Scott Baradell: Required Reading

 Driving Industry Recognition and Growth

An important part of our mission at PRSA is to foster more accurate and better-informed perceptions of the value and role of public relations in the diverse organizations it serves. One way we are approaching this is through an industry advocacy campaign: “The Business Case for Public Relations™.”

The framework for The Business Case for Public Relations was created with the help of public relations industry leaders. The goal is to drive industry recognition and growth by helping professionals in the field educate key audiences about public relations’ roles and outcomes, demonstrate its strategic value and enhance its reputation.

Over time, this initiative will come to include research, practical tools, influencer and media outreach and targeted career development opportunities. It also will celebrate the positive influence our industry has had in the service of the public good.

Why Undertake Such a Campaign Now?

Public relations is more vital than ever before, given the explosion of consumer engagement through new and social media, the collapse of reputation and trust in major institutions and the evolving needs and concerns of corporate CEOs. At the same time, though, the industry continues to suffer criticism at the hands of individuals who do not understand the practice and application of public relations.

How Can These Resources Benefit You?

The Business Case for Public Relations will make you a better professional, more fully equipped to explain public relations' roles, outcomes and value. These benefits apply to professionals at all career stages, as well as to the industry at large.

The resources and tools that PRSA is assembling here also can be used to help you:

• Measure the attitudinal and behavioral impact of your public relations programs.
• Sell-in public relations services to your clients or senior management.
• Communicate the roles, outcomes and value of public relations.
• Create a better understanding and appreciation for what we do as a profession.
• Capture a greater share of your clients' or organizations' investments in marketing and communications services.
• Change entrenched attitudes and perceptions about the practice of public relations.
• Arm yourself with information on the latest industry research, trends and techniques.
• Establish industry-specific evaluative benchmarks.

Yes, I'm a proud PRSA member and APR, so I'll go along for the ride. But do you think the AICPA has ever had to do a campaign on "The Business Case for Accounting"?

Climate Spoof Forces Chamber To Decry ‘Public Relations Hoaxes’

This morning, activists from the Yes Men troupe claiming to represent the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced the organization was reversing its years of opposition to any climate bill before Congress, saying in jest that the “Kerry-Boxer Bill is a good start to a strong climate bill.” CNBC and the Fox Business Network cited the many companies who have quit the Chamber as a reason for the fictional about-face.

The Chamber of Commerce quickly tried to quash the reports that it had reversed its “Scopes monkey trial” stance. Chamber of Commerce official Eric Wohlschlegel broke into the press conference held by the Yes Men at the National Press Club, shouting, “This guy is a fake!” After a “mild shoving match at the podium,” Wohlschegel told reporters, “It is a very sad day.” U.S. Chamber of Commerce official Thomas J. Collamore decried “public relations hoaxes” and called for “law enforcement authorities to investigate this event”:

Public relations hoaxes undermine the genuine effort to find solutions on the challenge of climate change. These irresponsible tactics are a foolish distraction from the serious effort by our nation to reduce greenhouse gases.

Of course, it is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other right-wing corporate groups that have been spending hundreds of millions of dollars supporting “public relations hoaxes” to “undermine the genuine effort to find solutions on the challenge of climate change.” As PG&E Chairman and CEO Peter Darbee explained his company’s departure from the Chamber, “extreme rhetoric and obstructionist tactics seem to increasingly mark the Chamber’s stance on this issue.”

It’s doubtful that the Chamber — chaired by race-baiters and corrupt global warming deniers — will now be decrying clean coal carols, climate skeptics, fearmongering, and broken economic analyses as it spends over $100 million a year to lobby Congress.

Update Watch the confrontation between the Yes Men's Andy Bichlbaum and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Eric Wohlschlegel:

Update CNBC's Larry Kudlow speculated that the Obama administration was behind this prank. Watch it:

Planning can ensure Halloween’s not scary for HR

Published by Sarah at 10:00 am under Executive Education, Outplacement and Career Transition Services Edit This
Oct 19, 2009

 

Halloween is coming soon, and whether you’re ready for it or not, your employees are already working on their costumes and buying fun-sized candy bars. It’s time for you to think about your policies for celebrating this entertaining, but potentially tricky, holiday.

This year, October 31 falls on a Saturday, so many offices will be spared dealing with the actual “day of,” but Friday afternoon is sure to be a popular time for people to celebrate with colleagues who they don’t see on weekends. Many people will be wondering if they can bring their children to the workplace (they love to show off the little ones in costume), so you should plan now whether a “family” event makes more sense for your workforce, or if an “employees only” gathering would be a better choice for your organization.

In the blog post “Watch Out for Halloween Hi-jinx,” HR blogger Susan M. Heathfield points out that office celebrations can be motivational and boost morale. However, she warns:

When employees fail to take sensitivity, diversity, and honoring differences to heart, law-breaking, morale-busting situations can occur in the office.

This may seem over-the-top — it’s just a simple kids’ holiday, some insist — but it’s HR’s job to be aware of these possibilities. With a little planning and sensitivity, there is a way to balance celebration with professionalism.

“Halloween At Your Place of Employment,” by Jennifer Loftus, delves more deeply into these issues. Loftus notes that while most people consider Halloween an innocuous holiday, some view it as genuinely occult and would object to taking part. On the other side of the coin, some pagans consider Halloween a religious holiday (and may ask for the day off). Other workers won’t have any opinion beyond Halloween being a frivolous waste of time! A good human resources worker will be ready for all these points of view, and more. Make it crystal-clear that any celebration is optional, and try to come up with some kind of time limit or activity window to focus the celebration so the whole day is not lost.

Beyond the realm of personal beliefs, Halloween opens up all kinds of legal concerns due to wild costuming and play-acting behavior. For instance, fake weapons and mock violence can be frightening to bystanders, and can even call up ambiguous messages regarding the serious issue of workplace violence. Between the party atmosphere and the strange attire, it is definitely NOT a day for HR to take off. You’ll want to have issued some kind of policy beforehand, and then you’ll want to be on the scene to (nicely) enforce it.

The Wall Street Journal takes on the issue of costumes in “Beware of Workplace Horrors: Office Halloween Do’s and Don’ts“:

Employers will probably want to lay down the ground rules beforehand when it comes to costumes, said Michael Karpeles, head of the labor and employment group at Goldberg Kohn, a Chicago-based law firm. “It’s OK to allow people to dress up, but I think that companies should let their employees know that certain types of costumes are not appropriate – if they’re especially revealing, for example,” he said. Also shy away from disturbing, horror costumes or ones with religious themes that might rub co-workers the wrong way. And remember, office policies such as those regarding sexual harassment don’t take a holiday at work events.

For more on this topic, check out “Costumes at Work? Avoid Liability Nightmare at Halloween.” Steve Miller, a partner at Fisher & Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm, writes: “Costumes that are sexually provocative, carry a political or social message, or are otherwise simply inappropriate for interacting with colleagues and clientele, could lead to a liability nightmare for employers.” Some of his top tips for HR professionals to have a successful Halloween holiday are:

• Clearly communicate costume guidelines in advance. If employers opt to allow costumes on Halloween, they should send an e-mail or memo beforehand reminding employees that they are permitted to do so, but must use good taste and judgment.
• Rewind the clock to last Halloween. Think about any feedback the company received from employees or customers last year. If the majority of the staff opted out of dressing up, perhaps the company should re-evaluate whether costumes are a fit for the company culture. If the holiday went smoothly and most people participated, it may be a positive celebration for the company.
• Offer alternative celebrations. Companies should create a program that works for everyone. Rather than a policy of we’re dressing up in costumes and you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, host a company potluck or luncheon where staff can still celebrate Halloween with something fun.

What is your workplace planning this Halloween? Are you doing anything special in terms of a party or a costume contest? Are you planning on issuing any kind of guidelines? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

 

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I am reminded of an office Halloween party many years ago, when the company CEO came dressed as a flasher -- complete with trench coat and a certain apparatus that, like a drawbridge, popped out when he opened the coat. Did I mention that this was the CEO?

When I worked at a PR agency, it was serious business. By this I mean humor rarely seeped into the client’s work. This was not because the client couldn’t appreciate it. It just wasn’t done. You want to be funny, go work for an ad agency.

This was unfortunate because I saw so many client campaigns that could have benefited from a dose of humor. But all too often the humorous idea from the “class clown” ended up on the cutting room floor.

But that was then and this is now.

In today’s information overload, nothing cuts through the noise quite like humor. Everyday I, and many others, click on links to funny blogs, articles, videos sent via popular social networks like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Funny stuff gets noticed and, more importantly, shared. Done right, humor can convey client messages in a way that is far more effective than just the plain facts.

Last week, I tapped into Twitter to collect some initial examples of how PR people are integrating humor into their work. What I discovered was that there are many creative PR professionals using humor and getting great results. That’s right, the “class clown” is finally getting some respect (apologies to Roger Dangerfield).

To get the conversation started, I asked whether humor was still owned by the ad agencies. Most disagreed.

Brian Cross (@vanceOpel), Managing Partner at Elasticity, the firm behind the well-known American Mustache Institute campaigns, wrote:

“Too many large agencies feel that their work is too important to bring humor to. However, we found that humor actually helps with earned media.  In fact, some of our biggest media successes have come as a result of humor. Creative firms and Ad agencies don’t understand earned media.  They can’t tell a story.  And a funny story is better than a funny picture.”

Scott Baradell (@Orchardo), President of Idea Grove, echoed this sentiment and wrote:

“Traditionally PR firms have been very serious — both in how they present themselves to journalists and to clients.  But that is changing. Now more and more of what PR firms do is aimed directly at the public — and the public is bored by serious. So if PR firms cede the entire realm of fun, humorous and/or emotion-based appeals to ad firms, they doom themselves to less relevance over time.”

Report: Majority Of Newspapers Now Purchased By Kidnappers To Prove Date

October 14, 2009 | Issue 45•42

Print journalism owes its solvency to the loyal hostage-takers still paying cover price.

NEW YORK—According to a report published this week in American Journalism Review, 93 percent of all newspaper sales can now be attributed to kidnappers seeking to prove the day's date in filmed ransom demands.

"Although the vast majority of Americans now get their news from the Internet or television, a small but loyal criminal element still purchases newspapers at a steady rate," study author and Columbia journalism professor Linus Ridell said. "The sober authority of the printed word continues to hold value for those attempting to extort large sums of money from wealthy people who wish to see their loved ones alive again, and not chopped into pieces and left in steamer trunks on their doorsteps."

"These are sick, sick individuals," Ridell added. "God bless them for saving our industry."

 

A resourceful captor pieces together a ransom note after finishing the Style section.

According to a source who wished to remain anonymous, there is an ineffable quality to the printed page that kidnappers cannot get from its digital counterpart. Though there are other methods for proving the date of grainy, home-made videos, the source said that newspapers add a certain gravitas to abductions that news websites do not.

"Holding a laptop next to a kid's head while blood is streaming from his nose just isn't the same," said the source, adding that printed materials remove any uncertainty about dates being altered with Photoshop or other digital manipulation software. "There's just something about the feel of newsprint and the smell of ink coupled with the mildew odor of a windowless basement that can't be replaced. Ultimately, I think newspapers make the whole thing more tangible and concrete for everyone involved."

"They're also great for wrapping up a severed ear and mailing it to the family when they don't come through with the cash fast enough," the source continued. "And I always enjoy reading For Better Or For Worse."

In an effort to cater to their sole remaining customer base, many newspapers have started to run features and advertising targeted at the ruthless abductors. The Washington Post recently sold a two-page advertorial to a popular ski-mask manufacturer, while The New York Times now offers a real estate section dedicated primarily to abandoned warehouses, remote wooden sheds, and converted industrial meat freezers hidden from prying eyes.

In addition to buoying the failing newspapers, criminals are also providing a revenue stream to struggling magazines and other weekly periodicals, the report said. While most Americans have cut back on specialty publications, kidnappers still find them useful for making cut-and-paste ransom letters and death threats.

Although newsstand sales remain steady, neither newspapers nor magazines have seen much growth in terms of subscriptions, as their last existing consumers are extremely reluctant to provide permanent addresses.

"In order to reflect the purchasing habits of our most loyal customers, we will work with our distributors to ensure that these people can get newspapers at all hours of the night in inconspicuous, security-camera-free venues," said billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who later offhandedly mentioned that his wife often takes late-evening walks all by herself. "As long as violent sociopaths continue to abduct those closest to affluent people for huge cash ransoms, the long and storied tradition of the American newspaper will be preserved."

The newspaper industry joins several other sectors that are supported solely by kidnappers, including, most notably, voice-modulator manufacturing and sales.

A Halloween Promotion Disaster Detailed in 14 Easy Steps

"Not only am I a terrible copywriter but my client actually approved this shit." That's the apparent confession of a DeVito Verdi New York creative during a Copywriters Anonymous meeting earlier this week. The copywriter was referring to recent television commercial created for client Meijer, a Midwest-based retailer. You can view the disaster here.

But that's not what we're really talking about here. The retailer recently launched a Halloween promotion that, OMG, lets you make a video of yourself wearing a Halloween mask! It's really easy. Here's what you do.

1. Fire up your webcam (Oops, don't have one)
2. Go to http://meijerhalloween.com and oops. You have to give Adobe Flash Player permission to access your webcam and microphone which you don't have. No worries, we'll just check it out anyway.
3. Click Allow and oops. "Total Immersion D'Fusion Web Plug-in Installation Required." Say what? Never heard of that. (Why do we need yet another plug in when Flash would have worked just fine?)
4. Throw your hands up and download the plug in anyway.
5. Refresh.
6. View screen as it reload and, again, tells you, "Total Immersion D'Fusion Web Plug-in Installation Required." (Um, say what? We already did that.)
7. Oh wait. Note onscreen verbiage, "You have to manually launch it."
8. Proceed to waste more time digging around your hard drive to find out where exactly that weird ass plug in downloaded to.
9. Give up and move on with your day.

And if you're the one reviewing this less than wonderful Halloween promotion:

10. Feel sorry for the creator who sent you the work and link to what one of these video creations would look like.
11. View the video and, again, feel sorry for the person who sent you this work because you know them.
12. Don't publicly out them because your not a dick and don't want to hurt their feelings by telling them this is one of the lamest pieces of shit you've reviewed in a long time.
13. Have second thoughts about mentioning this at all.
14. Then click the Publish button. Because it's your job.

by Steve Hall    Oct-13-09   Comments (3)   
Topic: Consumer Created, Online, Social, Video, Worst