JULIAN ASSANGE GETS BAIL-AND AIRTIME

This week's perspective from Joe Chidley:
Like everyone else, we’ve been watching the Julian Assange / WikiLeaks saga with a mixture of anticipation and disappointment. For the most part, the much-vaunted leaks have been pretty pedestrian – diplomatic cables and the like that didn’t exactly rip the lid off any kind of international conspiracy. (Although Moammar Gadhafi and his Russian nurse – that was pretty great stuff.) Meanwhile, Assange’s cat-and-mouse game with Swedish authorities, who want to question him on allegations of sexual assault, has sputtered along, the latest development being his release on bail in England – and a spate of media interviews from his sanctuary (a mansion owned by supporter, journalist and famous ex-soldier Vaughan Smith). From Bungay, England, Assange has been vocal and visible in his own defence, claiming he’s the victim of a smear campaign and vowing to continue “his work” no matter what the authorities do. (He has promised to release sensitive information about banks next.) What, we wonder, is Assange up to, from a communications perspective? Isn’t he just digging himself deeper? Is his goal to further the cause of WikiLeaks? Or simply to get his mug on the covers of magazines and the front pages of newspapers? Either way, perhaps his “out there” approach is the right way to go. WikiLeaks relies for its content on would-be whistleblowers – so publicity matters. His messaging is on-brand: he makes frequent reference, for instance, to the “Orwellian situation” he has been put in – just the sort of thing WikiLeaks says it seeks to expose. And if the goal here is self-aggrandizement, then Assange has scored a full-on touchdown, garnering more coverage as a celebrity fugitive than was inspired by the actual leaks. True, he didn’t make it as Time magazine’s Person of the Year – Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg got the nod for 2010. But that looks a fumble for Time, which was put on the defensive over the decision, given that in an online readers’ poll Assange got the most votes by a very wide margin. We’re not sure what his game is, but for the moment it looks like Julian Assange is winning.

TOUCHDOWN - A BILLION EMPTIES

Some nice media play this week for Ontario’s environment ministry and the provincially-owned LCBO, trumpeting the success of the deposit-return system for wine and liquor bottles which was brought in three years ago. Since then, Environment Minister John Wilkinson announced at a photo-op on Monday, Ontarians have returned more than one billion empties to The Beer Store. Supplemented with stats about diversion from landfill and colourful facts about the kinds of new products the recycled glass helps to make, and flanked by a credible third party endorser (namely Chris Winter, head of the Conservation Council of Ontario), Wilkinson’s announcement was a “ready to eat” media story. And it also shows the communications value that organizations can mine from their own data. Keep an eye on your internal numbers, whether it’s the number of widgets you’ve produced or reductions in your carbon footprint through environmental initiatives in your operation. If you hit a major milestone, there’s potentially gold in them thar hills of data.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He now is the chief media strategist and principle media coach in the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas.

TOUCHDOWN - FORD WALKS HIS CAMPAIGN TALK

I’ve gotta admit, part of me was extremely disappointed in Toronto Mayor Rob Ford this week. Not since the glory days of Mel Lastman has the potential for colourful quotes (the grist upon which TD&F runs, after all) emanating from Toronto city hall been higher. So with the real business city council getting underway this week, I was like a kid on Christmas Eve, waiting for the big jolly guy to deliver. As it turned out, Ford didn’t make headlines for anything he said … but he stillmanaged to score a major communications Touchdown nonetheless. The old adage is true: actions quite often speak louder than words, and by moving quickly to put three major campaign promises into action – namely axing the vehicle registration tax, cutting councillors’ expense budgets and asking the province to designate the TTC an essential service – Ford walked his pre-election talk. He sent a clear signal that the guy who’s now the mayor is the same guy the majority of Torontonians voted for. A lesson for all key figures and organizations: what you SAY is only half of the communications equation … make sure you follow through with what you DO.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He now is the chief media strategist and principle media coach in the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas.

FUMBLE, RECOVERY-BILL BLAIR GETS HIS FEET BACK UNDER HIM

It’s been a miserable week for Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair, and it will likely remain tough sledding ahead. The Toronto Star printed new photos which clearly show the face of police officers alleged to have used unreasonable force against protesters during the G-20. Other negative fallout regarding the controversial temporary powers given to police is swirling around the Toronto force as well. When this latest round began, Blair was out of town at a conference, and opted not to do media interviews, leaving spokesperson Mark Pugash to respond. That was a mistake. Mark does a great job, but this was serious enough to warrant the boss’ direct presence in the story. Blair could have done phone interviews, and I’m sure the TV networks would have facilitated satellite interviews from local affiliates. When he got home, Blair did get busy granting all kinds of interviews, but he was now having to play catch-up. By week’s end, he was sounding the right notes about “working relentlessly” to identify the officers involved and giving full co-operation to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) probe now underway. He also acknowledged the public’s expectation and right to transparency from the police. Again, right messages, but they come after an initial Fumble.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He now is the chief media strategist and principle media coach in the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas.

FUMBLE-LIBERALS SQUAWK AFTER HARPER ROCKS

Hey, you know that often stiff and uncomfortable looking Prime Minister of ours? Turns out that Stephen Harper can also be a stiff and uncomfortable looking musician! OK, actually the PM did a pretty commendable job fronting a pick-up band for a short set at the Conservative caucus Christmas party. The man can sing and play (though he DOES still look uncomfortable in the spotlight!), and just as he did with a surprise performance with Yo Yo Ma several months back, Harper got voluminous and positive media mileage out of this performance – a definite Touchdown. But the Liberals couldn’t resist trying to get some mileage out of it themselves, as evidenced by senior officials saying it’s terrible that Harper didn’t perform anything in French, what with more than 100 Quebec artists having come to Parliament Hill to express their concerns over the Copyright Modernization Act now being debated. There’s a time and a place to leverage stuff for counter-messaging – and this wasn’t one of them. As evidenced by a stream of “are you kidding me?!” Twitter posts from Parliament Hill reporters like @davidakin, the tactic backfired on the Liberals.

FUMBLE-THE TRIALS OF TWITTERING TIGER

A couple of weeks ago, our TD&F team praised Tiger Woods’ well-timed media blitz, which coincided with the one year anniversary of his fall from grace. While the timely strategy of his recent media effort is sound, some of the tactical components are lacking: namely his recent social media presence. Along with his humble, well-written op-ed in Newsweek magazine, and a few radio show appearances, Woods boldly declared that he would be activating his Twitter account. On November 17, he wrote “Yep, it’s me. I think I like this twitter thing. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the love.” He has since shared some details about pre-round meals and retweeted supportive comments from fans. As often happens with marketing or publicity campaigns, Woods’ Twitter efforts may have been considered a supplementary tactic, aiding in the achievement of a broader communications goal: to reinstate trust in Woods from the public at large. But Twitter is the most earnest and raw of all social media platforms and disingenuousness is easily identified by the online community. Those who use Twitter best garner trust by letting their personalities shine through and by directly engaging with fans, stakeholders, and even dissidents. Tiger has 330,000 followers and only follows 11 fans back – he is not using Twitter as a two-way communications platform. Because of his calculated squeaky-clean public image and the subsequent revelations about his misdeeds, he has opened himself up to a high level of public scrutiny. If celebrities wish to use tools like Twitter to mend tarnished reputations, it is advisable that open, friendly and honest online conversations precede other publicity activities so the effort is perceived sincerely by the Twitterverse. As Twitter is the ultimate two-way communication platform, Woods should demonstrate his commitment to rebuilding his reputation by listening and sharing ideas. He should follow his fans back and ask questions, rather than just answer them. Above all else, Twitter is more show than tell. Woods shouldn't have declared his newly-activated Twitter commitment; he should have just done it.

Jess Bennett works with the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas, providing strategic counsel on digital communications strategy and execution. She is immersed in social media, from blogging to exploring new trends and platforms.

TOUCHDOWN- COACH FOLLOWS THE PLAYBOOK

Greg Walsh, head coach of a Peterborough minor league hockey team, gave savvy communicators a lesson in restraint this week. Walsh was facing the microphones after being handed an indefinite suspension for refusing to start play after an opposing player hurled a racial slur at one of his young team members. The seldom-used Hockey Canada rule was enforced when Walsh pulled his team from the ice in protest of the offending remark and while the player in question is back on the ice and his coaches back behind the bench, Walsh could remain sidelined for up to a year. Asked to comment on the fairness of the suspension, Walsh kept his emotions in check. “I acted in the best interest of the kids I represent as coach of the hockey team, and I’m prepared to accept any punishment that was given,” he said. “Whether it’s fair, whether it’s not…that’s not my decision.” Now, we know that when faced with an emotionally charged situation, it’s tough to put anger or frustration aside and take the high road but – trust us – the higher the road, the better the view.

Kathy Barnett has held senior strategic communications and marketing roles in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She is now a Vice President in the Corporate practice at Veritas.

STILL IN PLAY? ROGERS AND MLSE

The move seemed so smart and the deal so big that the story was bound to grab headlines. “News” that Rogers Communications Inc. was about to purchase a majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan was greeted with an enthusiastic round of speculation among sports-watchers in the Big Smoke and elsewhere. After all, the rumoured $1.3-billion acquisition of the organization that runs the Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors and the TFC soccer squad would be the largest in Canadian sports history, and would have widespread impacts throughout sports and media. So rampant was the buzz on what it would all mean that you might think the thing was a done deal. Well, not so much. It eventually emerged that Rogers had expressed interest in buying months ago – that went nowhere and that Teachers had told the NHL that it had no immediate plans to sell (corporate-speak for “We’re waiting for the right offer”). Did the media jump the gun? Maybe, but given the size and importance of the alleged deal, it was inevitable, even justifiable. More importantly, both MLSE and Rogers handled the communications around the rumours uncreatively, but skillfully. Neither commented officially to downplay the speculation – and why would they, given that it was largely positive for both sides? For Rogers, the buzz made much of the company’s business savvy. Teachers, meanwhile, typically avoids the media spotlight, but in this case the rumours could only serve to drive the up the price of its MLSE stake – assuming, of course, that the stake has a price. But doesn’t everything?

Joe Chidley has served as the editor of Canadian Business Magazine for over nine years. He is now the senior vice-president of Veritas and oversees the Corporate and Public affairs practice.



TOUCHDOWN-FORD STAYS TRUE TO CAMPAIGN MESSAGES

This was the week Rob Ford officially became Mayor of Toronto. His first item of business was to assure voters that the guy who now wears the chain of office is the same guy they voted for a couple of weeks ago. “The war on the car stops today … Transit City is over, ladies and gentlemen … we will not build any more rail tracks down the middle of our streets.” Whether you agree with his agenda or not, Ford deserves a Touchdown for consistency of message and reiterating the points that proved so popular for him during the election campaign. A friend asked me the other day if I thought Ford will stop talking about “respect for taxpayers” anytime soon. Nope. He’s gonna keep right on dancing with the girl what brung him …



Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He now is the chief media strategist and principle media coach in the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas.

FUMBLE-SCHOOL MAKES MOUNTAIN OUT OF MOLEHILL

17 year-old Northern Secondary School student Emil Cohen was taking part in an assembly to celebrate the school’s sports teams this week, when he took the opportunity to tee-off on the administration for giving the soccer team short shrift in favour of football. The school responded by suspending him – and in one fell swoop took a cheesed-off high school student and turned him into a national cause célèbre and poster boy for freedom of speech. NDP education critic Rosario Marchese weighed in with his support for Cohen, as did the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, and the whole thing made news right across the country. The school had some logical reasons for suspending him, but ultimately they failed to do the PR math as to how the whole thing might play out in the public eye. Now, Northern is being criticized for denying its students the right to speak freely – and has made a minor molehill into a communications mountain. Fumble.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He now is the chief media strategist and principle media coach in the Corporate and Public Affairs practice at Veritas.