Your PR Architect

I have a bunch of orphans to look after. Not long ago, I worked on a series of video podcasts. Created them, actually, with the help of some very talented video professionals. Our videos profiled professional photographers (see the screen shot below), many of whom championed the virtues of film and digital photography. No one called our work "content creation" at the time. But we produced online material to help build the reputation and brand of a company struggling to re-imagine itself for the digital era. Digital eventually supplanted film, and the company filed for bankruptcy reorganization. Our videos, however, reflect the company's view at the time: that film gave photographers creative latitude that digital cameras did not. (View the series at this link. ) This view, in 2014, has changed. The podcasts -- including this one, profiling British photographer  Jocelyn Bain Hogg  -- live on as created in 2011. Frozen in time. I would have forgotten the...

There's no shortage of companies eager to conduct research to fuel your PR recommendations for clients. Good data is helpful, sure. But I recommend a different approach: Listen to your customers. Face to face. And not at a noisy, overstimulated trade show. Author and market researcher Paco Underhill's firm makes a practice of doing retail research by having a staff member track a consumer's behavior, in detail, as he or she navigates through the store. Me, I'd be highly suspicious of anyone stalking me with a clipboard.  However, the research I'm talking about does not involve clipboards or stalking. Here's how one experience went: On a brief trip to the west coast, I had time to spare. I wandered into a small camera shop that catered to serious photographers. I asked "how's business," and then added that I worked for Kodak -- at the time, a powerhouse brand in photography.  Unknown to me, the shop owner had serious issues -...

I coach and advise students about careers in public relations. So I see my share of online job postings for PR positions. Too often, they read like this: By Esra / Esra (http://www.sxc.hu/photo/230083)  [see page for license], via Wikimedia Commons [Headline:] Entry-Level Public Relations/Sales/Marketing In Your Eye  Marketing Inc   is currently offering entry level sales and marketing positions that include comprehensive training. No prior sales or marketing experience is necessary, and we will train you at the entry level to learn a variety of skills from sales and marketing to management and mentor-ship. (sic -- mentorship is seldom hyphenated) Responsibilities in Entry Level Include: Assisting in the daily growth and development of our company Assisting with efforts of new business acquisition Expertly managing the needs of external customers Developing strong leadership and interpersonal skills Face to face sales of services to new busi...

I vowed not to give more airtime to Roger Goodell and the National Football League's problems. So despite the headline, this isn't about Ray Rice, or Goodell, or the league's inability to utter two simple words: "Zero Tolerance." It's about using sports figures to promote consumer products. And whether it's time to end this practice. The cereal box here shows Adrian Peterson, the Minnesota Vikings running back who's accused of child abuse for injuring his young son. The most recent coverage appears here.  You'll struggle to find this Wheaties box on a store shelf. Maybe collectors snatched them up. Or store managers thought it wise to remove them. Maybe General Mills recalled them and shipped them to a country that never heard of Adrian Peterson. It doesn't matter. As a society, we deify our sports heroes, pasting their likenesses on or in automobiles, footwear, food products, and even pain remedies. And when they make mistakes or ca...

I love employee recognition. I despise 90 percent of the photos taken to recognize great employees. HR leaders love to talk about employee engagement. If they wish to do more than talk, they'll advocate for a communications person to strengthen internal communications.  One strategy: beef up employee recognition programs. Some organizations do employee recognition well. Hospitals and health care providers do a good job of honoring their employees. Colleges and corporations, less so.  Often, someone will line up a group of employees for a  recognition  photo that's destined for a local newspaper, company newsletter, or website. The photo itself? It's often rushed, unposed, and you wonder if the organization is recognizing people, or lining them up for a firing squad. Look at these actual employee recognition photos, and consider the following suggestions: 1. The Line-Up: a non-motion perp walk featuring a casual, backlit gaggle of employees...

A headline that failed: "have you embraced the new Instagram Hyperspace app yet?" By Braden Kowitz (Hugs!) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Seriously? Embraced ? First: you can call Instagram an app if you wish, but that's a misnomer. It's a thief. When you post an image, the metadata in your photo tells Instagram (and its corporate overlord, Facebook) where and when the image was created. Algorithms comb the image for clues about your buying habits and likes. The image's information becomes something InstaFacebook can re-sell to marketers. I don't embrace thieves. If anything, InstaFacebook has you in more than an embrace. It's got you in a headlock. Second, Hyperspace: compressed time-lapse videos that make the best footage look like it went through a cappuccino machine. I could do this with a $75 digital camera, but I prefer high-quality videos that lovingly showcase my scenes,...

If Roger Goodell is still commissar -- er, commissioner -- of the National Football League by the time you read this, it's because he has 32 team owners who love him. And a legion of fans who'll buy anything with an NFL logo. Including balderdash. Roger Goodell,  By Staff Sgt. Bradley Lail, USAF [Public domain],  via Wikimedia Commons Last week, I led my public relations class through a discussion of the Ray Rice-hit-his-fiancee-now-wife episode. But I might as well have done the lecture in origami, because new details keep unfolding. Last Friday, Baltimore Ravens fans -- including many women -- were shown in USA Today wearing replicas of Rice's jersey in support of the banned running back. The story continues to change, but here's a reasonable snapshot of what's taken place. It's not pretty. Rice and his wife may be right in blaming the media for their woes, including his indefinite suspension. They both appear to have behaved with amazing stupidi...