Navigating Through Foreign Lands and Languages

  By Sandy Diaz, Account Supervisor, Digital

While working as a marketing manager for a packaging company, I spent quite a bit of time coordinating trade shows throughout Latin America. One of the many shows I attended was held in Mexico City.

Being a native of Peru and bilingual, the last problem I suspected to have was a communication issue.

Prior to my arrival in Mexico City, I received a call from Jorge Luis, the Sales Manager for Mexico. He strongly urged that the booth be equipped with “edecanes” during the show. I had never heard of such a word.

I assured him I would take care of his request, and then quickly reached for a dictionary where the English translation for the word read “aid to camp.”

Ah ha, a first aid kit, of course! With all of the heavy equipment at the booth, it made perfect sense.

The day the trade show opened, everything was perfectly in place, thanks to my stellar planning…so I thought.

Immediately Jorge Luis came running towards me, looking around as if something was missing. That is where I learned the hard way that edecan is NOT a first aid kit, but rather a model.

Being the resourceful person that I am, I managed to find an agency and bring Jorge Luis the “booth babes” he eagerly requested, but I learned a very valuable lesson that day.

When working or traveling internationally, one must never make assumptions regarding language and culture. You must do your research.

Growing up I was surrounded by people from countries throughout Latin America. I can spot an Argentinean or a Puerto Rican accent from miles away. I was aware of the fact that certain words could mean one thing in one country and something awful in another, yet I had not done my homework before my trip to Mexico.

That incident is one I often refer to now working on a digital account for Latin America. The region is larger than many may think. It is the fourth largest continent and contains 12 different countries, each with very distinct dialects, food, traditions and governments. Representing a brand throughout Latin America requires an understanding of just that.

In my case, building a social presence in such a unique region has meant research, getting to know multiple audiences and paying very close attention to detail. Each country requires its own platform or community, just as we would expect in the US. For example, in the States, consumers gravitate to brands that appeal to Americans rather than Australians, even though the language is the same. Each country in Latin America should be seen in that same light.

There are several online resources that can be helpful when preparing for a trip aboard or international work. Kwintessential is a site which features cultural customs, including business etiquette, protocol as well as international training and translation and interpreter services.

You can find information regarding appearance, behavior and communication in certain regions of the world. The site is even broken down my country which makes it even easier to search.

Travel sites such as Frommers.com also offer useful information. The Tips and Tools section of the site provides insight on customs and traditions throughout several travel destinations.

Although English is considered the international language of business, it is important to remember cultures and traditions matter as well. A simple greeting can often be misinterpreted, and could result in much more than just a rush to find booth babes.

When Great Minds Get Together: The Joule’s Ultimate Nationwide Golden Easter Egg Hunt

by Meredith McKee, Vollmer Dallas


Earlier this year, Vollmer Dallas and our client, The Joule, a Starwood Luxury Collection Hotel had a group brainstorm that resulted in a number of brand-building ideas to create awareness in 2010. One concept in particular stood out in the team’s minds as a true collaboration of ideas mixed with ideal timing: The Golden Easter Egg Hunt. 

It started off as a simple concept: hide a Golden Easter Egg in a guest’s room Easter Day and the finder will win a stay in The Joule’s luxurious penthouse.  From there, the idea exploded – resulting in an actual egg hunt in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Washington D.C. and Dallas.

On March 31, locals faithfully followed The Joule’s Twitter and Facebook pages throughout the day   for clues leading them to the one Golden Egg hidden in their city.  Once they found the eggs, winners sent a picture of themselves with the Golden Egg to The Joule’s Twitter and Facebook pages.

These lucky 10 will now head to downtown Dallas for a luxury vacation to experience The Joule and Dallas:

• Kyle Gochenour, Atlanta
• Cheryl Goodwin, Austin
• Mehul Shah, Chicago
• Joe Thompson, Dallas
• Lene Hedegaard, Houston
• Lindsay Miller, Los Angeles
• Joy A. Satterlee, Miami
• Sheri Bouyelas, New Orleans
• Freddy Melendez, New York
• Richard Mead, Washington, D.C. 

The out-of-town finders of the Golden Egg will enjoy a lavish stay for two at The Joule, complete with valet parking, two cocktails from adjoining PM Nightlife Lounge, breakfast in bed and dinner at Charlie Palmer at The Joule.  Adding another golden touch, The Joule also included a $200 American Express gift card to help with airfare.

The hometown Dallas winner, Joe Thompson, has an even bigger prize in store. It includes a one-night stay in the unforgettable Joule Penthouse, an opulent, 2,500-square-foot abode boasting sweeping views of downtown Dallas. An admired destination among celebrities such as Britney Spears, The Joule Penthouse features exquisite décor throughout two bedrooms, two and half baths, a living room, dining room, full kitchen and stocked bar, library, pool table and two balconies overlooking downtown. Thompson will also receive a private dinner for four in the Penthouse, provided by Charlie Palmer at The Joule. 

In addition to the nationwide Golden Easter Egg hunt, one hotel guest found a Golden Egg waiting in his guest room upon when he checked in on Easter Day, April 4.  The lucky finder, Robert John McFadden, received a future stay in The Joule’s Penthouse, as well.

The results were just what we had hoped for and more, with highlights including: 

• Stories on online sites HotelChatter, Gadling and MSNBC 
• Tweets from nationally syndicated reporter Eileen Ogintz, among others
• TV interviews in Los Angeles (via Skype) and Austin
• Local print and online media pick-up across markets nationwide 

The Joule’s Twitter and Facebook followers also grew, supporting our primary goal for this social media stunt.  But most importantly, the hotel was able to interact with and build affinity with its existing and potential customer base. 

So thanks to all of those folks who helped make this giant hunt possible – the Downtown Dallas Association and the Main Street Gardens, W French Quarter, Mozart’s in Austin, Bliss Spa at W South Beach, SLS Beverly Hills, Uptown Houston, Gerald D. Hines Waterwall Park, The Fairfax at Embassy Row and the Jockey Club, and Morrie O’Malley’s Hot Dogs in Chicago.  

We hope you had as much fun as we did!

Be sure to follow @thejoule on Twitter for more fun contests year round.

How to Use Every Day Life Skills to Get Your Point Across

by Helen Vollmer, Vollmer Public Relations CEO and Founder

1. Presentation training is not a replacement for knowing the facts. Enthusiasm and salesmanship will not replace knowledge, understanding of the facts and the simple truth that all actions have consequences.

2. Not everyone is a born salesman or a great presenter.  For some of us, it takes more effort and more preparation.  The good news is that you can always improve.  For those to whom this comes easy, preparation is still a critical factor.  Developing agendas, writing out angles to discuss with media in advance still needs to be the rule.

3. I truly believe at the very heart of giving great presentations or getting an editor to go for your idea is listening.  But only if you are prepared in advance and have an understanding of your own direction can you be a pro-active listener.  Your agenda should always appear to take a back seat.

4. And listen to what's not being said as well as the words you hear. Listen for "power" words -- key buzz words, repeated phrasing, descriptors of their style, product or service.  And then turn it back to your audience -- repeat those words, get them to define what they mean by "value" and ask them to repeat key messages -- they may change.  Listen to body language.  All of these things may absolutely change your presentation -- and that's okay. React to the moment and the energy level and the environment.  And at the end of the conversation, try to recap -- okay, what I heard you say -- so, the next steps are -- what you're really looking for is.

5. Don't think about presenting strictly in the context of your professional life.  Consider practicing with everyone you contact. Any time you have a point to make, have a differing opinion or want something from somebody is when you can use the basics:

• Spouses. You want a dog/he wants a cat.
• Sales people.  You want to take back the watch.  He doesn't want to give you your money back.
• Friends.  They want to go to the movies/you want to barbecue in the back yard.
• Family.  They want to feed you a piece of cake and you don't want to hurt their feelings.

6. Consider how you are getting your point across, not only with clients and media but your peers – both administration and fellow account executives.

• It's after 4 p.m. and you really need some help.  Don't just send an email.  Talk to Pam or Robin about what it is, why it's important and their role in helping.  Get them to be a part of the team not just an after-thought in thank-yous.
• At the last minute, you need Jean's help in food styling a shot.  You've not done any job work orders, she really has no idea of what's going on. Take the time to fill her in and be specific as to what you need and again, why you need her help.
• Your immediate supervisor is telling you that the lead you've just written is inappropriate.  You disagree.  How do you background her and give her enough detail and rationale to your approach that she comes around to your thinking?
• Work very closely with another AE on a specific project.  He thinks your approach on the next project is way off the mark. How do you resolve this before wasting valuable hours on a strategy that may come back to bite both of you?

7. Communications.  That's our job.  And, we better be better at it than anyone else.  We can help each other practice our skills, give each other tips, share knowledge, help each other be prepared. That's really one of the greatest benefits of working with a group of professionals.

Wherever You Roam, Take the Keys to Great Client Relationships

Joel Frey, Public Relations Manager, Travelocity
Vollmer Public Relations Client and Guest Blogger

Dallas. Houston. El Paso. San Francisco. Indianapolis. New York. No, this isn’t the latest wayward itinerary of our beloved Roaming Gnome. Rather, this is a list of cities where any given member of the Travelocity/Vollmer PR team will be working on a typical business day.

“So how does that work?” you might be thinking. “Surely, they can’t get much accomplished with their team so spread out.”

As someone who has worked on both sides of this equation – three years as a VPR account exec and six as PR manager at Travelocity – I can say, confidently, that it has worked and continues to work well. In fact, the Travelocity/VPR relationship has been going strong now for 14 years, dating back to a time when our brand was little more than a half-baked idea being thrown around the marketing department of our parent company, Sabre Holdings.

So how has our relationship with VPR weathered all of the peaks and valleys of the last 14 years? Undoubtedly, executing award-winning campaigns revolving solely around a lawn ornament and having the flexibility to schedule conference calls with team members spread across all four time zones are major factors. But, from my perspective, there are four bigger reasons why we have kept our relationship intact with VPR since 1995.

Candor -- Several years ago at one of our annual “eyeball” meetings, it was late in the day and we were all getting tired of each other. The conversation was lacking direction, the ideas were falling flat and after a while Helen made her feelings known. “This is bull****, guys!” she blurted out. We were stunned and not sure what to make of her outburst, but looking back on it today, I realize that there probably aren’t too many agency heads who would have the guts to say this to their largest client.

Patience -- This one works both ways. There are times when VPR has had to explain to us that a pitch might not quite be ready for primetime or that it wasn’t that good to begin with and we need to go back to the drawing board. Conversely, we’ve required patience from VPR when a hot product launch that has been in the works for months gets delayed or an executive we had lined up for a series of interviews had to back out at the last minute.

Fun -- As our team has become more spread out, the eyeball meetings have become part business meeting/part family reunion. We recently converged upon Dallas for a day of planning, brainstorming and, well, drinking. The dress code was Hawaiian. I was timekeeper and scheduled the meeting to end promptly at 4:00 to give everyone enough time to visit and catch up over a couple of cocktails before parting ways.

Trust -- I’ll close with what, in my humble opinion, is the most important element of building a long term relationship. For us it means that every day, regardless of the circumstances, when any one of us needs an extra hand, we all know that someone will be there to back us up.

It’s hard to place a value on such peace of mind.

Visit www.joelfrey.com for more information on Joel and his book "Two Sides of a Cypress Wall: The True Story of a Reluctant College Graduate."

Vollmer Video Series: Branding in this Economy

Vollmer Public Relations Dallas GM Denisha Stevens talks about the importance of branding in the current economy.

Dr. Syntax or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Grammar

by Ryann Malone, Vollmer Public Relations

After the long, slow march up to the black-board you pick up the chalk with trembling fingers. Heart pounding, palms sweating, the hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand up as you realize your worst nightmare is becoming a reality. Quickly, your eyes dance around the room, looking for someone, anyone who will save you. But you find no one, you are alone. Your blood begins to curdle as you stand paralyzed, racking your brain – is that…a…subordinate clause? Past participle? Coordinating conjunction?

All eyes are on you and the sentence you’ve just been sentenced to diagram.

Grammar may not strike fear in the hearts of every man, woman and child as it once did me, but its ins and outs, rules and exceptions can make it far from a warm and fuzzy subject matter. Dangling modifiers are daunting and attributive adjectives seem alien. It seems unnecessary that such a seemingly archaic system would still exist as the authority, would still govern how we write and speak each day. And in our modern world, where information is instant, videos are viral, and a Tweet or text can tell it all, it begs the question: does grammar even matter anymore?

By definition, grammar refers to the logical and structural rules that govern the composition of sentences, phrases, and words in any given natural language. In essence, grammar was created to act as the glue that holds our language together and foster our ability to process and express our thoughts. Grammar is the reason that those who speak the same language are able to understand each other. Without it, there would be no ground rules for how we can successfully communicate.

Instead of viewing grammar as the big bad wolf of writing, try seeing the ability to understand and use its basic principles as the first step in becoming a better communicator. Whether simple or more complex, your writing is certainly more likely to make an impact with your audience without any glaring grammatical (or spelling) errors. You spent the time crafting your words – don’t you owe it to yourself to make sure they aren’t tossed aside because you decided a little punctuation did not go a long way?

Now, I know they say that rules are meant to be broken. Our language is a living one, and in many respects it adjusts and changes along with our culture. The dictionary now recognizes slang like ain’t and modern cultural terms like cyberslacking. William Shakespeare is credited with the invention of over 1,700 words throughout his works. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, and generally misused the language to tell his tales. If you fancy yourself the next great bard, then by all means, twist the English language with all your might and give the world your creative best. But for the rest of us, a good grasp on grammar will prove to be the most effective weapon we have in our communication arsenal. So slow down a little, and take the time to make sure that your writing is the best that it can be. In the end, it will serve as a lasting impression of how much you care about what you have to say. If it seems like you don’t care, then why would your reader?

No one ever said that grammar was sexy. However, the word glamour is actually a derivative of the word grammar, which was once used to describe learning and magical practices. The pronunciation was altered to glam-our, and the word came to mean magical beauty or enchantment. A potentially great piece of writing that utilizes bad grammar is like a glamorous movie star at a cocktail party – she has the perfect hair, the perfect makeup, the prefect dress. And stuck right between her perfect front teeth is a giant piece of spinach.

Let your grammar be a glamorous glass of champagne and not the spinach.

http://www.grammarbook.com/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/
Associated Press Stylebook on Twitter @APStylebook

Crisis Communication Book Features Shelton & Caudle's Tony Shelton

CRISIS COMMUNICATION: PRACTICAL PR STRATEGIES FOR REPUTATION MANAGEMENT AND COMPANY SURVIVAL

New book brings “how-to” approach and international perspective to crisis communication

No company or organization is immune to crisis. A crisis, however, does not necessarily have to turn into a public relations disaster. Crisis Communication provides readers with advice on how to limit damage by acting quickly and positively. Moreover, it explains how to turn a crisis into an opportunity by communicating efficiently via a successful public relations strategy.

Crisis Communication is a thorough guide to help prepare an organization for unexpected calamities. It provides information on accountability, planning, building corporate image, natural disasters, accidents, financial crises, legal issues, corporate re-organization, food crises, negative press, media training and risk management.

Released on December 8, 2008 in the United States, Crisis Communication takes a comprehensive look at crisis communication with a ‘how-to’ approach and an international view of the subject. The book is illustrated by copious examples, from the public and private sectors, analyzing real-life crises and their outcomes. It is also designed to offer practical guidance, with “how to” advice throughout. A separate section is devoted to templates covering everything from strategic planning tools through to flow-charts, checklists, sample copy and documents.

The 20 authors who contributed to the book are senior crisis communication consultants from IPREX, the worldwide corporation of independent PR firms. IPREX Worldwide President Jim Walsh (Walsh Public Relations – Dublin, Ireland) welcomed the book: “Crisis Communication is well-organized and practical advice from experts around the world. It is one of the early results of our strategic program to derive maximum benefit, for clients and partners, from our outstanding knowledge base.”

About IPREX

IPREX (http://www.iprex.com/) is one of the world’s major corporations of independent public relations firms. Founded in 1983, its 64 partners have 86 offices in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific, with annual revenues of $116m. Its 1,000 professionals provide a comprehensive range of services for some of the world’s most successful companies.

About the Contributor

Tony Shelton is the President of Shelton & Caudle Communication Training & Crisis Counsel, a division of Vollmer Public Relations with offices in Houston, New York, Dallas and Austin. Shelton brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate communications and training to the task of advising clients in communicating successfully in a crisis. He is a contributor to two chapters in Crisis Communication: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival and is considered a leader in the field of business communication.

Book DetailsTitle:

CRISIS COMMUNICATION: Practical PR Strategies for Reputation Management and Company Survival
Editor: Peter F Anthonissen
Published by Kogan Page
USA Release date: December 8, 2008 $39.95
Hardback 240 Pages
ISBN: 978 0 7494 5400 5

Available at www.Amazon.com

Top Tips for Managing Projects and Teams Across Offices

by Amanda Borichevsky & Denisha Stevens, VOLLMER Dallas and more!

For more than a dozen years VOLLMER has served as the Agency of Record for the popular online travel site, Travelocity. During this time both VOLLMER and Travelocity have grown and founded offices across the country.

Today the collective team includes Travelocity domestic contacts in New York, Dallas, El Paso and San Francisco, while VOLLMER team members reside in New York, Dallas, Indianapolis and Houston.

So, how do we manage to stay connected, work efficiently and keep the creative juices flowing? Following are tips from the combined Vollmer / Travelocity team on working across multiple offices in a truly dynamic industry:

• Don’t Hang Your Hat on Email - It’s important not to forget the value of voice-to-voice communication when you work in a long distance environment. Communicate major directional changes and deadlines via conference calls and reserve the minor details for e-mail, otherwise things can get lost in translation.
  
• Watch the Clock - Take time zones into consideration and determine prime times for conducting team conference calls. You want to be fair to everyone and avoid having calls that require team members to stay late or work through lunch. Also, it can help you catch everyone at their most productive time of day.
  
• Creativity Through Competition - Before conducting a brainstorming session, give team members background information and ask that they come to the table with at least one starter idea. Then, tap into everyone’s competitive spirit by seeing which office contributes the best ideas. For us, there’s nothing like a little East Coast vs. West Coast rivalry to get the creative juices flowing. Of course, for those of us located in the middle, we always have an edge.
  
• Divide and Conquer - Take turns leading initiatives so everyone has a chance to flex their leadership muscles. Even better, let individuals from different offices partner together to lead special projects or initiatives. In addition to creating a sense of camaraderie between offices, it gives everyone an opportunity to learn how to lead teams long distance.
  
• Be Accessible – To avoid endless games of phone tag when coordinating with colleagues in other offices, make it a point to set aside time each day to check in, answer questions and catch up. Before long, it becomes a natural part of your day and it seems like they are just down the hall.
  
• Share Water Cooler Talk – Important updates and new ideas often are shared through hallway conversations, so it’s all too easy to leave out your long distance team members. Don’t forget to keep everyone updated on the little things.
  
• Give Everyone a Voice - Make sure everyone gets a chance to voice their opinion on group calls by creating an agenda in advance. There’s nothing worse than participating in a call and feeling like you can’t get a word in. If this is a consistent problem for some team members, just put them in charge of leading the next call or give each person a section to lead.
  
• Remember the Fun and Games - It’s important to get together a couple of times a year to have a little fun and get to know each other. Over the years we’ve attended happy hours, New York musicals, spa days, Vegas shows, team dinners and Halloween costume contests. We’ve even given out silly awards and pulled pranks on one another. These shared experiences have helped form relationships that enable us to function as a more cohesive and productive team.
  

Trick, Treat or Transparency – No Financial Tricks This 4th Quarter

by Darren Horwitz, VOLLMER Dallas

Kids, put your costumes on and rush out to get your candy now; it is going to be a long, lean fourth quarter void of tricks and treats.

In the past few weeks we have seen our financial markets crumble as companies like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch became prey to their own financial hocus pocus. Having purchased investments backed by suspect loans, these institutions lacked the cash to withstand the drop in mortgage investments when the housing market began its downward spiral.

To make matters worse, in just one week, the global markets saw stock losses of $3 trillion and the SEC placed a temporary ban on short selling. Hedge funds and investors have been spooked as government watchdogs are on high alert.
Economists believe that the housing and credit crisis could continue for at least two more years, and the government is struggling to keep our economy from falling into the abyss.

This is no trick.

Dracula has taken a big bite out of Wall Street and threatens to bite even deeper.

Now if that isn’t enough to scare you as we approach Halloween, nothing will.

Here is the quick take. Now is not a time for financial trickery and hocus pocus.

• Financial trickery leads to mistrust
• Mistrust leads to unrest
• Unrest leads to a loss in confidence
• A loss in confidence leads to…

While most organizations will take a wait and see approach, lock their doors, break out the holy water and pray that evil passes them by, thoughtful organizations will take a different path.

As retail and institutional shareholders, employees and clients now live with the specter of lies and mistrust in the financial markets, organizations that communicate consistently and effectively will survive the scare.

Companies that practice true transparency using vehicles to provide investors with greater access and availability to information have a unique opportunity to strengthen shareholder loyalty, when loyalty is hard to come by.

Here are a few things you can do keep your investors happy while you survive the scare.

• Create a perception survey to determine what your biggest institutional investors are thinking. You will be surprised what concerns may exist about your business and your ability to grow.
• Develop metrics and proof points to ensure your company’s strategy and performance are highly visible and accessible to investors.
• Take a proactive approach as we move from GAAP to international financial reporting standards (IFRS). IFRS promises to be the largest change in reporting since Sarbanes Oxley. Asking questions and preparing for these new standards will demonstrate an openness to these new requirements that will support customers, employees and shareholders.

Lost in Translation

by Ceci Loup, VOLLMER Houston

Does cooler weather + the changing of leaves + Halloween = Fall?

Growing up along the sandy Caribbean coast of South America, there were no seasons. What’s more, the idea of a ghostly Halloween holiday or la Noche de las Brujas was not customary. So one can imagine how delighted my little brother and I were once we moved to the United States and learned the intricacies of this new holiday. One was supposed to dress up in costume, go around the neighborhood and collect as much candy as possible.

Naturally, our peers often asked about how Halloween was celebrated in our country, and they alluded to the fact that we probably called it el Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Huh?

A bit confused at first, we’d explain that these are two separate holidays – the former pagan and the latter one religious. They are held on different days and are also celebrated differently throughout all Spanish speaking countries and territories across the Americas. We did not really observe either one of them in our upbringing. It was a rather entertaining cultural exchange for our young minds. Little did I know then that it would shed light on approaching business opportunities in my adult life.

Crossing the Border

To cross cultural barriers, today's PR professionals should strive to develop cultural competency to complement their technical skills. Cultural competency means understanding local cultures and appreciating their importance.

For instance, let us say a large company has plans to launch a product line in Dubai, Mexico and Argentina. As the company develops its strategy, it should learn all it can about each separate market. This includes what makes consumers tick, its media landscape and any other relevant cultural piece of information available.

The differences will be very obvious for Dubai vs. the American countries. Although Spanish is spoken in both Argentina and Mexico, it is important to remember that one size does not fit all. Changes in dialect and culture among countries of the same language can significantly impact the focus and meaning of the campaign. So do not assume anything.

Here are some simple tips to remember as you are planning your targeted global campaigns:

• Remember your mother’s words and “be polite”


• Value the differences in languages, accents and dialects


• When entering unchartered territory, learn as much as you can from people of that ethnic group


• Make sure that any materials developed are culturally sensitive

Entering New Markets

Those who have dealt in international relations know that it can be both an exciting and intimidating experience. The secret to making them work: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. Keep those contacts warm! A sincere e-mail or a phone call from time to time goes a long way.

Finally, another great way to succeed in international relations is by employing knowledgeable team members who are multi-lingual and already familiar with a particular market. It will make relationship building more effective for the company, thus yielding higher long-term returns on investment.

Ceci, a native Venezuelan, has a focus on and a passion for international relations.