PR Resource

People have predicted for years that cities will be wired with sensors to make management and living easier.  The challenge is that it is expensive and the technology was never quite there.  Now, AT&T says it is, and it has designated cities to wire as test projects.  This is one more step in the evolution of the Internet of Things and in cities’ services to citizens. It is smart PR.  Note that AT&T did not put a deadline on the project, and that is both good and bad.  It provides the company leeway to speed or slow installation depending on local conditions.  It is bad in that AT&T might stop the project at any time because it is too expensive and without expected returns.  Several services mentioned in the article do not provide immediate benefits.  Still, the evolution continues and sooner or later, cities will be wired and they will learn how to use the new technology.  That will open ways to build relationships with the public that few can guess today.

Some organizations work best when they inculcate fear in individuals.  This is one.  Public relations works for the IRS when citizens are afraid they will be caught and forced to pay penalties.  Appeals to one’s moral duty rarely work because no one likes to pay taxes.  It is a distasteful civic duty.  So, the taxman does what he has practiced for millenia. He instills a sense of dread to get people to pay up.  In countries like Italy and Greece where tax collection is handled badly, there is general evasion and loss to the governments’ exchequers.  The threat of an audit in the US is enough to gain compliance from all but the wealthy who have options with the help of accountants and lawyers.  It is difficult for the IRS to be liked nor should it work too hard at changing public perception from negative to positive.  It has a tough job that must be done if government is to provide services to citizenry.

Since public relations is what one does, this qualifies as smart PR.  Google is putting its data and analytical engines at the service of people thinking of installing solar panels.  One need only plug in the required constraints and the calculator does the rest.  One can figure out how many years it will take to pay back the installation, whether purchased or leased.  And, if installation makes sense for a home, Google will refer the user to a solar company that can do the job.  It is hard to criticize a company that makes the lives of consumers easier.  Google does so much that is positive, it is a wonder that it has continuous trouble with the European Union.

At this artificial demarcation of time, it is customary to remember and speculate.  What was good about last year? What was boneheaded and banal?  Was there brilliance? Idiocy?  Of course, the answer is all of the above.  And that will be the same for 2016.  Some will shine, some burnout.  We don’t know at this juncture who will be feted and who mocked.  Will we have another Volkswagen moment when a corporation is revealed as a liar?  That’s hard to say and not something that occurs at such a scale with much frequency, but it is possible.  Will we have an instance in which a corporation shines magnificently as a good citizen and practitioner of public relations?  Again, hard to say.  Companies are people working together for a common mission.  All the flaws of humanity are represented in them.  It takes good leadership to guide business on the right path and a degree of humility to listen to consumers and buyers.  It is easy to forget what a company is for and to work for one’s self-interest.  In 2016, we should see examples of good PR and marketing and awful attempts that have one shaking his head.  It should be an interesting year.

Sometimes no matter what one does to run a business safely, someone deliberately breaks the rules and gets hurt.  Consider this.  The two men had no right to be present in the area nor any business that would grant them access.  Yet, they were there and the hotel has a PR problem on its hands.  It’s frustrating for management to have to deal with the Boob Factor, and it is a burden on industry in general.  Look at warning signs attached to a ladder, for example.  One wonders when and where personal responsibility takes over in accidents.  Chances are that no lawsuit will be filed for negligence against the hotel, but the hotel can’t be sure.  Hence, it has to deal with the incident as if it will become an issue.  There are many PR challenges a hotel has to consider in the ordinary course of business.  It doesn’t need this.

Samsung is making a play for publicity by revealing in advance of the giant CES its futuristic concept products.  It is a smart move.  Hundreds of gadgets debut annually at the show and it taxes the stamina of reporters and editors to cover them all. It is easier to let them know before the show begins when there is time to highlight features and functions.  Samsung is not the only company doing this, of course.  Others are as well.  The outcome of too many marketers looking for advance scoops is that few will get them because once again reporters and editors will be over burdened.  Probably the best approach is to ignore CES and to reveal concepts and products later in the year when there is less competition.  There is no easy answer to brain-clutter that such a show produces.  For many, it is a matter of luck to be covered by the media.

Often when a new electronic device fails in the marketplace, there is no second chance for it.  People scarcely remember the product and what it was supposed to do.  That is why this story is interesting.  Google is reluctant to give up on its Glass series of eye wear in spite of withering criticism it faced when it first came out and fears of invasion of privacy.  The company says it has fixed the previous problems and is now going to offer Glass to companies rather than consumers.  One wishes Google good luck but the chances of Glass becoming a frequently used product are slimmer than they were when it first appeared.  That is because few people who bought Glass the first time around found a must-have use for it.  The product seemed more like a gimmick than an essential tool.  Google needs to market Glass with time-saving activities and practical tips for employing it — much like other electronic products have done.  Public relations will be an important part of the roll-out.

What is happening to drug pricing is an example of why government cannot allow unbridled capitalism.  Some pharmaceutical companies are beginning to charge what the market must bear for medicine, and since there are no other places for consumers to go, they have to fork over bank accounts for life-saving drugs.  This is wrong.  The companies know it.  It is monopoly, and it shouldn’t be allowed to force patients to determine whether they can function or not.  It is bad public relations, and there is hardly a message that can be constructed to defend sudden, massive price increases.  Drug companies will say it is to pay for R&D, but that is a hollow claim. It is greed.  These companies are spurring the government to act, and if they dislike intrusion into their affairs now, wait until there are price controls.  A few bad actors can and will disadvantage an entire industry.  If ethical pharmaceutical companies are smart, they will band together soon to isolate unethical firms and pressure them to moderate their pricing before the government takes action.

This roster of tech companies that were losers in 2015 is a reminder to PR practitioners, as if they needed one.  Nothing is permanent.  Few companies last 50 years.  Fewer still remain in business for 100 or more.  When one thinks about old-line industries — autos, industrial equipment, chemicals — the number of survivors is miniscule by comparison to the beginning of their businesses.  For example, at one time there were 300 auto companies in the US, all vying to be the permanent replacement of the horse-drawn carriage.  The same consolidation is taking place among tech firms and in 25 years there will be fewer of them once the Internet of Things is fully developed.  There will be a few giants who have the prospects of remaining for the long run and tiny firms hoping to sell out to them.  There is no guarantee that Amazon, Apple or Google will still be in business or Hewlett-Packard or IBM.  All these companies face renewal when they have to shift their businesses dramatically to survive — as HP already has done and IBM is attempting.  If nothing is permanent, how does one position a company for the long term?  The only solution is in-depth listening to and observation of customers — what they need — and rapid fulfillment of their desires.

Jeff  Bezos of Amazon is making his mark at the Washington Post.  Rather than tinkering with the editorial product, he is spending most of his time focused on the customer experience and technology. These are areas in which he has few equals and his attention is paying off.  He is a benign owner of one of America’s great newspapers and soon to be great digital product.  From a PR perspective, Bezos is doing well.  He is keeping the faith for readership and delivering news consumers want.  Rather than directing editorial to reflect his views, he is allowing the independence of journalists to remain.  He can serve as a model for news media owners who see their product as a bully pulpit and sacrifice their credibility as a result.  If Bezos can successfully transform the Post for the digital age, that will be as remarkable a feat as building his online emporium.