Key Tactic in a Crisis: Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Luckily for most of us, the global financial crisis is affecting us indirectly. Sure, home values may be down and our 401(k)s may now only be “201(k)s,” but those are paper losses. Thus far, the rest of the economy hasn’t really caught Wall Street’s flu. Nevertheless, it’s an edgy time, a near-crisis that any date [...]
This Is Not the Time to Delay PR and Marketing Programs
With all the financial and political news dominating the headlines, there’s a school of thought that marketers should consider delaying announcements until a better time. My verdict: there will be no better time. Not because I think the current crisis will not end, but because you can’t stop doing your job and keeping your business [...]
Time to Overhaul Financial Sector PR
Do you trust the firm you’ve entrusted your retirement savings to? I mean, really trust them? Because this week, if you don’t, or if your investment manager was Lehman Bros., you’re having a bad week, and you’re looking at more of the same for awhile. And if you’re in financial services PR? Toss the last [...]
PRSA Pulls Publicity Stunt to Promote PR Ethics
I was a little surprised to get an urgent email in my inbox from PRSA (of which I am a member) saying, “NO MORE LIPSTICK: PRSA Formally Challenges McCain and Obama Campaigns.” What?!? The email explained that the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the dominant trade organization of the profession, “has submitted formal challenges [...]
Getting People in Your Organization to Write Better
Good writing is becoming a scarcer and scarcer commodity, especially in the corporate world. In today’s instant-communication, speed-obsessed world, people don’t have time to write well, and bosses, by and large, don’t value it. It’s too bad, because good writing can move mountains. As a writer and someone who has taught writing, I can tell [...]
Goodbye to a White House PR Fixture
I’m a sucker for interesting sounding words that tell a story by the themselves, and one that has always enchanted me is “the gaggle” — the daily informal morning press briefing held by the White House for beat reporters. Well, sorry to say that the White House has discontinued the gaggle, and merged it into [...]
How to Create Better Client Relationships
These days, PR firms need to do some extra care and feeding of their clients. Business may not be terrible, but lose a few clients you can’t replace because of the economy and you could be hurting. So what steps can you take to create better, longer-lasting relationships with clients? PRSA’s online newsletter has some [...]
Great New eBook on Strategic Communications Planning
Just in time for your end-of-summer, get-back-to-work reading list: an excellent new eBook on strategic communications planning by Dave Fleet, a Senior Consultant for PR agency Thornley Fallis Communications in Toronto. The book is clear, concise and easy-to-read. It will have a permanent place on my bookshelf or virtual bookshelf (what does one do with [...]