Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
“Hulu, an evil plot to destroy the world. . .”
While Hulu may not be destroying the world, it is undoubtedly impacting the broadcast media landscape with its customizable online video service that offers free TV shows, movies, clips and other online destination sites.
Hulu was founded in March 2007 and is co-owned by NBC Universal, News Corp. and Providence Equity Partners. In a move to extend its service, Hulu will now offer a new desktop application that according to AdAge will “encourage more consumers to flip on their computers rather than their TVs.” The application will mimic the TV experience; however as an added bonus it will allow viewers to watch the shows they want, when they want with fewer advertisements.”
Although Hulu is currently restricted to computers, nearly all computers have an output jack to plug it into a TV. Hulu’s new application has sparked concern with many of its network backers who worry that this application will threaten the livelihood of cable TV. To prevent this, many of them have restricted Hulu from pulling their content.
While Hulu executives argue it isn’t a replacement for traditional linear TV and cable, Michael Learmonth with AdAge says, “Don’t believe it. The battle is just getting started.”
New technology such as Hulu is changing the face of broadcast media in much the same way as the Internet changed the traditional print publication. Jonathan Miller, chief digital offer with News Corp., commented, “Cable is going to have to push to get their content where people want to consume it.”
As services such as Hulu continue to impact the broadcast media landscape and provide viewers more control over what they watch and when they watch it, the company has the potential to change how PR and broadcast media interact. For example, we anticipate it will become more challenging to place stories as network coverage may become more limited. As networks strive to keep their shows on top, producers will be looking for stories that resonate with a local or niche audience and also provide information that is truly valuable to their viewers.
For tips on how to pitch to broadcast media, visit our past blog entitled, “What you Should Know before Pitching Broadcast.” We offer advice on what to research before developing a broadcast pitch and also provide some great resources that can help you effectively prepare for a broadcast pitch.
“Information wants to be free.” According to Simon Dumenco with Advertising Age, this statement is a truism that is destroying traditional media models. He opines not only does information want to be free, technology itself – computers and software – also want to be free.
There is still a lot of discussion about the future of the media industry with many questioning its ability to survive. Simon correlates the media industry to the technology industry and cites his experience with the Eee PC, a mini laptop (netbook), to explain this correlation.
Last year, Simon wrote a column about his experience with the Eee PC, a Microsoft software-free mini-netbook, and predicted it would bring an end to Microsoft. The netbook was designed to run on free Web-based services such as Gmail, Google Docs, Facebook, etc., instead of Microsoft’s complex operating system and high-cost applications.
The Eee PC was a huge success selling approximately four million units and virtually every hardware maker has since adopted the netbook model. Simon argues companies should start bundling the hardware experience with a media experience saying,” hardware makers may have no choice but to turn their Internet devices into multi-tier-subscription-based media machines. And the more we get used to the idea of essentially subscribing to media as a way to pay for hardware . . . well, the more hope there is for media.”
An example of this would be if a hardware company required consumers to pay a monthly subscription fee for a tiered level of media access to Hulu Premium or the New York Times – in order to get a better deal on the netbook or computer.
Simon makes an interesting argument, and one that could prove to be a win-win solution for hardware makers, media and media content providers. As the media landscape continues to evolve, we’re already seeing publications evaluating alternative models to stay afloat. For example, many of them are implementing a subscription-based plan, switching to a niche format to reach a target audience or developing digital portfolios. Simon presents yet another model that may help the media industry survive.
While consumers may not be fond of the idea of paying for a monthly subscription to a magazine, newspaper or exclusive online content, they may be willing to pay for that subscription in order to get a better deal on a netbook or computer.
No matter what models media outlets consider, PR professionals will no doubt need to once again re-evaluate their strategies and approach to align with new media formats. As the media industry experiments with different models, opportunities will continue to shrink or become very niche focused.
We’d love to hear your perspective. How do you think these different models will impact your business or PR strategies? Will this force us to rely more heavily on other mediums such as social networks? Leave us a comment.
We’ve been blogging a lot lately about how organizations can leverage the juggernaut that is Twitter, but according to a recent article on CNNMoney.com, more and more professionals are using social networking sites to find new job opportunities.
Reporter Jessica Dickler says, “In the worst job market in 25 years, building an online presence is crucial to getting a job. Who you connect to, “follow” and “friend” can be just as important as conventional tools like résumés.”
Twitter and Facebook have made is easy for people to let their professional and social networks know that they’re looking for a job. Whether it’s a tweet or a status update, the information is out in the universe instantaneously, as opposed to the traditional e-mail or phone call.
Dickler goes on to mention that job seekers don’t necessarily need to send out a tweet and wait for leads to come back to them. “There are several services associated with social networking sites to such as TweetMyJobs, which sends out automatic updates of new openings in a specific field and region sent to your cell phone or by Twitter.”
The classified ads may be a thing of the past, but when it comes to uncovering new business leads or job opportunities, it’s still all about relationship building. The rise of social networks such as LinkedIn and Twitter are merely new tools to help build those relationships and shouldn’t be ignored by those looking for a job or new business prospects.
As a PR professional, I use Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn on a daily basis to gather a variety of different information including my clients’ competitors, trends in a particular industry as well as journalists, new companies and potential business prospects. I’ve found social networks to be an invaluable tool to help me quickly find the information I’m looking for and I suspect, I’ll be finding new ways to use these networks as they continue to evolve.
Gender-focused public relations and marketing campaigns can be effective – if executed properly. However, some companies have found that targeting specific genders can cause controversy and negative consumer feedback.
Just recently, Dell launched a new Web site targeted towards women called Della. The site, which soft launched on April 30, is being criticized for “pandering to female stereotypes” with its overwhelmingly pink color scheme and content that some argue “paints women as having little tech savoir faire.”
Nicole Zerillo with PRWeek recently wrote two articles about gender-stereotype traps and discussed the controversy surrounding Della as well as the marketing campaign for Mars Snackfood’s new candy bar Fling, which referred to the candy as “fingers” and featured ads that suggested women “pleasure yourself” with the chocolate bars.
Dell has been following online conversations and making revisions to the Della Web site based on the feedback it is receiving. On May 15, a company spokesperson published a blog post about the mixed feedback and the changes being made, which include incorporating more business-oriented products and information on the site and omitting some of the pink.
Reggie Bradford, CEO of social media company Virtue, tells PRWeek the incident with Della shows how a “small group of dissenters can be magnified through social media.” Reggie also references the Motrin Moms’ campaign and comments, “If you have consumers passionate enough to stand up and be heard . . . [marketers] should use it to develop a more proactive dialogue.” This is also true for public relations campaigns.
As companies look to implement campaigns that resonate with women or a niche audience, it’s important to engage with them and target their needs and values rather than only looking at one aspect of their interests. Some of the most successful campaigns to date, such as Dove’s “Campaign for Real Beauty”, are powerful because women relate to the values and the messages that are being communicated.
In order to ensure you implement a successful PR campaign, it’s important to really understand who your target audience is and what motivates them. Consider the following tips:
Research and plan. Determine what your goals are for the PR campaign and outline the target audience you want to reach. Once you’ve determined who your target audience is, find out what types of messages, themes and values will resonate with that audience. If your goal is to communicate messages that resonate with women, evaluate what values will spark their interest and avoid making generalizations or stereotyping.
Choose the right PR tools. You need to choose the right PR tools to communicate your message. Depending on the audience and message, it might make sense to develop and distribute a press release or plan an event, write a contributed article, implement a social media campaign, participate in a conference, discussion panel or trade show, etc.
Integrate with other functional areas. In order to implement a successful PR campaign the messages and tools must align with your business objectives. Integrate your PR efforts into your sales and marketing efforts and invite different groups (marketing, executives, etc) to participate in the efforts. This will help to establish cohesiveness and build consensus for your PR plan.
Whether your PR campaign is geared towards a gender specific group, or you are targeting a niche audience, make sure to evaluate your messages clearly and remember to monitor online conversations about your company and brand.
This economic downturn has hit the newspaper industry hard, and free papers have taken the biggest blow.
In a June 7, 2009 New York Times article on the subject, Eric Pfanner describes the plight of the free newspaper. He writes, “They rely entirely on advertising, which is more volatile than revenue from newsstand sales and subscriptions.”
Unlike their paid counterparts, free newspapers are fairly new. While the first free daily paper is believed to have started in 1940, free dailies did not become popular until 1995. The business model seemed promising, and soon free papers popped up in cities across the U.S. By 2008, free newspapers were available in 58 countries.
Free papers, such as the Seattle Weekly, are read by a younger demographic, and their content caters to this audience. They generally have short news tidbits, with a bigger focus on lifestyle, technology, media and entertainment.
But today, analysts say ad revenue of free dailies has fallen by more than a third compared to last year. To cope, free papers are cutting costs and consolidating. Companies like Metro International, which has papers in more than 100 cities around the world, sold several of its newspapers last month – including those in Philadelphia and New York.
Competition is fierce for the coveted title of the top two most popular free papers in each city, as these generate the most ad revenue. Says Anders Kronborg, CFO of Metro International, “If you’re not No. 1 or 2, get out.”
Fewer papers also means more competition for articles. From a PR perspective, it may be more difficult to place articles in the few remaining papers. Pitches should have a strong local angle and appeal to a younger demographic. As papers cut staff, there may also be an increased opportunity for contributed articles.
Just as other media are consolidating, in coming months we expect to see papers that are not in the top two slots falter – or close altogether. After all, how many free dailies does each city need?
If you have a Google Gmail account, you may notice the word, ëbeta’ tagged below the logo. Or perhaps you were able to experience Bing, Microsoft’s new decision engine and consumer brand, in advance of the company’s worldwide deployment on June 3. Both Bing and Gmail represent products that were launched in beta form.
So, exactly what does beta mean? According to WikiAnswers.com, a beta version is the first version released outside the organization or community that develops the software for the purpose of evaluation or real-world testing. The process of delivering a beta version is called the beta release.
From a PR perspective, launching a product in beta can be an effective way for an organization to not only receive user feedback, troubleshoot bugs and finalize a product, but also build buzz and excitement. Based on our experiences working with beta versions of a variety of software and solutions, we recommend keeping the following tips in mind when planning for a beta release.
- Make sure your product is user-ready. Although new users may have some leniency with your beta version and its minor bugs, it still needs to operate well. The purpose of the beta launch is to solicit feedback and iron out small kinks. For the most part, your beta version should provide a smooth experience for users. Creating frustration early on will only distance users from returning for the official release.
- Establish a timeline and make a plan. A plan and timeline will help ensure your activity aligns with your organization’s objectives and that your beta version has a set release date for the final product. It will also allow you to ensure you have enough time align marketing and PR activities such as securing reviews and editorial coverage to hit at the time of the launch.
- Get the word out. In order to ensure beta users experience your new product, you’ll need to get the word out. To help accomplish this, have a solid PR strategy to inform key audiences and generate excitement and buzz. For example, organizations may want to consider sharing the news with relevant bloggers under embargo in advance of the launch so they can post blogs about your beta release.
- Make a good first impression. It is critical to provide a great user experience during the beta release to capture the attention of your customers. A first impression is a lasting impression and organizations must retain customers.
- Secure customer feedback and evolve. One of the great things about launching a beta version is the feedback you receive from customers. Make it easy for users to leave comments and send feedback. Provide easy directions on your beta Web site as well as provide a feedback@ e-mail address. Organization should also consider designating someone internally that can not only monitor feedback on blogs, Twitter and other social networks, but also engage with users to build relationships. This individual could establish an online chat or Twitter account to increase accessibility.
Have you or your organization recently launched a beta product? Tell us about your experiences and leave a comment.