public relations • July 9th, 2008

Doing good is great PR

by wispundit

Ricoh recently made international news when they unveiled plans for an LED billboard in New York’s Times Square that runs on renewable energy. In case you didn’t catch it, you can read it at Engadget. This is a perfect example of leveraging a company’s good deeds to raise awareness of the company or an initiative.

The same works for political candidates. Both front runners for the presidency have highlighted their charity work in their campaigns. Obama has stressed his commitment to helping inner-city youth, while McCain has highlighted his dedication to C.A.R.E. and other organizations.

Incidently, Ricoh’s billboard installation perfectly aligns with its environmental goals. Several companies are jumping on the green bandwagon and reaping the benefits of being associated with the movement. DHL’s parent company, Deutsche Post, has started a climate protection program called GoGreen, and IBM just pledged $1 billion to Project Big Green, a data center conservation initiative.

Whether you’re a business leader or a politician, doing good can be an invaluable tool in maintaining a favorable image in the eyes of consumers and voters.

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Messaging, New Media • July 8th, 2008

Will McCain catch-up online?

by wispundit

Okay. So there’s roughly five months until the big day for Obama, McCain, and the American people. The candidates are racing to raise money, maintain their images, etc. so that on November 4^th, you will vote for them. One medium that seems like a no-brainer to help accomplish these goals is the internet. Some candidates seem to understand the power of the web, while some just don’t seem to get it. The question I’m asking today is: why hasn’t McCain used the web to reach out to prospective supporters?

YouTube has shown how relatively normal people can be made into celebrities overnight, so why wouldn’t a political candidate want to utilize that resource? Alright, so McCain does have a Facebook page, and a Twitter account and several other social media connections. However, as most Facebook-addicted college students know, it doesn’t matter if you have an account unless people are looking at your page and becoming supporters. Currently, McCain has 162, 420 supporters on Facebook. That may seem like a large number, but remember, Facebook is a global site. Obama on the other hand has 1,112,689 supporters, and that’s just on Facebook. more »

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New Media • June 25th, 2008

Politicians tweet to future voters

by wispundit

You may have heard about a crazy new thing called Twitter lately. The truth is, it’s not that new, and it’s not that crazy. Twitter was launched almost two years ago in July and has since gained almost 2 million users worldwide. The number of Twitter users is constantly growing, as is the sites popularity; around 2 million tweets are sent each day. As you’ll read below, a few politicians have started using Twitter and one has seen overwhelming success.

What is Twitter? Well, as confusing as it sounds, the idea behind the service is very simple. The service is based on the question “What are you doing now?” and from that, you can communicate your own or your business’s status to the world. Twitter was created as a cross-platform tool to communicate your status to friends. All you have to do is create an account, find some people to follow, find some people to follow you, and start tweeting. The beauty of it all is that your followers can choose how they would like to receive your updates, either by text message, instant message, or on the web. You can also update your status from your mobile phone, instant messenger, on the website, or through the multitude of applications and plug-ins that have been created just to tweet. more »

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Messaging, Views on News • June 23rd, 2008

Picking up the pieces

by wispundit

It seems the Democrats are getting back on track after announcing Obama as their nominee.  It was just announced that former Obama rival Hilary Clinton will be joining him on the campaign trail in an attempt to reunite the party.  This comes at a critical time for Obama as he tries to underscore his decision to deny public funding for his campaign, a move that has sparked intense criticism of his credibility from both sides.

The question I have is: will the Clintons actually support Obama?

The press will be paying very close attention to Mrs. Clinton on Thursday and Friday when she meets with Obama and her top contributors to raise money for the Democratic bid.  So far, it seems she has gracefully stepped to the side to allow Obama to shine, but everyone will be watching to see if she can keep up the act.  Obama has been trying to do his part to mend their tumultuous relationship, even going so far as to scold his supporters in Detroit for booing Senator Clinton, saying, “Senator Clinton is one of the finest public servants we have in American life today.”

Only time will tell if the former contenders can patch things up with their supporters in time to succeed in November; maybe that’s why Obama is taking the extra cash.

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Messaging, Views on News, public relations • June 9th, 2008

MMSD dodges feces fiasco?

by wispundit

Listening to talk radio this afternoon, I found the lack of hostility toward the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District particularly interesting. Granted, reports of how much raw sewage dumps into Lake Michigan typically hit the airwaves days after storm events. But Jeff Wagner, host of AM620’s Department of Justice, has already declared a temporary truce on MMSD for what certainly will total large amounts of sewage being dumped as a result of our recent deluge of rain.

“The record rainfall for the entire month of June for the state is like 9.5 inches,” Wagner said, noting we received that much in the last few days. “Others may criticize as these reports are released, but there will be no criticism from this corner, ‘The Department of Justice.’” more »

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Events, public relations • June 3rd, 2008

Riversplash shots blur future

by wispundit

This just in … man shot in downtown Milwaukee … too many drinks lead to drunken brawl.

Could be any Saturday night in our fair city of beer and brats, right? But this donnybrook has drawn extraordinary attention for its proximity to Riversplash, the unofficial kickoff to Milwaukee’s pride- and revenue-producing festival season.

Organizers of Riversplash, which takes place on the Milwaukee River, have a window of opportunity to ensure the event sees its 20th anniversary in 2009. More than anything, they must take immediate, public and ongoing action that demonstrates how things will work differently moving forward.

While every situation is different, damage control typically starts with taking steps to identify what went wrong, what will be changed and what will be done in the future to prevent Riversplash from becoming “Thugland by the Riv.”

For politicians, event organizers must give them the cover they need with their constituents to once again support Riversplash. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-WV, summarizes constituent relationships very well.

“Convince my constituents,” he says. “If they’re for you, I’m for you. If they’re against you, there isn’t a way on God’s green earth I’m going to support you.”

Part of this constituency includes media and talk show hosts. Event organizers must demonstrate why the story line and commentary should focus on organizers’ ability to hold a safe, fun, family event over the past 19 years and what is being done to ensure another 19 years of prosperity.

Sponsors of events like this also are part of the constituency. As of this posting, event sponsor Miller Beer has not yet pulled the drain plug on its support for Riversplash. But rest assured, if steps are not taken to reverse the perception of how this festival “devolved over the years into a drunken brawl,” as some have described it, activist groups and other people with an axe to grind will come out against continued sponsorship.

Mayor Tom Barrett and Ald. Bob Bauman, according to a Journal Sentinel editorial, said they will be taking a closer look at similar street festivals this year and, in particular, area bars.

If you are an event organizer within a splash of Vermouth of Milwaukee, you, too, will be wise to recheck your policies and procedures, as well as your crisis plan.

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2008 Primaries • May 6th, 2008

The Democratic Dichotomy

by wispundit

The battle for the Democratic nomination continues after Obama narrowly escapes defeat in Guam by 7 votes. The fact that Guam’s four delegate votes mattered to Clinton and Obama is a telltale sign of how close this battle really is. The question Democrats should ask themselves now is: what is this prolonged battle doing to the Democratic party? This power struggle between Obama and Clinton could divide the party and lose them the election if they don’t figure out how to unite after their nominee has been chosen.

Howard Dean has said that the deciding will be done by June 3^rd, but many still question whether he has the power to make that kind of guarantee. Both Clinton and Obama have shown how dedicated they are to winning, so unless one of them suffers a huge loss soon, I don’t see this fight ending by June. While the two continue to throw punches, McCain is out recruiting more Republican voters and improving his image.

It’s hard to blame the Democrats though, both nominees are pretty evenly matched. For example, both have a hard time remembering the facts about their past. Hilary spoke in March about her experience in war, which proved to be far from the truth. Obama has made a similar mistake in addressing his relationship with good ol’ Rev. Wright. In the beginning people seemed to believe that Obama had never heard or supported Wright’s radical views, but now his assertions are becoming hard to believe. The effect of these follies is magnified in this election because it is not a fight between Republicans and Democrats, but a fight between Republicans, Obama and Clinton. The two Dems are concentrating more on battling each other than beating McCain and I’m not convinced that the Democratic party will be able to rise from the aftermath in time to win the election. According to a poll in Pennsylvania, 26 percent of Clinton supporters said if Obama won the nomination they would vote for McCain, while only 19 percent Obama backers said they would support McCain if Clinton won.

As this battle continues, the Democratic party loses ground in the eyes of the electorate. Who will win the nomination? It’s hard to tell, but unless things shape up soon, the Dems are in for a world of hurt.

Just for fun, check out Conan mocking Wright on Late Night.

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Leadership, Messaging, Views on News, public relations • March 20th, 2008

Eliot’s greatest err: his response

by wispundit

To err is human, to forgive divine. But Eliot’s greatest err, his crisis response, might not allow for forgiveness.

Most politicians and executives, I believe, think of the potential for a crisis as a low-probability, high-impact event. In fact, if they took five minutes to list potential vulnerabilities that could sink them, the list would lead them to a different conclusion. The probability of crisis is high, regardless of profession. The probability of survival is low without being prepared and understanding how to deal with the different stakeholders during a crisis. A few points to consider — with your attorneys and public relations counsel present — if faced with a crisis:

• Admit wrongdoing and apologize.
• Fix the wrong.
• Communicate plans to avoid it happening again.
• Execute on those plans.
• Provide stakeholders with progress reports along the way.

Spitzer, a.k.a. Mr. Clean, steamrolled many people during his ascent to power. Because of his persona, the slightest whiff of impropriety spelled certain, irreversible doom in his public life. If, however, Spitzer was able to follow the steps above, he could prevent the story from continuing to make headlines every time a morsel of information surfaces.

For the sake of his family, who might provide the only possible source of forgiveness, these steps could be worth their weight in public relations fees.

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2008 Primaries, Messaging • March 19th, 2008

Obama speaks out

by wispundit

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama yesterday gave what some people are calling a landmark speech, addressing comments made by his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In his speech, Obama denounced Wright saying his statements “expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country,” and were “not only wrong, but divisive.” Obama goes on to explain the history of his relationship with Wright and says that he cannot disown his pastor for a few minutes of sermon over 30 years of service. Obama asserts that he never once heard Wright talk about these subjects before they appeared on YouTube and in the broadcast media.

Regardless of whether you believe Obama, he astutely distanced himself from the radical portrayal of his pastor while illustrating his ability to remain loyal.

more »

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2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Leadership, Views on News • March 4th, 2008

Obama versus Clinton ………. Does a presidency by one stymie race or gender issues for decades?

by wispundit

The Obama versus Clinton battle has produced much media fodder. The question not yet posited, however, is what effect a presidency by one will have on race-gender issues in our country? Thus far, pundit programming nationwide has considered: Is one attempting to make this a campaign about choosing black over white or male versus female, or potentially a little bit of both? Is Hillary losing because of who she is or what she is? Is Obama winning because he is breath of fresh air or has his message truly mobilized constituencies that historically stay home during elections?

The yet-to-be-determined answers with the greatest impact on the future, however, will derive from questions, such as: Will one group rise exponentially? Will the losing group be set back, or, at least, stymied for decades? Will McCain be wise enough to navigate the race-gender issues, making this a moot point through a Republican victory for the White House?

My take… to the winner will go the spoils. Depending on who wins, stature of race or gender will gain tremendous momentum and visibility, advancing issues important to that particular group. The nation as a whole will see something we have not witnessed in this country. The impact to the power-sharing arrangement will be significant to whichever group’s image occupies the White House.

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