COVID-19 PR Update with Marvin Stockwell [Podcast]

COVID-19 PR Update with Marvin Stockwell [Podcast]

The Power of the Pause

COVID-19 PR Round Two: Marvin Stockwell’s PR Update and Wisdom for Any Situation

Marvin Stockwell comes back to PR Talk to give us an update on COVID-19 PR. We spoke with him way back in March, which feels like ages ago because it was before we even knew how big of an impact COVID-19 was going to make.

Marvin’s update on what he and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have been doing since March further deepens the initial advice he gave when I somewhat surprised him by asking how to handle PR during the early days of the coronavirus. His suggestion then was to slow waaaay down and refrain from overreaching with pitches that aggressively tie into an epidemic when your story or client wouldn’t have an obvious reason to do so.

In round two, Marvin gives us more insight into the necessary pause taken by St. Jude and also outlines how they got back into the PR pitching game upon feeling more comfortable.

Asking and Answering an Important Question

To explain the purpose of the pause, Marvin uses an old PR maxim that can be posed during a crisis:

“What would a reasonable person expect a responsible organization to do in a situation like this?”

In customizing this question for the coronavirus, we can ask:

“How would a reasonable person expect a responsible organization to conduct itself during this pandemic and how can my organization be helpful and useful?”

St. Jude took a necessary pause to ask and answer these questions before moving forward blindly. 

 

The Advantage of PR’s Flexibility

While believing it was a great strategy, Marvin recognized how hard pausing was for a “swing for the fences PR guy like me,” who is used to making things happen. Even though it was just a few weeks, it felt like ages to him!

In all reality, “PR is the most flexible, nimble and agile sub-disciplines of marketing,” said Marvin, noting that this hallmark strength of PR puts us at an advantage over other marketing categories. For example, the advertising department may have spent bundles on creative for an ad campaign that is no longer relevant.

 

Getting Back in the Game

Once that comfort level was established, allowing St. Jude to be helpful to the conversation without overstating or conflating their expertise, it was go-time for Marvin and his PR team. He gives us some examples of how he was able to pitch stories that were related to the pandemic. 

Starting with a softer story to ease out of the gate, the PR team pitched a coloring book created by St. Jude that checked all of their boxes in terms of mission and purpose, while also meeting that helpful and useful note for kids, teens — and their parents — during the coronavirus. PR Talk parents can download the Coloring Book here

The next level PR work was releasing St. Jude Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer a global study on how the coronavirus affects children with cancer. 

The highest level of science PR work will be executed when the team gets to reveal what the data is telling experts.

 

Reflection During Social Crises

When I brought up the social justice uprising, asking how that affects our role as PR practitioners, Marvin responded with the PR framing question again:

“What would a reasonable person expect a responsible organization to do in a situation like this?”

Since I interviewed him right at the brink of the protests, I mentioned the discomfort that so many feel related to the magnitude of companies putting out statements, some sincere, some not. 

“The people who are getting it wrong are the ones that are so keen on rushing a statement out,” Marvin said in response. 

We think this wise advice is a great place to stop and reflect on our actions with the press, with our colleagues and with our clients. In this time when we are hit with two world pandemics, it’s important to think before acting and know that in the end we are just doing our jobs. 

While our jobs as PR professionals are sometimes hard and confusing, PR Talk covers the type of first-world problems that we are privileged to move through.

About the guest: Marvin Stockwell

Marvin Stockwell is the director of media relations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the creator of his own passion project, Champions of the Lost Causes blog, podcast and soon to be book!

Listen to Marvin’s initial thoughts from March on how to manage COVID-19 PR, along with his general insight on the special nuances that Science PR can bring.

Marvin originally appeared on PR Talk in a compilation of interviews conducted at PRSA’s ICON 2020.

Connect and follow Marvin on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

COVID-19: Marvin Stockwell: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital [Podcast]

COVID-19: Marvin Stockwell: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital [Podcast]

Coronavirus PR Management & Insights into Science PR

A Special Episode with Marvin Stockwell, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Only another PR person would drop what they are doing to help other PR people during what must be a very busy time. That’s why I love our community of giving, helpful PR friends around the globe. Today I got on the phone with Marvin Stockwell, Director of Media Relations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

You might remember him from my PRSA ICON episode where I recapped a few of the sessions in a series of mini interviews. In his portion, Marvin recounted his experience participating in Pitch Tank, the PR person’s version of Shark Tank, where he pitched three PR ideas to a panel of media judges to land on St. Jude’s new nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer as the winning PR idea.  

 

Managing Covid-19 PR

But before catching up with him on how his spectrometer pitching has been going, we handled the most important order of business for many PR people: management of coronavirus communications whether that is handling unwanted media inquiries around the topic or leveraging the illness as a proactive PR opportunity. 

After giving an update on what’s happening within his media markets with Covid-19, Marvin filled us in on how his team is approaching the epidemic and offers advice for PR professionals. For those of us who fall under the eager, maximizer category, Marvin’s advice may take you by surprise. You may have to operate out of your comfort zone and slooooow way down.

Science PR’s Special Nuances 

We then segwayed into the general topic of science PR. Along with being a hospital helping countless children and families, St. Jude is a research institution that pushes out tons of fascinating findings and data.

Marvin discussed the challenges of positioning scientific research, seemingly only meant for the trades, to mainstream consumer press offering key advice on how to go about it. We touched on how science can get lost behind the more compelling fundraising messaging, including how and why to get around this. We also learned how his team uncovers the wealth of information from his researchers and faculty, managing information-overload with a media relations department structured into “beats” the same way journalists are organized.

Overall, it appears that we truly are in the “long game” when it comes to science PR, with the discoveries of today possibly curing illnesses years, maybe decades, into the future. That’s why keeping our eye on news coming out of St. Jude years down the road will be facincating.

About the guest: Marvin Stockwell

As the director of media relations at St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, Marvin Stockwell is at his best when making a case for causes he believes in and collaborating with others in his beloved hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Connect and follow Marvin on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.

PRSA ICON: Adam Ritchie, Elizabeth Edwards & Marvin Stockwell [Podcast]

PRSA ICON: Adam Ritchie, Elizabeth Edwards & Marvin Stockwell [Podcast]

Three Voices from PRSA ICON 2019

Earlier this fall, PR Talk Podcast host Amy Rosenberg attended the PRSA International Conference (ICON) in San Diego, California. In addition to learning new tips and techniques her team is already putting into practice for Veracity’s clients, Amy had the opportunity to sit down with three conference presenters to hear their perspective on the PR profession. 

We’re releasing this episode now, because, on March 1st, there will be a $300 price increase for tickets to the next ICON event in Nashville, Tennessee on October 25th-27th. So, you should grab your tickets soon!

Every Campaign is an Opportunity to Write a New Book

First up, you’ll hear Adam Ritchie, owner of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction in Boston, Massachusetts. He essentially reverse-engineers PR to create new products and services. As Adam sees it,

“PR owes it to itself to be more than just a storyteller. PR can also be a creator and an author.”

One of the examples of Adam’s approach that he’s most proud of is The Mom Squad, which he describes as the first team of all-pregnant comic book superheroes. Adam and his team created the campaign to help sell the baby gear brand Summer. 

This interview was short, but Adam’s agreed to come back on the podcast for a more extended discussion about his work — so stay tuned. You may also run into him at ICON 2020 in Nashville.

 

PRs Need to Reclaim their Slice of the Pie

The next interview you’ll hear is with Elizabeth Edwards, founder and president of both 11th Octave and Volume Public Relations in Denver, Colorado. Because clients pay her to deliver effective messaging, Elizabeth spends lots of time researching the science behind how our brains are hard-wired to respond to things. According to Elizabeth, researchers working in neuroscience, behavioral science and cognitive science are making a lot of conclusions about what keeps our attention and what doesn’t. Elizabeth’s team uses these findings

“to focus on learning as much as we can about what translates into high-conversion communication actions.”

In addition to her expertise in behavioral science, Elizabeth also uses technology to improve workflow efficiency and maximize engagement for her final products. Her Tech in PR talk during PRSA ICON was packed, which is strong evidence that most PRs need a lot of help in this area.

Elizabeth notes that in many organizations, PR’s slice of the pie is getting smaller and smaller, and we need to do everything we can to reclaim more of that work. Part of that approach comes through using tools that make PR’s work more impactful. Elizabeth used the example of wave.video, which is an online production tool she uses to turn ordinary press releases into more engaging and shareable videos. In her view, “PR people need to own these interactive engagements.”

During her presentation, Elizabeth also talked extensively about workflow shortcuts that can automate tasks that might ordinarily be done by an assistant or junior-level associate. If you didn’t make it to her talk, you can text volume to 31996 to get her complete Tech Tools eBook. We hope to have Elizabeth back on the podcast to talk more about these topics soon.

 

PR is All About a Good Narrative and the Right People

Amy ends this episode with an interview she conducted over lunch with Marvin Stockwell, director of media relations at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee. He participated in the Pitch Tank — similar to the TV show Shark Tank — where participants pitch their media idea to a panel of judges in competition with their peers. 

During the event, Marvin pitched three ideas in ninety seconds to the panel, who then provided their feedback. His pitches included St. Jude’s use of therapy dogs to comfort patients undergoing treatment. The hospital’s international work, which includes curing cancer in Syrian refugee children living in Lebanon. And St. Jude’s recent acquisition of the world’s most powerful nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, which will give researchers the tools they need to cure the diseases of tomorrow.

The panelist agreed that while all these pitches are compelling, the new scientific tool offered a unique hook for journalists. One moderator suggested that while the whiz-bang science angle is excellent, audiences (especially in TV) want to see a human-interest element. With that feedback in hand, Marvin is now looking for ways he can tether this story with the good work St. Jude’s is doing every day. 

After participating in Pitch Tank, Marvin believes it’s a fresh take on the usual media panel that provided plenty of useful takeaways for the session’s 150 attendees. 

 

We’ll See You Next Year in Nashville

These brief interviews are just a sample of the expertise on display during these annual PRSA ICON events. If you’d like to attend next year’s conference in Nashville, purchase your tickets before March 1st and save $300. 

As always, you can keep up with the latest in PR by subscribing to the PR Talk Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify.

About the guest: Adam Ritchie

Adam Ritchie is the owner of Adam Ritchie Brand Direction in Boston, Massachusetts. An award-winning marketer and PR professional, Adam uses PR as an unstoppable source of invention and transformation. He’s also a musician, coast-to-coast walker, downhill skier and craft beer lover.

Connect and follow Adam on social media:

About the guest: Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth Edwards is President of Volume PR, a firm with an 18-year, award-winning track record, and 11th Octave, the first integrated communication agency in the U.S. to develop a modern-day communication model based on behavioral science and the psychology of the human mind.

Connect and follow Elizabeth on social media:

About the guest: Marvin Stockwell

As the director of media relations at St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital, Marvin Stockwell is at his best when making a case for causes he believes in and collaborating with others in his beloved hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.

Connect and follow Marvin on social media:

This episode of PR Talk is brought to you by PRSA Oregon

Throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington, PRSA provides members with networking, mentorship, skill building and professional development opportunities – whether you are a new professional fresh out of college or a skilled expert with 20 years in the industry. Check out PRSAoregon.org for more information on how membership can help you grow and connect.