Rachel’s Blog

Gap’s crisis team sprung into action last week after reports came out on the news about Gap doing business with a vendor that uses child labor.  Aarti Shah’s article in PR Week discusses the crisis team’s reaction to this situation.

Gap’s team has had to work quickly to begin resolving this crisis of reputation.  If Gap does not address this issue by communicating with its publics, it could potentially lose customers. 

Gap has already pulled the product made using child labor from the shelves.  The organization has also communicated its prohibition of child labor through the media.

I think it’s important that the organization take proactive action immediately.  Gap can use this opportunity to come up with a concrete plan to prevent this type of crisis from happening again.  Launching a social campaign supporting the prevention of child labor would be a great way for Gap to bounce-back from this PR nightmare.

After a major disaster occurs, many people want to know how they can contribute to relief efforts and do their part to help the situation.  Many people don’t realize that even the littlest things can help others during a time of crisis, and there’s never any contribution that goes unused. 

Tonya Garcia’s article in PR Week discusses how many people are getting involved in relief efforts for the Southern California wildfires.  Many businesses give large monetary donations to the relief fund, but those who contribute goods and products are just as important.

Some companies, such as PR Newswire, offer free news coverage of the disaster situation, while others, such as the Red Cross, make large cash donations.  Elizabeth Stelzer, manager of Nationwide’s catastrophe response team, tells Garcia the most important reaction during a disaster is getting an 800-number out, so people can file claims.

One person can make a difference during a crisis situation.  The only way to overcome disasters, such as the California wildfires, is to get as many people involved as possible.  The ultimate goal of the disaster relief campaigns is to raise awareness of the current situation and get people to react in a pro-active way.

Trick-or-treaters might find a different kind of treat in their bags on Halloween this year.  According to Irene Chang’s article in PR Week, consumers could be looking for healthier alternatives this Halloween due to growing focus on childhood obesity and an increase in type 2 diabetes among children.

Instead of the traditional candy corn, chocolate and lollipops, kids this year might be finding 100-calorie packs in their goodie bags.  Some healthy snack companies may even team-up with the mainstream candy companies to create treats for the upcoming holidays.

Candy makers, such as Mars, don’t seem to feel threatened by the sudden move toward healthier alternatives.  Mars has already offered 25 new treats for the Halloween holiday, such as miniature packs and fun-size items.

I think Halloween is a celebration for children to enjoy, and looking forward to all the candy you get is the best part of it.  Children should be able to get as much candy as they want, but maybe they shouldn’t eat it all that night. 

My favorite part of Halloween as a child was when my mom would let me take a piece of my candy in my lunchbox to have at school.  Candy should definitely not be taken away from Halloween and I don’t think the candy companies have anything to worry about because candy I such a major part of the Halloween tradition.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been handing out large fines to companies that do not correctly attribute their Video News Releases (VNR) to the PR practitioner’s responsible for creating them.

In Hamilton Nolan’s article in PR Week, he discusses the FCC’s fine against Comcast for airing VNRs without the proper attribution.  According to the article, the FCC issued the “Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture” (NAL) for a total fine of $16,000 for four VNRs that ran on the Comcast-owned network CN8. 

The Center for Media and Democracy is the activist group that is bringing this complaint against Comcast.  In September 2006, the FCC also imposed a $4,000 fine for a VNR that also aired on CN8.  In addition, the CMD has reported more than 100 other VNR episodes to the FCC that are still pending.

It will be interesting to see how this conflict is resolved.  Many believe that the fines will only continue after these first instances of reprimand.   I also have to wonder how this series of events will affect the relationship between broadcast companies and PR firms releasing these VNRs.

 Both industries rely on the other, so it will be imperative for the two to work out their problems with one another.  Hopefully, these industries will resolve their differences quickly, so it won’t have a negative effect on the messages that are trying to reach the public.   

According to Michael Bush’s article in PRWeek, nonprofit organizations are using social media to expand their publics, increase donations and appeal to a younger generation of potential donors.  Organizations are using media outlets such as YouTube, blogs, social media sites, podcasts and Facebook.

 Recently Clinton Global Initiative announced the YouTube Nonprofit Program.  The program provides customers with a premium channel on YouTube, a Google Checkout donation button on their channel and a centralized area within YouTube.  New media outlets have provided a fresh approach to fundraising for several organizations, museums in particular. 

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is using the new media outlets to target people who are frequently online.  They post videos on YouTube because they know that it is a website that gets heavy traffic daily.  In addition to participating in other social networks, UCS has a Hybrid Center microsite, which hosts its blog at www.hybridcenter.org.  The site is geared toward hybrid owners and clean-vehicle entusiasts.

I think that being involved in these various forms of social media will help the organizations involved gain respect among the online population.  The more media outlets an organization can get involved with, the more recognition they will receive from potential donors in younger generations.

Aarti Shah’s article in PRWeek discusses a new Web site launched by the Nielsen company.  The goal of this new Web site is to promote the Nielsen brand to young consumers.

According to PRWeek, the site is a platform for the public to reach out to the entertainment industry, through blogger relations, social media networking, viral marketing, and trade press outreach.  This site, Hey!Nielsen, was launched on Sept. 24.  The company plans to continue expanding the site to meet the demands of their constantly-changing demographic.

I actually visited the Hey!Nielsen Web site to see what it was like.  I found that on the site users can rank and write comments about their favorite television shows, movies, music, personalities and the Internet.  The site already contains several pages full of opinions and comments posted by consumers, although it has only been on the Internet for three days.

I think this is an excellent way for Nielsen to maintain positive consumer relations.  A Web site that involves blogging and social media will be effective because it takes the interests of the target demographic into consideration.  The Internet is a popular medium for young people to se, which will ensure the success of this project.

It’s hard to watch television without seeing the news story about a University of Florida student who was tasered and arrested during a forum with Senator John Kerry.  This story has been the topic of conversation since Monday, when the incident occured.

The video shows the student, Andrew Meyer, ask Kerry a question about voter suppression in the 2004 election.  You then see police officers surrounding the student and trying to remove him from the room.  As Kerry tried to answer his question, you see the police force the student to the ground and taser him.  Click here to see the MSNBC news coverage and video.

It is obvious to anyone who watches the video that Kerry had no problem giving this student an answer to his question.  In fact, Kerry repeatedly trys to tell police that he really doesn’t mind answering the question.  Was it really necessary for six police officers to tackle the unarmed student to the ground and then proceed to taser him?

This punishment seemed a little harsh to me.  It seems like the University of Florida needs to do some major damage control after this catastrophe.  They could start by investigating the police officers’ use of force, which was too brutal in this situation.  I feel like the police overreacted in this case and the charges against the student should be dropped.  I don’t think this is the best way to get the young voters of our country to participate more actively in politics.

Diversity is one of the most important virtues a company can have.  I know that when I start looking for a job, a diverse working environment is one of the first things I will look for in a potential employer.  In order to keep up with the growing population of diverse cultures in the United States, it will be imperative for employers to have a multi-cultural perspective of what consumers want.

Randi Schmelzer’s article tells how important it is for companies to start thinking more “multi-culturally.” Not only will diversity give you different perspectives on how to best serve your customers, but it can also help improve your international communication skills.  In the article, Ron Culp says that one way for firms to improve their diversity initiatives is “to attract minorities into entry-level positions.”

I think the programs being created to help students “gain real-world experience” will give them an advantage when entering the work force.  Also, employers will be looking to hire diverse employees in order to ensure that their company can communicate effectively with every audience.  It is also important to realize that diversity at all job levels is necessary for the company to succeed.

With the growing number of people entering the job market, employers should have no problems creating a diverse work environment.

The Chrysler company launched its “Voices of Chrysler” blog on August 6, 2007.  This is not the first blog to be launched by Chrysler, but it is very different than any other blog the company has produced.  In 2005, they launched a blog called Firehouse, which was only available to registered journalists. 

The “Voices of Chrysler” blog welcomes postings from employees, engineers and leaders of the company, as well as customers.  I believe this is a very innovative way to get employee and customer feedback on the company.  The incorporation of social media into the company’s PR program is helping them move forward in strengthening their relationships with their customers.

Chrysler has made it clear that it will not “clean-up” any postings made to the blog; what you see is what you get.  I think this a bold move on Chrysler’s part.  Most companies would want postings from their blog site to be only positive and complimentary of the company’s actions.

I think Chrysler has set the bar high for other companies trying to improve employee and consumer relations.  In the future, blogs will be used by every company for this same reason.  I think it was very good move on the part of Chrysler to ignite this trend of incorporating social media into the everyday business of the company.

Read Chrysler’s article in PR Week.

I was very impressed with Robert Stevens, the CEO of Geek Squad, after watching his speech on logos and branding. You can watch the Stevens’ speech here. I thought he was very smart and had fresh ideas about advertising and marketing his company. I love how he compared a company and its logo to a movie. I thought his idea about the logo being like a movie title and the company acting as the plot of the movie was very innovative and unique.

The fact that Stevens built this company from the ground up without the help of a PR firm or an advertising agency speaks volumes about his intelligence. He worked toward building a successful business by taking things one step at a time. Before he even had any other employees, or “fellow geeks”, Stevens began advertising by putting his Geek Squad logo on the side of a 1958 French automobile. By using a unique car model, he attracted the attention of most other drivers on the road, who turned out to be his future customers.

One of the best ideas Stevens had was collaborating with Best Buy. People can now buy their electronics and know where they can get them repaired within the store they purchased their products from. This allows the company to pretty much advertise itself, which is an innovative way to get business. I think Geek Squad will become more and more successful in years to come because of the commitment to its clients and its original approach to marketing.