ALL THE NEW RESTAURANTS DOWNTOWN WEST PALM BEACH

Eleven businesses in Downtown West Palm Beach have opened in the fiscal year of 2016 with seven others in production. This may seem like a lot, but it is actually right on schedule with Downtown West Palm Beach previous years.
 
The new businesses in Downtown West Palm Beach are:
·  Amazing Feet
·  Phenix Salon
·  Got Ink
·  Picnic Fashionista
·  Fetch Palm Beach
·  Johan’s Joe Cafe and Coffee Shop
·  HotelPlanner.com
·  Fitness Hub
·  Dorian’s Red Hand
·  Jardin
·  Banko Cantina Nationally

$4 Billion sale

Largest sale in sports history
 

In 2014 former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer became the new owner of the Los Angeles Clippers. Ballmer would pay a record $2 Billion for the NBA Franchise, most ever for any sport. In 2000 UFC was purchased for $2 million, and in 2016 is now sold for a record $4 Billion dollars. News of the record breaking sale was announced by William Morris Endeavor & International Management Group. The new owners make up a partnership of WME (William Morris Endeavor), IMG (International Management Group), MSD Capital, and KKR global investment firm.The Abu Dhabi government’s Flash Entertainment (Zuffa LLC) still owns 10 percent of UFC. 

In the last decade UFC has become a global force in the sports world. Last year alone UFC generated an estimated $600 million in revenue while attracting a growing audience of millennials. Millennials make up the most coveted demographic advertisers and TV networks. UFC fights are shown in more than 156 countries and its events are the top sellers on pay-per-view TV.

Public Relations?

Build Relationships

Identify your target audience. Where do they go? Develop a relationship with them. In the same breath of relationships, value your customers feedback, positive or negative. 

---

What is going on in the media?

Some may not have a problem with this one, but if you are like me, time is something very hard to find, and I have to make it a point to check out social media, exploring new events, offers and trending topics. You could find bloggers, reporters etc who write about specific industries. Who are they? Write them an email, invite them to one of your events, nurture these relationships. 

---

Clickworthy Content

Write about something interesting. Period. 
 

---

Stand out

As a business, it needs to stand out. Look at your logo. Your website. Does it stand out? Connect to your target audience, not only as a business, but as a person. Follow other companies, maybe not your competitors, but you get the idea. 

---

What is working? What is not working?

Some techniques work for some businesses and some do not, always evaluate what is working and what is not working. If you are not going to hire a PR team, at least have a plan. Adjust what is working and what is not working and move on. 
 

The Olympic Size Rio PR Disaster

 There has been nothing but horrible reportings from Rio. 

• mosquito-borne Zika virus

• unpaid policemen at the airport greeting visitors with a sign “Welcome to Hell” 

• overcrowded hospitals not taking patients

• body parts in the water

• drug dealers in favelas selling drugs with Olympic rings on the packaging

• new bike paths falling apart and killing cyclists

• incomplete subway lines

• a fire forcing the Australian Olympic team robbed while evacuating 

At some point, yes these all were true, but have been ridiculously repeated and exaggerated. 

One writer traveled to Rio off of his own penny:

"E. M. Swift Cognoscenti contributor
E.M. Swift wrote for Sports Illustrated between 1978 and 2010, covering a wide range of sports but specializing in the Olympics. He is now a freelance writer." 

Swift has nothing but good things to say about what is going on in Rio.

Swift writes, "It’s a shame. In four days I literally haven’t seen a mosquito, despite tempting fate with a three hour hike through a mountain jungle and dinner at an outdoor cafe."

He hasn't seen a mosquito, people are nice,  he feels safe and the beaches are stunning. It is a shame. He writes how the tickets are very affordable, however some of the pricier tickets are still up for grabs, probably due to the bad media coverage/lack of PR, meaning the corporate big dogs are staying away, but the locals are supporting it. 

I used to want to be one of the newscasters, to report the good that is going on in the world, however, even when something positive happens, the media tends to put on a negative twist. They are also told what to say, so for me to be a newscaster, I would need my own station. 

Have you every counted on what the media is reporting? Make a tally on the positive and negative for one hour. I will give you a high five if you can get the positive column up to 5. 

I understand negative things happen, every second of the day, but why does it need to be dwelled on and repeated 39,443,645,432 times. 

What happened to focusing on the positive, and more positive things shall come? 

I hope to one day have a station that reports the truth and the positive things going on in the world, sometimes you may just have to look a little harder, or see for yourself, as Swift has done with the Olympics in Rio. High five Swift. 

See his full article here: http://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2016/08/02/rio-olympics-bad-press-2016-e-m-swift

ESPN HAS SMART PR

In case you haven't heard, Curt Schilling, an ESPN analyst was fired last week. With three World Series rings, 200-plus wins, 3,000+ strikeouts, and most likely on his way to the Hall of Fame, he was one heck of  pitcher, to say the least, but I will say more. 

He has made many comments that have attracted negative press. And yes, there such a thing as negative press. Be careful what you put on Facebook. If you are in the professional world, at all, do not say anything on your social media that you would not say in front of a conference of your top 10 idols.  

“A man is a man no matter what they call themselves. I don’t care what they are, who they sleep with, men’s room was designed for the penis, women’s not so much. Now you need laws telling us differently? Pathetic.” -Curt Schilling

Statements like this should not be made public. It would be rainbows and glitter if they were not said at all, but that is not the world we live in today. Most of us our very opinionated, public and social, yet it is a daily struggle for those fighting for equality and acceptance. 

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"- who said it?

I think we all know some people that should take this advice, I know my sister wanted to punch me in the face after quoting Thumper a few times. This doesn't mean to keep your opinions to yourself, but feel free to keep the mean and judgmental opinions to yourself. 

How are we supposed to make the world a better place with comments like Schilling?

Words can hurt. 

They can cause people pain, lead to self-harm or even suicide. 

You could be thinking, well it's not that bad, a man is a man, but it should be said this is not the first time Schilling made a chilling comment. There have been many comments relating to xenophobia, homophobia and racism.

ESPN has been criticized,  yelling, “freedom of speech!” and that Schilling being fired is an example of our forever increasing “politically correct culture.”

I do believe in freedom of speech, however, I also believe we should refrain from comments that are hurtful. 

In the case of ESPN, this is negative press, and if you want good pr, this is not the type of press one aims for. Yes, "Freedom of speech!" However, ESPN is not a government agency, it is a private organization and Freedom of speech applies to the government allowing its citizens to say what they want without consequence.

You may still think the comment isn't worth being fired over, but you may have second thoughts if he was on your payroll of one of the largest watched networks.

Is the statement controversial? without a doubt. 

ESPN made a good PR move, and I have a theory. 

I bet somewhere in that contract with ESPN, it says to shy from controversial statements on social media. 

I back up this theory with evidence. 

Remember that string of domestic violence incidents last year? Bill Simmons and Keith Olbermann were canned after criticizing the NFL for not doing enough. 

Even though I am completely against domestic violence, this goes to show, if you ever get signed with ESPN, try not to have any opinions, or at least, try not to say them out loud, hence why I do not work for ESPN, that being the only reason.