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Deploying social media in an organization: The big do-over

By now, your organization is ‘social.’ You may have a designated digital manager, or you may be throwing spaghetti at the walls. Odds are, your organization still hasn’t defined what ‘success looks like’ socially. But it’s never too late to start. Upon my hire as the marketing and communication specialist at a small nonprofit, ...

How Public Relations and Search Engine Optimization Are Merging

Search engine optimization is becoming all the rage. All over the country, business owners are saying “I want some SEO for my website,” without really knowing what it means or how it’s done. And three years ago, it was understandable to think that SEO was a form of unknowable dark ...

The Complete Guide to Social Media Marketing

Marketing has been an important part of business management and advertising for decades now. However, over the last few years, a new form of marketing has become an important piece of the business marketing puzzle. An offset of online marketing, social media marketing is a vital way to gain traffic, ...

What’s the Deal with Content Marketing?

Content marketing is centered on providing valuable content to potential customers in order to enhance their experience with your brand. The benefits of including content marketing as part of your online strategy are as follows: Building interest and loyalty. With fresh content, you can urge people to return to your website or ...

Pinterest Launches Business Pages to Attract More Brands

Pinterest has grown substantially since it started almost three years ago, with nearly 40 million users. According to SAP and NetBase, Pinterest is the fastest growing social site ever. Over the past year thousands of businesses have started using the site, finding that it can be a powerful way to ...

PR on a Budget

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Brad Smith in blog 1 Comment

PR Budget Managing a PR campaign on a budget is not always easy. However, there are ways that you can make a PR campaign, and your life, a lot simpler.

I believe in simplicity. My job as the director of client services requires me to contact multiple clients every single day to help plan PR campaigns and offer the best advice. It also requires that I stay on top of current trends and look into the future of the industry. Often, I need to help find avenues for clients that ensure they get the results they are looking for.

When looking for a public relations agency people tend to seek out a firm for fulfillment. Some people have a project that they need done in a specified amount of time and they happen to have a limited budget. The problem is the part of PR that often gets overlooked is the strategy. A strategy is crucial, it is long term, and most importantly it is hard work. Sure, there are companies like Pinterest that have managed to experience what appears to be an overnight success, but it actually took two years before the site really caught on. Not to mention they started with a four million dollar budget.

If your company had $4 million to start, it would be fantastic and you could afford to have a really great PR campaign and put $30,000 a month towards it. It is more likely that you have approximately $3,000-$5,000 to put towards your campaign.

This is how you manage a PR campaign on a budget:

Establish a clear goal that you are trying to accomplish
Set a long term plan of what you are going to do and when
Target a few different mediums while making sure that each gets sufficient time to build up
Have patience with each medium and don’t give up too quickly

You should always try to utilize multiple mediums, but you need to be patient and allow each medium time to create interest in your brand. If a blog post does not get picked up the first month that does not mean that people think you are uninteresting, it could easily mean that they haven’t heard of you yet. After you have a couple press releases, created some killer videos or infographics and your name gets out there, they may pick you up because they have heard of you and their readers are interested.

One thing to remember is that bloggers and other publications, either online or in print, are trying to give their readers things that they are interested in. If you are just starting your PR campaign, the chances are people haven’t heard of you very much and so it will take a while before their readers are wanting to hear stuff about you. Be patient and do things that are interesting to people.

If you are unsure of what to do for your campaign, relax, that is why you are hiring an agency. Talk with them, tell them your goals and let them create a strategy that caters to your needs. Remember that what they are doing should all be centered on your one goal. PR is one very successful avenue that will help you increase your revenue.

Don’t Be the Next Best Buy: Know When it’s Time to Give Your Brand Development Strategy a Facelift

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Alyssa Vincent in blog 3 Comments

The CEO of Best Buy, Brian Dunn, recently resigned, and many financial analysts are saying that this is the beginning of the end for the electronic giant. Whether or not that’s true, there’s no doubt that the Best Buy brand needs a major facelift if they want to remain a major player in the game.

Brand irrelevancy is one thing both small and large companies fear. I recently came across this useful blog post outlining the “10 Signs That Your Branding Needs A Facelift.” While some of these signs don’t apply to every business, asking yourself these questions while reviewing your brand development strategy can save you from ending up in an uncomfortable situation like Best Buy.

Am I Attracting the Wrong Customers?

If you find that the majority of your customers are asking for discounts, buying only a small portion of your products or making one purchase never to return again, you might be attracting the wrong customers. At this point you have two choices: Either refocus your marketing efforts to attract your ideal customer or restructure your business to cater to your current customers.

Best Buy was attracting the wrong customers because nobody was buying from them. Consumers go into Best Buy to test-drive a product, and then purchase it online. This led financial analysts to dub them as “Amazon’s showroom.” Best Buy positioned themselves as an authority on all things electronic, hoping consumers would be willing to pay a higher price for their knowledge. While they succeeded in earning the authoritative reputation, they misjudged who their current customers were: tech-savvy Internet shoppers.

Do My Customers Understand My Brand?

This question goes hand in hand with the previous one, and could be the reason you’re attracting the wrong customers. Your branding should tell your customers who you are, what you do, and why you are better than your competitors.

One Best Buy brand that is misunderstood is Napster. Napster started out as a peer-to-peer music sharing service, and was ultimately shut down due to copyright infringement. As you can imagine, there was a lot of negative publicity around the Napster name. Best Buy purchased the Napster brand and logo in 2008 and turned it into a legal online music store. However, because of the negative publicity and Best Buy’s lack of effort to rebrand the name, many people still believe the music service is illegal.

Am I Keeping Up With My Customers?

Technology changes and you have to keep up with it in order to keep up with your customers. If the only way for your customers to find you is in the phone book, then that’s a problem. You constantly need to be conducting research, or at the very least reading it, to keep up with what your customers want. Don’t be afraid to experiment free marketing tools either. There is very little risk to adding Pinterest or Google+ to your social media marketing strategy.

Best Buy has struggled to keep up with constant changing of technology. Ever since iTunes and Netflix came out, CDs and DVDs have slowly been dying out, and yet they take up 50 percent of Best Buy’s store layout. Best Buy attempted to get into the digital game by purchasing Napster and CinemaNow, a movie streaming service, but they were too late.

Are My Employees and I Proud of The Brand?

You should always take pride in your work, and your employees should be proud to say where they work because it’s a reflection of your brand’s culture. If you aren’t proud of your brand, figure out why. Are you not exhibiting your best work? Do you come off as cliché or corny? Are your key employees leaving? Once you figure out what’s holding you back from being proud of your brand, fix it.

Just over a month ago, Geek Squad founder and Best Buy’s Chief Technology Officer Robert Stephens resigned. In Stephen’s personal blog, he cited his decision to leave was to “pursue new opportunities.” However, according to Flora Delaney, retail consultant and former Best Buy executive, Stephens decision to leave was because he “grew disillusioned” with the company brand and culture.

Am I Unique?

One sign that you may need to re-invent your brand is if your logo appears to be outdated or starts to look similar to other companies. Companies like Google, Apple, Wal-Mart and Pepsi have revamped their logo roughly every 10 to 20 years. Times change and so do design preferences. It can’t hurt to explore a new logo, and it could just be the breath of fresh air your brand needs.

Best Buy is currently in the process of updating their logo, and it’s about time. The iconic yellow tag has been the logo for 23 years now, and seems a little outdated (in my opinion) compared to other brands. I’ve also noticed that Best Buy’s signature typeface and colors are eerily similar to Ikea’s.

I don’t know whether Best Buy will be around five years from now, but the company is definitely in a delicate situation. I suspect that if they are still around, the company will look very different than it does today, as it should. They have some major re-branding to do, and bringing in a new CEO is the perfect opportunity to do it. I’m looking forward to see what the new leader does with the brand.

Do you use Best Buy as an “Amazon’s showroom?” If so, what changes would Best Buy have to make to get you to make a purchase?

4 Areas of Do-It-Yourself Marketing to Avoid

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Marilyn Buckner in blog 2 Comments

They are out there virtually everywhere: myriads of programs, processes and plans to help the average Joe think he can perform like a marketing Merlyn. “All you have to do is follow these simple steps,” they’ll tell you and many of them will even provide this “proven” plan free of charge.

With dollars to be saved dancing in their eyes, the unwary marketer-to-be, a.k.a. company president, office manager, IT guy, or tech-savvy office flunky jumps on the do-it-yourself bandwagon and eagerly starts down the road toward what they believe will be an increase in sales. What they too often miss, however, is the road sign indicating they’re off on the kind of detour that is frequently followed by sudden stretches of missing pavement, chuckholes, and unmarked forks in the road.

Let’s get real, some things like amateurish marketing don’t change much over time and most of us can spot them instantly. I was recently struck by this fact as I glanced through some vintage telephone directory ads. Like technology, effective marketing and marketing strategies are in a constant state of warp-speed evolution and change. As Dave Thomas of ThomasArts put it, “When people mess around with their marketing dollars, they don’t understand that they’re playing with their revenue, not an expense.” Here are four key areas where it pays to put your dollars to work with a professional, and why.

Marketing Strategy
One DIY site I visited had a page outlining a simplistic marketing plan. Further down the page was a paid advertisement for toilet paper at Target. In a weird sort of way, I thought that was somewhat appropriate, because it almost instantly created a credibility problem for the article.

If a company does not have a professional marketing staff on board, it is too easy to miss the fundamentals of finding the demographic, and where and how those individuals can be effectively reached. This is purely a case of “put your money where your potential buyers are.” Guesswork and trial and error are not only ineffective, they are expensive.
Branding

Your brand encompasses much more than a company name and logo. It is the sum total perception of your company; it is also the personality that distinguishes your company or product. Effective branding creates credibility and motivates sellers to buy from you, rather than the competition. It can extend beyond a company name, logo and tagline into the elements of shapes, graphics, color, sounds, movement, smells and taste. For example, no other motorcycle sounds quite like a Harley, and no other chicken tastes just like KFC. Meaningful brand development is essential in building successful brands, and can’t be pulled out of a cardboard box (or created from a checklist) any more than it can be pulled out of a top hat.
Copywriting
Okay, maybe you got consistent “A’s” in your college English classes, or harbor a secret dream of someday writing a novel, but the truth is there is a world of difference between being able to write something and being able to write good marketing copy. Crafting a print worthy press release takes training and talent of an entirely different type than it takes to write a proposal. And the more concise the message needs to be, the tougher it is to get it right. It’s far easier to recognize what works than to create it; great word crafting is compelling to consumers.
Design
Desktop publishing software and affordable digital cameras have without question enhanced everyone’s creativity, and even turned a great many of us into amateur photographers. As I have experienced in art classes, it takes a lot more than knowing how to mix and match colors to come up with a piece of art someone wants to buy and own. Good design can be a tricky and complex process involving just the right amount and placement of white space, negative space, color selection and saturation, and above all, style. In addition, the pros can get it done not only better, but in a fraction of the time we novices can. It takes the right tools, technical skills, training and above all, talent to turn out terrific marketing design.

You owe it to yourself, your budget and your bottom line to enlist professional help in at least these four key areas. Your marketing dollars will not only get you further down the road to success, but you’ll also enjoy the ride much more without those noisy and unnecessary backfires.

Oreo Celebrates 100 Years with a Major Brand Campaign

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Kellie Englehardt in blog 5 Comments

Last month Oreo cookies celebrated 100 years, in honor of the milestone the company launched a major brand campaign online and in person for fans of the “world’s favorite cookie.” Oreo’s campaign provides a strong template for organizations wanting to celebrate a major milestone, whether they are one or 100.

The cookie people love to “Twist, Lick, and Dunk” made its start in New York City’s Chelsea Market factory for the National Biscuit Company. The iconic cookies were first sold to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey by weight at 30 cents per pound and packaged in bulk tins. Fast forward to today and the creme-filled cookie brings in $2 billion in annual revenue and is sold in over 100 countries.

Kraft foods went all out in the celebrations for this special birthday. To start they added a new cookie to the flavor lineup, which already includes popular flavors like Double Stuff and Golden Original for those that want the cookie in a non-chocolate form. Birthday Cake Oreos include festive rainbow candy sprinkles and are available on a limited-edition basis.

The messaging for the birthday campaign is simple, “Celebrate the Kid Inside.” The message easily resonates with people, as John Ghingo, Senior Director for Oreo Global explained, “In today’s hectic world, people have more responsibilities and pressures than ever before. Despite this, the simple act of enjoying an Oreo cookie and glass of milk continues to speak to a universal, human truth: inside all of us, whether grown-up or still growing, there’s a kid that deserves to be set free every once in a while.”

Around the world Oreo hosted celebrations on the cookies March 6 birthday. This included:

-In China, celebrations included a fireworks display at Shanghai Bund, a popular waterfront area in the city with lots of historic buildings. In addition, a major tower in the background was switched to “Oreo” blue to celebrate the brand. In addition, a bus tour kicked off that will bring carnival like party to 100 cities and towns in the months ahead.

-In Venezuela Oreo fans broke dozens of piñatas in classic birthday party form.

Oreo then took these in person celebrations to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for an online social media campaign. Pictures from the parties around the world were shared on the site, but Oreo is also encouraging fans to share their moments with the cookie. Their goal is to collect one million moments on their Facebook page, which boasts over 25 million fans. They are showing fans the value of interaction by asking them to share favorite Oreo photos, videos and stories.

Oreo isn’t just celebrating their own birthday; they are also celebrating fan’s birthdays. Each day they spotlight a fan celebrating their birthday and place their photo front and center on Oreo’s Facebook page as the “Birthday of the Day.” Oreo created a special birthday website, where fans can submit their photo for consideration. The website includes games, online birthday cards, and the “Oreo Moment’s Gallery,” where the collection of Facebook photos has been extended.

The brand campaign wouldn’t be complete without advertising. New print, television, digital and in-store advertising was rolled out in March celebrating memorable moments from the last century.

What continues to set Oreo apart from other cookie brands on the market is their remarkable branding and their ability to stay on message across multiple media platforms over the years. What do you think of Oreo’s 100^th birthday campaign?

Twitter Tip from the NBA

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Pat Parkinson in blog 3 Comments

The NBA is now creating Twitter-themed T-shirts for its biggest stars that include the players' Twitter handles. New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin is one of the players represented in the new marketing campaign. Photo courtesy of NBA.com

Among professional athletes, NBA players were some of the first to have prominent profiles on Twitter. Now the league is embracing that passion for social media by producing T-shirts with players’ Twitter handles instead of their last names above the jersey numbers printed on the back.

Jeremy Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul are now @JLin7, @carmeloanthony and @CP3.

An NBA spokeswoman told Mashable the league is “always looking at new ways to connect with fans.”

“As the top sports league on Twitter with more than 4.5 million followers on @NBA and more than 350 NBA players active on the site, we thought this would be a great way to engage with our fans,” said Lisa Pilken, vice president of licensing for the National Basketball Association.

The move also provided a great lesson for businesses and marketers struggling to increase their reach on Twitter, Facebook and other social media websites.

“If you’re seeing the NBA and you’re seeing Hollywood and you’re seeing television shows taking it this seriously, you know it’s going to be around,” said Darin “Doc” Berntson, social media manager for SEO.com. “There is no reason why the small guy can’t do it too.”

Having a strong social media marketing strategy is critical for many online public relations campaigns. Here are seven simple tips for reaching more people on Twitter and making it easy for them to find and follow your business:

1. Choose your Twitter handle carefully

You may change your Twitter handle (mine is @patrparkinson) at any point. Because the handle is how people identify you on Twitter, the label should be descriptive and consistent with names used on your other social media profiles like Facebook and LinkedIn.

Consider including the location of your business and use your real name if possible. For example, several Associated Press journalists I follow on Twitter have handles that include @jongambrellAP and @dbrysonAP.

I’m also a big Lollapalooza fan, have been since watching Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Ministry play on the tour in 1992. Since the festival now occurs in three different countries, organizers make it easy to follow along with Twitter handles like @Lollapalooza (U.S.) @LollapaloozaCL (Chile) and @LollapaloozaBR for the Brazilian leg of the fest.

2. Print your Twitter handle on your business cards

Next time you meet a new contact at a networking event save them the effort of having to ask “what is your Twitter handle?”

Including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn information on your business cards is important for any company trying to expand its reach through social media. Of course provide the company’s handle for branding purposes, but include your personal Twitter handle as well.

3. Email signatures should have links to social media

Make it easy for people to follow you on Twitter by providing your Twitter handle, the URL and a link to your Twitter account with the digital signature at the bottom of your emails.

Include personal and business Twitter handles along with links to the company’s Facebook page and LinkedIn account.

4. Proposals, brochures and presentations

From Powerpoint slides to infographics, sales proposals to brochures, today your Twitter information should be part of all of these.

“If it’s anything you would have made before that had your name on it, then include your Twitter handle,” Berntson advised.

5. Blog posts, bios and articles

Include links to all your social media profiles whenever you publish a blog post, podcast, webinar or any content produced for the Web.

I love bios and I read them obsessively. If I am even halfway interested in what was written I will often follow the author if they include an easy path to their Twitter profile. It’s important to use prominent icons to help identify social media buttons.

Have new landing pages on your website? Each should have your Twitter handle and a link to your profile so new followers may easily join the discussion.

6. Banners and advertising

For that next trade show create a banner for your company’s booth with information about your social media profiles. Have a computer available at events and provide incentives for people to sign in to Twitter and follow you right on the spot.

Twitter handles should also be part of all online advertising, display ads and broadcast promotions.

7. Use social media URLS

Whenever you include your social media profiles with marketing materials like business cards, brochures, banners, display ads or presentations, include your Twitter handle along with URLs (https://twitter.com/#!/patrparkinson) for your various social media accounts.

In the same way the email replaced fax machines and the postman, social media now threatens the existence of email. While your company’s website is still your marketing hub online, social media is slowly becoming the go-to way for companies to find new customers.

But remember, there is a reason it’s called “social” media. Even an NBA player’s Twitter handle printed above their jersey number will only go so far. The key is engaging those followers once they have started receiving your Tweets, otherwise your follower numbers will dwindle just as quickly as they spiked.

I’d love to hear from you. Where is the most creative place a company has provided its Twitter handle?

Online PR Lessons We Can All Learn From Apple

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Brad Smith in blog 1 Comment

What company wouldn’t kill to have their name in the press as often as Apple? The thing is it is possible, even if you are not coming out with a new product that boasts a 90 percent market share like the iPad.

Lessons Learned From Apple

Apple constantly talks about the changes they are making to their current products, products they plan on debuting, and products that they are discontinuing, etc.
They don’t shy away from saying that their product has a few bugs or doesn’t work the way they want it to.
They don’t filter what people say about their product, instead, they respond accordingly.
They are constantly developing new products, ideas, and ways to involve themselves in the constantly evolving marketplace.
They market their products with the consumer’s purchase process in mind. For example, naming their third iPad “the New iPad.”

You might be thinking that it is easy for Apple to be featured in the press because they have a lot of new products coming out with a loyal customer base, however, even if you’ve just started your business taking a look at Apple’s overall strategy can help any organization.

Apple is following the simple mantra of PR, to get your name in front of as many people as possible so that there isn’t a single person who doesn’t know who you are. And they are doing it by using every possible method including online PR.

What to Say

Of course people like to read stories that are interesting, but if you look at most of the stories on Apple you will start to realize that the only thing that is interesting about them is the company in and of itself. The stories aren’t necessarily amazing, in fact they are sometimes negative. A recent headline concerning the company was “Apple’s iPad has problems – so what else is new?”

This headline was featured on CBS news, a fantastic news source that thousands of people see, if not tens of thousands of people. Put your company name in the title, “[your company]‘s new [product] has problems – so what else is new?” Perhaps you would go into a cold sweat if this showed up on CBS news, but it shouldn’t.

But why shouldn’t it? Because people like to read about things that are negative, not working, a problem or generally speaking, that are bad. Not everyone likes to read articles that are about good deeds done in the world. If you are skeptical try the test on yourself. Go to your favorite news source and see which articles you want to read the most. Don’t be afraid, just be ready to respond and build your reputation.

It’s Not All About You

One last tip, the story doesn’t have to be about you. All you should really care about is getting your name in front of the highest number of people. If there are 70 million people reading articles about the New iPad and you are a company that makes apps, take a hint and write a story about the iPad and get your name in front of that audience. Even if your company only contributes a quote about how excited you are that your apps will function smoothly on the new iPad. That is 70 million more people that have a chance of hearing your name than if your story was titled, “Joe’s Apps launches new cross browser app.”

While I have my own opinion about whether you should go to where your audience is or if you should try to make your audience come to you, tell me which method has worked best in your experience.

Five Tips for Effective Project Management

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Aubrey Phelps in blog 3 Comments

project management

As an account executive I often get asked, “How do you do it all?!” Okay…not really. But as my own hardest critic, I do evaluate my work and contemplate how I might be able to manage everything more efficiently.

Between client calls, staying informed on all projects, and receiving about one hundred emails a day, it can be all too easy for something to slip through the cracks. However, I’ve found at least five easy ways to make it all more manageable and a lot less crazy.

Allocate your time. I use a Google calendar along with everyone else in the office. This calendar shows everyone when my meetings are. I plan on having 20-30 minutes before the meeting to prepare reports and follow-up on projects, and about 10 minutes after the meeting to send a follow-up so both the client as well as my teams and I all know the takeaways and action items while they’re still fresh in our minds. I also block out time for monthly reporting and forecasting for projects such as infographic design, press releases, and more.

Plan projects. When you’re working on a project, you need to know all aspects that go into it. What is the budget? How much time does that give you to work on it? Who will need to be involved? When is the due date? Make sure you ask all those questions and also run the project by your teams and their calendars to ensure that you are giving a realistic goal. By knowing all this up front, it is easier to bid the client correctly and schedule a realistic due date for a project.

Project Management

Organize your materials. As I said above, I get over one hundred emails a day. They are all important. So how do I know which ones to pay immediate attention to, and which ones to ignore? For starters, I allocate time in the first part of the morning, in the mid-afternoon, and before I leave work to address emails.

Communicate often. I can’t stress this one enough. Communication is important at every step of a project. Better communication with your teams can help ensure that projects are moving along, and can help you quickly address an issue long before the project due date rolls around. Communication with the client should be a scheduled event, that way the client feels they are always involved on the projects even before the deliverable. However, if you have an issue or a question comes up, it is important to let the client know ASAP so you can work with them to address it.
Evaluate the process. Once you’ve completed the project, checked it for quality, and turned it over to the client, it’s good for you to go through and analyze every aspect of the project from start to finish. How did the process go? Did you bid correctly? Were due dates hit? How was the quality of the final product? Was the client pleased? Answering those questions can help you fill in gaps and fix future problems, and even help you create a better forecast for projects in the future.

Of course, there are more than five ways to ensure better project management. What are some tips and tricks of the trade that help you be more effective and efficient?

Apple’s Dividend and Marketing Techniques

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Allison Ulrich in blog 2 Comments

Apple has so much money they don’t even know what to do with it. The company has clearly grown tremendously and as proof, in December they marked a whopping $97.6 billion in profits. According to the Wall Street Journal, they could have bought major companies such as Hewlett Packard or even Goldman Sachs. However, the company instead took a different approach with their great sum of money and decided to do a $2.65 per share dividend and a buyback of $10 billion in company stock from shareholders. Steve Jobs usually didn’t take this form of action because he liked to have a sum of money set aside for security.

My question with the new dividends and stock buyback is, how did Apple become so successful? Is it their user friendly applications? Is it their sleek and appealing advanced technology? Or how about their SEO-friendly product names? Of course I believe it’s a combination of all of the above, and even more. It even boils down to their brand development strategy.

When the new iPad was about to be put out, people were speculating what the “new iPad” name might be. Instead of naming it the “iPad 3,” it was named “The New iPad.” Did this help to generate easy accessible SEO? I believe it did. With this name, Apple was able to rank higher on search engine results. When people want to know more information about “The New iPad,” they type it into the search engine bar and voilà, it will come right up. In a Forbes article, search engine marketing experts explained that “Marketers need to make sure to have a keyword strategy by learning how users search for these events and make them clear.” In this case with Apple, people were using the search term “the new iPad” to learn about the product and so naming the product as such was strategic. Other experts said, “Direct your terms that emerge during the event.” Doing this increases SEO and content marketing. It’s pretty obvious with the release of the most recent iPad that Apple decided on the name of the product to parallel its much anticipate debut.

What do you think of Apple’s new iPad name? Do you think it increased product activity and sales?

Invisible Children and Damage Control

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Taylor Donohoo in blog 13 Comments

Correction: Since then, it has been clarified that Jason Russell was not arrested, but rather detained. There are no charges pending against him.

Healthy skepticism never hurt anyone. In fact, doing your own research before committing to anything is an excellent idea, which is why the nonprofit organization Invisible Children didn’t shy away from criticism two weeks ago after they launched their Kony 2012 campaign. However, the criticism concerning the organization is about to get a lot worse.

Among some of the initial criticisms surrounding the Kony 2012 campaign was where the money donated was being delegated. Because nonprofits are required to disclose how they spend their money, people dived right into the finances of Invisible Children and found out that only around 30 percent of the donations actually go to Uganda. The majority of the money went toward their awareness campaign including filming, travel expenses, etc. While this information is still of concern to critics, Invisible Children is scrambling to justify another reputation wringer: the alleged arrest of co-founder Jason Russell.

Last week, Jason Russell was detained in San Diego for being drunk in public, lewd behavior, and vandalism. As if the organization wasn’t already under scrutiny, this stunt has changed the game from answering public concern to damage control.

Russell has been the face of the entire campaign, which is why his wild behavior put Invisible Children in a tough spot. The man has lived his whole life trying to bring change to Africa, and in two weeks he tarnished his reputation. The CEO of Invisible Children, Ben Keesey, issued an official statement:

Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, and malnutrition. He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Jason’s passion and his work have done so much to help so many, and we are devastated to see him dealing with this personal health issue. We will always love and support Jason, and we ask that you give his entire family privacy during this difficult time.

The prime purpose of Invisible Children has been to create awareness for Joseph Kony and his crimes against humanity. You can learn more about the campaign here. Now, Invisible Children has to divide their efforts between pushing the Kony campaign forward and preserving their image.

What Invisible Children needs now more than ever is a solid PR strategy to help them with this unpredictable storm. Of course the organization couldn’t precisely prepare for this kind of behavior, which is why a PR strategy is essential. Considering the entire campaign is online, the best approach at this point is implementing online PR strong enough to smooth this over.

What do you think of this entire scenario? Can anyone argue “there is no such thing as bad publicity”?

What You See Isn’t Always What You Get

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Alyssa Vincent in blog 3 Comments

Last month I decided to purchase one of Papa John’s heart-shaped pizzas to surprise my hubby for Valentine’s Day. Papa John’s was promoting the pizza like crazy, and they estimated that they would sell 75,000 heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day 2012. In order to ensure that I would receive the hyped-up heart-shaped pizza, I placed my order online the day before.

The pictures of the heart-shaped pizza on Papa John’s website looked fantastic! I was genuinely looking forward to devouring the masterpiece with my Valentine. I even expressed my excitement for the pizza with a few friends and family members.

The pizza arrived promptly at 8:30 p.m., as requested. Despite the fact that my Valentine was still not home from work, I couldn’t wait a minute longer. This is what I had been looking forward to all day! I had to sneak a peek.

As soon as I opened the box, my face fell in disappointment. I immediately took a picture of the pizza and posted it on Facebook with the caption “Here’s my ‘heart-shaped’ pizza. Looked better on the website. Lame.”

Not only was the pizza less than heart-shaped, but it was cold as well. I suspect that due to the large volume of orders, they filled each delivery drivers’ car with as many pizzas as they could, and I was one of the last stops on the schedule.

Now, I know that food never looks as tasty as it does in the commercials and advertisements. Food photographers have a few dirty tricks up their sleeve to make the product look much more appetizing. Food photographers have been guilty of using motor oil for various syrups, white glue for milk, and brown shoe polish to make meats look more succulent.

While I don’t always expect my food to look as pretty as the advertisements, I do expect it to at least resemble the picture painted, especially if the company is advertising a specific attribute about the food (as was the case for Papa John’s and their heart-shaped pizza).

I have not yet decided whether I will purchase another regular pizza from Papa John’s, but I definitely won’t be purchasing another heart-shaped pizza from them again.

The moral of the story

If you’re busy branding, keep your promises and make sure your product is in line with your content marketing material. The saying “It takes years to win a customer and only a few seconds to lose one,” is so true. It is much more expensive to win over new customers than to keep your existing ones happy. Think your content marketing strategy may be flawed or lacking? Read this blog post outlining content marketing essentials.

Have you ever been stoked about a product based on the advertisements, only to be disappointed? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

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