Tag

crisis communications

Jun 12
Love0

Find Your Brand’s Cheerleaders

By Corporate Strategy, Marketing, Media, Social Media

Bye Bye BirdieI’ve been having some really interesting meetings today and my head is spinning with contradicting thoughts. Most of them have to do with the nature of “marketing” as we know it, and I’ll admit I find myself wondering if I can ever advocate for it again.

Most of my colleagues would react with something like “what, are you TRYING to get fired?”

But before we go too far, what I mean is that I doubt I can ever really advocate for it the way it used to be, when it was all top-down messaging from marketing departments flush with quantitative research telling them what to say and how to say it. Words like “convince,” and “convert” seem somehow antiquated, as if the era of command and control is just over.

“Dude, what is WRONG with you?” my friends will ask.

What’s wrong with me is that in this era of social software and ubiquitous mobility, a period of ever-present content and messaging has meshed almost completely with daily life. The inexorable move towards technology and digital footprints among even the youngest and poorest demographics means that content sharing is like talking. Hell, it’s REPLACED talking at my house. Some people are even convinced it’s maybe, sort of OK for computers to start doing the messaging without much input from humans at all!

I’ll pass, thanks.

So what’s my point? I firmly believe that in order for commerce enablers to continue to succeed, they are going to have to get human again. They are going to have to use all their smarts, tools, and capabilities to find groups of people who share their values already, who have personal reasons for wanting to consume or advocate for their offerings. They have to seek out and find their cheerleaders, their true fans, and deliver more than those folks expect on a regular basis. They are going to have to enchant them, because there are too many inputs all day long for anyone to give a brand a second thought unless they do.

Sure, the era of Big Data is just beginning. But to what end? My opinion is that it has to be to find those cheerleaders and make them happy, because the era of big marketing to folks who don’t share your values is on the way out, if it’s not already gone.

Discuss.

Jun 12
Love0

How UVa Handled the Announcement of President Teresa Sullivan’s Resignation

By Communications, Crisis Communications

On Sunday, June 10, the University of Virginia released the news that Teresa Sullivan, a president with just two years’ tenure, had been asked to resign. I talked at length with Coy Barefoot on WINA Newsradio 1070, Charlottesville: Right Now on the topic of how the news has been handled.

The challenge with releasing news such as this is that no matter what it’s going to be a shock. There are going to be questions that are either unanswerable or not available for discussion, based on legally binding arrangements among the affected parties. The decision to hold the press conference on a Sunday morning was smart; missing the Sunday paper news cycle and letting the community wrap their collective minds around the information before the opening of business on Monday sidestepped a lot of immediacy in the need to be reactive. Of course, a sudden dismissal of this kind can rock the reputation of a university and of a community that depends so heavily on a university as its major employer, and UVa should be mindful and careful to monitor its online reputation as discussion of Sullivan’s dismissal ensues.

In crisis communications, we urge clients to share news with transparency and reassurance, and the University has focused their messaging on the future: what steps the University is taking to recruit and place a new president. While explanations for the action are somewhat vague and unsatisfying to the community, it’s likely that very few details beyond what we know now will be revealed.

What do you think about how the University has handled the news?

From C’ville Weekly:

“Around 11:30am Sunday, students and faculty received an e-mail from UVA Rector Helen Dragas and Vice Rector Mark Kington announcing that Sullivan would resign on August 15. Sullivan, who was quoted in the e-mail, said she and the Board had “a philosophical difference in opinion,” but didn’t elaborate.

At an emergency meeting with vice presidents and deans later the same day, Dragas briefly discussed the budgetary hardships faced by the Board and implied a difference of priorities between members and President Sullivan.

“We have calls internally for resolution of tough financial issues that require hard decisions in resource allocation,” Dragas wrote in a memo summarizing the meeting that was posted on UVAToday. She said the compensation of UVA’s employees is continuing to decline, and the challenge of filling vacated spots is “truly an existential threat to the greatness of UVA.”

The Board still has personal respect for Sullivan, she wrote, but indicated it wants a leader who is more bold and proactive on tackling difficult decisions.

“We are living in a time of rapidly accelerating change in both academia as well as in health care,” Dragas said at a press conference on Sunday.

“That environment, we believe, calls for a different approach to leadership.”

Read more:

The Washington Post 

C’ville Weekly

The Huffington Post

 

May 16
Love0

Still Working. Still Committed.

By Corporate Strategy, Crisis Communications, Public Relations

Does that sound familiar? Do you feel like you’ve heard that somewhere? That’s because BP Global does not want you to forget that they are still working in the Gulf of Mexico funding nature research, promoting tourism, and helping the area recover from the oil spill of 2010. 

Look, I know no one loves big oil, but they have done a phenomenal job with their crisis communications. Here’s a feel good video for you:

Restoring the Gulf

Everything you could want to know about where they are and what they are doing is on the website dedicated to their restoration work. What actually happened during the spill? How have they changed their safe guarding measures? What are local residents saying? How has it all affected wildlife? Yes, it is all on there. The bad news and the good news on what happened and BP’s response program; it’s all there. What is great about this? Hearing live people tell their stories. These voices are of real people affected by the spill. This is not a spokesperson telling us how they are helping:

Hope with BP’s Vessels of Opportunity Program

Showing the hard realities of the crisis makes the positive response feel more authentic. This spill happened 2 years ago, and BP has invested heavily in their communication to make sure that the public knows they are involved. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube are  updated regularly. The stories are both informative and personal.

Crisis Communications is one of those aspects of our work that doesn’t get a lot of day-to-day attention. It’s easy to talk about Social Strategy or Brand Positioning, but when it comes to a crisis, you want to have that red folder to turn to. We work with our clients to think about what would be a crisis within their company, who would be your spokesperson, which media would you reach out to, how would you acknowledge fault and move forward with an actionable plan. And then, like BP, truly invest in that actionable plan.

So I’m ready for it. Do you hate me for saying I think BP is doing a good job?

Aug 26
Love0

WTF? Friday: Earthquakes and Twitter

By Social Media

Tuesday we had an earthquake in Central Virginia. Maybe you heard about it. As of last night we were still having aftershocks and frankly, I don’t think any of us living here have gotten over the emotional shock of a 5.8 rated quake. I was sitting outside having lunch with my daughter in Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall when the quake hit. It was definitely a WTF? moment as the motion and sound took everyone present a second or two to register the thought, “This is an earthquake.”

It was both hilarious and fortunate for a news junkie like me that people went immediately to Twitter and Facebook to share the earthquake experience. My daughter, 15, went to Facebook; I went to Twitter.

Wednesday night, when we had a 4.5 rated aftershock, many people updated on Twitter, despite it being just past one o’clock in the morning. Twitter, from the first few seconds of the quake, lit up with posts. If you doubted what you were feeling and seeing, Twitter and the community using it around you, provided validation (right; that shaking is not a train going by).

Mashable reported 40,000 earthquake-related tweets within the first minute. 

People in New York, far from the quake’s epicenter in Virginia, read tweets a full 30 seconds before the quake was felt where they were.

Twitter is an excellent vehicle for fast-moving news. If you’ve resisted joining and using the platform for any reason, this should convince you to give it a try.

Jun 27
Love0

React and Respond: Letters to the Editor and Online Comments Get the Job Done

By Public Relations

One of the more eye-opening moments I had as a young PR intern had to do with letters to the editor. A naive idealist, I thought all letters to the editor (LTE) were written by earnest citizens, penned by hand and mailed with a stamp. While some surely are (I hasten to add, for you, the Easter Bunny believers), many are not.

Now, all LTEs are signed by earnest citizens. All are sent by or delivered to publications by those putting their money and hearts behind the sentiment in the aforementioned letters, but LTEs are often suggested, originated, drafted and refined by people just like me: Public Relations professionals.

Publications worth their salt (or the paper on which they’re printed, in the case of those who still follow this process), follow up with those who have signed the LTEs and ask them to verify that they, indeed, have lent their name to the letter and the words within are theirs.

(Am I really telling a trade secret here? Or are you all nodding the head bob of the cynical with me?)

Today almost everything printed or broadcast is also found online, allowing for a faster reaction and response and, fortunately the speed-of-light submission of e-mailed letters to the editor and of course, the online comment, appearing just below the original article, to which the comment or letter reacts.

It’s a gift to the PR industry, actually, to be able to respond so thoroughly and quickly in this way. The opportunity for a client to correct misinformation in a very visible way, or to defend itself in a public forum is extremely valuable and clients always appreciate the opportunity and support to get the job done.

Chiming in is important, and it’ s been part of my job for more than 15 years to monitor the news on behalf of my clients and alert them to opportunities to react and respond. My favorite of these are those that offer controversy, stir up emotion or even allow for a crisis to potentially be averted. Few activities in the PR practice are more fun for me than crafting the crisis message and response. The current speed of news is the most challenging to stay on top of, but I enjoy watching and listening, and making the recommendations to get into the conversation when it’s appropriate for my clients to do so.

Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Is this information news to you?