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.
Recently I had an opportunity to catch up with Dustin Hubbard, founder and CEO of Paperspine, about his online book rental service. As you can imagine with the economic downturn, it is an interesting time for his 16-month-old start-up business.
While many businesses have felt the ill effects of the recession, he has seen no slowdown in the demand for Paperspine’s services. In fact, the recession seems to be creating additional need for the online book rental service.
“Paperspine’s book rental model provides families with an extremely cost effective way to enjoy reading,” explains Hubbard. “New books are expensive. According to industry experts, many paperback books are priced between $10 to $20 a book. For just $9.95 to $24.95 a month for Paperspine services, a family can enjoy anywhere from two to five books at a time. When they’re finished reading the books, they simply mail them back to us using a pre-paid postage mailer.”
Paperspine allows people to do a lot of reading at a low cost – and can be a good alternative to going to the library, especially since so many of them are seeing tremendous increase in use due to the recession.
Hubbard continues “The shipping of books is free and the books can be returned whenever a person wants without the risk of late fees. Furthermore, Paperspine offers people a vast selection of books – there are more the 200,000 titles to choose – all from the comfort of your computer.”
According to Paula Laurita, coordinator of public services with the Athens-Limestone Public Library, the volume of people using the Athens-Limestone library is continuing to increase each month.
“We’ve have seen an increase of 118 percent in adults attending library programs from the last fiscal year,” explains Laurita. “All types of materials have seen an increase in circulation. Demand for books has increased, especially in the category of young adult books. For example, I have seven copies of “Twilight” and there are many, many more requests for the books.” Given this some people can expect to wait many months before they’ll receive it.
Melissa Liton, account director with Communiqué PR, adds, “As a long time library lover who recently has been frustrated with not being able to get the books I want, I’m definitely going to check out Paperspine’s service.”
Recently I have noticed that many journalists are writing about ways to cut expenses during this economically challenging time. People want to reduce their families’ costs without giving up their favorite activities, and as libraries become more tapped, it provides Dustin Hubbard and his team with a good opportunity to get the word out about Paperspine.
There are numerous factors to think about when pitching a story to a journalist, corresponding with them via e-mail or even speaking with them during interviews.
Some of us have learned this the hard way, and some of us will learn from other’s mistakes. There are a number of journalists who have publicly blacklisted individual PR professionals, and in some cases, entire agencies because they either failed to do their research before reaching out to the journalist or offended them in some way.
While public relations and journalism are in many respects co-dependent, it’s important to remember a journalist’s job is to write compelling stories for their readers – their job isn’t to create opportunities for companies to get out their marketing messages. To avoid the PR blacklist keep these tips in mind.
Avoid phrases that could be offensive to the journalist. Saying things like “you can report on this”, “thank you for writing about my company” or this could be a good “editorial opportunity” can set a journalist’s teeth on edge. Oftentimes, we don’t think that such phrases could be offensive, but as many journalists will tell you, phrases like “editorial opportunity” are disturbing because they undermine the journalist’s job, which is to write stories for their readers.
When pitching a story, think like a reader. Ask yourself, is this something I would read? If your answer is no, it is very unlikely that the journalist will respond to your pitch. Often, journalists will ask, “How will this story benefit my readers?” You should always be prepared to illustrate the significance of the story you’re proposing and the relevance to a particular audience.
Do your research. One of the quickest ways to land on the PR blacklist is to continually pitch stories to the wrong journalists. It’s critical to know what a particular journalist writes about and tailor your story to them. An easy way to do this is to go onto the publication’s Web site and read through their most recent articles. Another great way to research what they’ve written about is to search for their name in Google News. This can also be an effective way to learn a journalist’s hot buttons. For example, maybe a particular wireless writer hates the iPhone and has written several negative pieces about the device. You can use this knowledge to position your pitch in a way that will pique their interest despite their opinion.
Short and simple. The purpose of a pitch is to capture the journalist’s attention. They receive hundreds upon hundreds of e-mails each day. They don’t have the time to read through a two-page essay about why they should care about your company or why they should include your client’s product in an article. It’s important to keep your pitches concise and get to the crux of the story you are proposing. If a journalist wants more information or has questions, they’ll ask. Remember to stick to the key points that will convince them to write.
While these tips will help you build rapport with a journalist and possibly secure a much coveted interview, it’s important to remember what you say in your e-mail or during an interview can also hurt your relationship with the journalists.
Make sure to tailor your pitch for a journalist and avoid words that you don’t think will resonate well with them. And if you do happen to hit a nerve accidentally, your best bet is to apologize and learn from the mistake.
Companies looking to leverage the power of Facebook to attract the masses may want to take a lesson from Coca-Cola fans Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski. With a fan base of 3.3 million users, Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s Coca-Cola Facebook fan page is one of the most popular pages on Facebook – second to Barack Obama (see Facebook page statistics).
Creating the page was not planned. Sorg and Jedrzejewski simply could not find a Facebook fan page focused on Coca-Cola that appeared legitimate. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, they created a new fan page and posted a high-resolution digital image of a Coke can. It was not long before the page attracted Coca-Cola fans and eventually captured the attention of Coca-Cola executives who wanted to know more about Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s approach. What about their page made it so attractive for fans?
Coca-Cola was also interested in speaking with Sorg and Jedrzejewski about the future of the page and how the company could assist in page operations to comply with Facebook’s recent policy updates.
The company took an engaging approach, inviting Sorg and Jedrzejewski to visit the Coca-Cola headquarters in Atlanta. While there, the two toured the World of Coke museum and had the opportunity to meet with executives to discuss the popularity of the Facebook page.
While Coca-Cola is still not sure why Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s page is so successful, they suspect it had to do with the high-resolution Coke can picture included on the page and the influential friends of Sorg and Jedrzejewski (although they could not confirm this).
From a PR perspective, Sorg and Jedrzejewski’s Facebook page teaches companies that happy customers can be your biggest advocate in social mediums such as Facebook.
Several of Communiqué PR’s clients have also engaged in social mediums as a way to gain advocates. Big Canvas, a creative developer of social media applications and creativity tools for the iPhone and iPod Touch, actively posts application reviews posted on the iTunes App Store to the company’s blog. Posting customer reviews in a company blog can help demonstrate the benefits of your organization’s product or service to new visitors to your site. Another example is Big Fish Games, the world’s leading online destination for games and interactive entertainment. The company actively maintains a Facebook page for fans, highlighting new games for users to enjoy and download.
Most recently, Communiqué created a new Facebook page for Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR, a new book co-authored by Communiqué’s own Jennifer Gehrt and Colleen Moffitt. The page provides fans with information about upcoming events related to the book and links back to Communiqué PR’s blog. In addition, fans of the book have the opportunity to post reviews and comments – creating an open forum to discuss topics outlined in the book.
These are just a few ways organizations can become more involved with social mediums to gain advocates. Perhaps Reporter Nicholas Carlson said it best in his article in the Silicon Valley Insider, stating, “The takeaway for us is that Coke got somewhere by realizing it couldn’t control its brand. The customers own the brand, not the brand-makers.”
The news that insurance giant AIG will pay $165 million in bonuses to employees has not been warmly received. At a time when millions have lost their jobs and the recession worsens, the nation is outraged that taxpayer money is being spent on multi-million dollar bonuses for the very people who some believe largely contributed the recession.
While there is no shortage of articles weighing in on the news with opinions as to whether the executives should be paid, one aspect of the story that has received considerably less ink is that of PR.
President Obama’s public condemnation of AIG’s actions certainly tops the list of the worst possible PR scenarios for a public company like AIG (although Obama’s condemnation was a smart PR move for his administration). But has the company done a good job responding to the backlash?
At the very least, AIG should be commended for being upfront and transparent about the situation. The company has not tried to hide the fact that it is paying bonuses and has issued public statements. But we believe AIG has made a grave mistake in being too defensive and not proactively acknowledging the concerns of the public.
As a general rule, the best course of action during a crisis such as this is to:
Organize a crisis communication team
Be as transparent as possible
Acknowledge the situation and learn from mistakes
AIG already appears to have organized a communication team, but the defensive messaging they chose has proven to be ineffective and does not reinforce their commitment to solving the problem. By taking a defensive position from the get-go, AIG has branded itself as morally reprehensible in the eyes of many Americans, an identity that could take years to shake.
Edward M. Liddy, AIG’s chief executive officer, recently said the bonuses are necessary to attract and retain the best talent. And in a separate statement, AIG spokesperson Mark Harr said that, “We understand the Attorney General’s concerns.” While both of these statements may be true, they do not thoroughly address the concerns of the American taxpayers.
Most importantly, AIG should learn from their mistake by developing a plan to respond to crises and avoid escalation like this. Now that 80 percent of the company is owned by the government, it has a responsibility to both its employees and the American taxpayers that pay its salaries. For the sake of its business, we believe now is the time for AIG to acknowledge and respond to the concerns of American people.
So while the company can take steps to remedy the situation now by apologizing and increasing transparency, it must come to terms with the fact that in the context of rising unemployment and a global recession, the negative press will probably continue for months to come.
For more information about how to plan for and handle a PR crisis, see our blog here.
Even though we have known for weeks that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was likely to cease its print edition, it is still a shock to see the last print issue of the 146-year old newspaper, and know that 160 people will lose their jobs.
I always enjoyed both the Seattle Times and the P.I. and found it interesting to see how competing journalists covered the same story. As a PR professional, I would read each article and consider the slant each reporter took, where the article was placed on the page, and who was quoted. Now, of course, I won’t have the pleasure of having two disparate and unique perspectives.
Stacia Kirby, president of Kirby Communications, Inc., wrote me to share her viewpoint, “As someone who grew up in Seattle I am very sad about the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and find it disconcerting to see the demise of the newspaper business. As a former broadcast journalist I can attest to the importance that journalists bring to their community. There is a gaping hole that is growing. People just don’t understand where the news comes from – it is not from blogs.”
Stacia raises a good point. As an active blogger, I know the bulk of what I do is comment, analyze and share my unique perspective on news or trends. Certainly, I solicit and include other opinions in many of my blog posts, but I am not focused on uncovering the next big story. I am not a whistle-blower or watch dog, and I don’t adhere to the same guidelines and standards that our daily newspapers follow. And at Communiqué PR there is no editorial board governing the tone or direction of our coverage, or taking a collective approach on critical issues.
Perhaps, we don’t need two daily newspapers in Seattle, but we certainly need to be informed and have independent news sources. I also think it is important that we have people who consider biases and verify sources of information.
Author Bryan Heathman agrees “The journalism industry is important to our world, state and local government and our nation.” Nonetheless Heathman points out that the role of journalism in society is not necessarily tied to a paper delivery mechanism.
Clearly the daily newspapers have got to identify a business model which allows them to succeed. “Until they do this, they will remain at risk of becoming obsolete,” says Paul Nyhan, former Seattle P-I reporter. “I really think this is just the beginning and we’re going to see the pace of change accelerate.”
Sprint Nextel has announced that it will no longer feature its CEO Dan Hesse in its television advertisements. You may remember the black and white ads featuring Hesse promoting the wireless revolution. For example, in one ad Hesse is shown working on a laptop in the back seat of a New York City cab to promote the network’s robust coverage.
Why did the company initially elect to include Hesse in its ads? According to an article published on March 12 by Amol Sharma of the Wall Street Journal, “the company’s decision was a bold move at a time when public trust in corporate chiefs is at a low point. Mr. Hesse says the ads that feature him have been effective, especially in terms of brand recall.” By featuring Hesse, Sprint hoped to “humanize” its brand, especially after it was tarnished by its rocky merger with Nextel.
In our experience, a charismatic, articulate spokesperson can be extremely effective in representing their company and building its brand. But these individuals must carefully guard their reputations. For example, we all remember the PR nightmare that ensued when the CEOs of Detroit’s auto makers took private jets to Washington to ask for federal bailout money.
Since taking over as CEO of the wireless carrier, Hesse has been very involved in efforts to shape perceptions of Sprint. In addition to advertisements, he has been a strong advocate for public relations and even commented on the new book written by Communiqué PR co-founders Jennifer Gehrt and Colleen Moffitt, saying “Strategic Public Relations” is full of practical counsel on how to leverage the power of PR to help companies achieve their most important business objectives.”
The ads featuring Hesse have certainly gotten people talking. And if there’s any truth to the popular adage “any publicity is good publicity,” then perhaps Sprint made the right move, especially (to quote Hesse) “in terms of brand recall.”
We would love to hear your thoughts. If you missed the ad, click here and let us know what you think.