All posts by Keith Trivitt

Keith Trivitt

New Realities Emerging in Crisis Communications

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Boy, was last week a tough one for New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. With his city stung by a 20-inch blizzard, its sixth-worst on record, and massive delays in cleaning up the mess, “Mayor Mike” managed to put his foot in his mouth for what will likely not be the last time in his political career.

Saying Monday that #snowloko was “inconvenient,” while urging New Yorkers to see a Broadway show (seemingly oblivious to the fact that millions of outer-borough residents were literally trapped in their homes — and would be for several days — because of his administration’s mismanagement and bungling of the cleanup effort) Bloomberg perfectly exemplified a new reality that is starting to emerge in crisis management in the digital age: words, much like images, can make or break you. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

The Media World is Changing — PR Pros Should Rejoice

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As a media junkie, I follow news from the media universe (whether it’s PR, advertising, newspapers, digital publications, etc.) religiously. It’s a bit nerdy, I know, but it’s what I enjoy. At any rate, the past several weeks have been especially exciting, and not just because we’re only a few days away from Christmas.

No, the last several weeks have seen a slew of important shifts and announcements among major players in the news business, especially those that appear to a) actually have some money to spend; and b) among those media outlets that are poised to grow exponentially in the coming years, and thus, provide a lot of high-level media opportunities for PR pros and their clients. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Can We Automate PR? Not so Fast…

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There are a lot of things in life that get better with automation. Alarm clocks. Coffee makers. Calendar reminders of your wedding anniversary. But as PR pros, could we make our written communications and messaging better with automation?

That’s the question apparently attempted to be answered by a slate of new automated news reporting services, including one called StatSheet, according to a recent New York Times article.

It’s an interesting question to ponder. The Times article notes that so far, StatSheet is mainly being used as a sort of fill-in news service for collegiate sports programs that lack the level of media attention and coverage that their big-time brethren get.

As a former collegiate sports information director, this obviously piqued my interest, so I gave StatSheet a closer look. It’s worth a quick glance at one of the service’s customized news sites for every NCAA Division I school . . . if only to see for yourself why the concept of automated news, and possibly automated PR, is doomed. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

NetApp Financial Release Debacle Offers Lesson in Protecting Online News

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I’m sure it was an honest mistake, and it was one done in an effort to allow the company to be fully prepared for the ensuing onslaught of media queries, commentary and trading that was to come. But the  recent debacle that saw NetApp’s quarterly earnings results slip out earlier than expected offered a timely lesson to all PR pros, whether you’re representing a consumer-focused client or working in-house in the highly-regulated field of financial PR:

Watch what you put online. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Good PR is Good PR. Period.

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If you had asked me three years ago what type of work I was in, I would have told you something along the lines of, “Oh, I work in social media PR,” or, “I’m in digital PR.” Like many others, I, too, was caught up in the catchphrases of the day to describe a new line of thinking for our profession.

But I’m starting to shift my thinking back to a simpler, more clear thought on the profession: Good PR is good PR. No matter how you slice it or dice it.

I was reminded of this the other day while reading yet another “This is how we can save PR”-type blog post. You know the type –10 tips for saving the profession, or five ways that social media is transforming PR. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

The Tech Industry’s PR Problem

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I love working with tech entrepreneurs. Their enthusiasm, innovative minds and passion for what they’re doing is infectious. But ask many of them what their business does, or their cool new product or service is all about, and you’re likely to get a variety of nonsensical answers rooted in geek speak:

“Well, we’re like Foursquare in that we allow people to check into their favorite restaurants, but we give them more social engagement options because our service places a box around their most frequently checked-in spots,” I actually heard one neophyte tech CEO say recently at the fantastic and very informative New York Tech Meetup.

Huh?

The tech industry has a big problem that seemingly few PR consultants or their clients want to address: tech people have no clue how to talk like normal humans when describing the value of their products or services. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

The Impending Data Deluge

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(CC) Courtesy akash_k

I recently returned from the PRSA International Conference in Washington, D.C. (full disclosure: I am employed by PRSA), where much of the focus was on social media and enhancing the strategic value of public relations. What struck me most about the sessions was how few of them were geared toward the once-hot topics of “Social Media is Great!,” or “This Social Media Thing is A Fad.” Instead, a majority focused on a similar theme: “Social media has revitalized the PR profession . . . now what do we do with all of this data?!

That strikes at the heart of the next great movement for public relations. The need to understand, analyze and utilize the vast array of data, sentiment analysis and other metrics gathered from social media. Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Exec Chat: John Bliss, Founder of BlissPR

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Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting over breakfast with someone I have great respect for in the public relations field—John Bliss, the now semi-retired founding principal of BlissPR. I had been wanting to meet John for quite some time, having met several BlissPR employees, including his daughter (and one of three managing directors at the agency), Elizabeth, among others. I had always been struck by just how nice everyone from BlissPR seemed to be, which has been backed by the company being named one of the top-30 PR agencies to work for in the U.S. by The Holmes Report.

John fully lived up to his billing and was quite generous with his time and insight. Over breakfast at the Princeton Club (his alma mater), we discussed numerous topics affecting the public relations industry, including what BlissPR execs look for in new hires, the openness BlissPR has with its employees regarding the company’s financial standing and how technology and social media have impacted his business, which primarily works with clients in the B2B space.

Below are a few of John’s thoughts. Enjoy! Continue reading →

Keith Trivitt

Gap’s Marketing Lesson: Don’t Mess with A Beloved Logo

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Man walking between two large rocks, Rear view, elevated viewEver since the debacle of Gap  unveiling its new logo last week, I’ve been a rather outspoken critic of not only the design, but Gap’s somewhat bizarre and poorly articulated attempts to make it appear that the rebranding effort was all part of one big crowdsourcing exercise or a PR stunt. (Why is it every time a brand does something odd in the digital space, we have to label it a “PR stunt?”)

It wasn’t.

News this week that Gap was abandoning its new logo—after just seven days on the market, and before the new logo had even hit stores or merchandise (the new logo was rolled out via a “soft launch” on Gap.com—left me wondering one thing: Does Gap even realize how badly it’s hurting it’s brand right now? Continue reading →