Public relations – Page 3

February 21, 2013February 21, 2013 jackhardy Communication, Journalism, News, Promotion, Public relations, Publicity Stunt

Rats in Manhattan: “Peoples nightmares are a good day for us.”

Hurricane Sandy brought out the rats. According to this CNN story, the floodwaters in New York subways drove these underground residents out of their homes and into the city: http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2013/02/20/tsr-rats-invade-ny-post-sandy.cnn

The county health department, city officials, residents, local business owners and pest departments all have something different to say. For pest control companies, one owner put it this way: “Peoples nightmares are a good day for us.”

This was a PR opportunity for entrepreneurial companies who want to get featured in the news. Business is booming and one way to take advantage of the news cycle is to promote your services when the opportunity presents itself.

Another example is when the maker of Oreo cookies tweeted a response to the temporary power blackout at the recent Superbowl, “you can still dunk in the dark,” and almost immediately tens of thousands of followers retweeted the message earning instant media attention.

Can you think of any other recent examples of businesses taking advantage of current events?

February 21, 2013February 21, 2013 jackhardy Promotion, Public relations, Uncategorized

Google Glass for a Tweet

Product promotions have risen to a new level with the pending launch of the new video streaming and Internet enabled glasses from Google. According to the company, a limited number of customers will be selected to later purchase the $2500 glasses (for a discounted price of $1,500) when they Tweet about how they would use them or make a post to their Google+ account. A NY Times blog piece describes it here.

The “select” few who are chosen to receive glasses before the public launch will certainly have bragging rights. I suppose if you’re one of those people who constantly shares every aspect of your life on Facebook, you can do it now with video and stay connected with a pair of glasses that documents what you see! Hurry, the deadline is February 27th and in your Tweet you should use the hashtag: #ifihadglass

More ideas are found on the Google video here: http://www.google.com/glass/start/how-it-feels/

February 15, 2013February 15, 2013 jackhardy Communication, Marketing, Productivity, Public relations

Men Gab More Than Women on Cell Phones

One new study reveals some interesting data about cell phone usage, particularly by men. Click here. The data reveals some interesting tidbits, particularly that men talk longer and speak faster than women. While this has huge ramifications for mobile commerce, it presents some interesting opportunities for marketers who want to attract and or influence mobile phone users. Perhaps all those gender based assumptions we make have been wrong all along! This presents an opportunity for PR people and numerous related tech businesses. What do you think?

February 15, 2013February 25, 2013 jackhardy Customer service, Public relations

Cruise Line Hell

Cruise lines seems to be taking a beating these days. If it’s not a runaway virus that is sickening passengers, it’s a runaway ship that’s floating without power. Carnival Cruise Lines seems to be the latest victim of a business crisis that seems to go out of control at ward speed. Enter social media and complaining customers (or in this case, actual passengers tweeting their discomfort). It seems that the CEO’s first response is to claim that it’s all under control and that they are handling it alone. What a PR disaster! How would you recommend this company deal with the ongoing crisis?

The Cost of Negative Publicity

Japan airlines has already lost an estimated $15 million due to the grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft in its fleet. See the recent news story here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/01/31/ana-tab-for-dreamliner-woes-stands-at-15-million-so-far/1880647/

What’s more, the damage to Boeing’s reputation is likely to last for some time and will be perhaps far more costly. The essential thing is for Boeing to take responsibility–even if the batteries which seem to be the culprit–were manufactured by another party. What else can or should Boeing do to ease consumer fears?

May 31, 2012May 31, 2012 jackhardy Advertising, Public relations, Publicity Stunt

Funny or Die

The latest in a series of celebrity spoofs use football quarterback Tom Brady as the spokesman for the Under Armour brand of undergarments. The video boasts some entertaining moments and tongue-in-cheek humor, but the brand message perhaps is lost of the viewer. After watching the video, I remembered the characters and even the quarterback, but I couldn’t really remember the products being promoted. Watch it here and then post your comment.

May 31, 2012 jackhardy Public relations

PR people are party planners

Ahh, these misconceptions about what PR people do persist! A recent article in PR Daily gave me pause and caused some chuckling. What really struck me is the thought that we often have ourselves to blame if we can’t articulate how PR involves research, action planning, communication and evaluation–the oft-used R.A.C.E. acronym by PR people to define the strategy involved in the PR process. And it was only this year that the professional association PRSA finally adopted an approved description of the profession. Here it is in all its glory: ”

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Above all, a PR person must be a good writer, an effective advocate and counselor with the wit and wisdom to express ideas and adapt to challenges. Now that you know more about what is expected of PR people, does that influence your opinion?

May 31, 2012May 31, 2012 jackhardy Marketing, Public relations

Visual Storytelling

The growth of photo oriented social media sites has reached a frenzy with the popularity of sites like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr. The social connectedness of these sites has huge implications for companies who extend their brands into the blogosphere simply by posting photos and adding captions. As reading time dwindles and perusing the web to glance at headlines and stare at pictures continues, is it any wonder that marketers are trying to connect with customers using these visual mediums? Consider this relevant news story from CNN Say Cheese that describes how various brands are using pictures to sell their products. Clearly these sites are not going away and are growing their customer base by leaps and bounds.

What does your photo say about your brand?

May 17, 2012May 17, 2012 jackhardy Public relations

A Finger in your Food

Here we go again. A few years ago it was a fingertip in a bowl of Wendy’s chili. This time it’s a finger in a burger from Arby’s. Ick! Another fast food chain caught up in a crisis PR scenario. Since it just happened, we will watch it dramatically play out for all those involved. It looks like the PR team is immediately jumping to action with a response from the corporate communications director and the obligatory quote from the finger recipient and his mom. Of course, the company will be doing damage control immediately. What level of response would you expect the company to deliver in this case?

May 8, 2012 jackhardy Communication, News, Public relations, Technology

Reading for the News vs. Reading for Pleasure

I love to read. A time-honored tradition in my home growing up was reading the San Jose Mercury News daily newspaper. I watched my parents do it and enjoyed reading it to stay abreast of current news. This habit branched into a love for reading short stories from the Reader’s Digest Magazine and Condensed Books. I still enjoy pleasure reading and staying current about the news. As I examined my daily media habits today, none of my choices involve the printed newspaper. Nowadays I used various aggregator tools such as Google Reader, FlipBoard and online newspapers such as the Columbian, USA Today and various customized news sources to stay up to date. On my drives around town I listen to music and National Public Radio. I also enjoy reading various excerpts from the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, news magazines and online regional business journals. As a bit of a news junkie, I will read catch up on news excerpts or breaking news on my iPad or iPhone from sources such as the NY Times, Yahoo! and more. When I watched this video about a baby mistaking a magazine for an iPad, I laughed out loud.

Then I wondered, what are young people reading, if anything, today? This recent survey gave me some hope that Millenials, in particular are still engaged. See here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/gofigure/2012/05/02/151547286/millennials-and-print-newspapers-a-surprising-story

This made me think about what my own children are learning from my example. They don’t see me read a printed newspaper or magazine. Do they wonder if I’m playing games on my electronic devices? If the perception (or reality) is that “you are what you eat,” can it be true that “you are what you read?” In an election year (and soon-t0-be-aired Summer Olympics), it seems to me that people are more engaged. It makes me realize the power of PR to influence the media and what we hear, watch and read. Where do you get your news?