Strategic Public Relations

Pepsi’s SXSW Mash-Up Creates Content from Twitter Cacophony

Social media continues to morph the definition of content -- the latest example of this evolution comes from Pepsi. Pepsi Zeitgeist, a Twitter Mash-Up, tracks activity at the SXSW festival to serve up content that is equal parts fun, pretty and impressive.

Fun: If you’re reading this blog, odds are good you’ve seen more than a few tweets in your Twitter stream sporting a #sxsw tag. Pepsi categorizes all of these tweets into one of six buckets (arriving, drinking, registering, eating, connecting or partying). The tweets are aggregated into a simple visual so you can keep your finger on the pulse of the event.

It’s a smart way to aggregate the metric ton of #sxsw tweets being dispatched from the army of mobile phones and laptops in Austin, TX for the next few days. It also gives the event’s non-attendees a fun way to easily connect with it (and Pepsi).

Pretty: The interface is dead simple. The content is served up as easy-to-digest visuals and the end result is powerful in its simplicity. If I tried to wade through 500 tweets and create something like this for a tracking report it would not be as easy on the eyes.

Impressive: This is only one facet of Pepsi’s efforts at SXSW this year, including their own Twitter ID, blog posts and their Podcast Playground. But for someone not at the show, the Pepsi Zeitgeist site is their crown jewel. The site is a simple way to make a big impact.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the site is the Swarm page. The Swarm page measures the sentiment of food-related tweets and maps them to eateries around the Austin area. So someone tuning into the site can get a great WOM recommendation to see if it’s worth their time to stand in line at that barbecue joint they’re anxious to check out.

The Zeitgeist site is a smart use of Twitter data and a great example of how even thousands of tweets can become visual content.

Zeitgeist also provides a memorable brand experience for consumers by providing value without requiring anything in exchange.

screen grabs uploaded by prblog
tags | public relations | PR | social media | marketing | Pepsi | SXSW | brand

Issuu Transforms PDF Files into Online Publications

Get your own - Open publication

The best way to tell you about Issuu is to show you. So I embedded this publication I help create at work for our customers.

According to the site you can “upload any PDF file and have it instantly converted to an online publication.” The site is pretty slick -- easy to use and it serves up the files very elegantly. Issuu also makes it easy to post your publications on Facebook, MySpace and several blogging platforms.

Issuu is to PDFs what SlideShare is to PowerPoint decks -- a blessing for anyone publishing content in these formats online.

Much like SlideShare, your content will be part of a library of other publications. You can also rate the content and share it with others/republish it. It looks like folks are also using Issuu to host their portfolios. This is a great idea as the interface and user experience are perfect for the creative/design set.

via Shane Haggerty
tags | Issuu | SlideShare

Chanel Turns iPhone App Store into a Fashion Show

♫On ze catwalk I do my little turn….♫

Just in time for Fashion Week, Chanel dropped a new application into the iTunes App Store. Chanel’s Haute Couture Show F/W 08/9 puts its latest fashions into the palm of your hand.

This application is smart. It includes a quick video of the fashion show, more than 60 pics of the latest fashions, news feed and a store locater.

As marketers scramble to connect with the iPhone demographic, they should consider this approach. It's a mobile event blog, with time-based value. You could encourage the application owners to include their own content through a page with event tags and links to mobile Twitter and Flickr apps.

If I were headed to a major event like the Super Bowl or the Grammys, I wouldn't think twice to download an application supporting the event…even if it would be essentially useless post-game. The Chanel store locater is getting mixed reviews, but the news “chanel” may make users more likely to keep the app on their device.

OK, I’m more of the t-shirt set than the jet set. So I have to ask, does this app make me look fat?

On ze catwalk, I do my little turn... uploaded by prblog
tags | advertising | marketing | Chanel | Fashion Week | branding | brand

Kraft’s Green Packaging | DMI Brand Design Conference Day One

Consumer packaged goods marketing has always interested me. So I was all ears when the DMI’s Brand Design Conference kicked off with a presentation from Scott Young, of Perception Research Services.

Young discussed packaging and the environment from the consumers’ perspective.

CPG brands have three (conflicting) challenges when it comes to packaging.

1) Doing “the right thing” environmentally. More accurately, defining what exactly the right thing is when it comes to packaging.

2) Educating the consumer on what makes packaging good or bad for the environment. Young’s research findings showed a surprising lack of awareness around environmental terms.

3) Creating packaging that addresses consumer preferences. Consumers know environmental issues are important. But they still want packages that look good, show off the product, protect the product and are easy to use. And if the package is environmentally-friendly? Consumer’s want them to cost the same (or less) than current packaging.

Defining Terms
Confusing packages and a lack of awareness around terminology has created a clear need for better package messaging and an education campaign (e.g., terms like sustainable are industry terms, not words that consumers fully understand).

Product messages are getting confused with packaging messages. Is a product good for you and/or is its packaging good for the planet? Consider how products tell us they are everything from USDA approved, free trade, organic, environmentally friendly, recycled, locally owned, recycled and several shades of green. The end result is an overwhelmed consumer.

The Impossible Dream?!
Packaging that meets environmental and consumer needs reads like a tough order to fill. But packaging can look good, be easy to use and be environmentally friendly. Kraft’s new salad dressing bottles present a powerful example.

This award-winning package design uses 19 percent less plastic. This means a lighter package, saving more than 3 million pounds of plastic annually, and increased shipping efficiencies by 18 percent as the package is smaller.

Consistency is Key
Environmental messaging is valuable and vital, but they must extend beyond the products. From product to brand, it’s best to link to a larger environmental proposition.

Aveda for example has made the environment much more than a product differentiator. It’s part of everything they do from corporate social responsibility programs and the corporate mission statement to its stores, services and products on the shelves. And they need to go from being the stand out to being the standard.

tags | marketing | brand | design | DMI

Heading to NRF, the CES of Retail

Heading to NYC this weekend to attend the National Retail Federation Show at the Javits. In addition to media briefings, we have two presentations and a booth so we’ll be plenty busy.

But I’m pumped to see this year’s ”Store of the Future” exhibit. I’ve covered pop-up retail here before as a great marketing and public relations tactic. The exhibit features technology that supports pop-up retail.

The exhibit will show what the pop-up might look like in the future – “demonstrating technologies such as rear projection film, use of retail scales, pedestrian traffic measurement methods, in-store design, electronic shelf labeling, custom store fixtures, high-definition display screens, user-interface shopping technology, mobile marketing devices, interactive communications systems, innovative anti-theft security solutions and more innovative products.

The M-Wallet, one of Motorola’s latest mobile phones which allows consumers to pay for their purchases with the handheld device, will be displayed. Additionally, IBM will feature a 3D Second Life experience to demonstrate both the consumer and retailer perspective of virtual retailing.

Looks pretty interesting. We’ll see.

If you’re in NYC next week and want to check it out, let me know. I have plenty of free passes.

tags | marketing | retail design | NRF 08

Corbis Taps Bloggers To Help Turn a Profit

Reuters details a new program from Corbis giving bloggers access to some of its photos.

Corbis and its digital rights partner, PicScout, will allow bloggers to access photos via a Web link from the site PicApp.com, now in a test phase.

The photos will either include an ad overlay on part of the image, or embedded advertising that pops up when a Web user runs a cursor over the picture.

Any program making blog content more visual is OK in my book. I’m looking forward to seeing the program unfold and the images we’ll to which we’ll gain access.

What blew me away about this news is the revelation that Corbis hasn’t turned a profit since it was founded -- nearly 20 years ago.

“Shenk was promoted to the CEO role in July and charged with turning around privately held Corbis, which has not posted a profit since Microsoft Corp Chairman Bill Gates founded the company in 1989.”

Hmmm, the phrase "viable business model" comes to mind, but I guess it’s rendered meaningless by words like "bajillionaire" and "pet project."

9 coffe favorites uploaded by visualpanic
tags | Corbis

Best Buy’s PR Smarts and ChargeCarte’s Customer Disservice

It’s been so long since I’ve done a Goofus and Gallant post that I’ll remind everyone we point to marketing and PR stories that demonstrate how to and how not to.

Best Buy’s High-Definition PR
Best Buy starts us out with some smart public relations. A few people have listened to me talk about Best Buy’s HD strategy – from creating HD awareness to ceasing analog TV sales across the chain.

Consider how many customers will call foul over the retailer that sold them an analog set a few months before the switch to HD.

Now we quickly digress from taking something away from customers (and getting high marks) to offering a new service to customers (and getting points off).

ChargeCarte’s Nickel and Dime Strategy
The concept sounds good...get your phone or iPod charged at the airport twice as fast as your own charger can do it.

But charging me for electricity seems more opportunistic than helpful – especially at $3 for 30 minutes for only a 50 percent charge.

This ChargeCarte is located in baggage claim – where all you want to do is exit the airport.

There’s also only one small bench located next to it. If more than one or two people use this at a time, you'll have to hover and make sure no one walks off with your phone/iPod.

ChargeCarte should have taken this technology upstream. How much would you pay for an adapter that allows you to charge your phone faster?

Something tells me I’m not the target customer.

Charge Carte?! uploaded by prblog
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | Best Buy | Goofus and Gallant | marketing | design

Four Links – 10.11.07 – Vote for Pedro, NIN Goes Free Agent, Brand Monitoring and Free Wi-Fi = World Domination

1) People’s Design Award -- Fast Company
The U.S. may have dropped the ball on that whole metric system thing, but democracy is still alive and well. The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum is accepting votes for your favorite design. Be sure to vote before 6:00 p.m. est on October 16, 2007. Winners will be announced at the National Design Awards. Power to the people!

2) First Radiohead, Now NIN -- Influx Insights
This trend will pick up steam as more "record" contracts start to expire. Just ask god money.

3) Brand Monitoring on Twitter -- Being Peter Kim
Forrester Analyst Peter Kim updates us on Twitter monitoring and points to a few other things you should be monitoring.

4) McDonald's Launches Free Wi-Fi in UK Restaurants -- Neville Hobson/Twitter
Super Size jokes aside, McDonald’s makes a big/smart move in the race to create The Third Place by offering free Wi-Fi in its 1,200 UK locations. This impacts the coffee wars too.

tags | public relations | PR | design | brand | free wi-fi | marketing

Nike's Impactful Approach To Media Relations

A presentation from Nike on “temporary branded environments” at the retail design conference I’m attending also serves as a case study in media relations.

Nike morphs pop-up retail into a targeted media relations tactic to reach key media and influencers. They create branded environments to attract, and completely immerse, their audience in a Nike experience according to Kurt Parker of Nike Asia Pacific.

Make Your Brand an Event
Consider the challenge of getting media attention at the Olympics or the World Cup. Creating destinations like Nike Park offer media, athletes and customers the chance to experience the brand and test out Nike products while generating word of mouth and media coverage.

Turn Your Brand into Art
Nike has also evolved into what it calls sports culture events like White Dunk. White Dunk brought together 25 artists to create art inspired by the Nike Dunk shoe. The end result is an art exhibit which was initially housed in a building transformed to resemble a giant, white shoebox. Online demand for the shoe surged as a result and pieces of the exhibit are now on loan to various art shows.

Athletes Serve Up the Nike Experience
The Flickr set above is from the Nike Plus News Conference in Taiwan. Marathoner Paula Radcliffe was a focus of this event where the audience was immersed in a themed environment created to show the impact the product could have on someone’s running routine.

Big Brands, Budgets and Buzz
Even an iconic brand like Nike needs to go big to stand out. Nike cannot afford to rely on a product media kit – not matter how clever – to get the coverage it needs. While I was pleased to learn that Nike does not use ad equivalency to justify its investment, I was surprised that there are few metrics in place to track ROI. Parker notes the president of Nike Brand understands the importance of these events and elements of these environments often trickle down to influence the retail launch.

Here is the takeaway that inspired me to write this post. When creating a giant media event, Nike is very careful to edit the message and to not say everything.

“Focus on saying less, but say it really well to generate more excitement than you might otherwise around a product.”

Think about that concept as you stuff your next press kit to its breaking point.

Nike Plus Taiwan Press Conference uploaded by wahaha_wu
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | Nike | advertising | marketing | branding | brand | design | retail design

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