WHAT IS THE BEST PR MOVE?

Do you know the structure in the video? It is an aqueduct. Aqueduct is a channel to transport water. It is a conduit that resembles a bridge but carries water.
Where is it? It is near the city of Caesarea, Israel.
When was it built? Two thousand years ago.
Who built it? The ancient Romans built it.
Now you see: each time we talk about this aqueduct, we remember the Romans.
Isn't this a great public relations move: to build a structure lasting for two thousand years? To erect an artifact existing for a long time?

HOW TO USE PITHY SAYING TO BELITTLE YOUR RIVAL?

Do you know the popular expression "a quiche-eater"? It means a person far removed from practice and concerned only with academic matters, unwilling to "get their hands dirty"; a man who is effeminate or who lacks some putative masculine virtue. The source of the term quiche-eater was a bestselling humorous book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche", by Bruce Feirstein, published in 1982. And why? Because a quiche is considered to be a "womanly" dish like other Carbohydrate dishes (сasserole, pasta etc.).

More example for the use of catch-words.
Arthur J. Finkelstein (a United States Republican Party PR professional) is credited with helping to make "liberal" a dirty word in the late 1980s and 1990s by using messages like this, intended to damage Jack Reed's image:
"That's liberal. That's Jack Reed. That's wrong. Call liberal Jack Reed and tell him his record on welfare is just too liberal for you."

Using negative buzzwords is an effective PR move to humiliate your rival.

HOW DID CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION ENTER MY HOME?

What is the "Cultural Globalization"? Cross-cultural contacts; consuming and enjoying foreign ideas; participating in a world culture.
So how does it apply to me and my family?
I have bought an album of the band 'HaBanot Nehama' (= 'consolation girls'). Three girls singing with acoustic guitar. Very fresh music. What impressed me that these girls sing in two languages: both Hebrew and English, this language transition taking place very naturally inside a song. I mean first of all their song 'So far'. I even don't always pay attention which language they sing at the moment.
I think this is a good product of the Cultural Globalization.
I have given this album to my daughter to listen.

I see this language transition as a fine PR move.

PR MOVE: JUST SAY WHAT YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

I have read about General Musharraf saying there is now genuine democracy in Pakistan.
Once I wrote already: Want the people to think you are a genius? Just tell them about it.
Now we see the similar principle in the above instance of General Musharraf.

Want to promote PR on a specific point? Just say it.

PR TIP: ERECT A SMALL PIECE TO DEMO YOU CARE ABOUT A BIG ONE

As you know, the 2008 Summer Olympics will be celebrated in Beijing, People's Republic of China. However, concern has been raised over the air quality of Beijing and its potential effect on the athletes.
The Chinese will do something before the Olympics. One of the moves is to erect Solar panels. Even if they will be mainly for show. Putting a few Solar panels won’t cure any pollution issues but will be a good public relations move. Beijing will definitely try to show that they are committed to the environmental cause to all the visitors and the media.

So, which PR tip can be derived from it? Raise a small but visible piece to display you care about a big issue.

HOW TO GAIN PRAISE FROM YOUR ENEMY?

After the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston's release on July 4, Hamas made a great PR on his release. David Miliband, Foreign Secretary praised Palestinian leaders, including Hamas: “I fully acknowledge the crucial role they have played in securing this happy outcome."
You should learn to make such PR moves when necessary. First, encourage somebody (let's call him an X-person) to fulfill a dirty work (= take a hostage etc.). Second, remove/ eliminate the X-person, solve the problem and show/ portray/ present yourself as a great leader/ hero/ liberator.

To present yourself as a great hero, encourage an X-person to fulfill a dirty work, then eliminate the same X-person.

INFORMATION VIRUS - WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO LAUNCH IT?

Avigdor Lieberman (Strategic Affairs Minister of Israel) said on June 22 he was opposed to government plans to funnel funds and arms to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to embolden / prop up his security forces. Then he added a statement which caused a lot of PR noise: "It has been proven that transferring arms and money to Fatah strengthen terror elements. Even if we supply Abbas with F-16 jets, he has no ability and no chance (to fight Hamas)".
What happened next, all the news releases began repeating his phrase on F-16. As well as a computer virus is capable of reproducing itself, an information virus is capable of spreading itself.
I am talking neither about the essence of the matter on F-16, nor about my personal attitude.
I am talking only about the capability of self propagating.

The PR move to propagate your idea is to build an information virus.

HOW TO SET UP A PUBLIC DISCOURSE AROUND YOUR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN?

Rudy Giuliani (one of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates) released his so-called Twelve Commitments to the American People. War on terrorism, end illegal immigration, fiscal discipline etc. No matter what exactly. The matter is to set up a lot of public talk around his candidacy. It sounds good: 'Twelve Commitments' resembles 'Ten Commandments'. And twelve is a lucky number (unlike thirteen).

The PR move to raise a public discourse is to release a brief number of concise propositions/ statements/ promises.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE COUNTRY'S INTERNATIONAL IMAGE?

The article ANNALS OF MARKETING by ARON HELLER is talking about revealing new sides: liberal, cool and funky – of a country's international image. Call it "a new face", or "framing a new look", or "rebranding", or "an image makeover". You may call it image marketing. In this case he is talking about Israel. The following PR moves should be reminded:
1. Sending unofficial envoys to improve an international image; focusing on their personal stories to create basic empathy.
2. Portraying Israel as a desirable tourist destination.
3. Sending women, Ethiopian immigrants and Israeli Arabs into high-profile positions.
4. Presenting Israel as a vibrant, modern society - with recent Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and economics, cutting-edge medical industries and innovative companies traded on NASDAQ.
5. Shifting away from the conflict and focusing instead on Israel's successes in business, medicine, science and technology. Separating the issue of policy and everything else. Reporting exclusively on Israeli achievements and non-conflict issues.

The PR move to reframe a country's international image is to reveal its new sides: liberal, cool and funky.

HOW TO PROMOTE A NEW POINT OF VIEW, A FRESH PROBLEM CONTEXT?

The Hebrew word Hasbara (it literally means "explanation") entered the common language.
E.g. Bled Manifesto on a European Communication Policy in 2006 uses this word like this: "In Israel the use of Hasbara fuelled a movement toward a new nation state and a new national identity".
If you go to Google search, you will find about 188,000 results for "hasbara".

The PR move to promote a new point of view, a novel context of the problem, an original attitude towards something is inventing a new term / buzzword of your own.

HOW TO IMMORTALIZE YOUR PERSONAL NAME?

What is the Google's term "PageRank"? What does it stand for? Does it stand for the word "page" (= a page of an Internet site)? Or for the name of the Google's cofounder Larry Page?
At the end of the day, it makes no difference. You invent a new word pointing both to your personal name and to the technical/scientific/political term.
Another great example is the memorable PR move of Russian tsar Peter the Great. He founded the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703. What's the official explanation? That it was named after Saint Peter the Apostle. Then why not to name it after Saint Paul? Because Peter himself named it.
A fresh Internet example is Craigslist (a centralized network of online classified advertisements) founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark.

When you invent a new term / buzzword, try to think about your own personal name.

PROPOSE SUGGESTIONS ALREADY WELCOMED BY SOCIETY

The speaker of Russia's upper house Sergei Mironov made a proposal to amend the Constitution and allow one person to be president for three consecutive terms.
With one year left before the 2008 presidential elections, there has been broad speculation about President Vladimir Putin's possible reelection for a third term, considering his high popularity ratings. But Putin has repeatedly denied any possibility of running for a third term, saying he would never violate the Constitution.
However, it does not matter for Mironov, if Putin runs or not for a third term. What does matter, is that Mironov knows: any proposal to extend Putin's term in office would be welcomed by society considering the high presidential ratings. Mironov's proposal was a PR move designed to promote his party before the parliamentary elections due in December 2007.
The unbeatable PR move is a proposal certain to be welcomed by electoral society.

PRESENT YOURSELF AS OPEN-MINDED & TOLERANT

In January Pizza Patron (Dallas-based company) began accepting Mexican pesos.
The company's goal was to sell more pizza to its Latino customers. But the company's action attracted public attention. The promotion has been a boon to the company. In January and February sales were up more than 35% compared with the same period last year. The experiment in pesos was to end in February, but then the company extended it through April.
I am not arguing the controversy of using foreign currency in the United States. The very fact of using foreign currency points (in the public judgment) to some broad-mindedness.

So, the PR move for various social, ethnic, racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural groups / communities is to present your image to these groups as tolerant & broad-minded.

PR TIP: PUBLISH A TEST

In 2004 Google Labs published so called GLAT - Google Labs Aptitude Test.
Readers were asked to mail in their answers and promised that they would be contacted by Google if they scored well.
The declared reason was to attract high quality people into their ranks. Actually, it was a clever PR move which generated a lot of interest from it.
First, the public gets the idea that the company (= Google Labs, in this case) is hiring only very clever folks.
Second, the public gets the reminder that the company is on the map.
Third, you get much buzz, interest and involvement about this point. Public involvement is necessary for good PR. You may call it even 'viral marketing'.

The PR move for brains, intellectuals and know-it-all guys is to publish a test as if you were hiring folks.

PR TIP: AVOID "DUCK AND COVER"

A crisis stalled JetBlue Airways (JBLU) over nearly a week following a Feb. 14 ice storm in New York. Hundreds of passengers were stranded and flights canceled in the wake of the storm.
Not only JetBlue printed an apology to customers in a handful of U.S. newspapers but also the chief executive of JetBlue David Neeleman issued profuse public apologies on network television, on the video-sharing site YouTube, and on the JetBlue website. Most importantly, Neeleman looked and sounded sincere in all his public appearances.
Let us divide all the tenets of sound crisis management to three parts:
1. Before the crisis: Be prepared, know that all companies will have a crisis. Know your crisis team.
2. During the crisis: Run to it, avoid "duck and cover." Avoid saying "no comment." No vacuum.
3. After the crisis: Make a sacrifice, don't want to win it all.

(As you know, Duck and Cover was a method of protection against the effects of a nuclear war which the US government taught to generations of school children. Immediately after they saw a flash, they had to get on the ground and assume fetal position, lying face down and covering their heads with their hands.)

The good PR move to face a crisis is to run to it, to avoid "duck and cover".

ONCE MORE: PROMOTE YOURSELF AS ANIMAL-FRIENDLY (PR TIP)

In January 2007, the Mayor of the city of Saskatoon (Canada) Don Atchison expressed a desire to see a mounted police patrol (= officers on horseback), saying it would be beneficial and a great public relations move.

First, "In any city where I've seen a horse patrol, people have been drawn to the animals. You never see them running away," said Atchison.
Second, positioning officers at such a height above large crowds improves their safety and gives them a clear view of what's going on. The horse can go where a patrol car can't and can move faster than an officer on foot.

So, once more we see the PR move to present one's image as animal-friendly. Wish to make the public feel good towards you? Present yourself connected to an animal.

DO THE OPPOSITE THING TO THAT EXPECTED

In November 2006 the Philip Morris tobacco company announced a new advertising campaign: begging the movie industry not to use Marlboro cigarettes in movies. You thought there is more smoking in the movies now than ever before? You thought smoking in the movies increases adolescent smoking? You thought the tobacco industry has worked hard over the decades to get smoking into the movies? You thought they take advantage of the movies extensive, under-the-radar advertising value?
No and no. You are mistaken. They are "good guys". They do the opposite. They "beg" not to use cigarettes in movies.

So the PR move is: Wish to make the public think you are a good guy? Do the opposite to the expected.

CHANGING ORGANIZATION'S PR IMAGE

In September 2006 the Shin Bet (= Shabak, the Internal Security Service of Israel), launched its first-ever public recruitment drive. The employment campaign is targeting computer programmers. The security service is calling on high-tech geeks to join the anti-terror battle.
The ad campaign is also intended to change the organization's image. Do you think it's investigations and dark rooms? No, it's high-tech! Advanced technology! Software development!
Which PR move we learn?
Wish to change your organization's image? Launch employment campaign.

HOW TO PROMOTE WITHOUT STRAIGHT PROMOTING?

"Doctor Zhivago", a Nobel Prize book from Boris Pasternak.
What is the original problem? You are a poet, you need to promote your poetry. However, you cannot advertise it in a straightforward, direct, outspoken way: this is not a cola drink to pay thousands of bucks for usual, conventional ad campaign. Besides, it is a good style for a poet to be humble.
So you wish to advertise it without advertising it. Then you compose a novel, and the lead character is a poet, his verses are in fact your verses. Then you can even arrange some discussion around the hero's (in fact: yours) poetry inside the novel.
So we learn the PR move: Wish to promote your production? Invent a situation, create circumstances when it is not you who promotes your production, however, it is some other person.

WELCOME TO THE PR-MOVE

Reality itself means nothing, PR means everything.
These days we can read in the media on "a great public relations move" at Guantanamo Bay. On "a nice PR move" of a Canadian Prime Minister. On "a dumb PR move" of top executives at oil giant Shell.
What is "a great PR move"? "a dumb PR move"? "a gimmicky PR move?" "an excellent move?" What makes it great or dumb? This project is about it.
This project is about to gather the people's experience. What makes PR moves effective? The research proceeds from the practice, from the facts, from the reality.