Monday, November 25, 2013
Eureka Rolls in with a Powerful Prize
Friday, November 22, 2013
Favorite Finds
It’s not Thanksgiving yet, but here are some delicious finds
from social media this week!
Word of the Year: Raise your hand if you’ve ever taken a “selfie!” The Oxford English Dictionaries have named “selfie” as the 2013 Word of the Year. Social media breakthrough, or sign of the apocalypse? You decide.
- Advertising Favorites: Social video marketing firm Unruly has compiled a list of the most shared advertisements of 2013, claiming that shares mean more than views in today’s social sphere. Did your favorite make the cut?
- Media Relations: Everyone has their own distinct pitching style, but there are some “golden rules” to keep in mind when talking to reporters. Take a look at these three statements to never say to a reporter, from PR Daily.
- Kmart’s Creativity: This week, Kmart released a creative, outside-the-box(er) advertisement to support its Joe Boxer line this Christmas. The results – more than 11 million views in two days. Check it out for a good Friday laugh!
Monday, November 18, 2013
A Rewarding Profession
The public relations profession offers a plethora of
rewarding experiences, many of which focus on helping our clients successfully
market and promote their products and services. Then, there are occasions when
we support initiatives that are especially gratifying in a different way.
Another meaningful project occurred this past week. LCWA
helped the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (www.ilholocaustmuseum.org)
plan and stage Kristallnacht 75, a
program to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the horrific night
that started the Holocaust. Kristallnacht, translated from the German as the
“night of broken glass,” was the first organized act of Nazi violence against
the Jewish people of Germany and Austria that culminated in the murder of
millions.
The event featured personal and historical perspectives about
Kristallnacht and its relevance today from prominent religious, academic and
community leaders. We helped enlist speakers (such as Illinois Attorney General
Lisa Madigan, Cong. Brad Schneider, National Commander of the Jewish War
Veterans of the USA Dr. Robert Pickard, among many other dignitaries), arranged
for honorary co-sponsors (which included eight local mayors), developed copy
for direct outreach to target audiences, and generated media coverage,
highlighted by a riveting front page Chicago
Tribune article.
These would be clients’ assignments that involve public
service, cause-related programs or charitable work. Recent LCWA efforts include
heralding a state-wide bike ride that helps injured military veterans
rehabilitate, securing donations to a national animal welfare organization, publicizing
a fashion show that raised funds for local charities and arranging sponsorship
of a documentary on fire safety.


More than 700 people attended the Nov. 9 event to hear
the moving and memorable reflections from participants. As program chair Al
Gruen said, “The Kristallnacht commemoration is not just a remembrance of the
past, but an opportunity to remind the world of what can happen when such
ideologies take control. Programs such as these help ensure the phrase, “Never
Again,’ is heard around the world.”
Playing a role in the extraordinary program that evening,
indeed, was a rewarding experience.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Favorite Finds
- Changing Landscape – PR Week released a three-part series this week on how “PR is a different beast now.” In it, the contributor notes that time is becoming more and more valuable for journalists as our news cycle has sped up considerably with blogs and Twitter. In turn, finding new ways to make connections with editors is more important than ever.
- Media Relations Refresher – With new ways to communicate with journalists – such as Twitter and LinkedIn – media relations continues to change. As PR pros, we integrate these new methods with traditional ones (i.e. email and phone calls) to strengthen media relationships. As a quick refresher, PR News offers a few tactics to avoid when reaching out to journalists, including doing your background research to make sure the journalist is right for the story and making sure you can deliver on interview offers.
- Live Experiences – While many people receive product and brand recommendations from friends – often on social media – traditional live events have been shown to make a bigger impact. AdWeek reported on a new survey that found live branded experiences to be the most effective way to drive brand recommendations.
- Famous “Selfies” – Finally, in the spirit of blending traditional media with new trends, here are a few famous pictures reimagined as “selfies.”
Monday, November 11, 2013
In the Mix…Northbrook Court Fashions It Forward

All proceeds from Fashion Forward benefited local charity FORCE:
Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered – the only non-profit dedicated
to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by hereditary
breast and ovarian cancer – and Bears Care,
the charitable beneficiary of the Chicago Bears that is committed to improving
the lives of those in the Chicagoland community through support of targeted
programs in the areas of education youth athletics and health awareness.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Favorite Finds
All press is certainly not good
press – and we saw numerous examples of that this week. From the White House to
the NFL to your local yoga studio, PR reps have had the hands full this week as
they take on the hazardous world of crisis communications:
- Not so Miami “Nice”. The NFL’s Miami Dolphins are in the midst of an apparent bullying crisis – raising questions about hazing around the world of pro sports. Dolphins PR has been using Twitter and Tumbr to post updates on the escalating situation.
- Rob Ford: Crack Smoker. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford took the mic this week to admit what he had been denying for months, in what a PR exec. called "…one of the most unconventional and mind-boggling communications strategies that I've ever seen in my life."
- #IPO. After a highly successful first day of trading, what does Twitter's IPO mean for communicators?
- Obamacare rollout big business for PR firms. Tens of millions of dollars are being spent to promote, and now defend, Healthcare.gov.
- Lululemon leaves a sour taste. More bad press for the yoga-wear giant, as founder Chip Wilson blames quality control issues on size of female wearers.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
In the Mix…150 Years and Counting
When this
school first opened its doors, the Civil War raged, baseball was in its
infancy, and ground was broken for America’s first transcontinental railroad.
That’s a century and a half ago, and LCWA client Everest Institute-Rochester, formerly Rochester Business Institute, marked the milestone 150th
anniversary of its founding in 1863 at an open house celebration Nov. 1.
We
arranged for the city of Rochester, N.Y. and Monroe County (N.Y.) to officially
proclaim “Everest Institute-Rochester Day,” scheduled presentations by local
dignitaries and coordinated media coverage, highlighted by three live TV
segments on ABC affiliate WHAM 13WHAM News that ran more than 12 minutes in total.
Each
segment featured an interview with campus president Carl Silvio, who discussed
the school’s numerous innovations in business education over the past 15
decades and how its current business and healthcare training programs respond
to today’s needs in the Rochester community. WHAM reporter Norma Holland quite
enthusiastically told viewers on several occasions to “come on down” to tour the campus, review the history and learn
what the school has been doing for 150 years…training people to get a career.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Favorite Finds
- Spooky Spoofs: Oreo proved (again) that the brand has some scary good tactics when it comes to cranking out engaging social media content. The brand’s Halloween Vine videos were a spoof on popular scary movie scenes, generating more than 1,000 retweets.
- More Mobile: If you still weren’t convinced about the importance of mobile media, Facebook announced this week that almost half (48%) of daily Facebook users are now mobile-only users.
- Real Recs: Soon, Pinterest is set to roll out a new feature called “Related Pins” that will suggest recommended pins to users. Users will have the ability to set controls on what sort of suggestions they will receive by clicking the “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” button on the Related Pin.
- Photo Power: Google has unveiled 18 new features for Google+ – most of which are centered on editing and managing photos and videos. Google hopes that these new photo sharing tools will help boost the lagging social network.
- News for Newspapers: Traditional media isn’t dead yet. According to Social Media Today, newspaper stories receive 44% more social media mentions than stories that are published on online-only venues.
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