The Publicity Hound’s Blog  

If your product isn’t environmentally friendly, or the marketing message for your green product is poorly planned, consumer groups will be all over you, like they were when they targeted Home Depot for sustainable harvested wood, Nike for child labor practices, and McDonald’s for Styrofoam clamshells and obesity.

This article by Jacquelyn Ottman of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., featured in The Navigator newsletter, recommends five simple rules to follow when marketing your green product:

• Know your customer
• Empower consumers
• Be transparent
• Reassure the buyer
• Consider your pricing

Follow the rules, then be sure to discuss them during media interviews, at your blog, at other blogs and in press releases.

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, How to Interview, Press Releases/News Releases, Publicity on the Internet
posted On: 1/25/2008: 10:28 am: By Joan
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Here’s a great tip for getting some face time with journalists, courtesy of Mitch Davis of Expertclick: The Online Yearbook of Experts.

He’ll be at American Society of Journalists and Authors 2008 Writers Conference in New York, April 11-13. It’s a perfect venue to meet influential editors and writers.

Set up near Mitch’s table and he’ll give you advice on how to rub elbows with somebody you want to meet. Exhibit tables are $750. Learn more about the conference or about how to be a sponsor, advertiser or exhibitor.

Before you go, read my articles “How to be a Valuable Source the Media Love” and “18 Ways to Schmooze with Reporters.”

Posted In: Business Promotion, How to Interview, Magazine Publicity, Newspaper Publicity, PR Consultants/Publicists, Pitching the Media, Special Events
posted On: 1/23/2008: 5:38 pm: By Joan
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When you’re doing a media interview and the reporter asks you a question you’d rather not answer, never say ”no comment.”

The only thing that’s worse than that response is trying to embarrass the reporter by asking an unrelated question so preposterous that it’s designed to throw him off guard.  People who do that usually end up embarrassing themselves.

Thanks to Sharon Dotson of Bayou City Public Relations in Houston, Texas who sent a link to a video interview conducted by investigative reporter Elliott Davis of WTVI Channel 2 in St. Louis, Missouri back in 2002.  Elliott hosts a segment called “You Paid for It” in which he uncovers government waste and corruption.

In this particular interview, he was asking St. Charles County Executive Joe Ortwerth about the battle between Ortwerth and county judges over the new $5.3 million county justice center that had been standing vacant for several months.  The judges wanted metal detectors and a full security detail in the building. 

Ortwerth refused.  Taxpayers were left paying for utilities and other expenses while the disagreement wound its way through the courts.

When the reporter asked Ortwerth about the squabble, Ortwerth first said he would answer questions but only if the reporter submitted them in writing.

When Elliott Davis persisted with his questions, Ortwerth asked: “Do you know that Jesus loves you, Elliott?”

“Yes, and I love Jesus,” Davis replied.  Then he kept questioning Ortwerth.  The county executive continued digging a deeper hole for himself with responses and questions related to Jesus.

Instead of trying to embarrass the reporter, the politician ended up embarrassing himself.  Not only did his responses make him look guilty, wimpy, cowardly and unable and unwilling to come to his own defense, they made him look clueless. 

Davis, on the other hand, appeared cool, calm, collected—and completely in charge of the interview.  That, in turn, gave the investigation more credence.

If you know which questions to expect during an interview, you’ll be better prepared to answer them.  See “Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.” 

Posted In: Crisis Communications, How to Interview, TV Publicity
posted On: 1/3/2008: 3:03 pm: By Joan
Comments: 2 Comments

More Publicity Hounds have responded to the items you’ve read here and here, about the Atlanta TV station’s I-team report on dirty hotel glasses, than any other item in recently memory.

An observation:

I half-expected the PR departments at Embassy Suites, Sheraton Suites and the Holiday Inn in Atlanta to email me and explain improvements they’ve made to their housekeeping as a result of the I-team video.  After all, don’t savvy Publicity Hounds create Google Alerts  so they know what people like me are saying about them online, and then follow up with journalists and bloggers to tell their side of the story?  Don’t they try to do damage control?  So far, I haven’t heard from anybody representing those hotels.  Amazing.

A warning:

All you hotel PR people, don’t be surprised if your hotel is the target of an I-team investigation like the one in Atlanta.  When a story like that one uncovers wrongdoing, you can bet that one or more other stations will do an identical I-team story.

Creating Google alerts, and responding to bad news stories, are integral to your 2008 media plan.  I discussed both of those topics and hundreds of others during my teleseminar series “How to Create a Media Plan.” 

Posted In: Blogs, Business Promotion, Crisis Communications, How to Interview, Publicity on the Internet, TV Publicity
posted On: 12/31/2007: 8:21 am: By Joan
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Next time the Sheraton Suites, Embassy Suites or Holiday Inn hotel chains are looking for a PR spokesperson, they should choose the winning candidate from among Publicity Hounds who read my newsletter,  “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.”

Last week, I told you about the video produced by an Atlanta TV station that took its hidden cameras into guest rooms at local hotel chains.  At those three chains, the video showed, the housekeeping staff never used soap and water to clean dirty glasses and coffee cups in the guests’ rooms.

I told you to watch the video and then tell me how you would respond if you were the PR person at one of those chains.

Many of the responses are excellent and showed the appropriate level of contrition and embarrassment.  But one response, in particular, stood out from the others.

Jennifer Moreau, a marketing specialist with ITU Inc., an industrial towel and uniform company in New Berlin, Wisconsin, suggested that the hotel apologize for the safety violation, then ask the TV station to become involved in reporting on the change in housekeeping procedures.

“For instance, invite them to the initial meeting with staff when this video is shown so they obtain footage of staff reaction to the hidden camera video and the discussion that takes place after,” she wrote.  “Then, have the media do a second hidden video test after a month or 2 months when the changes were implemented to ensure that they actually were.

“Working with the media as a partner instead of an enemy will actually help both parties.  They get a better, more in-depth story, the hotel improves their process, and both receive PR coverage.  Plus, the hotel’s credibility is perceived much higher by admitting the problem right away and dealing with it to solve it.  This, in turn would reduce potential negative sales effects and perhaps could actually have a positive effect on sales.”

I ran her comment by Clarence and Ellen Jaffe Jones, the husband-and-wife crisis counselors.  Both are former award-winning TV investigative reporters.

“Clarence and I like the idea. Formally called the ‘ride-along,’ it invites the media inside.  ‘Walk a mile in my shoes’ gives the reporters a unique view.

“Tylenol execs used this invite-them-in technique effectively when cyanide was maliciously injected into the company’s star drug.  The company invited “60 Minutes” to watch company execs debate how to handle the drug tampering crisis.

“Lawyers cringe. But in a crisis, it is a matter of saving your image and often the entire company.  Tylenol didn’t suffer any long-term market share loss, and is still very much in business.” (See “In a Media Crisis, Your Lawyers Will be Wrong.“)

Clarence and Ellen were doing a crisis counseling training for clients when I contacted them.

“We discussed the hotel glass story in our media training class today,” Ellen said.  “It was amazing how many people from all over the U.S. had seen or heard of this one story that was initially done by one local TV station.  With YouTube and Internet connection to the TV’s website, bad news like this is immediate worldwide…Many of our students today said they’ve been using bottled water in their hotel rooms since that story.”

Jennifer’s comment wins her $200 in Publicity Hound products.

All of you can win, too, by reading Clarence Jones’ excellent book “Winning with the News Media: A Self-Defense Manual When You’re the Story.”  It’s the book I wish I had written.  I referred to my copy so often that it eventually fell apart from overuse, and I had to order another one.  Order yours. In fact, order two.  Give one to the Publicity Hound on your gift list.

Posted In: Contests, Crisis Communications, How to Interview, Publicity on the Internet, TV Publicity
posted On: 12/21/2007: 9:38 am: By Joan
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