To link to post: http://bit.ly/KMqso

Doug’s Comment: We’ll be coming to the conference to cover it for the Vlog. It’s the fifth year in a row that we have attended and I think we are going to see how Pharma communications is becoming more engaged in establishing a social media and video presence.

Some of Lindsay’s VlogViews:

“Julie Zawisza from the FDA will be talking about strategies for Pharmaceutical companies to work with the FDA.”

To register go to http://bit.ly/4KAOu and use the code P228DS for a 10% discount.

An online video sales training series we produced for Social Media Today’s site, The Customer Collective.

When I was producing the videos I thought there was some great info for my sales team that I wanted to share. You can check it out here, or learn more from the specific experts below.

“Jumpstart Your Sales in an Economic Slump”
Josh Gordon, Author of Selling 2.0 - Watch Video Here

“How To Take Best Advantage Of Social Media Tools”
Richard Nacht, CEO of Respond Media - Watch Video Here

“The Secret to Customer Loyalty”
Jill Konrath, Author Selling to Big Companies - Watch Video Here

Staff promotions, PR industry needs and the obligatory homage to Michael Jackson.

Sanjay Gupta, CNN; Ray Kerins, Pfizer, Robert Halper, Johnson & Johnson; Frank Papay, Cleveland Clinic; Dr. Laura Jana, Pediatrician; Dr. Allan Hamilton, Grey’s Anatomy; Col. Paul Little, Pentagon Channel; Thea Trachtenberg, Good Morning America; and Kevin Soden, Retirement Living TV, brought their take on traditional media, social media, communicating in a crisis, reputation management and more to VlogViews.

Sanjay Gupta, CNN

Ray Kerins, Pfizer

Robert Halper, Johnson & Johnson

Frank Papay, Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Laura Jana, Pediatrician

Allan Hamilton, Grey’s Anatomy

Col. Paul Little, Pentagon Channel

Thea Trachtenberg, Good Morning America

Kevin Soden, Retirement Living TV

To link to post: http://bit.ly/zd8KW

Some of Sophie’s VlogViews:

“I think a digital department is great but at the end of the day it’s really about the integration. And integration means digital is no longer your website, it’s no longer your email, it’s no longer your database. It’s how every single component of your reputation comes together.”

“What we do is we actually sit down with our clients, and we argue with them of what is a qualified prospect. How do you qualify a lead? How do you know you’re converting the right consumer? How do you know that they will take the right purchase or action that you want them to take? And what is the fastest way for you to make sure they take it?”

“PR has always struggled with, how do you measure performance? How credible will your efforts be when it comes to looking at that bottom line, and we wanted to find a way to be able to demonstrate it and that’s how we build our agency.”

“What we’re experiencing is a lot of people say, ‘I do have a limited budget, I need to be very disciplined about my spending, I need to be able to prove to my organization that I get a great return.’ And we find that PR, when it comes to building reputation credibility is one of the most powerful discipline tools.”

Some of Tom’s VlogViews:

“You’ve seen PR grow deep in social media…I’ve seen companies literally grow in double digit rates, simply just based on their social media work. They’re doing it right, they’re doing it smart, and I think it’s a great opportunity for PR to own the whole next generation of media.”

“You have to really be honest, especially in social media….You got to be willing to answer the tough questions from consumers. The second thing you want to keep in mind, what does your client want to get out of it? Are they looking to sell product, get to know consumers, looking for consumer feedback?…The next step to me is always measurement…it’s even more important to be constantly measuring, because you get live updates in real time, which can change strategy.”

“Don’t ever forget that the people you are dealing with in social media are people. Give them respect you’d give a New York Times reporter. Listen as much as you talk and you’re going to have a great relationship with a blogger or a community or someone you’re getting to know in business.”

email: tcoyne@coynepr.com

Some of Julia’s VlogViews:

“PR is taking ownership of the digital land grab…There is a lot of work yet to be done in that area, and yet I think PR is a formidable player in the social media world, and that’s making us stand out of the pack and a force to contend with in the marketing mix in a way that’s never happened before.”

“The professionalism of industry has increased…We’re hiring better, we’re expanding more sensibly…The sheer relevance of PR internally has been so much more ably demonstrated. PR is taking a much higher place in the corporate structure and in the marketing structure.”

“I’m expecting a second child in September….it’s a girl, I have a boy at home, so it’s a nice thing.”

email: Julia.Hood@prweek.com

Some of Michael’s VlogViews:

“The first thing to know is that the FTC regulates all marketing and advertising activities. Many people in public relations have for many years believed that only their advertising brethren were regulated and not the product of PR. In fact that’s a misnomer. PR is all commercial speech, even stuff that is media relations related….The new guidelines, not law, they are proposed guidelines…is having greater disclosure and imposing greater disclosure on marketers and their agencies.”

“This is not just the client’s problem. We’ve seen this in many, many instances, where both the reputation issue and the legal liability for this kind of disclosure is both the client and the agency’s responsibility.”

“Transparency is the new mantra but there are a lot of instances when it’s not clear…if you see someone of great notoriety, you know that he is not going to pitch Motorola phones just because he feels like it. There is a notion there that it is implied. That he is being paid. But there are a lot of times, especially in public affairs work…you don’t really know if that person is there because he believes in the cause or because he has a contract with the organization behind the cause in which he’s a paid spokesperson.”

Some of Mike’s VlogViews:

“[At PRSA] The economy is front and center as is also giving people the tools to navigate the new communications environment.”

“[PR professionals] have always been both externally and internally focused. We’ve been about relationships and engagement and that’s what this whole new environment is about. Because of our broad look and all of our publics we’re more in line with the CEO…Especially in this environment, where the audience isn’t just an audience, but a conduit to other publics.”

Ray Kerins, VP of Worldwide Communications for Pfizer, discusses the company’s groundbreaking announcement and the reputation possibilities that can come with it. Recorded at the IPREX Reputation Management Panel, hosted by Ken Makovsky, Founder and President of Makovsky and Co.

Some of Ray’s VlogViews:

“We announced if you lose your job, if you have no health insurance, and if you’ve been on a Pfizer medication for three months, we will cover you for up to a year…People need help and with our ability with our experiences and our medicines, we should help people.”

“It goes beyond communications…Our ability to take down the walls, our ability to operate quickly and more efficiently, these are words we use regularly, we throw them around. We’re actually doing it…This is a prime example of us doing it differently and taking the bull by the horn.”

“Our leaders care so we say, ‘first of all, do the right thing, and make sure your goals and your approach are in line with what doing the right thing is’…[Pfizer] is a good example of a company saying we’re going to do the right thing, we’re going to take it on…Don’t get me wrong. There is a cost. We know there is a cost. We’re doing it, because we know it’s the right thing to do.”

Reputation Management Series:

Ray Kerins

Harvey Greisman

Michael McDougall

Carl Folta

Barbara Pierce

Stephen Dishart

Gary Sheffer