August 15, 2008
Update 8/29/08: Back in Kent for a few days — enough time to do laundry and hit the road again for 3 more weeks. Tech Help called to say my MacBook has a new hard drive and is ready to go. I’m pretending I didn’t get the message. By the time I return, I’ll be itchin’ to get all digital again. Or not.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/jb.jpg I promise to get that last segment of PR 101 up when I return. And I’ll tell you about the ‘business” part of my trip, which includes F2F discussions with some leaders in social media. Oh yeah — let’s not forget the Friday afternoon beerfest in the bleachers at Wrigley. Gives new meaning to “road trip.” I swear Belushi was there! He had to be.
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I’ll be on the road for the next month, or most of it. And thanks to the timely crash of my MacBook yesterday, I’ll be disconnected much of that time. I’m relieved, to be honest, and I’m not seeking a replacement laptop. I consider the crash to be serendipitous.
Regular readers know of my angst over being “too connected” and too wrapped up in the distractions of the online universe. Being computerless for 30 days might be the ideal remedy. Hell, I may even talk to some people face to face.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/shortz.jpg Oh, I’ll hit a public library here and there to check email and Facebook, and I’ll steal some Internet time from friends I see along my route. But instead of jumping online to browse blogs or check the feeder, I’ll be picking up a newspaper and testing my skills against the New York Times crossword puzzle — the paper version. Bring it on, Will Shortz. Give me your best Saturday punch. (Note: This photo comes from a great piece about Will that appeared in Reader’s Digest last year — classic old media!)
Because of my travels:
- The 4th and final segment of my “PR 101″ series — “Symmetrical PR meets the Cluetrain Manifesto,” will have to wait a few weeks, as you can’t compose a blog post on a paper notepad.
- Comment approvals may be a little slow. I’ll check this site once a day until August 30. After that, I may not see it at all until Sept. 17.
I could tell you where I’m going, but it’s a secret mission tied to my one-semester professional leave. Yeah, I won’t be in the classroom poisoning young minds until January.
Was that a cheer I heard coming from Kent, Ohio?
5 Comments | Kent State, PR, PR Education, Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
August 10, 2008
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/mpr.jpg While preparing to teach my first PR class back in ‘85, I happened upon “Managing Public Relations,” by Jim Grunig and Todd Hunt. Though I lost track of my copy long ago (never loan textbooks to students — never), one element of that book influenced how I taught and practiced PR for the past 23 years.
Grunig & Hunt’s “4 Models” of public relations practice went on to became the most talked-about theory in the discipline. The “4 Models” describe distinct approaches to public relations in the context of a 130-year timeline that shows how public relations has evolved. In the process, Grunig & Hunt identify an “ideal” approach to public relations — something they call the 2-way symmetrical model — and place it at the top of the evolutionary pyramid.
For me, the 4 Models became more than a teaching tool. When Grunig & Hunt published their theory, I was a full-time PR practitioner working for marketers who saw PR as promotion and publicity, period, and with no ethics component. The 4 Models helped me see the potential of public relations and, in part, inspired me to open my own shop so I could get beyond marketing and do some serious PR.
Here’s a summary of the models. If you’re like most of us, you’ve spent a little time in each of them. Read the rest of this entry »
11 Comments | Kent State, Marketing, PR, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
July 24, 2008
Repeat after me: Public relations IS NOT marketing.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/picture-2.png We all know that PR professionals sometimes support an organization’s marketing efforts, and to resist that integration is foolish. But PR also supports relationships with many constituencies outside of marketing’s reach, e.g., communities, employees, investors, government regulators, elected officials, volunteers, alumni…
Enough said?
While I’m not advocating that marketing report to PR, it’s clear that public relations has a broader reach, not to mention a very different tool kit than the marketers. Still, no matter how hard we fight the perception, people tend to view us as “promoters,” or part of the marketing function. In fact, our job is to sustain the relationships that make our organizations successful, and that goes well beyond the distribution, promotion and sale of products. (Thanks to Catherine Arrow for the “sustain relationships” language, lifted from her comments on my last post.)
As we argue about what public relations IS, it may help to talk about what it is NOT. Here is a list of terms I discuss with my PR Principles classes and now with you — more PR 101.
31 Comments | Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
July 20, 2008
When I took my first PR class in ‘74 — one of only two offered at my alma mater then — I didn’t know a damn thing about the field. By the end of Week #1, I’d had memorized Cutlip & Center’s definition — one that’s that’s as relevant today as it was then. More on that later.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/define.png Search the literature and you find about 500 definitions for the term “public relations,” which may explain why this field is so misunderstood. Ironic, isn’t it? The very people charged with shaping the organization’s reputation can’t project a unified picture of themselves. Read the rest of this entry »
25 Comments | Marketing, PR, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
July 15, 2008
Almost since my first post here at ToughSledding, I’ve debated with readers who define “public relations” differently than I. Never once have I said they “don’t get it,” though a number have said or implied it about me. Most with whom I spar define themselves as marketers, and as such tend to view PR as a tool of the marketing craft, i.e., another way to support the sale.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/images.jpg My exchanges with our “evil twins” in marketing have been cordial most of the time and only occasionally combative. And while I’ve enjoyed every one of the debates — and even the blow-ups — I’m troubled by them as well. You see, I’ve actually taken the time to learn about marketing and what it does. It doesn’t seem the marketers have done the same when it comes to PR — especially the many bloggers who use the terms interchangeably. So I’ll see if I can’t fix that. Read the rest of this entry »
18 Comments | Kent State, Marketing, PR, PR Education, Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
June 26, 2008
During a long bike ride yesterday, I got to thinking about the late Pat Jackson. I invoke Pat’s name a lot on this site, since he is the “prophet” most responsible for my world-view in public http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/photo_pat.jpg relations. If you don’t know of Pat’s contributions, read about them here.
Pat understood that to gain the respect of top management, public relations must move behavior. CEOs care about action, not awareness. PR’s mission, said Pat, was to change the human outcomes. Behavior is the ultimate measure of our success — and in the end, it’s the only one that matters. Read the rest of this entry »
6 Comments | Marketing, PR, PR Education, Public Relations, Public Relations Ethics | Tagged: Pat Jackson | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
June 23, 2008
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/thisclose.jpg I’ve come this close to blog suicide a dozen times since September 2006 — when I launched this site. In fact, I even drafted a final post last winter. Had my finger on the “publish” trigger — I really did. But I chickened out.
I can’t be the only blogger who wonders what comes of all the time invested. I don’t use this blog to promote a business, to recruit students or to impress my bosses. And no one in my academic world will ever take it seriously as research or creative activity. Although this blog gets far more “peer review” than most academic journals, none of you hold me to any sort of standard! Thank you for that.
But I struggle with the ROI question — a lot. What’s in it for me? The answer eludes me. Read the rest of this entry »
15 Comments | Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
June 18, 2008
Some 3 weeks have passed since my last post, and daily readership is holding fairly steady. What’s up with that? Someday, when I figure out the blogosphere, I’ll tell you all about it. Until then, I’ve decided to break the silence with a mishmash of PR-related topics. Sort of.
Eye of the Tiger
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/tw.jpg David Brooks’ column this week discusses the mental toughness of Tiger Woods. Tiger’s dad began teaching the kid to focus at an early age, and clearly it has paid off. Nike’s ad, which ran during the U.S. Open this week, captures Earl Woods saying…”Tiger, I promise you that you’ll never meet another person as tough as you in your entire life.”
I hate golf, and almost never watch it. But I set aside my chores Monday afternoon to catch the last three holes of the playoff. I did it mostly to root for another old guy from Western Pa., Rocco Mediate. I watched, and I wondered: Do you think Rocco is a multitasker with a Blackberry? Do you suppose his computer pings him each time an email arrives? Does Tiger Twitter between holes? And how often does he check his Facebook page?
Maybe it’s the unfocused nature of my own life that prompts me to pose these questions. I don’t worship jocks, but I do admire the mental discipline of folks like Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate. When was the last time you set aside everything for 4 or 5 hours to concentrate on doing one thing exceptionally well? Read the rest of this entry »
8 Comments | PR, PR Education, Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
May 27, 2008
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/tgif1.jpg In the PR classrooms at Kent State, we like to “make it real.” We use real-world examples in class discussions and real-world clients for class projects. Students create real-world portfolio materials and they operate under real-world deadline pressures. Our faculty are senior professionals who once labored in the real world of public relations.
Part of Kent’s “real” experience is a capstone course called PR Campaigns. For the past 7 years, real-world clients — some of them Fortune 500 companies — have put up real-world money to sponsor the class. In exchange for a $5,000 donation, clients work with student teams who complete to develop a winning PR plan to meet their needs. The students benefit; the client benefits; the profession benefits.
http://toughsledding.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/hunterlogo.jpg So you can see why the dust-up at Hunter College earlier this month surprised me a bit. How could a class so similar to our own go so wrong? In a nutshell, a class of PR students at Hunter, using $10,000 donated by the Coach handbag company and the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), launched a clever, albeit deceptive, campaign to fight product knockoffs. It was a challenging project, and I’m certain my own students would have enjoyed working on it. Read the rest of this entry »
17 Comments | PR Education, Public Relations | Tagged: Blogs, Coach, Flogs, Hunter College, IACC | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
May 23, 2008
3 Comments | Public Relations | Permalink
Posted by Bill Sledzik
