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Technorati : PR, perception management, public relations, the corporation

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Last week I had my last press conference... I mean, it was the last one I helped set up at IBM because as of June 1 I changed jobs.

As from now on I'll be working on the IBM business side of things and talk to clients about virtual worlds, serious gaming and narrowcasting among other things.

This doesn't mean I am out of the public relations arena completely... Although I am now no longer officially part of the Corporate Communications function at IBM I will still work with agencies and companies on the use of social media and business communications but in the capacity of my freelance work.

It was strange though to announce this to the reporters I have worked with for the last 13 years.

Anyway, going for a new job, a new challenge and starting off good; I'll be going on holiday soon... ;-)

Technorati : press conference ibm virtual worlds narrowcasting

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Last year I joined the European Association of Communications Directors and in June I will also speak at their first European Conference.

I thought it would be interesting to do an interview with the President, Dr. Heitmann and see what he thinks about the public relations profession and its challenges in Europe. So here it is:

Q: On November 8, 2006 you launched the European Association of Communications Directors. Looking at the myriad of national and European associations that already exist in the field of business communications why do you think there is a place for the EACD?

A:  Indeed, you are quite right: there are plenty of associations at national level but surprisingly few on a European plane and certainly none that brings together those of us who ultimately drive the communications community and agenda across Europe on a day -to-day basis.

Q: the EACD is clearly targeted at "in house" business communicators on a European corporate level. Why this focus?

A:  For my part, I would struggle with all the intricacies involved in my job were it not for the support of SAP's global PR agency. Needless to say though, our roles are very different and associations clearly benefit from a clear focus. As a community at large, we could not survive without the support of those extended communicators, like our agencies and the like. As such, the EACD founding assembly was very articulate and unanimous regarding the need for this specific focus. As such, it then also makes sense that there are so many different associations already in existence, as you stated earlier.

Click to read more ...

Joel Stein, a columnist of the LA Times wrote a great rant about not wanting to enter in a conversation with his readers.

Or has he writes: "I don't want to talk to you; I want to talk at you."

Totally un-social media like behavior, wittingly written and shocking for those who believe markets are conversations.

Check out the reactions as well.

Technorati : columnist, joel stein, la times, latimes.com, mainstream media, social media
Del.icio.us : columnist, joel stein, la times, latimes.com, mainstream media, social media

Video News Releases (VNR); video clips created by companies and organisation and then distributed to the media, are being labelled as "fake news" by the Center for Media & Democracy in the US.

They published a report back in April 2006 which I just read. Very interesting to see how the use of these VNRs happens without any form of transparency. Here's a recent update published yesterday.

"Over a ten-month period, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) documented television newsrooms' use of 36 video news releases (VNRs)-a small sample of the thousands produced each year.

CMD identified 77 television stations, from those in the largest to the smallest markets, that aired these VNRs or related satellite media tours (SMTs) in 98 separate instances, without disclosure to viewers."

New media thrive on transparency, but is this always the case ? Are there VNR type videos on YouTube ? Do they disclose who made them and if they are promo material or real news ?

I just did a very quick scan for YouTube clips about mobile phones and found these about Siemens phones. The person who makes these only seems to cover phones from this specific brand. Maybe someone in PR or marketing you might think...

But even then, new media are all about 2 way communications and so is YouTube - look at the comments below the demo clips of certain models... People give their feedback and it is not always positive.

Maybe we should do the same with "un-transparent" VNRs ? But then, if you do not look closely enough, you would think they are part of the real news... A European research on this would be good.

Technorati : PR, VNR, YouTube, fake news, public relations, video news release
Del.icio.us : PR, VNR, YouTube, fake news, public relations, video news release

Interesting post from the Netherlands this time.

Kalle Siebring, a blogger at Techned - a blog from Hill & Knowlton in the Netherlands - writes about the frustration of a reporter at Het Financieele Dagblad (a financial newspaper) and about his own issue with "releasing news via blogs".

The story is the following; Roger Dassen, a businessman, resigned his function as Partner for a company called Ahold. He published this on his blog (in Dutch) among other musings of the day. A reporter from the above mentioned newspaper felt "left out on the news" and wrote an article (on the frontage) that blogs are not the place to post "news".

Now that a reporter misses out on what could be a nice story because it is posted on a blog first... well, sorry but it happens and will happen more and more now that information and news can be published and distributed by almost anyone with a PC and an Internet connection. Wake up to a brave new world...

But that a PR professional would agree with that statement is something I do not understand. Here's a comment from Kalle Siebring on the Techned blog:

If every CEO posts news on its blog, where does that leave us? Shouldn't corporate news be made accessible for everybody on recognized public places? [...] As long as they (blogs) are not being widely read by each and every journalist (real public places), blogs are not suitable for communicating news.

"Where does that leave us ?" Kalle Siebring asks...

Well it leaves you, and all PR professionals, in a new environment which is NOT based on control of information. The communications model has changed you know. And yes there are legal requirements for companies to communicate officially, but Mr. Dassen has equally the right to post this change in careers on his blog as well. Some companies even have the rule not to officially communicate on changes in personnel.

I am amazed reading this from a PR blogger... (Especially when I like reading Boyd Neil, also a blogger at Hill & Knowlton...)

What do you think ?

Technorati : Boyd Neil, Kalle Siebring, Roger Dassen, het financieele dagblad, hill & knowlton, media relations, new media, techned
Del.icio.us : Boyd Neil, Kalle Siebring, Roger Dassen, het financieele dagblad, hill & knowlton, media relations, new media, techned

Ex-employee of Lockheed uncovers security flaws on US Coast Guard patrol boats on YouTube.

Mr. De Kort used YouTube as an outlet for his frustration with what he calls serious security issues on some patrol boats of the Coast Guard. After being laid off by Lockheed Martin, his employer, he decided that it was time to come in the open about.

"It may be very hard for you to believe that our government and the largest defense contractor in the world [are] capable of such alarming incompetence and can make ethical compromises as glaring as what I am going to describe." he stated in his home made clip.

The story was picked up by the Washington Post and I found it via the eastwikkers blog.

Apart from the fact that YouTube can be used to point to issues or be used by disgruntled employees or "whistle-blowers" (I do not imply that Mr. De Kort fits any of these descriptions), the reaction from different sources was also interesting to note....

From the "we have taken appropriate action... (corporate speak follows)" from the Coast Guard to the "I want to make sure that the product we paid for is a product that does not jeopardize our men and women in service," politically correct response from a politician.

Technorati : coast guard, employee, lockheed, security, washington post, youtube

A story entitled "Recall of Defect Product Works as Advertising" (in Dutch) tells us that the product recall of Dell has increased their shares on the stock exchange and is even good for their public image. The story first appeared in NRC Handelsblad, a Dutch newspaper.

The story, just published on the news site of Telenet (a telco operator) also quotes a specialized lawyer from Nauta Dutilh called Stijn Franken who said the following:

"Recall is good for 2 reasons; the company gets in the news and with a positive story, namely that it is taking active measures against damage" (translated from Dutch)

The reporter goes on to concluding that this strategy worked for Dell because their shares have increased in value with 4% on the NY stock exchange.

Now this is really jumping conclusions don't you think. Making assumptions that all this - product recall, positive impact on image and increase in share value - is linked is a real big leap of faith. I have a bit of an issue with this article, both with the content and with it's form:

• Product recalls after product failure are never "a positive thing"; it is hard work, takes up a lot of resources and has definitely an impact on the image of the company. That it will have a positive or negative impact on the image totally depends on how the company handles the recall and how it communicates about it.

• A preemptive product recall (before anything has gone wrong) has more chances to show good citizenship and business ethics than a recall after things blew up or caught fire like they did in this specific case.

• Assuming that a product recall positively influences the shares on the stock exchange is dangerous. Major recalls can affect share value but before printing this as it has been in this article requires proof and analysis, not just a quote from a specialist.

What are your thoughts on this ? Let me know.

PS: Infoworld claims in a story that both Dell and Sony already knew about the battery issues 10 months ago.

Technorati : NRC, NRC+handelsblad, Nauta+Dutilh, Stijn+Franken, crisis, dell, dell+hell, product+recall, telenet

Ever searched for "public relations" on YouTube, the video sharing site ? You'll be amazed at what you see there but here's one I though was... "quaint"..?

Technorati : PR, communications, media+relations, public+relations, youtube

Don't blog... that's the advise of Citigate First Financial, a communications consultancy specialised in financial and corporate communications based in the Netherlands. I found their website and articles through a post on Corporatewebsite.com.

Strange to hear this from a Dutch agency... Their weekly article on the topic has some very strong quotes like:

"When visiting a number of weblogs on the internet, you end up feeling like you are in the Wild West, with snipers on the roofs and boobytraps all over the place."

"Nevertheless, a Dutch listed company would rather want to control publicity itself..."

Now when you read the full article you sense the fright the blogosphere brings to financial communicators. Their advise to clients is "Read blogs, but don't leave a message. Don't blog."...

They have the wrong approach I think. Monitor blogs, comment where needed and start blogging yourselves. Learn the medium, talk to other companies who do use new media to communicate to their investors. Once the first fear is gone, start small... but start, otherwise you miss out on a great opportunity.

Citigate also has a great article on how Dutch companies inform and communicate with the press and analysts. Shows that you need to translate material in local language, that you need to tailor your info and delivery to your audience and that webcasts are great with analysts...

Technorati : analyst, blog, blogging, citigate, edelman, financial+communications, press+conference, press+release, webcast