Cutline Speaks
Amplified Common Sense…
posted by Megan on April 22, 2008
Someone asked me recently about my philosophy on public relations. First, a disclaimer: I'm not sure my answer really qualifies as a philosophy, but it's a question that I've discussed quite a lot with Erin. The response I gave the other day is the same one I've given for years. I think of public relations as "amplified common sense."
That's certainly not to say that there isn't a tremendous amount of creativity, or strategy, or strong execution that can (and should) go into the communications process. It's more simply that these things are often lost when people over-complicate their situation.
For example, a few months back I was visiting a former colleague I hadn't seen in a while. He recently launched a branding company, and I think he'll create a wonderful business. The sad thing is that I couldn't understand from his website what the company actually does. In fact, it took nearly 10 paragraphs for me to get it...kind of. The problem is this is a really smart guy, who has a lot of really smart advice to give, but he's completely over-complicating the problem he's trying to solve.
The entire marketing and communications function should do just the opposite. We should be simplifying. Here's what I mean by common sense:
* Identify the problem, figure out how to solve it, and then do it. Don't get stuck talking in circles about how you're going to solve the problem. If you do, by the time you actually decide what to do and get to work, the issue has completely changed and your solution may be totally invalid.
* Say what you mean. Seriously, does anyone really know what a company is talking about when they use marketing / PR jargon? I'm not talking about other people in the technology industry or the business community, I'm talking about real people. The answer is usually no. The Wall Street Journal has been on a crusade about this issue and just posted about it again yesterday.
* Think like the customer. It's really not that hard. Communicate with them in the ways they want to talk with you – not just the traditional press release, but with a regular presence on the blogs they read, or a video explaining how to use your products, or a Facebook application - whatever is appropriate with that audience.
It doesn't seem that difficult, but unfortunately marketing and PR professionals have a tendency to over-analyze, over-think and ultimately over-complicate. With a little more common sense, I think we could all achieve far more effective, creative and strategic results.
Tags for this post: pr
Comments
May 18 2009 - 01:26 AM | by Atmomochova
Hello all
I am new to this board but i want to introduce u with one of the fastest growing free adult porn forum on the
internet today!!!!http://www.fucking4utoo.com/
Everiday updated with 1000`s of porn videos, sexy pictures,full porn movies http://www.fucking4utoo.com/
October 02 2009 - 04:00 PM | by pewdryday
Diverse people had presupposed Chicago would be a finalist. But Foreign Olympic <a href=http://www.mcrides.co.nz/index.php?showuser=1263>buy viagra new zealand</a> Commission members eliminated it at worst hours after Obama and his old lady, Chicago indigene Michelle Obama, urged them to send the Summer Games to Obama’s adopted hometown. Obama had cure his particular prestige on the procedure and his political major at endanger when he unquestioned current in the contest to thrown away to Copenhagen and frame a exclusive appeal.
October 03 2009 - 07:42 AM | by pewdryday
Innumerable people had sham Chicago would be a finalist. But Foreign Olympic <a href=http://www.mcrides.co.nz/index.php?showuser=1263>order viagra .nz</a> Body members eliminated it only hours after Obama and his old lady, Chicago native Michelle Obama, urged them to send the Summer Games to Obama’s adopted hometown. Obama had petition for b seek his bosom fame on the slash and his governmental capital at risk when he decided current in the contest to trek to Copenhagen and designate a exclusive appeal.
October 05 2009 - 04:14 PM | by MutBleque
In the careful thought one more time healthcare reform, references to outcomes mostly be suffering with to do with patients. But the brewing overhaul of the vigour warranty procedure may be to extraordinarily different outcomes in employment.
<a href=http://www.openehr.org/wiki/display/~buycialis/Home><font color=White>buy cialis new york</font></a>
April 01 2010 - 09:42 AM | by Toshiba mini
This is one of the pernicious effects of affirmative action. In our PC/affirmative skirmish culture, we tend to see the achievements and promotions of minorities as a consequence of affirmative effectiveness policies as contrasted with of distinct diligence and talent. This undermines these rather achievements.
Another complication here is that it sets fallible fair play at odds with the higher divine morality. If the higher morality is common to conclude the Extermination, ruinous infection outbreaks, etc, as effects, while forgiving moralness purpose adjudicator them criminal, then the ‘good’ in each of these moralities are different. Admissible on the higher ideals is not what we employing around good.
May 13 2010 - 12:54 PM | by chopard miglia
Splendidly done is better than extravagantly said.
<a href=http://chopard-miglia.webs.com/apps/blog>chopard miglia</a>
<a href=http://chopard-miglia.webs.com/apps/blog>chopard miglia</a>
June 22 2010 - 01:54 AM | by A Diesel Watch
To be a good benign being is to be enduring a make of openness to the world, an ability to trusteeship undeterminable things beyond your own control, that can lead you to be shattered in uncommonly exceptionally circumstances on which you were not to blame. That says something remarkably impressive thither the prerequisite of the ethical autobiography: that it is based on a trustworthiness in the uncertain and on a willingness to be exposed; it’s based on being more like a spy than like a prize, something kind of dainty, but whose extremely special attraction is inseparable from that fragility.
August 01 2010 - 08:26 AM | by encallepe
Hi everyone
Check out
a marvelous search engine –
P.S. Yahoo – everything will be found! Google: nothing was really lost…
See you!
August 12 2010 - 03:36 PM | by enernOwwefgon
Free Pics of <a href=http://www.bhgalleries.com>Free Porn</a> and on <a href=http://www.voyeurcamvideo.com>Nude Girls</a> Thumbs Sites
August 24 2010 - 05:02 AM | by Priligy
Work out ferments the humors, casts them into their meet channels, throws substandard redundancies, and helps nature in those secretive distributions, without which the solidity cannot subsist in its vigor, nor the typification fake with cheerfulness.