If Carlsberg could do…clients

I loved the iconic suite of adverts from Carlsberg around the whole theme of how their brand was so good at what it did, that if it did anything else they would be amazing at that too.

For example the “If Carlsberg did Girlfriends” advert; the “perfect” girlfriend is reading a soccer bedtime story to her boyfriend finishing up with “….and that’s how Ireland won the World Cup”.  The boyfriend drifts off to sleep with those pleasant thoughts.   Well we can dream can’t we!!!

This week is my turn to write our Fuzion blog post and I was wracking my brain to come up with a theme.  Greg has a mile long list of blogs he is waiting to write, but not me as I believe there should only ever be one serial blogger in the family!!!

I thought of a blog theme in the middle of a prospect meeting.  I was explaining the process we go through to deliver for clients and of course it was a fairly one sided conversation around what I could do for them.   They are writing the cheque after all and it’s important that I displayed to them that I’m the best at what I do and that I will deliver for them better than anyone else will, with more heart, more experience and expertise.

After I explained this to them, giving examples of similar campaigns I have managed, I put it back to them, which surprised them I think.

I gave them the example of the Carlsberg advert and explained that for me to do my job for them, I need them to bring more than their cheque book to the table.

I gave them some examples of projects where my clients could have been made by Carlsberg – they were so proactive, focussed on the PR campaign, agreeable to new thinking, trusting and becoming interested and proactive partners with me and my team.

For example a particular client was looking to celebrate a special anniversary with an event over three years ago.  We went and had a look at their proposition, which is one of the finest in Ireland.  We suggested a re-brand, a full refresh which we felt was needed.  They went with it fully.

At that point they had no social media presence and now they have over 10,000 Facebook fans, managed I am proud to say almost 100% by themselves (after a little training) – so they own their own voice on-line.  Together we organised events, activities and sponsorships that brought more customers in through the doors and also delivered on other objectives for them.

We achieved everything we set out to achieve in the plan, because my client gave me the essential tools I needed to deliver.  They understood that it’s not just enough to write a cheque for PR services, but that a cheque in time, effort , partnership and money needs to be written by the client to make sure they are putting the best foot forward and to squeeze every opportunity out of the campaign.

Another client has gone for a really quirky animation to describe their proposition – even though this is alien in their sector.  It will make them stand apart from their competitors and will help them to be understood even more by their target market.

Together we carefully mulled over every single word in the script, every story board, to make sure they and I were happy with the end result.  They are always available to comment on relevant news stories – even at weekends.  They do not hesitate in investing in good photography, CSR initiatives and are constantly looking for breadcrumbs about their business that I can develop and feed to the hungry media.

There are so many examples of my Carlsberg clients, that it would take a number of blog posts – so maybe I might continue when it’s my turn again on the Fuzion blog!  But in the meantime here are some of my Carlsberg pointers for Clients:-

If Carlsberg did Clients:-

• They would use the opportunity of engaging with a PR Consultant to have a good independent and knowledgeable fresh look at their business and how they communicate their messages to their target markets
• They would understand that people want to deal with people rather than brands or businesses, so  would be willing to tell their own story, give their opinions to the media with the assistance of their Consultant, as they would understand it’s a means to tell the business’s story
• They would give their PR Consultant the raw materials needed – good quality photography or the resources to produce these, hooks that could be developed into solid stories to pitch to media, regular interaction and feedback with their Consultant
• They would go with the “Purple Cow” idea once in a while – embracing thinking outside the box and being a little bit different from their competitors
• They would trust their PR Agency – after all they would have gone with them because they know they are the best
• They would have a strong on-line presence powered by relevant personnel who are trained and active on relevant social media platforms, following an agreed strategy and tone of voice
• They would run ideas by their PR Consultant – even if they think they are madcap – sometimes these are the best
• They would understand that PR is just one slice of the promotional pie – a large one definitely but not the only one

And one of my personal favourites:-

• They would always pay on time 😉

Deirdre Waldron is a partner of Fuzion

Fuzion are a Marketing, PR and Graphic Design firm with offices in Cork and Dublin

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