communicate - PR, marketing and sales

Wal-Mart woes continue

2006-10-19T18:31:00.000+05:30

Wal-Mart's public relations woes continue. Last month, Wal-Mart decided to part ways with one of its celebrity spokespersons Andrew Young, after he managed to anger its customer base through some racist remarks.

Now, another senior executive of Wal-Mart has resigned following protests against her nomination to a gay business group, ironically as a nominee from her company. The division that employed her has also been the respondent in a law suit on counterfeiting. Dee Breazeale managed luxury goods at Sam's Clubs when the chain was slapped with a suit in June by a French company, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, alleging that counterfeits of its luxury Fendi brand bags and wallets were being sold through the store.

In August, Breazeale was nominated by Wal-Mart to the Advisory Council of National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, provoking protests from conservative groups - again a large customer base of the retail giant.

In the meantime, a pan-America trip for an average American couple to visit and interview employees and customers of Wal-Mart and blog about their experiences was denounced by the blogging community as a "fake" - after it emerged that the 'couple' was actually sponsored by Working Families for Wal-Mart, an advocacy group of the retail giant.

The activity looked like a good idea, until the two bloggers were identified as Jim Tresher, a veteran Washington Post photographer, and his girlfriend Laura. Their travel and other expense were paid for by the advocacy group. Since the controversy erupted, the journalists have been asked to refund the expenses and also pull off the photographs.

Two issues that I would like to discuss here:

1) What does this mean for Wal-Mart?
It means that Wal-Mart is going through a crisis of communication. There is a definite sense of desperation within the organization to promote a positive image - however, old habits die hard. So the chain stumbles from one controversy to another - either due to its past actions or due to the some hasty reactionary activities that don't measure up on the ethical front. Wal-Mart, and its supporting groups, need to understand that being ethical will help in the long run. And Wal-Mart is a long term player..

Will these controversies make Wal-Mart lose business - maybe not immediately. But as negative publicity keeps pouring in, the public's mindset will also change. Think of it like an election campaign - you need to have a sustained series of subcampaigns to promote your candidate and build public opinion. Once the messaging crosses a threshold, then word-of-mouth takes over and results in victory for the candidate.

Wal-Mart needs to look at the scenario as a campaign - and the threshold is approaching.....

2) What does it mean for the blogging community?
The biggest difference between a blog and a media is the factor of independence that the blog enjoys. As a result, the general tone and manner of blogs are negative in nature - since all of us are cynical by nature.

However, Corporate blogging (I believe this episode is a perfect example) is great way of promoting a company, without focusing on the negatives. And as a practice, it will continue. The difference in approach should lay in transparency.

The blogger should identify the blog with a corporate cause in no uncertain terms. That way, if nothing else, the blog never gets caught on the wrong foot. And, many a time, the blogs viewpoint will also be understood by the readers.

The Afzal Dilemma and Media absurdities

2006-10-09T20:36:00.000+05:30

I have been reading with interest the various arguments in the latest drama on the Indian media platform.

Afzal Guru, a Kashmiri, has been sentenced by the Supreme Court of India to be hanged to death for his role in the attack on Indian Parliament in 2001. The hanging has been fixed for October 20, 2006. Soon after the sentenced was pronounced by the SC, various sections of Indian society have been engaged in a debate on whether Afzal should be hanged or not.

First lets look at the major points of dispute:

1) Afzal was only a fringe player in the whole drama. The main players are safe in Pakistan.

2) Afzal was not provided a lawyer of his choice, and the case was not conducted in a fair manner by the court.

3) His hanging will only increase the anguish among Kashmiris, leading to more terrorists being born.

4) A civilized society should not resort to killing a human being.

What is the media doing in this public drama? They have been faithfully reporting all the bits and pieces of controversy. The wife of the accused seeks clemency through the media, the political parties make their point of view through the media, the government flip flops its way in front of the media - and leaves everyone confused.

I am yet to come across an article that really details the controversy - after asking the actors the real hard questions, and getting the answers.

Some questions that have either not been asked, or not been answered:

Afzal Guru and his family:
1) Why has Afzal not pleaded his innocence?
2) Why did the family not raise the issue, during the trial?
3) What answers do they have to the families of the policemen who were killed in the attack?

The political parties:
1) If Afzal Guru is a terrorist, what about the various Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists who breed hatred in India?
2) What does India gain out of hanging a fringe player in the attack?
3) What have the parties done for the martyred policemen's families - not to mention the countless others who have laid down their lives protecting the country?
4) How does the hanging of a criminal become a law and order issue in a state?

And most importantly, the celebrities:
1) Where were they when the policemen died protecting the Parliament - the personification of democracy in India?
2) What have they done to create an atmosphere of peace in India, if not Kashmir?
3) What do they know about the conditions in which our police and armed forces work in India?
4) Would they still ask for forgiveness, if instead of the policemen, it was one of their kin who was killed in the attack?

The media in India needs to understand that the readers want to know the whole truth, not on an as-is-where-is basis. They need to show the spine to ask the questions, get the answers and publish the articles, so that the debate happens on an elevated level.

Media Photographers - an abused lot

2006-09-30T21:27:00.000+05:30

As professional communicators, we tend to focus on the coverage in the media as the utlimate evaluation of a campaign.

But a quirky, yet very interesting, post on a media photographers, on a blog with a very interesting name - "Don't Trust the Indian Media" - poses an, well, interesting question. Do PR professionals tend to downgrade the photographers, in their relentless pursuit of reporters?

We have been taught in school that a picture speaks a thousand words. Then why do we look upon the photographers as a necessary evil, rather than a useful ally?

How many times have we called up a photographer to pitch a story? Has it ever occured to us that the picture, if carried, sends the message much more clearly than all the text?

I was working in one of the leading newspapers in Mumbai some time back, when we came to know that a well known hospital did not have a mortuary. In fact, it was conducting post mortem in a makeshift shed originally meant to be a garage!!

I went to the spot, along with a photographer friend and colleague. I managed to distract the helper for a few minutes while my colleagues managed to get some quick shots of a post mortem. Needless to say, we were quickly identified, and had to run for our lives!!

I reached the office and filed my report. My colleague brought in some great shots and we had a flier the next day. I was flooded with calls, commending me on the great story, but all the calls talked about the picture.

My colleagues' work had won me accolades!! And all I did was buy him a beer! He went back to work uncomplainingly.

Sad, but true!

Lage Raho, Gandhigiri

2006-09-27T23:36:00.000+05:30

Once in a blue moon, there occurs an incident that has a lasting impact on society. Today, I would like to dwell upon one of them - the effect of "Gandhigiri" from the Hindi film 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' (LRM).

LRM is the story of a lovable thug who is influenced by the Non-Violence Principles of Gandhi, in his fight against the villains.

The most interesting facet of the movie was the theme:
Using Gandhism (Gandhigiri, according to the hero) to win the battle against evil. And the best part is that, it does not give major sermons on Gandhism. Instead, the director has woven in anecdotes to prove his point. From a communication perspective, the movie has definitely achieved its purpose of telling the crowd - Gandhism is a workable solution to many of our problems.

The effect has also started to be seen:

In the city Lucknow, people protesting for the removal of a liquor shop distributed roses along with the pamphlets near the shop - the idea was to demonstrate the difference between the good (represented by the rose) and the bad (the liquor). Even the police, who came to disperse the demonstrators, and the district magistrate, overseeing the case, encouraged the form of protest. The liquor shop owner is planning to shift now.

In the city of Bangalore, a newspaper has asked for articles from its readers on how they used "Gandhigiri" to overcome unpleasant instances. The first of the series has appeared today, talking about a family that shamed people littering a railway compartment, by cleaning the compartment!

Will this movement sustain itself? Maybe, I certainly hope it will. It will definitely make the country a better place - because you punish the wrongdoer by loving him. No punishment is greater than the shame and the guilt!

American ad association turns to PR to stave off "negative headlines"

2006-09-25T21:25:00.000+05:30

The American Association of Advertising Agencies has appointed a PR agency GolinHarris to promote its image in the media. There is an interesting post on this in adage.com.

The image management exercise is believed to be a reaction to various negative coverages on the industry in the media. The advertising fraternity feels that the effect of negative publicity would be felt in board room discussions with clients and also affect marketing budgets, thereby threatening the future of the industry.

Will this work?

1) It will heavily depend on the stories that GolinHarris will pitch to the media. Any industry report, which will be the primary pitches, will have to be credible, and transparent.

2) The Association needs to promote itself as a harbinger of change, not a monolithic body trying to defend its turf. It could do this by talking about new forms of communication, changes in existing forms of communication and the future trends in the industry. If a Microsoft can do it, why can't a communication platform like the Association do the same.

3) Backroom strategies play an equally important role in this game. All the three players in the arena - media, the Association and the PR agency - know how important advertising revenue is for the sustenance of media itself. The PR agency will require to do a lot of relationship building exercises.

What do you think?

How does a newspaper work, in today's competitive world?

2006-09-25T19:44:00.000+05:30

Just finished reading an interesting interview of Shashi Shekar, the Editor newspaper Amar Ujala, the 5th largest newspaper in India, in exchange4media.com. The interview throws some insights on the working on a newspaper, especially the decision-making roles of various personnel. I have listed the insights below:

1) News for the people: Amar Ujala identified nine core issues including education, health, transportation, crime etc and gave priority to news on these issues, with a local flavour. This immediately connected the paper to the common readers, because it spoke about their problems. Other papers do the same thing, but consistency is lacking in their coverage. It is more of a campaign to pep up the newspaper's brand.

2) Research: The newspaper decided to do away with the run-of-the-mill stories like the visit of a dignitary to a place. Instead, it did reports on the conditions of the place before the dignitaries visit, and after his visit. This is again, unusual, for the Indian media.

3) Making an interesting story out of a mundane release: The newspaper sent its reporter to the house of a child who had won the President's Bravery Award for saving three kids from a panther. The reporter found out that the boy cleaned utensils for a living. That made a great story.

4) Decentralizing news: Story ideas are collected from all correspondents by a central desk at the newspaper. The desk then works on these ideas and selects the main ones by 1 pm. Thus the reporter gets a good half-a-day to complete his work. Secondly, since the stories for the next days edition is already planned by 1 pm, the desk also has time to research on the report and suggest different angles. Apparently, no editor stays in office after 9 pm, a rarity in the newspaper world.

I would like to have similar case studies of other media across the world

Microsoft fights back

2006-09-21T15:53:00.000+05:30

The past few days have seen hectic activities from Microsoft. In a bid to increase its penetration in the virtual world, Microsoft has announced two major intiatives - in the search engine space and internet video sharing space.

Live.com is Microsoft answer to Google search. Live.com search site has officially graduate from beta last week, which means it is finally becoming live, quite literally. It has an uncomplicated home page, undoubtedly "inspired" by its competitor and has a few features that set new benchmarks - such as related searches and image searches. Expect Live to be a part of the strategy followed by Microsoft when its Vista operating system comes live.

The other major activity of Microsoft has been the testing of an Internet video-sharing service called Soapbox- the software company's answer to YouTube. Soapbox will be offered to invited users during the test phase and is likely to go live as part of MSN video within the next six months. Interestingly Microsoft intends to make Soapbox available to various browsers instead of limiting it to Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player.

Microsoft has been lazy in Internet services, especially search. This will be the first real counterattack of the software giant to its young competitors like Google, Yahoo and now, YouTube.

The fun has begun...

The war in the Indian Open Skies - An opportunity to Communicate

2006-09-13T22:31:00.000+05:30

It is fairly clear now that the two main airlines that are battling for the lucrative corporate customer in India are Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines. So, whats new?

A recent announcement by Jet Airways on the introduction of In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) in its flights is clearly aimed at negating a huge advantage gained by Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher has been at the forefront of providing its passengers with IFE through 15 audio video channels, thereby eliminating a large part of the boredom associated with long flights.

Jet Airways IFE will run 10 audio video channels and will also offer the facility of stopping a programme, moving to another channel, and then coming back to resume the programme. The inflight screen of Jet also promises to be bigger than that of Kingfisher.

Is there an opportunity for communicators in this battle of the titans? Well, airline customers are probably amongst the most targetted segments in marketing. Thus the opportunity has presented itself.

Even subtle branding on the background during a programme is a very powerful tool, since the passenger is glued on to the screen intently. Dont expect to get the full attention of your target anytime like that, in any other environment - perhaps, except in a movie hall. He does not have any other option but to spend time watching the programmes.

Is there a catch? It lies in the airlines refreshing content on a periodic basis. Jet plans to refurbish its content once in two months, while Kingfisher refreshes them once in two weeks.

While advertising will lead the way in branding in IFE, corporates / PR agencies / newswires who can provide quality content to the airlines will also have a chance to pitch in for the clients.

Any comments?

Marketing vs PR - A battle among team mates?

2006-09-06T21:33:00.000+05:30

This has been one of the oft discussed topics everywhere - but the issue has never been resolved.

Simple logic demands that marketing and PR be part of the same team - since both are in the business of communication management. But they don't normally see eye-to-eye on most issues.

Marketing differs from PR on some points:

1) Planning: Marketing is a planner driven profession. Teams work on annual, half-yearly, quarterly and monthly plans. This makes life easier for the management to take decisions, since each activity has a past and a future.
PR, as a practice, is more reactive than proactive. The reason being that the target segment - the media - is an omnipresent beast, and more often than not, the PR team is battling the beast rather than taming it.

2) Predictability: Since marketing is planner driven, it is also more predictable. PR, as mentioned earlier, is as unpredictable as the London weather or the Mumbai monsoons.

PR, on the other hand, has some plus points:

1) Credibility: Third party recommendations are definitely more credible than advertisements.

2) Sustainable messaging: While, for most parts, PR is about the moment, it can also use the moments to weave a thread. How many times have we seen reporters rehash their old copies, add a new twist, and publish it as a new one or as a follow up?

So why should PR and Marketing not work together? What the benefits of such a relationship?

1) Integrated communications: Normally PR is media (or other stakeholders) drive, while marketing is customer centric. If we can integrate both messaging, then the uniformity will benefit the business in the long term.

2) PR as a marketing communication tool: How many times have you seen a sales person who uses media coverage as part of his sales kit? How many times have you received a direct mailer asking you to try out a product because it has been recommended by your newspaper? How many times have you been to a showroom and seen a TV report on the company running on a kiosk or a video? PR can be an important ally in the sales process, especially during negotiations.

3) Marketing as a PR tool: In turn, how many times have you seen a report on the results of a loyalty campaign of a company? Or how many times has your advertisements been featured on ad review programmes? The media is thirsty for stories, if you can provide it to them in an interesting manner.

As usual, I would like your comments on the same.

PR debacle of Wal-Mart

2006-08-31T21:37:00.000+05:30

Wal-Mart and its 'celebrated' spokesperson Andrew Young have decided to part ways. This follows, ironically, after Young made some very strong pro-Wal-Mart comments.

Andrew Young is a prominent civil rights leader from the black community, a former mayor of Atlanta and an ex-UN ambassador. Earlier this year Young became chairman of Working Families for Wal-Mart, a nonprofit organization funded by the retail giant to combat criticism of the company.

As part of his defence of Wal-Mart's threat to small mom-and-pop shops that dot neighbourhoods, Young told the Los Angeles Sentinel that those small shops were owned by Jews, Koreans and Arabs who ripped off the black community and "are the people who have been overcharging us, selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables."

Wal-Mart denounced the statements of its spokesperson and Andy Young resigned from his post at the NPO.

What was meant to be a PR coup a few months back has turned out to be a PR debacle for Wal-Mart.

Not only has it managed to rub the black community the wrong way, but has now to contend with an angry multi-national, multi-cultural and very large customer base.

This incident brings to light the dangers of corporates hiring brand ambassadors and celebrity spokespersons. While the strengths of such an arrangement are numerous - like the celebrities ability to cut through the clutter of news - the dangers are never as apparent until something goes wrong.

What should corporates do to get a healthy business relationship going with its celebrity ambassadors?

First of all, choose them with care. Typically, the celebrity should exhibit values that are in line with those of the corporate.

Secondly, make the parameters of the arrangement crystal clear, preferably on paper. This avoids confusion during a crisis.

Thirdly, arrive at a consensus on the celebrities stand on the corporate's businesses. This might even go down to training the celebrity on how to answer questions on the corporate.

These are only risk management strategies, which will help avoid any crisis. If one does occur, then the corporate needs to take quick action to defuse the situation - as does its celebrated ally.

Follow up - a necessary evil?

2006-08-29T23:07:00.000+05:30

Blogs have an amazing way of reminding one of simple PR techniques that are partof our daily lives, but are not really paid enough attention to, by professionals.

I have just come across an interesting discussion on the badpitch blog on the importance of following up with the media on our stories.

It is something we do everyday, almost by rote. It helps form opinions on the journalists and often dictate strategies. How often have we told our clients, "lets not pitch the story to that guy, he is a risky proposition"?

Maybe there is a better way of doing this, if we spend some time on the follow up process. Every PR professional would most likely keep a record of his/her conversations with the media on a topic, especially in the case of follow up. If someone could integrate this data, then it might lead to some interesting solutions.

The story might not have got carried due to a variety of reasons:

1) Not interesting enough - in this case, a follow up is absolutely essential to provide additional information to the journalist.

2) The journalist did not get enough time to file the report, he still needed to research some facts - again, the follow up is essential for obvious reasons.

3) The journalist had another story to file - someone else has outsmarted you, and you need to take corrective action asap.

4) The journalist forgot - Why didn't you follow up?

So maybe, the guy you thought was not worth pitching to, could actually get you a story published, if you understand him well enough. Following up is a tool that will help you do that.

Don't journalists get irritated by follow up calls? Of course, they will, if your attitude is tuned towards getting the story out, rather than help the journalist to do it in a better fashion. Following up, as in any communication, should add value to the journalist, not just remind him/her that the onus is on him/her to get it published.

What do you think?

Is this the start of the REAL Google vs Microsoft war

2006-08-28T21:22:00.000+05:30

This week, Google is likely to launch the first real threat to Microsoft through its Google Apps for Your Domain, a software bundle aimed at small and midsize companies. Information Week has a detailed insight into the Google strategy on the much await office suite.

The package will combine Google's email, calendar and instant messaging with website creation software. Later this year, Google will also add its Writely word processor and Google Spreadsheets to the package. These are softwares that are in direct competition to MS Word and MS Excel. But the competition is not that straightforward.

Google does not plan to offer these software offline. This means that you have to be connected to the internet to use the office suites. This limits the usage of the package a great deal. Does this mean Microsoft is safe? Maybe, for the time being...

But Google does not seem to give in so easily. It has a great counterpunch to hurt Microsoft. Google provides users the facility to translate the file on to the Google format once they share the files online. This means that you can store your files online and then work on it wherever you are, through the internet. For all those of you who spend the best part of your life in airport lounges, this could be the news you were waiting for.

So what is the catch?

One: A privacy issue. The Google package demands that the data is stored on the Google databank, not on your office server. How many of us would be comfortable with sharing our business intelligence with an outsider?

Two: Advertising. Google intends to use its keyword advertising in the documents created through the software. This means that your report on competition benchmarks could be linked to various potential advertisers sites. This, at the very least, could be intrusive and irritating.

Why am I writing about this? Because the activity presents a unique opportunity and a risk in communication management.

How should Google propogate this message? And how should Microsoft counter it?

Google must present the package as one of "convenience in mobility". It should not present this as an alternative to MS applications, but as a step ahead in communication.

Google must allay fears on privacy, for me, this will be primary risk. It will also have to explain how it will make online advertising non-intrusive. Google is smart, it understands that business documentation needs to be meddled with very carefully. Therefore, it is going to test the waters with a free demo before it enters the market big time.

Microsoft, on the other hand, should play the Quality and Durability card, big time. It should go all out to woo small businesses that are the primary targets of Google. Small businessmen are averse to taking risks, especially with their business intelligence. Microsoft must play to this sense of caution through their messaging. It must also attack the offline customer with full force. Because, these guys are going to go online some time soon.

The war is going to start next week. It will be an interesting one - both as a business and communication management. One that might define the future of computing....

Astroturfing - a new name for an old phenomenon?

2006-08-27T13:06:00.000+05:30

The debate on astroturfing has been raging on the blogosphere recently. Just wanted to do a reality check on the phenomenon.

What is astroturfing? If you search for the term in wiki, you will find the following description:

"the term astroturfing describes formal public relations projects which deliberately seek to engineer the impression of spontaneous, grassroots behavior. The goal is the appearance of independent public reaction to a politician, political group, product, service, event, or similar entities by centrally orchestrating the behavior of many diverse and geographically distributed individuals."

Wiki goes on to give some examples on astroturfing techniques:

"Astroturfing techniques usually consist of a few people discreetly posing as mass numbers of activists advocating a specific cause. Supporters or employees will manipulate the degree of interest through letters to the editor, e-mails, blog posts, crossposts, trackbacks, etc. They are instructed on what to say, how to say it, where to send it, and how to make it appear that their indignation, appreciation, joy, or hate is entirely spontaneous and independent; thus being "real" emotions and concerns rather than the product of an orchestrated campaign. Local newspapers are often victims of astroturfing, by publishing letters that are identical to letters other newspapers have received.
It has become easier to structure an astroturfing campaign because the cost and effort to email (especially a pre-written, sign-your-name-at-the-bottom email) is so low. Companies may use a boiler room, full of telephones and computers, where hired activists locate people and groups that create enthusiasm for the specified cause. Also, the use of psychographics allows hired supporters to persuade their targeted audience. This correlates with the merge-purge technique that combines information about an individual from multiple databases. Companies can then turn hypothetical supporters into activists for the cause. This leads to misuse of the Internet, for one person is able to play the role of a whole group of like-minded people."

Now, is this not a normal phenomenon in today's world? If you remember the Reliance embroglio, the warring camps leaked all kinds of information to select media which made life miserable for each other. Then we saw different "independent" personalities pitching in with support, of course, with "appropriate" media coverage.

So it is wrong if PR professionals advocate this practice as a tool?

As usual, I invite comments.

On the cola controversy in India

2006-08-17T20:20:00.000+05:30

Somehow I am impressed by the way communication professional often turn to emotional tactics to send a message across target segments,especially if the message is weak. There has been a lot of talk in India over the banning of colas in two states.

Most of the blogs tend to veer the discussions on how Indian states are taking on American representations of power - Coke and Pepsi. Just want the discussion to keep in mind the following points:

1) Pepsi and Coke do not represent the US in any way in India. They are in India to further their business interests and not in anyway to promote American interests. To link their business to their Mother Nation's interest is akin to LN Mittal's takeover of Arcelor being a part of Indian invasion of Europe.

2) The two companies claim that they are following the law of the land. If this is true, and it is a big IF, then the problem is not with the companies but with the law. Change the law, and then ask the companies to change the products.

3) As mentioned, transparancy is something that is lacking in thewhole controversy. And that is not limited to the two companies. The media has also been fairly biased in the reportage. It is all very well to look at the loss to the companies, but what about the bigger issue of small retailers who make a living by selling sundryp roducts including the drinks.I am in no way defending the companies involved. I believe if they have violated the law, then they should pay the penalty.

But the entire discussion should have been on the presence of pesticides in edible substances - and not focus only on the colas.

Does PR provide value?

2006-08-08T23:04:00.000+05:30

A post on this subject on Media Rover should be a must read for PR professionals. It deals with the (useless) terms used in the industry to convince clients of the value of PR.

So what do we, as pr professionals, do? First of all we should quit talking about the value of publicity to the clients. Instead, we should talk about a SOV (share of voice) parameter of the client with respect to competition. That will give him an idea of where he stands vis-a-vis competition.

Is that enough? I don't think so. We should also advice the client on how to turn the media coverage into marketing communication tools. There are various methods of doing this - from putting it on the company website to using the coverage in direct marketing activities.

These can be measured better and will result in the actual RoI for the client.

Blogging - The end of media, as we know it. Or is it?

2006-08-08T22:31:00.000+05:30

It has been some time since my last post, primarily due to the fact that I was debating on the effectiveness of blogging as a communication tool. I have been doing a lot of search, and have found that bloggers tend to believe that public relations professionals and journalists act as gatekeepers of information - rather than disseminate the information in the true form.

This has intrigued me no end. And an interesting article in the New Yorker has added fuel to the fire.

I believe blog is a communication tool just as the print or broadcast media. Today's bloggers remind me of trainee reporters in media - full of enthusiasm but little else. As a tribe, we need to understand that freedom of expression does not absolve us of basic ethical responsibilities. Otherwise we will end up like Dean Jones, currently embroiled in the Hashim Amla controversy - with egg on our face.

Will blogs replace newspapers? I find in hard to believe that it will happen in the short term. First of all, there is the issue of last mile connectivity. How many cities in the world have wi-fi connectivity? How many public transportation systems are internet enabled?

Then there is the issue of personal touch. Would you like to read your paper in the tube or on the net? How many of us stopped subscribing to newspapers after the advent of tv and the internet?

A blog is an online diary - and diaries always remain personal in nature, always subjective, opinionated and passionate. The traditional media will need to present news the opposite manner - in a dispassionate, objective and fair manner. That the media sometimes forgets this is a matter of concern, but it is not a life-threatening disease, it is just a symptom.

Maybe blogs can turn out to be the bitter medicine require to cure the media, rather than kill it!

Ford Bold Moves

2006-08-01T20:29:00.000+05:30

Ford Motor Company has, nowadays, been subjected to a fair amount of ridicule in the media. And the worst ridicule heaped on the company has been the blissful ignorance of the company in the media circles, because the media loves a winner (Toyota and Honda) and also loves a potential loser (GM).

There is no time for the media to look at a company that is trying to fight it out the long, hard way. Because, it takes a long time, and the media looks for news that happens by the minute. So, what does Ford do to get to the consumers? Well, create a Blog!!

Ford Bold Moves, according to the blog, is a weekly updated video documentary series that takes you inside Ford as it attempts one of the largest corporate turnarounds in history. As a PR professional, I must admit, it takes a lot of guts to do something like this.

The blog, in colours of white, black and red is a frank appraisal of problems being faced by Ford and, this is a very important "and", the steps being taken at Ford to solve them. And, they have captured it on camera and posted it as episodes on the blog. It has also got the latest news feeds and some other independent reports as well.

If there is any such thing as hope in the face of adversity, Ford would like to personify that emotion.

Will it work? We need to wait and watch. But one thing is certain, this is one of the most daring PR exercises we have seen in a long time.

Will blogs kill PR?

2006-07-31T21:27:00.000+05:30

Roland Tanglao has an interesting point in his PR is dead rant on globalprblogweek.com. He espouses the belief that once blogging gains popularity as a mode of communication, public relations will slowly become irrelevant to corporations.

This is akin to the belief that television would sound the death knell of newspapers. On the contrary, we have seen that not only have newspapers flourished after the advent of television, but they also formed a mutually beneficial relationship. How many times have we seen news channels cover a story broken by a newspaper, just as the number of times newspapers have analysed (the next day) stories broken by TV channels. Both the media have understood that they are, at the end of the day, infomediaries - the audience will choose the mode of communication.

Similarly, blogging will be the new form of communication, but by no means, will it be the cause of extinction of PR. A true PR professional will look to promote the message in all forms possible. This will not only include traditional media like print (and now TV), but also new media (Internet, blogs, mobile news etc). Rather than dying, PR is likely to use blogging as another tool.

However, the danger lies in the fact that many PR professionals tend to act as courier boys - sending press releases to all media and then following up for coverage. We should understand that PR should strategise, conceptualize, implement, improve and consolidate a communication exercise.

The message should hit the right audience, at the right time, in the right manner - all the time. Isn't that what communication is all about?

Should we pitch stories on holidays?

2006-07-30T15:27:00.000+05:30

An article on bulldogreporter titled "Cut Through the Clutter—and Competition—by Pitching the Press and Returning Media Calls During Traditional Vacation Days, Suggests LA Times Insider" throws up an interesting idea.

PR professionals have a five day week and tend to keep it that way, unless their clients require some work to be done on a Saturday. But we forget that the newspapers come out everyday and tv channels work on sundays too. Saturdays and Sundays are normally lean days for media, since nothing much happens during this time. So is this one of the better periods to get a story out?

The benefits are huge. There is a lot of space available in the paper, so the chances of your story getting published is huge. With the advent of the internet, the journalist need not even be at the office, he/she can file the story from home. I feel many of the journos will also be happy to get a byline out on a lean day. I have also noticed that photographs tend to be slightly bigger on weekends.

But then, what are the disadvantages? The big one - the PR guy has to work on a weekend (unthinkable, come to think of it). Then biggest one - the client has to spend some time on work too. Now, how many clients would agree to this? Very few, I would presume. And, God save you, if the report is finally not published!!

So is there a solution that can make this idea work? One possible way of getting this out is to brief the media guy a day in advance on the story and ask him to keep it for the weekend. Many journalists ridicule the desk for cutting the report for want of space. He/She will not face this problem on a weekend!!

Equally important is briefing the client. Try this out for what are called the "storyless stories" pitches first - the ones with very little news value. A weekend report can be analytical, which means you can provide a better perspective to the report then. I would invite your feedback on this.

The RoI dilemma

2006-07-29T21:07:00.000+05:30

I have been reading with interest various blogs on pr recently. One that particularly caught my attention was What does PR mean to people on indiapr.

My interactions with various professionals in the field have left me in no doubt that Corporate Communication is on the growth path, and on the right side of the road. What does this discipline bring to the table? Well, for one, it keeps you in the news! And two, it keeps you in the right kind of news.

The problem lies in the RoI front. Everyone knows that PR or Corp Comm brings in (almost) free publicity for the corporate. So the normal route followed by most PR professionals is to calculate the AVEs and present it to the client after factoring in a credibility factor. If I have got a two column article on the right hand corner of page 4 of a newspaper, is it of any value to my client? My AVE analysis, which is the cost of putting an ad at that spot, is actually worthless, since no one is anyway going to place their ad there. So what do we tell our client?

Getting into form

2006-07-28T22:40:00.000+05:30

I have been looking around for interesting blogs on the PR. Have blogged two of them...

One of the interesting points that came to my mind when going through various PR and Marketing blogs was that most of them are operated by consultants. Very few have actually got any inputs from clients, neither have many companies put up ideas on how to improve their communication.

If you find any, I would love to know about it...

Public Relations India|Open Source PR

2006-07-28T22:20:00.000+05:30

Public Relations IndiaOpen Source PR

Public Relations India|Open Source PR

2006-07-28T22:19:00.000+05:30

Public Relations IndiaOpen Source PR

Ogling at blah blah

2006-07-28T21:24:00.000+05:30

A blog is blah-blah(bl)+ogle(og) on the internet, according to a friend of mine. Coming from a fairly learned soul on matters concerning the virtual world, I would tend to take his words fairly seriously.

So why this blog? Because I like blah-blah and would love to have people ogling at me, albeit through my blog.

However, I hope to raise some issues through random thoughts posted on this facility. And get some solutions to these issues.

There I go again, blah blah, blah, blah......

I am told this is the hottest form of communication in the world nowadays. Hmm.... let's see....