Branding | Communiqué PR - Part 6
Brand Awareness & Adoption: How Much Time Does It Take?
If you have had the opportunity to launch a new product or service, you know that creating a brand presence in a consumer’s mind takes time. How long it takes is different for every brand. Brand building takes time because you often have to change the prospect’s mind about an old brand and get them to change an existing behavior. [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Monitor and Measure, Positioning, Reputation Management
Driving Awareness on the Issues of Dwarfism With Seattle Children’s Hospital
Did you know that approximately one in every 15,000 children is born with dwarfism, also known as skeletal dysplasia? And that 80 percent of those children have average-height parents? Neither did I. To raise awareness around this condition and to change perceptions of those individuals with dwarfism, Seattle Children’s, Little People of America’s (LPA) Puget Sound chapter and Caffe Ladro [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Execution, Media, Non-profit, Planning, Positioning
Standing Out in a Crowd: Marketing Lessons From Groupon
Groupon, like many start-ups of the 21st century, began with a unique idea. Its success came from distributing this idea using relevant technology, maintaining customer service, and consistently growing and developing its outreach. However, as with any well executed venture, other like-minded companies have begun saturating the market, leaving Groupon in a predicament that often repeats itself as industries evolve: [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Positioning
Executive Leadership Transitions and Achieving Coverage
Changes in executive leadership can be an exciting time for a company. Change often signals a continuation of momentum or the start of a new direction. These announcements are also interesting to media, who get to know executives in their given industries over time through numerous briefings and product announcements. Recently, Opscode, the leader in a burgeoning IT industry segment [...]
Filed under: Branding, Business to Business, Media, Our Results, Planning, Positioning, Reputation Management, Strategy
Should Every Business Invest in Social Media?
A couple months ago I came across a really interesting read in The New York Times that posed a thought provoking question: should every business invest in social media? My initial reaction was, of course! While the level of investment should definitely vary depending on an organization’s size, goals, and about a million other variables, social media has been a [...]
Filed under: Branding, Media, Planning, PR trends, Reputation Management, Social media, Strategy
What Does Your “About Us” Page Communicate?
The “About Us” page is one of the most important pages – and often most visited – on any company’s website. For most businesses, the messaging is first created at the early stages of the website’s design and most likely has not been reviewed since. However, while you may not be paying attention to it, potential customers are. It is [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, PR trends, Reputation Management, Tech Industry
Making the Most of Your Email Signature
When was the last time you gave thought to your email signature? The other day I was searching for a specific email from a colleague to find an attached document. After sorting my emails by attachments, I quickly realized that every email from that individual showed as one with an attachment as he included an image in his email signature. [...]
Filed under: Branding, Reputation Management, Tech Industry
Did you Get the Message? How Guerilla Marketing Can Be Effective For Business
[caption id="attachment_2607" align="alignright" width="240" caption="As part of IKEA's "Everyday Fabulous" campaign, the company decorated a bus stop in Manhattan."][/caption] “Guerilla marketing” is a way to generate buzz without instituting a hefty marketing budget. This method is oftentimes effective because it is attention-grabbing and easy to understand. Arguably one of the most famous guerilla marketing campaigns is the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Execution, Planning, PR trends, Social media, Strategy
Managing Your Online Reputation
[caption id="attachment_2600" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image Credit: Retrevo "][/caption]In today’s digital world where we’re constantly connecting to one another and sharing content through the Internet, social media, and mobile devices, it’s easy to forget that the content you share can be seen by unintentional viewers. Have you ever posted a Facebook picture from a night out in college or griped about [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Consumer, Crisis Communications, Jobs, Media, Monitor and Measure, Reputation Management, Social media
Sharing Content: How to Get Noticed
Think about the last video you watched on YouTube. Now ask yourself, how did you hear about it? Most likely, the video was shared by a friend, colleague or family member. Sharing is how we interact with those around us and create meaningful experiences. Just like a movie recommendation, we rely on those we trust to share meaningful or entertaining [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Planning, Positioning, PR trends, Social media, Strategy
The Power of Infographics
[caption id="attachment_2542" align="alignright" width="217" caption="Image Credit: Infographic World"][/caption] Think back to the days when you were a child learning to read. At that age, most of us gravitated toward books that primarily consisted of vibrant illustrations or photos. As a young child, it was often pictures that truly helped us understand words and stories. Now, flash forward to your adult [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Positioning, Reputation Management, Social media, Strategy, Tech Industry
Intel’s Museum of Me Marks Advancement in Creative Online Marketing
Ever thought about a museum dedicated solely to you? Intel did, and found marketing and branding gold. Following the concept of LinkedIn’s more basic “Connection Timeline,” Intel recently released the “Museum of Me,” (MoM) in which the viewer is able to tour a virtual museum display dedicated to his or her life – or at least that which has been [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Execution, Social media, Tech Industry
Connecting With Customers through Cause Marketing
Cause marketing campaigns can be an effective way for companies to engage with customers and encourage them to feel emotionally connected to a particular product or service. The value of these types of campaigns can not only help win new customers and build customer loyalty, but also increase awareness and sales of product. According to Wikipedia, “cause marketing or cause-related [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Non-profit, Reputation Management, Strategy
Why Style Matters
Whenever a client has a photo-shoot for new headshots, we invariably are asked about attire and to provide counsel on what he or she should wear. It is a fair and smart question because what one wears conveys a lot about personality and individual brand. Given these questions from clients, I was eager to read Kate Betts’ book, Everyday Icon: [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Media, Reputation Management
The Face of Your Social Media Account
On Sunday night, we were reminded once again how prevalent social media is in today’s communications landscape and how quickly information is disseminated through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Prompted by President Obama’s announcement that Osama bin Laden had been killed, Twitter recorded the “highest sustained rate of Tweets ever,” an average of 3,440 tweets per second were sent [...]
Filed under: Branding, Crisis Communications, Social media, Strategy
Our Most Popular Posts: Q1 2011
The Communiqué PR team publishes new content on our blog several times a week. We strive to provide our readers with valuable information, analysis and tips relevant to today’s communicators and executives. Given the amount of information we all receive daily, we recognize you may not read each and every blog post. So we thought it might be valuable to [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Consumer, Execution, Jobs, Planning, Positioning, PR trends, Social media, Strategy
It’s Not You. It’s Me: Breaking Up With Social Media
Losing fans, followers or subscribers can leave a painful feeling in the pit of your stomach. Twitter and Facebook don’t offer an explanation for this. Consumers are allowed to “unlike”, unfollow or unsubscribe without reason. This leaves the author or organization asking, why? What did I do? The cliché breakup line “it’s not you, it’s me,” offers us little comfort [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Planning, Positioning, Social media
Public Relations, April Fools’ Day, and Fake News
With April Fools’ Day fast approaching, it is a good time to revisit the topic of fake news. While I look forward to Google’s annual tradition of announcing fake features and NPR’s trick segments, it is dangerous territory for PR professionals to disseminate fake news. If not executed well, an April Fools’ Day stunt can ultimately damage your relationship with [...]
Filed under: Branding, COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Consumer, Media, Planning, Reputation Management
Results for Northside
One of the things I love about my job doing PR is working with companies with whom I feel a personal connection, and with the recent cold spell in Seattle, I could not be more pleased to have had the opportunity to work with management team of Triple T Trading and its Northside brand. The company makes affordable, high-quality footwear [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Our Results, Strategy
What Image Would You Choose?
I often wonder if the founding fathers of photography ever envisioned that imagery would be adopted on such a massive scale as it is in media today. Images are no longer reserved for use by marketers in product packaging and advertising campaigns or for use by the top-tier media outlets. Today, both still images and video surround us across all [...]
Filed under: Branding, Consumer, Media, Planning, Strategy