Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
PR professionals do a ton of writing every day. Whether we are developing a press release, byline article, award submission, blog post, speaking proposal, case study, etc., we typically communicate through written words. Luckily, I love to write. It’s been a hobby of mine ever since I learned how to hold a pencil.
Why I love to write and what I love most about language is that language is organic and evolving – and I find this fascinating. By organic, I mean language is free-flowing and it only exists/depends on the beings who use it, and the fluidity of language adapts to fit their needs. For example, in 2011 the words OMG and LOL were added to the Oxford Dictionary, which is one of the world’s principal English-language dictionaries. The authorities of the English language now approve such terms because of their frequent use today. There have also been numerous myths to never start a sentence with and or but, and that a sentence cannot end in a preposition – but all great myths die hard.
As you can see, language is indeed evolving but, it’s important to remember, it exists within a structure and set of rules. For example, we have to keep time elements aligned, differentiate from singulars and plurals, and tenses in a series have to make sense. Given that I work in the field of communication, I am constantly playing with words to positively influence people so that I can reach the ultimate goal with my writing – to generate results.
In order to reach desired goals, however, the piece has to be well written and properly structured or the audience may not trust the content or worse, the author. Would you trust the author of a poorly written article full of grammatical errors and confusing sentences? I know I would be skeptical about it. Without rules or structure, the world would be in disorder and chaos. Bad writing can lead to misinformation, ambiguity, confusion and distrust, so it’s important to be an effective writer, especially if you want a successful career in PR.
My PR mentor and I developed a writing checklist that I would like to share with you because it has helped me immensely with a lot of my work. Here are several ways you can start improving your writing today.
Phase I: Pre-writing
- Ask questions:
- What don’t I know and how can I find it?
- Do I need more facts/stats on this topic?
- Why is this topic important/why will people care?
- What tone should I employ for this piece of writing?
- Who is the audience for the piece?
- Do I have evidence to support my claims?
- Research the topic and collect facts related to the topic from a trusted source
- Develop a thesis/the main idea of the piece
- Develop an outline on what the content will explore or cover
- Secure outline approval before writing, if appropriate
Phase II: Writing
- Use a large font
- Question the facts and the source
- Pay attention to the little details (names, dates, format, etc.)
- Am I varying the structure and length of my sentences?
- Am I using a tone that is appropriate for the audience?
- Am I choosing words that accurately convey the meaning I intend?
- Am I writing in the active voice?
Phase III: Post-writing
- Allow time to pass before proofreading, if appropriate
- Print it out and read it out loud (at least once)
- Does the title/headline accurately summarize the content and can I shorten it?
- Am I using the right language associated with the topic/industry?
- Read the piece backwards sentence by sentence (this is important to catch new errors)
- Make a list of common/repeated errors so you are aware of your bad writing habits
- Review checklist and then ask someone else to review the piece
- Revise and finalize
- Applaud yourself!
South by Southwest (SXSW) – once a grassroots music festival with no more 700 attendees brought together by the passion for music, art, and ideas – is now miles away from the notion on which it was founded. In March 2015, more than 100,000 people flocked to Austin, Texas, to try and see as many of the 2500 artists, 2700 interactive speakers, and 555 tradeshow or 226 gaming expo exhibits as possible, party at the dozens of sponsored parties, watch the hundreds of streaming films, and contribute their share of the $317.2 million that the festival was responsible for injecting in the Austin economy. Overwhelmed yet?
Roland Swenson, South by Southwest interactive managing director, describes the juggernaut of techies, marketers, and entertainers that is SXSW Interactive as a crucial experience for creative innovators, bounded by the SXSW core values. The event helps further their careers through this diverse congregation of people from all over the world “to meet, learn, and share ideas.” However, anecdotes from festivals attendants seem to offer recurring themes of drinking and partying, with only the slightest bit of business on the side and regrettably an overall lull in innovation.
A recent article by PR Week article opened up the floor to two experts to gauge their perspectives on whether or not SXSW has “jumped the shark” with some of its seemingly desperate Happy Days-style hail-Mary gimmicks to try and pique audience interest and regain some momentum (cue the fully equipped 60-foot Doritos vending machine stage featuring a performance by Snoop Dogg). Have the founding principles of SXSW been left behind to rot in favor of a week of branding and booze overload, or are attendees heading to Texas with the wrong objectives? With the 2016 SXSW fest fast approaching, it is important to evaluate both the positives and negatives of the conference and assess your personal business objectives before heading to SXSW. The following are a few tips for staying on track and racking up more business cards than bar tabs.
Gear up for success – First and foremost, having the right supplies is crucial for SXSW success. Just as one would not go to an interview without a resume, one should not attempt SXSW without a packed bag complete with a detailed schedule of events, map, phone charger and business cards. And arm your social media accounts by following the hashtag #SXSW to ensure you are up to date on the who, what, and where.
Analyze your schedule – SXSW attendees are provided the entire schedule of events. It is a great idea to print it out and pay special attention to events that you know are going to be beneficial to your business objectives and that will lead in the right new business development direction. By mixing both networking events and interactive sessions into your bar-hopping and concert-going, you will find the perfect harmony between business and pleasure. Furthermore, many companies host their own networking parties. Remember, moderation is key and better achieved with a solid pre-game plan. It is also important not to over schedule yourself. An event as big and dynamic as SXSW will throw a few spontaneous opportunities your way. By failing to plan for this random serendipity, you are committing a networking crime.
Decide what it is that you want to get out of your time at SXSW – Although indulging in some of the best BBQ ribs and party hopping in the known world might be tempting you during your time at SXSW, remember you’re there for professional reasons. The vibe at SXSW can often be overwhelming. By having a clear mind as to what your main goals are, you will better suited to relax, embrace the surroundings, and socialize with some of tech’s greatest names. A great place to start is by researching who is going to be there and with whom you hope to connect.
Focus on the people – Gauge what kind of people are going to be where and when. If an event is marketed as a great networking event that shuttles attendees around Austin stopping at startup companies (OK and a few bars) there is a good chance it is going to be well suited for your long term business goals. Many Austin publications create helpful lists laying out events that are geared toward entrepreneurs and rising tech stars, and be sure to check Facebook for targeted groups. On that note, do not be shy at these events. Everyone attending is there to network. This is a rare chance to be in the presence of such a diverse melting pot of entertainers, technology entrepreneurs, marketers, and others. Tim Ferriss, SXSW 2015 speaker and author of “The 4 Hour Workweek,” encourages everyone to take a step back, slow down, and not dismiss anyone because, nine times out of 10, they are likely to help you achieve your SXSW objectives.
In today’s fast-paced, competitive business world, an emphasis is often put on earnings, return on investment (ROI), and the like. Many would argue that cash is a necessity and corporate culture a nicety. But what if culture and character not only improved morale, but also trickled down to earnings?
I recently read Fred Kiel’s “Return on Character” and found his research on the impact of leaders’ character not only inspiring but also applicable to businesses in any industry and of any size. Over seven years, Kiel studied 84 CEOs, their senior teams, and their organizations, and found that character not only matters, but that “good” character wins.
To evaluate character, Kiel and his team outlined four universal principles in their Return on Character (ROC) Matrix: integrity, responsibility, forgiveness and compassion, and ranked leaders on a scale of superior character, or virtuous, to poor character, or self-focused.
The truly fascinating finding through the research is the return on assets (ROA) of the CEOs at the top of the character curve versus those at the bottom. The virtuous CEOs created a ROA of nearly five times greater than did the self-focused CEOs.
As Kiel states in the book, “When an organization is led by a CEO and executive team of high character, on average it will produce a great ROA than organizations run by low-character leaders.” Additional benefits of this high character “ripple effect” within this research include highly engaged workforces, delivery of better value to customers, and strong customer satisfaction.
So how does this apply to the everyday professional?
Character is shaped by a mix of upbringing and personal experiences, but Kiel found that virtuous leaders continued to develop the principles and further honed leadership-enhancing skills through mentor relationships, meaning we can continue to develop our character throughout our lives. He suggests seeking guidance and counsel from mentors or advisors to aid in this development.
Further, character applies to more than just C-level executives. It’s inherent in every level of a business and not only will those around you appreciate your “good” character, but Kiel’s findings suggest that your business will also reap the benefits. There are a range of considerations for a business, however, looking beyond cash and ROI to character and company culture has a proven effect to not only improve business, but increase morale.
Possibly one of the most talked about event events of 2015 was the farewell to Bruce Jenner and the introduction to Caitlyn Jenner. Jenner has been in the spotlight for decades and is a household name to all generation because of Olympic achievements and reality television stardom. In April of 2015, the much-anticipated interview with Dianne Sawyer aired and in June of 2015, Caitlyn made her debut on the cover of Vanity Fair.
As a PR pro, I thought that the entire transition process went incredibly smoothly. To be honest, I hadn’t given much thought to it other than, “job well done” or “what an amazing story.” It wasn’t until The New York Times published “Caitlyn Jenner’s Secret-Sharer,” detailing the process, that I realized that the public transition was thoughtfully managed and well-executed.
Before the Kardashians dominated the world of social media and reality T.V., Bruce Jenner was a well-known Olympian, working with Alan Nierob from Rogers & Cowen to handle his public appearances, endorsements and image. According to The New York Times article, after marrying Kris Jenner, he stopped working with Nierob because Kris began handling his career. But in 2014, Nierob received a call. It was Bruce Jenner. He had recently divorced Kris and needed help from his old publicist. At this point, tabloids ran wild with the possibility of a gender transition and Jenner was doing his best to stay out of the spotlight. But with a transition in the near future, Jenner needed PR help.
From the beginning, Nierob knew that it was time they take control of the narrative and the first part of the process would be to let the public hear the story straight from Jenner. The Kardashians had a strong relationship with E!, owned by NBCUniversal. In order to prevent the perception that the interview was for financial gain, Nierob and Jenner chose to move forward with ABC. Next, they needed a reporter that would handle this matter sensitively, while still asking the right questions, the ones that people would want to know the answers to. Diane Sawyer seemed like a natural fit, and Nierob had experience working with her on behalf of other clients in trying situations and had seen successful outcomes. It also didn’t hurt that Jenner respected Sawyer.
Next, the introduction of Caitlyn. Knowing this would be a highly anticipated event after the interview with Sawyer aired, it was critical that her debut was handled thoughtfully. The publication needed to be well-respected and have connections with renowned photographers and journalists that would capture the essence of Caitlyn—this was the first time the public would get to meet her. Vanity Fair seemed to have everything Nierob was looking for, especially a connection with Annie Leibovitz, who would go on to produce an iconic cover.
One aspect The New York Times article neglects to recognize is that Nierob and his team also planned the launch of a Twitter account for Caitlyn to promote the Vanity Fair cover. Really, this was Caitlyn’s main introduction to the public. No one knew her name yet, when, where or how she would be introduced. But social media allowed for the cover to spread like wildfire. Within four hours, Jenner gained one million followers, breaking a record and beating out Barack Obama for the fastest accumulation of followers.
When Nierob began working with Jenner again, he did not have an easy task ahead of him. The tabloids were spouting rumor after rumor and most of them negative. As a result, the public had preconceived notions about Jenner’s transition that were fueled by tabloid gossip. There were family ties to broadcasting companies that had the potential to skew the public’s perception of Jenner’s motivation to do the interviews. And most importantly, this was one of the first highly public cases of a transgender person making her transition, and the public needed to be educated in the process. By approaching this in a couple of different stages, from Bruce’s perspective and introduction to Caitlyn, and conducting the process through multiple channels, broadcast, print and social, Nierob helped introduce the public to Caitlyn in a thoughtful manner. Not only that, but he has positioned Jenner remarkably well for the next stage of her career, an advocate and ambassador for the transgender community.
Spaceflight, an integrated space services company and client of Communiqué PR, is reinventing the model for launching satellites into space and driving a new space revolution designed to democratize space access.
Since 2010, Spaceflight has been innovating and investing in programs to foster a new era where space access is a service. A full-service launch provider, Spaceflight provides a straightforward, cost-effective, and comprehensive suite of products and services, including state-of-the-art satellite infrastructure, rideshare capabilities, and global communications networks that enable commercial and government entities to achieve their mission goals. To date, Spaceflight has launched 81 satellites and the company has contracts to deploy more than 135 satellites through 2018.
Through the contributions of Spaceflight and other commercial satellite companies, the space industry is experiencing a massive shift, where private companies can not only partake in the exploration of space, but take the lead in driving innovations across the industry. Spaceflight is helping drive access to space for commercial, scientific and non-profit entities and promises to bring new information with incredible uses for every industry, from energy to agriculture, finance, government, human rights, defense and more. This commercialization and heightened access to global big data will make satellite imaging, data, and communications less expensive and more prevalent, thereby enabling almost anyone to explore our world in ways that were previously not possible.
Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services
Earlier this year, Spaceflight became the first launch services provider to be awarded the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Professional Services Schedule (00CORP). As a recipient of the contract, the federal government recognized Spaceflight as a preferred launch services vendor fully authorized to conduct business directly with federal government agencies. As a result, the company will provide its services to federal agencies at a pre-negotiated fixed rate, enabling them to quickly and easily secure small satellite launch contracts online and cut through red tape to receive services faster, ultimately saving a significant amount of time and tax-payer money.
Spaceflight has enjoyed a long, successful history of providing innovative launch services to federal agencies, including NASA and the U.S. Air Force. However, as U.S. government agencies such as NASA and the Department of Defense increasingly look to commercial satellite companies to support their missions, Spaceflight sought a way to streamline the vetting process and secure preferred vendor status with the GSA. In order to receive the GSA Schedule contract, Spaceflight had to undergo an extensive and rigorous approval process, including the negotiation of fair and reasonable prices, as well as ensuring its services are in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Deploying the News
Communiqué PR understood that securing the GSA Schedule contract was not only a significant endorsement for Spaceflight, but for the next generation of launch providers dedicated to helping more organizations increase their understanding of our world. As such, we believed there would be strong interest in the news within space industry and developed a strategy to inform the industry and drive awareness of the new contract with readers of government trade publications.
Our approach involved developing a targeted press list focused on journalists covering the space industry as well as those tracking government contracts. We also worked with Spaceflight to finalize a press release that expressed the significance of Spaceflight’s role as the first launch provider to receive the GSA Schedule contract and communicated how the contract will reduce administrative costs and enable federal agencies to quickly and easily order a CubeSat or MicroSat launch online. We then offered the news under embargo to targeted media in order to ensure accuracy and drive coverage around the news.
Coverage Lifts Off
Within two days of crossing the wire, Spaceflight’s news was covered by 16 media outlets. Here is a list of the coverage secured thus far:
- Xconomy, “Seattle Week in Review: Space, VR, Machine Intelligence”
- Financial News, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services”
- SpaceRef, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services”
- SpaceNews, “Spaceflight offers smallsat launch services on government contract schedule”
- SpaceNews, “Mold contamination delays Orbital ATK cargo flight to ISS”
- Satnews, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract For Satellite Launch Services…Easy… Order CubeSats Online”
- Law360, “Spaceflight Wins 1st GSA Contract For Easy Launch Orders”
- Space Daily, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services”
- Executive Biz, “Spaceflight Added to GSA’s Consolidated Professional Services Schedule”
- Northwest Innovation, “Spaceflight Industries Gets GSA Contract”
- Seattle Times, “US approves Spaceflight for simplified satellite-launch deals”
- GeekWire, “Spaceflight’s online price list makes it easier for the feds to buy a launch”
- Parabolic Arc, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services”
- Puget Sound Business Journal, “Spaceflight lands major contract with federal government”
- Room, “Spaceflight Awarded First GSA Schedule Contract for Satellite Launch Services”
- NewSpace Watch, “Spaceflight Industries gets GSA Schedule contract for smallsat launch services” (article behind paywall, link to RSS feed)
We congratulate Spaceflight on this significant achievement and look forward to telling its story as it continues to lead an innovative era of space exploration that fosters a better understanding of our world.
Innovation occurs daily in the technology sector. To tackle complex social challenges, global foundations look to the tech sector to help deliver as many powerful tools in their arsenal as possible to design novel and useful solutions. Identifying innovations, nurturing innovative capacity, and supporting innovators are mechanisms to support ideas for the public good.
Guided by these principles, Siemens Stiftung created the “empowering people. Award” as a way to not only recognize and reward innovations, but provide the resources necessary to help organizations further the development of solutions to help solve global challenges.
A sampling of previous award winners include:
- A prosthetic knee designed specifically for conditions in the developing world and costing at least 90 percent less than similar alternatives
- Clean drinking water right at the tap so residents of poor, rural communities can cook, clean, bathe, and wash dishes with clean water, minimizing contamination pathways and preventing fatal diseases and frequent illnesses
- A low-cost, energy-efficient infant warmer that can help prevent hypothermia for infants with low birth weight in developing countries.
CPR was honored to have assisted Siemens Stiftung in promoting the “empowering people. Award 2015″ to U.S. companies and organizations. Our goal was to publicize the award to solicit entries through media coverage in various publications. Among the highlights of this project included:
- Media outreach and coverage in various trade and business publications ranging from Yahoo! Finance and The Street, to Today’s Medical Developments
- Development of a contributed article on previous award winner D-REV and the ReMotion Knee, which received prominent coverage in “Today’s Medical Developments,” a medical device trade publication, as a way to garner interest in entries among the medical device industry
- Interviews with award jurors to create blogs and additional content
Award entries have been submitted and are currently in review by the jurors, and we eagerly await the announcement to see what innovations are in the works to help improve global conditions.