Posts Tagged ‘Wall Street Journal’
Monday, January 16th, 2012
by Deborah Gilbert-Rogers*
At this time of year, perhaps more than any other, we PR and marketing professionals can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there are no shortages of bloggers and writers flexing their “intuitive” muscles to predict the trends and topics in store for the coming year.
Not too long ago I posted on Fresh Ideas about the 10 Brands That May Not Be Around in 2012 as revealed by 24/7 Wall Street, a firm offering insight analysis and commentary for U.S. and global equity investors.
Now CoreBrand, a branding and marketing research firm, is making some predictions of its own. According to an article on Business Insider, These Famous Brands Will Disappear in 2012, “two days before the Wall Street Journal reported Kodak will fill for bankruptcy, James R. Gregory, CEO of branding and marketing research firm CoreBrand, predicted that Kodak would ‘disappear’ as a brand in 2012.”
The article is quick to address that “bankruptcy doesn’t mean the end of Kodak as a business. The company and its brands could be bought or restructured.” Still we can’t ignore that many businesses within the tech industry are struggling to find relevancy in a rapidly changing digital landscape – even the ones who have consistently relied on their strong branding efforts to pull them into the new millennium.
The same can be said for companies in the automotive industry, which have struggled to balance their bottom lines even after extensive government and taxpayer bailouts. In fact, Saab, number four on the list, also recently filed bankruptcy. Yet the company still garners media attention, because, as this Wall Street Journal article explains, “this quirky little car brand with its few, but fiercely loyal enthusiasts, has been a source of great affection, nostalgia, and Swedish nationalism.”
But having a recognizable and timeless brand can’t do much when an organization suffers financially and structurally… or can it?
Lesser known companies may not seem to do well on their own, but might still rely on the success of their products. For example, Yum Brands! (number 7 on the list) is parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell, all of which seem to do well in their own right. That is, if Yum Brands! avoids taking a page from the playbook of Hostess (whose classic brands include Twinkie, Sno Balls and Wonder Bread brands). Last week, Hostess filed for bankruptcy just two years after emerging from bankruptcy, confirms the Huffington Post.
What are your thoughts? Are these “disappearing acts” just a sign of the times or can something be done from a communications and PR standpoint to help other brands from avoiding a similar fate? What is digital media’s role in all of this, if any? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
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Bio: After graduating from Rider University, where she received a B.A. in English-writing and minor degrees in Gender Studies and French, Deborah joined the BurrellesLuce Marketing team in 2007. As a marketing specialist she continues to help develop the company’s thought leadership and social media efforts, including the copywriting and editing of day-to-day marketing initiatives and management of the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog. Facebook: BurrellesLuce Twitter: @BurrellesLuce LinkedIn: dgrogers
Tags: 10 Brands That May Not Be Around in 2012, 24/7 Wall Street, advertising, Analysis, automative industry, bankruptcy, branding, brands, BurrellesLuce, Business Insider, communications, CoreBrand, Deborah Gilbert-Rogers, digital media, Fresh Ideas, Hostess, Huffington Post, investors, James R Gregory, KFC, Kodak, loyalty, marketing, media, Pizza Hut, PR, predictions, research, Sno Balls, Taco Bell, Technology, These Famous Brands Will Disappear in 2012, Twinki, Wall Street Journal, Wonder Bread, Yum Brands
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Media Industry, News Coverage, Public Relations | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Valerie Simon
This weekend, in a Wall Street Journal article, former chairman of the FEC, Arthur Levitt, suggested: “When an editor wants a reporter to explain something more clearly in a news article, she might say: ‘Tell it to Aunt Edna.’ Aunt Edna is the stand-in for a regular person, someone who has never thought about a cloture motion in the Senate, a municipal bond offering, or some other obscure issue of our public life.” Good advice to all those in the field of communications who are responsible for sharing important information with the public.
The practice of using simple language, however, isn’t always so simple, particularly for those experts in specialty fields, like healthcare or finance, who are tasked with communicating precise and complex information to the general public. Add the pressure and influence of company stakeholders, legal concerns, and a desire to be creative, and it is easy to see why “simple” is not always easy to achieve.
Put yourself in the role of the consumer…
- Will “Aunt Edna” be confused by your message?
- Will she grow frustrated trying to understand the industry jargon you are using, or overwhelmed trying to make sense of the information presented to her?
- Will Aunt Edna grow uneasy or even lose trust in your company?
Now if, Aunt Edna has little patience for jargon and pretentious language, what about “Uncle Walt” (my stand in for the ubiquitous journalist)? Trade publications and academic journals notwithstanding, today’s reporters, producers and editors need to appeal to a broad audience. They are under increasing pressure to produce more, under tighter deadlines.
- Will Uncle Walt need to read your press release multiple times in order to make sense of it? Will he even read your release for that matter?
- How difficult is it for him to find the information he needs on your website?
- Does all of the material and jargon lend itself to mis-quotes and factual misinterpretations?
- Are the key messages you hope Uncle Walt will take away easy to identify?
Understand that looking out for Aunt Edna is not a charitable exercise. Customers like Aunt Edna are more loyal, and even willing to pay more, for brands that offer communications, interactions and experiences that are easy to understand and use. In fact, U.S. Brands Could Gain $27 Billion in 2011 by Bringing Consumers Simpler Experiences and Interactions, according to the findings of the Siegel+Gale 2010 Global Brand Simplicity Index.
So what global brands offer the simplest communications and what is the real pay off? For more tangible details on the value of simplicity, be sure to join BurrellesLuce and Brian Rafferty, Siegel+Gale Global Director, Customer Insights, for a free on-demand webinar on Using the Power of Simplicity to Optimize Brand Communications and learn about the findings of the 2010 Global Brand Simplicity Index.
In the meantime, I offer you this challenge: Take a look at your online press room through the eyes of Aunt Edna and Uncle Walt. How much time does it take you to identify the key points? Is there anything subject to interpretation? Does your communication hold up to the “Aunt Edna test”? Does your competitor? Then, on the BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas blog, tell us what you find out.
Tags: academic journals, Arthur Levitt, branding, BurrellesLuce, communications, consumer, content, creative, editors, FEC, finance, Fresh Ideas, healthcare, legal, message, online press room, producers, reporters, stakeholders, trade publications, trust, Valerie Simon, Wall Street Journal
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, BurrellesLuce, Industry Events, Media Relations, Public Relations | 5 Comments »
Friday, February 25th, 2011
The Academy Awards Show is my Super Bowl. That’s what I’ll tell my husband on Sunday, when I NEED to start watching the TV at 3 p.m. and switch between channels for all the best Red Carpet viewing possible. Additionally, I’ll have one or two laptops going with multiple Twitter searches refreshing faster than I can read. YouTube will help me replay some of the best and worst dresses on the Red Carpet.
I used to host an Oscar viewing party. But, I don’t need to anymore. I have all my social media
friends to confirm that so-and-so did have the ugliest dress and celebrity Y should have shaved.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed I’m not alone and reported on the efforts of several agencies who have celebrities posting live updates via Twitter and Facebook streams during the Oscars. The article reports social media advertising company MyLikes Inc. has Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian commenting on fashion via Twitter for fashion site Gilt Groupe. It was noted, however, that marketers are still working to find the fine-line between selling and adding to the conversation.
This year, Oscar.com will offer live streaming from backstage in an effort to attract younger users to their site. Additionally, there will be interactive ways to enter your predictions and help choose a designer dress for the on-stage awards escort. If you have an iPad, you can download the Oscar app for the same interaction. Adding to the interactivity, Sprint is partnering with People.com for a real-time trivia game during the show.
Advertising Age says the cost for a 30 second spot for the Academy Awards show has increased this year to $1.7 million, and the Los Angeles Times reports the spots are sold-out. It’s not the $3 million the Super Bowl demands, but it’s getting there for arguably the second most watched event of the year. Oscar commercials are usually targeted to women, unlike the Super Bowl ads, which were mostly directed at men. This is an opportunity for advertisers to target the real decision makers in most households.
I wonder how many brands are looking for tie-ins to Oscars to capture the interest of the media and celebrity obsessed viewers? Pop Secret hosted a Twitter party, #PopCameraAcation, on February 24 and they used mommy bloggers to spread the word. What other hashtags will I be encouraged to use on Oscar night?
In my earlier BurrellesLuce Fesh Ideas post on 2010 Trends and 2011 Predictions…, the 2010 Academy Awards did not make the top 10 for Twitter trends. Could this have been because there are several hashtags being used to talk about the event? Also in the post was a prediction for the true integration of social media with PR. Will PR efforts around the Oscars take us a step closer to this?
How are other marketers promoting their brand with a tie-in to the Oscars? What will communications professionals learn from this year’s Academy awards? Were they successful? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
Tags: #PopCameraAcation, 2010 Trends and 2011 Predictions, advertising, Advertising Age, apps, BurrellesLuce, communications, Debbie Friez, decision makers, digital, Facebook, Fresh Ideas, Gift Groupe, Gilt Group, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, marketing, MyLikes, Oscar, Oscar.com, People.com, PR, Public Relations, Red Carpet, Social Media, Super Bowl, The Academy Awards, Twitter, Wall Street Journal, YouTube
Posted in Advertising/Marketing, Broadcast, Media Industry, Public Relations, Social Media | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Lauren Shapiro*
Rumors of iNewspaper, the new iPad application, have begun taking center stage with Internet chatterboxes. With its new app, Apple would create digital versions of publications by selling subscriptions on behalf of the publishers (and taking a cut of the profit, for sure!). However, the iPad friendly newspaper is not a new idea by any means.
Flickr Image Source: Byrion (Byrion Smith)
The biggest names in publishing have already established themselves on the iPad including the New York Times, BBC News, Wall Street Journal and AP News. Some downloads, such as the Wall Street Journal, are even free; however for access to exclusive content, a subscription purchase is required. According to PCWorld.com, WSJ users can even create a custom “watch list” of their stocks and funds. For BBC iPad readers, you can view articles in several languages including Spanish, Russian and Arabic. But, the real niche of online news subscriptions is the customization options. BBC News allows users to personalize the content they view based on interest. While offline, the application will search and locate stories for the next time you turn your iPad on.
Will the iPad subscription based model help drive revenue to electronic publications? The answer is, probably, yes – especially as free views of online articles become more limited by publishers. But the momentum and accessibility of online publications will likely urge readers away from the classic hard copy publication (e.g., commuters who rely on a good paper to read while taking a bus or train to work).
The trend toward an iNewspaper product is a sign of the times as the world becomes more reliant on the Internet than ever. Apple seems to have found itself at the forefront of this technology and has placed itself comfortably in the middle (as publishers learn how to better monetize their content) likely allowing Apple to earn quite a few pretty pennies in the meantime.
As a communications professional, do you think that e-publications will ever take the strength away from hard copy publications? How do you think this will impact your public relations, marketing, and advertising efforts? Please share your thoughts with me and the readers of BurrellesLuce Fresh Ideas.
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*Bio: Soon after graduating from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, in 2006 with a B.A. in communication and a B.S. in business/marketing, I joined the BurrellesLuce client services team. In 2008, I completed my master’s degree in corporate and organizational communications and now serve as Director of Client Services. I am passionate about researching and understanding the role of email in shaping relationships from a client relation/service standpoint as well as how miscommunication occurs within email, which was the topic of my thesis. Through my posts on Fresh Ideas, I hope to educate and stimulate thoughtful discussions about corporate communications and client relations, further my own knowledge on this subject area, as well as continue to hone my skills as a communicator. Twitter: @_LaurenShapiro_ LinkedIn: laurenrshapiro Facebook: BurrellesLuce
Tags: advertising, and Arabic, AP news, app, Apple, application, articles, BBC news, BurrellesLuce, content, custom, digital, download, efforts, electronic, exclusive, free, Fresh Ideas, hard copy, iNewspaper, interest, Internet, iPad, Lauren Shapiro, marketing, New York Times, newspaper, offline, online news, PCWorld, personal, Public Relations, publication, readers, revenue, Russian, Spanish, stocks and funds, stories, subscription, subscriptions, Technology, views, Wall Street Journal, watch list, WSJ
Posted in Client Services, Media Industry, Mobile Media, Public Relations, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
Valerie Simon
This post is an excerpt of a guest post originally published on Spin Sucks 9.14.10. To read the full post, click here.
There’s been a lot of debate lately about free versus paid content online. All this talk leads to one simple question. What features will motivate readers to scale the paywall?
Back in college I found myself at the campus store with less than a dollar in change in my pocket. To the left of the cashier was the New York Times. To the right was an assortment of gum and candy. As much as I wanted a pack of gum, the decision was a no-brainer. I paid for my New York Times and headed back to my dorm, reading as I walked.
Fast forward to January 2011 when the New York Times will roll out a new metered model that charges users after they exceed a set number of articles per month. Faced with the prospect of losing Stuart Elliott David Carr, Cathy Horn, or other favorite columnists, what will I do? Will I reach back into my wallet? Will you?
Does anyone remember the episode of The Office where Dunder Mifflin employees agonized over whether to pay $1.99 to read a Wall Street Journal article containing information about the fate of their company? I certainly wouldn’t think twice about paying for that pack of gum, so why the reluctance over the New York Times or Wall Street Journal?
Dan Schaible, senior vice president, content management and my colleague at BurrellesLuce, shared some insights on the subject of paywalls with me. He noted that successful implementation of a paywall or subscription model is based on two things: Content and availability.
“It is difficult, if not impossible, to erect a paywall in front of news everyone else has,” Dan explained. Publications that consist primarily of AP, Reuters, and other syndicated content will not fare well behind a firewall. Likewise, exclusives that will simply be read and reported/repeated elsewhere don’t belong behind a paywall.
So why WOULD someone pay for content? It’s simple really, if you consider the purpose of consumption and anticipated value… Read the full post at Spin Sucks.
Tags: AP, article, availability, BurrellesLuce, Cathy Horn, consumption, content, Dan Schaible, David Carr, Dunder Mifflin, features, firewall, free, Fresh Ideas, implementation, model, motivate, New York Times, news, paid, paywall, Public Relations, publications, Reuters, Spin Sucks, Stuart Elliott, subscription, syndicated, The Office, value, Wall Street Journal, why would someone pay for content
Posted in Media Industry, News Coverage, Public Relations, Technology | No Comments »
