1. Motivation: it sounds basic (and it is) but oh so lacking sometimes...slackness is sure to follow
2. Information: we are only as good sometimes as what we know and when. Regardless of whether someone is a client or a supplier, we are all under constant pressure to actually know what the hell the real story is.
3. Judgement: swift, accurate judgement about a situation is immensely valuable. There are 25 year olds who do this well and 50 year olds who do it badly, and vice versa. It's something more than being smart and something less than needing 20 years experience.
4. Speed: once upon a time you could take four hours to answer most media queries in financial services. Now more than 20 minutes could mean the difference between no story and one that starts to sink the company.
5. Integrity: to tell a client their story won't float, to tell a journo we don't know the answer and the client or the spokesperson won't want to answer (and no we don't know why), to always tell the truth and sometimes, to say absolutely nothing at all. Ever (some things go with me to the grave!!).
These are the things I've seen in every successful PR I've met....
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Friday, October 09, 2009
Who does it better? Consultant or inhouse PR practitioner?
Really it's a trick question. The simple answer is "it depends".
On what?
The person, their experience, their colleagues (particularly their manager), the CEO and probably some random things such as news of the day.
This is a question I think about almost every day. For one, I've been on both sides. Secondly, I now devote a great deal of time, as everyone in our team does, to thinking about how to be a really good consultant in order to help our inhouse clients be really good at what they do - managing the reputation of their asset management firm, advice business, consulting firm, super fund or banking product provider.
Having now been thinking about this question since 1996 (when I first watched some PR consultants be charming but deliver a huge amount) I have some general thoughts about the relative strengths and weaknesses of each role.
And more importantly how the two can come together to form, in many cases, a perfect whole. By that I mean a truly great partnership where the inhouse person is relieved of bucket loads of day-to-day grief, and gains a trusted, expert, external sounding board and access to great media or stakeholder outcomes.
On the other side of this perfect pairing, the consultant gets to work with a capable inhouse client who values the role of external PR, knows their company and the internal stakeholders and can gives access to the information or people the consultant needs to deliver the right outcome.
Inhouse?
The beauty of being in house is really knowing your firm. No consultant can ever really 'get in the skin' of your company. After a few years you probably know everyone, and possibly have a political intelligence quotient higher than anyone except the HR director. You instinctively 'know' the answer to almost any question of principle about your firm because you live it.
If things are going well, the senior PR person has a hand in almost every significant corporate event. And the ear of senior executives if not the CEO, Chairman and Board.
What is harder to hang onto in house is a sense of objectivity - that instant judgment of what the outside world will think. It can also be mighty hard to actually 'do the doing'. Internal meetings, issues management, endless phone calls and emails all conspire to keep in house PR people from actually planning, writing, calling or otherwise executing what may well be a great strategy. Or not.
Crippling email volumes, media, online or parliamentary monitoring, requests from media and almost any part of the business can all conspire to muddy clarity of judgment. Where do you get the time to plan the proactive positive media activity the CEO or others seem to think should be easy??
It can also be more difficult inhouse to judge success. What is a good outcome here? Does it matter? Longer term yes, but short term it can be very hard to know.
Consultant
Never a dull moment. When you have multiple clients, as most PR consultants do, you never quite know which way your day will go. And that gives great perspective. Perspective across diverse businesses, with diverse communication challenges - and opportunities. Perspective day in and day out across stakeholders from bloggers to community groups or investors to editors.
Always on, constantly watching the online and media world, grabbing opportunities, meeting clients, talking to media or surfing the relevant online sources.
One thing about being a consultant, at least the ones I respect, is that we 'know what we don't know'. Many consultants (cetainly the team at BlueChip!) work as part of a team, working up ideas, sharing what they've learned and in turn learning from the experience of peers. That collective intelligence can produce extraordinary results.
So too can years of building up 'the little black book'. Whether media or industry contacts, consultants tend to build up a formidable network along with the knowledge bank.
And consultants are almost never in doubt about what a good outcome/success looks like. They have to know that before they can start work or it's all just fumbling around in the dark. And understanding what success looks like matters - because consultants have to stay hungry. For the next project, the next client, the next win for all clients.
Consultants ultimately have to deliver for their clients - or they don't stay consultants. So dedicated, focused resources usually ensure the job gets done - whether that supposedly easy proactive positive coverage or keeping your name out of certain stories.
What I've found both in house and as a consultant is that a few key things are needed in both places to be a truly great PR person....which will be my next post!
But no pressure people!
Actually both roles have potential to deliver immense value, for very different reasons.
The trick is to know what you're really really good at and do that - ideally outsourcing the rest or working only with clients who need what you have!
Note: I worked inhouse for ten years before founding BlueChip Communication, a specialise financial services PR firm, with my partner Bruce Madden. Since 2004 the BlueChip team of consultants have partnered with Australia's leading wealth management, investment and financial services brands. We think a LOT about what it takes to make a great partnership with clients!
On what?
The person, their experience, their colleagues (particularly their manager), the CEO and probably some random things such as news of the day.
This is a question I think about almost every day. For one, I've been on both sides. Secondly, I now devote a great deal of time, as everyone in our team does, to thinking about how to be a really good consultant in order to help our inhouse clients be really good at what they do - managing the reputation of their asset management firm, advice business, consulting firm, super fund or banking product provider.
Having now been thinking about this question since 1996 (when I first watched some PR consultants be charming but deliver a huge amount) I have some general thoughts about the relative strengths and weaknesses of each role.
And more importantly how the two can come together to form, in many cases, a perfect whole. By that I mean a truly great partnership where the inhouse person is relieved of bucket loads of day-to-day grief, and gains a trusted, expert, external sounding board and access to great media or stakeholder outcomes.
On the other side of this perfect pairing, the consultant gets to work with a capable inhouse client who values the role of external PR, knows their company and the internal stakeholders and can gives access to the information or people the consultant needs to deliver the right outcome.
Inhouse?
The beauty of being in house is really knowing your firm. No consultant can ever really 'get in the skin' of your company. After a few years you probably know everyone, and possibly have a political intelligence quotient higher than anyone except the HR director. You instinctively 'know' the answer to almost any question of principle about your firm because you live it.
If things are going well, the senior PR person has a hand in almost every significant corporate event. And the ear of senior executives if not the CEO, Chairman and Board.
What is harder to hang onto in house is a sense of objectivity - that instant judgment of what the outside world will think. It can also be mighty hard to actually 'do the doing'. Internal meetings, issues management, endless phone calls and emails all conspire to keep in house PR people from actually planning, writing, calling or otherwise executing what may well be a great strategy. Or not.
Crippling email volumes, media, online or parliamentary monitoring, requests from media and almost any part of the business can all conspire to muddy clarity of judgment. Where do you get the time to plan the proactive positive media activity the CEO or others seem to think should be easy??
It can also be more difficult inhouse to judge success. What is a good outcome here? Does it matter? Longer term yes, but short term it can be very hard to know.
Consultant
Never a dull moment. When you have multiple clients, as most PR consultants do, you never quite know which way your day will go. And that gives great perspective. Perspective across diverse businesses, with diverse communication challenges - and opportunities. Perspective day in and day out across stakeholders from bloggers to community groups or investors to editors.
Always on, constantly watching the online and media world, grabbing opportunities, meeting clients, talking to media or surfing the relevant online sources.
One thing about being a consultant, at least the ones I respect, is that we 'know what we don't know'. Many consultants (cetainly the team at BlueChip!) work as part of a team, working up ideas, sharing what they've learned and in turn learning from the experience of peers. That collective intelligence can produce extraordinary results.
So too can years of building up 'the little black book'. Whether media or industry contacts, consultants tend to build up a formidable network along with the knowledge bank.
And consultants are almost never in doubt about what a good outcome/success looks like. They have to know that before they can start work or it's all just fumbling around in the dark. And understanding what success looks like matters - because consultants have to stay hungry. For the next project, the next client, the next win for all clients.
Consultants ultimately have to deliver for their clients - or they don't stay consultants. So dedicated, focused resources usually ensure the job gets done - whether that supposedly easy proactive positive coverage or keeping your name out of certain stories.
What I've found both in house and as a consultant is that a few key things are needed in both places to be a truly great PR person....which will be my next post!
But no pressure people!
Actually both roles have potential to deliver immense value, for very different reasons.
The trick is to know what you're really really good at and do that - ideally outsourcing the rest or working only with clients who need what you have!
Note: I worked inhouse for ten years before founding BlueChip Communication, a specialise financial services PR firm, with my partner Bruce Madden. Since 2004 the BlueChip team of consultants have partnered with Australia's leading wealth management, investment and financial services brands. We think a LOT about what it takes to make a great partnership with clients!
Monday, October 05, 2009
Australian PR and social media practice....do we stack up versus the world?
I had the great opportunity last month to travel to New York, London & Hong Kong for a conference and meetings with clients, partner firms and potential clients. While it was good to bring new ideas home to the BlueChip team and our clients, it was even better to get a sense of how what we do stacks up globally.
In fact, there are some areas where our niche financial services PR firm leads the world.
First, some observations on the state of financial services PR globally. Given the year gone, I found businesses (clients and consultants) in better shape than I expected. Generally staff numbers are down and margins are squeezed, or in some cases non-existent. Still, those businesses seem to have come through in good shape. If anything there's more focus on results and less on largesse. Those reliant on bonuses are feeling the pinch, while some others are pushing ahead with small scale expansion into offshore markets - a sign of hope rather than desperation.
Secondly, every one is stretched. Again, both clients and consultants are having to do more with less. Not too many are hiring, and the work is still there. That means more pressure on fewer people.
Finally, it seems almost everyone is has, or is starting to, lift their gaze from the few feet immediately in front on them and think "longer term" and "bigger picture".
Of course the first movers were doing that months ago. And that brings me to a couple of exceptions. There were some businesses I met who throughout all the uncertainty were either less affected or just more focussed. Those people have taken a once in a lifetime opportunity to move in this market.
We first saw and heard these sorts of clients in quarter 1 of the calendar year. People who were determined to make the most of the current market, and to use proactive PR as a way to build their brand.
As Australians we've seen more green shoots than offshore colleagues whose economies have had a way harder time of it.
What did surprise was how far head our firm appears to be in social media (particularly online pr) knowledge.
Wealth management (even retail) is a bit of a laggard when it comes to social media. I did think I'd learn more about social media in financial services in my travels.
What I found was that what we've developed at BlueChip is pretty much as good as it gets for wealth management social media.
And therein lies the beauty and the devil of the online world. A Sydney PR person can know more about the latest US online PR expert than those in his own country.
In fact, there are some areas where our niche financial services PR firm leads the world.
First, some observations on the state of financial services PR globally. Given the year gone, I found businesses (clients and consultants) in better shape than I expected. Generally staff numbers are down and margins are squeezed, or in some cases non-existent. Still, those businesses seem to have come through in good shape. If anything there's more focus on results and less on largesse. Those reliant on bonuses are feeling the pinch, while some others are pushing ahead with small scale expansion into offshore markets - a sign of hope rather than desperation.
Secondly, every one is stretched. Again, both clients and consultants are having to do more with less. Not too many are hiring, and the work is still there. That means more pressure on fewer people.
Finally, it seems almost everyone is has, or is starting to, lift their gaze from the few feet immediately in front on them and think "longer term" and "bigger picture".
Of course the first movers were doing that months ago. And that brings me to a couple of exceptions. There were some businesses I met who throughout all the uncertainty were either less affected or just more focussed. Those people have taken a once in a lifetime opportunity to move in this market.
We first saw and heard these sorts of clients in quarter 1 of the calendar year. People who were determined to make the most of the current market, and to use proactive PR as a way to build their brand.
As Australians we've seen more green shoots than offshore colleagues whose economies have had a way harder time of it.
What did surprise was how far head our firm appears to be in social media (particularly online pr) knowledge.
Wealth management (even retail) is a bit of a laggard when it comes to social media. I did think I'd learn more about social media in financial services in my travels.
What I found was that what we've developed at BlueChip is pretty much as good as it gets for wealth management social media.
And therein lies the beauty and the devil of the online world. A Sydney PR person can know more about the latest US online PR expert than those in his own country.
Monday, September 14, 2009
9/11 and 15/11: Lives versus lucre
This post was written in the back seat of a yellow cab on arrival into New York on 9/11 2009, and just a few days short of the one year anniversary of Lehmann Brothers declaring bankruptcy.
Both events caused great fear. How our trusted institutions (governments, corporates in particular) emerged from those events has been defining, with trust intact or in tatters.
Reputation research tells us that in times of crisis, it is vision and leadership that define our reputations.
My experience on 9/11 2001 was one of being torn between the job (then head of external communications for a listed insurer) and concern for colleagues and friends in New York.
The immediate concern for listed insurers and airlines in Australia before the ASX opened was to know what to say to the market and whether or not to allow their stock to trade. Many senior people I knew were shocked, bewildered and simply unsure what to do next.
Fortunately I had the support of a great consultant. He'd seen the news the night before and spent much of his night trying to track down family in New York. He'd also seen what happened to airline and insurance stocks in US trading before the market closed. He gave my colleagues and I good advice, and he was there for us when we needed him.
As a company we were able to assess our position quickly and make sensible representations to the ASX. Those initial assessments proved correct and the market rewarded us for it.
Another listed insurer didn't get their market communication right. It very nearly cost them everthing as their share price dropped and market rumour took hold. Their reputation took a huge hit.
On 15 September 2008 and I arrived in New York to attend an investment communication conference. The news was all about Lehmann. The next day it was all about which bank was next to collapse. It seemed no one was safe. New Yorkers, according to the popular news, were already converting cash to gold bullion in mid-town as fear took hold of markets and the world banking system fought for its life.
This time I was the consultant. It was an extraordinary year of helping clients fight for their reputations or, in some cases, their very survival.
For better or worse Australia seemed to lag the US and Europe in feeling the impact of Lehmann. That meant I could advise clients having seen and heard first-hand how the issues were dealt with globally.
Again, vision and leadership have determined reputation post-crisis.
Speed, coherency and appropriateness of response to unexpected events can make or break reputation.
Plenty of businesses didn't make it through the last year. For those that did there are plenty of lessons.
First and foremost, trust is everything.
Both events caused great fear. How our trusted institutions (governments, corporates in particular) emerged from those events has been defining, with trust intact or in tatters.
Reputation research tells us that in times of crisis, it is vision and leadership that define our reputations.
My experience on 9/11 2001 was one of being torn between the job (then head of external communications for a listed insurer) and concern for colleagues and friends in New York.
The immediate concern for listed insurers and airlines in Australia before the ASX opened was to know what to say to the market and whether or not to allow their stock to trade. Many senior people I knew were shocked, bewildered and simply unsure what to do next.
Fortunately I had the support of a great consultant. He'd seen the news the night before and spent much of his night trying to track down family in New York. He'd also seen what happened to airline and insurance stocks in US trading before the market closed. He gave my colleagues and I good advice, and he was there for us when we needed him.
As a company we were able to assess our position quickly and make sensible representations to the ASX. Those initial assessments proved correct and the market rewarded us for it.
Another listed insurer didn't get their market communication right. It very nearly cost them everthing as their share price dropped and market rumour took hold. Their reputation took a huge hit.
On 15 September 2008 and I arrived in New York to attend an investment communication conference. The news was all about Lehmann. The next day it was all about which bank was next to collapse. It seemed no one was safe. New Yorkers, according to the popular news, were already converting cash to gold bullion in mid-town as fear took hold of markets and the world banking system fought for its life.
This time I was the consultant. It was an extraordinary year of helping clients fight for their reputations or, in some cases, their very survival.
For better or worse Australia seemed to lag the US and Europe in feeling the impact of Lehmann. That meant I could advise clients having seen and heard first-hand how the issues were dealt with globally.
Again, vision and leadership have determined reputation post-crisis.
Speed, coherency and appropriateness of response to unexpected events can make or break reputation.
Plenty of businesses didn't make it through the last year. For those that did there are plenty of lessons.
First and foremost, trust is everything.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Financial institutions' exponential online growth - 54 on twitter to over 600 in less than 6 months??
Now here's a really useful blog for anyone interested in financial services online pr and social media. Visible-Banking, out of the UK, tracks, among other things, the growth of financial institutions (FIs) online.
From a mere 54 in March 2009 to a whopping 606 more recently!
We are talking here about banks, credit unions, fund / asset managers, insurers, credit card issuers and others who maybe:
From a mere 54 in March 2009 to a whopping 606 more recently!
We are talking here about banks, credit unions, fund / asset managers, insurers, credit card issuers and others who maybe:
- blogging
- on Facebook
- posting to YouTube
- running online communities
- providing podcasts
- launching innovation labs
- maybe have RSS feeds
- providing webcasts or TV
- have a wiki....and more.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Network science and why it will change what we do
En route to the US to attend the PAICR conference I watched a documentary about network science. It helped explain why financial services (and many other) marketing and PR efforts are seemingly unpredictably successful or unsuccessful. And why measurment remains a challenge.
In short, my takeout is that relying on opinion leaders or influencers is an unproven and probably unsuccessful way to change opinions and behaviour.
The implications for marketing and PR are huge.
If I have it right, it means:
- Average people are just as likely to start a trend as the more connected among a population
- A product, service or idea won't be successful unless it's time is right
- If the time is right an idea, product or service will spread incredibly rapidly
Our job as marketers or communators then is to do what I was taught at uni - make stuff people want. I beleive it was more appropriately called "the marketing concept" and it followed on from what was taught in high school economics - consumer sovereignty.
More appropriately to the finance sector, only sell services or ideas when they will add value and the conditions are right for clients or investors to take them up.
This Fast Company article about Duncan Watts' work talks more about why targetting opinion leaders is a waster of time.
PS In 1992, I dropped my 2/rds complete Honours thesis about Roger's diffusion of innovation framework and social change communication. Sounds like that was a better call than I realised at the time!
In short, my takeout is that relying on opinion leaders or influencers is an unproven and probably unsuccessful way to change opinions and behaviour.
The implications for marketing and PR are huge.
If I have it right, it means:
- Average people are just as likely to start a trend as the more connected among a population
- A product, service or idea won't be successful unless it's time is right
- If the time is right an idea, product or service will spread incredibly rapidly
Our job as marketers or communators then is to do what I was taught at uni - make stuff people want. I beleive it was more appropriately called "the marketing concept" and it followed on from what was taught in high school economics - consumer sovereignty.
More appropriately to the finance sector, only sell services or ideas when they will add value and the conditions are right for clients or investors to take them up.
This Fast Company article about Duncan Watts' work talks more about why targetting opinion leaders is a waster of time.
PS In 1992, I dropped my 2/rds complete Honours thesis about Roger's diffusion of innovation framework and social change communication. Sounds like that was a better call than I realised at the time!
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Top 3 questions & answers about social media and wealth management...today. But who knows tomorrow?
Every time we talk to clients and colleagues about social media we're asked, almost invariably, a standard battery of questions. Here are the questions, their answers today, and some thoughts about what those answers will be in the future.
Before I get into the Q & A here's the summary: you already know your business and its messages – social media is just about ensuring you're heard in a new space.
What our clients are finding is this: with just a little help it CAN be done, it will soon HAVE to be part of business as usual and their colleagues often pick it up FASTER than they expect.
Question 1: Does this whole social media thing really matter for those of us in financial services/wealth management/the investment industry and our clients?
Answer: Hmmm. Yes. A lot. Already. And way more in 3, 6 and 12 months.
In the future? I'd guess that in two years you'll look back and rue it if you didn't commit now to 'owning the ink' in your space. Why? Let's see...
Question 2: Why does social media matter?
Answer: The short answer is that social media can't be controlled by brands the way current marcomms can be. And yet it is far more influential. A bit like public relations and media. Media has its own agenda and it's not your marketing agenda - imagine that on speed. Imagine every client prospect who touches your business having an opinion online. Now that's why social media matters. And why online PR is a critical capability to be built now, not later.
Joe Pulizzi of junta42 gave a guest spot to Kenneth Weiss last week. Ken's blog called Your content, Their Content & The Brand (and his new book Slightware) is just one of many eloquent arguments about why, in future, social media will matter more than almost any current form of marketing communication.
Question 3: What should we do?
Answer: Ideally, develop a full social media strategy with a progressive rollout over time. It's not expensive, it's building capability you'll need in future and it will help protect your reputation now. It may help you right now with web traffic and your conventional PR.
If not a full strategy, then at least watch the online conversations about your brand, services or spokespeople.
And protect your reputation by owning your own brand in the major social media forums.
The last thing you want is someone out there doing the equivalent of tweeting in your name before you even know twitter exists.
So start following before it's too late!
PS Check out these two blogs relevant to financial services and social media:
1. David Meerman Scott's blog DMS is the online PR guru. My colleague Jo Cross attended his one day conference in Melbourne recently and came away will a gold mine of notes. Email me for the notes.
2. Visible Banking. It's a blog on social media for financial services. Some good tips.
Before I get into the Q & A here's the summary: you already know your business and its messages – social media is just about ensuring you're heard in a new space.
What our clients are finding is this: with just a little help it CAN be done, it will soon HAVE to be part of business as usual and their colleagues often pick it up FASTER than they expect.
Question 1: Does this whole social media thing really matter for those of us in financial services/wealth management/the investment industry and our clients?
Answer: Hmmm. Yes. A lot. Already. And way more in 3, 6 and 12 months.
In the future? I'd guess that in two years you'll look back and rue it if you didn't commit now to 'owning the ink' in your space. Why? Let's see...
Question 2: Why does social media matter?
Answer: The short answer is that social media can't be controlled by brands the way current marcomms can be. And yet it is far more influential. A bit like public relations and media. Media has its own agenda and it's not your marketing agenda - imagine that on speed. Imagine every client prospect who touches your business having an opinion online. Now that's why social media matters. And why online PR is a critical capability to be built now, not later.
Joe Pulizzi of junta42 gave a guest spot to Kenneth Weiss last week. Ken's blog called Your content, Their Content & The Brand (and his new book Slightware) is just one of many eloquent arguments about why, in future, social media will matter more than almost any current form of marketing communication.
Question 3: What should we do?
Answer: Ideally, develop a full social media strategy with a progressive rollout over time. It's not expensive, it's building capability you'll need in future and it will help protect your reputation now. It may help you right now with web traffic and your conventional PR.
If not a full strategy, then at least watch the online conversations about your brand, services or spokespeople.
And protect your reputation by owning your own brand in the major social media forums.
The last thing you want is someone out there doing the equivalent of tweeting in your name before you even know twitter exists.
So start following before it's too late!
PS Check out these two blogs relevant to financial services and social media:
1. David Meerman Scott's blog DMS is the online PR guru. My colleague Jo Cross attended his one day conference in Melbourne recently and came away will a gold mine of notes. Email me for the notes.
2. Visible Banking. It's a blog on social media for financial services. Some good tips.
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