I got a call from a friend telling me that when she visited my site her computer downloaded malware.  Then another call, this time from the folks at MarketingProfs telling me that they had the same experience and were removing links to my site out of concern for their readers. (I like their pro-active response.)

So I contacted my ISP, Bluehost and was shocked to receive the following response:

It appears the hacker have injected code into each of you php pages on your site. They have also uploaded files called ‘uvk.php’, hilton_johan sebastian.php” and ‘oliver_gillie.php’ as well as a hidden folder called ‘.files’.

You will need to remove the code that they injected from every page of your site.

My site had  been hacked!

Fortunately for me, they included a link to a simple solution.  Within 10 minutes, I got the all clear sign from Bluehost.

Your account looks clean. I would highly advise that you update all of your scripts to prevent a future injection attack like this.

To any of you that visited my site in the past 3 to 4 days and encountered malware – I apologize for the inconvenience.

One of the greatest challenges in promoting your business, products and/or services is cutting through the clutter and capturing the attention of your target audience.

Unfortunately, some focus too heavily on being different in order to capture attention. The result? Lots of people looking at a promotional effort, scratching their heads and wondering “WTF?”

Remember that people buy solutions – so when you need to be relevant and different. Make the person sitting across from you stop and think “These guys get it – and they offer me a solution to my problem.”

Getting their attention is good – getting them to buy your products and services is the goal. When putting together lead generation, lead nurturing, retention and loyalty efforts, focus on relevant differentiation so people understand how they benefit.

Recommended Reading:

We’re the same, we’re the same, we’re… by Seth Godin

Ad campaigns don’t kill brands – they only bring to life a ‘strategic vision’ that is often times neither strategic nor visionary.

Case in point – “Get your Preak On“ - this year’s campaign for the Preakness.

Get your Preak On. Today’s Baltimore Sun has a front-page article on  “Get your Preak On” but the focus is on the campaign, not the “strategy” behind it.  Personally, I think the campaign is dead on – if your target audience really is people that want to party and not gamble on the horses.

But that’s not going to turn around the racing industry or Pimlico.

The Preakness offers the racing industry, Pimlico, Baltimore and Maryland the unique and priceless opportunity to reach a global audience in order to attract and retain profitable customers – gamblers, families searching for entertainment, tourists as well as attract new residents and businesses to the city and state.

Instead, viewers around the world will be treated to Preakness spin on the Sport of Kings – port-a-potty races (aka “The Running of the Urinals” – and as you watch the video, be sure to enjoy the beer cans flying at the ‘athletes’).

Oh, and if we’re lucky, there might be a few snippets of one “happy customer” attempting to land a knock-out blow to a horse back in 1998.

So what’s the strategic vision here?  Is it to build a first-class horse racing facility that attracts local citizens and tourists?  Or is it to sell beer? Until that question is answered, we should be prepared to see a lot more campaigns like “Get your Preak On”.

How your business can avoid brand damage. Too many businesses are in the “will do anything for money” mode – and that causes more problems than solutions.  Resources are spread too thin, awareness in the market is low and fuzzy.  No one knows what your business really does so they aren’t sure if they need your products/services and they can’t refer others.

Focus on the strategic vision of your business by asking these questions and, when times get tough, remain focused on the answers.

• Who is the target audience?
• What is the product or service they need and want?
• How does your product or service solve an unmet need or want?
• What is the brand experience you need to deliver in order to consistently deliver a unique, valuable customer experience?

What’s the answer for Pimlico and the Preakness? The leadership team needs to figure out what they want the organization to be – is the future in horse racing or in concerts and cheap, unlimited beer?

Assuming the future is in horse racing, chasing the short-term dollar by targeting an audience more interested in cheap, unlimited beer needs to be replaced with a longer term strategy aimed at developing the next generation of customers.  I suggest the leadership team take a long, hard look at this presentation from the folks at NTRA.

Start with your current customers and encourage them to bring family and friends.  Then engage and educate them because racing is a lot more fun when you understand it and become part of it.

I know this works from personal experience – I was raised in upstate New York and my parent’s took us to Saratoga every August and I have brought my family there several times over the years.  Saratoga – the community and the race course – continue to see profitable benefits as people come to visit and enjoy all the community’s offerings.

And I haven’t seen any “Running of the Urinals” or paid $20 for unlimited beer.