PRFandP Curveball: New Comms Director on Board

Dear Agency PRFandP:

My name is Eric Chandler,  and I’ve recently been hired as the new communications director at (your Assignment 6 business).  From what I understand, your firm was working with my predecessor on social media recommendations to build up our overall PR/communications efforts.

Unfortunately, the person you were working with left the company unexpectedly last week, so I’m your new point-of-contact.

I’d like to set up a time to do a video conference with you on Monday, November 14.  Since I just joined the company, I haven’t had much time to review what we’re doing on the social media front.  Maybe you could briefly walk me through your thoughts on what we’re doing and how we can make improvements?

I know that the Agency PRFandP retainer ends at the end of the year, so I’m especially interested in hearing your ideas now as I start thinking about our 2012 communications efforts. 

I've always been a proponent of having agency support.  However, budgets are tight, as you know, so I'll need to evaluate whether to continue working with an agency or bring the work in-house.

I look forward to speaking with you on Monday.

Regards,

Eric Chandler
Communications Director

(Nicole & Sonia have a "Get out of Jail Free" Card this week. Everyone else should be prepared to speak with the the client about what the company is doing now, share recommendations and answer questions.)

Damage Control in 140 Characters

Here's a down-and-dirty crisis defintion: Anything but business-as-usual; A situation where business-as-usual often must be suspended.

BP oil spill ... Bedbugs infest movie theater ... office copy machine goes up in flames .... you get the picture.

When a crisis happens, communication with target audiences follows. But what happens when social media takes hold of the crisis and companies lose control of the message?

Next up in the PRFandP Guest Speaker Series this week is Tom Rozycki, a former CJP Communications colleague. Tom's a crisis communication pro -- and an amazing storyteller.

Here's a little information about Tom:

Name one thing most people don’t know about you.

I have set myself on fire twice.

How would your mother describe you?

My mother suffers from delusions of my grandeur...the site is not big enough for all the platitudes. However, in summary, she would say that I am kind hearted, considerate and a peace maker. She'd probably also tell you I was smart.

What are your greatest strengths as a public relations practitioner?

I know how to listen to, not just hear, what is being said. I also recognize that this is a 24/7 business, and that sacrifices will need to be made from time to time.

What is your favorite food?

Chicken Parm.

Who would play you in the movie version of your life?

Bea Arthur (but from the Maude days...not the Golden Girls.)

Seriously, though, I think Jack Black could handle it.

What is your favorite quote?

Learn to swim before the ship sinks. -Thom Yorke

(** Q&A compliments of the CJP Communications website)

The Dutch Village Farmer's Market

The Dutch Village Farmer's Market is located at 5030 Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro, MD. Composed of 13 individual family owned businesses, the Dutch Village Farmer's Market takes pride in providing consumers with fresh produce, baked goods and natural products. The Market also provides a gift shop filled with Amish made crafts and furniture.

To ensure that the Market is using Facebook effectively and efficiently I would recommend the following:
1. To increase viewership, the Market must make Facebook visible on their main website. The Facebook logo should be visible on the company website’s homepage. When selected, the logo should direct users to the company’s Facebook page.
2. To encourage internet awareness and participation, the Market should offer free items through Facebook. Once directed to the company’s Facebook page, a user could select the “like” icon on Facebook to receive one free item at the Market (such as one chocolate covered strawberry or one scoop of ice cream etc.).
3. To increase consumer spending, users who frequent the Market (and the company homepage) could be randomly selected as the Fan of the Month. The Fan of the Month could be featured on the company Facebook page and also win one free meal at the Market’s Kountry Grill diner.
4. To inform users, information about the 13 businesses and photographs must be provided on the Facebook page.

I LOVE this market! The food is delicious and the people are so friendly. If you want to check it out, here's the link: www.dutchvillagemarket.com

Who Owns Social Media?

(This is the Week 6 "official" blog entry for your response. Since Assignment 6 includes a blog post, that post will represent your original blog entry for the week.)

This image pretty much nails it. Each silo within the communications industry is trying to convey the same message, yet their approaches represent the culture clashes that historically pit them against each other.

So, what happens when social media enters the picture? Uh-oh ...

Which industry is the rightful "owner?" Which discipline has the muscle to speak credibly about social media's short- and long-term value?  In other words, which industry (and its army of agencies and consultancies) will nab the most dollars for social media engagements?

Each camp has its own arguments, but social media is new terrain, and there's still no clear-cut answer. There are merits for each, but when push comes to shove, I'd put my money on the PR pros for many of the same reasons that this op-ed explains

What's worth pointing out is that this was published in 2008, and the same arguments hold up just as well today as they did nearly three-and-a-half years ago.

The Crowdsourcing Experiment You'd Love To Try

    I am really intrigued about the crowdsourcing concept.  Taking a task normally performed by one person and outsourcing it to the masses opens up a sea of possibilities. Crowdsourcing is really an industrial strength dose of brainstorming, because you tap the power of numerous minds.

  The approach can be applied to a wide variety of activities and initiatives. So I can’t resist asking the question? What if  PRF&P became an object for crowdsourcing? I’m talking about everything about the class itself: name, content, course calendar, class session length, exercises, blogging, guest speakers, and so forth.

  Wouldn’t if be interesting to see what changes different people would make to PRF&P? What would you do if you were in the driver’s seat? What suggestions would you make if you were asked?  I know this class is brimming at the seams with unspoken advice. I’m sure every student wants to modify something about this course, and probably more.        
   First, what about the name? Would you leave PRF&P alone, or do you have something better? I would be partial to a cute mnemonic title that reflects what we are doing. Maybe Public Relations Exercises & Solutions Seminar (PRESS)?  How about Public Relations Experiences, Strategies, and Tactics Involving Group Experiment (PRESTIGE)?  

  Second, what about the PRF&P timeline? Originally, I thought 12 150-minute long classes would be plenty of time for this class. Now, I think it’s really not enough. We all saw proof of that on Monday. Professor Chandler’s discussion about social media went past the 9 p.m. deadline.

   And you know what? That’s perfectly understandable. There is so much to be said about social media.   That vast subject could easily fill a whole PRF&P class. And this is just one aspect of this far-flung course.  

     PRF&P encompasses so much territory that you could build a bachelor’s degree program around it. What if you had that opportunity? Think of how much you can expand on matter that Professor Chandler can’t fully cover, or barely touch on, within a one-semester setting.

     For example, you could have crisis management classes. Students can serve play corporate spokespeople and do complete damage control PR plans on mock fiascos.  You could give public speaking courses. Undergraduates can perform simulated press conferences, corporate presentations, and podium speeches.  You could even offer multicultural PR strategy. You’d learn how to target strategic communications towards  culture specific audiences. 

    In reality, making PRF&P a four-year program wouldn’t be practical, especially without proof of actual demand. My idea would be offering PRF&P as a two semester course.

     The first would focus on the nuts and bolts; the concepts, the blogging, the guest speakers, the weekly assignments, etc. The second semester, I would devote entirely to the group PR plan project. This would permit more time for in-depth research and realistic scenarios.

   I would also have real life PR pros act as clients. They could draw on their experience to throw you curveballs, critique your strategies and tactics, throw objections in your face, and hear your final PR plan presentations.

    I would mandate specific dollar budget requirements. Each PR project group would have to spell out how much money will go for each tactic. I would also have the groups design and administer social media pages. I don’t know exactly how this would work in a project setting. Yet, I think the training would be great for the real world. 

    But that’s just my take on PRF&P. I’m really itching to hear from each and every class member.  How would you change the PRF&P course if you were the designer? How long would the course run? How long would each class time be? What PR aspects would you cover? What would be the format of the PR plan project? How would you incorporate social media instruction into the class? Who would be on your guest speaker roster?

   There are a multitude of other questions I could raise about PRF&P. I’m damn sure there is a multitude of proposals about improving this course just among this class. The blogs alone show this bunch of students can dish out more food for thought than the largest professor's lounge at the Sorbonne. That’s why I believe PRF&P would make a great crowdsourcing test.  

    Would your version PRF&P stand out from the crowd?  Would it win over the crowd? Well, there’s only one way to find out.      

            

Keep it real!

To be honest, one of the reasons why I started my PR certificate with this PRFP class was because I had a hard time to clearly define Public Relations. I was far from thinking that the new PR definition could even exist. It only makes sense that engagement, transparency and authenticity will always lead to better relations and help building stronger reputations.

When you think about it, social media platforms are using the same rules. This phenomenon has profoundly changed the way we are using Internet by engaging in multiple personal interactions. These interactions, created by millions of people being linked together, are numerous one-on-one conversations. Also, these discussions have a very caring and personal side. Indeed, every time you “have a talk” with someone on a social media sites, you are creating content that is genuine. Online platforms had opened communications and gave a gigantic power back to the audience; word-of-mouth has never been this puissant! As PR pros, we need to engage in it proactively and make people care about our voice. The thing is people don’t talk about things they don’t care about. So it is up to you to make them care, which means you have to care first.

For an organization, having an authentic voice and not sounding too corporate, specifically on these platforms, is essential. In order to do this, an organization must develop a voice that resonates with its audience. Understanding there values and opinions is an incredible asset that will help you sharpen every piece of content you produce.

In conclusion, just like this blog, we should try to keep it real. I would like to get your opinion on this matter and how easy/hard this can be. It is essential to fully understand the power to authentically speak up as both, a member of a specific audience and also as a PR pro.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth

When we started this course, I thought PR was using psychology to get people believing what you say or buy into your product.  I thought I'd have to learn how to be a fast talker in order to throw up those smoke screens.  I definitely didn't think "PR" and "honesty" in the same sentence.  It brought to mind the "Paris Hilton" and "Kardashian" brands and how anything, no matter how much substance it lacked, could be SPUN to work in the brands favor.  I don't see it that way now. 

PR is a business that functions as honest as you want it to.  Just the way you can choose to be an honest investment banker, (which sounds like an oxymoron these days), or a greedy one.  Both will make you money, but you have the freedom to choose which will give you the reputation and longevity you want.  

It brings to mind Brittany Spears.  There was a time she could do no wrong.  Her image was innocence, her sexuality was suggestive and we believed that's who she was.  There was a sense of honesty there.  When she no longer cared about her reputation and audience, (shaving your head is hardly the way to remain desirable), she almost lost everything.  It felt inauthentic, like she wasn't being honest with herself.  Her career did get a reboot, but it was a long road and the public will always remember her fall.  These days, I'll bet there's a great PR person orchestrating her every move, including writing her posts on Twitter.  

Now I think PR professionals need to guard their reputation the way they do that of their clients.  You do that working with honesty and real intelligence.  Once you lose your reputation, it can be impossible to get it back because smoke screen dust always settles.   

Brittany Takes an Umbrella to her Career