One of the things I love about Eddie is that he is both lovable and loyal – he’s never really met a human that he doesn’t love, while, at the same time, he’s never backed down from the ‘monsters’ behind the front door… at least until they come inside.
And even though Eddie is great about loving family and strangers once we invite them in, his initial reaction to protecting the family is what impresses me.
There’s a lesson for PR professionals here: Protect What’s Important.
Your Client’s Reputation
If it comes in the form of an interview or in the process of getting some news out about the company, we, as PR pros, must protect our clients. We do this in media training, as we streamline their messaging and when we push back…yes…when we push back.
Just because a client may think that they have something that comes close to being worthy enough of being featured in the Financial Times, that doesn’t necessarily make it true.
Sometimes we have to save our clients from themselves.
Your Own Reputation
Much in the same way of protecting a client from putting out some lackluster news, we cannot allow this kind of thing to happen for ourselves either. Think about it. The moment we start presenting members of the press with “ho-hum” news from any of our clients (even a brand name one), they start putting you in the “look at it later” pile (or, even worse, “ignore” pile).
We have to be ready and willing to push back on bad ideas. Our clients hired us not just because of our expertise, but because of our counsel – our advice is just as important as setting up an interview with USA Today.
Moreover, like my little corgi, we have to differentiate between what’s worth fighting for and what requires drawing a line in the sand.
Don’t get caught up in the chaos or drama of your team or client – not everything is as imperative as saving kittens from a fire (even though they may think it).
So, we should keep ourselves and our teams in check. While we may not be in the business of saving lives, it’s safe to say that we’re certainly in the business of saving a brand’s livelihood.
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This post was cross-posted on Waxing Unlyrical – a blog that is owned and operated by the very savvy and smart Shonali Burke.
Image: Joel Goodman, Creative Commons
I love the analogy of the family pet that understands to protect what’s important. Our beagle is the same way and that’s why he’s so loved. That bit of personal info aside, I think you touch on wonderful tip for representing a client (and yourself) in media relations. Providing strategic communication counsel must include the ability to honestly push back if you think it would be in the best interests of the organization. It’s the “if you do [this], [this] will likely happen” conversation that is often difficult, but a necessity.
– @vedo
I love that you included “protect your own reputation” in this post – oftentimes we may forget to promote ourselves and what we offer. I think we also need to promote ourselves to our client in the way that what we are doing is important, so we don’t get put in their “look at it later” pile either.
Recently on PR Breakfast Club, Keith Trivitt and PR Cog wrote an article (http://prbreakfastclub.com/2010/05/17/establishing-new-pr-reputation/) about protecting our industry. While this is also something we don’t always think about, it may be the most important in the list – after all, if we didn’t protect our profession, we would simply be cast aside as “spin doctors” who have little worth or purpose.
Thanks for reminding us all about the continual education and protective actions necessary for all PR professionals, Narciso.
Great Points Made Here, Richie / Lucretia!
The stronger our relationships grow with clients, the greater the chances are that we’ll have to have (as Richie puts it) the “if you do [this], [this] will likely happen” conversation. And I could not agree with you more, Lucretia – being cast aside as a ‘spin doctor’ is NOT a place any of us want to be. This pretty much brings us down to the level of a circus act…i.e. look at what this fella can do…!