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The 5 most popular stories on PR Daily this week

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:00:24 GMT

Here are the five most widely read stories this week on PR Daily:

What ‘The Great Gatsby’ can teach us about PR

5 top traits of good press release writers

Oreo’s 'Gatsby'-themed tweet is a slam-dunk

17 email etiquette tips

8 steps to ‘tool-agnostic’ social media strategy

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Toronto’s mayor denies he was caught on video smoking crack

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:55:37 GMT

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s name was a trending topic on Twitter on Thursday night, but no politician would want this kind of attention.

Both Gawker and the Toronto Star published articles during the evening hours about a video which appears to depict Ford smoking crack cocaine. The Star was fairly cautious with its reporting, stating it could not verify the authenticity of the video itself nor whether the man in it, who did appear to be Ford, was actually abusing crack cocaine.

Gawker was more definitive in its take: “He was f---ing hiiiiigh,” wrote blogger John Cook.

Ford’s attorney, Dennis Morris, contacted Gawker via email. He wrote, in regards to Gawker’s plans to post a screenshot from the video:

“Mayor Ford denies such took place, and if such posting occurs, it is false and defamatory, and you will be held legally accountable. In reference to the photo you wish to publish, Mayor Ford has his photo taken daily, sometimes with others.”

The Star contacted Morris for comment, and the attorney seemed to admit the subject of the video was smoking something; it was simply impossible to tell what.

“How can you indicate what the person is actually doing or smoking?” Morris asked the paper.

Neither publication ran the video itself.

The group of Somali men who are shopping it around Toronto were asking “six figures” for it, according to Gawker. Both sites recount several details of the video, however, including a moment in which it would appear an impaired Ford calls Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau a slur often used to refer to gay men.

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com.

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Activist’s bid to undermine A&F brand catches fire

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:47:26 GMT

If brands needed a reminder that they can’t control everything people say about them online, they got one this week.

Activist and YouTube video director Greg Karber took clothing brand Abercrombie and Fitch to task in this video posted to YouTube on Monday. In it, Karber responds to A&F chief executive Mike Jeffries’ comments that his brand’s clothes are for “the cool kids,” which the exec offered as an explanation for the brand’s lack of XL and XXL clothing for women:

Karber’s video was also a response to reports that Abercrombie and Fitch would “rather burn clothes than give them to poor people,” destroying damaged items rather than have the homeless be seen wearing the brand name. In the last 30 seconds or so of the video, Karber travels to Los Angeles’ “skid row” to give Abercrombie and Fitch clothes he bought at Goodwill to homeless people. He does this while cracking jokes about A&F fans being douchebags and looking like date rapists.

In two days, the video has amassed nearly 1.5 million views, as well as coverage from news outlets including The Huffington Post.

Karber also encourages viewers to donate their own Abercrombie and Fitch clothes to the homeless and then to tweet about it using the hashtag #fitchthehomeless. According to the hashtag measurement site hashtags.org, #fitchthehomeless exploded Wednesday, with 3,000 tweets using the hashtag during the noon hour alone.

How has Abercrombie and Fitch responded? At least so far, it seems to be with silence. Its most recent tweet, from Monday, promotes men’s swim shorts. Its last Facebook post is essentially the same, though many of the 663 comments on it are pretty snarky.

One commenter asks, “Do they come in plus sizes?” Another says, “Too bad I’m not ‘cool’ to wear it.”

The company’s most recent press release is about earnings.

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com.

Dos Equis sponsors a comedian’s tweet, gets more than it bargained for

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:45:40 GMT

Comedians are often known for brutal honesty, including, or perhaps especially, when it comes to marketing.

So when Michael Ian Black, of “The State” and “Ed,” shared an uncharacteristically joke-free tweet about beer brand Dos Equis’ “Legend of You” app with his 1.9 million followers, people knew something was fishy. They asked Black why that tweet seemed so weird, and he answered them:

@planetoffinks No, they wrote it and paid me thousands of dollars to run it.
— Michael Ian Black (@michaelianblack) May 11, 2013

Many of the other tweets in the thread are too crass and expletive-laden to reproduce here, but a few expressed anger at both Dos Equis and Black for bringing advertising into a user’s Twitter timeline, others wondered why Dos Equis would associate itself with a comedian who has written jokes about 9/11.

In 2011, Aflac quite publicly fired comedian Gilbert Gottfried from his job as the voice of its spokesduck after he tweeted jokes about the earthquake that hit Japan that March.

After Black's Dos Equis tweet, model Chrissy Tiegen jumped into the fray and argued that “anyone would copy and paste a tweet for 5,000 dollars.” That led to the two celebs posting fake ads for Gillette razors.

To his credit, Black responded to many of the tweets he received in reply to the initial ad, but not a whole lot of them were favorable to him or to Dos Equis. By the end of the conversation, the chatter had moved away from Dos Equis completely, and on to jokes about an entirely different brand that didn’t pay anyone a dime.

When it comes to comedians and sponsored tweets, brands might want to consider whether they’re getting their money’s worth.

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com.

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13 job openings in the PR and marketing world

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:48:26 GMT

If you’ve never felt the penetrating hatred of 200-plus children fall upon you all at once, you’ve never worked as a lifeguard.

Try blowing your whistle to announce adult swim in the dog days of summer.

As you sit high above the water, the pool rats line the edges of the cement pond, their beady little pupils piercing you as they wait for the longest 15 minutes of their young lives to pass.

But mature folks deserve their time in the water, too, so Turner Broadcasting is hiring a publicist to keep a watchful eye over its highly entertaining version of Adult Swim—the cable television network.

Maintaining strong relationships with members of the entertainment media and its viewers, the holder of this position will work closely with the Adult Swim PR and marketing teams to develop and implement publicity plans for select Adult Swim original programs and to aid in pitching national and regional press.

Don’t worry about the sunscreen. Just ready your application materials and apply here.

Not the job for you? See what else we have in our weekly professional pickings:

Brand relations manager—VivaKi

Editor-in-chief—RollingStone.com

Product marketing manager—SurveyMonkey

Director of digital marketing—ThinkGeek

Social media manager—Jackson Family Wines

Crosswords marketing manager—The New York Times

Publicity manager—HarperCollins

Blog managing editor—Fox Sports

Native ad products director—The Huffington Post

Public relations manager—Anytime Fitness

Digital content specialist—Planned Parenthood

Communications specialist—National Priorities Project

If you have a job you would like to see highlighted on PR Daily, please email me or send me a message on Twitter @iquotesometimes.

Can the IRS salvage its reputation amid political targeting scandal?

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:57:04 GMT

As the Internal Revenue Service political targeting scandal expands from an isolated policy in one office to a full-blown campaign in offices across the country, the tax service needs a massive shakeup to save whatever face it has left.

The IRS tried initially to get ahead of the news by saying only one office was targeting conservative groups, but that only made matters worse as U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and various media outlets found that it was more widespread.

“I have ordered an investigation to be done,” Holder said Tuesday. “The FBI is coordinating with the Justice Department to see if any laws were broken in connection with those matters,” he added. “We are examining the facts to see if there were criminal violations.”

CNN is reporting that some IRS officials knew about the targeting as far back as March 2010.

President Obama has expressed outrage over the string of incidents, in which conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status under the 501(c)(4) code were targeted for extra scrutiny. He said the IRS staffers involved would be held accountable for any wrongdoing.

This is not your routine scandal that will pass in a week. Up next will be congressional hearings, resignations, and, probably, a shakeup in the IRS power structure.

There are some steps the tax agency can take to keep from fanning the fast-spreading flames:

1. The IRS needs to be breaking news on this scandal instead of getting blindsided by news outlets. Who said what and when needs be come from the IRS.

2. The IRS needs to cooperate thoroughly with any investigations by third-party agencies, examining just how widespread the campaign reached.

3. Those involved must be fired or suspended immediately, with a particular emphasis on the people who conceived of the inappropriate scrutiny, not just those who carried it out.

4. The IRS needs to hire an auditor on an ongoing basis to ensure politically motivated practices don’t happen again.

This story is juicy for it to go away any time soon, and the IRS already had a challenging reputation. Still, getting in front of the news can at least help a bit.

Gil Rudawsky heads the crisis communication and issues management practice at GroundFloor Media in Denver. He is a former reporter and editor. Read his blog or contact him at grudawsky@groundfloormedia.com.

Arizona restaurant owners go ballistic on Facebook

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:55:03 GMT

Calling your critics “little punks,” “nothing,” and a whole lot of curse words is certainly one way to deal with some unfavorable online comments and reviews.

That’s the tack the owners of Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro, Samy and Amy Bouzaglo, took this week after a less-than-favorable appearance on Fox’s “Kitchen Nightmares” led to some rude comments on the eatery’s Facebook page. [Note: The language in the comments is Not Safe For Work; it might not even be safe for an army barracks.]

On the show, Chef Gordon Ramsay decided the Scottsdale, Ariz., eatery and its owners were beyond help.

Initially, the couple posted a thank-you to customers the day after the show aired. The tone turned around pretty quickly, however.

The next post, written in all-caps, says: “I am not stupid all of you are. You just do not know good food. It is not uncommon to resell things Walmart does not make their electronics or toys so lay off!!!!”

By Monday evening, that post had made its way to Reddit, and the couple went nuclear on Redditors and on those people who left unfavorable reviews on Yelp—which would appear to be most reviewers.

“To all of the Yelpers and Reddits: Bring it on,” one of the posts written Monday states. It continues: “You are weaker than my wife and weaker than me. Come to my business. Say it to my face, man to man. My wife is a jewel in the desert. You are just trash. Reddits and Yelpers just working together to bring us down. Pathetic.”

Posts that follow forbid Redditors from “spreading hate on that site,” threaten legal action, stress that God is on the Bouzaglos’ side and, most strangely, promise that “we will be parents to a human kid, one day to[o].” Of course, that assertion was met with nearly 1,200 comments, most of which are jokes about parenting and Child Protective Services.

One commenter simply answered another post with the quip, “Please don’t breed.”

The back-and-forth ended Monday night, but the posts remain, and as this very public, very colorful fight between the Bouzaglos and a huge swath of the Internet gains even more attention, it’s possible it could reignite.

If nothing else, the brouhaha has brought the restaurant a ton of attention. By the middle of Tuesday afternoon, Amy’s Baking Company had about 15,600 Facebook “likes.” Maybe that’s just the cost of admission. Bring your own popcorn.

UPDATE: Tuesday evening, the angry posts from Amy's Bakery to Facebook disappeared. What took their place was this message:

"Obviously our Facebook, Yelp, Twitter and website have been hacked. We are working with the local authorities as well as the FBI computer crimes unit to ensure this does not happen again. We did not post those horrible things. Thank You Amy & Samy"

Those pesky hackers strike again.

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com.

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Feds had ‘no justification’ for obtaining AP phone records, CEO says

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:46:07 GMT

According to an AP report, the Justice Department seized records for around 20 Associated Press phone lines during April and May of last year. Those records include incoming and outgoing calls on those lines, as well as the duration of each call.

The AP called the record-gathering a “massive and unprecedented intrusion.” In a letter of protest to Attorney General Eric Holder, AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt wrote:

"There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

The Justice Department notified the AP on Friday that it had seized the records, but it offered no explanation as to why. Generally, government agencies are required to provide prior warning, but the Justice Department cited a security exemption in this case.

Government officials previously said they had planned to investigate who leaked information to the AP that ended up in a story about a failed terrorism plot in Yemen. The records included the phone calls of the editors and reporters involved in the reporting of that story.

How public the records will become isn’t clear, but the simple fact that the Department of Justice has access to these records, at will and with little explanation, could absolutely have an impact on the relationship between journalists and their sources.

This seizure sidesteps the issue of reporters’ privilege entirely, going through phone companies to unveil confidential sources.

Matt Wilson is a staff writer for Ragan.com.

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Could TV casting scams hurt reputable PR firms?

Tue, 14 May 2013 13:52:41 GMT

People who know what it really takes to get on a nationally broadcast TV talk show are aware that paying a firm thousands of dollars for training sessions is no guarantee of a star-making appearance.

Not everyone is in the know, however. Take, for example, the nine people who have complained to the Better Business Bureau about Champion Media Worldwide, an Illinois firm that promises appearances on “Today,” “The Rachael Ray Show,” CNN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, and other shows and networks.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter fielded a call from Champion Media saying it would cost $700 per interview, or perhaps per training session, to hire the firm. When the Journal Sentinel asked for comment, the firm’s founder and CEO said, “We regularly get our clients on TV.”

Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5WPR, says that’s almost certainly not true.

“The reality is that there are very few legit PR firms who offer guaranteed placement on ‘Oprah,’” he says. “It’s quite simple. We can’t guarantee placement on ‘Oprah,’ and anyone who tells you otherwise is someone to run away from.”

Robert Holland of Holland Communication Solutions agrees that Champion’s offer is pretty clearly a scam.

“No reputable public relations firm would take this approach, and any smart PR professional would see that such a ploy is unethical,” he says. “Sadly, people who don't understand the public relations business and those who already have a negative view of PR will think this is standard operating procedure.”

Tripp Frohlichstein of MediaMasters Training says most people know the good from the bad, but a few bad actors could tar the profession in the eyes of many.

“Sadly, there are some critics with just enough skepticism who will use this isolated incident and say, ‘See, this is why the PR industry is so slimy,’” he says.

Likewise, there are always people who will fall for something that’s too good to be true, Frohlichstein says.

“When there are bad players in the industry, it is important that organizations like [PR Daily] expose them so people know we are capable of policing our own industry,” he adds.

Matt Wilson is a staff editor for Ragan.com.

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When tragedy strikes: An online tale of two cities

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:54:04 GMT

News of Sunday’s shootings at a Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans quickly became a trending topic on Twitter, but the long-term social media response paled in comparison with the online aftermath of the April 15 bombings in Boston.

Perhaps it was the scope of the disaster in each case, or the respective responses of the two cities’ police departments.

As of Monday morning, the New Orleans police were reporting 19 injuries as a result of the act of “street violence.” By contrast, the bombings—deemed a terrorist attack—near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon killed three people and injured more than 260 others.

Unlike the Boston Police Department, which offered a steady stream of tweets in the wake of the marathon bombing in April, New Orleans police chose Facebook and email as its information clearinghouses, with video of potential suspects sent by email and offerings of a reward posted to Facebook. Only an “unmonitored” account parroted email blasts on Twitter.

One Facebook commenter believed the police should have been more proactive:

“Where's our city shutdown to find these douchepickles? Get them the hell out of my neighborhood & bring in the Boston PD,” the commenter wrote.

The online response to the New Orleans shootings seems relatively subdued; by Monday morning, it had rolled to the bottom of the trending topics list. The main thread about the shootings on Reddit—which became a hotbed of amateur sleuthing after the Boston attack—included complaints about a lack of description of the suspects, but mostly trumpeted news reports.

Even so, media organizations and social media users did post quite a bit about the incident Sunday. One user even posted this video using Twitter’s Vine app capturing the live and chaotic reaction of crowds during the firings.

A caveat for brands

While social media posts and video played a huge role in aiding officials with the Boston Marathon bombing investigation, this incident also warrants a reminder to brand reps, marketers, and community managers alike to practice sensitivity after such tragic occurrences.

As was the case with various reactions to Boston, failure to provisionally alter posting schedules accordingly in the wake of such a tragedy can lead to a crisis communications fiasco. Just ask Guy Kawasaki, who was publicly scorned in April for failing to shut down his autotweets.

As a brief guideline, PR Daily offers these tips from our own social media director, Samantha Hosenkamp, who reminds her social media colleagues “to act like a human being” in such instances.

Matt Wilson contributed to this story.

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The 5 most popular stories on PR Daily this week

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:45:24 GMT

Here are the five most widely read stories this week on PR Daily:

6 ways to take advantage of Facebook's new cover photo rules

Men vs. women: Battle of the social media sexes

5 huge mistakes PR interns should never make

The 15 commandments of social media marketing

The best social media tools of 2013 (so far)

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Edgy ads or just really bad taste?

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:58:19 GMT

Should advertising agencies start calling in PR firms before embarking on edgy mass-awareness campaigns?

After three renowned agencies recently developed advertisements resulting in public humiliation for their blue chip clients, one would think so.

In recent weeks, heads rolled over at JWT India for the apparent leak of an ad depicting the controversial Silvio Berlusconi driving a Ford Figo with three women bound and gagged in the trunk. Ford followed up with a public apology, setting sensitivities on high over potentially offensive campaigns.

Yet in the past two weeks, Hyundai Europe, Pepsico, and General Motors have all circulated public apologies for ads that fueled public disgust instead of piquing consumers’ interest.

“I believe that today, more than ever it is important to have a check and balance before pushing messages out to the public,” says Karen Swim, PR and marketing communications professional. “PR can help identify potential landmines and ensure that content does not diminish a brand’s reputation and credibility with the intended audience.”

Recently, Hyundai Europe generated a tsunami of negative buzz over its ad, Pipe Job. The ad, created by Innocean Europe, showed in harrowing detail a man’s failed suicide attempt while sitting in the eponymous car as exhaust fumes filled his closed garage.

Thanks to Hyundai’s clean emissions technology, the suicide fails.

As soon as the ad aired, the manufacturer took a public beating as consumers lit up their Twitter and Facebook feeds with messages of disbelief—including this poignant blog post from a woman who lost her father through similar circumstances.

“This ad is incredibly insensitive,” says Jodi Echakowitz, owner of Toronto-based Echo Communications. “I get the company has evolved somewhat and they want to be edgy in how they promote their vehicles, but to do so in such a hurtful way is not acceptable for any business.”

Then last week, Pepsico aired a Mountain Dew commercial now known as “the most racist ad ever” featuring a woman who was asked to pick out a criminal suspect from a lineup of black men and a goat. After mainstream and social media channels railed against the implications of the content, the soft-drink manufacturer pulled the ad and apologized.

General Motors quickly followed suit ending an ad purchase for Chevrolet featuring the song “In the Land of Fu Manchu,” in which the girls sing “ching, ching, chop suey.”

“These ads became car wrecks that could have and should have been prevented,” says Jeremy Pepper, public relations and social media consultant. “From the outside it appears these were situations where advertising wasn't aligned with public relations or social media and no one thought beyond the clip for award season.”

Do you think ad agencies are ignoring the implications of bad PR for their clients in search of over-the-top creativity?

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Amazon yanks ‘ex-girlfriend’ shooting target from its site

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:53:45 GMT

File this under: What were they thinking?

Zombie Industries has entered the collective consciousness with its poor-taste endeavor “The Ex.”

Sold under the name “Bleeding Alexa” on the manufacturer’s website, “The Ex” is a scantily clad shooting target that bleeds when shot. But the ire was directed mostly at Amazon.com, which featured the item for purchase through its site.

According to Business Insider, activist group UltraViolet acquired 63,000 signatures on a petition to get Amazon to pull the item, which the Web retail giant swiftly did.

The petition said:

“Zombie Industries ‘The Ex’ shooting target—a large-breasted woman who bleeds when shot—promotes domestic violence and partner homicide and should not be sold on your website. Please remove this horrible product immediately.”

In a press release by UltraViolet’s Nita Chaudhary, the co-founder expressed her gratitude:

“We are thrilled to see Amazon’s fast response in removing the bleeding ex-girlfriend shooting target from their website."

This isn’t Zombie Industries’ first foray into tastelessness. At a recent NRA meeting, an employee said an NRA staffer asked them to remove a zombie target that resembled President Obama.

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14 job openings in the PR and marketing world

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:51:38 GMT

Finding the right job candidate is like perfecting your great-grandmother’s special recipe. Leave out just one ingredient, and you could disgrace the reputation of her blue ribbon-winning boysenberry tartlets for years of county fairs to come.

No wonder General Mills is working so diligently to find an inspired food editor for its Betty Crocker Kitchens by providing thought leadership to its brands, content platforms, external media, and consumers.

So, what's the recipe for the ideal candidate? According to the Betty Crocker cookbook:

• 1 bachelors degree (communications or food sciences recommended);

• 2-5 years of related experience (seasoned to taste);

• Equal parts food trend knowledge, culinary expertise, content creation, and marketing strategy influence;

• And a pinch of public relations/spokesperson experience.

After checking the pantry and cupboards to make sure you have everything for your résumé recipe, click here for mixing and baking instructions.

Not the job for you? See what else we have in our weekly professional pickings:

• Social media specialist—Free People

• Senior publicist, original series—Netflix

• Community manager—Big Lots

• Field marketing associate—American Red Cross

• Personal assistant—The Dish

• Public relations manager—Etsy

• Customer marketing specialist—Meijer

• Associate director, membership communications—The Nature Conservancy

• Social media manager—Engadget

• Editorial photographer—Crain’s Chicago Business

• Community director—March of Dimes

• Media and digital marketing director—Lane Bryant

• Public relations intern—GrubHub

If you have a job you would like to see highlighted on PR Daily, please email me or send me a message on Twitter @iquotesometimes.

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Brands distance themselves from Bangladesh factory collapse

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:47:59 GMT

Will consumers start to look at clothing tags to see where they were made, and pass on ones that say “Made in Bangladesh” or “Made in India?”

Some retail giants are scrambling to distance themselves from the apparel trade in Bangladesh, after a building collapse in Bangladesh killed more than 700 garment industry workers.

Others are taking a big gamble that the public will quickly forget the tragic event and get back to business as usual.

But it might not be that easy to overcome this latest in a series of disasters at clothing factories that’s tainting the billion-dollar industry. The public is getting smarter, and people are figuring out that they can influence corporate giants through purchasing power.

Claims by some manufacturers that their products weren’t even made in the collapsed building is turning out to be far from true, as their labels were found in the rubble.

The CEO of the Canadian company Loblaw— whose discount clothing brand Joe Fresh was made in the factory—stood out, going against the tide of denials by accepting responsibility and saying there were at least 28 other brands using the factories. He urged his counterparts at other clothing companies to end their “deafening silence.”

The one-off responses and denials are more effective individually, but taken as a whole they sound hollow. Responses kept to the theme of shock, compassion, and pending investigations, as well as potential safety measures.

• KiK, a German clothing company, said it was "surprised, shocked, and appalled” and that an investigation was pending.

• “We are continuing to work with the industry association, suppliers, brands and other interested parties to come to an appropriate resolution,” Kevin Gardner, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said to Bloomberg News.

• Benetton's chief executive, Biagio Chiarolanza, told The Wall Street Journal that Benetton is working with labor leaders to improve working conditions.

• J.C. Penney told Bloomberg it will “take an active part in the dialogue that aims to come up with a comprehensive approach—that includes multiple stakeholders—to solving the factory safety issues in Bangladesh.”

On the far end of the spectrum is American Apparel CEO Dov Charney, saying business as usual has to stop. In a somewhat self-serving blog post, he urged consumers to buy American-made clothing, such as the ones his company makes at a Los Angeles factory.

"The apparel industry's relentless and blind pursuit of the lowest possible wages cannot be sustained over time, ethically or fiscally," Charney said. "As labor and transportation costs increase worldwide, exploitation will not only be morally offensive and dated, it will not even be financially viable."

Disney also came out looking good since it made a decision this year to restrict countries where its products are made. Bangladesh was on the restricted list.

Disney rethought the business-as-usual credo: “Disney is a publicly held company accountable to its shareholders and after much thought and discussion we felt this was the most responsible way to manage the challenges associated with our supply chain,” said Bob Chapek, president of Disney’s Consumer Products division.

Gil Rudawsky heads the crisis communication and issues management practice at GroundFloor Media in Denver. He is a former reporter and editor. Read his blog or contact him at grudawsky@groundfloormedia.com.