The Speed of New: Gator Edition

Mid-week, I'll be in Gainesville, Fla. at the invitation of the Alpha Chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, leading a discussion on how our profession is rapidly changing with the 24-second news cycle.

What will be especially intriguing are the viewpoints of University of Florida students -- young professionals who, in many cases, have only known the round-the-clock, digitally-driven news and content production environment. Will their experiences match up to the new demands of the communications industry?

For those of you playing along at home (or in the dorms), slides can be downloaded here.

Philanthropy's "New Normal"

“Corporate giving is undergoing a dramatic shift. Expectations are changing from transactional relationships to partnerships, with the company and recipient collaborating for success,” notes Mark Shamley, president and CEO of the Association of Corporate Contributions Professionals. “Philanthropy needs to be integrated with business objectives. As a result, the selection process is also evolving."

I just put my next PR News "Management POV" column to bed, focused on this topic, which has resulted in a significant shift in how Bausch + Lomb is approaching philanthropy. If you're a PR News subscriber, look for it soon! If not, I'll also cover the topic as part of my luncheon keynote at ACCP's annual conference on March 8 in Seattle.

PRSA Rochester Luncheon Slides

Join me and colleagues from my adopted hometown -- Rochester, NY -- on Thursday, January 27, for an abbreviated version of the "Speed of New" discussion as presented at the 2009 and 2010 PRSA International Conferences. Click here to visit the PRSA Rochester home page.

PRSA International Conference Slides

Looking for slides from my presentations at the 2010 PRSA International Conference in Washington, D.C.? Well, you've come to the right place.

Click here to download slides from the "Working at the Speed of New" pre-conference seminar.

Slides from the "Shake & Stir: Blending Social and Traditional" can be downloaded here.

PR News Crisis Management Seminar

If you dialed in for PR News' crisis management Webinar today with John Deveney (Deveney Communications), Glen Nowak (Centers for Disease Control) and me , thanks for participating. My slide deck can be downloaded here.

PRSA "Mash Up" Webinar

Slides from the September 2 PRSA "Mash Up" Webinar hosted by Cathy Dunkin, Tom Hoehn, and me are available for download here. They won't mean much without the commentary, so we hope you join us live!

Syracuse University (Newhouse) Slides

Thanks to the graduate students and faculty from Syracuse University's renowned Newhouse School, with whom I had the pleasure of speaking with last evening. As promised, my presentation content is posted here.

Conquering Your (Boss's) Fear

I had the fortune to be invited to speak at the PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference in Aspen, Colo. last week. What is an eye health PR pro (and former technology PR pro) doing among a gathering of communicators more interested in hospitality than ophthalmology?

Well, it would seem we have quite a bit in common. In my case, and with my co-presenters Tom Hoehn of Kodak and Cathy Dunkin of Standing Partnership, it was about ways to pair social and traditional media for top-notch outcomes.

But what I didn't expect to hear from attendees was their challenges in getting their supervisors, executives, or others pulling higher pay grades to agree to take some calculated risks with regard to PR. Isn't this the industry of Virgin's Richard Branson? Of Southwest's Herb Kelleher? Of "What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas?"

Yup, I was (temporarily) flummoxed. Currently working in a conservative, highly regulated industry, I would have thought that the travel and leisure segment was a veritable playground of PR experimentation.

Now back to working at a more reasonable altitude (Rochester's 505 feet, vs. Aspen's 7,900 feet!), my head is a little less cloudy. So what can PR pros in this industry -- or any industry -- do to push the envelope a bit?

First, assess how far you can reasonably push, and how fast. Then find a way to get a small win within those boundaries, and then roll that into something a bit bigger (rinse and repeat).

Second, look to others who are having success, and showcase their results. It may be a similar group in another geography, or a competitor just down the road. Or it may be an organization in another industry altogether. As much as I like to pioneer new PR techniques, I always remember that many of my cohorts would prefer that someone else blaze the trail, allowing us to follow close behind.

Third, ask what's at the core of your executive's hesitancy. Could it be that he/she was burned before? Perhaps they don't understand the approach or technology? Or maybe they're working with incorrect or incomplete information? Get to the root of the problem before identifying the solution.

I'd be interested to hear others' experiences and tips as well. Leave a comment here, drop me a note, or help out the travel industry and book a flight to tell me in person!

PRSA Travel & Tourism Conference

The slides from "PR Mashup: Blending New Media with Old" can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.

PR News: Vendor Procurement Musings

The Blackberry buzzed the other day, and I found a message from PR News asking to chat about vendor sourcing and relationships. A few of my thoughts made it into this story (although I'm not sure how Gartner got in there... maybe I had a relapse to my tech days).

One point of clarification... as a former agency new biz director myself, I'm a crusader against RFPs when they're not formed and managed intelligently by the client. I can share the war stories -- as many of you can -- about bungled RFPs, cattle calls, winning the business only to find there's no real budget available, etc. But that's a topic for another post!