my(PR)palette

We've moved!

2010-01-31T11:16:00.004-05:00

It's official. I'm no longer posting blog entries in two places. I've moved, unpacked and am pretty much settled.

Here's the new home of my(PR)palette. You'll find the whole kit and caboodle in there.

Thanks to everyone for visiting this site and sharing your thoughts.

Hope to see you in the new location!

Blogging backlist

2010-01-13T11:33:00.001-05:00

When I worked in publishing, new releases were very important, of course. But of almost equal importance was the backlist – those books that had already been published and had built awareness, an audience, a niche...

New blog post: Please click here for more.

How are you reading?

2010-01-11T13:52:00.002-05:00

Normally, the question we'd ask is: what are you reading? As in content you'll hopefully share. And, of course, that's key...

New blog post: Please click here for more.

Getting started in social media - new McMaster business course

2010-01-08T12:22:00.000-05:00

As most of you know, I taught a social media for PR course at McMaster University last fall. You can read about it here, here, here and here.

And now, I'm happy to report that I'm teaching an accelerated business course on SM - also at McMaster. The after work sessions run March 4, 5, 11, 12, 6-9 p.m. and March 6, 9 AM - noon.

This is a hands-on class geared to business people and entrepreneurs who are looking for practical advice on how to get started with various social media tools.

Participants will learn how to set up a blog, Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, post videos, record a podcast. I'll also be meeting with people one-on-one to discuss their communications and business goals and help them figure out which tools might work best for the audience they're trying to engage.

Here's where you go to sign up.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Please visit the new home of my(PR)palette.

Moving day... (for the blog, that is)

2010-01-06T14:00:00.005-05:00

Happy 2010! It's hard to believe I've been working on my blog for three years now - and I hope you've enjoyed reading it and sharing your thoughts as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I've learned a lot in that time, met so many great people - both online and off - and look forward to continuing - but with a slight twist.

One of the things I did during the holidays was pack my bags, set up a blog on Wordpress, migrate my entries and comments and, painstakingly add in all the tags - one at a time. (They came through as categories.) And other than the little glitch with the tags, the transfer was pretty seamless.

The blog will have the same name and focus: PR, social media and trends. But it will now have a different domain, platform and slightly new look. The new address is: www.martinwaxman.com.

For the next couple of weeks, I'll be tinkering with the design, so think of this as the beta version. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome.

I'm also going to be cross-posting in both blogs for a while. But I'm hoping to be fully moved in and settled by the end of January. So drop by, sat a spell, y'all come back now...

Social reading

2009-12-30T10:43:00.008-05:00

This holiday, it feels like I've been treated to my fiction wish list with new books by two of my favourite authors, Kurt Vonnegut and Philip Roth. Roth's is The Humbling, a short novel about acting and dying (literally); and Vonnegut's is Look at the Birdie, a collection of early unpublished stories that very much ring true today. I've read one book and am halfway through the other and wish neither would end.

And speaking of books (now there's a segue), I thought this is a good time to highlight and recommend a few social media reads that stood out for me in 2009. All three books offer insights on the lay of the social landscape and its growing importance to business.

They are (in no particular order):

SocialCorp by Joel Postman - I reviewed the book when it first came out and feel it's a great starting point for any organization seeking a strategic approach to becoming more social. The writing is smart and crisp. Of particular interest are the case studies and Joel's approach to ethics and transparency.

Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel - I finally met Mitch in person this year (having been a reader/listener for a long time) and thoroughly enjoyed his book. Again, it's aimed at businesses who want to enter the social arena and is filled with ideas, tips and real-world examples. His writing is sharp and knowledgeable. And he's managed to capture the essence of his engaging speaking voice in print (not an easy thing to do).

Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff - This isn't a new book, but it stands the test of accelerated time (in this case about two years). It's a researchers approach to social media, technographics and the marketplace. But while it's filled with data, it's anything but academic and offers practical approaches to getting started: listen (first ) and then engage the people you're trying to reach (both inside and outside an organization).

One other non-fiction book that stood out for me is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It's written in his inimitable conversational style and has some wonderful stories about why some people succeed and others don't; looking beyond raw talent and taking other, often surprising, factors into account.

By the way, I read all of these in the old fashioned print format. I've yet to get an e-reader, but now that Kindle's available in Canada, that's something I'll probably try.

Do you have any other titles to add?

The secret of comedy?

2009-12-24T10:26:00.014-05:00

...Timing.

Yes, that's the punchline to an old joke but it's also very true. And for a comic, material (content) is key - but equally important is its delivery (timing).

In other words, is your message getting to the people you're trying to reach when they're looking? (That's what retail is all about.)

I was thinking about timing this morning; I always do at the end of the year reflecting on what's ahead, looking back.

And I realized that, in addition to standout content, timing is of the essence for PR and social media.

For example, if you're trying to reach a business audience, should you post a new blog entry on Saturday afternoon or would it have more impact on a weekday? When are the people you're trying to build relationships active online? Are they too busy thinking about something else (the holidays, for instance) to pay attention to your message? What's the optimal time to publish to reach your goals?

I think as social media moves to the mainstream, we need to blend immediacy with appropriate timing. Sure we want to share some things right away - but before we do, let's stop for a moment and think about whether this is the best time to publish or press send.

Of course, I should probably hold this post till after the holidays, but sometimes you break your own rules.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading my blog this year. I want to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a truly enjoyable holiday season. It's time!

Seasonal spam

2009-12-21T23:25:00.008-05:00

If I can borrow a thought from Gertrude Stein, 'a spam is a spam is a spam'.

And I think it's safe to say it's something we all despise.

This year, spam has turned seasonal with the proliferation of holiday e-cards. They're coming fast and furious and there's no way to stop them.

Now, I'm no Scrooge McDuck. In fact, I love the Christmas Spirit. If you listen to Inside PR #184, you'll hear me say that I think we should go back to saying 'Merry Christmas' and not rely on the euphemistic 'happy, etc. etc.' Having grown up without the holiday, I'm a big fan of the celebrations, the parties, the lights, the songs...

And the cards. I even like receiving cards from people I don't know very well, but who have at least made the effort to sign them.

However, e-cards are a completely different thing. In the same way that PR people used to blast out mass uncustomized pitches in a bcc list to hundreds of journalists (or more), these e-cards do nothing to build a relationship. They don't offer a genuine greeting, but attempt to sell you something. In fact, since I've been writing this post, I've received four more - all from companies I've never heard of!

'They're just using Christmas to market their own shit', says Louise Armstrong, who, if you read her blog and know her, is not prone to using that type of language lightly.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy (honoured) to be on your mass distribution list if we know each other (and I appreciate the gesture). And I will admit that we've sent e-cards in the past, though we put people's names in the to line, emailed them one at a time and only to people we consider colleagues and friends.

This is a wonderful time of year to reach out, reconnect and show people you're thinking about them. Like social media, why not make it personal and meaningful?

So let's get away from Christ-mass: please stop sending out seasonal spam. (Pass it along.)

Before marking

2009-12-20T17:05:00.013-05:00

In early September, I wrote about the FDOC (first day of class) for my McMaster social media course. And now - 14 weeks later - we had our final session. And before I start marking (it feels like an arduous task), I thought I'd share a few observations.

First off, I've had a great time meeting and getting to know the students; watching (and hopefully helping) them learn to make their way around social networks and seeing how their voices emerged. I'm happy to report that most of them want to continue their blogs. In case you're interested, here's a class list.

It's been a truly rewarding and humbling experience. I met the father of one of my students at Tim's before class. He's a former teacher and remarked that teaching is like being on stage except you're throwing away 20 per cent of the script. That's a great description.

Here are a few things I learned:

It takes a lot of time to prepare - I spent between four and five hours each week getting the lecture ready, managing the Ning class site and keeping up with reading and trends.
Terry Flynn was right. I can see why he said you need to teach a course three times to fine tune all the details. Overall I was pleased, but there are some things, notably the course outline and assignments, that I would adapt.
If possible, the textbook for a social media course should be in a digital format - so it can be updated frequently with new tools and relevant case studies. There's an opportunity for someone.
Because it takes time to build relationships, readership and trust, I wonder if this should be a full-year course.
I'm not used to being the marker as opposed to the markee. I guess I will be soon.

Well, now it's time to stop procrastinating and start reading the blogs and Wiki assignments and doing some serious grading.

Congratulations to all the students. Thanks for making it easy for me to get up early every Saturday morning and drive to Hamilton. Thanks also for making me want do it again!

PR and sales - cut from the same cloth?

2009-12-15T14:30:00.018-05:00

I think we are. And I say that with complete sincerity. (Pause for the sound of people throwing things.)

I actually think our profession has a lot more in common with sales than with marketing.

For the record, I grew up in sales. My dad owned a couple of fabric and drapery stores in Winnipeg. And watching him go about his business, I learned that the best sales people, like the best public relaters, are all about two-way relationships. Listening. Helping. Telling a story well and truthfully. Being social. Engendering trust.

Now that's not to say we're completely altruistic. Like any business we're goal-oriented. But we don't create visuals that do nothing but dazzle, sweep you off your feet with sweepstakes or deliver direct mail directly to the circular file.

Sure there are stereotypical images of high pressure salesman - hucksters - who see you as nothing more than a commission. The same holds true for certain PR people - call them hypesters - who'll stoop to anything to get their client's name 'in the press'. Both types give their respective professions a bad name.

But have you ever sat in a room full of great sales folks and listened to them swap stories? You really get a sense that they like and respect their customers/clients, and will go out of their way to help.

And if they're really good, they know they won't always win or hear the answer they want. But that doesn't matter. They're in it for the long haul.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it.

So... sales and PR - cut from the same cloth, as the son-of-a-fabric-man might say. What do you think of that?

Does PR need a new name?

2009-12-09T19:19:00.010-05:00

When I started in PR, I worked in arts and entertainment and called myself a publicist. And I was proud of the title.

Then I switched to the corporate agency side and became a PR consultant who practised media relations. It didn't take me long to realize those two were pretty close to the same thing. In fact, while we offer many types of communications counsel, media relations/publicity has, for a long time, been the cornerstone of what we do.

But these days with MSM in transition, it doesn't take an Amazing Kreskin to predict that our comfortably familiar landscape is fading. And great chunks of it are just plain disappearing; morphing into something new.

So with PR in rapid-evolutionary-mode (REM), perhaps it's time to dream big and rethink what what we do and where we're heading.

And for me (and many other people) that means a shift to social media. I have to say direct-to-influencer connecting has re-energized the profession, encouraged us to learn (and enabled me to teach) and caused us to look at what we do through a less-filtered lens. It's also given the profession a voice and helped us step out of the shadows.

But in order to truly change, we need to rid ourselves of our shackles - notably our reliance on pure media relations. Sure, that will always be a part of our repertoire. But if we want to survive and thrive, we need to do so much more:

Really start listening (that means opening our minds)
Get better at telling visual stories
Become less text-reliant, while still being the guardians of grammar and voice - we can't ever forget how to write with clarity and style
Master new techniques - video/audio production, designing and coding a website
Join communities, participate and connect
Issue a full-on challenge to marketing and advertising. Maybe I'm biased, but I feel we really are the naturals to understand and get around in this space.

So what should we call this new entity? Truth is, I'm not sure.

Social media? I like it, but there's a day where that could seem faddish. Digital relations? Sounds like PR for the AI set. Social relations? A bit too much like someone who plans parties for the DAR. Social networking? Too much like self-help. Networked relations? Are your cousins on Facebook too?

Part of me still likes the term public relations - that is if we go back to its original definition.

Or maybe we need a completely new moniker. And if so, do you have any ideas what it should be called?

Do you complify instead of simplify?

2009-11-22T16:06:00.004-05:00

At Palette we have a promise (to our clients and ourselves) that our relationships and work will be based on three pillars: simplicity, energy and integrity.

It's at the heart of everything we do.

But lately I've noticed that for some people and organizations simplicity has (simply) gone awry.

And instead of making life easier, we make things more complex: we complify.

Here's what I mean. In the course of a workday, you notice something you're doing is cumbersome and has too many pointless steps. You think, we should come up with a way to fix this.

But instead of cutting through the crap, egos get involved. And then an old process is replaced by a newer process, a few extra levels are added (in the spirit of collaboration, of course) and all of a sudden something that wasn't working very well to begin with (the devil you know) has been transformed into something that doesn't work at all.

Congratulations. You've just been complifed.

So how can we avoid getting into this trap?

Here are three (simple) steps:
1. Ask yourself if an improvement is truly needed and if so, will people buy in.
2. Strip down the activity to its base elements, assume nothing is sacred and cut, cut, cut. (Pretend CTL-V does not exist.)
3. If your solution involves more than a couple of moving parts...abort! Remember what you're goal is.

Sounds simple? Sure. But I can tell you in no time, it wouldn't be hard to add a few more steps to this plan and complify.

Poppy Day (revisited)

2009-11-11T08:00:00.004-05:00

Every November 11, I think of my dad, a WWII veteran and a man with a supreme joy for life. He always shared his wisdom, ideals and opinions (often without being asked), but kept the horror of his war experience to himself. He passed away over nine years ago, and for me, Remembrance Day is like another Yahrzheit for him. So today, to celebrate his memory and everything he taught me, I'm going to republish part of a post I wrote in 2007:

November 11.

When I was growing up in Winnipeg we called Remembrance Day: Poppy Day. And every year when it came around, my Dad would return from work with a poppy on his lapel. Often, he’d bring some home for us and I felt it was both a thrill and an honour to wear one. It connected me with my Dad and by extension with history. It made me feel proud.

Back then my dad, a veteran who saw action as part of Montreal’s Blackwatch regiment in WWII, would have bought the poppy from someone more senior than he was (by that I mean someone who’d fought in WWI).

Later, the ‘torch’ was passed to the WWII vets, and now they’re mostly gone too. Today, you never know who’s going to sell you a poppy (and sometimes it’s just the honour system and a contribution you make at Tim Horton’s). Time marches on.

Every year, I continue to wear a poppy over my heart and feel nostalgic. I love the symbol, the visual reminder of Flanders Fields, where ‘poppies blow between the crosses row on row. That mark our place…’

Introducing my social media class

2009-11-08T16:39:00.021-05:00

Well, the social media for PR course I'm teaching at McMaster University is half over (hard to believe) and the students are busy working on their blogs. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce and welcome them to the online community.

Name	Blog title	Twitter
Devorah Abrams Farmer	Devorah’s Blog	@dvora24
Suad Abukamla	Suadabukamla’s Blog
Natalie Ardanaz	Natalie’s Blog	@prNatAttack
Lisa Atkinson	Lisa M. Atkinson blog	@weezie130
Christine Davis	My New Digs	@MzCrisy
Sonja Dowbiggin	Staying Alive in the 905	@sonjaferne
Donna Drake	Dawna’s Blog	@dawnadrake
Paul Jones	Collapse of the West	@jonespt
Giselle Kimos	HR and more...	@gisellekimos
Lesley Morris	It’s All About Relationships	@LesleyM100
Julia Oudeh	JuliaOudeh’s Blog	@JuliaOudeh
Jotsna Pervin	JBPV’s Blog	@aeyshapakhi
Helen Powers	Socially Responsible Thoughts	@HelenEPowers
Madeline Robins	You, Me and Poverty	@madelinerobins
Margaret Shkimba	In the Sisterhood	@inthesisterhood
Mark Skeffington	About Cities	@markskeffington
Allyson Wenzowski	Allyson’s Publicity Works School Works Blog	@allysonpw
Kaan Yucel	Kaan’s Dervish Lodge	@soulician

If you have a chance and visit their sites, you'll see an eclectic group; original voices writing about a wide variety subjects including living the unemployed life, corporate social responsibility, city politics, HR, women in society, being a new homeowner, a doctor's view of the mind, and many more.

And, if you do drop by, please share your comments and thoughts. I'm sure they'll appreciate it.

Special thanks to Joe Thornley for suggesting I do this.

Are Canadian media responsible for spreading viral news?

2009-11-04T10:32:00.003-05:00

You can't pick up a Canadian newspaper, listen to radio or watch TV without hearing about H1N1, the vaccination process, supply issues, lineups...

But the story doesn't seem to have the same intensity in the U.S. It wasn't even mentioned in Conan O'Brien's monologue a couple of days ago (when it was the lead on CBC) - and talk show openings are often a good barometer of big news stories (as silly as that sounds).

I did a search of 'H1N1 vaccine' on Google this morning* and in the first 30 results, there were 25 Canadian stories; four U.S. stories; and one international story. That's over 80 per cent of today's coverage emanating from Canada.

Now, we all know a pandemic is a very serious situation. And I'm not saying we shouldn't do everything we can to prevent the spread of the virus. It's important to be informed and educated.

But I wonder if Canadian media are making H1N1 a bigger story than it needs to be right at the moment.

What do you think?

*Search results as of 9:30 a.m., November 4, 2009

Musings on meshmarketing

2009-10-29T08:59:00.009-04:00

Last week, I attended meshmarketing - a one-day gathering in Toronto highlighting social media case studies and best practices.

The event took place at CiRCA, a Toronto nightclub. And I have to say, I wasn't ready for the stanchions, bouncer attitude and red carpet at 8 in the morning. In fact, it felt like I was entering a super-cool boutique hotel - dark and with plenty of attitude. I got the impression that many of the staff had not been on the job at that time of day in a long, long time.

However, my eyes (and attitude) adjusted before the sessions. Here are my Twitter-notes highlights:

Keynote Gaping Void/Hugh MacLeod:

- Human beings socialize around objects; we talk about them; share knowledge.
- Web 1.0 = search. Web 2.0 = share.
- Products don't go viral just b/c you throw a lot of money behind them.

Facebook's Elmer Sotto:

- Facebook thinks people want to interact with brands in much the same way as they connect with friends.
- Think about FB user experience, profile, compelling profile visual (doesn't have to be logo) & thumbnail image.
- On FB brands should pace their posts, establish an 'editorial' calendar and [not] overdo it.

Measurement guru Katie Delahaye Paine:

- Measuring eyeballs shifting to measuring engagement; numbers go down but quality of dialogue goes up.
- People measure; computers count. You need people to analyse the results.
- Improve reputation by changing conversation: listen first then respond, and stop doing stupid things.

With one exception, the sessions offered useful tips and practical approach - the same high calibre as Mesh but in a change-of-intensity setting. And I liked that the level of information was aimed at people with a working knowledge of social media and not at the beginner level.

I also had a chance to record a couple of 4Qs for a future Inside PR podcasts.

If you were there, do you have any other nuggets to add?

Fixing what's broken between journalism and PR

2009-10-13T11:00:00.006-04:00

On Inside PR #173, my '-30-' comment, the short POV remarks we're using to end the show, dealt with a few of the things we need to do to start fixing the pretty much broken relationship between journalism and PR.

This is something that must be done. And I think it's up to our industry to take the lead and try improve the way we interact with each other; build trust, credibility and respect on both sides. I think the same applies to bloggers and other influencers, as well.

Part of the problem lies with the way our profession functions: trying to place stories, traditionally in MSM, for clients or organizations. We often feel under a lot of pressure to deliver results for which we have virtually no control.

Fine. That's our reality and no one forced us into it. I'm proud to be a PR practitioner and this uncertainty is one of the things we just accept.

There are many media with whom I feel I have a good professional relationship. I define that as being able to approach a journalist/blogger with an idea they might be interested in, showing them why/how it works in a quick, efficient manner and having them say either say yes or no (or sometimes saving it for a future story).

However, I think that over the years we have made many repeated mis-steps that hurt the industry and our collective reputation.

And now, with social media and two-way conversations being embraced by both sides, this seems like a perfect time to make the change.

Here are 10 steps the PR profession can take right now:

Always read a journalists or blogger's past stories (and not just from last week). We need to do our research and know who's covering or interested in which subjects.
Know the difference between hard and soft news and position a story accordingly. It may seem big to us (or our client), but we have to step back and realize where our news fits into the grand scheme of things. I mean really fits.
Be transparent and tell the truth.
Stop writing in corporate-speak
Strive to be helpful, not a pest.
Understand that while our clients are a top priority for us, the reporter has many other priorities and we need to empathize more with them.
Stop making media lists from databases. Go to the source: newspapers, broadcast outlets, blogs, online publications. See who's writing about what. If we're not passionate about media, why are we in PR?
Never blast out an email to a large (or small) bcc list. We've all done that in the past. And some are still doing it. Really, this was a bad idea from the start. It turned us into broadcasters, something we're not.
Leave our PR egos at the door. It's up to us to reach journalists. Stop griping if they don't always call back when we want them to.
Help journalists and bloggers understand the new FTC rules/principles so that we can continue to work together in a mutually beneficial way.

It sounds simple but we've got to make the first move.

What do you think?

CPRS Toronto gets connected

2009-10-10T11:00:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I'm the president of CPRS Toronto and, if you're in the city, I'd encourage you to attend our first fall professional development event.

It's a panel discussion on October 15 called 'Get Connected: Building Virtual Relationships to Expand Communications'.

It features three savvy social media strategists, Michael O'Connor Clarke, Eden Spodek and William Young, talking about how we can use social media tools to engage and connect with our communities online and in real life.

I'll be moderating the session.

If you're interested, here's some information on the event. Hope to see you there.

To tell or not to tell...

2009-10-09T16:38:00.023-04:00

That seems to be the question these days. It follows on changes to the FTC's rules requiring, among other things, that bloggers to disclose if they've received product samples for review.

There's been a lot of discussion on the subject online and in MSM including a good piece in the Globe and Mail. There was also a lively Twitter debate between Jeff Jarvis and Mark Glazer (thanks Mathew Ingram).

And while the ruling doesn't apply to Canada, the principles do.

For the record, I am in favour of disclosure. I think it's always easier to be up-front, honest and transparent. Then, people know who you are and where you stand.

I think a lack of disclosure by some (many?) PR practitioners over the years, contributed to giving our profession a bad name.

However, I think Jeff Jarvis brings up a good point about fairness. Why should bloggers be singled out when MSM journalists receive product samples all the time? Shouldn't both be held to the same standards? If not, the rules seem skewed in favour of companies over those with an individual voice.

I'd much rather have a level playing field with the same code of transparency, ethical behaviour and freedom of expression for all sides.

UPDATE: Here's a good legal perspective on the new FTC regulation from the Council of PR Firms' legal counsel, Davis and Gilbert LLP (by Michael Lasky).

How much is too much (social media, that is)?

2009-10-01T15:18:00.001-04:00

That's a question I was asked recently in my social media class. And it's one that comes up a lot.

With the proliferation of social networking tools, how much time should we/can we spend on various sites?

I'd like to borrow my answer from a thoughtful post by Amber Naslund: 'It depends'.

Actually, I think you need to look at the question from two perspectives.

The first has to do with the learning curve involved when you try to master anything new. And that can be fairly substantial including:
- Discovery
- Getting a handle on what a site is all about and how to use it intelligently
- Registering
- Testing
- Listening
- Engaging
- Participating

All this takes time. And it's not something that can be accomplished in an eight-hour burst (though you sometimes need that sort of intensity to get started). It's a long-term commitment; the same process that we go through when we learn anything new.

The second consideration is personal: What are you looking to get out of the site?

Here are a few things to ponder:
- Is this something you have to know/do as part of your job/class?
- How busy are you?
- What one thing that you’re currently enjoying would you be willing (and able) to scale back or give up?
- What are you looking for (fun, networking, business-building)?
- Will it obsess you (and not in a positive way)?
- Will adding it to your routine completely overwhelm you?
- How will it affect your real-life relationships?

Really, it comes down to a matter of self-awareness, personal and professional choices, your goals and commitment. And a willingness to experiment with something new.

And of course, if you don't like it, you can always stop and try again later.

What do you think?

The PR list

2009-09-28T18:43:00.008-04:00

I was recently honoured to be part of Valeria Maltoni's list of 100 PR people to follow on Twitter. I can only imagine how much research it took her to assemble and review each person, read their blogs and put in all the links.

It features some really smart PR folks and original thinkers (many of whom I've been following for a while). Talk about being in good company...

And, if you go here, Neville Hobson's assembled the group so you can easily select the ones you want to check out.

Thanks to all the new folks who found me. I'm trying to catch up, but it will take me a little time. In the meantime here are a couple of things you may want to know:

I look at every follower's profile, read a bunch of tweets and often click on your website to get a sense of who you are and your personality
I'm particularly interested in people who work in PR/communications/social media, but I'm also open; again it's all about personality
I try to follow back if we have a couple of conversations
I never auto-DM

Looking forward to 'meeting' and engaging with you.

And a special thank you to Valeria for including me!

What happened to Eatons?

2009-09-27T14:29:00.023-04:00

Growing up, if someone had told me that Eaton's would cease to exist, I would never have believed them. The department store was a Canadian icon. It had prime locations in downtowns and malls across the country, produced an aspirational Christmas catalogue, sponsored the Toronto Stanta Claus parade and, in Winnipeg (where I'm from), was the book end of a Portage Avenue stroll that started at the Bay and finished at the venerable merchant.

Yet here it is 2009 and Eaton's hasn't been a part of the retail landscape for several years. There are many reasons for that: different shopping needs, complacency, an inability to change.

I thought about Eaton's after reading Matt Hartley's article in the Financial Post on Canadian business's reluctance to embrace online advertising (and I would say the same applies to other social networking opportunities, too).

It made me realize that a lot of what we consider certainties are time (and trend) sensitive. Sure it's comfortable relying on the familiar. But in business, as in life, innovation, ideas and growth come from risk-taking and knowing when to try something different for a change.

The new PR?*

2009-09-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

*Warning aspiration alert...

Much has been written about the new PR versus its more traditional practice; how the industry's changing; what we need to do to adapt.

In many ways, the new PR strikes me as a conceptual cousin to the old PR. Now before you pummel me with a twitstorm of criticism, let me clarify: it's similar if you go back to the essence of PR and its best practices, like two-way symmetric communications (aka conversations).

With MSM in a downward flux and the rise of social networking, there will come a time in the not so distant future when those two lines will cross. And we'll need to rethink the way we communicate and not be so reliant on media relations as the core of our profession.

So with that in mind, here's a quick list of what I think we should be:
- Connectors
- Relationship builders
- Creative content producers/distributors
- Reputation minders

And here's what I hope we're not:
- Spammers
- Direct mailers
- Pitchers
- Loud mouthed BS'ers

The recession has sped up many changes that were already taking place. And just because clients are asking for the same things we did last year doesn't mean we can dismiss the importance of social media.

I think now's the time to gently lead our clients toward the future - not with the promise of ever shiny tools, but with our experience and insights, strategic counsel, data and case studies; and yes, trusting our gut.

But before we do that, we need to participate, to embrace social media and learn how to do it well. I'm not saying traditional PR is over, I say it's time to welcome some new traditions.

Inside PR #170...recording

2009-09-16T21:30:00.012-04:00

In the grand broadcast tradition of summer re-runs and new fall shows, we're happy to say that Inside PR is back!

This season, the shows are going to be completely scripted... OK, maybe not. But they will be tighter with a main theme and some special features including 4Qs: four-questions for PR and social media luminaries; and '-30-', where Terry, Dave and I sound off on a topic of our choice for half a minute. (I promise I'm going to time my segment from now on.)

We're also planning to take the show on the road for more live recordings.

And you can follow us on Twitter @Inside_PR.

I hope you'll tune in, keep sending us your ideas (either as a comment or via Twitter) and continue to share your thoughts.

And thanks for listening.

-30-

Two-way street

2009-09-14T08:45:00.001-04:00

Not too long ago I got an email from a person I didn't know with the subject line: 'I was just on your blog'.

Well, naturally I was curious. I opened the note only to read how much the woman liked my blog (flattered) and, how she felt it was an ideal place to promote a giveaway for of a pair of Ugg boots. She even offered $100 if I could drive enough traffic to her site.

Well, thanks but no thanks. It was clear she hadn't read my blog or bothered to engage me other than by offering a vapid compliment that was easy to see through.

In other words, an irrelevant pitch. Something the PR industry has been accused (and guilty) of again and again.

And, it's true. As it's been said many, many times, we have to go beyond form letters and lists gleaned from databases and offer journalists something of value to them. We have to read what they write, understand their point of view and show them why our stories might be of interest to their readers.

However, there's a flip side to all of this. Sometimes, we do target the right journalists and bloggers, read their articles/posts (often look forward to them), feel we grasp what they're after and tailor what we think is a perfect story for them. Only to hear someone say: 'You don't have a clue about what I write about.'

This can also be a canned message. And possibly a knee-jerk response to all the bad pitches they've received.

So maybe all of us - journalists/bloggers and PR - need to step back and realize we're on a two-way street in the same community and try to have a little more respect - on both sides of the fence.