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Does the Media Deserve
to be Manipulated?
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Think about it. The media decides whether you are worthy to be mentioned. They decide which events are important enough to draw attention to. They decide when to “break” a story. They determine who’s right and who’s wrong. They determine whether something makes the front page or is buried somewhere. Not only do they tell us what to think but they also tell us how to feel. Today’s television “journalists” offer as much opinion as fact. And they won’t apologize for it.
Ever wonder where the Anthrax killer went? I guess he just “went away.” Did we ever find out what happened to Chandra Levy? Her story, which consumed the news media for months, got eclipsed by 9-11… Poof! All gone! And what about that Iraqi guy… what was his name… who was supposed to be the next Iraqi president? It turns out he wasn’t to be trusted… so we went and ransacked his house. But wait, he was the chief source of inside information for the eminent Judith Miller, the New York Times Reporter considered to be “the” expert on terrorism and biological weapons. Didn’t she get anthrax in the mail too? I think she did. Oh and by way…OJ is back.
We spent a week watching the funeral of Ronald Reagan. Do we even know what else happened that week? News flash: Another videotape from Al-Zawhari, the evil mastermind of Al Qaeda has emerged… threatening more death and destruction to us. Did the media wait until they needed more sensation to release that news? When exactly did that tape get released?
The media believes we have no memory. They think that we believe everything that they tell us. If they tell us that the day after a grueling week of funeral coverage of one president we should instantly shift gears and enthusiastically
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watch the 80th birthday party of another (who insists on jumping out of planes)… so be it. Wait a minute… doesn’t grief last more than a couple of hours? What’s with a president who is weeping one minute and joyfully parachuting out of a plane the next? Is it me or is there something kind of schizophrenic about all of this?
Maybe Marshall McLuhan was right when he observed, “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.” So if the media have no respect for us why should we respect them? They deserve to be manipulated. Not lied to, but manipulated. We must realize that they thrive on chaos, controversy and conflict. They insist on sensationalizing just about everything. At times it seems that they speak another language… a language that selectively edits out the mundane and hyperbolizes indiscriminately.
What is "news" anyway? If you are looking to influence the media you have to translate your message into their language. If you have a new product that will enhance productivity don’t describe it casually… describe it as a revolutionary breakthrough. If you manufacture a sports car don’t say it’s fast, call it a rocket ship… If your CD rates are better than anyone else’s don’t say they’re great, say they’re the best.
You see, humility, hesitation and any semblance of introspection is misinterpreted by “them.” They see these qualities as weaknesses and may elect to ignore you because of them. Or worse, they’ll hyperbolize your product… their way. That’s why it’s better to manipulate them. That way you control the editor and they print or air your words not theirs. Is this manipulation? Perhaps. But if you want to win the media match you have to know how to play the game. 
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Nissan’s “360” Wows the World
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What does it mean when over five hundred journalists from around the world converge on one spot? A national celebration? A kingly coronation? The passing of a world leader? An epic event of global proportion? Well… not exactly. In June over five hundred journalists and analysts came to San Francisco to experience nearly 70 Nissan vehicles from around the world. During a three week period they had an opportunity to see first hand how Nissan’s past influenced its present and grab a glimpse of what Nissan’s future will look |
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like. This was a global event for a brand that was “global” before global was “in.” Having completed a turnaround and on a firm growth and profitability trajectory, Nissan’s “Nissan 360” was an event that highlighted Nissan’s legacy of innovative technology and cutting edge design in a World Collection. CrowleyCom has been working with Nissan for close to eight years. We thought you would find an abbreviated collection of Nissan’s milestones fascinating. We did.
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1914
The first Datsun is built.
1933
Nissan Motor Co. is established in Japan.
1937
The Datsun Type 15 is the first mass-produced Japanese vehicle.
1958
The first Datsun arrives in the U.S.
1959
The first Datsun pickup is sold in America, firmly establishing the Datsun brand in the U.S.
1960
Nissan Motor Corporation established in Gardena, CA.
1962
The Patrol, Nissan’s first utility vehicle, makes its debut (using Roy Rogers as its spokesperson). Focused on American driving needs, the Bluebird is built with a fully synchronized 3-speed transmission.
1967
The 2000 Roadster (still the most desired collector’s model) becomes the first Japanese production sports car to come with a 5-speed (and 150-hp).
1968
Nissan launches the first car styled for the U.S. market, the Datsun 510 Sedan.
1970
Datsun introduces the “Z.” The 240 Z becomes the best selling sports car in the world.
(The Corvette took over twenty-five years to sell 500,000, the Z does it in fewer than ten.)
1971
The 510 establishes Nissan’s legacy on the racetrack, dominating 15 out of 21 events at the SCCA 2.5-liter TransChampionship. Another 510 wins the East African Safari, while yet another wins the American Rally Championship.
1975
Datsun becomes the top U.S. vehicle importer.
1977
Nissan introduces the King Cab, the first extended cab pickup.
1980
Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corporation is established in Smyrna, Tennessee.
1983
Worldwide marketing of the Nissan (replacing the Datsun) name begins. The first truck produced by Nissan in America rolls off the line in Smyrna.
1985
The first Sentra rolls off the line in Smyrna. Paul Newman races the Newman/Sharp Trans-American 300ZX to a SCAA GT1 championship in 1985 and 1986. This was Nissan’s 50th national SCAA championship.
1988
Nissan driver, Geoff Brabham wins first four consecutive IMSA Camel GTP Drivers Championships. The Nissan IMSA GTP Race car breaks the 200 miles-per-hour barrier.
1989
Nissan launches luxury brand Infiniti.
1991
Nissan unveils the Future Electric Vehicle concept car.
1992
The first Altima rolls of the assembly line in Tennessee. Nissan’s Quest becomes the first Nissan vehicle jointly produced with a U.S. Manufacturer, Ford Motor Company.
1993
Altima becomes best-selling new nameplate in the U.S. Maxima sales surpass one million mark.
1996
After more than 26 years, the Z car is retired. New Z car is announced for production in 2002.
1999
Nissan and Renault ink global partnership agreement. Nissan introduces the Frontier Crew Cab, the first compact truck with four real doors. The Xterra innovates trend in “no-nonsense” SUVs for outdoor enthusiasts. Frontier, Xterra and Pathfinder are named vehicles of the LA County lifeguards and star on “Baywatch.”
2000
Carlos Ghosn, Nissan’s new President stakes his claim: “There are no problems good products can’t solve.” The first four years of the new century prove him right.
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Calabasas, CA While much of the world was consumed by daily updates on the war on terror, revelations of the moral frailty of big business and religious institutions, and a tenuous-at-best economic recovery, great strides were quietly being made by medicine. While many of us were focused on doom, destruction and despair, great work was being accomplished by the medical community in its quest to improve and extend life.
Last year CrowleyCom had the privilege of working with physicians and pharmaceutical executives as they prepared to optimize the good news of three FDA approvals, breathing new hope into patients who had often felt hopeless.
Prior to an approval by the Food and Drug Administration pharmaceutical companies seek to ready their representatives to respond to inquiries from the press and analysts. They also work to enhance their presentational prowess, where clearly and compellingly articulating the results of clinical trials, explaining the urgency of the unmet medical needs their particular drug succeeds in addressing, and under-scoring its safety, efficacy and durability of response are critical.
CrowleyCom media trained physicians, clinicians and marketing executives from GlaxoSmithKline & Corixa, Baxter International and Watson Pharmaceuticals as they prepared for the nod from the FDA. There is probably no more exciting time to be working in the pharmaceutical world than just before the results of years of hard work are rewarded by an approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
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GlaxoSmithKline & Corixa’s Bexxar
Offers New Hope To NHL Patients
After a decade of collaboration between Corixa scientists, outside investigators, and GlaxoSmithKline, Bexxar was finally approved by the FDA early summer last year.
A novel radioimmunotherapy that produces an impressive rate of complete and durable remissions in patients with follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) whose disease had relapsed after chemotherapy and was refractory to rituximab, Bexxar demonstrates encouraging results to a group of patients who have endured the agonizing side effects of numerous rounds of treatment.
By combining a tumor-targeting cytotoxic (cancer killing) monoclonal antibody with the therapeutic potential of radiation and patient-specific dosing, Bexxar acts as a smart bomb, and is able to bind to the target antigen CD20 found on NHL cells. Bexxar’s dual-action therapy initiates an immune response against the cancer and delivers a dose of radiation directly to the tumor cells. CrowleyCom helped GSK and Corixa physicians and marketing executives as well as independent clinicians to communicate to the media the importance of Bexxar in the quest to treat NHL.
In June of this year Corixa and GSK announced the results of two studies of Bexxar following chemotherapy as a first-time treatment of non-Hodgkins lymphoma presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology in New Orleans. The results were quite impressive. In the first study, seventy two percent of patients who received sequential therapy with chemotherapy and Bexxar achieved a complete response and remained disease free after a median follow-up of nearly four and a half years. The second study was equally impressive, which may imply that Bexxar’s utility in the treatment of NHL is even more significant than it was originally thought to be.
Baxter’s Advate Gives Peace of Mind to Hemophilia Community
For over four decades Baxter International has been a leader in providing the hemophilia community with increasingly advanced clotting therapies. In the early 1990s Baxter launched the first recombinant factor VIII therapeutic (RECOMBINATE rAHF, now the leading treatment for hemophilia A). Baxter achieved another first with its FDA-approved Advate, the first and only recombinant factor VIII made without any added human or animal plasma proteins or albumin in the cell culture process, purification and final formulation.
The elimination of all human or animal plasma proteins and albumin eliminates the risk of infections caused by viruses that may be carried in these proteins. The development of Advate came as a response to the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Medical Scientific Advisory Council recommendations that “all efforts should be made to remove human albumin from recombinant factor VIII products and increased efforts should be made to eliminate human and bovine proteins from the manufacturing process of recombinant products.”
In the seventies and eighties the hemophilia community was devastated by HIV and AIDS transmitted by blood transfusions. Advate addresses this risk in addition to transmission risks posed by emerging viruses originating from animals as well as humans.
Not only is it a milestone for Baxter but also a breakthrough in the search for synthetically originated blood products. CrowleyCom media and presentation trained Baxter physicians and marketing executives as well as independent clinicians as they brought this good news to the public.
This year Advate received marketing authorization from the European Commission. This will enable Baxter to market Advate in all 15 European Union Member states as well as Norway, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta.
Watson’s Oxytrol Gives OAB Sufferers New Option
OAB (Over Active Bladder) effects over 33 million Americans, often preventing them from leading normal, active lives and always producing feelings of embarrassment, anxiety and frustration. Frequently they suffer in silence.
Until the approval of Watson Pharmaceuticals’ Oxytrol, the first and only transdermal (“patch”) therapy for the treatment of overactive bladder, patients had to take Oxybutynin (the medication most widely accepted and prescribed for OAB for almost 30 years) in pill form. Oxytrol delivers a continuous, consistent dose of Oxybutynin without being processed in the liver and stomach because it is directly delivered through the skin, eliminating any gastrointestinal side effects. CrowleyCom media trained physician-spokespeople as they took this important (if somewhat sensitive) message to the public.
This year the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products signaled that they would approve the marketing of Oxytrol in Europe by issuing a positive opinion statement (a precursor to European Commission approval).
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So while many of us, including this writer, were preoccupied with the horrific “what ifs,” others in our midst were fortunately focused on making “what is” better.
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Santa Barbara, CA “Simplicity is easy…it demands nothing less than everything,” muttered George Bernard Shaw. In the burgeoning world of online meetings where set up is complicated and fee structures seem almost intentionally confusing, the urgency for a simple, secure method of holding meetings where information and presentations are shared and collaboration between participants facilitated, is extremely high. Enter Citrix Online’s GoToMeeting, an agile, simple, secure, cost effective online meeting solution.
The simplicity of GoToMeeting will appeal to novices and frequent users. It leverages the design and patented technology in the award winning GoToMyPC remote access solution which is extremely fast, secure, easy to deploy and simple to use. Unlike other solutions no pre-installation or configuration of software is required, making it easy to deploy from the desktop through commonly used applications such as Instant Messaging and e-mail. It’s the most secure meeting solution available and is compatible with existing network infrastructures and firewalls. And unlike so many current offerings GoToMeeting does not charge an additional fee for security.
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One of the chief factors that has impeded online meetings from being used with more frequency is pricing. Expensive fees for overtime usage put a real damper on spontaneous collaboration and make it nearly impossible to predict costs. GoToMeeting has achieved an industry first with its flat fee subscription model, called “All You Can Meet.” Users no longer have to question whether they should hold an online meeting or put time restrictions on the duration of that meeting with this flat fee.
The service comes in two versions: GoToMeeting for individuals and small businesses that require a single-user account and up to 10 meeting attendees and GoToMeeting Corporate for use by larger businesses that require a minimum of five user accounts and a maximum of 25 attendees per meeting.
CrowleyCom media and presentation trains Citrix Online pioneers as their innovative new products continue to wow the industry and be enthusiastically embraced by the consumer.
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Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society signature activity that combines family-oriented fun with 24 hours of health education as well as reflective moments to remember those lost to the disease.
Relay For Life offers everyone in the community -- especially businesses, clubs, schools and service organizations -- a chance to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people set up camp at a local high school, park or fairground and take turns walking around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track during the entire 24 hour event. There are bands, inspirational speakers, games, food, and health information booths to keep spirits and energy up.
At dusk, candles are lit in tribute to those battling the disease and in memory of loved ones who lost their fight but live on in our hearts.
A new program called ‘California Teams’ encourages corporate supporters to join in this powerful community event. To qualify, companies need to recruit 30 Relay For Life Teams that will participate in any two or more of the 235 events in the state this year. Companies are asked to set two goals: one for the number of team members and another for the amount of money that will be raised to support the American Cancer Society’s mission of
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saving lives from cancer. For the past five years CrowleyCom has media and presentation trained ACS leaders as they bring their message to the public.
This year in California, more than $23-million is expected to be raised through Relay For Life. That money will support cancer research, patient services like free transportation to treatment, and education programs aimed at preventing cancer and convincing people to get screened for cancer early, when the disease is often most treatable. Three out of four California families will be touched by cancer so this truly is everyone’s fight.
For corporations, Relay For Life is a perfect way to encourage community service in local communities, as well as build esprit de corps in the workplace.
CrowleyCom continues to media and presentation train ACS leaders as they take their message of hope to the world.
To enroll your company in the American Cancer Society ‘California Teams’ program, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or contact your local American Cancer Society office.
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Gardena, CA Infiniti’s brand identity has been empowered by successes like the G35 Coupe, the FX 45, and the QX56. But perhaps nothing provides us with a glimpse into Infiniti’s future better than the next generation M45 Sports Sedan (unveiled in 𠇌oncept” form at the New York Auto Show this year).
Debuting for model year 06, the M45’s roots lie in the Fuga, shown at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Here, the bold yet reflective style captures the essence of Infiniti.
Well recognized for its technological innovation, the new M45 promises to deliver a number of real-world “firsts.” Its prescient “pre-crash” seatbelts
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automatically tighten up in advance if the car senses the likelihood of a crash, and a Lane Departure Warning System uses side mirror mounted cameras to detect inadvertent lane “violations.”
The M45 will offer a 340hp V8. Its sibling, the M35, will offer Infiniti’s legendary V6 and an all-wheel drive option. CrowleyCom continues to have the pleasure of preparing Infiniti executives to meet the press or wow a live audience (not such a difficult task given the subject matter!)
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Countrywide Ranks #1
In Adjustable
Rate Mortgages
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Calabasas, CA As the markets swoon with every utterance from Alan Greenspan, and the overriding consensus is that interest rates will continue to rise, Countrywide Home Loans, a national leader in residential finance, through innovative product offerings is now dominating the adjustable rate mortgage market.
During the fourth quarter of 2003, Countrywide funded $28.8 billion in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). As of March 2004 more than 40 percent of Countrywide’s retail and wholesale nonconforming fundings were for adjustable rate products.
Its ARM product menu offers a variety of options to consumers looking for affordable ways to meet their financial goals in the face of rising interest rates. Some of the less traditional, more innovative ARM products Countrywide offers include a PayOption ARM (the borrower has up to four payment options which include a minimum payment, an interest-only payment, a
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payment of full principal and interest to amortize over either 15 or 30 years, or a payment of any amount over the normal principal and interest to pay off the loan faster), a FlexSaver ARM (this is a flex-lien home equity line of credit that consumers can use to pay monthly expenditures), and an Interest-Only Payment Option.
With so much speculation surrounding the direction of interest rates and rampant prognostication on how rate hikes might influence the housing market as a whole, Countrywide’s leaders are highly sought after by the media and industry analysts for their mortgage banking expertise. CrowleyCom continues to media and presentation train Countrywide executives as they leverage their time in the spotlight.
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Milpitas, CA Companies spend millions of dollars in advertising telling us that they are easy to do business with, that their customer support is excellent and that their technical training capabilities exceed our expectations. But try contacting them for help. You’ll feel like you’ve just completed a world class obstacle course only to be greeted by the Grinch!
One of the world’s leading suppliers of hard drives and data storage solutions, Maxtor defines customer service and has been named No. 1 in “ease of doing business” by VARBusiness Magazine (a leading bi-weekly channel publication that provides strategic insight to technology integrators).
So what makes Maxtor so easy to do business with? MaxServices for starters. Maxtor has created an easy-to-use, private portal where channel partners can obtain technical support, technical training and marketing support. It also provides exclusive information on new storage technology applications. And, if you need that human touch, you can dial their 800 |
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number and be greeted by a knowledgeable, supportive, communicative member of Maxtor’s technical support team, where no question is too obvious and no answer so “technical” that only a super geek could decipher it!
Maxtor also has a “VIP Partner Program” designed to help reseller systems integrators and retailers of Maxtor products better support their customers by receiving advance new product information and news, priority technical support, and a secured private web site containing sales and marketing tools including downloadable logos, images, marketing copy and bullet points.
Maxtor has succeeded in leveraging channel experience, marketing creativity and support expertise to offer a solution for its channel customers that out-performs all of its competitors. CrowleyCom continues to train Maxtor executives to out-perform the competition on the presentation playing field.
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