Keeping your cool in the summer

• July 23, 2008

By Danny Sullivan

Summer is great – the sun is out (even here in Glasgow), the barbecues are sizzling and the holiday feeling is everywhere. We might be facing an economic downturn, but the people will be damned if they’ll let it prevent them taking their summer break!

Of course, the holiday vibe can make things a bit challenging for those back in the office, especially for PR folk, who depend so much on stakeholder responses to help move projects forward. July and August can be a time when the best laid PR plans can end up being thrown out the window as a key spokesperson, reporter or analyst zooms off for a well-earned break, leaving a germinating news release or story pitch floating in limbo until their return.

But just because your most pressing work item has stalled, there must be other things that you can turn your attention to this summer. Here are a few that spring to mind:

– Look beyond the current stage in the process, is there work that can be addressed that is not dependent on your stalled step? Dealing with future items now will help things breeze through when things get moving again.

– Water the plants. Summer isn’t fun for everyone.

– Start looking towards the inevitably manic period that will occur in the September/October timeframe. Whatever preparations you make now will help you cope with the whirlwind that is to come.

– Buy ice cream for your colleagues and bring a bit of summer into the office.

– Use the time to get in touch with some of your key media contacts that you haven’t had time to chat with for a while. While they may also be away, there’s a good chance you’ll catch a few of them in the office, and these conversations can often yield some interesting opportunities.

– If you’re having meetings, why not try and arrange to have them at an outside location? Seems a shame to be stuck in meeting rooms when the sun is beating down outside.

– Develop some kick-ass pitches. Revisiting messaging and coming up with some new story ideas is always a good thing to do, especially if you have a little extra time on your hands.

– Write a blog post about it. Nuff said, really!