12.22.10 | Posted in 1 of Many | 4 Comments

Quinlan’s views on The Brand Promise

A little over 20 years ago I bought a North Face rain slicker while on vacation in Seattle. Typical ad guy, I didn’t believe the press about how it rained a lot out there.

It cost $90. That seemed like a lot for a slicker, but they offered a lifetime warranty. And I was soaked.

I wore it 12 years before the seam tape finally lost its grip. I sent it to be repaired, which it was — excellently and with no sass.

Last fall, the ‘repair’ tape also finally lost its grip. I sent it back again, albeit skeptical as to whether it would be fixed.

Today, I received a FedEx Letter from The North Face. “Hmm, that’s certainly not my 20-year-old slicker…” I thought.

Instead, there was a nice letter saying how sorry they were that the could not repair my item — but that the lifetime warranty stood firm — and therefore please fine enclosed a $90 gift card good at any The North Face store or their website.

How awesome is that? And how long did it take me to promote their decision, and encourage everyone I know to consider their brand?

So, marketeers: Does your brand really — really — walk the talk?

Posted by Mike Quinlan

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Passion Rules!

12.20.10 | Posted in 1 of Many | No Comments

Turns out Santa has neuroimaging capabilities beyond your wildest dreams. He really does!

Santa going over some recent research results at the NPL.

Everyone knows that Santa Claus makes a list and checks it twice, but just exactly how does he figure out who’s been naughty, and who’s been nice? New research from a North Carolina State University team reveals that Santa and his elves have neuroimaging capabilities far more advanced than those available outside the North Pole. Larry Silverberg, an expert in unified field theory at NCSU’s Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, joins host Frank Stasio to talk about the findings of a special team of visiting scholars that has been studying this year at Santa’s Workshop-North Pole Labs (NPL)  http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/You_Better_Watch_Out.mp3

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Passion Rules!

12.16.10 | Posted in 1 of Many | No Comments

Student Media at NC State is rockin’

From Student Media Adviser Bradley Wilson:

t’s cold and miserable outside. So, here’s some good news. No, finals
are NOT canceled.

The Agromeck yearbook (edited by Bryant Robbins and Michele Chandler)
and Windhover literary and arts magazine (edited by Helen Dear) have
both been named finalists for the Crown award and were the only North
Carolina college media outlets named as finalists for the highest
national award. Tons more info at http://ncsu.edu/sma/

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Passion Rules!

12.14.10 | Posted in 1 of Many | 6 Comments

“I have a homework assignment about PR…”

I love spending time with students on campus and as the end of the semester draws near, I get a lot of questions about the role of pubic relations at NC State and in our society.  It’s an especially busy December for us, but I wanted to post a quick response to a request earlier this week.  Sometimes short and sweet is the best way to go, eh.  Let me know what you think.  And please understand, this is not intended to be a full discourse on public relations.  Just a “thought of the moment” kind of response to a student’s questions.

STUDENT:  I have a homework assignment for which I have to ask PR professionals some questions about their experiences with social media.  If you could answer them for me in an email, I would really appreciate it!  The questions are below:

1)      How has social media changed the way public relations is carried out professionally?
Social media is just a tool, like the typewriter, camera or video recorder.  It provides yet another way to “distribute” messages and influence audiences.  Here at NC State we have incorporated social media in a variety of ways to help tell our story.

2)      What social media applications do you use most often?
Twitter is the most successful tool we have.  We use Twitter to inform the media and other interested parties about research and discovery (aka ‘news’) at NC State.  We also post event updates, general information, etc., on Twitter.  We also use Facebook for much the same purpose.  Facebook gives us more flexibility however.  We can post longer story lead ins, photos, and videos.  We also have a YouTube Channel for NC State, though it does not receive as much attention from us as the other two.  And then there’s the Web.  Not necessarily a social media tool, but without it, we’d be nowhere.  We post everything to the Web using a variety of university Web pages and sites.

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12.13.10 | Posted in 1 of Many | No Comments

To centralize or not! That is the question.