As PR professionals, our job is to consider all of the consequences and ramifications of media messaging before it hits headlines.

Last August during a concert at the Indiana State Fair, a tragic accident occurred when a stage collapsed resulting in seven casualties and more than 58 fans sustaining injuries. As a result, the band Sugarland is now defending itself via court attorneys against claims of negligence.

The band’s attorneys filed a statement last week claiming that some of the blame must fall on the victims – which as you can imagine caused a terrific uproar across media headlines. Clearly someone neglected to consult the band’s PR team, and now Sugarland is walking a fine line between defending themselves and keeping their fans happy.

What are some steps to apply when in a PR crisis situation?

Be prompt. Simultaneously, Sugarland could have issued a more positive/empathetic message to offset legal
claims.

Be informative. If little to no information is given, rumors can start almost immediately and can potentially cause more damage than the truth. Before a statement was given, both the legal and PR teams could have aligned and developed one cohesive strategy.

Be concerned. Immediately following the tragic event, Sugarland expressed sympathy for the victims and their families involved and has continued to do so throughout the legal filing.

Maintain two-way relationships. This is the most important, but also the most tricky. The cardinal rule of crisis management is not to blame the victims. Unfortunately, Sugarland and their legal team are now caught up in a blame game which will most likely end up in a jury trial.

No matter the nature of a crisis it is absolutely essential to consider all stakeholders involved, align key messaging, react promptly and never blame the victim.

From REELSEO: According to new research, viewers are far more likely to recall a brand name and engage with an ad’s message if a branded video has been recommended to them by a peer. The survey, conducted by Decipher Research to measure the effectiveness of social video advertising, found that social video recommendations had a direct impact on traditional brand metrics and ad enjoyment.

The new research found:

• Brand recall and brand association rose 7 percent among viewers who had peers recommend the videos versus viewers who found it by browsing;
• 73 percent of respondents who viewed a peer-recommended video recalled the brand when prompted versus 68 percent of viewers who had browsed to the video directly;
• There was a 14 percent increase in the number of people who enjoyed the video following a recommendation versus those who had discovered it by browsing;
• People who enjoyed a video were 97 percent more likely to purchase the product featured in the video.

The study, which surveyed online video viewers, aged 18-34, across four social video campaigns from top fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands Guinness, Coca-Cola, Unilever’s Cornetto and Energizer Batteries from July to November 2011, sought to determine the impact of peer recommendations.

“Social video is a powerful format for engaging consumers. If a brand creates great video content and makes it easy to share, it will see impressive results across the entire purchase funnel,” said Unruly COO Sarah Wood in a press release.

The survey, organized in conjunction with the brands’ agency partners Carat, Vizeum, Mindshare and MEC, was issued today in a free white paper entitled “Social Ad Effectiveness: An Unruly Whitepaper.” Viewers could opt in to the survey directly from an annotation within the Unruly video player or from the video’s YouTube page. The data gathered from viewers following a recommendation was compared with that of viewers who had arrived at the video by browsing, to determine the effects of recommendations on brand metrics and post viewing behavior. And 976 surveys were completed.

The data clearly shows that viewers enjoy recommended videos more than non-recommended videos: there was a 14 percent increase in the number of people who enjoyed the video following a recommendation versus those who had discovered it by browsing. Moreover, a recommendation reduced the number of people who did not enjoy the video by 41 percent.

Viewer enjoyment of branded video is important because it has a direct impact on key brand metrics. Viewers who enjoyed the video they watched demonstrated 139 percent higher brand association, 97 percent higher purchase intent, 35 percent higher brand favorability, and 14 percent higher brand recall than their counterparts who did not enjoy the video.

In addition, 68 percent of viewers who had browsed to the video correctly recalled the brand when prompted, compared to 73 percent of viewers who had arrived at the video following a recommendation. This 7 percent uplift suggests that video viewers are in a more receptive and attentive frame of mind following a recommendation, allowing brands that produce and distribute social content to benefit from closer communication with their audiences.

Recommendations caused a 7 percent increase in brand association: agreement with key brand statements increased from 41 percent among viewers who had browsed to the video to 44 percent among viewers who seen the video following a recommendation. This result reinforces the above suggestion that recommendations make viewers more receptive to brand messaging.

There was also a drop of more than one fifth in the number of respondents that disagreed with key brand statements. Recommendations have a large role to play for brands in changing off-message perceptions amongst their audiences as well as in actively cultivating on-message perceptions.

Brand favorability and purchase intent remained unchanged with recommendation. This is likely to be because all four of the tested brands were well established, high profile brands with a high favorability index. Seasonality could have skewed purchase intent, as both soft drinks and ice creams are highly consumed during the summer, when the campaigns took place. Also, the products advertised on the test campaigns were FMCGs, where purchase intent is higher than average vs. other sectors and unlikely to show much change. Running the survey against new product launch campaigns would be likely to demonstrate measurable effects for these two metrics.

Viewers of the social videos tested went on to perform a multitude of brand or video related actions, notably 49 percent of viewers purchased the advertised product within three days of the view. And 38 percent of viewers spoke to someone in person about the video, showing a social video view to stimulate real life conversation: what starts online becomes interchangeable with real life in the minds of today’s consumers. Interestingly, online sharing and emailing of the link are immediate reactions, highlighting the need for sharing functionality within a video player – users do not come back and share a video later, it is a spontaneous exercise. And 9 percent of users searched for the brand, and 4 percent of users searched for products of that type: so, social video viewing is having an effect across all aspects of the purchase funnel.

This research demonstrates that social video significantly increases brand attention.
The power of social video lies in the recommendation to view content. This recommendation comes not only from peers in social media environments, but also from authoritative blogs and news sources covering advertiser content editorially.

The impact of the recommendation on consumers is considerable:

• Viewers are more likely to enjoy a video when it has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (14 percent higher enjoyment)
• Viewers are more likely to recall a brand name when the social video has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (7 percent higher recall)
• Viewers are more likely to engage with an ad’s messages when the social has been recommended than when encountered through browsing (10 percent higher brand association)

Ultimately enjoyment of the video correlated positively with all tested brand metrics in the sales funnel, including brand favorability and final purchase intent.

Hey, you can’t make this stuff up.

Source: The Impact Of Social Video Recommendations On Brand Metrics (Research) http://www.reelseo.com/social-video-recommendations-brand-metrics-unruly/#ixzz1n8Qb8y2G

The other day I brought my dog to get groomed for the first time — the first in her 2+ years of existence. She’s part boxer/part border collie, with full-fledged border collie hair. At first I was torn on the idea of grooming. I thought her outrageous hair was cute and part of her spunky personality. However, I was soon reminded how a little grooming can go a long way when it comes to her shedding everywhere, and I mean everywhere.

While this particular situation, in no way, relates to PR. It got me thinking of how a little grooming can go a long way. Now, I’m not talking about hair cuts or clean shaves (although, physical grooming can make one look much more professional), I’m talking about a getting groomed on PR best practices and tactics.

Just as we teach our clients; it doesn’t matter if you’re a veteran in PR or someone who is just starting out, there is ample room to learn and grow as a professional. PR is constantly changing, and it’s essential to stay on top of the latest developments when it comes to everything from pitching a new industry, writing press releases and blog posts to learning about hot PR trends that are changing the way we do business.

Whether you meet with your team internally, participate in workshops or attend industry events, it’s great to collaborate with others and, most importantly, learn new strategies and tactics you can then put into place on your accounts.

It’s all about adapting with the times and ‘grooming’ your PR skills to stay on top of your game.

How do you help to ‘groom’ your PR skills?

As a New England-based PR agency, it goes without saying that we’re rooting for our beloved Patriots as they head to the big game this weekend. We say this with confidence because we know Bill Belichick and Tom Brady wouldn’t set foot on any field without the proper preparation. Super Bowl XLVI is certainly no exception.

With talk of the Patriots’ prep on every news station and website we turn to, coupled with an array of impressive hits for our clients this month, we thought it appropriate to review how PR practitioners – and their clients – should prepare for media interviews.

Whether you’re facing the “Super Bowl” of media opps or the impending interview feels more like a pre-season scrimmage, it’s always important to put your best foot forward. You never know who’s watching, listening or reading, or what kind of opportunity could emerge as a result.

Here are six tips to help you prepare for a media interview:

1. Understand what the reporter hopes to get out of the conversation: If you’re a financial expert and a reporter asks to talk to you about “savings plans,” ask if they’re interested in a certain kind of savings plan. Get as much information as possible about what they want to hear and be sure to ask what their story is about. Oftentimes, reporters know exactly where their story is headed and they have specific questions (and sometimes answers) in mind. If this appears to be the case, offer to take a look at their questions in advance so you can be prepared for the conversation and respond succinctly. In some cases, reporters may use your interview as an exploratory discussion to determine what direction their story will take. Do your best to get this information in advance – it will not only help you prepare, but it will help you stay focused in the interview and result in a better discussion (and likely more coverage) overall.
2. Know the reporter and their audience: At the very least, you need to Google them, check them out on LinkedIn, follow them on Twitter and read what they’re writing about. Who is their audience? What do they care about? Do you know people that they know? What is their writing or interview style? What have they written about recently that pertains the conversation you’re about to have? When and if appropriate, reference this information in a meaningful way, but beware of the creep factor. If you’re talking to an environmentally savvy personal finance writer, “I’ve been following your stories on the elimination of tax incentives for hybrid cars” is OK. “I drive a maroon Prius, too” is creepy. Don’t get too personal, but understand what will make their ears perk up and how it pertains to the conversation at hand. This can go a long way toward breaking the ice and establishing a personal rapport.
3. Prepare some questions to help you practice: Put on your reporter cap for a minute and think about the types of questions you would ask if you were on the other side of the interview. Be sure to include difficult questions about topics you’re not as comfortable with or information that is sensitive. Even if you can’t – or don’t want to – answer them, you should be prepared to respond.
4. Choose three key messages you want to convey: It’s important to give the reporter what he or she wants, but it’s equally as important for you to determine what you want to get out of this opportunity. If you could be sure that the readers/listeners/viewers of your interview hear one message from you, what would it be? If you choose three key messages that pertain to the subject matter at hand – and study them – you’ll be more likely to drive those messages home during the interview. This will also help if you feel yourself getting lost or tongue-tied.
5. Have your notes and important information with you during the interview: First, make sure you have your interviewer’s contact information on hand so you can reach them in the event of an emergency or technical difficulty. Always be sure to get alternative phone numbers and email addresses to cover your bases. Secondly, if you’re not doing a video interview, have your notes with you during the interview. Don’t read from them, but highlight important information like statistics and names so you can quickly reference them.
6. Make yourself available for follow-ups and future inquiries: If you have a tricky name, ask the reporter if it would be helpful if you spelled it. Make sure they have your correct title and company name, too. Lastly, offer your contact information or website, should the reporter have questions or want to fact check as they’re writing.

In closing, know the opposition, watch their videos, go for the extra points, and avoid the hail Marys. More importantly, enjoy the game.

(And GO PATS!)