360PR Blog

By Amanda Gonzalez

Celebrities, fashion, speeches, kitschy musical numbers and Betty White (of course!) made up the 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards last night hosted by Jimmy Fallon.  Aside from the usual elements of the glitzy show, another component was present in a big way this year – social media.

This year there were more options than ever to watch and interact with the awards show.  NBC utilized Facebook, Twitter, Ustream, yfrog, NBC.com, AccessHollywood.com, and Emmys.com to allow fans to catch exclusive content of the show and promote a conversation.

Fans were encouraged to send their best tweet about presenters via a special NBC.com website or using the hashtag #imontheemmys and Jimmy Fallon would read select tweets to introduce the presenters in a new twist to the veteran show.

While this was an innovative way to engage the audience, especially younger viewers, the execution was a little off.  Tweets such as “Tina Fey: I’d hit that” left something to be desired.  Hats off to the Emmy’s though for sparking that conversation on the social media site especially since, as of this post, some of the top trending topics for Twitter still include “Emmy Awards,” “Emmys” and big winner “Modern Family.”

The Emmy Awards didn’t just stop at Twitter, though.  Celebrity super-fans were also encouraged to go to UStream.com beforehand to catch a live stream of the red carpet and also during the show for a live backstage stream of the green room, makeup room, press room and more.

If that wasn’t enough, true celebrity stalkers could get their new computer background from yfrog where the website posted pictures of those A-listers who stopped by the yfrog Photo Booth and Ryan Seacrest streamed pictures & video from the red carpet.  Check them out here.

All of this new interaction may have also contributed to a slight rise in viewership this year as the show drew in 13.5 million viewers compared to last year’s 13.47.

So did you watch the Emmys last night? Did you tweet, watch the live backstage stream or checkout your favorite celebs photos?  Did you like the social media twist this year?  Leave your comments and let us know!

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, FaceBook, Internet, Social Media | Add Comment →

By Vanessa MacAulay

This week Facebook began implementing changes to company pages/tabs. If you are a brand on Facebook, the changes will impact you in a couple ways. Here’s the scoop:

1) Limited Tab Space

With the new design, a company/brand’s profile picture is prominently featured in the left hand navigation at all times. This means 1/3 less space on all custom tabs.

Brands should make sure that your tabs will fit within the new design by signing into your Company’s page (Facebook will automatically give you a preview of the new size of any page you administer). If your current tabs do not fit, you may have to re-design the tabs to the new specs.

Facebook's Old Tab Design vs New Tab Design

2) Prominent Profile Pictures

More than ever the Company’s profile picture is prime Facebook real estate, as the left hand navigation will be viewable to fans, no matter what tab they are on.

Make the most of it! Jazz up your brand’s profile picture with more than just a logo. Create a contest like Babies R Us and Dunkin Donuts. Or try adding a lifestyle shot like Victoria’s Secret Pink or J.Crew.

Sample Brand Profile Photos on Facebook

Facebook is keeping us on our toes! What changes will you make to your brand’s Facebook page given the new design?

Filed under: FaceBook, Social Media | Add Comment →

By Lindsay Durr

Last Friday 360PR stepped out of the office for the afternoon to participate in its annual summer outing. The office was abuzz the day before with speculation about the mystery outing. Guesses ranged from F1 Racing and Trapezing to umm… “dance lessons” (suggested by Mike Rush, of course!). We assembled in the conference room early Friday afternoon and learned that we would become the chefs du jour at Taranta restaurant in Boston’s North End. Yum!

In true 360 team fashion, we scoured the streets of the North End for fresh, local and organic ingredients and then set up shop at Taranta where executive chef and owner Jose Duarte and team helped us cook a delicious four-course lunch including Caprese salad, homemade ravioli, chicken and pork, and tiramisu. We made fresh mozzarella, rolled out handmade pasta, stuffed pork loin, and whipped fresh mascarpone for the delicious dessert!

All in all, the outing left us full of great food and even better memories! I’m already wondering what’s in store for 2011!

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A few of us from 360PR attended the BlogHer 2010 session entitled, “The FTC Guidelines: After A Year, Has Anything Changed?” The panel included BlogHer’s co-founder and CEO, Lisa Stone, marketer Susan Getgood, blogger Kimberly Coleman and Stacey Ferguson from the FTC who discussed whether the Guidelines have had any significant impact on how marketers and bloggers do business.
 
The FTC endorsement guidelines became final in December 2009, and Stacey Ferguson said, “The point of the guidelines is to ensure that there is no deception in advertising, and to provide transparency to consumers.” The FTC Guidelines are just that – they are guidelines, not laws. There are no fines for violating the FTC guidelines, but transparency is always best practice. The guidelines are intended to help consumers, endorsers and brands.
 
The main takeaway from the session for bloggers was to be absolutely sure they are always being transparent – their readers should understand their connection to the brand.

The panel encouraged bloggers to think about it more as valuing their relationship with their readers.  If a blogger is endorsing a brand, the endorsement should be natural, clear and organic.

The FTC guidelines intentionally don’t tell bloggers how to make their disclosure because they want it to be in the blogger’s voice. Some suggestions:

• The best disclosure is always within context of the post or Tweet rather than at the end of a post or using a hashtag on Twitter that might not be clear, for example #sp (I didn’t know what that stood for and most consumers probably don’t either! #sp = sponsored post).
• There are three rules of thumb: make the endorsement clear, make it prominent and make it unavoidable.

The main takeaway for the brands was that at the end of the day it’s the brand’s responsibility to be sure endorsers are properly disclosing. Brands need to make it clear what they expect from their endorsers, but the disclosure should be in the blogger’s voice so it feels natural.
 
There seems to be some confusion regarding guidelines for traditional media versus bloggers, however, traditional media has always had to follow the same guidelines! The difference is that it’s about audience understanding. It is generally understood by the audience that traditional media is receiving products to review for free.

There was also discussion about celebrities and folks from the audience were wondering if celebrities get a free pass. Kim Kardashian has tweeted that she is craving a Carl’s Jr. salad. Even though she does receive a hefty $10,000 per sponsored tweet, the FTC called Kim Kardashian after she tweeted about the Carl’s Jr. salad to ask if she was contracted to do those tweets. The answer was no. Celebrities are not getting a free pass.

Do you think anything has changed after one year?

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, Social Media | 1 Comment →

Bloggers felt the embrace of brands who planned out involving and playful interactions for them at BlogHer10. There was every manner of entertainment at the show, from happy mascots and hi-energy dance floors, to coloring stations and full-on hair salons!

At this year’s event in particular, I was struck by how many bloggers were turned into brand “spokespeople” right in front of my very eyes through highly creative and video-worthy stunts and campaigns.

In a nutshell, putting bloggers on camera talking passionately about a particular topic led to a whole lot of third-party endorsements for brands. On the flip side, bloggers didn’t seem to mind their starring role in the brand videos; in fact they seemed to welcome the opportunity to be on camera, bringing to mind the possibility of a future BlogHer Reality TV series?

Please read my short letters to the brands to learn why they were the video stand-outs, extending their brand through video in the most distinctive ways.

Dear Walmart,

You are very bright.

I applaud your focus on selling products that sustain people and the environment, and I admire that you knew it would be the perfect theme for BlogHer. I like how you took a page from the Grammy’s playbook by inviting bloggers who are passionate about the quality of life on our planet to tweet their “bright” ideas for creating a sustainable future, and then feeding their tweets in real time on the giant video screen at your booth for everyone to see.

You were also genius to offer a professional video booth for bloggers to record their ideas and share them on your YouTube page and sustainability site. Having dozens of female bloggers raving about sustainability on your website is an endorsement that means way more than any paid advertising. But you already knew that. It also didn’t hurt that you had super knowledgeable folks staffing your exhibit – they were all brilliant.

Sincerely,

Cindy

Hello Jimmy Dean,

You brought a lot of sunshine to BlogHer.

Apart from the fact that I love sausage breakfast sandwiches, who wouldn’t love meeting the “hot” celebrity from your famous Jimmy Dean commercials? As if that weren’t enough, having the chance to star in a video with the “Sun” was a marketing move that really made me melt.

In the other part of your booth galaxy, I enjoyed talking to the friendly Hillshire Farms Chef who happily took the time to make me a custom, savory sandwich. She also gave me the 411 on the “Fresh Taste Challenge Sandwich Showdown” hosted by Padma Lakshmi that had 16 bloggers competing Top Chef-style to become the champion. The really great twist in my opinion was inviting three elementary school kids to judge the goods and decide the winners (they loved the sandwich ka-bob!). Talk about great content for the Hillshire Farms YouTube site, not to mention that the 16 bloggers have most likely already streamed the video on their own blogs.

All the best,

Cindy

Dearest Yahoo! Shine,

You inspire me.

It’s really good news that you are dedicated to offering online advice and information to women, and you were very clever to extend your “You. Reinvented” brand campaign to BlogHer10. After all, what’s more inspiring than stories of women who are reinventing their lives?

I was spell-bound by your fashion news-room set-up where you invited bloggers to share their “reinvention” stories on camera. I was so enamored with the idea, that I decided that I must reinvent myself in time to participate in your video show at BlogHer11.

Good for you for not only curating the blogger videos on Yahoo!, you also smartly gave embeddable videos to each of the participating bloggers so they could easily share on their blogs too. The idea that one woman’s voice on one lone blog may not change the world–but together, they wield quite a bit of power with other women is very classy.

As ever,

Cindy

P.S. I would be remiss to not offer a shout-out to the Tempur-Pedic folks for being cheeky and dressing up in pajamas, and also for jumping on the video content bandwagon with their “Ask Me” professional photography booth.

That’s a wrap.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Green Marketing, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Social Marketing, Social Media, YouTube | 2 Comments →

360PR is out in full force at BlogHer this weekend (#360PR  , #BlogHer10) , as are dozens of brands showing off their wares and services to attendees.  Are you at BlogHer? If so, we want to know which brand/s you think are doing the best job of breaking through. Visit our Facebook page throughout the weekend to cast your vote in our poll!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, FaceBook, Social Media | Add Comment →

What girl doesn’t love to flaunt her latest outfit from a shopping spree? How about creating an online video dedicated to reviewing and showing off her new wardrobe and posting it to YouTube for all to see? Welcome to the world of Haul videos, which have taken the web by storm.

What’s the big deal? These videos are the ultimate form of word-of-mouth, with trend-setters sharing their thoughts about specific products and dishing on the latest sales & discounts at stores. It’s no surprise that major retailers such as JCPenney and Forever 21 want a piece of the action.

Some retailers have even sponsored videos by sending gift cards to Haulers, for example. Urban Outfitters took it a step further with a UO HAUL: SHOP & TELL contest for the chance to win gift cards to the store.

There are even blogs dedicated solely to finding the best Haul videos, such as HaulVideos.net.

This Haul video, which was sponsored by Forever 21, has received over 1.2 million views alone!

Do you think Haul videos have more of an influence over young women than fashion magazines and television?

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Internet, Retail, Social Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment →

I am positively giddy with excitement about the implications of the command social media performance this week by the super-suave Isaiah Mustafa and the Old Spice digital and creative team. They produced 160 personalized videos in 48 hours as the viral online extension of their award-winning manmercials. As a result, Old Spice’s Twitter account acquired tens of thousands of new followers and The Old Spice YouTube channels have been viewed over 58 million times. Without a doubt, the Old Spice social media invasion was not only brave, but has seriously raised the bar on what it now means to create buzz and human-time engagement on the web.

What came off as an easy and breezy, dare I say organic execution on social media was undoubtedly a vast and deliberate production, orchestrated by dozens of Wieden + Kennedy writers, art directors, producers, editors and social media strategists, not to mention the camera and lighting crew, teleprompter worker person, etc. I can imagine the studio in Portland might have resembled Cape Canaveral when NASA readies to launch a shuttle into space.

The team averaged around 7 minutes to make each video, and released several videos per hour, responding in what felt like real-time to fans, stars and internet celebrities from Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, blogs and more. Check out the top 10 hottest videos here. Beyond the sheer creative talent at Weiden + Kennedy, there also had to be a sizeable creative and digital budget to support the production of so many well-lit commercials, not including Mustafa’s compensation (he is so handsome and clever he should ask for a raise anyway).

In an interview, the head of Digital for Weiden + Kennedy said that the digital push began with the notion of the character responding to people about the TV commercials. He said, “We knew there was a massive love for this guy and what people wanted was to be in the shower with him. So that’s where we started from.” The agency decided to really center the push around YouTube and Twitter. YouTube hosted the videos, while Twitter provided the bulk of the distribution.

The team made savvy moves. They activated influencers by pre-producing videos for people such as Perez Hilton, 4chan, and AdFreak, posting them on their blogs and @replying to them on Twitter. They also activated communities such as DIGG and Reddit. For example, they knew that Digg Founder Kevin Rose was sick so they made a get-well video for him and posted it on Digg with the title “Get Well, Kevin Rose! The video became the top content on Digg with over 5,000 Diggs. They even created a call for comments on Reddit and posted a time-stamped picture of Isaiah saying Hi to Reddit. And they bought a Twitter ad campaign to feature the push as a trending topic.

All of these tactics combined helped the Old Spice brand activate large communities and drum up buzz before they had even rolled out 10 videos. The social media team then scoured the Web for comments related to the campaign and fed the ones that were either funny or from interesting sources to the creatives, who determined which would make good fodder for the videos. It was clearly all a big commercial, but kudos to the creatives for being tongue-in-cheek and for talking about the use of Old Spice in a way that felt light hearted and fun. Mustafa’s baritone voice and convoluted wordplay made for such entertaining delivery. He even made us laugh and cry with this video to his daughter who posed a question to him on Twitter.

I don’t know if this campaign will help sell more Old Spice, but I do know that I no longer think of Old Spice as a Fuddy-Duddy brand. Smells like success to me!

Thank you, Old Spice and Wieden + Kennedy, for spicing up the viral marketing landscape.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Internet, PR Industry, Social Marketing, Social Media, advertising | 2 Comments →

A week after Lebron James (@kingjames) put on what many are calling a self-promoting, egotistical spectacle to announce his decision to join the Miami Heat, there are a number of things that I am still not quite sure of from a publicist’s perspective.

1) Was it his idea or his representation’s to have the TV special?

It seems that there would have been much less controversy surrounding his decision had he simply put out a statement to the press saying that after much thought, he had selected Miami. If he had done this, people would have had their say and then moved on.  Did his PR team actually recommend that he go on have a TV special dedicated to his free agency?  It was not the decision that bothered most people; it was the way he did it.

2) Why join Twitter?

In the midst of all of the talk about where Lebron was going to end up, he joined Twitter.  Not to take questions; not to defend his decision; he joined Twitter, he says, simply because he was convinced by friend and New Orleans Hornets PG Chris Paul.  It could have been his management who suggested it to create additional buzz about his decision, but he certainly isn’t replying to any of his fans/enemies on Twitter.  And there is a LOT being said (trust me or search replies to @kingjames).

Cavaliers Fans Feel Burnt By James

3) Was this ultimately a good or a bad move for Lebron’s brand image?

Sellout.  Traitor.  These are a couple of the milder names he has been called over the past week.  But at the same time, his name and face are everywhere.  We all know the saying ‘there’s no such thing as bad PR,’ but is this true for Lebron?  The response to his decision seems overwhelmingly negative (unless you live in Miami, where I am sure they have not stopped partying), and many people have said that even if he wins an NBA Championship this year he will not be up there with the all-time greats.  If that ends up being the case and his image is forever damaged, I think it is fair to say that this is one publicity stunt gone wrong.

What do you think?  Did the “Lebron Show” help or hurt King James?

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With another wildly successful 360 “Tweet and Eat” lunch under our belts, we are not only a few pounds heavier, but are also fully up to speed on recent hits and misses of digital marketing and PR.  Some of the case studies shared during lunch were so great we just couldn’t keep them to ourselves!  Here are a few of the highlights:

Vitamin Water and Eclipse (movie) Facebook Contest - Surrounding the release of the third Twilight movie, Eclipse, Vitamin Water launched a new Vampire-like drink. To promote it, they launched an Eclipse contest on their Facebook page where fans could win tickets to see the movie and unlock exclusive Eclipse posters! For such a fan-brand, this campaign is smart and engaging for the user. A no brainer!

Denny’s Menu Misprint = FAIL! - An older example, but one worth mentioning is from earlier this year when Denny’s misprinted the company’s Twitter handle on menus that were distributed to 1,500 Denny’s locations across the country. The menus asked customers to “join the conversation” by checking out the Twitter.com/dennys handle, which does not actually belong to Denny’s. Moral of the story? Pay closer attention to the details. More details in this CNET article.

Orbit Gum Web Shorts – In June, Orbit Gum launched a series of HILARIOUS web video shorts staring comedien/actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnet. This must have cost Wrigley’s a fortune, but it seems to be doing really well so far. The first video, Prom Date, has recieved over 220K views on YouTube!

And, it’s not really a case study, but for fans of “The Office,” character Ryan started his own social network called “Woof.” Check it out for a good Friday afternoon laugh.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Digital PR, FaceBook, Social Media | Add Comment →

Founded in 2003, Skype offers a solution to astronomical phone bills resulting from long-distance calls.  It’s also pretty fun to use.  If you have a webcam, simply download the software, find other friends who Skype, and you’re video chatting in no time.  And did I mention it’s free?!

In addition to video calls (you can make free audio calls, too), you can also use Skype for sending files and instant messaging, making it a great tool for both personal and professional use.  Most recently, at this week’s CEA Lineshows, Skype unveiled Skypekit, allowing internet-connected devices and apps to use audio and video calls.  In other words, it won’t be long before you’re connecting with Skype on your BlackBerry, in your car, even on your watch.

In terms of its popularity, the numbers are pretty staggering.  Skype reports that at peak times, up to 23 million people are using the service.  It’s also responsible for 12% of international calling minutes. 

Even Oprah Skypes!

The verdict: RT.  In my opinion, Skype is one of the coolest services available on the net.

Filed under: Digital PR, Internet, Social Networking | 3 Comments →

BP currently has a brand image problem on their hands.  You know it.  I know it.  But I’m not just talking about the devastation to their image (and the environment) surrounding the Gulf oil spill.

If you’re active on Twitter, you may be following @BPGlobalPR.  And if you’re in the business of brand preservation and advancement, I’m sure you find these Tweets to be an interesting example of how social media allows individuals to have a voice (and a loud one, in this case) against brands who are viewed as not having the public’s best interests in mind.

The Tweets from this fake BP Twitter account have been using parody and humor to criticize BP’s response to the oil spill and the massive environmental damage.  To-date, there has been no word of the company trying to shut this account down, which is leaving many people scratching their heads and asking, “WHY?”  AdAge examines this question in a recent article.  BP is apparently well-aware of these Tweets but is claiming to have no intention of shutting it down.  Perhaps this is a good thing, since a forceful cease and desist would undoubtedly rile up the social media world and cause further damage to the brand name.

If you were BP, would you seek to shut down @BPGlobalPR?

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments →

The 2010 Bell Ringer Awards were bustling last night – nothing like a roomful of PR people with cocktails waiting to be recognized!  The awards cast a spotlight on the leading-edge campaigns of the past year by New England-based firms.

The lifetime achievement award was presented to Larry Weber, a reminder of the caliber of talent, entrepreneurship, and innovation that has come from the Boston PR community over the past 20+ years.  ”PR has always been the influence of opinion through the use of content,” said Weber, commenting on the opportunity for PR in today’s content-driven digital world.  It was a simple but inspiring statement.

360 was in great company and our team was truly honored to be recognized with 13 awards, including five gold Bell Ringers.  Garnering six awards, our launch of Dorel Juvenile Group’s AirProtect^TM car seat safety technology was among the most gratifying.  That campaign helped educate millions of parents on the very real dangers of side impact crashes and what can be done to help protect children.  And campaigns for Allrecipes and Snuggie® were just plain fun, in addition to meeting their very real business objectives.

You can read a full list of the winning campaigns on the Publicity Club’s site.  Congrats to the more than 40 agencies, companies and organizations recognized at the 41^st Bell Ringers!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, PR Industry | 4 Comments →

The little black dress has always been a classic addition to any woman’s wardrobe, but could you wear one for a whole year? Sheena Matheiken did.

Sheena set out on a one-year journey, the “Uniform Project,” last May to exercise sustainable fashion and raise money for children in India. Every day she reinvented her outfit with recycled and donated accessories, which were photo-documented and posted on the Uniform Project blog daily.

Through a very savvy use of social media, Sheena and the Uniform Project were able to raise $94,958 and send 263 children to school. Take a look at the video below featuring all 365 outfits!

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

What are some other examples of people using social media to raise money for charity?

Filed under: Cause-Related, Charity, Digital PR, FaceBook, Internet, Social Media, Social Networking | 2 Comments →

What’s the best method of finding information about Google?  Google, of course!  I’ve been hearing the buzz surrounding Google TV for a couple of weeks, and finally allowed myself time to research the innovation powerhouse’s latest big announcement.

According to The Official Google Blog, “Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet.”  Basically, Google TV will marry the internet and television, which makes sense, seeing as how a large percentage of people get their programming on Hulu and watch videos on-demand via Netflix.com.

So when will Google TV be available to us common folk?  According to their blog, sometime this fall, it will be built into some new TVs, or you’ll be able to purchase a box to hook up to your current television.

I found the announcement particularly interesting and timely, as I attended the 2010 Sandbox Summit earlier this month, and ‘TV Or Not: That’s Not The Question’ panelist Nick Gnat expressed his desire for the integration of TV and the web.  Ask and you shall receive, Nick.

The verdict?  RT.  In my opinion, making TV and the interweb one makes perfect sense.

Filed under: Internet | 1 Comment →