Mad About Second Screen

Customers expected to engage with brands across multiple platforms.

Remember the Super Bowl’s Coke Polar Bear commentators on Facebook or the impromptu Oreo’s “Dunk in the dark” tweet? One was planned and the other was literally on the spot but both had smashing results. The phenomenon of second screens is a huge marketing opportunity for all kinds of brands but few are prepared for it. Mobile devices are quickly becoming TV viewing companion devices.

Why were these second screen brand marketers successful? It’s simple -they were prepared! They recognized an audience and community beyond TV screens. And both were very present in what was happening – a true sense of being engaged. The results were amplified audience engagement, coverage and reach. Consumers increasingly expect to interact with brands and campaigns across all forms of media, but it’s clear from a Nielsen research report that advertisers aren’t keeping pace.

March Madness is expected to produce $1.4 billion in TV Ad revenues – making the NCAA Basketball Championships the highest grossing post-season sport in America. This is higher than post-season TV Ad revenues brought in last year by the NFL at $974, NBA at $573 and MLB at a distant $354.

College basketball fans are not only glued to their brackets, they are glued to their TVs and mobile devices as they feverishly debate the wisdom (or lack of) of their bracket choices and sensational and sobering upsets. This year a reported 26% of viewers will use a mobile device as their main viewing device. The study by Nielsen revealed that 85% of mobile owners use their tablet or smartphone while watching TV at least once per month, and 40% do so daily and a Pew study reported over 80% of 18- to 24-year-olds used their smartphone while watching TV.

Just think, according to SocialGuide’s 2013 Super Bowl Advertising Report 5.3 million people sent out 26.1 million tweets during the course of the game, how many tweets will be sent out about the 64 March Madness games? It’s no secret that March Madness is also one of the least productive periods in the workplace – 86% of March Madness fans say they will spend part of their work day checking scores and stats or watching the games online.

As second screen social networks, apps and mobile sites continue to draw significant audiences there is clearly an opportunity for integrated marketing. Marketers can position themselves for success on these TV companions by using a marketing approach which incorporates a mix of traditional and social media platforms in their campaigns.

Why Senior Managers Should Engage in Social Media

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The Tweeting CEO

Social media has gone from dorm room toy to boardroom tool yet CEOs and Social Media remain an unlikely pair. A recent study shows that only 18% of the world’s largest company CEOs have social network pages.

Often senior management fail to recognize social media’s real value is its source of insight and a means of collaboration. The fear of negative responses and feedback should not over-power the meaningful insights a company can gain. Their participation need not be daily or tedious. It should be well thought out and relevant with enough frequency to satisfy an organization’s online community.

Why is it important for senior management, including CEOs to engage in Social Media?

Engagement: Users want to see that a CEO is engaged. This oftentimes means that CEO enjoys being around customers and clients. Both internally and externally management seems more approachable and sociable.

Education: Clients want a CEO to know what he/she is talking about. Social media is a great way for him/her to show expertise. Customers have more confidence in a company when they believe the CEO is an industry expert.

Inside Information: “Exclusive insider” content which comes from senior management tends to foster customer loyalty and engagement. Such “news” is no longer a rumor and carries more weight, clients pay more attention to it.

Corporate Culture: A CEO/Senior Management can share with the social community some of the things that really make that company great. Senior managers are the ones who know who and how each department is operating, so if there is an opportunity for praise social media is a great place to share. This says plenty about the organization’s corporate culture.

Partnerships: Sometimes partnerships can spring up and be foster from social media, and this is more likely if senior management and decision makers are involved. Social media experts don’t always know what makes a good partnership and what doesn’t so an engaged CEO/ senior executive might be able to spot something (or get spotted).

Sales: Social media is absolutely about sales and revenues. Think of it as a sales funnel at the top is brand awareness, then lead generation and then conversion. At the conversion stage engagement is even more important than ever before by providing useful information and value to the prospect. In the sales funnel it’s become increasingly possible to gain customer insights in real time – that’s so much more valuable than sending out a survey to understand your ideal customers.

All organizations need to realize that regardless of industry, eventually all customers will be digital natives who regularly utilize the internet to make purchasing decisions. Social business is no longer optional. If your business is not a participant, it will become increasingly difficult to be relevant in the future. Done correctly, senior management’s participation can be competitively advantageous for their organizations.

The Onion Tweet: No Joke It’s Complicated

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Media’s Toxic Content Continues to Brew a Gendered Contempt Toward Women

On Oscar night The Onion took an extremely ugly, misogynistic potshot at Quvenzhané Wallis, the 9-year-old nominee for Best Actress, simply just for Twitter LOLs using the c-word. It is perhaps the most toxic, gendered slur in the English language; a profoundly vulgar, shocking and offensive thing to say, particularly about a child. For this reason alone the public’s outrage is obvious. But it is also far more complicated than that.

The offensive tweet is yet another example of how the media talks about women, which is often quite shocking, distorted and ugly. Its toxic content continues to brew a gendered contempt toward women.

The Onion‘s tweet is especially troubling because it courts a largely white, male, and affluent audience. It has built its audience on razor-sharp satire that is both relentlessly progressive and unwilling to pull punches but of late has turned its content into tiresome gimmick of comedy shock tactics. Thankfully its followers and tweeters were not amused by the tweet and unleashed their displeasure. The tweet was deleted within an hour of posting it and an apology was issued the next day. The Onion’s own apology admitted that tweet was in fact not funny and that “No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.”

The relationship between the media and women is complicated. It is at once the instrument of choice to voice and highlight women’s achievements and yet it is the very thing that objectifies, sexualizes and marginalizes them. A sure recipe for a very bad relationship.

Now before you go all crazy about me being overly sensitive about taking issue with The Onion’s tweet, I suggest you look at the women who you love in your life and imagine them at age nine and “jokingly” call them the offensive word named here in public. Can you do it? If we accept such jokes as being part of our culture, I dare say we are raising a future generation that sees people as body parts and ultimately fostering apathy.

If marketing and advertising does not influence people it would be a dead industry. Today’s teens spend an average of 10 hours a day using media; girls ages 11 to 14 are bombarded by some 500 advertisements each day. This is a generation that’s been reared on reality TV—watching makeover and body transformation shows. Women of all ages are constantly being bombarded by what the perfect body looks like, the media and all kinds of companies repeatedly use a “sex sells” strategy despite its harmful effects on body image. This boils down to our culture, particularly one that is media centered, relentlessly teaching young girls and women that their worth lies in their youth, looks and sexuality.

People may tell women to ignore tasteless tweets, language, images and other content, that it’s no big deal, don’t get involved, etc., but this is a pitiable response to derision and in fact a way to mute their voices. Silence is not valuable in this case. Take a look at its impact – it appears complacent; not meaning to cause harm is an unsatisfactory explanation. Hiding behind Twitter handles, avatars and pseudonyms to further spew harmful comments and troll the web is cowardly and reprehensive.

We have to hold ourselves accountable for what we put to the public, what we say, and how we say it and realize that it has real consequences. When you are the media don’t turn free speech to hate speech. Media freedom is not a green light to do harm.

7 Deadly PR Sins of Crisis Communication

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The Chinese symbol for crisis is danger and opportunity. A crisis carries an element of danger and is often unexpected. In crisis communication there is an underlying aura of bad news. Beware of these 7 deadly sins in Crisis Communication lest they affect the effectiveness of your crisis management plan.

1. Timing: (PR fail: Susan G Koman on Planned Parenthood, National Rifle Association Sandy Hook on shooting, RIM on Blackberry Outage) It is never too soon to make a simple meaningful statement. 24 hours to respond is an eternity. In today’s era of viral media communication damaging speculation, misinformation and misrepresentation spreads faster than wildfire. Procrastinating only makes it look worse. You want to own a key message right away. Craft a simple statement such as, “Our hearts and thoughts are with those in harm’s way and the affected families (customers, employees, community). We are gathering facts and information as quickly as we can and we will make it available as soon as possible.” Also when you do talk, do not select a time when emotions are still very raw, such as the one week anniversary of a tragedy. Crisis communication messages on such dates should be limited to conveying sympathy and an affirmation of support to those affected.

2. Delivery: (PR fail: American Apparel on Hurricane Sandy, GoDaddy on SOPA, RNC & Clint Eastwood, Mitt Romney on 47%, National Rifle Association on Sandy Hook shooting) The tone of your message is particularly important. Aloofness makes you look out of touch and lacking in empathy. Arrogance and aggressiveness make your entire organization appear cold, callous and unconcerned. Even when you have to take a controversial position it is important to convey genuine empathy to gain rapport with the public and more importantly your stakeholders because you are representing them. Your spokesperson should have media coaching on how to be firm yet convey compassion, calmness, confidence and reassurance. Try to incorporate the following three elements into your first public messages: Show concern for those affected; explain how the crisis will affect customers; and avoid attempts to exploit the situation for attention or further an agenda.

3. Restricted communication: (PR fail: National Rifle Association Sandy Hook shooting) Do not say that you want to have meaningful conversation about the crisis at hand and in the same breath decline to comment or take any questions. Do not go dark online and do not have a blanket media blackout. Communication is a two way street. You appear evasive and miss the opportunity to correct mistakes, ask for forgiveness and show goodwill.

4. Denial: (PR fail: Penn State on sexual abuse allegations,) Do not do it! Denial and dismissal are the twin evils which block responsible action. It is best to express candor – an outward recognition through promptly stated public acknowledgement that a problem exists; that people or the public’s trust is affected; and that something will be done to correct the situation. Furthermore be aware that a crisis situation may not directly stem from your organization but it is at your doorstep because the public and stakeholders consider you entwined or an authority on the subject matter. Denying accountability and distancing yourself only enhances negative perceptions.
Examples of statements on taking responsibility: “We are at fault.” “It shouldn’t have happened.” “It was wrong.”

5. Blaming others: (PR fail: BP on Oil Spill, National Rifle Association on Sandy Hook shooting, political campaigns) Deflecting blame further damages the level of trust and confidence people have in your organization. It also undercuts the seriousness of the situation and trivializes the respect an issue deserves. Additionally, do not attack your critics; this only reinforces any perceived wrongdoing.

6. Fueling outrage: (PR fail: Bob Person – GoDaddy’s CEO on elephant kill, Tony Hayward’s BP CEO’s behavior during BP oil spill) Starve off collateral damage and be less offensive. This means do not engage in feuds online or elsewhere with reporters, bloggers and others. Two major objectives in crisis communication are to calm things down and shorten negative exposure.

7. No real solutions: (PR fail: Papa Johns on Affordable Healthcare Act, National Rifle Association on Sandy Hook shooting) Attempting to portray your organization or its mission as a victim is not a solution in a crisis. Also, do not threaten or instill fear when the atmosphere is already saturated with negativity. Pledge to identifying the underlying factors that caused this situation to happen and addressing them. Do not propose measures which you do not have the authority or capability of implementing. Be prepared for scrutiny and commit to full transparency. Being transparent demonstrates confidence in your organization, your position on an issue and your methods. This may be an opportunity to raise awareness to an issue or educate the public on what you are doing right. After a crisis, it might be the only way to build or rebuild your reputation.

Poor crisis communication has been known to ruin entire organizations. Avoiding these 7 deadly sins of PR Crisis Communication can move you from crisis to opportunity. This an opportunity to build trust, reinforce ethical behavior and show integrity.

Alphabet Soup

ABCs of Social Mobile Media and Marketing Communication for Business