Greentarget

Evaluator

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Employee turnover is a disruptive force that can quickly upend your communications department’s best-laid plans. This was true even in pre-pandemic times when it was normal for marketing and communications professionals to seek out new opportunities every two to five years. 

But in the midst of the Great Resignation, the reality is even starker. According to a report from PwC, 65 percent of workers say they’re looking for a new job, and 88 percent of executives are noticing a higher level of turnover than usual. Chances are your team will be impacted, too.  

You can’t afford to let employee departures slow your company’s momentum when it comes to marketing and communications, especially in this era of rampant noise. The last thing you want is for your executive team to experience a disruption in the normal level of service you provide or for your company’s brand to take a reputational hit.

Leaning on your external public relations firm just might be the best move you can make to keep your communication strategy moving forward in the midst of employee transitions. To that end, here are four things a strong PR partner can do to help you weather the offboarding/onboarding process.

1. Handle the Day-to-Day Details of Your Communications Program 

As you’re well aware, communications departments juggle myriad details every day. Press releases, media outreach, internal comms, website updates, award submissions, media mentions, etc. — there’s always something in the works. And when the people who typically handle these tasks depart from your company, one of two things will happen.

You’ll get bogged down by the “tyranny of the urgent” and neglect the big picture communication needs of the business. Or you’ll focus on high-level strategy while the day-to-day details fall through the cracks. Neither situation is tenable.

As a communications leader, it’s crucial that you attend to the strategic business needs of your company. 

So, delegating the day-to-day tasks to a PR partner frees you up to do the work only you can do. We saw this play out recently when a client’s entire comms team turned over at the same time. Greentarget stepped in and kept every plate spinning until the new team was in place and up to speed. Meanwhile, we kept the CMO unencumbered so she could continue moving the marketing and business development strategy forward at the executive level. 

2. Retain and Impart Your Company’s Historical Knowledge

Every time an employee leaves, they take institutional knowledge and memory with them. And no matter how competent and skilled your new hires are, they simply don’t know what they don’t know. It will take them a minimum of 90 days to get the lay of the land and begin executing those tasks their predecessor left behind. But in truth it can take much longer than that to figure out the nuances of your particular culture.

That’s time you don’t have. When working with executives,reporters, and other important stakeholders in your business, your company needs your team to communicate effectively on its behalf — with no gaffes or missteps along the way — from day one. And to navigate industry and office dynamics without a hitch, your new hires need access to the written and unwritten information about your company. 

Preserving this valuable institutional knowledge is one of the most important reasons to consider developing a long standing relationship with a trusted PR partner. A PR firm makes it their business to know who your key players are, which clients require special consideration, and what types of sensitive situations you’ve handled in the past, among other things. 

To that end, your PR firm can help your team understand:

  • Your company’s historic impact on (and current standing in) your industry
  • Sensitive information about your company and/or its client base 
  • Brand standards and messaging guidelines to ensure every press release, media brief, and internal memo reads consistent
  • Approval processes and conflict-check procedures that should be followed before releasing any external communication 
  • Company preferences regarding certain media outlets or particular reporters
  • Ongoing sensitive situations, litigation, deals, or other important announcements that might garner media attention

Without insight into the inner workings of your company, your new employees will feel like they’re operating in the dark. Give them a head start and set them up for success by being intentional about imparting institutional knowledge from the outset.

3. Bring Fresh Perspective and Expertise to Your Comms Strategy

Although you want to win the war for talent and avoid employee turnover whenever possible, it’s important to remember that every change is ultimately an opportunity to grow. 

Yes, your departing employees undoubtedly contributed valuable skills and insight to your program. But perhaps they also became complacent in certain areas or were resistant to new ideas. That’s normal. Sometimes the only way to move your program forward is to tap into an external perspective that can help you identify the gaps you can’t see on your own.

For example, your PR firm might:

  • Help you expand your roster of spokespeople to showcase more diverse perspectives or up-and-coming leaders
  • Spotlight your company’s work in new industries or innovative service offerings
  • Offer media training to your executive leaders to help them prepare for high-profile interviews
  • Suggest a new approach to annual happenings like signature events or financial reporting 
  • Head up a salient market research project to establish your company’s authority and intelligence in a particular area
  • Launch a content audit to determine what is resonating with your key audiences and where it might be time to interject novelty, utility, urgency, and relevance.
  • Assist in developing a more consistent owned media program to underscore your company’s expertise in your industry

The lesson here is this. Employee turnover doesn’t have to halt your momentum. Don’t put initiatives on hold or abandon them altogether while you focus on hiring. Rely on your PR partner’s expertise to advance and evolve your organization’s communications capabilities.

4. Counsel Your New Comms Team Through Crisis Situations

Communicating effectively in times of crisis is always challenging. It’s even more difficult when you don’t have a trusted PR partner to help you navigate internal and external communication needs. If you’re experiencing turnover while also handling a sensitive PR situation, you need an ally in your corner.

This is particularly true if you’ve recently hired a new leader to take up the mantle of your company’s crisis communications strategy. They will need support to help them manage the situation skillfully, and consistently with how the company has handled similar situations in the past.

Greentarget has helped several new PR leaders onboard while facing difficult scenarios at the very start of their tenure. Without a steady guiding hand and historical and cultural context, they may have struggled to effectively and efficiently devise the right strategic communications plan for the company at that time.

There are also two important relationship-building opportunities that may arise from times of crisis. First, this is a meaningful opportunity to lean on the PR firm to help your new, in-house communicators build relationships with key decision makers within the company. And second, with a good PR partner, navigating a crisis situation can set the stage for a strong and lasting partnership.

Communications Team Transitions are Inevitable. Are You Ready?

As a marketing and communications leader, there’s no escaping it. Your team will eventually face staffing transitions.

The good news is you can be ready. By viewing a PR firm as a steadfast partner, you can prepare for the likelihood of natural attrition, manage offboarding and onboarding smoothly, and level up your communication program’s effectiveness along the way.

Interested in learning more about the ways Greentarget can help your team succeed? We’d love to hear from you.

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For decades, PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been used in everything from non-stick pans to firefighting foam. The so-called “forever chemicals” make things durable because they are resistant to efforts to break down their atomic structure – but that fact also makes disposing of the chemicals extremely challenging. In recent years, PFAS’ durability ran headlong into a growing awareness of their potential dangers as early (and still developing) research suggests that PFAS may link to certain cancers, liver and kidney issues, and other health problems.

Lathrop GPM, an Am Law 200 law firm, has an industry-leading environmental and tort practice with a focus on PFAS. The firm first dipped its toes into PFAS work around 2009 and spent the following years studying this emerging contaminant and figuring out what to do with it. By 2019, with a decade of experience under their belt and insight that this was going to be a growing area of demand, they dug into a marketing and business development plan.  As predicted, public and regulatory pressure around PFAS began to increase in 2020 and companies whose products included PFAS faced liability issues going back years, if not decades, and needed guidance on how to navigate the evolving landscape. Lathrop GPM’s team of lawyers had the knowledge and experience to provide that guidance – and reached out to Greentarget for a strategy to stand out as a voice of authority amid a crowded landscape and while much of the world’s attention was fixed on COVID-19.

Solution

Greentarget first identified individual PFAS topics that were in line with Lathrop GPM’s knowledge base that might fuel a thought leadership campaign. Then, to be sure that the firm’s point-of-view aligned with its audience’s most critical concerns and expectations, Greentarget turned to tools that measure search engine activity to identify terms that PFAS-related users were searching for.

Greentarget sought out terms with high relevance, robust monthly search volume, and little if any relevant legal content in top search results. Greentarget was able to pinpoint white space that Lathrop GPM could own by publishing novel, relevant, and useful perspectives. Together, Lathrop GPM and Greentarget decided on the topics of “PFAS in groundwater,” “PFAS in food,” “PFAS Action Plan” and later added “PFAS in cosmetics,” among others, as the focuses offering the best opportunities to assert Lathrop GPM’s authority.

Several calls with Lathrop GPM’s thought leaders and Greentarget were held to discuss the SEO-informed topics with the goal of creating articles stemming from the above terms and showcased Lathrop GPM’s knowledge and practical guidance.

Results

The campaign earned more than 42 media results, for 9 million impressions. That included bylines in Food Safety Magazine, Bloomberg Law, Mergers and Acquisitions, Industry Today, HAPPI, Food Industry Executive, Law360, FDCC Insights and DRI’s For the Defense, and Lathrop GPM lawyers being quoted in 16 articles in such publications as Law360, Bloomberg Law, Water World, Agripulse, Food Safety & Quality, Environmental Health News and Cosmetic Design.

Additionally, Bloomberg Law now regularly turns to Lathrop GPM as legal authorities on PFAS. The campaign also led to several new business inquiries as well as outreach from current clients and a prominent environmental lobbyist — who said Lathrop GPM was analyzing the issue in mostly uncovered ways.

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Broadcasting has long been the final frontier for many professional services firms. 

Highly coveted air time is notoriously difficult to secure — and there are a number of reasons for this. Producers have typically relied on a trusted network of experts who’ve demonstrated they can handle the pressure of a live interview. The need for guests to travel to a studio — or for the network to dispatch satellite equipment to another location — has historically made scheduling engagements complicated. Therefore, last-minute interview requests went to select experts who were close by and able to get to a studio or satellite location quickly.

But as with most aspects of life, the pandemic changed all that. 

Although most producers still prefer in-person appearances when possible, they’ve embraced the need to use remote guest appearances to prioritize safety and protect their networks from liability. And since interviewees have access to Zoom and other technology in their homes, it’s much easier to participate at a moment’s notice.  

These changes present new avenues for your firm to break into broadcast media. But if you want to seize this opportunity, it’s crucial that your firm’s leadership and other authorities take the following preparatory steps right now. 

Develop Unique Positions of Authority on Newsworthy Issues

The fundamental prerequisite for earned media coverage is always the same: have something compelling to say. However, to catch a broadcaster’s attention, you need an additional ingredient. Your positions of authority must not only be unique and well credentialed, but timely and newsworthy as well. 

To find and develop your firm’s newsworthy POVs, remember:

  • You have unique insight to offer the world. Ask yourself what your team is best at and find ways to connect that expertise to the current news cycle..
  • Don’t just focus on the “what” of a topic. True authority means articulating your viewpoint on the how and the why.
  • Differentiate your position — particularly on hot button issues. Everyone is talking about social issues, but it’s not enough to simply be part of the conversation. If you want to catch the attention of a producer, think through how you can add something new and insightful to the discourse. 
  • Make your message useful to a broad audience. Broadcasters want to share “news you can use.” Utility is the hallmark of impactful content.
  • Revisit and update your position of authority regularly. The news cycle moves fast. Make sure your POV keeps up.

Broadcasters want to incorporate greater diversity of thought and thought leaders into important social conversations. But bear in mind: the world doesn’t need more noise in an already crowded broadcast landscape. Your goal should be to contribute to a smarter conversation, not just say something for the sake of it.

Leverage Your Owned Media Program to Establish Your Firm’s Credibility

As you probably know, broadcast media frequently follows print. It’s common for producers to reach out to experts cited in other earned media venues to set up an on-air interview. Along with journalists of all kinds, they’re hungry for credible sources with an established voice who can add value to the topic at hand. This is particularly true as journalists try to stem the rising tide of “fake news” with more fact-based education around complex topics.

But if your firm isn’t regularly featured in prominent print or online news sources, how can you make your authority known? Your owned media program holds the key. 

Once you’ve developed your newsworthy points of view, harness the power of owned media. Write blog articles that cement your position. Dig into meatier topics by producing in-depth white papers and eBooks. Discuss salient perspectives on your firm’s podcast or ask an industry podcaster to host you as their guest. Share your content on social media channels. 

Journalists and producers regularly comb their Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter feeds for viable stories. Promote your owned content in these channels and others to increase their likelihood of finding it. 

Educate Your Team on the Unique Virtual Interview Format 

The ability to hold an interview from your home or office will make it much easier to say yes to invitations that come your way. For example, one of our clients received an interview invitation at 4 pm one day and was on air at 8 am the next morning. If the logistics of traveling to a studio were involved, she would not have been able to participate with such a tight turnaround. 

Further, she was only able to sit for the interview because she was already prepared. Can your firm mobilize with 16 hours’ notice? There are specific ways you need to prepare in order to participate skillfully in this space. 

Master the Basics of Any Media Interview

As with any media interview, it’s imperative to sharpen your message and get comfortable sharing it. Even if these basics seem obvious to you, it’s imperative other authority figures at your firm understand them as well. 

Ensure everyone on your team knows how to:

  • Distill your narrative into headlines that grab attention and get to the point
  • Bridge from a stated question to the material you want to share
  • Frame replies in positive ways
  • Maintain composure in the face of difficult questions

It’s not enough to have something meaningful to say. You need to be able to communicate effectively and skillfully handle anything your interviewer throws at you.

Educate Your Team on the Unique Requirements of Virtual Interviews

There are also a number of special considerations to keep in mind when preparing for a virtual interview. You won’t have perfect lighting, an expert camera crew, or talented makeup artists to ensure you look your best. Nor will you have the benefit of a studio’s professional technology and equipment. It’s on you to create an environment conducive to a good conversation. 

To show your firm is serious about becoming a player in the virtual broadcast environment, be sure your authorities:

  • Invest in good technology (camera, microphone, high-speed internet)
  • Choose a quiet location with an eye-pleasing, uncluttered background (extra points if elements in your background subtly reinforce your credibility, e.g. diplomas, industry journals, etc)
  • Be mindful of lighting and your camera angle (avoid harsh upward or downward angles, position your camera at eye level or slightly above, buy a ring light)
  • Practice making eye contact with the camera lens (rather than looking at the boxes on your screen)

It can take even more composure, poise, and skill to make a good virtual impression. Consider recording your interviewees beforehand or have them role play with a friend or colleague to refine their approach.  

Are You Ready to Make a Name for Your Firm in Broadcast Media?

The pandemic has changed the broadcast media game. Will those changes be permanent? Only time will tell. The industry could very well return to in-person interviews as protocols begin to ease. 

But the door is open wider than it ever has been. That means your firm should act fast to develop timely, newsworthy POVs. Establish your credibility through owned media and thought leadership. And be prepared to ace any interview invitations that come your way.

That virtual interview your firm gives today could become the foundation for in-person broadcast appearances in the future. So if you want help finding and developing your firm’s unique positions of authority, just reach out. We’d love to help you engage skillfully in the broadcast media space.

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Challenge

Ignite, a Chicago based non-profit, has been dedicated to supporting homeless youth for 45 years. But they continue to run up against a significant problem that inhibits their ability to deliver services: specifically, how the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness.

HUD currently defines homelessness by assessing the number of people on the streets and shelters within one night. But homeless youth generally fly under the radar, often by staying on people’s couches: of the 1 in 10 young adults between 18 to 25 who encounter homelessness in a year, half only do so through couch surfing. As such, HUD doesn’t count these youth as homeless, making it much harder for community organizations like Ignite (who rely on the department’s funds) to help them. This problem is only getting worse, especially with COVID-19 having exacerbated housing instability across the US. 

Legislation exists to change HUD’s definition, but it had stalled in Congress. That’s why, in the fall of 2021, Greentarget jumped on board to help Ignite draw attention to this legislation and the growing problem of youth homelessness.

Solution

The Greentarget team began by engaging Ignite’s Executive and Program & Leadership team members to understand precisely where the HUD issue stood, why it was more important than ever we address it now, and how the Ignite team’s experiences could establish them as authorities on this topic.

From there, we conducted extensive research into the issues at hand and the current media landscape, and interviewed two homeless youth who were using Ignite’s services – knowing that to really illuminate this story, we had to back up our claims with data and place firsthand experiences front and center.

This gave us the foundation to shape media pitches and develop an op-ed geared towards target audiences on Capitol Hill and in Chicago.

Results

“Your time and energy make these life-changing programs possible and mean that we can help more young people achieve personal and economic independence and reach their full potential.” – Stephanie Piccirilli, President & CEO, Ignite.

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In this episode of Authority Figures, Aaron Schoenherr speaks with Chandran Sankaran, founder and CEO of Repustar, a novel fact distribution platform that partners with news organizations. The pair will discuss how technology can play a role in fighting so-called “fake news,” and journalism’s pivotal – but changing — role in that fight.

1:23 – Chandran discusses his path to Repustar, what motivated him to found the company and the problems he hopes to help solve through Repustar’s FactSparrow platform.

5:33 – Aaron and Chandran dig deeper into how the FactSparrow platform works and how it functions as an AI bot.

10:24 – Aaron asks Chandran about the reliability of FactSparrow’s sourcing, which is based on principles of good journalism.

16:01 – Chandran details how FactSparrow acts almost as a focus group, spotting topics that are potential areas of misinformation and disinformation.

18:14 – Aaron asks about Chandran’s monetization plans.

19:59 – Aaron and Chandran discuss how corporations might use the tool and consider the evolving importance of corporate responsibility in the era of fake news.

21:48 – Chandran discusses how social media companies, especially Twitter, are more in the business of checking the integrity of information.

23:24 – Aaron and Chandran discuss Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report – and Chandran reacts to journalists’ perspectives on who is best positioned to combat misinformation and disinformation.

29:55 – If journalists aren’t a complete solution to combat fake news, what else can help?

33:08 – Chandran discusses why he’s hopeful, despite the challenges brought on by fake news.

36:35 – How news activists fit in, in Chandran’s eyes.

39:26 – Does fact-checking have a diminishing impact?

Click here to download Greentarget’s 2021 Fake News report.

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The ground-breaking nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court means professional services firms have a lot to consider when it comes to their PR strategy. The key question is whether – and how – to weigh in publicly on an appointment that could have far-reaching business and social implications.

As her Senate confirmation hearings begin this week, Jackson stands on the threshold of one of the most consequential jobs in the country, ruling on issues that are critical to U.S. business, governance and civic life. If confirmed, she would be the first Black woman on the court as well as the first justice to have worked representing poor criminal defendants.

Her nomination comes as the public is increasingly looking to business leaders for guidance and opinions at important moments of civic discourse. Offering a point of view at such times shouldn’t be done without care. But organizations that consider the matter strategically have an opportunity — and in some cases, a responsibility — to express true positions of authority at a key juncture in U.S. history.

Jackson’s nomination isn’t the only high-profile personnel move that might tempt professional service organizations to speak up. We asked Greentarget’s senior leaders about the advice they offer clients who come to us for guidance in these moments, and it starts with a few questions.

Is There a Direct Connection?

The first couple queries are fairly open-and-shut and pertain to the direct connection to the person being nominated or appointee.

Does the nominee/appointee have a personal connection to your organization?

An organization that has such a connection almost certainly has the authority to say something. That might not be the case if, say, a 67-year-old is appointed to a significant position 40 years after working at a law firm as an associate. But if the connection is stronger, putting out a short congratulatory statement that acknowledges the connection is probably a smart play, assuming things didn’t end on bad terms.

Making such a statement is a point of credentialing for an organization, even if it’s not one that will likely generate tons of headlines. Of course, there’s the inverse to this question …

Does your organization have an obvious conflict when it comes to commenting?

This is probably another question without much gray area. The decision to say something publicly might be a simple “no” because there’s a direct conflict – in the case of Jackson, a law firm might be set to argue before the Supreme Court in the next term. That might not automatically rule out saying something, but it could limit what can be safely said. And a milquetoast point-of-view might not be worth the time it takes to work it up.

What if There’s No Direct Connection?

Depending on the answers to the first two questions, some organizations may simply shrug and move on. But there are other important questions to consider before doing so.

Does the position relate directly to a major focus or emphasis of your organization?

Say your organization does a lot of work in securities or finance. It’s likely that your team includes someone – probably multiple someones – with strong perspectives when a new SEC chairman is named. Or, perhaps your organization has expertise on workplace issues. The appointment of a new secretary of labor will probably elicit a reaction or two from members of your team.

Still, making public comments in such moments isn’t a given. It’s important to actually have something to say about the person being nominated – and that what you’re saying is insightful enough for the reward to outweigh any potential risk.

So how do I know if what we have to say is insightful enough?

For either of the above examples, your organization’s subject matter experts might have thoughts on how the new SEC chair or labor secretary might perform, how policy or enforcement might change and, ideally, practical guidance on how companies should adapt. Importantly, subject matter expertise doesn’t have to be confined to the focuses of practice groups within your organization.

In the case of Jackson’s nomination, Littler utilized an existing podcast on inclusion, equity and diversity to post an interview between Cindy-Ann Thomas, the co-chair of the firm’s EEO & Diversity Practice Group, and Bernice Bouie Donald, a federal judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Thomas and Donald, both of whom are Black women, discussed the importance of diversity on the Supreme Court, strategies for female jurists of color in managing biases and advice from Donald for other female attorneys of color, among other topics.

Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk

The life and professional experiences of Thomas and Donald meant they had gravitas to comment on Jackson’s nomination. But Littler as an organization also could authentically and effectively weigh in because the firm has addressed similar issues for five years on the podcast (in addition to a variety of other channels). These factors tie directly to the next question on our list.

Is your organization able to speak to that point effectively and authentically, particularly in historic moments?

This was a question that came up a lot over the past couple years as organizations decided whether and how to contribute to the conversation in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and a broader racial reckoning. As my colleague, Steve DiMattia, smartly noted last year, it’s important that public comments in these moments aren’t just words:

The authenticity and credibility of any statement issued to address a fraught moment will not be judged against the values that you claim to profess but by the values you demonstrate through your actions. Values reveal themselves in observable behavior. And an organization that claims to stand for diversity and inclusion, but which has done nothing to advance diversity and inclusion, needs to think carefully about how it participates in the conversation about diversity and inclusion or risk alienating its audience.

The Need(?) to Say Something in the Digital Age

Here’s one more piece to the puzzle: Not only do we live in an era when news can make it around the world in minutes, we live in one in which technology makes it easier than ever to hold organizations’ feet to the fire.

Take what happened during International Women’s Day earlier this month. A slew of organizations posted what were fairly banal comments meant to celebrate the day – and were then quickly skewered by a bot that replied to the original posts with pay gap data about the organizations. The organizations, many of which quickly deleted their original tweets, learned the hard way that it’s never been more important to think through points-of-view before going public with them.

But that shouldn’t keep companies from commenting at all. As my colleagues Pam Munoz and Howell J. Malham Jr., noted last year, “It’s not an option for companies and their leaders to avoid entering into the fray of complex social challenges anymore.”

It could be argued that companies can enter the fray without entering it at every possible moment – and in the case of Jackson’s nomination, the moment might simply not be right based on the criteria outlined above. Indeed, organizations should pick their spots, because an empty/by-the-numbers move will be at best a non-factor.

But smart and incisive commentary, delivered thoughtfully and at the right time, is likely worth the risk, and it can make for a smarter conversation.

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