Strategic Public Relations

Wendy's Crisis Communications

Wendy’s public relations team has received high marks from the media on their handling of the recent “San Jose Incident.”

Wendy’s approach? The New York Times outlines it here, showing the need for a quick response and an open dialogue with the media.

For the 52-year-old Mr. Lynch, there was no time to prepare a sophisticated plan of action. The news media, he was informed, knew about the gruesome discovery, and wanted a statement. He did not wake John T. Schuessler, Wendy's chairman and chief executive, that night, but sent him e-mail messages explaining the news and the steps he had taken.

Over the next month, Mr. Lynch's job became part "CSI: Wendy's," part public relations nightmare.

A management team from Sacramento, Wendy's regional base, converted the office of the Wendy's franchisee, JEM Management, based in Fresno, into a makeshift crisis control room. The local police department was already involved; the coroner's office was brought in six days later.

Most of all, Mr. Lynch spent countless hours briefing the news media. "It went nonstop the next two or three days," Mr. Lynch said, "even through the weekend. Even when the pope passed away, it still got coverage."

Now that the hoax has been thoroughly reported, Wendy’s is focused on closure. Its Web site shows us that the fast food chain is minimizing any national reference to the incident. But its job is on the crisis front is just beginning.

After any crisis, you must rebuild your brand. The New York Times has another article detailing how Wendy’s is approaching this task, limiting follow-up communications to markets impacted by the hoax. It also reviews how other companies approached the rebuilding phase.

These articles offer a great example of how to handle a crisis communications situation, including media relations strategy.

Friday Lite

This story, 2 Arrested After Claiming Buried Treasure, made me smile. But mainly for the quote at the end of the story:

"Sometimes wanting to be famous is really the downfall of people," Solomon said.

True dat. Is it me, or is this quote particularly applicable to a few media relations clients from the dot-com era?

No Gallant to this Goofus award, but I will chalk up this inconsistency to it being a Friday. Have a great weekend!

Wal-Mart, Starbucks and the iPod Opportunity

In October of last year, I mentioned Starbucks' new in-store offering that allows you to make your own custom music CDs. My question was, "What about iPod?" A recent visit to Starbucks' "Hear Music" prototype elicited the same question from trend spotting group blog PSFK. A lot of research, planning and preparation go into store plans—iPods may not have been de rigueur when "Hear Music" was developed.

When Wal-Mart announced this week that it is offering the same service for its online customers, I exclaimed aloud, WHAT ABOUT iPOD?! The in-store issues are eliminated—perhaps they are testing the waters before bringing it in-store?

As I rushed to post, it hit me. Perhaps it is the licensing agreement. Getting Apple and Starbucks/Wal-Mart on the same page would be a deft brand maneuver. But would each company benefit from the relationship? I think it is win-win for Apple and Starbucks, but Wal-Mart is a trickier combination.

Regardless, the above are just some of the questions to consider before we ding either company for not tapping into the iPod opportunity.

Blogs' Impact on Analyst Relations

The Yahoo! account team over at public relations firm Fleishman Hillard brings us a great example of the impact blogs can have on analyst relations. And since I am no longer at an agency, I have no problems submitting it up for your review.

On April 20, 2005, Forrester’s Charlene Li posted on Google’s personalized search offering. Yahoo! responded and Li blogged their response later that same day.

In the past, Yahoo! would have known Google had plans for this service, but could they confirm WHEN an announcement was being made and be able to respond quickly?

Yahoo! made their response a relevant part of Google's announcement. Then Yahoo! took things one step further. When briefing Charlene Li on their offering, they embargoed her on announcing specifics, but they encouraged her to blog that an announcement is forthcoming.

Yahoo! managed to supplant the Google buzz using three posts on one blog. Before blogs, you hoped you were first to market. Thanks to their immediacy, this example shows us that sometimes you can afford to be second in a three-engine race.

But keep in mind, in addition to quick thinking on Yahoo!'s part, a strong relationship with a wired analyst was required to pull this off. So while we get all starry-eyed over the technology, remember that PR basics still apply.

Fake/Fiction/Character Blogs

You can call them fake, fiction, or character blogs, but this weekend I was reminded to weigh in on this well-trod topic. My daughter was watching the cartoon, “Postcards from Buster,” and I laughed when I heard Buster encourage viewers to check out his blog. Snaps to Josh Hallet who first spotted this blog.

When Lincoln Fry was uncovered, I was pretty harsh about the concept in general. Then Captain Morgan brought the topic back to our attention. Well I have not visited the booze blog. I did check out the bunny blog however and found the harmless content you would expect from public television.

Somewhere in all of this, Steve Rubel opined that character blogs are "a complete waste of time"—ensuring disagreement from the blogosphere by making an absolute statement. Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson have also contributed some great coverage on this topic.

Let me go on record noting that I agree with B.L. Ochman. Some faux blogs are a good idea but, when it comes to execution, most faux blogs suck.

Free Idea for Travelocity
My vote for the next character blog? Travelocity's Travel Gnome.

The statue has all the makings for a potent brew of buzz, but the Web site is doing little to stir the pot. Sure, he's a marketing ploy, but the blog could put forth a TON of great travel tips with a TON of humor, including pictures from his travels. He could also encourage folks to send in their travel pics—with their own gnome of course.

Gnomes have reached a campy, cult status. They are even showing up with Paris Hilton, proving “That's Hot” and not a lot of “Bull Hoggery.” At least for the next 15 minutes.

MyPyramid.gov Blows Launch

"Houston, we have a problem." A big problem. I've been anxiously awaiting the relaunch of the Food Pyramid. It's not your average new product launch. It is the first time the iconic dietary guide has been updated in 15 years. Obesity is a national problem here in the states. And, not to mention, I have two kids.

So when the daily NRF SmartBrief pinged my Outlook this afternoon, I was glad to see this story:

"USDA announces MyPyramid guidance system. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns this morning unveiled the federal government's new Food Guidance System, a replacement for the well-known Food Pyramid. A customizable eating plan including exercise recommendations is available at MyPyramid.gov. Versions of the plan aimed at children and speakers of Spanish are forthcoming, Johanns said."

So what is the problem? The Web site is not working. I visited www.mypyramid.gov and mypyramid.gov and was met with the following image.

The link from the USDA's press release also gives this error.

It goes without saying that if your new product introduction is promoting a Web site, the site should be working. Even more so in this case considering the Web site is promoted as an integral part of the announcement.

So for mammoth new product introductions, the Food Pyramid gets the Goofus and the new twenty dollar bill gets the Gallant.

This is even more ironic considering I initially gave the USDA a Gallant when I first learned of this much-needed refresh.

UPDATE: OK, the links now work, and http://www.mypyramid.gov is now live and easily accessible. But my post above still stands...just change it all to past tense. I'm sure I was not the only person who experienced this temporary outage.

GM Blogs to Stem LA Times Criticism

The big three automaker is using its well-established product blog to stem negative criticism over its reaction to coverage in the Los Angeles Times. GM pulled advertising from the major-market daily over what it considers unfair reporting. In doing so, GM has generated enough negative attention that it enlisted its Fastlane blog to address the matter.

Gary Grates, Vice President of Communications for GM North America, weighs in on Fastlane for the first time.

”GM is not averse to fair criticism, and we appreciate the role journalists play in our society. SNIP We often learn a lot from such criticism and take it to heart.

We were one of the first companies to establish a blog where our executives could express their opinions in their own words, unfiltered by anyone else, and hear back directly from enthusiasts and others interested in what we do. Bob Lutz has stated repeatedly in this forum that criticism is welcome, and we’ve published a good amount of it, along with the praise.

But neither do we think that any business should remain mute when it sincerely believes it has been treated unfairly or attacked by reporting that is unsupported by facts and unrelated to reality. It is extremely rare that we take the kind of action we did with the Times, but it is fully within our right to spend our advertising dollars where we see fit.

We anticipate having more to say once the Times reaches its own conclusions, and we’ll share that with you here when the time comes. Until then, acting in good faith and out of respect for the Times’ process for dealing with such issues, we will opt to not add fuel to the media fire.”

The post heard round the sphere?
Grates had me right up to the last line. He does a good job stating GM’s position, but I suspect this will be a match to media-stacked kindling. This move also shows us more of GM’s online savvy.

• Off-Topic: GM did not need to address this topic on Fastlane. It is clearly a product-focused blog where Bob Lutz can talk shop with car geeks. GM WANTED to talk about it. They score points with their biggest fans by addressing the criticism with them directly. GM also knows the response will spread quickly using a potent blend of RSS, search, links and trackbacks to get them on the record.

• Look and Learn: Any corporation considering a blog should look, learn and understand them before creating one. GM shows us the importance of looking and learning well-beyond your first post. They’ve “been reading and listening to a lot of criticism from our friends in the news media and in the blogs over the past week.” Once your ear is to the ground, keep it there.

This chapter in the prolific GM blog case study shows us the reward of corporate blogs—a direct line to customers when you need it most. It also shows us the impact this online tool is having on corporate communications.

To any communications team preparing to launch a company blog, let me merely say: "follow the leader."

GM Mixes Church and State

When discussing the editorial and advertising components of a media outlet, I jokingly refer to them as "church and state." This is because they are something I try and keep separate when practicing media relations.

GM is not keeping them separate when it comes to the LA Times. Evidently they are pulling their ads from this major daily due to issues over the editorial coverage and car reviews the automaker receives. GM claims that dealers in the area are complaining about factual errors and misrepresentations of GM.

This move might make GM feel better, and the LA Times notes it is investigating the matter. But will it really help GM in the long run? Any resolution of this matter will be colored by the fact that the undisclosed ad revenue, read: BIG $, was held to get this situation resolved. Wouldn't a letter writing campaign from every dealer in the greater LA area be just as effective? If the LA Times is in the wrong, I assume this approach would still get them to rectify the situation.

Now GM needs a replacement, um, vehicle to reach customers in the LA market. It also forces the LA Times to be vigilant about positive press for GM in the future.

It seems to me that advertising and editorial needs to be kept on a separate agenda.

What? A post on GM and no mention of the B-Word? No worries, I direct you to Neville Hobson who brings us the latest on GM's executive blog project.

Measuring Blog Importance & Influence

Sigh, each new PR opportunity always seems to bring us back to one of our biggest problems—measurement.

But the posts below on aggregators and the Edelman/Intelliseek white paper remind us of the need for a broader view of ranking and rating blogs, as well as a qualitative approach to determining their importance and influence.

The quantitative measurements—traffic levels, inbound links and posting frequency—are certainly one approach, but keep content quality in mind. Numbers, including traffic levels and RSS feed subscriptions, can be misleading. Unfortunately, many race to use this measurement because it is easy to come up with and it eliminates the immediate need to actually read the blog they are analyzing.

Remember that most blogs are providing niche content. This means smaller, more targeted audiences with people that are more likely to listen are visiting. Be sure to go one step further in your analyses of which blogs are important to your clients/industries.

Blogs are the Dais of the Internet
Instead of comparing a blog’s influence to a number not unlike a trade magazine’s circulation, you should dig deeper. It is understandable that this occurs. Print media are still trying to bolt this metric onto their online offerings...and after all, this is push-button PUBLISHING.

But perhaps we should instead consider a blog to be a presentation at an industry trade show. People are showing up to a blog, or a presentation, as they have an expressed interest in this content. Not to mention, a few hundred folks attending a presentation can be pretty impactful.

Blogs are the dais of the Internet. Is your audience listening?

The following post is based, in part, on an e-mail exchange on blog content with Jeremy Pepper at POP! Public Relations.

Aggregators: the Risk and Reward

Part of any good PR person's job is to stay up on current events. Some may assume this job is even harder with the advent of blogs. While the quantity of content does increase, you can still work smart and not hard to collect and process only the news relevant to you and your target clients/industries.

One way is through aggregators. Mark Glaser just reviewed human and automated aggregators like Kinja and Blogdigger that “help make sense of the blogosphere.”

”No one has time to read all the millions of blogs. That's the raison d'etre of sites such as Kinja and Memeorandum, along with filtered roundups on Slate and CNN. Here's a roundup of the roundups.”

One caution: While these sites may help you boil down some mainstream news and content, you risk missing some of the great niche content out there if that is the only place you look. Nifty, free tools like Bloglines, make it easy to navigate more feeds than you think. Sign up now and subscribe to some, or all, of the nearly 200 public relations blogs that are out there. And don’t forget your target clients/industries.

Good Karma for Great Content
This also speaks to the power of blogging. If your content is good, aggregators will pick it up and help get your word out, vetting your blog in the process. In some cases, I’ve seen one post show up in 10 places with little human intervention. Add RSS feeds to the mix, and the impact these ten posts have on search engine placement, and you can see the importance of solid, insightful content and supporting visuals. This increases the need and the reward for relevant, well-written posts.

The following post is based, in part, on an e-mail exchange on blog content with Jeremy Pepper at POP! Public Relations.