Category: Marketing

Activating PR after the Super Bowl

Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Marketing, , , , , 1 Comment on Activating PR after the Super Bowl

Today’s guest post is written by NCPRSA board member, Robert Carver.

You know the drill – create a super fantastic Doritos TV ad, send it to Doritos, get it viewed online by like a zillion people who vote for – YOU – then see your handiwork aired during the Super Bowl.  In the process, you take home a million bucks and, along with a second lucky winner, get to work on the new movie “Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Too easy.

Hold on, Mr. DeMille.  You’re not quite ready for your close-up.  Many have tried and failed to win the coveted contest – witness the WaPo blogger with the North Carolina-connected husband who’s spent countless hours and, presumably, a Doritos delivery vanload of money trying to secure his star on the cheesy snack’s walk of fame. “Crash the Super Bowl VIII” has been no different.

Now, after the zillion views and votes, “Time Machine” has won, beating out the dog-riding kid wrangler, wrongly-accused ostrich, nacho cheese-covered office guy and the – insert collective “ewwwwww!” here – finger-cleaning glory hole (one wonders what videos the producers of this one were watching during the creative process), what do the gurus at Doritos do to continue riding the bow wave of PR and marketing success?

Clearly, the Doritos brand has positioned itself as a fun American stalwart. People just like these tasty triangles and the lifestyle they represent. Though the earned media coverage enjoyed in conjunction with the Super Bowl itself will likely ebb in the days following the big game, the brand team needs to continue to capitalize on the worldwide and interactive conversation it’s started with its customers.

So, how to keep them engaged? Some possibilities in no particular order.

1. Doritos “Crash” Studio – Doritos holds another contest. To enter, you submit an entry number found on the inside of Doritos bags online at a contest web site.  Winners attend a “crash” course in video production taught by the two guys who did the online tips video. Winners also get the latest laptop outfitted with video editing software and a suitable video camera with accessories. The best student projects get posted online and voted on by like the same zillion folks and millions more of their friends with the winner winning more big bucks and having their ad air in a national campaign.

2. Cheesiest “Crash” Video – Hold, yeah, another contest. This time for the cheesiest “Crash” videos. Online voting, online conversation about, you get the picture.

3. Behind-The-Scenes at “Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron” – Follow the winners of the “Crash” contest around, maybe a live stream of some elements, with attendant online chats with the winners who relate their experiences. Post a completed behind-the-scenes video to YouTube and invite people to the conversation.

4. You at the Zoo – Since a good percentage of the finalist ads had animals in them, how about a photo contest with customers sending in pictures of themselves with animals – and, of course, Doritos.

5. “Crash” Diet – Doritos and fitness. Doritos can encourage a healthy lifestyle focused on responsible eating in a campaign to help fight obesity and its associated conditions and illnesses.

Just some thoughts. The possibilities are endless! Let the creative juices “crash” into one another and churn out the best ideas. Oh, and pop open a bag of Doritos as you enjoy the juice! If you were hired, what would you do?

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Strategies, Goals, Objectives…Oh My!

Tracy LathanAPR, Blog, Marketing, Professional Development, Public Relations, , , 1 Comment on Strategies, Goals, Objectives…Oh My!

Have you ever been writing a PR plan and found yourself questioning whether something was an objective or a strategy? I know I have.  It can be easy to get confused, but when I was studying for the APR a few years ago, I found some helpful guidelines from the PRSA APR Study Guide as follows:

Goals

Keep these few in number. Identify no more than three to five. One may be enough.

Be consistent with management goals and mission.

Think in terms of end results, not process alone.

Objectives

Think in terms of the awareness, attitude or action you desire—not the process but the end result.

Articulate with verbs that reflect changes in awareness, attitude, or behavior: Recognize, acknowledge, know (awareness); favor, accept, oppose, believe (attitude); and purchase, participate, endorse, discard, write, visit (behavior).

Phrase objectives in terms of specific results you desire, and what you think is possible.

Each objective should cite an audience, outcome, attainment level (%) and time frame. (Example: At 
the end of six months, 65 percent of employees will be in a car pool or ride-share program.)

The same objective may fit a number of audiences but strategies may need to be different.

Strategies

The military definition is the science and art of employing political, economic, psychological and military forces to support policies or achieve goals; to meet the enemy under advantageous conditions.

In planning, how will you approach the challenge of working toward your objectives? On what can you build or take advantage in your situation? What devices will you employ?

Your strategy may describe the diplomacy, psychology, philosophy, themes and appeals you will use, or the message you will convey.

It may describe how you will work with community groups.

You probably will have several strategies for an objective.

Some strategies may serve several objectives.

Vehicles or channels you will use to communicate can appear here, or in tactics or activities.

Examples include media relations, third-party endorsement and public engagement.

Tactics

How will you use your resources to carry out your strategy and work toward objectives?

You can have several tactics per strategy.

These serve as specific elements of a strategy or specific tools, more specifically “how to.”

Examples include meetings, publications, tie-ins, community events, news releases, etc.

 

Here is another great post that tackles The Difference Between Strategies and Tactics. Hope you found these tips to be helpful…if so, print them out and use as a quick reference next time you are working on a PR plan!

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Evolution of the Daily Deal

Margot HorganBlog, Marketing, , , , ,

Online shopping may be king, but what about the daily deal, which became a widely popular online offer through sites like LivingSocial, Groupon and Amazon Local? To many, the daily deal is dead as a doornail, and companies like LivingSocial are rushing to change their strategy and stay relevant to shoppers.

Switching its focus from urgency to variety, LivingSocial is seeking to offer its customers a wider selection of deals available for longer periods of time. Earlier this year, Livingsocial let the world know of its strategy shift through a Halloween-themed message, titled “The Daily Deal is Dead.”

LivingSocialDailyDealDead-ubj*580

“That’s right; we said it. One deal a day just isn’t enough. Now we have thousands of deals every single day. That means more restaurants. More events. More everything. Stop waiting for the daily email and start searching for the best of your city anytime you want.”

So what does this mean for LivingSocial in 2014 and the following years? As the company has struggled to consistently stay in the black, only time will tell if this strategy switch will prove to be profitable in the long run. What are your thoughts? Will more deals mean more purchasing for you?

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Is Everyone Shopping Online This Christmas?

Tracy LathanBlog, Marketing, , , 1 Comment on Is Everyone Shopping Online This Christmas?

This year, Cyber Monday was the biggest single online shopping day in history, with more than $2 billion spent. And according to this recent USA Today article, Online Holiday Shopping Stays Strong While Stores Lag, it looks as though online shopping continues to be king, while physical stores are falling behind. So, it begs the question…does anyone actually Christmas shop in stores anymore?

Personally, I have always loved the holiday shopping experience. Never particularly enjoyed the crowds or the parking, but give me a warm coffee beverage and some festive holiday tunes and I happily joined the masses. But now that I have two kids, a job and a million other things to do, I too have succumbed to the ease and stress free mode of online shopping from the comfort of my home. I have also talked to more people this year than ever who are doing most all their shopping online.

Since I am a marketing professional by trade, of course I look at this through a different lens than the average American. And I am acutely aware that email marketing is one of the biggest reasons online shopping has become so popular. This morning I had no less than 67 emails from every retailer I have ever purchased something from waiting to greet me in my inbox. They all promised FREE shipping or 40 percent off TODAY ONLY. I must admit the sense of urgency of limited availability always gets me.

Screen Shot 2013-12-17 at 4.18.02 PM

I must not be the only one since Flash sales have become so popular in recent years. Sites like One Kings Lane and Zulily cause people like myself to often make impulse purchases because you only have a limited time to take advantage…and then the item is gone. Forever. But there has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not flash sales are just a flash in the pan, or if they are here to stay. According to this recent article, How Zulily Escaped the Flash-Sales Curse, some companies, are doing it right by having a narrowed focus and really working to build customer loyalty. And it doesn’t hurt that Zulily’s target is mamas, who we all know love to hunt for a bargain online.

Companies like Amazon make it so easy…with your credit card information and mailing address already programmed in, it’s only a quick click of the mouse and a new Razor scooter and a Kindle are sitting at your doorstep.  And while having to pay shipping used to be the deterrent for some, now almost all retailers are offering free shipping.

So, I ask…are department store holiday window displays a thing of the past? Or are there still people out there who prefer the hustle and bustle, the brick-and-mortar, and the face-to-face communication. Less than one week left…will be interesting to see if traffic in the physical stores picks up the closer we get to the big day!

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Value-driven Marketing: Using Public Relations for Effective Brand Building

Margot HorganBlog, Entry-Level PR Job, Marketing2 Comments on Value-driven Marketing: Using Public Relations for Effective Brand Building

Sydney, one of our stellar interns this semester (don’t worry, we will do a proper intro of everyone soon!), recently watched a PRSA webinar about marrying the power of public relations and branding. Well, what did she learn? Keep reading for all of the highlights!

prsa

Marketing never stays the same and neither do consumers. We are a long way away from the product-driven days of Henry Ford where you can have any color you want as long as it’s black. In the current market-driven economy, businesses are listening and developing strategies based on their consumers’ needs. And today, consumers want a long-term relationship and a deeper level of engagement that establishes a sense of trust and emotional connection with a brand.

That’s where public relations professionals come into the mix—whether its utilizing social media, blogging or traditional media tactics, we help tell a brand’s story and encourage a two-way conversation that will bring value-based ideas to the table and integrate seamlessly into an organization’s larger marketing communications plan.

To be relevant to the value-driven consumer, brands must:

1. Talk the talk and walk the walk. The post-recession consumer is not one that wants to be sold to, but one that wants meaningful interaction with a brand. In order to speak to the new value-driven consumer, brands must put purpose behind their products and personify its brand in a way that is authentic. This means brands can’t just talk the talk, but they must walk the walk in order to be successful. Through blogging and various social media channels, brands can connect and engage with consumers on a personal level and build more meaningful long-term relationships.

2. Get emotional. Consumers want to establish an emotional connection with a brand. Where brand values and consumer values intersect are shared values, and when these shared values are successfully tapped into, emotional connection ensues, which builds the loyalty, creates the engagement and ultimately drives the sell that every marketer wants. Blogging is one opportunity out of many that brands can use to show its personality and communicate with its consumers in a more emotional, personal way.

3. Create a culture that is inviting. Tony Hseih, CEO of Zappos, lives by the motto, “Your culture is your brand.” Put your culture out there and it will become an integral part of your brand to the value-driven consumer, who is often not only purchasing your product but also the idea of your brand.

Interested in hearing more? Check out the full webinar here. Have any tips to add to this list? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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