Author: Brian Lee

Be the best strategic storyteller

Posted on by Brian Lee

A recent poll by PR News and Nasdaq Media Intelligence asked which of Fortune’s 2015 Most Admired Brands succeed best at telling humanizing stories that drive positive awareness. The results were the following: one-fifth said that Apple is the best at doing this, with Coca-Cola in second. Other companies that ranked high were Walt Disney, Southwest and American Express.

Are you looking to share your brand’s story? Here are a few tips:

  • Share stories about your customers rather than employees
  • Use social media and your website to tell your story
  • Stay away from op-eds and radio when sharing story

So why is Apple so successful? It has found ways for consumers to buy its products without ever ‘advertising’ the actual product. Instead, Apple tells a story that engages everyone and makes them feel a connection.

For example, here’s an Apple commercial demonstrating its FaceTime app:

Cecil the Lion

Posted on by Brian Lee

In media relations, especially during a crisis, I always tell clients to get their story out first–don’t let others shape your story. (Note: this blog post takes a look at the PR aspect of the Cecil the Lion story, not the morality of it.)

Walter Palmer, who killed Cecil, issued a statement through a PR firm, but it was way too late. By that point, the media and people on social media already painted him in a extremely negative light (see the Yelp page for his dental practice, though you should note Yelp has already deleted about 5,000 posts).

In several subsequent articles, people familiar with big game hunting said that it’s actually common for a local guide to do all the work (scouting, luring the animal, etc.) before the client does the killing. Thus, it’s plausible that Palmer didn’t know he had killed Cecil the Lion, nor did he realize that it was lured illegally out of its protected zone.

Had he said that immediately, as well as explaining the method of killing (arrow followed by bullet) and garnering more experts to corroborate his story, he could have softened the blow. But, that’s all a moot point now.

Salt on the wound

Posted on by Brian Lee
Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Like many public relations practitioners, I’m frustrated by people in an organization who leak information (confidential or otherwise). However, journalists’ lack of computer security makes leaks even worse.

According to a ScienceDaily article, journalists aren’t doing enough to safeguard the info they obtain: “Despite heightened awareness of surveillance tactics and privacy breaches, existing computer security tools aren’t meeting the needs of journalists working with sensitive material.”

Media outlets are constant targets of hackers, according to Computer Business Review. This could mean leaked info that a journalist intended to only partially report on could still be published in its entirety due to hackers.

That’s another reason to stop leaks in an organization.