Though the premise of this story falls in line with something satirical publication The Onion might publish, this news is real: The Onion has purchased Alex Jones’ notorious right-wing conspiracy content site InfoWars, with plans of relaunching it next year as a satire of its former self.

According to a report from the AP, The Onion won the rights to Infowars in a bankruptcy auction resulting from the $1 billion ruling against Jones for defaming family members of victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting. The purchase was reportedly done with the blessing of the Sandy Hook families, and includes plans for the nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety will advertise on the new, joke version of Infowars.

In typical Onion fashion, the satire site confirmed the purchase in a blog post from the totally real and not-at-all fictional CEO of The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron, “Bryce P. Tetraeder”, who outlined why the move was made:

Founded in 1999 on the heels of the Satanic “panic” and growing steadily ever since, InfoWars has distinguished itself as an invaluable tool for brainwashing and controlling the masses. With a shrewd mix of delusional paranoia and dubious anti-aging nutrition hacks, they strive to make life both scarier and longer for everyone, a commendable goal. They are a true unicorn, capable of simultaneously inspiring public support for billionaires and stoking outrage at an inept federal state that can assassinate JFK but can’t even put a man on the Moon.

The purchase includes the rights to the Infowars video archive, social media accounts, website, and studio in Austin, Texas.

Why it’s important

Whenever a big shift in the media landscape happens, communicators take notice. But one like this is particularly notable.

The Onion, long known for lampooning people and symbols of power in American society, simultaneously made a joke out of Jones and his vitriolic content mill by shutting it down and providing the proceeds to the Sandy Hook families that he so disgustingly disparaged. But The Onion took it even a step further with its plans to relaunch Infowars as a satire of its former self.

Here at Ragan, we write a lot about sticking to your organizational values. What that means obviously differs pretty greatly by company. But seeing The Onion do right by both the Sandy Hook families in making this purchase AND nailing a pretty great joke? That lines up on two levels. Even the blog post The Onion released from it’s “CEO” has the fingerprints of “America’s Finest News Source” all over it.

When big change happens, stick to your morals and your company values when you’re communicating about it. You stand a pretty good chance of getting it right that way.

The real executive comms play

While Bryce P. Tetraeder doesn’t exist, Ben Collins, the CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, very much does. Collins made the media rounds yesterday, telling The New York Times:

“We thought this would be a hilarious joke,” Mr. Collins said. “This is going to be our answer to this no-guardrails world where there are no gatekeepers and everything’s kind of insane.”

Mr. Collins said that the families of the victims were supportive of The Onion’s bid because it would put an end to Mr. Jones’s control over the site, which has been a fount of misinformation for years. He said they were also supportive of using humor as a tool for raising awareness about gun violence in America.

“They’re all human beings with senses of humor who want fun things to happen and want good things to take place in their lives,” Mr. Collins said. “They want to be part of something good and positive too.”

With a fake CEO’s inflated satirical message complementing Collins’ real and immediate explanation of strategy, The Onion boosted its purpose and brand affinity in one satiric swoop.

Building off the values espoused ironically in the publication’s most popular and recurring fake headline, “‘No Way to Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens”, this is an example of an executive comms play where form follows function, function ties back to purpose, and brand identity is harnessed for good.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.

Justin Joffe is the editorial director and editor-in-chief at Ragan Communications. Follow him on LinkedIn.

The post What The Onion’s purchase of InfoWars can teach us about executive comms appeared first on PR Daily.

Parallel stories are playing out in Seattle with two legacy brands grappling with poor performance, employee issues and a loss of direction. Both Starbucks and Boeing are hoping that their new CEOs can turn things around – but both have their work cut out for them.

Jennifer George, SVP at The Aspen Group, sees similarities in how they’re communicating change under their new leaders, Kelly Ortberg at Boeing and Brian Niccol at Starbucks. Each of these companies is using the messaging around the hires to signal to the outside world that they’ll be going back to the services and brand characteristics that made them household names decades ago.

According to George, who has experience with leadership changes at brands like Shutterfly and Unilever, successful change leadership requires “brutal honesty about problems, deep respect for heritage, clear frameworks for action, authentic engagement with front-line teams and realistic timelines.”

Heritage as North Star 

Sometimes new CEOs want to make their mark by building something new, but they shouldn’t forget what made their organization great in the first place, George said. “Your company’s history and the DNA of that brand are really a strength.”

At Boeing, the comms team is focusing on returning to engineering excellence, while Starbucks wants to get back to its “coffeehouse roots.” In his hiring announcement, Niccol stressed a desire to see the “iconic brand” get back to exhibiting the “unique culture and commitment to enhancing human connections around the globe” that he has long admired.

“It’s clear we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers,” Niccol said in mid-October. “My experience tells me that when we get back to our core identity and consistently deliver a great experience, our customers will come back.”

Mellody Hobson, Starbucks’ lead independent director and a board member, described   Niccol as a “culture carrier.” She and the rest of the company’s board praised Niccol for turning Chipotle around by introducing menu changes and improving store employees’ quality of life, through higher wages and more benefits.

“Like all of us at Starbucks, he knows that a great customer experience starts with a great partner experience,” said Hobson. “Our board believes he will be a game-changing leader for our company, our people, and the customers we serve worldwide.”

In his early days as Boeing’s CEO, Ortberg made a deliberate effort to spend time on the factory floor, rather than in the executive suites: “I don’t think our people are close enough to the people in the labs, the people on the factory floor.”

The statement showcased Ortberg’s commitment to connecting with frontline employees who are the “lifeblood of the company,” George said.

In other statements, the former Collins Aerospace chief executive has tried to send a message to investors that Boeing was getting back to basics. He recently cited a desire to develop a new aircraft in the future but stressed a need to “reset our priorities and create a leaner, more focused organization.”

“There was no attempt to ‘reimagine aerospace solutions,'” George said. “It was, ‘We’re an airplane company; and we need to get back to what we do best, which is engineering excellence around airplanes.'”

Front-line first 

George emphasized that Niccol and Ostberg’s post-hire actions weren’t about making boardroom presentations, but rather about taking trips into the field. “Truth comes from where value is created, not headquarters,” George said.

Both CEOs have been clear about the importance of being in the trenches. Niccol did just that in his first 50 days, talking to folks all over the country on a listening tour.

As part of his “Back to Starbucks” plan, Niccol is simplifying the drink and food menus, restoring the condiment bar and bringing back the practice of writing names on beverage cups, among other changes, to reclaim the company’s status as “America’s living room.”

“To me, the fact that he’s turned what he heard into tangible changes in under three months sends a clear message about understanding the people doing the actual work and making it easier for them, which ultimately benefits customers,” George said.

They’ve also worked to show that commitment isn’t a one-off thing. Ortberg, for instance, moved from Florida to Seattle. Niccol is commuting by private jet from his family home in Southern California to be at the office a few times a week. Though, that work agreement with has raised some concerns about an apparent double standard as the company has pledged to enforce its return-to-office policy.

“The real challenge is the perceived inconsistency, whether it’s real or not,” George said. “As I always tell leaders, everything you say and do sends a message. Your job as CEO is to send the right message and inspire trust. To me, this doesn’t quite hit the mark.”

A Starbucks spokesperson said corporate expectations are for Niccol to work in the Seattle office at least three days a week in line with the company’s policy.

“It seems like they tried to do this with the right intention, but it still raises questions about consistency and fairness,” George said.

Framework, not frenzy

George praised both companies for their straightforward language in communications. “There are very few buzzwords or corporate jargon,” she said. “They’re willing to admit the hard truth, that they’ve made it difficult to be a customer.”

One example is Ostberg’s frank statements about the looming layoff of up to 10% of Boeing’s staff.

In the Q3 earnings report, he wrote:

“We are at a crossroads. The trust in our company has eroded; we’re saddled with too much debt; and we’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers.”

“As communications pros, we often sanitize our leaders’ messages, making them meaningless and undermining trust,” she said. “Real trust is built on raw truth, not perfectly crafted statements.”

George noted that communications from Niccol and Ortberg, as well as their teams, have used simple, direct language that “calls out problems by name and strips away the corporate veneer.”

“They speak like humans, saying what’s wrong and how they’ll fix it, which has been really powerful for both of them so far,” she added.

George emphasized the importance of setting long-term expectations while trying to get back to the fundamentals and earning a few wins.

“Change is a process, not an event,” George said.

Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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Erin A. Hennessy is executive vice president, and Kristine Maloney is vice president at TVP Communications, a national communications and leadership agency solely focused on higher education.

Thought leadership is having a moment. Everyone seems to be doing it (or say they’re doing it). C-suite executives are reporting spending more time reading thought leadership, and say they’re noticing big increases in the amount of thought leadership content available. Firms like Weber Shandwick are investing in newly created roles specifically designed to enhance “executive visibility and leadership positioning.” And why not? Data from Edelman and LinkedIn present a strong argument for its efficacy in everything from increasing sales to building trust and enhancing reputation.

But as the practice of thought leadership has become more commonplace across industries and roles, the term itself has become an amorphous buzzword, encompassing everything from truly groundbreaking ideas to promotional puff pieces. The reality is, true thought leadership often takes a backseat to easier and less time-consuming work like pay-to-play tactics and superficial social media posts. But these approaches just masquerade as meaningful contributions to industry discourse. And, in fact, without some substance behind them, they could do more to hurt reputations than help. We’re overdue for a recalibration that centers on the essence of what thought leadership was intended to be: engagement that drives conversations, ideas and change within an industry.

This may be easier said than done.

For one thing, expectations for leaders are high. Everyone has access to multiple platforms to share their thoughts, so the assumption is our leaders will participate. In theory, this makes sense; in practice, that reasoning is risky. Just because “everyone is doing it” isn’t always a good reason to jump on board. If there aren’t enough resources (including time) to invest in strategic thought leadership, or if a leader doesn’t have something meaningful to say, creating content for content’s sake can have the opposite of the intended effect.

Meaningful engagement in thought leadership comes with other risks as well. It’s a challenging time for anyone to be wading into public discourse, particularly with the extreme polarization and politicization that has infiltrated many industries and sectors. It may feel safer for leaders, and by extension, their organizations to either not engage at all or to engage superficially. We see this manifest in many ways — a social media post about attending a celebratory organizational event, or the “op-ed” draft that is more of a summary of organizational accomplishments. These are not inherently bad things for a leader to share. In fact, they’re good and worthwhile activities. But they do little to advance the industry.

We also need our leaders to be OK with some level of vulnerability it is required to make a meaningful impact. There are safe boundaries within which to do this work. Most industries shouldn’t be weighing in on political issues, for example. (Higher education, the industry in which we work, regularly wrestles with this exact challenge as students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and elected officials all chime in with vastly different perspectives on the issue du jour.)

But leaders need to be willing to engage in big conversations, even ones that may be uncomfortable. They need to be able to look beyond their own organizations, at their industry and at their industry’s role in society. They must be able to not only demonstrate familiarity with industry trends and challenges, but also be able to talk about what those trends mean and why they matter. That is where real change begins to take shape. Staying focused internally may help leaders avoid criticism, but it can also stifle innovation.

This isn’t to say leaders should disregard their internal audiences or their organizational goals, achievements, and challenges. But we need to draw clear lines between thought leadership and internal communications. If leaders keep a laser focus only on their own institutions, they’re surrounded by those in the same space and mindset as themselves. The exposure to colleagues and institutions beyond their immediate surroundings pushes leaders to exchange ideas, to consider and articulate exactly what differentiates them from others, and to learn from each other to keep the industry moving forward.

Before jumping in, it’s essential for leaders to be intentional in thinking about their participation and engagement. Strong thought leadership strategy requires an honest assessment of personal and organizational readiness to engage and acknowledgement of limitations for both. It can be difficult to recognize blind spots and areas for growth. But those areas of development and support can be built into a long-term strategy for thought leadership. And connecting with other industry leaders and following their work can also provide invaluable insight — yet another reason broadening beyond the walls of an individual institution is essential for leaders.

It’s also unrealistic to expect to engage without drawing criticism from some constituents and leaders need to brace themselves for that. An additional complication is that leaders’ identities are often conflated with that of their organizations and so any critiques or backlash can feel personal. Thick skin is a requirement for most leadership positions. But at the same time, a level of personal connection can be invaluable as a way into tackling a specific issue or topic and that vulnerability can be intimidating.

Effective thought leadership requires strategic, high-level contributions from leaders and a willingness to look beyond a specific institution or organization and address industry. This means leaders must possess a true understanding of the scope thought leadership requires and acknowledgement of the level at which they should be addressing issues—they cannot do this in isolation. Industries are comprised of such interconnected landscapes and our leaders must be engaged and aware to participate. A lack of familiarity and engagement could portend peril for not only an institution but also for an industry and for society: if no leaders are reaching beyond the confines of their organizations, how can they truly thrive, or even merely survive?

The post It’s time to stop calling surface-level engagement thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.

Social media isn’t kid stuff.

New data from H/Advisors Abernathy found that 7 out of 10 Fortune 100 CEOs have at least one social media account, and 48% post at least once a month.

But there has been a decrease in the frequency of social media use among these top executives.The survey also found that post frequency decreased 189% year-over-year between 2022 and 2023, with a 40% decrease in engagement.

Here’s what else we can glean from the social media use of the most powerful leaders in business.

The platforms CEOs use

LinkedIn is, unsurprisingly, the most popular platform for CEOs hosting 68% of the Fortune 100 CEOs, a 4% uptick since 2022. The average CEO on the platform posts twice a month, but the top performers chime in five times a month, indicating that a more regular cadence leads to a bigger impact, but daily posting isn’t necessary.

At the other end of the spectrum, CEOs are shying away from X. Not only are CEOs posting 14 times less than they did in 2022, but their followings also shrank by 17% in the last two years. Since that time, X has seen massive upheaval with the purchase of the site by Elon Musk and has consistently struggled with brand safety. The number of CEOs who have claimed their names on X but never posted is up 75% since 2022. Among those CEOs who do still use the platform, they posted an average of six times per month, indicating the higher volume, more frequent cadence expected by most X users.

What gets the most engagement

Users are most likely to like, share or comment on content from CEOs that contains company news, the survey found. Thirty-two percent of the most-engaged posts feature company news, further solidifying chief executives’ role as spokespeople for their organizations. The next-most popular were posts about employees, followed by personal posts, posts about critical issues and events, the analysis found.

This is also reflected in what CEOs share. The analysis found that 34% of posts from CEOs are about company news, followed by company culture and events.

While personal anecdotes are still a relatively small portion of all posts shared at just 11%, it increased 6% since 2022, the highest jump across all categories, H/Advisors Abernathy found.

This likely points to a push for greater authenticity and humanization of employers. Social media as a whole often leads to the blurring of lines between personal and professional, and even LinkedIn, once seen as strictly for business, is seeing a greater emphasis on the whole person. CEOs aren’t immune from this trend.

Most CEOs stay away from the most sensitive issues on social

Even as consumers continue to demand that companies make statements on social, international and political topics, most CEOs avoid addressing the topic from social media channels in their own name.

According to the analysis, only 20% of CEOs address what H/Advisors Abernathy calls “critical issues.” Those that do choose to post often find high engagement, with 10% of the top-engaged posts falling into this category, but keep in mind this can be a double-edged sword: people can engage when they’re angry just as easily as when they’re happy.

H/Advisors Abernathy found that the most negative sentiment arose when leaders posted about international conflict, namely the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and ensuing war. Posts around elections, labor and DE&I were also touchy, dovetailing with our reporting from last week on the riskiest topics for companies to engage on.

New CEOs often miss their moment

A CEO transition is both a perilous and promising time for companies. There’s increased media attention, internal curiosity and unease, and a chance for the new leader to make their mark. But the research shows that many new CEOs are ignoring the opportunity that social media represents in their first months with a company.

Only one in six newly appointed CEOs increased their posting rhythm upon taking the new job, according to the data. In fact, a full 30% of new CEOs decreased their posting after taking their new roles. That may seem understandable from the outside – after, all, they’re very busy in this juncture – but communications professionals should be working to build trust with these new leaders and showing them the power of social media to solidify their branding, share their priorities and become a thought leader inside and outside the organization.

Read the full report.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or LinkedIn.

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Amid another week of campus protests and corporate activism around the Gaza war, it seemed like no organization handled its response properly.

While Google CEO Sundar Pichai attempted to justify the firing of employee activists last week, police cleared an occupied building at Columbia University last night and arrested dozens of protestors. As stories of student encampments and ongoing protests continue to make headlines, communication from university leaders has been minimal. In a multifaceted conflict that engages stakeholders at an intersectional level, many leaders seem to take the route of saying less.

Then, just as it seemed that no institution offered a model response, Brown University announced on Tuesday evening that it reached an agreement with student leaders pushing for divestment. Details of the agreement were further contextualized in a letter by Brown President Christina H. Paxson.

Here’s what stuck out.

Leading with context

Paxson’s message to the Brown Community begins with a sober acknowledgment of what’s unfolding across the country.

“Many of us have watched with deep concern the tensions and divisions that have escalated across the country as colleges and universities have experienced intense confrontations at protests and encampments over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East,” she wrote before distinguishing Brown’s activism and announcing the news:

Brown has not experienced the heightened hostilities we have seen nationally, and I am writing to share that we’ll see a peaceful end to the unauthorized encampment that was set up April 24, 2024, on the College Green. After productive discussions between members of the Brown University administration and student leaders of the Brown Divest Coalition, we have reached an agreement that will end the encampment by 5 p.m. today.

In a moment where many institutional leaders are hesitant to comment at all, this acknowledgement doubles as recognition for anyone who has felt the emotional toll of the war and the protests. Paxson’s ability to contextualize the news and its response as different positions this decision, and her message, as an example to follow from the outset.

The most radical element is transparency

After announcing the agreement with the students who represent the Brown Divest Coalition, Paxson shares a public link to the full document and explains the broad terms:

[T]he students have agreed to remove the encampment and refrain from further actions that would violate the Code of Student Conduct through the end of this academic year, including through Commencement and Reunion Weekend.

The University has agreed that a group of five students will be invited to meet with a group of five members of the Corporation of Brown University while trustees and fellows are on campus for the May Corporation meeting. The meeting responds to the students’ interest to be heard on the issue of “divestment from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian Territory,” which was a core demand of their protest action. It is important to note that this topic will not be on the Corporation’s business agenda, and there will not be a vote on divestment at the May meeting.

Between linking to the full agreement and unpacking it in plain language, Paxson’s letter further demonstrates an unusual level of transparency from leadership. Rather than impose new guidelines or rules for handling the matter, she holds up the existing Code of Student Conduct and demonstrates a focus on protecting the community’s shared celebratory events.

Her explanation of the upcoming May meeting, and how it will work, simultaneously reinforces documented expectations while acknowledging that student concerns have been heard and will be addressed — another notable example of recognition from leadership.

Paxson then explains how any member of the community can request that Brown divest its endowment from specific companies, even sharing the process of submitting a proposal to the appropriate advisory committee. “I have committed to bring the matter of divestment to the Corporation, regardless of ACURM’s recommendation,” she wrote. “I feel strongly that a vote in October, either for or against divestment, will bring clarity to an issue that is of long-standing interest to many members of our community.”

This level of personal perspective and accountability is rare from leaders, demonstrating Paxson’s commitment to acknowledging and engaging all community perspectives. She continues this in the closing paragraphs.

 Closing on mission

The final sections of Paxson’s letter further bridge her personal hopes and perspectives on the encampment with Brown values:

I hope the meeting between the students and Corporation members will allow for a full and frank exchange of views. As I shared with the protesting students in my letter yesterday, the devastation and loss of life in the Middle East has prompted many to call for meaningful change, while also raising real issues about how best to accomplish this. Brown has always prided itself on resolving differences through dialog, debate and listening to each other.

I cannot condone the encampment, which was in violation of University policies. Also, I have been concerned about the escalation in inflammatory rhetoric that we have seen recently, and the increase in tensions at campuses across the country. I appreciate the sincere efforts on the part of our students to take steps to prevent further escalation.

During these challenging times, we continue to be guided by our mission of advancing knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry within a caring and compassionate community. We remain focused on four major priorities: (1) protecting the safety of our community; (2) fostering open and respectful learning environments; (3) providing care and empathy to affected members of our community; and (4) taking the strongest possible stance against any form of discrimination, harassment and racism against any race or ethnic group.

Even with this agreement, there remain many differences within our community about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These differences have been heightened in the months since October 7. And, I know that we will continue to have — and express — a broad range of conflicting beliefs and opinions about the situation in the Middle East, and the University’s response to it.

This stands out as a bold, empathetic example of executive comms a time when examples seem few and far in between. It’s also an acknowledgment of the fact that students’ rights to be heard and protest can co-exist within campus codes of conduct, committees for reviewing divestment, and other mechanisms put in place to protect civil, solution-oriented discourse.

Most importantly, the willingness of a leader to offer resources emphasizes Brown’s ultimate commitment to educate, inform and provide a path for progress to its community. That’s where the institution’s mission and actions align.

Justin Joffe is the editorial director and editor-in-chief at Ragan Communications.  Follow him on LinkedIn.

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Coming up with thought leadership topics can be tricky. Without executive involvement, the content can come off as flat, lifeless and similar to a thousand pieces that have been created before.

During Ragan and PR Daily’s Social Media Conference, held last month at the Walt Disney World Resort, Nicole Moreo, head of customer insights for North America at LinkedIn, shared her expert insights on how to get executives not only involved but excited about thought leadership.

When finding the right executive and the right topic to launch your thought leadership, she urged audiences to look for the area where these three considerations overlap: your company’s thought leadership priorities, executive authority, and executive passions and priorities.

Let’s break that down a bit.

Obviously, the company’s needs come first. What is the thought leadership intended to do? Once you’ve identified that key area, look at who can speak to that topic credibly. Then, drill down even further to find the person who wants to talk about that topic in this way.

You’ve found your overlap. This is where content can truly sing rather than simply feel like a bland exercise in thought leadership that excites no one — including the executive.

Once you’ve identified the messenger, Moreo says there are two key steps to help your message stand out in a sea of noise:

• Know your audience: What are they likely working on or thinking about now?
• Be always on: Consistency increases the likelihood we’ll catch them in a moment when our topic is top-of-mind.

To put it another way, understand your audience’s concerns and be there with answers and help at regular cadences.

After all, no one trusts a person who doesn’t show up consistently. It’s vital to keep up that regular drumbeat so that when your buyer tips from consideration to action, you’re there, just like you always are.

For more tips on thought leadership, watch Moreo’s full presentation — because who knows thought leadership better than LinkedIn?

The post Finding the sweet spot for executive thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.

Adam Kiefaber is an experienced communicator, who has led PR teams for Fortune 500 companies in payments and financial services. Previously, he spent nearly 10 years as a journalist working for The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Cincinnati Post and CNN. 

Many companies want to provide thought leadership, and nearly every executive wants to be seen as a thought leader – but doing it well is an art form.

It is easy to spot the misses — articles that are boring to read and placed on the wrong channels, thought leaders who aren’t really qualified to represent their company — but how do you build a successful program from the start?

On this front, I recently interviewed a pair of experts – Ravi Sunnak, who specializes in strategic communications for the C-suite as an executive vice president at Porter Novelli, and Nick Huber, a top LinkedIn voice on thought leadership who serves as a corporate content strategist and journalist.

Sharpen your content and your process

Let’s take a closer look at how boring content is created. Intriguing, right?

The first miss is focusing on where the content shows up instead of how the message comes through. Whether they are pitching to earn coverage or negotiating to pay for it, when marketers and communicators focus most of their attention on placement and not messaging, the mismatched priorities build the conditions for boring content. Start with the messaging first and the placement second.

But before you get moving – even if priorities are aligned – you need talented content creators and the best writers to create great content.

“Most people can write, but that doesn’t mean they should write professionally,” said Huber, who still freelances for the Financial Times. “It is sort of like looking over the shoulder of a developer as they write code and thinking that you can jump in and do it better yourself.”

Now, watch out because a good writer can be ruined by a poor process. The order of reviews, and the type of people and roles in the process, can kill the quality of your content and cause you to miss deadlines.

“The quality of thought leadership content has gotten so patchy,” Huber said. “Most of the processes in place have too many people involved. We spend so much time editing, rather than writing. As a result, we see and hear a lot more jargon and not enough of the story.”

No matter how talented your writers or content creators are, they are set up to fail if your approval process stinks. Taking as much ownership of the process as you can and showing how strong your content can be goes a long way in avoiding those unneeded edits.

Focus on the right topics

Like Huber, I have an extensive background in journalism. While he worked across the pond for the BBC, Financial Times and The Guardian, I spent more than nine years working for CNN, The Cincinnati Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer stateside. Despite our distance in locales, we share a mutual contempt for corporate jargon and an aversion to boring thought leadership content – which we feel is a waste of time to both read and create.

As former journalists, there are two basic questions we always ask before deciding to write about a topic:

1. Why do I care about this?
2. Why now?

“To create strong content, don’t focus on the five topics you think you need to cover because the company is excited about them,” Huber said. “Instead, go back to the basics of journalism and write about topics that excite you and that your customers are most likely interested in.”

Media coverage and influencer content are great indicators as to what your audience cares about. Ask yourself, how would your thought leadership program support and add value to the stories that are being told regularly by top-tier publications?

And remember, the content you create doesn’t just have to be told by the press – you can tell it on your own website, on social channels or through your partners’ digital channels.

Finally, get strategic about placement

Cleaning up your processes, improving the quality of your content and sharpening your focus on topics that matter are essential to having a strong thought leadership program.

Once you have those things in order, then you are ready to get strategic about placement.

“It is important to redefine how we as the communications industry approach thought leadership programs,” Porter Novelli’s Sunnak said. “I no longer think about working with leaders as ‘executive visibility,’ but rather ‘executive influence.’

“It should be about delivering precision-focused thought leadership which takes into account your target audience, and not just trying to secure as much coverage as possible in media and at conferences that won’t move the needle.”

Leveraging data helps set your focus on the right placements, takes away subjective opinions and allows you to push back when your thought leaders demand the wrong things – or worse, the same things.

“We all have our favorite channels for activations such as media, social or conferences, but it is not effective communications if your company has their whole leadership bench showing up in the same space,” Sunnak said. “Data helps determine each executive’s priority platforms and allows for a more impactful thought leadership program.

“For example, every business leader wants to be interviewed by The New York Times or Wall Street Journal, but what if you had the data that shows a trade publication is the better place for thought leadership for influencing the influencers who matter most?”

It may sound simple, but if you have a clear focus on the right topics, the ability to create strong content and to control the creation process, as well as being able to be strategic as to where your content should be, you will have the foundation set up to have the right thought leadership program.

The post Thought leadership programs: What’s best for your company? appeared first on PR Daily.

Two chief executives at food and beverage industry giants have recently landed themselves in the public opinion doghouse for their comments on the price of food.

WK Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick said in a CNBC interview that his company has found success suggesting cereal as an affordable dinner. “If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they otherwise might do, it’s going to be much more affordable,” Pilnick said. He pointed out that a bowl of cereal with fruit can cost less than $1 a bowl.

“Squawk on the Street” host Carl Quintanilla noted that that messaging might “land the wrong way,” though Pilnick quickly waved that away. “It’s actually landing really well right now,” he said.

That quickly changed.

Many news headlines compared Pilnick’s statements to “let them eat cake,” a flippant phrase wrongly attributed to Marie Antoinette. Users on forums like Reddit pointed out that cereal is no longer affordable, often clocking in at $6 a box for name-brand varieties like Kellogg’s. Additionally, cereal is not a nutritional substitute for a dinner with a protein, starch and vegetable, even if it is more affordable.

Pilnick’s ill-considered remark also smacks of former Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe’s statement in the 2005 documentary “We Feed the World” that the notion of water a human right is an “extreme solution.”

Fast food chain Wendy’s also ran into internet ire when CEO Kirk Tanner said during an earnings call that the restaurants would roll out new menu boards that feature “dynamic pricing.”

It was a passing comment during a longer earnings call, but media outlets seized on the phrase and interpreted it to mean “surge pricing” — a supply-and-demand model that explains why you pay more for an Uber when it’s raining after an NFL game ends.

Customers were indignant at the idea of a Baconator jumping in price at lunch time. Wendy’s quickly walked back the remarks with a statement that read, in part: “This was misconstrued in some media reports as an intent to raise prices when demand is highest at our restaurants. We have no plans to do that and would not raise prices when our customers are visiting us most. Any features we may test in the future would be designed to benefit our customers and restaurant crew members.” The statement went on to stress that the dynamic pricing would offer discounts, not price bumps.

Let’s take a deeper look at why these CEO remarks, perhaps harmless on their face, landed so badly.

1. The moment matters.

Consumers are tired. They’ve endured years of inflation and price increases blamed on supply issues and the cost of labor. The Wall Street Journal reported that food is taking up more of the average person’s budget now than it has in 30 years, with eating taking up 11.3% of disposable income. Couple this with record-breaking rents and mortgage rates, and people’s wallets are feeling stressed.

Additionally, food costs are something we all must grapple with every day. From grocery store shelves to the drive-through, we all know what food used to cost and what it costs now. Meanwhile, food companies are reaping record profits margins as those prices grow higher and higher.

In other words, this is a uniquely terrible point in history to get cute with the price of food. People want the stability of knowing how much a Dave’s Single with Cheese costs. They don’t want to be told that a box of sugary cereal is an economically wise choice for dinner over meat and veg. Americans are already selecting less nutritious options out of concern for the cost of healthy meals.

It’s a pervasive enough problem that President Joe Biden has even slammed grocery stores for food costs.

Yes, CEOs have an obligation to make money for their companies. That’s their job. But making these comments so plainly, even in seemingly friendly arenas like CNBC, can rub salt in wounds for average consumers when they don’t also acknowledge the very real pain behind the economic choices being made today.

2. The messenger matters.

Neither Tanner nor Pilnick are average consumers.

The Guardian reported that Pilnick’s base salary is $1 million, with another $4 million in incentives. Tanner also has a base salary of $1 million, likely with additional incentives on top of that.

In other words, neither is going to be significantly impacted by changes in prices for a hamburger, nor have to eat a bowl of cereal out of financial necessity.

Messages coming from high-paid CEOs about price and thrift can come off as tone deaf. Plenty of people reading this story now have, at some point, had cereal for dinner, either because of its cost or because of its ease of preparation or both. It’s hardly a radical idea. Indeed, “Squawk Box” host Becky Quick admits in the same segment that as a busy mom, she eats cereal for dinner regularly. But it’s the tone and lifestyle of the messenger that makes the comments land so clunkily.

Kellogg’s marketing and social media posts could have made the breakfast-for-dinner point better than Pilnick could have.

3. Nuance matters in media.

The media may be greatly reduced in power from its glory days, but it can still take a PR message and turn it out of control in a matter of moments.

Simply by using the synonym “surge pricing” instead of the term “dynamic pricing” Wendy’s Tanner used, the story took on a different slant. But in the absence of more information from Wendy’s about how the program would work, it wasn’t an absurd leap for the media to make. The two terms are often used synonymously.

But because Wendy’s didn’t have more data ready to provide right away, the story spun out of its control. The narrative of paying more for a burger in peak times was cemented. The clarifying statement came late to the game, after the negative press was done, and it ended up sounding like backpedaling, even if it was their intent all along.

And the “let them eat flakes” framing that many media chose for Pilnick amplified his messaging in the most damaging light possible.

The media still has tremendous power. And in the absence of information — or in the presence of one damning quote — stories can take on lives of their own.

Be sensitive to the moment. Choose your spokespeople wisely. And be ready to respond to the media quickly and decisively.

Allison Carter is editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

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The hardest part of crafting thought leadership is capturing both the voice and high-level insights of the leader you’re collaborating with. When you’re ghostwriting for someone else, you’re interpreting their expertise, experience and personality and translating it onto the page.

One way to make this process a bit easier is to start with a thought leadership framework. Simply knowing the kind of story you want to tell can ease the whole process and make the thoughts flow.  

Rhea Wessel, founder of The Institute for Thought Leadership, shared some easy story forms during her presentation “Thought Leadership Success: How to Become a SME Whisperer” at Ragan’s Writing & Content Strategy Virtual Conference. Here are a few ideas to get your creativity going and your thoughts flowing. 

• Predictions: What’s your take on the future? How do you think a hot new trend will unfold? Help people peer into the crystal ball. These can be especially powerful toward the end of the year, forecasting into the next.  
• “Explore-the-solution” stories: There’s a problem. What are some ways we can solve it? What are the pros and cons? Everyone loves someone who helps fix something that’s broken. Here’s your chance.  
• “Understand-the-problem” stories: Maybe there isn’t a solution quite yet. Maybe we’re still trying to get our arms around what the real challenge is. Go deep and help look at the problem from all angles so readers walk away with a deeper understanding of the issues at play.  
• “Reasons-why” stories: A spin-off of either problem or solutions-oriented stories, simply explain why. Why are things the way they are? Why is something a good idea or a bad idea? Push past the high-level and get into the nitty gritty explanations.  
• “What-if” stories: Take a hypothetical and spin it into a possibility.  
• Opinion pieces: This can be one of the trickier pieces to pull off for thought leadership, but with close consultation with your executive, you can help them smartly and strategically take a stand on a pertinent issue that positions them as a thoughtful, measured leader.  
• Personal impact stories: Whether an issue impacts your executive directly or a key stakeholder, putting a human face to a situation is always a smart move. Take the chance to do a proper interview and tug at heartstrings.  
• “Best practices” stories: Everyone wants to do their job better. As a thought leader, your exec should have deep expertise that they can share. Even if your target audience won’t be doing exactly what your principal advises, this is your chance to show off their knowledge — and help them gain clients and speaking gigs or attain other goals. 

What’s your favorite story form for thought leadership? Watch Wessel’s full presentation below. 

The post 8 types of thought leadership to put your exec ahead appeared first on PR Daily.

Home goods retailer Wayfair laid off 1,650 employees last week, amounting to 13% of the organization’s workforce. CEO Niraj Shah said the cuts were needed given the post-pandemic economic reality the retail company faces, and that “having too many great people is worse than having too few,” reports RetailDive.

But these job cuts and even the comments from Shah merit a closer interpretation when considering his note to employees last month, telling them they needed to work harder and put in longer hours.

“Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from,” he said, according to CNN. “There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

Beyond the inconsistent reasoning and duplicity between Shah’s comments, the messages also highlight the importance of harmonious alignment and collaboration between different comms teams.

Let’s take a look at how comms pros can align internal best practices to avoid something like this in the future.

Executive message coaching for internal audiences

Delivering consistent executive change comms requires having your executives not only media trained for talking to external audiences, but coached by the comms team on how to properly engage internal audiences, too.

Beyond the baseline lack of empathy that employees expect from leaders in today’s workplace, this also shows a high likelihood of insufficient practice on Shah’s part. That’s not just his responsibility — it’s on the executive communications team, the employee communications and the PR team to align and ensure that the organization’s leaders have the guardrails they need to communicate effectively. Working on tone and message alignment with an internal coach would highlight leadership communications best practices such as aligning tone with the audience, demonstrating empathy with the employee experience, and general consistency of narrative.

In the weeks following these less-than-stellar comments, it’s unclear whether anyone worked with Shah to sit down and go over tips for consistent engagement and alignment of message As of this writing, Wayfair has not responded to Ragan’s request for comment.

Comms pros need to make sure they work with their leaders on delivering consistent language across multiple stakeholder sets—minimizing the likelihood of tonal shifts that require damage control after the fact. When your corporate comms and employee comms aren’t playing the same tune, the scene is set for complications and it’s time to find out why.

Combatting tone deafness

There’s a right and wrong way to handle layoffs, and while on the surface, the news that Wayfair’s affected employees will be offered severance packages combined with Shah’s newly compassionate tone toward his employees could offer a correction in tone and message.

Consider the people left behind at Wayfair after this news. Are they going to want to rally their efforts for leadership that calls them lazy in a story that’s been leaked to the media? There’s a good chance they won’t. What might have seemed like an offhand comment in an internal meeting can have lasting impacts. It’s possible that prospective employees won’t consider Wayfair as a top choice for their careers. A line that was likely intended as a motivator could become a culture-killer, all because of a lack of proper comms protocol and preparation.

This is why a vetting process for messages (or any time of pronouncement from leadership) is so necessary — keeping things consistent. Employee comms should ensure that clear, empathetic messaging reaches employees during job cuts, and corporate comms should ensure stakeholders that operations are still stable, while leadership unites these efforts. But all three of these functions need to work hand-in-hand for maximum effectiveness. If one goes off the script (which leadership seemingly did in Wayfair’s case with the CEO comments), reputation and business prospects are at risk.

Where to start when so many executives seem to go rogue and not even work with comms teams? Working proactively with your executives to develop a sound tone and cadence for posting on social media is one way, as it can train them to develop their independent voice in a way that aligns with the mission, vision and values of your brand. Big things that this can help them refine include:

• Articulating the company’s mission, vision and values in social posts featuring leadership.
• Humanizing the brand behind the organization.
• Showcasing company culture.
• Recognizing company successes.
• Responding to crises with a people-first approach.

When working with executives on aligning messages, communicators should consider who they want the executive to reach and what they want the executive to talk about first and foremost. But it’s nearly as important to humanize the executive that’s communicating.

This is achieved by molding the communication style to the personality of the leader so it seems natural, and rounding out aspects of the leader’s personality to make them more relatable to the audience. This can include sharing anecdotes about their family or personal lives that might resonate with audiences. The more leaders can relate to who their communicating with, the more likely the message is to resonate.

Addressing leaks

By taking proactive measures to engage employees and gauge sentiment early on, you can also prevent leaks from happening in the first place. Former Fleishman Hilliard vice president of CX Elizabeth Solomon shared some great tactics on how to prevent and address leaks in an organization.

At their core, leaks happen when an employee is discontented. This is especially true when employees feel like they don’t have a voice to speak up about their concerns. Instead of going to an internal source, they bypass them for the media because they feel they aren’t listened to. HR and comms pros should seek to empower employees to speak their minds and ask questions, as this can help root out one of the main causes behind leaks in the first place.

Organizations should also put infrastructure in place to prevent leaks. This can include putting a monitoring strategy in place for potential leaks and getting ahead of planned events (like layoffs) in which leaks might occur. Doing so can allow teams to determine where they’re agile enough to detect leaks and where they might need some help.

The process around preventing and defining leak parameters can’t just fall on legal. It should instead be a collaborative effort with proactive parameters and established consequences that are clear to all.

Proper comms is an intricate balancing act — particularly during trying times like a layoff. Comms pros need to be sure that all teams are aligned properly, and that employee sentiment is gauged, to ensure everything goes as well as possible during a tough situation.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.

The post What you can learn from Wayfair’s layoff communications appeared first on PR Daily.

Writing thought leadership on behalf of an executive or client can be a tricky task. You may not be an expert in the area they are. You might struggle to figure out what’s unique or different, what will make their thought leadership stand out from the crowd. But properly crafted thought leadership can indeed elevate a person’s profile and serve the overall interests of the organization. 

You just need an efficient system for gathering information and crafting thought leadership that resonates. 

During Ragan’s recent Writing & Content Strategy Conference, Rhea Wessel, author of “Write Like a Thought Leader” and founder of The Institute for Thought Leadership, presented her 5-step Story Framing System to help create stand-out pieces. 

Technically, it’s six steps. There’s some pre-work involved that you really should cover before starting any piece of writing: context about your audience and their needs, context about why you’re writing this piece now (also known as a news peg), and context about why what you’re saying matters. But again, hopefully, you’re already taking these steps before you start writing even an email.

Right? 

Moving on to the 5-step process, here are Wessel’s secrets: 

1. Map your business, subject or research landscape. 
2. Map your niche within your subject area. 
3. Map the problems in your niche. 
4. Map only ONE problem faced by your audience in your niche. 
5. Considering the story type, create headlines touting your solutions. 

Wessel suggests literally mapping these on a whiteboard (or an online tool) that allows you to see how these pieces fit together. Essentially, you’re finding a precise place where your subject matter expert’s voice can shine through, where they can add value to the customer without trying to solve every problem in creation. 

The more specific your content is, the more likely it is to resonate. It feels counterintuitive; it feels like going broad should produce better results. But instead, try going narrow and deep. Speak to one person in your audience who you can help. 

And you might be surprised at just how many people you wind up helping along the way. 

Watch Wessel’s full presentation below. 

The post A 5-step system for crafting better thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.

Gabe Zichermann is an entrepreneur, author, investor, and leader whose books, speeches and workshops focus on gamification and behavioral design. His new book is “The A-ha! Method: Communicating Powerfully in a Time of Distraction.” 

When I first started as a video game executive, mastodons roamed the earth and the media training focus was on “narrative control.” I was a mere vessel for the corporate message, and the focus always had to be on delivering our story, repeating our talking points and never getting sidetracked by a supposedly hostile press. My personality was not a core part of the pitch.

Things have changed a lot since then. The press can still be hostile, but the majority of our PR clients will never have a combative media interview. They’ll be fighting on the beaches trying to break through consumer distraction and fee-focused social media algorithms to get their message across. Even if they are a B2B software company speaking to a small group of potential buyers, getting and keeping the audience’s attention has become the defining battle.

What cuts through the noise immediately? Celebrity. The algorithms that own our attentional capital are designed to give celebrities priority access to their followers, reducing the cost and increasing the impact of everything they say. Though celebrity-business tie-ins have always been important, they’ve become a booming business in and of themselves in an era where one post can reach 100 million people with minimal friction, and not even the New York Times or CNN can command that audience.

But most corporate PR strategies still dance around the idea of elevating key executives to celebrity status. Thought leadership, the benign-sounding name of such programs, tends to take great pains to present investments in individual leaders as accretive to the company as a whole and not about elevating one person over another. This is a lot like where your spouse tries to justify getting you to go to a party you don’t want to attend by framing its external benefits (“you know you’ve been trying to get Bob as a client, and he’ll be there”).

Go all-in on thought leadership

Instead, we should be all-in on celebrity building with our executives. Let’s drop the charade of thought leadership as a conservative approach and go all-out to leverage the benefits that celebrity can provide in PR terms. With the right systems and programs in place, centered around new communication skills for 21st century celebrity, we can make anyone a star.

Here’s how I structure my executive-celebrity coaching practice, and the key takeaways you can use with your clients.

1. Titles matter less than stories. The most influential celebrity candidates in your organization may not be top executives. You’re looking for people with charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent (credit: RuPaul) and a great story to tell, regardless of status, background or educational achievement.
2. Stories are rarely about the company. The best and most persuasive stories for celebrity media training are personal and not corporate. The ideal candidate has to be willing to get vulnerable and learn how to weave the company story back into their narrative.
3. Anyone can learn charisma. We don’t just want people who have the inherent ability to persuade, but also those who are willing to learn.
4. Every talk is a pitch. Business celebrities know that every touchpoint is an opportunity to persuade, and they’ve always got something to pitch.
5. Focus on a-ha! moments. Every talk, pitch or interview needs to be structured around takeaways that the listener will receive as an “a-ha!” moment. The right executive-celebrity communicator always gives the audience something to think about for later.

To be clear, building a social media celebrity following is also painstaking work that takes time. But before that channel can be activated, we need to ensure we’re investing heavily in the right spokespeople and leaders.

This starts by being clear about our intentions, and creating an inclusive, results-focused program to develop future leaders through the prism of effective communication today. This is definitely a challenging battle to wage, but one that produces a lasting dividend.

The post How to make any executive a corporate celebrity appeared first on PR Daily.

We’ve all seen the endless platitudes on LinkedIn, the crowd-pleasing quotes, the broetry stuffed with strategically spaced and obvious observations. You might wind up with a lot of likes on these kinds of posts, but it’s unlikely anyone will think of you — or the executive you’re working with — as a true thought leader.

If you want to truly break through the noise and avoid being a thought follower, LinkedIn has tips for you. You can download the entire whitepaper here, thanks to your Insider subscription.

Among the suggestions, LinkedIn urges you to focus on “finding your whitespace,” or the “intersection of your expertise, your interests, and the interests of your community?”

This exercise is designed to get you thinking about how your thought leadership can stand out amid the noise. You don’t want to hit that upper right quadrant, where things get plenty of engagement but don’t stand out, but you also want to avoid that lower left square. There, you’ve shown off some creativity and avoided the trap of dime-a-dozen platitudes, but no one’s really reacting.

And, indeed, as the white paper points out, not all engagement is created equally. LinkedIn considers comments to be the most important engagement KPI, specifically the number of comments, the average word count of the comments (more is better), and “qualitative feedback.”

Yes, you’ll still get “points” for views, likes/shares and follower growth, but the real goal is in-depth, thoughtful responses from pertinent professionals.s

And in order to get those, you’ll need in-depth, thoughtful content. Being in the upper left quadrant, where content is both unique and engaging, will give you the best shot at not only drawing a big audience but being memorable as a thought leader.

Try this:

Set a timer for 15 minutes. Write all your ideas for content in your thought leadership area of expertise. Don’t censor yourself. Let it flow.

Then, go back through your list.

Any idea that feels too familiar, like you’ve seen it before and already know what it’s going to say? Cross those out.

Now you have a place to begin.

Not all of the unique ideas that are left will be winners. You’re going to put some content out there that won’t be engaging, even if it’s creative.

That’s OK.

Look at results, analyze returns and refine your future efforts.

Soon, you’ll have LinkedIn posts that truly lead.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post LinkedIn’s tips on finding ‘white space’ in thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.

Your CEO is often the de facto spokesperson and figurehead of your organization. Whether or not they have the skill or desire for the role, they’re likely to find themselves being tapped for media interviews, speeches and other public appearances.

It’s up to us to get them ready.

During PR Daily’s 2022 Brand Storytelling Conference, Cheril Clarke, founder of Phenomenal Writing, and Ashley Brown, clinical communications senior strategist for Atrium Health, joined forces for a panel discussion on “Transforming Leaders Into Storytellers.”

Clarke started by challenging the idea that your CEO is always the best person to take up that torch.

“The best person to tell your story is whoever is the most knowledgeable, whoever is the most enthusiastic, whoever can bring the most authenticity to telling the story,” she explained. “A lot of times we default to the CEO, and that may be the best person, but sometimes it may not be.”

Brown agreed. In her healthcare-focused role, her team often find that the best person to share knowledge is from their physicians or care teams, based on their subject-matter expertise and the target audience. “Look at who is best for the media outlet and who has the appropriate knowledge and train them. It’s about the audience, really,” she advised.

Getting camera ready

The pandemic opened the door to remote video interviews in a big way — and it’s something we’re not seeing fade even as the world normalizes.

While video interviews are nothing new, it is different to conduct the interview from your own home or office in a tiny Zoom window, versus being in a studio with the reporter.

That brings some familiar challenges — don’t wear loud prints or distracting jewelry — but also some specific training challenges. For instance, Brown pointed out that gesturing is a natural human action. But in the confines of a Zoom window, it can come across as awkward. Work with your leaders on gesturing in a way that shows authenticity but doesn’t distract from the message.

Lighting and backgrounds are also deep considerations. Many news stations don’t like visual backgrounds, so find an area of your home or office with good lighting and a non-distracting backdrop. Consider investing in a ring light or cheap clip-on light so your leader isn’t literally overshadowed.

If you find that your leader can be a bit low energy, consider advising them to stand if they’re giving a solo presentation or talk. While that can be awkward in an interview or panel situation, it can also give them a boost of confidence.

“I feel like it gives me more energy, which I can then give to the viewers,” Clarke said. “It’s a very subtle move.”

And of course, whether you’re sitting or standing, make sure you position the camera at eye level. No one wants the dreaded up-nostril shot.

How will this serve your audience?

Above all, consider how your content will be received by your audience — both the medium and the messaging. Both experts cautioned that your content should be for the people watching, not for your own organization.

“Give your audience what they want and what they need. Make sure the content is really focused on them,” Clarke said.

Also take the time to consider how this footage will be used. Is this just a media interview or just a virtual speaking opportunity? Or will you be using the video on TikTok or Instagram? Then you need to get some vertical footage to suit these platforms and make sure it’s playing the best it can.

As you train your leaders, let your audience guide the way. You can’t go wrong.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post How to turn your leaders into storytellers on Zoom and video appeared first on PR Daily.

Grace Williams is BLASTmedia’s senior vice president overseeing account services.

Companies often default to using their CEO as their main spokesperson — but should they? In some cases, it makes sense. CEOs have a vision for where the company is headed, and if they are a founder/CEO, they also have the historical context of where the company has been. And while the founder brand can play a huge role in telling your company’s story, you ultimately want the brand to outlast the founder, not the other way around. After all, you’ve heard of Zendesk and DocuSign, but can you name their founders without Googling?

The CEO might be a good one-stop shop for a quick company overview, but are they the best person to comment on a new product feature? Offer perspective on the day-to-day struggles of your users? Give real-life context and insight into the solution in action? They might be a bit too far removed.

Consider your role. I work in PR and am most interested in hearing from PR experts and others who lead day-to-day operations at an agency — people who deal with the issues I handle every day. Because they’re in the trenches like me, they’re a great source for solutions, tips and tools they’ve tried. That logic applies to our clients, too. Security startup? Media wants to hear from your VP of Information Security — not just your CEO.

I predicted back in 2021 that we would start seeing fewer quotes from CEOs in favor of more applicable insights from line-of-business leaders. This is happening already. A review of 100+ quote placements our agency secured in Q1 of 2023 revealed CEOs are only quoted 30% of the time, a number far lower than I anticipated. The go-to leaders most commonly quoted in addition to CEOs? Marketing professionals, product leaders and execs in HR and DEIB. But why?

CEOs are inherently biased — and they should be! They believe in their company, and they want you to as well. But journalists want real stories of real people using real products and seeing real success — not the corporate jargon CEOs sometimes push. Journalists want numbers, data and proof — not empty promises.

So, who else can you use?

If not the CEO, then who should you lean on for quotes, commentary and content? A few ideas:

• Lower-level subject matter experts. Anyone inside your organization living in the day-to-day with tangible, actionable takeaways to offer. The title will depend on the types of coverage you want to secure and the media vertical. Let’s say you’re an HR tech company seeking a placement in HR.com. Work with your head of people operations or DEIB leader.
• Data as a spokesperson. Let the numbers tell the story! Quality third-party research, owned data in large sample sizes, or publicly available data you’ve mined and infused with context are great resources to tell a story — as long as they’re straightforward, unbiased and unique.
• Investors, analysts and board members. When you can, lean into these experts to offer third-party validation and expertise. Media expects insight on the market/industry from your CEO, but when a prominent investor or a CISO sitting on your board backs those insights? Now that’s meaningful. 
• Getting a customer involved in PR efforts can be a serious force multiplier because they check all the boxes: Third-party perspective. In the day-to-day. Often possessing data to back up their claims about your product or service. But getting them on board? That’s a lot easier said than done.

Integrating customers into your PR program

Of the above ideas on alternate spokespeople we might leverage in our storytelling, the biggest roadblock we encounter is finding customers willing to share their thoughts and experiences. One of the first things a new client often shares during onboarding is the difficulties they experience in trying to get their customers engaged in marketing in PR. Customers don’t want to give away their “secret sauce” and run into trouble with approvals from legal. Consider these tips:

• Know which customers to tap. Customers vary in their willingness to participate in marketing efforts — and that extends to PR. Some customers will take a call with customer success and offer feedback, and that’s where it ends. Others will let you use their logo on your website. And some are true evangelists, proactively offering feedback and ideas for new features, leaving positive reviews and engaging on your customer advisory board. Those evangelists are the ones to think about integrating into PR.
• Make sure they understand the benefits. Time is money, and you’re asking your customers to take time to benefit you. So, give them something in return. Explain how you’re helping them build their personal brand and highlight their company’s innovation. If free PR isn’t enough, consider offering a discount on technology or services.
• Dip a toe in the water first or risk a flop. Stairstep opportunities to increase your customers’ comfort with media. Maybe it’s a mention in a press release first, then a quote in a piece of content, then a bylined article about their experience with your product. Ultimately, you’ll want to run them through media training and get them on the phone with a reporter. Before that happens, make sure they’re fully prepped with a briefing sheet, list of metrics and a reminder not to cut you out of the story.
• Things to watch out for. Sometimes it doesn’t make tactical sense to involve your customers in PR. Keep a close eye on the account to understand if it’s the best time to reach out. Did they recently have turnover? Lose their favorite account rep? Request a feature that isn’t finished yet? Experience a drop in results? Maybe hold off on asking. Also hold off if there are tons of other marketing asks (like case studies) coming their way in short succession, or if they have a big launch of their own coming up.

But back to your CEO…

It of course doesn’t make sense to have a hard and fast rule that your CEO can never be quoted in media. Sometimes, leaning on them for perspective is the most effective strategy. For example:

• When they’re already engaged in PR — If you have a CEO who loves PR, participates in the program, runs with the opportunities you send their way, and is a great spokesperson. By all means, keep using them!
• When they’re a subject matter expert — There are different types of CEOs. Those leading based on day-to-day experience in the field and those exceptional at running a business. If you’re working with DevOps media and your CEO has rich developer experience, they’re a relevant source for that story. For the business leader CEO, maybe they’ve scaled and sold five companies, and you’re working with a reporter on a story about how to prep a business for sale. Again, they’re a relevant source for that story.
• When they’re already a media darling — If journalists love writing about your CEO, she is regularly invited to speak on podcasts and your inbox overflows with inbound requests for her — don’t turn them down. If a journalist requests to speak specifically with your CEO, your lowest lift to positive coverage is finding an available time on her calendar to take the call.
• For big, corporate news. Funding round, acquisition or otherwise. Your CEO’s perspective and opinion are incredibly important here. Journalists will expect to hear from them.

Relying on your CEO to be the center of your PR program will leave you low on results due to lack of availability, hyper-relevant perspective, and oftentimes, willingness to take an interview. The wider your bench of spokespeople, the more PR allies you’ll create internally, and the more opportunities you’ll be able to turn into coverage. Consider involving subject matter experts of all kinds, both internally and externally, and your PR program will flourish.

The post Your CEO shouldn’t be the center of your PR program appeared first on PR Daily.

With all the thought leadership out there today, it can sometimes be hard to cut through the noise and position your organization’s take in an impactful way. But with some proper planning and a process that starts with analytics, communicators can set themselves and their organizational leaders up for success in the ever-crowded thought leadership space.

At Ragan’s Social Media Conference this past March, Nicole Moreo, director of customer insights for North America at LinkedIn, shared some data from a LinkedIn partnership with Edelman that can help frame the pathways to productive thought leadership content. 

Moreo reminded attendees that the utility of thought leadership goes beyond establishing your leaders as experts— it can help the bottom line of the business as well.

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In addition, Moreo shared that during times of economic stress and upheaval like the ones we’re going through right now, half of C-suite executives said thought leadership had a greater impact on their purchase decision-making than when times are good.

Moreo also outlined a couple of major ways in which great thought leadership can help you reach your organization’s marketing goals. Optimal thought leadership can:

• Impact customer buying behaviors
• Increase brand perception and trust

Moreo also said that top decision-makers consider thought leadership can be a stabilizing force in times of uncertainty.

Knowing the landscape 

When we talk about rethinking the way we create thought leadership, that all starts with resetting the way we approach it. Moreo shared her perspective on how communicators can reframe our mindset around the subject.

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Much of this involves a marketing-style approach to anticipating every step of the audience’s journey. You can just blast leadership’s thoughts out into the ether — but on top of that not make a whole lot of sense from a comms perspective, you won’t reach the right people or catch the right wave of timing.

And with no real goal in mind, what do you stand to really achieve? The most successful thought leadership emerges from a thorough planning process and deep knowledge of the world around your organization, paired with an understanding of your leadership’s messaging demonstrates it.

Moreo’s research buckets these into three questions your audience may be asking:

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Creating impact

In general comms, just as in thought leadership content, it’s all about being on top of things. Moreo outlined a few ways in which communicators can help ensure the leadership content they’re making is hitting the right notes. They are:

• Align to your Business Objectives. Do not just jump in and create. Build your Thought Leadership plan as part of your broader strategy.
• Be Relevant. Have a voice at the intersection of industry trends, customer pain points, and your company’s growth priorities. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.
• Set a Vision. Generate a POV that helps customers understand where the industry is going while using insights to keep their specific needs in mind.
• Leverage your Leaders & Influencers. Harness the power of your people, such as executives, subject matter experts and influencers, to convey your ideas in a more personal and authentic style
• Challenge the Formula. Offer content in a variety of formats and media to appeal to a broad customer base and their needs.

The content also needs to be easy to consume for audiences — that’s a big factor in the impact it can have in the overall marketplace. Moreo’s statistics show that 55% of consumers want content from thought leaders that catches their attention within the first minute — and if it doesn’t, they’ll pass it by.

By looking at all these factors and this data in an analytical fashion rather than taking a one size fits all approach, thought leaders can not only reach their target audiences successfully but also find ways to improve the organization’s bottom line and expand its customer base.

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.

The post An analytical approach to creating great thought leadership appeared first on PR Daily.

Tom Corfman is a senior consultant with Ragan Consulting Group, which helps companies establish executive thought leadership programs.

Chief executives of global companies don’t usually get involved in local politics, but CEO Chris Kempczinski of Chicago-based McDonald’s Corp. has shown there’s an exception: When a mayor’s approval rating is about 25%.

“While it may wound our civic pride to hear it, there is a general sense out there that our city is in crisis,” he said on Sept. 14, 2022, in a speech before The Economic Club of Chicago, an exclusive group of business leaders.

Kempczinski never mentioned Mayor Lori Lightfoot by name as he voiced widely felt concerns about crime, bemoaned City Hall’s frayed relationship with the business community and griped about taxes. He didn’t need to.

“His comments likely will serve as a blueprint for any pro-business mayoral candidate who has yet to emerge,” wrote the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board in praise of the speech.

Five months later, Lightfoot was on her way out, finishing third in a crowded field of nine candidates.

In response to a list of eight questions, a McDonald’s spokesperson declined comment, saying by email, “We have nothing more to share at this time.”

In some ways, Kempczinski’s speech was the kickoff of the Chicago mayoral election, likely strengthening opposition to the incumbent that was already brewing among the city’s corporate elite. It also offers a chance to review three points that CEOs should consider before jumping into local politics. But first, some background about politics in the Windy City, where Ragan Consulting Group is based.

Nearly four years ago, Lightfoot became the third Black, second woman and first openly gay person to become the city’s mayor. A former federal prosecutor and big law firm partner, she rode to an upset win in 2019 over outrage about political corruption. (Imagine that in Chicago!).

While worries about crime played a key role in Lightfoot’s defeat in the Feb. 28 non-partisan election, she was also hurt by perceptions that she failed to deliver on promises to reform government, increase transparency and change police tactics. Layered on top of all that was her combative personality. Liberal voters, the core of her support in 2019, abandoned her in this election.

Two candidates are fighting to succeed Lightfoot in what will likely be a ferocious runoff election on April 4. Paul Vallas, a former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools under Mayor Richard M. Daley who is receiving strong support from the business sector, garnered nearly 34% of the votes. Brandon Johnson, a county commissioner who is backed by the city’s powerful teachers union, where he is an organizer, collected nearly 22%. In a city where race plays a role in politics, Vallas is white and Johnson is Black.

The two candidates offer sharply different visions of how to run the nation’s third largest city, especially on crime. Vallas is campaigning on a law-and-order message, while Johnson promises to improve public safety by spending more on social services, mental health care, education and housing.

McDonald’s, with 2022 revenue of $23.22 billion, has a long history in the Chicago area, from its first restaurant in a suburb in 1955 to its headquarters move from the suburbs to the city in 2018. Kempczinski began his remarks by describing the economic impact if his company left.

“Two billion dollars a year is the economic contribution of having McDonald’s headquarters here,” he said, repeating the number.

“What if McDonald’s wasn’t here? It would be $2 billion that left the city overnight,” he said, snapping his fingers.

The speech earned national media coverage. When reporters seized on Kempczinski’s implied threat to relocate the company’s headquarters, McDonald’s PR team clarified that the company did not intend to move. One week later, the company bought a full-page print ad in the Tribune, promising its continued commitment to the city, and posted it to its website.

Ironically, Kempczinski’s remarks about Chicago overshadowed  his own announcement that the company was moving an innovation center with 100 employees from a suburb to its city headquarters.

At a time when consumers continue to want chief executives to be more engaged in social issues, the speech is a remarkable example. It also raises at least three key questions that CEOs should consider before plunging into local politics.

1. Can you win? “Don’t Make No Waves, Don’t Back No Losers,” was the title of a landmark 1975 book about Chicago politics. The principle still applies and not just to Chicago. Even with all of Lightfoot’s disadvantages, her defeat was hardly a sure thing when Kempczinski spoke out. Five months between his speech and the election is a long time in politics.

This doesn’t mean CEOs shouldn’t get involved in political issues they aren’t certain to affect. But the chance of a favorable outcome is a factor to weigh. Politics is different than social issues, where taking a stand can resonate with employees and customers, especially when coupled with a plan to take action.

2. Who’s the audience? The members of the Economic Club enthusiastically received Kempczinski’s remarks.

In a sign of approval by many business executives, The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board thundered, “When residents no longer feel safe at a major restaurant chain and a CEO issues a public plea, social order is breaking down.”

But before stepping into the fray, CEOs must be mindful of how their stance will be received by other audiences. Just ask Disney, which didn’t anticipate the barrage unleased by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla).

In Chicago, a white, male CEO criticizing a Black, female elected official popular among many African Americans can produce unintended consequences. In 2021, Kempczinski drew protests at McDonald’s headquarters after the publication of a text message to Lightfoot in which he blamed the parents for the shooting deaths of a Black child and a Latino teenage because they “failed” their children. He apologized and met with employees.

The company also has faced harsh criticism over alleged discrimination against Black franchisees.

Yet Kempczinski and McDonald’s suffered no backlash from his remarks.

3. Do you have your facts straight? In these circumstances, the CEO’s numbers must be bombproof.

Lightfoot fired back, of course, saying, “What would have been helpful is for the McDonald’s CEO to educate himself before he spoke.”

The city’s crime statistics, while high, are improving, the administration said. And a record number of companies are moving to the city or significantly expanding, contradicting Kempczinski’s claim that fewer companies are headquartered here. Taxes have changed little since McDonald’s moved to the city nearly five years ago.

Moreover, reports by Crain’s Chicago Business comparing Chicago with other cities on crime and business climate offer a more moderate picture of the city.

Yet Kempczinski’s message was so strong that any questions about the accuracy of his claims received scant attention.

CEOs must pick their issues wisely. Kempczinski’s speech was not without risk, but likely had its intended effect. With the run-off less than a month away, will the McDonald’s chief executive offer another Chicago assessment?

The post 3 points CEOs should consider before jumping into politics appeared first on PR Daily.

Amanda Guisbond is founder and chief communicator at Intersection: Health. 

Remember in school when you had to write a paper about your hero? You might say it was a teacher, astronaut or athlete. But you never responded with “high school, NASA or Nike.” 

That’s because people follow people, not brands. 

A looming recession is already impacting organizations in terms of hiring, budget and resource allocation. Communications departments are feeling the squeeze. In-house teams are shrinking, budgets are scrutinized, and everyone is being asked to do more with less.

The good news; you can actually do more with less. One solution is for communications teams to prioritize executive communications and thought leadership over brand communications. 

There’s good reason to believe your target audiences will respond to your executive’s communications – and more than your brand. 

Take LinkedIn as an example, where people-authored content consistently outperforms brand-authored content. Posts to LinkedIn by employees went 561% further than the same content shared by a brand. This is because, on average, employees have 10 times more social connections than a brand, and when they do post to social media, their followers are more likely to engage with that content. In fact, brand messages are re-shared 24 more times when posted by an employee. TikTok is another good example: of the top 100 most followed TikTok accounts in the U.S.: 97 are people; three are brands. 

Your customers respond to people-led content over brand-led content because they desire communications that embody authenticity and trust. The annual Edelman Trust Barometer found that more people trust their employer over government, non-profit organizations and media. Interestingly, family-owned businesses were trusted more than private or publicly held businesses. It’s easier to build trust when communication comes from a person you might feel you know, or to whom you can relate. 

People want to hear from leaders, too, and when they do, they express more trust in a brand and have a more positive impression of that brand’s leadership. Just by posting to social media, CEOs are seen as better communicators. Specific to social, a CEO’s comments when delivered through social media are seen as more trustworthy than comments shared via traditional media, such as a news story. That’s a win for owned vs. earned content. 

Brand communications can also be expensive. Take a B2B2C business with multiple potential customers and decision-makers, varying product messages, and many potential outlets and messages. A monthly PR retainer for a mid- to late-stage brand is costly, and there’s not a standard by which in-house teams can easily measure the value, or difference between potential partners. I’ve worked with companies that were asked to pay anywhere from $500 to $30,000 for one piece of written content or anywhere from $2,500 to $50,000 for monthly PR. 

Executive communications is totally different; it can be streamlined to support one executive on developing their thought leadership platform, honing in on their key messages, and demonstrating that through written bylined content for media and social media, speaking engagements, media interviews, speeches and more. 

Armed with the right messages, content and coaching, an executive can deliver more on their own. Teams really feeling the budget squeeze can opt for more upfront support and coaching, some ghost writing, and ultimately, choose how much their executive can, or wants to, manage on their own. Unlike a brand, the executive can keep generating content and communications if they have the right upfront guidance and channels in place. 

It’s a tough time for organizations who have to make creative choices about where they allocate their time and spend. And it’s a great time to invest in executive communications over brand. The future of PR and communications is authentic, vulnerable, personalized – and led by people. Arm your executives with the right coaching, content and channels now, and it will pay dividends. 

The post Why this is the time to invest in executive communications over brand appeared first on PR Daily.

Speechwriting for a U.S. Senator in Congress was a dream for self-described introvert Patrice Smith, now vice president of media relations at PNC Bank. “Words that I wrote from my desk were transcribed into the United States record,” said Smith. “They’re written in the history of this country forever.” To get to that moment, Smith needed to learn the rhythms and intricacies of how her principal spoke. “I had to be a student—and still am.”

Ahead of her session at PR Daily’s Public Affairs & Speechwriting virtual conference, we sat down with Smith to discuss her speechwriting career writing for Senator Tim Scott, the advice she gives to C-suite on authentic storytelling, and why AI won’t replace human writers anytime soon.

Can you describe how you tackle speechwriting and capturing a principal’s voice?

Smith: When it comes to speechwriting, it really takes a lot of studying, [which] is what’s unique compared to the other different segments of public relations and communications. You are learning how to be someone else, literally.

When I worked for the Senator, I spent months studying his voice. I listened to every single news segment published on YouTube. I listened to every speech. I listened to anything and everything so that I could capture how he speaks. He had just written a book, so I took the voice that I was used to hearing and I read the book in that voice. That was all before my interview.

Even after getting the role, it was constantly a refinement process. Even if I wrote [a speech], I was in the back taking notes, because the way I would write something on paper wasn’t necessarily the way that he would speak it. I would always listen to what he used, what he changed and how could I refine it to make it better. After three years of working for him, I felt like I finally had his voice and he was saying what I was writing.

You really have to study your principal. Granted, you’re not them, but you want to get into the point where like people think that you are them.

There’s a huge difference between writing a long-form speech and writing a tweet. What direction will you give to comms lead when they are tackling social media?

When you’re writing social media content, just be natural. A lot of times people focus too much on writing something that will go viral. When I would write something, I would take a sentence from a quote or statement that I had already drafted. It will go viral if it’s good.

What’s the advice you give to leadership or C-suite about sharing information to their teams authentically?

Without adding jargon, how would you explain this to your wife? Or to the person [at the bottom of the org chart]? Remember first and foremost that you’re talking to people. Once you understand what those people want or need from you, you can communicate to them in a way that will resonate with them.

How would you take a speech and adapt it to share across channels?

When I was in the Senate, we did this quite a bit. You can take the same piece of content and use it across many different platforms, but you have to know your audience.

Twitter is everybody, not necessarily your constituents, but people who are interested in you as a political figure — and reporters. Facebook has the folks back at home who are interested in what you’re actually doing for [them]. Instagram is the younger population, Millennials and younger typically, and LinkedIn is the business folks.

You have to find out what in the speech will resonate with [each] group.

What is your favorite tool or platform that you use that makes your life easier? 

Apple Notes is a godsend. I can’t tell you how many speeches and press releases I’ve written on that. I like project management tools like Monday.com, Trello, those are amazing. Today I use stickies, either physical stickies or a digital sticky or Apple Notes.

Let’s talk AI.

ChatGPT. [laughs] Let’s talk about this. In addition to working at the bank, I’m an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University on the graduate program for public relations and corporate communication. This has come up.

I will admit, it does give us heartburn on the academic side because students can draft whole papers. The AI is so good to where you can’t tell when the students are providing their own thought leadership versus [ChatGPT].

One thing AI [can’t] do is capture voice. It can give me a very academic piece, but when it comes to writing for my principals, it wouldn’t know to switch out this word for this word. There are little things that I know, for example, the Senator hates the word politicians versus elected officials. It can’t capture human personality and human preferences.

It can’t specialize. While ChatGPT can give [my students] a strategic communications plan, it can’t capture those human moments that only you as a writer know about. If they want to try, I’m really good at vetting papers. I feel like universities will start to update their rules on academic dishonesty.

Can you give any advice to communicators that are hoping to break into the speechwriting field?

Great writers read. I’ll admit, I have a lot of unfinished books. That’s #1.

Figure out what you want to communicate, what industry you want to work in and what you’re passionate about. Speechwriters do a lot of research so it should be something you’re passionate about. When I’m not at work, I’m spending all my time studying finance.

Every executive needs a communicator. Once you pair those two things, you can land where you want.

And… seek professional development. Writing is a craft that you have to continue to hone. You don’t just make it as a writer, you always have to be invested in getting better.

Join Smith at PR Daily’s Public Affairs & Speechwriting virtual conference, which goes down April 4. Smith will speak alongside speechwriters and communications leaders from the U.S. Navy, Edelman, IBM, the U.S. Department of Labor, and more. 

The post Advice on authenticity from a former U.S. Senator’s speechwriter appeared first on PR Daily.

So your executives want to be positioned as the go-to resource for journalists working on stories that involve your subject area. And they’ve asked you to help get them there, proactively reaching out to journalists and suggesting interesting, timely topics on which they can lend their insights.

Now what?

As the PR pro, there are a variety of things you can do to prep your executive, polish your pitches and position yourself for success at all stages of the process. Here are a few tips for making sure your leader is really ready to become an expert source.

Before you pitch

First thing’s first: media train your executive. Whether you choose to do this in-house or look for outside training doesn’t matter. But don’t send your executive into seemingly friendly interviews making sure they understand the basics of how to give a good answer, how to present themselves professionally and when to stop talking.

Once they’re ready for primetime, sit down with them and brainstorm a list of ideas they can speak on. With this list, the more specific the better. If you reach out to a journalist and say you have an expert who can talk about “the widget industry,” that’s too broad for them to generate a good story idea, even if they’re already reporting on the widget industry. Instead, look for ideas like: “speak on widget industry challenges related to the thingamajig shortage — and possible solutions.”

Include a mix of both evergreen ideas as well as timelier topics that have specific news hooks. It’s great if you can offer timely widget insight when there’s a major movement in the thingamajig supply chain, but it’s also great to just offer insight into widget sales trends for those vaunted slow news days (yes, they do happen).

Finally, make sure your executive is available to speak in a timely fashion. For a timely news hook pitch, they should be available to speak that day or the next. For something more evergreen, availability that week is reasonable.  If their schedule is absolutely packed or they have a vacation planned, don’t pitch. You’re setting everyone up for disappointment and frustration. Wait until things calm down.

When your pitch is accepted

Use the same good media relations practices you would for any other pitch: research your target, read their recent work and customize based on their unique interests. Hopefully you’ll soon get word that a journalist wants to schedule an interview. Awesome!

If the journalist is accepting a pitch based on a topic you suggested, don’t waste their time or yours by asking what questions they’ll ask. Unless they say otherwise, assume their questions will be in that ballpark.

However, if there is something you don’t want to talk about, feel free to lay that out in your response: “Ms. Smith wants to keep the focus of this conversation on the widget supply, and so won’t be answering questions on the widget scandal. Look forward to speaking soon!”

If a journalist does ask about an uncomfortable topic that’s off-base from what you pitched, be polite but firm and simply decline to answer.

Speaking of, feel free to be in the room (or Zoom) during the interview. It’s good for executives to have a second set of ears to give feedback on their performance, as well as to step in if things do go off the rails. It’s also a good way to listen to questions and offer follow-up materials to the journalist if needed.

Finally, keep the line of communication open for follow-ups. Even in the best interview, a journalist will likely have additional questions. Be responsive.

Hopefully, you now have a fantastic piece that highlights the wisdom of your executive leader. You’ll have new feedback to help them grow their interview skills and a solid piece of earned media.

By applying traditional media skills with a few twists, you’ll soon have a bona fide subject matter expert in the house, ready for all journalistic needs.

Allison Carter is executive editor of PR Daily. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

The post What not to do when pitching an expert interview appeared first on PR Daily.

Communicators are at a crossroads each time a hot topic of public debate, from social justice issues to ESG and beyond, enters the news cycle. Is it appropriate for your organization to comment? Is taking a stand the right thing to do?

Ragan Communications partnered with research consultancy HarrisX in the fall of 2022 to understand how and when CEOs and communications leaders feel it’s appropriate for organizations to take a stand on issues of public interest, and the factors that influence their decisions.

The survey was conducted by HarrisX from Oct. 11-24 within the U.S. among 360 CEOs and high-ranking senior communications.

Asked whether organizations should take a stand on political and social issues, 63% of CEOs said yes and 37% said no. Just  58% of communications leaders agreed brands should speak out.

Those numbers rose when respondents were asked whether organizations have a responsibility to challenge public policies when they threaten employees’ rights — 76% of CEOs said yes and 74% of communications leaders said no.  This drastic increase in support demonstrates how attuned leadership is to the opinions of internal stakeholders—and offers a reminder that organizations can avoid reputational risk by tying larger purpose and values commitments back to a positive employee experience.

Those numbers fell again when each group was asked if standing up for employee rights should happen even if it meant losing revenue, with 61% of CEOs and 66% of comms leaders agreeing.

The fact that fewer CEOs said they support employee rights at the expense of revenue than those who support taking a stand overall is telling. Of course, failing to stand up for employee rights can bring about revenue losses in different ways as employees who experience a disconnect between their personal sense of purpose and the corporate purpose of their employer may very well leave, causing a loss of productivity and talent. It’s on communicators to connect the dots for the rest of the C-suite here.

Download the HarrisX-Ragan Key Findings Report here

The post How CEOs feel about speaking out on issues of public interest appeared first on PR Daily.

Especially in times of crisis, it’s critical that internal, external and executive communications teams collaborate to keep everyone informed and engaged. Walgreens demonstrated the importance of this interaction during the pandemic and helped reset the brand for future success.

Recently, we caught up with Fraser Engerman, senior director of external relations at Walgreens, who led that charge, to ask him a few questions. Engerman will be a speaker at Ragan and PR Daily’s upcoming Strategic Communications Conference at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, October 19-20.

[RELATED: Join us Oct. 19-20 at Microsoft HQ in Redmond, WA for our Strategic Communications Conference]

Ragan: What tips can you share with other professionals looking to communicate more effectively?

Fraser Engerman: Practice your elevator speech! I constantly try to boil down what I need to communicate into some key soundbites. We are all bombarded with information, and it is often difficult to get the ear and attention of your stakeholders, no matter who they are. I try to provide the key points upfront and provide more detail as needed. This habit probably stems from my days as a television reporter when I had no more than a minute or two to get to the essence of the story.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned as a strategic comms pro so far?

Don’t sweat the small things. Life is full of small challenges. Try to keep your eye on the bigger picture. That is hard when you are used to putting out fires in the moment. It’s about making smart decisions and executing to the best of your ability.

How does your approach to communication differ from your colleagues in other fields?

Everyone has their own approach. My style has always been to be straightforward with no agenda other than to get the job done. I don’t believe in being the loudest voice in the room. Humor is central to how I navigate each day. The work is serious, but I never take myself too seriously and having a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor is a plus.

How do you stay up to date on the latest in the field? Are there any resources that you find particularly useful?

I try to read as much as I can from the latest industry publications. However, for me, reading the major dailies like the NY Times, Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal allow me to keep up on news that might not affect my work directly now but certainly can have an impact. Networking is another great way to keep up. Hopefully, as we ease out of the pandemic networking will be a priority (at least in person)!

At this year’s Strategic Communications Conference, you’re headlining a session on taking risks, beating adversity and creating a bold culture. Can you give our readers a sneak peek at what they can expect to learn?

I joined Walgreens at the height of the pandemic and had to assume responsibility for helping lead our external communications through one of the most intense and difficult periods in the company’s history.  I learned how to take risks, step outside the comfort zone and keep a team together that was physically apart.

If you’d like to gain new strategic insights and communications strategies for internal and executive comms, public relations, marketing and social media, join us at Ragan and PR Daily’s Strategic Communications Conference, where speakers from Walgreens, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, Pepsico, Facebook and more will share their ideas and success stories. Register today!

Jon Minnick is a conference producer for Ragan and PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.

The post Advice from Walgreens’ Fraser Engerman: You should practice your elevator speech appeared first on PR Daily.

One of the hardest parts of business communications is getting more attention as layoffs increase amid an uncertain, seesawing economy. And these communications are no longer the internal affairs they once were. They’re almost certain to be leaked, scrutinized and considered by both your existing staff, job seekers and even potential customers and clients.

The cost of a misstep is high, both in terms of the human cost and the business cost.

Let’s examine some recent layoff statements and learn what we can from the best and the rest.

Robinhood

Robinhood’s CEO and co-founder, Vlad Tenev, took a more employee-focused approach and wrote a blog post explaining the specific departments the layoffs would affect and taking personal responsibility for the over-hiring that led to this moment:

I want to acknowledge how unsettling these types of changes are. We often talk about our mission to democratize finance for all, and one of the most cherished aspects of Robinhood is the teamwork and camaraderie involved in working towards our mission — together. I feel incredibly privileged and fortunate to have the opportunity to build with all of you.

Last year, we staffed many of our operations functions under the assumption that the heightened retail engagement we had been seeing with the stock and crypto markets in the COVID era would persist into 2022. In this new environment, we are operating with more staffing than appropriate. As CEO, I approved and took responsibility for our ambitious staffing trajectory – this is on me.

He also explained the resources that employees would be offered to laid-off workers:

Everyone will receive an email and a Slack message with your status – with resources and support if you are leaving. We’re sending everyone a message immediately after this meeting so you don’t have to wait for clarity. Departing Robinhoodies will be offered the opportunity to remain employed with Robinhood through October 1, 2022 and receive their regular pay and benefits (including equity vesting). They will also be offered cash severance, payment of COBRA medical, dental and vision insurance premiums and job search assistance (including an opt in Robinhood Alumni Talent Directory).

Each impacted Hoodie will be able to schedule time with our people team to discuss their specific situation live. We know that this news is tough for all Robinhoodies, and we are also offering wellness support to those who would like it.

Tenev’s blog post leads with an empathetic expression that reframes a dark chapter in the company’s history as an opportunity to reinforce its culture, values and mission. Tenev’s sense of personal responsibility for the poor decision to over-hire adds a seldom-seen degree of accountability to the message that demonstrates those values.

By going deeper into the logic behind how employees were informed, Tenev also offers a rare insight into how change communications can be shared with wellness front and center that’s worth emulating.

‘The crying CEO’

You’d probably never heard of HyperSocial or its CEO, Braden Wallake, until recently. You still may not know his name. You may instead know him as “the crying CEO” after he posted an emotional selfie to LinkedIn along with a post announcing layoffs.

Wallake tried to react in a human way and took responsibility for this unfortunate outcome — good rules of thumb for any CEO. However, he made the post entirely about him and his feelings, and how the loss of jobs affected him.

Now, to be fair, this is not a traditional job layoff memo. It’s a personal LinkedIn post. Even so, it strikes a discordant note that centers the CEO and relegates those who were laid off to background characters in his own drama. If you’re writing your own reaction to a layoff, but you still have a job, remember that it isn’t about you. Keep the focus on those who are affected.

Wayfair

The layoff letter from the online furniture retailer stands in stark contrast to the previous post from HyperSocial. CEO and Co-founder Niraj Shah’s letter takes responsibility without making it about him and his feelings.

I take responsibility for the impact this decision will have on the nearly 900 Wayfairians who will be told today they are no longer a part of building our company’s future. The individuals being impacted have not only made tremendous contributions to the company as colleagues but have enriched us all as our partners and friends. We’re grateful to have worked alongside them, and we will strongly support our colleagues in their next endeavors.

The memo also clearly lays out who will be affected and exactly what the process will be for those who are being let go, including specific severance details, as well as information about next steps for those who will remain at the company. All of this can help reduce anxiety during the waiting process.

The act of posting the letter on their website in full is also a strong act of transparency. If it’s going to leak anyway, get ahead of it and share your messaging.

Ford

The automaker announced this week that it would lay off about 3,000 people, mostly white-collar workers. Internally, the move was announced in a memo that promptly leaked.

The memo begins by nodding to the brand’s history, dating back to the Model-T before acknowledging that what has guided them in the past no longer delivers needed results.

We committed to sharing information as decisions are made along the way. As we tackle all aspects of costs – from materials to those related to quality – we are informing some Ford teammates this week in the U.S., Canada and at FBS in India, that their positions are being eliminated. Overall, we are reducing our salaried workforce by about 2,000, as well as reducing agency personnel by about 1,000. These actions follow significant restructuring in Ford operations outside of North America over the past couple of years.

The memo succeeds because of its clarity: It explains why costs are being cut, how they’re being cut beyond personnel, and exactly who it will affect.

It also doesn’t lose sight of the human cost, while also explaining how the organization will support those who will no longer have jobs:

None of this changes the fact that this is a difficult and emotional time. The people leaving the company this week are friends and coworkers and we want to thank them for all they have contributed to Ford. We have a duty to care for and support those affected – and we will live up to this duty – providing not only benefits but significant help to find new career opportunities.

It’s a solid mix of business-focused pragmatism and human-centric compassion, which are the most important keys in any layoff communication. Outline action, mourn what’s lost and look to the future.

The post Layoff communications: The good, the bad and the ugly appeared first on PR Daily.

I challenge you to name an executive who doesn’t want to be considered a thought leader. If you can’t come up with one, it’s not surprising. Thought leadership has the potential to elevate an executive’s profile, drive brand awareness, and lead to tangible business results. What business leader wouldn’t want to be one?

Bylined articles have long been one option on the path to thought leadership. An article or thought piece can provide an opportunity for an executive to share their perspective and subject-matter expertise. And while it used to be fairly easy for a savvy PR professional to get a well-written bylined article published, the media landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade. For one thing, more and more executives are clamoring to be thought leaders, and are often incentivized to do so by the companies they work for, so the competition to get published is fierce. For another, publications are hungry for revenue, and as a result, more and more media outlets have adopted a pay-to-play model. The model has its appeal: an executive or company pays a media outlet to ensure their article gets published.

But is it worth the investment? 

Opinions vary. Some marketers are skeptical of paid content. The former CMO of one of the world’s top quick-service restaurants said they were “not a fan.” They see paid content as advertising and “take it all with a big grain of salt. Readers are suspicious, more so these days, and worry they are being spun or worse, seeing fake news. That’s why bylines matter more than ever and I only trust those that are objective, those that do not have an economic interest in the content.“

I used to feel that way myself, but given shrinking editorial coverage opportunities, I’ve come to see that in some cases, executives looking to build a thought leadership platform should consider paying for bylines to be published in a media outlet part of their overall PR plan.

Catch-22

It’s a bit of a Catch-22: there are so many executives looking to get their bylines published that you almost need to have a profile first, before you can get an earned byline. You and your company often need to have already-established credentials before publications and readers will want to hear what you have to say. In that respect, paying for content to be published in the right media outlet can be a great way to open the door.

Dos and don’ts

To ensure that a paid byline gets the biggest bang for the buck and leads to earned bylines and business in the future, here are some essential dos and don’ts:

Do:

• Create content that delivers a provocative, new point of view that will be valuable to readers. The topic and headline should be so compelling that even those skeptical of paid content will want to click on it.
• Write with your target audience in mind. What insights can you provide that no one else can?
• Choose your media outlet wisely and ask smart questions:
  • Is the publication read/followed by the executive’s target audience?
  • Will it enhance the credibility of the leader or company to be published in this outlet?
  • Do you like the way the publication displays paid content?
  • Will the outlet promote the article across their owned channels (podcasts, webinars, social media, website)?
• Amplify the content. Go beyond posting the article on the company’s website and social media channels. There’s so much more that can be done:

• • Highlight the content with employees.
  • Share the article with clients, prospects, analysts, investors and any other key audiences.
  • Weave it into pitch decks.
  • Include it in newsletters.

Don’t:

• Don’t write a sales pitch. Just because you’ve paid for the content to be published, doesn’t mean you don’t need to consider your audience and what they need (versus what you feel like writing about). Content that is purely promotional doesn’t provide any value to the reader and is an immediate turn-off. The goal of thought leadership isn’t to sell – it’s to get people to see you as a trusted resource for valuable insights and opinions.
• Don’t jump on the bandwagon. Avoid writing about the latest hot topic. It might be tempting, but the fact that it’s a hot topic means the market is likely already saturated with articles. Case in point: A google search for “metaverse articles” resulted in about 33,900,000 results. Instead, think about an undiscovered opportunity that no one is talking about–but they should be.
• Don’t overcommit. Some outlets require their contributors to produce content regularly, which can be an unrealistic expectation and a burden for a busy executive. Make sure to vet the agreement with the publisher in advance, so you know what’s required.

Following these dos and don’ts will make a paid byline worth the investment and will set an executive on the path to thought leadership.

Barbara Nonas is a strategic communications consultant and C-suite advisor with over 20 years of experience in all facets of PR and communications. She was previously head of corporate communications at Digitas.

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When the world changed two years ago, the business needs did, too. Internal communicators, long considered the most undervalued comms practitioners, suddenly saw their work validated by business leaders in unprecedented ways.

Transparency became crucial for businesses trying to show external audiences that they were upholding cultural values, taking care of employees, and generally conducting themselves internally the way that they presented externally. As such, the trend of mixternal communications—the industry-wide merging of internal and external comms functions—took off.

Kari Wethington, executive communications director at Proctor and Gamble, spoke at Ragan’s Employee Communications and Culture conference this past February about how artful mixternal communications require a nuanced understanding of the differences, and similarities, between executive communications and thought leadership.

Wethington began with a charge for comms to define what these terms mean within each organization and where they sit.

“It’s clear that there’s a lot of grey area between executive communications and thought leadership,” she said. “The terms, the functions sort of blend together. At certain companies, if you’re in executive communications, you might be 99% focused on internal communications. But you might also be doing 50/50 internal/external. Sometimes, thought leadership sits within the same group that’s doing exec comms — other times, it’s a marketing function.”

As Wethington shared her understanding of each discipline, she offered tips for how communicators can think about the balance between executive comms and thought leadership.

Define what each discipline means for your business

“I think of executive communications a little bit like service journalism,” Wethington said. “Executive communications (mean) you’re delivering the information people need to be engaged, to do their jobs well, to know what’s going on. you’re trying to make sure leadership messages are getting across to employees and that they’re connected.” ]]

She believes that executive communications must be a well-oiled machine for thought leadership content to be effective and resonant.

“I would think of thought leadership more as almost opportunistic, (with) a little bit of a marketing mindset,” Wethington added. “How do you take your baseline of executive communications and really broaden it to a wider audience, to have wider impact?”

She stressed that the grey area between each discipline exists because there are more similarities than there are differences. Both should consider the audience you’re trying to reach and the priority that you assign to each. Both should consider how the message mix ladders up to the larger business goals. And perhaps most importantly, both require the flexibility to let plans evolve as business needs change.

“We all know there are so many channels that we’re trying to stay on top of,” said Wethington. “So being constant learners is super important here.”

Make yourself a trusted advisor

It’s important for every internal communicator to take a step back and check to make sure their internal systems for producing exec comms and thought leadership are functioning as they need to—whether you’re a seasoned veteran, new to an organization or building a thought leadership pipeline for the first time.

First and foremost, you must do the work to ensure you’re considered a trusted advisor with the information and connections you need to do the role well.

“One way I like to think about this is just building your own network and relationship building,” said Wethington. “Obviously, the connections you have with the executives you support is so important. So, spend time getting to know them. Get comfortable asking questions. Think about them as a person outside of the transactions you need to get done because you know they’re so busy.”

She also stressed the importance of considering the other people who report to that leader, who might be trusted resources you can tap on to get to know the organization, and the leader, better. That internal network can inform the next idea that your thought leadership work focuses on.

Listen constantly

Always listening means “being a sponge for that content at all times.” It might mean a meeting with your executives where they test out new messaging, then generating your own creative ideas from their approach.

“(Listening) can also be very tactical,” Wethington said. “This is a great way to get started on ghostwriting. Instead of sitting there with a blank screen, start with a presentation that already exists and see how you can recreate with a new take or fresh information.” She added that not being afraid to recycle content helps you start from a place grounded in the company’s most important messages.

Revisit the basics

Creating a system for success with executive comms and thought leadership also requires you to reassess your tool kit. This includes considering whether and how often you need more formal presentation rehearsals, media training sessions or message reviews.

“When appropriate, take the time to actually do the run-through,” said Wethington. “I find that creates a safe environment for both you and the executive to make sure all the kinks are worked out. Sometimes when you get further into working with an executive you can cut some of that stuff out. “

She added that revisiting media training can be helpful at all levels of a career, especially for execs who never received it early on. It can also help with internal messaging and message reviews.

“Sometimes the hardest questions are coming from employees,” she said, “and so you want to make sure folks are prepared for that.”

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