I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes we need to get creative in the world of PR—how can I get this person to email me back; how can I get this person to see that my idea is the best; how can I make this company look a little bit less boring. It can be tough, and in some situations creativity is absolutely the key to success. However, PR professionals are often in charge of creating press releases, helping with interviews, and creating campaigns for the eyes and the ears of the public. In other words, PR departments have the entire public analyzing their work. This led me to wonder: Can being too creative be too risky? Continue reading
Tag Archives: PR
PR Pros and Family
Public relations professionals are trained to demand perfection, juggle like an octopus, run in heels, always be connected and get it all done without breaking a sweat. There are a million articles out there to help PR pros effectively manage multiple social media channels, engage with bloggers and help craft a press release headline to garner coverage. PR pros manage up to their bosses, down to their interns and across organizations to their clients and reporters.
There is one additional audience that PR pros have in common that is never really talked about and there aren’t a million articles out there to help you do it well. It is that other audience that we have in our lives…children. Continue reading
How to Become a Reporter’s Best Friend
A few weeks ago, I was pulling into my driveway, after a long week of work, when I received a phone call from a reporter I work with wanting a quote for a story. I spent the next two hours calling and e-mailing clients trying to gather a comment. I never did get a comment, but the reporter did express gratitude for the effort.
This little exercise reminds me of why some PR practioners maintain good relations with the media, and others don’t. Here are some points to remember for young PR executives. Continue reading
Finding Your Inner Andy Rooney
I was saddened by the death of Andy Rooney. The world lost a cultural media icon with his passing and for those of you who knew him and followed his work, a part of you may have been left empty too. Rooney gave the world a long and distinguished 70 year career as a war correspondent, writer, producer, and journalist but was undoubtedly best known for his 3 minute essays at the end of the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes” where he constantly pointed out life’s unspoken truths or subtle lies. The quintessential “curmudgeon,” Rooney often touched our lives with his prose and opinions, got us thinking about controversial topics and frequently struck a chord by discussing taboo topics or subjects that no one wanted to talk about like why no one speaks in an elevator. Continue reading
Blogger Relations: Vicks Vapo Dad Event
PR pros have accepted that Facebook and Twitter are necessities in the PR matrix of communications tools. Once you are on board with that, the next step is to understand that bloggers are also a tool that when used correctly can be a powerful vehicle for your brand and message. In the wake of disastrous blogger events such as the Marie Callender’s tasting dinner, blogger relations is important.
Bloggers need to be treated just as you would any prospective customer or reporter. Yes, there is debate and even a court ruling that bloggers are not journalists, but it is the manner you treat them that matters. Continue reading
Conference Report: BOLO 2011
The BOLO conference was held at the totally hip and retro Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale, Arizona with its beautiful saltwater swimming pool and cabana boys (and girls) delivering umbrella drinks. Two days packed with speakers and case studies, a poolside cocktail reception and a rooftop farewell dinner were included in the conference fee.
BOLO stands for “Be on the Lookout” for new social media marketing techniques, strategies and tactics. Bret Giles of Agencyside in Phoenix is the founder and key organizer of this annual event. Scott Stratten, author of “Unmarketing,” opened the conference with the keynote address. He discussed about how employees of companies and corporations are the embodiment of the brand. That moment of truth, when one representative of a huge corporation can turn a bad experience into a great one, is the whole premise of “unmarketing.” Instead of thinking of ourselves as marketers, he wants us to focus on delivering great experiences to our customers, whether it’s in person or in online engagement. Continue reading
Real vs. Fake Social Media Crises
Last week, I had the honor of representing PRSA at an American Conference Institute panel on managing social media crises in the digital age. Joining me on the panel were three whip smart PR execs in Sandy D’Elosua (Front Burner Brands), John Moran (Schwartz MSL) and Jenny Dervin (JetBlue Airways Corporation).
Our full presentation is embedded below, but let me just say that my commentary paled in comparison to what my fellow panelists offered. Especially Ms. Dervin, vice president of corporate communications at what may be the epicenter for crisis communications management in the digital age: JetBlue. Continue reading
Why I’d Rather Hire a Liberal Arts Student than a PR Student
Over the last few months I’ve had the pleasure to recruit and interview a number of potential employees – and see and speak to a number of amazingly unsuitable candidates. I went back afterwards to see if there was a trend among the candidates (and other students / young pros I didn’t think would be a good fit (I always keep an eye out for possible recruitment)).
And in-fact there did seem to be a trend (at least for me). Continue reading
The NBA’s Desperate Need for PR Damage Control
Ah yes, pro sports. So deeply embedded in the fabric of our culture, pro sports in America have an immeasurable impact on so many things in our society. Sports can lift a nation with tales of tragic youth turned pro athlete superstar or cast depression on our psyche like how we all felt after watching the U.S. women’s soccer team lost to Japan in the World Cup Finals.
Relationships are forged and destroyed by sports. National and regional collective moods often rise and fall with the results of teams and individual efforts. Cities, towns and states can reap billions of dollars in revenue from pro teams in local markets. Continue reading
Are Marketers Losing Interest in Twitter?
Remember when every blog post and article in AdAge and Mashable was about how great Twitter was for marketers? That seems so 2009, doesn’t it? When was the last time you read a big story on how Twitter is grabbing marketers’ attentions and clients’ interests?
It’s just not happening much anymore. And, as we all know, if something is hot in marketing, we’ll talk it up endlessly, analyze its benefits and potential downfalls and examine every little nook and cranny of what makes something the current/next big thing.
And yet none of that is happening around Twitter. At least not on the scale it was six months ago, and certainly not on the scale of Facebook. Continue reading