Help!: Case Studies in Health Communication

Public affairs and public relations practitioners, I need your help! I'm increasingly interested in health care communications. When I worked for the American Cancer Society, I was always so eager to communicate the new trends in research and try to understand how the information impacted the public and legislation. We are on the cutting edge of new biomedical technologies and exciting breakthroughs in research. I just want to be a part of communicating that message, amid the debates and excitement.

So, health PR professionals, where do you go for the best practices of your industry? Who do you look to in order to get best information about how to accurately get out your message? I'd love to know!

Love Changes Everything: Starbucks' LOVE Project

Chances are, you live by a Starbucks. If you're anything like me, you pass 3 coffee locations on the way to work, and they probably have a green logo. Starbucks is a household name for those of us who love to consume "legally addictive stimulants" (a.k.a. a grande, triple shot, non-fat, sugar-free, vanilla latte).

Their stature as one of the premier coffeehouses allows them to take a socially responsible stand like no other. Starbucks publishes a yearly global responsibility report and has done so longer than many companies have thought of ways to give back on a larger scale. When Starbucks joined forces with (Product) RED in Oct. 2008, it seems that buzz has continued to grow about their contributions to the community.

Then, the company started talking about LOVE. Starbucks isn't a stranger to creating music, as they do so through their Hear Music initiative. But, instead of selling albums of award-winning singers and songwriters for their own profit, they sold a CD to donate proceeds to (Product) RED and The Global Fund. And they invited their customers to join in the effort.

Coinciding with World Aids Day this year, Starbucks asked their loyal customers to help fight AIDS with their voices. People were encouraged to sing the Beatles' hit song "All You Need is Love" and join the song around the world. They tweeted about the effort beforehand and publicized through their Facebook page. Followers could also track the map of all the other LOVE entries.

Alright , PR practitioners, I have to ask the question: Is this marketing or PR? The lines right now in the industry are becoming so blurred. On the subject of Starbucks and (Product) RED, how successful was the LOVE campaign? Were you aware of the initiative or did you pass it by during your morning tall americano run?

Information vs. Understanding: A PR practitioner's blessing or curse

With the recent announcement of later breast cancer screenings and subsequent media discussion, one question keeps coming to mind: How much of the correct information does the American public understand about health care? Like any complex issue, it is difficult for public affairs officials and journalists alike to boil down the necessary info into bite-sized chunks.

Health, much like finance or other economic issues, is a topic that requires skilled communicators to synthesize, analyze, and concisely convey the right facts. Much to the chagrin of scientists, the American public doesn't quite understand what their research concludes. It is even difficult for government officials to understand how Americans feel about changes in health care policy. In two recent polls by The Washington Post and AP, headlines declared "widespread support" when results showed a slightly larger percentage opposed the plan.

So the questions remain: Do Americans clearly comprehend what is happening with health care policy? If not, what needs to change to the presentation of information so that it can be understood? (when social media is changing the face of news into 140 character segments, that isn't a difficult concept to grasp). Or, can our elected officials correctly interpret our feelings on the issue?

Listening to the debate this week about breast cancer screenings, I was caught in the frenzy of trying to reconcile the new recommendations with the long-standing medical guideline. On one hand, researchers simply presented their argument in a very factual manner. If you want a thorough account of the guidelines' history, you can check out this Washington Post article.

On the other hand, I saw reputable organizations such as the American Cancer Society stick to their guns and continue to recommend mammograms starting at age 40. (Full disclosure: I worked for the American Cancer Society).

This tug-of-war confused many women and practitioners about the right course of action. The media's reaction, in my opinion, was to humanize the issue in their coverage. (Caveat: I've worked with many breast cancer survivors in my time at the American Cancer Society and I feel their story needs to be told). Watching the morning news television shows was interesting because it was as if mainstream media needed a way to fully comprehend the HUGE debate that ensued. Many broadcasts had the "Survivor's reaction" package following the guideline issue.

With all of the messages billowing about this issue, I can't stop thinking of how, as a public affairs professional, to take the issue and boil it down to three key talking points. So, I will leave the conundrum to you: What three talking points would you create about the debate on the breast cancer screenings? Taking it up one more level, what would your talking points be for the health care insurance discussions?

Bloomberg buys BusinessWeek - reports on Twitter

As of 6:58pm EST tonight, I saw the following on my Twitter feed from Steve Rubel:

RT @davidburn: RT @JohnAByrne - BW's Tom Lowry is reporting that Bloomberg has reached a deal to buy BusinessWeek. http://is.gd/4i7hl.

I was so intrigued that I found out this news via Twitter from the company's insiders before I'm hearing it from a vetted, editorial news outlet. Is this how you filter your news? Is this the future of breaking news?

"Monitor the trends, not necessarily the technology"

As a member of the Public Relations Society of America's National Capitol Chapter, I love taking advantage of any networking opportunity. The public relations professionals one can meet in Washington, DC are phenomenal. I decided to attend a joint networking luncheon with PRSA and IAPC a few weeks ago. While I looked for opportunities to meet new people, I was fortunate to have the chance to meet Steve Rubel, Senior Vice President and Director of Insights for Edelman Digital.

I followed Rubel's Twitter feed for a while and I'm always investigating the new trends with public relations. Edelman is at the forefront of social media for their clients through Edelman Digital, an endeavor that gives their clients the best new avenues to disseminate their messages. Rubel's job is to truly be a curator for new ideas. He endlessly reseraches the cutting-edge ways to connect to audiences. At the time of the luncheon, he previewed Google Wave (and I'm still incredibly jealous).

Rubel provided many best practices, and I will hopefully write a post soon to explain all of these nuggets of wisdom. However, there were two pieces of advice that stood out in my mind. First, he said that public relations professionals need to switch their thinking from a "campaign driven" mindset to an "always on" mentality. Campaigns are finite. They have a beginning, middle, and end, much like a novel. With a 24-hour news cycle and the interconnectivity of social media, Rubel believes that the days of a finite campaign will be obsolete.

The other point that struck a cord was to "monitor the trends, not necessarily the technology." I feel that public relations, in an attempt to harness these new tools, easily relegate social media to the checklist of public relations campaigns to-do. Do we have a Facebook cause page? Check. Twitter account to broadcast our information? Check.

The true reason to have these tools is to promote communication among your audience. I also applauded his point that Twitter is a great tool for customer service. Take Comcast for example; they have @ComcastSteve and @ComcastBonnie along with a few other employees specifically stationed at their computers to provide immediate advice. Best Buy recently taught their employees how to use Twitter and allow them to tweet with their specific hashtag. Then, @BestBuy aggregates all the tweets from employees and displays the best ones. After simply walking through a Best Buy a few weekends ago, I saw 4 or 5 people use the service, and when asked, liked that they could get their answers on a wider scale.

So, fellow social media public relations junkies, what do you think? Does public relations focus more on trends than technology, or vice versa? What are the newest trends that we should be watching for? My eyes are peeled.

Welcome back!

With summer officially winding down and the days getting shorter again, it is that time for me to really refresh my blog and online presence. It has been a long summer, between getting my wisdom teeth out, the many happenings in DC, and two very quick vacations to Orlando, FL and Seattle, WA (within a week of each other). After the break, I knew I needed to crack the whip, and here is my contribution to the public relations community about thoughts on our industry.

For those of you who don't know me, welcome to the blog! I’m a Midwesterner, practically born and raised near a wheat field, turned Southerner who is now transitioning to life on the East Coast. In the midst of learning public transportation and how to live in the “big city,” I am also a public relations professional trying to figure it all out. I love what I'm learning along the way.

This blog probably needs a few disclaimers. First, I cannot pretend that I know absolutely every facet of public relations. This is a space for me to process the changes in the industry and receive feedback from those who understand better than I do. I will be wrong at times, correct at other times, and completely baffled most of the time. I do want to encourage a conversation among public relations professionals so that we can all inspire each other to think outside the box. That said; do not take any of my opinions as the ultimate truth of public relations. Pretty please, let me keep my ego in check ☺

Second, I’m in the process of transitioning most of my material to this blog as a staging area for the bigger project: online portfolio renovation. Please keep checking back over the next several months to see progress, and forgive me that the old blog is no longer functioning (I only brought the most recent entries to this section ). Trust me, I will keep you in the loop. That is what the hundreds of social media channels are good for. If you would like some more great reads, you can check out my more personal blog: http://aelizzychick.blogspot.com Also, check out my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Flickr sites!

Last, but certainly not least, please comment! I firmly believe that public relations is all about encouraging conversation, engaging audiences, and forging connections among new people. I could spout out all of the jargon I learned in graduate school for building “two-way asymmetrical relationships” and “mutually beneficial partnerships,” but I feel that the best way to simply “foster goodwill among clients” is to chat about everything that is happening in our world.

Commercial Interruption: The American Idol Experience

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you breaking news: Amy tried out for the American Idol Experience. Yes folks, she stepped out of her comfort zone.

All kidding aside, I really did “try out” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios while on vacation with my parents and boyfriend. It was supposed to be a low-key day, but I was in voice coaching, auditions, and hair and makeup for most of the day. Let me tell you – the ultimate adrenaline rush! (So much better than Tower of Terror, although Aerosmith’s Rock and Roll Rollercoaster will always hold a special place in my heart).

The reason I bring it up on this blog is that it was a great way to engage thousands of people each day with the American Idol brand! After auditioning and in rehearsal for half a day, I saw the American Idol logo countless times. People come to the park just to audition for that show, mostly because they thought they would be able to be on the real American Idol. The plan: if you win the finale of all 5 shows, you win the “golden ticket” to the front of the line of an American Idol audition. For me, that was the best incentive.

They even had great public relations built in within the park and its own show. After I was selected for the 4pm show, they had me film a 90 second intro segment and run around the park, promoting American Idol. Each of the 5 shows held 1000 people in the auditorium and allowed them to be a part of the experience, by taping them beforehand or letting them vote. I was incredibly impressed with how savvy they were with clearly messaging a successful brand.

For those who are wondering, no, I didn’t make it to the finale. An off-pitch 15 year old beat me with Train’s “Drops of Jupiter” – not that I’m bitter at all. I mean, come on, Pat Benatar beats Train any day. But, for me, it was all about the experience.





Photos courtesy of Dave Kugler. You can find his work here and here