With the required blogging coming to a tragic end, and with summer vacation lurking its beautiful face around the corner, I would like to share with you all the greatest display of public relations crisis management situation of all time.
It all started in Australia in June of 2005 when some terrorist wanted money from a casino. He wrote letters to MasterFoods, AKA Mars, inc. (you know, those candy guys) threatening that he had places seven (7) poisoned candy bars on the shelves of stores all over New South Wales in Australia.
What did MasterFoods do? They first looked into it to make sure it was a real threat, which it was, and then they took every candy bar out of stores and buried them in a gigantic pit in front of the media to show everybody that safety comes first. They took products off of the shelves for almost a month, and because they handled the crisis so well, when they were put back in stores sales actually increased. BY 250%!!!!
They lost tremendous profits in the short term by destroying much of their inventory, but gained in the long term by remaining truthful, open and honest with the public.
Check it out yourself if you don't believe me.
It is a great example of relating to the public.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Racial Draft
When did a draft pick become a PR tactic? For those of you who haven’t seen a football game in your lives, the Atlanta Falcons are in a tid bit of what we in PR would call a “crisis management” situation these days. With superstar quarterback and organization figurehead Michael Vick getting arrested for a multitude of offences (most notably for significantly contributing to illegal dog fighting rings in the southern United States), there is a tid bit of what we in PR would call an “image issue”.
The Falcons had the number three overall pick in this years’ draft, and took what else, a quarterback to get peoples’ minds off of the other, much better quarterback throwing to receiver’s in Cell Block-L instead of the N- F- L.
I’ll pause for a minute while you re-read that humorous last sentence.
Anyway, the Falcons drafted Matt Ryan, the golden boy that everybody loves out of Boston College. Isn’t it amazing the lengths an organization will go to get a better image? ATL gets rid of the “bad boy” Vick, and is like “Hey! Look how wholesome we are NOW! Forget that record breaking superstar, did you see the smile on that new QB? Gee wiz!”
What’s interesting is that they had a shot of getting a more proven, better overall quarterback in Donivan McNab or Daunte Culpepper, or even Steve McNair, but they didn’t trade for their fading contracts. I’m not saying race an issue, but I’m not ruling it out.
A draft pick says a thousand words. So next time the thuggish figurehead at your organization pulls his last straw, simply replace him with an all American white middle class boy, and everyone will think differently of you.
Can't PR seem so ignorant sometimes?
The Falcons had the number three overall pick in this years’ draft, and took what else, a quarterback to get peoples’ minds off of the other, much better quarterback throwing to receiver’s in Cell Block-L instead of the N- F- L.
I’ll pause for a minute while you re-read that humorous last sentence.
Anyway, the Falcons drafted Matt Ryan, the golden boy that everybody loves out of Boston College. Isn’t it amazing the lengths an organization will go to get a better image? ATL gets rid of the “bad boy” Vick, and is like “Hey! Look how wholesome we are NOW! Forget that record breaking superstar, did you see the smile on that new QB? Gee wiz!”
What’s interesting is that they had a shot of getting a more proven, better overall quarterback in Donivan McNab or Daunte Culpepper, or even Steve McNair, but they didn’t trade for their fading contracts. I’m not saying race an issue, but I’m not ruling it out.
A draft pick says a thousand words. So next time the thuggish figurehead at your organization pulls his last straw, simply replace him with an all American white middle class boy, and everyone will think differently of you.
Can't PR seem so ignorant sometimes?
Anybody Think That Things Might Change A Lil'?
As a student of public relations at Colorado State University, it seems that every time that I hear a lecture or complete a public relations assignment, it is immediately outdated with another common practice that has just recently emerged.
For instance, I learned something that was completely wrong in my first semester as a public relations student. While studying marketing concepts my freshman year, my professor said that increased advertising on mobile devices in the future was proven to be flase; reasoning that prices for text based services were generally too high. And they were high; because I cannot recall my cellular provider not offering unlimited text services four years ago. But they offer them by the family pack at Verizon Wireless these days, and CSU now teaches that text based advertising can actually be distributed effectively for a reasonable net cost. In essence, the tactic was “proven” unpractical my freshmen year, and has become another weapon in the cache of advertising options by my senior year. Instead of teaching that there isn’t any way that text based advertising was possible, why not teach that PR and marketing change a lot, so don’t rule it out.
What’s my point? Public realtions is a very quickly changing notion, and it shouldn’t be taught the same as infinitive concept like math, where the content isn’t as dynamic. I think that PR classes should be a bit more about adapting to an ever changing world than conforming to a structured set of rules and ideas. You can learn something one day and the next it is rendered completely useless.
So, with this “untaught” public relations lesson at CSU, I can expect to get a job where they tell me to do one thing one day, and replace it with another thing the next day. I mean it is pretty obvious, but while sitting in class and learning stuff, you always have to remember that “one day this won’t even be true”. Just a little on relating to the public.
For instance, I learned something that was completely wrong in my first semester as a public relations student. While studying marketing concepts my freshman year, my professor said that increased advertising on mobile devices in the future was proven to be flase; reasoning that prices for text based services were generally too high. And they were high; because I cannot recall my cellular provider not offering unlimited text services four years ago. But they offer them by the family pack at Verizon Wireless these days, and CSU now teaches that text based advertising can actually be distributed effectively for a reasonable net cost. In essence, the tactic was “proven” unpractical my freshmen year, and has become another weapon in the cache of advertising options by my senior year. Instead of teaching that there isn’t any way that text based advertising was possible, why not teach that PR and marketing change a lot, so don’t rule it out.
What’s my point? Public realtions is a very quickly changing notion, and it shouldn’t be taught the same as infinitive concept like math, where the content isn’t as dynamic. I think that PR classes should be a bit more about adapting to an ever changing world than conforming to a structured set of rules and ideas. You can learn something one day and the next it is rendered completely useless.
So, with this “untaught” public relations lesson at CSU, I can expect to get a job where they tell me to do one thing one day, and replace it with another thing the next day. I mean it is pretty obvious, but while sitting in class and learning stuff, you always have to remember that “one day this won’t even be true”. Just a little on relating to the public.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
PR Turns Green Like the Trees...
Green.Green.Green.Green Noticing a theme? Every company nowadays is going green, inventing another eco-friendly doo dad every other day to keep those Greenpeace tree-huggers off their backs. The latest company to try and save the world is Universal Studios, unveiling a new attraction that is sure to quiet those pesky energy conservation nuts.
“The Simpsons Ride”, the newest gut wrencher opening at Universal Studios this summer, will run on lower watt LED lights and more efficient motors that are designed to use about half the energy of a ride that isn’t equipped with this greenery.
This announcement is in conjunction with a company wide initiative that was launched around this time last year. The campaign is cleverly called “Green is Universal”, and the new ride is consistent with the company’s effort to lower power consumption and thus lowering carbon dioxide emissions by power plants supplying the park’s energy.
I guess if you’re not already on the eco-friendly wagon as a company, you better hurry and hop aboard. I would guess that in the next five years, every company on earth will be flaunting how eco-friendly they are. It will soon be expected that companies run on very little energy as the o-zone continues to break down. Green could definitely be the future color of PR.
“The Simpsons Ride”, the newest gut wrencher opening at Universal Studios this summer, will run on lower watt LED lights and more efficient motors that are designed to use about half the energy of a ride that isn’t equipped with this greenery.
This announcement is in conjunction with a company wide initiative that was launched around this time last year. The campaign is cleverly called “Green is Universal”, and the new ride is consistent with the company’s effort to lower power consumption and thus lowering carbon dioxide emissions by power plants supplying the park’s energy.
I guess if you’re not already on the eco-friendly wagon as a company, you better hurry and hop aboard. I would guess that in the next five years, every company on earth will be flaunting how eco-friendly they are. It will soon be expected that companies run on very little energy as the o-zone continues to break down. Green could definitely be the future color of PR.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Carmelo Anthony PR
Just as Carmelo Anthony’s public relations team got him looking like a law abiding citizen, he goes and gets arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence. The community at large was just forgiving the superstar for his previous encounters with the law, and now there is another foul to let slide. What? Having trouble remembering Melo’s last negative publicity? Let me refresh your memory.
Before I get to mud-slingin’, let it be known that I am a huge Carmelo fan, and always will be no matter what he does. With that said, let me remind you of Melo’s 2004 Stop Snitchin’ video, where Carmelo is kickin’ it with his boys on the block and talking about the threats that come to people who serve as police informants. Basically, he got a bad “rap” for looking like a violent thug who would beat up a snitch. He later distanced himself, but it was a sign of things to come. In 2006, Melo felt it necessary to punch fellow NBA player Marty Collins in the face after an altercation during a Nuggets-Knicks game. Apparently, Collins was snitchin’ to the ref’s. Just kidding, but there may be some truth there.
Like to puff the gonja? Well, coming from the mean streets of Baltimore, Melo is no stranger to the green leaf. He was cited in 2004 for marijuana possession at Denver International Airport after security found a little greenery in Melo’s backpack. But, the charge was later dropped after his boy took the heat for it in a signed affidavit. In 2006, another one of Melo’s boys from the hood was pulled over while driving Carmelo’s pimped out Dodge Magnum while in possession of an ounce of marijuana. Melo’s PR team came to the rescue again, recommending that Melo take this opportunity to say that he is no longer associated with his washed up buddies from back in the day.
And then, just earlier this week, Melo got caught driving while a little buzzed, but reports do say that he was coherent and not messed up enough to be places under arrest.
Talk About a PR nightmare. On the plus side, I guess there will be a few lucky cahrities on his behalf in the future.
Before I get to mud-slingin’, let it be known that I am a huge Carmelo fan, and always will be no matter what he does. With that said, let me remind you of Melo’s 2004 Stop Snitchin’ video, where Carmelo is kickin’ it with his boys on the block and talking about the threats that come to people who serve as police informants. Basically, he got a bad “rap” for looking like a violent thug who would beat up a snitch. He later distanced himself, but it was a sign of things to come. In 2006, Melo felt it necessary to punch fellow NBA player Marty Collins in the face after an altercation during a Nuggets-Knicks game. Apparently, Collins was snitchin’ to the ref’s. Just kidding, but there may be some truth there.
Like to puff the gonja? Well, coming from the mean streets of Baltimore, Melo is no stranger to the green leaf. He was cited in 2004 for marijuana possession at Denver International Airport after security found a little greenery in Melo’s backpack. But, the charge was later dropped after his boy took the heat for it in a signed affidavit. In 2006, another one of Melo’s boys from the hood was pulled over while driving Carmelo’s pimped out Dodge Magnum while in possession of an ounce of marijuana. Melo’s PR team came to the rescue again, recommending that Melo take this opportunity to say that he is no longer associated with his washed up buddies from back in the day.
And then, just earlier this week, Melo got caught driving while a little buzzed, but reports do say that he was coherent and not messed up enough to be places under arrest.
Talk About a PR nightmare. On the plus side, I guess there will be a few lucky cahrities on his behalf in the future.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Speechwriter?
What’s a better news source than the Daily Show with John Stewart? Sure, there are better sources of objective, credible news sources, but there may not be a better place to see a guest interviewed by Mr. Stewart himself. On his most recent episode that aired last night, John Stewart interviewed Saffire’s Political Dictionary author William Saffire. Saffire was the speech writer for President Nixon, so he knows a thing or two about PR.
In the interview, Saffire mentions how speech writers should never take credit for their work, which got me thinking a bit about how public relations works in the grand political scope.
So, if speech writers pretty much write word for word what the president has to say, then isn’t it fair to say that it is the PR representative plays the role of president when writing his speeches? It sounds a bit confusing, and I don’t quite view a speechwriter as the puppeteer for the president, but it is close to that. I mean, if you think about some of the most famous political speeches in history, it wasn’t even the President’s own words. Political speeches are the words of the speechwriter, with the officials policies intertwined.
So, I guess it took me to the age of 22 to discover this little fact. And it took a subtle reference in a satirical show on Comedy Central to learn that presidents have speechwriters. I guess some things aren’t taught in school. Give me back my tuition, CSU.
In the interview, Saffire mentions how speech writers should never take credit for their work, which got me thinking a bit about how public relations works in the grand political scope.
So, if speech writers pretty much write word for word what the president has to say, then isn’t it fair to say that it is the PR representative plays the role of president when writing his speeches? It sounds a bit confusing, and I don’t quite view a speechwriter as the puppeteer for the president, but it is close to that. I mean, if you think about some of the most famous political speeches in history, it wasn’t even the President’s own words. Political speeches are the words of the speechwriter, with the officials policies intertwined.
So, I guess it took me to the age of 22 to discover this little fact. And it took a subtle reference in a satirical show on Comedy Central to learn that presidents have speechwriters. I guess some things aren’t taught in school. Give me back my tuition, CSU.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Nautica Sets Charity Sail
Nautica, the popular clothing company, is raising its community involvement awareness by hosting a charity poker event held in multiple locations throughout the summer. Now in their fourth year of the festival tour, Nautica hopes to raise unprecedented funds this year, with their goal above $1.5 million for the 46 week tour. In addition, they are building a new 12,000 foot complex, called The Powerhouse at the Nautica Entertainment Complex.
The general public loves to hear of a successful company giving back to the community, and this is a great example of how a public relations event like charity poker can help contribute locally.
$1.5 million in donations while just playing a little poker? It’s such an easy thing to do yet it raises so much money. If every major outfitter had this kind of charity, we would truly live in a much better place.
Kudos, Nautica, for helping make the world a better place.
The general public loves to hear of a successful company giving back to the community, and this is a great example of how a public relations event like charity poker can help contribute locally.
$1.5 million in donations while just playing a little poker? It’s such an easy thing to do yet it raises so much money. If every major outfitter had this kind of charity, we would truly live in a much better place.
Kudos, Nautica, for helping make the world a better place.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Southwest= The Best
Southwest Airlines continues to be the definition of good customer service and one of the most admired companies in America today. Everything that seems to come across the wire these days about Southwest is good news, and the most recent account is no different.
According to a news release on PRnewswire.com, the airline exercised excellent crisis avoidance skills when it decided to pull out 38 planes from action after allegedly not meeting FAA regulations. The airline immediately took the planes out of service to avoid any kind of safety trouble, and still managed to get 90% of their flights out on time.
Any other airline might have considered keeping the planes in service and investigating them one by one, like American Airlines did a few years ago when confronted with the same problem, but Southwest continues to be a great role model for those not-so-smart companies. I mean, just look at their dominance in the airline market the last five years.
Kudos, Southwest, yet again.
According to a news release on PRnewswire.com, the airline exercised excellent crisis avoidance skills when it decided to pull out 38 planes from action after allegedly not meeting FAA regulations. The airline immediately took the planes out of service to avoid any kind of safety trouble, and still managed to get 90% of their flights out on time.
Any other airline might have considered keeping the planes in service and investigating them one by one, like American Airlines did a few years ago when confronted with the same problem, but Southwest continues to be a great role model for those not-so-smart companies. I mean, just look at their dominance in the airline market the last five years.
Kudos, Southwest, yet again.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
MySpace Raising Safety Awareness
Safety is the new thing on your space, or is it my space? Our space? Maybe we should call it something like CreepSpace or ChildMolesterSpace based on recent news concerning the internet site that has already attracted over 60 million active members.
Recently, MySpace has been under some heavy criticism regarding the ways that they try and filter out pornography and cyber creeps. Recently they were sued for $30 million after a 14-year-old girl was raped by a 19-year-old after setting up a date through MySpace.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot had some words to say about how MySpace isn’t really doing enough to stop this problem. In a statement Abbot said that "MySpace.com continues to resist implementing real reform measures, including age verification measures and filtering software, and instead offers window-dressing that offers no real protection to the millions of children and teenagers who use their networking sites and chat rooms." Check out the full story.
According to a statement by MySpace.com, the website is trying to raise awareness on the safety of its users, especially younger children. They are making efforts to increase the effectiveness of its filters and other digital mumbo jumbo, all ultimately in an effort to keep online predators at bay. Lets see how well it works.
Recently, MySpace has been under some heavy criticism regarding the ways that they try and filter out pornography and cyber creeps. Recently they were sued for $30 million after a 14-year-old girl was raped by a 19-year-old after setting up a date through MySpace.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot had some words to say about how MySpace isn’t really doing enough to stop this problem. In a statement Abbot said that "MySpace.com continues to resist implementing real reform measures, including age verification measures and filtering software, and instead offers window-dressing that offers no real protection to the millions of children and teenagers who use their networking sites and chat rooms." Check out the full story.
According to a statement by MySpace.com, the website is trying to raise awareness on the safety of its users, especially younger children. They are making efforts to increase the effectiveness of its filters and other digital mumbo jumbo, all ultimately in an effort to keep online predators at bay. Lets see how well it works.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
For What Its Worth
For my first ever blog about public relations, I would like to focus not on current news, changing tactics in the PR world or the latest way to write an effective press release. Rather, I would like to give all of my readers out there my own thoughts on what I think that public relations should be.
As anyone in the field knows, and as any PR teacher at CSU will tell you, building relationships is crucial to successful public relations. Professors have emphasized this point to me over and over during my time as a PR major, but no one has ever mentioned that these should be quality relationships. Sure, anyone can give the courteous “hello” and a “how’s that weather out there?”, but I believe that to be an elite professional out there you have to go beyond these superficial conversations.
Building the relationship should be much more than remembering a reporters name or being able to start talking about climate conditions. In being a successful public relations practitioner, you should actually know the person that you have this so called relationship with. Examine the person’s character, identify and relate about critical issues, and get to know what the world looks like through the other guy’s window.
With that said, let me mention that I am a mere student with hardly any experience in the field, but in my time in college I have definitely learned how to build and manage a quality relationship with someone else. So, to all those professors in my academic past, simply add one more word into your lecture slides before teaching the course again. Public relations is all about building quality relationships.
As anyone in the field knows, and as any PR teacher at CSU will tell you, building relationships is crucial to successful public relations. Professors have emphasized this point to me over and over during my time as a PR major, but no one has ever mentioned that these should be quality relationships. Sure, anyone can give the courteous “hello” and a “how’s that weather out there?”, but I believe that to be an elite professional out there you have to go beyond these superficial conversations.
Building the relationship should be much more than remembering a reporters name or being able to start talking about climate conditions. In being a successful public relations practitioner, you should actually know the person that you have this so called relationship with. Examine the person’s character, identify and relate about critical issues, and get to know what the world looks like through the other guy’s window.
With that said, let me mention that I am a mere student with hardly any experience in the field, but in my time in college I have definitely learned how to build and manage a quality relationship with someone else. So, to all those professors in my academic past, simply add one more word into your lecture slides before teaching the course again. Public relations is all about building quality relationships.
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