Touchdowns & Fumbles

TOUCHDOWN – HARPER SOUNDS THE ALARM

2012-06-11T07:22:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: It’s not hard to make national news when you’re the Prime Minister of the country. But when you grant an exclusive interview on the eve of meetings with European leaders about the shaky state of affairs in the Eurozone, and then couple it with some colourful and strident speaking points, well, that’s a Touchdown. Stephen Harper did a sit-down with CBC’s Peter Mansbridge in London, where the two had been taking in the celebrations of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. But the focus quickly shifted to Europe, now four years into a financial crisis with no clear plan on the horizon, and that prompted this from Harper: “I don’t want to sound too alarmist, but we are kind of running out of runway here. And in terms of structure of the Eurozone and in terms of addressing these problems, we do need to see a broader game plan,” Harper said. By saying he doesn’t want to sound TOO alarmist, he acknowledges that he is at least somewhat alarmed – and used the opportunity to send a strong signal to leaders in Europe (and voters at home) that Canada will be a lead voice in calling on the Eurozone to get its act together. Harper also recognizes that when he makes news overseas he seems to make even bigger headlines back in Canada (witness the first talk of Old Age Security eligibility changes made in Davos, Switzerland at the World Economic Forum) – a tactic I suspect we will see more of going forward.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

TOUCHDOWN – TEAM “I’LL HAVE ANOTHER” DELIVERS THE BAD NEWS

2012-06-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: Granted, it might not have been the most polished press conference in the history of sport. But the tag team of trainer Doug O’Neill and Canadian owner Paul Reddam pulled off a Touchdown for their straightforward delivery of the bad news that I’ll Have Another – a contender to become horse racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 34 years – was pulling out of the Belmont Stakes this weekend because of a leg injury. It was a low-key affair, long on detail, short on tears or bluster. And that’s the kind of calming signal the situation called for; after all, in these cases, speculation almost always will swirl that the horse was pushed too hard at the expense of his health. But O’Neill and Reddam effectively blocked that avenue. In his opening remarks, trainer O’Neill did a masterful job of downplaying the potential hype around the announcement. He started by noting that the decision is “far from tragic… no one died or anything like that,” and pointed to the horse standing nearby to demonstrate that – in all other respects except his inability to race – I’ll Have Another was just fine. O’Neill then went on to thank (in somewhat tedious but nevertheless down-to-earth detail) every man jack on his team, before explaining exactly the train of events that led to the horse’s withdrawal. To my mind, he did a lot of things right: setting the context before letting others do it, clearly establishing his credibility by sharing the details, and acknowledging that the bad news wasn’t just about him, or the owner, but also the team and, ultimately, the horse. In the process, O’Neill and Reddam, whose own comments were similarly matter-of-fact, left pundits agreeing that this was just a case of bad luck, dealt with responsibly. Reddam summed it all up with a great quote. (And as we always counsel in our media coaching sessions, if you’ve got a great quote, use it.) “He’s done enough,” Reddam said of I’ll Have Another. “History is going to have to wait for another day.”

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

TOUCHDOWN – “ONE IDIOT WITH A GUN”

2012-06-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: The horrific scene last weekend at the Toronto Eaton Centre was certainly a crisis communications situation for the Toronto Police Service. One man dead, six others wounded by a shooter in the food court – who was still on the loose, when Acting Deputy Chief Jeff McGuire stepped up to the microphones. “One idiot with a gun doesn’t speak to the state of affairs in Toronto,” McGuire said, stressing that as shocking and horrible as the incident was, it was hugely out of character for the city and not representative of the safety of our streets. “One idiot with a gun” was the dominant sound bite and headline coming out of the news conference, because it said it all in a way that was striking, colourful and resonant. McGuire said a lot more in the course of his remarks, detailing the scope of the investigation and manhunt underway, and underscoring the overall level of public safety in Toronto – but that one line was the Touchdown.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

FUMBLE – FORD’S ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN DIET

2012-06-07T06:49:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: This whole “Cut The Waist Challenge” thing started off as a good communications play for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. His critics, some more subtly than others, have long used his weight as an attack point. By announcing his goal of losing 50 pounds in three months, and encouraging Torontonians to join him, Ford made his weight an issue of personal challenge and commitment. Trouble is, the follow-through just wasn’t there. Weekly weigh-ins became less and less frequent as he began putting pounds back on. Finally, after announcing the weekly weigh-ins would become bi-weekly photo ops, Ford announced on his Newstalk 1010 radio show last Sunday that it was all over. “I’m not even dieting anymore, it’s water under the bridge,” he told his co-host, brother and city councillor Doug Ford. Then, 24 hours later on the same station with afternoon drive host John Tory, he reversed himself, saying he was still on the diet and would come to his final weigh-in. He also blamed the media “frenzy” that the weekly weigh-ins had become, without acknowledging that they had become one of the increasingly rare opportunities for the City Hall press gallery to ask him about major municipal issues. It has been clear for weeks now that this PR initiative was going nowhere. The mayor should have cut his losses on the Cut The Waist Challenge about a month ago, indicating that he gave it a good try, but that it’s just too much of an undertaking for him right now. He could have empathized – and found empathy – with anyone struggling to shed some pounds and withdrawn honourably. Maybe he still will. Who knows?

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach

TOUCHDOWN – MULCAIR VISITS OIL SANDS

2012-06-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: New political leaders all face the same challenge: to the vast majority of voters, they are blank slates. I suspect most know the following three things about Thomas Mulcair, and not much more: he has a nice beard, he speaks beautifully in both official languages, and he’s a New Democrat. But within the same challenge lies opportunity – the chance to build a new brand (which, in the political world, you’d better hurry up and do quickly before your opponents beat you to it). In communications terms, Muclair took a big step forward this week with his visit to northern Alberta and the oil sands project. As an outspoken critic, he was met with few open arms, but no matter. Mulcair choppered over the development, toured the Suncorp facility with one of the company’s executives (who wisely issued only a statement afterward declaring it a “productive discussion” and thus avoiding getting pulled into any debate by reporters) and even met with the Mayor of Fort McMurray, who also said only polite things. For his part, Mulcair described the scale of the project as “awe-inspiring” and was careful not to use previous pet phrases like “tar sands” or “dirty oil.” He stuck to his message that more must be done to ensure that the environment is protected, but by being balanced and measured versus righteously ranty, he strike the right tone. In doing so, he won national media coverage which helped establish his brand on an issue that matters to all Canadians (economy, energy, environment) and one which will help solidify the NDP base and new supporters gained in the last election under Jack Layton.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach

TOUCHDOWN – GODFREY LIGHTS CASINO FIRE UNDER TORONTO CITY COUNCIL

2012-05-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: “We’ll build it in Mississauga or somewhere else first,” Ontario Lottery and Gaming chair Paul Godfrey told the Toronto Sun, if this city can’t decide whether it wants to be considered for hosting OLG’s planned GTA casino. Godfrey minced few words while pouring cold water on suggestions that the decision should wait until 2014 and a referendum question on the next municipal ballot. The media veteran knew exactly how to play this one, and by doing so before the editorial board of the Sun, he knew he could make headlines while also having a lengthy and detailed conversation with the writers and editors who will follow the debate closely over the coming months. “We’re not talking about building a casino, we’re talking about building an iconic entertainment centre” Godfrey said, referencing hundreds of retail shops, a couple of theatres and “some of the best restaurants in the world.” The timing was also perfect, coming on the eve of scheduled casino-related discussions at city hall and shortly ahead of the official request for information from OLG to prospective host municipalities. Touchdown – or is that Blackjack?

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

TOUCHDOWN– PRINCE CHARLES CALLS FOR RAIN

2012-05-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: One test of an effective communicator is the ability to seize the moment and make the most of it. Now, Prince Charles has had his share of very public issues to deal with over his lifetime as heir to the British throne. But there is no debating that he pulled off a winner this week with his ex tempore stint as a weatherman for the BBC in Glasgow, which quickly became a traditional and social media sensation. The Beeb’s Reporting Scotland team had prepared a script and some graphics in preparation for the visit by the Prince and his wife Camilla, in case the royal duo wanted a demonstration. But when they arrived, Reporting Scotland anchor Sally Magnusson invited Charles to take a turn in front of the camera – and he accepted with enthusiasm. Reading from the prompter, Charles did a decent job of delivering the weather outlook (surprise, surprise – it was going to rain). And there were a couple of nice touches. For instance, when he came to the part in the prepped lines (which he hadn’t seen beforehand) that had him reporting the weather over Balmoral Castle, Charles quipped: “Who the hell wrote this script?” We’ll forgive him the mild cussing, because the important thing here wasn’t the performance – it was the jumping-in and taking part in a nightly ritual for hundreds of thousands of his countrymen. By seizing the opportunity to display the common touch, and pulling it off with panache, Charles scored a TD.

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

FUMBLE RECOVERY – PMO STAFFER’S TWEET HEARD ‘ROUND THE WORLD

2012-05-15T11:43:00.002-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: It must have felt sooooo good when he hit “send.” Andrew MacDougall, Director of Communications for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, got a troll-type Tweet from someone known only as @oxy28 asking “How does it feel to work for the biggest a**hole in Canada?” Now, the by-the-book way to deal with this kind of stuff is to not even dignify it with a response. @PMO_MacDougall, however, opted to zing back a one-liner: “I wouldn’t know. I don’t work for you.” Usually, this kind of thing leads to an uproar, calls for an apology and – given the nature of the office MacDougall represents – possibly even comment from the Prime Minister. Somehow, despite the story making news as far away as the U.S. and Australia, neither MacDougall nor Harper had to address it. Stranger still, MacDougall won kudos on Twitter for the comeback from National Post Parliamentary columnist John Ivison (“Love (his) response to heckler. Civility is dead on Twitter, so bring it on”) and Ottawa Citizen managing editor Andrew Potter (“I don’t know much, but I know what I like. And I like this @PMO_MacDougall guy.”) Perhaps since MacDougall didn’t use the profanity, and the initial comment was clearly from an anonymous agitator – or maybe because it was undeniably funny and something any of us who has ever taken some online abuses wishes we could do – he got a bye. But I bet he thinks twice next time.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

FUMBLE – MONTREAL STUDENTS DROP TROU – AND THE BALL

2012-05-09T07:08:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: Seeking to spark some fresh interest in their now ten-days-and-counting series of nightly protest marches, students in Montreal protesting the Quebec government’s tuition policy decided to make the trek nearly naked this week. Stripped down to their civvies or covered with strategically placed socks, the tactic had the desired effect of putting what was otherwise old news back up high in the media lineup. But at what cost? Here at TD&F we have often noted that if your tactic trumps your message, you’re doing it wrong. The real problem the students have is that they thought it was a good idea to drive their message by using the same tactic (the march) day after day after day. Things stop becoming news if they become daily or nightly occurrences. And the disconnect between parading around almost a buffo and the serious message they’re trying to advance further undermined the cause. As my friend Jaimie Vernon – who is not a PR practitioner, but a sharp knife and a fine writer nonetheless – put it, “when your platform is reduced to ridiculous caricature stunting, you will be laughed at … your message is overshadowed by your clown car.”

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

TOUCHDOWN – GREEK POLITICOS EMBRACE SOCIAL MEDIA

2012-05-09T07:02:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: We’re crazy for social media here at Veritas, and we spend a lot of time talking about what wonderful tools Facebook, Twitter and the like can be for engaging your chosen constituencies in new and creative ways. It’s cool stuff, but it’s worth acknowledging, too, that there are often very basic and unsexy reasons to embrace social media. For an example, we turn to the birthplace of democracy, Greece, which with 40 percent Internet penetration can hardly be considered a digital dynamo. But a neat little piece by AFP reporter John Hadoulis this week explains why Greek politicians are getting on the social bus in the run-up to elections this Sunday. This is something new. In the past, Hadoulis notes, would-be Greek leaders avoided social media but spent like nuts elsewhere, including TV spots, mass rallies, huge public kiosks with video, Internet access – you name it. They liked all that stuff so much that Greek parties owe an estimated $320 million to European banks; in other words, they’re broke. As a result, they are now jumping into social media because it’s cheaper than ads, and certainly cheaper than shipping in thousands of supporters from the countryside to attend a mega-rally. But there’s another factor at work here, too. Greek voters, who’ve been inflicted with salary and pension cuts because of their country’s crushing debt, are mad as Hades at politicians – some of whom say they can no longer show their faces in public. So Facebook and Twitter have become safer alternatives to public appearances, even if they open candidates up to online bashing – better that than face an angry mob. It might not be the sexiest reason to use social media, but it’s true nevertheless: given a choice, most of us would prefer to get flamed on Facebook than pelted with rotten tomatoes.

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

FUMBLE – FORD’S MEDIA WAR UNDERMINES HIS DESIRED BRAND

2012-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: Brand Coach Ted Matthewssubtitled his book “Brand: It Ain’t The Logo” with his trademarked phrase “It’s what people think of you,” which is as simple and clear a description as you’re likely to find. Rob Ford’s ongoing war with the Toronto Star, combined with previous responses to media incursions around his Etobicoke home, hit a new peak this week after he chased off a Star scribe whom he found lurking around his backyard fence. Threatening legal action and to now ban Star reporters even from city hall media scrums, “what people think” of the Toronto Mayor is fast sliding towards “an unpredictable hot-head at war with the newspaper.” I would like to see some quantifiable data on this, but my sense is that Ford is becoming increasingly viewed along those lines, and increasingly less as the derailer of the “gravy train” who successfully negotiated some groundbreaking new labour contracts with city workers and just this past week delivered a multi-hundred-million dollar surplus to the city’s coffers. Rather than doing a day-long series of interviews on his sidewalk with every other outlet in town, had he handled the Star fracas more discretely, it would not have been the dominant municipal issue of the past week – and his brand would be tracking at least somewhat more in the preferred direction.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

FUMBLE – MURDOCH PLAYS THE VICTIM

2012-04-27T14:33:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: Embattled News Corp. Chair and CEO Rupert Murdoch spent much of this week testifying at the British inquiry into the conduct of his tabloid newspaper empire, specifically phone hacking and other violations of decency and/or law. He raised eyebrows by denying detailed knowledge or involvement in his newsrooms’ operations (a suggestion that runs counter to his years of personally directing headlines and editorials), but things really went sideways when he declared himself “under duress” because of the hordes of “journalists and paparazzi and microphones” following him. “I mean, I was being harassed,” he said of the tabloid reporters who have followed him this week. “I had another 20 or so outside my apartment this morning.” The result was headlines around the world saying “Murdoch plays victim.” Even if it’s true, even if you’re frustrated, if you’re the figure under fire for the trespasses of your organization, the last thing you can ever do is cry “woe is me” or attempt to, on any level, equate your plight with those of the true victims. For reference, see “Hayward, Tony” – the former CEO of BP who, in the midst of the Gulf of Mexico disaster caused by his company said “I’d like my life back.”

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

FUMBLE – ROMNEY’S EXPERTS PUT THEIR FOOTS IN IT

2012-04-27T14:29:00.002-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: Gaffes of the week came from the camp of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose campaign has been riddled with verbal missteps that make him seem like a rich guy who just doesn’t get it (e.g. “I’m not concerned about the very poor” and “Ann [his wife] drives a couple of Cadillacs”). This time, his advisers – foreign policy experts enlisted to portray President Barack Obama’s administration as wrong on just about everything – got in on the game. In a briefing with journalists, Romney advisers John Lehman and Pierre Prosper tried to portray Obama as being weak on the international stage, but ended up making themselves look weak on history. Among his jabs at Obama, Lehman charged that Obama had ceded control of the Arctic to “the Soviets.” (Romney went on to repeat the gaffe just hours later.) Prosper, meanwhile, alleged that the United States under Obama had “abandoned Czechoslovakia” – which must have come as something of a surprise to the Czechs and the Slovaks, who amicably parted ways in 1993 and now live in separate countries. Granted, everyone makes mistakes, but there’s no excuse for careless ones like these. In the political arena, the detail work on foreign policy is one of those things you have to get right – just ask Sarah “I-can-see-Russia-from-my-house-in-Wasilla” Palin. So Lesson 1 is obvious: get your facts straight. Lesson 2 is simple, but vital: reduce the risk of mistakes by practicing what you’re actually going to say. For a campaign already rattled by criticism that it’s out of touch with the people and the times, lazy missteps can be downright fatal. Fumble.

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

FUMBLE – THE ORANGE JUICE HEARD ACROSS THE COUNTRY

2012-04-27T14:24:00.002-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: The issue wasn’t International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda attending a London conference last year and spending money on a hotel, it was the fact that she opted not to stay at the hardly-shabby-to-begin-with conference hotel but to move instead to the legendary Savoy. That, plus a car and driver and the infamous $16 orange juice (VERY freshly squeezed, I would hope) and the other above-and-beyond costs she incurred and originally had the government pay for were the details that made the whole story a scandal in the House of Commons this week. No one begrudges a minister with an internationally-focused portfolio traveling overseas and staying in appropriate-level accommodations, but this was beyond the pale. Oda ultimately apologized and agreed to pay the extra costs herself, but the damage was already done to the brand that the Harper Conservatives have invested so much time and effort into trying to own: that of the most trustworthy stewards of the public purse. Brands and core values are built carefully over time and by walking the walk as well as talking the talk. Oda’s violations – and the communications impact thereof – have set back the Conservatives’ efforts considerably. A colossal Fumble.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

VIDEO REPLAY – ROB FORD’S LOVE FOR KFC CAUSES A FLAP

2012-04-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Daniela Gentile: A diet is a hard thing to stick to – I should know, I re-start my own commitment to eating healthier almost daily. For this reason, I sympathized with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford when, in a moment of weakness, he decided to get takeout at a KFC. Unfortunately for Ford, his bad eating choices were videotaped by laughing onlookers who stated the obvious: He’s supposed to be losing weight! After the Toronto Star posted the video on its website, the public’s reaction was anything but savoury. Readers and other media outlets called into question the news value of a story about a public official eating chicken and chalked it up to undue mockery of someone who apparently can’t resist the call of the occasional deep fried drumstick (who can, really?!). Under any other circumstance, this may be valid criticism, but this is a mayor who has invited media and the public to follow his weekly weigh-ins for months. This story isn’t about whether it is right to ridicule Ford as much as it is about ensuring leaders remain accountable to the issues they champion, particularly in the era of citizen journalism – when everyone is watching, or in this case videotaping. So as unfair as it may seem, the lesson here is if you’re going to put an issue in play in the media, you had better be prepared to live with that issue, especially if you’ve made a direct connection between it and what would otherwise be your own private business. Otherwise, get ready to fly the coop when you’re caught holding the bird.

Daniela Gentile is a director at Veritas. A seasoned media and public relations strategist, she has advised a range of business executives on media issues and provided public relations strategy to some of the world’s biggest brands.

TOUCHDOWN – REPUBLICANS UP THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME

2012-04-25T10:53:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Bryan Feheley: Companies and organizations of any size have often struggled with how to get employees to engage with customers, influencers and stakeholder via social media. Well, it appears that the Republican leadership in the U.S House of Representatives has figured out a way to entice their congressional colleagues to take a more active roll in the social space. Enter the “New Media Challenge” from the House Republican Conference, a unique March Madness-style tournament. The Challenge pits the 242 Republican members against one another to see who can increase their Facebook, Twitter and YouTubechannels during the three-week competition with the top eight moving on to the knockout stage. Last year’s competition garnered over 300,000 actions (Facebook likes, Twitter followers and YouTube views) for the GOP, with Rep John Fleming of Louisiana’s 4^th congressional district winning for the second year in a row after increasing his Facebook likes by 6.1%. Using “gamification” to encourage consumer behaviour has become a go-to tactic for digital marketers, but has been overlooked as an internal communications tactic. Appealing to peoples’ ego and desire to win can be two of the most motivating factors in influencing behaviour both internally and externally because after all, who doesn’t love to win?

Bryan Feheley is a senior digital and social communications consultant who has worked on some of the biggest brands in Canada

FIRST DOWN – CARNIVAL CRUISE SHIP ABANDONS DESPERATE FISHERMEN

2012-04-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: It’s a horrible story. In March, passengers aboard a cruise ship dubbed the Star Princess were bird-watching on deck, when they spotted three men adrift in a small fishing boat, desperately signaling for help from the passing liner. The passengers alerted crew members, but the ship kept going. It would be two more weeks before the fishing boat was found, but by then only one man was still alive. When news of the story broke this week, Carnival Corporation – which owns not only the Star Princess but also the ill-fated Costa Concordia which ran aground and sank off Italy, and a sister ship which spent several days adrift in the Indian Ocean after a fire – issued a statement. “At this time we cannot verify the facts as reported, and we are currently conducting an internal investigation.” It went on to say that the company was “very saddened” to learn that two lives were lost, and that thoughts and prayers were with the families involved. It also stressed that the company is “dedicated to the highest standards of seamanship wherever our ships sail, and it is our duty to assist any vessel in distress.” That’s about all the company could say, and I thought the initial statement sounded the right notes of awareness, action, empathy and commitment. Within 48 hours, the company had an update, releasing a statement saying that “preliminary results of our investigation have shown that there appeared to be a breakdown in communication in relaying the passengers’ concern,” noting that the captain was never notified and that he is “devastated that he is being accused of knowingly turning his back on people in distress.” It was a failure, but not a willful abandonment. The quick update was a good communications move, clarifying the sequence of events. What Carnival needs to demonstrate now is that it is making changes to its communications protocols and/or staff training, to ensure that such a tragedy can’t happen again. It’s an all-too-real example of critical incident communications in action.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

TOUCHDOWN – ROCKING THE VOTE BOAT IN ALBERTA

2012-04-25T10:39:00.001-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: It’s one heck of a mouthful, but I Never Thought I’d Vote PC – an online and social media movement launched this week in Alberta – has certainly created a stir. The main asset of the campaign, which organizers claim is not affiliated with any political group, is an online video showing GenYers urging Albertans to vote for anyone but the surging Wildrose party in the upcoming provincial elections, even if that “anyone” is a Progressive Conservative. “I never thought I’d say this,” drawls one of the kids, before going on to say he’s going to vote PC to stop the “homophobic” Wildrosers from winning. A spokesman for the Alberta Conservatives quickly disavowed any link to the video, pointing out (rightly) that it’s not exactly “on message” in depicting the PCs as the lesser of two evils. Wildrose supporters, meanwhile, cried foul over the video’s tone, which is vernacular at best, profane at worst. (One of the speakers drops the f-bomb more than once.) And many others have criticized its endorsement of strategic voting as unethical, and perhaps in contravention of provincial laws governing third-party electoral advertising. (A spokesperson for I Never Thought I’d Vote PC issued a statement saying the group never meant to offend anybody.) Those reactions are predictable, but they didn’t stop the video from becoming something of a phenomenon, garnering 60,000-plus views on YouTube in two days and sparking thousands of comments both on the video-sharing site and on news comment pages. Sure, the message is sometimes muddled, the language is questionable and the acting is over-the-top. But I Never Thought I’d Vote PC did what it set out to do – spark a conversation. And that makes it an example of social media savvy. Touchdown.

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

TOUCHDOWN – HILARY CLINTON TEXTS A HUGE MESSAGE

2012-04-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bryan Feheley: One of the lasting political narratives from the 2008 Democratic primary was the contrasting images of the stiff and stoic Hillary Clinton versus the hip and edgy Barak Obama. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Clinton took a sledgehammer to that perception when she sent the following text: “sup adam. nice selfie Stace :-)” Adam Smith and Stacey Lambe were the creators of the meme/Tumblr blog “Texts from Hillary” which featured photos of a calm looking, sunglass-clad Secretary Clinton responding with patronizing wit to texts from the likes of President Obama, Mark Zuckerburg and GOP front-runnerMitt Romney. After the meme went viral, Adam and Stacey were contacted by members of Clinton’s staff and were offered the chance to meet with the Secretary at her office in Washington. The result? One of the most popular Texts from Hilary posts. The world of internet memes is basically the wild west: there is no law, no order and no way to control the outcome. Whether or not Clinton decides run for President in 2016, her willingness to take the risk and fully embrace the Text from Hilary meme proves that there might just be second acts in American political life.

Bryan Feheley is a senior digital and social communications consultant who has worked on some of the biggest brands in Canada

TOUCHDOWN – THE ONLY TIME IT’S WISE TO SPECULATE

2012-04-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: The rule of thumb when dealing with media is, never speculate. “What if?” questions should get the spidey-senses tingling, because that’s usually when people get themselves into trouble, musing aloud to a reporter about “maybes” which can quickly turn up in news stories as “could bes” or “maybe soons.” The exception to this rule, however, is deliberate, strategic speculation – and we saw a clear example of it this week from the union representing Canada Border Services Agency employees. Reacting to announced cutbacks in federal funding, Jean-Pierre Fortin, national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, said the resulting staff and operational reductions will mean “More child pornography entering the country, more weapons, illegal drugs, will pass through our borders, not to mention terrorists and sexual predators and hardened criminals.” Yikes! A scary picture indeed, painted deliberately to try and generate sufficient political pressure to get the move reversed. Under specific circumstances, a colourful doomsday scenario can be one of the most effective ways of driving a message, and this one certainly was.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

HAIL MARY – MACKAY’S MINIVAN

2012-04-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: I can’t ever recall an edition of TD&F with back-to-back Hail Mary calls, but desperate times call for … Defense Minister Peter MacKay is having a tough go of it over the F-35 thing. As always, we will set aside here the politics and policy aspects of the issue, and look solely at the communications – and in particular, MacKay’s use of an extremely effective tool in getting a message across, especially when the water at play is rather muddy. Like most Canadians, I have no idea what is involved in costing out the purchase of a fleet of state of the art jet fighters – but I have bought a car or two, and, like anyone who has, I understand the factors one weighs in determining what makes a fair price and, ultimately, what makes the thing affordable for me or not. Mackay, referring to the Auditor-General’s criticism of what was left out of the government’s official price tally, put it this way: “The $10 billion that he has described as not being disclosed was what you pay our current pilots, the gas that you put in the current fleet of CF-18s ... if you went out and bought a new mini-van and it was going to cost you $20,000 you wouldn’t calculate the gas, the washer fluid, the oil and give yourself a salary to drive it for the next 15 to 20 years.” By using that analogy, he made a complex bit of business suddenly very clear. Again, whether you agree with his premise or not, his point was unmistakable, and purely as a communications play, it deserves points.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

HAIL MARY – LEAFS ARE REALLY, REALLY SORRY

2012-04-16T08:15:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: The focus seemed to be on the full page newspaper ads, and for good reason: they were unprecedented in Toronto Maple Leafs history. So the printed words of Larry Tannenbaum, Chair of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, got many jaws wagging. For me, the key words of the entire missive were two he used to describe the team when he declared it a “public trust.” More than anything else, that description said “we get it”: Sure, it’s a sports team. Sure, it’s a business (a huge and profitable one, make no mistake). But we, the corner office, understand that it means so much more than that to the fan base, the city, the province, however far Leaf Nation actually stretches. So the ad was a good idea, and very well executed. But to me, it was just one of three channels through which the Leafs expressed their mea culpas this week: beforehand, the players said as much during the ceremonial – and all too familiar cleaning-out-of-the-lockers exercise – and then later, echoed by still-new coach Randy Carlyle and GM Brian Burke. The latter came as close as he will likely ever get to an apology, noting that he ultimately “drives the bus” and commenting on how he hasn’t slept well for a long time. Does this make it all better for the die-hard Leafs fans who have been bleeding blue for far too long? Not completely. Only icing a winning team will do that. But for any organization under fire, sending a clear message that says we get it, we’re on it, we feel your pain, and we want to make it right is imperative – and I think the Maple Leafs organization used every one of its possible voices this week to do just that.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

HAIL MARY – BALSILLIE QUITS RIM BOARD

2012-04-02T06:32:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: We’ll see if it proves to be a turning point, but the decision by former co-CEO Jim Balsillie to resign his spot on Research In Motion’s board of directors was a major communications move. That, coupled with a significant change in tone in recent weeks by new CEO Thorsten Heins, demonstrates consistency in both walk and talk. The optics of Balsillie leaving the board show a tangible shift in the boardroom cast. And Heins has been taking a much more stark – but realistic – view of RIM’s situation and the road ahead, and it seems to have increased the organization’s credibility among analysts and business reporters. As Matt Hartley wrote in the National Post: “The Jim Balsillie era is over at Research In Motion Ltd., and the reign of Thorsten Heins at the helm of Canada’s largest technology company has arrived. For real this time.” It’s more of a Hail Mary than a Touchdown, but we’ll see if it scores any real points.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.

FUMBLE – US BEEF INDUSTRY GETS SLIMED

2012-04-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley: It sounds like something out of Ghostbusters, but for the American beef industry “pink slime” has become an all-too-real threat. The term refers to the beef additive made from cleaned-up and disinfected bits and pieces from parts of the cow that most people have either never seen or would prefer not to. Adding it makes for leaner and cheaper ground beef, and it can add up to 15 lb. to a cow’s productive weight. The industry likes to call it “lean, finely textured beef.” Celebrity chef and food activist Jamie Oliver likes to call it something else – “pink slime” – and the term became a full-fledged anti-industry campaign earlier this month amid news reports that up to 70% of ground beef contains the stuff, and that the US Department of Agriculture was set to purchase millions of pounds of it for school lunches. Bettina Siegel, a blogger on Oliver’s Food Revolution site, started a petition that garnered more than a quarter-million signatures and morphed into an all-out online movement, StopPinkSlime.org. Thus was born a media sensation, with everyone from the Wall Street Journal to Jon Stewart weighing in, and the term “pink slime” just kept getting repeated. All this hubbub seemed to catch the beef industry flat-footed. It took until this week for Nebraska-based Beef Products – described in an Associated Press story as “the main producer of ‘pink slime’” – to suspend operations in several of its plants. It then invited three supportive governors and media to tour one of its plants in Nebraska, in a clear attempt to show that there’s nothing wrong with “finely textured beef.” The governors, who didn’t seem to mind being subjected to headlines like “Governors show love for ‘pink slime’”, were strong in their support of the industry, but the communications battle had already been lost. William S. Burroughs once famously compared language to a virus, and it’s increasingly apt in the age of social media. Like a virus, a term can catch on in the public realm, fuelled by the repetition and movement politics made possible by social media, and before you know it it’s unshakable. That’s what happened with “pink slime,” whatever its accuracy. And good luck fighting it now. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaking after his beef factory tour, certainly tried, gamely urging that the world should “let ‘pink slime’ become a term of the past.” Too late.

Joe Chidley served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now a senior vice-president at Veritas.

TOUCHDOWN – THE PENNY DROPS

2012-04-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

This week's perspective from Bob Reid: Quick top-line on both the federal and Ontario budgets this week: a Touchdown-worthy job by both governments in their pre-budget communications, as it’s all about managing expectations. We were expecting tough, dramatic austerity budgets which would stand our province and country on their respective heads. We got somewhat less, so even the more sweeping measures within don’t seem like the end of the world after all. But the best communications play of them all was the move by the feds to announce the end of the Canadian penny. Budgets can be byzantine exercises loaded with economic concepts and astronomical numbers that most of us can’t even fathom – but we call get the notion of getting rid of the penny, whether we’re for or against. It was THE subject of water cooler, talk radio and media poll discussion, and it dovetailed nicely with the Harper government’s mantra of ending wasteful or nonsensical practices – as Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said at every turn, it costs a cent and a half to make a penny. And his call for Canadians to “free them from their prisons” in jars across the nation – and donate them to charity – was the extra point on the Touchdown.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas' principal media coach.