I truly do not know what has been going on with Yahoo these past few years. The internal struggles and turnovers make constant headlines. But therein lays the problem – the constant headlines. Who is running their public relations? They never seem to have a grip on their situation; they deal with crisis as if it was an everyday occurrence. This is not how you do effective public relations let alone how you communicate with your public and stockholders. The funny thing is I like Yahoo, and always have. I like how I can aggregate my news on Yahoo. But once again Yahoo ruins their public image with the leaving of yet another CEO. How many is it so far? Yahoo’s public image it taking a spanking!

Read the AdAge article here: Yahoo CEO Thompson Steps Down Over Resume Flaps as Levinshon Reins

The title speaks most eloquently for itself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Tiger Chinese New Year Shuffle

Unexpected joy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Ping Pong Skill

I never thought ping pong was a funny sport until now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.jotopr.com/blog/fun-pr-videos-pictures-and-sites/joto-mojo-laugh-truck-why-white-guys-dont-freestyle-and-more/feed/ 0 http://www.jotopr.com/blog/awesome-pr-campaigns/joto-in-flash-mobs-in-out-or-in-between/ http://www.jotopr.com/blog/awesome-pr-campaigns/joto-in-flash-mobs-in-out-or-in-between/#comments Wed, 16 May 2012 18:30:37 +0000 JoTo MoJo http://www.jotopr.com/blog/?p=1070 When flash mobs and dances first appeared I thought them to be one of the more magnificent creations occurring on earth at that time. Sure some of them were contrived and some were overly commercial (T-Mobile) but overall I got such a kick out of them. They were positive PR for whatever group or organization they were associated with. I loved the spontaneity and originality. No two were ever alike and they seemed to being such joy to onlookers. I loved watching the audience suddenly participating in the dance or song. Recently while watching the Copenhagen Philharmonic unexpectedly spring to life in the Copenhagen Metro I was reminded about all that is fantastic about art. I also realized this was an incredible Public Relations success. It could only be done by the performers themselves (and was orchestrated by a PR firm!). So in April 2012, the Copenhagen Philharmonic surprised the passengers in the Copenhagen Metro by playing Griegs Peer Gynt. The flash mob was created in collaboration with Radio Klassisk http://radioklassisk.dk/. All music was performed and recorded in the metro. This was so cool as am sure you will agree when you watch the video itself. It just goes to show you that a great flash mob can bring great PR.

Click here to view the embedded video.

JoTo Opines: Public Relations equal Community Relations

Public relations! What an interesting term when you think about it. Public meaning people and community and relations meaning how you get along with others and deal with your connections. If business was a playground (and perhaps life is one big playground), it would be all about how well you play with others. You could say that Public Relations equal Community Relations and that would be a good way to look at it. (However, just so you know…that is still a “too-myopic-a-term” as PR is a very broad subject, but it should help you out some!)

So how well do you get along with your customers. Do you treat them like friends or necessary hostiles? Do you try to manipulate them and play on their sympathies or do you deal with them fair and square?  When you do something to hurt your friend’s feeling unwittingly, do you cop to it and make amends – or just ignore it? We have been talking with you about crisis management recently and nothing underscores poor community/public relations than this. Recently, three very well-known brands Wal-Mart, Heineken and Groupon have made some major missteps in their dealings with the public. And in a related issue, noted PR flack Hilary Rosen decided that she was bigger than her client and became the story. Someone should have talked to her about getting too big for her britches.

In fact, in a stunning series of moves the esteemed discount chain Wal-Mart has pretty much thrown its own bad self under the bus. How else can you explain these rather incredible and baffling public relations gaffes that must have old Sam twisting in his grave?  In this case like Ms. Rosen, Wal-Mart execs decided they were above the law. (Wait…seems like another PR Crisis during our recession – “too big to fail” – remember that debacle?)

Actually, you can do something to prevent a crisis from actually happening or snowballing out of control. This month’s JoTo Ism explores the concept of preventative crisis management. And in the JoTo DIY post we discuss angles. Every PR story needs an angle. How do you go about finding an angle, check out JoTo DIY for May.

Our charming CEO Karla Jo celebrates her birthday this month. Please join us in this most engaging tradition!

Tell your story with grace…

The JoTo MoJo Editor,
Larry

JoTo = Excellence

The JoTo Public Relations Agency is a Tampa Bay PR Firm that provides Business PR services to local and national organizations.  JoTo is an ancient Japanese word that means “excellent; the best, very high class.”  That is the standard that we apply to Public Relations at the JoTo PR Agency.

In today’s New Economy, Public Relations is much more than sending out a press release. An effective PR Firm has to successfully combine communication and management skills that utilize the full array of available tools from time-tested traditional methods to the latest and most popular social media vehicles.  At the JoTo PR Tampa Bay Firm, we have effectively merged these skills and methods to provide proven results for our clients.

When the JoTo Tampa PR Agency services a client’s PR needs, we address every facet of that company or organization’s communication.  The JoTo PR Firm delivers Public Relations results by reaching out to the precise audience that is meaningful to you, and garnering their willingness to patronize your services or products.

Everything the JoTo Public Relations Agency does is done from the standpoint of getting businesses a better return on investment (ROI) for their marketing dollars. Contact the JoTo Tampa Public Relations Agency for a complimentary public relations consultation and evaluation.

About Us

Public Relations innovators and veterans Karla Jo Helms and Diane D. Stein created JoTo PR to fulfill a gaping hole in the industry. With the advent of multiple outlets for media including social media sites, the traditional PR agencies were somewhat stymied. New agencies arose specializing in digital media but not grounded in the traditional values. JoTo is a hybrid, a blend of traditional with high technology so as to harness the advantages of all the worlds. They also bring their diversified far-reaching vision and experience that incorporates the totality of a company and recognizes that every aspect of a company from reception to customer service is involved in the way in which a company or organization is perceived. Using a Public Relations approach to all those aspects, they are able to help a company greatly improve the customer experience.

A Holistic Overview

JoTo takes a unique approach to its public relations activities. A large-scale initial examination enables us to look at your company as a whole. Our vision is holistic, i.e., a company is greater than the sum of its departments and divisions. We treat the entire organism (company) from top to bottom and create a synergistic message that lasers through the communication and information clutter. Starting with strategic planning that enhances every aspect of the organization, JoTo creates an integrated program that optimizes communication and improves the marketing return on investment.

PR is the tool to get people to think the way you want them to think. No matter the target audience, whether staff or customers, you have more control over reaching your goals through the correct use of PR. Marketing then backs up PR’s message by communicating what you want those target audiences to do.

The benefit of having a well-thought out and strategized PR plan is that it gives you more control over attaining your goals, which equates to a bigger bottom line and more freedom to do the things that you want to do.

Our specialty is not only our understanding and application of the core principles of PR, but our business background enables us to create holistic PR campaigns so you get better, faster and more comprehensive results. Call us for a complimentary PR consultation and evaluation.

The JoTo Mission Statement

To use the true technology of Public Relations as a holistic approach to companies’ marketing and promotional avenues by creating campaigns that will result in prosperous and expanding businesses.

Everything JoTo PR does is done from the standpoint of getting businesses a better return on investment (ROI) for their marketing dollars.

Under the Wal-Mart Bus

Wal-Mart’s cover-up of a huge bribery network in Mexico ignited a huge PR crisis as they discovered the bribes in their own internal probe, then “failed” to notify law enforcement. Now, the Mexican government is urged to launch its own probe. Unbelievably, Wal-Mart’s growth in Mexico has been so rapid that one of every five Wal-Mart stores now is in that country. It is also Mexico’s largest private employer, with 209,000 employees there. But according to a recent NY Times report, the retail giant allegedly hushed up a vast bribery campaign that top executives of its Mexican subsidiary carried out to build stores across that country.

Read about it in the New York Times article: Vast Mexico Bribery Case Hushed Up by Wal-Mart After Top-Level Struggle

And in Reuter’s article: Wal-Mart’s Sarbanes-Oxley problem: Alison Frankel

And on Fox News: Wal-Mart faces big fines amid bribery charges

KJ says: “The best thing they could do is put some heads on a pike in management and start over with new hires, work with the government to get it resolved.  It’s completely STUPID that with ALL that money Wal-Mart could have done the launch of their foray into Mexico right – ten times over.  But for a piddly 24 million (Wal-Mart chump change) they use unethical and illicit methods to gain what they would have already gotten.”

We Like Him

Australian singer Gotye has become an international sensation with his haunting song, “Someone that I Used to Know.” He makes his KCRW debut with a live set of soaring art-pop songs.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Hey We Know These Guys!

Here are some friends of ours that notch it up a bit on Britain’s Got Talent. Watch The Jive Aces cheer up a sulky Simon Cowell with their Britain’s Got Talent audition to The Jungle Book hit I Wanna Be Like You…

Click here to view the embedded video.

And We Know Her!

In fact she eats at GreenOrganix (www.GreenOrganix.com) in downtown Clearwater! One of the most powerful performances I have ever seen. Watch Juliet Simms belt out “Roxanne” for the benefit of Coach CeeLo and the rest of the world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I Had to Go Back

Listening to and watching all this incredible talent reminded me of one of the first videos I watched in this genre featuring the incomparable Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent 2009. Her performance still brings tears of joy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

It’s a Man’s World

While “thumbing” through YouTube I found this incredible performance of James Brown singing his hit “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” with soulful singer Joss Stone. It is just so so cool.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.jotopr.com/blog/fun-pr-videos-pictures-and-sites/joto-mojo-the-fav-joto-video-picks-for-may-2012/feed/ 0 http://www.jotopr.com/blog/pr-slogans-and-maxims/joto-ism-handling-the-crisis-before-it-happens/ http://www.jotopr.com/blog/pr-slogans-and-maxims/joto-ism-handling-the-crisis-before-it-happens/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 14:45:03 +0000 JoTo MoJo http://www.jotopr.com/blog/?p=937

Handling the Crisis Before It Happens

It’s a wild world out there and that old Boy Scout motto of being prepared is more important and relevant than ever before. There is this light coating of social veneer that makes our society seem rather innocuous. But under that surface is a pack of howling wolves….even hyenas.  You have to be prepared by monitoring your company on all fronts. I don’t say this out of paranoia, but out of experience.

The Internet and especially social media offer us an incredible opportunity watch over your company or organization. What is so great about social media is that it affords us two-way communication and an opportunity to directly engage the public. It is the swiftest means of reaching your audience and it is almost instantaneous.

Keep in mind you are communicating with and not to your customers, prospects and the media. You cannot sit on your response, remember this is a conversation and you have to respond accordingly and timely. When I say social media I mean the usual characters of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. Also keep in mind bloggers who already have intimate relations with their publics. Never underestimate the power of bloggers, they wield great influence – keep them in your dialog.

When engaged in social media, you cannot just walk away – you have to stay part of the conversation and create loyalty with your presence and honesty. This is way different than dancing with old-school media as you do not have control over the communication. With social media you are not waiting for your message to be distilled by journalists and passed on to your public. Social media is direct and without via and you can measure the results of your endeavor. You can tell how many folks clicked on your links or retweeted your message and determine how effective you are.

Social media can help you manage your reputation and build awareness for your organization while communicating directly with your public and responding accordingly. In this way you can potentially fend off an impending crisis before it snowballs.

First off monitor the Internet and social media examining what is being said about your group. Don’t wait for negative statements to grow. Head them off with direct honest communication and get things under control.

Create an actual crisis management plan that can be rapidly implemented should it be necessary. You need to determine who gets contacted should a crisis appear to be developing or already happening. This is your first line of response including marketing, PR, customer relations, legal, HR, etc. Have a communications approval line in place so there is immediate action. You don’t want to be running around looking for your CEO when the stuff is hitting the fan. Rapid execution of your plan is imperative, so who is running the show?

Don’t wait for the crisis before building your audience base and team. Get engaged now. Build your following on Facebook, Twitter, etc. Don’t wait for something to happen!

We are basically dealing with three types of media. The first is your traditional broadcast, print and online. Make sure your team knows the players and can reach out to them when needed.

The second is your internal or captured media including mailing lists, website, blog, etc. This is content you completely control.

Next of course is social media encompassing the complete range of platforms from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Tumblr to blogs and YouTube. Again build your following today don’t wait for the crisis tomorrow.

By monitoring and engaging you should be able take care of business and not let things get out of control. Don’t wait for the crisis to go into action!

Okay the graphics on this video are bit lacking but it does make some great points.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Tony Ridley: Writing the Best Crisis Management Plan

Tony Ridley is a leading international business and security expert with specialties in online marketing and business intelligence tools. Tony helps fortune 500 companies to small enterprises to become more profitable, efficient and safer. He has created a how-to video tutorial on creating the best crisis management plan for your business.

Click here to view the embedded video.

]]> http://www.jotopr.com/blog/pr-advice-to-go/joto-to-go-10-golden-rules-of-crisis-management-pr/feed/ 0 http://www.jotopr.com/blog/pr-catastrophes/joto-out-doing-harm-the-hilary-rosen-guide-to-crisis-pr/ http://www.jotopr.com/blog/pr-catastrophes/joto-out-doing-harm-the-hilary-rosen-guide-to-crisis-pr/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 17:27:50 +0000 JoTo MoJo http://www.jotopr.com/blog/?p=929

Photo by: M. Spencer Green "Ann Romney, wife of Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, talks in Chicago on March 19, 2012, with audience members after her husband spoke at the University of Chicago. (Associated Press)"

In public relations work, you quickly discover that the Hippocratic Oath applies: First, do no harm. When a story is spiraling out of control, you’re often torn between rapid reaction (“We need to get in front of this story ASAP!”) and thinking things through (“Why are we trying to get in front of a story that’s going to run us down like a herd of stampeding bulls?”). The wrong choice invariably makes things worse.

Crisis management is the most unpleasant part of the job, but it’s why you get paid the big bucks… you never want yourself or your firm to be the story, which is what happened to well-known Crisis PR, Hillary Rosen…

Read about it here in the Washington Times called Doing harm: The Hilary Rosen guide to crisis PR – ouch!

KJ comment: This is a great example of a JoTo Out as crisis-management PR flack misapplies crisis management protocol and then blatantly tries to cover up her snafu all the while she kept digging herself a bigger hole. You could subhead this story “When NOT to Defend Yourself”!