The Bailey Blog

Living on the campus of Michigan State University in East Lansing for the past two years has taught me two things:

1. If you see a crowd of rioters, get away. Fast.

2. Don’t count on a new, locally owned business to last more than a year.

On Grand River, the dividing street between Michigan State University’s campus and downtown East Lansing, the business turnover rate is incredibly high, especially for the mom and pop shops.

Who’s lasting? The ones who know how to reach the students.

I work with some of these businesses to help create advertising plans with The (MSU) State News , and many of them have no idea where to begin when it comes to creating a communications plan. They look to me to help them not only with their newspaper advertising, but also as counsel on how to reach college students like me.

Another factor is the powerhouse chain businesses that have local and national funding to support communication activities. Students hear their messages in newspapers, on television and, lately, on the Web.

But what about the local businesses? Right now they are surviving because people like me support local more often than the chain. I don’t know how much longer our kind will last, unfortunately.

PR is all about partnerships and when you’re not connected to anyone, especially in today’s Web 2.0 world, you’re toast.

The point is simple: public relations doesn’t need to be just the standard media pitching and company promotion, but it does need to effectively reach and connect with the audience.

Every company is different, but good PR is a necessity. We’ll see who catches on.

It’s the latest version of David vs. Goliath and David’s going to win this one, too. Why? Because David is offering a service as good as or better than Goliath and he’s doing it for free.

It seems Peter Shankman, the irreverent but often self-deprecating founder of Help A Reporter Out , is giving ProfNet a run for its money, or more accurately stated, a run for ours.

You see, as public relations professionals and journalists grapple with how to most effectively connect for our mutual well-being, we have had to pay a significant price for the professional services of ProfNet – until now.

As Shankman writes on his site, “I built this list because a lot of my friends are reporters, and they call me all the time for sources. Rather than go through my contact lists each time, I figured I could push the requests out to people who actually have something to say.”

The pushing is done via his Web site, Twitter, Facebook, a (free) subscription e-mail list and, I’m pretty sure, by Peter talking about it to every person he meets regardless of the circumstances.

“I’ll have the #2 combo with a large Coke and, say, have you heard of Help A Reporter Out?”

What Peter and his list of followers (well over 16,000 now and growing every day) represent isn’t just a cool, free service. They represent anarchy at its finest. They represent the good that can be accomplished with a tool as powerful and ubiquitous as the Internet.

But they also represent the American dream that has been replaced of late with the American entitlement. Thomas Jefferson reportedly once said, “I’m a firm believer in luck and I find the harder I work the luckier I am.”

Hear, hear.

Success is within everyone’s grasp. All they need is the foresight to wonder why someone hasn’t done something already, the means to reach their customers, and the chutzpah to jump in the deep end and paddle like crazy.

Photo by Mandy Jouan

Salon.com’ s Sarah Hepola has posted a lovely, decadent ode to that crack of the meat world - bacon .

It is a fabulous food forum worthy of Penthouse….I’ve heard.

Anyway….to cut the fat…

In this ultra healthy world in which we live - where calories, cholesterol, sugar, sodium are calculated more than a Hillary Clinton response - bacon should be this massive no-no.

Fact is, cooks, cook books, movies and cartoons have banged the celebratory gong for this greasy goddess according to Hepola.

What’s being communicated here? Are the health police losing their grip on your insides?

Ads are out there bragging that one “energy” drink is better than another because of less calories and sugar content. Clearly we’ve gotten so health aware in this country that even the legal speed we ingest has to live up to a healthy standard? Only in America.

But, a look at the mid sections of the mid-West clearly shows that we say we are out to be fit and healthy with the same mouths that get filled with Quarter Pounders and…bacon.

Is being “healthy” becoming like the tarnished halo of claiming to be “green?” Is all the enviro hoopla out for the same fatty fate?

“Yes, I do shut off the lights in my vacant rooms and buy energy efficient bulbs when I drive to the Home Depot to get them in my Hummer!”

Is the public getting tired of - or more accurately jaded by - being mothered by what has replaced the “Religious Right ?”

The “But It’s What’s” Right.

I’m not trying to minimize the long-felt apathy toward our environment and the horrid effects into the cheesy camp of false health-hood.

I mean, I’m as happy and, gosh darn it, relieved that Valerie One Day At A Van Halen can fit into jeans. Thank GOD for you Jenny Craig, you defender of justice!

I’m saying there’s got to be a better way to communicate with the masses to make the important stuff out of fad status and into everyday practice.

Now, for me, my father’s techniques worked fine as a lad: “Do this or I will take you out of this world much easier than when I brought you in it.”

But, I don’t think our Dr. Phil nation can fully, as Jack said in A Few Good Men, “Handle the truth.”

Maybe it comes down to one of the simplest of stand-bys:

Everything in Moderation.

That includes with messaging on products and when dealing with the public’s tolerance for issues.

Inform me. Don’t lecture me.

Teach me. Don’t force me.

Communicate with me. Don’t dictate to me.

Show me how. Don’t just say “you should do it now.”

In the meantime?

Pass that triple bacon double Swiss cheese burger here in the Styrofoam container, while I figure out whether I believe you.

If you don’t know what that stands for, pull aside an unabashed person under the age of 25 and they’ll fill you in.

Or you can ask the commissioner at the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. He’s heard about it all too often recently. See, apparently, WTF is going around a lot in North Carolina these days on, of all places, the state’s license plates .

Apparently, it was the first random letter combination that popped up when North Carolina changed its plate design. Some teenager filled in a grandparent on why they thought the plates were so funny and, boom, it’s suddenly a major catastrophe within the bureaucratic ranks.

But they didn’t go quite far enough when alerting the state’s population on how to get a free replacement plate. You see, when you check out the N.C. DMV’s Web site, you also might find that letter combo as the state’s sample plate. Heck, they even used it as a sample plate for the DMV spokeswoman to carry around when talking about the new plates.

If you’re going to make a public spectacle of something as innocent as a three-letter combination on a license plate, as least have the wherewithal to cleanse your own stock first.

Of course, a better question is why make it an issue in the first place?

So what if someone sees a three-letter acronym used on instant messaging and text messaging programs as potentially offensive? Who says we all have to see the license plate through their distorted view?

Besides that, why open a giant can of worms that is going to lead to banning a lot of letter combinations because other people will find them offensive, or at least offensive enough to try to stir up trouble for the DMV – an agency that is not the favorite of most people in any state.

What about the atheists? They certainly can’t stand to see OMG on any plates.

What about the broken-hearted? They’ll break down crying every time they see ILY pop up on the bumper in front of them.

Certainly those who have just had a rift with a lifelong friend couldn’t bear watching BFF go down the road.

The list here could go on ad infinitum but I think you get my point. Kneejerk reactions by bureaucrats rarely lead to anything good. I say let those things that could be innocent stay innocent. We all need to lighten up and getting to LOL at a funny double-entendre on something as mundane as a license plate might just be the thing we need on the overly tense highways of America.

Photo by Chrissy Wainwright

Former-but-I-Now-Want-To-Be-Current-Green-Bay-Packers Quarterback and resident legend, Brett Favre has decided not to call it quits after all.

Remember the crying man at the press conference this year? Talking about how much he loved playing for Green Bay; His dream job, great organization, great city, legacy, didn’t have it in him anymore and just wanted to do the right thing for the team: Can’t give 300 percent, gotta go. The whole…nine yards.

Well…He changed his mind. He wants his job back…and it was the top job.

So, this leaves team officials and the NFL in a quandary. Not to mention the City of Green Bay, who treat ol’ Brett like a Lohan walking into to brew pub - a cash cow and they are jazzed to see him!

Now what?

Well, it’s a communications challenge the equivalent of walking on already half cracked eggs.

The team wants to look like it’s not passing up (pun intended I guess) on its legendary leader and/or stuffing him into the closet;

The NFL loves the idea of Brett playing anywhere because of the good vibes and potential great TV revenue of people watching to see whether he "still has it".

And, then you have a town that is steeped in football tradition who is clingy to its past with a quarterback that - quite frankly - didn’t look last year like a guy ready to call it quits when they got to the play-offs of all places this past season. That looks pretty good when you have a back-up that is untested and could make for dreaded phrases like "it’s a rebuilding year."

To move forward, the team has two choices:
Release Brett from his deal which is required now that he essentially asked the NFL for another chance. That would send him to another team — blasphemy that the dear boy would wear anything but Packer green and yellow to the home crowd…and, for Bart Starr’s sake, could actually still play somewhere else to be a threat.

Or, keep him as a Packer…but not as a starter as that gig is set for the next guy. However, Brett could be quite the teacher and coach, which would do - as BF supposedly wanted, what IS maybe best for the future of the team.

In a story in our Detroit News from wire service reports, this is how it went down - complete with "positioning" from the team on Saturday:

"In an interview with The Associated Press Saturday, Packers general manager Ted Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy said they don’t plan to grant Favre the release he is seeking from his contract and are committed to Aaron Rodgers [THE BACK-UP DUDE] as their starter. "We’ve communicated that to Brett, that we have since moved forward," Thompson said Saturday, in his first public comments since Favre requested to be released this week. "At the same time, we’ve never said that there couldn’t be some role that he might play here. But I would understand his point that he would want to play." And if Favre wanted to play for the Packers, he had the chance when he told them a few weeks after his tearful goodbye news conference that he was having second thoughts. With Thompson and McCarthy preparing to board a private plane to fly to Mississippi and seal the deal on a comeback, all Favre had to do was say yes. He didn’t."

Now, no real comments from the Favre camp…which leaves all the positioning and speculating to come from one side of the ball so far: The Team.

I’ve always respected Favre and of course the guy is going to go down - whatever happens - as one of the best to ever play the game; great competitor; great symbol of the game AND positive image for Green Bay. But, let’s look at this logically despite the media hype and slow news days, here:

An employee walks into your office this p.m. and says they love the job but, aren’t up for it anymore.

They have had enough and decide to quit. Now, you will probably miss them and you will tell them that at the good-bye lunch. But, to stay in business, you will divvy up their work and show up tomorrow to do it no matter what. If they say "woops" a few months down the line, that they goofed and want to come back, you may be able to find a role for them…based on many factors. They DO have knowledge of the company and clients. But, you’ve adjusted, you’ve had to move on…you have a slew of other employees and clients counting on you to do so.

I wish my dad was still alive to work for the Packers for just one meeting with Mr. Favre;

He’d likely tell him what he told me for years when I got too big for my britches:

"You’re funny kid, but one clown don’t stop the circus."

This Potential Client Could Have Been “Sheet” Outta Luck

We can Tweet.

We can Twitter.

We can Text.

But to Joan Rivers’ point, “Can we TALK?” Seems that last one is a lost art…at least it almost was to a cold-call prospect I got this week.

The guy owns a fine European linen shop in Birmingham, Mich. If you ain’t from here, couple bucks in that town…very high end on the demographic meter.

In other words, I know “fine Euro linen” about as well as Keith Richards does about doing decathlons.

But, this shop owner wanted to learn more about PR. Now that I know…most days.

He went to the phone book, and called four local firms to ask them what they do. We were one of them.

I went out to meet with the owner recently. We hung out for an hour or so to discuss what he did, what he wanted to do, what we did and how we do it.

Bottom line is the guy probably can’t afford some of our services on a regular basis.

But, I gave him some ideas that he really liked, promised I send over a menu of some ideas/tactics with fee ranges if he wanted to go to the next step or get some counsel in the future.

He was very appreciative.

We were the only firm to come out to meet him.

Others assessed his lack of full PR knowledge …and budget to some extent…and treated him like one of those guys that call you during dinner to find out if you need your gutters cleaned.

Here’s what those other PR firms forgot:

1) We are in “communications” - not a lot of people really know what that is outside the field. By making the assumption that “everyone gets it” we miss the opportunity of allowing potential clients to know how we can help or that certain services/products are even available.

2) I learned what “fine Euro linen” means. It means this gent works with people who are cool with spending $100,000 plus on interior decorating projects alone. Heck, maybe even just one room. They are movers and shakers in this town that during business hours, do other stuff. That stuff could be a business in need of PR services and products.

When our shop owner works with these well-heeled individuals and hears about some potential PR need a customer is dealing with at work (see? now the shop owner has a way to determine what a PR issue is because someone told him), who will he suggest to his customer? The firm that blew them off for lack of budget…or the guys who took an hour out of their day to “talk” and do a bit of brainstorming?

3) Marketing one’s firm isn’t only checking the boxes when about buying an ad in the PRSA directory or golf outing program. It’s not even just about a cool blog or website. It’s about getting out in the community where you not only work, but live. It’s about seeing PR as a true service…one where “counseling” and “consultation” is involved. It’s about “relations” with the “public.”

Are we doctors curing cancer or even lawyers upholding constitutional principles?

Well, no….are britches aren’t quite that big.

However, when a firm forgets that the word “service” doesn’t start with a “$,” they are already communicating.

But the message isn’t as pretty as fine Euro linens.

And, that smell isn’t potpourri.

Apparently, it has become “news” - based on that most-quoted source in history, “Mr. Rumor Von Unnamedsource” - that Cerberus Capital Management is ready to sell and/or dismember Chrysler LLC.

The latter recently held it’s annual “What’s New Event” where journalists have the opportunity to drive and reacquaint themselves with that current year’s product as well as interview executives as to the status of various company biz.

This year it apparently gave journalists the opportunity to ask the age ol’ question “Where’s the beef?” after seeing holes in the product line including the lack of alternative fuel vehicles (or even a strategy). Coupled with Mr. Von Unnamedsource, we’ve got page-one news here, people!

As a former Chrysler employee, I’m saddened and sick that the cloud is forming again over the Pentastar shrine off I-75. Some of the best PR people in town are there or have come through there. (OK, well, not me but others…)

The “Never Say Die” Hall of Fame in Auburn Hills has become a Hall of “Never Said Die.” The place was always known as the home of the Comeback Kids dating back to Lido and his ship-righting of the 80s. How ironic that Mr. Iacocca was in da house in Auburn Hills for a “celebration” of Chrysler’s heritage on the very day the media was an hour away driving product that signaled more of an Irish wake without the benefit of booze.

I’m clearly not a fan of the three-headed dog of Cerberus, but c’mon - how many billions (that’s the one with the “b”) in losses are the Slum Lords of Cerberus going to take? They had Chrysler on the “partnership/merger” block while Mitch Ryder was belting out the tunes at the Employee Day One event last year! If you were thinking about it then with gas ’round 3 bucks a gallon and optimism of yet another “fresh start,” how can you say you don’t want to cut some losses - biggies - when all hell is breaking loose? And when your big weapon of competitiveness is a truck, two Jeep models and a muscle car, well there ain’t enough lipstick at Revlon to make that pig look pretty.

That’s especially true when you neuter the public relations by handing them over to Human Resources. The next time Mr. Nardelli takes over a company, he should remember that PR and HR both have R’s in them, that doesn’t mean they go together.

How much time does the Pentastar have left? Perhaps half a year if it nails down a sugar daddy that understands automotive. If not, something will give, the star gets reconfigured and it’s not going to be good for folks locally.

Remember when the biggest negative news story about Chrysler was that its dealers were charging too much over invoice for PT Cruisers because of supply and demand? Those were the days! Today’s company image has more baggage than a Northwest lost luggage pile at Detroit Metro Airport.

Buy a PT Cruiser today and you’ll know what Charlie Brown felt like when he got that Christmas tree.