Master Marketers - Interview with PR Smith (Part 2)

In  Part 1  of my interview with Paul, he talked about the evolution of the SOSTAC ®  planning framework for which he is best known.


Here in Part 2 he answers questions about his later interests in Sports Marketing, Sportsmanship and Leadership....

Q4. I believe that you have a new approach to the potentially chaotic Social Media area, please can you tell us something about this?

The Ladder of Engagement  looks at how customers can be engaged at different levels from the lowest level of giving a star rating or a review to the highest level of collaborative co-creation i.e. customers create the company’s products.

This is marketing utopia where customers drive the business, create and test the new products and then buy them and tell their friends all about them. This could have been written 20 years ago, you might say. I agree, except now social media facilitates the Ladder Of Engagement perfectly.  Essentially, social media makes it easier to create a real customer-driven business. That’s why marketers really must master social media immediately – not next year. 

There is an opportunity to restructure businesses around customers via social media and integrating into every aspect of the business.   And with this new responsibility comes the opportunity for marketers to take a seat at every board of directors.

There is always room for creativity. You can see how BBC Northern Ireland and On The Air by FlickrPix  highly creative approach took User Generated Content to a new level in the free downloadable chapter from PR Smith Marketing.

Question 5:   As well as Marketing Communications and Marketing Planning I believe that you are now also involved in Sports Marketing and have written a book about exceptional examples of sportsmanship, which you now use to teach leadership and social skills for all levels and ages.

Great Moments Of Sportsmanship is a collection of true 2 minute stories about sportsmanship. Honour & nobility, integrity & humility on and off the field of sport. Across all sports and all countries and all levels. It is my social media campaign to get sportsmanship back on the agenda of kids, coaches and commentators.

The book has been described as ‘the new bible’ by the BBC. It is not, but it does tap into something deep inside us all. It has sold out in Ireland but I’ve not been able to get the book distributed in the UK. All ideas welcome! I’m about to release a Kindle version. The web site has video clips of many of the stories in the book, plus new stories (and  videos), plus  ongoing discussions, my radio interviews, sample stories, posters and most importantly, new ideas for stories sent in by readers [this is the The Ladder Of Engagement].

I really need to find a sponsor so I can really promote this book and maybe give a free copy away to every visitor to the London Olympics?  If anyone has contacts, ideas or suggestions (re sponsors, media contacts, schools/libraries networks) - please do contact me.  

I also have a free educational workbook for schools that want to integrate sportsmanship into several different classes.  I’ve also linked up with the Campaign For Courtesy recently.

Sportsmanship is my personal passion. I really do think it makes a difference and can actually help the world to be a better place. And help to tackle obesity, illiteracy, low self esteem as well as having fun and just feeling good. In business workshops I use it to demonstrate how Social Media’s  Ladder Of Engagement  works. 

I’ve been told that the stories are so inspirational that they would make great stories for a leadership conference. 

You just need to ask me and I’ll do it! 

www.GreatMomentsOfSportsmanship.com

Other Resources:

Connect with Paul:

Twitter:  PR_Smith

Web site: www.PRSmith.org my web site

Facebook:   PRSmithMarketing my facebook page

Blog: Great Moments of Sportsmanship.com  my sportsmanship social media campaign – please join in.

 Books by PR Smith

Smith, PR  & Zook, Z. (2011)  Marketing Communications 5^th ed.,  Kogan Page

Smith, PR & Chaffey, D. (2008) eMarketing eXcellence 3rd ed., Butterworth Heinemann 

Smith, PR (2003) Great Answers to Tough Marketing Questions, 2nd ed. , Kogan Page

Smith, PR, Berry C. & Pulford, A. (1999) Strategic Marketing Communications, Revised ed.

Smith, PR (2009) Great Moments of Sportsmanship, PR Smith self published.

CD ROMs by PR Smith

Smith, PR (2002) Marketing Essentials series of 10 CDs, PR Smith

Smith, PR (2004) eMarketing eXcellence  10 courses on one CD, PR Smith

Coming Soon SOSTAC ® Workbooks