The PR Warrior

What Brands Can Learn From P!nk

Let's face it, once you're known around the world solely by your first name, you've got to be pretty famous. A really, really hot 'brand'. 

But when your name is generic - a colour for instance - then 'wow', you've obviously done something right over a significant period of time.

I'm talking about P!nk, of course, who seems to be getting stronger and stronger while her peers such as Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne and Christine Aguilera tread water.

The P!nk story continues to gain momentum as she works her way through a record-breaking Australian tour - four months, 525,000+ tickets sold, and 14th and 15th new shows announced for Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. Amazing stuff!

So how does P!nk manage to continue an upwards trajectory into the hearts and minds of millions of consumers globally?

Impressively, she successfully manages a massive fan base - from nine and 10 year-olds and teens right through to people in their 50s and beyond. Anyone in marketing, especially the music business, will tell you maintaining credibility with such a diverse audience base is excruciatingly difficult.

She's tattooed, sexy, sassy, potty-mouthed - mums and dads would normally shield someone like that from their children, but somehow, P!nk is an exception. That's the power of a strong brand.

AUTHENTICITY AND TRUST

P!nk is nothing if not genuine. She wears her 'Hart' on her sleeve (excuse the pun!). 

She's an outspoken animal rights activist who sings about masturbation, sexual abuse and gay rights yet still comes across as playful and fun-loving. 

"She's so herself, she's not fake" 

(Quote from fans in Herald-Sun video - I'd embed the video but News Ltd's crappy video player doesn't allow it - good luck if the link works for you - doh!)

P!nk unashamedly champions causes she believes in (she once wrote to the Queen of England requesting she stop Royal Guards from wearing fur-lined helmets), and she reportedly refused to play at Prince William's 21st birthday party because he enjoys hunting.

Her original goal was pretty simple: "Be famous, piss people off". But P!nk has always had a higher cause: to inspire people to be their true selves. This comes across time and time again in her songs, videos and her interviews.

When P!nk donates money to Victoria's bushfire appeal, you know it's for real.

Even her Twitter stream seems pretty genuine.

When P!nk first signed to a record company, they made her take media coaching and etiquette classes. She felt the etiquette classes were "an insult to my mother" - and the media coach left after five minutes! (refer to video interview below). 

What about your brand?

• Is it authentic? Does it take itself too seriously?
• Does it build trust by displaying consistently transparent behaviour? 
• Does it have a higher cause to use as a point of conversation? 

CONSISTENT OFFERING

While P!nk is unashamedly an outlandish and colourful performer, she manages to combine high-impact visuals with substance. Not too many pop idols can do that!

To P!nk, the lyrics are everything. Yes, she may pull out some pearler 'feel good' pop songs (e.g. Get the Party Started) but she's not averse to getting deep and meaningful - Dear Mr President a case in point. Or she'll use humour to get her point across (see clip of Stupid Girls below).

In concert, she's not afraid to take a risk and mix it up a bit. On her Aussie tour, kicking off with a reportedly rip-roaring rendition of AC-DC's Highway to Hell is a smart way to win over local audiences!

What about your brand?

• Is it consistent in its offering? 
• Is it well-packaged visually underpinned by substance? 
• Are you willing to take a risk with your brand marketing?

Pink - Stupid Girl
by kage-buschin-no-jutsu

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE FANS

P!nk 'gets' that it's all about the fans. She may be a huge star but she still manages her grassroots support movement better than most.

It's easy to be cynical when a major celebrity visits sick children in hospital. This week P!nk visited Melbourne's Royal Hospital - she's not a fan of the media circus such visits create but realises it's not about her but the kids:

"If the kids are happy to see themselves in the paper, that's all good," she was reported as saying.

P!nk's website is immersive and tailored and heavy on engagement and interactivity. For example, P!nk encourages to interact with her in a number of ways e.g.

Cell phone concert shots

P!nk and Me shots

Me and my friends at the show

Fan art gallery

Fantastic fans

P!nk lookalikes

Importantly, P!nk has numerous tailored versions of her website. 

For example, the Australian version is obviously skewed towards her local tour. This means content is going to be relevant to her various audience segments, and guess what, it works!

What about your brand?

• Is there a willingness to develop a dialogue with consumers? 
• Do you use the internet to further engage fans of your brand?
• Are you happy for consumers to play around and have fun with your brand?

Pink & fan (SOURCE: www.pinkspage.com)

The Art of the Publicity Stunt: Not for the Faint-Hearted, But Still as Effective as Ever!

I love a cunning (publicity) stunt.

And now, with the full gamut of social media in full swing to help spread the word, there's even more reason to consider adding the occasional stunt to your brand's marketing mix (but only if it makes strategic, creative and economic sense!!).

In the marketing PR business, one of the hardest gigs is to create and deliver a creative stunt that ticks all the boxes - and even then you need Lady Luck on your side in terms of making a media splash.

Taylor Herring's Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - CHECK IT OUT!

I ran across this recently - the Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - very cool, a brilliant list of some of the best publicity stunts ever, compiled by UK-based Taylor Herring Public Relations. Great stuff - definitely worth bookmarking!

From experience I can tell you a lot of blood, sweat and tears would have gone into many of these 'Hall of Fame' stunts; even the relatively 'simple' ones generally would have required ruthless planning and execution.

The Taylor Herring list features a broad range of different types of stunts and not all of them whacky (okay, the guy pushing a peanut along the road with his nose as a protest against his student debt, that was, errr, interesting).

There are 'serious' stunts i.e. the Olympic Torch relay (proven since 1936 and still going strong)... 

...the clever and intricate (I'd put Tourism Queensland's 'Best Job in the World' in this category)...  

...the expensive (Macy's annual Thanksgiving Parade wouldn't come cheap)...

...the sexy (take your pick, but for sheer audacity the giant image of naked model Gail Porter projected on to Britain's Parliament building for FHM magazine, although Liz Hurley generated massive global attention when she rocked up to the premiere of Four Weddings & a Funeral wearing 'that dress')...

...the socially aware (Earth Hour)... 

...the utterly simple (Madonna and Britney pash at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2003)...

...the confrontational (Sex Pistols signing their record contract with the A&M label outside Buckingham Palace)...

...and the downright bizarre (that would go to electronic duo KLF burning one million quid - WTF? - or perhaps the singer Prince changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol).

I've got a particular favourite which was part of a broader sponsorship campaign but I'll leave that for another post!

Love to hear your feedback!

Here are some previous PR Warrior posts about publicity stunts:

Zoo Weekly Scores Publicity Coup in Strip Offer for 'Sexy' MP Kate Ellis

The Old Celebrity Hook That (Almost) Never Fails: Mr T & Snickers Show How It's Done!

Honda Jumps at Chance to Grab TV Viewers' Attention

Have You Bedded Down Your Public Relations?

I'm a passionate believer in the strategic use of communications to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

It doesn't matter whether you're a company, a brand, an author, a politician, a religious institution or not-for-profit organisation with a cause or issue to promote - public relations should sit at the heart of your marketing and corporate communications efforts.

Nor does it matter whether your audience is made up of mainstream/lifestyle niche/B2B consumers, select key influencers or small stakeholder groups, government or community - PR is still the most effective way to establish, build, nurture, enhance and leverage those who are important to the success of your business (or cause or issue etc).

I say this because the other day I was talking to someone about how PR, when strategically developed and cleverly maintained, forms the bedrock of a company or organisation's overall communications effort.

Then the lightbulb went off! Ahhhh - bedrock. Bed...(here comes the link):

Think of PR as a bed.

Yep, that's right. A Bed. The legs, the base and mattress collectively represent a company or organisation's public relations effort. Rock solid. It can be basic or fancy, but the bottom line is it's stable and holds everything together.

The doona* (or duvet) represents advertising and your other 'push' marketing communications. Vitally important at particular times. It adds colour and warmth and it's nice to snuggle under. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

A bed without a doona is a bit bare. You can sleep on it, sure, but sometimes it's nice to have a few blankets!

A doona without a bed though, is...well...somewhat useless.

The combination, of course, is what works best!

What's your bed like? Is it solid, with a framework that keeps everything together, or is it limp like a scrunched-up doona on the floor?

(Remember, it's your bed and you're the one who has to sleep in it!).

.

* a 'doona' in Australia is a 'duvet' in other places :)

List of Aussie/NZ PR Peeps on Twitter

 This is a guest post written by Kylie Lewis from Slice Media.

OK, we've seen lists of Oz journos on Twitter (thanks Dave Earley and Laurel Papworth), so I thought we'd even up the score a little and post tweeting Aussie & Kiwi PRs. Hopefully, we'll all get along just nicely in the Twitter sandpit...

I realise that this list may be a mere drop in a proverbial sea of twitterers, but hey, you have to start somewhere.

If you're on the list and would prefer not to be, please let me know and I'll remove you ASAP (I've only used publicly available information, and references from other people on the list to put this list of names together). Also, if you are on the list and would like your description updated, please leave a comment and I'll clean it up.

If you're NOT on the list and would like to be, please leave a comment and I'll attempt to get you on it. Finally, if you have suggestions on improving the list, let me know that too.

Thanks to everyone who retweeted my request for help and DMed me with additional names for the list. Special thanks to PR Warrior Trevor Young for supporting the idea and RTing all over the place!

Australia:

Sarah Allen Sydney PR
Johanna Baker Dowdell Strawberry Communications, Central Coast NSW
Natascha Balducelli Cookie Creative
Jo Balfour Tech/online PR running Progressiva
Jenni Beattie Director, Digital Democracy
Laura Blasdale from WordStorm PR, Sydney
Bonnie Bullock Director of Saranac PR
Will Clark Tech PR, Melbourne
Bob Craw Maine Street Marketing, Canberra
Sarah Creelman PR & Marketing Manager, CBS Interactive, Sydney
Jen Crowcroft Upstream Australia, Sydney
Renee Creer New Media Director, Stellar* PR
Roger Christie Sydney
Melissa Dark Internal comms consultant, Melbourne
Peta Ellis City Publicity
Geoffrey Emerson Head of Digital PR @ Zing, Sydney
Karalee Evans Melbourne
Ang Graham Digital PR manager, Amnesia, Sydney
DennisRutzouPR
Brian Giesen Director of Digital Strategy, Ogilvy Sydney (fresh import, happy to claim him as our own for this list!)
Tara Grimshaw V/radio journalist working in PR, Sydney
Donna Hogan Sydney
Jocelyn Hunter Director BenchPR
JoJo at Dennis Rutzou PR
Ofa Fitzgibbons Tech PR gal, Sydney
Corrina Frankham PR at WriteAway, Sydney
Sharmin Jassal Biz Tech Comms specialist, Sydney
Polly Johnson Sydney tech PR flack for Kinetics
Christine Kardashian DashPR
Keep Left PR Melbourne
Stella Katsaros Little Miss Stella PR
Kim LaRochelle at Dennis Rutzou PR
Kimberley Lee Sydney
Catroina McGauchie The PR Group, Melbourne
Kenny McGilvary Sydney PRer and Dry Julyer
Lindsay McHugh Philly girl in Melbourne
Fleur Madden-Topley MD, RedPR Brisbane
Dylan Malloch Sydney
Phoebe Mapperson Primary Communication, Sydney
Andrea Matthews Corporate Affairs Manager, GM Holden, Adelaide
Shannon Molloy ex-journo, Brisbane
Susan Moore Asia Pacific PR for Gartner
Lukas Picton Text100, Sydney
Janine Pittaway Director Bright Communications, Perth
Catriona Pollard Director CP Communications
Clare Preskett
PruQ Einsteinz, Sydney
Jacqui Rudd
Scott Rhodie Online PR specialist, former-journalist, Senior Account Manager, Zing Sydney
Victoria Sennitt Sydney
Melissa Shawyer Director, The PR Group
Caroline Shawyer Owner, The PR Group Melbourne
Brooke Simmons Pursuit Communications, Central Coast NSW
Dr Greg Smith PRLab, ex print journo
Becci Stalker consumer PR specialist, Melbourne
Stellar* PR
Tanya Steinbeck Director Limelight Communications, Perth
Jo Stevens Kramer Head of Corp Comms Microsoft Australia, Sydney
Sarah Stokely Tech journo turned PR, Melbourne
Peter Taliangis Perth
Marissa Tree Brisbane Team Leader, Red Agency
Martin Walsh Group Manager Digital Marketing @ Microsoft, Sydney
Emily Wearmouth, Executive director at Kinetics PR
Graham White MD Howorth, tech & business PR firm, an Ogilvy PR company
Lesley White Head of Consumer Digital, Network Communications, Sydney
Trevor Young parkyoung, The PR Warrior

New Zealand:

Peter Boyes Perception management counsellor & PR adviser, Auckland
Simon Clark Account Manager at Network PR, Auckland
Joss Debreceny Communications Advisor at Ministry of Education, Wellington
Jane Dodd GM, Network PR, Auckland
Sam Farrow
Solange Francois
Steve Grbic Auckland
Campbell Hodgetts Tech PR consultant Auckland
Jacky James Director of Shine PR - public relations specialists, Rotorua
Anna Jobsz PR
Paul Matthews Bullet Points, Auckland
Angela Moriarty Wellington
Nicholas O'Flaherty BulletPR
Toni Skiffington Harcourts NZ Communications Manager, Auckland
Jordan Small Network PR,Wellington

And for good measure:

Public Relations Institute of Australia (National) managed by Lloyd Grosse
Public Relations Institute of New Zealand - Events

Social Media: Number One With a Bullet?

What is it with social media and bullets?

Many people are getting excited about social media and thinking (wrongly) that it will prove to be a 'silver bullet' for their business. It won't. You have to work at it. Sorry.

What about people working in large organisations. Many are scared that if they go down the social media path and it stuffs up, they'll 'get the bullet' (hopefully they don't, but with some companies, you just never know!).

 

But then, if they successfully manage to integrate social media into a company's internal and external communications, perhaps they'll shoot up a couple of rungs on the corporate ladder...you know, like a bullet!

And what about getting your message across? At a time when broadcast advertising and other one-way promotional messaging are struggling to cut through, social media can help companies to reach and communicate with opinion-leaders and potential customers. In other words, pierce through the clutter like a bullet!

Young Aussies Get Raw Deal From V Energy

Here's a cool online initiative from V Energy drink that focuses heavily on engaging its young adult audience.

It's called V-Raw, and it's now in its third year. The core premise is to create a dream job program focused on industries notoriously hard to break into – music, fashion and design. 

Rather than give in to current economic circumstances, the people behind V - to their credit - have decided to increase investment in the program, adding new features to inspire and motivate young Aussies to follow their dream.

Check out the website here. Content includes career advice, podcasts, and exclusive music downloads provided by Modular Records plus job opportunities across fashion, design, music gaming and film/TV. 

VRaw plans to promote 35 jobs this year -- a new job will be released exclusively every week with creative companies such as Universal Music, Channel [V], Vice magazine, Modular Records and The Glue Society. 

Also, one lucky applicant will be sent overseas to gain work and life experience in a major international city. 

Registrations for 2009 kick off next Monday (May 18) with three new jobs listed.

To celebrate the 2009 launch of V-Raw, V Energy has released an exclusive track by the Bumblebeez and an accompanying video (sneak peek below).

PR vs. Media Fight to a Nil-All Draw

Public relations and the media have managed to maintain – none too well I might add – an uneasy alliance of sorts for decades.

To me, the situation seems to be getting worse as the pressure heats up on both parties thanks in part to ‘The Dreaded Acronym’ (GFC).

For two industries that utterly depend upon each other, I can’t understand why there’s not more love between both professions – i.e. PR practitioners and publicists on the one hand (one side of the fence?) and journalists/editors/producers/on-air ‘talent’ on the other.

Scratch that. I do know why, and like most things in life when there are two ‘combatants’, neither party is right and the answer generally lies somewhere in between.

For the full story on why these two industries can't (but should) get their combined act together, click here.

Content exclusive to Marketing Magazine.

Lines Blur as 'The Idea' Reinforces its Hero Marketing Status

In marketing, advertising, public relations, promotions etc, there is constant talk (and rightly so) about the idea being 'king'.

And, as Tourism Queensland's 'Best Job in the World' campaign has clearly demonstrated, what was inherently a 'PR idea' has been largely developed and driven by an advertising agency - Cummins Nitro.

He/she with the best idea wins! The line between marketing disciplines is certainly blurring, even more so as social media starts to work its way into the communications equation.

Yesterday's announcement of the competition's winner - 34-year-old Englishman Ben Southall - continued the high level of online and offline buzz the campaign has generated since it started months ago.

It was a "fantastic PR stunt," I heard 3AW's Derryn Hinch say in his interview with Tourism Queensland CEO Anthony Hayes.

Congrats to all involved (I'm not sure who the 'exact' owner of the idea is - Hayes said in the 3AW interview it emerged from a session between TQ's marketing team and Cummins Nitro. Like any campaign this expansive, it's the collaborative effort behind it that makes it successful). Certainly, a hat-tip for TQ for being brave enough to tick off the project!

Even the Huffington Post carried the Ben Southall story...great stuff!

The Collected Stories of Social Media

I lucked across this excellent presentation today by Seth Goldstein, the CEO of SocialMedia.com via Kyle Lacy.

It contains some wonderful advice, definitions and quotes. Here are some that resonated with me:

The art of social media is to provide the lightest weight social context for exchanging information. It's like hosting a cocktail party where you need to keep lots of conversations going at the same time without getting stuck in any one of them.

Conventional media wisdom is to tell a great big story to as many people as possible. Social media is all about enabling lots of little stories to be created by lots of different people at the same time.

And lastly, and this is a beauty:

"Influence = how likely people are to do what you say, given who you are, not what you say." (Josh Reich).

Enjoy.

Social Media Stories

View more presentations from Seth Goldstein.

PRIA Missteps with First Episode of PRTV

The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) has gotten off to a flat-footed start with its new PRTV online video initiative.

Firstly, the idea is a good one. Any professional representative organisation needs to be leading from the front, promoting its industry and sparking debate. Video, along with blogging and podcasts, are the perfect tools for this. 

Unfortunately for the PRIA, its debut episode focusing on online engagement came quickly unstuck.

According to the popular media and marketing blog Mumbrella, one of the PR professionals interviewed for the video - Anthony Tregoning, managing director of FCR - was asked whether he would recommend to any of his clients that they engage in social media "such as blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook".

Tregoning replied: "Basically no. Because they tend to be used by people who are trying to undermine the company."

Not that you'll be able to see the quote in question because the original video featuring Tregoning was quickly removed from YouTube by the PRIA after Tregoning's negative comment was highlighted by Mumbrella's Tim Burrowes.

I saw the Tregoning piece and his comment certainly came across as pretty naive and 'old school'.

The story was posted yesterday at 12.33 pm - within half an hour, the comments started rolling in.

Anti-Social Media Stance

Some chided Mumbrella for taking a negative slant and highlighting Tregoning's seemingly anti-social media stance.

Others, however, were critical of Tregoning:

John Le Fevre wrote that Tregoning's comments showed "a total lack of understanding of the value of social media and the returns that can be gained from engaging with both supporters and detractors".

Con Franzeskos advised Tregoning to read The Cluetrain Manifesto.

By 5.30 pm that day, Tregoning had felt the need to defend himself, which is fair enough. He intimated the comments he made in the video had been taken out of context (his reply is comment #18, about two-thirds down the page).

The PR Warrior's View?

There is a definite need for the PRIA to be producing a regular online video blog (vlog) highlighting the issues facing the public relations industry. 

Putting aside the Tregoning incident for a minute...

The PRIA's PRTV program is very current affairs-ish - a bit too 'polished' for my liking, featuring the obligatory overly-dramatic news-style music; its production could be a lot more energetic and imaginative. 

As it stands, the video cements the industry's close ties to traditional 'broadcast' media and, in my humble opinion, it needs a massive shot of creativity.

The PRIA had a fantastic opportunity to bring in a team of talented contemporary producers to give the show a bit of vigour and edge. Alas, by falling back on 'old school' production techniques, the association has simply reinforced the long-held view within some quarters of the industry that it's old-fashioned and out of touch.

That said, the video is definitely worth a look to get a broad spread of local opinion as to how the PR industry thinks about social media and the new 'digital reality'.

Below is PRTV episode one - the, ahem, re-edited version.