We’re popping the champagne today to celebrate our amazing client Threshold Interactive‘s WOMMY award win!
Threshold was honored for their launch of Butterfinger Cups (which we’re addicted to – for the holidays, we’re totally okay with you sending us a crate of Butterfinger Cups), where they used a variety of social media strategies to get the public salivating.
Congratulations, Threshold!
Tinder’s demotion of (soon-to-be former) CEO Sean Rad illuminates the need for brands to have the right face representing them.
It’s largely believed that Rad was ousted from his position due to his inability to maintain a culture that doesn’t create such major PR and ethical problems as the sexual harassment lawsuit lobbied at Rad’s best friend, former Tinder CMO Justin Mateen (who was already generating negative PR before the lawsuit). While Rad’s ability to grow Tinder and create a mega-popular sensation is undeniable, his ability to foster an atmosphere free of harassment was clearly in doubt by his superiors at IAC, who own a majority of his startup.
Several CEO’s have had to step down from their positions as the face of their brand for business reasons — including Mark Pincus of Zynga, Andrew Mason at Groupon — but those demotions typically occurred because the business was faltering. In Rad and Tinder’s case, business couldn’t be better, with a bright and lucrative future for the brand on the horizon.
Due to the sexual harassment lawsuit, Tinder had a rightful PR problem. Like Tinder, Uber is currently facing a barrage of negative press, in part fueled by CEO Travis Kalanick’s crass comments. Kalanick is better protected since Uber isn’t owned by a corporation like IAC. However, his personality is affecting the brand and its lack of goodwill and he’s definitely making the PR problem worse.
What the Rad situation highlights is the need for CEO’s, especially startup CEO’s, to represent their brands in a manner that is acceptable not only to their user base and financial overlords but to potential acquirers and stakeholders. That might mean running a tighter ship and not letting your best friends operate with impunity, or it might mean keeping your comments to yourself when it comes to press.
The “move fast and break stuff” motto of Silicon Valley is represented in their unorthodox, brash manner of CEO’s like Kalanick, Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel and Rap Genius’s Mahbod Moghadam. That devil may care attitude might be okay when you’re a new startup trying to establish yourself, but for brands on the verge, it presents a major PR issue. And these are just the CEO’s who don’t exactly say or do the right things in the public eye, let alone the growing subset of startup CEOs who have been convicted of committing crimes, like RadiumOne’s Gurbaksh Chahal or NextDoor’s CEO Nirav Tolia.
Of course, every CEO wants to be a nonconformist like Steve Jobs and no one’s arguing that CEO’s should be cut from the same cloth. But there’s a difference between making bold creative decisions and excusing sexual harassment.
Ultimately, all of this can be avoided if a CEO acts ethically and creates a supportive working environment, representing his/her brand in a professional manner. Unfortunately in today’s Silicon Valley, that might be easier said than done. There’s a reason that Valleywag seems to have no dearth of stories about startup CEO’s behaving badly.
If you’re a communications major, chances are, you’re looking for an internship to jump start your career. Although internships are a learning experience, you’ll be steps ahead if you work on a certain set of skills. After all, it’s a great time to get into a career in communications, with communication graduates experiencing the largest increase in salary from 2013-2014 (by 10.1%). So what skills do you need to show off your communications degree and impress your new bosses?
Writing – Lose the Typos and Be Clear and Concise
Write Write Write! We can’t stress it enough. Your job is to communicate effectively so make sure there are no typos (not just in your work but in all your forms of communication) and that you stay concise. Don’t give us a story, just get it done.
Know What’s in the News – Especially With Your Clients
If you do not know about the Ebola virus, it’s time to read the news. Reading the news can not only inform you about bad press, but also trending topics that can affect your or your client’s industry. Who knows, maybe your CEO will participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or be available to speak about a breaking story.
Always Keep the Big Picture in Mind, But Don’t Be Afraid To Be Creative
When you’re assigned a task, always keep the bigger picture in mind. Your job is not merely to follow specific instruction, but to think critically of the task at hand so that you can input ideas that can enhance the bigger picture. Constantly thinking about the big picture will show your employers that you can think creatively and independently, read between the lines, and understand how each detail fits, or can fit, into the big picture.
Be Proactive
If you have nothing to do, ASK. Communications is always happening where you work. After a couple of days of work, you’ll soon realize that communications never ends, so you shouldn’t have too many spare moments.
The Extra Mile
If you think something can look better, sound nicer, or seem simpler, FIX IT and show your boss the changes you made. They will most likely thank you for your hard work and hawk-like eye. The takeaway is to never do the minimum and always blow peoples’ minds away.
Empathy
Even though you may be working at the same company, you may not have the same vision, and that’s ok. Just make sure that you agree to disagree and respect each other’s opinion. This way, you can focus on what would be best for the company.
It’s not easy to work in the communications industry, and it’s not for everyone, but if you make yourself aware of what the industry expects of you, you can improve and enhance the skills that you need to be successful in this career.
By Brian Liberman
Our favorite time of the year – Fall – is here! Why do we love the Fall season so much? In San Francisco (where our summers are famously cold), Fall has the best weather. Don’t believe us? Just check out this shot we took of the Palace of Fine Arts last week.
Fall is also the busiest time of the year for us and our clients, and we like to stay active. Here are some other things we’re excited about this Fall:
-Union Square SF’s Fall Fashion Fest
As far as we’re concerned, Fall Fashion Fest is the best time to go shopping (forget the holidays – too crowded). The best weather and some amazing deals will be front and center on October 9 in the shopping mecca of SF – Union Square. Plus, there’ll be food, drinks, music, entertainment and everyone going gaga over the glorious weather (oh yeah, we’re just gonna keep rubbing that in everyone’s faces, especially when all we hear year-round is “oh, don’t you just hate the fog?”).
–Threshold Interactive hires Julie Gordon as new Creative Director
Julie Gordon has a really awesome resumé! She’s worked on every major brand that we admire and has changed their respective markets (Apple, Netflix, Pixar) and now she’s joining our beloved client Threshold Interactive. As a female-owned business, we love seeing more women in creative roles. Even though the numbers are increasing (even the 2% Conference upgraded to the 3% Conference, heh) there still aren’t enough. Threshold not only has Julie, but Steffany Carey as their creative directors: two brilliant creatives who just happen to be women.
-The Top of Broadway Community Benefit District‘s upcoming new website
We’ve been working with the Top of Broadway Community Benefit District for a few months and have been deeply impressed by the dedication of their board members, business and community leaders. From Naked Lunch to Tommaso’s to the Beat Museum to Monroe Lounge, these entrepreneurs are not only working hard to make their businesses the best that they can be, they’re also giving back to their community. They even kicked things off by participating in Bold Italic’s North Beach microhood. With the addition of new restaurants Little Szechuan, Elaine’s and nearby Doc Ricketts, the Broadway district in North Beach is thriving. We can’t wait to show it all off on the new website.
–Apple’s October 16 iPad event
We’re still playing with our iPad 2’s and we’ve been waiting (and waiting) for the major upgrades and enhancements. Hopefully the October 16 event unveils the extras we’ve been waiting for so that maybe my mom can enjoy my old iPad 2.
-New season of “The Walking Dead”
Although we’re not the most fashionable people (OK, we dress TERRIBLY but who doesn’t want to wear a t-shirt and flip flops every day), Union Square is celebrating San Francisco’s stylish scene with its second Fall Fashion Fest on October 9. Expect tons of great discounts, promotions, trunk shows, pop-ups, food, entertainment and extremely attractive people in Union Square.
In addition to the nonstop shopping, this year will see an afterparty at Hawthorn, benefitting GLIDE Memorial.
Grab your Louboutins and meet us there! We’ll leave the flip flops at home.
Before Nerdist, before Watch What Happens Live, before geek was chic, there was Pop Candy and its creator, Whitney Matheson.
Yesterday, we learned that USA Today was slashing its newsroom, with several venerable editorial staff being left in its cost-cutting wake. We were surprised and disappointed to see Whitney Matheson’s name on that list, along with several other undeserving cuts.
Without getting into all of the many, many issues with today’s media, we’ll just focus on celebrating Pop Candy, one of our all-time favorite blogs.
I still remember handling PR for Yahoo!’s entertainment brands (which were totes ahead of its time, BTW!) and any time we’d get a mention on Pop Candy, my colleagues and I would squeal with a fervor typically seen only at One Direction concerts. Pop Candy was always our holy grail simply because we read and loved it.
The best part about PR is getting to see clients that you love covered by media that you deeply respect and often read yourself. A day didn’t go by when I didn’t read Pop Candy, and when I did skip a day, I felt like pop culture was passing me by and I was still wearing stonewashed jeans (“What do you mean Counting Crows aren’t cool anymore??”). Pop Candy was like my Facebook feed before it became Upworthy clickbait and annoying memes. I discovered things on it.
It had a refreshing voice. It was funny and sharp without being mean or sycophantic. It exposed all kinds of very cool artists that you wouldn’t have otherwise heard about. It was sweet, nurturing and gentle towards its readers and the artists they were fanatical about without being sentimental. It was oftentimes a neat little space for people who didn’t always fit into neat little spaces.
It’s a damn shame that Pop Candy is going away, and it’s a damn shame that we’re in this state in the media industry where writers like Matheson and her equally talented colleagues at USA Today can lose their jobs so unceremoniously.
Pop Candy’s not dead. Long live Pop Candy.
Written by Katy
Hey Los Angelenos! Put down those bon-bons and shut off your Netflix. We’re inviting you to come watch the upcoming thriller “Something Wicked” with us on September 12.
The movie is opening in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, NV in more than 50 locations, from Chino to San Bernardino to Irvine and everywhere in between.
While notable for being the late, great Brittany Murphy’s final film, the indie flick features up-and-coming actors Shantel VanSanten (CW’s “The Messengers,” FOX’s “Gang Related,” “One Tree Hill”), Julian Morris (Amazon’s “Hand of God,” ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” “24”) and John Robinson (“Big Sur,” “Lords of Dogtown”).
We’ll be hosting screenings in Burbank and Pasadena on the 12th and hope you can join us!
Ever since Airbnb unveiled their new logo, they’ve been the butt (or balls, if you prefer) of jokes. Apparently, everyone on the Internet has their mind in the gutter when they look at Airbnb’s logo. And Airbnb likely wants it no other way. After all, what’s some innocuous teasing when you could really be punched in the gut by negative PR, given the recent ire toward housing issues potentially caused by Airbnb, or the lack of support when renters have squatters, or the ongoing legislative battle.
Airbnb’s logo laughter couldn’t have come at a better time for the thriving company that propelled the not-quite-accurate “sharing economy” label into popular lexicon. If you’re going to choose between hit pieces, you’d rather have TechCrunch call your logo a female anatomy than have Valleywag write about how you abandoned a beleaguered renter in her legal battles.
Of course, not all toilet-minded logos work out. The University of California faced similar jokes but far more rancor when they revealed a new branding mark that was so negatively received, they changed course and reversed their decision. And what happens when you revamp your logo but no one cares? Such was the case with Yahoo!’s logo tweaks. Airbnb’s logo falls into neither category; instead, taking much of the focus away from its recent difficult press and into something lighter and fluffier, which couldn’t have worked out better for Airbnb, despite spokespeople claiming to be butt-hurt about it. Sometimes, it’s not so bad being the butt of jokes.
A recent MediaBistro article illuminated one of the biggest issues plaguing journalism: the terrible pay.
Journalists are getting paid less and less (with many new writers expected to work for free), and in turn, are seeking other ways to receive the compensation they deserve (some ethical, some not so much).
Companies and corporations have begun to tap into this, thanks to the rise of content marketing and “native advertising” (aka buying a sponsored post). Because brands need to produce interesting content, and because they have the funds, they are able to recruit journalists who appreciate the better pay. Those journalists who are the most qualified are the ones who are actively looking to be rewarded for those skills, and really, who could blame them? If they get an offer from a big company to write for them, how can they turn it down?
Once we lose the experienced journalists to the companies who have the money to pay them, we end up relying on less experienced (and less ethical) ones to deliver “legit” news. Meanwhile, brands get to churn out content from the likes of Dan Lyons and Evan Hanson. Some of those seasoned veteran journalists aren’t too concerned about the state of their industry – they view it as an opportunity for younger journalists to cut their teeth. It’s an optimistic perspective, for sure. But if we want to complain about the quality of our news coverage, the age old “you get what you pay for” rings loud.
By Jacquelyn Matter
Ever since food delivery site Eat24 posted their hilarious Dear John letter to Facebook, marketers have been waiting for the site to come crawling back to reinsert food photos in between baby pics and your high school frenemy’s mom’s status updates. But that’s not happening just yet. Eat24 recently posted another witty post about life post-Facebook, and it all seems to be just fine.
What those people who are weirdly furious about Eat24’s shunning of Facebook don’t seem to grasp is that Eat24 has not, and is not, suggesting that all brands leave Facebook. They’re just saying that their $1m strategy didn’t work for them. Marketers like to post comments in articles about Eat24 that it must be because their strategy was flawed. They cannot seem to understand that Facebook advertising simply does not work for every brand. We’ve seen that firsthand ourselves. Yes, it takes time. A lot of time. And yes, it takes money. Now it takes a whole lot more money. But the whole point of Eat24’s anti-Facebook strategy is that it’s not the right platform for them, and it’s not the right spend of that money that they clearly have. And that’s totally okay. Relax, marketers, this isn’t indicative of any larger trend and you’ll still get to bill your clients for your strategic Facebookery.
While we’ll still argue that Facebook continues to remain the top platform to reach the biggest audience, it’s not for every brand. The changes to the “algorithm” and the way that fans can now see (or not see, as it were) brand pages means that strategies have to change, and those new strategies might not include this particular platform. Instead of decrying Eat24’s marketers as “not strategic enough,” they should be praised for recognizing, via their own data, that their Facebook strategy is simply not the best fit for them and exploring other ways to engage their customers.
Facebook is clearly not going anywhere. Brand advertisement spends will likely increase due to Facebook’s changes. The big, major brands will keep spending and the upstarts and emerging brands like Eat24 will explore other options. Even if Eat24 does come crawling back to Facebook, it doesn’t mean that their experiment shouldn’t be lauded. They’ve got lots of people talking and their business seems a-ok. They’re disrupting the marketing status quo by going against the top advertising platform without making any absurd proclamations. Their blog posts are funny, never defensive or offensive, in line with their brand identity and engaging their users. And that’s how you do PR right.
