PR Can Solve Any Problem!

OK - PR can solve just about any problem. Particularly if PR is involved at all levels - all the time - I believe they can alleviate or mitigate just about anything. If a company leaves PR out of planning and decision-making, but then expects them to save the day, they will pay the price.

I do wonder if Netflix can be saved, but that goes back to my original point. Where was PR when the decisions were being made to jack the prices and split the services? If they were involved in those decisions - or even aware of them - they failed miserably. Netflix is doing too much too little too late - we need to see some fancy footwork from them, I think.

We have seen, however, major disasters in this country, and the companies (or stars) have managed to recover, thanks to great PR. I think even Charlie Sheen has come off smelling like a rose - in spite of being kicked off of his show. I don't think he's hurting too badly. I even think British Petroleum is doing OK - and their initial PR was abysmal. They're still getting tremendous gigs, all while "rebuilding the gulf."

So yes, PR can solve any problem - if it is worth solving and if they have the opportunity.

What's up Netflix?

OK Netflix - did you fire your entire PR department? First you make crucial mistakes in communicating (not) very important changes to customers. Then, a month in, after admitting you didn't communicate appropriately but explaining the need for the change - you ........... undo it? The price hike remains, but customers are back to dealing with one customer rather than two. I don't think the price even matters anymore. It's been bad PR from the start - leading right into bad recovery (again, bad PR).

With Netflix stock down 60 percent over the past three months (only three months!), it seems difficult to imagine an effective recovery - ever. It will take lots of PR (good PR), and lots of butt-kissing (an early PR term). If I worked for Netflix, I would initiate some pretty intimate communication with their remaining customers to ensure they stick around, and then working to woo back those who left. Being undaunted by the anticipated rejections, I would also go after new customers, explaining the many benefits to being a Netflix customer compared to going elsewhere. My final step in this process? Never jerk my customers around again!

Netflix needs to now be constant, consistent and cool - but not too cool. They need to be approachable and willing to meet their customers needs. And they can't just tweet about it - they need to continually satisfy their customers and, most of all, put their remaining money where their mouth is.

So Who's Romney's PR Guy?

With the wide variety of Republican candidates campaigning to run for president, Mitt Romney seems to have taken center stage - being the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - commonly known as Mormons, who is in the running. Why this draws so much interest amazes me. I don't remember worrying about candidates' religion before. Although it seems like the fact that Jimmy Carter was a Baptist was a conversation point back when. It would be nice if people were as concerned about a candidate's capabilities and desires as they are about his or her religion.

However - I think Romney's PR guy (even if it's himself - which it could be) is doing a bang-up job. The guy is irrefutable. He defends his religion, but draws attention back to the campaign, back to our country and what it needs - what he can provide. PR at its finest.

From a recent story on msnbc.msn.com, it seems people are becoming less concerned about Romney's faith. In fact, 66 percent of Republican voters say they have no concerns - only 13 percent say they are concerned. In my humble opinion, this is, in part, thanks to great PR.

Mormons may differ in their beliefs from other Christian faiths, but to say they are not Christian. It is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. With Jesus Christ being in the center of the name of the church, it's hard to deny that Mormons are, indeed, Christian. Anyway.

Four years ago as Romney campaigned, while he did well, he didn't have the presence he does today. He has obviously been doing his homework - and so has his PR guy.

PR for Jobs

Is it PR when you focus on the life and death of a person? You bet it is. People are big business. Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, passed away yesterday, and within hours his biography went from #437 to #1 on Amazon's bestseller list - and it isn't even published yet. The publication date also moved up immediately, from November 21 to October 24. People (including me) care about Steve Jobs and for what he stands for - but make no mistake, a lot of the PR surrounding Jobs, even surrounding news about his death, is about making money.

Suddenly there are stories about "The spiritual side of Steve Jobs," "Steve Jobs as master showman, cult hero," 5 memorable quotes from Steve Jobs," and "Timeline: Steve Jobs' career." And that just lists a few. Add to that, the author of Jobs biography also wrote biographies about Henry Kissinger and ....... Benjamin Franklin. Now that's keeping some good company.

Yes Jobs was (and still is) fascinating. He was undeniably successful, intense and intriguing. It's natural for people to want to know more about the man. Even existing Jobs books are increasing in sales.

Have I ordered my copy of Jobs' biography? You bet.

Our Contribution to History - Disappearing?

I read an interesting article in The New Yorker, appropriately entitled, "Oral History." The piece shares how Columbia University's oral-history archive was founded by a historian who was worried that people weren't writing enough down - because of telephone use. People weren't writing letters like they used to, and these letters had also served as important documentation for historians.

Allan Nevins, the historian mentioned, would absolutely roll over now - with use of e-mail, Twitter (used to announce such important trivia as Beyonce's pregnancy and Osama bin Laden's death), Facebook, texting, telephone calls (much increased with the immediacy of cell phones) - any documentation that survives the delete key would be nearly impossible to track down, unless of course you were on the appropriate Twitter channels and had the right "friends."

Are we losing history? Is the documentation still accessible? I think Ian Parker (author of The New Yorker piece) makes a great point. Not that we need to know exactly where and when Beyonce announced her pregnancy, and surely bin Laden's death was recorded elsewhere - in TIME Magazine if nowhere else, but what else is lost. Family history for sure. Letters were once a great source to help family historians piece together facts important to them.

Coincidentally, I'm reading a purely fictional account of a woman tracking down the happenings of her ancestors, which surprisingly included a Sioux Indian woman. A missing piece of the puzzle was found in an oral history library in South Dakota. If not for that, she would have hit a brick wall.

So, oral history is great! But .... who is recording these now? I'm not against new technology, or social media. Quite the contrary. I merely support our descendants' right to know what happened to their ancestors. I'm sure points of history important to the world will be recorded by "someone, somewhere," but what of the trivial, the mundane - that will be so important to persons trying at some point to trace their roots? I'd like to think many of us are keeping journals with these most important tidbits. But if my rate of record-keeping is any indication, we're not meeting this important need.

The Oddest PR Trial Thus Far

A totally random crisis occurred yesterday in the office. I arrived at work at 6:20 a.m. I received an e-mail from a co-worker, informing me that I should "try my link" because every time they did, it went to porn. The referenced link was to a site I am using for on-line enrollment for a conference aimed at girls in grades 6-9. At first, I didn't believe it - I thought the problem MUST be on the co-workers computer, and I told her so. Shortly afterward, I received a call from another co-worker who works on this project, telling me that yes, indeed, when someone tried to register on our site - they would be directed to porn (actually an escort service - but porn nonetheless).

It was somewhat difficult to not only decide what to do first - but to not freak out. (Maybe I did freak out a little bit.) Although the enrollment site is managed by a third party, I first contacted my IT department, explained the issue, and asked them to ensure the porn site was blocked, should someone in our company access the site. It should have been blocked to begin with, so I wanted to ensure our system had not been violated. I then called the third-party web administrator and explained what had happened. They assured me they could fix this really quickly - in just 3-4 hours! To me, 3-4 hours was a little long to just allow girls and/or their parents and teachers to access the site and be forever damaged. I couldn't log into the site to shut down registration, but a co-worker was able to - thankfully in time so that I only received one call - from a mother - and she was a very good sport. I also placed a note on a secondary site stating that "registration was closed due to technical difficulties" and would re-open shortly. Whew!

Where does PR come into play? How damaging could this event have been to my company, and to the conference - which is nationally known? My team was able to avoid repercussions because of quick actions and also PROBABLY because of the time of day. The web administrator I called was on her way to Japan - she wasn't happy to be called so early, but was able to take care of the situation before leaving the country. Also, because it was early, there was not a lot of activity on the site. If there had been more activity, or angry parents, my reaction would have been very different and demanded more time and creativity - ranging from a notice on the site, to personal letters to the parents - and who knows what else.

This event got my heart started early on a Tuesday morning. Who would expect such an event? I guess that now, I will.

Facebook as Free Advertising?

What strikes me today is how easy it is to advertise using social media. I'm sure I need to work on a more strategic method, but it's incredible how much awareness my Facebook pages generate. One is for a product my company is making - and gets many "likes" and "shares," as well as favorable comments. I haven't ever seen a negative comment there, although there is some pretty hefty competition. It's a great place to share videos, product status and good news.

My other Facebook page is for an event. It has helped to draw awareness to the event as we plan and prepare for it, and now that registration is open, it's helping to draw participants in. I've posted an advertising video on this page, the registration link, and maintain a status of "how many more participants can sign up," helping keep some healthy tension - which helps fill the registration.

And that's just about Facebook for business purposes. My personal Facebook page is a great resource to let family and friends know of upcoming events, including time, address, date, etc., and of exciting events that have happened in our family.

No wonder the postal service is in trouble!