Friday, April 30, 2010

When the Future is so Bright...

PR is all about making connections, networking, and building social capital. What do you do to keep those connections strong? You build realistic goals and guidelines to keep in touch with those that may be able to help you down the road, and vice versa. Meet up for chats, concerts, movies, coffee.
This is what I learned at Future Camp. In a room with 38 blossoming PR students, everyone is going off on slightly different paths... but it is difficult to say whether you'll be in touch with all of them down the road. So why not make close ties to those that may be working in the same field down the road. Take arts/entertainment/fashion for example, you can visit Sheree's blog for more information, but make goals to later down the road attend fashion shows, gallery openings, movie openings, etc together. Since there isn't going to be too much crossover work and projects, you can help each other by sharing the things that go on in each others offices, news on new designers, an up and coming director, etc. Obviously, not all information can be shared, but letting the other person know what is going on brings a little extra depth and diversity into the workplace!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

America's Next Top Model stylishly uses Social Media



It happened in cycle 14 episode 1, on the very popular show America's Next Top Model. Tyra Banks, the host, as usual has the task of narrowing down the 32 semi-finalists, but in a different way than in the past. What did she do to narrow down the girls? She uses social media! oh yeah! Tyra gets the models to create their profiles on her My Fierce Page, which is along the same line as facebook. Tyra says she has 32 friend requests and they all want to be on her network. The 32 models have three tasks: First, they need a “profile picture”, second, they need to show their best “social Net-Walk”, and third, they had to meet Tyra in the “chat room".

check out the episode here

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Beauty of Dove's Discussion Board



Whether you choose to embrace social media or not, it is making its presence known. It is at the point where corporate companies are changing things to encompass social media so to remain relevant. Companies are now having to think outside the box and be more creative!

Dove, a perfect example of a company that has readily embraced social media. Their Campaign for Real Beauty entails a number of social media vehicles that enables them to not only get messages out to a larger audience, but allows for customer interaction, via the discussion board found on their website.

The discussion board enables women of all ages to interact and discuss real beauty and all its aspects. The use of online discussion means that women are able to post their thoughts anonymously and make comments on other posts. The idea is to create free flowing conversation. Dove has not created this as a marketing strategy, it is one aspect of their Campaign for Real Beauty, which empowers women of all shapes and sizes, background, age, education etc., to be bold and find their inner beauty within a society that has become obsessed with image and perfection. Fashion and beauty magazines often have beauty discussions, i.e. questions and answers from the magazine's beauty expert. Print is limiting, whereas online discussion allows for two-way communication and interaction. The discussion board has 5 main subjects: Relaxed Confident Beauty, Treasures from the Heart, Reconnect or Ignore It? It's Up to You, Dieting: Don't Pass it On, and Lessons from Life's Playground.

This social media vehicle is excellent for the company to see what their customers are talking about. Again, it is a two-way communication between the customer and other customers, where the company is able to also look at the conversations taking place. What has ultimately happened with the discussion board is women empowering other women, discussing common interests and concerns regarding natural beauty. Women come together and discuss, but it is also the realization that other women have common views on how natural beauty has become skewed. I believe this is exactly what Dove's objective is, creating a place where women can talk, anonymously, about things on their mind.

While anyone can easily sign up, there does not seem to be a filter system where inappropriate comments can be factored out. It is literally an open discussion for women and is fixated on real beauty and being positive.

There are many beauty and health discussion boards out there, so many that it can be overwhelming and hard to find information and tips. One might look at this as competition, but the great thing about the Dove discussion board is that it remains true to the emphasis and equality of women. It also makes the brand much more 3-D in that the company is not only about selling products.

Check out my group member's posts on other social media vehicles Dove uses: Helen, Jordana, Julie, Kali, Natalie.









Monday, March 1, 2010

My Personal Brand is READY!

I've been trying to figure out who I am as of late. This has been a difficult task because I feel I am still evolving and growing. I have created a personal brand plan basing the information on who I am right now, but keeping in mind things can always change, and interests change all the time.

Enjoy!

click here

Friday, February 26, 2010

Feel The Love of PR 2.0 and Embrace It


Today it’s impossible not to be in the know… Information is all around us, and we are diverged in it whether we say we are or not, whether we like it or not. Simply walking down the street there are advertisements and billboards everywhere: in the subways, on buses, on streetcars, on the sides of buildings, in stores, in newspapers, magazines, everywhere!

One might say these are the classic, traditional and old school ways of communicating brand messages to consumers. This is not to say it isn’t an effective means of communication, but there’s a new kid on the block… say hello to PR 2.0.

(Insert superhero theme song of your choice here and continue to play throughout the duration of blog entry)

Deirdre Breakenridge states PR 2.0 puts the “public” back in public relations. What does that mean?

PR 2.0 should be public relations best friend. It’s about PR embracing and making use of social media. It’s all about connecting with the consumer, creating a two-way channel, making communication and feedback possible. It’s also about getting a loyal following. Brands should take advantage of these new, non-traditional means of communication. This is important nowadays for a successful brand. Take note, the more traditional means of connecting to the consumer mentioned above is very much one-way.

How are many brands closely connecting with the consumer nowadays? Through the use of the WORLD WIDE WEB, aka the INTERNET or Web 2.0. Everyone uses it and everything is on it, meaning that people are constantly connecting and talking, sharing, reading and learning about things. One can access information on pretty much every topic imaginable. This is where it gets prickly. This is both positive and negative for the PR world.

POSITIVE: after buying the latest product, whether it’s a new flavour of a soda, the latest rad running shoes, or the latest technological breakthough, brands aren’t waiting for consumer comments and thoughts. Consumers are quick to critique online, via blogs, personal websites, facebook, vimeo, twitter etc. Think of it as insta-critique. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone is entitled to it, the Internet is the new place for it.

NEGATIVE: let’s say the latest product doesn’t go over well with the intsa-critique consumer, well, these negative opinions well ultimately be spread on the Internet via various social media platforms, and that is tough news for the brand. One plus is that brands can now create means to communicate directly with the consumer and thus get feedback and figure out a means to adjust the new product so it will go over better with the consumer next time.

The Internet is a brilliant way for brands to find out what the public and consumer want, researching their needs. It connects brands to consumers, and reduces the middle man, but ultimately it allows the public to get their opinion out there to the brand, the public is able to participate in swaying brand decisions, which is mutually beneficial. Brands look at online activity, which is all about the public, it’s a public domain.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Yogurt Drama


Don’t get me wrong, I love yogurt! But when grocery shopping the other day, it took me forever to decide what kind to buy. Not only are there tons of flavours to choose from, there are too many brands.

Since when are there a million different types of yogurt? When did the yogurt ‘industry’ become so big? Why do the brands need to attract and represent certain lifestyles?

Once upon a time…
Yogurt used to be a simple, healthy, quick and easy food to digest.
Brilliant for breakfast, it gave an excellent amount of calcium and vitamin D.
As far as dairies went, quicker for the body to break down than milk!
There was the option of having fruit with it! Yum

Yogurt is increasingly modified and altered to the point of not being as good for you. This article sums it up nicely. Even less modified brands like Astro still have a high level or unnecessary sugars. Yoplait is an example that has a large variety targeting certain groups or lifestyles. Each one satisfies in a different way!

The issue is that when something says fat-free and/or sugar-free, ingredients like aspartame, Splenda and suralose are present. These ingredients are in no way good for your body. So why are they needed? Yogurt has natural fat that is good for the body. There is good natural fat found in yogurt and bad fat that is found in potato chips.

Yogurt, even with fruit, is a healthy option. Modifications, supplements and additives are not needed. As soon as you alter something, in no way, shape or form is it as good or better for you then what it was to begin with.

I love yogurt but my issue is that it is increasingly hard to find a basic flavoured yogurt. The food market is so heavily targeted to dieting needs now that yogurt has been thrown into the mix!


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Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Google Maps... and BEYOND!




Gone are the days of the big fold-up roadmaps found at gas stations. The inconvenient size and shape made it hard to unfold in the car, leaning it up against the steering wheel or laying it out on the hood of the car trying to keep the wind from blowing it away.

Thanks to Google, and the creation of Google Maps, it’s less of a challenge to plan a route and familiarize yourself with unknown territory. There’s the odd time when it suggests an unnecessarily long route, but other then that it’s truly a genius web application! Just plug in a destination/place/street name and you’re golden!

Google Maps in the years to come… Staying Power.

Google Maps has been around for some time now, first taking off in 2004. It’s owned by Google and was developed by Lars and Jen Rasmussen. The company is based in the U.S. and all over and continues to have an extremely large user base all over the world. It began as a relatively basic technology as far as the idea of online maps goes, but has transformed into something out of this world, literally. Applications such as Google Moon, Google Mars and Google Sky allow one to explore these particular areas. Without a doubt technology pertaining to online map applications will continue to evolve and so will Google Maps. The only major competitors are YahooMaps and MapQuest, but each one is slightly different and has its own benefits and qualities.

The great thing about this application is that it’s a free database for non-commercial use. You don’t have to sign-up or anything. A membership is available in order to make reviews of restaurants, venues, etc. plotted on the map but to use it you aren’t required to give personal information.

The Google Maps Community… the more the merrier!

The great thing about Google Maps is it’s relatively easy to navigate and anyone needing directions can use it. It is simply a great navigating tool and has forever changed the navigation industry. People with internet access can use and it can be accessed through your Blackberry, iphone, cell phone, which makes it even more handy for those people constantly on the go. People can make reviews on places, business, restaurants, etc. that others have visited and marked on the map. This can be useful for people travelling around and not familiar the area in which they're visiting.

Google Maps and PR?

Since Google Maps is a web application and not a social application, the relationship with PR is a tough one to make. What I can gather is that it's possible to place your business on the map itself, so that it will pop up when one is searching around. That can be somewhat useful for getting your name/business out there for those who use this application frequently.

Check out Laura Phillips blog on Google Maps and usability, utility and Canadian content.