Obama & Reagan: The Master Messengers

As a media relations pro with more years than I care to admit in this business, I find the way President Obama approaches messaging to be very interesting.

He follows a strategy that—ironically—President Reagan perfected in the 1980s. President Reagan’s approach was slightly counterintuitive and contrary to the media relations axiom that demands credible third-party endorsement of a message.

During President Reagan’s two terms, when an issue wasn’t positioned the way he wanted, he simply circumvented the entire communications channel. Whether it was the media’s take on the issue, or that it was bungled by his congressional allies and then skewered by his political enemies, President Reagan would simply go straight to the American people with his message. The result was often a seismic shift in poll numbers in favor of the President.

President Obama has pursued the same strategy, with similar results and a new millennium twist. Regardless of the issue—health care, the economy, or the War on Terrorism—the President uses the nearly endless channels of media that are at his disposal to take his message straight to all of us.

It is not that Presidents Obama and Reagan are the only Oval Office tenants to pursue this strategy; they just perfected it.

While none of our clients has access to the same platform as the President of the United States, it is fascinating to watch and learn from a master messenger at work, regardless of your political stripe.

Heart rending lessons for all

Some months ago, a colleague from an agency in Detroit needed a small favor best handled from our home market. We were happy to oblige, of course, as he has done for us. Jim Berline sent me a book as a thank you with a note saying that the contents had changed his life. I am slightly embarrassed to say that When One Door Closes joined the stack next to my bed. My wife teases me about always having two or three books going, so this one would have to get into the rotation. Little did I realize that finishing it on a commuter hop out of O'Hare last week would cause me to stare out the window to hide the fact that tears were welling up in my eyes.

It wouldn't be right to tell you exactly what's in the book or what made me shed a tear or two. I hope you will read it to find out. Suffice it to say that this book chronicles the journey of a teenager battling cancer. We share heart-felt moments from her family, friends, doctors and nurses, and from many others in her community. The popular band Barenaked Ladies plays a part as does Jim's agency, Berline, and the Make a Wish Foundation.

When One Door Closes is touching and sad in places. Far more importantly, it is uplifting and inspiring. It is truly remarkable to see how this very young woman, Alex Graham, faced devastating challenges with a positive attitude that was simply unconquerable. Imagine what the world could accomplish if all of us faced personal challenges with such a positive and productive attitude.

For his part, Jim Berline shows us how he and his agency made a lasting impact that extended well beyond his home town of Detroit. Without even asking, I know Jim would say that all of us could do something similar by channeling resources at our organizations.

Do yourself a favor, order a copy of When One Door Closes. You might shed a tear, but you'll also feel inspired and, perhaps, motivated to do a bit more good in the world.

Peeing Green

No, I’m not speaking of a bodily necessity after a St. Patrick’s Day excursion of green beer consumption.

I am, however, speaking of a “green” initiative of The National Trust, a charity that promotes British heritage. The organization is encouraging the male gardening staff at one of its properties–Wimpole Hall–to urinate outside on straw which then is transferred to compost heaps. No word on the lucky chap who is honored with moving the straw to the compost areas.

Evidently the urine causes a chemical reaction that helps the composting process. And the absence of toilet flushing will cut the property’s water consumption by a third. No, I am not making this up.

I’m just wondering what it says about the state of media relations and journalism that this story found its way to global news outlets such as the BBC and Fox News. Or perhaps I just answered my own question.

I suppose I also am to blame, as I sit in my office blogging about it. I’ll let you be the judge.

Google Wave begins a bumpy ride toward the future of collaboration

Our senior programmer cautioned that most people aren't accustomed to working with beta versions of computer applications. A simple function might work in the morning, for instance, but not later in the day. Or, it might disappear altogether only to reappear in a slightly different form. Fascinating for an IT guy; maddening for someone like me. Nonetheless it's apparent that Google's new Wave has immense promise.

No one, including Google, seems very good at describing just what Wave is. Regardless, I will try. Basically, you log onto a Web site where you can enter into real-time conversations with closed or public groups. You can see characters appear as others type. Users can post documents, photos, video and Web links to share. Most of this can be viewed without ever leaving your group or "wave" as it's called.

How might you use it? A number of ways.

Milwaukee and Austin groups quickly sprung up to share tips on how to use Wave. The international brand development group I'm involved with from the Transworld Advertising Agency Network (TAAN) certainly could use it to communicate and share. When dealing with crisis communications (provided Wave proves to be secure) collaborating on multi-media documents in a single spot certainly has benefits.

At the moment I feel lucky to be among the non-techies with access to the Wave preview. Despite the fact I find using it confusing sometimes and that Wave can be quite glitchy, it's fun to watch it evolve and imagine what the future might bring.

Inappropriate or Ill Prepared?

To borrow a cliché, when you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail. Or, as we remind our clients, media train, media train, media train.

Former Ms. California Carrie Prejean could have used some media training before her appearance on Larry King Live. Prejean was on the show to promote her new book, yet she seemed surprised by Larry King's line of questioning about her lawsuit against the Miss Universe pageant. So surprised, in fact, that she called Larry King "inappropriate" and attempted to walk off the set.

While I'm not a Larry King fan, his questions in this instance were straightforward and should have been easily anticipated. Instead, CNN is playing the video clip repeatedly. Donald Trump has chimed in to demonstrate his shock and dismay.

If this was a planned publicity stunt (let's hope not), Carrie Prejean is getting plenty of visibility. In reality, the situation did nothing but make Prejean and her publicist look silly and ill prepared.

Fact vs. Truth

As is the case with many public relations professionals, we spend at least a portion of our time examining, discussing and sometimes reacting to news media reports regarding issues of special interest to our clients.

Central to these discussions is whether a story is accurate and true or not. While this usually is a fairly easy conclusion to reach for those in other professions, it is not quite so simple for us.

Often, the notion of whether a story is “factual” becomes secondary. What we really want to know is if the story is “true.”

As a former newspaper and wire service reporter, I am particularly sensitive to this issue. Let’s stop and think before we pile on the news media, blaming reporters for producing stories that are factual, but misleading.

Especially today, with news organizations assigning many beats to a single reporter, it is not reasonable to expect a reporter to understand all the complexities of a particular organization or industry and what the facts actually mean. That’s our job.

So the next time you see a factual story that is lacking in perspective or context, ask yourself this: “Was the reporter properly prepared to do the story? Did we share the story’s possible ‘twists and turns’ with the reporter? Did we set the reporter up to succeed or fail?”

After all, we are the subject experts. Our expertise is why the media comes to us for comment or information. Do our job well and the likelihood that a story is factual and accurate becomes not only possible, but likely.

Visual tricks on the screen to make your speeches sound better

Most everyone who gives a speech on ocassion or who regularly makes business presentations understands the value of practicing out loud. What looks great in written form can sometimes be a clumsy mouthful when spoken. Here are some thoughts from one speech writer on how to use a visual trick to improve your verbal approach, courtesy of Ragan Communications.

The folks at Ragan have done a great job in compiling lots of resources online for anyone in the industry to use. Their approach is a good example of not being afraid to share information. In doing so, of course, they become experts in their field. These are great tips for anyone interested in public speaking and reputation management.

Smart move.