Inside PR #30 – Tuesday, October 24, 2006

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David have a discussion on the three most dreaded letters in the PR industry: RFP. They have a short chat about the Edelman/Wal-Mart case, and Terry talks about his and Chris’ time at Fanshawe College, about which they welcome a comment from Megan Zinn. They also play Chris Clarke‘s comment for this week. Finally, Terry does his segment of “Inside PRoper English.”

Show Notes

00:27 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

02:10 Terry talks about a comment to the show blog from Megan Zinn. Part of her comment relates to Terry and Chris’ visit to Fanshawe College. Here is the link to the class blog.

03:58 David brings up Garth Turner, who has been painted as an MP fired for blogging. Terry contends that he was not fired for blogging, but for what he said on his blog, which if said elsewhere, in an interview or op-ed or elsewhere, would have led to the same result anyway.

08:59 David mentions that Terry and he had dinner with Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman in Toronto last Thursday night. They talk about their new company, called crayon.

13:10 David brings up the Edelman/Wal-Mart situation. He feels that Edelman’s spokesbloggers could have said something, even if it was nothing more than letting interested parties know that they’re looking into the situation. David also says that he wonders why a policy wasn’t put in place after their last mistake. Terry talks about how big Edelman is and how that relates to the problem.

21:17 Terry brings up this week’s major topic for discussion: the request for proposal, or RFP. Terry doesn’t believe that the RFP process regularly accomplishes the goal the client has in mind: to find the best agency for the job.

22:50 David can understand why clients use RFPs. He says that the best agency is probably the busiest, and that the busiest agency might be too busy to submit a proposal. He talks about the one time he put out an RFP during his time on the client side of PR, which turned out to not be an RFP at all.

26:28 Terry talks about how a written proposal cannot convey intangibles, like team chemistry and creativity. He says that it’s a ton of work for the agency, and offers an example of how one RFP he worked on did not win the business, because it turned that the RFP was just a cover to legitimize the selection of the agency the client had wanted to hire in the first place.

30:24 David and Terry offer advice to clients on how to put out RFP’s to make life easier for both clients and agencies alike. Terry invites any comments from listeners about RFPs.

32:50 Terry introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

36:40 Inside PRoper English for the week: enervate.

37:56 David closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #29 – Tuesday, October 17, 2006

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This week on Inside PR, David returns from illness to co-host the show with Terry. They have a discussion about whether the PR agency consultant should ever act as spokesperson for their client. Also, they feature this week’s contribution from Chris Clarke and also play an audio comment from Francis Wooby. Finally, Terry does his segment of “Inside PRoper English.”

Show Notes

00:33 David introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:13 Terry mentions that there were no comments from last week’s solo-show sans David.

01:52 David brings up tonight’s Toronto Third Tuesday event, where the crowd welcomes Matthew Ingram, technology reporter/blogger from the Globe and Mail. Also, Terry explains his position on the journalist as blogger.

05:18 Terry makes another Third Tuesday Toronto announcement: Shel Holtz will be joining us in November. More information to come – stay tuned.

05:58 David talks about the new marketing agency, spearheaded by Joseph Jaffe. He announces it on his podcast this week.

09:11 Terry mentions that he and Chris Clarke visited Fanshawe College on Monday in London, Ontario.

09:44 C.C. Chapman will be in Toronto this week.

11:02 David starts this week’s chat on the agency representative as spokesperson for a client.

12:23 Terry says that he is not a supporter of the agency speaking on behalf of a client unless there is no alternative.

15:11 David thinks that under certain circumstances it’s admissable, but he has his own opinions on how to represent oneself as the spokesperson.

18:30 David brings out the Canadian Public Relations Society code of ethics. Terry calls for full disclosure always.

20:49 Terry brings up Edelman and Wal-Mart’s blogger relations campaign from this past year. He also says that clients should be their own spokespeople, unless as a last resort. This brings them to talk about the latest Edelman/Wal-Mart issue.

26:32 David introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

29:25 Inside PRoper English for the week, with a little help from Francis Wooby: 360 degrees vs. 180 degrees and the word “decimate.”

34:21 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #28 – Wednesday, October 11, 2006

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This week on Inside PR, Terry is flying solo as David languishes under the weather. David should be fully recovered and at the mic for IPR #29.  Terry adds “government” and “not-for-profit” to the “agency vs. client side” debate after a comment from Colin McKay. He welcomes an audio comment from Bryan Person, and comments from Owen Lystrup, Gary Schlee and Omar Ha-Redeye. Also, he plays this week’s contribution from Chris Clarke. Finally, Terry does his segment of “Inside PRoper English“.

Show Notes

00:33 Terry introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:39 Terry welcomes the listeners from Radio Talent Zoo.

03:12 Terry introduces an audio comment from Bryan Person.

06:58 Terry talks about a comment from Owen Lystrup.

08:29 Terry welcomes a comment from Gary Schlee of Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program.

09:46 Omar Ha-Redeye from Centennial College comments on the “agency vs. client side” debate.

10:50 Terry starts this week’s topic by reading Colin McKay‘s comment on last week’s show. Colin talks about “government” and “not-for-profit” areas of PR in the “agency vs. client side” debate. On his blog, he makes the case for working on the government side of PR. Terry spends a few minutes talking about the advantages of working for government.

17:44 Terry spends some time talking about the not-for-profit sector of PR.

21:02 Terry wraps up the discussion and advises young PR professionals to do their research and examine each sector individually.

21:45 Terry introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

25:54 Inside PRoper English for the week: “less” vs. “fewer”

26:25 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, he welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Inside PR #27 – Tuesday, October 3, 2006

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This week on Inside PR, Terry and David discuss agency vs. client side as an entry point into public relations. They welcome an audio comment from Ed Lee. Also, they play this week’s contribution from Chris Clarke. Finally, Terry does his segment of “Inside PRoper English” with the help of Andrew Findlater.

Show Notes

00:33 David introduces the show. He invites listener feedback through email at [email protected], the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog.

01:30 Terry talks about his time at the Podcast and Portable Media Expo in Ontario, California.

06:20 David brings up last week’s Third Tuesday gathering in Toronto and Ottawa.

09:20 David talks about his presentation at Summers Direct Communications Forum in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He also mentions that he will be presenting at the Canadian Institute’s “Internal & External Communications for Government” and will also spend time talking about the MRP system.

11:35 Terry mentions that this week he will be at the Strategy Magazine Media in Canada forum.

13:00 Ed Lee drops in with an audio comment regarding the agency vs. client side debate.

14:15 Terry starts things off by mentioning that he’s naturally biased. Terry has never worked on the client side of public relations, even though he intended to when he first got into the business.

16:33 David talks about the business of PR here in Canada. He thinks that the size of the team on the agency side in Canada is a big difference compared to the client side. He also mentions that there’s nothing wrong with working for a few years at an agency, because agencies want agency people.

19:05 Terry thinks that, in general, working on the client side will mean fighting for resources against a larger number of employees. People you work with will not always embrace public relations.

20:30 David appreciates working with people who “get” PR, especially after working on the client side.

22:29 Terry dispells another myth: in-house PR might pay more at the start, but a few years later the agency person will likely surpass the agency person. There are generally more opportunities for advancement in agencies than on the client side.

26:37 David talks about his time working on the client side at Molson’s.

28:29 Terry talks about agencies being more relaxed in atmosphere, and that in-house PR is generally not cushy.

31:48 David introduces and plays Chris Clarke‘s segment for the week.

34:28 Inside PRoper English for the week, with the help of Andrew Findlater: “flesh out” and “flush out.”

37:20 David talks about someone who he and Terry worked with who mixed and mashed their cliches.

39:22 Terry closes the show and invites listener comments: through email at [email protected], on the comment line at 206-600-4741, or comment on the Inside PR show blog. Also, they welcomes listeners to the Inside PR Blubrry site.

Music: our theme music is Streetwalker by CJacks, and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

Audio comment: Francis Wooby on IPR #24

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Our friend Francis Wooby from Iqaluit, in Canada’s far north, questions the organizational skills and work ethic of some PR students, laments how some professors cave in to student complaints about workload, and links both thoughts to our discussion of the PR agency “sweatshop” myth.

Audio comment: Leesa Barnes on IPR #18

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Leesa Barnes of the Podonomics blog and co-author of the Canadian Podcast Listener Survey calls to compliment us on our use of audio comments from listeners on Inside PR to build community.

(Ed. note: Thanks, Leesa. But we stole this idea from Sheville‘s For Immediate Release podcast and Jaffe/Rubel, but we added the posting of audio comments to the blog as they are received.)

Leesa also puts a challenge out to the critics of the listener survey’s methodology to design and execute their own survey to plug any holes they perceive and add to the collective knowledge of podcast listenership in Canada.