While the divers of the rescue team wade their way through cloudy waters of the ocean still looking for the missing dead bodies, above ground, the early charted course set by the crisis communications team might be entering cloudy waters of their own as criticism, mostly media driven, condemning the lack of Arison’s  public profile since the ship sank is beginning to crack the surface in the public debate.

Has Carnival Cruise CEO Micky Arison Abandoned Ship, or Just Below Deck? 

Although no one really knows where Micky Arison has been, the subtext of the question is really, WHY hasn’t he been in Italy, or why hasn’t he been (more) visible since one of his ships sank?

For the time being, Arison may have gone below deck, but he has not abandoned ship.

Arison, while not in the public spotlight as the voice, the face, the spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Lines since Friday the 13^th, 11 days ago, when the Costa Concordia met some unexpected rocks and crippled the Costa Concordia, Arison, while out of sight is still very much at the helm of Carnival Cruise Lines, even if it’s from the company’s corporate headquarters in Doral, Florida, a few miles from the port of Miami where many of Arison’s fleet make their home.

The Wall Street Journal Fires the First Negative PR Salvo over the Bow of the Concordia, Right at Carnival CEO, Micky Arison

The First negative PR salvo was fired over the bow of the sunken Costa Concordia right at Micky Arison. NO surprise. It was just a matter of time. It’s also no surprise also that it came from the Wall Street Journal.  The “attack” came in the form of a very subtle headline, 11 days after the Costa crisis occurred. The headline:  “Carnival CEO Lies Low After Wreck” – Make no mistake about it though, this headline smacks of efforts to stir up trouble for Arison for remaining out of the public spotlight on the issue.

For a closer examination of the full Wall Street Journal article referenced above, along with a detailed analysis of this classic sensationalized Headline Copywriting, that while on the surface seems to “indicate” the accused, in this case Micky Arison, the article actually goes on to defend his actions for “laying low.”

To read the fascinating deconstructed version of this entirely misleading story visit Part III, A Crisis Communications Case Study, the third installment in extensive analysis of the communications crisis coverage of the Costa Concordia ship-sinking disaster.

Part III, A Crisis Communications Management Case Study

Managing the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Crisis:  Who’s in Charge and Where is Micky Arison, Chairman & CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines?

Read the Full Report Now:  CarnivalCruise_Crisis Communications_CaseStudy_III_WheresMickyArison

Micky Arison: Changing the Crisis Communications PR Playbook

“A disaster that involves people, property, lost lives and potentially seriously devastating financial consequences to an industry responsible for millions of jobs globally and that generates billions of dollars affecting a host of industry sectors,  is pretty much the absolute worst situation a person can find themselves in if they are the person whose company is involved in just such a disaster,” says veteran public relations professional, Jeff Mustard, President of The Bamboo Agency, a full-service advertising and marketing firm that specializes in Public Relations and Crisis Communications.

“It has come to be expected that a company Chairman step forward in just such crises situations,” says Mustard, “and this expectation comes not just out of the playbook of public relations and crisis communications management professionals, but also to a great degree, subconsciously by the public.”

Micky Arison: Not the Right Guy for the Job

But, Arison, it would seem, is not the right guy for the job. In this particular crisis a variety of circumstances have come into play that have unfolded in real time during the crisis and by default, perhaps as much as by design, (advice from the inner coterie – carnival officials as well as their PR Crisis Management Company – Burson Marsteller), invariably further contributed to Arison’s  low profile in the crisis and positioned Pier Luigi Foschi, CEO of the Costa Concordia as the main man facing the cameras – and answering the questions.

Naturally, Arison’s “lack of presence” is getting attention, and Arison is taking some, but mostly media criticism, for his lack of visibility. But, purely from a public relations crisis communications management perspective, the central question is — should Arison BE the person out front on this?

The answer is YES. However, he is not, and here’s a glimpse Why.

Given all the politics and the unique circumstances of the situation as it unfolded, how it unfolded, where it happened, when it happened, all of these variables, and many others,  play(ed) a role in Foschi emerging as the titular representative for the crisis.

Foschi, Whether by Agreement or Acquiescence Accepted the Role as Spokesperson for the Crisis

Foschi, early on, handled the situation well, and seemingly, he continues to do so.  Arison’s lack of visibility goes against the PR textbook playbook. That doesn’t’ make Arison wrong, it just makes his decision different than what most (media and members of the public) think is “the right way to handle” a crisis situation.

In his Part III version of the crisis communications coverage, Jeff Mustard, a veteran public relations professional offers some of the most extensive observations provided yet, purely from an inside industry public relations and crisis management perspective,  chronicling the crisis as it unfolds in the media, how Carnival officials are “managing” the communications and how the media are portraying the crisis, the company and the CEO as the Concordia remains listing and lifeless just yards off the Italian coastline.

In this Part III case study, along with the two earlier produced reports, marketers, the media, public relations professionals and consumers alike will be treated to a glimpse behind the curtain of the critical issues and considerations contemplated when coping with and coordinating a crisis of this magnitude. Further, rare insights are offered concerning how communications strategies are crafted to best manage and even manipulate the media to control public perception for the preservation of a company’s  name, brand, reputation and financial performance – both in the immediate term as well in the near and long term.

To read the full Report, Part III, A Crisis Communications Management Case Study:

CarnivalCruise_Crisis Communications_CaseStudy_III_WheresMickyArison

Managing the Costa Concordia Cruise Ship Crisis: Who’s in Charge and Where is Micky Arison, Chairman & CEO of Carnival Cruise Line?

While the “Public Jury” is still Out, Carnival Stock Remains Afloat

While the “public jury at large” is still out on any consequences or ramifications regarding Arison’s lack of presence in the ship sinking crisis, as of this writing, purely from a financial perspective, company stakeholders and shareholders continue to stand by the chairman. Stockholders have not abandoned ship, nor would it seem do they wish to scuttle Carnival Corporation.

As of 12:55 PM, Tuesday, January 24^th, Carnival Cruise stock continues to ride the wave of improving consumer confidence in the corporation.  Carnival stock, as of this moment is trading at $31.75, up .76% for the day.

While it is still too early to arrive at a final public relations assessment on whether or not Carnival Cruise CEO, Micky Arison should have been out front as spokesperson on the ship sinking crisis, at this time, it seems, this was the right decision.

“For the time being, Pier Luigi Foschi might be Micky Arison’s life preserver, but it does not mean that Arison, or Carnival Cruise Corporation is out of troubled waters, at least just yet,” observes public relations crisis communications professional, Jeff Mustard.

Editor’s Note: Jeff Mustard can be reached for insightful analysis and expert commentary on the Costa Cruise / Carnival Cruise Ship Sinking Disaster.

Contact:  954-801-8263 / email: jeff@thebambooagency.com

 MORE ANALAYSIS AND COVERAGE ON THE COSTA CONCORDIA / CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES SHIP SINKING DISASTER:

Two Case Studies – Part 1, Produced and Published 72 hours after the Costa Concordia was grounded.

Will Sinking Ship, Costa Concordia Cripple Carnival Cruise Lines, or will Successful Public Relations Crisis Communications Buoy Cruise-Consumer & Capital Markets Confidence?

Read the Full Case Study, Part I Now: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunicationsCaseStudy

Just Three days after the 951’ luxury cruise-liner ran aground and flipped on its side throwing passengers into the icy cold waters and casting a glaring spotlight on the Concordia ship disaster, Carnival Cruise Lines and the cruise industry, Jeff Mustard produced one of the public relations industry’s earliest and most thorough analyses of the then rapidly unfolding crisis. In his first crisis communications case study, a 13-page report, Mustard offers interesting, informative and intuitive insights that public relations professionals, the media and even consumers will likewise also find this initial study revealing and illuminating.

Read the full report, Part I: A Crisis Communications Case Study

Read the Full Case Study, Part I Now: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunicationsCaseStudy

Crisis Communications Case Study, Part II, Examines during a 7 Day Period Carnival’s Actions and the Media Coverage and Reactions to the Ship Sinking Disaster in the below titled report: 

Part II Crisis Communications Case Study: “Costa Concordia & Carnival Cruise Lines Crisis Communications:  Containment or Calamity?

In his Crisis Communications Case Study, Part II, “Costa Concordia & Carnival Cruise Lines Crisis Communications:  Containment or Calamity?” veteran public relations professional, Jeff Mustard produced a 29-page report that reviews what Costa and Carnival Cruise Lines officials and their communications team did right, wrong, and what it could have done better. The analysis reads like a taught thriller, is interesting, informative and enlightening and should prove illuminating not just to public relations professionals, but the  media and consumers alike curious about how just such crisis situations are managed and even manipulated from a marketing and messaging point of view.

Read the full report, Part II Crisis Communications Case Study: “Costa Concordia & Carnival Cruise Lines Crisis Communications:  Containment or Calamity?

Read the Full Case Study: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunications_CaseStudy#2

From a public relations and crisis communications management perspective, given the global profile of the ship-sinking disaster, there are also questions: how did Carnival officials handle the crisis? Did they react properly in the short term? Are the communications strategies (effectively) protecting its brand and preserving Carnival Cruise Lines reputation? What are consumer perceptions to the sinking ship incident? What are the financial implications both short-term and long-term for Carnival Cruise as a public company as well as to the cruise industry at large?

Jeff Mustard, a public relations professional and President of The Bamboo Agency, (www.thebambooagency), a multiple award-winning full-service advertising and marketing company that specializes in public relations and crisis communications, provides a Part II examination of the Costa Concordia / Carnival Cruise lines ship disaster seven days after the ship remains perched on its side laying on the reef that gutted the hull.

In his Crisis Communications Case Study, Part II, “Costa Concordia & Carnival Cruise Lines Crisis Communications:  Containment or Calamity?” veteran public relations professional, Jeff Mustard produced a 29-page report that reviews what Costa and Carnival Cruise Lines officials and their communications team did right, did wrong, and what it could have done better. The analysis reads like a taught thriller, is interesting, informative and enlightening and should prove illuminating not just to public relations professionals, but the media and consumers alike curious about how just such crisis situations are handled, managed and even manipulated from a marketing and messaging point of view.

Read the Full Case Study: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunications_CaseStudy#2

The report, one of the industry’s earliest and most extensive reviews of the crisis, examines varying news accounts as covered in the major media, including line by line analyses of several of the company’s press releases and detailed examinations of the company’s communications key messaging points. As the drama unfolds on a global stage in the world news media, Mustard provides an inside-industry public relations perspective observing and critiquing how Carnival’s communications and its messaging are positioned to protect the company’s brand, preserve a positive public perception, and mitigate any (potential) culpability, as best it can, while being mindful of its responsibilities to numerous constituencies, stakeholders and stockholders as a public company.

Read the full report, Part II Crisis Communications Case Study: “Costa Concordia & Carnival Cruise Lines Crisis Communications:  Containment or Calamity?

Read the Full Case Study: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunications_CaseStudy#2

Crisis Communications Case Study, Part I:

Just Three days after the 951’ luxury cruise-liner ran aground and flipped on its side throwing passengers into the icy cold waters and casting a glaring spotlight on the Concordia ship disaster, Carnival Cruise Lines and the cruise industry, Jeff Mustard produced one of the public relations industry’s earliest and most thorough analyses of the then rapidly unfolding crisis. In his first crisis communications case study, a 13-page report, Mustard offers interesting, informative and intuitive insights that public relations professionals, the media and even consumers will find revealing and illuminating.

Read the full report, Part I: A Crisis Communications Case Study

Will Sinking Ship, Costa Concordia Cripple Carnival Cruise Lines, or will Successful Public Relations Crisis Communications Buoy Cruise-Consumer & Capital Markets Confidence?

Read the Full Case Study, Part I Now: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunicationsCaseStudy

About Jeff Mustard

Jeff Mustard is the President of the Bamboo Agency, a multiple award-winning advertising, marketing and public relations firm. Jeff Mustard is the co-author and ghost writer for a Wall Street Journal Best Selling book, an award-winning documentary writer/producer/director and the recipient of numerous award for creative achievements in advertising and communications. His work has been published locally, regionally and nationally in print, radio and television. He has earned tens of millions of dollars in media exposure for his clients in print, radio and television, nationally and internationally.

While this journey will not require us to meet at a muster station nor don a bright orange life preserver, we will set our bearings for a crisis communications examination involving drama at high seas.  Through finely focused binoculars, we will take a public relations peek inside the (still unfolding) Costa Concordia Ship Sinking disaster.

As facts emerge the company will respond as best it can.  It will strive to provide and deliver timely information helpful to families and useful to all news media.

Read the Full Case Study Now: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunicationsCaseStudy

The strategy of a company statement, whether delivered by a company spokesperson, the president, or the Chief Information or Communications officers, as well as through traditional media sources/outlets will, while being as truthful as possible, communicate information in as benign a manner as possible to “mitigate” its responsibility.

This is not saying that the company is shirking its responsibility in the incident. The company knows it has “a legal responsibility” to the families of those who lost their lives, those injured and certainly to a lesser extent (financially), to ship’s guests and employees.

Yes, there will be lawyers. Yes, there will be lawsuits. This is a given. Now, it is the issues below that must be addressed:

A)     How to mitigate the future financial impact on the company based on the public’s perception (of it?)

B)     How (well, or not well) the public perceives the company handles the crisis/situation?

C)     How the company will ensure to the public that this type of thing cannot, will not happen again?

Within the framework of the above, there are the following subsets of issues on the agenda.   The company knows it will take a short term financial hit. This has already been covered by industry analysts, reported in the news and even a separate statement issued by Carnival Cruise Company Chairman, Mickey Arison; this is addressed below. The next subset of goals for the immediate crisis communications strategy is to:

A)     Soften that financial blow as much as is possible. For example, preserving their calendar of already “booked cruise reservations.”  A massive cancellation of bookings would take on tsunami-like financial implications to the company. To achieve this goal takes on its on separate internal and external marketing and public relations agenda, which the company MUST be thinking about activating quickly.  

B)     Minimize the potential negative consumer perception of the incident to reduce the length of the near-term rebound.

In total, this is the immediate agenda of the Public Relations Crisis Communications Management Team. The company can indeed achieve these goals in various ways, and it has already begun employing communications tactics to do so.

Read the Full Case Study Now: CostaCruise_CrisisCommunicationsCaseStudy

In this instance, I was hired by a production company to do a script review/critique of an infomercial they were considering producing.  They knew there was something wrong with the script, but couldn’t define it better or be more specific than that. “Fix it up” was the direction. And so, the link provided will take you to a 3-page script review/critique articulating  the various problems and issues with the presentation of the material.  Without supplying the full 19 pages of the company’s draft of the script, I think the gist of the problems and issues will be quite clear. Moreover, the critiques and observations  can be useful to those who have an interest in producing long-form informercials – 30 minutes shows.

Infomercial_ScriptCritique_Final – this link will take you to the three-page script critique

Just as in any profession, there is much to know and learn to be proficient, if not expert at one’s craft. Just as any sport requires extensive practice and just as any athlete also knows that the best way to get better at something is not only “doing it” but also learning by seeing others who perform sub par. Improvement comes from seeing both what is good, and what is not so good and what it takes to make it, or something, or someone, better.

This script review address some of the fundamental, if not critical infomercial marketing conventions, formulas and formats and should prove to be both informative and revealing.  This three-page script critique will be an eye opener for anyone who is ready to engage in one of the most sophisticated forms of mass marketing — the  writing and production of an infomercial.  Remember, it all starts with the script. And that’s just where we will begin, with a review of the script.

Infomercial_ScriptCritique_Final- link takes you to three-page script critique

I hope you find this information helpful as the review discusses in detail certain fundamental formulas and conventions as it applies to style, format, marketing and sales technique for this most fascinating and possibly the most aggressive of all direct response marketing  – Long Form Infomercial Marketing and Production.  Electronic/Television direct response marketing also takes on short form versions — from sixty second spots to two-minute spots. In another blog I’ll post other examples and samples of these various other short form direct response television marketing formats.

Infomercial_ScriptCritique_Final- link to three-page script critique

One of the most cost effective ways to market and promote your company is a newsletter. (Videos are becoming increasingly important too, but that’s another blog posting.)   Newsletters today, however, are different than they were, say about 10 years or so ago. “Back in the day,” as they say, newsletters were “printed documents” of varying sizes that were mailed via the U.S. Post office, when stamps were 22 cents or thereabouts.  Yes, traditional newsletters still make sense, but for the most part, those printing, folding, stamping and postal mailing days are long gone. The “game changer” – for life, and pretty much everything else on the planet – the Internet. While “hard copy” newsletters still have tremendous merit, there are various ways to produce a newsletter for internet distribution as well.   Let’s talk first just a little bit about the “value” of the newsletter, conceptually speaking as an important sales, marketing and promotional tool for your company.

The Right Reason to Contact Your Customers and Prospects

In sales, it’s always best to find the right reason, (or, said another way, the right excuse) to contact and stay in touch with your prospects and customers. Let’s face it, a sales call is a sales call. Regardless of the product or service you offer, when you pick up the phone to call your prospect there are two goals you are striving to achieve – getting in the door for an appointment, or depending upon your product/service, being able to sell them directly over the phone. Here’s the problem though. How often do you really get a “live” person on the phone these days unless you already know that person? Not often. It can sometimes take weeks, months or even years to nurture a prospect and actually close a deal. The question is, what are you doing during this “sales courtship process” to advance your selling cycle? The answer:  a Newsletter?

Your Newsletter is a Great Ice-Breaker

A newsletter is a great ice breaker.  (Note: yes, there are numerous other things that you can and should be doing to stay in touch with your customers/prospects – whitepapers, videos, PowerPoint’s, podcasts, press releases, blog postings/updates, social media outreach, news articles stories written about you or your company, etc.  – which by the way, can all be included in a newsletter and of course emailed to your prospect/customer).  Most important however, a newsletter gives you an opportunity to promote and feature the good, new and interesting things that your company is doing.

By sending out a newsletter chock full of info about “new  products and/or services,” the company’s involvement in various activities – business, civic and otherwise, including any ground-breaking news or significant achievements by either personnel or company successes, you are not “hard-selling” your prospect, you are “soft-selling them.” This approach tacitly demonstrates a) your company’s successes and b) what they are missing out by NOT using your product or service (YET).  There is no “selling” pressure.

Seven Solid Reasons to Feature Your Client Successes in Your Newsletter

• People love to see their names and faces in print. (And today, this definitely even includes “the internet” – why do you think Facebook is so successful?)

• People love to see news stories about themselves or their company.

• Use the newsletter as a forum to feature clients that use your company’s product or service.

• Include a picture about them in an “article you write” about how your product or service helped to “improve or enhance a situation or circumstance” for that client.”

• Let your clients be your sales people, trumpet their success, let them spread the enthusiasm for “what you’ve done for them” and watch the phone ring.

• Newsletters have great shelf life – whether hard-copy or “forward to a friend”

they are frequently passed from one person to another and can be included along with your other sales and marketing materials.

• Flexible, adaptable, modifiable, and always customized, newsletters do more than carry your company message, they practically become a living and breathing sales person for you and your company.

Hard Copy Newsletter vs. Electronic Newsletters

There remains definite value in producing newsletters in hard copy. In this form it can “lay around” someone’s desk for days, weeks, sometimes months even. If well done you get the added-value of the “pass along” readership from the original recipient, who might say something like “Gee, (insert the name of your favorite person you’d be handing the newsletter to) why don’tcha take a look at this very (insert the adjective you’d like to use — cool, nice, informative, pithy, provocative, well written newsletter”). Naturally, anyone of these pass-along-remarks is a very good thing as someone is handing your newsletter to someone else.

Electronic Newsletters

Today’s newsletters however are now often produced in electronic versions using templates like the popular Constant Contact or Mail Chimp.  The beauty of electronic newsletters, in addition to their cost-effectiveness compared to “hard copy is a number of extremely useful, informative and valuable features. Tops among these are:

ü  how many people actually opened your email,

ü  how many people actually read your email,  and

ü  the “forward to a friend” feature – (this “viral” component of these mailings is in fact the secret DNA of email marketing)

In addition to these useful metrics, the other single extremely valuable marketing aspect of an electronic newsletter is the “hyperlink” function. The ability to “send people” to another place – presumably on your own website that further demonstrates or reinforces a particular point, such as in a case study or some other interesting success story is very powerful. Any time you can provide additional support in the way of case studies, or examples, etc., significantly enhances credibility.

The Best of Both Worlds – “Leverage Marketing”

The only thing better than one newsletter is two newsletters, especially using the same exact content. This marketing technique employs the concept of “leverage marketing” which is the practice of creating marketing materials that can be used in various ways for myriad purposes.  In the example provided here ( NewsLetters_BlogPost_Artwork )  the content of these newsletters, as in the case of Eurorient, was used for both “traditional U.S. postal mail” as well as electronically as a PDF.   The newsletter for WestPark Capital was produced using Constant Contact as an electronic mailer that contained numerous links to other stories and articles pertinent to the company and its activities in the marketplace at that time. And, as far as “old school” goes, the final newsletter, “The Lorraine Report” was produced as a postal mailer and then doubled as an electronic PDF document.  Used with great success, you’ll notice that in “The Lorraine Report” newsletter/mailer a “response” form was included, employing “direct response techniques” utilizing a “premium” as part of the offer to increase prospect response.

NewsLetters_BlogPost_Artwork

Going Back to the Well

Circling back to the concept of “leverage marketing” – ALL of the content created in each of these newsletters was prior produced marketing material by The Bamboo Agency that was recycled on a timely basis to prospects and customers. Don’t let earlier produced marketing materials go by the wayside; there are ample opportunities to find ways to repurpose your creative efforts. Newsletters powerfully deliver the message you need for the impact you want.  Whether it’s on the desk, in the hands, or on the computer screen of your prospects and customers, your newsletter is sure to help you be exactly where you need to be – at the fingertips or on the mind of your prospects and customers.

NewsLetters_BlogPost_Artwork

PS:  Oh, and by the way, feel free to send this blog post to a co-worker (maybe even someone in marketing) —  or simply “Like It’ and “Forward to a Friend” —  either works.

Strive to Make Merry Holiday Marketing Messages – Click Here to See Release and Holiday Card

While the market’s tanked today following the new President’s Inaugural address, his speech buoyed expectations and confidence across the board by democrats, republicans and independents.

Here’s my take on Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address. Hopefully the awkward stumble out of the gate during the first part of the swearing-in ceremony with Chief Justice Roberts stepping on his own words and tripping up the President-to-be is not a prescient moment that foreshadows what might happen in the forthcoming administration.

Nevertheless, with the aplomb and good-natured equanimity for which the President has become known, he pressed head with his oath and took the podium to make his address. His speech consisted of 2,395 words that took 18 minutes and ten seconds to deliver. The President needs no coaching on the importance of having good posture, a broad smile and making contact with his audience, even if it is a sea of 2 million people on the Lincoln Mall.  Barack Obama is certainly likeable, friendly and telegenic as heck, all of which assuredly contributed to his winning this election.

A Well-Written, Well-Delivered Speech

It was a well written speech. It was lyrical and metaphorical, by the fifth sentence drawing upon the images of “storm and clouds,” setting a tempered mood that “there are tough times ahead, “ which is exactly what he needed to do. The words were well structured, the sentences well phrased and the speech overall well paced, delivering his words at a comfortable 135 words per minute. This is not a speech that could be delivered by, for example, George Bush (either of them, son or father), possibly by a Bill Clinton, who had much more flair for the spoken word and respect for oratory, but President Barack Obama is in a class of his own with regard to style and ability.

President Barack Obama: A Cross Between Dr. King and John F. Kennedy

The new President Obama did justice to these words and a fine job delivering this well crafted speech. But it was not a grand slam, nor do I think it met the great expectations riding on it. He has excellent oratorical skills that are unique to his personality and upbringing. His delivery falls just short of Baptist-fire-and-brimstone, a testament to as well as evidence of his strong religious and church upbringing. Moreover, it is equally as representative of is his respect, reverence and idolization of Dr. Martin Luther King, as a leader and no doubt as a speaker. The speaking style of this, our 44^th president could best be considered a cross between Dr. King and John F. Kennedy. Each certainly a great speaker and each with their own distinct style. President Obama’s hybrid-delivery of the two provides him with extraordinary potential as he begins his evolution as a statesman.

A Good Speech, Not a Great Speech

The speech touched all the points that it had to, acknowledging the crises we face, recognizing the tough days ahead and giving us some sense as what we might expect from him on policies both home, and abroad. It contained a classic oratorical device employed two times, the “repeating of words at the beginning of a sentence in order to accentuate a point” (best compared to Dr. King’s “I have a Dream Speech”), but no such comparison could be made to this speech, nor do I think that the President or his writers were striving for such lofty rhetoric. I think that for all practical purposes this speech hit the mark. I don’t think that this one speech was a panacea for all the ills we are suffering here at home. The speech only received four applause breaks and did not ripple through the throngs crammed throughout the mall, but rather only recognized by a smattering of desultory clusters, even though many lines of this speech were carefully crafted and delivered as applause lines (testimony to the quality of writing and delivery). I think that these presumptive applause lines failed to generate the intended “applause response” more because this is telling sign of the nation’s somber and sober attitude than anything else.

Two Ways to Judge the Speech: The “Markets Reaction” and the “Peoples’” Reaction

As I mentioned in my immediately prior blog posting concerning the importance of this speech and what was riding on it, there are two ways to judge immediately the success of this speech. The first is how the markets reacted and the second is how “American’s” reacted. Even though the President, according to a CBS/New York Times poll showed 79% of American’s are optimistic about the next four years, that did not help the Dow (.DJI), which was down more than 2 percent in early afternoon trade, extending the 2009 slump to nearly 8 percent. Further, according to an end-of-day report by Marketwatch, U.S. financial stocks plunged today, falling almost 17% to match their biggest percentage decline ever as investors panicked at the likelihood that there is no end in sight for the sector’s need for capital, and no easy way to raise it. According to Chuck Mikolajczak, a Reuters reporter, “Wall Street ushered in the Barack Obama presidency with a record Inauguration Day drop on Tuesday amid fresh signs the global bank crisis was far from over. High expectations for details on how the new administration would address the growing banking crisis and faltering economy were dampened after the inauguration speech concluded with little new information to digest. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 332.13 points, or 4.01 percent, to 7,949.09. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 44.90 points, or 5.28 percent, to 805.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 88.47 points, or 5.78 percent, to 1,440.86.

“I think the expectations were over the top to begin with,” said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco. “When you have that kind of expectation, you’re going to get disappointed.”

Reaction by “The Public”

I think Mr. Pado’s quote hits the nail on the head. However, how the speech went over “in general with the public” is an entirely different matter. Planting seeds, building confidence and sending out signals for an agenda were part of the mission of the speech. Here’s how it was received by the public.

The content, findings and reporting below comes from an extraordinary website I found that you may want to bookmark; its www.mediacurves.com and it provides technical analysis on “people’s perceptions” backed up rigorous research. The Media Curves web-site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements. This kind of information is normally proprietary and costly. You might enjoy not only being aware of this site, but also reviewing the reactions and perceptions generated by our new President subsequent to his speech.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071204/NYTU133LOGO )

The study was conducted by HCD Research today, the day of his speech (January 20^th) to obtain Americans’ perceptions of President Barack Obama and what effect his presidency will have on the nation’s critical issues, including the economy, health care, education, the war in Iraq and energy supply and creation. Participants were asked to respond to questions before and after viewing the inauguration speech to determine if their perceptions changed after viewing the speech. Participants were also asked to rate Barack Obama based on 8 leadership attributes. To view detailed results, visit: www.mediacurves.com.

The study, conducted among 1,819 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents revealed that the majority of Americans are more confident that the key issues facing the nation will improve during the next four years after viewing President Barack Obama’s inauguration speech.

Among the Findings:

· After the speech, 51% of Republicans were confident that the economy would improve over the next four years compared to 38% before watching the speech. Democrats were more confident with regard to the issue of Iraq. There was an increase of 17% of Democrats who believed that the issue of the war in Iraq would improve in the next presidency after watching the inauguration speech.

·

· Republicans’ perception of President Obama’s leadership also improved after the inauguration speech. Participants were asked to rate President Obama on an agreement scale based on 8 leadership attributes before and after watching the inauguration speech. Republicans increased their level of agreement for every leadership attribute after viewing the speech. The highest increases were seen in the following attributes: “Obama is firm and consistent in his views” (increase of 15%), “Obama is representing my values (increase of 14%) and “Obama is honest” (increase of 13%).

·

· Participants’ emotions were also measured while viewing the speech. The emotion that was felt the most by viewers during the inauguration speech was hopefulness. Hopefulness was the top emotion felt by Democrats (68%), Republicans (36%), as well as Independents (57%). Democrats and Independents also reported that they felt confident and attentive, while Republicans reported that they felt some skepticism.

The Bottom Line: Did the Speech Work?

On the whole, yes. Did the President hit it out of the park? No. Are there any memorable take-away lines or phrases? No. Were we inspired and invigorated. No. But did it hit the mark? Yes and then some. According to hard core research as noted above, people came away with a “better feeling for the President and belief that this country will be better off.” And given the state of our economy and the conditions inherited by this president, this was a decent first day at work.

Jeff Mustard authored his first speech for Congressman Benjamin Gilman while serving as an Intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Since then, he has authored speeches to esteemed audiences delivered at the highest levels of government and business. In addition to providing speech-writing services, he is an accomplished speech coach, perfecting delivery for national television appearances.

When President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn into office on Tuesday, he will be standing not just in front of the Capitol, but in front of the world. His right hand will rest upon the bible used to swear in this nation’s 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. If ever there were a speech that carried with it the future and fate of the United States, and by extension the world given the role this country plays in the globlal arena at every level, it would be President-Elect Barack Obama’s Inaugural Address.

The Nations’ News is Bad, Very Bad

Virtually never, or unarguably since the Great Depression, have the circumstances and conditions facing Americans been as dire. I don’t think it’s necessary to recount the details that precede this forecast, just pick up your newspaper, watch the news, or peruse the home page of your internet browser — the headlines are frightening indeed. Whether it’s a discussion about the multi-billion dollar bail-out (that doesn’t’ seem to be working, or certainly not working fast enough), the implosion of Wall-Street and essentially the collapse of our financial markets, our Trillion-dollar deficit (that calls in to question the hard times ahead), the highest unemployment in more than 40 years, the shrinking value of the U.S. dollar, our wars abroad and our credibility in the world, much rests on the words the President-Elect will speak on Tuesday.

The Importance of this Inaugural Address: Every Word, Every Sentence, Every Phrase Counts

Every word, every phrase, every sentence and every paragraph, as well as the tone of this speech will set the attitude we Americans face going forward in this country, at least for the next four years. This speech will shape the way the world views us – as a people, and a nation. It will impact the financial community here, and abroad.  If you think this is placing too much emphasis on what will likely be a thirty to no more than forty-five minute speech,  just watch what happens to the stock market on the day-of and following his speech.  The ramifications to his words simply cannot be overstated; the challenges we face as a nation, the path that he suggests for the people of this country as well as the gauntlet he throws down for our members of congress, and all of our government leaders, are simply put, at the apogee of seriousness.

The Speech:  The Quintessential Axis of Marketing, Communications, Public Relations

Make no mistake about it, this speech is as much about shaping, (or attempting to shape) public policy, as it is about (attempting to shape) public perception (about how he will “lead” and how this country “may do” from this day forward). This speech is in fact the quintessential axis of marketing, public relations and communications colliding into one fantastic medium, or opportunity – a public speech delivered by our President-to-be on the day he is sworn in. He will outline the challenges, he will seek to inspire.  His message is as much intended for our government leaders as it is for this nation’s citizens. 

Will President-Elect Barack Obama Deliver?

The question is, can President-Elect Barack Obama meet this goal? Can he, and/or his speech-writers force us to look in the mirror at these daunting problems and compel us to do what it takes to bring this country back from the brink of financial ruin and personal despair? Not only what he says, but how he says it will dictate whether he injects in us (America and American’s) the kind of invigorating message that will rally our support not just as a national constituency, but equally how this country will be perceived as the major actor it is on the world stage. He sets the bar for how he will be able to interact not just within our government, but with other governments.

My Predictions: What this Speech Should Be

This speech will be serious, it will be somber. But, at the same time it must uplifting. It must resonate with the values and tradition of the great American spirit. It must resonate with the grit, determination and the hard work of our forefathers that made this country great. It will more than likely echo in our memory one of the greatest speeches ever delivered (either as an Inaugural address or of all great speeches presented by statesmen), the memorable JFK speech, and inevitably it will draw comparisons. It will, or should, touch upon the difficulties we face now and how we as one of the greatest nations on earth, the cornerstone of democracy and bedrock of free enterprise will rise above the crises of today. It will be, or should be captivating, compelling and cogent. President-Elect Barack Obama has surely been blessed with the gift of oratory, his tone is pleasing, his demeanor thus far on par with circumstance and conditions consistent with place, time and need. Let’s see how he delivers, and if he delivers.

To be continued Wednesday. Check back here for further views about the soon-to-be President’s speech performance.

Note: Jeff Mustard authored his first speech for Congressman Benjamin Gilman while serving as an Intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Since then, he has authored speeches to esteemed audiences delivered at the highest levels of government and business. In addition to providing speech-writing services, he is an accomplished speech coach, perfecting delivery for national television appearances.

The Media is “Looking for News” – Give them what they Want!

The media are (constantly) on the lookout for new, interesting and exciting (news) stories. What this means to you is that the media is entirely approachable. All you need to do is learn how to present “your news” to them.

The Four Key Steps to Obtaining Free Publicity

So how do you go about getting media coverage? It all starts with an angle, followed by a smartly and properly written press release, targeting the right media as a potential outlet for your story and then pitching them your story idea.  That’s it.  Your PR game plan consists of four key steps; Angle/Story idea, Press Release, Target Appropriate Media, and Pitching Skills.

Creating Your Media Story

How do you start getting free publicity? There are a few ways. The media coverage can be about you, your company, your product, your service, or your industry. It can be consumer-oriented or business-to-business related for trade magazines. Regardless however, the questions below will serve as triggers for the things you need to think about, and answer, that can serve as the basis of a press release you can use to pitch a potential story to the media.

Disclaimer: Here’s what this Article Will do, and what it will not Do

This article will not teach you “how to” write a press release. There is not enough space to do that. There are literally hundreds of books both off line and online that can assist you in this area, some for free, others not. What this column will do for you immediately is provide you with the critical thinking that expands your world from a marketing point of view that will allow you to begin the process of understanding what’s involved in creating a proper PR storyline that can help you potentially obtain free media coverage. So let’s begin.

• Have you earned any special achievements, awards, certificates, designations, etc?
• Have you emerged as a “sales leader” in your organization?
• Have you overcome any “obstacles” personal and/or professional to achieve the accomplishments or status that you have earned?
• Do you have any “inside or secret techniques” you can share with consumers or colleagues about your product or service that provides useful or valuable tips?
• How would you document your rise to success – overcoming obstacles, if any, to become a premier player (in whatever niche you might specialize in). This applies to “your success” either within your sales organization or your industry at large.
• Case studies and Teaching Opportunities – what secrets and/or tips can you share that that would be helpful and/or informative to others? This can be consumers or industry-specific.

The PR bottom Line

Maybe you’re special, maybe you’re not. If you can answer these questions, either any single one of them, or any combination of them, in a press release format, with a word count not to exceed 500, you have a shot at obtaining the media holy grail –  FREE PRESS coverage.

Working from this list you can craft a press release that could potentially be of interest to your local and/or industry trade journals, possibly even your daily newspaper or even magazines. Remember, the media are always looking for news. If you package, present and pitch your information the right way, you may very well find yourself in the media spotlight. That’s good for you, and your business. And best of all, it’s free.

Jeff Mustard, The PR Cowboy, is a veteran, award-winning publicist who has wrangled millions of dollars in free publicity for clients. He can be reached through his company: www.TheBambooAgency.com, email, jeff@thebambooagency.com or at: 954-801-8263

Why not take the opportunity to convert seasonal benchmarks, such as the “holiday season” into marketing opportunities? And that’s precisely the tact taken on behalf of one of Tennessee’s leading chiropractors who, at the last minute, decided to send a “holiday newsletter” to his clients. Converting “holiday good cheer” into marketing messages is a prime example of squeezing every bit of opportunity out of your communications strategy through the use of “leverage marketing.”

On December 8^th, Dr. Louis Obersteadt, the former multi-year president of the Tennessee Chiropractic Association and a distinguished two-time recipient as “Chiropractor of the Year,” decided he wanted a holiday newsletter. The case study below reflects the strategies deployed to maximize this singular marketing effort as a platform to create multiple marketing opportunities.

The Original/Primary Assignment: Create a Holiday Newsletter.

A big yawn and ho-hum is pretty much the way we can mostly characterize seasonal communications with customers, clients or prospects. The majority of snail-mailed post cards are generic “seasonal greetings” dripping with mundane off-the-shelf sentiment designed at best to be “warm and fuzzy.” Rarely, do you find a “call-to-action” and even less frequently does a “holiday card” strike such a resonant chord with the recipient that they can’t wait to not only share that unsolicited missive with family or friends, but even better, leave them anxious to make their next appointment.

The above was the self-imposed challenge the agency faced in creating this distinguished doctor’s newsletter. Click here to see the “snail mail” version of the Holiday Newsletter.

The Result: The most challenging task as marketers is to create a communications message that truly connects with customers, a message that makes them smile, one that is light and fun yet relevant, resonant and even humorous. If you can make people smile, or laugh, and gently, or subtly imbed your “sales message” it is arguably the most effective and powerful marketing approach. This goal was exceedingly accomplished. View the snail-mail version of the Holiday Newsletter.

Here’s what Dr. Obersteadt had to say about the “Holiday Newsletter”:

Leverage Step 2: From Snail-Mail to Email

Finding ways to squeeze multiple uses out of your “marketing materials” is simply smart marketing. So the very next tactic we employed, as well as being extremely cost efficient for the client, was to reproduce the snail-mail newsletter into an email version. By simply reformatting the snail-mail version of the mailed print version of the newsletter, we were able to double up and reinforce our message to the doctor’s patients, increasing our “impressions” while reducing our cpm. Click here to see the email version of the email holiday card.

Leverage Step 3: The Press Release

Here’s where it gets pretty juicy, creative and fun. We decided to augment the holiday newsletter with some “practical holiday tips” and converted it into a potentially newsworthy press release. After all, the news media are always looking for “unique and interesting” holiday/seasonal-tie’in’s and stories. So, the approach we would take to the media would provide a consumer tie-in with the holiday season, best reflected in the following pitch line:  “A Dozen Helpful and Healthy Ways to Shop During the Holidays without Putting A Crimp in Your Christmas or Your Back.” The goal was to get the attention of news editors in Nashville, TN with a  Subject Line  in Outbound Emails to the Nashville media that read: “Correct Shopping Posture: Don’t Let Christmas Shopping Put a Crimp in your Shopping or your Back this Holiday Season.”

Click Here to See the Press Release

The Result: Media Success

The agency was engaged less than two weeks prior to Christmas Day. Clearly a short fuse and for all practical purposes an impossibly truncated time-line to get anything meaningful done, especially as the media is concerned, during this pressure-packed time period.  The fact is, news media stories require ramp and nurturing, especially if it isn’t a “hard news story.” And yet, despite these challenges, the “story” caught the attention of the editor of the Nashville Business Journal and was reproduced in whole in the Belle Meade Community Newspaper website (the newspaper being a weekly, the deadline had passed and no other issue was being “printed” until after the new year).

Critical PostScript & Important Public Relations Advice: News releases are intended to accomplish the following goals:

1. Create interest in an editor (print or electronic media) about doing a “stand alone” news piece about your client (the subject of the release/story).
2. A “story” may be picked up in whole, or in part.
3. Other times a news release will trigger interest on behalf of the news media who will use “your news release” as a starting point to do another version or slant of a story they think is more fitting for their reader/viewer/audience. In this case, a client might be the sole subject of a story, but more often they are one part or one source, of whatever this “larger story” might be.
4. Other times a “story” might fit in to some other notion or idea that is already “in the hopper” or in the “mindset” of an editor/writer/reporter.

Our media success was an example of the fourth scenario noted above.

The Nashville Business Journal

The editor of the Nashville Business Journal was, at the time of the story/release submission, working on a story about “marketing efforts on behalf of businesses’ in the face of a changing and declining business climate.” Dr. Obersteadt was quoted and featured in this story.

The Marketing Machine in Full Swing

So, what happens next with this media success? The principle of Leverage Marketing is further amplified below:

• A reprint of the article(s) will be posted to the Doctor’s website.
• At the Doctor’s discretion, a snail-mail version of a letter, along with a photo copy of the article will be mailed to his patients.
• Additionally and alternatively, an outbound (email) letter will be sent to his patients, which contain a link to the Doctor’s website where a copy of the “article” will live that proudly announces this recent “news” accomplishment.

Conclusion: The Big Payoff

Having established “contacts and connections” with the media in his market, going forward this first small but successful round of media exposure significantly enhances future opportunities to promote the doctor to media editors in his market.

The process of creating “branding” and implementing “name recognition” among the media is invaluable in advancing story ideas in the future. Just as with consumers, it takes time (frequency and reach) to establish “credibility and value” with customers; the media are no different. This (initial) marketing strategy and public relations approach has opened the doors for further dialogue with media.

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