Launch PR

Bloggers Push PR Teams to Rethink the Traditional Press Lounge

Recently, I enjoyed reading a post J.D. Lasica wrote for PBS’s MediaShift Idea Lab blog (one of my new favorite feeds in my RSS reader) in which he described his experience as a journalist covering the Web 2.0 Expo, an important annual conference and trade show featuring the best in tech and the latest new product and service launches hitting the Web.

At the Expo, there were two press rooms reserved: one for traditional media and one for bloggers and other citizen journalists. The distinction between both rooms was readily apparent. As J.D. described, “Enter the press lounge and it's akin to stepping into a public library…Stacks of brochureware and press releases line the room. A coffee stand is set to one side. This, apparently, is the preferred habitat of the professional journalist.”

 

The press room reserved for bloggers and online media was completely different. Called “Blogtropulus” by attendees, J.D. said it “brims with energy and buzz.” In addition to information relevant to the Expo, citizen journalists in Blogtropulus were treated to massages, virtual bowling on a Wii, video step-up for interviews, music and drinks branded with sponsors’ logos.

As J.D. described, “In Blogtropulus, the emphasis is on conversation and socializing.” He rounded up his experience saying, “As I prepare to leave, another former traditional journalist is talking to a friend about the Old Media press room. ‘It’s like a wake in there,’ he said. ‘Talk about night and day.’”

It made me wonder why online and offline journalists were offered totally different experiences as they covered the Expo. What’s happening on the Web should push all communications teams to make every point of contact with the media and consumers more interactive and engaging.

Nokia recently achieved this by hosting an impressive press briefing this April at the CTIA Wireless Show 180 feet above Nevada on a platform aptly called the “Nokia Internet Café in the Sky.”

Reporters, bloggers and trade show attendees that visited the Nokia booth at CTIA could register to visit the Café and try out its highly anticipated N810 phone. The unique nature of this press briefing was an apt demonstration of a product that “allows consumers to access the Internet in unexpected places—such as high above the Nevada desert.”

The N810 phone successfully reignited pre-launch buzz that had been circulating for about a year when insiderstipped off top tech blog Engadget about its launch and allowed both traditional and non-traditional media to interact with the new product in a memorable setting.

NEW SERVICE POST: Starbucks "Pass the Cheer" Campaign

Launch Date: November 23, 2007

As the classic Lewis Black joke goes, most of us can’t imagine walking out of a Starbucks without crossing the street and bumping into another one.  But as the Wall Street Journal reports, this holiday season, we won’t be able to turn on our TVs without seeing Starbucks there, too.

According to Brandweek, despite a quick expansion to nearly every corner of the country, the coffee chain is actually below its predicted earnings for this year.  Once driven almost exclusively by public relations initiatives, the brand has introduced mass holiday advertising to increase sales and compete with new quick service coffee  contenders such as McDonald’s.

Starbucks’ new 30-second spots, with the tagline “Pass the Cheer,” are dialogue-free, animated ads that depict characters generously sharing a cup of hot Starbucks coffee with one another.  The message these ads portrays reinforces Starbucks’ early philanthropic push when it insisted on practices such as using only the fairest methods to harvest its coffee beans. Starbucks has also created a holiday "Cheer Pass" for its customers. Consumers who receive the Cheer Passes can then go online to the official Cheer Chain micro-site and post a story of goodwill to share with other visitors.  The site also offers viewers a chance to download a screen saver and track the Cheer Chain, or create their own characters. Cheer Pass cards will be issued at stores across the world.

Will Starbucks’ Cheer Pass encourage you to drink more of its coffee?  Do you think the critics are correct in pointing out that it is new product offerings and discounts, not a cute ad, that will bring in customers this holiday season?

NEW PRODUCT POST: Salem's Haunted Passport

Launch Date: October 1

On October 1, Salem, Massachusetts launched Haunted Passport, a discount benefit program to city visitors. The program will be in effect through April 30 with hopes of encouraging visitors to America’s leading Halloween destination, particularly for their renowned October celebration. With interest not only in driving tourism to the destination, but also in developing a relationship with tourists, for one fee of $13, Salem offers you seven months of discounts at more than 75 Salem businesses, which is valued at $350 in savings.

The passport program will undoubtedly increase Salem’s tourism and traffic to local businesses. Now that Salem’s primary holiday season—Halloween—is a wrap, the passport promotion extends tourism beyond October 31 and makes it a year round endeavor. In fact, Salem already draws visitors year-round with its wicked history. With the added promotional bonus of a discount card, we think tourist season is bound to expand further. Travel and tourism are among the world’s largest industries—encompassing transportation, lodging, provisions and services for  travelers. For local merchants, the Haunted Passport will mean new customers, new promotions, new advertising, and new opportunities. 

Will Salem be your travel destination this year? Haunted Passports may be purchased online.

Coming to a Cooler Near You

Amazingly, beer made up 87 percent of all beverage alcohol consumption in 2002. That same year, Americans consumed 6.4 billion gallons of the stuff, according to Beer Soak America. Despite this huge demand, the enormous domestic beer market is dominated by only three U.S. beer companies: Anheuser-Busch (51.9 percent of the market), Miller Brewing Company (18.7 percent of the market), and Coors Brewing Company (11.3 percent of the market). Competition to attract beer drinkers to one section of the beer cooler over another is tough. These three beer powerhouses continuously look for new ways to gain the upper hand and increase their slice of the market. To accomplish this goal, beer companies are constantly expanding their product lines to keep consumers interested.

Consumers want variety and in the case of beer drinkers this is especially relevant.

“One technique retail oligopolies use is flood the shelves with a pseudo variety of similar products made in almost exactly the same way, so that smaller suppliers that offer real variety can be elbowed out. The beer industry is a great example of this trend.”

For example: “Budweiser, it is more than happy to include Bud Light, Bud Dry, Bud Ice, Bud Ice Light, Michelob, Michelob Light, Michelob Dry, Michelob Ultra, Busch, Busch Light, Busch Ice, Natural Light, and Natural Ice.”

Miller Brewing Company has spearheaded the latest attempt to capture the attention – and dollars – of  America's beer consumers with the introduction of Miller Chill.  This American take on the Mexican chelada is the only light beer brewed with a hint of lime and a pinch of salt. The company boasts Miller Chill’s “distinctive twist on refreshment” is a “celebration and fusion of two wonderful cultures.” It was a hit in five test markets – all in the South.  

Time will tell if Miller Brewing Company’s latest addition will be successful – especially in northern parts of the U.S. where the product was not tested and where consumers may respond differently to the new drink.  Until then, Miller will undoubtedly pour much of its resources into its latest creation – and hope that it will stand out on the shelf and summer barbeque goers will accept Miller Chill as their prized warm-weather brew.

Pfizer’s New Product Launch for Overweight Dogs

Pfizer Animal Health, a global leader in discovering, developing and marketing medicines for companion animals, launched Slentrol in June, launching the first diet pill for dogs. The medicine was approved by the FDA in January and is expected to cost pet owners up to $2 per day. Slentrol target audience is 17 million canines’ owners with dogs considered to be obese, meaning they weigh 20-25% more than the breed’s ideal weight. Beyond the research and development Pfizer has done to bring this product to consumers and their canines, they have lead an impressive public relations and marketing campaign to educate consumers on the health of their pets while introducing the product to the marketplace.

Before the actual launch, two national surveys were commissioned by Pfizer Animal Health and found that only 17% of dog owners believed that their dogs were overweight. Veterinarians, however, indicated that 47% of their canine patients could be classified as overweight or obese. With this in mind Pfizer embarked on a comprehensive national public relations and marketing campaign immediately after the drug was approved by the FDA, even before it was available to consumers to educate pet owners about the health of their pets. Pfizer launched a Website called Stop Canine Obesity, featuring a Body Assessment Rating for Canines (BARC), designed to help dog owners determine if their dogs are overweight, obese or are engaging in behaviors that contribute toward canine obesity. Pfizer’s canine body assessment questionnaire encouraged dog owners to start thinking about their pet’s health and begin a dialogue with their veterinarian. BARC’s short quiz made owners think about their pets weight, visit their veterinarians and ask for the Pfizer’s new pudgy puppy drug.

Running parallel with the launch of the website was an aggressive public relations campaign to get the word out about the drug. The public relations outreach was estimated to have reached over 250 million people before it was even available for consumers to purchase. It was featured in more than 500 newspaper articles, 375 radio/TV segments and as a reference in a monologue of Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show”.

Even if not all veterinarians are immediately prescribing Slentrol, they are definitely hearing about it on the news and from questioning pet owners who are asking if Fido should be on a diet and use Slentrol. 

Given Pfizer’s approach, here are some best practices that contribute to a new product launch’s initial success:

• Find a consumer need and target the new product to a      specific audience (brand marketing),
• Conduct a survey before the launch to evaluate public      knowledge and opinion  (marketing communications),     
• Create strong partnerships with veterinarians,      patients, legislators and public about the existence and benefits of the      new product (public affairs ) and
• Let the press ask for more information and details      (media relations)

If you follow the above, you can take a real bite of any new market.

Julie Hall’s Expertise Featured in CNN Money and Brandweek

Julie Hall, vice president of our Consumer Group was interviewed by CNNMoney.com in a special report highlighting the top 10 product launch hits and misses. In addition, she was interviewed for a piece in Brandweek on how smart brands are jumping on the “wholesome for you” bandwagon. 

On CNNMoney.com Julie shared her insights on why some of the product launches being featured were successful and how to create demand by playing off nostalgia during a new product launch. Product launches that were considered hits were Nintendo Wii, Tickle Me Elmo, Mini Cooper, Ford Mustang and the iRobot Roomba.

In Brandweek’s “More Get-Wholesome-Quick Schemes” article by Amanda Baltazar, Julie commented on how the government is considering banning junk food in schools and how food manufacturers can benefit from this trend. If the government does in fact ban junk food there will be a huge demand by schools for healthier alternatives to offer students. According to Julie, companies need to start developing more wholesome portion controlled alternatives as the writing is on the wall—schools are committed to fighting childhood obesity and are going to turn to companies which support that mission. If you haven’t seen any of our Most Memorable New Product surveys yet, click here to see which product launches consumers most remembered in 2006.

Consumer-Generated PR

Idaho Potato launched a consumer-generated video contest on May 15^th called iTuber, where potato lovers can submit a two minute video of themselves demonstrating a recipe, performing a potato-themed skit or solving a common household problem with a potato. Three participants will win a $1,000 grand prize, five runner-ups will receive a custom-made gift bag and everyone who enters gets a Buddy the Spud doll. Using consumer-generated contests as a way to reach your target consumers has been quite successful for small and large companies alike in uncovering news ways of looking at their product and their brand enthusiasts.

Idaho Potato is joining the ranks of major brands like Doritos, who pioneered this type of contest famously during Super Bowl XLI, where Doritos allowed users to upload their own video’s to a special website and vote on them to determine who’s entry would run during the Doritos Super Bowl ad spot. Heinz 57 catsup is doing something similar where Heinz  fans are encouraged to create a short ad showcasing the brand. Heinz will choose and post the top 15 entries and viewers will be responsible for voting on the winner who will receive $57,000 and an ad spot that will air on national television.

In general companies have been weary about consumer-generated media. It requires company’s to trust their consumers and let go of their advertising and PR control because they are allowing consumers to display their own messaging and content that may or may not be in line with their brand messaging. But don’t fight it, consumers trust messages that are created by someone like them— the everyday consumer—more than they d o a messages created behind closed doors by a company’s marketing team. Employ a public relations agency to drive the strategy behind the contest, reach out to media and establish a presence within social networks to inform online community members about how they can participate. Consumer-generated media is here to stay, how can your brand benefit and how will your PR and advertising agencies get you there?

Mexican Cuisine in the Northeast

Mexican restaurants operating in the Northeast are experiencing success in both downtown and suburban communities. From quick service to full service establishments, sales are on the rise and demand is growing.

The demand is for flavor. Mexican cuisine is intense and varied in flavor and spices. The style of cooking is one of the richest in the world: both with respect to diverse and appealing tastes and textures; and in terms of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Most Mexican restaurants are also family friendly, the atmosphere is colorful and exciting for young kids and the food is different from traditional pizza and pasta offerings. 

Exemplifying this trend is Blue Moon Mexican Café, a restaurant that launched in Manhattan over 20 years ago and has been successful in both the inner city and in suburban markets. With the recent formation of Blue Moon Franchises LLC the company is hoping to see continued growth and success as it expands from New York to other northeast cities and communities.

Besides food quality, the key to Blue Moon Mexican Café’s success will undoubtedly be its continued focus on neighborhoods and community based marketing. They support non-profit, community, sports, school and church organizations by donating 20% of the total bill back to the organization if you gather and eat at Blue Moon. Now that is community focused. I hope to see Blue Moon launch in Boston soon.

The Organic Consumer

Environmentally responsible consumers are demanding eco-friendly products. From organic landscaping products to organic pet food to organic salad dressing, consumers are buying from socially green brands in staggering numbers.

The world’s largest lawn products company, Scotts Miracle-Gro, launched an Organic Choice line in 2003, and has experienced a doubling of sales each year since. The $15 billion pet-food market, rocked by the nationwide recall, is now also experiencing organic fever. Organic pet-food orders for brands like Pet Promise are up 300 percent.

It’s no surprise environmentally focused social networking and bookmarking sites are booming with visitors and business as well. FiveLimes, a social site focused on environmentally responsible shopping, allows its members to feature and share eco-friendly products in categories such as food, wine and beer, garden and apparel. Users can build profiles and recommend green products and services through message boards, linking of feeds and discussion forums. Could social media be a useful method of communication and exposure for a new organic product launch—absolutely.

Smart brands will begin to develop greener products and engage consumers in this emerging eco-friendly market. Environmentally conscious consumers are active and outspoken and want to buy from companies that share their ethos. They will support and evangelize products and services that support their objective—to live a greener healthier life.

Consumers Demand Product and Service Innovation

The constant quest for “new” requires product and service companies to be continuously generating fresh ideas, concepts and practices. No matter what your industry, innovation and change are the keys to success. An example of industry-wide consumer driven change is in the food service industry, which is evolving to keep pace with consumer needs.

This year we helped our client Baskin-Robbins introduce a new concept to their venerable 60 year old brand. Baskin-Robbins unveiled a new look featuring a new logo, brighter colors, and fun in-store murals. They also added a sundae station, a lower dipping cabinet and step up bar so kids can see the delicious ice cream.  Baskin-Robbins updated its look to stay contemporary, but was able to stay true to its ethos. The focus is still on their 31 flavors of ice cream and on making people happy with a simple treats.

Another client of ours, Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant, has updated its menu to offer more choices to its Italian food lovers. Bertucci’s stayed true to its roots by introducing new authentic grilled dishes – Bertucci’s Grilled Italian Favorites. This is the biggest launch in Bertucci’s history and an exciting addition to their traditional fare. 

Both of these changes show how the food service industry is evolving to delight their consumers. Baskin-Robbins is making its ice cream shops more interactive and fun for children while Bertucci’s is expanding its menu to tantalize the consumer who craves high protein dishes. The important lesson is that both companies were able to make changes for the direct benefit of the consumer while keeping their values and brand essence in tact. While the colors at Baskin-Robbins are more vivid, and the menu at Bertucci’s is broader, at the end of the day, both firms know the importance of staying true to their brand and consumers.