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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Already, in Philadelphia, we are coming to the end of our first heat wave of the year.  The dogs days of summer seem to have arrived yet, technically, it’s still spring.  The hot days are often the ones that bring on the afternoon head nods (or the winter days when the building has the heat turned up to broiler level).

The afternoon blahs got you feeling fatigued and lethargic?  Can’t find the energy you need to focus?  Need a pot of coffee just to make it through the afternoon?  It happens to all of us sometimes. I exercise frequently. I eat well. My metabolism should be running high, but still I get tired in the afternoons, on occasion.
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“More businesses need to recognize that poor health means lower productivity and higher health insurance costs.  Smart business leaders increasingly are finding that it is the right decision to promote health, education, physical activity, and preventive benefits in the workplace.”

Tommy Thompson,

Former US Secretary of Health and Human Services

I have previously posted on this blog about the importance of working some exercise into your day. An effort must be put into living a healthy lifestyle if we wish to feel better, live longer, and be more productive in life.  The benefits of healthy living are well documented, yet Americans still have difficulty committing to important changes that will benefit them and their lifestyle.
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It’s springtime in Philly and the streets seem to get more crowded each day with the fair-weather exercisers. With longer days and warmer temps upon us, it’s the time when many individuals’ thoughts turn to getting in shape.  This is a great time to make the commitment since the weather is nice and it’s mentally easier to becoming active and adhere to a program.  Starting an easy, inexpensive exercise program is an excellent way to combat the generally unhealthy lifestyle that Americans have become notorious for.

In America today a majority of the workforce lives a sedentary lifestyle.  We sleep in comfy beds, wake up to sit on a sofa while watching our favorite morning show, ride in a car or on a train to the office, sit in front of a computer, then travel back to our homes where we sit and watch TV until it’s time to get back in our comfy beds.  This routine is truly killing us.

Sitting or remaining inactive for most of the day with little or no exercise characterizes our sedentary lifestyle. This lack of exercise can cause shrinking and weakening of the muscles and increases our likelihood of injury. The accompanying reduction in physical fitness is generally associated with a weakening of the immune system. Yet, despite the many known benefits of exercise, most adults continue to lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle and therefore never achieve the health benefits of exercise.

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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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How important is your website? In today’s marketplace it’s everything.  Your website is your number one means of providing your brand, consistency, and message to potential customers.  We live in an Internet world, if your website isn’t first rate it will be detrimental to your business.  Is it time for your website to have a makeover?  More importantly, is it time for your website to start delivering the ROI that your products or services demand?

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Truly good creative is hard to find and even harder to produce on a consistent basis.  Think about the best creative campaigns you have seen recently then compare that to all the creative there is on the market.  Mind-boggling how small the percentage of quality creative really is.  Often one good idea will spawn many knock-offs and wannabes trying to cash in on the popularity of someone else’s hard work.  It’s not easy for creative professionals.  Their livelihood is based on their ability to produce top-notch, successful creative ideas on a regular, recurring basis.  And, when you consider that many concepts don’t even make it to production, you realize what a daunting task creative professionals have.

Who really knows what good creative is?  Something so subjective is difficult to quantify.  Are there really any new ideas out there or is it a matter of presenting historically good ideas in new and fresh ways?  One of the most difficult things creative minds have to do is keep their ideas fresh.

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