The public relations function typically constructs media pitches based on the story that the company wants to tell. These stories tend to be pristine narratives — the sun is shining; birds are chirping — that dull the senses. That largely explains why 95%+ of pitches to the business media fail. Instead, we should be thinking …more
You’ve heard the phrase, “read the room.” Huawei can’t read the room. In spite of an in-house communications team that includes talented pros from the West, they continue to make amateur mistakes. The latest comes in the form of an open letter to the U.S. media published last week in The Wall Street Journal. If …more
Imagine that. I’ve railed over the years that most prepared quotes have the stiffness of plywood. A couple of years ago I randomly selected 50 news releases from the wire services and extracted the quotes for study. The following cross section of samples captures the essence: “We are very proud of the inauguration of our …more
Between the internet, social media and human beings’ proclivity for talking, transparency is the rage. Companies figure that even sensitive information — especially sensitive information — eventually finds its way to the outside world, so they’re better off sharing their perspective before the grapevine kicks into gear. Yet, there’s zero transparency in the letters that …more
The plan from Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan to “tinker” with the American healthcare system caused quite an uproar. It’s not every day that Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos join forces to figure out a way to eliminate those pesky clipboards holding the forms that you fill out every time you make a pit stop …more
Does PR Get Storytelling? As one way to answer the question, we randomly selected 50 news releases and applied three tests to them. Test #1 We analyzed the use of adjectives and adverbs, often a shortcut to genuine storytelling. If you say you’re great, no one believes you. . On the other hand, sharing a …more
Communicators have picked up the thought leadership religion. With demand for product news similar to Vote-Hillary T-shirts, many have figured out that thought leadership can bring salvation, a door opener to media coverage.Yet, for all the talk about thought leadership, there can be a huge gap between the theory and what happens on the execution …more
The executive quote serves as a mainstay of PR-generated content from news releases to prepared statements. With rare exception, they’re dreadful. It’s as if each quote goes through the following process in which a conscious effort is made to squeeze out any semblance of humanity: The upshot — PR ends up crafting quotes like this …more
Regardless of your politics, no president has brought out the humanity of the Oval Office like President Obama. How much comes from President Obama himself as opposed to his advisers? The question misses the point. He gets it or he wouldn’t sign off. As exhibit A, take a look at the statement from President Obama …more
