Is strategic philanthropy really ethical?

My English muffin came with a pink ribbon this morning. Seems the folks at Thomas’ are doing a promotion with the Susan G. Komen Foundation — an effort that will contribute $100,000 to the popular charity while also supporting breast-cancer awareness.

The proliferation of pink ribbons in product-marketing campaigns has me wondering if “strategic philanthropy” may have gone too far. It has me wondering if charitable donations have become just another way to buy consumer preference — nothing more than an inexpensive advertisement, albeit one that helps folks in need.

Why would I question such a benevolent campaign? Isn’t that a classic win-win proposition for marketers and cancer research? Not necessarily.

‘Bad Pitch’ blog teaches media relations by showing worst of the worst

As a public relations professional, I never liked media relations. Or maybe media relations didn’t like me. But when the strategy included publicity, I pitched aggressively, and I landed some big stories for my clients over the years.

I earned those placements one at a time, tailoring story angles and crafting details for specific outlets and specific journalists. I don’t know any other way. And never did I use the scatter-shot news distribution or the kind of cold calling that Kevin Dugan calls “steamroller public relations.

Kevin is co-author of the Bad Pitch blog, and he’s helping teach my class on Media Relations & Publicity this semester simply by posting his discoveries and his comments. So this post is, in part, to thank Kevin and his blogging partner Richard Laerman for dishing up media relations wisdom with a side of humor and attitude.

Why are university presidents so rare in blogosphere?

Jim Horton made a provocative statement the other day on his “On Line Public Relations Thoughts.” He was discussing how the Internet “forces transparency” on hidebound institutions, then he pointed to one of them.

“There is nothing more hidebound than academia,” he said. “It is no secret that US colleges and universities run badly. Their tuitions skyrocket beyond the inflation rate. There is little effort to rein in costs. So far, parents continue to empty their bank accounts, but how much longer can it go on? It appears to be a PR crisis in the making.”

Maybe Jim has answered the question I pose in the headline. Could it be that university presidents don’t blog because they can’t withstand the “glare” of transparency?

More “flogs” from Edelman? It appears so

A colleague just sent me this link to a story from Online Media Daily — a story that says the Edleman-Walmart story still has legs — or maybe tentacles. For the record, OMD is where I first read about the Edelman-Walmart mess last week — and they got it right that time.

Nothing from Richard Edelman or Steve Rubel as yet.

I was willing to accept Edelman’s mea culpa of Monday. I mean, we all screw up from time to time.

But I can’t help but ask: What else don’t we know?

4,256 hits has me thinking of credibility and “PR”

I started thinking about it when this blog passed 3,000 visits on October 9th. I thought about it more when I wrote my “30 Days” post on the 11th and watched the clicker hit 3,300.

What’s the next milestone for ToughSledding? 5000 hits? 10,000 hits? Or should I be more concerned with building comments and making this spot a real conversation? Haven’t done a good job of that, to be sure.

The answer came to me tonight while watching game 7 of the NLCS and watching the blog approach 4256 hits — the all-time hits record set by my baseball hero, Pete Rose.

If you love baseball, you have to love the way Pete Rose played it. As a Pirates fan, I hated this guy. As a baseball fan I worshiped him.

Kent State PR firm has outstanding teacher-mentor, and he’s got the trophy to prove it!

My friend, colleague and fellow Steelers fan Rob Jewell won an award this past week — a big one by Kent State standards. So please send your congrats to Rob when you get time: rsjewell@kent.edu. He’s one of three “Outstanding Teaching Award” winners this year — and those babies don’t grow on trees.

Rob gets a plaque to hang on the wall along with a small check from the University Teaching Council. But the cash bonus is a pittance when you compare it to the payoff his students have reaped since he joined us three years ago. Ironically, much of that payoff didn’t come in the classroom.

Edelman fesses up in Walmart blog mess

By now, everyone in the blogosphere knows that Richard Edelman and Steve Rubel have responded to the “fake blog” known as “Wal-Marting Across America.” But I got to thinking — not everyone who reads ToughSledding is a bloghead. Since I wrote about the whole mess last Thursday, I should probably pass along the links.

The last post by “Jim and Laura” on the Wal-Mart blog is sort of pathetic, not unlike the whole campaign. No comments allowed. Imagine that!

It’ll be a while before the world forgives Edelman for this one. But they screwed up and they fessed up. Let’s move on.

When picket lines crop up, what happens to symmetrical public relations?

I don’t envy my friends working in corporate communications at Goodyear. It’s been a while since they had to cross a picket line to get to work. And if that picket line stays up much longer, those on the line and those in the offices are in trouble.

I’m kind of a tire nut, believe it or not. My career began in the Akron, Ohio, 30 years ago as a young reporter covering the tire business. That year, Goodyear endured a 142-day strike that had the Rubber City tied up in knots. A few years later, the industry was closing plants left and right, and three of the Big 4 tiremakers (Goodrich, General and Firestone) were acquired by foreign competitors and left town. I was way ahead of them!

‘Fake blog’ accusations focus on Edelman. Say it ain’t so, Richard!

International social media champion Edelman Public Relations finds itself the target of accusations it created “a phony blog” as a front for client and retail giant WalMart. I heard about it from a colleague who passed along this item from Online Media Daily. Arrived home a few minutes ago (8:45 EDT) and have been unable to find a response on the Edelman website, or any of Edelman’s numerous bloggers.

Is this a hoax, or am I the only one horrified by what the story presents?

Not only has Edelman been a huge blog booster. CEO Richard is leading the way in worldwide discussions of corporate social responsibilty and transparency. I talked up his Monday post on CSR to everybody I know telling them, “This guy really gets it.”

Top Edelman blogger Steve Rubel has been silent since 10:45 this morning. That would be about the time things hit the fan in New York. The world’s waiting to hear from you guys. And of all people, you know the blogosphere doesn’t sleep.

Remember the good old days when we had 24 hours to formulate our crisis plan?

30 Days in the Blogosphere: Lessons in public relations, lessons in life

30 days. 27 posts. 3,200+ reader visits. Way too many words.

It’s been… Well, it’s been tough sledding. But fun just the same.
I learned a good bit in these 30 days, and this project has given me an exceptional return on my investment. I’d like to tell Shel Israel that I get his ROI point now — or at least I think I do.

Shel’s book, Naked Conversations, (co-authored with Scoble) inspired me to get involved in the blogoshere. I am grateful, Shel. My wife is not. I’m also grateful to Shel’s readers. When he announced this blog’s “second coming,” he asked readers to give me a hand. I needed it, and they responded — some of them in the comment box of my first post, a few more via email.

ToughSledding started as an academic experiment. At Kent State, we’re highly focused on how online social networks are impacting public relations. But until I dove in, I was like most academics: an observer, not a participant. Sorry I waited. You can’t really understand something by standing on the sidelines.