New Millennium PR

PR Doesn't Have To Be Cool, It Just Needs To Get The Job Done

Many of us have worked on PR events that were pretty hip. And let's be honest, they were fun and we got to meet some very cool people and we'd often have interesting stories to tell afterwards.

One of my personal favorites was an event I planned for a mannequin manufacturer that took place in a New York warehouse -- sexy mannequins draped in beautiful clothes, fashion industry trendsters dressed in -- what else -- all black, delicious food, and music that kept the vibe going. And yes, the client was pleased with the coverage it got from the event.

But sometimes the simplest approach does the job and does the job well, and then there's no reason to go fancy.

Take community outreach programs, where a home-spun feel can sometimes strike the right tone. Here's an example.

Richmond, Virginia-based Safety Angels is an organization whose goal is to eliminate motor vehicle crashes as a leading cause of children's deaths in the U.S. Founded by President Ginny Frings (read more about Ginny and her team here) after she and her then 13-month old twins survived the crash shown at left, the organization has made tremendous progress in raising awareness about the importance of car seat safety.

But you wouldn't be able to gage the success of the organization simply by looking at its website, which is very basic and simple. And you also wouldn't know it from the flier (which looks like it was printed on a home computer) handed out at a local daycare to promote one of its car seat safety inspection events.    

And yet, these events are very popular. Why? Because the message put out by Safety Angels -- protecting young children -- resonates with the intended audience. It's as simple as that.

The message resonates with the intended audience.

Here are some pictures taken from an event held yesterday.   

 

Technology Helps Manage Logistics and Maintain Parent-Child Bonds Despite Divorce

Divorce is always a sad thing, but especially when dependent children are involved. However, regardless of any past animosity between former spouses, communicating effectively with each other on a regular and ongoing basis -- and approaching the raising of kids as a team effort -- is usually beneficial to everyone in the long run.

Fortunately, there are tools available to help adults manage the logistics of two or more households and schedules.

The KidsNCommon site (fee-based, free for 30 days), for example, helps parents establish a "community" within which an invited person -- the other parent, a relative, a friend, or even the child -- gets access to customized information. This information can include the Parenting Plan (a good resource on parenting plans is ParentingPlan.net), the Documents page, the Bills page (with tabs for Shared Expenses, Child Support, Spousal Support, Bank Accounts and Service Vendors), and the all-important Calendar page. The Calendar allows invited community members to see upcoming events organized according to categories such as Payment Reminder, Work, School Event, Extra Curricular, Recreation, Travel, Vacation, Holiday, Co-Parenting Meeting and Legal -- with optional email reminders sent out as well.   

KidsNCommon offers other services and benefits as well. For example, community members get their own email address, such as suzysmith@kidsncommon.com, that helps everyone stay in touch and receive schedule reminders. The site also offers information on topics such as child health, dealing with the psychology of divorce, and balancing families, careers and other relationships.   

ShareKids.com (fee-based) is another site that offers an easy online location to share information and manage schedules, keep track of shared expenses, create photo galleries, and even create private chat rooms.

Sharekid.com also links to other valuable resources such as the Family Mediation Inc.'s downloadable (and, at under $20, affordable) Child Custody Parenting Plans book with forms, and the international non-profit Bonus Families that coined the beautiful term "bonus" to describe "a stepfamily or a single parent living with their children and another adult partner" (I highly recommend this site).

In addition to the importance of streamlining communication and schedules for the sake of the children, maintaining and fostering strong parent-child bonds is crucial to helping kids adjust to their new family status, particularly in cases where physical or legal custody is awarded to only one parent.

Virtual visitation can be an important part of helping the non-custodial parent maintain close ties with his or her children, whether the parent lives nearby and can't see the child every day, or lives further away, precluding frequent in-person time together.

InternetVisitation.org describes virtual visitation as "using tools such as personal video conferencing, a webcam, email, instant messaging (IM) and other wired or wireless technologies over the Internet or other communication media to supplement in-person visits and telephone contacts between two people."

The site offers practical how-to information on what's needed to set up a call and a related forum discussing such things as VoIP, Skype, Vonage, video calls and video call accessories. Internet Visitation also lists the latest legislative developments; to date Utah, Wisconsin and Missouri have passed virtual visitation laws, with fifteen other states showing activity.      

Finally, there's also a must-read blog, Virtual Families and Friends.com, written by "virtual dad" Jim Buie and co-authored by his son, Matthew Buie-Nervik. An absolute gold mine of information.

(Image of artwork from Kids' Turn)

The National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse Accuses McDonald's of Hiring Convicted Sex Offenders

The National Foundation to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (NFPCSA) is calling for a boycott of McDonald's restaurants after Nashville station NewsChannel 5 WTVF uncovered that nationwide, McDonald's restaurants have hired "dozens" of convicted sex offenders.

According to the WTVF report, "McDonald's says it has a policy against hiring sex offenders at its 8,000 or so company owned stores. But at the 18,000 franchise stores that operate under the golden arches, they're free to hire anyone they want."

WTVF's investigation revealed nine sex offenders in Delaware, thirteen in Indiana and sixteen in Louisiana working in McDonald's restaurants. But, unfortunately:

"We can't tell you how many other child molesters or other sex offenders are working at McDonald's restaurants here in Tennessee or anywhere else. That's because in most states, including Tennessee, sex offender registries don't have information about employers. So the public can't find out -- until something bad happens."

No response yet on McDonald's Corporate site.

(Photo sources: Happy Ronald McDonald here and sad Ronald McDonald here.)

PBS Launches Blog To Help K-12 Educators

PBS launched a new blog yesterday, learning.now, that, as host Andy Carvin, founding editor of Digital Divide Network, explains on his personal blog, will: 

"focus on the intersection of Internet culture and education. One of the primary goals is to help guide educators through the ins and outs of what's often referred to as "Web 2.0," including blogging, podcasting, vlogging, RSS, social software and community networks. I'm planning to explore some of the creative ways students and teachers are using interactive technologies to improve learning, as well as dissect the controversies that often occur when classroom culture and online culture collide."

Another related blog worth checking out is Jim Heynderickx's K12Converge.com.

Roger Hargreaves' Mr Men Debuted 35 Years Ago

Are you looking for books to read to your pre-schooler? Ones that will make your child -- and you --  feel happy and silly and giggly all at the same time? Then consider the entire series of 40 Mr Men and 30 Little Misses created by Roger Hargreaves.   

BBC News reports that Hargreaves created the first Mr Men, Mr Tickle, thirty-five years ago. Looking at the exhibition recently opened at the Animation Art Gallery in London, it's no surprise that Hargreaves is apparently the third best-selling children's author of all time. 

Here is the link to more pictures of the Misters and Misses, and here is the link to the official Mr Men site.

My all-time favorite? Mr Bump.

(Source for Mr Tickle and Mr Bump is BBC News)

More Celebrity Fluff For Inquiring Minds

Ladies and gentlemen, if you just can't make it through another day without knowing what your favorite fashion-forward celebrities are up to, here are two sites that will give you a quick fix.

Celebrity Pregnancy (part of the SheKnows network) offers such insights as:

"... having a baby bump is the 'new black.' What better place then Hollywood is there to find your very own style muse to help dress up your bump?" and

"Having a baby is cool — no doubt about it."

Peppered with intriguing headlines like "the congressman and the dictator's daughter" (hey, maybe I can use a variation of that somewhere down the line), Celebrity Pregnancy offers "the latest on pregnant actresses, musicians, models & more!"

But wait, there's more.

A news release announces Hairstyles Watch:

"Professional cosmetologist turned blogger allows new site to showcase celebrity hairstyles -- while giving away the secrets of doing it yourself."

Proving that it's an equal-opportunity beauty site, this tip is offered under the Men's Hairstyles category:

"It doesn't matter what your age, or gender actually, spiked hair is always a fun option.  Whether you have short ones, or a few inches of length or more, there are no limits to what you can do.  We've all seen them. They can be a radical color or multiples thereof. Anyone can have them if you want them badly enough."

So, what do you think, are these winners?

For Families Everywhere: Dear Elena

I was planning on having a relaxing evening at home, but instead I found Dear Elena.

Read this and be ready to have your heart break. For parents Dan and Kim. For sister Maggie. For Elena, who passed away on February 22, 2006, just shy of her 7th birthday.

Read Dear Elena from the beginning and find out that true courage is facing what you thought you'd never have the strength to do, but do anyway because you have no choice.

I'm going to go upstairs now and gently stroke my two sleeping children.

(Thank you Susan for helping me find this.)