Blog Post #13- Map Commercial

Following up on the previous blog. Here's the AT&T map commercial featuring Luke Wilson. Finally someone put it up on youtube.com

There are two parts. Part one is where Luke Wilson starts flipping all the postcards he's collected of the places AT&T covers. Then another commercial follows. After that, part 2 comes on where it shows he still has postcards, because there are so many places.

Check it out! One thing I like about this commercial is that Luke Wilson doesn't verbally bash Verizon (maybe because they are accurate in their claims- see previous blog). All he says is, "Recently Verizon has been making a big deal about maps.. I'm here to set the record straight." With this statement, AT&T appears to be a "nice guy," and displaying an attitude of taking the "high road." Good strategy for crisis communication!

PR Blog #12- AT&T and Verizon

Verizon recently released a commercial that poked fun at AT&T's ads with Apple, while simultaneously providing some supposedly inaccurate information about their 3G networking. AT&T previously had commercials suggesting certain things a consumer might want to do with an iphone, and responding "There's an app for that." Verizon's commercial suggested that a consumer want to know about AT&T's 3G coverage and saying "There's a map for that." This map shows significant lack of AT&T coverage, particularly in the Southwest area.

I'm showing AT&T response to Verizon's commericals. They have featured Luke Wilson in three commercials that combat Verizon's claims.

Commercial 1 compares the networks "side by side."

Commercial 2 does another comparison, mainly showing how AT&T coverage allows to to access the Internet while talking on the phone, and Verizon's coverage does not.

Commerical 3 was released three days ago. It shows the coverage of the map AT&T allows. Luke Wilson claims he's here to set the record straight. Interestingly enough, the map shows AT&T coverage, but does not specify 3G coverage. If one is paying attention, one might question if Verizon is correct. Because the ad is only three days old, I haven't been able to find a very clear video; this is one someone recorded while watching a football game. (Coincidentally I first saw the commercial during the Cowboys game today which gave me the idea for this post.) I hope to find a clearer video before the semester is over.

Despite this detail, I commend AT&T from a PR perspective for their quick responses. They are acknowledging that other companies are taking a swipe at them.

Another smart PR move of AT&T- publicizing their connection to Toms shoes. In short, Toms is a company with a "1 for 1 ratio." For every pair of shoes they sell, they give away a pair to a child in need. The "Chief Shoe Giver" operates his entire business through his Blackberry using the AT&T network. Toms is a reputable company that has ethos and pathos appeal. Here are a few videos that show the process of the commercial.

Video 1- this is from the AT&T website. It gives the crash course on how the commercial was made, and at the end shows the commercial. This link takes you to the media gallery where you have to browse for the video. The picture is yellow with the profile of Blake Mycoskie (The Chief Shoe Giver). The title of the video is "Toms Shoes Counts on 'More Bars in More Places'".

Video 2 and video 3 show the crash course and commercial separately, in case you want to skip ahead to the commercial, but the video footage is not as clear and not everything is shown.

Blog Post #11- Top Places to Work in PR

When September Wade visited our class, she mentioned that Weber Shandwick received an award as one of the top places to work in PR by PR News. I found this very interesting; this clearly means that her company has excellent employee relations. Employee relations are perhaps the most important of all public relations. We learned in class that if a company does not have excellent relationships with its employees, its other relationships with other public might not matter.

Here is the article from PR News Online, posted September 22, 2009, that announces the top places to work in PR. It is divided into three categories: agency, corporate department, and non-profit. The nominations were analyzed by a panel of external judges and PR New editors, who considered "everything from the organization's turnover rate and opportunities for growth, to employee's candid descriptions of the intangibles that keep them happy and driven."

Here are the top places to work in each category, as of Sept. 22, 2009

Corporate:

Best Buy, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Chesapeake Energy Corp., Cisco, Discovery Communications, First Horizon National Corp., Pfizer, State Farm Insurance, Symantec, Turner Broadcasting System

Agency:

APCO, Carmichael Lynch Spong, CJP Communications, Cohn Marketing, Marina Maher Communications, MWW, Sterling Communications, Text 100, Waggener Edstrom, Weber Shandwick

Nonprofit:

American Red Cross, Children's Home Society of Florida, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Kaiser Permanente

Blog Post #10- Chris Brown, Celebrity Apologies

I'm sure most remember the Hollywood buzz regarding Chris Brown's physical abuse toward Rihanna, so I thought I would blog a little about his apology.

Some background information: On Feb. 8, 2009, Chris Brown had turned himself in to the LAPD and was taken to jail on felony criminal threats charges. He posted bail at $50,000. Rihanna (Robin Fenty) was the victim in the alleged assault. Article from People Magazine that gives more information.

Chris Brown's official apology- this was posted on his official website, myspace page, and youtube channel in late July 2009, five months after the incident.

FIVE MONTHS?!?!? Clearly our class speaker's "Golden Hour" has come and gone approximately 3,600 times. Chris Brown says he was legally advised not to come out with an apology before his sentencing, but from a PR perspective, he should have ignored that little tidbit of counseling.

Speaking of legal counseling, Brown's choice of lawyer does not seem very logical. He hired attorney Mark Geragos, who is known for defending convicted murderer Scott Peterson (remember the Laci Peterson/Chandra Levi cases). He also defended Winona Ryer after a 2001 shoplifting arrest, and Michael Jackson during his child molestation trial. Personally, I do not know anything about this lawyer other than the facts above, but from a PR standpoint, I don't know that you would want your defense to be the same as that of icons people regard as strange or unfavorable? Not to mention his client, Scott Peterson, is on death row.

Back to the apology, this is a video posted by DukePowell on youtube.com showing what he thinks Brown's apology should roughly consist of. He makes some excellent points. For one thing, if you are going to apologize for something that EVERYONE knows about, it might be better to acknowledge what you actually did. Unlike the Jet Blue situation would would have involved the need to state what happened to hundreds of people, Chris Brown did not need to go into full or even slight detail. But he could have acknowledged the simple assault charge. He is clearly reading off of cards, like this spoof shows, which affects his tone. The result is that the viewer is not inclined to believe that Brown himself believes his own words. They seem empty and his tone seems false.

This video shows how Brown faced consequences other than six month of community service. His ad campaign for Double Mint Gum was postponed in light of his actions. What could have been a plus for his PR was shut down, and his image is now in a negative light.

So, it seems to me that Brown is trying to protect and build back his image, an obvious PR goal. But, THAT is not what the public wants to see; they want someone who is truly sorry for their actions, and they most certainly DON'T want to look up to an abusive 19-year-old. He has to take that side of his image away, and through his current tactics, it doesn't seem that he's doing a very good job.

Blog Post #9: Cheers for Lysol

I thought I'd touch on some smart moves Lysol brand is making regarding the issues publics truly care about. Of course, publics, particularly moms, are worried about germs and bacteria that can cause colds and other sicknesses. BUT, everyone right now is focused on... Swine Flu!

As we have learned, it's important for an organization to consider what issues are really central and important to a public. Here are a few things that Lysol is doing right.

Their website homepage: The main focus of the homepage is H1N1, explicitly stating that Lysol kills 99.9% of Cold and Flue viruses, including H1N1.

Lysol Germ Protection Center: The second main focus of the homepage. This area provides useful information and resources regarding what one can do to protect oneself from H1H1. It also explains terms the World Health Organization uses to make sure everyone understands the pandemic alert level.

Television ads: The first two commercials on the list focus on H1N1. This shows that Lysol is reaching out through multiple media channels. The first commercial uses a credible source, Joe Rubino, Director of Microbiology, Lysol Brand Products, RB as a spokesperson.

Key Facts: Another portion of the website that does a question and answer setup of FAQs.

Healthier Habits Rewards Program: This is a program in which teachers send a monthly letter home to parents educating them about germ prevention at home and school. This is a good way to reach publics that may not have cable or Internet.