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Jaggers Communications

Feb 05
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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? 

Nov 07
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The Joys of Being the PR Firm Around the Corner

By Communications, Public Relations

I worked in St. Louis, Missouri for years.  17 in all, in fact. Five of those I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia. And while I loved that job, the firm I worked for, my colleagues, my clients and the work itself, traveling (and all its inevitable hassles) back and forth and not having the ability to “walk the halls” of my clients’ offices frequently wore me out. While I’m clearly a big believer in staying connected to others through social networks, I deeply value the ability to show up, to be present and to be eyeball to eyeball with people who are important to me.

At the end of 2010, after that last lonely hotel room, that last airline delay, that final unexpected layover, I quit the job in St. Louis and at the beginning of 2011 I opened my own shop in Charlottesville. I haven’t looked back since.

One of the truly great joys of working here is the ability to be present, live and in person, with our clients. A common day might include running into clients on the downtown mall, or really anywhere around town. Or learning the Gangnam Style dance from a client prospect at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Our proximity to those we serve allows us to dash, sometimes literally around the corner, to a client’s office. A client had a crisis recently and my colleague Rusty and I were able to pick up sandwiches for a working lunch and land at their office to work through the crisis management within the hour.

I’m not saying it isn’t perfectly possible to work at a distance, and we’re happy to do that, but there’s great gratification at being able to connect with those right here in our community.

Oct 16
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Jaggers Communications Announces New Client Engagements

By Jaggers Communications News

Firm to support HelioSage Energy, Summit Custom Homes, and Charlottesville High School

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (October 16, 2012) – Jaggers Communications, a strategic marketing and public relations firm with a growing presence in Central Virginia, announced today new partnership with three Charlottesville-based clients. The company will provide strategic communications counsel, planning, and execution for HelioSage Energy, a solar project development firm, coordinate the launch of a high-tech show home and community relations campaign for Summit Custom Homes in 2013, and provide social media strategy and training for the staff and educators of Charlottesville High School.

“We’re delighted to be serving as the communication partner for three organizations in industries where we excel; sustainable energy, education, and technology,” said Marijean Jaggers, president of Jaggers Communications.

The firm has added several clients to its roster in 2012 including HemoShear, a biotechnology research company, Lumos Networks, a telecommunications provider headquartered in Waynesboro, Va., the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of REALTORS® (CAAR), and Rebecca’s Natural Food, a supplement and organic grocery store based in Charlottesville.

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 About Jaggers Communications

Jaggers Communications applies experience to help businesses and nonprofits reach their business goals through strategic marketing, content creation, public relations and social media. Jaggers Communications provides organizations in the health care, education, technology, sciences, and sustainable energy industries with social media consulting, public relations support, and reputation management strategy. The firm was founded in 2011 to serve businesses with a need for cost-effective, strategic communications with effective reach.

Oct 12
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Philanthropy Day and Corporate Social Responsibility: Call for Community Partners

By Communications, Jaggers Communications News

Today we celebrate Philanthropy Day with the 2012 Jaggers Communications’ community partner, Center for Nonprofit Excellence. In a little while, I’ll be heading over to the Omni to hear keynote speaker Bob Sweeney tell us about the changing face of philanthropy, and to visit with many nonprofit and local business leaders.

As an individual, I was raised by parents to give back to my community. We always volunteered as a family, with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, with the American Diabetes Association, United Way, our church and other opportunities as they arose. We also contributed donations when we could, and I distinctly recall as a little kid hosting a backyard carnival to raise money for Ronald McDonald House.

As a business person, I was “raised” by other business people who also believe in giving back. We devote “time, talent and dollars” to community partners every year. When I opened Jaggers Communications in January of 2011, I was determined to continue that commitment and so, each year, we select one or two community partners to support in the coming year.

We’re interested in learning about YOUR nonprofit — your mission, your challenges and your communications goals for 2013. Please e-mail me directly at mjaggers at jaggerscommunications.com if you have a specific campaign, project or communications need we can support next year. We’ll be reviewing requests for support from now till the end of the year, and will announce our nonprofit community partners in January.

 

Oct 10
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Listen, Learn, and Lead: Market Research & Communications Strategy in the Social Media Age

By Communications, Marketing

John Herrmann

The following is a guest post by our research partner, John Herrmann, Sr. Associate, metro tribal.[i]

“If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” Tom Peters

“Great communication depends on two simple skills—context, which attunes a leader to the same frequency as his or her audience, and delivery, which allows a leader to phrase messages in a language the audience can understand.” John Maxwell

One of the striking things about this year’s presidential election is how difficult it has been for the challenger, Mitt Romney, to create a compelling and consistent narrative for his campaign. While it may be premature to call the election or fairly judge the candidates’ performances, it is not too early to conclude that Mr. Romney and his team have fared poorly in the social media arena. Despite record-breaking spending on traditional advertising, the Romney campaign has been dragged down by grainy YouTube videos and other viral messaging that relentlessly undermined and diverted attention from the candidate’s careful attempts to brand himself.

Regardless of the election’s outcome or how one feels about it, Romney’s struggles show clearly how hard it is for anyone — regardless of wealth, position, or other advantages — to control their own public identity in our competitive, socially interconnected world. And though most of us don’t operate under the extreme pressure of a Presidential contest, thoughtful business owners, executives, and other leaders should be worried that their organization’s image, reputation, and very viability may hinge on ideas and images that float uncontrolled on the wireless waves of today’s world-wide web. As Tom Peters suggests, if you’re feeling safe in this business climate, then you probably don’t understand it.

So given that it’s increasingly hard to control the information circulating about your brand or company, how can you increase the odds that others’ stories about you will enhance rather than diminish your reputation? First, recognize that it’s more important than ever for leaders to know and really understand the people they are trying to lead, whether employees, customers, voters, donors, or other followers. It’s not enough to know who buys what you’re selling but why they do; what your product or service means in the broader context of their lives and why they prefer it over the alternatives. You need to look at yourself as your customer sees you, and show that what matters to them also matters to you. If you prove to be a loyal servant to your followers’ values and priorities, they will be more likely to stay with you even in the face of conflicting information.

But if you’re having trouble connecting with a particular audience segment, if you have a product that’s underperforming, or if you have employees who don’t seem to get what you need them to do, market research may help you discover where your messages are missing their mark and get you back on track. As trained observers of human behavior, market researchers use a variety of tools and methods to listen to your audience and to learn where you are losing them. By arming you with fresh insights and a deeper understanding of where your crowd is coming from, you should be better prepared to lead them going forward.


[i] metro tribal™ is a division of Sector Intelligence, Inc., a social and market research firm serving leading corporations, trade and professional associations, non-profits, and government agencies for more than a decade. Visit us on the web at http://metrotribal.com/ or call anytime at (434) 202-5145 for a free, no-risk consultation.