When I was a working broadcaster and journalist, together withmy colleagues, we received an average of 100 press releases a week, sometimes more!  Ninety-nine per cent ended up in the round filing cabinet beside my desk.

Most were trying to ‘flog’ a product. If you want to make people aware of your product advertise it.

Also the media releases were dull, churned out by a public relations hack – absolutely lifeless , extolling that ‘i’t was ‘leading edge’, and is the best thing ever in its class or product or some other over hyped hackneyed cliche.

I wondered if thing had changed, so I contacted a few jorno’s and broadcast producers.

I asked a couple of questions.

Two Simple Questions

Question One.

“How many releases, both paper and electronic, do you receive each week?

Answer: An average of 90 to 100 per week, sometimes 150  - Not combined, but each outlet!

Question Two.

“How many do you follow-up and use?” was the next question.

Answer: An average of one or two a maybe, but usually none.

In my media history of nearly 20 years as an insider, I hardly ever used a release sent to me, either  on paper or electronically.

Credible people with whom I had formed a relationship  usually rang me on my direct line or on my second blocked mobile.

They knew they had to have a ‘story’  to tell that would interest readers and listeners.

Then I asked them to send me information, which I read  from my email box or from the fax.

Sometimes  I used it or at least told them I had forwarded the info to a colleague.

The other releases were dull, churned out by a public relations hack – absolutely lifeless , extolling that ‘it’ was ‘leading edge’, and is the best thing ever in its class or product or some other over hyped hackneyed cliche. Very occasionally there was gold maybe 0ne in a 100 or so.

The majority of releases are considered as SPAM and are never opened, being consigned to the Recycle Bin.

Gimmicks, such as chocolates or other trivia, mean one thing.  You or your PR firm are trying to engage the media outlet to interview you.

Publishers like to send books to entice you to interview the author to promote their product.

In Australia about 4,000 new books are published each year – in the US, 40,000.

We had a big box in the production office called the  Christmas and Birthday Present Box. Nearly all the books we received were dumped in the C & B Box and anyone could take any number of books and give them to their friends.  We had hundreds left over. At the end of the year and after us vultures dipped into the box, a charity would collect them to sell or distribute to those who couldn’t afford to buy books.

The odds are really stacked against you if you use a PR firm.

Never let a PR Agency convince you that they can create ’free’ media exposure for your product or service.   In the promotion game nothing is ’free’. The fees they charge for ‘free ’promotion are too high for the return on your investment and benefits you receive, which are  usually not much.

In my next blog I outline how to effectively help people find you and how you can engage them to a least look or listen to your ‘story’ without those PR gougers.

The New Rules

The Internet has revolutionised Marketing and Public relations, which you should at least know about if you wish to successfully communicate with your desired audiences.

In the Internet era your first task is to be found.

Second tasks is to engage your audience.

And finally, it is to form a relationship with your audience.

Remember it’s easier when you how.

Christian Peterson

“The quality an effectiveness of your communication is the response you receive.”

PS:  Oprah visited Australia.  It is rumoured that Tourist Australia paid her organisation, Harpo, $2,000,000 to get her and her team here.  The hidden costs have never been revealed.  Tourism Australia say they got an excellent deal.

I believe they did, but the increase in the number of tourists will tell us if it was worth it.  Things are much tougher with the global economic down turn

Media Releases – so 2010! is a post from: Taking Control - High Performance Communication

is a post from: Taking Control - High Performance Communication

Ignoring an  age care issue is like bomb wait for detonation.

Once the fuse is lit, the issue quickly becomes a crisis, often under the extreme scrutiny of stakeholders – government regulators, aged care agencies, residents, relatives and media.

The management of issues and crises, however, can be a beacon of good management, creating confidence and trust for your stakeholders and in your organization’s management and operation.

That is the aim of Taking Control of Issues and Crises program is enhancing confidence and trust.

At the heart of effective Issues and Crisis Management is to:

• Identify honestly issues and their level of risk – high, medium or low.
• Established 24/7 lines of communication to key management
• Collection and communication of information that provides the facts and context for a clear understanding of the issues and crisis.
• Manage External lines of communication
• The establishment of an issues and crisis team
• Clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each member of the Issues and crisis management team specifically designed for your organization
• Develop a communication plan that could, for example, involve:

• Federal and State agencies
• Ministers and their media and policy aides at Federal and State level
• Board of Management of the aged care facility
• Executive team of the facility
• Staff
• Residents and primary contact relatives
• Police, if necessary and
• Traditional Media (TV, radio and print) and new media (internet and social media)

Case Study

Recently our organization was involved in a crisis that involved the in-appropriate sexual behaviour of a male resident towards women with dementia and women who where too embarrassed to discuss or give evidence in the alleged offences.

The staff was made aware of, but did not witness, the alleged offences.

Some of the women made the staff aware of the alleged offences, but would not give evidence when the police were called to investigate the allegations.

In addition, the law did not protect the women with dementia, who were as defenceless as children.

In the case sexual abuse of children, third party evidence can be sought and used as evidence in the prosecution of an alleged offer.

This is not the case when adults who have dementia are subject to sexual abuse, although they are not cognitively competent.

In this case, the crisis revealed a major issue for the industry and the legal system.

With the help of members of Taking Control, the facility executive team managed the crisis with minimum of fuss, and no media exposure.

Taking Control has worked with many organizations with difficult issues and crisis.

For information or immediate support please contact Christian Peterson on 0418 303 667 (all hours). This contact number has been on since 1992 and will answered immediately or within minutes.

Why? We now have a 24/365 news cycle and internet availability which the media and citizen journalists monitor social media and other internet sites for news stories vexation rumours or claims.

is a post from: Taking Control - High Performance Communication

As part of the torture process, the police of the Middle East country anally raped a man using a wooden pole. Using a mobile, videoed the torture and humiliation of the innocent man.  Sorry about the graphic description.

To intimidate his family, the police then sent the video to the mobile phones of the man’s family and friends.  Disgusting, horrific, brutal, but unfortunately torture and intimidation are part of the culture of some countries, including the good guys.

The police concerned denied their brutality until it appeared on My Space, an internet site.  My Space is a website where anyone can place messages, photos, and videos, quickly and simply.  My Space is a place frequented by millions of internet users.

The police media unit tried to deny the allegations of torture, but had not counted on the police video reaching the world, particularly main stream media.

The message here is that with the World Wide Web, ordinary citizens can easily get their messages out to counter act ‘spin’ doctors.  Now some of those citizens can be vexatious, as was the case in three aged care facilities in last year.

In one case the vexatious claims were made by a disgruntled employee and two residents who convinced a popular nightly TV program to air their ‘grievances’.  A website was also used by an ethnic organisation to spread the allegations, which were without foundation.

The World Wide Web is also  Citizen Journalists, people who aren’t formally trained as journalists, but have instant access through the Web to millions of potential readers, listeners and viewers.  They may report allegations without checking their sources’ motives and integrity.

For example, a number of leading American companies have suffered at the hands citizen journalists who have made un-informed claims that have damaged their business. In some cases the companies did deserve ‘outing’ for poor services and faulty products; however, others did not deserve the treatment they received.

And then there are internet Blogs, short for Web logs. A blog is a place on the website where you can log onto and write what you think, and what you believe you have seen or what a friend told you.

Reporters from the  media regularly monitor certain websites to pick up leads for a story,

So the message is that trying to spin a crisis is not possible as the facts and claims will be found out.

Before the World Wide Web, you could spin a story for a month or two, before the truth, or a version of the truth, surfaced in the media.  Today, the chance of spin being ‘un-spun’ is far greater and will be done in record time, sometimes in hours not days or months.

One of the steps to counter spin, whether true, partly true or false, is to use the communication keys for tough situations:

The keys are

• Regret,
  
• Responsibility,
  
• Remedial Action and
• Resonance

To learn how to use these keys check out Making Media Magic under the Communication Skills tag.

Next Friday,February 19 Publicity Magic.

Christian Peterson

The Death of Spin is a post from: Taking Control - High Performance Communication