Esther: This is the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at the BusinessMakers.com/overtime. I'm here with our guest of the week. Her name is Aimee Woodall and she is the founder and CEO of the Black Sheep Agency. Welcome to the show, Aimee.
Aimee: Thanks, Esther.
Esther: It's good to have you here. So, I wanna talk a little bit about the Black Sheep Agency and that says maybe a certain connotation to our listeners, but tell us a little bit about what the Black Sheep Agency is all about.
Aimee: Well the Black Sheep Agency is, for all intents and purposes, a PR firm, but we also have full service gorilla marketing and social media along with that and we really in the name I guess you can tell a little bit, kind of rebel against the traditional PR tactics and try and think really progressively about incorporating things like publicity stunts and flash mobs and other improv tactics in public to really engage the audience and start a viral storytelling process. So that's something a little bit different that we add to the mix, but really it's a PR firm and we do media relations and community relations and really focus on the media as an outlet, whether it's through social media engaging the storytellers as individuals or professional reporters. It's all about storytelling.
Esther: Very cool. So you kind of had this unique perspective. There's this desire to control the message and control what's being put out there and that's very PR kind of 1.0. So you guys have this different approach to it and you're kind of embracing all these new tools that are out there to use, right?
Aimee: Yeah; definitely. I think social media is a major player in the game of PR right now. It sort of puts the public back in public relations and allows a new audience to build and share content. So maybe more targeted and passable communication through the web and allowing us to go direct to the influencers and new influencers really and get other players involved in spreading the message. It's kind of a more genuine approach than allowing the traditional media to control all of the message. We definitely love our journalists and our editors for helping us spread the word, but this allows everybody to get involved.
Esther: So I guess what you're saying is that you're using all these tools, but maybe some of our listeners out there are thinking to themselves do these things actually work; flash mobs and things of that nature. How are you using those in a real measurable way?
Aimee: They definitely offer two key things that matter in the PR world and that's entertainment value and education. They're sort of taking things in a new approach where they're engaging the audience. What happens is we'll plan a flash mob or a mock protest or something like that. While on the outside that may seem like it just has entertainment value, there's a real strategy behind it. So in everything we do just as the same when we write a press release, we pitch the media on a story, we have a message in mind. So, we're taking that message and building everything around it. So, it's just really a different outlet and a fresh way to approach telling the story. Take for example a protest. We're not just gonna go out and hold signs and talk about how we're against something or for something. We're gonna have a real message behind that where there's a little bit something deeper when people start to get engaged. So from the outside they're initially attracted to it because it's different, it's flashy and it's engaging. It's real-time, but then when they look a little bit closer they're gonna walk away with something and one of the key components of putting something like that together is keeping the message really simple so that our number one goal is for that person to walk away and remember the message, but then also to be able to repeat the message.
Esther: Ah.
Aimee: And then that person becomes the storyteller and then that story travels through these things that we talked about a little bit earlier through the social media channels or maybe we videotape it and we push that out through the social media channels or we post it to the client's website or post it to our website, post it to You Tube and all these different channels. So the story has this real live audience that then with the power of PR 2.0, it's going even farther. So that story lives on and then those people, as you know through Twitter, are communicating. They're pushing that message even further. So the entertainment value is grabbing their attention and then those channels are helping them help us spread the word.
Esther: Another thing that drew me to your business is this contest that I saw that you're running. Tell us a little bit about this contest because it's really again it kind of is in keeping with your message and the whole philosophy of your business. You're doing something crazy with your clients or potential clients.
Aimee: Sure. When we started Black Sheep we definitely wanted to take all of these changes that were happening in the media world and build upon those. We didn't wanna just do what had always been done. We could see the shift happening and we really felt the key thing behind that was storytelling. That people were loving being a part of brands and things like that. So the contest was an idea that we had because we're really passionate about our business and what makes us different. So the real goal behind this is finding other businesses in our community that believe in what they're doing. They're passionate about what they're doing in their cause or their product or whatever it is that is the core of their business. So really above all else what we're looking for is people that have this passion and believe in their business. So basically what we're asking is that these business owners apply to the contest. It's called I'm a Black Sheep and basically the reason why we named our company Black Sheep is 'cause we felt like we're a little bit different. We never really quite fit in with everybody else in our industry so we wanna find other people that are like that. That doesn't mean they already have to have this dynamic way of presenting themselves so that they already stand out, but just that in their heart they feel like they stand out. So we're asking four basic questions that basically center around what makes them different and they can submit either in writing by answering those four questions on our website or they can submit a video. Because we believe in different forms of media we're trying to encourage the video a little bit more. So we're offering bonus points in the judging process if they enter a video. The grand prize for the contest is $10,000.00 worth of our services and that's based on the time that we're gonna put into it.
Esther: It's pretty amazing. That just sounds like a great prize, especially for a small business or a company that's just trying to get their feet wet. Most companies when you're boot strapping you definitely can't afford marketing services or PR services. Advertising budget is something that comes secondary once you're established I would say. Now obviously other people can apply, too, but I can see how this would be amazing really for a smaller company.
Aimee: Sure and it goes back to how excited we are about what makes us different as a company. So really people have asked why are you doing this or why do you wanna give that much of your time or how can you afford to do that and really what it goes back to is that we want to introduce our philosophy and the results that can happen from what we're doing to businesses in our community. So while we'll pick one winner and we'll spend a lot of time on that winner and how things really jump into some of these tactics, social media, branding, PR and all of those things that can happen from those efforts, we also plan to really share that with the business community and our peers and our followers. So, as we go through the process, once we've picked a winner, we definitely plan to basically story board that for the community so that everybody's seeing where this company started and then what can happen from these results. So it's sort of like putting a real-time live case study in front of our audience and showing how it will work for this company.
Esther: That is so cool. I think it's gonna be amazing for the community and for everyone to see how businesses can grow from services like PR. I think having a real case study, a real example is just key. It's critical, especially when you're selling yourself to other potential clients is to show them your proven track record of success. So I think it's a great idea.
Aimee: Sure. So we're gonna put that in the spotlight and make sure that everybody can follow along and watch how this company grows and changes and witness the results.
Esther: Awesome. So tell them where they can find out more about the contest. What's the URL?
Aimee: The URL for our company is www.theblacksheepagency.com. If you go to the top right hand corner there's a sheep holding a protest sign that says, 'I'm a black sheep.' You just click right there and the form pops up. Like I said, it's only four questions so it's real easy to apply and it's a great opportunity to really launch into a marketing campaign.
Esther: Very cool. Well thank you so much, Aimee. We really appreciate you being here today and we'll look for the Black Sheep more in the future.
Aimee: That sounds great. Thank you so much for having me on.
Esther: Of course. You've been listening to the BusinessMakers Overtime Show heard here and online at the BusinessMakers.com/overtime.
