I’ll admit first off that we might be called dinosaur PR, as in oh crap, we’ll soon be extinct while the youth of PR rule the world.

My wife, who works at the local library picked up a copy of Shankman’s book with the subtitle, “Outrageous PR Stunts That Work — and Why Your Company Needs Them.”

He sets the stage with this acknowledgment … “finally, mom and dad, thanks for …. wow, I don’t know where to start. It would Double the size of this book….” Is this guy seven years old is or this just hip-hype?

The first chapter tells you “who I am and why you should listen to me.” More hip-hype. He basically says he’s a PR genius. That he knows what works and that since the media in New York City listen to him because of a big PR stunt he pulled a few years ago you should, too. My take away message was that that NY media are a bunch of lapdogs who call Peter Shankman whenever they need anything. Reminds me of Sally Fields’ infamous Oscar acceptance speech, “You love me, you really love me.”

In the pages that follow, he demonstrates that he is understands the PR basics. He’s a journeyman, no doubt. The book is packed with good information. It just isn’t that fresh. I’m not criticizing him or his agency for their creative achievements. But in spite of all the exclamation points and hip hype, he lays down a million rules in the book — many of which seemed aimed at the beginning pr practitioner. Most actual PR people learned this stuff in college PR101.

So much of his advice is information we’ve all heard a gazillion times before. But I give him credit for wrapping it in non-stop hype and hyperbole, trying to make hot dogs and chips smell and taste like Chateaubriand. Afterall, how many books have I published (none) and who am i to judge? Well, 7 years as a newspaper reporter and 25 years in the business has given me at least a working knowledge.

Okay, Peter, if you read this, don’t take it personally. Just go to the zoo, chill out and be that “inner child” you say we should all be to achieve creative greatness. Better yet, read David Meerman Scott’s book “The New Rule of Marketing and PR” if you really want something different and fresh.

I don’t know, maybe we really are pr dinosaurs and extinction is near.

I read an interesting statistic once that when a lead exceed’s 30 words, you lose 80% of your college-level readers. Ernest Hemingway’s books are filled with 10-12 word sentences, if you need proof that good writing needn’t be filled with tortured syntax and 80 word sentences. Short really is better.

Here is a sample of good and not-so-good leads. Both are actual leads, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent, so to speak.

The wordy, not-so-good lead:

Anywhere Community Hospital has added “healing environments” to three upgraded and remodeled surgical and medical procedure suites. It’s all part of a national trend to combine new technology and improved function with design and comfort, according to Jim Smith, Anywhere’s senior vice president of operations. By adding new lighting, flooring and painting, Anywhere has transformed its two operating rooms and the endoscopy suite into environments that are more soothing and comforting for patients.

Better:

Anywhere Community Hospital has tapped into a national healthcare improvement trend by transforming patient treatment areas into healing environments with special lighting, flooring and paint. “We’ve added soft lighting, carpet and warm colors to two operating rooms and an endoscopy suite to make them more soothing and comforting,” explained …. “Studies show such environments promote healing.”

Better because it’s most specific and gets to the point quicker. Even this could be improved. Before you write, you will want to ask your client what should be emphasized. Is it healing environments or national trend?

Perhaps even better:

Newly upgraded surgical and endoscopy suites at Anywhere Community Hospital will help you recover faster because of a healing environments created with new lights, flooring and paint, according to hospital CEO Joe Dokes. “We’ve tapped into a national trend showing soothing and comforting environments promote faster healing,” Dokes said.

Another alternative:

Anywhere Community Hospital surgery and endoscopy patients are recovering faster because of healing environments created with special flooring, paint and lighting, says CEO Joe Dokes.

Or:

Can paint, flooring and lights really help patients recover faster from surgery? Anywhere Community Hospital CEO Joe yes, after recently transforming two surgical suites and an endoscopy treatment room into healing environments with sound absorbing carpet, soft lighting and pastel walls.

I’ve cranked out good news releases in 15 minutes and have labored over a lead for an hour or more. The key to great leads: don’t be afraid to rewrite.

Despite my experience, I can’t say every release is perfect. I miss the mark from time to time.

Based on a news release a new client asked me to edit recently, which was written by her former PR agency (a good company), I’d say news release writing might be a dying art form. I guess they still teach kids how to write them, but if you read this 580-word rambling, repetitive tome I edited, you might have your doubts, too.

When an organization really has news to report, a 400-word (PRNewswire’s limit before extra charges) release, can pretty much summarize the story. If a reporter/editor/producer/webmaster is interested, they will call for more information.

Of course, we all know the basics: the news release needs to answer the who, what, when, where, why and how, use AP Style, include a contact phone number, and keep the lead to 30 words (preferably 25) or less.

In some cases, you’re better off calling or emailing a 25-word story pitch and perhaps following up with a phone call, assuming the reporter is receptive to such calls.

The Lewis & Summers rewrite was 280 words. Our client’s comment, frustrated at all the writing and editing that had taken place before our final version: “You did it.”

For me, it was the trip of a lifetime — a chance to get a first hand look at the new China in action. I can’t tell you how much I learned. I came away with a very positive attitude about China and the people.

As for business meetings, designed to bring American and China business partners together to do business, they haven’t seemed to figure it out. Our delegation had submitted our requests ahead of time to meet with potential suppliers or business partners so they would be in the room when we arrived.

Instead, the organizers welcomed us and then said “enjoy your meeting” with no individual introductions.

There was no organization to it. Ultimately, I persuaded an interpreter to introduce our people at the microphone to determine if their were Chinese counterparts in the room. For the most part, there weren’t. Ultimately, however, the organizers met with members of our delegation and said they could facilitate contacts with suppliers, etc.

My headline suggests the Chinese don’t understand business. They certainly do. But based on our experience, not in the nitty gritty meet-and-greet fashion — the tried and true mixer — that is the staple of business interactions, at least locally, across the U.S.

Based on our short visit, this small problem will be remedied soon. The Chinese are moving at light speed as they increasingly dominate world markets in so many areas.

One insight: we should be teaching our kids mandarin at a young age — the same way they teach Chinese kids English — to put us on a solid business footing in the future. While everything in China seems to be in both Chinese and English and many people speak English, business interactions will be improved if Americans can speak and understand the language and culture.

For publications like Fortune or Forbes, there’s a formula. They want CEOs who have fallen hard, then recovered with a great new business or idea; a CEO who has created another billion dollar winner; a CEO who has gone from rags to riches despite great odds; the CEO genius turning the industry upside down. Just read the publications and you’ll see what I mean.

To be successful, analyze the publications, the columnists and writer interests. Then evaluate your own story offerings to see if you have a fit. Even then, with all the competition, you’re pitch may not score. But a good pitch may create credibility with the media person and open the door for future stories or interviews with your CEO.

Okay, you’ve called and the reporter said yes. You can’t believe your good fortune. You feel like you’ve just hit a home run. Now what? Do your homework (actually you should do this BEFORE you call). In any case, these tips may help you prepare:

•Find out what the reporter has been writing and and what her/his interests are and assemble a briefing book for the CEO. You don’t want to CEO to be surprised about the reporter’s interests. Make sure you cite any potential areas of industry controversy or criticism that any good reporter is sure to bring up.

•Sit down with your CEO and discuss the upcoming briefing an the goals.

•Prepare background for the reporter: a page on the CEO and one on industry trends with more on a CD or reference to a website for details.

•Try to keep the briefing group small. Limit it to four: CEO, reporter, A PR Person and maybe another “content expert.” Even better: if your CEO is good with reporters, a one-on-one over lunch is OK. Having a PR person can be useful, too, recording reporter requests and helping the CEO with tough questions. But remember, reporters don’t want to hear from PR flacks, they want to talk with top management.

At one time, to establish a CEO as an expert, you put together a press kit with photos, backgrounders, speeches and credentials and mailed them.

Now, we help CEO’s establish blogs and make their materials available on company websites and have PDFs available for emailing. Another outlet is PRNewswire’s Profnet expert database, which is accessible to the news media.

Some things haven’t changed: to get national media attention, you need a dynamic CEO who is a big personality, recognized expert in their field, or has invented some society changing service or gadget.

First Things First
You need to do your homework first. Find out who are the editors and reporters covering your industry and target them individually. Try to match their interests to your CEO’s area of expertise. Making your CEO a future source can be the start of a relationship that will eventually help build the CEO’s credibility.

Don’t expert too much: the reporter might call on your CEO a half dozen times for “not for attribution” or backgorund analysis and the CEO never appears in print. It’s part of the game. Be patient.

Most media focus at the time was on SIA, the trade association for the chip designers, like Intel. When a reporter wanted a quote, more often than not, they called SIA president George Scalise, rather than Myers.

To add SEMI to the mix, we set up industry briefings for Myers in Boston, New York and Washington, D.C., including the technology team at USA Today.

Interviews at the Boston Globe, New York Times or USA Today don’t come easily. You need an important CEO, a CEO with something informative to say, and if at all possible, some good ideas for future industry stories.

Remember, the only way someone like Hiawatha Bray at the Globe, Steve Lohr at the New York Times or Geri Tucker at USA Today will meet with you is if they think they can gain insights for themselves and their readers or get leads on good stories.

I believe in giving as both an individual and as a corporate responsibility. When I was PR Manager of McKesson Corporation President Tom Drohan and Chairman Neil Harlan launched an initiative in San Francisco to create a 2 per cent club, giving 2 per cent of pre-tax profits to charitable causes. We did a lot of good. I think our focus was “cultural.” Among other causes, McKesson funded an 11-city tour for the San Francisco Symphony.

Companies big and small — and I’m including consultants — are getting better at creating giving programs that match their business focus, i.e. they may be aimed at healthcare, children, safe water or the environment.

By tying giving to business goals, you can advance the quality of life in the community as well as advance your own business interests.

One of our clients, Redwood Investments of Wachovia Securities in Fort Bragg, California, gave generously and frequently to a wide variety of causes. They rarely got much “press” and the giving wasn’t aimed at their target audience. And that was getting to be a problem. For example, they gave $10,000 for a high school stadium sign. After more than a year, their names still were not on the sign, which means their community investment has gotten no recognition. And the parents of the kids who are going to benefit are not Redwood Investments’ target, i.e. they have little investment money. While you can argue that these are the investors and clients of the future it that doesn’t help meet current business goals.

To help the Redwood Investments partners get control of their giving so that it does reach target clients, as well as helping managing donation requests (which inundated the partners), we created the Redwood Investments Community Grant Program and blog.

To apply for a grant, you must visit their website blog (another business goal was to get people to come see their services). The application is very short and allows requests for grants of up to $750. Grants total about $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year, versus up to twice that much in the past. However, this new managed program makes a bigger impact on the community and business by matching grants to potential client groups.

Our internal rules are this:

•Grants must be to major target audiences (to generate new business).
•Grantees must allow a Redwood Investments partner present the grant check in person (puts them in front of potential clients).
•Grants must issue a news release to the local press, which we write and they approve. It’s just two paragraphs with a quote about who benefits (less self-serving than if it comes from Redwood Investments.

The first two months, Redwood Investments received 10 grant requests and made five grants ranging from $250 to $800. Recipients have been very please. One organization that didn’t get a grant praised Redwood Investments for making a good choice — an unexpected positive.

So far, the program is working well and Redwood Investments is doing good, while doing well.

A side benefit: when asked to make a contribution, they are off the hook: they can honestly say they have a grant program, direct people to the website where they can apply. No one is put off and their appear to be white knights for creating the program.