Apple as the Teacher

By garyyoungink 

If you believe the Twittersphere, Apple can do almost no wrong. Yesterday’s announcement of the iPhone 5 was heralded as the second (or fifth) coming.

Agree with Apple’s press or not, the company who brought lower-case-cool to the letter “i” is indisputably the master of media events. PR Daily cited five lessons that PR people can learn from Apple about managing a major media announcement:
1. Make sure your executives are well trained—even if the product is killer.
2. Numbers remain powerful.
3. Pay attention to sound bites.
4. Show, don’t tell.
5. Maintain realistic expectations.

While “realistic expectations” for Apple may differ a bit from – oh, I don’t know – the rest of the world, the point is well taken.

For the full story, go to: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/12650.aspx

When to Bring in the DH

By Felicia K. Knight  President, Knight Vision International, LLC

Whether or not you’re a fan of the designated hitter rule has more to do with how old you are than whether or not you’re an American or National Leaguer. Those old enough to remember when all pitchers had to take their turn at bat tend to resent the American League pitchers who sit through their “ups” with their arms swaddled. Yet the DH rule has extended the careers of many a hitter who may otherwise have had to head to the locker room – and many a pitcher who can now concentrate on what he does best: Pitch.
By Felicia K. Knight, President, Knight Vision International, LLC

In business, particularly in PR, media consulting, and crisis communications, that generational viewpoint doesn’t hold up. Most clients want the pitcher not only on the mound but also in the batter’s box. They want the star player taking all the meetings, designing all the strategies, being on every call, answering every email, and making every pitch.

If you’re the star player, you know how hard this can be – especially if you’re the only player and you’re trying to build a team – and a clientele. You bring on qualified people, but the client is comfortable with only you. Whether the refrain is, “You’re the one with the Washington, DC experience,” “You’re the one who understands politics,” or “You’re the one who knows New York,” the problem is the same. “You” are only one person and you can’t be in six places at once. So, how do you convince your client that it’s okay to invoke the DH?

Be upfront, but start slow. Start out by letting the client know who will be working on the account with assurances that you are overseeing every step along the way. If the client is really skittish about working with someone else, assign your team the support work that is crucial to success, but doesn’t require face time with the client. When face time is necessary, bring the designated associate with you so that the client gets used to other faces in the room, voices on the phone, and competent hands on their account.
You’ll better serve the client if you can concentrate on the big picture and have help doing the legwork.

You can’t grow your business without employees and you can’t hire employees unless you grow your business. Other executives do understand this. Like you, they have hired people to whom they can confidently delegate. It’s up to you to make your client comfortable with and confident in your team. It’s also up to you to know when you should be on the mound and when you shouldn’t. (I’m talkin’ to you, Roger Clemmens.)

Going for Gold on the Balance Beam of Life

By Dawn Stranne

I remember the first time I walked a balance beam at 13. It sure didn’t look like it would be hard to do. Let’s just say my confidence didn’t last long when my simple steps and dips turned my ankles to nervous jiggling Jello and my breath to shallow gasps for air. No, it wasn’t pretty; Yes, I’m in awe of Aly Raisman and the whole Team USA gymnastics team. Such grace, strength and focus….such balance! But, for Aly, falling from grace could have been only a tweet away! Now and then, we must take time to look at how our businesses and personal lives are balanced to continue our individual journeys of success. As Brian Solis recommends in his recent blog post, in the midst of information overload, be sure to pursue balance and track toward your chosen destination. This summer, take a little down time to explore how you’re doing on the balance beam of life.

You said WHAT? To WHOM?

By Deb Trivitt, Trivitt PR

Aye, aye, aye! When will they ever learn? Another supposed PR professional (I take that back) a political spokesperson with Mitt Romney’s campaign told a reporter in Poland to “kiss my a**” and to “shove it”.

Is that any way to talk to a reporter? Surely Rick Gorka knew that the microphone was on, that what he said would be “on the record,” that he’d have to apologize and/or look for a new job.

Why are these lessons so hard to learn? We should all learn from our Olympic athletes. Support our team members (and yes, I consider journalists members of MY team, because they help me tell my clients’ stories) and support them even if they outrace, outscore and outsmart you.

Congratulate them and move on. You won’t win the shouting match. You’ll just look, well, dumb.

PR planning can help you prepare for TODAY and tomorrow

By Brian Knox at Laughlin Constable

It could have and should have been handled better. That’s what I think most of us in the PR profession and millions of TV viewers thought when we watched the tearful departure of anchor Ann Curry from the TODAY show on June 28. As someone who works with a great team to help companies and individuals prepare for and deal with a variety of crisis situations, difficult announcements and more, I found it almost unthinkable that NBC would not have had a well-thought out plan in place to deal with Ms. Curry’s departure should word leak out, which it did. But sadly, NBC’s reaction was not to respond.

So began a very public and agonizing week of wild speculation after news leaked that Ann’s days were numbered on TODAY. Social media lamented, angry viewers voiced their opinions and so did the entertainment and news media. In the court of public opinion, NBC took it on the nose and then some. The network continued to say nothing and Ann continued to return to anchor each day until a few brief minutes were offered to say goodbye before being folded into special project assignments elsewhere at the network.

This was not a long goodbye in TV terms – and unfortunately they left out many facts including Ann being the first female reporter to work at a Medford, Oregon TV station, or how she anchored and reported the graveyard shift on NBC News at Sunrise for five years before making it full-time to TODAY. She paid her dues and while viewers might not have known that, they could tell it by the way she carried herself through this ordeal. In the end, NBC got the change it wanted just before the July ratings period, but Ann was the one who walked away winning over public opinion and the viewers’ hearts. I’m not sure who was advising Ann on all this, but NBC might want to make a business connection with them on LinkedIn for future reference.

Brian Knox is a vice president at Laughlin Constable, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is a member of the PRConsultants Group

Social Madness is Cured Through Engagement

By Tom Garrity of The Garrity Group Public Relations,

It is now almost commonplace, getting bombarded by people asking for your “vote”.  I am not talking about candidates running for public office.  This is the barrage of organizations that are seeking you to vote for their businesses as a part of a social media contest.

Some of the successful “contests” include the Pepsi Refresh Challenge and Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good campaigns; these programs enable organizations to tell their story, while competing for a prize, through public votes, that will benefit its mission.  The latest craze is Mission: Small Business sponsored by Chase and LivingSocial.

Organizations enter into these online beauty pageants for different reasons (by means of disclosure my firm has helped clients to succeed in these games).  They are not all bad, but, without proper social media planning, the contests promote faceless metrics in lieu of healthy engagement.

Like advertising, these contests are all about the “push,” but with a twist of extortion. If your organizations “ask” is the only outreach you’ve done in recent weeks (months or years), the message received by your friends sounds like this “You ‘liked’ us, now it is time to extract our pound of flesh.”

Where is the engagement?

Here are five quick questions to ask yourself or the organization before diving into the pool of social madness:

• Are we already socially engaged with our customer base?
• Is the benefit of the contest so great that it supersedes our relationship we have with our friends and followers?
• Will this build healthy awareness for the organization?
• Will this increase support of our organization’s mission in the form of sales, attendance or volunteers?
• Does the contest complement our social media plan?

If you answer yes to these questions, knock yourself out.  If a “no” slips in once, focus your time, efforts and clout on other efforts, like building foundational relationships and meaningful engagements.

Social media efforts should be focused on people, not on marking a bedpost with socialmedia accomplishments.

Tom Garrity is the president of The Garrity Group Public Relations, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a member of the PR Consultants Group.

Got a “Writing and Editing” Playlist Yet?

By Brendy Barr, President, Brendy Barr Communications LLC

I finally jumped on the “fun gadget bandwagon” and bought a Kindle Fire…now we’re inseparable!

And while I enjoy instantly watching movies, checking my Facebook newsfeed and playing “Plants vs. Zombies” with my 11-year-old, I’m truly addicted to creating different play lists of music. I have one I call “Stressed-Out Mom Mix,” another called “Top Down Jeep Tunes” and dozens more!

Just when I thought I had the ultimate collection of playlists, I came across this great article recently posted on PRDaily.com…

“How to Create the Ideal Playlist for Writing and Editing.”

Read it and let me know what would be on your “Writing & Editing” playlist!