Is a Donut Better for You than a Salad?

Candice Choi's article, "Dunkin’ Donuts adds doughnut bacon sandwich to menu" in the Chicago Sun-Times is a great public relations move. The sandwich consists of fried eggs and bacon on a glazed doughnut, so I don't think I could eat it unless I extend my daily workout from one hour to five. However, what Dunkin' Donuts is doing is newsworthy. 

Everyone knows that fatty, sugary, salty foods aren't good for you, so fast food restaurants, even McDonald's, are offering salads and more healthy food. You'd think that since people are more health-conscious, they would want more healthy food, and even Choi says that sales have increased because of the healthier menus. However, Dunkin' Donuts is giving people what they're wired to crave, and it seems like a novelty. After all, PR-wise, healthy food doesn't seem as exciting, but a crazy, caloric sandwich can make a splash. 

It reminds me that what's old is new again, because for years fast food restaurants didn't offer healthy food, and Dunkin' Donuts is returning to that approach. In that way, what Dunkin' Donuts is doing seems contrarian in their publicity efforts. However, the company really scored because the sandwich will cause lots of conversations online and off. I bet people have even been posting photos online of them eating it just to show others how adventurous they can be. 

After looking at what that company has done, think about what you can do that will be noticed and that people will talk about. Maybe you're not a proponent of unhealthy food, but if you look at your business, there's probably something you can find that's noteworthy. 

By the way, if you've tried the sandwich, let me know.  

Is Dr. Phil Really "Dr. Crybaby?

I read a revealing article about Dr. Phil, "Exclusive: Dr. Phil feels 'violated' over stolen Chevy", by Chris Woodyard, about Dr. Phil's classic 1957 car getting stolen. It's sad and unfair that his car was stolen from a repair shop, but what Dr. Phil says about the situation doesn't make him look too good.

It seems like he is being hypocritical because he often talks about getting your act together and focusing on what's important in life, yet he seems to think his car is more important than anything or anyone else. He's not taking his own advice, and he really comes off as materialistic in this article.

He also sounds whiny. Sure, it's a valuable, rare car that looks great and is probably fun to drive around in, but it's just a car. It's horrible that it was stolen, but he still has a lot of other things going very well in his life, such as his career, and he seems to have a nice family. He didn't mention any of that or what he's grateful for; he just complained.

Also, why did he go to the media with his problem? He probably complained to friends and coworkers about what happened, which is understandable, yet going to the media is making him seem even more of a whiner.

Dr. Phil should practice what he preaches.

HA! Public Relations Isn't a Joke

People like to make fun of public relations. They use words like “spin doctor” and other labels, so that's probably why an article makes light of the profession by listing some public relations humor that isn't necessarily all funny, but hey, comedy is in the eye of the beholder, right? Here's one:

                Q. What’s the difference between a squirrel and a rat?

                A. PR.

All right, you might not be falling off your chair laughing, but at least they tried. There are 10 jokes there, plus the ones in the comments section, so I'm sure you'll find something you'll like.

Actually, even though the article is about fun, I can offer some serious advice: the most valuable asset of a professional or business is their reputation. So reputation management through public relations really is *not* a joke, and it's something you should think about now that the year is halfway over.

If you've been having trouble with your own publicity plan, consider setting some goals such as writing an article twice a month, doing a blog post once a month (which is what I do), or even posting pictures on your social networks once a week. Start small and then create a larger plan. There are things that you can do yourself, but if you've been too busy working and don't have the time to develop your public relations strategy, then get outside help. You'll find that doing even small projects will make you feel like you're making progress while you're connecting with the world. And remember to have fun!

Would Jon Bon Jovi Be Better Off Dead?

Recently, to prove to people that he's not dead, Jon Bon Jovi posted a picture of himself online with the statement that “Heaven looks a lot like New Jersey”. I’m sure a lot of people think what he did is funny and are probably very happy to find out that he's really alive, after rumors of his death were all over the Internet. However, I’m not laughing. I don't consider myself a serious guy and I like to find humor wherever I can, but Bon Jovi is really making light of an eternal matter.

Newsflash to Bon Jovi: heaven isn't really New Jersey. I think it's arrogant to say that, and he never really died to find out where heaven really is. Plus, if he was right, how come no one has found John Lennon, Elvis, or Ray Charles there? 

Bon Jovi's joke is a way to think about how your reputation is on the line in whatever you do. It's important to not make light of serious matters when it comes to your own reputation management. What will people think of him from now on? Have you ever made a mistake by saying or doing something that was too frivolous for a serious situation? How did people respond? If you're thinking of saying something in public you know is questionable, then consider what kind of image you're putting out there. Everyone doesn't have the same sense of humor and doesn't see the world in the same way.

Learn from the Pig

When I was growing up, "pig" meant the source of bacon, sausage, a good ham for the holidays, and even a derogatory name for the police during protests. Who knew "pig" would end up meaning big profits?

People find lots of different uses for pigs, and even Business Week has taken notice of the the pork rind battle going on for dominant market share. It sounds silly that those companies are taking pork rinds so seriously because to some people, that part of the pig doesn't seem as important as the meat, but they're obviously making good money from that business because a lot of people like to eat the skins of pigs. 

When put that way, it doesn't sound appetizing, but anything we do can sound different as long as we present it in a way that people will take interest. 

Which brings me to our own publicity efforts. Like the pig industry, we can get a lot of different uses with our own content. For instance, if you write an article for a trade publication, it can also go on your blog, become a pitch for the media, be the basis of a video, and can even become an outline for a speech at a professional association. There are many ways you can use your content; just figure out which part of it people are interested in, and modify it to appeal to them the most. And it's important to remember that in addition to creating appealing content, you should offer information that can benefit people so that you're not just tooting your own horn. That way, you'll profit in various ways.

Saturday Night Live is Still Dead

As you know, "laughs" is a part of my blog's title, so it's obvious that I love comedy. I've been a clown, have done stand up, and have also taken Second City classes (which have helped my speaking engagements, too). I'm always looking to have a laugh after a long workweek, and I used to watch Saturday Night Live often. But not anymore.

A lot of people watch it, and lots of people have tuned in to that show for years, so SNL must be doing something right...right? Wrong. It's just not funny anymore, which is too bad because they're on a big network with a long history. But SNL has lost its heart and the essence of what made it funny.

So what's funny, you ask? I like Newsbusters. Sure, they're mostly a news site that has a lot of facts and figures, but they know how to make news funny, not stuffy or stale. Which is what SNL is: stuffy, stale, and dead. That show should learn from their older episodes to find out what funny and fresh look like.

Below is the latest Newsbusters video. It just goes to show that online video is 10 times funnier than what we can find on TV.

Santa Caught in a Lie: Jolly St. Nick for the YouTube Generation

Another father who works in another office in my building shared how the night before Christmas his son wanted evidence that Santa really does come down the chimney, drop off presents and eat the cookies and milk left for him. Seemed like a normal discussion, until the boy wanted his dad to set up a camera and leave it recording so the boy could see Santa's legs dangle as he came down and did his job. I thought, "Wow, how does dad get past this one?"So I asked the father to explain.

He said that he told the son that Santa was super fast and that the camera could not catch him in action. Thenhis son asked about at least being able to see the dust from the chimney and being able to see him eat the cookies (Now that I think about it, cookies explain how Santa runs an impossible marathon around the world in less that 24 hours and still stays chubby.)
While I let this father off the hook with his weak explanations to his son, it did remind me about how when a client is thinking about releasing information that is not really true, you either stop the lie from starting, or create more lies to cover your tracks. And in some cases you have to cover your tracks because your spokesperson is clueless when it comes to understanding what to say to the public (See former BP chairman Tony Hayward during the gulf oil disaster).

Yes, over the years, some clients have asked me to lie. Sometimes it seemed as "innocent" as not wanting to speak to a reporter and they wanted me to say that they were out of the country, and sometimes it was providing information to the press that wasnot a bold face lie, but rather misleading information. In my book, misleading information is a half truth, and a half truth is not truth. Sort of like saying, 10 gallons of water is pure, but it has a teaspoon of salt in it, so it's still really pure because is it's so little salt. Bottom-line: the water is not pure.

When I grew up my parents wanted me to believe in Santa. I too even left out cookies and milk (that I assume my parents took since we didn't have mice). So  now, what about my daughters who are 2-years and seven weeks old? I want them to know the truth and be able to defend it even with peer pressure they might face, at the same time be respectful of why others believe in Santa. Maybe I'll just give them each a Flip camera and they can see for themselves.

Reputation Mismanagement

Some people think the first page of a Google search has the power of God. They hope and pray their business name appears on the first page and rejoice when it does because thinking thier business is set for life. Reputation management seems to boil down to the top of a web page.

When I did a Google search for "reputation management," three companies came to the top of the page as offering a service to help improve your on-line reputation: ReputationManagementConsultants, ReputationDefender, and Positive Search Results. Positive Search Results even offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee on their services. While, I can't endorse any of these companies, I can give them credit for accomplishing a first page listing of their companies that is positive. While online reputations can be ruined by real or false claims against companies by places like RipoffReport.com and PissedConsumer.com, there's a bigger issue that many companies fail to address.

While a few customer complaints can make even the most respected companies look bad online, it really has to do with the culture of the company in building it's image through internal and external public relations. For example, PissedConsumer.com has a complaint against Verizon. I use Verizon for my mobile phone and they recently charged me almost $200 by their mistake. When I saw the bill I was ticked-off. However, I called customer service and they verified the mistake and immediately corrected the bill. So, when I see others complain about them, I'm less likely to agree with the angry consumer, since I had a positive experience. 

For the company that wants to manage their reputations and keep them in a positive light, even when things get dark with customer complaints, keep in mind:

1. A reputation is connected to a company's character: Character is who you are when nobody is looking. Business that create a culture where employees can admit mistakes to management and to the customers, will come out ahead in the reputation game. We all make mistakes, the key is how quickly we address them and how we go about correcting the matter above the call of duty.

2. Character is connected to consistency: What you do repeatedly is how you are remembered over time. Do you avoid making the same mistake more than a few times? Does you company empower employees to make reputation-saving decisions on their own? One time I was in Trader Joe's and the peanut butter rung up with the wrong price. The cashier took my word for it that it was wrong and decided to not charge me for the bread I was buying. Their marketing about being a great place to shop connects with great service (and trust in the customers) from the employees.

3. Consistency will always get you better "rankings" online and offline: While the Internet has become the choice for many to evaluate a product or service, getting positive reviews with traditional word of mouth trumps all else. When you're at a restaurant checking email on your Blackberry and someone is doing the same on their Droid, any comparison with intuitive features shared in-person and then verified online will be a powerful brand and reputation builder.

As a practical matter, some companies know how to "work the Internet" system to get better rankings with the SEO strategies. So building your reputation from the inside out will help your business stay the course whether or not someone gets "pissed" or "feels ripped" off by you.

Lawyers to Avoid

I've been thinking about why a law firm decides to spend money on public relations. If it's not to further promote their reputation and trusted attorneys, then that money is wasted.

If you do a Google search for "lawyer" and "reputation" one of the top paid links is for Lawyerratingz,which has the headline: Lawyers to Avoid. It appears to mostly cater to consumers looking for lawyers. For fun, I put in the name of a personal injury attorney I know and he was not listed. I then searched for one of the top intellectual property attorneys I work for and he was listed, but had no reviews for him. It's not clear to me how this particular site has value for someone searching for a lawyer be it a PI or IP practice.

While I am an advocate of lawyers having blogs to exhibit their expertise (assuming it is very specific), I also encourage them to consider how "not" to become a lawyer that people want to avoid.

Certainly, building the reputation of a personal injury lawyer is much different than a patent attorney's. I believe there are common image building traits for many practice areas:

1. Lawyers need to overcome an inherent mistrust about their character. I'm not talking about the "ambulance chaser" image of PI attorneys when I was growing up. I'm talking about 21st century "overbilling image" that is calling for the death of the billable hour. Attorneys who address this issue in regards to the integrity of their billing practices will go a long way in enhancing their reputations. For example, check out the website for Valorem Law Group. Their first flash animation states "The Billable Hour is Dead." Talk about tackling the issue head on.

2. When it comes to marketing, lawyers are still learning to crawl: I wonder how many 2010 law school graduates understand the 1950s legal term "rainmaker?" Firm growth is no longer about a few super stars at the top that bring in all the revenue. New associates are now being trained early on in business development. They are also being told in firm policy manuals to mind their manners with their online profiles at social networks.Face time client development has morphed into Facebook policing at some law firms.

3. Lawyers Fear Asking the Hard Questions for Marketing Services: I had a blog post titled Social Media Snakes for Lawyers. My point was that there are hundreds of marketing, public relations and social media services making near impossible promises such as simply pay a fee, get consultations with a marketing/public relations expert, and like magic the firm's reputation will be enhanced and clients will come begging for your services. This type of magic is reserved for something more realistic, like unicorns. I've seen too many law firms think they can throw money at something that can enhance their reputation, without their involvement. Attorneys need to ask the questions to know exactly how their reputation will be enhanced with these services and understand the "costs" that has nothing to do with what they are charged (e.g. their personal time, giving the consultants direction and benchmarks to measure progress against).

For attorneys to become trust advisors to their clients, it starts with a reputation management strategy, not a repulsive brand of lawyering.

Moses, Israel and Public Relations

This week The Jerusalem Post had a story with the title: The real problem behind Israel’s dismal PR.  I found the first paragraph amusing:

Israel’s public image today is dismal. As Elie Wiesel once joked, “Jews excel in just about every profession except public relations, but this should not surprise us: When God wanted to free the Jews from Egypt, he sent Moses, who stuttered."

This struck my fancy because our agency handled the public relations for the Chosen People Ministries' Inside the Middle East Crisis. Chosen People Ministires did a great job of promoting the event and attracted more than 1,500 people from around the country to attend a conference. They helped the audience consider currents events in the Middle East with a newspaper in one hand and a Bible in the other. While Elie Wiesel is one of my hero's, he should know that there are some very talented Jewish public relations professionals, as evident by the success of Chosen People Ministries event.

And to serve and Moses' advocate, here are a few things this sea-parting Jew did very well as a public relations pro:

1. He knew his role as representing his client and giving Him the credit: OK, Moses had a big client, God. And God needed the job done. Moses followed God's orders, got millions of people out of bondage, showed them where God provided food and water in the desert, and even when God wanted to wipe out His people, Moses was willing to take the hit for them.
2. Moses Stayed the Course: While it took the Jews 40 years to get from Egypt to the promised land of Israel, biblical scholars believe it could have been done in less than a year. There was a lot of wandering at the direction of God. However, even when his client took him on a difficult path, Moses stayed with God's direction. Now, God has never give me this type of assignment. However, there is value in having a relationship with a trustworthy client and sticking with him, even when you don't always understand the logic. Unless the client asks you to do something unethical.
3. Moses worked to get clear directions from his client: When Moses went up the mountain to get the 10 commendments from God, he managed to get what every public relations person wants from their clients: a clear understanding of the rules of engagement. While many people may not know what all is in the Bible, most have heard of the 10 commandments. Good PR job, Moses.

Now back to the present. The Jerusalem Post article goes on to trash Netanyahu's leadership in Israel and his poor PR skills when it said:

The combination of the public’s disillusionment that peace efforts will ever improve its global image and the disunity within the government further exacerbates historic public relations woes across the globe. But Israel is also inept at PR at home.

While I am not a Middle East expert, I see a country that is surrounded by enemies, surviving and thriving even after coming back to life in 1948, when the world thought that Moses' Israel would never be restored to the Jews. At the end of the day, Israel still stands despite attacks from outside and inside the country.

Are Law Firm PR Pros Overpaid or Underpaid?

Sometimes the best blog posts are inspired by other bloggers. In this case, Robert J. Ambrogi's blog LawSites provided me with and idea that I have never looked into: what am I worth to a law firm? Here's something from his blog that I'd like to respond to:

The gist of my post is to ask whether law firm PR professionals are overpaid or underpaid or whether law firms even need PR pros on staff. My opinion is that a skilled and knowledgeable communications professional can be highly valuable to a law firm. That’s not to say there aren’t incompetent PR folks out there. As a former newspaper editor, I’ve encountered my fair share of clueless PR folks. But as I say in my forum post, in an age of social media, law firms do themselves a disservice not to use a communications or media professional.

If you read his entire post and related links, you'll see that law firm media professionals have salaries that range from $50,000 to $375,000. In comparison, larger law firms in Chicago, on average, publish that they start out their associate attorneys at around $160,000/year. So if you are motivated by money and deciding between legal PR verses becoming a lawyer, I've solved your career decision.

When our public relations agency works with law firms, I find that how they value public relations can be as different as practicing IP verse PI law. While the PR professional can point to values such as ad rate equivalency, number of LinkedIn connections or followers on Twitter, the real value meter lies in the hearts of the attorneys.

I find that more lawyers need to ask themselves these types of questions when it comes to deciding how much to invest in public relations:

1. Where does it fit into my business development chain?: While public relations results can range from being quoted in the New York Times to speaking to a national trade organization, the main issue is knowing how it fits into a marketing strategy. So if speaking four times a year at national industry conferences can eventually yield one million dollars of new business a year, then the work your PR person did might justify a six figure salary.
2. What will the lawyer invest? I've seen public relations and marketing people inside law firms loose their jobs because their efforts did not get the phone to ring. Yet, when attorneys were given leads to follow up with or were asked to mingle at a trade show, the lawyers dropped the ball. For the PR person in these instances, they were worth paying minimum wage because they never got buy in from the attorneys to follow through on initiatives.
3. Do you want tactical or strategic PR people?: Some lawyers see their internal marketing and public relations staff as additional administrative staff. Just having them order business cards, update the copy on their websites or write press releases and post online. It would be better to get an English major who knows basic HTML to handle that work. However, the law firm who sees their internal marketing people as part of a business development strategy, will include them in managing partner meetings to decide how to best bring in the business. For these marketers, somewhere in the six figures seems right.

So to respond to Mr. Ambrogi's question, it all depends on the attorneys who run the firm and whether they are willing to invest time to understand the value they want from a public relations professional. It's not a matter of getting what you paid for, it's more a matter of knowing what you want and finding the people who are worth hiring to get you the value you desire.

Give PR Professionals some RESPECT

One of my favorite public relations professionals is Joan Stewart, who has a business called The Publicity Hound that helps other public relations professionals do better work. Her blog has this post: How to work with a PR firm: 15 do’s and 8 don’ts, and I'd like to add look at a few of the "don'ts" more closely:

Don't demand that the publicist write and send a press release about something she knows is not newsworthy

A few years back, I was working as the local public relations representative for one of the major national mobile phone services headquartered on the East Coast (not to date myself, but this was when combining a cellphone with a PDA was news). One of my jobs was to take corporate's press releases, edit them to make them relevant for the local market and send them out to the Chicago area media. Many times, the "news" had to do with personnel changes that would mean nothing to someone in the Midwest. Yet, I had to edit the releases, and get them to people who covered the consumer technology news. It was painful and a waste of time. I could have focused my efforts on more productive and relevant outreach.

  Don't go behind the publicist’s back and send letters, gifts or anything else to media contacts

Wow, does this make me crazy. Many of my clients are very successful professionals. And I know they became successful by making friends and influencing other business professionals. However, some of them think that influence can be used to get a reporter to write something more favorable or give them more space in an article. Part of the value of earned media is that the "media" contacts decide how you "earn" space in what they report. Think of it like bribing a police officer to not give you a ticket, though it might succeed in the short-term, it might get you in deep trouble.

Don’t expect the PR firm to do it all

Amen to that. Public relations professionals help shape and carry the message to the right people. I like to think of it as getting news from the President of the United States verses his press people. The media is more likely to run footage of the President making a major announcement than the press secretary. That holds true for any professional that wants to be seen as the corporate representative. The PR person can set the stage, yet the client needs to step into the spotlight.

Joan has a wealth of information at her blog. Check it out.

The Importance of Jelly Beans in Today's Legal World



All aboard the Jelly Belly Express with Tom and Elizabeth

 Recently, I was on vacation with my family in Racine, Wisconsin. The great thing about small towns near Chicago is that they can be as interesting as Disney World for our 22-month-old daughter. On the way home we stopped at Jelly Belly for one of the free tours that provides a multimedia presentation on the history of the company, how those little beans are made and a drive through the warehouse.

As you board the Jelly Belly Express train, they give you a paper hat because its a legal requirement in a food storage facility. You also have to wear a safety belt. Although I saw no real danger in a train that goes .5 miles an hour The "real danger" is Jelly Belly's free sample kiosk in the store (I limited my requests to six samples).

I know we live in a litigious society where so much of life is about covering yourself legally. However, a Jelly Belly warehouse tour is a good example of being legal and having fun. Yes, you need to protect yourself by following rules and regulations, like having you hair covered in a food facility. Yet, as you can see in the picture, the hats were good fun for Elizabeth and me. And we can be sure that no one will sue Jelly Belly for finding one of Tom Ciesielka's hairs in a cherry-flavored bean.

Additionally, the fact that they provided plenty of staff to monitor the safety for guests (and give away bags of free Jelly Bellys at the end of the tour) made it a very sweet experience.

I know that when law firms think about public relations they often think about presenting papers at trade shows, writing articles in business magazines, or sending out e-cards (to be "green") at Christmas time. Those are safe ways to handle your public relations and they follow the "rules" of such a conservative profession.

However, why not have a little fun? Find a way to interact with clients in a unique fashion. I work for an attorney who brings his clients and prospects to karaoke bars for business development.  Sure there are a million excuses for not doing that, one being to avoid over comsumption of alcohol and another to guard against people singing "I Did It My Way" off-key. However, he's not worried about that because he knows it will be a memorable experience.

I hope that lawyers and their marketing departments will find ways to lighten up. By the way, Jelly Belly offers a service where they can print a law firm's logo on their product.  If you decide to try that at your firm, please send me a couple bags for our office. Thanks.

When a Lawyer's Reputation Can be Damaged by Public Relations Consultants

This week, I had two meetings at a legal trade magazine where the reporter interviewed my clients from different law firms for two profile stories. I sat in the room quietly, listening as my clients shared their experiences as attorneys. I enjoy sitting in on these meetings because I often learn something new about my clients. I also make a point to keep my mouth shut and avoid trying to control the conversation. However, there's a situation when meetings among a client, reporter and publicist can backfire in a big way.

The Seattle Times reported that a high-profile trial attorney, Anne Bremner, wants a court injunction to block the sheriff's office from releasing investigative reports and video from her arrest two months ago on suspicion of drunken driving. The story goes on to say that the interview with the paper took place in the office a public relations specialist. The article also said:

Bremner is a well-known defense attorney who has often appeared on cable and national television stations to offer legal analysis. According to her website, she covered the Michael Jackson child-molestation trial in 2005 for CNN and has appeared on TruTV, "Good Morning America" and Fox News. Over the course of her 26-year career, she's represented numerous police agencies, officers and sheriff's deputies.

Clearly, Bremner is media-savvy. However, having this meeting in a publicist's office was a strange move. If she's as innocent as she says, why not meet the reporter at her offices or at a coffee shop? Why have a publicist in the room if you're telling the truth about what happened? A publicist should not be seen or heard in these circumstances. Rather, a good prep session with the publicist and client before the meeting is the way to go.

It raises some suspicion that she needed to have the protection of a publicist and is trying not to allow the media to see her public records. This creates a "loop hole" for the media and citizen journalists to exploit, which opens up a new can of cats.

God Bless the Atheists

It's great being in a big city where you get a mix of religious activists and anti-religion advocates. A few weeks back, the Chicago Tribune ran a story with the headline: Atheists ads get OK in Chicago which reported on the Indiana Atheists Bus Campaign that was blowing into the Windy City.

This group has some playful messages like "In the beginning, man created God" and "You can be good without God." I've even seen messages encouraging people to honor God's day of rest by sleeping in on Sundays.  And when you look at the atheist organization's website you'll see plenty of media coverage on their campaigns, including one in Time Magazine from May 28, 2009.

It's interesting to note that at least with these messages, the value of their messages is playing against whose name? God's. Without God, these atheists messages would not exist. Reminds me of the story where scientists told God they had found a way to take dirt and create life. God said that He'd like to see that, but the scientists would need to first create their own dirt.

This is a battle that's sure to continue to get media attention, bu the irony of it reminds me when the psychic network went bankrupt a few years back. I guess they were unable to predict winning lottery tickets to help finance their operation.

By the way, the atheists' website is asking for donations. As a legitimate non-profit, they have every right to collection tax-deductible contributions. Actually, I think God can help them with their request to raise donations. See what He says about bringing in tithes and offerings in Malachi 3 verse 8. The atheists seem to be relying on Him for everything else.

Slick Attorneys

Working with both IP and PI attorneys has helped our agency get a complete view of legal marketing. And both now have a news hook to weigh in on, and possibly cash in on the BP oil crisis.

Intellectual property lawyers who specialize in green technology and alternative energy have a golden opportunity to help their clients capitalize on the U.S. government's desire to more quickly advance energy innovations.

For personal injury attorneys the question becomes: Where does the harm and damage end with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico?

What inspired this post was a story I read at ClickZ titled BP Oil Spill Fuels Legal Marketing Machines. While the article focuses on lawyers who are marketing to find aggrieved businesses and property owners seeking damages, it really opens up a whole new discussion on law firm marketing. Here are my thoughts:

• Genuine opportunity to focus on helping others: There's no question that relief efforts for the people, wild life and natural resources are a top priority. However, there are legal matters that need to be addressed almost as quickly. Attorneys who have a genuine interest and expertise should market to help the region recover and get what is fair and just from settlements with BP and the government. Lawyers might even get creative and help their reputation by finding ways to connect with non-profit organizations involved in the clean-up.
• Moving Beyond the Disaster: While we know it will take months to fix the gushing oil leak and years to get the region somewhat back to normal, there is still something to consider beyond that. The attorneys that have been practicing in environmental law and alternative energy development stand ready to think through the legal implications of what can be done now in setting the agenda in the courts and in perhaps litigation that will set the stage for a greener environment.
• There's Nothing Wrong with Marketing Your Services When There's A Need Due to a Disaster: People buy life insurance from trusted companies. The Red Cross mounts massive fundraising campaigns right after a tragic incident. Some people talk to a funeral director to make arrangements for after they're gone. While people may not see how such services relate to attorneys, I would argue that attorneys who have the expertise to help, should get out there and make their services known in an ethical fashion.

Most law firms still take the slow conservative approach to marketing. What's ironic is that attorneys, especially trial lawyers, aggressively go after the win in court without reservations. Why the dichotomy of lion and lamb when comparing legal practice to legal marketing?

Drunk on Twitter

Some time ago back in my wild youth, I found myself getting drunk three nights a week. What was the cause? Too much alcohol. A pretty simple cause and effect equation. Good news. I don't drink anymore (and if you want to know the story of how that happened, drop me a line at tc@tcpr.net. Bad news, I'm finding some alcoholics on Twitter.

Recently, I've been looking at http://twitaholic.com/. It's amazing what it tells you about Twitter accounts and their followers. For example, as of this post, Lady Gaga has more followers than President Obama. Ellen DeGeneres is more popular than Oprah Winfrey. CNN is not even in the top 10 anymore after the well-publicized challenge that Ashton Kutcher against the news network.

I connected with someone who has one of the top 1,000 Twitter accounts in the world (based on followers). This person was asking me for public relations help. and was frustrated that this top Twitter account was not helping their business development efforts. While I'd love to help this person, I'm beginning to see a trend  with people involved in Twitter that somewhat resembles drunken behavior: Followers/following for the sake of followers/following.

I do understand the value of Twitter, especially for consumer products and services that want to get the word out about a special or limited time offer, but for the business-to-business community I see people getting "drunk" with following and being followed for no strategic reason. The fact is that unless you are giving away something free to consumers, it's often a poor tactic for finding new business.

Look, I've read the blog posts of social media experts and I respect the value of Twitter for business to business client development. However, quality will always trump quantity. Why? Because relationships mean connections, not just some clever 140 character posts. How often does the average business have the type of breaking news like a plane going down in the Hudson River to justify their followers attention?

The laugh for me is that so many people are getting "drunk" on Twitter because they feel they have to join in. However, few people have more than a couple hundred contacts that they can stay in touch with in any meaningful way. Why do they need to keep signing up for platforms beyond Facebook or even a simple email group?

While I see the value of instant communications channels, I see much more of the garbage of businesses jumping on Twitter's bus with a DUI driver.

Interns BTI (Before the Internet)

Our agency just had its fourth intern finish her program with TC Public Relations. Jessica's leaving was bittersweet. Bitter because our interns do very important work that helps the account executives get the job done and sweet because we celebrated her time here with an ice cream cake.

I remember my first internship. I was finishing a degree in audio-visual communications (read slide shows, not PowerPoint, and 3/4 inch video decks, not Flip cameras) with an internship at the local ABC television station in Rochester, New York. One of my jobs as a production assistant was to carry around a video deck that must have weighed about 35 pounds (or about 50% more the current weight of my 16 month old daughter). Part of that job was to guide the camera person when walking backwards for walking interviews. Often I had to make sure the camera person did no step into a pile of dog poop. These dog poop avoiding skills have helped throughout my career.

So what does this have to do with public relations interns of the 21st Century? While the sugar buzz from the ice cream cake is still with me, let me share the connections:

• Interns still need to do heavy lifting: While our interns may only know Flip and Web cameras, they need to wade through tons and tons of social media opportunities (think YouTube as the second largest online search outlet) for our clients to find just the right connection points between our clients and their future customers.


• Interns still need to follow (and lead) the people who have the experience: I've been in public relations for more than 20 years, so I know that when I take the time to mentor the interns, I can give them valuable insights into the business world that transcends technology and share life experiences that they can take to their next job. In exchange, the interns that grew up in a digital world can lead me and help me learn what it's like to have a life that is more centered on social media than the society pages of a print newspaper.


• Interns Still Need to Dodge the Poop: Yes, I know the public relations industry is changing rapidly, and yes, I know that much of the economy is still on life support, but so what? One of the last things I shared with the intern before she left was the quote "These are the best of times, these are the worst of times." And despite the media's year-long obsession with the 10% unemployment rate, 90% of people ARE working! So I want good interns (we've always had the best thanks to our internship coordinator) to know that when they do a good job at TC Public Relations they should be able to pursue the 90% opportunity not the 10% of poop.

While I am still learning what public relations 2.0 or 5.0 should look like for our agency, the value of interns that meet the demands of the times are priceless. Now, let's see if any ice cream cake is left to fuel me through another blog post.

Demand Your Media ...NOW!!!

I recently heard the term "entrepreneurial journalism," which is the concept that online writers and reporters get paid based on the number of clicks on their stories. When I was a kid, I remember television and radio shows asking audiences to send in cards and letters for contests and audience feedback. I supposed that if Bozo the Clown got more mail than Chuckles, Bozo got a raise and Chuckles got the boot.

Now has come along a more formalized version of entrepreneurial journalism known as Demand Media. They measure on-line traffic and select keywords that become story ideas that an army of freelance writers and editors transform into articles and then post online. The big idea is that the content is "guaranteed" to appeal to readers because of online research. The total cost for the content from a network of freelance writers and editors is less than $20 per article. That's an amazing business model compared to the day when someone got about $1/word for an original article. Just a 200 word article using the old model would yield a writer's fee of $200 or 10 times more than Demand Media's model. No wonder journalists are dropping like flies.

So once again, Google wins. At 4:35 pm Central on Monday, April 5, these are their most popular news stories:

- A Revealing and Guarded Tiger Woods

- Jesse James Leaves Rehab

- Apple to Reveal iPhone 4.0

Let me run this through Tom Ciesielka's algorithm to come up with a headline:

Tiger Woods Reveals Through His 4.0 iPhone that Jesse James is Free and Will Be Stalking Sandra Bullock.

There you have it. The top story at 4:35 pm Central on Monday, April 5, 2010, no charge

A History of PR Laughs

With health care reform in shambles, the leader of Iran denying 911 ever happened, and Lady Gaga not in the news in the last five minutes, I decided I needed someone else to give me a chuckle for my blog.

So here are a few funny quotes related to PR:

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.”
Daniel J. Boorstin

I think that Jesus had the best team of public relations officers ever assembled (12 disciples were at the core). While He walked the earth for 33 years, somehow his WOMM (Word of Mouth Marketing) has gone strong for about 2,000 years. He still makes headlines. When I did a Google news search for "Jesus" this was the top listing. So if Jesus "hired" some people to help with His public relations, then maybe we all need someone to be our own advocate.

“All the president is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway.”
Harry S Truman

Regardless of your political persuasion, you have to admit the Obama campaign got this right. His communications team had him "loving on" people in a way that made him the "hero" they needed in the midst of wars and a financial meltdown. Now that Obama is in his second year as president, the honeymoon is over, and has the same uphill battle that all presidents have faced. In recent news, the president now is in the "kicking" phase of his public relations campaign. He kicked out his social secretary for "crasher gate" and is "kicking" his fellow Democrats to push through health care reform.

“Public-relations specialists make flower arrangements of the facts, placing them so that the wilted and less attractive petals are hidden by sturdy blooms.”
Alan Harrington

The word "relation" is a pretty big part of the words "public relations," and how the public relates to your image can determine your future and your success. Thanks to social networks and online media, your greatness and your garbage are easily exposed. So now more than ever should everyone be interested in "arranging their flowers." I'd suggest petunias.