Marketing and PR Fails of 2017

This year was filled with great moments in advertising and PR, from Honda’s “Yearbooks” and the all-new HoneyBaked Ham company’s “KellyBaked Ham” commercial to the Domino’s Pizza wedding registry and BrewDog’s puppy parental leave, there have been a lot of spot-on moments. But all of these hits don’t come without some misses, whether it’s just a flop or if there were bigger issues at hand in the PR department. These were some of the worst fails in marketing and PR this year.

Pepsi and Kendall Jenner

Pepsi’s “Live For Now” spot aired in April and was pulled shortly after, when it was received as ill thought out and in poor taste of the current social and political climate. The ad features Kendall Jenner abandoning a modeling gig to join a protest. Tensions begin to mount between police and protesters until miraculously, Jenner’s opening of a can of Pepsi eases the conflict.  The ad was so unliked that Wired claimed it “united the internet”.

Adidas Boston Marathon

After finishing the Boston Marathon, runners received an email from the sponsor of the race, athletic brand Adidas. The message read “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!” The responses to this message were quick and harsh, as many wondered how the messages deeper meaning had not been thought through. If you recall, in 2013 three people were killed and over 260 were injured during a bombing at that year’s Boston marathon. Adidas released a statement officially apologizing for the email

Walker’s #WalkersWave selfie campaign

Automated Twitter campaigns sound like a great idea, until they aren’t. British company Walkers Crisps launched a campaign to bring attention to the brand by having Twitter users send in selfies to be featured in the #WalkersWave, with a chance to win Champions League tickets. The selfies that ended up being submitted were, frankly, less than ideal. From mass murderers to disgraced TV stars, the PR stunt that was intended to be lighthearted and fun backfired in a way that was in one word: incredible. Walers issued an apology and shut down the campaign shortly thereafter.

The Oscars mix up

Following the botched announcement of the winner of Miss Universe, no one would have expected the same thing to happen on the biggest night in Hollywood. At the end of the night, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway went onstage to present the award for best picture, and read the card with the results, one that stated “La La Land”. However, Beatty was handed the wrong envelope, and during the celebration of their win, the cast and crew were interrupted to announce that, “La La Land” was not, in fact, the winner, but the film “Moonlight” was. Mass confusion ensued, and PricewaterhouseCoopers the accounting firm that has overseen the Oscar ballots for 83 years issued an apology and launched an investigation into how the mistake was made.

United Airlines

2017 was rough for United Airlines, with multiple damaging PR situations including a violently removed passenger, overbooked flights and passenger dress code uproar. The United PR team and CEO Oscar Munoz have had lukewarm responses to all of the incidents. The non-apologies and disappointing initial responses caused United’s stock price to fall by half a billion dollars. Social media users spoke out about the airline’s policies and responses, and there didn’t seem to be a strategy to fix it, making this an even bigger PR disaster.

Dove

Dove has worked hard to align itself as a brand that is for everyone, especially with their “Real Beauty” campaign that has spanned a decade. But this year missed the mark in some pretty major ways, with the series called “Real Beauty Bottles” and an ad on Facebook that was immediately criticised as being racist. The bottles were an awkward misstep that meant to show inclusion and Twitter users ripped the campaign to shreds.  The ad for Dove’s body wash showing models removing a skin toned shirt to reveal another model was more recent, but since its release, the backlash surrounding it has caused Dove to issue an apology and pull the ad. You can read what one of the featured models thinks about the controversy here.

Fyre Festival

Who can forget the Fyre Festival? In April, the fallout from a failed blowout music festival in the Bahamas was astronomical. From lack of promised amenities to the infamous cheese sandwich, the festival that promised everything delivered nothing. Those who purchased tickets (with prices ranging from several thousand dollars up to $250,000 for deluxe packages) were either blocked from flying in or ended up stranded on the island. The organizers of the event have remained quiet, save for citing “unforeseen and extenuating circumstances” for the postponement of the event and promising free entry for next year to all of those who purchased tickets. There are currently multiple lawsuits filed against the event organizers which include accusations of negligence, fraud, failure to provide funds and breach of contract. Spin’s timeline of events outlines every misstep and incident from the very beginning.

Like this post? Read more at http://steverenner.com/blog-2/

Marketing Trends To Expect in 2018

As 2017 comes to a close it’s time to look to the future to predict what will be the biggest trends in marketing. With only a month left in the year, now is the time to reevaluate your current strategies and start working on new ones to match the technologically focused consumer. Here’s what you should be looking for this coming year.

Death of organic reach on Facebook

In the past, it was easy to see results when marketing on Facebook just by having a page out for people to find. Those days are in the past, as many marketers are reporting decreased organic traffic, leading to slowed growth and decreased conversions from social media to the website. This is due to changing algorithms that make it more difficult for non-sponsored posts to reach into the newsfeeds of consumers, but also because of the steadily increasing presence of businesses on social media.

What to do:
Start investing in a paid Facebook strategy. Over 50 million businesses use Facebook, and most are feeling the effects of the shift from organic to paid reach. Buffer’s Facebook advertising guide is a great resource for those new to the process.

Landing pages

The landing page is often overlooked, but it is one of the fastest and least expensive ways to increase conversions. A website is always a necessity, but a landing page is a focused way to ensure that your customer is seeing exactly what they want or need to see without distractions and multiple calls to action that distract from the main goal.

What to do:
Build focused landing pages for each campaign. Follow these steps for great form optimization. Build more pages for more conversions. This Hubspot article will tell you why this is so important for growth.

Integrated influencer marketing

Influencer marketing has become increasingly important to marketers, and because Instagram is becoming (for many) one of the top social media platforms, the use and understanding of influencer marketing in all verticals is becoming a valuable tool.

What to do:
Prepare for a boost of companies using influencers, especially on social media. Many companies will begin building long-term partnerships with influencers, allowing them to become brand ambassadors. However, be aware of the FTC’s strict rules and regulations about endorsement posts. The key measurements to track this year for influencer marketing are KPI and ROI.  Learn the basics of influencer marketing here, and learn how to find the right influencers here.

Personalized content

Personalized content has been having a moment lately, and the moment will continue into the new year. Hubspot reports that personalized content does 42% better than non-personalized content. It is important to understand your audience and to use the new shift towards emotional content to engage with your customers and to increase that “shareability” of your content. Storytelling with creative content will be a big theme this year.

What to do:
Begin with gathering information about your audience, even if it is as basic as their name and email address. Make the content you use to acquire this something relevant that will grab attention and encourage conversions. With the information you gather, you can begin to target your users, and provide them with content that matches their needs and lifestyle. Read more about personalized marketing here.

 Like this post? Read more at http://steverenner.com/blog-2/

Building a Personal Brand

A personal brand is similar to a brand for your business, but building a personal brand has different benefits, strategies and reasoning. If you are looking to build your personal brand, these tips can help you to remain authentic to the image you are creating for yourself. A personal brand doesn’t even need to be something you are selling, it is simply a way to state who you are and remain faithful to that vision of yourself.

But first, why do you need a personal brand? This is a misleading question, simply because everyone already has a personal brand whether or not they have worked to cultivate it. Don’t believe it? Think of all the interactions you have had in your life and the impressions you have made. Take it a step further and Google yourself and your hometown. If you are on social media, many times your reputation will precede you. So, the important part of having a personal brand is the ability to showcase the most positive aspects of yourself and separates you from the rest of the crowd. This is how you can create a personal brand that will not only define the best version of you, but can also help to further your goals.

Identify Your Authentic Self

Don’t build a brand around the you that you want to be, as this can be too difficult to maintain. Instead, reflect your true self, and stay consistent with that image. Craft the wording in your social media and blog posts the way that you speak in videos and in person. Don’t change your core values to fit a standard you can’t consistently live up to. No one is perfect all the time. Be the real you and people will respect you for it, giving you even more influence.

Social Media

Social media is key to presenting an authentic version of yourself. Post what you like with your real voice powering the posts. Don’t post your meal on Instagram if you don’t feel a calling to do that, all that means is that it isn’t authentic to you. Brand authenticity is also important, so if you are running a blog about interior design you wouldn’t post a phone review. Consistency is key for building a successful brand.  

Networking

Meet others through networking events and get your name out into the world, find others to collaborate with and even make friends. This is a great way to present yourself as the brand you are working to craft in a professional way. Meetup.com is a good resource for finding networking events in your area.

Develop Value For Followers

Find your niche market and the value you specifically bring to it. If you are a makeup artist, you need to set yourself apart from the thousands of other makeup artists, whether that is by doing costume makeup, working with a specific product or specializing in one technique. By doing this, you cement yourself as an expert in this area, meaning that your name becomes synonymous with whatever it is you are doing, meaning more recognition as your brand gets more established.

Do What Feels Right for Your Brand

You can read thousands of blogs about how to craft the most successful personal brand, but that advice will not always be what works for you. If you are seeing return and not following every piece of advice that you see, or only following that which is useful for your situation then you are doing fine. You have full control of what your personal image is, so do the things that work to continue making your brand work.

 Like this post? Read more at http://steverenner.com/blog-2/

Steve Renner Talks Rebranding

Join Steve Renner as he discusses trends in marketing, technology and  business. This episode focuses on creating an effective brand through rebranding. Watch it below.

Steve Renner has been involved in Internet Marketing since the ‘first days’ of the Internet. Technology has changed a great deal since he started, but Steve continues to be at the technological forefront. He continues to bring products to help your business.

Apart from being an Internet marketing pioneer, Steve is also passionate about writing. He has contributed chapters to books by Brian Tracy, Jack Canfield and Richard Branson, so that he can share his insights into a successful life with you.

Like this post? Read more at http://steverenner.com/blog-2/

PR Tips for 2017

How important to your business or personal image is public relations? In the digitally focused world we live in, PR and and reputation management are more important than ever when it comes to growing your business and staying relevant to your audience. These are some insider tips on how to both improve upon and understand your PR strategy this year.

Know the Value: Earned Media versus Paid Media

Build up your reputation and your content by building up relationships with other influencers. The more influence you have the less you have to pay to get your name or brand noticed as a thought leader. This is especially important this year as the fake news conundrum continues and reputation management grows in importance.  By connecting with others and networking your worth as a credible authority on the topics you know about you are a much more reliable source of information which will allow for you to pay less to gain more publicity.

Not Just For Marketing Anymore: Native Advertising

An extremely valuable tool to your marketing strategy, Native Advertising is useful for PR as well. By paying to place an advertisement within a publication you can increase readership and  engagement. Match a publication’s content with the information that you would put out in a typical release for truly effective and subtle promotional content. There are rules set forth for disclosure, but this is sure to be a highly effective means of PR this year.

Being the Best: Executive Thought Leadership

Everyone knows that thought leadership is one of the first things that companies, individuals and publications try to promote, but it isn’t always easy to execute this. Combine knowledge from bosses or clients’ industries with trending topics to  become relevant and knowledgeable to others in your field and beyond.  In 2017 this could be as important to your image as influencer marketing.

The Standard: Influencer Marketing

A recent Nielsen survey reported that 92% of the population would trust a recommendation from someone perceived as an influencer on social media or otherwise over what a brand itself may say. With that being said, without strong relationships with influencers that can further your brand, you are going to be starting from further behind than you may have in previous years.  Pitch to influencers often, with useful and relevant content and make sure to customize your search to those who are important in your specific vertical. This Forbes article is a great jumping off point for those who are unfamiliar with this tactic.

Numbers Game: Data Driven Reports

Data collection is becoming easier and easier, and with internet processes and online PR tactics more data is available to really shape your public image. You can learn more about your audience and shape your strategies around demographics, types of popular content you have posted in the past and trends of online activity within your audience to find when you should be posting most effectively.

Traditional PR may not be the standard anymore, but the benefits of using public relations and reputation management strategies are far too important to simply cut PR efforts completely.  Implementing these strategies into your marketing plan is just the beginning!

Like this post? Read more at http://steverenner.com/blog-2/