Specifically, our PR firm challenges any company that chooses to frivously spend approximately $3 million for one 30 second advertisement during Super Bowl XLIV (that’s $100,000 a second!) to consider investing that same money on a more cost-effective and impactful option…PUBLIC RELATIONS.
If the company spends that same $3 million on a whole year of public relations, we guarantee the company will yield significantly more positive buzz about its product, service, or overall brand than that one $3 million Super Bowl commercial.
Give us 12 months and we will SHOCK and AWE our way into the company’s target audience’s hearts. Just as important, we will clearly measure the impact of our PR efforts and the resources spent to achieve the marketing/business objectives set forth. . . and will successfully deliver on the goods.
Branding, marketing, advertising and public relations professionals from all industries (yes, even the self-proclaimed stodgy financial institutions) can learn from this excellent example.
Let’s break down the brilliance of this campaign into the following categories:
Branding: From the get-go, viewers almost immediately knew it was a Nike production by the look and tone of the ad. Throughout the ad, Nike was subtly injected–but not over-done. The athleticism and mindset portrayed was uniquely Nike. Bottom line: this was a quintessential Nike ad.
Advertising: Let’s couch the cost of this ad for a moment (although they saved a bunch on clothing!). The advertising told a story and had the viewer intrigued immediately. This “ad” was two-minutes-so it wasn’t your normal ad (it was an “online ad”)…but viewers spent time enjoying the story and messaging throughout (never mind the nudity). A good ad captures the viewer and never lets ‘em go. This one was unquestionably watchable. Also, the product (Nike Free) was featured throughout. Finally, the cost must have been relatively cheap (beyond paying for cameos of the unknown runners outside the running world). Nice work, Nike.
Marketing: Let’s file this campaign under ”guerrilla marketing” because of it unconventional and imaginative approach. Bonus points, too, because it was produced on YouTube. There’s never been anything like it–and it’s unexpected (the nudity, that is) from a corporation like Nike. The marketing of the product, Free, directly correlated back to the tone of the campaign of being “free” (free of clothes). Lastly, Nike’s viral marketing tactic worked wonders–we actually became aware of this online ad by someone sending it to us via e-mail. When people start sending each other ads…that’s viral, folks.
Public Relations: The buzz this ad has already created (as of April 29, 2009) is remarkable (it appeared in several media outlets, including locally in the Oregonian). Beyond the media (which this ad will certainly gain more attention in the coming days), the word of mouth that’s happening is extraordinary. A positive public relations campaign during a down economy is quite impressive.
All hail Nike for once again being…well…Nike. But they don’t have to be the only ones. For those willing to do something bold like this–yet cost-effectively gain positive attention to your business, brand, product, service, etc., give us a shout–or risk being caught with your pants down (so to speak).
As promised, LT Public Relations wanted to share stats and updates from our most recent, deliberate blog post about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO) and keywords/keyphrases for public relations efforts. To refresh your memory, we strategically included often used words and phrases in the post to attempt to attract more visitors to our blog and Web site.
Some of the keywords and keyphrases used, included:
SEO
public relations
PR campaigns
blogging
Those are numbers we can live with and further helps us to 1) continue to diligently think about what words to use in our posts 2) how we can further help our clients with their SEO/public relations efforts.
On a semi-related note, we encourage our readers to watch the following segment (“Blogging Through History”) from this Sunday’s (3/29/08) CBS Sunday Morning regarding the history of blogging as it pertains to the history of the press. Interesting watch!
A truly fascinating Scott Pelley story last night (3/8/09) on 60 Minutes –”Your Bank Has Failed. What Happens Next,” about the FDIC’s involvement in the overtaking of failed banks. A must watch for anyone in the banking community . . . Watch here:
For those in the banking world who watched this episode, one would ask, “is my bank at risk?” Or banking customers will now surely ask, “is my money and bank safe?” These are natural and important questions that will inevitably be asked–and banks should be uber sensitive and super ready to respond.
Regardless of a bank’s seemingly “safe” stature in its community, episodes like last night’s 60 Minutes (and corresponding news items) will inevitably raise some concerns about the safety of banks . . . ALL BANKS (big and small).
Therefore, all banks must be ready to address circumstances and false perceptions from all places. This goes beyond having good customer service ready to answer questions “as they come.” A bank must take a proactive communication stance internally (i.e. its staff and constituents), as well as externally (i.e. media, local community leaders, etc.).
Banks should not trust that their customers and community will naturally think their bank is safe (even if it truly is), because the reality is that the public perception is that, “I don’t know if my bank or money is safe.”
It’s time to ratchet-up the bank communications and end any misperceptions by being assertive with communicating the bank’s current situation.
The profession of public relations has changed dramatically over the past few years from a focus on media relations, crisis communications and journalistic support to more ”creative communications.” As defined by Wikipedia, public relations is the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its publics. To better manage this flow, the PR professional and agencies are tasked with finding unique and targeted ways to get the message across for their representing businesses.
It’s no longer a one or two trick gig to generate positive awareness–but rather there is now a whole host of mediums to spread the good word about a company, person or cause. The PR industry has covered the “new media” ad nauseum (e.g. blogs, twitter , YouTube, etc.). But again, those mediums are becoming a bit stale and myopic in delivering the communications.
The quest to find the right medium (regardless of how quirky or non-traditional it might sound) for our clients is LT Public Relations’ goal. Each day, we scour the media and communities that our clients serve to find the most relevant ways to connect with the client’s target audience. Sometimes our findings come from the most unusual places.
Of all places, Celebrity Apprentice has been an uncanny source of fresh PR ideas. Beyond being intoxicatingly addictive, the Donald Trump show provides many great ideas on how to generate buzz beyond the normal ways. Granted, our clients don’t often have the resources to have a celebrity pitch their product or service, but the show goes much further than that.
For six seasons, The Apprentice on NBC has been our muse for public relations ideas that are out-of-the-norm. From product placement strategy, to location, to off-the-wall marketing ideas, The Apprentice is a must-watch for any PR, marketing and/or advertising professional.
To its core, the show is about marketing and buzz generation–mixed with business acumen–to win the grand prize (to be The Donald’s apprentice). Each week, mostly useful ideas are thrown out like candy–and LT Public Relations is taking notes.
We encourage others to take a closer look at NBC’s Apprentice for possible applicable public relations ideas that will help you communicate more effectively and uniquely. Creative communications is the name of the game now–if you’re not doing it don’t be surprised to hear “you’re fired” from your job.
After reading today’s USA Today article, “Marketers Face Pressure to Deliver With Super Bowl Ads,” the immediate reaction here at LT Public Relations was, “DUH!” When a company is bold enough to spend $3 million dollars on one :30 second ad (that’s $100,000 a second!) during Super Bowl XLIII, they should be facing enormous pressure to deliver, especially during these extraordinary economic times–and have a measurable ROI at the end of the day to justify that price tag.
With all this said, we are extremely confident that with the same $3 million budget, a host of strategic public relations efforts would have much, much, much more impact than that one Super Bowl ad.
Therefore WE’RE CHALLENGING any one of these companies that are advertising on this Sunday’s Super Bowl to spend that same $3 million with LT Public Relations and we will deliver significantly more positive buzz about your product, service, or company than that one $3 million Super Bowl ad.
Give us six months and we will SHOCK and AWE our way into your hearts–but most importantly, your target audience’s hearts. Just as important, we will clearly measure the impact of our PR efforts and the resources spent to achieve the marketing/business objectives set forth. . . and will successfully deliver on the goods.
If you’re in public relations or a company looking to tout its best product, there is simply no bigger media “hit” than a positive endorsement from Oprah Winfry. Once she says a product (or book or whatever) is A OK, then you’re golden–and watch the product sell.
Attempting to secure a positive endorsement on Oprah’s show is nothing new to us PR folks–we all know it’s the Holy Grail of coverage, but LT Public Relations is now convinced it’s the #1 media placement of all time. That’s right, bigger than a positive segment on 60 minutes, bigger than a Super Bowl plug, bigger than the Ed Sullivan Show.
For example, Amazon’s Kindle has been landing positive marks ever since its launch. The company made the assumption that it produced enough Kindles for the Holiday ‘08 season. Little did they know that when Oprah recently described it as her “favorite new gadget,” people flocked to Amazon–and Kindle is now sold out (with no more available until February ‘09, at the earliest).
It’s amazing to say, but most of us here at the agency have never seen a whole episode of Oprah (some might be lying). But for those who have are claiming that her show has slowly become a massive product push . . . or the “biggest PR machine” on the planet. Regardless of the perception, Oprah has the power to move product.
Now it ain’t easy to get on her radar, but when you do, be sure you’re ready and watch the orders come in.
Why? On a day of horrific financial news (e.g. Merrill Lynch takeover, Lehman Brothers crumbling, etc., etc. etc.), Wachovia had the guts to go on air and provide a sembelence of composure during a turbulent, gloomy time. Do yourself a favor and watch this eight minute clip (http://www.cnbc.com/id/26720573) on CNBC’s Jim Cramer’s Mad Money.
It would have been easy for Wachovia to sit on the sidelines like almost everyone else and wait for the proverbial storm to blow over. Instead, like a good leader, Wachovia stepped up.
It stepped up to provide some understanding to what is going on during this crazy economic environment. Wachovia is a financial institution that provided the news–instead of just the media providing the news. Wachovia’s Bob Steel seemed cool and collected when answering challenging questions about “what’s going on?”
During the Mad Money interview, Mr. Steel came across as honest and transparent–yet encouraging. Yes, we’re in serious do-do–but we’re not dead. We’ll have to go through a tough time–but we’ll make it through just fine.
The real kudos to Wachovia is that Bob Steel came across as a leading voice during an obvious time of uncertainty. It’s like a good mayor during a time of a city’s catastrophe. A good mayor takes center stage and communicates to his/her people about the situation and provides scenarios and solutions.
As we see it, Bob Steel was a mayor today and provided valuable, reassuring information to his existing and prospective customers.
Barrack Obama today (8/21) conducted one of public relation’s oldest tactics . . . THE TEASE.
The Illinois Senator and Democratic nominee for President of the United States today said that “I’ve decided on my running mate.” But he intentionally didn’t say who. What a brilliant tease!
As John McCain has closed the gap on Obama in a recent Wall Street Journal poll, the Obama camp had to react quickly to silence that news with other potentially positive news–hence, the timing of today’s “running mate” news.
It could be days until Obama reveals the name of his running mate–but now the buzz is officially on this running mate development, and not the news of McCain’s momentum. It’s almost guaranteed that the national press will have this news as tomorrow’s headline –and bury the McCain news.
So the tease worked wonders on two fronts . . .1) Generated buzz 2) Depleted attention from negative news.
At LT Public Relations, we’re politically agnostic–but we do appreciate a well executed PR tactic. Score one for the Obama camp today.
The only thing getting more attention in the 2008 Olympics than Michael Phelps is the Speedo LZR Suit. Talk about a grand slam public relations campaign that has now taken on a life of its own . . . if there was an Olympic competition for PR, then Speedo would have more all-time golds than Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps and Carl Lewis combined.
We wanted to break down why this has been a perfect PR campaign for Speedo. The following is a list (in no particular order) highlighting the PR brilliance (and a little luck) that Speedo is enjoying right now:
The most decorated Olympian of all-time, Michael Phelps, is wearing your product
Michael Phelps is the most watched, most talked about athlete of the most watched Olympics of all-time
Although the Speedo LZR Suit was launched prior to the Olympics, the timing of making a big splash (pun intended) during the Olympics was impeccable
There’s heeps of controversy around your product (sometimes controversy has all the makings of good PR)
Athletes, journalists and the international swimming federation are positively defending your product in the wake of all the controversy
Competing companies (e.g. Adidas and Nike) are playing catch-up
Your product rocks!
The Olympics have always been a beacon of ideas and innovation for companies–there’s really no better platform to raise awareness about a company on a worldly scale than the Olympics (sorry Super Bowl). This week’s (8/18/08) BusinessWeekcover story, “Olympics & Innovation” goes into more depth on how companies use the Games to develop new products and ideas.
Speedo probably put a lot of effort and resources into promoting itself during the Beijing Olympics, but it’s the PR attention they’re getting from the buzz created that will truly raise the awareness.
