360PR Blog

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry this Friday to great fanfare. Perhaps the most talked and written-about event of 2011, the Royal Wedding has people all over the world in a tizzy. While your average commoners like you and me may be curious about the dress, guest list and honeymoon locale, some companies are concerned with wedding-related revenue.

Companies with food at their core, in particular, are hoping to cash in. Louisville, Ky-based chain Papa John’s commissioned a food artist to create the likeness of the prince and his bride on a pizza that “tastes as good as it looks.” The mosaic pizza portrait made from mushrooms, salami, peppers, and of course, cheese, can be purchased by residents across the pond.

If you’re stateside and planning on watching the early morning telecast (TODAY’s coverage beings at 4am EST), you’ll certainly need a cup of coffee.  Why not accompany your java with Dunkin’ Donuts Royal Wedding Donut? According to the Behind the Bean, Dunkin’s blog, the heart-shaped, glazed, jelly-filled masterpiece was created with wedding traditions and Will & Kate’s favorite flavors in mind.  If your sweet tooth isn’t satisfied after a Royal Donut, or if you’re looking for something to serve at your Royal Wedding viewing party, stop in to your local cupcake shop. Many across the country, like Boston’s Sweet, are selling the bite-sized treats with toppers featuring royal wedding-related images like Will and Kate’s engagement photo.

What royal-related marketing campaigns have you seen?

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Internet, Media and Press, Retail by SkyeMcIntyre - 3 Comments →

We are excited to announce that 360PR has been named “Boutique Agency of the Year” by The Holmes Report! What a great way to celebrate our 10th anniversary – we’ll be out in full force at the SABRE Award ceremony to toast to 10 more great years!

“…there’s no doubt that the past few years have seen the Boston-based firm establish itself as a formidable national player in the consumer arena, with strong capabilities in parenting and home products, entertainment and electronics, publishing and social media, and healthy living.”

Filed under: 360 Public Relations by EliciaBasoli - 4 Comments →

Earlier this week Facebook launched a new website for ad and PR agencies. Facebook Studio showcases examples of organizations that are using the platform to reach & engage with consumers and the site includes a Gallery of work, a Spotlight section, and an Awards section. The Studio also provides a venue for discussion around the use of Facebook for brand marketing and features a Learning Lab with general information about Facebook marketing.

According to this Ad Age article, this is Facebook’s way of  establishing more of a “give-and-take relationship” with agencies. Not only does it make sense…it is about time! If you think about it, you might say that agencies / brands have partially helped Facebook grow into what it is today. For years, brands have experimented with and used the platform for promotions, which has ultimately led to more revenue for Facebook via it’s advertising service. With so many brands and agencies using the platform for marketing in recent years, it is surprising that Facebook hasn’t reached out to agencies in this way sooner. This is a step in the right direction and I look forward to seeing if Studio flourishes into an active community!

Filed under: Digital PR, FaceBook, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking by EliciaBasoli - 1 Comment →

…they were all topics discussed in yesterday’s 360PR Tweets & Sweets meeting! The 360PR crew gathered around bowls of delectable spring-themed candy and salty snacks to chat about interesting social media and digital case studies from recent weeks. I took note of three trends based on the discussion:

- Late Night Social: PR people and brands aren’t the only ones integrating social media into communications efforts. TV producer’s have been getting creative with ways to keep audiences engaged via Facebook and Twitter. For example, Conan O’Brien recently live-posted on Facebook during an episode of his show, conducting hilarious video Q&As with fans during the program. The videos led to tons of engagement on the Facebook page. In addition, Jimmy Fallon has integrated social media within his show with the popular “Late Night Hastag” segment, which garners thousands of tweets surrounding each segment.

- Social Election 2012: The 2012 presidential election is right around the corner, believe it or not. And following President Obama’s heavy social media campaigning in 2008, candidates for the 2012 race are getting out in front with social media communications. For example, Mitt Romney released a video on Monday on YouTube announcing his entrance into the race. It has received over 80K views thus far. And, following Obama’s announcement on Twitter, Romney quickly tweeted back saying “@barackobama I look forward to hearing details on your jobs plan, as are 14m unemployed Americans.” This will be an interesting race to watch!

- Social Coupons: Some brands are taking advantage of the social couponing craze on Facebook, including Healthy Choice and Pretzel Crisps. Healthy Choice launched a “progressive” coupon on Facebook and the value of it increased the more people “liked” the brand’s page. The campaign was supported with a Facebook ad buy and “likes” jumped from about 6,000 to 60,000! In addition, Pretzel Crisps (a snack food favorite here at 360) has also gotten some positive attention lately, for their Facebook coupons. With a couple simple coupons, and Facebook’s viral nature, Pretzel Crisps was able to double their Facebook “likes” in about 36 hours!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Digital PR, FaceBook, Interactive Marketing, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, YouTube by EliciaBasoli - No Comments →

Yesterday marked day one of the first Radian6 User Conference – Social 2011. After a full schedule filled with engaging keynote speeches, fun sessions (note: want to get an audience’s attention? Crank some Lady Gaga), and Radian6 product announcements that will certainly change the way marketers listen to the conversations surrounding their brand, the day’s takeaway was this: social media is where life is happening.

The numbers are staggering. According to Dell’s CMO Karen Quintos, two-thirds of people online are engaged in social networks. 700 billion minutes are spent on Facebook every month. Your mobile device is no longer a phone. As @mitchjoel so wisely said in today’s closing keynote, “It’s a remote control for your life.”

As communication pros have known for some time, just because you’re not an active participant in the conversation, it doesn’t mean people aren’t talking about you. And increasingly, people are talking about you (and your brand, and your products) at a faster pace and on more platforms. If you’re not talking back in a strategic manner, you’ll be left behind.    

Social media is now where our lives play out, for better or for worse. And it’s happening fast.

If you’re interested in learning more about Social 2011, check out the website or follow the Twitter stream.

Filed under: Events and Conferences, FaceBook, Internet, Social Media, Uncategorized by SkyeMcIntyre - 1 Comment →

Google announced a new addition to their suite of products last week, +1, which integrates social sharing functionality into Google’s search algorithm.  A new +1 button will be added next to every search result and, if you are logged into Google, you can click the button to give your stamp of approval, sharing the search result with others. In Google’s words, +1 is shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.” Sound familiar? It did to me… +1 is very similar to Facebook’s “Like” button, or even to Digg.com.

How will +1 affect consumers? Well, search results will now be impacted by the number of people that have +1’d a site. In other words, the most popular searches will bubble to the top. This could make finding products and information easier. Instead of Google bots generating every result, other searchers will have input on results, making search a more social experience.

And what about the implications of +1 for brands, advertisers and web developers? For one, this adds a whole new level to a company’s SEO strategy – it is not just about Google’s algorithm anymore. In addition, over time, Google will be releasing a +1 button that brands can integrate within their own websites – again, similar to Facebook’s “Like” button. And lastly, brands will have to consider +1 as it relates to paid search campaigns. Apparently, +1 will not necessarily impact a company’s paid ranking (you will NOT get a better position based on how many people have +1’d you). Rather, you will get the benefit of increasing the click-throughs on your paid link because people have +1’d it. In Google’s words:

We expect that personalized annotations will help users know when your ads and organic search results are relevant to them, increasing the chances that they’ll end up on your site. You don’t have to make adjustments to your advertising strategy based on +1 buttons, and the way we calculate Quality Score isn’t changing (though +1s will be one of many signals we use to calculate organic search ranking). Think of +1 buttons as an enhancement that can help already successful search campaigns perform even better.

With all of that said, +1 is still in the experiment/beta phase (it’s not live for everyone yet, although, you can join the experiment here). While Google has made a previous attempt to implement a social tool (i.e. Google Buzz), only time will tell if +1 will take hold. We’ll be keeping our eyes and ears on +1 as it continues its roll-out. Regardless of the outcome, brands should be prepared if +1 succeeds, thinking about how to integrate the +1 button alongside Facebook “Like” and “Tweet This” buttons on their website.

Check out this video for more info on +1:

Filed under: Interactive Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking by EliciaBasoli - 2 Comments →

By Kerry Murphy

This week, the New York Times announced it was going to start charging a fee for access to its site; its content. The new strategy allows the site’s visitors to view 20 articles a month. After that, you gotta pay.

The Times is not the first media outlet to go this route, but their announcement is, of course, a big deal. The Times is one of the most venerable and widely read news outlets in the world. It is a reliable source for well reported news and high quality features. Its brand is well respected and often imitated.

A copy of the Times rolled up under an arm on a bus, or displayed on a computer screen in an airport is somewhat of a status symbol; a message to the world “I’m smart. I’m informed.”

Still, getting readers to pay for content they have gotten for free for years is going to be a somewhat challenging transition. Will the strength of the Times brand and a loyal audience be enough to make it work? Only time will tell.

For now, publishers should consider the motivations and needs of their readers. What’s in it for them? More in depth or special content via the web? Access to content, events, people, places and things that non “members” can’t get to? It makes sense for those in charge to be seriously considering these things, to have a strategy at the ready to make sure their readers feel communicated with during the transition.

What do you think about the changes?

Filed under: Media and Press by Admin - 2 Comments →