Favorite Finds

The Oscars stole the show this week on Twitter! From Jared Leto’s powerful acceptance speech to Jennifer Lawrence taking a tumble for the second year in a row, everyone has been tweeting about #Oscars2014!

• Best. Selfie. Ever. – When Ellen posted the selfie taken with 11 of Hollywood’s hottest celebrities, it became the most tweeted tweet ever – with more than 2.6 million retweets. All the social media blogs have been commenting, including Social Fresh – explaining how this selfie phenomenon proves that TV isn’t dead as a brand marketing tool.
• Selfie Science – With all the commotion over Ellen’s Oscar selfie, it’s only fitting to share the following blog post, “Science behind selfie-expression.” Most selfies are taken by people in their early 20s and women smile more often in their selfies compared to men.
• Beyond Just Visuals –Tell your fans and followers something about themselves to increase engagement. The “MarketWired Blog” shares a great example of McDonald’s sharing “infobytes” with its Canadian customers.
• Twitter Frenzy – It seems social media didn’t miss a moment Sunday night. The Oscars took the Twitterverse by storm with more than 14.7 million tweets! Check out the red carpet Twitter trends via this Oscars infographic.
• The Vatican Media Giant – Pope Francis is launching Mio Papa, his own magazine – with a centerfold! With a Twitter account, Facebook page and now, a weekly publication, the new, social savvy Pope may pose a threat to Ellen’s selfie success. Promotional tweets are soon to come.

In the Mix...Safety Meets Style

Last year, our client First Alert introduced a new series of smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms that blend sleek, modern design with maximum protection. To generate awareness and word-of-mouth for these stylish new alarms, we seeded them with well-known interior designers and encouraged them to try them out in their design projects. As a direct result of this outreach, First Alert was selected by celebrity designer Robin Wilson to be featured in the high-profile Eco-Bungalow LA Project. 

The focus of this project was to rebuild a sustainable and safe home for an LA family that lost their house to a candle fire during the 2012 holiday season. A natural fit for First Alert, the company donated all of the smoke and CO alarms, as well as a security camera system for the family’s new home. 

The project wrapped up late last month with a special event to unveil the new home to industry leaders and fire service organizations. First Alert attended along with MySafe: LA, a local fire safety advocacy group. All guests at the event received samples of First Alert’s stylish Maximum Protection Alarms, and the project has received coverage on TV stations, such as KTLA, and interior design focused websites, including Editor At Large.

To learn more about the Eco-Bungalow LA Project and First Alert’s involvement, visit http://ecobungalow-la.com/.  

Favorite Finds

While Mother Nature gave us a rise in temperature, several companies heated up the social media and advertising worlds this week. Check out some of my favorite finds below!

• Huge deal for WhatsApp – Do you use WhatsApp for messaging? The app that gained popularity for the ability to text with people overseas for free was acquired by Facebook this week for a whopping $19 billion. WhatsApp boasts a user base of 450 million people, and it’ll be interesting to see what changes Facebook implements to the app.
• Facebook timeline giveaways – Last fall, Facebook began allowing brands to hold giveaways on their timeline pages, counting “likes” and comments as official entries. If you’d like to implement this easy and cost-effective giveaway for a client, keep in mind these best practices. 
• The Power of hair – Old Spice is at it again with a very funny and clever online promotion for the company’s new line of hair care products. Check it out…and have your favorite Huey Lewis song ready.
• Sony builds influencer network – As PR pros, we’re always trying to identify and partner with blogging influencers within our clients’ industries. Check out Sony runs its very successful loyalty program…without paying its bloggers to advocate.

In the Mix…Trex “Decks Out” Las Vegas

The 2014 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas proved a great success for our client Trex Company! Showcasing a beautiful display of its comprehensive portfolio of high-performance decking, railing and outdoor living products, Trex demonstrated that it offers everything needed to build an eco-friendly deck from start to finish.

In addition to building professionals, this year's show attracted a good mix of representatives from consumer and trade media, including print, online and broadcast. Over the course of two days, the LCWA and Trex teams met with editors and producers from nearly 30 different outlets.

And, if the early results are any indication, Trex is in for a season full of positive media exposure. Already, online placements have appeared in Consumer Reports and home improvement website Charles & Hudson as a direct result of their visits with Trex during IBS.

With outdoor living season around the corner, stay tuned as our IBS conversations pave the way for more great media coverage!

Favorite Finds

With the Super Bowl winner crowned and the start of the winter Olympic Games in Sochi, real-time marketing has been the focus of this week’s top social media stories.

•  Esurance kicked things off this week with their commercial and Twitter contest which launched after the Super Bowl. The contest had followers tweet using the hashtag #EsuranceSave30 for a chance to win $1.5 million. Within the first minute 200,000 entries were received and overall the contest generated more than 2.1 million tweets.
• Facebook celebrated its 10^th Anniversary this week. In celebration, Facebook users were able to create one-minute “Look Back Videos,” that included some user’s biggest moments like their most popular status updates and most liked profile pictures.
• One phrase. Sochi Problems. The Twitter handle gained worldwide attention, fast. Since journalists’ arrived in Sochi, they took to Twitter to publicize the problems they faced there like hotels still under construction, stray dogs running around and putrid looking tap water. Since the account’s first tweet on Feb. 4, it has gained more than 91,000 followers and is on track to surpass the official Sochi 2014 Twitter account before the Opening Ceremony.
• CVS announced shocking news that beginning this fall the pharmacy will no longer support the sale of tobacco. In a move to align with the brand’s focus of fostering health and wellness, CVS could ultimately take a hit in sales. However, CVS embraced the decision throughout their social media sites by creating nonsmoking graphics stating “CVS quits for good,” and has received a large amount of public support for the decision.
• Research that shows when consumers who are in committed brand relationships flirt with other brands, they ultimately become even more attached to their primary brand. Behavioral scientists’ research suggests that brands should consider directing their customers to try out competitor brands. All while building more loyal brand advocates. 

Favorite Finds

January has already flown by, leaving us with two polar vortexes under our belts! Here’s what I was reading this week while huddled inside:

• Beyond Google Alerts – PR pros know that you can’t always count on Google Alerts to catch your client’s news – we’ve all been burned by that method before.  Inc.com suggests a few ways to think beyond Google Alerts to monitor client mentions.
• Are Facebook Ads worth it? -- Ask yourself these four questions before you decide to dedicate budget to Facebook ads.
• 35 PR Tips – Huffington Post provides a great PR tips list for students, PR newbies and veterans alike.  One of my favorites on the list is “Be a giver, not a taker.”
• Live-Tweeting – As the LCWA team prepares to attend the International Builders’ Show next week, these tips for live-tweets are a great refresher before we hit the trade show floor.