Diary of a PR Flack

A Shrinking Target

I've come across a lot of grumpy journalists lately.  But who can blame them?  It's mainly due to the fact that they don't have as much time to do their jobs.  They are being asked to wear more hats, take on more beats, and generally do more with less. 

Newsrooms as we know them are shrinking.

We have been in the midst of a major shift to new media and traditional print media is feeling the pinch.  The Rocky Mountain News realized its demise recently.  And they were just a little shy of celebrating 150 years.  Wow. 

And they're not the only ones feeling the pinch. The Chicago Tribune and the LA Times have declared bankruptcy.  The Real Clear Politics website did an article entitled "The Top Ten Newspapers in Trouble."  A lot of familiar names on the list: New York Daily News, Detroit News, and the San Francisco Chronicle are among them.  Astounding.

I know a lot of people who have made a shift to reading their news online.  I'm not one of them.  I so enjoy reading the newspaper every day with a cup of tea or coffee.  I can't imagine giving that up.  But, I do of course, get a lot of information online - it's convenient, quick, and there's nothing hanging around that you need to worry about putting in the recycle bin.

So, while Twitter, Facebook, Flickr , You Tube and the like all become an important part of our marketing and PR strategies, I personally hope that newsprint media remains.  I also have a renewed sense of patience next time I feel frustrated by a journalist. 

 

What were they thinking?

When I first read about how Microsoft had made a mistake by paying too much out on the severance checks to their recently laid off employees, I asked myself "how could they let that happen?" 

But the fact that they then wanted the laid off employees to return the overpayments, I just sat there and scratched my head.  Did anyone at Microsoft stop to consult with their PR department on this?  

And even worse, now Microsoft is coming out and saying "never mind" and is telling the laid off employees that they can keep the change.  Too little, too late.

After learning that some of the letters that they had sent to employees asking for their money back turned up on some technology blogs this past weekend, Lisa Brummel, Microsoft's senior vice president for human resources, was quoted as saying "It didn't feel quite right"

You think?

Granted, many of the 1400 laid off employees were overpaid by $4000 to $5000.  That equates to $5,600,000 to $7,000,000.  Not chump change.  

But think about the millions of dollars of negative publicity the company received as a result of their move.

They made an error, but why should the laid off employees, who have already lost their job, pay for Microsoft's mistake?

My advice to them from the start would have been to announce the error, but that they were going to let the employees keep it.  End of story.  

While the public would have acknowledged that they were stupid to make such an error, at least Microsoft would have maintained the one thing in the public's eye that they lost by asking for the money back: Integrity.

Pleading the 5th is 1st on my list of PR Pet Peeves

I'm all for all the rights that our ancestors before us worked so hard to make possible for us today.  Big believer in them.  

But when someone "pleads the fifth" it ranks right up there on my list of PR pet peeves such as when someone says "no comment" to the media.   

Yesterday, Stewart Parnell, the owner and CEO of Peanut Corporation of America, allegedly the source of the outbreak of salmonella in food products that were distributed all over the country, decided to plead the fifth.  And this was after he was asked by Rep. Greg Walden (R-Oregon) from the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, whether of not he'd dare eat the contents of a container that held many of the recalled peanut products that his own company made.  

By definition, the act of "pleading the firth" is the act of refusing to testify under oath in a court of law on the ground that the answers could be used as evidence against them to convict them of criminal offense.

Hmmm, you don't have to be Einstein to figure out how or why Parnell was advised by his lawyers to do as such.

The clincher is that evidence shows that he even after he knew about a possible salmonella problem, dating as far back as 2006, still "he defiantly told employees to ship to thousands of manufacturers of cookies, crackers and ice cream."

What motivates a human being to do such a thing? Greed and a lack of respect for the safety of the American people who so willingly and unknowingly ate his company's products.  

People died as a result of his actions.  It's sad that we can no longer trust the leaders of corporations to do what is right, but instead put their own interests first.

He might plead the fifth, but by doing so, the media, the families of those victims that have died because of his actions, and the American people will have no mercy on him, and rightfully so.

When average is extraordinary

I can only imagine today how the PR flacks in the Obama administration are smiling today.  This is a president that seems to innately have the ability to think on his feet, speak authoritatively no matter what the topic, and convincingly deliver a speech that will leave some with goosebumps because of his delivery.  

No doubt he has had some training, and will continue to get PR advice during his administration.  But, sometimes, that innate quality of being an exceptional orator cannot be taught, it comes from within.  

This of course, is going to make the lives of the PR people on staff so much easier.  And, it might make for a more boring experience for all the press corps that liked to pick on former President Bush's misgivings at press briefings. What will they do? 

Yesterday during his inaugural speech, it was an historical moment for many reasons that we all know.  For Obama, it was a typical speech. However, it was one of the most anticipated speeches to come down the pike in recent history. Yet, "typical" for Obama, is exceptional to all others.  

I would have to agree with TJ Walker's analysis of the speech in that he didn't have that zinger of a sound bite as in JFK's "Ask not..." - but the speech was compelling enough especially because of his confident delivery. If there was one criticism, I do concur with TJ Walker that he looked back and forth too swiftly during his speech.  He should have paused on each side just a little more.

The speech now has it's place in history. The inaugural festivities are over and the real work has begun.  

Let's just hope that the authority conveyed behind Obama's exceptional speech, translates to real results amongst some very difficult circumstances.  

You can run, but you can't hide

Crisis communications is the necessary evil used only when you absolutely have to use it. Unfortunately, when a crisis occurs, many companies go into panic mode and communicating with the press is the last thing they want to do.

Yet, it's the key to controlling the situation, and if it's not done, the media will become suspicious and look for answers elsewhere, usually to those people you don't want them to be contacting.

I've been the company spokesperson in times of crisis in a variety of situations. While the last thing in the world you want to do is speak to the media when your company is experiencing a layoff, product recall, or worse, you MUST be available when the press calls. And believe me, they will call.

That's why I completely agree with Jon Greer's assessment in his blog about the way that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has handled the recent financial crisis on Wall Street. He might not be your favorite person right now, but at least he's making himself available to the media to answer their questions.

You might not have a lot to say to the media, but by making yourself available, you're at least showing that you want to help them to communicate the most accurate information possible.

There's nothing worse than the media printing "no comment." It communicates evasiveness, promotes suspiciousness, and can't lead to anything positive.

If you don't speak to the media in the bad times, how do you expect them to listen to you in the good times?

Publicity via a burger

I'm always intrigued by the lengths that people go through to get their 10 minutes of fame in the spotlight. Yes, I'm a sucker and will always read those short articles or snippets online or in the newspaper. I'm like a shark driven to bloody water. But this one takes the cake. Or should I say the burger.

As I was reading Boston.com for news this morning, I came across a piece on a man from Wisconsin that claims to have eaten 23,000 Big Macs since 1972. Can I just say "ick?"

So, continuing to be helplessly sucked into this unbelievable story, I lamely took out my calculator to figure out what that translated to. That's 639 Big Macs a year folks. Yet, there's only 365 days in the year. Double ick. This guy has eaten almost 2 Big Macs a day for the last 36 years. He's kept every receipt in a box.

Cholesterol readings aside, this guy is a living poster boy of what has made this society delve deep into obesity through horrid eating habits. Interesting, there is no weight listed of this guy in the article.

My favorite part of the article? Get this: "The only day he skipped a Big Mac was the day his mother died, to respect her request."

Guess what Mom, you might be seeing your son again sooner than you think....

Got Crisis Management?

The PR department at Carat, the self proclaimed leading independent media communications agency, must be fuming at the HR Exec who accidentally released a email memo outlining a major restructuring and forthcoming layoffs to the ENTIRE agency meant to be seen only by senior managers.

"Oops" would be a major understatement. One person's slip-up, became a colossal PR nightmare.

Apparently the email contained a Powerpoint and Word document "full of 'message' points on how people should be told of their fate and what should be said to their still-employed colleagues, clients and vendors."

Not the kind of thing you want to get into the hands of not only the rank and file, but also the media. No employee wants to read a "script" and ensuing message points of how they are going to be told they are let go and that this move is in the "best interest of the clients." What a blow.

A further blow is to Carat's reputation. Advertising Age not only wrote this story (and countless other media no doubt) but included a link to the documents included in the email. Ouch.

The worst part is how they planned to handle this with the press. Senior VP Rob Hollander "reflected on the company's PR plans around the layoffs. He wrote, "This is a tough one. Since we're not opting to get out in front of the press, we will be left to defend. I think we may need to prepare for different contingencies depending on how they may hit us -- because they will hit us. RISK assessment."

That's the spirit. Let's keep it a secret and be on the defense. I've helped companies through times of layoffs, and believe me, that's about the worst PR strategy I've ever heard.

Carat needs to take a dose of proactive, and hope their PR dept. can clean up this awful mess.

Tweet, Tweet for PR

Do you Twitter? If you haven't heard of the term, you're either living under a rock or don't have a tween or teenager using it.

My first exposure to this social networking phenomenon was from my own 12-year old son who embraced it as if it was nothing special. Soon I heard him using the term like a verb, similar to how we refer to Google. Instead of "I just googled it," he was saying, "I just got twittered" I had no idea what he meant.

After realizing he wasn't referring to some sort of sickness or pain, I had to learn more. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly his generation accepts new technology, while it takes my generation more time to adapt.

Check out this simple explanation of what Twitter is. It brilliantly explains it all. I love how they use paper cut-outs.

My biggest question was "so what?" Why does anyone want to know what I'm doing minute-by-minute? Who cares? But, after further investigation, I was more intrigued than ever that this could actually be another powerful PR tool.

According to the Publicity Hound (aka, Joan Stewart), Twittering can be used in the PR world as follows:

-As a crisis communications tool.
-To announce new products and services.
-To promote articles and blog posts.
-To follow journalists who Twitter and learn what they think is
important.
-To respond to media coverage, good or bad.
-To monitor what others are saying about you and your brand.

Now I'm following several Twitterers, and soon I will be using it as a productive PR tool. I get it, Twittering can be a good thing.

My 12 year old said to me after learning what I thought was a brilliant revelation, "What took you so long?"

Bad News About a Brand Travels Faster than the Speed of Light

As if the airline industry needed more fodder to tarnish its reputation, American Airlines had to cancel over 3300 flights last week for wiring inspections required by federal safety guidelines revealed in an audit.

News reports on the issue were dominated by interviews with disgruntled travelers who, in some cases, missed important meetings or didn’t get to their destination for days. I’m so glad that wasn’t me, but it very easily could have been me, or any one of us.

American’s woes continue. Just yesterday, American’s parent company, AMR Corporation, announced that it posted a $328 million first-quarter loss “as surging fuel prices sent the industry into a downturn.”

Probably the worst news for American is that even before all this happened, a consumer rated study noted that they were already one of the lowest rated airlines in terms of safety. At least that was the perception as it was a study given to consumers, but it can’t be all that wrong with their recent safety compliance problems.

And it gets worse, not just for American, but for the whole airline industry. The Transportation Department announced yesterday that beginning in May, airlines will have to pay some bumped passengers as much as $800, double the current top penalty. The higher penalty also applies to planes of as few as 30 seats, rather than 60 seats or more under the old rule, which exempted many regional jets.

As an airline passenger, I’m happy to know that they we finally have rights in this area. But, it also means that we’re going to have to help pay for that somehow whether it be increased airfares or other inconveniences.

With the announcement this week of Delta and Northwest combining forces, American will have to be even more creative as to how to remain competitive in a shrinking industry. A report this week also noted that this merger is likely to spur other carriers to merge to help with cost savings and global brand recognition required to survive amid soaring fuel prices and a weak U.S. economy.

This week’s reports are likely not the last in a string of bad news for the airlines. Fasten your seatbelts, fellow air travelers, we’re in for an interesting ride…

Perfection on and off the playing field

It’s good to be a New England sports fan right now with the Red Sox handing us another World Series, the Celtics dominating the NBA highlight reels with the big three of Garnet, Pierce, and Allen (reminiscent of Bird, Parrish and McHale in the 80’s), and last but not least, the Patriots on their quest for a perfect season.

As Boston sports fans, we’ve gone from rooting for the underdogs, to having the teams that everyone loves to hate.

With the impending Super Bowl in Arizona this coming Sunday, I can’t help myself from interjecting football into this week’s post.

My fascination with the New England Patriots extends far beyond their quest for perfection this year. While that is high on my list, I’m fascinated more from a PR perspective, and how they have become THE benchmark of what to do when handling the media.

As a PR professional, I advise my clients to stick to some very basic principals:

• Stick to your message points: How many times have you heard the Patriots say that they are focusing on the next game at hand? And, no matter how large the win margin, room for improvement was also a common theme at most press conferences. No resting on laurels here. If I heard it once, I heard it a thousand times.

• Make sure everyone is singing the same tune: Every post game, no matter who was being interviewed, the message was “Yes, we won, but our focus is on next week’s game”. It wasn’t just Belichick and Brady, it was anyone interviewed in the locker room singing that tune. Masterful.

• When there’s a crisis, address the situation and then move on as quickly as possible: I was never more surprised at how quickly the Spygate controversy (where the Pats were accused of shooting illegal footage of opponents calling plays on the sidelines) was diffused. Belichick did address the media, preceded by information given out by the organization and team owner, Bob Kraft. No hiding under the blankets here. At the end of the hype after the team and he himself had been penalized financially and otherwise, Belichick’s response was “that situation has been addressed and we’re moving on.” He didn’t falter when asked to repeatedly comment on it. Just “we’re moving on.” And, magically, the media DID move on.

• During an interview, if you don’t like a question, just “bridge” back to your message points: Belichick is the master of this. Most recently, the most famous ankle in the country right now belongs to Tom Brady. When repeatedly asked about Brady’s injury, Bellichick said “I’ll file my injury report next Wednesday (before the Superbowl) when the NFL requires us to do so, and I look forward to doing so.” Sorry hacks, you’re not going to get the answer you want out of this guy. The bridging master at work. Funny how that whole situation took our focus off of Randy Moss’ legal battles. Coincidence? Hmmmmm….

The Patriots embrace all of these principals better than most Fortune 500 companies. And it comes from the top. Coach Bill Belichick has somehow gotten everyone on board. Amazing. While he might not be the most loved person in the media (an understatement, no doubt), don’t forget that he must have their respect as it was them who voted him as the Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year for this season.

Success on the football field and in the media spotlight. The Pats do it right.