• PR People: We Know Enough to be Dangerous

    PR People: We Know Enough to be Dangerous

    Public Relations was not my first career choice, or so I thought. I thought that I wanted to be a lawyer, in fact I took the LSAT not once but twice, but the universe it seems had different plans. Now I find myself in a career where I represent my client’s best interest in the court of public opinion – sound familiar?  I often find that when I tell people what I do, they scoff and dismiss me as yet another liberal communications person, who was too lazy to develop the skill set of say an engineer or physicist or… a lawyer. It might not help that I live right next to Harvard and MIT, some of the most renowned academic institutions on the planet.

    I think there is a major disconnect between what people think that PR practitioners do and what we actually do. People seem to either think that PR people are slackers or not academically inclined, or my favorite – “Your work sounds like that show Mad Men.” Well let me tell you that we work very hard, and the only thing that I have in common with Don Draper and the misogynists at Sterling Cooper is an affinity for good scotch and a catchy tag line.

    Like any profession slackers make their way into PR, but they never last long and are usually weeded out early in their would-be-careers. Real PR pros – the great ones – are experts in dozens of disciplines, or at least they can convince other experts of their superior knowledge. Today I may be trying to convince a producer at NBC of why a consumer product that shines shoes is superior to all other shoe cleaning options, and tomorrow I may be talking best practices for ensuring healthcare IT security compliance with an editor at the Wall Street Journal.

    In PR you learn quickly that editors, producers and journalists have no problem telling you that you clearly have no idea what you are talking about, so you have to get a clue and get it quickly. Learn enough to be dangerous in a number of arenas and present that knowledge intelligently and confidently in a way that convinces the real expert that you just might know something more than he does – that is what it takes to be successful in PR.

    The business savvy that PR practitioners must possess, even at a young age, is something else that I think that many outside of the profession do not recognize. The opportunity to work with C-suite executives on major accounts provides a level of access that most twenty something’s can’t even dream of. You have to believe that if you are writing the CEO’s byline for Forbes you are getting a high level of attention. You also can be sure that you have instilled a high level of trust in your skill set.

    Also, as PR agency people become more seasoned, we get to witness acquisitions, mergers, hirings, firings, product launches… you get the idea – another level of access that not many people are privy to. Throughout the course of all these business moves we also get to see what works and what doesn’t. Not that PR people are or should be business advisors, but I have met some senior people who are certainly capable.

    PR requires a constant personal evolution, whether it is to keep up with new or social media or simply to learn about a new client’s industry. Good PR people aren’t just master communicators they are master formulators, planners, organizers, managers, writers, technologists, sociologists, psychologists and whatever else they might need on that day to get the job done.

    Ryan Lilly

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  • Hunting and Farming

    One of my first PR jobs was a firm that held a large company outing every year.  Along with the cookout and music came a fairly competitive set of athletic events.  Employees engaged in tennis, horseshoes, lacrosse, darts – just about anything that you could keep score at.  The centerpiece, however, was the softball game.  Custom T-shirts were made for every edition of this sports classic.  In my first year, the CEO named the teams the Hunters and the Farmers.  The Hunters consisted of the client facing professionals while the Farmers were the support staff, from the receptionist through HR and marketing and the administrative assistants. 

    The Farmers won the game that year, much to the chagrin of the hyper-competitive Hunters, but the thing that stuck with me was the distinction between the groups.  Public relations agencies need both Hunters and Farmers.  In fact, I would say that the best PR pros are a little of both.  You have to enjoy (at least a little) the thrill of the chase, the new business meeting, the pitching process.   But you also need to tend to those tasks that keep a communications program running well, planning, tracking, reporting and client status calls are crucial to overall success.

    Which are you, Hunter, Farmer or a little of both?

     

     

    Matter

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  • There are movers and shakers, and then there is Peter Shankman

    Peter Shankman makes all the right moves.

    The guy is brilliant and, if you’re in PR, you can’t help but know that he has a cat named Karma and, when he’s not jumping from an insane altitude, he’s training for an Ironman. Oh, and he’s the founder and CEO of a PR/journalism game-changing company called Help a Reporter Out (HARO). (more…)

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  • The (Wo)Man Who Knew Too Much

    Ever heard the saying “ignorance is bliss”?  Of course you have.  We all have.  Some people even run a little too far with the idea.  But that’s another rant for another day.

    I’ve always thought of PR professionals as the wizards behind the curtains.  We exist exclusively behind the scenes, preferring to go unmentioned, monitoring from afar, feeding key messages to spokespeople and strategically delivering inside scoops.  We are ghost writers, and we only occasionally emerge from the backdrop to network and share accolades among fellows of our community. (more…)

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  • Back to Basics

    As newsrooms at print newspapers continue to shrink, we’re seeing an increased use of syndicated content in place of locally-written coverage. In addition, there are some topics that simply no longer have a reporter devoted to them, or have one reporter as opposed to two or three. For example, the Providence Journal no longer has a reporter assigned to reviewing consumer electronics. If, as a PR practitioner, you’re focused on getting that big hit in the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, this isn’t as big a problem, but for those clients whose needs include substantial regional coverage, it presents a challenge.

    Or is it an opportunity?

    Too often, when we’re conducting outreach around “cool” products, particularly gadgets such as the latest smart phone, we’re lulled into a repetitive pattern: pitch to technology reporter. Send reporter device for review. Receive coverage. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. But when met with the reply, “I’m sorry. We no longer have a reporter who reviews devices,” we need to rearrange our thinking and tap into our creativity. This is where what you learned in that communications/journalism/marketing class comes into play, the classic Who? What? When? Where? Why? Who is going to be affected by this device hitting the market? When and where will they find it most useful to their daily lives? Why should this be of interest to them?

    This means moving beyond straight-forward coverage of the technology and into coverage of the end-user’s experience with that technology. Using mobile phones as an example: Pitching a virtually indestructible cell phone? Why not reach out to that Mommy blogger (particularly those affiliated with major regional publications)), letting her know there’s a cell phone that can survive her 3 year-old’s curiosity? Recently read a regional columnist’s musing about his generation’s wanting to stick to a “vanilla” phone but acknowledging the convenience of texting? What about offering him a “step up” from his basic phone, while not entering full-on phone-that-can-make-you-breakfast territory?

    The products and services our clients provide almost always have an impact on someone beyond their core audience. Think about the end-user, or the customers of the end-user. Then find a reporter who writes for that audience. State your case clearly and concisely, referencing relevant past work by the reporter to better peak their interest and to let them know you’re not employing the ‘spray and pray’ approach Melissa referred to in her August 12 post. Employ some of that creativity Colleen referred to on July 23. Secure coverage. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

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  • Finding a happy medium between social media and traditional press releases

    Finding a happy medium between social media and traditional press releases

    “Die! Press Release! Die! Die! Die!”

    That headline from Tom Foremski’s story in Silicon Valley Watcher in February of 2006 was my first introduction to social media press releases (SMPRs). It’s been three years since I came across that piece and I’m still not sure traditional news releases are completely dead. (more…)

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