Strategic Public Relations

Getting Social Means Getting Uncomfortable – At First

In the aftermath of a blessed event, Jason Falls asks the question how personal is too much?

We in the social media space offer our professional lives up as open books. Some of us disclose minimal personal information. Others put up boundaries and clearly separate what is social currency and what is not. So long as our level of comfort is supported by our family and friends, I see little concern.

But how much is too much? >SNIP< All of these questions beckon to be answered as we all grow into this still new dimension of the greater media mix. Personal publishing and the social web give us unprecedented opportunity but with equally as unprecedented exposure. Where will the line be drawn to determine what is and is not for the offing?

As I commented on Jason’s blog, I think this is one of the ways communications is changing. As we evolve from broadcasting our clients’ messages to participating more in the communication process, the walls between business and personal begin to blur. How much personal detail marketers disclose will vary from person to person and culture to culture. When doing business in China, for example, you’ll get much more personally involved.

"Enough About Me. Let’s Talk About You. What Do You Think About Me?"
By the nature of our jobs, most of us don’t want to be the center of attention. It makes us nervous and we have to be careful not to make it all about us. So how much is too much? It will vary from person to person. But as Jason Falls shows us the key to figuring it out is based on personal experience.

Image007 uploaded by wallofhair
tags | public relations | PR | social media | marketing | Jason Falls

Is Your Brand Sticky or Slippery Online?

As information disperses wildly/widely through personal channels, marketers must revert from “sticky” mentality to “slippery.” Sticky websites require lures and hooks to get people to our sites and then lock them in. Slippery ideas enable wide distribution of our brand into daily life (Originally articulated by Mark Earls via Fallon’s Aki Spicer).

A client, er, someone might ask -- why create profiles on video/photo sharing sites and social networks when you have a perfectly good website?

The answer to this question is the Jeep Experience site. The Jeep brand planted its flag on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Flickr over time. Rather than a heavy-handed approach, Jeep merely facilitates online fan gatherings and consumer-generated Jeep content.

Jeep now aggregates all of this content at the Jeep Experience. It brilliantly illustrates the slippery over sticky approach. Back in the (dot com) day, a brand would try and build the Jeep Experience site and spend tons of money attracting eyeballs. It would cost you twice as much and be half as effective. This is generous math if you consider Bud.TV as a more recent example of a sticky content play.

Even more recently, Tommy Hilfiger launched TommyTV. Music is being used to sell everything from coffee to deodorant, so why not clothes as well?

TommyTV has the right goal -- to make an emotional connection with its customers. But the execution still feels like a brand hoping the sticky approach works instead of giving up control. TommyTV has a YouTube presence, but it’s downplayed on the site.

So clean up your act online and go from sticky to slippery like Jeep (who gets the Gallant). For trying to have its cake and eat it too/2.0, TommyTV gets the Goofus.

Bubble Rain uploaded by jurvetson
tags | Jeep | TommyTV | Bud.TV | advertising | marketing | consumer-generated media | brand

Marketing Turns Me On | LinkedIn Gains Steam | Shankman Helps Out Everyone But Profnet | Print Stays Alive | Four Links | 03.22.08

1) Simple is Good | Pitbulls & Labradors
Dan Lally brings us this Viagra ad via his shiny new blog. If this ad isn’t real, Viagra should steal the idea.

2) LinkedIn Unveils Company Profiles | LinkedIn Blog
Facebook is the best thing to happen to LinkedIn as healthy competition helps push LinkedIn’s evolution.

LinkedIn’s added everything from swag to company profiles lately.

Jeremiah Owyang is already comparing the profiles of Apple, Hitachi, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo.

3) In Helping Journalists, a Publicist Helps Himself | The New York Times’ Shifting Careers Blog
Profnet is not happy with Peter Shankman, the creator of Help a Reporter Out.

By creating a free, e-mail-based service connecting journalists to sources, he’s disrupting Profnet’s business model. It’s also getting industry folks to ask interesting questions. Not surprisingly, the pitches still suck.

4) How All Magazines Should Be Released | Brandflakes for Breakfast
Magazines are getting more creative in general. Consider Bones Magazine. It starts online, but each issue is offered up as a pdf, podcast and video as well. Rohit points us to Everywhere Magazine which looks like a cross between consumer-generated media and democratized publishing.

And if we’re playing buzzword bingo? You just got pwned.

tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | LinkedIn | advertising | marketing | Profnet | consumer-generated media | Viagra

Now is Gone: Book Report, er, Review

There are about 20 books piling up at work and at home that have come my way via blogging. It’s a daunting to do list as my intent is to review each one as I read them. It’s good content.

But it takes me twice as long to read business books as it does fiction. It’s an idiosyncrasy of mine and has nothing to do with any of the authors I’ve been reading.

Now is Gone was an exception to the above. It was easy to get through and author Geoff Livingston was kind enough to ask me to provide a quote for the book jacket. Here’s what I said right after reading it.

”Whether you’re experimenting with social media and ready to get serious or starting from scratch, Now is Gone is a smart, strategic starting point. The book is rich with relevant examples of the new ways to communicate – collected from some of the world’s leading authorities on social media.

Social media has quickly brought a metric ton of changes to how things work in marketing and public relations. And while experimenting is half the fun (if not more), it’s also great to have several case histories compiled in one place.

From Ike Pigott’s use of social media for American Red Cross crisis support to blogging success stories from small businesses and more well known brands like SXSW Airlines and GM, Livingston compiles more than a dozen case histories and interviews with people who are putting food on the table using social media to complement their marketing programs.

Livingston also gets a gold star for using social media to help promote his book. The Now is Gone blog serves as an evolution of the book, providing more case studies and promotional resources to get the word out.

tags | public relations | PR | social media | advertising | marketing | blog | consumer-generated media | Geoff Livingston | Now is Gone

A Consumer-Generated, Permission Marketing Mash Up | Friday Flickr Fix | 02.29.08

Flickr has become my alternative to stock photography for three different work projects.

How did I get the one-time usage rights to these photos? I asked the photographers’ permission, described exactly how I would use the photos and I gave them proper credit.

Recently a similar compliment was paid to my rank amateur photo skills by Schmap Dynamic Travel Guides.

This photo of Bloomingdale’s, just off Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, was chosen for inclusion in the fourth edition of the online travel guide.

I was first asked to approve it for consideration and proper credit is given with a link back to my Flickr photo page. Schmap gets a gold star for also offering a widget to promote my inclusion in the guide. Smart.

In this case my photo looks better than the photo on Bloomingdale’s store locater -- albeit I'm a wee bit biased.

Flickr makes it easy to ask for permission. There is no excuse for not taking proper steps as you would when using stock photography.

Perhaps Flickr could make it even easier? Consider a Flickr stock photo service comparable to Corbis or Getty Images. You mark your photos as being eligible when you upload them. If they're used, your Paypal account gets credited accordingly. It would be simple for users and a powerful offering from Flickr.

Temple of Bloomingdale's uploaded by prblog
tags | advertising | marketing | Flickr

Will Twitter Survive the Super Bowl?

Lots of great content leading up to Super Bowl XLII, including urban legends and stock tips.

Super Bowl ad content is more bountiful than ever. Consider that Super Bowl ads from 87-06 account for more than 11 hours of commercial time. This translates into more than 1,400 commercials and as much as $1.72 billion of ad sales. Firebrand alone has a week’s worth of content.

I’ve covered the ads in the past and even sat on a panel of reviewers. If I weigh in during the game this year, it will be via Twitter. Many folks will be doing the same as it's less work. Twitter also allows you to do so quickly and easily while still enjoying the game.

TIP: There are a few ways to gauge an ad’s performance. Don't forget to mine Twitter after the game.

But will Twitter be able to survive the added traffic the game is sure to bring with it? MacWorld and recent service outages suggest no. Guess I’m rooting for two underdogs this year.

Twitter Bought the Farm uploaded by Jestu what?!
Super Bowl XLII | Super Bowl ads | Super Bowl

Scrabble, Target Fumble; JCPenney, M&Ms Recover and Score

Here are two Goofus and Gallants in one post as marketers continue to demonstrate how to and how not to.

Scrabble and Target Go Goofus
Scrabble finds out it has a huge following on Facebook through an application that “pays homage” to Scrabble. Tapping into this fan base would be a double-word score for the game’s owners Mattel and Hasbro. Hint: Send them all a coupon for the handheld game?! Instead, they’re calling in legal to piss off thousands of potential customers.

Target has tapped into the power of Facebook.This makes their recent blogger relations move all the more puzzling.

PRNewser tells us “a Target PR rep sent the following message to a blogger questioning a recent ad campaign:”

Thank you for contacting Target; unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with non-traditional media outlets. This practice is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest. Once again thank you for your interest, and have a nice day.

Target deals with non-traditional media outlets. They just don’t deal with the Z-Lister that reached out to them.

JCPenney Thinks Link, M&Ms Goes Green
JCPenney created what Ad Age calls “organic search equity” by aggregating blog content into a branded Fall Shopping Guide. As bloggers connected their readers to the content and people Stumble(d)Upon it, the Google Juice started flowing.

Now the site “shows up as No. 5 of 13 million results for the search term 'fall shopping' and second out of more than 4 million results for 'fall shopping guide.'"

M&Ms cashed in on the urban myth equity around its green candy to stand out amongst a sea of red and pink packaging. The end result? Buzz.

tags | public relations | PR

Friday Flickr Fix: YouTube Serving Up 3 Million Vids -- Daily

No worries, I'm not changing my name to “Captain Video.”

There has simply been an uptick in interesting video news. Today's example is an excerpt from a WWD interview with YouTube’s senior director of marketing, Julie Supan.

"The key difference about our site is about community in control," said Supan. "We let the community decide what's popular."

This strategy has resulted in three million videos watched daily, with 8,000 videos uploaded per day.

The audience is predominately in the 18- to 55-year-old age range, but the topics covered via video have no limit. She showed some examples, ranging from a video that provides instructions on how to make an omelette in a Ziploc bag to another that chronicles a girl with bone marrow cancer who is trying to raise awareness for the disease.

For brands considering YouTube, Supan has imparted three keys to success: be real, be consistent and be interesting. "If it's done for the community in mind, it will be successful," Supan said. "Our goal is to get more great content into the system."

The beauty, and the beast, of this is that "great content" is broadly defined. How does your audience define it?

È una droga. uploaded by psiko
tags | YouTube | marketing | consumer-generated media

VNRs Need To Get This Picture Moving

The FCC’s recent fake news fine has YoungPRPro list members wondering* if the end of the video news release is near.

In other video news, Springwise details a product placement company that will put your CPG onto YouTube. And this, in turn, reminds me of yesterday’s news about Firebrand.

Video is becoming more flexible, widespread and commonplace. VNR use should be increasing, not dying out. The FCC fine could turn the tactic into the TV equivalent of an advertorial, but hopefully it will mostly discourage the offending parties from misusing this tactic.

As video technology gets more powerful, it’s getting cheaper. It’s one thing to worry about print media as its audience migrates to a completely different platform, forcing publishers to change its business model. But VNR production companies have more opportunities than threats right now. Here are four ways VNR production companies can thrive.

Unbundle: Many assume you must pay for an entire VNR package to get access to the biggest point of value – distribution and tracking. By unbundling services, VNR production companies create a lower cost of entry for customers. The end result should be an increase in market share/customer base to which you then cross–sell services.

Leverage: This tactic is getting easier, not harder. And by staying behind the scenes, we’re seeing everyone including your neighbor's kid grab the attention -- in their spare time. VNR production companies should be positioned as cool, video gods. By not positioning themselves and exhibiting leadership in the space, someone else is taking all the credit.

Expand: There are many opportunities here as the market expands. Giving customers more ways to use the carefully crafted content they've invested in adds value to the customer relationship (and revenue to your bottom line). VNR production companies should create a garage/boutique service that puts “street/authentic” video production capabilities into the hands of corporations. Yes, corporations will pay money to make a video that is shaky with less than average production values. This same company can tell me how to turn my b-roll into a YouTube teaser campaign leading up to the launch.

Educate: More directly connected to the FCC news, and reinforcing the need for industry leadership, is the need for education. VNRs are being likened to a devil’s trident thrown by fat cats in Washington as they twirl their mustaches and count stacks of money. Please. Spare me the drama. Which VNR production company is going to step up and lead a campaign raising awareness of the right and wrong ways to create a VNR?

The question posed by the YoungPRPros is an important one, but for reasons beyond the FCC news. VNR production companies need to step up or they'll fade to black.

*Thanks to Andy Aldridge for inspiring this post and helping me bake it.

minimize me uploaded by electronicott
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | video news release | VNR

Four Links – 08.21.07 – PRSA’s License to Spin, Threadless Offline, Facebook E-Mail and the Power of Visuals

1) PRSA Explores Certification of PR Professionals    Bulldog Reporter
This news is sure to create drama.

But I welcome another way for professionals to differentiate themselves from the industry minority giving us a bad name.

2) Threadless to Open Retail Space    Threadless
Threadless and its democratized manufacturing is cool on many levels.

By proxy, I also love retail. So news that Threadless is expanding into retail space in Chicago was big news. The store even doubles as a classroom. Smart.

3) Send E-Mail From Facebook    Marketingfm
You can now send email from Facebook to non-Facebook members. For users, this means that Facebook now allows you to access Twitter, IM, video (not blocked by (my) IT like others) and email from one interface.

This is one more reason to hate learn more about Facebook. OK, if not for this reason, consider the children as they head back to school.

4) Rock On! There’s Cream Cheese!    indexed
Another pointer to the indexed blog to remind everyone of the power of visuals. In this case, a dead simple visual communicates an idea effectively. Don't over think it!

Oh and if you've ever witnessed a co-worker squeal with glee upon the realization that there’s free food in the kitchen? You'll also appreciate this visual.

ole! uploaded by tervaja
tags | public relations | PR | PRSA | Threadless | Facebook | indexed | retail | retail design