In Defense of Public Relations

When you hold a shell to your ear, you hear the ocean.  But not from this kind of Shel.  If you listen to this Shel, you’ll hear some really smart insights.  I especially enjoyed Shel’s post on why we can’t have celebu-bimbo Kim Kardashian represent the PR industry.  I can’t believe I’m giving self-proclaimed booty queen, K-Kard this much space on my blog, not that she’d care what an unknown anonymous PR blogger thinks. Frankly, like her, I don’t care.

PR Queen: No Booty Queen: Yes

In truth, I’m a fan of some reality shows even if we all know that they’re as real as the tooth fairy.  The problem is a majority of the average (IQ) viewer still believes reality shows are as real as the couch they sit on.  I remember when Lizzie Grubman’s Power Girls premiered on MTV and every non-PR friend I knew gave me an amused look saying, so that’s what you do.  I already had a hard time explaining what I did, and here comes Lizzie with her so-called PR gal pals making it look like the P in PR stood for Pimp.

P stands for Public not Pimping

So what do we do as PR folks when this reality show debuts with the two PR boys (I mean ‘gurus’) from Command Public Relations.  (I’m thinking they named it that because they both go ‘commando’ from the break of dawn into the night. See commando definition here.)  I’d like to think we’ll all heed Shel’s call to action.  Maybe even go on a campaign to petition the show off.  Though, I’m sure many of us will be glued to the TV to see how this firm operates and whether it’s like the agency you work for.  Not surprisingly, it may just be.  As the great PR mind, Josh Sternberg, succinctly replied to me in a tweet.

Sorry for being the bearer of bad news, but summer is about to end.  This usually means students will be going back to school inching themselves closer to a diploma and possibly a career of their choosing like flipping burgers at McDonald’s.

This is the right time for experienced PR pros to think about how they mentor the younger PR executives and/or interns at their shop.  As we all know, school doesn’t even come close to duplicating what goes on in the real world of public relations.

So it begs the question. Are you a Mentor or a Monster? Take the simple quiz below and find out what you are or better yet, who you are.  (Disclaimer: not responsible for any self-realization or epiphany you may or may not experience.)

1. So your Intern/AC/AAE forgot a couple of punctuation marks and missed spelling errors in the activity report, pitch letter, press release, internal email to you, etc.  Do you fly off the handle and go medieval on junior’s a$$ for typos?

A) Yes  B) No

2. When you call a team meeting and one of your team members (say an Account Supervisor) comes up with a brilliant idea, do you present the idea to the client as your own?

A) Yes  B) No

3. Let’s say you present the brilliant idea to the client, but the client reacts by saying, “that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever suggested,” do you now backtrack and say the idea came from someone else?

A) Yes  B) No

4. Do you expect to learn from the most junior person on your PR team even if this person answers to the name “stupid or moron?”

A) Yes  B) No

5. Have you ever told someone on your team to LIE to a client about a media opportunity or a missed deadline you were responsible for?

A) Yes  B) No

6. Have you ever requested any one on your team who has thousands of Twitter followers to give you a #followfriday shout out or re-tweet your incoherent blog post?

A) Yes  B) No

7. When you read PRCog’s recent post, This is a Call (Out), did you feel sympathetic to the type of douchebag-ery Cog was addressing on his post because you had asked someone from your team to do the same?

A) Yes  B) No

8. When someone on your team secures an awesome media placement, do you ask “where are the rest of the hits?”

A) Yes  B) No

9. When you call a brainstorm session, do you end up dishing out all the ideas and not let others weigh in?

A) Yes  B) No

10. Do you call yourself a mentor in public when in reality everyone calls you monster behind your back?

A) Yes  B) No

I guess it’s obvious that if you answered YES to most of the questions, you’re not a mentor.  This doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t get the job done or you’re a bad PR professional, but chances are you don’t and you’re bad at what you do.  This also means that you define PR as phony relations.

So take this post as a reminder that you were once a young impressionable PR pro and that the folks who report to you could someday head their own agencies or work in-house and become potential clients.  Also, if there are enough people who wish you get hit by a bus, it may just happen.  I know I sleep better at night knowing I didn’t bring anyone to the dark side, or at least, that’s what I believe.

(Questions are based on real-life experiences at the insane asylum I call the firm)

[After a 2 1/2 month hiatus, I'm debuting a new post. Hey, I follow the TV calendar and series premieres are just around the corner.]

Anyone with half a brain understands that computer glitches happen. During the course of the day, I’m sure you’ve had to reboot at least once, I know I have to about once every two hours, but that’s another story.  What happened today at BestBuy.com was obviously a computer or human error.  I hope it’s the former so no one will get fired.

In case you were not around Wednesday morning, BestBuy.com posted the greatest deal in the history of online shopping. A 52-inch Samsung TV for $9.99.  Upon realizing the pricing error, Best Buy came out with a statement stating “while we are truly embarrassed that this occurred, Best Buy will not be able to honor the $9.99 price.” Ouch!

Without knowing how many TV sets were bought by customers online (I assume there weren’t many because they determined the error within a few hours) and how much the company would have lost in sales, it would’ve been great if Best Buy had honored the price.  Only if it were a perfect world where customers who purchased the same item for the full price WILL NOT complain about those that got this deal and with the understanding that only one TV will be given per customer who bought one, Best Buy would’ve made history.  Here’s how:

- Whatever losses Best Buy incurs, it’ll make up with the positive publicity that it could have milked for days, if not, weeks, instead of the negative commentary and bad jokes on social network sites that will live forever.  I’m betting that whatever amount in lost sales the electronics retailer experiences, the dollar equivalent from all the positive media coverage will be far more significant.

- Best Buy CEO Brad Anderson would have become a household name and probably even be considered as a guest on Oprah maybe even hold a Beer Summit at The White House. At the very least, he’ll be on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

- Best Buy doesn’t have any competition to worry about.  Seriously, I believe a move like this will even increase Best Buy’s market share and bring more customers to their stores instead of driving them away to shop at regional retailers like 6th Avenue Electronics or P.C. Richard & Son.

- Consumers will be commending Best Buy versus cursing it. One consumer even started a web site that calls out the Best Buy error. Welcome to the social media era.

- You can’t put a price tag on goodwill especially during tough economic times.  Best Buy will be a company to be emulated by other big box retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, etc.

Disclaimer: I wasn’t one of the consumers who bought the TV online for $9.99. Opinions expressed here are simply my own and was not paid by Circuit City.

P.S. — This post is not a criticism of Best Buy’s topnotch PR team, which handled the crisis by the book.