What Not to Do

In case you missed it, Twitter was all a-buzz yesterday when @TassimoCanada launched a twitter giveaway which stated:

“ONLY 50 TASSIMO Systems remaining for Twitter Giveaway. DM your email if you want one! You must live in Canada and have 500 + followers!”

(Now, don’t think that you have been living under a rock because you haven’t heard of Tassimo because I expect 95% of the twitter entrants hadn’t. Tassimo is a Kraft coffee machine that has “patent barcode technology” that will brew a cup precisely each time.)

In a subsequent tweet, @TassimoCanada responded to a mom blogger and stated:

“we are trying to give TASSIMO Systems to as many moms as we can ... thank you for spreading the word!”

Like all the other entrants, I was excited because …well, who doesn’t love free stuff! But what intrigued me the most was the strategy and execution of this PR campaign and the fact they are trying to target moms. On a base level, there were many flaws to this campaign, which I believe will ultimately negatively affect the brand.

1. EXECUTION: Twitter 101: As many of the entrants pointed out, you cannot DM someone if they aren’t following you back. So everyone (including me) sent a general tweet to @TassimoCanada which first pointed out that you can’t DM them but that you wanted to be considered. The big problem was that their entry guideline was flawed by a lack understanding of how Twitter works on a basic level, which can translate into a negative for brand value.

They also created a storm in a teacup, which could have gotten much worse. By singling out moms on twitter, a few dads got up in arms about why they couldn’t enter. The company quickly rectified the situation by offering a machine to a couple dads but this brings me to my second point -

2. NO TRANSPARENCY & GUIDELINES: One of the #1 rules to any contest is the entrant needs to understand how you are going to choose the winner and make it clear for the entrant on how to submit their entry in order to have the best chance of winning. Well, I met the criteria of being a mom, having over 500 followers (I have 1100 in fact) and being Canadian but somehow, I didn’t get picked. Yet 3 (count them 3!) of my friends did and 2 of them entered AFTER I did. Before you say I have sour grapes, I should mention that I have a kick-ass Saeco coffee machine (valued over $1,000) so I didn’t really want or need a machine. What irritated me was that no one truly understood that they were being judged on; obviously there must have been some other criteria than what they said otherwise I would have won.

3. RESULTS & MEASURABILITY: As I stated 3 friends have won machines. They received a nice long email from the PR company that stated they received 1 of 300 machines for free. But what shocked me was that they stated they ‘chose’ them because they “love to drink and talk all-things coffee and tea.” - which they don’t and that definitely wasn’t made apparent as part of the original criteria to enter into the contest. The letter goes on to say that they “did a search for active bloggers and social media enthusiasts in Canada and you were within our top list”. Hmmm, since when did tweeting that you want a free item make you an active blogger and ‘social media enthusiast’? What this says to me is they are looking for quantity over quality of results (assuming that results are defined as number of tweets, number of blog posts).

Sure, the PR company generated a bunch of twitter posts but they are all based on a FREE value proposition – which is an easy route to take and could actually hurt the company’s overall brand value. 

I also know that at no point in their communication with the winners has the PR company defined any obligation to post or tweet about the machine once they receive it. Perhaps they are hoping that everyone who receives a machine will do it, but I know from experience that unless you give people direct instruction and deadlines the novelty of the item quickly dissipates and so does the ‘buzz’ factor.

What are the measurements of such a program – number of tweets, number of blog posts? When I create a program I include those numbers as part of the measurement but I have quickly realized that the value of a campaign is in the quality of interaction and conversation with a brand – not in the amount of posts or tweets it receives. PR is about brand recognition and equity that is obtained through continuous, relentless and prominent presence in the media and key influencers. You cannot obtain this by ‘spraying’ a bunch of products into the twitter-sphere.

4. A "FREE" PROPOSITION DEVALUES A BRAND: At the core of my ‘beef’ with this campaign is the fact that when you give something away for free, you diminish its value. I’m sure this machine is great for rushed moms & dads who are trying to get out in the morning but instead of describing the benefits of how this machine will save time, save money and ultimately making these parents lives easier so they should consider BUYING a machine, they are doing us Canadians a favour and giving them away for free instead. In other words, why buy it when you can get it free!

As you can tell, I’m up-in-arms about this so I’m committing to the fact that my next post will be on how I would have done it differently. It will be a few quick tips so that hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes as these big players did. Stay tuned!

Necessity is the Canadian Mother’s Mobile Device

New Survey Reveals Canadian Moms' Mobile Technology Habits

Vancouver, BC/Toronto, ON (September 9, 2009) – As CEO of the household, busy moms are leveraging their mobile technology to help them be more productive and stay connected. And as Canadian moms prepare for their family’s return to a demanding schedule, 24% are also considering an upgrade of the item or service they have deemed a necessity – their mobile device/cell phone service.

This statistic is just one of the results of a nationwide survey conducted by SavvyMom.ca and limelitePR which set out to investigate Canadian moms’ mobile device habits.  The results of the survey, which collected the opinions of SavvyMom readers from across Canada, reveal that 70% of Canadian moms consider their mobile devices a necessity in order to stay organized and manage communication with friends, family and work. Not surprisingly, the device of choice of 30% of respondents was a multi-functional device or Smart Phone such as an iPhone, Blackberry or Palm.

The survey garnered over 1,000 respondents from coast to coast and polled Canadian moms on their mobile technology and how they most commonly use it. Respondents included stay at home moms (22%), work from home moms (13%), work outside of home moms (42%), as well as retired, pregnant and maternity-leave moms (23%).

More Than Just a Phone

Although 75% of Canadian moms are primarily using their mobile devices to text and talk with friends, 32% say they use it as a camera, 28% to stay organized, 15% to play music and 15% for web surfing.

Additionally, 32% say they let their children play with their mobile device, with 53% choosing “traveling in the car” as the primary location for this activity.

The Top 5 Mobile Applications Downloaded by Moms:

1.    entertainment or novelty apps for moms (51%), with Facebook being one of the most popular choices

2.    schedule & calendar gadgets (45%)

3.    email applications (42%), Gmail was the most common choice

4.    Maps or GPS (39%), with Google Maps repeatedly mentioned

5.    entertainment apps for kids (25%)

Additional Mobile Moms Survey highlights include:

• 30% use it as a direct link to kids, nanny or babysitter (keeping the kids close)
• 27% of moms said they would like to make online purchases from their mobile device
• 25% have downloaded mobile applications
• 53% discover new mobile device applications via friends and other moms, highlighting the power of word of mouth when it comes to spreading the word about these tools

“While it’s not surprising that the typical Canadian mom has integrated mobile technology into her daily life, understanding the value she attaches to such a device provides marketers with the potential to engage with Canadian moms in a new way,” says Minnow Hamilton, Managing Editor, SavvyMom.ca

“We felt it was important to get a Canadian perspective on mobile technology within the mom market. The survey results demonstrate that Canadian moms view mobile technology as an integral part of their lives or more importantly, as a necessary tool that helps them save time and stay connected,” says Jeanette Miller, Principal of limelitePR.

About limelitePR limelitePR is a boutique public relations firm that is dedicated to creating a buzz and connecting leading brands with moms across Canada and the USA. By conducting traditional media relations, blogger outreach, and creating influencer mom-market activities and programs, the limelitePR team develops an integrated PR approach that will generate brand awareness at a consumer level, which directly increases sales and maintains brand recognition.

About SavvyMom Media SavvyMom is the trusted resource for time-crunched moms across Canada, delivering tried and tested practical solutions to everyday dilemmas. SavvyMom’s bi-weekly email newsletter reaches 30,000 moms across Canada. More information on SavvyMom Media and its subsidiary programs can be found at www.savvymom.ca, www.momentrepreneuraward.com, and www.sharesavvy.ca.

-30-

For more information contact:

Jeanette Miller, principal limelitePR

O: 778.786.1495  M: 778.552.2949

E : jeanette@limelitepr.com  T: @limelitePR

 

Manage work communication outside the workplace		28.8%
Text and talk with friends		75.1%
Download podcasts		3.0%
Play music		14.7%
Web surfing		15.3%
Distraction or entertainment		17.3%
As a direct link to my kids		22.8%
As a direct ink to my nanny or babysitter		8.9%
To stay organized		28.4%
As a camera		32.5%

The Essentials to Getting Coverage and Creating a Buzz: PR PREP

This is the first in a series of posts on how to create a buzz for your company via PR. This first post details the items you need to get you started.

Hi-res (300 dpi) photos of your products. These should be on a white background and in focus – if you have a product with labels then make sure when you zoom in you can read the label clearly. If you are service-based company then you need hi-res photos of images of you and images of what you represent (i.e. if you are a money expert and the PR campaign angle is about offering quick tips on saving money then have pictures of people pulling their hair out, sitting at a kitchen table looking over bills, enviously looking at a luxury family car). If the photos are too large to email then look at ways to share the photos via services like YouSendIt.

A press kit. Companies always ask if they really need a press kit. The short answer – YES. The media will not take you seriously if you do not put the effort into providing them with information on you, your company, your products/services, price, and distribution (retailer list). Have a professionally designed press kit which means get a graphic designer to lay it out (not your brother Tom who can do wonders in MS Word). The good thing is that a press kit can double as sales kits which means you (or your sales reps) can use it to solicit new accounts; the investment goes beyond media outreach. 
Bloggers are more forgiving so if you are planning on doing a blogger outreach campaign then you can typically get away with supplying them with photos and a brochure (along with a pitch letter). However if you are including e-newsletters in your blogger list then note that they do require a press kit.

Samples. Be prepared to send samples of your product or provide your services for free (if that’s possible). Bloggers and editors require samples; don’t expect them to give you coverage based on photos. Better yet, for bloggers, offer them samples or a discount they can offer to their readers.
If you are service then think about ways you can offer them your expertise. This could include quick tips, free tickets to your speaking engagements or cross-promotion of your blog posts.

Target list. Whether you are approaching media outlets or bloggers, you will need a contact list. This requires time to research the outlets and read/watch/listen to past articles/posts/reports in order to find out who the best person to pitch, if they write straight product reviews or take a larger look at an industry surrounding the product/service. For traditional media outlets, target the reporters or assistant editors vs senior editors.
Build your list in Excel with multiple columns headings: outlet name, web address, contact name, contact email, contact phone, address, twitter ID, facebook page, statistics (subscribers, number of followers, etc).

Press release or social media release. This is a debatable essential. Bloggers don’t want to receive press releases but some will accept social media releases; the media are inundated with press releases but most of the time they don’t read them right away unless they know the sender or company. Sometimes a well written email can take the place of a press release. We recommend writing press releases for events, a product launch or if you are planning a wide distribution (via a service like Cision).
In the end, a press release is simply a tool used within a process, but it’s the process that really counts.

Next post will be on establishing a benchmark to determine success.

PR That Gets Moms Buzzing

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

PR That Gets Moms Buzzing

View more presentations from Jeanette Miller.

The ROI Conundrum

I was recently asked by a prospective client how we can demonstrate ROI within mom-market PR activities. Measuring the Return On Investment is a hotly debated topic within the marketing, PR and social media community because there isn’t an easy answer. There simply isn’t an accurate way or single, standard calculation that will prove the results achieved through PR and marketing equate to a higher value than the money it took to achieve them.

When it comes to spending dollars and cents, most business owners believe that in order to be profitable, there must be tangible proof or money made in order to justify money spent.

For results in traditional media, the PR industry measured impressions – how many articles/news reports and the size/length of the coverage – but it struggled with how to measure the quality of those impressions. You can compare an impression size and placement to the advertising value (how much would it have cost to place an ad that size) but as we all know, editorial is valued higher than advertising because there is a third party (reporter) involved. People read articles, listen to radio commentaries, watch TV news reports while they are likely to tune-out advertising. The question is (and still remains) how do you put a dollar figure on an intangible ‘higher value’ quotient?

In 2006, the CPRS (Canadian Public Relations Society) created the MRP system www.mrpdata.com which is said to measure any type of editorial coverage, provide clear metrics to evaluate media coverage, track total reach and cost per contact. This system “allows its users to qualitatively evaluate editorial tone and article content”. But, as some will say, MRP is not ROI.

For Social Media activities such as blogger outreach, facebook, twitter - all venues where moms converge and connect – the question of ROI is even more difficult because there isn’t a direct link from interaction and engagement (which is what you are doing with SM) to sales but rather an indirect link.

So, how do you ‘prove’ ROI?

I found a great discussion by a couple SM leaders - Jason Falls and Katie Delahaye Paine - which I encourage you to read & watch. But, to summarize their thoughts (which I agree with) here are few things to consider:

“The problem with trying to determine ROI for social media is you are trying to put numeric quantities around human interactions and conversations, which are not quantifiable.”

“Ultimately, the key question to ask when measuring engagement is, ‘Are we getting what we want out of the conversation?’”

The way we handle this ROI question at limelitePR is we develop a benchmark so that we can determine if our efforts are effective. It's not like we don't want to measure things, it's just what and how do we measure them. So, we start by asking and answering questions like:

• Are you part of the online conversation – how much & where?


• Are your competitors part of the conversation – how much & where?


• What are people/moms saying about your brand?


• Are people/moms commenting on your blog? Are there certain topics that generate more response?


• How are you part of the mom community?

Once we have a benchmark, it's then possible to track and see the growth we’ve achieved through social media and traditional media PR tactics. It also provides us with information on how we can be reactive with our communications.

Really, the definition of ROI is in the eye of the beholder. “Return” is all about what you want to achieve and then developing and implementing a plan that will raise awareness, gain loyalty and ultimately put your brand into the hands of your consumers – moms.

If you want to learn how big brands are using Social Media, check out this presentation by Graco’s Lindsay Lebresco at Blogwell San Jose. She walks you thru Graco’s social media strategy and the tactics they've used.

A Savvy Strategy for Method

In this age of engagement, blogger outreach should be an integral part of your public relations plan especially when it comes to moms. Between 50-60% of all moms name blogs as their favourite form of online media.

So what does it take to gain a blogger's attention and trust? Mom in the City blogger recently posted why she love Method - as a company, product, brand. Here are some key points but I encourage you to read the entire post to get more details and ideas on how you can step up your own efforts.

1. Method marketers are friendly, respectful and enthusiastic about their brand.

2. Method is innovative

3. Method is responsive to moms overall

4. They have a wonderful line of products

5. They consistently connect

6. They treat me as an individual

7. Method never asks me to write about the things that they send me

Pitching Value

Results of a new study from Miller Zell, an Atlanta-based retail consulting company, reinforces what a lot of us already know - moms are in charge of household purchases and the family budget. What's most interesting is the study shows that the current economic downturn has moms changing the way they shop including "eating-in more often, with 68% saying they spend less at restaurants; changing channels, with 50% moving from premium grocery stores to discounters; and trading down, with 87% switching brands at the grocery store and a third buying private-label clothing." The report's author then recommends that companies need to "ramp up their value message".

Simultaneously, media outlets are focusing on value stories. In Canada headlines such as "Be Fashionably Frugal", "Buy the Best Quality You Can Afford", "Budget Friendly Family Meals" have been popping up in newspapers across the country. Each article listed a number of great value-conscious ideas that readers can easily implement in their life.

To take advantage of this universal state-of-mind (value is #1), start thinking of ways that your brand presents value-based ideas and promote the details to the media in a Top 5 List. Let's say your company produces eco laundry products - distribute a list of Top 5 Ways You Can Save On Your Laundry Bills (wash in cold water, spin the clothes twice so they dry faster and use less power, etc).

You are more likely to garner media and blogger attention if you provide a context to your brand that is useful and relevant to their readers/viewers lives and moms will value your brand even more because you are providing them with useful tips they can apply to their busy life.