Strategic Public Relations

Social Media Breakfast(s)

Last week I was reminded of Twitter’s utility and the importance of breakfast. In addition to the meal’s obvious nutritional benefits, two breakfast meetings helped feed my social media POV.

No one blinked when Albert Maruggi held the first Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast across the river in Kentucky. Perhaps this is because Cincinnati’s airport is also located in Northern Kentucky?

The Tuesday morning meeting was well-attended – even bringing a few folks up from Louisville. As a result, Jason Falls and I finally met. I need to reciprocate the road trip at some point.

Twitter was the hot topic of conversation due to its current novelty (more on that later). Twitter is how I learned about both breakfasts – the night before each one.

The group also discussed social media’s impact on the news. News tends to break on Twitter a few minutes before it hits mainstream media. A few people at the breakfast from the media and with media backgrounds reminded everyone that the media want accuracy first, then speed.

Social media geeks, including myself, often mention that giving up control online means gaining permission to make mistakes. However the media aren't given this luxury.

Think about this as we evolve into the newsroom of the future – are mainstream media held to a double standard?

A huge thank you to Albert for organizing the event and for suggesting I continue Cincinnati Social Media Breakfasts. As it’s complementary to the New Media Cincinnati meetups, I’m planning another event.

Friday morning I met up with David Armano, Krista Neher and Andrew Paradies from Photrade.

The smaller group allowed for some more great conversation. Twitter was still a topic, but we also talked about social media's impact on business.

The best part of these meetings of course is simply connecting in person. This quote from Angelo Mandato says it all: “The physical meetups complete the circuit that social networking communities establish virtually.”

So to all you coasties...if you ever have a lay over in "fly over country," get local and look up your industry online to connect offline. You'll get more than a free drink out of it.

tags | public relations | marketing | Twitter | Social Media Breakfast

Hire Josh Rodamer

Josh is a senior majoring in PR and speech communications and graduates in two weeks. I'm showing NKU PRSSA how easy it is to create online content.

------
Sent via iPhone

UPDATE: Josh's LinkedIn Profile is here.

Message Over Medium Wins 08 Presidential Race

Fresh from a stint at the White House as the Internet and E-Communciations Director, David Almacy is now a VP of Digital Strategies at Waggener Edstrom.

Almacy presented to the Cincinnati Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America earlier this week. I asked him about the allure of social media in the 08 presidential campaigns and that same allure in public relations. His video response is below.

In a world of social media experts, Almacy’s pragmatic views are refreshing. He made several great points in his presentation, and shared stories from his White House tenure that show how fast media (old and new) is moving.

Almacy was getting stories on his Blackberry, pushed from the wire services, a little over two years ago. No news there except that these stories were about the very press conference he was in at that moment. Surreal.

And when numbers for the Bush administration’s annual Barney Cam event decreased at WhiteHouse.gov, Almacy realized that applying mainstream media metrics to online content didn’t make sense. Giving up control of the Barney Cam video and sharing it freely ensured more people saw the footage than ever – albeit tougher to track from one source.

For more of Almacy’s take on politics and social media, check out his CapitalGig blog and a recent interview on The Marketing Edge podcast.

tags | public relations | PRSA | social media | White House | David Almacy | Waggener Edstrom

Interactive Conversations about Social Media, er, Dinner

Added a blogger dinner to the end of a busy and wildly successful trade show effort in New York City this week.

Connecting with industry colleagues from around the world that I simply would not have met otherwise? It's like jet fuel for my blogging efforts.

As we settle into 2008, I'm getting back to my steady diet of social media. Watch this space.

Mad Men Swag

Steve Hall at Adrants held a Mad Men swag contest to celebrate the show's first season.

I was one of the winner's. WOOT! The martini shaker says "Conquering Madison Avenue, One Martini at a Time."

This details how much I enjoy swag/tchotchkes...I don't even drink. But it's in a place of honor in my office should an emergency arise.

Friday Flickr Fix – 10.18.07 – Connect

Headed to The University of Georgia in Athens to speak at Connect. At some point I may post my presentation here.

Karen Russell with the Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication has put together a great agenda.

You can follow the conference any number of ways if you’re so inclined.

I’m looking forward to connecting with some old friends in person for the first time, reconnecting with other colleagues and meeting the professionals, students and educators attending the event.

IMG_2357 uploaded by press_eject
tags | public relations | PR | social media | marketing | UGAConnect07

Hardcore Branding

The use of tissue paper as ad space in a doctor's exam room shouldn't surprise me, but let the record show I am NOT here for a prescription.

------ Kevin Dugan Sent via iPhone

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

A Painful Process

Thanks to everyone as I test this process out. Bear with me, it'll be worth it.

This pic is to underscore that this whole moblogging thing may involve some tears, but it's getting seamless -- quickly. And yes, I realize blogging by mobile phone has been OLD news -- for awhile.

This is my son after a haircut. He's pretty pissed as he was not a willing customer. "From the field" pics like this are what I'll be posting.

Oh, they'll be more relevant than this one. But I couldn't resist foisting a kid pic on you for this test.

We now return you to regular content/posting.

Let the Moblogging Begin

Testing out iPhone's Typepad interface to see how easy it is to post from the road.

So far so good, but unless it's an image and/or quick thought, I'll probably wait to use the normal interface.