Abbott Public Relations Blog

Abbott Media Launches World Politics News MicroBlog

2012-01-26T16:30:00.003-05:00

NewsRelease

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, January26, 2012

Contact: StephenAbbott 603.341.0372; stephen(at)abbott-media.net

Abbott Media Launches World Politics News MicroBlog

Abbott Media, a NewEngland-based company that innovates and inspires micro-businesses that serveothers, has launched World Politics News (worldpoliticsnews.blogspot.com) aMicroBlog dedicated to expanding our knowledge of politics around the world.

Each day, WorldPolitics News seeks out links to news stories that inform readers of the vitalpolitical and cultural stories that are shaping the world, but areunder-reported (and sometimes completely ignored) by American media companies.

The site not onlylinks to stories, in the format pioneered by Matt Drudge, but will featureshort MicroStories^TM of up to 250 words or less that encapsulatevital world events and bring them to readers in a smart, efficient and easilyunderstandable way.

Abbott Mediafounder Stephen Abbott, a former newspaper reporter and public relationsconsultant, will serve at the project’s administrator and chief editor. He saysthe project will fill important gaps in American news coverage.

“News media in theUnited States are dropping the ball by not delivering world news effectivelyand in a way that informs us about the political currents shaping our world,”he said. “These currents could, as they reach our shores, turn into tidal wavesor Tsunamis that effect our quality of life. To be ill-informed about politicsin Asia, Europe, Latin America or Africa is to be blind to what’s going tohappen to us in the next decade, or even next week.”

Abbott says the project will seek out guest reporters and will acceptadvertising, grants and donations to fund a full-time staffing operation.

Abbott Media innovates and inspires micro-businessesthat serve others in a positive way. AbbottMedia is located online at www.abbott-media.net.

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Doing What it Takes - Trusting the PR Process

2011-11-15T11:38:00.001-05:00

By Stephen Abbott, principal, Abbott Public Relations

This is one of those times when someone dares to say: “TheClient isn’t always right.”

Success isn’t guaranteed. You have to work at it.

Seems obvious, right? But in my career, I’ve had a handfulof clients, and have heard of many others, who wound up failing because theydidn’t understand that they needed to do what it takes to BE successful.

And in public relations, as in any endeavor, you have to actuallydo something to be successful.

Yet, a few of my past clients simply didn’t believe me, andwe parted ways, only for me to later hear of them floundering and then failingin the very tasks to which they refused to dedicate themselves when I wasworking with them.

Of course, this breaks my heart to see, and I never gloatabout it.

Still, without naming names (and in the most general ofways) I think it would be instructive to take note of some of the ways in whichthey failed to connect with PR, because as I’ve said before, public relationsis a greatly misunderstood profession.

They included political clients who insisted that theydidn’t need to convey clear, concise messages to the right voters, only tolearn, tragically, that targeting a great message matters as much as wearingthe right tie during a speech or making the right political contacts.

I’ve also heard of some would-be politicians who believedthey could campaign part-time, while their opponents worked full-timecampaigning. Their opponents learned quickly that these are the times to one-upthem over and over and over again at events while their opponent was home inbed.

There were a couple of business clients of mine who insistedthat they did NOT need to build up their reputations over long periods of time inorder to generate positive images that would lead directly to sales (a planthat works, if you keep at it!) Instead, they felt only a quick burst ofexposure would do the trick.

That works as effectively as the quick “exposure” a streakerat a college game earns. It doesn’t help their reputation at all, and theirname, if it’s even known, is quickly forgotten or turns into a local punchline.

Finally, some thought they didn’t need to remain in constantand regular communication with me while I directed their PR efforts. Bad idea. Communicationin a couple of cases became sporadic and then dried up altogether, eitherthrough miscommunication or new people in the company not knowing they shouldkeep tabs on the campaign. Thisbasically means the client gave up on PR, despite clear goals and great tacticsthat would have borne positive fruit. Neither of them used PR services again,with tragic consequences for their businesses.

By failing to keep doing what it takes, a client leaves a PRcampaign in limbo and may leave a consultant unaware of changing conditions or ofpossible new, positive things being done that could boost their reputationimmensely.

In fact, many failures of public relations to yield results canbe attributed to a failure of the client to remain dedicated to the process.

Failure to stick with a PR campaign because one doesn’tunderstand PR is inexcusable, and it’s certainly rare in the case of my clients,because I go to great lengths to educate them about how PR works. I discuss,for example,

How PR must be a long-term effort, requiring frequent interaction between client and the consultant
How PR campaigns must be planned with a full picture of the client’s needs and problems, so these can be properly addressed in a campaign and measured afterwards
How PR encompasses reputation management, image creation and online and off-line marketing techniques, and that this is likely to require a commitment to real CHANGE in a corporate attitude towards their customers (yes, REAL and authentic change!)
And how it uses tactics such as media releases and events to generate positive buzz among a targeted group of early adopters and thought-leaders who will later become their customers, and that a series of un-serious “stunts” and “getting mentioned in the local paper” isn’t always the best, or even the most effective, goal

Despite this, I hear from PR consultants whose clients tellthem they want to see results OVER NIGHT, especially from companies andcandidates that have done real harm to themselves that must be repaired inorder for them to survive. The truth? That’s not possible.

Lawyers need more than one meeting to begin forming aneffective case.

Many diseases require more than a day or two of treatment bymedical professionals for the treatments to pay off.

Students can hardly proclaim themselves fully “educated”after just one semester at college.

In the same way, a PR consultant can hardly be expected tomake miracles happen with only a half-hearted dedication to their efforts, or witha poor understanding on the part of his or her client of what needs to be done,how, and why.

Remaining dedicated to any task – especially building orre-building a reputation – is crucial to success.

That’s a main reason why PR consultants insist on receivingpaid retainers at least on a quarterly basis, and often for six-month or evenannual installments.

Reputations aren’t built, or certainly not re-built, of thecourse of a few days or even a week. A PR-developed reputation isn’t a one-offitem a business can buy off the shelf like a can of soup and then forget aboutit. And like all good things in life, both patience and dedication to the task arerequired to make PR work.

Speaking for myself, I’ve been blessed with manyunderstanding and wise clients over the years, and I’m very grateful for this.

I would urge clients of PR consultants and those who areconsidering hiring one to craft a PR campaign, or to hopefully establish anongoing working relationship with one, to understand that it WILL take time.But chances are, public relations WILL pay off.

Abbott PublicRelations can be reached online at http://www.abbottpr.com.

News Release: Abbott ePublishing Publishes First Five Chapters of Each Tyndale21 Version Bible Book Online

2011-09-28T16:10:00.001-05:00

NEWS RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing
Original, affordable electronic books.

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011
CONTACT: Stephen Abbott, Publisher, Abbott ePublishing, 603-341-0372; publisher@abbottepublishing.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing has published online the first five chapters of each completed book of the New Testament they have completed in their groundbreaking Tyndale21 Version.

The Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version of the New Testament Gospels, which was released July 1, 2011, is an updated, modern English version of the first printed English Gospels translated by William Tyndale in 1526.

It is the first stage of a planned full New Testament revision of Tyndale’s 16th Century New Testament translation.

Now, Abbott ePublishing publisher and owner Stephen Abbott says the company has decided to release work on the second phase of the project as it’s completed on its website at http://www.abbottepub.com/tyndale21first5.html

“Due to overwhelming interest in this project, we’ve decided to release a large part of the revision project to the public at the time the other books of the New Testament are completed,” said Abbott, who is overseeing the revision process. “The first five chapters of each book will be published online.”

For many of the Letters of Paul and the General Letters, that means entire books of the New Testament are now posted online free of charge.

Completed books include the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, as well as, in their entirety, the Pauline Letters to Titus and to Philemon and the General Letters of James, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

The electronic book containing the full four Gospels is being sold for $2.99 on the company’s website, www.abbottepub.com/tyndale21gospels.html in Adobe Portable Document (.pdf) format, which can be loaded onto most e-reader devices such as the Amazon Kindle and Microsoft’s iPad.

Abbott ePublishing was launched in 2009 as a New England-based publisher of original, affordable electronic books. They can be found online at http://www.abbottepub.com.

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New writing service: Make a Statement with a Statement of Biography

2011-08-29T19:12:00.004-05:00

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When Cutting Back is Actually Foolish for a Small Business

2011-08-08T16:31:00.003-05:00

Often, the first thing to be cut in hard economic times is the advertising and Public Relations budgets.

Of course some ads continue to run: ads for large auto dealerships, chain furniture stores or national fast food chains. They've got the money to stay on the air and keep people aware of their great car prices, deals on sectional couches and Big Macs.

Some smaller companies, however, pull their TV and newspaper ads and are never heard from again, because of their over-reliance on ads to bring in business. I know of one company that decided to rely solely on small newspaper ads, and then they pulled the ads. They were gone within six months.

When they couldn’t afford to run ads, what little visibility they had created dried up, because the awareness an ads-only strategy provides is fleeting.

Smarter business owners – the ones who have employed Public Relations and reputation management strategies as well as running ads that back up their PR messages – know that these strategies WORK even when ads stop working. That’s because using PR to build a reputation has LASTING and POSITIVE influences on customers and potential customers.

Long after a TV ad is forgotten, people remember that a company raised $10,000 for a local charity they cared deeply about, or they were there with a crew to clean up after a natural disaster, or the pizza parlor that gave free pizzas to their kid's class when they won a spelling bee (and they have the newspaper clippings to prove all three events!)

But when these businesses consider cutting back on reputation-building efforts, they are failing to understand not only the power of ongoing PR, but the nature of the news media.

Newspapers have been cutting back on their reporting staffs for more than a decade now. That fact alone should prove the ongoing value of PR. Why? Because papers have remained the same size, and editors are hungry for content. That means they rely on PR pros to provide them with news-rich and new-worthy content (via news releases, events and news availabilities) more than ever before.

That’s how PR pros like Stephen Abbott can be a Godsend to a company lacking the vast sums required for ad campaigns.

Stephen Abbott, the principal of Abbott Public Relations, has years of experience in both the public relations field and in the field of news gathering, and can connect these kind of dots for clients.

As a writer skilled in creating content for news media that will appeal to editors, Abbott can create content that can get you noticed – at a time when competitors are foolishly cutting back on BOTH advertising and Public Relations campaigns.

And while it’s understandable that EXPENSIVE Public Relations firms can be a tough pill to swallow during tough times, APR can work with clients to make it affordable to keep working on building your company’s reputation.

APR can be found online at http://www.abbottpr.com, or call 603.341.0372.

An Introduction to Abbott Public Relations

2011-08-04T15:15:00.002-05:00

Abbott Public Relations uses a variety of written communications tools, including social media and the use of news releases, media statements and backgrounders, to convey messages about their clients to the right group of people, called “publics.”

Spreading the good news about you, your cause or your company to people who don’t need to hear it or won’t understand it makes no sense, and is wasteful. But the kind of targeted campaigns used by PR professionals are designed to reach the publics who care, and that is far more effective.

APR works with clients to determine the publics that are necessary to target, and crafts messages and themes most appropriate and effective for each.

APR principal and owner Stephen Abbott is committed to providing PR and reputation management services at reasonable and affordable rates. With APR, even individuals and one-person micro-businesses can afford to effectively and efficiently get the word out about their services and products.

That’s why we offer monthly retainers that are far less than what some major firms charge for ONE news release, and there are attractive discounts for paying quarterly in advance.

APR offers a personal, one-on-one service ethic that is unrivaled in the business and cannot be obtained in larger firms, where clients are often seen as little more than cash cows to be billed by the hour.

Though New England-based, PR services are offered throughout the United States and internationally.

Stephen Abbott brings over a decade of PR and media experience to clients, who range from non-profits to politicians to individuals seeking to increase their visibility and reputation.

He would welcome your call and is eager to help you fulfill your dreams.

APR can be found online at http://www.abbottpr.com, or call 603.341.0372.

NEWS RELEASE: APR to Represent Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ

2011-08-02T10:22:00.001-05:00

MANCHESTER, NH, USA – Abbott Public Relations today announced that it has been named PR agency of record for the Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ of Hilton, England.

The church, founded in 2006 by Matthew Gill, is a continuation of the original organization founded by the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1830.

Abbott PR principal Stephen Abbott, who is not a member of the church, said he is honored to have been chosen to represent it.

“I am very honored and excited to have been chosen to represent this new church, which is presenting a fascinating religious alternative to the world,” he said. “Matthew Gill is among the most interesting religious figures of our age, and he challenges Mormons and other religious seekers to re-examine both their faith and their history.”

Gill said he is looking forward to working with Abbott Public Relations.

“I am very pleased to have Stephen Abbott on board and helping the church,” said Gill. “I believe he will be a great asset and we will work well together to advance the cause of the Lord."

The church currently has members throughout Britain and the United States. Abbott says APR will focus primarily on helping the church reach Latter-Day Saint “Utah” Mormons who may not have the full story about their religion. The LDCJC is not affiliated with the Utah-based LDS church.

The Latter Day Church of Jesus Christ recognizes Joseph Smith, Jr. as one of the greatest Prophets of God and believes in continuing revelation through a living prophet. In addition to the Old and New Testaments of the Inspired Version of the Bible, it accepts the Book of Mormon, the Book of Jeraneck, the 1835 version of Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Prophecies and Revelations as scriptures.

The Book of Jeraneck is a testimony of the Further Teachings of Jesus Christ and is said to reveal the history of the early inhabitants of the British Isles, who built Stonehenge and other stone circles in Britain in obedience to Almighty God for use as places of worship and as meeting places.

The church believes that further holy books will be revealed, and believes the world is living in the End Times, after which Jesus Christ will return to rule for 1,000 years on earth before a final Judgment.

Abbott Public Relations offers affordable written communications and social media services that build, strengthen and repair reputations. They can be found online at http://www.abbottpr.com and at 1.603.341.0372.

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RELEASE: Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version of the Gospels Published

2011-07-04T12:58:00.003-05:00

NEWS RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing - Original, affordable electronic books.

http://www.abbottepub.com http://www.abbottepublishing.com

Friday, July 1, 2011

CONTACT: Stephen Abbott, Publisher, Abbott ePublishing, 603-341-0372; publisher @ abbottepublishing.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Abbott ePublishing announces the publication of the Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version of the New Testament Gospels, an updated, modern English version of the first printed English Gospels translated by William Tyndale in 1526.

Also known as the Abbott ePublishing Version, this is the first part of a proposed full New Testament revision of the New Testament translation made by William Tyndale in 1526.

The electronic book is being sold for $2.99 on the company’s website, www.abbottepub.com/tyndale21gospels.html in Adobe Portable Document format (.pdf.) The eBook contains the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

General editor and Abbott ePublishing principal Stephen Abbott says the new version is not a “translation,” but rather an update of the16th Century text that Tyndale produced.

“It was a remarkable and important text in the history of translations,” said Abbott. “It was the first New Testament printed in English, it laid the foundations and gave much of the familiar wording to the King James Version of 1611, and was the first English Bible to be translated directly from the Greek language.”

All the English Bibles up until that time had been translations from the Latin Vulgate, but Tyndale's New Testament was taken from the compilation of all Greek manuscripts known at that time.

The scholars who created the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 relied heavily on Tyndale's translation. Some estimate that nearly 83 percent of the King James Version New Testament contains Tyndale’s wording.

“His renderings are unique and sometimes more starkly beautiful than many, many versions that have come after, as will be readily seen in this translation,” said Abbott ePublishing

Tyndale’s early 16th Century language is updatedin this edition for 21st Century ears.

“The thought, ‘What if William Tyndale’s 1526 version wasthe only one Christians had used for the last 400 years, and it now needed to be updated into more modern English?’ was constantly considered,” said Abbott. “It was, in fact, the theoretical basis for this revision. Words and phrases that have clearly changed meaning were updated to 21st Century English.

The Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21 Version is not aword-for-word update of Tyndale’s translation, and discretion was used when called for, he said.

“This is neither a ‘thought-for-thought’ nor ‘word-for-word’ rendering of the Gospels from ancient Greek texts,” he said. “It is instead an adaptation of an earlier English translation. Phrases are not deliberately putinto over-casual speech. The majesty, dignity and grace of the English of Tyndale’s era remain.”

Sample Scriptures in the Abbott ePublishing Tyndale21Version:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For whoever asks receives; and he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there any man among you who, if his son asks him for bread, would offer him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he gives him a snake?” Matt. 7:7-10

“And he looked around at them angrily, grieved at the blindness of their hearts. And he said to the man: Hold out your hand. And he did. And his hand was restored just as healthy as the other one.” Mark 3:5

“They worship me in vain, teaching doctrines that are nothing but the precepts of men. Because you lay aside the commands of God and instead observe the traditions of men - like baptizing pitchers and cups, and many other kinds of things you do.” Mark 7:7-8

“Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, will men put into your lap. For the same measurement with which you are measuring, that same will be used to measure you.” Luke 6:38

“And he said to them, Give, then, to Caesar the things which belong to Caesar, and to God the things that which pertain to God.” Luke 20:25

“For God so loved the world, that he has given his only Son, that none who believes in him would die, but would have eternal life.” John 3:16

Abbott ePublishing was launched in 2009 as a New England-based publisher of original, affordable electronic books. They can be found online at abbottepub.com.

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What’s Your Band’s Logo?

2011-04-19T10:56:00.001-05:00

Quick, what’s Rihanna’s logo? What’s Lady Gaga’s logo? What’s Justin Bieber’s? What’s Madonna’s? How about Elvis? The Beatles?

Their “logo” was in fact themselves. Sure, they used various fonts and styles throughout their careers – and some groups, like KISS, have font faces that are easily recognizable, and even the Beatles had (and have) a somewhat recognizable font-based logo - but that’s incidental to a group’s brand, which is composed of their body of work, which was, rightfully, their focus.

Contrast that with many bands (and, incidentally, many small businesses) just starting out. Their obsession is frequently on a “wicked cool” logo, which is usually anything but. Young bands’ logo designs are usually overcomplicated, poorly drawn and have very little to do with the style, influences and general message of the group.

Getting the right style and “look” for a band is obviously important, and it’s something young bands get wrong. But getting the right sound, message and style should be the main focus of a band.

Abbott Public Relations’ music division, Abbott Music, focuses on getting that other stuff right - the logo, the look and the feel of a band, while also guiding a band towards an appropriate style that will actually please the ears of those who hear what’s produced. It’s a different kind of management, for a different kind of group.

Send your logo over and I’ll be happy to discuss it with you, along with other concerns you might have.

Visit Abbott PR for more information.

Oil Rig Company’s “Safety” Bonuses Generate PR Nightmare

2011-04-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

By Stephen Abbott, Abbott PR

It read like a late April Fool’s Day joke. The company investigators say bore a great deal of responsibility for the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster that resulted in the most horrific oil spill in history awarded its executives BONUSES for their performance in 2010. For having its “BEST YEAR” for SAFETY.

Yes, it was true. According to the company’s annual proxy statement, which was issued April 1, it had given $19.5 million in bonuses for attaining “115% of its target” for safety in 2010.

The story broke internationally on Monday, April 4, and the ramifications were huge. The company was savaged online, in the print media, and on network and cable news channels for their hubris and audacity, equaled only by the Libyan leader’s creation of an annual “Muammar Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights.”

The claim was that, other than that huge oil spill (which the company blames on British Petroleum employees) it had leaked very little oil at all last year.

That’s kind of like saying, “other than that iceberg thing at the end, the trip on the Titanic was very safe!”

The bonuses were even more nonsensical considering that in 2009, the company withheld all executive bonuses after incurring four fatalities that year, "to underscore the company's commitment to safety,” reported the Wall Street Journal.

By the following day, the company announced that some of the bonus money would be put into a fund for the 11 who died on the April 20, 2010 explosion when BP’s Macondo well blew out.

But few were satisfied with this concession.

"Some companies just don't get it," said William Reilly, former co-chair of the presidential commission that investigated the disaster. "I think Transocean just doesn't get it."

THE PR TAKEAWAY:

Sometimes PR people must be the “Jiminy Cricket” of corporate boards, and not only mention what a HORRIFIC PR disaster a move like this would be, but how morally reprehensible it would be, not to mention how inconsistent it would be with past policy.

The continuing failure of corporate America to see public relations as a management function is detrimental, and this is just one more example of that failure.

Using Social Media to Attract High-Value Customers

2011-02-23T12:54:00.002-05:00

By Stephen Abbott, Owner, Abbott Public Relations

“I have a lot of walk-ins, but very few sales.”

I hear this constantly from small, privately owned “mom & pop” stores, the backbone of America’s traditional economy.

They are attracting “customers,” but not the right ones. Business owners simply don’t realize that bringing in “a lot of customers” isn’t their goal – it’s bringing in customers WHO WILL BUY THEIR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. I call these special people “high-value customers,” and they are the only ones who can keep a small business IN business.

In the past, options to attract and keep these folks were limited. Business owners would put an ad in the local paper and Yellow Pages, and hope for the best. But in the internet age, that’s not all one should do.

I encourage business owners to fully utilize social media such as twitter and Facebook, for starters, and move on to email newsletters and contests as ways to keep and grow a customer base composed of high-value customers.

For example, an antique shop can post newly received items on Facebook and in the twitter stream, a laundry can offer alteration and dry cleaning discounts for Facebook friends and twitter followers, a mom & pop bakery can offer a “Baker’s dozen +1” (14 donuts for the price of a dozen) for twitter followers who give the monthly “code.” One business gave a discount to ALL customers when they reached 250 Facebook friends by the end of the month. These loyalty programs generate a sense of community among online supporters of a business.

In-store sign-ups for email newsletters not only generate dedicated, high-value customers (as opposed to “looky-loo” browsers who don’t ever buy) it creates an automatic demand for information about products and services, and a ready-made audience for special deals or even “daily deals” a la Groupon. Owners can use e-newsletters – and newsletters posted on Facebook - to discuss trends in their profession, or to highlight items that are of particular interest to their customers. (Though keep these newsletters SHORT, especially if they’re sent out weekly. Daily emails are NOT recommended. Post daily specials in a weekly newsletter.)

Contests are another way to generate excitement and reward frequent customers. Again using in-store sign ups (or limiting the contest to Facebook friends or twitter followers) a contest – with an appropriate prize, such as a deep discount on product or service – generates goodwill and allows you to highlight and showcase the products and services.

Another great way of building up the number of high-value customers is to pick the slowest day of the week and offer loyal customers either big discounts or giveaways with purchases. A coin and stamp shop could offer a free (low-value) coin with each purchase over $50 on their two slowest days to generate more walk-ins.

These ways to generate the high-value customer are just the tip of the iceberg. These effective techniques, combined with Public Relations tools that broadcast your efforts through both traditional and New Media, can supercharge your small business’s sales.

The best news of all is that it’s cost-effective.

Abbott Public Relations can manage the social media campaign for a small business starting at just $49. PR components can be added for under $400/month – among the lowest rates in the industry.

Don’t risk another six months of pathetic sales that could endanger your small company’s very existence.

Abbott PR is located online at http://www.abbottpr.com.

Five Ways to Destroy your Online Reputation

2011-02-22T12:11:00.002-05:00

By Stephen Abbott, Abbott Public Relations

Engage in Flame Wars – Allow people to get under your skin. Swear at them, yell in ALL CAPS. Say things about people you’ll later regret, but cannot erase, because they’re on a chat board now. Forever. Be sure to use your own name when doing this (and just a note, even a pseudonym may not hide you if you sounds like, well, you. Say far worse things online than you ever would in person, face-to-face with others, including to people you know and would otherwise treat with respect.

Post Pictures Injudiciously – Post pictures of yourself drunk, or drinking heavily. Touching members of the opposite sex inappropriately is a plus. Or if you’re passed out. Or post pictures of co-workers or clients in these conditions. (Forget that pictures online last forever, even if they’re posted for moment. Pretend others can’t “tag” you on Facebook or that people can save the photos and repost them or save them for future ‘reference’ – even if they’re up online for a few moments.)

Spam Everyone, All The Time – Send people emails to join your Multi-Level marketing business. Do it every day. Do it five times a day. Ask them to join your religion. Constantly. Post messages about how they’re going to hell if they don’t join. Post prayers and scripture passages. Tell them they are wrong, about everything. Post 1,000-word Facebook messages about your cat, or dog, or fish, or about your vacation. Pester people generally. Try to sell them something. Exclusively use for business your PERSONAL Facebook page (don’t create your own business page, whatever you do!) Explain in great detail why their football team is going to lose. Do it every day, leading up to the game. Insult the players’ personal lives, physical appearances and religions. Insult others’ intelligence for supporting that team. Double your efforts if it’s their high school team. Extra points if your target is the child of a friend who plays on a youth team.

Tick Off Angry, Social Media-Savvy Customers – Pretend the Internet doesn’t exist. Treat customers with contempt, thinking “they can’t do anything about it.” Pretend that we live in the pre-internet days when a nasty experience only got blasted to 10-20 people, rather than 10,000 to 20,000 in an instant, via Facebook, twitter, yelp, Yahoo Local listings, or any number of outlets. Pretend your customer with a camera in her phone WILL NOT post your profanity-laced treatment of your employees on YouTube, and that it won’t go viral and make you a laughingstock.

Generate Negativity – Do all of the above, with reckless abandon – and more. Post hateful statements on others’ Facebook posts. Trash talk everyone. Overly use profanity. Everyone loves profanity. Call people names. Try to goad people into acting the same way. Continue the thread. Threaten people. Insult people’s parents, spouses and children. The Internet will shield you from any repercussions.

DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT!

If you’ve messed up, or have been the target of any of this behavior, please contact Abbott PR and we can begin repairing your reputation or that of your business. http://www.abbottpr.com

Pres. Obama Misunderstands Public Relations as a Profession (but he’s not alone)

2011-01-26T17:14:00.000-05:00

By Stephen Abbott

During Pres. Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech in Washington on Tuesday, he stated that, “We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated but the winner of the science fair; that success is not a function of fame or PR but of hard work and discipline.”

In the midst of an admirable message for children, PR has unfortunately been used in a highly visible event as a derogatory term. It was portrayed as a way to cheat at becoming successful; a way to get up the ladder of success without actually accomplishing anything. PR is made out to be the opposite of hard work, or even discipline – and such a comparison came from the VERY MOUTH of the President of the United States!

This, of course, is a baldly false analysis of what public relations – TRUE public relations – is, or should be. And yet, it highlights long-held stereotypes of what people believe PR to be.

PR professionals have long known that public relations must be based on several factors or it simply won’t “work its magic” in the way their clients hope it will.

First and foremost, honesty must be at the core of any PR campaign. Without that, people see through it and label it for what it is: lying. Worse for the PR professional, exposure to perpetual lying in the name of PR means that some begin to see ALL PR as a synonym for bamboozling the public. This is the sin Obama committed, and inasmuch as others have actually said the same, he can be forgiven for piling on.

Secondly, PR must have at its core pure motives. People, contrary to what we may have heard, are smart; or at least they’re quite savvy. They can see through BS, and attempts to BS them. Clients who want to use PR to make yellow appear blue will make only the targets of their campaigns see red.

Finally, in a PR campaign in which a client is seeking to convince others that its behavior has changed had better have a client that is actually changing, and changing for the better.

When Paris Hilton claimed in a Larry King interview that she would, following a very brief but self-described “horrible” jail term commit her life to charity and “helping others,” she was believed by some. But in the years since that promise, that hasn’t panned out, and she has been widely reported to be committed only to partying and gratifying herself, not serving others. She has hung her PR people out to dry, along with her fans.

Likewise, when a company is caught doing wrong, if it commits to doing good “from now on,” it had better do just that, and it’s the PR professional’s job to not only spread the promises, but to continue reporting those good deeds. That of course implies monitoring the client to ensure that promises are kept.

When a client’s promises and good deeds cease, a wise PR professional quits the charade and leave the client.

Luckily this hasn’t been my personal experience with clients, but sadly, it is for many others, leading to the misconception parroted by Pres. Obama during his State of the Union address.

Let’s hope that the positive actions of many PR pros begin to drown out the negative perceptions PR has in the minds of so many.

Stephen Abbott is principal of Abbott Public Relations. http://www.abbottpr.com

Five Tips for Social Media Messaging

2011-01-10T16:45:00.001-05:00

by Stephen Abbott
Principal, Abbott Public Relations

1. Use Keywords. Identify keywords that you will include in your posting or tweet that will help relevant publics find you and absorb your message. For the most part, this will be easy to do, but doing a little research may pay off – by getting you more hits. Use "search" in twitter to discover if these words are being discussed, including the tenses of those words (i.e. past tense, present tense.)

2. Be Relevant. Write about something your readers will find relevant and interesting. If I don't care about what you’re writing about, I won’t read it. It’s as simple as that. Relevancy within your profession is easy to find. What is going on that people can relate to, understand and gain relevance from?

3. Tie into Trends. What’s going on right now that has relevance to you and your business? My profession, public relations, can be tied into many trends on twitter. For example, when ex-House Majority Leader Tom Delay was sentenced to 3 years in prison, it was a top trend. I tweeted about how PR cannot help someone if they aren’t repentant. It’s not a cure-all, and used the trending phrase “ex-House Majority Leader Tom Delay” in the tweet.

4. Be Timely. Not all postings will be about an event, or trying to tie into trends, but as in writing news releases, timeliness may be vitally important to making your tweet or posting relevant. If your posting and tweeting about something that’s months out-of-date, chances are you'll be seen as out-of-date and even out of step. If it’s not in the news RIGHT NOW, especially on twitter, it’s not something about which you should be commenting.

5. Don’t Stop. Some companies 'try' social media and then stop tweeting and posting for 6 months, a year, or never come back. That’s a waste and risks losing the momentum they built up by engaging with others in the first place – not to mention losing the goodwill they earned by engaging with their customers! (And by the way, that’s what it's all about – being social.) Keep to a regular schedule, and assign a person or team to continue tweeting, posting on Facebook and blogging as close to daily as possible.

Ask Abbott Public Relations how we can be your social media content providers. For as low as $50/month, we can get your small business or organization into various social media environments. For more information, visit http://www.abbottpr.com

How Abbott PR Can Make Public Relations ADD UP in 2011

2011-01-03T10:54:00.004-05:00

By Stephen Abbott, principal of Abbott Public Relations

Public Relations remains a mysterious and nebulous concept for many, though it's actually not a mystery at all. It's an art and a science, applied to business and personal situations to address and solve problems that, if they're left to fester, can have a deleterious effect on one's reputation. That, in turn, can lead to reduced respect, reduced influence in one’s profession and, perhaps most crucially, reduced sales of one's products and/or services.

I've used the acronym "Add Up" as an example of how I approach public relations on behalf of clients and illustrate the process APR uses on their behalf.

Analyze the situation. Jumping in without even rudimentary analysis of the situation is like jumping into a lake one has never seen before – foolish, and possibly dangerous. A situation analysis in PR usually includes discussions with all of the relevant publics involved, be they management and owners, employees, customers and other stakeholders involved in some way with an organization, company or community. This helps the PR professional learn all the facts on the ground that could be leading to problems that may be contributing to a decline in reputation.

Determine problems. Being able to name a problem is a first step towards solving it. This is true in one's personal life and of course it's true in business as well. Once the situation is fully analyzed, PR professionals can then research the problems as they truly exist and begin to understand what PR tools and tactics will need to be addressed, which is the next step ...

Diagnose the situation. Doctors use their analysis of a patient's health to determine a diagnosis. In the same way, PR professionals can use the analysis and problems that arose in the early stages of the process to come up with a diagnosis, allowing them to move forward to the next stages.

Understand publics. Without an understanding of the publics who will be affected by the messages to be used to address problems and issues, we can't be as effective as we otherwise would. Some PR practitioners don't get this, and end up "shouting from the rooftops" to get their message out, thus possibly squandering all the previous effort in researching and diagnosing problems. Instead, a clear, targeted message is planned and prepared to go out to clearly identified targets. This is absolutely essential for the success of any PR campaign.

Present the campaign to publics. All of the research, analysis and planning leads up to a campaign that is presented to predetermined publics, i.e., those who will most benefit from and be positively influenced by messages that enhance the client’s reputation and standing in the community, their ability to continue to grow or expand, or other goals that can be measured over time.

This final "implementation phase" utilizes tools and tactics of the PR professional that best meet the needs of the campaign at hand. This expertise, along with the ability to comprehend and work through the previous steps, is why it's best to hire a PR professional to enhance, change and manage your reputation.

Public Relations and the enhancement of reputation it can bring with an effective PR campaign is vitally important to the continued success of your business, organization or personal fulfillment. The accomplishment of business goals is tangibly connected to maintaining good relations with publics your business interacts with daily, as well as creating inroads with those who will become clients and customers in the future.

Contact Abbott Public Relations to learn more about how your reputation can benefit from Public Relations in 2011.

GOP Candidates Must Have Big, New Ideas to Win Primaries and in November

2010-08-13T11:56:00.003-05:00

Big Ideas capture the imagination. They change lives. They change countries. They can even change election campaigns that are drifting aimlessly, five weeks before Election Day.

But first, they must be articulated by courageous Republican candidates for office. I don’t see that happening much here in New Hampshire.

In the new film Inception, a character says, “Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks.”

It sticks in elections, too. It sticks in the voter’s minds. It resonates, and sinks deep into the subconscious. Consider:

"It's morning in America." - Reagan correctly identified hope and change - and optimism - as what would win against a bleak Carter-led nation.

"It's the economy, stupid." - Carville and Begala correctly understood the mood of the nation during a horrible recession. The Washington GOP elites didn’t. So we lost.

"Hope and change." - GOP activists ridiculed this as “the hopey, changy thing.” I said it was foolish to ridicule hope during a near-depression filled with misery. Regardless of how inept Obama’s policies turned out, he had this advantage during the election, and it worked.

"It's not Ted Kennedy's seat, it's the people’s seat." - Underdog Scott Brown electrified his Senate campaign with this one line, smashing the idea of inevitability and opening voters to his message.

These themes, backed by powerful Ideas (some better than others) resonated. And yet, campaigns here in New Hampshire aren’t talking about New Ideas, but instead opt for the same, old slogans.

Examples? "Lower taxes" and "More jobs" are okay as slogans, and nice as concepts. All Republicans agree with them. But that's the problem. No candidate simply spouting slogans can break out and be noticed. Slogans aren’t fleshed out. Will these slogans create jobs? What's unique? Where are the New Ideas?

NH Democrats in 2006 and 2008 won by adopting these innocuous, me-too concepts. Voters trusted them twice, in part because the GOP failed nationally and statewide to impress them with new and better ideas to back up the slogans.

Being Idea-less, some candidates are being advised to simply spout slogans and run an Idea-less Primary, relying on spending lots of money on TV and getting “face recognition” alone to get attention. This is a rather weak strategy.

Candidates don’t need a million dollar TV strategy. They need million dollar ideas. The ideas will generate coverage and recognition.

They must capture the voters’ imaginations with the power of these Ideas. They need Great Ideas and must deploy them correctly to run transformative, memorable, winning campaigns.

Winning candidates will say to primary voters, "Here's something new, different, and consistent with Republicanism. THESE are the BIG, NEW IDEAS that will win us the election in November!"

And these Ideas can’t be backward-looking ideas that seek to return us to the 1950s (or 1760s) or try to turn the GOP into big-spending mini-Democrats. 21st Century voters won’t stand for either approach.

So, what are these Ideas, exactly? I can certainly suggest a few directions. But when a candidate calls me and is willing to listen, I’ll be there to help them effectively articulate their own Great Ideas.

Stephen Abbott
Abbott Public Relations
www.abbottpr.com
603-341-0372

Rooftop Publicity vs. "Street Level" PR

2010-07-26T10:42:00.005-05:00

Go to the top floor of a 10-story building in a city, open a window, then shout the name of your company or product at the top of your lungs, shut the window, and walk away. Congratulations, you’ve just engaged in PR - all by yourself!

This scenario is about as effective as most companies are when they engage in public relations, if they engage in PR at all, that is. In fact, they’ve actually only engaged in a rooftop publicity stunt.

By contrast, what does hiring a professional Public Relations consultant do for you and your business?

PR pros will offer an objective outlook. You cannot possibly see all of the communications problems your company faces on a daily basis. PR pros will do the interviews and research to get to the bottom of why your messages are falling flat. People will open up about problems they likely won’t tell “the boss.” This strategy, along with analysis of trends and other data, is the Assessment Phase of a PR campaign.

PR pros will be honest with you. Once communications problems are identified, the PR pro can tell you frankly and honestly what your unmet communications needs are, and how to address them. A brief, clear and concise report will outline what’s wrong.

PR pros will target messages effectively. Not all messages are a “fit:” for all audiences. Shouting from a rooftop may be an effective way to create noise, but little else. But people get enough noise already, and they are very good at blocking it out. PR identifies specific publics towards which messages should be directed, rather than a vague “general public” who will tune out your attempts at noisemaking. This plan forward will tell you exactly what PR will do for your firm, so it can be measured later, and adjusted, if necessary.

A professional PR firm like Abbott Public Relations will not shout a message from the rooftop, unless perhaps all the target market happens to be all standing below (which is highly unlikely.) To do so would be a waste of your time and resources.

Using publicity stunts or scattershot advertising is simply not the way you should be spending money when money is scarce.

If you hire APR, we’ll go down to street level, pick out the few people who will deeply care about your product, and will deliver your message concisely and intelligently to the right people, at the right time. That will make all the difference.

Stephen Abbott is a public relations consultant with Abbott Public Relations. APR can be found online at http://www.abbottpr.com.

Your business has done something good. So, what? - Telling others about the good you do, the right way

2010-07-20T13:50:00.001-05:00

Your business has done something good.

So, what?

That may sound harsh, but if you don’t tell anyone about what you’ve done - and tell them effectively - your actions have not effectively built the reputation of your business.

To do that, you must effectively tell those who NEED to know about it, and they must be told in just the right way, using the right medium.

Sounds complicated, huh?

Well, luckily, there’s a tool to accomplish this task, and there are people who know just how to do it.

It’s called the news release, and it’s a tool public relations professionals use to accurately get the word out about what you’ve been doing - be it a good deed or a new way of serving your customers.

But like any tool, if it’s used poorly, or used improperly, it can actually backfire and cause harm.

For example, someone may wish to dabble in road construction, but if a person jumps onto one of those trucks and starts laying pavement incorrectly, they may injure themselves or others, not to mention waste some expensive road-building materials.

That’s why it’s best to trust a Public Relations professional to craft a news release.

But why not simply dabble in writing a news release yourself? After all, how hard can it be?

Turns out, it’s pretty hard, and like most things in life, it requires skill and experience to do it correctly.

A PR pro can get it to the right audiences using the right channels - be it online, via email blast, to specific news media outlets or in a corporate newsletter. Some channels are better than others for certain messages.

A PR pro will use the right wording to attract news media, or whomever the target audience happens to be. This is a technical skill that PR pros have honed over many years.

A PR pro will know what is acceptable to include in a release and what isn’t, and won’t fill it with “red flags” that will prevent it from reaching its audience (a release is not a pure advertising tool, something that most people don’t fully understand.)

By crafting and using news releases the CORRECT WAY, PR professionals can help you gain goodwill from your clients and customers, as well as your future clients and customers (and if you don’t know who THOSE are, you also need to talk to a PR professional.)

Please consider hiring Abbott Public Relations to deliver your professional public relations services.

I offer years of news release writing and public relations experience to all varieties of clients - to small firms, start-ups and individuals.

I stand ready to build and/or enhance your reputation.

Stephen Abbott
http://www.abbottpr.com
stephen(at)abbottpr.com

Abbott Media: Four "A's" of Being a Great Micropreneur

2010-06-23T10:08:00.004-05:00

Entrepreneurship is the way our economy grows, and becoming a "micropreneur" and running a small, one- or two-person business is the way many companies begin.

But how do you know that you are you cut out for a certain business? Before you launch your micro-business, you need to consider many factors. Among them are these five key factors that can help determine whether you can effectively do the job you’re considering:

Aptitude - Are you suited to this job? Do you have what it takes? This is no small matter. If you aren’t a good “fit” for a job, you’ll regret it, probably right away - hopefully. It would be a shame to discover, months or years into a job that you simply aren’t “cut out” for a job. Questions to ask yourself: Do I have the right skills for this job? If not, can I develop them? What are my best skills? Do they match THIS particular job?

Attitude - Are you willing to put your all into the job? Will you feel great about going to work (even if “going” to work means going to a spare bedroom)? If you can’t approach the job with a good attitude, you shouldn’t be doing it. Questions to ask yourself include: Do I feel good about doing this kind of work? Is this a “dream” job? Do I think it can it become a huge success, over time? Can I get up every morning “psyched” about this job?

Ambition - Do you want to achieve something great with this job? That’s an important, but often overlooked, question that few ask when considering a job or a new career. Ambition means more than wanting to dominate your field and be the pre-eminent practitioner of your career - but wanting to do that is a start! Ask yourself: Can I become the best in this field? Will I be able to earn the respect of my peers in this field?

Action Plan - Once you know what kind of business you’re going to pursue, having a plan is really the first step along the journey to success. If you start out without at least a basic roadmap, how will you know where you’re going? What goals can you reach without a plan? The likely answer to that question is “none.” If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. Even a short, one-page “mini” business plan, outlining factors such as your mission statement, your plans for financing, a marketing strategy and short-term goals can help you from veering off-course. Ask yourself: What do I want to be earning in six months, a year, and two years? Who are my customers going to be? How much will I charge for my products and services?

The eBook "37 Instant Businesses" by Abbott ePublishing describes 37 businesses with a great deal of information on each, including: how to set them up, basic target markets, legal and other pitfalls to avoid, estimated income, level of difficulty in setting up each business and other strategies for success. Check out http://sn.im/37inbiz for details. Abbott ePublishing is online at http://www.abbottepub.com.

At Abbott Media, we empower microbusinesses and encourage the micropreneurs who run them to embrace innovation with both new and old media to inform, inspire and serve. Find out more online at http://www.abbott-media.net

Five Ways to Grow Your Business (with PR)

2010-01-19T17:31:00.003-05:00

Tell Others About What You’re Doing - Wow, that seems ridiculously simple, but in today’s difficult economic climate, it’s often a step that is overlooked because it’s deemed “too expensive” to reach out and tell others what’s going on in your business. But that’s not really the case. The phrase “penny wise and pound foolish” comes to mind, because if you don’t spend a little to tell your community the good things you’re doing, they will simply never know. And you can’t grow if people don’t know you.

Keep Your Current Customers in the Loop - A newsletter, either printed to be distributed at point of purchase in your store, or via email or even a blog, will keep your customers in the know” about what you’re doing. Offering exclusive offers to those who sign up for your electronic newsletter or take a printed copy, will reinforce how you really feel about them. After all, no customers, no business.

Always Be Closing (On New Customers) - While being in “business” mode all the time can be overkill (and annoying to others) it’s simply makes sense to be on the lookout for new clients and get them in the “pipeline” by pitching your services to them. A great way to do this is to have an “elevator pitch” - a quick way to tell others about what you do and what you can do for them. That’s just one good tool in your toolbox designed to seek out new clients by spreading the word about what you can do for them. A PR consultant can help you rehearse that pitch and hone messages that will attract customers..

Bring “New” Things to the Table - Using the methods we discussed above, let your customers know about your new products, new services, new procedures, and even new employees. All are excuses, if you will, to stay in touch with your customers, and attract new ones. And let’s face it, “New” sells, in part because it shows you’re innovating and remaining fresh. Customers like that.

Seek Out Creative Help - Letting someone else take a crack at spreading the word about your business can be kind of scary for some, but letting go and letting others let their creative juices a shot can invigorate your business and give it new life. New approaches, new pitches, and new insights into possible new customer bases that you had never thought of before are just a few benefits to letting a public relations consultant assist your business. PR can often maximize the message while minimizing (or eliminating) your advertising dollar.

If you need help doing any of these things, Abbott Public Relations can be your partner, offering creative and innovative ways to get your message to the right customer.

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Don’t Need PR When You’re Doing 'Fine'? Think Again.

2009-11-21T20:00:00.003-05:00

"I'm doing fine, right now. I don't need anyone to do PR for me."

Uh-oh. I've heard this several times now in the past few weeks and it's potentially a very dangerous attitude.

Anyone who's doing "fine" in these tough economic times should be very grateful - or they have “defined down" what "fine" actually means. Either way, kudos to you if that's how you feel.

One need only hearken back to late 2008 and earlier this year to remember what it means NOT to be doing fine. No one needs a reminder that the economy fell off a cliff, and while it's been clawing its way back ever since, it's not there yet for most businesses.

But back to doing "fine." Even if that is the case, there's no guarantee that your business will continue to do so. Whether it's government stimulus money or some other program that's artificially propping up your profession and spurring temporary spending, or whether you simply, and suddenly, have enough business NOW (for the first time in a long time) you shouldn't take public relations for granted.

PR can lay the groundwork for consistent, sustained growth. A few simple steps right now can not only keep your name in front of the customers you may need in the near future, it can also build your reputation amongst those who don’t even know they need your product or services, and can make everyone feel better about you, even if they never need to call on you.

Not investing in PR when you have no business is almost understandable (although that, too, is a poor idea.)

But not effectively working to promote yourself and your business when things are seemingly picking up is a potentially dangerous idea.

Bottom line: Don't be lulled into thinking things are going to automatically go back to what they were without any effort to reach old and new customers with public relations. Because they won't.

Feel free to call Abbott PR today for a free consultation. 603-785-7796.

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Taking Online Libel Cases Public Poses More Danger to Reputation

2009-10-01T17:23:00.006-05:00

A libel suit filed by a Knoxville marketing firm illustrates the dangers of reputation on the Internet - and how delicate the balance is between solving a problem and perhaps making it worse.

Knoxvillenews.com reports that a Knoxville marketing firm filed a $2 million libel lawsuit against a former client, claiming comments posted on Facebook and Twitter have hurt its reputation:

According to the suit, [the restaurant owner] defamed the marketing firm in two Aug. 17 Facebook entries that said, "Do not EVER use [-----] mktg. firm!" and "CROOKS! - Stolen email list, and have tried to pressure me by threat of lawsuit to sign a 'license agreement' to use their mktg materials."

The next day saw more potentially damaging posts, of the same nature, naming the marketing firm, and claiming they had “hacked” into the restaurant’s facebook page and taken it offline. (It’s back online, with almost as many friends as before.)

This dispute is probably like many others throughout the country and indeed, may never have been noticed even by local media.

But the kicker is this line from the story:

The posts were published to more than 300 Facebook friends of [the restaurant] and 247 followers on Twitter, according to the suit.

The fact that less than 300 people on facebook and 247 on twitter heard about this fiasco beforehand. Now, not only do tens of thousands of Knoxville residents know about the accusations, millions throughout the world do, since this was posted online.

Before, they had badmouthed the firm to a few hundred people online (and a few more in the restaurant.) Now, not only has all of Knoxville become aware of this dispute, the entire online world knows.

One has to use responsible words even on social media sites, and “crooks!” is pretty strong and defamatory language, and that’s unacceptable.

And making things worse by spreading the defamatory comments has always been a danger with lawsuits.

But in today’s interconnected world, the “audience” isn’t just Knoxville, it’s tens of millions of people in cities and towns across the world who now know what was said, and about whom, making managing that firm’s image all the more difficult.

The lesson here is (from purely a reputation management viewpoint) if the grievance is tolerable, or minor, consider letting it go, or binding arbitration, or a settlement with a clause not to discuss it further or online.

Be aware that your lawyer may see it differently, and other cases may be so egregious that they demand legal action.

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20 Great Ways Your Company Can Use Twitter

2009-09-22T14:14:00.002-05:00

20 Great Ways Your Company Can Use Twitter:

1. Introduce yourself
2. Introduce your business
3. Talk about a new product
4. Talk about a new service
5. Introduce a new employee
6. Announce an upcoming in-store event
7. Tell others about what you’re doing in the community
8. Promote a contest
9. Promote your industry
10. Get feedback about in-store service experiences
11. Use it as an online customer service department
12. Post an online-only "coupon"
13. Apologize publicly for a shortcoming
14. Promote a local charity event
15. Announce a significant company anniversary
16. Name an "employee of the month"
17. Direct people to your company Website and blog
18. Address a negative news article about your company or industry
19. Ask for ideas from customers about what possible new services/products they want you to offer
20. Post an online survey

Got any other ideas? Share them here.

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Kanye West's Trashed Reputation

2009-09-19T09:40:00.005-05:00

It’s been suggested by Stephen Kersey at the Bizzia.com business site (and elsewhere online) that the Kanye West outburst at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards - in which he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech and blurted out that singer Beyonce’s video was better - was all an elaborate hoax and marketing ploy.

The evidence he cites is:

MTV has been using similar marketing stunts for years. From Eminem getting Bruno’ed to Madonna’s kiss, they’ve been very inventive in their attempts to create controversy and draw attention.

Secondly, the participants are too perfect. Kanye has a rebel reputation, Swift is innocent and Beyonce was able to save the day. If that wasn’t a marketing stunt, it was a huge coincidence.

Finally, MTV has motive. Their award shows aren’t nearly as popular as they used to be.

If this turns out to be the case, it was a bold move on the part of MTV. But it will have been an extremely bad move for Kanye West, because the event severely damaged his reputation.

Already a bit of a laughingstock after the cartoon South Park ridiculed him in a "you're a gay fish" storyline (a must-see episode), and infamous for saying that Pres. Bush "doesn't like black people" on national TV during a live event to raise money for New Orleans victims of Hurricane Katrina, West's reputation didn't need another hit.

And if it was a plan, it went horribly wrong. Since the incident, West has had a humiliating interview on Jay Leno's first show (in which he came close to tears) and has been the subject of HUNDREDS of riffs on his line "I'm gonna let you finish..." on twitter and in online spoofs, including one in which he interrupts Pres. Obama's speech on health care, rather than Joe Wilson (viewed by over 3.33 million people.)

From a purely reputation management point of view, it was an extremely damaging outburst that will have repercussions on the career of a man who is already known - inside and outside the music community - as a rather egotistical jerk. It's all well and good to say the man's music is hard-edge and he has to have a "bad ass" image to go along with it. But while I don't have stats, I bet a lot of white teen girls buy his music, and many will be greatly offended by his verbal attack on Taylor Swift.

His own pledge on Leno's show to "take time off to think" about this debacle and his career is great self-given advice. Removing yourself from the limelight in this case would be the best thing to do. When he comes back, let him do it with some humility. Perhaps release a ballad, or something that softens that nasty exterior of his and restores his reputation somewhat with his core publics.

Whatever it is, the "comeback" needs to be one in which his reputation doesn't take further hits, or he could find himself radioactive with music companies, and not at all "active" on the radio.

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In Business, Consistency Matters to Your Reputation

2009-08-15T23:48:00.005-05:00

I was watching someone create a Website the other day and pointed out to him that the colors on the page he was creating should be consistent with his company’s other printed materials. That wasn’t happening, and that’s a bit of a problem, because when it comes to company’s reputation and image, consistency matters.

When you walk into a Best Buy store, everyone who works there is wearing a distinctive blue shirt, each with the yellow “tag” logo with the words “Best Buy” stitched onto it. You instantly recognize the logo, and the blue color, as representing this national company.

The branding continues in its advertising fliers in the Sunday newspaper, and on its corporate Website. All feature the familiar blue color with the slanted yellow tag that instantly ID the company as the place for electronics sales.

The same is true whether you’re selling electronics, hamburgers or a professional service. If you confuse the customer in any way - with confused logos and branding, no consistent color scheme, or in some other crucial way - you could be failing to make a lasting positive impression on them.

APR’s black and orange logo is distinctive, and is featured on business cards, Website and printed matter.

Consistency builds a brand - but not just consistency of a company’s corporate colors, although we’ve seen how important that can be in the Best Buy example.

Consistency in service, attitude, and promptness can also make or break a company. Every sale must be as close to customer-centered as possible. Every employee must be there to SERVE. And yes, the customer must be able to latch onto visual cues such as logos and colors to instantly and fully understand what store he or she is in, and what products and/or services they are known for selling. If any of these messages is “off” - either because there’s no consistency in logo design or through an inconsistent corporate branding of its products and services, or through poor in-store or online service - then the entire experience is ruined and the loyalty of the customer will likely be lost.

Because consistency plays such a vital role in reputation building, Abbott Public Relations offers a consistency analysis free with a retainer (also available through a la carte pricing) that looks at all of your company’s materials: your Website, your business cards, your fliers and brochures, and your other written materials, logos and yes, even the corporate colors.

Let APR help you build you reputation.

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A Broadview of Banal Branding

2009-07-11T12:50:00.004-05:00

On July 10, 1985, “Classic Coke” was introduced to much fanfare after a colossal failure of “New Coke” that Spring, after a huge public outcry.

One has to wonder whether the roll-out of the new name for Brink’s Home Security will be reversed in a few months, too, after much public confusion.

“We are now Broadview Security, the next generation of Brink’s Home Security.”

That’s the confusing message that welcomes people to the new Broadviewsecurity.com Website.

Boring, bland, banal, colorless, under-whelming, and a stupid pissing away of 150 years of brand equity.

This new name, announced by company officials June 30, 2009 and foisted onto the world by Ketchum, conveys nothing, other than perhaps weakness, blandness and dullness. Shame on the branding experts at Landor Associates, an otherwise top-tier branding agency, who were engaged to come up with this yawn-inducing substitute. Folks, you’ve got it wrong this time.

I feel very sorry for the Brink’s Home Security employees. They must be devastated.

Admittedly, I am not a branding expert. But I know a bad public relations move when I see one, and this could be a big one.

Ad Age Magazine’s June 30 issue quotes a real branding expert, Denise Lee Yohn, as saying, "Trying to transfer that trust from Brink's to a different name is particularly challenging [in a

bad economy.] People are looking for proven suppliers with reputable names."

No kidding. And not only is the name gone, the traditional Brink’s Badge logo will be replaced by a logo with two odd “boomerang-like” swoops that suggest an Internet ISP and seem lifted directly from credit card giant Citi, only rendered in light blue (a weak color.)

In-yard signage and window decals will look something like a white fingernail, or a real estate sign. Will would-be burglars fear a white fingernail-shaped real estate sign in the yard?

The Broadview Website explains that the company spun off from The Brink’s Company last October, and is now a separately traded company. They also reveal that The Brink's Company granted them a license to use the Brink's Home Security brand for up to three years after the spin-off.

So why not keep it until the last possible moment? Why not transition? Why not keep elements of the Brinks name, as some of the “Baby Bells” did after the Bell System broke up in 1984 (Bell Atlantic and BelSouth, to name two.)

Just because change must happen, that doesn’t mean you pick a crap name to replace a time-honored one. That means you try to continue a legacy that has served them for 150 years.

As part of my work with clients who engage me on retainer as a public relations consultant, I always undertake an audit of all materials - Website, printed matter, signage, the works - to ensure that branding is clear and consistent, and that it makes sense.

Most of the time, being vague is a business killer.

Something like “John Doe Enterprises” is a worthless name, because it tells customers exactly nothing about what John does. “Well, I’m trying to be all things to all people,” I’ve heard. Well, that’s not good enough. If you’re doing EVERYTHING, you’re doing few things well. And it’s not about you, it’s about perceptions about you by your past, present and future customers.

In 2006, Stephen Abbott Communications became Abbott Public Relations, in part because the old name sounded like it was a phone company, and PR was my major focus. Last year, I launched Abbott Media, a company that writes and sells electronic books, explores New Media, news reporting and other writing ventures, because these had nothing to do with PR. That, I believe, is smart branding.

The Broadview Website claims the new name “represents our legacy, our future and our unchanged commitment to "Creating Customers for Life."

Legacy? Seriously? Broadview as a name is the OPPOSITE of building a legacy. But this is marketing-speak, not real English, meant to be understood.

I have no doubt the people at Landor are sincere, and smart. The work on their Website (which, tellingly perhaps, fails to mention Broadview) affirms they are an astoundingly capable firm. And granted, branding is not easy or an exact science. But like many re-brands, this one seems to have clearly come up desperately short in the common sense department.

Six Possibly Better Names for Brink’s Home Security, off the Top of My Head:

“ShieldHearth Security” - It even has a warm feeling when you say it, and you know immediately that it shields your home and hearth.
“HomeSecure” - Again, blazingly obvious and quick to grasp what these folks do. (Although if the company seeks to reach into business security more, this may not be the best option.)
“SecuriGuard” - Security and Guard. Simple. Direct. Too difficult to screw up.
“Solidus Security” - From the Latin for solid. In English, it conjures up the same thing. SolidiShield would also help us envision solidity.
“AmeriBrinks Security” - This one is admittedly tongue-in-cheek, but why didn’t they fight for the name?

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Gordon Ramsey’s PR Nightmare, and How to Fix It

2009-06-22T13:06:00.001-05:00

by Stephen Abbott

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey, star of the hit TV shows “Hell’s Kitchen,” “The f-word” and “Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares” is facing his OWN nightmare after a disastrous few days in Australia earlier this month.

There to tour the country and promote himself, Ramsey trashed (in his usual, potty-mouth way) a beloved national TV interviewer during a cooking demonstration. It had devastating ramifications for his reputation throughout the world.

On Friday, June 5, Ramsay participated in a pleasant, on-air interview with Tracy Grimshaw, which was broadcast nationally. She’s like a Katie Couric and Barbara Walters rolled into one. She’s 49 years old.

But during a food and wine fair in Melbourne the next day, Ramsey suddenly tore into her, calling her a pig and intimating that she was a lesbian. To back it up, a picture of a naked woman was shown on a huge screen behind him with the head of a pig and multiple nipples Photoshopped onto it. He also said her face was badly in need of Botox.

While he tried to laugh the comments off as a “tongue-in-cheek joke,” no one was laughing, least of all Grimshaw, who publicly attacked Ramsey on her program the next night, calling him a bully and narcissist, and coldly denying she was a lesbian.

“Truly, I wonder how many people would laugh if they were effectively described as an old, ugly pig,” she said, on-air. She also revealed that she’d agreed not to question him about his alleged extramarital affair during the interview.

She continued: “But I’m not surprised by any of this — we’ve all seen how Gordon Ramsay treats his wife, and he supposedly loves her. Obviously Gordon thinks that any woman who doesn’t find him attractive must be gay. For the record, I don’t and I’m not.”

To make matters worse (and yes, it got worse) Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called Ramsey’s comments something that might come from a “low life.” Ouch.

While some have speculated that this all was a publicity stunt to increase his, or her, ratings (both strongly deny it) it would hardly be a positive stunt for either one. Ramsey’s reputation in Australia is in tatters, and as we all can see, this story is by no means limited to that continent in the Internet Age.

Stories in the London Times and various less reputable papers, as well as TV stations around the world, covered the flap. Google Tracy Grimshaw and the second entry is a video of her responding to him.

Reputation Management to the Rescue
So, what, if anything, can be done to repair Gordon Ramsey’s reputation?

Ramsey at first handled this reputation crisis badly. During a morning jog, he told reporters swarming around him that her comments were made to increase her ratings.

But later, he did take the first step by rather sincerely apologizing, on camera, during an interview that was focused only on the subject of his nasty comments.

However, much more must be done to repair Gordon’s tattered reputation - bearing in mind he still bears wounds from the aforementioned affair allegations, along with recent revelations that, hypocritically, all the food in his fancy restaurants isn’t freshly prepared and anger from disgruntled chefs in restaurants he has critiqued on his “Nightmares” show.

Ramsey could, though it’s a bit of a cliché, donate to, or attend a class with, an organization that builds respect for women. He can repair his marriage, if its not too late, and get his wife on his side - and by his side.

This can’t be seen as phony, and in fact, he must treat women with more respect, both in public and in private (though with video cameras, what’s truly “private” these days?)

He can also tone down his act a bit, and use maybe 50% less offensive words during filming. British television allows the “S-word” to be used on the air, and ALSO the “F-word.” Although he has faced censure from the agency that regulates TV in the UK for using the “F” word gratuitously - sometimes up to 150 times an episode. Check out YouTube for the uncensored shows.

Being seen as less abrasive, less nasty and less foul-mouthed will be part of the media narrative. The media love to see a comeback and that’s how it will play out - IF he takes these and other steps, as his own PR people direct him.

Let’s be honest, it will be a long slog back for him, and he’s probably lost fans, especially in Australia and especially among women around the world. But with a proper Reputation Management Plan, Ramsey could once again gain all of that respect back he’s lost in this horrible episode.

Visit Abbott Public Relations at www.abbottpr.com

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Public Relations in Six Words

2009-05-27T09:14:00.003-05:00

Become known - This is the core of everything Public Relations does. If you and your business are unknown, you don’t really exist. Your profile must be raised in order for your services or products to be sold and for your business to flourish in the long term. At the core of Abbott Public Relations is the ability to help you launch a business or help make an existing one better known.

Become known for doing - Being known is great, but known FOR WHAT? If customers have to ask, “What is it that you do, exactly?” then your previous efforts at becoming known have been all for nothing. Clarity, precision and detail must underscore your core business. APR brings this to its clients with creativity and a sharpness of vision. We’ll work with you to clarify your business mission and will craft ongoing strategies to get that message to those who need to hear it.

Become known for doing good - Being known is wonderful. Being known for doing good is even better. Customers want to do business with companies that are socially responsible. Search engine giant Google has a slogan: “Don’t be evil.” While many companies aren’t evil, per se, they aren’t known for being “good,” either. Goodness reaps almost immediate benefits by generating good will for your company, and APR can let your relevant publics and the wider community know about that goodness with a clear communications strategy.

Become known for doing good within - You may know who your customers are, and may even direct a lot of attention to them. That’s a good business practice. But what about the customers WITHIN your company - your employees? Are you neglecting to communicate effectively with THEM? If so, that can undermine all of your external communications efforts. The first step towards positive growth and becoming known for doing, and being, good is to examine the assets you have working for you, ensure that THEY know the good your company is doing, and ensure that they are contributing to that goodness. APR can create internal communications strategies that reconnect you to your greatest asset, and that will set the stage for EXTERNAL growth and prosperity.

Visit Abbott Public Relations at www.abbottpr.com

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Launch of New ePublishing House, Abbott ePublishing

2009-03-23T19:56:00.006-05:00

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
CONTACT: Stephen Abbott, Publisher, Abbott ePublishing, 603-785-7796; publisher/at/abbottepublishing.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Launch of New ePublishing House, Abbott ePublishing;
Offers Affordable Electronic Books; Seeks Authors
MANCHESTER, NH - Abbott ePublishing, a Manchester New Hampshire-based publisher of electronic books, launched Tuesday, March 24, with the goal of offering “affordable, interesting eBooks” and competing with high-priced online eBook retailers.

Founded by Stephen Abbott, a public relations consultant, former newspaper reporter and writer, the new publishing house, which can be found online at www.abbottepub.com, seeks to offer inexpensive eBooks in various formats.

Abbott ePublishing will give readers an affordable way to access electronic books, said Abbott.

“In a recession, people don’t have the money for a $15 or $20 book, and surely don’t have that kind of money for an eBook,, which carries few of the costs of electronically produced books,” said Abbott. “Abbott ePublishing offers books for under $10, and most for far less.”

The average price of an eBook on the site is currently around $4, he said.

“The launch of Abbott ePublishing comes at a time when the price of eBooks offered at major online retailers are rising, some to well over $15,” said Abbott. “That’s simply not the way for publishers to endear themselves to the reading public.”

The publisher launches with over 30 electronic book titles, in subjects as varied as Business & Money, Fiction & Literature, History, Humor, Inspiration & Self Improvement, Philosophy, Politics & Current Affairs, Religion & Spirituality, Science & Technology and Travel & Travel Essays.

Abbott ePublishing is currently seeking authors of eBooks in these subject areas. Authors receive a royalty rate of fifty percent of the sale price of their eBook. “That’s a greater royalty than nearly any other publisher, on or off-line,” said Abbott.

The debut line-up includes two books from the publishing house’s first signed fiction author, George Polley of Sapporo, Japan, who has written two books of animal short stories based loosely on Japanese folklore.

Abbott has also authored some eBooks that will be offered on the site, including a business book, “Hot Jobs for a Cold Economy: Service Businesses You Can Start for Little Cash” (to be published on April 15) and what he calls a “slightly off-the-wall book” of humorous sayings and quotations about Abraham Lincoln.

Most books on the site are offered in both Adobe .pdf (Portable Document Format) and mobipocket formats. Books in .pdf format can be read on a desktop or laptop with the free, downloadable Adobe Reader. All mobipocket formatted eBooks can be read with a downloadable Mobipocket Reader and are compatible with the Amazon Kindle e-reader and most handheld devices.

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What is a News Release, Anyway?

2009-03-16T11:40:00.004-05:00

I am frequently asked a rather fundamental question by clients or prospective clients: “What the HELL is a News Release, anyway?” It’s a great question! (and forgive the expletive. It's sometimes there, sometimes not.)

Like the canvas for an artist, or the meal for a chef, the news release represents the writing and persuasion skills of a public relations consultant, as they appear in print.

A news release (also known as a press release, media release, or press statement) is a professionally written document directed at members of the news media - or some other person or group - for the purpose of announcing something important that has news value. Public relations consultants use them frequently in their quest to gain exposure for their clients and craft public opinion to favor those clients.

Sometimes they are sent to announce news conferences or other public events, at which other communications tools are used to reinforce a central theme or message. They are included in a media kit.

Public relations consultants create news releases for their clients after learning all that’s possible about the subject of the release and all the pertinent data that will be needed to construct it. After a release is crafted - usually within two days or less, it is submitted for a final review to the client, who reviews the release for accuracy before it’s sent to the media or to relevant audiences.

Typically, releases are mailed, e-mailed or hand delivered to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations and television stations, as well as to relevant bloggers and online news sources. Reporters are called to ensure they have received a release and understand its contents, or if they have further questions about its subject.

The news release is usually only one or two pages in length, is double-spaced, and is written in a news style that could lead to being placed in newspapers with little or no further editing - a very good result.

News releases must be timely, newsworthy, address only one issue, follow news guidelines for writing, i.e. the Five “W’s” (who, what, where, when and why) and include a “lead” that is powerful and states the subject of the release clearly and briefly. Contact information is provided (name, title, phone and email) so that a reporter can follow up with more questions if they need clarification, or if they wish to expand the release into a story - that is also a good result for a news release.

Other than for typos or factual errors, clients should avoid the temptation to further “tweak” a completed release when they are given a final draft- usually (in my experience) by adding vast reams of text they think would “improve” a release. This is never a good idea. A release can easily become too wordy and lose the all-important news format, and editors have just a few seconds to determine if the release is newsworthy and if it’s professionally written.

But a four-page release buried under the entire history of a company or a self-serving biography of a CEO doesn’t qualify as either newsworthy or professional. The news release must be a carefully crafted piece of technical writing, and it can be ruined completely by well-meaning edits.

Which means paying a public relations professional to craft these and other written documents - and trusting them to get it right - makes a great deal of sense.

Even more so when you learn that news releases are often more cost-effective than advertising, because they “earn” media coverage, which can be seen as more credible than thousands of dollars in advertising.

If you have further questions about news releases, please contact Abbott Public Relations at 603-785-7796.

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Robert Scoble takes PR to task, and gets it half right

2009-03-13T09:43:00.010-05:00

Thursday night, I had the interesting exchange below with Robert Scoble, a.k.a. “Scobleizer” regarding his misunderstanding of the term “PR.”

Scoble, who has over 69,000 twitter followers, isn’t stupid. But his rant against the public relations profession has struck a nerve with me and other PR professionals - both positively and not so much.

Here are his comments and my replies from Thursday around 11:45 p.m.:

Scobleizer: Yo, @shooby, again, PR is dead (he's looking for a job in PR or marketing). Find a new way to create magical relationships for companies.

Nhprman: @Scobleizer PR hs bn declared "dead" many times (yawn) It's ALWAYS bn abt creating relationships betwn customers & brands. That's not news

Scobleizer: @nhprman PR, as most people are practicing it is lame and dead. Anyone good at PR doesn't say they are doing PR nor do they defend PR.

Scobleizer: @nhprman: if PR is about creating relationships than why do I get thousands of the lamest idiotic pitches you could possibly come up with?

Nhprman: @Scobleizer Lame pitches aside, PR's a *real* profession w/standards & ethics. That said, I say I build reputations & relatnshps not just "PR"

Not directed to me, he also said this to someone else:

@8101harris good PR pros are not doing PR. See Jeremy Toeman or Brian Solis. They create magical experiences that lead to great media.

Which is fair. And frankly, I see where he’s coming from. Robert is not an idiot. He “gets” that PR is evolving all the time. In fact, two-way communication that builds “magical experiences” is an absolutely correct definition of PR today. It’s just that he doesn’t know, perhaps, that this is the ideal definition of PR.

And as I alluded to in one of these tweets, PR, as I practice it, involves creating and building reputations in the minds of targeted publics. It’s about relationship building as much as its about message - and both are critically important.

Regarding message, for instance, he’s correct when he says (in this blogtalkradio podcast) that pitching someone via email is stupid, and ineffective. He prefers to have buddies over for dinner and then hear their pitch. Sure. That’s fine. Good approach. Just one of many, of course.

And if the restricts his critique of PR to what happens online (where he lives and breathes) then yeah, he may have a point or two about the poor PR practices here.

But as I said in reply to him last night, PR as a profession is not “dead.” Far from it. It’s a vibrant, ever-changing, exciting profession. There are codes of ethics for anyone willing to abide by them, and all major universities have programs that are always full.

Yes, it must always change or risk becoming irrelevant.

Yes, it must adapt to new technologies like twitter (and learn how NOT to use them, like the fellow who trashed his client, FedEx, on twitter on the way to a meeting with them.)

Yes, there are a number of hucksters out there online.

But I would challenge labeling as “PR” the description Robert gives of the many people who are emailing him with a “pitch” consisting of the thought, “If you don’t mention me I’m going to go out of business.” That’s not PR, that’s an act of desperation. It’s not a professionally crafted pitch, it’s not respectful of the recipient, and it’s not representative of the values and standards for which the vast majority of PR people stand.

I suspect Robert Scoble is just down on PR because he gets a lot of bad pitches from those claiming to be in PR, or from those he ASSUMES are PR professionals.

But I would say to him that many people who claim they are in “PR” are not. They are in marketing (or in some variant thereof) and that profession, like PR, has its bad apples

For the record, PR isn’t the young woman who uses her “wiles” (and sometimes overtly sexually) to get men to hear a pitch, nor is PR the creepy guy who wants to “sell” an item to a "mark." That’s a salesman. The girl is like a model paid to stand next to a car at an auto show, NOT a PR professional. Those being targeted by these kinds of people and those seeking to HIRE PR pros should learn the difference, because it damages the profession.

And “marketing” is also a much misused name, and can mean anything from multilevel scam hucksters to “social media experts” claiming that they will “get your name out there” (whatever that means.) Their methods are rather dubious as are their credentials.

A bit of a tangent here, but the use of the “marketing scam Webpage” is typical of this kind of hucksterism. It’s a very, very long page, with big bold type on the top, embedded videos, claims to “get rich quick” and a “free e-book” (or worse, a $40 one) followed by a check-marked list of benefits with quotes from imaginary previous buyers. Ugh. If anything, THOSE should be targeted by someone of Robert’s great influence online.

It’s also good to see a bit of a mini-meme and backlash against people calling themselves “twitter experts” and “social media experts” on twitter recently. It’s overdue. Even Scoble recently said we shouldn’t call him a SM expert. But if anyone can justly and honestly lay claim to THAT title, it may be him. I just hope he learns to be more careful with the terms he throws around.

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News Release: APR Client ReMine Recycling Teams with Ink Cartridge Recycler to Recycle E-Waste

2009-02-11T10:00:00.002-05:00

NEWS RELEASE

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Contact: Mike Lynch, owner, InkSpot, 603-425-0090, manchester(at)inkspotnh.com; Zeke Gable, ReMine Recycling, LLC, 603-505-2379; info(at)ReMineRecycling.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Manchester and Derry InkSpot Locations Partner with ReMine Recycling to Collect E-Waste

MANCHESTER - InkSpot, a cartridge refilling business, has partnered with ReMine Recycling, to collect electronic waste at its InkSpot’s Manchester and Derry locations.

The e-waste drop-off program begins on Monday, Feb. 9 at the Manchester InkSpot at Shaw's Plaza, 373 South Willow St., and the Derry InkSpot at Plaza One, 37 Crystal Avenue, in Derry (next to T-Bones restaurant.)

Customers will be able to drop off a wide variety of electronics to be safely recycled. Computers or monitors can be dropped off for $10 each. Up to five computers can be dropped off per visit. Televisions can be left for a $15 fee. Printers, Scanners, microphones, speakers, other accessories can be left for $1 each, or up to five of them free when dropped off with a computer.

Power cables, USB cords and other miscellaneous wires or extension cords can be dropped off at no cost.

Gable praised InkSpot for participating in the program.

"InkSpot is a great company and ReMine Recycling is happy to partner with them in helping serve the growing need to responsibly recycle electronics in our communities,” he said. “When you recycle through our drop off locations, you'll be doing good by assuring that the material is recycled in an environmentally and ethically responsible way.”

Customers who participate in the program will be rewarded with a gift certificate for Cactus Jack’s restaurant (while supplies last) said Gable.

The program will provide a valuable service for InkSpot’s customers, said InkSpot owner Mike Lynch.

"InkSpot customers love saving money and saving the environment,” said InkSpot owner Mike Lynch. “By refilling their cartridges at InkSpot they have helped keep over 30,000 cartridges out of local landfill. Partnering with ReMine to help consumers and businesses dispose of e-waste properly is a natural extension of InkSpot service offerings."

InkSpot refills printer, fax and copier cartridges for consumers and businesses. They also carry a full line of compatible ink and toner cartridges. When compared with buying new cartridges, ink cartridge customers save up to 60 percent and toner cartridge customers save up to 40 percent. They can be found online at inkspotnh.com.

ReMine Recycling, LLC is a Hudson, NH-based recyclables company dedicated to making recycling easier and cheaper for companies, non-profits and individuals. ReMine Recycling is an innovative recyclables broker, collecting, processing and redistributing metals and electronic waste, preventing them from entering the waste stream. They can be found online at reminerecycling.com.

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Release created and distributed by Abbott Public Relations. We are online at www.abbottpr.com.

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What is a “Reputation Agency” and what does it do?

2009-02-06T20:07:00.004-05:00

Since January, Abbott Public Relations has been describing itself as a Reputation Agency ^TM. But what, exactly, does that mean?

It means APR is completely focused on creating, building and maintaining your reputation, whether you’re an individual, a new startup, a small business or a home business.

“Reputation,” to some, might seem like a nebulous, hard-to-pin-down term, but it really isn’t, and is actually a vital tool to have in your business arsenal. In fact, without it, your business may have a very short life indeed.

In brief, a reputation is one’s good name, or more specifically, how your name is perceived by those with whom you do business - or even with whom you HOPE to do business or interact with in the future.

Reputation is the quality or character of an individual or business, as seen and judged by others (fairly or unfairly) and it’s the recognition by others of your characteristics and abilities.

But how is a reputation built, exactly?

First, we must assess two things: Where your current reputation stands and where you want to be at a certain time in the near future.

“Where you are” in regards to reputation is defined as how you’re viewed by your customers (and sometimes by your WOULD-BE customers) as well as your vendors, managers and employees.

Sometimes discovering just where you are is quite a surprise. Simply put, often we think things are viewed one way, when in fact, they’re viewed quite differently by others. That’s a very important thing to know, because we have to remember that “reputation” isn’t how we view ourselves, it’s how others view us.

Once we know how others view us as individuals or as a company, we can address that reputation head-on, and honestly.

Do you need to improve customer service? Should you become more active in your community? Do your customers, vendors and others who interact with you (those we PR folks call “publics”) need to be better aware of the good things you’re ALREADY doing? Should you be communicating better with them about what’s new, innovative and creative in your particular business - or in your profession?

All of these are questions to be asked in order to reach a certain “reputation goal,” which can be defined, perhaps, as “increase customer traffic by X percent within the next three months,” or “increase awareness of our business in the community by Y percent at the end of this campaign.” These can be used as yardsticks for your efforts to improve your reputation after you implement them.

So you can easily see that reputation isn’t some mysterious, un-definable thing, but rather, a vital part of your business.

And a small, nimble, affordable, creative Reputation Agency TM like Abbott Public Relations is just the firm you need to get your reputation to where it needs to be.

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5 Characteristics of Reputation

2009-01-23T11:55:00.004-05:00

Like any tool, a reputation constantly needs sharpening to be effective. But it can be double-edged instrument that can cut you and severely damage you, if you’re not careful, or mishandle it.

Reputation can be a hard concept to wrap one’s head around. So, bolstered by wise words of wisdom, I’ve listed five characteristics of reputation of which businesses and individuals need to be cognizant when seeking to change or improve their reputations.

1. A Reputation can’t be built on false promises - "The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear,” said the Greek philosopher Socrates. Your advertising materials won’t fool anyone if your promises are’nt being kept. If your luggage is lost, you will not believe the ad calling the airline “competent”, will you? In the same way, your company’s reality-on-the-ground must match the rhetoric your Reputation Agency is putting out about you, in order for your believability to remain intact.

2. Reputation must reflect what you’re doing NOW - Automobile manufacturer Henry Ford said, ‘You can’t build a reputation on what you're going to do.” It’s all well and good that you PLAN to do something great. But if you’re not doing it yet, or (worse) if you don’t follow through, it will hurt you more than if you hadn’t promised to do it at all. In short, your reputation is a result of what you’ve done in the past.

3. A reputation pays off in the long run - “A reputation for good judgment, for fair dealing, for truth, and for rectitude is itself a fortune,” said social reformer Henry Ward Beecher. There’s not really a way to weigh the value of a good reputation, or that of a good one that’s been lost. Your customers, if they’re happy, reach out to dozens of people about your products and services, but also about your attitude and helpfulness, and that of your employees. A reputation pays off in many innumerable ways, most of which you will never know.

4. A reputation can’t be a con job - Author and artist Elbert Hubbard wrote, “Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.” A reputation must be true and reflective of the subject it purports to represent. APR cannot “create” a glowing reputation for someone who’s character is genuinely bad. Again, today’s consumers simply are too smart for such a cynical exercise in deception, and frankly, APR (along with every other ethical PR professional) will not participate in such a deception. As in other examples here, the perception must match the reality. A con job will simply further tarnish a damaged reputation, and it’s simply not worth it. Issues involving the character and practices of your company must be addressed BEFORE “re-launching” yourself and your name to the public.

5. Your reputation can be ruined by others - George Washington said, “Associate with men of good quality, if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.” If you’re associated in the mind of the public with a rouge company or an unscrupulous person - even if it’s not YOUR company or employee - your reputation could be hurt by it in the eyes of the public. That may not be fair, but it’s reality. People sometimes don’t distinguish between you and a bad act committed by someone close to you. As Washington said, in that case, it’s better to be seen alone and apart from them, and APR can help you distance yourself from trouble with a clear reputation management plan.

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Six Ways PR Must Change in 2009

2009-01-09T14:13:00.004-05:00

1. PR must be an opportunity to tell the truth - PR is not synonymous with lying, it’s not obfuscation, it’s not a delaying tactic, it’s a tool to disseminate the truth about our clients that positions them in a favorable light with their customers and other publics. The sooner PR as a profession understands that, the sooner the negative stereotypes of the procession (stereotypes which are, sadly, grounded in reality) will change.

2. PR must leverage online social media effectively - Social media plays a huge role in how messages are disseminated in 2009. PR professionals must understand how social media outlets work, how to use them effectively to target messages to the right consumers, and how NOT to abuse it.

3. PR cannot rely on hype - Consumers are increasingly savvy in their assessment of the messages that bombard them. The idea that hype (false and/or exaggerated claims meant to gain fleeting attention) can be used to somehow cut through that clutter has to be debunked frequently. Consumers of media, especially those in Generations X and Y, can smell hype a mile away, and it will instantly backfire on those who use it.

4. PR has to be a management function - A true partnership with clients, at the boardroom level, is required to quickly and effectively get messages to consumers. The days when a client “forgets” to reveal the most damaging parts of a story being disseminated by their PR professional are over. PR professionals will demand a place at the table where the decisions are made - not to make the company’s decisions for them, but to be able to make fully informed decisions about the best methods to narrowcast their decisions to relevant publics.

5. PR must assume all information will eventually leak - Social media and the immediacy of the Internet, combined with good old fashioned leaks, mean that all potentially damaging information will become public eventually, and will even more seriously damage the company’s brand. (See: Apple’s ongoing attempts to hide Steve Jobs’ continuing health problems.)

6. Relevancy must be spelled out in news releases - Reporters have always asked, “How is this relevant to me?” even if they didn’t verbalize it. Now, more than ever, with a vastly greater amount of information flooding newsrooms, and fewer reporters to process it, relevancy is a critical thing to spell out, right there in the text of the news release. Releases much change in format as well as content to reflect the information environment we’re in now. The evolution will continue throughout 2009 and the coming decade, but it begins with adding a clear statement of relevancy to every release.

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Mishandling Steve Jobs’ Health News: What NOT to do in PR

2009-01-07T15:37:00.003-05:00

The blog Gizmodo shocked the business world on Dec. 30, 2008 when they announced that the popular Apple Computer conference, Macworld would not include a keynote address by Apple founder/CEO Steve Jobs this year, because of health reasons. In fact, rather than the reason previously given by the Apple Corp., that Macworld was “no longer needed” by the company to unveil its products, a “reliable source” told the popular blog that Job, who has suffered from pancreatic cancer, was in “rapidly declining” health:

Apple is choosing to remove the hype factor strategically vs letting the hype destroy apple when the inevitable news comes later this spring. This strategic loss will be less of a bang with investors. This is why Macworld is a no-go anymore. No more Steve means no more hype. Saying they are no longer needing [Macworld] is the cover designed by the worldwide "loyalty" department.

The blog entry set off a firestorm of speculation on the Internet that his cancer, for which he was treated in 2003, had returned. Many believed the blog and questioned the company’s truthfulness about Jobs, who, unlike other CEOs, is seen as intimately connected with the past and future success of Apple.

However, CNBC reporter Jim Goldman reported on his blog that Gizmodo had gotten it all wrong (based on its sources - most likely the Apple PR department) and that the health scare was an exaggeration. It was “not health concerns” that caused Apple and Jobs to pull out of the Macworld event.

CNBC rather embarrassingly had to walk back it’s pooh-poohing of Gizmodo’s reporting when, on the following week, it was revealed by Jobs and the Apple board that he indeed was suffering from a health aliment that was robbing his body of proteins.

A serious condition, though perhaps not deadly.

Still, the cult of secrecy at Apple led to a flurry of rumors and damaged the company’s stock price.

The company has, in the past, sought to keep Jobs’ health problems a secret. His surgery to deal with his cancer in the fall of 2003 only leaked out in April, 2004, causing shockwaves at the company.

An April, 2008 comment by Apple PR person Katie Cotton that his gaunt appearance was due to a “common bug” was also later refuted.

That strained credulity, but the denials this time were no less strong, and that’s a huge problem for Apple.

Gizmodo noted that “While Steve Jobs' health is nobody's business—not the press, not investors, not the public—we believe that there's a line between saying "no-comment" and plainly misleading—once again—the public.”

They are correct. And kudos for this “New Media” source getting it (mostly) correct while media giant CNBC got it wrong.

But the real lesson here is the (mis)application of PR to a health or business crisis.

In public relations, truth-telling is absolutely necessary. Those in the profession who lie only perpetuate negative stereotypes about what we’re supposed to be all about: TRUTHFUL ADVOCACY OF OUR CLIENTS’ INTERESTS.

PR hackery, in which lying is seen as a way to cover up and delay unpleasant truths, is grossly unethical, but more than that, it is likely to backfire every single time.

Apple is “Exhibit A” in this regard.

Joining the Social Media Revolution: Blogs, Twitter and facebook

2008-12-26T12:58:00.005-05:00

Are you blogging? Are you Tweeting? Are you on facebook?

If you have no idea what more than one of those things are, or how to use them to benefit your business, you’re missing out on what is shaping up to be an online social media revolution.

Online social media is all about interaction with your customers and with potential customers via the Internet.

Blogs, Twitter and facebook are just three social media sites that can help you reach out to potential clients and build your online reputation at the same time.

Getting Started with Blogs
Blogging has become the craze of the 21st century, and there’s no sign of this particular craze going away. Literally hundreds of millions of people have blogs.

With easy-to-start blog sites like blogger.com (run by Google) you can be up and running with a blog without any technical hassles. This particular blog site makes it remarkably easy - setting your background colors and format has been made idiot-proof, and you’ll be blogging very quickly.

Why blog? Blogging allows you to show your expertise, to connect with customers, and cast your name into the large waters of the Internet and be heard, via search engines.

For example, my post on the Abbott PR blog (abbottpr.blogspot.com) about a rather ill-advised General Motors TV ad pushing for a bailout called “Why GM’s “Ripple Effect” PR Video Will Fail” was picked up by Google, and is now the number one search for *“Ripple Effect” video PR* That’s valuable to your business.

Uses of a blog can be to post your thoughts on a trend in your field, to post news releases, to discuss new policies, and to make other announcements.

Tweeting About Yourself
Twitter is a rapidly growing phenomenon and a relative newcomer to the Online world.

The company describes itself as: “privately funded startup with offices in the SoMA neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. Started as a side project in March of 2006, Twitter has grown into a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices.”

Basically, you sign up, and begin typing messages - called “tweets” - all of which are limited to 140 characters. The limitation, says the company, inspires creative and thoughtful expression, and so it does.

You can use your computer to tweet, or you can send messages via your cell phone or from your desktop, using various other online services that have sprung up.

Some users never get past posting exactly what they’re doing RIGHT NOW, the original intention and most used purpose of the service.

But getting past the “my cat just rolled over” or “I’m eating” phase is important, and some major business gurus, like Guy Kawasaki (twitter.com/guykawasaki) have Twitter accounts, and use them to promote their books and ink to news stories online that deal with trends in their business or breaking news.

And - as with blogs, the service is a great way to express your expertise in your field, and thus build up your reputation.

Search your profession right now at http://search.twitter.com to find how people in your profession are using this service to do just that.

The social networking aspect of Twitter consists of gathering “followers” on Twitter by becoming “friends” with others, and is an excellent way to expand the reach and knowledge of your company, and yourself.

Gathering facebook Colleagues
Facebook is an excellent example of an online social media network because it is so vast. Over 600,000 NEW users join facebook EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Originally started with college students in mind, high school students and then their parents quickly got facebook pages, too. Finally, businesses have joined the fray, and facebook allows companies large and small to have pages that reach out to a wide variety of demographics. (Advertising opportunities on facebook are also worth looking into.)

Like other services, you can sign onto facebook and create a personal page relatively quickly. Once that’s done, starting a business-related page, posting “notes” (basically blogging) and using the "status update" feature to discuss your business life, as well as your personal life, can

And like Twitter, facebook "friends" can be gathered in your social network, though you should start with friends, colleagues and nearby residents in the real world, then THEIR friends online will join you as well. You can also start or join existing “groups” that promote your products or your profession.

From this very brief introduction, you can begin to see that the opportunities for self-promotion and reputation building are indeed huge online.

These new social networking sites are new and exciting ways of expanding your reach beyond the four walls of your business, and for spreading the word about your own expertise and services to the virtual Internet Community that’s becoming commonplace in the 21st Century.

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PR campaigns help funding, study shows

2008-12-15T10:35:00.006-05:00

A study published in PR Week magazine showed that startup companies utilizing PR campaigns are 30 percent more successful in getting funding within one to three motnhs than those that don’t.

The study was condudcted by Chicago’s BIGfrontier Communications Group.

Forty-four percent of the respondents who used PR outreach received funding in the one-to-three-month time period versus 14% of those that did not. The survey also found that 78% of respondents who said PR helped in their funding efforts are planning to use some of their venture capital for additional PR.

“Those entrepreneurs understand that anything they can do to get them an advantage to get limited or finite funding is something they should avail themselves of, especially now,” said Steve Lundin, founder of BIGfrontier. The boutque firm specializes in PR for startups, tech and consumer companies, and law firms.

Overall, though, the survey found that only 18% of the 300 startups surveyed had a PR program in place during the funding process.

This clearly and starkly underlines the importance of an ongoing PR campaign, especially for small start-ups.

Abbott PR prides itself on working with these small companies - even one-person shops - who don't usually have access to "BIG PR FIRMS."

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Motrin “gets” PR after ad campaign misstep

2008-12-13T16:18:00.005-05:00

A few weeks ago, Motrin pulled an ad created for it by its creative agency that had moms all around the country in an uproar.

The ad sought to address the concerns of mothers who get back pain from carrying their babies in a sling or in a device that allows them to hang in front of them, either facing forward or towards the mother, while her hands are free to work, or shop, or walk. The ad, of course, recommended Motrin for the back and neck pain that these devices can cause.

Check out the ad below, on YouTube:

Some phrases pop out in this video. The fact that moms are carrying their babies as a “fashion accessory” or that it “totally makes me look like an official mom,” for starters. Both are patronizing to women, and a bit insulting.

At least that’s how tens of thousands of mothers saw it.

Outraged at the tone and attitude of the ad, which was not only on TV, but placed in magazines and papers as well, angry moms took the case against Motrin viral.

YouTube was almost instantly flooded with videos of moms expressing contempt for the ad’s condescending tone. They used the social networking site Twitter to spread the word about the ad, flooding it with contempt for the ad, the product and the company. They also emailed and called the company, and caused an uproar in more traditional media.

The Chicago Tribune later reported that one video created by an upset mom was viewed over 12,000 times.

To be sure, there were many bloggers, Tweeters and YouTube commenters who replied that some mothers were getting too upset, and that there were some more important things to be outraged about. That, of course, didn’t get the company off the hook.

The company, knowing they had erred, acted quickly. They pulled the broadcast ad, and published an apology on their Website, www.motrin.com.

Four days later, on Nov. 20, they posted yet another apology:

So…it’s been almost 4 days since I apologized here for our Motrin advertising. What an unbelievable 4 days it’s been. Believe me when I say we’ve been taking our own headache medicine here lately!

Btw - if you’re confused by this - we removed our Motrin ad campaign from the marketplace on Sunday because we realized through your feedback that we had missed the mark and insulted many moms. We didn’t mean to…but we did. We've been able to get most of the ads out of circulation, but those in magazines will, unfortunately, be out there for a while.

We are listening to you, and we know that's the best place to start as we move ahead. More to come on that.

In the end, we have been reminded of age-old lessons that are tried and true:
When you make a mistake - own up to it, and say you’re sorry.

Learn from that mistake.

That’s all... for now.

Sincerely,
Kathy Widmer
VP Marketing
McNeil Consumer Healthcare

And they got it just right.

The rules of public relations are just as Ms. Widmer stated: admit mistakes publicly and quickly, and learn from them.

To fail to admit a mistake - to dig in one’s heels and fail to own up to it (like a certain Illinois governor, perhaps?) or to grudgingly admit it, but fail to take corrective action, would both be failed reactions to a PR crisis like this one.

But Motrin, while angering a lot of moms out there, has also perhaps saved a lot of their business in the long run by pivoting so quickly and changing course.

That’s a good lesson for all companies.

But the lesson doesn't end there. The makers of Motrin learned:

1) Don't underestimate your customers, and don't be condescending to them.
2) "Motrin Moms" are tech-savvy.
3) These videos, Tweets (postings to Twitter) and blog postings will remain online FOREVER. So they've got a lot of work to do to overcome this episode.

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Why GM’s “Ripple Effect” PR Video Will Backfire

2008-11-16T23:48:00.006-05:00

Why GM’s “Ripple Effect” PR Video Will Backfire

“Despite restructuring, greatly improved quality and fuel efficiency, and investing billions of dollars in the U.S. each year, America’s auto industry is facing imminent collapse.”

These words, printed on a black screen featuring an E85 ethanol tank, is the way a new video, entitled “Ripple Effect” starts out on YouTube.

View it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72cHfOKoA1c&eurl

The video, released on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008, goes on to feature the “ripple effect” a collapse of the “Detroit Three” automakers would have on the U.S. economy, starting with the loss of the three American auto companies - GM, Ford and Chrysler - and reaching down through their suppliers throughout the nation, including those who provide engine parts, car seats, mirrors, tires, and the rest of the vehicle’s accessories.

The companies employ 239,000, and nearly 700,000 rely on them for pensions and two million rely on the auto industry for health insurance, the video notes.

A collapse of the entire industry means a $398.2 billion in losses over three years, the text blares, in the wordless video.

While it may have seemed like a great public relations effort, this "ripple effect" video is going to backfire - big time.

The reason could be that the American people are none too thrilled about the U.S. government bailing out EVERY industry, which seems to be the way things are headed after Treasury Sec. Paulson told Congress last week that he’s used bailout money to buy parts of American companies not on Congresses’ list, or the president’s, when they authorized the “emergency” bailout last month.

But more to the point, it’s because GM has failed SPECTACULARLY to produce results, when they knew times were changing.

“Despite restructuring, greatly improved quality and fuel efficiency…” Really? What company did this, exactly? Surely not GM. Just whom do they think they’re fooling?

And why do they think public relations can come to their aid, when they have done little to solve the problem?

GM has failed to produce a large fleet of fuel-efficient cars for the past decade, knowing that a time of reckoning was coming for the gas hog SUVs they’ve been producing by the hundreds of thousands, yet they continued on doing just that, until this very year.

Meantime, they are pouring millions in to advertising eco-friendly and laudable cars that are NOT CURRENTLY SELLING, but are portraying as if they had already been put on the market. The all-electric Chevy Volt, and entirely hypothetical hydrogen cars, are being touted in print and broadcast ads as if they already exist, or soon will. The fact is, they don’t, and likely won’t. Their electric car of the 1990s was produced, but one car was the full run of that model.

This game continues to be played by GM today.

Two years ago, they built up anticipation that we’d get a trio of hot-looking gas-sipper cars (the Trax, Beat and Groove) that are now never slated for the U.S. at all.

The Volt may indeed hit showrooms - eventually. Their CEO has proclaimed that it’s coming in 2010. Or maybe 2011. 2012 for sure. At least before 2015. Whenever. It’s coming, we’re told. Meanwhile, Honda and BMW are both seriously testing hydrogen vehicles - two steps beyond GM, as usual.

Finally, GM has failed, with a couple of exceptions (the European-designed Saturn Aura and the not-that-bad, high quality Chevy Malibu) to respond to the marketplace. They teased us with those gas-sipping "mini" cars, not meant for the US market, and then teased us with the Volt for years, while pushing SUVs onto their long-suffering dealers. Tell us again WHY this mismanaged company doesn’t deserve to go into Chapter 11?

Not to mention the billions that they’re pouring through each month on extremely large salaries for employees that are putting out pure junk.

Their CEO and management team need to be fired, not rewarded, and if we bail them out, THEY MUST be the first to go.

Which brings us back to the video.

It ends with the dire warning: “Collapse is immanent if we do nothing.” And “What will WE do?”

“We” (meaning GM) need to:
1. Clean house in the boardroom and the upper management.
2. Commit to making clean, green and super-energy efficient cars by 2020.
3. In the meantime, like the Saturn Aura, which is a European-made Opel vehicle with different badging, commit bring almost the entire European fleet of Chevys to the U.S., since they are better made, higher quality, more energy efficient, and are at least five years ahead of the U.S. fleet. (This definitely goes for Ford, too. Go look at Ford UK’s Ford Ka, Ford Focus and Ford Mondeo. Beautiful, powerful, well done and extremely popular in the UK.)
4. Adopt a steep learning curve when it comes to quality. The current lineup of cars, with some exceptions note above, suck. Period.
5. Kill the SUV. Really. It’s over. It was over five years ago. Didn’t you get the memo?
6. Hate to say it, but tell the Unions they must accept lower wages and benefits. Salaries in the low $140,000 range are not acceptable for car assemblers. Sorry. That’s not anywhere near what BMW is paying to build cars in South Carolina or other companies are paying throughout the U.S. It’s simply not a competitive wage.

GM (as well as Ford and Chrysler) needs to also stop throwing PR at the situation, and adopt an action plan, the one above, that restores confidence in the industry.

Public Relations only works when it’s backed up with positive actions. This video is the cry of an addict who refuses to go into rehab.

We should not enable GM any longer.

Stephen Abbott is a Manchester, New Hampshire public relations consultant. His Website can be found at www.abbottpr.com.

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Do You Have An Effective "Elevator Pitch"?

2008-09-11T09:31:00.002-05:00

An "elevator pitch" is a statement people make about their business or business concept while in an elevator faced with a potential investor. It can, and often does, also mean the pitch one can give to potential (and current) clients and customers, or even to a member of the media.

Elevator Pitch Outline:
1. What is your product or service?
2. How is it better than other, similar services? (competitive advantage)
3. How can you deliver that product or service effectively, and/or cheaply?
4. How can the customer/client find and purchase those services?

Elements of the Elevator Pitch:
1. Be Brief - you’ve got 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
2. Keep it simple - a grandmother and her grandchildren must both understand it. Kill the jargon.
3. Remember to answer this question: "What’s in it for me?" - What will YOUR service or product do for the person you’re pitching it to?
4. Be sure you’re talking to the right person - Can they really use the product or service you’re selling?
5. Be memorable - Include a positive phrase or image they won’t forget.
6. Tell them where to go - To get your product or service, that is. Have a card ready to hand them with your phone number, email address and Website URL on it.

Crafting Tips:
1. Write down your pitch
2. Read it aloud - does it make sense?
3. Edit out extra words, things that don’t fit the elements, above.
4. Time it. Is it 30 seconds long, or at least under 2 minutes?
5. Run it by colleagues, friends… and business network associates!other tips:
1. Speak deliberately, calmly and clearly.
2. Get their business card - and of course, give them yours.
3. Follow up within three days

Below is a blog posting by Timothy Ferris (author of the Four Hour Workweek) on his fourhourworkweek.com/blog site for May 3, 2008:

Prepping for Warren Buffett: The Art of the Elevator Pitch

So what do you say to the world’s richest man if you, by some miracle, end up standing at the urinal next to him? You better know in advance or you’ll sound like a Hannah Montana fan.
This is why learning to elevator pitch — how to deliver your message is 60 seconds or less — is one of the most important skills to develop if you ever plan on interacting with real players and demi-gods like the Oracle of Omaha…

Why? One example: there are 10,000+ people camping in the rain overnight just to attempt to meet Warren when he walks into the annual shareholder meeting tomorrow morning. 10,000 people.

For meeting VIPs in crowded settings, the goal should be to do 3 things in an introduction of no more than 60 seconds:

1st. Establish credibility. Cite 1-2 examples of social proof like media or association with reputable companies/organizations. Do not speak quickly during an elevator pitch. Slow and calm.

2nd. Make it clear you are not looking for money (unless you are) but have something of interest to discuss after much research, and then ask how you can follow up in a less hectic environment. Give them your card with below #3 handwritten on it.

3nd. Mention something very, very hard to forget about you that separates you from the rest. It doesn’t need to have anything to do with your reason for wanting to meet them. For me, tango is my default. I’ll close with something like: "Just so you remember, as I know you’ll meet a million people today, I’m the world record holder in the tango. Happy to give you and Astrid a lesson sometime if the stars align." Referring to this odd fact will be important when you follow up.
If you meet them at an event or around other people, do not follow up within the next 3 days, as everyone else will. I like to give at least one week and then cite the bolded reason in the previous sentence as my reason for waiting.

Professional Drivers, Inc. Accredited by Better Business Bureau (APR Client)

2008-07-08T23:35:00.002-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 9, 2008
Contact: Tony Bellefond, owner, Professional Drivers, Incorporated, 603-627-4266, 1-800-639-1656; info@professionaldrivers.com

Professional Drivers, Inc. Accredited by Better Business Bureau

MANCHESTER, NH / DELRAY BEACH, FL - In keeping with our commitment with offering professional service and customer satisfaction, Professional Drivers, Incorporated has become an accredited business member of the Better Business Bureau, owner Tony Bellefond announced today.

This local, single source provides detailed information about the company and lends support to first time customers decision making process. The reputation of member business is looked at closely by the BBB before allowing membership. High standards insure continuing membership in the bureau.

To further promote trust, BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution support for consumers and businesses when there is difference in viewpoints. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 128 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities. Please visit www.bbb.org for more information about the BBB System.

Drivers for the company, with offices in Manchester, NH, and Delray Beach, FL, personally transport clients’ cars, motor homes and rental moving trucks throughout the continental U.S. and Canada. Our drivers have logged more than six million accident-free miles in over two decades of service.

Personal belongings may be transported at no charge in clients’ vehicles. Pets may be transported in their vehicles for an extra charge. Professional Drivers, Incorporated also reunites cars with their owners after breakdowns and accidents.

More information can be found online at http://www.professionaldrivers.com or by calling 1-800-639-1656.

###

Media Release: Launch of Abbott Resume Service

2008-05-06T12:30:00.002-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Info Sheet:
The Launch of Abbott Resume Service
Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Contact: Stephen Abbott, owner, also president of Abbott Media. 603-785-7796; abbottmedia@comcast.net

The Story? The recently launched Abbott Resume Service offers the "21st Century Resume", a bold, two-column resume format with introductory boxes that set off topics to gain added attention - but in a dignified and professional manner. Prices start at $60. That undercuts other resume preparation services, which can charge up to $500 for an ordinary resume. The service will also prepare the standard, 20th Century format resume.

Why is this Newsworthy?: As the economy softens, more and more people are out of work. Job search stories are relevant, timely and important. Stories about resumes and job searches in general are important to your readers. This resume service offers a unique, two-column resume that isn’t offered by any other resume service.

Quotes:
"The launch of an innovative resume service was timed just right for the job market. The economy is in a bad place right now and there is a great need for affordable, effective resumes to help job-seekers. A bold resume that’s also complete and factual will be more likely to get results for those seeking fast re-employment or a second job." - Stephen Abbott, owner, Abbott Resume Service

Online:
www.21res.com and www.21stcenturyresume.com
www.abbott-media.net

=end=

APR/Abbott Media Launches Resume Service

2008-04-30T22:40:00.003-05:00

News Release
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Contact: Stephen Abbott 603.785.7796; abbottmedia@comcast.net

Abbott Media Launches Resume Service

Abbott Media, a Manchester, New Hampshire-based company dedicated to writing, reporting, and media, has launched the Abbott Resume Service.

The service offers innovative, 21st Century Resumes at affordable prices, according to owner Stephen Abbott.

The Abbott Resume Service’s 21st Century Resume differs from the 20th Century version, in part, by the use of a two column format and bold, shaded headers separating sections within the resume.

Abbott said the launch of an innovative resume service was timed just right for the job market.

"The economy is in a bad place right now and there is a great need for affordable, effective resumes to help job-seekers," he said. "A bold resume that’s also complete and factual will be more likely to get results for those seeking fast re-employment or a second job."

Prices start at just $60 for a 21st Century Resume. Many resume services charge many times that amount for an ordinary resume, said Abbott.

The Abbott Resume Service is located online at www.21stcenturyresume.com or www.21res.com.

###

Absolut PR Nightmare

2008-04-15T17:57:00.003-05:00

A recent controversy over a billboard campaign in Mexico is teaching numerous lessons about the Internet Age, instant communication and political correctness.

On April 4, an Internet firestorm erupted after a photo of an ad for Absolut Vodka appeared in the Los Angeles Times blog, La Plaza. The ad depicted the borders of Mexico reaching up to encompass the American Southwest, including California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, but also Nevada, Utah, Colorado and part of Wyoming.

The region roughly represents the lightly populated land mass controlled by Mexico before the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which officially ended the Mexican-American War. After the war, America paid Mexico $15 million for the land it had won on the battlefield. A few years later, with the Gadsden Purchase, it paid another $15 million for a small strip of land now in Arizona.

In the era before instant communication, the ad would never have reached American eyes, and of course, it wasn’t meant to.

It appeared in a Time/Warner-owned Spanish-language magazine in Mexico and on billboards throughout Mexico. The ad was slated to be pulled the week the controversy erupted.

The ad was produced by the ad agency TBWA Teran in Mexico City. It was a local version of an international "In an Absolut World" campaign that is meant to depict "an ideal world."

But ideal, for whom? That’s what many Americans soon began asking after the ad hit the LA Times blog on April 4. Within hours, a firestorm of protest had erupted, with hundreds of postings on that blog alone. The LA Times blog received 67,000 responses to a question asking if the ad was an "affront" to Americans. 62% said it was. The news would be reported that night and the following few days on major network news stations.

That afternoon, Paula Eriksson, VP of Corporate Communications for V&S Absolut Spirits was forced to put out a statement that hardly clarified matters. Here it is in its entirety:

"The In An Absolut World advertising campaign invites consumers to visualize a world that appeals to them -- one they feel may be more idealized or one that may be a bit "fantastic." As such, the campaign will elicit varying opinions and points of view. We have a variety of executions running in countries worldwide, and each is germane to that country and that population.

This particular ad, which ran in Mexico, was based upon historical perspectives and was created with a Mexican sensibility. In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues. Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal.

As a global company, we recognize that people in different parts of the world may lend different perspectives or interpret our ads in a different way than was intended in that market. Obviously, this ad was run in Mexico, and not the US -- that ad might have been very different."

The release, posted on the corporate site, has received (as of Apr. 15) over 3260 comments, many expressing outrage over the ad and vowing to never drink Absolut Vodka again.

Among the comments: "When Hitler tried to change your borders, was that an issue with you?" Others wondered if it would pander to other ethnic groups "hearkening back to a time" which was "more ideal" to show the American South in Grey on a map, as it was during the Civil War.

Ouch.

Many others noted that the ad stoked anti-Americanism in Mexico, and promoted the "Requonquista" agenda of many radical Mexican groups like La Raza. The group and others claim the land was "stolen" and seek to re-conquer it through increased immigration and by political means.

The firestorm among those Americans concerned with our open borders was predictable, and continued unabated through that weekend, as the blogosphere (aided by Michelle Malkin and others) spread word of the disparaging ad. The ad sparked imitations, including ones featuring Sweden under foreign control and wondering if a new "Absolut Palestine" ad would feature all of Israel and neighboring Jordan labeled as such (not likely, since Muslims don’t drink.)

Another PR spokesman for the company, Jeffrey Moran, had his email and phone number plastered all over the blogosphere, inviting direct comment. He sputtered in one article that the ad was "based on a historical perspective on what Mexico was once. That's all." He reportedly also fielded several nasty phone calls from angry customers.

By Sunday evening, Eriksson, apparently convinced things were spiraling out of control, posted yet another apology on the corporate site:

"During the weekend we have received several comments on the ad published in Mexico. We acknowledge the reactions and debate and want to apologize for the concerns this ad caused. We are truly sorry and understand that the ad has offended several persons. This was not our intention. The ad has been withdrawn as of Friday April 4th and will not be used in the future. In no way was the ad meant to offend or disparage, or advocate an altering of borders, lend support to any anti-American sentiment, or to reflect immigration issues. To ensure that we avoid future similar mistakes, we are adjusting our internal advertising approval process for ads that are developed in local markets. This is a genuine and sincere apology."

We will see if this is enough. Clearly, the company is running scared and is terrified of this torrent of negative publicity. But this is a far better apology.

Absolut will lose (and likely has lost) tens if not hundreds of thousands of customers in the United States over this misstep.

The right move for this company is to lay low for a few months, and then try to find a way - either through advertising or public relations efforts like several full-page apologies in the NY Times (or better, the conservative Washington Times) - to overcome this and try to move on.
The lessons learned from this ad include the death of the idea that (ironically, in this context) anything said can remain within a single nation’s borders. Another good lesson would be to steer clear of divisive political issues in your advertising.

Meanwhile, American-made SKYY Vodka, in a slick and clever move, put out a news release praising the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and speaking out "against suggestions by Absolut Vodka to disregard that treaty, as well as the joining of Texas to the Union in 1845."

"Like SKYY Vodka, the residents of states like California, Texas and Arizona are exceptionally proud of the fact that they are from the United States of America," said Dave Karraker, SKYY Vodka. "To imply that they might be interested in changing their mailing addresses, as our competitor seems to be suggesting in their advertising, is a bit presumptuous."

Now THAT is clever public relations.

Using Advertising the Right Way in PR Campaigns

2008-04-09T11:08:00.002-05:00

"In ads, always use the words "sale" and "free." They are proven winners."

Sometimes, conventional wisdom is right on the money. Sometimes, as in the above statement, it isn’t always so.

True, the words "sale" and "free" *can* be attractive, in certain settings, and for certain products and services. But when car dealers who have been in business for 50 years have had sales EVERY SINGLE WEEK of those 50 years, the word loses its meaning, as does the word "Free" when it’s in almost every ad in every magazine.

It’s not only because of the injudicious and promiscuous use of these and other "come on" words are they no longer ineffective. Sometimes, using them simply doesn’t make any sense.

Sometimes, "Free" implies garbage, or something poorly made. It may not fit the brand. For a luxury item, it make not make sense to ever have a "sale" or to give the product away for free. It cheapens the brand - a brand usually built up over generations.

Can you ever imagine a "blue light special" at Macy’s? What about a "buy one get one half price" at a BMW dealership, or how about a law firm offering a half price sale on divorces? That’s the point.

That’s why, when writing ad copy, it’s best to not only consider "trigger" words such as these, but also consider the audience - the target market.

In public relations, paid advertising can play an important and complementary role to earned media in getting out a message, especially as part of a campaign to change perceptions.

But it’s crucial to understand when a traditional "ad pitch" is warranted, and when it’s simply going to do more damage than good.

Bad Customer Service Can Lead to an "Iceberg" That Can Sink Your Business

2008-03-28T10:30:00.003-05:00

It’s long been known that poor customer service creates enemies and destroys goodwill. Experts say those who have good customer experiences with a business gain that customer’s repeat business. But if the customer has a bad experience, they tell an average of 10 other people about it, who in turn relay that experience to five others.

That was recently borne out when a friend of mine recently traveled on US Airways to attend a relative’s funeral. Her flight on US Airways was so traumatic that she has become a vocal opponent of the airline.

First, her flight was delayed for hours as she sat in her plane on the tarmac. This was likely to make it impossible for her or any of her fellow passengers to make connecting flights, and when she landed, sure enough, she missed her flight. But instead of promptly correcting the problem with apologies, she was told there was "nothing they could do" and because of the time of day, no other flights were available.

Nearly hysterical with anger, she was forced to stay in an expensive hotel overnight rather than sleep in a big city airport terminal. The following day, she came home, having missed the funeral.
Had this been the end of it, it would be bad enough, but after initially promising to refund the $600 ticket price, airline officials later informed her - by email - that she would not receive a refund, because delays were partly due to "weather problems."

Infuriated, she has literally told everyone she knows (including me) about this incident, and has urged everyone she knows to not fly US Airways in the future. In fact, she has even told strangers about the situation, going over every excruciating detail with them. And she’s found much sympathy. Imagine how bad this is for US Airways if everyone on the flight has done this.
In fact, they may well be doing just that.

Research firm TARP recently conducted a study showing that for every 26 unhappy customers, only one will lodge a formal complaint with a company’s management.

Remembering that dissatisfied customers tell, on average, 10 people, and they in turn tell five others, the magnitude of poor service begins to seem almost catastrophic.

In what TARP calls the "Customer Complaint Iceberg," an average of 1,560 people will hear about at least one of these unhappy customers' experiences.

Now, when you think about the 25 unhappy customers who DIDN’T complain, but still might spread negativity about you poor service, it becomes a near-nightmare scenario for a company.
Reputations are built on goodwill, and goodwill is built with good customer service.

Business owners need to be pro-active about customer satisfaction. They need to actively survey their customers to quickly identify any flaws in their delivery of goods or services, and to quickly correct those problems.

Abbott Public Relations can conduct a Customer Service Audit that will survey your customers and help identify possible problems - before they start complaining to their friends, family and strangers.

Don’t wait for disaster to strike, in the form of an army of angry former customers.

Day One for Abbott-Media.net

2008-03-16T23:56:00.002-05:00

This is Day One.

This is the first official day of Abbott Media, a company designed to bring news and information to its intended audiences in creative, innovative ways that fully engage the consumer.

Abbott Media is about innovation, information, and inspiration.

Like other microbusinesses, Abbott Media seeks to embrace new ways of doing business, so we can survive and thrive in the new information marketplace of ideas.

Abbott Media seeks to bring news and information to its intended audiences in creative, innovative ways that fully engage the consumer.

Abbott Media seeks to inspire other micropreneurs - It is about empowering microbusinesses and the micropreneurs who run them to embrace innovation in both the new and old media.
We will grow our business by helping other microbusinesses - we seek to inspire and engage our customers, so they, and we, will be able to more quickly grow their businesses from their home office to a downtown office.

Micropreneurs need and deserve support. Abbott Media brings that support, and will bring together other micropreneurs to share their travails and successes.

As we look back boldly on this journey we're embarking on today and say, "we've been there," we will be willing to show others the way there, too.

Let’s go there together.

This is Day One.

Stephen Abbott http://www.abbott-media.net
March 17, 2008

"PR" can't be a mask for fake change

2008-03-03T13:24:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008, every Starbucks restaurant in the world closed down for three hours.

The dramatic move was made by Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, who recently came back to the company after a few years’ absence.

The reason for the shutdown? To get back to the company’s roots: re-educating 135,000 employees in its 7,100 locations in the "art of espresso."

Service at the well-known retailer has, many customers said, been lacking. Not helping was the clerks’ new task of making breakfast sandwiches, which some observers say took them away from their core business.

The sandwiches have been cut, and Schultz no doubt drove home the point that service must be Goal Number One at the company during the three-hour shutdown. But from a PR point of view, this will be seen as a great move only if it actually results in better service.

Otherwise, it will be seen as a stunt, and no one will be fooled.

Perceptions will be changed only if the shutdown and retraining result in positive changes that people notice.

It’s not "PR" to hold a retraining session and make it public. It’s whitewashing, and no one will be fooled.

But if this was a sincere effort to change poor service and a fuzzy mission that actually results in change and a clearer mission for the company, then it indeed will be.

I always advice clients never to lie about change, or about the need for them to change.
Customers will see right through it, and any value they may have accrued from acknowledging that need to change - and taking those positive steps - will be lost if it’s seen as mere whitewash.

Real change means taking real steps, and PR cannot be used to simply say changes were made when they were not.

Your customers and clients are too smart for that.

"Our company's not harming the Earth. Shhhh! Don't tell anyone!"

2007-12-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business. — Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Is your company doing something differently this month to be more environment-friendly?

Are you recycling in a new and innovative way, or recycling something others are NOT? Are you cutting steps in a process that was once wasteful of resources, but now is saving resources (and probably money)? Are you using a recycled material? Are you saving electricity? Water? Other fuels?

If you are, then why don’t I know about it? And more importantly, why don’t your customers… and future customers?

2008 will likely be the year we all become a lot more environmentally friendly, and if you are actually doing something good for the environment, don’t you think someone should know about it?

While it’s not always polite to brag. But when you’re doing something in the business world that’s new, exciting and innovative (and, incidentally, good for the environment, and for your business) it’s simply foolish to not tell others about it.

That’s where Abbott Public Relations comes in.

APR can not only effectively craft a written message telling others about the good things you’re doing on behalf of Nature, we can make sure the right people hear about it. Your customers, but also your potential future customers, need to hear about good news - and the right media channel needs to be chosen, be it news media, internal communications or direct communications with customers or other publics.

Whatever your business, APR can help your Green message get out.

Some Recent PR Disasters in the News

2007-11-20T16:14:00.000-05:00

"Craigslist Nanny Found Dead in Trunk"
"They say Katherine Olson was last seen by friends when she went to meet someone about a nanny job posted on Craigslist.org, the Internet bulletin board.

A day later, her body was found in her car at a Minnesota nature preserve. Police declined to say how the 24-year-old was killed.

Authorities say a 19-year-old man who they believe placed the ad is being held pending charges. Authorities did not release his name but said charges could be filed as soon as today"

Lesson: Sometimes your customers can create a PR nightmare using your services.
Remedy: Be ready to deal with it by changing policies, procedures and making sure abuses happen less often, or not at all.

"GAP tops made by child slave labor"
"Tops sewn by children at a factory in India will not be sold in Gap stores, the clothing retailer has said. After a story in the British newspaper the Observer reported a Gap supplier was using children as young as 10 to make shirts, the San Francisco-based retailer, which has 200 of its 2,000 suppliers in India, issued a recall of the shirts and launched an investigation. The article stated the children were working 16 hours a day for no pay and that the workplace was a "derelict industrial unit" with an overflowing toilet."

Lesson: If you think you’re going to get away with something, think again.
Remedy: Come clean, express honest and profound regret, and CHANGE your way of doing business.

PR Defined and a Website renovation!

2007-09-17T19:48:00.000-05:00

People often ask, "What IS Public Relations, anyway?" For those people, I've come up with a brief definition that helps address many of the important issues that PR consultants deal with on behalf of their clients. Here it is:

pub·lic re·la·tions (noun)

the communications management function that seeks to:

build, maintain and protect reputations
develop and maintain positive images and perceptions
change negative perceptions into neutral ones, and eventually, into positive ones
create positive, clear and satisfying communications with customers and others being served
manage outside communication to ensure accuracy and positive perceptions

Please also take a look at the new look of www.abbottpr.com.

Customer service - and why it matters

2007-09-14T00:24:00.000-05:00

Abbott Public Relations can help you deliver Excellent Service.

Whether it’s a book, a hamburger, a house or a service, delivering it to your clients with Excellent Service helps your business maintain a good reputation.

Why Excellent Service is important:

1. This is a service-based economy (80% are in service-related jobs) so service is the core of what America does. Doing it well means you’re doing business well.
2. The bad news is that service - human interaction with customers - is bad just about everywhere, so your Excellent Service will stand out.
3. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.
4. Why will you and your employees deliver Excellent Service? Because you’re the boss, and you say so.

How APR can help
Abbott Public Relations can walk you through your business, help you discover service weaknesses and offer solutions to help you address them and create a realistic Customer Service Plan.

The Plan will help you convey these improvements to your customers, potential customers, and other publics.

New Ways of "Doing" Public Relations

2007-05-25T15:41:00.000-05:00

I recently gave a talk to the Granite State Referral Network in Manchester, NH (of which I am the current secretary) titled "New Ways to Think About “Doing” P.R." Here are a few of those "new" ways - which are more common sense than "new," but so many businesspeople have forgotten them, they just seem new:

Be Preemptive: Don’t wait for you or your business to be “in trouble” to build a reputation, or improve it, act NOW to make good things happen.

Be Unexpected: Doing something new, clever, interesting or (best of all) better than anyone else is the way to get noticed.

Be Explanatory: Let people know what you’re doing - the good things, the new things, the different ways of doing things - in a clear, concise and easy-to-understand manner.

Be Adaptable to Change: Be prepared in your business to think in a fresh way. Be ready for rapid, disorienting change. Be ready to scrap your business plan. And be ready to talk about all this, openly, with your publics - those whom you serve and with which you do business (or hope to do business in the future.)

Who's using (and needs) P.R. now?

2007-05-25T15:36:00.000-05:00

Who needs P.R.?

Britney Spears, surely. But she needs “away time” to deal with her “issues,” not more “publicity.” (And besides, she probably needs a new publicist at this point, too.)

Don Imus? True. Though his plan to contest his firing will keep his name in lights - and that’s not a good thing, either. There are other, more productive ways to rehabilitate his image, such as focusing on his charity work.

But Tommy Hilfiger got the best boost in recent weeks by using P.R. to counter a myth.

He appeared on Oprah Winfrey's show for the first time, ever. Contrary to a long-time Urban Legend, he didn’t get thrown off the show many years ago because he said his clothes were "only for rich white people.”

In fact, the May 2, 2007 appearance was his first. So ignore the email spam saying otherwise when you get it (as I have on many occasions) saying he's some kind of bigot.

Also, I’ve recently heard that a P.R. firm was hired to rehabilitate Katie Couric by having her go on TV and radio to preempt her firing from CBS news. She apparently is balking at having to “campaign” to save her job, and refused several appearances. Not a good move, given her ratings.

All of these people need a degree of Public Relations help. Some need to work out some issues in their lives beforehand. P.R. people can't make things right unless the client is making them right, first. An apology is a good start when you mess up, but it's not credible unless you're actually apologizing from the heart and making changes in your life, too.

Gibson's meltdown - from a PR perspective

2006-08-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

The damage to Mel Gibson's career cannot even be fully imagined just four days after his drunken, racist tirade during his arrest by Malibu police.

Fairly or unfairly, Gibson has always come across as rather unbalanced, and perhaps that's because of some of his film roles. But his personal life has, like it or not, become fodder for public consumption long before this lastest incident.

His blockbuster Passion of the Christ film sparked rumors that he was an anti-semite, and it's easy to get fired up over the "hidden" messages there. He argued convincingly at the time of its release that he was not a hater of Jews, and that the film simply told a story as it had been told for centuries. Most accepted this.

From a PR perspective, Gibson's apology (and then his OTHER apology) were the expected responses, as was the journey into rehab - ala Patrick Kennedy - and it seemed just about as contrived. And apologizing over and over again sounds like the Clintonian string of apologies for the Monica mess, which became at once more and more painfully detailed and dripping with contrition.

The problem is that many in Hollywood already hated him because of his success outside the system - remember he self-financed the blockbuster "Passion" - and because he wore his religion on his sleve. The fact that this religion wasn't Liberal Secularism was a cardinal sin in their eyes. Strike one against Mel.

However, he has now alienated many conservative Christians who will find his drinking, swearing and carousing unacceptable, and many Jewish people who were inclined to disbelieve that he really harbored hatred. (Whether he really does is open to debate. One commentator called liquor "truth serum" that opened what was in one's heart. That's debaable.)

The real problem is Mel Gibon's "base" is the conservative Christian. Alienate that base, and you're in more trouble than even George Bush, who must be secretly thrilled that someone now has lower approval ratings than he does.

Personally, of course, it's sad to see him self destruct this way, but no less sad than seeing the numerous other actors who have destroyed themselves with drugs, sex, alcohol or eating disorders. I can't imagine living in Hollywood among all of this disfunction.

If Gibson wants to claw his way back to win the hearts and minds of his fans, he needs to do far more than apologize several times.

I suspect a great role for his "comeback" would be a fictional or historical figure who hits rock bottom and finds his way back to the light, so to speak.

If I was his agent, I might say "Pick your favorite saint. In a year, after you're sober, you'll be doing that movie, and you will be in the starring role."

How to win elections

2006-07-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

President Bush isn't always the most articulate person in the political world, but once in a while, he comes up with a good line.

Today's news conference in Chicago was one of those times.

He was asked about his low poll numbers, and then whether he was hurting candidates he was trying to help by simply showing up. Obviously a biased question, meant to embarrass him. He didn't really take the bait, and within his answer, said something close to this (I'm paraphrasing, pending release of a text):

“The way you win elections is to actually believe in something.”

Bravo! He's exactly right, and coming from a man who has won two elections for governor and two elections for president on that philosophy. It's amazing to me the number of people who think they can run for office without having a set of core issues on which to run.

Before announcing for office, it is a good idea to set down your core beliefs on paper, and then formulate them into a few key reasons WHY you are running.

Ronald Reagan probably didn't need to perform that exercise when he set out to run for president, because his entire career has been formed around a few simple principles:

- Less government regulation
- Cut taxes
- A strong national defense
- Stand up for traditional American values

Agree or disagree (and I happened to agree!) everyone knew what he stood for, and nearly everyone admired that about him.

Someone without a firm belief system, or someone who fails to make it the
cornerstone of their campaign, is simply asking to lose.

Good for Wal-Mart? Good for America?

2006-06-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

An article in the July, 2006 issue of Business 2.0 says Wal-Mart has begun issuing $1.5 million in grants to local businesses near Wal-Mart stores. The money, says the article, include "financial grants, ads, and training seminars for small firms near 10 of the 50 stores set to open in blighted urban areas over the next two years." Chambers of commerce in each city will get $50,000 donations and the $316 billion company will share internal reports on business trends.

Newspaper ads and internal radio spots will trumpet the donations and local aid, notes the article.

Is this good for Wal-Mart? For years, the company has been the focus of criticism from small business advocacy groups who claim Wal-Mart puts small "mom and pop" businesses OUT of business. But supporters say the company actually helps communities by increasing the tax base and attracting satellite stores who like the traffic the mega-stores generate.

This seems like a smart move to generate some positive PR, at least in those "blighted urban areas." The company already does a lot of good in small, and large, communities and donates thousands of dollars to local non-profits (something few people know about) and this kind of outreach can't hurt. But if the title of the Business 2.0 article is any indication - "Can Wal-Mart Buy Off the Neighbors?" - they have a long way to go to mend fences with critics.

Catholic group Opus Dei uses PR effectively to counter bad image

2006-05-17T00:42:00.000-05:00

Recently, high ranking members of the Catholic organization Opus Dei men convened in Rome in order to draft a campaign they call “Operation Lemonade.” The group has been targeted as the villain in the book The Da Vinci Code - and the new film based upon it opening today.

“Operation Lemonade” was said to have produced three goals: 1. Turn publicity into an opportunity to proselytize; 2. Ally itself with other Catholics; and 3. Maintain a non-aggressive tone.

In recent weeks, critics of the group says Opus Dei has tried to equate criticism of its organization with criticism of the Catholic Church. An example given is: “According to Brian Finnerty, U.S. Media Relations Director for the Catholic group Opus Dei, the novel [The Da Vinci Code] is a completely inaccurate portrayal of the Catholic Church.”

ABC’s "Good Morning America" got an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Opus Dei's New York headquarters, and it’s Website includes bullet-pointed facts about the group.

A History Channel documentary on the group aired Tuesday night, and it was fairly balanced between official spokesmen an “anti-cult” group that is supporting former members, and a few former members themselves, along with some very contented current members. Overall, it was extremely positive towards the organization.

Opus Dei has vast resources and great influence in the Catholic Church. They have utilized the film release perfectly and have illustrated how to turn a negative image into at least a “neutral” one.

It's the excellent GOP economy, stupid!

2006-04-21T07:38:00.000-05:00

The April 21, 2006 Christian Science Monitor notes:

In many ways, they say, these are the best of times: Unemployment is at 4.7 percent, lower than the averages of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s. The economy is showing strong, consistent growth, without significant inflation. And the stock market is roaring along.

And yet, the GOP is getting hammered in the polls. Many are predicting a disaster in November for the party, largely due to other concerns: Iraq, immigration, homeland security and job security (or the lack thereof.)

The national Republicans' failure to address several areas of concern shouldn't drown out a good message, but the White House has failed to get that good message out to the public.

President Clinton, whatever his other faults, was an excellent communicator. When the GOP Congress forced him into fiscal responsibility after they retook the House in 1994, he took credit for the resulting boom in the economy. Not surprising that he would take advantage of the good times, since he was elected during a recession and with the slogan "It's the economy, stupid."

The fact that he and other Democrats now take credit for this boom is a testament to good (though warped) communication, as well as a testament to divided government, in which they can take credit for the GOP Congress' actions.

But this time, there is no divided government. The GOP runs both houses of Congress and the presidency, so they must take full credit for failures or successes.

The national economy, which was spiraling out of control after the dot-com boom and bust in the Clinton years, and which severely tested by 9/11, is now a success story.

Bush's new chief of staff and the entire GOP in Congress need to take the cue of the Clinton White House, which took every opportunity to crow about a good economy - even if Congress had more to do with creating it.

Denmark to launch PR campaign after cartoon controversy

2006-04-02T10:21:00.000-05:00

From the AP:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Denmark will launch a "massive" campaign to improve its global image, which was tattered after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, the prime minister said Friday.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the campaign was not initiated because of the cartoon crisis but that the uproar had given it additional impetus.

"We would have done so anyway. But the cartoon crisis has, of course, underlined the necessity of a reinforced marketing campaign," he said.

The Danish government said it wants to attract more foreign investors, students and tourists to the country. It would market Denmark as a "creative and open nation, as a nation of education," Fogh Rasmussen said, without giving details.

He noted a report published Wednesday by the Economist Intelligence Unit forecasting that the Danish business climate will remain the best in the world for the next five years.

The Danish government has been criticized by Muslim countries for not apologizing for the cartoons published in the Jyllands-Posten newspaper on Sept. 30. The government says it cannot be held responsible for the actions of Denmark's independent media.

The cartoons were reprinted in newspapers worldwide in January and February, sparking a wave of protests primarily in Islamic countries. Muslims consider any physical representation of Islam's prophet to be blasphemous.

Block memo shows it has good PR sense after all

2006-03-19T15:08:00.000-05:00

As a follow up to the recent post about the woes of H&R Block, it's interesting to note that maybe they do know how to handle public relations after all.

In a recent post, I noted that the company's public perception was taking some hits for not paying its full share of taxes, all the while failing to make legitimate hay from the fact that it was doing great work behind the scenes on behalf of Katrina survivors in the Gulf Coast.

Well, recently, a secret internal memo showed that in the realm of crisis management, at least, perhaps it knows a thing or two about P.R.

The March 15 memo, from Tax Services Division head Timothy Gokey, outlines some talking points for company officials after the company faced a lawsuit from the Attorney General of New York over the company's "Express IRA."

The memo notes that the IRA has been "broadly hailed by consumer advocates as a way to help moderate income people to save." It attacks AG Eliot Spitzer, noting that he is running for governor of New York, and outlined the allegations and stated why they are false.

The internal email listed, in bullet-point fashion, some "key truths" about the Express IRA product, and ended, bitingly, with, "While the Attorney General will get his press coverage, we are confident that we will prevail when the facts can be impartially presented, in Court."

So far, so good. But, you may ask, how do I know about this so-called secret, internal email? Why, it was on the Drudge Report, that's how.

The fact that Internet news-hound Matt Drudge posted this on the same day it was released tells me that the Block people shrewdly released it to them for public consumption. The site gets MILLIONS of hits per day, and this article (titled: "Block Internal Email Defends Against Charges") was featured prominently on the page.

The only argument against the intentional release of the memo are the political attacks on Spitzer, who isn't mentioned by name. The company's official news release is a bit less incendiary, although just as combative.

Are things turning around for the company? Well, on the same day the internal email was released, the company was given approval to open their own bank, but they have also been sued by the AG's Office of California over their Instant Tax Refund program, which its claims was a disguised "high cost loan." Mixed bag.

But if they can learn to handle problems effectively (and, perhaps learn to tout their achievements better) they will be fine.

SAC is now APR

2006-03-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

SAC Becomes APR in Re-launch

Stephen Abbott, owner of Stephen Abbott Communications has announced a “re-launching” of SAC as Abbott Public Relations, effective Monday, March 6, 2006.

Abbott, who has advised numerous political campaigns over the past six years, and managed the final month of 2004 gubernatorial candidate Charles Tarbell’s campaign, said he hopes to focus on both business, as well as political, clients.

"The new name reflects a new emphasis on business and on the public relations management function," said Abbott. "I hope to work with small businesses, home businesses and individuals who want to build and maintain their reputations with their customers."

APR will also continue to assist politicians and would-be politicians connect with voters.

Abbott offers a wide variety of affordable writing services, including news releases, personal biographies, mission/goal statements, company backgrounders and fact sheets, and speechwriting. Abbott will also offer business or political p.r. strategy reports, customer interviews, event planning, and basic Website creation services.

Please contact Stephen Abbott for further details.

Abbott Public Relations is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. They can be found online at www.abbottpr.com or by telephone at 603-785-7796.

###

"Publicity" vs. Public Relations: A case study

2006-03-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

For those confused about the difference between mere "publicity" and public relations, here’s a great example of both.

In early December, H&R Block, the tax preparation company, got it’s name in the news from an unlikely source - a game show.

Jeopardy contestant Ken Jennings ended a 74-game winning streak by blowing this question: "Most of this firm's 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year." The answer was H&R Block. The answer he gave was, "What is FedEx?"

Both companies’ ad agencies sprang into action to gain "ink" for its clients. H&R Block offered free tax preparation for life for Jennings, who won $1.3 million on the show. FedEx's ad agency ran a full-page ad in USA Today proclaiming, "There's only one time FedEx has ever been the wrong answer. Congratulations, Ken Jennings, on your amazing ‘Jeopardy’ winning streak. And thanks for mentioning our name. Even if it was the one time you shouldn't have."

The Kansas City Star newspaper (Block’s hometown paper) said the firm "won the publicity game," and said, "That’s the kind of positive exposure money can’t buy." It was called, "a stroke of genius" and "public relations at its finest" by the CEO of Hallmark Cards, also of Kansas City.

Well, that’s great. But I want to ask you one thing: Do you remember any of this? If you’re a huge Jeopardy fan, maybe. Otherwise, probably not.

And even if you do, does it make you want to use H&R Block more, or less, or does it make no difference in how you feel about the company? For most of us, the answer is: "What is: ‘Who cares?’"

Flash ahead to Feb. 23, when we learned that, "The company that is preparing millions of tax returns right now admits to messing up on its own. H&R Block says it underestimated its own state income tax rate in previous quarters, meaning it owes another 32-million dollars in back taxes."

A Google search shows these wire stories appeared in papers and online for four days.

The effect of this news was devastating and immediate. H&R Block stock plummeted, and the timing - during tax prep season - couldn't have been worse. Late-night comics like David Letterman also had great fun with the news.

All of this was "bad publicity" for H&R Block, but it was far worse than that. It strikes at the heart of the company’s credibility. Its reputation is now at stake.

But consider an opportunity for "good" public relations for the firm.

H&R Block is providing a volunteer force of up to 500 of its tax professionals to help hurricane victims reconstruct their financial lives, offering free tax preparation, among other things.

This has received little notice in the media. I’ve seen no television ads touting this effort.

That’s a failure to use public relations, all the while thinking that the occasional minor publicity mention ("getting your name out there") is enough, not realizing it's neither long-lasting or effective.

Public relations, in short, is doing good and telling others about it in order to gain good will and build a good reputation. Given recent bad news, H&R Block can use something to rebuild its tattered image. And it can do it only with a long-term, well thought-out public relations plan designed to build good will and build back its reputation.

Can you or your business use more good will from your current and potential customers?

Aftermath of Cheney shooting incident highlights need to communicate in crisis

2006-02-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

“What we've got here is failure to communicate.” So said a vicious captain guarding prisoners in the 1967 film “Cool Hand Luke.”

And it seems relevant to the failure of Vice President Dick Cheney to communicate with the nation after he accidentally shot his friend Harry Whittington in the face during a hunting trip Feb. 11.

It was the first time a sitting vice president shot someone since Aaron Burr fatally shot Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in July, 1804. It’s newsworthy, and certainly deserves coverage, but shouldn’t be the end of Cheney’s career, since he didn’t exactly shoot Secretary of the Treasury John Snow.

It’s not career-ending, that is, unless the aftermath continues to be handled badly. Then, it could very well be.

Read the rest of this article at the SAC Website: http://www.sacomm.com/cheney.htm

Lessons about crises from the Sago Mine

2006-01-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

The incident at the Sago Mine in West Virginia holds many lessons, but one that stood out to me is the lessons business owners can learn about crisis management.

The mine owners' experience is a lesson in how NOT to manage the scene. The most crucial lesson here is, of course, "Manage the message."

Whenever something 'bad' happens, whether its in a mine or in a corporate conglomerate, it's crucial to manage how the message is given out to the general public, and to the company's "publics" (the ones who deal with the company on a regular basis - basically, their customers, clients and suppliers.)

The message in this horrifying case, was of course the death of most of the miners. But as we all know, word leaked out that they were being pulled out of the mine, and that was quickly mistranslated into: "they have all been saved."

Assigning a clearer spokesman for the company, and ensuring that ALL comments, statements and updates came from that one person at the incident scene, would have likely minimized (if not eliminated) confusion about the miners' status throughout the ordeal.

It was clear watching footage of the disaster that TV crews went to the families for news, not company officials. Those families had received information not from official sources, but from rumors and a misinterpretation of radio chatter on the walkie-talkies and cell phones of rescue workers.

Had a single spokesman been clearly deliniated from the start, the media would have known to question that person and that person alone about the truth of the statements. The families also would have been known to be more skeptical of rumors.

Now, angry families are threatening lawsuits against the company. And while shattering someone's (false) hopes may not be a crime in West Virginia, the mere suggestion of criminal neglect will tarnish the company's image for years.

The lessons of the burst bubble of the Sago mine's "miracles" that night shouldn't be lost on any business, no matter how small. All businesses can write a simple plan that will guide them in a time of crisis, and help them avoid serious and potentially fatal mistakes.

Contact Stephen Abbott for more information on crisis management.

"Domestic Spying?"

2005-12-27T15:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry, I have to speak out on this "domestic spying" issue.

How stupid are Democrats?

If an al-Quaeda operative phones or emails an operative in the US, they don't want anyone to be able to intercept it.

Then, if that operative in the U.S. emails or calls someone else WITHIN the U.S., they say it's an invasion of privacy to tap the line or read the email.

And they wonder why they can't get elected. First, they want us to lose in Iraq, now this.

They are doomed to lose unless, of course, they manage to get their willing accomplices in the national media to keep using terms like "domestic spying" and rile up the civil libertarians (in both parties, I'm afraid) so that the Democrats appear to be "bi-partisan" in their foolish, increasingly hysterical attacks.

If they can fool enough people, they may win back Congress. Republicans should come out swinging on this one, just like Bush is doing (for a change.)

Pirro is out

2005-12-21T19:41:00.000-05:00

Jeanine Pirro, who had a very rough introduction to the voters with a muddled opening statement, dropped out of the NY Senate race against Hillary Clinton today.

"After weeks of pressure from her own party to drop out, Republican Jeanine Pirro abandoned her struggling campaign to unseat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and announced Wednesday that she will run for New York attorney general instead. "I have decided that my law enforcement background better qualifies me for a race for New York State attorney general than a race for the United States Senate," Pirro, the Westchester County district attorney, said in a statement." (AP, 12/21)

Her announcement speech, back in August, went south when she lost a page of her speech and spent several seconds shuffling papers and asking aides for the text. It was all down hill from there, although I argued at the time that she *could* recover, had she taken steps to downplay and move beyond the incident. Apparently, that didn't happen, and calls from GOP leaders to drop out became overwhelming.

No campaign HAS to be doomed to failure, even after a major gaffe. But steps need to be taken IMMEDIATELY after a stumble in order to make it right with the voters. Otherwise, it can be fatal. Ms. Pirro's failure is a perfect illustration of this principle.

Virus Alert

2005-11-23T23:33:00.000-05:00

A new, destructive virus is spreading around the world this week and it's using the FBI as a cover.

The W32/Sober virus is spread when people open an attachment in an email supposedly sent to them from the FBI. The email apparently looks convincing, supposedly coming from "fbi.gov" but if you open the attachment, it lowers your computer's anti-virus protection, allowing an attack.

Symantec Security Response has upgraded W32.Sober.X@mm to a level 3 threat (on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most severe.) They also have issued a removal tool, if you ignore these warnings: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.sober.removal.tool.html

You KNOW the FBI is investigating this, and has put out a warning on its Website about the threat - http://www.fbi.gov/page2/nov05/emailscam112205.htm

Happy Web Surfing and Happy Thanksgiving!

Wal-Mart: Hitting the PR Wall?

2005-11-15T23:38:00.001-05:00

The following is excerpted from "Wal-Mart Hits the Wall" an article in the the Nov. 14, 2005 issue of Newsweek magazine:

Fighting back against critics has never been the retailer's strong suit. Wal-Mart has traditionally focused on selling, not spinning; it's an orientation that stems from the views of its founder, Sam Walton. "Sam's historical posture was 'Let's do the right thing ... [but] let's not try to get publicity for it'," says Don Soderquist, Wal-Mart's former senior vice chairman. Outsiders are less charitable. Says former Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Ortega, who wrote a book critical of Wal-Mart in 1998: "There's still this thin-skinned defensiveness, like they just can't believe anybody would attack them." Last week, at a screening of Greenwald's movie in New York, the filmmaker spotted a Wal-Mart PR consultant allegedly trying to record the movie and threw him out. (Wal-Mart says he wasn't recording anything.) Even Ron Galloway, who recently produced a documentary that paints Wal-Mart in a positive light, found the company unskilled at telling its story. "They're lousy at it," Galloway says. "Wal-Mart hasn't made the case for itself."

The company believes its customers aren't paying much attention to the headlines. Its research shows only 8 percent of adults are openly hostile toward Wal-Mart, so it's wise to largely ignore opponents and instead focus on getting its 100 million-plus weekly shoppers to buy more. Outside PR experts agree that fighting back too hard can backfire, by drawing more attention to critics.

The Greenwald film mentioned here is "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price." It's director is as hostile to the company as Michael Moore is to President Bush. And as you can tell from the above, Wal-Mart is being inundated with bad news these days.

Wal-Mart is a big target. The founding family of the company, the Waltons, are among the richest people in the world. It is the largest employer in the world. And it has been in the news quiet a lot. Most of it not positive. Union organizations like Wake up Wal-mart have sprung up to press for change, and some proposed new store locations have been scrubbed after vigorous protest from small retailers and prospective neighbors.

Needless to say, the deep-pocketed company has been sued numerous times, with issues ranging from allegations of racism to sexism. Allegations of hiring illegal aliens to clean their stores also hurt.

Even a cursory analysis of the company's present situation would indicate that a positive public relations response is required to maintain its good image - and prevent any of these issues from damaging it further. While they may look at their success as a retailer and determine they do not need public relations, Wal-Mart would be wrong in that assessment.

All companies need to be pro-active when it comes to their image even when times are good and they have a relatively good public image. In Wal-Mart's case, this is especially true, since that image has shown signs of slipping in the minds of many people in the last decade. If they don't look for ways to blunt criticism (by perhaps doing some things differently, and telling others they have made these changes) they will begin to suffer, and so, perhaps, will their bottom line.

That's bound to get their attention. But by then, of course, their image will have moved from "positive," right past "neutral" right over to "negative."

Highlighting the fact that their stores are among the biggest givers to local community groups and charities would be a good start.

2005-11-15T23:38:00.000-05:00

The following is excerpted from "Wal-Mart Hits the Wall" an article in the the Nov. 14, 2005 issue of Newsweek magazine:

Fighting back against critics has never been the retailer's strong suit. Wal-Mart has traditionally focused on selling, not spinning; it's an orientation that stems from the views of its founder, Sam Walton. "Sam's historical posture was 'Let's do the right thing ... [but] let's not try to get publicity for it'," says Don Soderquist, Wal-Mart's former senior vice chairman. Outsiders are less charitable. Says former Wall Street Journal reporter Bob Ortega, who wrote a book critical of Wal-Mart in 1998: "There's still this thin-skinned defensiveness, like they just can't believe anybody would attack them." Last week, at a screening of Greenwald's movie in New York, the filmmaker spotted a Wal-Mart PR consultant allegedly trying to record the movie and threw him out. (Wal-Mart says he wasn't recording anything.) Even Ron Galloway, who recently produced a documentary that paints Wal-Mart in a positive light, found the company unskilled at telling its story. "They're lousy at it," Galloway says. "Wal-Mart hasn't made the case for itself."

The company believes its customers aren't paying much attention to the headlines. Its research shows only 8 percent of adults are openly hostile toward Wal-Mart, so it's wise to largely ignore opponents and instead focus on getting its 100 million-plus weekly shoppers to buy more. Outside PR experts agree that fighting back too hard can backfire, by drawing more attention to critics.

2005-09-26T01:16:00.000-05:00

JetBlue: A Bad Day Becomes Good

Is a plane crash good for an airline? Never.

Well, make that “ALMOST never.”

The recent emergency landing of JetBlue flight 292 Wednesday, Sept. 21, in Los Angeles may prove to be a windfall of sorts for the airline.

The reason is the “color commentary” of cable network newscasters who covered the plane’s three-hour ordeal live.

One MSNBC commentator noted that, “if you’ve ever flown JetBlue, you know” that the airline has no business class, since “they like to treat all passengers as if they are in first class.”

One TV network mentioned that all seats in the plane are leather.

USA Today noted, “JetBlue airliners have satellite television monitors installed in the backs of seats.” (Surreally, passengers watched their ordeal live on CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC until minutes before the landing.)

Yes, you CAN buy advertising like this - but why bother, when it’s free?

Had this plane crashed, and had it not had a masterful pilot (who, noted another network gabber, landed *exactly* on the center line of the runway) this story would be quite different, of course.

But as it was, even JetBlue’s stock weathered the storm, opening sharply lower on the NASDAQ Thursday only to roar back higher than before the incident by day’s end.

The news was so good, a news release sent out the following day by CEO David Neeleman was left free to praise the professionalism of the pilot and crew, and note how the airline had cared for the passengers.

Obviously, this was “unearned” publicity. But clearly, a commitment to quality and the predisposition of TV talking heads to praise the airline’s service and now “near”-perfect safety record made all the difference in how this company was perceived in a time of crisis.

The message here is clear: Laying the groundwork now through good service and high quality can make all the difference later, when good will and positive messages really matter.

2005-09-15T22:59:00.000-05:00

Bush’s New Orleans Katrina speech Analysis:

Pres. Bush gave a speech in New Orleans Thursday night outlining his approach to the disaster. Many said, “Well, it’s about time.” Here is my analysis of the speech’s words themselves:

First Post-Speech Impressions: “Wow, we elected Lyndon Delano Bush!” This is the most ambitious spending we’ve ever undertaken since the Great Society. However, I was deeply moved by the lines evoking history, and the plan had conservative elements, like savings accounts for job retraining. The “Marshall Plan” aspect of the speech is historic. I agree with strategist Dick Morris: The Democrats had be quite careful how they approach Bush’s plans.

Best Paragraph: “In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force, and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire, and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930s. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature and we will not start now.”

Line Most Reminiscent of a “Fireside Speech”: “I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter it is hard to imagine a bright future. But that future will come.” - Like FDR in the Great Depression, Bush delivered some very comforting lines. This should have been the tone of his post-Katrina “Rose Garden” Speech just after the hurricane, but it wasn’t, and he suffered for being uncaring and out-of-touch.

Most Uplifting To Residents: “The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And here in New Orleans, the streetcars will once again rumble down St. Charles, and the passionate soul of a great city will return.”

Most Inappropriate Line for a Presidential Address: “Please call 1-877-568-3317 - that's 1-877-568-3317 - and we will work to bring your family back together, and pay for your travel to reach them.” - As Michelle Malkin said in her blog http://michellemalkin.com/archives/003552.htm: “Maybe it's just me, but isn't there something tacky about having the leader of the free world reading a phone number from the teleprompter? Also, it's been three weeks and they're only now publicizing a number for Katrina families looking for missing relatives?” Note: It’s not just her.

Biggest “Duh” Line: “Four years after the frightening experience of September 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency.” - Does this mean he “gets it?” Let’s hope he understands the wide, bi-partisan anger and exasperation over those scenes at the Superdome and elsewhere.

Lines Most Reminiscent of the “Great Society”: “…poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.” - Race had nothing to do with the poverty in New Orleans, and he shouldn’t have bought the liberal spin on this. No amount of (long term) federal spending will “end” poverty, even though immediate needs must be met. Even so, where is race in the rescue? The FEMA failures? The failure of local officials? It’s nowhere.

Conclusions: Overall, this speech was well performed, and nicely written. It touched a lot of good points, but was probably delivered eight days too late for its proper impact. His tendency to make lists of all the good things the government has done was on display again here, but I’m certain his advisors thought something positive must be here, since he again took full responsibility for a slow response. As a grade, I’d give it a solid “B” for conveying a clear message, and a “B” for historical memorability.

2005-09-04T23:00:00.000-05:00

The "Sign Seen 'Round the World." Will BP Take A Hit?

Amidst the horrific destruction in the American South are oil refineries that are no longer working.

Government officials say 11 major refineries, responsible for up to 15% of the nation's gasoline output, are out of commission. No one knows how long.

Prices here in New Hampshire hit $3/gallon, and panic buying of gas in Atlanta and elsewhere caused gas lines, but one Atlanta station in particular took the opportunity to spike prices even higher.

A British Petrolium station in Atlanta posted prices that topped $6.07 per gallon for premium unleaded.

I'd hate to be the owner of that station once the corporate office of BP gets wind of it (since price gouging is likely not company policy.) But nevertheless, the picture here of the sign - photographed originally from network news helicopters - was shown on every network Wednesday afternoon.

CBS Evening News reporter Jim Axelrod reported (and blogged about) an interview with the owner, Mike Vasaya, in which he said he was simply trying to keep customers away - always a good approach for a business - since he was out of gas.

I noticed almost immediately a lot of those cinema-verite style BP ads touting its environmental consciousness have started running again. Was it in reaction to the idea that price gouging may be associated with the company? Perhaps.

In a related story, BP announced in a news release on its Website that they were contributing $1 million to hurricane relief efforts.

We'll see if that's enough to erase the image of the "sign seen 'round the world" that was seen by millions.

UPDATE: 9/5/05: The above picture remains the second most emailed photographs on the Internet, according to Yahoo!

2005-09-03T00:29:00.000-05:00

%&##@&!!!!

Your city has just been devastated by a massive natural disaster. So what do you do? Why, you swear on local radio and condemn the president of the United States, of course.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, employing several colorful expletives, went on a local AM radio station Friday to condemn the president and federal authorities whom he believed had botched the rescue operation.

And maybe they had. That remains to be seen. The fact is, an unprecedented amount of supplies were arriving almost as he was on the air. Still, questions remain of FEMA and state emergency agencies, and they will be answered in due time.

While it may be understandable for Nagin to react emotionally to a delay in supplies reaching the beleaguered city, it's not okay to lash out publicly in this manner during a crisis if he's it's leader.

Whether you're the spokesman of a company in trouble or a city in chaos, it's important to convey calm and control, and if urgency needs to be conveyed, it should be done calmly, competently, forcefully and eloquently.

For a public official to publicly "lose it" is the worst possible outcome. It conveys a sense of panic in the individual, and does not reasure others that all will turn out well in the end.

Regardless of the circumstance, a crisis management spokesman must keep his or her "cool" at all times.

2005-08-27T17:43:00.000-05:00

Candidate Pirro Can Recover from an Embarrassing Start

New Yorker Jeanine Pirro recently announced her candidacy for the United States Senate seat currently held by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The announcement didn’t go smoothly. In front of dozens of cameras at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan, she choked.

As she was about to launch into a stinging attack against Clinton, she noticed that a page of her speech had disappeared. For 30 long seconds, the reporters and cameras recorded silence and confusion. It sounded something like this:

"Hillary Clinton…..(sounds of shuffling papers)….more silence, more shuffling….finally, she asks an aide, "Do you have page 10?"

The missing page finally found, she continued, but the damage to her campaign, and her credibility, were probably huge. First impressions do count, after all.

Pirro, a NY District Attorney, may have enough problems with the New York Republican Party as it is. During that same speech, she touted her liberal views on social issues by saying she has “a broad blue stripes,” referring to the Democratic “blue state” of New York.

But this unfortunate event will likely highlight the unpolished nature of an otherwise well-spoken D.A.’s campaign, and some will question whether she’s ready to go up against Clinton, who’s clearly more polished and is quite charming in front of reporters.

It doesn’t help that her husband, Albert Pirro, served 11 months in prison on tax evasion charges, convicted along with his brother, Anthony. Her Website has photos of both Sean Hannity and Robert Kennedy, Jr., probably a first for a Republican.

NY Democrats have already pounced on her gaff, publishing the video of the announcement online, titling the 30 seconds of silence, “Jeanine Pirro’s positive vision for New York,” and ending the clip saying, “Without a script, she’s speechless.”

In fact, the criticism is unfair. While most candidate don’t really like using canned speeches, an announcement speech is one you really do want to read word-for-word. It’s that important. Her staff should be blamed, not her. For God's sake, people, have an extra copy of the speech handy!

But to avoid the impression that she’s headed towards being another Rick Lazio (the GOP nominee who was trounced by Clinton in 2000) or that she can’t think on her feet, she should quickly make light of the situation and herself, showing she has a sense of humor.

She should then do as many unscripted press conferences as possible in the early stages of the campaign, to show that she has the ability to think on her feet - skills she surely has as a New York D.A.

Campaigns that start badly can definitely be saved. Maybe she can pull this off yet. Time will tell.

Joe McQuaid Meets the Bully Bill - How He Can Win The Rematch

2005-08-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

Union Leader Publisher Joseph McQuaid recently went to the mat with Fox TV commentator Bill O’Reilly over O’Reilly’s criticism of the paper’s stand on the Jessica Lunsford bill.

As written, the Florida law the bill is based upon requires mandatory sentences for sex offenders. It’s named for the 9-year-old Florida girl who was killed this March by a sex offender living near her home.

McQuaid went on the show after O’Reilly criticized the paper’s editorial calling for the state to review the 85-page bill before signing onto it. Before McQuaid’s Aug. 24, appearance on the show, the paper had responded effectively by attacking O’Reilly’s bullying tactics and distortion of the facts in an editorial.

Was Joe McQuaid right when he wrote that the state should study the bill first, not adopt it without hardly looking at it? Yes.

But on television, his properly nuanced strategy for reviewing legislation and polite New Hampshire demeanor didn't work very well, and he looked defensive and unprepared for O’Reilly’s inevitable angry assault.

Perhaps no one can be fully prepared for it, since Bill the Bully is known for yelling over guests' comments and interrupting incessantly, then graciously giving the guest “the last word.” But I suppose if McQuaid had had some talking points handy, and said, "You know, we don't necessarily oppose the bill, we just think an 85-page bill needs to be reviewed first," it would have diffused some of O’Reilly’s angry tirade. Maybe.

Bringing up the fact that the Union Leader posted a list of sex offenders on its Website years ago would also have added to the paper’s credibility.

Instead, saying they’d review the bill, "New Hampshire way" (which I suppose loosely applies to the legislation in question) opened McQuaid up to Bill's great (but inaccurate) one-liners about NH being a state that refuses to be tough on criminals.

And whatever you think of them, to paint the Union Leader as a liberal, soft-on-crime paper is ludicrous.

McQuaid straying into the off-camera banter between himself and O’Reilly’s staff was not clearly understood by viewers, either. It was interpreted as someone complaining about “behind the scenes” things, and took away time from the main issue. As it turned out, O’Reilly breezed past the criticism and went back on the attack, as a skilled debater and veteran TV pundit knows to do.

In short, the attacks were unfair, but if Joe McQuaid goes back on the show, he should play hardball and have talking points ready. This ain't a newspaper column, it's the Great TV Arena, and Bill the Bully is the head gladiator there.

But with right on his side, he can lay waste to him.

###

Welcome

2005-08-23T23:22:00.000-05:00

...to the Abbott Public Relations blog.

I will use this blog to occasionally post thoughts on the public relations profession as it relates to current events and/or to New Hampshire.

And I do mean "occasionally." There is no Daily Post Guarantee here. However, my dislike of coming across stale blogs and Websites online would prompt me to delete the blog after a year or so of no posts.

The blog will also play host to news releases and statements from APR. Any new developments in the company will be broadcast here first. And some changes are afoot for the second half of the year.

Also feel free to visit http://www.abbottpr.com for a complete overview of a work portfolio and a biography of Stephen Abbott.

Comments and suggestions are welcome here, but spam will be blocked.