Greensboring

I was lucky to attend university outside of the United States. I have strong group of friends and former colleagues that reside outside of North America. In the last 48 hours, I've received numerous messages about the events playing out in U.S. airports with regards to President Trump's ban of travelers from seven Muslim majority countries. In addition to the outrage many of us hold on a personal level, equally, many of us in public relations are scratching our head with regards to why this was implemented in the way it was, which frankly, appears to have little foresight.

As we see tens of thousands of protesters in cities across the world fight for freedom and countries such as Iraq and Iran threatening retaliation, you have to ask, is Trump just that stupid or is he a genius? Is his public relations team that poor or was this the response that was intended? Coming from an international relations background I have a unique perspective, but we will get to that.

So what went …

Something strange is going on, something's wrong at my local grocer store, a Food Lion. The deli and bakery are missing. Rumors are flying around town as to what's happening. Did the snow storm crush the roof? Is it water damage or is there something more mysterious? As it happens, it's nothing more than continued renovations of the store... but no one told the customers.

In a world of communications where transparency is often the only thing holding your reputation together, not telling the customers anything seems like a little bit of deception. More importantly, why not tell the customers of your super cool improvements coming their way? Before the local townspeople crack completely at their inability to purchase their sliced bologna, I have to wonder if this is poor public relations or something more.

Food Lion is selling it to the media in larger markets (where curious journalists have reached out to the company's media relations) as:
The remodels are part of Foo…

I'm sitting in a restaurant on Sunday and the music playing over the speakers is a rather obnoxious blend of no name Christmas songs. Playing were knockoff versions of classic songs to deliver us into the spirit of the Holidays, but for myself, it made me want to leave. As I shoveled food into my mouth as quickly as I could, I contemplated that there are likely some people who absolutely hate Christmas and that they find themselves living in complete Hell for about two to three months out of every year. What might seem as blasphemy for those who live in North Pole, Alaska or Santa Clause, Indiana (yes they do exist), is likely Guantanamo style torture for my waitress. There's even a top ten most annoying Christmas song list with Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer topping the charts. I'll admit, perhaps moving Christmas to a leap year schedule would increase the nostalgia for myself. Christmas seems to come too soon these day and there's a reason I feel this way. Busin…

I've had three job interviews this week and the one question you're eventually bound to be asked if you've been interviewing long enough is, "What is your greatest weakness?". It's an Onion Question designed to peel back the layers of your character. The easier version of this question is the reverse, "What is your greatest strength?". While my specialty is in communications (and this might be slightly off topic), I do hold certifications in human resources and recruiting. Therefore, I'm always surprised how difficult it is, even for myself, to bear my soul on the phone to a complete stranger.

It is these, honest self-truths, that are what hiring managers are generally looking for. That, and perhaps a little of humility. People lie all the time, they tend to give you the response that they think you want to hear. Early this week a friend of mine admitted that she landed her job by saying that her greatest strength was drinking beer (which I can…

Call it fate, call it karma or just bad luck but Chipotle, a U.S. Tex-Mex restaurant has had a bit of bad time recently when it's come to publicity. First it was an E. Coli scare that shut down many of their restaurants and was a twist of irony due to their reputation for selling meat from socially responsible free range animals. Now there's this, a 300 calorie Chorizo burrito that no one in their right minds would a) buy on a diet, and b) believe the hype.

Where in the marketing process did this get approved? Did they forget the decimal? Did they ask Jared Fogle? I can't believe they meant 3000 calories (which is more likely the case) and you can't tell me that this made it all the way up the chain of command, was approved, and then rolled out to countless stores without someone suggesting that this is one the most idiotic advertising blunders in the history of meat wrapped in flat-bread?

Now customers in Los Angeles are filing a class action lawsuit against  Chipot…

First and foremost, it's recognizable that many notable landmark examples in public relations are merely propaganda themselves. They're the metaphorical, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, of the genre. Examples, like the Chevrolet Nova that meant No Go when marketed in Mexico or the infamous eggs in a cake allegory. They persist even among professionals as examples of how to market to consumers but are factually flawed. None the less, there's something to learn from them.

In the case of the cake without eggs, the story goes like this. A company invents cake mix but find it's not selling very well. A salesman and psychologist, recognized for the first focus group (probably another lie), Ernest Dichter decides to poll women as to why they don't like baking with the cake mix which is arguably better tasting and easier to make. After all, you just pour the box into a bowl and add water, right?

But what Dichter (supposedly) found was that the recipe was too easy (everything incl…

What happens when the KKK comes out in support of a brand? New Balance shoes recently found itself in such a dilemma. How did it happen? New Balance, who manufacturers their shoes in the United States and the United Kingdom came out in support of Donald Trump during the election in response to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

“The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us and frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction,” Matthew LeBretton, New Balance’s vice president of public affairs, told the Wall Street Journal.
The Trans-Pacific partnership obviously helps brands who manufacturer their shoes in foreign countries and import them into the U.S. market. Trump whom has campaigned against such partnerships and who believes that trade restrictions will bolster U.S. jobs and the economy would likely benefit companies like New Balance against their competitors.
Just Barron Trump in New Balance pic.twitter.com/J7w86s67J5 — Jack Posobiec (@…