Red Sox Spring PR Training

Spring training is off and running down at the Red Sox new facility in Ft. Myers, Fl. As the pitchers and catchers and field players are checking in, bobbing and weaving around the hungry mob of press people trying to get a good quote, one can only imagine that the PR machine is on overdrive getting them ready. Or it certainly should be. One can imagine this scenario that just might be happening right now . . . New Red...

Just Keep Digging that Hole, LeBron

Will LeBron James ever learn? Miami Heat forward, LeBron James has once again made sports fans everywhere shake their heads in disappointment. As I’m sure ESPN has already informed you, LeBron James recently tweeted a comment regarding LA Clipper Blake Giffin’s dunk over Oklahoma City’s Kendrick Perkins: “Dunk of the Year! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!!! Wow! I guess I'm No. 2 now. Move over #6” Being a huge Celtics fan, I admit to being slightly biased...

Susan G. Komen for the Cure: What Were They Thinking?

I have personally been involved with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® breast cancer foundation for many years. My mother is a two-time breast cancer survivor so I am fully aware of the importance of the foundation’s mission – supporting women and families in the fight against breast cancer. After cutting nearly $700,000 in annual grants to Planned Parenthood last week, which was specifically to fund breast cancer screening and education programs, like many other supporters, I am reconsidering...

Oh, Gisele. You've Done It Again.

Although I think the quiet venting supermodel wife of Patriots QB Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen – who was heard responding to a Giants fan who surrounded her after the Super Bowl loss – was reported on as if it was a loud rant, Bundchen should have known better to keep her mouth shut and walk quietly to the limo. As communications expert Kevin Whalen of PunditReview wrote to me earlier today: "This breaks all kinds of PR rules, from someone...

Battle of the Bad Sound-Bites: Coming To An Election Near You?

As I was preparing an executive communications training for a client, which includes exercises on effective sound-bites, I heard the latest "what was he thinking?" statement from Republican front-runner Mitt Romney: "I'm not concerned about the very poor." This has been parsed in every news channel this week and used by competing candidates to bash Romney even while the candidate attempted to clarify that it was taken out of context. His full comment is below: "By the way, I’m in...

The Sounds of Silence from John Henry's Office

One of the most interesting moments in the painful September saga of the Boston Red Sox's collapse was owner John Henry's surprise visit to the 98.5 The Sports Hub radio sports show. Without entourage, he just showed up and accepted an interview, in effect indicating he was tired of hearing all of the criticisms their on-air hosts were hurling his way regarding his role, and wanting to give his side of the story. It wasn't a great interview, but it...

May the People's Pledge against Attack Ads Spread and Prevail

Major kudos are in order to U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Scott Brown and his Democratic rival in the upcoming election, Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren. They recently made an agreement that Brown has dubbed a "People's Pledge" to work to limit attack ads by outside groups during their Massachusetts Senate race. As reported by the AP, "Under the terms of the deal, each campaign would agree to donate half the cost of any third-party ad to charity if that ad either...

Here’s One Save Thomas Can’t Make

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” ~ Warren Buffett In a city consumed by sports excellence over the past decade we have become accustomed to fending off criticisms and low blows from fans and media in other markets. Yet we were ill-prepared yesterday when one of our hometown sports heroes, Bruins net minder Tim Thomas, delivered a cheap shot of his own. By...

Six Rules for Announcing "Solutions" in Today's Communications

"In the world we live in, somewhere between 80 percent and 95 percent of new product introductions fail. It’s not that hard to postulate that you must do virtually everything right to successfully launch new products." Jack Gordon, CEO of AcuPOLL Research Inc One of the greatest challenges solution providers face is how to package and present their new offerings in a way that will generate interest from the media. Historically, the media has tended to focus on products rather...

Zappos Explaining How They Got Zapped

It's one of those emails you really hate to receive, so I'm sharing parts of it with you, along with my reactions: "First, the bad news:" [Don't you hate it when an email starts like that?] "We are writing to let you know that there may have been illegal and unauthorized access to some of your customer account information on Zappos.com, including one or more of the following: your name, e-mail address, billing and shipping addresses, phone number, the last...