The Paragon Awards recognize outstanding work in public relations campaigns. Similar to the Oscars, these are the type of campaigns that make you laugh, make you cry, or in the marketing world, make you buy in.

Laughlin Constable is thrilled to have brought home not one, not two but three of these awards last night.

An award of merit was given for work on the Wisconsin Department of Tourism iPhone app launch. An advanced look at the app by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and well-planned distribution of a news release to select media helped make the release of the app a great success. Coverage in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Associated Press resulted in hits in ABCNews.com, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Times-Picayune and many more. The immediate result was more than 80 million impressions, $3 million in publicity and more than 2,000 downloads.

LC also snagged an award of merit for the 2010 Department of Tourism’s press kit. The team used sound media relations, creative ideas and strategic planning to develop a kit that generated significant awareness of all the unique events, activities and attractions in Wisconsin and ultimately, caught the attention of the media. Not to mention, it looked pretty cool (our designers rock). The team met with more than 25 different media outlets in New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Milwaukee and also mailed or dropped off press kits to 30 more outlets. Many of the reporters complimented the team for having designed such a useful and easy-to-navigate press kit and supplementary USB flash drive.

And finally, there was an award of merit for the social media successes for the Department of Tourism.  When the Facebook page, Twitter account and blog were initially launched, consumers flocked to the pages within minutes (okay, not minutes, but quickly). The 2010 summer campaign character Miles Feldspar was introduced on these platforms, and unique content, trivia questions, and giveaways followed. From its launch, the Facebook page has grown to over 24,400 fans, with the Twitter account at just over 2,000 followers. The blog has received over 64,181 views since its launch and is consistently a top 10 content section on TravelWisconsin.com.

All and all, it was a great night. While these are public relations awards, the effort on all three of these campaigns was agency-wide. Our hard work and dedication to our clients really paid off.  So now, after a night of celebrating, where’s the afternoon coffee?

This morning I had on ESPN’s “Mike & Mike in the Morning” when I heard something that caught my attention.  In the midst of discussing the Packers Super Bowl win, Brett Favre’s name was thrust into the conversation (shocking, I know).

Co-host Mike Greenberg put on his PR hat and made a suggestion that I found questionable.  Greenberg suggested that Favre should take out full-page ads in both the Green Bay Press-Gazette and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to congratulate the Packers and Aaron Rodgers on the Super Bowl win as a “public display of congratulations (segment starts at the 31:50 mark).”

If Favre were to do that it could completely backfire.

If this reception of Favre by the Lambeau faithful is any indication, he would be perceived by Packer fans as interjecting himself into the limelight and glory of a Super Bowl win he didn’t partake in.  They would resent it and it would perpetuate the belief that Favre can’t let go.  With such a high degree of risk, it would not be a good PR move.  The relationship between the organization, fans and Favre is just too strained right now.

But if Favre wanted to do something to acknowledge the Packers victory, what could he do?

Not a lot.

In fact, Greenberg provides somewhat of a better idea than the full-page ads without realizing it when he mentions Favre potentially text-messaging Rodgers.

If Favre wanted to do something, a simple text message (insert your own joke here) or phone call to Coach Mike McCarthy would be appropriate.  Not the “public display.”  Favre and McCarthy have talked and/or text messaged on occasion since Favre’s trade, so McCarthy would be the best contact.

Make the gesture low profile, don’t publicize it and let it come out organically later.  That way, Favre acknowledges the win privately and also allows the team and organization to have their time in the spotlight.

Later on, you can bet some reporter will get wind of it and report it.  And it would come across as a subtle yet classy gesture.

What do you readers think?

The well-respected trio participated in a great discussion on what lies ahead in 2011, how their respective publications are adjusting in an ever-changing media landscape and how PR professionals can more efficiently work with them.

This post will touch on a few highlights and how PR professionals can stay on the media’s radar.

My guess is the points below will ring true with a lot of you or serve as a reminder on how to conduct media relations 2.0, but it never hurts to have a quick refresher. They don’t cover the entire discussion but cover segments I found particularly interesting. Without further ado:

• Embrace online exposure – The hard copies aren’t dead (publishers are nodding vigorously in agreement). But PR folks need to continue to counsel clients that online exposure is just as good as print coverage, if not better. Jim Nelson said the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gets as many as 2 million hits a day. That’s a big audience. Compare that to the print circulation of 183,636 during the week and 331,171 on Sundays. Between online stories, blogs, e-newsletters and live updates, there are plenty of opportunities to garner publicity.

• Think like a reporter, better yet a TV reporter – Think visually and for ways your story can have legs itself. How can you make this story more appealing, even if it isn’t for a TV station? Utilize those Flip cams and iPhones, and edit footage back at the office. Offer the footage to compliment your pitch or news release. Steve Jagler said it a number of times, “We’re a multimedia company now.”

• Have a spokesperson ready 24/7 – News moves fast these days. Really fast. The news media world is a competitive business and PR professionals need to be able to act quickly. Have a spokesperson always ready to speak on breaking news. Work with the media. Mark Kass said, “Our story will run whether you comment or not. You have to decide whether you have your say.”

• Look for unconventional opportunities – The Business Journal of Greater Milwaukee’s “Forty Under 40” annually honors 40 up-and-comers in the community under 40. It’s a great way to see who the new leaders are in the area. Mark Kass mentioned that they receive close to 300 nominations for the program. Tough odds, to be sure. However, he said they don’t just toss the 260 or so nominees that don’t make the list (yes, I can do basic math). He hands them out to his staff and has them hold onto them for potential profile pieces or to use as experts/sources down the road. Unconventional opportunity but a good one.

• Engage social media – All three editors couldn’t stress it enough. It’s happening and it’s here to stay. Get clients involved or be left behind.

So those are just a few of the nuggets I found interesting. Please share ideas and input below.

There are two key words in the last paragraph. Manage and respond. They’re part of the old school communication model and definitely part of the new school.

Social media, primarily Twitter and Facebook, has changed the way public relations professionals manage and respond to a crisis. It’s a critical part of planning now.

Sure, the fundamentals still apply and provide the foundation for responding and managing a crisis situation well. Social media adds another element though. Suddenly, employees, community activists and passersby, among others, can be sources of information for the media.

So how do you successfully incorporate social media into your crisis communication plan? And have you updated it recently to include social media? If you haven’t, now’s a good time to dust it off and give it a look.

Crisis Communication Guidelines 2.0

1. Does your company/organization have a Twitter feed or Facebook page? If so, who oversees it and how do you plan on managing the flow of information? If the company/organization is not active on social media, it’s time to participate.
2. Who on the crisis communication team uses and is knowledgeable about social media? If there currently isn’t someone, a person needs to be identified to lead the effort.
3. What employees or staff members have Twitter accounts and Facebook profiles? It would be good to know in advance. Often, they can be sources of information for the outside world and you’ll want to develop employee/staff guidelines for a crisis situation, so the message is controlled, consistent and factual.
4. What reporters do you know that are using social media? What media outlets? It’s imperative to round up this information and connect with them so you can provide timely updates and know what’s being said about your brand and the situation.
5. Developments can happen fast in a crisis situation and often information is disseminated on-the-go. Are you set up to be mobile? A good starting point is to have a laptop, Wi-Fi connector and smart phone available. If you don’t have a smart phone, is there one ready? Is it loaded with the proper apps and addresses? Is there an extra battery and charger set aside as well?
6. Are you set up to share information online and via social networks? In other words, posting written and video statements to the company/organization website, a newswire, PitchEngine.com, Twitter and Facebook?
7. Are you optimizing your online content? It’s important that this happens and a skilled professional who understands search engine optimization assist with it. The better this is done, the higher up you’ll be on search engine result pages. Who’s your go-to person to accomplish this?

These are just a few thoughts for incorporating social media into your crisis communication plan. If you haven’t done it or have not reviewed your plan recently, there’s no time like the present.

What else would you add to this list?

From time to time though, there are situations that require “tooting my own horn.”  This is one of those times.  But not just my horn.  I’m going to toot Laughlin Constable PR’s horn in this space.  A recent event calls for it.

Hey, if we do great PR work for clients shouldn’t we do it for ourselves, too?

Outstanding work done for Laughlin Constable clients Wolverine, McDonald’s and Café Manna has recently earned our agency three Paragon Awards from the Public Relations Society of America.  We feel pretty good about that.  So we thought we’d share.

So, how did we treat such good news?

• A: Snuck on to the Miller Park field after the awards ceremony and ran the bases before being tackled by the Brat, Polish and Italian.  Not sure what happened to the Chorizo and Hot Dog.  They were asleep at the wheel on security detail apparently.
• B: Took the red-eye to Vegas, checked-in at the Palms and gambled the day away.  All the while carrying our awards around everywhere we went.
• C: Went straight home and got the mandatory eight hours of sleep, and were up early the next day ready to work.
• D: Took the Amtrak Hiawatha to Chicago, hit Rush Street ‘til 4 a.m. and worked out of our Chicago office the following day.
• E: Drafted a press release touting our achievements and hit the local pubs (that’s short for publications).  Although we have been known to hit a pub or two.

The answer?  We’re not saying.  But if you chose “C” you don’t know us very well.

Now that I’m done tooting, you can read the release here.