
Ford Throws A Social Media Fiesta
At last, some good news from Detroit…or at least, an interesting move in which the words “bailout” and “bankruptcy” have no place. Ford recently announced that it will offer Fiesta subcompact cars to 100 Web types – bloggers, Twitter rockstars, and social media influencers – for six months. The lucky 100 will receive car insurance and gas, so they can test-drive the Fiestas […]
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Following Oprah
She’s arguably the most influential figure in our culture next to the President…except, wait, she picked our President, right? Seriously, the social media world is atwitter after the announcement that Oprah will make her first Tweet Friday on her show. Only @Oprah, the Queen of Everything, could rack up over 40,000 followers before posting a single update, […]
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When Bad Things Happen To Good Brands
Too often, a company’s own failings can put its brand at risk. But, as the world knows, sometimes — well, stuff just happens. Earlier this week, Domino’s Pizza found itself facing a brand reputation crisis when two North Carolina store employees videotaped themselves doing disgusting things to food and placed the video on YouTube Although […]
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Susan Boyle, Marketer’s Dream?
PR people often talk about “packaging” a client’s story, or framing it in a way that’s current, visual, or relevant. But, every once in a while, something comes along that defies the rules…or rewrites them. Right now, that something is a someone – Susan Boyle. Boyle is the decidely unglamorous 48-year-old who wowed a panel of […]
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Amazon Turns Up The Gaydar?
Last week a friend joked that, based on her Caucasian husband’s onetime purchase of a novel by bestselling author Toni Morrison as a gift on amazon.com, the site now “thinks he’s an African-American lesbian,” and we had a laugh about the advantages (and drawbacks) of collaborative filtering software. So, I was unaware of the furor surrounding an apparent change […]
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The Label Made Me Do It
As someone who’s spent years working on behalf of food and health brands, I understand the critical need for solid communication about the nutritional value – or lack of it – in food products, particularly convenience or fast foods. But, when I read about lawsuits against food companies filling up the court dockets, as reported […]
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Getting The Twitter Religion
I was all set to blog about all the fun Passover action on social networking sites – the constant tweets and updates, the Facebook Haggadah, the Twitter widget for locating a seder in your zip code, when another holiday use of social networking caught my eye. Trinity Wall Street Church in New York will “Twitter […]
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Last Night A Twitter Saved A Life
The social media thing can seem frivolous at times…after all, we’re not talking about saving lives, right? Wrong. Yesterday, actress and celebrity Twitterati Demi Moore reportedly helped stop a possible suicide attempt by a woman who tweeted her intent to cut her arm to kill herself. (I admit I follow mrskutcher, and even saw the comment in question, but […]
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Manic Recession
I’m fascinated by some of the words and expressions that have been coined by what some PR types (like me) have euphemistically called the recent “downturn.” My favorites are “chiconomics” and “recessionista,” since it’s fun and consoling to think you can stay stylish while being frugal. But after reading Maureen Dowd’s editorial earlier in the week, […]
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