An In-Air, Uphill Battle

American Airlines has faced massive problems this past week with the grounding of over 3,000 flights. The problem has been called “probably the single largest cancellation” in the airline industry. With all those passengers ticked off because of halted plans, how do you best reach them to explain the situation and put out their increasingly hot tempers? What American did, in my opinion, wasn’t enough to keep their passengers flying with them in the future.

American Airlines knew that its hardest public to reach about the cancellations would be the passengers sitting in the airports stranded and upset. I’ve seen firsthand how close people headed to the same destinations or are suppose to be on the same flights can become and in turn vent their frustrations together. There always seems to be that one person who hears something that is not true and shares that false news with everyone they see at the gate. I believe this is where many of the airline industry’s problems start. If only HR would understand how vital the employee positions at the gates are in terms of basic people skills and the like. They have such power in the degree to which passengers fly off the handle or not. But that is another story for another post…

American Airlines passed out copies of their press release to passengers sitting in the airports. They also provided them pictures of the wiring in question which was the whole reason for the cancellations in the first place. I love that they were so open about everything. This was a great idea to portray exactly how the airline takes their passengers’ safety into high concern.

I do think something else needed to be done about the message though. Why not be sure to make it short and sweet? The only two points that were crucial in that stage of the situation were: 1) what American is doing to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to make their planes pass the inspection tests and 2) when the flights will be taking off again.

One way to do this is having their employees who work the ticketing desks and check-in stands share this information by politely conveying it to the passengers. Simply saying over the intercom, “American Airlines is doing all it can to get your flight back on schedule. We do not know at this time when this situation will be solved. I will let you know as soon as I find out any more information,” is not acceptable. I think there should definitely have been a deadline spoken. Even if it’s far off in the future, just tell me. I would rather be able to think clearly with some sort of idea than sit around feeling helpless and hopeless.

Handing out sheets with this information works, but think how often you would have to print off more with the useless, updated information. I think every hot line customer service employee available should have been working ’round the clock either answering the calling passengers’ questions or contacting the passengers whose flights had been delayed. Although this would be tedious and time-consuming, the information would get out there while at the same time conveying sincere feelings of understanding and helpfulness.

American Airlines was in a very difficult situation. People hate to be stuck in airports having to stop everything they need to be doing while waiting around to hear some good news. Very little could have been done to calm their passengers’ anger. Good luck to them next time, or at the best, maybe they’ll keep their planes in tip top shape from here on out.

Too Juicy for Words

If you saw your best friend’s significant other mouth kissing someone they shouldn’t be, would you go back and tell them? People always want to shoot the messenger, don’t they? Would it be worth putting your friendship on the line for the sake of their obviously poor relationship?

There is now a solution to this problem, although it may be just the beginning for even more unnerving situations. Juicy Campus is a Web site where you can anonymously post anything about anyone on different pages set up by school. Some of the posts are like this:

“What do you think about [certain Greek organization here]?”

Others are like:

“So-in-so is a massive **t**!!!!! I hate her!”

And so on…

Juicy Campus claims that its mission is all about “enabling online anonymous free speech on college campuses.” Although the site is obviously centered around and thrives on hard-core gossip, which is most always hurtful to someone, there is nothing anyone can do to shut it down. Juicy Campus and Web sites like it are protected by the Communications Decency Act of 1996 which states that no one can be held liable for comments made by a third party. Those who understand the severity of this Web site’s possible harm have little legroom in their fight to close Juicy Campus’s doors.

This site is gaining much attention in the news and on campuses nation-wide. Many schools are going so far as to prohibit it from displaying on school computers and those logged into their servers. They have good reason for this.

Although I usually provide links to the Web sites I talk about or those that provide good information about them, I decided not to in Juicy Campus’s case. This is the stance many universities are taking on the issue. They are thinking that if they do nothing about the site, the buzz will die off and their students will be happier in the long run. (Actually, if I was totally for this stance I would have not written about Juicy in the first place…)

I honestly don’t know what is best for universities and colleges to do. Although the internet has provided many great opportunities for open speech to take place, there will always be those that bring detriment to that process. What can I say? I am a true optimist and firmly believe that good will prevail. Juicy Campus may be making headlines now, but something else is sure to take their place soon. And may their replacement be a bit more positive in nature!

People’s PR on MTV

Is it a good idea to put a PR agency’s inner workings out in the open on national television? Well, we’re going to find out when People’s Revolution, a fashion PR agency, starts being featured on MTV’s hit show The Hills. It’s not exactly clear how much of the PR world will be featured on the show, but the owner of the firm, Kelly Cutrone, confirmed that there has been filming in the office. According to Cutrone, People’s Revolution is a “full service public relations, branding and marketing firm” whose main focus is “fashion and lifestyle” with “a strong emphasis on celebrity branding.” They have a firm in LA and NYC, but also serve their clients internationally.

I can see where the whole idea about being on television would be a huge selling point for a PR firm, but whether the prize is worth the cost is the question. Yes, I have watched The Hills. (For those of you who are laughing right now, stop. It’s fairly interesting and glamorous.) Being a viewer, it’s easy to see the use of dramatic effect the producers and writers add for a twist. Like the characters’ love lives and fashion-addict behaviors aren’t enough to carry a show alone…

Many of the past businesses featured on the show seemed to look a bit ridiculous to me. We always want to exude an air of professionalism and maturity, right? That’s the opposite of how they came across. We were privy to behind-the-scenes cat fights and mess-ups. I don’t believe this is the type of image a PR agency should even consider showing. Especially when their clients are name brand icons or hoping to be one day.

I understand that PR should always have an ethical backbone (and a strong one at that), but many aspects of what we do is under the public eye. If I was a client of People’s, I don’t know how I’d feel about the proactive or reactive strategies they are enacting on my behalf being shown to the world. Would I really want the public to know what I’m doing in order to encourage more positive feelings towards myself or my brand? That answer is up in the air.

I can’t wait to watch The Hills in the coming weeks to see how People’s Revolution and their clients do. This shall be interesting. I wish them the best. May they prove me wrong and come across like they know what they’re doing…

Classes to Teach Future Hunters

Although there are many potential ethical dilemmas surrounding this campaign, I think this is a great example of PR thinking out of the box and reaching “viable” publics.

In order to reverse the declining rates of interested hunters, a group in West Virginia has persuaded their lawmakers to allow “hunting education classes” in schools to increase awareness and acceptance of the old sport. They are interested in teaching students how to be good, smart hunters at an early age.

Revenue is also a reason why these classes are being pushed for. In West Virginia alone, a twenty percent drop in hunting licenses has caused the state to miss out on $1.5 million in a decade. They think these classes may help get people interested in the outdoors again and therefore spend more money on their newly acquired passion.

Besides the whole kids with guns in schools thing, I like this idea. Also, should kids really be missing out on learning true academics and instead about shooting animals? Just something the hunting teachers need to figure out when they’re asked.

Don’t Forget to Spring Forward- PR for Daylight Saving Time

It never fails that every year tons of people forget about Daylight Saving Time. They are an hour late for church, are much more groggy than normal or suffer from many other lovely side effects from having to “spring forward.”

To keep our public up and at them this coming Sunday morning, why does someone not do a little PR for Daylight Saving Time? I think it would be a wonderful idea. Think how thankful the public would be if someone went out of their way to make their Sunday a bit better and less sleep-deprived.

Although the time change is something that all news channels cover at least a few days before the big leap, many people still forget. Putting reminders on the news is not merely enough. For college students like me, we may not turn on the news once over the course of a weekend. There’s got to be another way to keep us informed.

Since the time change was made for farmers, I think one of the farmers’ associations should sponsor a short and quick campaign focusing on reminding the public about the time change and thanking them for their help. How sweet would that be?

I like the idea of holding Sunday events an hour later. Talk it up a few weeks before. Let participants know they’ll be able to wake up a bit later and still be on time although they’ve lost an hour. Churches would probably see a rise in their attendance if they put this into practice every year.

Since bars are open one hour later that one great evening, why not state this fact on signs and posters? This way, bar hoppers will not only plan on staying out later and spending more money, but they’ll remember about the time change in general, too. For everyone that reads the signs and does not plan on going out that night, they’ll like the reminder as well.

One last idea: if I was a business owner, I would ask my employees to tell our customers as they leave our building something like “Don’t forget that tomorrow is Daylight Saving Time!” on Saturday. I believe most patrons would appreciate the quick and informal reminder.

For all the do-gooders out there looking to make someone’s day brighter, simply remind others about Daylight Saving Time. We may not all use the time change for the sole reason it was invented, but we still must suffer through the effects it hassles us with once a year.

Marc “the Unethical” Jacobs

What is up with Marc Jacobs lately?

First, Mr. Jacobs gets tangled up in a bribery indictment centered around where he wanted to have his runway location for his spring show. He’s been said to be dragging the PR agency he uses through the dirt on that one. Now, he’s being charged with plagiarism. A man in Sweden said his father’s homemade scarf from over fifty years ago was copied and the name Marc Jacobs was placed on it instead. What is going on?

Sounds like he needs a little crisis communication plan…

After searching Mr. Jacob’s Web site, nothing unflattering was mentioned in his “news and gossip” section. Does he feel that his elite fashionable clientele does not care about his unethical behavior? Maybe the answer to this question is true. He might be doing exactly what needs to be done to stay under the radar.

Although I admit that his name hasn’t been at the forefront of the news lately for negative reasons, I am still a firm believer in clearing your name. Many of the top response strategies could be helpful to Mr. Jacobs right now. If I had to pick one or two, I would choose apology or denial, depending on the situation.

If Mr. Jacobs did in fact steal one of his designs from a Swedish entrepreneur, then he needs to say so, before his troubles get any bigger. If he were my client (and I’m thinking he’d be pretty hard to talk into this one), I would suggest him conceding he was wrong. I would still allow there be some sort of excuse in his apology. Maybe saying that he never realized his “creation” (another word might be better) would be that close to someone else’s. He got the idea from the man and didn’t change it around as much as he should have. I think most fashion icons and their followers would be pretty accepting of this statement.

If Mr. Jacobs did not in fact steal this piece of his new collection from the man accusing he did indeed, I would truly flat out deny it. There is no other way to correctly handle blatant lies like this one (if it’s true) other than denial. If this is the case, the blame should be placed on the man looking for fame by causing Mr. Jacobs to stand center stage in a falsely negative spotlight.

Whatever the case of the stolen handkerchief, something needs to be done. In the short run, Mr. Jacobs and his namesake corporation may not suffer, but his name will slowly become less credible if nothing is done. They say you can only stay at the top of the fashion world for so long anyway. Except if you’re Chanel, and I don’t believe he is. Maybe Jacobs is seeing himself out.

Department Store Wars

Belk Inc., the largest privately owned department store chain in the United States, is facing PR turmoil in Birmingham, Ala. A high end shopping center in the city decided to sue Belk after it replaced one of their earliest tenants, Parisian Inc. They consider Belk “low class” and a threat to keeping their shopping center’s nice reputation.

Although this suit is no longer being pursued, Belk is still picking up the pieces left of their tarnished name in the Magic City. I think their PR folks could fix this if they followed what Elizabeth Albrycht wrote about how to stay away from being a “dead brand.” Her three points are listen, acknowledge and demonstrate.

First, they need to listen to what their customers are saying. They should be taking notes on what shoppers liked about Parisian and why they are so hesitant to think of Belk as being equal to it. Their Web site offers very little help on leaving comments or suggestions. At the very bottom of their contact us page is a small feedback section. It includes a survey about customer experiences. In order to see the effect the past suit had on their image, Belk needs to employ any bit of social media they can. It is 2008…

Secondly, Belk needs to let their customers know they hear what they’re saying. After a little searching, no Belk blog was found. I really didn’t even find any blogs where Belk had been discussed. What about the former Parisian Gold Card members? They would be the best viable public for Belk right now. They should be getting out to their best customers and telling them they’re working on what needs to be fixed. If anything, their Web site would do this just fine.

Lastly, they need to communicate their planned changes to their customers. One of the Birmingham Belk stores is being changed into a flagship store. Marble floors are going to be installed, the shoe department is going to be double the size it is now, etc. I only know this because a few employees have told me while shopping. Shouldn’t this be a bigger deal? Why not send out information to interested parties? Set up a nice little Web site about all the expected changes. Those Birmingham soccer moms would go crazy.

In order to keep up with the Joneses (or Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and Bergdorf in their case), Belk needs to make some changes. These steps could be easy and well worth their time if employed correctly. It’s amazing what a little social media will do for businesses these days.

Anti-Tobacco Campaign Wrapped up in a Pack of Cigarettes

I am amazed at what the World Health Organization (WHO) is doing to fight the global effects of smoking. They are taking an initiative to make countries, especially poorer ones, help their smoking citizens change their bad habit.

Out of the six most effective ways to curb smoking, no country enforces all of them. Many only use two or three strategies (the U.S. only sometimes uses two…). The objective of the WHO’s campaign is to provide all countries with effective measures they can take to encourage healthy living of their citizens.

Instead of scare tactics (which we all know don’t work well, if at all), the kind of carefree and happy images cigarette companies have used for decades will be presented in the campaign. What comes to your mind when thinking about marketing towards smokers in the past? I immediately think of Newport’s smiling, healthy models that were in magazine advertisements until recently. The new Camel Number 9 was a pretty little ad, too.

“Fresh and alive” is the slogan for the WHO’s new campaign. According to The Washington Post, “press materials came with a box that looks like a pack of cigarettes and contains a pad and pens describing the elements of the campaign.” I bet that grabbed the attention of journalists, smokers and non-smokers alike. And with NYC Mayor Bloomberg as the campaign’s major donor, you know it was packaged nicely.

The fact that the WHO is using the exact PR scheme as their enemies, like Philip Morris and R. J. Reynolds, is shocking, but a great idea. It’s impossible to call it ridiculous and ineffective. Tobacco companies have been using this type of image transfer to win over the easily influenced public since their beginnings. If anything, the anti-tobacco campaign is a well thought-out mockery of what’s been accepted and what’s always seemed to work in the past for their main enemy.

Having been fighting the long, hard battle against Big Tobacco for the past few years, I think this campaign is wonderful. Seeing the great PR they’re putting into practice is inspiring. I hope they have tremendous success.

World Health Organization, The Washington Post Article

Is Advertisement Dead? Firebrand Thinks Not

Firebrand.com is crazy, but their idea just might work. They’re making a smart statement for advertising during its best time of the year. Super Bowl Sunday is without a doubt the time for the best and brightest spots to shine. For women and non-football loving men, the commercials are the only aspect of the last big night of football they are excited about. It’s what draws the uninterested to the sidelines of their couches.

Firebrand is going all out having what they think is the best of the best of Super Bowl commercials playing on their Web site and their television show which airs on Ion. On the Monday after the big game, they’re going to let viewers vote on their favorites. Here’s a little piece of Firebrand’s manifesto:

“We love commercials.
The eye candy. The laugh out louds. The did-you-just-see-thats. The most loved, the most emailed, the ones we still talk about today. Let every day be Super Bowl Monday.”

Firebrand is displaying many of Gap’s new commercials on their Web site. Some talk about “The New Gap” that’s coming. Others have Madonna and Missy Elliott singing a little tune about their favorite jeans to the music of “Get Into the Groove.” The fact that Gap has been failing at catching the fashionable public’s eye is common knowledge. Many efforts are in the works to improve their declining sales.

Being addicted to online news myself, I feel that massive social media could prove useful to Gap. Sending out insider information to their top online-loving customers could work. Putting up a layout plan for their new store on a social media specific site would be nice. Also letting buyers try out new outfits and letting the world know what they think about them would be fantastic. So should Gap do social media and ignore any marketing possibilities? No.

Until Tivo figures out how to remove commercials from existence, advertisements are still useful. Sure, I try to avoid them when I can, but other times they’re not so bad. In Gap’s case, many of their best customers may never look online for information about their favorite stores. I know my mother and most of her friends look to advertisements, the Today show and local news to find out about new trends. If social media was pursued only, many vital publics would be left out.

So Firebrand may be on the right track for now. Gap may even see a change in sales with their catchy and flashy commercials airing during the Super Bowl. You’ll catch me falling into the Gap probably sometime next week. And I’ll be sure to vote on my favorite Super Bowl commercials at Firebrand.com, too. Advertisement may not be at the top of its game anymore, but it’s not dead. Remember how much buzz the Snickers’s commercial with the two men “kissing” received last year? Well there’s sure to be a new hot commercial topic starting Monday.

Here We Go- Experimenting With Video Blogging

Hello all! Welcome to my first official post.

Robert wants us to start playing with our Flip Videos on the blogosphere. If you haven’t heard of the Flip Camera, it’s a super easy to use video camera great for those not computer-obsessed. All you do is hit record, make your video (with a steady hand), flip the USB arm out and download it straight to your computer. They’re not too expensive either.

Here’s my first video. A volunteer for the non-profit organization I work for was gracious enough to get in front of the camera and share her experiences as a “Big Sister.” Project Uplift is a Big Brother/Big Sister-like organization that strives to make a life altering difference in the lives of the children involved and their new friends, too. Thanks to Lara Fawaz.

I would love to know what you think.