Media and PR
Package your story the way the media wants it, and your story will run. As a former magazine editor, I know how to do it.
Factiva
Editing for a white paper on free, fee and value-added information services.
Sample copy:
Information -- the foundation of business decisions
Every business manager, in every industry, has the same fundamental job responsibility -- the responsibility of making decisions. The key to making good decisions -- choices that further the goals and objectives of the organization -- is good information.
In today's global village, the information required to make decisions often resides not within the organization itself, but beyond its boundaries. When options are being weighed related to competitive, regulatory or product development issues, for example, what managers need most are facts about other companies and institutions. To find that external information, today's managers and knowledge workers go online.
But the online world is a very big place. In its June, 2000 Web Server Survey, Netcraft found in excess of three million active web sites. Looking for a particular bit of information among all those web sites makes the proverbial needle-in-haystack search seem reasonable. The only sensible way to approach the task is to have the most sophisticated pitchfork.
The $107 billion search
American companies spend $107 billion a year paying their employees to search for external information. That is one of the findings of the Super Information About Information Managers (Super I-AIM) study conducted by Outsell, Inc., which was commissioned by Factiva, Dialog and KPMG.
Researchers interviewed more than 6,000 American knowledge workers, from vice presidents to individual contributors, in late 2000 and early 2001. They were employed at companies selected from 20 different industries, all with annual sales above $10 million.
The study finds that knowledge workers spend about four hours per week looking for and gathering information. They spend an additional four hours per week reviewing and applying external information. The average salary for these workers, the study finds, equates to $30 per hour. So searching for and reviewing external information -- at $240 per person per week -- is a hefty investment of employee time and corporate resources.
Here are three questions enterprise managers need to ask about this $107 billion information search:
1. Are the organization's resources being spent wisely?
2. Is the right information being collected?
3. Is the information collected leading to good decisions?
The answers depend on the quality of the research tools being used.
Download the entire paper in PDF format.
International Gaming & Wagering Business
Back to my roots in journalism -- I've been contributing articles to this trade publication serving the gaming industry.
Sample copy:
The New Data Machine
Cash access services offer a gold mine of marketing information
Every day, thousands of casino patrons walk a few steps from the gaming tables and slot machines to request advances from their credit cards. They use debit cards to get money from their checking accounts. They write personal checks. And when patrons do any of these things, the cash-access service handling the transaction captures their names, addresses and the amount of money obtained.
This information is a gold mine. When patrons request cash at gaming properties, chances are pretty good that they are players -- especially if the transaction amount is large. As an added-value service to their casino clients, the providers of these cash-access services can share that valuable information and help customize effectively targeted marketing programs.
Mining for Customers
Global Cash Access (GCA) is one of the dominant names in the cash-access business, serving 1,200 casinos across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
GCA is a joint venture with Bank of America and First Data Financial Services. Its products include QuikCash and CashCall, which enable patrons to get cash using their credit or debit cards, and Casino Cash Plus, an ATM network. Global also owns Central Credit, the casino patron database for markers and check cashing. And, it provides Western Union money transfers and TeleCheck check authorization and collection services for gaming operators.
Because it provides all these services at so many locations, Global has nearly 10 million known gaming patrons in its database. Now, the company has developed several products to help casinos expand their marketing efforts and nurture individual customer relationships.
