06.26.06
Posted in General at 10:56 pm by Paloma Cruz
And yet another untapped market: Hispanic Teens.
Cheskin ‘Nuestro Futuro: Hispanic Teens in Their Own Words
– reported by HispanicAd.com
Hispanic teens may be the single most important segment for future-oriented marketers to understand. They provide rich insights into the influence of ethnicity and culture in the larger U.S. consumer market. And with a current spending power of $20 billion and a projected growth rate six times higher than the rest of the teen market, Hispanic teens are a force in and of themselves.
To empower companies and marketers, the innovation consulting firm Cheskin has today released Nuestro Futuro: Hispanic Teens In Their Own Words, an unprecedented video profile of U.S. Hispanic teen lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors. Produced from over 30 hours of in-depth at-home interviews with more than 30 bicultural Hispanic teens, ages 13 to 19 across the U.S., the profile illuminates key issues in the words of teens themselves. Hearing and seeing them in their homes through the lenses of Snippies video journalists provides an emotive and realistic context for understanding.
[snip]
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06.25.06
Posted in General at 12:41 am by Paloma Cruz
‘Don’t Mess With Texas,’ a 20-year-old anti-litter campaign has been nominated as one of the country’s all-time most recognized catch-phrases. I like that, the idea that a public service slogan is going against “Just Do It” and “Good to the last drop.”
News source:
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06.24.06
Posted in General at 5:29 am by Paloma Cruz
In a recent post, Shel Holtz discusses a controversy in Kansas City over their (total of $2 million) contracts with 4 PR companies. Councilwoman Becky Nace thinks there could be a better use for that money.
The controversy, from Shel’s perspective, centers around one weakness:
The problem is with a public relations industry that has been unable to educate people like her about the value PR can bring to an organization, institution, even a city. (Even the local newspaper—usually one of the first to slam PR—found there was worth in the agencies’ efforts.) That’s why I concluded, “We in the PR profession need to do a better job of spotlighting the positive work we do that is so much more than the what the public perceives: spinmeisters trying to get the public to drink our clients’ Kool-Aid.”
So my question is: how do we resolve this?
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06.23.06
Posted in General at 11:23 pm by Paloma Cruz
Business 2.0 has a list of 50 People who matter*. Spots 2 - 5 are held by men in technology and communications:
2; Sergey Brin and Larry Page - Co-founders, Google
3; Paul Jacobs - CEO, Qualcomm
4; Rupert Murdoch - CEO, News Corp.
5; Steve Jobs - CEO, Apple Computer
The number one spot is… YOU. “The consumer as creator.” Because you matter, more than anyone else.
* From the July 2006 issue.
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06.21.06
Posted in General at 5:31 am by Paloma Cruz
In Massachusetts, public relations companies are reporting growth in the double digits. What’s the outlook in Houston? Considering the recent additions in PR agencies in Houston, I’m hoping that it’s good.
What’s the outlook for your organization?
PR firms riding economy with double-digit growth
– reported by the Boston Business Journal
Massachusetts public relations firms are reporting double-digit growth in an era when marketers are increasingly looking beyond the 30-second television commercial to disseminate brand messages.
Many local PR industry executives use superlatives to describe 2005 and the current year’s growth — most notably an increase in billings and hiring. The boom is being attributed to factors including a heavier reliance among clients on PR because of media fragmentation coupled with a robust economy.
[snip]
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06.20.06
Posted in General at 12:17 pm by Paloma Cruz
Marketing to women is something that you should consider essential to your business, fi you don’t already. This article by Click Z covers some of the reasons why. “Right now, women account for over 50 percent of all stock ownership in the U.S. By 2010, they’ll boast half the country’s private wealth — roughly $14 trillion. They control $7 trillion in consumer and business spending. They’re the primary purchasers of consumer electronic equipment. Businesses owned by them employ more people than the Fortune 500 companies in the U.S.”
Did you know that Christian merchandise is a hot-sell item? According to recent reports, “one of the fastest-growing business sectors in the country is Christian merchandise.” And, by the way, “The trend is making itself known in Houston.” There’s a market I had not considered.
Stories referenced:
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06.19.06
Posted in General at 3:54 pm by Paloma Cruz
The amazing thing about technology is that, when it works, it can actually help you do your job.
Since I live in the Southeast Houston area, going in to work today just was not going to happen. Thankfully, my bosses declared a rain day and told everyone to stay home.
That doesn’t mean that I got the day off. Thanks to server technology, I can access my office PC from my laptop at home. I’ve been checking my email, faxing open and closing updates to media, and phoning clients and staff.
Work continues.
Rain days in Houston, for those of us with public service clients, means work. It means letting customers know what services are available, when they will be available again, and whether or not our buildings have been damaged.
Tomorrow, or the day after, I will start working with my clients who offer services for recovery, pitching stories to the media. And, hopefully, using pre-established communications channels to talk to customers about what we can do for them.
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Posted in General at 12:20 pm by Paloma Cruz
The market for public relations must be better than I thought. I recently posted about Mañana Marketing moving into Houston. Now I find another article about more PR agencies coming here. I hope this means more jobs, better projects.
Houston gets double-dose of good PR
– reported by the Houston Business Journal
Spurred by the much-ballyhooed rebound of the energy industry, a pair of high-powered advertising and public relations agencies are poised to enter the Houston market.
In the case of New York-based Burson-Marstellar, the firm’s decision to open up shop in Houston actually marks a re-entry into a city that was abandoned by the PR firm in the mid-1980s following the oil bust. Meanwhile, Dallas-based advertising heavyweight The Richards Group is looking to establish an initial foothold here through a possible merger with Houston’s Rives Carlberg LP.
[snip]
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06.16.06
Posted in General at 5:22 am by Paloma Cruz
Of all the places I would think to find a useful article, the proclaimed industry source for video game professionals would not have made the list. But the GameDaily BIZ has an article entitled “10 Most Effective Ways To Challenge Questionable Facts” that has some very good suggestions.
Last week Media Coverage pointed out why the enthusiast press sometimes fails to challenge questionable facts. This week he lays out 10 effective ways for bloggers and members of the enthusiast press to become the worst nightmare of dishonest corporate communications.
Apparently last week’s column on how the enthusiast press often fails to challenge questionable facts hit a nerve with many readers. In fact, a number of them requested a second column that was focused on answers to the problem.
In searching for solutions I called up a few of the best editors and writers I worked with in the past and asked them how they managed to so aggressively challenge the questionable facts dished to them by the videogame makers. This column is a collection of their best suggestions.
These suggestions are, of course, targeted towards bloggers, journalists and organizations in the enthusiast press. However, they can also be a standard that readers should expect from their videogame publications. After all, readers can be the most powerful agents of change if they make their expectations clearly and expressly known.
The suggestions given:
- Suggestion 1. Be the skeptic
- Suggestion 2. Be fair, but not necessarily (equally) balanced (Part 1)
- Suggestion 3. Be fair, but not necessarily (equally) balanced (Part 2)
- Suggestion 4. Know Your History
- Suggestion 5. Acknowledge history often
- Suggestion 6. Remember what the readers want from you
- Suggestion 7. Remember that people care about the name at the bottom of the story
- Suggestion 8. Demand Standards
- Suggestion 9. Get Outside Sources
- Suggestion 10. When in doubt use BTLTUMTB
I’d like to think we can use these suggestions on ourselves. By the way, BTLTUMTB means “But They’ve Lied To Us Many Times Before.”
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06.15.06
Posted in General at 5:15 am by Paloma Cruz
Ten grammar mistakes to avoid:
- Loose for lose
- It’s for its (or god forbid, its’)
- They’re for their for there
- i.e. for e.g.
- Effect for affect
- You’re for your
- Different than for different from
- Lay for lie
- Then for than
- Could of, would of for could have, would have
Learn the right way to use these ad ZD Net (UK).
(Found via LifeHacker.)
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