For sure, the advent of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 prompted all sorts of brands to take more public stands on race and a variety of other topics. Shortly thereafter, some of America’s biggest brands learned these can also be deep and dangerous waters.

The Walt Disney Co. is tangled in a litigation death match with the Governor of Florida over LGBTQ+ politics. Target stores ran into a buzzsaw of criticism from all sides after stocking PRIDE inventory and then backtracked amid complaints. And after the Anheuser-Busch brand Bud Light sponsored a trans performer, critics fiercely attacked. The parent company’s market share slumped, and the term “Bud Lighting” was born to describe a new form of culture war boycotting.

There can be direct business consequences, for instance with investment funds and banks who manage “Environmental, Sustainable, Governance” funds, as some U.S. states are formally banishing them with legislation. Interestingly, there are unusual allies to be made in these fractious topics, for instance, with some southern Republican governors (see Georgia) committing loudly to building factories to make electric vehicles and infrastructure.

Luckily, there is some very good news. There are communications tools for navigating if, when, where, and how to take a public stand on contentious public issues.

Step One: Think about your company’s core values. For an a-political auto parts store (for instance) perhaps there’s nothing wrong with staying on the sidelines and just offering great customer service. But if your company sells hiking backpacks and has a strong ethos about the wilderness environment, then you better be ready to step up on Earth Day. If your company has a direct tie to the NCAA, like it or not, you had better understand the NCAA’s stance on gender in sports. Take careful consideration of your corporate philanthropy too, as that can become a platform for putting your values into action.

Step Two: Build a diagnostic system for thinking things through clinically. This can include drafting a rubric of “10 Key Questions.” For instance, “Is our company already directly involved, such as lobbying for legislation?” “Is our staff directly involved because of their identity, geography, race, or social status?” “Is the issue self-evidently evil or wonderful?” Importantly, make sure to have the right people around the table, and include people who have special insight into these issues: HR, public relations, legal, and customer service. Look beyond the executive suite.

Then add tactical questions, such as “Is this controversy about a direct competitor?” (Spoiler: If “yes,” then steer clear.)  “If we avoided saying something, would our customers see our silence as a betrayal?” You can also look into the future and tag upcoming events like Earth Day, Juneteenth, 9/11, or any number of important milestones.

Tally up the answers. If you get more “yeses” than “no’s,” then the system would argue towards taking a public stance, and then the conversation can shift towards what to say, how, where and to whom.

The point of using a checklist like this is not to force your hand or avoid a difficult conversation. Rather, the point is ensuring you have the conversation at all, and with the right people around the table. Your matrix may suggest staying out of the fray 90 percent of the time, but you’ll have the confidence of knowing why.

Revisit the checklist at regular intervals and be willing to drop the system for extraordinary circumstances. We know a CEO who took a strong public stance after a school shooting. Why? Because their mother was a teacher.

The real value of having a system is this: You avoid the vertigo of just wondering each day about what to say and where. You can defend your rationale, and you can plan ahead.

Lastly, be ready to defend whatever stance the organization takes. These are especially fractious times, where extreme political players are all-to-willing to single out brands for attack. Remembering the organization’s core values will help you absorb whatever criticism (or praise) comes along, and your brand can emerge stronger on the other side.

If you’d like to consult with Tucker/Hall Vice President Rich Mullins on this topic – or any topic that might help you navigate a tricky situation – please email him at rmullins@evoqueag.online.

Join Tucker/Hall Vice President Theresa Collington and Chief Operating Officer Darren Richards for an interactive workshop over lunch at the Columbia Restaurant that will take you through the latest best practices in Online Reputation Management. Theresa and Darren will walk you through ORM case studies for individuals, businesses, and some unique but powerful ways to clean up online reputations.

Online Reputation Management – Best Practices and Case Studies

Presented by PRSA Tampa Bay

The Tampa Bay Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is the premier public relations organization in the Tampa Bay area.

Wednesday, April 27, 2022
11:30 AM to 1:00 PM

Networking – 11:30 AM to 12 PM
Presentation with lunch + Q&A – 12PM to 1PM

Columbia Restaurant – Ybor
2117 E 7th Ave.
Tampa, FL 33605

Sign up: Click here to register

Speakers: 

Theresa Collington is Vice President at Tucker/Hall, one of Florida’s leading public relations/public affairs firms. She joined the Tampa firm in 2021 after over 20 years in TV and digital media in Los Angeles, New York City, and Tampa Bay. Theresa works with clients on the firm’s three main practice areas – Strategy, Crisis, and Issues. She helps organizations with government and political/regulatory issues, and crisis management – everything from accidents to lawsuits. She earned a master’s degree from USF and has taught advanced digital media at the University of Florida and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies.

Darren Richards is Chief Operating Officer at Tucker/Hall, joining the firm in 2009 after a 23-year career as a news executive at some of the strongest TV stations in the country. During his time at Tucker/Hall in Tampa, Richards has worked on a variety of different clients – from those with marketing and branding needs to those in crisis communications situations. He has been accredited in crisis communications by the Institute for Crisis Management in Louisville. He has also been certified by the Yale School of Management in digital strategy.

Here’s what’s for lunch:

1905 Salad– The Columbia’s legendary salad of crisp iceberg lettuce with julienne of baked ham, natural Swiss cheese, tomato, olives, grated Romano cheese, Worcestershire sauce, and famous garlic dressing.

Pollo Manchego – A delicious combination of Manchego cheese and bread crumbs crusted on a chicken breast and grilled. Topped with sundried tomatoes, basil, and citrus sauce. Served with yellow rice.

Lunch is included with your ticket purchase.

If you need a vegetarian meal or have any special dietary needs, please leave a note in the special instructions and comment box when registering.

Tickets:
$35.00 Member
$40.00 Non-Member
$30.00 PRSSA Student

Sign up: Click here to register

PRSA ANTITRUST COMPLIANCE STATEMENT
PRSA’s policy is to comply with federal and state antitrust laws. Participants in PRSA meetings and programs are not to discuss industry-wide or individual company prices (current or projected) or matters relating to pricing such as costs, profits, wages, market allocation, or other competitively sensitive information. Compliance with the antitrust laws is a requirement for PRSA membership and responsibility for compliance rests with each member. Participants have an obligation to terminate any discussion, seek legal counsel’s advice, or, if necessary, terminate any meeting if the discussion might be construed to raise antitrust risks.

Thirty years ago, on December 1, 1990, Tucker/Hall welcomed its first clients and began three decades of exciting work—devising communications strategies, helping solve crisis situations, and advising community leaders on public affairs problems of all sorts.

Since that first day, we’ve worked on scores of those matters while expanding our reach to help clients throughout Florida and beyond from our offices and outposts in Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tallahassee, and Polk County. The past years are full of exciting memories of the lasting partnerships we’ve forged with companies large and small, community-focused not-for-profits, and individuals who turned to our team to help them build, toughen or simply test their communications strategies.

Innovation has been part of our DNA since those very first days. In our early years, we embraced new technologies like “tele-town halls”, and the unheard-of online video service called YouTube in order to help our clients share their messages and positively impact their projects. Today, we offer a full array of digital services and continue to look for creative new ways to help our clients.

To those of you with whom we’ve already worked, we want to say ‘thank you’ for the privilege of gaining your trust. And to those of you who we don’t yet know, we welcome the opportunity to earn your respect.

Going forward, we pledge to keep working every day as the trusted advisors you may need on a moment’s notice to right a wrong, to tell your side, to help solve a crisis or simply to listen and advise.

Thank you!

The Tucker/Hall Team

Because Giving Tuesday is typically a central part of nonprofits’ end-of-year campaigns, these potential high returns could prove helpful to charities currently facing the headwinds affecting our economy. It is more important than ever for those nonprofits to effectively present their mission, culture, and impact, making clear why they are worthy of support. A strong communications strategy will undoubtedly be integral to any successful end-of-year fundraising push.

Predictions: What is Giving Tuesday going to look like?  

During this giving season, in particular, there is a lot of need for charitable contributions. With so many organizations relying on strong end-of-year fundraising, there will be a lot of competing calls to action and potentially less money to go around.

Nathaniel Heller, vice president and managing director of Geneva Global and Global Impact, explains for Fast Company, three seismic shifts will impact philanthropy in 2022: inflation, interest rates, and a disruption of the traditional private foundation model.

“We may ultimately look back at 2020 as the beginning of a truly generational shift in philanthropy that long outlives the pandemic. The need for innovative, brave philanthropy has never been greater,” he writes.

However, a recent survey from Edward Jones, found nearly one-fifth of American adults plan to give more money in 2022 than they did in 2021. And Whole Whale, a digital marketing agency for nonprofits, predicts an 18 percent increase in GivingTuesday revenue over last year.

Best Practices and Recommendations 

Put in the time to prepare early on 

Set realistic goals upfront. You need to have benchmarks to evaluate your success along the way and at the end of your campaign. Likewise, it is wise to create a strategic communications plan ahead of time to guide your efforts. This plan should be flexible enough to be adjusted in accordance with how well you are doing on the way to achieving your goals. Although you cannot predict potential external disturbances (e.g., from the pandemic, politics, natural disasters, etc.), your plan needs to be agile enough to allow you to maneuver through such crises. 

Hone your messaging 

Stay consistent with your brand identity and mission. Focus on what your organization does well. If it fits into your overall communications strategy, feel free to talk about what is going on in the country and the communities you serve, and how this has affected your organization and those whom you help.  

Give a tangible purpose for your ask. The crowdfunding mindset became a mainstay because people like to rally around specific objectives. Instead of asking supporters to fund general operating costs, try asking supporters to help you reach/grow a certain metric, expand in a particular way, continue to meet these needs, etc. 

Be intentional with your communication tactics  

Popular tactics like time-limited matching gifts are effective. Personal stories with an emotional appeal that people can connect with are usually well received. Make sure to use these appeals to clearly convey your organizational successes. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; if there is a tactic you have used in the past that works well for you, try to adapt it for our current times.

Given the growing portion of Giving Tuesday fundraising online, a digital strategy will be particularly important. According to the 2020 Global Trends in Giving Report, the communications tools most likely to inspire donors to give are email, social media, and websites. When utilizing these channels, make sure that you are reaching out to the right targets at a pace that keeps them engaged. When done correctly, your digital presence should establish and grow relationships and loyalty for your cause.  

Additional Resources 

• Giving Tuesday: Guide and Toolkit 
• Global Giving: Communications Templates 
• Nonprofit Tech for Good: Social Media Tips 
• MobileCause: #GivingTuesday2020 Strategies and COVID-19 Communication Strategies
• Sumac: End of Year Appeal Guide and Virtual Fundraising Tips 

There’s a growing public dialogue about what the future may look like once the COVID-19 pandemic bottoms out. Absent a sense of when that might be, it still may not be too soon to think about what the “new normal” could look like.

While for-profit businesses large and small are rightly focused on supporting their employees, customers, and suppliers, the world of nonprofits may need to add to that list some additional stakeholders. Outreach to donors, patrons, partners, and underwriters will need to be rethought. And marketing playbooks will need adjusting to accommodate big and unexpected changes in business models which suddenly seem out-of-date.

We also know that the for-profit businesses and nonprofits that came through past recessions relatively unharmed were those that never stopped communicating with consumers, embraced a proactive posture throughout, and rethought marketing strategies and community outreach as circumstances impacted end-user behavior.

If you’re a nonprofit in this downturn, you’re likely shut down, cash-strapped, and facing the hard choices of furloughing or dismissing staff. Have you focused at all on considering what tools and strategies you’ll need to have in place to get ready for a turnaround when it finally arrives?

The Council of Nonprofits, a national association of nonprofit organizations, has told members to focus on securing and maintaining adequate financing as priority #1. That means tapping into every possible financial stream available, via banks and community foundations, and other grant-making partners, as well as any avenues for local, state, and federal assistance. 

All businesses, nonprofits included, should also become familiar with the levels of assistance that might be available to employees and families through the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Paid family leave and emergency paid sick leave are available to large sectors of the nation’s workforce. Small businesses can apply for payroll tax deferrals during the pandemic.

For nonprofits, that list should also include focusing on tools and strategies that will be vital in a recovery. Older nonprofit business models once focused about 80 percent of all marketing on print collateral to reach members, patrons, and donors. In more recent years, the toolkit added emails, social media, and web-based videos to position the organization.

But what tools will be most useful after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides? Certainly, more nimble tools such as podcasts, webinars, blog posts, online interviews on social media platforms—and surveys—all will continue to grow in importance.

The shift to online commerce and interface with end-users is expected to continue to thrive once the pandemic ends. Creative use of digital platforms and channels will be a catalyst for those organizations that not only survive but thrive in the ‘new normal.’

[Part 1 of this article can be found here]

Second, your customers. How are you going to keep in close touch? Offer to help them? Find new ways to serve them? Keep the relationships strong, so they will be there when the coronavirus crisis passes?

Most restaurants have closed their dining rooms and switched to carry-out or delivery. That’s a great idea. It keeps operations going and lets some folks stay on the payroll, which is essential. But it doesn’t work for every business; many have had to close, lay off, or furlough their workers.

If you are an essential business, you may be just as busy as you were before the virus hit –  but if you aren’t engaged, or you’re not a vital industry, you’ll need a survival plan. Can you mimic the restaurant business and give your service to your customers rather than have them come to you? Can you create a portable company? Can you conduct most of your business online?

You’ll need to learn ASAP what your financial options are, and the best place to start is with your bank. They can help you with the myriad options available from the government (Small Business Administration and other departments) and other sources. A low-interest loan that covers your overhead for 90 days would be an excellent fit today because interest rates are very, very low.

How do you communicate with your customers? Just as with your employees, you should communicate clearly and often. Update them on any new service or delivery programs you develop. If you read a crucial financial article that can help them, remember they may need a loan and send it to them. Look for blogs, stories, reports, and analyses that might be helpful to them, and pass them along. Be careful not to bombard your stakeholders, though; everyone is getting tons of emails, so make sure yours are as succinct and relevant as possible.

The key idea here is: “How can I change my business model to fit this new and restrictive environment?”

Or: “How can I make money with my skillset if my business is closed by law?”

In any scenario, communication will be crucial, whether with employees, bankers, customers, potential customers, suppliers, advisors…every audience that affects your success. Stay in touch. Be on the lookout for information that might be helpful to them—remember, they are uncertain of the future as well.

Apply Ruthless Focus to your marketing—ask yourself what messages you can get out to prospects that will differentiate you from your competitors. What does your company do better than anybody else? What is your critical advantage? What new audiences can you present your organization to?

The internet allows for much more highly targeted audience identification than ever before. There are people out there who would be interested in doing business with you either now or in the future. You need to find and address them.

Remember, we are in a period of enormous uncertainty—the more we communicate with our various audiences, the better.

More Coronavirus Resources:

Business Management During Covid-19

COVID-19 Communications Principles

4 Steps to Effective Corporate Communications

We’re all wondering what hit us. Life was good, the economy fine, business strong—and then, wham! The world is upside down.

What do we do with our business? How about our people? Our customers? Our suppliers? What do we say? How do we react? It’s a totally new environment thrust upon us with little warning.

Let’s apply the principles of Ruthless Focus from the book of the same name: What is the key strategy to get us through this period successfully?

Let’s start with our goal: To survive the coronavirus pandemic with a strong organization ready to achieve business success again.

We’ll need some mini strategies for the different audiences we need to address.

First, your people. What can you do to make sure you help employees get through the crisis as effectively as you can? There is one thing nearly all will need—money. Fifty-three percent of American households have no emergency savings, and they will need assistance quickly. The Treasury Secretary has estimated that federal money will arrive in peoples’ accounts by April 20th, but that may be wishful thinking—the federal government rarely does anything on time.

Have you considered an emergency fund from which your employees could borrow if needed? How about hiring a counselor or designating someone in your organization to become an expert in the promised funds due to individuals and the loans that are now available from the government—plus the new tenant rights rules, auto loan procedures, etc. Typically, many of your employees will not know all the details of the items that can help them get through this rough period.

Very importantly—communicate! Stay in touch on a regular basis, ask if they have questions, send information on the financial help available when you see something worthwhile. I learned as a squad leader in Army basic training that when folks are scared they need constant reassurance—so communicate often. And make sure the conversation is two-way.

Subsequent blogs will address dealing with customers, adapting your business model, and marketing during this crisis.

[For part 2 of this article, click here]

More COVID-19 Resources:

COVID-19 Communications Principles

Crisis Communications for the Coronavirus Pandemic

Crisis Communications During Coronavirus

B2B consumers are tech-savvy, research-driven service connoisseurs who put time and thought into their purchasing decisions. To impact those decisions, B2B firms have to use a diverse range of channels, like business and trade publications, social media outlets, commercial review blogs, and B2B product forums.

Such a complex business networking landscape requires a multifaceted approach to public relations. Here are a few pointers to set you on the right track:

Know your customers.

B2B buyers put a lot of thought and effort into their purchases. Businesses often need a sophisticated and tailored suite of services and support. Creating a buyer persona for each type of customer can help you understand your audience, identify their specific needs, and develop a PR strategy that will be effective for the people you care about reaching.

Size up the competition.

Make a real effort to know the areas in which your competitors shine. Additionally, it’s equally important to be keenly aware of their faults. Scrutinize how the media covers them, the specific ways they target their audiences, and how they conduct their marketing campaigns. That way, you can see what strategies work and which ones don’t in real-time in your actual market—all without the risk and cost of doing it yourself and learning the hard way.

Develop a unique voice.

Create and shape your messaging to convey the style and ethos of your business and highlight the products or services that set you apart from the herd. However, don’t forget to tailor your messaging to each of your target audiences. The buyer personas you’ve developed will come in handy here. Think about the particular challenges unique to each of your target markets. Then use this information to build personalized content and promotional material that will be most effective and compelling to potential clients.

A national story reaches a broad audience, not only in number but demographics. Thus for an account to have an extensive reach, it must have appeal across age groups, races, and interests. Look for aspects of your story that transcend geography, culture, and lifestyle. Find a reason for people to care about it, no matter where they live and make that the center of your pitch.

Tie your Story to a Larger One

National stories about hot-button issues or controversies will often use local stories as salient anecdotes. This humanizes what would otherwise seem abstract and too big to grasp. For example, a story about a hurricane that displaced thousands will often begin with one person or family’s experience.

Do Your Homework

There’s more to a news pitch than the quality of your piece. The media has to be selective at every level, and good stories get rejected all the time. As with anything else, you have to be patient and realize that you’re competing with a significant number of people doing the same thing as you. This situation, therefore, demands extremely meticulous due diligence. Use connections, do considerable background research on your pitch targets, and know the audience. Sell your piece on its carefully selected merits, and your local story could very well achieve national exposure.

And yet, measuring PR performance is crucial to know where your company stands. How do you do it accurately?

Examine the metrics you’re already using. Do you get hung up on numbers like page views, comments, followers, and placements? These purely quantitative metrics can be helpful, but too many firms rely on them disproportionately, simply because they’re easy to measure.

There’s nothing wrong with charts and graphs. Just make sure that these tools are helping you gain insight into your company, rather than existing for the sake of having them.

Look Deeper

There are many ways you can document your company’s interactions with the public. You can count the number of times you’ve been mentioned in the media, but you can also look at the number of positive and negative mentions. Looking at conversions and conducting interviews and focus groups can also give a more holistic measure of sentiment.

Focus on your Goals

What are your company’s priorities? What does it hope to achieve in any PR endeavor? Decide these first, and then see how the numbers connect to the actual achievements. If your company is doing well on paper but not when it comes to tangible progress, you need to find a new way of defining success.

Measuring PR isn’t about filling spreadsheets with ink and calling it a day. It’s about understanding the hidden determinants of a successful relationship, which are easy to lose sight of when you only look at selected numbers.