BP’s Crisis Communications Continues to Bewilder
By · CommentsBP continues to distinguish itself in a growing number of categories in the ongoing sad saga of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill mess, including the bewildering way it communicates with the world.
We wish we could enroll them in our crisis communications summit. But it may be way too late.
Sunday’s photo of Tony Hayward watching his yacht race was one that will rank high on the “If I didn’t see it with my own eyes I would have never believed it” list! How could anyone at BP have thought that would be an OK way to spend a Sunday afternoon in public and that the media would give his attendance a pass?
While the opportunity has been missed for BP to get out in front of the crisis as well as also ignoring a long list of other effective crisis communications fundamentals, there is still time (thanks in part to BP’s difficulties in finding a workable solution to capping the leak) for BP to communicate — through their actions and words on and off the job — genuine and sincere empathy to a world that is in dire need of it.
Will they do it?
BALTIMORE, Md. (June 14, 2010) – “The DeMarco Factor: Transforming Public Will into Political Power,” a new book profiling the fascinating inner workings of Annapolis, Maryland through several high-profile public health social justice advocacy campaigns created and run by Vinny DeMarco, has selected Sawmill Marketing Public Relations of Baltimore to handle PR in Maryland that includes a press event in Annapolis followed by media interviews throughout the state prior to appearances in New York and Washington, D.C.
Sawmill is handling media relations, message development and social media for the book launch.
Co-published by Vanderbilt University Press and the American Public Health Association, the book authored by Michael Pertschuk, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and founder of the Advocacy Institute, offers a behind-the-scenes look at some of the campaigns lobbyist DeMarco has orchestrated in Maryland, and how the challenges he faced were overcome, revealing insider details of DeMarco’s interactions with lawmakers, advocates, lobbyists and the media.
In 20 years of organizing advocacy campaigns in Maryland, DeMarco has led successful efforts to pass gun control laws (against National Rifle Association opposition), to hike cigarette taxes as a strategy to prevent youth smoking, and to extend health care to hundreds of thousands of low-income workers. He has also built a unique alliance of mainstream and conservative faith groups, which helped secure rare bipartisan votes in Congress for the enactment in July 2009 of landmark FDA regulation of tobacco manufacture and marketing.
About Sawmill Marketing Public Relations
Sawmill Marketing Public Relations is a Baltimore PR firm and social media marketing communications agency established in 1995 specializing in the development and execution of marketing public relations programs as business development strategies for business-to-business, business-to-consumer and professional services clients. The Maryland public relations company specializes in social media, traditional media relations, media training, and crisis communications. For additional information, visit www.sawmillmarketing.com
Craftsmen Developers, a Sawmill Marketing Public Relations client, hosted its second annual fund-raising event this weekend for the Hospice of the Chesapeake. For a modest ticket price, attendees experienced a leisurely stroll around beautiful waterfront grounds enjoying a delicious lunch and listening to a live band – all while admiring more than 50 privately owned Ferraris, Maseratis, Lamborghinis and Alfa Romeos.
This event, with the third one already scheduled for June 2011, combines the corporate community relations commitment to support local organizations and issues with the Craftsmen Developers leadership team’s passion for luxury Italian automobiles.
We think Craftsmen Developers is on to something that other organizations can take a lesson from: helping others in the communities in which you do business is the right thing to do, of course. But be creative with your community relations activities by combining them with personal interests you are passionate about.
Media Training Tip #28: Don’t Speculate
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For years, we’ve used Exxon Valdez media clips in our Media Training Summit and Crisis Communications Summit programs. Now it looks like BP will replace Exxon in the “what not to do” segment, as BP CEO Tony Hayward has provided all kinds of examples. Where do we start?
How about one of the basics of media training: Don’t speculate. In this clip, watch how he confidently assures us that, while it’s impossible to see at the moment, the disaster is likely to be “very, very modest.”
I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest. It is impossible to say and we will mount, as part of the aftermath, a very detailed environmental assessment as we go forward. We’re going to do that with some of the science institutions in the U.S. But everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact of this will be very, very modest. – BP CEO Tony Hayward
Facebook Friday: A Look at Business-to-Business PR
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A common question we hear is how does Facebook apply to business-to-business audiences? We get the appeal for consumers and younger audiences, but B-to-B?
First, take a look at the demographics. The average age on Facebook is 38 (so, yes, that’s an age worth reaching), with around 25 percent ages 45-54 and the 35-44 group at 20 percent, according to stats on the Brian Solis blog. Overall, 61 percent of Facebook’s 400 million active users are 35 or older. They aren’t just high school kids planning this weekend’s party.
A B-to-B social media example that’s getting attention now is TVI Pacific, a publicly traded (Canada) copper mining company taking advantage of Facebook (and other social media tools) to communicate with the investment community. TVI Pacific is using Facebook as its investor relations page and Twitter as a hub to post updates/steer people to other sites (follow @tvipacific). TVI’s YouTube Channel offers company videos and its presentations are on SlideShare. Sounds like their investors have a variety of options to learn about the company and make informed decisions, and it’s working, according to Rhonda Bennetto, executive director of investor communications.
To hear first-hand, listen to this interview with Bennetto on the FIR podcast with hosts Shel Holtz and Neville Hobson.
A Few PR and Social Media Highlights from Asheville
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ASHEVILLE, N.C. — I just returned from the annual PRSA Counselors Academy conference, held this year at the Grove Park Inn (left), where President Obama and the First Lady spent a get-away weekend in April (in the Vanderbilt Wing, I might add, not too far from the “Cyd Charisse Room,” where I had the pleasure of staying).
But enough about me, what about social media, the topic of that kept everyone buzzing and tweeting?
Several esteemed counselors have offered their blog summaries, here and here (and search #CAPRSA on Twitter), so rather than duplicate their commentary, I’ll weigh in with a few thoughts and key quotes that, at least for me, summarized what I heard:
Amber Naslund of Radian6 had a great quote one morning, summarizing the unnecessary obsession with all the new social media tools: “Dudes, it’s only communications.” So why so much obsession with the “tubes,” or tools for communications, she asked. Were we like this when the fax machine was unveiled? Not long ago Yahoo and MySpace were “it,” so stay focused on the principles of PR and communications and not so much on the “tubes.”
Also from Amber, a good definition of social media: “Social media is the new phone, so listening is the new way of answering the phone.” It’s not a new communications channel, as some communicators are hoping for; it’s more of a customer service function.
Brian Solis, just in from Cannes and who was kind enough to sign my copy of his new book, Engage, talked about the inevitability of change that is sweeping the PR industry. Those in PR who live exclusively for the next press release are simply not going to last!
I also liked one of Brian’s quotes: “In brevity, there is clarity, and in clarity there is opportunity…better yet, offer it in 120 characters to leave room for a re-tweet.”
There were more than a few “you-had-to-be-there moments,” but I’ll still mention my favorites: Elise Mitchell’s riveting presentation on her Arkansas agency’s – and her personal – success story; Darryl Salerno’s fourth annual “English as a First Language” presentation/quiz; the presence of College of Charleston PR students with executive in residence Tom Martin (brilliant move to have the students there); and a memorable presentation on adding social media to the agency services mix by Jay Baer of Convince & Convert with client Indra Gardiner, founder and COO of Bailey Gardiner in San Diego. I guarantee Sawmill clients will benefit from what they said.
I missed last year’s conference in California, but attended the previous (2008) one in Naples, just a few months after I had discovered Twitter and recall demonstrating this new-fangled tool for anyone who asked. What a change when, in Asheville, it almost looked like a bloggers conference with laptops open and live-tweeting going on at every presentation! Thanks, PRSA, for another practical and useful conference, and I hope to see you next year in Las Vegas.
Updated May 16, 2010…
As a member of the board of directors for the Baltimore-Washington chapter of SMEI (Sales and Marketing Executives International) I’m pleased
to alert PR Buzzsaw readers to an upcoming event that should interest anyone who’s into social media, corporate marketing, business development – or even “The Donald” and “Celebrity Apprentice.”
We’ve arranged for Jeffrey Hayzlett, chief marketing officer for Kodak [update: Eastman Kodak announced Friday he is leaving effective May 28 "to pursue personal projects"] and author of the new book The Mirror Test: Is Your Business Really Breathing? to speak at PSA Financial in Hunt Valley, Md. on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 (cocktail reception and book signing from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., followed by the program). Tickets are $50 for members, $75 for non-members. First 100 get a free copy of the book. To register, visit the SMEI Baltimore-Washington website or call 410-925-6005.
He’s been described as a “CMO on steriods” who parlayed what he learned running his own business into his [soon to be former] position as Kodak’s CMO where he helped revitalize one of the world’s iconic brands. Forbes magazine annointed him the “Celebrity CMO” because of his countless media appearances, including on Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. And Advertising Age calls him “a new style of CMO,” especially for his social media skills that made him one of the top 10 C-level executive Twitterers in the world.
Many have “liked” him on Facebook and followed him on Twitter (@jeffreyhayzlett). Now you can meet him in real life (IRL)! at this upcoming SMEI event. Hope to see you there.
[Another update! Melanie Wells, executive editor at Forbes, wrote on her blog Friday that Hayzlett is hashing out the details of a TV show. Read about it here, and consider this one more reason to join us on May 26, just two days before he launches the next phase of his career.]
Facebook Friday: Not All Wall Posts are Happy Posts
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Here’s one more reason your company’s social media program should be guided by an experienced communications professional. For a while, Nestle’s Facebook page was a place where fans could exchange posts about Kit-Kat bars and other products and receive updates from the company. Nice, huh?
But one day in March, the page was targeted by Greenpeace activists to raise the issue of Nestle’s use of palm oil and the resulting deforestation and endangered species loss in South America. Comments poured in from Facebook users – directly onto Nestle’s own Facebook page – harshly criticizing the company for its practices. Nestle’s initial responses were not well-received, causing additional need for damage control in a situation now included on the list of social media crisis PR case studies.
Coverage here by CNET News provides a good overview, but to see for yourself search for “Nestle” on Facebook and scroll down to the entries in March, 2010. To their credit, Nestle has not deleted the posts, and the company has used the page to post responses and updates about their palm oil practices.
The incident is a cautionary lesson for companies who want to delegate Facebook and all this new-fangled social media stuff to the intern or 20-something employee. Social media is two-way, and how a company responds to its fans – as well as its critics – is critical to its reputation and not something you want to leave in the hands of anyone unfamiliar with the basics of PR and crisis communications.
Credit: Nestle logo from Nestle Facebook page
We fell head-over-heels in love with Stoop Stories minutes into one of their shows.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, each Stoop show features seven storytellers who get seven minutes each to tell a true, personal story about a specific theme. No notes, no scripts, no actors — just true stories, artfully told. The shows are charming, unique, always unexpected and almost always a sell-out.
Some months ago we became a sponsor by providing our Baltimore PR firm’s social media services to them pro bono — most notably posting regular Tweets at @thestoop — a key strategy for promoting their shows as well as their weekly radio show on WYPR, Stories from the Stoop.
Hope to see everyone at an upcoming Stoop Stories! Here’s info on the next one, June 3, 4 and 5 at Centerstage.
There’s a Group For That
By · CommentsWith more than 185,000 apps to consider for your iPhone (or Android), we’re well into the stage where word of mouth is key to discovering what to download. One way to trade stories about devices and apps is through a new group in the Baltimore area called BUMPA (Baltimore Users of Mobile Products by Apple/Android). At their inaugural meeting at the Hunt Valley Wegman’s Thursday morning, founder Bruce R. Marshall and attendees demonstrated some of the more interesting apps, presented here courtesy of the PR Buzzsaw:
Bump – This app makes sharing contact info with people quick and easy. If you have the app, just hold your phones and gently bump hands with another person using Bump, and voila, the bumper’s information instantly appears in your contacts. You can share photos and contacts, compare friends, or become Facebook friends in seconds. Wild. [Free]
Fluent News Reader – Fluent aggregates news sources into a single, intelligently organized, fully customizable mobile newspaper. It allows you to create up to three of your own custom sections based on keyword searches. The New York Times and CNET both named Fluent News “App of the Week.” [Free]
Red Laser – This one allows your iPhone to scan a bar code (you could be holding a product at a store) and then it instantly displays alternative places to purchase the same item – online as well as other stores – and the related prices. As they say, it allows you to “shop smarter.” [Free]
Wolfram Alpha – Called the world’s first “computational knowledge engine,” it’s a service that answers factual queries directly by computing the answer from structured data, rather than providing a list of documents or web pages that might contain the answer, the way a search engine would. [$1.99]
Dragon Dictation – An easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® that allows you to speak into your device and instantly have your words appear in the form of a text or email message that you can save or send. [Free]
Weather Bug – Receive live weather conditions, forecast, radar, weather cameras and daily video outlook in this Web 2.0-style application designed for the iPhone. 
[Free]
shoot it! – This app enables you to send a real, photo postcard to anyone in the world directly from your mobile device. Your personalized postcard will be delivered in just days. Just take the pic and click on the app to have it sent! [App is free, as is first post card; then it's 99-cents per postcard]
The BUMPA group plans to meet on a regular basis, so if you want to connect with other iPhone and Android aficionados, make sure you’re on the list by liking BUMPA on Facebook and visiting www.bumpa.org or www.bumpa.net. In the meantime, what’s your can’t-live-without app?
