10 suggestions for 10 banned PR words

Thanks, Mary Lou, for prompting a constructive reply to Robin Wauters' critique of hackneyed PR phrases. Humbly, I submit…

Instead of LEADING / LEADER, how about a provable, specific, quantitative term or unique identifier (“New York Times best selling,” “#1 synthetic motor oil,” etc.)?

Regarding the use of BEST / MOST / FASTEST / LARGEST / BIGGEST / etc., take Robin’s hint. Be able to prove it (source it!), and don’t super-niche it.

Instead of INNOVATIVE / INNOVATION, a simple “new design” might work, and you will spend at least a paragraph to describe exactly how it is new (as in never been done before).

Instead of REVOLUTIONARY, you might want to dial it down a notch and go with “ground-breaking,” which suggests you’re building something new, right?

Most of my “AWARD-WINNING” releases are posted to the respective organization’s website, for the record. Industry-specific outlets usually pick up such announcements, which are less than news, but more than information.

Unless you actually cause an outage (usually not a good thing), the use of DISRUPTIVE / DISRUPTION should be avoided. Robin’s right. If your product/service really shakes things up, you’ll be too busy answering the phone and e-mails to take time for press releases.

OK, I will try to avoid using CUTTING / BLEEDING EDGE in any of my writing or seminars. I will try.

Instead of NEXT-GENERATION, Robin prefers “updated version.” That works for me. Also, be careful of the term “2.0.” It’s swiftly reaching “overuse” status.

Is there another kind of PARTNERSHIP that is not STRATEGIC? Save nine letters and drop the word. (Hmmm… I’m going to have to look at my slogan for Chavis Crew Communications, “strategic content for websites and media relations.”

Seriously, SYNERGY is one of the great business-speak terms of the Information Age. It sounds scientific, organic, like some previously mysterious force is at work forming a great new discovery. Mergers are usually just that. And you’ll need a paragraph to explain why the deal makes sense. If it takes more than a few sentences, it might be too complicated to succeed, and reporters have a nose for that sort of thing.

As always, the above rules can be broken if necessary. If you’ve the goods, tell the story, and tell it well. Contact Chavis Crew Communications for truly innovative, synergistic copy.

Ban these words from your PR...

I found this blog post from Robin Wauters irresistible: “10 words I would love to see banned from press releases.”

You can probably guess what they are. A change in the public relations industry is upon us. Over-saturated writers and editors are busting every hyperbole they spot, so anyone seriously interested in coverage had better deliver the goods.

Journalists, editors, producers and bloggers insist, so publicists must show them.

As a committed subscriber to The Cluetrain Manifesto , I continually remind myself that the world is crying out for authentic conversation, human-to-human interaction, truth (or in the absence of truth, at the very least, honest discussion).

There is no substitute.

Big 3 automakers - Isolated at Fawlty Towers

I love private air travel. Nothing speeds my day along like being driven to the airfield, boarding my own jet, and taking off, only to be whisked away to my meeting or dinner upon arrival. First class commercial travel is the next best thing, but it doesn’t really come close – all that wasted time in security and the unwashed masses and whatnot.

Driving cross-country is an entirely different experience. One gas tank at a time, I get to see cities, ‘burbs, hamlets and countryside speed by outside my climate controlled window. Pull over at a rest stop. Slip the card in the slot, wrench off the cap, slam in the nozzle, squeeze off another 20 gallons, hit the head and I’m off for another 400 miles.

America’s Big 3 auto executives had no such decision to make. It never even occurred to them that they might want to drive to beg Congress/the American taxpayers for a few billion dollars to hold them over. Instead, eack CEO took his own corporate jet to the hearings at the U.S. Capitol.
Auto executives, banking executives, Wall Street magnates, and other corner office holders are so isolated from what we call “normal life,” that they are missing in whole or in large part the way the rest of us see things. I can imagine these executives’ shock as the media descended upon the news that private planes were S-O-P. These unusual times prompted no review, no second thought. The outgoing Congress of 2008 set the tone, and every high-leverage, high-risk operator in the Dow-Jones Industrials is bellying up to the taxpayers’ bar.
To blame: the chief communications officers of GM, Ford and Chrysler, and the institutional “let them eat cake” culture that has infected American capitalism. As they were planning for these Congressional hearings, someone, anyone should have bravely strode into the executive wing and said, “You know, those other two guys are probably going to fly their jet to DC. We should drive our hybrid.”

That would have been the PR coup of the year. Instead, we all enjoyed watching them stumble into the PR gaffe of the year.

Should you care to re-cap the embarrassing mess from mid-November 2008: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Wallstreet/Story?id=6285739&page=1

A month later, the auto execs returned to Congress, having done their homework and with their tail between their legs. And guess what, they drove! Ford’s Alan Mulally rode from Dearborn to Washington, D.C. in a Ford Escape hybrid. GM’s Rick Wagoner (and entourage) are said to have driven a Chevy Malibu and Cobalt (both hybrids) and an alt-fuel Buick Lucerne. Chrysler’s Robert Nardelli cruised down in an Aspen SUV hybrid.

Heidi N. Moore’s blog in the WSJ’s Deal Journal of Dec. 2, 2008 makes the point smartly: “…while these supplicants may have learned their lessons about how to put on a great show of acting penitent, it isn’t clear that real penitence–or real change–is yet the order of the day.”
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Yes, this story is months old, but I needed to post what I’ve been saying, for your perusal. Why this story still matters: on one hand America is coming to grips with hard-earned (?) bonuses on Wall Street, on the other hand a $500k salary cap for corporations on the government dole. Banks and financial firms can no longer hold corporate meetings under the lights of the Vegas Strip. The fallout has not yet settled.

I don’t need to tell you that things have changed. But somebody needs to tell our captains of industry. They need solid, ethically based PR counsel. Chavis Crew Communications is for hire.

Bad week for PR guy Mark Penn

(salon.com/AP/Jerry Lai/burson-marsteller)
Talk about “can’t win for losing…” Mark Penn was rolling large as chief strategist for the Hillary Clinton campaign. He was one of those spokespeople made available to the media after a debate to offer “perspective.” Everyone outside the profession calls it “spin.” This was done under the handle of his personal research firm, Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates. Penn also worked on the Clinton ’96 re-election bid, and Hillary Clinton’s senate campaign. Penn’s Wikipedia entry is loaded with juicy tidbits about other work with the Bloomberg NYC mayoral run, election monitoring of Hugo Chavez election in Venezuela, work with Tony Blair, and others. This guy is busy.

Penn’s other gig, as CEO of PR giant Burson-Marsteller, was to represent the South American nation Columbia in their attempt to win passage of a new free trade agreement, which Senator Clinton opposes, by the way. B-M is one of the largest communications firms on the planet.

So Penn’s meeting with Columbia last week raised a stir. Penn apologized for meeting with Columbia. Feeling disrespected, Columbia fired Burson-Marsteller. And then, under pressure from unions who oppose the Columbian free trade deal, the Clinton campaign fired Penn. Penn’s personal company (PSB) continues to do polling for the Clinton campaign. The fallout in the blogosphere:

Politico.com says Sen. Clinton’s message will not change.

The liberal Huffington Post says Clinton loyalists have long simmered over Penn’s strategy to sacrifice caucus states, B-M's corporate clientele, and his sometimes public arguments with other Clinton staffers.

The conservative hotair.com says Penn offered research and advice, basically a “locked feedback loop” that just reinforced whatever his research revealed.

And now, a word on conflict of interest from the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics:
A member shall:
· Act in the best interests of the client or employer, even subordinating the member's personal interests.
· Avoid actions and circumstances that may appear to compromise good business judgment or create a conflict between personal and professional interests.
· Disclose promptly any existing or potential conflict of interest to affected clients or organizations.
· Encourage clients and customers to determine if a conflict exists after notifying all affected parties.

It’s hard to keep all these competing interests sorted out when you’re a multi-national conglomerate. Success can be its own enemy. Perhaps you would be better served by a smaller, more dedicated firm… like Chavis Crew Communications.