LT Public Relations

For public relations purposes, has there been a more un-celebrated positive quarterly earnings report than today’s (10/30/08) Exxon Mobil record-breaking profits?  See today’s CNN article . . . “Biggest Profit in U.S. History”

Exxon shareholders, executives and gas station owners (maybe) are all quietly celebrating the news–and have been quietly celebrating the profits for months now.  However, one can assume that the public relations department at Exxon Mobil (and all the big oil companies–e.g. Shell) would like to keep today’s news low-profile.

You’ll notice that in most of the earnings stories about Exxon, there is a conspicuous lack of comment from their spokespeople.  Why?  Well, it seems obvious, but the gas companies have been getting slaughtered over the past few months for price gouging.  Record prices at the pump mean pissed-off consumers who rely on this commodity.  Now that the earnings have come out–and profits are “the best ever,” the “public” is not (and really shouldn’t be) happy.

It’s an interesting case study, really.  In today’s horrific economic environment, companies with a smidgen of profit would be screaming from the roof tops that they’re doing well and weathering this economic storm.  Not Exxon.  They’ll take their profits and hope the “positive” news will pass. 

They know that if they’re boastful about how great their profits are, that’s horrible PR.  Consumers would likely revolt–and bring gas prices down even more. *Side note–This summer’s average gas price was way over $4 . . . today, it’s $2.55.  The pendulum is swinging.

Exxon will likely not see this kind of profit again–at least not in the short term as consumers are fed-up and looking for alternate energy sources and ways of travel.

LT Public Relations will continue to monitor Exxon and Shell’s earnings in the future–and wouldn’t be surprised if/when profits drop, we will see more from their respective public relations departments.

Like every profession, the public relations industry has to deal with cantankerous people from time to time.  Typically, these folks in the PR world are a few reporters–and their mission is to stir things up.

Yesterday (10/27/08), LT Public Relations conducted extensive media training for a Pacific Northwest bank.  During the training session, we spent the majority of our time preparing for questions that these select few reporters would intentionally ask–regardless if the questions are warranted, we have to be prepared to respond to the egregious questions.

Today’s blog isn’t about how to respond to tough questions (that’s fodder for another blog), but rather how to deal with challenging reporters who are either muckrakers, ignorant, or just plain jerks.  We can deal with tough questions and questions that should be asked–it’s the undeserving or erroneous questions we have to be prepared for–and more importantly how to prepare for the “barracuda” reporters.

Most of the banking and financial reporters who fit this description will go nameless here, but one good example of a reporter that we do not respect is CNN’s Wolf Blitzer–who’s always looking to ask the hard questions–but many times asks inappropriate questions with the aim to sensationalize the interview . . .

Here’s an example of Wolf being Wolf during a recent interview with Vice President Cheney . . .

Regardless of what you think of Dick Cheney, you have to admit that the line of questioning was un-called for from Blitzer. This is just one example of Blitzer’s reporting shenanigans.

So how do you deal with them–these “barracuda” reporters? The first step is to deal with them–in most situations. If this reporter is often read by your target audience–and continues to write harmful things about your organization–you have to take a stand.

Here’s a few ideas:

• Extend the Olive Branch.  Request an “off-the-record” meeting with the reporter to build a better relationship and find out exactly why s/he is reporting in a harmful way.  Once a reporter gets to know the company on a personal level, s/he typically covers the company with a bit more fairly and objective.
• Be A Student of the Reporter’s Work. They say it’s important to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.  Same is true for relationships with the media.  Continually read the trouble-maker’s stories.  Regardless if the story is about your company, it’s important to understand the typical tone of the stories. It’s also ok to periodically comment on the story–either online or directly with the reporter to provide a viewpoint on the topic.
• Contact the Editor.  If the reporter in question continues to have a negative slant and prints less-than-accurate information about your company, contact the reporter’s managing editor.  Express your concerns and outline examples of poor journalism.  The idea here is not necessarily to get the reporter in trouble (well, kinda), but to call them out.  Let the reporter’s boss be the ‘reprimander.’
• Fight Fire with Fire.  As the “barracuda” posts slanted news, you should set the record straight and write your own story.  Blogging is an effective way to get your point across–so is a letter to the editor.  If you bring up factual, meaningful points–readers will tend to believe your story more than the reporters.

There are a host of additional ways to address these problematic reporters and we’re more than happy to share that information with you.  Contact LT Public Relations–we’ll help hunt down these barracudas.

As a full-service public relations firm specializing in professional and financial services, folks are sometimes intrigued to learn that LT Public Relations represents law firms.  Yes, law firms need PR love too.

Like most institutions, law firms (and lawyers) continue to struggle to differentiate themselves.  Many are so large that their identity and messages are so broad that establishing a public relations strategy/focus is very challenging.  Conversely, some firms are so focused on their legal niche (e.g. labor and employment law), that if they ever attempt to expand beyond a focused area, they face an uphill climb in re-branding themselves.

There are numerous reasons we enjoy (and specialize in) representing law firms, but primarily it is because they are on the front-lines of what’s new and are excellent sources to receive  a clear synopsis about the matter at hand–from the latest in technology (IP attorneys), to big business dealings (M&A attorney), to the latest on Wall Street (see Ashby Jones Oct. 15th article in the Wall Street Journal, “Law Firms Gear Up for Bailout-Bill Work“). Readers will often find lawyers quoted in articles regarding topical issues–and reporters secretly LOVE to get an attorney’s perspective.

Another fascinating dynamic about representing law firms, is that they leverage public relations strategies primarily for recruiting purposes–and not necessarily to attract their next big client (although that’s important too). 

Recruiting the best attorneys in their respective areas is paramount to the success of a law firm. Once a law firm has the best attorneys (and legal support staff), the clients will follow (by usually following the attorney). *This isn’t always the case, but true for most law firms.

Therefore, public relations messaging for law firms should center around recruiting. For example, if an attorney conducts an interview with a respected media outlet about a hot topic, s/he should remember that during the interview as an opportunity to showcase the firm’s insightfulness on the topic, as well as an opportunity to recruit like-minded attorneys.  

Each law firm is (and should be) different and have its own unique brand–but it’s the public relations efforts that ultimately tell the stories of each law firm by using strategic messaging/tactics to meet the law firm’s business objectives (e.g. recruiting).

We’re recruiting law firms to help with their recruiting–contact us (pr@ltpublicrelations.com or 503-477-9215).

We received quite a few visits to our blog and e-mail responses regarding our last posting about the importance of communicating internally (i.e. to staff).  This tells us a few things . . . 1) we struck a nerve that employees long for communication from upper management 2) upper management has identified this as an area of improvement 3) communication is critical now more than ever.

To validate the recent blog and the overall point that there needs to be more communication, PR Week posted the recent survey by the public relations agency Weber Shandwick (article below) that claims 54% of working Americans said their employers have not addressed their concerns about the impact of the current economic issues.

This should be a wake-up call to all companies (even those who somewhat communicate well).  Say something! Say anything to your employees and let them know that the company is empathetic to their concerns and provide a forum to listen and respond to these concerns.  Otherwise employees draw their own conclusions . . . and that’s usually bad.

It’s really not hard, but should be handled with a certain degree of sensitivity and strategy.  LT Public Relations can help.

Enough said . . . er, well . . . there’s not enough said.  Just Communicate It! 

PR Week

LT Public Relations is currently in the thick of supporting financial services organization’s public relations efforts.  We’re seeing most organizations feverishly trying to stave off negative publicity, while promoting the merits of their products and services.

One important ‘relationship’ in the public relations effort that’s being neglected is the staff.  That’s right . . the employees of the troubled financial institutions need love too.

In fact, before any external communication commences, it’s imperative that all employees are communicated to first.  ‘Internal relations’ warrants its own separate public relations strategy/campaign–and should be taken seriously.

As employees are the organization’s “Public Relations Foot-Soldiers” (i.e. they’re the ones that the public predominately see), it’s crucial they are communicated to–and subscribe to–the news and vision of the company BEFORE news is sent externally.

Seem obvious?  We are amazed by the lack of internal communication–especially during these stressful times.

The Wall Street Journal posted an article on Monday (10/6/08) that polarized this notion, “Allaying Workers Fears During Uncertain Times.”

The article offered the following tips for managers to maintain productivity and buoy workers’ spirits during the financial crisis:

• Stick to routine.  Maintain normal work habits to avoid provoking fear.
• Communicate often. Offer frequent updates to suppress rumors.
• Moderate discussions.  Set aside time for employees to express emotions.
• Be reasonable.  Don’t expect 100% focus on work, but stress the need to stay productive.
• Offer outside help.  Invite expert speakers and remind workers of available support services.

In addition to those points, we emphasize the importance of arming the staff with talking points of “what’s going on” so they can accurately 1) help customers understand 2) promote the organization’s competencies.  We also encourage arranging ‘role play’ to prepare the staff with scenarios.

The alternative is to not communicate and allow the staff to draw their own conclusions of what’s going on–which is a risky gamble.  Additionally, not communicating misses a valuable opportunity for the employees to speak confidently about the safety and soundness of organization (while missing an opportunity to sell a new customer).

Think internal PR first.  Need help? pr@ltpublicrelations.com or 503-477-9215

The recent BusinessWeek cover story (9/29/08) featured “The Best Global Brands.”  Always an interesting issue as it examines the top 100 brands (Coca-cola is the reigning #1) and why they earned their spots.

This year’s “brand” issue also examined if it makes sense to spend money on branding during a down economy. Money is clearly sparse (or at least an issue) during times of a recession, but when others severely cut back on spending, the article questions if this is the best time to be aggressive in branding efforts.

It’s a gutsy move and certainly a difficult subject for Chief Marketing Officers to broach to the company’s executive committee. But LT Public Relations thinks this audacious decision to brand during challenging times is the BEST time–if done strategically.

Branding is a big part of what we do. You really can’t have public relations without a brand (we’re amazed how many companies conduct PR with no clue what their brand stands for–ergo, bad move).  But today, we want to take a similar look at public relations during a rough economy and why it’s really the best time to increase public relations efforts.

Please note, we are not necessarily talking about increasing positive or “fluff” PR, but rather ratcheting-up the ‘education’ or ’sympathetic’ communications efforts. When other companies are mute or taking a “wait-and-see” approach to their PR efforts, it would be extremely valuable to both a company and its target audience to show leadership and understanding of the issues.  But this means a company has to take center-stage and communicate–and that takes guts.

It’s important during these times to be extremely dialed-in to what keeps the target audience up at night and being sympathetic in the communications.  This is not a time to launch a new product or service, but rather an excellent opportunity to showcase a company’s handle on the situation and its ability to provide solutions.

This is a great quote that underscores our point . . .”We believe it’s critical, when the economy gets tougher, that people should be seeing the value of your brands constantly,” said Mark Baynes, Kellogg’s CMO.

This is a time to be in the game and be a hero.  But it takes guts to be a hero.  Heroes step-up and help . . . and that’s value to a customer . . . and an excellent investment.

You game?  Contact us — pr@ltpublicrelations.com or 503-477-9215