Tag Archives: Don Beehler

Crisis Management: Ad Agencies Should Do a Reality Check

One of the most important things an ad agency can do in a crisis situation is help its client see the reality of the situation and what needs to be done.

The agency also needs to help the client keep the situation in perspective and focus on the long term.

 It’s easy to panic and develop a siege mentality when an organization in crisis is under intense scrutiny from the outside, but that only makes matters worse.

 Properly managing the crisis is vital, because facts alone don’t win in the court of public opinion—perceptions do.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Crisis Management: Ad Agencies Need to Engage the Crisis

When I was growing up in Indiana, one of my friends and neighbors was a boy named Billy.  We were both around ten years old at the time.  One day Billy was playing with matches in his bedroom and set the curtains on fire.  He tried putting the fire out, but its flames quickly spread.  Billy was so overwhelmed by the situation that he walked out of his room, closed the door and started watching TV in the living room.

 For a few minutes, he didn’t have to deal with the awful reality of what he had done, and he was able to go about life as usual.  However, it wasn’t long before the entire house was engulfed in flames.  Fortunately he and his family escaped, but the house burned to the ground.

 When I tell that story, people usually are amazed at such irresponsible behavior, and rightfully so.  Yet, I find that many companies with intelligent, well-educated leaders often take the same approach to dealing with a crisis in their organization.

 Rather than face reality, they try to ignore the crisis or put a lid on it.

 More often than not, the crisis grows and becomes consuming, and in the process devours valuable time and resources.  Sometimes the organization’s reputation is severely harmed, and out of the ashes investigations suddenly appear. The pity is that engaging the crisis in its early stages would have made it more manageable and less damaging.

 As Henry Kissinger put it, “A problem ignored is a crisis invited.”

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Ad Agency Arrogance is Not a Winning Position

For years I’ve kept files on some the best and worst examples of PR.  I find it helpful to have some of these examples on hand so that I can quickly illustrate a point I’m trying to make about how to handle (or not handle) a particular situation.

 One of my worst PR examples comes from the president of an ad agency who took out a full-page “open letter” ad.  I’ll leave the parties’ names out because they really aren’t necessary to make my point.

 In his letter, the agency president derided the chairman of a large bank that was trying to acquire a smaller bank his agency represented.

 “Obviously the aggressive and highly effective ad campaign has helped (bank’s name) turn things around has jolted you and your friends…” he wrote.  The agency president then went on to lecture the chairman about how his bank should be emphasizing some of the benefits it offers, such as greater resources and its capacity for lower mortgage rates.

 Then, he ended with this zinger:  “And maybe you could use the help of a growing Georgia ad agency to tell the story.  We’d be happy to help.  You’ll remember us as the agency that did the…advertising for (second bank’s name).  Those were the campaigns that helped (second bank’ name) grow so big you bought it.”

 I imagine the ad agency president felt pretty good about himself the day this letter ran, and he probably had a few laughs and high fives with his staff and colleagues.

 But was his approach really smart – or necessary? 

 I don’t know how things turned out, but my guess is the larger bank declined his suggestion to move their business with his agency.  In fact, I suspect quite a few people who read the letter, even if they agreed with his position, would not want to do business with him.

 Arrogance is not winning a position, especially in a highly competitive industry.  There are ways to make a point, even when being critical, without being condescending and needlessly alienating others.

 It’s been said that while friends come and go, enemies accumulate.  And accumulating enemies is not a good way to keep an ad agency growing.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Dealing with Ad Agency Critics

“It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds.” – Theodore Roosevelt

A corporate PR executive who worked for a controversial company once suggested dividing one’s critics into two groups:  the reasonable and the unreasonable.

The reasonable critics are people who have legitimate concerns and put forth constructive criticism in an effort to bring about improvement.  These are people an organization can and should work with whenever possible.  Sometimes, reasonable critics can even be won over to become allies.

The unreasonable critics, on the other hand, are never going to be happy, no matter what you do.  They will be suspicious of your motives if you try to work with them, and any action you take will be found to be deficient in some way.  You can waste a lot of time and energy dealing with unreasonable critics, and at the end of the day nothing will have changed.  They’ll still hate your client or cause, so the best thing to do is simply ignore them.

 Plus, by trying to work with these folks, you risk giving them more credibility than they deserve and raising their profile. 

These days, advocacy groups and bloggers can put major companies in a spin.  If one of your agency’s clients is under attack, start by evaluating which category the critic falls into before taking action.  You may find not responding to the criticism is the best course of action.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Agency News Releases Do Get Published Verbatim

Several years ago, a well-known New Jersey PR executive wrote the following in a national public relations trade publication:  “Virtually never, however, are releases reprinted verbatim by any responsible publication.  It’s just not done, and I defy anyone to show me where this has happened.”

 Not one to let a challenge like that pass, I sent a few samples of news releases I sent out that were printed verbatim in newspapers.  The releases represented several industries, and as I noted in my cover letter, I have notebooks stuffed full of similar articles.  I also noted that there wasn’t a geographical bias, either, as the samples I sent covered papers from California to New York.

 I never heard back from the executive, nor to my knowledge did he ever acknowledge publicly that someone had proven his assertion wrong.

 As newsrooms shed jobs and try to keep up with less staff, it’s still true today that a well-written news release can easily be reprinted entirely, or with very minor edits, in consumer and trade publications.

 While this wouldn’t fly at The New YorkTimes, smaller papers tend to lack the resources to do as much original reporting as they might like, and they seem to appreciate a well written, newsworthy release from a trusted source.

 This does not mean, as some have suggested, that journalism is in a state of decline, or that such newspapers are irresponsible.

 Over the years, I’ve worked to develop good relationships with editors and reporters where my clients have operations, as do all good PR executives.  I believe we are viewed by many media outlets as extra sets of arms and legs that bring valuable news items to the table.

 As long as advertising agencies get their facts straight, focus on relevant topics and not try to pass off advertising disguised as “news,” they can provide an important service to these papers—and help their clients look good in the process.

 Normally my objective with a news release is to generate enough interest among reporters so that they will want to schedule an interview and do their own stories.  But, when staff limitations prohibit that, I’ll gladly take a reprint of my release any day.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies Need to Avoid Headlines Like This

During my days as an editor for a healthcare magazine, I received some interesting mail.  Here’s a news release headline a well-meaning hospital PR executive sent me one day:

 CDH TO HOST LAPAROSCOPIC HERNIORRAPY PRECEPTORSHIP

 Huh? I’m guessing one in a half-million or so people would have a clue what that headline was about.  And ask yourself: how much interest does it generate?  The release itself was fairly well written, and once I read the first few sentences I realized the hospital was hosting a seminar about advancements in hernia operations.

 Trouble is, most reporters wouldn’t get past the headline – the release would end up in the recycle bin before the first paragraph was read.  Why not just say in the headline, in simple terms, what the seminar is about?

 Headlines are vital to attracting interest and getting people to read the release or article, similar to how the wording on a subject line can make the difference between you reading or deleting the e-mail.  Make your headlines readable or you risk having the release discarded before it even gets read.

 

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

 

Ad Agency Stories Can Bring More Clients

Schatzie Brunner spent nearly a decade at Turner Broadcasting as talent coordination for “Larry King Live” and as a CNN news anchor.  Today, she does individual and group communication coaching.  In a recent article she gave some good advice:

 “We have all heard about needing a 30-second commercial or elevator speech that encapsulates all the important things about your product, service or talent.  But what you might not have at your fingertips is what I call a working inventory of stories and analogies with which to impress clients.

 Schatzie contends that if you’re asked what you do for a living and say, “I’m an accountant,” the conversation doesn’t have anywhere to go from there.  But, if you say “I save people money” or “I help clients grow their money,” you naturally invite interest and provide a way to keep the conversation going.

 If you tell interesting stories that are not about you, but the results you’ve accomplished for your company or client, “you have staked a claim to an advantage over your competitors,” she says.

Schatzie counsels businessmen and women to “Live 2009 with an inventory of responses that allow you to never miss an opportunity to engage someone else or have that person engage you.  It can pay off with new business contacts and more success.”

Good advice for small and mid-sized ad agencies that want to grow in the new year.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies Should Never Deny the Obvious

Early in my PR career, one of my mentors made that simply yet profound statement.  It sounds, well, obvious, not to deny the obvious.  Yet, how many times have you seen or heard someone caught in the act of wrongdoing and then turn around and deny it?

 One of my favorite examples, which I use in my media training seminars, is an AP photo of Padres pitcher Chris Young taking a swing at the Cubs’ Derrick Lee.  With his fist just inches away from the Lee’s face, the caption ends with “Young says he wasn’t trying to hit Lee.”

There’s a saying that credibility is gained in inches but lost in miles.

 Whether dealing with your client or a reporter, honesty is the best policy.  Tell the truth—but don’t necessarily tell everything you know.  In other words, don’t answer questions that aren’t being asked.  Some people use a media interview to confess all sorts of things best left unsaid.  Barbara Walters has built her career around extracting embarrassing information.

But, if you get caught in a photo about to punch someone’s lights out or something equally obvious, don’t deny it.  Instead, acknowledge that you were really upset and acted inappropriately, and then apologize without making excuses.  You and your agency will regain some lost respect and the matter will go away much more quickly.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

 

Ad Agencies Would Do Well to Avoid Off-the-Record Comments

Brian Lewis, a newspaper reporter, explained in a column in The Tennessean the different levels of speaking with reporters:

 Off the record:  “To have an off-the-record conversation means that the information will not be used in any way in a story.  Many editors, including mine, don’t allow reporters to have off-the-record conversations.” 

On background:  “To have an on-background conversation means that the information may be used in a story, but the person who is talking will not be named in connection with the information that is ‘on background.’” 

 On the record:  “This is the standard conversation with reporters.  However, reporters should identify themselves as working on an article before beginning an interview…once a statement has been made on the record, it cannot be taken off-record.” 

 My advice to ad agencies is to never speak off the record, unless you really know and trust the reporter. 

 Even then, there are risks. 

 Consider this headline from a story by the New York Times News Service:  “India’s nuclear identify unclear.”  The subhead reads:  “’Off the record, we are totally unprepared’ says one of its top military strategists.” 

So, the writer admits to publishing what the person he interviewed clearly thought was off the record.  I wonder how the career of the person he interviewed is going these days, and whether he is still one of India’s top military strategists?

To download the original article, click here

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

12 Keys to a Successful Media Interview for Ad Agencies

  1. Keep your messages clear, concise and consistent (the 3C’s).
  2. Know your audience, and focus on what’s important to them rather than what’s important to your agency or client.
  3. Use questions as a springboard to get to what you want to talk about. In other words, if you don’t like the question, make up your own and answer it. Politicians are great at this.
  4. Look for opportunities to use transition phrases, such as “The real issue is…” or “What I can tell you about XYZ is . . .” or “What I’m here to discuss today is…” or “What’s important to know about XYZ is…”
  5. When responding to questions, you don’t necessarily need to tell everything you know a particular matter.
  6. Answer only within the scope of your authority and responsibility.  If you don’t know something, say so—and then offer to get back to the reporter later with an answer.
  7. Look for ways to turn negatives into positives. For example, in a layoff situation, stress how many jobs were saved by taking this action.
  8. Remember to smile often, and to have energy during the interview.  Your body language often will speak louder than your words, especially on TV.
  9. If you’re on camera, look at the person conducting the interview, not into the camera (unless you are specifically asked to do so).
  10. Avoid industry jargon, being critical or loosing your temper.
  11. Never say “no comment,” which equals guilt in most people’s minds.  If you can’t discuss something, explain why. Examples: Confidentiality, Proprietary information, Pending litigation, Timing (gathering all the facts)
  12. When you’ve made your point, stop talking.

 The last point may be the most important one of all, because more times than not people make their best points in the first sentence or two they utter in response to a question.

When people elaborate too much and get “off message,” they typically end up in the swamp and say something they later regret.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.