Now, we do have solid news reporting in Oklahoma. I’ve worked with television media across the state (yes, there is TV news outside the metro) and I’ve met some of the most professional and ethical journalists in Oklahoma television. They do a great job of keeping us informed. But, ONR does something that no one else does; it focuses on Oklahoma state government like a laser. If you want to know what happened at the State Capitol, ONR is the newscast to watch. By cutting their budget by 9 percent, we have shut the door on the voters of Oklahoma.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “An enlightened citizenry is indepsensable for the proper functioning of a republic.” These words are just as true today when we live in an age where we are hit with more information from more sources than we can process.

The loss of a nightly newscast like ONR leaves a big hole in the Oklahoma television news landscape. And what happens next year if budgets are cut even more? Will we lose the one hour of television that informs us about our state government better than anyone? And what about the rest of OETA, are we willing to trade great shows like Nova and Fantastic Tulsa Films for more shows about New Jersey?

If we’re going to cut OETA, and threaten to cut great radio like NPR, I have a suggestion. Since the Food and Drug Administration has released graphic new warning labels for cigarettes (http://huff.to/lWJOQ2), why not show a graphic warning of rotting brains before anyone can watch the Kardashians, Donald Trump or anything on VH1? Or, we can pick up a pen or a laptop and write the decision makers and tell them to bring back ONR and protect our public television, while we can still see what they’re doing and who they are.

The firm, which describes itself as a, “holistic communications firm,” has given everyone who works for them new titles that reflect their, “model of holistic engagement.” No longer are there Account Executives and Vice Presidents. Now everyone will have one of four titles: Strategists, Connectors, Creators and Catalysts.

Now, I’ve had a lot of titles throughout my career; intern, specialist, manager and owner. I’ve seen people launch office campaigns to destroy their co-workers that would make Sun Tzu blush. I’ve watched people spin Machiavellian webs of lies and duplicity that make me exhausted just following the intrigue. And now I’ve seen whole, sorry, “holistic” PR firms simply change everyone’s titles in hopes of changing the game itself. But, in all these years only once or twice have I ever seen someone do the one simple thing that will ensure a fancy title…the work.

Titles look good on an office door and impressive on a business card and they stake ones claim in an organizational chart like an animal marking its territory. But they don’t give you experience, only the perception of it. I’ve been called a manager and never managed anyone and I’ve been called a specialist and ran an office, among other things. I’ve sat and watched people make up a title for me and I’ve since forgotten what it was. But a title isn’t what you do; it’s just what your employer calls you. It’s a placeholder for the HR department. The work, that’s what matters. Do you meet deadlines, do you get your clients coverage, do you raise their profile, and does this publicity bring people through the front door?

When I worked for the government each title came with a job description and at the end of each job description there was a line that read, “and other duties as assigned.” It was that line that made all the difference. It gave me the ability to do things that were beyond (and sometimes beneath) my title. Yes, I hauled file cabinets across town in a suit and tie in the pouring rain. But, I also produced hours of videos and commercials that were not in my job description. I cleaned out closets (again in a suit and tie) and hauled exhibits across the state (no tie) and held the boom mic during video shoots and stood on chairs holding the flash during photo shoots. I put in the work, and in doing so, I learned a lot that my title alone didn’t afford me.

Instead of putting in the time to come up with creative titles like “catalyst” and “connector” or selling clients on a “holistic” approach, or worrying about titles at all, those of us in PR would be better served by simply putting in the work. Because of all the things I’ve been called, my favorite is when a client called me, “the best thing we’ve ever spent money on.”

According to a recent study by the Federal Communications Commission (http://nyti.ms/jvTF6W) these papers, and others like them across the country, are disappearing. All the while, online news sources are increasing. I can’t help but think of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, “Water Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink.”

No doubt there are those who don’t think the loss of local news is such a bad thing. I mean, what could the Broken Arrow Ledger tell us that Anderson Cooper can’t? Is there anything worth reading in the Elk City Daily News that’s not on Gawker? And though I don’t remember the town, I remember that day’s headline was about a local resident that turned 98 years old and how most of the town turned out for her birthday party at the First Baptist Church. It was then that I realized the true power of local news. If you want to find out what’s happening in Broken Arrow or Elk City or Muskogee or Edmond for that matter, there’s only one place to go, the local paper.

You see, each town is like a microcosm of news, a biosphere of information. And if you want to inform the residents of that town, sure, you can try television or the Internet, but the one sure-fire way to get their attention is a story in their local paper.

I consider myself very lucky to have traveled Oklahoma as much as I have throughout my career in public relations. And I always grabbed a local paper and brought it back to the office. I read it, and then put it in a stack and proudly cluttered my office with them, to the aggravation of my co-workers. But those talks with small-town editors in coffee shops, old downtown store fronts and even old houses taught me a lot. It made me realize that, yes, what’s going on in Congress is important. And there are those that think the same thing about Paris Hilton or the cast of Twilight. But to the people who get up every day and plow the fields and run the drugstore counters and teach class in the old WPA school buildings, the latest political scandal is neat and all, but the real question is, what time is the homecoming parade before the game because the kids have worked so hard on the floats and I want to take pictures.

Through social media we are now more connected than ever and the world is getting smaller. Unfortunately we don’t seem to be using these tools in the same innovative, hopeful and future-shaping ways that technology companies portray in their commercials. No, the sleek, progressive world of people reaching out across the globe to share ideas and make the world a better place will have to wait, for we have to snap pics of our naughty bits.

But what do we expect? When D.W. Griffith released Birth of a Nation in 1915, he used the new technology of film to turn racists into heroes. And nearly 100 years later we’ve grown, matured and evolved to create masterpieces like…Human Centipede?

Are we doomed to a future full of nightly news stories about how some politician sent an intern a 3-D, holographic video of his, well, you know? The answer is a confident, yes! Robert Browning instructed us to reach for that which is just out of our grasp. And we will keep doing so. As fast as Silicon Valley can crank out new technology, we will continue to use it for amateur porn. But, we’ll always be striving to be the person in the commercial, Skyping with a fellow human in the mountains of Tibet or the jungles of South America, merging our ideas, creating a new, better world for our children…and TMZ.

If it weren’t for the fact that there are people who not only still use it, but actually believe it, “just business” would be a tired cliché with no more weight than “counting your chickens” or “don’t put off until tomorrow.” But unlike a lot of clichés that have at least a grain of truth to them, “it’s just business” is true only to the person uttering it. It’s an excuse; a justification for doing something that they know will not only exclusively benefit them, but hurt others as well. And in that respect there’s something sociopathic about the phrase. It excuses the user, in their eyes at least, of moral responsibility and social conscience. They are, in a sense, forgiving themselves for their own transgression.

And, in the social media driven, interconnected world we live in today, businesses have an opportunity to build better relationships with their customers and clients. And the ability to interact with the public one-on-one goes both ways. Never before have businesses had an opportunity to build these kinds of relationships with their customers. Never before has business been so…personal.

“It’s not personal, it’s just business” should be a red flag, a warning to anyone who hears it. It not only says, “don’t trust this person” it also says, “this person is completely out of touch.” Like many, I hope that this phrase, and the people who use it and believe in it, will soon become obsolete. And in the years to come there will be a new phrase, “Oh, it’s personal…it’s business!”

What do you think is missing from public relations/communications major programs today?
I’m continually surprised at the lack of focus on the 4-step process. It’s the basis of everything we do as professionals, so why isn’t it the basis of every PR course. I realize you can’t assign a full-blown campaign for every single class, but you can and should design assignments to employ the 4-step process. The 4-step process can be applied to anything. I 4-step process my grocery list.

When it comes to professional development in public relations, social media rules the conversation. But, on campus, it’s not really a part of the standard curriculum. What are your thoughts on this lack of balance?
In general hands-on tech skills are lacking in our curriculum. There simply aren’t enough hours in an undergraduate program to teach every skill you might need. Unfortunately, we can’t revamp curriculum each year to evolve with the industry’s landscape. It changes too fast. Today it is social media; tomorrow it will be something new.

You have to take control of your own education. Just because it’s not on your degree sheet doesn’t mean it’s not important. Use electives to round out your skills, take a course in graphic design, photography or web editing. Stay active in on-campus clubs like PRSSA or Women in Communications. They often host great sessions on trending topics.

I tell students who are interested in software like InDesign and PhotoShop to look for a class at Career Tech. You’ll learn a lot very quickly because vocational curriculum is generally focused on skill development. Workshops and conferences are great for staying current on quickly changing technology like social media. Few students take advantage of these, but there are often special rates for students.

What do you think graduates entering the field of public relations are most unprepared for and why?
I meet a lot of college students who have never held a job and they are unprepared for the realities of working. Any job—waiter, cashier, child care—teaches you valuable interpersonal skills. You learn (hopefully!) how to appropriately communication with co-workers and superiors, provide customer service and develop a professional demeanor.

In addition to the soft skills, there are the basics of working life: filling out a time card, dealing with payroll, negotiating and adhering to a work schedule. A new boss doesn’t want to waste time teaching you these things. Being unfamiliar with these simple life skills is like graduating college and not being able to tie your shoes.

In working with students, what do you see in the next generation of PR practitioners that makes you hopeful, as well as worried?
Anytime we discuss a “generation” we’re making broad generalizations, so I’ll preface this answer by saying I’ve worked with Millennials who were nothing like this and I’ve worked with plenty who were exactly like this.

I think a real strength of the Millennial generation is their empathy. Compared to previous generations, at their age Millennials seem to be better at recognizing not everyone thinks, feels and believes that same way. It’s strength as a communicator and makes them excellent at message development.

On the other hand, I think older (even slightly so) supervisors and co-workers often see Millennials as risk-adverse and immature for their age. These young workers are hungry for more responsibility, but good luck convincing your supervisor to hand over budgeting of a major project when you still live at home and don’t even pay your own phone bill.

How important is an internship?
Internships are the perfect way to test drive different styles of PR. There are so many sectors to our industry—agency, non-profit, in-house, government, etc.—and each is a little different. Internships give you the opportunity to discover where your strengths and interests really lie. You might be surprised.

With the job market more competitive than ever, I think every student should seek out some sort of experience to supplement their coursework. That can be a traditional internship, volunteer work or the student newspaper. All these will help you develop skills and build years of experience to help land that first job.

What small piece of advice would you give students majoring in Public Relations?
If you don’t love to write go ahead and find something different now. PR pros write. We write a lot. We write proposals, features, press releases, web content, ad copy, invitations, pitches and the list goes on. If the idea of spending many of your days writing makes your eye glaze over, you’re in the wrong place.

If you enjoy writing and you enjoy communicating with people, if you love to inspire other people to share a passion, then you may have found your niche.

Cain has worked in Public Relations at OSU for the past 12 years. She has also served as the PRSA Liaison for the OSU student chapter of PRSA.

Now, there are no doubt those in public relations who are currently making sweeping generalizations and passing judgment from their corner offices, while others are waiting until this crisis is in our collective rearview mirror to dazzle us with their hindsight. And since I’m not a member of Kenneth Cole Productions PR team, and therefore, not privy to the information it has, I’ll refrain from adding my two cents on what it can/should do to weather this storm.

Instead, I’d like to do something different; I’d like to take a snapshot of this PR crash as it happens. We don’t know how it will end or the extent of the damage to the brand, but there are some observations we can make and myths we can dispel that will help us all to remember how quickly and easily things can get out of control, as well as the value of sound PR counsel and brand management.

Let’s look at what happened. On February 3rd, Kenneth Cole’s official company Twitter feed posted this message: “Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available at broken link – KC”

Cole later posted an apology on both Twitter and Facebook.

What can we take from this?

It was a brilliant PR stunt to draw attention to a flagging brand:
Kenneth Cole has built a fashion empire on overpriced watches and novelty cufflinks. But, in recent years, the public has rejected their clothes, as well as their square toed shoes. Kenneth Cole is scheduled to close eight stores in 2011 (including its flagship store in New York) in addition to the eight stores it shuttered in 2010. Furthermore, Kenneth Cole Productions is also being eyed by investors and competitors who want to purchase the once strong clothing company at a very low price.

To say that this was a brilliant PR stunt is not entirely a bad idea, though it’s not likely. Other companies have used this “gun to their own head” type of stunt in recent years (see: Gap Logo Change). However, since Kenneth Cole has spent millions of dollars building a brand image in the minds of a target audience -; young, liberal professionals, the idea of making light of the values of their target audience is a really bad idea.

For example, in 2009 Habitat, a British furniture store, attempted a similar stunt by linking their tweets to the Iranian protests happening at the time. That stunt, which was thought out (though not well) backfired in a spectacular fashion.

A more likely explanation? According to the official Kenneth Cole Twitter page, all tweets ending in “KC” are said to be from Kenneth Cole himself, so it’s very possible that this wasn’t the misfire of some corporate social media director, but an actual real-time foot-in-mouth statement from the founder himself.

Kenneth Cole Will Bounce Back Because People Will Forgive Him:
This is a possibility, but maybe only for the brand itself. This may be what loses Mr. Cole control of his own company, forcing him to sell it off. Following the twitter fiasco, his San Francisco store was “vandalized” with a window decal of the actual tweet (http://huff.to/h9OYjS). Additionally, employing a social media poetic justice, someone has taken a page from the BP Global PR spoof (@BPGlobalPR) to create a fake Twitter account (http://twitter.com/BPGlobalPR#) that mocks the designer and his brand. Forgiveness may take awhile – especially when every branding mis-step lingers indefinitely on Twitter, Facebook and Google.

But what’s just as disturbing as the tweet, is the sloppy brand management of Kenneth Cole by Kenneth Cole himself. Building a brand is no small task. It takes a lot of time, money, patience and discipline. When done well, it can make your brand strong, almost invincible. For some great examples, look to Nike, Salvation Army and Hallmark to see how a good, solid brand is build and maintained.

As for a sloppy, weak brand, when was the last time you bought a new pair of Reeboks, or made plans to eat at Wendy’s? And can anyone tell me the tagline for Chrysler, which has become more famous for its bailout than its cars. Quick, can you name a new (or old) Chrysler model? I didn’t think so. These are examples of brands that somehow have limped along with one foot in the grave and may not be around for our children to ignore like we do.

Any Publicity is Good Publicity So This Won’t Hurt Kenneth Cole:
To this statement I always have the same response. “Really? Try it!” Seriously, if you really think all publicity is the same, then I recommend you go out and do something really stupid and see what happens. And not something small, like, cutting the tag off your mattress. I mean something big and stupid and public like get a DUI or punch a baby or bilk your financial clients out of billions of dollars, you know, really dumb stuff. Then see how people react.

It’s doubtful that a few apologies posted on social media and Kenneth Cole’s website will put this fire out for good, especially in a world where every consumer has a voice. It’s likely that we’ll see more apologies and maybe some action on the part of Kenneth Cole to try and fix this (maybe a donation to Amnesty International?). What will happen to Kenneth Cole in the long run? Only time will tell how much damage 140 characters can actually do to a brand, but so far, it’s looking as ugly as those square toed shoes.

What’s a common mistake you see business owners make when they take that first big step in marketing their business?

One mistake that many business owners make is trying to market their product or service without a plan. I have seen many business owners spend thousands of dollars purchasing advertising from every sales person who walks in their door without knowing if the advertising will even bring in customers or not. Trying to market a business without a plan is like shooting in the dark.

For growing, successful businesses the most important first step is to decide what makes their business unique. What do they offer than no one else has to offer? Once they have a “Unique Selling Position” they can decide who needs their product or service and then develop the right strategy to connect their product or service with their potential customers.

Small businesses, especially new small businesses, are hit from all sides with solicitations for everything from magazine ad buys to yellow pages listings. What advice would you give these small businesses owners on how to deal with and sift through all of these solicitations?

When a salesperson walks into the door of a business, they are usually armed with statistics, discounts, features and benefits of their product. Understandably, their loyalty is to their company. How do you sift through their “sales pitch” to decide what is best for you? The best way is to have a Marketing Plan so that you are in control. A Plan eliminates doubt and confusion and helps the business owner establish goals with a clear path to reach them. Hiring a consultant to develop a Plan can keep a business owner from spending excessive amounts of money with little or no return.

With the rise of digital and mobile technology, advertising is now split between the traditional (television, radio, print) and the new (web, mobile, social media, geo-tagging, etc.). What kind of challenges does this pose to business owners trying to make decisions on where their marketing budget should be spent?

Not all advertising mediums reach the same audience. A big mistake some business owners make is “dabbling” in a little bit of everything not realizing that their potential customers don’t listen to the radio or don’t read the newspaper or don’t use social media. Savvy business owners decide who needs/wants their particular service or product and then they find out how that group of people gets their information. These results can then be used to develop an advertising plan that will be successful in reaching their target audience.

Some on Madison Avenue argue that digital isn’t even a new medium, but rather a new way of doing things. Even if this is true, don’t the same rules of brand building apply regardless of whether an ad buy is with NBC or Facebook?

That’s right…the same rules apply across the board when it comes to brand building. The basic questions are the same for all types of businesses:

1. What makes you unique? What is your Unique Selling Position?
2. Who do you want to reach with your Unique Selling Position?
3. What advertising tools are best for reaching those potential customers?

If you do not have a Marketing Plan that answers these questions, you may be wasting time and valuable resources. Hiring a consultant to develop a Marketing Plan is a wise decision for any business, no matter the size.

Anita Kelley is a marketing expert with more than 20 years of experience in business development, strategic planning and client relationship management with a proven record for increasing her client’s Return on Investment. Find out more about what she can do for you at:
www.AnitaKelleyConsulting.com

 What inspired you to become involved with Susan G. Komen for the Cure?

 I was working at News 9 at the time.  The station was a sponsor of the event and I was in our booth greeting race participants when I saw a little boy, probably about two years old, walking with his dad.  He had a sign pinned to his shirt that said “In Memory of his Mother”.  It broke my heart.  I knew then I wanted to do more.  I didn’t want another child to lose a parent to this deadly disease.

 Susan G. Komen for the Cure has grown its pink ribbon campaign to iconic status, with everything from pocket knives to pudding sporting pink ribbons and motifs.  Do you think the movement has become too big? 

 No, never.  Every 69 seconds, a woman dies from breast cancer somewhere in the world.  Until that statistic is every 69 seconds a woman in the world is cured of breast cancer, the movement to create awareness about breast cancer can’t get big enough.

 According to estimates from the Prostate Cancer Foundation, nearly 218,000 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer this year.  While the American Cancer Society estimates show more than 207,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

Why do you think education about prostate cancer hasn’t received the kind of public support that breast cancer awareness has? 

 I don’t think the education hasn’t been received, I think every cancer is different and has different symptoms.  For breast cancer, the most typical symptom is a lump in a breast.  If a person does a self breast exam each month, they are more likely to find a lump early.  For prostate cancer, there isn’t a self exam.  According to cancer.gov, men have to have a doctor perform screenings or get a blood test.  The site goes on to say that most of the time prostate cancer doesn’t start to show symptoms until it has already spread beyond the prostate.  I’m not a doctor but, I would recommend that each time a woman gets her yearly mammogram she has the men in her life get a prostate exam.

 With so many causes competing for public attention and funding, what challenges and opportunities do you see in educating the public?  Is social media the only new frontier, or is there something new on the horizon? 

 There are always challenges.  To me the biggest challenges are educating women and getting women screened.  But, we are overcoming those challenges day by day through grants.   The Central Oklahoma Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure gave out over half a million dollars in locals grants for free screenings, mammograms, and education. 

 As for opportunities on the horizon, there are so many.  Social media is one of the opportunities.  It is helping to reach a larger number of people, especially a younger demographic.  I am hearing about more and more young women working to spread awareness about this disease.  I recently heard of a 13 year old girl in Miami, Oklahoma wanting to color her hair pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  She is just 13 and already educating people on the importance of early detection.  And, the way technology changes everyday, it’s just the beginning. 

 Angel Jackson is an Oklahoma City native with  more than 15 years experience working in radio, television, advertising and public relations.