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We have a fabulous new blog that's embedded into our website (which we strongly recommend for everyone) that has lots of news, lifestyle trends and other ideas ... please join us at http://leberpr.com/blog

Check Out The New Blog!

After 4 long years of having this blog on typepad we're moving over to a different platform at http://leberpr.com/blog/ ~ I think you'll notice immediately what a fresh look the new site has as well as many other features that will make cataloging and presenting relevant information about our company and clients much more organized.  

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.

Links | Now On Our Other Blogs

Now on our other blogs, these scintillating stories that I know you won't want to miss!

On Bloomacious: 

Bebe's New Fall Ad Campaign is inspired by The Tudors

Chrisitian Siriano Rolls Out a New Collection (of color!) with Victoria's Secret

The US v. John Lennon ~  a VH1 Documentary you'll want to see

Basking in the Dog Days of Summer ~ some end of Summer ideas to max out the fun!

on Bloomacious Digs:

Monte Design has a very cool glider for the nursery ~ rockers have never been this cool.

on Bloomacious Cafe:

Member Pooja Renee Motl discusses the new film, Julia & Julia

and offers a recipe for Heirloom Tomato Salad that looks just scrumptious!

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.

Food PR | An Upscale Soda For The Refined Palate

 
To date, the user experience with non-alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer is less than satisfying.  The flavors of these products usually aren't appealing enough to make consuming them worth the effort.  Now Vignette from Wine Country Soda has come onto the scene. 

I saw this at a local cafe here on the East Coast over the weekend and was immediately intrigued.  I love the thoughtful graphic design of the labels set on classic soda bottles.  Upon sipping, I was expecting the flavor to be a bit grape juicy, when in fact it has a pleasant wine flavor that makes the experience of drinking it seem special.  It's not sweet like a wine cooler either - and offers a nice carbonated effervescence that will make the product a hit at events and gatherings this summer and well into the holiday season.

Choose from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Rosé - about $28.50 for a 12 pack.

Fab Promotion | Threadcakes Contest

I love this contest that Threadbare T-Shirts has mounted to promote their seemingly endless collection of interesting and artful designs.  Called Threadcakes, entrants pick out their favorite Threadbare T-Shirt design and interpret it with flour and sugar in the form of a cake.  The contest started June 15th and runs through August 3rd - to date the promotion has inspired some very interesting and creative entries such as "The Apple" shown here.

There are two divisions of the contest 2-D and 3-D - 2-D being the sheet cakes with images created in fondant and icing on top much like a photo - and 3-D more sculpturesque.

An impressive roll out of prizes awaits the winners that includes free t-shirts, baking supplies, and ingredients.  To enter visit here.

via {ifitshipitshere.com}

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>>

Events | Sean Combs White Party Move to Los Angeles

Find more photos like this on Bloomacious Cafe
Sean Combs and Ashton Kutcher teamed up to throw the annual White Party over the weekend - this year the event was in support of "Malaria No More".  It was also the first time the iconic party was hosted in Los Angeles - and the location, a private residence in the hills really was a lovely one. 

A lavish swimming pool was the perfect place for performers to create a sense of celebration by swinging over the water and dancing in giant plastic bubbles.

There was also no end of branding and promotional opportunities as companies like Ciroc, Georges Duboeuf, Lab Series Skincare, Starbucks, Lia Sophia, Sean John and more offered celebrity gifting areas.

In keeping with the theme white furniture and draping was used to create a sense of drama, while white food that included white cupcakes, white wine, even white candy was offered to guest.

Food PR | Appleton Estate's Drink Generator

 
I thought this online drink generator from Appleton Estate was pretty nifty when I saw it this morning.  I was cruising the site after Forbes emailed me with a recipe for a Royal Apertif which is a blend of Appleton's Rum, syrup, lemon juice, and champagne.  It looked good but I was hoping for a larger picture - and then I found the impressive drink generator - sort of a fun mood ring for partiers. 

 

Basically you click on the site, and then pull levers in answer to questions like: 1) How are you feeling right now?  2) What are your plans for the evening? 3) what smells and tastes attract you? 4) How would someone describe you? 5) How do you deal with a rainy day?  and so on ... my answer the first time was the Planter's Punch shown above, which does indeed look like something I would enjoy. 

The Appleton Estate Drink Generator is an interesting, unilaterally accessible version of the personalized cocktail creation service from Liquid Relations that I wrote about a couple weeks back.  It gets consumers involved with the brand in a way that informs them about choices and asks questions in a conversational manner.

This is a great concept for cocktails, but it could also successfully be applied to a range of consumer goods, such as customized fragrances, salad dressings, candles, room fragrances, floral arrangements, china patterns, art work, cake flavors, ect. ect...!  Great concept!

Technology Trendcaster | Become a Sociopath ~ It's the Latest Thing!

I recieved an invitation this morning to join the new social network StyleCaster (which sounds suspiciously like a column that I write called Trendcaster on Bloomacious.com) - naturally I immediately zoomed over to take a look and post my mug on my own page.  

While the site doesn't seem all that different from our own network Bloomacious Cafe it apparently is embedded with lots of watching and listening devices that when explained in the video below makes me yearn for a nice long nap. 

Terms like "associated neuro network"  and "associative dynamics" are a far cry from my favorite phrase "me likey!"  but they mean similar things.

If there's any doubt after listening to this explanation that networks are the new blogs (which are the new magazines) then take a sneak peek at Fashionair which is girding up to launch soon.

Broken down gently, networks allow companies to watch the patterns and flows of their members - whom they friend, what they comment on.  We've done the same thing for the past 6 months through our networks and it's not quite as scientific or reliable as the Sociocast guys would like you to believe. 

Networks do provide a venue in which individuals can enjoy a club-like camaraderie- they also can serve as a TV station, a community blog, a messaging system and a newsletter - and are the next step beyond Facebook and Twitter.

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.

Food PR | Tasty Campaign ~ Tibits Vegetarian Restaurant

This very clever public outreach campaign in Switzerland caught my eye recently. 

It's for Tibits restaurant - a mini chain of vegetarian eateries with doors in the UK and Switzerland.  In the case of the photo above, Tibits has attached these giant forks, (with their logos and info on them) to trees in major parks and in main outdoor shopping areas in Zurich.  The eye catching site gag helps reinforce the brand of Tibits as one of freshness and innovation. 

Food PR and publicity is always a tricky undertaking - the question is often how to be innovative and relevant without being too gimmicky.

I think these clever forks hit just the right tone - artistic and amusing - they immediately cue your curiosity and make you want to learn more.

Another interesting element of the Tibits image is their remarkably fresh looking website.  It features a number of lovely wallpapers created by celebrated designer Tricia Guild that visitors to the site can play with and post as a background image.  The site also has a decidedly feminine feel - one that bloggers and artistic types surely love - which I'm fairly certain in Tibits core customer base. 

source: Tibits, adgoodness