Trevor Young's Blog

Restaurant Chain Suffers Indigestion From Playboy Model Plug

18 Aug 2008 03:35 No comments
A storm in a latte glass is brewing in the US after Playboy model and reality TV star Kendra Wilkinson expressed her undying love for the Olive Garden Italian restaurant chain.
 
Yes folks, 23-year-old Kendra - girlfriend of Hugh Hefner (well, one of three actually) and star of the Girls Next Door TV show - has publicly heaped praise on the restaurant. Yes, praise. The blonde model hasn't criticised the brand at all, in fact she genuinely loves it!
 
But all this has caused the restaurant some discomfort. You see, Olive Garden stands for family values and Wilkinson, being part of the Playboy family, is obviously not seen as a good 'fit' with the brand. More...

Once Bitten, Sony Learns the Power of Authentic Blogging

16 Aug 2008 08:15 No comments

Interesting piece on Sony PlayStation in PR Week and how the brand, after stuffing up its first foray into the blogosphere in 2006, is back blogging, albeit in a manner more transparent and authentic than its initial effort.Two years ago, Sony - with the help of its promotional agency Zipatoni - created a fake blog (aka 'flog') entitled 'All I Want For Xmas is a PSP' in which a guy named Charlie apparently tried to help his friend Jeremy to score a PSP for Christmas. Anyway, Sony was sprung and as a result the brand copped a pounding.

Here's how Advertising Age reported the ****-up at the time. More...

Never Mind, We Know What We Stand For

14 Aug 2008 02:49 No comments
Knowing what you stand for as a brand and communicating it succinctly is a key tenet of successful marketing. Popular Hawthorn drinking hole Nevermind gets it. Here is what's written on a small sign in the bar's front window:

No guest list.
No dance-floor.
No tea or coffee.
No telephone.
We have beer.

Simple Communication Beats Tech Jargon Every Time

12 Aug 2008 07:31 No comments
Why is it that many (most?) technology companies that deal directly with the general public don't 'get it' when it comes to written communication? I upgraded my internet service today, which was all easy and relatively painless. I then received an email telling me to:

Please reset (or cycle the power on) your ADSL modem to activate new package parameters.

Whaaaat? Who talks like that? I suggested to the ISP a better way to communicate the instruction might be something along the lines of:

"To activate your new service, please switch off your modem for 60 seconds and then turn it back on."
 
Sorry guys, but it ain't rocket science, but then, maybe that's the problem. 

Tech companies love over-complicating things and apart from annoying their customers, it might also be costing them sales as their jargon-laden 'gobblygook' often seeps into marketing materials.
More...

The Evolution of Public Relations (and what the future holds)

11 Aug 2008 08:32 No comments
Public relations is going to move as the marketplace evolves and be part of all new technologies, according to Bruce McKenzie, Senior Vice-President, Entertainment Marketing, MS&L in a video interview to celebrate 10 years of PR Week (US) magazine.

"The fact that I'm here just shows the evolution of public relations to more communication-based marketing solutions for brands way beyond traditional PR," says McKenzie, who has no background in PR per se but in entertainment marketing.

PR Week Interview:  Bruce MacKenzie on the evolution of PR.

 

Meanwhile, in the same PR Week series, Porter Novelli's Chief Client Officer, Julie Winskie, says that PR has become much more important to clients -- "We are taken much more seriously...(we're) much more respected at a lot of different tables". More...

Brian Solis Introduces the 'Conversation Prism'

6 Aug 2008 05:28 No comments
Mapping the amorphous mass that is 'social media' is no easy task, particularly as it's an rapidly changing beast. 

Once visualised, however, it's a lot easier to 'get' the the size and scope of social media, and of course better understand the challenge it presents brands, companies, marketers and PR people etc.

Prominent blogger Brian Solis has, in conjunction with Jesse Tomas of JESS3 created the conversation prism that shows graphically how online communities and networks connect to form the social web.

At the heart of the model sits 'The Conversation - the art of listening, learning and sharing'. More...

What is a Journalist?

6 Aug 2008 02:48 No comments
In these times of disposable journalism and alarmist/sensationalist (not to mention celebrity-obsessed) media, it's reassuring to read US photojournalist Heather S. Hughes' take on what it truly means to be a journalist.

Hughes' post on the Black Star Rising blog is a heartfelt plea to journalists to hang in there.

"In this environment of layoffs and cutbacks, where some critics seem eager to dance on the grave of the newspaper industry, I think it's important to remember what makes a journalist -- and why the institution of journalism is worth protecting," Hughes writes. More...

Gorilla Bangs a Gong for Cadbury

30 Jul 2008 13:06 No comments

I'd never seen this ad before - it was on Gruen Transfer tonight -- it's pretty cool. Won a major gong at Cannes '08. Not sure if it sold any extra chocolate (it's a Cadbury ad) but it's worth a look.

While the original ad is a bit of fun, much of the value lies in the spoofs that have since been produced and posted on YouTube. A number of people have done their own mash-ups - there are versions using tracks by 50 Cent, Deep Purple and Bonnie Tyler and Nirvana and...

BTW the Cadbury TVC shared the credit at Cannes with Microsoft's 'Believe' viral web film for Halo 3. 

Chalk and cheese anyone?

More...

The Old Celebrity Hook That (Almost) Never Fails: Mr T & Snickers Show How It's Done!

29 Jul 2008 08:24 No comments

It's not a foolproof tactic by any means but the concept of bringing out to Australia an overseas 'celebrity' still pays handsome dividends in terms of publicity for companies willing to take the chance.

Further to a previous post on the subject, hat-tip to Mars (and its PR agency) for a job well done on the recent touring of US actor Mr T on behalf of its Snickers brand.

Mr T - best known for his work on TV's A-Team  and the movie Rocky III - generated heaps of press and broadcast coverage for himself and the brand.

The man was everywhere, and the media gladly covered him.
More...

Steady Growth on the US Corporate Blogging Front

25 Jul 2008 02:46 No comments

Fifteen per cent of America's Fortune 500 companies use a blog to communicate with consumers and stakeholders, according to a new study by PR giant, Burson Marsteller.

PR Week reports that this figure represents an increase of 270 per cent compared to when Wired Magazine and Socialtext began tracking Fortune 500 blogs in December, 2005. The Wired wiki of Fortune 500 blogs reportedly counted 58 of them in as of May this year.

The BM survey included only active blogs that were updated during the 12 months ending March, 2008.

Interestingly, it the larger companies are getting involved in blogging in bigger numbers than their smaller counterparts, with a third (32 per cent) of the Fortune 50 maintaining blogs compared to 16 per cent of the Fortune 201-250; just two per cent of Fortune 451-500 have a blog.
More...
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Trevor Young
Principal at One19

Joined industry in 1998
Based in Melbourne, Australia
 Member since 21 Nov 2007
Last login 4 months ago

I am the principal of a boutique Australian public relations and marketing communications firm called ONE19 (www.one19.com.au). Prior to setting up ONE19 in 2008, I was a co-managing director of PR firm, Spark Communications (www.sparkcomms.com.au), a company I co-founded in 1998.In years gone by, I have worked as a senior consultant for several major PR agencies including Porter Novelli and The Rowland Company. I'm a journalist by profession but have worked in public relations and marketing communications for 20 years.Personally and professionally, I'm fascinated by the internet and how it has dramatically transformed the media and marketing landscape globally.My blog - http://prwarrior.typepad.com/

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