Yesterday Deon Daugherty with the Houston Business Journal called and asked if I would comment on a recent article in The Onion about the increase in job opportunities for recent PR grads in the fracking industry.

For the uninitiated, The Onion, which labels itself as a satirical news outlet, in some parts of society is viewed as a reliable news source, but in reality it is about a step below The National Enquirer.

Considering someone from the Fifth Ring team is on the phone with a reporter from the HBJ (seemingly) on a daily basis securing or staffing an interview, I figured it was the least I could do. Click here to read Deon’s blog post.

Of course, it didn’t take long to determine The Onion article was less than thorough and ultimately it got me thinking about a couple of things…

Specifically, where did the idea come from that companies hire PR people to shield them from controversy or help them come up with ways to keep secrets secret? This couldn’t be further from the truth. Most are wholly interested in helping their clients do the right things and generate compelling stories that advance the brand in some way.

Do we get called in to help (re)position the client in the best possible light when times are tough or when there has been a corporate misstep? Of course we do.  But rarely does that conversation happen without a PR pro seeking clarity and advocating for stakeholder visibility. Typically this comes with some sort of mea culpa and a plan to correct the issue.

Are there illegitimate PR practitioners who violate all manner of professional ethics and morals? Of course there are, but you have that in every profession.

Ben Franklin said “three can keep a secret if two are dead.” Given the nature of the digital world as we know it today, it is inevitable that secrets do not stay secret and wrongdoing will eventually be found out. So, companies—no matter the industry—would be well advised to heed the counsel of public relations people who are guided by a code of ethics that was written with the wellbeing of the general public in mind.

More often than not, the principles of PR are put to use to ensure a company or spokesperson doesn’t inadvertently say the wrong thing and thus create an issue when in fact there isn’t one.

The next thing that struck me was how can The Onion get away with referencing a “labor market report” without any mention of who authored the report or even the title? The article has gone on to be quoted or referenced on dozens of online sites with none questioning the premise of the report, article or the source.

One reporter, Susan Phillips of State Impact Pennsylvania, which contributes to WHYY and WITF, called it a joke.

If we do operate under the premise that the article is a bit of a ruse, then the following quote from The Onion’s story might be a great example of a person being quoted who should have utilized PR assistance.

Regarding recent PR grads, Bart Hobijn observed:

"These days, media-savvy professionals who know how to publicize questionable scientific data in order to downplay the environmental dangers of forcing toxic fluids into the ground can pretty much write their own ticket."

I don’t know how many “recent PR grads” you know, but I have yet to meet one who was a savvy enough to do what Mr. Hobijn suggests. I suppose the same could be said of economists and researchers who used questionable methods and data to assure the public that investing in banks who participated in credit-default swaps was in fact a sound, strategic investment.

That being said, the quote seems misinformed given the unsourced nature of the survey.  My guess is he said it as a private citizen and not in an official capacity, but The Onion portrays him as the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s spokesperson offering comment on behalf of the federal government.

Clearly the PR industry could stand to do a bit of good PR on its own behalf, but I would be willing to bet Mr. Hobijn is wishing he had a PR person helping him potentially dig out of a hole right now. If he does indeed need some assistance, I know some savvy folks right there in San Francisco who would be willing to help out.

Bike riders endure muscle weakness, muscle spasms, fatigue and general discomfort during long rides. These same ailments affect people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Ian Ord, Fifth Ring’s director of business development, recently rode in the BP MS 150.  While his ride was long and tiresome, the pain and fatigue doesn’t compare to what victims of MS endure daily.

“While bike riding is the medium, the reason people ride is to raise money to find a cure for MS, while helping those people living with the condition lead a more rewarding life,” Ian said. “Though it was a tough ride, my ride on a bike for eight hours is incomparable to the pain of those living with MS.”

The BP MS 150 raised more than $14 million for the National MS Society. Clean Harbors, the team Ian rode with raised almost $30,000. As a member of Clean Harbors, Ian raised more than $2,500.

“It’s unbelievable and I want to give a sincere thank you to everyone who donated to the worthy cause,” Ian said. “It was more motivation to complete the course.”

The many hills Ian conquered were not the only ups and downs he faced during his ride. On the Friday before the ride, Ian learned he needed to make major repairs to his bike. After the work was complete, virtually the only part left was his bike frame. 

Saturday began with a 4 a.m. wake up and he was off to meet up with his team at one of the three official starts.

Day one was incredibly tough for those involved because of the headwinds they had to ride through. But the winds didn’t stop people from parading a spectrum of bicycles, including new bikes, old bikes, tandem bikes and even unicycles. Five hours and one familiar encounter later, Ian was done and settling in for a night in La Grange, Texas. Along the way Ian saw Andy Doggett from CDL in Aberdeen and ended up riding next to him. The last time he had seen him was in March on a training ride in Aberdeenshire, so to see him was amazing, Ian says.  

La Grange featured huge campgrounds that included music, food and drinks, entertainment and time spent with teammates and friends.

“The MS 150 is an incredible feat of organization from the organized starts, the many volunteers, tented cities and police at junction points,” Ian said. “To see all the riders on the road at the same time and to think about all the logistics that went into it. It’s just amazing.”

Day two came and as the sun shined down upon the riders it was clear to Ian it was a day made to ride. The Austin capital building shadowed down on him nearly three and a half hours after he left La Grange.

“You ride into Austin on a beautiful Sunday and you see the Capital as you’re about to cross the finish line and then you see the massive amount of people there cheering you on. It’s stunning,” Ian said. 

A very special thanks goes out to the Clean Harbors team who made Ian’s entire ride and stay in La Grange extremely pleasant. Thanks also to West End Bicycles and Bicycle World for rebuilding Ian’s bike the day ahead of the ride. A final thanks goes out, once again, to all of those who donated to the cause.

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Click here to download:

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How do you stop traffic at the busiest energy exhibition in the world? Oil Careers shows us how…

This year’s Offshore Technology Conference was the third largest in the event’s history. Almost 90,000 delegates attended the Reliant Centre in Houston over four days and the magnitude of the event was matched with an overriding feeling of optimism.  

abcTV OTC report featuring GL Noble Denton

Fifth Ring enjoyed its busiest OTC to date working, with up to 20 clients on stand build and media relations activity.

Here is just a small sample of some of Fifth Ring's activity at OTC 2012.

To see more of our work please contact Fifth Ring: www.fifthring.com

When I was about 8 years old, the cover of our local Yellow Pages fueled my dream to become an astronaut. Joe Engle, commander of the second Space Shuttle flight was featured on the cover. He was born in Chapman, KS a small town not too far from the little town I grew up in. I remember seeing his picture and thinking if he could leave the confines of the Kansas plains and go into outer space, I certainly could follow in his footsteps.

I tell myself now the only thing standing between outer space and me was my poor eyesight and childhood asthma. In reality, those few humans who are talented enough to go into outer space are a special breed.

On Friday, Fifth Ring, along with our clients Petrofac and Raytheon, played host to Damian Bates, editor of the Aberdeen Press & Journal, on his tour of NASA’s Mission Control and the Hi-Con Training facility at Johnson Space Center.

Damian was there purely as a tourist as he had seen coverage of Hi-Con and asked if he could take a tour when he was in town for this year’s Offshore Technology Conference. We were told that during our visit to Mission Control, Lead Flight Director, Norm Knight would come off the floor, spend a few minutes with us and answer any questions we had. Imagine our surprise when he offered to personally show us around Mission Control.

It was nothing short of fascinating.

From getting to stand on the floor of Mission Control, to having Norm direct the view of one of the Space Stations cameras onto Scotland, our visit was simply spectacular. Norm shared stories and insights you would never get on the regular tour, and did so while making everyone feel as if we had all known each other for years. Words truly cannot do the 90-minute tour justice. And given I was touring this remarkable facility with the editor of one of Europe’s most distinguished newspapers, I won’t even try.

We did make it over to the Hi-Con Training facility and were pleased to see it has evolved tremendously since we helped to launch it in December of last year. But, the visit to Mission Control is what stole our imagination.

Needless to say, all had a great time and everyone came away with a greater appreciation for the astronauts, space flight and the beyond. We also gained deeper admiration for all of the talented and dedicated men and women of NASA who have help spark every childs’ fascination for space.

A very special thanks to Kelly Humphries, NASA PAO for setting up the tour of Mission Control and thanks to our friends at Petrofac and Raytheon for being our hosts.

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visit-to-nasa-reignites-dreams-of-the-moon-and-beyond-ycwIxICwpqumceyhqADx.zip (4.8 MB)

Saturday saw the first Code Retreat to take place in Aberdeen. A Code Retreat is a day-long, intensive practice event for programmers, focusing on the fundamentals of software development and design. 

I was delighted when Fifth Ring became one of the lead sponsors of the event. Since deciding to organise it back in January, I'd been keen to run a high quality, free to attend event which is only possible with the support of local businesses who care about code. 

Code is at the heart of much of the work we do at Fifth Ring. As attention increasingly moves to screens, so the messages we drive for our clients must be delivered digitally. While modern drag and drop style tools can allow the underlying code to be largely ignored, at Fifth Ring we believe a deeper understanding of code is critical.  

The attraction of Code Retreat to those with a passion for code is that it gives a framework to focus on technique rather than delivering results. It is similar to practicing an instrument. As a musician you spend most of your time practicing, and 5-10% (likely less) performing. As a coder these numbers are reversed, and the focus is often on delivering working code quickly rather than improving your own technique. 

An interesting technique used during code retreat is pair programming. Using this technique two people work around a single keyboard - one driving, one observing. The observer analyses and questions every line of code as it is typed. For many attendees this was disorienting, as they saw coding as a solitary activity. The communication approaches within pairs were fascinating to observe.

It was an intense day, and everyone left on Saturday enthusing about new techniques or approaches that had been unveiled by the process. 

You can find out more about code retreat at http://coderetreat.org and about Code Retreat Aberdeen at http://refreshaberdeen.com/coderetreat.

Texas is hot. Really hot. It’s only April and swimming pools and shopping malls are already full of people trying to escape the sweltering heat.

But high humidity and scorching sun aren’t enough to deter Ian Ord from attempting a 180-mile bicycle journey from Houston to Austin. Ian and hundreds of others are participating in this year’s BP MS 150 from April 21 to April 22, 2012.The bicycle race raises money and awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, a debilitating disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.  Although Ian lives in Aberdeen, Scotland he is participating in this race because he believes in the cause. Sadly, Multiple Sclerosis has affected a few of Ian’s friends.

“The more you hear about it, the more you realize that it is everywhere and sometimes affects those who are near and dear to us,” Ian says.

Ian goes on to say, "It shocked me how many of our own people here at Fifth Ring have been touched by this dreadful disease."

Despite the grueling outdoor conditions, Ian is prepared for the challenge. With a two-year track record under his belt, Ian feels the BP MS 150 is the perfect way to have fun while supporting a great cause.

He said his passion for cycling started with a wager on a bottle of wine. His friends felt that cyclists were among the fittest individuals and that regular people could never cycle their way up the likes of Alpe d’Huez or the Tour de France. Ian accepted the challenge, and once he began cycling he couldn’t stop. Since then he has cycled both casually and competitively in races, with the longest race reaching 450 miles over the course of four days.

In between his hectic work schedule, Ian always finds time to train, whether it means waking up early to hit the gym before work, or devoting weekends to cycling around town. Most recently, Ian went on a 60-mile bike ride in 5 degree weather; a sharp contrast to the Texas humidity he will face in a few weeks. Ian jokes that he will need to start cycling in a sauna in order to prepare for the weather.

In fact, one of the biggest challenges Ian feels he will face is keeping his body hydrated during the heat. He plans to arm himself with plenty of fluids and energy bars that he can eat while cycling. He also plans to use the designated rest spots to fill up his water bottles and make sure his body stays in a healthy balance.

After completing the 180 miles, Ian knows exactly what he wants waiting for him at the finish line: a nice cold beer.  He also plans to check out the famed Austin nightlife saying “I will head to 5^th and 6^th street…if I can still walk,” he said.

Luckily, Ian has a large support system including his friends and family and his colleagues at Fifth Ring.

“I am very grateful to my friends and colleagues for being so incredibly generous with sponsorship,” Ian said.  “I also want to thanks Christine McGee with Clean Harbors for inviting me to join their team as well as Daniel with West End bikes.”

-Written by: Nagin Ghiyassi

Bring out the cracker jacks, dust off your old glove and replay the image of your childhood hero hitting that homerun. Baseball season has started and what a glorious thing it is.

I grew up playing baseball and it’s always been my favorite sport. Somewhere along the way I realized that I would never make it to “The Show” so I started looking for other things that I could do when I graduated college. Become a dentist? Some people have really bad teeth. Get my Ph.D? Too much school.

It was only fitting I finish my time at Baylor University in Public Relations. Why public relations? Because everything I learned while playing baseball mirrors my PR career.

You’re not going to be perfect: In baseball even the best hitters only hit approximately three out of every 10 at bats. Ted Williams, considered one of the best hitters ever, went to bat 7706 times and only got a hit on 2654 of them.

What does that tell you as a PR professional? Succeeding in PR and in baseball takes hard work and determination. At Fifth Ring, we regularly knock the ball out the park, but our success is based on years of experience and lots of practice.

It’s a team sport: I consider baseball to be the most individualistic of all the team sports. It’s one hitter against one pitcher every at bat. However, if one person makes an error it affects the whole team. One bad throw can lead to a loss. It’s up to the team to pick up for that player when things go bad.

As Ken Harrelson said in Sports Illustrated, “Baseball is the only sport I know that when you're on offense, the other team controls the ball.”

Things go wrong. We all know that. I couldn’t do what I do day-to-day without my PR colleagues. I can write an article, pitch a story and promote our clients, but you don’t win the trophy individually, you win as a whole. As Baylor says “One team, One Goal…”

Separating baseball life from personal life:  Ever have a bad game? I have. And time and time again I would go home feeling frustrated about it. What I learned quickly though was that it was affecting the relationships I had with the people around me.

PR is all about relationships, whether it is with the media, the client or your co-workers. When you think about it that is a lot of different personalities and needs that you have to balance. We bend over backwards to provide them with the services they need, and there are times when you can’t help but take what happened at work home. Our passion for what we do helped us get to where we are today, but it also can cause us to be very emotional. By separating the two I can effectively be the son, brother and boyfriend that the people around me deserve.

Baseball and PR… I think they are meant for each other.

In the words of an umpire, play ball!

Yesterday, I got caught in a massive traffic jam. The craziest part about it was it was on the back roads of Tomball, TX, a little town about 20 miles north of Houston. The best part was the folks at Coffee Icon, one of the fastest growing on-line coffee companies, were handing out free cups of coffee to motorists stuck in traffic as it crawled past their offices.

Here at Fifth Ring, rarely would we advise a client to take a shotgun approach to marketing. However, in this instance, the low opportunity costs were well worth it. Their sales people wouldn’t do much better sitting in the traffic—which stretched for miles—trying to call on accounts. So why not brew a few pots, pour cups for weary commuters, hand them out with your business card and see who calls later.

The worst they could have done was generate some goodwill with the residents who live in the vicinity of their offices. At best, people like me admired their efforts and stopped to take their card and learn a little more about their company, services and products.

In three hours, they went through 400 cups. Think about it. That was 400 opportunities to make a potential sales connection simply by turning a hopeless situation into a positive one. So, what did you do with your morning?

We spoke with the folks at Coffee Icon this morning. Although they haven’t received any immediate sales that referenced their goodwill, they have had numerous customers call them and stop in to say thank you and tell them how sweet it was.

by Rob Potter

The phrase ‘Mental skills training’ and rugby players in the same sentence, doesn’t quite fit, does it.  However my work with Scottish Rugby and the University of Birmingham proved me wrong.

Over my years working with elite youth rugby players who are already good at what they do, you understand very quickly that there is minimal improvement required for many of the players.  These young athletes’ require at times, only a small percentage of technical coaching in order to make them competitive and push them to achieve international honours.    

So what makes a player, who has all the technical and physical attributes, fail to perform in a new environment?  This issue started to interest me and led me to believe that it was not just in sport where peak performance deteriorated.  Why do people fail in presentations, get emotionally out of control and fail to manage the demands of work? I then discovered ‘Mental skills training’.

I was first exposed to the term ‘Mental skills training’ when working with elite youth rugby players at under 16 level.  By working alongside PHD students from the University of Birmingham, a programme was devised to enable players to reach optimum performance and feel at peak confidence levels.  Through a number of tools: visualisation, self-talk, centering, precision planning, goal setting, and perfect practice to name a few... we began to deliver both technical and mental coaching to our players.

Results were instant, both for individual player and for the team.  Players recognised that by using the tools, they were able to prepare, perform and review each activity at an optimum and focused level.  Overall, this age group has remained undefeated for three years and over half of the players have gone on to international level.  When receiving feedback on what helped them succeed, alongside the technical coaching, mental skills training ranked as the number one performance aid.

So would ‘Mental skills training’ work in a business environment? Was this a stupid idea?  I decided to try it out myself. I soon found that by using these new tools my performance and execution improved dramatically. For example I was able to present with more confidence and not get distracted from task when my environment changed.

People face problems every day, life throws curve balls at us, and doubt will always creep in when we really do not want it to.  However, if we can just focus on what we can control and set goals, there are tools we can use which will allow us optimum performance and confidence on or even off the sporting field.

Let’s not go mental, use the tools that are at your disposal to take control and achieve your goals!