Golfer Tiger Woods at press conference 19 February 2010. (Photo courtesy of Getty Images).

Although he waited three months to publicly address the rumors and allegations of marital fidelity, Tiger Woods today set a new Crisis Communications standard for others to follow. (Here’s a link to Tiger’s complete statement.)

Here’s what Tiger did well:

• The press conference was held in a public forum open to the media.
• He controlled the environment (no questions were allowed).
• He admitted his mistakes (he stated clearly the he “was unfaithful”).
• He apologized for his actions — to his wife, family, employees, partners, the PGA, the PGA Commissioner, his fellow golfers and fans.
• He said he was sorry (multiple times).
• He called himself out: “I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules.“
• He called his behavior “irresponsible” and “selfish.”
• He explained that he has been in “in-patient therapy” receiving treatment (treatment that he will return to tomorrow).
• He chastized the paparazzi for chasing his kids and the media for disclosing the location of his 2 1/2-year-old daughter’s school.
• He also strongly stated that his wife Elin had “never hit” him on “that night or any other night” — that “There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever” — and that “Elin deserves praise, not blame.”
• He strongly denied allegations of using performance-enhancing drugs.
• And he asked that someday those who had believed in him in the past “to one day believe in me again.“

Here’s what Tiger did NOT do well:

• He waited almost two months before addressing the public and media.

That’s it, seriously. I think he did quite well today.

Now . . . the proof will be in the pudding:

1. How long before Tiger plays golf again professionally? (If he plays in the Masters, will today’s apology be seen as sincere? Does he need to take all of 2010 off from golf? Personally, I think not, but that’s me.)
2. Will he and Elin be able to reconcile?
3. Will Tiger be able to stay faithful? {Hopefully, he understands that he now has a Gary Hart-like target taped squarely on his back and journalists of all types will be looking to catch him straying again.}
4. Will he do anything to try and provide a level of public restitution, a penance if you will, such as a donation to a non-profit that supports abandoned wives and families?

But these questions and more are queries for the future.

For now, I believe that Tiger Woods (and his public relations team) have set a new standard for issuing a public apology in a Crisis Communications setting.

Interestingly, it didn’t hit me until two days ago that I needed to make changes to all of my various public Internet-based profiles (and biographies) to accurately reflect my new reality. Which leads to the point of this blog post:

When was the last time you reviewed and/or updated your public profiles (and/or bios)?

For me, it had been WAY TOO LONG.

In taking a personal accounting, I realized I’ve got profiles on

• Facebook,
• LinkedIn,
• Plaxo,
• Google,
• Flickr,
• Twitter, and (of course)

on two blogs/Websites:

• Politis Communications, and
• The Betty Factor.

So I’ve now started that process (as shown in the photo above), and I plan to spend this morning reviewing and updating ALL of my public profiles/biographies.

And if you haven’t done so lately, I recommend you do the same:

Review and update each of your public profiles and biographies today.

I’m going to add this as a once-a-quarter task to my calendar to make sure I stay on top of this task in the future. I hope you do so too.

This is how I feel about Intuit's decision to NOT have QuickBooks payroll customer service reps available the weekend before W-2 forms have to be filed.

But that’s apparently NOT how Intuit feels (NASDAQ: INTU) because their Payroll Support team is  ONLY available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 6p.m. (PST).

Most of the time, that’s probably adequate. BUT employers have to file/distribute W-2 forms on/before February 1 (that’s this coming Monday).

So I’ve been messing around with Quicken/QuickBooks for the better part of four hours now, been on the phone with Intuit customer support reps in India three times today, only to finally be told they can’t help me. I’ll need to call back on Monday morning when the Payroll Customer support group is working. AAAAAARGGGHHHH!!!!!

To the credit of the supervisor I spoke to in India, he did suggest I call at 8 a.m. (PST) on Monday as that’s a time with very little call volume. And to be honest, I appreciate that suggestion.

But with an IRS-imposed deadline looming and QuickBooks failing me (at least when it comes to accessing, preparing and printing W-2 forms today), I have one thing to day to Intuit management:

What in the heck were you thinking? The one customer support group who can handle specific issues is closed at the very time when your customers HAVE TO use a specific portion of your products. What a bone-headed decision!!!!

In case you were not clear on the point, I am NOT HAPPY WITH INTUIT right now!

UGH, UGH, UGH!

FAIL, FAIL, FAIL!!!!!!

Intuit DEFINITELY wins a Sad Betty Award over this approach to customer service.

The Apple iPad (photo courtesy of iLounge)

Within minutes of the official disclosure of the iPad name, the first negative missives began to hit the Internet, equating the term “pad” within iPad to a feminine hygiene napkin.

Soon the term iTampon began appearing on Twitter, with many tweets chastising Apple’s public relations and marketing department for not contemplating that at least some women might be offended with the iPad name. Other tweets provided indecorous comparisons between a feminine pad, the iPad and a tampon — hence, the emergence of the mocking, farcical term: iTampon.

In fact, by 4:30 p.m. (PST), iTampon had supplanted iPad in microblog posts on Twitter and had become the No. 2 “Currently Trending” term on Twitter (according to Tweetstats).

Look, it’s bad enough that my wife makes me buy feminine hygiene products for her and our girls at the grocery store. But iPad?!?! Are you kidding me?

I’m surprised someone inside of Apple’s distortion reality field didn’t stand up and say,

“Steve, ya know, half of the potential customers for this product might think of a sanitary napkin when they hear the name iPad.”

But maybe that’s just me. Am I off base here or not?

I think not. I’m convinced Apple made a major PR faux pas with the iPad name, a real marketing blunder.

That’s why I’m giving Apple a “Sad Betty Award” for launching this new product as the iPad.

Last thought. Expect the late night hosts to start joking about the iPad as early as tonight, but no later than tomorrow for sure!

If you’re in the public relations, marketing, investor relations and/or strategic communications world, perhaps you’ve already asked yourself these or similar questions. I know I have.

The snap answer, of course,  is to write. I’ve heard and read that answer more than 100 times — “If you want to be a better writer then you have to write.”

Okay, duh! But in my experience writing alone is not enough, especially if you’re not a particularly good writer to begin with.

I believe that the most important part of improving your skills as a writer, to becoming a better writer, is to have a good editor (or a good teacher, as the case may be).

In other words, I want someone who is better than me looking over my metaphorical shoulder prompting, prodding and pointing out specific examples of how and where I can improve my writing.

This point was brought back home to me this morning when a long-time friend asked me to review something he had written, and for the record, he told me I could “let him have it from every angle.” So here, in part, is what I wrote to my friend.

•  
  • new,
  • unexpected,
  • controversial,
  • insightful,
  • thought-provoking or
  • out-of-the-ordinary.

Are the items I mention above hard and fast rules? Of course not.

But I know they helped me to become a better writer - that and having a good editor.

Betty Mann (of "The Betty Factor" fame)

Betty Benton Mann, my 83-year-old mother-in-law and the inspiration behind The Betty Factor, died in her sleep early Friday morning, December 4, 2009 of health matters incident to old age and having her gall bladder removed earlier in the week.

Here is a copy of her obituary.

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After 83 wonderful years on earth, Betty Benton Mann returned home to her Father-in-Heaven, the Savior, Jesus Christ, many loving family members and friends, and her beloved husband, Ray, on December 4, 2009, nearly two years to the day after Ray’s passing.

Born July 3, 1926 in Boise, Idaho to Mamie Thompson and Otto G. Benton, Betty was the fifth of nine children. She was raised in Boise, Twin Falls, Idaho and Redondo Beach, California.

From the day she first walked herself to services as a young child, Betty was a devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). As a teenager, she was president of her ward Golden Gleaner organization and helped plan and run the first ever LDS Youth Conference in southern California.

After graduating from Redondo Union High School, she moved to North Salt Lake to help her oldest sister, Wanda, care for her children, and it was there that she met her future husband, Ray Elwood Mann.

Betty and Ray were married in the Salt Lake Temple of the LDS church on May 4, 1948. They settled in Bountiful, Utah where they raised three daughters and two sons, while she also worked as a dental assistant for many years. Betty was active in the PTA in Bountiful where she ran the Halloween Carnival for three years and served as PTA president for two year.

After their youngest children graduated from high school in 1975, Betty and Ray spent an adventurous year in 1976 in West Germany for Ray’s employer, Chicago Bridge & Iron. The next year, Ray was transferred to world headquarters in Chicago where they lived until 1984. During their time in Naperville, Illinois, Betty filled an eight-year volunteer assignment with LDS Social Services working with out-of-wedlock mothers, including service as a counselor to birth mothers and transporting newborns to adoptive parents. She also served for a time as a member of the Relief Society presidency in the Glenbard Ward in Illinois.

Betty and Ray moved to Sandy, Utah in 1984 where they made their home for the rest of their lives. In Sandy, Betty served for 18 years in the LDS church’s Data Entry Program in the Canyon View Stake. She and Ray also served a one-year LDS Service Mission in 1994 near Bakersfield, California for the Home Management Department.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, five siblings, her husband, and one son, Clyde. She is survived by four children, Linda, Pam (Harold) Egginton, Todd, and Allisha (David) Politis; 18 grandchildren (evenly divided between boys and girls); and 14 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held at Mountain View Mortuary at 3115 East 7800 South in Cottonwood Heights, Utah from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tues., Dec. 8, 2009. The funeral will be held at the same location at 11 a.m. on Wed., Dec. 9, preceded by an additional viewing from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Interment, on site, will follow immediately after the funeral.

The family extends its heartfelt thanks and admiration for all of the fantastic doctors and medical providers who worked with Betty in addressing her health concerns during the past few years. In addition, Betty (and Ray) loved living at South Towne Ranch in Sandy, Utah where they made many wonderful friends.

Betty had a sharp mind and wit her entire life, and she loved studying the gospel of Jesus Christ and learning about LDS church history. She was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend, and although she will be missed, we are happy she has “graduated” from this life to be reunited with her husband and best friend, Ray.

Goodbye for now, Betty.

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Although we had some initial son-in-law / mother-in-law challenges early in the 28 years of our relationship, we both grew to love and respect each other over time, and I’m grateful Allisha and I were able to have both Betty and Ray live so close by as we raised our five children.

She was a good person and taught me much, not the least of which was to always remember to work and work and work to make sure what I wrote could be easily understood by anyone, even my mother-in law.

To that end, I will always use the phrase “The Betty Factor” as a shorthand reminder of that lesson. I will also keep this blog alive in her honor and as a way of continuing to teach about the importance of keeping all marketing messages simple and on-point.

Thank you, Betty, and for now, goodbye. 

Well . . . we’re still at it and we’re now at 50 tips (and counting).

They cover a whole raft of topics, ranging from media relations to news releases and from research tips to social media / social networking.

Enjoy!

Today’s blog post by Brian Solis (”The Competition for Your Social Graph“) got me thinking:

• Do I use more than one social network?
• And if so, why?
• And if you don’t, “Why don’t you?”

When I was growing up in San Carlos, California, my best friend was Alan Daines. Not only were we best buds, but Alan was unique among my friends in that he could bat and throw with both hands. By definition that means that Alan was ambidextrous (or could use both hands equally well).

Alan was a lefty by birth, so he ended up playing first base for the San Carlos High School Dons. But he also taught himself to first bat righthanded, and then to throw righthanded as well. Man, that was cool!

After a lot of work I learned how to bat lefthanded; but throwing? Nah, that was another matter.

I’m Not Socially Ambidextrous - I’m Actually Socially Multidextrous

When it comes to my use of social networks and social media, however, it turns out that I’m socially multidextrous. By this I mean that I’m not dedicated to using one social network, tool, service or media to the exclusion of others. No, I actually use multiple social networks/media/services/tools, and sometimes I use more than one at the same time.

My first exposure to social networking was MySpace. I signed up years ago because we were trying to get my daughter, Melea, into the entertainment industry as a singer. (Tough, tough world, by the way.)

Today I visit/use MySpace rarely as I find its focus on music and entertainment to be overrun with skanks, ho’s and people typically interested in their next hookup. (No thank you.)

Facebook, however, is another thing. I now visit nearly every day and use it for both professional and personal networking and staying connected.

Twitter is the same for me. I use it almost every day, especially through HootSuite (which has some great tools for managing URL shortening and providing stats on people who click through URLs you embed into tweets).

I also use two business-focused social networks: LinkedIn and Plaxo. Of the two I like and use LinkedIn the most, although I really like the ability within Plaxo to send e-Birthday cards to my friends.

I also use a number of other social media/network tools/services, depending upon what it is I’m trying to do that day, especially services and tools tied to Twitter. Of these, I probably use

• HootSuite,
• TweetChat, and
• Hashtags

the most.

Why I Use Multiple Social Networks, Media, Services and/or Tools

What works for me is using different social networks, media, services and tools for different purposes.

For example, I use Facebook (in part) because it’s so dang big — more than 300 million members at last count. That’s a massive potential marketplace, and we advise ALL of our clients to use and be on Facebook.

I also use FB because it allows people to create and post multiple types of content onto their “Walls,” profiles and other users’ Walls, especially longer posts/content. This can be a good thing (if not used to excess).

Additionally, I have the ability to filter who is actively following (or Friending) me on Facebook. That can be important from a “noise” standpoint.

The microblogging service Twitter, on the other hand, is great for instantaneous, short messages, which makes sense since you are limited to a total of 140 characters max on Twitter.

(NOTE: If you want others to retweet, or re-post/re-tweet, what you’ve written, however, I’ve found it’s best to keep your Twitter posts/tweets to around 120 characters instead of using all 140. People are less likely to shorten your tweets this way.)

I also like the fact that I can “legally” have more than one Twitter account (as per Twitter’s Terms of Service). {You’re not supposed to do that on Facebook, with the exception of having a FB profile and a FB Fan Page.}

Ergo, I currently have one main Twitter account that I use most of the time (@dpolitis), but I also have several other Twitter accounts that come into play depending upon my particular area of interest or need.

LinkedIn, however, is all about business and networking for business purposes, and I use it as such. (And to be honest, I use LinkedIn a LOT more than I use Plaxo for two reasons:

1. LinkedIn has more than twice as many users as Plaxo (50MM+ vs. 20MM+), and
2. I get fewer random (read spammy) connection requests on LinkedIn vs. Plaxo.

And then as I wrote above, I use other social services and tools based upon what they allow me to do, especially with other social networks and media.

So . . . how about you?

• Do you use social networks/services/media/tools for your marketing and sales efforts?
• And if not, why not?
• And if so, which one(s) do you use the most (and why)?
• Or are you socially ambidextrous? (Do you have two favorite social networks you use all the time?)
• Or . . . are you really socially multidextrous, using multiple social networks/media/tools/services to engage with your customers, partners, investors, etc., all in the name of selling more products and services?

Tell me what you’re doing with social networks (and why) by posing your comment below. Thanks.

But I started a little effort a few months ago on the Politis Communications Website called Politis PR Tips. And I’ve now got 35 different tips published there.

Not a ton, but not insignificant either.

Topics covered so far range from writing tips and ideas to research recommendations, and from social media/networking suggestions to etiquette rules.

Anyway, I hope you’ll check ‘em out the Politis PR Tips, and maybe you’ll even find one or two tips useful. 

In fact, a quick search of Google news for the terms “chamber commerce climate change” (not inside quotation marks) finds several hundred news stories on the subject.

The event was staged at the National Press Club (in Washington, D.C.) by an activist organization that calls itself the “Yes Men,” and it’s a group that has punked the news media before. As reported in the New York Times, the fake press conference also featured fake journalists and fake press materials designed to look as if they were produced on Chamber of Commerce materials. And a number of major news outlets were fooled by the hoax, notably CNBC and Reuters (both of which later corrected and retracted their stories).

However, lost in all the hubub, hoopla and news coverage about the hoax is one critical point: I’m convinced that the Yes Men organization have also attacked and hurt the integrity of the National Press Club. Call it another example of the Rule of Unintended Consequences.

Certainly there are widespread examples of biased news organizations or media outlets that lean one political direction or the other. I get that, and I hope that most people are savvy enough to understand this fact too.

Regardless of one’s viewpoint on any subject (including climate change), the United States of America was founded on several key principles, one of which is freedom of the press.

The National Press Clubbills itself as “The World’s Leading Professional Organization for Journalists,” and none other than noted CBS commentator, Eric Sevareid called the NPC the “sanctum sanctorum of American journalists.”

By choosing to hold its fake news conference at the National Press Club, the Yes Men organization have besmirched the good name and integrity of the National Press Club.

Please note that I am NOT suggesting that the Yes Men were wrong to stage a fake press conference. I’m only suggesting it should not have been held at the National Press Club.

And for that, I bestow a Sad Betty Award on the Yes Men for choosing to stage their PR hoax at the National Press Club. 

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P.S.  To get a sense of what happened during the press conference when it was interrupted by a real representative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, you might check out this YouTube video. It’s about six minutes long.

Although I’ve always been a pretty active guy for most of my life, I finally decided about a month ago to stop fighting reality — the reality that I have a runner’s body, a runner’s physique. Heck, when I got married nearly 28 years ago, I was 5′10″ and weighed 125 lbs. Seriously! Looking at my old pictures, I now see that I was almost as skinny/emaciated as a Kenyan marathon runner. And back in 1981 when I got married, I was training to run in the Deseret News Marathon, so guess what? Yup. I looked like a marathoner!

Today, I average about 175 lbs., but I now acknowledge I’m not a weight lifter, I’m never gonna be a mixed martial artist or hold a black belt, and although I like cycling, I’m really not a cycling enthusiast per sé.

No, when it comes to getting and staying in shape, my best bet is running. And for as long as I can lace up the shoes and put one foot in front of the other without my knees giving out, I’ve decided that I’m gonna run.

So . . . four weeks ago I started on this new journey. My initial goal? Four to six days a week (depending upon what’s going on in my life), morning runs preferred, starting at 20 minutes per outing Week 1 when I walked for five minutes then jogged for five minutes, walked for five, ran for five.

I’m now running 30 minutes at a time, and I’ve already run four times this week. And although I’m slow as molasses (let’s just say I have yet to break a 10-minute mile on this go-round), I am getting faster and my overall fitness level is improving. How do I know?

Well, 51bpm is part of that answer. During my runs I find that I’m in the range of 160 beats per minute, sometimes a little higher, sometimes a little lower. But five minutes after running my heart rate drops down to the 110bpm range, and within 15 to 20 minutes after running, I’m down in the 80bpm to 70bpm range.

I’m also seeing improvements in general muscle tone, as well as on the bathroom scales, as I’m noticing my weight creaping down closer and closer to the 170 lb. range.

My Running Background

My first experience with running came when I was in high school and got my arm twisted by a neighbor to join the wrestling team. He was good at wrestling; I never was.

But since wrestling involved up to three rounds per match and potentially 9 straight minutes of non-stop grappling, our coach felt that one of the best ways to build aerobic endurance was running. Unfortunately, San Carlos High School was perched halfway up the coastal mountain range bordering San Carlos, so we ran cross country-like routes all over the place, both on streets and on trails, typically 3-4 miles at a pop, five days a week. Soon, I hated running.

My next real experience with running was while attending Brigham Young University when I decided in early 1981 that it would be fun to run a marathon. Yeah, 26.2 miles.

Truth of the matter was I got to the point that I actually enjoyed running. At the height of my training, I was running six days a week and alternating between running six to eight miles per day. And somewhere around mile four to mile five, the endorphins kicked in and I felt like I could just run and run. That was cool!

About five days before July 24th(race day, a state holiday here in Utah known as Pioneer Day), I ran an 18-mile carbohydrate depletion run during the middle of the day with no problems on one of the hottest days of the year. I even attended a Preference Dance that evening with my soon-to-be wife, Allisha. Again, no problems.

However, I did not appreciate how bowed the roads were leading up to and back down from Little Mountain in Salt Lake City, and during the race I ran on the right edge of the road heading up the Little Mountain road, which meant my right foot/ankle were constantly rolling from left to right under growing pressure. About six miles into the marathon I began to develop serious pain in my right foot, pain that only grew the further I ran. After 16 miles I could barely walk and dropped out of the race, only to ingloriously throw-up near the finish line. How embarrassing!

The only redeeming point after the fact was having a doctor examine my x-rays and state authoritatively that I had suffered a stress fracture and to stop running for at least a month. Unfortunately, I did and I haven’t been a consistent runner ever since.

Running and Marketing Comparisons

So what does all of this have to do with marketing, let alone The Betty Factor? Let’s see if I can draw some parallels.

1.     You have to start.

The only way to gain the benefits of running is to actually start running, placing one foot in front of the other. The same is true of marketing (whatever aspect of the marketing mix you’re considering). If you never begin a marketing campaign, you can NEVER gain the benefits of a marketing campaign. Sounds simple, and it is, but it’s still true.

2.     Start with simple goals.

My first short-term goal was being able to run 20 minutes without stopping (or having a heart attack). This was a very specific and measurable goal, and I’ve now achieved this goal. I also wanted to lower my resting heart rate. That meant starting out knowing what my resting heart rate was before I started running (it was about 70bpm). Today, my first thing in the morning best resting bpm is 51 beats per minute. In marketing, you also need to set goals/objectives. I recommend little goals to start with, then advancing from there.

3.     Monitor/analyze your progress.

Improvement in running is IMPOSSIBLE unless you are taking and monitoring key measurements: heart rate while running, resting heart rate, time per mile, etc. The same is true in marketing. It is impossible to know if you are improving or reaching your goals/objectives if you to NOT measure and analyze your progress.

4.     Some progress is still progress.

Sometimes when running, improvements take time, sometimes more time than we expected or want. That’s okay: some progress is better than none. Besides, some progress is still progress. The same is also true in marketing — it’s often hard to see immediate progress or the progress may not match expected outcomes. If this is the case,

• give your marketing time to work,
• be patient, and
• evaluate what you’re doing and the results you’re achieving, and if necessary, modify your marketing regimen.

5.     Modifying your efforts can improve results.

As alluded to in #4 above, sometimes you may find that you’ve hit a plateau when running or exercising. The same might also be true in your marketing efforts. If this is the case, try modifying your efforts to help you break through to the next level of results. For example, if you find that you’ve hit a wall and can’t run any faster, try some speed work.

For example, run the same distance or same length of time, but twice a week, run normal speed for a set distance or time, then run at a faster rate for the same distance or time, and alternate this effort throughout your workout. Done consistently, this farklet (or “speed play”) training will help boost your overall ability to process oxygen or maximum aerobic capacity (aka VO2 Max). Playing around with your marketing mix, always testing new variables to see if a higher result can be generated is a great way to maximize marketing outputs.

6.     Extend/expand your goals as you achieve success.

As mentioned above, I’m now at 30 minutes per run. But my new goal is 45 minutes per run. And once I achieve that goal, I’ll set a new running goal altogether. Newer goals that expand the reach/potential of a marketing program are critical for success.

7.     Go public with your efforts.

As a social media maven, I’ve been quite public about my efforts at running. I’ve also found great support from within my networks for my efforts to get back into running. I’ve also entered my first race in nearly 30 years, the 2009 BYU Homecoming Cougar Run, a 5K (five-kilometer race), something that I’m also being public about, both here and in other forums. The point is this: Telling other people, including competitors what it is you’re doing is a good thing as it publicly forces you to acknowledge your goals/objectives/efforts. It also gives you a venue for disclosing why you’re doing what you’re doing.  

Conclusion

Naturally there are other comparisons that can be drawn between running and marketing, but I suspect these will suffice for now.

My final thought on the subject is this: If you’re not exercising today, start immediately, even if it’s only taking a walk around the block once a week (for starters). Twenty minutes per day for three days a week is a great starter program.

Ergo, consider a similar approach when it comes to marketing and the marketing communications mix.

In a nutshell, the New Century Scholarship is available to any high school student in Utah. The requirements: Concurrently enroll in college while attending high school and amass enough college credits while still in high school to obtain an associate’s degree before leaving high school and officially entering college.

In return, the state agreed to pay 75 percent of the cost of college tuition at any state-owned college/university in Utah to complete one’s bachelor’s degree. (The scholarship would also cover up to 75 percent of the cost to attend either of the two largest private institutions in Utah: Westminster College or Brigham Young University.)

DISCLOSURE: Our two youngest kids are both on the Concurrent Enrollment track, with Jon days away from (hopefully) completing the requirements for his associate’s degree and qualifying for the New Century Scholarship.

This summer, in response to slipping tax revenue and growing participation in the New Century Scholarship program, the Utah Board of Regents cut the funding amount for the 2009-2010 year to 40 percent and 25 percent for the 2010-2011 school year (with no guarantee of funding after 2010-2011).

Enter Facebook into the fray.  

On August 6, 2009, Seth Burdette (a recent Olympus High School graduate started a Fan page on Facebook titled “We’re NOT okay with New Century and Regent Scholarship Cuts!!!’s.” Seth’s first Wall posting read:

Now . . . less than two weeks, 129 Wall postings and 1,300+ Fans later, enough pressure has been exerted on elected officials and appointed bureaucrats in Utah that the $1.5 million necessary to fund the promised 75 percent funding for the 2009-2010 school year for students already in the New Century Scholarship program. For the record, no such promise has been given for years beyond the coming educational calendar year.

[For additional background, please read "Lawmakers restore New Century scholarships."]

My Takeaways on the New Century Scholarship Funding Debacle

I’m not going to get all overly dramatic here; I’m simply gonna share a few opinions.

1. You must track social networking/media chatter. Companies, organizations and individuals that do NOT keep track about what’s being written/said about themselves on social networks do so at their own peril.
2. You have to be an active participant in social networks and a user of social media tools and/or services be a “part of the conversation.” (There is no way to share your thoughts, comments, opinions, etc. if you’re not even using said networks, tools or services to begin with.)
3. Remember, one high school graduate squeezed $1.5 million out of Utah’s coffers. All it took was a Facebook account, spare time and less than two weeks. All done by a kid who’s barely out of high school! In fact, it doesn’t even look like he shaves yet! 

PREDICTION: Social networking/media campaigns envisioned, created, launched and managed by average citizens will become the norm more and more each day. Brands and professional communicators must be aware of this coming social networking/media tsunami lest they be swept away in the coming floods.

Good for you, Seth! Wanna job?

P.S. One of the smart things Seth did was enclose the email addresses for each state legislator on the Fan Page, along with an invitation to “. . . flood their inbox with our complaints!” OUCH - Looks like it worked!

This fun, funny, heart-warming and life-reaffirming film covers the yearlong journey of discovery young wife Julie Powell takes as she sets out to produce in 365 days the 536 recipes found in Julia Child’s cooking tome: Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

For the record, it was a completely delightful movie (yeah, not necessarily a very manly adjective to use to describe a film, but apropos nonetheless), and I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

What I especially liked about Julie & Julia was that I walked out of the theatre feeling energized and hopeful about life and convinced more than ever that I made a wonderful decision nearly 28 years ago in choosing to marry the young lady who has since become my best friend.

Julie & Julia also reminded me once again of the importance of the career-choosing message I learned from Mormon educator and philosopher, Truman Madsen, when he delivered a brown bag luncheon presentation in the Wilkinson Center at Brigham Young University many, many years ago:

1. Choose something you’re good at.
2. Choose something you enjoy.
3. Choose a career you can support your family with while making a difference in the world.

Turns out my best grades as a directionless sophomore/junior were in Mass Communications, which also happened to be the classes I enjoyed the most. And now, close to 30 years later, I am deep into a career that spans more than 25 years and regularly finds me helping clients of all types successfully

• deploy public relations campaigns,
• unleash social media programs,
• support stock valuations, and
• sell more goods and services.

As it turns out, I ab-so-lute-ly love what I do! And I am blessed beyond measure by the good Lord above with several gifts that make me quite good at this career.

Which brings me to the point of today’s blog post.

It’s hard to imagine, but it’s now been more than four months (April 11, 2009) since I’ve written anything new on The Betty Factor. Four months! UGH!

Naturally, April 11 is just about the same time that Politis Communications lost two clients and saw a third client cut its PR budget by two-thirds. Yes, it was awful. Although we had been holding on through the toughest economic downturn that this country has seen since the Great Depression, it’s been a hard couple of months, culminating with the tough decision to let three employees at the end of June (2 full-time and 1 part-time).

As a result, I’ve focused almost all of my professional efforts of late on pursuing prospective new clients. And I’m grateful to say that we’ve been fortunate to land a couple of new projects recently and appear to be on the verge of landing several contracts as well, which is great!

Nevertheless, to circle back to Julie & Julia for a moment, watching that movie also reminded me how much I love writing. It’s been in my blood ever since I was in the 3rd Grade and wrote a take-off on Creature from the Black Lagoon, that campy 1954 SciFi/Horror flick I first watched in the early 60s.

I’ve also been reminded recently how much I enjoy getting down in the trenches to work with clients, craft strategic plans, roll out campaigns, pitch story ideas to journalists, and see concepts become reality.

That said, I feel re-energized and I am recommitting to write regularly here within the four digital walls of TheBettyFactor.com.

I don’t plan to write every day, and I suspect I will mostly be writing after hours or on the weekends, but I am going to write. And I’m going to do so about my professional passions, especially as it relates to the premise of The Betty Factor — identifying and writing about the best and worst examples I can find from all areas of marketing and marketing communications.

That’s it. Thanks for reading.

And if you haven’t seen it yet, I do recommend Julie & Julia.

David

P.S.  Anyone out there looking for great PR, IR and/or marketing communications consulting and/or services, feel free to contact me at dpolitis@politis.com, 801-523-3730 xt. 11, or 801-556-8184(cell). I’d love to visit. 

This morning, I saw some interesting stats on Twitter and other services like Facebook and MySpace. Make no mistake, these new online services are growing like wildfire, but is that enough of an indicator to make these the silver bullet that saves PR or becomes the new default means of communication with audiences?

Personally, I don’t think so.

I think being in the tech industry causes me to forget there is a world of non-techies out there, services like Twitter and so forth become a sort of echo chamber, or, as Plato might put it, the “cave.” (My dad is one of these non-techies, for years he had an Instamatic camera that he never used, and recently I suggested he use an RSS reader to get news from his favorite car blogs, his response, “not right now, maybe later.”) So it should come as no surprise when research indicates that while Twitter is growing like wildfire, it is still not being adopted on a massive consumer scale.

Which leads me to my point, I think, when planning a campaign, what should we focus on? Do we want to wow our client with the newest, latest and greatest technologies, or do we want to use the tried and true methods tools that have gotten the job done for years. I think there are advantages both ways. As PR peeps, should we be agents of change, forcing the market to adapt to us by adopting Twitter and other new fandangled online tools, or should we go to where the audiences are? How do we measure our audiences? Is it quantity or quality?

These are all good questions, that good PR people should be asking themselves as they play their next PR campaigns.

I think these tools are great and have helped me land coverage in some good publications for my clients. I have also learned a lot, been informed of world events and what some of my fellow twitterers are doing at all hours of the day. But, and this is a big but, let’s keep this in perspective. Twitter is a tactic, heck!, most of these new tools on the Internet are tactics, and part of a bigger online strategy, and as with most everything in our lives, as part of our campaigns, these tools should be balanced (moderation ring a bell to anyone?).

So, be wise, be prudent, be realistic, and for our clients’ sake, let’s come out of the cave and look around, I think we’ll be surprised.

MacFarquhar is an American New York Times correspondent who reports on the lower-profile areas of the Middle East. Serious injuries he sustained in a bike accident in downtown New York City keep him from the war zones he used to cover. MacFarquhar now mostly writes about political and cultural complexities of the Middle East outside of the typical conflicts covered by U.S. media. His reporting and his book, “The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday,” are about Middle Eastern customs, everything from pop stars to humorous fatwas (religious rulings)  to Arabs’ and Iranians’ concerns about the region’s future.

Hizbollah took notice of MacFarquhar’s reporting style. Since 2003, MacFarquhar has received birthday messages from Hizbollah’s media relations department that include greetings such as, “I wish all the joy your heart can hold, all the smiles a day can bring, all the blessings life unfold.”

This story reminds me that the road of media relations isn’t one way. Hizbollah sends MacFarquar birthday cards presumably because it wants to encourage him to continue reporting the way he does. MacFarquar uses these kinds of interactions to present readers a perspective on Middle Eastern culture beyond its instances of militancy. PR people communicate to the media to ensure messages about their organization are presented accurately and fairly. Journalists, in turn, have the responsibility to write the complete story and trust the information the PR professionals provide. MacFarquhar’s perspective on the Middle East seems to complete some of the region’s untold story.

Listen to NPR’s interview with MacFarquhar.

In August 2008, Audi leased billboard space at the busy intersection of Santa Monica and Beverly Glen Boulevards in Los Angeles. The advertisement for the entirely new Audi A4 called out BMW to make the next move. So, how did Santa Monica BMW respond?

I’ve never doled out a Happy Betty Award before, but I think it’s about time. Well done, BMW. Well done.

Do post pictures and tons of them at that. Use photos to convince me this house is a must-see.

Do host an open house. Actually, feel free to host several. Last weekend I may have been out of town or busy; please give me another chance to see your house (especially if I am looking without an agent).

Do clean your property before I come to visit. Even though we are all human, it is hard for me to imagine my future in the midst of your morning dishes and last week’s dirty laundry.

Do resist the urge to post multiple “for sale” signs in your yard. People will get the idea you are selling just as effectively with one sign. As a side note, current record=6.

Do use the classified section. Free and paid. I found my last two apartments cruising through Craigslist and KSL. I have seen three houses I found through the classified section of the local paper.

Do spend the time and money to make minor repairs. I may love the house, but if I see a leaky toilet I will assume things under the surface are worse.

Do fool me into thinking you are a pet-less and non smoking homeowner. As a woman with serious allergies, I don’t think this one needs any further explanation.

Do leave the house when you have a showing. Buyers feel awkward opening cupboards and walking in bedrooms if you are lingering close by.

Do use a blog, facebook or twitter to market and harness the power of “your people.” (See great example here)

Do hire a professional. Especially in hard times, you need an experienced agent on your side to get the job done. Plus, I love the MLS listings.

Any others? What have I missed?

Then I asked myself, “well, what’s ‘free’ anyway?” I mean, it’s not really for free. They are selling online ads, but online don’t sell for near as much as the ads that run in the hard copy publications (which I don’t really understand since online ads, in my opinion, have an easier time getting someone to act since the action is merely a click!) so the publications aren’t making near as much as they used to. Coupled with what we know about the current economy, traditional media is losing money hand-over-fist, at least that’s what the reports say.

Enter Google and Craigslist. Google aggregates the news of the day and makes it searchable–from the news outlets that let their news be searched. Craigslist gives away something that newspapers used to make a ton of money off of: classifieds. According to a great story from The Atlantic, titled “When No News is Bad News,” even though “The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune are among those organizations that have spent many millions of dollars covering the Iraq War, with each outlet paying for multiple reporters, translators, full-time drivers, guards, bullet-proof armored cars, year-round office space, office managers, and security consultants with intelligence backgrounds to provide threat assessments. And all of them give that work away for free online.”

Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it? Or at least it should. Again, free is an interesting term, but the newspapers aren’t (usually) charging a subscription fee for the articles the same way they do to deliver it to your house, but they also aren’t paying for printing and distribution.

I can’t help but wonder what IS actually killing the newspaper industry? Classifieds seems like a bigger one than giving the content away online, but then I think they need to charge more for advertising online–a place where measurement is actually easier. And if newspapers can’t figure out how to measure the online viewership they need to look at companies like Omniture, which produces online metrics to see how people get to a site, what they do once there, and where they go after (in the simplest terms possible).

In Dowd’s column Eric Schmidt, Google’s CEO, says that for newspapers to get out of this mess, they need to “…invent a new product. That’s the way Google thinks. Incumbents very seldom invent the future.” Seems logical, but I see one problem with it: The “incumbents” haven’t invented much new about their service since the first paper was produced.

My solution is two fold. The industry as a whole needs to come together to find a solution that ALL agree on, and then follow it. That, or they need to hire some of the top minds from Google and find a better solution. What say you?

I recently came across a great editorial in BusinessWeek by Steve McKee,  president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, about a marketing tactic commonly referred to as “public relations” (PR). I say that with a little tongue-in-cheek since I happen to work in the profession, and since this blog is contributed to by PR pros, or at least those associated with the field.

So why the sarcasm? Mostly because I love it when folks from the advertising world come down to our level to recognize the true value of PR. Those of us who work in the industry already know that you can’t put a price on an article or mention in a top tier publication, or even a well-targeted publication that suits your clients needs. However, most people completely misunderstand what PR is; how it functions; why do it; and perhaps most importantly, how to gain value for your product/company/service/etc. from using it.

Perhaps the key difference is summed up in this quote taken from the article: “But let’s face it—advertising is expensive. While the current economic situation has brought some temporary relief from relentless media inflation, buying space and time isn’t cheap. You get what you pay for with advertising, but if you want a lot it will cost a lot.”

He then went on to say, “Not so with PR. While it is possible for any publicity campaign to fall flat, the right story told at the right time in the right way can bring powerful and valuable attention to your business far in excess of what you spend to develop it. Especially in light of the second trend forever changing the news business: complexity.”

However, he saves the best remarks for last (fine, I work for a PR or marketing communications agency, so I’m biased. That said, I actually believe the best way to achieve positive results with any PR campaign is to have someone in-house providing strategic oversight to an agency. But most agencies are capable of running the campaign entirely as well), at least in my completely biased opinion.

In closing he added, “If you feel the need, ask a PR practitioner for help. The best PR pros will tell you the truth about your stories—more than once I’ve been told that some idea I’ve come up with would appeal to my mother and few others. That’s no fun to hear, but if tough love protects my company’s credibility with the press, it’s worth it.

“The world of the news media is continually changing, and the sooner you get started with a smart, disciplined PR program, the sooner you can enjoy its benefits. It doesn’t cost a lot of money and it need not cost a lot of time. All it takes is thoughtfulness and a commitment to respecting both journalists and the audiences they serve.”

Amen to that.

The greatest irony from the article–and perhaps why I love it so much–PR was used to garner the spot for the article in BusinessWeek. Someone had to pitch an editor at BusinessWeek on the idea behind this column. Great use of PR to prove a point about PR. Another good read from BusinessWeek on a similar subject, “Effective PR on a Limited Budget.”

Anyone have any other examples they care to share?

“Advertising Builds Confidence for Financial Brands in Crisis, Nielsen IAG Study Finds.”

In a nutshell, 55 percent of the study respondents said they had “complete confidence in the financial health and soundness” of  their banks, insurance companies and investment firms IF “they had seen more advertising for their financial institution” during the previous six months.

This is a very exciting finding! I especially think it’s cool news for those in the advertising and marketing fields, especially since one of the main advantages of advertising is that you can completely control the content, delivery and timing of your messages in an advertising campaign. This is NOT the case with a PR campaign!

In addition, I also found what I consider to be an interesting nugget of information mentioned near the end of the release. Here’s the paragraph in question:

“When asked what factors would increase confidence in the safety and soundness of their financial institution, respondents cited:

• Seeing regular advertising for that institution (25%)
• Receiving regular mail or email offers from that institution (25%)
• Regularly seeing internet offers/advertising from that institution (21%)
• Reading positive stories in the press about that institution (44%)”

Note the last bullet point : 44 percent of the respondents said that “reading positive stories in the press about that institution” would (to quote from the opening sentence) “increase (their) confidence in the safety and soundness of their financial institution.

I’m not a math whiz by any means, but I know that 44 percent is greater than 25 percent. How much greater you ask? Seventy-six percent (76%) greater. [The difference is even greater vs. Internet ads/offers (109% greater), but I'll stick with the advertising comparison for this blog post.]

To me this seems pretty straightforward: PR changes attitudes and perceptions for more people.

Please understand – I am NOT advocating that companies stop advertising. As stated in the third paragraph above,

“. . . one of the main advantages of advertising is that you can completely control the content, delivery and timing of your messages in an advertising campaign.”

Unfortunately, when it comes to public relations (specifically media relations or publicity efforts), companies do NOT have such control — at least not in societies where a free and unfettered press is the norm.

In other words, once you

• get off the phone with a reporter,
• leave a journalist’s office,
• send out a news release,
• deliver a product for a review/evaluation,
• push “send” on your email to an editor,
• etc.

you have absolutely no control whatsoever that any story is going to be published about you, your company, product, service, issue or what-have-you, let alone whether said story will be positive.

You also have zero control over whether or not a story is going to be published at all. Or when or where said story might be published. Or its size/length. Or if it’s going to include artwork. Or anything at all — you have NO CONTROL!

However,

• if/when said story runs, and
• if it’s a positive story,

I believe that such media coverage generates significantly greater credibility than what you can produce through advertising.

How much so? Well . . . the Nielsen IAG study suggests that the difference could be as high as 76 percent greater.

[NOTE: There is no guarantee that the data from this research study can be extrapolated across industries other than the financial world.]

Nevertheless, if your goal is to boost credibility, public relations may be the way to go.

That said, please recognize that PR is not the right discipline for achieving every marketing and/or sales objective. That would be like recommending that the only tool you needed in your garage or toolshed is a hammer.

That’s why we always recommend examining all potential vehicles in the marketing communications mix and choosing the best mixture for the goals and objectives at hand.

Part of what’s got me so psyched about finding this Nielsen IAG study, however, is that I’ve been telling people for years that PR has a higher “credibility factor” than advertising (with a counterbalanced lower “control factor” than advertising). And for the first time, I now have some independent data that appears to support my claims.

Should anyone reading this blog post know of other studies/articles that similarly support such an idea, I’d love to know about them. Thanks.

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DISCLOSURE: SOAR Communications is the PR agency of record for three Nielsen properties: Outdoor Retailer, Interbike, and Health+Fitness Business Expo.