In public relations we debate words, search for alternative phrases and aim to keep clients on message. Yet simplicity and beauty often escape us - we make it too complicated.
The Cannes Film Festival has awarded its prize for the best short film to “The Story of a Sign”. Please - invest 2-3 minutes and you will be well rewarded.
Yesterday I presented at the New Media Summit in Melbourne, organised by Frocomm. I was the last speaker on Day Two which wasn’t as bad a slot as you might imagine. After hearing the “hows and whats” of new media, I was able to discuss the “why”.
Our trust in major institutions has deteriorated. Now we’re more likely to trust “someone like me” over a company, government or the church. Enron, Weapons of Mass Destruction and Paedophilia have destroyed our trust in major institutions.
We’re also able to access the web - and the change from Web 1.0 (reading content on-line) to Web 2.0 (publishing - like this blog) has made us all instant experts. Finally this on-line empowerment has made us all an “army of one” able to take on our foes and friends in a public sphere.Hence the need to pay attention to Social Media.
The Arthur W Page Society is named after one of the greats in the public relations industry (see also Lee Ivey, Harold Burson and Dan Edelman). The august group conducted a great survey among CEOs and also published a white paper. (Get a copy now - here.) I presented the highlights - see my show at SlideShare.
There were 150 people in the audience and questions centred on “dark” or covert marketing. That’s when people don’t alert you which company is sponsoring a social media marketing program. These are inevitably disasters - like WalMart and its happy camper van bloggers.
All in all the event was well attended and well received. Glenn Frost at Frocomm said I was “tied for first” among best presenters. (That blog darling Laurel Papworth and I will take turns sharing the crown.)
Take a gander at all these presentations - it is great stuff and will help you convince CEOs why they need to engage in social media.
You’d think distance would provide perspective. But no such luck with the US Republican party, its VP pick and the hurricane that wasn’t. I am flabbergasted to read that McCain’s VP choice was foisted on him by conservatives. He wanted Lieberman or Ridge but the conservatives chucked a fit. So Palin was chosen at the close of a short meeting. She’d had little review.
The mooseburger-loving Governor of Alaska has five children aged 18 years to four months. Her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant - “and will be married.” Her son is on his way to Iraq. She’s got a lawyer defending her in the Troopergate Investigation, as she’s accused of using pwer to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. When his boss wouldn’t sack him she got the boss sacked. Her husband drove drunk and was arrested. But she’s Christian and opposes abortion and gays.
It is a comedy but given she’d be a stroke away from presidency it’s a travesty.
McCain has shown his hand. The firebrand Republican folded like a house of cards when under pressure. I don’t want his hand hovering over the button that declares war. His hot-headed reputation has an underbelly - he’s also a quitter when he can’t get his way.
Look out Washington DC - Sarah Palin is in town and she’s armed and dangerous!
At New Media conference in Melbourne today lawyer Michael Park of Deaconsdiscusses the legal issues surrounding social media. Many workplaces are blocking Facebook as it drains server capacity and blurs the line between personal and professional behaviour.
Like the Christmas party we’re to use common sense. Yet for some organisations it’s led to legal issues when employees use it for harassment or discrimination or exclusion.
“The same rules that applied to old media apply to new media,” said Park. He told a story of setting Internet policy a decade back when executive questioned why employees would need email. But like the phone the new media was regulated like the old.
In short when you’re at work you’re on the company’s server. Use it like any company property.
Misuse it and the legal beagles will be all over you like a cheap suit…
Interesting advice from Laurel Papworth - great public speaker and well-connected blogger. Here at a New Media Conference in Melbourne the over-arching commentary on social media is that you need to remain true to your values.
“You are a brand of one,” says Papworth.
This ties in perfectly with the presentation I’m to give here tomorrow - “The Authentic Enterprise” by Arthur W. Page Society.
Great concept - now, what’s my logo?
Today’s front cover of The Australian shows the impact of well-chosen photographs. Today is the first a of the Republican National Convention. Candidate John McCain is featured laughing and smiling with his Vice Presidential pick - Sarah Palin - and her husband Todd.
Immediately below is a photo of evacuees fleeing New Orleans. One man’s luggage is a plastic bag. Yet above are the white, well-fed images of Republicans celebrating.
It shows that public relations people have more than journalists to deal with.
Fairfax Limited announced headcount reductions this week - cutting some 550 roles across its stable of newspapers. Yet the way the news was announced showed contempt for the profession of journalism. ABC Radio National’s “The Media Report” provided great insights - click here to listen.
Central to the ABC report is the way staff cuts were announced - instead of dealing with reporters, CEO David Kirk of Fairfax Media issued an email to all staff. He then hosted a conference call - with financial analysts. Journalists were allowed to listen in but were not allowed to ask questions.
This approach to media relations is hypocritical - if any other company handled restructuring the same way Fairfax publications would lambast the approach. Stonewalling journalists never works, even if you’re preparing to fire them first.
Learn more about the opposition view - visit Fair Go, Fairfax.
I spent the day in Canberra yesterday seeking to influence government policy regarding the Emissions Trading Scheme(ETS). A client leads in the voluntary carbon market. Rudd’s new ETS places a cap on Australia’s top 1,000 polluting companies. Over time that cap is reduced and they must clean up - or pay other companies for their “rights”.
At the same time thousands of Australians are voluntarily reducing their emissions, and offsetting what they cannot reduce. This national grassroots movement is ignored by Rudd’s ETS.
In discussions yesterday it became crystal clear that this issue is not crystal clear. We’re discussing two separate markets - one that doesn’t come into force for two years and another that’s active today and left out of the system.
Carbon offstting, emissions trading and related issues are all new. As a “first to market” with new technology companies are required to educate the market. Otherwise people misunderstand - or ignore your efforts.
The advantage of educating is you set the terms of reference for the rest of the market. Opinion-leaders and journalist will use your terminology to frame the debate.
If you’re the first with a new product, service, technology or other then use the opportunity to educate your audiences. It’s a wise investment that will pay immeasurable returns.
In Tasmania a proposed pulp mill to be built by Gunns squeaked through the approval process late last year. Environmentalists decry a plant that turns forests into woodchips. Locals are split with some wanting jobs and others wanting forests. Outside Tasmania public opinion is solidly against the mill.
Spot the Difference
While government approval was granted, the mill has yet to start construction. Why? Consumer activism has made funding the deal a hot potato for banks.
The Three Gorges Dam is the best example of how financial backing can turn into a corporate reputation minefield. This controversial project has been decried for the massive relocation required - some 1.2 million people and 1,500 industries were displaced. Worse environmental and cultural heritage sites are being flooded. Even China now acknowledges there are problems:
Wang Xiaofeng, the head of the Three Gorges Dam Project of the State Council declared: “We cannot win passing economic prosperity at the cost of the environment.”
For bank funding the dam there are similar corporate reputation issues, leading to numerous shareholder resolutions to block damaging transactions:
“…but an outstanding example is the resolutions with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch concerning their involvement in financing the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.”
Source: Social Funds: The largest personal finance site devoted to socially responsible investing
Now it’s the turn of the Australian banks to feel the heat - today Gunns announced a $300 million non-underwritten rights issue led by Credit Suisse, JP Morgan and Macquarie Capital Advisers.
Gunns may yet build their mill yet the company and its financial advisers will feel the sting of public outcry for some years to come.
I went to the chiropractor this morning - since starting adjustments a month ago I’m sleeping like a log and chronic back pain is a thing of the past. So I was annoyed to have sharp lower back pain for the last two days. The chiropractor did an evaluation then starting working on my left knee. Apparently tightness there sent the back out of whack. Attack the cause and the symptoms dissipate.
Too often companies hire public relations firms to address the symptoms. They have a bad image and get negative press. Driving back I saw an advertisement for an oil company - they use rainforest friendly coffee beans in their cafes. What gets glossed over are the human rights abuses in Nigeria where they have operations, and their impact on the environment when they drill.
Public relations is limited in its efficacy when companies do not address the root causes. Press releases can’t make sub-standard working conditions in developing country factories go away. Poor customer service can’t be covered by one case study.
Smart corporations redress their business practices and ensure they are functioning smoothly before trying to gain a better image through public relations. Otherwise its the equivalent of a “10 minute back-rub” by an in-mall masseur versus finding the root cause of the pain.
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