The Brands We Love

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

It’s hard to believe Southwest Airlines is the 2012 most desirable corporate brand in the United States. Why? Airlines are continually cutting services and adding extra charges for previously free services, often prompting consumers to travel less or gripe more about their experiences.

Buyology and uSamp conducted the survey of 4,000 Americans right after this year’s Super Bowl.  The carrier was the top brand among both men and women, just one of three brands to appear in the top 10 of both genders – Dove and Google were the two others. The survey found that Southwest isn’t adored because of its stellar customer service and non-existent baggage fees, but more because of what its service represents in the mind of customers.

The emotional connection between brands and consumers has an enormous impact on what people buy and how they perceive the company. Gary Singer, CEO and founding partner at Buyology, told Forbes.com that Southwest provides “accessible, affordable memories.” Southwest provides consumers with experiences, and its “clever campaign featuring real life employees plays on the emotions of feeling taking advantage of by the bigger airlines,” Singer says.

Southwest has been spot on with its consumer mindset – understanding that tough economic times drive consumer behavior on an even deeper level.  Southwest has been able to capitalize on this and build even stronger relationships with consumers. This prompts us to ask: what is your brand doing to strengthen its’ connection with consumers?

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Understanding the online world of women’s blogs and magazines

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

As part of PRSA’s annual ‘Meet the Media’ series, several Emanators attended the recent online women’s media panel that covered topics ranging from fashion and beauty to lifestyle and parenting. The panelists included Colleen Moody of FitnessMagazine.com, Marissa Tom of FabSugar and Aly Walansky, of myGLOSS.com. The journalists shared tips and tricks on how to best pitch these types of outlets.

There were a couple of key takeaways that we wanted to share:

  1. Online media landscape is changing: Over the past three years, the participants noted that the industry definitely respects bloggers more. Although, while there used to only be a handful of bloggers, now the Internet is over saturated with bloggers posting about the same topics. That’s why there is an increasing emphasis on exclusive and original content.
  2. Building relationships and staying in touch is key: These bloggers encouraged PR professionals to check-in with them. When it comes to relationship building meetings, they encouraged us to keep it short and suggest coffee/breakfast meetings over a long lunches or dinners.
  3. Content is dictated by their readers: The best way to find a relevant news hook or angle to get in the door, these women suggested doing research on their brands and what their readers are looking to hear more about. The nature of the medium encourages a transparent dialogue between editors and readers. By just reading comments on relevant blog posts, PR professionals can understand what topics are important to readers and therefore important to the site’s editorial staff.

What are some key practices you are implementing this year to better connect with online women’s media?

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Popvox.com Talks Back to Congress

Posted on February 21, 2012 by

So long to the days of calling up or mailing a letter to a legislator in response to a bill or issue that you care about with no reassurance that your point of view will be heard.

Popvox.com, a transparent advocacy platform is making major strides to give voice to the general public through an online offering that allows people to send messages directly to Congress in favor of a bill or oppose to one. On top of delivering hundreds of thousands of messages to Congress, Popvox.com also offers people the ability to review posts/comments from people who submitted their sentiments to Congress.

Here’s how it Works

Find a bill that you care about and choose to support or oppose it by sharing your opinion with Congress and the world.

  • “Heard on the Hill” section allows individuals to review weekly issues heading for a vote
  • A long list of categories highlighting key issues makes it easier for someone to navigate to an issue of their choice
    • E.g., economics and public finance or public lands and natural resources
  • Top trending bills graph also shows how many people support or oppose hot item bills
  • People can review comments from submitters on why they oppose or agree with a bill

Popvox.com launched in January 2011 and was challenged with many questions, mainly how to meet expectations to drive people to action.  According to Popvox.com, the platform has exceeded expectations and provided an example of one success story that centered around an army related bill where thousands of people – mostly military families – wrote personal messages to Congress through Popvox.com in support of a bill ensuring pay for service members in the event of a shutdown.

With the election season in full swing, Popvox.com is looking to innovate their offering by enabling site visitors to see every bill officials have weighed in on and how members of Congress voted. To that end, the resource recently launched Congress Match (in beta) to see how things will work out.

 

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Transparent and Reliable Partners: Are they controlling the story or taking a stand?

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

Earlier this week, Apple issued a press release announcing that they would conduct “special voluntary audits” of their final assembly suppliers in China. With help from the Fair Labor Association (FLA), Apple is investigating several of their factories in Foxconn City. FLA is most known for their work eliminating sweatshops in the clothing industry over a decade ago.

There has been a rising controversy over the amount of suicides among Chinese factory workers and the conditions in which they work. However in a recent interview by Reuters with Auret van Heerden, president of the FLA, his initial investigation found that the conditions were “tranquil” and lacked the “intensity and burnout and pressure-cooker environment that you have in the garment factory.”

The question that many PR professionals and media are asking is whether or not announcing this investigation was a PR stunt on Apple’s part. While it’s easy to see this argument, especially when we are dealing with brand that calculates every move they make, isn’t there something to be said about being a reliable corporate citizen that’s transparent?

As we see more and more companies taking ownership of corporate issues that aren’t glamorous or positive, it’s important for the public to support them instead of ridicule them. This transparency is a perfect example of how Apple is adhering to their commitment to being a reliable corporate partner. Not only is Apple acknowledging that an issue may exist, but they are also making REAL efforts to eliminate these problems.

van Heerden commented that “if Apple wanted to take the easy way out there were a whole host of options available to them.” For his agency, “the fact that they joined the FLA shows they were really serious about raising their game.”

At Emanate, we believe being transparent is important in order to build reliable corporate partnerships with the communities in which our companies reside. However, it always comes with a delicate balance; because consumers often see through companies that blow a lot of smoke versus create change. How do you feel about Apple dealing with a potentially negative human rights issue in a very public way?

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Taking Your Non-Profit Social

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

With approximately 483 million users logging on to Facebook and 460,000 new Twitter accounts created daily, non-profit organizations are constantly looking for ways to gain influencers and get their voice heard via social media sites.

According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive, sites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr are shown to naturally pique the interest of donors and volunteers. In fact, 80% of people have taken some sort of action benefitting non-profits due to social media. The problem is that many non-profit organizations have small resources and sometimes an even smaller staff that can dedicate time to social media. Continue reading →

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From Deep-Fried Romance to Beer Matchmakers: Brands Feel the Love on Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

Break out the chocolate covered strawberries, pop the bubbly and take your date to White Castle?

This just-in – It’s Valentine’s Day!

Whether you’re single or lucky enough to have a Valentine, it seems, as of late, this poor holiday has gotten a bad rap with the general public. The most common complaint? “Valentine’s Day is just soooo ‘commercial.’”

Indeed, between horrible multimillion dollar films, overpriced roses and chocolates and the endless list of Valentine’s “deals” that don’t even relate to the holiday, it does appear that February 14 has become a bit over-commercialized. However, rather than hate, we at Emanate prefer to celebrate. Continue reading →

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Old School Print Media Goes New School with Internet Video

Posted on February 13, 2012 by

Adapting to the new ways in which people receive news, traditional print media outlets, such as The New York Times (“Business Day Live”), The Wall Street Journal (“Off Duty”) and Reuters, are embracing online video content as the latest way to distribute their content. With the line between TV and the internet continuing to blur, newspapers and wire services are looking to leverage their reporting and reporters’ expertise, distributing it across all platforms; home websites, dedicated YouTube channels, Facebook, etc.

News outlets are developing video content as a new way to engage readers/views, delivering and distributing news across all platforms to meet them anywhere anytime; on their smartphones, tablets, laptops or print editions at work, on their commute, at home in bed. Continue reading →

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