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E xploring the m any f acets of public r elations

“A lack of planning on your partdoes not constitute an emergency onmy part.”

You know this quote. Nearly every

 public relations professional has livedit.So why do so few organizations

 plan for an emergency or a crisis?Yes, regulated industries must do so,

 but what about the others?Here are the excuses:“It costs too much money. We don’t

have it in the budget.”“You can’t predict everything that

will happen, so why waste the time?”“I can handle the storm when it

comes.”“We have one already [from 10

years ago].”“The lawyers will never approve it.”To quote King Mongkut from The

 King and I, “Etcetera, etcetera,etcetera.”

Senior executives, while well-inten-tioned, don’t always understand theneed for a crisis communications planthat is regularly reviewed, tested andrevised. We often hear from clients,“I get it. But my boss doesn’t.”

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Fall/Winter 2013

 Anne Named BY PRSSA AS A 

“Life Champion”

AKCG Founder and President AnneKlein was recently recognized as aninaugural “Lifetime Champion of 

PRSSA.” PRSSA, the Public RelationsStudent Society of America, is thestudent arm of the Public RelationsSociety of America.

Anne was recognized along with 17fellow champions for her generouscontributions to the student society over many years. Her donations have helpedsupport internship opportunities,scholarship opportunities and awards bywhich student chapters are recognized for their public relations efforts. Anne alsoserved as professional advisor to theRowan University PRSSA chapter for 32

years.

The honor was announced at the PRSAInternational Conference held inPhiladelphia in October.

Overcoming the

Stumbling Blocks

by Anne Sceia Klein, Fellow PRSAand Christopher J. Lukach, APR

Honors & Awards

 Anne Klein (center) attended theannual dinner of the PRSA College of  

 Fellows, held at the Academy of Music Ballroom, during the PRSA conferencein Philadelphia in October. Above, Annechats with Fellows Julie Fix from

 Houston and Judy VanSlyke Turk fromVirginia. All three were members of   

 Kappa Delta sorority at their respectivecolleges. Anne was inducted into theCollege of Fellows in 1991, its second 

 year of existence.

 AKCG Again Named EDITORS’ CHOICE AS

BEST PR FIRM 

AKCG was named Editors’ Choice in the public relations category of  South Jersey Bizmagazine’s “Best of Biz” honors for the second year in a row. The firm was spotlightedin the magazine’s August edition.

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Staff News

On The Forefront of Thought Leadership

AKCG was featured alongside twoclients in thought leadership articlesrecently.

Senior Vice President and Chief Oper-ating Officer Chris Lukach, together with

Pat Donohue, director of marketing &communications for client St. MaryMedical Center of Langhorne, Pa.,authored “ACrisisCommunica-tor’s Self Assessment.”It featured sixquestions togauge ahospital’slevel of crisiscommunica-

tion preparedness.The articlewas published in the November/Decem-

 ber issue of  Spectrum, the Society for Healthcare Strategy and MarketDevelopment’s monthly publication. Itcan be viewed at bit.ly/crisis_assessment.

Chris also co-authored an article withMartin Eveleigh, chairman of AtlasInsurance Management, titled “A CaptiveReputation.” It highlighted theimportance of communication during

issues and crises, and how captiveinsurance companies can institute their own reputational risk management

 programs. The article was featured onlineand in Risk & Insurance magazine’s

 November edition. It can be viewed at bit.ly/CaptiveRep.

Chris led a rapid-fire session at theannual conference of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and MarketDevelopment (SHSMD), part of theAmerican Hospital Association, inChicago. Chris’s session, whichaddressed strategies for managing social

media crises, was attended by approxi-mately 150 hospital and health-systemcommunicators. Chris previously wrotean article on this topic for the SHSMDnewsletter, available at bit.ly/1czIsUs.

Chris was featured in theSeptember/October issue of  Ad News, themagazine of the Philadelphia Ad Club.His article, “The Millennial’s Challenge,”espoused the value of reverse mentorshipand encouraged millennial professionalsto value the contributions of their older colleagues.

Supporting the

Environment

AKCG was a sponsor of the annual“Experience the Estuary Celebration” inOctober for the Partnership for theDelaware Estuary. Vice President BethArcher serves on the board of directors.The Partnership is a nonprofitorganization established in 1996 to take aleadership role in protecting andenhancing the Delaware Estuary, wherefresh water from the Delaware River mixes with salt water from the AtlanticOcean.

Kathryn Around Town

In September, Senior AssociateKathryn Conda spoke to students in theIntroduction to Public Relations class at

Rowan University, taught by Peter Eschbach, director of communicationsand external affairs for client New JerseyAmerican Water. Her guest lecturehighlighted the importance of proper research in a strong public relationscampaign.

Kathryn has also been busy with her committee involvement with thePhiladelphia Public RelationsAssociation. She is chairperson of theMembership Committee, and also has

 been concentrating on ramping up theorganization’s Mentoring Program, whichaims to pair rising stars with senior-level

 practitioners.

Kim Continues to Serve

Senior Associate Kim Ciesla willcontinue to serve on the PRSAPhiladelphia chapter board and on thePhiladelphia Chamber of Commerce’sYoung Professionals Network SocialMedia & Marketing Committee for 2014.In her PRSA post, Kim serves as liaison

 between the Philadelphia PRSA chapter and local student chapters of the national

Public Relations Student Society of America. For the YPN Social Media &Marketing Committee, Kim aids incontent development and distribution for the organization’s social media channels.

Perennial Volunteer 

Anne just can’t say “no” tovolunteering. After completing a decadeof service to the American HeartAssociation and the Go Red For WomenCampaign, Anne has returned to her almamater as a volunteer. She is serving on

her University of Pennsylvania classreunion committee and on the PennAlumni Program Committee,reconnecting with many of her classmates.

Rowan University students whoattended the International Conference of PRSA felt confident of their abilities tonetwork and dine appropriately, becausethe Rowan chapter of the PublicRelations Student Society of America hadasked Anne to conduct her well-knownseminar on networking and dining. Theseminar began with the appropriatehandshake. And cell phones weresilenced. Anne provided tips to thestudents on conversations to initiate andconversations to avoid. (Remember howyour mother advised you to not discuss

 politics, religion and money? Well,nothing has changed!!) She alsoreviewed the dinner place setting anddemonstrated how to avoid taking a glassor cup or plate belonging to the personnext to you. The students always enjoyasking questions about foods to eat and“what ifs.” Anne believes the time shespends with students is well worth it.Their success is her reward.

 A Medalist Again

For the second straight year, Jerry Kleinwon a silver medal at the annual SnoopySenior World Ice Hockey Tournament inSanta Rosa, CA. Jerry, a goaltender,

 backstopped his team in the age 60 andover divisionto winsover twoother teams, butlost by

 just onegoal tothe teamthat wonthe goldmedal.It wasJerry’sthird year 

 playing inthe Snoopy tournament. He has playedmen’s league hockey for over 30 years.In the photo, Jerry is shown in fullregalia, alongside Anne who serves asassistant manager and social director for the team.

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Celebrating Family Caregivers Month with Mercy LIFE

 November is National FamilyCaregivers Month, and to celebrate,AKCG client Mercy LIFE, with helpfrom Philadelphia TV anchor PatCiarrocchi of CBS3 (KYW-TV),

 presented Philadelphia resident JanetChestnut with its Devoted Caregiver Award. The AKCG team helpedcoordinate the second annual awardceremony and Health & Wellness Expoto honor and thank caregivers throughoutthe region. Chestnut received a specialengraved plaque and a proclamation fromthe office of Philadelphia Mayor Michael

 Nutter.

The Health & Wellness Expo, whichtook place at the Mercy LIFE Adult DayCenter on Broad Street, was open to the

 public and included free refreshmentsand entertainment. Mercy LIFE clini-cians provided everything from free

 blood pressure screenings and bloodsugar checks to diabetes consultations

and private physician meetings.Attendees also were encouraged to

 participate in free yoga sessions and aZumba class led by the choreographer of the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders,Dwayne Townsend. Retired PhiladelphiaEagles punter Sean Landeta also made anappearance to pose for photographs andsign autographs for fans.

AKCG was able to secure severalmedia placements surrounding theexciting event, and to help promote

 National Family Caregivers Month,

including segments on both CBS3 andCW Philly (WPSG-TV).

Spotlight on a Client

Client News

The AKCG team created a multi-year strategic plan for client Mid-AtlanticDairy Association to position theorganization as a resource for milk anddairy information, supporting its larger 

goal to build demand for milk. AKCGthoroughly examined secondary research,evaluated the organization’s currentcommunication efforts and organizationalstructure, and provided a social mediaanalysis of MDA and its competitorsacross Facebook, Twitter, YouTube andPinterest. The research resulted in acomprehensive plan offering a variety of strategies and tactics for growth anddevelopment, and next steps for implementation. After reviewing the

 plan, MDA retained AKCG to helpimplement it, and will start with outreach

to baby boomers through a pilot programset to begin in January 2014.

AKCG is working with the Occupa-tional Training Center of Burlington

County (N.J.) to develop a strategiccommunications plan to help position thenonprofit agency in an increasinglycrowded marketplace. The firm also will

 be managing a creative team to updatethe organization’s branding and website,as well as various collateral materials.

The team at AKCG is working withGwynedd Mercy University to updateits crisis plan, and serves as its agency of record if issues or crises should occur atthe Philadelphia area school.

AKCG completed its annual update of the St. Mary Medical Center CrisisCommunications Plan. The plan expandsthe medical center’s level of prepared-ness, particularly for crisis response via

its growing social media presence.

AKCG continues to support long-timeclient Saint Francis Healthcare througha period of great excitement. SaintFrancis recently announced a newdirector of cardiac services, as well as anew partnership with the consultancyMAGIC that brings top-classgastrointestinal care to NorthernDelaware. In addition, AKCG supportedSaint Francis’ first “Creating a HealthyFuture” event in November, honoring thehospital’s medical staff.

Coverage of Mercy LIFE’s Health Fair on Philadelphia’s CBS3.

 Mercy LIFE’s Director of Marketing and Communications Taryn Duckett, Pat Ciarrocchi of CBS3, Devoted Caregiver honoree Janet Chestnut, and Mercy LIFE CEO Carol Quinn.

Mercy LIFE in the Media 

 Philadelphia Business Journal named Mercy LIFE and Mercy

Home Health CEO Carol Quinn itsHealth Care CEO of the Year for her organizations’ astonishing growth inrevenue and market share. Quinn wasfeatured on the front cover of PBJ’sOct. 25 issue.

In late August, Pat Ciarrocchi fromPhiladelphia’s CBS3 (KYW-TV) paida visit to Mercy LIFE’s Adult DayCenter on Broad Street to report onthe nationally recognized PACE

 program (Program of All-inclusiveCare for the Elderly). Recreation

Therapy Supervisor Caitlin Gunnellsspoke of the many benefits for seniors. The report aired on the newsmagazine show, Talk Philly.

The new South Philadelphia Lifemagazine has featured Mercy LIFEevery month since September, witheach issue spotlighting a differentfacet of the PACE program.

 November’s issue sheds light on howMercy LIFE celebrates NationalFamily Caregivers Month, whileDecember will feature the many waysMercy LIFE’s skilled staff celebratesthe holiday season with participantsand their families.

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Printed on recycled paper 

KALEIDOSCOPE is published by Anne Klein Communications Group, LLC

1000 Atrium Way, Suite 102Mount Laurel, NJ 08054-3903

856-866-0411

e-mail: newsletter@annekleincg.comWWW: http://www.annekleincg.com

Editor — Jerry Klein

AKCG is a member of  IPREX (theInternational Public RelationsExchange), one of the world’s largest

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Overcoming the Stumbling Blocks

Anne Klein Communications Group isa public relations consulting firm basedin the Philadelphia region, with clientsthroughout the United States.

The firm is certified as a Small BusinessEnterprise (SBE) by the State of NewJersey.

Here are a few suggestions toovercome those stumbling blocks andensure your communications team is as

 prepared as it can be.

Budget. In the “new normal” of theU.S. economy, you will never have

enough budget to do everything youwant. Get creative. Work with your agency partner to build a plan in stages,a few scenarios at a time to maximizeyour budget.

Bravado. Many CEOs think they canhandle the media, and thus do not needa plan. And maybe they can. But whatif they’re on vacation? Or on across-country flight? Your organization

needs to know what to do and what tosay. Can you take the chance you’llguess correctly what your CEO mighthave said or done?

Time. Today’s “24/7” mediaenvironment almost has become a

cliche, but you really do have little to notime to craft a response in the heat of themoment that sets a positive, non-defen-sive tone for the organization and gets tothe right audiences in the right amountof time. And the first statement is theone that sets the tone. Just ask GrahamSpanier (Penn State) if he, given time tothink about it, still would have used theterm “unconditional support” as his firststatement to the media.

Already Done.   A plan more than ayear old is out of date. The world andthe media are changing too quickly.And a plan that provides only a“process” to follow is not worth the

 binder it’s stored in. Not with Twitter on the loose.

Legal.   Let’s talk about budget! Canyou afford the lawsuits?

Have you overcome these stumbling blocks using different methods? Let usknow. Email Chris or Anne atcrisis@annekleincg.com. We’ll reporton your successes in our next issue of 

 Kaleidoscope. —  A.S.K. & C.J.L.

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