Forget ribbons, we cut burgers!
Here are just two TV features of many we garnered for Smashburger‘s second restaurant opening here in the Sacramento region. We opened the first in March 2010 in Citrus Heights and a second recently in Folsom. Be on the lookout for a third opening soon in Roseville! Meanwhile, these video clips should wet your appetite.
KCRA 3/31/10:
Fox40 3/29/10:
I just received this article via BurrellesLuce Newsletter (check it out here).
It’s true, a lot of the information found below is fairly obvious, but an oh-so-good reminder, because quite frankly, PR pros tend to get a little lazy now and then…
So the next time you send out a press release, just take a quick gander at these five tips:
1. Un-newsworthy releases. Let’s face it, to the company, brand, or organization that generates it, any “news” could be worthy of a press release. While it is perfectly acceptable to add all types of releases to your online press center, where you can optimize it for search, it may not be necessary for every piece to hit the wire — especially if it’s of little value to your audience. If you are crafting and sending a release just so you have something to show or to remain in front of eyeballs, you may want to think twice. Chances are that you’re only diminishing your credibility for when there is something worth announcing. (Keep in mind the story of the boy who cried “wolf.”)
2. Lack of intrigue. If a release doesn’t excite or spark some form of interest, who is going to bother to read it, let alone act on it? With the increasingly shorter news cycle and abundance of content available to readers, it is imperative that you create a piece that draws attention (in a good way) without being over the top. Otherwise, you’re just adding to the clutter and noise. One good way to measure your impact is to include a call to action in your release. [oh, you'll want to keep reading...] (more…)
With winter right around the corner, the Today Show featured a segment on ‘How to update your fire place,’ and of course, we had the perfect product for the segment! Our client, Eldorado Stone was the featured highlight with a hearth as the backdrop for Meredith and George. The segment shared some great ideas for updating that old fire place. Our favorite? The architectural stone veneer, of course!
Watch the segment: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33653115#33653115
Need more inspiration? Check out the images below or visit Eldorado Stone’s Walkthrough.
According to a new study from Performics and analytics from ROI Research, 46 percent of social media users have recommended or talked about a product or brand on Facebook, and 44 percent have done the same on Twitter.
With more than 3,000 responses to an online survey of social network users, 30 percent said they have learned about a new product, service or brand from a social networking site, and 25 percent have gone directly to an online retailer or ecommerce site after learning about a new product or brand. Twenty-five percent have recommended a product or brand to friends through social networking sites while 20 percent have discussed them on social networking sites after seeing an ad elsewhere.
Want to engage your target audience?
Twenty-seven percent reported being receptive to invitations to events, special offers or promotions received through social networking sites.
Just like with any public relations or advertising campaign, a social media program needs to be based in strategy and provided the resources needed to succeed. But the real question is for those companies out there who still wonder if social media is just a fad. They continue to hesitate to truly get involved or invest the time and resources to get involved successfully. Well, if those companies wait for much more evidence, that ‘bandwagon’ will be long gone…. Full article at BrandWeek.
The PRSA presentation on August 20th was packed with timely information about not only what is changing within the marketing landscape, but why it’s changing and what we as marketers can do (and must do) to capitalize on it.
Five key take aways from the presentation are:
1. Engage in social media: Of all the great shifts in communication, social media is one of the biggest and most significant. Marketers need to learn it, create a strategy and engage to compete in today’s marketplace.
2. Market your brand (not your product or service): Even in today’s challenging economy, we remain a brand-driven society. Companies need to understand the essence of their brand and market it accordingly.
3. Know your audience: It amazes me how many companies wonder why their marketing isn’t working when they have no real idea of who it is they are actually ‘marketing’ to. Know your audience and you’ll have a much better chance at reaching them.
4. Challenge your comfort zone (as well as your clients’, boss, boards, etc.): Now is not the time to be complacent. With so much changing within the marketing landscape, marketers have got to change with it. More than likely, this means that it will push you out of your comfort zone. And my philosophy is if you’re uncomfortable, it means you’re moving outside the ubiquitous box. Trust me, that’s a good thing!
5. Write your own rules: Gone are the days of following all the rules. The fact of the matter is that given social media and other changes within the marketing landscape, there aren’t necessarily rules for you to follow. And that’s a great thing for marketers. Finally, we can be more daring and more creative than ever before!
Still thirsty? Check out Merlot Marketing’s delicious page for articles and case studies you can learn from…For information specific to the PRSA presentation, click on the following link: http://delicious.com/merlotmarketing/PRSA
Capturing the essence of the presentation was this quote:
“It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.”
Alan Cohen
Author: chicken soup for the soul
I have to hand it to Domino’s, it’s a pretty creative idea. Now that’s one form of advertising almost anyone can “love.”GreenGraffiti, a business dedicated to clean outdoor advertising, used a high-pressure water hose to spray the eco-friendly images into the grime on the street. The green ads were created early on Thursday, while there was a lull in foot traffic.
“This is the first time we’ve done something like this,” said Jenny Fouracre, manager of public relations for Domino’s. “It’s never been done by an American company in the U.S. before.”
GreenGraffiti is created by laying a stencil down on the street and using a power washer to clean away filth in a design. More than 200 of these clean Domino’s ads were left on the ground.
The first 250 people to hunt down the sidewalk ads and email a picture of themselves with the GreenGraffiti to Domino’s will receive a $15 gift card. Winners will also have their pictures posted on Flickr.
What’s your favorite advertising campaign of all time? Go ahead, take a moment and I’m sure you’ll come up with something.Now, name one of your favorite public relations campaigns.
Somehow, I bet the first question was easily answered, while the second one really made you think; hard. Did you come up with an answer? My guess is that most of you could not. And it’s not your fault. Advertising simply gets more attention than PR because it’s blatant. It’s funny. It’s clever, It’s in your face.
But ‘behind the scenes,’ there are powerful public relations campaigns that are garnering companies phenomenal brand recognition, awareness, traffic to their websites and most importantly, sales. Almost every business-owner and marketing professional I speak with shares his or her frustration about having to cut their incredibly creative and effective advertising campaign. However, far too often, they never mention anything about PR because they are simply not using it, or certainly not using it to its fullest potential.
So just how powerful is PR? Have you ever heard of The Body Shop, Palm or Google? These brands were built with public relations. It’s been only in the past few years that they have implemented aggressive advertising campaigns to maintain the strong brands they built with PR.
Advertising is finite. You get exactly what you pay for, no more, no less. So this means to really reach your audience, you’re going to need a fairly sizeable budget: something most companies simply do not have right now.
So for those of you with a shrinking marketing budget and a growing need for awareness and sales, my recommendation is to take a close look at the power of PR.
I often tell our clients that public relations is the most underutilized tool in marketing today. A research study by Erdos & Morgan for the American Advertising Federation found that among 1,800 corporate executives surveyed, PR was ranked third in order of importance behind product development and strategic planning — and advertising came in sixth. This is not to say that advertising isn’t important, because it is: it’s simply to illustrate the power of PR.
So, how can you tap into the power of PR?
First, get to know your local media. Nothing annoys an editor or reporter more than someone who pitches her a story that has nothing to do with her beat. You need to not only have a good understanding of who and what you’re pitching, but clear objectives as to why that editor’s or reporter’s audience would (and should) be interested in you or your story. If you can’t answer that question with a confident and compelling response, it’s time to go back to the drawing board before making the pitch.
The easiest way to get to know the local media is to partake. Read the local paper (if it’s still around), community papers, magazines, newsletters and blogs. Watch the local news and listen to your local radio stations. Find out who is writing or covering stories in your industry and then read them. Get to know what that editor or reporter enjoys writing about and then send a story idea to her.
When you’re reading an article and you say to yourself, “That should be me,” stop wishing and get to pitching. Email the editor explaining why your story is perfect for her column and readers.
Second, just because you think your story is “news” doesn’t mean it is “newsworthy.”
To make your story newsworthy, tap into the news. Here a few tips to help you craft your story:
Holidays: If your company makes a great gadget, pitch it as this year’s hottest holiday gift. If your retail store happens to carry the latest holiday gift or gadget, offer yourself and your store to the media as a resource. If you run a restaurant, why not share a few holiday-themed drink recipes and a quick and easy entertaining guide online? There are literally dozens of ways to tap into the holidays, so get creative.
Articles: If you’re an expert in your field, offer to write an article pertaining to your profession. Whether your articles get published weekly, monthly or only once a year, the return on investment is invaluable. People want to buy from, and do business with, the best in the field, and this is one way to position yourself as just that.
Pop Culture: Celebrity news, cell phones, reality shows, Crocs, Twitter, anything “i”: iPods, iPhone, iTunes and even “IMs.” If you have a product or service that taps into anything related to pop culture, it can be newsworthy.
World’s First: Whether you have a product, service, book or technology that is the world’s first (or simply the first locally), tout what others can’t. Consumers and the media love “firsts,” new, exclusive, patented, etc., so tap into it.
Surveys: There are always surveys and “top 10″ lists available to the media, but they’re usually not conducted locally. Local is what matters, so do a survey that is of interest to your community. Make it general enough for broad appeal, but specific enough to “hint” at your subject matter. This is a great way to not only gain publicity, but also become a resource for the local media.
Associations: How do some people always seem to get invited to the best events, be featured in local news stories and be chosen to write articles? They join associations, which enable them to broaden their network of friends and professionals. In doing so, it allows them to tell their story to more people, which often has a compounding effect. If you want to get your story out there, you need to start by getting out.
Human Interest: Make it about people. If you make a heart monitor and want it covered in the news, don’t tell the media what it’s made of, how accurate it is and how long it took to get it patented (yawn). Instead, talk about the little girl whom without it might not be with us today, about the grandmother who has enjoyed that past three years with her grandchildren because of this incredible technology or the father who is enjoying playing baseball with his son for the first time in two years. It’s about people. Whether you’re selling a product or service, remember, it is emotion that compels consumers to buy, and it is emotion that the media like to cover.
Blogs, online forums, seasons, how-to’s, public speaking, newsletters … there are literally hundreds of ways to generate press coverage for your company.
So, while your advertising budget is invariably shrinking, start thinking about how you can begin growing your public relations activities. Often times it’s more efficient and effective than any other form of marketing communication. And most importantly, unlike advertising, it’s really infinite. There’s no telling where one good PR pitch might take you.
If you want a little attention, run a clever ad campaign. If you want sales and long-term success, tap into the Power of PR.
Sacramento Professional Performance® Magazine: Vol 17 No. 2
Printed with permission by Sacramento Performance® Magazine: http://www.theperformancemagazine.com/
David Holmes, SWA rapping flight attendant
Southwest Airlines continues to garner positive press by hiring great employees. It’s one thing to have a well-written mission statement or great ad campaign, but it’s another thing entirely to actually live your brand promise. Southwest, although not perfect, is certainly better than most airlines. Yes, they cram you on a plane and only feed you three peanuts, but at least they do it with a smile – which is much more than I can say for most airlines. Why do people fly Southwest? It’s cheap and no frills. Yet somehow, it’s the only airline that manages to ‘exceed’ my expectations when I fly. That doesn’t happen when I book my ticket online. It happens at the personal level. It happens when I am greeted with a smile at the ticket counter. It happens when the flight attendant actually smiles when I ask for six peanuts or more water. And it happens when they tell me during their safety announcement that I can store small children in the overhead compartment.
All the advertising in the world will not fix one of the most important elements of building a successful brand – your people. I mean really, what’s more endearing than a rapping flight attendant? The guy has garnered close to 2 million views on YouTube and has been featured on CNN, Fox News and other major networks. Now that’s great branding and PR. No matter what your musical taste, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this: Southwest Airlines’ rapping flight attendant
Merlot Marketing walked away from the CAPPIE Awards Show with two GOLD and four SILVER CAPPIE awards including:
GOLD CAPPIE AWARDS
Client: Walker Zanger
Title: “All-Over Pattern Micro-Trend Finally Come to Tile”
Category: Writing; Feature Writing
Walker Zanger’s Contessa Collection
Client: Merlot Marketing
Title: Merlot Holiday Card
Category: Self Promotion
Merlot Marketing's Holiday Survival Guide
Check it out for yourself: Click here
SILVER CAPPIE AWARDS
Client: Merlot Marketing
Title: The Water Cooler ‘Merlog’
Category: New Media; Blog
What will find? What else? Water Cooler talk...
Client: Everpure
Title: Everpure Aqua Party 2008
Category: Special Event/Media Event
Client: Everpure
Title: Everpure Water Bottle Display
Category: Promotional Device
Client: Everpure
Title: Everpure Exubera Brochure
Category: Brochure
Published: May 14, 2009
It’s rather breathtaking to contemplate how quickly Oprah Winfrey amassed 1 million followers on Twitter (she crossed the line just today). Wow, she really showed that Ashton punk, didn’t she?
