The Amtower Report

(The Amtower Report is an e-journal on the Business-to-Government market featuring the opinions of Mark Amtower, and occasionally reader comments. This newsletter is only sent to those who request it. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.FederalDirect.net and if you like this newsletter, please pass it along to your colleagues. To unsubscribe, see directions below. The newsletter is posted each Monday at www.FederalDirect.net, and the latest “Off-Center Observations” is on the home page. All back issues available at http://www.federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html)

In this issue:
Amtower Off-Center Observations
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
September 11
Events Worth Attending
Amtower on the Radio- WFED

AMTOWER OFF-CENTER OBSERVATIONS

Item: Welcome to issue 200 of the electronic version of my enewsletter. Since August 19, 2002, I have been attempting to raise the level of awareness in our community about many issues that impact us, positively and negatively, especially in the area of marketing. I do read the email I get in response to both my newsletter and radio show, so keep those cards and letters coming. If you have any desire to see the back issues, they are at http://federaldirect.net/newsletterarchives.html . They are all short, and by most reports, often amusing.

Item: Market Connections has a new study out: 2007 State and Local Public Sector IT Marketing Report. It covers top IT priorities and challenges, biggest IT investment areas, most valued vendor attributes, insight into the procurement process and more. Go to www.MarketConnectionsInc.com and look on the right side for the report link.

Item: OKeeffe and Company sent out an email announcing they won 9 local and national PR awards. Congratulations. I am happy to see you did not have one of your other companies give the awards.

Item: Bob Bly also has a great new program out – the BtoB Marketing University. I have several of his audio programs and books in my library, and they are a tremendous resource. This particular program ix SIX CDs and it is only $97. It covers a variety of copywriting tips (with examples), driving qualified traffic to your web site, white papers, software marketing, case studies, integrated marketing and much more. I have been using Bob Bly books and audio programs for years.

Go to http://www.ctcpublishing.net/cmd.php?Clk=2091551

Item: Need some GSA Schedule training that is really good, no-nonsense, front line stuff?  My friends at Global Services are offering a three hour session on September 13 (see Events below). Courtney Fairchild, president of Global Services, is reminds me of my mentor, Lynn Bateman, in her style; knowledgeable, direct, and easy to understand. Go to www.GlobalServicesInc.com

Repeat Item: If you sell products to government (as in commodity products, including IT), the place to be this November 5-6 is The Sixth Annual Amtower Summit on Selling Products to the Government. This is the only event focused exclusively on selling products to the government and we offer information you can act on immediately. We have a great lineup of speakers and we are in a great new Hilton hotel, the BWI Hilton, 5 minutes from Baltimore-Washington International airport. Join us for good food, great speakers, excellent networking and more. This is a limited seating event, so register NOW. See Events below for the link.

Item: At a time when terrestrial radio is finding the competition tougher than ever, how does Clear Channel respond with the DC country music station, WMZQ?  CC fires on air personalities Jim London (one of the best voices on the radio) and Seth Warner – both very knowledgeable guys when it comes to country music. If you spend ad dollars on radio, do not spend them with WMZQ. My note to CC said: Clear Channel cost cutting your way to oblivion? WMZQ is now off my car radio and off my office radio. Jim London was arguably the best DJ in DC. Your new batch of know-little personality-free folks suck. What is next – robots?

THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY: AMTOWER PR FIRM RANKINGS

Every year or so I do an unscientific survey of reporters and editors from the government trade press to see which PR firms are most respected and most helpful to both their clients and the publications. I email people I work with in the press and simply ask their opinion and I guarantee their anonymity.

There were no big standouts (no company with more than 2 votes). The best recommendations in terms of how the reporter or editor referenced a PR firm were for Alice Marshall (PrestoVivace; one reporter called her the best he had worked with) and Evan Weisel (W2 Communications, one reporter noted he does lots for his clients and adds actual value for the trade press). Other reporters just sent lists, or had shorter comments. And while I did not ask for it, a few gave me negative feedback. Instead of sharing the negative, I simply took a point away from the company referenced.

Making the cut (alphabetical: Advice Unlimited, Alice Marshall/PrestoVivace, BrainBox, Borenstein, Boscobel, Fleishman Hillard, Hosky Inc, Larkin and Associates, OKeeffe, Strategic Communications, and Welz and Weisel.

If your company did not make the cut, work harder. If you made the list and think you should be higher, work harder. I did not edit the list in any way.

Special mention was made by one reporter for the in-house PR at Microsoft Federal and Sun Federal.

One reporter offered the following advice on characteristics of those he likes to work with:

People who understand what the publication needs and pitch accordingly – know the angle for the particular publication and knowing which reporter is best for your story.

People who understand I am not going to highlight a company they rep if it will be unfair to other companies. The example was a company that won a piece of a multiple award contract where there were 20 companies awarded the same contract.

People who are reasonable in their persistence – not people who follow up on an email within 5 minutes.

People who can take No for an answer.

People who do not send every bit of trivial information, but hold back until they have something truly significant.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

The 6^th anniversary is upon us. Rather than reflect on where we are now, take a few minutes to pray for the victims and their families. Then remember our troops by sending a contribution to the USO – www.USO.org

 
EVENTS WORTH ATTENDING

Beware of the SCHLOCK EVENT PRODUCERS, producing minimal value events that eat your money with no significant return! The events listed below are among those I think are worth your time, money and effort. Just because an event is not listed below does not imply it is not worth attending. If you want my opinion on a specific event or producer, call me. This topic is addressed more thoroughly in the members section at www.GovernmentMarketingBestPractices.com.

September 13, 9:30 AM-12:30 PM, Staying Compliant and Making Your GSA Schedule Work, Global Services,  www.GlobalServicesInc.com/registration.html

September 21, 7:00-9:15 AM, FSI Executive Breakfast with Kevin Kirsch, Science & Tech Directorate, DHS, McLean Hilton: www.fedsources.com/events/fsievents/brk-kirsch.asp

October 18, 7:00PM - 11:00PM, GIT ROCKIN' 2nd Annual BATTLE OF THE GOVERNMENT IT BANDS, The State Theatre, Falls Church, VA  www.GitRockin.com

October 23-25, Federal Information Assurance Conference 2007, University of Maryland at College Park http://www.fbcinc.com/fiac/

November 2, Heroines in Technology, Hyatt Regency Reston, www.WomenInTechnology.org

November 5-6, 2007 – The Sixth Annual Amtower Summit on Selling Products to the Government, BWI Airport Hilton. Save the date – details to follow at www.FederalDirect.net/2007summit.html

November 7-8, The Coalition for Government Procurement Annual Fall Conference, Hilton Arlington, http://www.thecgp.org/

AMTOWER ON THE RADIO - WFED

Amtower Off-Center airs Friday at 2:05 PM on WFED 1050 AM in Washington, DC and is simulcast and archived on  www.FederalNewsRadio.com. Tune in to the only show for the government contracting market!

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As always, your comments, questions and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
Mark Amtower

The Amtower Report is published by Amtower & Company, and is written for companies targeting the government marketplace. The opinions expressed are those of Mark Amtower unless otherwise noted. Contact us at Amtower & Company, PO Box 314, Highland, MD 20777-0314 (301-924-0058). This material is copyrighted and may not be duplicated, reprinted or otherwise replicated without written permission of the publisher. Email subscriptions are free by request: sign up at www.FederalDirect.net