Schaeffer PR Buzz

Using PR to Build Corporate Confidence

Last night I had the pleasure of moderating a panel for the Publicity Club of Chicago on how to use PR strategies to build corporate confidence. The panelists -- all seasoned public relations practitioners in Chicago -- shared case studies for overcoming public skepticism, mistrust and cynicism. The panelists and audience members engaged in lively discussions on topics ranging from tollway and electricity rate hikes, to tainted food products and noisy industry in upscale neighborhoods, to a public company's need to restate its income projections.

Several key points emerged:

The old crisis PR adage, "tell the truth, tell it yourself, and tell it quickly" continues to be valid in building public confidence when there's a difficult situation to manage. Jon Harmon, VP, Communications and Reputation at Navistar, Inc., talked about the importance of clearly and cleanly telling negative news yourself. He relayed how Navistar in 2007 managed the process of telling analysts and the media about profit projections that had to be restated -- downward. He believes the proof of success of Navistar's up-front, come-clean approach was the minuscule dip in the company's stock price on the day of the announcement, compared to a competitor in the industry that suffered a greater loss that day.

It's essential to build community support and generate positive publicity for your organization long before you ever need it. Just as Stephen Covey recommends building up goodwill with others, so that when a relationship is strained it will stretch and not break, Kathleen Cantillon, Director, External Communications at Exelon Corporation, believes it's important for a company to bank goodwill with its community long before the inevitable crises occur. She related examples of how Exelon and its subsidiary, ComEd, are active in community organizations, coalitions, philanthropy and civic activities in the communities where customers live.

It is possible to change a community's attitude about a company. Jim Terman, President and CFO of Jasculca/Terman and Associates, talked about how his firm has helped a scrap iron processor in an upscale Chicago neighborhood build relations with those who live in million-dollar-plus homes nearby. The company offers tours to neighbors, joins local community organizations, gets to know its elected officials and is willing to change some of its operational rules to co-exist more peacefully in the neighborhood. Additionally, company officials have learned to talk regularly about the benefits the company brings to the greater community.

Participants and guests gleaned many other many other valuable nuggets from the 90-minute conversation. To learn more, please contact me at my company, Kathy Schaeffer & Associates, Inc..

It's not only what you say that can make you look like a turkey

A video clip circulating today shows Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin visiting a turkey farm to pardon a turkey. The Governor's publicity appearance is her rendition of a time-honored photo opportunity used by governors and presidents to generate positive, even playful, media coverage before Thanksgiving.

For a public relations professional, staging such a photo opportunity is almost a "no brainer." Governor. Turkeys. Proclamation. Pleasant talking points. Media. Thank you very much. Post the great coverage on the Governor's Web site.

However, someone goofed this time. As Gov. Palin talks with reporters -- carryout coffee cup in hand -- about a range of topics, a man in blood-stained pants slaughters turkeys behind her. You can't hear the turkeys squawk, but you can see the man shoving the turkeys one by one, beaks down, into a stainless steel cone suspended above a trough to catch the blood. Next, the man removes the now-dead turkey, takes it away, and returns with another.

At one point, Gov. Palin actually comments to media about how the photo opportunity is a light-hearted, fun event. The only problem is that as she speaks those words, directly behind her the turkey slaughter man is wrestling a with a contentious turkey fighting to escape the death cone. He strong-arms the bird, wing akimbo, to its bloody fate. Light-hearted? Fun?

More like unbelievably FUNNY, I'd say. The best "Saturday Night Live" writer couldn't have come up with a better sketch. A pro-life, pro-death-penalty governor trying to make a positive impression by "pardoning" a turkey while behind her the massacre ensues despite her alleged pardon.

Gov. Palin, your PR folks messed up, big time. And you run the risk of looking like a turkey.

How Do You Communicate "Advocacy?"

In separate meetings today, both the CEO of a Chicago-based national advocacy organization and the president of the board of directors of a foundation shared the same lament: members of their organizations find it nearly impossible to explain to prospective donors what "advocacy" means and why donors should support it financially. These two executives understand how important public affairs communications is to their missions.

Advocacy is one of those seemingly intangible pursuits that is often misunderstood until it bears fruit. It's easy to understand hands-on direct service: soup kitchens feed hungry people; community health centers heal sick people; preschools teach children. But advocates work to right injustices, study societal problems and beseech government to change laws and public policies. Often they are ahead of the societal curve or fighting for the rights of a tiny minority of people. To a person on the street, the description of advocacy can sound like "blah, blah, blah," or like futile tilting at windmills.

What's wonderful for the work of advocacy, but detrimental to clear, simple communications is that advocacy organizations attract extremely dedicated, highly motivated individuals who live, breathe, eat and sleep the issues that matter most to them. They become policy wonks and evangelists for the causes they champion, and can become so immersed in the details of an issue that they have difficulty defining what they do simply in a sentence or two. To use an old adage, you ask them what time it is and they tell you how to build a clock.

So, in an increasingly competitive world, how do advocates succinctly and effectively convey the power and benefits of their work? How do you boil down a multi-faceted legislative campaign into a sound bite without "dumbing down" the cause or causing disrespect to the movement? It's not easy, but it is possible. Think about President-elect Barack Obama's "Change" and "Yes we can."

My experience has taught me that the best place to start is with a careful messaging session. Get the right people in the room to discuss and agree about the top three to five messages. In some cases, there are multiple important audiences, so the messages need to be tweaked for each audience. Start by defining results: "Because of our work, over the past 10 years, 10,000 women have found new jobs."

Then, figure out which people in the organization are most gifted at expressing the goals and passion of the organization. Train them to use the key messages to describe the advocacy work the group is doing and turn them loose. Better yet, make a plan to send them out to speak to groups of people who matter most. How to make that plan is another blog entry for another day.

 

Choose Your Word Order Carefully

"State Police Enforcing Reckless Motorcycle Driving." That is the headline flashing on the lighted sign above the lanes of the Kennedy Expressway heading into downtown Chicago.

Does the headline writer really mean that police will be making sure that motorcyclists drive recklessly in the 55+ mph traffic? Or, is this Jay Leno Tonight Show-worthy headline yet another in a series of comical word order choices by people who are proof reading-challenged?
One of the most entertaining aspects of loving words and paying attention to their use is that scarcely a week goes by when I don't see a public relations issue arise because of careless word order or words that might have been better left unsaid. My job as a public relations consultant specializing in public affairs in Chicago gives me the opportunity to help clients avoid such mishaps.
The state police motorcycle headline reminds me of the infamous quote by the legendary Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention. He is widely quoted as having said, "The police are not here to create disorder. The police are here to preserve disorder." brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/richard_j_daley.html
When I was a newspaper reporter for The Daily Herald, dailyherald.com  covering the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the late 1980s, a commissioner made a similar gaffe. Railing at what he saw as a lack of emergency preparedness for the county (this is 15 years BEFORE 9-11, so maybe he was prescient), Commissioner Carl Hansen of Mount Prospect said that when American Airlines Flight 191 had crashed near O'Hare International Airport a few years earlier, emergency response teams were woefully inadequate. "Fortunately, everyone died," he said of the plane crash.
How many times do we chuckle each day as someone speaks words in an order that is unintentionally humorous? How many silly signs and goofy headlines will we see this week? Which elected officials will think they are saying what they mean, but not mean to say what they really do? While all of this is funny, I prefer that people laugh with my clients, not at them.

Chicago Public Relations: Playing to Win

My PR firm and I play to win in the court of public opinion.

There are few silver medals when it comes to changing public policy, educating the public or managing a reputation. In public affairs matters, you win or you forge a win-win compromise. Other options don’t count.

In the difficult-to-measure PR profession, it is imperative to produce results. The enduring words of Yoda thinkexist.com/quotation/do_or_do_not-there_is_no_try/250565.html  tell the story: “Do or do not . . . there is no try.”

When we wage a publicity or community outreach campaign for a client, the classic words of our parents and coaches echo in our minds:

“Look harder.” (If one news reporter says no, try another.)

“Now add a twist to that.” (Dig for that stand-out information nugget so the speech sings.)

“Faster.” (Create those crisis talking points before the top of the hour.)

“Think.” (Be a step ahead of both the competition and the client’s nemesis.)

And, accomplish all of that with integrity, because HOW one wins absolutely matters in the long run in the court of public opinion.

When I was on the park district swim team as a kid, my mother would urge me to swim in the lane with teammates who swam faster than I did, even if my side hurt. “That’s how you get better,” she’d say. It taught me to push myself beyond self-imposed limits.

Today, as a public relations consultant in Chicago www.ksapr.com, I try to do the same. I want to work with clients and colleagues who swim faster than I do. That’s how we’ll all achieve more, I think.

Recently, an attorney with whom we share a client noted, “You really go to the mat for your clients, don’t you?” Yes. We like to win.

First Impressions

The young man, probably 18, stepped into the downtown Chicago office building elevator at 7:59 a.m. on a Tuesday morning this July. Shined shoes. Dress slacks. Winter-weight, wool tweed sport coat two sizes too big (Dad’s? older brother’s?), carefully buttoned. Black portfolio in one hand. Paper towel mashed in the sweaty palm of his other hand. Good posture. Determined demeanor. Smiling. 

The elevator doors opened on the floor occupied by Chicago's Jobs for Youth www.jfychicago.org , a nonprofit that matches young men and women from low-income families with jobs in good Chicago companies. The Jobs for Youth office was dark, it wasn't yet open for the day. The young man's face fell and he immediately looked at his watch. "I guess I'm early. I have an interview at 9:00," he said to me, now smiling. 

Too bad I don’t have a job opening right now at Kathy Schaeffer and Associates, Inc. www.ksapr.com,  I thought, imagining I’d consider hiring the young man on the spot.

I do believe in the adage, “You get only one chance to make a first impression.”

Good communications – written, verbal and non-verbal – can be the passport to a good first impression. Lasting good communications help establish one’s reputation. Some examples that barely scratch the surface include:

Written communications: Just as a good résumé clearly and quickly conveys a job applicant’s strengths, a concise and appealing company brochure, informative annual report or a concise, relevant fact sheet establishes you and your organization as reputable. A well-written, easy-to-navigate Web site makes a good first impression, too. Letters, e-mails and other “routine” daily correspondence are the true reflection of expertise, skill and professionalism and shape lasting impressions. How’s the grammar? How many typos? Were the responses timely? Did the correspondence make it easy for the recipient to find relevant information? 

Verbal communications: Knowing one’s stuff is a prerequisite. Knowing how best to convey it to specific persons or audiences is just as imperative. Start with the audience in mind. What does the audience want or need to know? This is different than starting with what I want to tell them. What is the simplest, most engaging way to convey that information? Is there a way to foster dialogue, rather than monologue? Does the spokesperson use good spoken grammar? Can voice modulation or intentionally changing the speed or tone of voice make communications more successful?

Non-verbal communications: The first non-verbal communication is outward appearance. What is my spokesperson or representative wearing? Does his or her clothing match the level of formality demanded by the occasion or audience? Is the look professional? Has the spokesperson considered how to style his or her hair appropriately for the occasion? What jewelry to wear or not wear? What about exposure of cleavage, tattoos, midriff, bare legs or toes? Beyond that, one’s posture, eye contact, body language, attitude and actions speak volumes – and many volumes have been written about non-verbal communications.

What do you think?

Networking can change lives

My sister Peggy owns and operates a Florida real estate company today in part because our grandfather made the most of networking opportunities some 60 years ago.

After World War II, our paternal grandfather was a mail carrier in Chicago.His route included a high-rise building on Chicago's famed lake shore. For years, Grandpa delivered mail on that route and talked with those who lived and worked in the buildings he served. One man owned a large real estate development company and was developing residential communities in central Florida. He and Grandpa would chat regularly, and over time they came to know and trust one another. The man frequently said to Grandpa, “If you ever want to come to Florida and learn about real estate, I’ll have a job for you.”

In about 1955, after retiring from the U.S. Postal Service, Grandpa took the man up on his offer and started his second career, selling real estate at one of the man’s new housing developments.

A couple of years later, Grandpa got the bug to start his own company. He earned his broker’s license and opened a real estate agency in tiny, but growing, Belleview, Florida. The business grew, and about 15 years later my dad joined him. Today, my sister and her husband are the owners of that company, now a ReMax franchise in Ocala, Florida www.OcalaAllStarsRealty.com.   

As in any story that unfolds over 60 years, untold numbers of events and circumstances worked together to lead my family members to where they are today. Yet the story beautifully illustrates the sometimes surprising and often fortuitous benefits that can result from networking – meeting new people and continuing a dialogue.

As a public relations consultant in Chicago, I often encourage clients to add focused, pro-active networking activities to their communications repertoire. My company, Kathy Schaeffer and Associates, Inc. www.ksapr.com, offers networking training to clients, helping them learn to work a room, build relationships, and shape an “elevator speech.” This training has helped attorneys cultivate business leads, nonprofit leaders broaden their circles of influence and mid-level executives build strategic alliances to achieve their objectives.

Those who, as my grandfather did, understand the value of networking, know that the rewards of making a connection are rarely instantaneous, but can sometimes change generations of lives.

Patriotism: What's the message?

Friday is Independence Day, the Fourth of July. Today is Canada Day. Both presidential candidates, Barack Obama www.barackobama.com and John McCain www.johnmccain.com, are emphasizing messages of patriotism this week.

Nearly every day since September 2001, my husband and I have flown an American flag www.ushistory.org/betsy/flagetiq.html in front of our home. (A recent exception: a

Chicago spring wind storm www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/ irreparably cracked the flag support. We’ve replaced it.)

 

I’d guess that some of our neighbors have made assumptions about our political leanings based on our 24/7/365 flag posting. Sad to say, posting an American flag can be seen negatively or positively, depending upon the eyes of the beholder. Just as people make value judgments about personal outward appearances and possessions – clothing, cars, jewelry – they draw conclusions about the persons who display Old Glory year ‘round.

Sometimes our assumptions are accurate, sometimes not. Yet the those doing the displaying, more often than not, are intentionally choosing to send a message. What message is sent and what is received is up to great interpretation. For example:

• Huge American flags fly over car dealerships and highway-side pancake houses. (Do they care about  America or are they just trying to catch my attention?)

• Chicago cab drivers attach American flags to their taxi antennas and rear windows. (Is the driver a new citizen, perhaps trying to tell me he’s not a terrorist, or simply one of my neighbors who likes to fly the flag?)

• U.S. Sen. Barack Obama didn’t wear a flag lapel pin to a presidential primary debate. (Not patriotic enough to be President, or doesn’t need to wear his patriotism on his lapel because   he’s a U.S. Senator, therefore beyond question a patriot?)

If patriotism is something one feels in one’s heart, can’t that emotion manifest itself in an infinite number of interpretations? If patriotism is evidenced in a person’s attitude, isn’t there ample room for misjudgment on the part of the observer?

Symbols – particularly those that are emotionally charged – are powerful communicators. Creative use of symbols can hasten communications or alienate people. Symbols can build bridges or destroy alliances. We need to use them wisely.

On July 4^th, I’ll pause to sit on my front step, next to my American flag, wearing my new peace sign necklace.

In my heart, my messages are clear. Do you understand what I’m trying to convey?

 

 

"The Medium is the Message"

A friend who owns a company in another city e-mailed me and another friend the other day to let us know that his wife’s eight-year battle with breast cancer was coming to its inevitable end. Although she has defied all the life expectancy predictions, there is nothing more that the doctors can do. He noted that he would be taking a lot of time away from his company over the next several months, to spend even more time with his wife and children.

Hands hovering over my keyboard, I attempted to compose a response. “I am so sorry” seemed hollow as I read the electronic words. “If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know” seemed disingenuous in e-mail form.

I hit the delete button and picked up the telephone. 

In our phone conversation, I asked my friend how he’s doing. I really wanted to know and he took time to answer honestly. He’s concerned about his kids. He’s in pain from watching his wife’s agony without being able to help relieve it. Precious few e-mails that carry the nicety “how are you?” ever elicit real answers. 

As my friend and I talked, I figured out a specific, unique way I could help him, and offered. As I made the offer, I heard my voice crack, as I’m sure he did. The pause I heard between my offer and his response told me we had connected on a level that is a tribute to our friendship and that the live phone conversation had allowed. I’m glad we had a real conversation and I hope I will be able to help him in some small way.

As the 20^th Century scholar and author Marshall McLuhan www.marshallmcluhan.com wrote in Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, published in 1964, “The medium is the message.” McLuhan, considered a prophet about electronic media, never used e-mail, as he died in 1980. Yet, I’m convinced he most likely envisioned the concept, based upon his many other on-target predictions about mass media and communications.

It turns out that my brief encounter with my friend was an object lesson www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/object+lesson about the “medium is the message” phrase. The medium one chooses to express oneself profoundly affects the sender, the receiver and sometimes the world.

The opportunities to remember that – and choose wisely – are infinite.

Half Empty or Half Full?

How one answers the old question "Is the glass half empty or half full?" is typically considered a matter of identifying optimism or pessimism.

In public relations, the question represents the ever-present need for careful messaging. Are you trying to communicate that there is plenty? Are you trying to make the case for need? Or, are you trying to do both at the same time?

Easy, right?

In a difficult situation, how do you take a "half full" stance without looking shallow?
If a situation is getting worse, the "half empty" position may seem more truthful.
You don't want to misrepresent the facts or spin a yarn.

A public relations professional must identify the communications objectives, review the facts, ask tough questions and come up with simple, clear, truthful messages that enlighten the reader or listener and, in most cases, motivate that reader or listener to form an opinion or take action. PR is about information and persuasion, after all.

I sat at a non-profit board meeting table today in a discussion dominated by a small, but vocal, group of "half empty" devotees. The "half empty" folks were leading the attempt to get a loan from a sister entity. The presentation quickly became ironic, because in making their "half empty" case this contingent disparaged the very people who were going to be raising the money to pay back the loan. Worse, these "half-empty" people said they thought an effective way to motivate the larger group of people was to tell them the downsides of the situation and reiterate past transgressions.

It kind or reminded me of a dog owner who tries to get his wandering pet back into the house by yelling in a punishing voice, "Get over here, right now!" to an animal who doesn't understand words, but surely can distinguish a welcoming tone from an angry tone.

Good communications starts with identifying the goal -- preferably one that is good for all parties involved. Your objective is to get the dog safely into the house, not to abuse the animal and disturb the neighborhood with your rants.

In the case of messaging, the challenge is to define "half full" for everyone involved, while respecting the facts to which the half-empties are clinging. You can highlight the fact that the organization is two-thirds toward its ambitious long-term fund-raising goal and is ahead of its dollar and outreach timetables, yet has an interim cash-flow problem. This allows you to paint a vision of success to motivate others. Or, you can transform a short-term cash-flow issue into a conclusion of overall failure and turn it into self-fulfilling prophecy of doom.

I know which one I'll choose.