At the desk of Mark Koenig, SE10 graphic designer

Posted on May 16, 2012 by admin

As SE10 team member Mark Koenig cheerfully puts it, if there is a design project, he better be able to do it, as he is the firm’s sole graphic designer. Despite being to only go-to for design, he doesn’t feel any pressure. In fact, he enjoys every minute of every deadline-marked request. Mark’s principal responsibilities include designing the layout for a quarterly client magazine and all press releases issued by SE10. Additional tasks range from creating layouts for client and company newsletters to designing advertisements as client ad campaigns arise.

The layout for the quarterly magazine, which Mark designs using Adobe InDesign, can take Mark about two eight-hour work days to complete, whereas he spends about one hour on each press release. SE10 used to create press releases in Microsoft Word, disseminating them via email as attached Word documents. In early 2011, SE10 decided to change the way in which it formatted press releases. Rather than design the press release in a Word document, SE10 switched to customized email templates. Mark describes these newly formatted press releases as “mini-websites”: The press releases are in the bodies of the email and contain the press release text, images and clickable download buttons for the Word document version of the press release as well as high-resolution versions of the images.

To properly format the press releases and design the customized templates, Mark has to have a good understanding of HTML code. Whenever another SE10 team member writes and sends a new press release his way, Mark reformats the text—using HTML code—so it fits appropriately in the email template.

The rationale behind the new format, Mark explains, is that it allows SE10 and its clients to track the percentage of people who open the press release, read it and/or download it, and even if the press release ended up in the target recipient’s SPAM. With the old format, there was no way of determining whether the target recipients opened or even received the press releases. Now, SE10 and its clients have a better understanding of the response their press releases receive.

Another benefit of the new press release format has to do with size, Mark said. The emails delivering press releases as attached Word documents would often take up 3 MB in the recipient’s inbox and thus took significantly longer to open. In contrast, the emails delivering the new format of press releases are about 30 KB: one percent the size of the old format!

SE10 html press release

Posted in Communications, Journalism, PR, Uncategorized, business | Leave a comment

At the desk of Ronan Cloud, SE10 account manager

Posted on April 30, 2012 by admin

SE10 account manager Ronan Cloud wears various hats, utilizing his many talents to serve four different clients. For some, he focuses on strengthening public relations efforts by discussing effective communications strategies, writing engaging press releases and pitching innovative stories and ideas to the media. For others, he serves as a media planner, securing advertising space and developing eye-catching design concepts, which SE10 graphic designer Mark Koenig then expertly creates. And, for one client, he is a facilitator, which involves traveling around the world to lead workshops where he and clients determine how to best communicate new products to the market. These tasks form the basis of how SE10’s clients communicate with their customers through the media. Ronan’s efforts ensure these companies have a powerful voice in the market and definitively establish their brand within the industry.

SE10 clients operate in a global business-to-business market, a realm in which technical writing is the centerpiece. Technical writing in any language can be difficult even for native speakers to understand. Yet, Ronan knows exactly how to communicate technical topics in an engaging and comprehensible way. He does so by making his clients’ stories relatable and, in his words, “finding the human” in every story. Ronan has learned that knowing your reader is the key to any captivating story. What may be highly complex and technical to some may in fact be common knowledge to others. Recognizing this allows Ronan to focus his stories on the appropriate points and build a message to which a diverse array of readers can relate.

As for “finding the human,” as Ronan puts it, all readers are human. And, humans like to hear about other humans. So, no matter what the story is about or how technical it is, media people must always add a human element. Provide someone’s reaction to a certain technical topic or give a real life example of how someone has used said technology to his or her benefit, Ronan suggests. While some readers may not fully understand the exact workings of the technology you write about, every reader will understand how the Average Joe has used it to enhance his business or life.

Lastly, for a few take-away tips, Ronan has shared his approach in advising clients about interacting with international press:

  • Treat the press with respect but don’t be intimidated.
  • Show them your personality but don’t be overly friendly.
  • Stick to the key message but don’t drill it home.
  • Comment on the wider market—offer insight and opinion on the current and future of your industry.
  • Be interesting and original. No journalist wants to write about the same stuff day in, day out.
  • Above all, stick to the game plan, be open and be honest.
Posted in Advice, Communications, PR, Writing, business | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

At the desk of Kayce Henderson, SE10 research analyst

Posted on March 30, 2012 by admin

The three stages of an effective PR campaign are plan, execute and measure, in that order. At SE10, we do all three. In a nutshell, during the planning stage we generate a list of story ideas, while the execution stage involves researching, writing and distributing those stories to generate media coverage. The third stage, measuring, involves tracking media coverage, making it a great way to gauge the success of planning and execution efforts. SE10 research analyst Kayce Henderson takes the reins at this third stage.

Kayce’s main focus is tracking coverage SE10’s clients receive in key trade press and online sources, and that coverage is then broken down by product type and region. To truly gauge the success of campaigns she generates monthly, quarterly and annual reports showing how much coverage our clients have received in comparison with their key competitors. Kayce receives about 60 trade magazines in the Madison, Wis., office each month. She then looks through every page of those publications hunting for client and competitor articles. She also receives a dozen online newsletters and monitors numerous websites for coverage. In each publication and online source, article coverage is measured in column inches or centimeters. Then, Kayce compiles a spreadsheet for each client showing how much coverage was received.

These media monitoring reports allow SE10 and its clients to identify key products and regions on which to focus, with the ultimate goal of generating more coverage across the board. For example, if a quarterly report shows weaker coverage in a certain region, efforts can be made to produce stories more applicable to that region to encourage more coverage. In this respect, the media monitoring reports are an indispensable planning tool, showing how much coverage clients receive and how SE10 can help improve media coverage in the future.

Another benefit of media monitoring is it helps measure the ROI of PR efforts. By allocating a monetary value to space in magazines, SE10 can calculate how much coverage, in value terms, clients have achieved in any given time period or from any particular region or magazine. This monetary value is generally linked to the cost of buying advertising space in the magazine, newsletter or website. There is less certainty in PR than in advertising, as the chances of a story appearing are dependent on a number of factors, such as the preferences of the editor, the strength of the story and the other editorial content vying for space. However, readers can be skeptical of advertisements, whereas editorial articles (generated from PR leads or stories) have more credibility. In this way, PR efforts spawn positive publicity for our clients. So, we can determine the success of various PR initiatives by looking backwards in the media monitoring reports.

Posted in Agency, Communications, PR, business | Leave a comment

PR for dummies

Posted on March 12, 2012 by admin

Occasionally when I tell people I work in public relations, they look at me uncomprehendingly, as if I had just told them I spend my weekdays as an ‘international applications supervisor’ or a ‘regional functionality representative’. After I’ve done my best to explain, their eyes usually do not unglaze.

Even though the meaning of the term ‘public relations’ may seem obvious at face value (at least to me), it apparently isn’t to those outside the industry. So what is it about PR that’s so difficult to define? Maybe PR occasionally needs its own PR.

That’s what the Public Relations Society of America is arguing — they say PR needs redefining now that it’s become intertwined with social media. Its recent initiative, called Public Relations Defined, attempted to give public relations a ‘modern definition for the new era of public relations’. Here’s what they came up with:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Huh. Well, okay then. It isn’t hard to see why PR officers aren’t exactly jumping for joy and copying and pasting the new definition to their company web sites. Nor can I blame the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations for rejecting it outright. We in PR are in the business of communicating, so why aren’t we able to speak articulately about our own livelihoods?

Keeping buzzwords to a minimum, let’s try answering the question again: “What is public relations?” I like the definition offered by one of my colleagues:

“Public relations is the art of influence. It is a mixture of sales, marketing and journalism to communicate information through expertly crafted text, strategic events, planned discussions, and branding exercises. A public relations officer is the intermediary between a company and its target audience, a messenger between the corporate world and the human world.”

Though it’s not as pithy as the PRSA’s (a shorter version might read, ‘PR is the art of influence between a client and its target audience’), this definition better conveys the multi-faceted nature of what a PR does on a day-to-day basis. But more than that, it abandons the sort of jargon that makes most sentient people want to jump from the nearest window.

This definition has a human touch; it doesn’t sound like it was churned out by corporate flacks (or robots). One of the greatest assets a PR officer can have is relatability, which helps enormously when you’re trying to build rapport with journalists or clients. Shouldn’t our definition of PR be similarly relatable?

So here we are, still without an adequate definition for what we do. Maybe we don’t even need one. What do you think? What does the term ‘PR’ mean to you?

Posted in Advice, Communications, PR, business | Leave a comment

Five Things You Should Never Say to a Journalist

Posted on December 9, 2011 by admin

The stereotypical image of a journalist is someone hell bent on digging for dirt or asking awkward questions (and it’s true that most stereotypes contain a grain of truth). However, in the technical industries, journalists should be seen as allies. Journalists from trade publications are a very different breed to tabloid hacks, but there is, as always, a code of communication to follow.

Before an interview, always find out what the interview is about and prepare fully. Think in terms of sound bites when rehearsing answers. How can you say what you want in the shortest, snappiest way? Decide what your main messages are and prepare ways to incorporate them into your answers.

But, bear in mind, there are some things you should never say.

  1. First, never say anything that isn’t true. For example, if a journalist asks, ‘Did you take your client to court?’ don’t lie. Simply respond with what you know, even if it is “I don’t have any information about that, but what I do know is…” and bring the conversation back to your plan.
  2. Never say anything you haven’t thought about before. Off-the-cuff comments can cause all manner of company difficulties. You’re much more likely to make errors or misstate something if you try to speak too extemporaneously.
  3. Never say anything controversial unless you have deliberately planned to for effect.
  4. Never agree with a close-ended statement or leading question because you feel pressured to do so. Assess the question carefully before committing to an answer.
  5. Finally, never ask “is this off the record?” You’ll only end up deviating from your core message, gossiping, or inadvertently revealing sensitive information. If you don’t want it on the record, it’s usually best not to say it at all.

Working with journalists, when approached thoughtfully, ensures a win-win situation: they get the story they want and you get the message your company needs.

Posted in Advice, Journalism, News, PR | Leave a comment

Selling out? Journalism vs. PR

Posted on November 8, 2011 by admin

Do you feel like you are selling out? This is an interesting expression that I have heard thrown around when a former journalist moves into PR territory.

Well I have become one of these ‘former journalists’, to enter the dark and mysterious world of public relations! But have I sold out my profession as a writer to help clients promote their wares? Well in a way, yes – but no at the same time. It is a lot more complicated than that.

I have recently moved from working in journalism as a freelance reporter to working for a PR company. In my eyes I am not a ‘former journalist’ I am still a working journalist, but now I am a journalist – and-then-some.

Although I may have a fancier title (Account Executive) and have an array of different tasks and responsibilities, I am still carrying out essentially journalistic duties every day. For example, I still interview people, whether it’s over the phone or in person. I still write stories that have to be submitted to my boss – partner and editor at the firm. I still have to source story ideas and follow up on leads. The only difference is that my stories and articles are all in some way related to the client that the PR firms works for.

I suppose it depends on how the PR company that you work for operates, but here you have to be much more than a journalist. A journalist doesn’t really have to be nice to people – it’s all about getting the story and who cares if some people don’t like it, it’s news, and that’s how it should be. You are not trying to please people; you are trying to report the truth. People may think that PR firms bend the truth – but we do nothing of the sort. Accurate reporting is still the name of the game, (at SE10 anyway.)

The clue is in the name

An obvious difference between the two is that PR is about building reputations and developing strong relationships with your colleagues and clients. But hold on, surely most journalists know you have to build relationships to get leads and information from your source at the police station or local council? These people are reluctant to give information out as it is, but by building up a relationship, you can make your life and job an awful lot easier.

On a slow news day journalists may be able to work off press releases and use the already useful information that’s been sent in. I am now the person that writes the press release. I realise just how much work is actually involved in getting the core information from the source, so then journalists can report it. I have learnt that people are busy – it can take days or weeks, waiting for a response, just like it can trying to get a comment off a politician or press office when you’re a reporter. This aspect isn’t so different.

You also have to be on form at any given moment. Not only do you have to keep your boss happy, you also have to keep your clients happy. So it’s smiles all round and there are no excuses. Fortunately I am naturally positive, and this suits me quite well. It doesn’t feel like selling out.

The company works for some huge clients, which means the stories that I write can be based on totally different ideas and themes throughout the business, even though they work together as a unit to enforce a brand and reputation.

I don’t see when it’s done like this how moving from journalism into PR can be a sell-out. I was working in the newspaper industry and experienced first-hand job cuts and ‘strategic money saving methods’ being enforced. I thought maybe it was time to secure a career in something a bit different but essentially the same – (drum roll please) PR!!

How could I be a sell out anyway? At the end of the day I have a job that I enjoy, it’s related to my training and qualifications, I contribute to society and am hoping to develop and gain valuable skills that I can keep with me for the rest of my working life.

Don’t get me wrong – I am a trained journalist and just because I now work for a PR company doesn’t mean that I shun journalism! I love journalism and journalists! I will always be interested in current affairs and read my favourite newspapers and magazines; I just think that people originating in journalism and then moving over to PR shouldn’t be given such a bad rep.

It also might be a little harsh to assume people get such a hard time over it anyway, the industry is moving in the direction of PR and if you have been a former skilled journalist and then become a confident PR tycoon, surely you can take any swipe that comes at you and turn it into – what else – but great PR!

Posted in Advice, Agency, Debate, Journalism, PR, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

PR: In-house vs Agency

Posted on November 2, 2011 by admin

The debate rages. The questions linger. What’s better: in-house or agency? Is there a simple answer?

In short, no. Both have their benefits. Both have their drawbacks. (As is neatly showcased by PR Daily).

So what really makes the difference? The people.

A good Public Relations Officer (PRO) can produce results whether in-house, at an agency or working in a garage on an island (so long as that island has broadband).

But let’s be specific and answer some of the usual agency vs in-house quibbles:

• Yes, in-house staff are completely immersed in one company. But agency staff can also be dedicated to a single client, completely immersing themselves in that company and its industry.

• When hiring a new person in-house, you get a new person. But when hiring an agency, you get a whole new company – a company that is hungry to prove its worth with staff eager to impress their boss.

• In-house teams are literally that: in house. But a good agency should be an extension of your marketing team, ready at a moment’s notice to help, advise and work.

• In-house for big companies, agencies for small? Rubbish. Some of the world’s biggest brands use agencies, as they can offer wider coverage of the global market and greater knowledge of different industries.

When writing the title of this blog, the decision to use ‘vs’ over ‘or’ took some time to make. Should it be vs? Are we fighting one another? Can the two not co-exist? Can the two not cooperate? Do I have an inherent and irrational hatred of in-house PROs? Or am I trying to inject some excitement into the start of this blog?

Either way, it’s too late now.

But perhaps the title should have been: Good PRO vs bad PRO. With that, the decision is easy.

Posted in Agency, Communications, Debate, In-house, International, PR, Writing, business | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

An internal approach to reputation management

Posted on October 21, 2011 by admin

This summer, as part of Marine Week St. Louis, a lieutenant colonel with the U. S. Marine Corp was invited to share the broadcast booth at a Major League baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies. A chance to share the broadcast seemed perfectly in keeping with the good-spirited nature of Marine Week, an event designed as both as a show of appreciation to honor the U.S. Marine Corp and to emphasize a softer, more relatable side of the Marines. The feel-good event, however, ran into a slight snag when the lieutenant colonel suggested a way to stop opposing pitcher Roy Halladay involved a round of tank fire. A joke of course, but delivered with just a bit too much conviction. Dan Lamothe, a writer for Military Times partially defended the Marine pointing out that if anyone needs gallows humor, it’s soldiers. On the other hand, Lamothe freely admitted that “somewhere, there are Marine public affairs officers banging their heads on a table.”

Increased focus on reputation management is not just confined to the public sector. Industries in all sectors are shifting their PR priorities. In the past, leading CEOs would immediately call their lawyers and accountants in a crisis. Now, increasingly, the person likely to be on speed dial is their PR advisor. Between the increased pace of news cycles and the ability of social media to break a story in seconds to audiences of millions, it is no surprise that reputation management has come increasingly to the forefront.

But, despite the PR minefield confronting executives and newsmakers today, one of the most critical steps in reputation management is probably the easiest to accomplish, yet the easiest to overlook. The start of strong reputation management is solid internal communication. To create a cohesive image for your company, your product, or your organization, it is absolutely critical that all the speakers for your group have the same shared idea of the image they are trying to achieve. Only when the speakers have that shared idea is it possible to disseminate it to clients, suppliers, customers, or other stakeholders.

It’s difficult to try to please demanding and exacting audience members; frequently the audience themselves cannot reach a consensus about what they want to hear (it is worth noting that several listeners of baseball broadcast applauded the lieutenant colonel’s comments as perfectly reasonable for a man of his experience and worldview). Yet, while it may be difficult to create consensus among an audience, it is made infinitely more difficult if the internal speakers have not reached a consensus about what the message is.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The changing face of breaking news – how Twitter got there first

Posted on August 30, 2011 by admin

What do American football team the Indianapolis Colts and a 5.8 magnitude earthquake have in common? They both made headlines unexpectedly last week in the United States. What else? They both did it over Twitter first.

Last Tuesday afternoon, desks and offices from Carolina to Canada shook with the strongest earthquake to hit the region in half a century. One writer remembers feeling her desk shake, and turning immediately to the single source of truth for most of us in the world: Google. No mention of the earthquake. The U.S. Geological Survey website? Nothing there either. Even in this day and age, news isn’t instantaneous. It would be impossible to expect that a report could emerge in seconds. Yet, they did; thousands of them actually. On Twitter. According to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette within one minute of the quake, more than 40,000 quake-related tweets were posted.

In any nation, professional sports are no stranger to dramatic headlines, and last week the U.S. was no exception. While certainly not carrying the magnitude of the quake (sorry Colts fans), another news story broke over Twitter in either a carefully orchestrated drama or a beautifully simple lack of watch-synchronizing. On Wednesday, the Indianapolis Colts, a successful American football team, signed veteran quarterback Kerry Collins, presumably as a fall-back option in case Peyton Manning’s (their starting quarterback) injury prevents him from playing the first game of the season. What made it interesting was that Colts owner Jim Irsay (known for his skill at drumming up attention via his Twitter feed) chose to tweet the news while Colts head coach Jim Caldwell was in the middle of a press conference. A press conference with no mention of Collins.

Was it a perfectly executed “Gotcha!” trick played on the journalists at the conference? An oversight showing someone was out of the loop? A simple case of missed signals in which one party was much more willing to divulge information quickly than the other?

In any case, these two stories have a common thread- when individuals can “tweet” the news as quickly as it happens, how can the professionals be expected to keep up? Twitter’s full effects on the transmission of news are likely still to be seen, but one thing is certain, the pace of news has proven once again that it is still increasing.

Posted in News, PR, Writing | Leave a comment

Thoughts of an international PR

Posted on August 12, 2011 by admin

Ronan Cloud, Account Manager at SE10, answers a few questions on traveling.

1. Are there any challenges unique to international PR?
The biggest challenge is understanding how the media works in different countries. A story that is perfect for one market could prove hopeless in another. This is where the phone becomes your friend. Contact three or four of the major publications in each country you are targeting. Introduce yourself and your client to the editorial team. Discuss their readership, editorial calendar and agenda. This will allow you to tailor stories to their needs and generate better coverage.

2. What are your top three tips for travelling PRs?
• Always have a spare shirt and underwear in your laptop bag for when (not if) your luggage is lost.
• If you’re worried about what you might be eating, it’s probably best to ask what it was at the end of the meal, rather than when you’re actually eating it.
• Enjoy it. You’re out of the office (and on expenses).

It’s also good to try a few of the following:

Native tongue: try to learn a few phrases in the native tongue before you go. It’s amazing how effective a quick”nice to meet you” or ‘thank you’ is at breaking the ice. Especially when meeting CEOs or managing directors. Speaking the local language humanises the situation. The hierarchy dissolves and everyone is operating on a level playing field. It also shows you care more about the country than just the work.

Throw yourself in: most business trips will include a few after work events. A meal or a sporting event perhaps. Get involved. Turn nothing down and try something new. After all, when in Rome…..(or Chicago or Seoul or Madrid…..)

Know the customs: different cultures bring different rules. We all know there are different rules but we don’t all know what they are. Google them. Gain some knowledge and use it.

3. What is the best meal you’ve had outside of the EU?
An amazing Korean BBQ in Seoul. This local speciality involves cooking marinated and prepared meats on a BBQ in the middle of the table. A selection of satellite dishes decorate the feast and it’s all washed down with the local drink Soju and plenty of rice wine. Nothing better.

4. What is the luckiest thing that has happened to you while travelling?
I feel lucky just being able to travel and see how companies and clients are working in different parts of the world. I couldn’t pick out a single “lucky” incident. There have been plenty of times where I’ve caught planes by the skin of my teeth or met an obliging person at check in who’s helped me get oversized baggage through without the usual headaches. But then I’ve also lost plenty of luggage and missed lots of planes and buses. It’s just the way it goes!

5. During your travels, where would you most like to move to if you were asked to open up another SE10 international branch?
Hong Kong. An international hub of activity. Close to China and the rest of Asia, amazing food, beautiful scenery – and it has a Disney World.

Posted in Advice, Communications, International, PR, Writing, business, eating, travel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment