BORROW
SMART MISSISSIPPI MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE -- AGAIN!
About a
month ago we reported on the Delta Democrat
story below from the new Borrow Smart Mississippi. Now, they
have hit another long ball. Be sure you visit
www.BorrowSmartMS.com for more information.
January 26, 2009
Last week
this story was published in the local McComb, MS
newspaper. It turned out
a Borrow Smart Mississippi member worked with the local
reporter to provide him with information about the
industry and in the process help shape the story in a
more positive way for our industry. Like so many reporters, this reporter
had preconceived notions about our industry, who we
serve and what we do. We normally see those
notions manifested in stories like these (here,
here and
here). In these examples the industry did not make a
coordinated, proactive response to correct these
preconceived notions that have such negative consequences for our business.
And we know from many examples that every single
story has some consequence. So, if you
have a negative story you can expect a negative
consequence -- even if it is not immediately apparent to
you. Fortunately, the reverse is also true as is
illustrated by the McComb story which had references to
the quite positive industry story below.
Just more consequences.
And, by the way, the
publisher owns newspapers in ten other communities in
the state and we hope this story will be picked up in
these other ten communities. That would be more
"consequences of significant proportions."
However, it may take being even more proactive to make
it happen.
To further illustrate the
impact these stories have, the Borrow Smart member and
store owner (Mr. Jerry Stoggner) was visited by a long
time black leader in McComb after reading the story and
he commented to Jerry that the article had "changed the
face" of the industry for him and many in his community.
Jerry was also contacted and complimented by the
Chairman of the House Banking Committee on the story
(that does not hurt).
So, you see, stories do have
consequences whether they are good or bad. Thanks
to efforts like these, we are beginning to change these
"consequences" which go to the very survival of our
industry.
We salute Borrow Smart
Mississippi for their incredible results with Borrow
Smart in less than ninety days. They have taken a very proactive approach to
countering the constant negative press about our
industry. Proactive is the key word.
Simply just answering a call from a reporter will not do
it! Borrow Smart Mississippi has accomplished all of this while
concurrently getting themselves organized and before many of the
highly effective Borrow Smart program components like
customer video testimonials or
financial
literacy training are in place. We know these
new Borrow Smart components will generate incredible
public press and support for our industry as you can see
from the unprecedented TV results
here and
here. And, we know as members begin to promote
the "Smart Borrowing" concept as you
see here (which, by the way, has generated very
positive results for our Borrow Smart member) the meter
will move even further UP the
"consequences" scale.
With results like these in Mississippi and
results like these in
Alabama, it is abundantly clear that
we can change the public perception of our
industry -- and, more important, the accompanying consequences!!
But it will not happen by dodging bad stories and it
will not happen unless our industry works at the
grass-roots level, in a proactive, aggressive and smart
way (as our adversaries do). Just won't happen.
Delta Democrat Story (scroll
down to read full story)
December 8, 2008
Special update! On Monday,
the day after the story below ran, an almost
full page article ran that was submitted by Borrow Smart
Mississippi. This is great work on behalf of the
Borrow Smart Mississippi team.
Click
here or on the
Democrat Times icon on the right to read the story. We suggest
you print this response and paste it on your wall.
It is that good!
December 7, 2008
Our new Borrow
Smart partner, Borrow Smart Mississippi, has worked
on their first press piece. Although they
have not formally announced their new organization, one of
their founders got wind of a story that the Delta Democrat
Times in Greenville planned to write about the industry.
After consulting their new communications firm,
The
Mann Agency and with our communication firm,
Big Communications they high-tailed it over to Greenville and
met with the reporter writing the story. The
results of that meeting were very impressive!
Click
here to view the full story.
It is quite an incredible piece -- especially when you
consider the
last Times story a few months back had
multiple quotes from the CRL and it was pretty much a
hit piece against the industry. Some may think
this is not a positive story, but when you look at the
structure of the story; the headline was neutral, the
article begins with a positive customer experience and
the Borrow Smart spokesperson was quoted many times more
than anyone else, you have to conclude this was a
positive and fair story. Not a "puff piece" but a
positive story for our industry. What do you
believed caused the change in tone
from this piece to the current article? Maybe,
just maybe, it was a proactive, smart approach to the
press and not ignoring the situation with the thought it
did not matter and would not have consequences.
You can read the entire story by
clicking here. There was also a rebuttal piece
by a local attorney that you can read by
clicking here.
The Mississippi Borrow Smart people plan to respond.
Again, this story is significant. Dan
Robinson, their spokesperson, is quoted multiple times
throughout the story and quoted many more times
than any other contributor to the story. And, the
story actually begins with someone who had a
positive experience and good things to say about payday loans.
Our friends in Mississippi are off to a great start!
Congratulations.
www.BorrowSmartMississippi.com
www.BorrowSmartAlabama.com
www.CouncilForFairLending.com
