A Ground Hog Day Public Relations Quiz
Bill Murray’s movies have taught me a lot of life lessons – but usually they’re the upside-down kind, and don’t have much to do with public relations strategy. Like how not to behave on a golf course (Caddyshack), and how to ruin a perfectly good trip to Japan (Lost in Translation). But the best of Bill’s teaching movies has to be Ground Hog Day.
Bill and Phil (Punxsutawney Phil, that is) can serve as a great reminder about making every communication, no matter how routine it feels, the best it can be. So today, I challenge you to the Ground Hog Day Public Relations Quiz. It’s a simple, three step quiz, and a fun way to test yourself against your own high quality standards.
Ground Hog Day Public Relations Quiz
- Identify one communication that you are going to engage in today. This can be something as simple as a press release or a tweet, or you can use something more complicated like an anticipated online conversation with a social media influencer, or a tricky internal communications announcement.
- Picture living this day over and over again, like in the movie Ground Hog Day. You would participate in the chosen communication also again and again. Would you still love it? Or would it grate on you, like an obvious typo?
- Take a step back, and consider the communication again. Think through the phrasing, the audience, the strategy. Then revise, and move on—knowing you’ve improved the experience just by taking a quick moment to view it through a new lens.
In a media environment that moves faster than ever before, it’s sometimes easy to “rush to publish.” Thanks, Bill and Phil, for the reminder that every day, every communication, counts.
Happy Ground Hog Day!
To contact Margy Sweeney:
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