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20 Jul
Tamien Bain has an interesting relationship with the “Golden Arches.”
Fifteen years ago he walked into a McDonald’s with gun in hand and robbed the place. That indiscretion landed him in prison for a dozen years.
Now Bain is back as one of the five finalists in a contest the restaurant chain is running in partnership with MySpace to create a new jingle for the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac. This is a wonderful story and a win for everyone involved.
For Bain, it’s a chance to showcase his musical talent to a large audience with the hope of jumpstarting a career. In fact, he has reportedly already hired a public relations adviser. And for McDonald’s, this innovative and creative use of social media will now most likely produce an avalanche of additional media coverage.
Sure, there will be those that take shots at McDonald’s for allowing Bain’s participation in the contest. They’re off base. Bain served his time and now he has taken steps to be a productive member of society. I am rooting for him…and may even buy a Big Mac!
Finalist in McDonald’s/MySpace Jingle Contest is Former McDonald’s Armed Robber TechCrunch
15 Jul
Jerry Springer and Rush Limbaugh get it. So do Jim Cramer and Dick Vitale.
To attract a significant following in today’s noisy, media and blog-saturated world one has to express controversial views, delivered in a loud and boisterous style.
Perhaps that’s what the editorial staff at New Yorker magazine had in mind when they signed-off on a cover illustration that depicts Barack Obama in a turban, fist-bumping his gun-slinging wife. Whether you believe its “tasteless and offensive” like Obama’s campaign or merely misinterpreted satirical humor like New Yorker editor David Remnick, the resulting uproar has delivered a level of attention and significance the magazine has not had in years.
New Yorker Obama Cover Sparks Uproar http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/14/politics/politico/main4257077.shtml?source=mostpop_story
Most bloggers understand the readership dilemma all too well. The competition for attention is fierce with Technorati now tracking more than 110 million blogs. As a result, the blogosphere often digresses into a shouting match of hysterical voices promoting their respective views and agenda.
Into this mess walks the corporate executive blogger. How can a company garner readership and visibility for its thought leadership using an approach that is consistent with its brand image?
Our counsel to clients is to side-step controversy, and focus efforts on developing relevant, engaging and entertaining content tailored to the needs of specific target audiences. Expressing opinions in a clear and well-articulated fashion is a must, as is promoting blog content through a mix of social media and traditional PR channels. Yet, the benchmark for success should be quality of readers, rather than quantity.
Recently, I had two prospects comment on my blog posts during pitch meetings. One agreed with my thinking, while another felt I was off-base in my assessment of the value of micro-blogging platforms. Both are now current agency clients.
09 Jul
In his movie History of the World, Part I producer, director and actor Mel Brooks repeatedly proclaims that “it’s good to be the king.” Although he was playing the role of French king Louis XVI, Brooks’ catchphrase most likely captures the sentiments of Google’s leadership posse – Schmidt, Brin and Page.
That’s because even their me-too product announcements generate a whirlwind of press attention, and send competitors scurrying into the shadows. Consider Google’s entry into the Web analytics space last week with its Ad Planner service. Market leader ComScore’s stock tumbled 23 percent in a day.
The Washington Post’s Kim Hart led her story with this insightful observation, “Suddenly having Google as a competitor could quickly spell death for a smaller firm.” Buried in the article was the point that advertisers may be reluctant to let Google measure the effectiveness of ads placed in its other services.
Google Enters ComScore’s Turf Washington Post
This week Google trumpeted a new virtual world and chat service called Lively. While the New York Times fawned over Google and its innovation, it took blog GigaOm to provide a much-needed dose of perspective:
On first glance, Lively seems too similar to several existing MMOs, making it an also-ran without a key market distinguisher to be truly compelling (besides being from Google). You can stream YouTube videos in these rooms and embed rooms on websites, and it’s got appealing cartoon visuals and a fairly intuitive interface, but that’s true of numerous online worlds already out there.
I have repeatedly applauded Google for its efforts to develop new services as a means of diversifying its revenue. The company could easily rest on the success (and profits) of its search business. Yet, it recognizes the need to innovate to remain in a position of leadership and strength.
The concern I have is with the lack of insight and analysis provided by journalists when it comes to reporting on market leading companies. Their responsibility is to inform and educate, and that demands asking tough questions.
If business and trade media continue to go through the motions the reader exodus to online news sources and blogs will accelerate.
Google Introduces a Cartoonlike Method for Talking in Chat Rooms New York Times
How Lively? Google’s Me-Too Virtual World http://gigaom.com/2008/07/08/google-lively/
07 Jul Should we be wild about widgets? There is quite an upside to these bite-sized software applications that allow users to share third-party content. Widgets play right into the strength of social networks, which are merely Web-based communities created around a common set of interests. As such, their viral potential is stunning. Consider the widget called Top Friends from a San Francisco-based software developer called Slide. It has been downloaded and shared by more than six million users. In the Washington, DC market, there is a healthy amount of buzz around several emerging growth technology companies working with widgets. These include ClearSpring (http://www.clearspring.com/) and FreeWebs (http://members.freewebs.com/). To date, widget use has been primarily the domain of consumer advertisers with adoption gradually increasing. Market research shop eMarketer reports spending on widgets will reach $40 million this year, up from $15 million in 2007. Are there any viable uses for widgets by public relations professionals? I see possibilities: --Public companies could utilize widgets to make it easy for retail investors to share with friends and family information about their investments. --Internal communications/HR executives could build a stronger sense of community among geographically dispersed employees. --Relevant news, analyst coverage and thought leadership content could be shared with journalists who track a specific company or issue. It’s just potential though and until there are examples of widgets in action to further the public relations mission I hesitate to make a formal recommendation to a client. At Strategic Communications Group (Strategic), we don’t consider ourselves to be early adopters of social media technologies. We follow a more disciplined approach and embrace a tactic once we are confident in its ROI. Plus, widget makers are still working through the financial model of how they should be paid for their work. All of this adds up to a lot of uncertainty.
Tiny Widget Apps Can Lead to Some Big Bills Brandweek (7.1.08)
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