360PR Blog

I got a sneak-peek at Frontline’s Digital Nation:  Life on the Virtual Frontier the other night at WGBH-TV.  There were about 30 or so of us in the audience – a collection of mom and dad bloggers, including MommyBytes, MoreThanMommy, Bostonmamas, ManicMommies and DigitalDads, and educators from Boston Public Schools and beyond.

I think a better title might be Digital World, but “Nation” seems to fit since the documentary is being produced in a city that thinks of itself as a nation, e.g., Red Sox Nation, Patriot Nation, etc.  Back to the preview…

Digital Nation, set to debut in Winter 2010 on PBS, aims to be “a multiplatform exploration of what it means to be human in a wired world.”  Producer Rachel Dretzin, whose credits include the PBS series “Growing Up Online,” which covered cyber-bullying among other topics, started the preview by pointing to Digital Nation’s web site and blog.  One of the cool things about Digital Nation is getting to see it as work in progress. Chapter 2 is currently up online and focuses on the military’s use of digital  media – very cool indeed.  You can also upload your own digital story on Digital Nation’s blog.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Internet, Media and Press, Parenting by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

Though I think I speak for most, if not all of the 360PR staff when I say we could use at least 5 more hours in every day, we’ve managed to find time to comb through our inboxes, RSS feeds and favorite sites to bring you a few of this week’s best articles on social media. The links below will provide insight on how women spend their time online, how Twitter is becoming easier to track and how Target is doing good by giving back.

Mashable “Social Media Giving: Target’s Smart Facebook Campaign” – Working in PR, stories of brands getting it wrong using social media spread like wild fire.  Target’s “Bullseye Gives” campaign on Facebook is an inspiring study of a brand getting it right.

TwiTip “Brand Monitoring in Twitter: BackTweets Allows you to Linking Activity” – Several services allow you to track Twitter conversation by searching for key words and hash tags.  But how do you know who’s linking to your client, cause, or brand?  Introducing Backtweets, the newest way to keep on top of what all the buzz is about.

Marketing VOX “Women Use Blogs for Info, SocNets to Connect” – It’s not surprising that women go online in search of information, but there is more to this subject than meets the eye.   BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners combined their savvy and recently released results from their 2009 Women in Social Media Study.  Though the results likely won’t shock you, it’s an important read for anyone trying to reach the female demographic.

Filed under: Boston, Internet, Media and Press, Social Media by SkyeMcIntyre - No Comments →

It must be surreal to be a newspaper editor these days, having to cover your own demise.  Yesterday’s Boston Globe led with a feature on the Times Co.’s plans to potentially shut it down.  But as I thumbed through the still-thick sections of my Sunday Globe, reading comfortably in a recliner instead of hunched over my computer (my Monday-Friday news-consuming mode), I earnestly hoped for the future of the Sunday paper.

Much of the traditional publishers’ woes have been blamed on the digital generation who, for the most part, have demonstrated an adversity to the print medium.  For us "more mature" readers, the issue is perhaps more a lack of time.  Reading the paper page by page doesn’t fit my Monday-Friday schedule or needs.  For better — and sometimes worse – I rely on RSS feeds, Google News , Twitter and other more immediate, key word-driven sources.

I think there is a place for paper — on Sundays and at the most local level.  The community weekly paper distinguishes itself by offering something I haven’t seen done as well online (yet).  I look forward to flipping through the three weeklies in my neighborhood, cover to cover, reading about this neighbor and that school and finding out what events are coming to town.  I also pay attention to local merchants’ ads.

The big dailies face a more difficult landscape.  Ad revenues are down and not coming back.   Online, they can’t simply convert to a paid model overnight.  But hybrid models are catching on online, where some premium features are offered alongside free, ad-supported content.

What I’m really interested to see from content powerhouses, which the dailies are, are new products and platforms of delivery.  A Blackberry edition of the Globe, for example, would be extremely useful to me Monday-Friday.  I’d also be willing to pay for more immediate or expanded access.

It’s easy to look backward and doom an industy for "missing the boat."  It’s far less easy to innovate.  This week, 10 publishing veterans share their vision for the newspaper of the future in "Don’t Stop the Presses," a new cover story from, who else?,  the Newspaper Association of America .

Filed under: Boston, Media and Press by LauraTomasetti - 2 Comments →

Yes, you read that correctly – the recession (the dreaded ‘R’ word that seems to come up more times in any given day than we can stand) can suck it. So say the folks at Mekanism who led a crowd-pleasing, laughter-induced presentation to a ballroom full of marketing and PR professionals at the fourth annual MI6 conference last week.

Some of the fun game industry facts that were presented on just how the recession can suck it included the following highlights from 2008:

• Dance Dance Revolution was incorporated into 765 physical education classes around the U.S.
• World of Warcraft (and, believe me, I hate including this as we represent arguably, the #2 most successful MMO, The Lord of the Rings Online ) announced 8.5 Billion (yes Billion with a capital B) guests since launch in 2004
• 26% of Americans over 50 years old played games in 2008, up from 9% in 1999 (and I, for one, can back this up with my parents actually asking to play Wii games at my house over Easter weekend)
• 100 Million Sims games sold, making it the most successful PC franchise of all time
• And, finally, playing games, according to 32% British males, is better than sex (and that number jumps to 72% when sex is compared with a new game release). Yes, you read that correctly.

Couple these stats with the cold hard cash earnings from leading games retailer, GameStop, which recently touted an increase of 22.4% in Q4 sales, along with the fact that the industry reported record growth 11 out of 12 months last year (as reported by the US President of Future publishing in his opening address), and maybe we’re onto something here.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Events and Conferences, Media and Press, Social Media, Video Games by Admin - 2 Comments →

With millions of blogs in the blogosphere, it wasn’t a huge shock (note: sarcastic tone) that the 360PR Blog didn’t make it to TIME’s Best Blogs of 2009 list. As much as the team enjoys posting to our own blog, we revel in reading a variety of other blogs on a daily basis. So, while we didn’t make it to the list, it was great to see that some of our favorite blogs did. Below is the full list with links to TIME’s description of each:

TIME’s Top 25 Blogs of 2009: 

• Talking Points Memo
• The Huffington Post
• Lifehacker
• Metafilter
• The Daily Dish by Andrew Sullivan
• Freakonomics
• BoingBoing
• Got2BeGreen
• Zen Habits
• The Conscience of a Liberal: Paul Krugman
• Crooks and Liars
• Generación Y
• Mashable
• Slashfood
• Official Google Blog
• synthesis
• bleat
• /Film
• Seth Godin’s Blog
• Deadspin: Sports News without Access, Favor, or Discretion
• Dooce
• Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
• Said the Gramophone
• Detention Slip
• Bad Astronomy

It may be in the print version and just not on TIME.com, but it would have been great to see an explanation of what the editors were looking for when determining the top blogs. They’ve clearly chosen blogs with a lot of traffic, but I wonder how deeply elements such as community/comments and uniqueness were considered compared to other factors? I also wonder how many editors were involved in determining the list? Was it a collaborative effort?

Filed under: Media and Press, Social Media by EliciaBasoli - 1 Comment →

Kudos to MillerCoors for leveraging the “economic crisis” to their advantage in a smart, tasteful, 1-second ad during the Super Bowl for its Miller High Life brand. If you have yet to catch a glimpse of this fleeting spot, you can do so on the web – though keep in mind that outside the context of the Super Bowl’s extravagance, the wit and message may be lost.

With companies like Coke, Pepsi, GoDaddy.com, and Frito-Lay’s Doritos paying $3 million for 30-second ads (not to mention competitor Bud Light brewer Anheuser-Busch’s seven game-time spots), the Miller High Life ad is more a subtle economic statement than a frugal budget decision.

Based on the buzz on Twitter, which accounted for 67% of the online reaction to the Miller High Life ad, the ad was a huge success, transcending the gratuitous violence and disdain for corporate America that permeated other ads. The 1-second ad’s implied restraint created synergy with the High Life brand, sending a clear message the company had taken the “higher road.”

In a company press release, High Life senior brand manager Kevin Oglesby confirms that the commercial was in fact a strategic move: “Just like our consumers, High Life strives to make smart choices. One second should be plenty of time to remind viewers that Miller High Life is common sense in a bottle.”

While the fiscally-prudent card is an easy one to throw down in today’s climate, is it truly altruistic or more opportunistic?

Furthermore, what effect does this have on the advertising industry – especially if brewing companies with deeper pockets (compared to the auto industry) are scaling back?

You be the judge: In New York alone, media companies account for more than 160,000 jobs and $15 billion in wages.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Media and Press, PR Industry by Admin - 6 Comments →

There are some bright spots in the marketing sphere in 2009, according to Ad Age.  PR is one of them.  Sure, they focus on crisis PR and public affairs (it’s a good time to dust off that crisis plan, or get one if you don’t have one).

But the article also suggests that some marketers may favor PR in 2009 over traditional advertising.  PR has a real opportunity in the area of social media, in particular.  Let’s face it, social media is about relationships, so who better than PR people to manage a brand’s foray into social media?

In any case, nice to read about the “bright spots” for a change.

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

I was catching up on reading over the holidays (which seem like forever ago), and came across this really useful post from CopyBlogger:  27 Common Misused Words.  I got the first few right…and read on hopefully (I hope I’ve used hopefully correctly).

CopyBlogger adeptly clarifies for us when to use farther and not further, premier and not premiere, who and whom…and the list goes on.  While I fared pretty well, I’m not telling which blog posts I’m going back to edit.  Thankfully I can correct the past online.  I’d never make it as a print journalist.  Just think of the finality of your words – oh, the pressure!

“I’m a good writer” is the phrase I’ve heard most often in interviews with candidates embarking on (or continuing) their PR career.  But CopyBlogger’s post is a reminder of how often words are misused.  You can’t rely on spellcheck for everything, and in PR words count.

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

We just fed the latest issue of our MomSquad Trendletter.  The lead feature looks at moms’ take on product awards.  So many of our clients participate in awards programs, and there’s been a proliferation of such programs in the past couple of years.  Media companies and others have figured out that not only do awards benefit the recipient, they can attract attention for the publication, web site or other entity making the award.

Awards do help products break through in a cluttered marketplace – at least catching moms’ (and presumably other consumers’) eyes initially.  Some awards aren’t worth the time – it seems everyone wins, watering down the value of their seal.  Consumers catch on quickly.  And not every company can afford to enter every award.  But organizations like Parents’ Choice and Family Fun run heavily research-based award programs with strict criteria, and we’ve seen them make a difference – especially for new and unproven products and emerging categories of products and media.

Read more about moms’ view of award seals, as well as “Sitter Socials” and what’s on mom’s New Year’s resolutions list in our December Trendletter, and let us know what you think!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Media and Press, PR Industry, Parenting by LauraTomasetti - 2 Comments →

The economy is wreaking havoc in the publishing world.  In case you’ve lost count (it’s been hard to keep track), Advertising Age rounded up a list of magazine closings this year.

There are some good ones that we’ll miss (O at Home, Home, Play), and others not so much.   Was Playgirl really still in print?  Do we need an entire magazine dedicated to finding a spa?

The latest closing is a surprising one.  National Geographic announced this month it will cease publication of its Green Guide, which launched on newsstands earlier this year.  Though I guess a hard copy magazine is not really a “green” guide.  The Internet wins again.

Filed under: Media and Press by LauraTomasetti - 5 Comments →

There’s still time to be considered for holiday gift guides.   Following, courtesy of the Publicity Club November newsletter and Victoria Renwick on our staff, are some quick holiday gift guide pitch tips to help put some PR coverage under the tree.  

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

The SNCR held its third annual research symposium today in Cambridge, with some fascinating presentations.

UMASS researcher Nora Barnes presented a study looking at corporations’ use of social media.  There’s a huge disparity between the number of Fortune 500 companies and INC 500s using social media – maybe no surprise, when you consider most Fortune 500s are publicly traded and as such tend to play it more conservatively when communicating – whether via traditional or social media.

INC 500s outblogging Fortune 500s

It’s clear that the more entrepreneurial businesses comprising the INC 500 are leveraging social media.  Seventy-seven percent of INC 500s are using at least one form of social media, with 39% maintaining corporate blogs (vs. 12% of Fortune 500s). [Read more →]

Filed under: Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Internet, Media and Press, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

Who knew an evening at the supermarket could be so much fun? Well, when you spend it chatting with the women behind Manic Mommies , Erin and Kristin, and Stop & Shop (a 360 client) Consumer Advisor Andrea Astrachan , it sure is.

Last week I got to leave the office and head to the Natick Super Stop & Shop to tape a podcast with the Manic Mommies and our client Andrea.  The topic of the conversation was how to reduce those nasty “pain points” moms experience at the supermarket. Andrea, a mom herself, offered some great ideas on how to get in and out of the store more quickly (lists really do help), how to save money by shopping seasonally (which means more money for new shoes, right?!) and how to get kids involved in the shopping process – those Easy Scan hand-held devices (they’re kind of like laser guns) certainly seem to be a big hit with the little ones.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Food Industry, Media and Press, Parenting by Admin - 1 Comment →

I always have.  As a kid, I remember my parents allowed me to watch TV in my bedroom (a rare occurrence) for the Olympics and I would fall asleep watching the athletes compete.  From the touching athlete profiles to the gold medal competitions, I couldn’t (and can’t) get enough. 

Prior to this summer’s Olympics Jim Caple wrote and interesting article on ESPN.com about the recent lack of excitement surrounding the Olympics and steady decline in popularity and television ratings.  His take was that the Olympics need controversy to generate buzz and interest.  And China did not disappoint.  China is one of the most controversial countries to host the games and there hasn’t been Olympic buzz like this in quite some time.  From world-record marathon runner Haile Gebreselassie (Ethiopia) bowing out of the games due to the poor air quality conditions to the visa being revoked of former speedskater and founder of Team Darfur, Joey Cheek, there was always a captivating headline. [Read more →]

Filed under: Media and Press, PR Industry by Admin - 1 Comment →

I’ve been watching my fair share of NBC’s coverage of the Olympics these past two weeks (and I’m toting around some serious luggage under both eyes as a result).  As impressive as the athletic competitions have been to watch, equally amazing to me has been the obvious coaching that China did before allowing athletes and others to be interviewed by US media.

In Mary Carillo’s interview with Han Meilin, the artist who created the official Beijing Games’ logo and mascots, dubbed the Fuwa for “good luck dolls,” the artist was asked about his imprisonment during China’s “Cultural Revolution.”  His response blew me away, though I’m sure it was exactly as expected by Chinese officials.  Mr. Han said that that his time in prison helped “focus” him.  Talk about the ultimate spin – and the ultimate talking point apparently. [Read more →]

Filed under: Media and Press by LauraTomasetti - 5 Comments →