Earlier this week, we came across an interesting
article written by Kate Connors. She is a Senior Account Manager & Social
Media Strategist at Media & Communications Strategies. To the unfamiliar, Media
& Communications Strategies handles media, government, and litigation
public relations for national and international clients out of Washington.
Their specialty is high profile crisis communications.
As a person who is a senior in the
juggernaut of the industry, what she has to say is definitely worth reading -
especially when she is relating it to our favourite American television sitcom,
‘Modern Family’. Her article dug deep into the content of the mockumentary to
discover real words of wisdom that actually do apply to relationship building
in a PR sense. That took work, but more importantly, and what is lacking in
those other "lessons learned" articles, this took a deeper
understanding of PR.
4 PR Lessons from 'Modern
Family'
By Kate Connors |
Posted: May 8, 2015
With a cast of hilarious characters and
creative, comedic scenarios, it is no surprise that the television show
"Modern Family" has become a favourite of many TV viewers.
Amid the laughs and Cameron’s outrageous
costume changes, the characters deliver important life lessons which public
relations professionals can apply to their work.
Here are a few of my favourite takeaways
from the award-winning series:
1) “There are dreamers and there are
realists in this world. You'd think the dreamers would find the dreamers and
the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is
true. You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too
close to the sun. And the realists, well without the dreamers, they might not
ever get off the ground.” – Cameron Tucker
Cameron (played by Eric Stonestreet) is the
ultimate dreamer of the "Modern Family" cast, but he does have a
point about the importance of balance in a relationship.
In the case of PR teams, it is extremely
important to have imaginative and innovative members, but also to have people
who keep the trains running and focus more on the logistics and execution of
projects. Clients love to hear creative and original ideas, but they want to
ensure that they are realistic and achievable. Having a communications team
with both of these personality types is the best way to ensure success for your
client and your firm.
2) “Okay, so after a quick scan of his
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram, here is what I know.” –
Haley Dunphy.
Although Haley (played by Sarah Hyland) was
using her skills to stalk one of her father’s potential real estate clients,
the lesson can be applied to organizations and their branding strategies. It is
extremely important that brands, with the help of their PR teams, streamline
their communications so that they are delivering the same message on all their
social media platforms.
In addition to making sure your messages
are identical across different social media platforms, it is equally important
for PR professionals to consider how messages are interpreted by different
audiences. Clorox bleach recently came under fire when a brand manager tweeted
about Apple’s new ethnically diverse emojis. Clorox asked Apple via Twitter,
"New emojis are alright but where's the bleach?"
The question was asking about why bleach
wasn’t included as part of the new household emojis, but some social media
users took this to be a racial insult. Clorox deleted the tweet and immediately
apologized via social media, but it shows how one misinterpreted question can
hurt a brand. It is extremely important to consider all messaging before you
push something out the door, even if it is only 140 characters.
3) “I've always seen life like a series of
doors. Sometimes you get to choose the door you go through, and sometimes you
don't get that choice. But you still have to walk through it. So either you can
go through kicking and screaming, or walk through with your head held high.” –
Jay Pritchett
Jay (played by Ed O'Neill) delivers some of
the best advice on the show, but his quote about the importance of being
prepared for any situation life deals you could not ring truer for PR
professionals. Every day, people make mistakes. The ones who soldier through
them are those that have prepared for it. With your client, create an internal
and external communications plan to prepare for surprises, good and bad.
In 2007, JetBlue came under scrutiny after
a communication breakdown led to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights.
Instead of blaming the weather or other external conditions, JetBlue’s CEO took
full responsibility from the communication breakdown and apologized publicly.
Since 2007, JetBlue has taken steps to ensure this type of breakdown doesn’t occur
again and has continued to deliver on their promise of great customer service
for the most part. Although the five-day communication breakdown was not one of
JetBlue’s finer moments, it did allow the brand to come back even stronger and
prepare for future surprises.
4) “All this time I've been trying to
figure out what Cam wanted for his birthday, and he'd been telling me all
along. He wanted to be 10.” – Mitchell Pritchett
As Mitchell (played by Jesse Tyler
Ferguson) realized, understanding what your partner wants is the key to a
successful relationship. It is equally important for brand managers to
understand what consumers want. It's the job of PR representatives for brands
to identify campaign ideas that you feel will work for your client.
Over the years, some brands have severely
missed the mark on understanding what their customers want. One of these brands
is Colgate, a brand most Americans recognize as an oral hygiene care company.
In the 1980s, Colgate decided to offer frozen kitchen entrees. As Bidness Etc
author Bob Cramer recognizes, customers were not crazy about “eating food
offered by the same brand whose products they normally used to clean their
mouths with.” In this case, Colgate's execs had to find a moment of clarity,
much like Mitchell, and realize what their consumers were actually asking for.
In the wise words of Luke Dunphy, “Some are
born into greatness; some have it hurled at their face.” In the communications
field, you never know what surprise is going to be thrown at you – much like
the characters on "Modern Family". Yet, if you can establish a strong
team and prepare your clients for all different types of scenarios, you can
come out on top.
Kate
Connors is a Senior Account Manager & Social Media Strategist at Media
& Communications Strategies. She's a huge "Modern Family" fan who
aspires to one day get cast as an extra on the show.
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