Employee health is PR problem/opportunity for Scotts

My post of 11/13/06 told of a gutsy move by Scotts Miracle-Gro to ban smoking by its employees, on and off the job. I’m betting it’s the first of many such stories we’ll be reading — and helping to manage — in the near future.

Scotts’ initial proposal drew tons of criticism and a few lawsuits. But this week (Feb. 26) it drew the cover story in Business Week. “Get Healthy — Or Else” is a great case history for companies that covet the many benefits of a healthy workforce. You’ll also want to check this BW Online Extra interview with Scotts CEO Jim Hagedorn.

Hagedorn knew it would be an uphill battle to sell his idea. But he opted to go where others fear to tread. He told BW:

“Jack Welch told me: Man, you have balls of steel,’” says Hagedorn. “This is an area where CEOs are afraid to go. A lot of people are watching to see how badly we get sued.”

If you follow business, you know that Welch is the king of steel-balls management. But this story shows Hagedorn is no slouch in the cojones department himself.

Political bloggers must prepare for comment scams

This piece from the Boston Globe last Friday didn’t draw much attention in the PR blogs, maybe because the topic of astroturf campaigns is old hat with most. But it sure has those who blog on political topics worried, and it has implications for all who use social media.

Thanks to Joe Harper for passing it along.

The Globe article grew from the reporter’s discussion with conservative blogger Erick Erickson, Redstate.com. Seems Erick was able to trace comments from an unknown writer back to a Michigan-based operative with ties to John McCain, a guy not among the favored candidates of Redstate readers.

For those considering blogs as PR strategy…

If you’re thinking about how blogs may fit your organization’s PR mix, drop in on Kami Huyse today. She presents the first in a series of posts on “the risks and benefits of corporate blogging.” Lots to think about.

Although recent research at Kent State indicates marginal interest in blogging among PR pros, that’ll change as social media continue to grab a bigger chunk of audience. But since you’re reading this on a blog, you likely already know this.

Legal issues are a big concern to management. So Kami, along with Constantin Basturea and Scott Baradell are teaming up for a PRSA teleseminar titled “Social Media Update: Legal Implications.” Worth a listen when you consider that a site fee for one of these conferences is just $150 for PRSA members.

Conference is Tuesday, March 13, 3 p.m. EST. We’ll be tuned in at Kent State and we’ll likely have a few extra chairs. Drop me a line if you’d like to join us. But you gotta bring popcorn.

Kent prof is front-page news, but here’s real story…

If you caught yesterday’s page-one story about Gene Shelton, you know about his background as a music-industry executive who rose from Motown publicist to VP of media relations at Warner Records. While researching this post, I also learned that Gene once toiled as Michael Jackson’s press agent and that he worked closely with Curtis Mayfield, Barry White, Ray Charles and others. He’s not one to boast, so who knew?

I hope ABJ and photographer Paul Tople won’t mind that I’m borrowing this portrait to promote their good work — and Gene’s.

Is PR speaking for Mother Earth? Louder, please!

Everyone who teaches public relations at some point talks about PR’s “boundary-spanning role.”

Simply put, it means that PR people live with one foot inside the organization and one foot outside — in the world of our key publics/stakeholders. When we sit down at that chiché called “Management’s Table,” we’re supposed to act as advocates for those key publics while also communicating our organization’s perspective to them.

It’s stressful living in two worlds, and conflicts of interest are inevitable. But if you don’t feel pangs of conscience while seated at The Table, you’re not doing your job. You’re simply doing management’s bidding.

BurrellesLuce/Kent State Blog Study, Part Two — Some insights from the in-depth interviews

On Jan. 29 I posted some initial findings from the Kent State blog-use-and-monitoring study. Jeanette Drake and I just completed the project, with support from BurrellesLuce. It included in-depths with 54 of the 938 survey participants.

This post offers some highlights. It also offers some observations that don’t appear in the paper. Since this blog isn’t an academic forum, I don’t feel guilty about mixing in some interpretation and suggestions for action. Those suggestions will strike veteran PR bloggers as basic, but will benefit readers who have less experience with social media.

One caveat: Our study is exploratory, and uses a self-selecting sample. We mustn’t try to project the data onto a general population.

Oh, and I’m sorry about the length. To paraphrase Twain: If I’d had more time I’d have written less.

Is Strumpette seeking a more civil tone?

The arrival of Shel Holtz as a guest blogger for Strumpette would seem to signal a new approach for the gang that created PR sex kitten Amanda Chapel.

A mellowing, perhaps? I hope not.

Although I’m a big fan of Shel’s, and read his blog regularly, I worry that he’s — well — way too civil for Strumpette, or at least too civil for the Strumpette of old.

I sense a disturbance in the Force. Just last week Strumpette offered mea culpas to Jeff Jarvis, often the target of Amanda’s slings and arrows. What’s next, a bouquet of roses for Steve Rubel? Not sure I can handle this all in one week.

NASCAR fans may hate ‘em, but oh what a feeling!

Toyota didn’t take the checkered flag at Daytona today, but the company sure got the attention of the racing world by competing in its first-ever Nextel Cup race. But as 200,000 NASCAR faithful gathered for the great race, Toyota found itself on the outs with fans who seem to resent this “foreign invasion” of the their sport.

You could say Toyota has a public relations problem. I’d call it a PR opportunity.

AP’s Chris Jennings focused on the Toyota’s image problem, and in the process revealed an important irony. You see, the street machine versions of the Big 3’s Nextel Cup cars are no longer made in the USA. Ford’s Fusion is built in Mexico; the Chevy Monte Carlo and Dodge Charger are built in Canada.

Only one Daytona 500 entry, the Toyota Camry, has a street model built in the good old U-S of A.

It’s Friday, and I’m thinkin’ about reputation

For a good while the pooh-bahs of public relations wanted to “re-brand” the field as “reputation management.” Remember that? Sometimes the folks in PR remind me of Michael Jackson — so uncomfortable with who they are that they’re compelled to remake themselves.

A waste of energy if you ask me. Look what it did for Michael!

Anyway, today I’m thinking about reputation MISmanagement, and three cases of it I witnessed this past week. All three involve people and organizations I once respected.

The winter wimps are grating on me

When temperatures dropped to single digits last week you’d have thought George W had declared an orange alert.

Only about half of the students showed for my 12:30 class Monday. Several no-shows emailed to say they just couldn’t come out in the frigid weather. Several more complained that our fine university had failed to declare a snow day.

It was about 0 degrees (Fahrenheit), and the wind chill was -20. But it hadn’t snowed much at all. The roads were clear and the air refreshingly brisk. We had three cold and glorious days — days that way too many chose not to embrace.