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/
Why do we think of so many great ideas in the shower?
Four conditions are generally in play:
- Our brain is relatively quiet with minimal electrical activity.
- We’re internally focused, letting our mind wander rather than being stimulated by external activity, such as digital screens.
- We’re in a positive mindset.
- We’re not directly working on any problems, especially work challenges.
As Dr. David Rock explained in his book Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, it’s not the water that helps you get insights. It’s that you break the impasse in the way you’ve been thinking.
You’re lathering up while your subconscious brain works in the background. It taps into your stored memories and experiences and connects neurons in new ways for you.
And all of a sudden—as it seems to your conscious brain that has been taking a break from logical thinking—you have that “aha” moment. You’ve reached a great insight! (This is multi-tasking in a powerful, efficient way!)
Now contrast your experiences like this in the shower with what frequently happens at work.
Your prefrontal cortex—commonly referred to as the “executive function” of your brain—is often on overload. You’re trying to juggle a number of thoughts, you’re keeping an eye on your phone as well as the room you’re in, you’re listening to colleagues talking over one another, you all are on deadline to solve a new problem creatively, and you’re anxious about it and several other topics, especially since your boss just scared you about the consequences of last quarter’s performance on your department’s budget. Oh, and you’re hungry.
No wonder that only 10% say they do their best thinking at work, according to David.
What can you do to improve your focus and your thinking at work?
Short of constructing a shower in your cube, start small with some tiny steps.
First embrace the concept of “will, skill and hill.”
The “will” refers to your motivation to take control of your mind and thoughts. In other words, resolve not to play the victim, letting yourself and your thoughts be hijacked by others. Granted this is easier said than done; however, if you’re willing to become more mindful and more self-aware about what distracts you, you’ve taken a large leap forward.
The “skill” is to learn and adopt new behaviors that will help you clear your mind, improve your focus and think more creatively. Consider starting with Tiny Habits®,the innovative program designed by Dr. BJ Fogg.
This past week, as a certified Tiny Habits® coach I coached people in a pilot program of Tiny Habits for Work. We designed many of these habits to improve mindfulness, productivity and satisfaction with work.
For example, some effective Tiny Habits for Work are taking three deep breaths, affirming what a great day it will be and walking around the office.
“Hill” is all about taking steps in your environment to reduce or remove the barriers so you can get over the hill that’s in your way and be more productive. You may not be able to shrink a mountain into a mole hill, but you should be able to start building a path that’s easier to go across.
How can you set yourself up for success to think more clearly and creatively?
Some ideas that work for others include: Set an alarm so you’ll take breaks every 60 minutes or so to stretch or even better, walk outdoors. Keep a file of cartoons that will make you laugh. Have flowers on your desk. (Or walk to the reception area and smell the flowers.) Spend a few minutes doodling or drawing.
Next, you need to experiment to find out what works best for you.
To help you do so, join me for the webinar Stop Your Stinking Thinking: 7 Ways To Use Neuroscience To Sharpen Your Mind and Be a More Powerful Communicator and Leader on Wednesday, May 21 at 12 noon ET (9 am Central). The webinar sponsor Communitelligence is offering $50 off when you use the code connect50. Many of the ideas I’ll talk about on the webinar will help you improve your focus and your thinking as well as be more influential.
By the way, if you’re interested in diving into some of the research on this topic, check out the work of Dr. Mark Beeman at Northwestern University who’s an expert on the neuroscience of insights. Also look at the research of Dr. Stellan Ohlsson at the University of Illinois who studies the “impasse experience.”
Meanwhile, if you want any help becoming a “showerhead,” contact me. Who says showerheads should be limited to devices that control the spray of water in a shower?
Showerheads also can be those of us who think creatively in and out of the shower. What do you think?
By Liz Guthridge, Connect Consulting Group LLC
As anyone who has crammed for an exam can tell you, usually the number of hours we work without interruption is inversely proportionate to how much we accomplish. So how do these entrepreneurs manage to work so many hours without suffering from brain fatigue?
Well, first of all, it is because they truly love being an entrepreneur and are passionate about their enterprise. But, I believe, part of the answer is that they wear so many hats. They never get stuck doing the same kind of work for too long.
Here are some more brain-based tips that can work wonders and could be what helps propel entrepreneurs forward:
1. Buy a good office chair, or get a standing desk.
Focal Upright Furniture has a brand-new chair-and-desk combination on the market. Invented by Martin Keen, of Keen shoes fame, it uses a position between sitting and standing, and allows lots of movement as you work. It also helps those who use it remain attentive.
2. Do not multitask.
John Medina, author of Brain Rules, tells us the brain cannot multitask, period. What it does do is switch back and forth between tasks very quickly. Someone whose attention is interrupted not only takes 50% longer to accomplish a task but also makes up to 50% more errors. A study in The New England Journal of Medicine found that people who talk on the cell phone while driving are four times more likely to have an accident, because it isn’t possible to devote your full attention to both driving and talking at the same time. Hands-free calling offered no advantage. What’s the lesson to take away? Focus on one task at a time, and you’ll accomplish each better and faster–without killing anybody.
3. Use all your senses.
Work is more entertaining for your brain–and therefore makes you more alert–when you engage as many of your senses as possible. Use colored paper and pens. Experiment with peppermint, lemon, or cinnamon aromatherapy. Try playing background music.
4. Don’t make too many decisions in one day.
It sounds farfetched, but if you go shopping in the morning, then negotiate yourself out of eating a cookie at lunch, and finally try to decide between two job offers that afternoon, you might choose the wrong job because you didn’t eat the cookie, according to Scientific American. Making choices depletes your reserves of executive function, or “the mental system involved in abstract thinking, planning, and focusing on one thing instead of another.” This can adversely affect decisions you make later.
5. Take a quick break every 20 minutes.
A study in the journal Cognition reveals that people can maintain their focus or “vigilance” much longer when their brains are given something else to think about every 20 minutes. That’s the time when thinking becomes less efficient. This trick is called momentary deactivation. If your mind isn’t as sharp after a long period of work, it may not be completely fatigued. It just needs to focus on something else to refresh the specific neural network you’ve been using.
6. Work with your own circadian rhythms.
Are you an early bird or a night owl? Do you fade every afternoon, or is that when you are strongest? Don’t schedule an important meeting at a time when you will be operating on one cylinder. And don’t waste your peak work time at a doctor’s appointment.
7. Relax for 10 minutes every 90 minutes.
When you’re awake, your brain cycles from higher alertness (busy beta waves) to lower alertness (alpha waves) every 90 minutes. At that point, you become less able to focus, think clearly, or see the big picture. You know the signals: You feel restless, hungry, and sleepy, and reach for a coffee. Herbert Benson of Harvard, author of The Relaxation Response, recommends working to the point where you stop feeling productive and start feeling stressed. At that moment, disengage. Meditate, do a relaxation exercise, pet a furry animal, go for a quick jog, take a hot shower, pick up your knitting, practice the piano, or look at paintings. Allowing your brain to go into a state of relaxation, daydreaming, and meditating will reset your alertness.
Read full article via Inc.
Your workplace is filled with liars! How do I know?
I’ve got this straight from one of the foremost authorities on body language in business, Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D. Carol conducted an extensive survey to research her new book, The Truth About Lies in the Workplace (Berrett-Koehler).
Here are a few of the startling facts she uncovered:
- · 67% of workers don’t trust senior leadership
- · 53% said their immediate supervisor regularly lied to them
- · 51% believe their co-workers regularly lied
- · 53% admitted lying themselves
Lies and deception are running rampant in the workplace. Fortunately, Carol’s terrific new book explains in easy to understand language:
- · How to spot a liar and what to do about it
- · How men and women lie differently
- · How to deal with liars whether the liar is above, below, or on the same level as you
- · The one lie you better not tell your manager
- · How to NOT look like a liar when you’re telling the truth
- · Ways to foster candor and decrease deception in your organization
Carol’s advice applies whether the liar is a co-worker, boss, customer, prospect or board member. Her tips will help you defend yourself and your company from backstabbers, credit taking colleagues, lying bosses, gossips, and cheating job applicants.
I recommend that you read The Truth About Lies in the Workplace. When you order your copy now, you will also receive over $500 worth of career-building bonus gifts from Carol’s friends (including Communitelligence). And that’s no lie.
P.S. If you think you are too sharp to be taken in by a con man like Bernie Madoff, you had better read Chapter 3: Why We Believe Liars and How We Play Into Their Hands twice. Get your copy now.
Steven Covey had the right idea. There are discreet skills and attitudes, habits if you will, that can elevate your conflict practice to a new level. This article shares a selection of habits and attitudes that can transform a good conflict resolver into a highly effective one. By that I mean someone who facilitates productive, meaningful discussion between others that results in deeper self-awareness, mutual understanding and workable solutions.
I have used the term ‘conflict resolver’ intentionally to reienforce the idea that human resource professionals and managers are instrumental in ending disputes, regardless of whether they are also mediators. These conflict management techniques are life skills that are useful in whatever setting you find yourself. With these skills, you can create environments that are respectful, collaborative and conducive to problem-solving. And, you’ll teach your employees to be proactive, by modeling successful conflict management behaviors
Understand the Employee’s Needs
Since you’re the ‘go to person’ in your organization, it’s natural for you to jump right in to handle conflict. When an employee visits you to discuss a personality conflict, you assess a situation, determine the next steps and proceed until the problem is solved. But is that helpful?
When you take charge, the employee is relieved of his or her responsibility to find a solution. That leaves you to do the work around finding alternatives. And while you want to do what’s best for this person (and the organization), it’s important to ask what the employee wants first— whether it’s to vent, brainstorm solutions or get some coaching. Understand what the person entering your door wants by asking questions:
- · How can I be most helpful to you?
- · What are you hoping I will do?
- · What do you see my role as in this matter?
- Engage in Collaborative Listening
By now everyone has taken at least one active listening course so I won’t address the basic skills. Collaborative Listening takes those attending and discerning skills one step further. It recognizes that in listening each person has a job that supports the work of the other. The speaker’s job is to clearly express his or her thoughts, feelings and goals. The listener’s job is facilitating clarity; understanding and make the employee feel heard.
So what’s the difference? The distinction is acknowledgement. Your role is to help the employee gain a deeper understanding of her own interests and needs; to define concepts and words in a way that expresses her values (i.e. respect means something different to each one of us); and to make her feel acknowledged—someone sees things from her point of view.
Making an acknowledgement is tricky in corporate settings. Understandably, you want to help the employee but are mindful of the issues of corporate liability. You can acknowledge the employee even while safeguarding your company.
Simply put, acknowledgement does not mean agreement. It means letting the employee know that you can see how he got to his truth. It doesn’t mean taking sides with the employee or abandoning your corporate responsibilities. Acknowledgement can be the bridge across misperceptions. Engage in Collaborative Listening by:
- · Help the employee to explore and be clear about his interests and goals
- · Acknowledge her perspective
o I can see how you might see it that way.
o That must be difficult for you.
o I understand that you feel _______ about this.
- · Ask questions that probe for deeper understanding on both your parts:
o When you said x, what did you mean by that?
o If y happens, what’s significant about that for you?
o What am I missing in understanding this from your perspective?
- Be a Good Transmitter
Messages transmitted from one person to the next are very powerful. Sometimes people have to hear it ‘from the horse’s mouth’. Other times, you’ll have to be the transmitter of good thoughts and feelings. Pick up those ‘gems’, those positive messages that flow when employees feel safe and heard in mediation, and present them to the other employee. Your progress will improve.
We’re all human. You know how easy it is to hold a grudge, or assign blame. Sharing gems appropriately can help each employee begin to shift their perceptions of the situation, and more importantly, of each other. To deliver polished gems, try to:
- · Act soon after hearing the gem
- · Paraphrase accurately so the words aren’t distorted
- · Ask the listener if this is new information and if changes her stance
- · Avoid expecting the employees to visibly demonstrate a ‘shift in stance’ (it happens internally and on their timetable, not ours)
- Recognize Power
Power is a dominant factor in mediation that raises many questions: What is it? Who has it? How to do you balance power? Assumptions about who is the ‘powerful one’ are easy to make and sometimes wrong. Skillful conflict resolvers recognize power dynamics in conflicts and are mindful about how to authentically manage them. You can recognize power by being aware that:
- · Power is fluid and exchangeable
- · Employees possess power over the content and their process (think of employees concerns as the water flowing into and being held by the container)
- · Resolvers possess power over the mediation process ( their knowledge, wisdom, experience, and commitment form the container)
- · Your roles as an HR professional and resolver will have a significant impact on power dynamics
- Be Optimistic & Resilient
Agreeing to participate in mediation is an act of courage and hope. By participating, employees are conveying their belief in value of the relationship. They are also expressing their trust in you to be responsive to and supportive of our efforts. Employees may first communicate their anger, frustration, suffering, righteousness, regret, not their best hopes. You can inspire them to continue by being optimistic:
- · Be positive about your experiences with mediation
- · Hold their best wishes and hopes for the future
- · Encourage them to work towards their hopes
Be Resilient. Remember the last time you were stuck in a conflict? You probably replayed the conversation in your mind over and over, thinking about different endings and scolding yourself. Employees get stuck, too. In fact, employees can become so worn down and apathetic about their conflict, especially a long-standing dispute; they’d do anything to end it. Yes, even agree with each other prematurely. Don’t let them settle. Mediation is about each employee getting their interest met. Be resilient:
- · Be prepared to move yourself and the employees though productive and less productive cycles of the mediation
- · Help the employees see their movement and progress
- · Be mindful and appreciative of the hard work you all are doing
Hopefully, you’ve discovered that these are your own habits in one form or another and that your organization is benefiting from your knowledge. You can learn more about workplace mediation and mediation in general from these books and websites:
The Power of Mediation
Bringing Peace into the Room
Difficult Conversation: How to Say What Matters Most
http://www.ne-acr.org (The New England Association of Conflict Resolvers)
http://www.mediate.com (mediation portal site)
http://www.workwelltogether.com (conflict management toolkit)
“Mediation is based on a belief in the fundamental honesty of human beings. Which is another way of saying we all want to be treated justly – that is according to our unique situation and viewpoint on the world. And we cannot expect to be treated justly if we do not honestly reveal ourselves.” ~ the Honourable Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister 1937
Dina Beach Lynch, Esq. was formerly the Ombudsman for Fleet Bank and is currently CEO of WorkWellTogether.com, an online conflict management toolkit. Dina can be reached at Dina@workwelltogether.com
A woman from the audience followed me into the hallway. “I think we’re married to the same man,” she said. Successfully fighting the urge to fire off the snappy reply, “Could be. I travel a lot,” I simply smiled back. I’d heard this before.
I’m introduced as a change-management expert – married to a man who refuses to change anything. So, during my speech, I tell humorous stories about the resistance my husband puts up – and how I learned, from managers I’d interviewed, different ways to handle his protests.
After every speech, audience members come up to me to comment on my husband. Many people recognize their co-workers or loved ones (or themselves!) in him, and some (like the woman who’s own spouse’s behavior so resembled mine) jokingly commiserate with me. The thing I find most intriguing about this phenomenon is that in my twenty years of professional speaking, no one has ever approached me after a program to say they most appreciated my fifth point. That’s because they don’t remember what my fifth point was. But they do remember my husband and the lessons about handling change resistance that they learned through my stories.
As a communicator, stories can be your most potent allies.
Social scientists note that there are two different modes of cognition: the paradigmatic mode and the narrative mode. The former is rooted in rational analysis; the latter is represented in fairy tales, myth, legends, metaphors, and good stories. Good stories are more powerful than plain facts!
That is not to reject the value in facts, of course, but simply to recognize their limits in influencing people. Stories supplement analysis. Facts are neutral. People make decisions based on what facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves. Facts aren’t influential until they mean something to someone. Stories give facts meaning.
Here is the difference: Trying to influence people through scientific analysis is a “push” strategy. It requires the speaker to convince the listener through cold, factual evidence. Storytelling is a “pull” strategy, in which the listener is invited to join the experience a participant, and to imagine herself acting on the mental stage the storyteller creates. Stories resonate with adults in ways that can bring them back to a childlike open-mindedness – and make them less resistant to experimentation and change.
Compared to facts, stories are better for building community, capturing the imagination, and exerting influence. Stories about the past help employees understand the rich heritage of an organization, stories about early adopters offer successful examples of dealing with change, personal stories are powerful leadership tools for building trust, humorous stories can ease tension and, if you interview key staff, stories can capture their wisdom.
Stories can address universal human themes
Michael LeBoeuf, author of How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life, illustrates the power of making people feel important with the following story:
Jane, recently married, was having lunch with a friend, explaining why she married Bill instead of Bob.
“Bob is Mr. Everything,” Jane said. “He’s intelligent, clever and has a very successful career. In fact, when I was with Bob, I felt like he was the most wonderful person in the world.”
“Then why did you marry Bill?” her friend asked. Jane replied, “Because when I’m with Bill, I feel like I’m the most wonderful person in the world.”
Stories can show how to approach your work
I once asked Sanjiv Sidhu, the CEO of i2 Technologies, what kind of attitudes he encouraged in his work force. Although his is a high-tech company, he told me a story about cleaning houses. It’s the same story he tells employees.
“Most people would think that cleaning houses for a living was a pretty boring job. But I believe that if you had the right attitude, cleaning houses could be intellectually stimulating. Let’s say it takes you four hours to clean a house, and you’re doing three houses a day, six days a week. That’s 72 hours of really boring work and a pretty sure recipe for burnout somewhere down the line. But if you redefined the job, said to yourself that you were going to do each house in two hours, there’d be an innovative component in the work suddenly. You’d need to do a study that asked, for example: ‘Am I going to vacuum the whole house first and then go back and polish the furniture, or am I going to do everything in one room before moving on to the next?’ And if you added to that goal the goal of being the best house-cleaner ever, then you really would be stretching your mind, the job wouldn’t feel boring anymore and you probably wouldn’t burn out because your own innovative thinking would keep you interested.
But then suppose you shifted gears again and said, ‘Okay, now I’m going to clean each house in ten minutes!’ That’s where the real fun would begin for someone like me because I’d know I couldn’t hit that target by merely tinkering with spatial tasking. I’d have to start thinking about new kinds of house-cleaning equipment–or maybe even new kinds of houses that cleaned themselves. That’s the kind of thinking we’re encouraging in our employees all of the time.”
Stories can make values come alive
Nordstrom is one organization that does a remarkable job of using anecdotes about its sales force to communicate its value of impeccable customer service. There is, for example, the often-repeated tale about the saleswoman who took her lunch hour to drive from downtown Seattle to the airport to make sure that her customer received his new business suit. The customer had purchased the suit that morning to wear at a meeting in another city the next day — and then discovered the garment needed alterations. The Nordstrom saleswoman had promised to have the suite altered and delivered to him before he left town. She kept her promise.
Stories can become the symbol of change
There is a story I tell in the book, “This Isn’t the Company I Joined” – How to Lead in a Business Turned Upside Down: Buckman Laboratories has been in the specialty chemical business since 1945. Under the leadership of Robert H. (Bob) Buckman, it also became a world-class, knowledge-sharing organization. Bob would tell you that converting a command-and-control organization into a networked one was not without its challenges and setbacks. Still, by 1994, Buckman Labs had jumped into full-bore knowledge sharing: new software and connectivity had been installed, most of the associates were equipped with laptops, and online Forums were up and running. To honor and reward the top 150 people from around the world who had done the best job of sharing knowledge with the new technologies, a “Fourth Wave Meeting” was held in Scottsdale, Arizona. The meeting was three days of fun, celebration and work – specifically, critical discussions about business trends and strategies. It was also the setting for the following story:
Through the entire conference, a man wearing shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals sat at the back of the room, chronicling the meeting on his laptop and sending live messages onto the Forum for the rest of the company to read. His name was Mark Koskiniemi. About midway through the meeting, one of the organizers (a manager) approached Mark and asked him to stop sending out notes on the meeting. Mark refused by saying he didn’t feel that was appropriate. When the organizer suggested that the request to cease came from the top, Mark countered by saying he’d appreciate hearing it personally.
A few minutes later, a break was called, and Mark found himself face-to-face with Bob Buckman. Here is how Mark recalls the conversation:
Mark: Hello, sir.
Bob: Mark, I understand that you have been posting notes from the meeting on the Forum. I have to say that I have not read them, but are you sure that is such a good idea?
Mark: Do you trust me?
Bob broke into a big smile, nodded slightly, and nothing further was said about Mark’s continued reporting of the events.
As Mark later said: “If knowledge sharing is built on trust, then to me this moment over any other demonstrated that Bob Buckman really trusted the associates of Buckman Laboratories to take the company forward.”
There were two results from Koskiniemi’s reporting:
1. In all, he sent more than 50 Forum or e-mail messages related to the reports coming from the meeting.
2. Koskiniemi (who is now head of Buckman’s operation in Australia and New Zealand) told others the story – and it came to symbolize the desired culture change.
The National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) — the vending machine industry association for all of you snacking junkies – is trying to take a bite out the perception that they are a major cause of obesity in kids. They named their initiative, begun earlier this year, Balanced for Life.
On their website they write: “The Balanced for Life campaign is designed to correct the misperceptions many have about vending’s role in growing obesity rates. All too often our industry is seen as a quick-fix solution to what is in fact a very complex problem. At the same time, we want to demonstrate that we want to be part of the solution by working to educate people about nutrition, healthy diets and the importance of physical activity in a healthy lifestyle.”
Also from the website is this campaign description: “The campaign will target a variety of school officials, including parents, school officials and educational boards, along with federal policy makers, Members of Congress, state legislators and the media. To get our messages out to these target audiences, the campaign is built around a comprehensive media campaign that includes advertising, newspaper editorials, bylined articles, television interviews and special events. In each case the campaign will deliver messages about the balanced choices that are available in today’s vending machines; the importance of balancing calories consumed with calories burned; the importance of daily physical activity; and the importance of teaching young people about the elements of a healthy, balanced diet. What we’re really trying to do is position our industry as a partner working to help solve the problem, explaining that vending machines in schools offer a balanced variety of foods and beverages and can be an important tool in teaching young people to make smart choices. “
The website does its job. A mission statement, print ads, machine graphics for vending machines, template media pieces, posters, and more are all available for free to the members. But it primarily looks like a “pull” strategy. NAMA has also partnered with the non-profit “America Scores” to work on making children live more active lives. The collaborative efforts are a wise step to lend the much-needed credence to such a campaign. Great stuff.
And yet, run a simple news search on the success of this effort and you find a plethora of vending machine-bashing stories from school districts throughout the country. Here is one of the latest headlines I found: “Health movement has school cafeterias in a food fight USA Today – Aug 21 8:44 PM. “Elizabeth Nyikako, 16, a senior at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, used to buy a Coke or a Twix candy bar from school vending machines, but no more. Now she gets bottled water and granola bars.”
The beverage distributors are also now in the fight to change the image.
Do you think that anything can work in situations such as these or are these groups simply facing an emotional runaway train?
It’s easy to play up the adversarial relationship between “Hacks” and “Flacks,” but the truth of this perennial love/hate relationship is that that we really do need one other. Although the value of PR professionals to journalists is often called into question, as this article points out, “the popularity of services like HARO and ProfNet should be proof enough that journalists have a need for PR professionals.”
That said, as PR professionals, our jobs are two-fold: Not only are we advocates for our clients, but we’re also here to make life easier on our journalist comrades. Between a non-stop news cycle, scary budget cuts and mounting competition for clicks, there’s a good chance they’re working in a pressure cooker environment, so the best thing we can do is to think from their perspective and assist rather than annoy. After all, it comes down to relationships, and there’s nothing worse than trying to work with someone who makes your job harder.
So, without further ado, here are our “Top 10 Yeas and Nays” for better PR practices. Although some may seem pretty obvious, those are often the ones that are first forgotten.
DON’T even think about…
- Not doing your research/reading a journalist’s articles before pitching. Know who you’re targeting, and only send something to them that you think would be of interest.
- Sending a pitch via email blast. The shotgun-spray approach is not appreciated; rather, think like a sniper.
- Asking if you can see and/or edit an article before it’s published. This is a huge no-no!
- Making up a response if you don’t know the answer. It’s perfectly acceptable to say, “I’m not sure. Let me check and get back to you.”
- Disregarding deadlines. Your journalist friend has theirs, so make sure you meet yours.
If you want to develop good working relationships, DO try…
- Respecting the journalist’s preferences. If they’re an email person, and you’re more comfortable on the phone, adapt. Work their way.
- Keeping pitches and releases short and to-the-point (and as buzz-free as possible). Repeat after me: Less is more.
- Thinking about how to streamline the process. Have assets and answers ready, and be available when the reporter is writing and may have a question. (Package the story beforehand as much as possible: angle, visual content, facts, references, spokespersons, etc.)
- Proofread, proofread, proofread. And when in doubt, hit spell check again before sending that pitch – perhaps even send to a colleague to review with fresh eyes before contacting the reporter.
- Focusing on relationships. I said it above, and I’ll say it again – it’s all about relationships. They make the job easier and a whole lot more fun! For example, interact with, read, comment on, share and praise a reporter’s work that you find of interest – not just when it’s a story about your company or client.
It is interesting that the word ‘consultant’ derives from the Latin, consultare, meaning to debate or discuss. That implies its function is to assist in two-way communications – yet, the role of management consultancy is positioned as assisting organizations to improve performance, through logical analysis and development of plans. The focus is more on management rather than consultancy.
The history of management consultancy is tied closely to analytical processes and a rational, scientific approach to organizational operations. Consultants provide expertise, often in a prescriptive manner, determining ‘best practice’ that will result from adhering to recommended strategies.
This philosophy underpins modern management with a belief that outcomes can be predicted, risk managed and success achieved by a process of research, reflection, monitoring and evaluation.
Public relations has followed this route in seeking increased status and recognition as a serious business management consultancy service – whether operating within an organization or as external experts.
Personally, I don’t believe the world is so readily predictable – for me, the idea of rational management is largely a placebo, making organizations feel in control by virtue of implementing processes and seeking the ‘right way’ to operate. (That’s not to say processes aren’t important – but they should not take precedence over a need to adapt and respond to a dynamic environment.)
Consequently, I am interested in the idea of ‘integrated reporting’ and the involvement of public relations in advocating its adoption alongside governments, global businesses, the investment community – and management consultants.
Toni Muzi Falconi argues, in relation to the Stockholm Accords, that the development of integrated reporting is a real opportunity for public relations to be part of the strategic management of organizations. He sees this move away from the traditional ‘annual report’ approach as putting stakeholders at the heart of business concerns.
From this viewpoint, PR is not simply going to be involved in producing the narrative within the integrated report – rather it will be pivotal in ensuring interactive, ongoing communications (dialogue) between senior management and key stakeholders.
Arguably, that emphasises consultancy over management. But the language of integrated reporting is that of assessing and evaluating quality, performance, value and impact. That is, a systems approach where stakeholders are engaged in transactional relationships with organizations and sustainability is about keeping the system going.
Sadly, I remain skeptical that the momentum behind integrated reporting is anything more than an opportunity for perpetuating the myth of the rational manager. The black and white of a written report inevitably loses the richness of real world relationships, the complexity of an organization’s day to day operations and the increasing chaos of the external environment in which it operates.
I’ve been paying attention to the things that command attention, both of myself and others, and I’ve made a list of 21 techniques that work. This list is far from all of them I’m sure, but it should be enough to get you started …
1. Be wrong
The world is full of people trying to do the right things. It’s become so common that many of us are bored by it. We long for someone that’s willing to do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, be the wrong thing. If you have the courage to be that person, you’ll find lots of people paying attention to you.
2. Be right
You can also gain attention by being right … but only if you’re more right than everyone else. Run a mile faster than anyone else, explain your topic more clearly than anyone else, be funnier than everyone else. Embody perfection, and people will take notice.
3. Communicate what others can’t
As writers, we take ideas from our heads and put them on the page. Sometimes we forget how difficult that is for some people and how valuable that makes us. Lots of people would give anything to be able to say what they mean. But they can’t. So, they turn to songs, books, and art that communicate for them. Be a producer of those things, and you’ll never lose their attention.
4. Do something
Everybody online is trying to say something important, but very few are trying to do something important. If you want attention, dare not to just give advice to others, but to live that advice yourself. Then publish it to the open web.
5. Surprise people
Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, say that one of the best ways to set yourself apart is to break people’s “guessing machines.” Take a surprising position, making outlandish analogy, or otherwise do the opposite of what you normally do. As long as it’s unexpected, people will stop and pay attention.
All of the meat processing companies have been slow to grapple with the growing pink-slime hullabaloo, even though there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that their products are particularly unhealthy, said Bill Marler, a Seattle lawyer who specializes in food safety and food poisoning cases.”My only complaint about this product is I think they could have been more up-front with the public,” Marler said. “When companies are not open about what their product is and what it contains, positive and negative, people get concerned and assume the worst.”
The meat industry failed itself by not staying abreast of social media and online forums for signs of trouble, said Jonathan Bernstein of Bernstein Crisis Management in Sierra Madre.
“They lost control of the message,” he said. “Perception is everything. If enough people perceive that something is wrong, it’s wrong. Reassurances that something’s safe from groups that are now distrusted are useless at this point.”
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
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:
Diageo launches Global consumer information policy
As part of its commitment to leadership in responsible drinking
Diageo today announces plans to provide consumers with nutrition information and a responsible drinking reminder across its range of Diageo-owned spirits, wines and beers. Diageo recognises that consumers want to make informed choices about what they drink. The purpose of the global consumer information policy, which will be rolled out across 180 markets, is to provide consumers with meaningful information in the best, least confusing ways possible. This information will be delivered through multiple communication channels, including labels and secondary packaging, a global website and consumer care-lines.
The policy will include responsible drinking reminders and facts on nutrition, allergens and alcohol content/serve size:
> Responsible drinking reminder: Responsible drinking messages remind adult consumers of the importance of enjoying beverage alcohol in moderation. As part of our existing range of programmes and initiatives to support moderate and responsible drinking, the words ¡°Drink Responsibly¡± (or a translation of) will appear on labels and secondary packaging. A responsible drinking reminder will appear on advertising tailored to the brand or local market.
> Nutrition information: Diageo will include an energy value on labels and secondary packaging unless local regulatory requirements demand otherwise. Within the EU, values will be provided for energy, protein, carbohydrates and fat. This information – also delivered through the global website and consumer care-lines – will not be provided in a way that implies health or dietary benefits.
> Allergens: Where known allergens exist in our alcohol beverages, allergen statements will be provided on labels and secondary packaging, as well as through the global website and consumer care-lines.
> Alcohol content/serve size: Alcohol content (ABV) information will be provided on labels and secondary packaging, the global website and consumer care-lines. We will support standard serve size/unit labelling in those markets where there is an agreed definition and recommended guidance on consumption from an authoritative source.
Commenting today, Rob Malcolm, President, Marketing, Sales and Innovation, Diageo, said: ‘The consumer is at the heart of everything that we do. We want our consumers to continue to enjoy the quality of our brands as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Our consumer information policy is another voluntary step for Diageo and is also part of our wider commitment to responsible drinking. We recognise the importance of enabling them to make informed choices about what they drink. As a responsible and responsive company we have developed a policy which helps them to do this.’
Diageo is putting appropriate resource behind rolling the policy out across its global business in the most efficient manner possible. Around 10,000 packaging variations worldwide will be changed during the course of the roll-out, over a five-year period. New product launches, packaging renovations and promotional packaging changes will include the consumer information.
I asked the students in my online Public Relations Techniques class, University of Maryland University College, to select some of the best examples of persuasive public relations that they felt measured up to “Best Practice” level. Here are some of the winners they chose:
Susan Hollman likes Amazon.com’s “Holiday A-List Campaign.” It won a PRSA Silver Anvil award. Susan wrote that “Amazon.com and UTA Dobbin Bolgla won this award in 2004 for a promotion in 2003 … The campaign was based on prior knowledge gleaned from research that indicated that customers like to get ‘celebrity promotions that incorporate exclusive content.’ A prior online event with messages from singers such as Madonna and Seal, were both successful with customers and with gaining unearned media. The budget covered the agency fees. All additional media coverage was unearned through articles, celebrity websites, etc. The celebrities provided the online messages at no cost, including a video concert by the Foo Fighters. All participants got free publicity and promotion of their products. Even publishers were involved in some cases, providing extra copies of books to Amazon.com to meet the anticipated increased demand. A real win-win situation. When the campaign was evaluated, these were some of the highlights that make me feel this campaign was a PR best practice.
-Participating celebrities agreed they would do it again.
-There were in excess of 157 million media impressions.
-Sales and site hits increased and Amazon had its “best holiday season.”
-The featured products all had sales spikes when they were highlighted during the campaign.
Kimberlie Payne cited Sears Roebuck& Co. She wrote: “For the past seven years Sears Roebuck & Co. has produced a free calendar for its customers commemorating Black History month. According to a recent press release at prnewswire.com, Sears announces that it is ‘proud to celebrate African-American history and culture through an original keepsake calendar distributed to nearly two million customers free of charge at its stores nationwide now through February.’ Since the 1990’s ‘Softer Side of Sears’ campaign, the company has been continually re-vamping and re-energizing its hardware-only image. To add to its widening clientele and to demonstrate social awareness, Sears is reaching out to its publics again in order to persuade them to view the company as a diversified and culturally open place to work and shop. ‘Every year we look forward to creating a new and meaningful calendar that demonstrates to our customers that we not only value African-American culture, but that we also celebrate it across our entire company,’ (prnewswire.com).
Mark Hurst admires the Tide laundry detergent brand. “I began to notice the company’s commitment to public relations while watching a Christmas special this past holiday season. The company sponsored a children’s movie on one of the major cable networks and used the movie to promote its own public relations campaign. During the movie, the first commercial of every series was a Tide commercial that featured a running animated story of a small-town event that was being threatened by an unforeseen snowstorm. The story was beautifully animated and beautifully crafted. In each sequence, a new family was introduced (usually from a different social demographic) and clothes played a prominent role in their family story. An animated box of Tide was always subtly placed to catch the viewer’s eye…At the end of the story, the big event turned out to be a clothing drive for underprivileged families. Of course, the story had a warm, feel-good ending and Tide used this ending to announce their own clothing drive for underprivileged families.
Tide has recently announced a new, socially responsible product line called ‘Cold Water Tide.’ This product is designed to save energy by cleaning clothes effectively using only cold water. As public awareness of the global warming crisis continues to rise, Tide is certain to garner plenty of free media attention by developing a product line that can help to ‘Turn the Tide’ of global warming. To make the product introduction interesting to consumers, Tide has developed a website, http://www.tide.com/tidecoldwater/challenge.jhtml where they invite consumers to ‘Take the Coldwater Challenge.’ By logging in and sending the link to their friends, consumers can track the impact they’ve had on the environment (through social networking) on a prominently displayed map that displays the location of people who have read their note. Tide has a built-in calculator on their website that allows families to calculate how much money they will save by using Coldwater Tide. Again, Tide is coming to the aid of poor families by prominently announcing that it will donate $100,000 to the National Fuel Funds Network — an organization that provides money for low-income families to pay their energy bills. The challenge seems to be working. So far, about a half million Americans have taken the ‘Tide Cold Water Challenge.’ For this latest campaign to help raise social awareness of the global warming problem (and also to improve the company image), Tide gets my nomination as an example of a PR Best Practice.”
Paul Hill likes SNAPPLE. In a combination of advertising and PR, Snapple latched onto an idea to solicit customer letters. The idea was the brainchild of the PR department at Kirschenbaum & Bond. “The phenomenon behind this Big Idea is that people want ownership of Snapple and they are willing to write to the company about their relationship with this drink. The first unsolicited letters related how the writers felt — that they discovered it, they want to own it, and they are driven to share the news with others. The letters gave the agency an idea for a campaign based on a Snapple employee named Wendy who receives the letters, reads them, and responds to them. The campaign features real letters from real people who have tried the beverage and love it. The television production crews travel to these people’s hometowns and film them there–a technique which could backfire when you put untrained performers on camera, or could be a stroke of genius if they project an infectious enthusiasm, as has happened. The filming also becomes a publicity event at the local level because the company involves the community in the release of the commercials. This incredible relationship evolved to the point that Snapple eventually was receiving some 20 boxes of letters a month.”
Elizabeth Henderson is impressed about how Jack In the Box restaurants turned their image around after an e-coli scare. “They are now known as a leader in food safety. Most other fast food chains followed the lead of Jack In the Box in implementing new food safety measures. They have used their new safety program to persuade customers to return to their restaurants. From the website: http://www.jackinthebox.com/aboutourco/foodsafety.php …”Jack in the Box® restaurants strive to ensure that the food we serve exceeds our guests’ high expectations for quality and safety. Our food quality and safety program has been recognized as the most comprehensive system in the industry today. In our restaurants, Jack in the Box implements a Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP) system for managing food quality and safety. Critical Control Points are key steps in the product flow that affect food safety. Introduced in 1993, our HACCP system encompasses farm to fork procedures for safe food handling and preparation in every restaurant….”
And there is much more…” Chad Elliott found another PRSA Silver Anvil winner that impressed him. It is Duracell’s campaign of “trust”. “Partnering with The American Red Cross, Duracell moved away from its traditional performance-based claims in favor of the notion of trust in launching the program entitled ‘Together We Can Become Safe Families.’ Distributing more than 150,000 guidebooks and coupons to help families prepare for unforeseen emergencies, positioned the brand before the public as one it can ‘trust.’ Using the American Red Cross was brilliant, because by name association alone it gives the batteries instant credibility. Identifying with Americans’ continued concern over terrorism, the strategy launched a program tailored to preparedness. The agency PainePR was responsible for the effort.”
Anthony Tornetta thinks the “Reading is Fundamental” (RIF) program doesn’t get enough credit. “This program is a good one — children see their sports heroes and other celebrities they see on T.V. reading and telling them to read. RIF is the nation’s largest nonprofit children’s literacy organization. This program is very persuasive and subtle. It is telling kids that it’s cool to read and that they should read as much as possible. I think their commercials are the most persuasive part for children when they see sports and celebrities on television.”
Erin Bessemer acknowledges that it as much marketing and advertising, as PR, but she admires the image created by “Yoplait’s Save Lids to Save Lives” promotion. “For more than ten years, Yoplait has been associated with helping women fight breast cancer. Save Lids to Save Lives has proven effective for the Yoplait Company and is part of their larger promotion of women’s wellness. In its first seven years, they have donated more than $14 million toward finding a cure for breast cancer.” Yoplait has also been the National Series Presenting Sponsor of the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation’s Race for the Cure since 2001. See http://www.yoplait.com/breastcancer_commitment.aspx
“I see Yoplait’s commercials all over television. You usually see a woman exercising and then taking a break to enjoy here yogurt snack. At the end, she licks the pink lid to save and send in to the company. I feel this campaign is effective because it links Yoplait’s public relations with a very good cause.“
Alison Mingo calls to our attention The American Legacy Foundation’s “truth” ads. They have received multiple awards such as International Andy Awards, The One Show, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, and Cresta Awards. “Arnold Worldwide is the agency responsible for producing this past year’s ads that convey, through satire, the stupidity of smoking cigarettes. The messages invoke different emotions from viewers in the shocking yet realistic information provided. Most importantly, though, these ads reach the target audience of young people who may be tempted to smoke or those who have recently become addicted. The anti-smoking messages have already contributed to the public’s awareness of the hazards of smoking that have led to statutory legislation banning smoking in public places.”
June Kruse – Also acknowledging the close connection among PR, marketing and advertising, loves the “Got Milk?” campaign. “When you see a celebrity sporting a white mustache in a magazine ad, you will know that’s the famous National Milk Mustache Got Milk Campaign.The campaign is funded by America’s milk processors and dairy farmers, with a goal of ‘educating consumers on the benefits of milk and to raise milk consumption.’ In addition to ‘Got Milk’ and ‘Got Chocolate Milk,’ ‘24/24 Milk’ was launched to stay on top of the diet craze. Their slogan ‘milk your diet, lose weight’ suggests ‘a reduced-calorie eating plan that includes 24 oz of fat free or low fat milk each day may give your weight loss efforts a boost.’ These campaigns have successfully raised our awareness of the importance of milk.” You can check out the facts, ads and commercials at these sites. http://www.whymilk.com/, http://www.2424milk.com/index.htm, http://www.milkdelivers.org/index.cfm
Kandra Berry loves an award-winning newsletter, ”SAMHSA News,” published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This monthly “offers the public information about substance abuse and mental health issues on a monthly basis.” See http://alt.samhsa.gov/SAMHSA_News/index.asp
Jacqueline “Jackie” Nemes loves Dell Computers/GCI Read Poland’s campaign “No Computer Should Go to Waste.” “This international effort recently won the PR News Corporate Responsibility Award for Environmental Communications. I believe this campaign measures up to Best Practice level because it has accomplished its socially responsible mission in creating positive social change. In 1997, the National Safety Council released estimates that more than 300 million computers would become obsolete before 2004, and efforts to dispose of them would generate a wide range of toxic wastes. Socially responsible companies searched for and developed solutions to this electronic waste. For example, Dell Computers began offering an online service called Dell Exchange, where customers can trade in, donate or auction their obsolete computers. In partnership with the government of Malaysia, Dell and GCI succeeded in their global campaign to raise public awareness of recycling/donating options for unwanted computer equipment and persuading public action. In 2004, informed citizens throughout the world recycled more than 100 tons of computer equipment and donated more than 850 tons of computers.” Pauleta Gumbs admires the American Red Cross Blanket Days for the Homeless program. See http://www.semredcross.org/blanketdays/
“This campaign was established to provide blankets for homeless and disaster victims. The campaign encourage groups, families, individuals to hold blanket drives in their hometowns and claims to collect more than 7,000 blankets each year. One of the reasons I feel that this campaign is effective because it plays on the audience emotions.
“Take this paragraph: ‘Your Help Is Needed. When temperatures drop, local shelters fill with thousands of homeless people- teenage runaways, victims of domestic violence, substance abusers, and the mentally ill. The cold weather also intensifies the suffering of people whose homes have been destroyed by home fires or other disaster. A warm blanket wrapped around the shoulders of someone who has lost a home is a comforting reminder that someone cares. How You Can Help. Your new twin-size blanket donations will be provided to local homeless shelters and disaster victims; financial donations will pay for additional blankets if needed, comfort kits, and also will support other vital Red Cross services in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.’ ‘Good Deeds’ are published on persons who went beyond their call of duty to ensure the campaign was and remains a success. Check out the feature story on the Warren Couple http://www.detnews.com/2005/macomb/0502/10/B05-85577.htm.
Margo Ochoa notes that Baker Winokur and Ryder have over 25 years of connecting the consumer with entertainer and she feels their work hooking celebrities to non-profit causes is the stuff of legends. There is plenty of unearned PR that can be accomplished with a popular celebrity Angela Gaines likes Lee Denim’s creation of the community/fundraising event Lee Denim Day, raising money for breast cancer research. See http://www.denimday.com/
“Lee Jeans sponsors Denim Day on the first Friday in October annually. Organizations across the country participate by allowing employees to contribute $5.00 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and wear jeans to work. The organizers of this effort were ingenious in utilizing the desire of a casual workplace environment to help find a cure for a disease that affects millions of people every day.”
Brian Harrington feels Southwest Airlines’ Adopt-A-Pilot Educational Program http://www.southwest.com/adoptapilot/?sr=PR_pilot_020105 deserves some PR recognition. “This program encourages students to research potential careers as it simultaneously encourages achievement in school and self-esteem. Throughout a month-long program, Southwest pilots volunteer their time as they visit classrooms around the country, correspond with students while traveling, and encourage interest in math, science, and a wide variety of other genres. Since the program was introduced in September 1997, the program has involved over 65,000 students in its efforts to increase awareness in a myriad of areas relating to scholastic achievement. Additionally, this program has been cited for its impact on schools faced with a lack of funding due to budget shortages (this especially includes many classrooms in areas that are considered ‘disadvantaged.’ This year alone, the Adopt-A-Pilot program has engaged nearly 15,000 schools from around the country. Southwest Airlines, due in part to this program (and a variety of other factors), has come to be known as the ‘Luv’ airline.”
Yes, press releases still matter in the digital age. And while SEO helps broaden the digital footprint for your release these days—there are still fundamentals that can NOT be overlooked if you want to see pick up from those who matter. Even so, too many in PR are still sending out releases that miss the mark. Here’s how to make sure that yours never fail to fail:
- APPEAL only to the vanity and ego of your boss/CEO/client, etc.
- NEVER consider your audience—the news media, potential customers, current clients, etc.
- CONFUSE. Right at the start, no reader should have any idea what you’re talking about. This shows profundity and complexity of thought.
- NEVER proofread or use spell-check. Typoes keep the the media on they’re toes. As do bad grammer.
- A “NEWS” release is not a news story; it’s an ad. Brag from start to finish. Avoid information.
- PUMP UP the buzzwords. When you pepper your release with phrases like “end-to-end ROI,” “scale visionary initiatives,” and “drive transparent paradigms,” you’re cookin’!
- INFLATE a brief announcement into 1,000 words. For unusual creativity, shrink an important story into a few opaque sentences.
- NEVER cite objective outsiders like customers, analysts, researchers, etc. Use lots of long, windy quotes from company insiders—from the CEO to the parking attendant.
As I’ve previously written on my company’s blog, news releases, in most cases, are a worthless bother.
Yes, there are times when they are a necessary evil. Earnings releases come to mind as they contain legally binding statements. But the traditional news release is a dreadful animal–read by few–and should be put out of its misery.
I receive at least 10 relatively illegible news releases daily (and many reporters tell me they get up to 300 each day). And rarely, if ever, can I get past the subject line in my e-mail inbox. Most of them simply seem to take up space.
To think that in the days of “The Love Boat” and “Magnum P.I.,” news releases actually helped facilitate news stories. Now, a free service like Peter Shankman’s HARO (Help A Reporter Out) provides a far more effective reactive medium to solicit information to a reporter. And there are just a few PR people left who still know how to proactively pitch–keep it concise, relevant and don’t make it all about your client, but a broader trend.
“It’s not conversational or engaging, and the only way to capture attention is with a racy headline, which journalists see past,” said Jason Kintzler, a former reporter who founded and nowadays leads PitchEngine.com, a social media news release service that allows companies like H&R Block and Budweiser to bypass traditional media outlets and serve customers and influencers directly.
If your company still relies on traditional media outreach as the cornerstone of its storytelling efforts, it’s past time to become your own media company. Create media objects (like the video I so easily embedded in this post) and deploy them through your own resources. Activate your fans to help tell the story. Make sure the story shows up in the curated content collections maintained by trusted guides. Hire journalists to write company-sponsored columns about the significance of your news. And these tactics just scratch the surface of a smart content marketing approach.
The days of relying solely on the press to be your story-telling surrogate are over.
Most surveys tell us that the majority of editors and writers work largely by email and phone to communicate with their sources. However, we also know from communication research that face-to-face communication still holds a valued place in how we relate to one another. The trade show site is an ideal place to build and maintain a rapport with key editors and reporters that we work with by email and phone for most of the year. Since trade show season ramps in the first quarter in most industries, now is the time to start planning.
The advice that I offer may seem simplistic to veterans, but it is not obvious to those with little or no experience in working with trade and professional journals. Generating publicity surrounding a major trade show has three key benefits:
1. Prior to the show it can create interest in attendees visiting your booth to see the new products.
2. During the show it can introduce major trade publication editors to your company, its products and the industry experts on your staff.
3. Following the show you have additional editorial opportunities to pursue based on the discussions you have had with editors.
Several weeks prior to a trade show there is usually the opportunity to send the show’s publication brief overviews of the new products or services you plan to introduce. This information often is buried in the piles of paper your exhibit manager or marketing director receives in the months prior to the event. If you don’t find information about this editorial opportunity in the exhibitors’ packet, call the show management’s public relations department.
Major trade shows, such as NetComm in the telecommunications/networking industry and the National Management Health Care Congress in health care, are well attended by the industry’s top reporters and trade publication editors. Major shows like these are terrific venues to meet face-to-face with the editors whose publications best reach your customers and prospects. Editors are interested in innovative products and meeting potential sources of industry expertise. While most can give you only 20 – 30 minutes, these few minutes can establish valuable relationships and lay a foundation for future coverage.
My experience in the past is that meetings with editors at trade shows can result in editorial coverage in 90 to 100 percent of these publications, including those that are Web-based. Assuming of course, the company’s spokesperson addresses topics of news value to each publication.
Follow-up to thank editors, reconfirm any commitments made by the company or an editor and to suggest story ideas not discussed during meetings puts a company in a position of laying out nearly a year’s worth of coverage.
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.
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.
I’ve worked as a journalist for more than 15 years and one of my greatest fears, for which I’ve realized, is simply getting information wrong. I try really hard not to make those mistakes, but with so many moving parts it’s often inevitable that mistakes will happen.
Sometimes journalists are not on the top of their game. And sometimes they’re just no good.
Whatever the situation is with a journalist that’s interviewing you, there is a way to make your experience go well.
What follows are some techniques to making sure your story gets recorded correctly, and with the tone you expect. I can’t guarantee that the journalist will write the story in the manner you want, but these tips will definitely reduce the number of errors, so you won’t have one of those, “Uggh, that’s not what I said. It’s all wrong!” experiences.