PAN Communications prSPEAK

So Jaffe PR has publicly declared an end to public relations for law firms. In fact, they have decided that public relations is no longer relevant to its client base and that instead law firms need to be concerned with public reputation management according to a press release issued this earlier this week. Obviously, their number one agenda item is to promote their agency and its services (completely understandable) but they are doing a major disservice to PR professionals everywhere – not by dismissing the relevancy of public relations but by generating a transparent and self-serving press release with such little substance. Talk about spin! If they take the same approach with their clients’ communications, they really will have some “reputation management” to do!

As public relations professionals, we are challenged every day with leading our clients through the new media landscape. When we talk about managing relationships, we are talking about engaging with critical audiences and, certainly, we are presented with new channels and tools for interaction on an almost daily basis. From Twitter to Facebook to the ever-growing blogosphere, the power of persuasion is in the individual’s hands and reputations are always at stake. Public opinion can turn on a dime and a full fledge crisis can break out and spread to all corners of the earth within a matter of minutes. For these reasons, social media is no longer a niche specialty or “nice to have” add-on to a public relations program. Social media and one-on-one engagement is the face of modern public relations.

Everyone wants to be the first to coin a new phrase or lead the pack with buzz words that usher in the future (e.g. social media release), but please back it up with some substance rather than simple semantics. Public relations or public reputation management – call it what you want. We’re all talking about the same thing here. Jaffe hopes to usher in a “new paradigm” with public reputation at the heart of the new reality. While I agree that there is a new paradigm for public relations in 2010, public relations has always been about reputation management. It is the strategy, tools and tactics that have changed not the end goal.

Senior Account Manager Erica Burns talks to Jason Ouellette, Co-Director, Technology Portfolio

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Every industry conducts their own events. Some are local, regional, national and even international. However, there are too many industry events to count and an individual cannot attend them all. So, what can be done to allow those who cannot attend an event to hear what was spoken about? What about the use of the podcast?

 A podcast is a collection of audio (sometimes video) segments that can be listened to over the Internet or downloaded and listened to while on the go. This tool turns out to be a great medium for sharing previously recorded material with others.

 Earlier this summer I used this technique for a client event.

 DiCicco, Gulman & Company held a roundtable with professional service veterans in the architecture and engineering industry to discuss how to manage a business in an uncertain economy. The event had a wonderful turn out, but we realized that the material discussed would definitely be of interest to others in the industry, so the roundtable was recorded and turned into a podcast series to be shared with others following the event.

 Creating a podcast series out of a previously recorded event is a way of sharing knowledge with others. Not only will the information be accessible to those who were unable to attend, but it also has the potential to attract others in the industry, and it can help position you or your company as a thought leader.

 The podcast is a social media tool that continues to be underutilized. However, with an understanding of how podcasts work and how they can be used to share a message, a podcast can be powerful public relations tool.  

As new media continues to alter the way brands offer products and interact with consumers, the ways in which individuals utilize the information also continually changes.  Given that this evolution will only augment over time, the value that clients are seeing in non-traditional media opportunities (i.e. podcasts, video interviews, blogs) continues to grow. These outlets are more interactive in nature and allow bloggers, readers, and individuals/companies mentioned in a post to respond and communicate in real time via commenting. 

As PR practitioners it is important to acknowledge this evolution as well as develop a strategy that leverages a mix of both traditional and new media programs. Creating opportunities that allow clients to interact and share information with potential customers, key stakeholders, and interested parties should be the cornerstone of a successful PR program. 

With that in mind, I began to think of ways we could utilize the wealth of information that Mirror Image Internet’s (a PAN client) Director of Marketing Martin Hayward posses regarding mobile video delivery – and why it is quickly becoming the core of many mobile marketing strategies.  

Knowing that StreamingMedia.com is the premier online destination for industry news, information, and services related to the streaming media industry, and that we have a great working relationship with its Editors, I thought I’d propose the idea of producing a podcast with Martin and a Mirror Image partner, Wowza Media Systems.  Contributing Editor Tim Sigli, who has taken over the podcasting helm along with Jose Castillo, confirmed his interest, and we were discussing recording logistics before I knew it.  

Soon after, Martin, Dave Stubenvoll for Wowza Media Systems, Tim, and I were recording the contents of a compelling podcast via phone.  Throughout the podcast, Tim explored the benefits of a single codec, H.264, for mobile delivery from two perspectives: a single media server (Wowza, represented by Dave) and a content delivery network (Mirror Image, represented by Martin). 

The podcast has since been published and now lives alongside hundreds of hours of audio/video content on the Streaming Media site.  Listen to the podcast – and others – here, and let us know what you think!

I just returned to the office on the heels of two very successful client media tours. The first took me to New York City for two days of meetings which included FOX Business News, Forbes, and Dow Jones. The second was a combination of Boston and New York City with briefings at Network World, Tech Target, CRN, and Baseline. And it occurred to me, I think we sometimes get so wrapped up in pitching news and creating strategy for our clients that we forget about the importance of face to face interaction with reporters.

For one, I think the media appreciates it. It’s not often they get to sit down with a C-Level executive and pick their brain on various trends, industry happenings, etc. The conversation tends to be a bit more casual and can cover the gamut of topics. During the Forbes interview, the reporter and CEO touched upon everything from expense management to how to advertise your business to dealing with other CEO’s. Ultimately, it built a strong relationship between the two individuals and our client left the meeting feeling really good about how it went.

This leads me to probably the most important benefit of in-person briefings: the benefit to your client. The reality is, most of these meetings are either introductory or a chance to build on an existing relationship and “catch up.” Some clients may have some resistance to this if there is not a definite answer on whether coverage will result, especially if they have planned a trip specifically for the briefings. But to that, we council our clients to stay open minded. Yes, the Forbes interview was not a 100% guarantee for coverage, but we left the meeting with three separate story opportunities – one of which ran the following week! Bottom line: a reporter is more likely to remember your company and think of you as a source if they’ve had a chance to meet you in person.

So, as we approach the end of summer and you’re looking for creative ways to up-level a client and their company, get a conversation started on the benefits of face to face meetings with the media. It keeps things fresh, gets your client front and center, and can lead to some significant results!  

 

June’s elections in Iran brought social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube further onto the world stage. Social media continues to penetrate politics – its power being evident in President Barack Obama’s use of the medium as a major campaign tool in the 2008 presidential election. In the case of the Iran protests, ordinary citizens provided play-by-play journalism since traditional news organizations were shut down by authorities.

Dean Wright, in a blog post he wrote for Reuters, made an interesting argument. He pointed out that verification is a major issue. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said that content being shared might not be what it appears to be, either because of sloppy information from the person posting it, or deliberate deceit, either to create mischief or for political or other reasons. Dean warns that news outlets need to be extremely careful about what is written and said about material accessed from social networking sites – not taking it at face value.

So that led me to think about “verification” from a PR perspective (of course). While social media tears down the proverbial wall between the outside world and the companies that utilize these tools to communicate and interact with their following, how can we be sure of the validity of the message? Again, “not taking it at face value”, as Dean puts it.  

It comes down to a few things. Companies need to engage in conversations that may or may not have a direct link to their business, but offer something of value to the industry and or community, customers, partners, prospects, etc. We’ve all heard this before, but it really is a give-and-take. The more frequently companies engage in social media conversations and the more transparent the communication is  — no contrived marketing jargon that is – the more likely they are to build not only a network of followers, but invested participants in their business and industry.

An important way for companies to be seen by the outside world as a legitimate expert and resource in their space is to leverage existing partners and customers in more open social media platforms like industry forums, blogs and portals. There is power in numbers. A single real-time repository of shared expertise has a greater chance of being perceived less as a marketing or PR tool and more as a go-to resource, which can go a long way toward improving brand reputation, recognition and bumping your company up in the Google search rankings.

But what about leveraging interactions with existing customers to further validate the social media message and build brand loyalty? I’m not talking about simply responding to a disgruntled customer via Twitter to provide him/her with a rapid and satisfying response, though this certainly has merit. I’m talking about using social media to constantly evolve the brand, educate potential prospects to real-time challenges and best practices and offer solutions all based in on-the-spot analysis and interpretation of current customer interactions taking place. In today’s competitive marketplace reacting is a weakness. Companies must proactively anticipate to turn heads and break through the noise. By utilizing interactions with those closest to the business and its products (customers, partners, shareholders) social media content is built on transparency, a free flow of ideas and a genuine investment of one entity in another, whether it be company to customer, company to prospect, customer to customer, partner to prospect … well, you get the idea.

In 1964, author and media pundit Marshall McLuhan introduced a controversial concept that would forever alter mainstream media (and subsequently, our role as PR practitioners): “The medium is the message.”

In his book, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, McLuhan writes that all media have characteristics that engage the viewer in different ways and argues that any given medium affects an individual’s understanding of its content.

Without getting mired too deeply in his media classifications of hot/high definition and cool/low definition media, much of McLuhan’s theory revolved around the senses receiving the communication: sight, sound and touch.

As PR practitioners today, our job is ultimately to ensure the successful receipt of our clients’ messages by their target audiences. Far too often we labor first and foremost over the content of our message—be it a press release, bylined article, white paper, blog post or tweet—while relegating the message’s delivery and medium to an afterthought.

While there is consideration for the medium, the decision is generally influenced by the content and target of the message, e.g., “We want to reach young adults, ages 18-24 who earn less than $60,000 per year… let’s Tweet!” or “Our buyers are teenage guys… let’s do a YouTube campaign!”

Of course, I’m making generalizations here, but the truth is that many times we choose a particular medium based on the statistical, demographic information of its audience rather than taking the time to understand the effectiveness of the medium for influencing the “aha!” factor.

Successful PR is more than having a great message. It also goes beyond delivering that message to the right recipients. From start to finish, it involves a series of decisions that, as mentioned above, ultimately ensure that the right message (read: understood the way it was intended) is received by the right audience, leading to the right response or action. In a presentation to the staff recently comparing various wire services, junior associate Adam Novak comically quipped, “If a press release goes out over the wire but nobody sees it, did it really go out?”

Obviously, the medium is going to impact the successful delivery of a message, but let’s not forget that our job is not just to deliver the message. Rather it is to make sure it is received and interpreted the way you, or your client, want it to be.

We have tools at our disposal today to create and distribute content quickly and easily over any medium imaginable, and at PAN, we’re finding that clients are eager to make these a strategic part of their message. Where “pitch” and “press release” were formerly limited by pre-defined parameters, PR practitioners around the world are now enjoying the freedom and creativity to reshape the way we do our jobs.

There’s a lot of attention lately around corporate culture, sustainability, and tips for staying optimistic in these uncertain times.

Despite a steady flow of stories highlighting Chapter 11 filings and economy and job loss woes,  some companies are choosing to take a glass half full approach and transform negatives into positives. Instead of jumping into defensive and cautious mode, the sharpest companies are wielding a brazen armor, refusing to slow down on innovation as a result of necessary cost-cutting.  Now more than ever, many recognize it’s time to get the creative juices flowing. 

As a communications company offering strategy to businesses during this challenging economy, we have had the privilege of putting this concept into action.  We encourage our clients to think differently; to rely on innovative ideas to elevate them to new competitive heights.

It’s much easier to offer this kind of advice when you are applying the same principles in your own company.

Since joining PAN, I’ve noticed firsthand the power of innovation and optimism.  While we have all been personally affected by the current downturn in some way, you would never know it by looking around the PAN offices. Instead, you’ll see a vigorous environment where independent thinking is encouraged, collaboration is fostered, and there are no bad ideas.  There’s no time for negativity or fear.   

 They say adversity makes you stronger; it’s true if you look at how many great innovations have come out of hard times.  The smartest companies are open to fresh ideas; focus less on short term results and instead cultivate long-term strategies with bigger picture in mind. 

 Bob Dylan’s “The Times they are a-Changin’” was meant to be a sort of anthem, calling for change.  We all should pay heed to his words about change (especially ‘you better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone’); his message: get up and do something about it.  Change can breed creativity and innovation may just be the panacea we need to lead us over the hump and to the top.

Mommy blogger community site Momdot.com got exactly what it was after when it announced a P.R. Blackout Challenge to its community of mommy bloggers: more publicity.  Smart.  But it’s a red herring: something done to wave you off the scent; a diversion for reasons other than what’s been stated, and the entity that stands to gain the most from Momdot’s appeal to moms to forego working with PR people for a week, is Momdot itself.

I’m in PR; I’ll get that out right up front so there’s no misunderstanding about which side of this debate interests me more.  But, I also don’t presently represent any companies that have a stake in the audiences mommy bloggers’ attract, so I’m not part of the problem which has led to Momdot’s call it quits on posting reviews, give-aways, recommending something, etc. (unless I’m guilty by industry association).   I’m just fascinated by what does and doesn’t make good PR, and this PR Blackout business makes for good PR.

The Momdot appeal is not misguided; I think it was made with the best of intentions.  But what strikes me is the rationale:

Truthfully, I am waiting for the shit storm of social media suicide to hit. Meaning that women are so incredibly stressed with caring for their families, their friendships, and now their online reputations, blogs, companies and obligations, that they are at the edge, the brink, of a real disaster.

Hyperbole?  I find it hard to believe that successful (successful in any definition that suits your particular situation) women would be “on the edge of disaster” if they continue down some road dictated to them–which is the implication–by obligations they’ve made to people interested in getting in front of their blogs’ audiences.

Where’s the free will?  This sort of leaves you thinking these women aren’t in control of what goes up on their own blogs.  If you read through the comments as to who is and isn’t participating in the self-imposed blackout you’ll see some great, measured responses but also a fair amount of piling-on.  I’d be remiss, however, if I didn’t make a special note to say just about all of the comments about PR folks are positive (with the exception of not wanting to talk to us for a week) .  The relationship can’t be so bad, can it?

It’s easy to say no to PR; it happens to us every…day…all…day.  Believe it.  Don’t get the impression there is a ton of pressure on you to do something nice for a company that would like to speak with your audience–it’s YOUR audience.  They read you because when you decided to put your thoughts down on a blog you struck a nerve and created a connection with the person on the other side of your monitor.  That’s your connection, mommy blogger, and you’re the gatekeeper.

If it makes sense for you to take a week and not answer any come-ons from PR people, great. But if, as a result of working with PR you’ve been offering things to your readers that they like and you feel rewarded by doing so, why would you stop?  That doesn’t benefit you – but all this talk about a blackout does benefit Momdot.  Will they take down the PR Contact link at the top of their homepage during the blackout?  I’ll be interested to see.  Momdot also hosts a lot of ads (probably not for free) which presumably pays some bills–will those disappear too?

Update: blogher.com weighs in and does a better job than us of articulating how weird and unnecessary this PR blackout thing is.

It’s been several weeks since PAN’s summer interns joined the staff here in Andover, and already they’ve made a big splash in the PR waters. Kory Mello and Jon Backus are both 2009 graduates of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Today, they share with us their experiences so far with PAN and the public relations profession.

 

How did you first hear about PAN?
Jon: I had the pleasure of taking two classes taught by Phil during my last semester at Syracuse. I loved how he spoke highly of PAN and used real-world examples from the agency in class and decided to take a closer look.

Kory: One of my professors mentioned that there was another professor at the school who runs his own firm in Andover—I was like, ‘Wait a minute, Andover?’ I’m from Dracut; I’m literally right next door. I attended a roundtable of Boston-area PR firms that Phil was hosting and he invited me to submit my resume for the summer internship.

What has been your experience at PAN so far?
Jon: I’m impressed by the variety of things that we’re given and challenged with. I’ve done media lists and competitive reports, but at the same time I’ve also edited video and helped on podcasts

Kory: I’ve also been surprised by the responsibilities and the different things that I get to do. I’ve never worked in an agency before—we read in a textbook about what you’re supposed to do (and what you’re not supposed to do), but to be able to get the hands-on experience here in my first four weeks is fantastic.

What does a typical day for you look like?
Jon: When I get to my desk, I open Outlook and my Google reader. It takes me a little while to go through my RSS feeds for relevant news and coverage, and when there is coverage I make clips right away. Other than that, my day includes activities like preparing competitive reports, building up media lists and helping out in the office reception area. We’re also starting to get into pitching.

Kory: I don’t know about you, but my day starts with coffee. Only then do I take a look at e-mail, Twitter and my RSS feeds. I also help run a portal for Airwide Solutions called Mobile Messaging 2.0, so I spend time reading and filtering through various articles.

What has been your favorite task so far?
Jon: For me, the Mirror Image team heard that I had video editing experience and asked me to help them pull together a video for the client. It was a lot of fun, and along the way I was able to teach them a little about editing as well. 

Kory: I was able to work on the First and Main project. We just had an event where they rebranded a new shopping center in downtown North Andover, where not only was I able to pitch the media, but also get involved in the event planning. Several of my reporters came to the unveiling ceremony and I got to work closely with them answering questions and even helping set up the cameras. I’ve never done anything like that before, but it was cool to be in charge.

Do you have any PR “pet peeves”?
Jon: Two stand out for me. The first is grammar. Obviously, everyone slips up once in a while, but there are simple mistakes that people make over and over. It makes me cringe. The second is when a client pulls out the “no comment” comment. There’s always something that you can say, even if it’s a blanket statement.

Kory: Definitely grammar. For instance, reading a press release or an article and seeing writers use the wrong homonym, misplace an apostrophe or forget a hyphen.

What do you like most about PAN?
Jon: Working at PAN, not many things go unnoticed. If you put work into something, someone is going to say something or appreciate you for it. It’s awesome how appreciative everyone is for everyone else. I also love how I can get along with every single person here.

Kory: The atmosphere here is fun. PAN has so many different things that it does, whether it’s workshops, interviews, the newsletter, brown bags or PAN Pub—there are always new things to help everyone stay on top of the game. It’s a friendly atmosphere, and it goes from the top down, starting with Phil.

What impact would you like to have in the PR industry?
Jon: I’d like to be another person in the PR field that does it right and can take away from the stigma that public relations has. Not everyone has it. I know a lot of reporters that greatly appreciate all the help that PR professionals do for them, but many others buy into this stigma.

Kory: I agree we’ve got a bad rap. And not only do we have a bad rap, but people wonder what we do. It’s awful, not even my family gets it. Changing that image—that’s my goal.

What’s your favorite source for news and information?
Jon: I don’t have a single source. I rely on my Google Reader—it has everything I need to know. In my down time though, my favorite thing to read is the Arts section of the New York Times.

Kory: I don’t know what I’d do without my Google Reader. Everything comes into my RSS feeds. I’m also constantly watching CNN and keeping an eye on Twitter.

This year, the internship program is being led by Senior Associates Susan Forshner and Mike O’Connell, who help manage the interns’ schedules and serve as the buffer between them and the teams requesting their assistance.

According to Forshner, the goals of PAN’s internship program are different this year. In addition to integrating Kory and Jon into the world of PR through various account and administrative work, they will have the opportunity to work closely with other departments at the agency as well.

“It’s going to be a three-pronged approach when it comes to gaining experience this summer. Our goal is to give them a broad experience over all areas—PR, marketing and new business.”