5 Lessons from the story of Swiffer

Now Swiffer is a verb! Here are 5 lessons we can learn form the story of Swiffer.

1. Demographic changes open up new oppertunities.
The fact that more women work outside the home has increased the level of frustration with household chores, creating an opening for solution like Swiffer.


2. If something is a common problem that everyone recognizes, its solution would be universally embraced.
Everybody hates mopping. Look for ideas hidden in the obvious, the mundane, the negative, and the bothersome.

3. Thoughtful details make the difference between a product women like and a product women love.
Details are what seperate the good fromm the great. A mop that doesn't tip over when you lean it against the wall? Ingenious!

4. How you innovate is just as important as what you innovate.
Watching your customers in their natural habitate may lead you to innovations faster than any simulated environments or well-written research reports.

5. Simplicity matters
If the customer needs a manuual the size of a dictionary to use your product, then you're creating a barrier to women embracing your product. Whatever it is, make it easy to open and operate!

The Fail Trail: Understanding the impact of a social media PR Crisis

The folks at Alterian created an infographic that exposes the effect of a PR crisis on three brands: Nestle, Domino’s, and United Airlines.

Following PR crises faced by each of these brands, positive sentiment dropped sharply—as much as 36 percent in Nestle’s case.

The infographic also documents these brands’ road to recovery:

What Makes People Want to Follow a Brand?

People love to get deals—or at least they love to think they’re getting a deal.

That’s the driving force behind the decision by many social media users to follow a particular brand on Twitter and Facebook.

For this and several other revelations about the wonders of brand following in social spaces, check out this infographic from Razorfish, Econsultancy, and Social Media Today:


(via Ragan.com)

5 tips to make your press even better!

Any press may be good press, but good press is even better. Yet, how do you stand out among your competitors and catch the attention of journalists? The traditional route is to pitch your story directly to reporters and hope it’s compelling enough that they’ll bite.

I got some tips on how sources can improve chances of being noticed when responding to queries from journalists.

1. Be Fast

Speed matters when it comes to catching the eye of a busy journalist for two reasons. First, he is probably operating on deadline, so getting connected to a solid source quickly is important. Second, there are a huge number of other qualified sources trying to catch his eye at the same time.

Respond as soon as you see the query and well before the deadline. Once a reporter has what he/she needs, he doesn’t usually continue sifting through query responses. Being quick is also the number one piece of advice from HARO founder, Peter Shankman.

2. Be On Target

One thing all journalists universally hate is having their time wasted. Make sure your pitch is on target. Journalists are looking for sources that match their needs, not people who maybe, sort of, might have some expertise in a kind of, semi-related area.

Don’t respond to a query unless what you are offering is truly a fit. Responses need to be kept to the point and devoid of fluff, but still full of relevant information. The trick here is to still keep it short while including the pertinent info.

Colorful examples, links to fitting images, engaging background briefs and on-target experts with clout, character and ready accessibility all help set you apart.

3. Be Honest

If you offer an executive for an interview, make sure you can deliver. Reporters don’t have the time or patience for your CEO to somehow now be on a plane to Rome and have only an assistant VP able to chat.

Coming off as dishonest is the best way to sour what could have been a long-term relationship with a reporter. If a journalist doesn’t think he can trust you, there’s very little incentive to ever quote you (or your client) as an expert in the future.
Many sources see every journalist lead as an opportunity to finagle their way into publicity, jazz up their client reports or nurture new contacts. Leads can offer all of these, but only if you tackle replies with transparency and sincerity.


4. Be Personal

Remember that when using these types of source-matching sites, yours is likely one of hundreds of responses that the reporter has received. Sometimes a personal touch goes a long way toward making you stand out from the crowd.
A well-written, personalized and targeted response where there is a clear fit will get you noticed. Similarly, Google journalists before pitching them to familiarize yourself with what they write. Check out the style of their stories and how they typically present info and mimic that in your pitchs.


5. Be Precise

Make sure your responses are accessible. No reporter has time to sift through a wordy or poorly composed pitch to try to find that nugget of expertise or the unique perspective that you might be able to offer. Craft a response that is straightforward and to the point and you’ll increase your chances of being tapped as a source.
Make your reply easy to scan with bullet points and rich context. Rather than bulk up an email with attachments that call for an extra step to open and review, links are handier. Keep your response lean yet workable, colorful yet specific. Look for niche services that tailor to specific beats to up your odds even more.

What other tips do you have for being a good source? Let me know!

How to Do Health and Beauty PR

Beauty and health care products are perhaps the most sensitive products in the entire consumer industry whose success or failure solely depends upon the consumer satisfaction. Most people do not compromise on cost when it comes to looking good and feeling great and therefore the stakes in this industry are pretty high and consumers are prone to switch to competitive brands at the slightest inconvenience. Under such circumstances, public relations generally play a very important role in reducing market challenges and forming a loyal customer base. Understanding the requirement and trend is an important part of public relations as it can often make or break the fortune of any company.
 
You may consider the following ways to help with health and beauty PR.
 
Marketing with a cause. Cause related marketing PR is mainly a type of emotional marketing and appeals to the public from a social standpoint. Increasingly, manufactures are advertising their products as a part of a campaign where they promise to donate a certain percentage of the earning to a specific social cause. This type of marketing calls for extensive PR activity as this is a type of passive marketing where the PR officers need to understand the taste of the target audience and the cause itself.
 
Celebrity endorsements. The relation between celebrities and beauty products has been like the relation between fish and water. The common man has always been fascinated by their idols on the silver screen and it is needless to say that any product advertised by celebrities has an edge over other brand ambassadors. However, the most critical part of this PR trick lies in actually choosing a celebrity whose image corresponds to the particular product.
 
Advice from industry experts. Opinions from industry experts always carry more credibility than any celebrity and promoting a particular product by an industry insider often appeals to the educated masses who believe more in quality than in mere outward beautification. They generally provide useful guidance to consumers regarding their problems and help create an interest among the potential and existing consumers.
 
Quiz shows, contests and events. Any type of quiz, contest or big event by a company is the latest trend in the PR market that is being used to promote a particular brand. Quiz shows indirectly encourage participants to study about the product, by luring them with attractive gifts. Certain shows and contests hire celebrities as their judges who are also brand ambassadors of certain products and their presence also generates considerable enthusiasm. Beauty contests are wonderful ways of promoting a beauty product where manufactures can actually sponsor the show, with such shows having huge reach throughout the country, allowing them to take the advertisers message directly to the target audience.

Public relations along with a proper marketing can help a product to stand out among the crowd of various different competing brands. However, it is very important to educate the consumer about the product and its uses and convince them about its utility above other products if the company plans to leave permanent footprints in this competitive market.