carrie*connects

Social Media Impact Explained

This is a clever little YouTube infomercial argument for social media that is very compelling - I hesitate to agree with the producer's enthusiasm for Gen X driving the way the trend is evolving, and I think their concept is a bit reductive in terms of scope, but it does offer great food for thought - especially with the notion that brands need to drive their message directly to their customers.

Video | Do You Need A Social Media Recovery Group?

If you erupt into a mini giggling fit when you watch this video (from Sony Vaio) about Social Media, you may need to seek counseling (like I do).

And You Thought Carrie Bradshaw Was Label Crazy ...

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A recent study group took a look at tweens and their relationship to some not so familiar branding tools such as sounds, logos, smells, and how they relate to products like computers, clothing and food. As you can imagine, the kids were all more tuned in than their parents. This isn't all that surprising to me, they have more time to invest in the various aspects of a brand, and since their buying power is diminished they probably covet expensive products more.  What is a bit surprising is that the kids in this study were found to be more brand savvy than previous generations, leading me to wonder what new cues have been added from just a few years ago. 

Mark Lindstrom, author of the fab book "Buyology,The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy"  explains that the kids are now the prime target of many branding campaigns for things they traditionally wouldn't directly buy.  The reason?  Children are making buying decisions for the family.  According to Lindstrom 67% of cars (purchased for families) were chosen by the children ~ and they make these choices based on what they see on TV. 

Julie Powell Talks Food Blogging With MediaBistro

 
I must admit that I haven't had time to see the new Julie & Julia film starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams- but it's definitely tops on my to-do list.  Both actresses are my fav's and I love the concept of the movie - an aspiring writer, Julie Powell, desperately in need of some zest in her life decides to blend a love of cooking with her passion for writing.  The result:  Powell cooked her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and kept a well documented and very popular blog about it.

What resulted was a book and what looks like an amazing film - just goes to show the power of the blog!   Powell talked with MediaBistro recently about her media odyssey - below are a few highlights ~ but be sure to read the whole interview here.

Powell says:  "I was a frustrated writer. I majored in fiction writing in college and wanted to be a writer, and nothing was happening with that. I pretty much stopped writing by the time I was 29 and was feeling extraordinarily unfulfilled. So I had this midnight revelation that I would cook my way through Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which came out of talking about going to cooking school. But I didn't have the money and didn't think I wanted to be a chef or anything like that. I did want to learn how to cook well, and Mastering was obviously a great way to do that.

I had no notion of what a blog could do and what the medium was really capable of at the time. I kind of chanced into it. I just was in the right place and time.

I started on a pretty instant level because I thought I was writing for family and friends. I would write, "Here's what I'm cooking." And then I would have some side notes about what was happening in my life. People ended up being interested in the food, but really interested in the other stuff. Then, I realized that I had all these readers interested in the gory details of my daily life; that's what they were following, and they wanted to learn more about that. "Tell me about how shitty you feel about your job, and tell me more about your pet snake," [readers said]. By that time, this bar had been set in terms of intimacy, which was very important to the development of the tone of the blog."

Also check out Julie Powell current blog.

This is Brill ... The Start A Lie Campaign

Love this idea ~ The Tappening Movement is an educational campaign to move people away from bottled water.  A clever devise they created was this "Start a Lie" website in which you choose from a number of witty, implausible lies about bottled water such as "Bottle water hates Father of the Bride" and "The US Government uses bottled waterboarding" and then spread the word on email, Facebook, Twitter or Digg (what no FriendFeed??)  It's not a non profit, but it is quite clever.

Social Media Marketing ~ How To Infuriate Your Fans & Friends on Facebook pt. 1

About a year ago if I mentioned the concept of harnessing the power of Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr, ect as a realistic strategy for marketing a brand, I would generally get a very long "hmmmmmm ....." followed by a very pregnant pause from many of the people I talked to.   A massive question mark would float over their heads as, more often than not, they just couldn't grasp the concept. 

Magically within the past six months however all that's changed with virtually every person I've ever known jumping on (at least) the Facebook bandwagon.  Unfortunately, rather than adopting the evolving norms of social media into the platform, which BTW are based on (1) actual human contact (2) original and interesting ideas (3) reciprocation ~ most Facebook newbies have attached dusty old marketing ideas to their shiny "new media" programs.  

As a result Facebook in particular is being used in some very annoying ways.  I thought I'd start tracking the most insidious behaviors and note them down here (mostly as a venue for venting my angst about the situation)....if you want to annoy on Facebook, here are some ideas:

1)  Businesses who want to really tick off their Facebook fans should be sure to send incessant group emails announcing minor sales, bland product announcements, and other information that is of interest only to their internal sales staff.  As a blogger, I'm used to getting press releases from other PR firms emailed rapid fire via specific email accounts, as such I really have little patience for this type of information sent to my Facebook in-box ~ and I'll lay you odds that I'm not in the minority here.  Even the most casual Facebook user is most likely not interested in being spammed about your 5% off sale once a day - if they are they'll visit your page to see it.  Facebook by definition is a "FACEBOOK" ie: people attached to faces, and personalized messages should only be sent this way. 

2) Keep requesting your friends "fan", join a group, or attend an event 0ver and over and over - even though they've probably repeatedly chosen to ignore your previous attempts for a reason.   Once is more than enough.

3)  Repeatedly poke, send game requests, gift requests, and all manner of the embeddable widget nature to people you've never had any sort of correspondence with and to whom you're a complete stranger - they love that.

4) Post only the dullest and most narrowly defined product photos and information about your company on your Facebook page so that instead of a lively interactive forum with an array of accessible ideas and information, it resembles a yellow page ad.

5) Never correspond with your fans or friends when they post info of their own (you know - the stuff that comes through on your homepage news-feed from them) ~ we know you're the only one that matters!  And when they comment on your posts or go so far as to post items to your page or wall, be sure to ignore them.  People love being treated solely as "consumers" and not individuals - isn't that what "social" means?  Oh it doesn't??  It means engaging and talking??  Whoa ....

Oh....there will be more .... stay tuned.   Yes, the Medium is the Message, but only if you know how to use it.  Otherwise it's just another cyber-armload of junk-mail to toss in the trash unopened.

Paul McCartney Makes a Splash In New York

Imagine you're hanging out at the office, working - Facebooking - Twittering away and all of a sudden some guy starts playing his guitar really really loudly just outside your window.  And then it actually sounds like someone is playing drums and base!!  You rush to the window to offer the dude a few choice expletives and - wow - realize that it's Paul McCartney hanging out on the Late Show marquee playing music. 

Surreal? Yeah - a little - but not so much for the Big Apple.  A fabulous publicity stunt?  Yep!   McCartney's spontaneous concert garnered him pics on all the major news networks and on countless blogs and websites - whereas a similar planned event in Central Park or at Rockefeller Plaza would have been more or less digested into the panorama of constant activity in NYC.  Good show Paul.  Love the shots of the cell phone behind him below, and the images of people looking down on the event from the offices above taking pictures - wonder how many Facebook pages those ended up on. 

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A Flow Chart For Getting On The Sartorialist

 
If you're familiar at all with this new fangled thing called blogging than chances are good that you've heard of the Sartorialist - yes the little bloggity blog that gets upward of 50,000 readers a day and has spawned a book and a reality show for street photographer Scott Schuman.  

Considered one of the most influential fashion portals on the web, many with a mind for fashion branding have been devising ways to surreptitiously get their goodies (ie accessories, clothing, ect) in front of the famous street snapper.  Now, the evil geniuses at Refinery 29 have come up with a very clever (albeit tongue in cheek - but with vast amounts of irony thrown into the mix) flowchart of ways to improve your chances of getting on the site. 

I'd cut and paste it in here but think snagging their fabulous artwork is not really playing fair - so here's the link >>>

Pop Culture | Holly Madison Marries the Travelocity Gnome

In what seems like a fairly unlikely co-branding partnership Holly Madison hooked up with the Travelocity Gnome over the weekend for a fun spirited "nuptials" ceremony.  The photo opp was in support of Holly's Peepshow at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.  Judging from the photos a fun time was had by all.

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Design PR | Architectural Digest's Reader Submitted Rooms Contest

As long as I've represented designers, contractors, furniture manufacturers, and architects, one of the main professed goals of almost each and every one of these clients has been to get into Architectural Digest in some capacity.  The magazine's reach and influence is legendary - but the collection of designers and projects that it publishes to date has been an intentionally exclusive and cloistered club - one into which very few gain entry.

So naturally I was quite intrigued when I saw that the AD website has now launched a rather egalitarian design contest.  More than 150 reader rooms have been submitted and are now being voted on.  According to AD, the images are being divided up at random into groups of 10 and are being posted this and next week.  The winner will be announced on July 31st - no telling what they win, other than exposure on the website - which in and of itself is its own prize. 

So far the entries range from professionally designed rooms to kitchy, fun spaces that could only have been created by light hearted homeowners.

Hop on over to their site to put in your two cents! 

Bloggers Beware ~ The FTC is Watching.

 
In an announcement that will surely send a ripple of terror through the mom and beauty blogging business in particular, the Federal Trade Commission has accounced it will soon be cracking down on blogs that offer "reviews" in exchange for free merchandise, as well as those that make affiliate commissions without revealing the arrangement.

Troubled by what seems to be a lack of journalistic ethics, the FTC cites the practice that many bloggers employ in which free merchandise is exchanged for positive reviews. 

"If you walk into a department store, you know the (sales) clerk is a clerk," Rich Cleland, assistant director in the FTC's division of advertising practices told the Associated Press recently. "Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and ... they have an economic motive for what they're saying, that's information a consumer should know."

"Journalists who work for newspapers and broadcasters are held accountable by their employers, and they generally cannot receive payments from marketers and must return free products after they finish reviewing them," the AP article continues...

"If the guidelines are approved, bloggers would have to back up claims and disclose if they're being compensated — the FTC doesn't currently plan to specify how. The FTC could order violators to stop and pay restitution to customers, and it could ask the Justice Department to sue for civil penalties."

The situation does remind of the Napster flap up a few years back and I predict that a few specific violators may find themselves being held up as unfortunate examples.

Read more about it here>>

Big Announcement ~ CLPR is Now: Leber Media Group!

We researched, we tested, we pitched, we were pitched to, we blogged, we commented, we sent out thousands of emails, we tracked incoming traffic, we sent traffic,  ... and through it all we came up with a new formula for beauty, fashion, design, and baby PR that is unique to the industry. 

We've devised a PR strategy that directly harnesses Conversational Marketing - one that capitalizes on the much celebrated "social media" (which is now really "the media") and builds discussions with an interested audience.  This blended with a very old fashioned approach - one that involves well honed relationships and straight talk, together with superlatively designed tools - makes for a PR and marketing product that is second to none. 

Our company has added a variety of blogs, link galleries and a social network and a myriad of pages around the web of our own to create what is now Leber Media Group. 

Sounds like a big organization, but we're really the same small, friendly group as before - just now we have some unique tools in our arsenal that the average PR firm really doesn't.  The new name is a more accurate depiction of what we do: We work with media of all types and in various functions to get the maximum exposure and positive branding for our clients. 

Our specialties are still fashion, design and architecture, food, baby, lifestyle, and beauty PR.

Want to know more?  Email me at carrie@lebermedia.com or call me at 646.706.7761 and we'll discuss!  You can also get a feel from our newly refreshed website at www.lebermedia.com.

Does the Term 'Shop Your Closet' Give You Shivers? Will the Sartorialist be the Next Mega Brand? Links!

--Style scribes love the term "shop your closet" these days - but the Times Ben Widdicome cautions what you find may be more radioactive than retro on The Moment.

--Edificial bemoans the PR-ization of recessionary design - they write "be on the lookout for the following pitches: flacks will “highlight the eco-friendly features of [their] client’s products”; they will deploy “high-quality images with every pitch”; and they will assault us with samples so that we can see how easy it is to be green with the splendiferous econo-trinkets they’re hawking."

--Fashionista is quite jazzed about the spector of The Sartorialist as the next mega-brand as they report about the intrepid photog's book deal with Penguin that will get its own pop-up shop at Barneys - a possible line for the ever expanding Net-a-Porter is in the works as well.

--The Girls in the Beauty Department took a very long look at Oprah Winfrey's hair last week when Tyra Banks appeared on the show.