has gotten so trite, nasty and just plain repulsive in the mornings that I had stopped and switched over to more "ear-friendly" radio.

This morning I switched back and promptly heard the announcers give away the ending to the new Harry Potter Book...with glee...referring to the readers of the books as "retards." Now I don't read this series, but its success seems to be a huge positive thing for americans young and old. I am pro anything that encourages reading in our TV fried soceity. But this experience made me wonder how something like this will effect the advertisers on this station. If at all. It's not swearing or porn that was leaked, but a well-loved positive book ending. The station's audience is varied, maybe a little on the "wild" side, but still.

I find it interesting that this offended me more than some of the seriously questionable material and pranks played on the station...I guess the main question is: does anyone care anymore? Are the audiences dead to the messages behind the products? Do advertisers to a wild audience or any really, pull their endorsements anymore? Seems like sports and celebrity folks can be drug addicts and murders and still sell shoes and clothes. Politicians break laws and get re-elected. Drug companies lie and endanger patients lives, but still sell billions of dollars in hope and solace through other products. Is the day of the product/person/service with a conscience gone? Should I just sigh, shake my head and take it as the bitter truth?

Birth of a hospital

It's a very cool thing when you see your work have an impact.

Three years ago, we won an award for one of the country's 10 best publicity campaigns, for our work supporting DeKalb Medical Center's regulatory fight to build a new hospital in south DeKalb County.

This week, the hospital opened.

Congrats to our friends at DeKalb. (And we enjoyed the party.)

(Photo: Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

We interrupt this sentence...

For those of you who didn't feel quite slimy enough reading about Michael Jackson, a new innovation: in-story advertising.

The Bayou Buzz, out of Louisiana, apparently sells sponsorships by the word. For example, check this piece on Jacko and point to the underlined word "law." Voila. You can get your own law degree, presumably to help M.J. beat the rap next time.

Ewwww.

Hi there.

And welcome.

We'll resist the temptation to pontificate at length on the brave new world of blogs that we hereby stick our agency toe into today, and how it's going to change the face of communications forever, blah blah blog.

Instead, we'll just say, check this space once in a while. We're PR people, and as such, we pretty much like to talk about PR. And the media. And perceptions. And communications. And funny stuff we found someplace.

And that's what we'll do here. Join in.