Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

 The company that gave us one of the world's most horrific environmental disasters is now serving up another spectacle -- this one colored green rather than muck-black.  Two decades after the Valdez spill, a corporate fight is spilling out of Exxon's boardroom.  

As reported by The New York Times, the Rockefeller family wants to strip Rex W. Tillerson of his position as chairman because of perceived foot-dragging on sustainability issues.

It's encouraging to see business titans battling to determine how to be strategically, effectively, profitably green.  Thomas "The World is Flat" Friedman indicated the green revolution won't have really started until people stop talking happy and start throwing elbows.  At that point we'll know something big is at stake.  Dressing down a a board chairman looks pretty big from here. 

What does Exxon do next?  Probably, the media attention means it has to get more out front on sustainability.  Chalk one up for the Rockefellers and the planet.

Does it make you ‘light in the loafers’ to think the word 'pansy' has no place in a discussion between a governor and a candidate for president? Is it more acceptably ‘butch’ to take the term as 'authentic' and move on? Or is the word way too ‘frat boy’; deserving all the scorn the chattering class can muster?

I could throw around borderline slurs all day, but that's not the point. The point is communication and what gets lost when descriptive language gets a little too loose.

Gov. Mike Easley recently told a cheering crowd that Sen. Hillary Clinton's toughness makes Rocky Balboa look like a "pansy." The big news from that event should've been Easley's endorsement of Clinton for president. The questions should have focused on Easley's sway in the state and the endorsement's potential impact on the presidential race.

Instead, much of the media zeroed in on 'pansy.'

The comment itself wasn't all that surprising. Easley has identified himself as a "King of the Hill"-style Democrat, a nod to one of his favorite and an admittedly great television series. Easley says what he means, means what he says, keeps it simple, keeps it real. I swear, with my left hand on my lunch box, I get it.

Still, "pansy" – whether it’s a gay slur or a synonym for softie or both – became too much of a distraction. Taking on Uber-Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger (instead of blue collar champ Rocky) with a "girly-man" reference might have packed a smart political punch, but probably would’ve irked some. "Wimp" would've done just fine and has precedent. George H.W. Bush wrestled unsuccessfully (but man-fully) with the term through the final months of his one-term presidency.

Some bloggers are ripping Easley as a “bigot” for his word choice. His record suggests this is unfair. Moreover, the game of finger-pointing quickly becomes a house of mirrors. Does hurling the accusation of ‘bigot’ make you ‘knee-jerk’ and ‘politically correct’? If you get in a lather about ‘pansy,’ shouldn’t you also refuse to use its opposite number, ‘good ol’ boy’ (which, after all, is code in some circles for ‘backwards bigot,’ yes?).

See what I mean? Suddenly, the rational world of thinking, decision-making and explaining becomes a swirl of confusion, code and, finally, intellectual collapse.

When it comes to descriptive language, be smart about where and how to use it. I love hearing UNC system President Erskine Bowles talk about the “tsunami” of change coming to our economic landscape. It sweeps me up and makes me part of the cause. I hate – and I bet you do, too – hearing otherwise compelling messages muddled by words that push people out of a rational process and into the no-man’s/woman's/all-living-things' land of finger-pointing.

The Olympic Torch is probably feeling burned out right now.  A jaunt around the globe sounds romantic, but not with thousands of protesters dogging you.  Plus, it's hard to get 'fired up' with folks checking your carbon.  Here, Slate.com analyzes the Torch's green credentials ... http://www.slate.com/id/2188876/

Reading the report, it dawned on me: this isn't a Torch issue, this is a call-to-action for the entire marketing industry. For a long time, we've made hay with the grand goodwill gesture.  Often this involves sending some special something-or-other and attendant VIPs traveling around a state, a country, the world.  That's understandable; tours and events can be effective ways to get out a message.  

Four years ago, I played a big role in launching a p.r. tour that helped a lot of people.  I'm still proud of that, but today I know that any message, any gesture will be measured against its environmental impact.   Four years ago, I didn't give that a second thought, unfortunately.  Today, I'd look at buying carbon credits to off-set the impact of my p.r. barnstorm or at going completely virtual with it.

There are lots of viable options, but ignoring the dilemmas and trade-offs isn't one of them.   And the grand goodwill tour is just one of the classic tactics we marketing folks need to wrestle with.  Just check out all the paper that goes into an annual report!   

 

I attended a fascinating lecture by CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider last night at UNC’s school of Journalism and Mass Communications.  While the title of the lecture was “The Role of Media in Politics,” the discussion focused more on the role of public opinion and how the mood of the times shapes the political debate and ultimately decides who gets elected.

Schneider opened with a quote from former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. "There are only two things you must know to pursue a career in public life. You must know yourself, and you must know the times."  As someone who analyzes polls for a living, Schneider identifies “knowing the times,” as the key to political punditry.

Public opinion saved Bill Clinton’s political career. When the Monica Lewinski scandal hit, the media declared Clinton finished. A poll was taken, and Clinton’s already high approval ratings went up 10%. Two-thirds of Americans believed he should not be removed from office, even though the same two-thirds agreed he lied under oath. Overnight, conventional wisdom shifted, and the media was now talking about the “comeback kid.”

When it comes to public opinion and presidential elections, Schneider coined a concept he calls the “law of missing imperatives.” It asks the question: what do the voters want that they are not getting from the incumbent? In 1968, American politics, especially the Democratic Party was in turmoil. Violence and unrest were prevalent, and the country seemed to be coming apart. So voters elected Richard Nixon, because they viewed him as a strong man who could bring order. He was also a moderate republican in the middle of the political spectrum.

In 1976 after the Watergate scandal, Americans felt lied to and betrayed by their president.  Polls showed the American public wanted morality. Along came Jimmy Carter who famously stated, “I will never lie to you” and won the election. Four years later in 1980, Carter had earned a reputation for being wishy-washy and indecisive. In response, the country now yearned for a strong decisive leader, and Ronald Reagan fit the bill.

We can apply this logic to each presidential election cycle. In 1992 Americans saw George Bush Sr. as out of touch with regular everyday people. Bill Clinton, on the other hand, played saxophone on the Arsenio Hall show and specialized in empathy. His ability to connect won him the White House. Most recently, in 2004, John Kerry ran on the platform of a strong ex-military veteran, someone capable of taking on the role of commander-in-chief. According to Schneider, Kerry read the times wrong. People felt like they had a strong commander-in-chief already and weren’t looking for someone to fill that role. While this type of analysis does oversimplify things and paint very broad strokes, there is some truth to it and it illustrates the importance of public opinion.

Mr. Schneider went on to talk about this year’s crop of candidates. One of the most unique things about Barack Obama is that he is an African-American politician who does not come from the civil rights movement. His perspective isn’t one of racial grievance, as others have had, and he’s not making it a part of his campaign. Obama is also running as an outsider, someone not tied to special interests or “politics as usual” in Washington. Schneider believes that Obama is in tune with the times and is aware that people want to be united. They are tired of the rampant partisan politics perpetrated by the Bush administration and are looking specifically for someone to bring them together. (Ironically, before being elected president George W. Bush said, “I’m a uniter, not a divider,” and then spent the next eight years doing the exact opposite.) Hillary Clinton is running on her experience. She delivers, Obama inspires. That is why the race for the Democratic nomination is so close. Both options are attractive.   

Mr. Schneider pointed out that while this election should be a sure thing for the Democratic Party, it is not. John McCain also offers a uniting policy. He is viewed as outside the Bush administration and has acted bi-partisan in the past. In order for the Democrats to win, they must paint a McCain presidency as if it would be Bush’s third term.

A dynamic speaker, Mr. Schneider was insightful and confident about his topic. If there was one take-away from his lecture it is that politicians must know their times and ignoring public opinion will cost them.

I miss Show and Tell. Getting together a roomful of people and learning about things that I wouldn't normally come across in my day-to-day life was a great part of being a kid. So, lets start it up again.

I've got a long backlog of things I'll never formally write about. But some of  'em are interesting and maybe--just maybe--someone else might find them interesting. So here are a few of mine:

• Tobias Wong
  Tobi executes dense concepts with incredible simplicity. These are approachable visually and compelling intellectually.
• Denis Wood
  A Raleigh native, Denis has been making maps of Boylan Heights and the surroundings since 1970. But they're not conventional maps by any means. Think: maps showing how light falls on the ground through the trees. Listen to a podcast on This American Life.
• WNYC's RadioLab
  RadioLab is incredible. I can't remember when I tuned in to a radio broadcast with so much enthusiasm. If you're an NPR listener, it's like This American Life but abstracted up to the level of the human condition. Listen to the "Musical Language" podcast to learn why people violently revolted to Stravinsky's The Rites of Spring.
• Peter Mendulsund Interview on Design:Related
  Great book cover designs, and the dialogue behind how they were made. What's better? Hunt out his portfolio to see the designs that didn't make it past the focus groups. Man, crowdthink can be so bad.
• TED Conferences
  My perennial favorite--and not simply because I don't have a TV that can net a signal. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design; the conferences were the  brainchild of Richard Saul Wurman. For you, skip the $8k entrance fee and watch them online. What do I suggest? Sir Ken Robinson's speech "Do Schools Kill Creativity" is a great appetizer. TED in its 2008 session right now, so subscribe to the vodcasts now and get the videos once they're edited.
• Del.icio.us tagged "Public Data"
  A meme started by John Udell, this is basically an effort to tag freely accessible, public data. Search this and use IBM's ManyEyes to make some spurious yet visually interesting analyses.
• Brooklyn Superhero Supply
  So, yeah, this is a front for Dave Eggers' writing group in NYC. But Dave is a the kind of writer that makes your eyes bug out and your teeth clench when you read his work. So it's cool. And he's got great design sense. BKLYN Superhero re-fronts the site of his writing group with all accoutrements necessary for waging a war against villainy. Need Speed of Light tonic? They got you covered.

 

Now you. What have you seen cool recently?

Remember Katrina? Remember Michael Chertoff? Remember Michael Brown? Of course you do. I remember a colossal failure of communications and flow control. And I remember hundreds of thousands of people displaced - millions more directly or indirectly affected by the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history. I cannot unequivocally condone or condemn the actions of any party involved, because I was not there. I can only report on what I saw and heard from my trusty media outlets, and, perhaps more credibly, from the handful of relocated friends I have since and often spoken with about the subject. But it's got me remembering something one wise man or another once told me: perception, my friends, is everything.

In the wake of Katrina, the U.S. government found itself with a PR belly ache of monumental proportions. Scapegoats were scrounged, press conferences called. Blame was at once gallantly accepted and deftly shifted. Contrite, demonstrative hierarchal shake-ups were laid at the feet of The People, in an unprecedented effort to save face. Did it work? Weeell... I don't think anyone has forgotten the dropped balls of August 2005, and poll numbers don't seem to show any trends of resounding confidence among Americans in their governmental agencies. But crisis management teams within these various agencies are now battle-tested, that's for sure.

If you Google the phrase "crisis management", you will find yourself confronted with a veritable who's-who of the fallen celebrities of our time. Michael Jackson, Lindsey, Britney, Michael Vick - politicians and dignitaries of all persuasion - all followed the same basic rules of engagement in attempting to restore their good name:

1) Immediately assess the situation, and clearly identify the depth and extent of your involvement.

2) State your position clearly and confidently to the press.

3) STOP talking about it, and quietly and contritely go about your business and wait for things to cool off.

4) Get to work rebuilding your image.

Now, I'm no public relations expert - though I do spend my workdays surrounded by them here at Capstrat - but I believe in the power of the apology. Will Michael Vick ever play in the NFL again? Too soon to tell. He's still working on rule 3, awaiting his court date. Will Britney ever reclaim her pop diva status? I'm starting to have my doubts; she seems to be having some trouble with rules 1 and 2. And where in the world is Lindsey?!? Looks like she finally decided to commit to the program (sorry, couldn't resist), and I find myself with nothing more to say about the subject. She's got a shot! And Michael...well, Michael just moved to Dubai, and the world keeps turning.

So I find myself here again, glued to CNN, awaiting the full-force rollout of the local, state and federal aid and reassurance that must surely be on its way to California. It IS coming, isn't it?? Surely it is. Lessons were learned. Inefficiencies eliminated. So why, then, do I have this nagging doubt? And, if aid comes pouring in from all directions in an unprecedented fount of good will and systemic lubrication to the seemingly homogenized hills of southern California, how is that going to sit with the poor souls still trying to piece together their lives in the Gulf Coast? I think perhaps I'm still looking for a little more of good ol' rule #1.