As PR and social media continue to overlap at a rapid pace, what next? Today, the boundaries between advertising, marketing and PR are becoming more blurred than ever. While PR is all about making announcements that you hope will grab editors’ attention and result in increased coverage and exposure, the goal of social media for business is to gain that loyal list of “followers” whom you must converse with, create dialogue with and hopefully …convert into customers.

Recently, we’ve all seen endless debates about who should “control” social media in ad agencies. And that “someone” should be the PR professional – often the eyes and ears of the agency.

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Crazy? Maybe.

Anger issues? A few.

Genius? Depends on how you look at it.

Regardless of what term you use to describe Charlie Sheen and his latest antics, you can’t deny that he’s absolutely everywhere.  Catch phrases like “Winning,” “Tiger blood,” “Rock Star from Mars,” and “Violent torpedo of death” have become household terms and nearly everything Sheen has posted online has become viral overnight.  Aside from receiving $1.25 million per episode of Two and a Half Men, Sheen was also the first person to gain one million Twitter followers over the course of an evening, which also scored him a Guinness World Record.

Remember Joaquin Phoenix, the actor who faked his retirement to pursue a career as a hip hop star in the music industry?  Phoenix appeared on David Letterman’s Late Show in February of 2009 and appeared to have stayed in his “new” character throughout the interview, appearing to be on the verge of a mental breakdown.  Rumors say that Phoenix was using the publicity stunt as a way to boost exposure to his spoof independent film about a hip hop artist, but that was never confirmed (nor denied).   So what from that situation relates to Sheen?  Ah, right.. Phoenix is an actor.  After watching many video streams and interviews in which Charlie Sheen can be considered crazy or nearing mental breakdown, I’ve come to the conclusion that his team of writers have taken the CBS curveball and hit it out of the park.  Sheen simply isn’t getting lucky by achieving added exposure, sold out “comedy stints,” and t-shirts selling like hotcakes.  He’s earning it!

So just what exactly has Charlie Sheen done to be considered a self-promotional, marketing guru?  Let’s take a look.

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Facing a new reality

In the past 2 years, the percentage of consumers who are using smartphones to access the web has skyrocketed to more than 49 million¹. A recent study by Morgan Stanley predicted that by 2015 there will be more mobile web users than there are desktop users².

As the mobile audience continues to grow, our mobile devices continue to shrink in size and increase in functionality. They’ve gone from oversized “Crackberries” we used for constantly checking email to organic extensions of our hands and minds that nearly do everything for us. Need to pay a bill, make a dinner reservation, turn off your house lights, video chat with a customer service representative or kill zombies? There’s an App for that.

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It’s that time of year again.  And that holiday gift list looks endless. Gift cards have been done, cold hard cash doesn’t seem thoughtful enough, what’s left to give?  One easy answer is lottery tickets.  Most state lotteries have numerous holiday-themed tickets that are promoted and sold during this peak season.

Beyond traditional media to promote these holiday ticket sales, is there more that state lotteries can do to creatively promote tickets as gifts?  One idea is to create holiday cards pre-inserted with an instant lottery ticket allowing consumers to kill two birds with one stone.  It’s all about convenience and one-stop shopping at this time of the year.  Another idea is to create a stocking or a special holiday-themed foil pouch stuffed with multiple lottery tickets for that lucky person who deserves a little extra.  And lastly, lottery tickets make great employee incentives.  Domus worked with the Pennsylvania Lottery to develop the Golden Opportunities Challenge Program, an unprecedented program encouraging the Commonwealths’ 350,000+ businesses to use lottery tickets as rewards and incentives.

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Whether you like it or not, social media continues to grow.  Rapidly.  According to a Nielsen report, almost 23% of all online internet time is spent on social media and nearly all of today’s newspapers and magazines refer to their Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr accounts for up-to-the-minute news and announcements.  Instead of fighting off social media, it should be embraced and implemented with a targeted strategy to help you reach your niche audience and expand to many, many others.

Before jumping into the waters of Social Media, a few things should be considered to optimize efforts and leverage the fast growing communities:

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I was always taught never to discuss religion or politics in mixed company, but nowadays with Facebook and Twitter people air grievances all day every day, and no topic is off limits.   But that candid feedback can be pretty helpful, as the latest batch of politicos are discovering.

The New York Times published an article today on sentiment analysis tools and how politicians are using the technology to see which messages are resonating with voters by monitoring their social media posts. As a previous Domus Dish post explained, sentiment analysis technology has a long way to go – but it’s getting better and giving those using it an edge.

Read the full article here.

Domus is a leading edge internet marketing agency that brings its full range of classic marketing expertise to its hi-tech digital capabilities. For more information on how Domus can help you accurately analyze your internet presence and develop effective strategies to further your brand, visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.
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Two weeks ago Gap unveiled a new logo, to the chagrin of many customers and fans. Not only was the logo not well-received, but it was changed within a week. Milk has a longer shelf life.

Social media is an excellent tool for reaching your audience and getting feedback, but where do companies draw the line between accommodating what their fans want and standing by the changing identity of their brand?

Social media gurus praised Gap’s response and considered it a sign that the company was listening to its audience. Others felt that their reaction was a tad hasty, citing the length of time that the logo existed to the public was simply too short for them to adapt, and gave their audience a little too much say in the new logo’s fate. Where’s Gap’s credibility moving forward? They seem like pushovers.

I’m not saying to ignore your public completely. After all, they’re the reason your brand even exists, however you need to use the tools at hand to ease the transition for them.

Let’s face it – it takes folks awhile to adapt to change. Yes, change is inevitable, but most of us don’t like it. However, would we be happy today still thinking that the world was flat?  I should hope not. Change is necessary and brands must evolve.

Companies should obtain useful feedback by deploying Facebook and Twitter as part of the communication stages and explain the thought process and reason for change leading up to the big reveal. In the case of Gap, social media outcries were the reason for the abandonment of the new logo. Had the audience felt more involved maybe they wouldn’t have had quite the same reaction.

Social media is a tool to help you engage your customers and have them engage with you in return. The feedback is quick and candid. And sometimes it’s harsh, but that’s part of its appeal. Use social media effectively, test a few things out; social media is essentially a focus group without a filter – and it’s free. See what your audience wants, ask them a question. Believe me, they’ll answer loud and clear. Be prepared for ANY answer. And put it to use so that the change, whatever it may be, pleases both company and customer.

Domus is an innovative marketing communications firm that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and classic marketing principles into effective marketing campaigns. For more information visit us at Domus, Inc. and Domus Digital.

While you drink your morning coffee and peruse the newspapers, you’re likely to find at least one news story on a company facing a crisis.  Some examples to refresh your memory: Toyota, BP, the recent egg recall, energy-efficient windows that melt vinyl siding and even a hospital employee who lost a laptop containing private patient information.  That can’t be good.    The increasing frequency of natural disasters, man-made disasters and business interruptions has made it absolutely critical that organizations quickly and accurately communicate with all stakeholders during an event.  No one wants to be the “last one to know” in these situations.

A crisis is any situation that is threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business or damage reputation.  In a recent survey conducted by BtoB magazine, about 53% of marketing executives said they have experienced a business crisis resulting in negative news coverage, declining sales or reduced profitability.  But just about the same number (57%) said their company does not have a crisis response plan currently in place.  Talk about rolling the dice.

Every organization is vulnerable to crises.  Therefore, every organization from Fortune 500 companies to mom-and-pop shops to nonprofits should have a crisis plan.  This is critical now more than ever thanks to the 24-hour news cycle with endless blogs, twitter feeds and video clips that help keep a crisis alive.

Crisis management is critical in protecting a brand’s positive perception as well as the business interest that may be damaged in the long term, short term or both.  Top-notch crisis communications strategies can greatly improve a company’s ability to plan for, respond to and recover from a wide variety of crises.  Are you prepared?

Domus is an innovative marketing communications firm that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and classic marketing principles into effective marketing campaigns. For more information visit us at Domus, Inc. and Domus Digital.

Clearly, the recession has affected everyone.  Consumers who may be out of work – or afraid they’ll soon find themselves out of work – continue to cut back on spending; which directly affects retailers and their ability to remain in business.  They may have the money to spend, but the purse strings are still tied tight.  We are climbing our way out, but the recession cloud still shades the economy.

Commodity retailers aren’t feeling the pinch as much as retailers of higher-priced, considered purchases such as automobiles and luxury appliances.  These retailers face an uphill climb as the battle for the almighty dollar persists, and consumers continue to settle for less expensive options versus status.  Some retail brands saw the writing on the wall more than a year ago and made the decision to develop what we’ll call a “2^nd tier” product line (fewer bells and whistles and less expensive) that could be marketed to a wider range of consumers – AKA lower household income.  The trick here is to develop this new product line and market it to the masses without losing your brand cache and, ultimately, the consumers who’ve been willing to pay top dollar for that cache.  BMW has done this successfully with its 1-Series, launched in March of 2008.  They’ve managed to capture a younger, less affluent audience while still maintaining their core, wealthy consumer.

In the luxury appliance category, Dacor has done this successfully with the launch of its Distinctive™ Series – a new, more affordable line of appliances that offers fewer high-end features while maintaining the core style and innovation for which Dacor is so well known.  The Distinctive Series includes a Range and Rangetop, Single and Double Wall Ovens, a Dishwasher and a Cooktop.  The new line launched at the beginning of 2009 and is currently being sold through Dacor’s traditional, independent retailers as well as Sears.  The partnership with Sears is a first for Dacor.  And what better way to reach the masses with a premium appliance line than through a partnership with the leading mass merchant in the country. The bonus is that while only the Distinctive Series is on display at Sears stores, consumers have access to all Dacor appliances through the retailer.  As a result, Dacor has seen significant revenue through Sears from both its Distinctive and its non-Distinctive, higher-end appliances.

To sum it up…Dacor did it right.  The company did not choose to simply slash prices or offer deep discounts in an attempt to win the battle against its luxury appliance competitors.  We know – again by watching the car industry – that this strategy does not work.  Instead, Dacor did its due diligence and spent the R&D money to develop a line of appliances that would appeal – in performance, style and cost – to a new group of consumers.  Bravo, Dacor.  Nicely played.

Domus is an innovative marketing communications firm that incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and classic marketing principles into effective marketing campaigns. For more information visit us at Domus, Inc. and Domus Digital.

If you’re like me, envisioning a room with a new paint color, piece of furniture or window treatment sends shivers down my spine. While I work in a creative environment, I simply cannot visualize new décor for my home as evidenced by a flamingo-pink powder room I once painted – yes, I admit it.

Needless to say, the myriad of new apps and online and in-store visualization tools that are available are sparing me from poor design choices. For all home décor-challenged folks out there these tools will show you how furniture, floor coverings, different paint colors and more will look together by mixing and matching from a variety of pre-set colors and textures.  The easy-to-use tools help consumers channel their inner Martha Stewart and feel more confident in purchasing decisions, in addition to saving time and money by not having to re-do décor or hire a professional designer.

Some of the most popular iPhone home design apps are Colorsnap, Colorchange and Ben Color Capture.  With Colorsnap, you simply take a photo of a swatch you are using.  This can be anything from a close up of your sofa to a print on your lampshade.  Once you take the photo, the Colorsnap app will find a paint color that best matches your swatch.  Colorchange lets you see your interior with the finished product and Benjamin Moore’s Ben Color Capture app matches paint swatches with your interior.  With the snap of your camera, you’ll receive paint recommendations within seconds along with a dealer locator.  All this, and you didn’t even need to leave your couch.

Home furnishing retailers and manufacturers can take advantage of these latest technologies to develop interactive visualization tools that will help make the sale and deliver more satisfied customers.  With a world of people strapped to their phones, not utilizing these app opportunities would be a very poor decision. Like my hot pink bathroom.

Domus, Inc. is an integrated digital and traditional marketing communications agency that delivers unconventional thinking and out-of-the-box strategies that help our clients sustain growth and demand brand awareness.  For more information, please visit us at http://www.domusinc.com.