LT Public Relations

There is no universally approved or formal title for professionals who perform public relations services. 

Often used titles include “PR Pros” or “PR guy or gal,” or generally speaking, “PR people” (e.g. “BP’s PR people are spinning this crisis into a positive for the oil company.”).  The label “spin doctors” is one that makes us negatively cringe.  There’s also a pop culture reference to the film “Pulp Fiction” and Harvey Keitel’s character, Winston Wolf or “The Wolf,” who acts as the ultimate “problem solver.”

As public relations professionals, we typically don’t care what you call us, just as long as you call us before we’re needed (LT Public Relations proclaims that crisis management is 99% preparation and 1% execution). 

We recently revisited these PR names and developed a more appropriate title, “Public Relations Attendant.”  As representatives of businesses, we are tasked with being stewards to their messages and brand, while being attentive to their needs to communicate to their staff and target audience.

The public relations attendant is a simile to flight attendants who 1) constantly cater to the plane’s passengers (pillow anyone?), 2) prepare passengers before the plane departs in the event of an emergency and 3) appropriately and diligently react when the plane is in trouble.

We let the CEOs (e.g. pilots) fly the plane and the board (e.g. control tower) provide direction and clearance, while we remain steadfast in our focus to inform the company’s staff and public (e.g. passengers) about news (good and bad) that affects them.

The public relations attendant position is often a thankless job, but we are critical in the success of the many journeys a business takes each day.  Without us, it’s like a plane without, well, a flight attendant.

 The LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge Provides $15K Worth of Pro Bono PR Services to a Local Nonprofit for One Year

 PR firm challenges other local complementary marketing firms to lend their services

 PORTLAND, Ore., May 19, 2010—LT Public Relations, a full-service PR firm specializing in external, internal and crisis communications for the financial and professional services sector, today announced the call-for-nominations for its 2010 LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge—a twelve-month pro bono public relations initiative (valued at $15,000) that will support a deserving local Oregon or Washington nonprofit (501(c)(3)) in generating awareness.

The LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge aims to assist an organization that focuses on providing financial education, professional services (e.g. legal support), or related assistance to the community. Each month for one year, the LT Public Relations team will work collaboratively with the chosen nonprofit to help raise awareness and support for its cause by providing public relations guidance such as news releases, media relations, media training, community outreach, social media and other related PR services. 

“Most local nonprofits are seriously challenged with raising the appropriate awareness to help their organization flourish,” said Casey Boggs, president of LT Public Relations. “The LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge is designed to meet this problem head-on and help provide the attention the nonprofit deserves.”

The application and submission information for the LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge is available at www.ltpublicrelations.com. All related Oregon and Washington-based nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply. The deadline for nominations is Friday, June 18, 2010. 

LT Public Relations also invites other Oregon and Washington based firms that specialize in branding, advertising, marketing and social media to join the challenge and provide services that would complement LT Public Relation’s PR efforts.  Firms that are interested in donating their time and talents to the LT Public Relations Nonprofit Challenge can contact pr@ltpublicrelations.com or 503-477-9215.  

About LT Public Relations

Based in Portland, Oregon, LT Public Relations, LLC is a full-service communications firm specializing primarily in servicing professional and financial institutions, as well as small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits. The PR firm utilizes the most relevant and current communications tools—with a hybrid of traditional and new media approaches—to develop and execute strategic public relations initiatives for its clients.  More information is available at www.ltpublicrelations.com.

TRUST. 

It is a simple word with multiple definitions in the business world.  Heck, even Wikipedia divides the definition of trust into 30+ categories http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust.

Trust has been one of the hottest business topics over the past three years–especially in this down economy. 

The topic of trust has never been more prevalent than in the financial services industries (e.g. banks, credit unions, etc.). Tackling the nuances of trust in a blog is beyond challenging, so we were fortunate to find this gem of a video from Joe Garner of HSBC.  Pretty basic information about trust…but a great reminder of what trust is for banks and other financial services.

LT Public Relations is on the front lines of establishing (or re-establishing) trust for its bank and credit union clients in this extraordinary economic environment through strategic, proactive public relations efforts.   Now it’s not easy and it takes time and effort to develop trust…but public relations (or as we say, ”relations” with the “public”) will be at the cornerstone of trust building.

Need assistance with developing trust through public relations?  Trust us…we can help… pr@ltpublicrelations.com

For many, the thought of living a day without a smart phone conjures up feelings of anxiety and nauseousness. Our dependency on our phones to access email, update statuses and know what celebrities wore on the red carpet has led us to be tied to them 24-7. When we thought they couldn’t play a bigger role in our lives, along comes an app like Square. Square Up (created by Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey) allows users to accept payments on their smart phone via a small card reader that attaches to the phone. The user swipes the card, the person making the purchase signs, and like magic, all of the payments are organized in a clean interface accessible securely from anywhere. If your friend still owes you cash from the cocktails that you covered at the bar, she’s got no excuse, you can now accept her credit card. A system like Square would also make the practice of accepting a potentially bad check from a stranger obsolete thanks to immediate verification.   

According to the Square website, they are “focused on providing the best payment experience in the world.” This system, and others like it, will no doubt change how retail purchases are made. It might take awhile for consumers to get comfortable with the notion of handing over their credit card to a stranger with an iphone that has a card reader attached, however,  banks are already allowing customers to take photos of checks to submit their deposits, and we seem to have no problem currently using our phones to pay bills and shop online.  The new system raises the obvious questions of security risks and of course, card fees.  Square will take 2.9% plus 15 cents per swiped transaction on each charge but apparently they don’t take any other fees. They will also donate one cent for every transaction to a charity of your choice.

As mobile banking evolves, LT Public Relations believes that credit unions and banks should be aware of applications like Square. First, for what it potentially means for their transaction fees and second for what it can tell us about the services that customers and members want and will be demanding in the near future. Convenience plus any easy way to be philanthropic will appeal to many that already use their phones to do almost everything else.

Where were you when you heard it?

The elusive Sunday night boom that forced us outside to our yards on an evening that was cold and rainy and had us instantly turning to Twitter, Google, Facebook and other online communities to find out what it was we had heard. Within seconds, I had received four text messages asking if I had heard it and my opinion on what it was.

Incidences like these force us to connect. Not only with our neighbors that we seldom see aside from the annual block party but with our online neighbors that we don’t know and will likely never meet. If you were one of the Portland residents that instantly turned to Oregonlive or Twitter for insight, you no doubt read theories ranging from the noise being a result of a sonic boom to a meth lab blowing up. What we didn’t see was an immediate answer online from our local authorities. Like most news stories, social media users beat them to the punch.

Broadcast news media didn’t interrupt regularly scheduled programs, but instead invited viewers to tune in at 11:00 PM to learn just what it was that I heard. Three hours is an eternity online and is far too long to wait for an answer.  Speculation and rumors ran rampant and the delay in an answer just added more fuel to the online community’s fire.

Are you ready for a boom? Businesses must be ready for the community to connect and react and LT Public Relations can help you prepare, whether it’s a planned product launch or a crisis that you hope never occurs.  Businesses no longer have the option of letting the dust settle, communication has to be instant and as we’ve seen, a public relations and social media plan are a necessity.

Recycling our blog post and grand idea from January 30, 2009, LT Public Relations once again has issued a challenge to the companies advertising during this Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Specifically, our PR firm challenges any company that chooses to frivously spend approximately $3 million for one 30 second advertisement during Super Bowl XLIV (that’s $100,000 a second!) to consider  investing that same money on a more cost-effective and impactful option…PUBLIC RELATIONS.

If the company spends that same $3 million on a whole year of public relations, we guarantee the company will yield significantly more positive buzz about its product, service, or overall brand than that one $3 million Super Bowl commercial. 

Give us 12 months and we will SHOCK and AWE our way into the company’s target audience’s hearts.  Just as important, we will clearly measure the impact of our PR efforts and the resources spent to achieve the marketing/business objectives set forth. . . and will successfully deliver on the goods.

Up for the challenge?  I know we are!  Contact us . . . pr@ltpublicrelations.com

 Every once in a while, there’s a column that MUST be circulated far and wide. 

LT Public Relations uncovered the following PR Week column authored by Universal Health Services’ CEO Alan Miller that validates what we’ve been preaching for years…executives need to take a more active role in the company’s communications efforts.

In good times and especially in bad times, it’s incredibly important that the leader of the company speak often and speak with an authoritative voice.  This constant communication builds trust.  It builds understanding.  It builds customer loyalty…and much much more.

So attention All top executives out there, please read the following column, pay attention to the message…and get out there and communicate to your audience. 

Need help…give us a call…503-477-9215.

COMMS IS NOW PART OF A CEO’s JOB DESCRIPTION

By Alan Miller

There’s no such thing as a local story, a trade story, or even purely internal communication anymore. Everything has the ability to circumvent the globe at light speed, and corporate leaders are starting to become aware of this.Given this backdrop, the natural instinct for some leaders has been to be less communicative and engaged with the media and other audiences. Why risk saying anything when we have less control over the outcome and the audiences it reaches? Hiding behind a virtual moat and letting others do the talking would seem the easier and safer route, so the thinking goes.

Perhaps. But it’s also less credible. Stakeholders want to hear from business leaders – in particular CEOs – on a regular basis. They want to know what we’re thinking, and not just about our own company, but about the larger industry we represent, the communities we serve, and the world we live in. We have a unique vantage point in that we represent the broadest set of constituencies. Invariably, that vantage point shapes our views.

Shareholders, employees, industry leaders, the media – they’re all interested in hearing our point of view on issues, and it’s part of the job of the CEO to communicate. My advice to aspiring CEOs out there: Take the role of communications seriously because it’s a requirement of the position. You can’t rely on the CEO’s letter in the annual report and a few canned quotes in press releases to do your communicating any longer.

I make it a point to speak with the media on a regular basis, and not just around earnings, but on broader issues, too. Whether we have a good or a bad quarter, people want to know what I’m thinking and they want to know that I’m engaged. It’s easy to talk to reporters when things are going swimmingly, but it’s probably more important to communicate when things aren’t always on plan. I think consistent communications with reporters – not hiding behind press releases – builds credibility over time with analysts, employees, the media, and other stakeholders. It also accrues in a positive way to a company’s reputation over the long run.

I’m in the healthcare industry – my company owns and operates hospitals around the country. This has been an interesting time for the healthcare sector, to put it mildly. Healthcare reform has been the dominant conversation in our national dialogue for months, and will likely remain that way through the end of the year.  Even the economy has taken a back seat to this discussion – something that doesn’t happen very often.

Not surprisingly, the media and other stakeholders are curious to know what I think about the healthcare reform debate.  As a leader in that sector, it’s important to be engaged in the conversation; it would strike an odd chord if I wasn’t. I’ve been on CNBC, Fox News, and Bloomberg Television numerous times over the past months, giving my perspective on what healthcare reform could mean for my company, the sector, and the economy at large. I’ve spoken to print reporters, and I even penned an Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal – something I’ve done on occasion over the years.

In fact, the Journal piece has led to a book that I’m finishing up on healthcare reform, which will be out in late November. I never imagined that I would write a book, but I felt compelled to expound on my thoughts. It’s been a fun, challenging, and creative process, and has really forced me to think through the issues in a much deeper and critical way.   

To aspiring executives, I repeat: Communications is a growing part of the job description. You can no longer lead a company without communicating your leadership, plain and simple.

It is no secret that Portland, Oregon has quickly became one of the most sought after places to live and work in the United States.  The beauty and lifestyle speak for itself. 

Unemployment is well above 12 percent throughout Oregon, yet Portland still attracts talented professionals from around the nation and world.  Although larger cities such as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Jose continue to get kudos for producing innovative companies, Portland deserves its due respect for having both innovated companies and forward-thinking entrepreneurs.

Living and working in Portland for nearly four years, it’s clear that there is a groundswell of innovation that is almost unmatched anywhere in the world.  Since Portland has very few Fortune 1000 companies, the city (and surrounding area) is made up of smart, progressive and pioneering entrepreneurs that are changing the dynamics of business–and challenging the status quo of how to conduct business.

That said, being a PR firm in Portland, LT Public Relations has a unique advantage.  Being on the front lines of innovation, we’re adopting the latest business and communication tools to impactfully and cost-effectively tell the stories of our clients both here in the Pacific Northwest and throughout the nation.

Granted, PR firms across the country are exposed to many of the same “new tools” to communicate (like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc.), but very few are truly intimate with exactly how to leverage them like Portland PR firms.  Since advertising, marketing and PR budgets are EXTREMELY tight here, we’ve learned to maximize traditional (e.g. media) and new  PR tools –and we’re getting more creative by the minute. We’re also sharing best practices from neighboring Portland businesses to expand these tools for the betterment of the clients we represent.

There is no quantifying data to support this notion, but we feel confident a public relations firm in Portland is just as qualified (if not more) than any large metropolitan PR firm…and we’re less expensive.  Advantage: Portland PR firms.

Now we need a better song about Portland.  This Portland tune from Jack White and Loretta Lynn is excellent, but we need something more catchy.

It seems everywhere we look, Ally Bank is there.  From print ads to commercials with kids and ponies, the ubiquitous bank is obviously spending a truckload of money to introduce their brand/bank to the mainstream–but is the bank’s timing right?

Branding a bank in any economy is a challenge, as banks are aggressively competing with each other on best products, rates, ”best” customer service and uniqueness.  But branding a new bank during a recession is outright crazy…but it is absolutely the right thing to do.

Ally Bank claims it is “launching a better kind of bank” with such benefits as no minimum deposits, no monthly fees, no minimum balance and no “sneaky disclaimers.”  Those are nice benefits that will certainly grab the target audiences’ attention…especially customers fed-up with their current bank or depository.  The proof is when Ally Bank can truly differentiate itself from other banks making similar claims during this down economy.

On the bank’s site, the mission statement says that it will “always be open, accountable and honest.” Great words, but nothing truly different than what other banks are saying–especially local banks and credit unions.

Where Ally Bank appears to be different is in its progressive technology to help its customers maximize their money with such things as “Sleeping Money Alerts“–a tool that alerts the customer that their money could be working better somewhere else.

Bottom line, LT Public Relations applauds the tenacity of Ally Bank to be a “better” bank during this turning point in the economy.  We also applaud the aggressive spending on public relations and branding–when other financial institutions are hiding and waiting for the storm to blow over. Our PR firm continues to counsel our clients that, although painful, now is the time to take advantage of this economy (through cheaper mediums) and spread the word about their uniqueness.

This is the time to crank-up awareness (not necessarily when things are bountiful).  This is a time to attract customers, differentiate and develop, well, allies.

Nice work, Ally.  We’ll be monitoring your progress.

A tsunami is about to hit the banking industry…and it’s coming from an unlikely source.  Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos, appears to be ready to take his impeccable customer service model into the banking industry, according to the recent Inc. Magazine cover story, “The Zappos Way of Managing.”

Zappos has quickly become the gold standard in industries where customer service is critical.  In the Inc. story, Hsieh said Zappos will eventually move beyond retail to businesses such as hotels and banking, saying, “I wouldn’t rule out a Zappos airline that’s just about the best customer service.”

Why should banks, credit unions, financial advisors be concerned? Well, most of these financial institutions hang their hats on the loose fact they have “the best customer service” and it’s what differentiates them from their competitors.

Good customer service, huh?  Ya ain’t seen nothing until you’ve experienced Zappos. Read the Inc. story which is loaded with remarkable examples of great customer service.  Zappos seems to be a customer service company first and a shoe provider second.  Check out this Nightline profile on Zappos, its culture and focus on customer service:

The philosophy is simple: customers first…and the business will naturally be successful.  Can financial institutions that supposedly cater to customers make that claim?  Soon, they’ll have to…or be out of business because customers will demand this Zappo-like attention.

If a financial institution is Zappo-like in its customer service, well, LT Public Relations, would be honored to represent them and assist with its communications efforts.  But truthfully, it will be the customers who will ultimately be the best PR.

If you’re not Zappo-like in your customer service, it’s time to “step-up” your game (pun intended) or Zappos might take your customers.