I came to an epiphany last night. I don't like watching the news on TV because I can't decide which news stories to watch. I have to watch what the producers want me to and decide if I enjoyed/learned from the story or not. Which brings me to my next point, I love reading/watching the news online because I can read the headlines, event summary of the piece before I watch it or skip to the next news piece. I know it's wrong of me, and I should care about everything that's going on in the world and my community, but sometimes my heart just can't take hearing about all the negatives. So, is it just me, or do most younger consumers feel the same way? I've asked a few co-workers, and despite having to read the paper for our jobs, we never do. So maybe my theory is right...

So, I've been thinking about this all weekend. If there's a term for new web initiatives (web 2.0), and new/emerging media, shouldn't there be a name for the "new" consumer? Yes, we do call them generation Y or the "echo-boomers" among other names, but shouldn't they also have a name that suggests how consumers have changed and evolved? Something along the lines of Consumers 2.0, etc.

So, we just found out that one of the local papers here in South Florida, the Sun-Sentinel has made some pretty major changes to it's business section and other columns. No surprise, huh? This just reiterates all my concerns and thoughts about the major changes to the public relations industry. As more and more gen y'ers enter the "business" world, there is going to be less and less use of traditional media. Yet, small pr firms still focus on getting print coverage and most colleges/universities still don't really include courses on web 2.0. Maybe it'll take the folding of a major pub. such as the NYTimes or USA Today for everyone to realize that the pr industry needs to re-focus its media relations strategy.

Now that's taking advantage of an odd situation to get some press!


Quiznos Delivers PR Hero After Coyote Invades Chicago Store
by Kevin Ransom, Thursday, Apr 5, 2007 5:01 AM ET- MediaPost Publications

STOP ME IF YOU'RE HEARD this one.

A coyote walks into a Quiznos ...

The Quiznos restaurant chain took full advantage of a unique marketing opportunity when it issued a playful, tongue-in-cheek response after a wild coyote wandered into one of its shops in Chicago's busy Loop area on Tuesday.

After the unusual event, the company quickly issued a press release quoting Steve Provost, Quiznos' Executive Vice President/Corporate Marketing Officer, as saying: "We've certainly been looking to expand our customer base and appeal to different demographics, and it appears that we have hit a chord with the animal kingdom. This has never happened before; we can only think that [the coyote] must have been attracted to our new Prime Rib on Garlic Bread and its above-average portions of meat. One thing is for sure, this coyote clearly has excellent taste."

The coyote walked right into the restaurant through the front door--which was evidently propped open due to unseasonably warm weather--causing startled customers to scatter. It tried to jump over the counter, but when it couldn't make the leap, it plopped down in the beverage cooler. The animal lingered for about 40 minutes, as dozens of rubber-necking pedestrians poked their heads in to see what the rumpus was all about--some of whom snapped pics of the puzzled mammal with their cell phones.

Eventually, officers from Chicago Animal Care and Control arrived and escorted the coyote safely away. Animal Control staff even gave the coyote a name--Adrian. The staff deduced that Adrian is a male, and approximately a year-and-a-half old--which is about the age when coyotes leave their families to find their own way in the wild.

Quiznos' media response wasn't all shtick. The statement also scored some points among animal lovers--and touched on the ongoing environmental crisis of commercial and residential development wiping out animal habitats.

"We will support the safety for Adrian and any other members of the wild animal kingdom who face severe challenges and unknown urban obstacles to find their way to Quiznos restaurants," said Provost. "We are pleased to donate $1,000 to Chicago Animal Care and Control, where Adrian currently resides."

This morning, Adrian will be transported to the Flint Creek Wildlife Refuge near Barrington, Ill. The refuge is a rambling, fenced-in area where stray urban coyotes are allowed to roam--and in any case is a much safer home than the mean streets of Chicago. Quiznos announced it was even giving Adrian a farewell present--a Prime Rib on Garlic Bread sub "to go"--adding that it was the sandwich that the coyote had "traveled far and wide for." The chain also closed the store to sanitize it before reopening.

Oh boy, yet another social networking site launches...

Lonely Planet Launches Video, Social Networking Site
by Karlene Lukovitz, Monday, Apr 2, 2007 7:57 AM ET

MTV Brands Virtual Worlds
By Krisserin Canary
iMedia Connection

MTV wants you to head on down to West Coast customs in a new virtual world created specifically for "Pimp my Ride."

For all of those energetic fans who wished they could restore their hooptie but don't live in the Los Angeles area, Xzibit invites you to go online and visit a virtual Van Nuys with all the accouterments of West Coast culture.

The virtual world will be connected to MTV's other virtual worlds -- for shows "Laguna Beach" and "The Hills" -- with a virtual highway. MTV is planning to add more features in the coming months, including clickthrough items, which allow users to buy real-world objects in the virtual world.

More virtual communities are in the works including worlds, for "MTV Cribs" and the "Logo" world, for MTV's LGBT network.

Virtual branding and merchandising opportunities are sure to be large with a pervasive reach into the younger demographics. Matt Bostwick, SVP franchise development for MTV, told Yahoo! News that the "Laguna" and "Hills" projects have drawn a total of 600,000 registered users, with 85 percent female with a median age of 20, and daily visits are up 300 percent from January.

Nissan's Pitch For Mini-Car: Accessorize It
By Amy Chozick
Word Count: 774 | Companies Featured in This Article: Nissan Motor, Omnicom Group, Hakuhodo
TOKYO -- Nissan Motor Co. had a tough challenge in launching its Pino minicar: Make it appeal to young female consumers who couldn't care less about cars.

While these deep-pocketed shoppers spend lavishly on clothes and accessories, cars are optional for many. Instead, they rely on bicycles, motorbikes or public transport. So Nissan Motor purposely avoided focusing too much attention on the car itself. Instead, television and print ads portray the Pino as just one item in a collage of accessories, such as plushy animals, furry seat cushions and heart-shaped decals. The Pino pamphlet, designed to read like a comic ...

Read the rest here Wallstreet Journal Online

You always hear or read about mistake business people and pr people make. For example, the one pr person that sent a semi-racist joke out to a list of his friends, but accidently sent it to his media list. Well this is about as bad, if not worse. I'm not sure how much this will affect the reputation of the PR professional, but I'm sure it can't help.

Microsoft Sends Secret Dossier on Reporter, to Reporter
http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/03/enough_about_me.html

This is the kind of stuff that I've been saying all along. I don't know anyone my age, or remotely close to my age that still reads newspapers (unless we have to for work). PR agencies (large and small) and professionals should really start focusing on new media (web 2.0).


Anti-Clinton Video on YouTube Proves that the Web is More Than a News Outlet—It Is Now a Source of News

The anti-Hillary Clinton video posted last week on YouTube demonstrated the speed and power of the Web as it quickly jumped from the Internet to cable news and network broadcasts such as NBC's "Today" and "CBS Evening News."
As a result, the video, which portrayed Clinton as a dictatorial character out of Orwell's 1984 became one of last week's most-discussed stories, USA Today reports.

It also cost its author his job. Posted anonymously, the video drew nearly two million views on YouTube. Its creator resigned when he was about to be outed as an employee of a digital consulting firm that worked for Barack Obama. The candidate's campaign denied any part in the video. Clinton also downplayed its impact, reports USAT writer Peter Johnson.

But media experts say that the way "Hillary 1984" made its way into the national discussion serves as a cautionary tale for traditional news outlets, which risk spreading material that may be damaging or untrue to wider audiences—all for the sake of staying current with the Web. Politico.com's misreporting of John Edwards' campaign plans last week is another example of this phenomenon.

On the Web, "you essentially have a public wall where anybody can put up a billboard and say anything," says Tom Rosenstiel of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. "And if the wall attracts a crowd, mainstream media write about it."

That presents challenges for the media, he says: "If something is out there and having an impact, you probably have a responsibility to report it. But you have no less a responsibility to tell me if it's believable or not."

Because of the sensation the Clinton video caused on the Web, mainstream news outlets aired stories about the phenomenon of political attack Web videos. "We wound up giving more exposure to the video than it ever would have gotten on the Web," CBS News vice president Paul Friedman told Johnson. "I don't know how to get around it. It comes down to how much can we still exercise our traditional role of being a gatekeeper on what's fair, decent, factual and accurate—and what isn't."

Bob Steele, who teaches ethics at the Poynter Institute, says that speed has always been an important factor in journalism. Now, with Web outlets churning out stories and videos that quickly gain traction across the Net, mainstream news needs to exercise great caution when deciding to pass that fare along. "The Edwards story speaks loudly to how fast those values can get lost in a hurry," Steele says. "It does no good to be first and wrong. Whether they are at cable news networks or at mainstream newspapers or news blogs, journalists still have an obligation for accuracy and fairness."

Article from Bulldog Reporter's "Daily Dog"

Newest Next In Media: Ads On Employee Clothing
by Nina M. Lentini, Monday, Mar 26, 2007 5:06 AM ET

WHY SETTLE FOR AN EMBROIDERED logo when you can have a four-color, 14.5 x 16.75-inch print-quality ad on the shirts of employees in big box retailers, sports stadiums, theme parks, state fairs, supermarkets, gas stations and drugstores?


Actually, that's pretty much what Solomon Emeth was thinking when he started Eye Level Marketing, the newest next in media.

Emeth, who spent a few decades in men's clothing, found himself at the turn of the millennium in a business that was limited to embroidering shirts for the Professional Golf Association and theme parks. "It was not being as creative as you could be," he says, understatedly.

Now, he and his partners have created a company that already has deals with Universal Studios, a Beverly Hills perfumery, the Indianapolis Colts and the 99¢ Only Stores in California. Eye Level Marketing (tag line: "Be Seen") is in talks with major corporations (many among the Top 100 leading national advertisers), ad agencies across the country and an unspecified racing sport, according to Eye Level's agency, MB2, which happens to be located in Indianapolis, Ind.

John Miles, CEO of MB2 (also known as Miles Brinson Brown), says they are spending a lot of time now at trade shows and conventions, even as the new medium is gaining traction, "we're still learning."

For example, he says, at a trade show in Las Vegas three weeks ago, "we realized that just showing the shirts wasn't enough. We have to make sure people realize the panels are interchangeable."

Ah, the panels. That's where your ad goes. The panels are designed by a patented engineering process to attach to the front and/or back of camp and polo shirts, bibs, vests and aprons created by the company.

Advertisements--such as your latest print ad--are sublimated on the clothing in the print process much like an inkjet printer. Miles says any graphic can be reproduced, and the clothing is washable. Details can be found at EyeLevelMarketing.com.

Universal Studios employees have been wearing the product for 18 months, Emeth says, with advertisements for its rides and movies.

Duty Free Perfumery in Beverly Hills signed on late last year and reports a 12% sales spike in January over January 2006. Store owner Avraham Zajac is blown away. "It is very, very helpful in this business," he says of the product. "We have thousands of types of fragrances. If people don't know what they want, it is difficult to finalize a sale."

Zajac has interchangeable panels advertising perfume brands such as Dolce & Gabbana on the apron he wears in the shop. "We are selling brand name products. If people maybe saw an ad in a magazine and they want to try a newer fragrance, if they see one of the three they are testing on my apron, there is a real, palpable chance they are gonna buy it.

"This is what any retailer would want. It's neat, easy, clear and a wonderful idea. I am sure it's going to go like wild."

Eye Level is talking with pro football teams after a successful run with the Indianapolis Colts (there's that Indianapolis connection again), wherein the stadium staff wore vests with front and back panels advertising one of 10 corporate sponsors, including Motorola, Chevy, Charter One Bank and a construction union.

Stadium advertising is costly, and space is often sold out.

Emeth is particularly eager to bring stadium advertising to those who heretofore could not afford it. "It creates a whole new platform or inventory in which to sell traditional [big-ticket] products or local products and services," he says. "The construction union was now able to really sponsor the day on these vests, which will attract new advertisers to the platform, and that is what got the eye of the NFL officials."

At a New York trade show, Emeth says, "we were approached by someone with P&G, who called his ad agency to come down and see this concept. We're really getting our feet under us."

Eye Level Marketing is testing the concept in the U.S. as well as in Japan, Korea, Israel and South Africa.

"We keep saying, let's move slow, do it correctly, go to trade shows and, down the road, we'll do trade advertising," says Miles. "They've only approached one side of this business--in-store, in-market people, arena people, grocery people, retailers. Once that's established, there's the agency side, where people can have inventory to sell.

"This is so strong that instead of trying to sell the complete package, it'll come with time. We're approaching all potential uses, letting people use the product so they can see how nice it is. It's not silkscreen."

Newest Next In Media: Ads On Employee Clothing
by Nina M. Lentini, Monday, Mar 26, 2007 5:06 AM ET

Social Networking Goes Niche
MySpace and Friendster’s runaway popularity and exposure have helped spawn an array of targeted networking sites. Advertisers are noticing
by Catherine Holahan

Starbucks May Sign McCartney To Hear Music Record Label
by Nina M. Lentini, Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 5:00 AM ET

Teens Driving Growth Of Iced Teas Across All Meals
by Karl Greenberg, Wednesday, Mar 14, 2007 5:00 AM ET

Good article highlighting the importantce of IMC (integrated marketing communications). I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks pr should merge with marketing and not only focus on media relations....

The Cultural Gulf That Separates Marketing & PR
And Why Both Sides Must Work Harder to Bridge it
By Jonah Bloom
Published: March 11, 2007

Okay, I'm not sure if it's just me being too thoughtful and respectful of the media, but why is it that the older generation of pr pros seems to insist on the aggressive follow-up call. Every reporter/editor that I've ever heard from or read about on Bacon's says not to follow-up with a phone call unless it's breaking news, etc. If I get a read receipt from an editor and I've already e-pitched them a few times- but they don't respond, is it really necessary to call them and follow-up? Yes, I realize that they're extremely busy, but isn't calling them when they specifically asked you not to a version of harassment. This just adds to the stigma that pr people already have. I just don't get it. Is it a generational gap in that I trust that my email was enough and that I don't need to call unless I'm asked to? Do other generations just not think email is enough?

Arguably the happiest and most nerve-racking day of a woman's life, a wedding is something to look back on with fond memories. On January 18, 2007, 2.8 million web surfers got a different take on that day. YouTube viewers watched in morbid fascination as a young bride "freaked out" and proceeded to butcher her hair in a room full of horrified bridesmaids.

After much speculation and national coverage, Jodi Behan, the video's star, came clean "Good Morning America". Far from a "bridezilla," Behan is a 22-year-old aspiring actress from Toronto. The incident was designed to generate buzz on the Web, like Lonelygirl15, who tricked millions this past summer.

Behan; Ingrid Haas, the co-creator of the video; and the two women who played Behan's bridesmaids hope to garner acting jobs in response to the international attention.

Behan and Lonelygirl15 are prime examples of the growing marketing power of YouTube. What was once a forum for Web users to showcase goofy talents and skits has become a powerful marketing tool. Companies such as Volkswagen - courtesy of Crispin Porter + Bogusky - are jumping on the YouTube marketing machine by sticking advertisements on the site. Senator Hilary Clinton announced her Whitehouse bid via video on her website creating media buzz for both her announcement and the launching vehicle.

Traditional approaches of advertising are being replaced with the low-budget, attention-grabbing web casts that can reach millions of viewers all over the world. More and more companies are turning to websites such as YouTube, eBaums's World and Myspace to reach the elusive, yet influential 18-25 demographic

Only time will tell if web casts will remain a viable marketing tool in communications, but some questions do arise. Do companies run the risk of angering web surfers who may feel "duped" or "being sold to" as more advertisements flood the Internet? Are web casts a passing fad that will incur a negative image for companies? And, what will be methods of measurement will be used to monitor and substantiate the use of this strategy?

SURVEY: Marketers Can't Grade Agencies but Fail Them Anyway
Most Clients Can't Measure Advertising's Exact ROI Yet Feel 'Vague Disenchantment'
By Matthew Creamer


Starbucks Smells the Death of its Brand Experience
CEO Confronts Missing Aroma of Fresh-Roasted Coffee
By Matthew Creamer

SURVEY: Marketers Can't Grade Agencies but Fail Them Anyway
Most Clients Can't Measure Advertising's Exact ROI Yet Feel 'Vague Disenchantment'
By Matthew Creamer


Starbucks Smells the Death of its Brand Experience
CEO Confronts Missing Aroma of Fresh-Roasted Coffee
By Matthew Creamer

Teens and media: a full-time job
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: December 7, 2006, 3:54 PM PST


BzzAgent Mulls Axing Rewards Program
December 08, 2006
By Todd Wasserman


Helio's Buddy Beacon Extends Positioning
by Emily Burg, Monday, Dec 11, 2006 5:00 AM ET

YouTube Grows Up -- But What Does It Mean?Bob Garfield Explores The Implications of the Video Sharing Revolution
By Bob Garfield

Global Marketing Report: Top 100 Marketers' Media SpendAlso Download 53-Page Global Marketers .pdf
By R. Craig Endicott

176 Newspapers to Form a Partnership With Yahoo By MIGUEL HELFT and STEVE LOHR
Published: November 20, 2006