PAN Communications prSPEAK

Change is a good thing. While it may create challenges for some who may struggle to adapt to changes, others are creating those changes and benefiting from them. All in all, for the most part, when all is said and done — whatever terminology you want to use, change happens and there is nothing you can do about, so don’t resist it.

With advancements in technology the media has definitely been facing these changes and some have fared better than others. Many publications quickly evolved from straight print into multimedia sites that include blogs, videos and video podcasts, whiteboards, etc. These sites include NetworkWorld, CNET, The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek, and many more than are listed here.

Ultimately those changes are reflected within the responsibility of members of the media who formerly wrote only in print are now also active in a wide array of multi media pursuits. Wall Street Journal Reporter Wendy Bounds not only edits and writes a column/pieces about small business for the paper, she also writes a column on home improvement called “About The House,” and pens a small business blog called “Independent Street” . Additionally, she is a regular contributor on the Good Morning America television program.

Wendy is not alone, many reporters are so active across so many different mediums, that we can no longer rely on the traditoinal beats. In fact a resource at eWeek magazine recently shared with a colleague that he no longer has a specific beat, rather he is allowed to pursue any type of story that interests him. This individual also is active across many different media fronts including blogs, print and more.

What this means for PR practitioners is that we have to be more on top of what our contacts in the industry are covering and how they are covering their stories. Many are expanding into new areas of coverage, have more deadlines, additional requirements upon them and additional scopes of responsibilities. And this isn’t for only the print reporters, but also reporters in the blogosphere as their sites are becoming more comprehensive as well.

Ultimately, for PR practitioners this means going back to the basics, and the most important PR basic is building solid relationships. Whatever business one is in, it has always been the relationships that help get the job done. Contacts are key, and developing relationships, building and maintaining relationships are the key to having the connections when your contacts become so busy that they don’t have as much time to foster new relationships or have lengthy conversations.

You need to trust your insticts that you have built solid enough relationships, so that your contacts trust that the information you can provide is of value to their readers. And no two relationships are alike, so it really comes down to how you can communicate best with another human being – be respectful and realistic of thier needs and calendars, stay on top of what each reporter/editor/blogger is covering, be open to cues that may be given to you and learn how to work with each person according to their needs.

( image SKelley Cartoons)

Let’s start a healthy discussion, how much did a tank of gas cost you this week ?

Here are some tips to help you preserve that investment.

OK so for those of you that care about sports, you must know that this weekend the NFL season officially begins. No, not games, but the draft. Then followed by weeks of mini-camps, the typical two week break in late June and then right into training camp come July.

Being someone that has an interest in the sport of football, each year I am amazed at how fast the NFL has grown to become America’s true pastime. I was always one to believe that baseball was it – growing up in the Tri-State area, I was inundated with NY sports news – even had the the Mets on WWOR-9 with Ralph Kiner and Tim McCarver calling games and then the Yankees on WPIX-11 with Phil Rizzuto doing the call. That was it. And during the fall, you were lucky you got two NFL games during any given Sunday (and for me I was guaranteed a Giants or Jets game due to location…) But today, the NFL has its own network (that costs you money now – what a scam, but that’s another topic), year-long weekly update shows on the sporting networks, combine coverage – and now even college football spring practices are being televised. So the sport of football has grown in interest – way past that of baseball or the other ones going on.

But this weekend, the NFL Draft takes place. This is where the agents and publicists make their money and where GM’s and scouts get fired. There will be more busts than prizes in the draft and organizations will make million dollar(s) investments in 21-22 year old players that have been on their absolute best behavior for the past four months – as to not jeopardize their draft status. It is a credit to the NFL and all the marketing folks and executives that they’ve been able to build up the interest in this annual event. They’ll once again sell out Radio City Music Hall, Jets fans will boo whoever they pick and the suits will be outrageous – that’s for sure. So here’s to the football junky in all of you. Good luck following along this weekend.

Oh – and for those of you interested, here is something that should stir up some level of emotion. A story about a West Point cadet who is considered an NFL prospect – but remember the five year commitment those at West Point must honor – or do they?

As PR professionals, we’re all looking for new ways to secure our clients coverage and shine that spotlight on their new offerings and unique approaches. Yesterday, the CTO from JackBe, John Crupi was highlighted on a Network World ‘Whiteboard’ - We’re seeing more and more traditional magazines and dailies go the video route – even our backyard paper the Boston Globe is making a point to add more video coverage. Not that traditional media briefings and opportunities have gone away, it’s just another way to get your clients message out there. Check it out:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1243511167/bctid1517411419

As many of us know, we are in the midst of tradeshow season. This year has been no exception for me with clients at Web 2.0 this week, Interop next week and Sapphire during the first week of May. With all of the hustle and bustle of tradeshows, product launches and media tours, I wanted to stop and call out a few key points and best practices to make that help to make our client’s tradeshow experience successful.

First and foremost – start early – planning is key when you have multiple clients going to multiple events. For Interop next week, three of PAN’s clients BlueCat Networks, CiRBA and Patni are going to be onsite. We took this opportunity to work collaboratively rather than having three different PAN folks contacting the same pre-reg. list. By keeping each other in the loop when speaking with a reporter and by discussing the fact that all three clients were going to be onsite, we minimized outreach efforts and maximized reporter relationships.

Additionally, Interop has done a stellar job in keeping PR and marketing efforts organized. The event planners held a conference call for those attending where we learned of specific deadlines, approval processes and where we can get pre-reg lists. Interop keeps all of this information on an exhibitor extranet. The process has been very organized and the planners have been a pleasure to work with.

In addition to the media who have registered for the show, the three teams outreached to their beat reporters to see who would be attending, since many reporters decide last minute and never make it to the pre-reg. list. This process has been very helpful because we’ve uncovered some new targets. In addition it has given us good reason to check in with our beat reporters and has led to other discussions and in some cases editorial opportunities.

Finally, a newer best practice that we have put into place is reviewing the exhibitor list for publishing companies. More and more, publishers are getting booth space to drive vendors to them, rather than the historical stance of walking the show floor. Of course, their purpose in having a booth presence is to drive ad dollars, but for PR, this is extremely helpful because we’ve let our clients know which publications will be onsite and recommended that they drop by the booth to strike up conversations.

With all of the above in place, our clients have booked several meetings leading up to the show and several onsite appointments. We are primed and ready to take our events by storm.

Good luck to all of you who are attending events in the coming weeks.

If you’re paying any attention at all to social media, you know about Twitter. It’s all the rage in certain circles.

In case you’re not yet in the know, Twitter lets you give text message-length updates via the Web or SMS to people you want to communicate with. Simple as that.

Why use Twitter? Some people are still figuring that out. Is it just a waste of time? Granted it can be distracting. Do we really need to know what friends and coworkers are doing every minute of the day? In marketing and PR in particular, people are beginning to use it to get tips on stories from reporters, get quick feedback on ideas, and post links to a site or story they want to promote.

Sound intriguing? Spend a few minutes watching this “Twitter 101″ explanation. Decide for yourself.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OYHUOESHpVk

The Boston Marathon is one of my favorite events of the year and will be taking place this coming Monday. As someone who has ran the Marathon, I can appreciate putting a lot of effort into something over a long period of time – with the “finish line” miles away. The same holds true for business press outreach. This week alone, we secured a great hit in the Wall Street Journal for one of our clients and have coverage coming out in USA Today. What makes these opportunities special (in addition to being in two top national media outlets) is that they came to fruition as a result of a lot of diligence, hard work — and patience over time.

Securing a briefing with a business publication doesn’t automatically equal secured coverage. Relationships with reporters and editors need to be nurtured. Not only do you have to present them with a viable trend/story and then support it with compelling reference points (numbers, customers, analysts, etc.), you need to build a strong rapport with that reporter – during the briefing and beyond. Further, you need to recognize that things come up (a lot) and a reporter may need to push off a planned article. It doesn’t mean it won’t run – it is just not going to run when planned. When this happens, the important thing is to keep in touch with the reporter (without stalking them), letting them know you are a resource for them, while keeping your client top of mind. When done the right way, the article will eventually run and the benefits will follow. So….when it comes to business press coverage…keep your eyes on the prize…and you will win the race!

All professionals, including those in the PR field, occasionally lose grip of the basics in writing whether that be punctuation, long-winded phrases, or excessive “fluff”.

Today, PAN employees attended a Pub Club Writing Workshop with Michael Dowding, president of Wordscape Communications and an adjunct lecturer at Boston University. Covering everything from comma usage and appropriate abbreviations to document layouts and useful books, we enjoyed (yes, I said enjoyed) a three and a half hour refresher in communication writing. As an added bonus we were thoroughly engaged and even entertained by Dowding who combined his passion for writing and his sense of humor to keep us laughing throughout the explanation of “offensive” editing, and pronouns.

While I think the entire workshop was fantastic, I found his reminder of Editing Etiquette to be particularly helpful since the following points are so often overlooked and could ease some tension during the editing/review process:

- Track changes
- Use proofreader’s marks
- Make defensible edits
- Be specific
- Add clarifying comments
- Label drafts to avoid confusion
- “Write like a saint. Read like a cynic.”
- Give feedback with respect

For the writer: when reading edits to your own work, always assume the editor had good intentions (and disregard the desire to cry when your paper draft looks likes it’s bleeding from the edit pen).

I will be honest, I completely forgot that today is the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King. I was reminded by an op-ed in the WSJ that chronicled the major highlights of King’s teachings and an assessment of the recent trials and tribulations in the Obama campaign with the Rev. Wright controversy. An interesting read.

I watched fascinating program last night on PBS that studied the racial and socioeconomic inequalities in health. The seven part series continues on Sunday at 6PM and will chronicle how health is linked to one’s financial well-being. Check here for your local listings.

When I was little, MLK Day was yes- a day off from school -but, in school we always received some sort of weekly reader on the civil rights movement. It was interesting as it informed us of ‘ the way things used to be’, and to be especially grateful for the world we live in now. Needless to say, we have obviously come a long way but, we still have a long road ahead.

Note, this post is not meant to be a reflection on race in America today, goodness knows, I have my own blog for that, just thought the op ed and program interesting as we remember Dr. King’s life and legacy today.

The credit markets are in the tank. Consumer spending is flat. And gas prices? Don’t get me started.

No doubt Americans are seeing some disturbing trends, month after month after month. One of the more jolting things I’ve read recently came in last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal detailing how Fremont General Corp., parent of Fremont Investment & Loan in California, may end up going out of business if it doesn’t shore up its finances. If Fremont doesn’t shape up, it would become the first U.S. bank in five years to fail. Scary stuff, indeed.

All this sky-is-falling stuff got me thinking: What is the state of the public relations industry these days? Without looking at long term studies and charts and graphs, my sense is that PR remains strong amid turbulent times. I’m basing that on PAN Communications’ own in-house activities, which are steady month after month. Each of our portfolios—technology, professional services and consumer—are well represented and growing. We continue to receive business leads and inquiries from company leaders wondering how PR can help them.

Now, that’s not to say that prospects don’t challenge us about the value of PR over an ad campaign or some other marketing-related effort. Because they do. And we’re always there to let them know that the value they’re getting from a PR program. I would not go so far to say that PR is a recession-proof industry, but I will say that we’ve ridden the economic upheaval wave pretty well here.

And that’s no April Fool’s Day joke.