Writing Boots

The first radical I ever knew

05.04.2010 by David Murray // 1 Comment

I went to Kent State, and had a sociology professor named Tom Lough (pronounced "luff"), who was a member of the Kent 25, people indicted for inciting students to "riot" on the Kent campus, May 4, 1970.

He was acquitted, but he always argued hard that President Nixon had something to do with the shootings. Everything to do with them, he suggested. I was never convinced he was right, but he woke me up to some important possibilities.

He died a couple of years ago, and I didn't mark his passing. Today, on the 40th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, is a better time to do it. Lough wrote a letter to his students after the school closed down in the wake of the shootings:

It is tragic that only after our tragedy do the nation's campuses rise to confront the issues students have long tried to peacefully present. But now many are realizing the obvious connections between the national guard on the campuses and the national guard in the ghettos, the rule of military violence at Kent and the rule of military violence overseas. Kent's sorry has become the nation's outrage, and you were there. Don't forget it.

I don't forget you either, Dr. Lough.

You can’t handle the truth in communication conference advertising

05.04.2010 by David Murray // 24 Comments

I've been thinking about Robert Holland's comment here yesterday that he's become "so used to the hustle" from communication conference organizers that purple marketing prose and other rhetorical trickery doesn't shock him anymore.

I think he's got a point. I think the only thing that could shock consumers of marketing copy now would be an absence of hyperbole in conference promos.

We'd have speaker bios like this:

Connie Consultant has been writing, consulting and speaking about communication for three decades. The truth is, she burned out on it 10 years ago, but it's a living. She speaks whenever she's asked to, and she speaks for free, because getting in front of you and sounding smart is her only method of self-promotion. We've never actually seen her speak before, but she came off as real outgoing during a 10-minute phone conversation we had about her session. Actually, it was an e-mail exchange. But she seems really enthusiastic! 🙂

We'd have session titles like this:

A few ideas about streamlining the approval system, most of which you've heard a thousand times

Random PR case studies that will not be applicable to your corporate culture

Measuring communication ROI: Let's tell each other it's possible until we start to believe it

Another fucking panel on getting a seat at the management table

Social media blah point blah: A professional crackhead spews nonsense in 140-character bursts

There'd be testimonials, and for every, "I learned so much, I come back year after year," there'd be one, "the keynote speaker clung to his boring text like a drunkard to a lamppost."

And at the top of the registration form there would be a prominent star-burst Note to Your Boss that said, "Even with the Early Bird Discount, when you include all the expenses, hidden and otherwise, the conference will cost your company about $10K."

Look, peeps: I know you don't want to be lied to, but trust me, you don't want to be told the truth every time, either.

PR News publisher Diane Schwartz writes creepy promo

05.03.2010 by David Murray // 10 Comments

I've written a lot of direct mail promotions over the years. I've had a theory an old Ragan editor articulated when he said that Americans, when they get some advertising, like to detect "a hint of the hustle."

That is, they like to see you're willing to beg a little, to cajole, to show how much you want it with a little razzle-dazzle, a little shimmy-shammy, a little step-right-up—a little hustle.

And it's an element I purposely include in most of the conference promotions I write. Lines like, "you'll go from zero to speechwriter in three hours," session descriptions like "anything goes on this no-holds barred panel" and promises like, "goosebumps, guaranteed."

My theory is: Readers recognize this as a bit o' the old blarney, and they appreciate the effort.

But the key word in "the hint of the hustle" is "hint."

Last week I got an e-mail promotion from PR News editor Diane Schwartz, who I don't know from Adam Schwartz. (But I've looked her up on the Internets, and she sure looks like a nice person, doesn't she?)

The e-mail's subject line was: "Connecting on May 25th."

Hmmm.

I looked at my wall calendar. Had I forgotten about a meeting or a phone call with a Diane Schwartz on May 25th? Nope, the 25th looked wide open. So I opened the e-mail.

Dear David,

I'm writing to see if we can connect on May 25 during the PR News Public Affairs Conference in Washington, DC. I noticed you haven't registered yet for this one-day event, and I'm hoping you'll consider attending. The early bird rate ends this Friday!

This one-day conference will be packed with smart, practical tips and tactics for managing issues and public affairs initiatives, and it will give you a chance to connect with other smart people and learn, share and possibly partner. …

The letter went on. I skipped to the signature line:

Regards,

Diane Schwartz

Vice President & Group Publisher
PR News

Well, at least she didn't say, "Sincerely."

Diane Schwartz, you can hustle a hustler, but this is cheap trickery. There's a line between, and if you don't know where it is, then you're in the wrong business.