I'm thinking of buying a Ford.

That would be a big step. I've been a Lexus owner for the last 15 years and haven't owed an American car since college. But as a matter of principle I give Ford a lot of credit for making a success of the company without taking any bailout money. And I've been railing against that bailout for months, so maybe I should put my money where my mouth is.

The new Taurus -- all souped up -- is really a pretty nice vehicle. It's not a Lexus but nice. And the safety technology, one of the big selling features for me on whatever I end up buying, is rated among the best of any of the new models.

There's also the added plus of it being a lot less expensive than the Lexus.

The dealership is a step down -- OK, several steps down; no loaners here. But frankly my Lexus dealer is nobody to write home about.

But now that I really think about it, a lot of these safety bells and whistles are new in the 2010's. And isn't that rule of thumb never buy a car in its first model year -- too many bugs?

Maybe I'll just hang on to my current car another year and make a decision in the spring. By then, Ford may be filing for bankruptcy!

A Matter of Perspective

Beloit College has just published its annual Mindset List for the Class of 2013. It provides a look at the "cultural touchstones of students as they enter college." In other words, it's a list that makes the average adult feel 100 years old.

Did you know that today's college freshmen think the Green Giant is Shreck, "not the big guy picking vegetables." Dr. Seuss died before they were born. Salsa has always outsold ketchup. Tattoos have always been very chic. And Magic Johnson has always been HIV-positive. Jeez. That really hurts. I remember being on a business trip in LA when Magic made his announcement.

And on and on. The list brings home the issue of context that has application far beyond the amusing reading of 75 interesting, odd and you-have-to-be-kidding facts that define the mindset of nineteen year-olds. Whether its messaging, branding or long-term strategic planning, we all know if the audience doesn't understand the setting then the relevance of the subject matter will be lost or misunderstood. And the Beloit List really makes that point. Here's the list if your interested. http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/2013.php

Winning with Awards -- Award Season 2010

The award season has started in full-force again. For some agencies it's practically an assembly line operation and for other organizations a glorious one-time victory.

No doubt there are different reasons to enter award competitions, with agency marketing topping the list of the annual winners, if their web sites are any indication, and a simple desire for internal recognition of great work by the occasional champ.

But it doesn't seem many organizations actively use the award process to actually create better work. Silver Anvils is one competition that makes an effort "after the fact." Its scoring procedure and judging process helps entrants -- if they ask -- understand how the judges felt their programs rated in different sections compared to the winners. And some agencies that develop a lot of programs hold internal competitions to choose the ones they will eventually enter. Having judged many of those contests, however, there isn't a lot of teaching that goes on about the program elements themselves.

So why not? Probably because we don't organizationally connect training and development to industry award entries. For instance, have you ever seen an Account Supervisor level development session focusing on the four critical elements of program research as explained in the Silver Anvil judges briefing book? Or has the training department used winning awards as part of the curricula for entry level employees? Both are ready-made and can mean better programs and better awards.

The award programs themselves could serve the industry and themselves by developing training around their approach to awards. A robust training package attached to an award program would serve as a revenue stream and as a major differentiator and provide a winning leadership position for the organization that moves aggressively.

Did anyone else see the irony in Senator Chris Dodd's statement at his press conference about his prostate cancer.

Dodd, as you know, is leading the Senate charge for health care reform. He announced that because it was early stage that made it very curable. Dodd added he was lucky that Congress has such good health care. After consulting with several well-known doctors, he decided on surgery and then went on to tell us his schedule.

The irony comes when 1) Dodd choose to boast about having the type of rich-benefit plan that Congress is talking about taxing for everyone else; and 2) that under most of the plans (not Congress') being considered, experts would determine "best practices" for treatment; "careful watching" and not surgery for an older man such as Dodd -- he's 65 -- is the frequently preferred treatment.

Being so tone-deaf would get you fired in the public relations business. It will be interesting if it helps make him a loser in the next Senatorial election.

I continue to hear colleagues reference the New York Times article "Spinning the Web" that forecasts the demise of public relations. What I don't understand is why everyone takes it so seriously -- given that the NYT is a financial loser and a reporting nightmare.

On the latter point, in less than six months, the Times has had to own up to two serious blunders in reporting -- very quietly, of course.

As recently as July 10th, it acknowledged, only in an editors note, that their photographer had digitally altered photographs to magnify the effects of the recession on a housing project, so "the images did not wholly reflect reality." The note continued, "Had the editors known that the photographs been digitally manipulated, then they wouldn't have published the picture essay." That's like saying if we knew our client was lying we wouldn't have issued the press release.

And that same Magazine in March published an article about Iraq, featuring a woman who supposedly was raped and injured by a roadside bomb there. One problem. She was never in Iraq. The Times learned she lied to reporters 10 days before publication but ran the false story anyway and didn't inform readers until a week later, again as an editors note.

Given these recent examples of what is sloppy-bordering-on-unethical reporting and keeping in mind the 2003 Jayson Blair fraud, how can we possibly let ourselves lose perspective on our value versus that of the New York Times. In the changing world of social media that is featured in "Spinning the Web," it seems incredibly ironic that a newspaper on the verge of bankruptcy is taking to task an industry on the verge of leadership. In fact, you could say that the paper is the loser and we are the winner.

I was having dinner with some friends before the holiday and we were trying to remember what old time comedy show featured a lead actor who kept threatening to "Have the Big One."

That led to talk about this big one -- the recession of 2009 -- and a new generation of management steering their agencies through it. We all agreed history has shown that from past recessions new winners have emerged and some stronger players stumbled.

Talking to colleagues who were winners coming out of the 1990 and 2001 recessions has highlighted some general management approaches that make as much sense today in the age of social media as they did in earlier tough times.

Look to the future. Keep an offensive mindset even if you reduce headcount. Plan the steps you'll want to take when things get better. What do you want your management team to look like in a year? What critical element is missing from your selling platform?

Less can be more. This is the time to right size the agency for future growth not just for immediate economic reasons. Do four offices in CA really make sense? Is it time to reconcile the social media offering?

Clients first and last. Of course! But management should revisit how the agency is working to build client loyalty and how they are leading from the front. What's the plan -- client by client -- to make this happen?

Be prepared to move quickly. As the economy rebounds, the agency ready to move aggressively will win.

That comedy show with "The Big One" by the way: Sanford & Son.

Sitting in traffic congestion on the 4th created by the nexus of an afternoon Red Sox game letting out at Fenway (me) and the Pops concert soon to start at the Esplanade, got me thinking about the new marketing approach -- heralded by Hyundai, but soon followed by many of the auto companies -- that offers consumers a fail-safe purchase by promising protection if they lose their jobs. I wondered how many of the cars around me had been bought because of that plan.

This strategy, focused on customer loyalty rather than satisfaction, also has clear application to the public relations business, where broad measurement of client satisfaction has been seen recently as the industry standard. At its core, loyalty has a direct connection to repeat purchase and is not simply a process to determine levels of approval.

It would seem that during this recession, actions building loyalty offer excellent long-term organic building opportunities, with the caveat that pure over-servicing is always counter-productive. Agencies can actively earn client loyalty by building staff loyalty; aggressively seeking out and eliminating client complaints; enhancing responsiveness; increasing innovation; and most importantly, determining individual client value and building service delivery around that model.

Loyal clients proactively refer clients, making them more profitable than those that are simply satisfied.

Kind of like loyal Red Sox fans, who keep trying to convert the unbelievers.

Welcome to my blog. I've decided to add my voice to those of the many fine PR professionals who are joined in the conversation, but to focus singularly on the idea of "winning." In a business that has traditionally used soft measures, the hard edge of winning is now becoming a stronger focal point. And as a die-hard Boston sports fan, I know something about winning...and losing. So this blog will highlight current trends, campaigns, issues and happenings in business, sports, politics and anything else that happens to appeal to me, to emphasize how winning applies to the world of public relations.

Let me know what you think of my ideas. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Even Yankee fans are welcome.