Should We Go Back to Print?

The lights went out, but the Kobo Glo saved the day.  

This is likely the billionth time someone has written the words "the internet has changed -- everything." And it's true. Particularly for journalism and public relations. Social media is immediate and consumer-driven. From sharing a funny family photo, to complaining about bad customer service, to witticisms, and breaking news, it's all out there. All the time!

The lightning pace at which PR-pros work to create timely responses to almost everything is both exhausting and exhilarating. Take the time when the lights went out at the Super Bowl last year. Thank goodness Kobo's execs had the trusty Kobo Glo on hand - you couldn't plan for a golden moment to respond to such a situation.

Every PR person waits for these moments. The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics were no exception with every brand looking for ways to capitalize on the rich media landscape and the whole world watching.

For me, Jimmy Kimmel's wolf prank stands out as something we should really pay attention to. Not because it was funny, which it was. Not because it got the whole world talking, it did. And not because he pointed out that consumers shouldn't always believe what they hear - which we all know to be true. The prank - where Kimmel collaborated with Kate Hansen to create a video of a wolf in her dorms in Sochi (a real wolf, but a recreated dorm at Kimmel's studio) - pointed out something that many journalists and PR pros have been struggling with for a while now. The credibility of media. In a world where social media moves almost instantaneously, where your neighbour is a blogger discussing any topic they choose, the question of truth becomes much harder to answer.

If this prank pointed out anything, it's that trusted, reliable, accurate and vetted media is more important than ever before. There's value in investigative journalism, there's value in editors examining articles to ensure they're accurate, there's value in sources contributing to a thesis, and there's value in all of those people being experts in their field. I'm not saying social media doesn't have its place - it absolutely does - but when we think about where we get our information, now more than ever we need to have confidence in the profession of journalism. It's worth paying for. It's worth protecting. It's worth knowing what's true.

What are your thoughts on how to protect the virtues of journalism in the age of the internet?

Talking About the F-35 and Giving One Killer Interview

This week in Ottawa, the AIAC (Aerospace Industry Association of Canada) is holding a summit to discuss a number of issues and opportunities, not least of which is the pursuit of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter II program and the role that Canada plays. I won’t bore you with my enthusiasm for the program and the amazing work that companies like NGRAIN are doing with Lockheed Martin. No, this time, I thought I’d share a little something PR-related: giving a good interview.

NGRAIN CEO, Gabe Batstone, who I had the great pleasure and opportunity to work with, gave an interview on CTV Ottawa Power Play and frankly…it’s smooth… succinct and well delivered… and it is worth showcasing. Forbes has a great little summary about giving a good interview, and this one is a good example of these guidelines coming into practice.

The first thing you’ll notice (apart from the fact that Gabe has chosen a TV-appropriate wardrobe devoid of loud patterns and the colour green), is that Gabe is prepared. He knows the story. He’s ready with stats, and he has a clear position. He isn’t sensational, he addresses the questions, and he builds context around the story to champion NGRAIN’s role on the program as well as the opportunities for the Canadian aerospace industry.

He delivers messages for government, industry as well as the general public in a way that is educational, friendly and engaging. Oh, and did I mention the quotable quotes “I can deal with any decision but indecision,” “transparency isn’t possible without a timeline.”   

Gabe knew what he was doing when he woke up this morning! And it was a real pleasure to watch. 

Check it out here at CTV Ottawa Power Play. 

For more on the work NGRAIN is doing with the F-35, check out this case study and The Future of Maintenance Training magazine. 

F-35 Lightning II, Joint Strike Fighter Program

The value of third-party (Readers) testimonials

Apparently I just need to look for the intersection between space stuff and books to inspire a post! And unsurprisingly to anyone who knows me - yes, this is again about Commander Chris Hadfield.

I had the absolute joy of working with Chris again on a small project for Kobo. In August, we were heading to New York to share the news about how Kobo remained committed to focusing on the world's most passionate Reader to bring them the best experiences through our 4 new devices. Devices that are gateways to millions of titles, the best reading experience, and information to inspire the imagination....well, you get the picture. It was going to be BIG. It was going to be beautiful. There would be heaps of media there. The pressure was on.

The big question we had to answer was, "how could we help people understand how important reading really is?" Our love of reading is palpable at Kobo. We talk about it every day. Our love of getting other people to read makes us get up early and stay up late - focused on helping more people to read no matter where in the world they live. How could we convey our passion and inspire others to share it?

It would be one thing for us to say it. And believe me we do...a LOT. But we knew it would be far better coming from some of the amazing authors and influencers that we know who love to read.  The result? A series of videos that were graciously contributed by people like author Sylvia Day, Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi, Nate Weiner the CEO from Pocket, and my person fan-fave - Chris Hadfield.

Needless to say the launch was a massive success. The testimonials gave me and others goosebumps and added the right balance of emotion connection to the written word with our announcement. It was a perfect blend and certainly inspirational.

In this video Chris talks about how he instilled a love of reading in his children and why reading is freedom. Check it out!