Why is the rum always gone?

08/31/2009

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There are things I wish I had included in the text, but just didn’t have the room for them.  The MPR campaigns executed by Diageo in support of their Captain Morgan brand rum and themed around the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections are an example.   They incorporated social media by having www.captainmorganforpresident.com link to a Facebook fan page, and they used traditional media by distributing some great press releases, albeit tongue-in-cheek to the mainstream press.  In 2008 the release they spelled out the “Captain’s” platform and posted a YouTube video.  In the 2004 release they promoted an event during the Republican convention giving rides to the Hamptons to people who wanted to get away from Manhattan and the bustle of the convention.   Really a great concept with strong execution.

Reflections:

What makes a great press release?  What elements of greatness does the 2004 Diageo release show?

What are the common threads that tie traditional media, social media, and event PR together?
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Links to Learn By

08/26/2009

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Part of my job as an educator and blogger is to find useful information and to pass it along. To that end, I’ve put up a page with lots of great links covering a myriad of MPR related topics.  I trust that you will find them useful.

Check back often because I will post new ones when I find them.  Also, if you find a link you’d like to share, please let me know.
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Media Mentions Mean Power

08/20/2009

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In selecting their ten most powerful women in the world, Forbes Magazine used two criteria: the size of the organization that they run and their ability to garner media mentions.   Granted, for many of these women the former criterion led the latter, but, let’s face it, power rarely comes silently.  I point this out to illustrate that it was not an advertising or sales effort that earned these ladies their potency; it was media mentions and word-of-mouth.

Reflections:

Take a look at the collection of media mentions accumulated by these women over the years and see how MPR has shaped their careers and established their power.  Contrast those in the business arena to those in the not-for-profit and government sectors. (Lexis-Nexis is a great tool for this if you have access to it, but Google works ok too.)
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Social Media Revolution

08/18/2009

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Thanks to the most creative Creative Director I know, Bill Childs (Morning Call/Tribune) for sharing this.
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Why Woodstock Matters to Marketers

08/17/2009

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If you reside in the U.S. you were likely exposed to multiple news pieces highlighting the 40th anniversary of the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival.  Rolling Stone’s blog Rock & Roll Daily, USA Today, and ABC News are just a small sampling of the outlets that showcased a Woodstock retrospective.  Cultural significance aside, this anniversary is salient to marketers because it is a good example of how the salacious (sex, drugs and rock & roll) can help sell a story to the media.  It also illustrates how- in the world of 24/7 news-something as simple as an anniversary can have a similar effect.   NPR’s Marketplace ran a great story (An influx of 40-year anniversaries) on the use of anniversaries as a promotional ploy. In addition, there are a seemingly endless number of secular and non-secular holidays and cause or awareness related days, weeks, and months that can be used to connect a company, product, or brand to a larger story.  August is National Inventors month in case you didn’t know.

Reflections:

How would you use an anniversary celebration to garner media mentions and word-of-mouth for your business?

Are there any cause or awareness related days, weeks, or months that tie into your business?  What connectors would be interested?
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Is it marketing if it is political?

08/14/2009

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It is not uncommon for me to be accosted by my colleagues who teach PR from a journalism or communications studies perspective arguing that I don’t take a three hundred and sixty degree view of public relations in my work.  Obviously, I have to agree with this observation, and then I remind them that I call what I do marketing public relations.  It is with great respect that I tip my hat to those who engage in government relations, investor relations, employee relations, community relations and the like.  All of these disciplines use a similar set of tools and tactics to do what they do, but have different purposes within the organizations that they serve.  The above terms are linked to some interesting resources if you’d like to explore them further.  I’ve also posted some more to the Reading box of the blog.

Which one of the above categories is at work when politicians try to sell the voting public on a piece of legislation?  Yep, it’s marketing. (Email me if you’d like to argue this point.) I bring this up because we are seeing some remarkable things happen as the Obama administration and the congressional majority attempt to gain public support for their healthcare legislation.  What I find most fascinating is the fact that politicos have been forgoing press conferences for “town hall meetings.”  They do this, presumably, to make their efforts look more authentic to the public at-large, and to remove themselves from the hard questions and potential bias of the media.  This is a great idea, but we are seeing this strategy start to unravel as the opposition is making a concerted effort to crash the town hall meeting is a very vocal manner.  These “disrupters” are starting to receive more press than the event or legislation itself.  To illustrate, I’ve linked to related articles from CNN and Fox News.  NPR’s On the Media radio show produced a story recently that discusses how right-of-center activists are co-opting tactics historically used by those left-of- center to “influence the political conversation” and get some publicity in doing so.

 

Reflections:

Is there a way that companies can use town hall style meetings to their benefit? How would they differ from a press conference or a focus group? What are the pros and cons of such an approach?

Can companies act as “disrupters” at political or commercial events to the benefit of their brands and sales? What companies might have better luck using this tactic?  What are the potential positives and negatives of such an approach?

PLEASE SHARE YOUR TAKE ON THE REFLECTIONS IN THE COMMENT SECTION
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Crises happen. Plan for them.

08/06/2009

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Professional athletes are known for their strong personalities and occasionally risky behavior.  Combine this with all of the media attention that sports stars receive and you’ve got the potential for some great publicity and some serious PR disasters.  It has been my observation that public relations pros roll pretty well with the good news, but tend to get caught short with the bad.  For example, do you think the Atlanta Falcons or the NFL were expecting Michael Vick to arrested for being a part of a dog fighting ring?   Clearly, some football players are going to get caught doing things that are less than positive, but there is no way to have forecasted something like this.

Reflection:

Michael Vick’s case gives us two strong points for reflection.  The first is about creating a crisis communications plan.  Do you suppose the NFL has such a plan in place?  What would the plan look like? Would it allow the NFL and/or a given team to respond to a broad range of potential crises?

The second point is planning for Vick’s reentry into the league.  Since there is a cloud already over his head, the league, the team, and Vick need to have an MPR plan to make his return smooth, productive and profitable.

Professionals, you can use this example as a thought exercise for framing your own crisis and MPR plans. Professors, this is a great discussion starter and the basis for crisis planning and strategic MPR planning exercises.

Links:

Here are some interesting links regarding marketing and the return of Michael Vick.

American Public Media’s Marketplace story Strong PR could help Vick comeback

American Public Media’s Marketplace story Winning is key to Vick's redemption

From David Zinn’s July 31, 2009, article on the Chicago Tribune’s website Michael Vick's return
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