Spike your Brand ROI (eBook)

ADELE CEHRS, the owner of Epic PR Group, has served as PR strategist for clients like DirectTV, Johnson and Johnson, DuPont, Lockheed Martin, and Verizon. She frequently serves as a media expert for Forbes and the Wall Street Journal, and has trained numerous CEOs in the art of media management. Using her SPIKE method, Adele has transformed virtually unknown businesses, including 1-800-Flowers.com and Georgetown Cupcake, into multimillion-dollar household names.

Foreword by Sam Horn vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

About the Author xiii

1 What's Real Brand Engagement? 1

2 Why Your Brand Doesn't Stand Out 7

3 Brand Narcissism 13

4 SPIKE Assessment 21

5 Be Nimble, Assemble the Right Team, and Get Buy-In for the
SPIKE Method 25

6 Picking the Perfect Audiences and Crafting Compelling Messages
33

7 Manufacturing a SPIKE: Provide First-of-Their-Kind Pitches,
Stories, and Messages 41

8 When Is Your Brand Truly Relevant? Turn Your Editorial
Calendar into a Relevance Calendar 51

9 Brand Patience: Why You Need It 61

10 SPIKE Spotting 69

11 The Upshot of a Positive SPIKE 79

12 Finding the Lost Principle of Influence 87

13 Create a Contrarian Brand Platform to Stand Out 97

14 The Fairness Fallacy and How to Call a Time-Out When Things
Go Bad 105

15 Have a Crisis Plan in Place to Handle Negative SPIKEs 115

16 The Real Benefits of Responding to or Ignoring Negative
SPIKEs 119

17 Maximize (or Minimize) 15 Minutes (or Days) of Fame or Shame
125

18 Why Wait? Anticipate Negative SPIKEs 133

19 Don't Spin Out of Control, Manage the Viral Spiral
141

20 Dark Websites See the Light of Day 151

21 The Underdog versus Top Dog Effect: How Some Brands Pick
Themselves Up and Come Back Stronger 161

22 The Pedestal Principle 169

23 Internal SPIKEs 177

24 Measuring the ROI of a SPIKE 185

SPIKE Spotting: Worksheets 193

Bibliography 207

Index 217