Category

Communications

Feb 05
Love0

Transparency and the Crisis Communications Client: Five Questions to Inform Decisions

By Communications, Crisis Communications

As I’ve said before, I love crisis communications. There’s something about the challenge of taking a bad situation and getting the best out of it, that I enjoy. The opportunity to tell the story of a company’s good works in a community that has been hurt by it (think BP), to humanize a brand, or to help rebuild a reputation that has all but been ruined is a challenge I like.

But of course, sometimes that means engaging a client that people don’t like. Or that has done something to harm the environment, or people’s lives or livelihoods. It means defending, in some cases, the indefensible. In public relations, the BIG money often comes from the indefensible industries; tobacco, legalized gambling, chemical production, firearms manufacturing, and the like, all fairly unpopular sectors with a great many haters.

So how does a PR firm decide it’s worth taking on a client that, on the surface, seems to have NOTHING positive to say?

Here are five questions to carefully consider before engaging with a crisis client:

  1. Does the client share the same values as you and your firm? 
  2. Has the client demonstrated the ability to take and follow other professional counsel (e.g. legal counsel)?
  3. If the client has committed past sins, is that now over, and are you confident the client will not repeat the same mistakes?
  4. Has the client expressed true remorse and demonstrated a commitment to change, in both words and actions?
  5. Is there a benefit to your firm, either financially, from gained experience or as a future case study, to enable other crisis work?

If you and your firm aren’t satisfied with the answers to these questions, it’s probably wise to walk away, and allow other counsel to take on the work.

What other considerations are there when considering crisis work? 

Jan 24
Love0

Sometimes, I Forget the iPhone is Actually, In Fact, a Phone

By Communications

My plans last night got totally goofed up. Long story, short, amid much texting and plans being arranged and re-arranged, I misunderstood the final verdict and the result was that two-thirds of our party ended up at one restaurant, and one-third at another. Sigh.

I was sad to miss out on dinner with my friends, but we made the best of it, of course (and the butternut squash crepes I had were delicious.)

I want to learn a lesson from this — I think if I’d called instead of texting at some point, I could have clarified the information and avoided the goof. I think I was so convinced that I knew what was planned, that my misplaced confidence got in the way. Whoops.

So my communication lesson from this is to confirm — even when you think you know, it only takes a few seconds to verify. Repeating back what you think you know to be true solves a lot of communications problems — and is a good habit to develop. I’m going to work on it, and hopefully that will lead to a dinner out with my good friends, all at the same restaurant — in the near future!

Jan 21
Love0

Hotels, WiFi, and the Hardworking Business Traveler

By Communications, Social Media

I’ve been traveling on business since late 2005. I used to travel at least once a month. It was, and continues to be, astounding to me how many airports, hotels and resorts haven’t stepped up their WiFi game. I’ve paid (or the business has) for more WiFi access than is reasonable, while winging through terminals or stuck in hotels and conference centers. It’s frustrating, especially when there’s a limit on access, (so what if I want to work all night?) or the service is slow or faulty.

I’m wondering tonight, as I’m on the first business trip of 2013, if we’ve turned a corner. Crazy, right, that it’s taken more than seven years!? As I checked in to this lovely Holiday Inn, I was given an access code (totally OK) and told that they’d really invested in improving the quality of their wireless access. And — da, da, dada! It’s free. I can confirm all of that. The wireless access is excellent, and took no time to connect. It’s a relief, for the hardworking business traveler, to have the tools of our trade right at our fingertips.

Now, if only it were warm out, and the pool were open.

Jan 18
Love0

Albemarle Schools, Inclement Weather, and Social Media

By Communications, Social Media

Yesterday, snow was in the forecast. And yes, it snowed here in Albemarle County, Virginia, but it was too warm to stick. Preemptively, Albemarle County Schools decided it would be wise to cancel school, since the impending storm had a range of a few to several inches of snow. It’s always wise to play it safe when it comes to our kids. Some parents were frustrated, as they learned about the school closure. Albemarle is great about posting updates to Facebook and Twitter while e-mailing and calling parents’ contact numbers. I know I’m not alone when I say I learn of school closings from social media channels before any other media. In response to the questions, Josh Davis, chief operating officer for the school district and the voice of school closings in the county, created a video* (again, using social media to respond to social media; BRILLIANT!) to explain how Albemarle County Schools decides to cancel school for bad weather.

When any entity gets a flood of questions on a single topic, and that topic has the same answer, or set of answers that are given again and again, isn’t it smart to capture that response in video format and share it across platforms, so everyone can find that answer, before they even have to approach to ask? I think so.

Here’s the video:

*Thanks to my bud, @gingergermani for the inspiration for this post.

Jan 16
Love0

Lance Armstrong and The Concept of Trust

By Communications

When Marijean asked me to write a post about Lance Armstrong, I was torn. He’s getting ready to admit to being a cheater and liar on Oprah this week. He has always been an inspiration to me, since I am a serious cyclist and have watched, and drawn motivation from, his amazing performances in the Tour de France for a long time.  It could be argued that Lance Armstrong single-handedly took cycling into the mainstream as a fitness activity in America, and for that I will remain forever grateful.

I can also argue that the good his Livestrong foundation has done for cancer patients around the globe is miraculous, both in terms of support and also in terms of inspiration. Lance’s cycling exploits made all that possible and for that many should also be grateful.

I can ALSO argue, although it’s a tougher one to make, that ALL pro cyclists are taking PEDs, so Lance was merely the best of the best. It’s certainly clear from all the activities of the UCI and USADA that many other cyclists were doping throughout their careers. As a cyclist, I really don’t CARE if they dope, because I know how much they are suffering regardless of how quickly they recover. It’s a brutal sport and I love watching, even if they are thickening their blood with EPO. I say let them all do it. Hell, let’s FORCE them to do it! Not really.

BUT.

What I DO care about is that these guys, and Lance in particular, are being total cowards about it. They lie, they obfuscate, they deny, and yet they benefit from the fruits of commercial success. Lance, in particular, has been particularly egregious and has profited particularly well from what now appears to be a totally fabricated story. His inspirational return to cycling after his cancer scare had weight PRECISELY because he claimed to be a clean rider after that. Total crap now. THAT hurts.

If they all stood up to the federations and worked WITH them to develop a solution, then we might be somewhere.  Refuse to ride any races until it’s resolved. The Tour folks would get to the table pretty fast if that happened. This culture of criminalizing what WE choose to put in our bodies must end.

But from a PR perspective, Armstrong’s activities and all that he has done to hide them violate every piece of advice we give our clients regarding transparency, accountability, clarity, and trust. He is now the shining example of how NOT to conduct business.

This ESPN video sums up a lot of what people are feeling, so I won’t try and recap it. But I personally am bummed because it’s just one more example of how our desire to be famous, rich, and powerful just ends in corrupt, morally empty, and amazingly narcissistic behavior. Our glorification of celebrity is destroying our culture of trust, cooperation, and sense of fair play. Guys like Lance just do whatever benefits them, no matter what damage it does to their sport or to other people. Sad.

How do you feel about it?

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