Merry Christmas

Ah, the rush of Christmas is done. I have to admit that I was one of the crazy people at the mall yesterday picking up last minute gifts. Seems while I had in mind what I was going to get for people, I never actually made it to the store to buy it. Thankfully I realized this fact as I awoke yesterday morning or today could have been a very different kind of day.

Anyway, I was thinking about creating a list of public relations winners and losers this Christmas season:

Biggest Winner: Hawaii Charities. You didn’t need to be psychic to know that charities like Toys for Tots, FoodBank, etc, would be hurting this year. The economy hurts the ones at the bottom the most. But they were crafty little pr folks. When donations were falling short, they headed to the media. The newspapers ran stories about how Toys for Tots, the Hawaii Food Bank and Lanakila were having trouble making their budgets stretch far enough to help their clients and, like magic, people stepped to the plate.

Two days after the stories ran, new stories took their place. These stories chronicled grand donations and news that the charities now were able to continue their good work because they received enough donations to carry on.

They showed excellent public relations acuity. Get the word out, use the emotions of the holidays, and know that no matter how much personal difficulty the public is facing, they will always step to the plate for someone less fortunate.

It reminds me of the story about the two girls whose church did a fundraising drive to provide daily living needs for a “needy family.” While they did not have much to donate, they did their best, went door to door and got many donations from others for the drive. Then the church turned around and gave the collections to the girls’ family. They had no idea that they were the “needy family.” They only knew that they were going to help someone less fortunate.

So let’s get onto the biggest losers of the Christmas season.

The merchants. No matter how they tried to get into the media with good stories, it always came off sounding whiny and a little desperate.

Lokahi Tree, The Spirit of the Advertiser, etc. I probably missed some, but you know these. They’re the ones you see in the media or in the mall every year. Some needy family/person talks about their circumstances and asks for a specific donation. There are some heartwarming stories to be sure, but there are some that make you feel not so sympathetic. Doesn’t anyone screen these prior to publication? These efforts, while noble, need to be revamped to be effective. We’ve seen the same thing for 10 years. We’re desensitized so it doesn’t have the same impact anymore.

And a little rant on this subject. I was at the mall and figured I would purchase a gift for a charity person. There was a big Christmas tree with tags hanging down. You read the tag, learned about the circumstances and what the person wanted. I was floored to see that they were asking for things like Wii and XBox consoles, DVD players, computers, etc. What happened to asking for a doll, some clothes, etc.? I don’t even buy those things for my nieces and nephews!

Alright. Rant done. Here’s wishing all of us a special and memorable holiday season.