The PR Finish Line

Casino Politics Enters U.S. Senate Race

2009-10-26T11:00:00.008-04:00

By design, the format at this morning’s “forum” among Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate was not meant to encourage much in the way of sparks – which presented a huge communications challenge for any candidate trying to break through and into the headlines.Throughout the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast event, candidates stuck mostly to 90-second stump speeches.So when it came time

Social Media News Buffet

2009-10-22T07:45:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was quite the eventful day with tons of breaking social media news.First off, there was the Microsoft search deal with Twitter and Facebook to put status updates in Bing. Then there was Google bellying up with Twitter to also have status updates and Tweets listed in search results. Finally, Google pumped out another announcement, but this time about their new product, Social Search.

Mommy Blogger v. The TSA: A Reputation Management Case Study

2009-10-19T08:38:00.006-04:00

Today’s case study in how social media has changed the game in modern reputation management comes to use from a reporter-friend at a major daily in New York City, who watched this scenario play out over the weekend completely under the radar of the traditional media.It began on Friday, October 16, with a blog post headlined “tsa agents took my son” authored by “Nic,” who describes herself as a 28

Using Exclusivity To Build Brand Hype

2009-10-16T09:42:00.008-04:00

Remember when leaks flooded the Internet with rumors of Apple creating a device that was an iPod and a phone? People had no clue what it was going to look like or how it was going to revolutionize the mobile experience, but they wanted it. In fact, people waited in line for days. Was it a cooincidece that leaks of device specs or images flooded the Internet or was it pure strategy (a long time

Yes, Your Customers Are Really Online

2009-10-15T09:56:00.004-04:00

Mashable reported this week (via The Neilson Company) that Internet users are spending 68 hours per month online. Yes, 68 hours. That’s more than a full work week. For those of us in the communications business, I’m sure that number is doubled, if not tripled.While this number might be astronomical to some and low to others, what really is baffling is the slow-butter-churning rate to which

RIP Soccer Mom?

2009-10-12T09:21:00.007-04:00

Could it be true, could the Soccer Mom be officially on her way to extinction? The cliché of all clichés in the last several election cycles and every brand marketing handbook the last eight years might, in fact, be going the way of Latchkey Kids, Reagan Democrats and even NASCAR Dads (who may never have existed to begin with).Soccer Moms were always hard to accurately define but everyone in PR,

Social Media Survey: Sprinkling Some Reality On The Hype

2009-10-08T09:45:00.006-04:00

If there was a Billy Mays for the PR industry, he would be relentlessly selling social media as the next must-have, miracle product.But if you are still unsure about how to effectively deploy social networking tools in your marketing-communications program, you are not alone.Close to half of all companies (49%) do not have a specific approach regarding the use of social media on behalf of their

Law Firms Face New World Order in Communications

2009-10-06T14:00:00.009-04:00

The trend of law firms moving away from the mass hiring of fresh law school grads is surely sending a chill through Boston’s law schools. The “why” isn't particularly hard to figure out. As The American Lawyer reports, the recession is dramatically reshaping the legal practice business model.The outcome is that clients just don't want to pay junior lawyers the rates some now charge for more

Debate Night in Boston for Tom and Mike

2009-10-01T14:26:00.009-04:00

Tonight, live on WCVB, it’s the first real debate of Boston’s first “real” mayoral race in years as Councilor Michael Flaherty faces off against Mayor Tom Menino.Waiting in the wings will be the only non-candidate to get more press than any candidate, Flaherty’s choice for deputy mayor, Councilor Sam Yoon. And hovering over the proceedings all night will be the mystery email flap which the Boston

"Oh, Lordy:" Messaging a Budget Crisis

2009-09-29T10:27:00.009-04:00

Michael Widmer is not a man prone to hyperbole. By his nature, his demeanor and his professional stature, the man is conservative. Widmer is the president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation and the go-to source for elected officials, policy wonks and journalists alike on all matters of state finance.In reaction to The Boston Globe report that state revenues may dip $200 million for

On Health Reform, Victory’s Many Fathers

2009-09-28T12:10:00.012-04:00

President Kennedy famously said after the Bay of Pigs disaster that victory has a thousand fathers while defeat is an orphan. There’s no clearer path to that proverb in action than today’s Boston Globe report on a poll showing Massachusetts residents support the state’s historic 2006 health insurance reform by a 2 to 1 margin.The obvious signs were there for all to see this morning on Twitter.

Mr. (Interim) Kirk Goes to Washington

2009-09-24T11:46:00.010-04:00

As he boards the next shuttle to Washington, interim Senator Paul Kirk has several, distinct communications challenges. How he handles these challenges might well determine if – to steal a tortured Kennedy sailing metaphor – his four-month ride in the Senate is tranquil or gusty.First and foremost, he needs to do more of what he did today: Be solid and stay in the shadow. In today’s press

Four Frozen Pols in the Race for Senate

2009-09-04T11:33:00.011-04:00

This morning, Congressman Stephen Lynch pulled nomination papers in advance of a possible run for U.S. Senate, joining Attorney General Martha Coakley, who formally announced her campaign yesterday.But don’t let the move fool you, the former South Boston ironworker isn’t officially in the race. Lynch tells the Globe and The Patriot Ledger this morning that he was going to pull papers but will

Leveraging Social Tools for Internal Comms

2009-09-01T11:46:00.009-04:00

Social media is not a secret weapon any more. It's now obvious that its power can be leveraged to build community for brands and help news organizations break news faster than it ever has in the history of the business. One of the aspects of social media that is often glossed over is its use for internal communications.At MS&L, we leverage a number of tools to stay connected to our colleagues

The Communications Legacy of Ted Kennedy

2009-08-26T08:03:00.005-04:00

Let's put aside for a moment any discussion of the political implications of Sen. Ted Kennedy's death. Plenty of oxygen will be burned among the self-styled pundits about what the potentially "wild scramble" his passing could trigger in Massachusetts, and about who might "take up the mantle" as the next liberal leader of the U.S. Senate.Instead, as you wade through the surround-sound

A Digital Crisis is a Click Away

2009-08-20T16:17:00.005-04:00

Email. Twitter. Facebook. LinkedIn. YouTube.What do they all have in common?They each put you or your organization one click away from a head first dive into a digital crisis.Take, for example, the news today about Facebook disabling rogue data-stealing, spamming apps meant to give a user access to your Facebook account and go to town. Imagine waking up in the morning, logging on to Facebook

The Delicate Politics of R & R

2009-08-20T10:48:00.006-04:00

There’s no rest for the weary in politics – even in August. President Obama and Governor Patrick are both about to learn that – but conventional wisdom is it’ll be a quick summer shower of pain for Obama while it could mean a three-week bitter blast for Patrick.Obama is about to land on the Vineyard, hoping off Air Force One just ahead of a real life hurricane a couple hundred miles off the coast

Communicating Smarter to Win Health Reform

2009-08-19T17:31:00.009-04:00

“Ma’am, trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table, I have no interest in doing it.”That is what my former brethren in the news media like to call the money quote. And among money quotes, that is about the best I’ve seen in a while.It’s a line that has already circled the globe and back, delivered with great zeal last night in Dartmouth, Mass. by

Twitter Impact on Breaking News and PR

2009-08-19T12:50:00.011-04:00

Over at Mashable, there's a piece by Josh Catone about two recent news stories that made some waves in the sporting world yesterday. The stories were about Brett Farve coming out of retirement (again) and the $15 million contract that uber-agent Scott Boras landed for Baseball’s top draft pick Stephen Strasburg.The common thread with these stories was in the way they were broken - via Twitter.

Breaking the Code

2009-08-04T12:05:00.005-04:00

The Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib's penned a wonderful column today offering a 30,000-foot analysis of the dynamics behind the "inexplicable schizophrenia" Americans hold toward their "creaking, frustrating and way too expensive" health care system.Healthcare and pharmaceutical companies are experiencing enormous challenges as a result of the transformation being fueled by the empowered

Ortiz and Steroids: Follow Manny's Example

2009-07-30T15:25:00.004-04:00

There are two kinds of reputation crises -- the ones you know are coming and the ones that blind-side you. The "expected" crisis should really be more a matter of issues management than crisis management. Make a plan to do the right thing. Explain yourself. Make amends. Get ahead of it before you get crushed under the weight.Did Red Sox slugger David "Big Papi" Ortiz know he would be outed for

Developing Social Media Strategies

2009-07-22T16:45:00.004-04:00

MS&L Boston hosted a sold-out event in coordination with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce today. Check out the recap at the Chamber's blog or the conversation on Twitter.In the meantime, here's the presentation that our Director of Digital Communications presented:Developing Social Media Strategies

Nothing is Off The Record

2009-07-20T08:49:00.002-04:00

We are getting ready to do more than a dozen "media training" sessions in the next six weeks and it strikes me just how out-dated that phrase has become.At the start of the 21st century, an organization’s executives and spokespeople worried about communicating with discipline mostly during media interviews, public or formal speeches, and large internal meetings. Those in the upper echelon of

Business Use of Social Media

2009-07-13T07:54:00.003-04:00

Social media is the big bad gorilla in the room. Those in the media, PR, marketing and advertising business can feel it’s presence and know that it’s something that they should be “doing.”At MS&L, we find that there are two camps when it comes to social media. The first group consists of those that have jumped into the deep end of the pool and are fully immersed in the depths of the conversation.

Keeping Tabs on the Multilogue

2009-07-10T10:24:00.001-04:00

It’s no secret that social media has forever changed the PR landscape. As professionals that are paid to keep tabs on “influencers” and “plant” stories with news outlets and bloggers, it can very cumbersome to manage that ever-expanding Rolodex of contacts. What’s even more difficult is managing those relationships across a network of PR professionals as deep and as experienced as MS&L and keep