Hello, Springfield!

By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC  

Approximately 200 public relations practitioners recently converged in Springfield, Mo., for this year’s PRSA Midwest District Conference.

While storms in the Chicago area delayed those flying through O’Hare Airport, travelers persisted and were rewarded with excellent learning and networking opportunities.

The conference, with a tagline of “Firm Foundations/New Horizons,” featured three keynotes:

•       Minnesota’s James Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, spoke on “Gaining Influence: How to Have a More Important, Powerful, Influential and Fulfilling Career.”

•       Joe Cohen, APR, the national chair of PRSA, discussed PRSA’s strategic plan, the evolving

  

  PRSA National Chair Joe Cohen, APR, addresses QuickStart attendees.

  role of public relations professionals, and the “seven deadly sins of PR.”

•       Missy Maher of Edelman shared her insights on marketing to the modern family.

More than 25 breakout sessions provided plenty of choices for attendees. Topics ranged from content marketing to social media measurement to chocolate addiction and beyond.

Approximately 20 PRSA members either already involved or interested in PRSA leadership participated in the conference’s QuickStart session. They learned how to focus their leadership qualities for chapter success from Regina Waters, Ph.D., of Drury University, discussed best practices from around the Midwest District, and heard from Cohen on the role of PRSA National.

While a printed program provided an overview of the conference, attendees also were able to download the Guidebook app to create a personalized schedule and be updated about schedule changes on the fly.

The app proved its use when two sessions were scratched due to the cancellation of the speaker’s flight from Chicago.

In addition to networking opportunities throughout the day, attendees hit downtown Springfield for dinner at a restaurant of their choice and ended the evening with a gathering at Springfield Brewing Company.

The annual Midwest District Platinum Award, the district’s highest individual honor, was given to Debbie Harvey, APR. She was president of the Chicago chapter in 2012 and championed and led development of the 2012 Midwest District Conference in Chicago. Harvey works for the American Medical Association as the vice president of change strategies.

Thanks to the Southwest Missouri PRSA chapter for providing an excellent professional development opportunity!

To see tweets from the conference, search Twitter using the hashtag #prsamdc.

For a collection of more public relations tips, insights and reflections, buy the book "19 Tips for Successful Public Relations: Insights on Media Relations and Reputation Management" from amazon.com!

Public relations case study: Nestle infant formula

By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC  

Infant formula is one of the products that helped create food conglomerate Nestlé when, in 1867, Swiss pharmacist Henri Nestlé mixed together a liquid food from cow's milk, wheat flour, and sugar for a neighbor's baby who wouldn't nurse.

Infant formula also is the reason for a boycott against the company, launched in Minneapolis in 1977.


The roots of the boycott started in 1974, when the British organization War on Want published a booklet called "The Baby Killer." The booklet was widely distributed and translated into several languages. As a result, many church-related groups joined against Nestlé.

Nestlé responded by suing the publisher of the German-language translation, Third World Action Group, for libel. While Nestlé won the two-year trial, the defendants were fined only $400 and the judge told Nestlé that it "must modify its publicity methods fundamentally."

The topic of analyzing the marketing of breast milk substitutes in developing countries continued to gain traction with a U.S. Senate public hearing as well as WHO and UNICEF hosting an international meeting.

In 1981, The New York Times published a lengthy article on infant formula use in developing countries.

Problems when mothers of infants in developing countries switch to formula include: disease because of contaminated water; lack of means to sterilize water; and diluting formula to make it last longer.

Around the same time as the 1981 article, research demonstrated that breastfeeding is healthier for babies.

Nestlé met with boycott coordinators in 1984, and the boycott was suspended when the company agreed to adhere to the World Health Assembly's International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. However, the boycott resumed in 1989 when the International Baby Food Action Network alleged that formula companies were providing free and low-cost supplies to hospitals in developing countries.

Even though Nestlé issued guidelines for mothers on how and when to give babies formula as well as revamping its marketing materials, the boycott still exists today and even has expanded. 

For a collection of more public relations tips, insights and reflections, buy the book "19 Tips for Successful Public Relations: Insights on Media Relations and Reputation Management" from amazon.com!

Public relations case study: Target data breach

Although Target is still dealing with the fallout related to its pre-Christmas data breach, let's take a look at how the company is doing so far in managing the crisis.

I'll use the eight laws of crisis communications that Jack Yeo and John Brooks presented at the 2012 PRSA Midwest District Conference in Chicago:

1. Protecting reputation is not about the crisis, but rather how you handle it. Target used many methods of responding to the crisis, including full-page newspaper ads in the nation's top 50 markets. In addition, Target sent an e-mail from CEO Gregg Steinhafel explaining the breach, apologizing and offering free credit monitoring services. (Unfortunately, many customers were leery of the e-mails.) Steinhafel also appeared on CNBC on Jan. 13, where he said, "We are responsible, we're accountable for all of it, and we want to make that crystal clear to everybody that's shopped in our store. They have zero liability."
2. Be aware of the world around you. Ensuring that call centers and stores had accurate information took awhile for Target -- specifically four days. In the CNBC interview, Steinhafel said, "Part of that timetable all along was for us to make that announcement on day four, and we were working around the clock to prepare our stores. We want guests that come in, once they hear that news, we want to be able to answer their questions, and we want our call centers to function appropriately."
3. There is no excuse for not planning. Data breaches have become increasingly common among retailers and other companies. If Target had a crisis response manual (I'm not sure if they do or not), a data breach should definitely have been one of the main situations to prepare for.
4. A swift response is required. This is the area in which Target is receiving the most criticism. Star Tribune columnist Lee Schafer describes Target's public relations as "too slow, too cautious" in this article. He makes a very valid point that on Dec. 18, 2013, the same day computer security blogger Brian Krebs posted a story stating that Target was confronting a security breach, the company instead issued a news release about last-minute holiday season deals. Target didn't issue a news release about the data breach until the next day. (The company first learned of the breach on Dec. 15.) In addition, Steinhafel wasn't made available for a public statement for more than three weeks.
5. Understand the impact of today's digital democracy. Target developed a page on its website with response and resources related to the data breach, including videos featuring Steinhafel. The retailer monitored what was being said on social media, even mentioning in Jan. 15 tweet, "We're listening & noticing tweets about data breach emails." The content of social media posts changed from holiday cheer to the data breach on Dec. 19, the same day that the company publicly confirmed that credit and debit card information may have been exposed.
6. Always operate with transparency. This is another area in which Target is taking heat. In a Jan. 14 Star Tribune article that featured highlights from Steinhafel's CNBC interview, reporter Adam Belz wrote that Target's CEO declined to be interviewed by the hometown newspaper. In addition, crisis management consultant Jon Austin made the point in the same article that "He (Steinhafel) was very good, he was very credible, he was very practiced, he stayed on message. . .but he didn't say anything that he couldn't have said on Dec. 19."
7. Never stand alone. Third-party influencers didn't really make an appearance in the data breach timeline until Target chief financial officer John Mulligan spoke in front of a Senate panel recently. Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, both members of the Judiciary Committee, made statements in support of Target on the issue. “When we push cyberbills, we get push back [from industry and technology groups],” Klobuchar said. “We have learned from this data breach that we can no longer do nothing.” Franken added that card technology needs to be updated.
8. Never forget to rebuild. Target has been working hard to rebuild the trust with its guests. The CEO could be more visible in the media however.

If I were to grade Target's response to this issue, I would give the company an "A-". The company understood the importance of maintaining the confidence of its customers. However, the delay in communicating and not making the CEO available for a public statement for more than three weeks diminished the effectiveness of Target's crisis response.

By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC For a collection of more public relations tips, insights and reflections, buy the book "19 Tips for Successful Public Relations: Insights on Media Relations and Reputation Management" from amazon.com!

Lifetime resolution: know your groove

This is a guest post by David Jones.

Way back in the 1960s, longshoreman, author and philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote, “When people

Youngme Moon

are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.”

We see this phenomenon every day in the business world, where companies compete by copying products — adding some minor feature or performance boost in the name of differentiation.

The same holds true in public relations, where one agency’s services — even in specialized areas such as telecom PR or tech PR – sound much the same as all the rest.

Companies that fall into this trap aren’t competing at all. They’re collapsing into each other and becoming more alike, making it all the harder for customers to make a buying decision based on distinct value.

Decades later, in her best-selling Different, Harvard luminary Dr. Youngme Moon describes the trend of me-tooing as “the artful packaging of meaningless distinctions as true differentiation.” Free to do as they please, competitors make their products more alike. The few that stand out are always true to what Dr. Moon calls their “meaningful groove of separation.”

The groove runs deep, never just on the surface. Think of the groove as a life decision, versus a New Year’s resolution.

This time of year, many feel compelled to make resolutions that will improve their lot. At the individual level, those who have followed the norm and gained one pound per year since their 20s suddenly resolve to go on crash diets, take up jogging or free weights, and eat more sensibly — all worthy goals.

Many companies follow a similar practice via elaborate planning processes designed to transform the business. They, too, want to trim fat and make the company fit to move in new directions — once again, all admirable.

But how much of it sticks? Whether at the personal or corporate level, most backslide to their old habits in short order. That’s a rut, not a groove.

Market leaders understand the difference. They know “the rules” of the norm well enough to break them. They’re fit for life, not merely for the brief span of a New Year’s resolution or annual corporate planning process. They have the vision to drive the business over new horizons to the golden land of constantly renewed brand differentiation. That’s their groove.

What is your company’s meaningful groove of separation from the herd? As importantly — what is your agency’s?

My year as the PRSA Midwest District chair

By Brant Skogrand, APR, MBC

In 2013, I had the honor of serving as the chair of the Midwest District of the Public Relations Society of America.

Throughout the year, Midwest District activities focused on advancing the district’s mission -- to build stronger chapters throughout the district by providing a link between national and the chapters, fostering communication among the chapters, facilitating leadership development and providing assistance to chapters in need.  

Here is a recap of Midwest District accomplishments in 2013:

• We delivered a second annual Midwest District Conference. The Nebraska chapter hosted this summer’s conference in Omaha, providing high-quality programming on a regional level to 180 attendees. In addition, a conference website was developed as well as Twitter (@PRSA_MDC) and Facebook accounts, which can be used by host chapters to promote future conferences.
• We created the first annual Platinum Award. The highest individual honor bestowed by the PRSA Midwest District, the Platinum Award recognizes outstanding career achievements in furthering the practice of public relations. The Platinum Award also was created to honor personal service to the Midwest District and any of the affiliated chapters within the Midwest District.
• We produced a Midwest District annual conference overview and operational guide. To ensure as smooth of a process as possible to host chapters, this document outlines the benefits of hosting the Midwest District Conference, keys to success, financial considerations, and more.
• We shared best practices. Through the bimonthly affinity conference calls, chapter representatives discussed mutual interests and shared solutions to mutual problems. A particularly popular topic was electronic award submissions, which several Midwest District chapters are starting to implement. 
• We developed financial policies and procedures. To ensure that the Midwest District is an effective steward of district dues, we documented the Midwest District’s financial management responsibilities. 

2014 should be an excellent year. I hope to see you at the Midwest District Conference in Springfield, Mo., from June 18 to 20! 
 

For a collection of more public relations tips, insights and reflections, buy the book "19 Tips for Successful Public Relations: Insights on Media Relations and Reputation Management" from amazon.com!