Category: Advertising

Public Relations and Voyeurism 2.0

voyeuristic zebra

The PR ideas that get the most award-winning attention tend to be experiential/ambient/stunt related. There is, of course, plenty of great PR work that intentionally flies under the radar, but that’s for another discussion. Continue reading →

When any PR is good PR

Double Down

Following last week’s media storm over KFC’s new Double Down “bunless burger”, one thing resonates: sometimes the old adage is true; all PR is good PR.

We all know that not all PR is good PR, but sometimes it doesn’t matter if everyone is slating a product as people just can’t help the temptation to give something new a try. Fast food is probably one of those sectors – either you know it’s bad for you and don’t care, or you just don’t think about health risks when you decide what you are going to eat. I’m not sure which group my flatmate falls into, but he has already eaten five Double Downs, three of which he queued over half an hour for! Continue reading →

PR, advertising and marketing: what’s the difference and why does it matter?

man-and-woman-at-bar

Prior to the interview that got me my first job in PR, I remember researching why PR was different from marketing and advertising.

I did a few hours of my own reading and thinking to get a grip on the comparisons, but it was when I was in the interview itself that the interviewer told me this old analogy: “Imagine you’re in a bar and see someone you like the look of … Advertising is you telling her you’re great in bed; marketing is getting your friend to tell her you’re great in bed; PR is getting her friend to tell her you’re great in bed.” Continue reading →

Brothers in marketing: does collaboration between creative agencies work? #markchat

First things first, it would be wise to list what I deem to be ‘creative agencies’. The following fields are what I am principally referring to:

PR; advertising; marketing; design; web development.

So, in the broad modern world there are lots of creative entities ready and willing to promote a brand. But can marketing agencies really work collaboratively with design agencies and can media agencies work in blissful unison with advertising agencies? And what happens when a PR agency has to work alongside a web agency to deliver a project? From experience, this is sometimes a very rewarding process as you get input from people with different skill sets. That said, it can also be a frustrating process when the other party doesn’t understand, or doesn’t want to understand, how your contribution fits in. Continue reading →

The missing link: when sales, PR and advertising are disconnected

The missing link...

Apparently, the recent Old Spice ad has been right up there in terms of ‘talkability’, ‘buzz’ and ‘engagement’. This much is true, proven by the fact that the video, and the personalised re-incarnations (which was a great idea, by the way), have been viewed by approximately one zillion people around the world. They have been watched and passed on to friends and family because they are very funny; it’s that great content thing again.

But is this ad going to sell more product? I would never buy OId Spice, nor would my Dad, my brother, my boss, my flatmates…I’ve questioned them all and nobody I know buys it and the ads have, if anything, simply re-enforced this notion. Continue reading →

Beyond the guff, is all this social media stuff just advertising and PR in disguise?

Orange Juice Ad

I went to an NZ Marketing Association event this morning that featured the head of Facebook for Australia and New Zealand as well as the Online Editor team at Rugby World Cup 2011.

It was interesting to get an update on what Facebook can offer and it was also good to hear the inside story on how the Rugby World Cup is being promoted.

The talk did, however, raise a few questions in my mind about the ongoing role of social media.

Social media is all about sharing and it’s all about user-generated content (70% is the target according to Facebook) and…you’ve heard this before so I won’t bang on about what it is.

Driving Facebook followers or ‘likes’ is mainly achieved through advertising. Seeing as social media’s based on non-advertorial pledges, isn’t this oxymoronic? Continue reading →

Online public relations and the privacy debate

Money Tree

There have been lots of conversations recently about privacy, specifically in social media. Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and head-honcho at Facebook, got very sweaty when discussing the topic recently. If Mark Zuckerberg, one of the pioneers of the share everything world we live in is getting sweaty about ongoing privacy concerns, then perhaps we should all be worrying.

But I don’t think it’s really about privacy. It’s actually about money. And egos. Continue reading →

Communicating Creatively

einsteinatpiano1933

Think outside the box for a minute. Let’s have a brainstorm and do some blue-sky thinking. You know,  a whiteboarding session.

Working in public relations, we’re straddling the line between the creative and business fields, often being pulled strongly in both directions. Clients want new, fresh ideas that bring original thought and perspective to help reach their audiences, while the realities of budgets and billable hours mean that the grandest, greatest, most original ideas are often ones that get cut first. It’s easy to therefore fall into the trap of complacency and do the same set of standard tactics that worked before and will work again. But that does little to advance the brand and reputation of clients, and frankly, they deserve better. Agencies are engaged for their creative nous just as often as for their business acumen, writing skills and media contacts.

Continue reading →

Social Media Myths

Myths

Edelman Digital recently interviewed Brian Morrissey, Digital Editor of AdWeek at the Marketing 2.0 Conference in Paris.

Morrissey gave a rundown of his ‘Social Media Myths’, which included:

  • Social Media isn’t just about listening
  • You can sell, you just have to do it right
  • You can buy friends (Microsoft recently did it for its Facebook page by offering free ‘Farmville money’)
  • Sponsored links. incoporated advertising can work with Social Media and is going to be the future

Some good points there, but what do you think? Are we going to continue to see the Social Media landscape evolve and will it one day come full circle and be just like TV and other media that talks to the consumer, rather than with them?

Clever Uses of Stickers in Advertising

Beer handles

I recently stumbled upon this cool collection of advertising stickers on StumbleUpon, the bookmarking website.

It’s a fun list and shows the creative ways advertising can be used. I would also say it’s in the realm of experiential marketing as these kinds of stickers always make people look twice, which is a form of brand engagement.

It just goes to show, not all effective communication is online these days.