Our own Tracey Stratton was awarded the “Woman Making Headlines” Award at the March 30 Topeka Association of Women in Communications 2010 Headliner Awards Luncheon. Tracey was nominated for her achievements in 2009. Her breakout year included a promotion to Director of Public Relations and obtaining significant amounts of earned media coverage for jhP clients.

Tracey works diligently with jhP clients to craft messages and promote services, programs and events for their public relations initiatives. Her level of professionalism and creativity have enhanced jhP’s credibility with local media and paved the way for even greater media responsiveness.

Congratulations, Tracey! We appreciate your hard work and are proud to have you as a partner!

My Life Without Facebook:
Weeks 4 & 5

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

This week, my Facebook Fast has helped me realize a new, unexpected, but clearly obvious point about the importance of traditional media. Friday I did an interview with the Topeka Capital-Journal for an article about my Facebook Fast. It ran on the front page of Saturday’s Paper and I have received an overwhelming amount of support since (THANK YOU!). It’s the support from the newspaper article that’s brought me to my next point. Just because new communication methods and advertising avenues are emerging doesn’t mean we can forget about the more traditional methods.

The way my parents’ generation communicates and engages with others is completely different from the way my generation communicates and engages with one another. My parents talk on the phone, I text on it. My parents email, I Facebook. But I also talk on the phone and email, and slowly my parents are beginning to text and utilize social networks so I’m not sure why this point wasn’t immediately obvious. New media is simply helping communication, but I’ve come to realize that that doesn’t mean more traditional methods are any less important to a relationship, be that personal or professional.

Social networks aren’t the ONLY place your audience is at. They are just one more touch point to get a message out there. When radio came along, it was used to support advertisers’ print campaigns; similarly when television came along. With social networks you are just using one more method to support the other, often times more traditional, advertising methods. Take the newspaper article for example. The newspaper article supported my blog series, which I promoted through Twitter and my colleagues promoted through Facebook.

It really goes to show how they all tie together proving that networks, like Facebook, are allowing businesses to build relationships with their customers and potential customers. Without that you’re probably not top-of-mind to your audience. Your conversations are similar to speaking with an acquaintance – you talk when something sparks your interest but you don’t engage on a regular basis. Those interactions with your acquaintances rarely spark lifelong friendships because you’re not engaging with them regularly. That’s why social media marketing is so important to the success of some business’ overall marketing strategies. You’re not just interacting with acquaintances; you’re building relationships with your customers. Can you feel the brand loyalty?

One more week! Here’s what you missed this week:

• Thank you for another AMAZING concert, John Mayer. This may have been my 3rd but you are still, by far, one of the most talented musicians out there.

• The Flint Hills Discovery Center is going to be such an amazing place for students, families, tourists and more – can’t wait until it opens. Check it out!

• I love small towns and picnics in the park with friends! They all remind me of home.

• The jhP team just met with a client about Hispanic Marketing efforts! I love my job – I’m never bored and am always learning something new.

We haven’t talked much about Google Buzz, but it’s out there – lurking in the shadows of your gmail account. Google’s latest attempt to become the Internet (in my conspiracy-theory oriented mind) has been slow to take off. This is partly because when Buzz launched more than a month ago, serious privacy concerns were raised – rapidly leading to multiple rounds of updates.

Let’s quickly compare Google Buzz to other popular social networks. With Facebook, people were comfortable knowing that you have to “request” to be a friend. On Twitter, it’s reassuring that when you lock down your profile, you control who can see your tweets. But when Google Buzz first launched, the people you follow (and who now follow you!) became anyone you’ve had interaction with via your gmail account – automatically added to your new social network based on your most frequent email connections. That’s called auto-populating. You had no choice in the matter!

“Hello EVERYbody!”
So what’s the danger? By auto-populating my followers, there’s the risk that “Mr. VP of Company I Want to Work With,” for whom I happen to have a personal email address, can now see that I said a project he spearheaded was knot-headed. Of course YOU know better than to post potentially damaging messages on any of your social networks, unless it’s something you would say to EVERYONE. But you get the point. By automatically combining your private email with your now-public social network, it’s easy to destroy the wall between who should and shouldn’t see your updates. It’s no longer the trusted network your email once was. Fortunately, since the launch, Google Buzz has changed the auto-populate feature to “auto-suggest.” Just be very careful you’re not automatically agreeing to their every suggestion!

“Oops, That Wasn’t for YOU.”
Another big problem is that you can send your buzz out via your gmail account. Sounds convenient, right? That’s until you accidentally select the wrong contact from your address book! We’ve all done it. And if you haven’t, you’ve at least heard the horror stories. So let’s say you just finished a meeting with “Mr. VP of Company I Want to Work With” (for whom I happen to have a personal email address) and go to email a friend, whose email address begins with a B and unfortunately is placed RIGHT NEXT to buzz@gmail.com in your address book. You can guess the rest. When you send her a message about how “Mr. VP etc.” had a really bad suit on at your interview, you accidentally select buzz@gmail.com and guess what? That not-so-smart venting email goes out to ALL the people following you on buzz – including “Mr. VP.” Kiss that job opportunity goodbye!

“Stalkers: Here I Am!”
Another – potentially dangerous – privacy issue comes from the geo-tracking feature when you use Buzz on your mobile web browser. Originally, when you would post a status on Google Buzz it would point out your physical location at the time the message was sent. Clearly, that would cause not only privacy concerns, but safety and security issues. That’s why networks, like Foursquare, aren’t connected to untrusted networks without your prior approval. Fortunately, since updating, Buzz has added a clearly visible check box to opt out of geo-tracking on your Buzz. Use it!

“Creeps: Meet My Friends.”
Lastly, and in our opinion most disturbing, the people you follow and your followers in Google Buzz are now public to anyone who has access to your profile. So if you don’t intentionally opt in to a PRIVATE profile – you are also exposing your followers’ profiles to anyone using Google Buzz.

Google Buzz was buzz-worthy for about as long as it takes to blink. We’re glad they recognize their problems, and we’ll be interested to see if it evolves to live up to all the hype. But for now it doesn’t look like Google will replace the Internet any time soon.

My Life Without Facebook:
Week 3

In case you missed it – I gave up Facebook for Lent.

Three and a half weeks down; three to go. Giving up Facebook has given me some unexpected extra time on my hands. At first that was refreshing, but after the newness wore off it quickly became lonely. Within just a few days of giving up Facebook I had an epiphany – Facebook’s so much more to me than just a time waster or a gossip/news site. It’s about being a part of something bigger than myself. That’s why people get involved in groups right? For me, it’s about staying connected with friends, and being included in a conversation I would not normally be included in. I may not engage in the conversation but that doesn’t mean I’m not following it – which is similar to standing with a group at a big party and listening to a conversation but not adding anything (come on, we’ve all perfected our head nods!). So needless to say, these past three weeks could have been pretty lonely. By day two it felt a little like I was already out of sight, out of mind.

Last week’s point was that if you can’t communicate with your customers/potential customers then how can you expect them to continue utilizing products or services they don’t even know about? Then, last Monday, my friend Melissa exhibited this point perfectly when she told me that if I give up Facebook again for Lent we can’t be friends anymore. Obviously, she’s kidding, but she showed me another way to look at last week’s message. Much like my lonely feelings from being unable to take part in the Facebook conversation, a business can be pretty lonely if it isn’t communicating with its customers. And if you’re like me – you might be trying to communicate with your audience, but if you’re not using the same communication tools they are, then it can get pretty lonely pretty fast!

So start talking. Find out where your audience gets their news and gossip. Learn where they spend their time and get a presence there. Make yourself top of mind and become part of the conversation. That’s just a little piece of the success puzzle.

A week’s worth of my rambling mind:

• I think I’m falling in love … with the band Safetysuit. Thank you Pandora for yet ANOTHER amazing recommendation!

• I just finished speaking to three VERY bright classes at Washburn University about jhP, marketing, advertising and, of course, Google’s Fiber Network Experiment.

• I’ve got SO many weddings and baby showers in the next three months that I just don’t think I’ll be able to knit everyone afghans … how about anniversary/1-year birthday gifts?

• I love Topeka, but I miss Manhattan. I need to get myself another one of these shirts! www.imissmanhattan.com

jhP began 2010 with its eye on the future by welcoming back a past team member. Al Terwelp returned to the jhP team on January 4 as our extremely tall and talented art director. If you’ve been to the office lately, you may have seen him towering above our cubicles, maintaining order from heights unknown to the rest of us. We’re happy to re-introduce Al to you:

Q:  What is your career background?
A: Twenty years of experience in advertising, marketing and design that was accrued in ad agency, design studio, direct mail, publishing and corporate in-house settings. I have been a manager, designer and production artist. During my career I have worked with a variety of clients ranging from the fashion industry to health care.

Q:  What skills do you bring to your new role at jhP?
A: My ongoing education on human motivation and actions helps me connect brands to consumers and grasp their preferences. I am proficient in creating visual communications that reinforce brand building and development. I also bring a view based on experience, that an effective and efficient creative department is one where all members are partners, where everyone gets to contribute, have ownership and take responsibility.

Q:  Aside from our charming personalities, what brought you back to jhP?
A: jhP was the best employer I ever had. I loved the variety of work and opportunity to contribute. I saw another chance to work at jhP as a very favorable place for an experienced art director to flourish and do good work.

Q:  What are your passions?
A: I have many passions. The creative process regardless of expression or genera. I also have a passion for the outdoors, sports, raising animals, philosophy, Austrian Economics, and spreading the message of liberty.

Q:  What do you do outside of work that makes you a better person each day?
A: I study political philosophy, history and nature. I also try to stay physically fit.

Q:  Where might people see you out and about in the Topeka community?
A: You might see me at a local music venue watching my son’s band Hedway or you would see me at a community function or political event.

Q:  What is your favorite food?
A: My favorite type of food is teriyaki; my favorite individual food is raspberries.

Q:  Who is your favorite music artist/group?
A: I can’t narrow it to one. I’d say Audioslave and Johnny Cash or John Mellencamp.

Q:  Where would you like to travel?
A: Germany.