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The PR Hurt Locker: Ten Land Mines to Negotiate in a Crisis (six through ten)

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Bye Bye Reputation

Posted by Tom Gable

The previous post covered the first five of ten land mines to avoid in a crisis: guilt, no plan, lack of culture and core values, big hat (no cattle) and CEO ego. The following delve more into hazards to negotiate during implementation.

6. Attorneyitis – This land mine occurs when otherwise good messages and communications that the CEO and crisis team have approved get handed off for legal review and come back bruised, bloated and infected with the deadly disclaimer virus. Short, compelling copy turns fuzzy around the edges. Statements of fact become weighted down with convoluted clauses and abundancies of redundancies (In one set of Frequently Asked Questions that Gable PR crafted to explain a law suit our client filed against a magazine for libel and slander, a sharp 19-word sentence nailing the editor for deceit was turned into 100 words of circumlocution without a verb). The test: read a sentence out loud and if everyone’s eyes glaze over like you were reading from C-Span transcripts or they laugh so hard they herniated, start over.

7. Torpor at the Top (also called Coagulation in the C-Suite) – The media are almost always on deadline and pressed to complete their rounds of interviews with sources from all sides. Many have preconceptions that will drive the coverage, often in a way not appreciated by the target organization. With a well-rehearsed crisis plan and message strategies in place, an organization can dedicate itself to responding as quickly as possible to the media call instead of setting it aside and agonizing what to do while waiting for the lawyers to return your call. The process includes knowing the time zone where the media call originated so you don’t stuck in a time warp between west coast and east coast and lose the opportunity to respond. Providing solid facts and evocative quotes ensures more balanced coverage. If the organization is in the right, its fast response and candor can lead to establishing positive media relationships that can be of major benefit for decades.

When crises hit, companies without plans or facing some of the other land mines outlined here can struggle internally in determining a course of action. Some advisors tell the CEO to delay, which can be brilliant or fatal, depending upon the crisis. Copy often gets written by committee. In situations such as these, communications professionals or outside consultants brought in at the eleventh hour need to light fires under the corporate derrieres of those in the executive suite and loosen the clotted communications channels. Getting back to the media with even a short statement (“We are checking all the facts and will get back to you as soon as we have an answer.”) can help mitigate pending disaster. By not responding or responding after deadline, you get immortalized with the regrettable line that usually appears as the last sentence in the story: “The company was unavailable for comment.” A speedy response, on the other hand, generates a positive impression; the guilty don’t return media calls or have the lawyers call.

8. Dueling Fiefdoms – We’ve seen warring factions fire off random shots of bad advice within the corporate halls in hopes of furthering their own interests in internal turf wars rather than contributing energetically and without guile to the master crisis plan for the overall good of the organization. Lack of corporate alignment and certainty of purpose have broader ramifications in preventing an organization from achieving its business and marketing goals. In a crisis, the problem is exacerbated and accelerated. Good organizations exhibit grace under pressure through positive, consistent communications. For the unaligned and contentious, disaster looms. The media find the inconsistencies among dueling factions and probe deeper, confronting one faction with the claims of another and repeating the process until the inside story unfolds with conflicting voices from every corner.

9. Stuck in Jargon or Legal Land – This isn’t necessarily fatal, just annoying and a potential roadblock to getting your compelling messages through the clutter and promoting good media relations. Speaking in a sincere, human voice will help build bridges with the media and the ultimate target audiences on the other side of this filter. As noted in Attorneyitis, 100-word sentences without a verb don’t cut it. Jargon in a particular niche and working with trade journals can be acceptable. In a crisis, when broader financial, business, consumer and investigative reporters are involved, one needs to apply what some media call the “Bozo Filter.” This methodology came to light during a Media Relations Summit in New York featuring journalists from a wide range of leading publications, news services, on-line sources and broadcast. One noted technology journalist with one of the world’s most respected publications said he had set up Bozo Filters on his email to automatically delete messages from certain agencies or individuals and those containing words he felt were useless or meaningless. For creating compelling messages, start with the evidence developed for your crisis communications plan. Analyze the background information, input from outside resources and historical coverage of the industry, company, organization or related topic. Think big picture. Envision perfect coverage. A trick Gable PR uses to help clients focus on the goal is to have them imagine the perfect headline for this situation. What would it say and where would it appear? Then, can we work backward from perfection and align all our plans, themes, core values, evidence strategies and tactics to bring it to life.

10. No comment – This often springs from some of the considerations listed above (guilty, attorneyitis, torpor at the top). Avoid this nuclear land mine whenever possible. Even providing a comment that you will get back to the media as soon as you’ve had a chance to conduct an internal review, analyze the complaint or get input from those outside the organization is better than saying “no comment,” which comes across as “guilty as charged.” Armageddon may seem eminent, but there will be a future. Salvaging a small part of the reputation during difficult times can provide a starting point for building a new one for the future. Work with your crisis team to analyze your different message strategies and what you hope to achieve for the long term.

A Final Word

Some experts estimate that less than five percent of all crises are fatal to an organization or individual. CEOs reinvent themselves regularly, particularly in industries with high failure rates (technology, biotechnology, Internet). Companies and organizations go through constant change, deal with major public issues and keep moving forward. The path becomes much easier with a continuous investment in image as a part of corporate strategy, developing strong core values, having crisis PR plans in place (and rehearsed) and avoiding potential land mines when your next crisis erupts.

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Ten Land Mines to Avoid in Your Next Crisis (one through five)

Monday, March 1st, 2010

Tred Lightly!

Posted by Tom Gable

Crises come in all forms and sizes, from global product recalls to local political scandal, the nuisance law suit about spilled hot coffee at a fast food restaurant, corporate malfeasance, alleged embezzlement in a not-for-profit, sexual harassment issues, hazardous waste spills, to manufacturing, transportation or other accidents that take human lives.

Skilled public relations professionals have been dealing with these issues and more for decades. They have honed best practices and tempered them under fire, increasing the odds of success in any crisis program. Good advice and case histories abound. But advances in how the world communicates instantly and in living color (photos Tweeted from cell phones, drive-by videos of transgressions, amateur news casts, rumors in the blogosphere, a consumer issue going viral via Twitter, etc.) have added new complexities to the art and science of crisis communications. The race is increasingly to the swift and, as detailed later, the trustworthy.

But extreme dangers are hidden along any path to success in managing a crisis. In analyzing failed or derailed crisis programs in over 30 years in public relations and journalism, certain approaches and characteristics stand out.  The list could go on forever. For focus, we’ve narrowed the key reasons for failure down to the top ten (or bottom ten as the case may be) most threatening land mines to any crisis program. Individually, not every land mine can be fatal. But one blast can lead to another, making the goal of getting through the crisis unscathed unlikely or impossible. Almost all can be dealt with honestly and strategically. Knowing they exist is a start. Start tip-toeing here with the first five of ten landmines to avoid in your next crisis, with six through ten to be posted next week:

1. Guilty (or not completely innocent) – The evidence exists – against the company, CEO, employee, organization, product, or service – for an illegal action, horrible occurrence, affront to humanity, threat to public safety or other transgression. The crisis management team needs to implement its plan, starting with a quick review of your crisis check (click here for a Gable PR example). The team analyzes the crisis in context and with a host of factors before determining the response, including developing a clear understanding of the legal ramifications and liabilities. Being totally guilty requires a different response than being guilty on some counts or a single count, not totally without blame or possibly the victim of circumstance. There is also intent. A major fast food company didn’t intend for its customers to be felled by e coli. The crisis was an aberration. The company had solid food preparation processes, procedures and rules in place, so was able to turn the tide fairly quickly after an initial 30-percent decline in its stock. Another food preparation company that had poor processes in its plant and a history of  being cited regularly by health inspectors for unsanitary conditions hired the most expensive crisis counselors in the country. It tried to spin its way out of the harsh light of media scrutiny with pledges of future adherence to the law, firing people and even giving portions of future sales to minority training programs.  It lacked the culture, history, core values and other attributes (see below) to escape. Customers fled, contracts were cancelled and it soon filed for bankruptcy.

2. No Plan – When issues arise, the best organizations pull out a well-rehearsed crisis plan and implement quickly, confidently and successfully. Should any uncertainties or ambiguities exist, the crisis team and its consultants deal with them effectively as additions to the plan, rather than as another set of distractions for the unplanned and clueless. In the halls of the unprepared, staff is usually found ricocheting off walls in search of enlightenment in between panicked calls to the lawyers or searching local directories for crisis communications counselors. Plans include proven processes, clear marching orders, strict lines of communication and access to an array of supporting evidence. The above mentioned food company with the good reputation, culture and core values had built but not launched Web sites to deal with worst case scenarios in its industry, including e coli outbreaks. The sites included an overview of each area of potential concern, their history of managing in each area and abundant evidence to support each claim, plus links to outside resources, such as government agencies, academicians and independent consumer groups. Crises happen. If an organization is ready with its own plug-and-play plan, everyone will sleep a lot easier before the crisis, during and through the post mortem when the team gives high-fives around the room and pops a cork of bubbly to toast its success.

3. Lack of Culture, No Core Values – Authentic culture and values contribute to reputation for the long term. If you haven’t thought about your reputation, exhibiting positive core values and demonstrating proof of principle over time (walking the talk) as a part of organizational strategy long before the crisis hits, you will start below ground zero when the bomb lands, no matter how good your plan. Positive reputations aren’t spun out of air or the CEO’s frontal lobe on short notice. They are built over time. The leaders in any niche or category determine what they stand for and then provide ongoing evidence over time to support the position. Good companies operate in the no-spin zone, relying on corporate culture, solid facts, quality people, honesty and integrity to carry the day (week, month, year, decade).

4. Big Hat, No Cattle – Do you have a corporate history of hype or muddled communications strategies?  In a crisis, the media will launch quick database research to see how you’ve been covered in the past, by whom and in what context. The sharpest writers will then check with your peers, trade associations, professional organizations, former law and accounting firms. Marginal companies who haven’t dealt with Land Mine No. 2 – core values – often leave a trail of disgruntled professional service firms who served them previously and can now be used as a source in the gruesome discovery process. Lack of credible data and substance become apparent quickly. The first blood is let. With no redeeming values, countervailing evidence from the empty suits at the management level or even a marginal reputation to cast doubt on the charges, the media feeding frenzy begins. Each day brings a new report of chicanery and spin, driving the organization toward Armageddon in the C Suite. At this stage, the organization needs to evoke the Metamorphosis Gambit (sometimes called the Nuclear Option), which involves management change, reorganization, new strategic planning and total repositioning.

Gable PR witnessed this phenomenon when representing a small company with brilliant technology that had been acquired by a billion-dollar company for its stock, which had gone up rapidly based on the company’s regular announcement of exciting new business initiatives into the hottest new markets. However, the company was playing it fast and loose with its business strategies and corporate culture, or lack of same. The media found evidence of bribery by the parent in securing a telecommunications contract with a third world country and almost every one of the much-hyped major acquisitions in pursuit of more revenues and a higher price earnings ratio had turned sour or tanked. Negative coverage ravaged the stock price. Its potential acquisition by a Fortune 500 company was canceled. The company eventually paid huge fines on some of its transgressions, wiped out its executive suite where the transgressions had originated, took huge write-offs on its discontinued operations and announced a new vision for the future. Following its metamorphosis, the company was acquired by another conglomerate, although at a lower valuation than had been anticipated years earlier.

5. CEO Ego – CEOs can have egos as big as the Ritz and think he or she is a natural media star. They refuse to train, rehearse or follow a script or plan. They ignore the gravity of the situation and think they can charm and spin their way out of the morass. Some when CEOs bully their internal staffs into being afraid to provide authentic, sincere counsel. The prototype: MBAs out of central casting, with neatly coiffed presidential hair touched with streaks of grey, a solid jaw, sharp blue eyes, resonant voice and engaging smile, but dumb as a trout when it came to media relations. They are confident they can charm anyone. “I could talk a dog off a meat wagon,” one CEO bragged. Unfortunately, he was already in trouble, having failed two of the earlier tests listed above about culture and providing evidence. The media had done its due diligence and quickly probed into the details of declining sales, escalating administrative costs and high turnover. Without training and having his core messages set, he was caught unawares and folded like a thin tent in a hurricane. He actually started sweating and fidgeting, like the character in a Saturday Night Live skit who was being interviewed by a faux Mike Wallace for selling defective whoopee cushions. Our CEO tried to use his booming voice to make points, then stonewalled and finally tried to change the subject. The reporter kept asking the same question in different ways until she had what she wanted, then hopped off the meat wagon with a little Filet Mignon and hot sauce for her readers.

Next (six through ten): Attorneyitis, Torpor at the Top, Dueling Fiefdoms, Stuck in Jargon Land, No Comment

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Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Hoax and Fraud, Hype Free PR, Team Play | No Comments »

Crisis PR: Three Core Principles and Planning Checklist to Guide Your Actions

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Reputation Skewered

Posted by Tom Gable

Most major organizations create crisis plans in advance of need, update them regularly, have a strategic array of tools and tactics ready to go (hidden Web sites, video, audio, fact sheets, media kits) and even rehearse their responses. The better job an organization does before a crisis strikes – or at the beginning to quickly manage a crisis based on sound principles should a plan not be in place – the better the result. These fundamentals came to mind in tracking the Toyota recall, the changing communications strategies and lack of responsiveness early in the game.

In creating a crisis plan and carrying it out in any crisis communications situation, three basic principles should guide your actions:

One – Be honest and stick to the facts. Do not speculate, hypothecate or exaggerate. Those impacted by the crisis deserve nothing less – and your reputation may be damaged irreparably if you aren’t truthful and authentic.

Two – Think strategically about the long-term. It is too easy to be reactionary, get caught up in the grinding short-term pressures of the situation and scurry to respond to those demanding answers from every quarter. What do you stand for? What are your core values? Your culture? Are your responses to the crisis consistent with these values and authentic – no hype? How will your actions today be viewed a year from now? Five years from now?

Three – Maintain unified and consistent communications during implementation of your plan. Nothing will erode your credibility faster than conflicting messages coming from different sources within your organization (be aware that the media – and class action attorneys in some cases – will pursue every angle in search of controversy, unethical behavior or criminal intent).

Another key factor for launching a crisis plan: speed of response. As witnessed with the issues swirling around Toyota as it sank deeper into a crisis PR vortex, lack of pro-active communications resulted in the news media, elected officials and other outside sources taking control of the message momentum. Instead of being fast and responsive, Toyota seemed to adopt the Three S Strategy: be silent, slow and stonewall.

Crisis PR is a team sport that requires a great play book. As a starting point for creating your own plan, Gable PR has developed a detailed checklist (click here) to guide any organization through the essential elements required. Think of it as a critical pre-flight check list. From this start, any organization can adapt it and keep it evolving to keep up with the changing requirements for communicating in the nanosecond news cycle spawned by Twitter, Facebook, Blogs and traditional media embracing 24/7 coverage.

Depending on each crisis, some areas will require more research, planning and action than others. Please take a look at the list and let me know what else might be added, enhanced, edited, deleted or explained more clearly. Crisis PR, to borrow a line from Ernest Hemingway, is something of a moveable feast and the goal is to take charge of the menu.

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PR Horizon Management: Pointing Clients Toward New Territory, Long-Term Results

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Posted by Tom Gable

The public relations profession faces many challenges in these hardscrabble times. Clients are holding tight, cutting their public relations budgets or simply saying goodbye. Competitors swoop in, looking for hints of weakness in a client-agency relationship. Business consulting, advertising and marketing firms aren’t far behind, promoting their tool kits as a means of not only surviving but growing in touch economic times. What steps can agencies take to ensure that their clients are incredibly pleased with the work being done, the results generated on their behalf and the agency relationship?

Based on lessons learned from working through three previous recessions (some better than others!), I’ve come to realize that success in client service and retention requires a manic sense of urgency to deliver short-term results combined with a disciplined approach to creativity and long-range planning. Smart agencies provide clients with ideas and strategic plans that will be generating results six, nine and twelve months into the future. The best way to get the agency or in-house team pointed in the right direction and taking action: create a system and process to drive results.

Developing Your System

At Gable PR, we experimented with different approaches in the 1992 recession. The goal was to have clients envision gaining market share and mind share from their competitors by committing to pro-active public relations. Statistics from several sources provided validation; the companies that continued marketing in troubled times grew faster than those who didn’t. We began calling our system “horizon management” and worked to get the client on board for sailing together toward new and beneficial destinations.

As recently presented during a recent PRSA Webinar and based on longer lessons found in The PR Client Service Manual, pro-active systems work best with an interactive team process; the more brainpower the better. One approach is to hold regular meetings every Monday to update on all client activities. For long-term impact, use the meeting to brainstorm new ideas for each client on a rotating basis. Chose one client or two as the subjects for the next meeting. Have the team leader or account manager review background information in advance of the session, including client calendars, milestones, known events and activities, conference schedules, editorial calendars and focus editions.

The Planning Spreadsheet

Then, to make it easy for everyone to visualize the flow of activities and critical deadlines, plot your plan on a project management program or Excel spreadsheet. List activities in the first column, months in the subsequent columns over the next year or two and put in check marks to note when activities or events are expected to take place.  A rough sample can be found here on the Gable PR Web site.

Then, during the creative session, analyze each opportunity and see what result might be generated to advance the client’s business, marketing or capital plans, or all of the above. Envision media relations, community relations, investor relations, social media activities, trade relations and public affairs opportunities unfolding across time.

Agency teams can brainstorm on the tactical approaches within each area, set priorities and also get creative in looking at what we call “the flip side” — what’s there and, more importantly, what’s not there? The initial road map gives the agency a simple planning document to track, and makes it easy to take detours and add new side trips while still keeping the original destinations in mind as the program unfolds.

From Brainstorm to Masterful, Strategic PR Plan

With team brainpower, the agency has now created a master plan for the year, with a series of new ideas it can present to the client, implement and keep updating with creative sessions that are adjusted to point to new horizons. Clients get excited. They see the agency as creative, intuitive, pro-active and worth keeping! New ideas can also drive new budgets.

The flip side is sitting back and bemoaning the lower budget and managing for time, not results. This inevitably ends up with the client calling to ask one of the worst questions on earth for an agency: “What have you done for me lately?”

Every agency’s mission, as well of those on internal PR staffs on the client side, should be ensure you do great work both lately and for the long-term. Techies call this parallel processing. Handle the daily tasks with alacrity and skill while working on your horizon program that generates results that go beyond the ordinary and expected for every client. The approach creates value and ROI for the client and relationships that endure to perpetuity (well, maybe not quite that long, but potentially for years and even decades).

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SD Kicks for Kids; Chargers’ Cause Marketing PR Campaign Scores

Friday, October 2nd, 2009
 

Kaeding Kicks for Kids

Kaeding Kicks for Kids

Posted by Krista Rogers

In light of our San Diego Chargers’ first of many wins for the 2009 season, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight some of the other ways the team is scoring points off the field and within the community. 

For the second time, the San Diego Chargers are teaming up with The Ronald McDonald House to help raise funds for the non-profit organization that provides on-site housing for families with hospitalized children. Ronald McDonald Houses around the U.S. offer families a way to stay together, in proximity to the treatment hospital, and be comfortable and cared for during their stay.

Two of the Chargers kickers – Pro Bowl place kicker Nate Kaeding and one of the NFL’s top punters, Mike Scifres – have joined forces in a cause marketing campaign called SD Kicks for Kids that exemplifies all that a successful cause marketing campaign should entail.

The basic premise of the campaign is to have donors pledge a certain amount of money per kick for each of Nate’s field goals and Mike’s punts inside the 20 yard line. For example, if you pledge $10 per field goal and Nate kicks 20 field goals this season, you will have pledged $200 at the end of the season. In addition, donors will receive other perks from their giving, including being entered in a raffle to win a pizza party with Nate and 20 of your friends at the end of the season. Immediate rewards for giving

While the Ronald McDonald House may not have a direct correlation to the football team, the two joining forces together is original, creates a sense of community, brings people who may not normally follow the Chargers to pay attention to the games, and connects football fans with a cause they may not previously been aware of.

Cause marketing campaigns are a great way to create positive buzz about your company and create support for the non-profit organization; it truly is a win-win situation. Gable PR encourages its clients to participate in cause marketing campaigns to give back something to the community that’s been good to you. Here are a few tips to consider when engaging in a cause related marketing campaign.

1. Be original: Although contributing to The Ronald McDonald House isn’t groundbreaking, tying the success of the Charger’s kickers with donations is innovative and ties the pledge to something that’s both fun and easily measurable. The more novel your strategy, the more interested the media will be in covering your efforts.

2. Pick a cause that is significant to your brand or your target audience. In this example, the Chargers are reaching out to the local community and Charger fans.

3. Get the word out! Let people know what you are doing and take initiative in creating buzz around your campaign. Spread the word through public relations, public service announcements on television and radio, scoreboard mentions, email blasts, billboards and cost-free communication networks such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

4. Reward giving: While just donating may be rewarding enough for some people, instant perks such as receiving an exclusive membership into “Nate’s Locker” after every game (an e-newsletter with get an email update from Nate sharing his take on the game) and an official Kicks for Kids magnet reminds people that you recognize their donations. Reminders of the donations and a quick thank you will go a long way toward enhancing the relationship.

5. Set Goals: Set realistic goals and share with the community when you have reached them. Having a tangible goal and seeing it achieved will make the people contributing feel good about their donations and your organization. Be specific about how the money is going to be used. SD Kicks for Kids has a FAQ page that answers all of those questions. It’s best to be conservative in setting your goals so you can announce early victory!

5. Celebrate: Let the world know when you have achieved your milestones and say thank you to the people that have made contributions. In some cases, it may be appropriate to hold a media event to hand over the check for the money raised directly to representatives of the cause (how about Kaeding and Scifres in uniform handing a check to the Ronald McDonald character at the 50 yard line during half time of a nationally televised game?). With creativity, a company can generate positive media attention and continue the push to make more people aware of the cause.

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Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Hype Free PR, Leverage, Team Play | 1 Comment »

The One-Minute News Cycle; Social Media Critical in Crisis PR

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Deep, Fast Searching

Deep, Fast Searching

Posted by Liz Dill

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal entitled, “For Companies, a Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess,” many large corporations such as Ford, Southwest Airlines and Pepsi are creating social media teams. By closely monitoring social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.) they can quickly identify potential issues, analyze customer feedback in real-time and craft effective communications strategies to deal with the breaking issue while protecting the reputation of the organization. The article specifically mentions a situation where a Southwest Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing and their emerging media team was able to scan social media sites for passenger response to the incident, and then was able to craft an appropriate message on behalf of the Airline based on their findings.

In an ideal world of strategic public relations, goals are set, actions carefully planned, core messages thoughtfully crafted and outcomes weighed. The same systematic approach is particularly important when confronted with a crisis situation. Avoid the urge to launch a quick reactive response. Use all the resources available to gather information and create an intelligent, insightful situation analysis on the impact of the situation in both short and long term. Gable PR has detailed checklist to help in the process.

Analyze the results and determine the strategic response. With the impact of social media and the impact on the velocity of news and buzz, clients, organizations and their PR professionals need to be up-to-the minute. Look beyond Google News and the other news trackers to monitor the pulse of the conversations and emerging tones in real time. Without intense scrutiny of the social media universe, an organization could see a small incident gain global buzz and quickly escalate into a larger PR crisis – one with long-term impact that extends beyond the short-term issue.

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Mine Magazine: The Future of Media (and Media Relations?)

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

News for you!

News for you!

Posted by Erin Koch

Slate.com this week provides a fascinating look at a new type of personalized magazine from Time Inc. The magazine, called Mine, polls subscribers on their interests and then pulls content from different sources to produce, print, and mail a customized magazine tailored specifically to those interests.

Slate’s Farhad Manjoo thinks this model has oodles of merit: most Sports Illustrated subscribers probably don’t subscribe to The New Yorker – but would probably love to read that publication’s sports-related stories. And I don’t subscribe to Entertainment Weekly – but I’ll confess I would be more than happy to read its review of the new Star Trek movie.

This hyper-personalized approach to providing content is also highly relevant for PR practitioners. Major hits (such as a story in a high-circulation publication like the Wall Street Journal) still have their place in PR and can make a big impact on a business. But many of today’s businesses are more interested in reaching a narrow audience in a very specific way (think industry e-newsletters or blogs or even word-of-mouth). One of our clients at Gable PR recently told us “I don’t want the front page, I just want to get in front of potential clients.”

This means that the PR approach – like Mine magazine – must be highly personalized. A good agency will first learn all they can about a business’ target audience – and the right way to reach them. Who are the decision makers? What messages will influence them? And, most importantly, what are the best methods (media) to make those messages top-of-mind?

In other words, PR firms should follow the Mine magazine model: poll their clients’ key audiences on what they want, and then provide it – in a format that is highly customized and designed to generate results.

Photo Credit: faeryboots

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Posted in Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Clutter Busting, Horizon Management, Hype Free PR, In the Beginning, Team Play | No Comments »

Business Week Editor, Top PR Pros Offer Social Media Tips

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

Posted by Tom Gable

The recent annual meeting of IPREX, an international network of leading independent PR firms, featured a heavyweight panel on new approaches to PR. The moderator was John A. Byrne, editor-in-chief of Business Week and the panel included senior corporate communications professionals from Bausch Lomb, GE, Kodak, MasterCard, Pfizer, Swiss Re and Viacom. More than 60 professionals from 15 countries and 29 U.S. cities attended the meeting in New York City.

The expert panelists all agreed that major corporations need to invest in building reputations from the ground up with every tool available and by involving the entire organization, from clerk to chairman. Failure could come quickly with partial commitments, insincerity and non-authentic approaches, which will be discovered quickly and magnified in lightning speed through the social media.

The panelists agreed that a key element in PR for the future is ensuring that communication becomes more two-way and engaging and takes on a human voice, avoiding corporate speak.

Gary Sheffer, executive director, corporate communications and public affairs, GE, said his firm has had a tough year. It’s reputation is dented. The economy has gone through a reset and his company is resetting PR to be more human, taking advantage of the “300,000 people around the world who have a passion for what they do” and 500,000 retirees. They have hired journalists to handle the blogging, and the program has been liberating for communications as it adds a new strategic component.

Ray Kerins, of Pfizer, said his company is a “$50 billion start up” with new management, new focus and a new structure. They are focused on fixing the Pfizer reputation. “We make life-saving medicines. How can our reputation be bad?” Jeff Kindler, the CEO, is focusing on reputation being driven by employees, from the sales representatives all the way up. Esteem, admiration and trust are key drivers, plus good governance, Kerins said.

Barbara Pierce, APR, public relations director, Kodak, used the social media to fight back when The Wall Street Journal ran an inaccurate story. Kodak responded with Twitter and blogging. They taped a video and put it on FaceBook and YouTube to refute the WSJ. They briefed industry analysts and used Twitter and Email to point everyone to the video while pursuing a correction with WSJ editors, which ran the next day.

Michael McDougall, APR, vice president, corporate communications, Bausch Lomb, said building trust and confidence are essential drivers of reputation. Who do you trust? This gives organizations the opportunity to be strategic in their communications and perform as promised.

Harvey W. Greisman, senior vice president, worldwide communications, MasterCard, fights the perception that MasterCard is at fault for high interest rates on credit cards, rather than the financial institutions issuing the cards. He advocated using social media depending on the target.

He advised the IPREX members and guests from several NYC-based corporations to look at all targets and how you reach them and plan to engage them. Respond quickly and transparently. He said his organization is even looking forward to more direct communication with its opponents.

The key takeaways from the panel:

  • Focus on building reputation for the long term
  • Integrate social media in your strategic PR plan to get there
  • Develop a human voice
  • Build a culture of pro-active communications
  • Use all the tools available (make video an important part of the tool kit)
  • Listen
  • Be authentic
  • Be responsive
  • Admit when something is amiss
  • Reset as needed

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Posted in Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Horizon Management, Hype Free PR, Social Media, Team Play | 1 Comment »

California’s Election: $15 Billion vs. $21 Billion vs. Who Cares?

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Posted by Erin Koch

When I worked for county supervisor (now state assemblyman) Jim Beall back in 2001, the City of San Jose and County of Santa Clara reached an agreement on sharing redevelopment funds. Government types thought this was a big deal. But as Beall’s media guy, I recognized that no one, most notable the media, would really care unless we could find a very human way to illustrate the impact of the merger.

The answer: having a family living in one of the redevelopment zones speak at a press conference about their hopes and dreams for improving their neighborhood. Four TV cameras showed up and we earned great coverage on the evening news.

This brings us to this week’s special election in California. Four of five budget-related initiatives on the ballot lost, increasing our state’s budget deficit from $15 billion to $21 billion budget. The only one that passed: limiting salary increases for state legislators and constitutional officers in years of budget deficits. Why did this happen? The reasons cited by the Sacramento Bee and others are too numerous to list in a single blog post. But in short, very few voters knew what was at stake in how it would impact them in real-life terms. The ballot language was confusing on each and considered deceitful by some pundits. Then, talk to a voter about increasing the budget deficit and you’ll get a yawn. But show them a classroom of eight year olds who will soon struggle with 30+ other students in their class (versus 20) and you will have their attention.

Governor Schwarzenegger and the state legislature must now make drastic budget cuts – and many in California will indeed soon experience firsthand the personal impacts. Could the outcome have been different?

This is the type of communications challenge that creative and strategic agencies love. How to tell a story in a compelling way that gets into the frontal lobes of a target audience in a way that moves them to act. It isn’t easy. The process requires a committed campaign finance committee to support sound (often extensive) audience research, brainstorming on evocative key messages to bring the issue to life, research into the best media to use for delivering the message, and, most importantly, consistent fact-based follow-through according to a strategic plan, yet one with the flexibility to adjust as the dynamics of the campaign change.

Are you facing a similar communications challenge in your company, organization, institution or public entity? Is your message getting through? Do you know how to bring your vision and attributes to life in a compelling and human way? If not, we’d be pleased to provide a quick Creative Audit at no cost to give you something to think about going forward. Please email me (erin.koch [at] gablepr.com) with Creative Audit in the subject line.

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Posted in Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Clutter Busting, Team Play | No Comments »

Branding South Korea: Better Than the North?

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Posted by Tom Gable

The Los Angeles Times ran a story Sunday on how South Korea is spending millions of dollars to develop a national brand. The headline: “How about, ‘South Korea: Way better than you think it is’?”

The story noted:
• 40 percent of foreigners polled on country image cited its lack of “charm.”
• It is linked to North Korea, rogue nation headed by the bizarre Kim Jong Il.
• South Korea ranked 33 of 50 nations in a recent Nation Brands Index (Germany was No. 1, the United States No. 7).
• It has formed a Presidential Council on Nation Branding with a goal of moving to 15th place by 2013.
• The government also wants to “globalize” Korean cuisine, moving it to among the world’s top five by 2017.

Will a few slogans and expensive promotional and advertising programs move the image in the desired direction?

Euh Yoon-dae, head of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, was quoted as saying: “We’re trying to advance the identity of Korea. It’s the substance rather than the brand itself. We want to walk the walk rather than just talk up some new advertising campaign.”

The branding czar nailed it. The question: can South Korea walk the talk?

Images and reputations build over time based on a consistent flow of positive evidence, or proof of principle as the engineers and scientists call it. It could be compared to creating a great tapestry or painting to hang in the Louvre. Thousands of strands of color need to be strategically woven together or dabbed creatively over time to create a work of art for your admiring publics. The work is authentic, original and compelling.

The process to move image in the right direction is fairly straightforward for a company, organization, individual, cities states and even nations:

1. How do you want to be known two, three, five, ten or twenty years from now?
2. Is it realistic and attainable?
3. What do you stand for (your position)?
4. What are the three or four core values and points of differentiation that support the position?
5. What evidence will be rolled out over time to validate each of those core values and add to the lore?
6. Who are your most important target audiences?
7. How do you integrate communications strategies to reach each consistently and creatively over time to move perception in the desired direction and motivate them to action?
8. What about the negatives? Worst case scenarios? Push back? Criticism and cynicism? Competitive counter-attacks? Lack of core values? Over-hyped attributes?
9. How to analyze and change tactics and strategies as needed?
10. Is the organization totally committed to the program?
11. Are there other factors that might influence the program (economic, political, sociological, etc.)?
12. How do we measure success?

Can South Korea achieve its goal of going from No. 33 to 15 in brand image in less than five years? Some might consider the task to be more like an assault on Everest than a casual walk to Reputationland.

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Posted in Client Service Results, Clutter Busting, Horizon Management, Hype Free PR, Team Play | No Comments »

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