PRobecast 140: In this episode of PRobecast, Topazers Justin Martell, Josh DeStefano, and Caitlin Smith join me in talking about the sugar industry trying to pull a fast one, being a memorable public speaker, and our Facebook predictions for 2012.

Sugar Industry In a PR Stretch: Corn Refiners Association Leverages Accusations Against Refined Sugar Industry for Pitching New Study To Create False Scientific Controversy About High Fructose Corn Syrup – The Refined Sugar Industry and the Corn Refiners Association are in yet another heated debate about whose product is better. This time, the refined sugar industry is trying to pull the wool over consumers’ eyes by publishing a survey with several limitations, and did not produce conclusive results. The survey was completed as a backlash against the CRA, which asked the FDA to print “corn sugar” instead of “high fructose corn syrup” on nutrition labels. Now there are lawsuits and complaints being made everywhere you look in the nutrition and food industry, and all that’s being accomplished is misconception. The two industries are not paying attention to their stakeholders, which are, obviously, consumers. Sugar products are in nearly everything we eat, so shouldn’t their focus be on making people healthier and encouraging moderation?

Make Every Word Count – 4 steps to becoming a memorable speaker - Patricia Fripp, a speech coach and trainer, published an opinion piece on the BullDog Reporter on how to make your speech intelligent, memorable, and audience-focused. Her four key points were organization, analysis, edit, and specify. Explicit language is a key way to sound like an expert, and it’s often forgotten in our events. Language is an important tool, often overlooked. As PR people, it’s our job to make sure our clients attend and speak at the right conferences, and we often write the proposals. 2012 should focus on speech which will invite discussion, generate leads, and eventually close deals.

Lastly in PRobecast, we’ll pick technology trends we’d like to see happen for 2012. Our discussion centered on Facebook ads versus fan pages, and which are more efficient.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

We chose Patricia Fripp’s article on being a memorable speaker. In PR, all too often we forget those important communications skills we learned. It’s time to make 2012 the year to bring back speaking properly while catering to your audience. Pick up your AP style book!

Who do you think should have won? Do you agree with us?

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PRobecast 139: In this episode of PRobecast, Topazers Justin Martell, Josh DeStefano, and Tony Sapienza join me in talking about Kayak CMO Robert Birge’s lack of crisis communication skills, daily deals and men, and Facebook’s help lines.

What’s the deal for guys? It’s all about the bragging rights – Admit it. When you think of coupons, you think of your mother or grandmother. The very terns we associate with saving money – coupon clipping, penny pinching – still sound vaguely dainty. Of course men have been doing their own shopping for some time now, and guys like saving money as much as anyone. Yet men’s relationships with coupons and deals remains ambiguous and largely unexplored.

Kayak cancels controversial ads, social media nightmare ensues and Orbitz looks to capitalize – Travel search engine Kayak woke up this morning to a social media nightmare, and it doesn’t have a clear end in sight. Late last night, the company pulled advertising from the reality TV show “All-American Muslim” on TLC, apparently because an activist organization, the Florida Family Association, condemned the show. According to the New York Times, the organization attacked the show as propaganda that obscures “the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.” So far 65 other companies have left the show, with Lowe’s and Kayak being the most recent and certainly highest profile. For example, Lowe’s, which pulled the ads on Saturday has over 25,000 comments posted on the company’s Facebook page.

Facebook, Google refer suicidal people to help lines – Computer networks can’t feel or understand jokes, but software engineers have hardwired some compassion. Mechanisms in place in Facebook’s system and in Google’s search engine can look for suicidal messages and direct people to help. Facebook is encouraging its 800 million users to use a system the company created to flag suicidal or otherwise violent messages. If someone is posting unsettling photos or writing status updates about killing himself or herself, friends can click on a “report suicidal content” link.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

We voted on Facebook & Google’s partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline as the best story this week. It may have been a long time coming, but Facebook is using its power for good, to help people who need it.

Who do you think should have won?

In this episode of PRobecast, Renatta Siewert and Caitlin Smith join me in discussing Milwaukee Health Department’s new co-sleeping ad campaign, O.co reverting back to Overstock.com and Justin Bieber’s paternity suit being dropped.

Milwaukee’s Co-Sleeping Ad Controversy – The city of Milwaukee’s Health Department is under scrutiny after its recent ad campaign warning parents about the dangers of co-sleeping. Their advertisement shows a baby sleeping next to a knife – not the normal picture you get in your head when thinking about an infant dozing off. The Commissioner of Health says that while the image is shocking, what is more shocking is the fact that 30 developed and underdeveloped countries have better infant death rates than the city. However, some parents are outraged and think that co-parenting is a good bonding ritual between mothers and their child. Is Milwaukee in a PR-mess that it can handle? How should the city move forward?

Overstock Backs Off O.co Name Change – About six months ago, Overstock.com started branding it O.co – in online ad, tv ads and during sporting events. They’re reverting their branding and bringing back their Overstock.com messaging because a “good portion” of those watching to o.co ads, started going to o.com. Obviously, that is a problem. Some experts are saying that by going back to Overstock.com branding, for the time being, is going to cost a lot of brand confusion with their customers. What do you think?

Justin Bieber’s Baby Drama– Looks like Justin Bieber might not have as much baby mamma drama going on as he has had in recent weeks. Mariah Yeater, the 20-yr old that accused Biebs of fathering her 4 month year old child, has quietly dropped her lawsuit. According to Yeater’s lawyer, his client was receiving death threats and decided to pursue privately. How do you think Bieber’s PR camp handled the allegations? Is this girl just looking for 15 minutes of fame?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week’s winner was Overstock. Too often brands have messaging that doesn’t work, and instead of addressing the problem – the messaging is never altered. While Overstock is still keeping O.co, they are addressing the problem by bringing back the more well-known Overstock.com URL. It’s a win-win for them. People know it and now consumers can get to their site.

Who do you think should have won?

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