SIMA PR And Communications Boot Camp Focuses On Social Media and Crisis Management

kailee bradstreet

• November 06 2009
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SIMA held a Boot Camp Thursday, November 5 tailored to PR and Communications professionals at The Camp in Costa Mesa, with a diverse line-up of speakers that addressed topics ranging from social media marketing and crisis management, to how to stay true to your brand’s message and protect its integrity and strategies for working with both endemic and non-endemic media. SIMA President Doug Palladini was on hand to give some perspective to the three hour seminar, which drew close to 100 industry members.

SIMA President Doug Palladini moderated the "On The Spot With PR Pros" panel discussion.

“I think it’s incumbent on all of us that we be smart in how we communicate our brands and be part of the conversation going on out there,” says Palladini. “We have all given back a part of our brands to the consumers, and the consumers are out there proselytizing or slagging our brands as they see fit and I think it’s up to us to be a part of the conversation. Make sure you are a part of that conversation and are listening in to what people have to say  - good, bad or indifferent.”

Peter Imbres, Senior Vice President of Hill & Knowlton's Digital Division

Peter Imbres, senior vice president of Hill & Knowlton’s Digital Division, started the morning off with a few statistics about social media. According to Imbres, who works with clients to develop creative communications campaigns that leverage digital channels, a study done by TubeMogul.com showed that more than 80 percent of traffic received by sites came directly from blogs. Imbres also cited another recent study that showed one in four professional reporters had their own blogs and one in five reporters said they read one or more blogs for at least one hour daily. Several case studies he discussed involving companies like Ford Fiesta and Michelin tires proved that the most successful brand campaigns were those which encouraged the consumer to experience the product and then asked them to blog about it.

A later panel discussion which was aimed at answering audience generated questions and was moderated by Palladini, also touched upon targeting certain media outlets, especially blogs. Iris Yen, Roxy’s director of communications and public relations, says that the brand is honing in on fashion-related bloggers for 2010 and including them in Roxy’s mailings for product testing and other consumer geared campaigns as part of their strategy to gain more exposure and build relationships with media outlets. Vans Director of PR and Marketing Chris Overholser and L*Space’s Public Relations Manager Heather Winters were also on hand to tackle tough topics like connecting with consumers about tough economic times, outsourcing PR efforts, educating non-endemic media sources on stories that haven’t been done before, and adjusting to the changes in the role of PR professionals due to the evolving social media landscape.

Vans Chris Overholser, L*Space's Heather Winter and Roxy's Iris Yen

A panel on crisis management earlier in the morning set forth three different scenarios that a brand could be faced with, including an athlete being busted for drug possession, your product being knocked off by a college kid and an angry mother boycotting your brand’s clothing. Panel members Shelby Meade of Fresh and Clean Media, Angie Mathews of Shout Public Relations and Staci Levine of SnL Communications gave out the following general tips about handling a crisis:

• Get a written statement together to release to media outlets about any negative incidents, and make sure you have an attorney on your side who is reviewing all the public statements being released.
• Reach out to angry consumers or people who may complain about what your brand is doing. Hearing from the brand in person will most likely create a positive experience.
• Forming collaborations and partnerships with smaller companies or individuals who may be trying to compete with your brand’s products in order to gain their customer following.
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  The crisis management panel: Fresh and Clean Media's Shelby Meade, Shout Public Relations' Angie Mathews, and SnL Communications' Staci Levine

  

  New Era's Courtney Frederick, TransWorld's Lauren Machen and Graffy Inc.'s Sabrina Hayat

  

  Brothers Evan (Hurley) and Dylan (Rip Curl) Slater were in attendance.

  

  California Apparel News Erin Brajas, L*Space's Joni Palmer, Heather Winters and Debby Martin

  

  Ezekiel's Josh Johnson and ASR's Jim Shubin