IntegratePR | Houston Public Relations and Social Media Agency

The entire IntegratePR team is deeply saddened by yesterday’s catastrophic events at the 117^th annual Boston Marathon. Tragically, 3 people lost their lives, 17 are in critical condition, and more than 140 are seriously injured after two explosions went off near the marathon’s finish line.

The Boston Marathon, which is one of the six World Marathon Majors, attracts people from all over the world and there were around 200 Houstonians participating in yesterday’s race. The explosions have left all of America in utter shock and disbelief.

While the motives and individuals behind the blasts are unknown, one thing is for certain: Boston needs the country’s assistance.  If you would like to help those in need, the Red Cross of Massachusetts has opened a disaster operation head quarters in Boston and though they have enough blood for those injured, they are still accepting monetary donations.

The Salvation Army is offering food, beverages and counseling to survivors and responders. You can donate to the Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services online.

Ten of the explosion victims are children whom are now being cared for at the Boston Children’s Hospital. The hospital is accepting donations online and is offering resources on how to talk to children post-tragedy. 

Boston citizens have already banned together to help the runners and spectators in need. Hundreds of people have offered their homes in Boston and surrounding areas to those stranded in the city in a large Google Drive document. Other websites, including the Boston Marathon Athlete Tracker, allow people to find their loved ones who were in the race and offer resources to the marathon victims. 

Social media has played a huge role in aiding Boston. By following the hashtag #BostonHelp on Twitter, people can stay up to date on ways to volunteer and donate. The 

Our hearts and prayers go out to all the victims, their families, and those traumatized in the explosions. 

Our time at SXSW may be over, but we’re continuing to feel the excitement from our six days in Austin and are still full from all the queso and margaritas we indulged in! We all had a great time at SXSW, had the chance to show off our rain boots (it never fails to rain at SXSW), and were able to get a lot of great take aways and not to mention, meet some awesome people!

One of our favorite sessions was the Mashable Variety Show with Pete Cashmore, which kicked off with this great video! The session was all about the future of the Internet, memes and the value of photos over links on Facebook to drive engagement.

John Mackey, CEO and co-founder of Whole Foods, led another one of our favorite sessions where he discussed his controversial views on big business with the SX crowd. Yes, large companies have provided people with jobs and helped to shape communities, but they can also be breeding grounds for greed and a culture that doesn’t truly care about the little guy. Mackey created the Whole Foods business model on equality (their cashiers and upper management have exactly the same benefits), which was inspiring to hear. While he’s clearly a believer in big business, he also believes in giving back, and understands the importance of corporate social responsibility, which was an interesting combination to hear about from a business owner.

A third favorite panel was Shaq’s. We were not expecting to be overly enthralled by this session, but we all ended up falling in love with Shaq’s loveable personality. He’s pretty smart (something he credits to his business partners, lawyers, and staff) and loves nerdy tech stuff. He even called himself “the tallest geek in the world.”  He was one of the first investors in Google too, before it is the monster conglomerate it is today, which was fascinating to learn. Shaq has all the money in the world, but is smart with his investments, and hearing about his ups and downs with his ventures over the years reminded us why it’s sometimes important to put yourself out there and take a professional risk.  (And no, there will not be a Kazaam 2.)

Lastly, Rachel Maddow’s keynote session left us with amazing insight on the state of the military and how disconnected most American’s are these days.  She explained how many people don’t “feel” the war at all unless they are in the military or in a military family. It was very interesting to hear her view on these matters. Also, she answered the questions that our very own Jenny Selber tweeted to her!

We really enjoyed being in Austin and getting to take in everything the city has to offer. We all shamelessly enjoy people watching, and there’s no better place to spot hipsters, celebs and old friends than Austin. We hung out in the Four Seasons lobby between panels one day to decompress and try to catch a glimpse of someone famous, but sadly, never saw anyone noteworthy. On Monday night, we were able to attend the Houston party, which was a great networking event that also allowed us the chance to catch up with a few of our favorite reporters.

One of the most valuable lessons w learned at SX was the power of a good old-fashioned, face-to-face conversation. Sure the festival is all about social media trends, online communication, blogging, etc., but we had so many genuine, interesting conversations with total strangers during our time in Austin. SX reminded us to never stop thinking outside the box and to always be authentic. 

While SX can feel super overwhelming (Allie credits “panel FOMO” as a real issue at the festival) our favorite memories are of us just walking around chatting and bonding as a mini team! We all learned a lot this year, and after we forced ourselves to stop Tweeting, Facebooking and Instagamming long enough to really take in the experience and realize what an exciting time we are living and working in, we felt so appreciative that we could be there together.

For more on our time at SXSW, you can view our Tumblr page!

We’re an office full of Beyonce fans, so last week, when we saw our hometown diva sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the Presidential Inauguration, we were giddy with excitement and on our feet applauding her stellar performance. Social media sites exploded with praise for “Queen Bey,” who looked and sounded perfect (as usual). But on Tuesday, Bey-lievers’ hearts were crushed when rumors began to swirl that Beyonce had lip-synched the song. 

Trying to downplay the gossip, U.S. Marine Band Media Officer, Captain Kendra N. Motz, said in a statement, “Each piece of music scheduled for performance in the Inauguration is pre-recorded for use in case of freezing temperatures, equipment failure, or extenuating circumstances.” She continued, “Regarding Ms. Knowles-Carter’s vocal performance, no one in the Marine Band is in a position to assess whether it was live or pre-recorded.”

Another Marine Corps representative, Master Sgt. Kristin duBois, confirmed that Beyonce had recorded the song in a studio the night before the inauguration in the Marine Barracks Annex.

News of the lip-synching scandal, now known as “Lipsyncgate,” has spread like wildfire, and people’s emotions have ranged from light-hearted forgiveness to anger toward Beyonce. She’s receiving backlash for pre-recording the song and “lying” to America. Mashable published an article last week that documented people’s immediate reactions to news of the scandal, and in our office, someone used pictures to best describe their sadness.

But in all seriousness, when you look at the situation, why is it considered such a disgrace? We all know Beyonce can sing, and it is her voice in the recording, so what about this is offensive? Perhaps it is because there are constant headlines about the lies and indiscretions of celebrities, athletes and politicians, making almost every person in the limelight seem untrustworthy. Beyonce has been idolized in America, so her lip-synching is hard for fans to fathom. As we’ve said in previous blog posts, society is guilty of placing celebrities on a pedestal and when we’re reminded they are human, it’s almost like an image is shattered.

In our hearts, Beyonce is still queen. Even though she wasn’t singing live at the inauguration, we know she is capable of giving the flawless live performance that was portrayed. It’s interesting that the news of her lip-synching is still in the headlines, and unfortunately for “B,” people will not soon forget about what happened.

Were you upset about Beyonce lip-syncing? Or do you love her regardless? Watch her performance below and share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page! 

Laurenzo’s is a popular Italian restaurant in Houston that is known for its delectable prime rib, fabulous weekend brunch, and noble waiters.  Michael Garcia, a longtime waiter at the establishment, is being hailed as a hero across the nation after he refused to serve a customer who made a rude comment about a child with special needs who was eating with his family during his shift.

Garcia is the type of waiter who remembers his customer’s names and treats the regulars like family, especially 5-year-old Milo Castillo and his parents. Milo is a beautiful, well-behaved child that was born with Down syndrome, and he also happens to be one of Michael Garcia’s favorite people to see while he’s working.

When Milo and his family were at Laurenzo’s last Wednesday, January 16^th, another diner asked Garcia to move him and his family away from Milo’s table. As he was helping the patrons move, Garcia overheard the man say, “Special needs children need to be special somewhere else.”

Garcia says after he heard that, he confronted the customer. “My personal feelings took over and I told him, ‘I’m not going to be able to serve you, sir,’” Garcia said. “He said, ‘If you’re not going to be able to serve us, then we’ll leave.’ Then I told him, ‘How could you say that? How could you say that about a beautiful 5-year-old angel?’”

Michael Garcia 

After the man and his family left, Milo’s parents heard about what had happened and were impressed by Garcia taking a stand for what he felt was right. Laurenzo’s is backing Garcia’s decision to refuse to serve the customer that made the insensitive comment, and it seems the rest of the nation is as well.

News of what happened has spread across the country, with outlets such as MSNBC, the Today Show, the Huffington Post, the Examiner, Yahoo! News, and countless others covering the story. Laurenzo’s is being praised for not tolerating hate and ignorance in its restaurant.

Facebook has exploded with comments about Garcia’s heroic act, and Laurenzo’s page is filled with people thanking Garcia and the restaurant for what he did. One week after the event, Laurenzo’s is still getting hundreds of comments of commendation from people all over the United States, and the page’s number of ‘likes’ has spiked.

In a world where tragedy seems to occur regularly, it’s wonderful to hear about a story of love, bravery and doing what is right. Garcia’s act of kindness at Laurenzo’s has touched thousands of American’s hearts.

What do you think about Garcia’s stance on the issue? Let us know on our Facebook page!  

Milo Castillo 

Making mistakes may be human nature, but unfortunately, when a mistake is attached to a brand, it’s considered a public blunder and a PR crisis.

2012 was a year full of slipups. Some of which made us cringe, others made us laugh, but they each provided us with a lesson to learn from. Watching these disasters unfold left us on the edge of our seat, as well as feeling remorse for the PR team trying to pick up the pieces of their clients’ broken reputations. As a PR agency, it was interesting for us to see how each dilemma was thoughtfully handled.

As we go into the New Year, we’d like to reflect on what PR Daily considers “The 10 Worst PR Disasters of 2012.” You most likely remember hearing about these blunders at some point last year, but here’s a recap…

10. “President Obama’s First Debate”:

At the start of the 2012 presidential race, President Obama was predicted to easily win the election against Mitt Romney. But after a lackluster performance at the first debate on October 3^rd, a second term seemed questionable for him. President Obama came across as unprepared and uninformed next to Mitt Romney, who gave sound, well thought out answers during the debate. The polls quickly tightened, and resulted in a close race until the President ultimately won the election on November 6^th.  

9. “Hashtag hijacking”:

Sure, having a hashtag trend for your company sounds like a dream, but with “hashtag hijacking” on the rise, be careful what you wish for.  We were introduced to hashtag hijacking in 2012 when over and over again, we saw companies promote a hashtag, then lose control of its message once it was released to the uninhibited realms of Twitter.

The perfect example of hashtag hijacking is McDonald’s “#McDStories” from March. The company’s goal of people reliving happy memories they have associated with the fast food chain turned to be a “McFail” when everyone’s memories seemed to be about getting sick from its food.  McDonald’s pulled the campaign within two hours, but sadly for them, people are still sharing their own special #McDStories.

8. “Homeless Hot Spots”:

Yes, Homeless Hot Spots. In case you missed it, the New York marketing firm BBH Labs released its trial of “Homeless Hot Spots” at South By Southwest in February. The firm gave homeless people in Austin devices which turned them into “wireless hot spots,” meaning people could pay to access the web using a homeless person. The homeless men and women who were serving as “hot spots” were able to keep the profits. The idea was best described by Wired as something out of a “darkly satirical science-fiction dystopia.” Needless to say, the program never became anything more than a trial [and error]. 

7. “Lance Armstrong”:

Lance Armstrong was cycling’s most famous and decorated athlete, until recently when he was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins as a result of a 200-page report of doping accusations against him from the USADA. Armstrong has been fighting accusations for years that he doped during his Tour de France victories. Although he refused countless interviews, he unwaveringly denied the accusations. When the USADA presented its 200-pages of Armstrong’s doping details in late 2012, he finally submitted and announced he was going to stop fighting the charges and hand over his titles. IntegratePR will be discussing more about this case in another blog post next week!  

6. “Chick-fil-A”:

After Chick-fil-A president, Dan Cathy, vocally expressed his and the company’s strong religious views and opposition of same-sex marriage, the chain was under fire for months. While some people supported Cathy for expressing his views, any positivity was overshadowed by outraged protestors. Chick-fil-A was boycotted for months and some cities even blocked openings of any new establishments. Matters got even worse when the company’s PR chief passed away from a heart attack during the crisis.  Chick-fil-A is still receiving backlash and negative press from Cathy’s comments.

5. “Superstorm Sandy inspired social media gaffes”:

As we discussed in a previous blog post, Hurricane Sandy, a devastating natural disaster, was turned into a parody on social media and an opportunity for retail sales late October. There were numerous “Sandy” Twitter accounts that made light of the destructive storm. Trying to take advantage of the Sandy headlines, American Apparel offered a special Hurricane Sandy Sale and the Gap suggested people should do some online shopping while taking cover from the storm. The retailers’ compassionless ploys received national backlash and were ultimately unsuccessful.

4. “GOP Misteps”:

Two favored Republican Senate candidates lost their respective elections when they each gave cavalier opinions about abortion. Missouri candidate Todd Akin expressed his beliefs that during a “… legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down,” and if for some reason it doesn’t happen, abortion wouldn’t be acceptable because “the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.” After this comment, Akin continued to campaign, even though Romney begged him to step down, and he eventually lost the race to Claire McCaskill.

In Indiana, Richard Mourdock made his view on abortion and the value of life clear when he said “…I came to realize that life is that gift from God and I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something God intended to happen.”  He lost the election to Democrat Joe Donnelly a few weeks later.

If this case taught us anything, it’s to think before you speak.

3. “Pink Slime”:

If you are unsure of what pink slime is, it’s a finely textured beef that’s used as an additive in most U.S. ground beef. Pink slime is nothing new; it’s been used in beef products for years and media outlets have continuously reported its possible health risks. No reports could prepare us for when in March, ABC news uncovered that pink slime is treated with ammonia.

Despite various PR efforts to protect pink slime companies, most of the manufacturing plants either shut down or filed for bankruptcy after food companies cut their ties and the public learned about the use of ammonia.

2. “The 47 Percent”:

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney misspoke multiple times during the election. His comments about corporations being people and his binder full of women will not soon be forgotten, but it’s his “47 percent” remark that will go down in history.

While unknowingly being recorded, Romney told campaign donors:

“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.”

Based on election results, more than just 47 percent of the nation did not appreciate his comment.

1. “Susan G. Komen for the Cure”:

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure fiasco with Planned Parenthood was the most drawn out PR disaster of 2012.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced its decision to stop donating money to Planned Parenthood in February coincidentally right after its new vice president and opponent of abortion, Karen Handel, began her position. People were immediately outraged Komen would drop their donations to Planned Parenthood. Anger went viral on several media platforms including Twitter. Komen waited 24 hours to respond to the backlash, and then waited another week to issue a public apology. The organization’s efforts were appallingly overdue, and for months, Komen suffered from its choice of defunding Planned Parenthood. Many of its staff members resigned and its fundraising plummeted. It seems that Komen will have to work for years to recover from this PR nightmare.

Share your favorite PR blunder from our list, or maybe one that wasn’t included, on our Facebook page! 

Happy Holidays from Integrate Public Relations! We hope you all are having a wonderful time with the ones you love and are savoring the beauty that the holiday season brings.

We have enjoyed getting to share our journey in 2012 with you all – our clients and friends. It has been a fantastic year and we know that 2013 will be even better! In honor of the approaching New Year, we’d like to reveal our resolutions for 2013!

Allie: “My resolution is to be 5 minutes early to everything. If it is in print, then I HAVE to do it!”

Jessie: “I never really make New Year’s resolutions, but this year, I would like to try to volunteer more, start blogging again, spend more time with my family, and only read one book at a time.”

Jenny: “I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions. While I think it’s terrific to start fresh with the New Year, I’d rather commit to being a better version of myself than targeting one thing that I’d like to work on and probably not following through.”

Mary: “Mine is to become more financially savvy.”

Adrienne: “To do more reading – start sending over the suggestions!” 

Laura: “My resolution is to volunteer regularly, be more punctual and live in the moment!”

Do you have a resolution planned already? If so, share it with us on our Facebook page!

We’re all excited to see what the New Year brings! Have a fun and safe celebration and we will see you in 2013! Cheers!

Are you in the holiday spirit? Because the IntegratePR elves sure are! Yesterday afternoon was our much anticipated annual holiday potluck and gift exchange. We were so eager to start the party that we set out the cheese and vegetable trays at 10 a.m.!

Our festive fun began with the gift exchange. More than a month ago, we used Elfster to anonymously draw names for the exchange, so it was exciting to reveal who we had been shopping for! Among some of the gifts were a pug beanie, a bow tie, business card holders, jewelry and of course, holiday libations!

When the potluck began, we had quite the feast! Our meal included brie and crackers, stuffed dates wrapped in bacon (dubbed “bacon candy”), decadent chicken parmesan, delicious vegetarian baked ziti and wonderful cheesy potatoes. Everything was fantastic! But let’s not forget dessert! Our final course included puppy chow, peppermint red velvet brownies with a cheesecake swirl, s’mores cookies and heavenly cream cheese, chocolate chip pinwheels. Yes, we’re still full.

We even shared a cup of cheer and toasted to 2012, the company and one another. Our year as a team was filled with hard work, success, a lot of fun, some life lessons, laughter and friendship. We know 2013 will be just as fabulous as 2012 was, and we can’t wait to see what the New Year brings.

We hope your holiday season is filled with magic and happiness! From our office to yours, Happy Holidays!

In today’s highly technological world, people prefer their phones and computers to work together cohesively. As three of the most popular social media sites, it would be convenient if Facebook, Twitter and Instagram respected this wish and could play nice. People love these three platforms, but unfortunately, they don’t love each other, and have proven they’re incapable of getting along with one another. Case in point: the current “Insta-feud” between Twitter and Instagram.

The quarrel may come as a surprise to some since the two outlets used to be cross-promoters. When Instagram started two years ago, Twitter helped boost its popularity and both sites were able to benefit from the partnership. But if you closely follow social media news like us, you’re probably aware that things began to take a turn for the worse in April when Facebook, Twitter’s biggest competitor, bought Instagram for $1 billion. In what seemed to be an act of vengeance, Twitter disabled a feature in July that allowed Instagram users to easily find their Twitter followers in the app. In August, to add insult to the $1 billion injury, there were reports that Instagram had surpassed Twitter in popularity.

These events led to the social media-shattering decision that took place on December 5^th: Instagram disabled its “Twitter cards integration,” a feature that allows photos to be correctly displayed on the Twitter app (in layman’s terms, Insta-pics weren’t being displayed properly on Twitter). Shortly after, on the 10^th, Instagram completely disabled photo integration on Twitter, meaning Insta-pics will no longer appear on Twitter timelines. In order to view an Insta-pic via Twitter, the user would have to click the link and be redirected to the Instagram website.

Instagram CEO and co-founder, Kevin Systrom, explained his reasoning behind breaking ties with Twitter to Computerworld: “A handful of months ago, we supported Twitter Cards because we had a minimal Web presence. We’ve since launched several improvements to our Web site that allow users to directly engage with Instagram content through likes, comments [and] hash tags, and now we believe the best experience is for us to link back to where the content lives.” While some view this as a respectable business decision, others warn Systrom not to bite the hand that feeds. After all, Twitter did help grow Instagram’s popularity and arguably led them to be bought by Facebook.

In turn, Twitter is not giving up so easily. Apparently the company felt the burn of Systrom’s decision because on the 11^th of this month, Twitter announced new tools that allow users to adjust the size, color and style of photos that are Tweeted, similar to the editing tools of Instagram.

With all the back and forth, it seems like the feud between Twitter and Instagram is a battle for power and control. Facebook was smart to team up with Instagram, but what will Twitter do now that it’s without a partner? Will there be a Twitter and MySpace collaboration in the future to help fill the Instagram void? The IPR office is eager to see how this unravels, but whom do you think will prevail in the Insta-feud? Let us know what you think and share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

This week, the world found out that Kate Middleton is pregnant. Everybody has been itching to know more information about her pregnancy: where the baby was conceived, what they plan to name it, etc. But did two people take it a little too far?

Upon hearing the news that Kate was admitted to King Edward VII Hospital in London for bad morning sickness, Australian DJs Mel Greig and Michael Christian of Sydney station 2Day FM got the number for the hospital and decided to play a prank, calling and pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles. The nurse who answered their phone call, Jacintha Saldanha, believed it was the Queen and the Prince on the phone and happily answered all of their questions. Did we mention that this was actually being aired over the radio in Australia? This information spread very quickly and it seemed as though the whole world was talking about it. Once the palace got word of the prank, the radio station and DJs who called issued apology statements maintaining that they did not believe they would actually be able to get as much information as they did out of hospital staff, and how deeply sorry they were for airing such private information to the public.

But what these DJs might not have thought about afterwards is what would happen to the nurse who they duped over the phone. This morning, Saldanha was found dead at a location near to King Edward VII Hospital around 9:30am and it is suspected to have been a suicide. Who do you believe is to blame for this tragedy? Can we blame the media for taking this gag to the next level? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page.

Happy Thanksgiving from everyone here at IntegratePR! We hope you have a fantastic day full of food, friends and family. We have a lot to be thankful for this year, so we would like to extend a big thank you to everyone who has helped us get to where we are today! We wouldn’t be anywhere without every single one of you and our gratitude cannot be expressed enough.

What are you most thankful for this year? After the turkey and pie, tell us on our Facebook page. 

Happy Turkey Day!

The IntegratePR team