Posts Tagged ‘reputation’

PRSA Counselors Academy Confab Drives Authenticity, Values; Sharp Contrast to Facebook-Google PR Fiasco

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

PR Pros

LAKE LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Senior counselors from throughout North America gathered here May 12 through 15 for the annual spring conference of the PRSA Counselors Academy, which produces a content-rich program each year aimed at sharing knowledge and setting new standards for the public relations profession.

The program was packed with sessions on the importance of PR evolving as a vital, authentic, strategic force in helping clients of all sizes build long-term images and reputation. Experts covered how to translate solid corporate values to many audiences and walk the talk with no empty claims or unethical tactics.

This was in sharp contrast to the negative coverage being given one of the larger PR firms in the country, Burson-Marsteller, for launching a whisper campaign on behalf of an unnamed client (later revealed to be Facebook) to get media to report that a Google Gmail feature ostensibly trampled the privacy of millions of Americans and violated fair trade rules. The PR fiasco soon blew up and was covered in USA Today, Media Bistro, New York Times and many other outlets.

There was concern that the Burson fiasco would be damaging to the overall image of the profession. But this dissipated as the counselors delved into the programs that demonstrated the growth of the profession in driving strategic and authentic PR programs for clients of all sizes, shapes and needs.

Yours truly was part of a workshop that included a focus on image as a part of corporate strategy. Establish strong core values – what do you stand for – and then demonstrate proof of principle over time (e.g. if you are a high-quality, community-oriented company, how do you demonstrate those values?).

Think about core values as the essential element of building any image and reputation for the long term, like carbon in the universe.

The mission of strategic PR is to delve into the heart and soul of an organization to tell its authentic, credible stories through multiple means and build reputation for the long-term. Agencies use a robust arsenal to achieve the strategic mission, which can include; changing perceptions and behaviors, positioning new companies, repositioning companies that have become stuck, launching new products and services, building brands, managing a crisis, driving value and much more. Processes, built on a foundation of solid values and corporate culture, build image over time.

Other sessions delved into: how to grow counselors, not tacticians; approaches to delivering stellar client service;, integrating new approaches into multicultural strategies; taking control of your reputation in the new stakeholder economy; and new strategies in media relations measurement.

Janet Tyler, president of Airfoil Public Relations, Detroit, conducted a session on value-driven leadership and translating personal values into brand strategies. The concept: establish core values, which are used to build vision and mission. She provide a list of 374 traits, attributes and values and asked the audience of senior PR counselors to identify 20, then prioritize to their top five. From there, she suggested that they adapt those values to the everyday operation of their firms. Her firm, a hot tech shop with some 60 on staff, listed: collaboration, accountability, learning, leadership, service and fun.

Janet said the values are then applied to three key elements for driving the firm: people, processes and performance. The values are used to differentiate and connect with clients. Airfoil also consults with clients getting their values aligned with stakeholder needs – the heart and soul of authentic PR, which was evident everywhere at Lake Las Vegas during the conference and spoke volumes about the profession.

(Search Twitter using #caprsa for running commentaries on the sessions, links to valuable information)

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Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Horizon Management, Hype Free PR, News and Media, Social Media | Comments Off

Reuters DC News Editor Provides IPREX Meeting with Newsroom Insights, Tips

Friday, May 6th, 2011

Quest to be First

Posted by Tom Gable

The information-packed IPREX annual meeting in Washington, DC, drew partners from some 35 cities on three contents to learn from experts and share best practices in public relations and public affairs in closed sessions among this global brain trust. One of the early sessions featured Kristin Roberts, Washington news editor and deputy bureau chief for Reuters. The high-energy journalist started by reading a collection of bad news releases received by her bureau just this morning – several embarrassments, including for major PR firms who did go unnamed.

From there, Kristin offered some quick tips for the assembled PR pros, many of whom were ex-journalists:

  • To connect with the news media, don’t go to the bureau chief of editor. Find the person covering the beat. Do some research.
  • Be straightforward. You have news, you have background, or you have a potential resource for future background on a specific topic.
  • Be persistent if it’s a good story and you don’t get immediate responses to your voice mails or emails.
  • The daily email flow is daunting. Editors will always open email from a trusted source. For others, the subject line needs to be compelling.
  • The news cycle churns by the second. Reuters aims to be first and measures itself against Bloomberg and Dow Jones in seconds.
  • A media outlet might have only a 30-second lead in breaking a story. The great ones can sometimes hold up for a day until the other media catch up, as happened with Kristin in breaking news of the Iraq Surge under President Bush.
  • When managing coverage of the killing of Osama bin Laden, she woke correspondents up all over the world before the President’s talk. The lead writer worked from home, away from distractions. She ran to the office in her running shoes, but got called to the White House because their correspondent was solo and needed help. When asked if she went in sneakers, she said no and gave a fashion tip: she had high heels in her gym bag and kept them everywhere (office, car trunk, home).
  • When asked about Twitter: “I hate it. I am too old for Twitter (she is 36).” She said she doesn’t trust it and isn’t comfortable with it. They double check anything and everything from Twitter that might be a relevant news lead. This includes whether the Tweet is real or bogus.
  • PR is important to the news business. She was amazed that the Libyan rebels had a spokesman in one week and were issuing news releases.
  • Reuters aims to be objective in the news. Blogs are different, where it’s not the content that’s important, but the tone. She admitted to being “snarky” in her blogs, but snarky to all. She bragged that no one knows how she votes, not even her husband.

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Cultural and Other Changes Needed First at Japan Nuclear Plant, then Crisis PR

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Image Meltdown

Posted by Tom Gable

The unfolding disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan will inevitably be positioned as a monumental crisis PR challenge to be addressed by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company.

That comes later. First, TEPCO needs to solve its management and culture crisis – a situation perhaps worse than what came to be discovered about BP as the oil from its ruptured rig spread throughout the Gulf Coast.

The concept is simple. As management guru Peter Drucker noted decades ago: “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

TEPCO failed on many fronts in doing things right and also doing the right things – the foundation for positive PR. The Wall Street Journal has dug deep and found a history of failures at the “trouble prone” Daiichi plant. Worse yet, when the earthquake and tsunami struck, the WSJ and New York Times reported that TEPCO hesitated to flood overheating nuclear reactors with seawater because of worries about ruining their investment, even though those steps were included in their emergency plans. The media reported other delays in taking action by the Japanese government, the military and other agencies.

Crisis PR? Yes, plus extensive reputation management after management resignations from TEPCO, criminal indictments, civil lawsuits and pledges by the new management team to make things right and maybe do the right thing.

Then, they face the biggest PR challenge: can they deliver on the new promises?

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Managing a PR Crisis in the Age of Social Media

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

Instant News Channels

Posted by Tom Gable

The above title of the CommNexus event in San Diego was intriguing and the syllabus promised to deliver tips and actionable insights to help PR people and others prepare for the unexpected. Is it possible, given the instant news cycle we live in today? Yes, according to members of a panel that represented the news media, a major client and an international PR firm.  And the results are worth sharing.

Liya Sharif, moderator and director of marketing at Qualcomm, outlined the challenges of today’s instant communications and direct attacks on brands, such as Toyota during its recent issues with recalls. It developed a social media strategy after the fact. What should companies thing about and do?

Alex Pham, who’s been with the Los Angeles Times for 11 years and seen it all, outlined her six key tips for being successful in managing crisis in the era of social media.

  1. Have a plan
  2. Be honest
  3. Walk the talk
  4. Respond quickly and aggressively if needed
  5. Hire a pro for an outside point of view
  6. “No comment” doesn’t work

Monte Lutz, senior vice president with Edelman Digital, Los Angeles, said his firm advises clients to first have a plan in place. The pace and cadence of the news cycle has changed to the “24-second news cycle,” so the players need to be ready to move. If an organization doesn’t respond to a crisis almost instantly and accurately, negative information can pop up onto the first page of results generated by any search engine.

“There is a vacuum for content and people are ready to fill it,” Lutz said.

Speed and Persona

He said speed was No. 1, followed by persona. Respondents can’t be “snarky” and should try to adapt a friendly demeanor. Building trust is essential because trust is a major differentiator. He noted that the Edelman Trust Barometer continues to fall as companies and organizations do a poor job connecting authentically with their many target audiences.

As an additional tactic, he suggested buying ads on the search engines with links back to credible background information on the company website.

Rachel Laing, former journalist and now deputy press secretary for Major Jerry Sanders, said to work on trust and relationships early – get people engaged before you need the connections. Be active in Twitter. Follow people in the space, engage new contacts, gain trust and credibility with intelligent Tweets and re-Tweet relevant information for further credibility.

Harnessing Twitter

Laing said government is always in a crisis mode so be prepared. Control the fan page. Never delete comments but you don’t have to respond to “nasty-grams” and perpetuate the madness. If someone is Tweeting badly, follow them back and then direct message (DM) to them with your phone and email to follow up with the facts.

Pham agreed on the use of Twitter and said the tone can differ based on the audience. But “corporate speak” doesn’t work and the responses have to be authentic and friendly in the social media space, to include restating facts since the social media doesn’t operate under the same rules as traditional media.

Traditional media will call, email and conduct extra research to get the facts behind the story. Cooler heads are at work, versus those personally involved and passionate about an issue, or someone who wants to be first with the news, whether totally correct or not. A lot of bloggers aren’t interested in accuracy, she said, so sometimes companies have to go into “hand-to-hand combat.” If you have been engaged and developed loyal followers, they will become your advocates and defend you in times of crisis.

Responding to Traditional Media

The traditional media is also working on the 24-second news cycle. As a result, Pham said companies need to get back to the media faster than ever before, even if it’s to clarify the information that is needed and promise to get back with details as soon as possible. A key: asking “what’s your deadline.”

Have a clear contact on the website so that point person can be found in 10 seconds or less.

Lutz advised companies to anticipate disaster and have dark website pages and dark tabs on Facebook with facts ready to go on a moment’s notice. Planning with the PR firm should include working on the tone and conducting rehearsals. The company can be prepared to be hits own publisher and broadcaster, too, using the different channels (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, PR, media relations, website, etc.) to get out the word. Embed news releases with pictures, graphs and video if they will help tell the story.

If the opposition has posted a video to YouTube, post your response using the same title and tags as the hit piece. This ensures your quality response shows up immediately.

Organizing the PR Crisis Team

Dan Novak, vice president of global marketing, PR and communications for Qualcomm, said internal plans need to include having a core communications team at the ready and a committee waiting in the wings to be convened that includes legal, government, public relations, investor relations, human resources, IT, and other key units. The plan needs to be based on high values and accountability. The process for launching the plan into action needs to eliminate speed bumps, which can hinder many organizations.

During Q&A, one of the audience asked about how to get clients to commit to a social media program.

The panel’s response: it’s happening whether you participate or not, as evidenced by what happened to BP, Toyota and United Airlines (the guitar incident) when they didn’t respond.

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Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, Hype Free PR, News and Media, Social Media, Team Play | Comments Off

In Crisis PR, Consider the Half-Life of a Tweet or Comment

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

Too sensitive?

Posted by Tom Gable

How quickly to respond to negative blogs and comments? Gable PR had a recent experience with a client that announced progress with a controversial technology for drug discovery. We anticipated feedback and had assembled an extensive array of data, links and citations for outside validation. Unfortunately, we soon found ourselves in an imbroglio that went far beyond questions on the technology

The CEO, we soon learned, had personal and financial issues in a previous business almost two decades ago. The science story drew mostly positive coverage. A science blogger probed into the technology and a skeptic’s manifesto. Worse, a former girlfriend to the CEO soon added to the comments. She wrote under a pseudonym and blasted the CEO for a bad real estate deal, other business transactions that went sour and even previous jobs held by the wife (personal shopper at Nordstrom). Others popped in via Twitter.

The CFO of the company responded with facts and suggested that perhaps the personal attacks weren’t relevant and bordered on defamation, which generated more personal attacks!

Long story short: the company stopped responding and the commentary died a day later. Lesson learned: answer succinctly and factually to correct the record; don’t get caught up in continuing the negative dialogue and personal attacks, which seems to get progressively worse and more personal once the opposition figures out that the facts are against them.

Understand that the half life of a Tweet is two to five minutes, according to a study of an Audi program that used Twitter for branding, and hot blogging topics, particularly on obscure topics, flame out and die in a day or two.

The plan, then, is to set aside ego, which is often difficult, especially when the attacker and his or her motives are known. Stick to the facts, post and move on. You will be amazed how quickly the issue goes away (well, it never totally goes away, since the Internet is forever).

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Posted in Authentic PR, Brilliant Counsel, Client Service Results, Crisis PR, News and Media, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Crisis PR — The Lightning Round in Dealing with a Badly Babbling Blogosphere

Sunday, January 2nd, 2011

Disaster Landing!

Posted by Tom Gable

What happens when bad conversations bubble up in the blogosphere and elsewhere about the quality of your client’s product, services, science, people, culture, character and customer service, among other things? For Gable PR, we had two very different experiences recently that indicate a core truth about public relations and issues management when conducted at the speed of light: fast, fact-based, non-emotional but human responses based on intrinsic core values of the organization win; non-rational responses that don’t deal with the issues fail.

I am probably restating the obvious to most PR professionals, but our approach and tools used may provide additional creative resources to some. Read on.

In one instance, a prominent blogger took issue with the scientific foundation of our client’s work, which generated many negative comments about the client. The client chose to take an aggressive stance and question the sources of the blasts, rather than deal solely with the content and trying to change the direction of the conversation with new data on the basis for their science. The debate deteriorated rapidly into dueling comments on the blog about things other than science, nasty tweets and links to previous issues the client had gone through in a previous business 20 years ago! The negative conversations careened along for two weeks when the client stopped responding; it could have ended in two days. And through the wonders of the Internet, it is all searchable, which doesn’t add much to the client’s credibility when it tries to raise money and the analysts start doing their due diligence.

In the other instance, a medical device company set aside ego and took an analytical, clinical look at complaints about one of its products, thanked everyone for the input and promised to move quickly to remedy any shortcoming. The client focused on doing the right thing, in addition to doing things right. The result: a fast end to the negative conversation and a 180-degree switch by some critics to becoming fans.

Gable PR used an emergency issues management check list for both clients. The results varied, as noted above. Each had a Crisis PR Plan, with extensive details. But this “lightning round” list might prove helpful for a PR firm helping its clients or an internal staff putting its organization on the right track – fast!

Speed of Light Crisis PR Check List

  • Source of the communications, legitimacy
  • Issues being raised
  • Internal analysis of accuracy, validity, magnitude of the issues and conversation; duration, desired end-point
  • Analysis of potential impact on reputation of the brand, company, people, technology, etc.
  • Beyond communications, are internal changes needed to the organization, product, service, culture and core values?
  • If analysis indicates the fundamentals of the organization seemingly aren’t lined up with the outside audiences, how to move toward better alignment?
  • Launch issues management and Crisis PR plan if required, to include response strategy, core values, messaging, tools, tactics and timing (in some cases, you don’t have to respond immediately, especially when the attacks are emotional and personal)
  • Set goals for moving the conversation
  • Add resources to the Crisis PR team if needed, including outside experts
  • Respond in a sincere, human voice and work to build trust
  • Conduct minute-by-minute tracking, analysis of trending in tone, content
  • Adjust the response strategy and tactics as facts and circumstances indicate
  • Continue to evolve the internal culture and organization as needed
  • Celebrate success!

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Shopping List for Inspiring Books on PR Creativity, Management and Innovation

Friday, December 17th, 2010

New Morning

Posted by Tom Gable

The SmartBlog on Workforce wrote that some of the most interesting conversations between business leaders tend to start with the question “what are you reading?” It created a forum that asked everyone to contribute ideas on “books that keep your forward-thinking wheels turning.”

It asked: What have you read that has made you a better leader?

The responses included classics from the field of management, war, leadership and even a few pieces of fiction. For PR, I went back through books we’ve found most helpful over the past 35 years in managing our own business and also better understanding the thinking and needs of the entrepreneurs we work with in different industries (biotech, high-tech, medical technology, renewable energy, wireless, etc.). Despite the wide variety of educational disciplines required to succeed in these different industries, several common traits emerged:

  • The creative mind is always exploring beyond the boundaries of his or her areas of expertise and comfort
  • There are no new ideas, just combinations of other ideas that can magically transform something as yet undefined and vague into a brilliant concept for the future
  • Be prepared to fail (Thomas Edison said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”)
  • The best companies – from start ups to Fortune 100 – have both cultures that encourage creativity and established systems to keep all the elements moving forward toward measurable, desirable results
  • Good systems and leadership can turn C players into B players and B players into A players

As Michael Gerber wrote in E-Myth Revisited, the systems run the business and the people run the systems. The way we implement using the systems provides a clear means of differentiating. Gerber notes that your business model can provide consistent value to your clients, employees, the community and all others you touch — beyond what they expect. So create the system where average people can achieve extraordinary results.

From that preamble, here is a shopping list of books to get your creative mind exploring new and possibly unfamiliar territories or revisiting classic concepts. The combination should stir brilliant new thoughts and perhaps a bigger vision for 2011, with new tools to make the vision a reality.

  • The E-Myth Revisited, Michael E. Gerber (organization and systems for the entrepreneur, creativity and vision)
  • Borrowing Brilliance, the Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others, David Kord Murray
  • The 500 Year Delta, Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker
  • Innovation – The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want – Curtis R. Carlson and William W. Wilmot
  • The Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers
  • The Innovators Solution, Clayton Christensen
  • Jamming – The Art and Discipline of Business Creativity, John Kao
  • High Output Management, Andrew S. Grove, 1983 classic on the team ethic and the theory of assumed responsibility
  • Organizing Genius, Warren Bennis
  • Built to Last, James Collins and Jerry Porras
  • Reputation, Charles Fombrun
  • Flawless Consulting, Peter Block
  • Keys to Success, Napoleon Hill

Happy reading!

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It’s NOT a PR Problem. Think Real Values, Mission and Culture.

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Disaster Pending

Posted by Tom Gable

What do BP, Tiger Woods, the TSA, Toyota, Apple’s Antenna Angst and HP’s CEO scandal have in common?

Most are included in the inaugural “Top 10 PR Disasters of 2010” poll, conducted late November by Cantor Integrated Marketing Staffing in partnership with CommPRO (we added TSA because of its late surge in media attention). They reported sending an email survey to 25,000 professionals in PR, communications and related disciplines, generating 167 responses, a return of just 0.67 percent. But this anti-popularity poll is worth looking at for similarities. The ranking:

  1. BP Oil Spill Response
  2. Toyota’s Great Recall
  3. Tiger Woods’ Marital Mess
  4. Action for Children – Autism Ad Campaign Backlash
  5. Apple’s Antennagate
  6. HP’s CEO Scandal
  7. EasyJet Volcanic Ash Cloud Saga
  8. Nestle’s Palm Oil Crisis
  9. Johnson & Johnson’s ’10 Recall
  10. Al Gore’s Trysts

An interesting exercise, but I would argue that these go beyond having PR disasters. More importantly in each case those swept up in the tornadoes of negative media coverage for their transgressions had deviated from the strong core values and behaviors that made them successful in the first place. They violated consumer trust. As a result, each needs to solve deeper and more important cultural, organizational and other shortcomings before PR can start persuading many different target audiences to take a new look.

When a brand tumbles after a successful rise to stardom and success, there is a disconnect. Psychologists call it cognitive dissonance, where conflicting ideas battle for loyalty in your head (Toyota quality versus Toyota cost cutting to drive profits; the world’s greatest athlete versus the world’s worst philanderer; important need for ensuring air travel safety versus the brutish behavior and public theater the TSA pursues in subjecting everyone to delays and indignity rather than focusing attention on the most viable terrorist candidates).

The fix is to embrace image as a part of corporate strategy, then PR can work to regain reputation and trust.  As written about before, this requires consistent communications over time and delivering what scientists and engineers call proof of principle. What do you stand for? Can you consistently demonstrate evidence of these values? The value of reputation has been proven over time in studies by many brilliant authors in the world of reputation management (Charles Fombrun, Leslie Gaines-Ross, Al Ries, etc.). The fix requires not merely whipping up new communications plans in hopes of fluffing and puffing up deflated images. Once the deeper organizational flaws have been solved and a new visions established, PR can work to rebuild reputations for the long term from a solid foundations of facts and deeds – values-based PR at its best.

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Social Media Usage Grows Up, Just Like We Do

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010

Social Evolution

Posted by Lauren Miller

If you sit back and visualize about how you keep current on what your friends are doing or check the latest entertainment, recreation, industry specific or other breaking news, how do you think you spend the majority of your time?

The latest results from eMarketer show the world spends more time on social media than email, browsing or other online activities. Once a novelty, social media has become part of everyday life and has even become a verb (i.e., “Facebooking”). The eMarketer study shows 58.1 percent of Americans manage an online profile, with the worldwide number at 61.8 percent.

How did we get here? From Flicker and YouTube to SlideShare and LiveJournal, there is a social media platform for almost every letter of the alphabet and every Internet user. No matter what your platform of choice, you have probably noticed something interesting: Your use of these sites has evolved and migrated along with your life (think about changing demographics, interests, lifestyle, etc.).

Maybe over the last few years you’ve become a parent, started a new job, relocated or have become a job-seeker. If you look back over time, you can actually trace your personal and professional development based on how your posts have changed.

As an example, for young professionals currently in their 20s, in high school the craze was all about MySpace – the pictures you uploaded, the music on your page and the number of friends you had. Most teenagers posted fun party pictures that sometimes straddled the line of inappropriate. But there was no privacy on MySpace, anyone could join the site and they weren’t always who they said they were.

Moving forward to college we found something new – Facebook. You couldn’t have a Facebook page unless you had a college email account – and not every University had Facebook available to its students. Facebook, when it first launched, not only looked very different than it does today, but the purpose for most was a way to stay connected to your high school friends and new college friends.

Slowly, Facebook began to evolve and anyone with an email account could create a Facebook page. The early adopters of Facebook started seeing their parents and aunts and uncles joining Facebook and wanting to be friends with them. Then, potential employers started looking at Facebook to see if those recent college graduates applying for a job seemed like the kind of person that the company wanted representing them. All of a sudden, you saw seniors in college and recent grads changing their Facebook pictures, their content and their status updates. It went from “Party at Joes!” to “Working Hard.” Facebook no longer was just a fun way to post pictures and chat with friends. It evolved into a community with more depth. It became a way for families to keep in touch and also offered businesses, institutions and organizations the opportunities to create personalities to promote their products and services in new ways.

College grads and young professionals then stumbled upon the next social platform that could be value to their careers – LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows professionals to discuss hot topics in their industry, probe other industry professionals for their ideas or advice and is another source for job listings. With LinkedIn you don’t post crazy pictures or status updates, it’s purely a way to put your resume and qualifications out there for the business and professional world to see. LinkedIn also took on a higher professional aura as organizations and those of like interests formed discussion groups (much like the Internet bulletin boards of old, but with considerable more class).

As with any form of communications and connecting, social media users continue to evolve with their favorite platforms over time. Social media and social network sites can prove to be very effective ways to open new doors. You never know – The new lead singer of Journey landed his gig from a video he posted on YouTube of him belting out the band’s classic “Don’t Stop Believing.” There is more focus and thoughtful content today than ever before as we learn to post content that projects the right image and is something you would be comfortable with your 90 year-old grandmother and potential employer seeing.

(Editor’s Note: Lauren is 24 years old, a 2009 graduate of the University of San Diego and has changed her photos and content significantly in the past few years).

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Posted in Client Service Results, Clutter Busting, Hype Free PR, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Strategic PR Plan in 30 Minutes or Less?

Saturday, October 16th, 2010

Influential Channels

Posted by Tom Gable

Well not quite. But to at least get everyone pointed in the same direction, we often use a little mind-mapping exercise with clients who are unfamiliar with the strategic requirements of a good program. It involves walking through a dozen questions with the client (or internal team) and posting the initial answers on a white board. Once the big ideas are covered, the teams can follow up with creative and strategic sessions to add depth to the program, then fine-tune the tactical details.

In the crude white board example shown here, the CEO of an enterprise software company wanted to use social media to reach its key targets: CFOs of large companies. There are probably a million or two CFOs on Twitter and Facebook, right?

To help this CEO (with an engineering Ph.D.) understand the essential elements of strategic PR planning, we went thorough a quick mind-mapping exercise. If you look at the map, social media is among the missing.

The same approach has worked for a consumer client with a product aimed at 18 to 24 year olds who thought the front page of The Wall Street Journal was his perfect target and for other clients who were a little off on their targeting (Oprah for a biotech compound; USA Today for a foreign engineering firm; etc.). We use this approach internally as well to get the creative juices flowing. You can try this at home.

  • Who are the ideal targets? Make a list.
  • What do you want them to do?
  • What are their motivations?
  • Where does each get his or her information — the most trusted sources?
  • How to influence the flow of information into those channels?
  • Get creative. Key messages – how to differentiate from the competition?
  • Unusual approaches?
  • Identify the tools and tactics to get it done (new product launches, trade show programs, media relations, seminars, direct mail, email, literature, speeches, a Guru Program, YouTube, guerrilla marketing, whatever).
  • How to integrate and leverage the tactics for maximum impact (e.g. how Apple and others leak hints about new products in the weeks leading up to the official introduction, provide reviewers with prototypes, etc.)?
  • Can you measure and monitor the results from each component of the program?
  • How often to review and adjust as needed?
  • What will success look like?

Good job! High-fives around the room. Now, get on with the real work of bringing this to life.

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