Public Relations: Among the Best Jobs in 2010

The Wall Street Journal recently published a list of the best and worst jobs in 2010, based on a CareerCast.com study that encompassed five criteria: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress.

The five best jobs (in order) are:
1. Actuary
2. Software engineer
3. Computer systems analyst
4. Biologist
5. Historian

The five worst jobs (in order) are:
1.Roustabout
2.Lumberjack
3.Ironworker
4.Dairy farmer
5.Welder

The job of “public relations executive” is ranked #79 among the best jobs…ahead of attorney (#80), architect (#86), veterinarian (#90), newscaster (#95), psychiatrist (#98), physician/general practice (#128), newspaper reporter (#184) and photojournalist (#189).

Oddly, the job of philosopher is ranked #11…well ahead of public relations. Wow. Well, there are definitely more opportunities in PR than philosophy. A recent search of the Jobs section of The New York Times yielded no “help wanted” ads for a philosopher and over 100 for public relations professionals.

A Question to Bankers: What’s Up with Your PR?

I recently read an interesting article in Advertising Age about the marketing challenges facing financial services industry in the post-TARP world and how banks are responding.

Some customers are asking whether Citibank is a safe place for their savings,” writes reporter Beth Snyder Bulik. “So what is Citibank doing? Running ads in the Wall Street Journal about its microfinance capabilities in Texas and India.”

It’s just one example of the tone-deaf marketing messages coming from some banks that don’t answer worried customers’ real concerns … Is my money safe? Can I trust you? Will you be here tomorrow?

According to Ad Age, the top 10 banks and credit-card companies cut their ad budgets by a more than 25% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and nearly 40% December compared with those same periods in 2007. This represents a tremendous opportunity for banks and other financial services institutions to step into the void and claim it for their brand.

As our CEO, Ken Makovsky, wrote recently, public relations “is significantly less expensive than advertising and much more credible. We’re talking about a modest investment in time and money that delivers a major return on investment.”

Finally … Some Good PR in the Banking Sector

Talk about bad public relations! Only 21% of affluent consumers are confident in U.S. banks, according to a recent Gallup survey — the lowest level of consumer confidence in banks in three decades.

The growing financial crisis is taking its toll on everyone. According to a recent Wall Street Journal piece by Robin Sidel, 7.3 million American homeowners will default on their mortgages between 2008 and 2010, about triple the usual rate. Some 4.3 million of those will lose their homes.

The essence of good crisis management is doing the right thing and doing it quickly. Chase did precisely that when it announced its aggressive plan to modify the terms of $70 billion in mortgages for as many as 400,000 borrowers who are — or may soon be — behind on their payments, by moving them into loans with lower interest rates, smaller principal amounts or other more-affordable terms.

Said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Retail Financial Services at Chase: “It doesn't make sense for us to wait [to address the problem]. … We've heard loud and clear and are listening to what some of the thought leaders around the country are saying.”

John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, called Chase’s announcement “a gutsy move.” We couldn’t agree more. Not only is Chase doing the right thing, it’s demonstrating and increasing the pressure on other lenders to help take some part of the burden off distressed borrowers. It’s a terrific example of proactive public relations and crisis management.

High-Tech Temptation: Leaving the Laptop Behind

For most public relations professionals, technology is not just a helpful tool; it’s a driver of our business. So, as a PR person, I was initially surprised when I read the headline of a recent Wall Street Journal blog by Nick Wingfield: “Time to Leave the Laptop Behind”.

Wingfield explains: “For years, mobile workers have been ditching their desktop computers for laptops that they can take wherever they go. Now road warriors are starting to realize that they can get even more portability — and lots of computing punch — from smart phones.”

Wingfield cites a recent survey by market research firm In-Stat which revealed that more than half (52%) of technology users said they could envision using a high-tech smart phone in the future as their sole computing device … provided that manufacturers could improve keyboards, screens and applications so that they work like those that come with a PC.

We’re not there yet —Chiclet keyboards and teeny-weeny screens can be mighty frustrating for PR consultants like me who are copious note-takers — but we can see the High-Tech Promised Land that lies just ahead.

Whether smart phones get bigger or laptops get smaller makes no nevermind to me. I just want the technology in place that will let me have my office with me wherever I go!

Investment Banking: PR Hits the Skids at Lehman Brothers

Talk about bad investment banking public relations: Lehman Brothers was caught red-handed, having plagiarized parts of a Sanford Bernstein report on virtualization technology, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Susanne Craig. Known for its research excellence, Bernstein is headquartered in New York.

A research report produced earlier this year by a Lehman analyst — who has since moved on to greener pastures — contained passages that were surprisingly similar to several notes written earlier by Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.

In a letter sent last week to its clients, Lehman acknowledged the plagiarism. “The material was not sourced to Bernstein and was used without the firm's permission,” Lehman wrote. “We sincerely apologize to Bernstein, the authors of the reports, and our clients for this incident.”

The apology was accepted, but this was a crisis that should never have happened.

Because Mr. Sacconaghi is an extremely well-regarded analyst, whose work is closely followed and widely quoted, it was almost inevitable that this misappropriation of intellectual property would be uncovered. What makes this an especially unfortunate PR issue for the investment banking sector is the fact that this scandal comes at a time when Wall Street firms are trying to rebuild the public confidence in the credibility of their research departments.

Very High Tech: Sky-High Tech, to Be Exact

In his Personal Technology column in the Wall Street Journal, Walter Mossberg reports that inflight WiFi is on the way. A new system called Gogo will make it possible for any passenger with a WiFi-enabled laptop, PDA or cell phone to surf the Web, use email or IM texting and download files, including streaming audio and video, once the aircraft has reached 10,000 feet. A data-only system, Gogo will not enable phone calls and will block all services involving voice communications.

The new service — priced at $12.95 for flights of three hours or longer and $9.95 for shorter trips — is already available on a trial basis on select American Airlines flights between New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. It will shortly be available also on Virgin America.

It’s a mixed blessing, this new technology. We’re either going to be more connected and productive public relations professionals, or we’ll lose one of the last opportunities left to sit quietly for a few hours and just … think.

Early Ends to Positive Oncology Trials? Not Always Good News.

According to a study published recently in the Annals of Oncology, there is a growing tendency for pharmaceutical manufacturers and clinical investigators to call a premature halt to cancer drug trials the moment a benefit appears, in order to beat their competitors to market.

The Italian group analyzed 25 randomized controlled trials of oncology drugs between 1997 and 2007 — all of which were stopped early after showing some patient benefits. More than half of the trials were stopped in the past three years. Five had enrolled less than 40% of the target number of patients. The researchers warn that “the risk of overestimating treatment effects increases markedly when the sample is small.”

Paul S. Mueller, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic— who wasn’t involved with the Annals of Oncology study — concurs, saying, “Decisions are being made on some fairly shaky evidence.”

We agree with Dr. Mueller’s conclusion: “Trials should be carried out long enough in order to obtain data about outcomes important to doctors and patients.” It’s not just good public relations; it’s good public health.