Strategic Public Relations

Seth Speaks...

...and we are sure to listen. Seth Godin blogs about his new book: Free Prize.

For the first printing, the book comes in a cereal box. Brilliant. Limit supply while you pump up demand. Incentivize the early adopters/purchasers with limited edition packaging and get the point of your book across all in one fell swoop.

Even the pre-launch is well done. The book is not out until May, but already we can read a quick piece in The Wall Street Journal and a mysterious blog entry with a .pdf file you can download to learn more about the book. This of course incites other blogs to write about it. I can hear the buzz building.

Simply brilliant.

Where is Public Relations Strategy?

Corporate Engagement's Trevor Cook recently lamented "the dearth of strategy in public relations."

The realization started with a search for books on public relations strategy. A quick Amazon search finds several, but only one that is not a textbook and that is focused solely on this topic. It is aptly named: "Public Relations Strategy" by Oliver and Gregory. Needless to say, you'll find plenty of books on public relations tactics. You will see this in practice as well with more practitioners focused on tactics and fewer people providing truly strategic counsel.

Our industry's understandable gravitation to tactics is in direct conflict with our desire to be taken seriously by senior management. The more tactically focused you are, the bigger the delta between you and a seat at management's table.

So if we aren't sure where public relations strategy is, do we at least agree on what it is? PRSA's Accreditation Guide offers up an operational definition: "A general, well-thought out tactical plan. Strategies do not indicate specific actions to achieve objectives. There can be multiple strategies for each objective."

I consider strategy the bigger picture. Strategy makes sure your tactics are working together to achieve your program's specific, measurable objectives and its overall goal. Strategy consists of the Xs and Os in the playbook that make sure your client wins the game.

Thanks to Trevor Cook for inspiring this post. Corporate Engagement is a well-written read, rich with sound observations. Check it out.

Who will wear your brand?

McDonald's hopes kids will want to sport the golden arches on their clothing, according to the BBC. We'll start seeing McKids clothes in stores soon.

McDonald's introduces new products/concepts in its restaurants on a seemingly weekly basis. The extension of this brand into clothing is unique in comparison, but not surprising. The BBC article also notes the health concerns McDonald's has been dealing with lately. We all recall that McDonald's recently eliminated the Super Size option from its menu. So does this mean the McKids clothing line won't come in husky sizes? Just kidding. This news reminds me of Coke's foray into clothing back in the 1980's.

Speaking of Coke, Tom Murphy details Coke's recent PR gaffe in Europe. Trevor Cook updates us on the topic, noting that Coke has postponed its Dasani launch. As a result, I offer you another Goofus and Gallant. This one is for product launch delays in Europe.

* Goofus: Coke's Dasani launch delay will require some fine crisis communications work to ensure a future launch.

* Gallant: Apple's iPod mini launch delay. The U.S. launch went well; Apple announced it's postponing its European launch until it can meet product demand. So many people want an iPod mini that Apple can't sell them? That's a great problem to have.

Finally, I am not the only one lamenting Bob Edwards' departure from NPR's "Morning Edition." The Washington Post notes that Richard Cohen feels my pain.

Change Sucks

USA Today notes that Bob Edwards is being forced out of his "Morning Edition" spot and will become a senior correspondent for NPR News. Edwards has been the voice of NPR's "Morning Edition" for nearly 25 years and is a standard part of America's morning commute. Sigh. I'm glad he is not leaving altogether, but it just won't be the same. He will be missed.

Slow News Day

So I'm at a loss for a substantive, focused post...does this mean it's a slow news day or am I not looking hard enough? This challenge brings to mind one of my favorite marketing observations regarding print news. If a newspaper or magazine feels lighter, slow ad sales are to blame—NOT a slow news cycle.

In lieu of one big idea, here are some items worth checking out:

* Goofus and Gallant: Along the lines of redesign, The New York Times shows us what not to do. Remember to measure yourself against the competition and to not model yourself after the competition. So if Men's Fitness is Goofus, that makes BusinessWeek our Gallant. BW's print redesign took place a while ago and it has been well received.

* 50 years of the Fortune 500: Fortune does a great job of showing milestones in big business over the last 50 years.

* Linkage: My links to the right are *FINALLY* updated. You'll see some familiar faces as well as some new marketing blogs you may not recognize. They are ALL worth checking out so click and enjoy.

Brand Polishing

Over time, a brand can find itself out of date or dealing with new entries into the market that change the competitive field.

As I noted recently in the Martha Stewart & Public Relations blog, brands can shift their positioning, evolve the promise that they make and live on.

Radio Shack and K-Mart offer great examples.

Both retailers positioned themselves as the cheap alternative with off-name brands. Wal-Mart evolved so quickly, it blew K-Mart into bankruptcy before it could shift gears and bring in new brands to show that low prices are not synonymous with low quality. Radio Shack, on the other hand, signed on big stars to sell their cell phones. They are a new company, competing with local and national competitors. Radio Shack is doing just fine in comparison to K-Mart.

It is great to see older brands dust themselves off to maintain relevancy and, ultimately, sales.

Tylenol is trying to do this with a new, $100 million campaign. According to The New York Times, "Agency executives and others described Tylenol as a brand diffused by years of competition and a broadened product line. The legacy of being considered safe helped build the business for years. Then they got slammed by other types of pain relievers that are considered more effective, and safe enough."

Tylenol shows us that after becoming an industry leader on an issue like safety, the industry can change focus and make another issue more important. This is easier than trying to displace the leader. Regardless, Tylenol's ability to bounce back from the now-ancient tampering scare shows this stalwart brand is capable of recasting itself.

From drugs to desserts, Dairy Queen is unveiling "a new marketing strategy along with fresh menu items in 2004 to spur sluggish sales and revamp its image."

Adweek notes "for the first time in the chain's 64-year history, it will make a major national ad buy, for eight TV spots. Both moves aim to update the brand. The challenge is remaining true to the brand while modernizing itself."

This is a challenge older brands face—the need for relevancy is challenged by the need to leverage existing brand equity. If you change a waning brand so much it cannot leverage its past, you risk losing both. A lot of careful research helps determine the best blend of old and new.

That Catchy Jingle

As I've noted before, Mitsubishi could easily create a great mix CD using only songs from its commmercials.

Well this concept has spawned a great new blog, Adtunes. In fact, I think the Mitsubishi commercials may be the inspiration for the site.

So turn on, tune in and enjoy.

VNRs Come Under Fire

DISCLAIMER: this is not a political post.

The Bush Administration is being criticized for its use of a video news release to publicize a new Medicare law.

As I read the coverage, it is interesting to see how video news releases are characterized for the layperson. Some are calling the tactic into question. Please. The issue is HOW the VNR was used. Most VNR production companies counsel you to never use actors to create contrived scenes in a video news release. Real people are interviewed on the news you should do the same to increase your chances of getting airtime.

Unfortunately actors were used, posing as reporters. Quite frankly, as suspect as these details might appear, I think the news outlets should also be called into question. If the stations were interested in the story, they could have used b-roll and edited the script accompanying the piece.

The VNR is still a forthright, effective tool in the public relations arsenal. Used wisely, it augments local tv news and everyone wins.

Tug O' War

Winter and spring are battling it out in Cincinnati. Today, winter is winning. This is one of several rounds of Tug of War worth mentioning.

NPR did a brief piece this morning discussing the challenge media have with gathering news and disseminating news. With 24-hour cable news and Internet's real-time capabilities, journalists have to disseminate news too quickly to feed the instant update addiction each medium's capabilities have created. Over time, quality suffers in exchange for quantity and this is adding to the credibility issues media are dealing with right now.

Public relations folk also find themselves in push and pull news cycles. We push news out on company milestones, new product introductions and other "newsworthy" accomplishments. Then there are larger pitches aimed at supporting overall strategies. We also pull in opportunities via Profnet, reporter phone calls and editorial calenders. Even the plain old calendar offers some companies an angle to pitch. Somewhere in there is some overlap, but these two cycles increase our opportunities for editorial placement.

This week I am in push mode with multiple clients making announcements. So be sure to wear some green tomorrow and remember—EVERYONE is Irish on St. Patrick's Day.

Strategic Success

The AK Steel campaign won an honorable mention in PR Week's award competition. The award was for the best business to business campaign.

I'm very proud of this achievement, particularly when the category’s winner, Weber Shandwick and Foley & Lardner, also won the night’s highest honor—best of show. Their entry "The Corporate Governance Price Tag: Sarbanes-Oxley at what cost?" was an impressive piece of work. Not only did it beat our entry, it beat out campaigns in 17 other categories to claim the Campaign of the Year spot.

Congratulations to all of the winners.

Segue to Stewart: It looks like Martha Stewart will be serving prison time. Check out Martha Stewart & Public Relations to see what the guilty verdict means to the Martha Stewart brand.