PR Lessons from "The Decision"

I'm not a basketball fan. Before last week, I'd never heard of Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. I followed the LeBron James announcement as a Clevelander, but mostly as a communications professional, looking to see if there were any PR lessons to learn.

Boy, were there:

1. Know your audience.
As a general rule, we Americans want our sports heroes to be confident yet humble. And though they'll get the ring, the trophy, and the glory, we want them to win for us. James made it clear that he wants to win for himself, and that just doesn't sit well.

Imagine that a company held a press conference to announce, "We're introducing the new iGadget/Wonder Drug/Clean-As-New Laundry Detergent/whatever so we can make more money." Ridiculous, right? We all know companies are in business to make money, but that's not the way to position a new product launch to consumers.

You have to know your audience, tailor your message accordingly and...

2. Choose the right medium for the message.
The one-hour ESPN special only would have worked well if James had announced his decision to stay in Cleveland. It would have further cemented his status as a hometown hero and commitment to overcome the curse on Cleveland sports. Instead, he came across as selfish.

Appropriate ways to announce his decision to leave: issue a statement or, possibly, hold a press conference in Cleveland, all the while expressing gratitude for the support of the Cavaliers fans and the opportunity given to him by the Cavaliers organization. Either of these could have been followed up with media interviews.

It's important to think carefully about how you are going to deliver your message. Does it merit a press conference? A video statement? A Facebook status update? Is it wiser to start a little smaller and follow up with something wider reaching if needed?

Consider the content and the audience you want to reach with it.

3. Protect the brand.
Up until last week, the LeBron James brand was extraordinarily talented athlete, hometown hero and classy guy. Cavs fans that I spoke with told me they felt duped; they had believed he was respectable. Over and over they repeated that it wasn't the fact that he was leaving, it was how he chose to announce his decision that cost him their respect.

Make sure each and every message is consistent with the brand.

4. Don't stoop to their level.
The way LeBron James announced his decision to go to Miami hurt all Northeast Ohioans in way that we haven't been hurt before, with the possible exception of Art Modell's removal of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. As much as it may feel justified, retaliation isn't the way to win in PR. Dan Gilbert's impassioned letter to Cavaliers fans and area residents would have been the perfect response minus the digs at James.

In PR, as in life, it's always better to be the bigger person.

5. Take full advantage of your opportunities.
I may be biased because I work for a not-for-profit organization, but I find myself most disappointed by the unrealized opportunity for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Sure, they got some money and some national airtime, but James could have given them so much more.

Imagine if he had started his ESPN special like this: "Before I announce my decision, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about an organization that had a tremendous influence on me while I was growing up: the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Specifics about his experience. I would not be where I am today without the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, so I am making a donation to the Clubs in each of the six cities I met with during the past few weeks, and also to the Boys & Girls Club of Akron, my hometown. I encourage everyone watching to learn more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of America by visiting bgca.org."

Maybe, just maybe, that would have softened the response to the mishandling of "The Decision" announcement.

When you have the stage, take full advantage of the opportunity to say what's most important.

Bonus quickie lessons:
Don't refer to yourself in the third person.
Don't announce your break-up in public until after you've told your significant other, your employer, your business partner, etc.
And please, don't use comic sans unless you are writing a letter to a child.

Book Review: St. Vidicon to the Rescue by Christopher Stasheff

Meet the patron saint of technology - St. Vidicon. During an unfortunate incident during the Pope's broadcast to the masses, Father Vidicon dies for his faith and finds himself in a limbo of sorts, battling against Finagle's General Principle, Murphy's Law and the Spirit of all Paradox. Father Vidicon recruits IT pro Tony Ricci to aid him, and in return, gives Tony a little help in matters of the heart.

The novel is a choppy and in fact reads more like a book of short stories. That doesn't stop the fun of imagining that traffic lights and television broadcasts are really made possible by tiny gnomes. And Stasheff is a master of imitating the tone, word order and pacing of a King James Bible or high mass. This mastery may make some portions of the novel tedious for some readers.

In short, a fun read for those plagued by technical problems or tasked with fixing them.

FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book and this review is unsolicited.

Book Review: The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

Ever wonder if the characters in all those fairy tales really live happily ever after? If so, you might want to check out The Stepsister Scheme.

In this book, we have a chance to catch up with Cinderella (Danielle) after she marries her Prince Charming (Armand). Things are going along quite, well, happily until she is attacked by one of her step-sisters and discovers that Armand has been kidnapped by fairies. To set things right, Snow (White, of course) and Sleeping Beauty (Talia) come to Danielle's aid. How do they know she needs aid? They were previously taken in by Danielle's mother-in-law, Queen "Bea."

During the trio's adventure, we get the real story on Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, who has become quite the warrior princess since we last knew her. We also discover what happened to Cinderella's step-mother and step-sisters after the wedding. Let's just say it's not pretty.

The first in Jim C. Hines' Princess Series, The Stepsister Scheme is clever, engaging and overall, well-written. His explanation of the "real" nature of the Seven Dwarfs is somewhat clunky and not well-developed, but does not distract from the overall enjoyment of the story. I already have the next installment, The Mermaid's Madness, waiting in my to-read pile of books.

FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book and this review is unsolicited.

Book Review: Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth

Vampires are everywhere these days, but Christopher Farnsworth has created a unique and intriguing premise...The President's Vampire.

In the first of what promises to be an entertaining series of books (and possibly films, as Blood Oath has already been optioned), we are introduced to Nathaniel Cade, a vampire who was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1867 and is now oath-bound to protect the United States and its Presidents against supernatural enemies.

As Blood Oath begins, the arrogant, ambitious young politician Zach Barrows finds out that he has been assigned to take over for the likeable Agent Griffin as Cade's handler. Barrows doesn't have much time to come to grips with this new reality before he and Cade have to set off across the country to hunt down a supernatural threat.

The ensuing action is gripping, with a number of unexpected twists. Adding to the reader's enjoyment are excerpts from "Cade's Briefing Book," letters and news articles that explain Cade's abilities in relation to vampire lore and provide additional background on his service to the office of the President without bogging down the story at hand. Aside from one crudely written sex scene that seemed to drop in out of nowhere, I found Blood Oath to be an entertaining read and I can't wait to find out what Cade and Barrows are up to next.

FTC Disclosure: I received a free, preview copy of this book through a contest on goodreads.com.

My Thoughts on the LOST Finale

*SPOILER ALERT* Stop reading now if you have not yet watched the LOST finale.


And so we have come to the end. The responsibility of crafting an appropriate finale for any television series, but especially an epic one like LOST, is not something to be undertaken lightly. Mess it up and you ruin the entire series (Will & Grace) for fans forever. For LOST, a series to which fans have devoted countless hours re-watching, researching, blogging, discussing and dissecting, messing it up might well have left Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof with prices on their heads.

As the finale approached, I fervently hoped that Carlton and Damon would not let us LOSTies down. Little did I know that I should have been worrying about a monumental technical failure at my local ABC affiliate that pretty much ruined the experience for me, though perhaps I should be thankful that they saved me about $20 worth of tissues.

Overall, I'm more than satisfied with the LOST finale. My closest peeps know that I get about as excited about sappy love stories as I would at the thought of jabbing a dull pencil in my eye. In this case, however, after all of the heart-wrenching emotion, physical torture and loss these characters experienced, it was gratifying to see all the right couples together, happy and at peace, together at the end.

The highlights: Hurley's grin when Charlie opened the door to his hotel room, Sawyer and Juliet's reunion at the vending machine, Locke forgiving Ben, seeing Bernard and Rose and VINCENT!, Miles - "I don't believe in a lot of things, but I do believe in duct tape," Sun and Jin remembering and then being able to speak perfect English, seeing Boone

The lowpoints: I don't think Kate deserved to be the one to kill Flocke, Shannon's hair, the omission of Jack speaking over the water before Hurley took over his role as protector of the island

The questions: I knew that LOST would leave us with plenty of questions to ponder. These are the ones I would most like to see answered or further explored at some point: Walt's magical/supernatural abilities; Charles Widmore's full back-story and motivations; Charlotte's complete report on the archeological dig that seemed to be a discovery of artifacts from the island; who were the ancient inhabitants of the island that built the statue, the "glowy cave," etc.; the story of Eloise Hawking Widmore; what happened to Helen, Aaron, David and Ji Yeon.

My gratitude is forever due to the creators and everyone involved with LOST for having the courage to create a television show that required viewers to think; for giving us so many unforgettable characters (most especially for me - Sawyer, Charlie, Hurley and Locke); for raising the bar of the television musical score to a soaring height; and for remembering to include Vincent in the finale. Namaste.

Sunday Morning

I like to start my Sunday mornings with a cup of coffee and Sunday Morning - the CBS show, that is.

Hosted by the bow-tie wearing Charles Osgood, Sunday Morning provides in depth reporting on stories that you don't normally hear about, interesting commentaries, and interviews that go beyond the pandering entertainment show fare. This past Sunday, for example, Sunday Morning explained all this "Tea Party" jazz that's going on, showed the largest pilgrimage on earth (nope, not the one to Mecca, but one I'd never heard of before), shared footage of a breathtaking new orchestra/film concert that made me want to go to Houston to see it, and highlighted a project to photograph America's endangered species.

Bill Geist's travels around the country to turkey-calling contests, "Hot Dog U," and the Sisters of the Holy Spirit bakery right here in Cleveland make me chuckle. Did you know that the Sisters of the Holy Spirit bake cookies for the Cleveland Indians? Other regulars on the show include Mo Rocca and Ben Stein.

Sunday Morning is a softer, gentler news show and I find it to be a peaceful way to start my day. I wish there was a Sunday Morning every day of the week. The regular morning shows jump so quickly from one topic to the next that I'm already racing before my day starts.

The show ends with a minute or two of beautiful nature footage. No commentary, no music...just birds chirping, breezes blowing or water trickling. When this peaceful moment ends, it's time for me to leave for church, and I'm in just the right frame of mind to worship.

Orange Is the New Black

I received an advance copy of Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman through a goodreads.com contest.

Unfortunately for Ms. Kerman, the James Frey debacle led me to approach this book more skeptically than I might have otherwise. I found the circumstances of her crime rather hard to believe, especially when she recounts a meeting with the woman who caused her downfall. During this meeting, she quotes the woman as saying, "Sort of chilly for a marg?" Who has ever shortened the word margarita as anything other than 'rita???

That aside, I was compelled by the description of her conviction and time in prison. Despite the fact that she did commit a crime, I found the fact that the criminal justice system forced her to wait six years for sentencing to fall under the category of "cruel and unusual." By the time she was sentenced and self-surrendered to prison, the mistakes of her youth were long behind her. What sense did it make to punish her then?

Even more heart-breaking was reading about the deplorable lack of services available to help the women she served time with to return to the outside world with any chance of success. It's no wonder recidivism rates are so high.

Ms. Kerman's book brings to light the lack of "corrections" in our correctional system. I would much rather see my tax dollars being used to provide training and instruction that could lead prisoners that can be rehabilitated to productive, healthy lives after their incarcerations.