Your PR Architect

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...

(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...

By Theud-bald from Paris, France (Galerie Lafayette - Christmas decoration 4) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons What's the biggest mistake a public relations practitioner can make? Misreading the target audience. Pitching your story to the wrong individual. And I'm not about to do that. It's the last few days before Christmas. You're last-minute shopping. Wrapping gifts, roasting chestnuts, shipping packages, or tipping the postal carrier. You're not chasing down PR tips. Whatever modest audience this blog attracts isn't wondering about some company's PR blunders just now. So, this week, I'm respecting my audience.  Go celebrate your holidays. Hug your loved ones. And Happy Christmas. 

Every day, at least one of the news sources I follow on Facebook posts a link to a non-local story, accompanied by the invitation: WEIGH IN. Or SOUND OFF. Or the ever-popular: WHAT DO YOU THINK? And I think: Go enterprise a real news story. The internet has enough rude, unmoderated comments. The best reporting requires a little hustle on the part of reporters and editors. Ambition. Moxie. The best reporters do this, time and again. But in a Facebook world, it's not enough to report news. TV news affiliates -- and some print-based media online -- now try to augment the good work of reporters and goose their Facebook traffic numbers by inviting followers to "sound off" or "weigh in." This is less vox populi than it is a blanket invitation to banter. Media consultants tell TV and radio outlets they need to "engage" their audiences via social media. Thoughtful online discussions would be one way. But asking viewers to leave under-informed ...

When I'm on the road, I buy hot coffee at McDonald's. Until now. McDonald's Corp. is valued at $93 billion, but sales are declining. I'm part of the decline, and by the end of this tale, I hope you'll join me in dining elsewhere. By Ramon FVelasquez, via Wikimedia Commons Last week, the company -- still profitable, by any measure -- invited a band to play at their South by Southwest showcase. Without pay. In turn, the band Ex-Cops used social media to expose McDonald's cheapness. Rolling Stone and other online media picked up the story. This gave McDonald's unwanted PR exposure it doesn't need, with the SXSW-age audience it so desperately needs to reach. Worse? McDonald's media relations drone responded by essentially saying, "We're just paying artists the way other sponsors do." Except they aren't paying. Other SXSW sponsors pay their performers, says Ex Cops. And not with Happy Meals. If SXSW were a countr...