Brad Marley

Late on Saturday night, the Twittersphere blew up with the news that Joe Paterno had died.

Except he didn’t.

Judging by this hashtag, it appears CBS incorrectly broke the story.

Even though his family confirmed that he did pass away a few hours later, I think it’s still worth mentioning that this speed-over-accuracy media atmosphere we are all a part of is troubling.

It’s troubling because, besides a clever hashtag, there seems to be no repercussions for spreading such an untrue story, leading most to believe that this wasn’t a big deal.

But I think it is a big deal.

Our country’s freedom of the press is something we all take for granted. A morning newspaper on the doorstep has been, for most of us, as American as baseball and Occupy Wall Street. But as social media continues its rapid ascent as our main source of news-gathering, we risk losing maybe our best source of news-gathering.

I’m talking, again, about the newspaper. (Don’t think I didn’t think about calling this post “Why We Need Newspapers, Part 2.”)

Newspapers don’t make mistakes like this. They have the luxury — yes, the luxury — of checking their facts. It’s been a long time since a print newspaper actually “broke” a story, but that’s no longer their place in the world. A successful paper must now focus on analysis. They must write the stories behind the stories that broke the night before.

That’s where they can thrive.

But I fear that the news about Paterno passing away will only serve to put this thought in our heads that newspapers should go the way of the dinosaurs.

If anything, it should make them settle in for a fight to stay relevant.

I wish there was a way to hold those accountable who mislead us to be punished, but, for now, we’ll have to let the Court of Public Opinion levy the punishment.

Our job, for those of us who are active in social media, is not to fan the flames. When we hear something shocking, it’s up to us to check our facts. Read it with a grain of salt.

Because if we don’t, we’re only fanning the flames of inaccuracy. And once we’ve made it clear that we can tolerate mistakes, there’s nothing to hold back the wave of falsity.

/end rant

It can be incredibly hard for PR pros to be creative.

We all have these grand ideas for the next viral video or unique ways to use new technology to tell our client’s story. But when we sit down to put those ideas in motion, we get bogged down by the minutiae that can plague our industry — time entry, six rounds of approvals, etc. — and our creative juices stop flowing.

It’s frustrating.

For a profession that prides ourselves on being creative, we sure are an extremely process-driven bunch, aren’t we?  So aggravating.

Sometimes it seems like a small miracle that we get to actually implement an idea here and there.

But fear not, fair readers. (All 17 of you.) There is a shining beacon of creativity that should give all of us hope for a better, more creative future.

And it’s the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

*record scratch*

Yep. The CDC.

Last May, they revealed “Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse.” It was an emergency preparedness guide taken to the next level.

With their tongue firmly planted in their cheek, the guide explained why it’s crucial to be prepared in the event of a zombie apocalyptic scenario, even going so far as to cite the Bible of surviving a zombie attack.

Oh, yeah: They also shared tips on how to prepare for real emergencies, too.

It was a brilliant PR strategy.

Emergency preparedness guides are boring.

Emergency preparedness guides with a pop culture twist are much more entertaining (and readable.)

(I’m not going to lie to you: I wish I’d thought of this.)

What really blew me away was the fact that a government agency would allow this idea to see the light of day. We think of large corporations and government entities as being dry and “by the book.” This was neither, which is probably why it got picked up by mainstream outlets.

To take it to the next level, they even released a graphic novel in October, just in time for NY Comic Con. A neat (and logical) next step in their continuing campaign to prepare people for emergencies.

***

This initiative proves that you don’t have to be a small, nimble agency to pull off a surprising PR campaign.

If it’s a good idea and fits the overall goals of the initiative, it can be done.

So the next time you find yourself doubting your idea before it has been presented, because you think it will be shot down, take heart.

And think about zombies.

These are strange times we live in, my friends.

Not only was it short-sleeve weather in Detroit last week, but big corporations continue to try and push extra fees on their customers, believing in their greedy little heart of hearts that we are going to accept it without a fight.

When I read about Bank of America and Verizon canceling their fees, I imagine these out-of-touch ideas were born in meetings full of big-wigs who are part of the 1 percent.

In fact, the meetings probably went like this:

A portly, bespectacled man (not entirely dissimilar to this picture of Theodore Roosevelt) approaches a podium, holding a snifter of amber-colored liquid.

“Gentlemen! It has come to my attention that we are not making enough money. This travesty must surely be nipped in the bud…immediately!”

Murmurs of agreement ripple through the assembled group of executives.

“But we live in a wonderful age, my friends. An age where our customers are unaware of what they want; an era where we have complete power over the whims of our business! By installing this completely unnecessary and unwarranted fee, we will continue to be able to afford the luxuries we so rightly deserve!”

Hear, Hear!

Glasses chink together. Cigar smoke is released into the air in great relief. Backs are slapped in good humor. The man before these powerful men has given them the answer to their problems.

Vacation homes will not go unbought! Private jets will not have to go unflown!

Their prayers have been answered by their delirious leader.

Strangely missing from these proceedings is the PR person.

Had he or she been invited to this meeting, the company might have avoided the PR disaster that has taken up residence in the public forum.

Alas, they probably were not.

There has been discussion for some time now about the importance of communications professionals gaining a seat at the table with other members of the C-Suite. But when I hear about huge corporations who think they can actually get away with charging the customer more money for no good reason, I’m disheartened.

It appears they still don’t value good, strategic PR counsel.

I liken this situation to working with legal: You can get frustrated by their advice and strict adherence to guidelines, but in most cases, they know more than you do about the situation.

In a case where a company is deciding to add fees for the sake of adding fees (even if this isn’t true, it’s what the public believes) you might not like our counsel (which should be a hearty “No way in hell”), but you have to come to the realization that we’re right.

We might not know the first thing about logistics management, but we know what will and will not go over with the public.

If you listen to us, we’ll keep your organization’s reputation intact.

And that’s worth more than a measly five bucks.

Some of us who work in PR are lucky.

Our clients are large corporations with entire divisions devoted to helping us tell our story, whether it’s a fully equipped broadcast studio that we can use to record podcasts, or an editorial division that acts almost like a news department, siphoning the best stories to fill slots that will draw the most eyeballs.

If you have this machine at your disposal, it can make your job much easier.

But not everybody has this luxury. In fact, with no stats to back this up, I’d wager that most of us have to do most of the leg work ourselves. Even out-duel the major players.

Thankfully, technology makes it easier to tell our story. And if there’s one piece of tech that has the best chance to disrupt our industry in 2012, I’d put my money on Instagram.

As of January 1, 2012, there are 15 million Instagram accounts that have shared more than 400 million photos. And organizations like the Boston Celtics and General Electric have started accounts to use photos to help augment their ability to reach their audiences, so there’s something to this service.

But how can Instagram change the way we do PR in the new year?

Well, in all PR situations, you’re trying to make news. It can be as straightforward as en email pitch to a tech reporter, or conducting a major event that is geared toward a large group of automotive media.

In both cases, you’re using words to draw their interest to interview an executive or attend an event.

But what if we added a visual element?

Even with a pool of photographers at your disposal, it can take hours (sometime a day) to get the high-res pictures you want to display.

But if you have an iPhone with the Instagram app, you can snap pictures and immediately post them wherever you want, and you can even add some artistic flair with the filters. And the iPhone takes a damn good picture, so you’re not losing much in the way of resolution. You might not be the next Ansel Adams, but even the most green PR person can create something worthwhile.

[Note: Instagram is only available on the iPhone, but an app for Android is coming soon, and I can't imagine that Windows Phone would be far behind.]

And with the ability to use hashtags on Instagram to categorize your images, it isn’t difficult to reserve a hashtag for providing sneak peeks for upcoming projects, or hashtags that correspond with a specific event so that media who can’t attend can still watch the images in real time.

In no way should this replace the high-res images that a professional photographer will provide, but it can help us to “tell the story” while we’re waiting, and anything that helps us become better storytellers has to be considered.

2012 feels like the year where PR professionals who experimented with new tools in 2011 will take the next step and implement those tools in their standard PR toolkit.

If you don’t have Instagram in your regular arsenal, consider this your invitation.

Here in Detroit, we tend to get excited when we catch up with the rest of the United States.

In 1987, we thought we were entering world-class transportation territory when the Detroit People Mover opened. But nearly 25 years later, there is talk of shutting it down. A 25 cent fee-hike last month doesn’t bode well, either.

In 2011, talks of a second Detroit-to-Windsor bridge heated up, only to fizzle when — gasp! — everyone involved thought it would be more fun to argue about the pros and cons instead of actually, you know, doing something.

Maybe that’s why we are so excited to officially enter the 21st century of dining with: a food truck.

In July of this year, El Guapo Grill, the first legal food truck in Detroit, opened it’s hinged-windows to customers downtown, and all it took was 60 visits to City Hall to get the permit. (If that’s not the heart and soul of Detroit, I don’t know what is.)

The sight of a food truck prowling the streets of Detroit gives the city a legitimate big-city feel, something we’ve lacked for, well, forever.

But besides the food, what I really dig about the truck is its use of Twitter to fuel the fires of fandom.

(Before I get into my story, I’d like to point out that, for all of the talk about how one person or company should use social media to increase business, the premise is pretty simple: Please your customers.)

Last weekend I saw a tweet that said they were going to announce a new menu item for the following Monday. I was curious, so replied that they shouldn’t leave us hanging. That’s mean.

In response, I received a direct message telling me what the special would be, and they also claimed they were only telling me. Whether I was the lone recipient of the secret, or they just said that, is a moot point. Their plan worked. I couldn’t resist Korean short rib tacos, so I gathered up a few of my colleagues on Monday and we took the People Mover (I know – so ironic) to the site where the truck sits.

The taco was tremendous. But what really stood out was how they got me to buy into their special item.

They treated me like a person and shared some special information.

That’s it.

I’m sure they know by now that their food speaks for itself. But by adding a personal touch to their marketing effort, they drew in four extra customers that probably would not have come out in the cold rain.

It was so simple, yet, so effective.

One can only hope that there are more food truck permits gathering dust in the queue at City Hall, because it adds another dimension to working downtown.

But if we’re stuck with El Guapo for a few more months, I would be okay with that.

They know what they’re doing.