PR Wars

THE NEAR FUTURE OF COMMUNICATION

WHAT IS PR?

NO ONE IS LISTENING

While I was in Dallas for the Super Bowl, I stumbled upon an interesting scene at the famous grassy knoll. The grassy knoll was the site of the John F. Kennedy assassination 48 years ago. 

A group of people gathered on the knoll to publicly show their support for the revolution in Egypt by chanting and waving Egyptian flags.  A few Christian evangelists arrived with an 8-foot tall cross and shouted bible verses at the Egyptians pleading for them to repent and convert.  My video shows the confrontation between the two ideologies. 

If you could tell the world one thing about your company, what would it be? Whether you are making a new business pitch, delivering your elevator speech, holding a press conference or chatting with a neighbor, there are global truths for effective communication. Here are a few ideas to make your messages more easily consumed, so you can start changing perceptions and shaping beliefs.

Brevity - The most common pitfall in communication is trying to say too much. The message gets lost. Americans are bombarded with messages. People are armed with television remote controls and are willing to use them. In fact, the average television news sound bite is only seven to 10 seconds long. The average quote in the newspaper is less than 20 words. If you try to say too much, you are actually saying nothing at all.

Simple Sentences - Write your messages like you talk. Use simple sentences. Subject, Verb, Predicate. It is how we verbally communicate. In college, we learn to write term papers in a superfluous scholarly language. Stop it. We want to communicate in a simple language, so that people can digest our messages. The public is not going to invest a high degree of cerebral capital into what you have to say. Let's make it easy on them to hear our messages.

2nd Person - "Tonight at 11, we'll show you how to keep more money in your wallet." Speaking and writing in 2nd person grabs you. It perks you up. It demands your attention. It wouldn't have the same effect if you heard, "Tonight at 11, we'll show the public how to keep more money in their wallets." It almost seems like the latter example is talking to someone else. Poor communicators have a bad habit of talking and writing in third person. You want to communicate directly to your audience.

Branded - Many spokespeople brand well at the beginning of an interview. They use the name of their company or organization in their first answer. But then, it is so easy to fall into a bad habit of using pronouns. "Our mission is this..." or "We are proud of that..." The problem is that you can't be sure which sound bite a reporter will use. The reporter might not use the branded sound bite from the beginning of the interview, instead choosing one of the later sound bites. Ouch, a missed opportunity. Effective communicators are comfortable branding their organizations and getting the maximum value out of their sound bites. Listen to NASCAR drivers brand their sound bites. They have mastered the idea.

Consistent - Keep your messages consistent across all of your communication tools. Use your key messages in press interviews, on your Web site, in your brochures, on your blog, in your newsletters, in your email blasts, etc. You get the idea. Your key messages should be pervasive throughout your organization. Don't change your key messages with every press release. You want to hit audiences over the head again and again with your key messages. I am not being literal, of course.

As I ducked under the crime scene tape, the flashing lights from the police cars nearly blinded me. I entered the nursing home just two hours after a gunman murdered eight innocent people inside (WRAL: Eight Dead in Carthage Nursing Home Shooting). Walking softly through the building, I overheard an employee whispering the Lord’s Prayer. The staff was still on duty and taking care of patients amidst the carnage of the crime scene. Inside the office, the nursing home CEO had his head in his hands. He looked up at me and said “I am so glad you are here.”

My career has led me to a unique specialty of crisis communication that I call Disaster PR. In recent years, I have responded to manufacturing plant explosions, employee deaths, terrorist threats and flu outbreaks. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. You will not know how you will respond in a disaster until "The TODAY Show," "Good Morning America," The New York Times, "Larry King Live" and "Oprah" are calling your cell phone.

My most significant advice to leadership in a disaster is a reminder to “do the right thing.”  Let it guide your judgment. Lawsuits will likely come. News media will pose biased questions with the clarity of hindsight. But, do the right thing. Your leadership will be judged on the actions you take after you became aware of the problem. Make personal phone calls of condolence to the victims’ families.  Offer travel expenses for family members to attend funerals. Bring crisis counselors into  the workplace.  You can follow a checklist, but ultimately do the right thing.

The very nature of a disaster is that it is an unplanned event. So how do you plan for the “unplannable?”  At French/West/Vaughan, we offer crisis communication planning as a service for our clients. The plan will designate corporate emergency response teams.  We will work with management to brainstorm possible crisis scenarios and identify target audiences such as key stakeholders, internal employees, customers and the public. FWV will draft key messages and identify the tools necessary to deliver those messages (sample press releases, statements to the media, Web site updates and Q&A/fact sheets). Ultimately, the plan will give you a direction to turn when you have no idea how to make your next step.

If I get argumentative at home, my wife tells me: “you can be happy or you can be right… pick one.”  As I guide clients through crisis communication events, her reminder rings in my ear. 

In many cases, clients who are attacked (by the press, blogger, customer, etc.) have a natural instinct to become defensive and desire to strike back. Yet, a core crisis communication principle is you can’t win an argument. If you lose an argument, you lose. If you win an argument, you still lose because you have created hurtful feelings with your audience.

The subject is the focus of chapter six in Dale Carnegie’s "How to Win Friends and Influence People." It’s probably my fourth time reading through the classic. First published in 1937, it is the grandfather of all people skills books. In fact, I think it should be required reading for any public relations professional.

The book uses an example of a salesman selling a Chevy truck. If the customer says that Ford makes a great truck, don’t argue with him. You can say, “You are right. Ford does make a great truck.” It reduces the customer’s resistance. Now, you are free to tell him all of the things that make Chevy a great truck.  

I recently listened to Peter Shankman, of HARO fame, make a presentation. He discussed the diminishing attention span of America.

I am a typical Gen-Xer. My generation was knocked for having short attention spans at about two minutes and 30 seconds. It is the approximate length of a music video on MTV, back when they used to play music videos. Today, we have the Twitter generation with an attention span of 140 characters. It takes about two and a half seconds to read a tweet.

For a client, it means consumer communication has to be focused. We know that even the news media communicates in seven-10 second soundbites. Can you answer the following questions about your company in a soundbite:

Who are you?

What do you do?

Why is that important?

I was shopping in Petsmart, when a terrarium on the shelf caught my attention. You may be familiar with the  "As Seen on TV" marketing on products such as the Snuggie.

This Zoo Med terrarium has an "As Seen on YouTube" label on the package.  Does a YouTube channel give this product additional credibility? 

As I pondered this question, I realized the familiar YouTube logo did make me consider the product more attractive. It almost made me perceive the branding as high tech, even though it was just rectangular plexiglass.

In the blog series The Hype, learn how the world’s best brands are generating awareness with celebrity events, cause marketing and publicity stunts to break through the clutter.

Thursday, February 3, 2011 9:06 am - I am driving to the airport listening to ESPN radio. Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice is being interviewed by Mike & Mike. He is pushing a cause marketing campaign for Proctor & Gamble. It's a good call for the company to find a Super Bowl hero to be interviewed in the buildup of the Super Bowl hype.

10:30 am - There are a couple of celebrities on my flight from RDU to DFW. I am sitting near baseball great Nomar Garciaparra and soccer legend Mia Hamm. This is not going to be a typical business trip.

11:02 am - The American Airlines in-flight magazine has a profile spread on Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society of the United States. I work with Wayne closely for FWV client Michael Vick and it is nice to see a strong piece for his work.

12:44 pm - Stepping off the plane in Dallas and I am hit with some marketing campaigns. AA Advantage, American Airlines frequent flier program, has a street team at the baggage claim. They are holding free raffles and the winners get free miles. Ugh, I didn't win. Sports Illustrated also has a booth with free copies of a special Super Bowl edition of the magazine.

5:30 pm - I've entered the VIP green room for the NFL Players Association Pulse Awards. There is an amazing group of current and former NFL Players. Here is a partial list: Deion Sanders, Roger Craig, Eddie George, Demarcus Ware, Michael Vick and James "JB" Brown.  But, one elder Hall of Famer stole the show. Deacon Jones was a riot. He is quite the story teller and talked about his first year in the NFL with a yearly salary of $7,500.

6:00 pm - It's time for the red carpet. EA Sports and Reebok grabbed title sponsorship and you can see the brands on the "step and repeat" backdrop during this interview with CBS' NFL analyst James "JB" Brown.

6:46 pm - What an amazing dinner. My table is front and center at the NFL Players Association ceremony. I have the chance to sit with Philadelphia Eagles' Michael Vick and Brian Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens' Ray Lewis, Tennessee Titans Kevin Mawae, and Hall of Famer Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris. Vick wins the comeback player of the year as voted by fans. He is given a standing ovation in the sold out room. Reebok is the presenting sponsor and they push a strong cause marketing message. I am beginning to see cause marketing as a pattern at Super Bowl XLV.

10:15 pm - We travel to Grapevine for the EA Sports Madden Bowl party. Beyond EA Sports, Coke Zero and Coors Light are strong sponsors at the event. In this snapshot, FWV's Carrie Stewart is chatting with Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald. Atlanta Falcons' wideout Roddy White is in the background. The Madden Bowl is a big hit with players. Tonight, some of the players that I spot include Cincinnati Bengals' Chad OchoCinco, Carolina Panthers' DeAngelo Williams and Houston Texans' Arian Foster.

Friday, February 4, 2011

9:02 am - This is Dallas? Five inches of snow blanket the existing sheet of ice in Dallas. The snow is going to cause some headaches for me today. The roads were still in bad shape before the snow from the previous ice storm. I have no hope that anyone will plow a street today.

11:46 am - There is still no improvement with the roads. For safety reasons,  we may have to cancel a planned event for Michael Vick with a local Boys & Girls Club. It is a tough decision to make because the children really look forward to meeting him.

3:15 pm - The movie premiere for FWV client Simeon Rice is now in jeopardy because of the weather. Some celebrities begin to arrive for the debut screening of "When I Was King."

Simeon Rice and Olympic gold medal gymnast Nastia Liukin

"When I Was King"

5:16 pm - Michael Vick was able to make it to the Boys and Girls Club after all. There were a lot of smiling faces. Maybe this day will not turn out so bad?

10:40 pm - We hit the ultra exclusive Joule party. Justin Timberlake is hanging out at the party and Cee-lo Green performs. Two spirits sponsor the party, Belvedere Vodka and Dom Perignon champagne. Other than a step and repeat banner at the entrance, the club is unbranded. What a missed opportunity.  I am about the oldest person in the club, so I hang out with "Kevin" from The Office.

Saturday, February 5, 2011 12:06 pm - Saturday is an opportunity to take in some of the sites and sounds of Dallas. The NFL Fan Experience has more than a two hour wait, so I head over to the Texas School Book Depository and visit the 6th Floor Museum. In the famous grassy knoll, Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists  sell videos and photographs.  

8:15 pm - A touch screen billboard in downtown Dallas features a Doritos/Pepsi cross-promotion.  Passersby can move images across the screen and dive deeper into the marketing campaign. Talk about user engagement!

9:15 pm - Here's a unique guerrilla marketing tactic. Grey Goose Vodka took over an empty building in a industrial district and turned it into a trendy nightclub for the Super Bowl. The Grey Goose Lounge sported a $150 cover and sponsored nightly parties featuring a variety of celebrities. On Saturday night, the party was hosted by Jeremy Piven and the cast of the HBO comedy Entourage.  

There was an open bar, but of course the only drink served was Grey Goose with a variety of mixers.  Inside, I had a chance to chat with Bob Whitfield former offensive tackle for the Atlanta Falcons.

Sunday February 6, 2011

10:02 am - Super Sunday has arrived. My clients are actually leaving town this morning to watch the game from the comforts of home.  

There was certainly a carnival atmosphere in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium. Planes carrying advertising banners circled above. Geico and HP were featured  prominently in the sky over the stadium. 

12:35 pm - Let's talk about Super prices. On the street, tickets for the game were starting at $3,000. I expected to see high ticket prices, but parking was a complete surprise.  In this photo, parking at a Panda Express restaurant was $500! Next to the stadium, a Payless shoe store charged $750 for parking. 

We talk a lot about the future of media. Here is a music video that is pushing new boundaries.  The Wilderness Downtown takes you on a musical journey through your childhood memories. 

Open the site with your Google Chrome browser and enter your childhood street address. You will see a creative custom music video featuring Arcade Fire’s song “We Used To Wait”  built entirely with the latest open web technology.

Working in PR, sometimes we are able to enjoy the fabulous products and services of our clients. I recently packed the family in the SUV and hit the road to visit an FWV client, Tweetsie Railroad.

We escaped the sweltering heat in Raleigh and traveled to beautiful Blowing Rock, N.C. for our Wild West adventure. The temperature in the mountains was a refreshing 70-degrees and the season change was a welcome relief after a long hot summer in the Triangle. 

Tweetsie is perfect for families because the park has activities for children of all ages, so everyone was eager to make the trip.

“In the Tweetsie jail there is a scary monster, but I really want to go back. I love the mountains and I also really want to feed the bunny rabbits again.” 

Caroline, age 3

Favorite ride: Mouse Mine Train

“I think the train show with the Indians and cowboys was funny. I want to go back and ride on the Tweetsie Twister ride.”

Cami, age 5

Favorite ride: Wild West Train Ride

“You don’t just get on and off the train at Tweetsie Railroad. On their train ride, they have a skit that’s really cool. There are also so many different gift shops, it was tough to choose what I wanted to get.”

Jacob, age 12