Tag Archives: consumer marketing

Infographics in Press Releases: Tips & Examples

Posted on February 21, 2012 by | 6 Comments

The issue of food waste disposal, made visually appealing by Emerson.

Let’s face it- we’re a visual society.  Since our earliest years, images have been capturing our attention; entertaining and exciting us.  They have been at the heart of storytelling, one of our first methods of expression, and a fundamental tool for education.  Through illustrative graphics, we learned how to read & write, add & multiply.  And so, the rapidly mounting use and influence of infographics by professional communicators, during an era when a minute -or even just seconds – of our audiences’ attention is highly coveted, should come as no surprise.

Late last year, PR Newswire analyzed press release data and found that the inclusion of multimedia significantly improves press release results. An infographic, which is more detailed than a photo and conveys information more quickly than a video, successfully extends the core message of a press release, bringing text to life by highlighting the important components.   Due in part to social media, information is so abundant it can make your head spin, so an infographic, as a diversion from plain text, gets right to the point, simplifies complex information and creates another opportunity to impact the reader in an instant.  All this considered, it is no wonder that multimedia news releases get more play.

As with any piece content, however, an infographic must be relevant, interesting and meaningful; it should not rely solely on eye-catching artwork.   Nor should the content be overwhelming; they can pack a big punch and carry a significant amount of information, but if successfully done, are displayed in a way that flows sensibly and is easily digestible.  An effective infographic both elicits an instant reaction, but also makes us think and want to learn more.

What I like most about an infographic isn’t its ability to concisely tell a story or the fuel it becomes to drive a message forward – (though both notable features), but the opportunity for free creative reign.  As soon as I’m tasked with writing a press release – and as a PR pro, you can imagine is quite often – I begin outlining the draft in my head – going through a checklist of elements that make it up:  concise, informative headline – witty, if appropriate; strong lead sentence and paragraph to catch my readers’ attention, while also providing significant insight to what will be covered; shareable quote from appropriate source, and so on.

The press release fits into a fairly standard format.  Infographics, on the other hand, allow us to detour from our usual template and color outside the lines.  This doesn’t mean we have to be “artists” or “designers,” but just requires us to revisit our early days and think a bit more visually.

And while infographics have a place in almost any message, they are especially great making data sets more appealing and instantly understandable, such as:

  • Packaging survey results that may otherwise be cumbersome in lengthy text format; 
  • Summarizing statistical data that can otherwise lose the fleeting interest of a reader;
  • Offering comparison research that will have a more a dramatic effect with visuals;
  • Messages targeted to multilingual audiences (images are a universal language, right?)

Examples:

Infographics can be used to illustrate a variety of subjects, and in addition to data, are also useful for expressing lifecycles, processes and flow charts.  Here are some recent examples we’ve spotted:

So, let’s get back to basics of dynamic storytelling and start communicating visually.

Related reading:

Tips for Creating & Using Infographics

Weaving Visual Cues into PR

Author Meryl Serouya is a marketing & communications associate for PR Newswire.   A version of this story titled “Infographics as Press Releases” ran earlier this month in Ragan’s PR Daily.

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Social Endorsements: The Truth Will Out

Posted on December 15, 2011 by | 2 Comments

Advertising’s self-regulatory arm – the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (the “NAD”) recently reviewed promotions and endorsements in social networks, paying particular attention to Facebook “likes” and what it means when a company uses that metric in its promotions.  While from my experience managing Facebook for PR Newswire leads me to believe that other metrics – such as interactions – are more important when it comes to measuring Facebook’s value to a brand, there’s no getting around the fact that some organizations are focused primarily on building the size of their fan base.

The practice at the heart of the review (and many fan-base building tactics) is something called “like-gating,” – in which Facebook users have to “like” a page in order to gain access to content, enter a contest or take advantage of a special offer.

The case the NAD considered was a challenge against a company called Costal Contacts, Inc., issued by one of its competitors, 1-800-Contacts.

In a nutshell, Costal Contact ran a variety of like-gated promotions offering free glasses giveaways across several Facebook pages.  1-800-Contacts asserts that Costal Contact should have more clearly disclosed to Facebookers the terms and conditions of the offer, namely, the shipping and handling charges associated with the offer, and the fact that the offer was for limited styles of glasses.  In addition – and here’s where things get interesting – 1-800-Contacts argued that statements by Coastal Contacts about how many people “liked” their products were fraudulent, because those “likes” were generated in order to qualify for a promotion.

The NAD agreed with 1-800-Contacts agreeing that the terms and conditions of the giveaway promotions should have been disclosed up front.  However, when it came to the question of whether or not (and to what degree) a “like” on Facebook is an endorsement, things were murkier.

The NAD wound up determining that statements about the numbers of people who “like” something on Facebook can be interpreted a variety of ways by consumers, concluding that the total number of “likes” on Facebook constitutes “general social endorsement,” and furthermore, they concluded that in this case, Coastal Contacts did in fact have that general social endorsement conveyed by their Facebook fans.

However, the NAD did caution brands that in order to represent “likes” metrics and the general social endorsement that it implies, companies need to be absolutely sure to fulfill the terms of like-gated promotions, and to stringently avoid using misleading means to artificially inflate their number of “likes” on Facebook, including the practice of aggregating the number of “likes” from a variety of different pages worldwide.

I’m going to interject another personal opinion here.   Facebook “likes” are ephemeral, episodic, of a moment.   When I hear someone talk about how many “likes” a campaign generated, I automatically start to assume that their social programs are on thin ice.  A “like” is not a terribly robust outcome.  The strategy can’t end there.   Done well, the “like” is the permission a person grants your brand to come join them in their personal social network.  It opens the doors to an ongoing conversation.  A “like” should never be the goal. IMHO.

As a rule of thumb, the practices (and laws) governing advertising apply to social networks.  Given the transparency of social networks, and the speed with which people communicate, it’s wise to look at potential promotional tactics and messages from every angle.  If a particular approach has some buried “gotchas” or angles that your brand wouldn’t want to see amplified across the web, then that approach should probably be deep-sixed.   As Shakespeare said, “The truth will out.”  Today’s addendum is “…and will it will be aided by social media.”

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media, and is the author of the free ebook Unlocking Social Media for PR.

Related reading:

NAD Reviews Social Media Endorsements

Loeb & Loeb: Advanced Media & Technology Law Blog

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Is Your Story Right for Daytime TV?

Posted on November 28, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Most PR professionals have had the boss (or client) that wants to see their story on featured on big name day time talk shows.  There’s no question that mass media is still very effective, and here at MultiVu we hear these requests all the time, whether for air time on TV, national radio or the via the top 100 blogs for a particular segment.  This is always tricky, especially when dealing with a boss (or client) that is convinced their news is the most important of the day, and is convinced that teams from The Today Show or Oprah are lining up to interview him or her. Unfortunately, as most PR pros know, daytime TV only offers a finite number of interview opportunities, from Good Morning America to 20/20 and topics have to be relevant to each show’s format, and also of interest to their specific audience.  Herein is the problem, and following is our advice for determining whether or not a daytime slot is a good fit for your story.

A recent Beyond PR blog post titled “Getting on Daytime TV Talk Shows” broke down the format at Good Morning America.  Each show has its own format, and finding the best fit for the interview or demo you’re pitching is where you need to start.  Good Morning America, for example, is broken down into four sections:

  • •7 to 7:30 a.m. is the news half hour, covering the hard news of the day — timely, breaking news.
  • •7:30 to 8 a.m. is informational. Features have to be “buzzy” and visual (video, lots of pictures). For example, in late summer, they recently interviewed a doctor regarding the heat wave hitting various parts of the country. Rather than interviewing the doctor in the studio, they interviewed him in a sauna. At the beginning of the interview, they weighed him and took his vitals, and then compared them to his weight and vitals after being in the sauna. This helped them explain to viewers what happens to a body in extreme heat. “We are always trying to find visual ways to tell the story,” said Patty Neger, a coordinating producer on the show. “We are television. We don’t want talking heads. We’re always looking for a ‘television moment’ – what people will be talking about after the show.” Here is the opportunity to pitch a story idea, which should be an in studio opportunity, offering compelling content and visuals and an adept spokesperson. Remember, appeal to the audience.
  • •8 to 9 a.m. is hip, fun, visual entertainment – e.g., a fashion show featuring twins, one wearing a “splurge” item and the other wearing a “knockoff.” The anchors then try to guess which one is wearing which. This is a second opportunity to pitch a story – geared towards those who may still be home at 8am in the morning, or those surfing online later in the day – a good fit for a fun feature story.

The outline above shows that there is a maybe an hour and a half of air time, actually after commercials you can estimate an hour for interview opportunities, apply this across all daytime programming, and you are looking at maybe 5 hours of opportunity daily, for specific audiences. Now think of the hundreds of pitches each show receives daily and you can see that your story truly has to be of value to the outlet you are pitching.

Alternatives to daytime TV may be a better fit for your story – and audience.

So, what if you do have a story worth telling, but have been rejected by the top talk shows, how do you begin to get publicity for your client? Most importantly, identify who your audience is for this story. Are moms the focus? Then think about pitching parenting bloggers who are always looking for content.  Do you have a medical story? Don’t discount TV outlets that air in doctors’ waiting rooms. Travel? Think of all the screens at the airports, a captive audience for your information. Do you have a regional story to tell? Consider focusing on the smaller markets where your topic is of interest specifically.

There are many times when national exposure on daytime TV may be appropriate, but for others a more strategic and focused approach may be best and provide the most solid ROI for your project. Many outlets and opportunities for distribution exist that can upon discovery and counsel from your distribution partner can lead to a targeted strategy that truly delivers results.

Author Bev Yehuda is Vice President – Web Engagement Products for MultiVu, a PR Newswire Company.  MultiVu specializes in multimedia production and distribution.

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Media Gobble Up State Farm’s Turkey Fryer Safety Campaign Starring William Shatner

Posted on November 21, 2011 by | 2 Comments

William Shatner stars in State Farm's turkey fryer safety campaign, produced by PR Newswire's MultiVu division. (Click this image to see the MNR and the video!)

What do turkey fryers, car insurance and William Shatner all have in common?  Oh, nothing really, unless you’re one of the thousands of journalists and bloggers who have read about  State Farm’s latest campaign and contacted the company for more information.  That’s what happened last week immediately after we distributed two Multimedia News Releases (MNRs) for State Farm.

Content marketing pros have long been saying that content is key when it comes to capturing your target audience, and this is yet another great example that when you have creative and informative content, you will garner those highly desired eyeballs.

Some background: The State Farm communications team consists of several Star Trek fans.  After reading an article about William Shatner getting burned by a turkey fryer on Thanksgiving one year, they decided to approach the actor about working on a viral safety video.  Since Shatner has such an established fan base already, they felt that his involvement would help raise awareness surrounding the dangers of turkey season.  A few calls were made, and Shatner ended up shooting the video with State Farm’s production team and utilizing PR Newswire to distribute it to the masses.

Both MNRs launched the same day with a goal of having one emphasize the viral safety video and the other MNR focuses a bit more on the harder hitting news stats around holiday safety.

A separate MNR detailing turkey fryer fire stats accompanied the safety video from State Farm. (Click this image to see the MNR and the video.)

Within a couple of hours of distribution, State Farm reported back to us that they could barely keep up with the media inquiries about the Shatner campaign.  Both the Huffington Post and Washington Post put the story on the front page of each of their sites for the day and video views on the State Farm YouTube channel were well into the thousands.  CNN and other big media called in to get more information on the story, and the page hits on both releases continue to grow.  The best part?  State Farm didn’t even pitch!  They simply allowed their MNRs to tell the story.

Judging by the number of views on State Farm’s YouTube channel and the page views on both MNR pages, good content can always be found!

Author Gena Sabin is MultiVu’s online services product manager.  The Multimedia News Release is one of the stars of her product portfolio.

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Creative Uses of Surveys & Polls Can Perk Up PR Campaigns

Posted on October 19, 2011 by | Leave a comment

We’re all under the gun to produce more content than ever before, and at the same time, it’s increasingly difficult to garner audience attention.  In advance of next week’s free webinar, Staying Top of Mind Through Creative Content Generation, we invited Jason Miller, social media manager for Zoomerang, to share some ideas on using surveys and polls as the basis for different types of content.

Using online surveys to supplement your PR efforts is a creative, fun way to stay visible and connect with your clientele, and sharing the results from your survey with a press release can be a great source of content for writers and bloggers looking for an angle on their article.

A great example is the recent survey from Dunkin Donuts conducted for National Coffee Day. The results spawned a healthy buzz of press around the results.

Using an online survey to ask 4700 US workers about their coffee habits, Dunkin found that 34 percent of respondents said they need coffee to get through the workday and that, of those, 46 percent said they are less productive without coffee.

Additional results included a list of professions who reported being less productive without coffee. Included on the list were scientists, lab technicians, marketing folks, physicians, editors, writers, and ironically enough, public relations professionals. These results transformed into a blitz of articles including titles such as “The 15 Professions that Need Coffee the Most” and “Nearly One Half of all Workers Claim they are less Productive without Coffee”.

John Costello, chief global customer and innovation officer at Dunkin’ Brands said, “National Coffee Day is the perfect time to celebrate coffee’s unique place as a staple in our daily lives. As these survey results show, coffee continues to play an increasingly important role in the workplace, helping to jumpstart people across all professions in the morning and keep them going throughout their busy workday.”

Surveys in the digital age are one of the more affordable tools for small businesses to gain a clear understanding of their marketplace and to put that knowledge to work for their marketing or PR efforts. It’s a fantastic way to get a quick snapshot of what a demographic is thinking or feeling about a particular topic.

Want to learn more? Zoomerang and PR Newswire are hosting a free webinar next week on using surveys and polls to augment your content generation strategy.  You’ll come away from the session with some great ideas, tips and tactical advice – and you’ll see some fantastic examples of how others have turned data into stories that capture the attention of media and online audiences.

Free Webinar: Stay Top of Mind through Creative Content Generation

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Time: 11:00 AM Pacific, 12:00 PM Mountain, 1:00 PM Central, 2:00 PM Eastern

Duration: Approximately 45 minutes

Registration:  Please visit our online registration page to attend at no charge.

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Social TV – it’s here, and it’s presenting new communications opportunities

Posted on October 13, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Today’s post is penned by guest author Kevin O’Connor, president of User Insight.  In it he digs into social TV,  an emerging trend can be a goldmine for communicators, in terms of market intelligence and real-time opportunity.  

Kevin O’Connor, president of User Insight

Social TV has arrived.  It’s no longer a techy, futuristic dream – it’s a strong, ever-evolving player in today’s technology and media spheres. So what is ‘Social TV’ exactly? As it is used today, social TV is a broad term referring to technologies that support social interactions in the context of watching television or consuming TV-related content.Social media experts, Brian Solis among others, are asserting their belief that the four screens in people’s lives – the computer screen, TV screen, tablet screen and mobile device screen – will eventually converge for a completely connected television-watching experience. And, it seems that this convergence is upon us! In 2010, Forrester found that U.S. consumers spent equal time on the Internet as they did watching TV. In the same year, Neilsen reported that of Americans’ time spent online, 22.7% of it was spent on social networks, an increase of 43% since the 2009 report. Just 2 weeks ago, Youtoo, the first social TV channel launched, allowing viewers to join the commentary about some of their favorite shows and be on TV for a quick moment of fame.

No doubt about it, social TV concepts are wide-ranging and varied. In the hardware realm, there are streaming devices such as Roku, gaming consoles such as Xbox, and internet-connectable TVs such as Yahoo! Connected TV. In the software space, consumers have a wide variety of choices from content discovery applications and check-in applications such as IntoNow and GetGlue to social programming applications such as SocialGuide.

While there’s a lot of buzz surrounding social TV, many key questions remain unanswered. For instance, how will these concepts come together into marketable technologies? What do consumers want to see from the world of Social TV? To answer these questions and more, our team here at User Insight began a yearlong Social TV research project, titled “The Social TV Experiment” applying the best of what we do: user research.

This research focused on consumers’ behaviors to identify:

  • The viewers most likely to be avid social TV participants,
  • How viewers will most likely use a social TV tool,
  • Which features and functionalities will appeal to each type of social TV viewer,
  • What applications, interfaces and/or mediums will likely lead the pack as companies scramble to market social TV products and
  • How these products could be successfully marketed to the public.

Our research resulted in the identification of 6 social TV personas that we will share during our up-coming Social TV Event. For those unfamiliar with personas, a persona represents a cluster of users who exhibit similar behavioral patterns. The 6 social TV personas we identified each have unique behavioral characteristics and, in turn, feature and functionality preferences that product managers, developers, marketers and advertisers should keep in mind when entering this space.

As a seamless, intuitive user experience is the key to viewer adoption and the future of this emerging space, we will be incorporating users’ perspectives throughout the day of the Social TV Event conference via our research and also via user video footage. The opportunity for brands and networks to interact with viewers on all 4 screens and then receive feedback from them (think Old Spice ads featuring Isaiah Mustafa), is an exciting yet complex proposition. To learn more about this ever-evolving space from some of the pioneers, join the conversation at The Social TV Event online on October 20th. Visit www.SocialTVEvent.com to register.

About the author – Kevin O’Connor, President, User Insight

As president of User Insight, Kevin O’Connor is responsible for all aspects of the company’s client relations, with a focus on helping clients transform their companies into user-centered organizations. Kevin helped grow User Insight to a firm that today provides user experience research and strategy for 300 clients, spanning 25 different industries. Since January of this year, Kevin helped spearhead User Insight’s social TV research initiative, focused on understanding behaviors exhibited in users’ homes and how the social TV revolution stands to change how people watch, interact and consume TV content. Kevin has written articles on the topics of social TV and personas for both UX Booth and UX Magazine. Follow Kevin on Twitter @KevinUi.

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Forums: Virtual Focus Groups for Communicators [Tips]

Posted on August 31, 2011 by | 4 Comments

A screenshot of a popular cycling forum. Users frequently discuss brands of bikes, parts, clothing and related gear. BikeForums.net has 200K+ members, 12,000K are active and 1,500 were online this morning.

Before Facebook was conceived or Twitter was launched, before “community” became the flavor of the day and the term “social media” was even coined, people were meeting online to discuss topics dear to their hearts.   All over the web and in myriad languages, people gathered in discussion groups and on forums, where they chatted to their hearts’ content about topics they found interesting.  And despite the popularity of social networks, forums and discussion groups have not lost their cachet.

I love gardening, but maurading deer limit my plant choices. A post like this definitely influences my buying decisions.

ProBoards.com, the internet’s largest free forum host, is home to more than 3 million forums, with more than 20 million users.  Industry associations, publishers, special interest groups and brands host countless more discussion groups and forums.  People flock to these groups to ask and answer questions, networks and simply to hang out with like minded people.  Most are also easily found via search engines, when search queries pull up related discussion threads.

Case in point:  My farrier recently suggested that I consider a hoof supplement for my horse (i.e. vitamins to help grow stronger hooves), but he didn’t recommend one in particular.  So, being the intrepid Googler that I am, I turned to my favorite search engine and plugged in a pretty specific search string: “best hoof supplement for TB.”   (TB is the shorthand for the horse’s breed, which happens to be predisposed to hoof issues.) Okay, so clearly I am an advocate of forums, but even I was surprised by the results of my search.

The top results on my search on Google were all drawn from forums.

ALL of the top results were from forums.  This search was done with personalization turned on, and the top result is from a forum I frequent, however, I do not visit the other forums listed in the search results.  So, while Google knows of my affinity for one of the forums, the inclusion of the others suggests that forums generally are pretty good search engine fodder.

Opportunities for communicators:

You can find discussion groups devoted to almost any topic, from caring for all types of animals to fixing mountain bikes to planning healthy lunch box meals, and the discussions aren’t limited to consumer issues.  B2B groups abound as well, discussing supply chains, technologies and issues specific to professions and practices.  In my mind, these are perfect virtual focus groups, and you can join in, interact, watch and listen to your hearts’ content.

Despite their focused subject matter and audiences, these groups aren’t on the PR radar screen.  Some organizations do have social media monitoring in place, and keep tabs on brand-related conversations online, but generally speaking, that’s the extent of the interest in these groups.  As a long time denizen of a variety of groups related to personal interests, I think that’s a mistake.  While discussion groups are not appropriate places to push messages, they provide a number of opportunities for the dialed-in communicator.

  • Market intelligence. The discussions on forums can be a rich and unending source of market intelligence.  Members will discuss hacks – how they’ve modified an item to meet their needs, frustrations, unsolved problems and theory.  They will share tips, tricks and tactics, and offer candid assessment products, services, vendors and suppliers.  Everything is on the table.  I personally think of forums as ongoing market research groups.  Actively listening to these groups will reveal what is on your audience’s mind, and will surface trends and issues quickly.  There’s far more value to be had than simply monitoring mentions of your brand.
  • Industry research & insight.  If you frequent discussion a discussion group, over time you’ll see subjects pop up again and again.  You’d think the group would be annoyed at answering the same question over and over again (and in fact, many discussion groups have published FAQs which are in and of themselves rich sources of information for PR pros,) but the reality is that people will try to fill in gaps in information. When you see a question – especially one that starts with “What’s the best …” or “How do I …” recur over and over, that’s an opportunity. There’s a gap in public information. People pose questions on forums when they don’t find answers in search engines.  Fill that gap!
  • Connections with enthusiasts and influencers.  Many forum discussions name products.  People will weigh in with comments about how much they love or hate their [item, product]. They will relate experiences. In addition to identifying enthusiasts who advocate your product, you will also start to see who on the forum carries more weight.  Chances are good these folks have followings outside of the forum too, and are solid influencers.  You’ll also find bloggers in the group.  Forums are great places for connecting with enthusiasts and influencers on a personal basis, and you may find opportunities to work with brand advocates who can amplify your message.

 Rules of engagement:

Like any social network, forums are personal.  People make friends on forums, and build associations that last years.  Just as Twitterers will hold ‘Tweet-Ups’ to meet in person, it’s not uncommon for forum members to meet up at events.   So as you venture forth in forums, it’s important to remember that the denizens of discussion groups are not gathered around their computers, eagerly awaiting marketing messages.  They are seeking interesting and valuable information, and interaction with other enthusiasts and experts.  Bear that context in mind.

As I mentioned earlier, I think there’s more benefit to be had in interacting with forum members, but you need to do so as a member of the community. You have to be friendly, interested and knowledgeable.   You can also derive a lot of information from simply observing the interactions on the board as you would observe a focus group.  There’s so much to be gleaned from watching and listening, especially over time.

If you decide to start interacting, especially on behalf of the brand or organization you represent, keep a few things in mind.

  • Don’t feed trolls.  There are rabble-rousers and troublemakers on forums.  Don’t bite when they bait you, especially if you’re new to the board and don’t know the players and the vibe.
  • Get to know the board’s style. Are the conversations grammatically correct and more technical in nature?  Or does the board have a more free wheeling style that is OK with abbreviation and “text speak.”?  Does the board support, advocate or eschew certain trends or practices with in the field of interest?   Finding and communicating within that context is important.
  • Respect specificity.  There are different disciplines and interests in all broad categories, from cooking (vegan, country, gluten-free, light) to cultivating daylilies (heirlooms, natives, hybrids) or cycling (road, off-road, cyclocross, fixie). You can see where thinking in broad terms of cooking, daylilies or cycling could be way too broad.  Focus on specific topics to which your brand or organization is highly relevant.
  • First and foremost, be helpful, and stay on topic. This is a good time to remind ourselves that forums are about them, not us.  When you interact on forums, your answers and comments should be about the topic at hand.  Segues about related products generally aren’t well received, unless the information being relayed is new and (here’s that word again) specific to the discussion.
  • Be transparent.  If you are a representative of a brand or organization, put that in your bio, and put a little disclaimer in your answers reminding others of your affiliation.  I’ve found that doing so actually increases my credibility, and furthermore, folks are often pleased that someone from an industry player is listening.

After putting some queries out to the PR community, my sense is that forums and discussion groups are broadly overlooked.  As a long time denizen of a variety of niche forums, I know the influence these groups generate.  I’ve been a member of different online forums for years – well before the advent of social media.  Those forums taught me the power of online communities to influence decisions and create virtual networks of people who could do some real-life heavy lifting: I’ve been involved with regional efforts to collect native plant seeds for prairie restoration efforts,  moving rescued horses around the country to foster homes, and lobbying for various legislative issues.  The influence of organized and connected online enthusiasts is real.

To find forums clustered around topics near and dear to your heart (or your business!) type your keywords plus the word ‘forum’ or ‘discussion group’  into a search engine (e.g. “daylily forum”  or “cycling discussion group”) You’ll find your people.  They’re out there, talking, interacting and waiting for you!

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.  She’s been active in online groups for more than 10 years, and currently counts groups devoted to daylily cultivation, wild mushroom identification, cycling [road] and dressage training among her favorites.

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BlogHer ’11: Strategic branding or over-gifting?

Posted on August 24, 2011 by | 5 Comments

Brands at Blogher: strategic marketing, or just too much swag?

I’ll start with the fake eyelashes.

Why fake eyelashes? Because at BlogHer 2011, sweets company Skinny Cow was offering them — and free ice cream — and the attitude at BlogHer was very much “Why not?”

So I snacked on an ice cream truffle bar and stood in line for a beauty professional to stick fake lashes to my eyelids. The gluing was less than pleasing, but I was incredibly amused by the whole experience.

I’m guessing that was the point.

The expo at BlogHer in San Diego last weekend took conference tchotchke to a new level, and brands literally handed over products by the boxes like we were trick-or-treaters.

Companies heavily wooed bloggers with swag, and the goodies were over the top. Free pens, reusable grocery bags, and big bowls of candy didn’t cut it with this crowd.

We’re talking some serious loot.

Pfizer (#pfizerblogher) handed out yoga mats, Robitussin, ChapStick, ThermaCare heated back wraps, Advil, and Caltrate.

Dr. Scholl’s was giving out smushy inserts for heels and reuseable flats for tired conference feet.

Lindt gave out big chocolate bars.

Quaker gave flip flops.

Ella’s Kitchen handed out baby food by the squeezy bottles.

Johnson & Johnson reps strolled the expo floor, unloading gift bags with toothbrushes, baby shampoo, and Band-Aids.

Office supplier 3M gave away Post-it products and highlighters.

Veteran BlogHer attendees (who clearly knew the takings were good) shamelessly deposited gifts into rollerbags.

I had never seen anything like it. As a journalist, there are major ethical reasons why the taking of such gifts is prohibited. But it seemed — at least at this conference — that the rules for bloggers are a little different.

All companies at the expo hoped that bloggers would like the products well enough to write something up.  And when brands didn’t have actual goods to give away on the floor, some companies chose a different tactic:  Send a gift box to the blogger’s home after collecting their contact information.

That was P&G’s strategy with its ‘Home Away from Home’ at house at BlogHer — a mock home on the conference floor that allowed bloggers to tour, and visit each room and product (Tide, Pantene, Swiffer, Cascade, etc.).  At the conclusion of the tour, bloggers could drop their info into a computer and order a gift box of products to be sent free to their home.

Other companies offered other experiences like cooking demonstrations and plenty of food stops.

Lee Jeans offered jean fittings with the help of a special tent on the expo floor.

Tropicana invited E! News host Giuliana Rancic to pose for pictures with fans, while other conference attendees sat in the back getting pedicures.

Google reps took the opportunity to showcase Google+ and show bloggers how to use Circles and Hangouts.

One mommy blogger said it took her four hours to get through all the vendors at the expo. The variety of companies at BlogHer truly was impressive.  For BlogHer watchers, it’ll be interesting to see how high the bar was set this year with conference swag.  Could this be a trend with blog and social media meetings?  Does the swag distribution pay off for brands?

We shall see.

Christine Cube is a media relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. You can follow her on Twitter @cpcube.

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Blog Notes: Green Edition

Posted on August 5, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Working as the blogger relations manager for PR Newswire, I come across my fair share of great blogs that cover a wide variety of subject matters and interests.   And as you might expect, some blogs are better than others. With that in mind and in an effort to highlight the better ones, I do my best to review one of these blogs every day. This week my focus is on green blogs. I try to do my best to be green. I bike to work. I try to remember to bring my own bag to the grocery store. But there’s always more that can be done. And as I’ve recently discovered there are a LOT of great blogs out there leading that charge. More times than not these blogs highlight how green living can pervade everything we do. Blog after blog shows us how we can easily change our impact on our world… for the best.  So with that in mind, let’s take out the recycling, unplug those not-in-use phone chargers and enjoy this brief roundup of some of the best green blogs I’ve seen lately.

The Mother Nature Network is for “everyday people who simply want to make our world better.” Nowadays, making our world better is everybody’s concern and responsibility. MNN helps readers navigate how best to take care of their part of the world, be it their house, their family, their health, their business, or even their planet. If I were to pitch this blog, I might look for an angle that promoted family households and business to be more green. Check out the full review here.

Tree hugger used to be an insult flung at hippies. But the folks over at, well, Treehugger have embraced that name as a badge of honor and as a brand. The site covers a wide array of topics that intersect with being green, because they think that being green should intersect in just about everything we do… and buy… and eat. If I were to pitch this blog, I might go for any and everything that has a green angle. Check out the full review here.

The folks at Grist have been preaching green since long before it was fashionable. They’ve been at since 1999, in fact. But this is by no means a stuffy or academic publication. Grist handles the very weighty issues of climate change and environmental impact with a light, often times funny tone. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for something that coincides with consumer issues. Check out the full review here.

ecofabulous blends sustainable living with fashionable living. It’s the type of blog that your yoga teacher might write for, or in my case, does. (Hi, Sara!)  As green as they are at ecofabulous, they won’t be pushing patchouli oil on their readers anytime soon. If I were to pitch this blog, I’d look for something along the lines of sustainable/socially responsible fashion. Stories pitching green home improvement might also work well, too. Check out the full review here.

The folks at Cleantech Blog have been writing about cleantech for so long they were able to get the easy-to-remember domain name, cleantechblog.com, before anybody else. The blog authors don’t pretend to be journalists, but rather experts in their field writing about what they see. And really who better to get information from than an expert? If I were to pitch this blog, I might try something with clean or alternative (or green) energy. Check out the full review here.

That’s all for now. In the meantime, if there’s a blog I should be reviewing, drop me a line or a note in the comments, and I’ll take a look. Until next time…

Author Tom Hynes is PR Newswire’s manager of blogger relations.

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The controversy around the changing face of blogging

Posted on August 4, 2011 by | 1 Comment

Source: Shani Higgins, CEO of Technorati, presented at the recent PR Summit conference.

Technorati CEO Shani Higgins raised a few eyebrows with her comments around pay for post at the recent “PR Summit Conference” in San Francisco.  More bloggers are writing about brands than ever before and the expectation is higher around compensation, she said.

“There is no longer a stigma around paid posts,” according to Higgins as she delivered highlights from Technorati’s annual blogger survey.

It was quite the buzz at my lunch table afterwards and some veteran PR professionals expressed surprise.

“My concern is when brands do this, they’re making bloggers into commercials,” said Jeanne Alford of Alford Communications. “We need to have some framework of what’s acceptable so the information the consumer gets is balanced.”

It comes as more consumers turn to blogs to get the facts.  According to Technorati’s findings, 34% of consumers questioned said they take blogs more seriously as important sources of information.

And brands aggressively reach out to bloggers with a following.  Some 50% of professional bloggers say they’ve been approached by a company to write about their brand according to the survey.

To win blogger favor, many brands now embark on creative tactics such as picking up the cost of registration to key industry conferences for bloggers as ways to turn the writers into “brand partners”.

It is a changing landscape as journalism bleeds into blogging.  “What’s critical is that bloggers continue to build transparency so readers know what the relationship is to the brands they’re writing about,” says Alford.

The majority of bloggers are aware of the FTC’s ruling on disclosure according to Technorati’s findings.  Many bloggers say it’s simply about “compensation for their time.”

 

Overall, more and more bloggers are trying to develop authority and influence.  The task at hand remains creating value for their audience.  And their audience is growing.  Technorati reports in its survey that nearly 40% of consumers say still they will be getting their news and entertainment from blogs than from traditional media in the next five years.

Author Diane Harrigan is an account manager in PR Newswire’s San Francisco office.   She also authors the beautiful “Postcards from SF” blog,, a visual homage to San Francisco, and you can follower her on Twitter @postcardsfromSF .

Additional resources:  Shani Higgins’ PR Summit presentation:  pr summit keynote technorati shiggins 7.26

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