June 7, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

SouthWest – Making Money By Spending Money

Hard work is a wonderful thing. Many times though, it takes more than hard work. Read more »

May 15, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Sometimes He’s Just Not That Into You

Since we work in the tech world, we often deal with tech media, from the consumery Read more »

April 16, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Why Social Media Can’t Replace Journalists

Wired.com just did a piece on the Twitter response to the tragedy that just happened during the Boston Marathon. Read more »

April 8, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

PR Myths: The ‘list’.

For potential clients, we’re always asked about our ‘lists’ and who is on these ‘lists’. While it’s great to have relationships with journalists in a key segment, no one has them with everyone. It’s probably impossible. Similarly, editors and reporters change beats and employment regularly. You simply can’t rely on these lists or the ones you purchase through a third party (which can be helpful though).

What you can rely upon in the PR world is creative and targeted outreach. In the past we’ve scored coverage of robotic innovations on CNN and a professional skateboarder in Field & Stream.

Both times, the contacts we approached were new to us. But that didn’t stop us from approaching them with story ideas that were appropriate for their audiences.

We’re not saying that we don’t have great lists of contacts, because we do. But just because CNN, Field & Stream, Maxim, Women’s Health, CoolHunting or HypeBeast featured one client, that does not guarantee they’ll feature another. Don’t be misguided.

A better way to judge a firm’s media-savvy would be to ask about creative pitches or projects they worked on that had less than tier-A media appeal.

For more of our thoughts on the infamous PR ‘lists’ and ways to conduct media outreach, check out these other blog posts (blatant plug) that we have on the Remedy site:

http://remedycomm.com/2012/04/why-your-press-releases-dont-get-you-coverage/

http://remedycomm.com/2011/04/pr-lessons-from-a-journalist/

March 19, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Coca-Cola Says Print Ads Do More Than Social Media To Boost Sales

Media Bistro’s PR Newser has an article on Coke’s announcement that social Read more »

February 11, 2013 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Skullcandy & Networking

If you read the action sports industry trade sites Shop-Eat-Surf or TransWorld Business, you already know that the CEO of Skullcandy is Read more »

November 5, 2012 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Are you a social media expert?

We got a great chuckle out of this Saturday Night Live, especially at about 1:32 when ‘Kourtney Barnes’ says ‘That’s the beauty of social media, everyone’s opinion is equal.’

While we think we see a decline on LinkedIn and elsewhere about ‘social media experts’, it’s still a term thrown around quite a bit. From a marketer’s standpoint though, one of the great things about social media is it’s relatively easy to measure, or at the least, you can measure clicks (of course, if a Website posts something to their Facebook page and that page has one million Fans, you still don’t know how many actually saw the post, but you can tell where your own site’s traffic comes from).

When going with a company that has ‘social media experts’ (FYI – Bill does have an advanced certificate in it from the University of San Francisco and Todd has had a hand in some very successful Twitter campaigns locally), ask to see some case studies and results, not just capabilities presentations. While metrics themselves are a great way to judge results, keep in mind that they shouldn’t be the end all because what worked last year, or last week, may not work again. The social media landscape changes rapidly and similar to traditional media relations/PR what’s hot and trending can shift rapidly from one day to the next. Approach social media executions with optimism, creativity but also with a healthy amount of caution if a big spend is on the line.

If you didn’t click the link above yet, here it is again.

October 31, 2012 in BLOG by RemedyPR

Facebook Guides Interaction On Halloween

Anyone notice that Facebook has been encouraging people to post about Halloween today? Here’s screen shot from Bill’s account, but other times we’ve logged in it’s asked us different, yet similar questions about costumes, memories, etc.

We feel this is simple, almost a no-brainer, yet still very important. When it comes to engagement, you can let your community interact organically, but it definitely helps to poke things along.

For more on this, check out Inside Facebook. And while we don’t push our own Facebook presence out there, you can find Remedy’s page here.

July 9, 2012 in BLOG by RemedyPR

SOLO Spins A Potentially Negative Story Into Positive Coverage

It’s safe to say most people in the US are familiar with the brand Solo Cup, but if not, they’re the leader in the red, disposable party cups used at BBQ’s, for beer pong and other activities where you want a decent-sized, disposable cup to aid in the consumption of a beverage.

Not too long ago, Facebook and email inboxes lit up everywhere because it was discovered that the indentations on Solo Cups actually denote units of measurement, presumably for pouring beer, wine, liquor, etc. Solo could have done a few different things in this situation, including deny or simply not respond.

Instead, Solo decided to issue their own fun infographic, explaining that while the measurement lines are accurate, but they have applications for other liquids as well, not just those served at keggers and July 4th beach volleyball games.

Great work Solo, you turned a story with some not-so-great connotations (namely over consumption of alcohol) into a positive piece and extended your media exposure through a little bit of creativity.

May 16, 2012 in BLOG by RemedyPR

GM Pulls Out of Facebook – Blame The Media Or The Execution?

If you’re reading the mainstream business and tech news, then you already know GM is going to stop advertising on Facebook. Does this mean Facebook isn’t right for your brand’s marketing strategy? No more so than saying a Super Bowl ad, radio campaign or regional event series isn’t right either. It’s too grand a statement to make without looking at all of the details, including what’s going on at the brand and how it’s been leveraging new and not-so-new media.

The reason we’re drawn to this news isn’t because we’re eagerly awaiting the Facebook IPO. It’s because the Remedy team prides itself on looking at why past communications programs didn’t work, before taking on new ones for potential clients. That’s why we have the PR Checkup (<– click the link, you’ll be glad you did!), so we can take a deep look at why potential clients are unhappy with their previous communications programs and to ensure we’re going to be a good resource for them. Sometimes, we may tell a potential client they’re getting great results for what they have to offer. Others, it may turn out it’s the patient (client) and not the physician’s (previous firm’s) fault.

GM’s social media strategy was not working for them in regards to Facebook. Perhaps it was their execution, the number of agencies involved, the strategy itself, how they engaged or maybe Facebook isn’t where they should be. We haven’t done a deep dive into it and since GM hasn’t filled out the PR Checkup, it’s unlikely we’re going to spend too much time dwelling on it.

In the end, while some would blame Facebook, it’s important to look at the social media and PR programs they have there as well. What was the goal of their social media policy, did it tie back to non-social initiatives and in the end, was the execution appropriate? Let’s face it, it’s not rare for many in the public relations world (San Diego and on a global scale) to sell themselves as  a social media consultant these days. Even one of our directors, Bill Byrne, has an ‘advanced certificate’ in the craft. That being said, Bill and many others will tell you that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to social media and the same goes for PR in general.

Perhaps the audience GM was trying to reach wasn’t on Facebook? Tie it back to something else that’s massive in reach, such as the Super Bowl. We’ve done a lot of work in the action sports world, but we don’t necessarilly believe that a Super Bowl ad is right for our clients in that space. But then again, if you’re someone like Quiksilver (who Bill has worked with in a former life) then maybe a 30 second spot for your NFL licensed board shorts would be right for your brand.

If you’re looking for another article on Facebook and GM, check out the WSJ’s story here. And thanks to these guys for the logo we used in the header for this post.