Why I love PR...

Earlier today I helped judge public relations campaigns for a major chapter of a major marketing communications association.   The quality of the entries I judged (I won’t say what category!) was better than in years past and several of the campaigns were outright brilliant.

However, not naming names, one campaign, bothered me so much that I thought it was close to PR malpractice.   The strategy and execution on this campaign were terrific, but when it came to reporting out the media results, my jaw simply dropped and I kept muttering, “this can’t be, this can’t be.”    The entry reported 11 million placements from Road Runner, 17 million on USAToday.com, 1.865 million placements from KSL.com and a herculean 150 million placements from Yahoo.

I know measurement of public relations results is a trick business, but come on, half the US population did not read an article about this campaign via Yahoo.

But it gets better.

To the right of the “circulation figures,” were reported “Publicity Values,” apparently the monetary value of the placements.   Without explaining their rationale, the authors reported the above-mentioned Yahoo article was worth $28,000 and the USAToday.com placement commanded a sticker-shocking $1 million.   The poor old KSL.com placement was worth only $230.73.  

Oh, six million impressions from CBS.com were worth $29.74.   I checked that twice.

So what the hell gives here?   Did the managing director, who signed the entry, not pay attention?  Does the agency think its clients won’t notice?  Or do they actually believe this garbage?   Public relations has a hard enough time managing credibility.  It doesn’t need to be subverted from the inside.

Fond farewell to my mother...

A year ago today, my mom passed away.     This the eulogy I delivered at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Redwood City, Calif.   Though she could be a pain, we all miss her...

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The words etched on the state capitol in Sacramento are “Bring me men to match my mountains.”

If you forget the semi-sexist peccadillo, bring me people to match my mountains is a good description of my mother’s journey from small towns in Western Colorado and Wyoming to San Francisco and Redwood City, where she spent 3/4^th of her 96 years on this earth.

Of course she wasn’t physically grand like the Sierras or her beloved Rocky Mountains.    But nonetheless she was in many, many ways both  grand and strong. 

Grand in her concern and love for her friends and her family, which were her anchors and the center of her life.   How she doted over her grandchildren Matthew and Adam and how her voice rekindled when talking to the kids.

Grand in her faith and love of her church—St Peter’s in Redwood City-- where she remained active both as a parishioner and as a volunteer for nearly 65 years.  

And grand in her keen mind.  At 96 she still played bridge every week—and played pretty well…  far better than I will ever be able to play.

Her strength was on display in many ways. 

That she lived in her own well maintained home until well past 90.  

Of course she would insist I mention how many years ago she was rescued from a burning cruise ship off Alaska, hoisted from the “inferno” by a Coast Guard helicopter.  Our very own Kate Winslet.   

But more important, her strength unfolded as she raised her immediate family—my brother and I, largely alone, instilling in us both values about treating others with respect and wisdom about the world around us.   

My mother saw the 20^th century unfold and eclipse; and a new century born.   She described for me how folks still rode horses when she was young and worried over polio and whooping cough.   But in her later years, she marveled over the worldwide web, or as she called it, “The Intercom.”

But if we pull back the camera lens, my mom was a example of what Tom Brokaw called, “the greatest generation.”   A generation incubated in the Great Depression, a generation coming of age in the Second World War, then turning to the tough and mundane job of raising kids and raising a nation.   And we all have to admit they did a darn good job of it.  

A thousand of the greatest generation are passing away every day, I am told.    Passing on, but leaving an indelible impact on us all, especially their children and grandchildren.   To all of them of the greatest generation, and especially to my mother, we tip our hats and lift our glasses.

They were and they are all people to match the mountains of the West.

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Where the Jobs Are...

The following chart, courtesy of Linkedin, summarizes data in the Economic Report of the President, showing the growth or decline of various industries between 2007 and 2011.   The sad news, of course, is that the newspaper industry is constricting.   I believe, however, that we are going to see resurgence in the coming years, as papers reconfigure and discover how to make a profit in the digital market.

Pharma is also in bad shape.  But just as with newspapers, if biopharmaceutical companies can figure out how to work efficiently when margins are thin and the risks high, they will come out okay.   The “desires” that both industries address—the thirst for information and the imperative for good health—are not going away anytime soon.  Anytime ever.  

What so clear about Clear Channel?

What so clear about Clear Channel?

I’m honestly trying to avoid partisan politics on this blog because (1.) there’s way too much political venom elsewhere and (2.) others sink their fangs in far better than I do.

But from time-to-time I can’t help myself.   While every news outlet has piled on Rush Limbaugh, and rightly so; and advertisers have deserted him like he has a touch of Ebola, his syndicators have been singularly silent.   Are Clear Channel Communications and its subsidiary Premier Radio Networks putting ratings ahead of common decency?   Come on guys, show some guts and denounce your star, even if he brings you a pile of cash.    Other outlets have repudiated their errant stars, (Imus and Keith Olbermann come to mind immediately), even if they too were cash cows.

Thinking maybe I missed some apology or knuckle rap from Clear Channel I looked over their most recent news releases (see below).   As I suspected, not a peep.

Clear Channel Press Releases

2.29.2012	Outdoor
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Prices Senior Subordinated Notes And Declares Special Cash Dividend
02.29.2012	MediaAndEntertainment
Tim Castelli Named Executive Vice President Of Digital Sales For Clear Channel Media And Entertainment
02.28.2012	Outdoor
Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Announces Proposed Private Offering Of Senior Subordinated Notes
02.27.2012	MediaAndEntertainment
Pamela Wallace Named Chief Financial Officer For Clear Channel Digital
02.24.2012	Corporate
John Hogan Promoted to Chairman and CEO Of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment

Premiere Radio Networks Press Releases

Thursday, March 1st 2012
Media Alert: Petros and Money to Broadcast Live from Cirivello's Sports Stop in Long Beach


                  Wednesday, February 29th 2012
FOX Sports Radio To Simulcast "UFC on FX: Fight Night" This Friday


Tuesday, February 28th 2012
The Bobby Bones Show's Lunchbox Completes Marathon With No Training


  Friday, February 24th 2012
Nick and Artie now on SportsRadio WIP, Philadelphia

Public Retreating from Health Information?

The conventional wisdom in public relations and medical education is that consumers have an insatiable appetite for health information. I came across a study recently by the Center for Studying Health System Change that suggests the contrary: the public may have reached the saturation point in seeking medical information and may in fact be turning its back on information that explains medical conditions and treat alternatives.

The findings, published in January, said 50 percent of Americans sought information about personal health concerns, down from 56 percent in 2007. The percent of individuals searching hardcover books, newspapers and magazines declined by nearly 50 percent (to 18 percent) during this period.

While this might be explained by the general decline of paper-based media, online resources did not offset it, the use of which for health-seeking information only increased from 31 percent to 33 percent between 2007 and 2010. While the decline was seen across all demographic segments, older Americans, people with chronic diseases and the less educated led the retreat away from health information. The Center findings are supported by the Deloitte 2011 Survey of Health Care Consumers in the U.S. that found only 43 percent of Americans look online for information about treatment options –considerably less than the 55 percent use in 2009.

 What explains this retrenchment? The Center suggests one reason is the across-the-board decline in print media generally. It is true that the “news hole” for health news is shrinking in newspapers. But it is an incomplete explanation, since older people remain fans of to the printed word and can find alternatives when their local newspaper pink slips its health columnist.

 Another partial answer is that the recession and its aftershocks slowed down health spending generally-- Health Affairs last month reported the slowest growth in health spending in 51 years. If one can’t afford to go to the doctor, one also won’t wish read about his ailments? I think there are other explanations as well: We may have simply reached the saturation point: every consumer who is interested in health information is availing himself to it. (That may account for the plateauing of interest, but alas, not its decline.) Another possibility: We know there is an across the board decline of consumer trust of all information sources. While online sources were once immune, this may be changing as consumers try to hack through the thicket of health websites and often stumble on inaccurate articles, extraordinary claims and conflicting advice. Maybe, they might presume, the old way to get info was just fine: ask one’s doctor.

 What are the implications for public relations?

 We must continue to be students of “information anthropology,” closely examining the news gathering habits of specific groups or audiences and lay out for our clients the most likely and efficient ways to reach groups. This may mean discarding long held believes such as the importance of The New York Times and the newsweeklies; to be fair, it also may mean turning away from social media channels if definitive research suggests this is not where the eyeballs are.

 The media tracking monitoring services should see this as an opportunity to provide greater service by helping illuminate these channels. If the public is cynical about online health content, we must do a better job assuring them of the accuracy and appropriateness of content we are responsible for. Does this mean an industry-wide “Good Housekeeping Seal?” Perhaps, if that’s what it takes to build consumer confidence.