Breakthrough results happen because we raise the bar every day. Exceptional ideas combined with commanding abilities in strategy, planning and execution fuel client success. This uninhibited belief is why we are one of the largest independent public relations firms in the nation.
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Super Bowl Sunday is traditionally one of the most watched nights of television. An evening devoted to crunching shoulder pads and advertising creative directors. And, the president? Some of you may have caught President Obama’s interview with CBS’s Katie Couric as part of the pregame programming. What you may not know is that this is all part of the President’s communication strategy.
If you feel like you’ve seen the president doing a lot of interviews, you’re right. According to an article in the New York Times this week, the president has given 161 interviews in his first year. To compare, President Bush only gave 50 interviews and President Clinton 53 during the same time.
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Spokespeople: it’s time for a tune-up.There’s no question your business has changed in the past year. You’re probably looking forward to launching that new product or service that had been shelved because of tightened budgets. You’ve got things to say about your business. You want customers, analysts, media, bloggers and maybe even competitors to know how you’re better – and different.
So before you run to the mountain top to tell the world your story, please know what you’re going to say when you get there. While a seemingly tedious exercise, a thorough messaging and media training update is an important investment. Consider it an update to your corporate and personal global positioning systems. Here are some elements of the update process:
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Who’s spinning the public relations industry? While perusing the Barnes and Noble fiction section recently, I was amazed at the number of number of books casting their sexy, fabulous heroines as associates at PR firms. The back covers read like soap opera teasers: “Devastated by her recent breakup, Taylor moves to New York to start a career in the fast-paced world of PR. She soon finds the career and love life she always wanted — and most importantly, she finds herself.” Gag.
Who decided that public relations was fabulous and chic? That every female PR exec charges her way down bustling city streets, cell phone and designer bag in hand a la Samantha Jones, leaving a trail of men in her wake? Who is doing PR for the PR industry to make it seem so sexy?
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It’s been a banner month for animals making news. Just last week, Lily the Black Bear had a baby. Newsworthy? Doesn’t seem like it. But a webcam was there to bring the event to the masses. And therein lies the news. It turns out black bears don’t usually give birth in such close proximity to a webcam. (Reality TV humans, please take a cue from black bears’ privacy mores.) Great PR for bears, especially after the beating their public image takes at the hands of Stephen Colbert. With nearly 63,000 fans on Facebook, Lily is another example of great content being the best way to draw attention.
Earlier this month, Yun Zi, a panda cub at the San Diego Zoo made his public debut. A webcam had been a part of that news also - Panda Cam, to be specific. Oh, how I love Panda Cam. There is even a time-lapse feature, which comes in handy, given pandas aren’t notoriously vivacious. (Not to say they couldn’t be, but according to the news, they mostly “eat, nap, forage, repeat“.)
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Apple is linking hot new hardware to the media subscription model.On Wednesday, Steve Jobs will take the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts in the heart of San Francisco. It’s the same place he goes whenever he’s ready to unveil the latest game-changing technology. This week, he’s expected to unveil the long-anticipated tablet computer, which some have dubbed the “iPad.”
It’s expected to do for information – especially the written word – what the iPod did for music. As in revolutionize how we get news, read books, connect with our friends via Twitter and Facebook, and keep up with the essential updates on YouTube.
As The Independent of London asked over the weekend, “Can Apple Save the Written Word?”
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Leveraging PRSA can help prepare you for what’s next. I recently completed a year-long turn as president of the Central Ohio PRSA chapter. At the end of the term, my wife asked me what I was going to do next. I told her that one thing I discovered in leading the 350-member chapter was that I still have a lot to learn and that PRSA will be the catalyst to help me build new skills.
Everybody comes to PRSA with a different expectation, but almost all are looking to develop additional expertise to not only keep up, but take advantage of the changes in our profession. It’s no secret that communications has become more specialized in content, media outlets and manner of delivery. To stay on top, continual learning is mandatory and leveraging your local PRSA chapter can help you develop, shape and control the skills you use in the future. The following are what I plan to take advantage of in the coming months to continue to grow.
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Last week, you may have noticed your Facebook status feed was overtaken by one-word color updates from approximately half of your contacts. The female half, to be precise.
It took most of us the better part of a day to figure out what was going on – and if you’re a guy, it may have taken longer to learn the secret.
The Facebook color status meme spread like wildfire via personal messages sent behind the scenes from one cluster of women or girls to the next. The message was simple: change your status to the color of your bra. Don’t tell any guys what’s up. Do this to raise awareness for breast cancer, and share this with all your women friends.
Quietly and with little fanfare (other than the occasional surprise – amidst generic-sounding status updates of “white,” “beige” and “black” – of startling “hot pink trimmed with maribou feathers” from your mother-in-law or a co-worker), this meme virtually took over Facebook. As more people began to catch on, there were small waves of backlash here and there — some female Facebook users refused to participate and dubbed it exploitative, while other Facebookers mocked the meme (some guys even facetiously played along).
The acquisition, which joins the capabilities of Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations and Edward Howard, is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010 although integration and coordinated new business and marketing efforts will begin immediately.
Check out more details of today’s exciting announcement in the news release.
How to make a splash with a Twitter contest Twitter can be an intimidating place. With personalities like Oprah and Ashton Kutcher exceeding more than two million followers, how can businesses compete?
To mitigate the fear, set clear, reasonable expectations and interact in the space creatively. Developing a fun, creative strategy to initiate or reignite a company Twitter account can excite members of the organization and potential consumers/followers while garnering some momentum.
How do you do that? Begin with some brainstorming combined with thoughtful planning (the social media best practice tips, outlined in an earlier post, are a good place to start).
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Five Social Media Resolutions Brand Managers Should KeepStatistics show that only 46 percent of people who make resolutions are able to keep them six months into the New Year. Well, fellow marketing and PR folks, I challenge you to commit to the following resolutions to help your brand blossom in 2010. C’mon, there are only five.
1. I will not dilute my social media presence.
Many SM gurus are telling us to branch out and try the dozens of new social networks. I certainly agree with that if you’re experimenting on your own, but don’t subject your brand to it before you know what you’re signing up for. Be strategic about where your brand lives. Start with a strong hub – maybe that’s your blog – where most of your content originates. Then focus on pushing your content to your spokes – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Choose your main social networking sites and stick to them. Enhance your presence and build a strong community on those platforms.