IntegratePR | Houston Public Relations and Social Media Agency

The holiday of Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and being with friends and family. You’ll see many businesses posting statuses on their social media channels with articles about how to get ready for the holidays, people repining new recipes they want to try, and even Tweets and Facebook posts about the things people are most thankful for. However, it can be difficult to seem sincere about this special time of year in 140 characters or less.

With the consistent stream of posts surrounding the holidays, ones feed can become flooded with happy holiday messages and well wishes. Are these messages really coming from the heart, or is there a social obligation to post a status on a holiday? People hold the holidays very near and dear to their hearts, so when they see that a loved one or acquaintance has not acknowledged an important holiday via their social media channels, they might assume that person does not share their same beliefs and values.

As an office full of holiday lovers, we are passionate about spreading cheer, but we also realize that not everyone is as in to holidays as we are. What do you think: are people sincerely giving thanks and wishing happy holidays to others online, or are they just fulfilling their social obligation to acknowledge these holidays via social media? Let us know your thoughts via our Facebook page! 

Pizza Hut is offering free pizza for life to anyone who is able to ask President Obama or Mitt Romney if they prefer sausage or pepperoni pizza. People will have the opportunity to ask the question during the town-hall style debate on October 16^th. Pizza for life means a $520 gift card every year for up to 30 years; full information about the promotion is available via their official press release. 

As far as Pizza Hut’s public relations is concerned, this promotion is already getting editorial coverage in major news outlets. While the overall tone of the campaign is lighthearted, given that the audacious question would most likely make a mockery of the debate, many who will be watching will be on the edge of their seats waiting to see if anyone asks the questions at hand. A good campaign spreads an idea and Pizza Hut has certainly made people aware of their brand through this unique promotion.

While we admire the creativity of this stunt, we do still want to think about the ramifications of using this method to get a message out. Although this is an effective way of promoting their business, people may begin to perceive Pizza Hut as a brand that does not take the debates or the election seriously. If they are in fact, able to convince someone to ask this question on live television, it is quite possible that many people will be upset that this has taken up precious debate time.

 Do you think that this marketing ploy was a good or a bad idea? Will your answer depend on if someone is able to successfully ask the question during the debate? Send us your thoughts on Facebook or Twitter. 

Last week, one of our favorite celebrities around the office, Lauren Conrad, was in quite the PR predicament when she created a DIY project that involved destroying several children’s books from the popular Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events series. The offending video featured our darling LC ripping the spines from the books to be used as decoration for baskets. Once fans of the books caught wind of the video, angry emails prompted the DIY queen to take down her post.

Was this the right thing to do? While Conrad was slammed for being an author who decimated books, was the anger well-deserved? From a PR standpoint, we believe the error was made when the Conrad camp declined to comment on the incident, offering no plausible explanation for the video being removed from the site.

At IntegratePR we understand that the Internet is a place where instant reactions are often necessary and welcomed, although we would always recommend providing a statement in a crisis situation like this one. While it’s difficult for us to choose sides, we would like to point out that in fact, many people re-purpose old books. Check out these projects from our Pinterest page:

Book Carvings:

Blocking out your favorite quote and framing it:

Do you think that it’s OK to deface books? With the prevalence of e-readers  do you think that repurposing print editions into art will gain popularity? Let us know by starting a conversation on our Facebook or Twitter.

While just about any person can speak on just about any topic with the right preparation, a lesson that is truly important to learn in order to become a great and effective speaker, is using your voice appropriately. In one of our favorite Ragan’s PR Daily articles, we learn that Jackie Kennedy Onassis, was able to leverage her voice to support her causes – and the importance of wisely selecting when to use that voice. While her name was widely known around the world, the fact that she did not attach herself to every cause available truly showed her PR prowess.

Over the past weekend in Houston, Danny Glover met with a delegation of Houston janitors at the Third Ward Multi-Service Center to talk about fair wages for workers cleaning offices in some of the city’s largest companies. Glover is a noted civil and social rights activist, and although he may have a few past campaigns under his belt, the fact that he positioned himself to be an authority on civil and social issues, gives him clout when undertaking the cause of a new organization.

At Integrate Public Relations, one of the most important things that we do is help clients find their voice. Sure, we are communicating their voice on social media channels, but additionally, we help our clients find their brand and what that means in how they interact with their publics. In some cases, that means selecting only one charity to work with instead 50, thus avoiding the dilution of your overall message. Whatever the case may be, the team at Integrate believes in finding each business’ individual voice and making that voice heard. We love when we see other Houstonians that share our same ideologies!

We welcomed the Facebook IPO with open arms, and as of yesterday, June 5^th, 2012, Facebook stock fell for the third consecutive day. The stock closed at $25.87: 32 percent below its initial public offering price of $38 dollars. Additionally, according to a poll taken by Reuters/Ipsos, 34 percent of Facebook users say they spend less time on the site than they did six months ago, and an astonishing 80 percent claim that they have never purchased a single thing because of one of its ads. Adding insult to injury, as you may have seen on our Facebook page, the newlywed Zuckerberg was publicly criticized recently for failing to tip at an Italian restaurant overseas.

Guess this isn’t really The Zuck’s finest hour.

There is always the issue of Facebook users not being happy about adjusting to the new updates of the user interface. But while Facebook sees these evolutionary changes as necessary in order to intrigue users and maintain steady traffic, will users simply get fed up and finally leave the social network once and for all? With the unpopular Timeline format continuing to roll out to the 900 million users of Facebook, we wonder if these dissatisfied users really will follow through with their promises? With the social network currently under scrutiny, the IntegratePR team often gets asked if we think “Facebook will be here forever?”

Our answer often is that communication will continue to be the only constant. The idea behind any new tool, vehicle or medium that is used to engage an audience is simple: that it will improve communication in one’s every day life. As PR and social media experts, we believe that it is necessary to stay abreast of the constant changes in the industry, and where our audiences truly lie. If they remain on Facebook, so will we. Because we are so entrenched in the industry, we can therefore help to shape the way that people are influenced.  We will continue to roll with the punches and keep our eyes and minds open for the next big thing.

While you may not describe the new Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos or the Danny’s Grand Slam as the pinnacle of American culinary offerings, they are at the pinnacle of current American restaurant marketing. What do these two offerings have in common besides a dangerously high calorie count? Both have applied mass marketing techniques that have managed to catch the attention of a nationwide audience that lives in a 3 minute messaging world.

Doritos Locos Tacos have produced the most successful product launch in Taco Bell’s 50-year history, selling 100 million tacos in just 10 weeks while it took rival fast food chain McDonald’s 18 years to sell 100 million burgers. While the numbers may be attributed to the growing number of actual fast food consumers, IntegratePR is willing to bet that their savvy marketing strategies have also aided in propelling the taco to the top. Thousands of tweets have been generated from the #doritoslocostacos hashtag and more popular tweets have been featured in their commercials including one claiming that eating a taco is “like kissing a unicorn on a pot of gold.” You can’t buy this type of marketing, which is solid gold to any type of business.

Denny’s has been serving up Grand Slams for over 50 years and is a breakfast icon in the United States. They have recently begun promoting their mobile app which will allow you to check-in at each of their restaurant locations. They are launching an entire marketing campaign based on the premise of checking in to Denny’s location all around the country. While we’re not sure that creating another check-in based application is the way to go instead of utilizing the already popular FourSquare or SCVNGR, it has gained a lot of initial attention and we’ll be interested to see how it all plays out.

While these campaigns are noteworthy for their popularity as well as social media usage, the question of corporate social responsibility does come to mind. As you may have seen us post on our Facebook page recently, Mayor Bloomberg of New York City has recently proposed a ban on the sale of any sugary beverage over 16 ounces in any of the city’s restaurants, delis, movie theaters or street carts. While some may feel that the government may not have the right to intervene in issues of public consumption, should a marketing, advertising or PR company back down just because a product is deemed unhealthy? Should 100 million Doritos Locos Taco have been sold to a nation of rapidly increasing waistlines? Is promoting the idea of going to not only one Denny’s restaurant but to 50, wise?

Any promotion comes down to the product. In our opinion, promotional efforts can reinforce the idea of enjoying any product, but the messaging must reverberate with the fact that these items should be enjoyed in moderation. Although marketers, advertisers and PR professionals would like to believe that the public understands moderation, we believe it is always important to act responsibly across campaigns.

What do you think? Post your thoughts and comments below, on our Facebook or Twitter!

Nationally franchised, Dallas based Pizza Patrón produced a 2007 marketing stunt “Pizza por Pesos,” a campaign that allowed patrons to pay with Mexican pesos for a limited time. The stunt produced both negative and positive response but five years later, Andrew Gamm, Pizza Patrón’s brand director, has developed a new series of campaigns for the year that will continue to capitalize on the brand’s target audience’s Hispanic culture. The current initiative will offer a free pizza to anyone who asks for one in Spanish on June 5^th from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. during which time Gamm expects to give away 80,000 pizzas. Critics of the promotion have come from both the Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking community, who have loudly voiced their opinions that the promotion seems discriminatory.

From a marketing perspective, it appears that Pizza Patrón has done the right thing in catering to their target demographic. While pundits of the campaign criticize the fact that it discriminates against non-Spanish speakers, we feel the campaign does nothing of the sort. It invites consumers to participate in the culture of the company, which caters to a Spanish speaking audience. They do not only sell to people who speak Spanish but are offering a deal to someone who asks for pie in a language that the brand’s audience is comfortable with. For anyone who is so upset about having to broaden their horizons by learning one sentence in a different language, we recommend Google Translate.

How do you feel about this pizza promotion? Let us know in the comments below or our Facebook and Twitter.

Today’s 24-hour news cycle, available because of the speed of social media  and digital communications has both helped and hindered communications in the world of politics. Newt Gingrich utilized YouTube to provide a preemptive announcement for his campaign suspension. Mitt Romney’s camp was forced to take immediate action via social networks against public criticism of his wife.

With the 2012 Presidential Election candidates able to gauge and rally support from their constituents via social media channels, how have the candidates been stacking up since our last election check in? As far as the remaining Republican candidates are concerned, the numbers are heavily balanced in the favor of the projected Republican candidate, Mitt Romney.

So just like we see Facebook pages die when a campaign comes to a close (a big no no), what happens to a page after a candidate ends his campaign? Newt Gingrich has seemingly “signed offline,” with no new postings since his farewell statement of “Uniting to defeat Barack Obama” and it seems that he has not realized the importance of continuing to build his social media presence. Rick Santorum however, has continued to proactively endorse the Republican Party, continuously posting new videos, articles and calls to action in the same manner in which he ran his campaign.

And what about the state of our current President? Obama has well over 25 times as many “likes” as the leading Republican candidate. But what do these numbers mean? How much is a “like” worth? Does an American that has enough vested interests to follow a candidate on Facebook have enough interest to make a move to the polls?

As all marketers know, ROI on social media numbers is a tricky thing to measure. Influence is hardly a tangible idea, but the idea of counting things such as comments or likes can cause a rise in expectations that may fail to translate in a physical versus digital space. Do you have any expectations on the outcome of the election after seeing the preceding social media numbers? Make sure to post your prediction on our Facebook page!

For Domino’s pizza, one video prank in 2009 left people questioning their entire brand. In less than a week, not only did Domino’s issue their formal apology; they created an entirely separate Twitter feed to address the comments. Unfortunately history repeated itself yet again, this time with the third biggest pizza chain taking a hit – one day after they hit 2 million Facebook fans. On Saturday night, @mintymin sent a tweet saying:

Within hours the tweet – which included a picture of the receipt in question- had made its way to thousands of users –even finding its way to Texas! Papa John’s had a quick response time and first reached out to Min before attempting to answer the multiple users who had heard about the incident.

As of Monday, January 9, 2012 Papa John’s sent 40 tweets to individuals who expressed concern about the event.

An article posted earlier today on eMarketer.com asked the question “Do Social Media Postings Always Require a Response?” According to the article, 49.5% of people would be “far less likely to buy anything from a company” that did not answer, but also cited that many times brands “don’t need to respond to every ounce of negative buzz in the social sphere.”

This may be true with the way Papa John’s handled their Facebook posts.

After the initial post, Papa John’s did not respond to any of the resulting 816 comments.

The question is this: Did Papa John’s handle the situation in an appropriate manner? In terms of response time, Papa John’s did fine, addressing the client both publically and privately. The apologies appear genuine and the employee’s termination was of course in order. However, it remains to be seen if the corporation will be forced to withstand any longstanding negativity. Within one week after the incident with Domino’s, public perception of the brand went from positive to negative, according to research company YouGov. With the SuperBowl – one of the five biggest pizza buying days of the year- less than a month away, and last year’s pizza sales projection being over 1 million; it will be interesting to see if this new story will affect how much “dough” the pizza chain will bring in. As with all corporations, it is important to remember that while resolving problems in the short term is necessary, the overall goal is to maintain a positive relationship with the public.

PhoneDog Twitter Lawsuit

The year may be 2012 but there are un-discussed issues from the previous year that we need to set right.  Towards the end of 2011, Noah Kravitz, former employee of PhoneDog, was slammed with a $340,000 lawsuit for stealing their customer list.

While working for the mobile phone site, Kravitz operated under the twitter handle @Phonedog_Noah, gaining 17,000 followers for the brand. Upon his departure from the company in October 2010, PhoneDog allowed Noah to keep the account in exchange for occasional post

After changing the account to @NoahKravitz and tweeting for eight months, PhoneDog sued claiming “the Twitter list was a

customer list,” and they are “seeking damages of $2.50 a month per follower for eight months” which accounts for the massive total.

As new forms of media emerge, new rules and laws must come about to define terms of intellectual property. It will be interesting to see how this case turns out; it will be one of the first cases that set the standard and guidelines of ownership and “cost of followers” on the Internet. Stay tuned!

Find a Kidney on Facebook

Technological evolution occurs across all industries and in one particular healthcare case in the end of 2011, the medical and social media industries collided.

The first kidney transplant was performed over 60 years ago in 1950, and the procedure has since been perfected. However, the problem of needing a donor makes the process less than ideal. Recipients can wait up to three years for a kidney from the live or dead donor list.

Social media has helped to change the game, most recently for Damon Brown, a father of two in Seattle, Washington. Although Brown admits that as a typically stoic person he was reluctant to put his illness out on his social networks, he was shocked and gratified to find positive response. After creating a Facebook page that gathered the support of 1,400 friends, four passed the initial screening with one of them eventually providing the correct match.

It is always exciting to see an application of social media that helps to change lives. As Facebook grows in size and reach it will be able to continue connecting people in need to those who are willing to donate!

New Social Network

One of the most commonly used phrases in the PR industry is “What will be the ‘new social network’?” and there has been much speculation as to whether it will be G+… or another new player in the race.

Rumors have been circulating that Apple may have something new in the works for this year. In the same vein of the iPod revolutionizing the music industry and the iPhone revolutionizing the telephone, any platform Apple would come out with could absolutely have the potential to turn the social media platform giants on end. With the proliferation of iPods, iPads, and iPhones to the mainstream media, it will be interesting to see if the new platform will seize the attention of the Apple loving public, a problem that G+ has encountered, despite its growing 293 million users.