By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Those pesky but proper pronouns

I cringed the other evening when I heard a TV reporter state, “And then they presented the award to he and I.”

Whoa, I thought, back up that grammatical train.

He or him? Me or I?

Actually, this reporter would receive a big red line through both pronouns if she submitted this verbiage as part of an English assignment during one of the courses I taught at Marion Technical College. But, she is not alone. Many of us will confess that we have problems determining the proper case for some pronouns.

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By Amanda DeCastro, Senior Account Executive

Buzz creators for non-profits

Some of world’s most well-known brands are non-profits: American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Special Olympics, Girl Scouts of America, even the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (you know, that heartbreaking commercial with Sarah McLachlan) and the list goes on. Our world heavily relies on non-profit organizations for their donations, charitable giving and selfless support.

A perfect example of this? The outpouring of support provided to the millions affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The devastation energized people across the world to act. From large, arranged mission trips to something as simple as a couple dollars donated to a charity that was sending money, supplies and aid to Haiti. 

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

I think we have to admit that we were a little surprised by all the responses to our recent blog post on grammar pet peeves, which even got coverage in Ragan’s PR Daily. The page views, comments and shared links have inspired us to develop a series dedicated to good grammar. You ask; we deliver.

With 140-character limits, text messaging, and all the other instant forms of communication these days, it’s still as important as ever to be grammatically correct, no matter which style you follow. As PR pros, we’re trained as journalists and mostly write for journalists, so we generally follow the AP Stylebook. But, Fahlgren Mortine is part of a full-service communications agency, and as such we often work with advertising copywriters. We understand creative writing and know there are times to take creative liberties. In addition to news releases and story proposals, we’ve also written marketing collateral, speeches, white papers, Web copy, community reports, and even ad copy.

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By Aaron Brown, Associate Vice President

Grammar rules.

I really can’t believe I’m blogging about grammar. I vividly remember sitting in my precision language course at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. I was afraid of grammar. The professor told us, “One day, you’ll be listening to the radio or watching the news and you’ll become frustrated with the bad grammar used.” Seriously? I was used to spelling grammar as grammer. 

But it happened to me. In the nearly 10 years since graduation, I’ve been the annoying guy correcting my friends’ grammar. I find solace knowing that my clients expect it from me. They want their communications to be grammatically correct. Now, if we could just get the lion’s share of the media to feel the same way. 

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By Karen Bailey, Senior Account Specialist

Challenging the status quo with new communications tactics

Super Bowl Sunday is traditionally one of the most watched nights of television. An evening devoted to crunching shoulder pads and advertising creative directors. And, the president? Some of you may have caught President Obama’s interview with CBS’s Katie Couric as part of the pregame programming. What you may not know is that this is all part of the President’s communication strategy. 

If you feel like you’ve seen the president doing a lot of interviews, you’re right. According to an article in the New York Times this week, the president has given 161 interviews in his first year. To compare, President Bush only gave 50 interviews and President Clinton 53 during the same time.

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By Aaron Brown, Associate Vice President

Spokespeople: it’s time for a tune-up.

There’s no question your business has changed in the past year. You’re probably looking forward to launching that new product or service that had been shelved because of tightened budgets. You’ve got things to say about your business. You want customers, analysts, media, bloggers and maybe even competitors to know how you’re better – and different. 

So before you run to the mountain top to tell the world your story, please know what you’re going to say when you get there. While a seemingly tedious exercise, a thorough messaging and media training update is an important investment. Consider it an update to your corporate and personal global positioning systems. Here are some elements of the update process:

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By Paul Vetter, Vice President

Apple is linking hot new hardware to the media subscription model.

On Wednesday, Steve Jobs will take the stage at the Yerba Buena Center for the Performing Arts in the heart of San Francisco. It’s the same place he goes whenever he’s ready to unveil the latest game-changing technology. This week, he’s expected to unveil the long-anticipated tablet computer, which some have dubbed the “iPad.”

It’s expected to do for information – especially the written word – what the iPod did for music. As in revolutionize how we get news, read books, connect with our friends via Twitter and Facebook, and keep up with the essential updates on YouTube.

As The Independent of London asked over the weekend, “Can Apple Save the Written Word?”

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

Neil Mortine and Kathy Cupper Obert

Fahlgren, Edward Howard to Join Public Relations Businesses

Alignment Forms Independent Powerhouse:

Largest Firm in Ohio and Top 30 Nationally 

The acquisition, which joins the capabilities of Fahlgren Mortine Public Relations and Edward Howard, is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010 although integration and coordinated new business and marketing efforts will begin immediately.

Check out more details of today’s exciting announcement in the news release.

By Liz Sidor, Account Associate

How to make a splash with a Twitter contest 

Twitter can be an intimidating place. With personalities like Oprah and Ashton Kutcher exceeding more than two million followers, how can businesses compete?

To mitigate the fear, set clear, reasonable expectations and interact in the space creatively. Developing a fun, creative strategy to initiate or reignite a company Twitter account can excite members of the organization and potential consumers/followers while garnering some momentum. 

How do you do that? Begin with some brainstorming combined with thoughtful planning (the social media best practice tips, outlined in an earlier post, are a good place to start). 

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By Kelly Malone, Account Supervisor

Five Social Media Resolutions Brand Managers Should Keep

Statistics show that only 46 percent of people who make resolutions are able to keep them six months into the New Year. Well, fellow marketing and PR folks, I challenge you to commit to the following resolutions to help your brand blossom in 2010. C’mon, there are only five.

1. I will not dilute my social media presence.
Many SM gurus are telling us to branch out and try the dozens of new social networks. I certainly agree with that if you’re experimenting on your own, but don’t subject your brand to it before you know what you’re signing up for. Be strategic about where your brand lives. Start with a strong hub – maybe that’s your blog – where most of your content originates. Then focus on pushing your content to your spokes – Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Choose your main social networking sites and stick to them. Enhance your presence and build a strong community on those platforms.

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