In the competitive environment of PR, our job is to not only know everything about our clients and their messaging, but also to know their competitors businesses and PR strategies. Between google searches and constantly scanning headlines, keeping up with the competition isn’t as difficult as it used to be. Recently, members of the Matter team successfully and single-handedly polluted a major PR story a competitor was pitching. Because the team was privy to information the competitor distributed over a wire service (thank you, Google alerts), we quickly took notice and planned “an attack” to pollute the story. After informing the client of the competitors’ news, we drafted a statement letting journalists know that our client was first to market with the service that the competition was touting.

The team rapidly jumped on the phone and emailed applicable media contacts to set the story straight and provided factual context from a competitive standpoint.  This aggressive approach was so successful that the team was able to get Matter’s client into eight out of the nine stories that would have otherwise been exclusive to our client’s number one competitor.

Keeping close tabs on news relevant to clients is PR 101 – and thanks to technology, we can capitalize on this age-old tactic at speeds faster than ever before. Whether quickly latching onto a trend or muddying up a competitors news, part of being an effective PR practitioner is to read, read, read and scan, scan, scan.

Last week’s Harvard Business Review blog post by Dick Patton got me thinking about some of the challenges Matter has recently been tasked with. On more than one account, we’ve been asked to blur traditional PR boundaries to help our clients develop installed base marketing programs. It’s no secret that it takes less resources to market to existing customers, and yet, start-up firms and established companies alike can be so focused on customer acquisition that they lose sight of this fact. Tight economic conditions, a rapid shift in the competitive landscape and limited resources are all reasons companies take their eye off their installed base. But doing so comes at a cost. So our clients are increasingly turning to us for help.

It makes sense to tie installed base marketing programs to public relations programs. For one, customer testimonials have long been a staple of traditional PR programs, building a foundation for case studies, bylined articles, awards programs and press releases. But looking at today’s PR – traditional programs plus social networks – gives us an even greater opportunity to marry installed base marketing with PR programs.

As Patton points in the HBR blog post, a marketing program on ‘ROIDS must look beyond the four P’s of marketing to include:
(1) Responsibility marketing
(2) Organizational leadership
(3) Insights about customers
(4) Digital marketing

PR firms have long been responsible for driving awareness about (1), (2) and (4) – so adding customer insights – and ultimately – installed base marketing - under the auspices of communications makes a lot of sense.

If you’re not getting this kind of integrated value from your communications partner, call us.

Much has been written about newspapers and their ongoing transition to digital (the topic was covered on Matter Chatter last year); but what about magazines? On Monday, the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) released the findings from its survey of practices at magazine Web sites (in addition to a related article), which reveal some very interesting, and at times unexpected, information about the state of magazines’ online content. Like newspapers, magazines are facing decreased readership and advertising, coupled with budget reductions. They’re also learning to navigate the waters of the online world and trying to identify the business models and practices that will enable their Web sites to succeed.

Despite the challenges magazines face in the evolving digital age, I was surprised by some of the findings from the CJR study, which represent 665 consumer magazines. While the survey explored a variety of topics related to Web site practices and profitability, I was most intrigued by how the magazines reported developing online content and their standards for digital publishing. For example:

- Two-thirds of respondents’ staff are involved in producing online content, but only 26 percent of those staffers have prior Web experience

- Fact-checking (excluding blogs) is less rigorous online than in print for 35 percent of respondents

- 59 percent of those surveyed reported either there is no copy editing online (11 percent), or copy editing requirements are less strict in comparison to the print edition

Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times wrote about the “slack editing” on websites last week, asserting, “The only thing standard about magazines’ Web sites is that there are no standards.”

Personally, I hope the magazine industry will unite to develop some sort of online publishing standards, for the sake of journalism and readers everywhere who rightfully expect high-quality, error-free articles from their favorite magazines. However, this will likely take time, as magazines increasingly transition to the Web and determine if and how they can be profitable online.

In the meantime, we can consider how the CJR’s findings affect PR pros. For instance, we should be aware of the policies of each of the magazines we pitch, in order to maximized our clients’ coverage and set realistic expectations. We should recognize the differences (if they exist) between content for print and content for the Web at individual outlets and how that content is produced. As an example, after recently securing a contributed article placement for a client in an online outlet, I asked how we could be considered for the print version in the future and was told the magazine selects the best of the online content to be included in the print issue. Interesting. We should also keep in mind, for now at least, many outlets tend to favor speed above all, when it comes to publishing online content. PR pros can alter pitches accordingly, by offering reader tips from our clients or short contributed articles, both of which can quickly and easily be posted on a Web site.

Like other media, it will be interesting to watch how magazines continue to evolve in response to the digital age and how the changes will affect PR pros. Have you already adapted your tactics for pitching print or Web editors at magazines? Please do share! Read the rest of this entry »

In November 2006, I came to my first in-person interview at Matter in a state of high excitement: not only had a preliminary phone interview led me to believe that I had found my dream PR agency, but it was the first time I’d donned heels and lipstick in over a month. My husband and I had welcomed our son to the world in late September, and I was in that stage of near-delirium produced by lack of sleep combined with incredible responsibility and commensurate happiness that any parents reading this will find familiar.

The in-person experience did not disappoint: here were an amazing array of talented, personable individuals who all had one key thing in common: they absolutely loved working at Matter. I heard about the entrepreneurial environment, the mentoring of junior (and not-so-junior) staff, the overall sense of teamwork that was at the heart of the outstanding client service on which the agency prided itself. So far, so good, but honestly, as a PR agency veteran, nothing I hadn’t heard before and later seen disproven. But then one of the principals told me the company motto: Employees and clients for life. And he didn’t blink when he said it. I started January 2, 2007.

Over the next three years, that motto proved true. Did all employees and all clients stay? Of course not. But did the majority, more so that at many other agencies or for that matter other businesses with which I had experience? Yes. I was part of a collaborative, well-designed team in which all members worked together, sans egos, to benefit our clients.

If I keep coming back to the notion of teamwork, it’s because the value of being part of a team was brought home to me last week. Completely unexpectedly, I wound up spending a week in the hospital with my (now 3 year old) son – yes, he’s fine now. It was a scary experience, and when it came to work, an obliterating experience. For 98% of the time, I was off the grid.

On what turned out to be the last day in the hospital, I sent out a message to my teams letting them know it would be another day (at least) and apologizing for my absence and the increased work they must be facing. My boss – the motto guy – sent me a message, gently reminding me that we work as a team, and that my teammates would step up in my absence. And he was right – I returned to notes from clients first asking after my son (we have great clients too) and informing me that my colleagues did a stellar job making sure nothing got dropped during the week I was out.

My hat’s off to my colleagues; I’m thankful to be a part of Matter Communications. In parting, as I look outside at Day 2 of one heck of a rainstorm, I’ll leave you with the wisdom of Elvis Presley: At the end of a storm is a golden sky / And the sweet silver song of a lark /Walk on through the wind / Walk on through the rain….Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart / And you’ll never walk alone

We interrupt Matter Chatter’s typical discussion of timely and relevant topics around the PR industry to momentarily toot our own horn ….

This weekend, a group from Matter and a few select friends and clients participated in the annual Photoimaging Manufacturers and Distributors Association’s (PMDA) International Awards Dinner, just prior to the opening of the PMA 2010 tradeshow. The event was sponsored and attended by some of the most significant brands in the imaging industry, including Nikon, FujiFilm, and many others. Just attending the dinner represented an excellent networking opportunity for our agency and allowed us to mingle with the upper echelon of industry executives. But in addition to its annual awards ceremony (which included a phenomenal presentation from Sports Illustrated veteran photographer Walter Ioois) this year’s dinner included an update on the PMDA’s Portraits of Love project – an initiative in which Matter is thrilled to be actively involved.

Some background on Portraits of Love can be found here. In short, the project’s goal was to gather professional photographers from across the country to volunteer their time to conduct portrait shoots with military families whose loved ones are currently deployed. In 2009, nearly 400 photographers opened their studios and traveled to military bases, capturing images that mean more to soldiers and their families than one can ever know.

Matter became involved with the project on a pro bono basis in the early fall of 2009, prior to a series of Portraits of Love events on-site at military bases. Our goal was to raise local and nationwide awareness of the project, while also balancing the interests of the PMDA’s sponsoring organizations. Working in tandem with representatives of multiple photo companies and a stable of pro photographer volunteers, Matter first secured media at the local level, sending reporters to on-base sessions in Washington and Georgia. National interest soon followed, including a segment on PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer.

But the coup de grace from a PR perspective came just prior to Christmas 2009, when Brain Williams and the NBC Nightly News team dedicated its weekly “Making a Difference” segment to Portraits of Love – a story which came about only after a dedicated, coordinated effort led by Matter Communications Providence’s Zachary Heath. The result speaks for itself, as not only did the PMDA receive recognition, but sponsoring companies also received product placement that fully justified their participation in the program.

At Saturday’s dinner, the PMDA’s Executive Director, Jerry Grossman, was kind enough to recognize Matter’s effort in leading the Portraits of Love communications initiative and give our agency a moment in the spotlight (literally). I was personally thrilled to represent our agency at the time and believe it was one of the proudest moments in Matter’s history. A tremendous thank you goes to Zach Heath for his tireless efforts on this project, which required him to use his entire, extensive set of PR skills. Additional thanks goes to Matter’s Bill Trifiro, who created a 5-minute video segment for the ceremony that showcased Matter’s PR results and was a major highlight of the evening.

Opportunities to work on projects like Portraits of Love do not come along often for any agency, and when Matter had the chance to show what it could do with this unique effort, we came through exactly the way we strive to for every client we service – with amazing results.

So…did anyone watch Tiger Woods’ press conference today?

Reactions are all over the place - The Philadelphia Inquirer called it a “self-serving sham.” Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg had the opposite opinion, saying Tiger showed some emotional vulnerability and finally “introduced himself” to the world for the first time in 14 years. Gloria Allred (predictably) used the opportunity for her own benefit and labeled it “a disgrace” and “a staged public relations stunt” (which struck me as funny, since…of course it is! All public addresses and press conferences are, right??). Even walking the halls of our office here in Newburyport, comments varied and I heard some people scoffing that today’s mea culpa was “too little, too late.” Others shrugged and said it was a “smart move - he’s got good handlers.” The one thing everyone can agree on? The whole ordeal was a PR nightmare from the get-go.

Personally, I think delivering that statement was the right thing to do. On one hand, he waited a long time to publicly address a very high-profile crisis…something I (or any of my colleagues) would likely never advise a client to do. Yet at the same time, waiting in this case gave Tiger a chance to step away from the public eye, seek counseling, and then communicate a message of sorrow, humility and regret with a touch more credibility. If he had come out of the gates apologetic right after the news broke, but hadn’t yet shown a commitment to change by going to a rehab facility, his words would have been buried under gossip and rumors and new discoveries of further indiscretions. Taking a few months to breathe, duck for cover, and then re-emerge was not a bad call, in my book.

Whether he’s truly committed to changing, taking responsibility for his actions, or is truly as remorseful as he should be is up to each of us to decide, I guess – but the point is, to the general public, today’s press conference at least gives him the opportunity to start to be seen that way.

One of the most stressful parts of being a PR professional is waiting for a big hit to, well hit. After all the legwork, the research, the pitching, the back-and-forths with the reporter, the interviews, the updates to the client contacts, and the other countless actions that can span out over several months, the last thing to do is to wait and scan for the coverage. Surprisingly, this part of the process is much more difficult than actually setting up the interviews, preparing the briefing materials, coordinating site visits, and everything else that goes into this process. As you might be able to tell from the tone of this post and the strangely specific list of tasks I outlined, I’m waiting for a big hit.

Of course, I’ve checked in with the reporter to see if he knows when the article will run, but he’s on to bigger and better things. By constantly checking in with him, I run the risk of crossing the fine line between persistent PR professional to annoying flack that puts his expected coverage in jeopardy. So I send a short, polite email to the reporter once a week or so to see if he has any updates. He always gets back to me to let me know that the article should run soon, but that he’s not sure when, and I continue to scan.

I certainly don’t blame the reporter - it’s not his fault. He wants to see the article run, too. He did a lot of work to get it written and he doesn’t want to see his work go to waste. (I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t mind not receiving my weekly check-in email, too.) Now that I think about it, I suppose I never really considered the article through his eyes. He spent a good number of hours interviewing, researching and traveling, in an effort to put together the piece. I didn’t have to travel anywhere. I didn’t call my client’s competitors or customers, or any industry analysts for their insights.

Still, I’d feel a lot better if the article just ran, and was as positive as the reporter has assured me (please, find some wood and knock on it for me). But for now, all I can do is wait, and the wait is killing me.

The Photo Marketing Association conference and trade show kicks off next Friday and, like everyone else in the industry who will be in attendance, I’m eager to see how things pan out. Much has been said about the success of the show and the future of this event since last fall, when Canon announced that it would not be exhibiting and several companies followed suit.

Their reasoning? Canon reps told PDN Gear Guide that it was a combination of the show’s timing, its move to Anaheim, and the need for a larger, broader audience. What didn’t factor into their decision, the Canon reps said, was the money.

For many companies whose pockets aren’t as deep as Canon’s, the money probably was a factor. There are a lot of events to consider and trade show budgets certainly aren’t what they used to be, regardless of who you are. And, as the Canon folks duly noted, the convergence of technologies is attracting more people to events like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Heck, in addition to the fancy gadgetry on display, half the appeal is Vegas itself. Without the roulette tables and showgirls, PMA already seems, as Alice Cooper would say, like a shadow of itself.

All joking aside, though, what will become of PMA? I’m a glass half-full gal (depending on when you catch me and who you ask) and to me, the outlook is not that bad. I received an updated press list with 300-plus names on it this week and I’ve booked meetings for my client with all the major players. Sure, I’ve heard from a few media folks who will not be attending or who are sending fewer writers, but it’s certainly not the letdown that I was expecting.

I think the exhibition hall will speak for itself – and news of the turnout will likely get more press than any gear announcement, but I also think the conference’s organizers have something up their sleeves. It’s hard to imagine that they’ve sat back and listened to all this scuttlebutt without devising some plans for 2011’s show. We look forward to hearing what they have in store for us in the years to come and, in the meantime, we plan to sit back and enjoy the show!

I tell stories for a living.

Sometimes it’s a happy story. A strong year for a client or a cool new product that consumers will love.

Sometimes it’s a teaching story. One that explains how a thing works or why we should care about a new trend.

It’s rare — luckily — that we have to explain an unhappy story about our clients. But sometimes we tell those stories, too.

I used to tell stories as a reporter for the Associated Press and Boston Globe. Sometimes I wrote “evergreen” stories like the one about a landmark that lights up the sky, one blue and red flash at a time. Other times I wrote with a conspiratorial tone, like the one about the hidden “eyes” that follow your every move.

In daily PR life as we race to keep up with busy clients, breaking news and the reporters we work with, I think we often forget that our job is to tell our clients’ stories. We’re story tellers. That new product might have 17 new features but what makes it a good story? That new executive hire might have an impressive industry background but what makes her joining your client at this moment so interesting — where’s the story there?

Here at Matter many of our clients fall into two categories: consumer and high technology. This mix is an important reason why we’re really good at coming up with creative pitch angles and landing coverage in a wide range of places. The tech geek in us is quick to understand how the technology works. The consumer guru knows what makes a quirky, unusual story that “regular people” will care about.

I sometimes tell prospective high-tech clients that if they want coverage only in the technical publications that cover their industry, we’re probably not the agency they’re looking for. But if they’re looking for someone that can learn their story, figure out why it’s interesting and different, and explain to a wide audience why it matters to them — well, we’ve got a story worth telling.

The Toyota recall has caused even the most unflappable owners to question their love affair with the brand. From the Woz’s Prius to Mary Chin’s 2006 Avalon, every Toyota model, even those not initially included in the recall, are in the hot seat because of the ambiguity of the situation and growing amounts of questions. Every “check engine” light or electrical glitch now will be scrutinized, and for good reason – people feel their safety has been compromised.

Toyota isn’t just sitting back. The company has placed an open letter in this week’s New York Times, publicly commented on Transportation Secretary LaHood’s clarification of his remarks and continually reinforced its dedication to fixing the problem by keeping dealerships open 24×7, but will this issue forever cloud the consumer’s perception of the brand?

I’m a Jeep girl myself, but I can’t help but think that if I were in that consumer position, I would feel I was owed an honest portrayal of the situation – from the beginning. From a PR perspective, I think the mistake made was allowing the executives to speak publicly before the full scale of the problems had been determined. Toyota should have done its due diligence to provide each owner with an honest, adjective-free evaluation of this situation, and should have taken a holistic look at everything they’ve got on the market before assuming they have the problem isolated.

Product recalls are arguably a “top 10” company nightmare, which is why every PR program should have an effective crisis communication plan in place. As PR practitioners, we think we can handle anything that comes our way – we’re resourceful, think on our feet and can do what we do best, communicate. However, crisis, by its very definition, creates high-pressure, high-risk situations that need to be evaluated from every angle, handled with the utmost care and sensitivity and executed effectively. We never know when a crisis will hit…are you prepared?

So with all this said, how would you rank how Toyota handled the situation? What would you have done, or what would you have done differently?