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Greetings!
Busy times here at New Harbor Group. Here's a look at last week's schedule:
 Sunday and Monday: Working with the superintendent of schools in Central Falls on the resolution of the school dispute there;
Tuesday: Working on another, high-profile crisis communications project, and;
Wednesday: Working with the court-appointed receiver for the City of Central Falls.
Last week reconfirmed some long-standing truisms about the public relations business, and added some new twists to old lessons. For a detailed look at my takeaways, check out our latest New Harbor Group blog entry. Some highlights are below.Best,
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 | Notes on Central Falls,
and Crisis Communications
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 Who are you?
A thoughtful, self-aware answer to this question lays the foundation for everything else. Without this core understanding, it is almost impossible to deliver your message consistently and effectively.
Know the Key Point you're Trying to Convey...
... And Don't Get Tired of Saying It
Most human beings with good social skills learn early on that repetitive = boring. But when conducting multiple interviews you have to say the same thing every time. If you don't, every media outlet will have something different, and your message gets muddy.
Give the Communications Team as Much Time as Possible to Mount the Learning Curve
The sooner communications is brought into crisis planning, the better the result.
Summarize - and on One Page, if Possible
Reporters don't have a lot of time these days (see below), and neither do citizens, so it's important to answer the question "What's this all about?" quickly and clearly. I like to do it on one page. This summary of the agreement between the school department and the teacher's union in Central Falls is a good example of laying it all out one page.
There's no Substitute for Preparation
Whenever someone says, "I'll just wing it" or, "I know what to say," what I hear is, "Just give me the keys so I can drive this interview right into the ditch."
Be Responsive
Reporters will tell you that they will always be fair, but my experience is that when you work to accommodate their busy schedules, they will be even more "fair."
Pick Good Clients
In the end, it's always great to get a note like this from a client: "I can't imagine where we would have been without your valuable help." The best clients are those who know they need your advice, and appreciate your counsel. If they value what you have to offer, your job will be that much easier, and their message that much clearer.
For more on these tips, check out our blog.
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A Headline About Headlines
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By now you know that we view the e-mail newsletter as the indispensible communications tool, and that the subject line is key to getting the e-news opened. We usually experiment with our subject lines, and last month we sent out half the e-newsletters with the subject line "On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog." This highlighted a story about how anonymity on the Internet fosters bad behavior. The other subject line was "Know Someone Looking for Work?", highlighting QuonsetJobs.com, a jobs web page we did for our client the Quonset Development Corporation.
Mixing headlines for ourselves and our clients is a good way to do a little free marketing research. After all, the better you know your audience, the more effectively you can aim your message.
And the winner? By a decisive margin of 10%, jobs at Quonset had a higher "open rate" than dogs on the Internet.
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Nice Ink!
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- What do all six candidates for Governor of Rhode Island agree on? That Quonset is an undeniable local success story, with more jobs and economic growth on the way. See what they all have to say at our well-received website, QuonsetJobs.com.
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Meanwhile, still more proof that Quonset is leading the way out of the recession for the Rhode Island economy. Ground was broken recently on 