Sunday Soapbox Orator

My recurring dream is that I am sitting in a classroom taking an essay exam and I realize that I have 5 minutes left and my exam sheet is blank. Dr. Freud would day this is the ultimate publicists nightmare - no time and nothing to day!

Somthing to make you say humm? Why do we say "bless you" when someone sneezes?

2011-03-26T16:10:00.001-04:00

lung machine

We say "bless you? when someone sneezes because sneezing is on of the most violent natural interruptions in the human body - at a moment of sneezing the body braces itself by suspending breathing and heart rhythm.

Does Labor Need PR or Are They Simply Outdated? | Flack Me

2011-03-26T15:39:00.000-04:00

Does Labor Need PR or Are They Simply Outdated? Flack Me

31 Public Relations Definitions

2011-03-14T11:11:00.000-04:00

31 Public Relations Definitions

Sorry Charlie! - Your Monday Morning Media Blitz is a Bust

2011-03-04T18:35:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

Please and no thank you. I am not buying what Charlie Sheen is trying to sell me this week during his round-robin appearances on the Today Show, TMZ, Good Morning America, CNN’s Piers Morgan and countless other online and radio shows. The audacity of this guy - who makes $1.7 million per episode on his CBS show “Two and a Half Men.” Charlie is trying to come off like he got fired for no reason, attack the very hand that signs that $1.7 million check then take his fight to the streets to be judged by the court of public opinion.

I am sorry, if I was making $1.7 million multiplied by 14 shows, the last thing I would do is blow it...oops…snort it...drink it…or f^ck it down the toilet with the not so hot two goddesses, then ask the American people to hear my manufactured rants as to why I should still be working. In the mortal words of Cincinnati Bagels’ star wide receiver Chad Ochocinco – Child Please!

There are people who cannot even make $1.70 a day because they cannot find employment and Charlie Sheen wants to spoon feed us this bull. I am having a hard time finding sympathy for Mr. Carlos Ervin Estevez.

Earlier this week Charlie’s long time publicist Stan Rosenfield terminated his professional relationship with Sheen with this statement given to USA Today “I have worked with Charlie Sheen for a long time, and I care about him very much. However, at this time, I’m unable to work effectively as his publicist and have respectfully resigned.” YOU THINK!

Sorry Charlie it might appear that you are winning the battle against CBS, but I am sure if you had consulted with your publicist first he would have told you that’s one fish you don’t want to catch.

What is unfortunate in all of this is Charlie Sheen needs help. This really should not dominate news coverage along with the rising cost of oil, the crisis in Libya or some other pocketbook issue. The joke is on Charlie and I am guessing CBS will have the last laugh.

Cocktails for a Cause Detroit Night Out

2011-02-13T17:30:00.002-05:00

Cocktails for a Cause Detroit Night Out

Too Old for this SH$T

2010-10-15T05:32:00.006-04:00

Here is a thought for you to consider. Last night I came home from a long day of work. Grandma baby-sat the kid for a few hours before I returned home. After dismissing grandma for the evening, I took my daughter to the bathroom for her evening bedtime prep and shower. I happen to look down and I see a trail of shit leading from the carpeted hallway into the bathroom on the tile. "WTF, Little-Boo why is there shit on the floor," I said? She gives me this crazy doe-eyed look- as if to say why are you asking me. I asked again but this time I got a convoluted story about how she had to go to the bathroom, and grandma, and how I was at work, and not at home?

So now I am very agitated and I have to get to the bottom of this mystery before the wife gets home from work. Hungry , tired and mad I pick my cell phone and call my parents to get some answers. "Hello, Ma after you left I noticed there was shit on my carpet, what happened in the bathroom," I bellowed? Then my mother gave me a crazy, convoluted story about how her and my daughter were eating Oreo cookies and blah, blah, yadee, ya.

I am just left with being tired, hungry and mad as hell while cleaning up shit and no one to blame for how it got there.

The moral of this story? In public relations sometimes clients don't tell you everything you need to know in a timely fashion. And when you do get the full details, you are expected to clean up the mess. Thanks to a four year old I am now a believer that shit just happens. Enjoy your day.

The Dark Side of the Social Media Force

2010-10-07T15:26:00.007-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

So I start my morning off with my usual SSAS routine followed by preparing a cup of morning-joe and turned on the laptop to see what was buzzing on the social media sites. I nearly gagged when I came across a story regarding Karen Owen - a former Duke University student who created and distributed via the internet to her friends a power-point presentation, “The Fuck List Thesis” of her sexual conquests with Duke athletes.

My first reaction was to say to myself “yeah right, who would be so dumb to do that?” I searched Google for the thesis to see for myself and yep, Ms. Owen was in fact that stupid enough to do that. She created a document with full details of Duke University athletes she had sex with including photos of the young men and narrative details of their sexual performance – good or bad.

A little over two weeks ago we had two Rutgers University students using a webcam to post images of a sexual encounter between Tyler Clementi – a freshman at Rutgers with another man online. Subsequently, Tyler Clementi killed himself over the incident.

Although, I believe the digital-age has given us new tools for improving how we communicate, do business, get information and be entertained. I fear that today’s media landscape is desensitizing young people to the hurtful effects of their actions.

As a public relations consultant part of my job is to advice clients on how to best use the internet and social media to engage their interested communities in a proper forum. Sometimes I get clients who will bring up these kinds if incidents as if to suggest that’s why they prefer not get involved in social media.

You’ve heard the saying “guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” There’s no difference in new media. The problem is not technology-driven; the real problem is human-driven. We are living with a generation that moves at the speed of now and as a result deep human connections have diminished in exchange for real-time unfiltered reality show type hype.

In the post millennium we have become desensitized from our feelings and how we communicate. “Wholesome” entertainment has been replaced with fictional characters creating mayhem on gaming units traditional television programs have been replaced by reality programs with hidden cameras to shake our sensibilities. While the biggest looser are the children watching and consuming new media all the while loosing their sense of privacy protection, ethical morals or conscience.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The elephant is in the room and we all better recognize that every good thing has an evil twin.

In social media that twin shows up as a force that not only increases our productivity in less time but reduces the time it takes to contemplate the consequences of our actions.

When I “Googled” Karen Owen’s name it took 0.21 seconds to find 435,000 hits. I want to wish her well and I hope her “thesis” never comes back to fuck her.

Rich Sanchez Canned from CNN

2010-10-04T12:39:00.007-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

I never went to journalism school but the one thing I have learned from journalist friends and colleagues is the “cannon” of reporting the news objectively and never become the news. Well, Rich Sanchez a CNN news anchor stepped off the deep end and became the story when during a radio interview took shots at Jon Stewart.

If you have the time you can listen to the entire 20 minute radio interview. From a public relations standpoint this is a classic example of how a very smart person with media expertise and savvy can in a moment loose it and become unbridled.

I am sure Rich Sanchez did not wake up with the intent of doing a radio interview and then going off on Jon Stewart, CNN executives, Fox News, conservatives, Jews and the like. But he did.

Maybe at this point you are saying “I wouldn’t do or say anything like that.” Wrong! We all have certain pressure points when touched to hard or often will trigger an unfiltered reaction. After listening to the Rich Sanchez's interview I am still wondering why he went there.

Sanchez better get a great spin-doctor because I would hate to see his lasting media moment is picking a fight with a comedian who does “fake news.”

My Earliest Memory

2010-08-29T10:19:00.001-04:00

Moon Landing 8

Sitting on the floor in front of a floor-model television in the living room with my parents watching the first man set foot on the Moon. I remember my parents telling me this was history in the making.

The Book of "King James"

2010-07-09T10:18:00.006-04:00

Well LeBron James done go out and did it. He went on national television and bailed on his home state and team of the Cleveland Cavaliers. I have to say, James might get his first ring down in Miami. However, instead of being a potential hero by bringing a national NBA title to Cleveland he will be one of three stars sharing the spotlight in NBA Finals.

Best of luck LeBron in Miami. Remember it's Wades team and now you are his Scottie Pippen.

The Gospel According to "King James"

2010-07-09T10:09:00.006-04:00

By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

With all the national media fixated on awaiting NBA superstar LeBron James’ long awaited decision as to which team he will sign with, I could not resist sharing my 3 cents. You see I have a little experience working in the NBA and with professional athletes having started my public relations career working for the Detroit Pistons and the Pistons Palace Foundation.

LeBron is facing a very tough decision. Beyond the decison itself is in the way he makes the decsion. And he's already made a hug mistake by turning his decison into a media frenzy.

Will it be LeBron’s current home town team of the Cleveland Cavaliers, or will he go to one of the teams courting him such as the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks or the odds on favorite Miami Heat?

I have a big public relations bone to pick with the “King James” camp. No matter what team LeBron picks I think how James and his management team has stretched out this decision was just bad business.

When LeBron announced that he was going to make his decision on national television on ESPN my first reaction was that I hope James will avoid “dissing” his hometown team. If LeBron decides to go to any other team other than Cleveland he will let down his team mates and worse a city that has given him everything.

Good luck LeBron.

Who Controls Detroit's Image?

2010-06-14T11:45:00.000-04:00

Who Controls Detroit's Image?

Daddy’s disappointment turned daughter into daredevil

2010-05-17T12:56:00.011-04:00

By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

Saturday day 3 and today is a big day for Rielly and me. This morning Rielly has her regular scheduled gymnastics class but I have something special planned for her. Today, Rielly is going to Great Lakes Crossing where Metro Parent Magazine is hosting a kid’s contest where twelve lucky kids will get a chance to be selected to be on the cover of Metro Parent Magazine and a contract with a talent agency.

Being the public relations guru you know I am all over this. I made a few calls, got contacts at Metro Parent Magazine and of I course I think my kid has the potential to being the next Veronica Webb – former supper model and old friend of mine from Detroit Waldorf School.

Anyway, we start our day the usual way with breakfast – hazelnut coffee steeped in a French press, orange juice, almond and vanilla pancakes topped with strawberries and whipped cream and turkey sausage.

After eating our breakfast we got dressed then I packed Rielly’s gym-bag with a few bottled-waters, snacks and her gymnastics clothes.

Rielly’s gymnastics session came off without a hitch. She was focused, in the moments and athletic.

When we arrived back home I knew I had a limited amount of time to get Rielly cleaned up, dressed in her favorite lady-bug dress and hair whipped up. Like the Warner Bros., cartoon character Tasmanian Devil I zip around the house making Rielly’s lunch, ironing her dress, picking out the perfect sandals, pulling color-coordinated hair berets and yelling at her to stop watching TV and get dressed.

Finally we hit the road up to Auburn Hills – a 30 minute drive just to the North of Detroit. No sooner than I get Rielly into the car-seat she crashed out asleep drooling on her dress like a boxer laying on the mat taking a standing-eight count. This is good, I think, now I have time to plan my strategy for making my girl the next top model.

We get to the mall and Rielly is just now coming out of her short but deep sleep. Her eyes are swimming in her head like a one-arm-slot machine, so I give her time to gain her composure. “Daddy mall we at,” she says – keep in mind my daughter talks like Master Yoda putting her actions verbs at the end. “Little boo-boo we at the mall remember what I said,” I replied. “I want mommy,” Rielly said.

We get out of the car and enter the mall at the food-court entrance. We are right on time and in the right place. As we approach the center court area I see the big signs “Metro Parent Magazine Kid Cover Contest.” Cool, this is it and daddy is going to make a star! So I thought.

As I approached the walk-up registration table Rielly yanks back on my hand as if to say hello no. I looked down, “Rielly what’s wrong,” I asked. With thumb in mouth Rielly shakes her head and utters mmumm, mumm. “Oh come on Rielly it will be fun, all you have to do is look cute, do your Beyonce walk and we out of here," I told her.

No dice. So I called mommy on the phone to see if she could talk Rielly into some courage. No dice again! Rielly does not even acknowledge mommy on the phone. Butt what does have her attention is Jeepers play area.

Rielly breaks from my hand and makes a mad dash through shopper traffic and straight into Jeepers. I give chase yelling “Rielly come back, Rielly come here.”

Heart broken as I feel my daughter’s chance to be discovered is dashed for @#$% Jeepers, I accept the fact she just wants to play. So before I can buy a pass for her to play she is already invited to get on the Banana Squadron mini-coaster ride by one of the attendants. I looked at her and nodded with my approval.

Round and round she went in her favorite lady-bug dress from the coaster to the Jeepers Junctions Railroad, to the mini-luge to the Jeepers Creepers jungle slide and climbing area.

I found a seating area for parents next to the jungle-gym. She was having a blast running, sliding and climbing however I was stewing like an over-cooked pot of soup. Then as I noticed how Rielly was playing and making friends with every kid she came in contact with I realized today was not about me. It was about her and what she wanted to do and her freedom to decide how she wanted to spend the day with daddy.

Two-hours later Rielly was ready to go. As we walked out of Jeepers, Rielly grasped my hand and led me over to the registration area. The lady sitting at the table visibly was packing up for the day. I asked the woman was the contest over? She said yes for the day and they would be back for a final day on Sunday. I looked down at Rielly, smiled and said “let’s go home boo-boo.”

Before getting to the truck I decided to take Rielly over to the Rain Forest Café for an early dinner. She loved it. With all the sights and sounds of a tropical forest including birds, rain water, thunder, exotic cats and elephants, you would have thought for a moment that we were eating in the jungle. Our meal was great.

Finally the day turned to night and time for Rielly and I head back home. Asleep in the back in her usual drunk position, Rielly survived another day with daddy.

If you look closely at a child they will show you what they want to be. My daughter was happy climbing ropes with a dress on then parading down a runway for me. From the time she was born I now realize this is the slow process for letting go. I hope I make it.

One more day until mommy comes home.

Spaghetti and meatballs

2010-05-16T07:44:00.018-04:00

Image by cinnachick via Flickr

By David E. Rudolph

D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

Friday day 2 got off to a rocky start between Rielly and I. She was not feeling the idea of going to daycare and immediately after awaking from her restless sleep, she began looking for mommy. “Rielly mommy is not home yet. Remember we talked to her yesterday, and she will not be back for a few more days,” I said.

“Mommy still on the plane, when her coming home,” replied Rielly. Instead of going around in conversation-circles with Rielly, I decided to ignore her question and get her clothes laid out and shower starter in the bathroom.

While Rielly took a shower, I prepared breakfast for us both. Boiled the water, grinded the coffee took the vanilla soy-milk out from the refrigerator, toasted wheat bread and nuked the turkey sausage – breakfast was ready.

Got Rielly out of the shower, slathered her up with baby-oil and some of mommy’s Victoria’s Secrete pear lotion – Rielly told me if I used that lotion mommy would get mad – I told her what mommy does not know will not hurt you. I dressed her and had her ready for breakfast in less than 5 minutes. So far, so good.

We ate our breakfast quietly but I knew she was missing her mother. I was missing her mother too. After finishing our food we left the house, got in the truck and left for daycare. While driving I kept a keen eye on Rielly from the rear view mirror. I could see she was sad and starting to suck her thumb – a sure sign when my daughter is tired or stressed.

I asked Rielly if she wanted to talk to mommy. She nodded her head in approval. I dialed mommy’s cell number and put the call on speaker-phone. “Hello,” answered mommy in a shallow – like she had too much to drink voice. Rielly did not respond. I took the phone and said “hello, sorry to wake you, she wanted to talk to you, we will call later.” I hung up the call and dropped Rielly off at daycare.

After dropping off Rielly I went about my business making a few calls to clients and reviewing public relations information on the computer. From time-to-time I could not stop thinking about how sad my daughter was this morning. SO jumped into action calling up my friend Tory – who has a daughter Rielly loves to play with, and set up an evening play-date.

When it came time to pick up Rielly she was in a great mood. Lunging out the door she shouted goodbyes to all her friends and gave me a big knee hug. I bent down and hugged her big head and said, “Daddy has a surprise for you.” “What it is,” Rielly shouted. “Payton is coming over,” I said. Rielly started jumping up and down yelling “yeah Payton’s coming over, Payton’s coming over.”

Before I got home I stopped to pick up a few things for dinner, spaghetti, turkey meatballs and some sweets from Yazmeen Bakery. When we got home I stated preparing dinner. Shortly thereafter I head a car pull up into the driveway. Tory and Payton were here.

Dinner came off without a hitch and the girls played happily until the sun went down. It was time to call it a day and prepare for bedtime. After saying our goodbyes I gathered all the dishes then took Rielly into the bedroom. I asked her if she had a good day. With her thumb in her mouth she nodded her head in approval.

While sitting on the bed Rielly then curled up into my chest and said “I love spaghetti and meatballs daddy, and I love you.” I looked down at her with tears forming in my eyes and nodded with approval.

Patch Work of Fun

2010-05-14T12:28:00.014-04:00

By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

My wife is off to sunny Miami Florida for a few days of R&R with her sister and girlfriend. So I get the pleasure of staying and kicking-it with my daughter Rielly. Since it’s been a while Rielly was featured in my blog, I thought I would do a daily entry of how we are getting along without mommy.

Thursday we leave early in the morning to drive mommy to the airport. Rielly does not have a clue what’s going on. It’s 5:30 a.m. and Rielly is slumped over, thumb in mouth and sleep in the car seat in the back of the car. When we arrive at the departing gate mommy gives us a kiss goodbye and is off to her “waiting to exhale” sub-tropical adventure in the Sunshine State.

It’s still early and as I drive back home I know Rielly is still sleeping and really going to nut-up when she realizes that mommy is not coming back for a while.

Back at home I decide the keep Rielly with me instead of going to daycare. I am sleepy and she’s still sleep, so I take a nap too. By 8:30 a.m. I decide to get up and start my day. Make the coffee, turn on the television, get the news and weather for the day. Shortly thereafter, Rielly got up and asked me where is mommy?

Ok, I tell myself I can do this. I am the master of the house and a good public relations consultant. Surly, if I can stand the heat of the media, I can work my Jedi mind tricks on Rielly.

“Good morning sweetie, how did you sleep?” I say. “Where is mommy?” replied Rielly. “Mommy is gone to a place called Miami,” I told her. “Ok daddy let’s play a game then,” Reilly said.

Wow I was shocked. I was expecting the full-on melt down but Reilly was cool. Then she walked over to me with a game in her hands and said “daddy let’s play this game and guess what, I will loose and let you wine.” At that moment I burst out in laughter and realized that my daughter is growing up right before my eyes.

We played the game and she won on her own merits. Discussed I decided to change up activities and invited her to the basement to paint and make some art with scraps I picked up from Arts & Scraps. She made a piece of art she called “peanut butter sandwich” and I made a piece of art I call “view from under the sea.”

By noontime we decided to grab some lunch from A&W (mini corndogs and fries) and catch a movie at the mall (How to Train your Dragon 3D). The 3D thing might have been too much for Rielly. After the movie we went shoe shopping (every girls dream) and finished the evening at her BFF house for playtime, dinner and a Popsicle.

While playing Rielly did find an interesting adult toy - that was funny and for a later blog. Later in the evening we said our goodbyes and headed home. Reilly was sleep in the back of the car – as she had started the day, peaceful and at rest.

When we arrived home I picked her up out of the car seat and carried her into the house. I laid her in our bed – cloths on and everything.

As for me, I laid down next to Reilly, turned on the television and watched Gray’s Anatomy. Ice Cube could not have said it better, today was a good day.

The Last Drag: A walking pub crawl

2010-04-26T13:27:00.001-04:00

The Last Drag: A walking pub crawl

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Say What The Fuck

2010-04-25T15:37:00.015-04:00

Cover of Risky Business

It’s been some time since my last blog entry. A few weeks ago I attended a special VIP party for a business associate who was celebrating his one year anniversary in his newly built business location. While networking my way towards the bar I ran into someone who asked me why I had been so quiet online. To be honest I was taken back by this person’s question. I knew I had slowed down with some of my Facebook, Twitter and blog postings. I thought the only person who would notice this was…me.

I answered the question in a public relations manor – that is to say a lot without saying anything at all – much like “things have been crazy at the office and when we live our lives online chatting at 140-bites are we really saying anything at all?” The person I was talking to replied with a high degree of certainly, “you are right.”

The problem is I was not right! I just was afraid to admit that although I continued to listen to communication on and off line, I had lost my voice to join the conversation. That might sound crazy for a PR guys to say but the truth of the matter is I had nothing to say. And a lot has happened in the past three months since the start of the year. Tiger cheated and went into sex addiction rehab, the President had a vicious fight pushing his health care plan in congress, the employment crisis and list goes on.

Later that evening I started to think about my conversation, response, and the opening scenes from one of my favorite movies - Risky Business.

In the beginning of the movie the Tom Cruise’s character Joel Goodson is talking with his best friend Miles about his fear for taking chances and ruining his potential future. Miles delivers a classic line that sets the tone for the entire movie and Joel’s pursuit for success.

Miles’ advice to Joel for not making mistakes or jeopardizing his future is "every now and then you have to say…what the fuck." “What the fuck gives you freedom , freedom brings opportunity, and opportunity makes your future…what the fuck...if you can’t say it you cannot do it,” says miles.

As the saying goes what does this have to do with the price of tea in China or my initial lost of voice? The answer is everything and nothing, think about it and get back to me.

detnews.com|Living in the D

2010-02-01T18:25:00.001-05:00

detnews.com|Living in the D

Marketing to Muslims poses a challenge for retailers - latimes.com

2010-01-31T11:38:00.002-05:00

Marketing to Muslims poses a challenge for retailers - latimes.com

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Cocktails for a Cause: The Mix Masters

2010-01-30T13:29:00.002-05:00

Model Behavior VII - Photo Book

2010-01-19T14:53:00.002-05:00

Models, Music and Martinis

2010-01-13T10:40:00.005-05:00

Model Behavior VII - North American International Autoshow Charity Night Event

2010-01-12T15:45:00.002-05:00

D. Ericson & Associates PR - North American International Chartiy Preview Night Fashion After-glow Cocktial Party

2010-01-08T12:57:00.002-05:00

DEricsonPR D. Ericson & Associates PR - North American International Chartiy Preview Night Fashion After-glow Cocktial Pa http://twitgoo.com/bbn1c

Accidental Entrepreneur

2009-12-14T17:37:00.003-05:00

Image via Wikipedia

The last couple of weeks have had its fair share of great media stories I could examine. From Sarah Palin having a thought on global-warming to White House dinner crashers or media pundits and barbershop-prognosticator arguing over if Tiger Woods has a sex addiction. Nope I am not going there today.

It’s the holiday season and for most of us Americans it’s been a rough year. The economy is slow and people are loosing their jobs left and right with no apparent available employment options to turn too. I have a good friend who as been out of a job for nearly a year a half. He is desperately trying to find a job to support himself, a newborn, a mortgage…you get the point.

I asked my friend considering he had not been able to find a job would he consider working for himself. Start a company, be a consultant do something to keep his skills up while he continues to look for more established (i.e. job with benefits) opportunities. My friend said he was coming to the conclusion that he just might need to consider entrepreneurship.

When I started my public relations practice in 1996 some people around me thought the idea of starting a business and becoming an entrepreneur was a bit of a dirty word. Some people would say to me “oh so you started a “business” because you couldn’t cut it in the real world”, or “you must be hard to work with so you decided to become your own boss.”

On the contrary, I became an entrepreneur by accident. I used to work for the Detroit Pistons organization and when they did some downsizing I and several of my soon to be business partners found ourselves unemployed.

If you are considering accidental entrepreneurship allow me to share with you a few points to get you in the right direction. I like to call these my K.N.O.W factors:

 Knowledge – take your industry knowledge and work experience and put it to work for you. If you want to be successful as an entrepreneur do what you know and know what you do.

 Network – starting a business takes time, a working knowledge of the industry and network of contacts to help you develop and market your business is essential.

 Opportunity – a good entrepreneur is constantly looking for the right opportunity to enter the marketplace to provide a service or a product with a high demand and low competition.

 Work – work, work and more work. You have to be passionate and work your business. Being an entrepreneur has more responsibility then you can imagine. When you work for someone else you have one boss. When you start a business you have

4th Down and Two on the 28-yardline

2009-11-17T19:09:00.007-05:00

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

By David Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

The situation was 4th and two on the 28-yard line. The call from the sideline was go for it. By now you already know I am referring to the decision made by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to attempt a first down rather than kicking a field goal and extending his team’s lead.

The outcome of the game created much discussion over did Bill Belichick make the decision. The Patriots lost the game to the Indianapolis Colts when the Patriots were unable to make the first down and on conversion the Colts with quarterback Payton Manning leading the way marched down and scored a touchdown winning by a score of 35 to 34.

Did the coach make the right decision? The answer to that question is not as simple as it appears. Sports reporters, fans and Monday-morning-quarterbacks will say no considering the Patriots lost the game.

To understand Coach Belicheck’s decision you have to know this is a man who eats, drinks, sleeps and lives football all the time. He does more than just look at game film and break down defensive schemes. Belichick studies football trends and percentages. From that information Belichick had a working knowledge of his team’s chances on 4th down and less than two-yards to go. In past situations his team was better than 90% so in his mind he knew he had a great chance for making that first down.

Tennessee Titans football coach Jeff Fisher was asked if Belichick made the right choice. His response was “I am the last person to question Bill Belichick after all no one is more qualified and he has three Super Bowl Championships.” The University of Florida head football coach Urban Meyers and other coaches were asked the same question and his and others responded essentially the same.

In public relations and reputation management we try to show clients their ROI (return on investment) for choosing public relations. Coach Belichick has some real public relations value at play.

When you take the time to focus on excellence in your career and reputation you will be successful. And when you are successful you are afforded opportunities to take risks and make mistakes in the process.

Case-in-point when Billionaire investor Warren Buffet has a bad quarter do people second guess his decisions and stop investing…no. When golfer Tiger Woods looses the Masters on a missed birdie does it mean he’s no longer the most important player in the game…no. Look at your own organization I bet there is someone who can set their own schedule because you know they are a rainmaker.

The public relations lesson here is simple. Bill Belichick has been afforded a great deal of success and respect as a football coach. Love him, like him or hate him, Belichick has crafted a reputation of success and willingness to take risks for winning.

If you don’t have a killer instinct and passion for what you do in life I guarantee you will have limited success. Sure smart people make stupid mistakes. But success allows you the opportunity to make mistakes.

Stop Playing Politics with H1N1

2009-11-14T11:47:00.004-05:00

Image by stevendepolo via Flickr

By David E. Rudolph
Founder and Senior Parter
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

I don’t know about you but I am getting tired of all the drama regarding where and when you can get your Swine Flu vaccination here in metro Detroit. What I am tired of most is the mixed messages I hear around town. First, it was the confusion over when the H1N1 vaccine was going to be available. Second, all the discussion comparing the “regular” flu versus the Swine Flu and who should be vaccinated.

I’ve watched programs such as Larry King Live on CNN debate with health professionals and parents the pros and rumored cons of vaccinating children. To complicate matters more we have to listen to CDC officials damn near put us into a panic using terms like epidemic, pandemic and the like.

Everyday for the past five weeks I’ve seen media reports in metro Detroit on where to go, who should go, who should not go, target populations and long flu shot lines. So while I am listening to all of this information saying why I need vaccinate my 3-year old daughter and why I have to wait behind the target populations (pregnant woman, kids and chronically ill adults) I am starting to get angry.

I am angry because the H1N1 flu shot delivery system in metro Detroit seems to be very flawed to me. We are told there is enough vaccine for everyone who wants a shot. Ok so just give the shot out to anyone who walks in the door. The height of flu season hits in the months of December-January and March-April. It’s already mid-November and if I keep waiting as officials ask, hell, with my luck I will get H1N1 before Christmas.

I have been noticing Oakland County (that community to the North of 8 Mile Rd.) has been hosting these big Swine Flu Clinics in a basketball/concert stadium with limited times and dates as an alternative to just offering the shoots in their regional health facilities geographical positioned to service all reaches of the county. Why?

When you have one location with limited accessibility you create mass lines and coordination problems. You also create an inflated sense of demand and importance hence commanding news stories from local media.

I live in Detroit and I am not part of the target population but I got tired of waiting so I took matters into my own hands. Last week I took a 7 minute drive to my local City of Detroit health clinic planning to get my H1N1 shot. Expecting to be greeted with long lines or crazy-I-love-my-job nurses who would tell me I was not part of the target population, I was amazingly surprised. I walked into the clinic and no one was there. The receptionist welcomed me asked me to sign my name and someone would be with me. Before I could finish the “ph” in my last name a gentleman greeted me and asked me to follow him.

I was taken to a back office were a case-worker handed me a brief medical form asking the usual questions related to state of health. I answered the questions and a nurse arrived with the coveted H1N1 vaccine. She rolled up my shirt sleeve and asked me “how was the weather?” Before I could answer she said “all done have a good day Mr. Rudolph.”

From the time I walked into the clinic, filled out a health questionnaire, received my H1N1 vaccination and walked out took 11 minutes. You heard me right…I was shocked.

My H1H1 experience was nothing like what I expected based on all the local reports I had heard. It was if this clinic had opened up just for me. If I did not know better I would say the health professionals working this clinic were too bored and looking for business.

Detroit and Wayne County Health Departments get a big two-thumbs-up from me. Thanks for being professional, available and not pretentious as your north of the border counterparts. As a result I told a friend (who lives in West Bloomfield) to go to Detroit to get his H1N1 vaccine. He told two friends and they told four friends…well you get the message.

Today I am here to share some good public relations for how great of an experience I had getting my flu shot in Detroit.

I got this feeling someone is watching me

2009-11-10T15:44:00.012-05:00

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By David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

Want to hear a true story? Here is a funny water-cooler story you can share. In Detroit fashion I will start the narration of this story with our customary double negative slang saying “so what had happen was” Monday in between meetings I decided to go home and make a sandwich for lunch.

Upon arrival to my home I backed up my Dodge Ram 1500 tricked-out Hemi truck into the driveway, parked and proceeded to gather my laptop. While getting my things together and before turning off the truck engine I caught an interesting story on NPR (National Public Radio) regarding the Fort Hood incident. So I decided to sit and listen to the entire story.

About 7 minutes into the radio discussion I heard something that sounded like a helicopter approaching. Now hearing helicopters in my neighborhood is not too unfamiliar. I live close to I-96 and the bridge to Canada where traffic can get a bit crazy and there is always some kind of traffic-helicopter scoping out the area doing live reports. And on occasion the sound of a helicopter has been a sign something is not right in the neighborhood – yes like a scene out of the movie Boyz in the Hood we get some police action with a helicopter buzzing about with spot lights wizzling about like the opening of a new Broadway show.

However, this situation was different because I noticed that the helicopter (although not seen) was getting louder and louder as if it was right over my truck. So I say to myself…”self I don’t hear any police cars so maybe there was a bad car accident.” I turn down the radio and now I am feeling a downward pressure of wind. So I get out of the truck to investigate.

Shazzam! To my shock there is a helicopter hovering 100 feet over my back yard. What the f@#$ I say! Now I am scared because I am thinking there is some police chase going on at or near my house and just maybe I am about to walk right into it. So what do I do…call the wife and tell her I think something is wrong.

My wife answers her cell phone and I quickly tell her the situation. She tells me "David go into the house make sure the windows are closed." I tell her "F#$% that I am not going into the house what if the crook is in the house? In my option the best option is to stay close to the truck so I can get the hell out." But while I am going back and forth with my wife over what I should do I am just amazed there is a helicopter over my backyard.

Suddenly, I realized this helicopter did not look right. It had no markings, no WWJ Newsradio, FOX 2 News or Detroit Police insignias. In fact as I started to walk away from house to hide under the pine tree in my front yard the helicopter stated to move with me. Still looking up I noticed a funny looking cylinder-tube under the helicopter that I have only seen while playing the video game SOCOM™.

Now I am freaking out and so is my wife still on the cell phone. So I tell her ok I am going into the house to get my best friend (I am a NRA card carrying member…you figure it out) and I rush into the house ready to defend my castle. Before I get to "my boy" to lock and load my wife says “stop!” “The vice president is leaving Cobo Hall and his motorcade is heading down I-96 right past our house.”

So what is the moral of this story? Never sit in a car too long when the President or Vice President of the United States is coming your way. Because the helicopter you might see over your head chances are is the United States Secret Service and you don’t have a chance with a handgun with a helicopter gun torrent looking down at you!

Enjoy your day.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame

2009-11-08T14:41:00.005-05:00

Image by Festival Karsh Ottawa via Flickr

BY David E. Rudolph
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

In 1968 noted American artist Andy Warhol was quoted at saying that “in the future everyone will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” Based on my twenty years of experience in public relations I am inclined to almost agree with Warhol. Contrary to the once Hollywood notion that you could be discovered walking down Sunset Blvd., or sitting at a restaurant drinking a Coke, fame comes with a lot of work and there is no such thing as an overnight success.”

So I started thinking how does the idea of fifteen minutes of fame play out with businesses, entrepreneurs and others who are trying to bring a business, idea, product or service to the marketplace? Unconsciously could we all be too concerned with getting our fifteen minutes of fame instead of 365-days of communicating well.

I often have conversations with perspective clients who have a business, product or service they want to share with the media. In the course of listening and trying to separate the excitement and passion of the person from the “real news worthy story” I find some people have a tucked away agenda that amounts to wanting to see their name and face in the media to validate their ego.

The recording industry and today’s reality show craze is full of one-hit-wonders and e-list celebrity personalities trying to hold on their fifteen minutes of fame. However if you are in business this is the last thing you want to be. Instead of being a flash-in-the-pan with a couple media stories on your business you want to maintain a constant message. I call it the ABC Effect of Public Relations - Always Be Communicating.

Today getting great public relations is really an ongoing process combining the use of traditional and new media techniques. If you are opening a new retail store you don’t have to wait until the store is open to start thinking about your public relations. There are many stories within one story that can keep your business and name in the public. Building or renovating a new store, translates into business interest stories on how to start a business, choosing the right business location, business clustering and stories based on new areas coming to life with new investment (your perfect Crain’s Detroit Business story).

Do you provide a professional service such as accounting, legal or some other form of consultation? Show your industry expertise by starting a blog and share interesting content or editorial opinion relevant to your business and potential customers. Write an e-book or develop white papers offering technical or analytical thought.

These are only a few ideas you can move beyond getting your fifteen minutes of fame to 365-days of always communicating and building your personal and professional brand.

Political Correctness from a 3-year old

2009-11-04T21:59:00.016-05:00

Image by BL1961 via Flickr

By David E. Rudolph

When was the last time you laughed so hard you started to cry? For those of you who are parents or at least around kids will appreciate this story.

So "what-had-happen-was" I am sitting in my man-cave trying to sync my iPod when my 3-year old daughter comes downstairs. She (Rielly) comes over to me and says “daddy will you play with me?” So I stopped the iPod sync to play with Rielly and the pink piggy-block puzzle she pulled out for us.

While trying to figure out how to re-assemble the puzzle I turned to one of my favorite cable channels – the Discovery channel. This evening there is a great program on Air Fore One. I’ve seen it before but I am always fascinated with programs related to the President of the United States or the inner workings of the White House. So I'm bumbling, fumbling and stumbling my way trying to assemble this picture block puzzle. Although Reilly asked me to help her (and this kid doesn't like help from anyone) she is curiously sitting on the floor watching the big 50” LCD screen showing the inner workings of how the President of the United States travels on Air Force One.

Wanting to be the engaged parent I tell Rielly that is the airplane for the President. Rielly says to me “where him is?” I glanced at her then back at the screen and I replied “Rielly there he is.” She looks back at the television and then back at me and says “daddy where him at?” This time not paying attention to her – as I am still trying to work this crazy puzzle, I say “Rielly he is right there walking up the stairs to the plane.”

Figuring I had answered my daughter's question with satisfaction I looked back at her. She took a moment shifted her braids away from her face - as if to make a point I needed to see her face clearly, then said “daddy no, he’s not black.” In that moment I looked back at the television and realized the story on Air Force Once was produced during President George W. Bush's last months in office and Rielly did not recognize Mr. Bush as the President - as a conservative I was crushed.

Suddenly, I bursted into laughter because I felt like I was in a MasterCard commercial…playing with a Discovery Toys puzzle $10…buying new apps for your iPod Touch $7…spending quality time with your 3-year old daughter watching television on Air Force One who expects the President of the United States to be Black…priceless.

The public relations lession here 1) know your facts; 2) understand your audience; 3) communicate the approapriate tone, and 4) nerve try to play spindoctor with a three-year-old at 10:30 p.m., while working on a pink-piggy block puzzle. Enjoy your Thursday.

David E. Rudolph
Managing Partner
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

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Random Act of Kindness: Hyundai PR Team Hit

2009-11-03T13:34:00.005-05:00

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By David Rudolph

I thought you might like to hear about this great public relations success story. A man is Toronto Canada finds out that his Hyundai is crushed in a parking lot by a woman who literally drives on top of his car. A parking lot surveillance camera catches the action from start to finish. Some how the video footage of the accident is put on the web and the public relations team for Hyundai gets word of what happened.

Hyundai then does something very unusual, they deliver a brand- spanking new Hyundai vehicle to the owner of the crushed vehicle.

Not sure how public relations can help your business in the social media world? Out of the box thinking and transparent social networking is how you beat the competition for hearts-minds-and-checkbooks. This simple random act of corporate kindness got on the web and made it to national media when it hit National Public Radio.

Here is the kicker. The driver crashed into two cars at the same time. Hyundai saw an advantage and took it. Not once did you hear the name of the other damaged vehicle.

After reading this story how do you feel about Hyundai? See that is what good public relations offers over any funky cool advertising spot. Great job Hyundai Canada.

David Rudolph
Senior Managing Partner
D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations

Lost and Found

2009-11-02T11:57:00.006-05:00

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My blog’s name is Sunday Soap Box Orator – a public relations retrospective look at the week that was. Usually I look for some event in the media where I can examine and draw on how public relations played a role in what we hear, see and read. However, today is going to be a departure from my described usual. Today I am going to examine and draw on something that happened to me last week.

The start of the week appeared to be good and exciting. For months now I have been working on building a new website for my public relations firm D, Ericson & Associates. I have a great team of professionals who are advising me on how to transform and position this company into the world of social media. The work and time has been intense and rewarding in terms of growing my interest in mastering public relations in this new media arena.

However, I have had my fair share of distractions that have held back my progress – not just developing the website but shepherding this company through some very tough economic times where developing new business and holding on to clients has been rough.

In the business world concentration and focus on details is critical to the success of any organization. As an entrepreneur you need to master these skills and maintain the keen ability to block out distractions along your path. Distractions come in many forms such as spending too much time surfing Facebook or day dreaming of a life you want but afraid to make it into a reality to extending yourself to others when you need the help the most.

I have been overextended for some time now and last week it hit critical mass. I lost something very valuable and dear to my heart last week while helping someone else . On a day when I should have been focused I lost concentration and allowed a distraction to cause me a great deal of heartache and pain.

But in the midst of my personal chaos I found something. I found redemption; I found clarity and a new focus on what is most important to me.

A special friend said to me “David in your panic realize you are still here…you are still alive. You didn’t cause the problem you were just reacting to it.” My friend had a great point. Sometimes it takes a crisis to remove the numbness that develops when you take things for granted or failure to acknowledge you cannot help someone drowning if you cannot swim.

We are all under a great deal of personal and professional stress in this country. You only have to read today’s lead stories to figure that out...N1H1 pandemic...but guess what no shot for you – yet we are a little short, another bank fails, home foreclosures on the increase, jobs creation slow and more political and leadership instability. What does it all mean? I have no clue. But for me it means I have to stop looking back in the rear-view-mirror and just move forward. My personal and professional life depends on it.

Today is the start of a new day, new week. I cannot say what tomorrow will bring but I know for the moment writing this blog entry helped me express a bit of myself without being overexposed. Thanks for reading my thoughts.

And that was the week that was!

David Rudolph

To be green or not to be green...that is the question?

2009-10-13T12:37:00.002-04:00

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Last week I held back on publishing a blog entry criticizing President Obama for making a one day trip to Europe in order to lobby the International Olympic Selection Committee for his beloved adopted city of Chicago.

Had I published the post you would have read my argument on how the President’s trip to Europe that came on the heals of his address before the United Nationals General Assembly on climate control and reducing greenhouse gases produced by the United States and other top industrialized countries, could have opened him up for scrutiny among those following his comments and actions supporting the greenhouse movement including reducing ones carbon-footprint.

Furthermore, I would have suggested it’s already hard to be green when you are the President of the United States. When the President travels a team of no less than 300 staff, security, military and media personnel are accompanying him. No less than thee C140-military plans are mobilized to move the President’s transportation vehicles including limos and Marine-1 (the big dog helicopters). Air Force One and its sister Boeing 747 are also with the President at all times when he is traveling. Note-to-mention jet fuel cost and usage issue because you get my point.

So when Mr. Obama decided to go to Europe to represent the United States for possible section of the 2016 summer Olympics his carbon footprint is well…of-the-chain.

It’s a mute point considering Chicago did not get the Olympics there was little condemnation of the President for taking the trip and days later he was award the Nobel Peace Prize or humanitarian work aboard as a bridge builder and peacemaker.

However, there is a public relations lesson here. Public relations plays a role in virtually all the decision making processes from the President of the United States to business leaders to how you function at work and at home. The President could have been called on the carpet for his statements one day and his actions another.

Actions define how people perceive you and your perception is your reputation. In business and in everyday life reputation is really all you have. Think about it, your education speaks to your reputation to learn, your resume speaks to your reputation for accomplishments. How you conduct business is your reputation for providing a needed service and how you help others in need is your reputation for showing benevolence.

Good public relation is more than feel-good pieces, photos and lengthy quotes. It’s a constant monitoring of the status-quo and balancing a client’s statements and actions all while trying to create a certain perception and maintaining a good reputation.

And that was the week that was.

Tired of the Monkey Business

2009-10-07T11:52:00.010-04:00

Image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr

You may remember last February the New York Post printed a questionable cartoon sketched by Sean Delonas depicting two-white police officers standing over a dead chimpanzee who they just shot?

The New York Post took some heat for publishing this cartoon. Critics such as Al Sharpton spoke out saying “the cartoon in today's New York Post is troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual reference to this when in the cartoon they have police saying after shooting a chimpanzee that "Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill." Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president).”

In their defense the New York Post editor-in-chef Col Allan said “the cartoon is a clear parody of the current news event, to wit the shooting of a violent chimpanzee in Connecticut… It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revise the economy…”

Ironically it was the one of the Post’s own Sandra Guzman an associate editor at the paper who was the most vocal against the publishing of the cartoon. Well, nine-months later this week Guzman was fired from her job. This action seems like retribution for her comments against the cartoon. However, the New York Post issued a statement saying that Ms. Guzman was dismissed because her section she worked on Tempo- Latino cultural and heritage had been “discontinued.”

Now I am not much into conspiracy theories but this reads a bit like monkey business if you ask this blogger. First of all when the cartoon ran it was February – which happens to be Black History Month. Second, October is Hispanic Heritage Month and with the firing of Ms. Guzman this week perhaps the New York Post could have found a better time to terminate their Latino news section and editor.

Do you think the Post’s top public relation officer was sitting in the room when all this was being worked out? Something tells me no. What do you think?

And that’s the week that was.

Does America Need a Makeover?

2009-09-23T10:14:00.007-04:00

Image by riacale via Flickr

Before becoming a public relations consultant I was a student who mastered in international affairs and followed worldwide politics and culture.

For me the observation of international relations is somewhat of a hobby considering I am not working with any clients overseas. But as I began my morning routine of listening to NPR and watching MSNBC all while scrambling eggs, cooking sausage and dressing my daughter, I took note of all the stories regarding President Obama’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly today.

The President is likely facing a tough audience because he has some tough issues to deal with abroad. Those issues range from climate change, Iran, our domestic economic problems causing a worldwide effect, war in Afghanistan and the elephant always in the room, the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

So I take off my academic hat and put on the public relations one and I say “gee America really has an image problem!” For the later half of the twentieth-century and well into the new millennium we have been perceived as the “Ugly American.”

Like most claims there is some kernel-of-truth. As America rose in economic and military might we used this power to push nations around. Our lack of accountability for our actions abroad and our ethnocentric view of nations that do not adopt our way of life created this bad image of America.

One speech is not going to change the current state of affairs between the United State and the world. Mr. Obama has his hands full with domestic hot-plate issues such as healthcare reform, bail-outs and a sluggish economy. The President’s overseas honeymoon is not quite over yet but his popularity will be in question if he does not communicate the right tone to the world that America is willing to play a bit fairer.

In my opinion we have nothing to lose. After all Americans at the moment are more concerned with finding a job, keeping a job of or keeping a roof over their heads. I am sure some of my right-centered brothern could argue differently but this is not a idiological discussion. This is about knowing when to shift gears and move forward.

What do you think? Does America need a makeover? Why or why not? Send me your feedback.

2009-09-16T16:41:00.001-04:00

What the hell were you thinking?

2009-09-14T17:32:00.029-04:00

Last week was busy with potential material for today’s blog entry. As I sifted through all the junk I found a consistent theme of civility gone wild. You know the meaning of the word civility – the act of being courteous, polite or utterance in speech. To put it plainly, the manners your mother taught you to have in public.

I like this word civility, my wife and I talk often about the lack of civility in American culture today. Well, I have three great examples of just how civility has left the building like Elvis at a Vegas concert.

Last week was very important for the Obama administration as the President addressed a joint session of Congress during a nationally televised speech concerning issues surrounding his healthcare reform plan. By all accounts in the media and by both political parties the speech was eloquent, delivered straight forward and to the point. President Obama addressed the pressing points and rumors circulating around his plan with the precision of a neurosurgeon.

But as the President was making headway during his speech he was interrupted by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson from South Carolina, who blurted out loud “you lie” to the President.

Politics can be a dirty business and politicians know attacking the opposition’s views is fair game. However, making as issue personal by calling someone a liar is a whole difference story. Not-to-mention, calling the President of the United States a liar during a nationally viewed telecast was just plain stupid, dumb, unnecessary, rude and lacking civility. I am sure the representative’s mother was quite embarrassed.

Congress is considering taking further disciplinary action towards the Rep. Wilson. If you want my advice, Mr. Wilson should spend a week with a first-grade class because it’s apparent he did not get it the first time around.

Contempt of Court

Serena Williams this weekend lost her cool after a sideline-official called a foot-foul against her during a semi-final match against Kim Clijsters at the Woman’s US Open. The profane-outburst against the sideline official cost Serene the match, most likely another US Open title and some pocket change in fines.

This is not the first time a tennis player has gone wild on the court. Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe have made careers going off on judges during a match. The silver-lining in this temporary lost of civility is Serena admittedly lost her cool-points by dropping a few f-bombs and quickly apologized for her actions.

I am willing to give Serena a pass on this offense. It’s not in her character to lose control during a match and I believe she is truly sorry for doing it.

Beyonce vs. Whoopi

If you caught the first 5 minutes of the Detroit Lions vs. the New Orleans Saints game on FOX you heard a strange and disturbing comparison made by on-air color commentator Chris Myers who was calling the game for FOX. Myers talking about Detroit Lion player Larry Foot who was traded by the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers compared his trade going to the Lions from the Steelers as “once dating Beyonce to dating Whoopi Goldberg.”

Talk about poor civility on national television. Chris Myers point blank was wrong issuing that comment. It was in poor taste and did not add to any value to his commentary or analysis of the game. If I were the NFL Commissioners – who happens to be a public relations consultant by trade I would go to FOX Sports Network and demand that Chris Myers issue an apology to viewers, the league and Whoopi for his comments.

Whoopi quite honestly has potentially a lot of media power as a national co-host on the ABC Network morning talk show The View. The last thing FOX or Myers needs is to have the ladies of The View blasting him for his callow remarks. Chris you get the gas-face!

Kanye “can you please shut up” West

I am reminded of an interview in 1995 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Jay invited Hugh Grant to come on the show – just after Hugh got caught with a prostitute on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. The very first question Jay asked Hugh was “what the hell were you thinking.”

Can someone tell me what the heck is wrong with Kanye West? This guy just cannot resist the temptation to put his foot in his mouth on national television and say the stupidest things.

I used to think Kanye was trying hard to be opinionated, controversial and thought-provoking to sell records. However, I have a new opinion now. Kanye is one of those celebrities who believes bad press is good press and it’s ok to be a rectal-sphicter as long as ‘they’ are talking about you.

Hate to be the one to tell you Kanye but you really lack civility and maybe you should leave the golden-stripper alone and start acting like a man with some common sense. Back to kindergarten for you too!

And that was the week that was.

The Role of Public Relations in the New Media Landscape

2009-09-10T16:40:00.007-04:00

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By SalFalko

When public relations first started back in the early 1900s it was defined as “a management function which tabulates public attitudes, defines the policies, procedures and interests of an organization. . . followed by executing a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.”

Paul Lazarsfeld, founder of the Bureau of Applied Social Research at Columbia University, conducted large-scale studies of the effects of communication through mass media on society. He found that the majority of the general public did not form their opinions or decide on a course of action based on directly receiving information, but rather relied on “opinion leaders.”

People relied heavily on other people for the information they used to make their decisions.

One of the most important functions of PR at that time was reaching opinion leaders in the media – journalists and analysts were top of the list. And it was not hard to find them.

A more recent definition from the Encyclopedia of PR says “Public Relations is a set of management, supervisory, and technical functions that foster an organization’s ability to strategically listen to, appreciate, and respond to those persons whose mutually beneficial relationships with the organization are necessary if it is to achieve its missions and values.”

That seems more appropriate for the media landscape we’re operating in today.

The web has given people the power of voice. Peer reviews and opinion are more influential than ever before. The Edelman Trust Barometer has shown that “someone just like me” is the most trusted source of information.

So the ‘opinion leader’ scenario still applies. They’re just called different names today – influencers or trust agents.

Chris Brogan, co-author of Trust Agents defines the term as “people who use the web in a very human way to build influence, reputation, awareness, and who can translate that into some kind of business value.”

So how do we find these new influencers?

Social media has made it a lot easier to foster the ability to listen and respond. But how do we identify the right people?

Are they the same as they were before? Not at all.

In fact journalists, analysts and A-list bloggers - although still important - are now only about 40% of your influencers. The other 60% are probably unknown to you.

And only 9% of companies are identifying and making an effort to build one-on-one relationships with those influencers, says Nick Hayes of Influencer50. “Influencer marketing is at the same stage PR was at a few years ago –with a small number of firms that understand the benefits reaping big rewards.”

David Phillips said in the Journal of Communication Management – “Building and managing relationships with those who influence an organization or individual’s audiences has a central role in public relations.”

If the role of PR in the past was to find and work with the journalists and analysts (who were the major influencers) then PR’s role today is to find these unknown influencers and build positive relationships with them.

You may not immediately know who your influencers are. There is no universal ranking system. Someone who is an influencer for me might not be for you.

Work with the people you identify and watch your analytics. The proof is in the decision and the action people take as a result of information they get from an influencer.

Correctly identifying influencers is a large part of your social media strategy.

Create Your Own Online Network

2009-07-30T19:24:00.001-04:00

Create Your Own Online Network

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Word Recalibration a Teachable Moment?

2009-07-29T12:44:00.009-04:00

I had to think long and hard about writing this blog entry. Considering my blog - Sunday Soap Box Orator is suppose to be a retrospective view of the week that was, I suppose I have to say something about how last week’s media news cycle was dominated by President Obama’s comments regarding the arrest of his friend and prominent Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

As a rule I try to keep my political, racial and religious perspectives to myself or at least among close personal friends and family. However, today I am going to step close to that line a bit as a commentary to what I noticed regarding this “Gates-Gate” story.

President Obama’s primetime press conference last week was suppose to inform the American people on his administration’s healthcare reform package, expectations and timetables. And for the most part it was until the President was ask a question by a reporter towards the end regarding his thoughts about the arrest of Dr. Gates and the possible racial profiling by the Cambridge Massachusetts Police Department. The President’s reply was that he felt the Cambridge Police “acted stupidly” in arresting Professor Gates after it had been determined that Gates was not a burglar and had forcibly entered his own home after the front-door lock jammed.

Two uttered words “acted stupidly” muted everything the Obama administration put into preparing for a nationally televised news conference and the President’s remarks and answers to questions on one of the most significant issues affecting Americans today in healthcare. At times the political media can take on shark like attributes such as hunting for Sea-lions or eating a discarded tire off the sea floor. My point is of all the bait thrown overboard during that news conference the media choose to bite the one that had the least amount of relevance at that point in time.

Immediately the news cycle was dominated by the President’s remarks and after the administration realized their message of healthcare reform was lost in the wind the White House went into damage control to get the issue under control and back on message.

I think it was a fair question to ask the President of the United States of what he thought about the incident. After all, the President calls Professor Gates and friend and he is a national and internationally recognized scholar. I don’t have a problem with how President Obama responded to the question, in fact I believe if he could have used stronger language he would have done so. The problem I do have is how I feel short-changed on the real discussion that should have happen on the healthcare reform issue. I listened to the President Obama’s news conference on the radio, and I know less about what he said regarding an issue that affects me, my family and business and more about the garbage I deal with everyday being a minority in America.

Our history of racial inequity, intolerance and separation is well documented and for the media to once again grab the lowest hanging fruit and turn the President’s comments into a reason or wedge for a race relations discussion is like “preaching to the choir”- we needed a discussion four-hundred years ago. However, I would like to see what would happen when the next not-of-color president has to answer a similar question of a similar nature and still have the guts to call it like it really was…just stupid.

And that’s the way it was. What do you think?

Public Relations Principles Learned from a Salesman

2009-07-25T09:55:00.013-04:00

Last week, a friend invited me to attend a presentation by noted motivational speaker Scott Love on how to be a better salesman. When I arrive at the event I had some trepidation regarding how much I was really going to learn from a bunch of salesmen – most likely discussing ways on how to make clients and consumers buy something they really don’t want. After all the session was entitled “Playing Poker with your Prospects: How to read people and influence them to buy.” What I realized is how much a good sale strategy for developing and keeping clients is congruent with a good public relations plan.

The speaker opened by informing the audience that is you where looking at the sales process for generating new leads or business on a chart you would notice that only ten percent of your time is spend doing hard-core selling. The other 90% of your time should be focused on your sales strategy, your routine or habits of getting a client and how you think about moving your business forward.

This is not what I had expected to hear. Consequently, I found the advice to be very true. As a small business owner sometimes I find myself spending too much time trying to figure our how to get perspective clients to retain by services. In reality I should focus on improving the way I think, understand and know my business in such a way that selling its services are just a routine byproduct of what I do.

For business owners good public relations start with knowing your business, products or services and target consumers. The selling part will be much easier once you have firm grip of your business. However, for most entrepreneurs this is a task easily said then done. We spend the bulk of our time either getting a business open but have no idea how to sell it or waste too much of our time without a real sales objective or strategy – what I call the “build it and they will come approach.” I made that mistake starting a business fifteen years ago with no business, marketing or sales plan.

Here are six simple principles of ethical influence both public relations and sales discipline share. Concentration on these points will focus you as a business owner on the other 90% of you time knowing and understand your business for improved sales and public relations marketability:

1) Principle of Contrast – Know what you do well. Know how to draw the lines as to what your business does well or makes you interesting as a story opportunity then the rest of your competing market.

2) Principle of Scarcity -If something is difficult to get, then getting it demonstrates to ourselves and others that we are in control of our environment. In business if something is hard to achieve or acquire then it has more value. So make sure your business, service or product is considered a premium and clients will go the extra mile to do business with you. Aristotle wrote
'That is why what comes to us only at long intervals is pleasant, whether
it be a person or a thing; for it is a change from what we had before, and,
besides, what comes only at long intervals has the value of rarity.'

3) Principle of Social Truth – Clients and the media love testimonials. If I told you I was the best publicist money can buy what would you say? But if the chairman and CEO of CNN said it, how do you think it would impact my business? One of key feature in the social network platform LinkedIn is the recommendation section where people you have influenced can say positive things about you and your work. Use this to your advantage.

4) Principle of Reciprocity – As a rule people do business with people they know and trust. How do you get clients or media to know and trust you? By making deposits in the emotional bank account in terms of calling on your clients or customers to purely offer your assistance to help them…no strings…no selling pitching… work at being a resource.

5) Principle of Authority – Remember to position yourself and business as an authority in the industry. Get out there and speak on issues concerning your business though blogs, business forums and social media.

6) Principle of Like - As said before people like doing business and giving money to people they like.

These are some of the lessons I learned from a salesman. I leave you with this open thought. How will you spend the rest of your 90% working and developing your business?

The Scarlet Interview – South Carolina Gov. Sanford puts foot in mouth, ass and very thing in between

2009-07-04T20:46:00.017-04:00

By now you have already heard all the titillating details surrounding Governor Sanford’s disappearance down to South America for a rendezvous with his Argentinean girlfriend. The South Carolina governor for sure is not the first high-profile politician to step out on his wife. But what makes this case so interesting to me from a public relations stand point is what the governor did after first admitting to the affair.

After calling a press conference and answering at length questions from the media as to the nature of his affair and trip to Argentina, I was impressed at the candor for which Gov. Sanford showed in telling all the details related to his affair. From a public relations viewpoint he did exactly as I would have advised him to do in a crisis situation – work quick, be direct and frank and try to show some contrition while telling the truth.

However, a few days later Governor Sanford granted a second interview with Associated Press (AP) and blew the house down with his ill-advised comments. The embroiled governor for what reason no one knows decided to revisit details regarding his affair by telling AP that his girlfriend was the love of his life...soulmate...and he had other affairs with other women in other cities.

When I read the AP story the publicist hairs on my neck stood up as I am sure everyone else who heard or read this story. Gosh Mr. Sanford you were on the right track but then added lighter-fluid to your already crazy actions was the dumbest thing I have ever seen. I am still wondering where was the governor's press secretary at the time of this AP interview and at point was he or she going to tell Sanford that he was in enough trouble with his wife let alone to residents of South Carolina?

Here is a free tip, next time you find yourself in a questionable situation where public opinion is a factor in your ability to get or keep a job, call your attorney then get a good public relations professional and say nothing without conferring with your team.

If Gov. Sanford had been a client of D. Ericson & Associates Public Relations we would have advised him how to deal with the media during this situation as follows:

1) Respond quickly to the media, stakeholders and constituents of South Carolina by addressing all the facts of his actions truthfully and with remorse.

2) Set a timeline between 36-48 hours to directly deal with credible media queries as a follow-up to his prepared and vetted statements.

3) Identify a small number of core messages regarding the situation to communicate repeatedly. "I want to apologize to my wife and people of South Carolina for my mistakes in judgement..." "I have caused my family much embarrassment and shame but in no way had my actions put the people of South Carolina in any kind of jeopardy and the continuity of leadership was in tact while I was out of the country..." You get my point.

4) Keep your cool. Don't get upset at the media or critics after all it's your mess...so own it.

5) Never say "comment" and stay on message. If you cannot answer a particular question say so and indicate you will provide follow-up details later.

6) Describe steps that will be taken to solve the problem if applicable or steps taken to insure the issue will not happen again, and finally

7) Reinforce to all publics your disappointment in actions taken and move on without providing additional information that could worsen the situation.

I would love to hear your feedback. What do you think about Gov. Sanford and his actions?

CNN - The king of pop news and information...or not?

2009-07-01T12:19:00.004-04:00

June 23, 2009, at approximately 2:21 p.m., pacific coast time Facebook posted a status update the king-of-pop Michael Jackson had died. Twenty-three minutes later TMZ was the first media outlet that reported that MJ was dead. Immediately I rushed to turn on CNN to see if it was true. I will say it one more time I went to turn on CNN - the worlds most trusted news organization and what I got was a sense of on-air confusion as to what was going on with Michael Jackson.

“He’s not breathing,” “now he is in a coma,” “no he had a heart attack,” CNN and the rest of the national news organizations seemed to be short on facts and information. Tell it me it’s not true that TMZ scooped CNN, FOX News and MSNBC? Yep they did and in big fashion.

“What came next was a surprise. Before the RIPs and the “he touched us all” jokes, many users began posting jabs aimed at CNN -- more specifically, its irrelevance as a news source. One person joked that TMZ ought to write an obituary about CNN’s death. Another user suggested that CNN spend more time reporting and less time advertising its Twitter page. But what if TMZ had been wrong?” wrote New York Times blog reporter Alexandra LeTellier.

The questions I want to consider are has the internet, social networking, text messaging, PDA’s and iPhone technology corrupted us to the point that we have given up our standards of accountability and fact-checking for speed of information at any cost? There is no question that TMZ got it right. Michael is dead but “shamwow” consider how fast TMZ got their information (which has not been divulged by founder and managing editor Harvey Levin). Still there are big big questions as to who was the reliable source that gave TMZ its information regarding Michael Jackson? Was the source credible and did they violate patient HIPPA laws?

The National Inquirer, TMZ and Dredge Report’s of the world have used the methodical and fact-checking process that mainstream media goes though to their advantage by breaking stories fast with little to no indication as to where the information is obtained. For that matter when the public hears or reads about a “tabloid” story they usually discount the accuracy and accountability of the story and media source. Hence if TMZ wants to play with the big-boys they better reassure the public they got it right based on credible sources and not lurking in garbage cans, camped out in trees or unethical healthcare professionals.

As Master Yoda would say “disturbing change in force I feel.” This may be nothing or the start of something. One thing is for sure when the Berlin wall fell in 1989 it was CNN reporting the breaking news. During the first Gulf War Desert Storm it was CNN with the only reporting crew on the ground giving us up-to-date information on the battle. CNN better consider ways to incorporate gorilla-style reporting while maintaining its reputation as a leading news source that gets information right and fast if it’s going to remain the king-of-pop news and information.

BET Awards 2009- Keep an eye on your reputation

2009-06-29T13:25:00.003-04:00

This morning I woke up not sure what observations to write in this week’s Sunday Soapbox Orator. As I sat in front of my computer looking at a blank Word screen I started to think about the topic of image and reputation.

Reputation can be defined as the overall impression of an organization or individual. A reputation is built among an organization’s image within different publics. Image or perception is what people think of you. Specifically, it is the impact made by all messages on each particular public. Image is based on both word and deed -- on the verbal, visual and behavioral messages, both planned and unplanned, that come from an organization, leaving an impression on an individual observer or a particular public. Thus image can be inconsistent, varying from one public to another, and varying from one time to another.

To be clear your image is shaped within groups of people you interact with and your reputation is developed from the overall conscience of those groups. And generally there is a lag time between reputation and the conscience attempt by an organization to change its image.

So what does this have to do with the BET Awards you ask? While watching the BET Awards last night and reading the chatter on Facebook and Twitter it occurred to me that BET needs to do some work on improving its image and reputation. Why? Well if you saw the awards show or read the online commentary you noticed most people were not “wowed” by the presentation/ production of the show. Honestly I would not have watched the awards show had I not heard the show was going to be a special dedication to the life of Michael Jackson. In my opinion BET used the MJ card to get people to watch the show but did not deliver on making is a special night in his honor. Sure papa Jackson was there, host Jamie Foxx dressed like Mike and Janet Jackson delivered a heart felt message to the viewing audience, but I still felt robbed.

This is a classic example of how the BET Awards better keep a close key on its image and reputation. Today a lot of BET’s publics are discussion how the image of the awards show seemed cheep, over-hyped and disingenuous. You would think a company whose parent company is Viacom would have the juice and insight to really make the show a special night regardless of the MJ factor. The show I saw last night wouldn’t have made it to a big brother CBS audience.

In the short run the BET Awards 2009, has people buzzing about what they saw or did not see. However, I am sure it did very little to heighten the show’s reputation as a first-class awards presentation recognizing the work and achievements of African-Americans in the entertainment industry in my humble opinion.

The PR hustle never goes out of style

2009-06-26T12:28:00.003-04:00

The PR hustle never goes out of style

The other day I was listening to a wonderful podcast I discovered on Itunes called PR Works. The podcast is produced by two public relations professionals who have a great deal of knowledge working in corporate communications and marketing. The episode I listened to featured an interview with Jack O’Dwyer – an important fixture in media and public relations services.

Jack spoke on a variety of topics but one that caught my attention was how digital media and social networking should not be the only too used by public relations professionals in doing their job. With no question digital media has helped all public relations professionals be more effective and efficient with communicating to clients, customers and the media. For one, most press releases are now sent via electronically. Most media contacts prefer to be contacted via email and clients can engage in a two-way conversation with customers through social networking sites.
However, there is one skill that remains tried-and-true when it comes to being great at public relations. The art of hustling! For some the word alone might conjure thoughts of some slick talking used car selling type individual. But the art of hustling in public relations is not about being clever, a smooth tongue or proficient at wordsmith. A great public relations professional knows the importance of being helpful. And in order to be helpful you need to put yourself is all kinds of situations related to all kinds of topics with all kinds of people.

The difference between being just good and not a great public relations professional can be measured by how well connected among with the media, corporate giants, politicians, the religious community and small business, big business and not-for-profit world you are.

Digital media and social networking can help in your quest for having a six-degree-of separation. But if you want to cut that down from six degrees to three degrees there is no substitution for face-to-face interaction. Great public relations professionals know how to get in your face, by attending events, joining business and professional organizations, networking, volunteering to help at the right events and being prepared to have an opinion on a variety of topics if called upon.

That is the PR hustle. Show me a great publicist and I will show you a person who has not forgotten the art of extending their hand, looking you directly in the face and saying “hello my name is…” These are some of the hustling skills that will never go out of style and keep you relevant and useful to prospective clients and the media.

Power Schmoozing: The Opportunities for Getting a Life are Everywhere

2009-04-11T11:13:00.010-04:00

Preface

Freshly minted with an undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in 1989, many of my contemporaries between the ages of 24 and 34 were obsessed with the idea of establishing ourselves in the business world. The media called us “generation X” (defined as a group who came of age after the Vietnam War, witnessed historic and political events such as the end of the cold war and the fall of the Berlin wall. In addition, this generation saw the inception of the home computer, the rise of videogames, and the Internet as a tool for social and commercial purposes. Dot.coms, MTV, Grunge music, Hip hop culture, and AIDS are attributed to this generation.) Our primary objective in life was to follow the work ethic defined by our most of our great-generation parents in getting a job, working hard, establish loyalty in the workplace and living out the American Dream as we had become accustomed to knowing.

The buzzword moving into the 1990s was “networking.” The recession of the later part of the 1980s and into the early 1990s taught us if you wanted to get a job or move up in corporate circles you had to build a network of people who you could count on for information, leads, mentoring and the like.

How, where, and with whom were the questions I asked during those days? We young professionals were tripping over ourselves looking for opportunities to meet people through social-cliques at professional associations with volunteer organizations and private social settings looking for someone willing to hear our story. We were business card junkies - collecting and passing along cards like a drug dealer selling a “dime” bag on the streets.

Networking then helped me get my first job in public relations. Networking today has helped me stay in my continued career in public relations. I have learned a few things along the way and I want to share them with you in an open dialogue over the next several blog entries.

You vs. Them

I won’t speak for you but I know I am terrified with meeting people. Introvert by nature, I have to work hard in presenting myself in a confident and controlled manor. To be a great at networking is to be honest and truthful and upfront with people within the first 5 minuets of the conversation. The biggest mistake you can do when networking is to define yourself base on who you work for or represent rather than who you are as a person.

Networking – meeting a total stranger, challenges our innate sense of unworthiness and wanting people to like us. We have been conditioned to not trust people we do not know and we build layers like an onion that potentially can limit our ability to see common interests between us.

Terri Mandell, author and expert on communication and etiquette says “Power Schoozing is a great guideline for getting ahead in business and it will expand your thinking and help do more than just build a career. Remember that our prime directive as humans is to seek out and make contact with one another, to form partnerships, groups, families and communities. We’re not just here to do business, we’re here to make friends and find people to love. This is not optional. This is required.”

Yes the “you or us” vs. “them” mentality is a killer to successful networking. Just think about it when you were a child and a new family moved into the neighborhood there was you and your family and them – a group not yet ready to be trusted. As we get older we begin to define ourselves by all sorts of things such as race, color, religion and sex to name a few. And if we stay in our little comfort corner we will never know how to expand our horizons, views and opinions by connecting to others.

In my opinion the concept of networking for business is over-hyped, misrepresented and overused as of late. As networking has changed over the years – this especially true with the use of the internet and social-networking platforms, it’s not just about business anymore. It’s about having the confidence to expose yourself to new people and ideas and walking into a room full of strangers and asking to be noticed. Networking today is about getting a life!

Stay tuned more to come…

Newspapers are reporting their own imminent deaths. Where else will (or do) you get your news?

2009-04-01T10:54:00.001-04:00

Watching the local broadcast news in the morning and nightly news in the evening has always been a part of starting and ending my day. I am a visual kind of guy and still enjoy seeing what's going on in my city and the nation. How and where we get our news and information has changed big time but I still have a bit of the old-school in me where I plan my dinner time at 6:30 pm, eating and watching Brian Williams.

Television also reminds me of my youth. I have strong memories of watching the first man land on the moon, President Nixon leaving office, Live-Aid, Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk live in TV, the day the Space Shuttle blow up, the fall of of the Berlin Wall and most recently seeing an African-American elected president of the United States of America.

Television might not be the most in depth form of news and information but it has given me some some great images I will always remember.

"And that's the way it is..." Please share?

Using blogs as a public relations tool

2009-04-01T09:56:00.005-04:00

A post on Kevin Dugan’s Strategic Public Relations blog (http://prblog.typepad.com/) recently caught my eye. Dugan discussed an article longtime online marketing genius B.L Ochman highlighting ten “examples of sites, campaigns, and companies that are crying out for blogs.” The article got me thinking, once again, about how companies are missing the blogging boat. To this end, I’ve come up with my own list of five industries that are not capitalizing on the public relations opportunities presented by blogs. My hope is that my ideas will perhaps help foster some creative thinking about how your company or clients can use blogs as effective public relations tools.

1. Those Paradigm Shifters
The satellite radio business is still in its nascent stage, with only two companies (now united as one) - XM Satellite Radio and Sirius. What’s interesting to note is that XM, which launched its service before Sirius, has more than 2.5 million subscribers (Sirius has 600,000), while media gadfly TiVo surpassed the two-million subscriber mark in September. One-time media darling NetFlix has 2.23 million subscribers. Add XM’s and Sirius’s subscriber base together, and you have a customer base that’s either larger or the same size of that of two industries - digital video recorders and mail-based movie subscription service - that are considered “paradigm shifters.”
All three of these industries rely on three forms of marketing: advertising, public relations and word-of-mouth. The latter has been the most important for all three, and has contributed to the organic growth we’re seeing in these industries. However, none of the companies involved in these industry have blogs, and that’s surprising.

At NetFlix, a blog would be a great way to promote upcoming releases and little-known movies that are finding an audience thanks to the service. The satellite radio companies can use blogs to promote programming (both services have unique programming offerings), and TiVo could use a blog as a quasi-marketing device to help push television programming on behalf of advertisers. The news flow in these industries is steady, and blogs would give the companies an outlet to comment on the changing landscape of their respective sectors, and to dispel any consumer myths. What’s amazing is that these are envelope-pushing companies, but they have not embraced a cheap, interactive and non-resource-intensive marketing device.

2. Pet Supply Retailers
Pets are a big business, and as pet owner, I can attest to that. The pet supply business is both a mom & pop and big business sector, with retailers PetSmart and PETCO the biggest names. Both of these companies have very good websites, chock-full of great products and information on pet care, adoption and other subjects. Each also has photo contests, and PETCO links to an outside message board where pet owners can talk about pet-related issues. But why no blogs?

A PETCO or PetSmart blog with pet-related news would be a good way to attract and retain customers. The website of the shelter where I adopted my cat has a Q&A section where locals ask the veterinarian associated with the shelter questions on everything from the best food for a pet to dealing with a depressed animal. Extend this idea to a pet supply retailer’s blog, add news about wacky pets and animals, and - bingo - you have a destination for pet lovers, and a way to extend your brand and increase sales. Connecting the blog to an organization such as the ASPCA and highlighting news stories about the consequences of pet abuse would make it even stronger.

3. Brokerage Firms
Spend a few minutes reading the latest news on Charles Schwab and you’ll see how competitive the brokerage space is. Retail investors need guidance now, more than ever, and the vast majority still rely on full or partial service brokers not only to execute trades and provide guidance but also to provide essential research tools. Instead of capitalizing on these important relationships with consumers, brokerage firms remain mostly faceless entities, and this is one reason why people like me have found an online home writing about investing.

A firm like Schwab, which is cutting fees to attract and retain customers, could easily launch a blog as a value-added service. The blog could be simple, performing the function of tracking daily market-moving events, highlighting research calls, and helping investors understand things like a “triple witch.” What the brokerage firms have failed to realize over the years is that informed investors are more profitable clients than uninformed ones. Blogs can help inform investors better - and turn them into better customers.

4. Airlines
Bad public relations and the airline business go hand-in-hand, but some airlines are trying to break this historic relationship. JetBlue has done a very good PR job, owning up to a mistake publicly and claiming accountability for it. Likewise, SouthWest Airlines has done some shrewd PR by allowing its airline to be the subject of the A&E Network’s reality program “Airline.”
Most airlines have frequent flier programs, and the outreach is generally decent. But they can do better. Blogs highlighting destinations, travel news, airline regulations, flight specials and frequent flier deals could be a hit. I visit the FlyerTalk Forums (http://www.flyertalk.com/), and I’m amazed to find out how well-informed frequent fliers are. But casual fliers still make up the bulk of the airline’s business, and they need to be informed as well.

If an airline was to launch a blog where they published exclusive fare specials and provided flight delay updates, airport closings, and other information, it would be a huge step in humanizing the travel experience, and it would help foster goodwill with passengers.

5. Colleges
While many individual departments and professors have blogs, I can’t seem to track down a college or university with a blog of its own. I’m sure one exists, but I just can’t find it at the moment.

College is big business, and colleges fight each year for not only the best students, but the students who will need the least amount of financial aid. Studies conducted each year by organizations like US News and Princeton Review carry big weight with prospective students and their parents, and these studies often portray schools in an inaccurate light. So how do schools battle perception? Blogs, of course.

I’ll use the University of Maryland as an example of how a school can use blogs.
The school’s website (http://www.umd.edu/) provides plenty of information, but like most official university websites, it’s boring. A blog with information about the school that includes hype about its great physics and engineering departments, its history and athletics department, and student life issues would spice things up and give prospective students a reason to keep checking in with the school during the decision-making process. A blog would also provide current students with a clearinghouse of information on campus events, career fairs, deadlines for dropping classes or enrolling in new ones, course offerings, and other relevant news. Working in conjunction with the student newspaper wouldn’t hurt, but I’d like to see schools let students have a separate voice and use blogs as a way to bring information directly to the students in a straightforward fashion.

The ironic thing about picking UMD as my example is that on the school’s website, there was a link to an article about a current student who has actually created new blogging software. Why isn’t the University using it?

Taking a simple view, blogging is a cheap and effective form of information dissemination that can fit nicely into an overall public relations, marketing and sales program. Start-up costs are minimal, and oversight is simple, with PR people taking the lead to make sure a company’s message is ably and responsibly crafted. At the very least, blogs can be a good customer retention tool, and if successful, blogs can drive sales, create brand awareness and attract new customers.

Sunday Soapbox Orator

2009-03-30T14:00:00.001-04:00

My favorite line from the movie 'Malice'

2009-03-28T17:09:00.001-04:00

The character Dr. Jed Hill is under extreme pressure during a deposition regarding an alledged malpractice patient case. At a point where Dr. Hill gets tired of listening to the attorneys argue on he decides to interject with extreme confidence

"I have an M.D. from Harvard, I am board certified in cardio-thoracic medicine and trauma surgery, I have been awarded citations from seven different medical boards in New England, and I am never, ever sick at sea. So I ask you; when someone goes into that chapel and they fall on their knees and they pray to God that their wife doesn't miscarry or that their daughter doesn't bleed to death or that their mother doesn't suffer acute neural trama from postoperative shock, who do you think they're praying to? Now, go ahead and read your Bible, _Dennis_, and you go to your church, and, with any luck, you might win the annual raffle, but if you're looking for God, he was in operating room number two on November 17, and he doesn't like to be second guessed. You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something: I am God."

In a Detroit state of mind

2009-03-28T11:41:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I had a chance to attend an awards presentation for outstanding young-professionals and entrepreneurs. The event had two guest speakers, in particular one who I have enjoyed spending time with professionally and personally. Dennis W. Archer, Sr, chairman of the law firm of Dickerson Wright and former Mayor of the City of Detroit gave the keynote address at this event.

Mayor Archer gave an inspiring speech that began as a reflection of what has happened to our beloved city over the past year with political scandals, text messaging, corruptions and failure of leadership to lead. After reminding us of all the crazy things Detroiters have endured over time he quickly progressed to telling us in light of all that has happened here and on the national level – bad economy, bailouts, and stimulus packages, there still is a bright future for us young professionals and entrepreneurs in Detroit.

A few days after the event I started to reflect on a few things regarding Mayor Archer’s remarks. By nature Detroiters are tough; it’s in our blood. We work hard and are known for building and manufacturing things that are tough. But under our steel armor exterior still remains flesh and bone that can be deeply wounded. And over the past year – although tough, we Detroiters have been wounded deeply.

Like a scalpel in a surgeons hand we have been cut to the bone. The trauma we have endured has left an ugly scare. It follows us home and to work. It’s changed our lives and temporarily messing us up.

What I like to believe Mayor Archer was trying to convey is out of all the pain, the fear of the unknown and the mess we have endured, we Detroiters need to keep moving forward. Trauma is what pushes us…it’s what drives us. It’s a dark time for my beloved city however as the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s men’s basketball final four descends on Detroit I am reminded we are like a Phoenix.

Maybe we have to get a little messed up before we can step up.

What's the worst way you have've ever dumped or been dumped by someone?

2009-03-28T11:40:00.001-04:00

Facebook the 900lb gorilla in the room can be exciting and addictive. But Facebook can be something else. Great at connecting current friends and associates, Facebook can also dig up old bones and and connection to people and memories we don't want re-establish - especially from high school.

This reminds me of a recent FB connection attempt by a former girlfriend I would like to forget. Through high school and into the first two years of college I had one girlfriend. Our friendship started in grade school and developed into a love affair in high shcool I will always cherish.

However, back in the day, one day after taking my girlfriend to a hip-hop concert back in the day, we were walking on Monroe St. in Greektown - a cultural food and entertainment district in downtown Detroit. While walking down the street my girlfriend - who seemed to be a bit distant and not interested in public display of affection (PDA) - stopped holding my hand abruptly as another guy appraoched her. The guy walked up to her and gave her a hug - you know the kind - long and deep - a guy gives a girl with the slight squeeze with his hands slightly above the small of her back? Yeah.

Well of course, I was surprised, then angry because no one just comes up and hugs "My girlfriend" while she is standing next to a 200lb Michigan State University linebacker no less....damn and at that moment I realized my girlfriend was breaking up with me on the streets of Detroit in front of another guy. Tell me your story?

Passing Thoughts and Phrases

2009-03-26T17:10:00.000-04:00

Today I accompanied a new client 3C Consulting to a conference where one of the senior vice-president’s was taking part as a guest speaker during one of the breakout sessions. During my client’s opening remarks she mentioned something that struck me like a small rock hitting your hand while dangling outside a moving vehicle (don’t ask me why I was thinking of that analogy).

My client was hosting a discussion with human resource professional on the topic of “spending your day, your way.” Now without giving you all the subtext regarding the discussion my client made a comment regarding how in business there are no more “permanent enemies or permanent friends just permanent interests.” ShamWow! I never thought about that but in a way she was right. In today’s business world there is no time to be concerned about personal feuds, harboring grudges or thinking that you can be friends with the boss or higher-ups to get an edge. If you want to stay ahead of the game in business you need to make sure you have common interested among your professional networks.

Some other phrases come to mind as well. “No love lost in war and politics,” in the immortal words from Nino Brown - fictional drug-dealer movie character, “no offence it’s just business,” and the typical phrase used to describe business life “it’s a dog eat dog world.” Sure doing business can be like swimming with sharks…you do take risks and if you make a mistake can be devoured.

As an avid scuba diver of more than 20 years I have swam with the sharks literally and there are a few things I do know. Sharks behave a lot like cats, they like to do their own thing most of the time but occasionally they like some company and will migrate with each other. I have never seen a shark attack another shark (except if it was wounded in some way) but I have come to the conclusion that sharks respect sharks because they have a mutual interests. What you talking about Mr. Willis? Ok let me put it this way. Sharks know if they attack each other it would be a blood bath and all would die. That’s why they are on the top of the food chain and can eat just about anything else in the ocean. My point is not to say be a shark or Gordon Gekko in business, my point is to say be relevant, make sure you have mutual interests in such a way that even a shark won’t fuck with you.

In case you wanted to know only a killer whale hunts sharks. Thus ends the lesson for the day!

Get your newspaper ...read all about it?

2009-03-25T19:11:00.000-04:00

Stop the presses…stop the presses! A classic statement or image portrayed in Hollywood film-noir where the brash, cigar-smoking newspaper editor comes running down to the paper presses with a new development or breaking story involving a gruesome murder or arrested gangster.

Unfortunately, today there is no tyrannical editor, no mass murderer on the loose or mob boss under indictment by a federal grand jury. This week another local newspaper the Ann Arbor News published its last paper. This is only the symptom of a diseased newspaper industry that struggles to deal with declining readership and advertising in a new-age of technology where social networking, blogs and “citizen journalism” brings news and information to the masses at lightning speed.

A little over a month ago we saw the Seattle Post and Rocky Mountain News stop their presses and the parent company of the Chicago Tribune file for bankruptcy protection. Even my beloved Detroit News and Detroit Free Press have reduced their hard copy content, restructuring their online news platforms and cutting home delivery from seven days down to three days a week.

From my childhood to now I have found memories associates with newspapers. My father always started his day reading the morning Detroit News paper. Breakfast time in my home was special. It’s were I learned to understand the world around me and the things that concerned my parents the most. I can remember all kinds of local and national political scandals of the day from when my father read the newspaper aloud. From the Watergate break-in and the energy crisis of the 1970’s to the garbage-worker strike and rat infestation as a result of the strike in Detroit.

But my most fond memories regarding newspapers are the lessons I learned as a young paperboy – a budding entrepreneur and the age of seven. My father – a career military officer and postal worker was well on his way to becoming a successful real estate entrepreneur. When I turned seven he thought it was time for me to learn the lessons of responsibility, work freedom to make my own decisions and money. Although, I was still a bit young to become a paperboy on my own but my dad he got the job anyway and basically I worked for him.

It was difficult at first. I started delivering the Detroit News (back then considered the morning paper – the Detroit Free Press was the afternoon paper) getting up at 5 a.m. picking up the papers from the news station, counting them, filling them with coupons or inserts and folding them – in the traditional tri-fold paperboy way. Then off into the neighborhood by 6 a.m., throwing papers onto my customer’s porches all the while my dad followed me from his sky blue AMC Pacer.

Having a paper route taught me some valuable lessons in customer service. I loved Fridays. Not because it was the end of the school week or because it was the only day my mother would allow me to eat at Burger King or McDonalds. Friday was paper collection day which meant little David got paid. Having a paper route taught me to be confident when asking for my money, to address customer complaints if I tore a paper while launching it onto the porch or worse off if I missed a delivery to a house. I learned to be responsible, to be on time to work, after all I had a job.

Delivering newspapers also taught me an appreciation for hard work, the money that came with working and financial freedom – for a 7-year old to buy model cars, super-hero action figures, space-rockets, and to be the king of new toys on the block. Yes, I did not know it then but newspapers had a profound impact on my formative years then and still today.

For more then ten years as a public relations consultant I have always viewed newspapers as the quintessential media of choice to pitch clients. I’ve developed media relation programs with print media leading the charge. I could have a client on television or a radio talk show but it was never complete until I delivered the perfect pitch to a leading newspaper reporter. That was then, this is now. Today newspapers seem to be loosing their relevance to a large segment of our society. Ironically, as our country deals with ever-more political corruption, economic and financial crisis it would seem the hard hitting investigative reporting of newspapers that routinely exposed criminals, corrupt businessmen and even a president would be in more demand.

Times have changed the internet has millions of news-and-information sites, blogs and now social networking platforms that have put many newspapers in jeopardy.

When I woke up this morning at 5 a.m., I began my day with a shower, made some coffee, prepared a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and then turned of my laptop – reading quietly to myself…emails.

Get off the fence and drink the Kool-Aid: Social Networking is for you

2009-03-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

I must admit I was slow to join the web 2.0, or social networking phenomenon. And that’s pretty bad for a public relations consultant of almost 15 years to admit. However, I am glad I finally realized not only the potential of social networking as a social tool of expression to communicate but the real power to harness Web 2.0 platforms as a better way to communicate to clients, customers and the world around us.

My initial entry into the world of social networking began when one of my clients – a national recording hip-hop artist from Detroit suggested I join the new world order of communication and start my own company Myspace page. My first response to my client was to say “hell no, are you crazy”- a reaction triggered by all the nasty media reporting of inappropriate actions taken by a small minority of adults involving minors on myspace. Plus for the better part of my professional public relations career I have been trained pitching to old world media platforms- broadcast radio, television and print outlets.

So I am here to tell you and others still on the fence that it's time to man up, get off the fence, drink the kool-aid and join the social-networking revolution. But first let me give you some notes of advice on how to best use social networking in your professional life, where to start and cautionary do’s and don’t to maximize your present.

Remember social networking is a constant flow of individuals, groups, businesses etc., communicating and in some cases in real time. There are a few tips on how to enter the discussion?

· Learn and listen - it is very important to listen to what people are saying about you, your business, events and activities that effect you the most. Then decide how you want to joint the conversation via a blog, vlogs, networking sites etc.

· Joint in the conversation - Build your online profile based on specific goals you hope to achieve. If you are a photographer you might want to develop a strong presence on a photo site such as Flickr.com. You might to set up a blog on Blogger.com to discuss issues related to photography or share details on how you achieved a certain photo shot.

· Build a blog – just like I doing now trying to share some information to you regarding how to start your social networking program, blogging is a great way to show what you know. Blogging is a great way to communication tool. You can get fast feedback from customers or market a new product or service.

· Tap into Twitter – is a social networking tool that allows users to send and read short text-based posts. Most “tweets start with answering this question “What are you doing?” How can you apply this to your business life? You can update you network followers on things you are doing, changes in plans, offer special deals to Twitter followers. The applications are endless.

· Facebook on fire – Facebook is the fastest growing social network in the world with more than 100 million active members. Facebook is available in 15 languages in North American, Latin American, Europe, United Kingdom and Asia. Facebook can give you a unique opportunity to present you and or your business by networking with friends and groups, adding photos and video.

But remember just like when a stranger comes to your door, don’t just open the door and let anyone in. Take precaution as to what you put in social networking sites. Photographs of you passed-out in the dorm back in the good old college days might seem funny now but your employer might not thinks it’s so funny…let alone your mother! Slanted comments and bad language will not help you in the least.

Be strategic regarding what and how you want to build your social networking profiles. The more thought you but into how you want it to look and read goes a long way to attracting friends and business. Be responsive, don’t just build a page and walk away from it. The more you interact the better connected you will be. And don’t follow the “Jones.” Don’t be concerned with the number of friends you have. It’s about quality of networks not quantity. If you only have 100 friends then make it the best 100 friends that are interested in what you have to share with them. So don’t be a wall-flower take some time and joint the conversation.

Watermelon

2009-03-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week as I took a few days off to recover from a god awful stomach virus passed along to me from my 2-yr old daughter, during this time I got caught up on some of my blog reading. I found a very disturbing story online at Hoffingtonpost.com regarding the mayor of Los Alamitos (a California city north of Los Angeles) who sent an email with a doctored photo of the White House lawn covered with watermelons http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/25/white-house-watermelon-em_n_169933.html to a local business woman and city volunteer who happened to be African-American.

After reading this story as you can imagine I was deeply disturbed and upset. Then I began to think about by 2-yr old daughter and wonder why bother with all the efforts my wife and I put into creating a loving environment at home and a life- plan to surround and raise our child to be not “tolerant” of other cultures but rather embraces and seek out the best of world cultures and to view racial differences as humanities strong point, if time-after-time people of color have to hear, see and experience the continued stupidity of others.

There are times I am sure other parents like me want to tell their children, “sweetie, they just don’t like you, never have and ever will. And if they say they do…don’t believe it.” However, I am not going to that and I understand education, self-awareness and pride is part of the value system I must pass on to my daughter to prepare her for the ills our society still holds. This was just another reminder that we still have a long, long, way to go and White House is just a stop along the journey.

What do I do?

2009-01-26T10:23:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Sometime I presume most of you know exactly what I (being a public relations consultant) do day-in and day-out. Well, the following link is a great story that ran in the Detroit Free Press yesterday (Sunday). The subject of the story, a mother and her son and a local band are my clients. The subject of this news article is not as important to this note as is me telling you that news and information you read, see or hear is 75% generated by someone such as me. A public relations person, company, consultant, publicist or firm...we are all one and the same.

Some stories are easier to get into the media others like this story was difficult. Timing is everything and in a given news-cycle lots of information is included or dropped. This story happened to fall in.

I am not sure what made me write this to you? I am quite proud of this story. Lord knows I have had bigger stories, front-page stories and international stories, but this one might mean the most to me now. Why? Because, it's my first project where I can say "I am back," in terms of rededicating myself to a profession I love. Because, I took this project on Pro-Bona and gave it 110% to sharpen my skills again. Because, I am a father and I see the world differently now and I felt compassion for a mother who very well might loose her son to a disease that has no cure.

Take the time to read the story and understand your friend worked hard to give this to you and 230,000 other readers in Michigan.

This is what I do, this is what I am, a public relation consultant! Friend, how about you what do you do?

http://www.freep.com/article/20090125/TWIST01/901250331/1025/FEATURES/Hip-hop+s+Hush+and+friends+lead+MDA+benefit

David Rudolph

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What do I do?