When animals flee zoos, call in the PR people

Today's Wall Street Journal runs a story about how zoos use public relations when animals go AWOL.

"When an escaped tiger killed a San Francisco zoo visitor on Christmas, it was the biggest blow yet to an industry that has been working hard to improve its reputation.

"The problem: Some animals aren't cooperating.

"In 2007, at least 10 animal escapes from U.S. zoos generated press coverage. Fugitives include a cheetah that scaled a fence at the St. Louis Zoo, a peacock that walked out of the Denver Zoo and took up residence on the front porch of a nearby house, and a geriatric spider monkey named Rena who jimmied open her cage door at the Dallas Zoo before being recaptured..."

Not surprisingly, zoos are spending more money on crisis communication planning.

The mechanics of the public relations techniques the zoos use will not surprise PR practitioners -- pretty standard stuff. But what is interesting about the article is that it could have been written and placed by the zoos' industry association -- proof, perhaps, of the efficacy of the zoo association's PR team.

Technorati : San Francisco zoo, crisis communication planning, public relations, zoos

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 04:12pm in Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

Debbie Weil. Alliconnect, astroturfing and the ethics of PR people... observations

The Debbie Weil - alliconnect - astroturfing flare-up grew a little too personal for my taste, so I am mostly happy to see the thing fade away.

And it never should have flared up at all.... Debbie Weil just didn't know any better.

See, what surprised me from the start was Weil's defense of her invitation to astroturf:

"There's nothing underhanded about the email I sent, as I posted the same request publicly on my blog. And I didn't send it to a list of "prominent PR bloggers." Just a list of folks I know. It's not that big a deal. Bloggers - corporate and otherwise - use the backchannel of email all the time to communicate with one another."

What kind of explanation is that? How she sent the invitation is, of course, irrelevant.

But in reading the posts of those who criticized her effort and those of her (few) defenders, I suddenly realized what was up. Debbie Weil doesn't know astroturfing is wrong -- she doesn't work in PR or corporate communication, and doesn't realize astroturfing is a huge breach of ethics. And, pretty much down the line, her defenders are outside the communication profession and her critics are in it.

Now, I know the general public ranks PR professionals fairly low, somewhere around lawyers and CEOs, but 99.9% of the PR professionals I've met take their ethics codes (PRSA's, for example, or IABC's) very seriously. Astroturfing is something we just don't do (and some are working actively against it), and we damned sure aren't shy about calling people on it when we catch them at it. But that works only if the other person should know better.

Debbie Weil just doesn't. Well, that's alright then! Isn't it?

Update: she should have gone to buyblogcomments.com.

Technorati : alli, astroturfing, debbie weil. alliconnect, pr ethics

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 04:35pm in Advertising & PR, Communication, Ethics, Pharmaceutical Industry, PRSA, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (6)

Responding to bloggers: "not our job" say IABC Dallas members?

[Update: I left out a crucial not in my original post. It is inserted below. Ok, who said proofreading was a part of the job?]

46% of IABC Dallas communicators say "ignore" angry bloggers, or fob them off on the customer relations department. Only 42% realize it might be a good idea for the media relations department to respond.

So reports The Bulldog Reporter on July 7:

"The results are surprising, especially since bloggers are gaining prominence as valid media outlets and/or story sources for mainstream media, said Roy Miller, president of Dallas/IABC. "Corporate communicators must accept and acknowledge a blogger's ability to spread information––the good, bad and the ugly. Ignoring them and not responding quickly just sets up an organization to be, best case, inaccurately represented—worst case, to be demonized. Treat bloggers with the same respect and responsiveness you'd have for any member of the media.

The online poll, which ran June 1 to July 1, asked more than 300 communicators to choose one response to the question, "Who should respond to angry external bloggers—media relations or customer service?" The results:

• 46 percent of respondents believe bloggers should be ignored, or managed by customer relations departments
• 42 percent say bloggers should be handled by media relations representatives
• 6 percent say neither of these departments should handle angry bloggers
• 6 percent say they don't know"

While my first reaction was "this is disturbing," a second glance tells me the results may not
be all that scandalous. First, in most companies, customer relations is the best place to address angry customers (whether they blog or not). Second, the correct answer -- which wasn't offered -- is "media relations should be monitoring the situation, and media relations and customer relations should jointly decide the who, how, and what of the response."

However, I would like to see the original poll. If "ignore" was an option alone, and any communicators voted for that -- well, they'd better wake up while they still have a job. And the 6% who say "I don't know," had better start forming an opinion PDQ.

Technorati Tags: IABC Dallas, Bulldog Reporter, social media polls, customer relations, media relations

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:36am in IABC, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (5)

Quote of the week

I found this little gem over at Mike Manuel's place: Technorati will let you know when your foot's on fire, but it won't tell you how to put it out. This is where technology stops and PR starts.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:25pm in Public Relations, Writing I Enjoy | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2)

Robert Reich, former US Labor Secretary, kicks off blog by roasting PR pracitioner

Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor, started a blog three weeks ago.

After a sort of rambling first post, he used the second post to rip GM's PR agency for trying to bribe him:

"I just got off the phone with a guy who works in public affairs for General Motors, asking me if I'd say publicly on the radio and TV that GM's buyback deal for GM workers (GM will give a certain lump sum of money to any worker who voluntarily quits) is a good deal for workers, and promising a sum of money for me if I did so. I told him I'd say nice things about the deal if I thought the deal was good and I'd condemn it if I thought the deal was bad, and I wouldn't take a dime. Frankly, I was offended that GM or anyone would think my opinion was for sale. It's bad enough the Administration pays Armstrong Williams and other columnists to support White House policy. Now, apparently corporate America is paying pundits to shill for them."

The New York Times picked up the story and identifies the blot on our profession as one Richard Strauss of Strauss Radio Strategies.  Strauss calls himself "the nation's premier expert on radio public relations."

According to the Times, Strauss blew off the accusation by Reich: "I may have mentioned the possibility of an honorarium" to Mr. Reich "out of deference and respect to him and his position."

Reich is still hasn't gotten his bloggin sea-legs yet... no RSS feed, no trackbacks, and really poor formatting ... but when smart guys like Reich blog, I can overlook baby steps.

Hat tip to Mike at Forward for tipping me off. Update:  Shel Holtz had a take on it, too, which I hadn't read when I posted.

Technorati Tags: robert reich, richard strauss, bribery, ethics, general motors

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 06:38pm in Ethics, People of Note, Politics, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1)

Finally, a guaranteed no-lose investment!

Looking for a sure-fire investment? No gearing, instant pay-off and -- and here's the thing -- you can get in on the groundfloor for nothing.

Note: if you are not a professional communicator, this offer is not for you. Sorry.

Interested?

Well, if you can handle it, wander over to Forward, "the online springboard for new and upcoming PR professionals."

Founded by Erin Caldwell, a senior in the Auburn University program that Robert French helps lead, Forward looks a the practical part of getting and staying in your first PR job.

To quote the site:

Here you'll find:

• commentary and advice from students, faculty and professionals from around the world from varying levels and areas of PR
• information to help you find PR experience and how to make the most of it
• the opportunity to learn about trends and tools that they don't teach you in college
• helpful interviews with professionals
• a comprehensive list of suggested reading material including blogs, books and professional publications

Now, what about that investment? Well, if you are professional communicator, and are willing to blog and write and advise the young people coming into our profession... you can become an investor... a writer... an adviser.

And that's not a bad investment, is it?

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:13pm in Education, Public Relations, Smart Communities | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2)

PR and politics have lots in common?

Politics and PR -- industries with image problems. Stuart Bruce is both a politician and a PR practitioner. And while  he rarely goes off the rails, I think he's derailed here:

Public relations and politics have a lot in common. Not least is the fact that both PR practitioners and politicians are frequently criticised by people who know very little about the subject but think they are expert commentators.

The reason they think they are experts is that they are "consumers" of some of the products of PR and politics. The problem is they only see it from their own limited perspective and not the whole picture that the PRs and politicians have.

Well, what perspective do you expect them to have?

Stuart, I am a communicator, and I have been active in party politics, so we both have more experience in both fields than most people. I'd say, though, that when things go bad for our clients or candidates or parties, the problem is almost never a failing of the "consumer" -- the voter, or the journalist, or the user of the product. When reporters, consumers, voters lacerate our brands and candidates, it's generally because we have misunderstood them -- not the other way around.

Stuart is writing an essay on the topic.  I suspect I will disagree with it, but Stuart is always worth a careful read.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 01:21am in Communication, Politics, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2)

Sprint apologizes...and that’s all I wanted

Sprint, after some prompts in which I raised the issue of whether it is wise for a known firm (Sprint) to engage in clearly illegal activity (spam) against residents of the European Union (me), I received the following note from Rose Capra of Sprint.

Mr. Jenkins,

Sorry for the delayed response. As you may have received my out of office message, I have been traveling and it has been difficult to check and respond to email.

Thank you for expressing your concerns regarding the Sprint Ambassador program. I'm very sorry if the original invitation sent, or subsequent communication to you caused any offense or inconvenience. Please be assured that this was not the intent, and that extending an invitation to someone who could not participate in our program due to geographic location was human error, and an honest mistake. I assure that you were not put into any databases as a result of these communications, and you will not be receiving any unsolicited emails about the Sprint Ambassador program in the future.

Thank you for your communication on this matter. I wish you well in your current and future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Rose Capra

Sprint Consumer Marketing

I am not going to fisk the note or the incident. Sprint apologized, and that's good enough for me.

But it's clear they don't read or respect bloggers.... just use them.

Technorati: sprint ambassador, Sprint, lame pitches

Related posts: Spammer Sprint to Jenkins: we are a very big duck and you are.. water, Short update on the Sprint Ambassador diplomatic crisis, Desirable Roasted Coffee breaks diplomatic relations with Sprint Ambassador Team

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:42pm in Mea Culpas & Outright Retractions, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (12)

It’s Mardi Gras, so there’s no school... right?

Fascinating little tidbit from John Wagner:

Many Houston-area students displaced by Hurricane Katrina assumed that schools were closed for Mardi Gras, and they didn't show up.

No one told them school would be open, and many didn't ask, because in their experience, schools always close for Mardi Gras. Roughly 40 percent of the students from New Orleans in Houston-area school districts missed classes Monday and Tuesday, and they're getting marked for unexcused absences.

Wagner diagnoses the problem as one of knowing how to communicate across mini-streams, now that mainstream media channels are breaking up.

It's a challenge that will only grow in complexity as society gets ever more segmented. PR people, are you up to it?

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 03:32pm in Communication, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (6)

Short update on the Sprint Ambassador diplomatic crisis

Still no reply to my email to "Bob" (you will remember I had to assign him a name) at Sprint. I do hope he will reply in such a way that I can restore diplomatic relations with Sprint and say "ok, we're friends again!"

In the meantime, the estimable Mike Sansone at Copywriting Watch makes his own suggestion to Sprint on my behalf. It's lovely, and I wish I'd thought of it. And if Sprint takes him up on it, I will sing their praises to high heaven.

"Here's my suggestion to Sprint (Bob?). Send a note of sincere apology to Allan. Invite him to choose three people he knows in the target markets to become a Sprint Ambassador. They don't have to be bloggers. Allan's choice - pure and simple. Then over deliver. Somehow. Just don't pull a Nvidia."

That's what it's about, everyone (and I mean everyone!): market ethically (don't spam), but if you do mess up, apologize! And over deliver to your victim! It's an easy thing, and we have all seen it work a thousand times. Unfortunately, we still see it too little.

So, Bob at Sprint Ambassador Team. If you take up Mike's suggestion, I will choose three of my friends back in the United States, all of whom could have stepped out of the pages of The Tipping Point, and you can make them ambassadors. I'll be happy, they will (that is, if you over deliver) be happy, and you will be happy. It's win-win-win for us all!

Also, I've sent an email to Lori Joseph, a senior communicator at Sprint, prominent IABC leader, and former colleague of mine on IABC's board of directors. Since she's all about good corporate communication and marketing ethics -- and knows how to get things done -- I am sure all of this will be speedily and happily resolved.

Technorati: Sprint, sprint ambassador, mike sansone, Copywriting Watch, diplomatic immunity, lame pitches

Related post: Desirable Roasted Coffee breaks diplomatic relations with Sprint Ambassador Team

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 02:14pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Communication, Ethics, Is Tedious in the House?, Marketing, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (3)

Desirable Roasted Coffee breaks diplomatic relations with Sprint Ambassador Team

The Sprint Ambassador program got around to me today, which I guess ranks me about like Niger or Mali on their diplomatic list. I mean, they got to Rubel (France?) and Jarvis (NATO?) months ago, and we all know those big portfolios go fast.

And I am sure when they first started handing out portfolios, they did it nicely. Personally. With finesse.

But we low life get spam. Oh, yes. And no love.

Here's the sordid tale we third-worlders tell over stale canapés down at the chancery while we watch the jackals circle the sickly hippo. This afternoon I received this dispatch:

Hi Allan,

The Sprint Ambassador Team recently visited Allanjenkins.typepad.com and wants to invite you to participate in our Ambassador Program.

The Sprint Ambassador Program is all about exploring our latest products and services and allows you to give direct feedback to Sprint. We recently launched the Sprint Power Vision (SM) Network and want to provide you with the full experience, at no charge. Sprint Power Vision Network enables customers to download data at faster speeds and experience new data products.

So what?s the deal?

As a qualified participant, we will send you one Sprint Power Vision phone and provide you with six months of all-access service (at no charge). You?ll have access to the Sprint Music Store(SM) live TV broadcasts, gaming and more. Yes, you will also have unlimited free calling and data service. It?s a pretty good deal and all we ask for in return is your candid feedback (you decide how much and how often).

We look forward to receiving your registration!

The Sprint Ambassador Team

Look past, if you can, the banal prose that should flunk any college freshman. That's not important. What is important:

1. A "team" visited my site, wrote the letter, and signed it, but no names! Yet, they feel perfectly free to call me by first name. Now, I know that is a practice in direct mail marketing, and have long ago given up bitching about it, but it shows right off that this Cluetrain never got out of the station.
2. They visited (fill in the blank) my blog. But they didn't read it. How do I know? Well, they would have seen the Bacon's Information fiasco and trod more carefully, perhaps. They also would have quickly learned I live 4000 miles away from their nearest outpost and can only use their phone as a paperweight.
3. Oh, and it's exactly the same pitch they gave to Jarvis, way back before the waterholes dried up.

Not wanting to be appointed to an ambassadorship for which I am patently unqualified, I shot off this cable:

I am so glad you dropped in on Desirable Roasted Coffee (http://allanjenkins.typepad.com).

And I am happy that it's led to a Sprint Ambassador invitation.

Unfortunately, you didn't actually read the blog did you? Tell the truth!

Because if you had, you'd know two things:

1) I eat PR spammers who try to ingratiate themselves by saying they read my blog for breakfast (Don't believe me? Go here for a taste: http://allanjenkins.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/11/bacons_informat.html )

2) I live in Copenhagen, Denmark -- any fool who had read the blog would know that. Clearly, I'm not in your customer catchment area.

No, Sprinters, you vacuumed up my address, and probably thousands of others, and spammed me.

Very, very stupid move. Just ask the folks at Bacon's.

Ok, Ok... a little rough around the edges, but since I never had diplomatic relations with them before now, what am I to do?

Sprint Ambassador Team, being nothing if not fleet, replied quickly with a terse note (uh, oh, I think that's bad):

Hi Allan,

This is not spam. We had noticed your interest in innovation and interactive technology and decided to extend an invitation to you.

Thank you,

The Sprint Ambassador Team

This is why diplomatic relations collapse. This is why countries go to war. When bullheaded "we automatons are going to give him a phone whether he can use it or not" meets "uhm, I'm not your target group, so why do you keep me in your sights?"

I issued the following demarche:

Do any of you have a name? I am sure the entire Sprint Ambassador Team did not collectively send either one of these mails. Since you feel free to be on first name basis with me, it's only fair that I am on first name basis with you.

John? Christy? Jorgé? Bob? Charmaine? Hell, just choose one.

Let's assume "Bob" until I am corrected.

Bob... the Cluetrain Manifesto says let your people come out and talk to us possible customers. Don't hide behind some sort of "team".

Ok. Now let's go back to the start:

You did not read my blog, Bob. Admit it. If you had, you'd know I was the wrong person to approach for two reasons:

1) I hate being pitched by anonymous pitchers who think they are hip because they have sold "bloggers" as a target group to their boss.

2) I live -- hello? -- 4000 miles from your nearest outpost. Send me the damned phone, but be aware I can only use it as a paperweight.

And, Bob... it was, and is, spam.

Do you really want me to be Sprint's ambassador? Well.... I could easily be. Not every ambassador is exactly what the foreign ministry had in mind.

I hope -- I most certainly hope -- Rubel and anyone else who grabbed this "deal" a few months ago were wined and wooed by Sprint. Because if they fell for this piece of hucksterism, then they sure aren't the gurus some think they are. Jarvis took them to task pretty fast.

Me? I've sent out the gunboats. I break all diplomatic relations with Sprint.

Technorati: diplomatic immunity, jeff jarvis, sprint ambassador, steve rubel, lame pitches, micropersuasion

Related post: Steve Rubel lashes out at the Blogging for Benjamins crowd... about time, I'd say

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 12:07am in Bizarre & Amusing, Communication Skills, Is Tedious in the House?, Public Relations, Scams | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2)

I love the Bad Pitch Blog

Tout le PR blogosphere has already noted it, but let me just add: I love the Bad Pitch Blog.

Not for a minute do I believe it will stem the flood, or even particularly embarass anyone (I think cluelessness is hard-coded in the DNA of many PR agencies and their suppliers). But for a smile, it's almost as good as Tom Tomorrow.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:53pm in Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2)

Onion pokes Sony....ooooh. That must be giving Sony's PR folks fits.

When The Onion aims its shotguns at a company, it's never a pretty sight. I wonder if Sony's PR people are bunkering down or polishing their resumes?

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 08:08am in Humor, Public Relations, Technology | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

Employees aren't cattle, so wake up

Measure, measure, measure! And know your demographics!

Every direct marketing veteran lives by these two rules. All too few internal communicators and PR pros have even heard of them.

If you work in a large organization, answer honestly: how much time did you spend reading the last employee newsletter -- ostensibly designed for you? And how much time did you spend reading the direct marketing stuff that came through your door today?

If you read the ads, but dumped the newsletter, don't feel bad -- the people sending you catalogues have coldly sliced and diced your desires, demography and habits. Yes, it can be a bit creepy that subscribing to the Atlantic leads to more brochures about Bermuda than your beloved Daytona, but you have to admit someone, out there, is thinking "What does she want to read?"

On the other hand, the people writing your corporate newsletter probably couldn't tell you, on a bet, the demographics of the people working in your division, office, or shop.

I have an example in my hand this minute. A 16-page newsletter from a corporation with several thousand employees  in 20 or so countries. Only a few employees -- say, 600 or so -- are in Sweden, the site of the HQ. Yet 4 pages are devoted to stuff happening in Sweden; 2 more pages are interviews with executives in Sweden. The rest is given over to general corporate stuff; 8 employees from 5 countries are mentioned -- and all of them are at the GM level.

I bet they'll be reading that with passion tonight, in Bangkok, Mumbai, Mainz, Rome, and Tel Aviv.

Start treating employees with the same respect you claim to treat customers. It just might pay off!

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:42pm in Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (1)

Weber Shandwick blogger will do fine after he learns playground etiquette

Weber Shandwick employee Robert J. Ricci has joined the PR blogosphere, welcomed by über-blogger Steve.

I'm sure he' ll do well, once he adds RSS (so that people will actually read him) and once he learns the rules of the game, one of which is "avoid every appearance of lifting ideas from other PR bloggers without credit":

Robert J. Ricci on November 19 in a post about Google Analytics:

According to EU law, Web site owners who set cookies must not only alert their visitors to the fact, but also explain how they're being used and how they can be disabled.

Swedish PR blogger Fredrik Wackå on the same topic the day before:

According to Swedish and European Union law, it's illegal to set cookies without telling people on the site that you do, what they're used for and how they can be avoided.

Come on... it's not a direct quote-lift, but the two are separated at birth. And Fredrik is the only PR blogger who had addressed the issue.

It's an increasingly common phenomenon, and one that's getting a lot of discussion in private conversations around the PR blogosphere: One or two or three bloggers will post on a subject, and build a conversation. A few days later, a doyen or doyenne  or wannabe will post on the same subject, with no credit, as if the idea struck him out the blue justlikethat.

Maybe clients are fooled into believing you are brilliantly insightful, and maybe that's the point: but the rest of us aren't, so let's just stop it. Give credit when credit is due.

Technorati Tags: son of a pitch, weber shandwick, pr, public relations, ethics, google analytics

Update: Ricci has now credited Wackå (see comments below). The "you" in the last paragraph of my post describes everyone lifting ideas and reworking them with no credit -- it does not refer to Ricci specifically.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 10:10am in Bloggers, Ethics, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (12) | TrackBack (1)

Steve Crescenzo takes aim at Desirable Roasted Coffee... sit down, Steve, you're making the dog nervous.

Steve Crescenzo knows  no greater joy in life than channeling the late Dr. Thompson in the service of corporate communication. But was it an attempt at gonzo'ism that led Steve to turn his big gun on the Coffee? Petulance issues? Flatulence? Bad hair day?

Steve's bill of indictment against moi is as astounding and entertaining as the National Enquirer. Among other nasty things, he says "Jenkins has a thing about print. He can't stand it."

Well, Steve doesn't know me, but those that do will be chuckling at that line. As one of my ex-wives used to say, "It's supposed to be a house, Allan, not a goddamned bookstore." I should be on Jeff Bezos' personal holiday card list.

Let's look at how Steve says I got on his "last nerve" (and...which one was that?).

[Jenkins] was talking about how he doesn’t read anything in print anymore. Well, he actually says he reads two daily newspapers in print, but only because they are so “hopeless” in digital form. “But as soon as they wake up and provide RSS feeds to subscribers, I won’t touch their paper form,” he writes.

No, I never said I don't read anything in print anymore. In fact, 80% of what I read is in print. Like most of us, I prefer to read articles, analyses, literature, cookbooks, letters and Christmas cards in print. Who wouldn't?

But -- at five in the morning, when I start my working day -- I want to see the news now. Since my newspapers hit the doorstep at 6 or 7 am, I'd much prefer to read them online -- rather than waiting for paper? That's hardly a rejection of print.

I say something else that gets Steve's back up; I'll repeat it here:

“In fact, I find myself furious and disgusted every time IABC’s Communication World comes through the door. . . . Since I have written for CW, I know the article appears weeks or months after the blogosphere has thoroughly dissected the issue. Any day of the week, any IABC member can go into the blogosphere and find 50 better articles than CW publishes in a quarter. Note to IABC: Communication World is a benefit only for those who don’t use the Internet.”

Steve believes the blogosphere is just for mutually-congratulatory bloggers stroking their egos. Boy, is he wrong. Are 98% of blogs crap? Yep, leaving about 400, 000 out there that aren't. And, yes, in the PR/comms/advertising part of that 400,000, you generally see better articles, sooner, than you will see in CW. It's just a fact. And -- at the risk of exciting Steve's first stroke -- better and sooner than you will see them in Ragan's.

Steve rounds out his post with what can only be called a self-stroking tribute to his own reading habits.  He loves Newsweek and Time -- fittingly, he reads them while getting stoned on Margaritas, realizing intuitively they are fit only for illiterates -- and he likes his New  Yorker in bed. Me? I got out of that habit when Tina Brown was editor; it was just too kinky. But it's nice with a G&T -- in the den with all the books.

Steve chose to read my post in the most selective way imaginable. He also chose not to link to it, ensuring his readers would not be able to make their own notes. And he doesn't accept trackbacks (so his readers will never know of this post, either).

Come on, Steve. Do better than that. The Doctor would have.

Update: I see friend Shel Holtz has weighed in, and so has John Wagner.

New reader? The original article that excited Steve is here: http://allanjenkins.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/11/will_you_read_y.html

Technorati tags:
Steve Crescenzo
Ragan Report
Hunter S. Thompson
death of print

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 10:52pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Books, Desirable Roasted Coffee, Journalism, Public Relations, Writers | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (3)

You like your experience on our airline? Blog it!

Via Fredrik Wackå comes news that Hapag Lloyd Express, a low-price airline, is giving passengers the chance to blog their experience with the airline:

"Hapag-Lloyd Express, a provider of low-cost flights that in 2004 carried 2.7 million passengers, are using blogs as part of their customer loyalty program. Perhaps they weren't the first in their business to realize this obvious blog use, I don't know, but it's a good idea nevertheless. At HLX Urlaubsblogs everyone that has booked a flight can publish photos and post to blogs. Travelling is experiencing, experiences are best shared and blogging is sharing. Travels and blogs are a perfect match."

While we have Fredrik front and center, he recently updated his European Corporate Blogs list, which is simply THE directory for corporate blogs in this part of the world.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:24pm in Communication, Marketing, Public Relations, Travel | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

Is this Corporate Cluelessness Week? Ask Amy Gahran and Tosh Bilowski

[Update: I published without proofreading, which is always a mistake. The version you see below is an edited version of the original. The message is the same.]

Tipped off by John Wagner, I pointed the feed reader at Amy Gahran's Contentious at my first break today... Now, I'm not for a moment going to say Panasonic holds a candle to Bacon's for sheer bloody-mindedness, but it's close.

Amy has been gently, but firmly urging Panasonic to come clean about its Tosh Bilowski character blog.  Like most of us, Amy believes the character blog, in theory, can be a good thing. But,  like the rest of us, she's seen no or, at best, few, examples of character blogs that work.

And Tosh Bilowski isn't one of them. For me, it's mainly because Tosh isn't an "obvious" character (such as Captain Morgan); instead, he's being passed off as a real person (and a boring one, at that).

But what's teeth-jarringly clueless? The snooty and short-sighted responses Gahran gets from Tosh Bilowski's "handler", Jan Crittenden Livingston.

Amy noted on her own blog -- that is, in her own space, not Panasonic's -- that "Tosh" apparently wasn't accepting comments she'd posted to the blog. She pointed out that it is Panasonic's right not to publish comments, but wondered if Panasonic was "getting" the concept of conversation.

In response, Jan Crittenden Livingston shows she doesn't get it .. she writes Gahran:

Hi Amy,

The reason we are not posting your commentary is because we do not have to.... We are hoping that it can turn into a nice site where people can come and learn about all things Hi Def. We do not have to run it like any Blog or Website that you have seen before, it will be run the way we choose to run it...

Bad enough? Livingston uses the Tosh Bilowski GMail addy to sign the thing. Tacky or what?

Some people -- me, for example -- would have joyfully skewered Panasonic. Amy patiently and wonderfully turns the episode into a set of guidelines for companies contemplating character blogging.

Really fine stuff, Amy!

Technorati tags:
Panasonic
Tosh Bilowski
Jan Crittenden Livingston
Character Blogs
Amy Gahran

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:01pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Blogging, Communication, Corporate Communication, Is Tedious in the House?, Marketing, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2) | TrackBack (0)

Bacon's Information & Cluelessness ("it was an error in judgement..." says Bacon's Senior VP)

A final, final, installment of the Bacon's & Cluelessness series that started here and continued here...

In this segment: Bacon's SVP admits error and inadvertantly attaches email from underlings begging Bacon's SVP to call off the Desirable Roasted dog.

Back home in South Carolina, you can still hear old folks, when confronted with something so astounding that even they can't remember the like, utter, "I swan........."

Don't ask me the origin (it has nothing to do with aquatic fowl; I do know that), but it's usually accompanied by slow head-shaking and an expression of disbelief. Sometimes the next line is "Well, the lights are on over there, but ain't nobody home."

That's me, thinking of Bacon's. And by the time you read this long post, that's going to be you, too.

Yesterday, I posted, at the end of Cluelessness & Bacon's -- to finish the story, this promise:

I've sent a mail to Christine Birkner asking a) how my information got on their database and what that information is and b) asked for an explanation of the similarity between the Bacon's blog survey and the Edelman/Technorati one.

I'll keep you posted.

Many hours later, I had not gotten an acknowledgement from Christine Birkner or her boss, Karen Ericksen. Frankly, I didn't expect an answer, per se, but had hoped for a "ok, we'll get back to you" You know, just to know if someone was home over there.

I follow up...

So I followed up in an email to Christine Birkner and her boss, Karen Ericksen:

"I am sure you are aware by now the Bacon's Information Blog Survey is becoming somewhat of an embarrassment for Bacon's. A brief search on Technorati or Google Blogs or even Google itself will reveal that I am not the only blogger disturbed by the survey and how it's been handled.

 Let me repeat my questions:
 
1) How did I get into your database, and what information do you have about me?
 2) Did Bacon's Information copy the Edelman/Technorati survey?
 3) If so, why?
 4) If not, why did Bacon's Information apologize to Edelman?
 
I hope you will answer by the close of business today, since you have had a full day. If not, I will begin asking higher up in Bacon's, and report my progress daily on my blog.
 
Or you could just say "you know, this blog survey was a really, really terrible mistake & we apologize to all PR bloggers for it".
 
As always, you are welcome to contact me & I will naturally be happy to publish whatever reply you decide to send."

OK, I will plead guilty to cattle-prodding, just a little. But, see, while Bacon's wasn't responding, they were reading my blog. All day, I got several pops a minute from Bacon's or MediaSource -- moreover, they were doing Google and Technorati searches on almost any permutation of "Bacon's", "Information", "Blog", and "Survey" they could manage (some blogged their own names, but let's put that down to Blego). So it wasn't as if my email had fallen through the cracks.

Bacon's Replies and Admits "an error was made..."

Finally, I received this email, from Ruth McFarland, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Bacon's Information (in response to her underlings, Birkner and Ericksen). Let's read and parse!

Mr. Jenkins –
I have attached all information Bacon’s has about you and your blog in our database.

Ruth McFarland attached a PDF file with my info... quite sparse, actually, with my email address (which is public) and my blog address (ditto) and an accurate assessment of what I cover. So far, so good; I provide far more information on my blog.

We obtain blog information from a variety of websites and other sources such as our clients requesting certain ones to be added.  I cannot tell you who/what suggested you be added to the Bacon’s database.

That's trouble for Bacon's. Cannot or will not?

More trouble:  Fooled, apparently, by a dot.com address and American English, Bacon's assumes I am a US resident. But I am not. And it is illegal -- yes, illegal -- for US companies to register information about EU residents in US databases without their permission. The US and the EU have a treaty about this, and it's taken very seriously here. However, since Bacon's doesn't operate in the EU, it's hardly worth the effort to file charges.

The Edelman issue is between Edelman and Bacon’s.  If you wish further information, please read Phil Gomes’ blog, as he works for Edelman and can provide you with all of the details you wish.

The astute reader will have already noted that I quoted Gomes in my email to Birkner, so... that's circular. McFarland forgets I am a savvy PR blogger and can spot deflection at a thousand yards. But I have asked Gomes to comment, though I think he would be fully justified to say "buzz off, it's Bacon's fish, let them fry it."

Here comes the mea culpa:

It was an error in judgment to send out an e-mail attachment to bloggers, as it should have been an online survey.

The passive voice used in this deflection is a gem. Herman Wouk gets this just right in The Caine Mutiny when he has Lieutenant Keefer instruct young Ensign Willie Keith on how to write perfect Navy memos: "It was not thought necessary to contact fleet command. It is regretted if this thought was in error."

Who made the bad judgement call at Bacon's? It doesn't matter. An error in judgement was made....

Good enough! Bacon's need not eat more crow on my account.

But...a reward for your patience, reader!

Ruth McFarland, when she wrote to me, inadvertantly included the internal correspondence that prompted her interesting reply. So, as a reward for your patience, and for your amusement, and as a cautionary tale to cut off the tail of your email trail, I leave you with this plaintive cry for help from Christine Birkner's boss, Karen Ericksen, to Ruth McFarland:

Subject: Allen Jenkins again...

Hi Ruth,
He sent Chris (and I) another e-mail about this. Please see the note below.  I know you don't want to reply to him at all but what do you think of Chris sending a simple reply informing him that she has forwarded his comments on and her only role was to provide a point of contact to those that chose to respond. It really sounds like he's not going to let this rest.
- Karen

Technorati tags: Bacon's Information
Bacon's
Bacon's Blog Survey

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 01:03am in Bizarre & Amusing, Communication Skills, Is Tedious in the House?, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (7) | TrackBack (2)

Cluelessness & Bacon's: to finish the story

I hope you all will forgive me for leaving you hanging. My post Is Bacon's Information, Inc. utterly clueless? I'd say it's possible was posted Thursday, and some of you have been waiting breathlessly for the next installment.

[Update: the story continues!  Bacon's Information Senior VP admits "error" and forward's staff pleas to "make him stop!"]

Relax, Bacon's is still clueless. And now Phil Gomes has discovered striking similarities between Bacon's blog survey and the recent Edelman/Technorati survey... striking similarities.

So read on!

I wrote Christine Birkner, Special Project Supervisor, Bacon's Information an email in which I noted both my willingness to help and my frustration:

Christine,

I'd love to respond to your survey, since I am a PR professional who happens to blog. But while the document tries to open as a form, it's impossible to enter any data. Yes, I know how to work around that, but a) it's a great deal of trouble, b) while I merely don't have patience to do the work-around, I suspect many recipients will not even know that much.

Moreover, on all the questions where you've supplied radio buttons, I suspect I'm one of many who find them frustrating. How often do I blog? When I'm moved to do so. That can be 10 times one day, and then nothing for a week. Primary reason I blog? All three, since they are mutually supportive. I am an expert in my field, so I blog to make my opinions known AND... so that I might remain an expert in my field ... open up dialogue.

Do I find a company blog credible? Well, it depends on the company. Companies are credible. People are credible. Media, as conduits, are not credible or incredible by themselves.

So... make it easy for me (and not embarassing for Bacon's): Give me a survey that a) one can actually fill out and b) that makes sense to fill out.

Oh, and hurry. I and every other PR blogger you sent this train wreck to can put "Bacon Blog Survey" at the top of Google tomorrow, in the worst way.

Feel free to contact me at any of the contact points below.

Best regards, Allan Jenkins

To Christine Birkner's credit, she replied within a few hours, cc.ing another Bacon's Information employee whose tasks are not apparent to me (I like to think Birkner was cc:ing the Bacon's Vice President who insisted this thing go out, as a way of saying "told you so"... but she might also just be covering her ass.)

Mr. Jenkins,

 

Below is a plain text format of our survey. We apologize for the survey format. We are currently working on a website link for future surveys. I also apologize for the general nature of the questions. The survey was sent out in a mass email to all of the bloggers in our database. Feel free to tailor your responses as they apply to your blog and industry. Thanks for your participation and feedback. If you have any further questions or comments, let me know.

Read that one more time, gentle reader. Let it sink in. And let us parse.

Cluetrain derailment #1:  "The survey was sent out in a mass email to all of the bloggers in our database."

Technorati tags: Bacon's Information
Bacon's
Bacon's Blog Survey

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 01:37pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Communication Skills, Is Tedious in the House?, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1) | TrackBack (0)

Arla Foods speaks to Desirable Roasted Coffee, and we speak back

Arla Foods representatives left a couple of comments on my post last week: Arla Foods, Europe's biggest dairy, launches 3 blogs.

(By the way: Arla Foods keeps two websites: www.arla.dk for consumers, and www.arlafoods.dk for the more corporate-minded.)

One was Mikael, one of Arla's farmer bloggers. He reassures me that more will be forthcoming about the robotic milkers. Cows apparently like them:

"One af the main reasons for buying the robot was that the cows will get milked when ever they want to instead of twice a day as we want to. It is better for a cow who wants to delivered 50-60 kg of milk each day."

To the extent a cow can frame an opinion, of course -- I've known several, and only a few have shown even the most fleeting desire to form an opinion. It's my experience that a spaniel has more opinions than a cow, and spaniels are pretty stupid. But I digress.

Mikael also suspects I get too much of my knowledge of Arla Foods from the press:

"It seems to me that your knowledge about Arla is from the press. With the blog you have the chance to get inside."

That view -- that much of my knowledge comes from the press -- is echoed by Arla Food's head of Communication, Astrid Gade Nielsen, who writes:

"Often Arla is referred to as a ruthless giant that bulldozes not only other small dairires but also their own farmers."

Nielsen is being a tad disingenuous -- a turnover of more than US$7 billion (Annual Report) does not make one a "small" dairy -- but she at least acknowledges the widespread perception of Arla Foods in Denmark.

And, yes, Arla is referred to as a bulldozer of small dairies. By none other than Danish prosecutors, who have Arla Foods under indictment for unfair trade practice. Prosecutors are asking a $6 million fine -- a drop in the bucket for Arla Foods, but a record-breaking fine in Denmark, nonetheless.

With that fact in mind, let me reprint all of Astrid Gade Nielsen's comment, and then invite a response.

"You are right that some consumers have strong dislike towards Arla. And as you point out it is not Arla's products that causes these problems it is the dislike of the company itself. Often Arla is referred to as a ruthless giant that bulldozes not only other small dairires but also their own farmers.

In response to this criticism Arla has to put an effort into becoming more open and communicative and clarify what the company is about. Weblogs is just one initiative towards more dialogue. It is an open, direct way of communicating and it presents people within the company and puts more faces on Arla.

I realise it is a new media for us and we have not foreseen all the challenges that lie ahead but it feels like a good decision and having this dialogue with critics such as yourself have to be a step in the right direction

Astrid Gade Nielsen
Kommunikationschef i Arla

As I said before, Arla's move into blogging is brave and imaginative for a company beset on all sides by a largely captive consumer base, aggressive prosecutors, and a skeptical press.

Knowing that Nielsen cannot comment on the actual case, I'm not going to waste our time asking her to.

But I wonder if she would give Desirable Roasted Coffee readers an insight to what it's like to be under siege, so to speak? I'll ask her for an interview & we'll see what we can learn, shall we?

Technorati tags: Arla Foods
Arla

Technorati : arla foods, astrid gade nielsen

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:45pm in Communication, Denmark, Food and Drink, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (7) | TrackBack (0)

Bacon's Information clueless about browsers

It's no surprise that my blog has been pinged into virtual submission by the eager beavers at Bacon's. What's interesting is that Bacon's totally slaves to the idea that Internet Explorer is the only browser for right-thinking corporate drones.

Memo: we don't drone at Desirable Roasted Coffee.

No, this was not the rest of the story... just an aside.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 03:44pm in Bizarre & Amusing, Communication Skills, Is Tedious in the House?, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

Arla Foods, Europe's biggest dairy, launches 3 blogs