KIA Soul hamsters meet Apple I-pod

KIA Motors has recently launched a new marketing campaign for their new car, the Soul. It features dancing hamsters rocking out to music playing from their Apple I-pod. The 60-second commercial spot has been created by an independent, Los Angeles based, creative agency David&Goliath and is targeting the Gen-Y consumers. It generates thousands of hits on youtube and Kia already has 5 more commercials planned, each playing a different genre of music. Paid space is extremely expensive these days and I believe the synergy between these two companies will usher in a new generation of advertising and marketing tactics. It seems that promoting just one brand will possibly become a thing of the past.

In Your Face Myspace

With our generation's technological speed we all foresaw the decrease of MySpace's popularity. While MySpace owners may consider the medium to be the essence of social life on the Web as well as the paradigm of all social sites, there's a sign that its use may now be reserved solely for young teens, people attempting to sustain old friendships and those who just don't know that better media exist. Myspace may still be the most popular medium in number, but activity is quickly decreasing and News Corp. is grasping for a way out.

The founders of MySpace are being bumped for the moment so that 4-year owner, News Corp., can attempt a revamp of the most dominant social networking site in the U.S. The stepping aside of Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, whose contracts weren't due to expire until October, represents a pivotal test for the viability of social-networking sites. While social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have exploded in popularity in recent years, they have struggled to generate the kind of revenue and earnings prospects that can sustain them as businesses over the long haul.

News Corp. now aims to show that a large conglomerate, with a portfolio that includes many old-media properties including newspapers, can succeed at that task.
People familiar with the situation said News Corp. was completing a deal to name former Facebook Chief Operating Officer Owen Van Natta as chief executive to succeed Mr. DeWolfe. He would report to Jon Miller, the former AOL chief executive who was recruited to join News Corp. this month in a newly created position of chief digital officer.
News Corp. sees MySpace as critical in its transformation from a conglomerate of traditional television, movie and newspaper businesses to a new-media titan. But while MySpace grew quickly following News Corp.'s purchase, last year its revenue fell short of executives' targets, according to people familiar with the matter. News Corp. also owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

MySpace is still the dominant social-networking site in the U.S. But its U.S. audience has fallen this year. In March, MySpace attracted 70.1 million unique visitors, down 3.6% from a year ago, according to comScore Media Metrix. Meanwhile, Facebook is nipping at its heels. FacebookMySpace's world-wide audience a year ago, and is growing fast in the U.S., with 61.2 million unique visitors in March, up 72% from a year earlier. Facebook also has made international expansion a priority, pressuring MySpace surpassed .

Pepsi Sucks

Pepsi has gotten themselves into quite a conundrum after disappointing a crowd of New York Yankees fans last week.

Pepsi had promised to hand out free tickets to the first 250 people lined up outside the stadium where a seat can normally cost upwards of $150. Eagerly the fans began to line up and before Pepsi knew it they had their 250 fans. The only problem was that Pepsi didn't have the tickets.

After hearing that only 100 fans would be let in the crowd became unruly and instead of championing Pepsi and drinking their complementary sodas they began pouring them onto the ground in front of the stadium while cheers of "Pepsi sucks, Pepsi sucks, Pepsi sucks" rang out.

Pepsi, in an attempt to quell any negative effects from this attempted to remove viral videos from internet sites such as YouTube and Break! only to anger fans more. 

Now after attempting to promote their product Pepsi is faced with an even larger PR issue.

Miss California's Bust

So, if you haven’t heard, everyone is upset with the answer Miss California gave to Perez Hilton’s question about same-sex marriage. When she was asked how she felt about gay marriage she clearly stated she was against it. From the way she was raised and how she believes the country delegates things, she doesn’t believe in gay marriage at all. I was a little taken back by her answer because she is representing California and a gay man is the one who asked her the question.Also the fact that there were many gay men who were helping her with her pageant and some of the judges were gay also.

I understand she should have her own views and feelings, and doesn’t have to like gay marriage. But with how the world is evolving and people are states are starting to allow gay marriage you have to have some leverage on what your answer to that sort of questions would be. She doesn’t have to like gay marriage, but she also needs to understand that people and rules are changing. She could have worded it differently I guess, but still her answer kept her from winning in my opinion.

Sprite makes mini reality seres for Facebook

Now that the Internet has completely changed the face of PR and Advertising, clients need more than the traditional push. If you want to be sure you are reaching the proper audience, you've got to find a way to align your brand with their interests. Music has become an increasingly popular tool for sparking an interest in teens. More interactive online campaigns are being launched on sites like Facebook because the most effective way to get a teenager's attention is to put an ad on the websites they spend a lot of time on, not the television.
This is the logic that the Coca-Cola Company used when they decided to underwrite a new online reality series called "Green-Eyed World", to promote Sprite to the teenage audience. The series follows Katie Vogel, a young pop singer, on her aspiring road to fame and allows viewers to rate her music and befriend her on Facebook.
The series is as “reality”as it gets, starting with the first episode in which Vogel’s boyfriend breaks up with her. She gets upset, calls a friend and then coincidentally picks up her guitar and has the perfect song to play for the cameras.
What I found interesting about the video, was the lack of in your face product placement or logos. The Sprite logo only appears at the beginning and very end of the video. Throughout the episode the closest thing to product placement was simply the recurring color green.
I think Facebook is a reasonable place for brand placement, but companies still need to use precaution. Right now the ads seem to be compatible with the format and context of the site, but if they get carried away it might turn users off. Everyone remembers what happened to MySpace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6xROceeXac

BK Texican Burger Causes Controversy

Advertising Age recently published an article about the controversy that the new BK Texican Burger had stirred in the its ads. The 30 second ad reveals a Mexican luchador and an American cowboy. After the commercial was aired across Europe, Ambassador Jorge Zermeño wrote a letter to Burger King's Spanish operations stating that the ad was offensive to Mexicans and damaging to the country's image. The defamation of the Mexican flag alone is a great offense to not only Mexicans, but the country's law.

BK has been known to put out unusual and controversial commercials. For example, the SpongeBob BK commercial. I think that BK should be more considerate of hurting reputations and watching others they anger through their unique ads. More research should have been put into action when considering the European audience. Burger King spokeswoman said, "it was our intention to promote a product whose culinary origin lies in both the American and Mexican cultures, and was meant to appeal to those who enjoy the flavors and ingredients that each country offers." This is inaccurate in several ways that do not reflect any truth whatsover. WOW...

Bo, the First Dog, has a new book

Bo, a Portequese Water Dog, is the Obama's new pooch has his own book. The book covers the dog stealing the president's letter opener, runs from bees in the new vegetable garden and swinging on the new playscape. The new book is aimed at children ages 4-10, and has been in the works for 2 months now. This makes you wonder how long have the Obama's and the Kennedy's have been planning this.

The media frenzy around the new dog has gotten out of control and to prove it there is a book being released just weeks after Bo arrived to the White House. Where does a journalist integrity start or end? The Washington Post thought that they should be the ones to break the news...well actually TMZ did first!

Matchmakers are banking due to the economy

Singles are starting to realize that they want someone to lean on in this gloomy, economic slump that we're in. This is triggering a boom for matchmakers since the search for love is intensifying. "People shift their focus in times of economic uncertainty to the things that are sustainable and the things that get them through, and I think that always comes down to relationships," said Ann Robbins, founder and CEO of LifeWorks Matchmaking in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. People are re-evaluating their love lives because of the stress and troubles they've come across and seeking the these matchmakers. Robbins said that in the first quarter of 2009, her clients nearly doubled. Registrations for Eharmony have rose to 20 %. And another Matchmaker from New York, Patty Novak, said she has seen a 30 % increase in clients in the past 8 months. I think it's good that people are not afraid to do something about it and seek a relationship in any way.

Earth Day

Avalon Communications is making sure people know about Earth Day this year.  Avalon is making Earth Day the center of their client's April publicity.  They are using Earth Day so more peopel will hear about their client's.  Some clients are  For Earth, The Evergreen Institute, Calypso Studios, Totally Organica, and PoopBags and many more.  These clients are already earth friendly so the comapny decided to focus their publicity on Earth Day.  What other perfect day would there be for enviromental friendly companies. 

I think its a good idea.  You need to pair your company up with a need in society.  Eath Day reminds everyone what we have to do to maintain our home.  Earth Day participants have grown over half billion, imagine what any company could do with that type of audience.

South Park Hurt My Feelings

In the latest episode of South Park, self-absorbed Kanye West was the victim of the shows typical sarcastic nature. It basically was an attack on yet another star who's let fame go to their head. The incredible thing however, is the fact that he didn't let it get to him. Instead, he replied that it was actually pretty funny. I barely saw the episode last night, but I thought it was pretty hilarious myself. The Carlos Mencia bit was very humorous.

Blockbuster loosing Business

The well known movie rental company, Blockbuster, is said to maybe become bankrupt because the company is not generating enough profit. This Dallas based company is loosing the race for movie goers to companies such as Itunes movies, TiVo, Netflix and Redbox.

Ever since I was little, Blockbuster was THE place my family and friends went to rent movies. Now, with more competitors in the picture it will be harder for Blockbuster to stay afloat.

The article stated the Blockbuster reported a loss (last quarter) of $359.8 million on revenue of $1.38 billion. This all compared with net income of $1 million on revenue of $1.57 billion a year earlier.

I think more out dated companies will be replaced with newer technology. I think there will be even better technology to come and more things will be replaced by newer innoventions.

Twitter to the Rescue!

As if we don’t have enough blog posts on Twitter, here’s another.

This one is commentary on an article I read about how Twitter is saving public relations from PR. Make sense?

The article talks about how so much PR is full of jargon and completely disconnected from the majority of target audiences and how Twitter makes companies human again.

The instantaneous responses from REAL people and NOT automated services are making a huge difference. One prime example of this is with Comcast, who is dealing with countless customer complaints by taking to Twitter to respond to unhappy clients in a quick and personable way.

The article makes note that although Twitter humanizes a company, it’s not necessarily professional. Yet, Twitter is much faster than a press release and like the article says “Twitter is becoming a one-line wire service.”

This instant communication can be a great thing for a company; it’s interacting with satisfied and unsatisfied clients and customers in an exceptionally timely and personal manner without all the professional terminology that gets lost in everyday life. But, it can also be negative with all the bloggers and reporters on Twitter, if an unhappy person takes to Twitter to vent about a disappointing experience the message is out there within seconds to millions of people.

I believe Twitter is a great tool in public relations for many of the same reasons this article pointed out. Especially since with the character limit the answers are most straightforward and less convoluted. The simplicity of it makes it nearly impossible to “spin” anything.

The return of coupons!!

At a time when the economy is less than perfect more and more consumers have gone back to coupon clipping. Something that seemed to be a thing of the past has come back with a bang. Companies are no longer offering just discounts but things for free!! A woman from Philadelphia recently appeared on the Today show as the"coupon diva" explaining to Matt Lauer her reasoning behind using coupons. She'd paid just $11 for her weeks groceries from her original total of $72. The question her is whether or not companies are seeing a measurable return from promotions like those offered at HEB "buy this, get this free." It's one thing if shoppers repeatedly purchase the items after receiving them complimentary but another if not. In the PR aspect of a situation like this companies are able to speak in campaigns about how in a time when people are pinching pennies thier company is giving back to its customers. The question also came up of whether or not taking the time to clip coupons is worth it? For young people like us this just seems out of the question between school, work and life,..but for adults raising families and elders who quite frankly have nothing better to do it saves quite a bit.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30134139#30134139

NYT Magazine author "hates her iPhone"

Virginia Hefferernan wrote an article in the April 3, 2009 issue of NY Times Magazine titles "I hate my iPhone." In the article, she does through the various emotions she experienced when she got her iPhone, the first time she used it, the first time she typed on it. She talks about how underwhelmed and annoyed she is by the phone. She talks about how she finds all of the things avid Apple people loves to be annoying. She says "Apple created something to get ahead of the game, offering something cuter, funner and more Appley than anyone else." She then took the iPhone back and got a new BlackBerry. 

I wonder if this very public revolt against Apple will affect their iPhone sales. You always here this and that from random iPhone users who are not head-over-heels in love with their phone, but this is a detailed description of her experience with the phone and an explanation of why she dislikes it so much. It will be interesting to follow the back-lash of her article. 

To read Virginia Heffernans article, go here: 

Courtney Love sued for tweeting

Courtney Love just won the distinction of being the first celebrity sued for tweeting.
In Los Angeles Superior Court, clothes designer Dawn Simorangkir, also known as Boudoir Queen, last Thursday filed suit against Love for defamation, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress for "an extensive rant" on Twitter about how she was billed for custom clothing.
It's hard to be extensive when one is limited to just 140 characters. But if anybody can do it, it's Love, who allegedly wrote grammatically challenged comments like "oi vey don't f--- with my wardrobe or you will end up in a circle of corched eaeth hunted til your dead."
"Whether caused by a drug induced psychosis, a warped understanding of reality, or the belief that her money and fame allow her to disregard the law, Love has embarked (o)n what is nothing short of an obsessive and delusional crusade to terrorize and destroy Simorangkir, Simorangkir's reputation and her livelihood," says the complaint.
Love's spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Need a Haircut? Six Flags Can Help!

Six Flags, like several other companies, is struggling financially. The SEC told Six Flags to find a way to restructure their debt in order to stay afloat. So, what did they decide to do? Six Flags started a hair salon called Rollercoaster Cuts. It's their hope that the salon will successfully target a specific audience, children, which will in turn help the rollercoasters running at the theme park.

The hair cutting experience is supposed to be a well balanced mix of fun as well as marketing for the theme park. There are eight custom built coaster cars at the hair styling stations, each one is named after a roller coaster and equipped with a flat screen television that shows videos of Six Flags' rides. There are also music stations and video games to distract children while they get their haircut.

I think Six Flags' plan to move into the beauty industry is innovative and will hopefully pay off. The only problem might be that not enough parents will take their children to Six Flags every time they need a haircut considering the haircut prices range from $19.99 up to $45. Afterall, we are in a recession and people are trying to save money anywhere they can. However, Six Flags now has discounted park tickets for salon customers in order to alleviate this financial crunch. Only time will tell how successful Six Flags' Rollercoaster Cuts will be, but let's hope for the sake of all our childhood memories that it works.

Candie's banks on Britney Spears' comeback for new campaign

Juniors fashion brand Candie's - part of the Iconix Brand Group – recently launched a marketing campaign starring Britney Spears. The campaign icludes an interactive online strategy and traditional media relations, is an effort to boost sales and awareness that Candie's is available exclusively at Kohl's.

Iconix CMO Dari Marder believes that this is the perfect opportunity to break through and do big things for the company because others are pulling back due to the economy.

Candie's is looking to promote the partnership and ride on the buzz surrounding Spears' Circus tour,-Candie's and Kohl's are associate sponsors of the tour - the in-house team posted shareable behind-the-scenes videos from the tour, as well as news about the collaboration, on Candies.com and Spears' Web platforms. Sites include britneyspears.com, Facebook, MySpace, and the Spears' Twitter account that boasts a top ranking among followers.

Other sharable elements include wallpaper and music. In addition, a limited-edition pull-out poster of Spears modeling Candie's will appear in the April 15th issue of US Weekly.

Spears has endorsed other products over her career including Pepsi and Skechers, but Marder noted this was the first time Spears has done an apparel endorsement deal.

Media relations included outreach to regional and national business, entertainment, and lifestyle publications, broadcast outlets – Entertainment Tonight and CNN - and blogs. Candie's will also work with Kohl's on promoting the collaboration via direct mail and e-mail blasts, and will work with Spears on fashion-related programs over the course of the year.

Maria Dolgetta, PR director at Iconix said that they have already recieved a lot of broadcast attention around this current campaign. Marder added that traffic to the site is at an all-time high.

Tweet, Twit, Twat - Whatever you call it, everyone's doing it

Am I the only one who is kinda disturbed by how fast twitter has become a daily word in our conversations; it's like we cant escape it. From the time you wake up and turn on the morning news to the nighttime when you are perusing the internet looking for last minute blog topics, it's there.

There has been so much talk about how great a tool twitter is to any media industry that it is no surprise that the PR industry picked up on it early. Now many top members in the industry are stressing that Twittering become as common as the traditional press release or PSA.

To most this may come as no surprise since we as a class have been using it in its basic sense to communicate upcoming information to followers. In this link however it is suprising to see the age groups who are the ones pushing for this.

Its the older members of the PR industry, the grumblies who worked "back in the day" and had to walk 15 miles to work and wrote 200 press releases on a typewriter a day and liked it and blah blah blah who are pushing this as the next big thing.

I can't help but find humor though in the complete faith our industry has put into a site that manages little over 75 percent uptime. 

As big a breakthrough Twitter may seem, it has a glass jaw and a narrow foundation, once it becomes something everyone is using, no one will want to use it.

I have embraced Twitter as a new tool and soon everyone else will. Yet it seems though it may be a passing fad....who knows though.

For your enjoyment here are some videos from around the net, poking fun at Twitter.

COLBERT has TWATTED

Twitter Cartoon on Current News - as seen in my web design class

Redemption

By: Jody Volet

It is really ridiculous how easy celebrities get out of serious crimes. Once again, what kind of image are they giving to the people who follow and listen to T.I.’s music or anything that deal with his life? In my opinion they are not setting a good example.

Since T.I. did the “Road to Redemption” show he has gotten 1,030 hours of his 1,500 hours of community service out of the way. I don’t think that should be part of his court order community service. I feel that there should be additional community service that he should have to participate in after his jail time. They are making it so easy for celebrities to get away with stuff to where it almost looks like it is ok if you have the image or title.

I also don’t think a year and one day is long enough. I think it should be at least two years where he can really feel the wrath of jail. Plus if he behaves well then they will just let him go anyway. None of it makes any sense to me. It should be harsher punishment, but we all know it won’t be.

If the police force and government really wanted to show people how important it is not to do illegal things then they should use celebrities as examples. They should let people see how wrong it is to have illegal guns in your possession. It is very frustrating to see this type of thing on the news because if it was a regular citizen there outcome would be ten times worse.