9 Surprising Tips to Make Your AMC Stand Out

1. AMC Institute
9 Surprising Tips to Make
Your AMC Stand Out
Adele Cehrs
CEO
Epic PR Group

2. 5,000 messages a day =
Brand Narcissism

3. Is Your AMC
Crying Wolf?

4. $155+billion
Spent Annually on Marketing and PR

5. ?
• Research shows marketers are getting worse, not better, at
directing dollars with a whopping 40% of marketing dollars
being wasted each year as cited in Advertising Age (Neff,
2012).
• That means $62 billion is misused on content that is not
relevant or producing ROI.
• Is your AMC or clients guilty of this?
• Staff Time, Resources, Effort

6. SPIKE
A sudden, point of interest that kick-starts
exposure good or bad.

7. 7 Percent
Only 7% of all word of mouth
comes from social media.

8. Opportunity
3 – 5 SPIKES in one year

9. ROI is a struggle
A study from CMO.com revealed that only 37% of CMO’s are confident that
they can provide solid numbers.
It’s because we are saying and measuring too much!

10. #1 Benefits of Micro-Targeting

11. ?
Who Are Your AMC’s Three Main Audiences?
Think about your ideal members OR clients.
• What do they all have in common? List every common trait –
age, income, gender, marital status, industry, values, beliefs,
lifestyle, hobbies, etc.
• Now, use those commonalities to create a single
representation of your ideal member OR client with as much
detail as possible.
• Describe this person. The goal is to think like him/her so well
that you can speak, write and essentially experience emotions
like him/her.

12. #2 Storytelling Framework

13. ?
Pixar Framework
Once upon a time there was ___.
Every day ___.
One day ___.
Because of that___.
Because of that___.
Until finally ___.

14. ?

15. ?
Finding Nemo
1. Once upon a time there was … a widowed fish, named Marlin, who was extremely
protective of his only son, Nemo.
2. Every day … Marlin warned Nemo of the ocean’s dangers and implored him not to
swim far away.
3. One day … in an act of defiance, Nemo ignores his father’s warnings and swims into
the open water.
4. Because of that … he is captured by a diver and ends up in the fish tank of a dentist in
Sydney.
5. Because of that … Marlin sets off on a journey to recover Nemo, enlisting the help of
other sea creatures along the way.
6. Until finally … Marlin and Nemo find each other, reunite and learn that love depends
on trust.

16. AMC Example
GOAL – Your AMC members are seeking to dramatically improve early childhood reading outcomes.
1. Once upon a time there was … an education crisis haunting our schools and communities
across North America.
2. Every day … large percentages of our children were not achieving proficiency in vital literacy
skills to the point that some in our community even doubted whether they ever could.
3. One day … we developed a simple and shared definition of what children had to know to be
ready for school.
4. Because of that … our early childhood centers and parents became better at helping all
children enter kindergarten ready to learn
5. Because of that … teachers were free to work more on skill development for each individual
child.
6. Until finally … every child, irrespective of ethnic or economic circumstance, became a
proficient reader by the end of third grade.

17. Basic Storytelling Framework
Did you know?
Did you know?
Imagine if…
You don’t have to imagine because.

18. Basic Storytelling Framework
Did you know…that only 9% of social media staff has a PR
background according to a study by PR Week?
Did you know…most CEO’s think they will experience some
type of PR crisis this year related to social media?
Imagine if…you could train your staff and get them crisis ready
when a big issue hits your AMC clients…
You don’t have to imagine because that’s what Epic PR Group
can do for your AMC.

19. #3 Groundhog Day Your
AMC’s Messages

20. ?
Repeat, repeat, repeat…

21. Groundhog Day Your Messages
1. Complicated sentence structure;
2. Too many messages;
3. The messages use words people would never say in a
conversation; and
4. Rarely is the spokesperson delivering the message taken
into consideration.

22. Groundhog Day Your Messages
1. Get the people who wrote the messages to test them on camera
1. Do a focus group or a man on the street interview
2. Tailor the message slightly for each spokesperson to ensure their
cadence of speech, word choice and style is taken into
consideration.
3. Choosing your messages is the art of sacrifice.

23. #4 Who is Your AMC’s COO?

24. Who is your Chief Oprah Officer?

25. Oprah’s Evaluation of Her “Favorite Things”
• Message: Possess an articulate message that cuts through the clutter;
• Audience: Having a woman-owned business;
• Timing: Being on the cusp of a new trend;
• Channel: Visually interesting for television; and
• Human: Serving a good cause.
In short, having a compelling story that would speak to Oprah’s demographic.

26. #5 Pitch the CMO Like the
CFO

27. Attention is NOT an infinite
resource…

28. #6 WHEN are you truly
relevant?

29. 3 Ps
Predict. Plan. Proactive.

30. CVS’ Bold Move

31. ç
ASHA
Understand Where and WHEN Your
Audience WANTS to Receive Information.
Autism Awareness Month

32. Newtown.
American Association of Pediatrics –
Response to gun violence.
Brand Patience, Why You Need Some

33. ç
NACS
Responding to a disaster - NACS Hurricane Assistance

34. PBS moment.

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36. #7 Keep in mind WIIFM, not
what’s of interest to your AMC.

37. Sometimes they are very
different.

38. #8 Understand what your board,
members and clients are good at
and throw them a curve ball.

39. Challenge them. How well do
they deal?

40. #9 CASE Method
(copy and steal everything)

41. Meet them where they are.#EpicBuzz
#Epicbuzz

42. Thank you.
C = Consulting
S = Speaking
E = Email