TSA Troubles, continued

The TSA continues to get shellacked.  I saw footage on television this morning of a young boy who was told to remove his shirt and then get patted down by an "agent."

A young boy?  This isn't the Middle East where terrorists use children to act as mules.

Here's a rant about the anti-TSA rants.  Peter Shankman presents a good case for people to (1) shut up and not opt-out of the body screenings and (2) if you're going to organize an opt-out day, do it on a day that makes sense.  He rightly points out that the TSA is not security; it's "security theater."

The AP has an interesting piece out today which basically echos what I've said earlier about the TSA's problem being communications-based.

So, aside from obvious operational changes (rules that are consistent and make sense, profiling, simple logic, hiring intelligent "agents," etc.), what can the TSA do to improve its image?

1.  Let people know the real facts about the amount of radiation they are exposed to by the scanners.
2.  Show examples of the images that are produced by the scanners.
3.  Provide a real explanation of the rules and why they make sense.
4.  Stop hiding behind the notion that information can't be divulged "due to security reasons." 

I expect the TSA to issue a PR RFP anytime now...

Of Urban Legends and Parental Behavior

Never, in the United States, has a child died from eating poisoned candy on Halloween.  (No, I didn't do my own research; I'm relying on The Wall Street Journal.)

Why then, the insanity around this relatively harmless holiday?

Lenore Skenazy has her own theories.  I think it's just a great case study for effective public relations and communications.  Consider:

• The overwhelming opinion seems to be that Halloween is a dangerous time for kids.  
• The facts do not support this.
• No one cares.

What we see here is that once a narrative takes hold it is next-to-impossible to dispel it, even if it is blatantly incorrect.

Four Good Tips to get the Most out of your PR Agency Relationship

Jennifer Walzer posted an interesting article yesterday on The New York Times' website, about what she's learned in three months of working with a PR firm.

I have to admit that, before I read the piece, I held my breath.  I was pleasantly surprised.  I don't know the firm she's working with - Springboard (They seem to be hip, and all.) - but clearly Walzer has discovered that hiring a PR firms isn't outsourcing.  Just the opposite.  It takes time and effort to make the relationship pay off.

The Sydney Oprah House

In case you've been under a rock, Oprah is taking her audience to Australia in December.  Really, she's taking the whole world - because that's her television reach.

At first, I thought it was a bit much, but then I learned the Australian government is footing the bill.  Brilliant publicity for a mere $3,000,000 (not sure if that's US or Aussie dollars).  The amount of exposure Australia will get will far exceed the investment.  If you take a look at some of what they've tried in the past, this move is simply brilliant.

An Interesting Take on the Mosque Near Ground Zero

Here's an interesting take on the mosque to be built near Ground Zero: it's not going to happen because it's essentially a publicity stunt.

Commentator David Frum posted his take on this back in August.  If he's right, it's brilliant.  Controversy is always good for generating discussion and look at how much time we're wasting talking about it!  I mean, even President Obama has decided to comment, elevating the whole thing well above where it should have stayed.

We all make mistaks

I remember once, as a kid, seeing a very brief news item about a traffic sign, painted on the road, warning drivers they were entering a "school zone."  School, was spelled "sckool."  Funny enough to make the six o'clock news.

But, could such a thing possibly happen on a national level, causing embarrassment, say, to one of the nation's institutions of higher learning?

It did.  The poor folks at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, allowed their PR team to put in motion a campaign around the notion of "D+."  The "plus" is to signify an advantage of some sort.

The campaign was "designed to catch the attention of high school students" who may find it difficult to differentiate among the countless come-ons they receive from prospective colleges.

I bet it's succeeding.

I have to admit, from a high school perspective, it's kind of funny.  In an email defending the campaign, survey results are carefully drawn out to show that target audiences found the campaign interesting.

A few thoughts:

1.  I think the concept would work much better if it was tongue-in-cheek, as in: "Now that we have your attention, here's why Drake is a good school for you."

2.  The problem is in taking it seriously.  Only compounding the challenge is that school officials now need to explain the campaign to faculty and staff.

3.  If the campaign was designed to simply increase awareness and cause people to talk about Drake, they've already succeeded.

If you take a look at the firm that created the campaign, you see right away this doesn't appear to be a fly-by-night or a bunch of idiots who don't know what they're doing.  Part of the execution seems a bit off, but other than that, if Drake is smart, the school can make lots of hay out of this.

And, after all, that's what this is about.

This is why Israel will always Lose the PR Battle

You may have read reports of the former Israeli soldier who posted photos of herself sitting next to blindfolded and handcuffed Arab prisoners.  Like the "dancing soldiers" video, popular a couple of months ago, the photos are in bad taste, at the least, destructive at worst.  (I'm not providing links to these images because I do not want to do my part in perpetuating them.)

What's the big deal?  It's simple, really.  A picture, it is said, is worth one thousand words.  And with every juvenile posting propagated by Israeli progeny, the case for Israel's defense becomes increasingly problematic.

As a kid I was taught that I represent all Jews.  When I litter, someone will say, "Look at that Jewish kid littering," and NOT, "Look at Alan littering."  It's exactly the same thing with young Israelis.  They have an obligation to think ahead 10 steps to the possible reputational repercussions of their actions.  Adding insult to stupidity, is that Israeli soldiers - who are as technologically advanced as anyone - think that by posting such material on the Internet, it wouldn't spread like wildfire across the Globe.

So, this is why Israeli will forever be playing catch-up and defense against itself: Israelis across the board need to understand they play a crucial role in their country's - and people's - reputations.  It isn't only an issue to be managed by elected officials and "someone else."  Every single citizen must take responsibility and behave accordingly.

Public relations, as I am fond of saying, is about what you do and NOT what you say.

The Dome

My wife bought me a great present a couple of weeks ago: The Dome, by Stephen King.  He is a master storyteller with a brain that should be studied.

I haven't been able to put the book down, though it weighs in at 6.17 lbs (1,074 pages, soft cover - much like that all-in-one Lord of the Rings tomb my son is working through). As of page 812, the story, in a nutshell, is Lord of the Flies-like.  People get stuck in a New England town and, in a matter of days, all hell breaks loose.  Riots.  Murder.  Suicide.  All good King fare.

But what does this have to do with  my usual topic of pontification?

I wonder, inexplicable/supernatural events notwithstanding, how accurate is King's narrative?  Very, I would venture.  Psychological experiments have shown it again and again.  Here, we have a small town where everyone knows just about everyone.  Yet, at the drop of a hat, teams coalesce and it quickly becomes "us versus them."


It's amazing how innate it is to find someone to blame for a problem rather than focusing on a solution.  We see this all the time when it comes to emergencies and crisis situations.  First response by most people is to say, "It's not my fault!"  Preschoolers to Fortune 500 CEOs do it.

Here's my thought for the day: in a crisis situation, focus on solving the problem, not laying blame.  Your constituents won't necessarily remember who caused the problem (unless perhaps you pour a bazillion gallons of crude oil on them), but they're likely to praise and forever remember who solved it.

The End of Forgetting

This past Sunday, The New York Times Sunday magazine featured an article about the end of forgetting.  In it, Jeffrey Rosen presents a rather scary proposition - one that ought to be intuitive to anyone with any familiarity of online culture: every move you make can be kept online for posterity and come back to haunt you in ways you never imagined. 

Take for example, Stacy Snyder, whom Rosen references.  She had what was deemed as "inappropriate" photos of herself and, as a result, was denied a teaching job.  Why should what she does during non-work time at all affect her professional qualifications?

I can't go into the depth of argument Rosen did - I don't think I'd have anything to add - but I do want to comment on this from a perspective of reputation management.  As anyone who has been at the wrong end of a reputation crisis can attest: one "oh crap" is far more powerful than 10 "attaboys." 

Today, individuals who engage in public displays of everything personal must take upon themselves the same rules of engagement as companies and other organizations interested in reputation management.  To a large extent, what is right and wrong is irrelevant.  We can only deal with what is.

Truth in Advertising

I had "one of those moments" this weekend. 

My wife and I were talking about the challenge her employer is having attracting people to take advantage of the various services they provide.  My 11 year-old son pipes up and says, "Why don't you do what the commercial people do?"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Him: "Well, they should tell the people about all the good things that could happen if they go talk to Mommy."

Silence.

Him: "You know, not all of it has to be true."

I was reminded at once of the 1990 movie, "Crazy People."  I wonder, though, was my son commenting on what he observes on television every day, or was he simply letting us know that lying is perfectly acceptable, a normal thing to do?

I'd like to think it's the former.

Lying - even stretching the truth - usually ends up coming back to bite us.  The most recent example I can think of is that of CT Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is running for senator in Connecticut.  It's easy to understand why he was less-than-truthful.  It's amazing to think he thought he wouldn't get caught.

These days, anyone who speaks publicly anywhere and at any time, simply has to know there is never, ever such a thing as "off the record."

Killer Success

Any PR pro will tell you that lack of a credible story will kill even the best PR program.  However, I maintain that most don't think about how success can kill a communications effort.

Oftentimes, clients - and even PR folk - can neglect to take into consideration what would happen if a company/product/offering and, by extension, the communications program, is wildly successful.  What happens if - for positive reasons - virtually no proactive, outbound effort is needed?

I've been lucky enough to be in that position a few times in my career with young client companies, and here's what I learned:

• Most clients are not equipped to handle the flood of inbound inquires.  Appoint someone (internal PR person, agency, consultant) to manage all inbound traffic.  Keep lists with detailed notes.  Make sure everyone gets a timely response.
• A bird in hand is not always worth two in the bush.  Granted, a great "opportunity" may present itself, but failing to keep in mind who the true target audience is and which outlets are best for reaching them, can cause a communications strategy to veer off-course.
• Take the time to research the people who are calling.  If someone calls from Good Morning America, verify their contact info.  If they give you a cell number, ask for a direct dial.  Be cautious when it comes to private email addresses, if the contact is unknown.  You'd be surprised...
• Be polite and courteous.  The media may love you now, but that will change.

This is not an exhaustive list.  It's just four observations based on personal experience.  In many ways, this approach resembles what to do when a crisis hits.  In many ways, unforeseen success can quickly turn from nirvana to disaster.

The Importance of Doing SOMETHING

I was a Xerox salesman for six miserable months.  I sold five low-volume copiers in that time and, while there is much I'd like to forget about that period of my professional development, I learned one useful lesson: when in doubt of what to do next, do SOMETHING.  At Xerox, that meant "make calls."

We were given a list of "prospects" (in quotes because the list was more of a phone book that a collection of qualified leads) and told to reach out to a certain number every week.  Anyone who has ever done this sort of thing knows what I'm talking about.  For whatever reason, I was a loser at that particular numbers game, but the lesson shared by my manager has since served me well.

Put another way, a supervisor of mine at Edelman (the same one who taught me that "PR is about what you do and NOT what you say") confided in me that "It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission."  Clients, media, supervisors - whomever - will likely be much quicker to forgive what you've done than to grant permission in the first place. 

What does this mean in a communications mindset?  Very often, it's tempting to wait until all storytelling elements are lined up and in tip-top shape.  Media kits, backgrounders, bios, press releases, photos, b-roll, research - you name it - can all stand in the way of getting the job done.

Hogwash, I say.  At some point, you just have to dive in.

The ONLY exception is that of message development.  Everything else can fall into line later.  But right now, the single most important piece of preparation is figuring out what you're going to say and how.  Once you do that, everything else will flow into place.

I guarantee it.

Preparing for the Unpreparable

I'm no follower of Polish politics.  Before a few hours ago, I would have been hard-pressed to tell you that Lech Kaczynski was the country's president.  In fact, there is no way on Earth I would have guessed.


As I read a few postings on the Polish President's plane crash and the death of everyone on board, I was struck by the magnitude of the crisis now taking place in Poland.  Is this a scenario they could have planned for?  Sure, we all know there is a line of succession in the United States and anyone who's watched The West Wing can tell you why a member of the Cabinet stays behind at the White House during the State of the Union address.  But I mean, really, do these kinds of situations really happen?

Well, yeah.

Business owners have a responsibility to consider what will happen to their businesses in the event of a crisis.  Issues of safety, succession and business continuity must all be addressed.  Depending on the size of the company and the product or service offered, crisis communications planning must be part of the consideration.  Smart managers will take the time now - while they have it - to think about a variety of scenarios that could come up and how they ought to go about managing the communication around these scenarios.

PR & Social Media

Nice post from Ashley Wirthlin at PublicRelationsBlogger.com on the importance of making sure social media fit (not "fits") into your public relations strategy before jumping in nilly willy.


Pay attention to points #3 and #4.   Number three speaks to a recent post of mine - consistency and follow-through; number four is meant to force the question of why social media?


Good work, Ashley.

Small Biz PR Tips

It's refreshing to come across articles like this one by Amy-Mae Elliott, who offers five PR tips that actually make sense!

Whichever tip(s) you decide to follow, don't forget to cover the basics of messaging, solid writing and sound strategy.

I am SO guilty.

When Braverman Communications was incorporated way back in 2003, a very smart man shared the following thought: When you work for yourself you're always doing three things.  (1) Collecting for yesterday's work, (2) Doing today's work; and (3) Pitching tomorrow's work.

He forgot to tell me there are really four things you need to do, the fourth being: "Don't forget to post to your blog."

Which brings me to a thought I've found myself sharing with clients on a rather frequent basis: remember what business you're in.  In all likelihood, you're not in the publishing business.  Put another way (also not my original thought): anyone can publish a newsletter.  The trick is publishing your 12th newsletter.

There are so many great tools available for broadcasting your message.  Not too long ago, the fax machine revolutionized media relations and, today, the plethora of social media is (not "are") doing it again.  The key to success will be to know when to join the fray and when to hold back.  If you think I'm nuts, think back to the late 1990s/early 2000s when every established company under the sun was considering appending ".com" to its name, either as a DBA or legally. New companies with names that didn't start with "i" or "e" weren't taken seriously.

Why?  Because it was the "New Economy" where everything had changed and nothing would ever be the same.  But, guess what?  In the end, investor's still wanted to see profits; and real customers trumped "strategic alliances."

Before you jump headfirst into blogging, newsletter writing, Twitter, Facebook, or anything that resembles publishing, consider what it is you want to get out of the effort.  Are you creating a blog or Twitter account because it's the thing to do?  Why would anyone want to be your "friend?"  Through it all, remember that all the bells and whistles will never replace mastery of the fundamentals.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I hope.

The New Year has brought with it a slew of new projects. I like 2010 already.

I think the biggest news since my last missive was the tremendous earthquake in Haiti. There are two stories emanating from Haiti that deserve some "PR" thought. They are (1) Royal Caribbean's decision to continue docking in Haiti, post-quake, and (2) Israel's disproportionate response in sending aid.

It's not hard to see why Royal Caribbean is being dealt with harshly in the forum of public opinion. After all, with Haitians literally scrounging for scraps of food, RC deposits well-fed tourists to "frolic in the surf" as pointed out in this recent post.

Contrast that to Israel's impressive lightening strike of disproportionate response to the tragedy in Haiti.



As I've said often in this space, public relations is about what you do, NOT what you say. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how long the halo effects of this latest activity last.

(For an interesting LA Times post including video footage of the baby named Israel, click here.)

Tiger Inc.

Seems like lots of commentators are piling up on Tiger for his mishandling of the crisis communications around his car crash and subsequent fall from grace.

I'm not sure I agree with them.

Yes, silence is typically not a good thing when faced with a pressing issue, however, this article from The Wall Street Journal makes some good counter-points about why he may be shutting up.

Basically, it seems that Tiger's people are trying to make sure any more of his extra-marital lovers keep their mouths shut. And, Tiger has the money to make that happen.

A PR pro typically wants to make sure his client is communicating the correct messages. Sometimes, though, there is nothing to say that will be helpful.

If I had to make a prediction, I'd say everything will go back to "normal" before long in Tigerland, assuming he gets back on the golf course and does what he does so well. In the end, that will allow endorsers to keep making their money and that's all that really matters.

You know how I hate definitive lists...

Well, here's one that I think is a bit over-eager. The writer points out, with apparent glee, that press releases, press kits, faxes, press conferences and trade shows are all "dead" PR tactics.

It's easy to understand her enthusiasm; she's selling expertise in social media and, therefore, relies much on claiming that everything older than right now is, by definition, outdated.

Remember when there was brief moment in time when profits didn't seem to matter? But I digress...

Allow me to share my thoughts on each of the aforementioned "tactics:"

Press Releases - Definitely not dead. In some instances, they are changing. But there is (are?) a whole slew of media folk, top to bottom, who still like to receive their information that way. A press release, by the way, is not a tactic. It's a tool.

Press Kits - If you believe that content has any value, how can you claim "press kits" are dead? What I think she's talking about is "over-produced and over-priced" press kit packaging. Fact of the matter is, people - journalists included - still need wacky information such as company backgrounders, bios, fact sheets, and YES, press releases. Press kits, by the way, aren't tactics. They are also communications tools.

Faxes - A fax machine isn't a tactic. It's a method of communicating. As the first comment to the posting points out, there are still areas of the globe where fax is a relied-upon method of communication.

Press Conferences - I agree here, that for the most part, press conferences aren't worth the time and effort. You really need something big to pull that off successfully.

Trade Shows - From a PR perspective, there are shows that work. Then again, some don't. Again, trade shows aren't really "tactics" but part of a larger strategy. And, I'd stay away from a blanket pronouncement that leveraging trade show presence is a useless (dead) strategy.

Message is king.

Here's a nice post from Richard Miles on the importance of the message and distinguishing between the message and the medium.