I know. This probably isn’t a real trend (yet), but fake PR cases seem to be on the rise.

The most notable of course have been the following: the fake BP Global PR Twitter account, the General Mills press release hoax, and now, the fake PR account for AT&T.

My personal favorite is the Heishman Flillard stunt which is an obvious spoof of the well-known PR firm, Fleishman Hillard. It’s less an attack on Fleishman and more a commentary on how large PR firms are struggling to reinvent themselves in today’s world. Heishman has a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account and they recently launched a slick website complete with multimedia content and humorous copy like: “the most strategic, powerful and award winning tradigital force in public relations and social media in the universe.”

Although fake PR is not a new phenomenon, I believe PR professionals need to start preparing for more cases of it for three reasons:

• It’s really easy to create and distribute official-looking content via social media.
• It’s time consuming and challenging to shut down or remove fake PR off third-party sites.
• There is an audience for it, as evidenced by the 180,000 people that now follow the fake BP Global PR Twitter account.

So, how does one manage fake PR? Here a few steps to consider:

Step 1: Don’t bury your head in the sand. Issue a quick statement (preferably on your blog) acknowledging the existence of the fake PR.

Step 2: Talk to your legal department. Are the interests (not egos) of the company being seriously harmed by the fake PR? If not, is there a way your company can use the fake PR to its advantage?

Step 3: Consider fighting fire with fire. Don’t only consider serious solutions (e.g., cease and desist letters), consider using a humorous one. The real AT&T ought to engage the person running the fake AT&T Twitter account. For example, why not send him/her a Tweet that he/she’s been selected as employee of the month but needs to pick up the award in person?

Step 4: If the situation is highly sensitive (as in the case of BP), simply acknowledge the fake PR (Step 1) and leave it be (although continue monitoring for serious legal issues). Trying to silence the instigator is not likely to work in your favor.

Most of the fake PR cases that I’ve come across are not purposely malicious and don’t harm the company or its interests. They are meant to simply entertain and get attention for the author (at your expense of course). I don’t think there is any harm in that.

I think for most people the fake BP Twitter account served an important purpose. It became an outlet where people could vent their frustration through humor. And that’s probably a good thing.

But whatever you decide to do, don’t wait. Time is the enemy.

Trust me. This strategy will work. Use “iPhone 4″ generously throughout your ad copy and people will line up in droves to fork over their hard earned cash. If it worked for Sam the Hobo (see below), it can work for you.

If you still need a compelling reason to explore humor in PR, this post is for you. This week, a company called SonicMule decided to do add humor to a new hire announcement and it resulted in a major PR victory.

For those of us who work in PR, writing and pitching the new hire press release is akin to selling encyclopedias door to door. It’s an exercise in futility as few journalists, if any, are ever interested. But, as SonicMule proved, it doesn’t always have to go that way.

By injecting a little humor into their new hire announcement, an editor at the Wall Street Journal’s Venture Capital Dispatch blog took notice and not only covered the news but thanked them publicly for it. Let me repeat that: THE EDITOR THANKED THEM! Here’s the actual headline: “Thank You, SonicMule, For Having Fun With A Press Release.”

Perhaps more interesting is that SonicMule didn’t have to go overboard with the humor to score that killer headline.

For example, instead of issuing a typical quote like: “we are delighted to have [insert name] join our company,” SonicMule CEO Jeff Smith opted to poke fun at the new hire. And that’s all that was needed. As the editor himself pointed out: “The genius here is that they didn’t go over the top with it.”

Here are a couple of good points to remember when using humor in your PR efforts:

1. You don’t have to be Jon Stewart to get results with humor.

2. When using humor in PR be careful not to take it too far as it may cast doubt on the veracity of the news (or overshadow it completely). PR firm Elasticity experienced this first hand when their unorthodox but hilarious new hire announcement caused major confusion over at BusinessWire and PRNewswire.

3. Journalists are desperate for press releases or pitches that exhibit some originality.

In the comments section of the WSJ article, one reader warned that thousands of PR people will now try to emulate SonicMule’s approach when pitching WSJ journalists: “…what was once novel will become as hackneyed as the precursor versions of press releases…”

But the reply from the editor was pure gold: “…but at least the releases will be more creative and entertaining to read.”

I couldn’t agree more.

I’m going to make a bold statement: HubSpot would be nothing without humor. Ok, maybe nothing is too strong a word but the company is certainly more successful because of humor.

How did HubSpot do this? Simply put, they took their humor public. Early on the company made a decision to let humor become part of the company’s official corporate identity. If you don’t know what I mean, just watch this.

It was a risk but it was a risk worth taking. HubSpot’s public display of humor helped differentiate the company from its competitors and even land new customers. Yep, that’s right. Turns out there IS an ROI for humor.

Recently, I spoke with Mike Volpe, HubSpot’s VP of Inbound Marketing, to explore how humor has defined and helped the company:

Q: To what extent does HubSpot use humor internally/externally and why?

We use humor whenever it helps communicate and spread our content. Adding humor to your content makes it more likely that people will forward it to their friends and share it online. Most business content is really boring, so by not being boring you instantly stand out.

Internally, we work really hard and have an intense focus on results, so we also like to laugh to break up the stress. We have a whole section of our internal wiki dedicated to chronicling the funny things that happen at the company. There have also been a few internal pranks in the company…one that went sort of public and viral and ended up generating a bunch of leads and even a new customer.

Q: Do you feel that humor has helped to define the HubSpot brand and corporate culture?

I think it has become part of our brand for sure. People often mention to us that they like our funny videos or our cartoons when they talk to us. I think it helps make the company a lot more human, which makes the interactions with our customers and prospects a lot better. It also helps when we make mistakes – people don’t expect us to be perfect, because we make fun of ourselves and others, and the company has a personality.

Having a brand that stands out among all the other boring brands out there does help you grow. We have accumulated over 300,000 views on our YouTube videos, and a lot of that is driven by the funny ones. We also see traffic spikes most of the time when we publish our cartoons. This humorous content really spreads far and wide online, and helps build our brand and also generate traffic and leads and sales.

Q: Do you believe humor has helped HubSpot retain and get new customers?

Yes! I know for a fact that some customers mention our humorous videos as a reason they contacted us when they talk to our sales people. And we get a lot of virtual fan mail for people who like our loose and humorous style on our HubSpot TV marketing podcast.

Q: Why do you think humor has flourished at the company?

I think being a startup helps because we are not encumbered with an older and more “buttoned-down” culture. We were able to take some risks, because we had less to lose, and now that risk-taking is part of the culture. We are also encouraged to do it internally and people have come to expect it externally.

Q: Do you think there is a risk of integrating humor into PR and/or marketing programs?

There’s always a risk that things will backfire or be misinterpreted, but I think the bigger risk is not trying new things! Sticking with your old marketing techniques and mediocre results is safe, but you’ll never break out and really grow by only doing the things proven to work over the past 20 years.

Q: Do you agree that humor can generate serious business results?

Yes!  People like to laugh. Anyone who takes themselves too seriously seems like they have something to hide. In a world dominated by boring business gobbledygook and where online content and social media award authentic personality, humor is a great way to stand out.

Q: Who in your opinion is HubSpot’s reigning class clown?

Wow. That’s a tough one. There are a lot of strong contenders…but I guess if I had to pick one it would be Rebecca Corliss just because she has sung and acted for most of our music videos about marketing. Dharmesh Shah might be the runner up since he has worked on the majority of our cartoons, but he’s a co-founder so he already gets lots of airtime so I’ll stick with Rebecca as the #1 class clown!

Most of you by now have viewed one or more of the brilliant viral YouTube videos titled: United Breaks Guitars. This topic is of special significance to me because I too was a traveling musician (violinist) who battled often with the airlines to ensure that my instrument didn’t suffer a gruesome death at the hands of Conan the Baggage Handler.

Dave Carroll, the creator of the videos, and his fellow band members were not so lucky. They got to witness the cruel treatment of their instruments by United’s baggage handlers first hand. You can read the whole story here.

Let me put this in perspective for non-musicians. The bond between a musician and his/her instrument is akin to that of the bond between parent and his/her child. You see your instrument being mistreated it’s going to piss you off in a major way. United Airlines failed to understand that and got what they deserved.

But my interest in United Breaks Guitars goes beyond just empathy. When Dave Carroll’s frustration with United Airlines customer service reached the breaking point, he didn’t get mad, he got creative. By doing so, he got what he wanted and more. The video campaign attracted millions of visitors, boosted sales for his music, raised awareness for instrument care on airlines, and birthed a forum where people could share similar customer service nightmares.

United Breaks Guitars has made Dave Carrol a very busy man. Luckily, I managed to snag a quick email interview with him last week (thanks Dave!). What follows is a great example of how to use creativity (and humor) to achieve amazing results.

Are you crazy? Who checks their instrument on an airline?

Some people have called me crazy but checking a guitar on many airlines is the only option. Air Canada’s policy for instance has been to force passengers to check guitars. I don’t recall for sure but I don’t believe I was told I had a choice with United Airlines. They certainly didn’t offer me the option to board with it.

Was writing the song more a form of therapy or did you have a specific goal in mind (e.g., raise awareness and help others with similar problems etc.)?

Both! I was frustrated by the customer service maze. I promised them (United) the three songs as a way of taking back my power as a customer. Worst case scenario I’d find a creative outlet to release some of that frustration. If they (videos) were successful then there would be an opportunity to affect real change. My goal was to enjoy doing it and not judge the success of it by the reaction of others.

Can you outline the steps you took to put the whole United Breaks Guitars campaign together? For example, how many people were involved? Did you put together a formal marketing/PR plan? How much did it cost?

There was literally very little planning put into the marketing for UBG. I wrote the first song and called some musician friends and said: “United broke my guitar and I’m recording a song about it. Do you want to play on it?”  They all said yes. When the song was done I sent it to my friends in the film industry here in Halifax and said: “Hey, United broke my guitar. Listen to this song and let me know if you’d be into making a funny video to put on YouTube.” They said sure. I called a few friends (all with no acting experience) and asked them to be in the video.

In June 2008 I went shopping and bought three sombreros, some white gloves, a globe, some mustaches and few other props. The entire production budget for the first video was $150. We met at the Waverley Fire Hall, where I am a volunteer fire fighter, at around 9 a.m. and we shot all the outdoor scenes that morning. We spent the afternoon at Curve Productions studio for the inside shots and finished at 6 p.m.

We had no real shot list just a few ideas: the guitar with the chalk outline was one, and the idea of having a handler throw the guitar like an Olympic hammer throw was another. Steve Richard had the idea to create an airplane fuselage out of white foam core but many of the shots were staged on the fly with one or two takes at the most.

Lara Cassidy edited the video but there weren’t that many shots to choose from because of the limited takes we had. I uploaded the video the first chance I had (July 6) and sent out a message to around 1000 Facebook fans and everyone in my outlook express email list. The rest is history.

Why did you choose to add video as opposed to just using the song alone?

I wanted to share the song with as many people as possible and songs don’t typically “go viral.” The visuals combined with a song are what gives people the strongest experience and I knew that Curve would deliver a great looking video. I knew that if I created a well written song with high production values in the recording and the video than it would be enjoyable to watch and one you would want to tell your friends about.

How well versed in social media were you prior to the United Breaks Guitars campaign?

I used Facebook and Twitter and understood the potential behind YouTube but the beauty of social media is that you don’t need to be an expert at all to use it effectively. If you make something relatable, that looks good, sounds good and makes people want to tell their friends about, others will do the work of spreading the word.

Were you surprised by the success of the United Breaks Guitars campaign? Can you tie a sales figure to this campaign? How has it opened doors in other areas for you?

I thought the potential was there to reach 1 million views with the three videos in one year. I had seen plenty of videos with more than a million hits with poor production value that were completely forgettable. I was convinced that because UBG was funny with great production value that it could get the numbers. What I didn’t foresee was how strong the reaction would be with traditional media and how people would watch it so many times. Sales jumped dramatically both online and with physical CD sales and I have had offers for record deals and publishing deals.

When putting together social media campaigns, what do you think is the most important consideration?

Relatabilty, high production value and humour draw people in. People will be attracted to shocking things and violence but if you can make them laugh the experience will resonate more effectively.

Do you believe you’ve had an impact on the customer experience for people flying United? In other words, are they more careful with musical instruments after the United Breaks Guitars success?

I met three Vice Presidents at United Airlines in September and suggested that a clearer policy be implemented on guitars. I’m told that that has been done and that musicians can bring their guitars on all United Airline flights if they are within a certain length. However, UBG has had an impact worldwide across most industries. Any big company stands to experience a similar customer service nightmare if they ignore the needs of their customers and have poor recovery plans in place. Mistakes will happen in every industry but there is a wide range as to how big companies are reacting. Since July changes are taking place. I understand United is doing better in both the industry and with long time flyers who say it’s better across the board. It’s gratifying to know you’ve had a positive impact.

My friends over at Elasticity had an interesting experience with the newswires the other day. In an effort to make their content stand out they used humor to spice up a press release announcing a few new hires to their team. Part of their outreach strategy was to distribute it via the major newswire services. PRNewswire initially refused saying “the content was not appropriate for the wire” and BusinessWire wouldn’t run it without substantial edits. Update: According to Elasticity: “PR Newswire did a 180 and agreed to run as-is once they realized they could lose the business from our clients.”

What’s interesting here is that none of the key information in the press release was inaccurate or offensive. They even had received third party permission for use of quotes from folks like Jason Falls, Brian Solis and Chris Brogan. The main crime appears to be only that it was funny. And that apparently set off alarm bells throughout the editorial halls of BusinessWire and PRNewswire.

Now I’m certain this isn’t the first time humor has been circulated via the newswires. Recently, Conan O’Brien used PRNewswire to distribute a humorous announcement about his departure from NBC. Did they edit him? Did they find his content inappropriate? Of course not. Anyways, most of the content distributed daily via the newswires is so bad it is funny.

I’m not sure how many other incidents like this exist (please share in comments) but one thing is clear: if the newswires have an editorial policy please make sure humor doesn’t get the axe. In fact, by embracing it, it may save them from extinction.

It’s a good day when you discover someone who is doing exactly what you want to do successfully. Kathy Klotz-Guest, is the owner of Powerfully Funny, a consultancy based in the Bay Area, whose mission is none other than: to help individuals and organizations of any size improve the impact of their marketing and communications through humor.

She’s been doing it since 2003 for such stalwart brands as Cisco and IBM. She also does stand-up on occasion at the Rooster T. Feathers in Sunnyvale (although I’d like verifiable proof of that).

But can she do cartoons? Doh! Now I must kill her.

I will be doing a more extensive Q&A with Kathy in a future blog post, but while I was digging for dirt about her I came across a great article she wrote about humor in PR. I’ve reprinted the article in its entirety below (with permission of course). I’d love to get a discussion going about this, so please share your thoughts in the comments.

Use Humor in PR to Be Heard – Not to Be One of the Herd

by Kathy Klotz-Guest

Humor works. I got your attention! Sadly, there’s a dearth of humor in public relations efforts, especially from technology companies. There’s a reason Dilbert skyrocketed to fame – it’s rife with truth!

High-tech suffers from terminal seriousness. It’s an insidious problem and it means that most tech companies fail to take advantage of opportunities to stand out. Over 80% of everything we hear daily is filtered, and humor helps you be heard in a crowded market.

It’s time to think differently about marketing. “Me-too” strategies just won’t cut it – unless you aspire to mediocrity. Companies spend millions on technology, but can’t spend a few creative brain cycles to do justice to their PR? It’s like spending a ton on collateral, without having an effective 30-second pitch!

Ridiculous, right?! Great PR doesn’t have to be expensive – just creative.

A lack of great PR can be deadly. Many great products and services go under the radar not for lack of quality, but because they have failed to attract attention in a noisy world. The king of the market does not necessarily have the best offering. You must not only have great quality, your marketing must take a strategically different approach to stand out. Humor can help!

Humor is not a 4-letter word. Ok, it’s a 5-letter word, but the point is if done right, humor can help with the most important aspect of PR – garnering visibility. Most of the editorial press corps read far fewer than half of all releases sent to them. Why? Because companies don’t think about content from a perspective that matters to their audiences! Press releases aren’t written for your benefit. If the trade press can’t glean why their readers should care, you haven’t done your job.

Most releases end up in the “circular” file unread  — because they stink! They are painfully dull, uncreative, self-promotional and without value to readers, lack news, and if your press release floats–
its got more “foam” (read: lack of substance) than a styrofoam cup! And at least they are fun to play with! Hey, sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind. What was the last great release you read? Exactly!

Questions you need to ask about your PR include:

• What’s in it for my audience?
• Do I have a great hook? Do I have an interesting angle of value to readers?
• Is this release part of a well-balanced, integrated marketing program?
• Is my announcement newsworthy? As my favorite 1980’s fast-food commercial lamented,“Where’s the beef?!” A little sizzle is fine, but you must include the steak!

The good news – by daring to do something different, you’ll stand out! Humor isn’t the whole meal, but it makes a great appetizer! And there are risk-mitigation strategies any company – or individual – can employ.

A Great Headline Gets Attention

A great headline gets attention, but relevant news will get the press to continue reading the release. A headline should be short, creative, and stand out.  It should highlight the news in your announcement. Example: a woman came to a seminar I gave on adding humor to marketing with a topic as dry as a bone: Sarbanes Oxley compliance services. The original release draft she brought, “Firm XY Announces New SOCS Services.”  Yikes! Serious yawner!  And how many SOCS releases do you think the press gets?!

After a few quick exchanges, we came up with: “Don’t Get Caught With Holes in Your SOCs!” The copy then explained why the new service was needed, and what was different about it. But that hook is key! You are asking people for their valuable time to read your release. Make sure it’s worth it.

Relate Humor to a Benefit or Issue/Problem Relevant to Your Audience

A humorous headline should relate to a benefit or differentiation. Humor for humor’s sake is a tough sale. For example, a PR colleague helped a client with a PR campaign around quality. The crux of the campaign: “Quality is boring and boring is cool!”

Was this risky? A little, but the campaign worked because the company backed it up with quality – a key product benefit. The news angle wasn’t the technology per se– it was that the client had the highest quality in the industry for that particular product. We only hear about quality issues when there are defects. My colleague’s client had a stellar record for quality. So “boring quality” was newsworthy: it spoke of innovation that was unparalleled in the market.

Test It!

Third, my colleague with the “quality” campaign did her research. She interviewed a sample from the editorial press and asked for their opinions. The vast majority responded well to her idea because it was a fun and different angle that was backed up with a real story.  Hence, my next caveat and this is a biggie…

Humor Must Be Supported by a Real News Angle

A humorous headline will catch attention, but won’t interest press in covering your company – or keep your audience reading – unless a real story is involved. The foundation of any great PR campaign must be real news. Not sure what makes a great release? Ask the press! The press is constantly bombarded with “vaporware”— known in high-tech for its lack of news. Humor never substitutes for vapor. What’s news to a company might not be news to the editorial press. For example, a new large client or partnership may not be worthy of press coverage. However, if the partnership is novel and different, it could be. Be creative.

Example: “Company XY launches workshops to educate kids on STDs.” That’s interesting, but it could be better. How about the following re-write:

“Company XY Joins Forces with The Improv Comedy Store to Educate kids on STDs.” Then, the story is about a unique approach to education using humor. This is a new, fresh, even fun approach to a serious topic. You bet you’ll stand out and generate some press to boot!

Bottom-line: even a little humor makes a big difference. If well researched, backed up by a real story, and focused on product benefits (like quality), humor can help a company cut through the noise and garner visibility with trade press, customers, and prospects.  Isn’t that the point of PR?!

Part of my goal with this blog is to build a strong case for the use of humor in PR. Last week I read a great post by Brian Cross, a Managing Partner at Elasticity, titled: Does Humor Belong in PR? Brian is one of the geniuses behind the fake/real American Mustache Institute – one of the best and most successful examples of humor PR that I’ve come across.

Brian Cross, Elasticity

What I liked about this post was that it dismantled some of the common myths surrounding the use of humor in PR by tying it to the changing media landscape.

Myth: The news media by nature are not funny (and therefore PR can’t be funny)

Historically this may have been the case but, as Brian points out, this is rapidly changing as the media get more and more desperate for eyeballs:

If you haven’t seen the piece on Chatroulette, you must go now and watch it. (I’ll wait). Did you count the media personalities in that piece?  At least 5.  All 3 major new network anchorpersons (ABC,CBS, NBC) as well as some cable news for good measure– MSNBC and Fox Business.  And they weren’t just mocking the video roulette site.  They were poking fun of themselves.  They were poking fun of their industry.  And they were doing it on The Daily Show’s terms. They showed that the news doesn’t have to always take itself so seriously. Why? Well, for one, to get viewers. But it’s more than that. It’s an attempt to show that they are human. They are endearing themselves to their audience, or better yet, a new potential one. And they did it through humor and self-deprecation.

Myth: You cannot convey factual information in a humorous way

Really? Then please explain the popularity of such shows as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Brian cited two studies:

An IU study found The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to be as substantive as network news.  A Rasmussen Report showed 32% of adults ages 30-39 believe that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are capable of replacing traditional new outlets.  And nearly one-third of younger Americans see Colbert and Stewart as true alternatives to traditional news outlets.

What I’ve found time and time again with humorous news reporting (e.g., Onion, The Daily Show, etc.) is that it actually motivates a person to find out the real facts. In other words, unless you know what’s real you won’t get the joke!

Myth: You can’t achieve serious PR results with humor

This one drives me crazy. PR people too often equate funny with failure. Again, Brian provides a current example to dispel that notion:

Ole’ Miss is replacing their beloved Col. Reb with a new mascot.  The story is that Admiral Ackbar is a leading contender.  We all heard this story and it took off like wildfire. Do you think you would have heard about this story had they been thinking about replacing their mascot with a bear, or an eagle?

A final word on this subject. Brian and I are not suggesting that humor will work in every situation. Only that it be considered a serious PR strategy.

As always, if you have a humor PR myth that needs busting or have personal story to share of how humor worked (or didn’t work) in PR, please use the comment section below.

Not long ago I wrote about the boring press releases from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. And just when I thought all hope for creativity in marketing and PR was lost, I ran across a blog post written by Chris Brogan about a clever campaign put together by the folks at Griffin Technology called CES Bound.

What I liked about this campaign was that it started with a theme that is humorous and fun by nature: the road trip. Road trips trigger a flood of memories (or nightmares) that we can all relate to; mooning other drivers on the interstate (not me), fist fights with siblings in the back seat (not me), vomiting out the side window at 75 mph (not me), etc.

Griffin’s campaign, however, was far more interesting. It began with the restoration of a 1972 VW Bus named “Double Nickels” which would transport them from Griffin HQ in Nashville to the CES Show in Las Vegas – 2,500 miles in all. Along the way, people could follow their trials and tribulations on the web and/or in person at various pit stops along the way. This two-prong approach was a clever way to attract and audience and keep them engaged throughout the entire trip.

CES Bound was also a good example of how multiple departments within a company can play nice with each other to produce a superior campaign.

A few weeks back, I reached out to Dave Delaney, Griffin’s Social Media Coordinator, to learn more about CES Bound and how they put it all together.

Q: Describe the genesis of the CES Bound trip?

We had the idea of doing a road trip for sometime. The idea evolved into buying a fixer-upper and driving it to CES, it was timed perfectly with the launch of our new branding. We spent more time talking about the idea than we did formally planning it, however that was needed too.

We’re a creative bunch at Griffin. We work with so many mad scientists, that it made sense to do something a little crazy. You have to have a sense of humor to cram with four of your coworkers in a tin box with wheels for 6 days.

Q: How did you put CES Bound together?

The goal was simple, meet our fans and friends and arrive on time.

It took a little convincing of management, but as they saw the beat up old bus slowly be reborn they grew to love it. I should add that some management even got involved in the restoration of Double Nickels.

The team was selected based on their talents and positions. J. is our resident videographer, Bradley is our photographer, Jackie heads our public relations department, Mark is our visual brand coordinator, and I do our social media and promotions.

I should add that it was Mark’s passion for classic VWs and J.’s long after hour work that helped get Double Nickels running and ready for departure. In fact a large percent of our staff helped in one way or another. Everyone has their talents, so they put them to use. For example, I stood by and took photos and tweeted from my iPhone as the others did the real work.

Q: Once the road trip was underway, how did you get people interested in it?

We did a few interviews about the trip, but the bulk of the interest came organically from our @griffintech and @cesbound Twitter accounts. The press release we sent to the media got picked up by CNET which helped get people aware. We also reached out directly to people talking about #ces on Twitter.

The local meet ups helped get the word out too. We also churned out enough content to keep people interested as we traveled the 2,500 miles.

Q: Was CES Bound a succcess?

It was a huge success. Our objectives were to reveal the new branding, meet our friends along the way, get to Vegas on time, and have Double Nickels proudly part of our booth. We didn’t have a set figure to measure our ROI, but not everything important can be measured. The relationships born from CESBOUND were worth the price of admission alone.

The PR/marketing components that really worked all stemmed from our use of social media and email.

Here’s some of the feedback that put smiles on our faces:

• http://www.spreadingscience.com/2010/01/18/things-that-change-and-those-that-do-not/#comment-4273
• http://www.chrisbrogan.com/how-heartfelt-marketing-delivers/
• http://christitrimmer.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/fantastic-marketing-idea/#comment-6
• http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/1582/las-vegas-or-bust

Q: What advice do you have for those interested in pursuing a similar campaign?

Bring extra Snuggies, the desert gets really cold at night!

I think the biggest tip is to just do it, I know that’s very Nike of me, but it’s true. Allowing a group of your employees to restore a vehicle in your office after hours, then drive it 2,500 miles may sound nuts, but it’s now a testament to the incredible work we do at Griffin. I’m so proud of everyone who got involved.

• Video: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CB89665503DCDE07&sort_field=added
• Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/griffintech/sets/72157622692820013/ You can see photos of “Double Nickels” in our booth here too: http://www.flickr.com/photos/griffintech/sets/72157623262981042/

Q: Now that it’s been a few months since CES, is the campaign still paying dividends?

I would say it is. We’re doing a Core Conversation at SXSW Interactive about using social media with road trips. We’re also still in touch with many of the people who we met along the way. The relationships are what’s so special about what we did.

Q: Why did you name the van “Double Nickels”?

Double Nickels is trucker slang for 55 miles per hour. Our fuzzy dice flipped to 5 and 5 at the same time that we decided to name her that.

Welcome to the Guhmshoo Gallery. I've archived all my toons here (in reverse-chronological order). Feel free to share with your friends, colleagues, and loved ones, and post them on your websites and blogs. A wise man once told me that "humor is  subjective as hell," so I won't be offended if you don't get it. That said, I'm guessing you'll get a chuckle from at least one of them.

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• McFacebook - Facebook passes 500 million user mark.
• Apple's Crisis Plan - Bumpers? C'mon.
• Social Media Escalation - Peter Shankman and Kami Huyse have a disagreement and the whole world goes to hell (well according to some).
• Stages of Human Evolution - There is no denying it.
• Happy Dependence Day! - No. We are not free.
• Preorder Fail: As expected people go crazy for the new iPhone 4 and Apple screws up the orders in a major way.
• Twitter Downtime - How Twitter can screw with your priorities (and get you into deep doo doo)
• Keyword Auction for BP - BP decides to buy up keywords from the search engines. Which words should they buy?
• Hot Topics at D8 - Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher question Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook privacy and the sweat starts pouring. Maybe a bit too much.
• Al and Tipper Divide Assets: Guess who gets the Internet?
• Quit Facebook Day - So did you quit Facebook on May 31, 2010? Didn't think so.
• My new logo - If Chris Brogan can have a new logo, then I can have a new logo.
• The Island the BP Oil Spill - Lost fans take note, the power of the Island continues to work in mysterious ways.
• New Tech at Google I/O -Three Google apps you wished you had.
• Facebook or Faustbook? - Would you sell your soul to the devil just to use Facebook for free? Oops. You just did.
• Facebook Privacy - Sometimes a privacy policy needs to be stripped down to its bare essentials.
• Virgin's New Plane Design - Gary Vaynerchuk cuts a deal with Virgin America to design their in-flight wine list but he doesn't just stop there...
• Forbidden Fruit - A toon about the stolen iPhone and the Wrath of Jobs.
• It's the end of the world - When this happens, you'll know Facebook has gone too far.
• From Ning to Ka-ching - Ning tells its free customers to take a hike causing a major incident that grounds flights all over the world.
• Twitter Releases REAL ad strategy - Just you watch how quickly Twitter becomes profitable with this approach.
• Social Media Freedom Act - The U.S. government allows agencies to use Twitter and Facebook and look what happens.
• You will be I-ssimilated - Apple launches the iPad and once again we will do anything to get one.
• Nestle Re-strategizes - After the Palm Oil debacle, Nestle rethinks its presence on Facebook.
• Welcome to Cafe Newswire - Stuffed with boredom and smothered with a meaningless cream sauce, who wouldn't want to eat here?
• Foursquare Fanatics - It's all about location, location, location.
• Resistance to SXSW is futile - Parties, SWAG, fun, etc. Isn't that why we go to SXSW?
• Engage! - Brian Solis writes the book on engagement and kicks Jean-Luc Picard off the bridge.
• All Things Digiphobic - Why should just humans fear Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher? BTW, this toon appeared on Swisher's blog. Woot!
• Corp. Communications at Twitter - Twitter get's a new PR guy. What will be his first task?
• PR at CES - Exciting show, boring PR.
• Santa's Modern Workshops - Santa pines for the old days.
• Two Facebook - Facebook gets hammered (again) on its new privacy policy.
• Dumbfounding predictions - Killer predictions for 2010 that will change your life forever.
• Maclaren Does Tommy Flannagan - Maclaren creates a media storm but CEO says he didn't know. Yeah, that's the ticket...
• Embargo Insanity - Lose the embargo and it will save lives.
• Reporter Hats - Thanks to a dying media, journalists are experts in nothing.
• Laws - The FTC's bark is worse than its bite.
• Old Media - Ah. There's nothing like the smell of burning newspaper in the morning.
• New Business Card - Seth Godin launched Brands In Public, so it's only fitting that he have a new business card.
• Boeing Discovers Blogs - It's hard to believe that a company that builds some of the world's most sophisticated airplanes is just now making use of a blog to help sell its planes.
• HARO Family Tree - Peter Shankman's HARO keeps growing, but who is REALLY calling the shots. Hint: Karma and NASA are Peter's cats.
• Swine Flu Ad Campaign - Pigs are back in the spotlight as the swine flu season begins.
• PR-Gatory - Brody PR mass pitches influential social media types and suffers their wrath. Oops!
• Law Enforcement 2.0 - I did this special edition toon in honor of Chris Brogan's new book "Trust Agents." Yep, that's the kind of guy I am.
• The World Sans Twitter - Twitter suffers a denial-of-service attack giving everyone a brief moment to see the world the way it really is.
• Wiping the slate clean - Michael Arrington of TechCrunch loses a libel suit filed by UK resident Sam Sethi. Arrington argued that the UK courts have no jurisdiction in the US and elected not to defend the case. The UK courts thought differently.
• Link Bait - The City of Portland with a $90 million budget wants you to redesign their website for free. What you get: a name credit link on every page. Oooh!
• Marked Men at TechCrunch - TechCrunch tries to do the right thing regarding the stolen Twitter files but no one seems to care.
• Twitter's Un-Safe - Hacker gains access to secret Twitter documents because of easy-to-figure-out passwords and weak security. Time to change the combo on the Twitter vault guys.
• Echo Chamber in the Alps - The echo chamber keeps spreading from the blogosphere to the twittersphere and yes, even to the...
• Happy Dependence Day! - No explanation needed. Appeared on Mashable too.
• Head in the Clouds - Special order toon for Dennis Howlett at ZDNet about cloud computing.
• Our Tax Dollars at Work - The FTC wants to regulate bloggers. Good luck getting them to pay their fines.
• The Media's New Keyboard - The latest recipe for news. Just add Twitter.
• The Twitterverse - According to a recent Harvard study, "The top 10% of prolific Twitter users accounted for over 90% of tweets." These users have a special place in the Twitterverse.
• Reverse Engineer Fail - Peter Shankman's Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a huge success. As expected, people are trying to replicate it and divert some of his traffic. But the success of HARO is due in large part to Shankman himself. Good luck trying to copy that!
• Microsoft vs. Google Launches - Microsoft launched Bing, but Google Wave stole its thunder.
• Lookin' for some hot stuff - WolframAlpha launched and everyone fell instantly in love. At least for now.
• Creative Writing - New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd gets busted for plagiarism--but was this the first time?
• Content Thieves - The newspapers blame Google for stealing their content.
• How Pandemics Spread - What spreads faster? Swine flu or people re-Tweeting news about it?
• This Space for Rent - Sponsored bloggers and what they might look like in the future.
• Dime a Dozen - Everyone claims to be "social media expert" these days, rendering the term meaningless. But they still have a purpose.
• Twitter Gets a New Look - Ashton Kutcher and Oprah join Twitter, and Twitter rushes to accommodate their every desire.
• Amazon's New 1 Click - GLBT books are removed from Amazon sales ranking, causing a major uproar on Twitter and blogs. They called it a "glitch" caused by a Frenchman. Hmm...
• Introducing the New Fiesta - Ford launches the Fiesta Movement and pins its success on 100 loquacious social media types.
• Guy Interviews Casper (the friendly Ghost) - Guy admits he hires people to Twitter on his behalf (aka "ghost Twittering").
• Education 2.0 - Britain announces that it will start offering classes in social media as part of its official primary school curriculum.
• Poetic Justice - John Mayer would rather Tweet than spend time with hot girlfriend Jennifer Aniston. Aniston dumps Mayer.
• Ev's Baby in Utero - Evan Williams (Twitter founder) shares (via Twitter, of course) that wife is pregnant with their first child.
• John McCain Meets Twitter - George Stephanopoulos conducts an interview via Twitter with super tech-unsavvy John McCain.
• Social Media One-Night Stands - Hand-picked digerati visit P&G HQ and then are forced to shill for Tide. Also see: Digerati Visit P&G HQ
• SXSW from Space - What happens when digerati descend on Austin, overload Wi-Fi and plug into all available outlets.
• Facebook's New Terms of Service - Facebook clandestinely alters its TOS (terms of service), claiming it now owns all of your FB content, causing major PR crisis. Later, Facebook reverses course and says they are all about transparency from now on. Also see: Facebook's New Transparency.
• Fact-Checking at Techcrunch - While Arrington takes a vacation, TechCrunch editorial standards get criticized.
• Arrington Takes Time Off - Arrington gets spat on in public and decides to disappear to a place supposedly free from harassment.
• Twitter TMI - Unfortunately, people feel the need these days to Twitter about the sickest things.
• Fail Whale Therapy - In the early days of Twitter, people hated the Fail Whale. But did anyone care about how the Fail Whale felt?
• Loren Sees the Light - Loren Feldman of 1938media tricks everyone into believing he has changed his ways and become your best friend. Yeah, right.
• Study Hall - Chris Heuer, Social Media Club founder, forms the pretentious Ad Hocnium consulting collective which includes some of the Web's top minds or "catalysts" as he calls them. But can anyone pronounce or spell it?
• State of the Spheres - The explosion of the blogosphere and Twittersphere begin to smother the atmosphere.
• Death to the Embargo - TechCrunch announces it will no longer honor news embargoes from anyone. Well, except for companies like Microsoft and Google and Yahoo and...
• LeWeb Meets Survivor - LeWeb conference gets blasted for poor Internet connectivity, freezing room temperatures, and, unconscionably, a lack of snacks.
• Canine E-Mail - What? You think humans are the only ones with email?
• Santa's Costly Tweet - Holiday toon about Qwitter application, which allows people to see who unfollows them on Twitter and why.
• Working for Abrams Research - Dan Abrams, chief legal correspondent for MSNBC, starts his own PR firm and hires journalists as consultants. Ethics issue? Nah.
• The Motrin Distraction - Mommy bloggers enraged by Pfizer's Motrin ad campaign ignore their kids so they can Twitter and blog all day about it.
• TechCrunch vs. PR - Arrington sends a cryptic Tweet declaring war on PR firms sometime in the near future. PR firms strike back in the only way they know how.
• Cafe PRNewswire - Why would anyone want to eat there?
• Collection Time for Twitter - How will Twitter make money? Find out here.
• Neo (of "The Matrix") Meets His Match - Brian Solis is so smart its scary. Run, Neo, run!
• Social Media Measurement - Easy to measure: social media consulting fee income. Harder to measure: social media.
• Modern Newsrooms - Anyone can be a citizen journalist. I mean anyone.
• Day One @ the Dept. of Gov't 2.0 - Are you sure we should be encouraging the government use Facebook and Twitter?
• Social Media Release Achilles Heel - PR tools (i.e., hardware) are only as good as the tools (i.e., software/PR people) who use/power them.
• Social Media Becomes a Liability - This could happen to you.
• How Media Use Press Releases - PRNewswire issues a self-serving study that claims that journalists use their press releases more than those of their competitors. It's true.
• PRNewswire Hitmen - Profnet killer Peter Shankman gets invited to speak at a PRNewswire conference. They try to assassinate him.
• PRSA on Ethics - Public Relations Society of America encourages political campaigns to uphold the highest ethical standards in their communications. Hmm.
• Social Media Enforcement Agency - Marshall Kirkpatrick of ReadWriteWeb writes a post about how to use social media to reach people who don't use social media. Here's one way.
• Brogan: The Early Years - Chris Brogan is a great listener. But sometimes being a great listener doesn't help get chicks.
• BadPitch Crime Fighters - If anyone deserves superhero crime-fighting skills, it's the folks over at BadPitchBlog.
• Works of Great Length - Brian Solis may be the smartest person in the Twitterverse, but he's also the longest-blog writer in the Twitterverse.
• Body by Strumpette - Heard of Amanda Chapel? She slays people in the Twitterverse everyday. But sometimes she uses her powers for good. Here's how she motivates Jason Falls and Geoff Livingston toward better health.
• Making Amends - When Peter Shankman launched Help a Reporter Out,  PRNewswire's Profnet responded aggressively. Words were exchanged, but it all worked out in the end. Or did it?
• PR Is Dead - If I had a dollar for every time someone announced the death of PR, I would be a ...
• Web 2.0 Spying - Let me get this straight. The government needs a court order to find out what you're up to, but Twitter lures you into giving that information out freely. Genius.
• Web 2.0 Pick up Joints and Web 2.0 Come-ons - My first two cartoons ever. No explanation needed.

What some people have said about Guhmshoo:

• Allen Stern
• Amanda Chapel
• Beth Harte
• Bill Austin
• BL Hussein Ochman
• Brian Solis
• Chris Brogan
• David Armano
• Doug Haslam
• Evan Williams
• Geoff Livingston
• Guy Kawasaki
• Jason Falls
• Jason Kintzler
• JD Lasica
• Jennifer Leggio
• Kara Swisher
• Kevin Dugan
• Kristie Wells
• Mark Drapeau
• Marshall Kirkpatrick
• Neville Hobson
• Paula Drum
• Peter Shankman
• Rachel Sklar
• Rafe Needleman
• RedEyeChicago
• Scott Monty
• Ted Murphy
• Todd Defren
• Todd Jordan
• Walt Mossberg