Where Do You Stand?

The last time I was an editor was as a high school senior. I was one of four editors-in-chief of the Cranbrook Kingswood Crane-Clarion, and now I fully understand why there were four of us: in order to quadruple our chances of catching copy errors.

A piece written by Gene Weingarten published in Sunday’s Washington Post has been making the rounds at Standing. Titled “Yanks Thump Sox,” the piece is a satirical look at the reasons why copy editors are no longer “necessary” in a world where newspapers are having to cut corners to make ends meet.

“If you are like I, you are pretty sick of reading articles about how the financially-troubled newspaper industry is making desperation budget cutting moves,” Weingarten writes. “One frequent newsroom complaint is that they are cutting back drastically in the use of copyeditors. The era of the copy editor is gone. Copyeditors were once an important part of the journalism process, back when journalists weren’t as educated as they are now… Copy editors were fine-tuners, fixing basic but important things that a first line of editing might’nt catch.”

You get Weingarten’s point; copy editors are essential and without them, the written word is less effective (and more annoying) than it’s potentially able to be.

The public relations profession, just like journalistic professions, relies extensively on the written word. I’m doubtful the public relations industry would have the ability to maintain long-term client relationships if editors and administrative team members were eliminated; what makes publications believe they’ll maintain the loyalty of their “clients” (readers) without their copy editors?

Read the rest of Gene Weingarten’s piece and try to spot all of the “errors in fact, grammar, syntax and style that a good copy editor would have caught.”

We started this Friday afternoon in a slight panic, Chrissy and I. It is our turn to answer the Standing Partnership phones after most of the office left at noon for Summer Fridays.

It’s a complicated system and as the first point of contact for clients and others calling the office, we’re nervous about being professional and efficient (ok, that’s a bit of PR spin … our real goal is to not hang up on anyone. So far, so good!). As I become more comfortable in my answering abilities, I begin to think about how cool it is that I am actually answering the phone. Not because I love the thrill of successfully transferring a call to voicemail, but because it doesn’t matter that I’m a manager at Standing. Everyone is taking a turn. In fact, in a few weeks, Cathy, our CEO, and Melissa, our COO, will try not to hang up … uh, I mean will professionally and efficiently answer the phones.

Years ago when I was at another agency, the account team headed out the door on Summer Fridays while the administrative staff stayed behind. I imagine it would have been the same at my other jobs had places like Disney or SeaWorld offered Summer Fridays.

So Standing is not only a great place to work because I get Summer Fridays, but also because we ALL get them.

InBev continues to advocate for its offer to buy Anheuser-Busch, the last big beer brewer firmly planted in the United States.  In an op-ed in Tuesday’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, InBev CEO Carlos Brito promises to keep the beloved Clydesdales and Grant’s Farm, and repeats previous promises to promote Budweiser and keep A-B’s 12 U.S. breweries.  Brito is also making the rounds on Capitol Hill, where Missouri’s U.S. senators are among his vocal opponents.

Meanwhile, St. Louis’s new on-line newspaper, the Beacon, published an interview with former A-B marketing exec William Finnie.  It highlights the fact that change is coming no matter where things go from here.

• A-B can sell to InBev.  InBev will cut costs to help pay the $46 billion price, although InBev argues they’ve created 12,000 new jobs since their company was formed in 2004.
• A-B can buy the other half of Grupo Modelo, the brewer of
  Corona, which would derail the InBev plan.  Modelo’s owners are in a good position to drive a hard bargain and A-B will have to cut costs to pay the price.
• Or, A-B will have to come up its own compelling plan that offers shareholders enough value to reject InBev’s $65 per share.  Whatever else that might involve, it will include cost-cutting.

Cost-cutting is the common theme in all of these scenarios. Markets inevitably recognize weakness and opportunities, like the ones created by several years of flatter earnings and stock price at a company where double-digit earnings growth used to be the predictable norm.

There is speculation that InBev might be persuaded to sweeten its $65 per share offer, though Brito says, “It’s a fair price, a full price, that’s it.” For the kind of institutional investors who own most stocks, a substantial premium in hand may be compelling enough. However, InBev continues to court other stakeholders through Brito’s op-ed, legislative visits and a Web site, www.globalbeerleader.com.

To get the deal done, Finnie speculates InBev might be persuaded to move its global headquarters to St. Louis and call the combined company by the proud, historic name of “Anheuser-Busch.”

If St. Louis winds up with the world’s largest brewer under a familiar corporate name, it could turn out to be a lot less change – and pain – than some of the other scenarios might bring. The menu of choices is tough, but all involve change. Unfortunately, the options don’t include the status quo that Anheuser-Busch successfully defended … perhaps too long.

Thomas Friedman writes today that the selection of Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee has given more of a bump to America’s overseas image than “the entire Bush public diplomacy effort for seven years.”

He talks about how Obama’s nomination demonstrates that people still hunger for “the idea of America,” which he defines as: this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.

I would argue that this “idea of America” equals the American brand. The War on Terrorism and other political activities have impacted America’s reputation, but the American brand still lives in the hearts and minds of people around the world. Friedman argues Obama’s nomination reminds people of the America they once respected, thus improving our country’s global reputation.

Companies facing reputational attacks can learn from this lesson. With a strong brand that captures the hearts and minds of stakeholders, reputational damage can be repaired. A brand is who you are, while your reputation is current opinion based on recent behavior. If your company is suffering from reputational damage, look to your brand – the core of your organization’s being – and with bold actions make a bold statement that will demonstrate you are better than recent behavior would indicate. As Friedman argues, America has done so with the nomination of an African-American man.

Standing Partnership has taken a cue from several of our clients and instituted “summer Fridays.” We’ve previously offered the option to cut out at noon one Friday a month, provided staff had logged all weekly time before lunchtime. This summer, however, EVERY Friday is a summer Friday, with many of us working longer days earlier in the week so we can extend our weekends a bit. Office staff at the HQ take turns giving up one Friday to “person” the phones and make it all possible.

I’ve had trouble, in the past, fitting these bonus mini-vacation days into my schedule. It seems like some need or unfinished project would push into the late afternoons at the end of the week, but this summer, I’m doing my best to take advantage of this offer, even if it means working a bit earlier in the day. An afternoon poolside is just too tempting to resist.

How does your workplace celebrate summertime? Do you have the option to flex your time and enjoy the weather?

Belgian brewer InBev has created a new Internet site to communicate directly with several key audiences about its bid for Anheuser-Busch.  The new site - www.globalbeerleader.com includes a 12-minute video interview with InBev CEO Carlos Brito and separate messages for A-B employees, distributors, consumers, communities and investors.  InBev news releases about the bid also are being archived on the site and fact sheets are promised soon.  The site tries to soothe some of the concerns raised by the potential takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American icon whose prominence in its hometown of St. Louis cannot be overstated.  For example: 

• No U.S. Brewery Closures
• This combination is about growth and investment. InBev has tremendous resources at its disposal as the leading global brewer and would invest in Anheuser-Busch in the U.S.
• InBev would maintain all of Anheuser-Busch’s existing
  U.S. breweries.
• InBev does not expect any significant job losses as a result of the proposed combination.
• InBev expects little or no impact on union jobs.
• As a result of growing the business, InBev has added 12,000 full-time positions since the merger in 2004 that formed the company.
• North American Headquarters and Global Home of Flagship Budweiser Brand to Remain in St. Louis

InBev has proposed to make St. Louis the headquarters for the North American region of the combined company and the global home of the flagship Budweiser brand. InBev understands how much Anheuser-Busch means to the U.S. and the St. Louis community. With 40 percent of the combined company’s business based in the U.S., InBev believes it would be the only logical decision to stay in St. Louis and draw on the collective expertise of Anheuser-Busch’s dedicated and experienced employees.

Meanwhile, opponents of the takeover have also taken to the Web.  A Web site and online petition devoted to maintaining Anheuser-Busch’s independence — http://www.savebudweiser.com — has collected more than 30,000 e-signatures.  St. Louis and Missouri officials also are working to rally support.  A-B says its board of directors will evaluate the proposal carefully in consultation with its financial and legal advisers and then pursue the course of action that’s in the best interests of A-B stockholders. 

When the subject of communications is a “low-trust, high-concern” situation, such as toxic waste or other environmental issues, facts are only the first step. More than 10 years ago, Dr. Vincent T. Covello, director of the Center for Risk Communication, established that competence and expertise provide only a fraction of effective communications.

His research demonstrated that caring and empathy are the most important factors in trust and credibility of environmental communication, as summarized in this chart:

Image source: Center for Risk Communication

The same principles seem to apply to our presidential politics. Analyses of Hillary Clinton’s second-place finish often point out that she effectively communicated messages of competence and experience, but only later in her campaign did she emphasize caring and empathy. In a contest that close, any one factor can be considered decisive. In contrast, Bill Clinton’s appearances during his own successful campaigns usually demonstrated caring and empathy.

No matter what the message, the best messenger is someone trustworthy who cares about our concerns.

St. Louis blogger Dana Loesch (aka Mamalogues) was contacted by Nintendo to host a party for friends introducing them to the Wii and the Wii Fit. Dana wrote, “I got to invite eight close friends to my house and Nintendo would bring the food, drinks, and the games. In exchange, I’d write about what it was like on my site - good or bad, just what my experience was.” It’s fairly easy to see that Nintendo’s intention for offering this opportunity to Dana was to gain coverage by an influential blogger while also introducing Wii products to a new audience.

In addition to the party, Dana was given a Wii and a Wii Fit to give away to anyone she chose. “I would like to give it to a family, a person, someone in need,” she wrote. “I want you guys to nominate a deserving party … there are no restrictions on who can win except that I’d like for it to go to a person who normally wouldn’t have the means or opportunity to obtain a Wii.”

Recently I had the privilege of escorting media during prom at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Specialty Hospital, a Standing Partnership client. The pediatric hospital is one of only five in the country that cares for both sick and seriously injured kids regardless of their ability to pay. I was able to see the patients in formalwear, dance, socialize and just be kids regardless of their conditions. The teenage patients were able to participate in a “normal” high school event and reach an important milestone toward physical and emotional healing. Due to income and insurance limitations, many children, however, cannot receive the ongoing therapy and medical treatment that is necessary to make a full recovery. My colleague Justin and I nominated Ranken Jordan to receive the Wii and Wii fit as it was apparent that the kids could benefit from the gaming system not only as a social outlet but also for rehabilitation and physical therapy.

Well … Ranken Jordan WON the Wii and Wii fit, and Nintendo has shipped them off to the pediatric hospital.

Way to go, Nintendo: not only did you receive coverage from Dana, but you are gaining traction online through this blog, and “in the real world” by indirectly providing a great tool to children in need.