Germany Galcier Is Melting

According to ZUGSPITZE, Germany (Reuters), the glacier is melting despite the Herculean efforts to save it.
Frank Huber, the manager of cable car and skiing operations on the 2,962-meter peak in the northern Alps is very sad that the glacier is melting and he can’t do anything for it.
He regrets that his children may not see it and enjoyed it as he did when he was little boy.
Scientists blame it on global warming and on the change in the climate.
What do you think? Should the weather be blamed for the melting glacier?

Thailand Plans a PR Campaign

In order to enhance and improve their image aboard, Thailand decided to hire a US public relation agency. They decided to launch the campaign in order to help improve the country's image after last year's military coup. The prime minister of Thailand said that the country will spend roughly $600,000 dollars on the three month campaign. However the foreign minister spokesperson said that the country will only spend $ 165,000 on the three month campaign. The prime minister mentioned that although the campaign is not judge, something is better than nothing.
I agree with him, but I believe instead of acting so fast t the bad publicity(U.S. pharmaceutical industry attacked Thailand in an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal last week), they should better plan their campaign, ensuring more funds. They want their international image to improve, but can this really happen with the size of this campaign? And with such limited funding?
To read the full article click here:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1910558.htm

Cisco Visit

I would also like to thank Carol Welsh for coming into our class last Monday. Since I was a child, Apple Computer was the main name in my household. In fact, there is a picture of me on my dad's lap at about age 2, banging on the keyboard of a very mid-80's Macintosh computer.

When I first heard the controversy of the 'iPhone,' I automatically sided with Apple. Knowing very little about the argument, it is easy to assume that Apple had every right to utilize the 'i' for the purpose of naming their product. After all, as tradition goes, most electronics manufactured by Apple, have an 'i' at the start of the very simple title.

However, after researching and reading through Cisco's VERY opinionated literature, it was interesting to see the over half of the controversy...have an opportunity to play 'devil's advocate,' if you will. I found it very ironic that Cisco had claimed the name of the new device so early on, and yet Apple used it regardless.

I simply thought hearing the other side of the story from a Cisco representative, was a very unique PR tool and a useful one for us students to hear, if for no other reason than listening to an already credible company defend their product.

I will still purchase the Apple iPhone® in late June, when it is scheduled to launch.

And I am very excited about it.

Second Life and Public Relations

The "Virtue Life" Tech Special Report done by the BusinessWeek was out on April 27, 2007 envisions a totally immersive 3-D web that offers a rich panorama of experience to rival our physical lives.

Many experiments are being done on the "Second Life." Companies realized the beneficial B-to-B applications - virtual meetings, showrooms, presentations.

Gartner says the 80% of active Internet users will have a virtual life by the end of 2011.

For a hint of where this is going in Public Relations, check out Business Communicators of Second Life - about “how to communicate and participate in 3-D environments” and ”how to use and create 360-degree content for new online spaces and the emerging 3D web.” How do you create a word-of-mouth program for avatars? How do you mesh the virtual with the physical for a truly mashed up PR program?

PR Source: PR Blog News

More on PR analysis

Many thanks to Carol Welsh of Cisco Systems for coming in to our class this week to talk about PR assessment and analysis.

A student in Rob Barlow's section of PR 191 asked Welsh to recommend a book on public relations analysis. She wrote:

"I did some digging and have found Don Stacks' book. It was published in 2002, but the concepts are very current. Also below are some of the 'professional' reviews of the book, courtesy of Amazon."

Primer of Public Relations Research
by Don W. Stacks (2002)

"This book will undoubtedly make a major contribution to public relations research education. Its clarity and breadth of scope make it equally appropriate for undergraduates preparing to enter the job market, graduate students in master's or doctoral programs, and working professionals seeking greater research application ability. Unusually well written and easy to understand, the book serves the multiple knowledge needs that we confront in public relations education."--Melvin L. Sharpe, College of Communication, Information, and Media, Ball State University

"Many public relations practitioners avoid using research in their day-to-day work. There are several excuses: good research takes time and money; some practitioners want to avoid accountability for what they do and how they do it; and the way many of us learned research methods in college made the subject seem boring, difficult, and tedious. In this book, Don Stacks shoots down nearly every excuse for not using research, showing how it can be accessible, affordable, and even fun. In his usual engaging style, Stacks gives practitioners a better understanding of what research is and how it can help them."--John W. Felton, President and CEO, Institute for Public Relations

It sounds like an excellent resource.

Barbie Goes Online

With technology advancing ever so quickly, it's no wonder Mattel Inc.'s Barbie decided to start a website of their own. After sales declined for the Barbie line by 21% the first quarter, Mattel Inc. decided to create BarbieGirls.com, a website that combines preteen girls' interests of dolls and the Internet. On the website, girls can either create their own fashion, shop in malls, or dress their dolls. Mattel created this website in hope that it will increase their sales, since it seems more kids want to play online more than they want to play with toys.
Technology is becoming more important everyday, especially the Internet. For Mattel, creating this website is a good move because nowadays, everything's been moving online. With the Internet becoming the new medium, it won't be too far when all marketing will be online.

Orioles PR stunt

Pitcher Curt Schilling of the Baltimore Orioles has caused a stir in the world of baseball and PR. The controversy began when the team played the Red Sox in a 2004 game.

The pitcher had what looked like a bloody sock on his foot. The pitcher claimed it was from loose stiches he recieved on his ankle. But now the truth is revealed. The sock was actually painted.

The charge that Schilling faked the bloody sock has been made before, including in GQ magazine, which cited an anonymous Red Sox player as its source.

"It (the sock) was painted,"Gary Thorne said to analyst Jim Palmer during the broadcast. "It was painted. Doug Mirabelli confessed up to it after. It was all for PR (public relations)."

Later in the broadcast, Thorne, who also works for ESPN, confirmed Mirabelli told him of the "painted sock" in a earlier conversation. However, later Mirabelli told The Boston Globe that Thorne’s quote was a "straight lie."

However, Schilling has denied the claims about the sock being painted. He reported that he had surgery on the same ankle after the Orioles losing season to repair torn ligaments.

It may take DNA experts to finally settle the rumors surrounding Curt Schilling famous bloody sock.

A publicity stunt? Or just false information? Well either way people became interested in the Orioles for the rest of that season. The bloody sock is still talked about to this day. Bloody or paint, eveyone is interested and watching them.

Green Marketing

British Gas has launched a major new business division called British Gas New Energy designed to provide households and businesses with a wide range of low carbon products and services.
Alongside offering customers green energy tariffs and carbon offsets certified by the EU and the UN, the new business will also offer a wide range of services designed to improve the energy efficiency of customers' buildings.
In particular the company has pledged to only install A-rated high efficiency boilers, continue to develop its insulation installation programme, and also provide installation of both solar panels for heating water and photovoltaic cells.
British Gas said it had also inked an agreement with six local authorities that will see customers buying solar panels costing from £4,300 will qualify for a discount on their council tax of up to £500. The company said it hopes that other councils will also sign up to the new scheme.
In this case study, we found that green marketing is becoming trend, it is especially important to those businesses which may cause some pollution. Therefore, we can easy to find campaign in the same field of British Gas, like www.shell.com. All they are attempting to do is gain the goodwill from consumer.

Press Release Tying to Make Money

Just two days after the VT massacre, a company called US Netcom tried to make money from it.

With the dead unburied and many injured students still recovering, US Netcom claimed that they sold something that could have prevented the whole thing, and at a low price! Can you believe that? The press release was distributed on April 18. Here's a part of it:

"For $1 per student per year, services such as AllCall Notification could have provided VT with a method of crisis control capable of reaching every student far faster than email. It should have been in place as part of the school's emergency preparedness plan...There is a tragic lesson for every educator of every school-age student: AllCall or other notification services can save lives."

I'm sure these notification systems are helpful and really do save lives. And I'm sure many schools already have them in place. But you have to seriously wonder about a company that would figure the publicity upside is worth more than the anger and pain it creates by issuing this sales pitch RIGHT after an unfortunate tragedy like the one at Virginia Tech.

Teacher Fired for Mock student shootings

A professor was having a discussion with his students about the Virginia Tech shootings and pointed to some students and said "pow". The discussion also included gun control and controling violence with violence http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles/_a/professor-fired-after-mock-student/20070424002309990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001.

The following Friday he received a letter from the college stating that he was fired. It seems like the college, which is a Catholic liberal arts college, did not want any negative publicity for what the professor did and took action immediately.

Now the college is getting some heat for firing the professor and not allowing free discussion. One student said that the discussion was not offensive and the professor was simply illustrating a point during the discussion.

Was the college right in firing him?

Target: Out of this World Ads

Target has installed some animated commercials at subway stations in several cities including San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Chicago.



As you can see from the YouTube video above, their commercials are pretty cool and reminiscent of old Super 8 movies with the quick, jumpy pictures and no sound. Nice.

Target outspends Wal-Mart in marketing by about $100 million (according to 2004 figures from Ad Age). It shows when seeing creative applications like these.

Wal-Mart is also pushing ahead with its marketing. The much-maligned retailer is girding up its in-store TV network to serve up more content and, of course, ads (not just its own). According to USA Today, Wal-Mart TV has more than 125,000 screens in about 3,100 of Wal-Mart's 4,022 U.S. stores and a potential audience of more than 127 million shoppers per week.

Yeah, according to WWD, 84 percent of the U.S. population visits one of the retailer's stores each year. Wal-Mart wants to entertain them so they might stay awhile and make their stores much more than just a shopping destination.

Target has to be creative considering those numbers. Target has to outspend to reach all of the customers they know will wind up shopping a Wal-Mart at one point or another. Does that sound odd? Consider this—the top 10 retailers reported $488 billion in 2004 sales. Wal-Mart sales made up more than half of this number, with $285 billion. These numbers make Target’s marketing accomplishments that much more impressive.

So, what will the next chapter in the story bring consumers?

Video Resumes

Career Builder is now offering job seekers the choice to post video highlights to their resumes. Thanks to computer technology, Web 2.0 makes it possible with more increasing capabilities and decreasing costs.

These video resumes can initially be seen as a good thing to make your resume unique and different. But you have to be careful. In the midst of trying to make your video edgy and authentic, you don't want your videos to resemble videos seen on shows like America's Funniest Home Videos.

So these video resumes can add a touch to a resume, but just remember to think twice before posting your video and make sure you aim for a polished finished product so you don't kill your chance of an employer skipping past your resume.

TERRIBLE E-MAIL MISTAKE

The Golden State Warriors bring about the second public relations scandal by a professional team in the Bay Area in the last year. An article on cbs5.com says that the public relations manager of the team, Eric Govan, was fired Wednesday for sending out an email titled “Ghetto Prom”, to his entire media distribution team. The email included 17 pictures depicting students outfits, and making racial related comments. Gavan apologized for his action, and claimed that it had all been a terrible accident since he had initially indented to send the pictures to his wife. The teams president Robert Rowell on the other hand, made it clear that the comments and action of Gavan did not represent the values and beliefs of the Golden State Warriors. We’ll see what issues arise from this incident. I’m sure that the people depicted in the pictures are not at all happy.This is another example of how emails can get people in some serious trouble. This is definitely a mistake that Gavan is probably still regretting.
To read the entire article click here:
http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_032213221.html

Cause-related marketing

When I saw these signs in the Aveda story window in the mall the other day, I was reminded of Myra, Lina and Gabriela's presentation on cause-related marketing.

My question to you is this: Do you think this cause is a good match for Aveda? Do you think this campaign is likely to win customer loyalty or new customers for the company? Why or why not?

The campaign is also featured on the Aveda website. Check it out and leave me a comment telling me what you think.

The Connection with Customers - Store Magazine

H & M is a success fashion retail business that has loyal fans around the world. People line up and wait outside the store for the opening day in major cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago etc. Of course, the company spends thousands billions of dollar in advertising both in print and television, however, one of the key strategies is to build the connection with customers. The usage of a store magazine functions like a newsletter, which allows customer to know more about the company’s prospective, service, product, and most importantly, to build a positive image of the company. For instance, the H & M magazine includes fashion news like catwalk news in Europe and up-to-date fashion guides, which highlight the unique fashion style and reinforce the fashion trend with the company.
For more information, please go to:
http://www.hm.com/us/

- Jasmine

Wal-Mart did it again

Wal-Mart cut down the price of a top brand name—the 42-in. Panasonic high-definition TV—by $500, to $1,294. Wal-Mart’s low prices policy has caused many electronic stores to suffer. In fact, Circuit City after closing down 70 stores, they laid off 3,400 employees and put its 800 Canadian stores on the block on March 28. ff 3,400 employees and put its 800 Canadian stores on the block. Tweeter Home Entertainment Group is closing 49 of its 153 stores and dismissed 650 workers and Dallas-based CompUSA is closing 126 of its 229 stores.
Is it good PR for Wal-Mart? Of course, it is. But, how about the other businesses?
I believe that Wal-Mart is giving other businesses more causes to hate the giant retailers and to seek its destruction.
What do you think?

Read More

Advertising vs Public Relations

Since I am studying advertising and public relations in this semester, I want to share my opinion on the differences between advertising and public relations to all of you. After reading the article in this website, I sum up some points and list them out as below.

1. Free or paid?

Advertising company needs to pay for the space of an ad no matter it's on the newspaper, magazines or tv. For the main duty of a PR, he/she needs to get free publicity for a coporation.

2. Content control

A successful ad must be creative so that the audience would memorize the product or service the ad tries to sell. Therefore, advertising company can freely control the content of an ad. Yet, PR company cannot control how the media presents the information.

3. Promoting/ publishing duration

An ad can be used as long as you want once you pay for it. Generally, a press release can only be submitted once.

4. Credibility

Even though how impressive or creative an ad can be, the basic function of an ad is to sell a product or serivce. This feeling is something that the audience can always feel whenever they see an ad. When the audience are reading a press release of a corporation, they are more likely to think the information is trustworthy.

5. Target audience

The only target audience of an ad is the any possible and potential customers of a specific product or service. Besides having this common audience, another target audience of PR is the editors of a newspaper or magazine since they are the people who decide to publish the press release or not.

Blogging goes crazy after Virginia Tech shootings

The tragedy at Virginia Tech this past week has caused bloggers to spark into a frenzy. Bloggers have now come forward with their experiences and aspects of the story- including many Virginia Tech bloogers who turned to their computers as the event unraveled.

Some bloggers write about people who were killed in the shooting, including a professor who was a Holocaust survivor who threw himself in front of the shooter to save his students. Others write about their Alma Mater VT.

Many are lashing out at the response of their school, and the intense invasion of the media onto the Virginia Tech school campus. But the most commented-on blogs are from the VT students who were live-blogging on Monday here and here and here. Students also reportedly used social networks like Facebook and MySpace and other messaging technologies like Twitter.

Blogging has become such a force in the PR world, but this horrible tragedy has turned us to realize that blogs are often valuable and very versitile. The fact that these blogs have offered more information than most news stations has caused people to turn to the Virginia Tech bloggers for information and their current feelings.

Blogging is the current outlet that these students have, and they are utilizing it in every way. The massacre will go down in history as the worst campus shooting of all time, and the blogosphere will ensure that it’s not soon forgotten.

Second Life

Adam Broitman, director of emerging and creative strategy at Morpheus Media, is organizing a reality mashup that has two central cross-currents: Buddahead playing live at The Canal Room which will be streamed live to Morpheum Sim on Second Life. Morpheum Sim on Second Life will be streamed back live to the plasma screens at The Canal Room. So Buddahead is here, there, back again, real time in simultaneous realities.

Check out the video of the Buddahead “Broken” video:


The PR strategies are now integrated with Second Life initiatives. It is at the beginning stage and is believed that it will be a great potential for the market.

Sources: PR Blog News

The Importance of Crisis Communications

The horror that unfolded at Virginia Tech feels like an inappropriate topic for blogs, but everyone is affected by this tragedy. Reading and watching the news sheds light on an all too familiar pattern. As the whole story emerges, the conversations around this tragedy help us all in many ways. More specifically, it offers insight on how communications professionals can prepare other organizations for a crisis and also, to remind us the necessity and importance of this preparation.

I realize that preparing for a crisis and living the crisis are quite different. But if you don't prepare, then you are that much worse off.

Wal Mart Goes Green

Wal Mart, known for its number of appearances in the news for bad image, tries a new approach in regaining a better look and respect for their company.
The company is now trying to go green by finding better ways to conserve energy and save the environment. According to MSNBC, these methods include telling their suppliers to use less packaging, making their gass-guzzling trucks more efficient, and having new stores use energy conservation ideas.
In addition, Wal Mart lauched a huge national ad campaign promoting their new environmentally friendly products. These products include organic cotton clothes, low-energy light bulbs, and organic food.
Wal Mart's new idea for a new image is an obvious public relations step to gain better business and the usual environmentalist customers they never thought they could get. By trying this approach, they are able to target a completely new audience and create an image that will hopefully make their old one disappear.

A misunderstanding?

On Tuesday night, Simon Cowell supposedly rolled his eyes when contestant Chris Richardson gave his condolences to the families and students at Virginia Tech. Many people were outraged http://www.tmz.com/2007/04/18/simon-says-i-wasnt-listening-im-horrified/.

Simon was not even aware of the issue until after the show. When he heard about it, he immediately issued a statement saying, "I couldn't hear what Chris had said. I was talking to Paula. My reaction (rolling my eyes) was to what he had said previously, that singing nasally is a form of singing."

Later in the show, Simon spoke for all three judges and said that their hearts went out to the families and students at Virginia Tech. In this particular case, I believe Simon. The judges frequently talk to each other while the contestants are talking to Ryan Seacrest on the stage. During this great tragedy, I really don't think Cowell would be dumb enough to roll his eyes. But then again, anything is possible....

1400 Year-old Family Business Absorbed

It's a sad day for Kongo Gumi. Reduced financial giving at Buddhist temples, coupled with a recession in the early 1990s irreperably harmed the business.

The keys to the company's impressive run? A mix of conservatism and flexibility, according to the company's former president Masakazu Kongo. Public relations, as an industry is in its infancy. Can the industry withstand the test of time? Here's a list of what we're up against.

Let me begin by sending my love and care for those families of the V-tech victims....(moment of silence)

As touchy and monstrous as it is everyone has heard of the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. Sadly what they have not heard was that the New York Times and Inside Edition are trying to make a profit on it. In recent news Ken Wheaton of AdAge pointed out that both the New York Times and Inside Edition have purchased sponsored links on the search term "Virginia Shooting" with Google. There is also evidence that Time Magazine and The Washington Post have bought ads too, on Yahoo and Google. Personally this is border line wrong. How would the families of the victims feel if they knew about this? Would they approve? When does business cross the line?

What do YOU think?

To Make Your Freelance Writing As A Business

Flexible working hours, "stress-free" working atmosphere and lots of holidays are most people's dream about their jobs. If you are one of those and you like writing, you can make your dream come true. Freelance writing, if you start it wisely, can be a very good business. I read an article on Start your freelance writing business. I agree with the author so much. It is true that people whoever decided to be a freelance writer are one step ahead of those who just only talk about what they want but never take action.

In the article, the author suggests people to do some research on how to start the business in advance. Besides, it is also important to have a business plan. There are many books and websites which people can find a lot of useful information.

Apart from the above preparations, I think that having a business card is also crucial in starting a business. Even though you are only a freelance writer but not a businessman, once you treat it as a business, you will need a business card if you are looking for success. A business card make people more professional. Beside all the basic information like name, address, phone, fax and email, remember to put a website address on the name card so that people can access to your website where they can find your background information and writing samples. Website is the fastest way to help spread and promote your business.

Don't Do It.

The authors of The Bad Pitch Blog have made a point to strongly urge professionals in the pr business, or in the business of making pitches, to not attach pitches to national tragedies. His warning comes with the horrific shooting at Virginia Tech and is not only timely, but is also just good advice.
The blog's author says that people and companies who are helping the Virginia Tech students recover are doing so because it is the right thing to do, and not because it is a publicity opportunity.
Perhaps it is just my cynicism, but I think that the blog's author has it wrong. I think that what ultimately drives companies to help victims, needy families etc, is that it is the right thing to do...but these companies have press people who are telling them "this will be great for our image!" So, I find it hard to believe that the benefits of aiding needy people don't factor into a company's decision to do so.

Introduction to Second Life

This video explains how Second Life, a new virtual world works and how companies in our real life take advantages from it. For instance, companies can use it to find out the potential of a new product in its market and to see if innovative ideas can be adopted in the real world.

Check it and have fun!

-Jasmine

The Various Styles of Blogging

Looking at the Ogilvy blog pages, I came across an insightful blog regarding the various styles of blogging. Rohit Bhargava, vice president of interactive marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations, created the "25 Basic Styles of Blogging", explaining the different styles that exist and what each one is like. Since we participate in blogging for PR 191, I found the information very useful.
For example, he goes into detail regarding the different types, which include insight blogging, piggyback blogging, review blogging, event blogging, and live blogging. Live blogging seemed the most interesting to me as it shows how advance technology is nowadays and how important it is in our lives. Live blogging is "blogging at a fast pace about something in real time as it happens." It also involves posting through "mobile blogging." This makes it so that blogging is easily accessible and something that will be everywhere.
Another interesting style was insight blogging, which is considered one of the most difficult styles of blogging because it involves "sharing insights, original ideas, and commentary" on a certain topic. That means unlike every other blog, you have to come up with your own idea of what to talk about, rather than what has been said or in the news.
So the next time you visit different blog sites, study the various styles there are out there. Blogging is more complex than one would think!

Crisis Communication

April 16, 2007 - there is a shooter happening on campus in Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. In the disaster, at least 33 people are dead in what may be the biggest mass shooting in modern American history. It was a really shocking news to the world and it is also a crisis for the university. However, the principal of the university did not show their care to this event. And he did not try to communicate with the media well. Until now, he did not clarify who is the dead or the injured. To be a better communicator, I think he should show his care to the injured or the family of the dead. Second, he should react to the disaster in a proactive way. Before talking to the media, he should get all the statistic of the dead or the injured including their age, gender or nationality. Even though he hasn't known the informaiton, he has to promise to the media that as long as he has the relevant information, he will provide the information that the media wants.

Blogging Can Lead to New Opportunities

I came across a story from the April 10th edition of the Wall Street Journal. It was a story about How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job. It has a long, I mean, a long list of PR bloggers that have got new jobs simply from blogging. They also point out which social media skills have helped them make that transition happen.

I thought this was really interesting for those of you who do blog regularly. I have to admit that before this class, I never really ever blogged before. Now, I am more comfortably blogging and actually enjoy it.

But just note that if you are currently working for a company as a blogger, you might want to be careful not to publish anything that hints that you are planning to leave your company. If that is the case, you might suddenly find yourself without a job.

If you haven't heard...listen up...In recent drama news as I would like to call it...Don Imus has been dropped from his MSNBC show. Wondering who Don Imus is? Well lets say in a "nice" way he's that potty mouth man everyone has been talking about. Don Imus direct quote " "Let me tell you, I'll bet you I've slept in a house with more black children who were not related to me than you have." NYT is considered dull compared to his recent slip up on Rutgers Women Basketball team. If you analyze Imus past antics then you wouldn't be surprised. Imus has a thing for racist and sexist remarks. In releasing his latest quote his lost his job, but not because of what he said but because advertisers like Staples, GM, Bigelow Tea and Procter & Gamble decided they didn’t want to be associated with a personality who would be so callous as to pick on over-achieving college girls. So the moral of the story is that you can almost say anything just as long as you don't piss off your advertisers.

What do you think?

ETHICS IN THE TECH WORLD

I came across a very interesting report about the ethical scandals being caused by tech companies. The article states that more than 75 technical companies have revealed ethical violations in recent months. This is astonishing given the fact that there are passionate customers behind all these companies. However, although many tech companies are having pr problems, their shareholders don’t seem to be bothered. For example, Shares of Take-Two have doubled since the company revealed a Fraudulent results on an accounting investigation in July. There are many other tech companies who have revealed similar accounting problems, however the their stock hits are not being affected. I guess people are too concerned about making money, and don’t seem to worry about the ethical consequences. Another great example is Yahoo’s input with doing business in China where the government s and monitors Internet use for signs of rebellion. Yahoo simply says that China should feel grateful of having restricted internet access because “limited” is better than “nothing”.
This is an interesting article…if you want to read more:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20070411/tc_usatoday/techcompaniescaughtinwebofethicsissues

Mass Shooting on Virginia Tech Campus

Just a few hours ago, an assailant, who is believed to have acted alone, went on a shooting rampage across the Virginia Tech campus. He started his rampage in one of the dorm buildings and then moved across campus to an engineering building where the majority of his shooting occurred. There was a two hour period between his initial attack in the dorm building and his shooting in the engineering building. Emergency response personnel arrived on campus shortly after the first 911 call was made from the dorm building. Although police officials responded quickly to the first call, they were unable to stop the assailant before he shot dozens more students. According to CNN, the current count on fatalities is at 32, with many more students injured.

The news media has been covering this incident all morning long and it seems that their coverage will continue on for days if not weeks or months. Obviously, the main priority of all people involved in this tragedy is to find answers to who was behind these murders and what was the motive behind the shootings. The next priority for all Virginia Tech administrators and city police officials is to start a PR campaign that promotes the idea that Virginia Tech is making strides to make the campus a safe place. The news media's extensive coverage on this tragedy is going to make damage control a necessity. Campus officials are going to need to make press releases, set up news conferences, and make television or radio appearances in order to get their messages out to the effected publics. They will need to focus on the positive actions they have taken to help those harmed by this event, such as setting up counselling services. They will also have to try and convince students and the parents of Virginia Tech students that the school is not a dangerous place to be. Sugar-coating over this situation is not going to be possible, so crisis PR tactics are going to need to be used.

For up to date information on this situation check out CNN.com

One person, one ticket

Beijing Olympic tickets went on sale in the Chinese capital on the basis of one ticket per person.
"Limiting tickets to one per person is a problem for sure, but there are just too many of us Chinese," said Wang Wei, secretary general of the Beijing Organising Committee.
"We've taken this policy to ensure many more people can watch the games." he added.
More than 7 million tickets will be available to the public, 75% of the tickets will be reserved for the Chinese people.
Tickets will be sold via the internet and at 1,000 branches of the Bank of China.
Officials are hoping to make $140m from tickets sales.
The Olympic Games will begin on 8 August 2008.

Tips On Advertising

Today I want to share some ideas about advetising. I am taking a course on advertising copywriting and I always need to think of headlines for products. In the article How to write a great slogan for your business, the author thinks that the headline or slogan of an ad should stand out its USP(unique selling proposition) in a way the audience will only choose the particular product but not other competitors'. I think it's really true. Of course I am not that great enough to think of an outstanding and well-known slogan like "Just do it", but I want to share some of my opinion on making a good slogan.

First of all, a slogan should be short. Good slogan or headline is not really compulsory to be short. David Ogilvy, the father of advertising, once made a very famous and successful long headline for the ad of Rolls Royce: At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls Royce comes from the electric clock. Yet, how many slogans can people remember if every one is long like that? Therefore, I think the most important criteria to create an effective slogan is to make it short so that the audience can remember it easily.

Next, the slogan should, like I mentioned in the first paragraph, emphasize the USP which is the thing to differentiate the specific brand. Therefore, the slogan should bring out the character of the product so as to set apart from the competitors.

Last but not least, I think it is also essential to create rhythm and rhyme in the slogan, which is something I always love to do for my headlines. Again, it is not a must to do so. But you can make your slogan a lot easier to remember. When the audience has a great memory of your slogan, your ad is more likely to reach success.

Here's to Number 42

Ten years ago the number 42 was retired by all Major League Baseball teams to honor the one and only Jackie Robinson. Today marked the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the day that Robinson broke the color barrier and stepped onto a professional baseball field. In his honor, there was a huge celebration at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles near his home in Pasadena. Although his number has been retired from professional baseball, his number was worn today by over 200 players and coaches throughout the league to help celebrate his momentous achievement and honor his memory.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field with the then Brooklyn Dodgers to become the first professional baseball player of color. Robinson helped the Dodgers to beat San Diego 9 - 3. According to Bud Selig, the commissioner of the MLB, 'Jackie was an American hero and the ultimate barrier-breaker. Threats to his life were commonplace. Yet Jackie took everything hate-mongers had to offer him. Not only is he a baseball Hall of Famer, he's a Hall of Famer for all-time.'

The "Twitter" Does What?

The "twitter" has many critics but this article offers support to the "twitter" and its usefulness. "Twitter" is an online community available at anytime anywhere. This article argues that there are benefits to the "twitter." It can make existing professional relationships stronger and more intimate. It allows people to connect and stay in touch without actually talking to one another. The "twitter" gets questions answered from a network of people in a non-intrusive way. It also expands your network and allows for business contacts. It can promote blogs and increase awareness and support of issues and events. It also allows for family and friends to coordinate availability, so that you don't bother or interrupt anyone.

While this article is overtly positive, many believe that the "twitter" communities will soon be non-existent to exist because every convenience they offer can be addressed by other means. Also with few people adopting the "twitter" lifestyle the communities are less effective because they need people watching and participating to garner great effects and networking.

Integrating online PR with other media

Online media are communications tools. They join hundreds of communications tools in use. Online media allow: multimedia, push and interactive communication, speed of delivery, wide choices in formatting and presentation, localized and international reach, timely and timeless, and a variety of technologies.

According to the post "Integrating Online PR" on Horton: Online PR , "when other corporate media are integrated and directed toward a specific result, online public relations should integrate with them. When other corporate media are not directed toward a specific result, online public relations activities need not integrate with them."

Online PR can be used as a supplementary medium to reach target audiences. As shown above, the online media allows a great variety of uses. Therefore, it is important to know when to integrate online PR with other media for greater and better results.

Will you hire her?

Spacey Gracey points out "Hiring A Blogger For Their Soical Networking Skills". She did a great job in the video: nice voice, useful content and professional tone.

Enjoy it~

Imus- A PR Crisis

Imus created an uproar last week when he called the women's Rutgers basketball team a bunch of "nappy-headed hos". It created a mini crisis management situation for Imus, CBS and MSNBC.

A variety of groups wanted Imus to be fired for his racist comments. Their wish came true http://news.aol.com/entertainment/articles/_a/cbs-fires-don-imus-from-radio-show/20070411183809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001. In an attempt to deal with the situation, MSNBC dropped his show and his sponsors canceled their contracts with him soon after. Imus was put on probation and it was just released today that CBS has decided to fire Imus.

CBS took action in a timely and efficient manner which is part of dealing with a crisis. Although Imus may not hear the end of it, CBS appears to be in the clear.

REI Undestands Good PR

REI is the outdoor retail chain and they know how to keep their customers happy. They offer store membership to everyone who comes through the store. It is a lifetime membership and REI charges only a one-time $15 during sign-up. The best part is that this includes a 10% refund on all your purchases at the end of the year. If you don't want to use it toward a purchase at a REI, you can turn it in for cash!

But REI doesn't stop there. They give back to the community by supporting local efforts to preserve the lands that outdoor people love. For example, they have partnered up with efforts to improve local trails. Not only do they make contributions, but store employees get together in groups and do the work themselves!

My best friend believes that by having one of these programs in place, they have made her a lifetime customer. Protecting trails may be one of her reasons, but it could also be that by December, she's already going to receive over $60.

Social media meetup

How Storytelling is (Still) Critical to Communications in the Blogosphere -- that's the topic of the next Third Thursday meetup, a group which focuses on social media in marketing and public relations.

Guest speakers include Elisa Camahort, a co-founder of BlogHer, and marketing exec Kathy Klotz-Guest. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 19, in Palo Alto. For details, see me...or check out the group's meetup web page.

$60.6 BILLION spent on Direct Mail in 2006!

After learning about direct mail techniques in class, I found a brief from the Center for Media Research showing an investment of $60.6 billion on direct mail in 2006. That is a 7.5% increase from the year before.
The brief states that though there will be growth in direct mail investment over the next two years, it will not be as large of an increase as this past year. New trends in direct mail techniques, such as marketing consolidation, are listed in the brief, as well as some strategies in direct mail R-O-I (return on investment). I highly recommend a quick look over of the brief- however the main thing that it is missing is detail on actual R-O-I from the $60.6 BILLION invested in direct mail in 2006.

Las Vegas-One Big PR Frenzy!

During my spring break vacation, I was able to spend some quality time in one of the nation's most popular vacation spots, Las Vegas. With PR fresh in my mind from the previous week of school, I picked up on a few interesting public relations techniques in Las Vegas that I thought were both useful and pointless, but that caught my attention nonetheless.

Promoters:
To begin with, PR representatives and promoters are swarming Las Vegas. While walking the strip, my girlfriends and I were stopped every 50 feet or so, and were summoned to listen to a long soliloquy about what clubs were popular for that particular evening. We met several promoters and while they shoved their homemade business cards and fliers into our hands, they would tell us excruciatingly long stories, usually including all of the 5 W's regarding the club for the evening. I found this to be an interesting, attention getting and information-providing technique. I also found it to be somewhat annoying and quickly, all of the clubs began to sound exactly the same, and nearly each club verbally 'bashed' the other 6 we had already heard about.

Fliers:
Most of these fliers that were forcefully shoved into our hands and purses were colorful, full of information, and made the holder of the flier to feel as though they were V.I.P., which is an honor in Las Vegas apparently. Each flier was similar to the ones we had received before in that they were smooth, shiny, usually had a picture of a scantily clad young lady in an awkward, suggestive pose, and seemed to promote some type of deal for the evening. "2 for 1 Kamakazi Shots" and "Ladies Get In For Free" were examples of these bargain deals. We tourists politely took the fliers and later discarded them in the hotel trash can, but I appreciated the gesture and informative technique anyway.

Billboards:
It seems as though every major hotel in Las Vegas has a large, popular club inside of it. For example, Cesar's Palace Hotel and Casino has a club called 'Pure,' the Bellagio Hotel and Casino has a club called 'Light,' and Treasure Island Hotel and Casino has a club called 'Tangerine.' Why all of these clubs only contain one word in their title, I will never understand. The public relations techniques used outside of the hotel, however, are fantastic. These billboards glow, light up, change colors, contain sound effects and much more. I was amazed and surprisingly, found myself attracted to the signs and wanting to go to the club advertised! Even I could peg it for a PR stunt, but was fooled enough to want to attend!

Altogether, I found Las Vegas to be as fabulous as it is advertised to be. I would tell you more about my vacation but as the television commercial states, "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas."

Racial Slurs Cause a Stir

CBS radio and MSNBC both announced today that they will be suspending radio show host Don Imus due to some racial slurs he made on his show last week. When talking about the Rutger's University women's basketball team (which has 8 African American team members) he said, "that's some rough girls from Rutger's. Man, they got tattoos..." Bernard McGuirk, a producer, chimed in by saying, "Some hardcore hos." Imus then responded with, "that's some nappy-headed hos there, I'm going to tell you that." The "nappy-headed hos," comment was met with some harsh criticism from African American community leaders, including Al Sharpton.

In an attempt to do some damage control, Imus has made several public apologies including an appearance on Al Sharpton's syndicated radio show. Imus has admitted that this was a joke that went, "way too far."

It is clear that Imus' image has been severally damaged by his remarks and the images of both CBS radio and MSNBC are also in jeopardy. Many people outraged by Imus' comments believe that in order for CBS and MSNBC to prove they are intolerant of racial comments, they need to fire Imus. Both CBS and MSNBC are feeling pressure to end Imus' radio career, but both networks have decided that a suspension is a proper form of punishment. Imus' has made promises to change his program's discourse and MSNBC has stated that, "our future relationship with Imus is contingent on his ability to live up to his word."

Imus has learned the hard way that it is important to think before you speak and he is going to need to make huge changes to his program if he is going to better his public image. One public relations tactic that he is doing successfully is his proactive approach to doing interviews and making numerous public apologies, but it is going to take a lot more than that to undo this mess.

Are We Addicted to the Virtual World

In the age of information, various technologies allow us to do more different things than the old time. For instance, we can simply upload video to YouTube to broadcast and express ourselves; we can use cell phone to check and reply e-mail instantly; we can subscribe different shows from Podcast and get the most up-to-date information automatically.
However, how many of you have ever thought about the problem lead by all this new inventions? In his article, "The Hyperconnected. We're addicted to data, and new inventions like Twitter and the iPhone will only make it worse," Grossman suggests that people in this centuries are becoming addicted to Internet application unconsciously. Here is an example: After a train comes out from the underground, the first thing all the passengers will do is to take out all kinds of the mobile devices and check e-mail or up-to-date news/ information immediately.
Today's technology companies seem to recognize that this trend is getting more serious and new inventions continuously fulfill our desires, such as the ongoing improvement of mobile devices, Google and Earthlink cover free wireless service in more cities and even suburban areas. Although these things seem improving our lives and draw people close too each other, it is time for us to step back and think about this question: the closeness of the virtual world may lead to the disconnection of things that are surrounding us in our real life, which may also prevent us from developing our own thoughts individually.

To learn more, please click here.


- Jas

Effective PR Campaings for Small Businesses

I came across an article published in Business Week about the importance of PR in small businesses. Small business owners are often limited in their marketing budget, therefore conducting public-relations campaigns is a cost-efficient and often effective way to find new customers and boost a quality reputation, according to the article.

When deciding whether to invest in advertising or PR for a small business, the answer is simple; There are times when businesses spend a lot on advertising and get nothing in return. Nevertheless, when people read articles, they take them more seriously, since they are not directly coming from the business, but written by a third party.

The article recommends for small business owners to start investing in PR after the word of mouth has done its course. They can start with the small, local press and pitch an article on their business, what makes you unique and interesting, why you started the company, and what it is that you do. The article recommend that as they approach reporters and editors, emphasize the things that differentiate you from other local business owners. This is a good way to begin.

The truth of the matter is that small businesses that don’t have a large amount of marketing or advertising budget can well off get results from performing a PR campaign, and get significant results.

Shada unites Iraq

Shada Hassoun, 25, Iraqi singer won the popular pan-Arab TV talent show. Her victory united the Iraqis and made them forget about the war and the instability in their beloved country for few moments.
Shada was a contestant in Star Academy Middle East, an Arab version of the French show Star Academy produced by Dutch company Endemol.
Shada’s trip to the success lasted four long months, where she was in Beirut, away of her family and her friends. However, she developed in Lebanon new friends and gained the love of thousand fans.
The success of Shada Hassoun is a message to the world that Iraq doesn’t mean only war. Iraqi people deserve to live and enjoy life to its full.
Could Shada’s success reflect a different world’s view of Iraq.
Could her success generate good PR for her hurt country?
Can her singing bring peace to Iraq?
Read more

No longer the diamond of the sea

The news of the cruise liner, "The Sea Diamond", sinking was astonishing for the global public to hear. While it is was hard to fathom an incident like this to happen in such a technological age it did and we are recovering from it.

I checked out the Louis Cruise Lines website and this is all i found. Three consecutive posts the day of the accident, and since April 4, 2007 nothing else has been posted. While the issue cannot be the main focus of the business (or their profits will sink) it should be more elaborately explained and updated until all questions are answered. Starting with the still two missing passengers, exactly how it happened (from their point of view, not a news broadcasters) and an idea of how they will prevent a situation like this from reoccurring.

Did Louis Cruise Lines deal with the accident correctly? You be the judge.

It's about time.

Disney has recently decided to allow same-sex couples to exchange vows in front of Cinderella's Castle and partake in its Fairy Tale Wedding program. A spokesperson for the Disney Parks and Resorts said that Disney wants everyone who goes there to feel welcome and respected. How nice.

The company said that it changed its policy after being contacted by a gay couple who wished to use their wedding services. Hard for me to believe that this couple was the FIRST.

Nonetheless, Disney has made the right move. Not only in changing their policy, but also in making a public statement about the change. Certainly there are some groups who strongly oppose this change, but I think it is safe to say that this will earn Disney mostly, if not exclusively, good press.

Sanjaya...a form of persuasive PR?

Some people love Sanjaya Malakar....Simon and others do not. Is he ruining the heart of American Idol? Does his hair keep him in the runnings? Is this a PR stunt?

It's no suprise that millions of preteen girls have fallen in love with American Idol's Sanjaya. He seems sweet, innocent and always suprises us with his crazy hair. Some are amazed that he's gotten so far in the competition. People are getting a big kick out of voting for him. Howard Stern is fueling the fire, the radio talk host has been suporting votefortheworst.com, a web site that encourages people to support Sanjaya.

What is controversy about what's keeping Sanjaya on the show? The attention has extended to his hair, which is styled in wacky ways every show. He knows that his hair causes reactions. But is it his hair or his voice that is keeping him on the show?

Well, even if he does't end up the next American Idol, he maybe already a winner. He will likely get a record deal, and has already been approached by Suave hair products.

Is this a small form if persuasive PR? I believe so, he is keeping the audience entertained and attentive becuase of his hair and personality. I believe this guy has the right idea. He may not have the best voice, but he sure has an agenda that is keeping him in the game.

To Infinity and Beyond

If you have ever wanted to travel into space—it’s possible now. You don’t have to be an astronaut. You don’t have to work at NASA. You don’t even have to be a smart. The only thing you need is MONEY!

Space tourism appears to be the newest fad among the rich and posh. With the latest traveler to space being the well-to-do fiancé of Martha Stewart, I am beginning to wonder how astronauts and others working at NASA feel about the ability of just about anyone to travel to space if they are willing to pay enough money.

According to HowStuffWorks.com, ‘tickets are going for a mere $20 million for a one-week stay in space.’ The same website also notes that within the last ten years several reports have been publishing noting that the ‘space tourism’ industry could, potentially, be worth billions of dollars.

The idea that anyone with enough money can travel to space has led to the creation of space tourism companies.

This is an insane industry and goes to show that clearly money CAN buy anything!!!

Richard Edelman's interview

Richard Edelman, the CEO of the world’s largest independent public relations firm, was interviewed by the PR Blog News. His firm has nearly $325 million in net fees last year.
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Edelman started a blog called 6AM in the year 2004. In the blog, he wrote his personal imprint on the firm. The blog was a huge success and Edelman net fees grew nearly 24% last year, three times the rate of the number two independent, Ruder Finn.

However, the success came with a great deal of criticism. His drive to spread the mantra of the “horizontal conversation” through its many practices and 46 offices worldwide has been hampered by persistent questions about its tactics and operations.

In the interview, he will take a thumping in the April 2 story on Wal-Mart in the New Yorker to cover his tactics and strategies. To read more about his interview, click here.

Moneyball

This article was not on my blog but I found it so interesting I want to share it. It discusses a self titled theory "money ball theory," this theory examines flawed decisions based on perceptions and image. The author discusses the old Oakland A's recruiter, Billy Beane and his technique to recruit players who didn't fit the perfect player prototype. He was able to get great players at a lower cost because they had been overlooked by other scouts only interested in close to prefect players.

The author apples this bias to the PR industry and hiring process. "PR is just as flawed and narrows the hiring to a limited personality type." He discusses how not very long ago there was no PR students and therefore the job was completed by many other fields. The author questions how good PR can be when it is only conducted by a certain type of trained student.

Google it.

Google Inc. has established a new way in researching consumers and tailoring the advertising to them. They are controlling which television ads viewers see and changing them to cconsumers' interests.The Mountain View, Calif., company (Google) has made the highly profitable Internet model of search advertising more profitable. They are selling ads targeted directly at consumers based on the terms they enter into Web search engines. This is innovative and in some ways disturbing idea because it shows the lengths businesses will go to sell people there products. Google has even begun a test run tailored TV commercials to cable subscribers in Concord, Calif., people the company is familiar with. This could also be the beginning of a new way of doing business, maybe even help the consumer find and filter messages they have interest or no interest in.

Reebok Sues Nike for Patent Infringement

In recent news, Reebok sued Nike for stealing a "collapsable shoe" design that Reebok had said they patented.
Nike Corporation came back with the statement saying they are in the process of “evaluating the claims related to this very recently issued U.S. patent and any potential limited application to the successful Nike Free product."
Nike's "Free" products generates around $100 million a year, something analysts say will not be affected by the lawsuit. Nike probably feels the same way, since they see the line as "successful".
By issuing this statement, Nike Corporation does a good job for their image by avoiding blaming sides or making an official opinion.
They did not officially deny the patent infringement, nor did they admit to it. That way, if they did steal the patent, they would not make their image worse by lying in the previous statement. Furthermore, by explaining their progress in evaluating the claim, they show responsibility in taking action, but the corporation also makes it seem like they knew nothing about the patent.

Star Struck for Starbucks

In recent Blog news... people actually care what celebrities drink. This may be a little of the stalker side of admiralty but its true. On a new blog called starbuckgossip.com fans can find out what their favorite celebrity drinks and Starbucks gossip. The recent gossip has been about Bill Cosby love for a triple tall, non-fat, extra-hot, no-foam latte. This all seems like a PR move by Starbucks...but the site is independent and does air Starbucks dirty laundry too. Blogging is taking everyone by storm and is becoming a marvelous tool for the public relations industry. As easy as it is to set up a blog spot... I believe companies are starting blogs and releasing promotional information for the benefit of their companies.

Wrapping text in InDesign

In our last class on InDesign, a couple of you asked about wrapping text around a photo or graphic. This tutorial on Layers Magazine, called "Making Wraps Sing," explains it all to you.

Layers has more than 150 tutorials, including 10 tutorials on working with InDesign. Here's a link to the magazine's main directory page of tutorials: http://www.layersmagazine.com/category/tutorials/

How to be successful in PR

According to recent statistics, there is an increasing demand in PR professionals in these years. No matter people own small or big business, they need PR experts to communicate with the media, customers, employees etc. In the website of the StarPhoenix, entry-level salary is around $40000 a year, which can quickly increase $20000 after several years. For those who are very experienced, they can have six-figure salaries. Have you ever thought that PR can earn such a lot? True, if you want to have a fairly good income, then PR should be a right choice for you. Here are some important elements which I think are necessary in order to be a successful PR.


-Have strong communication skills
-Be articulate in written and spoken language
-Be confident
-Be able to learn quickly
-Think and response quickly
-Be persuasive
-Have an outgoing personality

A PR Case Study in the Making

Pet owners and the FDA are closely following the sweeping recalls of dog and cat food by Canadian manufacturer Menu Foods. Pet food companies are recalling vast amounts of dog and cat food, because of contaminated wheat gluten used in the food. Public relations is playing a vital role in disseminating information to the public. Will we, as an industry look back on the pet food recalls of 2007, like we do the Tylenol contamination scare of 1982?

Does correct PR and Marketing Exist in Hong Kong?

Does correct PR and Marketing Exist in Hong Kong? It does but it is hard to find. I have always seen a lack of correct marketing, promotions and planning of events in Hong Kong.

For example, in music industry, event organisers should always research the artists who they plan to bring to Hong Kong and if the market is really suitable for them. They planned to put thousands into the event but had not actually planned the line-up until the last minute. People often think that if they have been to parties in the past then they think it is easy to also organise them, and of course they are completely wrong it takes a great deal of knowledge and understanding of how things really work. Every country is different as one promoter I know discovered when they tried to do the same as they did overseas in Hong Kong.

YouTube Help Catch Criminals?

Everyone knows the program, America's Most Wanted, helps catch criminals.

Now, YouTube helping to catch criminals?

Yes. That is what police in Hamilton, Ohio are doing. They are posting a segment from America's Most Wanted on YouTube hoping to reignite interest in a case from 2005.

It's always great to see police and other agencies using these gadgets and other online gizmos to catch criminals.

Marketing Strategy

Most large corporations believe that good advertising can carry their business into higher level and spending an incredible amount of money for advertisement campaign is crucial. Lee Scott, the Chief Executive of Wal-Mart, sees advertising a little differently. He found that advertisement is an image and message that the company wants to deliver to their audiences so that the final goal can be achieved.
After Wal-Mart sold off several stores in Germany, they realized that the high cost of advertising may prevent them from defeating the other competitors in the same market. Instead of showing good ads in TV, they decide the most effective marketing strategy is to reinforce the most important message they want to deliver – the low-price of their products. In this case, fancy ads may become a financial burden for Wal-Mart to increase their revenue.
In order to choose a suitable marketing strategy, company should first define their goal and how they want the public to observe them. Moreover, budget should be set at the beginning so that the storage of money can be avoided.

http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/brandnewday/archives/2007/03/wal-mart_ceo_im.html#more

- Jas

Out of Control

When you think of MTV what are your first thoughts? Crappy reality television? Yes, while this may be true MTV is taking a rather risky step in getting the youth involved in online media based on the networks programming. By doing so it will invite viewers to participate with shows and remix their content. The control is out of the hands of MTV executives and now in the hands of the kids. Rather then MTV.com behave like a broadcaster online it will reflect its viewers wants and needs. While some think this is a risky move I think its about time MTV gets back in the game.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS AND DEALING WITHT THE MEDIA

During a moment of crisis and disaster dealing with the media can become difficult. News media notification is quite different than notifications given to other audiences. During these situations, the media usually gets word of the event and winds up contacting the company. Placing the communication team in a reactive rather than proactive situation. Sending the right and effective message to the general public is essential during a crisis situation. The media definitely is the medium that the average person relies for information, therefore during a crisis situation companied should be sure to follow these simple guidelines in order to enhance the crisis communication message and response:

• Release only verified and approved information.
  
• Promptly alert the media to all key events or news releases.
  
• When they are onsite, ensure that the media have a corporate escort.
  
• Have a designated spokesperson.
  
• Maintain accurate records and logs of all inquiries and media coverage.
  
• Meet press deadlines.
  
• Provide equal opportunities for print and electronic media.
  
• Do not speculate on the cause of the crisis or emergency.
  
• Do not speculate on dollar losses.
  
• Do not permit unauthorized personnel to comment to the media.
  
• Do not mislead the media.
  
• Do not place blame.

I find these guidelines very informative and essential for all of us to have in mind