tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47392917201778687422024-02-18T19:36:58.321-08:00The PR SituationPublic Relations is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-15525555712793221612014-01-08T19:03:00.001-08:002014-01-08T19:03:25.424-08:00Got Diversity?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytTekwNTTpzX_aqmzXFRwBaXaeIOdiChdXkVIi6qMouTT7ED74uWjOtJ2-q6HNlQajnrgVFHyyxt7ws6pmKpN_QcgYP0rEKMYmbTKVBX5raekRibfI9p4ZJWhol5o8Pn17bs-BtC85yE0/s1600/holiday-cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytTekwNTTpzX_aqmzXFRwBaXaeIOdiChdXkVIi6qMouTT7ED74uWjOtJ2-q6HNlQajnrgVFHyyxt7ws6pmKpN_QcgYP0rEKMYmbTKVBX5raekRibfI9p4ZJWhol5o8Pn17bs-BtC85yE0/s1600/holiday-cards.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lately, there has been much ado about Saturday Night Live’s
(SNL) hiring of a new African-American woman cast member (<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/saturday-night-live-adds-two-669180">SNL
has since hired two new African-American women writers to join her</a>). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The issue started when it was pointed out that SNL did not
have a single African-American female cast member in its current lineup and
hadn’t had one on the show since 2007. Many have found this omission to be pretty
remarkable, especially given that the Daily Show easily found the very funny
and African-American <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/news-team/jessica-williams">Jessica Williams</a>
to join its group of diverse correspondents. Williams was hired when the faux
cable news program needed to replace the talented Wyatt Cenac (another
African-American correspondent) when he decided to leave the show.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since this observation has become public, SNL has received
quite a bit of <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2014/01/08/260736176/saturday-night-live-takes-a-very-important-first-step">media
coverage</a> and not exactly the good kind. Negative PR associated with perceived
hiring practices is never a good look, particularly in an era where we have an
African-American President, females are leading fortune 100 companies, and
every other TV commercial seems to focus on a group of racially diverse friends
enjoying good times with a product. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While SNL is hitting back at the problem with its recent
hires, all of this talk of diversity and hiring has got me thinking about the
holidays. Every holiday season companies across the nation participate in the time-honored
tradition of distributing holiday cards to current and potential clients, as
well as other stakeholders. The cards are meant as a subtle way to acknowledge
the occasion for celebration while letting people know that they’re being
thought about. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Most of the time when holiday cards are distributed, via
mail or email in this day and age, they typically contain some politically
correct greeting, message and image. But every so often people will receive
what I’ll refer to as the “this is our company” holiday card which features
either all of a business’s employees (usually smaller companies do this) or everyone
in a particular department (larger companies tend to favor this approach). <o:p></o:p></div>
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I actually received a couple of the “this is our company”
e-cards this holiday season, as well as in past seasons, and one thing
immediately jumped out at me when I opened the card – there were no minorities
featured. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and when the image you
want to portray to your customers and stakeholders says, “Yup, no diversity
here” or “look our workforce is racially pure,” you may be setting yourself up
for unwarranted negative PR. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The moment I saw the image I no longer focused on the card’s
intended purpose or message but rather on the possible reasons why this company
didn’t have any African-Americans on staff. Surely there was at least one
qualified Black person that could’ve been hired. All of those racially diverse
beer commercials couldn’t have been wrong in their reflections of Americana, so
what’s the deal with this company? <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the companies I’ve worked for, this was always something I
made sure the organization was conscious of – how it was perceived from a diversity
stand point. This included what types of images were to be utilized on the
website, in publications and with the marketing materials. We would
meticulously evaluate photos and imagery to make sure anything used publically
accurately reflected organizational values.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the moment I’m currently in the market for a new
position. As a part of my job search, when I’m evaluating a potential new
career home, I always make sure to visit a company’s website to see pictures of
the staff, particularly the leadership team and board members. It always gives
me something additional to consider when I see an absence of minorities and/or
women in leadership or the top positions. When it comes to a company’s image,
this can be an overlooked facet of reputation management. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Given the fact that not all of a company’s customers or
prospective employees belong to a single race of people, it might be beneficial
to show the public that not only does your business cater to all people, but is
reflective of all people. And that is just good business.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-36711110980500503582014-01-05T19:58:00.001-08:002014-01-05T20:15:19.383-08:00Hello, Is This Thing On?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28texzRgyZHWt0qomUxF2t_GcX0xm5YsyXIgjg1ECGWVeUdrE5bMlEo7BqB6cbTqcXkz1zfxb2leb3dARJZMxQFlwSM0hyxF1x_oTGTrkmFrqhG5IT8gH4vRtNoRwzOUk3K-f15XqF2na/s1600/TheBlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi28texzRgyZHWt0qomUxF2t_GcX0xm5YsyXIgjg1ECGWVeUdrE5bMlEo7BqB6cbTqcXkz1zfxb2leb3dARJZMxQFlwSM0hyxF1x_oTGTrkmFrqhG5IT8gH4vRtNoRwzOUk3K-f15XqF2na/s1600/TheBlock.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Forgive
me Blogger for I have sinned. It has been 216 days since my last blog post.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A
funny thing happens when you have to manage an organizational blog that is devoid
of consistent voice, purpose, creativity, or personality…it has a tendency to
have an effect on the blogging that you do for fun. Well at least that is what
happened in my case.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Initially,
I thought that my personal blogging would provide the proper creative
inspiration and counter balance to all the work related blogging I was required
to do. And in the beginning that was the case. However, overtime my personal
blogging was what began to suffer. But blogging for work wasn’t the sole reason
for the change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
me personally, blogging is a creative outlet as well as a vehicle to connect
with others interested in my professional or other interests. It allows me to share
some of the insights I’ve accumulated throughout the years. It also provides me
with a constructive way to share aspects of my personality and private life
with people that may not know that side of me. Sounds like a good thing, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">It
would have been a good thing if there weren’t a number of bad things that I did
as a blogger – key things you should never do if you want to have a successful
blog. These things included:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not blogging consistently
enough (I should be blogging weekly at a minimum)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Blogging two infrequently (sheeesh,
it’s been 216 days since my last post)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Passing up opportunities to
guest blog for others (this could have exposed me to new audiences)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Not taking the necessary
steps to promote my own blog (if you write it, they won’t necessarily
come)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">For
these transgressions, I apologize to the people who have subscribed to my blog,
faithfully commented on my posts, or willingly shared my content with others.
You deserve better from me. I can do better to earn your readership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">From
a work stand point, I’ve always been a proponent of maintaining a blog. In a
communications world dependent upon content creation, blogs rock. An effective
blog gives a company/organization an opportunity to connect with its key
stakeholders in a more intimate way. It can serve as a forum to share the news
and/or stories that your company/organization wants to tell, but might not have
otherwise found an audience for through traditional methods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">While
there is not a universally established and agreed upon set of criteria for what
constitutes an official blog or how a blog post should be written, blogging
should never be a painful or demoralizing experience, or an exercise in
concentrated boredom. A good blog offers something for the reader as well as
the blogger. That is the only path for growing a blog’s presence and audience. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
accomplish this goal, my counsel to any company wishing to establish its own
blog is to think about the blogs that YOU like to read on your personal time,
or the blogs related to your industry you enjoy visiting on a daily basis. What
is it that attracts you to those blogs and keeps you returning to consume more
posts? Was it the blogger, content, style of writing, perspective, or
readability? If so, those are the elements that your place of business should
try to incorporate and emulate in your own voice. Make that blog something that
you would want to read versus something you have to do and it will find the
life it needs and the space to grow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Given
that premise, I know exactly what has to be done and what should not be done to
ensure the success of the next company blog I oversee. And number one on that
list is to limit the number of people involved in the blogging process. Unlike the popular AT&T <a href="http://youtu.be/48-tcRiBNj4">commercial</a> more is not always better.
Adding anyone else to the equation, say beyond the author and an editor, and
you court disaster, primarily as it pertains to consistent voice and purpose. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">My
recent time away from any manner of blogging has been beneficial. The hiatus
has given me an opportunity to read the blogs that I enjoy as well as evaluate
the positive traits of some very successful blogs. I’ve also used my time away
to pick up some helpful hints and advice that I can use in my own blogging, or
to combat the dreaded writer’s block. Here are some of the tips that I picked
and hopefully you’ll find them useful too:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/15775.aspx">23 Ways To Be A
More Productive Blogger</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://stuartbruce.biz/2013/12/why-blogging-still-matter-for-public-relations.html?utm_content=buffera9457&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer">Why
Blogging Still Matter for Public Relations</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.bert-blogging.com/2013/12/time-management-for-writers.html?m=1">Time
Management for Writers</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://dukeo.com/blogging-personal-brand/">The 5 C’s of Blogging for
your Personal Brand</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://innetwork.net/2013/11/care-about-content/">Do Your Fans,
Friends, and Followers Actually Care About Your Content?</a><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">If
you find inspiration or help in any of this of this information that I’ve
plugged be sure to let the author know (and don’t forget to let them know where
you saw it shared).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">For the year 2014 one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to recommit
myself to my personal blog and blogging. So I hope that you’ll stick around for
the ride. If there’s something that you’d like to see me do more of or a topic
you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comment section.</span>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-8588606091160309012013-06-03T12:58:00.002-07:002014-01-05T20:19:00.916-08:00A PR Pro’s Pledge<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPhef4JcL37mBmxGG8c3evklZML9t2R8KD4uuX-mwxCarntlCdPRTK4BeP5BPzXAV3J87D4Vn_t9iCoZFCZe4rqtI0PY8uutaSNPEjNo8Qfn1t3Z42Oj6P3DGqpi6vYJrkIWsaalTqoW4/s1600/Blog-Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbPhef4JcL37mBmxGG8c3evklZML9t2R8KD4uuX-mwxCarntlCdPRTK4BeP5BPzXAV3J87D4Vn_t9iCoZFCZe4rqtI0PY8uutaSNPEjNo8Qfn1t3Z42Oj6P3DGqpi6vYJrkIWsaalTqoW4/s320/Blog-Image.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></a></div>
Recently, I was partaking in the smorgasbord of industry
content that PR Daily offers and I came across an entry that captured my
attention – “<a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/14280.aspx">Sign the
PR Pro’s Pledge</a>.”</div>
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The piece was straightforward and honest about what we as
public relations professionals need to do in order to maintain our personal credibility
as well as the credibility of our craft.</div>
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So after reading the case that was laid out by the author, I
decided to make a public commitment and take the pledge. And as the author of
the pledge urges, “If enough of us sign this, and share it with each other, and
more importantly, share it with clients and bosses, we may have a real chance at
success, whether that success is for our clients, or our own reputations.”</div>
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So united we must stand against bad PR and the people who
champion it.</div>
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<b>The PR Pro’s Pledge</b><br />
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I, L.A. Jones, being of sound and strategic PR mind, hereby swear before all my PR and journalism colleagues, to abide by the following rules for best practice public relations. Should I violate any of the rules contained herein, let me be shamed in a public forum of my peers, with nary a media call returned to me, so long as I shall practice PR:<br />
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1. I will not spam journalists by sending multiple journalists the same, generic release or pitch in the same email or in separate emails.<br />
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2. If I have to send a generic release or pitch because time is tight or there’s a gun to my head, I will at least hide all the addresses in the BCC line or send them separately with a personalized salutation.<br />
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3. I will not call a journalist on deadline to see if they got my email.<br />
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4. I will not try to pitch a journalist a story after the journalist has become a victim of an email blast where all other media outlets were visible in the email “to” line.<br />
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5. I will not turn off my cell phone after sending a release or pitch on a Friday about a weekend event.<br />
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6. I will not pitch a story about a client or boss receiving an award, unless my client or boss is an A-list celebrity, a high-ranking authority, or a truly remarkable individual.<br />
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7. I will not pitch a story that is not news to anyone but my client or boss.<br />
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8. I will not lie, stretch the truth, or even white wash information to make my client or boss appear better than they are.<br />
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9. I will not purposefully hide information from, or circumnavigate questions asked by the media.<br />
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10. I will not buy advertising with a media outlet in attempt to garner more coverage for my boss or client. I won’t even suggest it as a strategy.<br />
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11. I will not pitch a journalist that I am not positive covers the topic I am pitching.<br />
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Signed,</div>
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<!--[endif]--></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TX8UNAss9lD4bASjTRTNWZIDiJmsid3XAsYDU9I5tWZGRiPPzCFCk-JAbpJfMqm2DBGr9P7CFSfMJ5bFq3npe7cwt6AOT04A3ao3MrXdLBR9BptcKCBvX5BOaV5nDChtPHF9Utg3U9Au/s1600/LJones-Signature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TX8UNAss9lD4bASjTRTNWZIDiJmsid3XAsYDU9I5tWZGRiPPzCFCk-JAbpJfMqm2DBGr9P7CFSfMJ5bFq3npe7cwt6AOT04A3ao3MrXdLBR9BptcKCBvX5BOaV5nDChtPHF9Utg3U9Au/s200/LJones-Signature.jpg" height="101" width="200" /></a></div>
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L.A. Jones<br />
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The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-66657697244676275752013-04-15T05:46:00.000-07:002013-04-15T05:46:40.008-07:00Why Ask Why?<br />
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The word consists of only three simple letters, but it’s
packed with so much relevance and impact – why?</div>
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It’s the question every PR pro must ask himself, a client,
or an organizational leader at some point in their career, if not daily – why? </div>
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Why is the question that sets us to purpose and assigns
meaning to our actions, as in why are we doing this?</div>
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You were probably first introduced to “why” early on in your
professional PR career, back when you drafted that first event media alert. You
remember the one that started with a brief intro summary of the event and
continued with the following standardized questions and answers (also known as
the 5 W’s): who, what, when, where and…why?</div>
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It was always the why in that alert that closed the deal
enticing a targeted media outlet to attend and cover it (Why do I need to know
this? Or, why should I come to your event?) </div>
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Over the years, the question of why has increased in its importance,
particularly as a determining factor during the internal dialogue that precedes
a PR/communication action. If that preceding dialogue is not taking place, then
that’s a problem and a topic for a future blog post. But back to the why that
does happen during that internal discussion. An executive comes to you and
urges that a press release be drafted and distributed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before the draft of that release begins, a thoughtful PR pro
would assess the objective and ask why is it necessary that we issue this as a
news release? Why not explore another way to get our message across as in a
media pitch or social media communication. Or why do we think a reporter would
be interested in receiving this when there is limited news value?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Asking why also indicates intellectual curiosity and drives
the discussion. This is the question that smart people have to ask. And in some
situations you have to be the one to say or ask why not? Someone on the team
suggests organizing a clever flash mob in front of the NBC studio and another
person on the team asks why we should do this. Maybe you’re the one saying why
not, before assessing the potential ROI, pitfalls and probability of success. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By asking the why question on the front end, particularly
during the concept and/or deliberation stage, it could save you and your
employer time, effort, finances and exposure to disappointment. Nothing smarts
more than the failure to reach a goal, or worse the failure to identify what
the goals are in the first place because no one had the common sense to ask a
simple three lettered word – why? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, why are you just sitting there and not leaving a
comment about this blog post? Feel free to share an example of a time when you
asked “why” and thwarted a PR disaster or helped to strengthen a communications
objective.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dZHseIzJUadbIhENwULpiM1Vf6vD3cMBfpk4U8oY2EtzxvFB0uQt-hIDCcAmAaXg8jn45eN7C_Y-mQn7HQNBgAJyWll1KdO2kbfXTlQHk-TJvnj1rudV5msTTtQsCWsKnuxpp1MJjqDu/s1600/Limp.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7dZHseIzJUadbIhENwULpiM1Vf6vD3cMBfpk4U8oY2EtzxvFB0uQt-hIDCcAmAaXg8jn45eN7C_Y-mQn7HQNBgAJyWll1KdO2kbfXTlQHk-TJvnj1rudV5msTTtQsCWsKnuxpp1MJjqDu/s320/Limp.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite not being the magic bullet to securing media
coverage some executives (and PR Pros) believe it to be, the news release is still
a time tested and valuable tool of the public relations trade. I’ve been in the
PR profession for about 15 years now and I’ve probably written and/or edited more
news releases than I care to remember. With the exception of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investor_relations">Investor Relations</a>
release, I’m intimately familiar with all manner of news release types
imaginable, so no one is ever going to throw me for a loop in asking me to
draft a specific kind of release.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the years, I’ve come to know the good, the bad and ugly
of news releases. Unfortunately, for those in my profession, it’s usually the
bad and the ugly that we get called out for by our brothers across the aisle
wearing the journalism hats. And if we are to continue utilizing the news
release as a tool, we are going to have to stop writing ineffectual crap and
sending it to the media in hopes of acquiring coverage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Call me the News
Release Whisperer.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">To assist in this effort, I offer the following <u>10
suggested reasons</u> that your news release might be coming up limp and not
getting the results your company or client desires:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Drafting a
release for the wrong reason</b>. Many news releases start out D.O.A. because
they are drafted for all the wrong reasons at conception. When someone first
suggests drafting a release it is always best to ask the naïve question, “What
are we trying to accomplish by drafting this and who is its intended audience?”
You’d be surprised to learn that sometimes the media (the original reason press
releases were first created) are the last audience the release was intended for
and sometimes they don’t make the list at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Misguided attempts
to create content</b>. Sadly, sometimes news releases are drafted simply as a
source of content for an organization’s website or social media outreach.
Granted a good news release drafted for legitimate reasons also will achieve
this goal, but for whatever reason, some opt to forgo the legitimate aspect of
it and go straight to the dessert. The hunt for SEO and fresh content has given
rise to the unnecessary news release. Yes content is still king (and if not
king a very buck wild prince on a weekend bender in Vegas) but a news release
shouldn’t be used as some stand in for an informational enticement. If you want
to create new content that doesn’t particularly lend itself to announcing news,
try instead writing a new blog post, a case study or an issue brief.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Your news release
only makes sense to you and those closes to your company</b> (staff, industry
peers or Board of Directors). Having worked at a PR agency I’ve seen this occur
on numerous occasions. When we would draft a release, on a client’s behalf, in
understandable language for the media using the universal AP style of writing
and submit it to them for review/approval, the client would return the draft
chocked full of their industry’s jargon, terminology and rewritten in the style
of their industry (think legalese or real estate). This happens a lot when the
release really wasn’t meant for the media to begin with (see #10). As an
organization you must remember that not every reporter knows your industry or
what you mean when you say {insert indecipherable industry lingo here}. It’s
always best to follow the K.I.S.S. rule and write for the media receiving the
release.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">One size does not
fit all</b>. The same news release that you write for specialized and/or trade
media outlets may not work for the general market/consumer media. If the
ultimate goal of your news release to generate a B2B outcome, it might be best
to just focus your efforts on outlets that are more suited to achieve this
result. But I already know what your boss probably told you, “We want to
maximize our exposure. Besides, business people read {insert name of highly
coveted publication} too.” While trade media outlets don’t always have the
readership of general market media nor are nearly as sexy, they often attract
the right people. And let’s not forget that the trade and general market media
don’t necessarily speak to the same people, and definitely don’t speak to their
audiences in the same way. The focus of your news release shouldn’t only be
targeted to a reporter’s interest and beat, but also their audiences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Too damn long.</b>
I’m almost certain there is a special place in hell for people who draft four
to six pages long news releases that have nothing to do with investor
relations. I remember the very first time I saw a news release that boldly
encroached upon the four pages mark. I cringed reading it as the information
seemed to go on and on and on. I couldn’t wait for it to end. If that was the
feeling I had as a PR pro, I shuttered to think of how a reporter receiving
that thesis paper of a news release would feel. If your news release is more
than 1 ½ to 2 pages, you are officially doing too much. News can often get lost
in a sea of words and concepts. And if the reason for the lengthy release is
directly related to the inclusion of a slew of c-suite approved boilerplates,
consider just supplying a hyperlink back to the org website pages that contain
that same information. (I have a specific boilerplate rant, but I’ll save that
for a future blog post).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You’re giving away
the milk for free</b>. In follow up to the previous cause of impotency (see #6)
sometimes a release is too damn long because a company wanted to throw
everything in it, including the kitchen sink. I understand that you want to
give the reporter as much information as possible to aid them in the coverage
of your news, but there are other ways of doing that (think social media
release). I’ve never viewed a news release as a do it all solution, but rather
as an enticement to want to find out more. I prefer that the interested
reporter follow up with me to learn more or ask to speak to one our subject
matter experts or executives. A great pitch or news release will always leave
them wanting more. And if they like it, then they should put a ring on it (and
in our profession that ring comes in the shape of well rounded, positive
story).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lack of creativity</b>.
Somewhere in the history of the press release, probably shortly following its
genesis, I believe a meeting was held by a secret order of c-suite executives
that made a pact that from hence forth, all news releases should be written in
the same manner for all eternity: The header shall begin with the name of our
company followed by a commanding verb; the opening sentence of the lead must
begin with the name our company followed by an authoritative verb; the opening
sentence must contain a differentiating positioning statement and/or some
elements of our boilerplate; and we must include an executive quote that
repeats what was said in the lead paragraph (but only in a more executive
tone). Yeah, I know how many of these things actually came into being, but the
circumstances driving their necessity have long since passed. We are now in a
new age that requires new tactics. Reporters receive goo gobs of news releases
on the daily, so you have to do something to make yours stand out and scream
report me! Don’t be afraid to embrace creativity when it comes to drafting your
news release.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Death by benign
quote</b>. Ever seen a news release with an inconsequential executive quote, or
worse a plethora of inconsequential quotes from a variety of different people
at the company? I have. And I’ve also seen the multiple quote approach used
where everyone quoted was offering competing variations of the same nothing
burger statement. When was the last time that you saw a quote included in the
news release actually included in a story being covered by a noteworthy media
outlet? I’ll wait. The reason, you’ve probably not encountered this unicorn
sighting is because most executive quotes are really bad and don’t offer any
new information. Also, good reporters want to conduct their own interviews and
get their own quotes. But just think of how much you’d increase the odds of
having the quote used if it contained some actual valuable information (not
found elsewhere in the release) or was actually interesting.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I hear voices</b>
(but none of them are consistent). More does not automatically equate to
better. Sometimes there is a painful downside to group think and crowdsourcing,
and that usually occurs when a bunch of different people at one company
(sometimes external consultants chip in on this too) all contribute to the
writing of a single news release. Want to take your company news announcement
from concise to gumbo, just ask everybody to contribute to it. When different
departments evaluate a news release’s intent, it is often done so through the
lens of their departmental needs and not of the overall organization and brand.
My counsel would be the less cooks in the kitchen, the better. Trust your org
communicators, the guardians of your voice and brand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">No News is bad news</b>. The one constant
that every effective news release shares is that it contains actual news. Without
the news part, what you have is giant waste of a reporter’s time. Now here is
where things get really tricky, because every company actually believes that
the thing they want to talk about is news or at minimum noteworthy of mention.
However, in reality most of these instances don’t pass the news smell test.
This is when sound PR counsel becomes paramount. Before you begin crafting that
“news” release, you need to ask yourself some simple questions, such as: Will
anyone outside of our office find this interesting? Does this provide a
solution to an existing problem or make life easier for others? Has anyone else
ever done this before? Has this been recently covered by the media? And lastly,
can you provide a real life example showing how this works? There may be other
questions that help you determine whether or not you have news to share, but
these five ought to do the trick. In my experience, more times than not, the
thing a company wants to pitch is not actually news and may be better suited for
an ad. Always be honest in your assessment of what’s news and you’ll have
better results.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">So in the future, if you want your news release to be a little more potent and stand out with the media, think of adding some natural news enhancement. You're are bound to see some improvement in your...(cough)..."coverage."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"> Okay pr pros and journos, did I leave anything out to improve the company news release?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-56674016379514770302012-07-03T13:13:00.000-07:002012-07-03T19:12:33.104-07:00When Disaster Strikes<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6CC52R-mvXzxJtxjC3VPO9UDSkSaHDeGqqiMWp0-VmyLC3l2zaN6qDxtCeRfHzTCbjcPoN6merfPyb9IWndaJIsKztLYwMkSGivhAfAyRPa3UjyfWfIaP7QtHw3cwT3-UmtN6tp9onP6/s1600/don_t_panic_button.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6CC52R-mvXzxJtxjC3VPO9UDSkSaHDeGqqiMWp0-VmyLC3l2zaN6qDxtCeRfHzTCbjcPoN6merfPyb9IWndaJIsKztLYwMkSGivhAfAyRPa3UjyfWfIaP7QtHw3cwT3-UmtN6tp9onP6/s320/don_t_panic_button.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By now everyone with access to a news media outlet or a
social media platform is well aware of the devastating storm that recently wreaked
havoc across the country, especially on the east coast. And if you’re not
learning about the storm second hand, then you’re probably one of the more than
a million people that personally felt the storm’s wrath (myself included).Today,
there are an alarming number of people and businesses still without power.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whenever a natural disaster such as this occurs and it
negatively impacts people’s lives on a large scale, the target of the most public
ire is usually the local utility company, followed by the local government.
Most of the people’s angst and anger can be directly attributed to the loss of
electricity that typically follows a storm of this magnitude. Without power, food
spoils, temperatures rise or fall, entertainment is extinguished, business is
lost, and everyday life-functions that we normally take for granted come to a
screeching halt.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the area where I live and work – the DMV (DC, Maryland, and
Virginia) – the two dominate energy providers are PEPCO and the Baltimore Gas
and Electric Company (BGE).Because I live within BGE’s coverage area and my
home was without power for roughly 24 hours, I’ll just focus on their handling
of storm’s aftermath…from a public relations standpoint. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nobody likes a bad storm, especially when it involves the
loss of electricity. But what people hate even more than the storm is the
company responsible for returning life back to normal when that storm is over. With
a total of 1.24 million customers in the DMV and a large portion of them
without power, BGE faced a daunting challenge of restoring everyone’s
electricity without sustaining a crushing blow to consumer confidence or its public
image (think BP Gulf oil spill). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the storm itself wasn’t BGE’s doing (or any other energy
company for that matter), it was perceived as their fault that people had to go
days without power. And with 100 degree temperature days being the norm, one
can understand if people are a little pissed. No A/C on a very hot day is more
than the inconvenience of not being able to watch the latest installment of HBO’s
True Blood, it can mean the difference between life and death.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how did BGE do in terms of their PR and crisis communications
efforts? In my opinion, they did outstanding. I give them a grade of an “A minus.”
I watched them closely to see how they would handle this delicate situation of
communicating with a fragmented audience residing in a 3.0 world.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Measuring the return on a PR initiative can be, at times, subjective,
but how you respond and communicate during a crisis situation is pretty straightforward
– you either did a good job or a bad job. Fail at crisis communications as a
company and it can cost you your business, or at minimum brand equity. People
have a tendency to remember how badly an organization handles a crisis (think
Hurricane Katrina and Waco). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Because of how I receive a large portion of information
these days, I decided to see what BGE was up to via Twitter. In checking their
Twitter feed, I saw not only good information about what was happening and what
they were currently doing to alleviate the problem, but I also saw that they
were engaging with, in some cases, irate customers via Twitter. As such, I
decided to tweet them with <a href="https://twitter.com/OffThe_Record/status/219122288803594241">my
observations</a> (FYI, they didn’t directly respond back to me).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, I liked BGE’s messaging and use of Twitter,
especially the additions of the images via their Flickr account. But while I
thought it was beneficial to show the visuals of the damage that was done so
that people could grasp the scope of the problem and understand why they had no
electricity, I thought it would be even better to incorporate visuals of the BGE
technicians working tireless to fix the problems. I’d like to think that my
suggestion was heeded, because on July 1<sup>st</sup>, the photos on Flickr
switched from disaster porn to nothing but images of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mybge/page11/">BGE workers solving the
problems</a>. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In addition to what was happening on Twitter, BGE implemented
a full court social media press, also communicating and responding via Facebook,
LinkedIn and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/BALTIMOREGASELECTRIC">YouTube</a>.
Most of the relevant social media touch points were covered (sorry Google +). BGE
also made excellent use of its website’s homepage. For what they were doing in the
digital space, in light of the circumstances, I gave them high marks. It just
goes to show that if you don’t have a <a href="http://prbreakfastclub.com/2012/07/02/a-social-media-crisis-plan-yes-you-need-one/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">social
media crisis plan</a>, you need to develop one immediately.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I also thought that BGE did a solid job on the traditional
media relations component of their crisis communications. Whether it was with <a href="http://www.wbaltv.com/weather/-BGE-crews-get-reinforcements-from-other-states/-/9380898/15379198/-/oyd796z/-/index.html">TV</a>,
radio or print media outlets BGE consistently got the message out as to what they
were doing to solve the problem or provide solutions. They even drafted and placed
that magical position missive known as the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/readersrespond/bs-ed-bge-letter-20120702,0,7657485.story">Op-Ed</a>
(it ran in both the <i>Baltimore Sun</i> and
the <i>Baltimore Business Journal</i>). And
even the company’s online media center stayed current with the latest news
releases and company blog posts.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As a PR Pro, watching the BGE Comm Team at work was somewhat
exciting, taking me back to my crisis communications days at the <a href="http://mta.maryland.gov/">Maryland Transit Administration</a>. While the
circumstances surrounding why they had to test the readiness of their
communications apparatus in the first place was due to an unfortunate nature,
and by no means does this glowing review of their PR efforts mean that they’ve
fixed all the power problems, it was refreshing to see a company execute a
crisis communication effort in an effective manner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh by the way, I gave BGE an A minus for the response rates
or in some minor cases a lack of a response via social media, and for what
appears to be non sanctioned spokes people going on camera and/or talking to
the media.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how does your company/organization’s crisis communication
plan stack up?</div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-82933992724154837492012-05-29T08:28:00.000-07:002012-05-29T11:07:00.971-07:00So You Want To Be In PR?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcPeON6X1aHudM-uBBA8kRoceMVAitpkL6PljZ58OIkTiAc5pymE5tFIDj9hU4lwssolhuR1mamFQzgjLY6RdaLPcGVjbxSfKHDgXY6tfU7LC-7fQ-Hl1gg6eKZBCV2Jol9-pbouXz3zy/s1600/OneDayOutofMany.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcPeON6X1aHudM-uBBA8kRoceMVAitpkL6PljZ58OIkTiAc5pymE5tFIDj9hU4lwssolhuR1mamFQzgjLY6RdaLPcGVjbxSfKHDgXY6tfU7LC-7fQ-Hl1gg6eKZBCV2Jol9-pbouXz3zy/s200/OneDayOutofMany.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When it comes to the consensus of public relations
professionals, one of the few things that we all can agree upon is that hardly
anyone outside of the communications industry understands what it is that we
actually do for a living (especially our relatives). Even our industry had to
have a national dialogue to define the term “public relations.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most of the general public confusion is due in part to the
role of the PR professional being so varied and stretched across multiple communication
and publicity functions. Are PR people spokespeople, marketers, staff writers,
event coordinators, or social media specialists? The answer is yes, and then
some.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While many in our profession happily specialize in just one
of the previously mentioned disciplines, many others (like me) are
multi-tactical, cross functionary strategists that are required to do a lot of
communication related things, and that makes the position hard to define. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To illustrate this point, I’d like to share what a typical
day for me resembles in my role as director of communications for a DC-based
trade association.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A Day in the Life</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>7-8:30am:</b> On the
commute into work I begin the mind numbing process of whittling down and reading/responding
to what will be a plethora of emails I will receive throughout the day (some are
carryovers from the previous day). I also begin mentally planning out my
assignments for the day and prioritizing projects that are in process.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>8:30-10:30am:</b> I’m
in the office but still responding to various emails, in addition to scanning
through newspapers, trade pubs (online and print), the internet, and social
media sites for association/issues related news items, industry trend
stories/news, or significant member company related news. Following, I evaluate the daily reports from
our media monitoring service, then the fun part starts – updating division
heads and executive staff of news they should be made aware of.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>10:30 am-12 pm:</b> This is usually my prime media pitching time
as I distribute already approved news releases, or follow up with media outlets
that were previously pitched news stories or sent releases. This is also the
time I draft and distribute new pitches or return non priority reporter
messages/calls.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, somewhere between <b>8:30 am to noon</b>, I participate in
Comm. Team meetings with the Director of Digital Communications and the VP of
our department. During and after these meetings is prime time for creative
thinking and coming up with new ideas and strategies for telling the
association’s story or communicating its messages.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>12-1:30pm: </b>I spend this
time updating the association’s social media communications typically, editing and/or
drafting numerous written pieces such as: e-blast communications, news
releases, internal departmental memos, marketing copy, meeting minutes or blog
posts (I’m the red ink guy). I also use this time to update the organization’s website
copy or evaluating website traffic data.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>1:30-3pm: </b>Meetings
with various division heads to discuss what’s new or updates on specific
issues, prep for media interviews, and occasional crisis communications as
opposition groups, activists or concerned consumers outfits like to issue
statements, negative studies, or invites to press conferences around this time of the
day. As a result, I’m usually busy researching an issue, preparing a statement
or responding to investigative media. Also during this time, I’m typically
shooting down an onslaught of request from vendors looking to work with us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
FYI – The emails never stop coming throughout the day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>3-5pm:</b> During
this period I attempt to wrap up as many projects/assignments as possible (as
they are almost always due by COB). I also spend this time trying to update
and/or clean up the media monitoring reports so that they are ready by month’s
end. This also is when I review a number of association produced
materials, or products to ensure quality control and brand consistency/standards.
And when called upon, I work with our affiliate groups on a number of communication
needs (media relations, editing, issues management, etc.).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there's the impromptu meetings I have throughout the day with
the VP of Comm. to give debriefs, status updates or participate in quick strategy sessions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So as you can see, despite lacking "the sexy," it’s a pretty
busy day and can be rather intense on occasion. While each and every day does not look exactly
like the example I’ve provided (new priorities pop up and the time frames aren’t
so concrete), it does offer a pretty accurate reflection of what I do on behalf
of the association. But it's all public relations related.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to singularly focus
on media relations or social media, or if I would get bored operating in
such a targeted lane. My average day working at an agency was a helluva lot
different from role in in-house communications (maybe one day I’ll doing
something on a typical agency day). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now
that I’ve peeled the curtain back and let you look in, do you think you’re cut
out for PR work? Or if you’re already working in the profession, how does your
day stack up against mine?</span>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0Washington, DC, USA38.8951118 -77.036365838.7962463 -77.1942943 38.993977300000005 -76.8784373tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-27217660688269303682011-10-18T09:05:00.000-07:002011-10-18T09:09:33.290-07:00Insert Round Peg Into Square Hole<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EqgJekg2UDkkHi3enf5ArfWc6_ua8p5J2hEZwhmitZFi10oTnYkQKHxHFj5nouJfUfIQqEGQ0j68oBVsg93zG0gRaMeqabju-TjUq9tqFuKSWyVFO1xl0EhwvQkCaW-RwXXhkECikxw8/s1600/square-peg-round-hole.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 224px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664864545333390114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EqgJekg2UDkkHi3enf5ArfWc6_ua8p5J2hEZwhmitZFi10oTnYkQKHxHFj5nouJfUfIQqEGQ0j68oBVsg93zG0gRaMeqabju-TjUq9tqFuKSWyVFO1xl0EhwvQkCaW-RwXXhkECikxw8/s320/square-peg-round-hole.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><em>If it doesn’t fit, you must quit.<br /></em><br />I know I’ve said that I probably wouldn’t write about something that everyone else has written about, but this thing with <a href="http://www.groupon.com/about">Groupon</a> and its now former head of PR, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordwilliams1">Bradford Williams</a>, was just too juicy to ignore.<br /><br />Just two months. That was all that it took before Mr. Williams resigned from his post as the top PR strategist for one of the hottest companies in the market at the time.<br /><br />In all of my dozen or so years in this profession can I recall a similar incident where a highly <a href="http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/inc-well/Groupon-Hires-Former-Chicagoan-for-PR-Spot-123488659.html">touted</a> communicator joined an organization and stepped down in such a rapid fashion, all the while the company that hired him was cresting in popularity and attempting to take their brand public. If there is another comparable case of this happening, by all means please do share. This type of thing has to be a rarity.<br /><br />But <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/groupons-pr-boss-quit-right-before-andrew-mason-sent-out-that-controversial-memo-last-week-2011-8?">what went so wrong</a> that it prompted such a speedy public divorce? One can only speculate (so I think I will).<br /><br />Before I get into the negatives, let me first give Groupon credit for understanding the important role of communications in its business strategy and making the investment to bring in a quality talent to oversee this effort. I saw Mr. Williams’ background and it was nothing to sneeze at. The brands he has worked for and with reads like a who’s who: <strong>VeriSign</strong>, <strong>Yahoo!</strong>,<strong> eBay</strong>, <strong>Levi Strauss & Co.</strong> and <strong>Gateway</strong>. In this industry, he would be what we refer to as a heavy hitter.<br /><br />So with the supposedly right man in place the next logical step was to let him do the job he was hired to do. But that didn’t exactly happen, and my guess is that the barrier between those two events taking place had a lot to do with there being a lack of agreement in strategy and its plan for execution.<br /><br />But how bad was the communication strategy gap between the experienced PR Pro and Groupon’s C-suite that it called for an immediate parting of the ways? I’m thinking canyon like.<br /><br />Though an unfortunate but not unheard of situation, sometimes company leadership can be a little too hands on when it comes to communications strategy. This usually occurs when someone in leadership, typically the CEO, feels extremely confident about how to execute a company’s PR function, despite leading the charge or at least buying into the concept that someone with experience needed to be brought in to handle this important task.<br /><br />If the decision is made to bring the necessary expertise in-house, then that company’s leadership has to not only create the space for that person to succeed, but it is imperative that they trust in that person’s experience. If you need surgery for a medical problem you’re experiencing, you’re not going to seek out a physician, solicit his consultation and then when time for surgery proceed to tell the surgeon how the operation should go because you’ve been in a hospital before or watched season one of “ER” on DVD.<br /><br />So why do it when it comes to something as important as your external communications or protecting/projecting the image of your brand? The best advice is to trust your judgment in hiring the right person for the job, not using the opportunity to have somebody new simply rubber stamp your ideas.<br /><br />If not, what happens when that person is brought into the company is that he/she is expected to validate what the company wants to do anyway. This is not a winning strategy and only marginalizes that individual’s expertise. In my eyes communications experience is just as valuable or important as say legal experience and it should be treated as such.<br /><br />On the flipside, as a professional communicator what should you do when your years of experience and insights are at odds with the very people who hired you for those attributes in the first place?<br /><br />Well the way I see it, you can do one of several things. You can tow the company line, put your professional knowledge aside and execute the communications strategy as dictated by leadership. You can come riding in on your abilities and past successes, confident in the understanding of your craft and ready to fight for what you feel is right. Or, you can think longer term about what you’ve gotten yourself into, see that this is not a good fit for your skill sets and cut your losses early.<br /><br />Mr. Williams chose the latter. But I ask you, fellow PR professionals, if placed in the same situation what would you do?<br /><br />As always, I welcome your feedback. </div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-48231645809527615332011-10-04T14:35:00.000-07:002011-10-05T08:42:59.788-07:00Are You Ready For Some Proactive Crisis Comm?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdJYOdWI9dg1jyyxQid8Ncfft1KwM1nVJQwAFEiRj1NvwUARRHCOUx_pfcSdXFAnY3RkFw5F2oQhEVctS23Z6MKfxNzqOhZ-NioGeewZKumjkqIu_URM1Us-8jeV8vFiYz_pjdzkpAnfB/s1600/Prevent_D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 236px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5659759489901823154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdJYOdWI9dg1jyyxQid8Ncfft1KwM1nVJQwAFEiRj1NvwUARRHCOUx_pfcSdXFAnY3RkFw5F2oQhEVctS23Z6MKfxNzqOhZ-NioGeewZKumjkqIu_URM1Us-8jeV8vFiYz_pjdzkpAnfB/s320/Prevent_D.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><object id="ieooui" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D"></object><br /><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br /><br />I give credit where and when credit is due. And my alpha dog PR nod of the day goes to the public relations team over at the Worldwide Leader in Sports, <a href="http://espnmediazone3.com/wpmu/">ESPN</a>. <br /><p class="MsoNormal">When aging country singer <a href="http://www.hankjr.com/">Hank Williams Jr.</a> went off the reservation and onto the Fox morning news show to compare the currently sitting president to Hitler and declared Obama as “the enemy,” ESPN didn’t wait to react. Given the current climate of today’s 24 hour news cycle, it wasn’t going to be long before ESPN was a part of the story, so the sports giant went into a little of its own prevent defense (to borrow a sports analogy).</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">And while Hank Williams Jr. is not an on-the-payroll employee of the Mouse or its sports arm, he is strongly associated with the brand via <span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Monday Night Football</span>. For more than 20 years Williams has belted out the musical intro to the iconic football programming franchise. Whenever you heard the singer shout out, “Are you ready for some football?” it set the stage for the game about to be aired.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Williams’ inflammatory words were not only asinine and poorly chosen, they also were ill-timed. See, he chose to espouse his “political” opinions on a Monday morning and by that act alone, Williams threatened to take away the shine from one of ESPN’s premier products. As word of the Fox morning news show clip began to circulate, ESPN began to act and before it could become a part of the discussion, when everybody should’ve been talking football, the PR boys from Bristol tried to cut the story off at the knees.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">First ESPN took no chances of people attempting to associate Hank the Tank’s political potty talk with the brand and cut his trademark intro from the program. Then it attempted to further distance itself from Williams’ remarks by issuing a very direct <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/03/hank-williams-compares-obama-to-hitler_n_992513.html">statement</a> condemning the comments and making it clear that the singer does not speak for them. And finally, as an act of transparency, ESPN had its reporters <a href="http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7056003/espn-pulls-hank-williams-jr-your-ready-opening-mnf">cover</a> the complete controversy (which included their response).</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">It should be noted that the situation with Williams is indicative of the problem with today’s celebrities and pseudo celebrities alike, and the brands that solicit their services. You can’t control what people say or do when they are “off the clock” and the celebrity/pseudo celebrity seems to forget that they, by way of their business arrangements and endorsements, also represent the people who pay them. If you have a controversial opinion that you want to share, maybe should think bigger picture before sharing it. I know that I have lots of opinions to share, but I don’t share them all and I water down some of the ones that I do.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">But back to ESPN’s strategic move, by taking the bull by the horns sort of speak and not running or hiding from the potential problem, ESPN nullified the negative impact that the story would’ve had on their organization and showed their stakeholders/audiences what the brand does or doesn’t stand for. This was an excellent text book example of proactive crisis communications and how deal with a problem.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Right now, I give this PR response a grade of “A” but reserve the right to downgrade depending on how ESPN handles Williams for the rest of the season. Is the Hank Williams Monday Night Football intro a wrap or is it just on the shelf for a spell?<br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">What are your thoughts?</p>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-71518637725223140822011-06-21T12:54:00.000-07:002011-06-21T12:57:47.583-07:00Introducing Your Starters….<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnG0x-b_ykiHtb3TgbDrdFMMv4YAZ7uknuHTHu-UTDtYG-rBmgp2VEf-zsdEC_SUerDlcmdNni8iOIbzLpaP_G1lsWFxpICOI76OG6Ahgf9Jgmo3vCzuIvLmc9W37vDeTvSGjWWliBQBn/s1600/Team.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 271px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 171px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620764339268423522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnG0x-b_ykiHtb3TgbDrdFMMv4YAZ7uknuHTHu-UTDtYG-rBmgp2VEf-zsdEC_SUerDlcmdNni8iOIbzLpaP_G1lsWFxpICOI76OG6Ahgf9Jgmo3vCzuIvLmc9W37vDeTvSGjWWliBQBn/s320/Team.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><br /><br />In our profession there’s been a lot written and said about what type of PR Pro we don’t want amongst our ranks. I’ve been guilty of this too, highlighting the types of things public relations professionals do incorrectly or fail to do all together. But what of the public relations practitioners and communicators we do want in our profession, and more importantly on our team?<br /><br />Since I’m still basking in a hangover from the recent NBA season, I’ll use a basketball analogy to highlight this topic.<br /><br />If you could play GM and put together a starting five of PR Pros to work on your communications team for any project who would they be? How should the team be constructed?<br /><br />I’ve given this some thought and here’s my ‘Fab Five’ Comm Team:<br /><br /><strong>The Manager</strong> – This person not only can do what the name suggests – manage people – but this captain of the team is a visionary who can see the big picture and “draws up the play.” He/she is a good judge of talent. The Manager is receptive to creative ideas or can inspire or generate them. The Manager’s experience comes from years in the business, so there are few, if any, situations they aren’t prepared to handle. This person also is great for putting together a comprehensive PR plan of action or acting as a buffer/conduit to executive level staff. This person also can competently fill in and do the tasks of the other four members on the team if the need arises.<br /><br /><strong>The News Man</strong> – This is the one person you definitely want coordinating the media relations component of any project. Not only does this Pro have a good nose for what makes a compelling news story, but he/she can go “hard in the paint” and successfully pitch a story to the media with eyes closed. The News Man is like an artist when it comes to proactive media outreach, but even more importantly this person’s zone defense, when it comes to reactive media relations and crisis communications, is second to none. The News Man has an astute understanding of how media relations fits into the greater communications plan.<br /><br /><strong>The Inside Guy</strong> (Gal) – Every good communications team needs someone on the squad who can “feed it inside” when it comes to internal communications/PR. Internal communications is the forgotten step child of public relations, usually because so many organizations have shipped it over to human resources. But if you want to effectively control the message externally, you have to do it internally first. The Inside Guy is the person who handles employee communications when it comes to delicate matters as well as when there is good news to share. This person also is involved with internal town hall meetings, intranet communications, the employee newsletter, internal crisis communications, and promoting the organization or individual employees/staff (i.e. awards, spotlights, community recognition, best places to work, etc.).<br /><br /><strong>The Writer</strong> – This teammate loves to set-up the rest of the team or others within the organization with the assist. He/she is in love with the written language and can bring mundane words to life. The Writer has a hand in a lot of areas and you can find evidence of their craft in press releases, op-eds, white papers, articles, bios, backgrounders and speeches. Every highly functional communications team needs someone who can write their arse off and help create an organization’s voice. The writer can even pitch-in and help the folks in marketing by drafting promotional copy or assisting with copywriting.<br /><br /><strong>The Event Guy</strong> (Gal) – It’s almost a given that a busy and fast paced PR team will have to periodically get involved with planning/executing events. When it comes time to do it, this is where Event Guy shines. He/she can handle an event from “conception to conclusion” and that includes: assigning roles/responsibilities, managing the event flow and budget, hiring and managing vendors, logistics, coordination of talent and VIP guests. This might seem like a glamour position, but this person is the most vulnerable if a shabbily run event leaves attendees with a less than stellar experience. A top exec might be more forgiving for a poor turn-out than a poor execution. Event guy can also help with the double team on handling internal organizational events and celebrations (i.e. ground breakings, meetings, award ceremonies, press conferences, check presentations, etc.).<br /><br /><br />On my bench would be <strong>Social Media Guy</strong> and <strong>The Designer</strong>. These two positions would complete the team.<br /><br />I know many are looking at this team I assembled and thinking first that having all of these specialized positions filled would be a luxury, and secondly, as a result of the potential overlap it may make sense to bring on a “two-way” player who can do several of these things. Well that’s what most organizations actually do when they can’t play pretend GM.<br /><br />So I ask the question, which one of these teammates do you see yourself as or, what type of team would you assemble? </div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-75314544387305109112011-06-07T16:26:00.000-07:002011-06-08T05:51:54.058-07:00The Full Oscar Mayer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCoeVQb9xorD2QVDhM9irEeZ7DUTuegWFt4BtVaA1VewowD2_bb3ob9gix8H98LOCX0cI5Ht4Ebcx7-A4dQiJ4IIwFK1dDB1A5hT1Bz2utFZz4fjOHAvpjn-E739PWO-GjJWeWJrc0CMZ/s1600/lunapic_13074888892506_1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 297px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615623561796927090" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMCoeVQb9xorD2QVDhM9irEeZ7DUTuegWFt4BtVaA1VewowD2_bb3ob9gix8H98LOCX0cI5Ht4Ebcx7-A4dQiJ4IIwFK1dDB1A5hT1Bz2utFZz4fjOHAvpjn-E739PWO-GjJWeWJrc0CMZ/s320/lunapic_13074888892506_1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><object id="ieooui" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D"></object><br /><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br /><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">I seriously considered entitling this post “Weiner Roast.” But despite being fun to say, that title would be a little disingenuous because I won’t necessarily be talking directly about the now disgraced congressman from New York.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">No, this post is about the other person who took enemy fire and sustained injury over this scandal. And I’m not talking about Mrs. Weiner or the co-ed from Seattle. I’m referring to Congressman Weiner’s press secretary, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dave-arnold/19/50b/6b1">David Arnold</a>.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">At present, many of my public relations peers are dissecting this now sad tragedy of a story from a crisis communications perspective, not unlike what many did with the Tiger Woods situation. I agree, it is definitely a cautionary tale about what to do and what not to do in a crisis situation. Good PR counsel would’ve relieved much of the public disgrace now experienced by Weiner, or at a minimum lessened the blow when the media came after him.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">While there is good material to dissect on that front, I’d rather turn attention on the guy who did or should’ve provided said good PR counsel, Weiner’s press secretary. I can’t say with certitude that David Arnold instructed Weiner as to what to do when the story began to take shape (for the purposes of this post, I assume he did). But I can say without hesitation or confirmation what he risked in the process.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">A strange thing happens when you go on the record and speak on the behalf of an employer or client; not only are you vouching for them (or at least, the credibility of the message), but also you are staking your professional reputation to say, "I believe in this person/company and you should too." Now I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve invested a lot in my professional equity and I’m not willing to bankrupt it for any employer.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">If an employer out right asks me to lie for them, that’s simply something I cannot and won’t do. I may go right up to the line of questionable practices and look at it briefly (as in the case of “spinning” the truth), but I won’t cross it. Our better PR angels should prevail. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">In the case of David Arnold and Anthony Weiner, I’d like to imagine the conversation went something like this:</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> David, I think “we” have a potential problem coming.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Congressman, what’s the problem?</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> Twitter…the damn tweet…it had a picture attached. But I deleted it.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> What tweet? What picture? Tell me what happened.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> A tweet went out to a Twitter follower, a young woman…but it had an inappropriate picture attached. I think I’ve been hacked!</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Congressman, I’m going to need you to tell me everything about this…exactly as it occured. If I’m going to help you, I need to know all the details of what transpired. I need to know what “our” options are.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> My account was hacked David! There was a picture of a man’s bulging crotch tweeted to a young woman! My wife is going to kill me…why did this happen?</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Twitter accounts get hacked all the time. We’ll just explain that to the media and let them know that we’re going to get to the bottom of this. We need to get out in front of this before the story gets out.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> Didn’t you hear me say that I deleted the tweet? What benefit is it for us to tell the media about the tweet or the picture? Doing it your way we’d have to deal with this publicly. Let’s just wait to see what happens.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Sir, I wouldn’t advise that. If we are transparent now, and tell the truth, it won’t be as big of a story and it won’t make you look as bad as if they found out on their own. You know, just because you delete it, it doesn’t mean it disappears.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> Really? This is just awful.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Congressman, we really need to get out there in front of this. You don’t want to come off looking like that “Tickle Party” guy Massa, or worse, a sexual deviant like Tiger Woods?</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> You’re right. Massa looked horrible trying to explain what happened. And the media crucified him.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Press Sec:</b> Congressman…Anthony…before I go out there and start talking to the media, I’m going to need you to tell me the absolute truth. All of it. If we’re going to do this, I have to know exactly what we’re dealing with. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Weiner:</b> I told you the truth. I think my Twitter account was hacked. I did not send that tweet to that woman.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">And with that make believe conversation, the events of “Weinergate” unfolded. The esteemed congressman from the state of New York got Brietbarted<span style="font-family:Arial;">™</span> and then the press feasted on the chum. In an attempt to quell the media, Weiner then sent out his press secretary/communications director like a lamb to be slaughtered. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">We all know how this incident ended; Congressman Weiner eventually gave his public mea culpa by way of press conference. But what happened in the days leading may be a different kind of victimization. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Having believed his boss’ story (or totally making it up himself, only time will tell), David Arnold went on the offensive boldly proclaiming the Congressman’s innocence, shifting the blame, touting private investigations and even <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/anthony-weiner-calls-cops-on-wcbs-reporter_b11155">calling the police</a> to remove one reporter (Marcia Kramer) from the congressman’s office in the middle of reporting. </p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Arnold, feeling emboldened with the alleged truth, put a lot on the line professionally. He not only jeopardized his reputation/credibility with the media that covers his industry (for lack of a better word) but he will henceforth be associated with a political cover-up (much like G. Gordon Liddy, Scooter Libby and Tricky Dick Nixon).</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal">But was it worth it? Only time will tell how much this incident will cost him.</p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">As usual, I’d be happy to hear other thoughts on this topic.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aNddW2xmZp8" frameborder="0" width="425" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></span></i>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-74082395029012577862011-05-20T11:26:00.000-07:002011-05-20T13:28:18.208-07:00Don’t Call Us. We’ll Call You.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qrj03ND5msyOSp_daC1TxZExvWzrmPxYwQw8mYnOrQ-jiztebsfHdI-kd5VRdXOULuk60lQS5Kcf_AQn77Ahdhl_HSFDsFKHwQ99LCRgIkO7nS2FilS-Zecg687aZhhd0zCWNKqmmTMA/s1600/Interview.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 221px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608868153203980834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5qrj03ND5msyOSp_daC1TxZExvWzrmPxYwQw8mYnOrQ-jiztebsfHdI-kd5VRdXOULuk60lQS5Kcf_AQn77Ahdhl_HSFDsFKHwQ99LCRgIkO7nS2FilS-Zecg687aZhhd0zCWNKqmmTMA/s320/Interview.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Just because he’s the president of the organization, it doesn’t mean he’s a good interview.<br /><br />As part of the job of being a good PR professional not only does it fall upon us to secure our organization and/or clients meaningful media coverage that supports a communications plan and business objectives, but we must also find a way to position our executives as thought leaders and/or excellent sources for commentary.<br /><br />One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by offering a relevant executive as a person to interview when you’re pitching a particular media outlet about some new trend, noteworthy product/service launch, upcoming event, or announcement. The other way is by monitoring what a particular journalist is covering and then positioning your executive or expert as a person who can lend to the story by offering some balance or key insights.<br /><br />Now this may be a shocker to some (especially to the executive or expert you’re positioning) but not everyone can deliver the goods.<br /><br />When a PR pro pitches a good story, a lot of times we’ll have a person in mind who we want to put out in front for an interview. And to really sell it we’ll tell the person we are pitching that so and so is a “good interview.” For those not in public relations, you’re probably thinking to yourself, isn’t that what you’re supposed to say?<br /><br /><em>(Side note: If you’re anything like me, you’d have several people you want to offer for interviews: an exec to talk overall strategy and position in the market; manager directly hands on with the project/product; an end-user; and some analyst or industry type to provide perspective or talk trends – that’s how you package a story.)<br /></em><br />But what does that mean when we tell a reporter/journo we’re pitching that so and so is a good interview?<br /><br />What we are saying is that we know what you are looking for and we got a person in mind who can deliver the goods and the money shot. The person we lined up is knowledgeable, personable, engaging, sometimes funny, passionate, an excellent story teller and they give good sound bite. Sometimes they’ll have a great voice, sometimes they are camera friendly, or there’s something compellingly quirky about them. In essence they are a “good interview” – someone a reporter would WANT to talk to about that thing the PR person pitched.<br /><br />Unfortunately, a lot of PR pros think in a very linear way about who to put in front of the reporter/journo. If the topic is something scientific, you go get the scientist; if it’s something legal you get the attorney; if it’s a big story or a big media outlet, you go get the CEO. I can’t say that this is wrong or that I haven’t done it myself.<br /><br />But what if the person who lined up the most succinctly with the subject matter was a god awful interview? You know what I’m talking about, the person who speaks monotone using acronyms, industry terminology and only sees questions in black and white. Or the type of person that sees the media interview as more of a begrudged task and not an opportunity, or the person who over talks, does a verbal data dump and bores the interviewer to tears. You could end up doing more damage to the outcome of your coverage, just on the strength of a bad interview. Also, when there is a future story that your org/client wants to desperately be a part of, the reporter will remember the agonizing experience and opt to go with someone else.<br /><br />I’ve painfully sat through interviews with bad interviewees myself. Either they viewed talking to the media as an annoyance, used too much “shop talk,” peppered their responses with jargon, talked too little giving only one word answers, not answering questions at all or went off onto tangents that helped to lose the message. All of these attributes, along with those previously mentioned, make for interview hell.<br /><br />Back in my agency days, two clients I worked with were led by individuals that fit the description of being a good interview: <a href="http://www.eifel-inc.com/2.html">Rick Hecker</a>, Owner and CEO of Eifel, Inc. and the late auto journalist <a href="http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110328/CARNEWS/303289999">David E. Davis Jr.</a> Both of these gentlemen had great back stories, were extremely knowledgeable about their industries, wielded a hard to hide passion and both were just rough enough around the edges to be interesting. The media used to enjoy talking to them so much they’d try to go around me (the gatekeeper) to interview them for various stories.<br /><br />Right now you’re reading this and probably mentally identifying that person at your company (or your client’s) that fits the build of being a good interview. But how do you get them past the people who think that THEY should be doing the interview, and in front of a reporter? I don’t know, you are on your own there.<br /><br />But I offer this, think about the medium you’re approaching and then match it to the right messenger. Print interviews are the easiest, but for broadcast think about the intangibles. For radio, get someone with a great speaking voice, can think quickly on their feet and knows how to banter or tell a story to someone listening. When it comes to TV, think about the optics (what the viewer will be seeing) as well as your exec/expert’s comfort level with being asked tough questions under a bright light. People tend to have a more positive impression when the people they are listening to or looking at are appealing in some way.<br /><br />As far as depth of the issues (if it’s not the interviewee’s specific lane), most of your organization’s leaders know a little bit of something about most facets of the org’s operations and objectives, that’s what the executive management team meetings are all about. And if they don’t, they can be coached and briefed on the details. I think it’s extremely important to have the right messenger.<br /><br />And if you don’t have the leeway to utilize someone who’s a good interview because a particular topic is not their area of expertise and you have to use the exec, who’s not as fruitful when it comes to doing interviews, then there’s always media training. </div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-19667910388814479982011-05-13T09:36:00.000-07:002011-05-14T12:12:31.145-07:00PR Guerillas In Our Midst<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDlUs8vlX1l9VhxfLt3SpnSSi3fFlSPGeJLEorIBl9TrpJdBRVbzwW6glQh_HRBt7aKGNJ5Wps0GJS91967-qiCFrcR0Yc42n08aL57uWZ7csJxTtSsMQMWG53bamIEHGMrHt2-JAK-yw/s1600/Guerilla.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 245px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606244090012204594" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDlUs8vlX1l9VhxfLt3SpnSSi3fFlSPGeJLEorIBl9TrpJdBRVbzwW6glQh_HRBt7aKGNJ5Wps0GJS91967-qiCFrcR0Yc42n08aL57uWZ7csJxTtSsMQMWG53bamIEHGMrHt2-JAK-yw/s320/Guerilla.jpg" border="0" /></a>All the talk about U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6, clandestine missions and assassinations must have gotten PR firms feeling real frisky. How else would you explain what public relations power house <a href="http://www.burson-marsteller.com/default.aspx">Burson-Marsteller</a> recently got caught doing (or trying to do) to Google.<br /><br />By now, if you’re in the field of public relations you’ve heard or read that Facebook put out the proverbial hit on a potential social media <a href="http://networkeffect.allthingsd.com/20110313/new-google-circles-would-have-more-nuanced-sharing-but-google-says-no-launch-imminent/">rival</a>. And how did they attempt this feat, by calling on one of the PR industry “Big Boys” to launch a secret reputation damage-ment campaign. I told you before, the <a href="http://theprsituation.blogspot.com/2011/01/empire-strikes-back.html">Empire Strikes Back</a>!<br /><br />Now the news here is not that a major brand got involved in some competitive monkey business with another major brand that threatened a core product. That happens, rightfully or not, all the time in the business world. After all, only the strong survives.<br /><br />No, what’s news is that Burson-Marsteller (BM), a seemingly reputable firm that recently received the <strong>North American Agency of the Year</strong> <a href="http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/10366/Pepsi-Takes-Homes-Top-Honors-At-SABRE-Awards.aspx">award</a>, actually accepted such a smarmy, ethics challenging assignment. Especially knowing that if they got caught (which actually happened) they had so much to loose in terms of reputation currency.<br /><br />I can’t imagine that this very public foul play sat well with the remainder of the agency’s client portfolio (which by the way reads like the who’s who in the recognizable brand community). Reputation management is bad enough when a company is dealing with its own issues, so being close enough to get some stink on your brand due to someone else’s bad judgment is problematic.<br /><br />Where was the leadership or the voice of reason at BM to step up and say, “No, we won’t engage in such a practice because that’s not who we are as an agency.” But that didn’t happen.<br /><br />I can recall an instance when an employer asked me to do something unethical as a PR professional and I refused. I don’t engage in dishonest or questionable public relations practices because that’s not who I am and by doing so, I run the risk of hurting my personal brand. So I found what BM engaged in even more troubling.<br /><br />Not only did the agency take on this high stakes, daring mission to assassinate a potential future client, but they used two converted journalists as operatives. Beyond the decision to do the job in the first place, the usage of former news men is what puzzled many, because they should’ve known better.<br /><br />When this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Pigs_Invasion">Bay of Pigs </a>styled mission was discovered, BM went all Ollie North and refused to out their benefactor and puppet master. However, that outing would happen with some journalistic <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2011-05-06-google_n.htm">investigation</a>. If there is one thing the media loves to do, it’s to go after and nail unethical PR types. It’s like nectar to the scribe gods and then they hang the pelts out for all to see.<br /><br />This is not the first time we’ve seen this type of thing in our profession. Dick Armey of Freedom Works fame successfully used a PR agency in an Astroturf campaign against the Obama Administration’s Healthcare Bill. Armey’s PR guerillas succeeded at making something as socially necessary and desired as healthcare, seem like something dark, menacing and anti-American. They were able to convince the media and unsure voters that this was somehow bad for them and fit to be destroyed.<br /><br />While public relations can be broken down into many different disciplines, I don’t think character assignation should be one of them. PR should never want to play in this space.<br /><br />We can overlook stuff like Armey’s Astroturfing because it’s political. But this sort of unethical behavior coming from a top five global PR agency was a little hard to stomach. Even the Chairman and CEO of the PRSA offered uneasy <a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/8232.aspx">thoughts</a> on the situation.<br /><br />But maybe we shouldn’t be surprised by this action, especially given the fact that BM is head by Mark Penn, the same person who handled Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign. He’s also the same guy who put the media hit job on current President Barrack Obama during the primaries. So maybe this is who they really are and it all stems from the top down.<br /><br />Here’s the only thing BM has said about this issue so far: <a href="http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Newsroom/Pages/Burson-MarstellerStatement.aspx">Statement<br /></a><br />Now when we see a slew of unfavorable media coverage on a particular brand, we may have to ask ourselves the question, which public relations agency is behind this?The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-21652896485376765792011-01-26T19:13:00.000-08:002011-01-31T19:44:49.310-08:00The Empire Strikes Back<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNYJ744shJoYpu2-By9SIyJKZbRaj-yhziKo4S0256cUWoR6K5q3kcJNI7uwJn3l7UQIg8iPM4zjxb9y-1HHcOjUYKZBl0RiSrwfprb2JoAzk0esD4-QecGtemfx6Sj7xgXpXmprnZM1f/s1600/death-star-1.jpg"><img style="text-align: center; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; display: block; height: 266px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5566703156300148082" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWNYJ744shJoYpu2-By9SIyJKZbRaj-yhziKo4S0256cUWoR6K5q3kcJNI7uwJn3l7UQIg8iPM4zjxb9y-1HHcOjUYKZBl0RiSrwfprb2JoAzk0esD4-QecGtemfx6Sj7xgXpXmprnZM1f/s320/death-star-1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><object id="ieooui" classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D"></object><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Facebook’s PR Machine is a <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/how-many-people-work-in-facebooks-pr-department_b3085">beast</a>!</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">(I had to get that out of the way to prove that I’m not a hater despite some of the critical things I may write in the following paragraphs).</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Never have I seen a media relations assault like the one I witnessed in the last 3-5 months, nor have I seen this kind of quality cumulative media coverage like that amassed by Facebook’s <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pr">communication apparatus</a>. The vast majority of the coverage could only be described as positive. One friend on Twitter even remarked that onslaught of coverage dedicated to the social media platform put you in the frame of mind of a new start-up just being introduced to the masses for the first time, not the behemoth that already dominates most people’s internet use.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Last night, before I settled in to watch President Obama do his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Pack">Rat Rack</a>, Dean Martin governing thing, I happened upon a new CNBC investigative report, “<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/39618344/">The Facebook Obsession</a>.” <span style="font-size:0pt;"></span>I couldn’t help but wonder about the timeliness of this program as well as its central premise.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Surely, with 600 million worldwide subscribers this isn’t going to be news to anybody on this planet. We all pretty much know that it’s a popular site and lots of people can’t do without it, despite the trouble it may get them into. To borrow from an old cable program, it’s “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlRTPWd3sbs">Not Necessarily the News</a>” right?</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">But then it hit me, that damn Facebook movie is probably driving this or at minimum has something to do with it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Recently, the Hollywood adaptation of Facebook’s genesis story, “The Social Network” was in the news for owning the top spots at the Golden Globes. And now the likelihood is great that it will do the same at the Academy Awards.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Facebook’s CEO and Founder, <b>Mark Zuckerberg</b>, HATES this movie regardless of his nonchalant posturing and constant pretending that it’s no big deal. In reality, when it comes to this movie, “The Social Network” is like that splinter in the mighty lion’s paw. It won’t kill him, but it smarts like hell.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Originally when news about the making of this movie first began to surface, Facebook appeared to do as most large companies do when faced with something unfavorable, they ignored it, labeled it as a nothing and hoped it would go away. But a funny thing happens when you base your strategy on “hope” and don’t have a workable crisis communications plan in place, eventually you find yourself in a spot where all hope is lost.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, for Facebook, great screenplay + great director = Hollywood smash! “The Social Network” became such a big box office hit that Facebook could no longer ignore it. I’ve seen the movie and I thought it was excellent regardless of the subtle creative liberties the screen writer and director took. By all researchable accounts the vast majority of the film was based on court transcripts and firsthand accounts of people who were there and part of the story.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">The real problem Facebook had with the film was that in addition to some of the creative liberties taken, the movie made Zuckerberg come across as some sort of socially inept, douchey dickwad genius. And that was unacceptable. The empire had to strike back.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Now before I get into the dynamics of how Facebook struck back, I’ll offer what my counsel would’ve been, had I been in the PR war room – Control the narrative and own the story! Being on the defensive when it comes to PR is operating from a position of weakness, but deflection…ah. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">I wholeheartedly believe that Facebook could’ve mitigated the potential negative attention from the movie through deflection. What would’ve been wrong with Zucks and Facebook “bigging up” the film by indicating to the press that it’s kind of cool to have a movie made about your life and company? They could’ve even talked about all the things the movie got right and fondly reminisced about the good times of the early days during the many interview requests around the launch of the movie. </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Team Zucks could’ve even hosted some sort of premiere event for the movie (besides the uneventful renting out of a theater for staff and then going out for Apple-tinis) and then doing a light presser afterwards to playfully point out some of the inaccuracies, all the while praising the writing and performances. Or at a minimum Mark Zuckerberg could’ve showed he was a good sport by attending the actual premiere for “The Social Network.” All of these tactics would’ve gone a long way in killing any negative coverage in its infancy.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Instead, Facebook took the “too cool for school” approach of trying to cast the movie off as being some lame fictional account not worthy of commenting on…that was until it took over the U.S. movie market and hundreds of thousands of Facebookers began to take the story depicted as the absolute gospel. Then Facebook wanted to do something about it. <span style="font-size:0pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>The best defense is a good offense. - Vince Lombardi.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">With every media outlet on God’s green earth writing glowing articles about “The Social Network” Facebook decided to come out swinging. It appeared that they tackled this issue from a two-pronged approach: dispute the accuracy of the movie on the one hand and push out as much news and company stories as humanly possible in a short period on the other. Their mission was crystal clear – dominate the news cycle and make people forget about….what’s the name of that movie again?</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">With “The Social Network” genie out of the bottle, Facebook and an army of third party evangelists took to the offense to challenge the movie’s characterization and push back on the inaccuracies. Of these third party evangelists none were more visible and vocal than resident fan boy and author of the book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Facebook-Effect-Inside-Company-Connecting/dp/1439102112">The Facebook Effect</a></i>, David Kirkpatrick. His purpose was simple, tout Zuckerberg's coolness and denounce this movie at every available opportunity.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3i4d1f1410bfbda62679b057ab625a0110?pn=1">The strategy</a> seemed to work as Facebook and others took to print and the airwaves countering Zuckerberg’s movie portrayal, by painting the picture of him as a cool confident ladies man that had a lot of friends and was extremely at ease in social settings. Zuckerberg even started doing a bunch of personal <a href="http://blogs.forbes.com/mikeisaac/2010/12/05/mark-zuckerbergs-60-minutes-interview-best-piece-of-facebook-pr-yet/">interviews</a> (something he normally would’ve been reluctant to do) to show people the “real” him. All of this for some lame fictional movie.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">I knew PR was at play when I began to see all this coverage and the same <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Talking_points">talking points</a> were repeated over and over again:</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li>Zuckerberg has lots of friends</li></ul><ul><li>Zuckerberg is not an introvert</li></ul><ul><li>Zuckerberg has a hot Asian girlfriend that he’s been with for years</li></ul><ul><li>Women in general like Zuckerberg and he’s never had a problem getting a girlfriend</li></ul><ul><li>People generally like Zuckerberg and they think he’s cool</li></ul><ul><li>Zuckerberg didn’t care about college clubs</li></ul><ul><li>Facebook wasn’t built to meet girls or make money</li></ul><ul><li>Facebook is a passion for Zuckerberg, something bigger than a revenue generator<br /></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">I've never seen someone get so rankled by a "fictional characterization" before and combat it so vehemently (ah shucks Zucks). But it was working.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, Facebook began to announce a new feature or product almost weekly. And when they weren’t pushing Zuckerberg in front of the media and announcing a new feature or product, they were announcing donations. Facebook bombarded the media with about a year’s worth of positive news stories (for some companies) and squeezing it all into a half of year time frame. But it wasn't easy given all of the energy Facebook had to exert all in the name of reputation management.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Eventually, “The Social Network” was knocked right out of the news cycle and left the public consciousness all together (that was, until it came time for award recognitions). Everything said about Facebook in the media since then has been a positive reflection of the company, its mission and its leadership. From a PR standpoint I had no choice but acknowledge their skills and the combat job they did in the press. Most people, me included, now view Zucks as somebody you’d want to have a beer with.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">But much like the villainous Empire in George Lucas’s hit trilogy, the Death Star has a weak point and Facebook’s is user privacy. Stay tuned to see how the vaunted Facebook PR Team handles this rebel challenge.</p><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="384" height="283" align="middle"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="movie" value="http://widget.nbc.com/videos/nbcshort_at.swf?CXNID=1000004.10045NXC&widID=4727a250e66f9723&clipID=1279517&showID=61&siteurl=http://www.nbc.com?vty=fromWidget_Video&dst=nbc|widget|NBC Video&__source=nbc|widget|NBC Video"><param name="quality" value="high"><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000"><embed src="http://widget.nbc.com/videos/nbcshort_at.swf?CXNID=1000004.10045NXC&widID=4727a250e66f9723&clipID=1279517&showID=61&siteurl=http://www.nbc.com?vty=fromWidget_Video&dst=nbc|widget|NBC Video&__source=nbc|widget|NBC Video" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" width="384" height="283" align="middle" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object><p class="MsoNormal"></p>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-75483866857502459172011-01-03T13:43:00.000-08:002011-01-11T06:25:52.599-08:00Just Who Owns The Message Anyway?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdaLZMv8kF-xg7WM679FuGNDt5cZ37OakD7e5iByaP6HB2Op2CrRqrEReRrzRS_Er42ExWKl57wLFNPi-nDlK3IE_lIXrBYQOXAv7Df0MriBDCVy8TlWKhnEuXpFvjdEzoLowWmHu-Vns/s1600/office-politic-1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558078876317212738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdaLZMv8kF-xg7WM679FuGNDt5cZ37OakD7e5iByaP6HB2Op2CrRqrEReRrzRS_Er42ExWKl57wLFNPi-nDlK3IE_lIXrBYQOXAv7Df0MriBDCVy8TlWKhnEuXpFvjdEzoLowWmHu-Vns/s320/office-politic-1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style><br />The leader of the ‘Pragmatism Movement,’ American psychologist, <a href="http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/jamesbio.htm">William James</a> once eloquently stated, “The instinct of ownership is fundamental in man’s nature.”<br /><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">So basically it’s in our DNA to want to own things. We instinctively look for opportunities to claim something and as we are well aware, our instincts can be inextricably tied to a need to survive. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />With that said, right now in organizations across America, “<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079417/">Kramer vs. Kramer</a>-esque” battles are waging over ownership of that all powerful function known as corporate communications, thus giving credence to Mr. James’ observation. And though it is not apparent to the outside observer, there are probably all kinds of behind the scenes departmental fights over not only what the message will be, but more importantly, who gets to disseminate that message internally and/or externally.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>He that controls the message survives the day.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><em></em></p><p class="MsoNormal">Given my background and profession I’m of the camp that says the communications department should control all messages/communications going outside of an organization and a large percentage of those that stay within. To put it in Web 2.0 terminology, I’m part of <b>#TeamCommMessageControl</b>. But there are others in-house that would lay claim to an organization’s communications, most notably: human resources, marketing, customer service and legal. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />But which department is the right one to own and hone an organization’s message(s)? I say leave it to the wordsmiths. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />Sometimes it’s a false assertion that in-house communicators can’t communicate…dare I say it…in-house. We unfortunately get shoved into this identity of only being the people who talk to the media, like our most tangible talent is the ability to speak “media-ese” (which we actually do by the way, except we call it pitching and writing in <a href="http://journalism.about.com/od/writing/a/apstyle.htm">AP Style</a>). But contrary to popular belief, our communication well runs a little deeper than that and our skill sets are a lot more diverse.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">When I was just beginning in public relations, I was fortunate to have worked in several public relations offices that actually had a very firm hand on all external and internal communications (including but not limited to employee relations). It seemed such a natural fit to me that I thought it belonged there. I personally had been responsible for updating the internal intranet site; wrote for and edited the employee newsletter/magazine; positioned employees to earn awards and then promoted their recognitions; and I oversaw employee town hall meetings with executives. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />Once when I found myself back in the job market, it came as a complete surprise to learn that the human resources department at other places covered some of these functions. I did not see how non-public relations people could craft the messages while keeping in line with organizational objectives and maintaining a consistent voice and style. The problem is, in many cases, they can not and the differences can be seen in how the messages are crafted, disseminated and received. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><br />A good PR pro has a great grasp of language, words and audiences. So in addition to being excellent overall communicators, we are very competent writers at our core (for the record, I’m a PR purist, which means I think it’s a shame whenever someone claims to be proficient at public relations but their writing leaves a lot to be desired). A PR pro that can’t write is like a model who looks good in photographs but can’t master the catwalk; we’re talking about the basics (but that’s another topic for another blog post). </p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">Back to the topic at hand, who should own the message creation within an organization? I strongly believe that the Office of Public Relations and/or Communications should serve as a messaging clearing house of sorts. And as the gatekeepers of organization communications in-house PR pros would assure quality control and consistency in message. Those other departments I mentioned (human resources, marketing, customer service and legal) simply cannot do what we do.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal">But that’s just my two cents. I’d be glad to hear yours.<br /></p>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-50085617548582668682010-12-28T13:35:00.000-08:002011-02-17T11:07:04.386-08:00Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself…<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09-fg0NwgI0oC9GVJAsEndl_hye2ofA6TItU3SPbNkY5QDw8H7Xa_WfldjqaV2XiCiLSs7WNXTC5ZVmjq3VHnYwQFMCpKEfFtRESjY11akWo3NQ9xNu0KSQliMvBrCRWVQqLkKku2EzVf/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555854675017525138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09-fg0NwgI0oC9GVJAsEndl_hye2ofA6TItU3SPbNkY5QDw8H7Xa_WfldjqaV2XiCiLSs7WNXTC5ZVmjq3VHnYwQFMCpKEfFtRESjY11akWo3NQ9xNu0KSQliMvBrCRWVQqLkKku2EzVf/s320/1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><strong>L.A. JONES TAKES TWITTER ACCOUNT “OFF-THE-RECORD” WITH NEW IDENTITY<br /></strong><br /><br /><div align="center"><em>Former Twitter Account Known as @BMorePRGuy adopts New Moniker, Moves to Differentiate Web Presenc</em>e<br /></div><br /><div align="left"><br />(DMV – DC, Maryland, Virginia) – With so many voices fighting to be heard through the avalanche of messages that is Twitter, PR operative, L.A. Jones takes a step forward to distinguish his online brand by unveiling a new account name – <a href="http://twitter.com/OffThe_Record">@OffThe_Record</a>.<br /><br />The new identity, which replaces the now retired @BMorePRGuy, will retain the same humor, information sharing, observations, sports talk and <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/snark">snark</a> that nearly 1,500 followers have come to expect and currently enjoy. The name change comes at a pivotal time when an ever increasing number of up and coming PR pros have launched new Twitter accounts with some variation of the acronym “PR” incorporated into their name.<br /><br />“Who really gives a $#@% that I did this besides me? But I’m definitely excited about the switch and potential branding possibilities it may bring,” said <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/theprman">L.A. Jones</a>, PR Operative, Organizational Storyteller and Relationship Builder. “I’ve told people for years, that what I say is totally off-the-record; it’s time that I reflected that sentiment literally.”<br /><br />In selecting <a href="http://twitter.com/OffThe_Record">@OffThe_Record</a>, L.A. Jones is able to cleverly play off the name with the nature of his “Tweets” but also maintain a connection to his chosen profession.<br /><br />Often when public relations professionals or other sources conduct interviews with reporters or journalists, some aspects of their remarks may be requested to remain “off-the-record” meaning not for quotation, publication or attribution. It is also a tactic some PR pros utilize when trying to introduce a new idea or angle to a reporter during an interview.<br /><br />Despite a rising popularity and the ever increasing following this Twitter account has generated, L.A. Jones believes that the name change will not diminish momentum. LA. Jones stands firmly behind by projections that the new name will open up new Twitter markets and find him endeared by new followers.<br /><br />“Besides, my Umi said shine your light on the world,” added Jones.<br /></div><div align="center"><br />###<br /><br /></div><br /><div align="left"><br /><strong>About @OffThe_Record<br /></strong><br /><a href="http://twitter.com/OffThe_Record">@OffThe_Record</a> is the official Twitter account and online presence for public relations operative, Larry Jones. Also known as an organizational storyteller, Larry Jones has more than a decade of comprehensive public relations/communications experience. He has practiced public relations in four major markets (DC, Chicago, Detroit and Baltimore) and has worked within an agency and internal communications team environment. To learn more, visit online: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/theprman">http://www.linkedin.com/in/theprman</a>. </div></div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-4858051598242082202010-11-14T18:43:00.001-08:002010-11-14T19:22:51.809-08:00When Bridges Burn Themselves<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFTlLK2CGLqiiWgNDuJsj5n-RUN8wrLPXPh20BLphMmJXY8ANB7JXYxtDhFnI0DyGoWIytIf2usKvK7fWnzyyIf5Ae7gcW36IY43KaXrHJKW-XgND2GmJWnmXUJJPv12JhPvzH_a7GGRi/s1600/not-welcome.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 191px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFTlLK2CGLqiiWgNDuJsj5n-RUN8wrLPXPh20BLphMmJXY8ANB7JXYxtDhFnI0DyGoWIytIf2usKvK7fWnzyyIf5Ae7gcW36IY43KaXrHJKW-XgND2GmJWnmXUJJPv12JhPvzH_a7GGRi/s320/not-welcome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539601730266679250" border="0" /></a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Much has been said and written about the negative PR hit LeBron James took with his one-hour ESPN special aptly entitled, “<a href="http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5365602">The Decision</a>.” I’m not in the camp of public relations pundits that believe “The Decision” was a PR fiasco or the public demise of his career. To the contrary, I believed it then and to some degree even now to have been a PR coup.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">What if someone told you that you could get your client or organization on a major network for a one-hour special to announce a huge decision involving your brand, and your company or client would be paid millions for participating? Add to that scenario that said major network would throw its entire marketing muscle behind promoting the special, the buzz would dominate weeks of news coverage (more than 3-4 years worth of advertising), and the money your company or client received would be donated to the worthiest of charities making the organization appear to be the best of corporate citizens.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Let’s also say that somehow this dream opportunity generated some populous negative publicity due to the perception about how it was conducted, but in actuality it didn’t cost you any sales. In fact, because of this decision, it gained you a slew of new sales in a new untapped market (i.e. Miami). And also because of this business decision your client or company is now positioned to become one of the foremost brands in your industry as a result of “projected” successes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span><span style=";font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ten times out of ten, you’d sign up for that deal and would probably earn yourself a nice promotion and/or a fat bonus. Well this unbelievable scenario actually did happen when <a href="http://twitter.com/kingjames">King James</a> wielded the power he achieved through basketball stardom to do everything I previously mentioned. Unfortunately, the dominate perception of the events that unfolded was that this blew up in LeBron James’ face and was a public relations nightmare on scale with that of the BP Oil Spill.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Of course much of the “this is the worst thing since O.J. Simpson talk” was driven by the sports illuminati, media outlets, the PR punditry and lastly the <a href="http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home">City of Cleveland</a> led by the carpetbagger owner of the Cavaliers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Gilbert_%28businessman%29">Dan Gilbert</a>. But it’s the City of Cleveland and Cav’s owner Dan Gilbert that really got my attention.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I can understand the disappointment and the emotions both must have felt when LeBron famously announced that he would be “taking his basketball talents to South Beach,” but what happened following the decision is the stuff of legend and probably unprecedented in sports history. Mr. Gilbert, who obviously subscribed to the “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorched_earth">Scorched Earth</a>” doctrine, decided he would eviscerate a former employee in a very public and lowbrow <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/07/gilberts_letter_to_fans_james.html">way</a>.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">I won’t go into the contents of Gilbert’s letter because honestly, I find them to be despicable and beneath an owner of a major sports franchise. But let’s strip away the sports aspect of the situation and what do we have – a top producing employee that was in good standing with management, who decided to pursue a career opportunity with another company and waited until the other company hired him before he told his current employer. This kind of thing happens every day and most employers are sad to see the employee leave, but they understand that this is the nature of business.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">It would’ve been very beneficial to the City of Cleveland if Dan Gilbert was aware of this fact. By taking the route that he did, compounded by the asinine behavior of Clevelanders (including the jersey burnings and the tacky response <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89MtAUkSVLs">video</a>) Cleveland has did its best to ensure that no top tier talent would ever want to come to that team willingly and risk being burned in effigy if they ever parted ways.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">In watching the Cleveland Cavaliers incident play out it reminded me of once upon a time when I worked for an organization that obviously went to the same business school that Dan Gilbert attended. Every time an employee left to advance their career elsewhere or improve upon their quality of life, this employer would diminish that employee’s contribution to the company, belittle their abilities, mark them as persona non grata and threaten current employees from fraternizing with the ex-employee.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">While I was working at this company, I never subscribed to their philosophy regarding ex-employees. Beyond being a disturbingly juvenile practice, I found it to be shortsighted from a business standpoint and bad organizational PR. Ex-employees are fertile ground for new business and if they left in good will, they can become some of the best cheerleaders when it comes to recruitment. Take the opposite approach, which this particular company and the Cavalier leadership did, and risk having top talent shun working for your organization.</span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Being a man and a grown up as well as huge sports fan, I tried to put myself in shoes of Cavalier fans. What if Ray Lewis left the Baltimore Ravens to go play for the Dallas Cowboys (he once contemplated such a thing) – in the words of James, what should I do? The answer was easy. I’d be mad as hell that he left my beloved Ravens for alleged greener pastures, but I’d be thankful for the time our team had him and he made us a contender. I would continue to root for him the individual and respect his game.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >But then again that’s just me. </span><br /></p>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-24443732021099949362010-10-01T09:28:00.000-07:002010-10-01T11:20:17.513-07:00What’s In A Name?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFnr6_ejGHLZNYBqyDqMyp9jU_YSdacw9CwyCOnf3_KafEFhXmjbGt9r0QlUWqAD0RS-yZe0GEtnK33N7Ltq-gH29UBJCEr9oHrSx5Ye79iGmVhVtXFxAAYIcLRpfp-JsLIPjY0K7cPde/s1600/NameTag.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 194px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523117339350316290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFnr6_ejGHLZNYBqyDqMyp9jU_YSdacw9CwyCOnf3_KafEFhXmjbGt9r0QlUWqAD0RS-yZe0GEtnK33N7Ltq-gH29UBJCEr9oHrSx5Ye79iGmVhVtXFxAAYIcLRpfp-JsLIPjY0K7cPde/s320/NameTag.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Never has there been a more misunderstood, misused or mishandled word in the history of the public relations professions as the word “<strong>brand</strong>.” And while many of us in PR primarily recognize this term in its unaltered form, many others are accustomed to hearing/using it in the verb form with the suffix “ing” added, as in “<strong>branding</strong>.”<br /><br />So powerful is this term in PR that it has spawned new business practice units dedicated towards it. It has also given birth to a slew of new cool hip job titles, such as Brandologist, Brand Provocateur, Brand Strategist and the even rarer Brandthesiologist.<br /><br />If you want to score big during a new business pitch meeting and sound like a real PR strategist, just start throwing around the word brand, branding or branding campaign and witness the miracles that ensue. That prospective client will get all starry eyed and their ears will perk up a little more because somebody in the Comm Dept. mentioned they needed it, or they read something about it in a magazine. Either way, it’s supposed to be that thing that puts them on the map and make people take notice of their company and/or product.<br /><br />But just what the hell do PR people mean when they start babbling about developing the brand or engaging in a brand campaign? It depends on who you’re asking.<br /><br />Now if somebody asked me what it meant, I’d tell them simply that their brand is the public perception of their company; it’s how they’re identified in the market as well as what they represent. I’d tell them that their brand also includes their company name and their logo – all components of those things tied to corporate identity. And branding is just the process under taken to establish that identity/presence in the market place.<br /><br />However, in the world of advertising the term brand has come to be known as something else. It typically refers to a company’s specific product or product line. For example, Bounty is a brand owned and operated by the company Proctor & Gamble, and Cadillac is one of the many brands within the General Motors portfolio.<br /><br />The official definition I found indicates that a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand">brand</a> is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. Branding is the entire process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product (good or service). I like what I said better, but then again I’m biased.<br /><br />If these things are perceived to be true and your brand also is connected to the name of your company and/or product, would not that create certain challenges? Yes.<br /><br />Case in point, recently I was reading my former local community newspaper, <em>The Southfield Sun</em>. In its pages, I came across an <a href="http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=1322341B70D7D860&p_docnum=1&s_dlid=DL0110100116482307387&s_ecproduct=SUB-FREE&s_ecprodtype=INSTANT&s_trackval=&s_siteloc=&s_referrer=&s_subterm=Subscription%20until%3A%2012%2F31%2F2015%2011%3A59%20PM&s_docsbal=%20&s_subexpires=12%2F31%2F2015%2011%3A59%20PM&s_docstart=&s_docsleft=&s_docsread=&s_username=cgpfree&s_accountid=AC0106122119130516735&s_upgradeable=no">article</a> about the restaurant and lounge “<strong>Pi</strong>” located at the end of my old block. The article was about the owners’ decision to change the name of the establishment, as well as it dining style and atmosphere.<br /><br />Due to the economy and lack of business they wanted to switch from being an upscale dining experience with live bands to a pub-styled bar serving American cuisine and catering to sports enthusiast. The decision has disaster written all over it.<br /><br />Personally I thought the lounge was doomed from the start and I blamed much of my prediction on the name they selected – Pi. Truthfully, the name is <strong>π</strong> (as in the Greek letter for ‘P’) but we call it by the name we learned in high school math, Pi. I originally thought it was some sort of Asian symbol and it represented the type of food being served – Asian. The previous owners had called the same spot Café Milano. So for would be patrons there was all kind of confusion.<br /><br />The owners spent a lot of time, effort and money to promote Pi and get people acclimated to it as an upscale dining experience. Slowly but surely and after a few years of effort, people began to catch on to Pi. But now the owners have made the radical decision to change the name to “The Pub.” The result will be tons of investment into a brand gone to waste and even more confusion for patrons.<br /><br />Speaking of investment gone to waste and to bring this a little closer to home, many people familiar with my career know that I spent the last year and half leading the branding charge for a new kind of talent retention and attraction initiative called, <a href="http://interninmichigan.com/">Intern In Michigan</a>. During my time with the program I systematically helped build up a large amount of equity into the Intern In Michigan brand, making it a top of mind selection whenever someone thought about an internship and the state of Michigan. However, there was still more work to be done and a lot of that earned capital yet to be spent.<br /><br />Toward the end of my time, I learned that the company responsible for creating the technology behind the program, along with one of the primary funders, wanted dump the name in favor for one that was more generic and allegedly broader in its appeal – <strong>Classroom2Careers</strong>. I thought it was a horrendous idea and a not well thought out plan of action. Much like the owners of Pi, here was another instance where decision makers had not recognized the inextricable relationship between a company brand and its name. The two are not mutually exclusive.<br /><br />To see a great example of branding as well as brand dominance, look no further than <a href="http://www.kleenex.com/About.aspx">Kleenex</a>, one of the many brands offered by the company Kimberly-Clark Worldwide Inc. Kleenex is so dominant in the market that its very name has become synonymous with facial tissue. When people sneeze or have a runny nose the majority will ask you for a Kleenex as opposed to a tissue. That’s branding on a gargantuan scale!<br /><br /><em>“What a heavy burden is a name that has become too famous.” - Voltaire<br /></em><br />Then there are cases like <a href="http://www.xeservices.com/">Blackwater</a> where a tremendous amount of brand equity is destroyed because of an onslaught of negative press and a lack of a cohesive public relations response. Used to be a time when you heard the name Blackwater the first thing that came to mind was kick-ass, elite soldiers for hire. Now Blackwater stands for overpaid, rogue mercenaries that kill civilians and try to cover it up. Big difference.<br /><br />So toxic had the company name and brand become that its leadership decided to cut their losses and send both to that company identity afterlife. Following the eighty-sixing of the name/brand that had brought them fame and fortune, the company leadership decided to take a page from his Purple Majesty, Prince (and the owners of Pi) and rebranded themselves as some unpronounceable symbol - Xe Services, LLC. Eventually, history will be the judge as to the success of their branding gamble.<br /><br />It was the laureate Shakespeare who served as the inspiration for the title of this post, having famously wrote, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”<br /><br />I don’t think Mr. Shakespeare took into consideration the money that the maker of that rose sunk into design concepts, focus groups, marketing and packaging. Dumping the name might not sound like such a sweet idea. But then again…I’m no Brandologist.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN011nhrZltWoyiC3YZwxJ97hhol97UPctjZWZy8C2TL8kTRz7J9JbrWRfn8KzsrptXnqKKuU5SDL3HWBZPWuqm_0Zkn6LOdz2CCy63Eu0omJNVRMRDbg7QTT0ZEB-8AnUk0m3IyXqPndO/s1600/Brand.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 224px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523119226184689554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN011nhrZltWoyiC3YZwxJ97hhol97UPctjZWZy8C2TL8kTRz7J9JbrWRfn8KzsrptXnqKKuU5SDL3HWBZPWuqm_0Zkn6LOdz2CCy63Eu0omJNVRMRDbg7QTT0ZEB-8AnUk0m3IyXqPndO/s320/Brand.jpg" /></a>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-78996181633615628802010-09-07T12:35:00.000-07:002010-09-07T20:36:57.077-07:00The Invisible Hand<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_t9BBFXpuWlkIs1uptttTshI1eNy7iCm8Pi4T2kbldlTg8FWjtRkrKGT0vsBwFLLfx9h8tOmvrCVMweNeH7knjFwglWcJzm3YPTiiDWD2MdvrGjYiawEWnABP1p-13qZ2hTpnF8TnIRF/s1600/no_ghost.gif"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_t9BBFXpuWlkIs1uptttTshI1eNy7iCm8Pi4T2kbldlTg8FWjtRkrKGT0vsBwFLLfx9h8tOmvrCVMweNeH7knjFwglWcJzm3YPTiiDWD2MdvrGjYiawEWnABP1p-13qZ2hTpnF8TnIRF/s320/no_ghost.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514259083802098802" border="0" /></a>
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charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cljones%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5C4%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:#606420; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Though I wasn’t selected to be one of the “Four Horsemen of PR” (</span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/Steveology"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Steve Farnsworth</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">, </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/TDefren"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Todd Defren</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">, </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/LouHoffman"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Lou Hoffman</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"> and </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/PaulRobertspar"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">Paul Roberts</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">), I still wanted to participate in their new blog </span></span><a href="http://stevefarnsworth.wordpress.com/2010/09/03/444-four-communications-issues-four-perspectives-four-weeks/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">project</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';">. Over the next four weeks each will be given a common topic to blog about, and following each topic their individual perspectives will be shared and discussed via social media.</span></span></span><div><span style=" Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; ">
<br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style=" Times New Roman";font-family:";font-size:12pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; ">Steve extended an invitation for me to join in covering one or all of the topics and I accepted the challenge. I find this to be a great social media exercise and an excellent educational resource for up and coming PR pros. I only hope that my insights and opinions add to the dialogue and holds up with the offerings from this collective of PR heavyweights. The group’s first topic: Is Ghost Blogging Ethical?</span>
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For the non PR pros and writers peeking in on this project, “Ghost Blogging” refers to the act of an anonymous wordsmith penning blog posts under the guise of being someone else (e.g. the CEO of a Fortune 500 company). Just imagine if all of the great and sometimes controversial blog posts from the Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner, <a href="http://blogmaverick.com/">Mark Cuban</a>, were not his own words.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It also can refer to a non-organizational entity anonymously writing blog posts on behalf of that organization as though coming from one of its actual employees. Ghost blogging is not an uncommon phenomenon and because it involves communication skills and writing, often times you’ll find a PR pro playing the ventriloquist to other people’s words.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As a person who has owned up to engaging in this practice in a previous <a href="http://theprsituation.blogspot.com/2010/04/introduction.html">blog entry</a>, one would assume that my position on this is pretty cut and dry. However, my actual take is a tad more nuanced. And at the crux of that nuance is this concept of “<span style="font-weight: bold;">ethical</span>.”
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">According to the definition provided, the term ethical simply means that something (in this case a practice) conforms to accepted standards of social or professional behavior. If this is the definition of ethical and I’ve already indicated that ghost blogging is pretty common, that would support it being a widely accepted professional behavior – thus proving it to be ethical. Besides, if the moral majority of our profession thought otherwise, there would be more of an uproar, as well as a stigma attached to the practice, say as in “<a href="http://www.reclaimthemedia.org/advertising/pay_for_play_marketing_journal%3D6112">Pay for play</a>.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">But again, I’m still zeroing in on the nuances. The act itself of Ghost Blogging may be accepted as ethical, but its implementation may not be. Blogs, particularly CEO Blogs, provide audiences with another window into the thought processes of leaders. It provides the reader with a more intimate connection to the author because these are allegedly his/her exact words unfiltered or hampered by legal and PR. Additionally, these first-person blogs also provide content unavailable in press releases or organizational publications.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Going back to the Mark Cuban example… if we learned that a team communications staffer or a personal publicist was behind his blog entries, it would make the whole thing seem disingenuous and somewhat deceptive. People that become fans or devotees to a particular blog, do so to receive, among other things, the truth. There is no truth in deception, especially when you by into a narrative. When one commits to a first-person blog what you’re saying in essence is that you believe the insights, the humor, the venom, the admissions and the honesty, as provided only in this type of forum.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Because I’m in the field of public relations, a bit of a cynic and I decided long ago to the take the blue pill to unhitch myself from the matrix, I look at organizational blogs in a completely different manner. I don’t become attached to these blogs or necessarily believe that the entries are penned by leadership. So to reach into a comparison that hits a little closer to home for me, I offer the world of hip hop.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">When you think of ghost writing in general it can give one pause, but when it comes to hip hop music, where the perception of authenticity is king, it can be met with a negative backlash. I remember when I first discovered that not all rappers wrote their own rhymes, that sometimes other lesser known or more prolific artists were the authors (thanks <span style="font-weight: bold;">S. Carter</span> for shedding light on that).</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Back then it was a very taboo thing for rappers to employee someone else to provide the words they said. It meant not only that you didn’t have the skills to say rhymes but also that the rhymes you said rang hollow because someone else put them in your mouth. In essence…you’re wack. And CEOs that don’t write their own blog entries, maybe they should be considered wack too (but we’ll leave that up to the blog readers to decide).</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">In conclusion, the question may be asked, given all that has been said, should Ghost Blogging continue as a practice? To this question, my answer is YES! Ghost Blogging provides another useful function for PR professionals and will more than likely provide somebody with a job. But maybe…just maybe, there’s a better way to handle the blogs done for organizational/company leaders. As opposed to indicating “written by…,” maybe we can indicate “as written in collaboration with…”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cljones%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5C4%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cljones%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5C4%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">That’s just my five cents on the topic (you can keep the change).</p> </div>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-24381627531394547402010-08-13T11:05:00.000-07:002010-08-13T11:13:31.105-07:00Excuse Me While I Put On My Public Face<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oCL92lw9bi1b2aQsUOvgZP4jWbAnR8VRXtyrx29H87aIxur6rdLzS8oYLuK2WWeD6a-010Z4NFAeVoepaHbGiOAa0XlITva4pldGMPKlAKBg3QYIU9PU6bXprMFF0X0_lmhZyZJ_2Mki/s1600/march_10_spokesperson_press.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 334px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-oCL92lw9bi1b2aQsUOvgZP4jWbAnR8VRXtyrx29H87aIxur6rdLzS8oYLuK2WWeD6a-010Z4NFAeVoepaHbGiOAa0XlITva4pldGMPKlAKBg3QYIU9PU6bXprMFF0X0_lmhZyZJ_2Mki/s400/march_10_spokesperson_press.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504959194797052114" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“It takes a thousand voices to tell a single story”</span> – <span style="font-weight:bold;">Native American Proverb</span><br /><br />Recently, I <a href="http://twitter.com/BMorePRGuy/status/20733069176">asked</a> my Twitter followers if it was a smart PR strategy to limit an organization to only one voice/face, or to allow for many voices. The way I see it, organizations have a choice and whichever approach that is adapted, there will be pluses and minuses.<br /><br />To use a hip hop analogy, a company can be like Nas (All I need is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCOURZ-yx4E">one mic</a>) or it can take the Wu-tang Clan, 36 Chambers approach (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8er0t8E0vU">everybody has a mic</a> and something to say). Typically, this would be where I would walk through the dynamics of both approaches and discuss the good and bad of each. But at this point in my career, I’ve come to embrace one method more than the other, so that will be the one I highlight. <br /><br />Organizations today go through painstaking efforts to control the perception of their brand. They also go through a whole lot of effort to ensure that their brand takes up residence in that public relations nirvana known as <span style="font-weight:bold;">Mindspace</span>.<br /><br />For those that forgot about this one-time PR buzz word du jour, in the simplest of explanations mindspace refers to how much an idea captures the audience. Some communicators believe that repetition of message or repetition of a specific delivery of message eventually takes hold and becomes entrenched in the receiver’s subconscious (also referred to as mindspace).<br /><br />And what the hell does this have to do with employing one organizational spokesperson versus many? Well if an organization selected one person to be its public face and this person could deliver key messages strongly and was perceived as believable by external audiences, then this tactic could go a long way toward securing valuable mindspace. The use of a single voice also would allow an organization to have better control of its message and brand image. Typically, the person given this responsibility would be a company’s CEO, the VP of Communications, chairman of the board, or in some rare instances the head of legal.<br /><br />However, that is not the strategy I endorse (didn’t see that one coming, did you?). Much like the old Indian proverb I shared at the beginning of this post, I believe it takes multiple voices within an organization to tell its story. One person can’t be expected to know everything there is to know about an organization’s operation; especially to any large degree of detail.<br /><br />Back in my agency life, one of the account teams I led represented a very successful local <a href="http://www.stjoesoakland.org/default.cfm">hospital</a> in S.E. Michigan. While this particular hospital wasn’t as large or had as many beds as some of its competitors in the region, my team was able to keep them positively covered by the media and top of mind as a healthcare provider of choice. And how were we able to accomplish this? One way we achieved success was by remaining ever aggressive in positioning this hospital with the media, but the other good thing that we did was to promote any army of voices.<br /><br />In order to successfully implement this tactic, you have to identify individuals within an organization that are experts within a certain subject matter. For example with this hospital, when we wanted to discuss the business of healthcare, the introduction of new products/services or healthcare leadership in general, we tapped the CEO. If we wanted to talk about healthcare insights, operating procedures or certain types of prevention we tapped a physician. When it came to other key areas of healthcare, we positioned a variety of other staffers.<br /><br />The key in making this really work was in first identifying media friendly staffers, who would also be good ambassadors of the brand. Second, we made sure they all experienced some degree of media training. In the end we got to increase the probability of securing news coverage and increasingly became a go to resource for the media covering healthcare. <br /><br />This particular organization could’ve easily said no, we don’t want our unit managers or physicians speaking to the media, we don’t trust what they might say. But they believed in the process and trusted our counsel. In the end they were rewarded with a sizeable amount of media coverage and industry recognition in a very competitive market.<br /><br />So that’s why I’m rolling with the Wu-tang Clan approach. But I’d be interested in getting your take…The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-13591875350719649912010-08-01T15:56:00.001-07:002010-08-01T16:41:14.326-07:00Say Hi…to the Bad Guy!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZPzVQIzBPAAezmD7jcY2Q1Cqy080mC-mGJBH9sCRnE1n4Rj2dsE5yy80HFIWOgZHfXgAk1OeJYeIOUNJHOwgjUpq_0lZ-ViTnN4GuxE4XXVWyOK0qaqGIwLAPIwHIhCV712Jy7hza50V/s1600/LOD.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZPzVQIzBPAAezmD7jcY2Q1Cqy080mC-mGJBH9sCRnE1n4Rj2dsE5yy80HFIWOgZHfXgAk1OeJYeIOUNJHOwgjUpq_0lZ-ViTnN4GuxE4XXVWyOK0qaqGIwLAPIwHIhCV712Jy7hza50V/s400/LOD.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500581645723524738" /></a><br /><br />Rarely do I allow my creative process to be directly influenced by others, but I must admit that this particular post was inspired by DC area PR pro, <a href="http://twitter.com/mikeschaffer">Mike Schaffer</a>. His blog post, “<a href="http://thebuzzbymikeschaffer.com/2010/07/19/justice-league-of-communications/">Justice League of Communications</a>” got me to thinking about the other side of the coin. <br /><br />If there’s one thing I know about heroes, it’s that every good hero needs theme music. Quiet as kept, my theme song is the 1982 b-boy classic, “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8ag8K4paIw">Hip Hop, Be Bop (Don’t Stop)</a>” by the group Man Parrish. But in addition to a theme song, every good hero needs a foil; a villain who opposes them and uses his/her villainous powers to prohibit the hero from winning the day.<br /><br />Being a person who loves his profession, I like to think of the PR guy as the good guy, the hero if you would. For the purposes of this post we shall call him – <a href="http://twitpic.com/y802u"><span style="font-weight:bold;">PR Man</span></a>! PR Man uses his special powers to make an organization’s products and services appear bigger than life. He also positively influences public perceptions, or wards off the negative affects of bad publicity and the uncommon crisis situation. But in order to utilize his powers and “win the day,” the PR Man must neutralize and/or defeat the anti public relations version of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legion_of_Doom_(Super_Friends)">Legion of Doom</a>.<br /><br />Allow me to introduce you to the would-be villains:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXAToPKfgr2AUiT9KkYXImUSuHFH8wlwZqzcMvjvoBu2cOlMGa0R_5V0ZSSfONdhrViW6Zn-0Nul6oCVpgj_abSZToOrPTQYFpBz_hVLh77VLEnsg2fOIQuQFifwH6HSmDmAU8Mj1RGUR/s1600/LOD2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXAToPKfgr2AUiT9KkYXImUSuHFH8wlwZqzcMvjvoBu2cOlMGa0R_5V0ZSSfONdhrViW6Zn-0Nul6oCVpgj_abSZToOrPTQYFpBz_hVLh77VLEnsg2fOIQuQFifwH6HSmDmAU8Mj1RGUR/s320/LOD2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500580964714907186" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Board Man</span><br /><br />This organizational interloper sits on the board and has a tendency to cast his narrowed “in the box” thoughts onto PR Man and his accomplices. Board Man thinks our hero is never doing enough to keep the organization in the media. And when PR Man uses his special powers to come up with a creative idea, Board Man uses his influence to neutralize the idea. This villain is famous for uttering the phrase, “This is how we’ve always done things.” Just the mere verbalization of this phrase sends an organization’s leadership cowering into submission.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Executor</span> (a.k.a. Bossman)<br /><br />The brains of the PR Legion of Doom, Executor can grant or take away the life blood of the PR Man and he wields his mighty power openly. This villain may have no concept of public relations, but believes he’s good at it. He shuns media prepping and disintegrates carefully prepared talking points. His ultimate goal is to go on Oprah and dominate the world {insert evil laugh here}. Executor’s weakness is to go off script as well as making gaffes during interviews. He often and unwillingly cedes all of his power to his fellow villain, <span style="font-style:italic;">Media Outlet – the Multiple</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Media Outlet</span> – the Multiple<br /><br />This particular villain serves as the primary nemesis to PR Man. Media Outlet can be friend or foe and often plays either role without warning or provocation. Everyday our hero spars and jousts with this bad guy, each hoping to make the other submit to his will. As the exalted fourth estate, Media Outlet is extremely powerful in that it can build an organization up into prominence or tear it down, reducing it to rubble. In dealing with Media Outlet the multiple, our hero must use every effective tactic at his disposal to win the day. It also should be noted that PR Man and Media Outlet’s relationship is a symbiotic one. Each can not exist without the other in our ecosystem. But alas, Media Outlet has one glaring weakness – he secretly wants to become PR Man (mostly as a result of the higher pay and the apparent job stability). <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Flack Hack</span><br /><br />Much like the decrepit creature Gollum from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, this villain was once like PR Man until he succumbed to chasing the power of public relations and it destroyed him from within. Flack Hack is powerful in that he represents everything that is wrong with the PR profession. Whether it be the non-strategic media relations approach of e-blasting a media pitch to multiple outlets regardless of beat or dispensing of lame and jargon filled press releases about such non-newsworthy things as new websites or the participation in upcoming conferences. Flack Hack is a parasite drawing his only power off of other villains such as <span style="font-style:italic;">Executor</span> or <span style="font-style:italic;">Board Man</span>. This Bizzaro version of PR Man also unwittingly empowers fellow bad guy, <span style="font-style:italic;">Media Outlet</span>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Edit-tron</span> – the Destroyer<br /><br />This amorphous villain can transform into PR Man’s immediate supervisor or Executor himself. Edit-tron’s power lies within his mighty “red pen” from the planet Journalism (or possibly the much larger planet Egos). Edit-tron’s red pen is like kryptonite for PR Man. When our hero submits a press release, marketing copy, a speech or an employee newsletter article, Edit-tron posses the ability to completely destroy PR Man’s written work leaving it unrecognizable. In many cases this villain displays his power simply to amuse himself or to toy with our hero. Edit-tron’s weakness is hubris. Sometimes he edits something so much that it reverts back to the original copy. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Legal Eagle</span><br /><br />This bad guy can be found entrenched within the internal structure of a particular organization and he wants to slap a muzzle on our hero thus prohibiting him from talking to anyone. Legal Eagle “the possessor of the unholy law degree” wields the power to stop PR Man from saying anything of substance that would benefit an organization in a PR situation. His powers also extend to any written communications. He can transform words with meaning into undecipherable legalese. Legal Eagle draws power from his cape of “non-disclosure.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Clientus</span> – the Unmerciful<br /><br />If ever there was a super villain to fear, it would definitely have to be Clientus! Not only is he a great supplier of PR Man’s strength (he pays the invoices), but he often provides our hero with purpose. However, Clientus possess a dark side. While he often doesn’t know what public relations is, he knows that it can be a powerful tool in market domination. This bad guy wants the spoils of effective PR, but will unknowingly and in some cases knowingly create barriers for PR Man. Clientus is unmerciful in his critique of PR Man’s short comings and will offer no support. Clientus views PR Man as a vendor, not a partner, and often confuses his abilities with that of Advertising Man. This bad guy cannot be stopped. You can only hope to contain him.<br /><br /><br />So the question now is how many of these bad guys have you encountered? And what did you do to defeat them?<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fsboW1boxkk&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fsboW1boxkk&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-38130129089082664972010-07-20T08:46:00.000-07:002010-07-20T13:49:11.881-07:00When Somebody Throws A Stone…Just Add CementBeing the bully of the fourth estate and the self proclaimed satirical watch dog whose sole mission seems to be keeping the media honest, it’s almost a given that they’re going to come gunning for you when the opportunity presents itself. At the very minimum, certain media outlets might pile on when a negative story surfaces. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zGdx_jOjinirnNrCWYzDEBD1GAb4yXLvP3Wh5ai2g8bp4BDKXGs5p8W6hw1um3FRAqlOI9jzbPLumeq7YKnSyvdDhrzbSotrvb_ogCWB5nuBQXf6nr5bVe5w31dfpHfYtQYA7_EUA9P7/s1600/stewart_close.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 171px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1zGdx_jOjinirnNrCWYzDEBD1GAb4yXLvP3Wh5ai2g8bp4BDKXGs5p8W6hw1um3FRAqlOI9jzbPLumeq7YKnSyvdDhrzbSotrvb_ogCWB5nuBQXf6nr5bVe5w31dfpHfYtQYA7_EUA9P7/s200/stewart_close.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496024899203807538" /></a>So it was no surprise that when a negative story about alleged sexist behavior at “<a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/">The Daily Show</a>” broke, media outlets across the spectrum seem to take glee in reporting the story about Jon Stewart and his alleged “all boys club.” Yup, he got the “business” from some of the very media outlets he comically skewered on a daily basis. <br /><br />Before I get into some of the details of the Daily Show’s negative publicity or how the show responded, I want to touch on this thing called <span style="font-weight:bold;">Reputation</span> and/or <span style="font-weight:bold;">Brand Management</span>. Outside of being a buzz word for PR pros looking to carve out a niche for themselves or a jargony phrase to impress prospective clients, Reputation Management is actually a very useful proactive and defensive public relations practice. According to most formal definitions, it is described as a specialty that focuses on managing brand, product, or personal perceptions through an active, near real-time program of conscious engagement.<br /><br />While many PR pros like to confine Reputation Management to the online world, I also like to extend it to the offline one. If someone says something damaging about you or your organization on air or someone repeats a false rumor during a broadcast, sometimes it’s best to address it head-on before fiction becomes fact or perception becomes reality. <br /><br />A good example of proactive Reputation Management would be Newark, NJ <a href="http://twitter.com/CoryBooker">Mayor Cory Booker</a> taking on multiple late night talk show hosts by challenging their assertion that his city was a crime ridden cesspool. Booker did it in such a personable and intelligent way that the jokes subsided and people slowly began to buy into his narrative that Newark might just be a good place to live. Not addressing the chatter would have allowed Newark to be defined by others.<br /><br />This brings me back to the Daily Show. For reasons unknown a very popular <a href="http://twitter.com/Jezebel">pro-woman blog</a> (some would call it a feminist site) decided to do an <a href="http://jezebel.com/5570545/comedy-of-errors-behind-the-scenes-of-the--daily-shows-lady-problem">exposé</a> on The Daily Show’s hiring practices and treatment when it came to women. According to the blog, “The Daily Show's environment was such that many women felt marginalized.” <br /><br />The blog post would go on to accuse Stewart himself of being dismissive of women colleagues. However thoughtful it was intended to be, the one thing missing from this dissection of the Daily Show was comment from the Daily Show. So I ask the question, “If a tree falls on the internet, will anybody hear it?” Yes!<br /><br />Due to the blog’s popularity and its motivated following, the story took off and began to spread. You can read some of the coverage <a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/204404/does-the-daily-show-have-a-problem-with-women">here</a>, <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2004112,00.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2010/07/07/hiring-inequality-through-the-daily-show/">here</a>. Whether or not the coverage of the story was fair, I’ll leave that up to the readers and viewers [editor's note: I’m a die-hard fan of the Daily Show, who secretly desires to write for the show]. Should the story have been covered in the first place – yes, because it’s newsworthy. But as a PR professional I became more interested in the show’s response to this form of crisis situation and how it faired in managing the reputation of the brand. Here’s the tale of the tape:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6/23/10</span> – Negative blog post is published<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6/24/10</span> – Stories about negative blog post begin to break<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6/29/10</span> – Stewart references the blog post on his show<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7/6/10</span> – The Daily Show comes out with guns blazing in response<br /><br /><br />In the hood, there’s a saying that the response is never fast enough to “shots fired!” While I commend the Daily Show for addressing the accusation, I have to give them low marks on response time. While two weeks may not seem like an eternity, it was more than enough time for this story to take root and blossom to the point that it warranted some sort of formal response. And respond is exactly what the Daily Show did!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24Le7Xo_rhYATfQGiMsggvbS2CcV2EZ-zJaLhwP52gg9kaDcsuw8BMNuJ3bX-ILKqG07XT3I6d66bPUQuB_6QpF6SOhRPIdjsj5_n3bJharwReZ8__ZjdNzPJ9GkkhY-IDk4KNIoeTBmI/s1600/DailyShow.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 181px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24Le7Xo_rhYATfQGiMsggvbS2CcV2EZ-zJaLhwP52gg9kaDcsuw8BMNuJ3bX-ILKqG07XT3I6d66bPUQuB_6QpF6SOhRPIdjsj5_n3bJharwReZ8__ZjdNzPJ9GkkhY-IDk4KNIoeTBmI/s320/DailyShow.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496020746576191058" /></a>To dispel the rumors of sexism and the environment being an all boys club, the show gathered all of its female staffers, who account for 40 percent of all employees and had them provide a rebuttal to the story. You can read the full official response on the show’s website <a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/message">here</a>. The response, which included a group photo of all the female staffers together smiling, was well thought out, biting, funny and painted a picture in complete contradiction to what the negative blog post alleged. <br /><br />I thought it was genius! I’ve always believed the best way to dispel an untruth is by tearing it down at its very foundation. And this response did exactly that. It goes into great detail to provide the names, positions and years of service for all of the current female staff. It also lists a multitude of personal and professional areas the show has supported these women through. And best of all, this message was delivered by the very women who were allegedly being marginalized. <br /><br />In the end, I give the Daily Show very high marks in the overall handling of this situation, despite the noticeable lag time before their official response. If companies want to have a say in how others perceive them, they’re going to have to not only monitor what’s being said about them but also engage those who are doing the talking. Mayor Booker and the Daily Show provide some examples of how to do this. However, I must admit I’m more partial to the Daily Show’s response. What’s not to love about an official company response that ends, Go f@#k yourself!" <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2_JZOUYtD9a6-8Wf3tdD_As87k3hryD5EhAkYEWwWza-HOht7OBFtA3jIpsxG-_-6IpsBcxsAM4ND8_DzgybKRQJtb13afEoe5OWJkvK8sJLpy8CAJbVdtaVb7WrDRLO_0ASzoIcNPPj/s1600/Rocks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2_JZOUYtD9a6-8Wf3tdD_As87k3hryD5EhAkYEWwWza-HOht7OBFtA3jIpsxG-_-6IpsBcxsAM4ND8_DzgybKRQJtb13afEoe5OWJkvK8sJLpy8CAJbVdtaVb7WrDRLO_0ASzoIcNPPj/s320/Rocks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496024079997630370" /></a>The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-75784598451099286692010-07-11T20:03:00.000-07:002010-09-05T10:23:32.257-07:00Gone Fishing: The Dark Side of RFPs & Job Interviews<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY0BmDQHRhisVx7imhyLuA3MnV9RSCISJF3xnhfSnD1ULMWmes_Awc4w3oHbpLz0HQ7dCk1suNZdL2Uj3IX40S-MPSoYbUUPsedxS5fy2JOoCWOx7BToliTesE6mbp-0J8ZB4Th6k0tJV/s1600/Fishing-Ideas-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYY0BmDQHRhisVx7imhyLuA3MnV9RSCISJF3xnhfSnD1ULMWmes_Awc4w3oHbpLz0HQ7dCk1suNZdL2Uj3IX40S-MPSoYbUUPsedxS5fy2JOoCWOx7BToliTesE6mbp-0J8ZB4Th6k0tJV/s320/Fishing-Ideas-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492853961249895170" /></a><br /><br />Let me start by saying that competition is healthy. Dare I say it in my <a href="http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0012282/">Gordon Geckko</a> voice…competition is good. I believe that if you truly want something in life, you should have to work to get it and at some level compete to get it. In your personal and professional life, competition should be expected. But competition should never be bastardized to the point that people are unfairly used or pimped.<br /><br />If you work at or have worked at a PR agency, the chances are great that you’ve participated in responding to an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request_for_proposal">RFP</a> or at least experienced your firm’s involvement in the RFP process in some capacity. For those unfamiliar, a RFP or “Request For Proposal” is the process an organization goes through when it wants to competitively bid out the contract for a work assignment or project. The RFP includes the specs for the project in addition to other pertinent details. It also includes a step-by-step outline for how those interested in “winning” the contract should go about doing so. Most RFPs included a formal opportunity for those who have made the cut to pitch their services first hand. And within those pitches sometimes would-be contract awardees are required to demonstrate in great detail how they would complete the project they are bidding on.<br /><br />In regards to responding to an RFP on something say a little more nebulous, like providing PR/Communications services, bidders may be asked to provide their creative ideas up front. From the vantage point of the company putting out the RFP this seems perfectly reasonable as they don’t want to just “hear” that an agency is creative or has great ideas, they want you to demonstrate it.<br /><br />But if you’re the agency in that bidding process, putting down your creative ideas in print and providing a blue print for the implementation of those creative ideas without the guarantee of being awarded the contract, is dicey and often amounts to freely giving away <a href="http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/">intellectual property</a>. It’s just something very unsettling about it. But I’m sure some would say hey, this is part of the game and you’ve got to play, to win. Yes that is a true assessment, but it should happen at whose expense?<br /><br />I think agencies should be able to demonstrate their PR prowess by providing actual case studies of previous work done on other projects similar in scope. I also believe that agencies should be able to rely more on actual testimonials from previous clients. Referrals and work samples speak volumes about one’s capabilities, along with the ability to intelligently talk through how the work was created. What I don’t think PR agencies should have to do is give away the only real products they create – their ideas.<br /><br />Check out PRNewser's <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/prnewser_poll/poll_what_should_you_do_when_potential_clients_ask_for_a_plan_in_advance_of_hiring_150174.asp">survey</a> to see what other PR Pro's think about the topic.<br /><br />The reason I’m so anti giving up PR intellectual property without compensation is because I’ve come to learn about the dark side of the RFP process. Not all RFPs are intended to be awarded. Some RFPs are meant as a tactic to produce/collect ideas…for free. Or even worse, the RFP process generates some great ideas that are then collected and given to a low bidding agency to implement. So the organization doing the awarding gets the great concept or campaign and gets to have it potentially done at a fraction of the cost.<br /><br />Twice during my tenure with a PR agency I’ve seen what I like to refer to as “idea poaching” up close and personal. During the very first new business pitch I participated in, I saw this happen to our agency after we weren’t awarded the contract (side note: I was horrible during this pitch. I’d never done one before and wasn’t prepared to do any of the talking at that point in my career. However, I was very instrumental in putting together the presentation and contributing ideas). For the next couple of years following our failure to land that contract, I had to witness a less expensive agency carrying out many of the ideas we proposed and outlined during the RFP process. It was very disheartening to experience this practice in business.<br /><br />But companies that put out RFPs don’t own the patent on idea poaching. Since I’ve been in the job market, I’ve come to painfully learn that this also happens during the job interview process. Twice during my current career search I’ve had prospective employers ask me to create a “detailed” communication plan. I really don’t have any sort of issue with demonstrating my knowledge, abilities or understanding of a particular industry, but the creation of a communications plan is not a simple task, say like taking a writing test or editing an article in a timed environment. <br /><br />Drafting a legitimate communications plan requires the understanding of an organization and its industry; a working knowledge of its fiscal year objectives and bench marks; an audit of the previous communications plan and/or organizational communications capabilities; available budget; and a working knowledge of staff, stakeholders and influencers. Without knowing these things, you are flying blind as a PR pro. And most of these things you’d only know if you were a part of the organization already.<br /><br />So when someone asks me to draft a comprehensive communications plan, like say it was the equivalent to drafting a press release (which I can do in my sleep by the way), I immediately come to the conclusion that either they don’t understand what it is that PR people do or worse they don’t respect it. If a hospital were looking to hire a surgeon, they wouldn’t ask the physician to execute a surgery in front of them to evaluate. No, they would go off of referrals from previous employers and a comprehensive evaluation of that candidates previous body of work.<br /><br />But back to these two request for me to create a comprehensive communications plan as part of the hiring process. Both of the organizations were non-profits. One gave me a week and a half to create the plan and the other a mere three days. In both cases I had already made it through two rounds of interviews where I was grilled on my PR knowledge and my basic understanding of their respective industries. I passed all instances with flying colors. But that wasn’t enough on which to base their hiring decisions; they needed to have a communications plan in hand to review.<br /><br />I wouldn’t have had a problem with showing them a previously created communications plan or doing a small sample one for their organizations or even a communications plan outline. But they wanted more and with a lot more detail, which immediately sent my internal alarms sounding. One of the organizations sent me the annual report for 2009 and asked me devise a plan for the entire FY 2010. The other directed me to their website and asked me to create a plan for the upcoming year. And in neither instance would there be an exchange of money for all of the time I would have to put into this endeavor. <br /><br />Both wanted everything included in the plan, such as: creative ideas, time-line for implementation, designated spokes people, actual press releases or concepts for press releases, media lists (along with contacts and contact info) and measurables. I thought they were asking a whole lot for free. And what if they really liked the ideas and the plan but felt more comfortable with another candidate? Where would that leave me? And then it hit me…holding the bag and still in the market for a career home.<br /><br />In the end, I declined to participate in the more complex of the two and for the other I did a scaled down version of the plan minus the contact info for the media list. If they had everything, what did they need me for? Momma didn’t raise a dummy. I likened it to a john trying to convince a prostitute to let him sample the product up front and if it was good or he liked it, he’d then pay for future services rendered. <br /><br />When I apply for a position with an organization and ask them to invest in me by providing me with a salary, benefits and opportunity, the only things I have to offer in exchange are my experience, creativity, work ethic and dependability. I place a value on these things and giving away my creativity on the front end leaves me with less in which to barter. <br /><br />Maybe I’m just naïve or too optimistic to think that life can be fair or that we can be judged based on our body of work.The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-12049879005496267822010-06-01T13:40:00.000-07:002010-06-01T15:52:47.131-07:00PR By Numbers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4_hYOf-tIWu8oL3CJTfW_dkYseV0fbOW7SBDUuW2DAtHd0QCuKvuX3lecWe-QLdj-zurpmCF65ES78NHOISHFP-_Ap6bJGeSU16Oz62rvWRgePj9e1Vu5XWJtzWmZy1vYDZGWpTUnN91/s1600/farm-color-by-number-horse.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk4_hYOf-tIWu8oL3CJTfW_dkYseV0fbOW7SBDUuW2DAtHd0QCuKvuX3lecWe-QLdj-zurpmCF65ES78NHOISHFP-_Ap6bJGeSU16Oz62rvWRgePj9e1Vu5XWJtzWmZy1vYDZGWpTUnN91/s320/farm-color-by-number-horse.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477908365691713538" /></a><br /><br />Public relations is not rocket science. But, by the same token, it’s also not as easy as delivering intra-office mail. The craft of public relations takes talent, knowledge, great instincts and a nose for communicating. So pardon me if I get extremely irritated every time someone belittles my chosen profession or reduces it to a job that anybody with a high school diploma and a copy of “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Public-Relations-Dummies-Eric-Yaverbaum/dp/0471772720">PR for Dummies</a>” could accomplish. <br /><br />I don’t know about other PR professionals but I take offense with some people who claim to be practitioners (hello Mr. Party Promoter) as well as with those who jump into the PR game on a whim following a career in the media. Now don’t get me wrong, not all media professionals make for bad PR pros. Some of the professionals who crossed over from the media side have turned out to be pretty good in public relations. I’ve actually had the pleasure to meet and work with some of the converts that have made a name for themselves as skilled and knowledgeable practitioners. <br /><br />But admittedly, it can be a little disconcerting when a person in the media thinks they can do what I do because they get calls and press releases from PR people all day or they think they can pick up the intricacies of PR from a day of job shadowing at an agency (I’ve actually seen this happen twice). In all fairness, I could never do the reverse and go apply for a job as a beat writer with a major daily or as an on air reporter without the experience, training or education (despite the fact that I talk to and deal with reporters everyday). <br /><br />With that said, imagine the horror I experienced when I saw a <a href="http://www.pr.com/press-release/224878">press release</a> from a former journalist that started her own PR agency (surprise), announcing the launch of a new and cutting edge service – <span style="font-weight:bold;">Do It Yourself Public Relations</span>. Now it wasn’t bad enough that this “PR pro” hopped over to the profession after 15 years as a reporter and editor because, as she put it, she’s “seen her share of press releases – both the good and the bad,” but now she’s trying to convince every John Q. Public with a business that they can do it too. It’s just that easy!<br /><br />Now this is not the first time we’ve heard of this concept, despite the aforementioned press release positioning it as a new idea. This radical proposal of do it yourself public relations (patterned after the “For Sale by Owner” concept of the real estate industry) was more notably championed by a company called – <a href="http://www.prstore.com/2/107/"><span style="font-weight:bold;">The PR Store</span></a>. Under the premise that businesses could do their own PR on a modest budget, The PR Store opened a bunch of locations/franchises around the country (ala fast food chains) that would offer “small business owners an accessible, affordable and effective marketing resource that kept them in control of their marketing without having to do all of the legwork.” They honestly wrote that in their promotional materials for the company.<br /><br />In actuality, what The “PR” Store boiled public relations down to, was a packet of marketing/press kit materials that you could place an order to have produced by walking up to a counter. In full disclosure, I once applied for a job at their corporate HQ in Charlotte as a Public Relations Manager. I know there’s some irony in that, but I applied for two reasons: one to see if I could possibly affect change from the inside and somehow legitimize their business model and two, to see if I actually could “sell something” I theoretically didn’t believe in. Could I tell the story of an organization that I thought was hurting the profession I love? I never got to answer that question, because I never received an interview.<br /><br />But back to this concept of do it yourself public relations – I think it’s a mistake (unless you were previously in PR or you have a son who’s a PR pro…hi <a href="http://twitter.com/09body">mom</a>). There’s a reason PR people get paid for what they do…it’s because they have the experience and the know how to get results. As a business owner, you wouldn’t attempt to handle your own legal affairs, or build your own office space or store front, so why would you get out of your lane and do your own PR. There are reasonable ways to contract that effort out to professionals or cost-effectively hire someone in-house to handle that task.<br /><br />Back to this press release touting do it yourself PR. In the release, it indicates that small businesses don’t have to hire anybody to do their PR but could get the job done by visiting a Web site and getting all the free counsel they could use. If conducting public relations was as simple as this or if it was able to be condensed into one tactic, in some Bizzaro universe I could buy into this. But knowing what I know about the realities and complexities of how an organization communicates and all the different aspects of a business that is attached at the hip to PR, this could never be a winning business model.<br /><br />In the end, I wish more time had been spent on crafting that press release than on the effort to convince small businesses they can do “public relations” themselves. Clearly, there’s at least one small business that could’ve used the expertise of a seasoned PR pro before distributing a certain press release.The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739291720177868742.post-26439293671259356632010-05-17T19:53:00.000-07:002010-05-17T20:01:01.912-07:00Intern Wanted! Must Have Social Media ExperienceIf you are a CEO, VP of Communications or a small business owner and you’ve uttered any variation of the following, “we need to bring in an intern to handle our social media,” then it’s clear that your organization is NOT ready and this new form of communicating is not for you.<br /><br />After all, you wouldn’t let an intern respond to a crisis situation, handle a delicate client inquiry, craft your PR/advertising campaigns or pitch the media on behalf of your organization, so why turn over the reigns of your social media communications outreach to the least vested and least experienced person at your organization?<br /><br />Social media outreach is not something that is conducted within a bubble. It is your organization’s public face and sometimes it is the first experience an individual may have with your brand. It has to be handled in a strategic and responsible manner and it has to be taken seriously by leadership.<br /><br />While interns carry the reputation of being more adaptive to embracing new technologies and trends, or can sometimes be a great resource to mine for creative ideas, the fact remains that their experience is limited. Additionally, they know the very least about your organization and how it operates. So again, why put them on the frontline?<br /><br />Right now I know what the aforementioned CEO, VP of Communications and small business owner might be thinking, “that internets, Spacebook, Myface and Twittering thing is for college kids with too much time on their hands, so why not get a college kid to handle it? Besides they would only be talking to their peers anyway.” Wrong on all counts!<br /><br />When it comes to social media, the median age of users are as such:<br /><br />Myspace – Age 26<br />Twitter – Age 31<br />Facebook – Age 33<br />LinkedIn – Age 39<br /><br />Given this data, it hardly makes sense to try and make a 20-23 year old relate to these demographics, especially without the steady and keen hand of a seasoned communicator guiding them and the messaging. <br /><br />I’m a strong proponent of an organization’s PR/Communications department owning the social media function. I believe it’s just a natural fit, since communication and engagement is at the core of effective social media outreach. And besides, any modern day PR pro that doesn’t have social media in his or her toolbox is lacking and incomplete. But I would never in my wildest dreams think to hire an unproven intern to implement my company’s social media communications.<br /><br />But yet, that’s what’s happening everyday. In my work with the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://interninmichigan.com/">Intern In Michigan</a></span> program, whose primary goal is to grow the number of internships within the state of Michigan as a means of attracting and retaining young professionals, I see dozens of organizations every month looking to hire an intern to handle their social media communications or worse, to implement it. I have nothing against employing interns, in fact I tout the benefits of hiring interns on a daily basis, but what I don’t condone is hiring interns to handle important communications functions. It’s best to remember that they are in training.<br /><br />So the next time an organization thinks to hire an unpaid intern to speak for them through social media, they should keep in mind the following quote from Oscar Wilde: “Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.”<br /><br />So hire a professional.<br />The_Practitionerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13574064611092403299noreply@blogger.com2