JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and we’re here at the PR News Media Relations Summit. I’m joined by Roger.
Roger, will you please introduce yourself?
ROGER CONNER: Hi, I’m Roger Conner, senior director of communications for Catholic Charities USA after a 25-year career as vice president of communications with Marriott, the hotel company.
BURKE: Thanks, Roger. And, you know, platinum member here, so big Marriott fan. I’ll just get that off the record right away.
CONNER: Well, I always–when–you know, I spent a life at Marriott, an entire career, and I always loved and always thanked all of those Marriott reward members, and particularly those platinum members, for their business. That’s the first thing anyone ever said at Marriott, no matter what job they were in.
BURKE: Fantastic. Now, you were just the keynote speaker at the Media Relations Summit here, and you talked about having a crisis team with five different parts. Can you share what those five parts are with the PR and communications professionals that are our audience?
CONNER: At Marriott, most recently we developed a five-part crisis communications team. It started with our writing and research team, and they were the ones that contacted the hotel or any other place where there was an incident or issue involving media, and then they wrote the message. Often the message was written in advance by research and writing. It was then handed off to the second team, which is our press and media team, and they would actually take that work and call The Media, and they were designated to speak with the media.
We had three other teams that were very helpful. One of them was internal communications, which, as we know, is critical today. Secondly–or not secondly, but a fourth team was our logistics team because there’s an awful lot of materials that need to be at the ready for responding to a crisis or an issue. And finally we had our community relations team for all our involvement with other organizations that might be part of a crisis, such as Red Cross or others.
BURKE: Great. And, Roger, what are the two things that you had mentioned that you have on your shelf ready to go in the event of any crisis?
CONNER: Well, with these five different components of our crisis communications team in place, they were working with two primary documents, or two primary tools, if you will. The first one was actually called “The First 15,” and directionally, if not in reality, it was a document that addressed how we respond to The Media, or publicly, within the first 15 minutes of any kind of major crisis or issue. And the other document was known as “The First Hour,” which actually was a little bit more practical and a little longer, and really laid out all of the roles and responsibility for the members of those five teams that must be done within the first hour.
BURKE: Great, Roger. And where can people find you or follow Catholic Charities online?
JOHNA BURKE: Hello, this is Johna Burke with BurrellesLuce, and I’m here at the PR News Media Relations Conference. I’m joined by Mark.
Mark, will you please introduce yourself?
MARK PHILLIPS: Hi, I’m Mark Phillips. I’m the vice president of communications for the USO.
BURKE: Mark, I know that you have a great campaign and a great effort of tying your business results to your PR efforts. Can you share some of the secrets of that?
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, anybody who works in this business knows that it is both an art and a science. The science is getting better, but there’s still a lot of art to it, as well. Some of the things that we try to do to capitalize on the science part are being very rigorous about clearly identifying what our goals are, our communication goals as well as our operational goals, making sure that there is a logical connection between the two, that one supports the other, and then making sure that we dedicate the resources to accurate research before we plan, good planning, execution, and then good follow-up research to determine whether or not we were successful both achieving our operational goals and our communication goals.
BURKE: That sounds like a great plan and a good practice for all of us to follow. Mark, where can people find you on Twitter?
PHILLIPS: Easiest way to find me on Twitter is @mark_phillips, P-H-I-L-L-I-P-S.
For me, it’s official – the world has gone totally mobile. The other night a commercial, on a kids’ cable channel my daughter watches, featured a Grandmother giving her little grandson (he looked about six to me) a tablet-reader for Christmas. I’ve been forewarned and won’t be shocked if my eight year old asks for one.
No wonder the rush continues for traditional media to expand to mobile devices, with some innovative apps already rolled out and others on the way:
The Economistjust launched an enhanced version of its publication for the iPad and iPhone. Readers can tweak the layout and graphs so they can receive all the robust content of the magazine, but in a format that makes sense for a small screen. “You’re trying to recreate your print magazine but redesign it to make the most of the medium,” said Oscar Grut, managing director of digital editions for The Economist.
Oprah’s O, The Oprah Magazinehas just released its iPad app to much fanfare. As described in the Marketwire release, “’I love the written word, and I love the iPad — to me, it’s another way to experience the intimacy of this magazine and its part of the future of the business,’ said Oprah Winfrey. ‘It’s a new way to connect with our readers, who are on a path of becoming their best selves.’”
New Corps’ Rupert Murdoch and Apple’s Steve Jobs recently announced they would be teaming up to create a new iNewspaper. “The collaboration, which has been secretly under development in New York for several months, promises to be the world’s first ‘newspaper’ designed exclusively for new tablet-style computers such as Apple’s iPad, with a launch planned for early next year,” writes Edward Helmore in this Guardian UK article. “According to reports, there will be no ‘print edition’ or ‘web edition.’”
In fact, there are already enough publications with apps (over 700) available to audiences and readers on the iPad that strategic research company McPheters and Company was able to put together a ten best list. “McPheters ranked the print-to-iPad products based on design, functionality and use of rich content.” The list presents an interesting mix of both newspapers and magazines covering the gamut of lifestyle, culture, politics, news, sports, food, fashion, etc. The number one spot went to The New Yorker app, with apps for newspaper circulation heavy-weights USA Today and The Wall Street Journal making the list at number eight and ten respectively. Fashion entrant Net-A-Porter made the list at number five.
Mobile applications are becoming such an integral part of the media landscape that other industry organizations are taking notice. The American Society of Magazine Editors announced that among the changes to the National Magazine Awards 2011, they will include a new award for mobile editions.
In this age of PR 3.0, how are you using mobile apps to connect with your audiences? If you use a mobile device to read newspapers and magazines, what outlets would top your list of best media apps? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
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Bio: I’ve been in the media business all of my adult life, first in newspapers before going full circle and joining BurrellesLuce, where I now direct the Media Measurement department. I’ve always enjoyed meeting and especially listening to the needs of our customers and others in the public relations and communications fields; I welcome sharing ideas through the Fresh Ideas blog. One of my professional passions is providing the type of service to a client that makes them respond, “atta girl” – inspiring our entire team to keep striving to be the best. Although I have been lucky enough to travel through much of Asia and most major U.S. cities for business or pleasure, my free time is now spent with my daughter, visiting family/friends, and of course the Jersey shore. Twitter: @domeasurement LinkedIn: Carol Holden Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Over the last 10 years the music business has resembled the “boy” in lyrics from any of the countless number of songs written over the years about “boy meets girl,” “boy loses girl,” and/or ”boys falls back in love with girl.” The music industry has been in a tailspin since 1999 (coincidentally the same year Napster was spawned). The advent of peer-to-peer services caused massive music piracy and, with free music just a click away, proved to be the direct blow that would send CD sales plummeting and ultimately crippling a once very profitable industry.
However, the music business seems to have bottomed out and actually managed to grow over the last two years (the entire British music business grew 5 percent from 2008 -2009). One way it has managed this is by returning to its roots – live performances. When I attended my first concert, (Ozzie Osborne – What was I thinking?), I had no idea at the time Mr. Osborne, for the most part, was touring as a way to market his new album. Although I would like to think the bands I saw back in the day were there because they truly enjoyed playing live (I’m sure some did), the concert was more of a live commercial to promote their new albums and get people to buy them.
These days’ bands are touring again to cash in on booming ticket sales (with top acts commanding over 100 dollars) and are laughing all the way to the bank as they play in front of sold out crowds. “Many of the acts selling out stadiums are old,” says Rob Hallet, the president of international touring at AEG Live. The top three American touring acts last year were U2 (average age: 49), Bruce Springsteen (61) and a double bill of Billy Joel (61) and Elton John (63). All have contributed to a surge in ticket prices – tripling from $1.5 billion in 1999 to $4.6 billion in 2009. It’s not that more people are going to live performances, but rather paying more per ticket. According to Pollstar, a research firm that tracks the market, the average ticket price should be $35.30 today if they increased in line with inflation. Instead the average price of a ticket costs a whopping $62.57.
Bands not only are relying on live performances. They also are looking to alternative revenue streams to help mitigate the drop in CD sales, such as merchandising, sponsorships, online streaming and emerging markets. One area that is booming is publishing. Music’s best customer is television “Watch any evening’s worth of TV and count how many times you hear music in the background,” says Jeremy Lascellas, chief executive of Chrysalis.
If the music business could figure out a way to share a synergistic relationship with the Internet, other forms of media and entertainment can surely learn from their long strange trip. Although the music industry is relying less on CD sales and more on alternative revenue streams – one thing is certain: people continue to pay a premium for quality content regardless of whether it’s coming from a 3-D movie screen ($20 average price per ticket in New York) or Mick Jagger’s 67 year old vocal pipes.
Last week, I had the pleasure of joining Southwest Missouri PRSA for their annual professional development day. The great lineup of speakers included retired Lt. Col. Joseph V. Trahan III, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA. “Doc Joe,” a self-described Cajun,has conducted hundreds of media training classes over his 30+ years for government agencies, law enforcement, higher education and non-profits. His background is so extensive that if I went further, it could easily take up more space than this post itself!
Keeping in mind that his seminars are typically 1-2 days, what follows is only a handful of “key” takeaways.
The three C’s of media relations… According to Doc Joe, the three “C’s” of media relations, especially when responding to the media, are:
Control: He says, “If you put a microphone in my face, it’s MINE!”
Competence: Clear, honest, simple information. No speculation.
Concern: For example,“Mayor Giuliani showed concern on 9/11. For a brief shining moment we were all New Yorkers.”
For any media interview, you must be prepared. No excuses.
Research the reporter’s questions, your own questions, and breakdown the elements of the news. “Be the devil’s advocate,” says Doc Joe, when thinking about what questions may be asked and how the media may respond. He advises to spend one hour of prep time for every minute of air time. If it’s a 3-7 minute standup, that means up to seven hours of prep time. When developing your responses, be sure to use “command messages” (aka talking points), statements/info that you work into responses that explain position, and be consistent with them. He also provided 10 examples of “bridging” connector phrases.
Take advantage of the off-camera time to meet and greet.
Correct any misinformation. Provide a starting point (hook). Be sure to explain any restrictions. Doc Joe calls these SAPP:
Security
Accuracy
Propriety
Policy
Ready for the Interview?
Open with a 24-40 second summary – who, what, when, where and what we’re doing about it. Listen, pause, think, then talk, when responding to media. And never repeat a negative question. Remember:
Each statement you make should be able to stand alone.
“Listen for understanding and comprehension, not to await your turn to speak.” (One of my key takeaways here.)
Tell the truth and stick to the facts. Talk only about what you know.
“Know your audience; visualize them; the reporter is a channel to the audience” ~Dr. Joe Trahan
Non-verbal cues during the interview are extremely important also. So, look at the reporter, not the camera. Remain calm, but if you “choke,” ask to try it again (if it’s not a live interview, of course). Credibility and believability are critical for the interview to be a success.
Post-Interview Best Practices Doc Joe says, after the interview, it’s okay to ask when it will air, but avoid asking for copies – you can get it later from the station or from you media monitoring service. The only real reason to get back to the reporter is if you owe him answers or if he has bona fide accuracy issues.
How do you manage your media interviews? Do you agree with these points? What would you add? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
For me, it’s official – the world has gone totally mobile. The other night a commercial, on a kids’ cable channel my daughter watches, featured a Grandmother giving her little grandson (he looked about six to me) a tablet-reader for Christmas. I’ve been forewarned and won’t be shocked if my eight year old asks for one.
Last week, I had the pleasure of joining 
