“If a young man tells his date how handsome, smart and successful he is — that’s advertising. If the young man tells his date she’s intelligent, looks lovely, and is a great conversationalist, he’s saying the right things to the right person and that’s marketing. If someone else tells the young woman how handsome, smart and successful her date is – that’s PR.” -S. H. Simmons

The dust has yet to settle in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation’s major PR misstep last week. Critical media coverage, a social media firestorm, conflicting messages, an embarrassing public flip-flop, leadership resignations, protests and general distrust are results no one wants for their organization. Politics aside, the controversy’s lessons are clear:

-Get the team on board. Nothing says controversy like your own execs jumping ship. If you can’t convince your team that a move is a good one, how will you convince the public? Your team is your first sounding board, and their reaction to your news will let you know if you have a potential crisis on your hands.

-Have a crisis communication plan. Prepare key messages, talking points and sample Q & A. Ask yourself every awful question you can think of and answer it truthfully. Choose a credible spokesperson. Have a social media policy. Don’t just throw out some random statement and see what happens. It will be obvious you don’t know what you are doing.

-Own your company’s news. Tell your story first so you can frame and guide it. If you let someone else break your news, you’ve lost any control you might have had. Let your supporters hear it from you, not from your detractors.

-Speak with a unified voice. Choose one spokesperson and have a clear message. Your words and actions should match. Don’t say one thing on TV and something else in social media. The same people are in both spaces, and you’ll destroy trust if you’re caught speaking out of both sides of your mouth. Retweets count.

-State your viewpoint. If you have an agenda, say so – no one can accuse you of having a hidden agenda if it’s not hidden. You may alienate some people, but you’ll have the trust of those who are on your side. If you don’t have an agenda, prove it. If you can’t prove it, you might have to accept that you may in fact have an agenda. If that’s the case, either publicly own it or dismantle it – but don’t let it lie there for detractors to point at and criticize.

-Resolve the issue clearly. It’s not enough to say “We were wrong.” Say how you will fix it and how you will prevent it from happening again. Commit to a real solution – people will see right through a clear, plastic bandage.

It is yet to be seen if Komen can regain the credibility they once enjoyed. Preparing for a crisis is a lot of work, too – but as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Check out Van’s Muffin Crowns in Good Housekeeping’s February issue guilt-free chocolate round up:

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. –Martin Luther King, Jr.

Buzz words – those annoying words or phrases that seem to catch on quicker than a Katy Perry song. Try as we might to avoid them, seems like we all become copycats and pick up the lingo of our work environment.

I used to think this was only tied to select industries or companies. When I was in marketing at another company, the use of buzz words was so bad that we actually created a corporate Buzz Word Bingo game. Bingo sheets in hand with a buzz word in each square, we would amuse ourselves during meetings by attempting to be the first to bingo. Little did the CEO know that a bingo was guaranteed if he was leading the meeting.

When I moved to a PR agency, I was relieved knowing that over-used buzz words would be a thing of the past. After all, as PR professionals, we are expert wordsmiths who clearly know the best way to communicate. Weighing our words carefully at all times as though we have a microphone in front of us, I was sure we would set the bar for communication and the catchy buzz words would never cross our lips.

LOL! Just saw a video on YouTube and I guess it’s time to break out the PR Buzz Word Bingo sheets. Apparently when we are off-camera or off-the-record we PR professionals succumb to daily use of industry-specific jargon and buzz words just like the common folk. Let’s examine:

• “Just checking to see if you got my email” – Used primarily when following up with reporters to get a story. Unless we’re having a delayed technology reaction to Y2K and all computers have crashed, I’m pretty sure the email was received. And I’ll bet the guy on the other end of the conversation is annoyed.

• “Can you take the lead?” – Why? Are we going on a hike?

• “Here’s a thought”, or variation, “Just a thought” – Seems like the thought should be followed by, “discuss amongst yourselves”. My guess is that if we just said the idea the other person would understand that it had, at one time, been a thought.

• “Can we circle back on that?” – Yes, PR can be a three-ring circus at times. But I’m still not clear on why I need to circle my office to get back to where I started. Must be some sort of PR aerobics that I haven’t mastered.

• “Does it have PR legs?” – Whoa. That’s turned my head inside out. What’s going to sprout legs? I have this weird vision of my clients’ products suddenly coming to life with little scrawny legs , running all over my office. Augh! Get them off of me! Maybe they’re “circling back”.

If we must have PR buzz words, I’d at least like to suggest some new phrases, ones that our clients could use as well.

• “Take as much time as you need on the release. I’m in no hurry.”

• “Could I give you more money for this project?”

• “No need for approvals. We trust your judgment.”

I’m hoping these new phrases catch on quickly. In the meantime, I’m breaking out the Buzz Word Bingo sheets.

http://socialtimes.com/infographic-social-media-2011_b87125

Our dear friends over at Be Good to People have been included in Good Morning America’s Deals and Steals promotion. Check out the link to find out how you can join the movement, it’s simple!

http://gma.yahoo.com/exclusive-deals-steals-gma-viewers-great-discounts-jewelry-233552601–abc-news.html

Read more about their new Power Grains Waffles here:

http://www.vansfoods.com/News_Detail/id/20/Van%92s_in_Every_Day_with_Rachael_Ray%21

We celebrated the holidays as a team at Princi Italia yesterday, and since a number of us couldn’t make it, Michael, our office manager, provided a nice wrap up of the afternoon:

John, keep the red vest! It’s a winner.

Sara, next holiday luncheon will consist of a stand-up routine. You are hilarious!

To the cool girls table (Tracy, Devin, Mary Kate, Brooke and Loren) – You’ll be
happy to know that Omar (our waiter) enjoyed your table…very much.

Thank you, Rebecca, for our gifts! The look on everyone’s faces were great because
the gift is truly something we can all use…and it’s in our favorite color!

The gift exchange was fun. Suzanne and Michael are meeting at the nearest playground under the monkey bars to battle it out for the scarf.

Lastly, a HUGE thanks to our wonderful President Suzanne for allowing moments when we can celebrate each other and the company.

This month’s SPM rockstar award goes to Michael Counter, our office manager and Assistant to the CEO. His career in the military prepared him well to whip our operation into tip top shape. For that, we salute him!