Posted by: Neal | May 11, 2008
They’re a little late to the game, but ESPN is finally getting in to the conversation game on espn.com.
The good:
- They offer a tag cloud and the topics flash when that topic has been commented on.
- “ignore user” and “report violation buttons are offered
- ESPN is also offering a blog platform
The bad:
- They allow up to 1500 characters. I’d like to see them go with the “less is better” approach and limit it to 140 so that there could some Twitter-like mash-ups/widgets and text messaging updates available.
- It looks like you have to manually refresh to see new comments.
Tags: conversation, espn, web 2.0
Posted by: Neal | May 8, 2008
I’ve been keeping my eye on how brands are using blogs to create their own, customized online sponsorship. Although these are really just blogs that are built and maintained by a brand team/marketing department, I call it an online “sponsorship” because it’s not JUST about the product(s). It’s really more of a blog that appeals to the target consumer, with product placement or brand mentions built in.
Here are a couple examples of brands that are creating their own online sponsorships:
The Cleanest Line
Patagonia might do this better than anyone. Patagonia’s blog is called The Cleanest Line and it covers topics that are meaningful to the brand: outdoors activities and environmentalism. Although they do discuss Patagonia products, the blog is more focused on topics that are of interest to the consumer, and because of that, it comes off as totally authentic. It’s almost like talking to the sales clerk at the outdoor store: product is part of the conversation since he’s there to sell you some stuff, but he’s also willing to give you advice on where to hike or paddle that weekend. The authenticity and interesting content will keep readers engaged in the blog - which results in Patagonia keeping their name and image top of mind with the right consumers.
Awearness
Kenneth Cole is implementing the same tactic, but in a slightly different way. Their blog, Awearness is all about politics and social activism. Unlike Patagonia, who sprinkles in product info, the only links to the brand I could find are Kenneth Cole’s Intro/Profile and a few play on words (Awearness and Clothes Mindedness) in the name and section headers of the blog. There’s a ton of content on this blog and I love the message they’re communicating, but I’m having a hard time seeing the benefit to the brand if the only branding is via these elements. I would rather see less content, and more about how the Kenneth Cole brand is adding value to the cause.
Marketers beware: This may look like a great way to build some online presence to a targeted audience, but maintaining blogs like this take up a lot of time and energy. It’s easy to jump into a project like this without realizing the time commitment necessary to make it work. If you’re going to do it, you need to be willing to sacrifice a lot of time…or have the momey to hire someone to do it for you.
Tags: kenneth cole blog, online marketing, online presence, online sponsorships, patagonia blog, sponsorship
Posted by: Neal | May 6, 2008
First, if you are a PR agency or a brand with a PR agency, this stuff is way below you and you can just skip to the next blog. BUT, if you manage the marketing for a brand with a microscopic PR budget (or no budget at all), keep reading.
Second, by no means have I figured out this whole “FREE PR” thing. I can tell you that PR is a big component in my marketing plan and we work very hard on using it to spread the word about our brand. And I can tell you that my yearly marketing budget is about $2500 and I try to spread that throughout the year.
Here are some things I have learned along the way that will hopefully help you get some good targeted exposure and avoid wasting some money:
- Your media relations contact list is never complete. It’s always a work in progress. I would recommend that you devote a day per quarter toward going thru the list to update or delete contact info.
- Don’t waste your money on media tracking services. From time to time, you might get a call from a company that will track your media hits and package them up in a nice daily or weekly email that you can forward to your boss and make you feel good. Don’t buy that stuff. There is a company out there that does it for free. Their name is Google. You might have heard of them.
- Avoid the high priced wire services. I’ve gone down this road and it can get expensive in a hurry. National distribution with a photo and you’re up to $1500 bucks before you know it. Sure they can get your press release in the email box of writers around the country, but it’s never really resulted in anything more than a Google or Yahoo! listing for me. The media sees this stuff as junk mail and rarely ever pays attention to it.
- Put one press release on the high priced wire once per year. Ok, total contradiction from point 3, but I do see some value in putting one press release on the wire once a year just so that your contact name is in the database, making it easier for a reporter to find you when they’re writing a story on your industry and need an “expert” to interview.
- Find some free online press release distribution site that you like. I found a list of websites that offer press release distribution services here. Some actually are free, some aren’t. Personally, I like prlog.org and clickpress.com. Once you find some websites that you like, post your press releases there and measure the results. I do this by changing one, small thing on the press release on each site so that I can keep track of which one worked best.
In part 2 of this blog post, I’ll talk more about the message, who to target and how to build a relationship with them.
Tags: media relations, online distribution, pr, press releases, public relations
Posted by: Neal | May 5, 2008
According to this map, the Broncos play in Julesburg, CO and the Cowboys play in Longview.
Tags: geography, map, nfl
