Happy Birthday Best Friend

…you know who you are.

The pain and joy of being "top dog"

If you’ve ever loved a dog, you have to read this article: Dog gone: Mourning a pet - but be prepared to cry.  My dad sent me the link, because he knows that I am still mourning Simba, after nearly three years.  His collar hangs on the corner of the frame of my bed and I still feel guilty at making the decision to have him put down owing to kidney problems, even though I know it was the right thing to do.

Within two days of losing this 50kg German Shepherd-Rottweiler cross, it was obvious that my other dog, Dougal was so distressed that we needed another dog.  So I found Barley through Pound Puppies in Poole.  He is a cheeky Collie-Jack Russell cross and soon found his home in our hearts.  The other week Barley was so ill that I rushed him to the vets believing he’d had a stroke and wouldn’t be coming back with me.  Fortunately, he recovered fully with the vet believing he had suffered a minor brain haemorrhage resulting from English heartworm (caught from slugs and snails).

Why do we put ourselves through the pain?  We know that at some point that day will come when our hearts are broken.  I’ve comforted my neighbour, and swapped stories with several students, who are distraught over the death of a dog.  Often it hurts more than losing a relative - which I know sounds awful.

The reason why we keep on bringing them home to love is that what they offer in return is unconditional and genuine.  My parents have only had Ivory with them for a few weeks but within minutes the Landseer Newfoundland princess was part of the family.  

They remind us of the importance of enjoying the good times.  For children, dogs teach them the power of non-verbal communications and respect for others.  For older people, dogs demand that you live every day of your life.

Dogs aren’t complicated - the adage that dogs have masters and cats have servants is true.  Being looked up to as “top dog” is a responsibility.  There are expectations that have to be met.  But in return, your place in the pack is assured - how often can you say that in life.

Public Relations and Chinese

My friend, Ruth Sparkes, emailed me about a degree course at Liverpool John Moores University on Public Relations and Chinese, which she thought sounded “cool”.

Apparently graduates will develop linguistic proficiency alongside becoming “specialists in the growing industry of PR” - with an opportunity to “spend a year in China in both a university and business setting”.

This sounds very interesting, although there are drawbacks to studying two core disciplines. I could not find a lot of detail about the areas of PR that are studied, or the faculty, for example.  And, I also wonder whether there are many staff skilled in both areas - if not, then are the potential benefits of the course fully realised?

Nevertheless, as students, and their parents, are faced with paying more for their University education and there is strong competition in the jobs market, I expect we will see more courses that offer innovative career prospects such as this one.

Manage your online reputation

I’ve only just got around to the Crowdsourcing request to provide my thoughts on what digital natives (ie those brought up in an online world) should do - or not do - in respect of their online reputation management.

There’s already a lot of good advice from others tagged to provide their views - and as Podcamp Boston (the stimulus for the request) takes place today, I’m a bit late with my two-pennies worth.

But, it is a good topic to consider - especially for those starting out on their careers in PR, who haven’t yet thought about how much digital dirt they’ve accumulated and increasingly the role of an online footprint when job hunting etc.  So, my 3 pieces of advice are:

1. Create a social media CV (resumé ) - I posted on this in April and still believe it is something that has not been given sufficient focus.  Rather than relying on your profile in social networking sites or elsewhere to present yourself, a dedicated home profile would be a more professional approach.  This can, of course, offer links to other places that you “live” online - which you need to ensure are suitable for public viewing (by that I mean by potential and existing employers).

2. Treat yourself as a PR client - linking back to a post from May on creating “brand you“, I recommend undertaking a personal SWOT analysis and managing yourself as a “brand“.  One idea is to establish personal “brand icons” - aspects of our personality, behaviour or interests that act as symbols to our personal identity and enable us to stand out from others.

3. Manage your network - take care in respect of the connections you have online.  Are you proud to be associated with everyone who is a friend in Facebook or who appears in a Flickr photograph with you?  We are often judged by the company we keep, so you should ensure that you are in good company.  This doesn’t mean being superficial in trying to look well connected, but about carefully cultivating good relationships - on and offline.  The “little black book” is still a vital accessory to any competent PR practitioner.  Also seeking out effective mentors who can give you good counsel is a key skill.  Ensure anyone who has ever met you will view the encounter positively - and enhance your word of mouth credibility.  Be a good contact, generous in your support and grateful for advice.

Even though being online is a lot of fun, we do need to take care of the trail we leave behind us.  Rather than this being something that will come back and haunt us at some point, we should view a digital reputation as an asset to be nurtured, a way of ensuring we are easy to locate online and something that presents a positive impression.

Starbucks effective blogger outreach

Ellee Seymour reports her experience of emailing Clifff Burrows, president of Starbucks for Europe, Middle East and Africa, after hearing him speak at an event.  She simply sent him a link to a recent post regarding her son’s craving for the brand whilst in hospital.  As well as a personal response, asking after Ellee’s son, she received a surprise box of Starbucks goodies.

This approach was spot on for Ellee and she now appears to be an absolute advocate for the brand.  As an example of effective blogger outreach, the personal contact contrasts with the way we’ve seen many brands and their public relations consultants seek to influence the content of posts and gain endorsement.

It seems genuine - and rather than simply raising ethical questions, sending Ellee a range of Starbucks items seems more of a generous gift than a bribe to blog.

This was not a mass market strategy to target bloggers, but recognised the value of connecting with a mother whose son was a fan of a brand.  As a blogger, Ellee provides a personal, but powerful, endorsement.  Her enthusiasm could well influence the opinions of others towards Starbucks - hence enhancing the company’s reputation.

It’s an interesting case study - small but effective.

What is the role of copyright trade bodies?

There’s been some email discussion among Blogpower members regarding the arrest over the TV Links website in relation to “alleged violations of Section 92 of the Trade Marks Act”.

This case is interesting from a public relations perspective  in respect of the role of the action group the  Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), which is a trade body representing the “major British and American studios, television, satellite distribution, media and production companies, industry associations and societies”. This representation involves working:

closely across the UK with Police services, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs, Serious and Organised Crime Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions. FACT has a close association with other enforcement bodies such as the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA)

FACT also has an important role in ensuring that the government and public understand the threat to the UK’s film and television industry and to the community at large from the growing threat of DVD and online piracy.

The director general of FACT is Kieron Sharp, who has “a strong background in law enforcement”, rising to the rank of Detective Chief Superintendent with thirty years police service.

Looking at the facts about FACT, the body does not seem to simply represent its members in the usual sense of undertaking communications and campaigning activities.  It actively pursues those it feels are impacting the interests of its members.  This includes establishing, in partnership with the Metropolitan Police, a dedicated film piracy unit, and employing a team of field investigators and forensic experts.

I am not condoning the theft of copyright material (although in this case, the issue is more about providing links to material infringing copyright - which arguably Google and YouTube also do - and seems unlikely to be judged as a civil or criminal offence under English law).

What I feel increasingly uncomfortable about is the way that industries establish “trade bodies” to aggressively target those they believe are infringing copyright. 

The Newspaper Licensing Agency is another such body.  Established by the UK national newspapers, it “authorises paper and digital copying of press cuttings on behalf of national, regional and international newspapers” - and over “over 150,000 businesses and organisations ranging from large government organisations, plcs, and limited companies to partnerships and public relations agencies” pay a licence to the NLA - amounting to many thousands of pounds a year in some cases.

Of course, a large percentage of the £18m each year distributed by the NLA to national and regional newspapers in respect of copyright works comes from the public purse as government and other organisations are required to pay to monitor media coverage relating to key public issues.

The argument of the NLA is that organisations that copy and distribute press cuttings are breaching the newspapers’ copyright.  Ironically, much of the content of said newspapers originates from the public relations practitioners who then have to pay to prove to their bosses that their actions have generated media coverage.  They may be our words, but when reproduced verbatim by journalists, the publication owns the copyright.

The NLA claims it “exists to simplify the otherwise difficult and complex problem of the exchange of copyright fees and licences between the publishers (national and regional press) and organisations that wish to copy (photocopy, fax, email) articles from newspapers.”  However, any PR practitioner who has been confronted by representatives of the NLA will report a very bruising encounter, with threats of prosecution and presumed guilt.  It is assumed that all organisations copy press cuttings - and obtaining a licence is an admission of prior illegal copying and so back-fines are charged.

The launch of the NLA eClips electronic database of press cuttings has brought even tighter monitoring and control over access to digital clippings in partnership with press cuttings agencies.  This service is not simply about managing copyright, but is financially profitable and seen to “provide a platform for innovation and growth in the next few years.”  Good news in the face of declining income from selling actual newspapers.

There is considerable debate regarding the future of copyright, especially in the context of the Internet, but what is clear is that copyright is currently an economic benefit that some industries are establishing aggressive trade bodies to protect and not simply with words.

Strategies for information overload

One of the things that I’ve always enjoyed in blogging is picking up on news from my RSS feeds in Bloglines - directing others to interesting posts and reflecting on matters I find of interest.

However, being busy with marking CIPR assignments and getting ready for the new student intake means that I’ve been unable to keep up with what’s going on in blogosphere.  Sitting here this evening catching up, I notice that I’m not alone.

For example, at SacredFacts, Richard Sambrook reports information overload and time wasted finding what he might want to read among his feeds.  He wonders if technology is the solution in making recommendations from items in his feeds.

Do we need technology or human interpretation to act as “agents” in selecting and filtering the vast amount of information online?  Of course, one could argue, one reason why journalists exist in the first place is to source information and then act as mediators in filtering the essential news and insight.

What the Internet offers is access to original sources as well as a wider range of mediators than we might encounter when buying newspapers, listening to radio or watching television. 

I think this brings us round to the importance of finding reliable “agents”, who we can trust to bring us news and views of interest and relevance. 

Traditional media has an advantage already with the likes of the BBC already acting online in the same role as offline mediator of news information.

It seems likely that the role of intermediaries will only become more important in future - although I would like them to offer links to original sources so we can check the mediator’s interpretation for ourselves.

What does this mean for PR practitioners?  I think it offers an opportunity to utilise our skills and knowledge of working with influencers - but the challenge is identifying which of the millions of “agents” are most trusted by those with whom we wish to engage.

I believe this reinforces the need for interpersonal skills rather than simply an ability to utlise technology.  We can, of course, create online information and “optimise” tools such as press releases in respect of including links, multimedia etc (I’m less convinced of the need for enabling comments in the mode of the “social media press release”).

But ultimately, I believe a human strategy rather than more and more technology will be vital in connecting organisations with influencers and through them to the overloaded reader.

Getting the PR basics correct

Pete Wilby is writing a series of posts aiming to set out twenty brass-tack principles for media relations. Follow these, he says, and bring joy to journalists.  Sounds like a good promise that no PR student or practitioner should ignore.

All too often PR practitioners are criticised (including by me) for writing poor press releases and failing to understand the needs of the media. However, I find there is a great appetite to improve skills in this key competency. 

Earlier today I sent out an notice to MIPAA members regarding a workshop on writing better press releases .  The date is next Friday (2 November), so you might expect the short notice to be an issue.  But within minutes places had been snapped up by those working in consultancies and in-house within the motor industry.

Recognising the demand for being better communicators, I’m planning a series of workshops this Winter that focus on writing for a variety of purposes, as well as looking at skills required for working with radio and television media.

Now if only we could get every PR practitioner who sends out a pointless press release to follow the advice from Pete and myself…

The Bottom Line discusses lobbying

One of the benefits of teaching the CIPR qualifications on Saturdays is that I listen to Radio 4’s The Bottom Line when driving home.  This is a fascinating programme where business leaders talk about various issues - and it is now available as a podcast.  The only issue is that you can only access each episode for 7 days after broadcast.

On the episode last Saturday lobbying was discussed by the panel which featured Mark Clare
(Chief executive, Barratt Homes), PY Gerbeau (Chief executive, X-Leisure) and Jasmine Whitbread (Chief executive, Save the Children).

The fascinating discussion showed the importance of public relations at the strategic level.  Both Whitbread and Clare underpinned the value of having a broad coalition, often of unlikely bodies, coming together to influence government policy.  They also discussed how politicians request evidence of public opinion in making their decisions, showing why campaigns are frequently required to stimulate debate and mobilise public support for changes in policy.

PY, given his experiences previously over the Millennium Dome, was a little more cynical of politicians.  However, he felt strongly that there was too little action being taken to curb anti-social behaviour caused by alcohol consumption.  As a result of the discussion, PY recognised that getting other interested parties involved in a public relations campaign may be an effective strategy.

This show is well worth downloading and indeed, subscribing to the RSS feed of the podcast.  It seems a shame that there aren’t more interesting programmes like this relating to business matters - and that such podcasts are not archived for future reference.

Seasonal matters

Winter must be here - I’ve just had to put the central heating on for my aged cat, and there are two robins bob, bob, bobbing outside my office window. 

I seem to have missed Summer and Autumn this year.