I am just back from vacation and was sent a link to Jason Calacanis’ monomaniacal riff in his subscriber based email on the shortcomings of PR people, titled, “How to Get PR for Your Startup; Fire Your PR Company.” Captain Ahab has nothing on Mr. Calacanis. Catch a few of his choicest cuts from the white whale (PR):
• Journalists hate PR people …if they say otherwise, they are lying, placating you, or just being diplomatic;
• PR people are selling you a share of their relationships with journalists and their relationships are typically on shaky ground;
• When I was a journalist I would not speak to PR people about my stories;
• PR people are an inefficiency in the system;
• Journalists are constantly getting banged by lazy, clueless PR people who fire first and don’t understand what the word “aim” means;
• You don’t need a PR firm, you don’t need an in-house PR person, and you don’t need to spend ANY money to get amazing PRI am heartily sick of the ad hominem attacks and cheap shots taken by those who would try to draw attention to themselves. For a guy who states that “your ability to hire people, get meetings, raise money, and form partnerships will be tied to your PR footprint,” it is just amazing to learn that the only way to succeed is on your own, by holding your own conversations with media/bloggers, by organizing your own dinner salons and by being the brand.
In fact, most smart businesspeople involved in start-ups recognize what Adam Smith did in the mid 1700s, that specialization leads to better outcomes for all concerned. The reality is that PR people work hard at delivering creative story ideas that often have their basis in policy change or product advances. Most PR people have excellent relationships with reporters and bloggers based on timely delivery of accurate information and offering credible spokespeople prepared to address the issues at hand. The stereotyping of PR people is as unwarranted as ethnic profiling in law enforcement. So Jason, you make your own decisions on best use of time. Just stop the open season on PR people and recognize that smart entrepreneurs will continue to use us to deliver outstanding results that build their businesses.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
I had breakfast this morning in London with Richard Sambrook, who has been charged with making BBC.com a major player among web based news providers. Here is an update on the progress of the BBC in the online space:
1) We have integrated all of our newsrooms, from radio to TV to web. Our theory was that this would decrease the work load on journalists by balancing the peak demands but in fact it has raised the expectations for all reporters. We are still in a transition from those who work only on specialized platforms (TV as example) to the next generation comfortable across all platforms on a given story. We have invested in journalism production tools. There is a production skill set that needs to be married with the substance of stories.
2) Video is drawing online traffic. The sport video usage is up 20 times in the past four years, with a real peak in demand around the Beijing Olympics. We are now beyond a text focused audience.
3) We continue to tailor the news to regional demand. For example, Matt Frei, our anchor for World News America, is a Brit but has lived in the US for the past decade. He has his own deep roots and contacts in the market, leading to better stories. We need also to alter our tone, growing our US bureau, tailoring our approach to a US audience, regionalizing the news.
4) Video content on the web must differ from TV. It should be shorter, less intermediated, less heavily produced. “It should be raw and direct, not like sitting back and watching TV,” he said.
5) There is a big audience for business news. Viewers recognize the interconnected nature of markets and the direct connection to their personal net worth. This is a work in progress at BBC.
6) BBC.com international traffic pattern shows just over 50% of users from North America, the balance in Asia and Europe.
7) BBC.com advertising has held up well despite the global economic slowdown. Key sources of money are travel/tourism, countries for economic development, and corporate image ads.
8) Sambrook believes that the New York Times and the Guardian have led the newspaper business in adapting to the online arena. “They are both doing video very well. In fact the Guardian has Guardian films, longer form pieces.” He questions whether the NY Times or Guardian are really monetizing their online traffic, especially outside of home markets.
Here are the implications for PR people from this discussion. We need to recognize that there are fewer truly global media players and we should connect with them outside of home market (BBC in New York and Hong Kong). We must offer video content relevant for the web, not highly produced video news releases. We can offer consumer generated content that helps to build connection to media brands, as all participants are in experimental mode. I would appreciate your comments as always.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)I was on a panel on Tuesday in Washington D.C. for communications professionals from the National Institutes of Health. They wanted to know how they operate in an environment where media authority is dispersed, confidence in government as a trusted source has declined and respect for science is profoundly diminished. One source of communicator frustration is the current controversy over vaccination of young children, where the data is overwhelming on safety and efficacy, yet the risk of autism raised by celebrity Jenny McCarthy is deemed newsworthy by mainstream media. I was joined by Barry Schwartz, professor from Swarthmore College, Susannah Fox of the Pew Foundation, Rick Weiss, former science editor of the Washington Post and Pere Estupinya of El Pais of Madrid, Spain.
Here were the key points from the panel:
1) Information overload is causing paralysis and poor decision making. Professor Schwartz’ book, The Paradox of Choice, points up the need for trusted sources to break through the morass. He contended that there is more concern for influence than veracity, adding that with the need for speed comes inaccuracy and lack of peer review. “You retain trust by making sure those who receive information understand what you are saying.”
2) E-patients can be a critical audience and media at the same time. Fox said that, “This group is giving back as well as getting information. They can be a very important asset in the battle against single issue interest groups which are political machines. They will swarm inaccuracy if you empower them as agents. But they demand a genuine conversation.”
3) Many health stories are information, not news, in today’s news context, according to Weiss. “As PR people, you will have to be faster. A press release on a study issued the next day will not cut it. You will also have to offer compelling web based visuals with 3-D animation.” Weiss won the award for comment of the day when he quipped, “This is the first continental breakfast I have ever attended where prunes figured prominently on the buffet.”
4) Articles for mainstream media may be more complete and better written, but blog posts are more influential. This statement came from Estupinya of El Pais, who contends that readers do not differentiate between accuracy of MSM and blogs. “My articles are better than my posts because I spend a lot more time on the articles. But I get much more conversation going on my blog posts,” he said.
5) Journalists post on blogs for speedy entry to conversations. Fox noted that she is asked for interviews by CNN and other MSM sources on the basis of her blog posts, not her longer scholarly papers for Pew.
6) Content should be customized to the medium and the demographic group. For example, according to Fox, both Latino and African American young men use their mobile phones “like Swiss Army knives” in that they use them for everything. Therefore, to reach that group, content must be in easy to access text format. Here are statistics from Estupinya: among Hispanic English-dominant speakers seeking health information, the web accounts for 53% of total media interaction while radio is 35%. Among Spanish dominant speakers, the web accounts for only 17% of media interaction, while radio is 53%.
During the question period, I got a small window into the complicated, often frustrating world of public relations officers in government. They are not allowed to access social networks such as Facebook and MySpace while in the workplace. Posting video material on YouTube is seen as overly risky. My advice to them on Tuesday was to recognize that the battle for opinion cannot be won simply on the basis of a surfeit of facts. A uniformed government official debating Jenny McCarthy on vaccines is fine, but that official must be able to tell stories about families who regret not having their kids inoculated before their trip to Italy, then come home with measles. Effective PR is about facts, but also ease of access and compelling examples.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
The Scimitar Falls; I’m Walking On
I am in Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, recovering from a radical prostatectomy that was performed on Tuesday. I have been assured by my physician that my prostate cancer has been completely eliminated and that I should be able to get on with my life without adverse consequences. As you may recall, I wrote a blog post in September, 2007 describing my first interaction with this disease. Here are the further and hopefully final chapters of the story.
Chapter One—In January and again in February, my PSA test showed a significant increase from December. Given that this jump occurred in a very short period of time, my NY based urologist discounted the result and prescribed an antibiotic to combat what he diagnosed as a urinary tract infection. I had a PSA test decline, so the urologist told me not to worry but that if I insisted, he would perform a second needle biopsy. As described in my earlier post, this procedure is equivalent to random walk investing, taking 10 core samples from all areas of the prostate.
Chapter Two—Not satisfied with this recommendation given my family history of prostate cancer, I pursued an MRI guided biopsy. First you undergo an MRI, which requires you to lie still for 45 minutes for best result. After analysis of the pictures, I had a saturation biopsy of 21 core samples, with particular emphasis on those areas of suspicion. This is the approach being advocated by our client, AdMeTech, which wants a “Man-o-gram” as standard diagnostic instead of blind biopsy, based on the success of mammograms in detecting breast cancer.
Chapter Three—In mid July, I received the dreaded call from the radiologist, confirming that I had low grade, early stage prostate cancer. Two of the core samples were Gleeson 6 (slow growth), one was 15% and the other 5% cancerous, but the cancer was contained within the prostate. So the scimitar had fallen on the patient; now the question was what to do about it. It took me a few days to process the diagnosis as I am an excessively healthy guy. I work out six days a week, never smoked, rarely if ever drink and eat only nutritious food. I have only missed about five days of work in thirty years at Edelman. So Superman has holes in his cape! I informed my wife and we decided to go on a journey together to select the best course of treatment.
Chapter Four—There are three basic options for a patient with my data set. First is “watchful waiting,” where you monitor the progress of the disease and take action when it becomes more pervasive. For me, this was never a serious consideration; this is a better choice for a man in his late 70s or beyond, not for me at 54. Second is the course of radiation, either with direct beam or with radioactive seeds, to attack the cancer in the prostate. This can be supplemented by hormone therapy for full body treatment. The third option is surgical removal of the prostate, either through the traditional open platform approach akin to a Caesarian section delivery of a child or the new robotic approach that is less invasive and offers a shorter healing process. I visited three specialists, each a passionate advocate for his treatment modality, with statistical support for claims of high rates of successful removal of cancer and corresponding low rates of side effects, notably incontinence, impotence and rectal bleeding. As a non-science person, I found myself increasingly perplexed and worried, confounded by the conflicting viewpoints.
Chapter Five—I began to talk to men who had been through the same process of selecting a treatment while simultaneously coping with feelings of self-doubt. As with the physicians, each former patient was enthusiastic about the path he had chosen, but was honest about the side effects, most which disappear over time. I also spoke to experts from the Milken Institute, the FDA and the National Cancer Institute. I found a plethora of material online, but most of it was confusing and partisan. The way forward began to become clear; surgery to remove the prostate, leaving radiation as a further treatment option. One expert had the best line, “The only good place for this prostate is in formaldehyde.”
Chapter Six—I told my three teenage daughters that I had prostate cancer and that I was going to have surgery to remove it. These were the most trying moments for me; to tell my kids that I had an illness but that I was acting decisively to fix the problem before it became a more serious one. Luckily I had planned a two week vacation in Long Island and spent all of it with them, going swimming in the ocean, jumping on the trampoline, playing tennis, riding my bike and generally acting like a teenager. I began to inform my close friends, including my basketball buddies from our 50 plus team, the Delusionals. The reaction was strong support for both me and my wife. My parents were vacationing in Long Island and I met them for lunch to tell them about my problem. My dad, now 13 years after his own prostate surgery, said simply that he was sad that I had to run the same course but that I was a tough guy and would get through it just fine. I had similar discussions with my brother and sister, who are visiting me today at the hospital.
Chapter Seven— After selecting a date for surgery, I started the process of informing my most senior colleagues at Edelman, opting for in-person discussions when possible. I described the entire journey, from discovery of disease to the selection of treatment, noting that I would be out of work for two weeks and on a diminished travel schedule through the fall. I promised all of them that I would be back with the same energy and attitude of the Pirate King. Then came the interminable waiting for the big day of surgery; I tried to remain as active as possible, exercising like a man possessed (I have to lay off for 3-6 weeks, the longest period without a good sweat in my life), going to the US Open tennis, Fashion Week in New York and on a college visit with my middle child.What have I learned in the course of the past three months? First, you have to be your own patient advocate. If it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck and looks like a duck, you may have a disease, even though your doctor tells you not to worry. Second, there is often a better way to diagnose your condition; you have to be insistent in order to persuade the medical establishment to allow you to take those further steps. In my case it was the MRI guided biopsy and later the PCA 3 test. Third, use your network of friends to find those who have had the disease and can give you further context for your decision on treatment. Fourth, and most important, find a doctor who can guide you through the maze. In my case, I had the charismatic and passionate Dr. Faina Shtern, our client at AdMeTech, who opened doors for me then sorted through often conflicting medical advice. In the end, medicine is an art, not a science; it is like business, where you evaluate all of the data, then decide on a course.
I tell this story in the hopes that it helps others who are confronted with this or other diseases. I’m eager to get back to work because I have a lot to do. I want to thank all the physicians who have helped me on this journey, to express my appreciation to my friends for their constant concern, to depend on my colleagues to hold down the fort, and to tell my family that I love them more than they will ever know. See you back in the blogosphere in two weeks!
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)I was walking in Central Park yesterday as part of my rehabilitation from surgery when the news flashed across WSJ.com that the US House of Representatives had rejected the proposed $700 billion fund to provide liquidity to the struggling capital markets. Quoting the prison warden in Cool Hand Luke as he stands over defiant inmate Paul Newman, there has been a massive failure to communicate. Here are some of the shortcomings in PR on the part of the Federal Government:
1) Supporting Cast of Spokespeople — It is no longer possible for a single voice, such as Secretary of Treasury Paulson, to carry the day. Nor is it sufficient to have behind the scenes lobbying to make the case (now the outside game and the inside game).Where were the important figures in the business community (Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs) who could provide necessary backing for the plan? How about using trusted figures from government who have provided distinguished service in the past (Paul Volcker, Bill Clinton), to offset the broadsides of former Speaker Newt Gingrich?
2) Terminology—The very word bailout connotes an unseemly subsidy for the beneficiary. It became too easy to make this about saving the Wall Street millionaires who had abused the system.
3) Message Dissonance—-From Optimism to Precipice—CEOs of major financial institutions, such as Bob Steel of Wachovia, were telling a very positive story while President Bush warned of the apocalypse. Which is it, folks? Can we rely solely on private sector solutions, such as the shotgun marriages of WaMu with JP Morgan Chase or Wachovia with Citigroup?
4) Person Like Me—There was no story line for the Little Guy. Why not put forward the Dean of Admissions at University of Michigan who can talk about availability of student loans? Or the car dealer in Alabama who can again offer attractive financing on new vehicle sales? Or the small retailer from Texas who is able to find financing for her inventory for Christmas, courtesy of this liquidity package?
5) Acknowledgement of Error—When asking for the money, it would have been helpful to have a study from a credible third party (university, think tank, consulting firm) identifying shortcomings in regulatory format and proposed improvements. Similarly the financial industry must acknowledge its own part in the meltdown, suggesting improvements in self-regulation such hiring of an ombudsman or strengthening industry trade group standards.
6) Specificity—The initial plan proposed by Secretary Paulson did not have sufficient details on how mortgages were to be acquired (price, auction or other mechanism, which tranches, special treatment of low-income groups). Though some of this was remedied in conference, the perception left with the general public was that Secretary Paulson was getting a giant blank check.
7) Authority Figures as Stewards—There needed to be a bi-partisan board of overseers established for the proper disbursement of funds, so that the public could have confidence in the process. Examples of members could be former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers or former Secretary of State James Baker. One relies on individuals, not bureaucracies, to deliver results.
8) Context—Not enough time was spent on the positive precedent of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), created to mitigate the problems caused by the savings and loan implosion. Nor was the Chrysler emergency financing of the mid-80s sufficiently explored.
9) People are being talking at, not engaged—The approach to communications to date, such as the prime time address by President Bush, or the press conferences on the steps of the Capitol, and the Sunday morning talking heads TV shows, is traditional one-way communications that doesn’t afford people the opportunity to really understand, ask questions and be part of the discussion and solution.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
In the end, there will likely be a piece of legislation passed by the Congress. The single-minded focus on the amount necessary to restore liquidity to the markets, without due recognition of the education process necessary to ensure acceptance, indicates that professional communications advisors were not sufficiently involved from the inception of the process. In the present environment of distrust and despair, this commitment to the discussion must be a top consideration for both business and government.
I had lunch on Wednesday with Jessica Guff, executive producer of ABC News Now and a veteran of ABC News. She made several important observations about the broadcast news business:
1) ABCNewsNow.com, one of the digital platforms for the news division, reaches 48 million homes today, 30 million of which are broadband. “This is the network for thinking women; all others tend to be male oriented,” Guff said. It can be reached directly or via ABCNews.com.
2) PR people must pitch stories differently. Specifically, she said we need to offer fully formed four minute segments, with visuals, spokespeople and news hook all conceived. “Don’t just send me a pitch letter or a book which requires me to put together the piece. Economic pressures mean we are short staffed so we will respond better to something that is fully formed."
3) Networks still offer large number of viewers, about eight million for the ABC Evening News and four million for the Good Morning America show. The morning show audience ebbs in the second hour to about two million. ABC News Now does offer exclusively a third hour of Good Morning America. Content from the major shows, such as Nightline and Evening News, is repurposed onto ABC News Now.
4) Among the shows on ABC News Now are the Money Show, Popcorn (reviews movies), Homework (alternative work styles), Politics Live (with Sam Donaldson, long-time political pundit), Parenting (with Anne Pleshette Murphy of former editor of Parents Magazine), and What’s the Buzz (celebrity news at noon, which gives particular ratings spike as those at work tune in during lunch break—in fact ratings are highest at noon, peak broadband viewing time). The shows tend to be 15-30 minutes long, may not have notable anchors but do feature celebrities and newsmakers.
5) ABC is trying to reach beyond the PC into cell phones and PDAs. “We are now accessible to 10 million users via Verizon VCAST and Sprint,” Guff noted. “This explains our focus on the shorter form content.”
6) ABC News Now does get audience spikes when there is a live event (Obama or McCain rally). “We do breaking news all of the time now.”
The challenge for the networks is to remain relevant as news-hungry consumers go first either to cable or to the digital offerings of newspapers (NYTimes.com as example). What Guff has achieved is a differentiated offer, a digital TV version of woman’s magazine, with necessary information for a better life. As PR people, we will have to be more agile in story creation and to be satisfied with smaller audiences around niche topics. Jessica's comment reinforces the requirement for all PR people to become content creators. We, in essence, must grasp opportunities to create broadcast packages, complete with video and robust storytelling. Use your HD cameras and your writing skills, and make it easy for these news professionals to say "yes." To achieve the same audience reach as a decade ago will require many more placements and more specificity of topics; this is the age of “narrow-casting.” I would appreciate your views as always.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)Given the economic events of the last several weeks, Harvard Business School certainly picked an opportune moment to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Here are some highlights from the past two days:
Business in Society: Bill Gates was interviewed by Professor Jim Cash about the Gates Foundation. This was the most inspirational part of the two day summit. Gates talked about intervention in situations of market failure. He cited the Foundation’s work in Zambia as evidence of a successful model; deaths from malaria have dropped by 63% in three years because all possible interventions (spraying, vector elimination, bed nets) are being used. He noted that vaccines have caused a 90% drop in measles in Africa, but then pointed out the challenge in Northern India and Northern Nigeria where only 35% of the population is vaccinated. He cited statistics indicating that the Rich Poor divide in health care is now not so stark; that many developing countries such as China are making huge strides in public health. He aims to break the cycle of high population growth, poor governance, weak economy, terrible educational system and bad health. He believes the world population can peak at 8 billion if you improve health and economic performance.
Future of Capitalism: Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary and former President of Harvard, noted that we have five cycles now impacting markets, including: Deleveraging; Credit Accelerator where weak economy leads to less lending; Keynesian recession where consumers with lower incomes spend less; Liquidation of financial assets; and Panic, with depositors withdrawing funds. He also believes that the growing inequality of income in the US is not sustainable. He said that in the past 30 years, the income of the top 1% of earners has risen by $600 billion while income of bottom 80% has declined by the same amount (top 1% person got $500,000 more per year, bottom 80% person lost $8,000 per year in income). Even the health outcomes of the rich and the poor are significantly diverging.”
His successor, Drew Faust, president of Harvard, referred the dean Wallace Donlin address to alumni, at the 25th anniversary of the school with the country mired in the Great Depression, about the “failure of business leadership to reach beyond narrow self interest to contribute to social structures and the public good.” She went on to relate the parable of the stone cutters, often cited by Peter Drucker. “The first stone cutter says that he is happy to do his work and go home every day with his money. The second stone cutter says that he wants to be the best in the entire county. The third stone cutter says that he is building a cathedral.” “We need to create stone cutters of the third sort, who embrace the broader vision, who recognize that leadership is a means, not an end.”
Leadership: There were two CEO panels that discussed leadership. The first had Jeff Immelt of GE (disclosure – Edelman client), Meg Whitman formerly of eBay, John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins, James Wolfensohn formerly of the World Bank and Anand Mahindra of Mahindra and Mahindra. Immelt said that today’s CEO must be decisive (even if he/she lacked perfect information), transparent (have to show intent behind decisions), self-aware (be willing to accept criticism and to renew yourself). Wolfensohn said that business leaders will have to spend more time with politicians to influence government policy—the two spheres are now even more inextricably linked. Whitman suggested that as a company gets to global scale, it becomes even more important for the CEO to communicate regularly, to “create a culture of willingness to make mistakes, to acknowledge them and fix them quickly.”
One the second panel Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase urged CEOs to operate a truly open environment where criticism of the boss is encouraged. He added that CEOs were often rewarded with excessive compensation for jobs done in a mediocre manner. Jamie Ayala of Ayala suggested that business has an implicit contract with society as a whole. “The trust in companies is inverse of size—the bigger you grow, the harder it is to achieve trust.”
I came away excited by the vision of business working toward a broader social purpose. But I was not convinced of the real commitment of the HBS graduates to work in this new, more complex environment. The notion of free markets operating in the public interest has been challenged, if not overthrown, by events of the past days. If we take money from government, then we must expect consequences, including more regulation, limits on incentive compensation and other constraints. Today, for instance, The New York Times reported AIG has agreed to suspend a $10 million severance package to its COO and save $8 million by canceling conferences. The PR business has a fundamental role to play as a bridge in the next period.
Sorry for the length of this note, but there was a lot to cover. I appreciate your thoughts as always.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)Edelman hosted Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson for breakfast this morning in New York City. Here are a few of his most important observations:
1) The Big Brand—Digital must work together with print and wire service to maximize the WSJ brand. In the new office of the WSJ in Midtown Manhattan, the editors of the print paper, WSJ.com, MarketWatch and news services will all sit together. “Every journalist must aim to be a Renaissance reporter, in web, audio, video and print. The paper must be connected to what is on the web site. Every journalist is part of this extraordinary experiment.”
2) Competitive Set—The WSJ has stepped up its global coverage in the US edition, “to put the world into perspective,” and to compete with the Financial Times. The increased focus on government and Washington DC is intended to “reach the non-business folks who read the NY Times.” There is also an opportunity to have the WSJ become the primary place for business news in local markets where the traditional newspapers have culled their financial reporters in recent cutbacks.
3) Hierarchy of Content—The WSJ will continue to have a mixed regime of free and paid content on the web. The theory is the “more specialized the data, the more we can charge. So if there is a customized search function tied to micro payment software, we can monetize the content.”
4) Digital is Global—The total global on-line audience for the WSJ.com in the past month was 24.5 million unique visitors, over half from outside the USA. The Chinese CWSJ.com site had a six fold increase in its number of unique visitors in the past year from 400,000 to 2.4 million. There are now Indian and Japanese WSJ home pages with distinct content.
5) The Editorial Page—The paper has maintained the “church and state” separation of editorial and commentary. Thomson is particularly proud of the unique WSJ technique of reporting as well as advocating within its expanded three pages of commentary.
6) News Production—“We are trying to speed up the metabolism, to create within the journalistic community a real sense of competition. We need to be ahead of the other media all of the time.” Thomson also noted that journalists are being given a new goal, “relevance to readers.” He is concerned that serious companies are not getting enough coverage; that there may be too much emphasis on personal finance. He is keen to get more stories from the regional bureaus, because the articles lend personality to the paper while offering national insight.
7) Future of Newspapers—He is very confident about the WSJ’s future, noting that advertising was above plan for September. “We need to find new sources of revenue, such as a foreign exchange news service in Japan that is now very popular with individual Japanese investors. We must offer mobile delivery of content because the speed of delivery changes the nature of the content itself.” He suggested that content will increasingly be repurposed for the small mobile screen. He added that newspapers generally will have to be better about qualitatively analyzing audiences, to fight the perception of commoditization of readers (“our readers are smart and affluent”).
8) On Government’s Role in Business—Thomson believes that more regulation is inevitable, particularly in financial markets. What is less clear is the process by which regulation is enacted. “Will there be an active, healthy debate or will it just roll through the Congress?” He questioned the utility of “sudden measures” such as the temporary ban on shorting of financial stocks.
The advent of the Murdoch team has brought real dynamism and imagination to the paper. The investment in globalization, the determination to operate across platform and the commitment to editorial excellence are exciting strategic pillars. Those of us in the PR community will need to recognize the need for speed, the desire to be simultaneously global/local and the utility of visual support materials that facilitate story-telling.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)Please check out my interview earlier today by Fox Business News, called "Edelman on the Bailout Plan," where I discuss how financial corporations and government can effectively communicate in today’s economic conditions.
Richard
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)I delivered the Grunig Lecture at the University of Maryland today to a group of students and their professors. My topic was the evolution of public relations into public engagement. I asserted that PR can become the discipline that melds strategy and communications, constituting an essential bridge between corporations and their stakeholders. I contended that PR must also be part of business strategy and policy formulation, in addition to being responsible for communicating the decisions.
There is the confluence of several trends in the marketplace that make this transition possible and advisable. The recent government emergency intervention in global financial institutions has ended the free market era of Reagan and Thatcher. The dispersion of authority continues with CEOs under fire (akin to the period 2001-02 after Enron, Parmalat) and government officials seen as ineffective regulators. The transformation of media is accelerating, with mainstream media downsizing (layoffs at Time Inc. yesterday morning), greater reliance on digital platforms and merging of news with entertainment (“newstainment”CNN’s new comedic news show). Expectations on companies are rising with stakeholders looking for Mutual Social Responsibility-- merging cause related marketing with corporate social responsibility.
I suggested that Public Engagement has four important attributes:
First, it is democratic and decentralized. A good example of this is the Obama campaign’s mobilization of five million volunteers, who are able to make decisions on how best to contact voters, attract funds and communicate on social media. Another is the MyStarbucksIdea.Force.com site that solicits new product ideas from the crowd, reinforcing the company’s relationship with its customers while the company listens and learns (disclosure: Starbucks is a client, but we are not involved directly in this program).
Second, it aims to inform the conversation. This is a major change for PR, which has relied on research-tested messages delivered one-way to media, which then writes the stories. If Andrew Heyward, former president of CBS News, is correct in positing that “Every company today is a media company,” then smart businesses will take the opportunity to become public resources on areas of expertise, by providing credible well-researched data on its own web site, and correct on-going discussions, whether on discussion forums or in the press, if there are factual errors. An example of this is our work for Masdar, the first carbon-neutral city in the world that has become an important focus for data on new forms of energy.
Third, it calls for engagement with influencers of all stripes. To be influential today does not require academic or professional credentials alone. It means that the person has personal experience with the product, passion for the category, and a desire to contribute to general knowledge. It is our task in PR to build trusted relationships with the broad set of influencers. A great example is the Johnson & Johnson (a client) Family Health Institute in China, which helps educates mothers about family health, and funding schooling for nurses.
Fourth, it suggests that reputation is built on policy and communication. Our client Wal-Mart’s strong commitment last week to the highest standards on environment and workplace safety in China is indicative of this trend. It is often useful to partner corporations with the NGO community for input in the decision making process and help garner support in the broader community.
The rationale for public engagement is best captured by Thomas Friedman, who wrote a week ago in the New York Times, “In a connected world, countries, governments and companies have character…how they do what they do, how they keep promises, how they make decisions, how they engender trust…” The PR business must rise to the challenge, by creating a new form of expression that will work in today’s cynical and uncertain environment.
Here is a copy of my presentation. Click here to watch my speech. Click here for advice from Matt Harrington, Edelman's US President and CEO, on Communicating Forward.
I would appreciate your views as always.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
Barack Obama’s victory on Tuesday night was exciting for people all over the world, from young Indonesians celebrating at his former school to African Americans recognizing that the dream of equal opportunity has been achieved. For a guy who grew up in Chicago in the 60s, the vignette of nearly one million Americans of all ages and races partying in Grant Park was simply surreal.
Frankly speaking, Chicago was a profoundly segregated city at that point in time. Dr. Martin Luther King had led marches in neighborhoods in the city and near-by suburbs for fair housing. Jobs in construction and related trades were generally restricted to whites. Black participation in politics was through the Democratic machine, with Representative Dawson the most visible distributor of patronage.
In March, 1968, on the morning after Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, riots broke out in several American cities, including Chicago. My school was located near the Cabrini Green public housing project. Police cars were parked along LaSalle Street as a barricade between the posh Gold Coast and the projects. Mayor Richard Daley, father of the present mayor, issued his famous edict to the police, “Shoot to kill.” We were ordered to return home from school in mid-morning, with the acrid smoke filling our nostrils, the flames shooting up in the distance, the ever-present police and fire sirens in our ears.
Fast forward about six months to August, 1968 as the Democrats gathered in Chicago for the nominating convention. Young people felt disenfranchised by the party as their candidate, Eugene McCarthy, had fallen short in the primaries. Robert Kennedy, the heir to his brother’s mantle, had been shot in June. The anti-war movement focused on Chicago as a perfect backdrop for open social protest. The Democratic Party closed ranks around the incumbent, very middle-aged Vice President Humphrey. I have already blogged about my experience in running through tear gas in Lincoln Park during football practice. My friend, James Hoge, now editor of Foreign Affairs, but at the time, the young editor of the Chicago Sun Times, was mistaken for a protester and thrown through the plate glass window at the Conrad Hilton Hotel by two enthusiastic law enforcement officers. One especially poignant moment at the Convention was the very brave Senator from Connecticut, Abe Ribicoff, denouncing the Gestapo tactics of the police department, while Major Daley and his henchmen shouted insults in off-color language.
What I observed on television on Tuesday was an opening of a next chapter for America, beyond the historic constraints of age and race. Can this man, now a symbol of hope for change, now deliver on the promise? Much will depend on keeping the enthusiasm of those who have been outside of the political process for so long. Perhaps the social activism stimulated by the mybarackobama.com web site can play an important role in the decisions to be taken in the coming years.
The campaign’s very effective use of social media as a catalyst for fundraising, voter registration and peer communication must be applied to the process of governance. The weekly Saturday morning radio address by the President now seems so quaint. So does the reliance on the Sunday morning shows such as Face the Nation. To sell a Federal commitment to renewable energy will require a grassroots movement, not simply a bill moving through Congress. Let’s not put the genie back into the bottle; let’s unleash the vox populi.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)I saw a segment on ABC Evening News on Monday that is alarming for several reasons. Take a look at this before reading on (disclosure - I do not know the facts around the event beyond what has been reported).
Why am I concerned?
First, AIG attempts to conceal its identity at an upscale resort where company executives are entertaining independent financial consultants.
Second, when confronted by ABC’s local affiliate, AIG executives refused to speak, while escaping from the reporter through the airport’s first-class check-in.
Third, the tone of the reporting is anti-business. There are "gotcha" moments, such as the senior executive who is toweling himself off after a workout.
One outcome is that this incident is being used by a Congressman to question whether the company deserves to participate in the US Treasury's recovery plan.
I’m concerned that business does not understand that the rules of the game have changed with government as its new partner. Policies of long standing, such as client entertainment, must be reviewed under the prism of public scrutiny. If those actions are an essential part of doing business, then the company must be upfront about its intent.
The role of PR Professionals is to ensure companies are public about what they are doing and why. Trying to fly under the radar is not going to work. We must also help companies stand their ground when they are on solid footing and err on the side of transparency to ensure understanding and acceptance. We can expect greater scrutiny and skepticism from the media and to be held accountable by the public, as well as government and investors.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)I had lunch last Thursday with Mike Oreskes, the US editor for the Associated Press. At a time when AP’s owners, the newspaper industry, are sailing in difficult economic waters, the AP is thriving as a news provider to print, radio and television. “We are a news organization that is becoming increasingly important in this new world,” Oreskes said. Here are a few of Oreskes’ observations:
1) AP is expanding its coverage where “verticalization” is in demand, such as in sports, business, technology, health and retailing.
2) AP is developing reporters as brand names. He offered the example of Sharon Cohen, whose portrait of a National Guard unit on extended tour in Iraq, won several journalism awards. Other reporters of note are Ted Anthony, Martha Mendoza and Dave Espo.
3) There is a great tradition of “old journalism” on fact-checking. “We want to get it first but it is even more important to get it right,” he said.
4) Newspapers account for 25% of AP’s revenue, with the balance from radio, TV and web players such as Yahoo.
5) There is an AP web site but its primary function is corporate reputation management and product/ service marketing.
6) AP is ramping up its investigative reporting. “We have a number of veteran reporters; this is a comparative advantage over Reuters and Bloomberg,” he noted. “We must also be mindful of new competitors such as Politico.com.”
7) AP reporters are increasingly posting their content on multiple platforms, from print to radio to TV. AP does have significant broadcast facilities in New York, Washington and London.
8) There are more than 800 AP reporters and editors in the US alone, Oreskes added. “We have 100 reporters in state capitals around the country, part of our strategy to fill in where local media are cutting back.”
I was fascinated by the origins of the Associated Press. Five New York City based newspapers wanted to cover the Mexican- American War in 1846 but none of them wanted to finance the reporters on their own. So they decided to share the cost of a single reporter, whose task it was to offer non-partisan, even-handed coverage. “This was quite unusual at the time,” Oreskes noted. “Now what each of the papers did with the dispatches from the reporter in the field was to add a point of view.”
Oreskes welcomes further connection with those of us in public relations. He wants us to reconsider the presumption that AP is an NY or Washington enterprise. AP is building the Silicon Valley bureau as the global technology coverage hub while adding to capacity in local markets to satisfy the demand for “hyper-local coverage.”
I would appreciate hearing about your experiences with AP reporters.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
Mass Is Class: The Public Theater and Crowd Surfing
I had a cocktail party at my home last Thursday for the Public Theater, a New York City institution founded by a son of immigrants and dedicated to the proposition that culture should be available to all. Joseph Papp, who grew up in the Yiddish-speaking enclave of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, taught himself English by reading Shakespeare. This proved the inspiration for his commitment to offering Shakespeare in the Park free to all who would come (first in Central Park, then in the outer boroughs).
Noted actor, Sam Waterston, who met his wife while performing at the Public in the early 70s, then was in a production thirty years later of Much Ado About Nothing with his daughter, brilliantly recited a passage from The Tempest, which was the highlight of my party. Prospero, having outmaneuvered his evil brother and regained his dukedom, married off his eligible daughter and restored order from comedic chaos, says:
Now my charms are all o’erthrown,
And what strength I have’s mine own,
Which is most faint: now, ‘tis true,
I must be here confined by you,
Or sent to Naples. Let me not,
Since I have my dukedom got
And pardon’d the deceiver, dwell
In this bare island by your spell;
But release me from my bands
With the help of your good hands:
Gentle breath of yours my sails
Must fill, or else my project fails,
Which was to please.
Waterston suggested that Shakespeare’s subtle appeal for applause and cheers be adapted for today’s difficult economic climate, sure to pressure non-profits accustomed to generous support from corporations and government. He asked that each of us “help with our good hands” to keep the mission of the Public Theater alive, to enable future generations of Joe Papps to emerge from the immigrant community to add to the vitality of our culture.So how does this relate to Crowd-Surfing, the excellent new book by David Brain (disclosure: president of Edelman Europe) and Martin Thomas, on the new age of consumer empowerment? Consider this single statistic from the recently completed Obama for President Campaign. Three million donors made a total of 6.5 million donations on-line adding up to more than $500 million in funds raised. Of those donations, 6 million were in increments of $100 or less. His email list has 13 million addresses. A million people signed up for the text-messaging program. Two million profiles were created on MyBarackObama.com, his social network, plus 5 million supporters in other venues such as Facebook and MySpace.
The theory of fund-raising can now be turned on its head. The mass is the new class. Contrary to usual techniques of relying on the top five percent of donors to deliver half of the funds, we need to tap into the rich, new vein of socially committed and connected people. As Brain and Thomas see it, “The crowd is, in effect, our new family, and sporting events, political rallies and rock concerts provide the platforms for the crowd to congregate and the sense of community that we all need. For many people, this sense of community is reinforced through the brands that they choose to align themselves with.” The authors go on to create a pathway to participation, from “being interesting” to “giving the crowd a piece of the action.”
Those of us in the PR business need to volunteer our services to non-profits, helping them to emulate the genius of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (disclosure: Edelman client) by opening them up to a more participative presence on the web. I cannot wait for the Public Theater to become the aggregator of all amateur productions of Shakespeare, with comments from directors Barry Edelstein and Oskar Eustis about how they might have done it differently. And in return, we will be able to attract a new base of donors, whose voices will have been heard as control gives way to credibility. Philanthropy can no longer be limited to the rich and powerful—we have to enable the mass community to play.
Try this theory out for yourself. Please donate to the Public Theater by emailing the Shakespeare Initiative's Director, Barry Edelstein at bedelstein@publictheater.org. I will personally match the first $12,500 contributed.
Thank you for your support of the Public Theater.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)Google and PR; Adapt to the New Reality
My friend and colleague, Steve Rubel and I had a discussion two weeks ago about adapting our work product to a world in which search is the primary port of entry. An increasing number of journalists and other people access their web-based e-mail and news readers via search applications. We agreed we must make the content easier to find, with natural language queries (which are high ranked terms on Google) that search optimize all materials-- including e-mails, press releases, fact sheets, media rooms—thereby helping journalists and bloggers to find relevant facts when they are doing an article. This is a pull model as opposed to our present exclusive reliance on a push model of pitching story ideas. We agreed that we need to create high quality content that is regularly discussed, remixed and linked to, using a human tone and aiming to add value to conversations taking place anyway.
With these thoughts swirling in my mind, I ran into Jeff Levick, Vice President of Industry Development and Marketing, Americas for Google at the Ad Council Dinner. We chatted for a few minutes, and he agreed to visit an Edelman Executive Committee meeting last week in Chicago. Here are a few of his observations:
1) Nowadays companies could care less about which firm (PR vs advertising vs direct) provides what function—whichever has the idea and ability to execute can get the order. This is a real opportunity for PR firms.
2) Change how we are compensated. He suggested we consider experimenting with performance based models that deliver “eyeballs” and sales, which are increasingly popular with ad agencies. We often do not get credit for the value we provide.
3) PR firms should bid for sponsored keywords. This does not bias the information, if there is value in the information. I confirmed this with Jeff Jarvis and his view is that “it is fine for PR firms to bid for keywords initially to prime the pump of directing people to your content.”
4) Create a network effect for content. Allow others to adapt and share what you post on a corporate site. We need to make sure clients’ content is up on YouTube because this very act says that “we participate in your world.”
5) Google’s role is distribution and delivery, not content. The best programs come from strategy sessions between the client, Google and the agency (and yes that means PR firms—but Levick says that is all too infrequent at present). We need to create programs that address the “whole mindset,” to deliver what people want today.
6) “Mobile is like China”, in terms of business opportunity. Levick encouraged us to experiment with the Android platform. One example is scanning the UPC of a product, then learning about its supply chain or reading product reviews on the cell phone.
So there it is PR folks, the license to operate writ large. It is time for us to step up. We need to provide substantive content that can become point of reference in discussion. We can produce entertaining video to celebrate Wonderbra’s 10th anniversary that became the number two on UK’s YouTube for a week this fall. We can associate brands with important causes; one example is Brita’s Pledge to reduce water bottle waste. I would like to post other cases—please send them along.
- Edelman (richard.edelman@edelman.com)
Refresh.