Vision

Lauren Hannaford

I rarely set New Year’s resolutions because I hardly ever follow them, and midway through the year, when I suddenly remember what it was I was supposed to be working towards, I find myself disappointed that I couldn’t even remember that I set one. So, going into 2015, I was feeling pretty content with not having one. No pressure, I thought. But, I heard someone speak a couple of weeks ago and was completely caught of guard with a very profound and powerful statement that resonated with me. It was so simple and clear. “If you don’t have a clear vision, no strategy will save you.”

New York Times bestselling author, speaker and consultant Michael Hyatt at January’s Lipscomb & Pitts Breakfast Club meeting made this point in his presentation, and a light bulb immediately switched on in my mind. In fact, here’s an entire blog post by Hyatt on this topic.

Now, it’s not like I haven’t heard this point before, and we often talk about what the “bigger picture” looks like for clients. But, in the complicated world of public relations, I think there are several layers of vision and strategy. You’ve got an overall vision for a client, a vision for a campaign, a vision for one story idea and a vision for one blog post. What I think is important to remember is that it’s necessary to always come back to your primary vision because it dictates where you go from there, and it leads you to your strategy.

On the other hand, having foggy vision can lead you to the wrong strategy. It can also cause you to completely miss out on something that may have been important to your client. So, it’s essential to be sure that you share the same vision with your client. Opinions may differ on the strategy, but a united vision is the only path to a successful outcome.

So, instead of setting a New Year’s resolution this year, I’m focusing on having a clear vision for my personal life, my professional life and for each of my client accounts. While things may not go perfectly throughout the year, my hope for 2015 is that my clear vision leads to successfully executed strategies.

Dealing With, Rather Than Suffering From, Writer’s Block

Kim Morrison

I’m not the first person to be in this position, nor is this my first time to be here - staring at a blank windows document, pondering what the heck to write about. Normally, when blog post time comes around, I’ve been mulling over an idea, or inspiration strikes from out of the blue. I have a funny story to tie to, something newsworthy or a topic that recently seemed poignant to write on, but this month? Yeah, I have some ideas, but none of them particularly sound good. And while I’ve given thought to various events personally and professionally lately -- stories in the news, relevant PR advice and anything else I could potentially write on -- none of it sounds good. It all just garners a “meh.” 

Well, “meh” is no excuse, especially in PR. On any given day you could be crafting pitches, news releases, advisories, web content, social media content, strategic plans or any other written works, and just because your muse has decided to take the day off, it doesn’t mean you get to. So, for those times where you get stuck with a fantastic bout of writer’s block, here are some tips to help you break through it.

Write through it.
Don’t look at me like that.  Yes, I know you can’t write, but do it any way. Write about what ever is on your mind. Write about not being able to write. Simply write what you know about what you’re tasked with - just get something on that blank document, even if it’s ranting about how much you can’t think of what to write. Eventually, at some point, your block WILL break, and you should have a good rough draft, if not a product that simply needs cleaning up before submitting. Show that blank document who’s the boss rather than letting it plague your mind.

Dive into your topic.
Immerse yourself in what you’re supposed to be writing on. Review the information for your release, pour over the particulars of a project, go back and review social media and online posts for your client, sift through the news, look at trade publications and review past media coverage. At some point, you’re going to come across a factoid, a photo, a quote or some other bit of information that’s going to strike you and get the words flowing. Plus, once you get going, you shouldn’t have to worry about going back and researching, as you’ve already done it.

Leave it be for now.
Granted, this one requires some advanced notice, but it’s still applicable. Take care to not procrastinate, though. If you’re staring a hole into your computer screen and just can’t seem to find the words, then don’t. Get up, walk away and do something else. Work on another task maybe, do chores, do something fun, but the point is, do something other than willing and stressing yourself to create something on the spot. It’s likely that your stress is causing more harm than good, simply extending the length of the block. So go, clear your mind, and then come back to the task at hand, preferably still with ample time to complete it.

Just do it.
Yes, in the interest of completion and breaking your block, I am saying just get the task done, regardless of how bad it is. Again, this one requires advance practice, as well, to allow for the editing and rewrites that’ll be needed, but the point is get the monkey off of your back and just do the darn thing. It may not be perfect. Heck, it might not even be good, but a complete rough draft is definitely a step ahead of a blank document and a deadline in the distance. Do it and then be completely open to the process of “How do we make this good/better?” Sometimes, baby steps are needed to get to the final goal.

Hopefully some of these tips help. If you haven’t gathered already, I simply went with a “Hey, I’ve got writer’s block, so by dangit, I’m going to write about writer’s block” approach.

How do you deal with writer’s block? Do you have any fun or interesting stories to share regarding writer’s block? Feel free to comment on my experience and advice, and share your own tales of writer’s block below!

Habits of Strategic Thinkers

Liz Hutton

Recently, I had a conversation with a coworker about my personal business goals and what comes next after “intern life.” As I am extremely new to the PR world, this discussion got me thinking about not only what I want for myself in the industry, but also about the skills I need to get to the next level in my career. 

Following this conversation, I took time alone to consider these personal goals. One specific topic that came into mind was how to become a strategic thinker and the importance of strategic planning for a PR professional. This is one skill I definitely need to work on. 

From a fishbowl perspective, I am the person looking in, absorbing every email, brainstorm, meeting and new opportunity to learn about the PR world and the skills my coworkers have mastered. From time to time, we receive requests from our team members looking for insight on specific client needs, such as ideas for a new campaign. Everyone participates as emails begin shooting back and forth between coworkers sharing thoughts, stirring up ideas and backing up their reasons why certain ideas would work best for the client. This is what we call a team brainstorm. In the midst of the chaos of every brainstorm, I find myself wondering how to respond. Where do I even start? How did my coworkers master this skill to be able to spout out incredible, innovative and thoughtful ideas that work so perfectly for our clients? After a few more brainstorms, I realized that my strategic thinking needed a bit of a tune-up.  

I have come up with a guide of questions to hang on my desk and ask myself from now on before every brainstorm: 

• What is the client’s current situation?
• What is the client’s overall business goal?
• How can you generate new ideas? (Insight)
• How can you separate the client from the marketplace “noise”? (Competitive advantage)
• What are the benefits/costs of the offerings? (Value)
• Where should you focus capital, talent and time? (Target audience)
• Are you able to visually capture the essence of the business issues?
• How can you create new value for customers? (Innovation)
• Does the client have a well-developed mission, vision and values? (Main purpose/key message)
• What is the strategy?

Once those questions are answered, it will be much easier to put down into writing how and why the client should move forward. It’s not always easy to transition back and forth from right-brain thinking (creative, intuitive and subjective) to left-brain thinking (logical, analytical and objective), but for a PR professional it is a necessary skill.

Billboards

Lauren Hannaford

Earlier this year, I was driving down Lamar Avenue and noticed a full-size billboard that caught my eye. It was for a well-known local floral company here in Memphis, Pugh’s Flowers. At first glance, I was thinking to myself, “What in the heck does that say?” The billboard showed Pugh’s mascot, Pughy, in a French beret with the words “Je livre a tout le monde.” My second thought was, “What’s the point of that billboard?” I actually took a photo of it (while stopped at a red light, of course).
After telling someone how terrible of an idea I thought it was, I decided to look up Pugh’s website. It turns out, the florist held a contest placing six billboards around the city all with a different country and language. You received a $5 gift card for each billboard you spotted, and if you found all six, you could have been entered into a contest to win free flowers for a year. I still don’t know what “Je livre a tout le monde” means, so if you know, please leave a comment. Google Translate said it means, “I book everything.”

Up until the website discovery, I thought it was the worst billboard I had ever seen. Why would you advertise in French? Now, though, it all makes sense, and I think it was quite creative. Perhaps Pugh’s strategy was not only to get our attention but also to limit the influx of $5 gift cards, so as not to end up spending a fortune, which is smart. Everyone recognizes iconic Pughy. It gets you thinking, “What is Pugh’s trying to do here?” And, it got me to check their website and realize I could have earned a $5 gift card toward a purchase.

Billboards can be a tricky and risky advertising buy. If not planned well with strategic thinking caps on, they can end up as a loss and can even be detrimental to your brand. Before you embark on a billboard campaign, ask yourself if you have a big enough budget to really make a difference. Do you have a targeted goal and creative direction? If not, I would think twice about spending the money.