Light Bladder Leakage (LBL) is a topic that most women associate with stigma, shame and an admission of growing old. But after last night’s episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, perhaps a few more women will be willing to address a condition that affects 1 in 3 women.
Kris, a spokesperson for MMC client Poise pads, was featured this year in a Poise campaign as Rosie the Riveter, an American cultural icon who represents millions of women who also may have dealt with life’s little leaks but didn’t let that hold them back from doing great things.
Sunday’s episode of KUWTK showed how the benefits of working with a spokesperson who embraces a topic can pay off. Although Poise did not sponsor the show, much of the episode focused on how Kris, the business-savvy mom of the famous Kardashian sisters, embraced her condition by turning it into a business opportunity. After being teased by her daughters about LBL as she experienced its multiple triggers – jumping, laughing and hugging, Kris negotiated her relationship with Poise (referred to as a pad for “light leakage.”) The final scenes included a clip from Kris’ Rosie the Riveter video shoot.
The episode was watched by over 750,000 people and in true Kardashian fashion put LBL back in the headlines in online media including The Hollywood Gossip, Hollywood life and Cafemom The Stir.
Check out a clip from last night’s episode here.
The California Milk Processor Board recently pulled the plug on its premenstrual syndrome (PMS)-themed marketing campaign after a storm of social media backlash. While this is not the first time milk processers have marketed milk for PMS symptoms (they ran television ads of a similar nature in 2005), the July 2011 version of the campaign took the humorous focus a step further with a dedicated microsite for men affected by PMS, called everythingidoiswrong.org.
Reflecting on a campaign that some called funny, and others labeled a #FAIL, we can see the effects of public opinion (both welcome and unwelcome) are inescapable in today’s digital world – and can have a far reaching and costly impact to brands. Though it’s never failsafe and sometimes risks are worth taking, here are a few things to keep in mind when executing a controversial campaign, particularly one ultimately targeted to women:
- Know your audience: while the milk campaign was aimed at men, women are both a direct and secondary target audience, given the topic of conversation. Don’t overlook how communications affect both sexes. Hint: Women don’t like to be talked about behind our backs.
- Be prepared for criticism: The New York Times reported that Jeff Goodby, the co-chairman of the ad agency behind the campaign, “said he was ‘surprised’ by the firestorm the campaign produced. ‘It’s certainly more controversial than we expected it to be.’” The instantaneous nature of social media allows thousands (or millions!) of people to connect with the click of a mouse, which makes it easier than ever to find others who are just as passionate about a topic. Don’t underestimate the power of impassioned people—and work with your communications experts to be prepared with a response statement and plan.
- Don’t ignore negativity: Instead of ignoring the negative backlash, the California Milk Processor Board did a great job of highlighting all the feedback (the good, the bad, and the ugly) on its microsite, turning it into a discussion board where people could share their thoughts. They even drove consumers to their Facebook page to “join the conversation.”
- Ask yourself, are we getting our messaging across? The website for the marketing campaign, everythingidoiswrong.org, was intended to be humorous. But it lacked an educational component about milk and PMS. From a female perspective, I’m left with lots of unanswered questions: How does this help my PMS? Why is it better than other remedies? How much milk is needed to help with symptoms of PMS? Instead, the campaign targeted men, with a microsite that generates “preapproved apologies” from men to the women in their lives with PMS. This seems like a missed opportunity.
Their campaign was undoubtedly a risk, and in the end cut through the clutter of a crowded beverage industry. Whether it would have actually sold more milk is a question for which we’ll probably never have an answer.
What did you think of the California Milk Processor Board marketing campaign, as a man or a woman?
Marina Maher was quoted in the Council of PR firms blog on developing successful communication programs for “unmentionable” topics. According to the Council, their blog was inspired by Marina’s blog post on “Breaking Barriers in Marketing to Women” after Poise and Kotex won the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence. You can read the blog here.
And check out the video of MMC’s EVP Susan Bean, who was interviewed by Doug Simon of D S Simon productions on our Influence-Her survey and the implications for PR and marketing professionals in reaching the elusive female consumer.
Image courtesy of bigleaguebaseballs.com
This week, Head & Shoulders is hitting it out of the park at the Major League Baseball (MLB) FanFest, the largest baseball fan event in the world, in support of the brand’s #HatsOff Twitter movement – an H&S sponsored program that celebrates moments in sports that “just deserve a tip of the hat.” Working with Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr, H&S is urging fans to tweet throughout the All Star game about #hatsoff team moments in the first half of the baseball season. For every #hatsoff tweet, Head & Shoulders will donate $10 to the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities charitable program. Check out Cal talking about this social media movement on ESPN’s Mike & Mike this morning — http://es.pn/oGOAou
Image courtesy of wausaupaper.com
In part one of our “How to Succeed in the Real World: PR Edition” post last week, fellow MMC’ers revealed the best advice they received on how to land your perfect job or internship and ways to succeed in it. We hope you found those pieces of advice as helpful as we did when entering the work force.
In part two, we’re happy to share complementing advice from a MMC senior management perspective on the top attributes they look for in a candidate. As professionals who have “been there, done that,” they certainly exemplify what it takes to make it in our industry. Not only is there much we can learn from them, BUT they are just a few of the individuals with the hiring power… so it’s important to know what they look for!
Here’s MMC’s top 10 list for what an ideal candidate should embody:
1. Be prepared. Show you’ve done your homework by spending time on the company’s website and even getting to know a bit more about the interviewer. It shows you care and will bring the same level of interest to clients.
2. Choose a style of dress that doesn’t distract from the perception of you as a professional. If people with whom you interact are focused on what you’re wearing (a dress that shows too much skin or an outfit better suited for a night out on the town) they won’t listen to what comes out of your mouth.
3. Talk to people and uncover what you love to do…and pursue it! When you get out of college, you are young and ready to explore the world …even though you’ve majored in something, it may not be your calling!
4. Intellectual curiosity. That is an innate trait; you can’t teach it. You need it to learn about your client’s business and to challenge the status quo.
5. Clear, sharp writing. A person’s writing skills are strongly correlated to how well they think and present themselves.
6. Be specific. When explaining how good you are at something, give some facts and figures to back it up. Say what you did on a project to make it a success, and define that success by providing specific examples.
7. Excitement. Be hungry to get into PR and learn all the tricks of the trade.
8. Be curious. Have a list of questions prepared. Demonstrate you are engaged and not willing to accept what’s told to you at face value.
9. Come to work every day and love what you do, be passionate in whatever career you explore!
10. A sense of humor. This is hard work. If you can’t have fun and even laugh at yourself once in a while, this isn’t the job for you.
Clearly, being the ideal candidate doesn’t stop simply at book smarts (though of course it’s part of the equation!). We hope these insights into the minds and needs of our senior management can help you either nail that next interview or continue to succeed in your PR career.
Image courtesy of bowdoindailysun.com
Summer is finally here! As PR professionals, we’ll be continuing with our client programs and planning events, as well as hopefully taking some time off for vacation. Though for college grads looking to enter the competitive world of public relations – it’s a whole other story. This is the time to secure the dream job or internship they just worked so hard in college for. I speak for many of us when I say, I greatly appreciated any and all advice when I first graduated looking to break into the industry. Since entering the job market, I’ve learned a few things that I wish I knew back then. I recently read a Savvy Sugar article with some fun and helpful advice for college grads that got me to thinking… as PR professionals who succeeded in getting our “dream” jobs, what ‘secrets for success’ could we offer to college grads?
Here’s MMC’s Top 10 list of advice for budding PR professionals:
1. Just because you’re out of school doesn’t mean you stop learning. Be curious, ask questions – make it your goal to learn something new every day.
2. Brush up on your math skills. It may be very little known to college students that math and numbers are a big part of PR, from managing to developing program budgets.
3. Remember to say “please” and “thank you.” Be appreciative of every assignment you’re given, because it’s an opportunity to learn.
4. Prep for a phone interview as if it was an in-office interview. If you don’t have the opportunity to meet the interviewer face-to-face, remember that everything comes across in your voice. Get enough sleep the night before, dress yourself for the day; do not lay in bed, and sit-up straight in front of a mirror so you can monitor your body language. These steps help ensure you come across as inquisitive, ambitious and excited at all the right moments.
5. Read everything! Never underestimate the importance of picking up a paper or reading the news online every day.
6. Groom your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter pages. We live in a social media world where your potential boss can learn all about you with just one click. Make sure your social media networks represent how you prefer to be seen!
7. Networking and using all your resources is highly important. If you work hard and show dedication to your supervisors and colleagues at previous internships, they will be more willing to lend you a helping hand, such as passing along your resume to their contacts.
8. Don’t assume that you know it all. Be humble and ask for help when you need it so that you can effectively do the task at hand.
9. Speak up. From a one-on-one to impromptu brainstorms and team meetings, offer your opinions whenever you have the chance to demonstrate your creative thinking. Keep in mind that no idea is a bad idea… they can be the catalyst to a successful client program.
10. Don’t rush into the work force. If given the opportunity, take a few weeks off post-college to explore the world. Indulge in some “me” time, family time or just relax, because you have the rest of your life to work!
Maybe you’ve already heard some of this advice, but remember that learning from those who came before you is invaluable; it’s like getting the insider, behind-the-scenes scoop. Stay tuned for more tips to help you land that dream PR job, where our very own MMC senior management reveals insights into their ideal candidate.
What’s a piece of advice you found invaluable when you first started in your PR career?
Image courtesy of worldcashwatcher.org
Last week, I joined two fellow MMC-ers for a media summit sponsored by YJP New York. The event, which discussed global digital media strategies and creative solutions in mass media execution, featured a fantastic panel of advertising executives and marketing professionals including:
- Shelly Diamond- Y&R
- Mark Goldstein- BBDO
- Bob Greenberg- R/GA
- Marc Speichert- L’Oreal Paris USA
These big-brained leaders explored the latest creative techniques in advertising and shared some of their successes in the digital media and marketing space today. As a member of the cosmetics team at MMC, I found a few specific points most interesting as we continue to evolve how we market our products to today’s beauty consumer.
A common thread I heard throughout the presentation was that the consumer is increasingly the most influential aspect to the marketing equation. In today’s digital world, we see the consumer is not only the target for sales, but creating content for brands and sharing reviews online which other consumers research before purchase. All of which is influencing marketing decisions and ultimately having the power to change the way big companies think about marketing and advertising.
Some interesting examples of companies adapting to the digital world and putting the consumer into the driver’s seat included:
- L’Oreal creating Destination Beauty on YouTube. This video platform enables consumers to create how-to videos on makeup techniques that aren’t necessarily branded, but with an adjacent ad for a product from the brand’s lineup that can help achieve the video’s look. This YouTube channel is helping consumers solve a problem and addressing beauty concerns through user generated content, rather than overtly pushing a product.
- The Supermarket Chain Tesco in the UK implemented a new digital receipt program, where consumers can see how much their purchases would cost at competitive retailers, on the spot. Tesco then matches the price if needed; a revolutionary way they are giving-up control to the consumer in this typically retailer driven arena.
As we continually look to push our creativity to the next level when creating public relations and marketing campaigns on behalf of our clients, it’s important at every step of the way we keep in mind the power of the consumer. In the age of real-time product feedback, self-made YouTube beauty aficionados and savvy shoppers, it’s absolutely necessary for PR professionals to connect product communication with consumers in a meaningful and authentic way to ensure a consistently positive user experience and relationship with the brand.
