JPTearsheet July, 2020 Vol. XII No. 7
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“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work.”
— Charlie Gehringer
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There is an old adage in the newspaper business that’s called upon to distinguish news from non-news. It’s said that when a dog bites a man, that’s not news. But when a man bites a dog, that’s news!
There is a lot of truth to that and, especially in today’s media-rich world, the application goes well beyond newspapers. Magazines, television (including cable TV), social media and other online news venues all pay allegiance to that contrarian notion. When the world says “yes” and you say “no,” that’s news.
It’s beneficial to keep that simple idea in mind when planning your media strategy. When your media contacts are expecting up, given them down. When everyone else is saying daytime, you said night.
Case in point: A local, independent restaurant was in need of media exposure and was looking at some of the local news programs which featured cooking segments. The month was June and all eyes were focused on grilling – the best burgers, steaks, ribs, et.al.
With everyone talking about grilling, we approached the stations with soup. Soup! Who eats soup in the summer? The stations found the notion of talking about cold soups during the summer very intriguing. Gazpacho and cucumber soup gave them something no one else was talking about.
It was man bites dog.
To seasoned public relations pros, that’s
music to our ears.
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Entrepreneurial spirit or viral marketing? A new boutique opened in Miami called “Covid-19 Essentials” which sells face masks, hand sanitizers and “other pandemic accessories.”
— miamiherald.com
Hungry for business. Some experts predict that as many as 80 percent of U.S. restaurants may close permanently due to the pandemic.
—
The Week
Don’t close this one! A New Jersey restaurant may survive after a long-time customer left a $1,000 tip.
— upi.com
Just browsing. The dating app Tinder notes that 42 percent of its users are already in a relationship.
— uselessdaily.com
Less than purrr-fect. A new study showed that men who display pictures of themselves with their cats on dating apps are viewed by women “as less masculine; more neurotic, agreeable, and open; and less dateable.”
— cnn.com
Ups and downs. The first American woman to walk in space, Kathryn Sullivan, recently also became the first woman to reach the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.
— bbc.com
The market wins again. Since the S&P 500 bottomed out in March, every stock on the index “has posted a positive return.”
— bloomberg.com
Alterations needed. Founded in 1818, Brooks Brothers, the oldest men’s clothier in the U.S. – which lists 41 of the 45 U.S. presidents as customers – has filed for bankruptcy.
— nytimes.com
Business isn’t moving. On June 15, Segway ended production of its signature two-wheeled, self-balancing personal transport device.
—
Fast Company
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“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson later.”
— Vern Law
Month of the Month:
July is a good month to be hungry. In addition to this being National Ice Cream and Hot Dog months, it’s also National Deli Sandwich and National Horseradish months. So it would follow that July is also Sandwich Generation Month. If any of this makes you yawn, don’t fret. Last, but not least, it’s National Anti-Boredom Month.
Question of the Month:
Which U.S. President is featured on the $100,000 bill?
Rather than taxing your brain to discover the answer, just click
here.
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It’s often interesting to discover when certain words or phrases were added to our ever-changing language. Some that we imagined having been around for some time, are relative new comers. Let’s try a few:
knee jerk — the physical response as a noun was added in 1876. But knee-jerk, the adjective – meaning an automatic, predictable response to a question, statement or event – wasn’t included in the dictionary until 1951.
ravioli – we can’t speak for Italian, but to Chef Boyardee’s possible dismay, ravioli in English dates back to 1611.
focal length – which refers to that distance when an object remains in focus as seen through a lens (as in photography). However, the term pre-dates photography having been added to the language in 1753.
Source: Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
“There is little difference between a groove and a rut.”
– Allan Weiss
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A gridiron MBA? OK, maybe that’s not possible, but see how much you can learn about business from football in my book,
Hard Hitting Lessons.
The subtitle says it all, “Some not-so-obvious business lessons learned from playing football.”
Most people associate football with learning things like hard work, discipline, teamwork, etc. That’s all very true. But what can you learn about business from football? According to
Hard Hitting Lessons
, a lot. This book will explain it all – from human resources to strategic planning and more. Yes, there’s a lot to be learned from playing football about business – and even about life itself.
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