Outsourced: Public Relations

Kerri Guyton

Not every company has the ability – or the desire – to have an expert on staff for every task that must be executed to run a business. A company that chooses to outsource a service is looking for a specialist in that field, and it is a huge benefit for them to have access to expert advice without an expert’s full-time salary on the books.

There are challenges to overcome as an “outside” partner, especially when it comes to communication services, but at Obsidian, we are passionate about entrenching ourselves into the company and being as accessible as someone just down the hall. For us, that’s the key to success.

It’s important that we know our client brands as intimately as possible. It’s our job to “get it,” and we do that by asking the right questions and doing our research. We dig in and find out what’s important, relative, timely and interesting about a brand. We look for news, trends and happenings within the client’s industry, and we identify key audiences that should be aware of and care about the brand.

Image courtesy of http://rickmcnary.me/

We are communication advocates by trade, so we understand the importance of consistent communication in building relationships with our clients and staying informed about what’s going on with the brand. Our clients are very busy, so we drive the train on ensuring that the communication happens. We don’t have to be in the same building to be available on-demand, and in our business, response time can make or break a publicity opportunity.

These business practices usually pay off in long-term client relationships. Once entrenched, clients don’t want to let us go. We’ve become part of the team, part of the family. We know the brand like the back of our hand. We are their trusted resource for communication counsel. In other words, we’ve done our job.

Step Aside, Samantha Jones

Kelli Eason Brignac

This past weekend, I spent my Sunday watching past episodes of Smash. I love musicals, but I also happen to love the insight to the Broadway process the show portrays. But the recent prevalence of Agnes, the publicist on the show, made me wonder if what I’m watching is a true representation of Broadway. I got distracted from the rest of the plot by Agnes and how rude she is all the time, which in my experience, no PR person should be. It got me thinking about PR in general, and the assumptions people might make about the profession and the people in it.

Celeb-stalking party planners need not apply.
I’m looking at you, Samantha Jones. It’s probably a safe assumption that most people have some exposure to Samantha Jones, the feisty “PR professional” from Sex and The City. I say that with quotes around it because most of what Samantha does is…not PR. Most of the time, her job is mentioned because she is planning a big party or pitching a prospective client and guaranteeing Donald Trump will make an appearance at a benefit. While events are sometimes part of our job, even full-time event planners aren’t like Samantha. If nothing else, they don’t have near the free time she seems to have, because that is a really tough job. 

Spin makes me shudder.
A lot of people really love “Thank You for Smoking,” the movie and/or the book. I didn’t like it. I think that Nick Naylor’s take on spin is pretty far from how I, or anyone else I’ve ever worked with, would ever operate. Nick Naylor thought that “if you argue correctly, you’re never wrong,” and he applied the attitude to his work promoting the benefits of smoking. Real PR can do a lot of good for a lot of brands, and “spin” just has a bad connotation in general. We always try to promote the best about any organization, but we approach negative things or crises very strategically and in close collaboration with the client and the public, when necessary.

As for working for a client like the Academy of Tobacco Studies…I’ve actually turned down work I didn’t feel I could represent well. In my view, it’s not fair to the client or me if I can’t really get on board with their cause or brand.

It’s all like…Facebook and stuff. Or not.
Social media is almost a buzzword now. It’s everywhere, and everyone is an “expert.” Except they’re not! I know a lot about Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, blogs, LinkedIn and lots of other platforms. But it isn’t the only thing I do, and I’m of the opinion that these things should be used as part of a comprehensive approach.

If women ran the world, it would be organized and color-coordinated. Maybe.
PR is a field dominated by women, but it wasn’t always so. As recently as 25 years ago, the field was 80 percent male, but is now as much as 70 percent female. I think this actually works well, because the field requires strict adherence to deadlines and a godly level of organization. My need to plan and organize has spilled over into my everyday life, although my husband hasn’t decided if that’s a good thing or not. And female-dominated doesn’t mean there are no men. There’s still a good bit of diversity in the field. According to Abbi Whitaker, who owns Abbi Agency, “We are not all 23-year-olds wearing wedge heels, oversized sunglasses and colored jeans.” Well, I’ll still be wearing my wedges and colored jeans, but maybe not forever!

What are “people people” anyway?
You’ve probably heard someone say, “I’m a people person.” Isn’t everyone a people person? No one actually hates everyone in the world, do they? Good PR professionals have to know a lot more than how to win friends and influence people. If I’m really personable but can’t write to save my life, no one will take me seriously in this business. It’s kind of like if you visit a friend’s restaurant but the service or the food is terrible. You’ll think twice before going back.

The truth about PR is…
It has to be strategic. It can be stressful. Your friends and family may never really understand what you do. Every day is a deadline, and if you were never good at juggling before, you’ll have to learn how to multitask like a champ. It goes everywhere, and it’s applicable to so many different industries. It can be rewarding for both the PR professional and the client, and no day is the same as any other. To all the AP style loving, spell-checking, brainstorming kindred spirits out there: write on, my friends.

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.

Fighting over the Brussels Sprouts

Courtney Ellett

Last Thanksgiving, which is by far my favorite meal of the year, my mom passed around Brussels sprouts to the family. Quietly alarmed by this newcomer to our holiday table, I immediately said “no” like a picky child – I just don’t like Brussels sprouts. I was then shamed into trying them by my husband, who’s never found a food he couldn’t be best friends with. And what do you know? They were incredible!
 
I fix Brussels sprouts at least twice a week now. You rinse them, cut in half, place on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt. After 40 or so minutes basking in a 350-degree oven, your superhero side dish is ready.
 
The only drawback to my newfound veggie BFF? My husband and I ALWAYS end up fighting (albeit in a passive-aggressive style) for the last helping. One of us will quietly smuggle the remaining sprouts from the pan while the other isn’t looking. And when the realization occurs that all sprouts are gone, the ensuring look is one of devastation, as if the last Twizzler on earth has been gobbled up by the enemy. 
It’s hard to imagine that a little extra virgin olive oil, salt and some heat can make that much of a difference, but it does. Brussels sprouts went from pine bark to a sweet merengue in my taste book, and now I crave them more than chocolate.
 
Ideas can be that way, too. Sometimes, PR ideas need a little tweaking before they really work for a client and before they become so in love that they crave more and more. It can be a story pitch, an event, a social media tactic or an entire campaign. An idea can go from “what the heck were you thinking” to “that’s the most brilliant thing I’ve heard in a long time.” It just takes a bit of proper flavor and some “baking” time.
 
So before you quickly dismiss your own ideas or those from your colleague or clients, be sure and remember this little story. Ask yourself if the idea can be dialed a few degrees to the right or left to produce the results you want. You never know, you might end up with clients fighting over your ideas like we do over Brussels sprouts.

What is this workout you speak of?

Sarah Lichterman

Between an 8-to-5 job and technology that makes bringing work home possible, it’s getting harder and harder for people to find time to work out during the workday. It seems the terms “work out” and “exercise” are becoming obsolete vernacular in some offices. This can be detrimental to some because exercise is crucial to maintaining a healthy weight, as well as managing stress. According to the Mayo Clinic, almost any form of exercise can act as a stress reliever, which is absolutely needed in today’s fast-paced society.

www.flickr.com/photos/ggvic/624086826

Some companies are committed to providing their employees with resources in the office because of this. For example, at many of Google’s offices, there are on-site fitness centers, as well as more than 230 exercise classes offered each week. PepsiCo provides an ongoing wellness program for employees and their families that includes routine medical care programs at work sites, education programs on health and fitness and on-site fitness centers and exercise programs. And, for those who work at Apple headquarters, there is a full-services fitness center, basketball gym and recreation room.

Although everyone isn’t lucky enough to enjoy these daily perks offered at Fortune 500 companies, there are ways to incorporate a healthy amount of fitness in the average workday. There are few small businesses out there that have exercise incentives, even if it’s not quite a state-of-the-art fitness gym. If yours is not one of these, it may be time to bring up this issue to the boss. Research shows that devoting time for physical activity can lead to higher productivity, according to Science Daily.

At Obsidian, we are allowed two and a half hours a week for exercising, which evens out to 30 minutes a day. This may not seem like much, but combined with an hour for lunch or leaving the office 30 minutes early to catch the 5:30 p.m. class at the gym, it can make all the difference.  

Still, if you’re company hasn’t jumped on the bandwagon of providing resources for employee fitness, here’s a few in-office exercises that can help increase your level of physical activity and decrease your level of stress.

• The Pre-Sit Stretch: Before heading into a long meeting or finishing a big project at your desk, take a few minutes to stretch. First, loosen up your neck and shoulders by rolling your shoulders forward and backward in a circular motion. Do this 20 times in each direction. Next, stand with your back against a wall and try to touch your toes without bending your knees to stretch your hamstrings. Do this for 45 seconds. Lastly, face a wall and lean your toe up against it to stretch your calves. (Ladies, I recommend taking off heels before this.) Then place your palms on the wall and lean into it. Do this for 30 seconds on each calf, and then repeat. 
• The Glute Workout While You Wait: Here’s something you can do while waiting on a copy, fax, scan or print job. Stand at the machine and place your hands on the top of it. Then bend your knee and raise one of your heels up to your buttocks. Do this 15 times on each side, and then repeat. Also, you can turn this into a calf raise by lifting one leg up and with the other leg, raise your heel up and down. 
• The Lower Body Pep-up: This is simply lunges and squats. If you want to be secretive, you can do stationary lungs and squats in the comfort of your own office or cubicle. But if it’s appropriate, you could do walking lungs down the hallway of your office. Maybe you’ll even motivate a co-worker to join in? Do 25 lungs on each side and 25 squats.
• The Anti-Push-Up Chair Dip: If you’re looking for an arm workout, here’s an alternative to having to do a push-up on the office floor. Pull your chair out slightly from your desk and sit at the edge of it (use a chair preferable one without wheels) and place your hands on the edge of your seat with fingers pointing out. Slowly lift off your seat and lower your body to the floor by bending your elbows then push yourself back up. Do 15, and then repeat.

And ta-da, you have now increased your productivity. Feel free to comment to let me know what you think about this workout or let me know your own personal in-office work out!

NoReply@YourOpinionDoesNotMatter.org

Crissy Lintner

We’ve all seen it. The email that comes through that goes something like this: NoReply@InsertCompanyNameHere.com. Way to make a person feel important, right? 

Well, this happened to me recently, and I took it personally because it was from a local nonprofit I support. We have a family membership with an organization in Dallas and regularly receive communication via email about members-only events and happenings. Normally, the correspondence is from “Members@” or “Event@.” But then, here comes this little gem: NoReply@[organizationname].org  – and it really caught my attention because the subject line said “Your opinion matters.” Oh, really? Delete. 

www.flickr.com/photos/suratlozowick/4605939960

OK, so maybe that was a little dramatic. However, I’ve done an informal poll of some friends since then asking about what they think when they receive an email from a “No Reply” account – specifically when that email is from a nonprofit or organization they’re involved in as a member, donor or volunteer. The response from nearly everyone was along the lines of feeling that their involvement and support do not matter and that their opinions don’t either. 

It seems like such a small thing that shouldn’t be a big deal. And I know it likely has a practical reason behind it. Maybe your organization doesn’t want to be flooded with hundreds of replies to the monthly newsletter email account. Or maybe that email account isn’t checked often and only used for mass communication with your stakeholders. However, nothing can alienate your audience more than seeing “NoReply@” from an organization they care about. That email format is usually what I see from the cable company after paying my bill or from unwanted spam. “NoReply@” triggers my not-important-enough-to-need-my-immediate-attention response. 

A better way? Remember that rule about first impressions? Well, you already made a good one since these people are on your mailing list. But your one goal as an organization is to make your donors/members/volunteers/clients feel good about being part of your cause and retaining them. That means welcoming questions, feedback and input. Believe me – I know how challenging/stressful it can be to respond to questions after sending an email to 1,000-plus volunteers. (I was a volunteer coordinator once upon a time). But I was HAPPY to exchange emails with them. This gave me a chance to make a connection that would reinforce their love for our cause and potentially result in donations because they felt appreciated. 

So, when it comes to email addresses used for mass emails, don’t alienate your audience. Instead, get creative!  A few good alternatives: 

• WeLoveOurDonors@organizationname.org
• YourOpinionMatters@organizationname.org
• BeAHero@organizationname.org (or another theme related to your cause)
• info@organizationname.org (most commonly used, but better than “NoReply@”)

And if your email address is one that is not checked often, change that. You should have no email account that isn’t checked. If you know for a fact you won’t be checking it frequently, add a disclaimer on your correspondence that says “Questions? Comments? This email address isn’t checked very often, but we’d love to hear from you! Please email Suzy Donations at donors@organizationname.org.” Give your stakeholders that warm, fuzzy feeling by showing that you care about their involvement and most importantly that you care about what they have to say.

Leave the “NoReply@” to the customer service and accounts payable departments.  

How to not screw yourself over three weeks before the end of the semester

Kim Morrison

Recently one of my teammates had a bit of computer problems which reminded me about the worst and most stressful 24 hours I ever experienced at the end of my last semester of school this past spring. Why, you might ask? Well, for several reasons: I failed to plan, my computer secretly hated me (or so I thought) and because you can always count on Murphy’s Law to catch you just at the right/wrong time. Let me explain.

I woke up early to a beautiful Saturday, thanks to the baying of my two Beagles, and started my day like normal -- breakfast with my roommate, play time with my dogs and once the cobwebs in my brain dissipated, I decided it was time to get to work.

Only it wasn’t.

I opened my Macbook Pro, hit the power button and started to hear a very loud clacking noise. I thought, “Well, that’s not good…” and waited for it to boot up.

Only it didn’t.

Once the screen lit up, it didn’t go to the normal log in screen. Instead, a screen opened up with a folder with a question mark on it. Again, I thought, “Ummmm, that can’t be good either…” So I shut it down and rebooted, again and again, and yet again, to the same result.

After much research via my iPhone, several phone calls, trips to the Apple Store and Macadvantage, and enough tears shed you’d have thought a family member died, I finally had all of my information off of my laptop while it went away to be diagnosed.

So what should I have done differently to keep something like this from happening?

Backup regularly

Regularly is a very ambiguous term, but that’s because it depends on how often you’re creating, downloading or altering files on your hard drive. If you primarily use your machine for Internet surfing, then once a week may be good for you. For someone like me who spends the day creating, downloading and altering files all day, daily backups are good, while keeping your external drive connected always so it backs up as you go.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Yes, make sure you have a backup for your backup. I have all of my work files backed up to my hard drive (thankfully!) as well as our server at work, although that backup isn’t completely current (my last back up there was at the beginning of the week). My personal files are all on this external hard drive as well, but that’s it. What if this hard drive failed? Years of pictures, writing, school work -- all gone. There are many cloud options out there that allow you to back up your valuable information via the Internet. Check out this article from NetworkWorld, which not only lists 12 free cloud storage options, but also pricing information for larger storage options.

Know your local IT options

Of course owning a Mac, whenever I have a problem, my first thought is “To the Apple Store!” Obviously from this experience, they do have limitations; they don’t do anything related to information retrieval. Actually, I was told in my case, they couldn’t even touch the hard drive other than for replacement. So the mighty Apple does have its limitations. Had I known that and known the abilities of the other Apple product service providers in the area, I could have gotten to Macadvantage much earlier, and possibly gotten to the root of my problem much quicker. It pays to know where to go.

Take a chill pill

Despite the frequency of technological problems in our day-to-day lives, methods for correcting and repairing those problems are keeping up at a good pace. It may hurt your wallet, it may take some time, but most likely, your computer problem can be resolved in a way that benefits you. Information can be recovered, software fixed and hardware replaced. Don’t have an aneurysm; just breathe and contact your local computer tech to find out what your options are.

So, how did my situation end? Rather anti-climatically. After spending three days worried and stressed to the max, my computer was OK. Yep, you read that right. It didn’t clack for them, rebooted perfectly 300 times in a row and the most they could find were a couple of software glitches. Thankfully, that’s it. So my computer may have made a liar out of me and I may have lost five years off my life, but I did learn a valuable lesson, albeit the hard way -- always be prepared, especially when your computer’s concerned.