Tuesday's quick reads: Apple, Staples, and the 70 most important words for 2010

1.) Is Apple in control of its PR? (A View From Silicon Valley) -- Blogger Tim Dyson explores why almost all the news we read about Apple comes from rumor sites rather than Apple itself.

2.) Staples using social media to leak holiday price cuts (Social Media Business Council) -- Staples became one of the first retailers this holiday season to use Facebook to leak “Black Friday” deals. The office supply company posted several deals on products, varying from flash drives to GPS units to laptops, and price cuts are as high as 50%.

3.) Banks narrowing their social media focus (American Banker) -- Though Twitter's service is designed to communicate with a vast, online audience, some financial companies are now using it to reach specific groups or even individuals, a sharp contrast to some early efforts that were more akin to e-mail spam.

4.) Seventy words of unconventional wisdom for 2010 (Harvard Business Review) -- What better way for business thinkers to celebrate the holiday season than with the gift of great ideas? As the year 2009 draws to a close, Seth Godin, the innovator, writer, and blogger extraordinaire, has persuaded 70 other innovators, writers, and bloggers to participate in a project he calls What Matters Now.

Tiger's crisis is a teachable moment

This column was first published Friday in The Maryland Daily Record.

The line of consultants giving Tiger Woods public relations advice these days is a long one. Just Google "Tiger Woods" and "crisis communications" and get comfortable. You could be reading all day.

Rather than add to the chorus of armchair quarterbacks, I want to touch on a few lessons that the business community can learn from Woods' saga about communicating in a crisis.If you think these rules apply only to celebrity athletes, think again. Businesses broadly, and executives specifically, are not immune to the public's insatiable curiosity in a crisis. If your company has yet to experience a serious public relations storm, then save this advice for a rainy day.

Information vacuums fill quickly. Information vacuums are the breeding ground of speculation in a crisis. If you don't fill them with facts, somebody else will fill them with rumors. Assuming that journalists and talk show hosts won't speculate -- oftentimes wildly -- without possessing the facts is also foolish. Ratings and 24-hour news cycles mean that speed often trumps accuracy in reporting big news.

Privacy is a right, except when it's not. There is often a disconnect between a company's view of what should remain private in a crisis and what the press believes should remain private. That's the price companies -- and professional golfers -- pay for playing in and profiting from the public arena. The question to ask in a crisis is not simply what legal rights to privacy you have, but rather how likely it is the press will obtain sensitive information through an unauthorized leak, an old IRS form, or a Public Information Act request. If the likelihood is high, consider disclosing it quickly on your own terms. It could mean the difference between two days of bad press and two weeks of bad press.

Accountability matters. Posting vague statements on a Web site that might as well have been written by a publicist rarely satisfy the press in a crisis. They lack sincerity and accountability. Ask Serena Williams. The tennis star apologized not once, not twice, but three times after verbally threatening a line judge at the U.S. Open in August. She posted the first two apologies on her Web site. They didn't work. Only when she personally stepped before a microphone and apologized for her conduct did media scrutiny subside. You can bet Tiger will have to do the same before his next golf tournament.

Legal advice and PR advice often collide. A common theme in the Tiger Woods analysis is that Tiger got terrible PR advice. That's not necessarily true. Tiger may have gotten sound advice -- go public early and on your own terms -- but opted instead to remain silent to reduce liability in the event of criminal charges, divorce filings, or breach of the "moral clause" in his contracts with corporate sponsors. This would not be the first time legal and public relations advisers were at odds. Executives have to judge whether that legal course is worth the damage their company's brand will suffer in the court of public opinion.

Don't preach to the extremes. Being successful inevitably means having critics. Yes, Tiger earned this round of scrutiny through his personal conduct, but successful companies and people -- from Goldman Sachs to Steve Jobs -- inevitably give rise to communities of critics and gadflies even before a crisis hits. Your goal in a crisis shouldn't be to convert those who are unwilling to listen, but rather to speak with candor and clarity to the open-minded.

Delay benefits the critics. Ironically, the people and organizations Tiger most dislikes -- tabloids, talk show hosts, and gossip hounds -- were the primary beneficiaries of his decision to remain silent. The longer he thumbed his nose at the press and the public, the more tabloid Web sites like TMZ and the Enquirer hauled in new readers online. The more he dismissed the public's curiosity, the higher the ratings were for cable news and talk radio. (OK, I couldn't resist a little bit of armchair quarterbacking in this column.)

If your company has been through a public relations crisis, chances are good these rules applied. They clearly transcend business, politics, sports and entertainment. What is less clear is whether the broader business community (hint: that means you) will view Tiger's situation as a teachable moment and plan accordingly for the next crisis.

Henry Fawell is a communications consultant for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC in Baltimore and was press secretary for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. His column appears monthly, and his e-mail address is henry.fawell@wcsr.com

Monday's quick reads: Tiger Woods, baby cribs, and DuPont

1.) DuPont brings new life to video (Social Media Business Council) -- Rather than looking externally to find new ideas for viral content, DuPont turned to their own archives. Their new series, called simply “DuPont Science Videos,” features five short clips of behind-the-scenes educational footage of DuPont product tests.

2.) Tiger's PR troubles are growing because of Tiger (NBC New York) -- One analyst says that just about any rumor about Tiger Woods could gain traction these days if the golf icon continues to hide in the sand trap.

3.) Ad budget tight? Call the PR machine (The New York Times) -- Hobbled by a depressed DVD market and drooping sales of movies to foreign television networks, Hollywood is leaning more heavily on armies of publicists generating what they call “earned media,” free coverage in magazines, newspapers, TV outlets and blogs.

4.) Crib recalls provide a glimpse of what's to come (Bulletproof Blog) -- As news broke last week that Stork Craft Manufacturing is recalling 2.1 million cribs due to a suffocation risk that has claimed four lives and injured scores of children, consumer product companies got a good look at what’s to come as regulatory scrutiny of product safety continues to escalate.

Monday's quick reads: Polar bears, Denny's, and missing gold

1.) Royal Canadian Mint went into damage control over missing gold (National Post) -- Faced with what may prove to be a huge gold heist right out from underneath its nose, the Royal Canadian Mint ordered polls and consulted with a high-powered Ottawa public relations firm as it worked on damage control, access to information documents show.

2.) American Express gets social to help small businesses (Social Media Business Council) -- Inspired by research indicating many small business owners had a “high relationship IQ” but a “low social media IQ,” American Express created an online forum dedicated to helping small business owners better understand social media strategies.

3.) Do it for the polar bears! (The Washington Post) -- For marketers, climate guilt isn't the easiest thing to sell. Part of the audience doesn't have it and doesn't want it; another segment of the audience already has too much of it. So can you change all these minds with a single ad?

4.) Why public relations is the main course at Denny's (PRSA) -- As the CEO of one of the largest full-service restaurant chains in the United States, Nelson Marchioli credits public relations for Denny’s success. Marchioli speaks with PRSA about reaching customers via social media, the company’s continued diversity efforts and leading during a recession.

5.) How to lose an argument online (Seth Godin) -- Once you start an argument, not a discussion, you've already lost. Think about it: have you ever changed your mind because someone online started yelling at you?

Monday's quick reads: Goldman, grassroots, and blogging

1.) A grassroots cautionary tale (National Journal) -- The investigation into a prominent lobbying firm's fake letters to Congress points up the dangers to K Street in so-called grassroots and grass-tops lobbying, both of which are increasingly popular -- and controversial. It also underscores the absence of disclosure, let alone regulation, in a booming segment of Washington's influence industry.

2.) Bonuses put Goldman in public relations bind (The New York Times) -- Goldman and its employees are enjoying one of the richest periods in the bank’s 140-year history, and is on pace to pay annual bonuses that will rival the record payouts that it made in 2007, at the height of the bubble.

3.) L.A. County restricts reporters' access during meetings (Los Angeles Times) -- Only a few still cover the Board of Supervisors, but reportedly are causing 'traffic jams.' No similar edict is issued to lobbyists, union officials and others also found in corridors.

4.) Non-profits outblog private sector (Marketing Charts) -- The largest charitable organizations in the US far outpace the business world and academia in both their use of and familiarity with social media , according to a study by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, which found that 89% of non-profits used some form of social media in 2008.

How the Redskins failed the headline test

(Image credit: The Washington Post)
This column was first published in The Maryland Daily Record on Friday, September 11, 2009.

By Henry Fawell

Special to The Daily Record

Sports teams spend plenty of time in the headlines, but usually not for the reasons that landed the Washington Redskins in the press last week.

The Redskins’ decision to sue their fans – and the resulting media and public firestorm – should serve as a cautionary tale for the business community about the importance of public relations.

The lesson? Just because your company has license to do something, doesn’t mean it should. The Redskins learned this lesson the hard way. Here’s how:

Forty miles south of Baltimore, the world’s third-wealthiest sports franchise sued Pat Hill (pictured), a 72-year-old grandmother, for breach of contract last year because she couldn’t pay for her multi-year season ticket agreement.

The Redskins won easily in the court. Ms. Hill was required to pay the team $66,000 to cover the ticket prices, interest, and the team’s legal costs. The judgment pushed Ms. Hill to the brink of bankruptcy.

They won … or did they?

Despite winning in the court of law, the Redskins would pay dearly in the court of public opinion.

The Washington Post ran a front-page, top-fold exposé on the lawsuit last week, complete with a photo of a teary-eyed Ms. Hill in her home surrounded by memorabilia of her beloved team.

The article infuriated fans and opinion leaders alike. One sports columnist wrote that the team’s actions “[spoke] to a basic lack of civility that’s shocking, even now when shock value is difficult to achieve.”

Within 24 hours, the Redskins capitulated. Ms. Hill would no longer owe them $66,000. She would be relieved of her contractual obligations.

Here’s the PR lesson: Was Ms. Hill in violation of her contract? Yes. Did the Redskins have a legal case against her? Absolutely. Does that make for smart public relations? Of course not.

Front-page news can hurt

The Redskins failed what PR professionals call the Headline Test.

The test requires that you consider not just whether a particular company practice is legal or routine, but rather how your stakeholders would react if that policy were splashed across the front page of the newspaper.

Unfortunately, too many companies fail to consider public opinion when adopting polices that, in management’s view, seem just fine.

Sports teams aren’t the only ones failing the Headline Test. Longtime Baltimoreans will remember when Sony, the multibillion-dollar electronics corporation, slapped Sony Florendo, the owner of a modest Filipino restaurant, with a $3 million infringement lawsuit because she named her restaurant after herself.

Strong legal argument? Perhaps. Bad public relations? You bet.

Let’s also not forget U.S. automakers, who incited the wrath of Congress last year by flying corporate jets to Washington to beg for money. The plush jets were standard company practice until they were subjected to the Headline Test.

Consider Time-Warner. The media company was forced to shelve plans to charge customers tier-pricing for Internet service in North Carolina after a public uproar and congressional inquiry. Perfectly legal policy, but terrible public relations.

And of course, AIG sparked outrage for handing out $450 million in bonuses after taxpayers had forked over billions of dollars to keep the company afloat.

The common thread

What’s the common thread? Each company was following a routine business practice. They just didn’t account for how those practices would be received when subjected to the Headline Test.

So what’s the solution? Give your public relations team greater input on how company policies would be perceived by customers, investors, board members and reporters.

If you’re hiring a PR adviser simply to crank out press releases, you’re not really getting your money’s worth. Trust them to be forward-thinking and to steer your company clear of potentially disastrous public relations crises.

To paraphrase Ben Franklin, an ounce of PR prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If your company took the Headline Test today, would it pass or would it fail? What “routine” company policy would spark uproar among your stakeholders if it became public?

Now is the time for executives to sit down with their public relations team, think hard about their company’s version of lawsuits against Granny and corporate jets, and take the Headline Test. You may be surprised at what you find.

Henry Fawell is a communications consultant for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC in Baltimore and was press secretary for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. His column appears monthly, and his e-mail address is henry.fawell@wcsr.com

Tuesday's quick reads: Boeing, Best Buy, and Martin Luther King

1.) Boeing launches PR campaign to protect C-17 cargo plane (Los Angeles Times) -- Boeing Co. and supporters of the C-17 cargo plane launched a multi-front public relations offensive last week, hoping to extend the life of one of Southern California's last major military aircraft factories.

2.) Best Buy's Twelpforce: An army of volunteers (Social Media Business Council) -- Best Buy has joined a growing number of companies using social media for customer service with their Twelpforce — but with a different twist: Employees from all across the company can volunteer to help folks on Twitter with questions, and it’s all aggregated under the single account, @Twelpforce.

3.) Why leaders need stories: A lesson from Don Hewitt (Harvard Business Review) -- Don Hewitt, who died this month and was executive producer of CBS' "60 Minutes", was fond of saying that every child realizes the importance of "tell me a story" — but when we reach adulthood, we forget. Yet Hewitt's absolute commitment to story is something leaders, particularly those with big initiatives to push, should remember.

4.) How to respond to criticism: Learning from Dr. King (Tim Ferriss Blog) -- The of "The Four Hour Work Week" argues that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham City Jail is one of the best case studies in how to deal with criticism he's ever come across.

Monday's quick reads: Michael Vick, reputation management, and errant press releases

1.) Errant press release sparks nightmare for bank (The Wall Street Journal) -- It wasn't the same as shouting "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, but an apparent text-editing foul-up by banking regulators was about the last thing a small Pittsburgh thrift needed prior to its seizure Friday.

2.) PR advice for Vick: Don't pass on charity (The Philadelphia Inquirer) -- The PR machine is in full tilt for Michael Vick. But the Eagles' newest player needs to do a lot more than appear on television, be photographed with poodles, or express remorse for the dogfighting scandal that sent him to jail, local marketing and public relations professionals say.

3.) Turning bad news into good vibes (PR Newswire) -- During times of economic crisis, organizations struggle to communicate unfavorable news, from lower earnings and shrinking market share, to cuts in service and increases in prices.

4.) Hard-hit schools try public relations push (The Wall Street Journal) -- Public schools in the U.S. have added professional marketing to their back-to-school shopping lists. Financially struggling urban districts are trying to win back students fleeing to charter schools, private schools and suburban districts that offer open enrollment. Administrators say they are working hard to improve academics -- but it can't hurt to burnish their image as well.

Monday's quick reads: Stanford endowment, United Airlines,

1.) A PR problem for Stanford endowment (San Francisco Chronicle) -- According to Forbes magazine, Stanford's $17.5 billion fund is the biggest investor in a "tough talking" Texas firm, NC Ventures, which specializes in buying bad bank loans at pennies on the dollar, "then going after the borrowers." That means, increasingly, those defaulting on their home loans. Which, in turn, can create a PR problem for a certain type of investor.

2.) Smashed guitar, Youtube song - United is listening now (Los Angeles Times) -- An unhappy passenger's catchy Youtube video has caused PR headaches for United Airlines.

3.) Why strategic planning and corporate communications should work in harmony (Council on Public Relations) -- Chief executive officers, senior strategists and communications professionals share many similar views when it comes to corporate strategy, but they must collaborate more effectively to achieve optimal results, according to a new study.

4.) Reactor LLC to test social media's effectiveness (Kansas City Business Journal) -- A Kansas City design and branding agency is trying to answer the elusive marketing question: What is the return on investment for social media?

Monday's quick reads: hospitals, utilities, and internal communications

1.) Chicago utility strives for positive news coverage (PR Daily) -- The Northern Illinois and Chicago electric company ComEd usually gets calls from customers and the media only when the power’s out. To counter that problem, the utility's PR team developed a four-prong approach to pitching stories that will create an enduring positive profile.

2.) An aggressive PR strategy helps save a hospital (Albany Business Review) -- Bellevue Woman's Hospital's story contains lessons for business leaders caught up in a capricious economic environment. The former CEO's primary advice, when faced with bad news, is to react quickly and truthfully, and to be both consistent and persistent in telling your story.

3.) How CEOs can rally the troops in bad times (PR Daily) -- When times are tough, it’s natural for leaders to want to rally the troops with some hopeful and reassuring words. However, ignoring the grim reality doesn’t win over the listeners—it makes them wonder what planet the executive is living on.

4.) Got a political career? Don't tweet it away. (The Washington Post) -- Recent political controversies demonstrate that any medium that encourages instant reactions dashed off on a BlackBerry or iPhone and condensed into 140 characters is a recipe for disaster in the political arena.

Renewable energy's grassroots problem

(Photo credit: The Washington Post)
We have blogged before about the paradox facing renewable energy companies, and it doesn't appear to be going away. At the national level, these companies are hailed as a critical component to reducing America's carbon footprint and its dependence on foreign sources of oil.

The view at the local level, however, is quite different. As The Washington Post points out today, renewable energy companies often face stiff resistance from local activists who view their projects as threats to parks, vistas, and property values. The resistance doesn't only come from organized environmental groups; often it's a small group of concerned neighbors determined to make a difference.

The lesson is that energy companies can no longer rely on the environmental virtues of their product to garner public support. These virtues rarely have immediate, tangible benefits for the communities that are impacted by the construction of large wind farms, solar farms, or biofuel manufacturing plants. My experience is those neighbors are more concerned about the project's impact on their home's value, the view out their window, or noise pollution in the neighborhood.

Establishing an aggressive grassroots communications plan is a good place to start for companies with projects in the pipeline, including community advisory panels, outreach to local press, local philanthropy, and websites designed to educate the community. It's never too early to start planning.

Bernanke's public relations offensive

Today's Wall Street Journal explores Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's rare public relations offensive in the wake of global financial uncertainty. You can view a quick video below or read the complete article by clicking here.



Here's a quick excerpt from the article:

"Fed officials have been struck by the public response to Mr. Bernanke's "60 Minutes" appearance, which took him to his hometown of Dillon, S.C., to reminisce about his modest upbringing and to visit his childhood home, which a subsequent owner recently lost to foreclosure.

"Strangers have been coming up to him in airports and supermarkets to compliment him. One Fed employee approached him in the Fed's top-floor cafeteria after the television interview. She told him she was touched to learn his mother was reluctant to send him off to Harvard as a teen because he didn't have the proper clothes."

The strategy reinforces two lessons:

1.) The economy is changing rapidly and public opinion is changing with it. Leaders in business and government are wise to respond with unconventional communications. The Fed has a long history of avoiding overt publicity campaigns, and Mr. Bernanke strikes few observers as an attention hound. Yet the chairman and his team deserve kudos for applying a precedent-breaking communications strategy to an unprecedented economic climate.

2.) Few things are as effective as a compelling personal story. The "60 Minutes" excerpt about Bernanke's upbringing helps to elevate the chairman above an unpopular backdrop: the marble halls of Washington, the impeccable pin-stripe suits, and the corridors of Wall Street. Elevating Bernanke above that backdrop allows a big slice of his audience, the American taxpayer, to view him and his decisions in a new light. His audience may not agree with his actions, but his outreach makes them more familiar with the humble life experiences that help guide his decisions. The implicit message: Every decision Bernanke makes, he makes in the best interests of towns like Dillon, S.C.

"60 Minutes" is only one interview, but it's a start. Let's hear from you. Is Bernanke's communications strategy smart, or is he needlessly inviting backlash from the market if he flubs an interview?

Let your friends do the talking

We are firm believers in the idea that third party advocates can help an organization influence public opinion, particularly when that organization is under public scrutiny. America's auto makers appear to be believers, too.

On Wednesday, six governors released a joint letter calling on the U.S. Treasury Department and Federal Reserve to expedite aid to the U.S. auto industry. The governors hail from Michigan, Kentucky, Delaware, North Dakota, Ohio, and New York.

After September's $700 billion rescue package, securing government aid will not be an easy task. But by aligning itself with six governors representing 45 million Americans, the auto makers lent credence to the notion that the nation's economic well-being is tied to that of the industry. Whether one agrees or not, the industry's argument is stronger today because of the influential company it keeps.

Recruiting credible, outsides voices to your side is a valuable exercise for an array of industries: pharmaceuticals, hospitals, non-profits, developers, the list goes on. Ask yourself: In our next public relations challenge, whose voice can we depend on?



(Photo credit: Reuters, Rebecca Cook)

New energy faces old PR problem

Remember when renewable energy could do no wrong in the eyes of the press and the public? Cherish those days, because they are gone.

It's not that the public opposes the use of renewable energies. Polls show clean energy is here to stay. Rather, the debate has shifted to how the production and delivery of clean energy impacts our neighborhoods and our environment. As a result, new energy faces an old public relations problem: NIMBY - or the "not in my backyard" problem. Here are some examples:

In California, environmentalists halted a plan to carry more solar energy to San Diego because, according to the environmentalists, San Diego Gas & Electric's plan would have run a 150-mile transmission line through a state park.

In Wisconsin, residents of Racine voiced opposition to a new ethanol distillery because it would disturb the views from the local golf course.

In the Southwest desert, residents are fighting the proliferation of industrial solar fields for a variety of reasons, ranging from wildlife protection to the preservation of scenic vistas.

Renewable energy companies can no longer rely solely on the virtues of their product for public support. They must demonstrate appreciation for local sentiment and the footprint left in those communities by the production and delivery of their product.

Many forward-thinking energy companies initiate a dialogue with local communities early on, whether by establishing community advisory panels, launching a public education campaign with local school systems, or by proactively engaging government and community leaders on the company's priorities. These efforts may not generate universal support, but can help mitigate concerns and identify shared goals between the company and the community.



(Photo credit: AP via ABC News)

Lesson from the "bailout" -- define or be defined

In the coming weeks, we will explore how the current economic climate and sweeping government intervention poses new public relations challenges for organizations of all stripes -including financial institutions. Until then, let's explore what communications professionals can learn from the tumultuous debate in Congress over the "bailout" package.

Proponents of the financial rescue package lost the race for public opinion at the starting gate. As the term “Wall Street bailout” coursed through the public dialogue, the plan’s proponents (republicans and democrats) offered little pushback. Outraged citizens posted videos on youtube.com that garnered nearly 500,000 views each, yet congressional leaders had no marketing plan of their own. Only after the House of Representatives rejected the initial plan were supporters more aggressive in defining the debate on terms that resonate on Main Street - such as "investment," "buy-in," and "rescue." Once the revised package was finally approved by Congress, advocates were evoking compelling, real-life stories about small business owners on "Main Street" as the true beneficiaries of the rescue package.

The race to define is not limited to politics. Many companies resort to opaque statements or no statements at all when they fall under public scrutiny. Doing so virtually guarantees that the debate will be defined by one's critics. The sheer volume of media sources available today - in print, over the airwaves, online, or simple community relations - creates an information vacuum. The question is not whether the vacuum will be filled; the question is who will fill it first.