Posts Tagged ‘branding’

« Older Entries

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.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Horizon Management, Team Play | No Comments »

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

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
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.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Horizon Management, In the Beginning, Team Play | No Comments »

Beyond Crisis PR: Can Toyota Change Its DNA?

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Road to Recall

Posted by Tom Gable

The Toyota crisis PR case is not just about the recent recalls, global media scrutiny and potential Congressional action in the U.S. It has metastasized from neglected issues within the body corporate to impact vital functions in every fiber of the Toyota being.

Possible deeper issues were discovered by Ken Bensinger of the LA Times and others in major media. He started following the case after an off-duty CHP patrolman and three family members died when the accelerator stuck on their Toyota and they crashed in rural San Diego County in August 2009. Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, apologized. Soon, Toyota recalled 4.3-million-vehicles, its largest recall ever.

As outlined in an interview with the NPR affiliate KPBS in San Diego, Bensinger and his LA Times colleagues started probing. They found issues going back to 2001, 2007 and 2009. Toyota talked about floor mats as one cause, then the next day said there were issues with a sticking accelerator pedal. Analysts thought the answers didn’t add up and began asking about design flaws in the electronic throttle system. Were there deeper problems that Toyota wasn’t addressing?

Bensinger said Toyota talked about quality and safety but seemed to be ignoring problems. He said they practiced global “obfuscation” and he then walked the KPBS listeners through a litany of Toyota transgressions over the past decade.

The problem from a PR standpoint wasn’t just obfuscation and a pattern of not dealing with the issues in a forthright manner. As I noted in the same interview, the issues go into the heart and soul of the corporation. What does Toyota stand for? What are its values? Those are the first questions corporations need to ask themselves if they are going to position themselves above the competition. Then, can they deliver on the promise?

If Toyota stresses quality and safety, can it relaunch and walk the talk over time? Can it invest in image as a part of corporate strategy, not in stonewalling, silence and slow responses?

The Wall Street Journal in an essay on Feb. 6 identified deep cultural factors to be overcome:

In Japan there is a proverb, “If it stinks, put a lid on it.” Alas, this seems to have been Toyota’s approach to its burgeoning safety crisis, initially denying, minimizing and mitigating the problems involving brakes that don’t brake and accelerators that have a mind of their own. President Akio Toyoda, grandson of the founder, was MIA for two weeks and the company has appeared less than forthcoming about critical safety issues, risking the trust of its customers world-wide.

This has been a public-relations nightmare for Toyota, as its brand name has been synonymous with quality and reliability. Crisis management does not get any more woeful than this and the cost of this bungling so far—the initial $2 billion recall and the loss of 17% of share value since Jan. 21, when the gas-pedal recall was announced—is only a down payment on the final tally. The recall will surely expand, including cars produced in Japan. Lawsuits are being filed and an expensive settlement looms. And then there are the idle factories and empty showrooms to account for.

It is not surprising that Toyota’s response has been dilatory and inept, because crisis management in Japan is grossly undeveloped. Over the past two decades, I cannot think of one instance where a Japanese company has done a good job managing a crisis. The pattern is all too familiar, typically involving slow initial response, minimizing the problem, foot dragging on the product recall, poor communication with the public about the problem and too little compassion and concern for consumers adversely affected by the product.

The New York Times also documented a pattern of slow response on safety issues and detailed engineering issues going back to 1996 and covering almost every model.

Can Toyota change its DNA? At a press conference in Nagoya on Feb. 5, Toyota President Akio Toyoda expressed his deep regret for the inconvenience and concern caused to Toyota customers. He said he would take the lead toward improving quality around the world by establishing a global quality task force and implement a six-point action plan to improve quality in every region.

Turning the Exxon Valdez wasn’t easy. Check back in two years, which is probably the minimum time it will take to make a course correction, set new plans in place, start building a new culture and generating consistent, positive results over time versus navigating through the rubble from a permanently damaged reputation.

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Horizon Management, Hype Free PR, In the Beginning | No Comments »

In Crisis PR, It’s Not Always How You Start But How You Finish

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Shrinking image?

Posted by Tom Gable

The news media, auto industry analysts and elected officials have been aggressive in going after Toyota for its delays in responding to a growing crisis about sudden acceleration in some of its models from gas pedal and floor mat issues.

NPR opined that “the carmaker that could end up doing long-term damage to the sterling reputation it has painstakingly built up for several decades.” It cited a slow response time in dealing with the problem and communicating.

Critics in the story noted that “the worst-case outcome for the company would be if any of the investigations uncovers evidence that Toyota has been aware of the problem for longer than it has admitted.” This implied that Toyota may be hiding something.

The theme turned up in a Los Angeles Times story:

The pedal maker denies that its products are at fault. Some independent safety experts also are skeptical of Toyota’s explanations. ‘We know this recall is a red herring,’ one says. Sudden-acceleration events in Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been blamed for at least 19 fatalities and 815 vehicle crashes since 1999.

Critics jumped on quickly to ask for specific timetables. The Toyota CEO was largely silent (a Japanese TV crew caught him at a financial conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he made a short apology). Toyota then pulled its brand advertising, ran public service ads in major daily newspapers around the country, hired a PR firm and started communicating.

When Toyota went public with a PR blitz, they used their head of U.S. sales rather than CEO. Some said this seemed to indicate that Toyota wasn’t dealing with the issues at the highest level.

“We deeply regret the concern that our recalls have caused for our customers, and we are doing everything we can — as fast as we can — to make things right,” Jim Lentz, Toyota’s U.S. sales chief, said in a statement on Monday (Feb. 1, 2010).

Although late in responding by crisis PR standards, Lentz did the classic: recognize the issue, apologize, empathize and then set a vision for the fix.

Over the years, in dealing with crisis communications issues involving everything from religious scandal, to threats to public safety, to corporate and organizational implosions, Gable PR has found that three basic principles should guide your actions in every crisis situation:

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? Are your responses to the crisis consistent with these values? 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).

Toyota can get beyond this crisis, recover from short-term damage to its brand and regain the trust and respect it enjoyed by investing in image as a part of corporate strategy. What will Toyota stand for in five years? Quality, customer care, engineering, design, reliability, value? All of the above? Whatever the vision, the next step is developing a strategy to provide ongoing evidence to support the vision. This goes beyond manufacturing to every way Toyota touches its customers and future customers.

In the era of instant communication, organizations need to take an immediate look at the issues it faces. Gable PR uses a crisis communications check list for starters. In less than an hour, we can work through the issues and determine priorities and critical tasks for action, including the speed of response.

For Toyota, it may have done a fast analysis and then decided to go slow in responding for internal or legal reasons. For the “new Toyota,” it should establish procedures for responding at warp speed to any outside concern. Instead of two days to a week, how about two hours or less, even if it’s to say “we are working on this and will get back to you as soon as the facts are in?”

For energizing every corner of the organization, the management schools have many cases for going beyond PR and establishing operating principles to live by in evolving the culture. What directions will Toyota give to its design and engineering teams to analyze what happened with the pedals and mats and develop new approaches to quality control? For the future, if a problem occurs once a new model rolls out, have rapid response teams with the power to analyze issues and make fast decisions on resolving the problem and then pro-actively communicate the new direction with an integrated PR program.

A pro-active internal approach builds support and understanding, then provides the foundation for launching the pro-active communications program. Educate internal audiences first. Develop a consistent messaging strategy, from the basic level of how dealers will answer their phones and respond in the future. Establish procedures for Tweeting updates as they occur and linking to Web sites for more details. Even if working on the image over three to five years, build a sense of urgency into the culture. Empower people to think about continuously improving every aspect of the business every day. By setting a new standard and vision, Toyota can then set in motion the critical business practices and cultural commitment to walk its talk over time – and finish a lot better than it started.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Horizon Management, Social Media | No Comments »

Weighing In on the Taco Bell Drive Thru Diet – A Belly Laugh or Two

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Worked for me!

Posted by Krista Rogers

Among the top New Year’s resolutions are pledges about weight loss and exercise, so it is no surprise that when January rolls around we are besieged with gym and health-food advertisements. Ironically, as awareness of unhealthy transfats and the American obesity pandemic grows along with our waistlines, the fast food restaurants that have been guilty of clogging our arteries for years are now tooting their healthy-choices horn louder than ever. This makes sense from a marketing standpoint. People want healthier options, so it’s smart to truthfully highlight the healthier menu items. What doesn’t make sense is when a popular fast food chain tries to convince a nation that their “Drive-Thru Diet” is a weight loss secret.

Taco Bell, a quasi-Mexican fast food restaurant, isn’t just pitching its healthier options. It has gone pro-active and launched a misleading campaign with New Year’s “Frescolutions,” and seven menu items claiming to have nine grams of fat or less. Chewing on the campaign disclaimers will probably burn more calories than the 500 calories it claims you will save. How authentic is the diet and, beyond the bun, its Mexican cuisine?

The fine print includes:

“DRIVE-THRU-DIET® IS NOT A WEIGHT-LOSS PROGRAM… TACO BELL’S FRESCO MENU CAN HELP WITH CALORIE REDUCTIONS OF 20 TO 100 PER ITEM COMPARED TO CORRESPONDING PRODUCTS ON OUR REGULAR MENU…. FRESCO MENU ITEMS ARE NOT A LOW CALORIE FOOD.”

This comes at time when a new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, states that prepared foods may contain an average of 8 percent more calories than are printed on package labels and restaurant meals may contain a whopping 18 percent more.

Bottom line (a big bottom line): the Drive-Thru Diet is increasing belly laughs rather than reducing waistlines.

Additionally, the Mexican fast food chain has a commercial starring Christine Dougherty, who says she lost 54 pounds on the diet. Christine’s story, however, is unclear on the details. Christine says that she reduced her total daily calorie intake by 500 calories to 1,250 calories by choosing Fresco items and “making other sensible choices” (sharing Fresco items with companions?).

The restaurant’s creative and long-standing slogan “Think Outside the Bun,” is clever and relevant, however the diet program seems to lose sight of its target audience, those in search of filling ground beef tacos and burritos from the “late night menu” and “4th meal” categories.

Lessons learned? Fast food restaurants will never be considered a healthy diet option or a great stop along the road to weight loss. Taco Bell may be joining other fast food chains in offering healthy choices to offset criticism and possible government regulation. That can be done, but without the hype. Be authentic, clearly present the facts and be creative with your key messages, themes and keep your core values in mind in all that you do. If you stray too far, instead of getting people to “Think Outside the Bun,” you may convince them to go elsewhere. As the saying goes, here today, gone tamale.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Client Service Results, Hype Free PR, The Light Side | No Comments »

PR News Release Words to Live By (Not!) in 2010

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Jargon for the Ages

Posted by Tom Gable

We entered 2010 with the banished words for the year from Lake Superior State University, an impressive list full of toxic assets that were shovel-ready for burial. To build on this fine start, we thought it would be instructive to offer a quick historical perspective on words most hated by the media in PR news releases.

Some words such as solutions must get dropped into news releases almost unconsciously, somewhat of a verbal tic. Lazy writers sprinkle their releases with jargon rather than striving to develop well-crafted, creative and compelling ideas that capture the personality of the company, its points of differentiation and the defining factors of its offering. Instead, they issue something that sounds like a majority of news releases going out over the wires each day. A test: redact the company name, send to colleagues in other markets and see if they can identify the company.

This first list of words to avoid is based on several surveys Gable PR conducted over the past decade among editors and writers at major national business, financial and trade media. Amazingly, the list remains pretty much the same as it did when first launched in 2000!

  • Best-of-breed, customer-centric, cutting edge, end-to-end, excited, first mover, leading, leading edge, leading provider, mission critical, new paradigm, robust, seamless, solutions, state-of-the-art, thrilled, turnkey, world class.

David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR, analyzed 711,123 press releases distributed during 2008 by North American companies and filtered for gobbledygook words.

  • His favorites: 120 percent, commitment, focused on, innovate, leading provider, leverage, new and improved, partnership, pleased to, unique.
  • The Scott list from 2007: cutting edge, easy to use, flexible, market leading, mission critical, next generation, robust, scalable, well positioned world class.

Inc. Magazine wrote about the words it unfriend last year. Check out their take on some of the words and else they could mean (ala brain dump).

  • Actionable, authenticity, best of breed, brain dump, co-opetition, disintermediate, mindshare, offline, outside the box, proactive, repurpose, solution, synergy, value-add.

Bottom line: be precise, intelligent and creative in telling your stories. This can be hard work. Avoid the temptation to simply drop in a few words that sound good but like blank tiles in Scrabble, have no meaning – a great line from the classic book, Cluetrain Manifesto, which is must reading for anyone interested in joining the battle against jargon.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Hype Free PR, jargon | No Comments »

PR and Reputation Management for the Future – Clear Vision, Moving Horizon

Friday, December 18th, 2009

The Moving PR Horizon

The Moving PR Horizon

Posted by Tom Gable

As reported here previously, a PRSA Counselors Academy survey identified the key issues facing the PR agencies and internal staffs in the ongoing transition of the PR professional from vendor to trusted counselor. The top line action items: demonstrating return on investment (ROI), providing authentic counsel, embracing social media, improving technology and finding new ways of measurement.

My segment during a panel discussion of the findings at the PRSA International provided ideas on enhancing client service. As covered earlier, Gable PR and many others recommend getting off to a fast start by using internal and external audits. They are a cost-effective and quick means of gathering the intelligence required to create strategic long-term programs.

With research in place, agencies and internal PR staffs can start planning to build future image from a strong foundation and based on a bright, strategic vision. As an analogy, think about creating a beautiful new high-rise office building, cathedral, synagogue, museum, football stadium or other major architectural undertaking. What do you want the finished product to look like – the final rendering? Then, what are the essential elements needed to bring the vision to life?

Steel-Solid Facts, No Hype

In PR, branding and positioning, the foundation must be legitimate, ethical, credible, authentic and steel-solid with facts. From there, image builds on three to four core values. Then, every piece of communications provides additional support for each core value, building a row at a time to create a future award-wining edifice. Add a row or two of hype? And the walls will come crumbling down.

How to organize the PR efforts necessary to create new images and reputations? We call it Horizon Management, a concept that assumes you can plan for and achieve the desired results. Then, once the desired position is reached, positive communications must continue to perpetuity. Markets change. Competitors come and go. New communications tools are created and channels opened. So aim for the horizon – and keep moving the horizon!

The pro-active PR professional routinely looks a year or more ahead for new opportunities and provides the leadership that keeps relationships and results growing over time. Go beyond the ordinary and expected. Fresh ideas keep clients and bosses engaged and enthusiastic. The approach also builds trust and respect. Even if there is disagreement, clients know the professional is focused on their future success, not personal agendas. As a result, the PR professional is transformed from vendor or staff person to trusted counselor and strategic partner, building relationships that endure and prosper.

Horizon Management

Here are a couple of quick tips for launching horizon management.

Conduct an Environmental and Situation Analysis

  • Annual plans, milestones, events, conferences, quarterly reports, audit info, other “knowns”

Get Creative with the “Flip Side”

  • What exists? What doesn’t?
  • Where are the holes?
  • What new ideas can we bring to the table?

Take Your Plan Over the Horizon

  • Propose bigger ideas, new programs, and added value
  • Have short-term action items for daily engagement
  • Set a vision for the future (changing image, behavior)
  • Brainstorm regularly, provide continuous creativity
  • Update monthly and keep moving the horizon
  • Manage for results, not time
  • Understand client rhythms, synchronize
  • Set new standards for responsiveness

Monthly Litmus Test on Program Success

Examine recent client experiences, relationships, evolution, momentum, stagnation and any confusion or misdirection:

  • What worked?
  • What didn’t?
  • What (or who) changed?
  • What was missing?
  • What steps do we need to take to generate clearly superior results?

Detailed Check List for Client Success

  • Understand the client business, plans, and goals
  • Match expertise to client needs
  • Do your homework
  • Set realistic expectations
  • Build a team – internally and with the client
  • Develop long-range plans, critical steps
  • Establish procedures, protocols for planning, ongoing creative, approvals, measurement
  • Be strategic and authentic
  • Use appropriate tools and tactics
  • Communicate consistently and creatively!
  • Keep moving the horizon
  • And celebrate as you build relationships that endure to perpetuity

Obviously, these are bullet points that require a lot more thought for each and could be turned into a chapter in a book (They are! The Fifth Edition of the PR Client Service Manual is advancing toward release in Spring 2010). For a free PDF of the Fourth Edition, circa 2001, email me at tom@gablepr.com.

Posted by Tom Gable

As reported here previously, a PRSA Counselors Academy survey identified the key issues facing the PR agencies and internal staffs in the ongoing transition of the PR professional from vendor to trusted counselor. The top line action items: demonstrating return on investment (ROI), providing authentic counsel, embracing social media, improving technology and finding new ways of measurement.

My segment during a panel discussion of the findings at the PRSA International provided ideas on enhancing client service.  As covered earlier, Gable PR and many others recommend getting off to a fast start by using internal and external audits.  They are a cost-effective and quick means of gathering the intelligence required to create strategic long-term programs.

With research in place, agencies and internal PR staffs can start planning to build future image from a strong foundation and based on a bright, strategic vision. As an analogy, think about creating a beautiful new high-rise office building, cathedral, synagogue, museum, football stadium or other major architectural undertaking.  What do you want the finished product to look like – the final rendering? Then, what are the essential elements needed to bring the vision to life?

Steel-Solid Facts, No Hype

In PR, branding and positioning, the foundation must be legitimate, ethical, credible, authentic and steel-solid with facts.  From there, image builds on three to four core values. Then, every piece of communications provides additional support for each core value, building a row at a time to create a future award-wining edifice. Add a row or two of hype? And the walls will come crumbling down.

How to organize the PR efforts necessary to create new images and reputations?  We call it Horizon Management, a concept that assumes you can plan for and achieve the desired results.  Then, once the desired position is reached, positive communications must continue to perpetuity.  Markets change. Competitors come and go. New communications tools are created and channels opened.  So aim for the horizon – and keep moving the horizon!

The pro-active PR professional routinely looks a year or more ahead for new opportunities and provides the leadership that keeps relationships and results growing over time. Go beyond the ordinary and expected. Fresh ideas keep clients and bosses engaged and enthusiastic. The approach also builds trust and respect. Even if there is disagreement, clients know the professional is focused on their future success, not personal agendas.  As a result, the PR professional is transformed from vendor or staff person to trusted counselor and strategic partner, building relationships that endure and prosper.

Horizon Management

Here are a couple of quick tips for launching horizon management.

Conduct an Environmental and Situation Analysis

Annual plans, milestones, events, conferences, quarterly reports, audit info, other “knowns”

Get Creative with the “Flip Side”

What exists? What doesn’t?

Where are the holes?

What new ideas can we bring to the table?

Take Your Plan Over the Horizon

Propose bigger ideas, new programs, and added value

Have short-term action items for daily engagement

Set a vision for the future (changing image, behavior)

Brainstorm regularly, provide continuous creativity

Update monthly and keep moving the horizon

Manage for results, not time

Understand client rhythms, synchronize

Set new standards for responsiveness

Monthly Litmus Test on Program Success

Examine recent client experiences, relationships, evolution, momentum, stagnation, confusion

What worked?

What didn’t?

What (or who) changed?

What was missing?

What steps do we need to take to generate clearly superior results?

Detailed Check List for Client Success

Understand the client business, plans, and goals

Match expertise to client needs

Do your homework

Set realistic expectations

Build a team – internally and with the client

Develop long-range plans, critical steps

Establish procedures, protocols for planning, ongoing creative, approvals, measurement

Be strategic and authentic

Use appropriate tools and tactics

Communicate consistently and creatively!

Keep moving the horizon

And celebrate as you build relationships that endure to perpetuity.

Obviously, these are bullet points that require a lot more thought for each and could be turned into a chapter in a book (They are!  The Fifth Edition of the PR Client Service Manual is advancing toward release in Spring 2010).  For a free PDF of the Fourth Edition, circa 2001, email me at tom@gablepr.com.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Clutter Busting, Horizon Management, In the Beginning | No Comments »

Foundation for PR Success: Fast Client Connection, Insights and Intelligence

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Getting to know you

Getting to know you

Posted by Tom Gable

A recent PRSA Counselors Academy survey identified the key issues facing  PR agencies and internal staffs in the next few years in the ongoing transition of the PR professional from vendor to trusted counselor. The top line action items were finding new ways to: demonstrate return on investment (ROI), provide authentic counsel, embrace social media, improve technology and find new ways of measurement – all to the benefit of client service (and agency success!).

The results were presented at the recent PRSA International Conference in San Diego. A panel featuring Sydney Ayers, Joel Curran and yours truly delved into recommended action plans to move programs forward faster with brilliant research, planning and implementation using what the computer people call parallel processing on implementation – moving huge amounts of data (or other things) simultaneously toward a desired result.

Moving with Alacrity

Linear thinking and processing no longer cut it. Clients operate in real time (just like agencies!) and are expecting more from their PR professional than ever before. This is good news. Our profession keeps getting better. We are challenged to do even more and faster toward measurable results.

To get there, the best agencies and staffs build and nourish a pro-active, collaborative culture. At the heart of this culture is a commitment to providing authentic, strategic counsel for the long term and delivering meaningful results (as the survey indicated). The best agencies and internal teams from big to little create systems for research, planning, creative and management that enable them to work smarter and more effectively toward the ultimate goal: helping their clients, companies, organizations or institutions outpace their competition, grow market share and build momentum for future growth.

The first action item covered: a compulsion to understand the client universe.

Connecting with the Client

The following research check list probably replicates what most agencies and internal teams already do, perhaps providing an extra idea or two to build on. This can be a starting point for getting to know the client as fast as possible. There is a sense of urgency because of the state of the economy, growing competition and the 24/7 news cycle. PR pros need to know, to understand, to project, to feel, to be intuitive and empathetic and recommend brilliantly. Almost instantly. For your parallel processing research assignment, delve into the following five research action items:

  • Business and Marketing Plans, Research
  • Industry, Analyst, Competitive Reports
  • Media Coverage, Perceptions
  • Social Media Buzz
  • The Internal Audit
  • Envision the world in two years
  • Critical success factors to achieve their vision
  • Strengths and weaknesses
  • Challenges
  • Competition
  • Points of differentiation
  • Core values
  • Culture
  • Anecdotes to bring the stories to life
  • Targets audiences prioritized
  • Expectations
  • Critical time lines
  • Means of measurement

Internal audits are both a research and bonding exercise. At Gable PR, we will interview five to 15 people within a client organization, depending upon the size and complexity. Audits can last from 15 minutes to any hour (this is a powerful way to start a relationship and start your positioning as authentic, trusted counsel). We often conduct the audits at no charge, as our contribution to the learning curve (for a sample internal audit, please email be at tom@gablepr.com).

The audits are conducted individually and anonymously to encourage candor. We compile all the answers into a single document under each answer and remove the attribution. We also move the answers around randomly under each question, so there is no pattern; perceptions are important, the sources less so.

Agency teams analyze the verbatim responses, brainstorm, strategize and develop an executive summary with what we call “indicators for action.” The action items can include improved visioning, branding, internal communications, marketing initiatives, culture and future opportunities, plus insights into the heart and soul of an organization. The findings can be a wake-up call for senior management. One recent internal audit of a major cultural institution found huge gaps in internal communication. Different parts of the organization working in silos, largely in the dark (the so-called mushroom effect). The institution was in a crisis mode. The findings helped its board of directors and senior management come together with a new vision for the organization and the plans to achieve the vision.

The research and internal audit provide insights and strong foundations for getting it right internally, which has to be done before connecting with external audiences. Next: the external audit and gap analysis.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, In the Beginning | No Comments »

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).

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Horizon Management, In the Beginning, Team Play | No Comments »

« Older Entries