PR and Media Relations

 If you’ve taken my advice and employed the leaky faucet approach to PR, you’re writing a number of press releases on a consistent basis. Obviously, you don’t want to spend any more time writing your press releases than you have to.

I’ve come up with a short list of tips to help you write your press releases faster, without sacrificing quality. In fact, if you follow these tips, you should be able to crank out a well-written, newsworthy press release in as little as 15 minutes.

• Keep a list of ideas – Jot down ideas for news stories whenever you think of them. Don’t have any good ideas? Check out our Ultimate Collection of Press Release Ideas for inspiration. Having a list of good ideas ready to go can save you a lot of time when you sit down to write.
• Stay on point – You’re not writing an epic. You’re writing a press release. Press releases should be focused and on point. Focus on getting the story across as clearly as possible in the fewest number of words.
• Outline your press release – Before you start writing your press release, create a basic outline of the main points you need to cover. This can be in bullet point form. This will help keep your writing focused, so you don’t waste time trying to figure out what to write about or writing fluff that will later get edited out.

Today I listened to part of a Minnesota Public Radio talk show as I was returning from a meeting and it me disturbed for two reasons:

1. The person being interviewed and responding to callers is a local attorney with a blog.

2. The topic was the controversy surrounding The New York Times story about SWIFT, the financial tracking being done in the name of “fighting terrorism.”

First, the blogger — even though I am now engaged in a blog, I am bothered by the mantle of authority some bloggers assume. This individual actually told one caller his question was stupid and told another he wouldn’t respond to the question because it wasn’t worth answering. The host was remarkable in his ability to manage such a caustic guest.

Second, the discussion as it was directed by the attorney was very much focused on faulting the media. He would not acknowledge that the person leaking information has some serious ethical issues.

My challenge to our readers — what do you see as the ethical issues on both sides? How do we manage those who get joy in leaking information? How should the media respond when they are clearly being used to push someone else’s agenda?

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

What can I say?  I’ve always advised and taught my journalism and PR students that successful and effective media relations is about mutually beneficial relationships… so an e-mail news release push isn’t always going to be effective if there is no relationship in the first place.

See what Media Daily News commentator George Simpson has to share on the subject on November 16th.  I’d love to hear your comments as I’m sure Mr. Simpson would, as well.  He’s only the messenger, remember.  This is a great topic for a media relations debate.

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

I may be sticking my neck out here, but this is an interesting organization from a PR perspective.

http://www.turtletransit.com

According to their website, adorned with the photo shown here, “Turtle Transit is creating and introducing new dimensions of extreme outdoor advertising through a seamless blending of leading edge technologies. This includes interactive opportunities and 3D graphics that revolutionize out-of-home communications.”

Okay, so this is advertising, maybe marketing, you say.  Sure, I agree. But the company is making loud PR noise.  I believe there is a thin line between PR and advertising when you 1) have a creative organization to sell, and, 2) use the advertising to grab audience attention first, and then build awareness.  The tentacles reach far into the image management of the organization.

Have you seen these Turtle Transit vehicles?  An article written in 2002, included the fact that the company was inspired by the Oscar Mayer Weiner-mobile.

In Fortune Small Business magazine in April, they noted that owner James Riseborough brought in “$2 million last year by transforming ordinary cars and trucks into promotion vehicles.  Monster.com was the company’s first customer.”  You couldn’t ask for a better or more colorful one-page magazine feature subtitled “Start Up.”

Find Turtle Transit in:

http://www.fleet-central.com/bf/t_inside.cfm?action=news_pick&storyID=23315

Company Turns Fleets into 3D Promotions
April 26, 2006

“Marketing company Turtle Transit http://www.turtletransit.com turns ordinary cars and trucks into giant noses, coffee cups, turtles and monsters. The Lancaster, Mass.-based company made $2 million last year, according to a report in Fortune Small Business.  Company founder James Riseborough wanted to take vinyl vehicle wraps into the next dimension. So his staff of 11 creates sculpted 3-D advertising using foam, fiberglass, auto paint and engineering plastics…”

OR HOW ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE PIECE?

http://www.creativemag.com/onlweekly112805.html

“The NASCAR Street Tour provides a new avenue to build awareness of our sport, drive television tune-in and ultimately help attract new fans,” said Roger VanDerSnick, V.P. of Marketing for NASCAR… The NASCAR Street Tour vehicles were designed by Turtle Transit…”

AND, THIS…

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/jul05/jul11/1_mon/news5monday.html — July, 2005,

“Your client scooting about the town — On a Segway and drawing attention from the crowds,” by Kathy Prentice.

YES, TURTLE TRANSIT DECKS OUT SEGWAYS, TOO!

Stick Your Neck Out: Turtle Transit takes its marketing to the streets to show off.
Entrepreneur magazine – January 2002, by April Pennington

OR THIS ONE: 

“Extreme ad agency startup Turtle Transit sought to raise eyebrows in its native Boston this …”
promomagazine.com/news/marketing_june_2/index.html

In any case, this company’s media stories must be fun to pitch.

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

The release reads in part, “The growth in home high-speed internet adoption, after growing quickly in the past several years, has slowed down and is poised to slow even further, according to a new report released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”

The May 2005 survey “is built around several national random digit dial telephone surveys of Americans (age 18 and older) conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project.”

Here are a few of the facts and comments from the report: “53% of home internet users have high-speed connections at home, up from 50% in 2004 – a small and not statistically significant increase.  This compares unfavorably with growth rates over a comparable time frame a year earlier.  In May 2004, 42% of home internet users had high speed connections, 20% over the 35% home high speed penetration figure for November, 2003…

“By 2005…Years of online experience no longer has any significant impact on the intensity of internet use, while having a home broadband connection is a much stronger predictor of the number of online activities that a user does on a typical day…

“The Project’s May 2005 data show there is a smaller pool of dial-up users now compared to 2002 and today’s dial-up users are less likely to be heavy users of the internet. Pew data has shown consistently a pattern whereby people start out their online lives as dial-up users, do more on the internet as they gain more experience, and eventually switch to broadband as they become more dependent on the internet for information, entertainment, and communication.”

For those of us in PR who are trying to capture information and attention from certain target audiences at home using the internet, this is one important swath of the user landscape to consider.  While it would be a guess on my part and generalization at minimum, I would suspect that the audiences you are trying to engage will likely have high speed connections.  In this report, that person would be described as a “heavy user.”  In PR, we’re looking for “heavy users.”
We’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to participate in a survey or buy a product or browse information in dial-up mode.  Hands are thrown up in frustration and the users simply disconnect.  The experienced PR professional using the web, wants the users to remain engaged, visit for long periods, and enjoy the experience.   I, for one, am keeping an eye on these trends regarding usage.  How about you?

For the full report, please see: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/164/report_display.asp

You can sign up to receive free Pew research alerts at: http://www.pewinternet.org/signup.asp

Pew Internet & American Life Project
1615 L Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.419.4500
Fax: 202.419.4505

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

My buddy, my pal, communicator guru Shel Holtz, was a guest in my grad school PR classroom last week.  He empathyzed with one practitioner/student who just can’t seem to relate to her organization’s IT folks.

Shel likened this to when we all worked with printers (what’s a printer, you say?).  Shel said it was “common for communicators to know what it meant when a printer said, ‘going four-up, two-over-four, with touch plates and perfect binding.’ We should be equally adept and understanding what IT — the printers of the digital age — are saying.”  Awwwww…and you thought you could hire out for those skills.

Do you agree with Shel?  Advice for those pulling kicking and screaming into the IT world???

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

Comments

Gerstner’s comments are deere I think John means that perhaps I need Dreamworks for a Christmas gift. Alas, I was learning some elementary HTML over the last few years in my teaching life, and now they added some great new technology where the HTML is all embedded in their screens…I’ll be lazy again. I totally agree…one had better know the basics…throwing you a life raft when you’re drowning is really no good if you can’t haul yourself up onto the raft…at some point you’ll just get too tired treading water and holding onto the side. I hope some others dive into this topic.

BarbaraP

When most people get an interview, the following goes through their heads:

-I’m just happy to get this interview.
-I’ll be happy to get THROUGH this interview.
-I’m most concerned with the questions.
-I’ll be happy if I don’t embarrass myself.
-Maybe this interview will help me, my company, or product. I’ll worry about that later.
-I guess this will just be good to have on my web site.

Don’t be like the masses. Successful people leverage media interviews.
As for the definitions of leverage, in the physical sense, leverage is an assisted advantage. As a verb, to leverage means to gain an advantage through the use of a tool. You are doing both with interviews. You have an advantage because you were just given a platform to speak to thousands or millions of people. If you were given a platform like that, would you just throw it away? If I told you that I’d give you a free 30 second ad on cable news, I bet you’d spend weeks trying to figure out how to make something great for that ad. Any time you are featured in the media, it is a potential ad for you or your company. I’m not saying you should sound like an ad, but understanding this concept is half the battle.

As a verb, we said that leverage means to gain a advantage through the use of a tool.
Can you guess the tool here?

The MEDIA!!!

TJ Walker, Media Training Worldwide

Don’t have a holiday or awareness week to target with your news?  Why not just create your own!?!   Tell us what unusual steps you have taken to make your less-than-newsworthy-news moreso!   PR Discussion Board

PR Newswire carried this HOT story today: “Agency and Partners Kick-off Lightning Awareness Week“

WASHINGTON, June 16 /PRNewswire/ — Every crack of thunder that echoes from a storm is caused by lightning jetting across the sky or to the ground with a potentially lethal force.  along with its government, academic and private partners are educating Americans on the dangers of lightning and ways to stay safe during its annual Lightning Safety Awareness Week, June 19-25, 2005.

Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within the United States an average of 25 million times every year.  A single bolt, with a length that can exceed five miles and a width of one to two inches, can generate 100 million electrical volts and a temperature near 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Lightning is a potential hazard to people outdoors and indoors and results in millions of dollars in economic losses,” said Brig. Gen. David L. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (Ret.), director of NOAA’s National Weather Service. “Lightning kills an average of 67 people in the United States each year and can result in property loss, damage to aircraft and electronics, and can be the spark that ignites devastating wildfires.”

Exceeding the number of fatalities are the estimated 600-700 lightning survivors that are left with debilitating health effects each year.  “While about 90 percent of those struck by lightning survive, they frequently have permanent after effects such as chronic pain, brain injury and thought processing problems,” said Dr. Mary Ann Cooper, professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois.

Reduce your chance of being struck by moving inside a substantial building or hard-topped metal vehicle when thunderstorms threaten.  Once inside, avoid contact with plumbing, corded phones, or anything plugged into electricity.

“Casualties are more likely to occur during the summer months and in open areas such as golf courses and playing fields, but lightning’s deadly strike can hit anytime during the year and in all segments of the nation,” said John Jensenius, a lightning safety expert at the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Gray, Maine.

NOAA’s National Weather Service is the primary source of weather data, forecasts and warnings for the United States and its territories.  NOAA’s National Weather Service operates the most advanced weather and flood warning and forecast system in the world, helping to protect lives and property and enhance the n ational economy.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources.”

By Barbara Puffer
6-16-05

It is my observation that media relations is one of the most misunderstood disciplines in a professional communicator’s took kit. It is often described as synonymous with the broader discipline of public relations or reduced to the more narrow field of publicity.

I define media relations as the art of building and sustaining relationships with professionals who determine and produce editorial content. My definition may sound simple — take a reporter to lunch — right? Wrong!

The effective practice of media relations requires strategic direction, planning and a lot of discipline and tenacity to be successful. It is far more than distributing news releases and calling editors or reporters to ask if they received the release.

It requires:

• Policies about the process of working with editorial representatives.
• Research into understanding your organization’s key audiences and how those audiences match the audiences of the myriad editorial outlets available today.
• Research and development of a specific database of editorial outlets based on audience matches.
• Research and understanding into how to reach specific editors and reporters by learning about individual preferences, deadlines and editorial focuses.
• Developing, continually analyzing and crafting the right messages for the right audience at the right time.
• Discipline to nurture the relationships.
• Knowing the right communication tool, news release, phone call, email, etc. to use to carry your message.

All rolled together, this is the plan.  While conducting a session on media relations planning some years ago, I had a media relations manager at a large health system dispute the concept that one could plan media relations. She was entirely in a reactive mode, never seeing that her organization had the opportunity to be an excellent source of information about health care in her community. Needless to say, they got no positive editorial coverage.  An effective media relations plan not only helps build a brand, it can help you survive a crisis.

Why?  If you have a solid, respectful relationship with key editors and reporters, you are more likely to be treated respectfully when your organization has bad news to deliver. Editors and reporters are human and they respond differently to those they know well and trust compared to those with whom they have no relationship.

My favorite resources

My favorite resources: There are many resources to help the professional who wants or needs to become more expert in media relations. I have my favorites. They are:

On Deadline, Carole M. Howard and Wilma K. Mathews, ABC, IABC Fellow, published by Waveland Press, Inc. This is a great primer on media relations with lots of tips and specific direction.

, Wilma K. Mathews, ABC, IABC Fellow, published by IABC. This is handbook that is step-by-step guide to media relations and is excellent for the profession with no experience.

Inside Organization Communication, edited by Al Wann, ABC, APR, IABC Fellow, published by IABC. This book is a compilation of expertise in all disciplines in organizational communication and offers an overview of media relations. It is a good resource for the professional who would like to get a refresher or overview of media relations as well as many other disciplines in the communication mix.

By Mary Ann (Jackson) McCauley, ABC, IABC Fellow

In light of the current economic downturn, what new opportunities do you see for public relations professionals, either in agencies or working for corporations? Here are the answers from two of our Inner Circle leaders:

Answer by Jim Bowman, The PR Doc® “We now have an unprecedented opportunity to add quantifiable value to the businesses we serve.”

• A recent Advertising Age article [http://budurl.com/pvaf] assessed the human carnage in communications professions wrought by the current recession:
• 65,100 jobs lost in advertising and media in 2008, 18,700 of them in December alone
• Media companies (newspapers, magazines, broadcasters) eliminated 41,000 U.S. jobs, or 4.6% of staff, from the time the recession began in Dec. 2007
• Advertising agencies and marketing-services firms cut 24,100 jobs, or 3.1% of staff
• Across all professions nationwide, job loss stood at 2.6%

There were gains in related areas:  

• Marketing consulting added 2,200 jobs
• Public relations added 1,200 jobs
• Internet media companies added 5,400 jobs

Given the fragility of the global economy, it is not safe to extrapolate those numbers through the remainder of this year. In fact, there is growing evidence of cuts coming in PR. But at this point in time the numbers seem to say marketing consulting and public relations are more than holding their value.

Mash up the data some and the clear message is that traditional media are declining, while new, Web-based media are on the rise. For discerning public relations professionals, it should be clear our profession is changing simultaneously.

Agency and corporate PR people who cling to the old ways – i.e., see the Internet as simply a new channel for reaching journalists – are likely to be among the first casualties. Conversely, those who skill up for the new marketing and PR reality will be in demand.

Work with journalists, certainly, but take advantage of the opportunities online PR affords to reach customers directly and interact with them. When I write news releases for my clients, I write first for their customers; journalists are a secondary target. My favorite way of pitching journalists is a brief, but highly focused and personalized email with a link to a multimedia release.

I agree in principle with nearly everything David Meerman Scott set forth in The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Anyone serious about a public relations or corporate communications career today should own the book and refer to it often.

The emerging profile of public relations professionals includes working as nimbly in the online world as among the bricks and mortar; writing search-engine-optimized copy as well as print and broadcast styles; learning to do key word research and writing for search engines as well as human readers (hint: there’s a lot more to it than peppering a release with anchor text links).

Traditional PR will not go away, but it is being irrevocably altered. Incredibly, many traditional PR people I talk with in agency and corporate jobs still don’t get it when dealing with the realities of online PR. Some dismiss it (big mistake) and some fear it (equally big mistake).  

Embrace it. We now have an unprecedented opportunity to add quantifiable value to the businesses we serve. Instead of boxes of clippings we can generate traffic to Websites and measure the results in terms CEOs and CFOs understand – sales leads, new customers, and reputation indices, to name a few.

Answer by Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies: Lifelong learning is essential.  If you have kept up with the profession, the people who need you — who want to pay you for your services — will find you.

“Very unpredictable and changing times” has been the mantra during many periods in my long career.  At those times, public relations professionals have been relied upon to manage critical information and to strategically use research and words to turn the tides of crises.

Today’s economic downturn and related turmoil is an exciting opportunity for communications professionals that have kept abreast of and adept at the latest trends of the profession. It’s a time when all of one’s networking relationships, education, and experience can be maximized for the most effective approaches.

I remember a now-retired colleague from Union Carbide telling me as a young professional that a prepared communicator doesn’t need to worry about “crisis communications” as a singly-defined area of expertise.  He emphasized that all crisis communications is best tackled with a base of solid communications research, planning and practice that effective communicators should have been using all along.

To tap a familiar cliche, lifelong learning is essential.  If you have kept up with the profession, the people who need you — who want to pay you for your services — will find you.    Continue learning and using all technology available to you, read and stay informed, and know your colleagues in the profession.  It’s a small world out there.

I frequently post what my University of Maryland University College Students think are some of the better PR campaigns out there.  Here are some nominees from my Fall 2006 class.

Cecelia McRobie likes the GE Ecomagination Challenge.  She writes, “I do feel that is it a best practice based on its message, audience and purpose. The Ecomagination Challenge is a contest for college students. General Electric is asking students to submit ideas that would make their schools more environmentally responsible. The winner receives a $25,000 grant to complete the project, plus MTV will perform a concert at the winner’s school. Visit:http://www.ecocollegechallenge.com/

She continued: “I believe this is a best practice because it helps the environment while getting young people involved in making our world better. This is an attractive contest because it involves MTV and a monetary award. The title, ‘Ecomagination Challenge’ plays off of the GE slogan, ‘Imagination at Work.’”

Don’t you just love those Imagination at Work television commercials?!!

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty has come up before.  This time, student Mona Ferrell selected it as her favorite best practice. She wrote: “The Unilever-Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, launched by Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, was a rather extensive PR campaign focusing on body image.  What made this campaign so successful and deserving of ‘benchmark’ status for me is that the company did not push its product with the typical statement of ‘if you use our product you will look more youthful.’  Instead, using multiple PR tactics, the campaign promoted ‘their products with a message of real beauty by encouraging women and girls to celebrate themselves as they are — while using the products, of course.” (Howard, T. USA Today, http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.co.nz/in-the-news/ad-campaign.asp)

“The television ads pushing the ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ theme used ‘real’ women, not models. Questionnaires were also devised asking women to write in and share their views on what makes them feel beautiful.  Live discussion boards with this same theme were also set up so that ‘real’ women could talk to each other about beauty and self-acceptance.  PRSA awarded Unilever-Dove and Edelman Public Relations Worldwide with the ‘Best of” Silver Anvil Award for 2006 for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. http://www.prsa.org/_Awards /silver/winners2006.asp”
Now, here’s a campaign that will wipe that smile off your face.  It came from student Jaime Foisy and it’s about Charmin’ at the Fair.  She wrote: “In my opinion the best way to advertise a product is to make it complement an event where it will get a lot of use, and is unexpected. Charmin’ did this at the San Diego Fair last summer. There we were at the fair and I kept seeing all these posters for Charmin’ toilet paper, but really thought nothing of it…until I had to use the restroom. So, there I was standing in front of the facility, dreading having to go in…As I walked in I was shocked! Sponsored by Charmin, these restrooms were immaculate! I could not believe it! … it got tons of publicity and goodwill among people of all ages and types.”

Natasha Lim highlighted Ultragrain Win: Proving Kids Love Whole Grains a Whole Lot

http://investor.conagrafoods.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=97518&p=irol-newsArticlebra &ID=731145&highlight=

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/prnewswire/2006/06/09/prnewswire200606091145PR_NEWS_ B_MAT_NY_NYF057.html

She wrote:  “ConAgra Foods and their PR firm, Ketchum Public Relations, launched a Silver Anvil Award-winning PR campaign aimed at promoting whole grain foods in school cafeterias.  ConAgra Foods is pushing products that boast ultragrain flour which offers more whole-grain nutrition with the white flour taste that a majority of kids prefer.  According to a ConAgra Foods news release, ‘the new flour bakes and tastes like white flour, but has nine grams per serving of whole grains.’  The new U.S. Dietary Guidelines and the MyPyramid food guide recommend that Americans raise their whole grain intake from one serving to three servings daily.  Currently only one out of 10 people get the recommended serving amount.

The two main food items that are being pushed in school cafeterias are:  new wholegrain pizza products under a brand called “The Max” and wholegrain burrito products under the name “El eXtremo”.  To ensure that schools sign the products on as part of their lunch menu, a PR campaign was launched that was geared toward school directors focusing on the School Nutrition Association Annual Conference that would help create a positive buzz, promote sales, and prove that kids would eat them.

“I think ConAgra Foods and Ketchum PR executed a good campaign.  They made a smart decision to aim their ultragrain products toward the school systems’ cafeteria food.  They knew that they could win their products over with school directors by promoting healthier food for kids.  In recent years there has been push for kids to stop eating unhealthy junk food and to start eating things that are better for them, such as more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.  This campaign supports this push for healthy eating by doing something about – putting healthy food products that kids will like on the school lunch menu.  Their positive action is why this campaign works.”

Student Michelle Jones likes Energy Star.  She wrote: “The ENERGY STAR public relations campaign is a great example of persuasive public relations. In fact, this particular campaign has several characteristics of an outstanding campaign.  As background, the ENERGY STAR campaign (program) started in 1992 as a joint program between the Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy and was specifically designed to encourage everyone to “save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.” From this statement, it is apparent that this U.S. Environmental campaign had a very clear objective, which is essential when considering what makes an effective
campaign.

“In addition, this particular campaign had several creative components connected to it. The infamous logo that we have all seen on several products is an example of this creativity. In order for a product to be eligible for ‘the star’ the business or the company had to prove that their products would use less energy, save money, and help protect the environment. Throughout this ongoing campaign, several partners and relationships were also established. As a result of this approach, several reputable sources joined forces with ENERGY STAR.

“On top of having a clear objective and being very creative, ENERGY STAR does an excellent job with measuring its results. In fact, the ENERGY STAR web site reports that ‘Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved enough energy in  2005 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 23
million cars — all while saving $12 billion on their utility bills.’”  References: http://www.energystar.gov/

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

The February 7, 2005 issue of PR Week included an article on Peppercom’s $27 million campaign to promote SUV safety. To kick off their efforts, they introduced a mascot who they called ESUVEE. The firm claims to want to “draw the attention of 18- to 34-year-old men” by using the hairy beast that looks something like a buffalo. He isn’t a cutesy cartoon type by any stretch of the imagination. He’s a foot scraping, macho Beauty and the Beast-type character and he growls too! He’s 16 feet long, 11 feet wide and 10 feet tall. This campaign, which includes many traditional campaign elements, hopes to draw visitors to esuvee.com and teach them something about SUV safety that they didn’t already know. If you head to the site, you can play an interactive challenge course game. The theme of the site is all about riding an SUV correctly and safely. They use the ESUVEE animal in sort of a bucking bronco, rodeo type setting, while a “cowhand” gives the safety pitch. The beast really gets around. Esuvee visited the Boats, Books, and Brushes festival in New London, CT, in September, accompanied by the Connecticut Attorney General. And the Attorney General GOT some attention. The kickoff news release posted on the Esuvee web site includes this language: “The Campaign highlights critical tips for driving SUVs that can mean the difference between life and death: check your tire pressure monthly, don’t overload your SUV, always wear your seatbelt, try to avoid abrupt maneuvers, and don’t speed. ‘Driving SUVs like ordinary cars invites disaster. Awareness of SUV safety – especially stopping rollovers – can mean survival to countless Americans,’ said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. ‘Smart drivers can save lives with some simple steps: avoid speeding, sudden maneuvers, and overloading. Our education campaign targets young men, who may be most vulnerable and most difficult to reach. If you think this message is hype, look at the numbers – thousands of young Americans killed in rollover crashes every year.’” Not everyone is happy with the campaign. The SUV Owners of America advocacy group thinks the “safety campaign paints an unfair picture of the vehicles.” The huge beast is their nemesis. Micha Lindemans writes that in Greek mythology, “Nemesis is the goddess of divine justice and vengeance. Her anger is directed toward human transgression of the natural, right order of things and of the arrogance causing it. Nemesis pursues the insolent and the wicked with inflexible vengeance…” Nemesis. Encyclopedia Mythica. Retrieved November 09, 2005, from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. But opposition or not, the campaign is making the noise it intended. Run a quick search for ESUVEE in Google or Yahoo and many blogs pop up using words such as “brilliant” and “fantastic.” The word “Esuvee” even made Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. The PR Week article notes that the “integrated effort is funded by settlement money from Ford, which was sued by state two years ago for using dangerous Firestone tires.” It’s a project of the States Attorneys General. Who would have thought an elected job could be so much fun?!

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

We’ve all heard of the Menu Foods, Inc., pet food recall in March.  Studying the players in this drama is the beginning of a great public relations case study.    Here’s the scoop.

“As a result of adulterated wheat gluten there have been several additional pet food and pet treat product recalls that are not part of the Menu Foods recall.  For information on these additional pet food recalls please go to http://www.fda.gov.” (http://www.menufoods.com/recall/ retrieved April 10, 2007)

“Nationwide, 15 cats and one dog have died from these products, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has fielded at least 12,000 complaints (ABC News, March 23, 2007; North County Gazette, April 8, 2007). “ (retrieved from PR Web April 10, 2007)

The opening paragraph from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration news release looks like this:

Recall of Pet Foods Manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc.

So, what’s a manufacturer/distributor to do?  Well, IAMS, a leading distributor of cat and dog food seems to be using many of the good crisis communication tools we know.  Putting out the facts, as soon as they know them, for their consumers to digest (no pun intended) tracks with their mission.

“Our Mission is to enhance the well-being of dogs and cats by providing world-class quality foods and pet care products that delight the customer and strengthen the human-pet bond.”

They want to not only contribute to the health of the pets they serve but “delight” them!  The health and happiness of dogs and cats is number 1 with these folks!

Bought by Proctor and Gamble in 1999, IAMS “sells Eukanuba® and Iams® premium dog and cat foods (dry and canned) in 70 countries. Iams employs more than 2500 people… The Paul F. Iams (founder) TechnicalCenter is one of the premier companion animal facilities in the world…”

It’s ironic that when one heads to the P & G global Web site, that their product Pepto Bismol flashes in the top corner!  Here’s what they say…

“P&G Pet Care Announces Voluntary Participation in Menu Foods’ Nationwide U.S. and Canadian Recall of Specific Canned and Small Foil Pouch ‘Wet’ Cat and Dog Foods.”  But I digress.

Let’s look at a few of the positive steps IAMS took.

Their Web site is at:  http://www.iamsco.com

A green box at the bottom of the home page announces the “voluntary recall” and offers a link to a news release.  You can also link to a long list of announcements and media statements beginning as far back as March 16^th.  An 800 telephone number offers additional information.

In the center, the page promotes iams.com.  “Iams.com is a special site for caring pet owners just like you.  You can find helpful advice, quick answers, nutritional updates – everything you need to help your best friend enjoy a long, healthy life.”  Whether you launch iams.com from the main site or from and internet search, you are immediately redirected to a page about the pet food recall.  From their Web site:  “The Menu Foods recall affects many wet food brands distributed in the U.S. and Canada. This recall does not affect any Iams or Eukanuba products marketed outside of the U.S. and Canada.”

Click in that same screen under U.S., for example, and there is a list of foods involved in the recall and a link for veterinarians.  The vets area begins with:  “As promised, we are continuing to keep you updated on the Menu Foods recall. We know the Menu Foods recall has caused concern, frustration and confusion for you and your clients. We want you to know that we care deeply, and we continue to take action on your behalf.”

About the only audience they haven’t directly spoken to about this is Pooch and Kitty.  We’ll be watching this case unfold.  Stay tuned!

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

As I thumbed through my April 24 Time magazine (with “The Opus Dei Code” on the front), I stumbled upon a unique two-page Celebrex advertisement, which turned out to be a three-page Pfizer Public Relations plan. I say unique because Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Inc., who happens to own Celebrex, took advantage of the large ad space and the celebrated praise of Celebrex to encourage people with little or no medical insurance to learn about the assistance programs offered by the company for medicines.

The ad features a 1 1/4-page photo of an African-American man holding the hand of probably a grandson as they climb the stairs at a sporting arena probably in search of a bathroom or popcorn. Both are looking back to watch the game as they ascend the stairs away from it. The other 3/4 of the second page is in white with several words about Celebrex. The third page is all text with a headline that reads: “Medication Guide for Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)” Interestingly, under the feet of the stair-climbers on the first page is a clever Pfizer ad called, “Pfizer Helpful Answers.” The ad reads, “Uninsured? Need help paying for medicine? Pfizer has programs that can help, no matter your age or income. You may even qualify for free Pfizer medicines …”

When I traveled to the suggested online website at http://www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com, I discovered what I believe to be a very subtly powerful PR outreach plan targeting minorities with the message of how “helpful” Pfizer can be in providing them with its medicines.

The target audience in their photos appears to be mostly minority groups, although they do reach out to all Americans.

I consider this a very successful PR campaign because Pfizer is showing its stakeholders it truly cares for more than just its financial bottom line. Part of what makes this campaign so clever is that Pfizer is only offering these programs to pay for medicines provided by Pfizer. Logic would dictate that if the company ultimately cared unconditionally about the health of its potential customer base, it would offer programs that pay for any and all medicines, regardless of which company produced it. However, that is what makes Pfizer successful in its campaign; it minimizes that fact and at the same time demonstrates it cares about the health of ALL Americans, regardless of “your age or income.”

Besides the advertising campaign, the website also features several other ways Pfizer’s PR plan is reaching out to its stakeholders — through Research and Development, Corporate Citizenship, Health Resources and promotion of Animal Care. Bottom line; they are actively reaching out with all oars in the water to show they are much more than some giant conglomerate; though that is what they truly are. Instead, they demonstrate their care both for the environment and the humans who live in it; something very hard to do these days.

Eric B. Pilgrim, Student

University of Maryland University College

Public Relations Theory Class of Professor Barbara Puffer, ABC

Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies

Late last year, NASCAR lifted its long-held ban on liquor sponsorship, opening the door for Diageo Crown Royal brand to become race team sponsor for driver Kurt Busch.  One might think that alcohol and driving, on any level, would be a potent cocktail.  But the sponsor immediately embarked on an aggressive campaign with a socially responsible message promoting responsible drinking.  While that tag, some claim, has become so cliché, many no longer see or hear the message, Diageo just issued a news release that shows they are staying the course.

Many of their brands are very familiar worldwide:  J & B Scotch, Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, Smirnoff, Tangueray, Baileys Irish Cream, Captain Morgan. Godiva cream liqueur, Red Stripe beer and Guinness, are some.

As reported by PR News earlier this year, “With so many brands that have different personalities and target different drinkers, it might seem impossible to connect them all to the umbrella company.”  So, instead, they communicated in what they called a brand-centric way.  In the case of Captain Morgan, for example, he became a character that could do such things as run for president or talk about responsible drinking.  “To promote politics-free partying, for example, Captain Morgan would advise: ‘Liberal with the cola.  Conservative with the Captain.  Drink responsibly.”  (PR News)

Tying to celebrity sports personalities such as the racers is a long-proven, effective way to deliver messages.  What do you think? 

On July 25, Diageo issued the final news release:

72andSunny’s mantra is “Be brave and generous.” Since 2004, the company has embodied this message internally and externally–with edgy, award-winning advertisements featuring world leaders kissing, and employee collaboration processes that produce fun, buzz-worthy campaigns.

The best mantras are like that. They inform a company’s everyday decisions, both behind the curtain and in front of the crowd.

“Mantra” is a Sanskrit term, meaning “sacred utterance” or “sacred thought,” depending on the dictionary. Traditionally concentration aids given by Hindu gurus to devotees, mantras are words or phrases repeated to facilitate transformation. In business, a mantra is akin to a motto, albeit more fundamental to a company’s internal purpose than simply a marketing slogan. It’s concise, repeatable, and core to a company’s existence.

“Think different.” “Don’t be evil.” For some of the world’s most innovative companies, mantras become a rallying point for employees and customers.

The key is simplicity. “Create a mantra of two or three words,” author and former Apple evangelist Guy Kawasaki instructed at the most recent Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston. “Make it short, sweet, and swallowable.”

Mantras are not mission statements, though they’re often confused with the cumbersome paragraphs of platitudes generated at corporate retreats involving trust falls. When asked for their company mantras for this story, over 100 business owners, from startups to energy companies to retailers, submitted gobbledygook claiming to be mantras.

“Our collaborative ideology is our greatest differentiator,” writes one firm. Another shares its “mantra”: “[our company] exists to fuel our clients’ growth while delivering maximum accountability through our performance-based financial models by leveraging the power of the search engines.”

Read full article via Fast Company