Posts Tagged ‘rich polt’
Coming Soon To a Nonprofit Near You
Posted on: July 20, 2011
I am really excited right now because I just saw an example of a pie-in-the-sky idea that I’ve been talking about for years. But before I tell you what it is, allow me to give you some context. I’ll begin with a question that I often ask people: What is your favorite part of the traditional movie-going experience?
If you’re like most individuals, you’re favorite part is the previews. I know, right! I love seeing movies on the big screen, and I love the popcorn, particularly when the butter is real, but nothing is more enjoyable than a quality mix of 4-5 trailers.
Ever wondered why we love our movie trailers so much? Upon quick reflection, it’s not so surprising. For one, previews take the most compelling scenes from a two-hour feature film and boil them down to two-minute, bite-sized nuggets of cinematic goodness. Secondly, trailers are often how we first learn of a new movie, or even better, that a long-awaited movie is close to release (is The Hobbit trailer ever going to come out!?).
But these are the obvious reasons. Push further. What fundamental attributes of movie trailers make them so darn enticing? What grabs us by the psyches and demands “you must see this movie!” What was it about this trailer and this trailer that convinced me to waste my money and my time? I assure you, there is a science to making good sneak previews and it results in millions of dollars in consumer spending each year. Read the rest of this entry »
I just finished reading Hell on Two Wheels: An Astonishing Story of Suffering, Triumph, and the Most Extreme Endurance Race in the World. The book chronicles the 2009 Race Across America (RAAM), a 3,000+ mile pain-fest in which competitors pedal their road bikes from the Pacific Ocean (Ocean Side, CA) to the Atlantic Ocean (Annapolis, MD) in less time than the typical cross-country automobile trip. The top finishers average 300 miles per day with about one hour of sleep for every 24-hour period. The suffering that competitors endure is beyond words – heat stroke, hypothermia, saddle sores, hallucinations, and crashes.
As an experienced road cyclist, I know what it feels like to spend hours in the saddle. I do 100+ mile rides frequently and on two occasions I participated in a 200-mile, single-day ride, which is a bit further than the distance from downtown Baltimore, MD to Central Park, NY. After two hundred miles, 11,000 feet of climbing, and 12 hours on the road, I was physically and emotionally spent. I had nothing left. So the thought of riding from coast to coast in 10 days is mind-boggling to me.
But the competitors in RAAM are not super-human. In fact, most are average Joe professionals with families, jobs, and myriad responsibilities. Read the rest of this entry »
Pyramids, Plates, and Carbon Rods
Posted on: June 2, 2011
In my all-time favorite episode of the Simpsons, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant (where Homer works) is holding the ceremony for the “Worker of the Week” award and Homer, the only employee who has never won the award, is confident he will win. But alas, his boss Mr. Burns gives the award to an ‘inanimate carbon rod’.
Later, Homer (who becomes an astronaut) is returning from a space mission with fellow-passenger Buzz Aldrin when disaster strikes in the way of an open hatch door that threatens to suck everyone out of the craft. Homer uses an inanimate rod to inadvertently seal the door shut, thereby averting tragedy.
With the problem solved, the shuttle successfully returns to Earth, making a convenient crash-landing through the roof of a press reporters’ convention. Although Buzz Aldrin declares Homer a hero, the press only have eyes for the inanimate carbon rod he used. The rod is featured on magazine covers with the headline “In Rod We Trust” and is given its own ticker-tape parade.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told the media that it will unveil a new icon to better symbolize and convey healthy eating habits for Americans, doing away with the age-old and ever-changing food pyramid. Read the rest of this entry »
Foundations Don’t Blood Dope
Posted on: May 27, 2011
In 2004, I represented a young charitable foundation, named for a celebrated American cyclist who had ridden in the Tour de France for Team U.S. Postal Service. No, it’s not who you’re thinking …
Tyler Hamilton wasn’t just an average cyclist, he was superlative – a true rising star and one of the nicest, most humble people you’d ever meet. He rose to prominence in 1999, 2000, and 2001, helping Lance Armstrong secure his first three Tour de France victories.
Launched in late 2003, 
The Tyler Hamilton Foundation (THF) raised money in the fight against Multiple Sclerosis and as Tyler’s celebrity grew, so too did the Foundation’s ability to secure funding and volunteerism. In August of 2004, Tyler Hamilton won an Olympic gold medal in Athens. The victory gave the foundation fantastic leverage to build its funder base and to promote its upcoming series of charity bike rides around the US and in Europe.
Do you know where this is heading? Read the rest of this entry »
“I’m back, baby!”
Posted on: May 16, 2011
This blog post is long overdue. Truth be told, it’s less of a post and more of a personal update. This month, I am launching a new PR consultancy called Communicate Good, LLC. If you’re a little confused by this turn of events, then read on…
In my last post (dated October 25, 2010 … ouch), I wrote that “Louder Than Words will be acquired by the full service … agency, Warschawski, based in my hometown of Baltimore, MD.”
Yes, I did sell the agency and I did move down to Baltimore with my family. But my tenure at Warschawski was short-lived. In the immortal words of poet Robert Burns, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” While the opportunity seemed to be a perfect fit on paper, the reality of the situation proved otherwise. We parted ways at the beginning of May with continued admiration for one another and wiser for the experience.
Having left Warschawski, I am now able to refocus on that which I am most excited by professionally: promoting social entrepreneurism, cause-driven organizations, and the individuals making a real difference in this world. To that end, I have decided to launch Communicate Good, a one-man PR consultancy (me being the one man) that helps businesses and nonprofits distill complex ideas and then communicate them strategically and effectively to advance their missions.
As an independent consultant, my preference will be to serve only a few clients simultaneously, so that I can really sink my teeth into the work (something that I didn’t always have the luxury of doing when I ran an agency). In addition, I intend to be a more vocal proponent of using communications to affect positive change in the world.
In the coming days, I will update this blog to better represent the new consultancy. You can follow me here and on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/communicategood. You can also reach me by email at rp@richpolt.com and on Skype at rich.polt. Finally, you can connect with me on Linked-In at http://linkd.in/mHFeFe.
As Frank Costanza once said: “I’m back, baby!”
PR Advice for Tiger Woods
Posted on: December 7, 2009
Every few months, we Americans lay witness to public relations gaffes of epic proportions. As we approached the end of 2009, the frontrunners for “PR Nightmare of the Year” appeared to be Domino’s Pizza and David Letterman. However, as many a PGA pro can attest, you never can count Tiger Woods out of the running until the last hole of the last round has been played. It appears that, once again, Tiger has stepped up his game in the 11th hour, taking PR debacles and media scrutiny to a new level.
Now, I’m no golf enthusiast. I’m really not much of a sports fan. And I’m certainly not into celebrity gossip. So in general, I’ve tried to tune out this Tiger situation. Personally, I believe that what a person does in his or her private life should remain private. But, for better or worse, this is not the world we live in. People, particularly mega-celebrities, live their lives in the public arena. It goes with the territory.
So why am I adding to the glut of useless content already dedicated to this topic? Because every time a public luminary digs a reputational abyss for themselves, I’m inevitably asked: “What would your PR recommendations be if they were your client?” A few folks have already asked me about the Tiger situation, so I thought I would share my insights, garnered from years of PR experience. Here goes… pay attention… Read the rest of this entry »
America needs its CNN Heroes
Posted on: November 23, 2009
Efren Peñaflorida started a “pushcart classroom” in the Philippines to bring education to poor children as an alternative to gang membership. On Saturday night, he was named CNN’s Hero of the Year in front of a star-studded Hollywood “tribute” featuring the likes of Greg Kinnear Pierce Brosnan, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Neil Patrick Harris and some dude named Maxwell, who I admittedly have never heard of. The tribute, scheduled to air this Thursday night during Thanksgiving, will honor all ten of the 2009 CNN Heroes finalists.
This past Thursday, Crystal Noble asked the question in her blog: is there too much “good news” for the media? Well this massive Heroes campaign, and the 2.75 million votes that were cast for Hero of the Year, would seem to indicate otherwise. Lest there be doubt, a massive values shift is taking place in this country, and its being reflected back to us by our news organizations. Read the rest of this entry »
Look who’s THRILLED today…
Posted on: November 13, 2009
Last week, I posted about society’s (and particularly PR professionals) abuse of the term “we are thrilled.” The internal response to my post was very positive. So due in part to my obsessive compulsive behavior, my distaste for hyperbole, and the need to generate recurring content for this blog, I’ve begun tracking the “we are thrilled” phenomena in earnest.
Read the rest of this entry »
