social media

branding, communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, social media • December 21, 2009

Domino’s Serves Up A New PR Recipe

Call it a mid-life crisis. On the eve of its 50th birthday, Domino’s is throwing its pizza recipe – and its business – up in the air. The company recently announced it has changed “everything” about its products, from crust to sauce. To top things off, it’s invited influential bloggers, some of whom have criticized its product – […]

public relations, social media, technology • December 16, 2009

Facebook Privacy Fix Is A Very Public Problem

As the mother of social networks, Facebook has struggled with privacy issues. It hasn’t gotten credit for many of the tools it offers, possibly because many users don’t understand them. So, the bar was raised a while back when CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised “a simpler model for privacy control.” What happened instead was a very […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, crisis management, marketing, public relations, reputation, social media • December 4, 2009

How Method Cleaned Up A PR Mess

How do you clean up a PR mess? That’s the question Method, the natural cleaning products company, asks after a video created to rally support for the Household Products Labeling Act, which would mandate disclosure of chemical ingredients in common cleansers, somehow went toxic. It went from being the toast of the ad world to…well, just toast. In “Shiny Suds,” a […]

Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, social media • November 30, 2009

Shopping Holidays Are On A Roll

As an inveterate procrastinator and hater of crowds, I’ve always avoided Black Friday, except as a business angle for retail clients. And Cyber Monday, despite a similar usefulness, seemed a little like Grandparents Day…you know, an attempt by marketers to create a commercial holiday that never really, um, clicks. Maybe it’s the “cyber” label, which hasn’t been in the […]

branding, communications, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, social media • November 17, 2009

Sarah Reloaded: Palin’s PR Offensive

“She’s not retreating, she’s reloading.” That’s how Sarah Palin, quoting her father, describes her re-emergence on the scene at the end of her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life. It’s also a pretty fair description of the preparation for the PR offensive mounted to promote the book. Palin’s come out with guns blazing. Some reviewers have dismissed […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, social media, technology • November 11, 2009

What Fort Hood Taught Us About Social Media

It’s sadly ironic that on this Veterans Day, we’re not only contemplating our military strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan, but mourning the loss of 13 soldiers on our own soil less than a week ago. As usual, the traditional media have reported not just the tragedy at Fort Hood, but the inspiring stories of bravery and selflessness, […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations, social media • November 3, 2009

Fake AP Stylebook Is A PR Success

For months, I’ve been looking for a real Twitter success story, but without much success of my own. The most exciting social media marketing campaigns tend to be Facebook-driven, or across multiple platforms, as they should be. Now, I know there’ve been some impressive direct-sales outcomes on Twitter. The most notable is @DellOutlet, which has apparently […]

communications, Crenshaw Communications, public relations, social media, technology • October 29, 2009

Facebook’s PR Dilemma: “I Can Friend Dead People”

So close to Halloween, how can I resist blogging about the latest complaint by Facebook users? I noticed it, um, in passing, earlier this week. A “reconnect” feature is part of the site’s new home page, but Facebook’s being haunted by the persistence of its algorithm. It automatically generates notices urging users to reconnect with dormant contacts. Inevitably, […]

advertising, Crenshaw Communications, marketing, public relations, reputation, social media • October 26, 2009

Ready Or Not, Here Comes SideWiki

Lately I’ve been involved in discussions about companies who don’t want their brands to engage with consumers online. Most PR practitioners agree that there can be legitimate reasons for a business to avoid social media – be they regulatory issues, a narrow or niche positioning, or lack of preparedness. It’s a brand’s choice, after all. Until now, that […]