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This is the post that I have dreamed of writing.  A purely testing type of post then Sunrise, Sunrise, looks like morning in your eyes, but the clock’s held 9:15 for hours. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

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This stunning home is located on a flat, sunny lot in the heart of central Atherton. Completely remodeled in 2005, this four bedroom, four bath house is the epitome of California indoor/outdoor living, with all common areas and the master suite opening onto the yard and outdoor entertaining area.

Custom features are found throughout the house including extensive millwork, premium appliances, programmable lighting and integrated audio-visual systems.

What self-respecting newspaper stickers an advertisement over it’s front page masthead? Ours. The Arizona Republic. Daily.

The Post-it ad is becoming the print equivalent of the online pop-up ad.  One of the Greatest Inventions of the 20th Century is becoming a scourge in the 21st. Annoying. Unwanted.  It’s media buyer vandalism.

I’m not the first of us to notice, but now that it’s a daily occurance, I want it to stop. I want to organize a petition or a boycott. I want to be the Lady Bird Johnson of these miniature sticky billboards. 

Most of all, Valley agencies and media reps and the Republic advertising department need to understand what an affront these ads are – on principle.  Everyone who reads the paper is proud of it. (Yes, you can quote me: The Arizona Republic is an Arizona Point of Pride). We enjoy living in the Valley and the Republic on our doorstep each day reminds us — reinforces – the great choice we all made.   We are inherently interested in the content, like it or not.

A Post-it ad over the masthead of the paper is a slap in the face to the paper’s readers and reporters.  It intrusively says our paper is a sell-out.  That money is more important than news content.  It’s simply disrespectful.

If you are a media buyer, heed the thought process of a typical Republic reader:

Do I see your ad? Yes.
Do I like it? No. Or, I’m indifferent.
Do I read it? No.
If I don’t read it, why? Because in ripping it off the paper, I just ripped the entire front page. Oh yeah, and noone can read the teeny tiny type.
Do I recall your client with fondness? No.
Will I do business with them? No.

I’m sure some smart ass will come back at me with ROI stats. Or talk about how if the ad just attracts the one reader who commits, it’s done it’s job.  Fine.  But, let me tell you that post-its will not get your client out of the housing slump, nor will they get me interested in a diploma-mill MBA. 

From my standpoint, your money’s much better spent on a PR campaign, where you can control the message and the desired response over time.  Instead of offending people.  

Whether you belong to the group or not, perhaps the most fun of the communication group mixers is IABC Network Night, which is set for Dec. 5. 

Here’s the announcement from IABC:

Make Your Mark at IABC Phoenix Network Night!

Reconnect with old friends and make new ones, qualify for door prizes and bid on silent auction items at our chapter’s annual Network Night & Silent Auction on Wednesday, Dec. 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Su Vino Winery in Scottsdale. The event is sponsored by US Airways, which has donated a $500 travel gift card for the silent auction. Other auction items include an $800 resort package from the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, FBR Open tickets, IABC publications, a variety of gift baskets, and gift cards from IKEA, AMEX and restaurants. 

Cost includes two drink tickets and appetizers. For more information and to register, click here

The Republic reprinted an Arizona Woman article this morning on how to handle Generation Y, that included a cover photo and comments from PR firm Barclay Communications. 

Because handling Gen Y workers was again a big topic of conversation at our Buzz event last week, I thought I’d re-link you to my views.  

ValleyPRblog has moved to its own domain: www.valleyprblog.com.

If you haven’t already, please take a moment to re-bookmark the site in your browser and, if you read us via RSS, to adjust your feed (you should be able to do by clicking here).

With the server move, we took the opportunity to spruce up the blog’s look and feel — complete with cactus. Having our own space gives us greater flexibility, which will help us continue to improve the blog moving forward. (Is it just me or am I an Ikea couch away from sounding like we just moved into a new apartment?)

Importantly, this is also a time to say thank you for regularly reading and providing us feedback. In a little less than a year, we’ve gone from posting to ourselves to hundreds of readers each week. Again — thanks.

We hope you enjoy the new site.

I spotted an interesting blog this morning discussing a company called PRstore opening up in Portland, Oregon. Went to the site and see they’ve got a “store” down in Tucson and plans for the Valley.

Here’s a bit of what Rick shared…

For those of you not familiar with the concept (I wasn’t), the PRstore claims to offer all of your marketing communications needs for a price far below your usual, run-of-the-mill designer or PR agency… They position themselves as an alternative to big agencies that small companies can afford. Hunh? What small company in their right mind is walking into a Wieden + Kennedy or Waggener Edstrom asking for help?… Who is running the joint? Seasoned marketing professionals or someone who had the franchisee money to invest?…Using a car analogy, this is like a “pre-owned” car dealership moving into the neighborhood. The BMW and Lexus dealers couldn’t care less. The Toyota and VW dealers might cock an eyebrow. But the other used car dealerships start getting a little nervous.

Granted, I’m adding to the awareness of them but I have to say I’m not too worried. Should we be?

Check it out for yourself. http://www.prstore.com/arizona.html