PR career - what lies ahead for a new Winnipegger

My career goal for now is rather different from the rest of the class;  all I need is a full-time job to fulfill my short-term. However, having spent almost a year in a PR program has really helped me to identify my interest in PR - politics.

I studied Media Studies in university, and I was fortunate enough to be in one of the best media programs in the UK. Writing and analyzing news was a daily task. Since then, I have grown to love analyzing policies, and its impact on the society as well as among various stakeholders. There are times that good policies cannot pass because of poor lobbying, and there are times that terrible policies get to pass because of successful lobbying. My opinion is that lobbying is still about "What is in it for me", hence research is crucial in order to succeed.

If possible, I would like to study law and then combine my skills in PR. It would allow me to understand the complexity behind legislation, then translate it into plain English in order to influence the public for support. The skills that I have learned in PR (especially the RACE formula and having a clear strategy in mind) would definitely help me to do a fantastic job. I love research, I love politics, and I love building a better world so it is a perfect job for me. I have two books on Canadian politics lying on my desk now, so I am preparing myself - slowly but adequately.

Consumers can save money in Superstore and Shoppers?

For some strange reasons unbeknown to me, some people think companies acquire companies to help consumers to save money. I have never seen that in my life. Companies merge or acquire others to make more money, period.

So, I have heard comments that by acquiring Shoppers, some consumers expect saving at both Superstore and Shoppers. The truth is you may save 1 to 2 percent at the beginning, then you won't. Superstore is owned by the second richest family in Canada for a reason - the Weston family exists to make money, and to become richer. Just in case you have forgotten, the Weston family started the President's Choice Financial in the 1990s. Have you ever heard of a financial institution that is not solely about money? Have you forgotten about the 2008 financial crisis?

There is also something called profit margin in the business world, and it is certainly why the deal exists. The deal will allow both companies to save cost in the millions especially by having a bigger bargaining power than ever to its suppliers. Yes, the Weston family will become richer, but suppliers will suffer for sure. Just in case you didn't know, the family also owns Selfridges (which is one of the best department stores in the UK) and its current stock price is above $80 in TSX. All I can see is the dollar sign.

I would love to see that I am wrong, but I really don't think so.  

An unforgettable case: Blendtec

My husband told me I had to watch this blender video on YouTube, I instantly thought he was mad. Then he said to me I should look at it as a marketer. So I said fine and watched it. I was fascinated by the video immediately. By chance, we watched the same video in class a week later.

Blendtec is considered a small company in the US. They produce commercial blenders that typically sell for over $400 each. Blendtec was virtually an unknown company, until the head of marketing found the potential of the blending exercise that Tom Dickson did regularly. With a next to nothing budget, the head of marketing started to produce a video called "Will it blend?" and posted it on their own website. The video became an online sensation immediately. Many more videos have been produced since then, and the golf ball video has attracted over 1.7 million views alone.

I love the idea surrounding Blendtec. First of all it is about the core of the company - blending. They make the power of the machine tangible by blending crazy stuff like iPad. The idea of dividing the videos into "Don't try this at home" and "Try this at home" is smart. It allows viewers to choose their interest whether they want to watch blending an iPhone or blending an apple. The length of the video is appropriate too, always under two minutes. I also think the strong visual allows Blendtec to appeal to people around the world, as you really do not need to speak any English in order to understand what is going on.

Blendtec now has social media presence on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ as well as YouTube. Their business result has improved by more than 700 percent. The fact that they do not have a big budget has forced them to be creative, but they have not become creative for the sake of it. They have really touched the core of their company (the blending power), combined the charm of Tom (with his outfit), and the blending exercise of unusual items such as a new Samsung phone. To me, it is a PR case that I will never forget, nor the noise that the blender makes when it blends an iPhone 5!

Occupy Wall Street: what went wrong and what could have been done differently

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement started in 2011. It attracted media attention pretty quickly, though initially the US media did not pay much attention to the movement. I was in Hong Kong back then, and I could hear it on the news on a daily basis. Almost two years has passed, and I do not know what they have accomplished apart from the 1% vs 99% message.

According to their website, the original idea was to end the greed and corruption of the 1% by adopting the Arab Spring tactics. Apparently the goal has not been achieved. Instead, according to surveys conducted in 2011, people viewed the movement as public nuisance. I personally think the movement could have made a bigger impact by having a plan, and incorporating the following.

Clear call to action: ok, so I agree with the 99% vs 1% key message, but what do I do next? No, I don’t know what I am supposed to do next. OWS should really have thought about what they expect ordinary citizens to do after attracting media attention.

Follow up: similar to the article, I totally agree creating noise is only the first step, it is more crucial to follow up and create real changes. Creating quotable quotes, assigning a strong spokesperson, creating strong visuals, liaising with the media,  liaising with the government, managing the social media presence, managing the logistics for the occupation, and everything else that affects the OWS movement.

Planning: OWS was not really an organized event at the beginning, and it certainly did not have a PR team. The structure of the protest also meant they did not have a leader. Unfortunately, a leader is crucial for liaising with different stakeholders, pulling everything together, assigning tasks to different people, and seeing things through.  They would not have a plan unless it is an organization with funding support whether through donation or sales.

Measureable goals: measureable goals are crucial for success. How can you know whether you have done a good job without setting goals at the beginning? For OWS to gain any success, goal setting is mandatory.

OWS could have been a success. Perhaps it is not too late to sit down, gather their thoughts, and move on with a real strategic plan from this point onwards.

CNN image

 

 

 

 

I was here

 

Yes, I was here. I was here every year from 2003 to 2011 (I missed one year as I was away for holiday in Europe). On Canada Day every year, Hongkongers would go out and vote with their feet in order to voice their discontent towards the Hong Kong government. This year, 430,000 people protested in the rain.

 

The picture here was taken in 2003, and I was part of the crowd. It took me more than six hours to walk from Causeway Bay to Central, which would normally take less than two hours. It was a humid day, and it was about 33 degree. Horrible day for protest. However, comparing to the 199 deaths caused by SARS in the spring of 2003, the walk was nothing.

 

In short, I am a proud Hongkonger, at least once a year.  

 

 



PR blogs: my comments and thoughts

Babies are better bloggers than us

Date: July 16, 2013 (Week 4 - Case Studies)

Link: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-reasons-why-babies-would-make-successful-bloggers/

Comments:

I knew I had to write about it the minute I saw this blog post. Alice is a better blogger than myself? How can it be possible? The author then listed five reasons as follow:

1. They focus on one thing at a time
2. They don't care what other people think
3. They need a mentor
4. They understand the importance of rest
5. They grab their parent's attention well

I guess the author is right. Alice seems to display the above five traits 24 hours a day. Personally I find the second reason most applicable to me. Yes, there are a lot of standard rules out there about how you can utilize social media and how you should write blogs to become popular. However, I have my way of writing and my unique voice. I am not going to create blog posts solely to fulfill the SEO mechanism. I want to write about stuff that I feel passionate about, and I want to write my opinion. I do not and will not create blogs all start with "The top 10..." or "The 5 tips on..." unless they describe the content well.

Last but not all, I need to practice my attention grabbing skills. Read my blog, read my blog, and read my blog!

CEOs on Social media? Good or bad ideas?

Date: July 9, 2013 (Week 3 - Case Studies)

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23083462

Comments:

This article is about having your senior executives on social media. It talks about the potential benefits and pitfalls, which is very different from the usual social media blog that I have been reading.

The article mentioned a SEC investigation on Netfix because the CEO posted company information on the company's Facebook page. No fine or charge was brought, but it led the SEC to clarify how information should be disclosed. It is ok to use social media, but you have to make sure investors are aware that you are using these channels.

Some CEOs recognize the importance of social media, but some say they just do not have the time. One even suggested that if a CEO tweets regularly, this person probably does not do much work. The diverse view is fascinating, and I truly believe these CEOs should really learn what social media is about before making comments on something that they are not familiar with.

Social media is clearly not replacing traditional media in my opinion, it is complementing traditional media. It is somewhat unwise to ignore it once you look at the statistics. Having said that, when CEOs do start tweeting or blogging, they must have something original or interesting to say rather than writing random tweets or blogs. The social media presence of your organization is supposed to help you to fulfill an organizational objective, it is never there just for fun.

Facebook Officially Adds Support for the Hashtag

Date: July 2, 2013 (Week 2 - Case Studies)

Link: http://socialfresh.com/hashbook2/

Comments:

Apart from the apparent benefits for marketers to find out what is being talked about simply by searching #coach, I think the existence of hashtag on Facebook can be great for another reason. Let’s go back to 2011, when Libya was experiencing a civil war. The fact that you can search a topic through hashtag can help people with similar thoughts or interest to find out the latest, such as where and when to meet for a demonstration. The social power can be immense and it could have taken down the power more quickly than it did, which means fewer deaths.

 

To me social media is never just a marketing tool. Social media can be a great tool to advance civilization. The anti-national education protest in Hong Kong demonstrated it really well in 2012. At the beginning, no one cared. Then a bunch of 15-year-olds started explaining to adults like me what was in the small print through posting videos and posts on Facebook. However, I had to check Facebook on a daily basis at least in order to keep up as there was no hashtag back then. If the tool was available back then, it would have been easier to search the topic and follow all the postings. Let’s see whether the hashtag function would have any impact in Brazil and Turkey.

 

Who really runs this place?

Link: http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/Rd-Safety/Tips/60-Sec-Driver/Pages/60sec.aspx

Date: Jun 24, 2013 (Week 1 - Case Studies)

Comments:

I have always been fascinated by lobbying. That's right, the rich and powerful spends a huge amount of resources trying to influence government policies pretty much on everything. This blog about the Big 4 (aka the four biggest accounting firms on this planet) and its influence in the British government explains the close relationship between them.

As a PR professional, lobbying is  basically part of what we do - influencing policy makers in order to benefit the very organization that we work for. However, you realize it is more than influencing when you look at the Big 4 in the UK (and to a similar extend in the US). They work with the government to formulate tax-related policies while they earn millions of pounds advising their clients on tax issues. Big 4 pays huge salary, but to me there are certain companies I would never work for because they don't sit right with my conscience. I need to make a living, but I am not going to sell my soul to pay my bills. There are other stakeholders in the equation such as the public and interest group, not just the people who own the company.

Social media and storytelling

Link: http://spinsucks.com/social-media/social-stories-how-to-use-storytelling-on-twitter/

 

Case Studies: TOW1

For years I admired Apple as a company. I bought my first iPhone a couple of years ago, and I was incredibly excited. However, I then realized Apple was not what I thought it was after more than 10 people killed themselves in the office where most iPhone components were made in China. Time and time again companies say they have outsourced certain types of work, then they think they have nothing to do with it. However, in my opinion, you cannot outsource responsibilities too.

Apple then said it would look into it - but more people killed themselves. The death toll climbed to about 20 by 2012, and I can never see Apple the way I used to. Being a responsible company is a global initiative, not just in North America.

I am a linear thinker, and I tend to go down a decision tree when I need to decide something. Let's say the brand of car seat for my baby daughter. I struggled with the cost, the brand, and feedback from other parents before I chose Diono. Eventually I decided to buy a Diono car seat because of the discount offered in a store. Without the discount, I would probably have gone for a Graco car seat. I would say I was mainly influenced by my income level - which is zero at the moment. Therefore, the behavior is going to change once I have a paid job.

In terms of thinking differently for an issue I must backtrack to the beginning of 2012. At a time I was carrying Alice, and for the first time in my life, the future of the education system in the post-colonial Hong Kong became relevant.  Then I learnt they were implementing a new subject called "National Education", which was essentially making brain-washing a mandatory subject. I have always paid attention to politics, but the change of status made it even more important to me than ever. So, I wrote my comments constantly on my Facebook page hoping it would influence some of my friends to do something. It was an awful experience having to fight with a government, but it was a battle that needed to be fought.