Public Relations Princess

What To Get Your Unemployed Friends

When I first became unemployed in April, there were several people who asked me what they could do. I was too blindsided to even think straight at first. So now, after several months of office-less-ness under my belt, I have some suggestions on what to give your unemployed friends to ease your guilt of still having a cushy job.

1. Gift cards: A $25 (or more) gift card to the grocery store or a big box store is something everyone can use. (side note: The Dahl's Web site needs to be completely redone!)
2. Stamps: I got so used to mailing stuff at the office that the last set I had here was $.37 cents. Comes in handy for interview thank yous, bills, suicide notes, etc.
3. Books: Buy or re-gift your favorite summer book to your like-minded friend.
4. Movie tickets: Everyone is cutting back on entertainment these days, so it's nice to have someone treat you to a night out.
5. Chocolate: Yes, it's a food group in my household. Who couldn't use some extra serotonin?
6. Gas cards: I've noticed that Quik Trip does not take food stamps for gas.
7. An iTunes gift card. Take This Job and Shove It is available for only $.99. I'm just sayin'....
8. Treat them to a meal. Add drinks, shake, and be sure to offer transportation.
9. A card, phone call, or email: Yes, they'll notice that you haven't called. Yes, it makes you look bad.
10. Money: It's the universal gift that can be used in any way the recipient chooses.

Please note, I am NOT asking for any of these things. I just wanted to use my recent experience to educate others on what to do when you have a good friend or relative who's lost their job. Feel free to pass on.

Target Tampons on the "Up and Up"

The other day, I made my once-every-six-weeks run to Target for the basics. I made it to the "feminine hygiene" aisle and noticed a new brand of tampons on the shelf. "up and up?"

Turns out, this is Target's new in-store brand. It's just not a very appropriate name for tampons. It would be like naming a pregnancy test "Eggo."

A few years back, Storm Lake, Iowa chose a happy new logo and tagline: "Jump Right In." It refers to the lake. But they had the good sense to NOT use the tagline on their police cars. 

I took a chance on "up and up" and purchased several other items as well. We'll see if up and up lives "up" to its lofty expectations. Gosh, I crack myself up.

Craig Maltby My Guest Today on Public Relations Princess

Today at 4 p.m. CDT, my friend Craig Maltby will sit down and hash out the state of the PR industry and our favorite PR debacles.

Craig Maltby's achievements center on helping corporations, public institutions and executives define strategic goals and execute strategies and tactics to engage target markets and achieve those goals.

1. In addition to his consultancy and contract service achievements, Craig has served more than 16 years in corporate marketing and PR management positions at Meredith Corporation, ConAgra Foods and Kemin Health.  Some key outcomes of his work:

• helped a major media company grow and fortify its position as the leader in the home and family editorial and advertising category;
• Has helped position agricultural technology companies – seed genetics distributor and global robotic dairy systems manufacturer—as leaders in their respective markets;
• helped a leading nutrition ingredient company grow and hold a dominant position within the global antioxidant market;
• contributed to significant increases in favorable perceptions among eye health professionals about the role of nutrition in countering chronic eye conditions;
• gained national news attention for a major food company among key magazine and newspaper journalists;
• helped a Midwest steel mill earn a major energy conservation research subcontract, resulting in nearly $800,000 in estimated annual energy savings.

Craig is a graduate of The University of Northern Iowa. He resides in the greater Des Moines area with his wife and two daughters.

See you at 4:00 p.m. CDT on MacsWorldLive.com!

If I Did PR For Mark Sanford...

I have watched the Mark Sanford debacle unfold along with the rest of the nation for weeks now. If you've been hiking the Appalachian Trail and have not followed this news, basically, it's the classic story of a lying, cheating husband who is now trying to figure out what to do with his life. The only complication is that he is the Governor of South Carolina and married with four children.

When I looked him up on Wikipedia, I realized that he is also the same age as my husband. So, I can most certainly relate to what Mrs. Sanford is going through. She must be thinking, what is a silly middle aged man doing tromping all over the world to find passion, when a perfectly good (and great, even) woman, the mother of his children, is at home waiting for him to return to his senses? My answer to his ridiculous ramblings would have been different than hers, but nevertheless, she has the good sense to keep private conversations private.

My real question is: Who talked to Governor Sanford before he stepped in front of that microphone last week? Who should have rehearsed his statements with him? Who should have helped him walk away from that news conference with at least a shred of dignity? Or maybe more importantly, who didn't do their job that day?

Even politicians and celebrities should have publicists and public information officers who aren't afraid to stand up to their bosses when it is warranted. In this case, his public information officer clearly missed a teachable moment and an opportunity to help his boss.

Here are the rules for such a news conference:

1. Prepare a written statement, read it verbatim and do not veer off the subject
2. Do not lie or make excuses
3. For goodness sake, spare us the gory details of the sordid affair
4. Keep personal feelings and other details out of it
5. Apologize and be done with it
6. STEP AWAY FROM THE MICROPHONE and walk away

There is nothing Sanford's people could have done for him to save him from his mid-life meltdown. He decided to ruin his own political career and personal life the minute he decided to travel to Argentina to see his mistress. But they could have saved him from the 10-day news story that followed, while endless replays of him excoriating himself over and over played on the news.

Brett Trout My Guest on Public Relations Princess Radio Show Today

It is my pleasure to announce, that after months of negotiations, Brett Trout has agreed to be on my show. (Actually, I was able to talk him into it in only 5 seconds over the phone) So, don't you dare miss Public Relations Princess today at 4:00 CDT, where patent attorney extraordinaire, cage fighting, motorcycle riding and bacon-loving, book writing, Lurch-looking Brett Trout is in da hizzy. You can find the show at MacsWorldLive.com.

We'll be talking about why lawyers have such boring TV commercials, how you can get a patent in no more than three years, and learn how Mr. Trout uses his social media presence to build his personal brand, and his business.

Mild mannered patent attorney by day and adrenaline junkie by night, Brett Trout eschewed big law firms and even bigger clients to start his own intellectual property firm in 2001. Dubbed "Iowa's Toughest Attorney" for his mixed-martial arts prowess, he also enjoys motorcycle road racing and anything else with a heart-pounding component. Blogging since 2003, his sometimes irreverent blog, BlawgIT, is the mainstay of his online presence. In addition to his blog, Trout leverages social media to connect and interact with young entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are the most exciting clients. They simply refuse to quit. They just won't take "no" for an answer. A self-professed media junkie, Trout refers to all media as "social" media. These are just new ways for people to connect with one another and with the world around them.

Tim Johnson My Guest Today on PRP

Update: Public Relations Princess was abruptly cancelled last week when the Internet connection for MacsWorldLive.com went down just a couple of hours before my show. Happily, we are rescheduled for today, June 24, at 4:00 p.m.CDT

Today's guest on Public Relations Princess is my dear friend Tim Johnson. We'll be talking about a range of subjects, including office politics (my favorite!), bullying in the workplace (Boo!) and of course, a little about what it's like to be a popular professor in the MBA program at Drake. (Him, not me!) So tune in today, on MacsWorldLive.com at 4 p.m. CDT. Here's a little more about Tim and his company. You don't want to miss this conversation!

Tim is Chief Accomplishment Officer of Carpe Factum, Inc. (Latin for “seize the accomplishment”). He has almost two decades of highly successful experience in project and program management, business solutioning, creativity, executive and management coaching, and strategic facilitation. His clients include Teva Neuroscience, Harley-Davidson, ING, Principal Financial Group, Wells Fargo, and numerous small businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

His first book, Race Through the Forest – A Project Management Fable, was published in 2006. His second book, GUST – The “Tale” Wind of Office Politics, was released in April, 2007. His third book, SWAT: Seize the Accomplishment, is being released in January 2010. He also is a contributing writer on www.office-politics.com, an online advice column for office politics situations as well as www.iowabiz.com, an online resource for business professionals in Iowa.

Speed Media Training for Busy Executives

Executives are busy people. Their jobs entail a global view of complicated and sometimes very intricate business operations. They have to keep multiple constituencies happy all at the same time.

Most CEO types are passionate about the organizations they lead. Most of them know a lot about the organization and can speak glowingly about great things going on in every department. Execs also have the authority to speak on behalf of the organization. These are the key components of a good spokesperson. So why is it so hard to get them to take time out of their busy schedule for formal media training?

It's the perceived return on investment. What value will the executive receive for the time spent in training? It's a valid question, and one that can be addressed on both fronts: Time and value.

Most media training sessions I've facilitated last the entire day. Trainees are put through the paces by the trainers. Bagels are served. Breakout sessions are held with each individual, where constructive criticism is given. Time is wasted shifting gears between one exercise and another. Tangents can sometimes materialize between tidbits of important information. Interns appear with lunch, and the work stops cold.

Do you see a pattern?

Don't subject a busy executive to busy work. Plan a half day training session without all the time wasters. Make sure the time spent with an executive is planned to the minute. A very effective media training session can and should be executed within a four hour session. Also, limit executive media training sessions to very few individuals at one time.

Now, what about value? Make sure your session is challenging and relevant to the individuals being trained. The president of any organization likely has had some experience with media interviews. Gather information ahead of time and know what the individual executive would like to work on. What does he or she want to learn or gain from the session? What is the objective?

If you train an executive without knowing their expectations or goals ahead of time, how can you possibly know if they've gained anything from the session with reasonable certainty?

Make sure each participant has a take-away from the training session. A media training manual is probably not going to be useful. Boil down the information to fit on no more than four pages. A manual will be too long and probably gather dust within weeks. Afterwards, post the information to the company intranet and send a link in a follow-up email.

Make sure that the executive is allowed to give feedback to the presenter at the end of the session. A follow-up email requesting feedback might get lost in the shuffle of the hundreds of emails that the executive likely receives every day.

Media training is a must for all spokespersons. Just make sure they get a return on the time invested.

Josh Fleming My Guest on Public Relations Princess Today

Josh Fleming is my guest today on Public Relations Princess, my new "Internet radio" show. Yes, he was supposed to be my guest last week but he ended up having to work. Poor guy.

Josh Fleming joined Lessing-Flynn as the Interactive Marketing Director in 2008 and is leading the agency's growth through interactive marketing and social media strategies for agency clients. Fleming has worked in interactive marketing for seven years with Dice.com and most recently with The Integer Group where he managed digital strategy and client projects. Fleming has also spent time at Gannett, Pulitzer and Tribune Publishing and graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor’s degree in English. You can find him and his blogging cohorts at www.admavericks.com or www.lessingflynn.com.

Josh and I will be talking about digital marketing and interactive projects that he's worked on and we'll also discuss some of our pet peeves, including domain squatters. Tune in at 4 p.m. CDT at macsworldlive.com. Please log in to the chat feature to participate in our conversation or follow us on Twitter to jump in. Josh's Twitter handle is @admavericks and mine is @clairecelsi. See you later!

Public Relations Princess Internet Radio Show

The PR Princess is hitting the "airwaves." Well, kinda sorta.

My dear friend J Michael McKoy has gathered a rag-tag bunch of merry would-be radio hosts and kindly given his macsworldlive.com Internet site over to us for most of the day. We broadcast "free" but only thanks to our sponsors.

Mac allowed me to take the (update: WEDNESDAY)  4 p.m. spot. I hope to build a local following and eventually a national one. Contact me if you'd like to be my guest. Any subject that has to do with public relations, marketing or social media is fair game.

Hope you can listen (update: Tomorrow, Wednesday June 3) at www.macsworldlive.com at 4 p.m. CDT. My guest is Josh Fleming from Lessing Flynn here in Des Moines. I have a show page there, (under the Des Moines Local Live tab) so please check it out! Thanks!

U.S. Public Relations Makeover: "Public Diplomacy 2.0"

I read this blog post by the Baltimore Sun's Jay Hancock and it suddenly struck me: The United States of America needs a PR makeover. Good thing I have a magic wand, because as my good friend Todd Jones would say, "This is going to be a heavy lift." Basically, Jay states that the U.S. still has a shaky reputation abroad because of its actions.

It's no surprise to me that the GAO (Government Accountability Office), in its recent report, noted a new shift in public policy outreach, something that been dubbed "Diplomacy 2.0:"

Interagency efforts to adopt a new approach to public diplomacy— Dynamic shifts in how target audiences obtain and use information have led many public diplomacy practitioners to conclude that the United States must more fully engage emerging social networks and technologies (such as Facebook and Twitter) in order to remain relevant. Referred to as “Public Diplomacy 2.0,” this new approach to strategic communications is exploring ways to operate in this evolving information environment. However, substantial questions exist regarding the challenges associated with this new approach.

If the U.S. government were my client, I would tell them the hard truth: America has a bad reputation, the first thing you should do is STOP doing the bad things that are causing the bad image. Waging the unnecessary and costly war in Iraq set us back 25 years at least. I would also tell them to quit wasting so much money on mass media such as Radio Free America and propaganda leaflet dropping. There is no way to measure either effectiveness or feedback from the people we're "reaching."

Also, as the first President to fight for the right to keep his Blackberry, it does not surprise me that Obama is dragging the diplomatic corps and the State Dept. in right behind him. Using social media as a diplomatic tool makes perfect sense to me.