Tag: Public Relations

Brands are Built on Promises

Posted on by mlavens in PR Tips

“I don’t know how you come back from a prolonged stoppage a second time because it is unprecedented,” said Ed O’Hara, senior partner of New York-based SME Branding, “Brands are built on promises. In this case, the promised experiences of seeing the greatest athletes in the world. That’s all gone now.”

This quote really stuck out to me. I saw it today in an article in The Washington Post about the NHL lockout. Even though this quote is based off the NHL lockout, it doesn’t mean they are the only brand that need to keep their promises. All brands need to. Brands that don’t can run into issues with their fans and customers.

Since this quote comes from the NHL lockout (and I’m a hockey fan) I’m going to start by using it as an example. The last time the NHL had a lockout is cost the entire 2004-2005 season. The NHL promised fans a better experience following the cancellation of the season. Fans came back and all seemed well. The NHL was experiencing some of the highest revenue it’s ever had and games were packed. Then, another lockout came around.

The NHL has been confident that fans will return following this lockout, but I wouldn’t be so sure. My dad and I had a partial season ticket package to the Red Wings for the past few years. We had every intention of renewing this year even though I’d be living in New York and could only make it home for a few games. Now, I could care less if we get a season ticket package again. I love the Wings and will always support them, but I can do that from the comfort of my couch in New York City instead of spending the money to fly home and buy tickets. I’m not saying I will never go to another Wings game, because lets be honest, you’d never be able to keep my away from Joe Louis for forever, but I do have some serious reservations about spending so much time and money on these games.

I know I’m not the only fan that feels this way. From other blogs and articles I’ve read, a lot of fans are fed up with the NHL. No one wanted to see another lockout. This has pretty much ruined their reputation.

Any company that makes a promise to their fans something and doesn’t deliver is going to have a possible crisis on their hands and will need to recover from a lack of supporters.

The PR Tactic of the NHL

Posted on by mlavens in Press Release

NEW YORK, NY – Earlier this week the NHL announced there was an “agreeable” proposal on the table and if the NHLPA agreed to it, a full 82 game season could start on November 2.  This announcement was made shortly after the proposal was given to Donald Fahr, the union’s executive director.  This gave fans hope and something to possible look forward to. Instead, they got more cancelled games.

Thursday, the players offered the NHL three counterproposals that were all shot down by the NHL. This also caused the NHL to cancel another weeks worth of game through November 1. This is not a total surprise seeing the season wouldn’t have started until November 2 had the proposal been signed.

What makes this situation in the lockout unique is what the NHL did from a PR standpoint. Commissioner Gary Bettman, basically told the public the season would start on November 2 and it would be possible to play all 82 games.  A few days later, when the NHLPA didn’t agree, he cancels more games and makes it look like the players caused this. He tried to show that he was focused and concerned about the season getting back on track, by announcing the new proposal and that it could save the season. When the players rejected it, it causes fans to lose hope. Even the New York Times has stated that the fans are starting to blame the players for the continuation of the lockout. Many fans are extremely upset about the current situation have been voicing their opinions.

Buffalo Sabres fan, Dan Szudik stated, “At this point, you have to feel the NHL is playing the PR game to perfection. It really makes it look like the NHL is doing everything they can and this is all the players fault. What a difference a week makes in the world of public opinion.”

One Boston Bruins fan, Holly Post, has even taken her message to Facebook hoping to capture the leagues perspective from another viewpoint. She’s a 19-year-old college student working two jobs to pay for her season tickets. Not only is she missing the sport she loves, but the lockout is costing her more money as the local pub she works at is lacking business. Watch video here: NHL Fan Speaks Out

At this point, it’s hard to say when the NHL lockout will end. Fans, including myself, would love to see the season start on November 2 and it is still possible. If the NHL and NHLPA reach an agreement by October 25 games will begin. But, with the proposals shot down and no new negotiations scheduled, it could mean a longer and longer lockout.

Updated: October 22, 2012

The Social Media Customer Service of AT&T

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

Social media has opened many doors for companies. One way social media can be used is for customer service. One company does a great job with social media customer service: AT&T. According to Simply Zesty, AT&T has 1.6 millions fans on Facebook. They receive hundreds of questions everyday and the company uses it for customer service and to create positive experience for users.

AT&T does a few things very well. First off, they use their page for discussions. Wall posts and discussion boards can be a great space for customer service to take place, but companies often forget to use them.  When customers post on Facebook, an AT&T customer service rep will respond to them.  Their Facebook page gives people another outlet to contact AT&T instead of calling the customer service line. Personally, I’m an AT&T customer and I know that it can be a pain to call them, so this gives me another outlet to use.

Another thing that makes AT&T’s digital customer service a great tool is they educate their employees in weekly digital leadership workshops. This is to make sure there is a collaboration between all departments and that employees communicating the same messages offline or online.  This is important, especially within an organization as large as AT&T.  Customers need to have consistent messages from the company so they know it’s credible and communicates the correct information.

Although AT&T does a great job with social media customer service, there are still a few thing they can do to improve it. Social media is all about being instant, so fast response times are important.  First of all, the could increase their response time to questions or complaints.  I logged on to their Facebook page and I had to scroll down to posts from two hours ago to find responses.  Other organizations reply faster. The Delta Airlines twitter page responds much quicker than AT&T.

Second, they can employ more people to handle their social media customer service. Right now they only have 20, so more would be beneficial and could increase response time like mentioned above.

Finally, they could be available 24/7.  On AT&T’s twitter page, they state hours of operation. The Facebook page doesn’t show hours of operation, but I would guess they are the same. Customers want information at all hours of the day, so only being available for some is a downside.

How Social Media Can Help Your Company’s PR

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

With the rise of the internet and digital age, social media has taken over.  People are always sending tweets, checking their Facebook feed, or reading blogs for news.  With this technology and the different social media sites, information is at our finger tips.  So how does this affect the PR?

It can be argued that social media can make things more difficult for PR professionals because people can say whatever they want.  A company or PR professionals cannot control what others say about them on their Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platform.  According to an article on Jontus Media, social media has made it easier for customers to complain.  Without the face-to-face interaction, people are more comfortable writing reviews.  Too many bad reviews, and the company’s reputation could be ruined.

Event though social media can negatively impact a company based on reviews, it is still possible for social media to help a company.  The best thing for a company to do is to take a proactive approach by monitoring and responding to reviews.  By showing they care and by taking the information their customers give them, they can make a plan to ensure the company is seen in a positively.

Building or rebuilding a reputation is not the only thing social media can be used for.  Social media can be very beneficial for a company’s PR because of three reasons:

  1. Increased News Coverage:
    Social media is a great way for companies to show the public what they are doing.  News that would originally be given to tradition media sources via press releases can now be posted on a company’s Facebook or Twitter.  It also means the news can spread faster.  If someone finds a post from a company interesting, they can retweet it or send it to their friends.
  2. Consumer Interactions:
    Before the digital age, if a consumer had a question or complaint about a service or product, they’d need to call a company line and wait to speak to a representative.  Social media has changed that.  It is not possible to tweet a question to a company to have the issue resolved.  I myself have done this before.  Nike offers a service called Nike+ to track workouts.  One day my sensor didn’t record my run, and I didn’t know how to fix that, so I sent them a message on their Facebook page and within minutes I had a response and a fixed product.  It’s immediacy with responses that makes social media an important part of consumer relations.
  3. Cheap or Free Advertising:
    Social media platforms provide a place for companies to showcase their products or services.  It is also a great way to advertise in a less expensive way. One post on a company’s Facebook can spread like wildfire to people’s newsfeeds.  Or a company’s product posted on Pinterest can be repinned thousands of times.  It is hard to pay for advertising that reaches so many people the way social media does.

Although people believe social media can be negative for companies, the positives it brings outweighs the negative.

The Rise of Digital

Posted on by mlavens in PR&CC: 1070

The internet is still pretty young, yet it seems like it has been around forever.  That’s because of the rise of digital communications and social media happened so quickly.

Digital communication is in our daily lives.  Cell phones aren’t just for talking anymore.  With texting, apps, skype and so much more, cell phones are basically the world in the palm of our hands.  The new rise of digital communication has caused humans to worry less about face to face interaction.  Instead, I can pick up my iPhone and send a quick text to my roommate letting her know that I picked up dinner.  Or I can send a funny reply to a tweet from my best friend living in Nashville.  Ten years ago, that wasn’t possible.

At that point, I had my first cell phone.  The best part about it…I could call my friends without having to use the house phone.  Now, people don’t even have landlines.  Instead they use cell phones, tablets, computers, and so much more to communication.

So what has this done to our society?  It’s turned us into a media sharing society.  It’s much easier to get information in this new digital age.  People are getting their news from Facebook or Twitter and sharing stories or products on blogs or Pinterest.  Just last night I was on Twitter and saw a tweet from The New York Times about Apple creating an internet radio source to compete with Pandora.

This was the first I had heard of anything like that.  I clicked on the link and read the article.  Following that, I retweeted it myself and within minutes, I had followers retweet it or reply to it.  And my guess would be, most of these followers, saw the post on Twitter before seeing it in the New York Times or other newspapers.

The rise of the digital era has changed the way people live in the past few years, and with the continued creation of social media websites and phone applications, the digital era will continue to change and so will our style of communication.

Google is Here to Help

Posted on by mlavens in PR News & Info

When I first took a PR class, I remember learning about the importance of a press release.  Covering the 5W’s and making sure the most important information came first in.

Well I recently discovered something in Google Docs…templates!  And one of those templates is for a press release.  This is a great resource if you want to make a professional press release, without having to spend too much time formatting it.

Plus, there are plenty of other resources on Google Doc Templates.  You can find templates for resumes, cover letters, school projects, and everything else!  This is a great place to help you out with any kind of document.  Be sure to check it out.