Yet not all retailers are falling in line. Wal-Mart, for instance, feels that stores that are engaging in this type of behavior are being “irresponsible”–certainly indicative of the fact that, at least in the corporate world, “irresponsible” is all in the eye of the beholder.

Is the marketing ploy creative or just plain desperate?  And, is any marketing campaign ever really “responsible” if it aims to convince consumers of something that, in theory, they wouldn’t do without seeing the ad? It’s hard to say, but one thing is for sure: Anyone who spends $600 at Domino’s has even bigger health problems than our economy …

On May 2, a U.K. customer posted a rant in a chat room informing fellow Dell users of a glaring error on select models of Vostro laptop keyboards—that is, a much-too-long shift key threw an entire row of keys out of whack, making it nearly impossible to type properly.  The real rub, though, is that the faux pas spawned a diatribe on Flickr, complete with a picture of the faulty keyboard and frequent updates by one user.

This is just one more example of how crisis can spin out of control when angry consumers are at the helm.  Granted, if anyone was trying to post with one of those Dell machines, their message wouldn’t be as easy to decipher. Perhaps that was all part of the plan?

By Courtney Barnes

In the interest of full disclosure, my involvement with the social network–and social networks in general–was basically flat-lined; in terms of my LinkedIn profile, I would accept invitations when they were extended, but I did nothing to proactively reconnect with the business contacts that I’ve accumulated over the years.  As for a Facebook account, much to my friends’ disbelief, I do not have a profile; my MySpace presence is solely relegated to PR News‘ page.

So, starting now (at least as far as LinkedIn is concerned), I plan to make a concerted effort to reach out to others, and to actively in engage in the community.  After all, study after study shows that it’s a viable business communications platform, and communicating is precisely the business that I’m in.  So, with that, here is my profile.  I’d love to link in with anyone who’s out there listening …

By Courtney Barnes

That’s basically what Nike did in making this YouTube video of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant leaping over a moving sports car to market its latest and greates, lighter-than-air basketball shoe. With approximately 2.5 million views to-date, it’s safe to dub this effort a viral marketing success–but not so fast.  Despite its obvious dramatization, there has been an outcry among critics, many of whom believe that the video threatens the safety of gullible viewers who try to recreate the gravity-defying stunt in their own driveways. Of course, the “do not try this at home” disclaimers in the video do nothing to mitigate their harsh judgment, and Nike execs must now field questions and address complaints.

The situation raises a few questions. First, is all PR good PR? The video has been widely viewed, making it a success by those simple measures.  But will the fallout outweigh the benefits?

Personally, I find it ridiculous that people hold a video like this one responsible for the actions taken by uninformed (read: unintelligent) consumers.  Yes, I understand that children are most susceptible to incurring injuries from trying to soar like Kobe, but saying that Nike is to blame would be like holding Blendtec (of “Will It Blend?” fame) accountable if some kid tested the theory on the family dog.

The other, more PR-oriented question is that of authenticity: Should Nike have been more clear that this was a “Hollywood-ified” video fueled not by superhuman powers, but by special effects? Anyone with deductive reasoning skills would reach that conclusion (besides the limitations imposed by gravity, athletes with multi-million dollar contracts aren’t usually allowed to throw themselves willingly in front of moving vehicles), but maybe a “this is a dramatization” would have been a good opener.  When book-ended with that disclaimer and the “do not try this at home” warning, the video covers all its bases.  If anyone manages to still find reason to believe they can emulate the stunt, then perhaps it’s best to defer to Charles Darwin.  When it comes to survival of the fittest, only the strong will survive.

By Courtney Barnes

Obviously, I know that Starbucks’ fresh baked goods are neither fresh nor good for you, but today (as far as I could tell) was the first time they put the calorie content on the labels of every treat in their display case.  Just as I prefer to not know how much money I spend at Starbucks each week, I would like to remain ignorant to how many calories I consumer there as well.

However, even though the woman in line behind me agreed that it was a painful truth to stomach, it’s clearly another move the coffee chain is making to resurrect its wounded reputation.  Another notable change is the limited-time-only brown logo, which celebrates the brand’s beginnings in Seattle and its new Pike Place brew (a smoother blend that aims to rebuff claims that Starbucks beans taste over-roasted and burned).

Was the logo change a good idea? I’m going to go with “yes,” as the brown mermaid made a previous appearance to celebrate Starbucks’ 35th anniversary in 2006; with Chairman Howard Schultz back at the helm, it seems like a natural way to illustrate the brand’s forward momentum while celebrating its historic rise to international ubiquity.

As for the complete transparency (which is, of course, always a good PR strategy) with front-and-center nutrition facts, I think I will remain a believer that ignorance is in fact bliss.

By Courtney Barnes

Despite my good fortune in the skies, these recent crises have further tarnished the image of an industry that was already experiencing serious turbulence.  The PR teams for British Airways and American Airlines (which are partner airlines, to boot—ouch) are taking heat for mismanaging communications about the “inconveniences,” but there are a few bright spots as well: American announced it was hiring an outside company to review its process for complying with government inspections, which lends credibility to the airline’s commitment to safety. And, of course, grounding flights, despite the annoyance of delays and cancellations, is far better than putting a faulty piece of metal into the air (although I am the first to admit that these safety red flags mean I’ll be packing Xanax in my carry-on from now on).

Then, yesterday, American’s CEO Gerard Arpey said he is taking “personal responsibility” for the maintenance errors that prompted the disruptions for travelers. “I run the company,” he said at a news conference, “so if there’s any blame to be had, it is my fault, and I take full responsibility for this.”

Good for him.

Of course, these inspection snafus point to a bigger issue—one that concerns the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of its safety regulations.  While this story will continue to unfold in the coming days, the skies aren’t looking so friendly for the PR execs who must now manage the crippled reputations—and airplanes—at the center of this debacle.

By Courtney Barnes

“This [digital communications] is a sea change for marketers. The Internet is the place where everyone at every moment is deciding what they want to be interested in. You are the storytelling experts, not marketers—that’s what you know how to do. Your job at this point is to start using that skill in more places.

Instead of looking at the Internet as a threat, look at it as something that makes everything you know more valuable than it was before—bigger and more important. You know how to get past gatekeepers because you’ve always had them. What you need to think about is who these new gatekeepers are on the Web.

It’s not the marketing people that are the hot shots at viral messaging. It’s you.”

By Courtney Barnes

“Think of [the Internet] as a sea where everyone is sending up smoke signals to find each other. Search engine optimization is that smoke signal.  It’s not the great equalizer–it’s the great integrator.”

That’s right–every session and every conversation during the last two days of the Bulldog conference has been about blogs and social media and so on, but–and I hadn’t really thought about it before–the one thing that ties all of these channels together is SEO, so that’s what PR people need to be learning. Sure, you need something to optimize in the first place but, unless you get that content in front of your target audience, your messages will die a lonely death on the 37th page of Google’s search results …
By Courtney Barnes

“We all have employees.  Some [companies] have tens of thousands of them–but we don’t use them. The future of communications will be letting all employees blog.”

By Courtney Barnes

“We are your advocates here,” he continued, referring to the media. “We have an interest and a goal—we have an agenda, and it may or not be yours—but at the same time, keep people like me informed so that I feel like you have my interest in mind.”

Rubenstein followed that comment by saying that too many PR people blindly send pitches, and Rose then offered two very valuable tips to the communicators in the audience:

“Don’t insult our intelligence.” (This comment was met with good-natured laughter.)

And…

“Don’t send us [journalists] things that we know are official lies. If I think you are trying to spin me and you think I’m trying to screw you, then we are at a loss.”

Touche.

By Courtney Barnes