DeVries Forecasts 2012 Trends

January 17th, 2012 | Posted By Cassie Boorn

The New Year is the perfect time to start thinking about trends and technologies that will build momentum in the coming year. We tapped our Creative and Strategic planning team here at DeVries, and asked what trends they think will shape the digital and creative landscape in 2012:

Timeline in the Spotlight
The cottage industry forming around Facebook Timeline will continue to evolve, creating fertile new territory for brands and organizations. Timeline already serves as inspiration for a chilling drug awareness PSA, clever business card offering and several profile customization services. Expect to see Timeline-fueled creativity explode in 2012, for brands and individuals alike.
–Stephanie Smirnov, President and Chief Creative Officer

Unplugging and Technology Breaks
We are seeing a movement towards unplugging and taking necessary breaks from some of the social media overload and technology that has consumed people over the past few years. No longer are we dying to be connected 24/7. Hotels are offering “breaks from technology” as a coveted feature to entice travelers to book retreats at their properties. Groups of friends going out to dinner are stacking their phones on the table throughout the meal, with the person who checks their phone first to be punished by paying the entire tab. Scaling back, simplifying, and getting back to basics is going to be big in 2012.
–Amy Schoenberger, Social Media Specialist

The Facebook Slump
Although the number of Facebook users continues to grow, I predict that in 2012 younger, influential consumers will spend less time there, flocking to social media sites that let them share their content and experiences seamlessly and more creatively. With almost 12 million users on Instagram, Foursquare at 10 million strong and networks like Pinterest attracting 31 million views per month, there is growing proof that consumers are yearning for social experiences outside of Facebook. With the well documented unplugging trend that Amy notes, consumers are not likely just adding these networks to their repertoire of platforms, they will actually start replacing their Facebook time with them.
–Adrianna Giuliani, SVP, Creative and Strategic Planning

Creativity Explosion
2012 is the year that we will witness new heights of creativity on the web. After seeing so much growth in user generated content, we are now going to witness a shift from people creating their own, to simply curating what they find to be interesting. And because it’s so hard to get noticed, only those really dedicated to creativity and those with talent will continue to create and innovate. That’s why tools like tumblr and pinterest have been so popular lately. They help us sift through hoards of fascinating content, images, art, photos etc and simply share what we like. As a result so much creativity will bubble up to the top!
–Andy Amendola, Director of Digital

Email to Snail Mail
We send so many emails each day that people are craving a more personalized way to connect with friends and family. This year we have seen an explosion of branded campaigns and services that turn digital products into physical mail—from the Heinz personalized Get Well Soup Cans to Postcardly, a service that turns emails into real postcards and mails them out for you. I think, in 2012, we will continue to see the desire for physical mail and personalized products surge.
–Cassie Boorn, Social Media Coordinator

Now that we have shared our predictions, what do you foresee happening in 2012?

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Cause Marketing: Is Bigger Necessarily Better

December 19th, 2011 | Posted By Amy Schoenberger

So, I kind of lead a double life. By day, I do PR for one of the largest brands in the world. By night, I run the New York board of a small charity that came into existence a few short years ago.

You’ve probably heard of Tide. You probably do your laundry with it. What you might not know is that Tide has an amazing program called Loads of Hope, which provides clean clothes to families who have been affected by disaster.

About four years ago, I found out about a nonprofit organization called Nest that provides loans to women artisans in developing countries. I loved the idea, and about one year and a trip to Guatemala later; I had taken on the role as president of the NYC board.

What’s most interesting is that even though these programs are so drastically different, a lot of the principles in how to create a successful cause marketing campaign are the same. Here are a few of the things I’ve learned by working simultaneously on cause marketing efforts for projects big and small:

Make the Most of the Resources You Have:

With Tide, we are backed by a large company that invests wisely in its marketing efforts. There are dedicated teams of people at top creative agencies whose full time jobs are to come up with ideas and ways to turn those ideas into actual programs.

With a small nonprofit, you are most likely dealing with a minimal to nonexistent budget. If a nonprofit is fortunate enough to have one or more full time staff members, they most likely have to spend their time courting big donors and thinking of new ways to fundraise before they can turn their focus to marketing. Nest, with only two full time staffers, has to rely on their network of hundreds of volunteers across the country, most with demanding full time jobs who can only help with Nest in their limited free time.

Get Creative:

With a well known program like Loads of Hope, trying to come up with new ideas and to make such an established program feel fresh can be difficult at times. Yes, we are always going to different disasters and it’ll always be local news to the residents of the affected area, but in terms of the bigger picture, what can we do to engage more people around the country in our cause?

On the contrary, with the rapidly growing nature of Nest, new news is constantly pouring in. Between new partnerships with retailers, new loan recipients and events happening in each city, we’re flooded with information. The challenge here is how to choose what people outside the organization will find interesting. We’re often sifting through the clutter and determining what the most important news is and how to use it in a way that will get our target consumers involved.

Keep the Focus on the Mission:

The one thing that remains constant in my work on both Tide and with Nest is the bottom line. Both programs have a very clear mission-to help people. Whether sitting in a woman’s home with her children in Morocco or standing in the freezing cold by the Tide Loads of Hope truck in Fargo, North Dakota with a man whose home was destroyed, it’s the people who keep us all inspired to continue doing what we do.

What do you think? Would you rather work for a big brand’s cause or a small nonprofit? Share your thoughts below.

Amy Schoenberger is a Senior Account Executive on the Tide account at DeVries.

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DeVries Listens: The PR Doctor is in. Free Micro-Consultancy Sessions Available Now.

November 14th, 2011 | Posted By Stephanie Smirnov

2011 has been another great year of building brands and deepening client relationships – everything from supporting seven different billion dollar brands, to helping launch visionary startups.

During this time we’ve won awards, grown our client base, developed new capabilities and kept clients and our staff happy. We’ve had a lot of good times but we’ve never really stopped to say too much about ourselves – and we’re not going to start now!

We talk in our business about how the shift from broadcasting to conversations has transformed how PR pros and marketers do their jobs. Dwelling as we do in this new Conversation Age has inspired us to transform how we market our own agency, too.

You can’t tell brand stories without listening first. It’s what we do for our clients, and we’d like to do it for you, too. From now until the end of the year, we are offering free, no-strings-attached PR micro-consultation sessions. It’s your chance to discuss any issues in the consumer PR world that you think we may be able to help with – it’s 30 minutes focused only on you.

Here’s how you’ll know if our micro-consulting offer is right for you:

· You are a marketer or in-house PR professional representing a company or a brand (we don’t handle individual or celebrity publicity)

· You seek consumer PR counsel (we don’t do investor relations or lobbying)

· You don’t work for a company who competes with one of our clients

At DeVries we consider this the start of the conversation age, a time for great brand stories, but most importantly a time to listen.

From November 1st we’re offering completely free , no obligation consultation sessions.

To arrange your session, please contact me by email ssmirnov@devries-pr.com, or write a comment below.

We love new challenges and having a chance to make a difference. Hope to hear from you soon – we’re all ears.

Thanks,

Stephanie.

Stephanie Smirnov is the President of the agency and can also be found at her personal blog LiketheVodka.com

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I Got Schooled at Blogalicious

October 31st, 2011 | Posted By Adrianna Giuliani

Last week, I was completely energized after attending Blogalicious a women’s blogging conference. I was on a panel—The Truth About Brands & Bloggers—but truly considered myself more of a student than a teacher for the weekend. Through a number of candid conversations with my fellow panelists and impromptu chats with some prolific bloggers, I got a refresher—and crash course—of what’s on the minds of brands and bloggers as we continue to work together in the space. Here are the Cliffs’ Notes on what I found most relevant and inspiring. Special thanks to my rockstar panelists Nancy Martira,Ted Rubin and Don Moore, the fabulous women of Blogalicious who invited me down and of course the brilliant bloggers who schooled me all weekend.

From Blog Squads to Ambassadors and Brigades: A lot of buzz words can surround the blogosphere as brands and bloggers partner together. From content campaigns, to ambassadors, brigades and squads the list can read like something out of a super hero book. Then there are your twitter parties, tweet ups, sponsored posts and content campaigns all working to support an overall theme, message or conversation. But from what I have sensed and seen in the space, we’ll see a shift in the year ahead, where the bloggers move from a supporting role in a marketing communications plan to the star of it. We’re already seeing national mainstream brands like TJ Maxx lead the way and I predict we’ll see more bloggers take center stage in 2012. Nancy Martira and I were on the same page here and she encouraged both bloggers and brands to brainstorm something big together (there were a lot of head nods)!

If Content is King, Engagement is Queen: One of my fellow panelists Ted Rubin said this during our panel and it was met with applause and laughter. Although I teased him for pandering to the almost 100% female audience, I must say he was truly spot on. The last few years brands have spent time building their social media profiles, but now that they have these audiences, making sure they are engaged, listened to and thanked is key. Working with bloggers is a terrific way to humanize a brand, create winning content and build a community where consumers will gain value and stick around.

People Share Awesome: This quote was from Don Moore, and while it sounds like common sense, for those of us work in the space we know it is not always so common. As brands and bloggers work together more, it’s increasingly important to work on campaigns and creative ideas that their readers and consumers want to share. No one wants to be the brand that takes over a blog with sponsored content that becomes the dullest thing on the menu? The content that bloggers create and share, on behalf of brands should be as awesome as the content they organically share. That means not pushing bloggers to create overly commercial messages and content. We all win when we move from marketing to people to moving them.

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Beyond Cause Marketing

October 18th, 2011 | Posted By Cassie Boorn

Our Social Media Specialist Amy Schoenberger has always had a heart for cause marketing. From her experience on campaigns like Tide Loads of Hope and Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and through volunteering as the NYC board president of Nest, she has a chance to work with non-profits and cause programs on many different levels.

Today she is guest posting over at Beyond Cause Marketing’s Sandbox Sessions about her recent experience at the BCM Summit.

“As marketers, and especially in PR, our job is to communicate the message of our organization externally. We’re given a narrow set of guidelines and we work within them to create a campaign or mechanism that best represents what we’re trying to accomplish.
But how often do we really take that organization and flip it on its head, questioning the very reason it exists, and making major overhauls in order to ensure the success of its mission?”

Read the rest here…

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Could Image Tagging be the Next Big Thing in Digital Content?

October 11th, 2011 | Posted By AAmendola

What is it? We’re not talking about tagging yourself in your Facebook photos here. The idea behind image tagging technology is taking static images on the web and making them interactive and much more useful to users. It’s about adding an additional layer of information and engagement to regular photos. Ever see a photo online and wonder what product is that? Where can I get that shirt? Where is that gorgeous beach, take me there now? And so forth. The value for everyone involved is obvious.

Publishers who provide content that comes tagged will create more engagement for their readers and will allow them to get more information about the images without taking them off their page. A typical link would drive your user away to a new destination, but tags just pop up on the spot. This is particularly useful with media. A music blogger could tag the cover of an album he is reviewing with a music video so that the reader could listen without leaving, or link them to iTunes to purchase on the spot.

Publishers can also monetize the images on their sites and blogs by including tags that link to partner websites, suppliers, retailers, etc.

Brands/Retailers/Marketers can embed tags with all sorts of value to their consumers. The most obvious is linking to eCommerce sites to drive purchase, but there are a slew of others such as including UGC product reviews, links to FB or Twitter pages, drive them to your brand websites, digital coupons, and so on.

For consumers the true reaction to tagging is yet to be known but the tags are only activated by rollover and are not intrusive. Personally, we find them to be fascinating.

What it could look like for PR? Make existing content assets so much more engaging and valuable for blogger outreach programs:

Tag images with coupon codes to incentivize trial
Include linkes to eCommerce/Social commerce sites so consumers can order products
Include videos of talent or spokespeople within the tags to provide added information or entertainment
Tag content with “like/share” buttons to drive users to your Facebook page or other social media presences

I leave you with this thought, Imagine how amazing Flickr or Pinterest would be with image tags?

Andy Amendola is the Director of Digital Strategy at DeVries. You can find him tweeting and checking in all over town at @AndrewAmendola

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On Our Radar.

August 19th, 2011 | Posted By Cassie Boorn

Each Friday we work hard to bring together the hottest topics in the world of PR, media, marketing, and pop culture. The best finds on the Web are contributed by different members of the agency and brought together to create a list of must-see topics. This week’s links were brought to you by our Senior Account Executive Jessie duPont and myself.

In the past year the ability to add QR codes into your advertisments and events has become a really popular tactic. Brands began adding QR codes to advertisements, event sponsorships and more. This week Mashable published an article giving tips and ideas for successful ways you can use QR codes in your marketing.

Every week we see new and innovative ways that brands are using social media. This week Starbucks announced a program in which consumers can rally to have the popular Pumpkin Spice latte come to their city first. The creative community in New York came together to launch a project that will bring the stories of everyday New Yorkers to life.

Last year a few brands began using the popular blogging platform Tumblr as a way to share information with consumers. There was a ton of buzz around successful ways that brands were using Tumblr and this year even more brands have joined the bandwagon. Mashable published an article this week showcasing Tumblr Marketing and how you can know when your brand is ready for their own blog.

Events have always been a big part of the PR world. Whether you are hosting a press event, sponsoring a conference, or inviting people to a tweet-up, organizing events is part of the job. Luckily, we have been able to streamline the event organizing process by leveraging many of the digital tools created for event planning. This week Bing launched a new tool that will help you invite people, organize RSVP lists and make your event flow even smoother.

If you are around the city this weekend and looking for a family friendly event join one of our clients over at Summer Streets and say hello!

Cassie Boorn is the Social Media Coordinator at DeVries. You can also find her writing regularly at her personal blog.

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A PR Pro’s Guide to Surviving BlogHer

August 2nd, 2011 | Posted By Cassie Boorn

If you spend any time at all in the women’s blogging space I am sure you know that women from across the country will be coming together for the annual BlogHer conference this week. Each year BlogHer grows a little bit bigger and this year 3500 women will be gathering together in San Diego.

This will be my third BlogHer and this year I will be attending BlogHer for business so in typical BlogHer fashion, I wanted to put together a “Getting Ready for BlogHer—PR style” post.

When you have three days to build relationships and connect with as many people as possible it helps to go in with a few tips to be effective.

1. Know your purpose before showing up

Time is limited at BlogHer so it helps to go in with some basic goals. Maybe you are looking for people to add to your next Blogger brigade or to connect with moms in a certain demographic? There are tons of parties and meet-ups so knowing what or who you are looking for before you get there can help you figure out where you need to be.

2. Find your people before you arrive

With three-thousand women in one place it is impossible to make connections with them all. Choose specific women you would like to meet or types of bloggers you are interested in working with and seek those connections out beforehand. This will help you know where you need to be and make introducing yourself a little easier.

3. Be transparent about your goals

Many bloggers go to conferences to connect with brands and find new ways to work with the companies that they like. Because of this bloggers will have questions about what your goals are, who you are looking to work with and how they can help. Don’t be afraid to let them know what projects you have coming up and what you are looking to do.

4. Be open minded (and kind)

Following up on being transparent—every blogger works differently and has different opinions on how brands should work with bloggers. You can gain a ton of insight on how bloggers perceive your plans and what you can change to be successful. When sharing ideas and goals be open minded and listen to their feedback and suggestions.

5. Have a follow up plan

After the number of parties, panels and meet-ups you will need about a week to recuperate from BlogHer. You may not remember what conversations you had with whom at each party in a week. Take notes about the people you meet and create a plan to follow up.

I will be spending most of the weekend at the P&G house in the expo center so stop by and say hello!

Cassie Boorn is the Social Media Coordinator at DeVries. You can also find her writing regularly at her personal blog.

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DeVries Listens: The PR Doctor is in. Free Micro-Consultancy Sessions Available Now.

I Got Schooled at Blogalicious

Beyond Cause Marketing

Could Image Tagging be the Next Big Thing in Digital Content?

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