Controversial Comedy in Advertising
To be completely honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a K-Mart. Save a very quick stint in a one-stop light town in rural Alabama, I’ve never really lived in very close proximity to one and really haven’t thought much about the retailer since moving away. Don’t get me wrong, I love the theoretical convenience of a superstore, but find that I often come home from Target laden with 25 different things I didn’t need and sans the one item I had intended on buying. That’s…
The New SXSW
You may be thrown off by the title of this blog post, but after reading an enlightening article by Marc Ruxin from TechCrunch titled “All Things SXSW (Re)Considered”, it felt appropriate. Remember going to concerts 20 years ago? (I don’t because I was 9), but some of you may. As you may recall, there were no phones, there were probably few cameras (most of which, disposable) and there were not any social platforms or trending hashtags being stuffed down your throat. You were there to…
Button, button, who’s got the button?
Everything has a button these days. Facebook, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon. The list goes on and on. The latest button on the list? Social Giving! While reading my favorite newsletter, Springwise, I came across CentUp, a new way to encourage charitable giving by showing your appreciation of great content. With a click of the CentUp button, you can reward the content creator and half of his/her earnings will go to charity. Good for charities and good for the “creatives” that write, produce, shoot or draw. If you…
In 2013, just how “social” will we continue to become? More and more every day, consumers are using their smartphones and tablets to do just about everything, from shopping online and sharing photos with friends, to listening to music and reading the news. We’ve changed how we decide what to purchase, and where to eat dinner . . . all because of information we have access to in the palm of our hand. Activities like these that take place on the go are what make…
Facebook Privacy Notice? You’re Smarter Than That.
About a week later after it started popping up on my News Feed, my Facebook friends seem to have finally realized that the ‘privacy notice’ protecting their personal details and data from unauthorized copying is fake. The notice scam was the second one this year and started to appear after Facebook posted new privacy guidelines, stating that users will no longer be able to vote on future proposed changes to the website. Was anyone aware that we had those voting rights as Facebook users before?…
Social Media: Reinventing Black Friday
Nothing screams Thanksgiving like a delicious roasted turkey, a gathering of loved ones and the resulting tryptophan coma that lasts through rivalry weekend. But to some, Thanksgiving is simply the preamble to a time honored tradition of binge consumerism. The Thursday feast: a means of refueling in preparation for the retail marathon that, depending on the stores on ones target hit list, could be between midnight and some other equally ridiculous pre-dawn hour. Last year a record 226 million shoppers took part in the frenzy…
National Coffee Day is PR Done Right
In the land of public relations, we are always looking for fun a creative ways to spread the word about our clients. A press release about a recent business deal isn’t the only way to get national and local media attention. Take it from Dunkin Donuts. Saturday, September 29 is National Coffee Day, so in celebration Dunkin decided to partner with CareerBuilder to survey workers about coffee consumption. The result? Coverage appearing in local, national and trade media about the most coffee-dependent professions. When two…
Just How Far Will Consumers Go For Their Favorite Brand?
Three of my all-time favorite products happen to be a few of the biggest, most well-known and most successful brands in the world. Starbucks Apple Coca Cola I go pretty far every week to declare my loyalty to them every week – from spending $4+ on an iced latte to buying that deliciously refreshing can of Coke. My love for all things Apple runs deep, just look at my MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and iPod! I am the quintessential brand loyalist. One of my favorite…
