An unforgettable case: Blendtec

My husband told me I had to watch this blender video on YouTube, I instantly thought he was mad. Then he said to me I should look at it as a marketer. So I said fine and watched it. I was fascinated by the video immediately. By chance, we watched the same video in class a week later.

Blendtec is considered a small company in the US. They produce commercial blenders that typically sell for over $400 each. Blendtec was virtually an unknown company, until the head of marketing found the potential of the blending exercise that Tom Dickson did regularly. With a next to nothing budget, the head of marketing started to produce a video called "Will it blend?" and posted it on their own website. The video became an online sensation immediately. Many more videos have been produced since then, and the golf ball video has attracted over 1.7 million views alone.

I love the idea surrounding Blendtec. First of all it is about the core of the company - blending. They make the power of the machine tangible by blending crazy stuff like iPad. The idea of dividing the videos into "Don't try this at home" and "Try this at home" is smart. It allows viewers to choose their interest whether they want to watch blending an iPhone or blending an apple. The length of the video is appropriate too, always under two minutes. I also think the strong visual allows Blendtec to appeal to people around the world, as you really do not need to speak any English in order to understand what is going on.

Blendtec now has social media presence on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ as well as YouTube. Their business result has improved by more than 700 percent. The fact that they do not have a big budget has forced them to be creative, but they have not become creative for the sake of it. They have really touched the core of their company (the blending power), combined the charm of Tom (with his outfit), and the blending exercise of unusual items such as a new Samsung phone. To me, it is a PR case that I will never forget, nor the noise that the blender makes when it blends an iPhone 5!

Occupy Wall Street: what went wrong and what could have been done differently

The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement started in 2011. It attracted media attention pretty quickly, though initially the US media did not pay much attention to the movement. I was in Hong Kong back then, and I could hear it on the news on a daily basis. Almost two years has passed, and I do not know what they have accomplished apart from the 1% vs 99% message.

According to their website, the original idea was to end the greed and corruption of the 1% by adopting the Arab Spring tactics. Apparently the goal has not been achieved. Instead, according to surveys conducted in 2011, people viewed the movement as public nuisance. I personally think the movement could have made a bigger impact by having a plan, and incorporating the following.

Clear call to action: ok, so I agree with the 99% vs 1% key message, but what do I do next? No, I don’t know what I am supposed to do next. OWS should really have thought about what they expect ordinary citizens to do after attracting media attention.

Follow up: similar to the article, I totally agree creating noise is only the first step, it is more crucial to follow up and create real changes. Creating quotable quotes, assigning a strong spokesperson, creating strong visuals, liaising with the media,  liaising with the government, managing the social media presence, managing the logistics for the occupation, and everything else that affects the OWS movement.

Planning: OWS was not really an organized event at the beginning, and it certainly did not have a PR team. The structure of the protest also meant they did not have a leader. Unfortunately, a leader is crucial for liaising with different stakeholders, pulling everything together, assigning tasks to different people, and seeing things through.  They would not have a plan unless it is an organization with funding support whether through donation or sales.

Measureable goals: measureable goals are crucial for success. How can you know whether you have done a good job without setting goals at the beginning? For OWS to gain any success, goal setting is mandatory.

OWS could have been a success. Perhaps it is not too late to sit down, gather their thoughts, and move on with a real strategic plan from this point onwards.

CNN image

 

 

 

 

PR blogs: my comments and thoughts

Babies are better bloggers than us

Date: July 16, 2013 (Week 4 - Case Studies)

Link: http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/5-reasons-why-babies-would-make-successful-bloggers/

Comments:

I knew I had to write about it the minute I saw this blog post. Alice is a better blogger than myself? How can it be possible? The author then listed five reasons as follow:

1. They focus on one thing at a time
2. They don't care what other people think
3. They need a mentor
4. They understand the importance of rest
5. They grab their parent's attention well

I guess the author is right. Alice seems to display the above five traits 24 hours a day. Personally I find the second reason most applicable to me. Yes, there are a lot of standard rules out there about how you can utilize social media and how you should write blogs to become popular. However, I have my way of writing and my unique voice. I am not going to create blog posts solely to fulfill the SEO mechanism. I want to write about stuff that I feel passionate about, and I want to write my opinion. I do not and will not create blogs all start with "The top 10..." or "The 5 tips on..." unless they describe the content well.

Last but not all, I need to practice my attention grabbing skills. Read my blog, read my blog, and read my blog!

CEOs on Social media? Good or bad ideas?

Date: July 9, 2013 (Week 3 - Case Studies)

Link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23083462

Comments:

This article is about having your senior executives on social media. It talks about the potential benefits and pitfalls, which is very different from the usual social media blog that I have been reading.

The article mentioned a SEC investigation on Netfix because the CEO posted company information on the company's Facebook page. No fine or charge was brought, but it led the SEC to clarify how information should be disclosed. It is ok to use social media, but you have to make sure investors are aware that you are using these channels.

Some CEOs recognize the importance of social media, but some say they just do not have the time. One even suggested that if a CEO tweets regularly, this person probably does not do much work. The diverse view is fascinating, and I truly believe these CEOs should really learn what social media is about before making comments on something that they are not familiar with.

Social media is clearly not replacing traditional media in my opinion, it is complementing traditional media. It is somewhat unwise to ignore it once you look at the statistics. Having said that, when CEOs do start tweeting or blogging, they must have something original or interesting to say rather than writing random tweets or blogs. The social media presence of your organization is supposed to help you to fulfill an organizational objective, it is never there just for fun.

Facebook Officially Adds Support for the Hashtag

Date: July 2, 2013 (Week 2 - Case Studies)

Link: http://socialfresh.com/hashbook2/

Comments:

Apart from the apparent benefits for marketers to find out what is being talked about simply by searching #coach, I think the existence of hashtag on Facebook can be great for another reason. Let’s go back to 2011, when Libya was experiencing a civil war. The fact that you can search a topic through hashtag can help people with similar thoughts or interest to find out the latest, such as where and when to meet for a demonstration. The social power can be immense and it could have taken down the power more quickly than it did, which means fewer deaths.

 

To me social media is never just a marketing tool. Social media can be a great tool to advance civilization. The anti-national education protest in Hong Kong demonstrated it really well in 2012. At the beginning, no one cared. Then a bunch of 15-year-olds started explaining to adults like me what was in the small print through posting videos and posts on Facebook. However, I had to check Facebook on a daily basis at least in order to keep up as there was no hashtag back then. If the tool was available back then, it would have been easier to search the topic and follow all the postings. Let’s see whether the hashtag function would have any impact in Brazil and Turkey.

 

Who really runs this place?

Link: http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/Rd-Safety/Tips/60-Sec-Driver/Pages/60sec.aspx

Date: Jun 24, 2013 (Week 1 - Case Studies)

Comments:

I have always been fascinated by lobbying. That's right, the rich and powerful spends a huge amount of resources trying to influence government policies pretty much on everything. This blog about the Big 4 (aka the four biggest accounting firms on this planet) and its influence in the British government explains the close relationship between them.

As a PR professional, lobbying is  basically part of what we do - influencing policy makers in order to benefit the very organization that we work for. However, you realize it is more than influencing when you look at the Big 4 in the UK (and to a similar extend in the US). They work with the government to formulate tax-related policies while they earn millions of pounds advising their clients on tax issues. Big 4 pays huge salary, but to me there are certain companies I would never work for because they don't sit right with my conscience. I need to make a living, but I am not going to sell my soul to pay my bills. There are other stakeholders in the equation such as the public and interest group, not just the people who own the company.

Social media and storytelling

Link: http://spinsucks.com/social-media/social-stories-how-to-use-storytelling-on-twitter/

 

PR blog comments

Who really runs this place?

Link: http://www.mpi.mb.ca/en/Rd-Safety/Tips/60-Sec-Driver/Pages/60sec.aspx

Date: Jun 24, 2013 (Week 1 - Case Studies)

Comment:

I have always been fascinated by lobbying. That's right, the rich and powerful spends a huge amount of resources trying to influence government policies pretty much on everything. This blog about the Big 4 (aka the four biggest accounting firms on this planet) and its influence in the British government explains the close relationship between them.

As a PR professional, lobbying is  basically part of what we do - influencing policy makers in order to benefit the very organization that we work for. However, you realize it is more than influencing when you look at the Big 4 in the UK (and to a similar extend in the US). They work with the government to formulate tax-related policies while they earn millions of pounds advising their clients on tax issues. Big 4 pays huge salary, but to me there are certain companies I would never work for because they don't sit right with my conscience. I need to make a living, but I am not going to sell my soul to pay my bills. There are other stakeholders in the equation such as the public and interest group, not just the people who own the company.

Social media and storytelling

Link: http://spinsucks.com/social-media/social-stories-how-to-use-storytelling-on-twitter/

Date: Jun 20, 2013 (Week 5)

Comment:

We have all seen clever messages on Twitter, Facebook and etc, but this blog reminds us of PR 101 - tell a story, and tell a good story regardless of the platform.

As a PR professional we all tell stories, and we can tell a story on Twitter - if 140 characters are not enough we can have a few back-to-back tweets instead. The technical side is one aspect, but we should never ever forget what we want to communicate, and what we want to be identified with. The purpose of the message forms the message, it should not be the other way round. I have seen a number of classmates who spend all their energy in coming up with clever messages, but forgetting the objective of the campaign. So my next comment is consistency. By following the objective and strategy of the campaign, one needs to ensure the messages are consistent on all platforms, whether for the traditional or social media.

Nibbles at the Apple

Link: http://www.shiftcomm.com/2013/05/nibbles-at-the-apple/

Date: June 13, 2013 (Week 4)


Comment:

I love the idea of 'nice companies finish first'. This is so true and yet easy to forget when the bottom line is more important than everything else in Wall Street.

It is true that the PR department cannot change the tax practice of a giant company like Apple, but it is our responsibilities to tell the C-level executives the damage that it can cause by practices such as avoiding tax (and we are talking about $9.2billion here, not $90,000). Moreover, I think PR, as well as any employees of an organization, should push for positive changes when they firmly believe in it. Remember the two million people who joined together to form a human chain across the three Baltic countries in 1989? When you shout loud enough, amazing things DO happen (within six months of the demonstration, Lithuania became the first of the Republics of the Soviet Union to declare independence). PR can sit and wait, or it can be the catalyst for positive changes. I would like to be the latter.
5 Examples of How Social Media is Changing the 2012 Elections

Link: http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2012/01/5-examples-of-how-social-media-is-changing-the-2012-elections.html

Date: June 6, 2013 (Week 3)

Comment:

We have been using various social media platform to engage our audience, and some politicians in the US have been using them pretty extensively - especially during the 2012 presidential election. Some candidates used Instagram and Tumblr as they toured across the country. On the other hand, Google did a pretty good job by using Google+ and Google Calendar to improve its efforts. The most amazing thing about the social media platforms was that Mashable found Twitter actually helped to predict who would win - now as a PR professional, can you afford NOT to better understand these tools and use them to your advantages?

I like social media, but social media is part of the big plan - your overall PR plan. Social media is not about playing with words, it is about helping you to fulfill the overall objective of your campaign. I have seen many people playing with words using Twitter, but these are just words if these tweets do not help the overall plan.

Hence, my opinion is that we have to utilize the social media platforms, but we have to have the big plan in mind otherwise time and resources could be wasted.

 

Last-Minute, Non-Profit Pitch Rakes In Coverage

Link: http://badpitch.blogspot.ca/#!/2013/02/last-minute-non-profit-pitch-rakes-in.html

Date: May 17, 2013 (Week 1)

Comment:

We talk about telling good stories, using good visuals and building relationships in almost every single PR class. This blog has provided a real-life example to prove this formula can indeed bring you success.

The 20,000 rakes donation to a charity may not sound exciting. However, as a PR professional, a few things can be done to make it more attractive for the media. You suggested using creative visuals, such as a picture of the 20,000 rakes. Moreover, the suggestion about not having to worry about the typical news cycle too much is useful – if you have a story that cannot wait until Monday, go ahead selling it on a Friday. My opinion is just to make sure it is packaged well, and also to ensure there is a human angle. A light story with human angle is always good for a weekend.

My conclusion is that ultimately being a PR professional means we have to think out of the box, period. As PR is an art, hence creativity can really help you to succeed.