Strategic Public Relations

Gannett’s Future Buoyed by Crowd Sourcing

“Social Media & Brand Reputation” was the title of a panel discussion I attended earlier this week at the local office of marketing firm Northlich. An audio transcript of the event is available here.

The panel included Tom Callinan, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s vp of content and audience development, Jennifer Carroll, Gannett’s vp of new media and Eva Parziale, Columbus, Ohio Bureau Chief for The Associated Press.

After all of the bad news in the newspaper industry, it was great to see how Gannett and the AP are changing to involve readers in a discussion to augment and help guide their coverage.

AP Expands Story Through Digital Tools: As a non-profit supplying newspapers with content, The AP is more focused on giving its newspaper clients multimedia content. This OJR story details how the AP’s multimedia strategy will extend its reach. The AP has established its crowd sourcing abilities through a partnership with World Now. This measured approach makes sense for their organization.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is one of Gannett’s biggest social media success stories with a percentage of local penetration that is second only to The Washington Post. Several social media elements of the Enquirer site help forge this strong, local connection.

GetPublished Yields Hyper-Local Coverage: GetPublished solicits user-submitted content at more than 230 neighborhood-centered "microsites." Much of this content is reverse published into neighborhood inserts distributed in the print edition.

Rather than call GetPublished’s more than 1,200 readers citizen journalists, Carroll considers it a crowd sourcing exercise. "Not everybody is treated as a reporter, but a lot of people have important things to say," she said.

CincyMoms Shows Word of Mouth Potency: Much of the conversation takes place on the Enquirer’s message boards and blogs. However since launching CincyMoms in January, it's quickly become one of its most popular destinations with about 1 million page views a month and around-the-clock discussion.

”We’ve brought in experts to chat with the audience and the Moms ignore the experts,” said Callinan. The Moms trust their own personal experiences more than an outside source.

Blogs “Distract Staff,” Incite Readers: Callinan notes the Sports blogs see the most traffic, but sees them as a distraction to his staff. He also noted that heated comments and misinformation on the news site lead the Enquirer to disable the comment capability previously attached to each news story on the site. The blogs still accept comments to posts.

It's natural that Callinan prefers the larger, self-running sandbox on his site. But I almost did a spit take when he said, “it remains to be seen if blogs will become the CB radio of our decade.” I suspect this was more of a wish on his part than a prediction.

This comment from a vp immersed in social media at a print daily resembles the paradox in Gannett’s USA Today strategy. It has a social network to engage its readers as it creates a glossy companion vehicle to generate more ad dollars. Can old business formulas capture a new audience?

If USA Today is merely responding to an expressed advertiser need, it underscores how marketers also need to change their approach to these mediums.

RELATED:  Newspapers pin survival hopes on user content

UPDATE: Tom Callinan sent me this note as a follow-up to this post.

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Hi Kevin.  Your blog post popped up on my Google news alerts.

Good post, although I should clarify as I was not clear on the panel…

Great line about spit takes….I learned something.

I did say our sports blogs are our most popular…and there's no way I see them as a "distraction" for reporters….

When I referenced distraction I was questioning the value of some of our lower traffic blogs….some may get as few as 10 comments a month…..and are they worth the effort….

Also, my CB radio comment was meant as rhetorical.
----

tags | Cincinnati Enquirer | Gannett | Associated Press | social media

Friday Flickr Fix – 06.29.07 – All Hail the iPhone

My vacation kicks off today. Believe it or not I won’t be standing in line for an iPhone.

But in honor of a really, really, ridiculously good looking product launch, I have to give a mobile phone salute to Apple’s PR Team.

Perhaps they can eventually lend their talent to help non-profit organizations like the Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can't Read Good And Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too.

iPhone playing Zoolander uploaded by bryanchang
tags | iPhone

State of Denial at WSJ and USA Today?

Perhaps the joke “What’s black and white and read all over?” should be updated to “What’s black and white and in the red all over?

My defense and love of print media is well-documented. But the following scenario seems the exact opposite of smart.

As media online and off create green properties, print media continues to fall on hard times. This has forced more than one newspaper to raise prices. What’s one way USA Today and WSJ hope to differentiate themselves?

Glossy paper.

...glossy magazine pages may indeed be more attractive to consumer-focused ad buyers. The Wall Street Journal and USA Today are now developing glossy magazines for distribution within their traditional newsprint flagships, according to company executives and media buyers familiar with the work, Advertising Age reports. …beauty, fashion and other lifestyle advertisers are happier to spend money if their ads appear on thick, glossy pages.

Each magazine will try to find overlooked editorial space to occupy, but the reality is that living -- however luxurious or active -- is pretty well-represented already in magazines. The real play here is creating a lush reader experience that can't be matched with newsprint, not to mention media outside print.

More paper? Glossy paper stock may make advertisers happy -- initially. But will it reverse the hemorrhage of readers moving to an online only news diet? That better be some pretty amazing paper.

You will not win applying old rules to a new game.

tags | The Wall Street Journal | USA Today | newspapers | media | advertising

Top 10 Reasons to Join a Social Network

With everyone from USA Today and Ragan Communications to Sprite and Kelly Clarkson starting their own social network, now’s the perfect time to join one yourself.

Need a reason? We came up with 10.**

From the home office in Ottawa, Ontario…

10) My Mom’s Second Life avatar keeps nagging me to clean up my island and get a job.

9) ScobleSethCalacanisKawaskai Said So.

8) Twitter is sooo last month and Wiki’s are for sissies.

7) My boss saw the BusinessWeek cover story and wants a report on it.

6) I’m working my way up to eHarmony.

5) Helps pass the time waiting for the next, new shiny.

4) Where else can He/They be a She?

3) My kids joined Webkinz and I feel left out.

2) The bandwagon still has a few seats left.

1) I pitched a client on starting their own. Might as well check one out.

**This list started as an online exchange with Canuckflack. So consider this a transcontinental funny.

Clean and Simple Social Network uploaded by DaoMuCun
tags | public relations | PR | social network | marketing

Research Taps Folksonomy as "Most-Hated Web Word"

That folksonomy you found out in the blogosphere? Was it on a blog or a wiki?

Yahoo News points us to a "study" of oft-used web words that incite. The results tell us that my lead sentence is really pissing someone off.

This news reminds me of a new business presentation where a client told us he was concerned about my then firm's "globality." I later told the firm partners to simply inform the prospect that we're globalicious.

What are your least favorite words? I'll start out by noting some non-web words that bug me -- slacks, moist, blouse, pro bono, scrod (the fish) and ream (of paper). Yeah, Freud could have a field day with those, huh?

Four Links -- 06.20.07 –- Buzz: Inside Out, Web 2.1, Gaming Google Maps and Drinking Cucumber Pepsi

1) Buzz is an inside job   Seth Godin
“Enthusiasm can’t be faked. You can’t expect your team to create buzz about your new project, product or service simply because you held a staff meeting and told them that it is something that matters to you or the business.”

2) Social Media White Paper   Corporate Engagement
Mssers Cook and Hopkins updated their “introduction to the power of Web 2.0” to include background on Second Life, Wikis, Twitter and Facebook.

3) Google Carpet by Robert Sollis   Core77
When his emails to Google Maps went unanswered by humans, Sollis took matters into his own hands to correct an inaccuracy.

4) Cucumber Pepsi?   PSFK
Pepsi machines in Japan have a new flavor for a limited time. If you don’t like the refreshing taste of cucumber soda, I guess Pepsi will tell you where to put it? Be nice or they’ll get one of Coke’s walking vending machines to chase you down.

tags | social media | marketing | Coke | Pepsi
Cucumber PEPSI uploaded by J-3

Social Media x Distributed Web ≠ Good Design

As a firm believer of learning by doing, I can currently be found here, at another blog, on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. And don’t forget YouTube, MyRagan and LinkedIn.

Social Media Disease
How do you serve up your online proclivities in one spot to access and promote them more easily? Adpulp points to a possible solution – add a widget or badge to your homepage.

"Badges? We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges."

This might work for one or two sites. But less really is more in online design. In fact, my old, vanilla blog design is back in style as even the savviest of social media gurus revert to a more minimal design.

Typepad Pages may be the cure for social media disease. It allows you to create dedicated pages off your blog. Rohit at Influential Marketing has already used it to create a social media bio.

As a temporary solution, this makes the most sense. But it's a bit like sweeping the dust beneath the rug from a design perspective. So widget designers aren’t off the hook. They need to make the widget designs simpler to customize and able to blend into a site. Otherwise my slow-loading sidebar will look like a stack of geek merit badges.

tags | marketing | blog | social media | design

“For Future Reference” -- Interview Tip #1

Um, little rant tip. If you’re interviewing, for whatever reason, let your references know about it. Even crazier, ask someone to be a reference before you list them as one.

If you conduct the above due diligence and get a job? Your references should be the first ones you tell (after your immediate family and current employer). If a year or two has passed, and you find yourself looking again, start the above process all. over. again.

The above is basic 101, right? Yet I’ve had some weird and uncomfortable calls thanks to a few people NOT following these rules.

It’s been almost three years since I left my last place of work. Unless you’ve worked with me at my current job, you better follow these rules if you expect me to say anything to an HR manager or recruiter.

References may read like a few names on a page. But expecting someone to endorse your talent and abilities is a big deal. I get more courtesy and respect from people on social networks, people I’ve never met in person. Think about that. /rant

Saturday Night Madness uploaded by * Eartha Kitsch *

Friday Flickr Fix – 06.15.07 – Censorship

Flickr has an international incident on its hands. The photo sharing site is now available in eight languages, and is being accused of censorship in some of the countries it now serves.

More than 5,000 images tagged censorship help tell the story.

If your Yahoo! ID is based in Singapore, Germany, Hong Kong or Korea you will only be able to view safe content based on your local Terms of Service so you won’t be able to turn SafeSearch off. In other words that means, that German users can not access photos on Flickr that are not flagged "safe." Only flowers and landscapes for the Germans. We will not let this happen! Copy and upload this picture to your account - show Flickr who we are!

Thomas Hawk, arguably the most popular/talented/prolific photographer on Flickr is also detailing the issue and pulling Yahoo! into the debate.

The Flickr community is quickly uniting and using the site to express themselves.

The only obvious response from Flickr thus far has been the addition of “Loves You” to its logo. As this clearly does not address the issue, I’m hopeful it’s their way of letting everyone know they’re working on the situation.

Full Stop uploaded by van heland
tags | Flickr | Yahoo | Flickr censorship | Thomas Hawk

Shop by Cell Phone at Urban Outfitters

According to Women’s Wear Daily, Urban Outfitters is testing a text-messaging program that could allow customers to shop by cell phone. UO TXT, will interact with shoppers via their phones.

“Consumers who sign up for the UO TXT program in stores or online receive immediate confirmation via text message. Those who opt in will receive early notice on sales, alerts for special in-store events like concerts and other offers. No more than two messages will be sent to a shopper's cell phone each month”

UO’s hyper-local blog (with the horizontal scroll from hell) should push some of its hard-earned content to handsets. Customers will be further informed and better connected to the UO brand. UO store employees could even sport Reactees to the delight of overly text-happy customers. Or not.

Texting, Texting, 1-2-3
WWD also details other retailers that are testing texting (say it three times fast) in practical and fun ways. Grocer Meijer warns customers via text alert just before it raises gasoline prices. Outdoor apparel retailer Moosejaw offers a "rock, paper, scissors" game amongst other things.

Urban outfitters uploaded by fan_gab
tags | Urban Outfitters | OU TXT | text messaging | retail marketing