The Oklahoma Venture Forum meets once a month in Oklahoma City and speakers range from green to great. Some come polished and looking for capital while others are mere enthusiasts who come to pitch a qualified audience their great idea.
I had the opportunity to present a one-off to the group this past week on behalf of the FIRST regional, Oklahoma City’s robotics competition coming March 20-22 to the Cox Center.
I’ve written about FIRST in the past, but the regional is now coming up, so I thought I’d give another plug. The Oklahoma regional is full of teams, and $100,000 in grants have been awarded from the state as a result of state Rep. Tad Jones’ efforts. For a new event, we are thrilled to have gained so much interest from students in Oklahoma.
Needed now are volunteers. There are three ways to help: sponsor a team, mentor a team and/or volunteer at the event. These kids are the future of science and engineering for Oklahoma. Statistics show the outcomes of students participating in FIRST are phenomenal – they go to college, graduate with advanced degrees and enter the short-handed engineering and science communities. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Mickey Clagg, Oklahoma chairman.
I had the opportunity to judge the national PR Week awards in New York City this past week. Winners will be announced at Tavern on the Green on March 2, 2008. The leading voice in the PR industry, PR Week received more than 800 nominations in a smattering of different categories. Judges were a diverse group of industry professionals. In my group of eight, we had a nationally renowned crisis communicator who did a stint working in Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration; the global director of communications for a Fortune 100 company; the same for a Fortune 500 company; a leading Hispanic firm CEO; a couple agency SVP’s and me. It was tall company (literally, one of my fellow judges measured a couple inches shorter than my 6’9 frame). Our table judged three categories in a little under four hours. It was fun.
A few observations I heard among the industry’s pros –
1. The PR industry is growing. Fast.
2. Most agencies had a banner year.
3. Measurement (pre and post campaign) remains a big focus
4. Talent remains a big topic, especially the 5-8 year agency pro
5. People are bullish about the industry’s future
6. Most are not spending time in PRSA due to outdated and bureaucratic operations
The voting was conducted in secrecy. I’m looking forward to March.
Last week I discussed Frank Luntz’s book, Words That Work, and specifically how to communicate a clear, concise and effective message to your desired audiences. Richard Roberts, the former embattled president at Oral Roberts University, could have taken a page out of that book the past month as he fought a losing battle in public and private to keep his job.
So, what could Roberts have done differently? Below are a couple of many suggestions I may have offered.
Keep it credible.
For years, Roberts has tried unsuccessfully to insert himself into local politics. ORU and Roberts have always been the red-headed step child of Tulsa. City leaders like the economic impact of the university, but shy away from ORU’s perceived evangelical fanaticism. The result has always been Roberts looking in from the outside, never getting a true seat at the table. Roberts has fought on and with good intentions became increasingly active in local politics, usually (and unfortunately for him) on the losing side. The now-infamous lawsuit filed by three dismissed professors centered on Roberts’ insistence that they participate in helping defeat now-Mayor Kathy Taylor. When trial lawyer Gary Richardson filed a wrongful termination suit against Roberts and ORU, opinion leaders assumed by past actions that Roberts was guilty – mostly because he had told anyone who would listen that he had students and faculty ready to help the “right candidate.”
Roberts lost credibility by not initially acknowledging his deep desire to see ORU take a more visible and powerful role in local politics and his belief that students and faculty should be active participants in his plight – a plight that I’d argue most agreed with on campus. Students knew his desire. Opinion leaders knew his motivations. I don’t understand why he denied what his intentions were.
Do the right thing.
Roberts’ resignation on Friday was the right thing to do. I believe he is a good person who was trying to do the right thing. His fatal mistake was not being completely transparent at the beginning, something I’m not even sure he was capable of, due to his insulation. Roberts’ perception of reality was off. He never saw his actions as wrong. As detractors continued to emerge, he had no choice and likely does not understand what happened.
Reconciliation
Roberts’ legal problems are just beginning. Now that he has taken his job off the table, I believe he can salvage some of his message. The first four of Luntz’s ten tips could be utilized by Roberts and should be familiar to him.
- Keep it simple.
- Keep it short.
- Keep it credible.
- Keep it consistent.
His message? I’m sorry. Please forgive me.
Frank Luntz is a political pollster, Republican strategist and TV news show commentator. In his new book, “Words that Work,” Luntz contends that his opinion is not relevant. He asserts his belief is merely a summary of the conversation (research) he conducts with the American people – their words, their communication style.
Bud Marshall, the new senior vice president of marketing for the State Chamber of Oklahoma delivered a signed copy (Marshall’s signature, not Luntz – long story) of the book three weeks ago to my desk where it has remained until this weekend. As a communicator and a research analyst in a previous life, I knew Luntz by reputation and have looked forward to reading his work.
Luntz gives a crash course in effective communication. As a public relations professional, I was thrilled to see Saxum abides by a number of his principles, although we are all offenders at times. I’m still in the first half of the book, but could not help myself in entering an opinion on the content.
Luntz’s 10 rules of effective communication.
- Keep it simple.
- Keep it short.
- Keep it credible.
- Keep it consistent.
- Find something new (or a new twist on something old).
- Give it sound and texture.
- Connect emotionally.
- Paint a picture.
- Ask a rhetorical question.
- Explain why.
In an Oklahoma Hall of Fame class, which should be known hereafter as the Centennial Giants, Clara Luper must have secretly contemplated whether her contributions to the civil rights movement during the tumultuous 1950s and ‘60s would get much attention with the likes of Aubrey McClendon, Clay Bennett and Toby Keith as fellow inductees. Even Bennett’s introducer (NBA Commish David Stern) received a standing ovation from the 1000+ attendees at the Cox Center. Mrs. Luper’s induction, in my opinion, stood out among her classmates for what she didn’t say.
For starters, Clara was sitting. With a satisfied half-smile on her face, she did not speak at all.
This is a disaster, I thought as the seconds ticked by – each seemingly slower than the previous one.
Mrs. Luper is at the dusk of life. She appears healthy, but after decades of speaking with urgency for changes in how our society views those with skin of color, the former educator found herself speechless. I have no idea if Mrs. Luper is able to speak or not, but what transpired for the first person inducted this year was powerful.
Mrs. Luper was introduced by her long time friend, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert. His speech was not to unlike presenters who followed, although he did a nice job of highlighting the career of a woman who counted Martin Luther King, Jr. among her friends. Known as the mother of the civil rights movement, Luper coordinated the first publicized sit-in in the nation when she led the historic event in a sit-in at the Katz Drug Store lunch counter in Oklahoma City.
Thanks to her patience and persistence, Katz eventually desegregated the lunch counters in all of its 38 stores in Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. Luper also led the Oklahoma City Public School integration fight and the first “Freedom March” in Tulsa to desegregate public accommodations.
On this night, decades later, Mrs. Luper was wheeled on to the stage by her daughter. Surely she’d say something meaningful about her plight. And then nothing. More nothing. Silence. Mrs. Luper kept the large crowd on the edge of their seats for more than a minute. The lady who always had something to say said nothing. She had a platform to share the fruits of her many years of labor. Silence. She could have spoken about what America needs today for equality. She could have spoken about many things. She chose to say nothing. It was powerful.
For Hall of Fame inductees, each speaker has the option of reading prepared remarks on a teleprompter at the back of the room. As levels of boredom came and went and lengthy introductions dragged on, I would read ahead (PR people sometimes have this affliction). Following the long silence, her daughter spoke on her behalf and it was beautiful. It was delivered with the kind of exquisiteness and passion that only a daughter can communicate about her mother. She did not read from the prompter and it was not clear if she had practiced her unexpected remarks. I can’t recall specific sentences that she shared, but they highlighted Clara’s career work, shared a vision of what Oklahoma could be and a sentiment that her mother was so honored.
Clara Luper said so much without saying anything at all.
We were featured by the Oklahoma Venture Forum in their monthly newsletter. Check it out.
OVF Member Profile: Saxum Strategic Communications
By Lori Williams email »
The ball is up for grabs with only minutes left in the game. Tension is high and exhilaration is palpable. The buzzer sounds, but the ball is safely in Saxum’s control. It’s crunch time, and this team of public relations professionals has once again beat the clock.
Such analogies are familiar to the group at Saxum Strategic Communications. After all, just a few years ago Saxum CEO Renzi Stone was a three-year starter for the OU basketball team. “During those games,” recalls Stone, “the most exhilarating times for me were when somebody needed to make something happen.”
For Stone, therefore, the segue from the basketball court to the public relations field was little more than an outside shot away. “When the score’s tied at the end of a game,” he notes, “there are the people who want the ball – and the people who want to pass the ball. At Saxum, we want to be the type of firm that can be counted on when the clock is ticking down.”
Such moments are commonplace at Saxum, where targeted PR campaigns are individually crafted for clients as varied as Wal-Mart, US Cellular, and the law firm of Crowe and Dunlevy. Saxum’s hallmark is the seamless integration of every aspect of corporate communications. This is achieved by blending the key elements of three prominent business communications paradigms: public relations, public affairs/government relations, and advertising/marketing.
How effective is it to integrate these three models into one strategic communications plan? Consider this year’s Metro 50 awards, in which the fastest growing, privately-owned companies in the Oklahoma City area were ranked according to their percentage of annual growth. (To qualify, companies must have at least $1 million in revenues from the previous year.) In September, 2007, Saxum Strategic Communications was recognized as the 13th fastest growing company in the metropolitan area.
So the strategic game plan works. But what are the rules of the game? Renzi Stone spells out high, non-negotiable expectations for his team of PR professionals:
- Implementby Noon. “I like to think that decisions made during our 9:00 am staff meetings will be implemented by noon of that same day,” says Stone. “Everyone’s ideas are considered, and the good ones are put into effect as quickly as possible.”
- Deliver an “A” Effort. “There’s nothing wrong with a “C” if that’s what your level of expectation is,” Stone says. “But I create an atmosphere where I demand that everyone give an “A” effort all of the time.” Such efforts have their rewards, as in The Super Saxum Spiffy Award. This distinction is given weekly to the team member who has made the biggest contribution.
- Embrace Crunch Time. “How you react to crunch time moments defines how good you are at what you do,” asserts Stone. “So at Saxum we’ve tried to take it to another level. When crunch time comes, we embrace it, because if you can embrace it you can deal with it.”
- Achieve Innovation. “As a leader, I always challenge my team to think outside the box,” says Stone. “We’ve grown our company by evaluating how things have typically been done, and then we try to turn that thinking upside down. This generally creates a superior end result.”
Clearly, innovation is the pulse of Saxum’s game plan. Read Renzi Stone’s blog (www.saxumcommunications.blogspot.com) for examples of just how original this CEO is. He’s teaming with Enye Media to give a bicultural as well as bilingual edge to Saxum’s endeavors. He’s engaging in political discussions to spotlight emerging public policy issues. And he’s learning about capitalism and customer satisfaction from Harold, the shoeshine man at the airport. “Harold is one of the brightest guys I’ve ever been around,” Stone says.
Those Bacco Bucci loafers sure take the shine better than the Nikes ever did.
For more information on Saxum Strategic Communications, visit the company’s website at www.saxumcommunications.com.
I watched my first baseball game this weekend in a few years. Boston was brilliant in capturing their second World Series title in four years while rival Yankee fans looked on with jealousy (of Boston and A-Rod opting out of his contract with a reported $30M annual offer on the table). Rockies fans headed for the slopes (Vail is getting good snow).
For the Rockies, it was an emotional and grueling ride to the series, but sitting around for eight days while Boston finished off Cleveland seemed to be too long of a break to keep sharp. The Rockies had won an unprecedented 21 of 22 heading into the championship series.
From a strategic communications perspective, there is not much to report. Sometimes it is nice to sit around and watch baseball.
As a history buff, I watched Ken Burns “The War” with bated breath on PBS last month. The documentary told the harrowing story of soldiers and their families and friends living in four towns in America and the sacrifices they made to win World War II. Some 16 million Americans enlisted in the war effort with 400,000-plus losing their lives, mostly privates under the age of 25. The war threatened to bankrupt our country and was a dark time in American history. It also clarifies why these men and women are often referred to as our “greatest generation.” Burns captured the ideological struggle, the terror of combat and the hope for the continuation of freedom. His documentary was brilliant.
In college, I studied World War II extensively and even wrote my senior thesis on how the Soviets pushed back the Germans and helped seal victory in Europe despite losing 3 million people in the bloody process. Despite my education on the subject of WWII, I was amazed how much I learned watching this documentary. Having spent so many hours reading about the war, I realized the form in which I digested it now – via my television – was the difference in how much information I absorbed and retained.
Burns’ War is the perfect example of how learning in the 21st century has changed into a visual experience. On the PBS Web site, there are multiple opportunities for interactive learning. Teachers can use the video to create lesson plans, get involved in veteran activities and even pick and choose from a laundry list of “snapshot activities.” The advent of broadband internet has changed how we learn. Over a decade ago, Burns masterfully shared The Civil War with Americans. Many of us purchased the series and it now collects dust in unsearchable formatted VHS tapes in the attic (although updated versions with teaching tools are now available). Learning today is much different.
To illustrate my point about the power of documentaries, consider if Al Gore had written the book (and not a documentary) called, An Inconvenient Truth, we would not know him as a Nobel Prize winner, but as a former vice president with a best selling (read: small audience) book. If Michael Moore had done a radio expose (and not a documentary) on the healthcare industry called Sicko we would likely not know his name. We still don’t know filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, but we certainly know of his documentary Super Size Me. Documentaries with this kind of interest and distribution did not exist a decade ago.
Not an avid watcher of television, I found myself glued to the tube for The War and still am amazed at the content I am regurgitating. A day rarely comes and goes without a You Tube video sharing some piece of content. Visual learning works in a way not possible just a few short years ago. For communications professionals, it is up to us to create content to share with the world.
It is well documented that Oklahoma City grew from zero to 10,000 residents in just one day. The settlement of Oklahoma City ranks as the best week in our city’s history. There were the possibilities for this new settlement, the hope of a better tomorrow and the excitement of great things the pioneers could do together. The excitement then, in 1889, along the North Canadian River must have been as contagious as it is now.
Now a few weeks from Oklahoma’s centennial birthday, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Board of Directors/Advisors met this past week at the renovated Skirvin Hotel for their quarterly meeting. A veteran of five years of chamber board of advisor meetings, I cannot remember one as special as this. Consider what happened in Oklahoma City this past week.
- The Oklahoma City Centennial Parade took place featuring grand marshal and Oklahoma native James Garner, Miss America Lauren Nelson, Astronauts Tom Stafford and John Herrington and a smattering of other famous Oklahomans
- The US Rowing Team visited the Oklahoma River
- Actress Holly Hunter visited town to discuss her fictional Oklahoma City-based show, Saving Grace
- The Oklahoma City Public School District bond issue passed with nearly 80 percent of the vote
- The Chamber has 51 relocation or expansion business prospects (10 serious and one within months of announcing a new corporate headquarters)
- Bart Conner hosts Olympic champion gymnasts and ice skating legends along with world-renowned pianist LangLang for a show being re-broadcast on NBC this winter
All of these events/happenings – LAST WEEK. A boom city, indeed.
As a public relations professional, I believe it is important to have a foundation of knowledge across many disciplines. I’m always amazed that PR people seem to know very little (or want very little involvement) in politics. The political process shapes the debates of our day.
Last week, I visited with a client who is considering returning to Saxum following a brief break. This client is in healthcare. We sat around a board room table discussing how we were going to promote their product to their desired stakeholder group – seniors. The more we discussed the complicated world of Medicare, the more I thought about the national political environment.
The CEO of the company, after listening to our banter, stated their company needs to engage in a “different discussion about healthcare.” I piped up that the model of care they represent is misunderstood in the general marketplace and their approach actually shines a light in what most politicians regard as America’s “broken” system. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. A different story needs to be told and can be told relatively easily.
Enter the HillaryCare tie-in.
Last month, the Presidential hopeful rolled out her plan to socialize medicine by rolling back Bush tax cuts, tax small business by mandating coverage levels and funding an annual government program costing taxpayers the initial crazy price of $110 billion. The rollout had its intended result. Poll numbers shot through the roof and healthcare reform was all of a sudden back on the public radar where it was in 1994 when Hillary first took it on – crafting it as the most important domestic issue among Dems. The good news for Republicans looking for a hold on this issue is not all Americans agree that our system is broken. A Washington Post blog by Dan Balz last week cited a Post/ABC poll that found 88 percent of those with some coverage were generally satisfied with their care.
Public relations pros should be salivating at this gift from above. The regular “healthcare reform” issue is not all that fun for our friends in the media to report. First of all, it is generally sad and confusing. Most of us do not care to understand the inner workings of a system that is counter-intuitive to everything we’ve been taught about capital markets. Healthcare insurance, billing, client service, EMR’s and more are a mess in comparison to how consumers receive other services. Enter PR. Anyone who has a healthcare client, be it a provider, payor, hospital, etc. has an opportunity to capture an opportunity to be a thought leader on a local level.
A few tips -
- It is an election year! Read the candidates plans in trade journals, magazines and daily newspapers
- Find a local angle by working with the local hospital, insurer or provider.
- Create a targeted list of reporters who are covering these topics (they want help!)
- Get your client media- trained
- Respond!
A different story lies in each community. Whether you are interested in reaching seniors, the uninsured, general consumers, etc. the national political debate on this issue creates great opportunities to share your local message. Get educated and get after it! Like my friend Terry Neese says, “You better make it your business to understand politics or politics will run your business.”
