Murphy's Law

Crisis communications online…..  

The Internet clearly has created an environment where crisis can occur faster and more frequently.  Over the past few days many marketing websites and blogs have been abuzz with what was purported to be the latest Puma print ads. [Viewer discretion advised :-)] The ads are “controversial” to say the least.

The first stories claimed these ads were from Brazil, while other reports claimed they were from a campaign in Europe.

Puma have now come out with an official statement that these ads are in fact fake.

In parallel, Puma are conducting an outreach program to blogs that are carrying the ads (and the companies hosting those blogs) in an effort to have the offending ads removed.

So Puma are fire-fighting a crisis solely enabled by the Internet. 

Now there’s a Nokia ad doing the rounds [Cat lovers beware] that may or may not be real but is sure to cause a stir.

The Internet is viral – and like any good superhero you can use that power for good or evil….

Update: Sarah Carey believes the Puma furore is a double bluff. She thinks that there’s a good chance (given the professional quality of the shots) that they sent these ads out themselves to stir up a bit of controversy and are now releasing statements disowning them…. this is getting complicated!

Training for the Internet….        

Back in September I revisited the excellent Cluetrain Manifesto. Even in the post-Internet crash economy, the book has a lot of good lessons for all communicators.

My respect for the Cluetrain means that when some of the book’s authors come together and publish their thoughts on the Internet then I for one, sit down and read.

Doc Searls and David Weinberger have crafted World of Ends which looks at explaining in simple terms what the Internet is really about.

It’s a fantastic piece of reality and if your head is still spinning from my post about PR and the Internet, World of Ends makes a lot of sense.

Media buzz is buzzing….  

Deborah Branscum is back blogging regularly and it’s a recommended blog for anyone interested in some interesting views on the media world.

Whether or not you agree with Deborah’s point-of-view (and I do in most cases) it’s thought provoking stuff.

Among the more recent postings was reportage on the comments from a Fleishman-Hillard exec:

“Feed a Flack, Bomb Iraq sez PR Watch about this lovely little item from the fine folks at O’Dwyers: ” ‘Let’s have this damn war and get it over with it,’ said Doug Dowie, a senior vice president at the Fleishman-Hillard PR firm. Speaking at a Los Angeles meeting of the Public Relations Society of America, Dowie complained that uncertainty connected with the Iraq war has paralyzed client spending. ‘The sooner we get there the better off most of us are going to be,’ he predicted.” (subscribers only: http://www.odwyerpr.com/members/0303get_iraq_over_with.htm)”

Google Dancing….  

Well Google is finishing it’s search update for the month.  Find out more at Google Dance.

The ultimate conference giveaway….

Picture the scene.

You are sitting around the conference table with the marketing group.  You are half way through planning and organizing a user conference for your customers. The venue is booked, you have the entertainment, your partner conference hall is fully booked out.  Thousands of your customers are already confirmed, the media is showing high levels of interest in attending. Everyone is motivated and ready.

Towards the end of today’s agenda is an item concerning attendee packs.  You know the usual stuff, conference guides, computer bags etc.  Someone to your left pipes up.

“I’ve a great idea,” he blurts.  Everyone turns to him.

“Let’s give all the attendees dolls in the image of our executive team with bobbing heads.”

Do you: a) Ask the proposer to take a drug test or b) Break into spontaneous applause?

Here’s what one company decided.

Miscellaneous PR…. 

I found an interesting posting on Nick Denton’s blog from last May.  It’s an excerpt from a leaked internal memo from a large (un-named) PR firm detailing how to approach bloggers.

MediaMap‘s newsletter this month covers; fundamentals of successful pitching, helping your client publish a book, reminders for a successful press interview, the importance of media relationships and the lessons to be learned from how NASA handled their most recent crisis.   

The Register has a story on Microsoft’s pre-launch of Office 2003 which pokes fun at their use of NDA’s with journalists.

Strategic Marketing Montreal has a very informative article on how to think better!

Finally a Technology Marketing story on how iMakeNews is looking to jump on the blogging bandwagon.

Sound Analysts Relations Advice….. 

I’ve mentioned the Knowledge Capital Group here before, they’re a Texas based firm that offers analyst relations services to both PR firms and PR clients.  Their monthly newsletter AR Insider is well written and gives some excellent information and sound advice on dealing with industry analysts.  This month looks at IDC and the top issues facing analyst relations in 2003.

Although they are in the business of selling Analyst Relations services and sometimes they overplay the role of AR :-), nonetheless their newsletter is very valuable to anyone working with analysts.

KCG are hosting two free webinars in March on �The AR response to the challenges facing the Industry Analyst Community�. The events take place on Tuesday, March 18th at 3:30 pm CST and Wednesday, March 19th at 11:00 am CST.  For more information call or e-mail Stephen England at 512.334.5943.

PR news from around the web….   

Interesting piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on how the downturn is encouraging marketing professionals to strike out on their own.

Fitzgerald Communications has appointed Steven Casey to the newly created position of President.  This is Casey’s second stint at Fitzgerald, he returns from Iona Technologies (one of my alma maters!) where he was vice president of corporate marketing.

An article from Australian magazine Crikey on how Public Relations can assist large companies in reputation management if they are committed to transparency and honesty.

OnPhilanthropy.com looks at how Public Relations can help NPO’s.

Flash Hall of Shame….

Our twenty fifth entrant to the PR Flash Hall of Shame is an Irish entry.  MRPA Consultants.  No Flash introduction here, oh no, they take over your entire screen and your browser. Urrghghhh….

Films and that thing you do on the Web…..  

OK, OK this is my last post on blogging today as it’s a little like a writer writing about writing if you catch my drift.

While I was catching up on James Horton’s always readable PR Thoughts, I came across his post about a new independent film called “I Love Your Work” which has a blog to accompany the film’s production and keep fans informed.

As James points out, the fact that the blog has to be run through the director, producer and actors reduces some of it’s impact but still it’s a fantastic idea for communicating with your audience, feeding advance publicity and building interest.