A Communicator Loses Control

by Dan Ward

 

 

We’ve all been there.  We’ve all had long, trying days where it feels like everyone is taking shots at us.  And for those of us in public relations, we’ve all had days where reporters have made us want to scream.

But we don’t.  We keep our heads.

Mitt Romney’s traveling press secretary, Rick Gorka, did the opposite on Tuesday, and the result has been a heap of coverage his boss doesn’t need and certainly didn’t want.

When reporters shouted questions at Romney after he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Poland, Gorka reportedly shouted back, “Kiss my a**.  This is a holy site for the Polish people. Show some respect.”

Kiss my a** … show some respect.  That might go into the Ironic Statements Hall of Fame.  It reminds me of the time my father told a man during an argument, “If you don’t stop cursing in front of my kids, you son of a (bleep), I’ll knock you on your (bleeping) (bleep).”

There’s a lesson here for all professional communicators.  Our role is to be the calm in the storm.  If you feel like you just have to scream, step outside and yell at a tree (or in this case, wait until you’re in the car and yell at the floor).

If you allow emotions to get the better of you, how can you possibly provide sound advice to your boss or client?

Solutionism

by Roger Pynn

I so wish I had coined Dow Chemical’s word “Solutionism.”  Dow’s “Solutionism. The New Optimism.” makes for brilliant positioning and each new effort to build the company’s brand as one providing solutions just seems to get better.

As a worldwide Olympics partner, Dow created a fun and meaningful commercial titled “Hopeful” just for the Olympics as part of its ongoing campaign to tell the story of how the company provides solutions for agriculture, energy, infrastructure & transportation and consumers and their lifestyles.

The full campaign is great storytelling.  It is inspiring and clearly aimed at the public’s aspirations.  Sometimes a theme just resonates broadly across society and I think this one does.  This blogger for a Kansas City home renovations company saw some of her work in Dow’s tag line and “began smiling.”

Advertising Age raved about this spot that tells the story of a transportation solution.  In fact, you’ll find links to Dow solutionism stories all over the Web.

This isn’t just about advertising or PR.  It really is about rebranding.  Dow will always be a chemical company, and chemicals aren’t necessarily something we all like or relate to … but solutions are something else.

AdAge on PR

by Roger Pynn

When Advertising Age asked the question “Can PR Save the Penn State Brand?” on its website July 25, it reinforced the essential difference between advertising and public relations.  PR can’t save anything.

Good advice from public relations counselors can help.  But only good leadership listening to good advisors and taking strong action will save the brand.  Advertising agencies shouldn’t try to sell their clients on saving a brand in crisis with some new creative approach, nor should they tell them that full-page apologies and pledges to do better in the future are the answer.

Anyone who thinks that Penn State’s tarnished brand will be saved in the short-term is naïve, but the AdAge article suggests “… it’s been effective in diverting much of the media discussion away from whether the school attempted to cover up the scandal toward the subject of over-zealousness over football programs in universities in general.”

The issues facing Penn State are numerous … but at the top are culture and leadership.  Stakeholders will look to see whether its leaders take actions that force positive change in the culture.  Cultures are like battleships … they change course slowly.

The magazine turned to APCO Executive Director Kirk Stewart, an old friend and former Nike communications chief, who hit the nail on the head with his answer:  “I was surprised that the university didn’t step up and do some self-imposed sanctions, as opposed to waiting for the NCAA.  That leadership opportunity may have been squandered.”

For the sake of a great institution, that’s the kind of advice I hope Penn State will receive.

Here, We Make the Coffee for You

by Jon Hanson

I had no idea what to expect on my first morning as an intern at Curley & Pynn, but I was in for quite a surprise.  The company president, Roger Pynn, greeted me at the door, invited me inside, and promptly brewed me a cup of coffee.  Some places force the intern to make the coffee, but here the president of the company gladly made a fresh cup for me as we engaged in friendly conversation.  This act of generosity and kindness set the tone for my next eight months.

Of course, not everything was coffee breaks and pleasantries.  I came here to listen, learn and work my tail off.  But the team was always willing to help me with my goals.  One of my favorite projects was putting together a press release for the UCF Alumni Association, identifying relevant publications and ultimately pitching journalists on the story.  It was incredibly rewarding to see my efforts lead to coverage in the Orlando Sentinel.

My work leading to that coverage was just one of countless memorable projects.  Here are a few highlights:

1. Visiting and participating in a meeting at EA Tiburon.  The chief operating officer hooked me up with a free video game.
2. Researching SpongeBob Squarepants fan sites.  It was just hilarious.
3. Escorting YouTube vloggers at Otronicon and beating them at laser tag on the roof of the Orlando Science Center.
4. Writing a limerick to leave early on a Friday.
5. Getting pranked into thinking I was going to spend a night inprison.  I swear I would’ve gone through with it.
6. Learning a tremendous amount about the incredible research and technology that’s worked on every day in the Florida High Tech Corridor region.

I’m beyond grateful for the many opportunities at Curley & Pynn and feel honored to work alongside such a fantastic team.  Here’s a quick note to each:

Kerry Martin:  Always smiling, friendly and yet still professional.  Your work ethic, creativity and guidance can’t be overstated.

Heather Keroes:  We met four years ago and you inspired me to enter this field.  You’ve continued to inspire me and I’m sure you’ll continue to inspire future interns to be their best.

Julie Primrose:  So modest, but so brilliant.  It was a joy sitting across from you.

Vianka McConville:  It was a pleasure getting to know you, and I see why C&P decided to bring you on.

Connie Gonzalez:  You greeted me each day and immediately made me feel comfortable.

Dan Ward:  A sense of humor, a great taste in music and an awesome writer.  You’re a great guy.  I don’t care what your wife says.

Kim Taylor:  I love our email exchanges.  I’m not exactly sure why, but I think we “get” each other.

Roger Pynn:  You taught me the importance of listening and showing interest in the lives of others.  I aspire to someday make the same positive impact on the lives of so many.

Thanks to the entire team for making me feel more prepared than ever to enter my career.  To future interns – what may seem a small, menial task is just a snapshot of the big picture.  Think big.  Everyone here has your best interest at heart.  Make the most of your opportunity.

The Trouble(s) with Anonymous Sources

by Dan Ward

 

 

It seems like almost every news report you watch, hear or read nowadays includes the line “according to sources.”

In the rush to publish a new angle to a story, media turn to anonymous sources, “insiders” who share new details with the promise that their identities will not be shared.  Anonymity was once provided to shield sources from dangerous repercussions (including prosecution), but now it seems anonymity is granted as a matter of course.

But when you don’t know who the sources are, how do you know whether they’re reliable?

Take the latest egg-on-face moment for ABC News, which is still recovering from the Brian Ross fiasco on the coverage of the horrific shootings in Aurora.

The network reported Tuesday that the gunman “is spitting at jail officers so frequently that at one point he was made to wear a face guard, sources told ABC News.”

But then the Denver ABC affiliate, KMGH, contradicted the story, saying that those reports were “simply false.”  Where did KMGH get this information?  You guessed it.  The news was “according to knowledgeable sources.”  (At least their unnamed sources were knowledgeable.)

How about asking one of these knowledgeable sources to go on the record?  If a source isn’t accountable for his or her statement, how are we to know what to believe?

Are You Making These Five Twitter Mistakes?

by Kim Taylor

If you begin a tweet with @username—that’s a reply—which is only seen by the person you’re replying to and those followers shared between both you and that user. If you mean for it to be shared in the public stream, either re-phrase the tweet so the @username isn’t first, or use a period just before it.

Syncing your Facebook and Twitter can work, but if you tweet, “Like this post if cupcakes are your favorite treat,” your users know that information isn’t meant for them. If you’re syncing your accounts, be sure your messages work for both platforms.

Scheduling tweets is a social media manager’s best friend. However, scheduling multiple tweets which result in inadvertently flooding your followers’ Twitter stream is a quick way to lose followers. Schedule wisely.

Stop the automatic direct messages. They are trite, useless and do nothing but make you look like a less savvy user.

Don’t treat Twitter as a one-way communication vehicle. If your Twitter strategy includes only retweeting what others say about you and promoting yourself or your product, you’re doing it wrong. Success on Twitter comes from two-way communication. Listening and sharing with intermittent promotion sprinkled in is a strategy for success.

Why All Headlines Should Be Banned

by Roger Pynn

I’m always suspect of any story that claims to have all the answers … a crystal ball that will allow me to see the future.  So a headline in Fast Company’s Expert Perspective section headlined “Why Short-Form Video Is The Future Of Marketing” obviously caught a jaundiced eye … and it lived up to my suspicious expectations.

First of all, what “expert” Kerrin Sheldon wrote is not what the headline suggests.  He did not say that short-form video is an end-all for marketing.  Rather, he rightly said that our fascination with video will continue to grow.  Duh!

What he also didn’t say is what else is needed to make marketing successful.  Other than saying you’d better become a storyteller if you’re going to use short-form video, he failed to tell you how you should prepare yourself for the future.

We see far too many of these “expert” opinions these days that don’t deliver actionable information.  Here’s my two cents on that:  if you don’t include short-form video in your marketing strategies in the future, they’ll be incomplete.  Learn the art form.  Learn storytelling.  And, most importantly, link your short-form video to a much broader, more complete multimedia program.  In the end, these videos are just one more tool in your belt.

(And, don’t believe the headlines.)

Whoops. I Just Insulted The Internet.

by Heather Keroes

Last Friday, a young lady who recently graduated from the University of Iowa, was likely shocked when a story she wrote for NextGen Journal resulted in hundreds of comments on the not-so-well-known website.  Her article, “Why Every Social Media Manager Should Be Under 25,” drew the ire of social media professionals (most of them over the age of 25).

HARO founder Peter Shankman posted on Facebook about her article, encouraging marketing people “to have fun with this genius.”  In a way, she did ask for it … but I also felt bad for her when reading through the scores of negative comments.  When I saw the link to her story from the founder of HARO, I had to click it.  The headline was, well, very enticing to me as someone who is over the age of 25 and has worked as a social media manager and continues to advise clients on social media.

Since the controversial article was posted on Friday, NextGen Journal’s editors published a response article, as did one of the self-professed “social media old folks” incensed by her story.  But, we have yet to hear from the author, herself, who is likely hiding from all of the attention (note: she continues to post to her Twitter as if nothing has happened).

The last sentence of her article, pretty much sums up her opinion:

“The mere fact that my generation has been up close and personal with all these developments [social media] over the years should make clear enough that we are the ones who can best predict, execute, and utilize the finest developments to come.”

It’s a naive statement, by someone just out of school, and I don’t agree with it (but, then again, I am older than 25!). While I whole-heartedly agree with most of the criticisms of the article, and the right to post those comments, it was the personal attacks in the comments and on her social media pages that disturb me as borderline cyber-bullying. If we’re so older and wiser, we should respond with maturity, not name-calling and demeaning rants.

I could go on and on about this article and the general response to it, but need to get to the point for the sake of this blog.  An important fact has eluded this young writer.  Even if her story is removed from NextGen Journal, it will not disappear.  Trust me, I wish someone had told me years ago that the Aerosmith fan site I created for a desktop publishing class in college would still be up for years to come.  Thankfully it has not haunted my professional career (perhaps it has even helped J).  The best way she, or anyone else in her situation, can respond is to face the criticism head-on and maturely write another article (a sentiment shared by at least one “angry old guy”) that hopefully shows that she has learned from this experience and that there was no intent to offend the masses … you know, the ones that might employ her someday.

An Untapped Resource: Reddit

 by Vianka McConville

 

 

Reddit is uncharted territory.  As a close source tells me (my husband), this social media site is the beginning of the Internet.  All major Internet memes and funnies are first created and posted within the many subjects, or subreddits, available.  In a matter of days, you can count on user content from Reddit to populate Facebook, Twitter and go viral.  In theory Reddit is the Holy Grail for marketers, and Mashable further explains.

It sounds like a no-brainer to use this site, but being married to a techie and avid Reddit follower, I know it is more of a mental game of chess to use a community, that heavily frowns upon blatant promotion, to promote a product or service.  I’m glad to see Mashable is encouraging its use with the article and providing practical information. Perhaps enough brains can come together to figure out the best use of this site for PR without losing credibility.

Side note:  There is a public relations subreddit.  It is not very strong with only 262 readers at the time of this post.  The last post was seven days ago, laughable by Reddit standards.  Compare it to the aww subreddit with more than 1 million readers and several posts per minute.

Why Editing Still Matters in the Digital Age

by Roger Pynn

A “PR News” article titled “6 Reasons Why Grammar Still Matters in the Digital Age” put “The In-House Writer” Andrew Hindes in the online hot seat when readers pounced on his own grammatical errors.  It was a very simple lesson:  if you are going to talk about grammar, be sure yours is correct.

If you choose to follow the link and read Hindes’ piece, be sure to read the comments that follow.  His points were intended to deliver valuable advice … and likely to call attention to his services.  Unfortunately, poor editing caused reader distraction and undermined the credibility of an important message.

Before posting to “Taking Aim” I always ask for editing.   Just because you’re writing for a blog doesn’t mean you don’t need to check your grammar.