The unseasonably chilly weather in New Orleans last week during PRSA's annual conference was fitting for an industry bracing for its own winds of change.
Still, the meeting, which drew 1,800 PR professionals from across the country, was of the garden-variety: lots of networking, vendors showcasing their PR measurement tools and
technologies and a mutual admiration society between PRSA leaders and invited keynote speakers, like Victoria Clarke, who was press secretary at the Pentagon during the major
fighting in Iraq earlier this year, and NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe, who is still dealing with the fallout from the Columbia space shuttle disaster in February.
Most attendees were from small- to mid-size PR agencies, corporations and the nonprofit PR world. In between the schmoozing and Kaffee Klatches were dozens of workshops that
were divided among PR functions, strategies and best practices. The workshops were decidedly hit or miss, with more than a few attendees saying a few of them smacked of PR
101.
"Some of the information was a little too rudimentary," said a PR executive from India, after attending a workshop on internal communications. The executive, who asked not to
be identified, added that he was hoping for a little more take-home from the workshop other than bromides about treating your employees with respect and creating in-house
newsletters so your workers feel as though they are in the loop.
Another account executive from a Midwestern PR agency said she was disappointed with a seminar covering health care communications. "I thought I was going to get some strategic
information about the how to publicize health care clients and instead I basically got a commercial for VNRs."
Others, however, were pleased with the proceedings. "It's been a good time to recharge and meet with colleagues. There have definitely been some good moments," said Roxanne
Elder, public awareness coordinator for the Talking Book Program of Texas, who added that many of the conference programs provided tangible information on how to do more with less
in the current economy. "For [PR] folks working in government there are diminished resources that we have to deal with." Elder stressed that every state agency in Texas has had
its budget cut 12% in the last year, and that PR departments have borne the brunt of subsequent layoffs.
Doing less with more was a thread that ran through most of the workshops. Communications executives continue to combat the media recession as well as shrinking news holes, what
with the ongoing fighting in Iraq, a still-sluggish economy and an upcoming U.S. presidential election. But some of the workshops tended to ramble on without the benefit of any
real-world examples. There were slides worthy of Rube Goldberg and other diagrams akin to John Madden analyzing a third down blitz during a Monday Night Football game. Infusing
the inherent art of PR, along with all of the emerging sciences in the field, would have helped.
Many attendees seemed to gravitate toward the meetings dealing with media relations and crisis communications. It was standing room only for a seminar titled "Idiot Proof
PR...Or How to Become the Ultimate Resource at Your Company," featuring Merrie Spaeth, founder and president of Dallas-based Spaeth Communications Inc., who was a one-time media
advisor to former President Ronald Reagan and a speechwriter for the late CBS President William S. Paley.
Spaeth focused on the importance of media training for corporate executives, with some stark examples on how to handle the press(ure) when the white-hot glare of the media
shines on your company. She ran a clip of a bank president facing branch managers who were peppering him with questions about a potential merger. Asked if there would be any job
cuts, the president immediately tried to fudge the question when -- as indicated by the moans and groans in the room -- a simple "yes" or "no" would have sufficed. And this was an
internal meeting. The executive would have no doubt been lunchmeat had he responded in such as way to members of the media.
"There has to be a consistency of words" starting with internal communications, Spaeth said. "How words are used and passed on strategically is critically important, in terms
of how the media interprets the language and what gets passed down in the communication channels."
Spaeth also stressed that when responding to a crisis, a manager's countenance should not be underestimated. She juxtaposed a video clip of a corporate executive who looked
like he just had root canal surgery with one of her clients appearing on a morning show, confident, smiling and engaged. "Facial expressions are the easiest things to fix," she
said. "You have to look as if you want to be there."
Another well-attended workshop was titled "Crisis Communications: And You thought the First Five Minutes Were Hard?" Molly McPerson, who earlier this year resigned as director
of communications/media affairs for the International Council of Cruise Lines, addressed how to adequately prepare for a crisis in a 24/7 news environment.
"When a crisis hits, you need to whittle down your message to cohesive sound bites, know who the media rep is and have some type of literature manual" that spokespeople have on
hand should a crisis strike, McPherson said. She added that B-roll footage should also be at the ready so as not to let the media "own" the story. The council faced a major media
stink bomb last year when a series of Norwalk-like virus broke out on board one of its Holland America ships in the Caribbean. Footage was quickly provided to broadcast media
showing cruise workers scrubbing down the entire ship with what was referred to as the strongest disinfectant available.
To illustrate just how delicate language can be during a crisis McPerson ran a clip of a Coast Guard spokesman responding to the media following the crash of an American
Airlines jet in Rockaway, N.Y., in November 2001, which killed 255 people on board and several people on the ground. The spokesman used words like "bodies" -- rather than victims
-- and "body parts" to describe the rescue search in Jamaica Bay. He was hardly in control, and a day later he was out of a job.
Winners Circle
The PRSA gave out enough awards last week to make Oscar blush. Here are some of the highlights:
- PRSA Gold Anvil Award: John D. Graham, Chairman-CEO, Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
- PR Professional of the Year: Victoria "Torie" Clarke, former assistant secretary of defense for Foreign Affairs, U.S. Department of Defense
- Outstanding Educator Award: Don Winslow Stacks, Ph.D. University of Miami, School of Communication
- Patrick Jackson Award for Distinguished Service to PRSA: Deanna K. W. Pelfrey, Pelfrey Associates, Louisville, KY.
- Paul M. Lund Public Service Award: Mary B. Vail, Mary Vail Publicist, Las Vegas