All posts tagged Advertising

Does the PR Industry Need a Minority Czar?

by jaywalk1 on February 8, 2010 in Advertising, Diversity, Public Relations, Social Media with No comments
bigtent

Working in social media, I have the opportunity to read lots of blogs throughout the day on behalf of clients. One blog I enjoy reading personally is the Big Tent by Ad Age.

In a recent post, blogger Doug Miller says “The Country Might Not Need a ‘Minority Czar,’ but Advertising Does.” I won’t go into too much here because I think the article presents an interesting perspective that you should get from the source. I will say that it made me think: “Does the PR Industry Need a Minority Czar?”

Though PR and Advertising are like feuding cousins, the two industries have a lot of similarities. Unfortunately, one of those is an issue with diversity. Give the article a good read, and if the spirit moves you, please share your thoughts.

Apple, Just a-lingering in the back of my mind…

by jaywalk1 on July 15, 2008 in Advertising, Just Fun with 1 Comment

So I was poking around on the source of all these days, Twitter, and I came across a pretty cool blog called The Machine is Us. The most recent post featured Feist’s Sesame Street appearance. Check it out:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fciD_II7NI&eurl=http://themachineisus.wordpress.com/]

Ok, so tell me you weren’t wating to see that glorious white Apple icon to appear! If you weren’t, you’re better than me. That commercial ran months ago, but as soon as she started “1,2,3,4″ I was thinking “iTunes, iPod, iPhone, download, buy, buy.” Maybe I’m just a little more susceptible to ads than the average guy.

Anyways, I always found these appearances on Sesame Street amusing. Here’s one of my childhood favs featuring the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjEE5Mf24vg]

Reverse Marketology or a Dose of PR?

by jaywalk1 on March 25, 2008 in Gen Y, Public Relations with 6 Comments

Reverse Marketology, Gen-Y Marketology, PR Prescriptions

Today, writer Sarah Kliff posted a web exclusive to Newsweek.com titled Reverse Marketology. Throughout the article, Kliff references several branded campaigns which include more lifestyle info and helpful tips than actual sales messaging. Her take on the rationale behind the campaigns: “We’ve entered the age of the really counterintuitive ad…What they’re doing is banking on the idea that they can win customers with flattery and lots of helpful information.”

There are a couple things that seem a little off to me. First, I don’t think flattery plays much of a role in advertising today, and second, the [helpful information] + [product] = [customers] equation is more complex than the way it is being presented.

Boston University marketing professor C.B. Bhattacharya brings readers closer to the real goal with his take: “No one doubts the fact that they are doing whatever they do to make a profit for themselves…But if the consumer is able to say that they also have what is good for me in their mind, then that’s a big, big plus. Of course they want to make more money, but they also care about my well-being.”

Please note the progression of language being used to describe Reverse Marketology. Ad-focused Kliff speaks of “customers” and marketing-focused Bhattacharya speaks of “consumers.”

Who are the companies really trying to speak to? Not Customers and Not Consumers. These groups are trying to reach members of the Gen-Y audience, and reaching this audience is one thing that the Ad and Marketing departments can’t do on their own. They need talented PR people to speak to the audience and create Relationships.

Several articles report that Gen-Y audience members have low attention spans, and I will throw my two cents in there to say that we also have a low tolerance for straight sales messaging being tossed in our direction, but we love to be engaged and feel connected to the brands we support! Marketing helps to ensure that the right group is being targeted, and Advertising catches the group’s attention, but PR is what helps audience members make the connection.

So if we include a small dose of PR and the relationship element in Kliff’s equation, we will get the formula being used today:

[helpful information] + [product] + [PR] = Relationships = [LOYAL Gen-Y customers]