How to Earn an A+ in Business Etiquette

by Elizabeth Howell, guest blogger

Although public relations professionals are not required to pass an academic course on etiquette, knowing how to properly communicate outside of press releases and blog posts is a lesson that is essential. Engaging with clients and co-workers at promotional events and professional seminars requires public relations practitioners to understand the nuances of proper business etiquette.

Imagine spilling a drink on the CEO of your firm’s largest account or forgetting the name of an honored guest. Nothing could be more embarrassing for one who is expected to be skilled in the art of communication.

Judith Bowman teaches professionals how to dodge these party fouls in her book Don’t Take the Last Doughnut. Take a look at some of the highlights from my two favorite chapters to ensure your manners match up:

Networking
The first key to avoiding networking nightmares is to eat before the event. You are not there to drool over the mini quiche; you are in attendance to represent your company and make connections. Also, drink sparingly, if not at all. If you do have a glass, always place it in your left hand. This ensures that your right hand will be free for introductions and prevents it from becoming wet and clammy. Never assume someone wants your business card. Always ask, “May I offer you my card?” or “May I ask you for your card?”

Though requesting to exchange cards is usually proper etiquette, never ask very senior executives for their business cards. Protocol suggests that top-level leaders exchange business cards only among their peers. You are expected to know how to contact the individual and follow-up after the event.

Introductions
Formal business introductions call for the use of honorifics. Men are “Mr.” and women are “Ms.,” unless a woman says she prefers “Mrs.”

Remember to keep the introduction parallel. If you refer to one individual by first and last name, you must address the second individual by first and last name. Forgetting to do so slights the second individual. If you have forgotten the first name of one party, it is perfectly acceptable to introduce both individuals by last name only.

Always say the name of the most important person first, followed by “May I introduce to you” (professional phrasing), or “May I present to you” (the more formal phrasing); then say the name of the less senior individual. Also make sure that the most important person is standing to your right.

But who is the most important person? Bowman provides a few examples that are helpful to remember in this tricky situation:

When introducing a customer to the CEO, whose name is said first?
“In this case, the customer’s. Without the customer, there would be no business and no CEO.”

When introducing your spouse to the CEO at the holiday party, whose name do you say first?
“The CEO’s. Not because your spouse is less important, but because this is a company party and you want to show respect.”

Suppose the individuals are equal in rank?
“You may use age to determine the order of the introduction; the elder is introduced first. Or you may use gender; the woman’s name is said first.”

When introducing a high-ranking government official to your CEO, whose name is said first?
“The official. Any elected official outranks anyone in the private sector.”

How should you introduce one very senior person to a room full of people?
“Say the name of the senior person and then invite the individuals to say their own names and titles.”

So, if you’re nervous about introducing third parties, or can’t stop looking at the seafood buffet, it’s time to kick those cocktail party blues to the curb. Remember Judith Bowman’s tips, and you can gain the confidence to earn an A+ in business etiquette.

For international etiquette tips, read Katy Echols’ Platform article “Reaching Across Borders.”

A Hole In Southwest’s Image?

By Marissa Stabler

I boarded the plane for my last trip to Dallas before my big post-graduation move (road-trip style) next month. Two energetic flight attendants made colorful remarks over the PA system. I took to my iPhone and tweeted how I would miss Southwest’s friendly customer service.

As the airplane ascended, I calmly read April’s issue of Spirit Magazine  (by the way, I never realized what an impact eggs have had on cultures), blissfully unaware that a Southwest jet had made an emergency landing less than an hour earlier  in Yuma, Ariz.

On April 1, a gaping 5-foot hole ruptured in the roof of Southwest Airlines Flight 812,  sucking out breathable oxygen, when the plane suffered an explosive decompression at 34,000 feet. The pilots made a rapid descent to a lower altitude with breathable air, and eventually made a safe landing. There were no reported customer injuries. A flight attendant, however, suffered a minor injury.

Southwest responded by grounding 79 Boeing 737-300 airplanes (like Flight 812) for inspection within seven hours of the incident.

“I was not going to fly those airplanes until we understood better why that happened or did an inspection to assure ourselves we didn’t have other airplanes with that [problem],” Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said. “My main concern was safety and customer service.”

Southwest issued a public statement within an hour after the plane landed in Yuma, and communicated with passengers via email and text messages, informing them whether their flights had been canceled over the weekend due to the groundings. The airline also kept customers informed through its Facebook page, Twitter and corporate blog several times a day as new information became available.

So, the question is, will the “hole incident” cause lasting harm to Southwest Airlines’ image?

Probably not.

Just like the hole in the roof of its aircraft, any damage to Southwest’s image will likely be repaired quickly on account of the airline’s swift handling of the situation and its favorable reputation.

“There was nothing Southwest failed to do or did improperly,” said Robert Mann Jr., an aviation consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. “This was something no one had seen before.”

Industry analysts say the airline has a solid overall maintenance program, and Southwest has maintained an outstanding safety record with no in-flight fatalities.

Above all, Southwest’s image will survive the incident because it has built a reputation as an airline that cares. The carrier is well-known for its low fares and warm customer service. Where else are you going to get endless Diet Cokes and salted peanuts, and have information serenaded to you in-flight — all for one of the cheapest air fares available?

Customer care is absolute in Southwest’s mission: dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.

This customer service has even flown into the realm of social media. Last month, TIME picked the 140 Best Twitter Feeds. Southwest (@southwestair) was deemed as “one of the few airlines getting it right on Twitter” (JetBlue also made the cut) for its interactive tweets that do an “admirable job helping road warriors do everything from rebook a flight to locate their frequent-flyer rewards.”

“Unless something else happens, [the incident] will be forgotten pretty quickly,” aviation consultant Michael Boyd said. “Southwest has too much of a reputation as an airline that takes care of people.”

Boyd appears to be right. Less than a month after Flight 812 made its emergency landing, Southwest customers took to the carrier’s Facebook page and expressed their gratitude for being an airline that goes the extra mile.

Without a word of complaint — Southwest, you go and top yourself — sending out a LUV voucher just cause we were stuck on the tarmac for a bit of time … and not because of anything you really did — just the silly storm. That’s what I call customer service. Thanks!!!

I ♥ you guys. I had my first Southwest experience this week and it was fantastic. Never did I think I could come to love an airline. Keep it up!

Southwest has the best customer service ever. We were three hours delayed out of LAX yesterday and wouldn’t make it back home because we’d miss our connecting flight. We’d have to spend the time at the Houston Airport (me and my two youngest daughters). William O. at the desk at LAX worked with me and routed me through St. Louis, where… we could stay with family overnight. He worked magic to get us on a full direct flight leaving in 30 minutes and then got us out of a direct flight out of St. Louis. We even got to have dinner with my parents last night. Yeah SW. It could have been a disaster, but it was a nice “extra” vacation day instead.

When I boarded my Southwest flight four days after the hole, I was just as calm as I was when I read “Which Came First?” (the chicken or the egg), partially because of the completed safety inspections, and partially because of the stand-up comedian/peanut provider/flight attendant manning the PA system.

Also published on PROpenMic.

Please Don’t Go: Fans and Team Relocation

By Wesley Vaughn

Professional sports teams can unite a city. They can bring sadness or jubilation, and they can represent a city in their style of play. They can even pleasantly distract a city from its own harsh realities.

But, they can also move. In effect, teams can divorce cities to move in with a prettier, more financially accommodating city.

Across the country, fans have shared the heartbreak of team relocation. It first began when the Baltimore Colts infamously packed up and left the city during the night for Indianapolis. The footage of their Mayflower moving trucks remains synonymous with relocation.

Short of lying down in front of those trucks, fans can do little to prevent the inevitable agony. However, diehard fans have organized to demonstrate their passion for their team. They have adopted – knowingly or unknowingly – public relations tactics in their efforts.

In 2008, the NBA’s Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and renamed to become the Thunder. The long legal process of relocation provided the time for Sonic fans to create Save Our Sonics, an organization dedicated to keeping the team in Seattle. Probably the most effective response to team relocation, Save Our Sonics became the advocacy group for disgruntled Seattle fans.

There have been many relocations in professional sports, but none drew the same prolonged ire as the one in Seattle. Not only was the city losing a team it had been the home of since 1967, it was the victim of corporate greed. The betrayal began when hometown Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz sold the team to an Oklahoma City-based investment group in 2006.

Save Our Sonics had one objective: prevent the team from leaving. It set forth strategies and tactics that included the following:
•    Talk with local and state politicians
•    Seek support from local businesses
•    Ensure fan support remains high
•    Reach out to media in the region
•    Request assistance from non-fans
•    Communicate with the NBA Board of Governors

Though the group ultimately failed, it indirectly targeted NBA owners who may move their teams in the future.

Save Our Sonics was grassroots public relations at its finest and was a refreshing reminder that public relations does not always consist of a large corporation promoting itself with some charity event or big announcement. It was the embodiment of a city’s support for a team that it did not want to lose.

Currently, the NBA’s Sacramento Kings are in the process of moving to nearby Anaheim. Sacramento fans organized Here We Stay last fall to prevent just that. Although it has not been as organized as Save Our Sonics, it modeled itself after the Seattle effort.

Brian Robinson, co-founder of Save Our Sonics, even gave advice to the group in a video for The Sacramento Bee. He especially stressed the importance of building a strong coalition of local businesses to support the construction of a new arena.

In the age of online connectedness, these movements are easier to organize and grow. Both professional sports team owners and fans must recognize the opportunity for such groups to form and the effect they can have. Public relations practitioners must recognize that passion is just as important as a well-written press release.

Does Calvin Klein know PR? Part Two

By Aman Judge

Calvin Klein officially kicked off its CK One campaign on March 1, but has it really utilized the campaign to its full advantage?

CK One is a campaign meant to attract the younger consumer to the Calvin Klein brand. Although there has been an increase in sales, Calvin Klein has yet to really engage its public to build a better relationship with the consumer.

As noted in my previous blog post, CK One is trying to engage its consumers by interacting with them through different social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and the company’s website. This engagement allows for Calvin Klein to create more of a two-way communication with consumers, especially those of the younger generation.

Calvin Klein set its goals high. With a campaign such as CK One, social media does play a big role, but how you utilize social media plays an even bigger role. #CKOne is Calvin Klein’s source of feedback for the CK One brand on Twitter. CK One also has its own page on Facebook, but it’s hosted through the Calvin Klein page. On both sites Calvin Klein doesn’t take full advantage of this use of social media.

Setting up these accounts is one thing, but utilizing them correctly is another. On the Twitter feed for #CKOne, Calvin Klein has its own CK One models promoting the brand. Although there is reaction from the public, it is usually comments on the brand itself. There are no probing questions that allow for consumers to reply with tweets, nor are there really any ways for its staff to engage with consumers. Rather, the CKOne hashtag consists of people talking about the campaign and prompting consumers to visit the website without real engagement between consumer and company. There is a lack of two-way communication.

The Facebook page is even worse. The Calvin Klein Facebook page has all of the posts for the CK One brand. I wasn’t sure if this was on purpose because Calvin Klein is still the parent brand, and CK One is a new, but separate, brand. The CK One Facebook app page has posts on it, but they are posted sparingly, so sparingly that there are only five posts.

One form of engagement between the consumer and CK One is through the CK One website. CK One posts statuses on Facebook and Twitter that direct you back to the website. For example, one post prompts younger consumers to post a video telling about their secret crush.

This seems too regulatory, but it is still engaging with the consumer. There are two drawbacks to this. 1.) You must sign in to post or view videos and 2.) There is no real feedback. While providing a way for consumers to engage, the website doesn’t offer two-way communication with the brand itself.

If you go through the effort of utilizing social media platforms, remember to be strategic. CK One’s failure to establish two-way communication serves as a lesson to PR practitioners.

*Edited version of a blog orginally posted on PROpenMic.

Judge a Book by its Cover

By Katy Echols

As the semester draws to a close, students are looking to what lies ahead. As they move on to various jobs, armed with vast knowledge and training, students often rely on their degrees to represent their qualifications. But is that all there is? Is an impressive resume enough to get the job? Arguably, no.

To get the part, you have to play the part. To play the part, you have to look the part.

Dress matters. It is one of the most tangible ways you can express your interest and ability. Dressing well shows you take your career seriously. If you look like a highly trained and successful professional, you will be treated as such.

Even before you sit down for your interview, your potential employer has a first impression of you, which can matter much more than your credentials. Author Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book Blink that a person usually forms an opinion of someone during the first two seconds of meeting them. And often, that initial two-second judgment is more accurate than opinions derived from lengthy analyses.

In those first two seconds, a potential employer will not see a piece of paper detailing how qualified you are. He will see you. So you have to show him how qualified you are through your appearance.

As PR professionals, we are in the business of impressions. It’s our job to make a good impression for our client with the public so that relationships can be formed. The same goes for us as individuals. We have to make a good impression so that relationship building opportunities arise. We have to present ourselves in the best light possible.

Additionally, we have the responsibility of representing our clients. When others meet us, we are not only making an impression of ourselves, but also of the company we represent. With that responsibility in mind, it’s crucial to set that impression up for success. In other words, it’s crucial to dress for success.

Here are some tips on how to dress for success:

• When in doubt, overdress. Every company’s culture will be different. Some will expect more formal attire, while others will accept casual dress. It’s important to do some research ahead of time. Sometimes it’s hard to determine a company’s standard, but as a general rule, it’s always better to be overdressed rather than underdressed.

• Quality over quantity. It’s better to have a few quality pieces rather than several cheap ones. Investing in some expensive basics will give you a more “expensive” look, a more successful look. Wearing a suit that is fake and lacking in quality associates you with those attributes. Not a great idea.

• Stick to the basics. Choose basic pieces and use accessories to showcase your personality. You can always show your personality and style, but do so thoughtfully. Bags, shoes, ties, cufflinks and jewelry are a great way to show off who you are while remaining professional.

• Don’t be stinky. Obviously, take a shower. Perhaps not so obviously, don’t overdo your perfume or cologne. Dousing yourself detracts from yourself. Don’t allow something as simple as fragrance to distract those around you. Many people are allergic to certain perfumes – don’t risk an awkward situation.

For Women
Stick with a well-tailored skirt or pant suit. Colors like black, navy or charcoal are best. If you wear a skirt, it should at least come to your knees, but can be longer. Err on the side of Amish rather than stripper. Also, when wearing a skirt you should wear pantyhose. Nude color or black is acceptable. Don’t be that girl with super tan legs and white arms, it’s obvious and tacky. Low-heeled shoes are a must. Shoes are a great way to express yourself with style and color, but 5-inch stilettos are a no-no. This is work, not a night club. For your own benefit, you should also consider the comfort level. Tops should be well tailored and not over-the-top (pun intended) in color or style. Avoid anything too low cut or tight. Again, err on the side of conservative rather than risqué.

For Men
A well-tailored suit in black, navy or charcoal will do the trick. Grooming is more important than you think. A nice haircut, shaven face and clean nails can go a long way to make an impression. It’s all about the subtleties. Ties, pocket squares and cufflinks are a good way to be expressive, but don’t go over the top. A note on ties: remember that one size does not fit all. Consider proportions when choosing ties: a tie size should be proportionate to the suit size, which is dependent on the man’s frame, and the dress shirt’s collar type.

Business Casual
The standard for what is appropriate casual wear will change from company to company. The slight nuances and limitations can be gleaned after working somewhere for a while. However, until you know, overdress. In the meantime, here is the dressier side of business casual. Khaki pants or dark slacks paired with a long-sleeved button-down is a safe bet for both men and women. Even when dressing casually, having everything clean, well-tailored and ironed is important to looking professional. In some cases, polo shirts for men and sweaters for women are appropriate.

Recently, there has been debate whether businesses are becoming too casual. Mary Harris, a business etiquette consultant, agrees that they are.

“Our culture has gotten so relaxed that casual to many [people] means what you would wear around the house on a Saturday,” said Harris. “It’s gotten lost that the meaning is still professional but somewhat relaxed.”

As attire has grown increasingly casual, so has behavior. The two go hand in hand. A study cited in Entrepreneur indicated that 44 percent of surveyed companies noticed an increase in employee absenteeism and tardiness when casual dress policies were introduced. Casual dress is having a negative effect on productivity.

Formality is slowly slipping away, as formal titles are no longer used, profanity is increasingly common and taboo topics are no longer taboo. This trend needs to be reversed. Bear this in mind when you have casual dress days. Don’t allow the laid back clothing to translate into your work. Define the line of professionalism and stay within that boundary.

Your clothing speaks volumes about who you are. In the PR industry, image is especially emphasized, so taking time to present yourself in the best light is important. Putting in that extra effort can give you an advantage over the competition. Despite the adage warning not to, people do judge a book by its cover.

What does your cover say about what’s in you?

Trust and Public Relations: The Unstoppable Duo

By Libby Page

As PR professionals, our job is to create relationships with clients, publics and media outlets. This relationship can only succeed if trust is gained. Therefore, we must strive to achieve the understanding of those around us.

Like many other trends, trust is constantly changing. It is important to research the themes related to trust in order to serve your publics effectively. Edelman, a global public relations firm, leads the field in research on trust. For the past 11 years, Edelman has released the Trust Barometer, an annual survey that measures attitudes about trust in 23 different countries.

In a video featured on the Edelman website, president and CEO Richard Edelman discusses the key findings from the 2011 Trust Barometer. After watching the video, I believe these four key findings are beneficial tools for PR professionals and corporations.

1. Social Responsibility

Over the past few years, a growing concentration on philanthropy and charitable giving has taken place in corporate America. Instead of purely focusing on maximizing profits, companies are beginning to give back to the community. As PR professionals, we need to focus on this trend when dealing with clientele. With great profits comes great responsibility. PR professionals should encourage campaigns that highlight corporate citizenship.

Starbucks Coffee is an example of a corporation that includes social responsibility in its business model. Through community service, ethical sourcing and environmental wellness, Starbucks successfully combines profitability with social benefit. Since Starbucks contributes minimal amounts of its budget to advertising, it is obvious that social responsibility serves as an effective PR tactic and business model.

2. Multiple Channels, Multiple Voices

In America, the public has grown increasingly skeptical of media outlets. According to Richard Edelman, a message must be repeated up to 10 times in order for someone to believe it. When facing a lack of trust, Edelman suggests using multiple channels and multiple voices.

With this in mind, PR professionals should work toward an integrated message across several mediums. Edelman names four types of media in the video: mainstream media, new media, social media and owned media. An effective campaign should utilize all four media outlets while delivering a unified message.

Additionally, PR professionals should encourage their clients to have multiple spokespeople. Trust is more likely gained if a company appears open and honest on all fronts.

3. Authority from Corporate Leadership

With increased skepticism, it shouldn’t be surprising that Americans want to see authority and accountability from corporate leadership. As PR students and professionals, we know that accountability and honesty are important during times of crisis. Instead of waiting for an emergency, corporate leaders should be constantly striving to lead their industry in a promising direction. Edelman describes business leaders as “private sector diplomats.” In other words, business leaders should be working with the government and the community to benefit their industry.

For example, Starbucks utilizes ethically traded coffee in order to encourage healthy lifestyles for farmers. To create trust with the public, corporate leaders need to show concern for the overall industry, not just their business. By advocating fair trade, Starbucks has set a standard for the coffee industry.

4. Trust Leads to Benefits

Most importantly, trust creates tangible benefits for both the corporation and the public. Partaking in dishonest or unethical activities only leads to barriers.

PR professionals should present trust as an essential element of any campaign when speaking with clientele. Trust is not only a strength in personal relationships, but it is also a part of a proven business model that guarantees success and achievement.

What role do you think trust plays in a corporation’s success?

Do you agree with the key findings of Edelman’s Trust Barometer?

PR practitioners have to keep on truckin’

By Hannah McDaniel

This weekend I attended the Mid America Truck Show… Yes, a trucking show.

While there, I realized that like at any other convention or event, PR played an important role. Before anyone gets too worked up: No, public relations is NOT synonymous with event planning. That said, our field DOES have a place at events, conferences, conventions and so forth. A lot of what I learned this weekend were lessons about what not to do and how to put on a more effective event.

Planning and research:

Planning and research are an important parts of effective communication at any convention. The first thing you should do is to research the five W’s for the event: Who, What, Where, When and Why. These will tell you a lot about what you need for the convention. Be sure to work with the event’s coordinators to decide how you can most effectively reach your target audience.

For example, if you are there to sell boats, you should probably plan your event in a location near a port or marina.

Another important thing to do is to find out what type of advertising is available for exhibitors. Research if there will be a magazine handed out at registration, for example. If so, consider placing a well written and cleanly designed ad asking attendants to visit your booth.

Implementation:

Whatever you do, do not run out of materials, food or beverages. Also, remember that people love free stuff! However, if you are going to have giveaways, make sure they are relevant to your organization or product.

While I was at the Mid-America Trucking Show, I noticed that people were walking around looking for free stuff to pick up. Even if they had no idea what an item was or if they would ever use it, they wanted it because it was free. If booths at the conference offer handouts, a better way to inform attendees about a brand (and to get their information in return) is to rent a scan gun. Attendees will wear name badges with a special bar code while they are at the conference or convention. Scanning these bar codes provides information about who the attendees are, what company they represent, contact info, etc. Trust me, a scan gun is worth the investment.

Note: If you have a product that isn’t too niche specific, you can offer a giveaway or raffle ticket to anyone who allows you to scan his card at the expo.

Evaluation:

Of course throughout the entire event you should evaluate your effectiveness, but evaluation is especially valuable after the convention is over. When you are ready to evaluate, start by measuring the number of new leads you received. Also, measure the amount of materials given out at the convention, any changes in traffic on your company’s website after the event and the amount of news coverage your company received based on the event.

Finally, write interest pieces in the form of thank-you letters to anyone who visited your booth. If you have enough help (e.g., interns), hand-write the thank you letters. People are much less likely to throw away a piece of mail if it is handwritten.

What other ways can we effectively research, plan, implement and evaluate a conference?

No need to fear, Groupon is here!

By Christine Kapurch

Flash forward to this weekend: you and your boyfriend have nothing to do and all of your friends are headed out of town. However… no need to fear, Groupon is here! With an assortment of discounted restaurants and activities, this unique marketing tool has allowed local businesses to prosper and residents to enjoy new experiences at a reduced rate.

Considered the fastest growing company —ever— by Forbes Magazine, this website has saved consumers more than $1.5 billion in the last year. This unique twist to the traditional coupon clipping not only works to the advantage of the subscribers but to the companies as well. Groupon has worked with 58,000 local businesses and served more than 100,000 deals worldwide since it began in 2008.

These discounts encourage consumers to try something new and drive business to where the featured deals are located. Who can resist 51 percent off horseback riding lessons or 68 percent off the new restaurant in town? These discounted rates give inquisitive customers the opportunity to try something new without falling victim to a hefty price tag. If the customer leaves satisfied, she is very likely to become a repeat visitor, not to mention a glowing online reviewer for the world to see.

“Groupon offers a win-win situation to consumers and businesses,” Groupon founder Andrew Mason said. “New Yorkers save money without sacrificing fun, and participating businesses experience an explosion of sales thanks to the promotional help, guaranteed business and exposure that we provide.”

The influx of customers from Groupon and similar sites also help increase companies’ search engine optimization (SEO) through the interaction of social media and social networks. This increase is important because it makes websites more visible in search engines, thus increasing site traffic and potential business.

Customers who “check in” using social media networks, such as Foursquare, increase the social content of the company, allowing it to receive more exposure and improve its brand visibility.

According to a Mashable article, “The nature of the social web encourages participation: sharing, voting, commenting and linking. Popular social content gets exposure, traffic and can result in a substantial number of relevant inbound links.” The more a company links to its website, the greater its SEO results will be.

Through purchases on Groupon, consumers have the ability to increase local business’ SEO and ultimately help them remain (or in this economy – become) prosperous. So take that adventure or try that new restaurant to break the boredom without breaking the bank.

Who can say no to free!?

By Karissa Bursch

Over spring break, I attended the music festival South by Southwest in Austin, Texas. According to the website, the SXSW conferences and festivals “offer the unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies.” In other words, it’s a chance for a music-lover like myself to go wild on an overload of free and amazing shows for almost 24 hours a day. Thousands of Austin residents and outside visitors flood the city for the event. Needless to say, it’s a great PR opportunity for companies across the nation to connect to distinct, dense audiences all in one location.

PR professionals definitely took advantage of this opportunity. Along with the usual means of promotion, such as flyers, stands and billboards, I saw a very interesting collection of promotional items and hand-outs throughout the day, such as sunglasses, stickers, pins, drinks, cups and more, as a part of many companies’ and organizations’ PR plans.

The PR side of my brain started working as soon as I saw those free promotional items. People were just throwing them at me out on the street. As they shoved pairs of sunglasses into my hands, they would should shout,“You can’t say no to free!”

Many times I felt no recognition when I viewed the logo and was unsure of what product the brand was associated with. This lack of connection brought to my attention a major flaw in the idea of throwing free promotional items at the public. Many times these items lack connection to the brand and one of an organization’s main goals should be brand recognition with its publics.

I think PR practitioners have to make an effort to not rely on the idea that “any promotion is good promotion.” There still needs to be effort behind it with the driving goal of making the public understand where the free item is coming from, what the brand offers and why they should care.

Free promotional items can, in fact, be very successful. For example, in PR Couture’s Blog “Diary of a Fashion PR Intern: Streetwear Fashion Tips”, guest blogger Hadiyah Daché wrote that free promotional items were one of the main reasons for the success of her first client, Plush .357.

“Ironically, promotional items such as stickers and buttons played a large part in the PR success as well,” Daché wrote. “It got to the point where stickers and t-shirts became collectibles.”

Near the end of her blog she gave advice about the use of free promotional items and encouraged PR practitioners to make those free items personal with the help of word-of-mouth.

“Stickers, buttons, free shirts, graffiti, pens, hats, heck anything considered a “promotional item” is definitely your friend,” Daché wrote. “Give the public a memento and encourage them to pass it along to their friends. These items keep your name in the public and makes your brand easy to recognize!”

Free promotional items are great. I’ve never had to spend much money on pens, notepads, stress balls or USB drives because of it. Still, remember that there is a message and purpose behind these free items. Make sure your audience knows the brand that is imprinted on the item and understands the message behind the brand and the gesture of a free item. Meanwhile, keep on enjoying all of those free handouts!

Originally posted on PROpenMic.

For the Love of Starbucks

By Katy Echols

I love Starbucks. I love its coffee. I love its service. I love its deep comfy chairs and trendy music. And I love that there is one on every corner. Obviously, I am not alone in this obsession.

For coffee lovers nationwide, Starbucks has become a haven. It can easily be named one of the most iconic companies of our generation.

So how did Starbucks become a star? How does it earn those big bucks?

If you ask any avid Starbucks-goer how many of the company’s commercials they have seen, they will probably say “one” or “none.” Unlike most companies, Starbucks has not used a traditional technique of exposure to gain fans.

“It really is about connecting with someone in a more intimate, experiential way that we think will have longer lasting ability to build affinity than a 30-second TV commercial or an ad,” said Anne Saunders, senior vice president of marketing at Starbucks.

After solidifying its brand, Starbucks stuck with a local focus, becoming a “third home” to its communities. It relied on consistent service and quality to get people talking. And once they started talking, it seems they didn’t stop.

This word-of-mouth technique has served the company well in more ways than one. Not only has Starbucks been effective by separating itself from the mass of commercials and advertisements thrown at the public, but the technique itself lends Starbucks an air of sophistication. By not submitting to the hype of commercialism in its marketing, Starbucks demonstrated what it values: people rather than profit.

Starbucks’ mission statement is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” This statement explains why Starbucks operates the way it does. It is focused on the local, the individual and the service of one cup of coffee, rather than getting wrapped up in making a buck. (Though this strategy has earned them a few.)

For PR practitioners, this technique is good to keep in mind when creating campaigns for clients. More than that, we can glean an important overall lesson: It’s not always effective to do what everyone else is doing. Sometimes it’s not about keeping up with trends.

Think about what everyone else is doing. To beat them at it, you have to do it better. Alternatively, think about what they are not doing and give it a go. Going against trends garners creativity and can make you stand out even more.

In recent news, Starbucks has kicked off an image revitalization campaign for its 40th anniversary. This revamp included a new logo that it considers to be a “subtle but meaningful update.” Starbucks showcased its new logo in a tribute commercial that reinforces what Starbucks is all about: You!

While this message aligns with what Starbucks has always represented, the new logo has not gone over so smoothly. It has been called a “mid-life crisis.”

Has Starbucks peaked in its marketing genius? Here’s hoping (and I know all coffee lovers will cross their fingers with me) that Starbucks is here to stay.