Detroit Chapter Public Relations Society of America  |  November/December 2010

Getting their attention – Key media share tips and strategies for gaining auto show coverage

With auto show season approaching, many public relations practitioners find themselves competing for coverage in the chase for product awareness. As the saying goes, “everyone has a story to tell.” However, seemingly well-pitched stories can go unnoticed by media. Watching a promising public relations campaign yield underwhelming results can certainly be frustrating.

Join the PRSA-Detroit Automotive Council Thursday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 a.m., as it welcomes a panel of local media members prior to auto show season at AISI’s Steel Market Development Institute, located at 2000 Town Center, suite 320 in Southfield. Confirmed media panelists include:

• Paul Eisenstein, The Detroit Bureau
• Jeff Gilbert, WWJ Newsradio 950
• Brent Snavely, Detroit Free Press
• Jim Treece, Automotive News

Each panelist will speak about the types of news items they are looking for, tips and tricks for getting coverage during auto show, media preferences, etc. A question and answer section will follow speaker discussions, time permitting.

Cost is $15 for members and $25 for nonmembers. To register, via PayPal, go to www.prsadetroit.org – you do not need a PayPal account to use PayPal. Any questions, contact Nancy Skidmore or call 248-545-6499.

The silent audience – Understanding and reaching diverse and multicultural audiences

PR professionals are challenged to understand the role that diversity plays in successful PR practices. Too often, diverse groups of people are left out of the very practices that are meant to help them.

Join PRSA-Detroit for an educational session about diversity and cross-cultural communication in all areas of public and private life.

Sandy Pensoneau-Conway, Ph.D., and Donyale Padgett, Ph.D., will discuss how understanding issues of diversity can enhance PR practice. Rather than paying lip service to this contemporary buzzword, Pensoneau-Conway and Padgett will discuss how a critical look at diversity—in both language and practice—is a responsible choice for PR professionals. This interactive presentation will both enlighten and inspire attendees to be reflective in the ways they incorporate issues of diversity into their professional lives.

Pensoneau-Conway is an assistant professor at Wayne State University. She teaches in the areas of critical communication pedagogy and intercultural communication. Courses include Intercultural Communication, Critical Communication Pedagogy, and Autoethnography.

Padgett is an assistant professor at Wayne State University, and teaches in the area of intercultural communication and organizational communication. Courses include PR Campaigns, Crisis Communication, Consulting and Training, and Professional Issues in Applied Communication.

Cost is $15 for members (PRSA/PRSSA) and $25 for nonmembers. Make your reservation, via PayPal, at www.prsadetroit.org – you do not need an account to use PayPal.

Any questions, please e-mail Nancy Skidmore or call 248-545-6499.

From the President’s Desk

Not so fast. A reflection on 2010 – a year of cautious optimism.

By Rich Donley, APR

Why is it that when you are dreading something, time seems to move so slowly, but when you are enjoying it, time seems to move at double the speed? Without a doubt, the chapter presidency seemed to last only moments.

I arrived at this year’s annual meeting Nov. 11 at the beautiful Townsend Hotel (a chapter sponsor – thank you) knowing that I’d walk in as president, give the state of the chapter and 2010 in review, present the 2011 board of directors slate, pass the gavel among 12 past presidents to the president-elect, Susan Ferraro, APR, and walk out hours later as immediate past president, even though officially the new roles begin January 1, 2011.

As I stopped at the check-in table, I was greeted by a few key members of the awesome annual meeting committee and, our chapter administrator, Nancy Skidmore (celebrating 23 years with us this month!), who kindly greeted me with my name tag: “Rich Donley, APR, Detroit Chapter Past President.” Bam. Just like that. I hadn’t even given my farewell speech yet, and it was already over.

As the year draws to a close, I reflect on what an honor it has been to serve as your leader. I reflect on, and thank, the people who have been instrumental in helping me reach and succeed in this role. I reflect on where we’ve been, where we are today and where we are going. Overall, it’s a nice reflection – not without its trials, but certainly the successes far outweigh the setbacks.

I owe a ton of gratitude to my fellow chapter officers and board members, committee chairs and committee members, sponsors, members, guests, presenters, exhibitors and others. A special thank you to the board of directors whose terms are expiring for their years of chapter service: Linda Hagan, APR; Mike Isopi; Susan Schwandt, APR; and Kim Skeltis, APR. You have been instrumental in our success.

Thank you to my employer, Airfoil, for supporting me, especially Janet Tyler, APR and Lisa Vallee-Smith, APR. Thanks to my wife and children who learned a lot about PRSA (not that they really wanted to), continued to inspire me and always altered their schedules to allow me to attend the morning programs and board meetings, evening events and planning meetings.

It seemed only a short time ago that I was handed the gavel from Kim Skeltis, APR, who fearlessly guided our chapter in one of the toughest times in recent history. As I looked upon 2010 with cautious optimism, it was not the time to just roll over and disengage. I challenged that approach and based my platform on engaging. I challenged you to become more active, take charge, leave your mark and make change happen.

I am happy to report that you did in fact engage, and your engagement helped make 2010 a success. As we look back at this year, we have:

• Maintained our membership levels despite the tough times;
• Generated more sponsors and funds than our goal, so we will continue to reinvest in the chapter;
• Made great strides to become more engaging and welcoming at monthly programs and with members and non-PRSA members;
• Launched the Ethics Honors Code Program (the first chapter in the country to do so), which to date has had 137 participants representing solo practitioners and 21 local organizations complete the program;
• Continued our award-winning APR prep session and added newly accredited members – keeping Detroit well above the national average;
• Offered 10 in-person monthly programs this year – with two more slated for the remainder of the year – that have offered professional development, insights, fun and networking opportunities;
• Continued the tradition of hosting an outstanding state conference – which went from a two-day event to one, and still attracted 300 attendees, received rave reviews for its presenters and professional development and made $8,000;
• Raised at least $6,000 in student scholarships through the Strikes for Scholarships bowling event and PRSA Open golf outing; and
• The list goes on.

I am proud to report that the state of the chapter is in great shape, and we are well-positioned to have an even better 2011. You’re in great hands under the leadership of president-elect Susan Ferraro, and oh yeah, your past president. Thank you!

Six lessons PR professionals can learn from the Toyota crisis

Republished with the permission of Curt McAllister

On Oct. 21, Curt McAllister, Toyota’s Midwest public relations manager shared his experiences during a session entitled “Toyota in Crisis – How Communications Helped an Automaker Transition From Recalls to Recovery.” The session highlighted the automaker’s proactive and reactive communications. Below are a few takeaways that were shared during the event.

1. Honesty and transparency are paramount for all companies, particularly those engaged in a crisis.
2. Aspire to communicate to all internal and external audiences in a similarly timely fashion. Nothing is more aggravating to an employee/associate than learning about all company developments via media reports.
3. Incorporate social media communications into overall mass media strategies and tactics. Start seeing SM-minded individuals as “citizen journalists,” – absorbers and disseminators of information.
4. Don’t neglect your responsibility as a communicator to correct erroneous media reports and misinformed journalists. It’s OK to tell a reporter he or she is wrong if you have solid information and a non-threatening demeanor.
5. If you agree to a television or live radio interview, remember that everything is fair game. The interview isn’t over till the camera crew rounds the corner and/or the phone call ends with the radio station.
6. When a member of the media contacts you to comment on the handling of a crisis, ask yourself this simple question: Am I doing this interview for me (increase my/company’s brand standing) or to convey a fair assessment of the situation? If you see this as a greater opportunity for YOU than the PR profession, at large, you should probably decline the opportunity.

Communicating to multicultural audiences (part 3 of 3)

By Jasmin Nadalizadeh

In this final installment of a three-part series focused on multicultural communications, Fleishman-Hillard’s Ana Toro, APR and Katerie Troutman, co-chairs of FH’s Multicultural practice group share the top 10 steps communicators should follow when communicating cross-culturally.

1. Research. Learn what audiences your brand attracts, how many of them are out there, and what they are doing.
2. Listen. Before charging ahead full steam, see what your audiences are saying, and what issues are important to them.
3. Use the tools. Social media and other online communities are a great new way to listen and connect to these groups. Google alerts, Twitter search, RSS feeds based on keywords, and subscription-based tools are there to help any corporation listen to their audiences and find out what issues are important to them, what brands they support, and where their loyalties lie.
4. Strategize. What’s your plan? Don’t just play it by ear; you need a strategic course to follow. Do they use traditional media? Do they trust traditional media? Age is crucial and with huge media usage differences among them. Are they engaged in social media? Do they use lots of texting or mobile communications? Do they rate high in TV viewing?
5. Join the conversations. Don’t just be an active listener…participate! Get your message out there using the right communications mix. Always remember that a “fit for all” mentality doesn’t exist, not even within a same ethnic group.
6. Speak their language! It’s not just about copying and pasting a translation. It’s about really talking to that culture or group, through imagery, brand, look/feel and message delivery, whether on or offline.
7. Keep it fresh and fun. Stay away from selling products or offers in online social communities. Users are not there to buy anything, they are there to find each other. You can lead them to your website for that.
8. Adapt other materials. Whether on the Web or in a brochure, be consistent in your messaging and promote your “conversations” across all networks. Social media platforms and other online materials should be inter-linked and all lead back to the company’s website.
9. Promote. With the proper use of search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), you are able to get your online voice heard within a short time, as compared to the returns on traditional grassroots marketing strategies and campaigns. Older Asian Americans and Hispanics are often more traditional. Know their shopping habits, healthcare habits, lifestyle habits. Do they like to go to the park? Do they go to the movies? Do they hang out at the mall? Who influences them?
10. Do it now! Not only is the digital landscape growing in leaps and bounds, the multicultural audiences are at the front of the line. In fact, all races and ethnicities of Internet users are growing.

Being mindful of special considerations is important. However, often it’s simply a matter of building trust with your audience. These steps can result in long-term loyalty and brand awareness.

Worth Noting

Dale Jablonski, APR, owner of Dale Corporation, passed away this October. He was 68 years old. Jablonski was a recipient of the PRSA Silver Anvil in Community Relations for creating the “Kids, don’t go with strangers” campaign for the Fraternal Order of Police, and served as the president of the Detroit Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 1981. He was a graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy. He will be greatly missed.

The Quell Group has hired Rick Asher as an account director to assist the company in growing its account services teams with his automotive communications experience. Prior to joining The Quell Group, Asher spent the majority of his career in communications and positions for General Motors, where he was most recently group manager for the Cadillac brand. The company has also received five international 2010 MarCom Awards for its work in website design, writing, video and pro bono efforts.

PublicCity PR was selected by the Detroit Regional Chamber as a 2010 ‘On the RISE’ winner. The Chamber recognizes small businesses in the Detroit region with the ‘On the RISE’ awards in an effort to help promote them and provide valuable exposure for companies doing exceptional work to help improve our region’s economy.

New members

Megan Burgess
meganlynnburgess@gmail.com

Courtney Curran
Curran.courtney@gmail.com

Cheryl Eberwein
Freudenberg North America
Cheryl.eberwein@fngp.com

Tamara Halliburton
Tlynn1974@comcast.net

Paul Kesman
Identity Marketing & Public Relations
pkesman@identitypr.com

Lisa Olney
Department of Veterans Affairs
Lisa.olney@va.gov

Andrea O’Donnell
Doner
Aodonnell0610@gmail.com

Calendar of Events

Dec. 2 – Getting their attention – Key media members share tips and strategies for gaining auto show coverage – Thursday, Dec. 2, 2010, 7:30 – 9 a.m., Steel Market Development Institute, 2000 Town Center, Suite 320 Southfield

Dec. 3 – EMU PRSSA 13th Annual Student Development Conference (SDC) – Friday, December 3, 2010, 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Eastern Michigan University, Student Center. Contact Kristen Coen for details on participating in the SDC internship fair.

Dec. 7 – The silent audience – Understanding and reaching diverse and multicultural audiences – Tuesday, December 7, 2010, 8 – 9:30 a.m., Wayne State University, McGregor Hall, 495 Ferry Mall Detroit