Xan for the Holidays

Don’t ask me how I got so lucky to work on one of HKA’s yummiest accounts, Xan Confections. I couldn’t tell you why, but I’m certainly not complaining! The chocolates and caramels that Xan produces are the BEST I have ever tasted. From the 29-calorie Saintly Sins to the massive masterpieces known as the Big Mouths, Xan Confections has truly won my heart.

I wanted to share these treats with my family, who I get to see about twice a year, and so I stocked up at Whole Foods before going home on my most recent visit. My Grandma, who is diabetic, loved the low-glycemic Saintly Sins. These truly incredible little morsels are made of the finest chocolate encasing pineapple, strawberry, or raspberry fruit purees – sweetened with organic blue agave nectar – NOT sugar. My mom loved the Jewel Collection - delicate, decadent chocolate gems encasing Xan’s signature soft caramel while retaining the healthful qualities of being vegan and gluten-free. And I got to see my dad, who rarely eats chocolate due to his high cholesterol and other medical issues, quietly enjoying the Honey Truffle, made of raw eucalyptus honey blended with dark 45% Swiss milk chocolate. He really liked that one – and it meant a lot to see him enjoying a sweet treat. I know what I’ll be putting in his stocking this Christmas.

Family is important to the people at Xan too. Susan Johnson, President of both Xan Confections and Susan’s Healthy Gourmet, named the company after her three grandchildren by using the last letter of each of their first names: JaX, HelenA and BeN. Not to be left out, little George came along this past summer and inspired the new LadybuG Truffles. And the Big Mouth Collection is lovingly named after Morton Downey Jr., the father of Xan chocolatier Tracey Downey, and a famed talk show host who was nicknamed “Mort the Mouth.”

As we start thinking about what to get our friends and family for Christmas this year,  Xan Confections is a gift to keep in mind. They have truly mastered the art of exceptional chocolate, and don’t leave anyone out – dietary restrictions or not. I know they’re going to be a big hit under my family’s Christmas tree this year… even Santa might find chocolates instead of cookies on the fireplace! Xan Confections truly has something for everyone.

Keep up with Xan Confections on Twitter and Facebook

HKA Turns 25 Through the Eyes of Melissa Rivers

Interviewing guests on the exclusive red carpet was a dream of mine since I watched my first Oscar pre-show at age 10.  Joan Rivers would ask celebrities questions that we would all think in our head but never dream of asking out loud.  Before the Botox injections and facial remold, Joan was natural and attractive but it was the in-your-face, New Yorker interview style that made her a household name.  I often envisioned myself as her sidekick, using my hairbrush as a microphone, asking questions to the mirror, bantering back and forth with her.  When I graduated from college and entered the Hollywood scene, the red carpet became my obsession.  Working at the Leeza Show catapulted me into a whole new realm where I rubbed elbows with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Patty Labelle and Jennifer Lopez.  As I facilitated their appearances on the show, I envisioned all of the questions Joan and I would ask and how we would comment on their style and appearance while relaying the latest gossip.  Little did I know that my dream would unravel on the length of a blue carpet where I would join a Joan replica in interviewing guests who were coming to honor a phenomenal woman celebrating 25 years in business: my boss, Hilary Kaye.

On August 21^st, I was transformed into a bold brunette with long eyelashes and an East Coast accent.  Not only was I Joan’s sidekick, I was her daughter, Melissa Rivers. As I looked at the people lined up to be interviewed I recognized many movers and shakers in Orange County.  As Joan and I pushed the microphone into each of their faces they were beaming, not because they were on camera but because they were excited to recognize Hilary as someone who epitomized humility, character and integrity in the corporate arena.  These traits are a far cry from the qualities found in the heart of Hollywood.  It was then I realized the significance of this milestone and how Hilary had impacted so many lives.  All the glitz and glamour of the paparazzi taking pictures paled in comparison to the snapshots provided by those who wanted to share their heart about who she is and what she meant to them.  Susan Belknapp, assistant editor of OC Metro and OC Family said, “Hilary sets the bar so high that it is hard to rise to it.”  “Without Hilary Kaye where would any of us be?” shared Karen Gifford, president of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).  Stepping into the role of Melissa Rivers was more profound than I had originally envisioned, and the cast of figures I got to interview alongside Joan surpassed my expectations.  The HKA 25-year anniversary was more than a celebration; it was a reflection of 25 years of hard work, dedication and consistency.  It was through the lens of Melissa Rivers that I caught a true glimpse of the woman who I know as my boss.

Well hello there, Peter Shankman!

Robyn, Peter Shankman, and Mari: HKA's latest brush with celebrity

To anyone in the PR world, Peter Shankman is probably a familiar name, if only for the HARO emails he peppers our inboxes with each day. His Help A Reporter Out email venture, which provides the useful service of bringing an aggregation of reporter queries directly to PR people on a mass scale, is only the very tip of the Shankman iceberg. In fact, as Robyn and I learned yesterday, icebergs actually played a role in making Peter Shankman who he is today.

“It Sank. Get Over It.”

To those of us who were blubbering, emotional preteen girls at the time the epic film Titanic came out, this phrase might not have resonated so well. But to the rest of the world, especially the segment who was underwhelmed with the Titanic mania that engulfed the planet circa 1997, “It Sank, Get Over It” probably reflected their sentiments exactly. As a young guy living in New York City, Peter took his rent money and used it to print up 500 T-shirts emblazoned with this slogan. He sold out  in six hours. And as if that wasn’t great enough, after contacting a reporter from USA Today about his idea and building a super-primitive sales website, he sold over 5,000 of the shirts at $15 each, making $100,000 which he used to start his own PR firm, The Geek Factory.

Why didn’t I think of that.

What makes Peter Shankman such a wunderkind in the PR world today is precisely this, and a collection of experiences much like this, that mix innovative thinking with refreshing simplicity in a way that is nothing short of brilliant. His free HARO email service, which is subsidized by advertising and is said to be worth about $1 million per year in revenues, is the perfect illustration.

This is why Robyn and I, and hundreds of other PR professionals, gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach yesterday to hear Peter Shankman’s insights into social media, which he quickly characterized a “way to screw up quicker and to  much larger scale.” In the midst of the fascinating stories and observations of this self-described ADD-boy, several particularly interesting insights emerged.

1) Transparency is key. Google has changed the tradition of a lack of transparency in big business with its ability to make fact-finding an everyman operation, and social media only compounds this. If you screw up, admit it and move on. And DON’T be like Motrin, who shockingly took 18 hours to respond to the flurry of negative Twitter activity it sparked by an ad that offended the massive online community of babywearing moms.

2) Listen to your audience. If you’re not distributing the information in the way they want to receive it, then they are not going to come out to you to get it. And don’t Tweet another Tweet until you’ve analyzed if what you’re saying is relevant to your audience. The job of the PR person has changed; it’s now our job to get other people to do our PR work for us. By utilizing social media in the proper way, we are convincing people that what we have is worth them talking about, and that is what creates the kind of buzz that we are constantly trying to achieve.

3) Lastly, brevity, something I have outright failed at in this particular post (too much good info to share!), is an important piece of communication today. The MTV generation has an attention span of about three minutes– about the time it took to watch a music video, back when music videos and MTV actually had something to do with each other. But today’s generation, and don’t laugh, has an attention span of about 140 characters, literally. That’s right, the 2.7 seconds it takes to read one 140-character Tweet on Twitter is about all we have to give as we filter the more than 16,000 hits of information that compete for our time today. For us PR-types, this means that in writing a pitch or a press release, or in trying to be persuasive over the phone, we’ve got about 2.7 second to hook the other party’s attention, or we’re done.

Although Robyn and I got our exercise for the day chasing Shankman down for this photo, it was definitely the cherry on top of the sundae that was the privilege of being there and hearing him speak.  Creative thinkers like him tend to inspire creativity in others, and while one of us HKA-ers may or may not have the next flash of genius for a T-shirt slogan, we will definitely be able to make better use of the online and social media resources that are at our disposal.

What I learned from Columbine

It was 10 years ago today that I was on a plane bound for Denver to cover the Columbine shootings for the Leeza Show, a news-reactive talk show that aired on NBC for seven years. As a young 20-something, my aspirations to be a broadcast reporter cultivated my thirst to cover news, something the show’s executive team allowed me to pursue on a national scale.

 

As the horrifying news of the shots being fired at Columbine High School hit the airwaves, I was running out to catch a plane, landing 5 hours later with only a backpack, Hi-8 camera and a notepad.  As I got off the plane, I sprang into action, catching a ride to Littleton with a local camera crew from San Diego.  As we loaded the car, I quickly realized the reality of my “rookie” ways as they loaded high-tech cameras, monitors and microphones along with extensive luggage, ready to set up shop for a week. Looking back, I should’ve done the same.  Nevertheless, I was on my way to cover a big-time story that would forever leave an imprint on the way I covered future news events.

 

It was dark when I got to the school, and actually pretty quiet, with one satellite truck standing in the distance. I beamed with excitement when I saw the NBC imprint with the peacock on the side. I quickly befriended the editor inside and touched base with the producer in LA, who frantically wanted updates that I didn’t have.  She said, “You want to be a reporter, then go get the story, find out Who, What, When, Where and How, and do it fast!” 

 

On my own, I found a ride to the nearby elementary school that was serving as a refuge for many of the students and families who were reeling from the shock. I started asking questions and talking to people to glean information.  My job was to secure interviews with students and parents and those directly impacted by the tragedy.  It was there I met a young man who was friends with Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters who embarked on this bloody massacre. This young man had been a member of the Trenchcoat Mafia, a group of outcasts that Harris and Klebold were a part of.  He said he was not surprised by their violent outburst that had been building for some time. I knew immediately that I had a strong interview subject and made arrangements for him to appear in a satellite interview with Leeza.

 

I could hardly sleep that night thinking of the events that unraveled earlier that day and how I was going to cover the heartbeat of this tragedy that was not only impacting the Columbine community, but the entire world. The next day I woke up to one of the most profound interviews I have ever watched. Katie Couric was seated next to Craig Scott and Isaiah Shoel’s father, who were holding hands in an emotionally charged exchange. The on-air segment captured the grief, sadness and shock the two were experiencing after losing a sister and a son.

 

I was overwhelmed after arriving at Columbine High later that morning. The scene had transformed from a quiet episode of grief to a circus of satellite trucks that were lined up as far as I could see. An area on the baseball field had been roped off for the media, and everyone was scrambling to capture the story. Fortunately, I was inconspicuous with my backpack, young appearance and small hi-8 camera, and was able to break through the perimeter. At around noon, the students gathered around Rachel Scott’s car, the beloved 17-year-old girl who was the first victim and allegedly served as target because of her Christian beliefs. With acoustic guitars playing and students singing, the car was swarmed with those who wanted to pour out their tears, recognizing the tremendous impact this girl had made on their lives. I watched as journalists observed behind their marked perimeter, most of them untouched by the emotional scene before them. As I stood watching, I noticed many of the reporters laughing with each other, wrapped up in their own conversations, separated from the harsh reality of one of the deadliest shooting rampages in U.S. history. It was then that I vowed to never become immune to the human experience, and when I did, it was time to depart the world of news.

 

After spending the week setting up interviews, shooting b-roll and giving live reports, it was time to head home. As the adrenaline from covering the story evaporated and I sat on the floor of the Denver airport reliving the horrific events, depression set in. I was completely drained and depleted, trying to put a toe in the shoes of those who lost so much, so quickly. You see, Columbine was a middle-class, safe environment with a strong Christian community much like the area where I grew up in Huntington Beach. The massacre that killed 12 students and a teacher was unforeseen, something that was not even imagined in their worst nightmares.

 

Since that time, I have helped produce many talk and reality shows, worked as a broadcast reporter on the Texas/Mexico border and dedicated my time marketing for a security consulting firm before joining HKA. The events of that day have guided my ability to execute interviews, cover stories and produce segments in a more profound way, allowing me to interact with those on the receiving end with compassion, never losing sight of their experience and how it is impacting them. It was 10 years ago today that I remember those whose lives were taken, and reflect on how it has changed me as a professional, and more importantly, as a person.

Room on the Bus for More

I think most people would raise their hands when asked, “Who in this room is ethical?” Sure, there are varying degrees of ethical behavior and integrity, but I believe the average Joe or Jane sees himself or herself as acting ethically.

That’s why it felt so strange when Russ Williams, the leader of Ethical Edge and someone who has spent his lifetime studying and encouraging ethical behavior, called me in January and asked me to be one of the first people he would interview on the topic of ethics.

I was surprised and asked, why me? I’m no different. True, I received the 2008 Ethics in Business Award and was very proud to be so honored. I was thrilled to share the stage with four fellow recipients who clearly were the epitome of ethics. And even then, I asked, why me?

Well, Russ was persistent, not taking no for an answer, and so I shyly agreed to be interviewed and have the resulting interview podcast for all to hear. Of course, I knew “all” was possibly a small audience and this was somewhat reassuring.

This morning, I grabbed a cup of java, settled back in my office chair and forced myself to listen to the just-posted podcast – the first five are now live on Russ’s Ethical Edge site. ( I’m in good company, with podcasts from Ed Arnold, Lew Webb, Brandy Birtcher and Richard Porras.

Hilary and Russ exchange ethical thoughts for podcast

It’s tough to listen to yourself. Period. It’s even tougher to listen to yourself talking about ethics and integrity. But I was surprised that it did sound like me. I’m not a silver-tongued speaker and will never be, despite my Toastmaster Club’s encouragement. I think both Russ and I got a little more relaxed as we went, so the last half is better than the beginning. At least that’s my take on it. And the conversation hit on topics I think are critical. Kudos to Russ for continuing to rally our individual and collective consciences in the matter of ethics.

When you have a minute, click here and take a quick listen. Then, think about how you, too, are living a life of ethical behavior, as well as ways in which we ALL can improve. And if you are interested in helping Russ in his quest to bring this topic clearly into the light, get in touch with him. Plenty of room on this particular bus.