PR Success: Learn to Win by Watching the NY Giants Lose

The text books are full of great ideas from successful organizations. The real lessons, however, are found in times of despair.

Take the NY Giants. Following a series of missteps, their season is slowly spiraling out of control. It’s easy to put on a brave face when you’re winning, but we often see an organization’s true colors when the losing starts.

While the Giant’s on-field aptitude remains in question, their communications are at a championship level. The next time your organization finds itself on a losing streak, take these cues from the Giant’s PR playbook.

Take Ownership
The only thing Americans likes less than losers are liars. Week after week the Giants step up to the media and take full responsibility for their woeful play. It might be easy for coaches and quarterbacks to pass the buck, but there were times last week when Coach Tom Coughlin seemed to be battling with Eli Manning to see who could shoulder the most blame.

Don’t Point Fingers
United we stand, divided we fall, and all that. We still remember that motto for one main reason: it’s true. Note that there is a clear distinction between honestly discussing your failures and pointing fingers. It’s perfectly fine for Manning to say a player ran the wrong route, but watch how he doesn’t harp on it, and most every interview ends with him saying he must play better.

Stick to Your Routine
A change in routine signals disorganization and panic. Many Giants players and coaches have regularly-schedule media appearances in our New York market. And they keep them, even though they know full well that they are in for a grilling. Man up and move on.

Keep in In-House
Nothing comes from losing unless you take a good hard look at why it’s happening. You can bet that behind closed doors the Giants are yelling, passing the buck and pointing fingers. Working through the issue is the only way to beat it. But they know the difference between hashing it out in private and airing it out in public.

Remember, by maintaining a solid communications plan during hard times, you are one step closer to winning. And as Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

Cell Phones are Bad for Business

I just got back from a trade show and, despite the hopes of the event organizers, here is my main takeaway: Cell Phones are Killing Your Business.

This event had about 150 exhibitors. At any given time, maybe one third of them were engaging attendees (which is the whole purpose of a trade show). To my shock (but alack, not surprise), about half of the people working the other tables were sitting there texting. OK, maybe they were checking emails, but you get the point. You can’t engage customers with your nose in your phone!

If I were to approach these people and ask why they were wasting their time and money (after all, they could text at home for free), I imagine they would make the following excuses…to which I offer some winning alternatives.

Them: I only text when there is on one at my booth.
Me: Guess what? If you keep texting no one will visit your booth. It’s Nonverbal Communication 101. Make eye contact. Smile. Engage!

Them: I was checking in with my boss.
Me: Your boss can wait. You have a limited window of opportunity at this networking event. Use it before it closes. Your boss will be there later. These people will not.

Them: There’s nothing else to do.
Me: Why not stand up (chairs, like cell phones, should be left in your car) and talk to the people at the booths near yours. Introduce yourself. Ask how business is. Learn something.

Yes we need to stay connected. But there is a time and a place, and the few hours you have to engage potential customers on the floor of a trade show is not one of them.

Boost Your Pitching Success Rate

Play-off baseball is here and once again we are reminded that even the best hitters in the game fail seven out of 10 times. When it comes to pitching stories, what is your batting average? More important, will your client call you a superstar if you connect one-third of the time?

One way to boost your average is to have a better relationship with the people you are pitching. One way to get that better relationship is to talk to them even when you are not selling.

No one thinks of the person that calls them only when they need a favor as a friend. That’s not a relationship; it’s a one-way street. But the person that calls just to say “hi,” even when they don’t want anything in return, well…that’s a relationship.

Here are a few tips to help you increase your average.

Notice Their Work
Read stories by the people you are pitching, especially the ones that aren’t yours. When you see one you like, call the reporter and tell them so. You’ll be surprised how shocked they’ll be that you have no ulterior motive for calling.

Keep it Brief
Follow the first tip, but, just as if you were pitching, be considerate of the reporter’s deadlines and time restrictions.

Stay Upbeat
Having a relationship doesn’t mean that you’ll place every story you pitch. Take rejection well. Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint.

PR is all about relationships and calling people even when you are not selling is a great way to start. It won’t happen overnight, but as the poet Josiah Gilbert Holland wrote, “That which grows slowly, endures.”

Four Keys to Promo Success

Yesterday, the New York Yankees were eliminated from play-off baseball. Their biggest loss of the season, however, came two days ago when a series of public relations errors led to a mangled Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night.

The plan was to give the coveted promotional items to the first 18,000 fans through the gate. The 18,000 fans were there. The gates were there. The only thing missing was the bobbleheads. Delayed by transportation issues, they didn’t arrive until the third inning.

When distribution finally began, lines grew long and tempers grew short. Angry fans took to social media and lambasted the Bombers. Repeatedly. Yesterday, the Yankees announced that fans that can prove they attended Tuesday’s game will get free tickets to a 2014 game. The scenario brings attention to four rules that will help your promotions run smoother.

Have a Plan
Perhaps the most obvious step of any good PR tactic is also the most ignored. Flying by the seat of your pants very rarely works. You never know where you’ll land and once you do, you’ll probably have no pants. And that makes you look silly. Almost as silly as not arranging to have your 18,000 promotional give-a-ways arrive at your location BEFORE the day of your event.

Have a Plan B
How ironic that a team that unexpectedly lost their starting third baseman, shortstop, first baseman, leftfielder, centerfielder, catcher and several pitchers did not have a back-up plan for a promotion. Say it isn’t so!

Be Other-Based
When things go wrong, don’t think about yourself, think about those people most impacted by the situation. Then ask yourself, “How would they like to be treated?” Then do it. This isn’t rocket science. Hint: Keeping the gates locked so fans can’t come in is not being other-based.

Run, Don’t Walk (apologies to Robinson Cano)
Everyone knows “too little, too late” is no good. But guess what? “Just enough, too late” isn’t much better. Every tactic needs to have a mini crisis audit and a back-up plan (see above). List everything that can go wrong, and then figure out what you will do if it happens. The time to prepare for disaster is before things go south. This is why ships carry lifeboats instead of lumber and saws.

So remember, plan and plan some more, put yourself in their shoes, and be proactive. Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night could have been a great promotion. Instead, it just left people shaking their heads.

Welcome to the Bungle

Like a suckerfish attaching itself to a larger swimmer, PR practitioners sometimes affix their brand to current news stories, thereby gaining added momentum with minimal expenditure. Dr. Pepper recently attempted this by promising consumers a free bottle of their soft drink if the band Guns N’ Roses managed to release their long-awaited CD Chinese Democracy in 2008.

Now connect the dots for the fun part: Album gets released, huge demand for free soda, Web site crashes, consumers disappointed, Guns N’ Roses sues the Doctor.

Read the story here.

From a purely public relations perspective, at least GM is trying to defend its public opinion during the auto mess. One of the hallmarks of PR is that if you don’t define yourself, others will do it for you.

GM introduced a page on their corporate Web site explaining their side of the auto industry meltdown. The site includes bullet points explaining how the demise of the auto industry will affect us all, a section on mobilizing efforts, and a futuristic video set to hypnotic music. Maybe this is what they listened to when they developed the “More SUVs” mantra.