20 Hats: Thinking Cap

Public Relations Play of the Day

LRAD acoustic nonlethal device in NOLA at Superdome
Originally uploaded by xeni.

Congratulations to New Orleans! The city will unveil the Superdome tonight when the New Orleans Saints host the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.

The Superdome has undergone a $184 million makeover to rid it of the stench and physical damage caused when 30,000 plus people sought refuge there during Hurricane Katrina.

Holding an event at the Superdome is a critical public relations move and one that I think is brilliant.

There could be some backlash today though. Officials need to be prepared to answer questions about why such a large amount of money was spent on the Superdome while some areas of the city still are without utilities and infrastructure.

Working with the Media: Media Mistakes

Reading1
Originally uploaded by Ughman.

From time to time we have a client who is annoyed that the media has gotten something wrong about them in a story. Typically, the error is something like giving someone a wrong title or paraphrasing a quote. Sometimes it’s factual (do you mean the error?) in nature.

Although your boss may be hacked off that something is wrong, this situation begs the question of whether the error is important enough to correct or if asking for a correction would basically amount to nit-picking.

To make this determination, take a step back and assess just how damaging the error is. Is it worth jeopardizing future coverage from the publication?

In most cases, it’s not.

Although the error may cause an internal political issue - such as your CEO being referred to as president - most readers won’t even notice or remember the individual’s title in the article.

Demanding a retraction or correction for something that is primarily creates internal upheaval is a bad idea. Ditto when the “error” involves the misuse of industry jargon or terminology.

Instead, be sure to clarify any confusion upfront the next time you work with that same publication. In addition, work between stories to cultivate a better relationship with individual reporters.

Blog Policy Police

Clients and reporters alike have asked me recently whether I think a business should have a blog policy in regards to its employees’ postings (both on personal sites and the company’s site) about the organization..

I have mixed emotions on this topic.

I believe strongly in freedom of speech and its protection. However, I also think that any organization has a right to monitor and control what its employees are publishing about that organization.

This is especially true if the information is libelous, proprietary, or in violation of another employee’s or client’s privacy.

I think the best blog policy is simply an extension of your employment agreement. It should remind employees that harassing behavior, sharing of trade secrets, disclosure of proprietary information, etc., whether made verbally or electronically, is not tolerated. Many fields, such as health care, deal with patient or client information that must be kept confidential, and those restrictions should apply to blogging as well.

A good policy should also remind employees that the personal image they portray on the Internet will impact the public’s perception of their employer. In particular employees of non-profit organizations or organizations that work with children, should be careful of what they say and who they openly associate with on the Internet.

Charlene Li of Forrester Research, provides the following sample policy on her blog:

1. Make it clear that the views expressed in the blog are yours alone and do not necessarily represent the views of your employer.
2. Respect the company’s confidentiality and proprietary information.
3. Ask your manager if you have any questions about what is appropriate to include in your blog.
4. Be respectful to the company, employees, customers, partners, and competitors.
5. Understand when the company asks that topics not be discussed for
   confidentiality or legal compliance reasons.
6. Ensure that your blogging activity does not interfere with your work commitments.