Twitter Links Feb. 8 - 14

0 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 6:32 PM

It's time for another round of Twitter links. Read, learn, enjoy!

 

By Consumers, For Consumers

0 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 12:30 PM

This article on AgencySpy got me thinking today. With the invention of mobile phones with video cameras, YouTube and recording and editing software it has become increasingly easy for the average person to document their experiences with their favorite brands. We've seen this recently with the Dutch Heineken walk in freezer ad. (To view the original ad click here.) I'm still waiting to hear if this is for real.



And now we have this lovely ad for Trader Joe's or arguably the Palm Treo.



Not all consumer material is positive of course. The below Comcast video is enough to make any PR person cringe.



Even though some user-generated content is a cause for crisis communications I urge PR and advertising professionals to not take positive user-generated videos for granted. When a brand has consumers championing their product or service they should think of ways to leverage the attention. Maybe they would make good spokespeople? Heck, maybe they'd even do well in an ad? Perhaps you could use them to write a blog post on the company web site or become a regular contributor. There are lots of different ways to involve and embrace your brand ambassadors. Don't let them slip through your fingers!

 

Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Twitter links Feb. 1-7

0 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 10:30 PM

Every Sunday I will post links from my previous weeks Twitter posts. My hope is that you will find these links helpful and interesting. Let me know what you think! Right now each post will show up just as it did on Twitter. I'll do my best not to post links that are no longer relevant. To get them in real time follow me on Twitter @ladyhero.

 

My Favorite Superbowl Ads

1 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 7:06 PM

Between Jennifer Hudson's national anthem and the winning 78 yard drive by Pittsburgh, NBC Sunday night viewers saw $206 million dollars in advertising. Rather than bash all the awful ads I'll tell you my favorites and briefly mention the ones that didn't make the cut.

My Top Four
Hulu's ad featuring Alec Baldwin was one of the best ads of the night. It worked because A) Alec Baldwin is hilarious, and B) it gave viewers an immediate reason to visit the site -- to watch your favorite Superbowl ads! I also liked the ad because it educated viewers who aren't as Internet savvy about another "free" source to view high quality TV. Take heed, there is no longer a need for fancy DVR or expensive cable and satellite! Hulu provides high quality entertainment for the price of a high speed Internet connection.





Doritos Crystal Ball ad was hilarious. Some will argue that it contained unnecessary violence. To them I say get over yourself. While I have seen ads where the college humor goes too far this one had everyone in the house laughing. Maybe those who were offended have just been kicked in the balls too many times?





Not all the Miller High Life one second ads made it to game time, but they were great. The Milwaukee market saw the "High Life" ad. These ads work because they stick to Miller's brand. In a time where $3 million seems a bit excessive for a Superbowl ad, Miller went the cheaper route and bought ad time in local markets. The media buy complimented the brand message perfectly. Miller High Life clearly gives you the best bang for your buck.





Finally, I have to give up for PETA. Creating an ad that you know will be banned isn't exactly a new trick, but PETA was successful in creating a ton of buzz. Most major news sources and several blogs ran stories on the ad.

I'm not sure if it will convince anyone to go "veggie," but it's a nice spot. Does anyone know if the women in the ad are actually vegetarians? If they are, that might give people something to think about.


'Veggie Love': PETA's Banned Super Bowl Ad

Other ads that deserve honorable mentions are: Cash4Gold, E*Trade (I can't help, it I love the baby) and the NBC: LMAO ad.

What Should Have Stayed on the Cutting Room Floor
While there were many disappointments this year the Budweiser ads were the worst. The Clydesdale's did not make me want to drink beer much less Budweiser. I was also put off by all the 3D ads. No one I was with had brought special 3D glasses to watch the ads and without them they fell short. Maybe I would have felt differently if I'd had the glasses?

To see what the Twitterverse thought of the ads go to Search.Twitter.com and type in #superads09. What were your favorite Superbowl ads?

 

Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Whopper Campaign

2 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 7:39 PM

Burger King along with their ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky recently launched a Facebook application named Whopper Sacrifice. Burger King's tongue in cheek Facebook application had users delete 10 friends from their network to receive an e-mailed coupon for the new Angry Whopper. The friends were then sent a message announcing their deletion in favor of a fast food sandwich. Ouch...

To date, Burger King claims 232,566 friends were deleted in favor of the free Whopper. In addition, the campaign has sparked controversy with more than the 232,566 former Facebook friends. After going live for only a couple of days, the application was hacked allowing people to get a free burger without dismissing 10 friends. Then Facebook shut down the application proclaiming it violated user's privacy. The termination is allegedly temporary, but after being hacked and shut down by Facebook I wouldn't be surprised if the app was gone for good.

While some may say this campaign has been unsuccessful I have to disagree. The controversy surrounding Whopper Sacrifice has generated so much buzz that I'm sure Burger King has far surpassed its awareness goals. A quick Google search will show you that articles about the campaign have appeared in the New York Daily News, L.A. Times, Media Post, New York Times and MSNBC to name a few.

That is not to say I don't have my own criticisms of the campaign. While I admire Burger King and CP+B for thinking outside the box and using social media in a unique way, I'm not sure of the overall strategy. This Facebook application has certainly raised awareness and encouraged people to try the Angry Whopper, but it also flies in the face of Facebook creators. Typically the idea is to gain friends not lose them. An application that forces users to lose friends is sure to get Marc Zuckerberg a little miffed. True, Facebook is not hurting for users, but I wonder how eager they or other social networking sites will be to work with these companies in the future.

Have Burger King and CP+B jeopardized their standing with social networks?

 

When Your Social Life and Professional Life Blur...

2 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 9:47 PM

Not so long ago, when people punched out and went home for the day they were done worrying about their professional image. They were free to relax with friends, and even get a little... Crazy. This does not hold true today. In an era where competition is as fierce as ever, my generation does not only need to worry about getting into the best schools, having the best grades or even landing the perfect internship. Instead, many are worrying about their online presence and how it may be affecting their current job and job search.

With everyone Facebooking and Twittering the social media space does not only belong to a circle of close friends. For many it is not uncommon for an aunt, uncle or even parent to be part of their social network. Furthermore, many people are "friending" colleagues.

I am a big fan of social media, but I must admit that sometimes I yearn for the days where the only harm an unflattering picture could cause is a mild humiliation in class on Monday.

Today I manage five to six different social media accounts. Not only do I try to make sure all of these online spaces are kept current, but I also worry about the messages I send out. Would my coworkers and family approve of my Facebook status? What about that last tweet? There's no complaining about work or the company when one of your friends is a V.P. Is it ok to decline a coworkers friend request? And, how much is too much, or not enough? If I don't tweet everyday will I be considered out of the loop? If I tweet 10 times a day will people think I'm neurotic?

The hardest and greatest part about social media is there are no rules. There aren't even many social norms. What is appropriate and what's not is completely up to the person and their social network.

On either side of this debate are two, I think, valid arguments. The first is that the Internet is a public space, and if a person is leary about some of their "extra curriculars" they should think twice before posting online. The second deals with the right to privacy. I think it's safe to say that most social media web sites allow the user to play around with their own privacy settings. For instance, I block all of those who I have formed professional relationships with from viewing my photos on Facebook. To all my professional friends it's nothing personal, but as I try to brand myself online I don't want you looking at photos from my latest Saturday night at the bar.

Which brings me to my main question. Is there a way to enjoy all social media has to offer without compromising yourself? Is it possible to keep parts of your private life private online? If we remain professional it can take much of the fun out of social media. If we strip our Facebook profiles to look like nondescript paper cutouts we are left with little sense of authenticity and character.

Is there a solution? A way to have fun with social media while not scaring away potential clients and job offers? What about creating two online persona's? One with an alias to be used with close friends and another to be used for business?

Right now I am debating whether or not to post this to my Twitter and Facebook account. How will my colleagues react when they see my hesitation towards sharing my whole self with them online? I guess I'll have to wait and see. Until then, how do you manage your professional and private lives online?

 

Labels: , ,

The Economy

0 comments Posted by Sarah Soczka at 9:58 PM

I will admit that when I first started to hear about the housing crisis and possible recession I was a bit naive. Okay, very naive. The financial crisis was going to have a big impact, but it couldn't possibly affect me. After all I don't own a house, I rent! I couldn't even lose much money in my 401K because I had only been contributing for 9 months.

Then things started getting worse. Gas prices spiked and getting loans got trickier. Despite all this I still thought I'd be okay. Until student loans hit...

You see, it has come to my attention that I am not as good as managing my money as I thought. I pay my bills on time and try to make more than the minimum payment, but it isn't always enough. Ever since college I've had a tendency to live above my pay grade. If I could "afford" to go to Spring Break and pay off my credit card in a few months what was the harm? I hadn't gone shopping in months. I work hard, I deserve a shopping spree. I graduated college, I not only deserve, I need a new car!

Sidebar - To be fair I did try to find a used Mazda3, but there weren't any available with all the features I wanted and in the right color... Okay, I had no excuse.

The thing is once you add up all the vacations, shopping excursions, new car and students loans I am left with a sizable amount of debt.

The solution? After the grace period lapsed on my school loans I requested a forbearance for a year. At that point I already had a second job and adding another bill was not an option. Ten months later student loans were coming and it was time to stop procrastinating and start consolidating. As you can imagine, this is where the credit crisis started to bite me in the ass. No one would consolidate my loans, so I am left with three monthly payments.

Today I am struggling, like the majority of Americans, to keep my head above water. (It's a good thing my parents are thrilled with home made CD's for Christmas.) I know a lot of people want to blame the financial institutions and auto companies for their failings, and I agree, but I think the American people need to take some of the blame too. After all, it's my fault I owe $5,000 to my credit card company. It's my fault I bought a new car without considering how much it would really cost each month once you factor in insurance and maintenance.

While I feel for families whose homes are in foreclosure they had a hand in putting themselves there. The financial institutions should have made better decisions and the auto makers need to be wise enough to run stronger business models.

I guess what I'm saying is that we need to stop pointing fingers and admit that we as a nation have collectively fucked up. We have all been living above our pay grades. Whether it's the CEO who tried to make the stock or home more valuable, the family who bought a house they couldn't afford or a college student who went on spring break, we've all been financially irresponsible and it's time to face the music. The government, businesses and individual people need to help one another get back on track.

Personally, I don't like the term "bail out." It sounds too much like a hand out, and Americans don't take hand outs. At least that's what Denny Crane would say. Instead, we all need a helping hand. The financial institutions, auto companies, families who no longer have a place to stay, recent graduates and current students who can barely afford an education and the millions of people who have lost their jobs. Our government needs to provide that helping hand, and in doing so they need to do more than hand us a blank check.

In return I'm going to do my part to be more fiscally responsible. Are you?

 

Labels: , , , , , , ,

Newer Posts Older Posts Home

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)