IMAGE IN EVERYTHING! The Terrible optic of Mitt Romney’s major economic speech location.

In PR as in life, IMAGE IS EVERYTHING! For that reason, I’m almost tempted to apologize on behalf of Mitt Romney’s meeting planners and PR people for staging this “major economic speech” in an all but empty football stadium. The optics was awful!

Meeting planners understand the power of image in choosing meeting location. What lingers in conversations long after the meeting, good or bad, are usually the impressions about the location. A place at the beach, a standing-room only event, a location next to train tracks, and so on.

Any wonder, then, why no one is talking about the content of Mr. Willard M. Romney’s “major economic speech?” Simple. It was all about the optics of a nearly completely empty stadium, because in PR and in life, Image is everything!

Emmanuel A. Smart, @StrategicPR_Pro
Pres, SMART EXPRESSIONS, Strategic PR & Communication Consultants. Houston, TX. Building . Managing BRAND Reputation.

Join us for PR Seminar 2012, Houston, TX.

http://tinyurl.com/3rv8ozn

UNFORCED ERROR!-Should Susan G. Komen’s Board Resign?

As a Crisis Management Consultant, I have never seen a brand so utterly self-destruct in a 24-hour period in what I call an unforced error. The Komen well-crafted brand, at the least, is tainted. At worst, it is damaged. Rebuilding this brand from the ground up is in order. In the seven days from when the story hit, my analysis of News story about Komen have revealed nothing but negative. Worse, most who had never known of Komen until this story have an unfavorable view of this great organization. Can this brand be saved? Yes, and it should. Apologizing was a very good first step. Karen Handel resigning was another good step on this long road to recovery.

DON’T WASTE A GOOD CRISIS
Komen can utilize this crisis to fix what internally may have created this major snafu, which now threatens this organization’s very existence. Will the entire board resigning do the trick? Symbolically, it may. But restoring a damaged organization reputation demands more than symbolism. It needs a structural reload, beginning with revisiting and possibly overhauling the organization’s mission and/or raison d’etre.

Emmanuel A. Smart, @StrategicPR_Pro
Pres, SMART EXPRESSIONS, Strategic PR & Communication Consultants. Houston, TX.
Building . Managing BRAND Reputation.
Join us for PR Seminar 2012, Houston, TX.

http://tinyurl.com/3rv8ozn

SUSAN G. KOMEN HIRES OGILVY PR COMPANY; SAYS SORRY.

To say that Susan G. Komen received public flogging for its Planned Parenthood defunding will be an understatement. Its reputation may have, at the very least, sustained long term damage. With a public apology, however, they have taken the first and most important step in repairing their image.

http://adage.com/article/agency-news/ogilvy-working-susan-g-komen-cure-pr-crisis/232526/

Emmanuel A. Smart, @StrategicPR_Pro
Pres, Smart Expressions, Strategic PR & Communication Consultants. Building, managing, protecting BRAND reputation. Join us for PR Seminar 2012, Houston, TX.

http://www.smartexpressions.com/Sign-up.html

WHAT PLANNED PARENTHOOD REALLY DOES.

My favorite mantra in crisis is: never waste a crisis.

With this Komen’s defunding crisis, Planned Parenthood has an opportunity to educate the public on what it really does; and refute its detractors’ claim that all it does is provide women with abortion.

As a disclaimer. Besides my interest in this story as a Crisis Management Consultant, as a husband, and a father of two daughters. I’m interested in any discussion about women’s health

As it turns out, abortion is just 3% of what Planned Parenthood does. Please click on the link below. Read the chart and share.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/what-planned-parenthood-actually-does/2011/04/06/AFhBPa2C_blog.html

Emmanuel A. Smart
@StrategicPR_Pro

Pres, Smart Expressions, Strategic PR & Communication Consultants. Building, managing, protecting BRAND reputation. Join us for PR Seminar 2012, Houston, TX.

http://www.smartexpressions.com/Sign-up.html

SUSAN G. KOMEN REVERSES PLANNED PARENTHOOD DECISION, PLEDGES TO CONTINUE FUNDING.

Reputation is fragile…handle with care.

Call it unforced error, cutting your nose to spite your face, or what have you. But this is a crisis Susan G. Komen didn’t need and could have avoided. They simply brought it on themselves.

How did the good folks at Susan G. Komen come to the conclusion to defund Planned Parenthood? Survey? Focus group? The answer is probably none of the above.

Problem is, in just over 24 hours, this move may have irreparably damaged the organization reputation they took years to build. I always say, reputation is fragile…handle with care.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/susan-g-komen-planned-parenthood_n_1252651.html?ref=politics

The Susan G. Komen Hurricane Category 1 PR mess.

One may never know conclusively the reason for the Susan G. Komen’s Planned Parenthood defunding. What’s clear, however, is this Hurricane Category 1 PR mess may churn in the warm waters of today’s social media until it reaches a Category 5 strength obliterating everything in its path including the very foundation of the organization called Susan G. Komens.

Emmanuel A. Smart is Pres, Smart Expressions, Strategic PR & Communication Consultants. Building, managing, protecting BRAND reputation. Join us for PR Seminar 2012, Houston, TX.

Houston, TX · http://www.smartexpressions.com/Sign-up.html

GINGRICH, PERRY FAIL TO QUALIFY FOR VA BALLOT.

To me these failures show irresponsibility. They also show the mockery these people have made of running for POTUS, the highest office in the land. Other than a strategic calculation to skip some states, how does any serious candidate actually FAIL to qualify for any state ballot regardless the “hurdles?” How does Newt Leroy Gingrich fail to qualify for his own state’s ballot?

TRUMP MODERATES GOP DEBATE. GOP BRAND IN PERIL.

The damage to the GOP brand, in my opinion, is profound. Any wonder Karl Rove and other thinking conservative leaders are so upset?

One man, with his twisted right-wing political views, not aligned with the mainstream GOP views, is moderating a GOP debate. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

Worse? The Donald has a preconceived outcome based on his own politics. He says if he doesn’t like candidates’ answers, he’s jumping in as an independent. Unbelievable!

JUST AS I PREDICTED, HERMAN CAIN IS DONE.

As I predicted when the first accuser spoke on television about Hermann Cain’s harassment, Mr. Cain is done. He says he will endorse another candidate. See below for my referenced Facebook post.

CRISIS ALERT! Herman Cain Will Hold A News Conference at 5pmET Tuesday.–NBC News. Written on November 7, 2011

A little late. However, if true, it’ll be the first good crisis management move Mr. Cain has made since his sexual harassment troubles began. The fact is, these allegations and accusers will not go away. Reporters, like sharks, smell blood in the water. They too, are going no where.

Unfortunately, Mr. Cain lost control of the issue the moment he chose denial, pontification, and evasiveness as his preferred crisis management tactics.

To have any chance of changing subjects and focusing on his 9-9-9- tax plan or anything else, he must be prepared to answer all reporters’ questions at the presser until there are no more left. Either way, he may have taken a serious body blow this afternoon from which he may not fully recover.

Conference News – Event Management Compaines – Senators Introduce Visa Reform Legislation – Successful Meetings

Conference News – Event Management Compaines – Senators Introduce Visa Reform Legislation – Successful Meetings.

As a provider of PR seminar targeted to domestic and international participants, all I can say is HALLELUIAH! and F I N A L L Y !

Speaking as one who has had to issue registration refunds to prospective international seminar registrants because they were turned down at our embassies for travel visas to the US, I am elated.

But, what took our genius elected officials so long?

“I mean $1.1 trillion international travel market?” More than a TRILLION dollars! More than one thousand billion in tourism dollars! And we are worried about jobs and our country’s deficit? UNBELIEVABLE!

Now, if only there were some fast-track way to bring this thing to fruition. My small business will thank them. Any idea how I can track this piece of legislation?

Emmanuel A. Smart

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