What to Look For in a PR Rep

Posted on September 25, 2012 by krwatson

There is a plethora of PR companies to choose from, so how do you decide which rep will work the hardest for you? Here are some key characteristics to look for:

Someone with media connections. Many PR companies simply send out press releases through wire services and call it PR, but if you ask the majority of media professionals, you will find that most have never even heard of the most popular wire service sites. Real connections are a PR professional’s most valuable asset. Their name and respect among the media is what will get your name in the news.
Someone whose clients are frequently in the news. It may seem obvious, but note how often a company’s clients appear in the news. Is it sporadic or do they get their clients monthly coverage? What they’re doing for their current clients is a good indicator of how often you can expect similar coverage.
Someone who stays calm and takes action. PR professionals need to have the ability to stay calm and productive in stressful situations so that they can manage any PR crisis efficiently. If you know individual reps at a company, follow them on Twitter. Look for a rep who can turn any bad situation around, not a rep who tweets about how ruined his or her day is. When life gives you lemons, your PR rep should be able to get you an interview – or even an endorsement deal – about the benefits of lemonade.
Someone who offers guidance. Does the PR company offer media training and consultation? Without these services, you may not look or sound your best during interviews. It is your PR rep’s job to work with you on polishing your interview skills, yet this service is often overlooked. Find someone who takes the time to consult with you before every press opportunity.
Someone who puts their clients first. PR doesn’t end at five o’clock. You want a rep who will hop off a treadmill to take a call from a reporter at nine o’clock at night to secure coverage for you. You want a rep who goes above and beyond to think of creative ways to promote you and who puts their company and clients first. And finally, you want a rep who will tell you the truth instead of what you want to hear. Otherwise you will find out the hard way that that blouse really was too sheer under studio lights.

Tweet me your thoughts! @krwatson

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How Disney Provides Consistently Stellar Customer Service

Posted on August 3, 2012 by krwatson

By Guest Blogger Stephen Blandino. Follow him, like him. Blog first posted here.

In a previous post, I shared my family’s unbelievable experience with Disney Customer Service. You can read about our experience right here. So how does Disney create stellar service?

I recently read Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service by the Disney Institute. The book provides some great insight into the practical systems that drive uncommon service. Here’s a quick overview of the three ingredients that drive Disney’s service:

The Service Theme: Disney begins with a “Service Theme” which defines and communicates the purpose of the company and creates its public image. Disney’s Service Theme is: “We create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere.” In essence, a service theme declares the company’s mission and how and for whom that mission is accomplished. Your service theme “acts as a promise to your customers and a purpose for your employees.”

The Service Standards: Service standards, or service values, are the “how” of the service theme. They are the “operational criteria” that make the consistent delivery of the service theme possible. Disney has four service standards:

Safety: Providing for the welfare and peace of mind of guests.
Courtesy: Treating every guest as a VIP–a very important, and very individual person.
Show: Seamless and exceptional entertainment for guests.
Efficiency: Smooth operations of the theme parks and resorts.

The Delivery Systems: You can have a service theme and understand your service standards, but without the right delivery systems, none of it will come together. Disney uses three delivery systems to provide safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency:

Cast: This is Disney-speak for “employees.”
Setting: Setting is described as, “The environment in which service is delivered to customers, all of the objects within that environment, and the procedures used to enhance and maintain the service environment and objects. More simply, setting is the stage on which business is conducted.”
Process: Processes are “a series of actions, changes, or functions that are strung together to produce a result.” Processes include things like guest flow, communication, and service attention.

So how does this entire customer service system work together? The Service Theme is like true north. Again, it provides the promise for guests and the purpose for employees. To ensure the Service Theme is being accomplished, the Service Standards and Delivery Systems are incorporated into an Integration Matrix. In other words:

How does the CAST deliver Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency?
How does the SETTING deliver Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency?
How do the PROCESSES deliver Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency?

Below is an example of the Integration Matrix used with Disney Vacation Club. Across the top are the delivery systems (Cast, Setting, and Process) and along the left side are the service standards (Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency):

Each part of Walt Disney World has an integration matrix that shows how service standards are delivered by the cast, setting, and processes. If you want to learn more, check out Be Our Guest or the Disney Institute.

Question: What is missing in your organization–Service Theme, Service Standards, or Delivery Systems? How can you improve each one?

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Extraordinary Events & Design on CW’s Eye Opener

Posted on July 26, 2012 by krwatson

Our client, Julie Eastman (owner of Extraordinary Events & Design), was featured on CW’s national morning show, Eye Opener, this morning. We had a blast filming with host Danielle Vollmar and loved how the segment came together. Julie never disappoints on camera, benefitting from our media training and consultation PR services.

Watch the feature here:

Here are a couple of snapshots of the final room:

: Julie added throw pillows, a larger lamp to anchor the corner, coffee table books & candles, and simple DIY artwork over the couch: fabric over cork board!

: Julie decluttered, rearranged, added a throw rug, pillows, art, candles, and books in the living room. For a simple dining room centerpiece, she spray painted vases, grouping them together over a mirror atop a scarf.

Don’t forget to “like” and follow Julie!

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Top 20 Things You Need in a PR Emergency Kit

Posted on July 17, 2012 by hayley

Last week the CDC released a Wedding Day Survival Guide and it got us thinking about what should go inside a PR Emergency Kit to assist with impromptu media interviews. News is fast-paced and having a reputation of always being responsive, prepared, reliable, and easy to work with is extremely important.

Our twenty favorite items are:

Bobby pins for last-minute hair mishaps

Blotting sheets to remove excess oil

Comb/hairbrush for last-minute touch ups

Hair spray to tame fly-aways

Glossing spray to keep hair looking healthy and shiny

Hair clip/ties to keep everything in place

Fashion tape & velcro to prevent a wardrobe malfunction

Lip gloss & chapstick for a perfect smile

Concelear to hide any new blemishes

Powder to stay oil-free

Safety pins to ensure clothing fits the way it should

Eyebrow brush to perfectly frame the eyes

Baby powder for oily hair

Neosporin just in case

Band-aids for pesky blisters

Lint roller to always appear clean and tidy

Tide to Go stick because accidents always happen

Deodorant to stay fresh

Q-tips for quick and accurate makeup fixes

Dryer sheets to get rid of static

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PR from an Intern’s Eyes

Posted on May 29, 2012 by meghan

After wrapping up my second week as a PR and Social Media intern for Anchor, I’ve realized something: most people don’t actually know what PR really is. There are all different perceptions of the world of public relations, ranging from the glamorous life of Samantha Jones on Sex and the City to the basics that they teach us in the classroom. Coming into my internship, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

I knew I would be assisting with social media and would have the opportunity to attend and assist with other “PR events” that came up, but I honestly did not fully know what that would entail. I’m sure every future PR intern dreams about living life like Samantha Jones – power lunches, schmoozing with the wealthy and powerful, and attending fabulous parties and events. This, however, doesn’t seem much like the life of any intern I know. On the other hand, judging by what I had learned in my marketing and communications classes, my internship would involve writing lots of press releases to a mass audience and making coffee runs.

In these short weeks, I’ve learned a lot. My job and the world of PR entail a little bit of both of these concepts, but also so much more. In class, social media is kind of a side note; no one really teaches us how important it is and how to use it effectively. At Anchor, I have learned that it relates to almost every aspect of PR and marketing. On top of the importance of social media, I’ve learned the number one rule of public relations: know your audience. This comes from knowing your brand and how you want the public to perceive it, knowing who would most benefit from your brand, and how to attract them to the brand. This takes so much more than mass marketing through press releases and self-promoting Facebook and Twitter blasts. It takes careful research, planning, and most importantly, building personal relationships, which is more than can ever be learned in a classroom or from a TV show.

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