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Richard Laermer is an authority on marketing and media, a former reporter who is coauthor of Punk Marketing, and writer of the new book 2011: Trendspotting. He's CEO of New York's RLM pr, representing, among others, IncrediMail, ThisNext, Smith & Nephew, AirPlay, Anystream, Sky Films, Dealighted.com and TutorVista. He was host of TLC's cult program Taking Care of Business and speaks on trends and marketing for corporate groups. You can read Laermer on huffingtonpost.com/richard-laermer and on the mischievous but all too necessary Bad Pitch Blog…badpitch.blogspot.com
You may also find articles by Richard at TalentZoo.com. Sort By: Date | Popularity
 Introducing “bad News Bores”I noticed it first at a Kwanzaa party late last year. Having trouble keeping myself amused, I started quizzing those holding drinks and discovered that everyone there was kind of "into" news and recent events.As a media junkie hanging out in a room of strangers, I realized it would be my lucky night if they all turned out to be informed and alive.It wasn't to be. Service, Thy Name is CustomerHello to you, the service person.
Yes, sure, we are all about service. It’s a funny word that has had more than a few crazy meanings. When someone says “I’m servicing” another, I immediately think something dirty. Sorry, Big Doesn't Get the Job DoneThe CEO of a fast-growing Web company recently asked me why he should hire RLM PR, an 18-person firm, instead of a so-called name firm. Having been in a self-owned service business for 17 years, I was confused by this query. What's a name? Never one to say "no" to a challenge, I am herewith answering him in public. Welcome to Bait & Switch: Yes, I'm Talking to YouI've been watching service businesses pull some serious crap for years. I keep thinking a new economy will enter our lives and just stop what most everyone knows is a truly awful practice.
But still, even after downturns, upturns, the price of coffee goes up, terrorism, wars, famine and Katrina…firms persist in pretending to sell people to new clients and voilá—having them disappear after the ink is dry. In kids' parlance: What's up with that? It's Like That? Lessons This Service CEO Got From Shelling Out for Something SimilarHaving run a service biz for a thousand years, I haven't really thought a lot about what it's like to actually hire one of us.
That recently changed for me big time. Stories of Hr: Human Resources in Sore Need of an UpgradeSorry to get all serious on you, but it occurred to me that work/life balance is the key ingredient inside happy employees. Oh, you say you knew that? There are multitudes of firms doing their best to show they care, and boy they really, really do. Somewhere along the line, however, a change took place in the workplace that is now referred to as, yikes, “people over product.” Time to Work: My Motto for JuneLaziness is not only when you don’t show up for work and hang on the couch. It’s also found in the language we use (“Sounds good” is just stupid). I also am starting to fully become bewildered by those people who use speaker phone or Sprint Nextel™ Walkie Talkies to have complete conversations in airplane lounges, just because they are too cheap to buy a headset or don’t want an ear to be too hot. Please. A Barrage of Convenience: Hollywood’s Non-punk SensibilityTitles are among the biggest problems in marketing today.
People don’t think before they name something. Monikers are all too cute. Why is Chase calling its new youth credit card “Plus One,” for instance? Why does Gloria Steinem call the women-geared radio conglomerate Greenstone Media? Why is there such a need to be techno-cute? Check the paper this week for the latest uh cool name for a service, be it Twitter or Thoof!! (yes) or Topix or Tampax…err, not that. Machiavellian Skin: How I Nearly Got Hoodwinked by a Guy Who Knew Too MuchI’m sort of embarrassed to tell you this, but my mission with Devil is to tell the truth.
A typical bigwig or drunk-with-experience supervisor would embellish here and make me look good. I guess I'm a bit of a glutton, or, hey, at least not willing to be cliché. Cut the Crap and Just Jump Into RiskIn Punk Marketing, which I coauthored with brilliant, odd-talking Brit Mark Simmons, we endlessly babble on about the Manifesto. Those are 15 articles you might consider following in order to succeed in the modern marketplace.
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