Make A Million When You Make ‘Em Laugh
A while back, this video went viral across North America:
This video inspired over 12,000 people to subscribe to Dollar Shave Club within a 48 hour span. Impressive, right? It begs the question: why were people so on board with forking out cash to this particular subscription service?
First off: the concept is genius. As a guy, it’s definitely an annoyance having to constantly buy new razors at completely unrealistic prices. Really, does anyone know why we have to pay so much for such a simple tool? Men aren’t the only ones suffering from this pricey industry standard, women also have to buy the latest and greatest razors – in hopes that leg maintenance will be that much easier. But let’s be honest, it’s not only the price point that made Dollar Shave Club a success…
“Content is a big part of our strategy, and there will be more coming,” owner Mike Dubin says. “I wanted people to laugh, and people tend to remember something it if it gives them a visceral response.”
In my opinion, there couldn’t be more reason to agree with Dublin’s strategy – I constantly hear the all important phrase: content is king. The thing is, our society demands more transparency within advertising. Perhaps the more tongue-in-cheek approach can be linked to the more likely people are going to pay attention? Obviously not every product can benefit from this type of strategic angle, but it certainly raises a good point. Why are brands that have the capability to be light-hearted taking themselves so seriously?
What do you think? Would you respond to more candid advertising techniques, or do you prefer companies stick to status quo?
The Benefits Of Hiring A PR Firm
In light of yesterday’s Burger King post, I wanted to share an article I found recently on Notable.ca‘s blog. This post was written by Erin Davis, and outlines some of the many reasons why PR firms are so valuable to brands world-wide.
Nowadays, it seems as though public relations professionals are everywhere. From wine tastings to product launches, they are the ones connecting the dots and making sure goals are met on both sides: the business and the consumer. Here’s why it makes sense to hire a PR professional for your business or personal brand…
Connections
Public relations is all about relationships. Seasoned PR professionals know that it has, and always will be, part of their job to network with media and influencers. Journalists and public relations people, especially in the lifestyle realm, enjoy a reciprocal relationship with one another. They each have something the other wants and needs to effectively to their job. The public relations professional or firm wants coverage for its clients and the media outlet’s life is made easier when an interesting product, business venture or other story is provided to them, with all the information neatly outlined in press releases and fact sheets. Most of the time, PR people and journalists are even friends. Either way, PR people provide access to an outlet that you may not have so easily available at your fingertips.
Ability to Cross-Promote
Public relations people are strategic, with an ear to the ground at all times as to what is going on in your city. This means that they are in-the-know when it comes to opportunities for exposure, whether that means the sponsoring of events, presence at (and access to) gifting suits and ability to cross-promote with other clients or initiatives of people and organizations in their network. For example, if your business is a gourmet catering company set to launch in the city, and your PR firm also represents a popular art gallery that is celebrating its one-year anniversary, your catering provided at the event will now be exposed to all of the media and influencers gathered to celebrate the now thriving gallery’s well-attended event. Similarly, a well-known author could hold a book launch at your new clothing store, drawing journalists and influencers to the store and exposing them to the space.
Writing Capabilities
Public relations professionals are good writers – it is a part of the job requirement. Their talent in the art of writing, and subsequent way with words, can make anything (i.e. you, your business or your product) sound like the best thing the world has ever seen. PR people have a knack for marketing as well, and know how to strategically craft a release to capture the attention of journalists, in everything from the email subject line, title and subtitle of the release. Furthermore, journalists (often bombarded with multiple releases per day) have zero patience for poor grammar, spelling errors or amateur writing. In other words, just because you received an “A” in high school English class, doesn’t mean you are the person best suited to craft promotional material.
Makes Your Life Easier
Public relations people save you time in doing things that may take you a while. They can whip together fact sheets (whereas it may take you days), can access journalists with a quick phone call (when you will likely have to plough through red tape), and have relationships with suppliers like printing houses and graphic designers who may offer discounts. In terms of marketing initiatives, where you and your team may waste countless hours in brainstorm sessions, PR people are able to think creatively and “outside the box” when it comes to both long-term strategies and accompanying tactics. PR people have seen it all and, even if you think you have come up with the best idea to market your business, it may in reality be so three years ago in the PR world.
Damage Control
It is the professional job of PR people to manage the reputations of their clients. A seasoned professional knows that his or her job goes beyond promoting their clients; they need to protect their client’s image as well and have been trained in the art of damage control and how to effectively manage any negativity surrounding your brand. A poor restaurant review can be turned on its head by a stellar media event, a lapse in judgment by a public figure can be mitigated by a strategically crafted statement for the media, and an accident or safety concern in your establishment can be addressed through access your PR people have to the media in addressing the public and assuring them that measures are actively underway to correct the problem or concern.
To see the article in it’s original post on Notable.ca, click here.
Revolting Image Causes Burger King PR Crisis
This is the lettuce you eat at Burger King.
The above image and caption were posted on 4Chan website on July 16th, 2012. According to Yahoo’s Shine blog: it was a mere 15 minutes for the online hacking group, “Anonymous” to track down the alleged culprits and reveal them to the world.
Turns out, the origin of the photo is a Burger King employee from one of the Northwest Ohio locations.
Burger King Corp. said it was “taking the issue very seriously” and won’t tolerate employees violating the chain’s strict procedures for handling food.
“The franchise has taken swift action to investigate this matter and has terminated the three employees involved in the incident,” the company said in a statement to the Daily News
The interesting thing about this story is that more and more of these incidences are rearing their heads in the age of social media. PR daily had an interesting comparison on the subject:
Perhaps this incident reminds you of the social media firestorm that hit Domino’s Pizza after two employees posted a video to YouTube showing them defiling food.
The video went viral and the pizza chain experienced a swift PR backlash, partly because it waited days to respond. Ultimately, Domino’s launched a Twitter account to answer questions about the incident, posted a notice on its website, and filmed a YouTube video of its CEO responding to the crisis. The multi-pronged effort helped stem the tide of negative attention, but its effects linger online. Google “Domino’s Pizza” and on the first page of results is a news story on the matter.
It’s becoming increasingly important these days that companies issue more than just a “statement” to the press. Consumers are looking to be addressed directly, and accountability is a key factor in alleviating these types of situations. There’s no word on Burger King’s next move – but it’s in their best interest to start talking to their consumers!
What do you think Burger King should do?
5 Ways To Make The Morning Easier
We often find ourselves flustered on our way out the door in the morning. Between walking the dog, packing lunch, or even just brushing teeth – it’s easy to get stressed and grumpy when you’re still in sleep mode. Here’s 5 really simple things you can do to make your mornings more seamless.
1. Get your bag(s) together and place by the door the night before.
Don’t waste time fumbling for all of your necessities when you’re scrambling out of the house. Plan ahead!
2. Pack your lunch and snackables before bed.
This may seem obvious – it can be hard to have the foresight to make everything ahead of time, but this habit can save you 20 minutes every morning.
3. Decide what to wear the night before.
How many of us spend precious time changing from outfit to outfit in the morning? Streamline your efficiency by piecing together your clothes before sleep.
4. Keep a bowl near your front door.
Never again question where you put your wallet or keys. Make it a habit to place everything in the bowl when you come and go from home or work.
5. Make your own coffee (set the timer)
All of us are guilty of stopping at the coffee shop on the way to work from time to time. Make your own coffee, and set the timer the night before – you’ll save 5-7 minutes in the morning… and oodles of moolah!
Although these tips may seem straight forward, and simple – it can be hard developing habits. Give them a whirl, you’ll feel less stressed during the morning grind!
The Best Time To ‘Twost’
I get a lot of inquiries from colleagues on when the best time to send out important twitter notices are. Generally, unless it’s breaking news – there is a strategic way to make sure that your tweets are noticed. Take a moment, and check out this lovely little inforgraphic that shows you the best time to tweet AND post to Facebook.
Do you have any personal recommendations for tweeting or posting? Share them with me!
The Biggest Mistake Of All Time (and how to fix it)
A huge flaw in human nature is our somewhat instinctive reaction to defend ourselves (even when we’re completely wrong). When we do something incorrect either at work or in our personal lives – it can be incredibly difficult to admit our faults or silly mistakes. There are definitely those who are able to accept responsibility and own up to slip ups, and there are others that refuse to let down – or see the other side of the coin. The latter folks are the intolerable people in our lives who can’t seem to step out of their own stubbornness to view things from a different perspective. How do I know so much about this type of person? I used to be one.
Self awareness is one of the most valuable attributes that an individual can ever adapt. Being able to step outside of a situation, and evaluate it from another’s perspective can be a turning point in personal success. Think about it: when someone apologizes or shows a little humility (rather than a rigid backbone and an inability to compromise), we immediately start to respect them a little bit more. After all, it takes a lot more confidence and conviction to admit a misstep, than to be cowardly and hide behind wrong doings.
Because it can be difficult at times to swallow your pride, here are a few tips to help you when you need to hide your tail in-between your hind legs:
- Put yourself in their shoes: Think about it – how would you really feel if the situation were reversed? What would your reaction be, and what would make things better?
- Be understanding: Know that your mistakes often have more impact than you think. There’s usually a chain reaction to things, so owning up early stops a vicious cycle.
- Take responsibility: There’s plenty of times that I’ve screwed up because of things I’ve done, and sometimes at the fault of others. The thing is: it doesn’t matter now – the mistake is made. Own up, and you’ll earn more respect from the recipient of the news.
- Accept your consequences: This can really suck, but consequences don’t last forever. Take the right actions to correct what you can, and practice damage control. Do everything in your power to help diffuse the impact of your actions. Be prepared to embrace whatever comes your way as a result of the mistakes you’ve made.
- Own the disruption: Taking responsibility means being prepared to fix the problem: which means you need a master plan. Be sure to put some real thought into how you can help mend any of the problems you’ve caused.
- Be sincere: This speaks for itself. Hopefully you can look inside yourself, and rid yourself of any unnecessary bravado. We’re human, we all screw up sometimes.
- Apologize: Really. And don’t half-ass it. Mean it.
The reality is, we all have moments we aren’t proud of – even times of complete stupidity. Be the bigger person, stand up, and move on. The faster you jump to correct mistakes, the better you’ll feel, and the more trust you’ll gain. Humility is not always innate, but it’s a skill everyone should definitely learn.
Image via
12 Things You Should Never Post On Facebook
Earlier this week, I found an article that re-iterated some of my opinions on the codes of conduct for Facebook posting. I thought it necessary to share it with my readers – as perhaps together we can eliminate some of the crimes our Facebook friends commit on the regular! Check out what writer Kim Phillips has to say:
My poor first born.
A lot of people have written about annoying social media habits, but evidently not enough.
In case you’re still unsure about what to post to Facebook, consult this list:
1. Disturbing photos: Pictures of starving babies, burned dogs, and people with horrible disfigurements are in poor taste, and very upsetting to some people. We know a good cause is usually involved, but use some discretion.
2. Hard sales: Not everyone is in the market for expensive makeup or real estate. Share something the whole class can enjoy.
3. Guilt trips: Posting things like, “Make this your status for an hour or else you were not raised right or don’t care about babies with cancer” just makes people feel bad. This modern version of a chain letter doesn’t help the cause.
4. Games: This is like forcing people to play charades when they hate parlor games. Ask people first if they like games, and whether they will mind the hacks, spams and viruses that come with some of them.
5. Urban myths: Before you post that eating pomegranate seeds will cause your kneecaps to burst, run it through Snopes.
6. Religion: Don’t assume everyone shares your faith. There are places people can go for fellowship and like-minded praise and worship: actual buildings and private Facebook groups.
7. Confessions: Too much information is, well, too much. If you wouldn’t tell your spouse, mother, or shrink something, why would you tell me?
8. Profanity: A well-placed expletive for real outrage or disappointment is justifiable. A post with 10 F-bombs about a funny YouTube video shows a lack of vocabulary.
9. Fire alarms: You should thoroughly vet “Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!” posts about foods that will give you cancer or a Neti-Pot worm that will eat your brain before you post them. (See the Snopes reference above.)
10. Crypticisms: “I’m so mad!” doesn’t give us a lot of information to go on, or any way to help.
11. Information without links: It’s fine to tell us about a cool website, but include the link, OK? Also, don’t use a link with 417 characters. Use a shortened one, please.
12. Wrong tech advice: If you run a tech-support company, we’d love to have your advice on the best anti-virus software or the right way to partition a hard drive.
In short, behave online like you would at a social event. No one suspended the rules of polite society for Internet interaction.
What’s your least favorite type of Facebook post?
Kim Phillips is the founder of Lucid Marketing and author of the Lucid at Random blog. A version of this article originally appeared on 12 Most. Find the original article posted on PR Daily here.
Film Friday: How Jay-Z Took Down Google
I always look for inspiring and innovative ways that companies around the world utilize digital media – and today’s example is no exception. By now I’m sure you’ve heard of Bing - Microsoft’s version of Google. Bing recently teamed up with Jay Z to execute a campaign that quite simply became a game changer for promotion of websites, media, and even publications. Although this campaign likely cost millions to execute, the sheer creativity was worth it’s weight in gold.
The achievements?
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Jay-Z’s novel: Decoded
Average time a person was on the campaign’s landing page was 11 minutes.
- Bing got 11.7% increase in visits to their search engine which finally tipped them into the Top 10 of most visited websites in the world.
- The campaign yielded 1.1 billion media impressions
- Jay-Z’s Facebook page grew by 1,000,000 fans
- Jay-Z’s book, Decoded was on the best seller list for 19 straight weeks.
- Every major news channel and newspaper covered the campaign.
- Large numbers of people started using BING for search and mapping over Google
- This campaign became part of popular culture for an entire month.
Watch this video, and learn about the magnitude of this wildly successful campaign:
Did you see this campaign in action, or follow it on Bing? Sound off in the comments!
Computer Shopping: Does The Apple Fall Far From The PC?
I’ve been a PC user my entire life. From the time when the very basic IBM was brought into my home at 7 years old, I’ve always been faithful to my first love. However, the time has come to upgrade and update (this happens every 2-3 years) – and I’ve decided I’m divorcing Windows.
Meet my mistress.
There’s no way of telling if I’ve fallen victim to Apple’s incredible marketing tactics – or if I’m simply rationalizing my purchases with irrational desire. The fact is: I want a pretty macbook pro, and I know that it’s going to make my life beautiful.
In my long periods of comparison, and endless forums – I landed on this little infographic that was compiled from survey data. Have a look and tell me: are you a Mac OR a PC user? Have you ever made the switch?
App Attack: Gmail (Who Knew??!)
This app completely took me by surprise. First off, who knew there was a Gmail app? Well, maybe I’m living under a rock – but I’m here to tell you: it’s good to see the sun again. The Gmail app is simple in form, but definitely trumps the native mail system in the iPhone. There’s 3 main features that I absolutely adore about this free app, and here’s what they are.
Searching for that email just got easier
1. Search Your Entire Inbox
- No more losing any mail while you’re on the go. It’s always the worst when you try to find anything in your Gmail inbox – because your iPhone won’t store more than 50 messages at a time. The app solves this problem effortlessly.
2. Gmail Chat On The Go
- Use your Gmail chat while you’re on your cell. If you use the chat feature as much as I do – you’ll know how useful this is!
3. Attachments
- That’s right, attach photos in composition mode with the Gmail app! Select multiple photos or files directly from your phone, and add them into any email you compose. This is actually a HUGE lifesaver.
I definitely suggest you download this app if you use your smartphone a lot for emailing. It’s easy, user-friendly, and a step ahead of Apple’s native email app (for now).
Click here to download the Gmail App – available on Android and iPhone.
