Ward to the Wise

At some point, you’ve no doubt been taken by surprise when you heard a highly relevant news report about your own employer, client, financial institution or other organization in which you were a stakeholder. Depending on your relationship to the company, you may have felt slighted, or worse, alarmed and self-protective — an unnecessary and preventable outcome had someone thought through the needs of all the company’s constituents. Certainly at times, legal, competitive, personnel or other strategic issues…

What is the most important factor in creating employee engagement? Compensation? Recognition? Management? Communication? Those are the typical answers workshop participants and clients give to this simple question. But, while those aspects are relevant, none hold the secret to successful employee engagement. Now, think about it. Remember when you were on a team and felt fully engaged. You were so into it, your passion and energy were flowing. You bounded out of bed ready to attack the challenge….

As our series on media topics draws to a close, we focus on how to work with media during a crisis. No communication is more time-critical, sensitive or challenging than what’s exchanged between a corporate spokesperson and a reporter during a crisis. The very nature of a crisis presents myriad obstacles that must be maneuvered around and managed – since the control you exert is limited. Remember, crises are temporary and, one hopes, short- lived. Your relationship with…

All organizations are vulnerable to media exposure. Many times we welcome and aggressively pursue positive media coverage, such as when a new product launchesor a major new real estate development is announced. Other times, such as when a crisis or poor employee judgment event occurs, you may find yourself wishing you could bury your head in the sand until the brouhaha blows over. Unfortunately, hiding from the media and willing away a crisis situation does not work. When the media comes knocking, you must…

You excitedly grab the morning paper or the TV remote to see how the reporter your spokesperson interviewed with has covered your story, only to discover to your horror that the story is riddled with inaccuracies. What do you do? The reality of today’s media is that deadline-pressured reporters make mistakes, and although we naturally want to respond with an irritated letter or abrupt phone call, such a panic-induced reaction never produces the desired result. So, before you…

Breaking News! Something relevant to your industry or client has happened and you believe your expert can offer perspective and commentary. As a public relations specialist, what do you do?! Tick tock. If you think the current industry buzzword “newsjacking” refers to a new strategy, think again. This tried-and-true tactic of purposefully entering a timely story in the news has been deployed by seasoned, proactive PR people for decades. Over the 24 years Ward has been in business,…

We’ve all been there, cringing as we observe an inarticulate, insincere, insensitive and, on occasion, incompetent executive speaking on behalf of a company. It is truly painful to watch. Today, with so many channels of communication at our disposal, why is it that this one key position – the company spokesperson – continues to challenge even the most media-savvy organization? Why is it that this critical role, which has the potential to leave positive and/or negative impressions that…

Facing a camera with a microphone (or two) recording your every word can be daunting for even the most seasoned spokesperson. But for those who aren’t used to the media spotlight, an interview with a reporter can be downright scary. Communicating with your stakeholders through media interviews remains one of your most effective public relations channels, and you definitely don’t want to waste the opportunity… or the investment your company has made in the effort. So how do…

According to a recent analysis by Pew Research Center, total revenue supporting American journalism has declined by one-third since 2006. The sources of the estimated $63-$65 billion dollars supporting print, online and broadcast news have also shifted, with advertising dollars declining and audience payments, in the form of subscriptions, for example, comprising a bigger share of revenue. Trade magazines, along with every other print publication, have found themselves at a crossroads. As digital marketing strategies and online content-sharing…

The debate about whether the traditional news release still serves a purpose is not new. The rise of social media, and the immediacy in which news is distributed, has caused many PR professionals and companies to re-evaluate their use of traditional news releases. The news release is most certainly NOT dead, but how and when it is used has changed. One of the most influential drivers of that change is social media outlets, which are becoming legitimate news…