A Millennial Learns the Public Relations Way of Life

I have been out of the loop for a couple of months finishing college and seeing my options for the future. Thinking about what to do with my future is possibly a very “Millennial” generation way of perceiving life and one that has been written about in the news of late. I consider myself a Hispanic Millennial – one individual in the ocean of 74 million people born between the years of 1982 to 2001. This Millennials generation has gotten a lot of press – both positive and negative – and I must say it is mostly all true. These are some of the adjectives used to describe us – optimists (+), narcissistic (-), self-centered (-), multi-taskers (+) – and the list goes on and on. There are numerous articles geared towards employers who are or will be filling their offices with newly-graduated college Millennials – giving them advice about how to handle this new breed of employees.

I found myself reading these articles and realizing that this advice was mostly being given to the same individuals (employers) who had “created” and “defined” the Millennials generation by way of parenting in their own households. The theory is that we were given a plethora of opportunities by our parents – education, trips, tech toys, and trophies for “trying out” sports – that have defined a lot of our present and future perspectives about the world.

The Hispanic Millennials are of interest to me for many reasons – born in Puerto Rico, raised in the United States (Boston and Miami), but visiting the “abuela” every summer in the island – I have been raised by the American Dream system but respect very much my heritage. College educated in Connecticut, but finding my way back to the beaches of Puerto Rico every summer has been, until now, a way of life. Cross-cultural influences have shaped my likes and dislikes.

One of the best summers I had in Puerto Rico was last year – when I was accepted to be a Burson-Marsteller intern in their Puerto Rico office. While other six interns spent their time making rounds in the several departments that compromise Young & Rubicam and B-M – I was given the opportunity to spend my whole time working within the Public Relations area of B-M. Sara Lora, Director of B-M Puerto Rico, became my boss, my mentor, and a friend. Just like any “Millennial” – what started as a chore (expected college credit) transformed into a passion for Public Relations. Suddenly I was spending less time at the beach and spending more time at the B-M office (late-nights were usual) … and I was doing so willingly!

In two YouTube interviews, Paul Herrick, Director of Human Resources at EMEA stated – “the learning and training you get at B-M is second to none.” He also talks about the “mentoring program” that B-M has introduced to capture the environment of learning among senior-level management and new employees.



This was the same thing mentioned by Susan Heathfield in an article titled Managing Millennials: Eleven Tips for Managing Millennials. The very second point she mentions is “Provide Leadership and Guidance” which is exactly what my time as an intern under Sara Lora’s supervision was all about.

Now as I embark on this trip of job searching I take inside my bag : my knowledge of the importance of technology and social media learned at college; my Hispanic Millennial values of multi-tasker, optimism, and cross-culturalism; and last, but definitely not least, what I learned at B-M Puerto Rico thanks to the leadership and guidance of a great mentor. Thanks Sara for having confidence in my abilities to succeed in Public Relations!

Social Media and B-M: The Giving and Growing New Media Tree

Since the inception of this blog in January, I have followed Burson-Marsteller rapid growth in the area of Social Media. Through the different blogs I have written I have noticed that a lot of the agency’s information is disseminated through Social Media channels and that a concerted effort has been done to hire excellent professionals in the field. Although Social Media could be considered a baby within technological circles, it can also be considered a baby in steroids! The medium has grown and prospered and is being used more as a resource for the dissemination of news and in Public Relations “terms” it has also become an essential tool for crisis management practices.

B-M’s has made an amazing effort to hire the “best of the best.” In January, B.L. Ochman became the managing Director of Emerging Media at Proof Digital. Ochman, before entering B-M employment, was nationally recognized as one of the pre-eminent voices and professionals of “new media,” a “guru” and “ninja,” who had helped numerous Fortune 500 corporations, learn the Social Media ropes.

Today, Burson-Marsteller, announced two new hires for Proof Digital Media: Brian Purchia (Twitter: @BrianPurchia) and Michael Beno (@MichaelBeno). Both professionals come from Social Media backgrounds and understand the details of carrying a PR campaign in the medium. B-M is setting the foundation, not only to be a competitor, but as it stated in the B-M blog “having the strongest, deepest and broadest expertise in this area.”

Also on Monday, April 12^th, B-M was again in the Social Media news when Jay Leveton, CEO of Proof Integrated Communications, presented his views as part of a series of interviews being conducted by PRNewser (@mediabistro) about Social Media hires in PR agencies (http://bit.ly/bJP80m). In the interview one can find a lot of insight on how B-M is placing itself to be the best qualified PR agency for clients looking for expertise on the Social Media field. He referred, among many things, to how the agency is concentrating in finding excellent new media professionals to better help B-M clients. B-M is a Growing Tree in Social Media to then become a Giving Tree for its clients!

"Que Pasa USA?": Hispanics, Social Media and Corporate USA

The Hispanic consumer market is something that interests me because of obvious reasons: I was born in Puerto Rico and although raised between Boston and Miami, I still consider myself a Hispanic. I am a prime example of what millions of young adults are in the mainland United States: born of Hispanic parents, raised in the United States, and “aficionados” (fans) of our Hispanic traditions. Although for many, English is their native tongue, they understand the Spanish “mother-tongue.” We also constitute, with our parents, a marketing group that some U.S. corporations do not seem to understand or know how to market to. Like my grandmother and mother would say, “Ay Bendito!”

On March 5^th Erin Byrne wrote a blog, “A Missed Opportunity," in the B-M’s Proof Digital Media site (http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com) that pointed to a research which showed that only 22% of corporations are using social media tools to attract the Hispanic market. This research (http://www.clickz.com/3639701) states that Hispanics constitute a possible $1 trillion buying power and that 78% of Fortune 1000 corporations are either not tapping into, ignoring, or do not have the social media “know-how” on how to relate to Hispanics through these channels. The agency who did the research stated that “the survey data showed that the biggest advertisers were among those targeting Latinos the least. ‘About 50 of the Fortune 500 firms are not marketing to Latinos at all, via cyberspace, TV, or radio."

Those 78% of corporations “not marketing to Latinos” could and should- hire Public Relations agencies that have the necessary tools to engage the Hispanic market. As a company in these difficult economic times wouldn’t you want to tap at least bit into that $1 trillion pool of money? Like Erin Byrne said “What a missed opportunity! Latino’s are a very social community, both online and off.”

In an analysis done last year by Hispanic Online Marketing entitled “The Multicultural World of Social Media Marketing,” (http://www.hispaniconlinemarketing.com/2009/02/the-multicultural-world-of-social-media-marketing/) it was found that ethnic minorities visited social media sites more often that non-Hispanic whites and that English-preferred Hispanics were at the top of the list of these minorities who used the social media channels. Actually, and almost surprisingly, 24% of the Hispanic community OVER the age of thirty-five visited social media channels at least three times a month (as opposed to only 13% of the non-Hispanic Whites).

I say “Que Pasa USA?” and “Wake up and Smell the Café con Leche” to those corporations who are 1) lagging in their social media efforts and 2) lagging in their efforts to attract the Latino community. Kudos to B-M’s Erin Byrne for bringing this research to our attention!

Healthcare Reform and B-M ... Good Business?

Now that the Health Care Reform Bill has passed and the bill has been signed by President Obama one can assume there will be a flurry of business for everything “healthcare”, from medical plans, to pharmaceuticals, to doctors and their specialties. Everyone will need a lobbyist or Public Relations agency to help them with the image reconstruction that this new era of healthcare entails. There are endless possibilities on how to attract the interest of the public and try to interpret and explain the bill for the benefit of clients in the healthcare industry.

I can think of several areas: pharmaceuticals, physicians, hospital corporations, where image and crisis management will be needed as this new health care bill is introduced to the American public. As Mark Penn, CEO of B-M, wrote in an article for the Huffington Post, “The Health Care Jam”, (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-penn/strategy-corner-the-heath_b_488064.html) the American public’s support and acceptance of this bill is less than desirable. The article expresses that during the time of other momentous legislations, like the Civil Rights, the public’s acceptance was at 60% even when the legislation was considered contentious. With the Health Care Reform Bill the public either does not understand the implications of the bill or does not comprehend it enough to feel comfortable about its passing. It will be up to savvy Public Relations agencies, which have extensive experience in Health Care practice, to serve the different interest groups, which are impacted by this legislation. Business could boom for PR agencies who have established themselves as experts on this field. Strategic planning and concerted media campaigns will be needed that are public-friendly and can assuage the fears of the impending changes to the American healthcare system.

It did not go unnoticed that Burson-Marsteller is already getting ready for the changes that are to come. This week it announced the hiring of Helene Ellison as Chair of Global Healthcare Practice (http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20100316006554&newsLang=en). Penn said during the announcement, “Helene has proven herself to be one of the leading communications counselors in the healthcare industry” Ellison, a former BMer, was onboard during the Tylenol Crisis in the early 1980’s and was VP of Healthcare when B-M represented more than twenty pharmaceutical therapies.

Is B-M ready for Health Care Reform? I think it is!

The News and B-M: What I Learned

Throughout the month of February I collected news about Burson-Marsteller to create a comprehensive Chatter Report about how the news depicted B-M. I spent a good time of my Spring Break going through all my Google Alerts, B-M Twitter accounts, Facebook accounts, and YouTube videos. What I found was an astonishing amount of positive news where B-M’s employees, executives, and areas of expertise within the agency were highlighted for their work. There were news about awards; there were news about hiring of excellent PR professionals (Bob Pickard as CEO of Asia-Pacific) (http://www.prweekus.com/interview-bob-pickard-burson-marstellers-new-asia-pacific-ceo/article/163475/); there were news about studies and research done by B-M which were heralded as expert advice on a certain field (Social Media Check-Up of Fortune 100 Companies)(http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com); and finally there were news about clients and how B-M was helping them with the positive propagation of their image (SPAM products and Hormel).

B-M is in the forefront of relaying from within positive news about their agency. The Twitter account @BMGlobalNews had forty-seven news leads for the month of February. B-Mers are encouraged to make use of Social Media – be it through Twitter, Facebook, or Blogs – to disseminate a positive image of what the agency is producing – not only for their clients, but for the public in general. One example was the previously mentioned Social Media Survey created by Proof Digital Media. This survey in another time – long, long time ago, in a far away galaxy and before the internet – would have been shared only within the company and with certain clients as a research tool. In the past, maybe it would have been printed 100 times as an example of the arduous work done by executives at B-M, but in the present time it has reached an enormous amount of people (including me) who would have never had the capacity to know about it.

As many people has said – Social Media serves Public Relations – and the news I read about B-M for the month of February definitely prove that B-M is using Social Media to disseminate its Public Relations strategic plan – be it for the agency or for its clients.

The Earthquake in Chile and Social Media: How B-M Made Sure Their Employees Were Safe

Last Friday, February 26^th, we woke up to the horrible news that another earthquake had hit, this time in Chile with a magnitude of 8.8 in the Richter scale. The news media was flooded with news of the destruction in Chile and of the possible tsunamis threatening Hawaii, California and Mexico. In this time and age where more and more people are turning to Social Media for their news, Twitter, Google and Mashable became the unsung heroes by creating a network of information where people could find each other during the crisis.

I follow most of the Twitter accounts set-up for Burson-Marsteller and was able to track throughout the next few days how B-M’s employees in the United States looked for information about their comrades in Latin America trying desperately to find any news about their peers through the social media channels. Not only did one see the honest worry in their tweets but one could sense that even if these BMers from New York, Boston and San Francisco had not personally met their peers in Chile the fact they communicated through social media channels and the fact they all worked for B-M was enough to create an empathy among them.

On March 1^st, @BMGlobalNews tweeted “Burson-Marsteller is glad to say our colleagues in B-M Chile have been accounted for and are safe. Our thoughts go out to the people Chile.”

On March 2^nd, Santiago Hinojosa, President and Chief Executive of B-M Latin America (Twitter @BmLatAm) had written a blog (http://br.bmlatamblog.com/) expressing his sadness regarding the earthquake and letting the readers know how they could help in the relief efforts. He continued to state that he was in contact with Emilio Sanfuentes, Director of B-M Chile and making sure the Chilean B-M employees and their families were safe.

It made me think of how well B-M has strategized through their employees a communication system that can help them in the case of a crisis – in this case a natural disaster.

Social Media, Strategic Planning and Crisis Management: B-M is Ready !

Just yesterday Burson-Masteller presented a comprehensive study on Fortune 500 companies and how they are participating in the world of social media. http://www.digitalperspectiveblog.com/2010/02/23/79-of-fortune-100-companies-using-social-media The study looks into the practices of these companies and how they are using the Internet to propagate messages with the public. It presented several markets across the world and also the percentages of users from within these companies.

As we discussed in class the way a company carefully builds a strategic plan and assesses crisis vulnerability will ultimately impact the way in which they will react once a crisis happens. The careful planning and creation of a crisis management plan goes hand in hand with how this company will be viewed by the stakeholders, employees and outside public. Social Media, in this time and age, has become an intrinsic part of these crisis management plan and all those companies that are using it in a proper way should be commended for using it in a pre-emptive way.

Why do I say “pre-emptive”? Because companies that are careful with disseminating a message through the internet and have an in-house group or a PR agency to run a well though-out comprehensive approach to social media are already preparing the way for when a crisis happens. Not only are these companies disseminating a positive message but they are aware of what is being written about them by outside sources, sometimes negative and other times positive- and they can react accordingly.

B-M as one of the PR powerhouses has had in place a whole arm for Social Media - Proof Digital Media - not only for themselves, but for their clients. http://www.burson-marsteller.com/Practices_And_Specialties/Digital_Media/Pages/Default.aspx . In their site they warn their potential and current clients that “digital conversations are happening right now … about your business, about your brand, about your leadership roles.” What a better way to prepare for a crisis than to be in-tuned and in control with what is being exposed about your company in the world of social media?

Kudos to B-M and their team at Proof Media Digital for having the foresight about the impact of social media and providing their clients with their expertise on this new way of communication!

Crisis Communications and Apologies - A Professional Approach

In my research of everything B-M I came across a very interesting Blog posting “Apology PR: Asia’s Latest Export to the World?” (http://bobpickard.com/category/blog/crisis-communications/) by Bob Pickard, B-M’s new CEO for Asia Pacific. A longtime PR professional who worked for many years with Edelman Communications and just recently moved to B-M (February 2010), Pickard wrote about the importance of apologies, the timing for these apologies and the impact on crisis communications. In our QU PR Seminar we have been recently discussing Chapter 8 of “Crisis Management in the New Strategy Landscape,” dealing specifically with Crisis Communications. After reading Pickard’s blog on the Western and Eastern differences of perception about apologies, I went back to Chapter 8 and re-read it for any mention of “apologies” and guess what? There was none.

Pickard’s main point, that comes from many years of living in Asia and acclimating to their culture, is that it is essential to the eastern cultures to apologize and that this apology is not misconstrued as acceptance of guilt, but it is considered as compassion to the crisis situation. He also mentions how Western culture has been programmed to believe that an apology = guilt. As he stated “the generous Asian approach to apology ensures more harmonious and friendly relationships between people, contributing to civility in society and helping prevent angry public outbursts…”

For the US public, a mega consumer of reality TV (especially if it involves a crisis of some sort), teary apologies and acceptance of guilt have become a spectacle of “Coliseum” proportions. Teary apologies by politicians, entertainment personalities, and sports “heroes” are usually gobbled up by the public and make for media heaven. But notice that these are individuals accepting GUILT. One barely sees a corporation or organization apologizing during a crisis. Can it be possible that “apologies” will be included in the future as part of crisis management and the strategic plan of a corporation? Should executives learn the “right” way to apologize without seeming guilty? Could it be possible that we as a public could slowly change our empathetic thermometer to include accepting apologies as mere acts of humanity? I think Pickard is definitely on to something and the Asian culture too!

You can see more on Bob Pickard on Twitter at BobPickard or read his blog at BobPickard.com

A Spin-Doctor Like No Other: Crisis Management @ B-M

“Crisis” by its own definition brings up the emotion of fear to the public. Crisis over an earthquake (Haiti), a hurricane (Katrina) and the list goes on and on. Crisis Management is the way a corporation, institution or person is able to spin bad news into good news and usually that falls into the hands of educated PR agencies like B-M. But what happens when the “crisis” happens to the agency itself? How are they able to change their image to capture the positive side of a possibly negative situation that can affect how their clients see them?

Throughout the history of B-M, the agency has been employed by numerous clients some of them quite controversial companies and national regimes. Like any other PR agency, the clients seek PR agencies to help them in creating a positive image. The controversial groups definitely need more help. Any other agency in its place would have surrendered itself already to the pressure given off by groups and or advocacy groups that are against those same clients B-M represents.

But not B-M.

Take for example the following video (http://vodpod.com/watch/1412630-rachel-maddow-show-mark-penns-burson-marsteller-the-p-r-firm-from-hell) of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow and how she attacked BM for its choice of clients. Maddow, very funny I must say, references one after the other what seems as a list of horrendous clients that B-M has helped with their image: AIG, Blackwater, 3-Mile Island, Saudi Arabia (after 9/11), the Military Junta in Argentina (1976), Phillip Morris, on and on she specified at least 12 clients followed by the disaster they had either caused or were accused of causing. She actually said: ‘When Evil needs public relations, Evil has Burson-Masteller in speed dial” and finished the segment calling B-M “the PR from Hell.”

How can an agency survive this kind of barrage? Spin, spin, spin and proving that they are the best at what they do. BM’s high echelon of executives is always in a public or educational conference and in the news bringing their savvy knowledge to the public. The extended media coverage their presentations acquire is an example of how respected they are by the media.

To give you an example of how well B-M can handle "crisis", the same year of the Maddow show (2009), the agency earned thirteen prestigious awards in Public Relations.

Here is Your Opportunity to Intern With B-M

As a class assignment, my professor has asked me to post a weekly post about Burson-Marsteller in relation to topics discussed in class and covered in our book. Unfortunately, I have not received my book in the mail yet. Since I can't write about topics portrayed in our textbook, I might as well give you an update on whats up with B-M and my experience with the firm personally.

I thought it would be a good idea to let you know that B-M looking for the brightest PR Juniors to be part of its Harold Burson Summer Internship Program … This is the moment for Public Relations and Communications juniors to start looking for that “foot in the door” of major PR firms and agencies. That is exactly what B-M is offering!

As a former summer intern of B-M in their office of Puerto Rico I can tell you that it is the best experience a student can have. There is no but’s or if’s – the moment you step into the office your learning experience commences and is nonstop for the next two months. Thanks to my mentor and Director of the P.R. office, Sara Lora, I was able to learn the details of the B-M operations. From writing press releases, to collection of data, to help in the creation of a new client’s campaign, I was involved in every process of Public Relations.

Do not miss a great opportunity to work with B-M. Deadline for applications is February 26^th. For more information go to their website at http://www.burson-marsteller.com . Also, don't forget to check out my twitter account @TakeADoseOfBM .

Quick Introduction

In this blog I will be focusing on a public relations firm known as Burson-Marsteller. I will try to apply the information I learn from the textbook and in-class discussion to developing crisis communication strategies for Burson-Marsteller. For example, Professor Laskin explained that crisis can be caused by an outside or inside error (deliberate or not). Burson-Marsteller, for example, can potentially face a crisis from inside causes such as risks and problems from within the company leaking out through employees and management. Financial issues could also impact the company from within and could cause an internal crisis. In addition, there are also countless external crisis problems that could affect management and the company's image. Such problems could arise if a crisis were not to be dealt with quickly and efficiently. This course will be offering the tools necessary to handle a crisis as such.

Since this is my first official post, I will like to state that I encourage anyone to reply to any of my posts. I am looking forward to hearing what anyone has to say. Also, if anyone has a twitter account, you can follow me @TakeADoseOfBM . Enjoy.

Better Off Being Safe Than Sorry

The opinions expressed by A Weekly Dose of B-M and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Burson-Marsteller, Young & Rubicam, WPP Group or any employee thereof. Burson-Marsteller is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by A Weekly Dose of B-M.