Staying on top of the media mix

When it comes to PR, advertising, social media, and marketing, it’s all blending together. Many times, these disciplines cross over one another as the digital influence continues to grow and becomes intertwined with other tactics. The different spheres are no longer their own element. Social isn’t just a Twitter account, and ads are not just aimed at people watching TV; every piece is being integrated. As everything meshes the goal is still the same – to influence the audience with your message. So why not become a fluid brand and spread your message across all channels? Two brands that really come to mind when thinking about integrated campaigns are Honda and VitaminWater.

Even if you tried, you couldn’t escape Honda’s Summer Clearance campaign, it was everywhere. Whether you were watching TV, on Twitter or Vine, or listening to the radio, Honda utilized all of these outlets to fuel their annual Summer Clearance event. They advised consumers to use the hashtag, “#WantNewcar” to express why they want a new Honda and they could win one. Honda’s commercials then also featured some of these tweets. This campaign enabled Honda to do a very important thing: engage with the consumer and reward them for it.

The sport drinks arena is a competitive one, so VitaminWater came up with a campaign to differentiate themselves from the others. Like Honda, they implemented a hashtag (#MakeBoringBrilliant) and used it not only on Twitter but across their ads as well. They got their audience talking about their brand, and engaged with their consumers.

These are the case studies that jump out at us, because from social media management to traditional PR efforts, advertising and creative design, EZG handles a continuous mix of tactics to build the best strategies for clients. The best part about it? We get to keep an eye on the ever-changing landscape, and look for ways to take campaigns to the next level – with kudos to campaigns like Honda’s by RPA and VitaminWater’s by CP&B.  If you’ve seen campaigns that put brands in the best light by integrating their message across different channels, please share!

Extreme Makeover: Public Relations Edition

Why are we here?

The Public Relations Society of America is making over its own definition of “public relations.” Its 1982 version still stands as the official wording, even with a few past attempts to update the look and feel of the profession: “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”  Yikes.

A call for entries from both industry pros and the public has been issued and submissions are being accepted via blog online form (deadline is Friday, December 2).

The results from most PR pros may stand to be the least shocking. After all, we love to manage the message, don’t we?  In our industry, we’re constantly tasked with defining ourselves and our clients, drawing on terms from day-to-day routines and global context. Expect to see familiar friends like “communicate”, “messaging”, “audience”, “media”, “effective”, “convey”.

Most curious, however, may be what non-PR audiences think of us.  Based on an outsider’s view, what is public relations and who are we as its representatives? If opinions are based on fictional depictions from  films and TV, expect terms that either flatter us as savvy trend-setters (“social”, “eloquent”, “notoriety”), or depict us as swaggering spin doctors (“schmooze”, “smear”, “pester”). Or suggestions might illustrate once again that a sizable audience actually has no idea what we do, supporting the notion that the definition of “Public Relations” has been ambiguous for far too long.

The results of the online form will appear in a “word cloud” on the PRSA’s PR Definition blog. While we’ll have fun guessing who submitted what, we may also get served a slice of humble pie.  Feel free to chime in: what IS public relations?

Culture, confidence, and a matter of messaging

Culture and confidence.

In all walks of life, how much comes down to those two very big words?  We are shaped by our culture and take action based on the level of confidence we have in our leaders and ourselves; and boiling things down, these realities serve as the basis for media and messaging.  The business of public relations and advertising strives to put language into cultural context and —  in the best case scenario — to inspire audiences to action.

This is as true for advocacy initiatives as it is for the business environment, and it was a major takeaway from last week’s Indiana Forum on Financial Access to Higher Education.  [Note: we aren’t based in Indiana.  But we have been exposed in large doses to this cause after years of working with clients on the advocacy front to improve the general public’s ability to afford higher education.]

The statistics are numerous and paint a daunting picture…Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock captures it best:  by 2018, U.S. retirees will be better educated than its workforce.  For the first time in the nation’s history, we’ll actually be “dumbing down” across generations.

At the same time, the cost of higher education continues to outpace inflation, even during the most crippling economic environment of the past 75 years.  For those not in the upper echelon of earnings, the result is a seemingly insurmountable cost for an unpredictable return.  The debate can continue about whether the higher ed model needs to change, but in the meantime future students must create opportunities with the help available from educational institutions and the government.