Favorite Finds

Below are some of the most intriguing things I found on the web this week.

• Band of Brands – Newcastle Brown Ale generated more than 4 million views of its call-to-action campaign that invited other small brands that can’t afford a $4 million Super Bowl ad to join forces, with the final ad featuring 37 brands in only 60 seconds!
• Girls Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts – After Bill Murray shot down the opportunity to film another Ghostbusters movie, an all-female cast will star in the 2016 movie, including Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy – both recommended for the roles by Murray himself.
• Social Media Shopping – According to the Chicago Tribune, brands should turn more to social media to position their products as good gifts for friends & family, as a recent study revealed that more consumers researched Facebook and other sites for their holiday shopping last year.
• Big Eyes – Bryce, the blind baby seal, may be stealing the spotlight from the recent Amy Adams movie. Twitterverse was abound with photos of Bryce’s recovery after being rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center.
• Twitter Politics – From criticizing the British government to declaring Mitt Romney shouldn’t run for president, media magnate Rupert Murdoch is using Twitter to share his political views, perhaps in response to the declining influence of newspapers on policy and elected officials.

In the Mix...Contigo Steals the Spotlight on GMA “Deals & Steals”

LCWA loves to get products into the hands of media influencers who can help us make a splash – and that’s just how we kicked of 2015 for Contigo. We helped the company secure and coordinate a coveted spot in a January Good Morning America “Deals and Steals” segment geared at helping viewers look their best for 2015. A collection of Contigo’s sleek, functional water bottles stole the spotlight on GMA, and even had host Robin Roberts snagging a sample off of the table for herself. It was a buzz-building day, and a great way to launch into another successful year of media placements for our client Contigo.

In the Mix...Life Fitness Connects at CES

Connected Fitness was one of the major trends at CES 2015, which is why LCWA was thrilled to gain national coverage for Life Fitness on the topic in a radio interview from the CES floor with Jason Masters of Popular Technology Radio. The show featured Life Fitness Sr. Product Manager Anthony Morelli who discussed how LF Open Technology – an open IPA platform that allows third-parties to integrate seamlessly with Life Fitness cardio products and, ultimately, improve the workouts of fitness fanatics like Masters.The placement generated more than 1.1 million impressions on 39 affiliates in top-tier markets, including Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Seattle, Orlando, St. Louis and Nashville during the height of CES buzz.

Favorite Finds

Hollywood dominated the news this week with the announcement of this year’s Academy Award nominations. Check out the full list of this year’s contenders below, along with some other stories that caught our attention:

• Oscar Buzz: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its 2015 list of Oscar nominees this week. “Birdman” leads the race with 9 nominations, including a Best Actor nod for Michael Keaton. Oscar favorite Meryl Streep also snagged her record 19^th nomination for her portrayal of The Witch in “Into the Woods." 
• Vive la France!: The first edition of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo to be published since the attack on its office sold out within minutes of hitting newsstands. The controversial cover of the “Survivor’s Issue” featured an image of the Prophet Muhammad with a tear rolling down his cheek and holding a placard that says “Je Suis Charlie.” The saying has swept France and the world, with the irreverent newspaper being embraced as a symbol of freedom of speech.
• Flu Fright: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that this year's influenza vaccines are less effective than usual because the viruses used to make them aren’t a good match for the viruses now spreading across the country. According to the report, flu vaccines are only 23% effective this season – bad news in a particularly harsh year for the virus.
• Off Target: Target Corp. announced this week that it will close up shop in Canada. In his first major move since taking the helm of the retail giant last August, CEO Brian Cornell has decided to shut down all 133 stores across Canada due to lack of profitability.
• Hair Out There: An international panel of scientists at Stanford University released a report this week speculating that any extraterrestrials that exist may have hair entirely different from that of humans. Researchers used computer simulations to predict how hair might develop in a variety of extreme planetary conditions. Among their findings was the hair-raising revelation that, in addition to brown, black, blond and red tones, alien hair colors could fall anywhere along the visual spectrum - or even be completely translucent. Mystery solved!

In the Mix…UCAOA’s Survey on Industry Growth Leads to National Coverage

LCWA client the Urgent Care Association of America recently released its annual Benchmarking Survey, which shows major industry-wide expansion. As a vital part of the health care landscape, these results indicate that the urgent care industry continues to experience significant growth, as customers demand a smart place to go with non-life threatening conditions. National media agreed that this was an interesting and important development in the world of health care – and a reporter from Bloomberg interviewed UCAOA spokespeople for a syndicated story. Coverage has so far appeared multiple sections of BloombergBusinessweek, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, The Star-Ledger and The Sun-Sentinel. As 2015 gets underway, the urgent care industry and UCAOA will continue to play a major role in health care stories and issues.  

Favorite Finds

Happy New Year! Here are my favorite finds from this week.

• Straight to the top. This presentation shows how we can connect with top influencers using the latest techniques.
• She said, she said. What trends do women predict will shape 2015?
• A foreign language. Entering the PR world at age 42 presents unique challenges.  
• And the crowd goes social. Soccer superstar Lionel Messi follows a rival team on Instagram; Twitter goes insane.
• #Booyah. Four communications (and life) lessons from Stuart Scott, who passed away Sunday.

In the Mix…Electrolux Camo Vacuums Covers the United States

This fall, Electrolux unveiled the ERGORAPIDO® LIMITED EDITION REALTREE XTRA® CAMO vacuum. To generate awareness and bring its “cut the cord” message to consumers, we reached out to syndicated columnists and targeted major dailies at top outdoor wildlife states across the country.  As a direct result of our outreach, Electrolux has been featured in nearly two dozen newspapers – from the Arizona Daily Star and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to the Kentucky Inquirer and Connecticut Post – touting its cordless performance and unique camouflaged design – and garnered nearly 4 million impressions.