10 tips to share with your workplace

According to a report that was commissioned by Microsoft, fewer than 15% of consumers surveyed in the U.S. and the U.K believe that information found about them online would have an impact on their getting a job, yet 70% of U.S. recruiters and HR professionals surveyed claim they have rejected candidates based on information they found online. 

A survey conducted by Liberty Mutual’s Responsibility Project (featured on Mashable) suggests 56% of Americans think it’s “irresponsible” to friend your boss on Facebook, while 62% of bosses agree it’s wrong to friend an employee.

It is clear that there is a lot of confusion. What is and is not appropriate online has been a continuing debate among businesses from both an employee and employer perspective. We’ve all read articles and seen scandals unfold between employees and their employers over social media. As more and more consumers take part in social gaming, virtual worlds and participate openly in online forums and chat rooms, there is an immediate need (if companies haven’t done so already) to implement a social media policy at the workplace. 

The other day a friend of mine, and also owner of a small IT firm posed the question to me regarding what his role was in chaperoning his employees online. He came to learn a current employee was posting enthusiastic Facebook updates regarding business activities and was uncomfortable with the idea of this type of activity taking place under supervision, even though they were good updates. On the other hand, he was concerned that dictating what employees do in their personal space (on or offline) was counter to the corporate culture they had set for themselves.

My response was that if one employee is doing it, chances are others are too – or will – and it might be time for them as an organization to implement some agreed-upon company guidelines for social media, whether that is communicating via a blog, or on social networking sites. Because, as we can clearly see from the study, there is a disparity between what consumers and employers see as proper conduct online, and the  lines between personal and professional can quickly blur, especially in a small business environment. But no matter how large or small your company is, getting ahead of the potential problem and implementing rules that help clearly delineate what is and is not deemed appropriate by the organization can be critical. 

While it is important to tailor guidelines based on your own corporate culture and in your own language, here are a few examples of rules that we at PepperDigital abide by and often share with our clients:

For full article: http://pepperdigitalblog.com/?p=151

Obama’s YouTube press conference following the State of the Union address has left members of the press, citizens and those following U.S. politics globally realizing a paradigm has shifted in the way the White House will communicate with the public moving forward. By leveraging YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms, Obama continues to shorten the gap between the administration and the public. Using social tools, he has built an emotional connection with the public in an unprecedented way.

To read full article: http://pepperdigitalblog.com/?p=172

Repost from December 29

My last ’12 days of Digital’ post was about a “good” campaign, so today’s post is about a “bad” campaign.

Toyota’s social media campaign was one campaign I’d recommend reading about that that we could all learn from. Without beating them up too much here are some very important PR lessons that can be drawn from unraveling their social media faux pas.

Read full article – http://pepperdigitalblog.com/?p=187

As the media market dwindles, reporters are on the move, jumping jobs, changing beats and increasingly strapped for time and resources to do their due diligence when reporting. Moreover, there is stronger emphasis on speed versus accuracy. In fact, if you remember, Wall Street Journal’s managing editor issued a memo to staff in March saying that given revenue reality, all the Journal’s reporters will be judged by speed first, then everything else.

The result: sloppy journalism. – typos, misquotes, misattributes, and imbalanced reporting. With reporters focusing on being the first to report, the attitude is post now and adjust in real time as news unfolds. There is always time for getting the facts straight later, right? I’d say wrong, especially when a company’s reputation is involved.

So how do you hold journalists accountable, and how do clients who are misrepresented recover?

The Silicon Alley Insider wrote a story a couple weeks ago with a solution that caught my eye, “New PR: Beating Back Bad Press with Google AdWords.” The article talks about a PR practitioner that combats bad press from the New York Times in a non-traditional way – using Google Ad Words.

Traditionally, when a company is the subject of a critical or unfavorable news story, we recommend a more strategic approach to mitigate damage. Typically, this involves writing a letter to the editor, issuing a press release, or maybe even demanding a correction when warranted.  In some cases, using social media to address the issue head on with activists is appropriate. At the end of the day though, none of these tactics are guaranteed.

One of these instances involves a New York Times front page story about hoki, a fish best known as the primary ingredient in the Filet-O-Fish, being at risk of depletion. Needless to say New Zealand companies that farm hoki weren’t pleased by the article because it implied irresponsible overfishing.

When the Times refused to run a correction, the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council took a less diplomatic and non-traditional approach by buying Google ads for keywords like “new Zealand hoki “ and “hoki new york times” in hope of clearing the air.

According to the article, “The ads sought to target people discussing or searching for more information about the story. They each linked to a page that purports to set the record straight about hoki fishing and includes emails exchanged with Times science editor Laura Chang.” The Silicon Alley Insider calls this move “Genius”!

Also, reported is that “Because the council’s hoki page was originally a straightforward description of the fish and its uses, the Times had linked to it in the third paragraph of the article, and 78,000 people clicked though, according to Sarah Crysell, a spokeswoman for the council. Taking advantage of that incoming traffic, the group transformed its hoki page into a rebuttal of the Times story.”

The PR firm involved coins this strategy “media accountability” – which I love. He claims it is his way of “holding the media accountable for their deliberate falsehoods” and dealing with “arrogant reporters who have a one-sided agenda.”

 The Silicon Alley Insider says the firm is representing their client’s interests like any other PR agency should and would.  And, doing it with Google AdWords is just a more novel and clever way of shedding like on the editor’s reprehensible behavior.

It’s hard to argue the effectiveness of this “hoki” tactic in terms of guerilla marketing within an overall communications strategy, however I do question its legitimacy as a stand-alone PR practice given that it’s no longer “earned media” but rather a “sponsored ad”. It’s like assuming the public perception of an advertorial and an article bylined by a reporter are the same.  It’s a rapid fire and easy to execute band aid to a problem, but not a long-term solution. The New Zealand Seafood Industry Council needs a more sustainable marketing approach to help them address this and other issues with those constituents that are central to their business. Tell us what you think.

My guest post for Peppercom’s  Pepperdigital blog 

According to an Associated Press article that appeared in USA Today, “Made-to-order magazine lets readers choose.” Time Inc. is pilot testing a customized magazine that combines reader-selected sections from eight publications to create a new magazine compilation called mine. In an effort to mimic the personalized news feeds that has become ever so popular online, this experiment tests the extent to which people appreciate aggregated content by applying the method to Time’s magazines.

The article states, “The five-issue, 10-week experiment also aligns readers with the branding message that its sole advertising partner, Toyota Motor Corp., has for its new Lexus 2010 RX sport-utility vehicle: It’s as customizable as the magazine carrying its ads.”

As of right now, the magazine is of free subscription. The print edition is limited to the first 31,000 respondents, while an online version is available for another 200,000. If you are interested in checking it out or signing up for a free subscription, you may do so at www.timeinc.com/mine. I’ll be looking forward to receiving mine soon. 

You can pick your five favorites from eight different Time Warner/Amex publications listed for your personalized magazine. Titles include, Time, Sports Illustrated, Food & Wine, Real Simple, Money, In Style, Golf, and Travel + Leisure.  Editors will pre-select the stories that make it into each biweekly issue, and readers won’t have the option of switching their “top five” list of publications from one issue to the next.

The entire experience will have Toyota written all over it.  Even when you subscribe, you are asked a few simple and generic questions such as, “Do you crave sushi or pizza?” This sort of survey strategy allows Toyota to direct hyper-targeted messages geared towards a user’s persona. Having come up with the idea for mine, Toyota will be the single and only advertiser nabbing four full-page ads per issue.  Apparently, the cost of this program is comparable to that of one of their standard advertising campaigns. In fact,the company’s VP of marketing suggests that this campaign is more targeted and that the message of “driver inspired” and “customization” will resonate far greater with this medium.

Time Inc.’s president of advertising sales and marketing, Stephanie George, says in the article, “The mine experiment represents the latest effort by traditional media organizations to appeal to readers increasingly accustomed to picking and choosing what they read on the Internet. Online advertising, through growing, hasn’t generated enough revenue to offset declines in print; personalized print products could help fill some of the gap.”

Here is another eye-catching excerpt from the article:

“This summer, MediaNews Group, publisher of The Denver Post, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News and other newspapers, plans to experiment with its own reader-created publication, likely at its Daily News in Los Angeles. Readers will be allowed to choose specific stories, or those by author, keyword or subject. Details on that venture are expected next month.”

Now, reading all this probably has you questioning a few things. First, will these media ventures succeed? Lately, our lives have been tough enough, with newspapers shutting down and media laying-off staff.  Now what?  How will this impact our world in PR? Will we be forced to compete with the cash flow advertisers are using to sustain these publications? Gasp. 

The good news is that we’ll find out fast.  The promotion of mine kicks off this Friday and both Toyota and Time will be conducting extensive research on consumer reaction.

We’ve been hearing this for awhile now. In fact, if you read our previous post, “Silicon Valley Tech Gurus Claim What’s Hot When It’s Not So Hot,” Elisa Ackerman from The San Jose Mercury News cited non-profit and privately sponsored journalism as a growing trend over the next five years.

I also recall in the book Groundswell that authors Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff claimed, “RSS is the grease that lubricates the groundswell.”  They talk about how RSS feeds or, customizable content such as mine, accelerate mechanisms that drive groundswell and can very quickly signify whether the masses’ are for or against a product, company, etc.  We no longer rely on the institutions to tell us.

At the end of the day, the groundswell will decide, and it’s all just survival of the fittest. What happens if Travel & Leisure magazine doesn’t get “chosen” as much as the others? With initiatives like mine, the process of natural selection will work itself out much faster –with the assessment of publications, content, editors–and even the advertisers.

Tell me what you think.

Guest post by Sahana Jayaraman for Peppercom’s Digital blog, PepperDigital

If you are a girl (or have a girl in your life) that loves chick flicks you might have heard excitement over Confessions of a Shopaholic., Walt Disney Co.’s upcoming comedy about a young woman who is a compulsive shopper. Being one of those girls myself, the trailers for the movie caught my attention. It wasn’t just the upbeat soundtrack, reference to fabulous couture and shopping that captivated me. It was also the constant advertisement of Bluefly.com, the publicly traded company who sponsored Project Runway and has recently been in the news for its plummeting stock prices. The official movie site redirects to Bluefly.com

Last May, when the Sex and the City movie came out, I remember the distinct urge to go shopping after watching it. I wanted to leave the Cineplex and walk the halls of the mall with my gal pal. The trailers for Confessions of a Shopaholic played into those same emotions. At first, I thought, what a brilliant idea for them to bring in an online retail partner, and how smart of Bluefly.com to leverage such a unique partnership especially when retail is hurting so badly.

Then, one afternoon, when I went to Bluefly .com, I realized the “bargains” I was expecting weren’t all that affordable for the average shopper. That’s when I began thinking — gosh, from a PR standpoint, what bad timing.

Here we are, as a society, devastated by a credit crisis and worried about keeping jobs and paying mortgages, while this movie makes merry of a young woman whose shopping habit plunges her into debt and financial woe.

Yesterday, I came across an article in the Los Angeles Times that addressed my question, the gist of the which was:

Although it may seem like the worst possible moment to release a movie — even a comedy — about overspending, Disney marketers and “Shopaholic’s” producer believe that the bleak economic climate could work to the PG-rated film’s advantage.

“The timing for this movie couldn’t be better,” producer Jerry Bruckheimer said. “This is the journey of a young girl who has a problem and she turns her life around. It’s a tale the whole world can learn a lesson from,” added Bruckheimer, who had the project in development for eight years before it was made.

Could this be an advantage? Will they be able to turn this unfortunate circumstance on its head?

To read more click here.

This brings me to the purpose of my post. In my last post on AMEX I gave kudos to the exec(s) that made the decision to continue certain customer service gestures that humanized the brand, such as sending flowers. I mentioned how in this economy companies should cut back carefully and closely review the ROI with each of their spends.

Well recently I read this article on MSN, Recession? What recession? Let’s Party!, about hard economic times and companies’ decisions on whether or not to host holiday parties. To this point, AMEX, amidst layoffs earlier this year, made the executive call not to throw a holiday bash. Some other companies who have also experienced massive layoffs on the other hand plan to continue with their annual tradition. One company featured in the article claim they must go on with party plans simply because event venues had been booked months prior to any layoff announcements, and canceling would mean throwing away all that money already spent.

As I thought about it myself I could understand both sides of the issue– management not wanting to throw a holiday celebration when a company has had to let go of hundreds of people right before the holiday (sort of bad PR), but also the necessity for them to keep spirits up and thank those hard working individuals who have shown commitment to the company (a good corporate message).

So I pose the question. If a company is forced to lay off in masses, is it appropriate to have a holiday party?

To: Sahana

From: Holly Green

Last night my buzzer rang and from the lobby I heard a voice, “Sahana, you have a floral delivery.” I paused for a minute, thought about the date… “No, it isn’t a special occasion, isn’t my birthday…”

I ran downstairs to see what this was all about. The delivery man handed me a beautiful pot with a vibrant green plant assortment.

I opened the card and it read …. [click here to read the rest]

Last week, we represented PepperDigital at Silicon Valley’s PRSA 2009 Media Predicts event held at the Computer History Museum. The annual dinner event hosts a panel of Valley tech media insiders who highlight the tech happenings of the current year and offer projections for the following – what’s hot and what’s not.

Designer Yansi Fugel has taken on the identity of a fashion editor named Ella Branford. The character is one of three fictional avatars created as a digital tactic to promote her new travel line, Travel Jersey. In September, the avatars, including the editor, a widower, and a zoologist, will provide information on the line’s different pieces and looks, as well as a travel itinerary, as inspired by the avatars’ destinations.

Fugel will introduce the fantasy avatar and travel itinerary concept first in her pre-design line sheets and then live on a new e-commerce site slated to launch in February. She hopes the site will allow for cross-marketing opportunities with the businesses listed in the avatars’ travel itineraries. Currently, Fugel’s internal PR team is conducting media outreach for the concept, participating in the trade show Expose, and showing five washable looks in the Tide-sponsored Style 360 fashion show.