Earlier this month, Ragu spaghetti sauce launched a video Facebook campaign called “Ragu Asks” aimed at uncovering the mystery of how parents motivate their finicky kids to eat. The short, 30 second video content that followed was created based on responses from their community and the result was a string of hilarious videos depicting parents going to bizarre lengths to get their kids to eat, which as most parents know can often times be a monumental struggle. Although the content was extremely exaggerated and a bit absurd it seemed to strike a chord with parents through its deft blend of comedy and desperation to speak at what can often be a daily struggle that parents fight to keep kids nourished and healthy. Continue reading →
This year is off to a roaring start for independent communications/public relations firms, according to a new study by Worldcom Public Relations Group. The partner agencies of Worldcom forecast the hiring of new staff and are experiencing an increase in business and budgets.Worldcom Public Relations Group surveyed CEO’s from national and international partner agencies servicing clients ranging from small to mid-sized businesses to Fortune 50 companies. The survey indicates a high percentage of new business growth in the technology, consumer, healthcare, professional and financial service sectors. Continue reading →
We have all seen a campaign launched for a competitor that is just brilliant and out of the box creative. You beat yourself up about why you didn’t think of that first or what you will say to your client or boss when the campaign is mentioned. You start racking your brain trying to think of what you can come up with to top it…and you can’t come up with anything.
With multiple clients all wanting the next greatest PR strategy, it is hard to keep the creative juices flowing. Creativity doesn’t happen on demand and it usually happens in strange places, such as the shower or at the dry cleaners, when your mind is elsewhere. Continue reading →
I gave a presentation called Connectivity: Empowering You, Empowering Your Career a few weeks ago to the PRSSA organization at the University of Kansas. My advice: getting a job in PR is all about understanding the power of connectivity, for sure. But it’s also about understanding marketing and the role of the Internet in business today.
Since many of the readers here are at the early stages in their careers and/or looking for jobs, either in the Public Relations field, in Marketing or as Social Media Community Managers, I thought the things shared to the PRSSA group might be interesting. Continue reading →
About eight weeks ago a friend of mine asked our group if we wanted to train for a half-marathon. Without thinking I decided to jump in with a leap of faith. Just the thought of running for 2½ hrs seemed so daunting but I still began the journey with trepidation
Whether we want to admit it or not, beginning social media is daunting, overwhelmingand not lacking it’s own trepidations. Learning the many different types of social media…Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn and all the others in between can be like learning another language, but you dive in anyway. Continue reading →
Is it me or is PR not actually evolving and instead completely disappearing?
It’s safe to say that you can start calling all PR people “marketers.” Why? We’re all about marketing strategy now; we’re not just relating to publics but trying to learn how people tick, how they’ll be moved to purchase or pass along something – based on research and continuous analysis found in deep dives into social networks and by reading a vast amount of blog posts on the topic. The practice of PR has traditionally been built upon persuasion, but persuasion isn’t accurate. Continue reading →
If done strategically and creatively, targeting influencers can have great business value, but is more for creating short-term buzz than sustainable growth. Targeting influencers should be done in conjunction with connecting with your advocates.
Advocates are not necessarily buying your product or service. As Simon Sinek notes in Start With Why:
“Though products may drive sales, they alone cannot create loyalty. In fact, a company can create loyalty among people who aren’t even customers.”Continue reading →
In my very first communications class, I was taught the first step of the writing process was to know your audience. Everyone knows that understanding your audience is important, but sometimes it doesn’t hurt to revisit the communication basics by celebrating the success of our fellow PR professionals.
The success of a current campaign by the American Mustache Institute, H&R Block and Millions from One is rooted in their deep understanding of their audience. Inspired by a 2010 white paper by tax professor John Yeutter, AMI launched a humorous campaign called the “Million Mustache March.” The campaign revolves around mobilizing mustache aficionados to pressure Congress to pass the STACHE Act (Stimulus To Allow Critical Hair Expenses), a $250 tax deduction for Americans with mustaches, as they make America significantly more attractive. Continue reading →
A peculiar thing happened to me last week. Something that caught me off guard and made me wonder if the majority of us truly understand the value that people place on following up.
by Svadilfari
I attended a career fair on behalf of my employer to collect resumes and meet prospective job candidates who were seeking employment. At the end of the day I had in-depth conversations with about 35 potential candidates (some of whom were working and others who were currently unemployed) and handed my business card to each one noting that our company vigorously participated in social media and I was the point of contact for follow up. Following the conversations, every single one of the candidates firmly shook my hand, looked me in the eye and said they were very interested in working for my company. Nearly a week later, I have received follow up messages from exactly two of the candidates via email. Two. Continue reading →
I struggle with ROI in the social sphere, 
