The Bravery of Silence

In today’s digital-driven society, advertising and PR professionals need to be more dynamic, flexible and responsive than we’ve ever been. However, the need for speed does not excuse the need to be thoughtful and strategic. We need to understand where we’re going and how our efforts are supporting business goals. Just because we can elicit conversations and “generate buzz” (a phrase that never ceases to make me shudder), does it mean that we should? What is the value of conversation for conversation’s sake? Are we creating the clutter that we’re all trying to break through?

Marketing to and teaching Millennials has been one of the most enlightening challenges of my career. This is the generation that, faced with the data deluge, is turning off TVs (if they buy them in the first place) and leaving social media platforms in favor of spaces with genuine human connections. We need to listen and respect their space. We need to resist the temptation to be the girl/guy at the party who barges into every conversation and makes it about them. No one likes that person. They don’t get invited back. So why do brands continue to be that guy/girl?

It’s as though we’re filling sandbags and running the sprinklers at the same time. We’ve become our worst enemy. To quote the animated sage of awkward fatherhood, Hank Hill, “…I’m trying to control an outbreak, and you’re driving the monkey to the airport!”

Should we stop talking? Should we stop advertising? No. We still need to be at the party. We still have meaningful things to say. We need to respect the space (and our hosts) and focus on building meaningful long-term brand relationships. That takes time, listening, and care. Done right, it can be a very worthwhile investment. But, in these days where everyone’s rushing to dominate the conversation (often with half-baked ideas and information), it takes bravery to wait, listen, and think before we speak.

Be brave.

The enigma that is the Millennial Generation

Millennials are finally coming fruition as a true marketing category. They are hitting their peak in consumer targeting. They’re making big purchasing decisions and setting the stage for the consumer trends for the next ten years. Advertising Week wrapped up in New York last week and all of this week’s industry news is abuzz over how to reach the diverse and enigmatic generation. Needing to catch up on this market? Read these for some interesting insights:

What do Millennials really want? by Emma Bazilian (AdWeek)

Attention Brands: This is how you get Millennials to really like you by Melissa Hoffman (AdWeek)

The Millennial that Marketers are Targeting Does Not Exist (Mashable/Business News Daily)

For every generalization we make, we find 20 exceptions. Teaching at the sixth most diverse university in the country, I find this to be very true. This generation challenges our traditional targeting methods. However, thanks to the increasing sophistication of the digital age, we have access to more infromation about them that we’ve ever known about previous generational groups. Armed with this information (presuming it’s collected and used ethically), we can be more effective and efficient in our message development and delivery.

So, what’s next? How do we start preparing for the generation to follow Millennials? Check out this piece from Scott Hess at AdWeek.

PRSA issues guidance on native advertising and sponsored content

I was pleased that PRSA released the latest ethical standards advisory on native advertising and sponsored content this month. After having worked on the issue for nearly nine months, it was an important baby in my career.

It was truly a cross-coastal effort between my colleagues George Johnson, APR, PRSA Fellow, who hails from South Carolina and Nance Larsen, APR, PRSA Fellow from Alaska, and I. We pulled together some cohesive industry guidance on this controversial tactic. To get some background on the issue, you can check out the article I wrote for the September issue of Tactics (PRSA’s monthly industry news tabloid).

I also had the honor of speaking to PRSA’s Alaska chapter on Monday about the issue. In my talk, we discussed the history of native advertising and sponsored content (it’s far from new – remember Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom?), who’s doing it, who’s doing it well, and who…frankly may have some opportunities for improvement. I had a great time (thanks for the hospitality!) even though my time in the great white north was far too short.

It will be interesting to see how the tool evolves, especially in today’s constantly evolving digital (and mobile) publication environments. In the end, when we partner with media outlets, PR pros need to work to ensure the sponsors of paid content are clearly disclosed and are readily visible to the reader. From a best practices standpoint, we should also ensure the content we’re paying for (whether we’re the one writing it or the outlet’s writers are authoring) matches of the quality of the rest of the publication’s content. When we deliver great storytelling with appropriate sponsor disclosure, we support our audience’s desire for quality data to aid in informed decisionmaking.

In the end, when we approach any tactic, whether it’s a press conference, a Twitter campaign, or a community meeting (to name a few), with the guidance of PRSA’s Code of Ethics, we all win. Our clients and their stakeholders have stronger relationships. We increase trust and faith in the media and our industry. We all win.

Improving your employee communications

I was honored to be asked to participate in a piece on internal communications for Vegas Inc. Although I’m never happy with how I look in pictures (the photog tried shooting me outdoors before getting the shot he used indoors – hence, why I’m rather windblown), I was happy with the piece overall. Thanks again to Danielle Birkin for including me in the story and to Steve Marcus for getting the best shot he could.

Get your message across in the office by Danielle Birkin. Image by Steve Marcus.

Informational Interviews

Nearly every week, a student comes to my office in search of advice to land that first internship or job. Like many professions, the transition from student to employee can seem as wide as the Grand Canyon.

To help make that bridge, I strongly suggest students do informational interviews and job shadowing. Here’s a great article from Brazen Careerist on the art of informational interviews. In short, find 3-5 places you want to work/people you want to work with and do your research. Learn everything you can about them, their clients, their challenges, successes, etc. Then call. Ask for 30 minutes of their time to ask them about their business. The article has some great starter questions, but tailor them specifically to who you’re interviewing. It’s likely you’ll find that PR and Ad pros are more than willing to share advice and wisdom. (We’ve all hit our share of speed bumps and would love for someone to take our advice to avoid them at all costs).

Another option is  job shadowing. Your dream agency is fresh out of internships or account coordinator jobs? Ask if you can come in for a day and just observe. Talk with key folks in the department where you want to work. Sit in on a meeting or two. Ask intelligent questions. You’re not there to work. You’re there to learn.

While the agency/company may not be hiring now, they will be hiring at some point. And when they do, they’re going to be looking for resourceful young professionals who showed initiative and interest in their company. If you presented yourself well while job shadowing, they’ll be more likely to call you to let you know of the opportunity and more likely to call you for an interview.

When you take the time to invest yourself in an employer’s business, they’ll be more likely to invest in you.

Sponsored Content

Remember Edelman? They’re the folks who brought you the Wal Mart sponsored (but not disclosed) blogging scandal.

It’s good to see they’ve moved on and grown from the debacle to become a leader in the conversation on sponsored content.

The Las Vegas Valley Chapter of PRSA is bringing that conversation to town in a joint event (in conjunction with PRSA’s ethics month) on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013, at Cili.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend (due to my course schedule), but I encourage all of my PR, marketing, advertising, and journalism colleagues to be there. PRSA’s extending the member rate to IABC, AMA, AdFed, and SPJ members. Students get an even better deal at $15.

Learn more and register here.

Andrew Teman’s quitting and why you should care.

(Note: this post was rewritten after Andrew reached out and corrected my erroneous affiliation of his participation on the Oreo campaign. It just goes to show, reading is fundamental, people.)

Andrew Teman. Ever hear of him?

Probably not. He’s a Boston-based Ad guy (or at least used-to-be-an-ad guy) who tweeted this when he found out that Oreo’s now famous Superbowl tweet was up for one of the most prestigious awards in advertising.

So Teaman made good on his threat. He quit. In his resignation post, he says:

I have no axe to grind with Oreo.

My anger and disappointment is actually with the ad industry, that’s holding this up as something revolutionary. Something that deserves the grandest of advertising awards.

But the joke’s on us. 

Because in bestowing this award on this piece of work, we’re actually exposing a really sad truth. That the advertising industry has become so top-heavy with cost and process and approvals and meetings and waste, that the idea of just making a simple image, and deploying it to a simple platform at an opportune moment, is considered at this point to be ground-breaking.

We’re so screwed, that we’re giving out awards based less on the work itself, and based mainly on the fact that someone (by all appearances) was able to dodge the bullshit and actually do something.

He’s right and his words carry over to the PR industry perfectly.

Somehow in our push to maximize the potential of the digital age, we’ve lost touch with what matters.

Connections.

Relationships.

Storytelling.

Meaningful action.

We’ve bogged down the speed, beauty and efficiency of these new mediums with bureaucracies laden with insecurities. Often the best work of my career has been to get people in the same room. To talk. To identify issues. To map out root causes and build on common values and goals. It doesn’t have to be hard, It doesn’t need a 12-page white paper or a complex process map.

We need to get ourselves out of the forest and be the tree.

Fortunately Teman’s not walking away altogether, He’s starting from scratch, hoping to find a better, simpler way to help startups find success.

Godspeed to him and his partner. We’ll be watching.

 

 

Great ideas come from small places

Ad Age just released their list of best small ad agencies. Check out the winners. It’s great to see the amazing work coming from America’s smaller shops for all clients, large and small.

The Good News: Social Media growing

Image by Matt Hamm. Some Rights Reserved.

According to a recent study by The Creative Group, more than 6 out of 10 respondents reported plans to increase spending on social media campaigns in the next year.

That’s great for PR pros who’ve smartly built up their social media skills. However, there’s more to social media success than setting up a Facebook profile or pinning to a brand board in Pinterest. There are ethical considerations. You need smart strategies and careful planning. And, you need to measure.

So jump on the bandwagon. It’s here to stay. However, make sure you’ve packed what you need to succeed.

Today’s lesson: PR can’t fix your tacky business model

I used to be an active parent blogger.* The beauty of blogging is the community. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people. Over the years, we’ve supported each other through divorces, deaths of spouses, parents, and children, and job loss. We’ve collectively celebrated new babies, new relationships, book deals, amazing travels, and more. It’s been a trip to say the least.

As a PR pro and a blogger, I get to see the good and bad side of blogger relationships. Relationships between bloggers and companies can be very mutually beneficial. Bloggers give brands access to an extensive, targeted group in a more intimate way than paid or earned  traditional media could ever offer. Done right, the relationship lends creedence to both sides of the equation.

Done wrong, it can be hurtful, tacky and downright awful.

Case in point: Califmom.

Here’s a little background. I met Califmom at BlogHer ’09 and was immediately charmed by her smart, quick wit. She was already quite well known and I started to follow her adventures with her amazing husband and kids on her blog. I was enamored with her from the start.

Her husband, Bob, was diagnosed with cancer and tragically passed far too soon. She’s spent the past few years rebuilding her life and holding things together (amazingly in my opinion), and has even found love again.

So, she gets a pitch. She’s a popular blogger, so getting pitched is not uncommon.

However, the pitch’s approach is less than genuine and the company? Downright tacky.

Go here and take a read. PR professionals, please comment, apologize and swear on a stack of (insert the religious text of your choice here) that you will never, ever, EVER do that to ANYONE. Then come back here.

Okay, here’s the deal. PR pros often get some clients with oddball products and services**. Some of those products and services may be offensive to others. If you’re pro-choice or pro-gay marriage, you may take great issue with your PR colleagues who choose to represent the interests of Dominos Pizza or Chick-Fil-A.

We call these less-than-appealing organizations “repugnant clients.”

Remember, PR professionals are not attorneys and individuals, organizations, and companies are not entitled to representation under American rules of due process.

In the end, my advice is to never take on a client whose business or practices are illegal or even weigh on your conscience enough to keep you up at night. It’s just not worth the stress.

In my opinion, a company that’s made a business profiting off the sale of dead people’s jewelry is repugnant. Yes, some people may need to sell a deceased loved one’s personal effects for a variety of reasons, but there are more sensitive and delicate ways to handle such transactions. Using a trumped up blogger award to bait someone into posting a link to your site is disingenuous and damaging to your brand. It’s insensitive and tacky and casts a pall on all of us.

So, today’s lesson: Pick your clients well. Make sure their business model aligns with your personal ethics and morals. Granted, it’s our job to find the silver linings and good stories that build your clients relationships with target audiences. But, trust your gut. If you’re not comfortable then you’re not going to do your best work for the client. They need to either fix the objectionable issue or find someone else who loves them for who they are.

And that’s okay.

 

 

 

 

*Don’t bother searching…they’ve all been pulled down for various reasons.

**Disclosure: I worked on a government high-level nuclear waste study project that some of my colleagues would have never touched, but that’s a post for another day.)