For Immediate Release

I'm about to break a lot of rules here in terms of professionalism, but, then again, I'm not someone who adheres to many rules. I believe public relations - really, communication in general - at its core is about transparency and honesty, and one of the things I love about this field so much is the freedom it really gives me to listen to, and follow my heart.

When I started Page Foor, I had some big hopes for this space. I wanted it to be a place where I could talk about the love I have for my field, and talk about my theories for the practice of communication. I wanted to educate people about PR so they could use it to grow their businesses. I wanted to talk about things like pageant coaching, and football, and how to treat interns in a way that made sense to me. I also wanted to use this space to encourage conversation about our profession so that I could learn and grow as a publicist.

I had an editorial calendar, a marketing plan, and to this day, I have dozens of posts that were never posted sitting on my hard drive.

So, why didn't I use this blog like I intended?

Because I resented it. To a degree, I still do. Long story short, my (now ex) husband cursed this blog, literally, from day one. The Saturday it went live, I woke up early in the morning psyched to get started on developing content. I made a pot of coffee and I started typing furiously, and this man came down stairs and said I was ruining his life because I was spending mine in front of a computer. I guess he didn't get the memo that he was married a writer... anyway...

After that, I never wanted to post here. It never felt right. Part of it was because I felt like I was being selfish for wanting to - for doing something my spouse didn't support. More so, however, I think it's because of the name.

Foor was my married name, and, after a lot of thinking now that our divorce is final, I've decided it's not a name I am going to keep.

I had intended to, but, there was something major that happened at the end of the proceedings that really made me question whether I wanted to be associated with him at all. I won't go into that... not because I'm trying to be ethical, but because I wrote an essay about the experience that I really, REALLY hope will be published in the Modern Love section of the New York Times. (He'll know loud and clear that he married a writer in that event. Conniving? Perhaps. I like to think divorce is a get-out-of-jail free card for psychosis. Deal with it.)

Ultimately though, the deciding factor for the name change was my novel. Amazing how I can't blog, but I can write fiction. I've been working on this baby for over two years, and now, said novel is complete, and I'm investing a lot of time into revisions and looking for a literary agent (HINT). The further I get in the process of actually publishing a book, the more I realize I want the name my parents gave me: Amanda Kathleen Kane, (or Mandi Kane, my college byline) on the cover. They're the ones who have always loved me, unconditionally, and who have supported my dreams of writing since the day I learned to write my name in the first place.

I am not really excited about having to rebrand. It took a lot to make a name for myself at this age, and I really enjoyed the fun I have had as a Foor. I'll miss my FOOR Thought post-its, and my Let the Foors Be With You This Holiday Season Christmas cards. Changing the name of my company, Amanda Foor Communications (and, not to mention my Twitter handle, DAMNIT), is going to suck. But none of this is me.

If I can rebrand a client, I can rebrand myself.

So, to summarize, I'm here today to take advantage of my blog's SEO ranking and announce that I will no longer be known as Amanda Foor. Additionally, I won't be updating Page Foor after this post. Comments will be closed, so I won't be taking questions (Ha!).  I'll still be President of New Mexico PRSA in July, and I'm still hoping to be Amanda Kane, APR, very soon. I'll also continue writing about PR in other places. If you haven't heard, I'm a contributor for The Agency Post, and for the new and super rad Minted magazine, so please stop by and give me some love.

I'm also taking applications for husband number two.

TOTALLY KIDDING.

Thanks for reading! 

Mandi Foor, out.

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What I Learned About PR From Pageant Coaching: Part 5

There’s a scene in Miss Congeniality in which the pageant coach, Victor Melling, tells Gracie Lou Freebush to “Yes, you wear the crown, be the crown, you ARE the crown.” This is one of my favorite pageant quotes ever.

One time I was coaching a client who was new to pageantry. She sincerely wanted to compete, and she had begged her mom to enter her in a scholarship pageant after watching the Miss America telecast. But she was incredibly insecure and nervous during our first class. She was afraid of walking wrong, or turning wrong, of saying something wrong. She would second guess everything that she did.

I knew that I had my work cut out for me. For our next class, I decided to try a little technique to see if it would have an impact on her confidence. As soon as I got to her house, I pulled out my Miss Teen New Mexico crown from my bag, put it on her head, and clipped it onto her hair with bobby pins. Sure enough, as soon as we started, she was standing taller, smiling bigger and answering practice questions with ease.

Once she was able to see herself as a winner, she started acting like a winner.

There are a lot of aspiring PR practitioners entering the workforce after they graduate this December, and if I could give you one piece of advice for the job search you’re about to embark on: act the part.

Act like you already have the job you want. By that I don’t mean act cocky like you have an offer in the bag, but carry yourself in the way that you would if you were already in the position. Dress as if you had the position. If this requires wearing a tiara prior to an interview, go for it, just don’t forget to take it off before you walk through the door. But always be the crown.

So, there you go. The conclusion to this week’s series is this: you ARE the crown!

Next week we return to regularly scheduled programming.

What I Learned About PR From Pageant Coaching: Part 4

The Carrie Prejean fallout. What a mess that was.

Her response to the final question was one of the worst in history. And, really, the only way I’m saying one of the worst is because Miss South Carolina Teen USA 2007 Caitlyn Upton is holding steady in first place for worst ever. Anyway, Miss California USA’s response to a question about same-sex marriage was completely offensive, and it lost the Miss USA crown for her.

Now, there’s a whole school of thought that believes she wouldn’t have won anyway, because she wasn’t leading prior to the final question. Those people forget about this really nifty thing called the “Final Ballot,” which ranks the finalists. They’re not scored. I believe Carrie was the favorite prior to the final question regardless of her numerical scores, and would have easily walked off with that crown in any other circumstance.

There is also a whole school of thought that suggests Carrie lost the pageant because she was against same-sex marriage. Again, I think that’s untrue. Even if Perez Hilton ranked her last, I still think she could have been consistently ranked across the board to pull it off.

What lost the Miss USA pageant for Carrie Prejean was the fact that she lacked the ability to present her opinion diplomatically. The purpose of ridiculously controversial pageant questions isn’t to judge someone’s opinion, it’s to test if the contestant has the tact, discretion and maturity to handle one in the first place.

When you think about it, it’s the perfect crash course for media relations. I mean, if you can’t string together an eloquent response to a question about a major social issue without alienating a large fraction of the population, no one in their right mind is going to let you be a spokesperson for their brand or pageant system. You can’t put someone unpredictable like that in front of a camera and just let them have at it, or God forbid send them to an event with celebrities or dignitaries. It’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Anyway, it was a big part of my job to help my girls learn how to handle these types of questions. It wasn’t just to benefit them in competition, but in any arena where they’re communicating with a diverse group of people. Because children need visuals to help them understand concepts related to something as abstract as communication, I developed a little technique to help them respond diplomatically to potentially controversial questions. And, remarkably, I’ve had a lot of success using the same technique with prepping CEOs and spokespeople for media interviews.

I call it the meatball sub.

If you picture a meatball sub, the meat is in the middle of the sandwich, and it’s surrounded by soft bread. When you answer a controversial question, whether it’s posed by a pageant judge or a reporter, I suggest prefacing your statement with something to neutralize the situation or soften the blow, this is the bread. Then you get to the heart of what you need to say, the “meat.” Then you wrap it up with another statement to cushion what you just said.

Ideally, if you’re a pageant girl, you incorporate some sauce and some cheese into this, but that part isn’t as successful in the corporate world, especially in a crisis.

If Carrie Prejean would have used this technique, her answer could have sounded more like this:

Perez Hilton: Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Should other states follow suit, why or why not?

Carrie: First of all, I think it’s great that we live in a country where people can vote on issues like this (bread). While I personally have been raised to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman (meat), I definitely think this is something each state should allow their citizens to vote on (bread).

And honestly, the comment about her personal belief didn’t even need to be in there, but I think had she expressed it this way, she would have fared a lot better.

Think about how this could be used in a media interview in this completely ridiculous, uncreative fictional scenario.

Reporter: Mr. Pharmaceutical Company CEO, we’ve uncovered evidence that your product can cause immediate death in patients who consume large amounts of caffeine on a daily basis.

Mr. Pharmaceutical CEO: First, I’d like to offer our condolences to anyone who has been affected by this (bread). Upon further investigation, we have learned that an ingredient in the product can cause a chemical reaction when large amounts of caffeine are present in the blood stream. We’ve issued a nationwide recall of this product, and we’re working with pharmacies to remove it from their shelves as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we’re asking people to stop using the product immediately and discard any remaining supplies they have on hand (meat). We’re investing all of our company’s resources to get to the bottom of this (bread).

So now you’ve seen the meatball sub in action.

Try it!

Tomorrow, I’ll conclude this series with a pageant tip that works especially well for New Pros!

What I Learned About PR From Pageant Coaching: Part 3

World peace. It’s such a warm and fuzzy concept, and a major pageant cliché. That’s because a few years back the Miss America program thought that if the program was going to offer something like $45 million a year in scholarship money, the contestants should probably be fairly active in their communities. This gave birth to the “platform.”


Much like in a political campaign, a platform is the organization or cause a contestant dedicates herself to throughout the competition and particularly in the event of winning the title.


The Miss America pageant, with few exceptions, is the only pageant system that requires a platform. Some competitions have a platform already selected for their titleholders, and if you win, you’ll be an advocate for that cause regardless. This is the case with Miss USA and Miss Universe who are advocates for breast and ovarian cancer during their reigns. Regardless, I always encouraged my clients to adopt a platform issue whether one was required or not. I just think it puts you in a better position to win if you can illustrate that you’re actually going to do something with the crown they give you other than wear it in parades and while doing laundry.


Helping contestants select and develop their platforms was one thing about coaching that I really loved. Most people have been affected in one way or another by some social issue. Everyone has been a victim of bullying. Some people have lost loved ones to cancer, or drunk driving. In other cases, they just have a passion about something and a sincere desire to make a difference, as was the situation with one of my girls who, at the age of 8, was incredibly concerned about homelessness. The work she did in her community to promote her platform got her an invitation to the White House. And she won her pageant, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not nearly as cool.


I have always approached the angle of corporate social responsibility (CSR) with the perspective of a pageant coach. I believe that as members of a community, business owners, regardless of size, always have an opportunity – and in many cases, an obligation – to become more involved.


For small business owners, this can be overwhelming to consider. After all, small businesses are constantly being pestered to support little league teams, the local Girl Scouts, and, ironically, pageant contestants. But being a good corporate citizen doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or require a lot of time, and it can help you build your brand.


To help your company develop your own CSR plan, here’s my formula for building a winning pageant platform:


Passion + Purpose = Platform


• Step One: Identify Your Passion: If you have a business, clearly you’re passionate about something. What is it? It can be related to your business (ex., you own a restaurant and you’re passionate about fighting hunger), or not. It can also be personal, what has affected your life? What’s affected the lives of those you love? Is there a nonprofit organization you’d like to be involved with as a volunteer or on their board of directors?


• Step Two: Define A Purpose: Once you identify what it is that you’re passionate about, you can start thinking about what actions you can take to make a difference in regard to the issue. Are you able to donate something in-kind or raise money for a particular cause? Are you going to host an event? Or sponsor something?


• Step Three: Write a Platform Statement: Once you know what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it, you can write a brief statement outlining your approach, with some concrete things you can do, and some deadlines. It will help you see how you and your business are contributing to the bigger picture in your community. It will also help you say no to causes that aren’t going to help you achieve your goals.


So there you go, you now know how to approach your company’s CSR plan like a Miss America contestant. Crazy, but it works. Ask my clients! My PR clients, that is.


Tomorrow I’ll talk about how pageant interview techniques can be applied to media relations.

What I Learned About PR From Pageant Coaching: Part 2

First of all, if you’ve never seen Drop Dead Gorgeous you have to watch it. It’s the funniest movie ever, so you should add it to your Qwickster Netflix queue right now. Right now. I’ll wait…

Now that’s out of the way, this is a pretty accurate, though clearly satirical, representation of how pageant interviews work. Judges are pretty much free to ask whatever they want, but most of the questions fall into one of these categories:

A.) Questions derived from a contestant’s fact sheet. Example: “Madison, I see that your favorite holiday is Christmas. Why?”

B.) Factual questions about the pageant system or the geographic area the contestant is competing to represent. Example: “Kaylee, who is the mayor of Punxsutawney?”  

C.) Questions about current events, which are often controversial. Example: “Carrie, should gay marriage be legalized?”

D.) “High gain” questions that often sound ridiculous, but are pretty useful for extracting information about someone’s character or personality. Example: “Taylor, if you were an animal, what would you be and why?”

I think high gain pageant interview questions have a place in business, especially when it comes to branding.

Think about it: if you’re trying to position your business, or yourself, you have to know what makes you unique and what makes you tick. You have to identify your values. In essence, you have to know who you are and who or what you want to become. A lot of times, however, this is easier said than done, but I truly believe that participating in a “mock pageant interview” can help.

For example, if you, or your business, could be any car, what would you be? Are you a Mustang, classic with a wild streak? Then how you promote and position yourself is completely different than if you see yourself as a Jaguar or a Volkswagen Bug. Seriously, if your business is a Hummer, you probably shouldn’t be using Comic Sans for anything.

If you could have dinner with any three people, dead or alive, who would you have dinner with? If you choose Jackie Kennedy, Emily Post and Marilyn Monroe, you’re going to approach your brand in a different way than someone who chooses Steve Jobs, George W. Bush and Daniel Tosh.

What color best describes you or your business? Is it black? Lime green? Mustard? Eggplant?

Do you see how this works? Few people consider beauty pageant questions to be a useful exercise for business planning, but by thinking in this open-ended, creative way, you can really clarify the image it is that you want to project. Only then can you really evaluate whether or not your brand is working, and determine if it's working consistently.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about how to approach corporate social responsibility like a pageant girl, which will be incredibly interesting for those committed to achieving world peace.

In the meantime, think about this: if you could be any tree in the forest, what would you be and why?

What I Learned About PR From Pageant Coaching: Part 1

I have a confession.

Before I was a public relations practitioner, I was a beauty queen. Worse, I spent seven years coaching pageant contestants, mostly kids. And, I’ll be honest, if you’ve seen “Toddlers & Tiaras,” it was exactly like that. That was until the day I woke up and decided that despite my love for rhinestones, I didn’t want to go to Hell, so I closed up shop.

Still, I learned a ton about the practice of public relations through my experiences in pageantry, both as a titleholder, and as a coach. This week, I’m going to do a series of posts to share some of these lessons, and explain how they can be applied in PR.

This leads me to today’s post:

The Swimsuit Competition – Won from the Neck Up

As you probably know, the Miss USA and Miss America (which, in case you’re ever a contestant on Jeopardy, are actually two separate competitions) pageants require participation in a swimsuit competition. Wearing a swimsuit on national television is a completely nerve-wracking experience that requires a great deal of preparation physically. It’s not uncommon for elite national contestants to spend 4 hours per day at the gym, while running on egg whites and ice.

All this is pretty humorous considering the fact that what wins the swimsuit competition isn’t a six pack, it’s confidence. That’s why we say that swimsuit is “won from the neck up.” A girl who is in decent shape, but completely comfortable on stage will normally score higher than a girl who is absolutely ripped and noticeably nervous. Additionally, a contestant who’s charismatic and who can own the stage will draw attention to her face, which takes attention off her figure flaws if she’s really, really good at it.

Now, obviously, you can’t just go out onto a stage jiggling like a Compton stripper and think your strut is going to lock it up for you. You do have to have to be in shape. It’s just that far too many girls think that it’s a body building competition and they forget about their presentation.

So, how do you win from the neck up in PR?

·         Remember that confidence is everything.

Every time you communicate with one of your publics or the media, you have to come from a position of strength. You also have to sincerely believe in what you’re saying. Want to be seen as an expert? Act like one. Want to sell a reporter on your pitch? Pick up the phone and don’t let them hear fear in your voice.

·         Be Transparent.

Nothing is more transparent than posing on a stage in a swimsuit. You might as well be in your skivvies, because everything is exposed. Sometimes, you have to put it all out there for judgment: the CEO got caught with a prostitute, your product hurt someone, the intern tweeted the f-word accidentally. These things happen. But as long as you’re not hiding it, people will usually respect you for just for standing up on that stage.

·         Know Your Assets.

There’s no pun intended here, but know what makes your organization stand apart from the competition. What makes you valuable to your customers? Why should anyone trust you? What do you bring to the table in your industry? Know the answers to these questions, and be excited about them. Ask any pageant girl, that passion will take the attention away from your flaws.

This series will continue tomorrow, when I’ll discuss how pageant interview questions can help with organizational and personal branding.

Journey to APR: Update

If you recall, I made a commitment to earn my Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) by July 1, 2012, when I become President of the New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (NMPRSA).

Well, thanks to the new APR Academy sponsored by NMPRSA, I could be adorning my name with those three little letters by the end of the year.

The New Mexico chapter, which has not had a new accredited member in more than two years, has completely revamped its approach to help New Mexico practitioners achieve accreditation. It’s fast and there are super tight deadlines, because, you know, PR folk can’t really do anything without deadlines.

I have to finalize my application and write that huge check to PRSA by next Friday, and then I start preparing for my Readiness Review which is scheduled for November 19! So I have to start writing my Readiness Review questionnaire which is going to be a ton of work over the next few weeks. I also have to prep my portfolio, which is always fun.

In the meantime, I’m attending classes every week to review communication theory, and other items that will be on the computer based exam, which I can schedule as early as November 21 if I’m advanced by the panel at the Readiness Review.

Now, the plan is just to buckle down for the next few weeks, hit these deadlines, study hard, and get this over with!

Hopefully Santa will bring me my APR for Christmas. The APR pin alone makes a great stocking stuffer.

Did you hear that Santa? I’ve been a really good girl this year.