THE PR PLAYBOOK

A new tainted pill crisis is puting McNeil and its parent company Johnson & Johnson back on the hotseat, causing an ever growing list of Tylenol products to be taken off the shelves, again. J & J’s prompt and agressive reaction to the original Tylenol crisis of 1982 was a shining example of how an organization should handle itself in the face of such a crisis. This time, however, their response has fallen short, suffering from a complete lack of urgency and failing to properly assess the extent of the damage. As a result, they’ve done little to inspire consumer confidence and even less to bolster their reputation. Maybe their response team should pick up a crisis communication textbook and revisit the original incident to see how it’s done.

From the Official Google Blog: “We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all. We recognize that this may well mean having to shut down Google.cn, and potentially our offices in China.”

A new decade is unfolding right before our eyes, and with it new and exciting possibilities.  In the last ten years the evolution of the Internet from simple browsing to Web 2.0 and Social Media has revolutionized the world of business communications and public relations, elevating both to a whole new level of importance. Social networking and integrated mobile platforms are now allowing PR professionals to foster more intimate and personalized relationships with their publics and media partners,  as well as the ability to collect an unprecedented amount of data necessary to research, monitor, analyze and evaluate a whole range of activities and programs, and all in near real-time.

And so, it seems like every day one guru or another evangelizes the virtues of Web 2.0 and Social Media, but as PR professionals we should know better than to believe the hype. Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe the social web is an important tool in the public relations specialist’s arsenal, and like all tools it requires the knowledge and purpose to use it.  The first of which is abundant, the second…sorely lacking.

Are we defined by our relationships to other people?

New visual identity. How do you like it?

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Photos of Penny and I at the Esquire Middle East launch party. All in all an incredible evening and a fantastic first issue too, well done! Many thanks to AHLAN & Masala for the coverage, Dubai’s chic elite indeed!

More pics from the event:

We now live in an age where blog posts, tweets, customer rankings and forum comments heavily influence brand reputation and purchasing decisions. Businesses can ill afford to ignore their publics any longer and it is absolutely essential, now more than ever, to engage your audiences and contribute to the conversation.

Thought Of The Day

Reacting to negative reviews: Excercise in futility or Necessary action?

As a Canadian who’s recently relocated to Dubai, the one thing I’ve noticed from a public relations standpoint is that the whole Web 2.0 phenomenon hasn’t exploded in the Middle East the same way it has in Europe or North America, regions where the media consuming public is much more likely to interact through social networks, read blogs or even conduct business online.

I can’t help but wonder why social media hasn’t proliferated itself as pervasively as it has in other societies, especially if you take into account that an estimated 65-70% percent of the population in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) is below the age of 30, a prime demographic typically consisting of early adopters, much more likely to be at the forefront of new trends, gadgetry and technology.

Furthermore, given the continued erosion of traditional media outlets and the increasing democratization of news and publishing, it surprises me to see that Web 2.0 and Social Networking has not been widely accepted as a strategic corporate function and therefore not playing a key role within the media mix of organizations operating throughout the region.  One of the challenges facing these organizations is the lack of competent professionals with the knowledge and vision to capitalize on the opportunities that this new type of media can afford.

As of June 30/09 there were an estimated 48,000,000 internet users in the Middle East, growing at an astonishing rate of 1,360.2% in the period between 2000 and 2008. Despite these impressive facts, we do have to consider that in some areas, those who have access to the internet are a privileged minority.

So how do we explain this social media “gap” currently present in the Middle East? Is it a digital or cultural divide?  What do you think?

I’ve decided to squeeze every last drop from the sponge of life!