Branding Experts Convene in Malaysia (Left to right: Gaylon White, Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee; Virgil Scudder; Datuk Merlyn Kasimir, former CEO of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation; Chris King, HH Consulting, Geneva, Switzerland; Zainnudin M. Noh, Chairman, Eric Pringle Associates; Art Thamboo, Managing Director, Eric Pringle Associates.) Scudder Tells Asian Conference CEO is a Brand “A company’s CEO is a brand; a brand that must be developed, nourished, and protected,” Virgil Scudder told a group of executives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Scudder was the leadoff speaker for the November 12 conference which was titled “Corporate Branding and the CEO.” It was sponsored by Eric Pringle Associates of Kuala Lumpur, VS&A’s business partner in Asia. Scudder told the group that having a CEO who is well known and respected is critically important when a company faces a crisis. He cited several instances in which CEO’s had an uphill climb because when their companies were hit by crises they were unknown to the media and thus did not have a built-in level of credibility. Among the elements cited by the New York-based consultant as essential to CEO brand building were carefully selected media appearances, thought leadership speeches, and wide dissemination of the CEO’s remarks by public relations professionals.   This article appeared in The Daily Dog on August 28, 2007 Content Is Still King: Essentials Like Writing Remain Key to PR Job Security The Daily Dog - August 28, 2007 By Virgil Scudder, President Since public relations first took hold in the 1920s, it has seen the advent of many new media. The expansion of radio. Television. Cable TV. National daily papers. And most recently, the Internet, with ezines, blogs, viral sites and other outlets. While the method of delivery has changed, one thing hasn't: The message is key. Content is king. And, the right content results from a combination of analysis, strategy and writing skills. It is an unfortunate fact that, when times get tough for a company, the first two staffs that often get cut are marketing and public relations. In order to survive these occasional purges, the best PR practitioners must be positioned to be indispensable.  Too many people think that the way to be indispensable is to be up on the latest, the hottest, the newest. What they overlook is that if they could pick up that information easily, so can their replacements. It's all well and good to know how to prepare content for a podcast, say, but the PR pro who's going to last is the one who knows how to conceive, structure and write that message.  It's also important to be known as a key strategic player on the team, not just a specialist in one area. The first requirement for this is, of course, being able to relate to clients and co-workers at all levels.  I remember an instance some years ago in which a bright young woman was about to hired for an excellent public relations position. She had the job sewed up, until the company talked to some of her former colleagues. The conclusion: She had zero interpersonal skills. Someone else got the job. Even if she had been hired, her chances of rising in the agency would have been slim. What does this mean to you? For starters, have the courage to find out how your coworkers really see you. Learn from superiors and those who work for you where your strengths lie, and work to improve the other areas. Most of all, examine and constantly work to upgrade your ability to work effectively with others. The second most important thing is knowing how to craft a sentence in English. Agency heads everywhere are lamenting the quality of the writing that is hitting their desks. Don't make excuses, don't take shortcuts, don't give yourself any slack. Learn to write. Period. If a college or university near you offers classes in writing, especially journalism writing, take it (ask if your employer offers partial or full tuition for continuing education). And, by the way, here's a tip: The best writers tend to be voracious readers. Third, make sure you know your client's situation inside and out. Read published information on the client, especially just prior to going to a meeting. If your client was in The Wall Street Journal that morning, you should know it (I've occasionally been the one who let them know they were mentioned that day). Don't be afraid to ask informed questions; just make sure that they really are informed. There is no excuse, in the age of the Internet, for a consultant or agency person to show up even to a first meeting without a sense of what a company does and at least some of its current challenges. Next, be well rounded. Know what's going on in the world. You'll often be surprised that an apparently unrelated story you read affects your client acutely. If someone makes a reference you don't understand, look it up. One of the most important roles of PR is bringing the "outside" world in to corporate headquarters. Make sure you really know what's going on "out there." Some people hamper their career opportunities by failing to listen. Before you advise a client on how to proceed, listen carefully to what the client is saying. Find out what the person's concerns and objectives are before you start outlining a program. The marketing PR graveyard is littered with programs that were clever, and perhaps got a lot of ink, but which didn't sell the company's product. Cute is useless if it doesn't lead to "ka-ching." But, let's go back to the initial point: Isn't it important to be up on the latest, the hottest, the newest? Yes, to the extent of having a working knowledge of it. But having that knowledge alone leaves the person vulnerable to outsourcing. Career security and growth is more likely to come to the professional who develops interpersonal skills, writing techniques and a broad knowledge base to become a valued strategic advisor.  Follow this plan and you're less likely to be outsourced. You're more likely to end up supervising the outsourced.  Virgil Scudder serves as public appearances coach and adviser to heads of numerous major corporations. He is president of Virgil Scudder & Associates, New York, and can be reached at virgil@virgilscudder.com.   This article, which includes comments from Ken Scudder on clear communication, appeared in the Triangle Business Journal on Friday, October 20, 2006. Buzzwords, jargon bog down business communications Triangle Business Journal - October 20, 2006 by Sonia L. Johnson CHAPEL HILL - Media exposure backfires on certain businesspeople. On TV and radio, they let fly buzzwords, only to see their attempts at seeming articulate fizzle. In press releases, they string together phrases like Christmas lights, hoping to dazzle but ending up dazing the recipients. The remedy is clear, concise, concrete language. Nothing muddled, nothing fancy, nothing long-winded. Buzzwords and jargon should be silenced first. "They're similar to obscenity - you know it when you hear it," says Ken Scudder, vice president and co-founder of New York-based Virgil Scudder & Associates. Among its services, VS&A offers media training to clients including Time-Warner, Pepsi-Cola and Nasdaq. According to Scudder, others view buzzword users as "trend-followers or empty suits." Even so, buzz abounds. Claims of scalable architectures that help companies accomplish mission-critical goals frustrate people who don't think listening should be labor. To read the rest of the article please click here     This article, which includes comments from Virgil Scudder on executive communication, appeared on the first page of the Business Section in the New York Times on Wednesday, November 9th, 2005. The article also appeared in the International Herald Tribune. When C.E.O.'s Are Entangled in Their Own Web of Words By LANDON THOMAS Jr. Henny Ray Abrams/Reuters James Dimon of J. P. Morgan Chase stirred investor concern with his casual talk of a merger. On an investor conference call last month, James Dimon, the chief executive-designate at J. P. Morgan Chase, was asked about his plans for a potential merger. For Mr. Dimon, a Wall Street celebrity whose career has been defined by big, showy deals, such a question could not have come as a surprise. But instead of a clear answer, Mr. Dimon's meandering response bordered on the unintelligible. Citing criteria like price, business logic and capability, Mr. Dimon sought to sum it all up for the many investors and analysts listening in. "Forgetting the business logic and the price, there will be options down the road there, I would answer your question about capable and that we weren't really quite capable yet because our army was doing all the other stuff we had to do, particularly the systems conversions," he said, according to a transcript. "The army will be capable to do other stuff sometime next year, which is reasonable. Doesn't mean we will." Confused? Here's a translation: We are not ready to do a deal yet. To read the rest of the article please click here The following article was written for The Gauge, an online newsletter published by Delahaye.  The Gauge offers research and insight on how the media cover corporate America.  For more on this subject, log on to www.thegauge.com. Managing the CEO Brand By Virgil Scudder Companies often spend millions of dollars to establish and promote their brands only to ignore one of the most profitable brands in their arsenal-the CEO. Surveys have shown that companies that have a CEO who is well known and well regarded perform better in the stock market. Yet, many companies waste this asset. Why? Very often it's fear and aversion of the media. A recent Canadian survey showed that CEOs regarded the news media as the greatest threat to a company's reputation. To read the rest of the article please click here Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 MEDIA, PR, GOVERNMENT LOSING TRUST "Trust me," they all say. But, increasingly, the public doesn't. Three U.S. institutions that need the public's trust, the news media, the public relations industry, and the U.S. government, find they are losing the credibility battle. A recent Pew Research Center poll indicated that Americans now trust the news media less than every other major institution, from government to banks. Other polls have consistently shown the public relations industry to be held in similar low regard. Meanwhile, government credibility has slipped at home and abroad. Relations between the White House and the national press corps have seldom been worse. Neither trusts the other. Journalists say the Bush administration tries to deceive reporters and conceals information the public has a right to have. Meanwhile, the White House claims the media is biased against conservatives. More... Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 A DIALOGUE WITH JUDITH PHAIR Like the news media, the public relations industry has taken some serious hits lately. They include: Undisclosed payments to PR man and part-time journalist Armstrong Williams by the U.S. Department of Education, through Ketchum Public Relations, to praise a Bush administration program, "No Child Left Behind," in his reporter and commentator role. Another of the big agencies, Fleishmann-Hillard, involved in an overbilling and misrepresentation scandal at City Hall that resulted in criminal charges being filed and dismissal of key agency staff members. Paid Video News Releases (VNRs) that were not labeled as such but passed off as independent news reports. The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), often criticized for being quiet on key issues, is beginning to speak out. Judith Phair, the 2005 president of PRSA, recently testified at Congressional hearings on the ethics of VNRs. She has also spoken out on national media. She discussed PR's problems with Virgil Scudder on May 25. Following are excerpts of that interview. More... RACE CAR DRIVER USES MEDIA TRAINING Some of the most enjoyable work we do involves sports figures and celebrities. In the following article, excerpted from the Daytona Beach (Fla.) News-Journal, writer Shawn Akers tells of an unusual application of VS&A's media training techniques. Right away, Blake Feese's media training was put to the test. The 23-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver had just been involved in an incident on pit road during the season-opening ARCA Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Crew members and photographers were injured. It was his mistake that caused the mishap, and quickly he would have to explain it to reporters anxious to get his side of the story. More... Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 CASE STUDY: FINDING SOLUTIONS One of the advantages of media training is identifying tough questions and finding positive answers. A point we stress to our clients is this: in every crisis, in every difficult question, there is not only an answer but an opportunity. Our job is to help find it. Here's a case study from Florida. One client was a prominent psychologist who specializes in sex therapy. She was terribly afraid a television interviewer would put her in an uncomfortable spot by asking questions about the child molestation scandal in the Catholic Church. More... Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 WE'RE HONORED - AGAIN Our newsletter has been recognized in four categories of the annual Communicator Awards. VS&A has won eight of these awards over the past six years. We received a 2005 Crystal Award of Excellence for writing, and an Award of Distinction for the newsletter overall. In addition, we are especially pleased that the excellent work of Rich Sheinhaus at Gotham Design was cited for Honorable Mention in two categories. The look that Rich has given the newsletter has been a great source of pride to us for many years. The Crystal Award-the top honor-went to a diverse group of entrants that included Boeing, MasterCard International, The American Medical Association, and Parade Magazine, as well as VS&A. Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 NEED A SPEAKER? HAVE GAVEL, WILLTRAVEL The experts at Virgil Scudder & Associates deliver a number of speeches each year and moderate numerous panel discussions on topics of major interest to business communicators. Topics include taming the media, crisis communication, branding the CEO, and the role of executive communication in a successful business. The talks range from interactive sessions for small groups to keynote speeches at national meetings. Virgil Scudder, Ken Scudder, and Dick Kulp all get great reviews for these talks. In fact, Virgil was recently put on the "Recommended Speaker" list of the International Association of Business Communicators. That designation is open to only the top 100 speakers at IABC conferences-speakers who score an audience approval rating of 85 or more. If you need a talk that is lively, informative, humorous, and down to earth, contact Ken at 212-627-4400, or mail@vs-a.com. Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 NO COMMENT? NEVER No comment?--Never "No comment" is a bad response to any question, Virgil Scudder told newsman Bob Mayer on Miami's NBC6. "It sends the message that you are probably guilty of what anyone wants to think you are." Virgil's appearance was part of a media swing through South Florida, which included a feature on Comcast cable, two seminars, and a talk to the Miami-Dade chapter of PRSA on crisis handling. Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 CRISIS SCORECARD Wendy's-A woman's claim that she found a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili sounded phony from the beginning, but a delay in detecting the apparent fraud cost Wendy's millions of dollars in business. The company was forthcoming with media but too slow in tracking down the problem. Among other things, they probably should have suspended chili sales immediately. Grade: C. Microsoft-Managed to alienate both sides of a controversy in Washington state by withdrawing its support for a gay rights bill, under pressure from evangelicals, and then reversing the decision after pressure from employees. Grade: D. Wal-Mart-The giant retailer is finally opening up to the news media after being a "no comment" haven for decades. Increasingly negative media coverage and public opposition are tied in part to its prior attitude. But, Wal-Mart has a long way to go in its handling of crisis and day-to-day public relations. And, those "feel good" ads featuring workers are very likely to backfire in the face of increasingly negative news stories. Grade: D. Martha Stewart-Turned prison into a positive by suddenly showing humility and making the best of the situation. Now she's headed for new fame and fortune in broadcasting and publishing. We gave her an "F" in the last newsletter. This time: Grade B. AIG-So, dictatorial top-down management leads to disaster. What a surprise! It will take a long time to pick up these pieces. Grade: F Source: "Communicating: The Scudder Report," July, 2005 CELEBRATING OLYMPIC GOLD Olympic gymnastics gold medallist Carly Patterson proudly shows Virgil Scudder and Ken Scudder her latest picture—the one on a Wheaties box. Carly is one of only three 2004 U.S. Olympic athletes to be chosen for the honor. The 16-year-old Carly came to VS&A for some fine-tuning of her media skills before live appearances on The David Letterman Show, The Today Show, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Carly wowed ‘em on all three. And how does the Texas native take to the TV screen? “She’s a natural,” said Virgil. “She’s got a wonderful smile, a delightful personality, and a freshness and spontaneity too seldom seen in star athletes. She sparkles. America is going to love Carly Patterson.” Carly’s reaction to Virgil? “Tough coach. But a good one.” And, Ken? “Good Letterman imitation.” VS&A has wide experience in working with sports figures ranging from NBA all-time great Bill Russell to football standout Jerome Bettis and track star Jackie Joyner-Kersey. The scene of the training and the photo was the IMG talent agency in Manhattan. Source: "Public Relations Tactics," May, 2003 MEDIA TRAINING - GETTING IT RIGHT By Virgil Scudder Media training - once considered little more than charm school for top executives - has become almost as much a part of today's business life as e-mail. Few top executives go before the television cameras or face notebook-wielding reporters without spending time with a media trainer. But, media training - and media trainers - come in a dizzying variety of styles. Some training sessions focus largely on cosmetics; some on sharpening and practicing sound bites; still others consist of making executives face hours of in-your-face interrogation from make-believe reporters. Trainers range from seasoned former journalists or PR professionals to former (or aspiring) actors. More... PREPARE NOW FOR CRISIS By Virgil Scudder For most businesses, the question is not whether a crisis will strike, but when! It is virtually inevitable that some kind of crisis will hit every type of business in the next few years. Crises come in many forms - natural disasters, product failures, fatal accidents, disabling strikes, and massive lawsuits to name only a few. Some are predictable and avoidable, and many are not. But the way the company reacts in the first hour or two can determine how the public perceives the business and its products for years, or decades, to come. If your company does not have a crisis plan in place now, you are risking a disaster. Surviving a crisis with your company's business and reputation intact requires advance planning and action. More...