tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55401662024-03-18T19:31:17.893-07:00@jspepperTilting against windmills in marketing, communications, social media and public relations. Shining a light on the issues that we prefer to ignore in the industry.
The history of this blog is it started as a diary of starting my own public relations agency and quickly transitioned to commentary, opinions and views on PR, publicity and issues therein.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.comBlogger608125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-36998774758312646262023-08-22T13:45:00.001-07:002023-08-22T13:45:31.464-07:00A quick look at how Cisco is activating its employees as influencers to help with recruiting and more on LinkedIn.
I was lucky enough to work with Cisco on blogs, SecondLife activation (hey, we had a cool island for CES that showed the connected home) and more. This isn't a surprising move, as the company is forward-thinking in social in the past (granted, it's been a few years). But LinkedIn and activating employees is a strategy more companies should embrace. https://buff.ly/3KAE8sgvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-53467873685915358542023-08-22T12:46:00.003-07:002023-08-22T12:46:35.064-07:00When you're torn between smart marketing and wondering if we're selling out children. A smart move by Kraft Heinz to get Lunchables into school lunches and possibly helpful for smaller school districts giving students more options.
I went to a school that had no hot lunch, so everyone brownbagged it (and had to be Kosher, so this wouldn't work anyway). When I switched to public school, it seemed like no one ate anything healthy (it seemed like a lot of fries). At least this is a somewhat healthier meal. https://buff.ly/3skXPhxvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-46962419445515261652023-08-22T12:46:00.001-07:002023-08-22T12:46:34.604-07:00I love Wirecutter but it's interesting to think about how old it is now, the transitions it and the web itself have gone through, and how people get recommendations nowadays.
Back in the day, with any consumer electronics I worked on, we had a robust (based on team-size) review program. And even going back to when I started in PR, we had influencers included in the review program (industry analysts, review sites, enthusiast sites) that predate influencer relations.
But what this says to me is that those programs need to expand more to include those people that are being sought out for their insight. And while I have issues with influencer programs as reviews (how honest are the influencers being if it's paid), that is another layer in the process. https://buff.ly/44fcUhKvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-30256678435892123022023-08-21T16:50:00.001-07:002023-08-21T16:50:01.138-07:00“When customers think of sushi, we want them to think of Kroger,” said Stuart Aitken, chief merchant and marketing officer at Kroger.
It apparently worked, as Kroger (Fry's, Ralph's, etc) is the biggest sushi seller in the US. How they go there is with fresh sushi and regional tastes and testing. Now, that's not groundbreaking thinking (we all know about doing a/b testing for emails and landing pages), but it has been interesting to watch Kroger put in sushi chefs into various stores, having sit down counters and all the choices in the fridges right there. https://buff.ly/44kgBTavia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-42154270950480013232023-08-21T11:44:00.001-07:002023-08-21T11:44:39.682-07:00If you take a step back, you can look at Threads as a real-time experiment in launching and iterating a product with features and services that people are wanting. It really has been fascinating to watch both as a consumer/user and as a PR person watching people lose their shit and wondering if they've worked in tech or at a startup.
"It's Meta, they have tons of money, this should have happened immediately..." is pretty much every comment I've read about hashtags, search being better, web-based option, accessibility, and more that I'm too tired / disinterested to remember.
But hey, web is coming soon (likely this week). https://buff.ly/3QQMgIWvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-20801577868279538892023-08-17T10:41:00.001-07:002023-08-17T10:41:43.234-07:00While this seems like a low-key attempt to push the "everyone needs to be back in the office" theme that the WSJ has been on for a while, it does highlight that there are skills that can't be taught over Zoom or learned online. https://buff.ly/454xyCtvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-70297241175838673622023-08-15T15:59:00.001-07:002023-08-15T15:59:15.802-07:00So a few good things did come out of the pandemic, like people realizing they need to wash their hands more and people learning to cover their mouths when they cough.
Another good thing, less tolerance for fake or bad medical advice. Looks like critical thinking and critical reading (was I the only one that had classes in that in middle school??) are coming back, and less tolerance for snakeoil. As for those screaming freedom of speech, go learn the laws. https://buff.ly/47Afz8Ivia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-42236710455963842082023-08-10T16:33:00.001-07:002023-08-10T16:33:27.105-07:00An interesting quandary for Zoom. As a company, you want remote work to be the new standard but then you go and want people back in your office 2x a week (so yes, hybrid) if they're 50 miles near an office (which, sorry, is a LONG commute).
It's also a twofer. You have this message out to the public that you're bringing back people to the office (yes, just 2 days) so now you also have the internal communications challenge on selling it to the employees. And based on the article, it went over like a brick. https://buff.ly/3QvGpbTvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-14037413699415427292023-08-09T15:55:00.001-07:002023-08-09T15:55:07.515-07:00An interesting content strategy -- deleting old articles for better search results -- that was pretty much quickly dismissed as a wrong strategy by Google to the point that they did a Tweet (X?) thread on the subject.
The last quote is the main point for me (which makes it sad it was so far down): “CNET’s owner’s decisions to lay off a significant portion of its news staff, lean in on AI for articles and focus on profits from referral links already tarnished CNET’s reputation, and now they are literally erasing its legacy,” said a former CNET writer who asked to remain anonymous. “Beyond the damage to historical records, this hurts every long-term employee that Red Ventures laid off, who may be relying on their clips in job applications.”
I also have a major aversion to deletion of content and find it akin to book burning, but that might just be a me thing. The written word should be valued, and just wholesale deletion of articles, blogs, etc seems wrong. https://buff.ly/47nLj0Dvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-82433083678605714382023-08-08T18:54:00.001-07:002023-08-08T18:54:28.179-07:00Watching newspapers and publications rush to give more and more away, while cutting staff and making the product less worth our time and money, this line in the Consumer Reports publisher's obit hits true.
“It’s also important to recognize that Rhoda was one of the first modern-day publishers who believed that people would pay for content they considered valuable — you didn’t have to give it away, or undervalue it.”
Besides having the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I've ever found, working with CR reporters and editors was always great. It was straight-forward reviews, and if the company had confidence in the product, there was no issue. And yes, I told most of them the chocolate chip cookie recipe story.
There IS a lot of media to subscribe to nowadays, and it does get expensive. But so does streaming media, and at some point, it's important to support the sites and journalists you read. https://buff.ly/3s2rwndvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-78393428197838564492023-08-05T20:29:00.001-07:002023-08-05T20:29:45.743-07:00Sometimes serious issues need some humor. And Triumph got the WGA picket line to laugh. https://buff.ly/45eDNmLvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-26716078090754394832023-08-05T18:20:00.001-07:002023-08-05T18:20:46.579-07:00This is an interesting take on X/Twitter. Twitter (I really can't call it X yet because it's so stupid) has always a much larger influence than it should have because the media was involved and invested in the platform. Did that cause a (questionable/bad) feedback loop? Most likely, and that caused Twitter to have a greater amount of press than was warranted.
But if the new generation of journalists coming up don't feel the need to be on it, does that help accelerate its demise -- ignore the hope that it turns into a superapp, which is likely never happening. I can think of a lot of journalists that made their name on Twitter and were able to take that celebrity to Substack and new outlets. So that's the other part of the question, if it's not Twitter, where are journalists and media going to find audiences?
I'd really like to hear from younger journalists (I know I'm connected to a few) and get their takes on this. https://buff.ly/3DMhGIEvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-22313849259603211772023-08-01T22:24:00.001-07:002023-08-01T22:24:39.108-07:00What happens when a social media influencer licenses his name and the product is then less than stellar? We get lawsuits! It'll be interesting to see how this plays out in the media and online -- I give the edge to Mr. Beast with his audience but the response is pretty good.
Personally, I think ghost kitchens are a circle of hell of bad food (even with established brands) but this is also a lesson in licensing and keeping control. https://buff.ly/43SDb5avia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-82680616968336884572023-08-01T11:39:00.001-07:002023-08-01T11:39:27.915-07:00Lots of credit to Ryan Reynolds for continuing to do PSAs on colon cancer and prevention. Bigger kudos to Terry Crews for being able to stay in character post-procedure when he must have been high as a kite.
This follows the Reynolds colonoscopy and the Rob McElhenney colonoscopy (or the bet between the two) but all highlights the need for checkups and the importance there. It's a PSA that reaches people in a fun way, highlights issues, and hopefully gets people in the door.
It does remind me that when Katie Couric did her colonoscopy on the Today show back in 2000 and the uptick in appointments. https://buff.ly/3rSOTzEvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-74923181400351815702023-07-31T20:09:00.001-07:002023-07-31T20:09:04.501-07:00If Trader Joe's weren't such a loved brand, you'd think this would have a bigger impact on the company or at least online with more bad buzz.
And who is running manufacturing that rocks and bugs are issues to be concerned about and thus need to be recalled? Is it like a five year old that's really into rocks and bugs and is a connoisseur of mud pies/dirt cakes but the real kind... https://buff.ly/3q38nBavia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-74809893649421946152023-07-31T16:29:00.001-07:002023-07-31T16:29:30.947-07:00So far, most of the AI I interact with is pretty passive. If it becomes Clippy, I think it's going to turn off a lot of people. But this does seem interesting. https://buff.ly/43TEa58via Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-91296798298080202062023-07-31T12:30:00.001-07:002023-07-31T12:30:26.164-07:00We all expect the rise and fall of media type stories (Buzzfeed, Vice, Gawker Media), but one that seems primed to be told is the rise and fall of Cheddar News. It was one of those outlets that seemed to pop up on every startup's/CEO's must-have outlet (forget whether or not the audience made sense) and then sorta fizzled off as it was bought.
And now, it seems like it's going to be sold again. The strategy made sense -- go to where the audience might be, and not cable -- but seemed to also meet those good cable fees. But if the audience wasn't there, did that really matter? https://buff.ly/3Yi7xNevia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-69427802454725960662023-07-30T14:25:00.001-07:002023-07-30T14:25:12.176-07:00Anyone see "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" -- it's a real mood bringer (as in down) but why does this all remind me of the sponsored dances? We've reached a point in social media and the economy that people get paid to do dangerous things and we just watch.
I'd say that the platforms have a responsibility but they likely legally don't (that's different than an ethical responsibility, but corporations are usually amoral). But the creators should have their own compass to do what they want to do, and realize the risks there.
But it's the brands that get dragged -- I'm sure Four Loko wasn't expecting a "you caused a death because you (allegedly) sponsor a TikTok creator who paid another to chug" story for the week. Does make me wonder when better marketing and advertising guidelines for alcohol and other adult products are going to start appearing. https://buff.ly/477WWIRvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-40773043803089134552023-07-23T18:35:00.001-07:002023-07-23T18:35:28.403-07:00Remember the end of Mr. Mom? Yes, it's great movie with Teri Garr and Michael Keaton, where the wife goes back to work at an advertising firm while the husband gets laid off from the auto industry.
The movie took place during the 1980s recession, and the end TV commercial at the end of the film is when the tuna fish CEO lowers prices to help out the American family. Yes, unrealistic but one of those things that you would hope would happen in a boardroom that during a recession or weird economic times, they maybe think of the customer and their budgets.
Pepsi, well Pepsi decided to go in the exact opposite direction and are damned proud of themselves. They are continuing to raise prices on their snacks to see what the breaking point is for most American budgets. And then proudly talk about how big the profits were this quarter and yay them for continuing to raise prices.
While this is in business press, so of course it should be applauded, in theory we could hope that this spreads amongst consumers who take umbrage with how proud Pepsi is and stops buying the snacks. https://buff.ly/3QaM2MCvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-86872592567839359252023-07-21T00:54:00.001-07:002023-07-21T00:54:24.218-07:00Even though it seems like social media has been around for so long, let's be honest: the original years were such the wild west, we were likely al breaking laws that we didn't realize we were breaking.
Great interview with fellow SMCLA board member, Rob Freund, pointing out that those things we all do are likely going to get us in trouble on social. A good time to take that minute and read and see what you might need to be fixing. Trust me, I've seen worse than the examples. https://buff.ly/3PYDWqkvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-30660001288474522812023-07-20T21:30:00.001-07:002023-07-20T21:30:29.771-07:00Announcing an acquisition seems like it'd be an easy thing to do, but if you're a founder that's put in the years, the sweat, blood and tears, it's a little different. I've only tangentially seen it handling one acquisition (so a bit of blood and sweat, and then tears).
This was really well done by the founder of Frame_io and that he kept a video diary just lends to the honesty and excitement of it all. https://buff.ly/3pVXtwOvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-90687371142228927522023-07-20T20:59:00.001-07:002023-07-20T20:59:54.994-07:00A look at the top 100 PR users (based on some algorithm from Qwoted that are using Qwoted). But it's a good look into who is using the service, and what type of stories they might be getting out of the service.
Profnet or HARO 2.0? Profnet seems to be more a thing of the past, and HARO is a bad shadow of itself since it was acquired (come to think of it, I think they're both Cision). PR and reporters need a service that can help connect with the continued shrinking of outlets, the continued growth of freelancers and while we all have our connections, we can always use more. https://buff.ly/46V5piCvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-66058424841783979982023-07-20T20:45:00.001-07:002023-07-20T20:45:35.390-07:00This does seem inevitable, but there's going to be two types of AI outlets: those that just post (and likely steal, like we see already) and those that will have editors and double-check before posting.
Sadly, G/O does seem like it's the former rather than latter, which will be the sad coda for what were amazing news sites. But also, this is what you get when PE firms buy media outlets. https://buff.ly/3NWrjZZvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-29084795897510300672023-07-18T20:59:00.001-07:002023-07-18T20:59:29.310-07:00The never-ending battle between journalism and public relations. In PR, part of the play (especially in a crisis situation) is to protect the client/the company. In journalism, you do what you gotta do (aligned with journalistic ethics) to get the quote, the story.
Apparently, knocking on doors is going too far for some PR people. Not the first time I've heard that. https://buff.ly/44uGKjnvia Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5540166.post-28404258470274579312023-07-18T12:44:00.001-07:002023-07-18T12:44:55.496-07:00To go from 400 employees down to ~50 really highlights the ebb and flow (or highs and lows) of being a pandemic darling.
During the pandemic, we all wanted to send or get a Cameo and probably did. Now that most of us see people in person, maybe the allure is gone and we can instead wish people a happy birthday with a cake (I like cake, I recommend you send me Bill Knapp's cakes from Michigan with a Cameo of my favorite hockey player).
Does make for an interesting PR and marketing challenge, how do you get people to come back. I've used Cameo, have a login/password and can't think of any email marketing the whole time (unless I unsubscribed without realizing it). That seems a low-hanging fruit to get people to think of quick Cameos for friends/family that aren't in the same city. https://buff.ly/3Ok3HA0via Buffer
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17859194486093074401noreply@blogger.com0