Marina Maher Communications

Approximately 2,000 press releases are distributed daily. So how can you prevent yours from getting lost in the mix?

This infographic offers some suggestions, including the following:

• Limit your headline to 65 to 85 characters
• Use the keywords your target audience uses
• Move up the most important information – the main message and keywords
• Link to one or two priority websites, such as the company, product, or campaign site
• Be clear and concise, as always

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• Nothing but NETFLIX – Whether it’s adding to your queue or watching instantly, Netflix has figured out the formula for success. With more than 2 million new users since the beginning of 2013, Netflix has risen to the top, while bringing the trend of “binge viewing” into the homes of the American public. The online video provider has branched out by creating original content with the launch of its first series “House of Cards.” Netflix also signed a coveted deal with the producers at “Arrested Development” to bring 15 original episodes of the cult comedy back to the small screen to pave the way for a potential movie. Netflix is hot right now, and its lack of commercial content is what makes it stand out from the other big guns of binge viewing. This is a tough nut for brands to crack, but a growing platform with real PR legs if leveraged strategically.   
• Courting Martha Stewart? – America’s favorite homemaker sat down with Matt Lauer last week where she confessed to wanting to try online dating, specifically Match.com. This was obviously music to the ears of the folks at Match.com, who coordinated a follow-up special on TODAY featuring Martha and Matt hunting for her online love. Even if she doesn’t find her soul mate, Match.com certainly took advantage of a golden opportunity.
• Get Your Own Gala Gown – With the Met Gala taking place tonight, celebrities have enlisted the help of their glam teams and famous fashion friends to get prepped. Aside from the Oscars, the Met Gala is arguably the biggest fashion night of the year, and a time to make a real statement. Upscale E-commerce giant and event co-sponsor Moda Operandi has partnered with several of the designers to offer the gowns as soon as they hit the carpet in a live streaming flash sale. Get your credit cards ready gals, these gowns will cost you a pretty penny.
• Seacrest and Paltrow Team Up – PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful and E!’s most profitable have signed on to create a 10 episode web based series on AOL’s On Network. The series entitled “Second Chances” will feature Gwyn and her fitness guru pal Tracy Anderson as they share stories of women who have faced and overcome a variety of obstacles in their lives. The series will roll out over the next couple of months, as Ryan Seacrest Productions continues to focus on digital content.
• Mr. President Goes to Hollywood – President Obama took a break from his day to day duties to join Hollywood’s elite for the 2013 White House Correspondents Dinner. Conan O’Brien took over as host, while delivering some memorable zingers. Not to be outdone, Mr. President had no shortage of one-liners himself; even getting a few laughs while sporting his wife’s buzzed about bangs. Often deemed the “nerd prom,” the annual White House Correspondents Dinner is a collision of two different worlds, but always makes for some good laughs.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Women, particularly mothers – who represent a $2.4 trillion market – are making about 83-87 percent of purchase decisions in American households.

In March 2013, Mom Central Consulting surveyed 900+ moms to understand the power of peer influence on these purchasing decisions. The results showed the following about moms:

• 99% research products online before purchasing; of which, 87% specifically look for first-person recommendations. Marketers need to engage with consumers to get feedback and address it to maximize positive brand sentiments.   
• 81% read 5+ blogs per week, which confirms the importance of encouraging online influencers to blog about your brand.
• 76% trust social media recommendations for products before purchasing them, and 69% are more likely to purchase if a product is recommended by those they follow on social networking sites.

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This week our friends at Syracuse University PRSSA named Marina Maher Communications PR Agency of the Week! Thank you so much to our friends at Syracuse University PRSSA for thinking of us! Check out their full write up here.

Beer has passed wine as the favorite alcoholic beverage for women between 18 and 34 years old, according to a 2012 Gallup poll. Additionally, women in their 20s and 30s are in “the sweet spot” for craft beer consumption. Many are even choosing an India Pale Ale (IPA) over a Chardonnay.

Brewing companies like Carlsberg that have an 80 percent male customer base, are working on developing products and marketing them to women. Carlsberg’s approach is to create new recipes that are “lighter in alcohol, refreshing in taste, and perceived as healthy enough to take on wine, champagne, and other drinks vying for women’s dollars.” We’ll see if this is the right formula for going about it.

Moreover, it turns out that beer may even offer health benefits for women. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and noted in this infographic, beer protects bone-mineral density because of its high levels of silicon. Women have a higher predisposition for osteoporosis, which affects 44 million Americans – 68 percent are women.

The infographic also points out that the first professional brewers were women, and that back in the day, brewing beer was considered a very important and noble task for the ladies.

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Marketers can no longer assume that “everyone is on Facebook,” “professionals are on LinkedIn” and “women are on Pinterest,” and that’s all they need to know.

A breakdown of social media usage by factors like ethnicity and age by The Pew Internet and American Life Project show additional, more specific takeaways such as:

• Urban African-Americans aged 18-29 use Twitter and Instagram more than other demographics.
• Most Tumblr users are aged 18-29.
• Hispanics are more likely than other demographics to use every social media channel. Slightly more social media users live in urban environments than suburban or rural ones.
• African-American and Hispanic young adults 18-29 are far more likely to access social networks from their phones than older, white social network users.

These are the stats right now. We’ll see if they stay the same or change in the next survey.

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In part two of our interview with Arun Sudhaman, managing editor of The Holmes Report, we asked him how PR agencies can be more creative.  He should know.  The Holmes Report recently conducted a study about creativity with creativity experts Now Go Create and sponsored by our Omnicom sister agency Ketchum. Here’s what he said:

The broad answer is that it’s as much about culture as it is about content.  Agencies have to inculcate a much stronger creative culture than currently exists.  In advertising agencies, creativity is more a part of the agency’s DNA, whereas in PR agencies, creativity often is viewed as just one element of what the agency does. 

In our survey, we asked which techniques are used to generate ideas. Most said group brainstorms.  But that’s not necessarily the best way to develop ideas.  Creativity will become more important in PR agencies as the media landscape fragments and we get swamped with more noise.  Then, the ability to break through with a compelling idea will be even more important than it is now. 

Image of Arun Sudhaman, courtesy of The Holmes Report