I know…for most people, the tradition-packed part of the year is the last six weeks…between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. And those weeks are busy for us as well, throwing in my birthday, my wife’s, and my father-in-law. (Talk about getting the short end of the stick every year when it comes to presents…”Oh, here’s your birthday and Christmas present together.”)

What is it about traditions that lead to such satisfaction? Is doing something familiar year-after-year release some sort of endorphins in the brain that head to the pleasure center? Is it that comfort knowing that some things never change? Is it the pleasure of passing traditions on to your offspring?

Maybe some blogger who understands brain chemistry and emotions can explain it to me so day.

Anyway, the Teale family finds the late July-August period packed with traditions as well.

In late July, it’s always the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, just south of Des Moines. The site of dozens of hot air balloons moving across the sky on a summer night is both beautiful and peaceful.

From Indianola, we quickly move to some small town events, whether it is the fair in my wife’s hometown (Washington Missouri Town and Country Fair) to eat wonderful waffle ice cream sandwiches, to the free sweet corn at the Adel Iowa Sweet Corn Festival, and so on. Events we try to hit every year so we are ready for the granddaddy of them all…the Iowa State Fair.

Not a tradition

Chocolate-covered bacon…….

Chocolate-covered frozen smore - definitely a tradition

To things such as seeing the biggest boar, biggest bull, doing our $1.50 spin art from the Altoona Lions Club, seeing the winner of the ugliest cake contest, and more food served on a stick that you can, well…serve on a stick at.

It’s just things that we love doing every year, and things that never really change all that much….and that’s why we like them.

I’ve toyed with the idea, mostly while listening to Beatle Brunch on Sunday mornings, of using words comprised by the Fab Four to bring home a point. To some, they are a jumble of poetic lyrics, awesome harmony and an amazing display of musical talent. To me, however, we can also learn some pretty basic media relations/communication practice. For example……….

“I will only say the words I know that you’ll understand…” 

From the ballad “Michelle,” John and Paul remind us to keep it simple. It’s so easy to get caught up in technical jargon when doing a media interview. Whether they’re talking about public health or the latest fluctuations from Wall Street, people (our subject matter experts or SME’s) tend to drop in words or phrases that barely register in the brains of our audience before skipping off into that corner of our cranium reserved for big words never heard before…or since.

Remember, this isn’t the day of Andy and Opie where everyone sat around the Philco TV and absorbed every word being delivered by Uncle Walter or Huntley-Brinkley. People are cooking dinner, eating dinner, driving in the car, listening to the kids whine about school when the evening news is on, and a new unfamiliar big word isn’t going to help you grab ahold of that audience and cause them to stop and think…”Hey, this is something important.”   

“I heard the news today, oh boy…”

While the classic “A Day in the Life,” told us how many holes there were in Blackburn, Lancashire, it also gives us a key message for developing relationships with the media community.

If you want to media to pay attention to your issue, then pay attention to the media. That means reading your local daily paper and catching the top of the hour national and local radio newscasts. Check a web site or two. That way, when you call a local reporter to pitch a story, you can say..”I see they’re doing some amazing research in California on issue X. Did you know that research could have a big impact on how we teach math here at Riverdale High?” That “hook” is the way you make the same story you’ve pitched all semester seem relevant and current today.

Enough Beatlemania for today. I feel like cranking up my Let It Be album on the stereo. Don’t worry, there are plenty more nuggets from the boys from Liverpool I’ll drop in later posts…..

KT

When I’ve worked at “branded” concerns, there were thick manuals dealing with brand, specifically logos and other brand identity items. Specific colors (not just “red,” but red Pantone 220-pc), typefaces, location on letterhead and envelopes and other items were all spelled out in those manuals.

Think about the big corporations you know. Don’t many of them have a specific color associated with them? You wouldn’t expect to see the word Ford in a red or green oval, now would you.

One of the fastest growing retail companies in the U.S. is RedBox. See, it even uses a color in its name. You see them everywhere…stand-alones, Walgreen, McDonald’s. I checked. There are ten different spots withing five miles of my house where I can rent a movie for a buck a night.

Last spring, driving down to the in-laws for Spring Break, it was fairly easy to find different RedBox locations, since my son was insisting on watching ”2012“  , and it took us three stops to find a RedBox that had it in stock.

Today, I was in my local Wal*Mart store, which also has a placement deal with RedBox. Imagine my surprise to find the RedBox by the door, not red….but Wal*Mart blue. Same machine as all the other places, same computer screens….different color.

RedBox was originally owned, in part, by McDonald’s. I’m sure the folks at RedBox are very familiar with the “brand” manuals the McDonald’s people use. I’m sure RedBox has a “branding” manual of their own.

So, why is it one of my local RedBox locations isn’t a red box at all, but a blue box. Was it so important for the RedBox people to be in Wal*Mart, that they’re willing to become a BlueBox? And what about the new rental kiosks being started by Blockbuster? That company’s key color is a blue…not the same as Wal*mart blue, but a blue nonetheless.

Just a thought to ponder as you thinking about “branding.”

KT

The article I was reviewing from Slate did mention the importance of one thing in crisis communication, and if you don’t have it, all the word-crafting, whiz-bang social media technology, and well-polished delivery isn’t going to mean much.

Remember in the movie “City Slickers” where Curly Washburn (Jack Palance) told us the secret of life is ”one thing.” Such is the case with all communication, not just crisis comm. That one thing is……TRUST.

In a crisis situation, it doesn’t matter if you’re new to the media (public), don’t dress like the folks at Mad Men, or just you just came from a make-over at the salon.

What matters most here in crisis communication (or all communication for that matter), is whether or not those listening, viewing, reading you…..TRUST you.

And herein also lies the crux of the problem.

Trust is not something you can run to a warehouse or home improvement store and buy when you need it.

Trust is like a bank account. You makes deposits in your “trust” account throughout the year, so that you can make “withdrawls” when you need to do so.

In the case of a media spokesperson, you are courteous and kind to the media 364 days of the year, so on that 365th, and you’re running to the trust atm to make a withdrawl, you can.

For a corporation, that means doing good deeds in your community happens all year, not just when you find some mud splashed on the door of your headquarters.

If you’re in retail, greeting customers with a smile daily let’s you get by a few days a year when you didn’t sleep well or your favorite sports team blew it late last night in the fourth quarter.  

The other hard thing about trust is that some people just have it….and others can’t seem to get it no matter how hard they try. A natural look and presentation to the public helps, but even a slimy salesperson can get the slick delivery part down with practice. Still doesn’t mean you trust them because the profession as a whole has a crummy image.

Trust is one of those things out there that you may not even know you have…until you deliver a message and people believe you. And that comes with experience. Get out and communicate..and see what works for you.

My takeaway point from the article is that multiple failures of crisis pr in the last year (take your pick..BP, Tiger, Toyota, etc) means the old way of handling a firebomb tossed on your lap won’t work. The article says the old way was to hire a high-powered East Coast pr firm that could bludgeon the bad news (and those who deliver it) to death. And, the article says, the blame for letting the air out of the tires of the crisis pr machine falls squarely on the head of our favorite bogeyman this days…the Internet.

Why? Because social media moves so quickly, your crisis has been chewed up and spit out by Twitter, Facebook, Fox News, CNN, conservative blogs, liberal blogs, all before you even find that little flash drive with the crisis communication plan and dozens of pre-written news release templates.

I really think the article is barking up the wrong tree. What has failed over the past year is major entities (who really should know better)   ignoring basic principles of crisis pr….confront the issue early, bluntly, and most importantly, with empathy and caring.

Crisis communication works when it is part of your everyday communication and image efforts, not a three-ring binder that sits on the shelf you hope you never have to open. That’s why you make your CEO available on a slow news day to help a desperate reporter fill the minute-40 hole he/she’s been assigned for the 6 p.m. broadcast. That’s why when the print reporter who covers your beat calls and needs something to fill some column inches in Monday’s lightweight paper, you’ve got some ”evergreen” story ideas, with an articulate subject matter expert (SME) who is willing to spend some time with a reporter and not bore them to tears.   

Successful crisis communication occurs when the practitioners work at it year-round, and not just when Mike Wallace shows up with a video of your CEO taking candy from a little kid.

The one thing the Big Money article does correctly point out, however, is the importance of one little five-letter word…something we’ll talk about in a future visit.

KT    

So who am I?

As my profile section tells you, I’m a passionate communicator. I love watching, participating, analyzing, commenting about, and most importantly, helping to improve, communication. Especially when it comes to crisis or emergency risk communication, where one wrong word or raised eyebrow at the wrong time can sink the whole communication fleet.

I’ve learned about it in school, at workshops and the world-reknown “School of Hard Knocks.” I’ve watched messages I crafted ease tensions, reduce anxiety, keep me out of the doghouse, and provide for the overall common good.

But, let’s be honest, I’ve also seen messages I’ve crafted go down screaming in flames just like Snoopy’s doghouse after a close encounter with the Red Baron (although I’m glad to say that doesn’t happen too often).

And that’s what makes the science and art of communication so fascinating to me…..why did the road map I used last time to deliver a message work and this time send me for a Thelma and Louise-style run over the canyon? Communication, the skill of deciding what message needs to be sent,  getting it through the noise to the receiver, and reading the feedback from them (yes, successful communication is two-way) that they got the message I wanted is a constantly evolving world. 

This isn’t some new development that needs to be on front pages and lead stories. Even before cavemen developed their system of grunts and groans (and occasional thumps with a big club), non-verbal communication ruled the day. And it still does today.

So, what is the “Mission Statement” of this blog? It’s early, and I haven’t formed my internal teams to develop one, test it with focus groups, revise it, and post it.

I hope this space allows me to share my passion for communication with you…show you examples of it working, failing, and advice to keep you from stepping in that mud puddle when you try to communicate internally, externally, and personally.  

Don’t worry…I also have a real life outside of the communication world. I have a great family, a wonderful wife, a daughter getting ready to enter a new phase of her life next year with a soulmate, and a son whose life revolves around Lego’s, Harry Potter, Star Wars and Dr. Who. I love Midwest weather and traveling to spots local and faraway (well, so far just North America). I’ve survived several broken hearts delivered by the Chicago White Sox, Bears and Blackhawks and seen the remarkable recovery that occurs when you add the word Champion to Super Bowl, World Series, and Stanley Cup.

So my musings, I hope, won’t be dry words on screen about communication, but a variety of topics that I hope will make you think.

BTW, I did mention a few paragraphs back that communication is two-way. Post back to me…respond to what I write, ask me questions, start a debate. For now at least, this forum in cyberspace is free…and I’ll keep posting whether you want me to or not. It will just be a lot more interesting if you come along for the ride…and even take a turn at the wheel a couple of times.

KT