True, Thursday’s final Senate vote on the bill—60 to 39—bodes well for the nation, our economy and for President Obama. After all, new consumer protections, more shareholder/creditor responsibility and more stringent requirements on derivatives and other financial “instruments” are sorely needed. But it makes me wonder: Do we as Americans even realize what just happened?

Schools are out, families are on vacation, attention is diverted and we’re in full summer mode. Perhaps the Obama administration had no control over the timing. But endless bickering and partisan debates put the final vote on July 15, the deadest of dead zones. And this was a long time coming. As a stark reminder of the lag, I still have the yellowed newspaper clipping from The Wall Street Journal front page from June 18, 2009, tacked to my corkboard (see right) with the declarative headline: “Historic Overhaul of Finance Rules.” But I’ve got to think that more could have been done by the president’s spinmeisters during the last year to get out ahead of this and rally more interest. From a PR standpoint, here a few things they should have considered:

• Personalize the story– This is something we advise our clients all the time. Don’t simply tell me you’re doing the right thing, show me. In this case, give me a steady drumbeat of stories/anecdotes about the financial crisis’ impact on Americans and small businesses. Sure, we’re told that people are hurting. We’ve got shocking data and trends, but I can’t recall a lasting image of a person or collective group (I’m not talking about AIG, Lehman et al, either) the administration held up in an effort to rally support.
• Put this in plainspeak – Collateralized debt obligations. Derivatives. Credit default swaps. You’ve all mastered those terms by now, right? Rule of thumb: Never use a term if you can’t quickly follow it up with an example of how it’s used and what it represents. When I started out as a newspaper reporter more than 20 years ago, one of the first lessons I learned was that you don’t speak the language of the politician or the corporate muckety-muck. You speak the language of the people. Only then can you rally them to your cause.
• Advance the story – Now that reform bill is in motion (it’s now with President Obama), Congress needs to continue to rally support for the bill. They need to continue to hammer home key themes and issues so that the public understands the next steps.

The bill is expected to be signed into law soon by President Obama, according to media accounts. How the Obama administration plays this—and how we the public receive it—are two distinct issues. Time will tell if anybody’s listening.

Many think the word content is an overused term – and maybe it is.  It can mean many things – bylines, blog posts, marketing collateral, Web content, Tweets, podcasts and much more.  To take things a step further, the speed at which content is now being developed, published and then set aside for new thoughts and opinions is staggering.  Not to mention, everyone is in a life and death race to be at the top of the Google rankings and is doing everything they can to ensure optimal SEO.  Because of these many elements, the word content can be a scary word and trying to determine what steps to take can be daunting.

Some enterprises and PR firms are leveraging journalists – CA Technologies’ hiring of Denise Dubie, John Fontana planting routes with Ping Identity, and many more.  They are leveraging the expertise of these well known journalists to build out social media practices and to garner the written content that is so desperately needed.  Other organizations are working to bolster their content through video, podcasts and viral media campaigns.  And yet others are establishing industry portals to position themselves as thought leaders within particular markets.  We’ve helped several clients establish these portals and thus far have experienced great success as customers, partners and influencers are on the hunt for content that is aggregated into a single location, rather than relying on Google alerts, RSS feeds and daily searches.

However you do it – written, recorded, Twitter or industry portal – content is increasingly becoming the way in which companies large and small are differentiating themselves; and although the word “content” encompasses a lot and can cause feelings of anxiety in some, you can’t sit idly by.  It will be a missed opportunity.  Therefore, it is important to get in the game and to work with experts (journalists, PR practitioners, marketers) who can guide your organization down a path that will drive the results you are looking for.

At each staff meeting, our Senior Account Managers and Account Managers honor an employee who exemplifies dedication, hard work and overall excellence across all of their accounts with the coveted PANdemonium Award: NOW a life size Panda bear, aptly named:  Pan D. Monium! The panda – sitting proudly in someone’s workstation — reminds each winner of their strong PR skills, exemplary work ethic, consistent client results and always putting their team first.

Say hello to Mr. Pan D. Monium:

In Mr. Monium’s first day in the office, he was taken on quite the adventure around Andover. Case in point:

And in an attempt collect some ransom from the first PAN staff member to receive the award, Mr. Monium found himself in a sticky situation at the top of our parking garage!

We’re thrilled to have this new addition to the office and will make sure to keep you updated on the adventures of our new friend.

Cheers,

PAN

Does your cloud PR plan look like this?

You know an enterprise technology has really taken off when you see it in a TV commercial during Sunday football. But while the media traffic surrounding cloud computing has exploded in recent months, the increased exposure has not necessarily led to further understanding.

On top of the confusion surrounding the basic definition (here’s mine: “hosted IT services that are easily scalable and paid by usage level” – my best guess anyway), the cloud can seem equally hazy to market and promote. This confusion, combined with recent pieces by tech journalists pointing at vendor PR for adding to the hype, and some companies might feel like they’re walking into a hornet’s nest if they’re a little late to the party.

However, a competitive technology dialogue to enter is not an impossible one. The cloud is hyped because it IS an exciting field to be in right now. True, some companies might have more relevant cloud plays than others. But unless you’re MSFT Azure, Salesforce, Amazon EC2 or Rackspace, you’re probably in the same boat as the rest of IT.

How can you get beyond the sea of static and become visible in this exploding tech space? Here are a couple of quick things I think about from cloud PR over the last couple of years:

1. Can the Cloud Puns
Yes, the future of the cloud is indeed “cloudy.” Yes, the hype surrounding the cloud “in the troposphere.” I’m all about getting cute to get the point across – but in this case, in two years of hysteria, the puns have probably been done before.

PS – my favorite cloud headline: Cloud Computing the Latest Vice to Hit Miami. I bet Don Johnson has a Gmail account, so they might not be that far off. If he doesn’t, then you can bet Tubbs does. He always had Crockett’s back.

2. Avoid the Blanket Bullish Prediction
Citing a report that says “cloud computing is slated to grow by X by 2014, according to XYZ” might not be the best way to pique a cloud enthusiast. They’re on the cloud beat – they already know this. Instead of saying how much it’s going to take off, how is your company going to help? We’ve had great success working with strategy and solutions, rather than “state of the industry” approaches.

3. Segment the Technology
Another way to get in the cloud dialogue is to closely examine how your company plays in the cloud space. Does it help with security, measurement, management, development? Does the cloud enable growth and flexibility within a particular industry? There are more people writing about cloud than the virtualization reporter at the “Big 5” IT pubs and David Linthicum. There are plenty of positive stories to be had, so specificity can help tremendously.

Cloud pros out there – what have you learned? Anything that can help the rest of us “make it rain” positive exposure?

There. Now all the cloud puns are taken.

Spirit Air has decided to charge their customers for carry-on luggage, beginning on August 1, 2010. This is the first airline in the US, perhaps in the world, to do so.

Here’s the deal: members of Spirit Airlines’ $9 Fare Club will pay $20 for carry-on baggage and passengers who reserve a spot in the overhead bin in advance will be charged $30. Keep in mind, they already charge for checked bags (fees start at $19, but these prices will also increase on 8/1 – unless you’re a $9 Fare Club member). Those who decide to wait until they’re at the gate will have to pay $45! Passengers will be able to bring a bag on board for free, but only if they measure 16″ by 14″ by 12″ and can fit underneath the seat in front of you. Some items will be exempt from the carry-on fee, including umbrellas,  coats, cameras, car seats, etc.

I remember when flying used to be fun. Seats were comfortable, flight attendants always wore a smile and made you feel warm and fuzzy, and you’d be served some sort of meal that you could actually digest. If you were a kid, you were given all sorts of treats – cookies, pins with the airline logos, coloring books….Now, it’s the complete opposite. I feel that I’ve encountered a lot of negative attitude, meals which I choose to skip, and movies I don’t watch because I don’t feel that spending $10 on a head set is worth it (especially when they show older movies). And now, all these charges are being imposed on passengers – where will it stop?

What do you think about these changes? Do you think this is fair? Will other airlines follow in their footsteps? Or will Spirit stand alone in their unspirited world?

Coincidentally I saw a post on twitter today from another public relations student.  She mentioned how a speaker to her class  recently discussed how an understanding of investor relations (IR) was increasingly important in public relations today.  The student then when on to point how economics was not a current requirement in her public relations classwork.

PR majors should take economics.

She’s right–economics should be a requirement.  It’s a great point.   So other than taking that class in economics, how should you prepare for that career?  Nearly two decades later in this career, I think I have some understanding of  what it might take to succeed in public relations.  

At the risk of sounding a little like that  Baz Luhrmann song, “Always Wear Sunscreen,” here’s a list of nine qualities and/or skills that that I would focus on if I were just starting out in public relations.  Perhaps you can add a tenth… .  

• Curiosity.  Desire to learn about new products or services, desire to know your colleagues and clients. An interest in the world going on around you and how it impacts your client.
• Well-read.  Read newspapers, magazines, blogs, books, tweets–anything and everything that you can get your mitts on.  This goes with curiosity, but what I am really saying here is know the media that you are going to be talking to for your clients–how they think, how they write and what they are interested in.
• Writing ability. Some journalism classes would be good too. You should know how to put together a sentence in less than 25 words that tells someone who, what, when, where and why.  Know how to write a headline.  Know how to “diagram” a sentence–it will help you structure your content–I’m still thanking my 7th grade English teacher for showing me how to properly construct sentences, paragraphs and stories.  Work for a publication or at the very least, write a blog.
• Critical ability. Be able to critique yourself and others, constructively. And do it often.  Examine your work and strive for quality every step of the way.
• Know money. An economics class would be helpful.  As would some finance classes. You need to know how to budget effectively for your clients and for your business.

• Anger management.  OK that’s in jest, or maybe not. You can’t be angry in this field.  Clients, reporters, bosses are going to beat on you from time to time.  You need to have thick skin and be able to get to the nub of what they are really saying.
• Marketing.  Public relations these days is sorta like the fish eating the whale (marketing).  But public relations people still should know the elements of a good marketing program, and the other “cousins” to public relations–advertising, SEO, direct mail, event management, target marketing, focus groups, product launching, etc.

• Juggling.  Multi-tasking is important in any field, but particularly in a public relations agency, where you need to keep each client work on feeling like they are the only client in the world.
• Personality. As in outgoing, dynamic, social, personable.  Seems like it should be an obvious one?  But you’d be surprised.  Some people really do have personalities like soap-dishes.  I never understood how you could be successful in public relations and be a wall-flower or a poor conversationalist.  Add to this, a sense of humor.  It helps in life, and in any job.

To end, a short disclaimer.  As perfect as I think I was after graduating from college, and as amaetuerish that I have since learned I am, I still have yet to attain many of these skills.  Obviously I have mastered critical ability though.

Yesterday, IDC bought Forrester (SageCircle takes credit for this), Starbucks decided to sell new sizes, Plenta (128 fl oz) and Micra (2 fl oz), Google changed its name to Topeka and tween start Justin Bieber took over FunnyorDie.com.

With all 1086 news articles on Google this morning just about technology and April Fool’s Day from yesterday alone, one has to think whether this was good publicity for companies. As you can see from Google and Starbucks, time, energy and resources were used for this one day prank. The Starbucks release took the form of a social media release, with multiple pictures of the oversize and mini cups staged in various locations. Google also used photos (see below) to demonstrate the change and posted an entire write-up on their blog of the changes and about Topeka. These jokes, fake press releases and funny photos got everyone talking about them.

Google's April Fools Day Joke

Sometimes it’s fun to poke at oneself and take a moment to be less serious. It’s a great way to connect with people and engage with the customer.  Today’s April 2nd and everything’s back to normal. It doesn’t hurt to laugh and could be great publicity for your clients.