By Lisa Schievelbein

Tuesday, April 27, 2010: 11:57 p.m.

The cursor blinks on a blank Word doc. I’m in my pajamas (note: *not* a onesie) on the couch, zonked from 14 high-adrenaline hours in the office, and trying to think of something good to blog about. And just like that, I have what any reasonable person might consider an epiphany.  In this moment, the only words that will do are these:

“Hi, my name is Lisa, and I’m a communicator.”
[Anyone who feels comfortable is welcome to respond with a little “Hi, Lisa.”]

At the risk of being too revelatory (but we’re in a safe space, yes?), I’ll just say it. I love to write. I need to write. In fact, I tend to forget to eat when I’m in a really good writing groove. And as a CEC researcher, I make much of my living by writing about…well…writing. (This is not unlike a diabetic owning a candy shop.)

So, here’s my conflict. Right now, I could make extremely quick work of this blog post. I could share some verbatim comments from a member conversation thread on CEC Discussions.  I could link to a Wide Angle post about a very cool social media webinar that MLC is hosting next week. (By the way, CEC members, you’re invited.) Hell, I could shoot fish in a barrel blindfolded by inviting PowerPoint haters to comment on this interesting NYT piece.

But I don’t want to. I want to write something new, fresh, clever, and ALL BY ME. There, I said it.

I trust this strikes a chord with many of you, my fellow night-owl writers. But there’s a reason why this post has a confessional tone. Writing too much (especially nocturnally) is a bad habit that we both have to break. Read More »

True to my CEC Insider bio, I enjoy Saturday Soul Searching Strolls. Last weekend, I went on a particularly long walk to clear my mind of all things related to Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment (the major CEC study that’s frying my brain). Oh-ho-ho, what a naïve analyst I am!  Two experiences along the way ignited thoughts about my piece of the study puzzle: animating stakeholder networks to speak on the company’s behalf. In marketing terms, word of mouth.

First, I stopped at Good Stuff Eatery, a burger place owned by former Top Chef contestant Chef Spike Mendelsohn. Despite his fame, Chef Spike was sweating at the register coordinating never-ending orders of Spike’s 5 Napkin burgers and Sunny’s hand cut fries. As he personally handed me my order, I smiled, said “Thanks, Spike.” He grinned back from underneath his geeky fedora, “You’re welcome.” That momentary interaction, that personal connection, sparked a desire within me to spread the Good News of Good Stuff.

Later that night I attended a new neighborhood bar, Star and Shamrock. Inside I asked my bartender, “So, Irish bar, Jewish deli. How’d that happen?” He promptly pulled over the owner who shared, “I’m a Brooklyn Jew who married an Irish girl. Just had to bring the best of both worlds together!”  The bar packed, the owner took the time to engage in a dialogue with me. The next day I thanked Jason for his hospitality…with a shout out on Twitter. Again, I felt connected to him, to his restaurant. I will tell others about it, unprompted.

So, this is the type of word of mouth that you want for your company, right? Of course! Read More »

By Rebecca Canan

As part of our 2010 research initiative, Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment, I’ve been thinking a lot about media monitoring.  After all, it brings a science to communicators’ efforts to develop messages that resonate with audiences—not to mention flow through their social networks.

In my recent chats with (smarty) CEC members, I’ve heard the name Katie Paine crop up quite a few times.  In case you don’t know her, she’s the CEO of KDPaine & Partners LLC and a PR measurement expert.  So, I thought I’d get Katie’s direct perspective on some of the questions that members—and we at CEC—are asking.

Rebecca, CEC: Communicators are often overwhelmed by the number of monitoring vendors out there, all lauding their services.  Then, when they finally select a service, it’s hard to make sense of all the data.  Is there an easy answer?  What’s been your experience in working with vendors?

Katie, KD Paine: My experience has been that many vendors “sell the dream”; that is, you think you’re going to sign-up and instantly receive all the data and intelligence that you need.  The reality is that it’s hard work. Read More »

I’m supposed to be flying to Copenhagen today to visit some of our Danish CEC members.  But in fact as I write this I’m still sitting in my home in Ashburn, Virginia.  Ironic. I’m one of the kajillion travelers whose itineraries have been totally ash-burned by the megacloud from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull.

(Fun Fact: If you spell-check that name, a black cloud actually spews out of your laptop.)

While waiting patiently for “the worst travel crisis in history” to come to an end, I’ve been spending my idle hours thinking about volcanoes—and crisis planning.

In my opinion, BOTH can burn you very badly. Read More »

By Mike Wellman

How great would it be to have the title of Chief Communications Officer and a 200+ team of able communicators to help you create an impact at your organization?  How about a fleet of Ferraris while we’re at it?  It sounds nice, but sadly many of the Communications professionals we work with continue to feel under-resourced and underappreciated.  That doesn’t mean that we need to always sing Rodney Dangerfield’s tune, though!  (Am I the only one who loves this video?)

The good news is that the communication demands of today are accelerating positive changes in the structure and skill set of many Communications teams, and job titles are evolving to reflect the nature of the important work we do. Smart communicators are asking CEC for help in making the case for more resources now, in a time of great change, when they know their organizations are more likely to listen.  Here are three useful tips on making an effective case for more people, money, or, access: Read More »

Dear CEC Members,

I’ve learned a lot about you all recently. In the past six weeks I have visited every single one of your company newsrooms. (This task falls into the “you never know where life will take you” category—but still a very educational experience.) And let me tell you, you’ve got some work to do. No worries though—we’re going to do it together. First, I’ve got 10 “yes or no” questions for you: Read More »

Chances are good that a lot of bad things are being said about your company right this second on the web. Don’t believe me? Search for your company on Twitter. Fair warning—it may be ugly. Angry rants are one thing, but what about when people spread reputation-crushing lies and misinformation about your company? How can you share your company’s side of the story in an authentic way? Here’s a hint: traditional tactics and campaigns will do little to counteract viral venom spewed at your company on the web.

One antidote that companies embroiled in controversy are turning to is issues-focused blogs. These blogs are designed to shed light on the company’s position and shape public conversation on key issues. To get the CEC Insider scoop on how to create and manage an issues-focused blog, I turned to one of the leaders in this space, Justin Higgs. Justin is the New Media Advisor at Chevron and primary editor of its blog The Amazon Post, a forum for communicating through an ongoing multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against the energy company in Ecuador. Read More »

By Evelyn Ostrovsky 

Did you know that Celine Dion is the youngest of 14 children?
Did you know that Justin Bieber likes white toast more than wheat?
Did you know your stakeholders don’t care about the same things you do?

If the CEC had a MTV Diary episode (motto: “You think you know…but you have no idea”), you’d probably be surprised by the look inside our yearly quantitative findings.

As most of you are aware of by now (being loyal readers of the CEC Insider), we’re in the middle of our biggest research initiative of the year, taking a look at how some the smartest communicators are Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment.  Alongside our 100s of conversations with CEC members, industry experts, academics, journalists, and vendors, we’re also analyzing hard data about what drives stakeholder support of companies.

First, it won’t come as a surprise to Comms that people are more likely to support organizations that seem to share their interests and values. And on that front, most communicators are confident that they know what their stakeholders care about—a belief that doesn’t seem all that far-fetched. (I mean, that’s our job, right?)
Read More »

By Lisa Schievelbein

Working with cross-functional partners is a common source of woe for Communications. Though the circumstances vary quite a bit, I’ve discovered a pattern over time in the villainous caricatures I hear most about:

• The party poopers
  Crime: Vetoing Comms’ best-laid plans to try new things
  Usual suspects: Legal, IT
• The land grabbers
  Crime: Asserting dominance—and taking all credit—in areas of overlapping audiences/interests
  Usual suspects: HR, Marketing

Read More »

Before the namesake of ObamaCare was in the U.S. Senate, I completed an undergraduate certificate program in Health Policy, primarily to stay on the family payroll for an extra semester.  Last week, those extra credits foolishly prompted me to volunteer this entry on what communicators should know and do about the reform bill.  Fortunately, our sister program serving benefits executives has produced a tidy 6-page summary of key provisions, but it may be more fortunate that they have us, as their recent online survey revealed communications about the bill as their most immediate concern.

Here are the most important things for corporate communicators to know right now about the health care reform bill:

Read More »