Coyne PR Industry Hot Sheet 11/20/09

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		Miracle Whip's Marketing Team is not as Massively Dope as We Had Hoped The Miracle Whip vs. Stephen Colbert controversy rages on; in reply to Miracle Whip’s attack at Colbert via print and purchase of all the commercial slots during his 11/12 show, Colbert thanked the company for buying his ad space, leaving him more money to buy more mayo – so much for “ in your face and massively dope” Source: MediaFreak.com, 11/13/09
		Housekeeping Goes Social (and mobile) Tide has created an iPhone app that serves as a mobile stain-removing resource, listing tips on removing anything that might soil on your shirt while you’re on the go Source: Adverblog.com, 11/13/09
		A Gap Store Goes Head Over Heels (literally) for Rewards Program To support their new “Sprize” program – a rewards program available in Canada that credits shoppers with the difference for merchandise if it goes on sale within a certain period – Gap turned a store in Vancouver upside-down and created a viral video to share the transformation with the social media-sphere Source: BrandFreak.com, 11/17/09
		Oxford's Word of the Year? 'Unfriend' The New Oxford American Dictionary has named the popular Facebook term ‘unfriend’ as their 2009 word of the year Source: Cnet News, 11/16/09
		Elf Flash Mob A mob of Office Max elves stormed Union Square to promote the seasonal evite www.ElfYourself.com Source: BuzzFeed.com, 11/17/09
		So, Tell Me Again Why Vampires Like Volvos? Volvo has launched a new advertising campaign surrounding the Twilight series just in time for the launch of “New Moon”– in the books and movies, the lead character Edward drives a Volvo, and the car company is offering fans a chance to win his car by solving a puzzle at www.WhatDrivesEdward.com Source: AdFreak.com, 11/16/09
		The Little Red Chair That Could Toshiba has put a red chair into orbit, filming its journey around the earth with hi-def Toshiba cameras, creating a viral video and the world’s highest recorded commercial Source: AdRants.com, 11/16/09
		The Ten Most Influential Internet Moments of the Decade The Webby Awards Web site has posted a list of the ten most influential moments of the 2000’s – all of which are tied to the Internet – including the launch of Wikipedia and Facebook and the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Source: WebbyAwards.com, 11/09
		Chase Commits $5 Million to Facebook Charity Campaign Chase has partnered with Facebook to launch its “Community Giving” campaign in which users will be able to vote for their favorite non-profit organization through a Facebook application; the charity with the most votes, slated for announcement February 1, will receive $1 million dollars, five runners-up will be awarded $100,000, and the following top 100 will get $25,000 each; more than 12,000 Facebook members signed up for “Community Giving” page within the first day of posting Source: Cnet News, 11/17/09
		YouTube to Help Sites Gather News Clips YouTube Direct will allow local media to pick-up videos posted by users in their area, integrating traditional broadcast news with user-generated content Source: New York Times, 11/17/09
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Goals vs. Strategies vs. Tactics

I wanted to pass along an article I found based upon a tweet from Guy Kawasaki. Kawasaki was referencing a post from the Brand Insight Blog on the difference between goals, strategies and tactics. I've had many conversations with people in the field on the difference between each of these and oftentimes people get confused when developing their own strategies and tactics. The article provides some great examples, as well as question to ask yourself when drafting your next plan.

 

Coyne PR Industry Hot Sheet 11/13/09

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		Colbert vs. Miracle Whip Miracle Whip strikes back at Steve Colbert for his campaign against their product with full page print ads – the ads contain a letter from the brand communicating their feelings about his comments and how they planned to “dominate” him by purchasing commercials during his show Source: Buzzfeed.com, 11/12/09
		Hard Rock, Celebs Imagine There's No Hunger USA Today reports on Hard Rock International’s “IMAGINE THERE’S NO HUNGER” campaign and “SERVE4” digital album – the article features interviews with Yoko Ono, Ringo Starr, Forest Whitaker and O.A.R., who contributed to the world hunger campaign which benefits WHY Source: USA Today Online, 11/09/09
		A New Look for the Public Library’s Lion Logo The New York Public Library has redesigned their logo to be more online friendly – to generate media coverage for the new design, the library released a viral video explaining the thought process behind the change Source: The New York Times Online, 11/09/09
		ElfYourself Returns With New Features Office Max’s Elf Yourself is back with new features for the 2009 holiday season – users can select pictures from Facebook to put on up to five elves in one of five different routines as well as the option to put your elves on mugs and other novelty gifts; check it out http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/vqO7zMFsTGCFnxsTIrdu Source: USA Today – Pop Candy, 11/11/09
		Discovery Channel – The World is Just Awesome The Discovery Channel is asking viewers to create their own version of the new “The World is Just Awesome” commercial, which features Discovery Channel stars singing praises to the earth; the original version of the commercial, "Discovery Channel: I Love the World", won numerous awards, as well as generating more than 4 million views on YouTube Source: YouTube.com, 11/05/09
		'Rocky' Fans Storm Philly - Were You There? To promote the release of “Rocky: The Undisputed Collection” on Blu-ray and DVD, local radio show host Danny Bonaduce led a parade of 1,000 robed Rocky fans through the streets of Philadelphia to the infamous “Rocky” steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Source: USA Today – Pop Candy, 11/09/09
		Samsung Mobile Explorers Samsung is challenging phone-wielding adventurers to become “Samsung Mobile Explorers” – a new viral video campaign released by the phone company features bystanders catching amazing events on their video phones while watching athletes train for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Source: Adverblog, 11/09/09
		Slow Work Day? Roll Out the Slip and Slide Austin agency nFusion has created a viral video of a “slow day” at the office, featuring employees playing on a giant slip and slide to create some buzz for the company Source: AdRants, 11/10/09
		The Netflix for Designer Dresses Stay fashionable without breaking the bank – Rent the Runway is a new online store which allows women to borrow designer dresses and return them via mail when they are done Source: Adweek, 11/05/09
		The Gap Cheer Factory The Gap “Cheer Factory” allows users to create a personalized cheer e-card to share with others; check out the TV spot cheers at www.facebook.com/gap Source: Gap.com, 11/13/09
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PR WEEK, “Hard Rock International raises awareness and funds for hunger prevention”

ORLANDO, FL: Hard Rock International launched the second year of its "Imagine There's No Hunger" campaign on November 9, using John Lennon's likeness, signature, and his song Imagine as the theme. In its second year, the campaign continues to raise awareness and funds for World Hunger Year (WHY) but is expanding with more engagement from Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr.

"[The song is] such a universal theme that for us as global brand, and we couldn't ask for more perfect partners and messaging that fits with what we are trying to convey around the world," said Annie Balliro, senior director of global brand philanthropy at Hard Rock International, of Ono and Starr, who both served as ambassadors.

"We always like to say we have three top priorities: awareness, fundraising, and sustainable change," she added.

Hard Rock also partnered with several artists, such as OAR, Elvis Costello, and Earth, Wind, and Fire to produce a compilation CD and download, SERVE4, and is selling merchandise such as bracelets, with 100% of proceeds going to WHY. The campaign is also hosting concert events worldwide throughout the month of December and encouraging fans to donate food to food banks.

The company is working with AOR Coyne PR on the campaign. The agency is overseeing media relations and collaborating with the musicians, several of which are doing media interviews about the program.

"As far as media, the greatest thing about Hard Rock is that there are so many different types of beats you can pitch," said Meredith DeSanti, account supervisor at Coyne. "There is the food and restaurant aspect, and there is also the music, the philanthropy, and the retail, and this is one of those programs where we can bring that all together."

Online, Hard Rock is on Facebook and Twitter, where the company has been tweeting during events. Coyne has also been working with artists' management and publicists to promote the campaign on fan pages and artists' sites.

"We're really able to engage the PR strategy in a way that maximizes fans of many genres of music," Balliro said. "All of these artists are really stepping up and providing an incredible media asset to us, so we're able to really strategize and cover all of our bases."

Coyne PR Industry Hot Sheet 11/06/09

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		CHECK IT OUT The dancing Filipino inmates are back with a brand new routine; the original Filipino Prison dance video of Michael Jackson’s "Thriller", posted in July 2007, generated more than 35 million views Source: Buzzfeed.com, 11/05/09
		An Application to Help Scrub Those Regrettable Photos From Facebook Wisk clothing detergent brand has created Wisk-it, a Facebook application which allows users to remove unflattering photos that friends have posted – the user selects tagged photos they would like to remove and Wisk-it sends a request to the poster asking them to pull the bad photos Source: The New York Times, 11/01/09
		Vegemite Contest Draws Protests Earlier this year, Kraft Foods Australia launched a contest asking consumers to re-name spread Vegemite; they received 50,000 entries, resulting in the new name iSnack 2.0 which generated a strong negative reaction in the online community – four days after the iSnack 2.0 launch, the brand announced that they would hold another contest to determine the product’s new name by providing the public with six names to choose from, resulting in the name Cheesybite; the controversy translated into a 47% increase in sales for iSnack 2.0 Source: The New York Times, 11/02/09
		Agency Wants to Get Drunk With Prospects Ad Agency Northlich has created a Vodka Ad Generator, an online application which allows users to create their own alcohol ad by answering five questions about their made-up vodka Source: AdRANTS, 11/03/09
		Consider the Pothole Artists Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca have created a photo project called My Potholes, an online collection of photos showing people using potholes for daily activities like eating and doing laundry Source: NBC New York, 11/03/09
		Weezer and Snuggie Warm Up to Each Other Rock band Weezer has partnered with Snuggie (the ‘As Seen on TV’ blanket with sleeves) to launch their newest CD, Raditude; fans can purchase the Weezer Snuggie, which comes with the CD, for $29.99 – promotion for the partnership includes a viral video of Weezer band members in a Snuggie infomercial Source: AdFreak, 11/04/09
		Finders Keepers Soho furniture retailer BluDot has created the Real Good Chair Experiment – based on the “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” theory, GPS-enabled chairs were placed all over NYC, free to anyone who found them; BluDot plans to use the data collected from the chairs to create a documentary about the chairs’ voyage, which can also be tracked through the company’s Web site Source: MetropolisMag, 11/04/09
		What the Socialsphere Really Thinks About You Social Mention is a new analytic tool which provides data on how a keyword (brand, name, product) is viewed in the socialsphere including passion, reach and online mentions Source: Brandflakes for Breakfast, 11/05/09
		Trivial Pursuit Ponders which Sex is Smarter A new campaign for Trivial Pursuit taps into the oldest rivalry in history, the battle of the sexes – the campaign includes an online video featuring men and women doing stupid things and a microsite, TrivialPursuitExperiment.com, where users can log in and try to prove that they are the smarter sex by answering trivia questions Source: Adweek, 11/05/09
		When Should Xmas-Shopping Ads Begin? AdWeek recently held a poll on when it was appropriate to start holiday campaigns: 8 percent felt holiday campaigns should start after Labor Day 42 percent felt holiday campaigns should start after Halloween 35 percent felt holiday campaigns should start after Thanksgiving 12 percent replied “never" Source: Adweek, 10/22/09
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