The Evolution of Flack. Lessons Learned From 15 Years on Communications’ Frontlines.

I realize we may not have officially met, with me jumping into H&K’s Collective Conversations as if we’d known each other since grade school. I’ve taken for granted that you’d simply accept the thoughts shared on this blog even though I’ve neglected you a proper introduction. And, let’s face it, you’ve already met my mother, so shall we start again? Hi. I’m Julie. I’ve been PR-ing 15 years, give or take, at some of the world’s finest agencies, including Fleishman-Hillard, Manning Salvage & Lee and two tours of duty with H&K. Yep, I’m a “big agency” flack, notwithstanding the three years spent at a small 80-, then 50-, then 20-, then 8-person agency that has all but shut its doors in response to the devastating, and decimating, economic situation. I’ve worked with gobs of Fortune 500 brands and countless emerging brands. I remember Bacon’s books (we didn’t have the convenient online media databases that you kids have today), paper press kits snail mailed to media, and friends-and-family stock. I had a stamp that I’d dip in red ink to mark releases as “final” before routing them to the filing cabinet for safekeeping. I cut my teeth pitching Red Herring, Industry Standard, Family PC and Business 2.0. I recall when “bandwidth” (either you have it or you don’t) was the “gimme” in Buzzword Bingo.

So that was all just a ruse to (1) talk about myself and (2) set the stage, albeit in a long-winded way, to get to the point, which is this: so many things have changed in the world of PR in the past decade that I could write a book. But in today’s Web 2.0 world, who books when they can blog? And, since blogs should be snack-sized, I wanted to give you a small thought to chew on… have you noticed a change in our verb repertoire? Yep, verb repertoire. They’ve evolved to reflect the very 2.0 environment we flack in. I’m thinking specifically about the verbs tied to communications strategies. “Then,” flacks (and, by extension, the brands we represented) were very one-way, pushing our spin, hoping audiences would respond. In the 1990s, we announced, released, showed, drove, generated, increased, harnessed and leveraged. “Now,” brands are active participants, dialoguing directly and meaningfully with communities. Today flacks segment, socialize, engage, empower, engender, amplify, activate, innovate, listen, participate and contribute. And, because we are so used to speed (thank you, Google), we no longer “help drive sales,” we now “accelerate sales.” It just sounds so immediate... who could say no?

So, ready to create your own Buzzword Bingo cards for the next meeting? Go to http://www.misterharold.net/joker/bingo/index.htm. And, kids, please be kind, if you take a verb, leave a verb in the comments section.

"Grandma Walmart" is on Facebook - Now What? Understanding Social Seniors

Something weird is happening. It started last year when, at our nudging, my 65-year-old mother finally got high-speed Internet at home. Previously, she was using dial-up, which was “just fine.” Something spooky has happened as a result. My mom has become what I’ll call a “Social Senior.” So you understand why this is kinda cool and kinda creepy, let me tell you a bit about my mom. She considers Walmart a hobby. She goes there with complete disregard for whether she actually needs something. And, for the record, I don’t count year-round Christmas gift shopping for grandkids as “necessary.” My mom goes to Walmart just to pass the time and “see what they have,” before the triple-digit Texas heat keeps her squirreled away in the air-conditioned house. During this afternoon time, just before CNBC’s Jim Cramer tells her what to do with her stocks, she logs on to Facebook, posting on us kids’ pages, “Julie, are you coming home for Labor Day?” Commenting on our status updates, “Be careful. Wear your helmet when you ride your bike.” Or, soliciting our opinions in the public format, “They have faux fur coats on QVC, do you want me to get you one?” So, while others are spending their retirements crisscrossing the nation in RVs, eating buffet food aboard cruise ships and traveling to exotic lands, my mom is Facebooking away her Golden Years.

This got me thinking about “Social Seniors” and how they use networking sites to connect. I’m basing my findings on a study of just one person, my mom of four kids and grandma to two, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt, but here’s what I’ve found:

Decades don’t diminish the belief that an old high school or college classmate may be looking for them. “Grandma Walmart” has her nursing school photo from 1959 as her Facebook profile photo. It’s a lovely photo, with her blonde chin-length bob that was all the rage at the time, but she certainly could stand to share something more, well, this decade. What’s interesting is that many of mom’s friends’ profile photos are also half-century-old snapshots taken before “B&W” and “sepia” were just a cool photo editing effects. We inquired as to the rationale. “Well, how are my friends from nursing school going to recognize me?” One for mom. Zero for the kids.

Grandmas use Facebook to snoop on the lives of others. I’m busting my mom here. Dear classmates, neighbors, and others who’ve come in and out of my life and the lives of my siblings, if you are OUR friend on Facebook, my mom is snooping on you. She is combing through the friends we’ve added to see how you’ve changed. I know because she’ll say things like, “Oh, (insert name of any ex-boyfriend) sure has done well for himself… his kids are so cute!” Thanks Mom. Sometimes this snooping can lead to a real pickle of a situation. My ex-boyfriend from high school is a musician still playing the club scene and his band has a Facebook fan page, which my mom accidently joined. She called me frantically, “How do I take that off?!” I told her it was impossible (hee…) and her only possible next step was to show up at one of his gigs and rock out.

They don’t always get it right, but when Grandma gets it wrong, it’s usually pretty funny. My mom hasn’t, and may never, fully grasp the fundamentals of Facebook. Consider that she wrote a note to my sister using her own status update “Michelle, how is your Scotch doing?” instead of posting it on Michelle’s wall. PS, although our family is Irish and German, a fairly accurate predictor of enthusiastic drinkers, I feel obligated to disclose that “Scotch” is short for “Butterscotch,” Michelle’s new rescue puppy. And, she’s doing quite well, thank you.

Now, Mom hasn’t found the Luby’s Cafeteria Facebook group yet (98 people are members), but I’m sure she’ll eventually discover the “Search” box, and we’ll all have invitations to fish Fridays. Just please, no one tell her that Walmart is online.

Mother Knows Best. Why Mommy Blogs Outnumber Daddy Blogs Two-to-One.

While the Internet is abuzz with white papers, points-of-views, tips and tricks for marketing to mommy blogs, you’ll be hard pressed to find the same on daddy blogs. My rigorous sleuthing (OK, I searched Google…) reveals there are at least twice as many mommy blogs as daddy blogs:
· Google search results for term “Mommy Blogs:” 41.8M
· Google search results for “Daddy Blogs:” 19.7M

I confess that I have zero first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be a father. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I also have zero first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be a mother. So, I queried my network that includes hundreds of dads to get their thoughts on why there are so few daddy blogs. It should be noted that for every one response I received from an actual “daddy,” I received two comments about daddy blogs from a “mommy.”

Stereotypes of dad as the breadwinner and mom as the homemaker/caregiver aside, I learned a few things about my father-friends. For dads, personal time does not equal parenting time. Whereas moms—not all, but many—tend to blend their personal and parenting lives so that the two can hardly be distinguished, dads compartmentalize their lives. Here’s what one father-friend said, “If I have free time at work to check on stuff that is of personal interest to me, I’m on CBS.Sportsline, ESPN.com or CNN.com.”

And, dads are, after all, men, which means most suffer from a heavy case of ego-mania. Dads don’t want outside advice on how to raise kids – they can figure it out themselves. Consider what this father told me: “It’s a male thing. We can figure out the solution on our own when it comes to parenting or fatherhood. Building a deck? We’ll ask our Home Depot guy 200 questions…”

Finally, more than a few dads told me if they needed advice on raising their kids, they would ask their own father—not surprising since studies, including one I co-authored for Hill & Knowlton entitled “The Future of Commerce” reveal that offline word-of-mouth still trumps online word-of-mouth as an influencer to behavior.

No surprise that online attitudes mirror offline attitudes. And, consider this, the reason Mommy blogs outnumber Daddy blogs 2-to-1 is likely engrained in our DNA. Take this blog post from Associated Content citing research proving that women are, quite simply put, better communicators than men:*

“The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine takes a fresh spin on a familiar topic: that women are better communicators than men and more specifically, the brain circuitry and hormones that make women so much more attuned -- and some would say beholden to -- the emotions of others are very real.”

There is no shortage of academic and scientific research that further validates this, and similar, points – just Google it.

In the meantime, here are some of the top Daddy blogs recommended by my network:
· http://www.allprodad.com/ – “Advice. Events. Family”

· http://www.blurbomat.com/ – I’m having issue understanding why a friend recommended this as a favorite Daddy Blog since you’ll be hard-pressed finding many posts about child-rearing and the blog itself describes itself as follows: “blurbomat is a personal site dealing with photography, geek rants and politically progressive topics. blurbomat is not for children.” I’m told this is the blog of the hubby to founder of the top-ranked mommy blog Dooce.com. Blurbomat.com has a Technorati Authority of 44 and Rank of 75,995. Dooce.com has a Technorati Authority of Authority: 2,036 and rank of 41. Not that its a competition or anything.

· http://www.dadlabs.com/ – “Taking Back Paternity”

· http://www.digitaldads.com/ – “Advice. For Dads. By Dads.”

· http://www.nealpollack.com/ – “AlternaDad”

More than a few dads did respond saying their favorite “Daddy Blog” was www.ESPN.com, www.SI.com and www.PokerStars.net. I have to give them credit, because I know many mothers who claim http://www.bloomingdales.com/ as their favorite “Mommy Blog.”

What are your favorite Daddy and/or Mommy Blog? Leave me a comment or send me an email – I’d love to check them out!

*This is also the accepted explanation for why there are more women than men in the public relations and communications industries.

The Bottom Line on Social Networking in the Workplace

A recent report by Nucleus Research and reported on by BusinessWeek found that the average company allowing access to Facebook loses 1.5% of total employee productivity across the organization. I’m fortunate to work in a profession that pretty much mandates I am active in social media for a magnitude of reasons, one of which is the profession’s move to “PR 2.0.” But more than that, I find that sites like Facebook and Twitter actually increase my professional productivity. I can ask my network of friends their insights, thoughts and recommendations on any number of topics related to PR, marketing, technology and more. And since my friends are highly diverse across geographies, genders, income levels, and interests, I get pretty diverse feedback that gets me out of my box. I can see what networking events are bubbling to the top among the industry’s who’s who – saving precious time that can be wasted by attending events that can be a let-down. I can easily identify mutual connections to would-be business associates and ask for introductions. And, these sites allow me to forge deeper connections with the clients, media and colleagues I work (and social network) with.

You can find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/juliemathis on Twitter at /juliemathis.

Trends from SF... Stretching Dollars in Unique Ways

So, I haven’t posted in AGES – yes AGES! Lame, I know. Instead of adding Flack Noise to the blogosphere, I wanted to share some trends I’ve been seeing from my new hometown, Fog City, otherwise known as SF.

· A short-term migration of top talent to Thailand, where single executives are reportedly heading to wait out the market while extending their severance packages and unemployment checks. You can live in luxury in Thailand for less than $2K/month—a pittance to the six-figure earners now on the dole.


· Gourmet goes “homemade” as laid-off executives look to fill their schedules and save a little dough by hitting their local farmer’s market to collect low-cost ingredients to create such treats as gourmet olives, olive oils and exquisite breads… I know of some gourmands who are even creating their own aperitifs from grain alcohol and ingredients—like lemons and fennel—picked from local crops! It’s all part of the Underground Gourmet scene.


· More low-cost glasses of wine on the menu as vintners look to offload excess inventory by passing deals down to local restaurants. I also hear that wine aficionados can’t enough of the bold, risky Syrahs coming from Washington State.

· A revitalization of Sun-In, the hair lightener sold at drugstores as consumers pinch pennies on salon visits. And/or the return of naturally-colored hair. And while we’re talking fashion, I expect natural, naked, buffed nails as mani/pedi budgets get cut.


· A huge summer for cinema. The troubled economy, the still lingering effects of the TV writers strike, plus the tent-pole blockbusters that are due out mean Hollywood will be ringing up at the box office. And, 3-D will have its best year yet with more jump-off-the-screens content hitting the big screen.

Top 10 PR Blunders of 2008

#10
Hacks attacking PR people. Leave Lois alone! Now, I’m not by any stretch of the imagination defending Lois' poorly penned email. Nor am I endorsing her blast-emailing a 1000+ person media list in hopes that someone would respond. These missteps are enough to qualify for their own spots on the PR blunders list. But Lois just looks so frail. Please, hacks, have some compassion. My mom always told me that attacking other people would only make me look ugly. If she knew how to use the Internet, she would tell you hacks to "be the better person." And those are probably good words for all hacks and flacks to live by. I hope we can all just get along in the New Year. OK, I admit, this really isn't much of a blunder, but it just felt right to slot it in here...

#9
Home Back-Up Protection exploiting the murders of Jennifer Hudson’s family members to promote its product. The company that manufactures shotgun racks sent out a news release within days of the murders entitled, “Could a Bedside Shotgun Rack Have Saved Jennifer Hudson’s Family from Tragic Death?” The story quickly made it around social networking sites and blogs; and, it was thrust into the national spotlight by the Chicago Tribune. C’mon, flacks, do not use someone else’s tragedy to promote your stupid product. It’s not that hard of a rule to remember.

#8
The Dr. Pepper/Axl Rose calamity. Dr. Pepper, it was clever idea. You got tons of great ink and an unpaid endorsement from GNR. Finally, Chinese Democracy debuts, but your servers aren’t prepared to handle the Web site traffic from all the thirsty consumers? Dr. Pepper, don’t eff around with Axl. And, give us our free can of pop dammit. The economy’s in the toilet, and I don’t want to part with my 50 cents.

#7
The “Motrin Moms” social media campaign that suggested wearing your baby was a fashion statement… and a back-breaking one at that. Within 48 hours of the campaign’s launch, Twitter moms took on Motrin, the ads were pulled, Motrin’s VP of Marketing was knee-deep in issuing apologies, and sales of generic ibuprofen were up.

#6
Nike refusing to allow the first woman to cross the finish line at the Nike Woman’s Marathon in San Francisco to be named the “winner.” That’s right, 24-year-old Arien O'Connell, a fifth-grade teacher from New York City, ran the fastest time of any of the women, but since she didn’t start the race with the “elite group,” which is given a 20-minute head start, she was disqualified from winning. I just bought a pair of New Balance running shoes. I hope you do too.

#5
The Beijing Olympics Lip-syncing Opening Ceremony debacle. 7-year-old Yang Peiyi had a magnificent singing voice, but she also had a chubby face and crooked teeth. Chinese officials deemed little Yang not cute enough to represent the country in the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics. An adorable, bright-eyed, pig-tailed alternative was slotted in to lip synch “Ode to the Motherland.” A global PR shamble ensued.

#4
AIG executives throwing lavish parties—complete with caviar and champagne—after getting an $85 billion government bailout. Boo hoo… I’m so poor, can you pass the Cristal?

#3
Calling it a Bailout. Really, the flacks couldn't come up with a better word than bailout? Maybe “loan?” Maybe “bridge?” Seriously, every last sub-bullet of the Bailout’s messaging architecture could have been better flacked by my intern.

#2
The Big Three flying to Capitol Hill on private jets to ask for a bailout. Read my blog post on it.


#1
The biggest PR blunder of 2008 was by far Sarah Palin… You betcha! Why a PR blunder? Because no one bothered to media train the Republican Siren before catapulting her into the international spotlight. And, if she was media trained, we should revoke the trainer’s flacking creds. The Katie Couric interview. “I can see Russia from my house” (ok, actually that quote is attributed to Tina Fey who gave the quote during a parody of Palin). Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe budget. I could go on, but it’s just too easy. I want to be the better person.

Thanks to all my flacky friends who contributed to this list!

SavvyFlack Helps Host Digital Family Reunion

Hi everyone, I’m excited to be supporting the Digital Family Reunion (DFR), an event that will bring together the California technology and business communities for the holidays. In association with some of the region's top trade associations and social networking groups, the DFR will reignite old relationships, spark new ones, and set the stage to kick off 2009 with a bright new start.

Inviting early adopters and legacy participants of the Internet 1.0 and today's digitally apt Internet 2.0 tube dwellers, the DFR creates the optimum conditions for these generations to synergize with one another and inspire opportunities that will serve our industries, our region, and our society at large. The DFR is helping to advance the conversation between these like-minded, yet diverse communities by asking the question: "If we knew how connected we all are, how would that change everything?"

Join the conversation! The event takes place Thursday, December 11 from 5-10 p.m. at the Skirball. Use the promotion code “DFR30” to get a discounted ticket price.

Hope to see you all there!