ARTICULATED

Kinkennon Communications, Inc. (KC) is delighted that the Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA) is a new client. At 14 branch locations and more than 150 program centers on or near military installations around the country, ASYMCA makes military life easier by providing basic support and services – think food and clothing pantries, childcare and tutoring, etc. – to the nation’s junior enlisted troops and their families.

Most people don’t automatically think of junior enlisted military families as a “vulnerable population” (other than the obvious), but they are because they’re quite low paid, and they’re separated from each other as well as their networks of extended family and friends. Check out this great, brief 30-second spot to get a better sense of what ASYMCA does for those people.

ASYMCA was a client of mine years ago, in a previous life. I’m delighted to be back in that fold along with my regular partner who’s helping me, Scott Warner of Warner Strategies.

And you know I love being around nonprofits that generate lots of impact with a charitable dollar. ASYMCA is a great example of that:

• ASYMCA serves 455,000 junior enlisted troops and their families every year.
• The organization utilizes the help of more than 110,000 hours from 10,000 volunteers every year, drastically expanding its program reach and impact.
• ASYMCA convert 91 cents on every charitable dollar into food and clothing pantries, childcare and counseling, tutoring and other basic life services for those serving our country.

Yay! Good times.

I’m not at the 140 Character Conference (#140conf), an annual gathering of Twitterati now underway in New York.  It explores the impact of Twitter “on the state of now.”  But I sent a secret proxy, a mole to observe and learn and tell me if it’s worth my time next year. (Really, it’s just my buddy Scott Warner, who was just dying to check it out.)

Many folks who I follow on Twitter are at the event,  tweeting their observations, quoting speakers, dispensing tips, and the like. Those tweets create a veritable tidal wave of incoming chatter. Of course, the mantra of the Twitterati is “It’s about relationships!”  So the specter of #140conf participants, glued to their handhelds, failing to make eye contact, much less actually get to know the people around them, certainly in the way I define it, is irresistibly ironic to me.

I’m getting some entertaining updates from by buddy.  This one, from just a bit ago, is my favorite from an #140conf ever:

“The girl who sat down next to me whipped out her Blackberry and typed for about 10 minutes. She then pulled out an iPad and started typing on that. Then, she pulled out her laptop and starting to work on that. She then put that away after awhile and went back to her iPad.”

Scott Warner of Warner Strategies, a trusted partner of Kinkennon Communications, writes occasionally for this blog. This is one of those posts. To the left is him in a downtown-DC nature setting.

I’m amazed we still see news stories with the phrase “So-and-So did not return calls for comment.” It happens all the time, even from large, high profile, mature organizations and companies that certainly should know better.

In an example the other day in The Washington Business Journal, a respected D.C.-area business had clearly opted not to respond to a reporter writing about a legal matter involving the company. I appreciate the sensitivity and internal tension around complex legal issues. But refusing to answer questions in an age of 24×7 communications and pervasive citizen journalism is an entirely outdated modus operandi. PR101 instructs us to get out ahead of such stories. Be upfront and proactive. If communications strategy does not match legal strategy, then both are at risk of failure.

In the case of this particular company, the unreturned phone calls had the same negative consequence as they always do. Other people were sought out to comment in the vacuum left by the company’s silence. The narrative was set by the media and random third parties. As a result, the story did no favors for the company nor, I’m guessing, its legal position.

If your company or organization finds itself in a legal predicament, figure out a communications strategy other than silence. Find a way to put forth your side of the story. Craft and communiate your legal messages in a timely manner. No matter how sensitive the material, your reputation is on the line, and silence will never, ever help you.

Photo courtesy of American Society of Civil Engineers

My partner Scott Warner and I have are having a run of good luck lately compelling some news outlets to cover the profoundly unsexy topic of the nation’s infrastructure crisis. In the process, I’m developing a bit of a fascination with the issue. That is specifically the result of listening to our client’s CEO, architect Barbara Heller.  She makes a provocative case for why every American should care about rickety bridges and brittle water mains. She’s incredibly convincing that, if we don’t get serious quickly, we’ll be in big trouble. And she’s got some ideas.  Listen for yourself – here she is on the nationally syndicated Jim Bohannon Show. (The segment begins at about the 40-minute mark.)

It’s estimated that $2.2 trillion in infrastructure investment is needed over the next five years. Yikes. I don’t want the federal deficit to balloon any more. And I damned sure don’t want to pay any more taxes. But after being around Heller, it’s clear we’ve got to do something.

This post is by Scott Warner, principal of Warner Strategies, a friend and regular partner to Kinkennon Communications. Follow him at @scottpall on Twitter.

In the past two weeks, two separate studies were released that should be duly noted by all practicing public relations professionals wondering what the future holds.

The first study, by the Project for Excellence in Journalism, found that “much of the news people receive contains no original reporting. Many of the stories simply repeated or repackaged previously published information.” The study importantly pointed out that traditional media made wide use of new platforms and of news makers breaking news directly to the public rather than through the press.

The second study, by Cision and Don Bates of The George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations, found that an overwhelming majority of reporters and editors now depend on social media sources when researching their stories. “Among the journalists surveyed, 89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter. The survey also found that 61% use Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia.”

What does this sea change mean for the public relations industry and what can we do to adjust?

1. The 89% number should be a wake up call. If your company/organization/CEO is not blogging, what are you waiting for you?
2. It’s not a lost cause. If traditional media is embracing new platforms, (i.e. online video) we have new channels to tell our stories. The important distinction is to educate clients/stakeholders and manage expectations.
3. Don’t forget the basics. Yes, the landscape and tools have changed, but public relations is still a fundamental business. Tell your story in a compelling fashion to a targeted audience and it will get communicated correctly.

This post is by Scott Warner, principal of Warner Strategies, an old friend and regular partner to Kinkennon Communications. Follow him at @scottpall on Twitter.

After years toiling in PR firms large and small, I enrolled in business school with the goal of running a communications department at a large, multinational company. Fresh with my MBA, what did I decide do next instead? Promptly join the legions of solo PR practitioners.

Over the past three years, I have seen the communications marketplace rapidly evolve, yet some of the same mistakes continue to be made by businesses and organizations alike.

1. The media is dying, yet clients want more ink.
We all know newspaper and magazine subscriptions continue to decline. What we don’t know is will there be any newspapers or magazines in 10 years? Companies and organizations continue to demand ink in the traditional PR mindset, yet can’t understand why they don’t achieve more media coverage when the numbers just don’t exist.

2. The press release is still loved.
Just not by reporters. Companies and organizations will sometimes do battle internally over one word in a press release and spend weeks perfecting it. What they forget is that a reporter has a delete button on their keyboard. The press release can serve as useful purpose, but the time spent should be kept to a minimum as the reporter ultimately will write a story based on an interview and his/her own research.

3. People are forgetting it’s still all about relationships.
By developing relationships with reporters, clients, former colleagues, the community, etc. – those relationships lead to better stories, better business and better networks. Companies and organizations that don’t nurture relationships will never see the fruits of their labor.