VerveCast

Like many of you, I woke up this morning and turned on the TV to see what looked like a low-budget action movie being shown on my local news station. Swat teams everywhere, the focus was on a white home. Officers had guns aimed at the house and were shuffling residents down the stairs. A possible apprehension was taking place right before my eyes, and I was shockingly close to the action. I couldn’t believe it was happening in real life and in real time.

The shot switched from the live view to a photo that had been Tweeted by a resident (@samanthae0) in lockdown near the scene. (I still can’t get over the fact that she took the time to add a filter.)

The media coverage this morning of the ‘Boston Bombings Manhunt’ was unlike any I have ever seen. Between the proximity of the cameras to the scene and the images from social media sites, I felt as if I were there.

Over the past few years, we’ve been seeing news media using content from social media outlets more and more. Every other day I see a dancing dog from YouTube on my local station. But it’s being used for actual news, too. Earlier this week, we saw that Texas fertilizer plant explode before our eyes via a YouTube video.

While social media can serve as an amazing tool for providing instantaneous news and reports, it can also act as an impactful source to perpetuate false information, like we saw with some of the early reporting on the Boston suspects. Now, I’m not knocking social media. I just want to point out that because it is often used as a source for traditional media, we need to make sure the correct messages are going out.

Earlier this week, Cedar wrote a post that gave companies some social media tips to follow when a big national tragedy occurs. But what if a crisis arises—be it large or small—that directly relates to your company? How do you control the messages that might eventually end up in the news media via social media? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

1)      Everyone’s a reporter. Social media makes anyone on the street a source. Always watch who you and your employees are talking to and what you say.

2)     Monitor social media. Of course, as a brand you should always be monitoring social media to learn what the public is saying about you. But in a crisis situation, this is especially important. You need to be able to address inaccurate information in a timely manner to help set the record straight.

3)    Prepare statements. In any crisis, one of the first things you should do is prepare an official statement and get that out to all of your company’s representatives. Anyone who interacts with the public should know exactly what to say to keep your messaging accurate and consistent.

4)    Create a social media policy. It goes without saying that having a solid social media policy in place is one of the best ways to ensure others on social media are hearing your message. (Refer back to Cedar’s post for more on this.)

As the line between traditional media and social media continues to get thinner and thinner, be sure the right messages are getting out to everyone, be it news reporter or man on the street.

(See also, a previous blog post I wrote on crisis communications.)

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of visiting Washington, DC, to celebrate a really great project we’ve worked on for the past couple years with our client, InterContinental Milwaukee. The hotel was named a finalist in PR News’ Corporate Social Responsibility awards in the category of Corporate-Community Partnership for its Pink Room, a program in which a portion of the proceeds from each guest’s stay in one of the pink-clad rooms is donated to a local breast cancer support organization, ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

The awards luncheon took place at the National Press Club, just about two blocks from the White House and one of the most famous conference facilities in the country, known for hosting global leaders in government, politics, and business.

While the Pink Room didn’t come out on top in its category, it received an honorable mention award—which truly is an honor when listed among companies like Toys R Us (category winner), Craftsman, and WWE.

Prior to the awards luncheon, I participated in the PR News’ PR Writing Workshop led by Michael Long, Director of Writing at Georgetown University. During the three-hour class, we got back to the basics of good PR writing. After you’ve been in the industry awhile, you start to get swayed by what clients want (even though they might not have any experience in PR) and can sometimes lose sight of how things should actually be done to get results. The class was a great refresher course, reminding me of simple principles that can be forgotten in the hustle of the workday. Some examples:

• Think before you write
• Keep your goal in mind
• One sentence equals one idea
• Adopt the perspective of others

Sunday afternoon, I also had the opportunity to do some exploring. The weather was beautiful as I took in the sites.

A big congratulations to the Pink Room team and everyone who has worked to make the program a success! I’m honored to be a part of it.

If you’re a huge sports fan (read: attractive, male athlete fan) like myself, you’ve probably heard about the new Braun/Rodgers restaurant set to open in Brookfield in June. The original name for the restaurant was launched as 8*twelve, a play on their two numbers. However, it was announced yesterday the name has changed to 8-twelve.

According to Fox 6, the asterisk was removed and replaced with a dash in an effort to avoid any negativity that might be associated with something that looks like an asterisk, given Braun’s hectic off-season.

Umm, eek! Although I personally find the asterisk situation pretty hilarious, I likely wouldn’t if I was associated with the brand. I’m not sure what would have been worse, leaving the asterisk in to be potentially noticed by not that many people, or taking it out and having the media broadcast why the name had changed. The main takeaway here is to make sure you have all your ducks in a row before publicly launching your new brand.

(Side note: this story totally brought to mind my brother-in-law, whom we call “Asterisk” when playing board games, given his inclination to win using questionable tactics.)

Timothy Westbrook working in The Pfister's studio.

Perhaps you’ll recall a post of mine from a few months back about the search for the next Pfister Hotel Artist in Residence. Well, the lucky artist was selected and has now been set up in the hotel for about a month.

Timothy Westbrook is a talented, young fiber artist from upstate New York who made the big move to pursue the Pfister’s residency. If you have not met him, you should make your way to The Pfister and check out his work, which is primarily crafted from recycled materials such as cassette tape (and even The Pfister’s retired bedsheets!).

Here’s a great feature segment from CBS 58 on Timothy and the artist-in-residence program.

Earlier this week, we hosted a media training session for a handful of clients. We invited the “trainees” out to our office for the full sneaky reporter, camera-in-your-face session. And it was fun—for us. In honor of that session, here are some basic tips to keep in mind if you ever find yourself in the media spotlight.

• Remember to smile
• Be brief and to the point
• Think in “sound bites.” Prepare answers ahead of time as you would for a job interview. Make sure to cover your key messages in your responses.
• Stay in control of the interview. Use bridging techniques to bring it back to the point you’d like to make.
• Open up closed questions by expanding upon your answers
• Never lie or say “no comment”
• Remember, nothing is ever “off the record”

As you might guess, there’s a lot more that goes into media interviews, but those are some of the most important points to keep in mind. And don’t forget to relax and have fun!