PR messages and what your brand stands for

We often work for clients and develop their PR messages based on their brand. Our first question is, what does your brand stand for?

If you tell me about service and quality and customer focus, you haven't answered my question, because a hundred other brands stand for that. If you are what others are, then there's nothing here to own or protect or build upon.

Compared to what? Compared to all those that you compete with for attention, for commerce, for donations and for employees, what do you stand for? Are you one of a kind or even one in a million?

Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton... they don't actually stand for anything, do they? They can't, because they stand for precisely the same thing. Puma vs. Adidas vs. Nike... They all want to stand for winning. How substantial are the differences?

Make a list of the differences and the extremes and start with that. A brand that stands for what all brands stand for stands for nothing much.

One you understand what your brand stands for, you can actually develop your PR messages.

Learning PR the Justin Bieber way

Justin Bieber wants you to know he's not the next Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears or Corey Feldman. Even though these celebs probably achieved less than Justin and probably get far more publicity.

The 19-year-old pop star has been making headlines with erratic behavior that includes showing up late to concerts, passing out backstage, threatening paparazzi, wearing gas masks, going shirtless in freezing temperatures and allegedly spitting on a neighbor during an argument.

Bieber hasn't taken the negative press sitting down, and has fought back via Twitter and Instagram rants about fake stories and "countless lies." Now, after being accused of battery, the pop star is striking back again, telling Us Weekly that he's not on the verge of a breakdown, as reports suggest.

Crisis 101 in today’s social media world – the right place to fight negative press is in the same place/medium that it appeared. It’s the simple things that are easily forgotten.  Each newspaper, blog author, social media platform, etc have a following.  If I hear something bad in the LA Times, then I’m an LA Times reader. If I hear it on Twitter, then I clearly use Twitter to get my news.  Justin, mate, only fight negative press where you see it (despite your youth and obvious social media prowess), don’t take the fight to the social media airwaves if it’s not there already.

"The biggest misconception about me is that I'm a bad person," Bieber told US Weekly. Well, no one was saying that (actually), and do you know any bad people that admit to being bad people?  This seems to be one of the worst quotes I have heard in a long time.

It's clear that Bieber (or his team) has grown very uncomfortable with the amount of negative attention that he's been receiving lately, and though he's on the defensive he does admit that he's far from perfect. "I'm young and I make mistakes. That's part of growing up," he told Us Weekly. "I mess up sometimes. It's part of growing up."

I love this!  I think I will use it in my next press interview. 

Yes Mr Business Editor, I know my company did wrong, but you know what, we’re a young company and we messed up – that’s part of our company growing up.

Perhaps the bigger PR question should be – can Justin continue to get quality media coverage without causing problems?  It’s clearly difficult to continue to attract positive media coverage. Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears et al know the problem and went the ‘all publicity is good publicity’ route… even if it includes unflatering pictures, drunk driving and theft.  What will Justin do and how will that effect his still intact ‘good boy’ image.

p.s. If anyone has any tickets for Justin’s upcoming tour my 5-year-old daughter wants to know!

An early look at Super Bowl XLVII Commercials

Every year the Super Bowl brings commercial excitement.  This year spots are selling (30 seconds) for $4m.  Lets take the opportunity to watch what happens at Super Bowl time, which brands can communicate effectively and what crises arise.

It’s early yet, but there are two stories to follow:

1 – Taco Bell (headquartered in Irvine) have already pulled their Anti-Vegetarian commercial due to pressure groups.

News story here. 

A copy of the commercial here. 

2 – VW have a solid history of winning ads at the Super Bowl – you’ll remember the Star Wars commercial from 2011 - here.

Here is what looks like the new hit for 2013.

What do you think?

What is your favorite past Super Bowl ad?

The 2013 Calendar - where to hang your PR campaign hat

The illustration for the 2013 Calendar is by Kevin ("KAL") Kallaugher, The Economist's editorial cartoonistAll good public relations strategies look at the timing of campaigns. Just think about the planning needed by your local fine-dinning restaurant and jewelry store to prepare for valentines, or the toy manufacturer to plan for the holiday period.

And, it has been known, for brands without too much real news, to latch hold of an event on a calendar and milk it for all it is worth. 

So what can we look forward to in 2013? Well, with a little help from our calendar, and a recent article in the Economist, we present you options for the upcoming year:

JANUARY

• Ireland takes over the presidency of the European Union. Sláinte.
• Britain takes over the presidency of the G8 club of industrial powers. Cheers.
• London marks the 150th anniversary of the world’s first underground passenger railway, running through King’s Cross. Mind the gap.
• In Washington, DC, the US president is inaugurated, beginning his four-year term.

FEBRUARY

• South Africa hosts football’s 29th African Cup of Nations. ag man.
• New Orleans stages the 47th Super Bowl. Touchdown.
• Hollywood lays out the red carpet for the 85th Academy Awards.
• Chinese around the world welcome the Year of the Snake, associated with grace, intelligence and material gain. Say 'red envelope'.
• It’s carnival season, from Rio de Janeiro to Trinidad and Tobago. Woo Hooo!

MARCH

• Smile, please, on March 20th for the inaugural UN-sponsored International Happiness Day; and from March 27th at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
• China’s parliament holds its annual session, and formally appoints the country’s new president and prime minister.
• Kenya is due to hold presidential and parliamentary elections.
• Marbles-enthusiasts flock to the Greyhound pub in Tinsley Green, Sussex, for the 79th World Marbles Championships. Reall... marbles?
• Boston hosts the 44th World Irish Dancing Championships. It's actually a Feis.

APRIL

• Download “Happy Birthday to You”: Apple’s iTunes Store is ten years old.
• Ecuadoreans vote in the presidential run-off.
• The First Tech Challenge world championships take place in St Louis, featuring lots of robots.

MAY

• Finland and Sweden host the 77th World Ice Hockey Championships. Dive!
• America’s grandest horse race, the Kentucky Derby, takes place in Louisville; Europe’s biggest football game, the UEFA Champions League final, kicks off in London.
• The Indian film industry marks its centenary: the first full-length Indian feature film, “Raja Harishchandra”, was released in 1913.
• The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge begins. First organized in 1907, this is the fourth time the race for vintage and classic cars has been run.

JUNE

• Iran holds a presidential election.
• Cyclists begin three weeks of agony as the 100th Tour de France starts for the first time in Corsica.

JULY

• Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union; Lithuania takes over the EU’s presidency.
• Watch out for flying saucers on World UFO day; and for raging animals during the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Which is more strange?

AUGUST

• Fans of the King head to Memphis for Elvis Week. "Thank you, thank you very much".
• Arts-lovers, meanwhile, go to Edinburgh for its annual festival. Slàinte mhath.

SEPTEMBER

• Germans, Austrians and Norwegians vote.
• Artists and athletes from 86 (more or less) French-speaking countries gather in Nice for the Francophone games; the International Olympic Committee meets in Buenos Aires to announce the host of the 2020 summer games. Parlez-vous Français?
• Yachtsmen (and billionaires) compete in the 34th America’s Cup in San Francisco.
• The annual Mask Dance Festival is held in Andong, South Korea.
• Russia’s Vladimir Putin welcomes world leaders to St Petersburg for the G20 summit. Budem zdorovy.

OCTOBER

• Leaders from Spain, Portugal and Latin America meet in Panama for their annual summit, the Cumbre Iberoamericana.
• Azerbaijan holds a presidential election.
• British aristocrats take to the countryside for the start of the pheasant-shooting season.

NOVEMBER

• Mystery and conspiracy theories linger on as America marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John Kennedy; Americans also mark the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
• NASA hopes to launch the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (Maven) spacecraft on its year-long journey to the red planet.
• More than 50 countries compete in the World Cheerleading Championships in Thailand. Book early for this one!
• Commonwealth heads of government gather in Sri Lanka for their biennial summit.

DECEMBER

• The latest deadline arrives for a high-speed rail link between France and Spain; construction of a much-delayed high-speed rail system in California is due to have started.
• The crossword puzzle is 100 years old.

If the list above doesn't work for your PR planning needs, then at the very least it should act as a pretty good vacation planning sheet to ensure you're in the right place at the right time. Enjoy!

International Expansion in 2013: which country & how?

The Economist came out with an interesting article this past week that looks at which countries it is easy to set up a business. 

Since 2003 the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank have been tracking the business-friendliness of government rules around the world. Things are looking up. Nearly all regions are catching up with the best practices seen in the richest countries.

This matters for many reasons. One is that onerous rules breed corruption. For as many countries as it can, the IFC plots its own measures of the regulatory burden against perceived levels of corruption, as ranked by Transparency International, a pressure group. As the chart shows, the more rules impede business, the more incentive businessfolk have to bribe them away. Lighter rules mean less baksheesh. They also mean a larger formal economy and a wider tax base.

In “Doing Business 2013”, published this week, the countries that score well are not those with no regulation at all—Somalia is a fearsome place to do business—but places where rules are simple and designed to make markets work better. The top 20 list includes the usual suspects: Singapore, Hong Kong, the Nordic countries, America. But less obvious entrants are there, too: Georgia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The most dramatic progress has come in making it simpler to jump through the regulatory hoops necessary to start a business. Since 2005 the average time it takes has fallen from 50 days to 30. Among the worst performers (the bottom quartile, which are mostly poor countries) the improvement has been slightly greater: from 112 days to 63. But they still have far to go: in New Zealand the process takes only one day.

In 2005 only a third of countries in sub-Saharan Africa were reforming; now over two-thirds are. Poland, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have made big gains. Even the sick men of Europe—Greece and Italy—are showing signs of progress. Unlike bail-outs, cutting rules comes cheap.

What does this mean in the world of PR? Well, it is now clearly easier to set up an international operation (and not just helicopter in, do some work, and fly out again). With that comes brand reputation management and promotional requirements. With that also comes a need to understand and act congurent with the local country.  And guess what, that means a need for international public relations.

As a new country is exanded too, it's obvious that a dedicated PR team is not going to be amoung the top hires. Typically there is a need for sales (which are the first hires), followed by operational folkes to keep the sales going. 

A new county expansion may not be in the core competencies of the existing public relations team (be that in-house or agency). Just reaching out to a local agency without knowledge and experience may not result in the best ROI. Paramount is finding a solution that is trustworthy, can manage your account from your home country, understands the local strategy and can implement that with a local team.

The Three Little Pigs & UK Media

At NettResults we look at news from an international perspective. Campaigns need to be localized depending upon the target market and we have teams around the world to do exactly that, and then implement the camapign.

In the UK the media is very integrated with social media - which is what this great video from The Guardian shows.

Three Little Pigs - The Guardian on Vimeo.

Strategy, Tactics, Execution, Reputation, Persistence, Desire and Fear

Thanks to Seth Godin who summed it up so nicely today for us.

We can outline a strategy for you, but if you don't have the tactics in place or you're not skilled enough to execute, it won't matter if the strategy is a good one.

Your project's success is going to be influenced in large measure by the reputation of the people who join in and the organization that brings it forward. That's nothing you can completely change in a day, but it's something that will change (like it or not) every day.

None of this matters if you and your team don't persist, and your persistence will largely be driven by the desire you have to succeed, which of course is relentlessly undermined by the fear we all wrestle with every day.

Bottom line - you need to find an international PR partner that is strategic in outlook, knows how to build taactics in different countries, has a team that is persistent and will be relentless in gaining results for you.

NettResults is all about implementing the best international PR campaigns, so this is central to what we think, do and how we act.

Useful and believable promises

Seth Godin blogged something interesting yesterday.

Useful and believable promises is another way to think about marketing.

We only sign up/pay attention to/pay for offers from marketers when:

• What's promised is something we think is worth more than it costs

and

• We believe you're the best person to keep that promise.

This applies to resumes, meetings and even the kid raking your lawn.

If your marketing isn't working, it's either because your promises aren't useful (and big) enough or we don't believe you're the one to keep them.

Then we come to public relations, which is widely thought to be the go-to marketing promotion to build credibility. 

Bottom line, if you need your organization, company, brand or service to be believable, then you need to build credibility... so you need a strong public relations strategy in place.

The 24-hour News Cycle… always on, but not always good journalism

The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace (i.e. live) of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers.

More media, more space, happier PR people.

But occasionally we have to step back (even as PR people) and look at what is making it as news.  Particularly alarming is when news becomes the news.

Of course most of the journalists we know abide by ethics and standards of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges they face while they do their job.  But occasionally things spiral out of control. 

If you didn’t know the various existing codes share common elements including the principles of — truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability — as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public. Journalism ethics include the principle of "limitation of harm." This often involves the withholding of certain details from reports in case they harm individuals or the public.

One of the joys of having our head offices in California (and news on TV all the time) is that we are privy to police car chases through Los Angeles… as they happen.  Why else would there be all those news helicopters over the smoggy city?

Click the image to view the live coverageThis month a particularly bright team of (alleged) bank robbers were making their get-away and while law enforcement officers were in hot-pursuit, we were watching the chaise unfold.  The clever ‘unconventional banks withdrawal’ lads decided it would be advantageous if they could get some innocent bystanders between their speeding vehicle and the police… so they started throwing cash out of their car window while they sped down some of the poorer streets in South LA.  And as a reminder, this is on live TV.

The live coverage and reporting is classic.  The eye-in-the-sky even giving out the address of where the cash is being thrown!

Needless to say, the NettResults team won’t the only people watching this live, and many good (or not so) folks in that area raced out of their homes to retrieve (no doubt with the intent of returning) the bank notes.  The report later that day on ABC wraps it up nicely.

How necessary is live news reporting?  We understand there are multiple news channels and they compete to bring the news to us as quickly as possible… but perhaps news organizations may consider slowing this to a tad below real-time to provide themselves time to actually think about the content and add some intelligent commentary that doesn’t endanger the public. 

Just a thought.