Public relations for the win at Super Bowl XLVIII

Is anyone even talking about the Seattle Seahawks win over the Denver Broncos at Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLVIII? If you’re like me, you only tuned in to the game for two reasons: the commercials and Bruno Mars’ half-time performance. Bruno Mars didn’t disappoint, while the commercials left me bored and in need of more entertainment. This year the excitement was on Twitter, where brands took their public relations and marketing strategies instead of forking out millions of dollars for a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl.

Public relations professionals knew it was time to play and step their game up during Super Bowl Sunday, and that is exactly what they did. They knew precisely where the audience was that they wanted to reach for their brands. They knew it was their job to make the brand stand out and be a slightly controversial so people would talk about it long after the game had ended. Public relations professionals knew the audience they needed to reach was on Twitter, so they came up with creative ways to get their brand out to the public on one of the biggest nights of the year. Social media, specifically Twitter, is where the buzz was this year, so brands that capitalized on it this year are seeing it pay off. While people have forgotten about the score of the game, everyone is still talking about what their favorite companies were doing on Twitter.

Let us just take a second and bow down to J.C. Penney for their Twitter “controversy.” The popular retail company had its Twitter followers concerned after posting two tweets that seemed odd for the brand.

Picture retrieved from: http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/02/jcpenneys-drunk-super-bowl-tweets-were-really-just-mitten-selling-stunt/357652/

This prompted Kia Motors, Doritos and Snickers to join in on the fun and offer J.C. Penney’s some assistance during their obvious time of need. These companies were able to react and respond quickly to J.C. Penney’s “drunk tweets” and take advantage of the Twitter publicity. I bet that if Kia, Doritos and Snickers knew that the biggest buzz of the night was going to be surrounding Twitter, they wouldn’t have paid for a commercial during the Super Bowl. It was later revealed that J.C. Penney’s strange tweets were to promote their Go USA mittens for the Olympics.

Some argue that the stunt wasn’t planned and the individual on the end of the tweets was in fact drunk. For a company like J.C. Penney’s who hasn’t been a contender on social media, this was a huge gain. No, people probably aren’t going to go out and by a pair of mittens, but at least J.C. Penney’s is attempting to engage with a younger demographic through humorous Twitter ideas. #TweetingWithMittens was a social media success for the night and a genius idea on the public relations end of the brand.

Picture retrieved from: https://twitter.com/jcpenney

Sources:

• Maheshwari, S. (2014, February 2). J.C. Penney Planned Fake Drunk Super Bowl Tweets To "Create Own Narrative". In Buzzfeed Business. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from

http://www.buzzfeed.com/sapna/jc-penney-planned-fake-drunk-super-bowl-tweets-to-create-own

• Garcia, T. (2014, February 3). PR Plays a Role on Super Bowl Sunday and Beyond. In PRNewser. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from

http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-plays-a-role-on-super-bowl-sunday-and-beyond_b33439

• Wiener-Bronner, D. (2014, February 3). JCPenney's 'Drunk' Super Bowl Tweets Were Really Just a Mitten-Selling Stunt. In The Wire. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from

http://www.thewire.com/technology/2014/02/jcpenneys-drunk-super-bowl-tweets-were-really-just-mitten-selling-stunt/357652/

Facebook PR introducing “WatchWith” party during Super Bowl

by Kelcey Blanks 

Excitement is in the air leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl match up between the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos, and Facebook is also finding a way to be a part of the big game. The public relations team at Facebook has decided to involve and reward celebrities who share updates, pictures, and posts with fans throughout Super Bowl XLVIII.

Photo retrieved from: http://calvinayre.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/superbowl-xlviii-opening-line-has-denver-broncos-as-1-5-point-favorites-against-the-seattle-seahawks.jpg

These famous people are connecting with fans during the “WatchWith” party. Celebrities and fans are being encouraged to use the hashtag #FBWatch during the game when posting anything relative to the game.

Celebrities participating in the “WatchWith” party:

• CNN host Rachel Nichols
• Carolina Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams
• New England Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty
• Tennessee Titans cornerback Jason McCourty
• Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo
• Denver Nuggets guard Nate Robinson
• Actor Josh Duhamel
• Atlanta Falcons receiver Julio Jones 

This PR move by Facebook is to get famous people to start sharing “public content” much like what is done on Twitter. Facebook sees how well it is working out for other social media sites and is trying to get a foot in the door of celebrities using their site for more than just the typical fan page. Celebrities don’t usually do a lot of interacting with fans on Facebook, and the PR folks are trying to change that. And they figure it might not hurt to throw some incentives in while they’re at it.

That’s right, these celebrities aren’t in it for some fun and to socialize with fans over the biggest night in football. Facebook is planning on hooking them up with some awesome perks, including free advertisement, partnership with press to highlight those who participate in a feature about the “WatchWith” party, amplified promotion and the list goes on.

In order for the celebrities participating to receive these incentives, they have to achieve a few things on the social media site first. They must share a pre-game photo, answer fan questions, comment on the half-time performances, share their favorite commercials and promote the #FBWatch hashtag with fans.

It all seems simple enough, but it sounds strangely familiar. Sounds like Facebook may be taking a play straight from the Twitter playbook. And why wouldn’t they? Twitter’s interactive approach seems to be working very well for them. Celebrities and companies appear to be interested in Twitter’s approach for promotion and branding tactics. It is huge in the world of marketing, advertising and public relations. Twitter is also so fast-paced that is constantly changing and evolving, while Facebook has remained stagnant over the years. Even though Facebook claims to not be morphing into an exact replica of Twitter, they have recently added verified accounts, hashtags and are introducing trending topics

Photo retrieved at: http://content.animalnewyork.com/wp-content/uploads/facebook-hashtags-dont-work.jpg

Facebook has over a billion users. Why do these semi-famous people need to be offered incentives to participate in an event that will probably help them gain an even bigger following? It all just seems like a promotional tactic to get people to switch from Twitter to Facebook.

Facebook has been all about changing in the last couple years, so maybe this might put them ahead of their competition. Or maybe, people will just realize that they prefer the original Twitter. As innovative as Facebook is, it shouldn’t be this hard to create something new and fresh for social media users to latch on to.

It seems like a good try by Facebook PR to try and shift Facebook in a new direction. It’s justifiable to give consumers what they want, and everyone appears to be interested in the interactivity that Twitter has to offer. I’ll be eager to see if the Facebook Super Bowl party is a success for the organization or a complete bust. It is time for the social media site to be making changes, I’m just not sure if ripping off Twitter is the way to go about it.

Sources:

• Kafka, P. (2014, January 31). Here's How Facebook Rewards Celebrities Who Post About the Super Bowl. In Recode. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://recode.net/2014/01/31/heres-how-facebook-rewards-celebrities-who-post-about-the-super-bowl/
• Kafka, P. (2013, August 7). Facebook Takes on Twitter by Courting Celebrities, Building Twittery Tools. In All Things D. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://allthingsd.com/20130807/facebook-takes-on-twitter-by-courting-celebrities-building-twittery-tools/
• Coffee, P. (2014, January 31). Facebook PR Really Wants Famous People to Post During the Super Bowl. In PRNewser. Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/facebook-pr-really-wants-famous-people-to-post-about-the-super-bowl_b84259

Building Your Brand as a PR Student

By Kelcey Blanks

This week I thought about public relations in general and what it means to me. I’m rounding out my last semester of college in May and I feel as though it’s really important to take as much out of these last few months as possible. Finding a job after college is a scary thought and I want to be as prepared as possible. But in a room full of 10 to 15 qualified public relations graduates, how am I going to differentiate myself?

In my time as a PR student, I have learned that a company’s brand sets them a part from competition and is perceived in various ways in the minds of consumers. Branding makes one company more unique than another. It solidifies the position of one company over another. When purchasing new shoes, I always have that one brand that is more prominent in my head compared to the rest. I want to be that shoe brand that sticks out to employers. I want to be the last one on their minds after a dozen interviews for a job position.

As public relations students, it is important to build our own brand professionally and personally before we are able to start a career in helping companies build their own. It is important to start thinking of yourself as a brand so that you can set yourself a part from future job competition. It is predicted that the public relations industry will experience major growth in the next few years, so stand out in a group of public relations students.

Don’t leave your image to chance. After all, we are public relations students. We should know how to manage a brand. I started thinking, if I were a brand, how would people perceive me? How would the “Kelcey Blanks brand” stand out in a group of 100 other graduates all vying for the same job?

Manage your presence on social media websites: And no, this doesn’t consist of updating your Facebook status to tell the world about the bar you went to last night. Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are all there for you to network and build relationships. Don’t just be on social media – engage in it. I started Twitter last year and frequently use it to communicate with public relations professionals. In the social media age that we currently live in, it is almost guaranteed that a future employer will look at your social media pages. Stand out from your competition by posting information that is relevant to a career in public relations.

Using social media as part of your branding strategy

Start a blog: Show employers that you are passionate about something. Update and post to your blog as often as possible so that you can stay ahead of the game professionally. This shows employers your writing skills and that you are capable of forming an opinion about a topic. Blogging can allow you to network with other professionals and can even lead to a career.

Develop your brand statement: So this may sound a little cheesy, but you need to think about how you see yourself before anything else. Come up with some adjectives and incorporate your career field. The Kelcey Blanks brand statement would be a “funny, fashionable and hardworking public relations student.”

Create a portfolio: I started creating my portfolio last year, and not only is it a reference for me to be able to look back on one day, it is something employers will be able remember you by. Emphasize the work that you believe will impress an employer. By simply updating your portfolio with present work and accomplishments, you already have a leg up on other competition that didn’t show up to the job interview with one. This will also show employers that you are organized and well managed.

In developing yourself as a brand, you have to decide what is most important and relevant to you and your career. What is valuable to me may not work for someone else. Branding is about finding out what works for you and what you believe will make you stand out in a sea full of other graduates. Make a list of your brand essentials and continue to update it when professional situations arise. Always remember to stand out.