Risë Birnbaum and "the buzz"

Climbing the Best Practices Summit

Nothing says spring in NYC then 40 degrees and windy.  No wonder all those New Yorkers (and I’m a native) walk at like a 5mph pace.  It’s just to stay warm in March.

I was on my way to the 2011 Ragan Media Relations Best Practices Summit. It was a terrific Ragan Communications conference where I spoke with my colleague Robin Lane on integrating traditional and social PR tactics to create a successful campaign. We highlighted our own success with the Silver Diner restaurant group.

    

 

Of course Robin and I were sandwiched between Tim McIntyre, VP Communications, Domino’s about how they masterfully handled a brand-damaging video, and Carlos Dominguez, SVP, Cisco about what’s hot in the digital world and what’s coming down the pike.

Tim was great.  Guess is that you know all about the famous Domino’s employee video that caused a scandal for the company.  And while you heard the media’s take on it, it was quite different to hear Tim’s. Despite the criticism Domino’s received for the campaign, their response was actually incredibly thoughtful. No, they didn’t race online with their response, but rather investigated the video and searched out the culprits before they could do more damage.  The team discovered it was a hoax and put its president on YouTube to remind us how much Domino’s cares about its customers. 

And Carlos was super cool.  From his witty intro showing his Cisco ID photo’s gradual increase in quality as he climbed the corporate ladder…to his “controversial big ideas” on what’s in store for the tech side of things.  First, a mind blowing idea – email will be dead.  Yup, Carlos predicts that this time-suck way of communicating will be replaced by customized finite communities.  For example, we will collaborate on projects in secure professional communities rather than through individual email.  Everything will take place in these communities.  No more email updates.  Can you fathom that?  At least I won’t wear out my delete button as much. 

The second “big idea” was that intent marketing is about to explode.  All the research points to the value of consumer reviews and online feedback in people’s purchasing decision. And according to Carlos, the marketers are not going to just dabble at taking advantage but throw themselves in head first. Say I want to buy a small car around $25k with great gas mileage.  In today’s world, I’m more likely to ask my social network than rely on consumer reports and test driving 8 different models.  By simply stating my intent, I will find myself targeted and sold to by all the car dealers online. Companies and brands will track you online and come to you. 

Just these two new thoughts have kept my mind spinning since the conference.  Not sure about email biting the dust so fast, but intent marketing is already happening.

Hats off to Mark Ragan who put on a great show.

TWO AND A HALF MEN

Who knew Charlie Sheen was the “half” in Two and a Half Men? Half man and half wingnut. The sitcom star is on a roll with winning lines including “I have Adonis DNA and Tiger Blood.” “Yeah, I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen! It's not available, because if you try it once, you will die.” “People can’t process me with a normal brain.” And the ever-popular, "I'm underpaid.”  

However, with the amount of publicity he has drummed up, including several morning shows and coverage from Perez to People, maybe he is underpaid. TV hasn’t had this much fight since Shannen Doherty took on Beverly Hills. Charlie, if you could try for controversial instead of insane you may just get this PR stuff right. 

In the PR biz you book TV or radio interviews so your celebrity spokesperson can deliver message points to millions of viewers and listeners.  In Charlie’s case, his message is loud and clear – he is crazy!

It’s evidently not enough that CBS fired the guy and closed up shop for the popular show this season, but now the celebrity partyer has gone above and beyond. He would like a raise!  Yup, you heard right.  Charlie now wants $3 million an episode...and he’s demanding CBS gives a public apology.  And this is after he trashed-talked show producer Chuck Lorrie, CBS, AA...you name it. He believes that CBS is taking away his money and that’s where he draws the line. When asked if he was angry, his answer was “no, just passionate.”

This is almost better than the Tiger Woods controversy and definitely better than the Academy Awards.

Speaking of PR types, Charlie’s longtime publicist just resigned. Can anyone blame him?  I think we are past the point of salvaging this guy.  Best bet now is to just keep playing out the crazy man routine and own it!

Usually when there’s a celebrity PR crisis, the celeb in the crosshairs manages to humbly apologize and go into rehab.  But not Charlie!  He’ll continue to do back-to-back interviews where you can almost see the steam coming out of his ears (I bet there’s a lack of gray matter in between to hold it in).

How will this end?  He sure is funny on the TV show and, according to him, has several movie offers on the table.  But, here’s my guess:  Charlie is destined to find himself the subject of SNL skits, South Park plots and Family Guy jokes- but the damage will be short-lived.  Because crazy as he is, the man sure can make a funny sitcom.

No Turkey For Me!

I guess you could call me a “healthy eater.”   I don’t love desserts and think twice about the number of fries I steal from someone else's plate (usually someone actually at my table).  I also eat a variety of foods – from pasta with veggies and salmon to a cheeseburger with everything on it. 

So, it’s Thanksgiving, and the Holidays, and turkey is naturally front and center.  I’m heading to NYC to meet with family and friends and turkey was sure high on my list…that is, until I saw the Sarah Palin/turkey slaughter plant video.  It was like something out of an SNL skit.  There’s Sarah near the camera to our left and not too far behind her on the right, in clear view, is a guy in a white coat taking bound, live turkeys and stuffing then head first into like this wood chipper metal bin.  Every now and then he would turn to the camera while Sarah was going on…smiling and saying what a pleasure it was to be there.  Turkey feet were twitching and blood was pooling and there I was…glued to this scene that looked like something from SAW V and really trying not to gag.  Was this a local TV reporter playing a joke on Palin?  Was it a PR person who just forgot to advance the scene for the shoot?  Who knows?  But the moral of the story for me is that I’m off turkey for the time being and have changed our Thanksgiving reservation to an Italian restaurant.  Pasta with basil and olive oil is looking pretty good to me about now.

Happy Holidays everyone!!!
Risë

If you want to see it for yourself, here it is but I warned you:

MATCH POINT

If you were like me, your remote was stuck on one channel and you were literally glued to the Wimbledon duel between Nadal and Federer Sunday.  I was at the edge of my seat watching every serve and volley, drop shot and overhead.

This was a match between the best of the best and even though I saw the Borg-McEnroe match in person at Wimbledon in 1980 when McEnroe won on the 4th of July, this was in a league of its own.

It also pointed out to me that the phrase “never give up” never rang so true.  Here are two champions at the top of their game and both were still giving it their all. 

The same holds true for business.  If the economy is impacting you, it’s time to rally and literally give it your all to not only survive but thrive.  PR is something that all companies need, but may not fully understand.  It’s up to you to educate prospective clients so they understand how critical it really is and then to work your tail off to achieve great results.

As for the Wimbledon finals, even though Nadal won, they’re both winners in my book because neither gave in and both played their hearts out to the bitter end.

And even if you have to change strategies or tactics along the way, that’s cool.  The more you “play” the more you learn, and the harder you play, the better the chance you’ll win.