If anything proves the power of the consumer voice, the Netflix flip-flop does. In the company’s official statement, CEO Reed Hastings says, “There is a difference between moving quickly – which Netflix has done very well for years – and moving too fast, which is what we did in this case.” The statement doesn’t get too specific, but it looks like… Read more →
Category: BLOGS
The Apple King
I already miss Steve Jobs. As a fellow marketer with a love for design that I inherited from my architect dad, I idolized Steve Jobs. Here’s this geeky guy who made wires and keyboards and speakers cool. In fact, as I’m writing this I’ve got my headphones connected to my bright green iPod nano. Not only was every product that… Read more →
One Macho Nacho
One way to get great public relations coverage is to come up with a stunt that’s visually appealing and gets you on the news. Think of the annual Fourth of July hot dog eating contests or KFC covering water hydrants with their logo and hot wing decals. One restaurant chain out of Massachusetts, Ninety Nine Restaurants, just hit one out… Read more →
PR and the Spanish-Speaking Media: ¿Hablas Español?
Guest post by zcomm Director, JoAnn Mangione I attended a session this week designed to better acquaint public relations practitioners with the Spanish-speaking media and its audience. For the most part, the advice from the panelists was typical: don’t call at deadline, don’t pitch something too commercial, and if they are interested in the story, they will let us know.… Read more →
Netflix F*x Up
What were they thinking? First Netflix hikes prices for DVD mail-outs and online streaming a few months back, then they decide to apologize by video. In the PR world a sincere apology by a CEO is usually a good move, but this one bombed. Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings started out his blog apology by saying “I messed up.”… Read more →
Hiking Can Be Dangerous (Updated)
UPDATE: As of September 21, after two years in an Iranian prison, American hikers Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer have been released. There’s nothing like taking an innocent hike in the Middle East and wandering into Ahmadinejad territory. Not good. And that’s exactly what three Berkeley grads were doing in the summer of 2009 when they reportedly went one step… Read more →
9/11 Bird’s Eye View
Ten years ago, on that crystal clear morning of 9/11, I was in our offices, which were then located in Rosslyn, Virginia and had large windows to the south and west. The TV was on when the first plane hit the building, and then the second. We all gathered around open-mouthed and then grabbed the phone to call family and… Read more →