Step up your pitches

via social platforms

Albe Zakes, global VP of communications at TerraCycle, recently pitched MSNBC to inter-view TerraCycle’s CEO, Tom Szaky, about a major new investment in the com-pany by Progressive Waste Management. Zakes was angling for MSNBC to book Szaky a bit down the road. However, much sooner than he anticipated, Zakes was

contacted by MSNBC on a Saturday morning, asking, “if Tom could be there that after-noon,” Zakes said.

Zakes quickly contacted Szaky, who shifted gears and hightailed it to MSNBC’s studios in New York, where he was interviewed on “What’s the Big Idea” with Craig Melvin. “The way the media land-scape is changing, you grab some-

thing as soon as you have it,” Zakes said. “Before it was, ‘When can you be here?’ Now it’s, ‘Can you be here this afternoon?’”

Zakes’ exchange with MSNBC reflects the relatively chaotic nature of cable news. But it also indicates the squeeze that’s on the major news outlets these days.

As the tectonic plates of media continue to shift to online properties and social media platforms, traditional media outlets are trying to gobble up competitors and consolidate the assets. Media consolidation has been going on intermittently for the past three decades, gutting newsrooms and reducing the

Page 6 ▶

Media Consolidation Creates New Opportunities for PR Pros

It’s Not the Numbers, It’s the Context Petabytes have value

when serving a story

Is big data turning American executives into wimps? Have the barnstorming, manage-from-the-gut days of leaders like Bob Lutz and Jack Welch gone the way of the V8 engine and the incandescent light bulb? In an era when an algo-rithm can weigh the risks, opti-mize the upside and improve the statistical odds of success, who needs instincts anymore?

We all do. And perhaps now more than ever.

Big data is everywhere. According to Gartner, big data will drive $3.8 trillion in new IT spending this year, as more and

more companies are drawn into the idyllic promise of foolproof decision making and rock-solid predictive analytics. But big data can’t do everything.

At some point, no matter how sophisticated your data, a human being is going to need to interpret it and take action based on that view.

Too often, that process is resulting in a state of analysis paralysis, in which no one can make a decision.

For communications profes-sionals whose job is to position original ideas and ground-breaking discoveries, one of the biggest challenges presented by the big data revolution may be its tendency to reduce bold decisions and heroic ideas to spreadsheet-style reports that

are interpreted by committee. Worse, the reliance on “evidence-based decision-making” can result in a culture of media aversion among executives who are reluctant to have a strong view without irre-futable data to support it.

Page 7 ▶

©2014 Access Intelligence LLC. Federal copyright law prohibits unauthorized reproduction by any means and imposes fines of up to $100,000 for violations.

August 4, 2014 prnewsonline.com Issue 30 Vol. 70

DID YOU KNOW

1. Fewer media channels means PR pros should place a premium on trust. (p. 1)

2. No matter how sophisti-cated your data, it requires the human touch. (p. 1)

3. Done correctly, net-working is a lifelong, evolu-tionary process. (p. 2)

4. Millennials frown upon managers who can’t take advice from others. (p. 3)

5. PR pros need to do a better job of defining media, marketing and sales. (p. 4)

6. Data sets continue to be subordinate to telling a compelling story. (p. 7)

7. PR pros should spend more time getting out of their comfort zone. (p. 8)

▶ Big Data By John Roderick

WHATEVER RUPERT WANTS: Rupert Murdoch reportedly is fixed on acquiring Time Warner, which could dramatically alter the media landscape (and the number of media outlets to pitch).

PR Advice from the Pros

Read more great advice in PR News’ Best PR Advice Compendium

prnewsonline.com/prpress

“If you come with a problem, come with

two solutions.”

Networking is not a frenzied process that results in a pile of business cards. It’s about using shared interests to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships. When you talk with others and seek their opinions to make an informed decision—even if it’s just to find a good restaurant or mechanic—you are networking. Done correctly, networking is a lifelong, evolutionary process. Like dieting, you may not see the benefits right away, but you are doing things that propel you forward. More and more brands and organizations are having events to allow their employees to create and enlarge their network(s).

If you want to make the most of these opportunities for your communications efforts (both internal and external) there are some specific steps to take.

Prepare before you go. Knowing what you want to accomplish provides meaning for being there. Do you want to rub specific elbows, learn the latest scuttlebutt or simply be seen? See if you can find out beforehand who’ll be there. One caveat: do not ask for work. You are developing rela-tionships, not closing a deal.

Enter with style. Take a hint from senior level PR profes-sionals and arrive later if there’s no reason to be early. How late depends on the event and who might arrive early, which is worth considering before making your plans. As you enter the room, be aware of what signals your body language and facial expressions are sending.

Get connected. People at networking events often gather in cliques, stranding new arrivals who may end up standing alone. Grab a drink,

walk around and look for an opening in a group. Let oppor-tunities present themselves and connect and respond to everyone who opens up to you or makes welcoming eye con-tact. Don’t lead with your busi-ness card in hand.

A sense of humor, a smile, encouraging words, recognition and genuine praise are all excel-lent motivational gestures.

Meet the power. Be ready to take the initiative when you encounter top executives. Figure out what your message is in advance. By knowing what you want to say, you’ll come across as smart, focused, articu-late and insightful.

Most people are reluctant to show their ambition, but meeting those in power can boost your career, so you want to leave an impression. Show that you’re competent, moti-vated and that you fit in. Look composed and dress profes-sionally. When in doubt, dress up, not down.

Cultivate friendships, but avoid romance. Friendships happen naturally and organi-cally as part of working together or having things in common. Networking events are not parties or match-making opportunities.

Don’t overstay your wel-come. Know when you want to leave. If there is a host, let him or her know so when the time comes, you feel confident that your departure is expected. Stay only as long as you’re comfort-able. Be clear in your goodbyes, and know that leaving is fine.

Use what you’ve learned. If it seems appropriate, phone or send a note after an event. The joy of socializing is in the people you meet, and you may be meeting potential men-tors or protégés. People want

to help those whom they like and respect. They can’t start liking you, however, if you don’t give them a chance to get to know you. That is where socializing, for the long haul, comes in.

Customize. Communicate with your network in ways that work for them rather than focusing on your preferences. If they like to meet rather than exchange emails, make the time. If they prefer social media sites, be where they are.

Be a problem solver. If you can find out what someone is interested in and get him infor-mation, or discover a problem he has and help him solve it, you have become a valuable resource. That’s what most people want in their network.

At a time when teamwork, communication, resourceful-ness and human understanding are highly prized, your network can increase your personal and professional growth.

Remember that net-working is not a single event. It’s a process that, with prac-tice, creates a powerful inter-personal foundation. PRN

CONTACT:Joni Daniels is founder and principal of Daniels & Associates, a management training and consulting firm. She can be reached at joni@jonidaniels.com.

2 prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14

Sharpen Your Networking Skills

▶ How To... By Joni Daniels

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PR News ADVISORY BOARD Paul A. Argenti - Tuck School of BusinessMary Buhay - Gibbs & SoellNed Barnett - Barnett Marketing CommunicationsSteve Cody - PeppercommNeal Cohen - APCO Carol Cone - Edelman Peter Debreceny - Gagen MacDonaldChristopher L. Hammond - Wells FargoMike Herman - Communication SciencesLaura Kane - AflacKen Makovsky - MakovskyMichael McDougall - McDougall CommunicationsLarry Parnell - George Washington University Mike Paul - Reputation Doctor LLC Deborah Radman - Senior PR ConsultantBrenda C. Siler - Communications Director AARP D.C.Stephanie Smirnov - EdelmanHelene Solomon - Solomon McCown & Co.Mark Weiner - PRIME ResearchPR News BOARD OF CONTRIBUTORSDave Armon - Critical MentionAndy Gilman - CommCore Consulting Bruce Jeffries-Fox - Jeffries-Fox Associates Angela Jeffrey - Salience InsightRichard Laermer - RLM Public RelationsRichard Levick - Levick Strategic Comms Ian Lipner - Lewis PR/YoungPRpros Katie Paine - Paine Publishing LLC John Roderick – J. Roderick Inc. Rodger Roeser - The Eisen Agency Lou Thompson - Kalorama Partners Reid Walker - Dir. of Communications, United States Senate Tom Martin - College of Charleston

▶ Data Points

Entry Deadline: Sept. 5 | Late Deadline: Sept.12 Winners will be honored in December 2014 in NYC

www.prnewsonline.com/pr-people2014

24388

READY. SET. NOMINATE. PR News’ PR People Awards program is your opportunity to showcase the top talent, innovators and passionate professionals who day in and day out are making communications matter in the marketplace. This program is open to professionals worldwide.

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prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14 3

Model Behavior C-suite managers who go it alone are probably going against the tide—at least when it comes to appealing to millennials, who think an inability to take advice from others shows weak leadership.

▶ Strength in Numbers: Millennials are starting to enter upper management in droves, and they may be looking for their Kumbaya moment. Executives who can’t take advice (47%) and are resistant to change (45%) don’t make good leaders among millennials, according to yconic, a digital media and research company focusing on younger consumers. “PR managers must recognize that the millennials (born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s) are asking more of their leaders,” said Rob Henderson, president-CEO of yconic. “Ask yourself: How are

you at taking advice? Are you open to change? Do you trust your staff, or do you micromanage? If you’re a weak leader, talented millennials will leave and seek environments that allow them to grow and contribute in a meaningful way.” Over-confidence (22%) does not seem to bother millennials much, and may feed on itself. “Millennials see the leaders in their organization as an asset to their professional growth,” Henderson said. “They’re looking for people by which to model their own behavior for future endeavors.” PRN

Source: yconic

Metrics that are helping to define the communications field.

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METHODOLOGY: The survey was conducted online with 2,000 English-speaking Canadians aged 16 to 29, sampled from a representative panel of more than 549,000 Canadian residents. The survey was completed from January 17 to Feb. 4, 2014. Since the online survey was not a random, probability based sample, a margin of error could not be calculated. The margin of error for a survey of 2,000 respondents using a probability sample is +/-2.19%, 19 times out of 20. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population, as outlined by the industry body, MRIA.

What makes a weak leader? 16-29 years-old, Select Top 3

47%

45%

38%

37%

20%

32%

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18%

22%

Separate the good

leads from the bad

One of the most common and difficult tasks given to PR professionals is to prove the worth of their discipline. In many cases, stakeholders and executives will ask if PR can be tied to sales. To answer this question, we must first under- stand what the roles of media, marketing and sales are. Once these roles are clearly defined, we can determine how best to view PR’s role in generating revenue and creating tangible business impacts.

The function of media, whether gen-erated by advertising or public relations (paid or earned), is to create awareness and trust for a brand.

As people are exposed to a brand in traditional and digital media, their knowl-edge of the brand should grow.

Thus, we must measure the effec-tiveness of PR and advertising by the audiences they create or help us gain access to.

THE PROCESSThe function of marketing is to identify and extract qualified potential customers in the new audiences into leads, people who are likely to buy.

It’s important to understand that the process of identifying leads occurs in all forms of marketing, be it B2B, B2C, enterprise or small business.

A three-year-old child pointing frantically at a bag of candy at the supermarket checkout line is no less likely a potential buyer (or influencer of a buyer) than a corporate executive considering a $95 million jet purchase.

The function of sales is to con-vert those leads, those potential

buyers, into customers and rev-enue. Sometimes sales is a human being “smiling and dialing,” and other times it’s a customer using a self-service checkout lane in a store, but the net effect is the same: a customer relationship is formed and revenue is generated.

In order to tie PR to sales, we need to understand the pro-

▶ Audience Development

4 prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14

Measure for Measure One of the best tools for measuring audi-

ence is your Web analytics, such as Google Analytics. Inside these very common tools you can measure all of the basics you need in order to determine the impact of PR.

Here are three important metrics to pay atten-tion to inside your Web analytics software.

1. New visitors. New visitors is the number of people who have never visited your website before and are stopping by for the first time. While a lot of things can contribute to new visitors, it’s an important first place to look. If new visitors aren’t increasing, then ulti-mately your website is in trouble. When you get great hits, you can often see spikes in your website’s new visitors.

Obviously, unique new visitors can come from many different sources, including organic search, paid advertising and public relations. However, if your unique new visi-

tors rate isn’t growing, you know you’ve got to step up your PR game to get more awareness for your brand.

2. Returning visitors. Think only new visi-tors are important? Think again. It’s rare that a sale/conversion will be made on the first visit. More often than not, you have to build trust with your audience, a core function of public relations work. The more earned media you get, the more trust your audience should develop in your brand.

This is also why content marketing is so popular with PR and marketing profes-sionals. If you create content, you’re cre-ating a gift of valuable information for your visitors to read/share. It’s a signal to your audiences that if they return it is likely to find something of interest to assist them in making a decision or solving a problem.

Returning visitors is a proxy for trust that you’ll keep that promise. It’s actually more important than new visitors—if you don’t

keep the visitors you have, you’ll forever be spending more and more money and time to replace them. Awareness creates the relationship, but trust strengthens it.

3. Referrals. Web analytics referrals are the bread and butter of public relations work. They tell you where your website is getting its traffic from. Referrals showcase your work in earned media place-ments with links in them. Popular articles and placements drive traffic to the website.

If you’re not getting media placements with links to click through, change your PR pitching processes to include those links. Not only will the brand get a side SEO benefit but also you’ll be sending new audiences directly to the brand, which will drive growth, leads and revenue.

—C.P.

Proving the Worth of PR by Measuring New Audiences

Photo courtesy: S

HIFT C

omm

unications

Managing a neighborhood lemonade stand can provide as good example as any for PR pros on how to measure the sales and marketing funnel.

Christopher Penn

67% Percentage of leads,

per month, generated by B2B companies that

blog (versus those that don’t blog).

Social Media B2B

prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14 5

cesses by which PR’s outcome (audiences) becomes part of the sales process.

These three functions exist in businesses of every size and type, from enterprise B2B sales to the smallest B2C kid’s lemonade stand.

Businesses run into trouble when they measure using the wrong metrics. Businesses have more tools at their dis-posal to track the performance of paid, earned and owned media than ever before, from Web analytics to affordable CRM systems and more.

However, these systems are only as good as the data they collect.

In order to understand and correctly attribute the performance of advertising or any form of marketing, we first must understand what we are measuring.

The function of PR and earned media isn’t to make an immediate sale, just as the function of a sales clerk isn’t primarily to do public rela-tions. We wouldn’t measure a salesperson’s performance on new audiences. We’d measure them on how much they sold. Likewise, we wouldn’t and shouldn’t measure advertising on its ability to generate sales.

THE MARKETING FUNNELWe need to measure adver-tising and PR on their ability to generate audiences. We need to measure marketing on its ability to generate leads.

We need to measure sales on its ability to create revenue and customers.

In order to effectively tie PR to sales, we have to measure each stage of the marketing funnel, from the bottom up.

Let’s look at a basic example of how this might work from the perspective of a kid’s lemonade stand, the simplest business model possible. Let’s make it a really upscale one, where a glass of lemonade costs $10—it’s a really good glass of lemonade, made with hand-refined turbinado sugar cane and sustainable, organic, non- GMO lemons.

Let’s say our lemonade stand sells a glass of lemonade to 50% of prospective customers who approach it because we hire adorable kids.

Thus, a sale is worth $10, and a prospective customer who walks up to the lemonade stand is worth $5 because of the 50% closing rate.

If I wanted to make $50, I’d need to get 10 people to walk by the lemonade stand so that 5 of them would buy a glass.

So far, so good. Now let’s say our little lemonade stand starts to do well but needs more people to come by. We invite reporters and prominent com-munity members to stop by the lemonade stand.

A few folks do, and they publish some nice articles on the Web about our lemonade stand.

Of the people who see that piece, 10% of them decide to

stop by. Let’s say that 1,000 people read the published piece. That means 100 of them will stop by. We know that our adorable kids will get 50 of them to buy a glass of lemonade, and that means we’ll gen-erate $500 in revenue.

Thus, if we work backwards, it takes 1,000 people to gen-erate $500 of rev-enue, which means that every audience

member who read the articles about us is effec-tively worth $0.50. If we want our lemonade stand to generate $1,000 in rev-enue, we have to double our audi-ence-building efforts to reach 2,000 people by the math in this simple example.

That’s the method by which we can make successful valuations of PR’s output and tie it to concrete, tangible sales metrics without asking PR pro-fessionals to do the job of sales professionals and vice versa.

PR creates the audiences that a salesperson eventu-ally sells to, and we evaluate the value of those audiences as PR’s contribution to sales.

The catch with this par-ticular methodology is that the quality of the audience mat-ters. Targeting and reaching out to moms interested in products for their children for corporate jet sales is going to produce a poor outcome.

FOCUS ON OUPUT Even if the moms are conceptu-ally interested in a corporate jet, most of them are unlikely to purchase one.

To ensure that PR and advertising are obtaining the correct audiences, the calcula-tions performed above must be recalculated on a very frequent basis, such as a rolling 30- or 90-day window.

The indicator that PR may not be performing to its peak output is told in the conversion rate between audience member and lead.

In the end, if PR is doing its job, new, highly engaged audi-ences will be created. A por-tion of those audience mem-bers will be ready to consider purchasing. Some percentage of those leads will convert to sales, generate revenue and showcase the value of the audi-ences that PR creates. PRN

(This article was written by Christopher Penn, VP of mar-keting technology at SHIFT Communications. It is an excerpt from PR News’ Measurement Guidebook, Vol. 8. To order a copy, please go to http://www.prnewsonline.com/prpress/.)

CONTACT:Christopher Penn, cpenn@shiftcomm.com.

The function of PR and earned media isn’t to make an immediate sale, just as the function of a sales clerk isn’t primarily to generate public relations.

Courtesy: S

HIFT C

omm

unications

If PR is doing its job, new, highly

engaged audiences will be created.

6 prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14

Media Landscape ▶ Page 1

number of journalists available. Now the constellations seem to be aligning for another surge in media consolidation.

For instance, Comcast is in the process of getting regula-tory approval to acquire Time Warner Cable, while AT&T and DirecTV are looking to merge. And earlier this month Time Warner rejected an $80 billion bid from Rupert Murdoch. But, if media history is any indica-tion, whatever Murdoch wants Murdoch eventually gets.

SHARING ENTHUSIAMSOngoing media consolida-tion makes it more problem-atic for PR pros to pitch their stories to the top media and broadcast venues and cultivate relationships with seasoned reporters. But it also puts the onus on communicators to make inroads with new media reporters, bloggers and other media types who regularly con-tribute to digital channels and cover their markets.

PR is a relationship business, of course. But, at the same time, there are subtle differences in how communicators pitch a beat reporter at The New York Times

compared with, say, pitching a blogger with no media affilia-tion but a growing and influen-tial audience.

“This is not the time for buttoned-up marketing speak” when pitching digital media out-lets, said Meredith Corley, senior manager of PR and communica-tions at UBM Tech. “You have to be a partner in storytelling and need to be more personal.”

She stressed that when trying to get your message across to digital reporters, PR managers need to join the conversation as a “fellow enthusiast, rather than a repre-sentative of your brand. That’s critical to earning trust.”

In a shifting media envi-ronment, communicators also have to recalibrate the quality of their digital pitches—half-baked ideas are more than likely to backfire on you—and think more in terms of the arc of a story and how it might track online.

NEW NORMS“There are words in our daily vocabulary that we never would have dreamed about ten years ago, like Klout, virality, etc.,”

said Lauren Cason, director of marketing, communications and governmental affairs at the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, referring to online metrics.

She added: “The influ-encer effect is amazing when you reach the right target. For instance, if growing summer business and family travel is important, a quality mom blogger who reaches 10,000 moms in your drive market in the spring—when people are planning their family’s summer vacation—could be as big, if not bigger, as being included in a roundup on broader travel blogs with a national audience of hundreds of thousands.”

While communicators still get the proverbial “Get me

an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal,” from senior manage-ment, PR pros are starting to have some luck convincing C-level execs of the value of getting the brand’s message out via bloggers as well as social media channels, according to Stan Collender, executive VP of Qorvis MSL Group, who also contributes to Forbes.com, where he covers fiscal policy.

A recent PR News-Cision survey found that—despite the tremendous growth of social media platforms—roughly half of PR pros surveyed have not pitched stories via social chan-nels. That must change.

“It has to become the norm,” Collender said. “That’s where communications is going and I’d rather get a pitch via social channels than from an anony-mous pitch from a company I’ve never heard of.” PRN

CONTACT:Lauren Cason, lcason@neworleanscvb.com; Stan Collender, stan.collender@qorvismsl.com; Meredith Corley, meredith.corley@ubm.com; Albe Zakes, albe.zakes@terracycle.com.

The recent news that Rupert Murdoch’s tried to acquire Time Warner is a stark reminder that the U.S. media landscape continues to be dominated by the major media conglom-erates, influencing what information reaches the population. Although many fear the repercussions of media consolidation, there are some benefits for PR professionals, in terms of building relationships and dissemi-nating content.

• Relationship building. Although reporter X may now cover a handful of beats, more than likely he or she will also write for a few other properties under the new ownership. This provides you with the opportunity to delve deeper into the reporter’s coverage and focus on providing well-developed story ideas and timely sources that cater to a variety of beats he or she covers.

• Quality over quantity. The condensing of media outlets means PR profes-sionals must reevaluate their outreach strategy when it comes to sharing news. Instead of issuing a press release in a local market for a handful of small blurbs across community newspapers, com-municators should focus on developing one or two solid stories for select outlets, given their expanded reach. The same can be said for the outlets themselves; with the reduction of newspapers and magazines, the quality of the content should improve, and so should the quality of your pitches.

•Content across platforms. The con-solidation of media properties provides the opportunity for the backing of a large corporation with many channels—

broadcast, social and traditional—which can further expand the message of your story. Anticipate the impact that the news will have on audiences beyond its intended target and plan accordingly. Now, a piece that originally airs on Fox & Friends may also be posted on WSJ.com (the media properties are related) The same can be said for paid content, which will also be distributed more widely across various platforms.

This sidebar was written by Sarah Sanzari, manager of public relations and media specialist at Peppercomm. She can be reached at ssanzari@peppercomm.com. Follow her on Twitter, @ssanzari.

5 Number of corporations

that control a majority of U.S.

media (newspapers, magazines, TV and

radio stations).

Sarah Sanzari

How Media Consolidation Impacts Communicators

MORE OF AN ARTIn some ways this is a good thing. As I’ve written previously, big data can be an enormously powerful tool for PR pros.

With the power to capture the complex interrelation-ship among consumer senti-ment, behavioral patterns, historical correlations and forward-looking probabilities, big data kicks off the kinds of insightful, empirical sound bites journalists love.

But the process of extracting these sound bites from the petabytes of data many companies now produce on a daily basis is still much more of an art than a sci-ence. Getting senior managers comfortable with that art is becoming a critical skill for communications professionals.

In our work helping com-panies tap their big-data spigots for prescient, media-friendly insights, we’ve run into our fair share of road-blocks and—during the course of bumping our way through them—we’ve managed to learn a few things about what works and what doesn’t.

Here are some of the insights we’ve picked up along the way:

• It’s OK to extrapolate. Data is nothing without con-text. There is a dangerous temptation when working with big data—and the types of PhDs and data scientists who own these databases—to look for every answer in the data itself. But a compelling story rooted in data analysis is rarely ever as clean as A+B=C.

The beauty of big data is that it is complex and textured, giving those who interpret it the ability to apply their own knowledge of the subject matter to the statistical analysis.

In a perfect world, it is real-world expertise, amplified by big data, which steals the show, not the data all by itself. Executives need to get comfort-able saying: ”We looked at the data, and based on that, we believe _______. Here’s why…”

• Every company is a data company. Translating big data insights into media-friendly content is a lot of work. It takes programming resources to extract the data, analytic capabilities to interpret it, design and copywriting skills to package it and senior manage-ment support to discuss it with external audiences. That can be a big investment for a company that doesn’t immediately appre-ciate the value of its data as a communications tool.

But the fact is every com-pany is a data company. Want to show the world how innova-tive you are? Want to be the thought leader in your space? Want to claim mindshare from your competitors?

The proof is in the data you’ve been collecting to help you drive innovation, spark new ideas and capture mindshare. It’s time to start showing rather than telling the world that.

• Consider all stake-holders. Not every observa-tion that comes out of a deep analysis of customer behav-ioral patterns is fit for mass consumption. This is a par-ticularly sensitive issue when dealing with large, multina-tional companies that serve a wide variety of stakeholders, some of whom may have com-peting business interests.

If, for example, an analysis of offshore investment patterns by large companies revealed holes in a government policy while the federal government

was funding grants for another part of your business, you may want to think twice about vis-ibility on that particular topic. Or, at least, give the govern-ment sales team a head’s up before you release anything.

• Link your communica-tions initiative to core busi-ness strategy. It should go without saying that any external communications effort should be linked to core business strategy, whether it includes a big data component or not.

But there’s something about big data that sometimes makes PR pros drunk with storytelling potential. Imagine a bunch of people who tell stories for a living getting their hands on data that can show pharmaceutical use patterns down to the city block.

While it might be inter-esting to know Viagra use, per zip code, it won’t necessarily

reinforce anyone’s core value proposition.

Like pretty much everything in PR, even black-and-white data turns gray very quickly once it becomes part of a brand’s external communica-tions strategy. The key is not to run away from that slice of uncertainty that exists between hard data and gut instinct.

Great data-based commu-nications campaigns embrace the gray area as an opportunity for interpretation, a means of expanding the dialogue to get people talking. PRN

CONTACT:John Roderick is president of J. Roderick Inc., a New York-based PR agency. Follow him on Twitter, @john_roderick, and at jroderickblog.com. He can be reached at john@jroderick.com.

prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14 7

Big Data ▶ Page 1

Embrace Your Inner Quant Not a quant? Not a problem. Creative folks can play in the big data

sandbox, too. Although most of us in the world of professional communications did not get there playing with numbers, the ability to shape a narrative that uses stats as a backbone can actually unlock a level of creativity that’s hard to find anywhere else.

By following a few simple rules, data can actually become a cata-lyst to creativity:

• The story is the master, data points are subordinate. Just because you’re working with data doesn’t mean you don’t also need a clear narrative to illustrate it. While data will create proof points for that narrative, a good story arc will always drive effec-tive communications.

• Trust your instincts. The PR team can often be the last line of defense between a set of fascinating observations and a poten-tially embarrassing headline. If the story doesn’t make intuitive sense to you, it won’t make sense to the rest of the world either. Ask questions before you start pitching the press.

• Train your teams to collaborate. The people who analyze the data and the people charged with making the company look good in the press may not understand what each other do for a living. Spend the time educating the quants on the kinds of information you’re looking for; interview them on what they can do; brainstorm new ideas. Collaboration is the key to making this kind of campaign sustainable. —J.R.

8 prnewsonline.com | 8.4.14

Regular interaction with

sales representatives

The art of networking is just as important inside a company as outside of it. You may think if you do a good job in your work-group that you will be successful and your career will blossom. That is not necessarily true for a bevy of reasons, as I learned working in PR and marketing roles at several companies.

▶ My first networking lesson. When I began my technology vendor career in marketing communication at Computervision, electronic communication (email, Web, and social) and the visibility it generates did not exist.

I worked in a corporate communication department and my visibility across the company was quite limited.

However, my career took a major turn when the manager of trade shows and promotion saw that I was interested in those programs. I was eager to learn more about the sales side of the business, which led to an offer to join the trade show and promotion group.

This new job significantly broadened my experience beyond corporate commu-nication, putting me in a much better position for my

next opportunity outside of Computervision. It was acci-dental internal networking that I never forgot.

▶ Attach yourself to the mothership. My next stop on the tech highway outside of Boston led me to a subsidiary of Bell Atlantic. Technology Concepts Inc. (TCI) had less than 100 people in one building. It was ready-made for networking. The company’s executives, marketing, sales and engineering were just down the hall.

I regularly checked in with finance as I built a budget and implemented programs, making my colleagues an informed part of how I expected to impact revenue. Working collaboratively with my sales, service and technical colleagues was the easy part.

I identified and developed relationships with corporate communication peers at head-quarters outside Washington, D.C. While I could not con-vince corporate to include the Bell symbol on business cards with the TCI name, we did agree to include the tagline line: a Bell Atlantic Company.

What I focused on was making sure the Bell Atlantic connection was prominent in news announcements and marketing programs, with timely corporate review.

Equally important was cor-porate help with major TCI announcements. With these relationships, I was invited, along with colleagues, to Bell Atlantic meetings with senior executives, some of whom had oversight responsibility for TCI. All of this helped burnish TCI’s internal and external reputation with a large, traditional firm.

▶ Cross-border net-working. Getronics, the suc-cessor to Wang, presented an international challenge. Getronics, a Dutch-based com-pany, had acquired Wang just before I arrived. Getronics was an established brand in parts of Europe but was unknown in the U.S.

I soon realized that cor-porate in Amsterdam was as interested in raising Getronics’ profile in the U.S. as I was in taking advantage of corpo-rate resources. Within a few months, a relationship devel-oped that led to close coopera-tion in marketing and PR.

At home, I was responsible for both internal and external communication, so regular interaction with top sales and marketing executives, as well as HR execs, was a weekly activity.

On the client side, I had some of the best relationships with Getronics sales colleagues. At this technology services company, clients were its prod-

ucts. Several sales pros recog-nized the importance of show-casing their customers in case studies, announcements and speaking engagements.

On the services side, my colleagues ran impressive sup-port centers in Massachusetts and Texas, which provided story lines for internal and external audiences.

▶ Strength in numbers. In all cases, I found the sum of the parts (departments, business units and colleagues) was much greater than individual pieces:

• Drive your success without being constrained by boundaries.

• Develop connective tissue across functions and organizations.

• Share success to stimulate more cooperation.

• Do not be discouraged by the uninterested.

These principles have served several companies and me very well and helped build out my capabilities and network for career advancement. PRN

CONTACT:Howard Sholkin is a partner at Sholkin Consulting. He can be reached at howard@sholkinconsulting.com.

▶ Tip Sheet

Communicating With (and Around) Business Silos

Register online at www.socialmediasummitsf.com/seo-boot-camp

If you’re a communications professional, it’s your responsibility to get your great content found, shared and used. Join PR News on August 11 at the Westin Francisco for a one-day boot camp that will immerse you in the latest best practices in search engine optimization.

August 11 | The Westin Market Street | San Francisco, CA24242

By Howard Sholkin

• Creating internal and external brand advocates through social sharing

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• How to Develop Social Media Metrics That Matter to Your Senior Leaders

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Social media has the power to make or break brands, so it is imperative that PR communicators are up to date on the latest trends, tools and tactics available to them. That is why you need to mark your calendar for August 12, when PR News will host the Social Media 20/20 Summit at the Westin San Francisco.

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