Public Relations Tips Archive

Even BP Knows When Some News Is too Good to Be True

August 23rd, 2010

Any practitioner of crisis communications knows that some of their best work will never be seen or heard.  In the world of PR, disproportionate credit is given for the big media hit or the well-executed television appearance.  It’s harder to quantify the bad news cycle that never was or the controversy that seemingly disappeared over a few days – and often, that’s the harder media tactic to execute.

Take for instance the poster child for bad corporate and PR behavior – BP.  We’re all aware of BP’s string of PR missteps since the Gulf oil spill happened.  Yet despite these blunders, BP actually was way ahead of the curve on the latest (and unfortunate) news from the Gulf.

BP is to be credited for not exploiting what could only be described as a golden egg by the US government, when the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a startling report that got everyone’s attention.  NOAA and EPA Administrator Carol Browner claimed that roughly 75% of the spilt oil had “disappeared.”  Browner even took to Good Morning America to crow about “Mother Nature” taking care of the oil and said it was open season for fishermen.

Imagine the heated discussions within BP crisis response headquarters.  There must have been fierce debate over how to exploit this stunning news.  An aggressive PR plan would have been to build the report into full-page ads in major US newspapers as well as the round-the-clock commercials BP is running on its response.

But that did not happen.  In fact, it looks like the sum total of BP’s hyping of that report is three Tweets on its official Twitter feed:

• NOAA Administrator states, there is no evidence of #oil on the Gulf seafloor http://ow.ly/2lHa1 11:00 PM Aug 5th via HootSuite

• 50% of oil released is completely gone from the system. -Lubchenco #oilspill August 4, 2010 1:33:26 PM EDT via web

• Vast majority of the oil has evaporated, burned, skimmed, or dispersed. -Lubchenco 2:28 PM Aug 4th via web

Why is this important?  Because the NOAA report’s findings were so dramatic that they drew immediate scrutiny.  Now, almost three weeks later, scientists not involved with the report claim the exact opposite is true – that about 75-80% of the oil still exists, much of it in massive underwater plumes.  By not exploiting NOAA’s too-good-to-be-true report and staying out of the fray, BP let the feds take the ensuing heat.

This is just one example of how BP’s crisis communications plan is becoming effective.  Evidence?  A recent AP poll showed 33% of Americans approve of BP’s handling of the cleanup (up from 15% a few weeks ago).

Sometimes the best decisions are ones that keep you out of the news cycle and above the fray.

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Posted in Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

Hey JetBlue, What’s the ETA on Smart Social Media Strategy?

August 10th, 2010

Ah, JetBlue… Love your TVs and blue chips, but your social media strategy needs a serious overhaul.

As the new meme-to-be, the entire Steven Slater ordeal has had many twists and turns in its initial 24 hours, with only more anticipated to come.  So let’s examine the basics of the media narrative, as it currently stands: verbally abusive JetBlue passenger, disgruntled employee, terrible economy, people stickin’ it to the man, beer, jumping out of planes, and jail.

JetBlue, this is quite a news mess on your hands.  So… why is your social media strategy on the skids?  It’s quite telling that this is the most recent post on the JetBlue Facebook page:

Screen shot 2010 08 10 at 6.28.08 PM Hey JetBlue, What’s the ETA on Smart Social Media Strategy?

Here’s a better social media strategy (one that some firms would gladly charge you tens of thousands of dollars for): ditch the typical lame Facebook content, and use social media to control the media narrative.

People are speaking about your company, so instead of talking about hot dogs in Chicago, address the Steven Slater issue head on and make it positive.  How about asking your 300,000+ FB fans what are their tips for unwinding and reducing stress during the hectic travel season?  Pick one tip to showcase each week, and award that person with a free round trip ticket.  Everyone loves contests!  Plus this re-engages the online community and helps it grow like never before.

The social media lesson here: The best PR agencies are vigilant – they always look for opportunities to grow and expand your brand, even when everyone thinks it’s a disaster.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

PR Basics for E-Commerce Sites

August 3rd, 2010

From time to time, the Blog Aesthetic spotlights different industries and offers discussion and insight on relevant public relations trends and strategies.  In this posting, we examine the next phase of e-commerce, an industry that faces exciting possibilities as the U.S. economy continues its positive (if slow) rate of recovery.

To that end, what PR factors should e-commerce sites pay attention to?  Here are a few:

• Leaks, leaks, leaks.  Data breach continues to be the most high-profile media narrative associated with e-commerce sites.  As much as news outlets may report on the success of an ecommerce platform, a significant data breach will always be a media lightning rod.  Has your site prepared a thorough crisis management plan that addresses all stakeholders?  If not, your new road to riches will surely hit a dead-end.

• Distinction.  Quick – in 30 seconds, explain the difference between Authorize.Net, PayPal, and Fiserv… Once you’ve hit the wall, you will probably see the problem.  All provide consumer payment processing for individual and business transactions, but what benefit does each offer that’s different than the other?  In other words, where’s the brand distinction?  Your e-commerce PR efforts must always work to show why your site or platform is the better alternative.

• Streamline customer interaction.  With social networking significantly reducing the cost of customer interaction, an e-commerce site should leverage different social media sites for particular avenues of customer engagement.  For example, a few tweets can offer quick bites of news updates, but a Facebook page may be better for carefully addressing consumer or merchant complaints.

• The next big thing.  E-commerce sites will, undoubtedly, significantly evolve as new technologies and online platforms emerge.  Change always catches people off-guard, so e-commerce sites must make sure stakeholders are fully engaged and informed before incorporating the “next big thing” into their business practices.  Smart PR can help an e-commerce site develop a thought leadership campaign on relevant industry issues, position the site favorably with business and consumers, and then capture market share as the standard business model evolves.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Small Business Marketing, Thought Leadership

Social Media Musts for Travel Businesses and Destinations

July 27th, 2010

Amazing what a difference a few months make!  After getting beat up the last several quarters, major airlines are posting big profit gains.  Of course, much of this comes from annoying fees and charges (Spirit Air remains full-speed ahead on this front), but that being said, people are traveling and spending dollars – great for the economy and new travel-related business opportunities.

As a travel destination – whether you’re a hotel, restaurant, or attraction – here are some basic social media tips to help expand your PR capabilities:

• Partner with the big kids.  When it comes to positive publicity, why do the heavy lifting when other companies and organizations have already done that for you?  Partner with major locations and sites in your business area, and spread the cost of promotion across these entities.

• Hit the playground.  Add your business as a venue to foursquare and create unique savings, giveaways, or other rewards for potential clients and customers.  As of now, foursquare remains in its infancy compared to other social network platforms, so its potential should only grow along with its popularity.  Keep your eyes on this one, it will likely take interesting turns in the future.

• Facebook promotions.  Though it seems a bit clunky now compared to the clean, simple aesthetic of foursquare, your business absolutely must have a Facebook page.  And remember, don’t get tunnel vision on simply accumulating “likes” for your page.  That raw number is meaningless if you aren’t empowering site users to champion your business on their own.  Engage in interesting dialogue with these users and you’ll get tremendous mileage from the interaction.  This is just one way to leverage your new army of fans.

• Blog at least every couple weeks.  Don’t just sit back and smile at the witty blog entry you wrote about the upcoming city festival, concert, or whatever else is about to put your area in the spotlight.  Write and publish to your business blog frequently, as it communicates to customers and clients that you care about your business’s image, down to all the small details.  Also, take advantage of basic search engine optimization tactics to make your blog (and by extension your business’s website) the go-to source for relevant travel-related inquiries.

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Posted in Corporate Communications, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Small Business Marketing

An Open Letter to Diaspora, the Potential Facebook Killer

July 21st, 2010

Dear Diaspora,

Congratulations on your nascent social network’s progress so far!  Building a new media brand is extremely difficult, but with a catchy name, clean aesthetic, and riding the privacy bandwagon, you’re off to a good start.

Disclaimer: At the Blog Aesthetic, we are agnostic with regard to the marketplace.  In other words, we simply call out good PR strategy when we see it.  Nothing wrong with being (legally) ruthless in your business approach, and that includes your public relations.

With that said, here are PR considerations of value:

• Know your competition.  The big ones are still Facebook and MySpace, but apparently size doesn’t correlate to smart PR.  For some reason MySpace doesn’t believe in leveraging golden PR opportunities when they present themselves.  That’s a shame, particularly given the news that Facebook’s customer satisfaction index score puts it in the bottom 5% of private sector companies.  Then again, MySpace’s reluctance to engage in counter-Facebook PR probably explains why MySpace performed worse than Facebook in the same customer satisfaction survey!  Diaspora, the chance to get a huge jump start over the competition rarely appears, so start planning your PR steps now.

• You’re gonna get attacked.  The screenshots of Diaspora’s user interface look a lot like Facebook profile pages.  Some will give your site the benefit of the doubt and wait until its official launch before passing judgment.  Others won’t.  We anticipate Facebook won’t pull any punches and will blast your site for stealing their idea(s).  The irony of such charges, of course, is that the new Facebook tell-all film “The Social Network” portrays the origins of Facebook as rooted in theft.  Still, it’s worth preparing for crisis management on this, data leaks, critical reception, and anything and everything else that can — and will — go wrong when you launch.

• Thought leadership for the social masses.  Privacy, privacy, privacy.  Facebook can never seem to get it right and strike the right balance for its users.  This dilemma offers Diaspora both a chance to distinguish its product from Facebook, and also to spearhead thought leadership on social network privacy issues.  If you guys can get this one right at the start, then you’re guaranteed to get a chunk of the half a billion Facebook users out there.

After Diaspora launches, we’ll revisit this blog post and see if our ideas and recommendations held true.  We love competition!

Best,

Praecere

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management, Thought Leadership

The Science of Media Training Explains Climategate

July 16th, 2010

In today’s media and public relations landscape, it is important to remember that facts and truth rarely are enough to settle the discussion.  This is an acute problem for the scientific and research community – especially when they attempt to publicize new findings. Fundamentally, scientists and researchers need media training to guide them through media and political minefields.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the poster child for this problem.  Since Charles Darwin penned The Origin of Species, there hasn’t been a scientific theory more attacked, ridiculed, even hated than that of climate change.  In this case, a group of thousands of the world’s most respected scientists and experts issue recommendations to the world to try and mitigate climate change.  While that may seem benign, the IPCC has been under a withering assault from a well-funded opposition.

You may have heard of “climategate” (note: after nearly 40 years, perhaps we can find another way to refer to scandals, alleged or real, than -gate suffixes?).  Some internal IPCC emails were leaked to climate skeptics.  The emails contained standard scientific equivocation; taken out of context and plugged into an anti-climate change campaign, some seemed to indicate that the science was inaccurate.

All hell broke loose.  The IPCC was called in for review, climate skeptics scored a major PR victory, and climate science was “in question” again.  Snake-bitten by climategate, the IPCC made matters exponentially worse by issuing a letter to its scientists warning them about engaging the media.  Of course, the letter was leaked.

While climategate continues as a worldwide narrative, the recent story of the IPCC’s total exoneration was much less publicized.  This is a standard media conundrum.  The initial “scandal,” true or not, always saturates the media.  The resulting vindication does not.  That means right at the outset you must be ready to defend everything and be well armed with compelling talking points to support your cause.  If you let the discussion get framed without you, then you are playing defense rather than publicizing your findings.

Scientists, NGOs, and think tanks would do well to receive media training and seek the counsel of an experienced PR firm to help with the launch of a new initiative or report.  This is especially true if your research is on a controversial topic.  You may think your research will speak for itself.  It won’t.  It can be twisted, taken out of context, and publicly thrown back at you.  Without a decisive and coherent response, the public backlash can be brutal and your research will be of little value.

Posted in Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, Issues & Advocacy, Media Aesthetic, Media Training, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Thought Leadership

Politician + Backing out of Debate = PR Disaster

June 28th, 2010

The Washington Post reports today that DC Mayor Adrian Fenty has backed out of a mayoral election debate with his top challenger.  So, so, so many things wrong with this move from the PR perspective:

• “The Fenty campaign has not responded to e-mails requesting comment.” If you commit to doing a political debate, which Fenty did, then you better have a really solid reason for standing up your date.  This last sentence from the Post’s article is probably the most damning in the eyes of voters and the media.

• Big steps require clear explanation. Fenty’s campaign website has no explanation as to his unexcused absence. Whenever your organization is about to take big steps, know that consequences come out of that, and that your stakeholders — this time the voters and the media — are entitled to know why. If there’s a legitimate and honest explanation, then say so.  Otherwise, don’t complain after the fact about the bad PR you’re getting.

• Remedies require 100% accuracy.  To build on the previous point, there may be an innocent reason why Fenty is skipping the debate. But smart PR requires you to explain why and do so immediately. In other words, a great excuse has a very short shelf-life. If you don’t get the word out fast, any attempt to remedy your missteps will already be lost in the news cycle.

• The image is terrible. Fenty has been the target of several bad Post headlines lately, so this misstep only adds to the miserable PR pattern.

It’s been a hot start to the DC summer, but at this rate, Fenty’s campaign could soon be put on ice.

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Posted in Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

Crisis Corner: Les Bleus Get the Blues

June 24th, 2010

Qu’est-ce qu’on dit “international pr crisis” en francais?

In July 1998 the Champs-Élysées was packed with millions of raucous French, and “Le Marseillaies” was being sung in every quarter of the country.  In one long week, the French were celebrating both Bastille Day and winning the World Cup, putting them on top of the world.  National pride swelled and French football was France’s premiere brand.

Contrast that with this week’s front pages of Le Monde and Le Parisien, chronicling the daily cataclysmic soap opera that passed for France’s appearance at this year’s World Cup.  It’s bad enough that Les Bleus, the French team, didn’t repeat an appearance at this year’s tournament finals. That failure alone wouldn’t generate this much venom.

Rather, it’s the French Football Federation, which has been tone deaf to the steady diet of scandal and controversy involving Les Bleus.  Things have gotten so bad that French President Nicolas Sarkozy dispatched his sports minister (what a cool job!) to dress down the French team, and is meeting with star player Thierry Henry to get to the bottom of things.

The French team was already on thin ice after squeaking through the World Cup qualifiers only by beating Ireland with a blatant handball.  At that point, France needed PR counsel on how best to re-engage the public, and also a crisis communications plan to deal with future incidents – on and off the field.  And that’s just the beginning.

Several players, including national icon Franck Ribery, were implicated in a prostitution sting with an underage girl.  Then, right before Les Bleus’ World Cup exit, star striker Nicolas Anelka was sent home after he unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against the team coach.  In protest, the entire team boycotted practice before its next match.  Captain Patrice Evra got into an altercation with his fitness coach – who promptly quit and stormed off the field on camera.  After that, coach Raymond Domenech bizarrely read a letter publicly by the French team attempting to justify their boycott.

This is a classic case of an organization not understanding the need for sound crisis management.  Many of these incidents could have happened behind closed doors.  The public theatrics and lack of a coherent response drove this debacle.  In crisis public relations, the key imperative is transparency with your stakeholders so they understand what’s happening – ensuring you, and no one else, directs and controls the media narrative.  Still, when tensions run high, it behooves an organization’s leaders to behave well in public, lest they add more fuel to the fire of public contempt.

Of course, there’s always a way out – even a total implosion allows for an organization to start over fresh.  For France’s sake, this requires an open, honest team apology to the nation, and a promise to go forward with honor, candor, and controlling their fits.  No doubt this phase of the PR crisis is over, but we’ll go out on a limb and predict there’s more to come…

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Posted in Brand Management, Crisis Management, Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

Joe Barton’s Verbal Spill

June 17th, 2010

The common (and certainly sensible) refrain in the BP oil spill saga is the notion that it’s more important to cap the leak first, and then move on to figuring out who’s to blame and how it happened.  We’ve seen the reaction when prominent critics don’t heed this premise.  So the question for today is, what was Congressman Joe Barton thinking?

At today’s Congressional hearing investigating BP, Barton emphatically repeated his view that BP’s $20 billion escrow account was effectively a White House “shakedown” of the embattled corporation.  The predictable push-back came from his political opponents, but perhaps more interesting is the stern response from Barton’s own Republican leaders.  According to the Washington Post, House Republican leadership told Barton that if he did not apologize immediately, he would be removed as Ranking Member to the House Energy & Commerce Committee.

Shortly thereafter, Barton apologized.

From the public relations perspective, it’s easy to see how Barton’s apology came to fruition.  Simply put, if the dominant media narrative for any BP oil spill stakeholder is to push for an end to the crisis, any statement inconsistent with that narrative will stand out, for better or worse.  This is exactly what happened with Kentucky U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul.  By claiming that criticism of BP is “un-American,” Paul flew wildly off script and became a lightning rod for political attacks.

The point is, regardless of whether BP’s escrow plan is an appropriate step toward proper compensation, savvy politicians and media professionals know there’s a time and a place for such criticism.  As the BP oil spill continues to outdo itself as America’s worst environmental disaster ever, the best PR tactic is to focus on the spill itself, as that’s the fire that still needs to be extinguished.

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Posted in Media Aesthetic, News & Events, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips

How Litigation Actually Helps Your Company Improve Its PR Capabilities

June 16th, 2010

Surprise – your widget-making mom-and-pop/mid-sized business/global corporate behemoth has been sued!  Apparently Timmy Goodkid Thompson tried to eat a decidedly non-edible product your business sells, and hurt himself quite amazingly in that effort.  Did we mention it’s your flagship widget, the one that drives 99% of your revenue?

The Thompson family – farmer father, teacher mother, rambunctious and adorable Timmy – have hired a media-friendly law firm, one that has perfected the art of PR stagecraft.  The firm has called a press conference to publicize the lawsuit.  All the 24/7 networks will be there, not to mention local reporters your neighbors know and trust.  Since the scrum will be streamed live, product safety bloggers are all over this one, riding a high-wave of backlash against corporate malfeasance.  Someone (the law firm?) has launched a fake Twitter account in your company’s name, a parody that sarcastically communicates abject, tone-deaf insensitivity with tweets like “next time blend the widget, it’ll digest more easily.”

Your company isn’t sweating, though, because you’re confident your product was not the cause of injury, and that your customers likely will understand this.  More importantly, long ago you hired a smart crisis management PR firm to draw up a crisis response playbook… right?  You did an inventory of interested media, have a holding statement in place, along with a grid that anticipates an escalating public relations meltdown… right?

Ok, enough about the PR nightmare, let’s shift to reality.  Litigation PR makes any company nervous.  No matter how small a lawsuit, the potential for media attention is limitless.  Yet in a way, that’s the beauty of litigation PR – in anticipating lawsuit scenarios, business leaders must identify every stakeholder, and that includes everyone in your company hierarchy.  Imagine the human resources involved in the widget lawsuit:

• Are the front office staff prepared to answer initial phone inquiries, do they have talking points?

• Have the interns been told to stay quiet and report inquiries to supervisors?

• Has the communications office reviewed and updated crisis PR procedures to ensure relevancy? (Note: Big Oil – walruses in the Gulf of Mexico – seriously?)

• Has building security been consulted regarding protestors who may show up at the front door?

• Has a point-of-contact been designated to oversee the entire crisis PR response?

• Has legal counsel examined your supply chain to identify each choke point of liability, and in turn relayed that information to your communications staff so they have statements and talking points ready to address each vulnerability?

• Are the IT staff ready to update the company website immediately with relevant messaging?  Do you have a dark site in waiting for this special occasion?

• Has everyone signed a NDA regarding trade secrets and the relevant aspects of litigation?

Such thorough preparation is essential in litigation PR.  As the company head, you can only achieve this level of care by engaging every tier of staff within your business operations.  That’s why an effective crisis playbook fundamentally requires looking inward, and in doing so your company encourages discipline amongst the ranks and knowledge of the situation.

Nothing looks worse than an erratic or empty media response to a lawsuit, so embrace the possibility of litigation and run the traps to get all employees on the same page.

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Posted in Brand Management, Corporate Communications, Crisis Clients, Crisis Management, Litigation Public Relations, Public Relations Strategy, Public Relations Tips, Reputation Management

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