FPRA Annual Conference: PR & Passion Rule at Harley Davidson, Seadoo, Segway and the University of Florida
Joseph S. Hice Jr., Associate Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations at the University of Florida opened the 68th Annual Conference with a session about creating passion within PR. Joe really got things started by entering on a Segway. He took a few celebratory laps around the conference floor before taking the stage.
Joe's dream was to become an engineer, until he took calculus. In his heart he has always been a gear-head and loved tinkering with things. He was fortunate enough to work for some great companies with some great, cool products: Harley Davidson, Seadoo and Segway.
Joe's premise is that passion rules. You need to have passion for your product. When you are marketing, ultimately you are selling yourself. If you have passion for your product that will come thru to the customer. You need to understand the passion that customers and enthusiasts have for your product.
Disciples are made, not born. It is possible to create customer excitement with your passion. At Harley Davidson they developed the Harley Owners Group (HOG) in 1983. There are currently over 1 million members each paying around $80/year. Do the math. SegAmerica is a group of loyal customers that share a passion for the Segway.
Ultimately these passionate followers want you to win. They will be with you through the good times and the bad times. You can look to them for support and guidance.
In order to embrace the customer you need to get management closer to the customer. Many of the organizations that Joe has worked with have dedicated offices/staff to work with the loyal customers.
Take advantage of lifestyle opportunities. In Harley's case, many of the fans will travel thousands of miles to take place in rallies or other events. Support them in their efforts.
Differentiation is also a key component. Too many people market their products in the same way...they all think that they're the best and offer the best product. What is unique about your product. What can you provide that nobody else can?
One example of differentiation is Seadoo. There were a number of personal watercraft manufacturers all doing the same thing. Seadoo picked performance as their focus. They developed a series of high-performance watercraft and over the next few years they won just about every race in the series. They owned the performance market.
You can also differentiate yourself with the delivery of your message. Know how your audience wants to receive information. At the University of Florida they use traditional media as well as new media tools such as podcasts and videoblogs. They are also experimenting with text-messaging services on campus.
At the University of Florida their focus is the 'Gator Nation'. All universities produce great research and great graduates, but the one thing that UF produces that nobody else does is Gators. The 'Gator Nation' has become the focal point for their branding efforts. Luckily, UF has a sports program that gets some national TV exposure. The university can use this free promotional airtime during games to air commercials to reinforce that brand.
UF also uses billboards which are not a traditional advertising vehicle for universities. Next up are airport dioramas.
Joe then talked a bit about the recent changes to the University of Florida. It was a change, but they did their homework, and worked closely with internal groups.
Change is good. Don't let the 'old way' get in your way, but be logical. Support change with facts.
One of the universities most challenging audiences is incoming students. How do you reach/connect-with high school students? They produced a short movie preview. (We're going to try to get a copy of the video)
In the end you need to have the passion and share that passion. Know your customer, the best way to do that is become a customer yourself.
You can listen to the interview I did with Joe before his session here.
