CustomScoop's PR Blog Jots

Wal-Mart Lets Reporter Behind the Curtain (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Wal-Mart Flacks Under the Microscope

The Flack

Jeff Goldberg wrote a searing piece for this week’s New Yorker about the $10 million dollar PR machine at Edelman working on behalf of the world’s largest retailer. Peter Himler wonders, after the struggles with bad publicity Wal-Mart and Edelman have already faced recently, they would open their PR team up to such scrutiny and criticism.  Perhaps they were hoping that by increasing their transparency to the N^th degree, they would improve their image, but Goldberg’s piece has only undermined that hope. “What possible benefit can Wal-Mart have derived from shining a spotlight on what it receives for its "$10 million" PR fee? This was one story request that should have been declined -- unless you can give me an example, outside of a trade publication, where the machinations of a PR team were portrayed in a positive light, let alone one embroiled in a highly contentious business and labor environment.”

They Got Your Release, Please Don't Ask

Strumpette

In his weekly tutorials for Strumpette, PR veteran Phil Hall cites what I consider one of the biggest pitching sins: calling to ask after the receipt of press releases. Hall points out that unless you received an email bounceback or a fax error message or a return to sender envelope, your press release was most likely received. He argues that unless your release was announcing something groundbreaking and newsworthy, there is no reason the reporter would have to remember it out of the dozens (if not hundreds) of releases they receive in a given week; thus, the follow up call is entirely a waste of time that will only anger the busy journalist and endanger media relationships rather than build them. “If you are going to call a journalist, do something that is useful for the journalist. Offer the journalist exclusive interviews, provide original articles or op-ed pieces carrying the bylines of top-tier leaders, arrange super-secret peeks at the latest groundbreaking products. But don’t – please, DON’T – ask them if they received your press release!”

Will YouTube Take Down Local Television?

Buzz Machine

With the discussion centering on the potential for the demise of print journalism in the age of online news media, no one is discussing the effect that online television—particularly political advertising on sites such as YouTube—will have on the local television station.  Jeff Jarvis posts a reader comment pointing out that YouTube may be to local TV what Craigslist has been to newspaper classifieds.  “Local affiliates are already facing a bleaker future than they’ll breath out loud because when the internet grows to become the dominant means of distribution, their value as distributors only shrinks. I hadn’t thought of political advertising as their Craigs List but I think he has a point.”

They Had That Interview Wired (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Whoops! Microsoft's PR Document Sent to Reporter

Pro PR

In a story making the rounds on PR blogs today, a media prep document from Waggener Edstrom meant to brief a Microsoft executive for an interview with Wired magazine was accidentally sent to the reporter himself.  Joseph Thornley calls the move the “Snafu of the week,” and notes that many seem to be reacting negatively to the thoroughness of the document, which listed extensive information on the reporter.  Thornley and I agree that such a document actually shows care and attention to detail on the part of Waggener Edstrom, and that an interview shouldn’t just be message points, but a conversation. How else to have a conversation than to learn a little more about the person with whom you’re having it? “Bad media relations comes from people who simply spout their message repeatedly and endlessly without regard for the interests or perspective of the journalist they are talking to. We should communicate to be understood, not simply to be heard. And we can be better understood if we communicate in terms that make sense and are of interest to the reporter writing the story.”

5 Steps to Effective Corporate Blogging

PR Communications

John Cass offers a short and sweet primer for developing a corporate blogging effort, with a brief but precise five point plan.  Cass underlines the importance of creating a dialogue as the essential element of any corporate blog, and that listing off your arguments without interacting with your audience will doom your blog to failure. “Once you decide to start blogging, its critical to understand that blogging is a conversation, or a dialogue, attempting to just pitch your own ideas will probably mean you will fail to talk with people, and worse still produce some negative consequences in terms of public criticism of your company’s efforts.”

Life is Dead

Crisisblogger

Life magazine has officially been put out of business, in what Gerald Baron is calling the “latest victim” of the declining state of print journalism.  Baron offers up the death of Life as a warning to all the old school among us: catch up or bail out.  He argues that the digital world has completely changed the flow of information in the world, and irrevocably. “The reality is more and more that everyone, young and old, male and female, rich and poor, is changing how they get news, get insight and understanding of events and people and organizations that interest them, and how they interact with each other and network together.”

JibJab Spoofs A-list Bloggers

Micro Persuasion

Steve Rubel offers up more proof that blogging has become an official mainstream form of communication: JibJab has included A-list bloggers such as Robert Scoble and Chris Pirillo in its latest flash animation parody, mocking America’s celebrity news culture. “You know you've made it big when you're in a JibJab video (which by the way is a great commentary on our celebrity obsessed news media).”

Newspaper Vital Signs (and Other PR Blog Jots)

More on the "Death" of the Newspaper

/Message

Stowe Boyd posts an excellent roundup of the recent “Death of the Newspaper” meme that has been making the rounds on PR blogs.  He links to posts from Doc Searls, Dave Winer and Tim O'Reilly discussing the possibility that print journalism is dying out, and what can be done—if anything.  I disagree with Stowe’s assertion that it’s too late to “save” print media, but it’s definitely a worthy read for those looking to get arguments from all sides on the subject.  “Since we are all trying to be more green, we should be happy that mazillions of trees won't be cut down and turned into newsprint, that cars will not be wending their way through a hundred million suburban cul-de-sacs so that papers can be thrown out of the window into our driveways. Journalists will, yes, have to get other jobs, or figure out how to make it online.”

Obama's Impressive Online Numbers all a Game?

Buzz Machine

In the Democratic race for the presidential nomination thus far, no one will disagree that Barak Obama has been leading the way when it comes to the online popularity contest. His numbers on YouTube and MySpace have far outpaced those of his competition, leading some to believe that they were adjusted by hackers looking to give Obama an edge.  As Jeff Jarvis reports today, it appears that assumption may have been accurate. Jarvis links to a Tech President article that shows that the online numbers for Obama are probably not as they seem.  It’s an interesting example of how social media can skew not only PR, but politics. “No one is saying that Obama’s staff is doing this. But it could hurt him nonetheless. That anti-Hillary commercial, coming from a hidden source, smelled of a dirty trick. Somebody’s engineering lies about at least his YouTube viewership. People will wonder how much of his buzz is elusive, the effort to goose it even desperate.”

It's the Medium, Stupid

Mike’s Points

In a post that he worries will elicit a “well duh” reaction, Mike Driehorst offers an excellent basic rundown on the differences between the various mediums of message delivery.  While it may be basic knowledge for many, I think it’s an excellent reminder that while the lines are somewhat blurred lately, PR remains its own medium, with differences between others such as advertising and marketing. He points out that in media relations, objectivity is king.  Other forms of communication are all written from a biased standpoint, PR is about influencing objective parties to your side of things. “The above are generalities, but you get my point. While we can communicate the same message in each of the above media, the message is conveyed differently — depending on the audience and the expectation with each delivery vehicle.”

PR Professionals Need to Write Good (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Good Writing: The Blogosphere's Sacrificial Lamb?

Tough Sledding

In a post after my very heart, Bill Sledzik bemoans the lack of proper grammar in the blogosphere, and urges bloggers not to sacrifice good writing on the altar of conversational style. He argues, correctly, that the casual nature of blogging needn’t promote sloppy, lazy writing.  I agree, particularly when you consider the PR ramifications of typo-ridden client blogs and poorly crafted social media releases. PR is at its core a business built around communicating effectively. We cannot allow the medium for that communication to undermine its effectiveness. “Can you achieve breezy, conversational style without soiling the language? Of course. You simply write as you speak. Then you edit, you polish and you proofread. It takes more time, but it’s what professionals who write for a living do.”

Googling Your Reputation

Hyku

Online reputation management has become its own industry, and Josh Hallett notes that this week’s Wired proved that point.  The cover story about CEO blogs and corporate transparency in the age of social media mentioned an interesting factor: that Google has become less of a search engine and more of a “reputation management system.”  Hallett recommends that companies in crisis all keep blogs with complete details on their side of the story that will show up in any online queries. “In many ways you're writing your own history. Yes this can be abused, but the blogosphere has a great system of checks and balances. They're called comments and links. If you try to BS or 'cover' a story you'll be outed. Stick with the truth. In the end, who is telling your story? Is it the media or a blogger. Why not tell it yourself?”

The PR Conversation

On Message

John Wagner offers a thoughtful post urging public relations practitioners to take the “road less traveled” more often, rather than letting worries about ROI dictate their strategy.  The “safe” route in PR is often just another boring press release to the same reporters; why is the industry afraid to take some risks? Wagner points out that often a long-term strategy for success involves engaging in a conversation. “In today's world, public relations and marketing should be designed to facilitate dialog and stimulate interest that will lead someone to learn -- on his or her own -- more about your product or service. That's a pathway that doesn't always lend itself to neat and tidy ROI measurement. But don't let that fear stop you from taking the road less traveled.”

SEO Made Easy, Newspaper RIP, and Other PR Blog Jots

Search Engine Optimization for Dummies

PR Blogger

In a post that proved its worth almost immediately, as it shot his blog to the top of Google’s results for searches regarding SEO, Stephen Davies outlines seven key strategies for maximizing your blog’s SEO potential.  He recommends originality above all, but also offers useful tricks and hints, such as using searchable terms when inserting a hyperlink and labeling hyperlinks with commonly searched phrases. This is an excellent primer for bloggers looking to increase their traffic via search engines. “Admittedly I’m no SEO expert, by a long shot, but the more I read up on it the more I believe it to be quite a fine art. It’s quite complex and, like PR, requires knowledge gained through experience. SEO is one of those things that take time and (cliche alert) is more a marathon than a sprint.”

Pre-Obituary for the Newspaper

PR 2.0

Tech magazine Info World announced last week that it would be folding (no pun intended) its print edition and converting to all-online content, prompting Brian Solis to question how much longer traditional print journalism can survive in a Web 2.0 world.  Solis argues that journalism itself is currently flourishing in many new ways, it is merely the old school vehicle of delivering the news that is currently sputtering to a halt. It is journalists themselves that will be responsible for saving the news business by evolving along with it, and fast. “There's still hope though - even though many believe it may be too late, I estimate that it's better late than never. At least there's a shot at staying in the game. Journalists, with updated training, will have an edge over bloggers because they will have access to the tools that separate popularity from respect.”

New Social Media Tool

Twopointouch         

Ian Delaney praises Zudos, a new social media monitoring website, as an excellent tool for anyone in public relations looking to keep tabs on the online reputations of their clients.  The site produces results from blogs, online videos, tags, photos and mainstream media mentions of a keyword. Delaney notes some minor quibbles with the site (I agree that its lack of RSS for search results is a minor disappointment), but overall finds Zudos a promising new tool for searching many forms of social media with one click. “Suppose you work for a large multinational, for example - getting the latest from all of these sources on your desktop whenever you need them would be a godsend when it comes to both taking a barometer of the world’s opinion and acting on individual cases. Of course, it’s perfectly possible to search for these things elsewhere - but nowhere can you do it on a single screen.”

A PR Fix for Two Troubled Industries? (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Can PR Help the Music Industry?

Online Public Relations Thoughts

Noting that the music industry, particularly CD sales, has been in advanced decline for some time, Jim Horton wonders what, if anything, public relations can do when an entire industry is threatened. Horton rightly points out that the entire basis of the music business is inextricably linked to the sale of “something,” that is, a record, a CD, some physical medium for the music, but that aspect has been threatened by the advent of digital music in recent years. “The industry is spending enormous amounts of energy to combat piracy and to persuade youth that it is bad, but it clearly isn't working. The question is what concept will work and how would PR go about helping the industry sell it? This challenge almost certainly will not involve sales of something physical and sales are likely to be lower margin than before.”

More Trouble for Pet Food Company

BL Ochman’s What’s Next Blog

BL Ochman lists a good rundown of PR industry coverage of the Menu Foods pet food recall, noting that the perception problem for the company is going to be scrutiny of their quality control practices. Ochman questions the company’s crisis communications strategy, and wonders why they do not seem to be trying to put a “human face” to the public by using a blog and issuing more informational updates via their website, which frequently goes down in the wake of the crisis. “The issue is going to turn out to be the lack of quality control in the pet food industry. Royal Cainin, another huge supplier of branded pet foods, issued a statement yesterday saying that, after having their own recall. Menu has yet to say anything about how they plan to prevent similar problems in the future. They claim they don't even know what went wrong.”

Thunderdome: Advertising vs. PR

Bulldog Reporter Daily Dog

In a lengthy, interesting post that supports the idea that the line between marketing/advertising/public relations has been come increasingly blurred, Matt Shaw, vice president of the Council of Public Relations, argues that advertising firms are borrowing liberally from tactics traditionally used by PR firms. Shaw claims that the changing face of public relations in recent years, particularly within social media, has lent itself to such copycat tactics.  Shaw offers advice to firms looking to stay ahead of the game amidst new competition. “The public relations firms that are excelling, and there are many, have several key things in common: forward-thinking management, motivated staff and extremely grateful clients. They are all inextricably linked, but the first point is the engine. Firms that are bold and not afraid to take chances, and that provide their employees with the knowledge and tools that will create those breakthrough ideas … those firms will win more than their share of turf battles.”

Twi$$er, Branding, and Other PR Blog Jots

Twi$$er

Micro Persuasion

Finally, someone points out how much a service like Twitter must be costing in SMS fees! Steve Rubel wonders who is paying for all those Twitter text messages flying all over the world, especially on networks outside of the U.S., where the sender of the message rather than the recipient typically picks up the tab for the message.  Considering that Twitter is a free service with no obvious means of turning a profit, they could end up in financial hot water.  “Further, from the looks of it no part of the site is monetized right now. So add this all up and it could mean big trouble in Twitterville.”

Pet Food Monopoly

Crisisblogger

While listening to a popular talk radio program on the way home from work this week, the host mentioned that what he found most egregious about the recent pet food recall was the revelation that one company was responsible for so many different brands of pet food—particularly that some were far more expensive than others.  Gerald Baron notes that this could be a major PR crisis for the company, as the idea of brand differential is essential to many marketing strategies. “Here’s where crisis managers and heads of marketing or communication better get together. The crisis just undermined all kinds of brand strategy and brand building promotion. How will they deal with it?”

Itunes Word of Mouth

Shel of my Former Self

A viral word-of-mouth effort has been launched as an attempt to promote an independent, unsigned band by urging ITunes users to purchase the band’s single, thus pushing it to the top of the ITunes charts. This effort has made the rounds on PR and marketing blogs today, touted as a social media experiment.  “The idea is for podcasters to spread the word that leads to a song by an indie band (without an RIAA contract) to soar to the top of the charts. It raises the profile of both podcasting as a movement—not just a delivery channel—of indie music, and of the growing irrelevance of the jack-botted, goose-stepping record labels.”

How to Make Friends with a Journalist (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Two Faces of Crisis Managment

Online Public Relations Thoughts

When facing a public relations crisis, most organizations will react in one of two ways, according to Jim Horton.  Some will use their communications teams to slap a band-aid on the problem, or simply “fix it,” while others will use the situation to grow and learn—making them more likely to avoid a similar problem from re-occurring.  Horton examines both reactions, urging companies to consider the more useful tactic of not only learning from one’s mistakes, but taking steps to alter course and prevent them from happening twice. “Usually, improvement demands change in culture and operations. That requires hard work and leadership may shy from the labor. It takes strong and confident leadership not to be afraid of tinkering with a system that is embedded in the behavior of its employees. These are the leaders who understand what PR is about, even if they don't call it by that name.”

People, Not Pitches

Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog

LA Times deputy business editor Henry Fuhrman advises PR practitioners hoping to form good reporter relationships to forget their timely news hook pitches.  Everyone is pitching a story, the key to fostering great journalist relationships is to become a trusted source.  Fuhrman urges PR execs to offer people rather than one-shot stories by promoting their clients as expert sources; this tactic can ensure the client a spot in the reporter’s rolodex, and increase the odds of future positive coverage.  “’The keys to getting covered are to practice the soft sell, tie to the larger story, offer sources and not one-time hits—and to keep expectations in check,’ Fuhrman says. ‘There's nothing worse than dealing with a person who thinks they need to go on the front page. They're hard to talk down and it's hard for them to take no for an answer,’ he elaborates.”

Is the Twitter Phenomenon Really that Phenomenal?

Murphy’s Law

Bringing some desperately needed sensibility into the Twitter debate, Tom Murphy warns against making every “new thing” on the Internet the next “big thing.”  He argues—rightly—that while Twitter can be a useful little tool for letting others know what you are up to, it’s hardly the life-changing phenomenon that some other PR bloggers are claiming. “How long will the passion and commitment last? Surely if you really want to know is someone online you can use IM or E-mail or perish the thought - how very analog of me - use a phone. I think Twitter is interesting, useful even, but it’s NOT the answer to the world’s ills.”

Tips and Mea Culpas (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Tips to Avoid an Online Crisis

What’s Next Blog

By this point, companies interested in managing their reputations ought to be monitoring blogs and other social media for customer feedback, and addressing complains immediately when they crop up.  But BL Ochman argues that there are steps available to avoid complaints from even making it to the Internet, a far better position to be in.  Her advice is extremely simple, and breaks down to basically, “treat customers with respect.” The key, she argues, is to allow access to people in a company that actually have the ability to solve the customer’s problem.  “Companies that give customers the ability to reach someone at a high enough level to solve their problem are exponentially less likely to have online nightmares. Instead, they'll have happier customers. And those customers will tell other customers about their good experience. It baffles me totally that this continues to be a hard concept for companies to understand: If you want to avoid online nightmares, listen to your customers when they have a problem.”

Scoble Tips on Pitching Bloggers

Tech PR Gems

Linking to a recent Robert Scoble post advising PR practitioners to contact him only via their cell phones (that way he’ll be sure to reach them directly when he returns the call, rather than having to go through a company switchboard), Todd Van Hoosear offers a good summary of other Scoble advice to PR folks.  The main problem many PR pro’s encounter is their “fear” of bloggers, which Todd argues is unfounded—why be afraid to pitch a high profile blogger but unafraid to pitch the Wall Street Journal?  Todd also notes that Scoble, along with many other bloggers, usually responds well to direct commenting on his blog and that this approach may often be the best way to get through. “I wish more reporters/bloggers/any publishers would be so proactive in letting PR's know how to contact them, and what gets their attention. Media Map and other services help, but are not as accurate as we need them to be.”

Southwest's New Apology Master

Marketing Profs

Perhaps inspired by the recent flap surrounding Jet Blue, Southwest recently announced a new position at their airline, a “chief forgiveness officer,” whose role consists entirely of responding to customer complaints with personal apologies and efforts to right the wrongs.  Jeanne Bliss is impressed with the idea and compliments Southwest’s proactive approach to crisis-avoidance, but is only cautiously optimistic about the sincerity of the move and others like it. An apology, she argues, carries no weight unless it is actually sincere.  “The Airlines are realizing that culpability is important and they are mea-culping all over the place. Great, that's step one. But anyone who says they are sorry have got to mean it. Step two is taking action to make the pain stop.”

Jet Blue Avoids Fresh Disaster (and other PR Blog Jots)

Lessons from Twitter

Social Media Club

Jason Chervokas gives a good breakdown of last week’s “Twittermania,” advising even the Twitter-Haters among us to take into consideration the enormous buzz the program has created.  At the very least, he argues, we should not be too quick to dismiss an application capable of creating such a stir.  Chervokas points out that while the incessant chatter surrounding Twitter has annoyed many, it’s proven that there is high demand for such a portable instant communications tool. “Still, whether or not Twitter itself is the solution of doom, the Twitter eruption of 2007 has exposed the enormous latent demand for low-cost, everywhere messaging that effortlessly crosses platforms and unites messaging channels.”

Jet Blue Gets this Storm Right

Online Public Relations Thoughts

After Friday’s terrible weather on the East coast, Jet Blue cancelled its flights without delay, learning from their public relations disaster following the Valentine’s Day storm that left disgruntled passengers stranded on planes, sometimes for hours.  Jim Horton wonders when an airline will have a PR problem from delays caused by weather, and when passengers will be willing to forgive. It seems that passengers are most forgiving when cancellations are uniform and immediate. “This raises an interesting question for PR practitioners and operational managers at airlines. What is a failure in the eyes of the public versus an act of God that passengers will forgive, even though upset? It seems that the line between passenger anger and acceptance is not well defined. It appears that if all airlines act as one, cancellations are acceptable but if some cancel and others don't, that might be a situation in which passengers become angry.”

PR Events Get a Second Life

Neville Hobson

Summarizing a recent virtual publicity event for the live-action/computer-graphics movie “300,” Neville Hobson argues the merits of Second Life as a public relations tool that companies should be working to integrate into their long term PR plans.  The event included avatars for the movie’s actors, producers and director, all participating in a Q&A with the audience.  Neville points out that in a real life press event, attendees would not have the access granted to them in the safe confines of the virtual world. “This event is a good indicator of yet another way in which Second Life can be a means to do something a little differently and bring something new to the virtual table, in this case not only a movie but also the leading actors, the director and the writer of the material on which the film is based.”

Surf's Up

Common Sense PR

Proving the value behind the name of his blog, Eric Eggerston offers advice to flacks looking to capitalize on a public relations boon and ride the wave to its maximum potential. He also encourages preparation for the opposite, noting the possibility that something bigger could pop the same day or week you were hoping to launch an attention-getting campaign.  Eggerston calls for utmost flexibility should the worst happen, particularly if a news-making event that eclipses a PR push is something completely out of one’s control (using September 11 as an example).  “Riding a wave of attention means dropping everything and making the most of the bursts of attention that come your way.  Don’t fret about why another of your tactics didn’t net any attention. Respond to as many calls, e-mails and other queries that come your way.  If you put in 70 hours one week on media responses, be glad.  You may not get a wave like that for a long time.  Ride it as far as it will take you.”