Stephanie Smirnov

Guest Post: PR Mama’s Words of Wisdom

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I’m frequently asked to advise young people trying to break into the PR agency world. Given the extremely collaborative, service-oriented nature of our business, a high degree of emotional and social intelligence is a true asset for any aspiring agency pro.
Wondering if you’ve got the chops to function in a fast-paced environment where clients call the shots, colleagues test your patience, and elusive media stonewall your pitching attempts? I’ve devised this quick quiz to help assess your agency potential. You can thank me later.
Question #1:  A colleague routinely sends rambling e-mails after 11 PM. S/he is:
Frazzled and in need of a vacation
An insomniac trying the clear out the in-box
A drunken tool
Question #2:  You are presenting as if your life depends on it in a new business meeting. The senior member of the client team has not looked up from his Blackberry once. He is:
Dealing with an urgent media request
Monitoring a brewing customer service issue
An arrogant tool
Question #3: A senior colleague is concerned about the performance of one of your direct reports, frequently peppering your secretary for details on the employee’s comings-and-goings. The colleague is:
Concerned with bothering you with such trivial questions
Fact-finding before coming to you formally
A trouble-making tool
Question #4: You spend four months, much money, and countless man-hours advancing to the final round of a new business pitch. The client calls off the agency search abruptly for budget reasons but promises to be back in touch in the new fiscal year. After several months without word from the client, you read in a trade publication that the business has been awarded to an agency not in the original search. The potential client was:
Directed to appoint the new agency by the recently hired CMO
Forced to make a quick decision without reactivating the RFP process because of urgent communications needs
An inconsiderate tool
Question #5: A member of your client’s advertising team recommends setting up a Twitter account for the brand you both work on to push out marketing messages only, not to interact with Twitter users in a meaningful way. The advertising colleague is:
Attempting to help the client get their feet wet on Twitter without a major time commitment
Cautious about engaging consumers on Twitter before a more formal social media strategy has been approved
A clueless tool
Question #6:  A client calls unexpectedly at 7 PM asking for major rework on a presentation you thought was formally approved in preparation for a meeting with the VP of Marketing the next morning. S/he is:
Responding to last-minute input from the VP of Marketing’s second-in-command
Incorporating trend information s/he thinks will convince the VP to invest incremental dollars in the campaign
A micro-managing tool
Question #7: A subordinate shows up to meetings with you on a regular basis without bringing a pad and pen for note-taking. S/he is:
A prodigy with an unusual ability to retain freakish amounts of information in his/her head
Trying to save trees
A lazy tool
Question #8: The same client who never commits additional funds for big ideas dings your team for not bringing enough “out of the box” thinking to the table. S/he is:
A big thinker who believes the constructive criticism will inspire a fresh burst of creativity from the agency
Challenging the agency to “do more with less”
An unrealistic tool
If you answered “C” to all the questions, you clearly have the kind of emotional intelligence, collaborative spirit, and service orientation that makes a great PR agency professional. As a matter of fact, I might even want to hire you. Good luck on your career path, and don’t let the tools get you down.[Editor’s

[Editor’s Note: After my recent visit over to the PR MAMA blog we’re honored to be graced by the presence of the lovely & talented Stephanie Smirnov.]

I’m frequently asked to advise young people trying to break into the PR agency world. Given the extremely collaborative, service-oriented nature of our business, a high degree of emotional and social intelligence is a true asset for any aspiring agency pro.

Wondering if you’ve got the chops to function in a fast-paced environment where clients call the shots, colleagues test your patience, and elusive media stonewall your pitching attempts? I’ve devised this quick quiz to help assess your agency potential. You can thank me later.

Continue reading →

TJ Dietderich, Uncategorized

Your Copy Sucks: Thanks for nothing, Dexter ads

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I love TV. I love it so much that I harshly judge people based on their viewing habits. I’ve ended relationships because of disagreements over which Iron Chef series is better (original, duh). So I take TV very seriously.

I also watch a lot of TV online or via Netflix because, you know, geek. I finished Dexter season two months ago and was really looking forward to starting season three, which just came out on DVD. This is all background information for my griping.

My point is, I walk outside my office one afternoon and I see this noise:

2009-09-01 21.38.40

Y’all in NYC have probably seen these promos for Dexter season four all over. It’s in the subway and on buses and, I dunno, stuck to the backs of the doors in women’s rooms.

And it pisses me off because it’s like a giant spoiler that’s following me everywhere!

“Teej,” say the unfortunate people who must listen to me whine about this, “it’s not that big of a spoiler. I mean, it’s just Dexter holding a kid. Could mean anything.”

To those unfortunates I say: LOOK AT THE COPY.

2009-09-01 21.38.40

Here’s my dramatic reenactment of how this ad campaign came about. Imagine a room full of modern day Mad Men wannabes: Diet Coke instead of scotch, mint gum instead of cigarettes, you get the picture. And GO:

“We can just have the picture of Dexter and the baby. Good image.”

“Do you think people will take it the wrong way? We don’t want people thinking he’s going to kill the baby.”

“Yeah, we definitely don’t want people to think he’s going to kill the baby.”

“Can’t have baby-killing.”

“Nope. No baby-killing. Can’t have that.”

“We need some copy that explains that he’s not going to hurt the baby.”

“Oh, how about ‘This is Dexter’s baby that he had in season three that TJ Dietderich hasn’t seen yet because it just came out on DVD’? Good?”

“Yeah, but ‘World’s Most Killer Dad’ is snappier.”

“Cut! Print! We’re done here.”

End scene.

It’s not like this baby was a secret; I’m told there was a special behind-the-scenes episode about this plot line. But I had gone to great lengths to avoid those things. Copy, on the surface, seems to have very little to do with my spoilery anger. But allow me to make an incredibly far reach.

I believe that all copy, even ad copy, should consider its audience. Not its intended audience, not its target demo, but every single person who’s going to be looking at it. Obviously the ad dudes considered the people who might be offended by the image of the baby with a serial killer (oh, spoiler alert, if you haven’t seen season one: Dexter is a serial killer). Why not also consider the people who would be offended by spoilers? Why not just let that image and the show logo speak for itself? Why the annoying little pun that destroys all the mystery?

Who is this ad for? All the people who are caught up on the show and already know about the baby? All the people who are only vaguely familiar with the premise of the show and love babies? What about me in the middle ground, yo? Where’s my Dexter ad?

Signed,
baby-hatin’ Teej.

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Keith Trivitt, Uncategorized

Mobile Technology: The Next PR/MarComm Frontier?

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In the grand scheme of things, our constant, seemingly never-ending discussions and Twittering and blogging about the evolution of PR/marketing/advertising and how cool social media is will eventually die down, and we will get back to our normal—albeit now drastically altered (hopefully for the better)—professional and personal lives.

So rather than talk about what is currently going on in the social media landscape (look, a new Twitter app came out . . . and another!), I’d like to actually think about what we *might* be talking about a year, two years, or five years from now. Specifically, mobile technology and just how big of an impact it’s going to have on our lives, particularly in the PR world.

Look around you; the damn things are everywhere. You can even take a cell phone into a delivery room now and tweet while giving birth! Crazy, I know. But that’s just it: The effect mobile technology is going to have on communicators in terms of how we get messages across to key influencers, and how we engage the public, will be enormous. Far bigger than what is currently going on in the social media landscape. We’re talking about a technology that is now in the hands of more than 82 percent (250 million) of Americans and approximately 50 percent of the world!

But it gets even better: A recent MediaWeek study showed that 1 in every 7 minutes of media consumption is now done through mobile technology. Think about that for a minute: That great op-ed you wrote for your client that’s read on an iPhone now by the most tech-savvy around us? Give it five years. Everyone in your community is going to be instantly reading it on their smartphones, tweeting it back out to their followers (if Twitter still exits in five years . . . .), and sending it all over their social media network(s) to audiences you could have never even dreamed of.

Or even cooler, the fact that very soon (as in, it’s in its infancy now in the U.S.), marketers will have the ability to embed special 2-D barcodes into posters, shirts, billboards, practically anything, and someone with a mobile phone can take a picture of it and get all kinds of cool promos, buy movie tickets, or even get train times sent directly to their phone. Don’t believe me? Check out this piece from The Economist for a view into the not-too-distant future.

So what does that mean for you, the PR guy, the marketer, or ad man who is desperately trying to keep up with the current changes? Well, I hate to tell you, but it’s only going to build from here. And that’s actually a good thing. Because while the last five years in our business has seen a rapid growth and movement toward expanding from traditional services and offerings, opportunities are going to continue to arise that will keep us busy—and hopefully—excited for many years to come.

I envision a future in the PR world where certainly ideas like the social media news release, Wikis, and other mobile-friendly formats will become even more prevalent, as brands quickly realize that there are far more efficient and cheaper ways to reach their targeted consumers than the traditional giant, static billboard on the side of the road.

Where do you think the PR, marketing, and advertising industries are moving? Are the technologies and ideas I noted above going to be part of this movement, or are these just flash-in-the-pan ideas? Let me know!

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Valerie Merahn Simon

Welcome guest, or annoying intruder? A guest post on guest posting

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Last week when PRCog noted that I had been doing quite a bit of guest posting (and that perhaps I might want to think about starting my own blog), I had a startling revelation; I am on my way to becoming the “Fred” of the PR blogs. “Fred” is a guy I knew in college. No one was sure where he really lived (or even if he actually had a place).

The guy always seemed to be crashing at someone else’s house. If you had a party and Fred came, you could be certain that he would be there in the morning. And yes, I too have come to enjoy the benefits of hanging out at someone else’s place. So when PRCog asked if I would like to guest post at the PR Breakfast Club, I said, “Of course. And I’ll tell you why…”

  1. Personality. Like every blog I choose to “spent the night with,” The PR Breakfast Club has a unique and fabulous personality. Sometimes I’m serious, other times not so much. It’s fun to have an opportunity to embrace the different personality and focus of the different blogs I enjoy reading. This group is a little less formal, than some of the other places I’ve stayed, but certainly no less professional. Lots of great ideas and important discussions.
  2. People. Guest blogging is a great opportunity to introduce friends to some of my favorite communities. And of course, I get to meet and interact with community members that I might not otherwise have the opportunity to get to know. I am so impressed by the creative and savvy group of PR Breakfast Club members I met on Twitter and how they are using social media. They “get” how to use social media to build real relationships and a sense of community.
  3. Commitment. There is something rather liberating about the life of a nomad. A one-time post, with no deadline and full creative license is easy and fun. And then I get to go back to reading, learning and commenting where inspired.

Unlike Fred, who had a habit of eating whatever was in the fridge and leaving empty beer cans all over the place, I hope that I am a good guest… that I respect the style of the home I am visiting, help out with initiating new conversation and maybe even bring some extra traffic for the host(s). So thank you, members of the PR Breakfast Club, for inviting me over to your place. I think it was a great idea, but I’ll leave that for the community to determine.

Have you ever had a guest blogger on your blog? Why or why not? Do you believe guest posts add to the blog, or do you feel they are disruptive?

Valerie Merahn Simon serves as a Senior Vice President at BurrellesLuce media monitoring and measurement, and writes a national public relations column for examiner.com. She is also co-founder and host of #PRStudChat, a monthly twitter chat between PR professionals and students moderated by Deirdre Breakenridge. She can be found on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Recent guest accommodations for Valerie include:

Marie Baker, Uncategorized

Am I too emotional for PR

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Ugh, remind me again why I check my blackberry at 10:00 o’clock at night? I know that I am running the risk of encountering a work e-mail, which likely will result in another restless night and a step closer to my bottle of sleeping pills.

But, I did it; I read the e-mail, a very nasty e-mail at that. A segment I pitched for a client went terribly wrong because, as you know, the media has creative license to produce whatever type of story it wants. Sometimes this works in our favor, sometimes it doesn’t.

The client was very unhappy, and boy, did I hear about it! I cried. That’s right, I cried a lot. I know as a publicist, you aren’t supposed to take things personally, but I do.

In fact, I guess you could say I’m an overly sensitive person.

Whether it’s screaming reporters, rude clients, shouting bosses or the general frustration of pitching, as a publicist you are expected to put on your brave face and just grin and bare it.

But at the end of the day, when I’m at home, behind closed doors, that tough façade breaks down. I am left confused, upset and wondering to myself: is a job in public relations right for me?

Granted, on the scale between one and ten (ten being a total emotional wuss), I place myself at a nine. I envy those publicists that aren’t bothered by the stress, the yelling, the segments gone awry.

Here today, I admit that I am affected by those things, and I think that there are others out there like me.

Crying isn’t a popular topic amongst the PR discussion circles. Why? Perhaps it’s because we are embarrassed, or it is the fact that we don’t want our employer (or future employer) to think any less of us. Maybe we are just afraid that others will assume we can’t handle our jobs.

I know it’s easy to tell someone “Hey, just shrug it off,” but that is just another case of easier said than done. I always thought that my emotions would be the downfall of my career, and it has definitely not been an easy battle to fight.

However, I think the fact that I care so much, maybe too much, means that I am a good publicist. If my client isn’t happy, I want to find out why and work towards a resolution.

I want to do the best job I can possibly do. If I accidentally send an e-mail to the wrong person, I get mad at myself and then vow to never make that mistake again. What I’m trying to do is be a better publicist than I was the day before.

This wasn’t meant as a “woe is me” post. My intent was to spark the conversation, to say, “Hey, it’s okay to cry and not be ashamed.” While you may feel humiliated and others see crying as a weakness; just know that you aren’t alone.

No matter how many tissue boxes I go through, I march on. At the end of the day, when I’m sitting behind my closed doors, my eyes filled with tears, I can’t think of another job that is as challenging, as exciting and ultimately as enlightening as public relations.

So, I want to hear your story. Are you an emotional publicist? Do you think that it helps or hinder your ability to do your job?

CTMichaels

Sincerely, Truly Yours…Or Are You?

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Some email signatures are so ridiculous.  Why doesn’t anyone use ‘Yours Truly,’ ‘From,’ or ‘Sincerely’ anymore?  It seems like everyone tries to be lovey-dovey in a last attempt to create a bond with someone.  Honestly, some lines just make me want to vomit.

Here are some closing lines that I can’t stand and my interpretations of them:

Cheers – Well I don’t know about you, but there isn’t any Bailey’s Irish Cream in my coffee this morning.  By the way, thanks for getting my after work drink in my head at 9 am.  Are you even from England? Cheerio, yo.

God Bless – Unless you’re writing for the Chattanooga Christian Family Magazine, there is no reason to ever write this to someone.  Thanks for rejecting my pitch, but it’s okay! God will forgive you.

Best Wishes – What is it, my birthday?  I really appreciate the thought, but my birthday is September 10th [Editor’s Note: That’s in a few days folks…be sure to wish CT the ‘Best Wishes’].  Are you being sarcastic and really don’t want to wish me a Happy Birthday?  Best wishes to you on finding another closing line.

Warm(est) Regards – Warm? Seriously? Am I not good enough for Hot Regards?  You can only give me a moderately cooked regards? People, I like my apple pie warm and a la mode style, but not my regards.  Gee, thanks for using the half-way adjective when e-mailing me.  You could have at least heated my regards all the way. Are you trying to make me all cozy inside and ‘warm’ up to you?

Deepest Sympathies – Wow, thanks for making me think of my dead family member while you were rejecting my e-mail to you.  Apparently rejecting an e-mail requires the same responses that are used to convey the message that your lover is dead and was hit by the NJTransit train.

K? – Can you be any more of a snot? I got the message, and your attitude is definitely not appreciated after I just read through your junk that you sent me. Take your K? and shove it.

Queries! – No shit, Sherlock.

As for me, I usually stick to a simple ‘Best’.  I’ll let you decide what word you want to add into the mix, whether it be ‘Best Thanks’, ‘Best Regards’, ‘Best Fun’, etc.  Every single closing line can be interpreted the wrong way, except for one.

However, someday I will use this line with every e-mail that I send – ‘May the Force Be With You…’

Share the lines you use, and I would love to hear ones that you hate!

Phyllis Zimbler Miller

Twitter Explanation: How to Explain to Your Spouse Why You Love Twitter

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A good friend said to me: “Why would anyone be on Twitter?”  Mind you, he’s never been on Twitter and he doesn’t know a thing about it.  But he’s a successful lawyer and thinks he knows what’s what.

In reply, I’ve decided to come up with a list of answers for when someone asks you this question:

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Kate Ottavio, Uncategorized

You don’t know me!

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No, seriously, you don’t. You might have a clue about the ballpark range of my age because of my photo here, you know where I work (because I’ve told you), and you know that I at least have a degree in Public Relations.

So why are you still reading this post? Who says I’m the authority here?

Allow me to explain the questions I pose . . . .

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…..a chance to start the day off right.