INK PUBLIC RELATIONS

Oh, the lowly Press Release. So many blog posts have been dedicated to your existence – are you dead, are you passe, are you just too worthless to be relied upon? We often tell our clients a press release is a necessary evil in terms of getting all spokespeople and reporters on the same page when it comes to the basics of the news (yep, those 5 W’s and that one H). We don’t rely on it as a coverage driver, but as a messaging guide – we do this because often the press releases our clients finally do approve are chock full of industry jargon and not of much use to reporters in their final state. 

BUT, consider this – what if the press release actually did contain all of the information needed, as was the case with this GE/Nuventix release we had the pleasure of pitching around last week. We pitched this news under embargo, and the response was staggering – not only did reporters from NY Times, USA Today and WSJ (among others) agree to the embargo (I mean yes, it was GE), but they only had one obvious question, which was the one answer left out of the press release – how much does it cost. 

The press release contained the majority of the key information, PLUS it had pictures! (Novel idea, I know.) It was well written and picked up all over the place, proving that no the press release isn’t dead, or passe, or even worthless – it just needs to be done right. Kudos to GE’s internal PR guy Dave for getting the most out of a tried-and-true PR tactic.

It’s April. The 27th to be exact. We haven’t posted since the end of March. That’s embarrassing. I can make plenty of excuses – every single client has had a big news push this month! we have one staffer on maternity and another on vacation! the sky is falling! – but at the end of the day, we all find time for the things that are important to us. This blog needs to move up the list.

It’s not like we haven’t had big news ourselves in April. A things come to mind:

- Jennifer Sisk joined our team as senior account executive. We could not be more happy (seriously, could not) to have her on board. She’s jumped right in like she never wasn’t here. Go follow her on Twitter. She’s got the best Klout (or is it Klouchebag) score on our team (blog post for another day).

- We won two new accounts: welcome Tech21 and Flash Valet, both launching (one in North America, one for the first time to the world) in May. Flash Valet is part of our new offering for early stage start-ups (again, blog post for another day).

- We have been blowing the doors off on the media relations front for all of our clients and are excited to see the fruits of that labor in the coming weeks.

And while no longer really INK news, but certainly always part of the INK family, former INKer Beth welcomed Olive Monroe to the world (she is her mini-me, adorable).

Get ready – we’ve got a website redo coming, we’ve got big news for early stage start-ups, we’ve got opinions galore on crap going on in the world. And, it’s the last Friday in April. Watch out May, we’re coming for you.

This blog post is dedicated to my dear friend Chinae Alexander, who’s blog Be Better is definitely one to follow if you are looking for simple ways to improve in your social, professional, and personal lives. Fair warning: She definitely delivers a “healthy dose of sass” so please follow accordingly.

My inspiration came after attending SXSW panels last week and being completely blown away by the lack of manners some people possess. Yes, I get it. SXSW is a “cool conference” and not stuffy like most tradeshows – but alas, presenters still feel the same pressure and nervousness before speaking to hundreds of 20-30-something attendees trying to recover from parties the night before. With that said, here are a few (I think simple) rules to follow when being an audience member:

-       Take it outside: If you break out into a coughing attack and think you might lose a lung– excuse yourself. While I am sure all 250 remaining audience members care for your well being, it can be a tad distracting when everyone is thinking CPR may/ may not need to be administered.

-       Type with purpose (just not in a panel).  I know I might be spoiled with the light key sounds of a MacBook Pro, but if I can hear you punching keys vigorously from 5 rows back, take it down a notch. Please be cognizant of your surroundings and that others are trying to listen. (Plus, are you really taking notes…or updating your Facebook status?)

-       Saving seats: Unless it is absolutely vital that you sit next to your BFF in panel sessions, don’t save seats. This is not the third grade. Speakers like to see a full house and that others are engaged. By leaving random empty seats throughout, you are hurting the general flow of the audience.

-       Comments vs. questions: Personally, my favorite part of any panel is towards the end when audience members can ask on-the-fly questions of speakers (from a PR perspective, I love to see how “on message” some can be without prep). PLEASE do not stand in line at the microphone and then proceed to share a 5-minute comment or lecture. Save that for a follow-up email. Remember you are here to engage, not for a one-sided conversation.

There you have it – my top tips on how to be a better audience member. Here’s hoping next year’s SXSW is a little more well mannered.

Just saw this quote in an article on Mashable about start-up OneID:

“OneID is like what PayPal should have been when it comes to security,” Kirsch said. “We are going to leapfrog PayPal. We are PayPal 4.0.”

That, my friends, is a quote. It’s got an analogy to help people understand the start-up’s business model and key differentiators, putting it in perspective with a company the audience knows. It’s got conflict in terms of calling out a company on what it’s not doing right. It’s got visual words – when’s the last time you used “leapfrog” in a quote? Quite frankly, it’s got balls.

Clients: if you want to be quoted (which I know you do), you have to speak in real English (NO ONE actually says the word “robust”). You have to paint a picture with your words. You have to go out on a limb and provide the conflict the media and audience are looking for. And sometimes, you need to have balls.

Seen a good quote lately? Share in the comments. Corporate spokespeople need all the inspiration they can get!

He's got balls.

The last five days were a whirlwind of activity for INK and several of our clients participating in SXSW. Hats off to our amazing team who worked day and night to make the most out of the event and who still made time for panels and parties, tweeting all along the way! The amazing thing about SXSW is that even though you hardly sit down or sleep for five days, you somehow come out of the event with more energy than you arrived with. The show is undoubtedly a business event (what true consumers do you know that would spend $500-1000 on a show badge?) but it promotes and demonstrates a better side of business, a more human side of technology, and I find that motivating and invigorating. My biggest takeaways from the event and who did it best:

Don’t be afraid to be BOLD
Don’t be afraid to light up downtown, to inject personality and embrace conflict in your storytelling, or if you have the means, bring out Hova.

- To launch the new Fuelband device (with Bluetooth 4.0 I might add!) and API, Nike turned Austin’s tallest building into a mobile app to track the energy level of the crowd at its Diplo/Sleigh Bells party.

- American Express hosted an exclusive Jay-Z concert to promote its Sync service, which allows cardholders to link their cards to their Twitter accounts to earn discounts. The show took place at the Moody Theater, home of Austin City Limits. Granted, you had to get in line at the crack of dawn to get tickets but I hear it was worth it. Doesn’t get much bolder and got American Express a lot of buzz and good will.

- Kara Swisher rocked her Monday panel, “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Backwards in Heels,” because she injected humor and her personality into her presentation, and she was speaking about a topic she’s passionate about. She does this every day in her writing as well.

Be Human, Be Useful
Some of the most effective campaigns at SXSW were unselfish and helpful for people at the event, leaving a lasting and positive impression with show-goers.

- Instead of offering up music, booze or breakfast tacos (although, do not let me discourage anyone from offering up those wonderful things – very human, very useful , Nokia gave out Lumias to 50 Twitter users as part of its #ijustplantedatree campaign to help rebuild Central Texas after the devastating wildfires last year. The company donated money for 5 trees to be planted every time someone tweeted the hashtag #ijustplantedatree. Thank you Nokia!

- We loved that HBO sponsored a bike share, providing a necessity and, at the same time, moving billboards for its new show Girls (here’s the trailer).

- Mapquest got props for its “Colorado Ranch” offsite hang-out as a relaxed place to connect with Colorado start-ups from Erika Napoletano, author of The Power of Unpopular (which I just started reading, will let you know what I learn) in this Forbes interview.

The biggest FAIL at SXSW this year? Homeless hotspots. Granted it was bold and arguably useful (depending which side of that hotspot you were on) but they overstepped into inhumane territory. I think Jon Stewart said it best last night.

Identity and data protection seem to be odd topics to address at SXSW when it seems like the majority of festival-goers are over-sharing via Twitter, Facebook and the latest and greatest location-based social networking apps. Yet INK client, CSID is speaking on three panels over the course of the conference all dealing with how consumers and businesses can protect critical information like email addresses, passwords and credit card information.

It truly is an interesting topic that addresses an ever-growing problem (data breaches resulting in stolen customer info were at an all-time high last year) with no real solution. If a group with the right skill-set decides to hack your business, there is no stopping them. As a matter of fact, some businesses plan for and act like all their customer information has already been compromised and focus security efforts on confirming the right person is logging in.

The theme of CSID’s three panels is preparedness. As a consumer, preparedness means proactively monitoring your personal information for misuse, keeping an eye on your credit reports and billing statements and using common sense when creating passwords, sharing information and clicking on suspicious links. As a business, preparedness means, among other things, having a crisis communications plan in place that can be rolled out in the event of the breach.

Joe Ross, president of CSID, pontificates to the SXSW crowd

You can learn more about CSID’s three SXSW panels at www.CSID.com. Also, keep an eye on CSID’s blog for summaries of each panel. Lastly, be wary of what information you share during SXSW. You never know where it may end up!

Saturday morning, day 2 (or the first full day 1) of SXSWi. Daughter 1 off to dance class, daughter 2 snuggled in with Dad, I headed downtown for a panel from four leaders of the PR agency world (one being my former boss, Gary Stockman, CEO of Porter Novelli). I was thinking I would hear something about “the changing world of PR” or some other battle lessons learned by the “big guys.” I did not think I would be third in a line of about 50 people waiting to get into an already packed room at 15 minutes till go-time. It became a one-in-one-out situation, but I made it in 5 minutes after start (apparently the guy at the door took pity on me – I *might* have looked ready to cry at the prep I had done to get there and the thought of missing my target). 

Instead of your basic “lessons learned” the panelists critiqued the handling of PR by companies American Airlines, Lowes and Netflix. An interesting approach that kept the audience engaged due to a common experience with each brand, this allowed the panelists to share some broadbased insight. I do believe there was a frustration among the crowd though who thought these brand critiques had nothing at all to do with their business, their start-up. After all, small companies looking to use PR to advance their own brands WAY out number the big brands of the world doing their thing with PR as one tool in their toolbox. 

For those tech start-ups, entreprenuers, and small company owners in the crowd, this is what I heard that can also apply to you: 

- Incorporate communications FROM THE BEGINNING. We are communicating in real time these days – we don’t have the opportunity to react in days or weeks, but rather must do so in minutes or hours. If you know your communication plan, messages, objectives from the start, you’ll be able to move as fast as any news cycle, any crisis, any opportunity that comes your way.

- Talk like humans. This cannot be overstated. Get out of your own head, out of your own bubble, and speak English. This will serve you will no matter your company size, no matter your business. “Tech talk” is REALLY old and overdone. 

- Don’t rely just on mainstream media to tell your story. Find those online influencers (and those real-life influencers in the communities you serve) that will be brand advocates for you. These are people that are passionate about the problem you’re solving, and even if you’re figuring out a bigger badder SQL database, there is a DBA somewhere that is going to be PSYCHED about that. Find him. 

- Integrate your communications. Even for a one-product start-up, this is a necessity. When you launch, you’ll have the press release and the mainstream media coverage, but don’t forget to update your website, email your customers (or potential customers) – hit all of your audiences where they live, all at the same time. 

- Listen, listen, listen. This goes back to getting out of your own bubble a bit, but if you aren’t listening you are not only going to hurt yourself on the communication front, but you might even miss that you’re creating a solution for a problem people don’t think is that big of a deal. Listening will serve you well in all aspects of your business, and communications professionals can help you figure out the best tools. 

- Lastly, be consistent with what you say AND what you do, over time. Perhaps you’ll have an awesome launch with excellent media coverage, but you’ve got to keep up the communication and the engagement on a daily basis to be successful and build a brand that anyone cares about.

You would have to live in a cave to miss the buzz surrounding Austin’s largest social innovation event – SXSW Interactive, currently underway and occupying all of downtown. Gemalto, recognized as a global leader in digital security, is taking on the show for the first time – and definitely making an impact.

Gemalto is hosting the Idea/Next lounge (check out http://www.ideanext-gemalto.com/home for all the details) located in the Hilton, Room 602 for the entirety of the show. Created with the intention to recharge, relax and connect with some of the best and brightest in all things digital security, this lounge has been a hotspot of activity from “coffee with the experts” sessions to Happy hour panels, and even a partnership with local location-based guru Aaron Strout and his Live from Stubbs podcast series (shooting live the next two days in the lounge from 4-5PM).

Nan Edwards, ISIS, on Live from Stubbs podcast

Along with the lounge, Gemalto also sponsored the Big Data track that took place yesterday in the Hilton, and hosted sessions focusing on mobile payments, cloud computing security, enterprise privacy and social networks.  Gemalto expert Jack Jania and Gordon Beatty participated in a panel (to a full house) on what’s next in mobile payments with Chief Marketing Officer Ryan Hughes of ISIS. Gemalto recently a partnership with ISIS, and continues to promote the security behind this launch taking place in Austin this summer. (ISIS is also rocking the house, for lack of a better phrase, at SXSW showcasing their mobile wallet through a cyber illusionist – this guy is amazing!)

Panel room during Gemalto's session.

Even with extremely unpleasant weather the first few days, the Idea/Next lounge continues to be a hotbed of activity and a premiere place where ideas, innovations, and relationships are coming together.  We’re expecting to hear from the best and brightest minds in startup and emerging technologies, and learn about the newest innovations. If you’re attending SXSW – come by and connect (or Kinect, we do have Just Dance available to unwind).

Idea/Next Lounge in full-swing.

Happy South-By from the Gemalto team.

We’ve talked quite a bit about storytelling lately. It’s always been something we pride ourselves on doing well, it’s the essence of what our business is about (“we are professional storytellers in search of the right words and the right audience for your tale of success”), and it’s hard to do well. At SXSW yesterday, it was the topic of a panel attended by INK’s Jessica Warren. One of her tweets from the mouth’s of one of the panelists stuck in my head – “if it doesn’t offend anyone, it’s not going to excite anyone.”

Let that sink in for a second. It’s not saying “if it doesn’t offend anyone, it’s not a good story.” (That was actually what I thought for quite awhile till I read it again.) Stories aren’t stories without confict. The protagonist needs the atagonist, reporters need the good and the bad, no one writes a 100% glowing story on a company. But is conflict offensive? Does the negative always offend someone? And if a creation story (like how Tabbedout was born from the idea that people like founder Rick Orr shoudn’t have to wait an hour for his tab) doensn’t offend someone is it not exciting? I’m sure Tabbedout’s investors would beg to differ.

So perhaps we don’t need to get offensive to tell a good story, but we do need to start doing a better job of telling engaging stories – those that are interesting for both company and customer, that acknowledge the bad just as they herald the good, those that are INTERESTING. From Jessica’s notes of the panel she attended: “I learned that anyone can tell a great and interesting story – even the ‘most boring’ company or topic. It’s just a matter of finding the right audience, the right message, and the right means to tell it.” That’s what we love to do, and are good at doing – lucky for us, and our clients. More on storytelling as it relates to PR – and as it relates to transparency (storytelling ≠ not telling the truth) – tomorrow.

Other stuff we loved (or not) from SXSWi Day One:

- Um, didn’t love the rain. And the cold. And the rain. WTF, it was 80 last week!?! Did love that everyone seemed to bond over how crappy the weather is.

- Loved David Eagleman’s panel The Secret Lives of the Brain. Learned tha almost everything we attribute to cognition is running under the hood, incognito.

- Happy that the green room looks awesome and is so much fun (see Micaela, Allison and Adrienne hamming it up below), and the Gemalto lounge is rocking.

- Who doesn’t love the people watching? And the running into people you never see in Austin? (Hello Walt Mossberg, middle of the hall, and thanks for the big ol’ hug. )

More to come…

Micaela, Allison and Adrienne ham it up in INK green room at SXSWi