Angels and demons

Being in a terrible situation people often go two ways - they either become more frustrated or choose to believe there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have chosen the latter not because I am that strong, but because of the angels around me.

I have been completely overwhelmed by the love and support that I get, and some are from total strangers - a 5-year-old girl that I don't even know, a woman that I have never met, the caretaker from my old place - you name it.  Because of the angels, I know I will have the courage to fight the demons. I will not allow anyone to hurt Alice or me, and I don't care what excuses the demons come up with. I love Alice, and I love myself, and I am going to fight for my life. I know I deserve something better, and I am not going to allow anyone to ruin it.

Silent monster

Having lived and worked in the UK and Canada, I have first-hand experience when it comes to discrimination. Don’t get me wrong, Canada is the most welcoming civilized nation in my opinion. Unfortunately, I have to quote a phrase that I created when I interviewed the Commissioner for the Equal Opportunities Commission in the UK, which is “silent monster”. To me, discrimination is a silent monster which can be anywhere in a society. There are numerous occasions I have the feeling that I am treated differently because of my skin colour and my foreign accent. To some people, it can be vocal and even violent. For Scott Jones, it was definitely a violent one.

Scott, a gifted musician who studied at the University of Manitoba, was attacked and left paralyzed in an attack which took place in October 2013. He was stabbed in the back and had his throat slashed after leaving a bar in NS. He believes the attack took place because of his homosexuality.

Instead of isolating himself after the horrific attack, Scott has taken a different route which has inspired many. For example, a Facebook-based campaign has been developed call “Don’t be Afraid”.

I was in tears the first time I read about his story. I never thought such thing could still happen in Canada in the 21^st century, and I am amazed by Scott’s approach. You can’t change what happened but you can try to change the world into a slightly better place. I have told my daughter about Scott though she is probably too young to comprehend anything. However, I will repeat his story to Alice when she is a bit older as we should all learn from Scott’s experience and approach – no one group is more superior than the others and love is more powerful than anything else. Yes my skin colour is not white and my accent is not Canadian, and I will have to work harder than some people to get credit. The road ahead is not easy but I am not scared.

Scott, you are my 20-month-old daughter’s hero. Thank you.

If you are interested in helping Scott, please visit http://www.supportscottjones.com/.

PR Heavy Weight - Global

I am starting another blog post about PR disaster but on an international level. For sure it does not apply to most PR professionals here in Winnipeg, but I am passionate about the subject as I have always followed international news given my European and Asian experience. I believe being exposed to more international issues would broaden the horizon of PR professionals here.

My first case is about the business school of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Their EMBA program is the number EMBA program in the entire universe according to the Financial Times (higher than any EMBA program in Canada). A recent graduate of their MBA program developed an app for game called Towers of Saviors, which has made the developers millionaires. However, for those who have used the app find this app very similar to a game developed by a Japanese company which was also a blockbuster.

The problem for HKUST is that they have openly endorsed these two graduates AFTER they donated about $125,000 to the University by inviting them to talk about their success stories and on the HKUST Facebook page. Apparently it is not a PR disaster to HKUST as they simply do not care. However, given my previous experience with HKUST, it is totally consistent. HKUST cares about money and ranking but nothing else. For a PR professional, it is about choosing an organization that you agree with in terms of their ethical standard. I never intended and I will never work for HKUST, no matter how much they pay me. Seriously.

Another recent international disaster is the death of a soldier in Taiwan when he was in camp. Unlike the rest of China (i.e. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau), Taiwan has developed a democratic society and I have been amazed time and time again by how civilized the society has become.

For this tragic incident, hundreds of thousands of people have demonstrated right in front the equivalent of the White House demanding an explanation. Even movie stars have voiced their anger, which is extremely uncommon for the Chinese culture. No one single political party has tried to rally the people, it was (and still is) something that many citizens have chosen to do based on their free will. The consequence is the existing government has to answer the questions raised. A young man has died, and justice should be exercised. The Prime Minister Ma has not really said anything that satisfies the public, and it is a really PR disaster at the moment. It would be interesting to check out the development in a week.

PR Heavy Weight - North America

This blog post is the beginning of a series of Public Relations-related blogs, and this is called "PR Heavyweight" to simply imply a difficult situation for PR professionals. The first case is the recent train derailment in Quebec and I think no one can argue with me.

How wrong can you get? The MM&A has simply failed in every domain that you can think of as a PR person or a senior executive. Not coming to the centre of disaster because it was easier to make phone calls and liaise with insurance companies in your office? Blaming the firefighters? Scared of coming? Did not translate the press release in French properly? You name it, they did it all. Now they have filed bankruptcy, which is exactly what I predicted. MM&A is one issue, the handling of oil transportation is another. With this tragic accident, we should really sit down and push for tighter regulations relating to oil transportation - or someone else would have a tough PR job. It is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when.

My second favorite this month so far is the cancellation of Obama's trip to meet Putin. Remember Snowden? This gentleman has left the airport in Moscow, and he is seeking asylum. Apparently many consider it as a slap in the face to Obama, hence the cancelled trip. The spokesperson said it was only one of the many reasons, but really? The development is getting even more interesting than ever, and there is definitely a PR lesson for us all.

My third is the scandal surrounding the various senators - the latest casualty is Sen. Mac Harb. It seems like the more we dig, the more unpleasant it gets. Yes, Canada is not free from corruption. However, we are at least trying to fix when we spot an issue. The development can be nasty for the Harper's government, but they can bounce back if they can be more proactive. Why not start putting together more transparent and tighter policies when it comes expenses? Start the conversation, and invite participation from the public. Take the lead, instead of being led when another scandal breaks is my advice.

The development in Rehtaeh Parsons' case is another hot topic. No matter what charges are laid, some people feel some justice has been served. I have lived in a city where police can pretty much do anything (including assaulting citizens in broad day night and then be escorted away by other police), and I appreciate the fact that most police here respect the law and work within it. Yes they did not do the best PR job on the this planet at the beginning, but the police did respond quickly in the end. The death of a young girl is always tragic, but if lessons can be learnt here then at least Rehtaeh did not die in vain. 

Check my post regularly for more cases!

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!