On The Face of It: The bottom line for Facebook (and for just about any company) is the bottom line. Looking at it that way only, last week’s Capitol Hill tour wasn’t bad for the Menlo Park company; quite the opposite, actually. Facebook shares began the week at 158 and jumped to 165 at the end of Mark Zuckerberg’s first day of testimony on Tuesday, April 10. His marathon Q&A session added some $3 billion to his net worth. Not bad for a few hours work on Capitol Hill. Shares hit a week’s high of 168 as Zuckerberg testified on the Hill the next day, Wednesday. Facebook ended the week at 165. We hear often PR is supposed to bring value. We’ll assume (below) communicators had a large hand in Zuckerberg’s success in D.C. last week. If so, the value PR provided was measured on Wall Street.
Life Doesn’t Zuck: Behind every successful man is a disbelieving mother-in-law. True, that’s an inaccurate paraphrase of a well-known aphorism. Behind Zuckerberg last week, sitting behind him on the Hill, were Myriah Jordan and Joel Kaplan, members of what The Atlanticonce called Facebook’s “Lobbyist Dream Team.” The key to Zuckerberg’s success last week was his team’s observance of the basic rule of marketing communications: Know your audience. Gone within a few minutes was our concern about Zuckerberg’s arrogance ( PRN, April 10). We had reason for concern. He initially dismissed reports of Russians’ use of Facebook to meddle in the US presidential election in 2016 as “a pretty crazy idea” and allegedly the delayed response from Facebook re Cambridge Analytica’s misdeeds with 87 million users’ data stemmed from a similar arrogance. Absent others, we’ll credit Jordan and Kaplan for wiping away any trace of Zuckerberg’s dismissiveness. Consummate D.C. insiders, they knew lawmakers rarely tolerate arrogant CEOs, much less those who are in their early 30s. They also knew few if any deep policy debates were likely to break out during the hearings, which generally are grandstanding sessions for lawmakers eyeing the 2018 elections. That knowledge of its audience informed Facebook’s tactics: apologize profusely for data breaches, promise to do better, dangle the idea of regulation and get the heck out of town.
In Facebook We Trust: Certainly Facebook has other audiences to address besides those on the Hill. We already mentioned Wall St. gave its blessing. Facebook users, 2 billion strong, also seem only mildly perturbed at having their information accessed. Data we presented last week and this (including on page 6) indicates the overwhelming majority of users have no intention of letting Cambridge Analytica ruin their Facebook experience, despite qualms about data privacy. (It remains to be seen what Facebook will do to assure users and regain trust.) Advertisers, too, remained confident in Q1, while plenty of negative headlines were running. Facebook ad revenue grew 62% in Q1 2018 vs the same 2017 Q, the 4C’s State of Media report says. Spending for travel ads rose 129% vs. Q4 2017; in the lucrative legal/financial sector ad spending jumped 32% vs 2017’s Q4. Facebook’s click through rate was up 1%; cost per click fell 21% q to q.
Growth:PR veterans Nancy Caravetta (Rebel Cause Public Relations) and Jessica Goldberg (Irwin Gail Communications) joined their firms to create Rebel Gail. -- Hemsworth Communications expanded to NYC and hired Kate Wark to lead the office as managing partner.
News Bits: With the klieg light shining on Wells Fargo after its bogus credit card scandal in September 2016, everything else the bank does comes under scrutiny. For example Wells said April 13 it faces some $1 billion in fines for charging thousands of customers for auto insurance they didn’t need, driving some to default on their loans and lose their cars. -- Props to Bell for underwriting Moving Veterans Forward, which offers free PRSA memberships for veterans transitioning to civlian life.
People: Havas PR N America CEO Marian Salzman is leaving to become SVP of communications for Philip Morris International, a new position. She’ll be based in Switzerland and report to CEO Andre Calantzopoulos. Trilogy Financial of Huntington Beach named Ginger Silverman, VP, marketing, brands and campaigns at Behr Paint, to its board. -- FremantleMedia North America named Kevin Blanchette SVP, marketing & communications. – The founder of Edelman’s health practice, Nancy Turett, joined APCO Worldwide as executive director.
Last week’s IPR conference in D.C. was buzzing about an excellent look at diversity and inclusion in PR. Angela Chitkara of City College of NY writes in Harvard Business Review (April 12) brands are insisting on diversity and inclusion in their accounts with PR firms. Yet 18 PR CEOs (13 men, 17 white) she interviewed were unable “to reach consensus on the meaning of diversity and inclusion.” Most conflated inclusion with diversity. “While many recognized the importance of changing recruitment to create more-diverse workforces, only a few recognized hiring a diverse staff would not guarantee a sense of inclusion among those hired.” Broadening recruitment and investing in on-boarding training can help, she writes.