Strategic Public Relations

Brand's Annual Report Published via Instagram

"Story drives the form. Form does not drive the story."

A local journalist instilled this mantra in me recently. And it would appear this mantra is being applied to annual reports.

Over the last decade, annual reports have gone from dry as toast financial documents to become a brand's "secret weapon" (vs. bread and butter /rimshot). Take this example from Warby Parker -- which provides an interactive, behind the scenes look at "how it all goes down" at the popular online eyewear brand.

Rather than having the production, or typical annual report format, drive its creation, The Calgary Zoo chose Instagram to serve up its year in review and to help reinforce its story.

• 
• 
• 

 Now before you go out and start snapping pics of your existing annual report and posting them to Instagram, here's why it works for the zoo.

• Telling a Visual Story: The Zoo already had a very visual story to tell. Instagram helped amplify this fact. They didn't try and reverse engineer the annual report into square photos for Instagram.
• Creating Snack-Sized & Healthy Content: Each page became a destination for the Zoo...helping them reinforce important points and distribute the annual report more easily online. 
• Supporting a Broader Plan: This execution is part of a broader plan for the Zoo as it relates not only to it's marketing efforts, but also to it's annual report...and its role in these broader efforts.
• Reinforcing the Brand: The Zoo does a great job of using visuals to reinforce the experience visitors have at the Zoo as well as the broader platforms the Zoo supports, including protecting penguins for example. The point is, while there are many snack-sized messages, all of the pictures come together to support a common theme - the Calgary Zoo.

It is a great use of Instagram, a great idea for the Calgary Zoo and an important reminder to us that the restrictions of a platform can increase our creativity and not simply limit it.

5 Tips for Free, Easy Photo Edits

The news of Google's latest service shutdowns means picture editing is no longer a Picnik for many bloggers, Flickr users and others.

Google is shutting down Picnik and wrapping the technology into services like Google+. And while many die hard Picnik users are understandably miffed, the odds are good that several alternatives have come about to handily replace their de facto image editor.

Whether or not you use Picnik, here are five tips for free and easy photo edits.

1) Your Computer: Most laptops come preloaded with image editing software. It may only cover the basics, but it'll do in a pinch and they work whether or not you're online.

2) PowerPoint: This may be seen as Macgyver by some and MacGruber by others, but you can pull images into a powerpoint slide, edit them and save them out again as jpgs. This is also great if you don't have photoshop and want to combine images. Again, you're limited in what you can do, but you can do more than you think.

3) Pixlr: If you prefer Photoshop, but don't have access to it, check out Pixlr. It's a great, free online image editing tool that closely resembles the graphic design software.

4) BeFunky: I've used BeFunky in the past for some photo fun, but they've enhanced and expanded their offering with plenty of free options to edit and filter images, add special effects and more. Thanks to Matthew Dooley for the heads up on BeFunky's full array of options.

5) Picassa: I use it on my desktop. It also connects to Picnik, but it lets you do quite a bit of editing without it. It's also a great photo management tool.

Bonus Tip: If you're in love with a photo app on your smartphone? Use Dropbox or something similar to transfer images back and forth and simply edit on your phone. It's not as straightforward as the above options. But if there's a filter you're in love with on your phone, it's an option for the right shots.

UPDATE: Thanks to David Parmet for also tipping me off to the Aviary App which allows you to edit pics from/in Facebook. 

Picnik is a great site. Hopefully Google makes a quick and obvious integration of Picnik into all of its photo tools. In the meantime, the site's given refunds to all its users and is free to all until it shuts down in mid-April. This gives die hard fans plenty of time to find an alternative that might even improve upon their former photo editing habits.

Social Media Consolidation Leaving Users in Lurch

Picnik is just one of several sites changing their policies or shutting down completely. Co.Tweet's moving to paid only as part of Exact Target's product offering. Twitter bought Summify and it's shutting down soon.

Social Media is maturing and, as sites buy other sites or evolve, it's impacting users. Hopefully it means more from mainstream sites like Twitter and Google+ in the above examples. Just remember it's business. And it's something  we'll surely be seeing more of in the future.

And a thanks to ShannanB for inspiring this post. 

 

Branding with Color: Lessons from Coke

At my previous gig, my colleagues took pictures of a client's store and the competition's stores. A designer would convert them to black and white photos and blur any logos in the pics. Then they'd ask the client to match the stores with the brands.

It was rare for someone to ace this test. It's a powerful lesson in the power of color in branding (and the need for a store design that also helps reinforce the brand). This test is also done for web sites.

Cuckoo for Coke Colors
From store shelves to the packages on those shelves, Coke realized how well they've used color to differentiate their three big brands from each other when they broke their own rules. A holiday-themed design for the Coke can seems harmless enough. But as you can see, Coke and Diet Coke fans alike were understandably confused by the temporary switcheroo.

You can call this a Coke fail, but I call it a reminder of how good Coke's established its individual brands with just color. But then again, I'm not covering the cost from recalling the holiday cans earlier than planned and replacing them with "the right colors."

Branding through color is well-documented. "Color is one of the brain’s three visual pathways and, since we process every object within view simultaneously, color is the mechanism that places emphasis on certain areas. In addition to enhancing on-shelf visibility, the appropriate use of color can increase brand recognition by some 80%, while also serving as an important brand identifier."

Do you own your brand colors in your competitive space? Is your brand's color palette representing you correctly?

Sensory Branding 
Brands need to consider all elements of  their brand as it pertains to the five senses. Starbucks obviously uses smell to brand their coffee. But it also asked, "what does our brand sound like" and now they have an in-store entertainment network layered on top of its free wifi. It all works together to help connect with the consumer.

Sound the Bell on Pavlovian Marketing

A professional association in the online industry sent me a white paper -- via postal mail. It’s a printed piece (thick stock with an even thicker cover stock). And it has two small visuals in the entire 12-page document.

What was the white paper about? I’m not sure because every time I tried to read it, I fell asleep.

To be clear, I don’t begrudge anyone from creating, and mailing, a printed piece. There are a lot of good reasons to create a print experience. And even in a world teeming with tablets and e-readers, a print execution can help content stand out – in a good way.

Reflex Marketing
My issue is with Pavlovian Marketing. This is when we use the same old ways to talk about the new --  regardless of how ill-fitting thesee ways might appear – because that’s how it’s always been done.

There are planning rules and guidelines worth their weight in gold (audience/goals/measureable objectives/strategy and tatics). Keep them. They’re valuable. And sometimes there’s a need to leverage new rules for new tools (social media as engagement vs. broadcast).

Pavlovian Purgatory
Pavlovian Marketing is somewhere in between these two extremes. As if on command marketers spit out the same tactics. In this case, a rather academic looking white paper.

Wikipedia claims a white paper "is an authoritative report or guide that helps solve a problem" or make a decision. "In commercial use, the term has also come to refer to documents used by businesses as a marketing or sales tool."

But does the above definiition mean a white paper has to look like the business equivalent of a college research paper? PSFK publishes white papers I'd like to print out and hang on my walls as much as I want to read it.

Far too often, marketers let formats serve as rules instead of guidelines. Take the news release. (No, please, take it. >rim shot<) The start up Square used Instagram to publish a dead simple news release -- with actual news in it.

There are a myriad of ways to reach the same goal. I’m not suggesting everything can be snack-sized into a bumper sticker, tweet, infographic, top ten five list or a 60- 30-second video. I am suggesting that we need to practice what we preach as communicators.

White Noise Paper
As far as the white paper that inspired this post, let me ask you this. If you’re audience is, by default, online and you’re trying to impress this audience with your point of view on the inner-workings of a niche in the online industry, would you use printed materials to accomplish this goal?

A wise then-client once said he knew a colleague with more than 17 years of experience. The only problem was it was a single year -- repeated 17 times. Tune out the din of the marketing bell that sounds clearly as pile after pile of examples bury you (online and offline) ultimately suffering you into a fossil. Take a deep breathe and make sure you're next work is your best work....not simply a rehash of your last work.

Cross-posted to the Bad Pitch blog.

5 Things You Can Learn On A Photowalk

Over the weekend, Cincinnati Social Media held a photowalk within downtown Cincinnati. We had amazing weather for it and, in two hours, I took 120 pics and walked a little over a mile with more than a dozen #cincysm members and Instagram fans.

While I've planned a ton of events over the years, every one is different and you can still learn something new each time. So here are five things I learned on the #cincysm #instameet.

1) Cameras Are Not Required: While I was inspired to organize this event by Instagram, it didn't matter if you had the app, or an iPhone -- all forms of capture were welcome. Others had Androids or their SLRs in hand. But a high point of the day was when I realized two children were using their Nintendo DS' to take pictures. The kids were accompanying their parents on the walk. 

2) Back Stories Make Big Stories: It was great to meet some folks for the first time that day as well as others I'd known online, but had not met in person. One attendee had not been downtown for about five years. So it was great to get his perspective on how much the city has changed and improved. Everyone seemed to contribute a lesser known fact about buildings as we walked. This gave a great back story to the pictures we took and we got to know each other better in the process.

3) New Perspectives Will Find You: I've spent a lot of time downtown over the years and knew the path we took has plenty of photo opportunities. But there were still certain spaces, perspectives and details I saw for the first time. Photowalks are great when you're out of town, but they can also reconnect you with a space so familiar that you don't pay attention to it.

4) Promotion Before Makes For Difficult Follow-Up After: Events are shared  and overshared via social media. This one made it to LinkedIn (which serves as CincySM's web page), Facebook (not everyone targeted were CincySM members), on Instagram and all of these pushed to a MeetUp site to keep it organized. This is fine -- even without the context. But it makes it tough to track everyone down post-event. All 12 attendees have different online preferences and a different point of reference for the event online. In addition to Flickr and Instagram, we're using DropEvent for a spot to aggregate images (h/t Christiaan). But even if everyone agrees to a single hashtag and rallying point post-event, you still find yourself repopulating the same sites you used to promote the event with this update.

5)  Organizing For Flexibility Is Critical: With a lot of events -- from weddings to conferences -- your attendance can change at the last minute. So I had multiple routes in mind in case we needed to split up into smaller groups. And as we walked our route, we tried to tweet/instagram a few pics so folks could catch up to us. This worked out well. But for the next photowalk, I'll also designate a single way for late comers to communicate with us so they can catch up more easily during the event.


The event was great and it was a blast taking a ton of pictures with Cawood, FranToh, Stuku56, Castlepoint, JustThinkChris, TorenCastle, GlennaVonHenna, Kathy Jo love blue, Tattooprincess and Pezhunter. Stay tuned for the next one. We'll definitely be doing more.

10 Instagram Hacks

In December 2010, I installed Instagram on my phone.

Six months and more than 215 photos later, I now enjoy using my mobile phone to take pictures as much as I enjoy using my digital camera. And in doing so I join more than five million users of a photo app less than eight months old.

What’s the big deal? Some suggest it’s Polaroid nostalgia. But the app’s power is in its utility, simplicity and community. Instagram is an easy to use, but powerful, social camera. It allows you to point, click, edit using one of 11 filters and share all within a single app. It’s essentially a microblogging platform focused solely on pictures.

Regardless of what you call it, Instagram introduces you to its community and their stories one photo at a time. Here are 10 things I’ve learned using Instagram that will make your experience with this app even better.

1)  Community: Check out Instagramers.com to meet new, passionate fans. Created by Phil Gonzalez, the site features users and includes tips, tutorials and a photo of the day contest. It’s a great way to connect with people and to see how creative users are getting within the apps constraints. Or if Facebook is more your style, check out the Instagram Community fan page.

2)  Ambient Awareness: From fashion, music and luxury brands to news outlets, non-profits, startups and some of your favorite beverages, there are a lot of brands on Instagram. And with any new platform; it’s interesting to see how brands use it to interact with fans. We’re already seeing examples of news releases, activism and extreme branding.

3)  Stats & Back (that pic) Up Hacks: Instagram’s open API has inspired a flurry of sites that create a richer web-based experience for this app. There are more than I can list in a single post without losing your attention. But if you only check out one, make it Statigram. It provides you with analytics around your Instagram account.

For those of us that want to back up our photos for archival purposes or just to make it easier to share with others, we have a couple of options. Facebook fans can use Instasync to create a Facebook Photo Album. Dropbox users can tap into Instadrop to automatically make a copy of your Instagram pics as they’re posted. Or use Copygram (currently in beta) for a more universal back up option. These are great when you find yourself with too many pictures on your phone.

4) Flickr: Yep, for me, Instagram and Flickr provide two different things. In this case, head over to Flickr and check out the Instagram group. If you’d like to mash up the two sites, Gramjunction is worth checking out. Juan Sanchez tapped the Insta-API to create a site that takes your Flickr pics tagged with Instagram and serves them up in a stream. Clicking through takes you to the Flickr page/account for that photo. This allows Flickr Fans to continue to focus on their site of choice and still parse out their instagram pics.

5) Instaview Sites: By far the web-based sites allowing users to interact with and view Instagram pics are the most popular choice for developers tapping into the API. There are a ton of these “Instaview sites,” but most require you to be a member of Instagram to access them.

Regardless, I enjoy using Inkstagram for its interface (it doesn’t work on IE, fwiw). But there is something for everyone in this category from sites including Extragram, Gramfeed, Webstagram, Instagrid, Listagram and a viewer that lets you view popular photos by filter used. You can even create a screensaver (web-based or Mac-based) with your Instagram pics. Or create a widget to bring your pics to your blog.

6)  Novelty View Sites: Novelty view sites are like Instaview sites but they come with a twist. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Anecdotal evidence tells us there are more cat people using Instagram but maybe it’s better to compare kittens and puppies?

Or view pics based on geography (map-based), color or geo-location (near you). Hot or Not fans will appreciate Instawar and Pic A Fight. Or if you just want to gaze at the popular crowd, visit Rrrewind to do so across a variety of social content.

7)  InstaMake Sites: If you thought the novelty view sites were cool, a host of sites take it offline to create Instagram souvenirs. Teeny Tile and Stickygram offer magnetic attraction. Instatees and IGTees let you wear your Instagrams. Hatchcraft and Keepsy allow you to frame your pics or make them into a scrapbook.

And while Instaprint was one of the first options for printing your Instagrams (using a pre-identified hashtag), it has been joined by Postagram, stickers, Instamaker and other Instagoodies as well as posters and contact sheets from Printstagram, Social Print Studio and Printo.

8)  Challenges: I can frame this section up with a single name: Josh Johnson. @JoshJohnson is a photographer with daily tips and a rotating set of photo challenges that get the Instagram community congregating from around the world. Challenges are one of the best ways to engage with Instagram (participation = social media satisfaction, hmmm, sounds like a meme) But while Josh is the most active and prolific Instgramer I know, Spenser Kaufman @deceivexxdeny, also provides some interesting opportunities amongst others.

9)  Tag It: Much like Twitter, hashtags are a critical device with this app. They’re used very creatively on Instagram to tell stories. All of the challenges rely on tags and tagging your location is a great way to meet folks in your community using Instagram. That can come in handy for photowalks.

10) Photowalks: Photowalks take the Instagram community offline and in person -- where it's most important and powerful. They're an amazing way to get inspired, meet other photographers and take a ton of pics. There was a global Instameet earlier this year. But you don’t have to wait until next year to have one. Just head to Instameet and create your own. Or find one to participate in. Psst, the Cincinnati Instameet is on Saturday, June 25th. Join us!

Instagram is APPtastic
Phew! In an earlier post, I focused on mobile photo apps and left out Instagram. And now it’s probably obvious why. It’s inspired an ecosystem of sites Now it might make more sense if I tell you that, on average, 10 photos are posted to Instagram every second.

To check out the above link storm, uh, hacks in a curated page, check out my Scoop.It on Instagram sites.

It’s a far from exhaustive list, believe it or not. So if you have a site to add, do it there or share it in the comments below. Or post about it on Instagram and copy @prblog.


Cross-Posted at My Work Blog

Twitpic, Instagram, Flickr & Facebook - Got the Picture?

For some reason, I know that I started using Twitpic three years ago today.

You could care less and I don't blame you.

So in addition to pointing to my first Twitpic, most viewed Twitpic and one or two others illustrating this post, I'll make some observations about photo sharing platforms in general.

You may not care about this either. But the odds just shifted significantly.

All Bets Are Off
Just a few short months ago it seems we could classify platforms based on what you did there: social networking, photo sharing, publishing. But even then it didn't acknowledge LinkedIn's focus on business, Facebook's ginormous user base, Flickr's deep community and Say Media's killer Ad Network.

And as these sites have evolved, so have consumer habits. Case in point: the second most used search engine is YouTube and not Yahoo. Yahoo's busy competing with AOL as they try to become content players instead of what they built their brands on respectively.

Assumptions Make Us Stoopid
I'm not being nostalgic with the above observations. My point is to dig deeper and go beyond commonly-held beliefs. Platforms evolve quickly...more quickly than the dot com days.

We assume that teens do nothing more than text. That's a safe assumption since the number of text messages sent and received each day exceeded the population of the earth -- in 2007. But it's not safe to assume they don't watch TV. They simply text while doing it. It's called a multi-screen experience.

So while Flickr and the other two top photo sharing platforms combined are dwarfed by Facebook when it comes to number of images hosted, this is more than a quantity discussion. Consider what else Flickr provides its users. That's why they're still around today -- in blatant defiance of The Highlander Complex. And if that reason ties to your target audience it's a viable option for your consideration.

Less is Even More
Twitpic and Instagram are other disruptions in the photo sharing discussion. Suddenly my iPhone can take and edit pictures that look better than the ones I take with my camera. And it's obviously easier to share those pictures. As we see a trend of consumers that are more into documenting the experience than the experience itself, we need to consider what that means.

This is all part of a larger discussion around content and what value it delivers the consumer and their role in creating it. Content is king oversimplifies the discussion. You have to consider the consumer, which then drives how and where you serve up "his majesty." And it doesn't even begin to take into consideration concepts like sharing and curation.

Slowly Unveiling a Story
The short form, heavily-social Twitpic, Instagram and others offer opportunities to tell very short stories. Tagging helps fashion those stories into volumes. Two interesting examples of sites trying to tap into this are Hash Album and a promotional site set up by Brisk for SXSW, BriskPic. It was a crowd-sourcing/packaging test by Pepsi. Did they learn from it? Let's assume yes. But don't underestimate the power of simplicity when it comes to images. Could they replace a news release? Depends on the news. Much like Twitter, it's forcing communications to be stronger, yet shorter. Our skills increase as consumer attention spans shrink.

What examples have you seen of brands tapping into photo sharing in a way that added to their message? 

QR Codes -- Marketing's Scan-gasm

The marketing industry seems to be shifting its attention from going geo-loco to going QRazy over the latest shiny new object: QR Codes.

QR Codes are being scattered across marketing efforts like rice at a wedding. They're being used in ads, on billboards, as avatars, magazine art and t-shirts to name just a few applications.

There are some very practical uses for QR Codes, including museum docents, real estate assistants and cause marketing advocates. It offers consumers instant gratification, the opportunity to connect with a brand and the entertainment of discovery.

Utility vs. Trendy
My issue is with the large number of QR Codes pushed out by marketers that are technology for technology's sake. For example, if a brand is using a QR code just to push consumers to their web site, I'm told  UR Locaters do that just as easily.

And if a marketer is considering QR codes, why not barcodes? London's Gatwick Airport asked this question and decided to use barcodes and Stickybits to implement an awareness campaign around an ongoing construction project.

Gatwick Airport's agency explained their choice as follows: "There is extensive use of QR codes, but we thought at this point in time consumers would be more receptive to the type of codes they are familiar with and see in stores day in and day out. Stickybits also provided us with a ready-made solution, that was easy to manage and works."

QR codes are getting the buzz worthy of a shiny new object, but the consumer's awareness of barcodes is a great point. There is education required regardless of which you choose, but Stickybits offers the marketer a bit more flexibility and a level of engagement that QR codes seemingly cannot. Disclaimer: I've written a post on StickyBits in the past and I'm rooting for this service to get more traction along with QR codes.

There is a level of visual aesthetic you can achieve with barcodes. And using Stickybits you do not run into compatibility issues across phones and different types of QR codes.

QR Codes are to VHS What Barcodes are to Beta?
Are QR codes and Barcodes the same as VHS and Beta? Hardly. Barcodes are simply the hard-working step child and QR codes are the sibling attending the hot parties, dressed up and getting their pic snapped on the red carpet. Look past the shiny new aura to see if QR codes, barcodes or something else might be the best tactic to support your next marketing strategy. 

North Terminal Interchange uploaded by London Gatwick Airport

3 Ways to Fall in Love with PowerPoint

 

PowerPoint. This single word has fueled a cottage industry of blogs, training seminars and books on how to use the software more efficiently and more effectively. This is mainly because of how much PowerPoint is abused as a presentation tool. "Death by PowerPoint" is the tip of the pop/business culture iceberg when it comes to the snark and the angst this software's inspired.

Adding to the noise are my three tips designed to help you fall in love with PowerPoint -- all over again or for the first time.

PowerPoint Improv
People over think things when it comes to presentations and as a result use PowerPoint as a crutch. PowerPoint Improv is more like PowerPoint without a net. It's Toastmasters meets a comedy improvisation with a happy hour thrown in for fun. If you haven't seen or participated in a PowerPoint Improv like Battledecks or Ignite's PowerPoint Karaoke, you're missing out.

>>Battledecks is a fast-paced, fun, laugh riot where "contestants" have to put together a presentation on the fly as slides are randomly projected for their confusion and the delight of the audience.

>>For PowerPoint Karaoke we randomized the speakers and PowerPoints and each presenter gave a random 10 minute presentation on the slides. It is a fun and enjoyable practice that was first started in 2005 by a group of German artists. Now, the practice and experience of PowerPoint Karaoke is ubiquitous across many geek gatherings, and often best played with a slightly inebriated group of 6-8 interesting people.

The end result of PowerPoint Improv is a lot of fun as you become more relaxed with the medium.

Rapid Fire Slides
Pecha Kucha and Ignite bring elements of a pep rally, foot race and Twitter to PowerPoint. Both give presenters restrictions on the number of slides and the amount of time they get to present each slide. The best examples are when presenters get creative on a topic they're passionate about to energize the audience into action. Its become more of a movement as Pecha Kucha and Ignite have spread around the world.

Cincinnati's Pecha Kucha and Ignite are energizing events and I even presented at the most recent Ignite. It was a rush, exhausting and an inspirational learning experience as it relates to how I build slides.

PowerPoint...the Musical
I've created presentation kick off videos to set the tone and get attendees excited, but this is different. Save out one of your presentations as jpgs, pick a song and use the free movie making software that comes with your computer to make a PowerPoint music video. An example of the end result is embedded in this post. It's not as crazy as synchronizing Dark Side of the Moon with The Wizard of Oz. But it could expand your mind just a little.

In fact, any one of these exercises will give you a second wind with PowerPoint. Pick one and try it out.

"If It’s Good, It’s Been Done"

Early in my career, I was on a team prepping for a BIG new business pitch. It was for a product and the creative copy we used was something along the lines of “Better Torque, Better Horsepower, Better Grip, Better Get One.”

As I drove to the pitch that morning, I passed a billboard for a bank with copy along the lines of “Better Interest, Better Checking, Better Sign Up.” I had nothing to do with the creative copy. But it reinforced a phrase I've heard many times over the years: if it’s good, it’s been done.

A friend of mine launched a web redesign recently. The designer that worked on it did a great job. My friend then received a note pointing out the similarities between the new site and another company’s web site. It’s a tough situation to be in. My friend did some homework and confirmed this similarity was completely coincidence.

And more obvious are logos. Last night I was reminded – again – of how similar the Washington Nationals and Walgreens logos appear. Coincidence? There are plenty of examples of similar logos. And plenty of reasons why this happens. But what's a brand to do in a situation like this?

The phrase “if it’s good, it’s been done” is well-intended, but what do you do if you’re epiphany does not hold up to a Google search, or a patent search? Even worse, it passes all these things and doesn't become apparent until after the launch.

As the big honking w's in this post make clear, it's not always as easy as simply tossing it out and starting over.