Ms. InterPReted: Recent Episodes
Fletcher Marketing + PR
Public Relations stands as one of the most misunderstood, misinterpreted areas of business and organizational management. With Fletcher Marketing PR Founder and CEO Kelly Fletcher and Senior Strategist Mary Beth West, we’re here to turn around PR’s own bad PRess, cut through the nomenclature, and demystify public relations as the best pathway to create, grow and amplify the roots of positive management, communications, culture and careers -- for success that matters.
The past few years have been tumultuous in the journalism industry. From shrinking newsrooms, fragmentation, audience mistrust, COVID and other global crisis. Muckrack conducted its annual survey of more than 1,000 journalists to assess the state of journalism in 2022.
Greg Gallant is the co-founder and CEO of Muckrack and speaks on the company's annual report.
Greg talks about his career as an entrepreneur and how he navigated a career from philosophy to what he does now.
"Once you get to any meaningful scale, the number one job of being an entrepreneur or a CEO.
Is communicating ideas boiling down what's happening in the world and coming up with kind of a way to explain it and a way to position your company to be relevant."
Some key findings from the report:
Journalists are busier than ever and are covering more beats than ever before.
Journalists are more likely to respond to pitches in 2022 than they were in 2021.
Journalists feel trust from the public is improving.
Twitter is the go-to social media platform for journalists. But that's not where they want to get their pitches!
Greg offers some tips about how to use Twitter to connect with journalists and how to make authentic connections.
Greg addresses the gender gap in journalism and what his company is doing to combat the issue.
Finally, Kelly and Greg talk about leading in a remote world and the transition to remote work.
Melanie White, executive vice president of Virgin Experience Gifts, shares insights from the experiential gifting field about where the market is headed and how Virgin experience gifts is leading the way in the U.S. market.
Among her remarks:
- Melanie left her successful career in the fashion industry to find her "why" and search for something more meaningful. She talks about how providing curated experiences to enrich peoples' lives has been fulfilling.
- Virgin Experience Gifts is seeking to lead the way in forging the concept of experiential gifting: providing specially curated, experiential gift-giving that people can purchase for a friend, colleague or loved one.
- The COVID pandemic has left Americans with a pent-up desire for travel and adventure. This is helping Virgin Experience Gifts and experiential gifting succeed despite the pandemic.
- Woman are some of the top customers, buying experiences for spouses, friends and children.
- Millennials and Gen Z are driving the trend toward experiences over traditional "things" as gifts.
- Consumers are incredibly diverse. Virgin Experience Gifts is tapping into this diversity by offering experiences across the spectrum on price point and interest.
- Experiential gifting is not only more meaningful and unique, but it's also sustainable. Americans are attracted to a more minimal approach to acquiring stuff, and helping to eliminate the clutter.
- Virgin Experience Gifts sees their platform as a major opportunity for providers, destinations and retail labels. Virgin Experience Gifts could be a low-risk sales platform for them and a source of referral.
- Virgin Experience Gifts as a brand is in a hyper growth phase and sees big things on the horizon in the coming years.
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR:
- Post your questions and comments about the podcast, via #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Virgin Experience Gifts on Twitter: @VirginExpGifts
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Allison Lester -- director of media relations for Fletcher Marketing PR -- shares insights on transitioning from the pressures and challenges of years working in a media newsroom environment to the front lines of PR strategy and media relations execution for a PR firm.
Among her remarks:
- How deadline-driven environments of the newsroom differ from deadlines / workload in PR
- Ways in which lifestyle / work-life balance stresses differ on the two "sides," particularly given the pandemic
- What "pet peeves" she encountered from PR firms back in her newsroom days
- Aspects of pitching for topical / timing relevance to be realistic and newsroom-friendly
- What it means to deliver for clients on media relations content and availability
- Best-practices in media contact-development
- Practical considerations (such as lead times) that build parameters around what a news outlet will (or even can) cover
- How to "turn lemons to lemonade" when media rejection of a pitch can still present a relationship-building opportunity with a reporter
- Differences between needs / opportunities for newsrooms working across different formats (print, broadcast, digital)
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR:
- Post your questions and comments about the podcast, via #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Allison Lester on Twitter: @ALesterTN
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Business development for any company (or fund-raising and audience engagement in the non-profit sector) can be driven extensively through sharing the heart, soul and mind of the brand.
Podcasting has emerged as one of the top conduits for sharing brand voice in the competitive marketplace of ideas, through owned-media platforms that brands can directly curate and control.
Chris Hill shares with Kelly and Mary Beth his production recommendations as well as marketing strategies, to help those with something to say in the podcasting space to be successful, in building a podcast from the ground-up.
Discover HumblePod:
- Website: https://www.humblepod.com/about/
- Twitter: @Humblepod https://twitter.com/HumblePod
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR:
- Post your questions and comments about the podcast, via #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
In this episode, Kelly and Mary Beth discuss their PR Industry Predictions for 2022, including:
- How the PR agency business model's pandemic-driven shifts have impacted the industry
- Why the U.S. PR industry is on a particularly troublesome ethics track -- much of it self-inflicted and further exacerbated by apathy ... particularly in light of disappointing choices and lack of truth / transparency by the domestic PR association -- PRSA
- Ways that workforce recruitment strains between talent availability, rising payroll demands and follow-on COVID waves will impact budgets
- Implications of recent industry reports:
- Public Relations & Communications Association (PRCA-UK) (London):
- https://www.prca.org.uk/PR-industry-roars-back-2021-PRCA-UK-Census
- International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) World Report:
- https://iccopr.com/services/world-reports/download-our-2020-2021-report/
- Public Relations & Communications Association (PRCA-UK) (London):
- Whether the PR, media and journalism sectors will ever join forces to stave off systemic public-trust root-rot driving disinformation
- How the Diversity conversation will continue as a merry-go-round until the industry and respective associations set a definitive bar between two separate metrics: 1) Having the PR industry employment base represent all of society demographically, or 2) Having the sector mirror demographics of other professional-service sectors with which PR competes to recruit workforce
- Ways that politicization and partisanship in news rooms and across the industry drive the very divisiveness that the PR industry should be more competently taking in hand and mitigating (not exacerbating) to bring people and publics together in more positive solidarity around issues
- How the dearth of men in the PR industry workforce (minus the C-suite) is a far more complex and troubling problem than is adequately discussed ... and if the industry fails to address the gender imbalance in 2022, we can expect to slide more into "pink-collared ghetto" territory relative to compensation and share-of-voice.
Mary Beth also shares a glimpse of work-in-progress currently underway via the PRCA Ethics Council, in partnership with the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) in Washington, D.C., as part of its Global Business Ethics Survey to ascertain PR industry ethics issues.
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Post your questions and comments about the podcast, via #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
When crises strike, having a plan is essential -- and most strategists know that rule-of-thumb.
But what about a crisis that unfolds in real-time, right before one's eyes (and the eyes of hundreds, thousands or even millions of stakeholders), when seconds count and the cameras are on?
Kelly and Mary Beth discuss some recent events and several new pieces of industry data that PR pros and client teams alike should take into consideration.
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
On this special Holiday Season episode of #MsInterPReted, Kelly and Mary Beth share special moments from past episodes of the podcast with:
- Marshall Ramsey -- on how some dark moments in his life (from personal loss to being cut to part-time and losing his benefits at his former employer in the wake of his cancer battle) resulted in his "It's the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me" attitude, thanks to his late father;
- Marcus Hall -- on how taking the wrong path in life and paying the price with incarceration actually set him free to embark on a renewed entrepreneurial journey;
- Tearsa Smith -- on how the power of seeing her children's joy and aspirations for their own futures have lifted her up during traumatic societal events of 2020-21... and how she seeks to share that hope with others, through the lens of journalism;
- Ashley Nickloes -- on how reading the documentation of her grandfather's death during World War II from running out of fuel in his plane during a combat mission over the Pacific Ocean brought her full-circle, as she has served her nation for many years as a Tennessee Air National Guard refueling-mission aviator;
- Melissa Carter -- on how the fear and anxiety of coming out to her family as part of the LGBT Community during her 20s ultimately surprised her in a positive way... and proved to her that her late father was the greatest Christian she ever knew;
- Mike McClamroch -- on how a visit one day to the home of Lady Vols Head Coach Pat Summitt changed his life, as he embarked with Coach Summitt in his role as leader of the East Tennessee Foundation to assume management operations for The Pat Summitt Foundation (@WeBackPat), to beat Alzheimer's Disease ... in the late coach's lasting legacy of public service and philanthropy.
Posted with great affection for our listeners, team members, clients, family and friends -- by Kelly & Mary Beth ...
Wishing everyone a safe, happy and abundant Thanksgiving and holiday season ahead.
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Instagram: fletcher.pr
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
In this episode, Woolf McClane's Chad Hatmaker shares:
- What he's seen employers and management teams do right (or wrong) since the pandemic hit on the employee relations front
- Specific aspects of emerging employment law that were brought to bear significantly in the past 20 months and that should be tracked going forward, in order for companies to remain compliant yet competitive
- How employee / front-line team expectations have now changed
- Why staying proactive is so important for companies -- in order to avoid much larger problems later
- Ways in which communications challenges arise throughout workforce-management issues, like vaccinations
- And much more...
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Follow Chad Hatmaker of Woolf McClane
- Twitter: @JChadHatmaker
- Chad Hatmaker’s blog, “Tennessee Employment Law”
View insights from members of the Fletcher Team on WBIR's special news segment on "The Big Quit".
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
In this conversation, Travis Parman shares his insights about:
- How people sometimes "fall into public relations" from different fields ... and how he has evolved his ideas about what constitutes PR expertise as a former self-confessed "public relations purist";
- Why his favorite Abraham Lincoln quote that he learned in high school helped chart his academic and career course toward public relations: "In this age, in this country, public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; against it, nothing can succeed. Whoever molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes, or pronounces judicial decisions";
- Why diverse practitioners are so often the best public relations professionals: "They know how to read a room";
- Ways that PR students should work to position themselves for thriving public relations careers, by bringing their diverse perspectives and backgrounds to the fore;
- In what ways companies need to avoid knee-jerk responses to "diversity programs" that lump people of one diverse cohort together and inadvertently segregate them;
- How one-dimensional, tactical and transactional "understandings" of PR pose some of the industry's biggest limitations that must be countered and overcome;
- Why being too deferential can be a PR professional's most self-defeating behavioral modus operandi in growing their career;
- Ways that cross-cultural and international standards differ -- and why public relations practitioners need to advance their game, including in the #PRethics arena and with full team involvement and buy-in.
FOLLOW #PRethics
FOLLOW Travis Parman:
Twitter: @TravisParman
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisparman/
FOLLOW AppHarvest:
Twitter: @AppHarvest
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Connect with Fletcher Marketing PR on LinkedIn
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
In this episode during PRSA's #EthicsMonth, Mary Beth West interviews close colleague Susan Hart -- a past president of the PRSA Nashville Chapter, a past PRSA Nashville Chapter Hercules Award honoree, and a now-former / resigned PRSA College of Fellows member.
Susan voluntarily discontinued her 35-year membership in PRSA in 2018, in disgust with PRSA's National leadership cultural shift, after what she describes as "one of the most stressful experiences of (her) life" at the hands of PRSA National leadership, who infamously opposed ethics-driven bylaw reforms -- after secretly reversing course from prior assurances that measures would be supported.
In this interview, Susan discusses:
- Accountability as the essential crux of what any leadership team must offer as a non-negotiable deliverable of its own cultural mindset
- How leadership quickly falls down a slippery slope and point-of-no-return, when national leaders fail to conduct due diligence
- "Say-do" disconnects -- when organizational mission and stated principles no longer match leadership behaviors
- What the modus-operandi of "Operation Incompetence" entails with an escalating lack of financial transparency
- How the good work of PRSA's local-level chapters is overshadowed and undermined when the national organizational leadership has entrenched unethical and unaccountable practices
- Why curiosity by members is important and should not be demonized ... and why it's an ethical red-flag when any organizational leadership "kills the messenger" and instills fear of retaliation among a membership who become too fearful to ask valid questions.
FOLLOW #PRethics
FOLLOW Susan Hart:
Twitter: @susanhartpr
JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP CALLING FOR A BETTER PRSA:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ABetterPRSA
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Connect with Fletcher Marketing PR on LinkedIn
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Recorded on #WorldPRDay (#WPRD), Kelly and Mary Beth welcome one of the PR industry's most prominent and prolific thought leaders, Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks, an entire learning platform that Gini founded and her team manages, in service to the industry, including consulting work for fellow agency owners and entrepreneurs.
Gini opens up about her passion points for the industry, on both the positive / uplifting front as well as frustrating sides... and on the latter, including discrimination and misogyny that she has experienced first-hand as a business owner and public speaker.
In this episode of #MsInterPReted, Gini opens up about personal (and shocking) experiences in her own career, and how the up-and-coming generation in PR will not suffer fools gladly or tolerate the discriminatory burdens that have all-too-often persisted in PR and in business / society.
Gini also shares insights about other professional-practice ethics and qualities that hold great potential for the PR industry's advancement, if colleagues will embrace them.
FOLLOW Gini Dietrich and Spin Sucks:
Twitter: @SpinSucks @GiniDietrich
Website: http://spinsucks.com/spin-sucks-community
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Connect with Fletcher Marketing PR on LinkedIn
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
On this #SocialMediaDay2021 episode, Chris McCarty of Knoxville-based law firm Lewis Thomason delves into the larger issues at hand for companies/organizations and individuals alike in managing the good, the bad and the law, when it comes to leveraging the power of social media in productive and legally compliant ways.
Kelly and Mary Beth set the stage by providing a flashback to a November 2020 episode of #MsInterPReted (Social Media & Surveillance Capitalism: Dr. Candace White), and Kelly also shares a recent challenge experienced with a Facebook hacker ... indicative of the power -- much of it unchecked -- that the largest social media companies in particular wield, which can derail any company's ability to do business, at the drop of a hat.
Chris discusses legal implications of these and other challenges, as well as broader issues of free speech and regulatory facts that every PR person and professional communicator should know, in today's dynamic social media environment.
About Chris McCarty of Lewis Thomason, P.C.:
Chris W. McCarty, a shareholder in Lewis Thomason's Knoxville office, practices in the areas of employment law, education law and civil litigation. Chris handles matters before state and federal courts throughout Tennessee, and has argued before the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Chris also presents on employment and education law topics. His articles on those topics have been seen in numerous publications, including HR Magazine, the Tennessee Bar Journal and the Knoxville Business Journal. Chris is approved as a member of the American Arbitration Association’s (AAA) Panel of Employment Arbitrators.
AFFILIATIONS
- Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel
- DRI – Employment & Labor Law Committee
- Society for Human Resource Management
- American Bar Association
- Knoxville Bar Association
- Tennessee Bar Association
- National School Boards Association Council of School Attorneys
PROFESSIONAL HONORS AND ACTIVITIES
- Tennessee Council of School Board Attorneys, President, 2018-2020
- Best Lawyers® 2020 Employment Law – Management “Lawyer of the Year” in Knoxville
- Named to The Best Lawyers in America©, Employment Law Management and Education Law
- Named a Cityview Magazine Top Attorney
- Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, Elected Member, 2018
- Knoxville Bar Foundation, Fellows Program, 2016
- Member, American Arbitration Association (AAA) Panel of Employment Arbitrators
- Mid-South Super Lawyers® Rising Star, 2015, 2016
- Leadership Sevier, 2015
- Knoxville Zoo, Circle of Friends Leadership Council, 2015
- Nucleus Knoxville, President, 2014
- “40 Under 40”, Knoxville Business Journal, 2013
- Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law, 2012
- Leadership Tomorrow Sevier, 2010
- Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, President’s Award, 2009
- Introduction Knoxville, 2007
- Knoxville Bar Association, Publications Committee
FOLLOW Chris McCarty and Lewis Thomason:
Twitter: @LewisThomasonTN
LinkedIn: Lewis Thomason / LinkedIn and Chris McCarty / LinkedIn
Website: https://www.lewisthomason.com/
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Connect with Fletcher Marketing PR on LinkedIn
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
AlexAnndra Ontra of Shufflrr discusses the art of the presentation:
- How to lead with storytelling and more conversational approaches
- Why presentations are getting more play in the marketing mix
- Ways in which presentations must keep ever-evolving “in a continual loop” and not remain static over time
- How it is that some 70% of marketing assets are not used (a data point from 3M) – representing an intellectual-resource waste
- Methods for avoiding mismanagement or non-accessibility of presentation assets so that there is wider, more searchable usability of presentation data
- Ways that presentations can remain fresh but have enough content preservation and replicability to save staff time
Discover more about Shufflrr: https://shufflrr.com/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
- Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- On Twitter: @fletcherpr
- On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
- Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
- Follow Mary Beth: @marybethwest
During his second visit to the “Ms. InterPReted” Podcast, Francis Ingham shares his latest insights about the state of ethics in the public relations industry, amid real-time issues that have impacted Fletcher Senior Strategist Mary Beth West, MPRCA, who now is serving a second term as PRCA Ethics Council Co-Chair.
Susan Hart, MPRCA, guest-hosts alongside Fletcher Marketing PR CEO Kelly Fletcher, MPRCA.
Francis Ingham is Director General of the PRCA, and Chief Executive of the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO).
With a background in politics and public affairs, Francis is External Examiner to the American University at Richmond; Trustee of The Speakers' Corner Trust; and the Master of the City of London Company of Public Relations Practitioners. He was educated at Oxford University, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics. He appears in both the UK and the Global editions of PR Week’s PowerBook.
Follow the PRCA-UK:
- Website: https://www.prca.org.uk/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prca_uk/?hl=en
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK
Follow Francis Ingham on Twitter: @ingers1975 https://twitter.com/Ingers1975
U.S. citizens can inquire about PRCA-UK international membership by contacting:
Website: https://www.prca.org.uk/membership/join-today/international-individual-membership
OR
Melissa Cannon MPRCA
PRCA International Director
T: +44 (0) 207 233 6026
W: prca.org.uk
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
- Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
- On Twitter: @fletcherpr
- On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
- Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
- Follow Mary Beth: @marybethwest
- Follow Susan Hart: @susanhartpr
In this chat with Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West, Blount Partnership President / CEO Bryan Daniels, CEcD, discusses:
- The old versus new model of marketing rural communities successfully
- Ways in which Blount County, TN has differentiated itself as a top quality-of-life community
- Blount County's true partnership-driven approach, with collaboration and cooperation among municipalities, elected officials and business community leaders
- How Blount County is taking a role at the international level to help drive thought-leadership and best-practices (with Bryan Daniels serving on the board of the International Economic Development Council, which will bring its conference to Nashville, TN, later this year)
- https://www.iedconline.org/index.php?src=directory&view=staff&srctype=detail&refno=804&category=Board%20of%20Directors
- How local, high-quality workforce development remains the most critical driver of attracting and retaining employers to a local community
- Ways in which today's social-responsibility discourse is informing the site-selection process... with some corporations including as part of their due-diligence a request for the voting record of local electorates as a criteria point for moving a headquarters or base of operations to a new community
- Rationale for rural communities to take a proactive stance versus a reactive stance in their econ-dev approach:
- Proactive: Driving site-selection visibility and relationship-building from the front, with a rural community sending its own delegations overseas
- Reactive: Relying entirely on one's state department of economic development to send site-selection leads to the local level
Learn more about moving your business to Blount County, Tennessee -- The Peaceful Side of the Smokies:
Blount Partnership: https://www.blountpartnership.com/
Connect with Bryan Daniels: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-daniels-b597283/
Follow the Blount Chamber on Twitter: https://twitter.com/blountchamber
Smokies Vacation: https://www.smokymountains.org/
Peaceful Side of the Smokies / Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peacefulsmokies/?hl=en
Site-Selection / Pellissippi Place: https://blountindustry.com/our-region/sites-and-buildings/pellissippi-place/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
On Twitter: @fletcherpr
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
Follow Mary Beth on Twitter: @marybethwest
1. Getting the Research Right
2. Applying the Critical Eye
3. Capturing What’s Wrong and What’s Right
4. Committing to Communication
5. Involving Your Team at Every Level
Kelly and Mary Beth explore these five essential elements of undertaking a meaningful and effective strategic planning initiative -- whether for an upcoming fiscal year, for a new R&D effort / product launch, or any organizational development effort, aimed at future success.
With some 50 years' combined experience in helping clients tackle planning with a data-informed focus, Kelly and Mary Beth discuss what they've seen organizations do well (and not-so-well) in their planning exercises, and how the post-pandemic shifts in "normalcy" for most organizations must factor into the conversation, going forward.
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
On Twitter: @fletcherpr
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
Follow Mary Beth on Twitter: @marybethwest
Leslie Beale of Profusion Strategies advises companies and organizations on internal development and workforce needs.
As just one aspect of her work, Leslie help clients build awareness of how they are perceived in the workplace… And she helps build strategies to address their weaknesses and highlight their strengths -- very much in alignment with the strategic work Fletcher Marketing PR delivers to clients on the communications- and brand-management side.
On this episode, Leslie joins Kelly and Mary Beth to:
- speak about the future of remote work and its impact on team trust and cohesiveness
- peel back the layers of what drives relationships, authenticity and trust
- discuss emerging trends that will continue impacting workforce performance standards and expectations … both from the employer perspective and the employee perspective
- cover the issue of managing business-owner stress
- delve into whether the "Lean In" mantra of the past decade makes good mental-wellness sense anymore
- explore how the call-to-action has intensified for employers to offer stronger flexibility, to provide pathways for emotional wellness resources, and to offer more heart to their staff teams
- recommend how to best begin ramping up now for 2022 Strategic Planning
... and more.
Follow Profusion Strategies online:
https://profusionstrategies.com/about/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
On Twitter: @fletcherpr
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
Follow Mary Beth on Twitter: @marybethwest
Mike Ragsdale graduated with a degree in communications from The University of Alabama, and later earned his master’s degree in advertising and public relations. After graduating, Mike enjoyed success as an early pioneer of the internet before working as CMO of a healthcare IT company. He and his wife Angela have four children.
Follow the 30A brand on:
Website: https://30a.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Scenic30A
On Twitter: @30a
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hey30a/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on:
Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fletchermarketingpr
On Twitter: @fletcherpr
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fletcher.pr/
Follow Kelly on Twitter: @KDFletcher
Nora Briggs has a degree in finance and accounting and an Executive Master’s Degree in Global Strategic Communications. She has previously worked in construction management with both Jacobs and Hilton Worldwide and as Chief Data Officer and Vice President of CoreLogic. Nora has also volunteered for quite a few charitable organizations including The Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity.
Dr. Marion Gillooly has a Doctorate in Respiratory Pathology from Edinburgh University Medical School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Anatomy from the University of Aberdeen. She also has a Diploma from the Institute of Leadership and Management. She is also Vice-Chair of the Scottish Commission for people with Learning Disabilities.
FOLLOW DOLLY PARTON'S IMAGINATION LIBRARY:
Website: https://imaginationlibrary.com/
Follow Dolly Parton's Imagination Library on Twitter: @DollysLibrary https://twitter.com/dollyslibrary
Follow Dolly Parton on Twitter: @DollyParton https://twitter.com/DollyParton
Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dollysimaginationlibrary
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imaginationlibrary/
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Kelly and Mary Beth wrapped up Season 3 of "Ms. InterPReted" with a retrospective of chats with Q3-4 2020 guests.
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
"I was a girly-girl," says Sarah Merrell -- VP of Fletcher Marketing PR -- of her initial trepidation about embracing motorcycling as a hobby, alongside her husband, Jud, an experienced rider.
She may have felt intimidation as a new rider at first, but Sarah Merrell now commands a social media following well into the tens of thousands.
How did she do it?... and how does she continue growing and managing her following base?
In this episode of Fletcher Marketing PR's #MsInterPReted podcast,Sarah speaks candidly about her journey of venturing far beyond her comfort zone to become a widely followed motorcycling enthusiast -- and one who is often pursued by brands within the industry for product recommendations and endorsements.
FOLLOW FLETCHER MARKETING PR:
- Follow Sarah Merrell on Instagram (sarah__merrell); https://www.instagram.com/sarah__merrell/?hl=en
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
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In this episode, the University of Tennessee's Dr. Candace White (Twitter: @trasversa) shares insights about her latest paper published by Public Relations Review, co-authored by Brandon Boatwright of Clemson University.
Candace White / Bio (source: https://adpr.utk.edu/profile/candace-white)
Candace L. White is a professor of public relations in the School of Advertising and Public Relations. Her research interests include the role of global corporations as non-state actors in public diplomacy, and how corporate social responsibility and CSR communication affect the image and national reputation of the country with which the corporation is associated. She is a Faculty Fellow at the Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy in the area of global security and an Arthur W. Page Legacy Scholar. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations Research and the International Journal of Strategic Communication. She was a Fulbright Senior Specialist at the University of Salzburg, Austria (2010) and at the University of Siena, Italy (2020); with support from the University of Tennessee, she has lectured in Denmark, Scotland, Wales, Austria, Croatia, and Italy. White holds a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia
Education:
Ph.D., University of Georgia
M.P.A., Georgia College
B.A., Winthrop College
Research Interests:
Comparative global public relations
Public relations as a component of public diplomacy (corporate diplomacy)
Intercultural communication
Perceptions of public relations practices
Public diplomacy
Corporate social responsibility
International Interests:
Dr. White is interested in studying how cultural differences affect how messages are received, and how the practice of public relations varies in different countries. Recent studies look at the role of private sector corporations as non-state actors in public diplomacy. She has been involved in teaching, research, and professional activities in Denmark, Austria, Scotland, Wales, Croatia, and Italy. She taught for the Consortium for International Business Studies in Asolo, Italy, and leads a study abroad program in international public relations each summer in Urbino, Italy.
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After a full career of global experience and noted success, followed by 10 years owning her own namesake designer handbag and accessories brand that's grown to a global business, Patricia Nash thought she had it all figured it out... and that nothing could phase her.
Then 2020 came along, and the COVID-19 Pandemic hit.
In the wake of industry chaos and an historic upending of the global retail sector at-large, Patricia and her daughter, CCO Jennifer Evans, have managed to navigate the waters of this year with cool heads, quick-witted responsiveness and an ability to take the decisive actions necessary to position Patricia Nash Designs for the future, not only to survive but also to thrive.
On this edition of Ms. InterPReted, Patricia and Jennifer join Kelly and Mary Beth, in a revealing conversation to share their story and lessons learned as a mother-daughter team building a worldwide brand -- who also take the time to be purposeful about the meaning of their company's product and how to register true connections in the lives of their loyal customers, team members and larger community.
Discover more about Patricia Nash Designs:
WEBSITE: https://patricianashdesigns.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patricianashdesigns
Twitter: https://twitter.com/patricianashbag/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricianashdesigns/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/patricianash/
Fletcher PR:
https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
Kelly Fletcher: https://twitter.com/KDfletcher
Mary Beth West: https://twitter.com/marybethwest
Follow on social media:
Rax Lakhani:
LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/raxlakhani/
Twitter -- @RaxLakhani https://twitter.com/RaxLakhani
PRCA -- @PRCA_UK https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK
PRCA Diversity Network -- @PRCA_Diversity https://twitter.com/PRCA_Diversity
PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB) -- @PRCA_REEB https://twitter.com/PRCA_REEB
Fletcher PR:
https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
Kelly Fletcher: https://twitter.com/KDfletcher
Mary Beth West: https://twitter.com/marybethwest
Rax Lakhani, CMPRCA, and his family -- immigrants to the UK -- have been no strangers to discrimination, but many of the stories he's heard shared in 2020 among PR colleagues of color as well as across many diverse communities in the industry have given him pause.
His sense of urgency to make positive Diversity & Inclusion outcomes a reality mirror that of the PRCA, the PRCA's Diversity Network as well as PRCA's Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB), in light of events this year to make substantive change a reality.
In this episode, listeners from inside the United States in particular will gain tremendous perspective on the global issues tied to D&I and how the challenges at hand may not differ all that much from what we face in the U.S. -- yet must be undertaken with a universal commitment and in solidarity as a global industry.
Follow on social media:
Rax Lakhani:
LinkedIn -- https://www.linkedin.com/in/raxlakhani/
Twitter -- @RaxLakhani https://twitter.com/RaxLakhani
PRCA -- @PRCA_UK https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK
PRCA Diversity Network -- @PRCA_Diversity https://twitter.com/PRCA_Diversity
PRCA Race and Ethnicity Equity Board (REEB) -- @PRCA_REEB https://twitter.com/PRCA_REEB
Fletcher PR:
https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
Kelly Fletcher: https://twitter.com/KDfletcher
Mary Beth West: https://twitter.com/marybethwest
In this episode spotlighting the historical significance of the 19th Amendment (and with a National Public Radio clip via Knoxville's WUOT referring to Tennessee's historic role), Kelly and Mary Beth discuss:
- How -- 100 years later (in the year of COVID-19) -- women's rights in the voting booth have evolved to rights in the workplace, albeit with shortfalls in rights of equal pay for equal work
- What the implications of COVID-19 have been, particularly in the PR industry, given disproportionate numbers of women in this workforce
- How women dominating the PR industry have not translated into power in the executive or decision-making levels
- Misogyny and male-dominated culture issues in the communications industry ... including particular sub-sectors (like ad agency "bro" cultures) that result in qualified and talented women being held back, passed over, dismissed, marginalized and otherwise treated in ways that create exit-ramps from career pathways
- Key statistics reflective of inequities
- Anecdotal examples of male cultures that demonize women and gaslight legitimate concerns or calls for accountability
- Why women must push cultures of accountability -- not only for their own benefit or self-protection, but also for the industries they predominantly work within, such as public relations, to prove value and earn respect
Links:
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Tearsa talks about the values she brings to the newsroom:
- Her early career experience and what shaped her pathway as a student and a new professional in the field, as well her early influences
- How the Black Lives Matter movement has evolved and transformed in messaging and meaning in the community over recent years (and what it means to Tearsa in her work and in her family life as a woman of color)
- How Tearsa has built a national network of fellow female journalists of color to share career experiences and support one another in ways that may be difficult for them to find in their own workplaces alone
- How she responds to viewers and how they react in different ways to news coverage
- Importance of diversity of news sources for all Americans
- How telling stories of race in the community brings unique complexities, and how those issues are handled in the newsroom in service to the expectations of the community
- Why true care for fellow human beings really matters... but how all community members are not experiencing the same things -- and why true empathy for those differences is so important.
Connect with Tearsa on social media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TearsaSmith @TearsaSmith
https://www.wate.com/author/tearsa-smith/
Rod Cartwright shares:
- What the COVID-19 experience has been like in the U.K., as of early-summer 2020;
- How Public Relations must lead from the front in this sustained crisis by showing a genuine understanding of business;
- What "contextual understanding" means in the scope of our role as communicators and as the conscience of the organization;
- Why cross-disciplinary approaches are vital and how PR must be able to broker those opportunities for collaboration;
- What different types of Auditing tools and techniques can deliver toward meaningful analysis for clients;
- Amid the racial unrest and global charge for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, how PR should seek to lead by listening first;
And more...
Follow Rod on Twitter: @RodCartwright https://twitter.com/RodCartwright
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rod-cartwright-6771384/
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- @FletcherPR
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Follow our guests across social media (Twitter handles):
MINUTE 9:30: Shayoni Lynn, Lynn PR: @shayonislynn https://twitter.com/shayonislynn
MINUTE 11:58: Dr. Ana Adi, Quadriga University: @ana_adi https://twitter.com/ana_adi
MINUTE 13:40: Sharon Hannum and Joy Bishop
MINUTE 20:20: Melissa Carter @MelissaCarter https://twitter.com/MelissaCarter
MINUTE 23:50: Mike Paul @reputationdr https://twitter.com/reputationdr
MINUTE 26:30:
MINUTE 28:20: Chad Hatmaker, Woolf McClane: @JChadHatmaker https://twitter.com/JChadHatmaker
MINUTE 31:21: Blount Memorial Hospital -- Don Heinemann @Blount_Memorial https://twitter.com/Blount_Memorial
MINUTE 32:30: Alicia Aebersold, American Psychological Association: @aliciacollin https://twitter.com/aliciacollin
MINUTE 35:25: Koray Camgoz, @PRCA_UK @KorComms https://twitter.com/KorComms
MINUTE 37:40: Julia Angelen Joy @JuliaAngelenPR https://twitter.com/JuliaAngelenPR
AND Molly McPherson @MollyMcPherson https://twitter.com/MollyMcPherson
MINUTE 41:30: Bob Dickie, Bonvera: @RobertDickie https://twitter.com/RobertDickie
Bob's Podcast / "Taking the Leap" -- https://www.takingtheleappodcast.com/
MINUTE 43:24: Lt. Col. Ashley Nickloes, Tennessee Air National Guard: @Ashley_Nickloes https://twitter.com/Ashley_Nickloes
MINUTE 47:42: BLOOPER
Mike Paul (@ReputationDr) shares granular insights on the practical aspects of bringing true racial inclusion into practice in the PR industry and beyond.
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- Twitter: @ReputationDr
- Twitter: @repdocllc
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Lt. Col. Nickloes shares with Kelly and Mary Beth:
- Why Faith, Family & Service have guided her way throughout her life and career: “Good things come to those who work hard”;
- How evil in the world is a reality and how it factors into military service missions for the United States of America;
- What the statistics include of women working in the military and in military aviation;
- How she managed through overt sexism in her early entry in her career field;
- How being a woman (and a mother) has included a real-world impact to her role;
- What her experience of losing her son Gabriel during a pre-term birth meant to her and her husband -- and how it further unified her marriage and strengthened her faith;
- What life is like during overseas deployments in hostile territory;
- How elitist attitudes inaccurately inform public perception about who serves in the military;
- Ways in which the military mission poses a stark disconnect with softer-society ideals … and how this disconnect drives misconceptions of what the military is even supposed to be doing;
- An overview of the situation in Afghanistan
- How a public self-expectation of resilience and self-reliance is being lost in society … and how this issue is relevant in the current COVID-19 reality
- How placing personal priorities must drive our can-do spirit in any crisis.
- And more
Links:
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- Follow Ashley:
- Twitter: @Ashley_Nickloes -- https://twitter.com/Ashley_Nickloes
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Professor Adi discusses with Mary Beth:
- Her career path in public relations and how the field has evolved – including the issue of how public relations itself is defined
- Her early life experience growing up in Romania, within a country under a Communist government, and its impact on her perspective
- Perspectives of “having something to say” and how that parlays into creation of her own #WomenInPR podcast
- How gender diversity is missed in history and how the legacy impacts workforce issues, including in a specific way in public relations and how ideas in this field are influenced by lack of gender diversity
- How practitioners must apply data in the best ways and why it matters
- Why data must be – in part – a “What have you achieved…?” question
- How data should not simply exist as some “shiny box, where you take data in and take data out” – and instead, make sure it is a holistic enterprise for the set-up of a research program
- The ways in which “vanity metrics” fill meaningless spaces without read value to a relationship-management program
- What her frustration points are about AVE as a form of false measurement
- Why “the sale is not closed by PR” but rather exists as part of a larger ecosystem while still being behavioral-objective driven
- How the “media relations” paradigm of PR has evolved massively… but how too many clients think through this narrow prism, to their own limitation – and their data priorities (or lack thereof) often reflect this limitation
- How clients should consider data as part of potential corporate activism… and exactly what qualities define “an activist” – and they don’t always confirm with “rage” or “dissent” / opposition (“We are ALL activists.”)
- What the ethics implications are of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how well (or poorly) postured the public relations profession is; and how “digital literacy” is a much more germane overarching skill set in PR
- What type of “voice” strategic communicators must have to be relevant in the AI conversation … with meaningful impact.
- And more
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Follow Ana:
- Twitter: @Ana_Adi -- https://twitter.com/ana_adi
- Twitter: @QuadrigaBerlin – https://twitter.com/QuadrigaBerlin
- LinkedIn:
- Follow Ana Adi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaadi/
-
WomenInPR Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/user-654979149/sets/women-in-pr
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
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- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
Alicia Aebersold, CCO of the American Psychological Association (APA) discusses with Kelly and Mary Beth:
- Her early communications / public relations career path that led her to the position she now holds, in leading the communications function for the world’s largest professional association of psychology
- Why the relationship a CCO has with one’s CEO and executive team is so important, particularly in times of crisis
- How the APA’s clear, simple purpose “to benefit society and improve lives” provides the driving force behind the organization’s work plan in service to its members and to the public as well, whether in times of relative normalcy or in times of global crisis
- How “communication” plays a major role in the overall mission of the organization:
- APA’s mission statement: “Our mission is to promote the advancement, communication, and application of psychological science and knowledge to benefit society and improve lives.”
- What APA’s major initiatives included prior to COVID-19’s impact on the world, such as implications of gun violence, immigration issues’ family / children impact, America’s opioid crisis, increasing impact of climate change on people’s emotional wellness / eco-anxiety, governmental efforts on The Hill, etc.
- Specifics of APA’s vast COVID-19 response agenda
- How APA’s deep richness in professional expertise – as represented by its diverse membership base – is being leveraged in service to APA’s members and also in service to many types of external audiences
- What is included within APA’s continuously evolving COVID-19 Resource
- How the immediacy aspect of one’s communications-leadership role as a CCO – such as the position Alicia leads for APA – requires a constant balance between strategic insight and tactical nimbleness . . . and how other communications professionals can develop these critical skills
- Keeping one’s eyes and mind open and aware of creative, strategic ideas – including cultivation of ideas from other diverse sources
- Exploring fresh approaches and knowing how to prioritize / focus on the ones with strongest promise, based on key-audience needs and expectations
- Developing the overarching mindset of maintaining creativity while staying in one’s lane of specific subject-matter expertise and knowing precisely where the association can make a meaningful impact
- How the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 crisis may be felt downstream for decades to come… and how psychological resources must be available “for the long-haul”
- Ways that APA is helping employers and providing both research / data-driven content and coping resources
- How the larger APA Communications Team is working together to execute across both strategic and tactical action plans
- How APA is executing outreach efforts in collaboration with other professional sectors for “a psychologically health workplace” via Office of Applied Psychology at APA
- What Alicia thinks is “misinterpreted” most about psychology in general
- And more
Links:
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- Follow APA:
- Twitter: @APA
- Twitter: @aliciacollin
- LinkedIn:
- Follow APA
- Connect with Alicia
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- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Blount Memorial Hospital CEO Don Heinemann and Assistant Administrator Connie Huffman discuss with Kelly and Mary Beth:
- Why current physical distancing measures are not only essential to citizen safety but also critical toward health-worker safety, to prevent healthcare provider shortages when the community needs these professionals most in combating the virus locally
- Key challenges many community hospitals nationwide faced even prior to the current COVID-19 crisis -- and how the coronavirus pandemic is now hitting health systems on both the expense and revenue sides
- How Blount Memorial’s disaster-response plan is structured and is currently being actioned in phases, as the coronavirus makes its march across Tennessee and into smaller, non-metro communities
- What many healthcare administrators are worrying about most, due to the unpredictable nature of the virus
- How the fight against shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is one arena where community involvement and support is making an impact
- Biggest myths and misconceptions within the public that the healthcare community is seeking to overcome, regarding public awareness and call-to-action
- What the shortage of mental-health resources for emotional wellness and stability through the crisis means for local communities
- How the Blount Memorial Foundation board of directors and the separate Blount Memorial Hospital board of directors are pitching in personally to rally the local community around strategic charitable giving, to help make sure the hospital and its dedicated team are supported, in service to citizen health and recovery
- #COVIDgiveWhereYouLive
- And more
Links
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- Follow the #COVIDgiveWhereYouLive hashtag
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- Follow Blount Memorial Hospital:
- Facebook for the Hospital
- Facebook for the Hospital Foundation
- Twitter: @Blount_Memorial
Included in Kelly’s and Mary Beth’s discussion with Koray:
- What the citizen experience has been in the UK with the COVID-19 onslaught … being some 2-3 weeks ahead of the United States in absorbing the realities of the situation
- How the PRCA’s new COVID-19 Task Force is on the forefront of the industry to produce in-depth resources to the industry – beyond just communications issues but also core business issues, including for the agency community
- How the PRCA is extending meaningful professional community and a supportive network to its individual and organizational network, across countries, sectors and situational challenges in the industry
- The importance of mental health and wellness and the PRCA’s proactive response to at-risk communities as well as for all industry professionals who are being impacted in such sudden, sweeping ways
- The PRCA has a free-access Mental Health Tool Kit to provide resources for agency owners, line managers and front-line staff
- How the PRCA will take full steps to help mitigate serious outcomes for practitioners and agencies alike
- How the PRCA works to impact governmental policy that affects practitioners in their ability to do their jobs, to compete and to perform the most ethical, effective work for their organizations and clients
- And more.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Follow PRCA: https://www.prca.org.uk/
- Follow the PRCA COVID-19 Task Force Support / Resources: https://www.prca.org.uk/covid-19
- Locate PRCA’s Mental Health Toolkit
- Follow Koray Camgoz on LinkedIn:
- Twitter: @KorComms
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/korayc/
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
Included in Kelly’s and Mary Beth’s discussion with Molly and Jules:
- What to do as an independent practitioner, when faced with sudden loss of bookings and business
- How a “rising tide lifts all ships” mentality in the PR profession and a sense of connectivity between public relations professionals will help our community of colleagues
- Why being bold and calling out bad PR examples is important for the improvement of the profession to elevate trust and ethical codes in public relations
- Entities doing PR wrong or right during COVID-19: WeWork, Gov. Cuomo, Texas Roadhouse, the tourism / hospitality industry, mega-brands versus small-businesses (among other examples)
- What happens when there are disparate value systems, mixed motives and disconnects between leaders and staff
- How PR needs to be mobilized to fight fear that’s pervasive in teams, organizations, communities and entire societies right now
- What it means to “have the difficult conversation” to acknowledge from the beginning of a crisis situation that a crisis is – indeed – happening (and how skipping this key incremental step is a major mistake)
- Why information-hoarding is one the most common – yet most damaging – behaviors leaders engage in, that damages (or even destroys) trust
- What roles ACCOUNTABILITY and TRANSPARENCY play in the current crisis
- Is COVID-19 the PR industry's “moment of truth” to prove our worth in serving our clients / employers AND the public… and if it is that moment, are we making effective use of it?
- Observations of small and regional PR firms being the culprits of bad PR pitches tied specifically to coronavirus
- How LEADERSHIP is the common (yet uncommon) thread that must undergird strategy and basic good decision-making
- What it means when “doing the right thing” can mean completely different realities to completely different entities (such as a commercial retail interest versus public health official)
- Use of humor as a coping mechanism by individuals (such as on social media) versus as a connectivity tactic by brands in their advertising
- How strategic communicators should help brands stay human and real in this crisis
- How COVID-19 is going to force companies to build better, stronger cultures of communications
- How being labeled an “essential” versus a “non-essential” business factors into messaging and decision-making during COVID-19
- And much more.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag across social media
- Follow Julia Angelen Joy
- Twitter: @JuliaAngelenPR
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliaangelen/
-
PrimeTimePRchat
- Follow Molly McPherson
- Twitter: @MollyMcPherson
- LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollymcpherson/
- Confident Communications podcast:
- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/confident-communications/id1441897190
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Chad Hatmaker's on-point advice for employers – which PR teams must bear in mind as well as they think through employee-focused communications strategies – spans a diverse gamut, tied to passage of recent COVID-19 Aid legislation.
Included in the discussion:
- How remote work / virtual team transitions are impacting workplaces in critical ways
- How the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) (signed into law March 18 and taking effect April 1) is already impacting the workplace, in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, with caregiver and emergency paid sick leave components. (FFCRA “provides for expanded FMLA and Emergency Paid Leave in certain limited circumstances related to the Coronavirus pandemic,” as noted on Chad’s blog – tnemploymentlawblog.com)
- The law of unintended consequences?... How the funding of these mandates expected by employers with fewer than 500 employees will impact companies in the short-term versus long-term
- Aspects of consideration for those who are self-employed
- How much risk employers may be in for, relative to employee lawsuits down the pike
- Anti-retaliation considerations and potential employee claims that employers must bear in mind to avoid legal risk
- A cursory overview of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
- How recent Pew Research statistics on teleworkers and the COVID-19 “new normal” on Work from Home #WFH arrangements may permanently change the workplace landscape
- Discussion of whether working from home may or may not be a part later of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), relative to a “reasonable accommodation”
- How the public relations profession is well-suited to telework platforms and how the new-normal of work-from-home arrangements may unleash an upending of traditional workplaces, both in the PR profession and in countless other knowledge-based fields
- The Legal Side vs The PR Side: Chad’s take on how both disciplines need to work together, whether in response to COVID-19 or in any crisis
- And much more.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Follow Chad Hatmaker of Woolf McClane
- Twitter: @JChadHatmaker
- Chad Hatmaker’s blog, “Tennessee Employment Law”
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Kelly and Mary Beth delve into the general considerations all management teams should consider when undertaking crisis preparedness … with the first mandate being – Don’t Delay! Included in the discussion:
- How human reactions such as denial and “paralysis by analysis” universally stymie the best crisis-planning intentions… and how to overcome initial inertia;
- Why there is a major difference between having an operational crisis plan and a communications-driven crisis plan (including both internal and external stakeholders) … and that you can’t have an adequate plan until you have bothcomponents;
- How Kelly and Mary Beth have managed crisis consultations in their careers for a wide range of clients, including Mary Beth’s own former PR firm’s business crisis, when her office was destroyed in an office fire, requiring the displacement of her full agency team for nearly two months;
- Ways in which crisis communications planning have changed in recent decades, evolving from the “traditional media” paradigm to the past two decades’ far more dynamic, complicated and Citizen Journalism-driven platform of digital media;
- Critical considerations of IT systems back-ups, off-site employee work continuity, adequate insurance coverages and other operational / practical aspects for businesses of all sizes / scales to keep in mind;
- How interdepartmental, interdisciplinary inclusion across management team functions must be integrated in the planning and execution process;
- Why having employee contact-with-media and employee social media policies are so important;
- And much more.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
Kelly and Mary Beth have a candid chat about #EthicsWashing and how it’s damaging the public relations industry – particularly when PR industry associations are the ones doing it. Included in the discussion:
- How the #MeToo movement’s authenticity demands have changed some aspects of the automotive industry; How #Greenwashing, #Pinkwashing and #Gaywashing have joined the line-up of authenticity fails under public scrutiny… and why walking-the-talk is so essential;
- How #EthicsWashing is the latest iteration of the same phenomenon;
- How some simple questions Mary Beth asked the Global Alliance – originally in December 2019 – snowballed into an “international incident”;
- Background of what the Global Alliance is and confusion about its mission versus known deliverables / impacts;
- What other kinds of non-transparency behaviors by PRSA are transpiring that undermine member trust (and PRSA’s own ability to lead its U.S.-based membership in a credible manner);
- What value systems of accountability are supposed to look like … and how certain leaderships have drifted away from that mandate
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
- Find out more about the Global Alliance
- Read the Global Alliance Code of Ethics
- Read Mary Beth’s blog post on her banishment by the GA
In Episode 18 (Episode 4 of Season 2), Mary Beth speaks with Shay Lynn about several essential components of nudge theory and how nudge communications can make strategic communications initiatives even more valuable to organizations.
Shay and Mary Beth also discuss the complexity of PR metrics and how "too much of a good thing" can result in meaningless data overload for both PR teams and clients, without necessary directional insights that prove the real value of managing data in the first place.
Among Shay's insights:
- How her new journey as an entrepreneur is unfolding, in leading her own public relations consultancy -- already to much industry attention and acclaim
- What "nudge communications" is, examples of how it's integrated into campaigns, what the benefits are, and how public relations professionals can use nudge as an effective, well-planned technique
- Why metrics -- while important -- also can be mismanaged in ways that take the focus off the core benefits of campaign outcomes (or even make entire companies go awry, such as in the precedent-setting case example of Wells Fargo in the U.S. banking industry)
- How ethics factor into both nudge communications as well as use of metrics
- How a PRCA-UK PR Council initiative Shay is overseeing on ethics is looking to undertake its work in 2020
- What three things public relations professionals should focus on today to achieve meaningful behavioral change with targeted stakeholders
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Discover Lynn PR: www.lynnpr.co.uk
- Connect with Shayoni Lynn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayonislynn/
- Follow Shay Lynn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shayonislynn
- Follow Lynn PR ltd on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LynnPRLtd
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
- Follow the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA-UK): https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK
Show Notes:
In Episode 17, Kelly and Mary Beth interview two women whose wit, grit and wisdom on the subjects of career and community success make for one of the most compelling episodes yet of #MsInterPReted.
- Sharon Hannum and Joy Bishop share:
- Their personal stories of entering their respective careers in male-dominated work environments (heavy manufacturing and military, respectively) and in an era when the women’s movement was only just beginning (the 1970s) and racial equality ethics were not widely discussed – much less implemented – in many workforce environments;
- How both dealt with overt incidents of discrimination in their careers while forging positive careers forward;
- How the strategies and techniques of getting a career foothold have changed over the years… and what aspects have stayed the same;
- Why it’s so important that woman-to-woman support systems are positive ones and not of a negative scarcity-mentality that play into common stereotypes;
- What companies often do wrong in the area of community involvement … and what changes they should make to get things right.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
In Episode 16, Kelly, Mary Beth and long-time Atlanta radio personality and LGBT trailblazer Melissa Carter explore what brands, marketers and strategic communicators are getting right (and wrong) about reaching the lesbian segment of the market.
Melissa shares:
- Her personal coming-out journey, and what teenage and early-adult life was like for her in a Bible-belt, Middle Tennessee small town;
- How coming-out to her family set the pace for her to embark on an authentic life in her mid-20s, and how her father’s reaction as a Christian (and his comment about Jesus) was such a critical moment in her life;
- Her experience as an organ-donation recipient (kidney) and how finding a nephrologist in a gay-friendly Atlanta medical directory saved her life;
- Fairness issues of being “branded” gay / lesbian (given that straight people are not branded “straight”);
- What it means when marketers give lesbians “the scraps from the straight table” and why only lukewarm LGBT brand support never works well;
- What brands like Absolut Vodka, Subaru, Disney, The Hallmark Channel and Chik-fil-A are doing right or wrong in their messaging;
- Differences between supporting the gay community versus a willingness to SEE the gay community;
- How societal messages and conditioning of boys versus girls when they’re growing up feed lifelong behaviors that impact women’s ability to achieve career success;
- What elements of brand-experience and authenticity drive loyalty within the lesbian community;
- What legacies of inclusion versus exclusion mean for brands long-term.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Tune in to Melissa Carter’s “She Persisted” podcast: https://shepersistedshow.com/
- Follow Melissa Carter on Twitter: @MelissaCarter https://twitter.com/MelissaCarter
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
About Bob Dickie
As CEO of Bonvera, Bob Dickie leads a premium health, wellness, and lifestyle company where entrepreneurs are celebrated.
Prior to the private sector, Bob served more than six years as a captain in the United States Air Force in various assignments that led to extensive duty in Europe and Asia. Post-military, Bob became the CEO for an international retail and training company supplying the direct sales and network marketing industry, which led to deep working relationships with Amway and MonaVie, to name a few.
Leading a company turn-around, Bob’s team rebuilt the entire organization, with new technology and product lines helping the organization more than triple in size from 2004 to 2009.
As a college athlete, U.S. Air Force Athlete of the Year, and 3rd US finisher in the Boston Marathon (23rd overall), Bob enjoys physical challenges as well as immersing himself in turn-around environments with team-building and scaling operations. He is married and the father of six children.
Show Notes
Kelly welcomes Bob Dickie, who talks about his CEO journey to Bonvera and explains how direct-selling works, as it has evolved to a significant market force in the U.S. and abroad.
Bob discusses:
- How the seeds of the direct-selling industry decades ago (with such companies as Avon and Tupperware) have now flourished through the power of word-of-mouth and direct-to-consumer marketing, amid so many people tuning out traditional marketing methods to inform their purchasing choices and drive their product passions;
- How 80% of Bonvera’s sales-team entrepreneurs are women;
- Why women are flocking to the direct-selling self-employment model due to a global economy; pressures for diversified U.S. household incomes; the growth of the gig economy / freelancer economy – particularly for the Millennial Generation; low cost to entry and other factors;
- The “love-it-or-you-hate-it” reputation of direct-selling and what drives misconceptions about the industry;
- The finer points of best-in-class product development and how systems of integrity must be upheld to build and earn positive brand reputation;
- How “fast-moving streams” and trends in society are reflective of the direct-selling evolution;
- How to overcome “fear of salesmanship” and find a product passion, to best consider opportunities in the field.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Discover Bonvera: https://bonverahq.com/
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Bob Dickie on Twitter: @RobertDickie https://twitter.com/RobertDickie
- Follow Bonvera on Twitter: @Bonvera_US https://twitter.com/bonvera_US
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
Join Kelly and Mary Beth as they take a walk down memory lane of "Ms. InterPReted" / Season 1 and revisit their favorite on-air moments, as well as some of the key take-aways from the first 13 episodes of the podcast . . . including their amazing guests' wit, humor, wisdom, insights and incredible storytelling -- all about the power of strategic communications, human relationships and the fundamentals of good PR.
As the Fletcher Marketing PR team takes a podcast hiatus for the holidays, don't forget to tune back in to #MsInterPReted on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020 for the launch of Season 2. . . Kelly and Mary Beth will have some interesting tweaks and new offerings to announce for the podcast in the New Year!
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag in social media
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
The holiday season at year-end can be spiritually fulfilling and laden with good cheer . . . but it's also a time of over-booked calendars, never-ending "to do" lists (both personally and professionally) and -- in the agency business -- year-end tasks coupled with plans for the upcoming New Year Q1 that might derail well-meaning intentions to take peaceful R&R with family and friends.
Every PR professional encounters workplace stress at any time of the year . . . but what happens when stresses go into overdrive and start resulting in deeper, more negative impacts on one's mindset, energy level and an ability to bring one's best self to their teams (and to their own personal lives)?
In this episode, Kelly and Mary Beth share what some of the unique challenges entail of founding, launching and sustaining over many years a thriving public relations agency . . . and how both employers and employees alike should be more aware of one another's challenges and needs in order to create a healthy workplace culture, conducive to great business results and healthy mindsets year-round.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag in social media
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
About Mike McClamroch:
A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Mike McClamroch has been East Tennessee Foundation’s chief executive since 2001. With his constant emphasis on excellent stewardship of the resources entrusted to the Foundation and on top-notch constituent services, Mike has overseen dramatic growth in the asset size and grantmaking of ETF.
Prior to leading ETF, Mike practiced law and was an active volunteer with a variety of charitable organizations in the Knoxville area. In 2019, Mike received The Legacy Award for outstanding philanthropic leadership, presented by the Great Smoky Mountain Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
In Episode 12, Kelly and Mary Beth welcome Mike, who talks about the combination of passion, focus and expertise community foundations like East Tennessee Foundation deliver to the fabrics of local communities nationwide.
Mike discusses:
- How and why philanthropy is relevant… now more than ever
- Why it’s so important to merge what you’re passionate about with your vocation (and how he’s personally accomplished this outcome through his leadership career path with ETF)
- How Mike’s personal collaboration with the late Lady Vols Head Coach Pat Summitt resulted in a national legacy through creation of the Pat Summitt Foundation (housed at ETF), to help find a cure for Alzheimer’s
- How charitable organizations serve strategic needs in any community (and how public relations professionals can broker necessary relationships and programs to meet those needs)
- The types of nationwide community needs that philanthropic donors should consider when undertaking the task of investing dollars for local community impact
- What types of communications challenges community foundations encounter, in seeking to advance their missions
- Why careers in philanthropy are a direct path toward action-based impact… making the biggest differences to the most people
- Why measuring impact is essential
- Top mistakes that well-meaning philanthropists can easily make in the process of participating in charitable work / giving
- What “the new model” of charitable giving entails
- Why it’s important for employees of companies to be involved in the corporate giving process – such as by serving on a grant panel
- How the power of endowment works as a core function of ETF to generate permanent grant-making opportunities, with benefits to grantees, donors and communities
- How Millennials and women are helping drive philanthropy today
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag in social media
- Discover East Tennessee Foundation (ETF): http://www.easttennesseefoundation.org/
- Discover the Pat Summitt Foundation (housed within ETF): http://www.patsummitt.org/
- Follow East Tennessee Foundation: @ETFoundation https://twitter.com/etfoundation
- Follow the Pat Summitt Foundation: @WeBackPat https://twitter.com/WeBackPat
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
Marshall keeps listeners laughing as well as riveted as he shares:
- How his memorial cartoons in 2018 of the late First Lady Barbara Bush and President George H. W. Bush became overnight, national media sensations while being embraced by the Bush Family (Marshall will be speaking at the Bush Presidential Library in December 2019);
- How his 9/11 cartoons helped unify a grieving nation; and
- How Jesus's Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) served as a catalyst to change Marshall's life in the face of adversity -- including a serious bout with cancer, 18 cycles of career lay-offs in the newspaper business and the occasional animosities and even personal threats against his safety when a disenchanted reader fails to find either humor or good-natured irony in his work.
Kelly Fletcher, Mary Beth West and the whole Fletcher PR team join Marshall in wishing everyone a safe, blessed Thanksgiving holiday.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag in social media
- Follow Marshall Ramsey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarshallRamsey
- Follow Mississippi Today: https://twitter.com/MSTODAYnews
- Follow Dave Ramsey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaveRamsey
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
In Episode 10 (Part 2 of 2) of this interview with PRCA Director General Francis Ingham, Francis explains the tough realities – and shocking repercussions – of taking a stand in the Bell-Pottinger ethics-violation case in 2017.
Links:
Learn more about the PRCA Bell Pottinger case study:https://www.prca.org.uk/campaigns/ethics/bell-pottinger-case-study Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag * Join PRCA today:* + Information about International Individual Membership + Information about International Corporate Membership + The link to join PRCA * Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/ * Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr * Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher * Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest * Follow PRCA-UK on Twitter: @PRCA_UK https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK * Follow Francis Ingham on Twitter: @Ingers1975 https://twitter.com/Ingers1975 * Follow PRCA’s #PRcast podcast: https://lnkfi.re/prcast * Find out more about PRCA’s new Schools Outreach Programme: http://news.prca.org.uk/prca-launches-schools-outreach-programme/ * Visit PRCA’s Newsroom to learn more about PRCA’s consistent, effective advocacy for the public relations profession: http://news.prca.org.uk/home/
In Episode 9 (Part 1 of this two-part interview), Kelly Fletcher, MPRCA, and Mary Beth West, MPRCA, welcome Francis Ingham, MPRCA – global leader of PRCA and Chief Executive of ICCO – who explains many issues of critical importance to the global public relations profession... like the importance of non-partisanship in professional associations, ethics in strategic communications, mental well-being among professionals working in high-pressure PR jobs, diversity & inclusion (and how D&I must factor into meaningful workforce development strategies to go beyond mere lip service in the PR field).
Watch for Part 2 of this interview in the next episode of #MsInterPReted, when Francis delves into the topic of ethics and PRCA's most world-renowned case study of accountability standards for ethical compliance -- the expulsion of Bell-Pottinger.
In Part 1: Francis discusses:
- How PRCA’s explosive growth is impacting the industry, in service to the highest standards of public relations practice;
- Why having an international outlook in the public relations profession is essential today, to help tackle the global industry’s shared issues and challenges;
- Why “taking a stand on issues that matter” is one of PRCA’s most important tasks… and how PRCA most recently helped forge a positive reversal-of-decision by an elected member of the Scottish Parliament who planned to serve part-time for a lobbying firm (an overt conflict of interest);
- Why professional membership associations that use their platforms toward overtly political or divisive ends have “lost their way”;
- How PRCA is undertaking the issue of mental / emotional well-being for public relations professionals, conducting its own research on this topic and providing tools to help agencies and employers to address these matters for their teams;
- How PRCA’s Apprenticeship Program and its just-announced Schools Outreach Programme (to younger ages) seeks to bring diverse communities into the PR workforce;
- Why the U.K. Government tasked PRCA-UK with assisting in Brexit preparations (and how PRCA is undertaking this task in a non-partisan manner).
Listen for Part 2 of this Interview with Episode 10 of #MsInterPReted, when Francis explains the tough realities – and shocking repercussions – of taking a stand in the Bell-Pottinger ethics-violation case in 2017.
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Join PRCA today:
- Information about International Individual Membership
- Information about International Corporate Membership
- The link to join PRCA
- Discover Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR https://twitter.com/fletcherpr
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher https://twitter.com/kdfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest https://twitter.com/MaryBethWest
- Follow PRCA-UK on Twitter: @PRCA_UK https://twitter.com/PRCA_UK
- Follow Francis Ingham on Twitter: @Ingers1975 https://twitter.com/Ingers1975
- Follow PRCA’s #PRcast podcast: https://lnkfi.re/prcast
- Find out more about PRCA’s new Schools Outreach Programme: http://news.prca.org.uk/prca-launches-schools-outreach-programme/
- Visit PRCA’s Newsroom to learn more about PRCA’s consistent, effective advocacy for the public relations profession: http://news.prca.org.uk/home/
Links:
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Marc Nelson Denim: https://marcnelsondenim.com/
- Follow Marc Nelson Denim on Twitter: @MarcNelsonDenim
- Find Marc Nelson Denim on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarcNelsonDenim/
- Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
In this episode, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West warn against a tactics-centric marketing / PR plan, which generally yields money ill-spent, piecemeal results and little cohesiveness with overarching business goals . . . hardly a formula for success.
Strong, strategic systems of promotional communications and brand reputation-building require marketers, the C-Suite team and boards of directors to engage in a meaningful, data-driven process. Kelly and Mary Beth reveal the critical elements.
- Kelly and Mary Beth explain:
- How Marketing / PR RFPs go wrong with prescriptive tactics seeking a price list, rather than seeking agencies that offer a research-based, strategic approach
- How to avoid misspending marketing dollars
- Ways that social media methodology requires special treatment, given how fast-moving it’s changing
- Why “the process is the product” in strategic communications development
- Timing considerations to bear in mind when seeking to develop a strategy ahead of the necessary execution timeline
- How competitive and situational analyses must factor in and how to engage input from the larger team
- What a strategic mindset looks like through the marketing / PR lens and how it can be cultivated – and making sure the PR / marketing agency delivers the goods strategically with a “fiduciary” level of care for the marketing budget
Links
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
About Mark Weaver
Mark Weaver started his marketing career as a blogger, photographer and social media influencer in the motorcycle industry. He moved to Knoxville, TN, from Louisville, KY, where he created digital marketing content for GE Appliances. He has a BA from Purdue University in Communications with Minors in Computer Technology and Organizational Leadership & Supervision.
Now as content marketing manager for Radio Systems Corporation in Knoxville, TN (home of the Invisible Fence®, PetSafe® and SportDOG® brands), Mark has dreamed of living in Knoxville to be in a city full of personality and surrounded by so many opportunities for outdoor adventures and activities.
Mark loves exploring nature with his wife and two kids. He loves to travel and experience new cultures, snowboarding, mountain biking, and of course dogs! Fun fact: Mark won the Showcase Showdown on the nationally televised game show “The Price is Right” and sold the two cars he won to live in Uganda, Africa to help out orphanages.
Show Notes
- Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West explore Mark Weaver’s insights about why influencer marketing “isn’t just the future; it’s the NOW.”
- Mark explains:
- What “influencer marketing” is by definition
- How he started on his pathway as an influencer himself for the motorcycle industry
- How influencers tap into the trust factor that impacts the buyer’s journey
- How Mark is managing the influencer strategy and selection process at Radio Systems (which includes the PetSafe®, Invisible Fence®, and SportDOG® brands) with specific tools that all strategic communicators might consider for their technology toolbox
- Why Instagram commands a lead role
- Why huge budgets may not be required to achieve significant results
- Kelly also discusses the Julius / Lippe Taylor “State of Influencers Report 2019” Report; the role of macro-, micro- and nano-influencers; and the ethics / Federal Trade Commission legalities of influencer marketing transparency.
Links
- Follow the #MsInterPReted hashtag
- Fletcher Marketing PR: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Fletcher Marketing PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @marybethwest
- Follow Radio Systems Corp on Twitter: @RadioSystemsCor
- Follow Mark Weaver on Instagram: @markrweaver
- Find Radio Systems online: https://www.radiosystemscorporation.com/
- Learn more about the Julius (@JuliusWorks) / Lippe Taylor (LippeTaylorPR) “State of Influencers Report 2019”:
- https://blog.juliusworks.com/state-of-influencers-report-2019-julius
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/influencer-marketing-is-maturing-heres-what-you-need-to-know-300867546.html?tc=socialpost
Brand and CEO activism exists as a so-called strategic extension of brand awareness and engagement campaigns, often targeting younger audiences in particular and seeking to score loyalty points with consumers in general.
- But is the #BrandsTakingStands advocacy trend a consistently reliable strategy in the marketing toolbox, with big pay-off potential? After all, major and minor brands alike now are sinking big money into activist stances for the almighty marketing campaign.
- Or is #GetWokeGoBroke another trending hashtag for a valid reason . . . with cautionary tales littering the marketing and reputation-management scene, given that too many brands are “stepping in it” and getting CEO activism irreversibly wrong – with disastrous financial results?
At what point is the commercialization of activism an inauthentic enterprise . . . only ratcheting up public divisiveness and other side-show issues (such as children / youth being used as campaign pawns) in our already divisive and hostile society, news media and social media environment?
Mary Beth peels back the actual data of two fairly recent, highly publicized studies sponsored by well-known global PR agencies that tout CEO activism as a categorical “Must-Do” item in strategic communications . . .
And as Mary Beth and Kelly reveal, there is undisclosed fine print as well as hidden asterisks to each study’s publicly reported data, telling an entirely different story than the one being promoted in agency news release headlines and Tweets favoring aggressive corporate activist stances.
Kelly and Mary Beth offer cautionary points and expose how some PR firms may overtly promoting their own revenue-generating bottom lines instead of clients’ best interests.
In this episode, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West uncover:
- Does it make sense to go political with your brand?
- What are the risks… or the rewards… and what should be the ethics of PR firms as they guide their clients?
- Does corporate activism position client companies in a contrived manner as “The Hero” – when more modern storytelling techniques eschew this approach as a brand-development best practice?
- How do you make this approach successful in today’s era of echo chambers and tunnel vision?
- Are there “safe” issues – like equal pay or women’s rights? Or does ANY sociopolitical issue pose a risk of unintended rabbit holes, misinterpretations and consequences?
- Might social activism ideas and tactics actually fly in the face of #PRdiversity values?
- How did the University of Tennessee recently hit a major PR home-run using activism in a non-political and highly effective way?
Links
- Mary Beth West’s published articles on this topic:
- “Spin Cycle: #PR Firms Push #CEO #Activism with Selective Data”:
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/spin-cycle-pr-firms-push-ceo-activism-selective-data-mary-beth/
- “Rise of 'Do-Gooder' Marketing Can Pose Reputational Risks”:
- https://www.knoxnews.com/story/money/business/2019/04/11/public-relations-nikes-corporate-social-responsibility-has-risks/3069953002/
- “Spin Cycle: #PR Firms Push #CEO #Activism with Selective Data”:
- Follow the "Ms. InterPReted" conversation via the Hashtag: #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West, MPRCA, on Twitter: @MaryBethWest
- Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Learn more about the Fletcher Team Process: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/about-us/process/
In the Tourism World, effective public relations, marketing and brand-storytelling make the world go ‘round to drive visitor interest, overnight-stays, destination ticket sales and positive economic outcomes.
And that reality is only amplified across the Volunteer State: Tennessee, where tourism is a major driver of statewide as well as local economies.
Join Fletcher Marketing PR Founder and CEO Kelly Fletcher and Senior Strategist Mary Beth West, as they take #MsInterPReted on a tour of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail, with special guests Chris Fletcher (Assistant Master Distiller of famed global brand Jack Daniel Distillery of Lynchburg, TN); Alexandra Castle (Master Distiller – and the first female master distiller in Tennessee – of Memphis-based Old Dominick Distillery); and “Peaceful Side of the Smokies” Tourism Director of the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority, Kim Mitchell (Fletcher Marketing PR client).
Together, Alex, Chris and Kim explain “whiskey mystique” and share with Kelly and Mary Beth the finer points of brand storytelling with whiskey’s unique identity as part of Tennessee culture and Southern lore – and how the female market segment is such a growing part of Tennessee tourism as well as the spirits industry.
Don’t miss the Tennessee Whiskey Trail’s “Grains and Grits” Festival in partnership with the Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, 6:00-9:00 p.m., in Townsend, TN.
In this episode, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West uncover:
- Why their home state of Tennessee is a must-see on the global tourism map . . . and how PR, marketing and brand storytelling are essential parts of generating tourism’s economic impact
- The competitive impact of the Tennessee Whiskey Trail (in friendly competition with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail
- What makes distillers like Chris Fletcher (Jack Daniel Distillery) and Alex Castle (Old Dominick Distillery) excited about going to work every day as part of Tennessee’s growing and dynamic distilling community
- The role of events like the upcoming Nov. 2, 2019, Grains and Grits Festival on the Tennessee spirits scene (watch for upcoming coverage in Wine Spectator!)
- How visitors to Tennessee can immerse themselves in rich, diverse experiences on the culinary, music, cultural and social scenes
Links
- Kim Mitchell, Director of Tourism, Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Authority (@PeacefulSmokies): https://smokymountains.org/
- Alex Castle, Master Distiller, Old Dominick Distillery (@OldDominick901): https://olddominick.com/
- Chris Fletcher, Assistant Master Distiller, Jack Daniel Distillery (@JackDaniels_US) https://www.jackdaniels.com/en-us/visit-distillery
- Visit Knoxville: https://www.visitknoxville.com/
- Tennessee Vacations: https://www.tnvacation.com/ (https://twitter.com/TNVacation)
- Tennessee Whiskey Trail: https://www.tnwhiskeytrail.com/ (https://twitter.com/TNWhiskeyTrail)
- Grains and Grits Festival: https://grainsandgritsfest.com/#info
- https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher Marketing & PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Learn more about the Fletcher Team Process: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/about-us/process/
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @MaryBethWest Use the hashtag #MsInterPReted to join the conversation!
About Kelly Fletcher & Mary Beth West:
Fletcher Marketing PR Founder and CEO Kelly Fletcher has built Fletcher Marketing PR into a thriving marketing and PR team whose vision is to influence positive social change. She is a sought-after national speaker on the topic of marketing to women. Working with regional, national and Fortune 500 companies, Fletcher has 25 years’ experience in the full spectrum of integrated communications. Fletcher has offices in Knoxville, TN, and Atlanta, GA.
Fletcher Senior Strategist Mary Beth West, MPRCA, offers experience spanning 25 years, with in-house and consulting posts for a range of publicly traded and privately held corporations as well as government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. She founded, grew and later sold her 15-year PR firm to Fletcher Marketing PR in 2018. West is an authority on the topic of public relations ethics.
In this episode, Kelly Fletcher reveals:
- Her approach to Marketing to Women and how she arrived at her fundamentals of one-concept-never-fits-all and why #PRdiversity is so important;
- Her favorite national niche campaign developed by Fletcher PR for spermicide brand Conceptrol®, with an edgy flair that won two Gold ADDYs (and spurs Mary Beth’s nervous laugh);
- Why advance test-marketing of more risky campaign concepts should never be overlooked;
- The essential role of market research;
- How risky waters should be navigated with research taking the lead, particularly when delving into socially or politically oriented campaign messaging;
- How #MeToo marketing arguably has been exploited for commercial gain . . . and why it’s never a smart move to pander or insult women’s (or anyone’s) intelligence.
Links:
- Follow the "Ms. InterPReted" conversation via the Hashtag: #MsInterPReted
- Follow Fletcher PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Kelly Fletcher on Twitter: @KDfletcher
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @MaryBethWest
- Website: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Learn more about the Fletcher Team Process: https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/about-us/process/
About Kelly Fletcher & Mary Beth West
Since 2008, Kelly Fletcher has built Fletcher Marketing PR into a thriving marketing and PR team whose vision is to influence positive social change. She is a sought-after national speaker on the topic of marketing to women. Working with regional, national and Fortune 500 companies, Fletcher has 25 years’ experience in the full spectrum of integrated communications.
Mary Beth West’s experience also spans 25 years and includes in-house and consulting posts for a range of publicly traded and privately held corporations as well as government agencies and not-for-profit organizations. She has gained prominence in recent years as an outspoken advocate for ethical compliance and accountability in the public relations profession and in the U.S.-based professional association.
Show Notes
Kelly and Mary Beth will reveal why #PR is so misunderstood in large part because of ethical missteps, how reactionary communicators shoot ethical strategy in the foot, how journalism now faces a credibility crisis, the wisdom of industry legend (and Tennessee native) Harold Burson, why working in collaboration with legal teams is essential, and how the London-based Public Relations and Communications Association (@PRCA_UK) is now leading the global profession with an accountability-driven ethical compliance model.
- https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow the PRCA on Twitter: @PRCA_UK
- Follow Fletcher PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @MaryBethWest
- Use the hashtag #MsInterPReted to join the conversation!
About Kelly Fletcher & Mary Beth West
- Since 2008, Kelly Fletcher has built her Fletcher Marketing PR into a thriving marketing and PR team whose vision is to influence positive social change. She is a sought-after national speaker on the topic of marketing to women. Working with regional, national and Fortune 500 companies, Fletcher has 25 years’ experience in the full spectrum of integrated communications.
- Mary Beth West’s experience also spans 25 years and includes in-house and consulting posts for a range of publicly traded and privately held corporations as well as government agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
Show Notes
- So what’s in a name? Download our “Intro” episode of #MsInterPReted and learn from Kelly and Mary Beth why they’re turning the conversation on its head about public relations’ impact points for diverse businesses, organizations and society.
- In the #MsInterPReted podcast, Kelly and Mary Beth talk about Public Relations’ “MsInterPRetations,” as well as why their being Southern is a positive point of differentiation, what agency entrepreneurship means, and how women’s voices carry influence.
Links
- https://www.fletchermarketingpr.com/
- Follow Fletcher PR on Twitter: @FletcherPR
- Follow Mary Beth West on Twitter: @MaryBethWest
- Use the hashtag #MsInterPReted to join the conversation!