Bal Harbour Shops was recently featured in the Miami Herald business section. Highlighted for their luxury retailers and exclusive shopping experience, Bal Harbour Shops is one of the country’s top shopping centers.

Bal Harbour operating partner, Matthew Wintman Lanzenby, took this excellent opportunity to speak about the recent changes and expansions Bal Harbour Shops is making. Visitors from around the world will find several new tenants opening their stores at Bal Harbour, including Balenciaga, Breguet, CH Carolina Herrera, Panerai, La Perla and Stella McCartney. And more are on the way including Moncler, Canali and Alexander McQueen.

“Invariably it will be our best year of all time,” Lazenby said. “Some tenants are up as much as 100 percent.”

Since its opening in 1965, Bal Harbour’s sales per square foot have increased every year – only exceptions were in 2001 after the 9-11 attacks and during the recession in 2009.

What’s worse than being a liar? Falsely – and knowingly – accusing someone else of being one.

Completely unconnected yet intrinsically linked, both Penn State and Syracuse universities are under fire for child molestation charges surrounding athletic coaches.  While the charges against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky have been hovering publicly over the university for weeks, the allegations against Big Orange’s associate head basketball coach, Bernie Fine, surfaced just Sunday night.

Both universities have done a poor job handling media relations – and both have used possibly the worst public relations move in the books: Accusing the accusers, without a shred of supporting evidence.

When the charges against Fine initially were brought to light, Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim was anything but sympathetic to the three alleged victims who came forward. He called them “liars” in the media and accused them of just being out for the money. Similarly, now-former Penn State University President Graham Spanier implied in his media release that the victims in Sandusky’s case were lying: “I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless,” he wrote.

Besides being boldly insensitive, it was a big mistake.

In both situations, the price is high for covering-up information and completely disregarding victims’ legitimate allegations. Yet one school is learning from the other’s blunders. While Penn State foot-dragged and cancelled press conferences, Syracuse has been proactive in its crisis communications plan. For that, it should be commended.  In an effort not to repeat the serious lapses of Penn State — and after seeing Spainer lose his job — Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor has taken the right steps to uncover the cover-up.

In a release Sunday night, the school announced upfront and outright, “At the direction of Chancellor Cantor, Bernie Fine’s employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately.” No games. No deflections of blame. No cover-ups. And Cantor wants you to know this is under her order.

As a Sports Illustrated column so eloquently explains, “Syracuse is learning a lesson from Penn State, a lesson that every university and major institution needs to learn: When an accusation like this hits you, don’t hit back.  And the best way to protect yourself is not to look like you’re protecting yourself at all.”

And that’s no lie.

Last week’s “Hollywood Welcomes the Stars” event marked another huge success for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. More than 400 people gathered at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hallandale Beach to raise money for after-school programs. In addition to a cocktail party, dinner, and silent and live auction items, attendees also had a chance to mingle with local celebs and enjoy an unpugged performance by Grammy Award Winner, Jon Secada.

Boardroom Account Executives also attended the event after months of preparing. We were able to secure pre- and  post event media coverage while putting the spotlight on the importance of The Boys & Girls Clubs in our communities.

Much already has been written about Steve Jobs – his marketing genius, his control of public relations, his ability to skillfully meld the products he created with a pent-up consumer demand for those products (or so we thought once his products were released).

That was the brilliance of Jobs. To paraphrase something he once said, “It isn’t up to consumers to know what they want. It’s up to us to tell them.”

Steven Jobs was one of those transformative inventors who comes along once every few generations. Perhaps it is a testament to how much he touched so many that – as President Barack Obama commented – so many learned of Jobs’ passing on a device he had invented.

He was also a public relations and marketing mastermind. His retail success came from creating powerful products backed by the buzz that made people feel they must have those devices. Apple’s iMac, iPod, iPad and iPhone wowed audiences when revealed in grand on-stage debuts – with Jobs as the emcee. Journalists were awed, and their articles reflected their amazement.

And we consumers bit – hard.

Apple didn’t need “traditional” consumer electronics marketing. The company consistently avoids major announcement hubs like the Consumer Electronics Show, notes PRdaily. He launched the hype – and sustained it.

Most (dare we say All-But-Apple) cannot afford to sidestep the major events. We bend over backwards to please our patrons, and play the retail merchandising game the way the industry has created it. Yet Jobs’ prowess in product development showed us that the brand dictates the trend – and not vice versa.

By developing one-of-a-kind products with unique messages to match, marrying art and technology in a way we’ve never seen before, Jobs dominated the technology industry. As the article explains, many described Apple products as “funky” and “snazzy,” showing their appreciation for the visual appearance of the tech.

Steve Jobs was quoted once as having said, “The customer is not right, I am.” Masterfully brilliant, unabashed in his view of the world, in every essence of the word, Steve Jobs – in his jeans and black, mock-turtleneck – didn’t just sell us things. He sold us dreams.

And if you were listening, he sold us a new roadmap to successful marketing.

“The time for putting party first is over. If you want to see a bipartisan #compromise, let Congress know. Call. Email. Tweet.” –BO

BO, our Buddy Ol’ pal, our Best (presiding) Officer— Barack Obama himself tweeting YOU to make a difference and take charge in the debt ceiling issue.

This was just one of the over 100 tweets spewed out from Barack Obama’s twitter account on Friday, August 1, 2011, pleading tweeters of all parties—all 9 million of his followers—to poke and prod at Republican legislators through any and every form of media in hopes of their surrender, and eventual compromise.

According to CBS News, New York Times reporter Brian Stelter said that White House Communications director Dan Pfeiffer truly believes the tweet blitz helped force Congress to come to some form of agreement, Obama lost over 36,000 followers on Twitter, and angry Republicans accused the White House of spamming.

Obama has been a social media maverick all along, using tools like Facebook to capture voters in his presidential campaign before Twitter was even born. Although this tweeting may have influenced the end decision, our buddy BO leaves us with some questions: Is twitter really powerful enough to sway a congressional debate?  And most importantly, does BO use Tweetdeck?

Obama’s loss of 36,000 followers is trivial in comparison to his 9 million loyal disciples; but if he keeps churning out tweets thinking he’s Justin Bieber, he could be at risk for losing many more. Though twitter is a new, hip platform: media is media. People don’t like being bombarded with messages from companies about promotions and special features 24/7; they become less special that way.

If Obama, or any firm for that matter, wants to keep up interest, they should send their messages—whether sent via snail mail, an electronic newsletter, Facebook post, or tweet— more sparingly to truly make them count.When using social media,  don’t  over tweet or put out more than one status or email blast a day.  It lessens the importance  of your message and eventually followers might just press delete or take themselves off the mailing list – and your messages will be lost altogether, forever.

It’s important to be strategic about sending out messages regarding your company. For CEOs, partners, and those with something to say, be smart about it. Keep those interested informed without attacking them with news. For Obama, it’s great that you’re using social media- but slow down there Mr. President! And get back to doing more important things, like getting us jobs!

Just when you thought social media wasn’t pervasive enough, Google has launched “The Google Plus Project”- their take on the networking frenzy. Though as the recent Miami Herald article explains, “For now, Google+ is for social media geeks,” the week-old site is still running on an exclusive basis— only dolling out limited invitations so they can continue to work out the kinks— many believe Facebook may have a run for its money. If G+ is successful, it could be the first real competitor for Facebook in terms of both users and advertisers.

G+ works on the simple premise of combining Facebook and Twitter while cracking down on privacy settings. With the site, you can compile your friends into “Circles” so you have more control over what you’re sharing and with whom. For example, “Co-workers” “Friends” and “Family” can now all be grouped separately, so you don’t have to share your family reunion photos with your boss or your bachelorette party pictures with your grandparents. The only person who can see your Circles is you, which is a big plus for those interested in having more privacy. Like Twitter, people don’t have to agree to be friends to see your feed of activity, but there is much more control over who sees a post than on Twitter. Unlike Twitter, you can disable other users from sharing a post you made— another attempt at beefing up privacy.

But there’s more to Google+ than just these circles. With the “Hangout” feature, you can instantly create a video chat room with up to ten of your friends, and you can also alert certain groups of friends as to when you’re hanging out. The “Sparks” feature gives you a continuous newsfeed that relates to specific keywords you choose. “Instant Uploads” automatically posts pictures and videos from your mobile device into a private album. From there, you can decide where to place the photos. And “Huddle” is a group texting device, so you can save time and text all of your friends at once in a group chat situation.

Stay tuned for “addition”-al information on the Plus Project. If the hundreds of millions of people with Google accounts take a liking to the sleek site and advertisers follow suit, G+ could be the next great social media tool on the Web.

The Greater Miami Attorney at Law Magazine recently shed light on marketing techniques used by top rainmakers. The article explains that effective marketing requires time, money and advanced planning. In the article, Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, suggests 4 strategies that have proven to been extremely successful and may even double the firm’s revenues.

Strategy 1: Build Relationships with Strategic Referral Partners (SRPs)

SRPs are people who already have relationships with people you want as potential clients. For example if you practice business law, possible referral partners would be accountants, local bankers, financial planners, insurance agencies, etc. You should first identify several professions or industries that already have trusted relationships with your target market.  Then build or buy a database of potential referral sources. Always focus on refining your unique competitive advantage, what makes you stand out? Next, create a form letter that includes who you work with, how you’re different and a personal invitation to set up a meeting to determine if you can work together. It’s suggested to send at least 10 to 20 letters per week. Be sure to follow up and have questions prepared to let them know you are interested in building a mutually beneficial referral relationship.

Strategy 2: Build a Powerful Online Presence

Having a great website is crucial to your law practice. Many potential clients will research you before hiring you. To make sure your website stands out from other law firms, hire a professional to help you.

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On Friday, June 3, 2011, Don Silver, COO of Boardroom Communications, will be the guest speaker at the Broward County Bar Association’s Breakfast for Bloggers event. The event titled, “What Should I say on My Blog?”, will provide ideas that will help bloggers build his or her audience, attract prospective clients, and gain media attention. With Don’s 25 years of successful public relations and marketing experience, he will defiantly have helpful tips for getting your personal or business blog up and running.

Don has been published extensively in local newspapers and in state and national trade journals. He is a frequent speaker on topics ranging from crisis management and public relations to marketing, new business development and community relations. His innovative ideas have proven to be successful for many of  his clients and he is always ready to provide helpful tips for getting your buisness noticed.

The event is free to BCBA members and $25.00 to non-members. It will take place at the Norma B. Howard Center, 1051 S.E. 3rd Ave., in Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast will be served.   

To register visit www.browardbar.org or contact Traci Lewis at (954)832-3618 or traci@browardbar.org.

Hope to see you there!

The debate over using one’s personal social media outlets to promote client events or activities remains an ongoing topic in PR circles.  Those on the pro side argue that social media has already blended our work, social lives, personal and professional contacts anyway. While those opposed like to keep their personal and work lives separate and don’t want to barrage friends and family with impersonal work updates. 

Whichever side you fall on, it helps to keep a few tips in mind when talking about clients and their achievements on your social media, so that you don’t find yourself unfriended by half of your contacts.

1. Limit client updates and event invitations to a few a week. Let’s face it, your friends friended you, not your entire client roster.  It’s great to be proud of your and your clients’ work, but people will quickly grow tired of hearing you crow about someone who, in all likelihood, they have never met.
2. Don’t hit up friends or family for business for your client or try to solicit money for their causes.  If it is a client’s 5K event that you are participating in, for example, be sure to stress your participation.  It’s great to help your client bring in business, and if you think a Facebook friend would be good for a client’s business, arrange a personal introduction. Then step away.
3. Don’t clog up news feeds with 770 photos of a client event.  Be choosy-pick your 5 favorites.  Preferably some with bigwigs or celebrities in them to keep it of general interest.  No one, not even homebound shut-ins, would care enough to scroll through 770 photos anyway.
4. If you have friended clients, don’t ever, ever EVER complain about other clients (even if they aren’t friends), bosses or coworkers-this seems obvious, but it bears repeating.  At the least, you could end up with hurt feelings and at worst, you could end up fired. It isn’t professional, anyway.

 The blending of our social and professional lives is creating a brave new social media world. So let’s be careful out there.

On Wednesday, May 25, the South Florida City Group of the Legal Marketing Association, Southeast Chapter will be hosting a meeting on an important topic affecting law firms and legal marketers, strategies for coaching attorneys in new business development. The meeting, graciously hosted by Berger Singerman, is in the community room of 350 E. Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale from 11:30-1 p.m.

Tracy LaLonde, Partner at Akina Corporation, will discuss such topics as how to get buy-in from the attorneys, what coaching methods are effective for coaching attorneys, how do you help interested attorneys take it to the next level and how do you motivate attorneys who might be resistant or difficult? This meeting will provide a high level framework for business development and specific tactics for coaching attorneys.

For more information on the event or to RSVP, please contact Jennifer Clarin at jclarin@boardroompr.com or (954) 370-8999, or via SurveyMonkey, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/K8LRDG5..  The event is $20 for LMA members and $40 for non-members.

We look forward to seeing you on May 25!