Archive for April, 2009
Is Your Crisis Communication Crash Cart Ready?
by Jennifer Allen on April 30, 2009 | no comments
in Crisis Communications, Healthcare
You guessed it! It is time for another PR / medical analogy from the resident Lovell nurse. There have been a lot of crises in the news lately – the swine flu, the global financial downturn, Lindsay Lohan’s love life. Thankfully, most of our clients are well-prepared to respond to crises because they have put a crisis communications plan in place. Naturally, I find a way to relate this to my clinical experience and equate crisis preparation to the development of code response plans.
And so the analogy unfolds: Our clinical audience is certainly familiar with the crash cart. The crash cart contains array of emergency drugs and equipment neatly organized and easily accessible in the event of a code – or serious patient emergency, such as cardiac arrest.
Hospitals and clinical personnel realize the importance of planning ahead for this type of emergency. Waiting until a crisis arises to make decisions could be disastrous in these life-and- death situations. So in preparation, code response teams, (made up of nurses, physicians and other clinical personnel), designate each team member’s role and how each person should react the instant a code is announced.
This should serve as an example for companies of all sizes. Planning how your team will react in a time of crisis determines the overall impact a crisis will have on your customers, your employees and your organization. A crisis is no time to start making decisions.
Just as the medications in the crash cart and emergency equipment must be routinely checked for expiration dates and to verify everything is in working order, the crisis plan should also be revisited on an annual basis. (Clinicians, this is your “Mock Code.”)
Many plans are great in theory and look even better on paper, but when put in practice, problems arise. We usually recommend an annual “tabletop run through,” during which the crisis team assembles and we present various crisis scenarios and work through the plan with the various departments that would have a role in responding to a crisis. This gives everyone the opportunity to catch glitches in the plan and identify details of the plan that should be reworked and updated.
When it comes to a crisis, it is better to have a plan on a shelf that you never have to use than to be caught in a crisis without one!
Facing the Music
by Rebecca Kirkham on April 28, 2009 | 1 comment
in Crisis Communications, Media Relations
We’ve all seen them … those interviews on the 10 o’clock news that make you cringe. Like a trainwreck in slow motion, we watch, turn away and then go back for more.
Perhaps it’s a guilty looking CEO trying unsuccessfully to get to his car while fielding questions from an aggressive reporter. Or an executive angrily defending his organization – and in the process – picking a fight with a journalist. Or, my personal favorite, this guy.
Whether you feel outraged, dumbfounded or downright sorry for the person being interviewed, we inevitably ask ourselves “what in the heck was that he thinking?”
In defense of guilty looking executives everywhere, talking with the media can be intimidating. While your first instinct may be to freeze like a deer in the headlights, it is possible to turn an uncomfortable situation into a positive one – or at least neutralize it in a way that allows you to put forth your message.
Let’s face it: you may be asked an uncomfortable question during the course of an interview. Answer it and move on. Find a way to “bridge” to your message – the message the public needs to hear about your company, product or situation. Ignoring uncomfortable questions doesn’t work. Not only will you look evasive but you will undoubtedly irritate the reporter (not a good move, trust me).
If you can’t comment, explain why. Perhaps a pending lawsuit or patient confidentiality regulations simply don’t permit it. If possible, go one step further. Express appropriate emotion or address the situation in very general terms.
Most importantly, don’t bank on the fact that faking a coughing fit or ignoring the question completely will ensure your interview never makes it to air. That’s what the county executive in the video must have thought. When a local investigative reporter doing a segment on government waste asked him about a new $5.3 million county building that was sitting vacant due to a funding dispute, he chose to focus on saving the reporter’s soul rather than just answering the question. There was likely a good reason behind the funding dispute and this was his chance to share his side of the story and reassure the public it would be resolved. Instead, he chose to repeat the same phrase – which was irrelevant to this matter – over and over again. In the process, he came off as smug and, worse, downright loopy.
The moral of the story? As a leader, you may be called upon to talk with the media – especially when times are tough. Be honest. Be forthcoming to the extent that you can. And, finally, don’t be afraid to face the music.
Five Steps for Effective News Release Distribution
by Ashley Webb on April 24, 2009 | 1 comment
in Media Relations
Spending a good portion of my time compiling media lists, distributing press releases and contacting the media, I’ve learned some valuable tips in my short journey as a PR professional that I’d like to share.
Although contacting a reporter you’ve built a relationship with is ideal, many times distributing a release requires you to reach out to unfamiliar markets.
When preparing for a media cold call, go through these five steps to help ensure your release gets in the right hands.
1. Research. Look for the media outlets that speak directly to your target audience.
2. Find a contact. Look for the editor or reporter who would find the release most interesting or newsworthy.
When sending a release to a newspaper, look for the beat editor or reporter. For example, if I were distributing a release about a new school program, I would want to contact the education editor or education reporter. If you’re unable to find a beat editor or reporter, your next best option is the editor or managing editor.
When distributing to TV outlets, look for the assignment desk or beat reporter, and when distributing to radio outlets look for the news director or program director.
3. Investigate. Search for articles or stories previously covered by the reporter. Does the reporter cover issues relevant to the information in the release? Also, pay attention to the reporter’s angle on the issue so you better understand how they like to approach it.
4. Follow up. And do it in a timely manner! It’s not uncommon for someone to overlook or delete your email.
5. Keep in touch. If you receive positive feedback, even if it’s simply thanking you for the information, make note of it. Building rapport with a reporter will go a long way!
Do you have any tips to share?
Blogs Are as Convenient as Email Thanks to Really Simple Syndication (RSS).
by Nick Tazik on April 22, 2009 | no comments
in Corporate Blogs, Social Media
Note from Nick: I love blogs in part because RSS makes them so easy to use. However, not everyone understands why they’re so great. Posts like this really helped me when I began blogging. Let me know if this type of content is helpful to you!
* * *
Email is an incredibly convenient medium. Your messages flow smoothly into your inbox and wait patiently until you want to read them.
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) makes reading blogs just as convenient as reading email. You can do it whenever, however and wherever you want.
In the past, if you wanted to keep up with 10 different websites (for example: local and national news outlets, industry trade outlets, a sports website, a blog about gardening, etc.) you had to visit all 10 to check for new information. That was slow, and if a website hadn’t been updated, it was a waste of time.
Now, rather than visiting the same websites over and over again, you can ask those websites – at least the ones that have implemented this increasingly common RSS technology – to notify you when new content has appeared.
Here’s how:
1. Establish Your Blog “Reader”
The equivalent of an inbox for your email, your blog reader will become the virtual repository for all of the blog posts you receive.
All you need to do is open a free account on one of the many easy-to-use online blog readers. Examples include Google Reader, NetVibes and Bloglines. Each one offers a user-friendly setup process that takes less than 10 minutes.
The amount of time your reader will save you is immeasurable! I assure you, it’s worth it.
2. Subscribe to Blogs or Websites with an RSS Feed
Any website that displays the RSS image (shown above) offers an RSS feed. There are two easy ways to subscribe:
Either…
Click the RSS button – In many cases, once you click the button, the website will ask you to select your reader from a list. Simply click the icon of whichever reader you are using (Google Reader, NetVibes, Bloglines, or other), and you’re all set.
Or…
Copy/paste the site’s web address into your blog reader – In some cases, clicking the RSS button will take you to a page of meaningless text (Note: Although it looks wacky to you, this is exactly the “feed” text that your blog reader will interpret for you). Once you arrive on the page of text, simply copy the web address from the top bar of the window (For example: http://www.lovell.com/blog/?feed=rss2) and paste it into your blog reader wherever it says Add Subscription, Add Content or Add Feed.
3. Visit Your Reader for Fresh Web Content
Once you’ve successfully subscribed to several RSS feeds, the new content posted to each website will automatically flow directly into your new blog reader forever (or, until you ask it to stop by clicking “unsubscribe” in your reader).
Want to Skip it All and Subscribe via Email?
Of course, I’ll admit that establishing a blog reader requires a little time. Fortunately, many blogs will allow you to subscribe via email. Just look for the little email icon and enter your email address. Then, you’ll receive all new blog posts via email.
Not yet subscribed to Lovell Links? Just hover your mouse over the +Subscribe button above and you’ll be able to subscribe to our blog via RSS or email.
What Kind of Critic are You?
by Jessica Turner on April 20, 2009 | 2 comments
in Advertising, Branding, Collateral Development
One of the many things I enjoy about my job is working with graphic designers to create logos, collateral, advertising and other visual communications for my clients. When I saw this cartoon on a blog, it made me laugh because I had a story that went along with every critic.
Sometimes, I am a blender: I see a concept and I like something from several options, and I ask the designer to merge them together.
Sometimes I am a waffler: I want to see A LOT of concepts before the perfect one emerges.
Sometimes I am a micro-manager: I want “little” things such as fonts changed.
Being a critic is not always a bad thing. I believe that when it comes to client work, it can be very positive because it pushes the creative team to achieve the best possible product. And at the end of the day, we all have the same goals. We want the company we represent to be successful. We want to see positive results – and positive results are always worth going the distance to achieve.
When you are working on a creative project, or in life in general, what type of critic are you?
Is Levi Johnston “News”? Really?
by Rosemary Plorin on April 15, 2009 | 1 comment
in Uncategorized
My question is really quite simple. I’ve asked it of countless audiences in the last few days – friends, family, clients, strangers, my neighbors, my pastor, my nanny, my doctor:
Is Levi Johnston’s indiscretion on the Tyra Banks Show really “news”?
Everyone (literally, every single person with whom I broached this) agrees: No.
Interestingly, an alarming number of news publications and websites disagree. As of this writing, hundreds of articles and posts have been written about Mr. Johnston’s appearance. As you would expect, the National Enquirer, People and US magazine all jumped on the story. It’s their “beat,” as you might hear in a newsroom.
But I learned of the Johnston interview on CNN, then read about it in USA Today. A quick Google search indicates the Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times, MSNBC,Today Show, and a whole slew of other reputable “news” outlets jumped on this garbage pile.
With our new president making his first trip to Europe, our nation’s economy continuing to swirl in the bowl and the national championship in college basketball on the line, was Tyra Banks’ desperate dig for details of premarital sex in the governor’s mansion really worthy of the pixels, column inches and airtime it received?
All of us have prurient interests – I don’t deny that and don’t want to posture that I am somehow immune. But as traditional news outlets – dare I say (as does James Earl Jones) trusted news outlets increasingly cover talent show outcomes and imprudent celebrity outbursts, who is left to bring us the actual news?
(Before my Father posts a comment below, be assured that Fox News found Johnston as irresistible as did the young Palin.)
You tell me, because I surely don’t know.
Seven Words or Less
by Paula Lovell on April 14, 2009 | 3 comments
in Advertising
Many of our clients at Lovell Communications ask what I think about outdoor advertising. At the right location, with the right message, I think it’s great. But I wish I had a dime for every billboard I’ve seen that is a miserable failure.
What are marketing people thinking when they produce loquacious billboards written by the likes of William Faulkner? Here’s the best rule: Seven words or less. Better yet – unless you are Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s or Coca-Cola, and your logo is enough to make people yearn to be a H.O.G or salivate for a burger and drink – use billboards primarily as a directional support. As in “Turn here” or an arrow pointing the way.
Most people can’t read or memorize a 10-digit phone number when they’re hauling down the interstate at 75 mph, especially when they’re talking on their phone, changing the CD and snarfing down lunch. The number is just cluttering up space on the board. So, when I see outdoor advertising with a phone number, the name of a company I’ve never heard of, a catchy slogan, a mini-mission statement and legally required disclaimer language, I have to wonder, “Is this just an ego trip?” Because it sure is a waste of money.
I think outdoor (especially traditional billboard) advertising should generally be used for one of two reasons:
- To remind customers of a recognizable brand (in seven words or less), or
- To point the direction to an event or a place of business.
This truly proves the old adage: When it comes to outdoor, more is less.
You agree?
The Media is Changing – Three Real Scenarios
by Jan Morrison on April 7, 2009 | 1 comment
in Media Relations, Social Media
We all know the media is changing, in theory. We all read the reports, but how many of us have had a personal encounter with the changing face of media? I’ve had three very specific experiences recently, all of which convinced me that I need to advise my clients to think beyond traditional media.
- I worked with a columnist at the Rocky Mountain News to write about a client. A few weeks later, the paper folded. The column was never published before the poor guy lost his job. The client was disappointed, but I explained that this columnist now had bigger fish to fry than my client’s concern
- For the same client, I coordinated with a blogger at the Baltimore Examiner who wrote a blog post about the subject that I pitched. Then, the paper closed and all of the bloggers got shuffled to another newspaper’s host. They are all still blogging, but are no longer affiliated with the Baltimore Examiner.
- I also helped US News & World Report to do a story about a client, and while conducting interviews, etc., the paper ceased production of its paper magazine. It still publishes online, and the article was released on the website.
These three scenarios, along with reports from @themediaisdying make things feel pretty grim in the world of media. But, the Tennessean reports that it is still making money, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
These scenarios don’t mean that the media is doomed. We cannot rely on citizen journalists for all of our information, after all. However, it does mean that media is changing and we have to educate our clients on this point. They must learn to value reputable blog posts and internet cross-links just as they used to only value TV, print and radio placements.
If you have had any similar experiences, how have you altered your media relations efforts to reflect the changing face of media?