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Edelman prowadzi Hewlett-Packard

epublicrelations — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:10:02 +0000

Edelman w globalnym przetargu wygrał Hewlett-Packard

Od października 2008 r. agencja Edelman odpowiedzialna będzie za obsługę marki HP (IPG – Dział Druku i Przetwarzania Obrazu) w zakresie public relations, doradztwa marketingowego oraz influencer marketing. W ramach globalnego kontraktu, obejmującego 70 krajów, Edelman zastąpił trzy agencje, które oddzielnie koordynowały wszystkie wyżej wymienione obszary.

Zakres współpracy pomiędzy HP a Edelman jest kolejnym dowodem na to, że klienci oczekują dziś od agencji public relations usług znacznie szerszych, niż tylko klasyczne media relations. – powiedziała Barbara Kwiecień, General Manager Edelman Polska. Edelman redefiniuje pojęcie agencji PR. Ta strategia doceniona została przez magazyn Advertising Age. W styczniu tego roku Edelman, jako pierwsza agencja PR w historii, umieszczony został na liście najlepszych agencji świata (Advertising Age Agencies A-list).

Działania w regionie EMEA koordynowane będą przez oddziały w Barcelonie i Londynie (tzw. EMEA HUBs). W polskim biurze Edelmana w Warszawie za obsługę projektów odpowiadać będą dwa zespoły. Karolina Mizgalska, Account Director, będzie koordynować działania w regionie (tzw. HUB lokalny). Do Mizgalskiej raportować będą biura Edelmana oraz agencji afiliowanych z Rosji, Bułgarii, Węgier, Rumunii, Mołdawii, Słowenii, Czech, Słowacji, Ukrainy i Izraela oraz Polski. Działania w Polsce prowadzić będzie zespół kierowany przez Małgorzatę Celarek, Account Managera.

Gimme Shelter...

Paul Lockstone — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:53:04 +0000

News of the Government’s £37bn investment of taxpayers’ money into the battered British banking sector, alongside Barclays’ announcement that it is looking to raise a further £6.5bn of capital from the market, is further confirmation that we have moved from the point where we are experiencing a crisis of confidence to just a full blown crisis. Judging by the reaction of the FTSE 100 this morning (with the exception of HBOS, Lloyds TSB and RBS) the Government has provided not only the necessary financial stability, but perhaps almost as importantly the required level of political commitment, to begin to turn the tide of negative sentiment that has engulfed the markets in the last two weeks. While the focus is on failing banks, hats should be raised in the direction of HSBC and Santander/Abbey, the former of which has benefited from its genuinely international outlook and the latter being a beneficiary of Spain’s particularly tough banking supervisory regime.

What is absolutely clear is that Trust in the banking industry has all but melted away – not just amongst the man or woman in the street but most damagingly within the market itself. Edelman has charted the ebbs and flows of Trust through its highly regarded Trust Barometer since 2000 and will shortly be going into the field again to assess the level of Trust in industry, Government, NGOs and the media in more than 20 countries around the world. Recent years have seen increasing levels of Trust in business so it will be fascinating to see what impact recent events have on the respective measures for each constituent part of the Barometer. Just as interesting will be the steps the financial services industry takes to kick-start the process of rehabilitation in the eyes of not only the public but all its stakeholders. There is little doubt that the next twelve months are going to present major challenges to communicators in the financial services sector generally and to banks in particular. As the British taxpayer takes up residence on the share register of some of our most important financial institutions, an ability to empathise with the man and woman in the street will be an essential requirement.

Diamonds (and PR gaffes) are forever...

Paul Lockstone — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:07:57 +0000

Breaking away – if it’s possible – from the collapsing world economy, an interesting flyer lands on my desk for the 2008 Reputation Conference at the John Madejski Centre for Reputation at Henley Business School. The keynote speaker is one Gerald Ratner who certainly knows a thing or two about demolishing reputations – but is he best placed to advise on rebuilding them?

Apparently he is, if you believe the somewhat sugar-coated biography accompanying the flyer. “Gerald was the millionaire chief executive of the UK jewellery chain Ratners Jewellery which he built into the world’s largest jewellery retailer with 2,500 shops and £2 billion turnover.” So far, so Mills & Boon. Disaster was to strike, however! ”After some uncomplimentary remarks Gerald made in public regarding product quality” it says, Ratners “suffered financial losses and was renamed Signet Group in 1993.” But fear not - there’s a happy ending in store: “Gerald has since gone on to re-launch his career in the jewellery sector with www.geraldonline.com in 2004, proving that failed brands can make a comeback.”

This all seems to somewhat gloss over what I recall as one of the most high profile corporate gaffes in history, which led to a meltdown in the Ratners business and share price, the resignation of Gerald as CEO, popular references to Ratners as ‘Crapners’ (hence the expunging of the brand name) and the introduction of the phrase “to do a Ratner” into the lexicon as short-hand for shooting oneself in the foot in a high profile fashion. As for failed brands making a comeback (after 11 years, and in a completely different guise), the name Ratner is conspicuous by its absence on the geraldonline website.

There are certainly things we can learn from Gerald Ratner’s experience, but “focusing on achievements, admitting blame where it’s due and managing the media successfully” (the learnings from his keynote, apparently) don’t immediately come to mind as the most obvious. Edelman’s Media Director Jo Sheldon still uses the Ratner incident as a ‘how not to do it’ example in her much in demand media training sessions. Her view is that better lessons by far are not to talk disparagingly about your products or your customers and not to believe that you can make an ‘off the record’ speech to a public gathering - true enough in 1991 and all the more so in today's digital era when mobile telephones and PDAs mean that you are never out of reach of recording equipment.

I’m with Jo on this one.

To Blog or Not to Blog—That’s a Great Question

julieanneperry — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:27:19 +0000

Investment firms aren’t known for being tech savvy. Of course top portfolio managers and stock traders use sophisticated computer modeling and tracking systems. But the financial industry overall has been slow to adopt the latest Internet technologies like podcasting and vodcasting. One brokerage firm only recently allowed advisors to communicate with clients via email.

Times are changing though. The investment industry no longer shuns new technology. It simply takes them longer than most to figure out how to effectively use it.

Financial companies make it a practice to follow behind others to see how certain systems and technologies work—or fail. The thinking being that they want others to take the risks.

Thankfully, the world has courageous early adopters who embrace new technologies—and are willingly to share their lessons learned with the rest of us.

Consider blogging.

In their book “Naked Conversations,” IT rebels Robert Scoble and Shel Israel provide a roadmap for companies to implement blogging. The book cites convincing case examples from Scoble’s groundbreaking work at Microsoft and Israel’s experience as a communications innovator. It provides a guide for corporations that want to embark and learn the rules of blogging.

After reading “Naked Conversations” I couldn’t help but wonder whether blogging could effectively fit into the financial industry. Could I convince clients to use blogging as another communications tool that would build more effective relationships at a fraction of the cost? It certainly would be challenging.

Consider that the traditional press release still represents the financial industry’s most widely used communications tool. This traditional one-way communication method is anything but conversational and customer focused.

But the concept of blogging, the ability to reach and converse with your target audience effectively and efficiently sounds compelling, right?

I’m drawn to the conversational and two-way nature of blogging. It’s a great way for customers or potential clients to hear from the company in an authentic and interesting way. The company now has personality.

The idea of corporate blogging is making its way into the mainstream. In addition to Scoble and Israel’s writings, numerous studies and articles have been written about the potential impact that blogging could have on corporations.

A Public Relations Journal study claims that the new world of public relations requires PR professionals to embrace the digital age—or else. According to the study, this means developing digital strategies that complement and further enhance the client relationship. It means using the Internet and the many sources available to advance relationships, such as blogging.

A study by Edelman Public Relations says blogging empowers employees to communicate in ways similar to the rise of labor unions witnessed in the 20^th century. The study discusses the importance of establishing blogging guidelines. Scoble and Israel and organizations such as the BBC also raise this point.

So, after reading “Naked Conversations” and the many upbeat articles about blogging, I couldn’t help but wonder whether the blogosphere simply has too many rules and guidelines. Before reading the book, I thought that blogging was supposed to be a forum for those who wanted to voice their opinions and express themselves however they saw fit. I used to view blogging more as an open source-esque type of communication. The book illustrates the less than appealing reaction that the blogging community can take when a company unknowingly veers off the blogging rule path and attempts to take a different approach. The blogosphere becomes a bully towards those who break the blogging rules. That part I don’t appreciate.

But bully blogging aside, I believe that blogging could be effective in the financial industry. As Scoble and Israel point out, the entire culture, particularly the legal team, needs to be on board.

Investment professionals who operate in a blogging friendly culture and who are creative, interesting, and can write well could find blogging as a way to build stronger client relationships and gain new customers.

There are certain topics financial blogs must avoid for legal reason, such as recommending specific stocks. Instead, the focus could be on specific life events that people face and the financial difficulties that result.

I believe that the women’s market represents an ideal target audience for blogging. I could see blog postings talking about the financial considerations that divorced women should understand, or the financial impact of having a child. An advisor who blogged about these issues could position themselves well with clients and prospects and with peers in the financial community.

A number of financial blogging communities already exist, such as “No Limits Ladies.” This social community discusses financial literacy in a fun and interesting way with other investors. I see no reason why investment professionals can’t take part and help to transform and improve the world of financial blogs.

Making Money in an Economic Downturn

anthonymora37 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:38:30 +0000

Recession. Economic downturn. Tough economic times. Makes you want to hide under the covers until the storm passes, right? Maybe, but that’s the wrong approach. Let’s move from fear to facts. A number of studies show that companies that continue or increase their marketing and public relations efforts during tough economic times consistently outperform those who slash their marketing efforts during rough times.

Think about it. If most companies are reacting in a turtle-like fashion and hiding in their shells until the sun comes out again, there’s less competition out there; less companies are launching PR campaigns, fewer are reaching the public with effective marketing efforts. Suddenly you have media outlets that are looking for stories, particularly some good non-doom and-gloom stories. If you’re a savvy business person you know this and understand that this is precisely the time you can have a greater impact and get a bigger bang for your buck. So, look at tough times as your chance to reach your target market and build your business.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

My Book's Self-Published Can I still get Media Coverage?

anthonymora37 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:40:29 +0000

When it comes to media placement, it just doesn't matter anymore whether your book is published by a major house or is self-published. In the last few years, only once have I come across an objection to running a story because an author's book was self-published.

A few years back a story we pitched was rejected by CNN, because the author we were
pitching had self-published his book. We pitched it three times and received three passes.
Well, we had also been working on other media fronts, and a few weeks later called back
explaining that the author and his book had been featured in both Newsweek and USA Today. Three hours later we received another call from CNN stating that they had thought it over and wanted to move forward with a segment. The author was interviewed on CNN. The moral is, if you get a “no,” keep working it and offering different angles until you turn that “no” into a “yes.” A self-published author's real struggle has to do with distribution and marketing. When it comes to media relations, if you do it right, you can play in the same ballpark as the majors. As a matter of fact, I sometimes think that self-published writers fare better than their house-published counterparts because they are under no illusions. They don't assume that some big entertainment conglomerate is going to use all of its muscle and turn their book into an overnight sensation. They realize that if success is going to happen, they'd better get to work, and fast. Your book was written to be read. Use the magic of the media. Get it out there.

Pitch the Story, Not Your Book

anthonymora37 — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 05:25:13 +0000

So, here’s where publishers and I usually differ, whereas most publishers pitch the book, I prefer to pitch the author. I have had quite a few heated discussions with publishers about this approach. I understand their perspective, they published the book and that’s what they want to promote. The only problem with that approach is that it’s wrong. Pitch your book and you have a certain number of stories and media hooks, pitch yourself, your life experiences, your anecdotal stories and your book and you’ve suddenly broadened the bulls eye.

Remember, when it comes to landing media coverage, it still all comes back to the media hook, to offering them a strong story. It's the story that will interest the press. Don't simply send out your book and information to the media, thinking that they'll be so knocked out by your writing or the book's subject matter that they'll be clamoring to interview you. It seldom works that way. Develop hooks and story ideas that you can use to spotlight your book. If your book is non-fiction or a how-to this becomes a much easier task. We have represented authors who have written books on fashion, beauty, health, relationships, sex, and a variety of other topics. Even though we focus on the books in our campaigns, we do not limit ourselves to the book exclusively. Our objective remains the same: to establish our clients as experts in their field. The book becomes a part of the story, but it never defines the entire campaign. If you can place an article in a magazine or a segment on a talk show that revolves specifically around your book, you've hit pay dirt. But that's not always an easy task. Certainly pitch your book as one of your hooks, but don't limit your campaign. Come up with other story ideas which can include your book, but do not revolve specifically around it.

For example, we worked with a psychotherapist who wrote a book on how to save a troubled marriage. Although we included the book in all of our pitches, the focus remained on the psychotherapist's expertise in relationship issues. We pitched the women's magazines and talk shows, relationship-oriented stories in which our client could appear as an expert. The media reacted well to our pitches and interviews were scheduled. Although some of the stories were about marriages and romantic relationships, others were about other types of relationships, such as parent child relationships or sibling relationships. Even though those issues did not
revolve specifically around the topic of our client's book, she could expertly address them. When she appeared on talk shows, our client was introduced as the author of her book and was asked questions about her book during the interview. Although the shows themselves did not always revolve around the book, the book and client were always highlighted. If we had insisted on segments or articles that only featured or revolved around the book, we would have severely limited the media opportunities. We were branding her as an expert. Whenever she was interviewed, she discussed her book, which garnered her book more coverage and led to more media specifically focused on her book. The approach worked.

So, broaden your media horizons. Make a list of all the potential story ideas about you, your journey and your book and start writing again - writing press releases that is.

I've Published a Book – When do I get on Oprah

anthonymora37 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:22:04 +0000

So you finally did it. You wrote that book you've been threatening to write, sent it to
publishers, amassed a mountain of rejection slips, but finally found that right publisher. Your manuscript was accepted. You're going to be a published author. Great - you can now turn your attention to your next book. Your first book's finished; your publisher will take care of everything from here on out. You’re Oprah segment is just a matter of time, right? Surprise!

At my firm, we run the gamut when it comes to representing authors, from self-published, first-time writers to writers who have landed multi-book deals with major publishers and, I am sad to report, the one common link among all the authors we work with is that, unless they are already household names, few seem to receive much support from their publishers.

It would be easy to blame the publishing company's media relations departments, but most publishing companies have slashed their in-house staffs and their publicists are overloaded. Every month, up to thirty books are dumped on a couple of in-house publicists. It's an impossible task. And unless you have name recognition or have written a shocking expose that the entire world is waiting to read, chances are you and your book will get lost in the shuffle.

Whether you are self publishing or are publishing your book through a major house, this is one instance where I strongly recommend you hire an outside PR firm that understands book media relations to implement your campaign. This is one time you don't have the luxury of learning as you go. You need to launch an effective campaign even before it's published. If you want to have it reviewed, you need to send a copy of your book, or the galleys, to reviewers, often as long as three months before the publication date. Once it's published, you immediately want to hit the local media, the talk shows, and the national press. One area you definitely want to focus on is national and regional radio outlets. There are hundreds of regional and local radio talk shows and current event-oriented programs that feature books and authors. These interviews are almost always conducted over the phone. You can be at home in your bathrobe, discussing your book, while thousands of people listen.

Even if you are publishing with a major house, I suggest that you approach your book’s PR launch as though you're self publishing your book. View your publisher primarily as a printer and distributor and assume that all of the responsibility for securing publicity for your book rests firmly on your weary shoulders. Try to convince your publisher to pay for at least two to three months worth of outside media relations. If your publisher launches a campaign for you, that's great, but don't count on it doing a heck of a lot. You don't have the luxury of being wrong. If you assume the media relations will be done for you and it's not, by the time you discover your error it will be too late. You’ll keep waiting for the phone to ring and for that Oprah segment to magically appear. Take your PR campaign into your own hands. If possible, hire an outside firm to handle your campaign for you. You finally have your book. Make the most of it. Don’t miss your window of opportunity.

Utilizing Your Press Coverage

anthonymora37 — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:26:25 +0000

Too many people only look for the immediate results that a magazine article, radio interview, or TV segment can bring. In this simplistic equation, if a story brings in business or, at the very least, inquiries from prospective clients, it was a success, and, if it did not, it was a failure. A story that doesn't bring in immediate response is not utilized further, then indeed it is a failure, but that is due to the person who implemented the campaign. There are countless ways in which you can effectively utilize copies of articles or tapes of programs you have appeared in. This media can be like gold if utilized properly. But this is where you really have to do both work and homework. This is the one area where, even if you have hired a media relations firm, you’re on you own.

Most firms will place you in the media and use your media appearances to interest other media outlets in interviewing you. But don't rely on a media relations firm to fully maximize the various ways that your media can help your business or career grow. Be inventive and creative and to effectively utilize your media in as many ways as possible. Copy the article, video, or audio tape and send it out when the media requests further information on you. Update your biography to include your most recent media appearances. When writing or talking to the media, let them know about other segments or articles you have appeared in. Mention your media in your ads, flyers, newsletters, and brochures. Review your articles and interviews, and look for any particularly impressive quotes about you or your business that you can highlight in your ads or marketing.

If you have a staff or employees, teach them to use the media you have been featured in their pitches or conversations to both clients, and prospective clients. Teach your employees to utilize your media. If they are talking to a prospective client, patient, or customer, it never hurts to have them mention that you, your product, or services were featured in a magazine or TV program. Work with them; come up with ways to weave your media appearances into their conversations and discussions.
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

UMD to Host First Annual Grunig Lecture

Tiffany — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:41:50 +0000

My alma mater for graduate school, the University of Maryland, is holding the first annual Grunig lecture in honor of two of my mentors and dear friends Jim and Lauri Grunig. They are visionary. If you have not had the opportunity to meet them in person, I especially recommend that you attend if the location is convenient. Make sure to introduce yourself to them. They are engaging and genuine. The lecture will occur on Oct. 30, 2008, and the keynote speaker will be Richard Edelman. (By the way, I've included this blog post by him in my course packet for my Mass Media and Society class). The theme of the evening is social media, and activities begin at 4:30 p.m. If you have questions, send them to Elizabeth Toth at eltoth@umd.edu. If you want to sing the praises of Jim and Lauri Grunig or Richard Edelman or if you would like to share a fun story, feel free to leave a comment.

Here is a sneak peak at my upcoming posts:

An update on UO graduates who landed public relations jobs
An update on UO graduates who are seeking public relations jobs
Advice for graduates seeking public relations jobs

That's What Makes Media Magic

anthonymora37 — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:43:59 +0000

What truly makes this process magical is that when you appear in the media, regardless of how big or how small the outlet, you never know who's going to see it or what opportunity is going to come your way because of it. A local Los Angeles-based newspaper once ran a story on my company, which elicited almost no response. I was a bit disappointed, but it was a great article and made for a wonderful tear sheet to use in my media package. A few weeks later I received a call from an author in Florida who had been sent a copy of the article and wanted to hire us. Florida? In three weeks I had not received one call from the Los Angeles area in response to the article, and here I was receiving a call from Florida. Apparently a friend of the author, who lives in Southern California, had seen the piece and mailed it to her. The author explained that the article, which focused on my firm's ability to place clients on national talk shows, interested her. Her book was about to be published, and she wanted to appear in the national media, especially talk shows. She signed with us, and we were able to launch a very
successful campaign for her. Our relationship with the author led to a relationship with her publishing company, which resulted in us working with other authors they represented. So, even though, the article only brought us one phone call, that one call was a great one. Because of that one piece, we developed a working relationship not only with the author, but with her publisher. The article also served as a great tear sheet which I can send to other media outlets as well as to prospective clients. So look at the big picture when viewing your public relations campaign. You never know who is going to see or read a particular story, and if you don't do the interviews and utilize your press, you never will.

You're Placing a Story Where?

anthonymora37 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:03:29 +0000

Every client's happy when we place them on the Today show or Oprah or in Newsweek, but they're not quite as overjoyed when we place them on an Internet TV outlet or in an obscure magazine. I know there are times my clients find my choice of media placements bewildering. The media outlets are too small, too insignificant, too obscure. They don't reach the client's direct target market. Why do it? There will be no response. It's a waste of time and money.

Not really. We place the stories, because we know that we can use them to our advantage. We can use that media coverage, to help garner other coverage, to help land more articles and other TV interviews. It's important to have a broad perspective and see the whole picture. The process isn't as obvious as it may seem at first glance. Instead of just asking if a particular story will bring in immediate clients or calls, ask yourself if that story will help you garner other media, or if will it be useful to you in your overall marketing plan. If you look at it from that perspective, you’ll soon start to see that press coverage, whether large or small, can all be of use to help build a powerful and effective media campaign.

...on dealing with the devil

Steve Bowen — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:20:43 +0000

Mallen Baker, always a good read, has another thought provoking piece on his blog about "ethical" business. He makes a sound point about the inclusion of companies in industries like oil, gambling and tobacco being included in ethical investment indices - essentially that it's better to have a "bad" company doing good things than to have the same company decide that, since it's bad anyway, it needn't bother.

I'll agree to a point, but there is a degree of hypocrisy about tobacco companies on the one hand trumpeting their efforts to reduce smoking in the U.S. while, here in Indonesia for example, glamorising smoking through pop sponsorships (even failed ones), extreme sports and so on. Tobacco advertising here is a lot more overt than in many other countires I've visited and, it has to be said, underage smoking seems a lot more visible also.

Should tobacco producers, oil companies, weapons manufacturers and other ethically dubious industries be demonized simply because of how they make their money? No, so long as the business is legal.

I do think, though, that companies today need to be careful that their commitment to social responsibility is seen to apply across the entire global organization. If it's wrong to glamorize smoking in the U.S. or in Korea then it's wrong for the same company to do the same thing in Indonesia. You can't hide behind what the law allows and still expect to be seen as a responsible company.

I agree with Mallen that demonising companies that you don't like (even if you are in a majority) is an exercise in self indulgence. However, I also believe that the same self indulgence is behind the apparent idea that you can pay the cost of doing good in one market by continuing to do bad in another.

Even When it Works; There's More Work

anthonymora37 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:34:40 +0000

Let's suppose an article has the exact effect that you're hoping for. The phones are
ringing day and night. Both your business and your bank account are flourishing. Success! Now you can forget about that story and move on. No. No. No. Whether the article elicits a negligible response or a huge response, you still need to work it. This is where most people fail to understand the process. Because their short-term goals were met, they stop in mid process and neglect their long-term goals.

My first public relations firm specialized in representing clients in the entertainment field. We were once retained by a young actress who perfectly illustrated this point. She had been a regular in a prime time TV series. The series had been canceled, and she wanted to do more film work. During the time that the series was on TV, she had received a mountain of press, including stories in People, The Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Tonight, but when I asked to see copies or video of some of her media, she just stared at me. She hadn't kept any. While she had been on the series, the media exposure had accomplished its short term work, keeping her in the public eye, and that's all she had been concerned with. She never looked at her long term goals. The media coverage she had received was worth its weight in gold, but she didn't see it. You don’t need to be in the entertainment industry to learn from her mistake. When it comes to launching an effective, ongoing public relations campaign, you not only need to see the forest but the trees, grass, and bushes, as well as all the furry animals along the way.

...on CEO blogging

Steve Bowen — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:16:30 +0000

Reading a recent Unspun post, I started thinking about something we are often asked in our line of work - "Should CEO's blog"? It's both easy and difficult to answer.

As my own experience (and the paucity of posts in recent weeks) shows, it's easier to start a blog than to maintain it, especially if you are not, by nature, a diarist. I don't want to turn my blog into a collection of clippings, but when work gets hectic it can be difficult to justify taking time out to write. Yes, you can write at home but I like to keep my time at home for my family and even writing a blog post is dangerously close to bringing my work home with me.

So should CEOs blog? Mine does, and so do many more. Others start off, as do I, with the best intentions but find that other things get in the way and the site goes silent. And it must be acknowledged that the average CEO has probably more pressing time constraints than do I.

Five questions I would ask a CEO who was thinking about starting a blog:

1: Do you already keep a journal or diary that you would be comfortable putting online?

2: Is there a non-business topic that you feel sufficiently passionate about to write on two or three times a week?

3: Are you absolutely certain that you can schedule an hour a week to write and stick to that schedule?

4: Do you currently read and comment on blogs relating to your business or interests?

5: Do you see the blog as an important component in your personal and professional career development?

If you can't answer "Yes" to at least three of those questions, then blogging may not be for you.

Now I just have to answer them myself.

Conférence élections US, 22 septembre, venez nombreux !

François Taschereau — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 23:31:22 +0000

La campagne électorale américaine bat son plein et la Chaire Raoul-Dandurand, en collaboration avec Edelman, organise une conférence intitulée :

Comment gagner une élection présidentielle aux États-Unis ?
Les secrets de quatre conseillers politiques d’expérience

La qualité du panel promet : John Parisella, le professeur Mike Hanahan de l’Université du Massachusetts, et mes collègues Tony & Toby, de Edelman Washington (voir leur canal sur YouTube).

RSVP auprès de la Chaire tel qu’indiqué. J’espère vous y voir !

Effectively Working Your Media Coverage

anthonymora37 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:06:34 +0000

When an article is published or TV segment runs. That’s not the end of it. You need to work it. Become the story's distributor - and I mean distributor in the most basic sense - circulate your story, spread the word, mention the story in your biography and fact sheet, use it when pitching other stories, let other media outlets know that you were featured in the article. Duplicate it and use it as a press sample. Use quotes from the story in your mailers, newsletters, ads, and marketing to help you cement your existing client base. If you have employees, distribute it through your company as a form of internal publicity. If used correctly, you can turn this media coverage into a most powerful marketing tool.

It’s important to understand exactly how media relations works. By understanding the process, you make it a cumulative, ongoing process. Media begets media. You can turn an initial opportunity into ongoing media coverage. Be creative. Make a list of the various ways you can utilize your media, from ads and newsletters to placing framed copies of articles in you window or office. Don't waste opportunities due to short sightedness. Be imaginative, inventive. Think outside of the box.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

If You Don't Run this Story; I'm Taking it to Your Competition

anthonymora37 — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:36:42 +0000

How many people do you know that react well to threats or ultimatums? The media is no different. When pitching the press, you are trying to position yourself as a media resource or an ally, and an ally does not issue threats. You want the media to understand that you can help meet their needs by giving them interesting stories. You are not going to make your story more interesting to a newspaper editor or TV producer by threatening to take your story to his or her competitor.

If your story is hot or timely, and various media outlets are pursuing you, by all means, use that interest to your advantage. Inform the media outlets that there are others interested and that you need to make a decision as soon as possible. Try to negotiate the best coverage you can. But, even in that situation, you never want to threaten the media.

If you can convince the media that you have an interesting story that meets their needs and that you are an expert in the field, the media will feature you. Those are your primary objectives. You can threaten, scream, cry, and badger the media, but all you are going to do is alienate them. Plenty of people do these things every day. Of course, you'll never see them in the media.

Either the Media Interviews Me Monday at Noon- Or it's Off

anthonymora37 — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:51:09 +0000

You have a busy schedule, you have a job to do, a business to run, products to sell. Your time is valuable. Who do the media think they are? They think that you can just drop whatever you're doing to do an interview when they want to do it? It's inconvenient. It's not fair. Maybe, but it's reality and if you play it smart, it can pay off for you big time. Although you will usually have time to plan and arrange your schedule to do an interview, there are going to be times that the media wants to do an interview and wants to do it immediately, or wants to schedule it at a time that is inconvenient, or reschedules it at the last minute, forcing you to, once again, change your plans. I had one client tell me that he was willing to appear on the Today Show, but that they had to come to him and that the only available time he had was between 1 and 3 p.m. on Saturday. Needless to see he and I had a long talk.

There may be times that you're just not going to be able to accommodate the media's schedule. There are going to be some interviews that you'll have to miss. But only miss an interview if it's completely unavoidable - the plague, an alien invasion - you get the picture. You may be annoyed, and you may be angry, but if you can possibly arrange your schedule so that you can make the interview, do it. The press isn't purposely trying to inconvenience you. You wouldn't believe the amount of times that an editor or producer has to switch from one story to another on a moment's notice. A million things can come up, a fire, an international breaking story, a Presidential speech, any number of stories are going to preempt you. This is just the nature of the business. It happens all the time.

It does you no good to take your anger out on the interviewer or the producer. It was not done to harm you. The decision was circumstantial. Always keep your objective in mind. Your objective is to build your business, to create success through media exposure. And you're going to accomplish your goal by reaching as many people as you can. Your objective is to do those interviews, not to alienate the press. Remember, press begets press. Every interview you do is helping to pave your way to greater success.

For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Why Press Kits can Backfire

anthonymora37 — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:38:22 +0000

You've got it, you're going to put together a huge, glossy press kit, fill it with bios, press releases, fact sheets, photos, graphs, statistics, brochures, covering everything that ever happened in your life, with every possible bit of information that you have on yourself and your company, and you're going to send it to every media outlet you can think
of. Interesting plan, if your aim is to throw money away and alienate the media. To begin with, unless you have loads of disposable cash, you're going to go broke. More importantly, chances are, that it's going to be incredibly boring, not to mention annoying for the media to receive all that information - information they never requested. Press kits can be effective, but only if they're used sparingly and shrewdly. Don't inundate the media with information, and if you've hired a firm, don't give them carte blanche in the matter. Too many PR firms have a tendency to send out press kits en masse. It's a common practice, but a wasteful one. Also, keep in mind, public relations firms can make a heck of a lot of money charging their clients for high-priced press kits.

Frills and fluff do not make a public relations campaign. Buy yourself some two-pocket folders at any stationery store. Buy a good median-priced folder; you don't want the most expensive, but you don't want the cheapest folder either. Inside the folder include copies of any articles or interviews you have appeared in, a fact sheet, a short bio about you and your company, a press release, and any visuals or photos that you believe are important. No fluff, only include the pertinent stuff. That is your press kit. First send a release, make a follow-up call. If a producer or editor asks for a kit, send one, but only to people who have requested it. Be selective. Be smart.

Also, modify your press kit to fit the media that you're sending to. You may not want to send the same press kit to Time magazine that you would to Runner's World or Forbes. Be discerning in who you send the kits to and in the materials you include. It will pay off in the long run
Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008
For further information visit:
www.AnthonyMora.com

Propaganda: Quick Note on a False Cognate

Colin Brayton — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:02:03 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="362" caption="Brazil's Gradiente links to the company's "propaganda" page -- by which it means a page outlining its advertising campaigns. Click to zoom."][/caption]

Propaganda: ... dissemination of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person <steady erosion of Socialist propaganda about the wrongs done to the people -- Roy Lewis & Angus Maude> ... doctrines, ideas, arguments, facts, or allegations spread by deliberate effort through any medium of communication in order to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause <brushed aside the peace proposals as mere propaganda> b : a public action or display having the purpose or the effect of furthering or hindering a cause <distribution of free food parcels ... is the first successful piece of propaganda that the Western Powers have thought up -- New Statesman & Nation>
synonym see PUBLICITY

Propaganda is a 1999 Turkish libertarian comedy film. --Wikipedia

Can I get a witness from native speakers of the language of Shakespeare, Chuck Berry, Sid Vicious and Ronald Reagan that the term propaganda has a generally negative connotation in our beloved mother tongue?

In Brazilian Portuguese, meanwhile, for historical reasons, the term still carries the neutral connotation conferred upon it by Edward Bernays' 1928 book on the subject -- the loss of which is lamented by such modern-day propagandists as Richard "The Human Rashomon Effect" Edelman of Edelman Worldwide.

Edelman wrote, for example, in response to a Der Spiegel article painting the company in a negative light, that the article was

... basically a conflation of cinema-induced fantasy, anti-Americanism, anti-President Bush, anti-capitalism, and fear of propaganda stemming from World War II.

Richard Edelman is a gabbling nitwit, and tropical friends should therefore be advised that the Portuguese term should not be translated into English as if it were perfectly cognate in meaning.

Upon founding the Council of Public Relations after WWII, Bernays admitted that the used of the term by the Nazis, and the critique of mass propaganda by Allied counterpropaganda, meant that this designation for the profession was no longer a palatable brand name and needed reformulating.

Word of this development apparently never made down South American way by packet steamer.

Here is a good debating point for cheap philosophical bar conversation: When Bernays performed this feat of semantic legerdemain, was it an act of propaganda or just good, sensible public relations?

It is interesting how people today tend to credit Joseph Goebbels with being the propaganda mastermind of the 20th century, even though you could probably make a case for saying that he made few innovations on the work of Americans like Ivy Lee and Bernays, and was even something of a reluctant liar in comparison with practitioners who came after him.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="259" caption="Fear and loathing of mass propaganda: If only we could get over it, what a wonderful world this could be."][/caption]

Media in 2020: Allie Osmar

Luke Walker — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 22:14:48 +0000

Download MP3

[audio=http://mediaramblings.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/gballie.mp3]

Today I interviewed Allie Osmar, a Social Media Analyst (cool job huh?) at Edelman Chicago, regarding Media in 2020. This is the second interview in the series and be sure to check out her blog and podcast at w ww.thecreativecareer.com

The interview was done on Skype and this is my first interview using that application. The audio sounds very "tinny" so I apologize upfront for the sound.

If anyone can shoot me some tips on making Skype sound better please don't hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment.

I'm Only Going to Talk About What I Want to Talk About

anthonymora37 — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:27:31 +0000

We all have different expressions, different moods, and different topics we enjoy discussing. None of us have one-note personalities, but so many people try to launch one-note media campaigns. If you adamantly refuse to broaden the scope of your story, I hope your mother's a good listener, because there aren't a hell of a lot of other people who you're going to reach. People who are inflexible, or have a one-note story, usually have failed media campaigns. Why? They're boring! When people think this way, it's generally because they erroneously believe that the rest of the world is just as fascinated by their ideas as they are. Well, they're wrong.

Most people are going to be bored to tears by what you think is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now that doesn't mean that the topic is boring, but that your approach is. Remember, your job is to meet the media's needs. Broaden your scope. Come up with other ways to pitch your story. You'll be able to talk about your story, but not until you interest the media. And to do that, sometimes you have to use the indirect approach.

If you are a landscaper, you may have to pitch a story that has you critique the pros and cons of the White House grounds. That's not the story you probably particularly want to address. You want to tell people that you are a wonderful landscaper and that they should hire you, but there's no story there. By talking about the White House grounds, you have added another dimension. You have raised the stakes. You're not just discussing how to landscape Joe Blow's home, you're outlining how to best landscape the First Family's home. These are grounds that everyone has seen (at least in photos or TV) and can relate to. More importantly, you are establishing yourself as an expert in your field.

Be open to new ideas, brainstorm. Come up with as many ideas as you can. Let them be as crazy as you want - don't edit yourself. Now review your list and start to edit out the ideas that don't work. Formulate two or three new story angles. Write them up as releases. Broadening your scope will help ensure your success.

I Know What the Media Wants

anthonymora37 — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:46:58 +0000

The media wants stories, but beyond that, not even the media knows what they want. They are constantly searching, trying out new stories, coming up with new ideas. You have to study the various media outlets, review the different formats, study the types of stories they've run in the past. No one knows what the media wants because what they want is constantly changing. Don't take for granted you are some kind of media maven and that you know more than everyone else does. Remember, you're going to succeed by learning how the media thinks, not by assuming you think they know what they want. You have to prepare, do your homework, study the various media outlets. The bottom line is a good story, but don't assume because you find a story of interest, the media will like it as well. Nine times out of ten, you're going to be wrong. Think like an editor, think like a producer. Once again, work backwards. Look at the particular media you are targeting. Who is the audience? What is the basic age range? Does it appeal to primarily men or women? What type of stories does it generally run? Now
put yourself in the place of the editor or producer - how could you fit a story on your business, product, or talent into the format of that media outlet? What story would work? What would the focus be?

For example, let's say that you are a fashion designer of men's clothing. GQ and Esquire
would be natural media outlets to approach. You would need to come up with a hook that makes you and your designs special, but you know that with a little persistence and creativity you should be able to place a piece in those publications. What about Vogue? Why not? You could pitch a piece on yourself as the new up-and-coming designer who is reshaping the future of men's fashion, or a piece, aimed towards women, on how to dress the man in their life. Let's say you wanted to go to The Wall Street Journal. Okay, pitch a story on dressing for success in the '90s, or an article on the business of fashion, or the inside workings of the fashion industry. Pitch the media according to its needs, not according to yours. Assume that the story you are dead-set on telling isn't all that interesting to anyone besides yourself. Now, be creative, give it a spin. Give it a make-over. Make it newsworthy.