When I probed him a bit about this, he explained that these pieces hadn’t really moved the needle on his business. Sometimes as PR professionals, we forget that while the Today Show or Wall Street Journal may  be the “holy grail” of coverage traditionally, these outlets may not be the best way to reach our clients’ target audience. May PR professionals operate in a vacuum, rarely considering the marketing, sales and business goals as part of their PR strategy. PR should be yet another tool for growing a business.

Just a reminder that we can always benefit from revisiting the basics.

Steven Slater, being the savvy business man that he is, has hired high-profile publicist Howard Bragman to represent him. Once those pesky criminal charges are dealt with, Howard intends to help extend Slater’s 15 minutes of fame (they’re entertaining reality show offers and potential book deals). Interestingly, while Slater has only had PR representation for less than 24 hours now and his former employer has an entire team working to keep its brand reputation crystal clean, Slater has been coming out on top in the blogosphere and Twitter-world.

Of course, being a working-class hero is great and big businesses have a harder time of looking like the good guys, but the fact that Slater seriously broke the law doesn’t seem to be affecting his public persona one iota…and hiring a top publicist is only going to help turn things in his favor.

JetBlue’s most recent response to the image issue is quite interesting as well. Back by popular demand, they have reintroduced the “all you can jet” promotion after the resounding success of last year’s promotion. However, is this enough to help them regain public favor or will consumers believe the angry spewings of a disgruntled employee? Likely both issues will subside and things will return to status quo in weeks, but it’s an intriguing case study in the powers of spin.

A fun time was had by all and I am really looking forward to the next speaking engagement with TEBC.

For those interested in learning more about these awesome kids, check out the TEBC blog at http://teenentrepreneurbootcamp.blogspot.com/

I will be speaking at four sessions this summer. My first presentation will be next Wednesday to Retail & Franchising Workshop group. The group will help the NYC bakery decide whether to franchise their operation, consulting with experts, writing a business plan and presenting the product to the public by way of a pop-up store. I am very excited to teach them all about the wonders of public relations. After my presentation they will work together to draft an actual press release announcing the launch of their pop-up store.

Check back next week for an update on how the day went and to see photos!

With today’s fragmented mobile landscape, dedicating a company’ entire budget to the iPhone can backfire. And considering more than half of mobile users worldwide continue to use a feature phone instead of a smart phone (including the Blackberry, iPhone, Android and Palm), this issue isn’t just about the iPhone. Many marketers developing mobile strategies have forgotten some of the industry basics, like target audience. If your target audience is women over 60 in rural areas looking for home delivery milk, maybe an iPhone app isn’t for you. But I bet you those women would get an SMS.

For large, consumer-facing corporations, given the current mobile fragmentation, it is essential to have a multi-platform, multi-channel mobile marketing strategy. Clearly this can be a costly and time-consuming endeavor, but alienating masses of consumers could have just as significant ramifications. For smaller companies with more specific target audiences, it’s important to evaluate where their customers are and how those customers prefer to receive certain kinds of information. Without integrating these key factors into the strategic direction of mobile marketing plans, a mobile marketing campaign will be hit or miss.

The old rules still apply. No matter what medium you’re working with, it’s better to know your audience rather than go with the fad. What are your thoughts? How have you developed your mobile marketing strategy?

New PR professionals and even some of us old pros, often have trouble  managing clients and keeping them happy. Of course, there are some things you can’t control and other things that make your client unhappy that are just screw ups. But there are some simple basics for client management that will keep you and your client symbiotic.

1. Be Responsive— There is nothing a client hates more than sending an email or leaving a message and not getting a response for several hours or even days. We’re all busy, so if you don’t have time to respond fully to the client’s question or request, just let them know that you got it and give them a timeframe for when you will get back to them.
2. Be Honest— The agency-client relationship is just like any other meaningful relationship; it’s based on trust. If youre client can’t trust you, then they won’t want to do business with you. It’s imperative that you always be upfront and honest with your clients.
3. Deliver Bad News Early and Often— Along the same lines of being honest, it’s also important to be really upfront with clients. The worst situation you can put yourself in with a client is to blindside them with bad news. If you find out that something is going wrong, you need to inform your client right away. Now that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t deliver the message in a way that softens the blow or try to put a positive spin on it, but it will be much worse to wait and see how things play out before telling your client—or even worse than that, having them find out on their own.
4. Listen— The worst thing you can do is not listen to your client. They are constantly telling you things that will help you provide better service to them. It may be buried in a conversation or email, but if you’re on the lookout you can constantly finds ways to improve how you interact with them and what you deliver.
5. Don’t Get Too Comfortable— It’s great to have a friendly relationship with your client. More than that, it’s encouraged. I once had a boss tell me that if I client likes you they’re less likely to fire you. It seems silly—it should be based on merit and quality of work, not a popularity contest—but it’s true. That said, don’t get too comfortable. They are a client and not a friend; you need to be sure not to cross that thin gray line.

A couple major client don’ts (based on real incidences)

• Don’t ever send a client email with the words “Yo” or “Snap” in it
• Don’t drink too much in front of a client…ever
• Don’t tell a client about your irritable bowel syndrome
• Don’t complain about how much you get paid
• Don’t gossip about your boss or co-workers
• Don’t gossip about their boss or co-workers
• Never, ever talk about politics or religion

Have a funny anecdote about a client snafoo or a real-life experience you’d like to share? Feel free to comment. We’d love to hear from you.

• Ben Edwards, VP, Digital Strategy & Development, IBM
• Noah Elkin, Senior Analyst, eMarketer
• James Gross, Vice President, Federated Media
• Marc-Henri Magdelenat, Director, Microsoft Mobile Media

All of the panelists had really interesting perspectives and insight on mobile marketing. Some of the key takeaways:

• The mobile web will be more pervasive than desktop computing by 2015.
• The panelists all agreed that while we have been hearing that this year is the year of mobile marketing for the past ten years, this year is really the year—and here’s why—the audience is there now. We have reached the tipping point due to critical mass of active users. Marketers are always looking to reach audiences where they are; and their mobile now.
• How people interact with their mobile devices is different than any other platform. It’s a more personal experience; their interactions are based on personal preference. This creates a more fragmented audience and as a result, mobile campaigns must be more targeted.
• In the next year there will be a significant increase in mobile commerce, along with a much richer browser experience due to innovations included in HTML5.

The net-net of this discussion is that if you’re not integrating mobile into your marketing campaigns by now, you’re missing the boat. What do you think? Do you see the value in creating mobile marketing campaigns? Are you integrating mobile components into overall communications plans?

Europe is known for faulty crisis management and this is just one of several instances where the region has come under fire. However, recently, it has been more than just their crisis response that has been called into question.

The European parliament pressed on with its month’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France on Monday despite the ongoing European travel crisis. They were met with anger and scrutiny. The EU is in the throes of a full fledged image crisis. The Greek and Belgian financial crises haven’t helped any.

So what should the EU do? Well, there is obviously no pill or quick fix for this, nor is there a clear path to take to image redemption. However, some basic do’s and don’t’s of image improvement:

• Admit when you’ve been wrong: People can identify with it and appreciate the honesty. But when you admit you were wrong, always couple it with a solution to the problem.
• Respond quickly to a crisis: People want to know that when bad things are happening, the government or company involved is aware and handling it. So don’t just respond quickly, let the public know you’re responding. Also, if you’re the first to respond, then you get to control the message. The worst thing you can do is let everyone else speak for you.
• Do some good PR for yourself: Instead of always taking a reactive approach to speaking with the media on an issue. Bring stories of your good works and positive news to the media. If you constantly remind people how great you are, they will remember that when something not-so-great happens.

What do you think? Does Europe have an image problem? What are your thoughts on how to fix it?

Last week’s release of the iPad was met with long lines outside Apple stores throughout the country and rumors that Apple has been withholding product from stores to increase the hype around the release. Apple buzz engine has been revered in the PR and marketing communities, and the general public for that matter, since the iPod launch back in 2001. But their product launches of late, have been met with increasing resentment from the media. The recent iPad launch had been buzzed about for months culminating in a press release touting more than sold-out pre-order, analyst’s reports of 10 million to be sold in 2010 and not to be outdone, a full episode’s of one of this year’s hottest sitcoms, “Modern Family” dedicated to the love of the iPad.

PR practitioners and journalists have begun to take sides. Many feel that Apple’s public relations and product marketing is flawless, while others feel that media strategy should be more inclusive and that hype at the expense of the truth is not to be respected.

These are some interesting articles about Apple’s PR and marketing:

“Apple iPad Launch Finds PR Hitting On All Cylinders” http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/news/apple_ipad_launch_finds_pr_hitting_on_all_cylinders_156543.asp

“Apple Launches iPad To Deafening Hype” http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/news/apple_launches_ipad_to_deafening_hype_150197.asp

“Flawed Debut, but Apple’s IPad Is the Future of Computing” http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=141820

“Apple Most Admired Among Brands” http://www.prnewsonline.com/news/13788.html

What do you think about Apple’s buzz machine? Leave a comment below!

Apparently, Kate didn’t get the memo. She continued constantly appearing in the tabloids, on talk shows and even shooting a talk show pilot with Paula Deen (which allegedly wasn’t picked up because Kate was too controversial). She lobbied hard for the spot on “Dancing with the Stars,” and I think every publicist’s heart sank a bit when she appeared on the show’s line up. It was like the moment was calling out for a SNL Weekend Update “Really” segment…I mean really?…really?!!

Despite what your personal opinions might be about Ms. Gosselin, it’s undeniable that her long-term career prospects will be irreparably impacted as a result of her current overexposure. And she still doesn’t seem to be letting up. Gracing the covers of US Weekly and People Magazine again this past week, with another book due out in April, Gosselin is holding on for dear life to her celebrity. No one can blame her, really; she does have eight kids to support. The onus falls to her publicity and management team to tell her when enough is enough.

This is an example of when managing your client is crucial. As publicists, we are sometimes in the unfortunate position of having to be the only person to tell a client like it is. We are charged with not just promoting them to the public, but protecting them from the media as well. Those of us in the PR profession often share similar personality traits: we want to please our client and will jump through hoops at their request. But the sign of a good publicist is the one that will push back when necessary, and say, “even though this isn’t what you want to hear, it’s my job to tell it to you.” When a client is at risk for overexposure, it falls to you to tell them. Explain to them the long term ramifications and find a better strategy. You have to know when to say when.