public relations + risk communication + social theory

Willful ignorance is not a winning strategy | #CrisisPR

From Ben Heineman at Harvard Business Review:

Although there will be myriad important legal and governance lessons from both the News Corp and Walmart cases, none is more important for business leaders than the imperative to act decisively in the face of demonstrable wrongdoing, and not engage in willful ignorance and indifference with the hope the problem will remain hidden.

via blogs.hbr.org

Time for advertising to get out of PR's way

From Timothy Kane at AdAge:

It's clear that the future of advertising is public relations. And it's time for agencies to get past their preconceptions, and learn how the disciplines of PR can improve their creative thinking. It's not your strategy; it's your story.

The dirty little secret of advertising is that agencies burn most of their creative time developing the creative strategy, trying to get buy-in on a single, seven-word silver bullet. But as Peter Guber, former CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, wrote in a recent issue of the Harvard Business Review, "Critical details, data, and analytics are more effectively emotionalized and metabolized by the listener when they're embedded in a story."

Instead of trying to encapsulate your brand in a strategic statement, try writing a narrative for your brand. That's what public relations does. Gatorade did this in the award-winning Gatorade Replay. The program brought together former high school athletes to replay a critical game from their past. Filled with stories of dashed hopes and dreams delayed, Replay is a primer in modern digital public relations: viral videos, public appearances, press conferences, media tours, online communities -- and yes, even a few ads to promote the web series that grew out of it.

It's not a campaign; it's a conversation.

via adage.com

Correct to a point. But here's where it goes off the rails. It's not a matter of advertising learning from PR. It's a matter of advertising getting the hell out of the way and letting PR do its job.

Wake up: Public relations is far, far more than media relations | #PR

From David Meerman Scoot at Web Ink Now:

... many PR professionals still operate as if their only conduit is mainstream media.

Apologies if you've heard this because I've talked about this many times in the past. But there are still many holdouts so I say it again.

Don't confuse the superset (public relations = reaching the public with your information) with the subset (media relations = using the media to tell your story) and therefore insist that PR is only about mainstream media.

What you need to realize is that these are different activities.

via www.webinknow.com

Connecting the CEO's reputation with the company's market value | #CrisisPR

From the Daily Dog:

If there was indeed any doubt, a new Weber Shandwick study has revealed that a full two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers say that their perceptions of CEOs affect their opinions of company reputations. Executives, like consumers, also do not overlook the importance of a leader's reputation — they attribute nearly one-half (49 percent) of a company's overall reputation to the CEO's reputation. Executive leadership is critical to burnishing the overall reputation of organizations today — particularly when it is estimated that a large 60 percent of a company's market value is attributed to its reputation.

via bulldogreporter.com

How do we outfit the Journalist of Tomorrow? | #PR

From mobile-journalism pioneer Michael Rosemblum at the New York Video School blog:

Once, all a journalist needed to report was a pencil and a piece of paper. Those days are over, but in the transition to 'digital', journalists have begun to feed several beasts simultaneously: text, blogs, photos, video, twitter... the list just keeps getting longer and longer.

But the discussion on The Guardian today, at least when it came to gear, was over pretty fast.

iPhone.

iPhones (or maybe iPads if you are adventurous), give you everything you need.. and more.

They are word processors, digital stills cameras, texting machines, tweeting machines, video cameras, editing suites, screening rooms, upload points, live streaming stations and more.  All in your pocket. ...

What does all of this mean?

Well, among other things, (besides less gear for the average journo to schelp in the field), it means that Apple is effectively putting 645,000 video production companies into potential business every day.

via www.nyvs.com

That's what it means for journalism, and that' profound. But think for a moment what it also means for public relations on all fronts. For example, stakeholder relations, social capital, and media relations -- not to mention crisis communications. If you think about it long enough, it will keep you awake at night with the opportunities and the threats all of this implies. (In short: holy crap.)

What villains teach us about corporate leadership

From Linda Hill and Kent Lineback at the Harvard Bsuiness Review:

Our visceral reactions to villains illustrate an important point — that our feelings about someone, whether we fear or trust them, are largely determined by their intentions. By divining what they want, we answer the question we all instinctively ask about someone new: ally or enemy? Intentions are how we distinguish a villain from someone whose influence we accept, whom we move toward. Competence may be appealing, but intentions are what attract or repel us and foster trust or mistrust.

Thus, if you want to lead and influence others, you must reveal your intentions. People won't believe you will do the right thing unless they're convinced you genuinely want to do it.

via blogs.hbr.org

Why Warren Buffett told the world he has early stage cancer

Diane Brady at Bloomberg Businessweek explains:

His disclosure is less an acknowledgement of his mortality than of his celebrity. As an investor whose every move is analyzed by people around the planet, the likelihood that Buffett could undergo two months of radiation therapy without anyone noticing is remote, if not impossible. Moreover, at 81, his mortality and succession planning—or lack thereof—is already the subject of much speculation. Any hint that he’s not thriving on a steady diet of steak and Cherry Coke could send Berkshire Hathaway stock plunging if the company’s iconic founder seems at all coy about his health. “It’s not a matter of his illness, it’s his age,” says Charles Elson, a corporate governance expert at the University of Delaware. Like a starlet caught touching her tummy near a fertility clinic, Buffett knows all too well that he needs to control the message before rumors put him on the defensive.

via www.businessweek.com

Can a corporation earn points toward forgiveness?

From the Daily Dog:

Temkin Group this week announced the release of its 2012 Temkin Forgiveness Ratings that rates how likely consumers are to forgive 206 large companies across 18 industries if they deliver a poor experience. The research, which is based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. consumers in January 2012, shows that consumers are most likely to forgive USAA, Hyatt, credit unions, H.E.B., Hy-Vee, Dollar Rent A Car, Chick-fil-A, Publix, Costco and Amazon. At the other end of the spectrum, consumers were least likely to forgive Citigroup, Charter Communications, HSBC, Chrysler dealers, EarthLink, Bank of America, Comcast, Quest and US Airways.

via bulldogreporter.com

Why every manager must become a 'chief values officer'

From Jack and Suzy Welch in Fortune magazine:

An organization's culture is not about words at all. It's about behavior -- and consequences. It's about every single individual who manages people knowing that his or her key role is that of chief values officer, with Sarbanes-Oxley-like enforcement powers to match. It's about knowing that at every performance review, employees are evaluated for both their numbers and their values, and that only four outcomes exist.

First, for employees with good numbers and good values -- onward and upward. For those with bad numbers and bad values -- you're outta here.

As for employees with good values but mediocre numbers -- the stance should be, we'll give you another chance with more coaching. Your behavior has earned you that.

via management.fortune.cnn.com

The reason why the public refuses to forgive John Edwards

Washington Post columnist Melinda Henneberger explains:

John, since you asked, here’s the deal: From Day One, you sold yourself as Bill Clinton with his pants on.

You threw rocks at both Bill and Hillary Clinton every chance you got. “I think this president has shown a remarkable disrespect for his office,’’ you said, while first running for the Senate 15 years ago. Disrespect, too, you said, “for the moral dimensions of leadership, for his friends, for his wife, for his precious daughter. It is breathtaking to me the level to which that disrespect has risen.”

As it turned out, you were a Clinton wannabe, jealous then as now. And though it wasn’t easy, in the end you did best him when it came to “breathtaking” disrespect.

via www.washingtonpost.com

The new branding: 'Are you proud of what’s going on inside your company?'

Futurist Douglas Rushkoff tells Fast Company that branding is no longer ...

... about creating a mythology around the way a product was created, so it’s no longer “these were cookies made by elves in a hollow tree.” That’s not the value of the brand. The value of the brand is where did this actually come from? What’s in this cookie? Who made it? Are Malaysian children losing their fingers in the cookie press or is this being made by happy cookie culture people?

At that point, all these companies come to people like me saying, “We want to become transparent. We want a transparent communication strategy.” And I’m like “Well, are you proud of what’s going on inside your company? Are you proud enough to pull up the shades and let people see inside?” It’s that easy.

via www.fastcocreate.com

Why voters are angry

From pollster Scott Rasmussen:

The bailouts remain the most hated pieces of legislation in recent American history. They spurred both the tea party and the Occupy movements and convinced millions that a corrupt relationship exists between big government and big business. But both Romney and Obama are supporters of the bailouts. Given the public mood, it is almost beyond comprehension that neither party could come up with a presidential candidate opposed to the bailouts.

Looking ahead, most voters hear a lot of rhetoric about deficit reduction but don't believe either party has proposed a serious plan to stop ever-increasing government spending. Most don't even believe that the budget cuts agreed to during the debt ceiling debacle will ever be implemented. ...

There are certainly differences between Obama and Romney. People will find plenty of valid reasons to select one over the other. But if the winner of Election 2012 governs as he campaigns, the disconnect will continue, and voters will grow even angrier.

via www.rasmussenreports.com

Billy Payne, The Masters, and the delusion of 'private deliberations'

Augusta National, the golf club that operates pro golf's biggest event -- The Masters -- is in the cultural cross-hairs again. The club does not accept women as members. But the new CEO of IBM (a major sponsor) is female.

Obviously, there is a significant public debate to be hashed out here. Yes, Augusta is private, and can do pretty much what it wants. On the other hand, The Masters accepts millions of dollars annually from corporate sponsors who must answer to their stakeholders. How do these companies explain why they support a golf club that continues to openly practice sexual discrimination in the 21st century? (Remember, this is a club that admitted black members in 1990, and only after dealing with intense public pressure.)

And yet ... the club's leadership is sticking to the "private deliberations" strategy.

From Bloomberg:

Augusta National’s Chairman Billy Payne, who’s in charge of the club and tournament, faced the media today for his annual Masters-eve address and reiterated the club’s policy.

“All issues of membership remain the private deliberations of the membership. That statement remains accurate,” Payne said in response to questions about reconsidering female membership. “We don’t talk about our private deliberations. We especially don’t talk about them when a named candidate is part of the question.”

via www.businessweek.com

Short version: Billy Payne is delusional if he believes he can continue to play that game. This is not a political opinion. It's a risk communication analysis. All it takes is for one sponsor to pull out, and the house of cards comes down. And IBM is now primed to become that first actor. This is a very public debate, powered by both mass and social media, whether Payne and his club agree or not. The smart move is for Payne to recognize the debate is no longer an in-house matter, and accept transparency as the better policy for avoiding catastrophe.

Guerrilla marketing is cool and cheap and fast ... and can seriously piss people off

From USA Today:

Coca-Cola's dealing with a public backlash in the Final Four host city of New Orleans where a guerrilla marketing stunt backfired badly.

The Mayor's Office in New Orleans came down with both feet on the beverage giant after an ad agency working for Coke hired sidewalk graffiti artists to stencil red logos and ad slogans for the company's beverage brands across sidewalks and cement surfaces in the French Quarter and Central Business District Thursday night.

The stunt violated multiple city ordinances. New Orleans forced Coke to power-wash all the logos away by Friday afternoon, according to the Times-Picayune newspaper. Coke apologized -- and blamed the outside agency for exceeding its directions. A Coke spokesperson could not be reached for comment Monday

via content.usatoday.com

Gotta love how Coke threw its ad agency under the bus on this one. How exactly did the agency exceed its directions? By using red chalk? Most corporations are like kindergarteners; they can't accept responsibility for their actions.

Are corporate controversies now ... self-correcting?

In the wake of significant eff-ups at BATS Global Markets, JetBlue Airways and Global Payments, Francesco Guerrera at the WSJ says:

The incidents look bad for both the companies and their customers and have triggered the customary hand-wringing by experts and schadenfreude from rivals. But how much real damage will they cause to the companies' brands and financial standing? So far, very little.

The muted reaction to these fairly big corporate messes raises an intriguing possibility: In a socially-networked world where investors, customers and employees are judge, jury and news editors, companies may be able to survive foul-ups better than in the old days of "traditional" news and corporate spin.

via online.wsj.com

Current TV has hired Bill Clinton's "Masters of Disaster" to represent the network through the coming legal battle with Keith Olbermann. No real surprise, since Al Gore is a part owner of Current TV. But it's always interesting to watch partisan-on-partisan violence.

The case for risk literacy in PR

From Linda Locke at the Institute for Public Relations:

A compelling case for risk literacy among the profession is made in a soon-to-be-published paper by Dr. Chris Galloway, Swinburne University, Melbourne. Galloway’s paper suggests that risk communications expertise could be one of the most important contributions a PR practitioner can offer to an employer.

The core of his paper is that “risk managers often fail to communicate effectively” while PR practitioners (and their academic theorists) fail to understand and embrace research about risk effectively.

Galloway describes risk-literate practitioners as those who pay attention to emerging risks and perceptions that are at the root of the issue. He posits the idea that if a crisis is a risk manifest, and the profession claims both crisis communications and management as core competencies, “then we do ourselves and our clients a disservice if we fail to pay sufficient attention to risk as the antecedent condition to crisis.”

via www.instituteforpr.org

Practicing PR without the curtain

We think in terms of external and internal audiences when we craft our messages. But haven't social media made this absurd? The odds are high that our "right" message will land in the hands of a "wrong" audience.

Most of the time this is benign. But more and more often, corporate controversies happen for this very reason: A message we meant for one audience (usually internal) ended up in the hands of another (often an external audience).

The sociodramatic divisions of backstage, onstage and audience may no longer apply. It could be time for a transboundary approach to public relations that recognizes this shift. But this means we must do more than simply craft our messages. We must also craft our behavior.

We must help our clients to accept that the curtain is gone and the audience can see everything we are doing -- and to act accordingly.

Real connections are made in the real world | #PR #socialmedia

So says Richard Moross, CEO of the business-card innovator MOO. in a Fast Company story:

“The more connected to the web we are, the more precious the real world is, so it is important to make a connection.”

That connection comes in the form of a handshake, a look in the eye, and the passing of the card. “It is hard to generate trust virtually and convey your personality through a Skype call,” Moross explains.

via www.fastcompany.com

Deconstructing: Apple CEO Tim Cook's speech to Goldman Sachs | #PR #CrisisPR

If we approach Apple CEO Tim Cook’s Feb. 14 speech at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference as sociodrama (which it clearly is), the first question has to be: Why Goldman Sachs?

Cook’s address was his first appearance in the wake of the New York Times story that exposed Apple’s exploitation of its workers in China. And worker welfare was the first point that Cook discussed.  This was an opportunity to manage public outrage over the Foxconn scandal. So why choose Goldman Sachs (the poster child for Wall Street’s culpability in 2009’s global economic meltdown) as the stage?

Clearly this was a miscalculation on Apple’s part, a signal that it is far more concerned with shareholder primacy than Cook admits. This contradiction damages the credibility of Cook’s words, even as he tries mightily to master the quirky, deceptively simple language that his predecessor, the late Steve Jobs, employed to launch products like the iPhone and the iPad.

Jobs was a master of such presentations. But when Cook resorts to Jobsian boilerplate like “truly a model for the industry” and “pretty amazing when you think about it” to describe Apple’s efforts to better treat its workforce in Asia, the effect is shallow yet somehow appalling.

He describes Apple’s commitment as “simple,” and in doing so sets up yet another contradiction. Study his words here: “ … every worker has the right to a fair and safe work environment, free of discrimination, where they can earn competitive wages and they can voice their concerns freely. Apple's suppliers must live up to this to do business with Apple. “ And then remind yourself … he’s talking about China. How can he possibly ensure such rights in a culturally and politically repressive environment? How can any worker there expect to gain such rights from an American corporation? There is nothing "simple" about the situation or its resolution.

Cook then swiftly touches upon a range of themes -- transparency, accountability, high concern for workers, and attention to detail – that might be persuasive it not for a glaring omission.  Cooks fails to address the well-publicized suicides, suicide attempts, and threats of mass suicide among his workers in China.

He also glosses over the aphorism that confounds even the most socially conscious of CEOs: How to balance the need to protect the welfare of workers and yet meet the demands of shareholder primacy? By staging his appearance in a Wall Street theater, Cook signals on which side of that question he will land. He continues to cede the high ground that Apple has claimed for so long.