Facebook is a mudslinger?

Hey guys, sorry it has been so long since my last post, I’ll be posting another entry sometime this weekend to make up for one of them. BUT I found an article that uses the same scope that I do in this blog. The article, written by Guy Berstrom, addresses the incident that Facebook got caught hiring a PR firm to plant "unflattering stories about Google." Interestingly enough, I have not seen anything on this circulating Facebook, I only heard about it when I actually Google search “public relation scandals”

You can access the article at the link below.

http://marketing.about.com/od/crisis_communication/a/facebook-gets-caught-in-pr-scandal.htm

The article asks if hiring a firm to slander another competitor is a public relations "no-no?" Bergstrom says it is not, they just should not have been sneaky about it. And I agree, if you recall I used the GolinHarris pitch booklet as a frame of analysis for some of my previous posts. A big thing to remember about practicing public relations ethically is that there is openness and there is transparency. As I've said before openness is what you tell your audience, transparency is what your audience can find out. GolinHarris urges that we should have trust in transparency. As a firm, recognize that we live in a digital age, we leave digital footprints and being "sneaky" is no longer an option. As an avid Facebook and Google user, it does not really bother me that Facebook wants to get the edge. Just like Apple suing Samsung did not bother me.

Bergstrom suggests that Facebook fire the PR agency. I personally do not think that is necessary, a big part of public relations is image restoration. So maybe they should keep the agency on board and figure out a way to slowly but surely regain their audiences trust. But at the end of the day, this is not a huge deal. I have yet to see anyone boycott Facebook because they want to get ahead. No one was injured, no had gotten sued (at least at this moment) and if anything the big wigs at Facebook got a little embarrassed.

Tune in this weekend to read my thoughts on the 5-Hour Energy debacle. 

The Pill that Persuades

In the spirit of the “War on Women” and the recent election, I want to discuss the public relation tactics and strategies that were used to put things like birth control at the fingertips of women all over America in the first place.

Margaret Sanger, the mother of birth control, was a birth control activist, sex educator, and a nurse from the 20s to the 60s. She came from a family where her mother was pregnant 18 times, with 7 miscarriages, and died at age 50 from tuberculosis and cervical cancer when Sanger was 20 years old. And in the years following, the birth control movement became evermore prominent.

The tactics employed for this movement began with finding people to support Sanger’s cause and could reach ALL audiences. A good public relations campaign is one that can be effective in the eyes of even those who oppose you. In this particular case, Catholics were the biggest enemies of birth control. A Catholic doctor by the name of John Rock was very excited to help out with the movement and was convinced that he was the answer to getting the Vatican to change its position on birth control.

After the backing of John Rock, marketing was the next step. As I have said in previous posts, marketing and public relations need to work together to be effective. The pill was marketed as something called Enovid, a pill for menstrual disorders. Marketing and public relations had to work together to loosen the Catholic Church’s stance on birth control. Because the church said it was okay to have sex during the “safe period” of your cycle, so why is a pill that ensures a longer safe period so bad? But Pope Paul IV said no, in fact he said “Absolutely not.” And John Rock was devastated; he could not believe that his church would not allow this pill to help women everywhere. But women of the Catholic faith were defiant and soon they were half of the birth control market.

However, the pill took a turn for the worst. Women were beginning to die from the pill. But women wanted to believe so much that it couldn’t be the pill. A public relations campaign was not even necessary to save face and to keep women from buying the pill. It was literally handed out like candy. So women took upon themselves to flood hearings, got in front of every camera possible, protesting in the streets, anything to promote their cause. Their tactics and strategies were heard. Changing the way women were being viewed in the streets, in the government, and in the bedroom. The pill prompted one of the most successful public relations campaigns in the history of women’s liberation.  

Monte Rifkin

Recently, my blog posts have been pretty negative towards companies and public relation firms. Today I want to highlight a company in a positive way. Recently, Monte Rifkin, president of MJ Rifkin, agreed to let me interview him on certain aspects of what his company does and how it operates.

Rifkin owns a full service Ad agency in Chicago. So if you are wondering to yourself, advertising is not the same thing as public relations, you would be right. But what I have learned in my classes so far is that public relations, advertising, and marketing all need to work together in order to have a successful business. And MJ Rifkin’s mission statement reflects this point.

“M J Rifkin, Incorporated was developed to provide the “right arm” business services to clientele who wish to have access to the best, most current marketing resources, without spending a fortune on creating them in-house. We keep you ahead of the curve, using the latest technologies, proven performers, quality partners, and world-class service. Please take a few moments to browse our site, and we think that you’ll agree. Our goal is to make you successful…for the long run”

http://sales-tips.com/

The clientele that is typical for MJ Rifkin isn’t really typical at all. They will help you with your business no matter what it is. You can access their services at the previously cited website.

During the interview, I asked him the obvious question, what does your company do? What kind of clientele do you have… blah blah blah. But what struck me most, was how he motivates his employees.

PASSION

Rifkin’s employees are all over the country, every week Rifkin holds a teleconference that begins with how everyone is doing, what’s going on in their lives, showing that he cares about every single individual, and then discusses everyone’s agenda, and finally Rifkin gives everyone a general direction for the week.

I asked him, how to you share your passion when you’re thousands of miles away from some of your employees? He replied, “It’s really a matter of communication” he explained that it also deals with trust. “Everyone is paid really well, but they work hard.” Rifkin explained he is more of a providing manager, he gives his employees the tools they need to do their jobs and takes a step back.  

I admire this company because of their work ethic, scope, and objectives. I truly think that every firm should take the same approach to public relations and advertising because it allows the clientele to get what they want and the employees to thrive. 

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