Your PR Architect

(c) DKassnoff, 2014. Cranking out PR for a legendary rock musician should be pretty straightforward. I'm all but certain Billy Joel has no daily involvement in his website or the Facebook page that updates his new tour dates. Nor should he. Someone's minding those tasks, though. And doing a mediocre job. On Oct. 14, a headline on Billy's web site announced:  Billy Joel Sells Out The New Coliseum’s Opening Show In Less Than Four Minutes. Read the details here . A sellout sure sounds impressive, doesn't it? Maybe, if your time-travelling Delorean is tooling through 1985. Internet ticket sales today have made swift concert sellouts an everyday occurance. And, few would-be ticket buyers are happy about it. They know that concert tickets are scarfed up by ticket bots and scalpers before fans ever get through the lethargic Ticketmaster website. The problem's so severe that several states are enacting legislation to outlaw the bots . But the person

Public relations pros may no longer need consider certain commercial radio stations as viable media outlets. Radio studio, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Visiting a dental hygienist on a September Saturday, I was treated to a broadcast from a station owned by the Stephens Media Group . The programming -- a purportedly kid-friendly block called "Morning Car-tunes" -- was far more painful than anything the hygienist served up. The music wasn't bad. The in-between banter involved a young DJ and a co-host whom I'll call "Harry the Pirate." It quickly became clear no one had told them this program was actually intended for parents and kids to enjoy. Harry spent a few minutes regaling listeners about a recent visit to a local college, where he said he told communications students that "there are no jobs in media."* Harry, was that the most uplifting thing to tell aspiring broadcasters? Or did you think "media" didn't inc

After having written about Chipotle restaurants' PR crises several times in the past year, I pledged I wouldn'tgo back to that trough again.  Yet, there's more negative news today about the beleaguered eatery. So, I'll just let the New York Daily News do the talking. This calls for more than a simple re-branding. How do you say "Leadership Change" in Spanish?

I'm completely aware that this article is paid for. It touts a Rochester, NY automobile dealership, and one employee's love of an heirloom Pontiac. Which we never actually see, because the dealer sponsoring the copy sells Chevrolets. 1966 Catalina, by Tino Rossini (Flickr: Catalina) [CC BY 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons Nonetheless, I have a quibble or two with it. Veteran PR practitioners will recognize this ode to Chevrolets as "advertorial." The new term is "sponsored content." If you want to know the price range of a new Corvette, that's about the only newsworthy aspect of the story. Whatever we call it, I made a good living writing it for a spectrum of clients. Sponsored content, well presented, demonstrates subject matter expertise that creates a halo effect for a client and/or his/her brand. To be fair, the Gannett Rochester operation labeled this honestly: "This story is produced and presented by our sponsor." Sponsored edito

Lethal Weapon -- a bromance ? FOX Broadcasting recently barraged Twitter users with paid Tweets to promote its TV re-boot of the 1980s “Lethal Weapon” films. You’ll need to be a superb Twitter surfer to avoid them. PR practitioners run a risk in carpet-bombing social media audiences with overhyped promotions. They can alienate as many potential viewers as they attract. Actor Danny Glover, not in the new Lethal Weapon TV series, Photo credit: Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons In fact, FOX got dusted by Twitter users, many of whom weren’t old enough to see the 1987-1998 Danny Glover-Mel Gibson buddy pictures. The TV studio – largely bankrupt of original ideas since “Glee” – positioned the new series as a bromance . That word didn’t exist in run of the original films, which leaned heavily on gunplay, banter, and exploding toilets. Is bromance anything more than a piece of forced marketing-speak? (Not counting the short-lived MTV reality series of 2008-09.)

By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Peterson. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons As communicators, words are our currency. And lately, it feels as if we've been using counterfeit currency to grab readers and viewers. It's time for news writers and video pundits to change the way they use metaphors borrowed from authentic disasters and conflict. PR copywriters, too, although if we're at all sensitive, we won't describe a new product "exploding" across the marketplace. I hope. Last week, one of the presidential candidates flailed in the week's news coverage. Countless newsreaders said he had ignited a "firestorm" by lashing out at a Gold Star family that criticized him. A few days later, another story talked about a controversy "exploding" across the nation's newspapers. Firestorm? Get serious. A real fire storm is a wild fire of great intensity. It's something to be fought, and firefighters'

Chipotle, the Mexican-ish restaurant rocked by a series of food safety scandals, needs a life-line. Actually, several of them. Paris Chipotle by Maxlöh (Own work) [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0],  via Wikimedia Commons A few days ago, its chief creative and development officer, Mark Crumpacker , was charged with drug possession and ties to a cocaine delivery service. This isn't helpful for a nationwide chain that's struggling to rebuild trust with consumers after tainted food caused the chain to close several restaurants. Chipotle's comeback strategy seemed to be going well. The stock only dropped 0.68% when Crumpacker got his mugshot. And, to be fair, Chipotle's spokesperson handled the boss' away-message as well as any PR person I've seen. (I wrote about Chipotle's issues in late 2015 , and again in January. Three's my limit. Honest.) To mend its reputation, the company closed all its restaurants for a day to shock-train e

Public relations is often about building relationships. Some smart PR people get this. Others don't. For example: "I know you're the special kind of person who wants to help other people." I'm not sure if Steve Harrison really knows that. Or knows much about public relations, beyond providing all sorts of advice on how to get the attention of TV segment booking producers. That's what he sells on his website. What I do know about Steve Harrison: he hasn't Clue One about respecting his potential customers. The five come-on emails he sent me over a two-hour period told me all I need to know about Steve's mastery of public relations. (I signed up for a webinar, recommended by a colleague. Not spam that rivals the barrage I got from FTD around Mother's Day.) In a five-day span: 10 emails from Steve. Each as relentless and self-promoting as the last. A TV studio control room. By Wing1990hk (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Com

Last week, I attended the Public Relations Society of America's North East chapter regional conference ( PRXNE 2016, if you like acronyms) in Boston. This created an opportunity to revert to Road Warrior driving mode, visit a Samuel Adams brewery on Germania Street, and explore the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on the University of Massachusetts campus. (Free beer. Great Kennedy stuff, with a little Hemingway, too. No collisions. End of travelogue.) Field research at the Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston. Photo (c) DKassnoff, 2016. At the conference, I learned about data-driven PR, information foraging, mobile PR, and -- my favorite -- harnessing the untapped power of belonging. (Kudos to Mike McDougall of McDougall Communications for a terrific presentation.) You can watch a  presentation here, if you sign in. Professionals should attend at least one PR conference a year. The industry evolves so quickly, but it's all about telling good stories for mission-driven c

By LuckyLouie at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In a prior blog post , I decried the jargon-packed news release that introduced "tronc," the befuddled new name for Tribune Publishing. I wasn't the only one who thought: "What are these people trying to say?" NPR ran a story about it this morning. You can hear it here.  The tronc CEO makes a point, I guess. But it's still not a brand strategy I'd embrace if I needed to promote my editorial content.

To:  Michael Ferro, Chairman       Tribune Publishing, a.k.a., tronc cc: Blog Readers Subject: Invitation: How to Communicate Dear Mike: I invite you and your communications team to drop by my office at the university.  My schedule's Chicago Tribune Building, By Stuart Seeger [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons flexible 'til late August. But act fast. Because as your company transforms to some digital communications-moneymaking internet punchline, your recent news release tells me Tribune Publishing has lost its grasp of how to communicate in English. Your June 2 news release,  Tribune Publishing Announces Corporate Rebranding, Changes Name to Tronc,  sets a new low in incomprehensible jargon. Experienced PR people write releases that readers will understand. The writer who pumped out this horrid excuse for a press release has no grasp of this.  It's perfectly fine to re-brand a company. Gannett

My first full-time reporting job came from a small weekly paper on Long Island. Called Suffolk Life, the paper served as the launch pad for the careers of a number of superb journalists and scholars . And me. No one becomes wealthy working at a weekly paper. Because he couldn't pay me very much, the publisher, the late great Dave Wilmott , Jr., allowed me to gas up from the same ancient Esso-esque pump that filled his delivery trucks. A few years later, as a public relations practitioner, I continued my appreciation of weeklies, especially when promoting lifestyle products and how to use them. My rationale: place a story in a daily paper, and that edition will likely be discarded when the next day's paper arrives. Place the same story in a weekly, and that paper lives in readers' homes for a full week before its replacement shows up. I get seven chances to grab your attention, not just one. Local weeklies. (c) DKassnoff, 2016. Today, Suffolk Life is out of busin

When a U.S. federal judge in early May told Staples and Office Depot/Office Max that their proposed merger was dead , I was busy grading papers. But now, a couple of weeks later, I say: "Good on ya," Judge Emmet G. Sullivan. By Takkk (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons I'm the guy personified in an old Staples TV ad, singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," when back-to-school supplies go on sale in late July. I've strolled the stationery aisles of independent drugstores, looking for a hard-to-find ink refill or discontinued ballpoint. (All-time favorite: Pilot's long-gone GX300. ) And, I've been an advocate of Staples, because they often have what I need. But not this time. True, a Staples/Office Depot merger would have better competed with Amazon and Wal-Mart in the office/home-office category. But it would've doomed many smaller stationers, and perhaps crippled the buying cooperatives that educators use

News item: Sports Authority, once a thriving sporting goods superstore, announced yesterday  it's closing all 450 stores . Drowning in $1 billion in debt, the chain -- and its 14,000-plus employees -- are history. And so is its inventory of snake shot. More on this in a moment. By BrokenSphere (Own work) [GFDL  CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons More nimble sports merchandisers figured out how to do what Sports Authority couldn't. Dick's Sporting Goods created a somewhat upmarket experience (read: firearms and golf stores-inside-the-store) that Sports Authority couldn't match. And, if you're a die-hard fan of a particular team, there's no limit to the number of online sellers of numbered jerseys. No one wants to see less competition in the marketplace. Competition means pricing strategies that can benefit consumers (who may already be saving for their next pair of $200 LeBrons). But a quick visit

There's just one so-called killer app. It's email. It's pervasive, cheap, and often relentless. And, in late April and early May, it becomes utterly tone deaf.  I began receiving email* promotions from marketers for Mother's Day deals a few weeks ago. They've steadily increased in frequency. And in stupidity, as in: "Mom really wants a digital SLR outfit." (Words never uttered in any household in my family. Ever.) (Note: this isn't about the new Garry Marshall ensemble comedy, Mother's Day.  I'm talking the real Mother's Day, May 8. Which is right around the corner. So get cracking.) By Frank Mayne from London, UK (Clara's Card) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons While there are women for whom I'd buy Mother's Day cards, gifts or flowers, my mother is not among them. She died in 2013. (The woman in the stock photo is not her.) And every email pitch with

We all have photos and moments from our past we'd rather forget. They show up online when we least expect them, like an un-scrubbable digital tattoo. On Facebook. On Instagram. On Twitter. Mine aren't as bad as others. I once played John Hancock in a community theatre production of 1776 . And despite my best efforts, a photo of me in that powdered wig surfaces every now and then. (It could be worse; it's not a photo of me with my own hair.) It's a digital shadow I can't elude. But it likely won't affect my professional reputation. Unless it appears on LinkedIn. Jian Ghomeshi photo by Canadian Film Centre from Toronto, Canada (ideaBOOST Launch Pad May 8, 2014) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons I'm better able to move forward from that awkward powdered-wig image than  Jian Ghomeshi, the former CBC radio host whose career imploded when, in 2014, multiple women accused him of harsh sexual behavior. CBC dismissed Ghomeshi from his talk program "Q

There's a short list of technology companies whose products I will never buy. This isn't a "Buy American" rant, but it has plenty to do with how tech companies manage -- or mismanage -- their reputations. I don't buy Hewlett Packard products. Partly for the shoddy treatment bestowed on former EDS workers (with whom I'm personally acquainted) acquired when H/P bought the company. Partly because H/P's board of trustees engaged in spying on employees and each other. Partly because an H/P CEO was dismissed in 2011 for "fudging expense reports" -- corporate-codetalk for using company funds on an inappropriate relationship . By Etcha (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL via Wikimedia Commons None of these events means H/P makes poor technology products. To me, however, it's indicative of a company that applies its profits irresponsibly. And I don't want dime one spent in support of a com

News item provided by the Associated Press, repeated by a local public broadcasting affiliate : "The Russell Station power generation plant, an iconic landmark near the Lake Ontario shoreline outside Rochester, is being torn down." Russell Station photo by RChappo2002, via Flickr (Creative Commons License 2.0).  https://www.flickr.com/photos/rchappo2002/ Really? The "is being torn down" is Exhibit One in the case of the AP tearing down journalistic writing. Passive voice -- leaning on a wobbly "to be" verb instead of an active verb -- weakens any writing. Marketing communications and public relations agencies will cough up the occasional passive-verb hairball in news releases. For example: a release from the Del Prado law firm  relies on "has been serving" instead of "has served." This suggests that neither the agency or MyPRGenie has newswriting skill. AP and other news organizations shouldn't fall into the same trap. I

2003 Surveillance image of Xerox Federal Credit Union assailant, provided via Webster (NY) Police Dept. web page at http://ci.webster.ny.us/gallery.aspx?PID=36 I'm a college professor, not a reporter. But I may or may not have had something to do with getting a 13-year-old murder case back in gear. Eight weeks ago, I dug up details of a 2003 bank robbery and murder at a Xerox credit union branch in Webster, NY. A Xerox employee, Raymond Batzel, was killed. The killer fled and was never found. My reporting days are well behind me, but I wanted to use the case in a journalism class I teach at St. Bonaventure University . The idea was to get students to think about who they'd call to get updates on a case no one had reported on for almost a decade. (Most of the officers and others connected with the case have moved on.) During my research, I emailed the police chief in Webster, NY, and the FBI's Buffalo office. The FBI responded first, telling me the Webster Police

Editors of a student publication asked me: "If you were hired to take attention and support away from (Donald) Trump in the presidential campaign, what would you do? And how would you go about doing this?" Across my career, my engagements in political PR were minimal. Most of my corporate and not-for-profit clients had little political interest. But the editors' questions made me wonder: is taking away Trump's bluster and strong-arm tactics the best path forward? Tom Selleck photo by Alan Light [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Here's what I shared with the editors: The challenge with “taking interest away from Trump” is that it’s impossible. He spent years cultivating his personal brand through his Celebrity Apprentice TV series and phoning news-talk shows on radio and TV. So the entire country believes it “knows” Donald Trump. In other words: Trump's campaign is not based on ideology, GOP d

(The following post is 100% free of political commentary. But it does mention a few blowhards.) When's the last time you bought a well-made suit? Not the Haggar separates some retailers sell, but a good suit that would last a few years, until fashion dictums made it obsolete? Probably not anytime recently. Casual Fridays at many businesses extended to Casual Everydays. Which, outside of Wall Street, law firms, and TV anchor desks, usually meant fewer suits and ties. My last suit was hand-tailored with Italian silk, and cost the equivalent of a mortgage payment. I don't need to buy another suit anytime soon. This only partially explains why Tailored Brands, the parent company of Men's Wearhouse and Joseph A. Bank, announced last week that 250 of its 1,500 stores would close this year. Not good news for a brand that had some cachet with consumers. By Ed!(talk)(Hall of Fame) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons Tailored Brands' CEO reported last week t

A while ago, I chided a PR and social media communications agency for the so-so quality of their promotional videos on YouTube. But, it wasn't all bad. In the video below, Steve, one of their social media gurus, talks about how to create a social media policy. He mentions getting counsel from attorneys, minding government regulations, and taking into account the organization's HR needs. All fine, up to a point. However, he leaves out a few essentials that most organizations need to consider when crafting a social media policy -- and the strategy that goes with it: What's the goal of the organization's social media effort? Do all employees understand that the company's Twitter feed isn't a place to complain about internal policies, or a poor outing by the New York Rangers? What about looking at social media policies other organizations have adopted? What's worked, and what hasn't? ( Applebee's fumble with the storefront pastor  in 2013 leaps t

I wish I knew why local politicians can't figure out that they're soiling their reputations -- and that of their communities -- over truly insignificant banter. Continuum Generation in Photonic Crystal Fibre. Photo by Jean-Christophe, Michel, Delagnes (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons Ongoing disagreements between a low-level state Assemblyman and the leader of the SUNY Polytechnic Institute threaten to erode support for the much-lauded American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics in Rochester, if you listen to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The AIM Photonics Institute , funded with state and federal dollars, may bring thousands of jobs to New York's Finger Lakes Region. But, if you listen to the Governor, the squabble places the project at risk . I want to believe that greater Rochester has the ability to rise above petty disputes over projects that might strengthen the area's choppy economy. But it took more than 10 years to secure federal

Public relations people are accustomed to news outlets using only a portion of their news releases. Often, editors and producers publish only the essential facts, just enough to fill a news hole. Paul Hermans from nl [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)  or CC-BY-SA-3.0, from Wikimedia Commons When broadcast news producers do this, they often direct viewers and listeners to their websites for the fuller story. This saves air time or news print. But, when there's only a truncated version of the information, it tells me I'm a victim of lazy journalism . One example: a recent news item from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, announcing $35 million in construction grants to a number of private colleges.  One Rochester TV station's online story listed an incomplete handful of colleges receiving these funds, including Rochester Institute of Technology. Emphasize the local angle? Sure. Except several other local colleges -- among them St. John Fisher College

Mattel, amid a splashy announcement of new, more anatomically responsible Barbie dolls, introduced a Barbie doll modeled after soccer superstar Abby Wambach last week. Abby Wambach (at  left), by Harvardton (Own work)  [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons Most media in western New York -- Wambach's hometown is suburban Rochester -- gushed over the big toymaker's announcement. Picking up on Wambach's Twitter posts, reporters marveled at Mattel's recognition of her sports accomplishments by creating an Abby doll.  Not one reporter, however, asked if Mattel's celebration of Wambach would include some corporate support of U.S. Women's Soccer , the team her heroics helped build. It's a fair question. At least as viewed through my current Sudafed-affected head congestion. One an insightful reporter should have asked, but apparently didn't. In fact, Mattel's corporate philanthropy track record speaks well of its support of play, both

When Xerox' CEO announced last week that her company would split into two businesses in an attempt to save itself, local leaders leapt into PR action to reassure the community. And achieved little. Bob Duffy, a former Rochester mayor and former lieutenant governor, scrambled a news conference. Now head of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, he told reporters that his Chamber "stands ready" to aid Xerox and/or laid-off employees. Newly elected County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo made a similar "stand ready" promise. Xerox sponsor decals on Ducati 999 racing motorcycle. By StealthFX [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons This metaphorical "standing ready" means: zero. Ursula Burns, the Xerox CEO, has so far downplayed the layoffs issue. But Duffy and Dinolfo tried to reassure the community without  advance knowledge of Xerox's decision. For that matter, Xerox failed to first inform its own employees before the news leaked

News item: Chipotle will hold an all-employee meeting Feb. 8, closing its doors to the public while engaging executives and workers in real time on issues stemming from its recent food-borne illness crisis. Not a bad idea. A food safety crisis crippled Chipotle's business for the fourth quarter of 2015, with mysterious outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest and New England. A month ago, I praised the upfront, take-responsibility approach of co-CEO Steve Ells, who went on network TV  news shows to publicly apologize for the restaurant chain's problems. Getting all employees on the same page, even for an hour, reflects Chipotle's commitment to following through on its promises. And the move has potential PR benefits, as the employee meetings demonstrate that the chain is taking serious steps to address its problems. Will this persuade me to visit the Chipotle eatery in my town? I've only eaten at one Chipotle, years ago, before the chain's rapid growth. And

Last week, my pal Dresden Engle invited me to a big reveal: the re-branding of the Ad Council of Rochester to Causewave Community Partners . The old Ad Council organization, founded decades ago by an advertising manager at Eastman Kodak Co., orchestrated community-wide campaigns that grew awareness for water pollution, distracted driving, and other important issues. And it helped dozens of not-for-profit organizations earn visibility in regional media. The fresh branding helps Causewave differentiate itself from other regional Advertising Councils, as well as the national Ad Council. Now, about the organization's causes: At the event, I met a few PR professionals who are on the high side of age 50. They had that look ; they were networking, looking for contacts who might help them find job opportunities. These pros were in the minority; most of the Causewave celebrants were much younger. As a demographic snapshot, the job seekers were older, with salt-and-pepper hair an

Photo by DO'Neil via Wikimedia Commons. I need a shower. Right now. Maybe I can scrub away the stench of this story. Sexual harassment is beyond shameful. It's criminal. The women who accused entertainer Bill Cosby of sexual assault are at last being taken seriously. But we're kidding ourselves if we think such behavior is limited to realms of entertainment or politics. It's a widespread, heinous practice.  Even in the PR industry. Look no further than last month's imbroglio involving D.C.-based PR executive  Trevor FitzGibbon, whose agency's client list included Amnesty International, Wikileaks, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Less than a month after several women voiced claims of sexual harassment or sexual assault against Mr. FitzGibbon -- including a female job applicant from whom he solicited nude photos --  FitzGibbon Media shuttered its doors .  And the agency's 29 employees were left jobless a few days before Christmas