Where Do You Stand?

I work part-time for Standing Partnership, which (for me, at least) means I’m in the office two days a week reveling in my “adult” time working away and the other three days enjoying “mommy time” with my two little Princesses (yes, that is a deliberate and well-earned capital P). I keep my laptop open on my kitchen counter and glance at emails as I pass through during the day, just to stay up on the latest…and because I’m a bit obsessive that way.

Given my OCD, I thought it would be a great idea to update my cell phone to a snazzy little Smartphone. I had visions of being a multitasking queen - fire off an email while the Princesses hit the playground, catch up on my favorite blog while waiting for dance class to end, play on Facebook edit an important work document while hiding in the restroom hanging out with other moms during a playdate.

Are you laughing at me yet? Yeah, I totally deserve it.

You can imagine what happened next. I nearly broke my nose walking into a playground while texting someone. I missed the announcement about dance recital shoe color because I was reading a blog entry, thus causing what my family now refers to as the “Great Tap Shoe Meltdown of 2008.” And, I’m now looking for new playgroups but am finding them all mysteriously “full” - I think I’ve been blacklisted.

Here’s what I learned from this experience:

1) Verizon will kindly take back said Smartphone within 30 days with no hassles. (Love you, Verizon!)

2) Boundaries are a good thing.

Every one of my clients - and everyone at Standing - has my cell phone number. They can call me anytime, 24/7, and I’ll take the call. I’ve talked with clients while at home nursing babies, giving baths and participating in tea parties. But, do I really need to have email at my fingertips round the clock? Does it really help my clients to scan RSS feeds with one eye while keeping the other on the kiddos? Was I more productive with constant access to everything I need to work?

For me, the answer was no. In fact, I think I even got a little less productive, because I was trying to do everything at the same time - and doing none of it very well. My clients deserve all of my attention when I’m at work or when there’s a crisis, just as my family deserves all of my attention when I’m not at work or when they have a crisis - even if that “crisis” is a skinned knee or broken heart (we take “So You Think You Can Dance” very seriously around our house).

So, if you really need me - or if you know of a very forgiving playgroup willing to accept a mom with a slightly dented tiara and a busy cell phone - give me a call. I promise I’ll be there.

When things go wrong, you have an issue to manage.  But, prompt positive action can turn the situation around — or, at least, nip it in the bud.  Circuit City just demonstrated this.

Mad Magazine published a parody Circuit City ad, poking fun at things like the price of flat-screen TVs and hard-to-find Wii gaming systems.  Apparently, someone at headquarters ordered Circuit City stores to remove and destroy the magazines, and the Consumerist Web site posted both the fake ad and the real e-mail.

Jim Babb, in Circuit City’s corporate communications office, fired off a note to the Consumerist, reporting that the censorship directive had been reversed and he’d apologized to Mad’s editors.  By displaying a sense of humor, his quick response and tone headed off an issue:

Speaking as “an embarrassed corporate PR Guy,” I apologized for the fact that some overly-sensitive souls at our corporate headquarters ordered the removal of the August issue of MAD Magazine from our stores. Please keep in mind that only 40 of our 700 stores sell magazines at all…

In addition I have offered to send the MAD Magazine Editor a $20.00 Circuit City Gift Card, toward the purchase of a Nintendo Wii….if he can find one!

“Someone with a brain stopped the madness,” reported the Consumerist, posting Babb’s e-mail.  The site continued:

Let’s evaluate it on the 3-step system for fixing corporate gaffes:

1. Admitted they were wrong
2. Stopped doing the wrong thing
3. Made a material gesture of apology

Check check and check on all three, plus points for speed. You go, girls.

In comments on the post, The Consumerist’s readers also gave the company points for wit, style and speed.  Red faces removed and chuckles all around. 

It’s better not to have the problem in the first place, but when you do have a problem you still have a chance to set things right. 

Serious issues require a serious response, but when the issue is about humor it helps to be able to laugh at yourself.

Remember SHIFT’s social media release template? When it came out in May, 2006 it was all the buzz – the New Big Thing in PR.

But what happened when the template was released? Was it successful? Were PR practitioners using it? Most importantly, did journalists (and all members of the media, social and traditional) like it?

What we saw across the PR industry was this: firms scrambling to fit the template, to integrate the practice of using social media releases into their client work.

Not to be outdone, Edelman worked up their own version, calling it StoryCrafter. Again, nothing new here but it sidesteps the suggestion that the document has to LOOK a specific way (as SHIFT’s template does, with rounded corners and graphics to indicate links), or, necessitate the creation of a .pdf document – an obstacle that creates a whole new series of issues (design needs, attachments, no linkable URL, not uploadable to wire services, etc.)

You’re not going to see a lot of releases out there using these very specific “social media templates” – it’s not because there aren’t any early adopters out there – its because they haven’t been adopted.

Some reactions to SMRs: from IABC and Shel Holtz, from TechCrunch and from Tom Foremski.

The concept behind the social media release, the ideas that generated its creation have definitely made it. It’s de rigueur to link externally from releases to other sites, including blogs. It’s common and absolutely recommended that you include links to the online media kit, the Flickr site, or a YouTube video that corresponds with the release’s news. Link to the audio, share the photos and include (if you’re pitching to a savvy audience) social bookmarking tools such as Del.icio.us.

But don’t feel as if you need to create a document that looks just like SHIFT’s release. Chances are, your recipient won’t see it and if he/she does, they won’t have any idea what they’re looking at. What’s important is to create a release that is linkable and has its own, unique URL – you can do this by using the wire services for distribution, by posting the release on a client’s Web site or better yet, a blog or by creating a release in Google Docs.

Outside of the SHIFT mold, here are some examples of social media releases that work (and note that it’s only really big consumer groups doing this):

The Ford Focus
HP

The point I’m trying to make here is this: the components of a social media release are important – I think we all get that – and need to include some or, ideally all of these elements:

• Hyperlinks to relevant content or sites
• Technorati tags
• Social bookmarking options like Del.icio.us, so your news can be shared
• RSS feed from the wire service and/or, ideally, the client’s own Web site
• Links to additional resources (if they exist and are relevant) such as logos, media kits, audio, video and photos

Beyond that – it doesn’t need to should not be a .pdf or “match” the original SHIFT template – at all. It’s all about linkable content, and making sure the media (whether they’re traditional media or citizen journalists) knows what to do with it when they get it.

My friend and fellow social mediaphile Jim Duncan and I had lunch recently. We were on the topic of Twitter, when Jim said, “How would you explain Twitter to John McCain?” As with anyone raised, employed and heck, darn near retired before the digital age, McCain and his generation are the toughest audience when explaining social media. Add to that the challenge of doing it in 140 characters or less and I believe all bets are off. Twitter themselves can do it, though — their homebase message is this:

“Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface.” That’s 84 characters, folks.

Of course that definition would never work with McCain. “Microwho-ing?” he might say.

Ironically, the same day Jim issued his challenge, I caught this YouTube clip of Katie Couric explaining YouTube to Larry King; same genre, same generation. I shared it with Jim via Twitter, natch.

Once again, Commoncraft comes to our rescue in yet another video in the Plain English series, designed to make sense of all these social media terms and tools we’re steadily adding to our vocabularies and our computers.

Meanwhile, I’m still struggling to explain Twitter in 140 characters or less. I might like this, though, “An online tool for sharing what you’re doing right now and finding out what others are doing and thinking, no matter where they are.” That’s 108. What would you say?

E-cards aren’t just for birthdays anymore. According to a July 10 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a variety of electronic greeting cards, so the public can send friends and family friendly health reminders and wellness tips.  The cards cover everything from health tips for traveling abroad to colorectal screening reminders and pet care advice, so you’re sure to find one for everyone!  

Yesterday, one of my Standing colleagues called me into her office to explain trackbacks as one of her contacts was insisting it was THE tool for engaging in and monitoring online conversation (as if there is one tool that trumps all others – social media is an amalgamation).

I might be stating the obvious, but here’s where I state my claim that trackbacks (and other linkbacks) are not the be-all, end-all in blog networking and monitoring (in fact, when I try to explain them, they sound prehistoric – if anyone has a nice video they can share that helps explain linkbacks, I’d be grateful).

I will say that trackbacks and pingbacks have been a great tool in establishing a blogging community network, by creating an interconnected blogging network full of acknowledgement and camaraderie; however, in the time-saving and cost-cutting world that we live in, let the people who desire to know the conversation going on about them find it – through Technorati and other blog search engines that monitor simple keywords and hyperlinking  – rather than insisting that the trackback notify them of any conversation.

Monitoring the conversation is important for any business or brand (and it is an essential part of what we, as communications practitioners, practice each day). While trackbacks (and the other forms of linkbacks) allow blogger A to notify blogger B that blogger B’s content is being referenced, it should not be the only method for acknowledgement or monitoring.

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.

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. 

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.

A couple of months ago, my colleague Amber goaded Melissa into writing a blog post by calling her a hypocrite. In her follow-up post, Amber said, “I can completely understand and empathize with Melissa’s concern about finding the time to blog. It’s a common response to social media – at least for me and others who aren’t addicted.”

When I read that I thought, “That’s me; she’s talking about me — one of the people addicted to the internet.” I took umbrage at that post, and thought, “I’m not addicted! I can stop any time I want to!” In fact, I took a little break from my personal blog for about a month, turning away from my online life to focus a bit more on my offline life. In this space, I’ve stepped aside briefly to allow my colleagues to have more presence in this collaborative corporate blog. My respite from blogging, however, did not make national news as the unplugged project of Ariel Stallings, fellow blogger and BlogHer pal, whose 52 nights of text, Twitter, IM and blog-free living did.

Am I a tech junkie? Yes, I guess I am. Even while I’ve managed weekends of online-free life, it never lasts long. And even while I’ve taken breaks from contributing online content, I have never stopped reading and absorbing. It’s that, more than anything, to which I am addicted. Like a true addict, here comes the rationalization: I’m doing it for clients! It’s my job, my responsibility! But it’s really more than that; I have a driving need to know what’s going on in people’s minds, in my industry, with people I care about and people I find interesting.

I’ll let you know when I need an intervention.