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.
Transparency is an issue that continues to arise as social mediums and online communications gain momentum. Social media provides companies with a great opportunity to represent their brands and interact and build relationships with key influencers and consumers. However, if a company fails to be completely transparent in its online communications, the result can be devastating to its reputation and tarnish key relationships.
A great example of how crucial transparency can be to an organization and a brand can be found in a recent incident involving De’Longhi, a leading producer of small kitchen and comfort appliances.
A communications manager for De’Longhi posted a positive review of two of the company’s high-end espresso machines on Amazon.com. Looking for a new espresso maker, Blogger Russ Taylor conducted research online and while doing so, realized that the Amazon.com review was actually written by an employee in the PR department of De’Longhi. Publications including Consumerist and the Wall Street Journal‘s The Wallet blog wrote articles highlighting the inappropriateness of the review and had negative ramifications for both De’Longhi and Amazon.
Being transparent in all forms of communications, whether it’s a blog post, product review, or Twitter account, is paramount to the success of an organization’s communications efforts. Transparency enables a company or a brand to lay the foundation to build thoughtful and engaging relationships with their customers. It also allows companies to instill trust and loyalty with key audiences.
As a rule of thumb, company and PR representatives should do the following:
Provide full and clear disclosure of who you are and which company you are representing at all times.
Never fake a positive review of your company’s product or service. Inevitably, it will come back to you and create unnecessary negative publicity.
If you’re posting or having a discussion about a company, product or service and was paid or hired to do so, inform your audience of the situation to avoid backlash.
As print and digital communications continues to converge with social media platforms, it’s important for companies and PR professionals to abide by ethical business practices and identify the company they are representing to avoid situations such as the one with De’Longhi.
Yesterday, our client Digonex, a provider of real-time, automated, dynamic pricing technology was featured on National Public Radio’s (NPR) Morning Edition in a story on the impact dynamic pricing technology can have on the digital music industry. The piece coincides Digonex’s partnership announcement with The Orchard, an entertainment solutions provider focused on building and monetizing audiences for its clients.
Reporter Laura Sydell reports, “What Digonex is doing is what economists like University of Southern California professor Joseph Nunes call “dynamic pricing. Nunes says economists and retailers have been trying to nail this for years.” “We know on hot days people drink more, so if a supermarket could rush out and change the price of their soda very quickly, they would,” says Nunes.”
Unlike variable pricing models, meaning there are more than one set of prices available for a service or product which digital music retailers such as Apple are using, dynamic pricing models allow pricing to adjust up or down based upon consumer demand. This enables music labels, retailers and other organizations to offer prices that are market-driven, and consumer and seller friendly. Digonex believes that dynamic pricing models will reduce the cost of items such as albums and singles which will increase the value for consumers, and empower them to explore and discover new products they might not have otherwise.
While sophisticated pricing models are still a relatively new concept to the market, the impact that dynamic pricing can have on selling and purchasing behaviors is significant and can provide a win-win solution for retailers and consumers. Dynamic pricing is already becoming prevalent in many industries including e-commerce, ticketing, and digital media.
A recent article on PR and start-ups in the Silicon Valley by Claire Cain Miller of the New York Times, reminds PR professionals that the media landscape continues to evolve and the role PR plays is crucial to helping clients navigate these new waters.
Cain Miller recounts a recent brainstorming session she attended with publicist Brooke Hammerling with Brew Media Relations and her client, entrepreneur Erin McKean, to discuss launch plans for a new Web site called Wordnik, an online dictionary. Cain Miller describes the setting of the business meeting as investors and key stakeholders of the new Web site discuss PR plans surrounding the launch:
- Planning a press tour for the launch, Hammerling suggests briefing influential technology bloggers from sites including TechCrunch.com, All Things Digital and GigaOM.com. However, Roger McNamee, a tech investor who is backing Wordnik, disagrees with Brook’s plans arguing that bloggers are “cynical”.
- Given Roger’s contempt towards bloggers they decide Hammerling would “whisper in the ears” of Silicon Valley’s who’s who, in hopes they will pass the word along to their colleagues and other influentials in the technology space via social mediums like Twitter.”
While Wordnik sparked attention with reporters from publications such as USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, the company missed out on a key opportunity to build relationships with influential bloggers who could have played an important role in promoting the new start-up. Technology blogs like TechCrunch, All Things Digital and GigaOM often have very large readerships, break important technology news and highlight up and coming companies that are influencing emerging industry trends.
The launch of Wordnik clearly illustrates the importance of social media; but it also illustrates the pivotal role PR professionals can play in executing a successful PR campaign. As you or your company work to develop a strategic PR campaign consider the following:
Clearly outline your objectives. It is important to have a clear understanding of your company’s (or client’s) business objectives and align your PR strategies with these goals. Strategically aligning PR strategies with business objectives can give a company the biggest bang for its buck and significantly impact a company’s business including expanding its customer base, increasing revenue and enhancing the perceived value of the company.
Educate your clients and provide strategic counsel. In the case of Wordnik, the launch may have been more successful had Hammerling educated McNamee and the executive team on why she believed it would be important to reach out to influential tech bloggers for the launch. If there’s disagreement about a specific strategy in the PR plan, it’s important to understand your client’s interests and rationale. As Bruce Patton, cofounder of the Harvard Negotiation Project and coauthor of the best-selling book Getting to Yes articulated in the book, Strategic Public Relations, “…share what is valid about that person’s perspective and where and why you differ. In general don’t just explain your solution, but also how you got there”
Don’t ignore social media and other emerging technologies. Wordnik experienced moderate success with social media. On the evening that it went live, approximately 1.43 million people saw tweets about the launch and in the week following the launch more than 40,000 people visited the Web site. While traditional PR tools such as press releases, pitches and exclusives can be effective vehicles to disseminate news, it’s important to leverage emerging mediums such as social networks and blogs.
To learn more about developing strategic PR campaigns, send us an e-mail at info@communiquepr.com.
On Monday, July 6, Dave Carroll, a musician from the band Maxwell Bros, posted a YouTube music video complaining about the poor customer service he received from United Airlines regarding a broken Taylor guitar. The guitar (worth about $3,500) was damaged on a flight to Nebraska more than a year ago. The video immediately generated broad awareness and after only five days, with more than 2.5 million views, created a craze on Twitter and throughout the blogosphere. It also caught the attention of traditional media including CNN, ABC News and Los Angeles Times. The airline has since responded to Carroll’s complaint by contacting him personally, donating $3,500 to a charity of his choice and incorporating his catchy video into their customer service training program.
While United Airlines is focused on learning from this experience, the potential for substantial damage to its reputation and brand is clear. For those executives who have been skeptical of social media and its power, the “United Breaks Guitars” video provides an illustrative example. Social media is changing how consumers and brands interact and companies need to be ready to respond.
The rising popularity of social media already has many companies reevaluating their PR strategies to include this new medium. Established brands need to prepare for the potential shot across the bow that may damage their valuable reputation.
“It’s clear that the communications landscape is changing. As more and more organizations rely on social mediums, such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube as a business tool, it’s critical for companies to incorporate strategies to manage their reputation vis-‡-vis these social networking platforms,” said Jack Creighton, strategic director at Madrona Venture Group and former CEO of UAL Corporation (United Airlines). “Policy-setting, strategic planning and education around the adoption and use of social media is important in managing reputational risk and should be integrated with established, more traditional forms of communication.”
So what can we learn from United Airlines’ crisis?
Evaluate your brand’s need for a response. In the case of Carroll, the large magnitude of views and comments was enough to elicit a public statement and response from United. It is important to gauge the credibility of the complaint and determine whether a response is warranted. Not all complaints warrant a response. Companies should develop or update their processes regarding customer complaints with consideration for this new medium.
Determine what changes, if any, need to be made internally. United Airlines acknowledged Carroll’s poor customer service experience and released a statement saying, “His video is excellent, and we plan to use it internally as a unique learning and training opportunity to ensure that all our customers receive better service….This should have been fixed much sooner.” By doing this, United Airlines demonstrated its honesty about the situation and willingness to improve. The company also articulated that the experience would be used to change its customer service processes. It is important to communicate what changes are taking place. Without letting the public know what action is being taken, the perception may be that the complaint has not been heard or that United did not care.
Remain positive, even under attack. United first publicly responded to Carroll by tweeting, “This has struck a chord w/ us and we’ve contacted him (Carroll) directly to make it right.” United never deflected blame. Instead, they set a positive tone and mirrored the level of humor conveyed in Carroll’s video.
It is critical to be clear in the messages you want customers to hear. In the case of a false accusation, it is important to make a clear statement and determine any underlying interests. As Kathleen Fearn-Banks notes in her book, Crisis Communications, “In a crisis, the public perceives truth to be whatever public opinion says. An organization in crisis must prove to its publics that the prevailing negative opinion is not factual.” By sending a clear, positive message brands will be able to better positioned to recover from a social media attack.
Respond by utilizing the social mediums that have been following the crisis. This is an area where United could have improved. United publicized its response through a number of tweets on its Twitter account (@UnitedAirlines) and an interview with the Los Angeles Times but the company did not post a YouTube video response. Ultimately, the United response did not garner significant attention.
In a recent Computerworld article, Bart Perkins writes, “Dave Carroll knows how to take full advantage of the power of social media. United doesn’t, and the cost is a PR nightmare.” Bart goes on to suggest United would have been wise to have created their own YouTube video response.
While it is likely this customer service disaster will pass for United Airlines, it is certain that more companies will face similar situations as more consumers leverage social media to voice complaints and perceived injustices. Companies need to develop PR strategies to prepare for these challenging situations so they can avoid significant damage to their reputation.
Just as companies build brand awareness for products and services, journalists are now building brand awareness for their name. For journalists, creating a name is critical as they work to establish an area of expertise and build credibility among readers. This is especially important for freelance journalists who contribute to a variety of news outlets and rely on their reputation and quality of work to maintain a steady stream of work.
According to PR Week, a new company called True/Slant is helping journalists establish their branding goals, promote their work and interact with new audiences. The new Web site highlights the work from more than 100 journalists and allows them the opportunity to blog and write about a variety of their projects.
True/Slant also provides a way for journalists that are seeking work to share their articles, build their resume and attract readers.
What I really like about True/Slant is that it provides journalists with their own True/Slant homepage where readers can learn more about the journalist’s professional background as well as what interests him or her most. This can be extremely valuable for PR professionals who are looking to find out what a particular journalist’s hot buttons are to ensure they’re targeting the right media for a particular story.
For example, take Anne Field. Anne is a contributing writer and has published works in outlets such as New York Times, Business Week, CNNMoney.com, Portfolio.com and Fortune. Anne writes about small businesses, but really enjoys covering not-only-for-profit startups. When asked why she uses True/Slant she said, “I can write about something I not only report on, but care about–and do so in a community of fabulous journalists.”
PR Week also points out how “more established press”, like True/Slant contributor and Good Morning America senior national correspondent Claire Shipman, utilizes the blog platform to discuss her family and promote offerings, like her book Womenomics, which is also the title of her True/Slant homepage.
Organizations and PR professionals alike will benefit from reviewing True/Slant and getting to know which journalists are passionate about topics relevant to their target audiences. Check out True/Slant at trueslant.com and let us know what you think.
It’s evident that the current economic downturn as well as the changing media landscape has dramatically affected daily newspapers – this can be seen in the closure of many newspapers across the country as well as many cost-cutting measures such as layoffs.
A report from the Inland Press Association states that print dailies have “seen an erosion of revenue and profits for at least five years even before the current recession.”
After examining financial data from 120 U.S. newspapers, the report concludes profits remain strong at many newspapers, especially smaller dailies. Moreover, Tim Mather, financial studies manager with Inland, reports that while the downturn is affecting nearly all revenue sources at daily newspapers the trend analysis average shows newspaper operating profits “still ranged from more than 11 percent to 15 percent of gross revenue in all circulation groups except 25,001-50,000.”
While smaller dailies may continue to flourish for the time being, the move towards digital will inevitably impact all print publications in the near future. We’ve already seen numerous daily newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal leverage micro-payment systems to counteract the negative impacts of the economy on advertising revenues.
As print publications and daily newspapers take a more niche focus to cater to specific audiences and as competition for article placement continues to increase, it is important to remember to craft pitches that have a strong local angle and have a timely hook.
It will be interesting to see if the newspaper industry will rebound from the current economic crisis and maintain pre-recession revenue levels or if print publications as we know will cease to exist. Let us know what you think about the future of the industry. We would love to hear your thoughts.