Fineman PR

If you have been to a West Coast NFL football game lately, you have seen that the fan base is very diverse and within that very diverse fan base, Latinos are well-represented. Although soccer and baseball have traditionally been the sports of preference among Latinos, as U.S. born and immigrant Latinos assimilate, they are rapidly becoming football and basketball fans. It is not uncommon in a Latino household on a Sunday afternoon for a father to be watching soccer, while his children are watching football.

The NFL and NBA see the potential to capture this market; they realize the Latino population tends to be younger and that the Latino youth demographic is especially positioned to grow significantly. Additionally, Latinos in the U.S. tend to be predominantly male and are increasingly enthusiastic sports fans.

Both the NFL and the NBA are actively seeking to make inroads with the Latino community. (more…)

To edit or not to edit? The ethics of editing Wikipedia is a hot topic in the PR industry right now and there really are no hard and fast rules. Fineman PR’s take? Common sense and transparency should take precedence.

According to Wikipedia: “Wikipedia does not have firm rules. Rules in Wikipedia are not carved in stone, and their wording and interpretation are likely to change over time. The principles and spirit of Wikipedia’s rules matter more than their literal wording, and sometimes improving Wikipedia requires making an exception to a rule.”

Some PR agencies have a blanket policy against editing Wikipedia entries for clients. While we can appreciate the spirit behind which these rules were created, we believe that such a policy could be a disservice to a client. Why should an organization be prohibited from speaking in a forum about itself? If the goal is neutral and entries factual, why exclude a major source of information?

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If a picture is worth a thousand words, than a well-branded, message-rich video segment can be priceless.

While it’s true that securing any sort of positive, branded television or online video coverage for a client is a win, a little extra effort to dress up the visuals and include an engaging spokesperson can transform good into great.

Having come from mainly a hospitality/travel/lifestyle PR background – think ski resorts, wineries, golf communities, hotels and other travel destinations – I never gave much thought to staging. Secure a TV camera onsite, point them to the beauty shots, and my job was done. Get a screen graphic to tell viewers what they were looking at, and let the snowy mountain backdrop do the rest…or the perfectly manicured fairways, bucolic vineyards and lavishly appointed, luxury suites. (more…)

This weekend I got a lesson in crisis communication, but it was not related to work…I learned that the same principles that apply to handling a crisis at work can apply in my personal life – especially when handling “the talk” with my 9-year-old son.

Like many crises, this one struck on a weekend when I least expected it – a Sunday morning in fact. Come to find out that my son had done a little creative Googling on his dad’s iPod touch when we weren’t looking. I was hoping to delay the “facts of life” talk for a couple more years but, after this discovery, I immediately went into crisis mode: (more…)

My public relations mentor, Claire Harrison, passed away last month, and my sense of loss for someone that was part of my professional life is more than I would ever have imagined. Certainly it is true that Claire became a dear, personal friend after we parted ways, professionally. But, just as much, Claire was my teacher, someone who gave me my chance for a successful and rewarding career.

To me, Claire was a superhero. Superheroes don’t die, but she did, and I remain, almost a month later, in a state of semi-shock. (more…)