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Great thoughts
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."

 

Richard Feynman,
American physicist


And customers can't be fooled, either. No amount of marketing in the world can sell a bad product in any quantity.

If you have great products or services and want to get more people to buy--or buy in--give us a call or drop us a line today.

Adams Jette Marketing+ Communications
100 Argyle Avenue
Suite 202
Ottawa, ON  K2P 1B6
 
Tel: 613.235.5445
Fax: 613.235.5514
[email protected]
www.adamsjette.com

PR 101: Never miss an opportunity to impress
by Brenda Adams    

Every point of contact countsThe Ontario government recently gave me money and forgot to take credit for it. It was a huge missed opportunity.

A couple of weeks back, I noticed a direct deposit into my bank account of $335 from "CANADA PRO/PRO." Thinking this might be a mistake, and having no idea what the heck "Canada Pro" is, I did what any normal, twenty-first-century person would do. I asked Google.

 

Lo and behold, Google actually prompted my search with helpful suggestions after I'd typed only "direct deposit Canada PR" into the search engine. (When you get a prompt like that, it's telling you that LOTS of people have searched for the same thing.) Thanks to helpful websites like ask.com and others, I soon discovered that this happy little event wasn't a mistake after all. Rather, it's an HST rebate from the Ontario government, issued by Revenue Canada.

 

You may recall the Ontario government announced in 2010 that it would be providing these rebates to help ease the transition to the harmonized tax. Most people received a total of three such payments (in June and December 2010, and a final payment in June 2011).

 

Now, what if my account had shown this line item, "ONT GOV HST REBATE" (or even just ONT GOV REBATE)? Maybe "REBATE" is a problem, since the government likes to call this the "HST transition benefit," so "BENEFIT" would work just as well.

 

True, I might be angry to be reminded that I'm paying HST in the first place. But since when is getting money back from the government ever bad news? Now, I do not believe the Ontario government, and most certainly the government's public relations practitioners, intentionally hid this fact. Simply put, it was a huge lost opportunity, an opportunity handed over to programmers whose mysterious use of the words "CANADA PRO/PRO" has meaning only to them.

 

I have no doubt the Ontario government spent many thousands of dollars promoting the rebate, pointing to it as evidence of their efforts to minimize the impact of the HST on Ontario taxpayers. But they failed to communicate it at the most crucial and, arguably, the most memorable moment--when the cash went jingle-jangle into my pocket. It's a costly example of how even the best communicators can get caught up in the forest and miss the trees entirely.

 

Remember: Every point of contact with your audience is an opportunity to reinforce your message.

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FEATURED CLIENT

Geosynthetic  

Geosynthetic Systems is the largest and most experienced distributor of geosynthetic products in Eastern Canada.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, the company was the first to introduce many of the innovative soil conservation and management products that are now a standard feature of road-building, stormwater management, landscaping and building-envelope projects across the region.

While its product line continues to grow to meet the changing needs of its clients, its mission remains unchanged: To deliver maximum-performance products at the lowest possible price.

 

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Quotables

CGHRC

"I would like to thank the entire team at Adams Jette for all of the hard work and superior customer service we have received on the many high-demand projects we have given you over the last several years.

 

"As you know, we depend on our suppliers as extended members of our own team to serve our large national constituency across Canada--in both official languages. The capacity of Adams Jette to respond quickly and deliver quality products and services at competitive prices, is typically the reason most project managers outsource work repeatedly to the same vendor.

"I would confidently recommend your services to other organizations and am pleased to spread the word."

 Patti Galbraith  

Canadian Grocery HR Council  

 

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QuikTips

quotation marks -- Use these curly little fellas when quoting someone. They should not be used to emphasize a word. Try italics instead.

  

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