December brings about a sense of nostalgia as one year winds down and we ramp up for the next. VOCA had a wonderful year in 2011 with many great successes for clients and the addition of new clients to our roster. Following in the footsteps of nearly every major news outlet, we’ve put together our own Best & Worst list. We now present “The Year that was in PR”:
Best:
3. KFC Scholarship: KFC took to Twitter to award one lucky tweeter a $25,000 scholarship. Users had just 140 characters to include the hashtag #KFCScholar and the reason they deserved the money. That campaign not only increased the KFC twitter activity by 20%, but it resulted in over 1,000 media placements.
2. Kraft gets Crafty: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese decided to give the blue box a facelift with the help both Facebook and Twitter. Kraft started “Smile Tagging” for Facebook, seeking to become the new “LIKE” button, and got 13,000 users to smile tag. On Twitter, the company’s campaign was called Mac & Jinx. When two people tweeted ‘mac & cheese’ Kraft sent both users a link and the first to click on the link got free mac and cheese and a t-shirt.
1. Honest-Tea Honest: A test of honesty by Honest-Tea in 12 cities across the country provided a fantastic grass roots PR opportunity. Honest-Tea set up tea stands in cities with a box where passerby’s could donate $1 for tea or take a cup without anyone knowing. All the cities scored well with Chicago being the most honest (99% paid up).
Worst:
3. Netflix: Netflix customers got an unwelcome surprise when the company decided to split its mailing DVD service from it’s online streaming. The cost doubled and there was talk of two different websites. The CEO sent out an apology email for the poor communication but instead of stopping there the company tried to rationalize the business decision leading hundreds of thousands of customers to leave and stock to plummet.
2. 72 Days Marriage: Why we care, I still don’t know, but the question of whether or not Kim Kardashian’s marriage was real plagued many a celeb-hound this year. Real or not, the publicity storm surrounding the wedding and the subsequent divorce 72 days later cannot be denied.
1. Penn State: Penn State undoubtedly ends the year with the worst handing of a crisis. Jerry Sandusky, former defensive coordinator of the University’s football team, was arrested and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. The Grand Jury had been investigating allegations since 2008 so the University had more than enough to prepare a strategy. But they didn’t. And instead of facing the allegations head-on and apologizing for gross misconduct from beginning to end, they continued to try to cover up the truth and protect their own.
Thursday, November 3rd the streets of Denver appeared to be missing the women of the city as over 2,000 women were gathered at the Colorado Convention Center for the Women’s Foundation of Colorado Annual Luncheon. As it is every year, it was quite a sight to see so many women (and a handful of men, certainly) filling the Korbel Ballroom, the largest ballroom in the State. Our team at VOCA filled one of those tables, and we were lucky enough to share a meal, some conversation and hear the inspiring words of speaker, Martina Navratilova. Navratilova is a hugely accomplished tennis champion widely praised as the greatest player that has ever lived and still holds an all-time record for number of women’s double titles.
A Czech American, Navratilova spoke about how the mission of the WFCO relates to her personal and professional life, weaving the organization’s tagline and guiding principles, “Think big. Be bold. Stay focused. Accomplish more” into captivating stories about her life. From her childhood in Czechoslovakia, to her immense success, to the adversity she when she came out publicly as a lesbian, to her struggle with breast cancer, Navratilova engaged the audience with her experience, humor, open heart and wisdom.
It was touching to hear about her struggles and triumphs and the ladies at VOCA walked away realizing the ways that we can use a mission, like that of the Women’s Foundation, to better ourselves. We too want to think big and be bold—setting ambitious goals and remaining true to ourselves as Martina has. We want to stay focused and accomplish more—remaining steadfast in our work as the Women’s Foundation does each day.
This year’s luncheon raised more than $851,000 for the organization’s mission to help women and girls across the state achieve their full potential. We are so excited to have been a part of such an amazing event and to take Martina’s inspiring words with us everyday.
Visiting a new client for the first time is always exciting and heading up to Brush Creek Ranch outside of Saratoga, Wyoming, this week was particularly fun because I had never been to Wyoming before. About four hours from Denver, Brush Creek Ranch sits on more than 12,000 acres of unbelievably beautiful land and is one of the most majestic properties I've ever had the pleasure to visit. Courtney and I were knocked around a bit by the gusting winds on the drive up and did not pack or dress properly for the weather (you would think I would learn that weather.com cannot be trusted), but all of that faded away as we stood on the Brush Creek Ranch viewing deck gazing out over miles and miles of private, pristine land. We are so excited to be involved in this project.
We were also treated to several amazing meals at the homestead and during those meals, we felt eyes our on backs courtesy of this giant beast. We couldn't resist getting a picture with him.
Also, this post is dedicated to Jan! :)
VOCA celebrates its three year anniversary this week! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!! I have to say, time has flown by, but I couldn't be more proud of how much we've accomplished in just three short years. I extend an enormous amount of gratitude to all of the bright, creative, intelligent and amazing publicists who have helped make VOCA a success. And a big shout out to all of our clients who have made doing business such a pleasure.
Here's to many, many more years of VOCA success!
Today, I would like to salute our client, Equity Estates. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Equity Estates recently became a corporate partner of the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation, which provides WOW! experiences to children and families who have a Mom or Dad with late stage, limited life expectancy cancer. We applaud the entire Equity Estates team for supporting such a great cause with its time, energy and resources.
We at VOCA always encourage our clients to participate in some sort of good works campaign. Whether the client chooses to support one charity in particular or donate goods and services to a variety of charities, any type of good works campaign can be incredibly beneficial in a variety of ways.
For one, undergoing a good works campaign can boost employee morale. Supporting a good cause as a team helps employees to feel they are working together toward a common cause that gives back to the community. When employees see that their company cares about the community around them, it builds trust and loyalty.
Second, doing good works can help a company reach its target audience. This requires extensive research into a variety of campaigns with the goal of finding a cause that is supported by your target demographic. For example, if you want to reach the medical community, a charity focused on cancer research or providing health care services to those who cannot afford them will carry much more weight within the medical community than supporting a charity that helps build playgrounds for kids (although obviously both causes are important).
Third, good works results in good PR. In addition to a media relations campaign touting the client's product or service, a good works campaign helps to build positive, feel-good PR about the company within the local community. It humanizes the company, builds trust and credibility and provides a strong human interest angle to the campaign.
And last but not least, it's the right thing to do. We are all responsible for giving back our community, in any way we can.
