The PR Practitioner

Well, it seems that my blog has gone awry. I clicked on my blog today and realized that we are experiencing some technical difficulties, but they shouldn’t last long.

So with that said, I think it’s time to get back in the swing of things and catch back up on the current news!

Many of you may relate to this next topic, but I recently bought Microsoft Word 2007. Yes, I like it’s new look, but I didn’t purchase it completely out of love. Shortly after my trial version ended, I learned that I could no longer restore the Word 97-2003 edition on my computer.

I googled the problem and found that apparently I wasn’t the only one. I tried to delete all the plug-ins from the trial, and empty the Recycle Bin. Then I tried to find the 97-2003 Word files, but to no avail.

It seems that the trial version simply adds plug-ins to your old version, but there’s not a way to separate the two anymore. It simply becomes an expired version of Word 2007 once your trial is over, and you have to buy the new one.

I pray that this is not an attempt by Microsoft to manipulate Word users like me, because it really reflects poorly on the company if that is the case. Especially with a new product out, now is not the time to make your potential customers angry.

I never found any literature on microsoft.com to fix the problem, but I may have missed it somehow.

So here is my solution. If you have been able to restore your old version of Word, please leave comments on how you did that. Apparently there are a lot of frustrated people out there who are now without Word or having to buy the new version. Thank you in advance!

Hallelujah! Red Lobster is in stage two of three in a rebranding campaign to reclaim its once better reputation.

There are a whole list of restaraunts like Shoney’s and Red Lobster that have needed a face lift for a long time.

To be honest, I hope Red Lobster does a better job of rebranding itself than Shoney’s is doing. If I were the CEO of Shoney’s I’d say it’s time for a new name, a new identity.

I do hope for their sake that Shoney’s makes a come back, but I won’t be there to see it. Red Lobster, however, is still going fairly strong in some cities so at least they have caught on to their deficiencies before the entire world did.

Rebranding is the like the second chance that will sink you forever if it isn’t does right. There may be exceptions to that rule, but I haven’t found too many. Restaraunts are one of those institutions that can go down so quickly and everyone will know about it.

So Red Lobster, be smart and be quick. And do it right the second time.

The New York Times is planning to cut costs by $230 million in the next two years, according to PR Week, due to falling advertising revenues and asset sells.

Sadly, I think we are watching newspapers die, though I hate to admit that fact.

I think a lot of us would like to see newspapers succeed, unless they are your competition, but it’s not looking good right now.

When the New York Times is cutting $230 million of costs in two years, something is really wrong.

It also looks like their online revenue won’t be able to make up for the print news deficiencies.

This could be chalked up to a bad quarter for the newspaper, but unfortunately, most newspapers are struggling with decreased revenue.

If you haven’t seen the EPIC video, made by Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson, it will definitely get your mind racing about the future of the internet, newspapers and social media.

I thought it would be way too exaggerated to begin with, but it certainly has some merit to it’s futuristic scenarios.

After watching that video, it really is strange to see the New York Times and other papers downsizing.

If newspapers will get creative with their target markets and figure out a more updated strategies to increase subscribers and advertisers, maybe they will take a turn for the better. I think there’s a chance, but I’m not so sure if they continue in their highly respected but somewhat out-of-date ways.

According to PR Week, the ongoing debate of targeting children for less than nutritional foods is still in full force. Last week PepsiCo, McDonald’s, General Mills and Coca-Cola agreed to limit the amount of advertising they use toward children under the age of 12.

In addition to this, the companies will “set basic nutritional standards for foods they advertise.”

The Council for Better Business Bureaus is also doing this in order to prevent government regulation on these companies, which is a great idea. Why not set the rules yourself ahead of time and be able to call the shots later?

Though some companies’ PR will be heavily affected, it will at least keep the companies in better control of the future standards that might be imposed inevitably.

With this issue becoming more controversial, I’d say this is good publicity for each of these companies and will help build their credibility for concerned parents who will find out about their decisions.

Ultimately, however, I have to point the finger at the parents when it comes to their child’s nutrition. I am happy for the children whose parents couldn’t care less what they eat, because at least some companies will target them less.

But if you’re child is overweight because they eat food that’s unhealthy, it ain’t McDonald’s fault. You are there parent and that is your responsibility. Remember, a little now and then won’t kill them, but a lot all the time, is a land mine.

I have to admit when I hear the name “Casio,” I just think of the 1990s. But after reading in PRWeek that Casio is creating a camera that is “YouTube” compatible, I thought wow, this could be big.

Casio’s PR manager, Melissa Keklak, said that Casio “has always been a youthful-type, trendy company and that some of the company’s achievements have been overlooked in the past.

I think this is a great move for Casio, but like Keklak said, other camera makers won’t be far behind.

The camera is supposed to allow recording, storing and easier uploading to YouTube and will be targeted mainly to a younger audience.

According to Rachel Max, account supervisor at Coyne PR, Casio will be emphasizing the “innovation and simplicity” of the camera for older audiences.

Casio is already planning their holiday seasons with advertisements for the new camera and early retail displays to let consumers see the camera’s features.

After reading this, I think the company and staff are making good PR decisions. They’re thinking ahead of the game by cornering a huge market with their idea and they’re targeting to a broad audience during peak seasons.

I hope it works out for them, and it’s sounding pretty interesting so far. Maybe I’ll get one under my Christmas tree. Who knows?

Yes, we’ve all had that moment where we cringed when we saw that person getting off the elevator, knowing that they’re going to say hey to us and address us by name.

The problem is, you can’t remember their name to save your life! It’s so embarrassing and frustrating, and you could resort to guessing their name or simply saying, “Hey, man!” or “Hey, girl!”

And don’t even think about trying the “name fade” or other mumblings, such as, “Hey, Lu..” when her name may be Lucy or Louise or anything that starts with “L.”

It rarely works, and it’s only good for one time, if you get lucky.

Though the method depends on the situation, the best thing is obviously to do whatever it takes to find their name out from a friend or co-worker.

No, I’m not here to give memory advice, I just want to stress that false familiarity (pretending to know someone or trying to be too personal with another person) rarely works.

Until today, I didn’t realize how many people struggle with automatic nicknames, such as “Bill” for William or “Dick” for Richard, which is never a safe assumption today.

It can be offensive to the person and it’s not considerate.

I noticed myself calling a friend of mine “Matt” all the time, and one day I realized that he always referred to himself as Matthew. But I had somehow missed that.

I felt bad for calling my friend my a nickname that I had just attached to him, and one that he didn’t prefer.

The point is, no matter who you think you are, or how good your intentions may be, false familiarity rarely works and it is certainly not a good way to build relationships.

If you don’t someone personally, refer to them by the name they use to introduce themselves. If you don’t even know their name, do whatever you can to find it out.

Remember, you’re not the only one in the world who’s forgotten an acquaintance’s name. It happens all the time.

This is Dear Keri signing off.

I came across this claim as I was reading a commentary from Larry Weber of odwyerpr.com. He said that Tom Foremski, of the blog Silicon Valley Watcher, said the traditional press release is dead.

Though I can understand Foremski’s reasoning, with social media replacing so many traditional media, I just can’t agree.

Weber said, “As the social web evolves, PR professionals must shift from one-way communications (such as the press release) to participating in conversations with their clients’ various constituencies.”

While this statement is true, we must remember that press releases are generally for journalists to place in a publication. There is still the co-dependant relationship between journalists and PR professionals, to produce news.

I do agree that more two-way communication with clients is necessary, but so is the local paper for even a large company, at times.

Journalists often need and appreciate well-written press releases, and PR professionals often need those journalists to print their news.

I see how the use of the internet might reduce press releases, but I don’t expect to see them die. If newspapers die out, maybe. But then the releases would just be sent online, to an online publication, like some are done now.

Yes, a company or organization could skip the release all together and just post the news on their website, but the clout of a publication is still necessary for credibility.

I may eat my words in ten or twenty years, and I will do so humbly, but as of now I just don’t see the traditional press releases going to the dogs.

What do you think?

First of all, I would like to say that I generally find adequate information on odwyerpr.com. However, if I had the know-how, I would love to de-clutter the odwyer website.

My classmates and I have discussed the distracting ads and sea of pictures on the website, and I think it’s time that odwyer changed their look a little bit. I realize that they are identified with the more tradition style, and that can still work to their advantage, but the website is outdated.

For such a prominent website, it should appear up-to-date and make reading and searching easier for the audience. The font sizes could be streamlined and the ads need to be in one location, rather than scattered all over the page.

Again, I value the information I find on the website, but I feel like I’m dredging through the chaos in order to find an article. These simple changes could make a drastic improvement in the appearance and clarity of the website.

When I read articles or hear comments about Facebook, I can’t help but hear that famous line from The Brady Bunch. And yet, here I am writing another blog about Facebook as Kryptonite…or is it?

But to be honest, I’m a member of Facebook. Why? Because now I can at least remember the names of people I went to high school with, and it’s not so bad to be able to keep in touch with them…and the rest of the world I happen to meet in the grocery store.

This morning I stumbled upon http://studentpr.com/blog/, a blog by Chris Clarke, stating ten reasons why Facebook has “jumped the shark.”

He definitely has thought-provoking top ten reasons, though I disagree with a few.

Some of you out there may be thinking, “What is so great about Facebook?” or “Why do people care so much?”

My answer is to state the obvious. College and even middle-schoolers’ lives have changed because they’re are on Facebook. It may sound absurd, but the impact on social networking is absolutely unreal, whether good or bad, because of Facebook alone.

Let’s face it. Even parents can check up on their kids or some of their employees through another parent’s site or another child’s site.

What I find so interesting in his list is the amount of clutter and stalker-like ways that are so prevalent in regards to Facebook. It’s a joke between Facebookers! “Yeah, I was Facebook stalking and saw that…”

Ultimately, I am neutral to creating an account on Facebook or even MySpace. But I sit back, as I’m sure many others do, and marvel at how much time I can waste checking out friends-of-a-friend’s webpage.

My point is, especially after reading Chris Clarke’s blog, it’s all in moderation, people. Facebook responsibly.

Mike Stouse, global director at BMC Software, believes PR practitioners should become more business-minded.

He wrote an Op-Ed column in PRWeek in March, and the publication did an interview with him Monday to further discuss his ideas.

Stouse believes that less experienced PR practitioners tend to be creative and fall in love with an idea despite the business advantages or disadvantages it may create. He goes on to say that he was probably guilty of that in his beginner years as a PR professional.

What I found most intriguing in his interview were the practical tips he gave, such as understanding financial documents and learning to speak in business terms about business, instead of in communication terms about business.

He also submits that there are two issues that we as PR professionals face. The first is the gap between business executives and the “credibility of our profession” and also the “issue of our marketing effectiveness.”

From my limited experience, I’ve seen the gap between business and PR professionals. Even marketing and PR have a small canyon in between because of differences in theory and perhaps perception at times, but I think Stouse offers good advice.

The more we know about the “other” professions, the more credibility we build, and the better service we provide for our clients or employer.

He said the “acid test” often given is seeing if a public relations representative can read a financial document. If we can’t communicate and understand the business behind what our employer or client is trying to accomplish, then we are undercutting our effectiveness.

He says it’s a mistake to try and keep the business side from seeing what we do as PR professionals, and I definitely think that’s food for thought.

No, we don’t have to explain everything we’re doing, but why should executives (or clients for that matter) trust us when we keep them out of the loop?

According to Stouse, it seems that we can’t have one without the other. “There is a business reality out there that you have to deal with,” he says, “that everything is subordinate to.”