September 2000 NMPRSA Bulletin Online
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Five Trends: PRSA Immediate Past Chair Sam Waltz To Address New Mexico Chapter at September Luncheon

Sam Waltz, the immediate past chair of the PRSA Board, will address five major trends that will shape the public relations profession and industry in the next decade. Mr. Waltz will make the comments at the September PRSA New Mexico Chapter meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 28th at the Sheraton Uptown. 

Among the trends, Waltz is particularly focused on behavioral approaches to change management and growth in strategic relationship management. Waltz, 52, principal in Sam Waltz & Associates Business & Communications Counsel in Wilmington, Delaware, served the public relations profession and industry in 1999 as CEO and chair, board of directors, of the 20,000-member Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the industry's premier global professional society.

Waltz covered Delaware government and politics as a newspaper State Capital Bureau Chief for several years before serving as a DuPont public relations executive for 16 years, prior to founding his own firm six years ago. He is a native of a Central Illinois farming community and a Vietnam-era veteran who served in US Army counterintelligence. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism and communications from the University of Illinois, as well as doctoral coursework in public policy.

His insights on the five major trends have been delivered this year to several public relations audiences, including recently in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Mexico City. The trends touch on globalization, technology, ethical terrorism, the creation of 'win-win-win' outcomes and the need to work strategically across the range of communications functions.

Cost for the luncheon is $15 for members and $18 for non-members and $12 for PRSSA members. RSVP to the luncheon by contacting Sam Giammo at (505) 272-3682 or before the close of business on Monday, September 25th.

What Would They Say To This One???
By Tom Garrity
NMPRSA President

A popular campaign mantra from a past presidential election was "It’s the economy, stupid." I wonder what the political pundits would say about public relations in a couple of recent, high-profile events?

We’ve all watched Firestone's attempt to manage their crisis on the recall of the AXT Wilderness tire. How much the manufacturer knew and what they did to alert their key publics will eventually determine their guilt and/or innocence in the arena of public perception.

In the meantime, the proverbial news bottle continues to be filled with panic and concern – with little reported compassion from the manufacturer. Yes, we’ve seen an interesting media stunt with seven 747’s delivering tires from the Pacific Rim to North America. There have also been some accusations that Ford helped to exacerbate the problem. But, as both Ford and Firestone should know, this is a crisis that is best not addressed with finger pointing and media stunts. As we all watch this event unfold I wonder where is the crisis communications plan that identifies a plan of action and key messages?

Closer to home, the plight to attract a Triple A baseball team back to Albuquerque was met with its own public relation roadblocks. The committee tasked with attracting the new club to Albuquerque has decided that a new stadium is needed to help them achieve their goal.

Soon after the top site prospect was announced there was a brief flurry of resistance from different groups. A neighborhood association decided that this was not the right kind of "economic development" for their area. An owner of a local fast food restaurant indicated he was not planning to sell and the landlord for the remainder of the property said they are not willing to part with as much land as the committee needs. If deployed properly, community relation tactics could have eased the negative impact and created more of a rally cry that would have benefited all Albuquerque baseball fans.

So, back to the original question. What would the political pundits say about the perceived lack of public relations planning? They would probably say, "It’s not the news release, stupid. PR is much more involved and tremendously more successful when implemented correctly."

Disclaimer: It is very likely that Firestone developed a crisis plan and that the Triple A 2000 committee used some type of community relations planning as a part of their process. And I know that sometimes even the best planning is met with tremendous opposition. The goal of this column is to get the readers thinking about how we can continue to use sound public relations strategy in the scope of our day-to-day task of effective communications.

PR Pointers: Talking Shop, Talking Trends
Contributed by David Geary

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus for PR people

That "Santa Claus" is measurement, according to Yungwook Kim of Illinois State University. "The trend of increased accountability for all organizational functions has dominated many institutions," he said. "As a result, many CEOs insist on tangible outcomes for their investment in public relations." Kim believes with no proof, public relations runs the risk of being pushed from the CEO's inner circle. Using reputation data of Fortune 500 companies and econometric models, Kim found there is a positive relationship between a company's reputation -- usually managed by PR people -- and a company's revenues. (Kim, Yungwook, "Measuring the bottom-line impact of corporate public relations," Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 7, No. 2, Summer 2000, pp. 273-291.)

"What ???!!!?? That's not true!"

A false "news release" picked up by Bloomberg and Dow Jones wire services recently caused Emulex stock to plummet. But things like this aren't unique, said the newsletter PR Reporter. False information with Internet speed has hit Lucent Technologies, Chevron and many smaller organizations like schools and hospitals. Tim Johnson of Golin/Harris advised PR people to (1) do continuous real-time monitoring "to track anything written about you," (2) initiate security procedures that let news media verify information quickly, and (3) update crisis plans to combat the spread of false information.

("Emulex case: Internet as sabotage weapon forces re-evaluation of policies by media, wire services, pr," PR Reporter, Vol. 43, No. 35, Sept. 4, 2000.)

The camera does lie -- another item for a PR crisis plan?

The logo of CBS' "Early Show" appears as if by magic on New York buildings, monuments, and fountains. A company inserts simulated billboards behind major league batters. Ivan Amato in the July/August issue of Technology Review writes this technology has chilling implications for PR people. Imagine, he said, an eco-terrorist video showing a chemical discharge much worse than it is. Or someone manipulating video to make it look like a company or government official admits to shady practices. Today's technology makes it all but impossible to detect video manipulation. Saying it's fake may only show you're stonewalling.

(http://www.techreview.com/articles/july00/amato_printable.htm)

Calling all senior, mid-level and entry-level NM communicators:

Be sure to reserve Wednesday, October 25 for an exciting day of professional development and skill-building.  Plan now to attend NMPRSA's full-day seminar, Cutting Edge Communications:  The Basics - and Beyond.  We'll welcome national keynote speakers who will talk with us about effective communications during mergers, branding, and Internet PR.  We'll offer a variety of breakout sessions on all the latest topics you've requested.  You'll take home real information designed to expand your knowledge base and improve your professional skills, no matter where you are in your communication career.  You'll have a chance to meet and talk with members of the local media, including television, radio and print journalists.  And of course, you'll be able to network with your peers, all the top communicators in New Mexico!

Here are just a few of the session topics from which you'll be able to choose:
•  "Showing Value:  Managing and Educating Your CEO"
•  "Benchmarking for Senior Professionals:  Taking Your Research and Results to the Next Level"
•  "Crisis Communications:  Creating and Implementing an Effective Crisis Plan"
•  "Public Relations Planning:  Researching and Writing a Winning P.R. Plan"
•  "Landing That Dream Job:  Tips and Strategies for Public Relations Professionals"

Cutting Edge Communications:  The Basics -- and Beyond
Wednesday, October 25, 2000
Breakfast with the Media at 7:30 a.m.
Seminar:  8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
New TVI Workforce Training Center

Look for full details and registration information by next month on this web site, and in next month's NMPRSA newsletter.  We look forward to seeing you on October 25th!