Archive for Public Relations
April 22, 2008 at 9:50 pm · Filed under Workplace, Public Relations
This morning I had an email from a discouraged university graduate who is having trouble landing her first job. She knows herself well enough to aim for an in-house position with a corporation’s public relations department. Seems the rough and tackle world of consulting isn’t for her.
How do you land your first job after graduation? I’ve had the question enough times. It is hard to get experience when you don’t have any - and few companies seem keen to take on fresh recruits.
First and foremost you have to network. Too often graduates mass mail CVs to employers looking for work. If I get your application 99% of the time I don’t have an opening just then. And while I may file the details too often it rests forgotten in a drawer full of other candidates.
Instead, ask for information interviews. While few people may have a job opening when you apply almost everyone is free to share their viewpoints. Pen a smart, targeted note to people in your preferred industry and ask for a half-hour of their time. You should prepare questions tailored to them that will help you better understand their background. Some examples:
- How did you land your first role in public relations?
- What were the most important lessons from your first job?
- How well did university prepare you for your first role?
- What advice would you give recent graduates seeking their first job?
- Are there other people you know who I might approach for information interviews?
Don’t just approach the old nuts (folks like me who have been around forever). Sometimes the best interviews come from recent graduates who are in their first jobs. And the younger workers tend to have contacts who know where new roles are opening. Best way to start is to approach your university’s alumni office or career development office.
I can’t stress enough the importance of doing every step right. Send a tailored letter with the correct spelling, title and address of the person. Follow up four days later with a telephone call - and if need be, leave a concise and precise voice message (”Good morning this is Mary Calm following up on a letter I sent last week requesting an information interview. I can be reached on 123-456 and I look forward to hearing from you.”).
Then send a prompt thank you letter - reflecting back one major idea you heard that made sense. You might want to have personal business cards printed (small batches at any print shop or online). And if you see an article a month later that reminds you of what that person said, then clip it and mail it with a short “thought this would be of interest” cover slip.
It is all about the details. Employers are easily impressed by someone with a good grasp of all facets of meeting and correspondence etiquette. Sadly it will make you stand out from the shocking number of people who don’t get the basics right.
Network with one person, they’ll recommend another and in time you’ll have a dozen people who know about you and are keeping their ears to the ground for possible roles. In time one will call with an opening suited to your interests.
Now - get started!
April 7, 2008 at 2:00 am · Filed under America, Issues Management, Public Relations
Mark Penn stopped riding two horses today - he was forced to step down as Hillary Clinton’s chief strategist. He continues as CEO of Burson-Marsteller. Seems he stopped in on a client meeting with the Government of Colombia - who hired B-M to promote the country (and a Free Trade Agreement that Hillary opposed).
So it wasn’t appropriate for Clinton’s strategist to attend THAT meeting. But no one’s raised the issue of Penn acting as CEO of a global PR firm while dedicating himself to the Clinton campaign. How much was Camp Hillary reimbursing B-M for those services?
The departure comes at an awful time for Hillary. She’s falling in the polls. She didn’t dodge sniper fire in Bosnia. She’d also called for healthcare reform referencing the case of a woman who died in childbirth in Ohio because she didn’t have healthcare coverage. Ooops - girl is fine, baby is fine and both had private healthcare cover.
Penn definitely brought immense depth to the Hillary campaign. He’s a top strategist who authored “Micro Trends”.
But running a global PR firm and leading a presidential campaign was bound to end in conflict of interest. That said it makes it easier for companies aligned with the Republican Party. They’re free to chose anyone but B-M - no conflict!
March 25, 2008 at 7:52 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Public Relations
Neurolinguistic programming looks at the effect certain words or phrases have on us. University of California professor George Lakoff teaches the art of “framing” in his Cognitive Science 101 course at Berkley (for a .pdf version of Lakoff’s book “Don’t Think of an Elephant”, click here).
In “Elephant” Lakoff shows how certain words attach to the psyche and become “frames” for all subsequent discussions on the subject. In politics think “Patriot Act” or “Tax Relief”. These laden words cannot be countered effectively - how can any politician object to “Tax Relief” or be against the “Patriot Act”?
This concept applies to names, as well. London-based psychologist Richard Wiseman and his team surveyed 6,000 people to get their impressions of first names. Today’s “The Australian” includes highlights:
“People called James and Elizabeth are seen as the most successful. Jack and Lucy are the luckiest and Sophie and Ryan are the most attractive. But Lisa and Brian are most likely to fail, Helen and John are the unluckiest and Ann and George the least attractive.
“Professor Wiseman said: ‘Attractive female names tended to be soft-sounding and end with the ‘ee’ sound, whereas the sexiest males names are shorter and harder sounding.’”
Poor, unlucky George! Sounds like Brad and Angelina are onto something!
Public relations and advertising can use these insights to build better “sound bytes” and slogans. Use of key words and phrases will embed the concept in the mind of the listener - and make the phrase harder to counter.
What examples stick in your mind?
January 20, 2008 at 10:28 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Globalisation, Public Relations, Australia
Australian media has been dominated by the capture of two anti-whaling activists by Japanese whalers last week. The pair had boarded the ship to deliver a letter demanding Japan cease all whaling. They weren’t allowed to leave and an international media war ensued.
Headlines across Australia feature the illegal detention - with images of captives in pain as they’re man-handled on board the whaling ship. In Japan the furore centres on Australia’s two-sided arguments: Don’t kill whales, yet local government web sites outline how to humanely kill baby kangaroos should their mothers be killed in a road accident.
Dead whales versus dead kangaroos - this is what sells newspapers.
From a public relations viewpoint, you have to hand it to Sea Shepherd. This anti-whaling protest boat has satellite phones, video editing suites, a daily blog and an on-board crew from Discovery Channel filming a documentary. This team controls the imagery and messages used int he public debate because the flotilla is somwhere in the oceas between Australia, Africa and Antarctica. With their non-stop flow of information and imagery the Sea Shepherd has dominated the public relations war.
This is a communications program worth watching to learn ways of influencing public perception, government policy and international relations all through expert media management.
Track the action at: http://www.seashepherd.org/
January 12, 2008 at 8:00 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Public Relations
My friend Paul Griffin in Brisbane and I are re-working media training to make it more effective. Yes - it is a commodity product. And yes - every PR person and their dog offers a similar course. But we’re trying to make ours super effective for harried professionals. How quickly can we take media fledgelings and have them bravely flying from the nest?
As part of this we’ve been collecting good and bad examples of media interviews. I’d love your contributions if you have any. Paul just sent this one. It must be the worst avoidance technique. But then again, insanity has been a defence plea for decades…
Click here!
January 7, 2008 at 9:57 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Globalisation, Public Relations
NSW Tourism is filming a Bollywood film entitled, “Victory.” This “Bend if Like Beckham” sports story focuses on the trials and tribulations of the Commonwealth’s favourite sport - cricket. Shot at favoured locales across Sydney the film may be seen by as many as 1 billion people in India.
It couldn’t happen at a worst time.
Yesterday India’s cricket board called off the current test tour of Australia. Players who had boarded a bus for a match in Canberra disembarked after an hour and returned to the Radisson hotel - indefinitely.
At question is a multi-game suspension for one of India’s top players for a racial slur. But dig not much deeper and a wellspring of discontent springs forward - against Australia.
Captain Ricky Ponting is in the headlines with major papers across the nation calling for his dismissal. He led Cricket Australia to victory as team captain. But he did so in ways labeled disgraceful and unsportsmanlike. The letters to the editor are awash with cricket fans protesting against our own team. The Sydney Morning Herald runs an editorial with a superbly written opening line:
Australia’s cricketers and their managers have managed to pluck a moral disaster out of their victory in the Sydney Test against India. (Click to read more.)
So. Cricket India is holed up at the Radisson. Cricket Australia is under fire for poor sportsmanship. In India an effigy of the Second Test umpire was burned in the street.
Sounds like a terrible time to undertake a Bollywood Film promoting Australia using cricket as a theme. But then again “The Producers” had us all humming along to “Springtime for Hitler and Germany.” Perhaps they just need a really memorable show tune for “Victory.” Any suggestions for the song title?
November 29, 2007 at 3:03 am · Filed under Public Relations, Social Media
Curtin University has an active communications department. Katharina Wolf is a lecturer in the marketing department and is conducting a survey on the state of the public relations industry. The focus is on social media, education needs for the industry and - that perennial favourite of all - salary comparisons.
Take the survey TODAY by clicking here.
Katharina and her students should benefit from as many opinions as possible. And I’ll make sure we share highlights of the study when it is completed.
As they say in Louisiana politics - “Vote early and vote often!”
November 18, 2007 at 9:28 pm · Filed under Media Industry, Public Relations
Canberra author Bob Burton takes a dive into the public relations industry in his book, “Inside Spin.” This morning Bob Burton was interviewed on “The Book Show” on ABC Radio National. He said there’s been little written in Australia on the industry. I look forward to reading his book.
On the upside Burton calls for greater transparency and suggests more could be done to reveal client links to media relations activities. Journalists should write about which public relations agencies are providing materials for their stories. They should also dig to find which advocacy groups are funded by corporations - and which get support from that company’s PR firm.
On the downside the interview paints the industry in the worst light. Publicists are out to deceive and hide. Companies use “spin” to manage their images. In repeating these myths Burton undermines his research and demonstrates he didn’t look deeper into the custard than the skin.
I’ll reserve full judgement until I’ve read the book. However I’d suggest Burton get an agency to help him refine his key messages!
November 1, 2007 at 6:17 pm · Filed under America, Public Relations, Australia
Australia’s federal election is 24 November - just six weeks after the date was declared by the Prime Minister. (How can Americans stand a three year election cycle?) We’re becoming more Yank down here but our process is short - but not sweet.
Yesterday Prime Minister John Howard took his daily walk in the park, this time in Melbourne where he was staying the night. Accompanying him was the “John Howard Ladies Auxillary Club.” This female ‘Rat Pack’ was dressed in their morning finest for a day’s outing in the 1950s. Yet they also carried ‘Election Viagra’ to provide Johnnie Boy more - vigour?
Elections are a great time for publicists. Media follow every the movements of each campaigner. And major issues get released, such as healthcare policies or education initiatives. Journalists demand insights and fresh perspectives so professionals train their clients to speak on the issues of the day. This demands constant attention to the news, messages ready to go, and “talent” able to present lucid views on short notice. It’s a great device to position company executives as leading commentators on topical issues - and thus portray expertise, insights, knowledge, etc.
But it’s also fun for getting your message across in a light-hearted way. As Nancy Sinatra sang, “Are you ready boots? Start walkin’!”
October 30, 2007 at 7:01 pm · Filed under Issues Management, Public Relations
The world loves headlines about the Royal Family. Today Australian media reveals the son of the late Princess Margaret was the subject of a blackmail attempt. Seems two ne’er-do-wells had incriminating video of the man - with another man. (Click here for The Sydney Morning Herald story.)
It was the right thing to do to involve police, even if the outcome is a global outing. I applaud his actions - it shows bravery and an adherence to principle.
The next act will really demonstrate royal behaviour or not. English media laws forbid the naming of the person involved. So this Royal can go right back under the covers (or in the closet). Yet there are ways the unfortunate outing can be turned in his favour using smart media and public appearances.
What would your counsel be to this royal?
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