By Jessica Vollrath, Vollrath Associates, www.vollrathpr.com

Imagine an online world where every one of your - and your clients' - employees are a brand ambassador, posting positive messages about your organizations and their services on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. 

However, employees' online musings are not always so rosy, and crisis-control situations have arisen after employees have posted everything from confidential financial memos to personal-life dramas to complaints about their clients and superiors.  Countless companies have suffered what has now been deemed "The Domino Effect" - named after the corporate social media nightmare when a YouTube video of two Dominos employees disgustingly assaulting food blazed like wildfire through the Web 2.0 universe.

Following horror stories like this, many organizations are reacting to social media in different ways to prevent employee postings from wreaking havoc on their company's public image and customer relationships. 

As many as 40 percent of institutions, such as the United States Marine Corp and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, now block social media sites altogether, yet the repercussions of such censorship can be extremely regressive.  Not only are employers stifling the development of new technology skills that can help individuals in their organizations organically market to millions of users, but a new study from the University of Melbourne shows that occasionally surfing the Internet for fun actually increases employee productivity by 9%.

As a better option, firms should turn to their communications departments to develop internal employee Internet guidelines that curb potential crises by setting clear expectations and monitoring them. 

Although the tone of these guidelines may vary according to a company's culture and current relationship with the public, it is important they find a balance between protecting employees' freedom of speech and protecting your brand. 

Here is a sampling of possible guidelines an organization could ask of employees:

Finally, if an organization deems necessary, these guidelines may be coupled with monitoring.  There are dozens of free Web sites that allow one to search social media posts for key words, such as socialmediamention.com and yacktrack.com.  An organization may also opt to pay for a service, such as Cyveillance or Cision, to monitor their social media mentions from employees as well as customers.

If your company or one of your client's companies is delving into the Web 2.0 world, consider developing a strategy to guide employees who will be representing their brands online everyday.  A communication plan in place now is better than a crisis plan enacted later!

By Davide Novelli, Marketing Director, The Geo Group Corporation, www.thegeogroup.com

Many factors determine the success of a global product launch and packaging is definitely one of them. Multilingual packaging is one small task that has a large impact on sales. At the store level, exporting regulation, space restrictions and creative design can hamper product packaging eye appeal. However, multilingual packaging can attract consumers despite the mirage of limitations.

If you need to translate your product packaging, here are some tips for a smooth transition from English to multilingual text:

In a few words: think internationally. When you write the English text, always keep in mind the language and the culture of the people you are going to be talking to. In Germany, Clairol introduced the curling iron "Misty Stick" before discovering that the German word for "Mist" means "manure." Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called "Cue," the same name as a notorious adult magazine.

Simple, short and sweet is the key to successful global product packaging. The integration of an advertising/marketing agency, foreign language translation agency, localization firm and internal branding managers all impact the eye appeal of your consumer-based export. The challenge is to blend information and esthetic to make a positive sales impact all around the world.

By: Kari Dunham, Interactive Account Executive, and Bill Finn, President, of Finn Digital LLC, www.finndigital.com 

As humans we continuously strive to grow our network of relationships. Events like parties, dinners or reunions are the original social network, bringing people together to expand personal and professional relationship, so it's no surprise that we created conferences to build our professional black book. In the digital age, we professionals seldom develop a solely "in-person relationship." Therefore, conference organizers are beginning to bring what was once a "physical" event to the web.

Successful conference exposure has expanded to include social technology before, during and after an event. Serving as a hub for information, online social networks can initiate key relationships between presenters and attendees prior to the event. Attendees can utilize conference-specific community platforms to post notes from presentations, print out agendas or develop list of attendees to meet while onsite. Further, traffic on these conference social networks double after these events, specifically because they act as "online archives" for conversations and event feedback or attendees use them to follow-up with contacts.

Some popular platforms being utilized for conferences include:

1. Ning

Ning is as an external social networking site where attendees can create their own social community and invite others to join. Similar to social networks like Facebook or MySpace, Ning offers profiles, comments, and photos, as well as conference-friendly features like "chat", event pages for attendees to RSVP to conference sessions with visible attendee lists, and a blog tab to post notes or comment post-sessions. The premium version can integrate a live Twitter stream on the home page. Ning is free to use, with ad-free and customizable premium packages available for $25 a month*.

2. CrowdVine

CrowdVine is a conference-developed social network offering in-depth profile, messaging, and search features, establishing relationships between attendees as "a friend"; "a fan"; or "someone to meet". Calendar features allow attendees to create their own agendas and discuss sessions. A feedback feature rates a session's content or speaker while want-to-meet lists help attendees pinpoint who they would like to meet and who wants to meet them. Blog, photo and Twitter streams are aggregated into the dashboard for easy viewing. CrowdVine has free versions, but customizable, ad-free versions begin at $399 per event.*

3. Pathable

Pathable is a conference-specific social networking platform with a "tagging" system. As a member of this network, attendees can identify and converse with others at the conference with similar tags. Pathable also works with existing Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts, alerting attendees when their connections will be attending. Perfect for the mobile world, Pathable offers iPhone and smart phone applications for organizing agendas, contacts and more. They can also produce name tags/conference badges with basic attendee information, attendees' tags and a list of people to meet. Pathable charges, on average, a $1,000 set-up fee for each event and approximately $3 - $6 per attendee for its services.*

Social networks provide the tools for conference attendees to "socialize" before, during and after the event. However, these networks require a marketing strategy to educate attendees on the features and benefits of each tool. Encourage attendees within the social platform to blog, tweet, geo-tag and post photos, videos or comments to discussion boards/forums. This official "social media team" can receive conference perks/incentives as a bonus during the event while demonstrating the use of the tools. With a conversation already started, attendees won't be intimidated to share their comments and experiences.

See how the Business Marketing Association's National Conference in Chicago demonstrated this team effort. 

With online social networking platforms, attendees are seeing more business opportunities out of their conference experience, raising their ROI in professional events despite the economic climate.

*These prices are provided as of July 2009 and are dependent on quote from each company.

Perlick Corporation is a leading manufacturer of innovative, "total package" bar and beverage systems.  Since 1917, they have enabled their commercial customers to maximize operational profitability by providing complete equipment systems and services of superior value, with the shortest lead times in the industry.

Perlick. Always raising the bar.

As a result of investing in lean manufacturing, and developing new custom and energy-efficient products at their plant in Milwaukee, the executive team at Perlick wanted to raise awareness of its capabilities and benefits to beverage service operators in North America.  Perlick repositioned the company as the innovator that was "always raising the bar," and developed key messages around their ability to: a) improve style with custom capabilities; b) save energy by surpassing Energy Star standards and saving on life cycle and maintenance costs, and; c) maximize profitability with lean manufacturing, highest-quality products and the best delivery lead times in the industry.

Custom Capabilities and Brand Design

Brand design is the cornerstone of successful marketing.  Restaurants, hotels, casinos, night clubs, stadiums, breweries and airports want to reflect a brand design that excites their customers. With Perlick's custom capabilities, they allow the hospitality business to distinguish themselves from their competitors in atmosphere, service, bar, beverages and food.  Perlick designed a line of custom back bar cabinets that can match any brand design you can image - peach, coral, mint, wood, even plaid. They can build to order complete bar equipment, refrigeration equipment and beer system packages.

Energy Savings

Perlick has been awarded Energy Star on 12 of its models.  Purchasers of these products can expect to save money annually on utility bills, and enjoy operational savings and life cycle costs.  You can calculate annual savings by visiting www.perlick.com/energystar.

Lean Manufacturing Maximizes Profitability

Perlick improved on its already high-quality products and kept prices down using lean manufacturing and automated processes.  An extra benefit of going lean was their ability to deliver the best lead times in the industry.  Perlick's innovative products, along with their high efficiency and low-maintenance costs, help to maximize the profitability of any beverage service operation.

Perlick Shows Double-digit Growth in a Two-year Period

After implementing an integrated marketing communications program, Perlick increased sales with double-digit numbers in a two-year period.  For more information, contact Jean Radtke at 414-771-1044 X112, or e-mail jradtke@phoenixmgi.com.

Getting PR in Biztimes Milwaukee/Biztimes.com Tip #6:

Each issue of BizTimes Milwaukee includes a listing of upcoming meetings and events.  Reference a recent copy of the publication for an example of the format and submit your meeting/event information directly to eric.decker@biztimes.com two weeks prior to the intended publication date.  Don’t forget to visit biztimes.com and submit your event into our on-line database as well.  Thousands of local professionals visit our site on a daily basis.  There is no cost to either of these services.

Advertising & Public Relations

Bader Rutter & Associates, Brookfield, promoted Anna Baxter Kirk to group leader in the agency’s public relations group, and Erin Holte has joined the firm as a senior planner/buyer in the agency’s media group.

Z2 Marketing, Pewaukee, recently made two new additions to its staff. Jessica Menke joins Z2 as a graphic designer, and Eric Lewin joins the company as a copywriter.

Media

The Milwaukee Press Club has nominated the following journalists and media professionals for induction into the Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame: Barbara Dembski, retired reporter and senior editor at the Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; William Meyer, retired long time and award winning photographer for the Journal, Sentinel, and Journal Sentinel; Andy Potos, former general manager for WITI-TV Channel 6; Greg Stanford, retired reporter, columnist and editorial writer for the Journal and the Journal Sentinel; Jerry Taff, retired long time anchor for WISN-TV Channel 12; Constance Daniell, long time reporter for the Journal (deceased); David Doege, long time courthouse and police reporter for the Sentinel and Journal Sentinel and legal reporter for the Business Journal (deceased); Mildred Freese, long time reporter for the Journal, frequently specializing in consumer affairs (deceased); Al Kalmbach, prominent Milwaukee area publisher (deceased).

Cannella Response Television, Burlington, recently added two new members to its local staff. Kyle Scott has joined Cannella Response Television as media consultant, and Christine Kastenson has joined as a media assistant.