Every company has some clients that are more difficult than others. It stands to reason -when working with a large number of professionals, A-type personalities will be encountered.

For the PR professional, the A-type personality is probably the most difficult to work with. It is, therefore, crucial that PR agencies find a way of effectively managing client expectations.

In order to avoid circumstances in which the client demands more than your contract states, be sure to clearly outline roles, strategies, tactics and objectives at the beginning of the relationship before initiating the program.

For example, Search Engine Optimization is a marketing technique that requires time and patience. SEO is cumulative; the longer it is implemented, the better the results will be. If this is not clearly conveyed to the client at the beginning of the program, the client will expect their search engine rankings to dramatically increase from moment go. Communicating processes, time frames and what the client can realistically expect from the program, will reduce client anxiety and your own.

Whenever you offer a service, it is your responsibility to define the service and its objectives, while quantifiably measuring results.

Misrepresentation.
Everybody hates being misled. We have all been victims of some kind of misrepresentation and we have all felt the frustration of being powerless to do anything about it.

From rumours circulating at school and kids being called names in the playground to falsely accused prisoners and identity theft. Misrepresentation appears in many guises and is encountered in every phase of life.

When truth becomes so distorted that we are no longer able to trust and believe; what kind of World are we living in?

A World where the paparazzi will do anything to jeopardize famous people’s credibility and a salesman will say anything to seal a deal.

A World where the law cannot protect innocent people and scams are rampant.

In our society, it would seem that trust is becoming meaningless with deception an overwhelming force.

According to an article in Search Insider (April 20), search and reputation management are inextricably linked.

Since prospects look for answers in search engines, this statement makes a lot of sense. Search engines are, in effect, cyber battlefields; why wouldn’t reputation be an issue?

To illustrate this point, web users who enter the words “miserable failure” into the Google search engine are directed to the biography of President Bush on the White House website.

Not only are PR and Search linked in terms of reputation management, the marriage of these 2 marketing techniques also adds a new spin on traditional PR practices.

Managed as an integrated package, search enhances PR offerings through tactics such as keyword optimization and a collaboration of print and online marketing.

Indeed, when PR partners with search, the result optimizes on the best of both worlds.

Hello!

I am a Public Relations Manager at Misukanis & Odden, a Minneapolis-based PR, Search Engine Optimization and Marketing firm.

Misukanis & Odden helps companies in technology, med-tech and financial services industries increase brand visibility, leads and sales.

For more information, visit http://www.misukanisodden.com or call me at 952 400 0234.

The largest Titan Arum flower in the World is currently blooming in West London’s Kew Gardens. The rare flower has hit 2.11 m and continues to grow.

The Titan Arum flower orginates from Sumatra and is known as the “corpse flower” for a very good reason - it smells like a mixture of rotting flesh, mouldy cheese and dirty diapers.

Fortunately for West London, the flower will only retain its smell for 2 days.

View the Titan Arum flower here.

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Recently, we have been seeing a shift in traditional advertising practices, as more and more brands and products have found their way onto prime time T.V.

And I’m not talking about the commercial breaks.

Surely it was no coincidence that Survivor sponsor, Pringles, received huge exposure when Survivor participants munched on Pringles (with the Pringle box in full camera view) as the reward to a luxury challenge.

Similary, American Idol is becoming increasingly involved in car advertising by featuring and airing the idols in a different car ad every week as part of the results show.

It goes without saying that brands associated with popular prime time T.V. shows will be perceived as trendy products.

And what a sneaky way to reach consumers! Let’s face it, we all play the channel hopping game during commercial breaks but are unlikely to touch the remote during our favourite T.V. show.

Advertising practices have, therefore, transitioned from traditional in-your-face promotion to subliminally reaching the consumer through a medium that they are not going to reject.

British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, is facing critical times as the May General Election quickly approaches.

With recent opinion polls showing that the Labor Party has only an 8% lead over the Tories, PR disasters like the one that occurred in a Regent Park mosque today, can only act to hurt Blair’s political campaign.

When a fringe Islamist group gatecrashed a general election event, hosted by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), angry demonstrators were quick to condemn Blair’s leadership and to warn Muslims against voting in the upcoming election, dubbing them “unbelievers”.

The Muslim Council of Britian’s effort to bring Muslims together to discuss what they wanted to get out of the General Election, turned into a piece of negative PR for both the MCB and the current Prime Minister, overshadowing what had originally been a positive move on the MCB’s part.

Working in Public Relations means that there is no limit to the amount of research and promotion you can do. There are always more editorial calendars to scour, more media hits to be gained and an infinite amount of create concepts to be researched, developed and presented.

There is no wonder, therefore, that managing multiple PR accounts requires good organization and effective time management. It is often tempting to spend more time than one should on a client with an exciting product to promote, rather than on another equally important client with a less endearing message.

Indeed, Public Relations can often be overwhelming for the account executive. Here are some tips on how to relieve stress, find focus and enhance your performance.

Create a clear task list
It may seem simple, but having all your tasks written down in a clear and easy-to-read list will immediately relieve the feeling of being overwhelmed and not knowing where to start.
I am most stressed when I know that I have a lot to do, but can’t quite remember the details of each individual task. That niggling feeling of forgetting something important is at the root of stress and frustration and will only fester if left to do so.

Reality show mania has been hitting the World for years now. Survivor is in its eighth season and Simon Cowell has quickly become a household name.

Once upon a time, escapism was the name of the game. Soap operas, movies, comedy shows; what a welcome relief from world corruption and terrorism.

What is it with reality?
Honestly? Ego.
Reality shows indulge the desire in each of us to have our 5 minutes of fame. These shows have taught us that average people can be media darlings. Just look at Survivors Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich. Suddenly, your average joe from Boston and the girl next door from PA are about to have their wedding televised live on CBS. Whatever happened to this “honour” being restricted to heads of state and monarchy?

No matter how much we hear about the downside of fame, still, more people crave it than reject it. Reality mania has just strengthened the fantasy for would-be celebrities, who can now see a tangible road from sofa to producer.