We can solve it

Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection has launched the We Campaign. I love the new logo, and today’s New York Times (navigate to the bottom of the page, the article is posted as a graphic) discusses its creation and meaning. You can always tell when an organization has nailed their logo when you understand it on first glance.

Gore’s message has been consistent through the years: small steps taken by individuals can help alleviate the climate crisis. Together, our actions will have an impact. The We/Me logo accurately captures that concept. Of course, it’s green, and the other main color of the campaign is blue. Well done by the Martin Agency (who created the Geico commercials).

Analyzing the War of Words

Obama advisor Samantha Power has resigned after calling Clinton a monster. But this is only the latest verbal firestorm, coming a day after a Clinton advisor drew a comparison between Obama and independent counsel Kenneth Starr.

Mudslinger, anyone? Well, what do we expect? This is politics in America.

Interestingly, my colleagues have put together some media analysis around the campaign using Dow Jones Insight, which helps public relations professionals understand how issues that relate to their organization are being discussed in the media.

This week’s results examine the ratio of positive media coverage to negative. Although our research shows that there was a slight increase in positive coverage, unfavorable media coverage still dominates.  If I were a campaign strategist looking at these charts, I’d be wondering how to get out of the mudpit and flip the ratio.  Think about it: If I truly wanted to differentiate my candidate, how could I change my communications strategy to increase the percentage of favorable coverage?

Every day is a gift

“Mom, where do you keep the bungee cords?”

I pause from reading the latest subprime mess story in the Times to consider this somewhat Calvin-and-Hobbesian request. There is a gaggle of boys who’ve landed in my drive, bringing with them some bicycles, several scooters, a skateboard or two, and a wheelchair. (I do not ask about the wheelchair; I assure you, it’s best not to go there.)

Briefly, I consider how their father might answer; but I’ve been a tomboy, and I well know the attraction of a towrope.

As parents, we all want to keep our children safe from harm, and it’s always a challenge to decide how much rope (or bungee cord) we should allow. At some point, we have to cede control, and let our children be who they are, even if we ourselves would have made different decisions for them.

Last week was a tough week. Our family said goodbye to a promising young cousin who had been struggling with addiction. His parents had hope that he would beat it and have many more, brighter days. Instead, we gathered at his funeral. I think my sister said it best; this hurts on so many levels: as a mother, as a sister, as a wife, cousin and friend.

I’m not a religious person, but the priest was inspiring. He reminded us that the only things that really carry us into the next life are faith, hope and love - not big houses, flat screen TVs or MP3 players. (Here, my sister turned to me and said, “He’s talking about you, you know,” but I was already thinking that I couldn’t imagine being separated from my iPod.)

A friend of mine had a grandfather who lived into his 90s. This man told his grandson that, each day, he woke up and recognized it as another gift. I’ve always thought this was such a great way of looking at things. Regardless of what we have to face each day - the stress, the personal struggles, the disappointments, the surprises, the good news, the happy moments - life is a pretty cool thing.

We can never make sense of losing someone like this, someone so young from addiction. The best way to keep him alive is to remember him with love and humor and to live our lives, to wake up every day and realize that it is another gift to see a boy on a scooter towing another boy in a wheelchair with a bungee cord.

Glass half-empty desperately seeking glass half-full

Every now and then, I’m reminded why we got married. Obviously, he cracks me up. Why would anyone be attracted to someone who doesn’t make them laugh? But, more importantly, our views on the world are frequently aligned and otherwise complementary.

I didn’t see this at first: I assumed he saw the world exactly as I did. We shared so many philosophies and values. But then one day, his mother called and, with ironic wit, asked for “Mr. Happy.”

Needless to say, I’m a “glass half-full” person, and my husband can’t finish reading the paper without feeling all is lost.

You can’t fault him. I went to journalism school during the post-Watergate surge of journalism majors. (I wanted to be Katharine Graham.) We believed everyone was lying, and our job was to uncover the truth. We discovered that “newsworthy” - what the general public finds most interesting to read - was the darker side of things.

And it is true: sometimes after reading stories about the subprime mess, waterboarding, global warming, bombings, child abuse, etc., even I walk away discouraged.

But every now and then, I’ll come across a happy story, a story about someone doing something nice for someone else, or just something that reminds me of how good life is. I often think there should be a news source called “The Happy News Times” that we can read as a counterbalance to the regular stream of depressing stuff.

So, why not? I’m adding a category for “Happy News Times.” My first entry probably won’t make anyone but a linguist happy; it’s about the semicolon, which is infrequently used but lovely nonetheless. (I’m a fan and frequent user.)

If you come across one of those “boy risks life to save cat from house”-type stories with a happy ending, send it to me. Let’s start collecting.

Post Eclipsed

Well, here’s an example of one of those unbeatable work-family trades. After writing most of my post, I took a break to tuck the boys into bed. Only problem was, they were nowhere in the house. I found them outside watching the lunar eclipse. And so the four of us stood there, toes falling off freezing and definitely past bedtime, for half an hour watching our shadow cover the moon. I love when we detour as a family into something like that. The eclipse was very cool, but not as cool as watching it together.

So here’s the trade: I forgot to save my post and lost it. Let’s see if I can recreate it.

After class this week, two students stayed behind to talk. They raised a good point during our conversation. Blogging was much more exciting if you write about your passions.

Most of the students in the class have been frank about not enjoying the blogging requirement. Now, I understand why. I asked them to blog about their reactions to our class discussions and readings. That’s too rigid of an assignment, and what’s more, it’s not going to teach them what I want them to learn. Worse, it’s antithetical to the philosophy and culture of blogging.

The best and most successful bloggers are those who write about what intrigues them. It’s logical, isn’t it? Your posts should be more interesting to write and more interesting for others to read if you are passionate and intensely curious about the topic.

So I’m changing the rules. It’s open blogging season. Start a conversation about your favorite topic - sports, music, fashion, whatever interests you. If it connects you to people with similar interests, I’ve done my job.

Women: Natural Born Leaders

Voting continues in the primaries, and as each of our candidates gains a delegate or two, the pundits continue to pontificate. Today’s favorite: Nicholas Kristof says that women may actually be better leaders, but are hindered by societal prejudices.

Another favorite, albeit from 1992 and courtesy of the NYT online archives: Anna Quindlen on how women are better equipped to lead the country.

Current Cases in Community Relations

The course I’m teaching is based on actual public relations cases, which is a great way to understand how theory can be applied to practice. The relevance hit me yesterday as I leafed through the Metro section of the NYT and began reading about the closing of a hospital in Newark, NJ. For a moment, I thought I was reading the textbook - the case was nearly identical to that of Mercy Hospital-Detroit.

In Newark, the community is protesting the closing of St. James and a sister hospital, Columbus Health. Catholic Health East, which is buying three hospitals from Catholic Healthcare, will consolidate operations at the third, St. Michael’s. Catholic Health East has agreed to form a steering committee to hear the community’s concerns. Listening is the first step in dealing with community issues, and it’s unclear from the article how much feedback Catholic Health East sought before telling the community about the closing. In the Mercy case, the research helped lead to a more positive outcome.

Practical experience also - not surprisingly - is gained by doing. My students are getting practical experience in blogging, which I hope will give them an additional tool for running successful PR campaigns. I’m learning with them. If you doubt the power of a blog, think about this: Less than a week after we started blogging, David Meerman Scott discovered my students’ blog posts through his Google Alerts. He then posted comments to their blogs. How cool is that?

Influential - or not?

We’re talking in class this week about persuasion and influentials. I’ve assigned the class to read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point, and so I plan to discuss the concept of Mavens, Connectors, and Salesmen, and how this theory impacts the way we approach the research phase of a PR campaign.

I mentioned this discussion at brunch with a friend today, and she pulled out her copy of Fast Company, which this month has a contrarian view of the Influential theory. It explores Duncan Watts’s theory that the average Joe is more likely to set off a trend than an Influential. Watts believes that for a trend to be a success, what matters more is whether society is susceptible to it.

I think this contradiction gets at the heart of the larger issue we’ll be discussing: How do we incorporate Watts’s and Gladwell’s theories into our campaign strategy? What do we need to learn from our research to construct a successful campaign? Is it more effective to target the many or the few?

Ultimately, the article says, Watts says the best way to influence others is to pitch your idea as widely as possible, given that you don’t know who is really going to start the trend. Thus, mass marketing still works.

The irony that I’m pondering this conundrum tonight is not lost on me, as I settle down to watch the premier mass marketing event of the year - the Super Bowl.

PR in a Web 2.0 World

Yesterday, my colleagues held a Webinar to discuss the risks companies face when they don’t listen to what’s being said in social media.  Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang and Glenn Fannick, product development manager at Dow Jones, were featured speakers. (Check out both of their blogs for their posts on the Webinar.)  Computerworld ran an article based on the Webinar today, and we’ll be posting the presentation soon. 

Attendees were polled during the Webinar, and the results showed that 48% of companies were using some sort of social media to reach customers.  Glenn’s blog post includes some charts showing the results.

Should PR target bloggers?

My PR class is considering whether or not blogs can be an effective tactic in a PR campaign.  Apparently, one of my favorite brands is evaluating this concept as well.

The New York Times reported that Target refused to answer a blogger’s question because it didn’t “participate with nontraditional media outlets.” Then, PR Week reported that Target was reconsidering its policy after restructuring its communications department to increase the number of spokespeople. 

Target said its decision not to engage with bloggers or trade publications was a resource issue.  I can empathize with that.  But, I also think that there are other options for prioritizing how you respond to enquiries.  One option is to prioritize based on importance to your target audience.  The publications, Web sites, and blogs read most often by customers get questions answered the fastest. Those less relevant to your target audiences are answered as soon as possible after. Of course, the PR group should try to answer all questions, but it’s not always possible - especially if you’re a big consumer brand.

Another option: Empower your employees to blog about their areas of expertise. Product developers, advertising and marketing managers, and customer service representatives can answer questions and provide details and context in a simple post. Many of these employees are already customer-facing and answering similar questions at trade shows, in customer visits or on the phone, so the PR risks are low.  

A priceless benefit to being more open:  Employee bloggers (as Microsoft discovered when they permitted employees to blog) put a human face on a corporate monolith and add an air of authenticity.