Ah... the feeling of sweet relief. Can you believe it's already been eight weeks on this the second journey of my strategic communications blog?
Eight weeks.
I'm not sure that eight weeks have ever seemed so long and so short at the same time. This will be my last posting for a while (or maybe indefinitely). Who knows, I may get a wild hair and find something that I just have to share with the world.
This term has brought a lot of changes to my life and my education. I no longer feel lost in the field of strategic communication. I'm starting to feel like I really belong and I know this is where I'm meant to be. My personal life has been a whirlwind of moving, deployment, my 3 rowdy children, and my pregnancy with our 4th boy (again, all boys.. what are the odds?!). I'm happy to announce that my world will be returning to normal very soon and we're all anxiously awaiting the return of my husband from his deployment and our return back to our Florida home.
For now, I will relish in this week long spring break at my in-laws house letting my children be spoiled rotten and enjoying a momentary break from this graduate school journey (who am I kidding, I'm already thumbing through the book for my next course... Hi, Dr. Sarapin!). The kids will enjoy the break at least!
I hope you all have a wonderful and enjoyable spring break 2014!-Rachel
STOP! Communicate and Listen!
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Your reach is far, but just how deep is it?
The goal of every strategic communication professional is to
launch a campaign that is both initially successful and has long term success. Campaigns
can vary widely depending on the type of business or organization you’re being
employed by. Your goal may be sales or your goal may be to improve the opinions
of the organization, to garner donations for a non-profit, to get views on a
photo or video, or any other one of the infinite possibilities of strategic communication
campaigns. Not everything in strategic communication can be easily measured
with numbers, which sometimes begs the difficult question: How am I doing? Is
my campaign successful?
In 2013 the organization Water is Life launched a campaign
playing off the popular hashtag #firstworldproblems. In the campaign a series
of videos showed inhabitants of third world countries reading out real life
Twitter and Facebook statuses that used the hashtag #firstworldproblems in
front of components of their own life. The campaign was designed to bring
awareness to the clean water issue in third world countries and the impact that
having clean water could have on those affected. At the end of the video, the
hashtag #firstworldproblems appears with a subtitle of “are not problems”.
In the United States campaigns such as this can be
particularly difficult to spread with true purpose and garner the kind of
impact desired. How successful was the campaign? How can we tell? First, the
buzz around the campaign was phenomenal. All of a sudden #firstworldproblems
changed from somewhat of a joke about trivial complaints in the lives of
Americans to something more. The hashtag #firstworld problems was being used
more to spread awareness about clean drinking water and its importance in third
world countries and less to describe insignificant gripes. That alone was a
measure of success in a qualitative way. Even greater was the quantitative
success of the campaign. The First World Problems campaign was so widespread
that it garnered more than one million days’ worth of clean drinking water
through donations. ONE MILLION! Of course, that won’t last as long as it
sounds, being that each day is for one individual. But wow, what a campaign.
Water is Life got their message out, created social media buzz, and ultimately
raised an enormous amount of donations for their organization.
Another of 2013’s most successful campaigns was a little lighter
on the topic and much more hilarious. Kmart launched a campaign to promote the
ability to have items shipped that aren’t available or are out of stock in
Kmart retail stores. The campaign called “Ship My Pants” was a bold play on
words that very much risked turning people away with its implication of
profanity. Instead, the ad went viral.
A lot of people appreciated the risks taken by DraftFCB, the
marketing agency behind the viral Kmart campaign. The campaign was catchy and
was shared over and over again and spread through social media like wildfire.
So the campaign was popular, but how successful was it? In this instance the
success can easily be measured by numbers. The original ad (there was a holiday
themed follow up in mid-December that also reached viral status) has currently
garnered over twenty million views on YouTube. I can’t count how many times I
saw it pop up on my Facebook feed. It
took over Twitter as well. But was it successful? Yes. The goal of the campaign
was to make sure customers were aware that there are other options for shoppers
who can’t come to the stores or who can’t find what they need in stores. Twenty
million plus people are now very aware that with Kmart you can “ship your pants”.
In some ways the ad campaign also had impact that could be measured in a
qualitative sense in that the campaign brought a breath of fresh air to a very
old brand that has been declining in revenue and reputation for years. As for
how far the ad will go to change the face of Kmart, only time will tell, but it
was most certainly successful at spreading the message of ship to home
merchandise.
No matter what your campaign is as a strategic communication
professional the task of measuring your success can be daunting. It’s best to
employ many different strategies of evaluation and come in at all angles. What
means success for one campaign could mean utter failure for another. Lay out
your goals in black and white and go back to them as the campaign progresses to
see if you’re still on track with your original goals.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
9-1-1 what's your emergency? Sure we'll send help in about 2 months.
You don’t have to be a doomsday prepper to be prepared for
the worst. Many strategic communication professionals are faced with a sudden
communication crisis within their organizations. An unprepared crisis
communication specialist could seriously harm the reputation of the very
organization their job is designed to protect. Like life insurance and
automobile insurance a good plan in the event of a crisis can be the insurance
that gets you back to normal as quickly as possible.
There is crisis management going on every day on all level
variations. Recently the theme park Sea World has been weighing heavily on my
mind after the documentary “Blackfish” premiered on CNN in October of 2013. Myself
and my family have been long-time supporters of Sea World parks and enjoy
yearly visits to one of the parks (usually San Antonio, but more recently
Orlando after our relocation). Even before I really got into the mindset of a
strategic communicator I thought it very odd that Sea World remained silent on
the issue. For several months there wasn’t a word in response to the
documentary that could be downright murderous to their parks and their entire
operation (which largely involves rescuing animals and rehabilitating them as
well). I learned that Sea World
had an opportunity to be a part of the
documentary, presenting their side and their defense. Sea World declined to
participate. Even to my untrained eyes and ears this seemed incredibly odd to
me and gave the impression of guilt on behalf of Sea World Parks and
Entertainment. Now that I’m better equipped to recognize and deal with crises
like these, I know that Sea Worlds period of silence was the equivalent of
social suicide.
On October 18, 2013 the documentary Blackfish premiered on
CNN. It didn’t take long before the documentary had gone viral (not since the “To
Catch a Predator” series had I seen a program on a channel such as CNN garner
so much attention). “"Blackfish," is a documentary film about the
multiple incidents, including the three deaths, that prompted the ongoing court
case between Sea World, and OSHA, the "Occupational Safety and Health
Admissions". These 3 deaths, which included 2 Orca trainers, were caused
by Sea World's infamous bull Orca "Tilikum." Through a series of
interviews with former Orca trainers that worked with, or around Tilikum, and
other problematic captive Orca, the film tries to find an explanation for what
happened” (Plot Summary by JFlor on IMDb). In trying to find an explanation the
documentary paints Sea World parks and their behind the scenes operations in an
incredibly negative light that set animal rights activists on a frenzy in
protest of Sea World. The documentary spoke of abuse and shortened life spans.
It spoke of the conditions in which the Orca whales and other animals are kept
and how they compare to what they truly need in the wild. The documentary
addressed the diets of the animals and how it was insufficient in meeting the
nutritional needs of these gorgeous wild animals. All in all the documentary
painted Sea World in a very negative light. As soon as it was released all eyes
turned to Sea World for a response but instead there were crickets.
More than two months went by with no response whatsoever from
Sea World parks. “Blackfish” grew and gained an even bigger following.
Everybody from celebrities to soccer moms were refusing to support Sea World
parks any longer. Many musicians cancelled planned appearances at the park
after watching “Blackfish”. Finally, on December 20, 2013 Sea World spoke on
the issue in the form of an open letter that can be read here: http://seaworld.com/en/truth/truth-about-blackfish/
. Titled “The Truth About Blackfish” the letter slams back hard against the
documentary, touting it as pure propaganda that is so unfounded it shouldn’t
even be called a documentary. The response was thorough but did not get the
reaction that Sea World parks had hoped for.
Why didn’t people jump back on the Sea World bandwagon? Why
wasn’t their response good enough? In the world of crisis communication timing
is everything. Sea World should not have waited so long to defend their
practices and their parks. Sea World was aware of the documentary at its
inception, being that they were offered a chance to take part in it with their
own side. If they chose to opt out of participation (as they did), a statement
should have been issued right then from the parks with an explanation. Something
saying that they are aware of a documentary being made, why they chose not to
participate in the documentary, and a summary of their practices like that
given in their open letter could have gone a long way in saving face for the
company before it had even been tainted in the first place. By the time Sea World
responded to the allegations made in “Blackfish”, it was too late. “Blackfish”
created a spark that had turned into a full blown wildfire by the time Sea
World decided to respond. Many believed a letter wasn’t enough to prove
innocence and that longtime fans were owed more.
Had Sea World been ready with a crisis management plan
before tragedy struck things might have gone differently for them. It is
imperative to prepare for the worst case scenario when your organizations
reputation (and actual livelihood) depends on the ‘what ifs’. Now Sea World is
still facing massive backlash. There are job postings popping up in places they
never needed to be before because they can’t fill spots in some of their
non-animal performance positions. The public uproar got too loud and Sea World
only responded with a whisper. As a strategic communication and/or crisis
communication professional it is imperative to act timely and thoroughly in the
wake of controversy.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
How convenient, I WAS looking for that!
You’re browsing online for baby clothes (ok, have you
realized by now that almost all my examples are mommy related? It’s what I
do). A few hours later you’re perusing
your Facebook page checking out pictures of family members and friends and
laughing about the latest Geico hump day camel meme (Hey Mike…) and there it is…
the exact outfit you were looking at earlier. It’s displayed right in the side
bar drawing you back in. Some might consider it a sign from some divine force
that you really should go ahead and buy the outfit (after all, what baby doesn’t
look cute in a dinosaur romper?). Some might just find it interesting. But most
will recognize that they have been the target of the newest craze in
advertising: targeted advertising.
Advertising is not just a hit or miss thing anymore. Gone
are the days where a newspaper ad for a product is only seen by a few people
who find it relevant to them. Digital advertising has evolved and is smarter
than ever before. Digital advertising is now targeted specifically to desired
crowds based on browsing history, interests, and even geographical location.
That baby clothing ad wasn’t coincidental, it was specifically targeted to you
(ahem… me) because based on my browsing history the formulas that are used by
advertising agencies knew it was likely something relevant to me. Companies that aren’t using online targeted
advertising are seriously missing out on the revenue that it could be bringing
in for them. Business is booming. Despite the overwhelming success of online
targeted advertising, there are some pretty pronounced critics.
Is online targeted advertising innovative or invasive? There
are arguments on both sides of the matter. Many find the kind of information
obtained and stored by these companies to be an invasion of privacy, and
sometimes they might be right. Should information from my personal Facebook
page (that has strict privacy settings that only allow friends, and in some
cases only very close family to see my posts) be transmitted to agencies for
the sake of an advertisement? After all, I and many others have gone to great
lengths to ensure the privacy of our information and yet there it is, sent off
to the vast land of internet information. The scariest part to me is that each
of these strategic advertisements isn’t unique. They aren’t drawn on a case by
case basis based only on my most recent history, but rather my browsing history
over time is kept and filed away. Over time someone could probably know a lot
about me. In the last year I’ve searched so many things and visited so many
websites. A file of mine could reveal that my husband is deployed and exactly
where he is located. Depending how detailed the encryption it might even be
able to turn up his exact APO address where I’ve been sending him packages
(with labels printed online through the United States Postal Service). They
might be able to turn up medical history or that my son is about to undergo a
second surgery for his poor continuously infected ears. I imagine my file would
read that I’m in school (in fact, since being a student I’ve been the target of
a good bit of educational advertisement). Around October my file would probably
start turning up pregnancy related websites. In November they would know what
my children were getting for Christmas. By January my file would read that our
4th baby is also th boy (yes, FOUR boys…
save me now!). Most people don’t realize just how much their browsing history
would give away about their lives. All that aside, there’s still the question
of ethics. Is this ok or is it invasion of privacy?
going to be our 4
While it is probably a little bit of both, online targeted
advertising is not something forced on people. Do they take advantage of the
fact that most people are unaware of their options to opt-out of targeted
advertising? Of course, but being unaware doesn’t make it their fault. There
are many ways to keep from being targeted by online advertising. Browsers like
Firefox and Internet Explorer have options in the settings to tell websites
that you do not want to be tracked (which is news to me and something I will be
using as soon as I’m done here!). There are also ways to go about opting out
directly from the advertising agencies themselves (http://www.aboutads.info/choices/
lets you opt out of over 60 companies tracking for advertisements). No method
will be 100% effective, and if that’s a concern for you there are also browser
add-ons to up your security or you can use private browsing sessions (that
store no cookies or history) to do your online business.
Online targeted advertising is bigger and better than ever
and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Either you’re comfortable with that (and
sometimes glad, I’ve found plenty of nifty things through targeted ads!) or you
take the extra effort to prevent yourself being targeted.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Get to the top by communicating with the bottom.
Most people
view leadership in business as a dictatorship. The boss barks the orders and
the worker ants get to marching to get things done. This is a sad reality in
all too many business models. Why is it sad? Shouldn’t people know their place?
Well, yes... and no.
Imagine a
workplace where the boss barks the orders and nothing else. Would you feel
comfortable going to them with an issue or concern? Would you feel like they
even wanted to hear it or like your concerns held any weight at all? Probably
not. This kind of leadership model does not promote open communication and can
all too often lead to miscommunications that could fester into harmful issues
for the business or organization at play. Often times those worker ants see
more of what’s actually going on in the business or organization and are
valuable tools to identify problems and voice ideas on ways to change or
improve the current methods being used. When a boss is strictly at the top of
the pyramid it can not only cause miscommunication, but affect the attitudes
and morale of employees which has a direct effect on the level of efficiency at
which they work and the level of productivity reached. The flipside of the
steep pyramid model of leadership is the too casual “we’re all equals here”
type of management. While this type of work environment can certainly be fun, a
leader who doesn’t distinguish themselves as such will have a hard time reigning
in their employees when it’s crunch time. So how do you establish yourself as a
leader while still engaging your employees in the leadership process? Here are a few tips:
Be an open
and truly listening ear.
Open door policies are wonderful and
promote open communication between employees and the leadership of your
business or organization. When somebody comes to you with an issue, complaint,
or suggestion don’t just hear them. Listen and follow through. Let them know
that you’re addressing them and keep them updated along the way when resolving
an issue if possible. If it’s something you can’t necessarily address right
away or a suggestion that won’t particularly work for your business be open and
honest about why and the logistics of your decision, don’t just say no. This
type of open communication will create a sense of comfort within your
organization that lets your employees know that they can go to leadership for
any reason and not have to be afraid or feel embarrassed.
Correct
problems when you see them.
This can be one of the not-so-fun
parts of the job, but it’s absolutely necessary. Where it becomes a matter of
leadership is in the delivery of the correction. Don’t just spout off orders
and tell people they’re wrong. Explain what it is that isn’t working with their
current methodology and then explain to them the importance of the change you’re
proposing. Build them up. Let them know that you’re correcting them not only to
make your operation run more smoothly, but to help them be better at their job.
When they’ve taken appropriate measures to correct the issue, make sure you
acknowledge it. Lift them up and let them know they’ve done a good job.
Build up
your piggy bank by getting EVERYONE’S 2 cents.
This one goes hand in hand with
being a listening ear, but deserves its own shout out. Don’t always wait for
people to come to you with suggestions or issues. Go out and get opinions from
your employees. Hold meetings where everybody is free to put in their 2 cents
on whatever issue you’d like openly and freely. This will also instill a sense
of importance into your employees and let them know that you care about their
input even when there’s not a particular issue.
Trust that
your employees are capable of doing their job.
As a leader in business you have a
lot of things to get done. It’s nearly impossible to personally oversee every
single project going on under your roof and still be productive yourself. Trust
your employees. You hired them because you felt they were the right fit for the
job, so once you have given them an assignment trust that they know the right
way to get it done. This will instill confidence in your employees and lessen
your level of stress.
Engage your
employees in building plans of action.
Rather than just saying “this needs
to get done and this is how we’re going to do it,” get your employees input.
Have a meeting and say these are our goals and this is what needs to be the
outcome, so how are we going to work together to get there? When your plan of
action is employee generated it’s more likely to be enjoyable for them and
something they feel they can achieve. It also makes it easier for everybody to
stay on the same page with the project when that page is one they wrote themselves.
And finally,
in the words of the great Aretha Franklin, R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Respect goes a very long way. Respect
your employees and in turn they’ll respect you. An air of mutual respect breeds
open communication and quality productivity that is beneficial to everyone.
You have to give it, too! |
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