Weber Shandwick: PR Innovation of the Year

The Story:

Weber Shandwick, a digital marketing agency in the US has won multiple awards this year, but most recently, it took home the prize from PRWeek for PR Innovation of the Year for its proprietary online social crisis simulator, FireBell. This simulator illustrates the fallout of a public relations crisis across multiple social media platforms (including YoutTube, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, and various blogs). They use real images of the companies actual social media profiles and show exactly what it would look like in a crisis and how it would unfold, and the unexpected spin that may be put on various situations. This allows companies to evaluate the potential fall-out and understand how to best handle these situations before they may occur.

Reflection and Analysis:

While this article is not necessarily related to one particular brand, the development of this simulator may have positive repercussions for numerous brands today. I think this is a great new way to help prepare companies for potentially harmful public relations issues. Too often, a situation arises and companies are vastly unprepared to manage the consequences and their action or lack thereof is what inevitably comes under question. Since social media has increased in popularity, it is becoming an area of business that cannot be ignored and must be managed effectively.

Home Depot gets a New Logo

The Story:

Home Depot has recently unveiled a new logo for its brand. They have opted for a more simplistic look that is slightly more aesthetically appealing, but has retained many of the brand elements present in the original logo. 

Reflection and Analysis:

I think this is a welcomed change for Home Depot. They did a great job of maintaining the general look of the logo in terms of the orange color, the square box and slanted lettering inside the box. Retaining these elements of the brand helps to ensure consistency for the consumer and allow Home Depot to enhance the brand without causing confusion. I also feel that this new logo is more aesthetically appealing and has moved away from the overly ‘industrial’ look of the old logo. Home Depot itself is of course a big box store that focuses on construction, but has in recent years, focused more on the softer side of decor and home furnishings as well which seems to be captured in this new logo re-design. This adaptation may slowly begin to form new associative networks in the minds of consumers toward home decor, style and furnishing trends, as opposed to the highly industrial feel that was linked to the old logo.

New Google Chrome Logo

The Story:

Google has introduced a new logo for its internet browser, Chrome. They have opted for a more simplistic look which seems to be following a recent trend and foregoing their original 3D logo.

Reflection and Analysis:

Personally, I preferred the original logo for Chrome as it had more dimension and looked more futuristic when compared to the new ‘geometric’ look of the new logo. I feel as though the 3D configuration suited the brand identity of Chrome better as it seemed more technologically advanced and cutting edge which is how I tend to view Chrome in relation to Internet Explorer. I’m not sure of the rationale behind the change and I couldn’t find much info giving reason for it, but all I could suggest is that Google is following the logo ‘simplification’ trend that has been rampant in recent months (ie. Starbucks, the Gap, Tropicana). I don’t think that this is going to necessarily deter consumers from using Chrome, but I definitely feel that the connotation with new logo will be that of a more ordinary or basic browser as opposed to the advanced and superior browser that I know Chrome to be. For users that are new to Chrome, there could be negative implications for their perception of the brand.

Nokia and Microsoft Partnership

The Story:

Nokia and Microsoft have recently announced a broad strategic partnership. They have agreed to work together to bring ‘Windows Phone’ to the consumer while allowing each brand to showcase their individual strengths. The Microsoft software will be used on various smart-phones made by an industry leader in hardware and imaging, Nokia.

Reflection and Analysis:

This is certainly an interesting partnership and one which seems to make sense. The question, however is whether or not these two strong brands combined will be enough to compete with the industry giants, Apple and Blackberry? This could be a great product since so many consumers are familiar with the Windows operating system, however it must ensure that product glitches are non-existent. Over the past years, apple has done a wonderful job at bringing to light all of the issues surrounding the Windows product and so if the new product for smart-phones has any complications at all, it will likely perpetuate a negative perception of the brand. However, if the product works and performs well, this could be a great opportunity for both companies to build and enhance brand equity.

Celebrity Endorsements Soar at the 2011 Grammy's

The Story:

At the 2011 Grammy Awards show, which aired in February, there was an astonishing number of commercials using celebrity endorsement to sell product. According to this article, approximately 22% of the ads during the show were featuring celebrity endorsements, which was almost a 50% increase over last year. Brands that utilized this form of advertising included Ford, Chevy, Dodge, HP, CoverGirl, Olay, Target, Nintendo and Apple.

Reflection and Analysis:

I found this information very interesting when I first saw it, because I find myself very intrigued to see the continuous turnover of celebrity endorsers for various products in the marketplace. I also like to see which celebrities in particular are chosen by the various brands to help convey their brand messaging since it is crucial that the values of the brand and the celebrity are somewhat in sync. It seems that with this ever growing trend, if a brand does not have a link to some form of celebrity, than they may begin to lose ground in the market. I don’t feel that this is necessarily true, but it raises an interesting point. Are we reaching a point where the brands themselves are not strong enough to complete on their own without a celebrity to try to sway consumer perceptions? Or is this just a fun way to add another dimension to a brand? I feel that celebrity endorsements can still be very beneficial if done in the right way, but it needs to be understood that once an associative network is built between a celebrity and a brand, it is very difficult to reverse. This can make management of the brand difficult because if a celebrity acts in a way that perhaps contradicts the brand values, then it could have serious repercussions for the brand.

Black Friday Facebook Initiative

The Story:

While this story is from last Fall, I came across it recently and was intrigued by the initiative of this online retailer, Diapers.com. Leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday in the US, Diapers.com started an online social media initiative  via facebook to engage its consumers and gain valuable feedback. They called it “Battle of the Brands” and they chose particular brands which they carried and which customers were particularly passionate about. They put similar brands of baby clothes and products up against each other and asked people to vote. There were ten brands selected as winners, and their line of products or clothing was discounted by 30% from Black Friday to Cyber Monday in order to stimulate sales.

Reflection and Analysis:

I think this was a great initiative to get consumers involved and engaged in experiential marketing. Diapers.com also did not require that the customers ‘like’ the facebook page before voting or purchasing, only that they participate. This is a great way of going about building a strong and lasting brand community since customers don’t feel that they are pushed into ‘liking’ something. It objectively brings people together and since there is a definite trend emerging of new moms on facebook, this was a perfect promotion.

Gaga Ends Partnership with Target

The Story:

Lady Gaga recently broke her partnership with Target in the US because the company refused to sever all ties with another partner, MN Forward (an organization that supposed a Minnesota politician who has been linked to supporting anti-gay groups). She was supposed to be the new face of Target and was in the process of giving the retail chain an exclusive expanded edition of her new album.

Reflection and Analysis:

In terms of timing, this could not have come at a better time. The spotlight is glaring on Lady Gaga now because of the release of her most recent single “Born this Way”, and this piece of news only solidifies her strong beliefs and adds value to her brand. People love to love her because of her unique and incredibly strong personality. She is absolutely a trend setter and a leader who always stands up for what she believes in. Early in the semester, we discussed as a class, the notion of a person as a brand, and Lady Gaga is the epitome of this.