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T he Golden Rule of PR: Always — and only — talk when you have something to say. At Crawford PR, we think deeply, strategically, and amusingly about our industry and how its developments impact our current and future clients. You can learn a lot about how we help tell your stories by seeing how we tell our own.
For expert commentary on PR strategy and how new tools suit timeless purposes, see company president Jim Crawford‘s Black Box Blog. For critical assessments of new media in PR — from corporate blogging to press relations via social media — see social media director Kate Schackai‘s White Hat PR.
Social Engagement: The Big Event, When PR Isn’t Virtual
As Jim mentioned in a previous post, I’ve just come off a stint as the New Hampshire media coordinator for the Ron Paul campaign. It was unbridled fun, and also a great reminder of what can and can’t be accomplished sitting in front of a keyboard. Much is written these days about relationships — with customers, with clients, and with media — and technology offers truly amazing tools for building and maximizing those connections from afar. But while I love the social toolbox, at some point interactions become hands on,...
read moreCurses! Foiled by Smart Devices and Fiendishly Clever Search Engines — Again!
My moment of triumph over the phone monopoly had arrived. I’d show them. Stodgy old feature phone in hand, I burst through the doors of the Verizon Wireless store and slammed the device on the counter. “The damned thing has been broken all day and I can’t call out — what can you do about it?” The youthful service rep studied my phone from a safe distance, as one would any dinosaur, then bravely picked it up and placed a test call. “Works fine,” he said, “Let me see you try.” I did. Same...
read moreTech PR: Be Your Own Wire Service
One of my longstanding principles is to be nice to almost everybody. I do this even if they work for me and I’m in a position to lord it over them and make their lives miserable. It’s not that I’m a kindly soul imbued with bonhomie or involuntarily go around spreading good cheer. Far from it. I’m nice because it’s practical, and often the safest thing to do. Through a twist of fate you can end up working for some nincompoop who was once your employee. Ask anyone who’s worked at Crawford. Most are former...
read more“What Do YOU Think?” — The Most Important Question Companies Never Ask
In the tech PR arena we deal with companies that tend to differentiate themselves based on new product or service features: voice synthesis, business intelligence, and so on. There’s a continual game of one-up-manship to develop some clever new googaw or gimcrack that will give an edge, however slight or short-lived, over the competition. Frankly, if I were a customer I’d be more impressed if a company got in touch and said, “What is your biggest business problem, and how can we help?” or even “What do you think...
read moreSocial Engagement: Twitter – Useful PR Tool or Total Waste of Time?
It’s fair to wonder about a communications tool that seems designed to refer to its users as “twits.” “Tweeple” (not “twerps”?) may be a kinder sobriquet, but how useful is the “twitterverse?” And at what point (if ever) does Twitter rise above thumb-twiddling? You’ve likely already seen the most touted story lines — Twitter boasts more than 100 million active users, is growing at an alarming rate, and is almost absurdly well-suited to smartphones and mobile devices… So...
read moreCongratulations on Your Success! (You Egotistical Ass)
French essayist Michel de Montaigne wrote “modesty is the worst form of conceit.” In an election year where all candidates, including multi-millionaires, do their best to out-humble another in order to impress, I’d generally agree with Mssr. Montaigne. But today, following the arrival of two incredibly arrogant promotions that crossed my inbox, I’m taking exception. The first comes from the founder and leader of a local tech meetup group. What exactly he’s promoting other than his own vain self, who knows? The...
read moreLifetime Resolution: Know Your Groove
Way back in the 1960s, longshoreman, author and philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote, “When people are free to do as they please, they usually imitate each other.” We see this phenomenon every day in the business world, where companies compete by copying products — adding some minor feature or performance boost in the name of differentiation. The same holds true in public relations, where one agency’s services — even in specialized areas such as telecom PR or tech PR – sound much the same as all the...
read morePReality: A Gentle Reminder that PR Isn’t Everything
‘Tis the season for top ten lists. And while a few of these annual roundups are useful, some — like the one put out by PR Daily yesterday — should remind folks to take off their industry goggles every once in a while and remember reality. “Top 10 PR Blunders of 2011” is a fine idea, but my head spun when I saw even the thumbnail of the article image on Facebook: Penn State’s problem was a PR blunder? Seriously? Twitter misfires, advertising snafus, BofA’s tone-deaf debit charge, and Netflix’s...
read moreTech PR Smarts: Startups, PR and the Buyout Endgame
Attention, startups looking for the big bucks, heed the Golden Rule of Funding: Ultimately, VCs want their money back with a hefty return. Of course, you want that giant payout, too. Here are 10 pointers to help you on your way down the path to riches. Look the Part. Whenever I stroll up the aisle to chat with speakers at tech meet-ups, I’m amused at how the crowd of Seattle-like grungies parts before me like the Red Sea opening for Moses. Why this happens: I’m the one old guy in a suit. I look like the money. If you choose to...
read moreTech PR Smarts: Avoid Making a “Fule” of Yourself Online
For centuries Marylanders and Virginians have feuded like Hatfields and McCoys. We Virginians view the people of Maryland as crooks and imbeciles. Marylanders see us as antedeluvian throwbacks. Having lived in both states I can attest with complete impartiality that such opinions are well-founded. The mutual enmity of neighbors is an ancient tradition. In classical times, Athenians looked down their noses at the rubes of Boeotia. Today it’s Maryland’s turn to get it in the neck. This morning I received a holiday email promo from...
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