filter by author: Marc Berliner

It’s a refrain I hear frequently…from colleagues, job candidates, friends in the industry: “I want to get more involved in strategy.” As if strategy is a distinct type of work, different from the work they do every day.

But it’s really not. Is it?

Shouldn’t communications professionals be strategic with every recommendation we make, with every program we execute, whether it’s how to launch a product, employ social media, counsel a client on a sensitive issue or measure the success of a campaign? In fact, being strategic is an imperative, not something you need an invitation to do. At organizations around the world – big and small – communications is playing a critical role in shaping company reputation, awareness and even performance. So, shouldn’t all communications be strategic?

There are plenty of examples of “creative” ideas and communications decisions that lacked sound strategy, didn’t go as planned and damaged or embarrassed the brands involved. There was Bank of America’s decision to announce a $5 fee for debit card usage as the Occupy Wall Street movement was gathering steam and Marie Callender’s deceptive frozen meal campaign to woo food bloggers. What about Snapple’s ill-conceived stunt in 2005 to erect the world’s largest popsicle? There are countless others.

The point is, communicators need to be smart and thoughtful (read: strategic) about every decision we make. Before we make any recommendation or decision, we should run it through key filters to determine if it is indeed a sound, strategic approach. Consider:

• Is it brand appropriate?
  
• How does it support business goals?
  
• Do the risks outweigh the rewards?
  
• What contingencies can we put in place to mitigate risk?
  
• Can we measure success?
  

Those are just a few examples.

We all need to be accountable. I challenge everyone to take charge and be strategic. Don’t wait for the invitation; it’s not the sole domain of senior-level practitioners. It’s everyone’s responsibility to be smart. At least I hope so.

--Marc Berliner, Vice President, @mberliner

You can’t wait for it to come out…the big story you’ve been working on for weeks. The one your client is so excited about because it’s in the media outlet her CEO has wanted coverage in for years. The entire executive leadership team knows it’s coming, too, and they can’t wait to share it with the Board of Directors.

Then it runs, and as you read the story, you cringe:

• The CEO’s name is spelled wrong, and his age is off by 10 years
• Some crucial facts are inaccurate, including the name of the new product
• One of the key points of the story is omitted

You feel let down and you get that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. Instead of merchandising your success, you’re dreading that unpleasant conversation with the client that’s coming soon. It’s time to scramble! First, you contact the outlet to get the facts corrected online and request a written correction in the next print edition. Next, you have to assure the client the story will still have a positive impact. But, despite your efforts, deep down you know some damage has been done.

It’s an all too familiar – and modern-day – scenario in the PR world. One of the unintended consequences of downsizing in the media industry is that fact checking is no longer standard operating procedure. As recently as five years ago, I vividly recall fact-checking calls and emails for the bulk of stories I worked on with reporters. Now, I’d estimate that only one in 10 is thoroughly fact checked by the outlet – whether it’s a reporter from a traditional media outlet or a blogger. It’s not necessarily their fault because they have broader responsibilities than they had in the past – more beats to cover, more stories to file, fewer editors to help out.

Although a lack of resources is a major issue, it’s important PR practitioners not sit by and accept these inaccuracies. We work hard to pitch and secure placements for our clients, an activity core to the value we deliver. But factual inaccuracies and lack of clear messaging can wipe out, or at the very least overshadow, our hard work and the impact for the client.

We can’t eliminate these errors, but we can certainly do everything in our power to mitigate them. Here are some tips for working with reporters and bloggers to ensure your story doesn’t suffer from careless fact checking:

• Inform, but don’t overwhelm: Don’t give reporters and bloggers too many details – take the advice we give spokespeople and focus on the most important details
• Prep them before the interview: Adequately equip them with background information prior to interviews
• Clarify quickly: Follow up right away after interviews to clarify information that might have been unclear
• Don’t wait for a fact checker: Be proactive and confirm important facts via email – name and title of spokesperson, name of campaign, name of partners, goal of campaign, etc.
• Rinse and repeat: Reach out and ask if there are any facts they’d like you to confirm

What tips do you have for avoiding the inaccurate-fact blues?

--Marc Berliner, Vice President, @mberliner

It’s a trap we in the agency world fall into at one time or another – staying too focused on delivering what we promised in the “scope of work.”

Yes, our clients expect us to plan the work and work the plan, but we’re operating in a dynamic global marketplace. Things change every second, which means new opportunities spring up, and what we planned six months ago may no longer be relevant. Our charge is to help our clients succeed and meet their objectives. Today, that means being resourceful and vigilant about bringing creative new ideas to the table to meet these goals. If you don’t come up with the next big idea, someone else will, and it may be your competitor.

Big ideas can come from the strangest places. I was flying home from Dallas last week and happened to read a story in AmericanWay magazine about two 20-somethings from the UK, Sam Bompas and Harry Parr, who call themselves culinary curators. They blend their interests in food, architecture and art to develop signature events and programs for their clients. Imagine flooding a room with Courvoisier, sending visitors rafting across on giant orange slices, or making a three-dimensional map of the United States out of Jell-O, complete with scale models of famous monuments. Brilliant!

No one said creativity is easy. It may come more naturally for some, but even “creative people” can’t simply snap their fingers and find a big idea. It requires hard work and it means getting to know yourself. What are your passions – sports, pop culture, social media? What can inspire you to conceive a brilliant idea – an article, talking to a wacky friend, cooking? When are you most adept at being creative – first thing in the morning, on a plane or train?

Think about the answers to those questions and then make a conscious effort to be a creative idea generator. Set aside some time each day or each week to focus on being an idea factory. You may stray from your scope of work, but your clients are sure to forgive the digression.

--Marc Berliner, Vice President

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to attend GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius conference in New York City. It’s nice on occasion to step away from my day-to-day work and just spend the day learning. The big win comes when I get energized and inspired to try new things that can make me a better professional. That’s what the day represented for me, and there are nuggets I took away that all professional communicators can learn from.

Word of mouth (WOM) is nothing new. In reality, it’s one of the oldest communication channels in existence. But, with the decline of some traditional channels and the emergence of social media, WOM is increasing in importance and perhaps now easier to spark and facilitate than ever before. One only has to consider recent phenomena such as Zappos’ customer service, the Old Spice guy and Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World.

It’s easy for most of us to spot successful WOM, but achieving it is another story. It reminds me in some ways of when I hear people talking about creating a “viral video.” It’s tough to do when you’re assuming you can guarantee something will go viral, which we all know isn’t possible. It’s the same with WOM – it takes time, a thoughtful approach and a pinch of luck. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try because WOM can be a powerful weapon in our ever-evolving communications arsenal.

GasPedal presented the “5 Ts” of WOM campaigns:

1. Talkers - who will tell their friends about you?
2. Topics - what will they talk about?
3. Tools - how can you help the message travel?
4. Taking Part - how should you join the conversation?
5. Tracking - what are people saying about you?
   

For most people, it would be pretty easy to sit down for 30 minutes and figure out nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5. But no. 2 is the special sauce.

If you can’t give your stakeholders something interesting, fun, unique and surprising to talk about – no matter how well you do the other elements – you won’t get WOM. You need something they’ll remember, you need to tap into some kind of emotional connection and you need to make it easy for them to share. That topic could be something inherent to your business (hot doughnuts coming off the conveyor belt at Krispy Kreme, Swedish Meatballs at IKEA) or something you create (Jones Soda’s unusual holiday-themed flavors). Regardless, you need to take a step back and consider it.

So think about it. What will get people buzzing about your company or product? How can you get the power of WOM working for you?

--Marc Berliner, Vice President

When it comes to embarking on a media relations campaign and generating valuable coverage, I’m still surprised at how many in our profession prioritize their efforts and approach. I don’t know many folks who don’t consider themselves, or aspire to be, STRATEGIC.

Why is it, then, that too often strategy ends up on the cutting room floor?

• Focused media lists evolve into list with 500 contacts
• Quality coverage is sacrificed for quantity
• Coverage in a “cool” outlet becomes more important than coverage in the right outlet
• Speed is valued above thoughtful research and knowledge of the outlet and reporter
• Desperation for any result defeats dogged determination to get the big win
  

Sound familiar? It’s almost always the result of setting unrealistic expectations about impressions and coverage volume – sometimes by the client, sometimes by the agency and sometimes by both. Regardless of the reasons, we all feel the pressure to deliver results.

Sure, the media environment has changed. Non-traditional media play a more significant role, true “beats” have largely disappeared and the competition for coverage is fiercer than ever. But the basic tenets remain the same:

• Identify the business objective
• Define your audience(s)
• Solidify the message(s)
• Determine the best venues for reaching those audiences
  

Perhaps most importantly, though, make sure everyone – the client, stakeholders and the agency team – is aligned on the expectations. Collaborate on what success looks like, create a plan that maps to that success and then faithfully execute it. But be flexible and adapt to the situation. If something isn’t working, don’t toss away the strategy and just throw a bunch of stuff up against the wall to see what sticks. Think about new and creative ways to reach your goals.

The bottom line is we all want to be valued partners and counselors to our clients. And that sometimes means having courageous conversations about strategy, activation and results.
It can be uncomfortable, but we owe it to ourselves and our clients to ask the tough questions – “What’s important to you, quantity or quality?” – and give the unpopular opinions – “Oprah just isn’t going to care about this story.” Remember, be respectful and provide a rationale. They may not agree, but at least they’ll respect you.

--Marc Berliner, Vice President

As I worked out at my gym the other day, keeping an eye on the bank of 12 TVs set to different channels, I was a bit taken by what I observed. Were the various stations reporting on the massacre of four police officers in Washington? Sure, a little bit. Was there coverage of retail spending leading up to the holidays, including the critical Black Friday and Cyber Monday milestones? Yes, in small doses. How about the military build-up in Afghanistan? There was a mention or two. But none of these stories were the main focus.

You’re thinking it must be something big, really big, right? Well, no, not really. The story dominating those TV sets was this: Tiger Woods won’t talk to the Florida Highway Patrol and he’s skipping his charity golf tournament this week. Really? Is that really important news – so important that stations were rolling out every analyst and expert they could find to talk about legal implications, image implications, relationship implications?

Keep in mind, this is a story that involves a single-car accident with minor injuries and no damage to or crime against other parties – unless you count that poor fire hydrant and tree. Granted, Tiger is one of the most famous people in the world. And, if as first reported, he was seriously injured, this is a pretty big story with some legs. Not to mention this story probably would have gone away by now if Tiger had done what most PR professionals would have counseled: get out in front of the story and address what happened. He didn’t, and we’ve become a celebrity and gossip-obsessed culture. The media believe this is what we want to see. So the story dominates the news.

The bottom line is that a story with very little news value or impact on our society is stealing the spotlight from big stories – stories that shed light on real issues, stories that impact us and people we know, stories that people need to hear.

What does this mean for PR practitioners and the clients we represent? Well, it just reinforces the importance of going to the media with something of value to them and their audience. We need to make news. A promotional, look-at-me sales pitch will rarely cut it, especially when we’re competing against the likes of Tiger.

Shouldn’t we expect more? Don’t we deserve more? I say we do. I want to see and read about the news that really matters.

-- Marc Berliner, Director

The following originally appeared in Cone’s inConetext quarterly newsletter. To read current or past issues, visit our Web site.

It’s the age-old question for retailers: "How can we break through the clutter and get noticed in a positive way during the busy holiday season?" That was the challenge presented to us more than two years ago by Game Crazy, a national specialty games retailer. To differentiate the brand from other video game retailers and expand its reach beyond "hard-core" gamers, we developed a video game-themed holiday survey that played off a major gift-giver concern – purchasing gifts kids won’t enjoy. We leveraged the increasing interest in video games among "casual gamers" to create a campaign that educated consumers and set up Game Crazy as the brand that would help make them gift-giving heroes during the holidays.

Now in its third year, campaign results continue to grow. USA Today has written about the program three years in a row, and each year dozens of local-market TV segments feature store and district managers talking about the survey and offering purchasing tips for holiday shoppers. The campaign is also covered by video game and retail writers from major-market dailies and blogs. Game Crazy has several large competitors with deep pockets, but the seasonal campaign ensures Game Crazy’s voice is heard during the holidays thanks to proprietary, branded information and practical advice that appeals to media and consumers.”

-- Marc Berliner, Director

Many of us probably remember this popular bumper sticker from the 1990s, urging people to do their part for the environment in their community. These days, for me, the slogan speaks to how brands should practice the art of media relations in the communities in which they do business.

The “Think Globally” piece is easy. Think about all of the things going on in the world – the economic crisis, the explosion of social media, drivers keeping their vehicles longer, swine flu (the list goes on and on) – and how you can leverage these trends and topics to insert your brand into the conversation. The media are fragmented – it’s more challenging than ever to get press for your company, product or service. So, find a way to hitch your wagon to something they are already interested in. Before you pitch, think about how you can link your story to a broader trend.

What brands still need to master is the “Act Locally” piece. Despite the proliferation of online media, including the presence of even local newspapers on the Internet (in a way, making all news global), it’s more important than ever to localize your story. A generic pitch simply won’t fly 99 percent of the time, even if the story is compelling and timely. Many local media outlets are understaffed, and they just don’t have the time to localize your story for their readers, viewers and listeners. Don’t bother pitching the Des Moines Register (Iowa), the local ABC affiliate in Springfield, Massachusetts or the news talk radio station in Waco, Texas if you don’t make the story relevant to their communities.

Here are a few ways you can do it:

• Localize your materials – Make sure your pitch, press release, media alert and any other tools you use make the story relevant to the community you are pitching. For instance, reference a local statistic that supports the story you’re pitching.
• Provide a local twist – Offer the media an opportunity to speak with a company representative in their market – a store manager, a district manager or a franchisee.
• Let them hear from your customers – Media want to put a human face on a story. Provide the name of a local customer they can interview to bring the story to life.
• Use a local “pitcher” – When possible, have a local company representative send out the pitch, press release, etc. Local media are often more receptive to contact from local people rather than someone at national HQ. That doesn’t mean you can’t help manage the communication – for national initiatives, create press material templates that local representatives can fill in and distribute to local media.

Sure, localizing your story does take more time. But, it’s all about getting the best results. A well-researched, customized pitch to 10 outlets will yield more results – and better stories – than a generic pitch that’s blasted out to hundreds of outlets.

--Marc Berliner, Director