Push-up bras for kids plus “no comment” equals disaster for Abercrombie

Despite the old adage “no press is bad press,” this philosophy definitely didn’t apply to Abercrombie & Fitch after CNN ran a story March 26 about the controversy surrounding the retailer’s new line of wildly inappropriate “Ashley” push-up bikini tops for young girls. And based on A&F’s pitiable response (or lack thereof), this company is in serious need of some public relations guidance.

As to be expected, parents and other critics were outraged when the kiddy bust-enhancing bikinis were posted to the Abercrombie Kids website earlier in the week, according to CNN. So how did A&F’s react to the controversy? They simply changed the bikini’s online description from “push-up triangle” to “striped triangle” in addition to the big, fat “NO COMMENT” they gave CNN.

Is that really the best this national retailer could come up with? Most of us know the dangers of declining to comment to any media inquiry, especially during a crisis. According to PR professional and blogger Brad Domitrovich, ignoring the media in a crisis situation always makes things worse. “If we provided no comment, we would have lost our greatest opportunity to control the crisis,” Domitrovich said in his blog. This is a concept that A&F clearly does not seem to understand.

Regardless of the fact that this whole mess could have been avoided with some careful market research before the product’s release, the company could have reduced the negative impact of this story with a planned and thoughtful media response.

In their response, A&F should have:

1. Apologized. No matter who is to blame, a spokesperson should always at least say “we’re sorry this happened.”
2. Described the situation from their point of view.
3. Explained what is being done by the company to better the situation.
4. Taken responsibility for the situation.

See the full story at http://tiny.cc/me5ch.

Stacey Battenberg

University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment

The information conduit is changing...Get used to it.

The information conduit is changing. Get used to it. The old model of interrupting consumers via an advertisement embedded in content is having to adapt to a new environment. Moving forward, organizations will need to understand the lives of consumers even better and build things that actually integrate rather than interrupt.

Take the Nike and Apple partnership for example. Nike developed an in-shoe pedometer that syncs with an iPod. A website and software were also build to track, share, and measure progress of exercise routines. This break through innovation increased shoe sales and differentiated Nike from its competitors. Moreover the product connected music, running, and measurement to a social network. Integrating and creating lifestyles, rather than distracting from them.

Bob Greenberg founder of R/GA, a media development company in Manhattan, worked on the Apple/Nike integration and campaign. He talks about the power of a simple story to solve complicated problems in a New York Times piece and shares:

"I think things are going to get infinitely more complex, and the challenge is about taking things that are infinitely complex and making them simpler and more understandable."

Greenburg, is a believer in utility and function creating the platform for interaction, even if a loss will be taken at first. Think Facebook and Twitter. More than adding value, products and services must enable us to better sense and belong to the world around us. The product is secondary to the exchange.

Attempts to master the moving target of social exchange will dissolve in to thin air. Building the future must be a reaction to and with it (and preferably one with your products in it). Crowd are fickle and can tell when a commodity agenda is the function of the space. The product then must serve to enable organic interaction within user base.

An organization's communication strategy should act more as a conduit between users than top down messaging. How the user got here should fade into the common and be taken for granted. In other words, you took your Audi TT sports car to the Twins game and had an Oscar Myers hot dog all you remember is the great time with your child/spouse/whatever.

Steps to implement an integrative model:

• Get out of the way of the authentic interactions of your users.
• Fade to a position of seamless support or infrastructure.
• Abandon attempts to maintain the notion of your product as the primary reason to be. 

Ezra Firkins
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 

What Social Media Is and What It Is Not

Social Media is not a tactic and therefore it cannot be assigned to a specific department such as public relations, it is a tool that allows one to talk to and hear from its consumers. Social Media is so many things- it’s one-part public relations, one part SEO, one part usability design, one part customer service, and one-part sociology. Because of its dynamic make-up it doesn’t make since that people of public relations would be qualified to tackle all of the aspects of social media.

Social Media is beyond that of “typical” advertising and public relations it’s far past advertisements, news releases, and media pitches. For social media to be used successfully it needs to be in an agency of its own. Ignite is a social media agency that pulls specialists from all different aspects from marketing to PR to advertising to tech specialists to work as a team in running social media for a variety of different companies. To find out more about what Ignite does and how they do it visit their website at http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/.

Another reason that social media cannot be treated as advertising and public relations is because of their very different roles in media. Traditional media pushes, whereas social media pulls. For instance sending advertisements, media pitches, and news releases to media outlets is designed to push someone to action. On the contrary, social media leads one to content that is interesting allowing them to pull themselves in if they choose so. Some would argue that pull media is way more efficient than the typically push media, but I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Lastly, social media is not a waste of time. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs etc. are all different forms of social media and if these outlets are used properly they can be very effective for a brand of a company. Many people spend time sending e-mails, surfing the web, and using social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter, so communicating through social media has created an effective way for reaching key consumers.

Putting Social Media to Practice

For those of us who haven’t been living under a rock for the past 5 years, it is quite evident that social media has become colossal. There is a debate of whether or not social media belongs in Public relations and other facets of a company’s communication plan, but regardless social media is here to stay.

Journalism schools know social media is becoming a vital asset their students need to acquire. On top of students using social media as a communication tool, many public relations courses are integrating Twitter and blogging into course curriculums. All this preparation is great, but what good does it do if you don’t put it to use? Yeah there are the internships, but there’s another way you can use your social media skills to gain valuable experience and probably earn some cash in the process. 

You do not even really have to be an expert in social media to capitalize on this opportunity, just a little ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. Social media guru Chris Brogan reported that the job growth for social media is greatest in small businesses http://www.chrisbrogan.com/social-media-jobs-outlook/. Every community has an array of small businesses, many of these owners would love to build a social media presence for the business they just don’t have the time. That’s where you come in, as a consultant. 

To start out, offer your services for free to a relative or family friend’s small business just to gain experience and build a small portfolio. Once you’ve gotten your feet wet search your community, my suggestion is to start with restaurants, their most applicable. Make a name for your company even if you’re the only employee, it will make sound a little more professional. Then you can begin to sell your services, offer to build the business a campaign on Four Square or a presence on Facebook. 

Once you have established yourself the possibilities are endless. The hardest part is going to be starting out, but once you’ve taken off it will only be a matter of time before small businesses are seeking you out.

Here are a few tips on starting your social media venture

1. Preach results- Many small business owners know what social media is, but do not know the advantages of establishing a presence in social media.
2. Only Charge a small fee, then set up a pay scale where you get paid more for achievements related to you work. Ex: Bonus for 100 fans on Facebook.
3. Try and stick to service oriented businesses, easier to track and prove results.

Christopher Herkenhoff
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 
 

Changing Leads for a Changing Industry

Technology is changing the way that we look at the Public Relations industry, like I’m sure many have said to you before. In this constantly changing world, professionals need to know what is important in as little time as possible. Nothing screams this more than emailing. We are constantly bombarded with emails and we never have time to open all of them, which is why subject lines are so important. Whether receiving an email from a colleague or sending one out to get read by another person, subject lines of emails are what will get your email read.

Subject lines can be considered the new lead paragraphs for emails, without a good subject line your email may never get opened in the first place. In order to write a good subject line you need to think simple. Do not try to sell your product or service to the person because that will just look like SPAM and will get deleted right away. The point of the subject line is to do exactly what it says, show what the email contains. With all that being said, here are some tips to make sure your emails get opened.

The most important thing about subject lines is that they need to be clear and concise. Don’t waste people’s time with unnecessary banter. Also, keep the subject line to around 20 to 35 characters and no more than 40. This will make sure that the important information is in the subject line without dragging on too much. The more you add, the less likely the recipient will be to read the email.

One of the most obvious things to think about when writing a subject line is explaining what is inside. It sounds really simple and obvious but it is often forgotten. This also helps to keep the email from looking like an advertisement. Give a short explanation of what the recipient can expect from reading the email.

If this email is on behalf of your company or organization, put the name in the email. By showing it is from a company the recipient will not think it is SPAM or has no actual importance.

The appeal of the subject line is that last important concept to keep in mind. The subject line needs to ALWAYS be for your target audience. Without targeting the recipient, the email looks like any other general junk mail that he/she is being sent. Also, try to engage the recipient. The more engagement that you can create in the subject line, the more likely it is that your email will be read.

When it really comes down to the basics and what to always include in your subject line, it is very simple. Tell the recipient what is inside in a clear and concise way.

For more tips about subject lines and email marketing check out the Lyris website

Tim Holtz

University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment 

Why Public Relations is Becoming More Important in Businesses Today

The field of public relations has evolved other the course of time as business as changed. As Harold Burson once said, he saw the meaning of public relations go from “How do you say it?” to “What do you say” and finally to “What do you do?” Public relations has moved as a behind the scenes practice to being engaged with executives directly.

With the rise of social media, public relations has become a key communicator with consumers. Instead of solely doing press releases, companies are taking advantage of social media to build relationships with their customers. Public relations has been taken a step further to ensure that they are building the brand by enhancing their reputation by direct communication.

Many businesses are still resistant to social media. While some businesses (especially financial businesses) cannot fully utilize social media because of regulations, the opportunities for those who can use it are endless. For businesses that are weary of joining the social media movement, here are some tips about each outlet and how it can be used:

Facebook: The largest social media site with over 500 million users. Businesses can create pages which consumer’s can “Like” and share with their friends. Facebook allows businesses to post pictures, have discussion boards for customer stories (if they so choose to), and allow for consumers to post in more than 140 characters.

Twitter: A social media tool that is smaller than Facebook with 190 million users. Twitter allows businesses to “follow” other similar businesses to gain information instantaneously, as well as engage with consumers directly. Twitter makes it easy for businesses to track the use of their name with hash tags (#) or a mention of keywords. Businesses can use this to see what the public is saying about their company or product. Interaction is limited to 140 characters, but businesses can use link shorteners (like bit.ly) to post links from relevant websites or their own website.

Youtube: A video social media site that has around 49 million users (this doesn’t include people who only watch videos on Youtube and don’t have an account). Youtube may not be a valuable option for every company, but it allows for companies to be more interactive with their consumers. Youtube allows consumers to put names to faces, and also to be more engaged with the company’s products or services. For example, a company like H&R Block could use Youtube to give helpful tips about taxes, and that for more information the consumer can visit their website to find a store near them.

With public relations moving to a more active role in business, it’s important to know what social media tools can be used, and how they will benefit your company. Building relationships with your consumers using social media will help your company to utilize public relations to its fullest. For more information about social media, please visit: http://mashable.com/2010/03/16/public-relations-social-media-results/

Kelly Watkins
University of Minnesota
Jour 3279
Blog Assignment