National Competitors: Behind the scenes or over the line?

by Megan Reichenbach, editor

We all have those products that are a go-to while doing our usual weekly grocery run. For me, I immediately pick up the Kashi cereal over Special K, Diet Coke rather than Diet Pepsi and Tide cleaning products over the generic Publix brand.

We all develop a loyalty to preferred brands, leaving those companies to thrive because we are immediately drawn away from their competitors.

But, this does not mean that those competitors impacted by our purchases are not finding ways for loyal buyers to divert from their usual purchases. Brands such as Coca-Cola and PC Windows 7 have been blatantly attacked in national television commercials through media manipulation and comparison advertising.

Media manipulation is defined as “an aspect of public relations in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests.”

Comparison advertising is a “promotional technique in which the advertiser claims the superiority of its product over competing products by direct or indirect comparison.”

Companies have been using manipulation and comparison advertising in recent television commercials in order to divert attention from a competitor’s brand to their own.

Santa Claus: the legendary Coca-Cola icon

The Coca-Cola and PepsiCo rivalry is still one of the oldest, most publicized product rivalries in America. In the summer of 2011, PepsiCo took the competition to the next level by stealing Coca-Cola’s most iconic symbol, Santa Claus, in its “Summer Time is Pepsi Time” commercials.

“The commercial stars a short-sleeved Santa who does the unthinkable and deliberately picks Pepsi-Cola over Coke – because he’s on ‘vacation’,” Fiona Roberts said in a July 2011 MailOnline article.

Usually competition shown on television is behind the lines, but this commercial specifically got me thinking . . . Is this blatant strategy even ethical?

According to the Businessihub article, “Comparative advertising: Ethical mode of increasing the brand image,” comparative advertising has been begging the question of whether this marketing strategy is ethical.

The PepsiCo commercial clearly overshadows Coca-Cola’s ownership of the Santa Claus icon, giving it a more enjoyable connotation by partnering the concept of Santa drinking Pepsi with the idea of summer vacation. Can PepsiCo really overshadow the entire idea of the Santa Claus icon that Coca-Cola began in the first place? According to a Businessihub post, “overshadowing a brand to increase the market penetration for one brand is considered as an unethical process by many.”

After watching the “Summertime is Pepsi Time” commercial for the first time, I was shocked by PepsiCo’s use of such blatant competitive attacks. According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, “the intent and connotation of the ad should be to inform and never to discredit or unfairly attack competitors, competing products or services.”

In the 2011 commercial, PepsiCo failed to inform consumers of its product, and instead created its main focus around Santa choosing the Pepsi product over Coca-Cola.

Steve Job’s invention of Apple – PC’s worst nightmare

On its website, Apple describes the act of buying a PC Windows 7 as a purchase downgrade because obtaining an Apple product has the potential to “upgrade your entire computer experience.”

While browsing the Apple site, you constantly run into claims that the Apple computers are a far better choice than a PC: “It has features you won’t find on a PC. So from the outside in, a Mac is designed to be a better computer.”

In a series of the “Get a Mac” television commercials starring actor Justin Long (seen in films such as Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball and Live Free or Die Hard), the Mac computer is repeatedly suggested to be a far better choice of a computer.

According to a PCWorld Article, “the commercials pinned a nerdy-looking, suit-wearing John Hodgman as a PC against a younger and supposedly cooler Justin Long as a Mac.” Through the use of a celebrity endorsement the commercial is using comparison advertising. The Apple industry is clearly implying that Mac users are essentially “cooler” than those who use a PC.

The “Get a Mac” commercials raise the ethical question of whether the stereotypes depicted are even true. According to a CNN news article, a survey by Hunch suggests that Mac users can be seen as “elitists or more pretentious.” I find it to be a far-fetched claim that using a specific brand of a computer can actually change you as a person; a computer is a computer, right?

Are these ads offending PC users, giving them the reputation that they are less tech-savvy just because they invested in a PC rather than a Mac computer? It seems as though the Apple industry is manipulating its market to “think” just that.

We all can agree that commercials such as these have used media manipulation and comparison advertising to successfully reach their consumer market. But, when is that ethical line crossed and when will the attacked brands retaliate?

The Spirit of Apple

by Sarah Shea, editor

Originally published on PROpenMic

When it comes to PR, Apple has it figured out. The company handles even the most secretive product releases virtually seamlessly. But what is the global technology giant to do when its founder and immediately former CEO passes away?

Change nothing. And that’s not to say the company disregarded Steve Jobs’ October 5 death; rather, it executed everything from the announcement to memoirs in the characteristically perfect way Apple does everything.

Just minutes after Jobs’ death was announced, Apple’s website featured a thoughtful photograph of Jobs himself. Apple’s statement about its founder’s death accompanied the black-and-white image, reading: ”Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.”

Like all things Apple, the statement is minimalistic, but more than sufficient. Viewers are even invited to offer “thoughts, memories and condolences” to a personalized email address: rememberingsteve@apple.com.

As with most major Apple announcements, news of Jobs’ death went viral. Unsurprisingly, much of the information was distributed from devices that are Jobs’ brainchild. Tweets and Facebook updates streamed constantly from a slew of iPods, iPads, iPhones, MacBooks and iMacs.

Also unsurprisingly, Twitter saw a near-record number of tweets per second, nearly 6,049, according to a computerworld.com article. Trending topics included #iSad, #SteveJobs and #ThankYouSteve. The personalized messages seem especially poignant when you consider the sources — fingers wildly tapped iPhone touch screens and Mac’s signature keyboards.

In a CNET article titled “Twitter reacts with emotion to Steve Jobs’ death,” Leslie Katz reported just a few of many powerful tweets about the legacy Jobs left behind. Even Bill Gates, former CEO of Microsoft and arguably Jobs’ biggest competition, tweeted “For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

Almost immediately, Jobs fans laced the Internet with a plethora of articles on Jobs, ranging from his impact on Pixar to the reason he always wore black turtlenecks.

Jobs’ impact is both enlightening and heartwarming. I imagine he’d be proud of the way Apple handled his passing — simply and tactfully.

Without Apple’s products, where would we be? And without its shining example of good PR, who would we strive to be?

Up-to-date in PR? There’s an App for that (or several)

Apple dominates the Smartphone market today because of its 100,000 plus applications, but other Smartphones are catching up. With all the available apps, why not take advantage of the great resources held in your hand? There are apps available for your Smartphone of choice featuring everything from making a to-do list to translating languages, and there are several tools that can specifically help public relations students or professionals. Mobile devices drive much of the value we receive from social media. Being away from the computer doesn’t limit students and professionals who use Smartphones to stay productive.

What are PR professionals using to stay informed, send information and stay on the media’s radar? Of course you have all your social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and others, but there are more ways to utilize social media with apps like Asap – Social Media. Asap – Social Media contains predefined news feeds such as Mashable, Soshable and socialmediatoday.com.

There are several apps for recording. Apps such as VR+ are convenient when recording interviews or leaving yourself a reminder on the go. VR+ for BlackBerry and iPhone/iPod Touch can send voice e-mails and share your voice to social networks for play-back on any Mac, PC or mobile device. YouNote makes it easy to take notes with covered–audio, text, and image notes and adds the ability to draw notes and bookmark Web pages with notes. Timewerks features data export and multiple active stopwatches.

A Personal Assistant app allows you to access and manage all online accounts in one place for free. After adding your accounts (such as bank accounts, social networks and online shopping accounts), the app allows users to manage them password-free.

The AP style app features searchable listings for the main, sports, business and punctuation sections. This app is obviously helpful for public relations writers when communicating with the news media because a solid grasp of AP style not only adds credibility to your work but also prevents excessive editing.

Public relations students and professionals should use apps that keep them informed. A good blog and RSS feed reader are great for PR people. Viigo for BlackBerry tweets articles, shares them with contacts, stays connected and receives real-time alerts when keywords you’ve selected appear in your channels. Ping.fm lets you post updates from your mobile device to more than 40 social networking sites. Plenty of mobile apps exist for Web tools, including WordPress for blogging, YouTube for video and Flickr for photos. You can access, create and share content from anywhere, anytime.

The apps mentioned are just a handful of the great resources for a PR person. Browse through the app store and you can find several apps that can make your life easier and keep you on top of the PR industry. Before installing an app, read users’ comments; they can be very helpful and save time if an app isn’t working correctly or isn’t what it claims to be.

What apps improve your PR knowledge?

by Autumn Winsett

iPad: Game-changer?

Whether you’re a die-hard Apple fan or a PC-loving naysayer, chances are you’ve heard about the iPad by now. Apple’s latest gadget hit stores April 3, with droves of early-adopters waiting hours in line to buy one.

Personally, I was sleeping that morning. I haven’t rushed out to grab an iPad yet for several reasons: first, I’m a poor college student; second, I like to wait until Apple releases the second generation of a product so I get the version with fewer inherent kinks; third, I simply cannot see where this new product would fit into my life — at this point.

Yes, the iPad has a sleeker design and prettier graphics than the other readers available on the market now, like Amazon’s Kindle. Yes, it can e-mail. And, like the iPhone, it will have an app for just about everything, although many iPad applications are still in development. For me, the gap between cell phone and computer is not a large enough void that I feel as though I need this tool. Yet.

I could change my mind, though. I think the big issue is not what the iPad is or does now but what it will become in the future. Bloggers and communications professionals are already pondering the implications of this new technology. Some critics have said this tool is a step back in technological development; in an age where everything is becoming increasingly hands-on, the iPad offers little opportunity for production of content or interaction among users.

In its current state, the iPad is less about creation and more about consumption; people now have the opportunity to virtually subscribe to magazines and publications that traditionally appeared in print. Some are calling the iPad a revolution and a savior for dying print media, while others focus on the iPad’s potential effects on advertising within these print media.

After examining the opinions of the host of critics chiming in about the iPad, I’ve concluded that there’s nothing conclusive at this point. As Brian Morrissey said in a blog for AdWeek, we “would be advised to channel [our] inner Donald Rumsfeld,” who infamously said, “There are known unknowns. But there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we do not know we don’t know.”

My point is that we’re not entirely sure what the iPad means for media and public relations as of yet. And we’re not sure what it will evolve into over the coming months and years. It could be a fleeting fad that fizzles out as quickly as it came, or it could be the next big technological revolution.

As PR professionals, we can’t automatically assume either end will come to fruition. But we shouldn’t simply ignore the iPad while we wait to see what will become of it. Instead, we must watch cautiously, observe and learn as much as we can about the development and uses for this new tool and be ready for any outcome.

If the iPad is a game-changer, it won’t be changing the game overnight. But if the game does change after all, will you be prepared?

by Caroline Beard

Apple v. AT&T: The MMS Blame Game

MMS. Who would have known that one little abbreviation could cause such an uproar in the technology community?

AT&T released Multimedia Messaging Service, or MMS, for Apple iPhone users on September 25, 2009, allowing customers to send pictures and videos through text messaging. It seems like good news, so what is all the fuss about?

According to the Apple Insider Web site, Apple announced iPhone’s capability to support multimedia messaging in June, but the actual service would not be available for use until “late summer” through iPhone’s only carrier: AT&T. Most iPhone users assumed “late summer” meant July or August, but those months came and went without the slightest hint of MMS availability.

Since then, AT&T and Apple have endured harsh criticism from customers, bloggers and technology enthusiasts about such a delayed release of a feature that has been promised since June and available in most other smart phones for years. Some customers have even gone so far as to file lawsuits against AT&T and Apple for breach of contract and deceptive and illegal trade practices.

But the real question remains: who is to blame for this mess, Apple or AT&T?

Most customers seem to blame AT&T for their MMS distress. While Apple announced the MMS capability in June, it was AT&T that delayed the release until three months later to ensure their service would be compatible with the new iPhone MMS software and could handle the increased data usage.

Customers sued AT&T for deceptive practices when sales representatives made false assurances about the availability of MMS to customers who purchased iPhones. AT&T customer Kyle Irving of Minnesota claims AT&T sales representatives assured him the MMS service on his new iPhone would work by the end of July, when it actually became available only last week.

Clearly, AT&T is in the middle of a public relations crisis. But they are not shying away from the criticisms and challenges.

On September 3, AT&T released a YouTube video featuring “Seth the Blogger Guy” to respond to the negative criticism surrounding the delayed MMS update. The video explained that AT&T is aware of the negative criticism surrounding the company and dealt with the negativity “head-on.” In the video, Seth, an AT&T employee, addressed the technical problems associated with the new service, including the recent dramatic increase in smart phone usage that is pushing the system to its limit and the complexity of updating the network to support MMS for the iPhone.

Although AT&T may be the likely contender for blame in this situation, one thing is certain: AT&T is not backing away from the challenge of saving its public image. Not only did AT&T release the YouTube video, but the MMS update launched successfully. I have already sent numerous MMS messages on my iPhone without a single glitch. While AT&T’s public relations battle is far from over, the company continues to take steps in the right direction.

by Jessica Boyd

Financial Crisis or Moral Crisis?

USA Today recently pointed out that corporate apologies are becoming more and more rare in the face of the current economic crisis. The article argues that CEOs see admitting blame as a sign of weakness, even though the article claims that “In 2004, professors from the University of Michigan and Stanford University found that companies that accepted blame for poor performance in annual reports were more likely to outperform the market the following year.”

The most recent public apology in my memory was when Jose Canseco expressed regret over the effects of his book, “Juiced,” an exposé on steroid use in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately for Canseco, his apology is too little too late. An investigation into steroid use in baseball has tainted the reputation of the sport and many of the players mentioned in his book as steroid users have had their reputations, careers and Hall of Fame chances destroyed by Canseco’s claims.

When will an apology be too little too late for the major firms involved in the financial crisis?

Linda Stomato of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution defines an apology simply in the Ivey Business Journal article “Should Business Leaders Apologize? Why, When and How an Apology Matters”:

“An apology can acknowledge that an injury or damage has occurred. It may include acceptance of responsibility for the mistake; express regret, humility or remorse in the language one chooses; explain the role he, she or they played; ask for forgiveness; and include a credible commitment to change or a promise that the act won’t occur again.”

Stomato also claims that “Apologizing by admitting a mistake—to co-workers, employees, customers, clients, the public at large—tends to gain credibility and generate confidence in one’s leadership. Acting defensively, on the other hand, undermines it.”

If an apology and a place to lay blame restores trust when made in a timely fashion, would that not restore the missing confidence that is tearing the economy apart?

The issue is, understandably, a legal one for the failed firms. Admitting a mistake may not bode well for the company if legal action is taken as a result of the ongoing investigation into the cause of this crisis. This is where a firm’s values come into play, leaving each one with two options:

1. Apologize, admit any mistakes, accept responsibility and outline a plan that will not allow it to happen again. This option risks future legal action, but holds promise of increased consumer confidence and a resulting upswing in the economy.
2. Don’t apologize, avoid litigation and ride out the disaster.

Should a firm work for the social good or for the avoidance of legal action?

Johnson & Johnson’s apology for the 1982 poisoning of Tylenol made the company a PR legend and gave it a socially responsible image. Steve Jobs’ apology to consumers who bought a higher-priced iPhone when the price was cut and his subsequent rectification of the situation proved that Apple is a consumer-oriented corporation. Apologies in the past have been good things.

When will we see an apology, anyone willing to accept responsibility, for the financial crisis? Maybe never. Maybe too little, too late.

Until then, consumers are left to conjure confidence in the economy from somewhere else, but I have yet to see anything that warrants it.

Jessica A.