It used to puzzle me that periodically the crisis communications part of the job would hit a furious pace around the same time every year. It seemed every few months or so, we would learn of a TV news segment that would question the viability of a technology or cite warnings around the safety of a product. Thankfully, in markets like security, our largest technology practice group, sensationalist, "sky is falling" stories tend to focus on the need for security and not shortcomings of the products.
That aside, I finally put two and two together recently and realized that there is a major driver of crisis communications during these periods. It is commonly known as "Sweeps" and it is the time every year when newscasts jockey for top billing in the Nielsen Ratings System. What does that mean? It means that real news stories about events that are actually happening get replaced by stories about the "Deadly threat of tape dispensers, what you and your family should know and what Scotch is not telling you!"
What is the recipe for a Sweeps month newscast? Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, combined with a dash of sensationalism, a tablespoon of alarmist and a cup of fatalism. Chances are the products covered in Sweeps newscasts pose no new threat or it takes a perfect storm of circumstances for them to pose any danger, but it makes for great TV.
How should companies approach these segments? It depends. Most times you won't be asked for commentary because they are angles that are easy to refute. Journalists are often looking for alarmist sources, not voices of reason. The best thing to do is to have a comment ready for incoming requests from other media outlets and something to offer alarmed customers in the event you get incoming calls. Only in the rarest of circumstances is a company statement or release warranted, which tends to validate story angles as much as refute them.
Of course the most important thing, in any crisis, is to tell the truth. If the story angle is accurate and requires a comment, the most basic recommendation any PR practitioner will provide is to comment in a way that is truthful and gives an accurate impression that the company or industry as a whole is working on the problem.
Sweeps starts November 1. Let the "world is ending" segments begin.
Tags:
crisis communications,
security,
sweeps
Posted by Jason Morris on October 30, 2007 at 2:34 PM
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Interesting article recapping Gartner's Top 10 strategic technologies of 2008 by Jon Brodkin of Network World. Maybe the most interesting aspect is Green IT taking the first overall spot in the list.
There has been a lot of talk about Green IT over the past 18 months, especially in terms of data center technologies. The data center has traditionally been a huge consumer of electricity, making it an ideal candidate to get a green face lift. Some companies have taken an early lead in touting the energy-saving attributes of their hardware and appliances (Rackable Systems being one), making it a one-two message punch of cost savings and being more environmentally friendly. This may be the most effective way to communicate the green impact of a technology, but it gives a buyer a business case to make the purchase, since getting more green will not always pass muster with a CFO or CIO signing on a purchase order.
It also means that a tipping point has been reached in the market. Some companies used to be afraid to market products with environmental messages because it crossed the taboo business/politics line. Now, however, marketers at both vendors and end-user organizations have realized that there is tangible marketing and brand value to saying that a company is going more green in their practices.
The next 12 months will be interesting in the PR world as we see more and more companies pushing the green aspects of their products and the resulting installations at customer sites. Would anyone be surprised if "we're more green than them" becomes one of the top differentiating messages among competing companies in 2008? I wouldn't.
Tags:
green,
green IT,
renewable energy
Posted by Jason Morris on October 14, 2007 at 10:00 AM
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This year's Solar Power 2007 conference was booming, with a huge crowd navigating two relatively small conference floor areas. The booths were small and tightly packed, which also meant that novices looking to see the latest innovations in solar power didn't have to walk far to be amazed.
The Solar Power event is very interesting, because you see products targeted at distributors and OEMs, which are clearly not built for general consumer consumption. But you also see the latest in solar panel design with aesthetics clearly in mind for the discerning home or business owner. It is like Embedded Systems Conference meets E3 in the tech world.
Of all of the alternative-energy markets, solar is probably the farthest along in terms of companies with viable, tested commercial products and a ready-made market to consume them. What many of the companies don't realize is that they need to "prime the pump" to build awareness for their technology and combat the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) that is hurting the market. A Gristmill guest poster thinks the media is a problem, but the right kind media can help battle the FUD. It may only be a matter of time before we look back at this period and marvel at how many naysayers and steeply funded interests created a doubt in the minds of the general public and legislators, delaying a sorely needed change in energy technology and usage.
Overall, I am sure it turned out to be a great event for many of the vendors with an enormous amount of foot traffic and buzz. In my scientific yet informal poll of eight vendors, 100% responded that the show had been good for lead generation, despite an overall feeling that it would be a vendor-hug fest like RSA is in security. I can't speak for how many people here are "qualified" prospects from a solar product and technology perspective (myself included), but this industry needed a flagship event to generate broad awareness of how far the technology has come.
The only negative on the first day of the event is that they were clearly not ready for a crowd of this size. It reminds me of when I went to one of the first inter-league games in Montreal when the Red Sox were playing the Expos. It was the second largest crowd after opening day, and they didn't have enough concession stands open. Even worse, those concession stands that were open ran out of beer, hot dogs, popcorn and virtually everything else they offered.
At SP 2007, the parking situation was horrible for those that rented cars or were local, with most having to park in a far-flung garage. Worse, they didn't have signs or conference personnel telling folks how to get to the conference center where the event was being held. Finally, they only had a single badge pick-up kiosk open for those that pre-registered for the expo only and only two for those that were full conference. My colleague and I were unfortunate enough to be expo only, leading to an hour and ten minute wait in line.
Next year the event moves to San Diego, where I am sure the conference planners will have learned their lessons. If not, I will have learned mine which is to take cabs to the event and get there early. They claim they will have three-times the space. IDG will also be having the GreenXchange Xpo a couple of weeks earlier in LA, which could cannibalize some of the traffic from Solar, but we'll see.
I did not see a lot of media at the event, but sample publication handouts were rampant and CNET had a front-page section devoted to SP 2007 on News.com. My guess is that we are one year away from this becoming a major media event where PR will be a mainstay for most of the vendors, versus the small number that have devoted any budget to PR and marketing.
In any event, I look forward to Solar Power 2008, GreenXchange Xpo and other events that seem to be popping up. Solar was a great event in spite of the logistics and there are a lot of cool companies targeting consumers and businesses.
Posted by Jason Morris on October 10, 2007 at 2:00 PM
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