Inside PR #38 – Tuesday, December 19, 2006

• • Agency Life, Inside PR, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David host Inside PR’s 12 Days of Christmas. Also, they welcome an audio comment from Francis Wooby. They play Chris Clarke’s commentary for the week. Finally, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:45 Francis Wooby drops in with an audio comment for Lauren Oostveen and her question about freelance consulting.

05:15 Another comment comes in from Paula DeSantis from Lisbon about social media and PR. She asks what percentage of work Terry and David are doing in social media. While neither are billing a lot, awareness among clients of social media is growing. Terry says that he is approaching a large number of clients about social media. Paula also asks which clients are using social media, to which Terry replies that his firm’s innovative clients are using social media. Finally, she asks how much money has been invested in social media, to which Terry replies not a lot of money, but mostly time.

13:30 David and Terry go off on a tangent about how the time they have invested in social media has affected them as PR professionals.

18:28 Terry mentions that it’s unclear if he will be back for the next episode of Inside PR, as he will be on a cruise.

19:45 David starts this week’s main topic: Inside PR’s 12 Days of Christmas. On the first day of Christmas my client gave to me… a 50% budget increase.

21:00 On the second day of Christmas an international PR association gave to me… 2 international PR awards.

23:45 On the third day of Christmas a newspaper reporter gave to me… 3 front-page stories above the fold.

26:10 On the fourth day of Christmas a competitor gave to me… four conflict clients. Terry explains what a conflict client.

27:50 On the fifth day of Christmas a procurement officer gave to me… five blended rates.

29:00 On the sixth day of Christmas a blogger gave to me… six glowing blog posts.

32:00 On the seventh day of Christmas a podcaster gave to me… seven minutes of airtime.

33:10 On the eighth day of Christmas a direct report gave to me… eight burried ledes.

34:03 On the ninth day of Christmas my boss gave to me… nine dogs to pitch.

35:30 On the tenth day of Christmas an ad agency gave to me… 10% of the budget we actually needed to do that project.

37:15 On the eleventh day of Christmas a politician gave to me… eleven examples I can use for media training.

38:05 On the twelth day of Christmas a client prospect gave to me… twelve year-long accounts.

40:38 Terry introduces Chris Clarke’s commentary for the week.

42:35 Inside PRoper English for the week: affect vs. effect

45:10 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #37 – Tuesday, December 12, 2006

• • Agency Life, Inside PR, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David talk about the questions that clients should ask before choosing an agency. Also, they welcome a comment from Lauren Oostveen. They play Chris Clarke’s commentary for the week. Finally, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 David introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:45 David talks about the PR Network he started on Feedburner. Also, Terry talks about a service called Ripple that For Immediate Release has been using to monitor the number of FIR listeners.

05:09 Terry brings up this week’s only comment from Lauren Oostveen. Her question is about measurement and she sends along a link to Consultant Journal. He and David don’t have any experience in freelance consulting so instead offer up the question to any listeners with experience as freelancers.

10:50 David talks about being interviewed by a student at Yale University.

12:30 David kicks off this week’s topic. Terry and he are going to talk about the questions a client should ask before hiring a PR agency.

14:35 David thinks that an important question is who is on the account team, and who is the day-to-day contact at the agency? Terry says that agencies are sometimes guilty of the bait-and-switch move, where the president does the pitch but more junior people end up handling the account.

18:04 David asks the next question, where do I rank on budget? You want to find out how important your account is to the firm. At some agencies, a million-dollar budget means being the biggest account, whereas at other agencies it can be a lot lower on the food chain.

24:30 David and Terry talk about investing in current client relationships vs. investing in new business.

27:11 David asks another question: do you have a lot of turnover at your agency?

30:14 David poses two more questions for discussion: do you have billing ethics policies? or more broadly, do you have a code of professional conduct for the staff? Terry talks about retainers and out-of-pocket costs.

34:10 David introduces Chris Clarke’s commentary for the week.

35:26 Inside PRoper English for the week: infer and imply

37:50 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #36 – Tuesday, December 5, 2006

• • Agency Life, Comments, Inside PR, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David host the call-in show. They welcome audio comments from Gary Schlee, Andrew Findlater, Dan York, Francis Wooby, and Tyler Leisher. Terry also finds time to do his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:24 David and Terry make reference to the fact that they will be welcoming a number of audio comments this week. Terry notes that he is exhausted because of a busy hockey schedule of late.

02:43 Terry talks about the Canadian Institute’s New Media for Communications conference, which took place November 28th and 29th. David and Terry talk about their sessions at the conference.

06:30 David introduces the first call/comment from Gary Schlee, the Co-ordinator of the Corporate Communications and Public Relations program at Centennial College in Toronto makes an important point about effectively managing internal communications during a crisis.

07:50 Terry says that he and David were remiss to have neglected discussing internal communications when talking about crisis communications on Inside PR #33.

09:10 David thinks that employees are far more savvy than employers give them credit for. David agrees that writing is the most important skill for PR practitioners.

12:10 The next call comes from Francis Wooby from Iqaluit, who makes a very good point in his comment about the important role listening in the PR professional’s arsenal of skills.

13:40 Terry agrees with Francis that listening skills are crucial to the makeup of a good PR practitioner. David echoes Terry’s view and emphasizes active listening, showing an interest, understanding, trying to clarify what they’re saying, etc. He adds that PR practitioners should be able to take the time to reflect upon a question and get back to people with sound advice, as opposed to reflex answers that can turn out to be unsound.

18:22 Dan York calls in with a number of items to discuss. Among them: Dan enjoys the show, likes the Canadian-isms on the show, recommends making the Inside PR logo more readily available, and has a recommendation for Inside PRoper English.

20:50 David and Terry share their thoughts on Dan’s comments.

24:40 Tyler Leisher, a college student, calls in asking for advice on PR education. David thinks that MBA’s are cool, but he can’t recommend doing one over getting a PR education. Terry thinks that it’s important that PR practitioners gain a better understanding of business, finance, marketing, and everything else involved in running a business. Terry and David have a lengthy discussion about the uses of business knowledge in public relations.

36:45 Andrew Findlater calls in with a short message on message training.

39:30 Terry thanks Andrew for his comment, and congratulates him and National PR on being named Marketing Magazine’s Agency of the Year. He adds that what Andrew meant to say was that two Visa member-bank employees were discussing interest rates, as it is the banks who set the rates, not Visa.

41:20 Terry talks about a clip he often uses in media training. David talks about his experience with spokesperson training.

48:53 Inside PRoper English for the week: that vs. who

49:50 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #35 – Tuesday, November 28, 2006

• • Awards, Inside PR, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion about the PR stunt. They welcome comments from Julia Stein and Sallie Goetsch. They play Chris Clarke‘s comment for this week. Finally, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 David introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:17 Terry mentions the podcast he recorded with Shel Holtz and released as an IPR Special Edition.

04:30 David talks about the Canadian Institute’s New Media for Communications conference, which is taking place November 28th and 29th. Terry and David will both be speaking at the event.

06:30 David introduces and Terry reads a comment on the blog from Sallie Goetsch (rhymes with sketch).

09:30 David introduces a listener comment from Julia Stein, a colleague of David’s from Fleishman Hillard. She asks two questions: one about writing, and the other about leadership.

12:10 Terry recommends not only writing a lot but also reading a lot to improve writing skills. David tells a story about his own writing.

15:15 David says that leadership is parts maturity, confidence, and experience.

17:20 Terry mentions that you can learn just as much from people who you don’t see eye-to-eye with than from those you consider mentors.

19:20 Terry tells a story about leadership from his time in university.

20:00 This week’s major topic for discussion: the role of stunts in PR. Terry thinks that stunts play a smaller role than most people assume in PR, and that they should be used as a tactic, not a strategy. Terry talks about a stunt he and David worked on many years ago.

22:40 David talks about the stunt as a means for a quick hit.

25:25 Terry points out that the public view is that the stunt is all there is to PR. He notes that the stunt is ususally what gets the most attention from the media, which makes the public view it as the only part of a campaign instead of one aspect of a campaign.

27:06 David advises to use stunts wisely. He also points out that award-winning campaigns often revolve around stunts, which he considers unfortunate.

29:13 David introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

34:20 Inside PRoper English for the week: tricky singular forms

36:00 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #34 – Tuesday, November 21, 2006

• • Inside PR, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion about what skills transfer best from another sector into PR. They play Chris Clarke‘s comment for this week. Also, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English. Finally, Terry and David play a skit from Luke Armour.

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:17 Terry starts off by talking about the Shel Holtz/Toronto Third Tuesday event.

03:10 David talks about the Canadian Institute’s New Media for Communications conference, happening on November 28th and 29th. Terry and David will both be speaking at the event, along with a slew of other Canadian social medialites.

05:58 David brings up the ads running on a number of Canadian PR blogs from Canada News Wire, including his own.

08:48 Terry introduces a listener comment from Scott McDonald about negative blog comments. David thinks that negative comments are better expressed on your blog than out in the open. He adds that sometimes blogs aren’t the right answer. Terry agrees with David and says that negative comments are easy to respond to on a blog.

15:20 Terry brings up this week’s topic: the skills required when transferring from a different field into PR. David says that the risk of hiring someone from another discipline into PR are high. He advises that those considering such a change understand the PR industry before attempting to make the switch.

18:30 David thinks the core skills of PR are, first and foremost, writing, then strategic thinking, creativity, multitasking, and the ability to work under pressure. Terry adds that there are not as many good writers out there as people think. He says that it’s difficult to teach a bad writer ow to be a good writer.  It is possible to teach a good writer to be better. One important skill that Terry adds is common sense (which is not very “common” at all).

21:25 Terry thinks that the ability to speak and have a presence is important.

22:23 David used to think that the best PR people were the total package, but now comes to believe that there are 3 clearly defined roles: practitioners, managers, and leaders.

24:00 Terry’s final trait is the ability to connect with other people.

27:11 David wraps it up: the ability to write, the ability to think, and the ability to connect with people.

27:45 Terry introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

30:00 Inside PRoper English for the week: that and which.

32:40 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcome listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

33:40 Luke Armour has graciously sent along the following skit he put together lampooning the PR podcasting community. The Virtual Geek Dinner.   Hilarious!

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #33 – Tuesday, November 14, 2006

• • Inside PR, Media relations, PR, Show Notes

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion about crisis communications. They welcome an audio comment from Bryan Person. They play Chris Clarke‘s comment for this week. Finally, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 David introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:17 David starts off with housekeeping. He talks about the music poll and mentions that the “no music” tally is leading the “add music” tally.

02:22 Terry talks about the latest Toronto Third Tuesday event with Shel Holtz.

03:52 Terry reads this week’s first listener comment from Steven in China.

04:53 Bryan Person drops in with an audio comment this week. Terry and David discuss his comment with reference to the Environics case, crayon and Second Life, and how unforgiving the blogosphere can be for those who don’t play by the rules.

15:30 Terry starts this week’s talk on crisis communications. Terry says that every good organization should have some kind of a crisis communications plan.

17:45 David thinks it’s important to differentiate between a crisis communications plan and a crisis plan.

19:25 Terry thinks it’s possible for an organization to come out of a crisis stronger and more respected for their ability to handle it.

23:30 Terry adds that deciding whether the organization actually owns the crisis is key. Organizations should not own crises that don’t belong to them. He says that moving quickly and looking like you’re moving quickly are both extremely important.

27:27 David adds that the media will get their information one way or another. The media can get the spokesperson to speculate at times, and if not they are capable of finding a third party who can speculate for them.

29:48 David introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

32:50 Inside PRoper English for the week: led and lead.

34:43 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #32 – Tuesday, November 7, 2006

• • Agency Life, Comments, Inside PR, PR, Show Notes, social media

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion about a recent Toronto Star article featuring a Toronto PR agency and its blog monitoring service. They welcome audio comments from Maggie Fox and Luke Armour. They also play Chris Clarke‘s comment for this week. Finally, Terry does his segment of Inside PRoper English.

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:17 Terry starts off with a little housekeeping. David and Terry talk about Michael O’Connor Clarke joining Thornley Fallis.

03:10 David talks about the redesign of Inside PR’s blog page.

04:58 David brings up the possibility of having music on the show. He and Terry have a short discussion and invite listeners to check out the blog page and vote on the poll.

06:01 Michael Seaton has launched The Client Side Podcast.

07:30 Terry talks about Richard Millington, who is searching for his replacement at work through his blog.

09:26 David talks about the latest Geek Dinner, hosted by Mitch Joel in Toronto>

0:57 Listener comments begins with Michelle Sullivan, who comments on the show where Terry and David talked about RFPs, and sends along an article about agencies charging potential clients for RFPs.

18:53 David introduces a comment from Maggie Fox from the Social Media Group. She is referring to this article in the Toronto Star.

22:30 The discussion on Maggie’s comment has spilled over to David’s blog. David thought that, for the most part, Environics wasn’t making a huge effort to become a part of the conversation. He wonders if a person can be an expert on blogging without having a blog of their own.

27:11 Terry thinks that if a PR firm is to be quoted in the newspaper as an authority about blogging but isn’t seen to be fully engaged in social media, bloggers will have their say about it.

30:11 David thinks that bloggers are fairly sensitive to claims being made about their areas of expertise. He says that it truly is an extension of a person’s thoughts. David wants to point out that he changed his post to reflect the comments from Bruce McLellan from Environics.

32:36 Terry introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

35:19 Luke Armour drops in with an audio comment.

38:18 Inside PRoper English for the week: “presently”

40:35 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Why hum when you can link?

• • Inside PR, PR
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This has been bugging me all week. Terry and I tried to scat a few bars of our favourite cartoon music that could be used on Inside PR. My Bugs Bunny-inspired music is actually titled Powerhouse, by Raymond Scott. (click to hear a clip.)

I couldn’t find it through conventional search, so I tried Yahoo! Answers (client disclosure alert) and there it was.   Wisdom of crowds and all that.  (Here’s the Google search for comparison’s sake.)

Terry’s Johnny Bravo reference I’ve yet to dig up. Anyone?