Earlier this month, members of the LT Public Relations (LT PR) team attended the Patient Care Breakfast, which is the annual fundraising event for the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation (OLSHF). OLSHF is the 2013 recipient of LT PR’s Nonprofit Challenge, which encompasses one year of pro bono public relations support to help raise awareness of the foundation’s mission.

The event reminded us why we chose OLSHF, why the Nonprofit Challenge is important, and why we must continue spreading the word to other professional services about the importance of helping nonprofits.

Members of the LT PR team and representatives of Pacific University’s College of Optometry share a table at the Patient Care Breakfast

LT PR chooses to help charitable organizations through its Nonprofit Challenge for reasons you may also choose to support them:  worthy causes, changed lives, passionate staff, and responsible stewardship.

Worthy Cause. The foundation began in response to a challenge Helen Keller gave at a meeting of the Lions Clubs International, urging the Lions to help end preventable blindness and deafness. Since its founding in 1959, OLSHF has provided thousands of low-income Oregonians with sight and hearing saving treatment. This includes free cataract surgeries to individuals who will otherwise go blind, free vision and hearing screenings, eye glasses and hearing aids at no cost, and much more.

Changed Lives. The Patient Care Breakfast gave us a chance to hear firsthand testimony from those whose lives were changed by OLSHF. These testimonies, and others like them, represent real people and they are compelling. From young students who can’t read the computer screen to families who are unable to afford hearing aids for their young children, OLSHF gives those in need a new lease on life.

Passionate Staff.  The passion of OLSHF’s staff stands out. These are people who believe in the foundation’s mission and are its biggest advocates. This passion was unmistakable during the breakfast as Executive Director Doug Thompson spoke of OLSHF’s accomplishments and ambitious vision for the future. One of the reasons people believe in the foundation’s mission is in part because Doug and his staff believe in its mission and have a clear vision for helping those in need.

Responsible Stewardship.  Over the course of its 64 year history, OLSHF has made stewardship a top priority so that dollars given can have as much impact on individual lives as possible. One hundred percent of every dollar given goes directly toward treatment and care through one of the foundation’s programs.  That money is then multiplied five to seven times through strategic partnerships the foundation has established.

The reason LT PR created the Nonprofit Challenge is because people need to know that great organizations like the Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation exist.  No Oregonian should go deaf for lack of care. No Oregon student should perform poorly in school because of deteriorating eyesight or undetected hearing loss. No Oregonian should go blind because of a lack of insurance coverage for cataract surgery. There is help available.

We are spreading the word about OLSHF through one year of professional public relations support, but the foundation could benefit from other professional services, as well.  What could your business or company do in addition to financial support, to help OLSHF or other nonprofit organizations succeed?  Give LT PR a call, we’re always looking for professional service partners who would like to join us in making a difference.

During our recent LT Public Relations’ weekly team meeting, the question was posed, “If we were to close our doors today at 5 p.m. and never open again, what is it, if anything, people would miss about our PR firm?”

This is an important brand discovery exercise for any company.  As a service provider to our clients, we felt it was important to turn the tables and ask ourselves this hypothetical question.  Of course, we’re not closing our doors today at 5 p.m.!

After some consideration, the LT PR team shaped the following initial responses of what our clients and partners would miss from us:

• Industry expertise
• Immediate responsiveness
• Partnership
• Listeners (clients know they are heard)
• People count on us
• Approachable and likable
• Advocacy
• Personable
• Sense of humor
• Communication specialists
• Great communication flow
• Deliver on promises
• Professionalism
• Team effort to client challenges

We encourage other companies to ask this critical question to gain important insight about the value of the organization, its people and the clients it serves.

Report from the April 17, 2013 Human Resources Management Association of Chicago (HRMAC) breakfast panel: “Leadership Challenges in Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures and Restructuring.”

Communication and culture are critical to merger and acquisition (M&A) success,  say panelists Tony Hunter, Chicago Tribune Company’s CEO, Peter McDonald, United’s COO  and Pamela Forbes Lieberman, True Value’s former CEO. Phil Ponce of Chicago Tonight moderated the event.

The panelists regaled the large audience with anecdotes of past M&A experiences, including what to wear (no ties!), “influencer training,” communications forums, and the impeccably calculated and executed detail involved with an M&A.  Nothing is left to chance.

27 and 24

Those are the approximate number of times the panel said the words “communication” and “culture,” respectively, during the  program–a breakfast panel before an audience of 300 attendees. As an actively tweeting attendee (Twitter: @LTPR), LT Public Relations followed the discussion closely noting the focus on culture, tackled by human resources (HR), and communications, the responsibility of public relations (PR). It became abundantly clear that HR and PR must work in lockstep before, during and after an M&A deal to ensure a successful transition.

Mergers, acquisitions and divestitures are complex events that can completely alter a company’s culture and organizational structure. Throughout a merger, the important cultural integration and communication responsibilities often fall directly on the shoulders of executives in the HR department, even though it’s rare for HR professionals to be experienced with merger/acquisition communication.

Take merging cultures into account

On the public relations side, LT PR has played an integral role in many corporate mergers. We’ve found communication is consistently overlooked during M&A activity, often void of the requisite communications strategies or culture-meshing necessary to be successful. A good starting point, then, is to take both merging cultures into account, using the strengths of both PR and HR to establish a strong culture built on communication post-merger.

Interestingly, PR support is usually brought in during an M&A through the marketing department for media relations or crisis management (which we do!).  However, our true point of entry and impact should be working first with the merging companies’ HR departments before the merger/acquisition is announced to ensure a smooth transition.

Internal communication first

There are numerous sensitivities and issues to address during the M&A process that the HR department is predominately aware of when merging cultures. PR’s role is to act as a bridge, communicating through these sensitivities and issues with both internal and external audiences. Once appropriately addressed and communicated internally to executives and staff, HR, PR and marketing should continue to work in concert to communicate details of the merger externally to customers, vendors, community, media and social media channels.

Internal HR departments and PR are not alone in strengthening this communication and culture integration process during an M&A. Support from HR trade associations such as HRMAC and a host of partners (e.g. HRMAC sponsors Lee Hecht Harrison, Spencer Stuart, Tower Watson, Arlington Resources, BPI Group, Challenger, Grey & Christmas, City Staffing, Fragomen, Kensington International, Quinlan, Slayton) all play important complementary roles in the M&A equation too.

It takes a team of professionals to facilitate a successful merger or acquisition, and strong communications and culture integration are the keys to the success.

LT Public Relations can assist through strategic M&A communications services. Contact us to help…PR@LTpublicrelations.com

As public relations professionals it’s critical that every so often we take a step back from our day-to-day tasks and take stock of our ongoing PR efforts. Spring is now here we can look at it as a “spring cleaning” review, but of course any time is a good one to do a thorough assessment of the various components that make up our jobs. Here’s what we at LT Public Relations recommend to help you get started on spring cleaning your public relations efforts:

Media lists

Your media list is one of your most critical PR tools and is constantly in a state of flux. Reporters change beats, move on, or publications close down altogether.  When was the last time you checked in with everyone on your media list you haven’t heard from in a while? Even if you know the contact is good, it doesn’t hurt to check in with the reporter and just simply ask if they still want to stay on your media list. When I’ve done this I’ve had some reporters offer up a simple “Yes,” but others have given me unsolicited and invaluable insights to changes in their beats, or a more deep dive into what they’re really looking to cover. Once you’ve done your check-in, be sure to make a note on your list of the month and year and mark it “last check in” with the date. That may sounds simple, but even that small note has made my media lists far more reliable and incredibly easy to review and update as needed. Don’t leave room for guess work on your media list; it’s one of your most important tools.

Internal Communications

Are you responsible for your company’s internal communications? If so, when was the last time you checked in with your newsletter recipients? Tools like Survey Monkey make it incredibly easy to conduct a quick, free, anonymous survey that can provide you with invaluable insights. Just ask a few simple questions like, “Do you read the newsletter?”, “Why or why not?”, “How can I improve my communications to you?” and so on. My recommendation is to keep it short, five or six questions total, and do it at least twice a year. Don’t just assume everyone is, or isn’t reading what you send out. Ask! And improve accordingly.

Crisis Plan

Do you have a crisis plan in place? If not, create one immediately! Now if you do, when was the last time you reviewed it with the crisis team? Is everyone’s phone number still current? Does everyone remember their role in case of a crisis? Any crisis plan must always be up to date. Always! Anytime anyone leaves, changes titles, gets a new number or extension you must update your plan. In fact, in conjunction with your media list it should be your most up-to-date document. I recommend that minimally you review and update your plan each quarter. Just make it part of your next team check-in and go around the room verifying information and reminding people of their roles in case of crisis. You’ll never regret over-preparing but you’ll certainly regret under-preparing. 

There are of course many other areas big and small in the PR world you should review on a regular basis, but the most important thing you can do is to give yourself some regular check-in points. Quarterly is always an easy place to start. Put your review to-do list on your calendar and set up a reminder notice for the year. Imagine if tomorrow you needed to leave the office for a month. Would someone sitting down at your desk the next day be able to pick up and use all of your tools without delay? If the answer is no, then time to get cleaning!

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon yesterday, many of us combed social media for news in real time of the bombings that occurred near the finish line of the race.  Major media networks and witnesses to the event tweeted and posted bits of information as it became available, while civilians, law enforcement professionals and medical crews coped with the tragedy unfolding.

This real-time social media news cycle wasn’t yet a reality in 2001, when Americans, as a nation, stopped everything to watch the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks on television. There was a noticeable change in the coverage yesterday as the various media networks raced to cover the breaking news online and via social media.  Although the medium has changed (i.e. from television to the Internet) the lack of responsibility by trained news professionals, including the use of hearsay and other unreliable news “sources” is indefensible.  Here are a few examples from major media outlets:

“Reports of at least 12 dead…” New York Post  [False]

“Officials found what they believe are 5 additional, undetonated explosive devices in Boston area,” Wall Street Journal [False]

 “A source close to the investigation says a suspect is in custody…” CNN [False]

Major news organizations such as CNN, New York Post, Washington Post, Fox News, The Associated Press and The Boston Globe continued to spread erroneous reports from “sources close to the investigation.” Breaking news was frequently retracted minutes later. It made a bad situation worse, yesterday.

The FBI released this scathing statement regarding the media’s breaking news coverage following the Boston Marathon Attacks:

“Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that have been inaccurate. Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.” 

Here are a few media coverage lessons we learned from the Boston Marathon Attacks:

• Never pass along information from a source that is unconfirmed or anonymous. It is better to wait and get the truth than be wrong and damage credibility. (That’s you, CNN, once again.)
• Seek information from an authoritative source, whenever possible, an eye-witness.
• Shortly after a devastating event, there will be mayhem and uncertainty; don’t make it worse with sensationalist speculation.
• An unconfirmed report is just that, an unconfirmed report. A good journalist will know not to repeat reports that are questionably credible. If the news turns out false, this can cause a reverse effect: questionable credibility of the journalist and news organization.
• For a sad event such as this, reporting false information causes greater confusion and distress.

On a final note, we hope you will keep the victims and their families in your prayers. Let’s hug our children a little tighter tonight.

Wisdom, the judicious application of knowledge, is the most important ingredient in addressing a potential public relations crisis.

The recent Rutgers situation with its former men’s basketball coach Mike Rice is a good reminder of this.

When video was leaked of Rice kicking, shoving, and hurling obscenities at his players, the public was shocked. Questions were then begged about who knew what, when, and what was done. The focus quickly turned to Rutgers Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, who had seen the video and had final authority over Rutgers’ response.

The situation did not exactly amount to a cover-up. Pernetti did not try to sweep it under the rug. Action, in fact, was taken. A relatively swift investigation was launched, and Pernetti fined Rice $50,000, suspended him for three games, and enrolled him in anger management classes. Importantly, published reports at the time clearly alluded to inappropriate treatment of players.

Why then the outrage several months later that led to Rice’s firing, Pernetti’s resignation and, as of today, Rutgers’ sacking of the in-house lawyer who approved Pernetti’s decision? In short, when the public saw Rice’s behavior, the court of public opinion concluded that the only proper response was for the university to fire him. The problem is not that Pernetti failed to take action. Rather, given what he knew, he took the wrong action. In other words, he failed to judiciously apply his knowledge to the situation at hand.

We can only speculate why Pernetti chose a course of action that in retrospect seems woefully insufficient. Here are three possibilities for where he went wrong:

Failure to assess the public mood properly. Standards for what constitute player abuse undoubtedly change with time. The public currently has very little tolerance for coaches who emotionally demean or physically abuse players. Even wildly successful coaches now get fired for acting this way towards their players. Surely, Pernetti is aware of cases like Mike Leach, the former Texas Tech football coach. The old days are gone, and coaches today are held to a higher standard than they used to be. Even if Pernetti didn’t think Rice’s actions merited being fired, he should have considered the lack of tolerance the public at large has for player abuse.

Failure to seek outside (PR) counsel. In his resignation announcement, Pernetti said his first inclination was to fire Rice, implying university officials are responsible for pursuing a process that led to a different decision. The final shot at his superiors might just be passing the buck of responsibility. Regardless, Pernetti, or other relevant decision makers, would have benefited from seeking public relations counsel from professionals outside the university. Most institutions (and corporations for that matter) are far too insular to deal with a public relations crisis effectively. Relationships and leadership dynamics cloud judgments, leaving decision makers unable to weigh properly the relative importance of various facts and to act wisely.

Failure to understand that containing the damage was impossible. If there is a video, it is nearly impossible contain the damage—especially in the social media age. Any time video is involved, you should assume it will eventually get leaked, and everyone will be able to see exactly what occurred. It’s one thing to report to the public that a coach was suspended for inappropriate behavior. It’s another thing for the public to see that behavior in all its ugliness. Either Pernetti really wasn’t as shocked as the rest of us seeing that video, or he assumed no one else would see it. If video is involved, ALWAYS assume the world—at least those who matter in your world—will see it. Your subsequent course of action must take into account the perceptions, filters, and reactions of others when they see what you saw.

How Credit Unions Can Connect With Generations Y and Z

Portland Business Journal/April 5, 2013

Contributing Writer–Casey Boggs, LT Public Relations

Americans born in 1982 and later are the most civic-minded generation since the 1930s, when credit unions first came into existence.

Studies by Gallup, Harvard and The Corporation for National and Community Service show this age group is optimistic about creating a better life, places great value on public service and has an astounding volunteerism rate.

Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation, believes it’s essential or very important to help others in difficulty, according to a survey of students at 385 U.S. universities. The survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles, found feelings of social and civic responsibility among freshmen at the highest level in decades.

Oregon’s credit unions and community banks are already very engaged in their local communities, but often drop the ball when it comes to communicating their involvement. Although touting the sponsorships provided, grants and donations made, programs offered, fundraising, and community event participation may not seem very modest, it’s important to share that information.

The wave of local responsible banking ordinances that swept the country in 2012 showed city councils nationwide heard the message that people want city deposits to be placed with local financial institutions. Portland’s Responsible Banking Resolution passed last May, and since that time, many local financial institutions have received city deposits. Dozens more are going through the process of applying this year. That’s a very positive story to share right now.

Gen Y (1982 to 2000) and Gen Z (2001 to present) are more comfortable with sharing information digitally, harnessing the power of social media to accomplish clear goals. It’s now possible to see in real time the powerful effects of uniting for the common good, and credit unions (and community banks) are in a position to be agents of change in their communities.

Social media is a good way to get on the radar of Gen Y, and it’s especially effective to raise awareness about the credit union’s commitment and interest in the community. However, ongoing media relations, particularly earned media opportunities, are more important than ever for perception management. Younger people conduct research online and get information from many sources. Placing the right story in the right hands will help them get the information they need.

The website, social media, online services and mobile banking apps do matter to the younger generation. This group grew up with technology and these tools are must haves, not differentiators. Use these tools to communicate thoughtfully and frequently about the reasons for new initiatives, including the tangible and intangible benefits to membership.

In the end, growing participation in the community, and communicating it, will help sustain momentum in attracting the younger people to the membership fold.

Strategic M&A communications make a good merger deal a great one~ but don’t wait until it’s time to announce the vote to members to think about communications.

The credit union industry is consolidating.  Since 1970 there have been 13,000 credit union mergers.  For smaller credit unions, those with less than $100 million in total assets, the consequences of a bad deal are far greater than for larger credit unions.  With care, however, there are distinct benefits for both the larger acquirer credit union and the smaller target credit union.

“As the credit union merger tide continues to flow, average credit union size is likely to continue to grow.” says Economist James Wilcox in the white paper, Credit Union Mergers, Efficiencies and Benefits.  “The fact that larger credit unions are more cost efficient and offer better loan and deposit rates is not new,” he adds, signaling one of the primary reasons credit unions choose to merge.

Communicate the benefits of the merger to members 

Consider this scenario from last year:

“A merger between Main Street Financial Federal Credit Union and Jefferson Financial Credit Union of Metairie was recently quashed due to member opposition. Management at Jefferson Financial acknowledged the miscalculation and mistakes in communicating the benefits of the merger…”  Dunlap Fiore, Attorneys at Law.

Traversing the lengthy M&A process, fear of the unknown, trust issues and resistance to change may shake confidence in the credit union’s leadership and stir doubt about the benefits of the merger. Mitigating this risk is achieved by creating confidence and satisfaction with leadership through open communication with members and staff about key M&A issues, long before the members vote.

The reasons for the M&A should be thoughtfully communicated, including business strategy, strategic intent, market positioning, tangible and intangible assets, synergies, geographic presence, and other benefits of the
deal, as early as possible.

Harmonizing corporate culture is not an overnight process.

Aligned cultures achieve business goals more quickly.  Communicating frequently about the scope and impact of change, anticipated level of integration and assimilation expected will help sustain the momentum of integration for the merged credit union.

Evaluating, developing and communicating the merged credit union’s new brand messages, brand equity, brand recognition, brand experience and perceptions will also take an ongoing effort to communicate over an extended period of time.

Listen to employees to help staff “deal with the deal.”

Of all the stakeholder groups, employees are perhaps the most crucial to the successful integration of the two credit unions.  Two-way communication is essential.  Listen to employees and share with them the details of how the credit union will change.  Employees need to understand what changes will be made to the brand, changing strategies, new reporting lines and any changes that will take place in day-to-day operations.

Staff may raise legitimate concerns, and this is an opportunity to create communication strategies for areas needing special attention.  Gather feedback through regular internal communication with employees via forums, town hall meetings, surveys, training, workshops and/or focus groups, and don’t stop until employees overwhelmingly report they are fully comfortable with the M&A and the integration process.

Although the merger may make perfect sense from the vantage point of the credit union’s leadership, opposition may be underestimated, with little understanding of the value proposition. 

Don’t let poor communications lead to a merger failure.

There’s more to a deal than the paperwork.  Communication is crucial at every stage of the M&A process from opportunity identification to due diligence to regulatory approval to integration planning and management.

“The sad fact is that most deals look great on paper, but few organizations pay proper attention to the integration process—that is, how the deal will actually work once all the paperwork is signed,” says M&A advisor Robert Sher, writing for Forbes.

Successful mergers are built upon excellent communication with members, staff, leadership, partners and all relevant stakeholders of the acquiring and target credit unions at each stage from initial development to managed integration.

The sooner you define your brand, the sooner you define your career.

[Before or after you read this blog, watch this TED Talk.]

There are countless compelling PR stories that entice us to buy a product or become loyal to a cause or a brand and we’re also drawn to people with great personal brands. So if every business and public personality is working to perfect a brand, it stands to reason that you can do the same for your personal brand, and you should.

What is your brand? If you do not have a brand, it’s not too late, but you have a lot of catching up to do. Your brand should be a reflection of what your goals are. Do you want to work for a Fortune 500 company?Then your brand should be a representation of a brand that a Fortune 500 company would hire.

According to leading brand strategist Laura Ries, “it is not just important to build a career, but to build a brand.” Here are more insights from Ms. Ries, partner with Ries & Ries, a national marketing firm:

Define who you are and your unique abilities: “Try to define yourself in a single word or concept.”

E.g. The process improvement expert who always completes projects on time and under budget.

Understand other people’s perceptions of you: “Think about other people. Think about the impressions you are making on friends, neighbors, business associates. Think about your brand. Take the time to speak with many different people to understand how they perceive your strengths and then use this information as you create your personal brand.”

When you apply for a job, your potential employer is looking for a great brand, not just a great person. Your resume should reflect a person as dynamic and perfect for the company you are applying to. You are essentially selling your brand to the potential employer.

Here are a few points on the subjext from a post by Liz Ryan, a former Fortune 500 HR executive:

“We have a brand that’s separate from the one our employer has designated for us—that is, different from our job title. Whether we reflect it on our LinkedIn profile or not, we’ve got a brand, a network, and, in the best case, a plan for our career that is distinct from our employer’s plan for us. (Begging the question: Does your employer have a plan for your career?)”

Don’t let your employment define your brand. Your personal brand should define your employment, and your career.

This past week Yahoo made unwelcome international news over its decision to stop allowing workers to continue telecommuting. Although I’m sure the debate whether or not the decision was a good one will rage on for years to come, from a PR perspective there are a few important lessons to be learned from the public backlash Yahoo sustained.

Most important, there is no such thing as an “internal memo” or “employee’s only” email anymore. Yahoo’s memo was marked ominously “PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION — DO NOT FORWARD.” The “Do Not Forward” warning is meaningless as anyone who received the email could easily cut and paste the content and post it on any number of websites with no chance of being traced. And of course that’s exactly what happened. Saying “Do Not Forward” at the start of any communication is akin to telling someone you’ve got a really big secret and asking them to “NEVER TELL ANYONE.” It’s just too much of a forbidden fruit for human nature to resist.

Yahoo appeared surprisingly unprepared for the controversy that ensued. The response from a Yahoo spokesperson:

“This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home — this is about what is right for Yahoo right now,” and, “We don’t discuss internal matters.”

That’s it. That was the response to an international PR crisis that has everyone from Richard Branson to Donald Trump weighing in. Why did the statement come from an anonymous spokesperson? Much of the attention and blame for this decision has fallen on new CEO Marissa Mayer. Doesn’t she have anything to say about the matter? What is her take? Why are we hearing from Donald Trump and not her?

Yahoo should have known that this decision had at least the potential for controversy and would most likely be leaked. It should have held a pre-crisis meeting with Mayer and discussed all possible backlash scenarios and prepared appropriate responses before the memo went out. Once the memo went out and was subsequently leaked, Yahoo should have had Mayer on hand to offer an immediate and empathetic response outlining why this is the best policy for Yahoo at this time.

In the electronic age in which we all now and forever live, LT Public Relations reccomends that companies should prepare all communications with the assumption that they will get leaked outside the company. Further, when communicating potentially controversial or sensitive material, it’s essential to have a PR plan in place to respond as soon as the inevitable leak goes public. That is the new PR 101 and Yahoo’s recent folly should serve as an important communication lesson to all executives before they hit “send.”