Passion Rules!

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Been a pretty good 100 days on campus and it feels like we’ve accomplished a lot in that time.

State COMM is well into strategic communications planning, University Communications and CALS Communication Services are in the process of becoming “suite mates,” NC State has hired a new Chancellor, and we have three new wolves on campus.  Who could ask for anything more.

The local newspaper featured research and/or individuals from NC State four times in the last two days, all mentions were positive.  Feels like the first time that has happened in 100 days.  The Wolfpack have moved into the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.  Another thing that feels like  a 100 years ago, right.  Just kidding Sidney.

And our students are off in 100 different directions with Spring Break.  You can follow their activities on the university’s home page all week.  And speaking of the home page, more than 7 million people visited that site during the last 100 days.  Hey, I did the math:-)

I’ve grown to enjoy blogging during the 100 days and while I may not blog every day in the future, I will post on a regular basis.  I have found this to be an effective tool for exchanging ideas and interacting with a group of communicators that exceeds 100.  Still struggling to figure out how to get everyone to respond and comment more often, but give it time, right.  Like another 100 days?  I don’t know.

My favorite post during 100 days was probably from Lady Gaga (BTW, her new video “Telephone” with Beyonce is so over the top I find it offensive.)  Not even 100 words:

Take a cue from Lady Gaga; Do Different proud, Not Meek. One thing we can all learn is how to do something full out. If you’re going to be different, then be different. To do it half way just takes away from doing it at all. It falls short of its intended purpose. Stand behind your bubble outfit or burning your lover and your bed with your bra that fires sparks. Don’t talk about it or the why of it all. Just create. Just do.

Kind of makes Passion Rules! feel a little tame, doesn’t it.

I know the next 100 days will be every bit as crazy and engaging as the first and I know the people at NC State will be every bit as passionate.  That’s something that never wanes around here. Bodes well for the next 100 days. The next 100 years.

Passion Rules!

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• The number of years in a century
• A 100 year old person is known as a centenarian. George Burns. Bob Hope, and United States Senator Strom Thurmond were among those who had lived to 100.
• The number of pounds in an American short hundredweight
• The United States Senate has 100 Senators
• The number of subunits into which most of the world’s currencies are divided; for example, one euro is one hundred cents and one Pound Sterling is one hundred pence
• The number of tiles in a standard Scrabble set
• The denomination of the U.S. hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin’s portrait; the “Benjamin” is the largest U.S. bill in print
• The denomination of American savings bonds with Thomas Jefferson’s portrait
• The denomination of American treasury bonds with Andrew Jackson’s portrait
• In Greece, India and Israel, 100 is the police telephone number.
• In Belgium, 100 is the ambulance and firefighter telephone number.
• In United Kingdom, 100 is the operator telephone number
• Hundred Days, aka the Waterloo Campaign
• “The First Hundred Days” is an arbitrary benchmark of a President of the United States‘ performance at the beginning of his or her term.
• 100 is the HTTP status code indicating that the client should continue with its request
• STS-100 Space Shuttle Endeavour launched April 19, 2001
• The 100-Series Highways are a series of arterial highways in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia
• SEPTA Route 100, also known as the Norristown High-Speed Line, is an interurban line system operating between Upper Darby and Norristown, Pennsylvania
• NASDAQ-100 is a stock market index of 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange
• The American Film Institute series
• Radio stations such as Z100 WHTZ New York and Z100 KKRZ, Portland, Oregon
• In American slang, adding the number 100 to a particular skill or subject denotes introductory knowledge (”Physics 100″, “Soccer 100″), akin to the name of a first year university subject.
• Games 100 is an annual listing of the year’s top games
• The Time 100 is a list of the 100 most influential people in the world, as assembled by Time. The list has developed into an annual event.
• The One Hundred Years War
• One Hundred Men and a Girl is a 1937 musical comedy film starring Deanna Durbin
• 100 Grand Bar (formerly known as $100,000 Bar) is a candy bar produced by Nestlé
• Monterrey, Mexico is located at 25 degrees 40′ N latitude and 100 degrees 18′ W longitude
• Pope Valentine succeeded Pope Eugene II to become the 100th Pope in August 827

“The grand challenges of society now – water, climate, energy – have science and technology issues that have to be resolved, and N.C. State is in a tremendous position to be among the leading institutions in the country that address those challenges. But we can’t do that if we’re not strong in engineering, the physical sciences and mathematics,” Woodson told the N&O.

That would mean taking bold academic risks, he said, such as identifying colleges, schools or departments that will get more funding, even at the expense of others.

“So academic risk is when you step up in front of your colleagues, and put a stake in the ground and say, at the risk of offending another discipline, we’re going to the next level in chemical engineering or we’re going to the next level in molecular biology and the life sciences.”

Woodson also talked about increasing the university’s endowment.  The endowment stands at approximately $463 million today, and of that, the 80,000-acre Hoffman Forest accounts for $117 million.  Thus, the true value of the endowment is around $346 million.  The average value of the endowments of our peers is around $1 billion or more than  $25,000 per student.  At NC State, the per student endowment is just $14,000.

The numbers are among the absolute lowest of all research-intensive universities and that’s got to change.

So stay tuned and speak up.  If you want to have a voice in the process, you’ve got to have a voice.

Passion Rules!

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I was fortunate enough to attend a university event this week that recognized the contributions of one family to NC State University and to the state of North Carolina.  That family is the Scott family.

Bill Friday, who has proven quite the public servant himself, put the family’s contributions into perspective and quite honestly, his comments moved me.  Here was another example of how this university has made North Carolina what it is today…one of the greatest states in the nation.

Friday spoke for a mere 10 minutes, but the history lesson he provided is one we should all hear.  So here, brought to you by NC State University, I present

Remarks by William C. Friday

We gather to celebrate and to remember the gifts and service of a father and son, both alumni of this place and to give permanence to their service through this dedicatory occasion.  We gather to honor their committed and superior service to the people of the state.

I had the pleasure of knowing W. Kerr Scott early on in my years of association with the University.  Like thousands of others, I greatly admired his energy, his intelligence and his commanding sense of the needs of people, especially our farm population.  In those days, the executive committee of the then Board of Trustees held its quarterly meetings in the office of the Governor, since the Governor was then the chairman of that body.  The great pastime amongst the members was the wager as to whether each session would last for one cigar or two.  The Governor’s adept handling of the agenda never exceeded that limit.   He was an especially entertaining and skillful chairman.

We all remember Kerr Scott as County Agent in Alamance and as our  Commissioner of Agriculture.  Being one himself, he was in close, intimate touch with the farmer, the issues of agriculture and its great importance to all of us.  He decided to run for the governorship of North Carolina against established and tradition succession and he won.  And it was during his administration that he exhibited his boldness and daring by calling for an unheard of  $200 million bond vote for highway development to lift the farm people out of the mud.  It was then that he truly won the hearts of all thoughtful North Carolinians.

Governor Scott did not waste time or words.  Once, in Chapel Hill, he demonstrated both qualities when he introduced Eleanor Roosevelt by saying, “She served as First Lady of our country.  Today she is First Lady of the World.”  Kerr Scott did many good and wonderful things while our Chief Executive.  During that term of office he made a very daring move that changed the course of history in our state and it was an action inspired by his dear wife, Miss Mary, who urged, and Kerr Scott did, appoint President Frank Graham to the United States Senate.  It occurred on the occasion of the very first O. Max Gardner dinner in 1949.  The faculty of the university campuses had gathered.  The evening progressed as planned.  The award to Miss Louise Alexander was made and at the very end of the evening, Governor Kerr Scott rose and said, “I have an announcement to make.  I’m going to appoint President Frank Graham to the Senate.  The room exploded.

Thoughtful North Carolinians looking back on that event now would see how truly daring it was.  Regrettably, Dr. Graham was not elected by popular vote in the ensuing election, but that election shook the state dramatically.  The campaign had its moments of hate, lies and character assassinations, and there were many, but Governor Scott’s selection forced North Carolina to look at itself in the mirror on the question of race.   In that process North Carolina began a new course in its evolving history.  Now a half century later, we look back upon the raw courage of both Governor Scott and President Graham in taking upon themselves the wrath and the fury of carrying North Carolina through the transition into the new world of universal citizenship and equal rights under both the State Constitution and the Constitution of the United States.  In my lifetime I have known no more dramatic moment of history than this one.  Great indeed is our debt to both of these heroes , but especially Governor Kerr Scott, who gave you and me a redefined statement of individual freedom we enjoy this very day.

Kerr Scott’s great and useful life of leadership, good will and demonstrable courage came to an end while serving his beloved state as our United States Senator.  I am so pleased that today we honor him in such an appropriate manner.

When Governor Kerr Scott’s son, Robert, became North Carolina’s Governor, it was only the second time in our history that a father/son succession had been achieved.  When Robert Scott assumed direction of the State, his administration set about on a program of reorganizing state government, reforming the prison system and along with his successors, enormous effort at attracting new industries.  He also devoted a lot of time to the expansion of health care, but for me, his signal achievement was bringing about the restructuring of state supported higher education.

Now, thirty years later, that particular action has benefitted the State of North Carolina and its growth and development like no other major action has done.  Indeed, the success of this movement insured the success of the Research Triangle, which is now, as we all know a word wide institution.  Historians will also tell us in detail about his successful years as President of the states’ community college system, as master of the State Grange, or head of the Appalachian Commission and many other achievements.  But it was the Governor’s long-time friend and colleague, HG Jones, who, in a separate publication identified a major role Robert Scott played that is not so widely known.  He was, as Dr. Jones titled, “the gubernatorial friend of history,” and at this time and this occasion, let me underscore how truly important were these actions.

This enduring legacy manifested itself in so many very important ways.  The establishment of the State’s Record Center, a resource of unlimited importance.  He led the critical renovation of the State Capitol itself, and the major renovation of the Governor’s Executive Mansion, to its present quality as an historical site.  To show his great diversity of interests, he inspired the establishment of the Reed Gold Mine as a state treasure.  Then came the preservation of the Duke Homestead and the singular role of tobacco in the life of our state.  And what must have been an unusual success, the establishment of the Carbine Williams Workshop, the story of the rapid fire machine gun that changed the course of World War II.

W. Kerr Scott and his son, Robert W. Scott, alumni of this noble institution, represented in their lives and in their work the noblest of traditions that has so woven itself into the life of North Carolina and made our state different and better.  That tradition is the commitment to serve the people in some useful way during one’s life.   Institutions of higher education perform many important functions, but primary among them is the graduation of generation upon generation of leadership mindful of the role that the careers of both of these men so dramatically illustrate.  They were men of the soil, both were devout men of the church, both were men of tradition, both were men of courage and goodwill who understood that the measure of one’s usefulness is their degree of commitment and service to fellow man.

In the long, very important and illustrious history of North Carolina State, no family name stands more prominently, no name more deservedly merits praise than that of the Scotts of Hawfield.

Therefore on this day and at this hour we gather to pay full respect and tribute to the nobility of their lives.  Let us also remember that it is upon our shoulders that this mantle of service has now fallen and it is that legacy of service to which you and should aspire.

Historians will say that W. Kerr Scott and Robert W. Scott served North Carolina, their alma mater and all of our people with uncommon courage and devotion.  It is therefore entirely fitting and appropriate that this beautiful expanse of land nestled here in the heart of the University they loved so much, henceforth will bear their names forever.

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Last night the new Chancellor was at the annual Founder’s Day Banquet where he and his wife Susan had an opportunity to meet about 400 of the university’s staunchest supporters.  Jay Dawkins and Shanna Rose received the 2010 Mathews Medal, the highest non-scholastic award an NC State student can receive, during the event.

The University also recognized Kenneth M. Bryant, Hou-Min Chang and H. Frank Grainger with the Watauga Medal.  The Watauga recognizes those who have made significant contributions to the advancement of the University.

Woodson is clearly excited about joining NC State and he let the crowd know that during brief remarks.  He also hinted that change may be afoot at NC State.  He has said this before during earlier visits.

“This is a university for a reason,”  he said.  “It’s not nine or 10 colleges. I really want to stress the idea that we are one university. There needs to be strong collaboration across colleges, and our students need to benefit from the breadth of educational opportunities at this university – regardless of their major. So, it’s really stressing the idea that this is one university. We have a lot of individual colleges and departments, but we share one common goal.”

One voice, one message, one common goal.  Music to my ears.

But the most exciting aspect of the new Chancellor’s comments is that we’ll all have an opportunity to work with him and follow his lead to define that common goal.  Excellent timing for our Strategic Communications Planning Process don’t you think.

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Interesting piece by Matthew May and Brad Kinney over at Industry Week, deconstructing what is possibly the most interesting — as well as the most impactful — aftershocks of the recent Toyota recalls. That is to say, the emotional reactions of  customers who bought into a Brand Promise made by Toyota that it seems the automaker has failed to deliver.

Mays first lays the groundwork for his argument by referencing a famous marketing innovation story, in this case from another automaker during tough economic times.  I’ve added my own reference to a famous motorcycle manufacturer as well:

• The idea of perceptual, emotional or otherwise intangible value in business can be traced back to the Great Depression, when Cadillac effectively stopped selling automotive transportation. In the 1930s, Nicholas Dreystadt took over as the company was about to fail and announced that Cadillac did not compete with other automakers, but that “Cadillac competes with diamonds and mink coats. The Cadillac customer does not buy transportation, but status.” That simple perceptual innovation translated to a price premium and saved the company. Within two years Cadillac had become a major growth business despite the dismal economy.

• Harley-Davidson did something similar in the early-1980s when the company was facing bankruptcy.  CEO Vaughn Beals began to position the company and its motorcycles as a lifestyle rather than a product.  Harley started charging riders $35 a year to join a club that helped them do what they were already doing, riding their Harleys to local dealerships and trading experiences with their buddies.  They created the Harley Owners Group, or HOG as most of us know it.  That move has helped Harley sustain its business through the tough economic times and today more than a million members pay the Motor Company about $75 a year to do what they already do, ride their motorcycles.

According to May, that same perceptual innovation has been used by Toyota over the past decades. What they’ve been selling is not an automobile, but the perception of quality.  Just think back to the introduction of Toyota’s Lexus brand from 1989 to 1999: “The relentless pursuit of perfection!”  So much for perfection.

What is happening to Toyota right now is that the emotional bonds of trust, built over decades, is being eroded by the dramatic scope and scale of their product quality issues. Many people, loyal customers, are feeling betrayed.

Toyota is fighting back with everything possible, but will it be enough?  Time will tell.  The play did work for Harley, but then the company was focusing on lifestyle precisely because of quality problems.   And if Harley-Davidson fails to deliver on the dreams of some of its owners, another dreamer is standing buy to pick up on that dream and make it his or her own.

The bigger question in my mind right now is not about Toyota, Cadillac or Harley.  My question is about the Brand Promise we are making at NC State University.  Do we even have a brand promise?  Do we need a brand promise?  Have we failed to deliver on that promise of late and, if so, how do we win back that trust?

I’ve talked about this before, but I’m still struggling for answers.  Should our Brand Promise be built around the big issues of our time:

• Producing leaders for the state, nation, and world
• Energy and the environment
• Health and well-being
• Educational innovation across all grade levels
• Economic development and social equity

Or is this our brand promise built around an emotional connection with our audience(s)?

Well, what is it?  So much to do, so little time.

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Efforts have been underway to make the campus “edges” more attractive and the project on Hillsborough Street is a great example.  While there is still a lot to do, it’s easy to see how the new design will really set the stage for a bright future.

Also exciting is the new wolfpack that’s about to make its presence known.  Just outside the Free Expression Tunnel in a new plaza area — an area I’m calling Wolf Plaza –  three new wolf statues will stand watch on the student body.

San Diego-based artist Michael Stutz created the over-sized “woven bronze” wolves that weigh in at approximately 1,200 pounds each and stand about five feet tall.   The sculptures are part of a continuing campus beautification project helped along by the bond referendum of 2000 that allowed NC State to address facility construction and renovation across campus.

“Now we have an opportunity to turn our attention to the spaces between buildings,” said Tom Skolnicki, university landscape architect.  “If you look across our campus, there are some iconic places, like the Bell Tower, the Brickyard and Holladay Hall.  As part of the physical master plan, we’re trying to create additional (iconic places) as well as improve the areas that have high visibility and high pedestrian traffic.”

An informal unveiling of the new wolf trio is planned for Tuesday, March 9, at 2 p.m. with free wolf cakes, er…I mean cup cakes, for all who attend.  But, no circus dogs.

Skolnicki said the wolves are among several ongoing projects that will continue into the summer.  Here’s the list:

Watauga Club Gateway: Watauga Club Drive is officially closed to through traffic – no more cutting through from Pullen to Hillsborough.  The roughly 30 yards of pavement has been turned into a grassy area that connects the Bell Tower Lawn with Primrose Hall. A “gateway” consisting of brick and metal will mark an entrance to campus.

Achievement Drive Gateway: Similar to the Watauga Gateway, the new construction at Achievement Drive and Centennial Parkway will welcome visitors entering Centennial Campus.

Court of North Carolina Steps and Outdoor Classroom: Renovations to the 1911 Building were designed to allow pedestrian traffic to flow easily through the building.  New steps will allow pedestrians to proceed immediately to the Court of North Carolina, rather than veering right or left to the sidewalks on either side.  The new steps also will frame the view of the 1911 Building looking from the direction of Leazar Hall.  A second outdoor classroom also will be added (the first is near the center of the Court, on the north side).

Chamberlain Drive Pedestrian Improvements (under design): The portion of Chamberlain Drive that runs north of Withers Hall will be closed to regular vehicle traffic, accommodating pedestrian traffic moving on this All-Campus path from the Brickyard to the Court of North Carolina.

So if things are getting pretty around here, it’s not just the weather.  Now if we could just get rid of those pesky “sandwich boards” I’d be a happy pup.

Passion Rules!

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So, is this what we’ve come to with media relations today?  I ask, almost tongue in cheek, because the headline is an approach I suggested to promote NC State’s involvement in the Raleigh Grand Challenge Summit.  It’s the second year the Grand Challenge has been here and last year — for a variety of reasons — the publicity effort was a bit of a bust and the group was eager to garner more local attention.

Since protecting the nation from the threat of nuclear terrorism is one of the topics, why not capitalize on the popularity of the television show, 24.  Working with the communications group at our College of Engineering, University Communications and Duke University’s communications group, we put together a pretty effective media outreach campaign.  And it seems to be working.  Stay tuned for more results.

Here’s the media alert in full.  Let me know what you think.

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What:  Sure, Jack Bauer is saving the world from nuclear annihilation every Monday night, but engineers are the nuclear safety and security heroes of the real world. As the nation wrestles with nuclear threats and other societal challenges, the National Academy of Engineering, North Carolina State University and Duke University will assemble college students, academics and thought leaders from industry and government from around the nation for the Raleigh Grand Challenge Summit.

“Of the many possible scenarios for radiological terrorism, setting off a nuclear weapon is the most terrifying and would have enormous and terrible consequences,” said John F. Ahearne, vice chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee and a speaker at the summit. “The US must develop means to guard against such an event.”

The event is designed to stimulate conversation and solutions around the NAE’s 14 “Grand Challenge” problems for the 21st century. Preventing nuclear terror is one of them. Media coverage is invited.

Who:  Bauer might be good at fighting the bad guys, but can he build a mobile electrosurgical unit? Students at the summit will do just that. They’ll also tour NC State’s on-campus nuclear reactor and vie for cash prizes in a design competition that challenges them to find ways to improve human well-being in the developing world. See the full schedule.

The summit will be emceed by Marshall Brain, founder of “How Stuff Works.” Speakers include Graham Allison, the author of several books including “Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe”; John Chambers, chairman and CEO of Cisco; Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE; Kristina Johnson, U.S. undersecretary for energy; and U.S. Sen. Ted Kaufman of Delaware. Most of the speakers will be available for questions from the media.

When: March 3-5

Where: Most of the event will take place at the Raleigh Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, N.C. Student programs on March 3 will occur on the NC State campus.

The first decision regarding the use of social-media is making the decision to proceed.  Some might ask, “do you embrace the madness.”  If you do — and I believe you must –  where do you go next? How do you get started integrating social-media into your marketing mix?  Well, you might follow the 8-step process for Strategic Social Media Integration outlined by the company.  Those steps are:

1. Listen and educate internal stakeholders
   • Invest some time and energy in learning about social media.  Listen to the social web for sentiment about your company, and also learn from competitors and other categories.
2. Understand your audience and how they currently interact with social media
   • Using simple techniques and tools, learn which topics are important to your customers.  Find out how your customers are engaging with other companies.
3. Determine social marketing objectives
   • What do you hope to achieve with social media?  Are you interested in using it for customer service? To create a closed customer-feedback loop?  To provide product information?  To promote your products?  To build your brand?  Make sure that internal stakeholders agree on objectives and how to measure against them.
4. Set social media strategy and platforms
   • Develop a plan that identifies specific platforms and a strategy for each platform.  Select only those platforms to which you can commit time and energy.  Align audiences with appropriate platforms.
5. Determine support structure and resources
   • Set leadership responsibility and be sure to develop a cross-functional team.  It will be important to establish guidelines for employee engagement and identify how you will incorporate and distill feedback.  You may need to engage creative and/or technical resources for initial set-up and ongoing content creation and measurement.
6. Inventory existing content
   • Assess not only current marketing content that can be re-purposed for social media, but find the people in your company who are passionate and let them help you connect with customers.
7. Create and distribute new and re-purposed content
   • You will want to distribute content across platforms according to your plan, but don’t be afraid to continually explore new opportunities and platforms.  It is also important to drive interaction between existing online and offline marketing content and your new platforms. Determining a content schedule and editorial calendar are keys to success.
8. Measure and report
   • If your objectives for social media were to increase web traffic and online purchases, you need to be measuring against that objective.  Regular reporting and review are essential to leveraging an ongoing social media presence.  Understand which responses (i.e. views, posts, comments, etc) lead to the desired actionn.

Not a bad overview.  A little heavy on the tactical side, but No. 3 is spot on.  It probably should be task number one; determine your objectives.  Social media is just another tool that is part of the marketing mix, so to speak and you have to determine how it will fit within the mix.

We’re fortunate that at NC State our Web Communications Group is among the leading university web groups in the country and they are helping lead the university’s social media approach.   With Twitter, Facebook, Ning and other tools, they have helped keep us ahead of the competition.  So much so that places like Vanderbilt and Duke are following our lead with Twitter and others are soon to follow.  They are also collaborating closely with our Web sub committee that is working on the digital and web component of our Strategic Communications plan at NC State.

Speaking of Twitter, we’ll soon take the next step and introduce a Facebook aggregation page that functions in a fashion similar to the Twitter aggregator we developed.  Very cool stuff.

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The Creative Services Group and Web Communications from University Communications will be moving from their offices in the Creative Services Building into the Butler Communications Services Building on Friday, March 26.  For those who aren’t familiar with Butler, it is at 3210 Faucette Drive, across from the campus police station.  The facility was dedicated in April 1999 and is named after father and son Tait and Eugene Butler, prominent figures in the area of agricultural reform.  Both focused on careers in journalism and are known for their work as writers and editors of publications such as Progressive Farmer and Southern Living.

The move is designed to concentrate communications talent in one place.  More opportunities to share resources, and equipment, to collaborate and be creative, if you will.

The future of the Creative Services Building has yet to be determined, but with work starting soon on the new Talley Student Center renovation and expansion don’t be surprised if some of the more “delicate” items from Tally find temporary homes there.

The University Communications News Services group will remain at the Joyner Visitor Center, but discussions are under way to relocate the group to Butler in the future.  Stay tuned for more information about that move.

Though I don’t get to move to Butler with the group, I’m very excited about the new digs.  The Butler Communications Building was designed with communications in mind.  It features a bright, open reception area, several conference rooms, broadcast production facilities, a photo studio, broadcast editing suites, a distance learning classroom, offices, open work areas, lots of parking and more.  I think Tait and Eugene Butler would be proud.

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