Don’t Be Albert Brooks!

All the extra hours at the office and at home this week came to a head today as many of my colleagues were out of the office at a client meeting in Judgement City. Actually, it was more than a meeting. We have spent the last couple of weeks preparing for our defense as our client (at the direction of someone else in the company) opened up the business to a variety of public relations firms. Thankfully, we not only have the knowledge and relationship to back us up but we have the results to demonstrate the work that we have put into this account over the past year.

Having previously met with this particular client and with everything that is swirling around in my life right now, we all agreed that I should stay at the office and make sure that someone was actively working on the account while we were also defending the business. It really was an odd feeling sitting at my desk and pitching another great story while my colleagues were making our case. However, no matter how unique the situation, I still had a job to do and so I put my head down and pushed like I have every other day of the year.

So during the middle of the meeting, I am sending emails to our client of the opportunities that have been secured and the interviews that have been requested. Nearly every person in the room was receiving the same email demonstrating another successful product launch as the challenges were fielded in a small conference room. We all had a job to do today and frankly I am glad that I was back in the office doing what I know how to do best… getting media coverage.  

While this is going on I could help but think of Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life. Actually, it is more along the lines of the Meryl Streep character in that movie when everyone knows that she lived a full life without fear but she still has to go through the process and stand trial anyway. While I certainly would have liked to have achieved more over the past year (this is the common disease that every successful person and firm in this industry shares), the work that we did get done could not have been matched by another firm.

The meeting is over and soon the week will be coming to an end. Now we wait for the decision while we continue pitching, scheduling, and producing the results that we have been since the relationship began. After all, this process is nothing new and we still have a job to do.

Shifting Priorities

When a door closes pick another one to open!

Yesterday was a hectic day at the office. Really nothing earth shattering in that statement. That pretty much sums up every day at work for me. But yesterday was a little different than most as it left me scrambling to adjust my list of priorities for the foreseeable future. Every PR firm has clients come and go. It is the nature of the business and something that is to be expected. While I prefer the former, the latter can sometimes free up some much needed time to ramp up other projects for other clients.

However, I absolutely hate seeing a client go especially when the business/product is something unique that is certainly going to continue to be a huge success. While there seems to be specific reasons for every client departure they vary greatly from company to company. The only thing we can do is make sure that things are taken care of on our end so that if the company does move on we can look at the decision as something that is out of our control.

I have seen and heard all different kinds of ‘reasons’. Sometimes it is a shift into a new direction, sometimes is a personal connection/contact they have with another firm, sometimes it is a matter of style. It all comes down to the fact that while from the outside PR can seem like an industry that is impersonal and monotonous or, more precisely described to me, “a business of repetitive acts both in form and practice” that really doesn’t come close to what we really do. Some have even said that it is easy.

For those that have any experience in the industry know just how personal this business can be if you truly invest in your work. Most days it is a one on one discussion during which you get to know the person on the other end of the phone, table, or computer screen. At the same time you are trying to bring them along on the story you are trying to tell. If you believe in your clients, you enjoy talking to people, and you respect the publications you are reaching out to this can be a very personal process.

A certain amount of pride and appreciation is experienced with every placement not because your name is anywhere in the text (as a PR professional you don’t want your name anywhere near the text) but because you have done your job and got the story out into the world. You do it for the client. The same can be said when you produce content for a client and you craft the messaging in such a way that grabs someone’s interest while hitting all the points that need to be addressed.

I guess this is why the creative side of me enjoys this field as much as it does. While there are undoubtedly routines in my day (like any industry or occupation) there is a tremendous amount of creative freedom and personality that, when applied properly, can produce exceptional results. And it is because this is such a personal profession for me I hate the few times I have experienced when a client has left. But when that does happen, as it just has, it does allow me to share that passion with another company and gives me the excuse to get to know a completely new group of people. So I guess you could say that it is both a really good and really bad situation but I am going to do my best to focus on the positive.

Processes and Common Sense

Not all steps are this easy to see.

Everything I do during my day has its own distinct process. Whether I am at work, in the lodge office, or simply writing a blog post everything is done in its own way with its own set of steps. Some of these processes are pretty clear cut like pitching a story to the media while others are a bit more obtuse.

Many of my workday activities are rather regimented. Well, at least that is how I keep myself organized. I know the basic structures of different projects and forms and know how things need to be arranged to make sense for various companies and publications. I know the basic bullet points that need to be addressed and I know the steps that need to be taken when pitching, proposing, and revising.

There are also other times when what seems simple is actually something with numerous unseen steps that need to be taken in order to achieve the desired result. The majority of projects that I must complete on a regular basis for the lodge fall into this category. While at times it can test my patience a bit, it is an understandable process that needs to occur to ensure that everything is carried out the way it should be and any errors are caught early in the process. Even some of the most basic communications where dissemination seems obvious needs to be handled in the right way.

The creative process is something that I can’t really say has steps. At least in my case it is something that just seems to happen. It is a thought process that just happens. You could start with a basic questions like “what’s for dinner?” and end up somewhere around monkey monkey underpants (some of you will get the reference). Even when coming up with pitches or work related blogs, the same ‘unique’ process applies. I have tried to distill this process into steps but my mind simply won’t let me put it on paper. With that said, I have taught enough lessons to know how to spark the creative process but where that takes someone is completely up to them.

Most of my work flows in and out of the creative process which, at times can be tiring but as long as I properly manage the tide I am usually able to keep things going day in and day out. However, sometimes it is good to step away from the process for a few moments which is why I like working with my hands and putting thing together. I also like traveling and exploring because it is a matter of observance rather than creation. Even the act of studying is relaxing for me as the process begins and ends with facts.

However, the common thread across all my ‘jobs’ is that of common sense. I have seen many people attempt each of my daily duties in one form or another and have tried to do so with limited or no common sense. Smart people but they floundered in their rigid habits and lack of comprehension. It just goes to show that life and experience can’t be found in a textbook or in a set of instructions. You need to apply your mind, your personality, your own processes, and your experiences to your job(s). Without those basic applications, you are bound to find yourself a best confused and if someone is really out of touch they will find themselves without a professional home.

A Little Vocus Variety

I have been on Vocus for about a week now and I have received some interesting emails. To give you some idea of the variety that I am talking about, here are a few of the subject lines that have popped up in my email:  

• Interview Husband and Wife Team / Balancing Love, Marriage, and (Fictional) Bondage
• Newest DJH Hostel in Germany is also Ultra-Modern Sports and Conference Center for Top-notch Group Programs at Value Prices
• Art Basel week editorial request

See, I wasn’t lying, that is a very diverse sample. While the above emails didn’t pique my interest I still give the people sending them credit for reaching out to the blogging community to try and get coverage. I wish them the best and I am intrigued as to what they will send me next.

On the other side of things, there were two emails that registered a bit of interest. On titled “Adventure story teaches families about safe pet travel practices” was a bit off for what I usually write about but the publicists in this instance was sending out advanced copies and I am willing to give it a shot. What the heck, I at least might get some random jeopardy knowledge out of it.

The other email that actually had me eager to try the product came with the subject line “Photographers Track Valuable Cameras with GPS Locator Locca”. The tiny GPS tracking devise looked like something that I might use and that I am pretty sure would be of interest to some of you so I immediately sent an email to see if I could try it out. Well… that didn’t work as they aren’t sending them out at the moment which is a shame because I was excited to test it out. Oh well, I guess I won’t be writing about this product beyond this paragraph (that is still being debated).



Because it was the most interesting product pitched
I am posting a picture.

As you can see, so far there have been a few emails that really got me interested and a lot that have kept me entertained many of which have not been included because I just wanted to highlight a few. The one thing that these people have in common is there willingness to get the story out and pitch. And while, as of tonight, I doubt I will write about any of the current emails I am certain that at least a few are in the works and will be hitting my email shortly which will require a dedicated post.

Until then, they will keep pitching, and I will keep working on both sides of the mirror.

Hello Vocus!

Photo taken in Jim Thorpe, PA by my wife during our trip in June.

Today I made a decision that could change the future of this blog. You could say it was a “through the looking glass” kind of day when I decided to get this blog listed on Vocus. The hope is that I might be able to introduce a whole different world of opportunities because of it. When writing and posting every day it all comes down to having something to write about. This is one way to have some stories come to me which is why I might be able to expand upon the subject matter and maybe introduce some new topics.

I have worked with this service for a number of years now and the lists that it provides are an excellent way to find new reporters and bloggers. However, this is my first foray being on the other side of the screen. The years that I have used the site have been while working in public relations (which I still do) and now I am the one, potentially, being pitched. Actually, I am kind of on both sides of the equation.

For those of you unfamiliar with Vocus here is the basic summary from the company’s about page:

Vocus (NASDAQ: VOCS) provides leading cloud-based marketing and PR software plus consulting services enabling companies to acquire and retain customers. The company offers an all-in-one suite of applications and consulting services to help clients attract and engage prospects, capture and keep customers, and measure and improve marketing effectiveness. More than 17,000 annual subscription customers across a wide variety of industries use Vocus software. The company is headquartered in Beltsville, MD with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. 

Furthermore, the reason public relations professional use the service is because it allows them to “Connect with journalists and bloggers, send press releases, monitor news, reach influencers, and measure and share your results. Vocus PR Suite is designed to help marketing and PR pros increase their influence and tell their story online, across social networks and through the media.” While most PR/media interactions are relationship based (or should be) there is no getting around the fact that sometimes cold pitching has to be done. That is the nature of the business.

Moving forward this will certainly be a balancing act between my professional life and my personal writing life. I will be sending pitches and, hopefully, fielding them as well. Fortunately, the topics that I have covered thus far in the blog and topics I hope to introduce are completely different from the ones that I represent when on the other side of the mirror.

However, I think the most interesting, important, and beneficial thing that could, in theory, come from this development is the fact that being able to see a story from both sides can only help me both in my writing and with my professional career. Knowing how people on both sides of the pitch feel about the process is something that too few people understand and I am looking forward to experiencing that interplay. I am hoping for an interesting ride.

When The Alarm Doesn’t Work…

My schedule on Tuesday was one that no one who values sleep would look forward to. After getting off from my night shift I was going to change and head to the office with the goal of getting there around 10:00 AM. I was going to leave around 2:30 or 3:00 so that I could sleep for a two to three hours before heading off to the lodge for a 7:30 meeting. If I was lucky things would go quickly and I would be able to catch another hour or two before heading back to work at midnight.

Well… that didn’t happen. The day started off in the right way as I got to work about 15 minutes early and starting addressing a few things on my list right away. However, by the end of the morning I was in the midst of pitching and the schedule was looking optimistic to say the least.

Having found a good point to take a breather in the middle of the afternoon I got in the car and headed back to the apartment. Maybe the schedule could be redeemed…. My mind would have none of that. Throughout the drive home I kept thinking about whether I was missing emails and who I needed to follow up with right away.

By the time I got to Bala Cynwyd, I was wide awake so I went into the office, got my computer out, and started sending out and responding to emails. I thought I had only stopped to work for a minute or two but when I glanced at the clock it was already 4:30 and my energy immediately left my body as if carried off by a sudden breeze. It was time to sleep so I set my alarm for seven, got into bed, and said good bye to the world within a minute of my head hitting the pillow.

The next thing I half remember is my wife coming home around eight, saying something about missing lodge, and reaching for my phone which had not moved since I fell asleep. I don’t even remember if I responded. Fortunately, when she reached for the phone she reset my alarm so that I could get up for work in another three hours. I hate missing meetings but sometimes your body simply vetoes your plans and that was the case last night.

It was probably the best thing for me but it still annoys me that I wasn’t able to pull through this week without any alterations to my schedule. At least now it’s a short term problem as my last weekday shift is tonight. Finally, I get to live, work, and feel like a human being again. Something I have been looking forward to for a long time.  

Back To Basics

It had been a long time since I wrote a pitch and dialed reporters and heading into this week my nerves were making themselves known. I don’t know why it is. I guess it is just a simple fact of time off playing with my mind and the trials of the last year swimming in the shallow end of the gray matter.

While it took me a few minutes to collect the words and summarize the press release into the pitch after that it was second nature to me. Some things you just don’t forget how to do. I even felt more comfortable than in previous experiences in just talking to editors and reporters rather than trying to pitch them.

I think that, in the end, the time off was good for me. Time away from the industry spent in various other sales and customer service roles has made me better at what I love to do. Those jobs have enhanced my passion for my career and they have helped me to hone the lesser of my skills to the point that I am able to feel an instant confidence in the office.

I still question things from time to time but that is simply a matter of getting back into a routine and learning a new process of how things are preferred at my new company.  It is much like someone who knows how to write but has to adjust to using AP rather than MLA. You get the gist of it right away but sometimes you find yourself falling into an old pattern.

The main thing however is that I am happy to work on things and adjust my approach. There will always be things that I can improve upon but nothing I can’t work on. In fact, I am looking forward to long days at the office. It is amazing the things that you miss when you have been away for so long.

A week into the new job and despite the transition period I am in at the moment as I finish up my nights at the front desk I am excited to stay up and go to the office. I gladly sacrifice sleep for the feeling of comfort and belonging that I experience doing the work. Speaking of work, it is now time to walk around the corner and knock out another shift. Only four to go but I’m not counting.