by Leigh Andrews
on 06 September 2010
The field of PR is not an easy easy one to categorise. Seen by industry outsiders as a simple case of ‘putting fluff together’, there’s a lot more to the job than simply sending out press releases to generate positive publicity in the press.
Many PR agencies specialise in getting their clients into the social media sphere, and organise CSI activity on their behalf. Then there’s the realm of event organisation and setting up press conferences for clients, where members of the public get to meet the faces behind the initiatives they have heard about in the media; crisis communication; as well as securing prime sponsorship deals that serve both parties well, in terms of brand association and enhanced reputation. Celebrity sponsorship or endorsement functions in the same way – an event or initiative is seen as that much more credible or ‘worthy’ by the public if a big name sport or movie star puts their name to the cause.
What are your thoughts on the different aspects of securing publicity for clients? Which methods have you found to best serve your cause, and which method has prove itself as the most effective in terms of getting your message across to your intended audience? Please leave your thoughts below.
by kerryn le cordeur
on 03 September 2010
It seems Facebook really wants to give us the ability to know all our friends’ movements and thoughts, to the point of obsession, should we be so inclined.
First, a post on the Facebook blog announced the launch of Facebook Places, which allows users to tell people in real time where they are and who they’re with from their mobile device. The idea behind this is that you might be at the same place at the same time as your friends without knowing it – and now simply by logging into Facebook, you’ll be able to meet up, essentially moving the online experience offline. This works in much the same way as Foursquare does, by simply ‘checking in’ at a given destination – but Facebook penetrates a much larger population, so ostensibly it is a superior way to keep abreast of a more significant number of your friends’ whereabouts. Over and above this, when you check in, you can also tag the friends who are with you, in the same way as you tag them in a photo or status update, and you can post an update to tell people in even more detail than your status update allows, what you’re doing.
All very well and good, but can anyone say ‘privacy implications’? As always, Facebook says it has this covered, because you can only view others who are checked in where you are for a limited time, and you can opt not to appear in this section at all – although one wonders what would be the point of using this feature, if that’s the case. As far as tagging others goes, this also depends whether their settings allow it, and they can remove this tag at any time. And of course, only your friends can see your location – unless you set your master privacy control to ‘Everyone’, or you choose to share your check-in information with third-party applications that ‘build interesting experiences around the location’.
My concerns here are that this application is probably fine in the hands of a savvy Facebook user who understands the privacy issues and behaves accordingly – but what about the naïve young teenage girl who thinks it’s ‘cool’ to share her location with the world, or even only with her friends, but forgetting about that strange guy whose friend request she accepted without thinking? It’s pretty scary to consider the ramifications of this information, supplemented by all other information that Facebook provides, getting into the wrong hands!
But moving on…
Another new idea the social networking site is testing, according to Mashable, is a feature that would allow users to receive alerts every time a specific friend updates their profile – by ‘subscribing’ to this friend. Once you have subscribed to a certain friend, you will get notifications of their actions, in the same way that you get notifications when people comment on your photos; write on your wall; etc. Hopefully, this feature won’t extend to users who aren’t existing friends, but this has yet to be established; and let’s hope this is also something we can ‘opt out’ of – not everyone wants to be followed in such a ‘stalker-like’ manner!
And, if you think about it, combining these two new features – subscribing to a friend and then being able to keep track of their every move – really does provide you with the ultimate stalker tool! Great innovations as far as technology is concerned… not sure what the ramifications for the users are, though.
by Lindsey Kin
on 02 September 2010
Our team, actually it was our lovely Dalene, who came across Standard Banks’s new campaign in Destiny magazine. The print ad is impressive – and in my own opinion a 'bietjie' better than its partnering ad on TV - if you too have seen their pop-up print add in Destiny magazine, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
The campaign speaks to you (if you’re female of course); me; and the girl (not quite next door, but rather the one who is financially, emotionally, and all things strong). The MyCard product, speaks to me, not shouts, but communicates on a personal way, and its brand personality reflects that of mine.
Do you think Standard Bank has done a fantastic job in getting to understanding the current female consumer, and reflecting this understanding by creating a brand for ‘her’? We would love to hear your comments.
by Leigh Andrews
on 01 September 2010
Ah, Photoshop. Where would our body image be without the ability to enhance the look of digital photos by removing ‘red eye’ in a ‘flash’ (excuse the pun) or lightening a shot to enhance certain features, before we upload them to Facebook? All good and well for personal use, it’s when excessive image editing becomes the staple of the media industry that people start to complain about the effects on body image.
The ‘to Photoshop or not to Photoshop’ debate was raging on Carte Blanche last weekend, while the July issue of Cosmo (often criticised for its excessive cover girl image manipulation) highlighted the debate from a print perspective.
A very ‘colourful’ subject, so I will not go into too much depth. We want you opinions on whether air brushing is a necessary evil, or something that takes away from the art of true photography.
Please add to the conversation below...
by Leigh Andrews
on 31 August 2010
We’ve written lots about the ‘power of PR before, but what about the power of consumer? While PR is what brings the client’s message and call to action under the spotlight, it is up to the consumer to decide if and how they will react to this.
As the end of 2010 approaches, corporate South Africa is accepting the fact that consumers now have more power than before, when mass media meant the audience sat at home, waiting to be touched by a message through the medium. More communication platforms are in use now than ever before, with more on the way. This may well mean that while the mantra of ‘the customer is always right’ is still clung to by businesses, it is now potentially instilling fear into organisations as the consumer does not rely on what is in the media to form an opinion. While publicity is still publicity, the nature of the typical communication model and PR distribution platform has changed, as has the nature of the consumer.
Just this year, we’ve noticed the rise of the i-Consumer, based on the world view that ‘the now’ is more important than the past or the future; a growing trend towards adopting the values of Generation G, which cares about the impact of our actions and wants to assist where possible; a greater embracing of social media, networking and blogs.
Ally Cooper, joint-MD of AllyCats PR, comments: “Consumer engagement and interaction seem to be the new communication buzz words!”
Thoughts? Leave them below.
