IABC Be Heard Weblog

By Yolanda Green, a community pioneer, children’s advocate and media personality. She currently serves as the community relations director and host of “Outlook Houston” and “Going Green” for Houston’s CW 39. Check out the Green Room for show highlights, eco-friendly links and Yolanda’s green tweets. And be sure to join Yolanda as she emcees our Bronze Quill Awards Gala on April 30.

The launch of “Going Green with Yolanda Green” on November 2, 2008, made Channel 39 Houston’s home for Eco-tainment. The weekly half-hour program provides a creative venue for the station to highlight ways that Houstonians can embrace the environment in their everyday lives and enjoy living green.

When the project was first created, the Green Team began to strategize on how to communicate educational material in a non-traditional way that would not only engage viewers but also have a fresh and edgy format.

Historically, members of the management team had experienced success with embracing what some would perceive as sensitive issues and communicating them in such a way that viewers would be more accepting and most notably creating change in the community through a very successful adoption campaign. The Adoptation campaign (formerly Adopt 2000) launched in March 2000 and over the course of 10 years has helped more than 5, 500 children find loving homes.

Our initial thought was, if we could influence viewers to make the decision to adopt, how challenging would it be to get people to recycle?

The program’s launch was well received. Viewers immediately responded positively to the high-energy, fast-paced editing and light-hearted approach of the show host.  From an eco-friendly farm to homes made completely from discarded and recycled materials, the local flavor of the program also added to the show’s popularity and the ability for the station to generate revenue from those leading the green brigade.

In fact, the show became so popular that station management added a second run on Saturdays at 2 p.m. in addition to its original time slot on Sundays at 10 a.m.

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By Mark Schumann, ABC, a Managing Principal of Towers Perrin, based in Houston, and the incoming Chair of IABC.  Towers Perrin, along with BP, is a presenting sponsor of the IABC/Houston Bronze Quill Awards Gala on Thursday, April 30. Mark recently learned he won his 16th and 17th Gold Quill awards from IABC, which will be presented at the World Conference in June. Read the blogs of Mark and other members of the IABC international executive board and senior staff at the IABC Cafe.

As communicators, we redefine the value we bring with each challenge we face.

When times are good we articulate value; when events are static we emphasize what’s unique; when days are chaotic we focus on the calm; and when times are tough we try to bring clarity and candor to ease concerns.

For many of us, what we experienced in Houston in the 1980s defined how we approach our craft. Those tough days of the energy bust taught us how to authentically communicate what people may not want to hear but which they will benefit from understanding.

So we have, in our town, the chance to look at today’s challenge with seasoned eyes. And we need them. At Towers Perrin, we recently polled “typical American workers” about the financial storm and – in a finding reminiscent of our hurricane – learned that people are doing what they can to “hunker down” until the storm passes. We learned:

•    82% of U.S. workers have been personally affected by the downturn in the economy

•    91% work for companies that have been affected as well

•    54% report their companies are not hiring

•    45% report staffing cuts at their companies

The results show that, in light of these actions, and the steady rise in unemployment, most employees appear to be shifting their focus from maximizing career advancement and incentive opportunities to securing basic pay and benefit packages.

So what can we do as communicators? We can start with the truth. And then edit.

This is not a time to spin, not a moment to fictionalize, not a day to embellish. The only way to credibly communicate during tough times is to imagine how the receiver will remember the message when times are good again. Think about three things:

What will disappoint. We so often brainstorm about what will please but the true direction during tough times is what may let a receiver down – an employee, a customer, an investor.

What people are hungry for. We try to please the people we work for but the hunger that should keep us thinking is that of our receivers – what they need, want, expect.

How people will read between the lines. We labor over words, and how they connect, yet may overlook what’s happening between them. Think about what is not being said.

In any crisis, we all want to “lock down” what we need to provide stability for ourselves and our families. We are critical to the efforts of any organization to authentically engage people during challenging times. But it will only happen if we carefully look at how we communicate from their perspectives – to walk many steps in their shoes.

And that’s something that comes naturally in Texas.

Have a good week.

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By David Henderson, a communications and media consultant with global credentials, an author, and Emmy Award winning former CBS News correspondent based in the Washington, D.C., area. His latest book is “The Media Savvy Leader: Visibility, Influence and Results in a Competitive World.” Online: www.davidhenderson.com. David will be the keynote speaker at our chapter’s Bronze Quill Awards Gala April 30.

It used to be that we just had to keep track of journalists as they moved around their industry. Today, we have more formidable challenges to tackle as communicators. Not only are we witnessing seismic changes happening with the mainstream media but we, as communications professionals, face changing styles in how we communicate, on behalf of our organizations, our clients and ourselves.

Every week, if not every day, we hear of more newspapers failing or struggling to stay alive. Newsrooms are cutting staffs, cutting sections, cutting pages. Papers are trying to find a silver bullet to attract more readers and larger revenue streams online. They are not having much luck so far.

Faced with the reality of changing needs of traditional journalists, a broadcast media that has become more entertainment than news, and today’s fast-developing online world of social media, blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, how do we attract attention and communicate accurately, effectively and clearly?

Here are six suggestions for organizational leadership in today’s competitive world:

Advocate change – Learn the styles, trends and new protocols of today’s mainstream and online media as it shifts and jockeys to find a niche. Champion change in your own organization. Old habits die hard at many organizations, slowing them from learning new styles and embracing new techniques. While it might be an old habit and more comfortable, for example, to send out a press release, that kind of outreach has become less effective in today’s competitive world.
Embrace storytelling – Learn how to tell what your organization has to say in an appealing story. Storytelling is the singular most powerful technique for any organization or business to attract attention and trigger word of mouth buzz that will ultimately enhance leadership positioning. The media, whether mainstream or online, is always looking for a good story.
Think plain language – The communications clarity of business and organizations is too often polluted by obfuscated language of industry short-hand or over-worked business school jargon. As a communicator, translate opaque into plain and clear language that everyone will understand.
Reach out to few to achieve more – Develop working relationships with those individuals – whether journalists, bloggers, analysts or others – who are opinion-leaders in your industry or business sector. Chances are the list of authentic influencers is astonishingly short. Become a valued and trusted resource aside from promoting your own organization. The payoff will be exponential because of enhanced credibility, and the fact that the top thought-leaders in your industry will begin turning to you and your organization to learn more. With regard to the media, the days of blasting out press releases to thousands of people are fast coming to an end for the simple reason that a release sent to everyone is the antithesis of what any journalist wants or needs for a story.
Stop marketing and promoting, start listening – We are living and working in a new world influenced by vast choices online, a world of diminished influence for traditional advertising, marketing and promotion. This is the hardest thing for many organizations to grasp – that we must let go of old ways, and listen to the people who matter most to our organizations – customers, clients, buyers, stakeholders, the media – and get into conversations with them. There’s an old belief that the best kind of promotion is when a third-party person says something nice about you … and it’s never been truer than today. Listening and conversations lead to those who matter most to your organization telling others nice things about you. They become an army of ambassadors who build the best kind of awareness.
Become the credible voice and face of your organization and industry – Look around at today’s most respected organizations. In many cases, the top executives have high visibility, and are recognized as leaders – Tony Hsieh of Zappos, John Chambers of Cisco, Richard Branson of Virgin, Steve Jobs of Apple. They define and differentiate the image, integrity and reputation of their organizations through their own consistent openness and transparency as industry leaders, often leaving less outward CEOs to stand in the shadows.

It is not that difficult to achieve organizational leadership to capitalize on all the changes around us. It begins with the discipline of letting go of old habits that often no longer work, and recognizing that if we do not get more savvy as communicators, we might wake up some day to find that our competitors have.

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