Flackette

I wanted to make mention of the new anti-astroturfing campaign initiated this week by Paull Young of Young PR and Trevor Cook of the Corporate Engagement blog. It is an extremely important endeavor that requires our support.

The best definition of astroturfing I’ve seen comes from Jargon File, which is on the New PR Wiki’s astroturfing page:

astroturfing: n.
1. The use of paid shills to create the impression of a popular movement, through means like letters to newspapers from soi-disant ‘concerned citizens’, paid opinion pieces, and the formation of grass-roots lobbying groups that are actually funded by a PR group ( AstroTurf? is fake grass; hence the term). See also sock puppet, tentacle.
2. What an individual posting to a public forum under an assumed name is said to be doing.

This is a sinister practice that reflects poorly on our profession, which is exactly why it is imperative for us to take action. It is only by taking a stand against such practices that the credibility of our field can overcome its generally negative public perception. I am so tired of seeing people like Strumpette denigrate the PR profession, but with practices like astroturfing going strong, who can blame them? Let’s show the naysayers that we can take a stand together and despite what many think, PR is NOT about lies and deception.

The NewPR Wiki’s page on astroturfing is very comprehensive, making it a great resource for those interested in further reading. It includes different definitions of astroturfing, a list of bloggers, practitioners, and agencies in PR that oppose the practice, and links to numerous articles that discuss it and point to examples. Below are ways that Paull and Trevor encourage you to get involved:

How You Can Help
· Join the conversation – write against astroturfing on your blog or comment on the blog posts listed on the Anti-Astroturfing page on the New PR Wiki
· Declare you and/or your agency astroturf free
· Expose possible examples of astroturfing
· Link to the Anti-Astroturfing page with the image provided and add your name to the list of supporters below
· Call on your politicians to take tougher legislative action against astroturfing
· Call on your industry / professional association to speak out against astroturfing
· Encourage friends and colleagues to get involved

You can count me in! How about you?

Todd Defren is a principal with Boston-based SHIFT Communications and author of the company’s well-read blog, PR-Squared. Most recently Todd is known for spearheading the movement for SHIFT’s newly unveiled Social Media Press Release, which has been highlighted in PR Week and BusinessWeek along with gaining attention from numerous PR blogs. Todd has blogged about topics ranging from the importance of measuring PR results for clients to how PR degree programs should be more useful to students. He is without doubt one of the foremost advocates for our industry in the blogosphere, and his passion for PR is contagious!

What was the pivotal moment when you decided you wanted to pursue a career in PR?
I was a Creative Writing major in college; all I knew was that I was happiest with a keyboard or pencil at-hand. The pivotal moment you’re looking for, though, probably occurred when my college sweetheart fiancée told me that we were on the fast-track to parenthood. A panicky thought along the lines of, “It’s time to stop submitting short stories to Esquire and start thinking about getting a real job,” crossed my mind. Never looked back and don’t regret a thing.

One of the most tried and true methods of becoming a whiz at PR is to emulate the PR masters themselves. Who were your mentors when you were starting out in the field?
My mentor was a fella by the name of Sterling Hager. He was an irascible, chain-smoking, skirt-chasing, gutter-mouthed PR genius. I worked for Sterling for almost 10 years, as the agency grew from $1M to $14M…and back down again, during the dot-com crash. (Now I own Sterling’s agency, along with my two business partners.)

Many of Sterling’s lessons are still key to our philosophies. Chiefly, he insisted on the integrity of the agency’s counsel and work product. We codified this approach as the “3X Rule.” If they feel that the client is about to do something that is ill-advised, SHIFT staffers are duty bound to tell the client at least three times (with increasing frankness and volume) that they are making a mistake, and to present alternative options. It doesn’t matter how big the client: without belief in your work and the freedom to express those beliefs, you’re just another flak.

What was the best advice you were given as a beginning practitioner?
Find a solution.

Be discreet.

Remember that your job is to make less work for the client and, to make them look good.

Always keep your boss in the loop.

For PR professionals beginning their career, what would you say are the most valuable skills they should focus on to build a strong career foundation?
Read voraciously – anything you can get your hands on. You’ll continually surprise yourself at the connections you’ll make between seemingly unrelated issues. Also, few people take the time to read a lot. If you take the time to read a good newspaper and/or business magazine every day, you’ll be farther ahead than most top execs.

Also, above all else, focus on “Writing. Writing. Writing.” If you can write you can communicate. If you can communicate you will thrive.

How can beginners make themselves stand out from the competition?
We look for the “leaning forward” candidates. The ones who are clearly not only smart but eager – and who have done enough homework to know that we’re offering a more-special-than-average opportunity. Working for an emerging, innovative agency like SHIFT suggests a willingness to take a large gulp of our “Kool Aid.”

Don’t make the interview about you; make it about the Agency. Make your interviewer feel special and they’ll hold a special place for your resume – somewhere near the top of the pile.

A nice, genuine smile helps, too.

Sometimes it is difficult to communicate what’s best for the client when they have a different PR approach in mind. What advice can you give beginners who would like to start honing the confidence and diplomacy needed to become PR counselors instead of instruction followers?
This sounds trite, but you’ve got to look for the win/win. We have a client now whose products represent a threat to a much larger competitor. But, they are afraid to directly take on that behemoth, even though abdicating that fight will lead to a sure defeat. To an outsider it’s plain as day, but the in-house contacts are naturally nervous.

What’s the win-win? We got the client to agree that while we would NOT take on the goliath directly, we would make it crystal clear that their products represent a rock-solid alternative for corporate buyers. It’s nuance but it worked.

Here’s the best, cheap advice for finding the win-win. Ask for forgiveness upfront. Human beings are sympathetic creatures. If you say, “I am probably way off here, but what do you think about…?” – then you’ve put the client in a position to bolster your confidence by agreeing with your alternative approach, or to at least soften their disapproval: you’ve now got them looking for the win-win for you!

What do you love most about your job?
Creating opportunities for people I truly like and respect. The newly-anointed leader of our San Francisco office started with us as an Account Coordinator. Seven years later she is a VP running a multi-million dollar branch. You don’t get those types of opportunities at most organizations. I am thrilled to have a hand in running a company that delights in creating such situations, and which is able to hang on to such stellar people as a result.

I am pleased to announce that Flackette will momentarily present its
first interview installment with none other than Todd Defren, principal
of SHIFT Communications and author of the company’’s esteemed blog, PR
Squared.

Todd’’s blog was one of the first to inspire me during my initial days as
a blogger, so it seemed only natural that he would be the first person
to ask. He graciously obliged and I trust that his insight will prove
useful.

Hopefully this will be the first of many opportunities I have to pick
the brain of seasoned PR pros. Read on, and enjoy!

I was recently alerted to this article in the Behind the Spin blog on the value of PR degrees — it’s a great read for all practitioners. Thanks go to Caroline Wilson, a senior lecturer in public relations at UCE Birmingham who posted this on her blog a few days ago.

In the article, PR pro Christina Holm expresses her frustration with the
fact that many employers do not care whether or not applicants are
educated in PR. While it is true that you don’t necessarily need a degree in PR in order to succeed, she admonishes that we could, and should, do better:

All I am saying is let’s “raise the game”. Let’s get even better than we
are now, then maybe one day we won’t have to persistently argue our place in the world of business…

My degree taught me so much more than just writing. It taught me the logic and strategy behind a successfully planned and implemented campaign. It educated me to understand other relevant disciplines such as marketing and design.

More importantly it gave me the answer to a question often asked by top management: “So why do we need PR?” If your employees can answer that convincingly, it might just land you a new client.

I agree wholeheartedly with her sentiments. I believe that the inherent value of a degree in PR is that it promotes a strategic mindset from the get-go. Big picture thinking is a good habit to cultivate in the beginning of one’s career, as it is all too easy to just plunge forward without a plan if you don’t realize how essential it is to have one in place.

And speaking of a strategic mindset, this San Jose Mercury News article
on internships is helpful for young PRs who aim to make the right
impression.

For your reading pleasure, some of the most interesting fare of the day for PR pros young and old alike:

In PR, one should never speak ill of the dead. Or at all, really.
In this BusinessWeek story, Jon Fine lambastes a PR professional that attempted to use Kenneth Lay’s recent passing as a hook for a story. Check out The Bad Pitch Blog’s post on the story, where they award the flack with an honorary badge of dishonor. They include links to previous posts that tell you exactly why you should never try using someone’s death as a news hook.

UK’s #1 young PR blogger, Stephen Davies, is hired by Edelman’s London office.
Upon graduating from the University of Sunderland with a Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) accredited PR degree, Stephen Davies of PR Blogger has accepted a position at Edeleman in London. Blogging since April 2005, Stephen has achieved enormous success with his efforts in a little over a year. Congratulations and good luck to you at Edelman Stephen!

Forward blog announces the arrival of PR Guides.
Young PR pro resource and blog Forward has introduced a wonderful new section of their Web site called PR guides. The inaugural post discusses the ins and outs of internal communication and was written by Lee Hopkins, an internal and online communications/PR specialist based in Adelaide, Australia. The entry gives a thorough overview of internal communications and includes an additional resources list with recommended books, key bloggers on this topic, and other helpful links. It’s awesome! Please check it out.

Great advice for pitching small businesses.
In a recent Chief Marketer article, Amy Chilla and Melissa Gillespie of Innova Communications give PR pros some excellent tips on how to position small business clients. Don’t be fooled by the “small business” angle of the article, however. They highlight many helpful ideas that could work for any client.

And that’s all she wrote. Have a great weekend everyone!