Category: Public Relations

Pokemon Go: Poke-Marketing?

pokemon-1521104_640

Do you want to be the very best, like no one ever was? If so, then you’re probably one of the 7.5 million people who have downloaded the Pokemon Go app since its recent launch.

The app, a location-based augmented reality game that enables you to catch virtual Pokemon in the real world, has experienced a tremendous start since its release in the United States. Pokemon Go has captivated mobile users of all ages worldwide, quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon.

Within weeks, the game generated an estimated $1.6 million in revenue per day. Benefiting from this instant success is Nintendo, parent to Pokemon Co., which has already seen a 25 percent increase in stock shares and added nearly $11 billion to its market value.

The popularity of Pokemon Go and its clear potential for profit not only have opened the door for Nintendo’s success, but also have become a tool for Pokemon-inspired marketing by food and retail businesses.

The game format encourages users to explore their real-world cities to find in-game Pokemon , PokeStops or Gyms, which can be found at actual landmarks and local businesses. This alone is a valuable marketing tool that can result in rising visits and an increase in foot traffic for any organization hoping to convert locals who want to play into customers willing to pay.

Real-world marketing value

Some establishments have already realized the marketing potential of the virtual Pokemon in the real world. By flaunting ties with the game, Main Street businesses have been able to set themselves up for an increase in recognition, popularity or profit.

Storefronts have found a number of ways to engage with the traveling hordes of Pokemon trainers. One of the most popular methods of capitalizing on the app’s hype is to place Lure Modules at Poketops at or near a business’ location.

A Lure Module is a well-recognized in-game feature that enables users to attract Pokemon to a certain area. Although the Lure Modules were designed to bring in Pokemon, they’re also bringing in a slew of gamers.


‘Poke-marketing’

Pokemon Go has become a great way for retail business to attract potential customers to its location. Once gamers are lured in, stores have taken “Poke-marketing” a step further by offering tailored discounts and promotions.

These strategies are just the start of what is sure to become a more prevalent marketing approach as the app rolls out in more countries, evolves and inspires copycats. Bringing an entire generation’s childhood nostalgia into the modern age of augmented reality gaming is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Although this level of popularity can be fleeting, Pokemon has retained its status as a recognizable and well-loved brand since 1996. With the game’s technological sophistication and promise of added, advanced features—in-game chat functions, head-to-head battles, Pokemon trading, and so on—there doesn’t seem to be an end to Pokemon Go’s success anytime soon.

Kelly Holcombe is an account coordinator at Flackable, a national financial public relations and digital marketing agency. Connect with her on Twitter: @kelly_holcombe . This article was reposted from http://bit.ly/29WN08c (PR Daily)

A Ferry Tragedy, and a Wake-Up Call for Communications Pros

“Stay inside and wait” will likely go down as one of the worst—and most deadly—messages ever communicated in a crisis. This is what, according to a New York Times report, the communications officer repeatedly told the hundreds of high school students on the doomed South Korean ferry Sewol, which sank on Wednesday. It took more than two hours for the ferry to sink, and “only a couple of the 44 life rafts were deployed,” according to the Times. Of the 475 people on board, 179 have survived.

The communications officer also said that he couldn’t recall any evacuation drills for the Sewol.

Such a lack of crisis preparedness and training in the transportation industry seems so absurd as to be implausible, yet the facts stare us in the face. Before your outrage gets the better of you, ask yourself, how prepared would your own organization be in the face of a life-threatening crisis or disaster?

If you’re an experienced PR professional, few people in your organization will have better crisis management training than yourself. This is an area where communications pros can and should take the lead. Take it upon yourselves to get senior leaders involved in crisis preparedness—both the operational aspects and the communications planning. Work with HR to conceive and implement a crisis response plan and make sure all employees are trained in how to respond in the event of a life-threatening crisis, and institute a chain of command.

Communications pros should go beyond developing skills to manage the message and protect a brand in a crisis. They should be leaders in making sure plans that actually save lives are in place, and communicated well.

Written by Steve Goldstein. Steve Goldstein is editorial director of events for Access Intelligence’s PR News brand, which encompasses premium, how-to content, data and competitive intelligence for public relations professionals. Follow Steve Goldstein: @SGoldsteinAI Visit PRNews where this excerpt is originally appeared. 

20 Job Openings in The PR and Marketing World

PR and Marketing path

Though every workplace has its share of characters, they might not be as recognizable as those atPBS. 

For one thing, you’ll never find an accounting department quite as enthusiastic about numbers. Sure, some co-workers can seem cliquey, and others are downright grouchy. But even the brutish exterior of the office monster quickly crumbles. If anything, most staffers are probably too friendly(that’s HR’s problem, though). 

Meanwhile, the characters on the PBS KIDS public relations and social media team are experienced in both fields, a professional precedent its newest associate director will need to uphold. 

Supporting the network’s PBS LearningMedia initiatives, this person will work with its corporate communications team on projects ranging from managing media contacts and developing editorial calendars to assisting with PR and crisis communication efforts. 

Click here to read the full job description, and then find out even more about the characters working at PBS. 

Not the job for you? See what else we have in our weekly professional pickings: 

About the author:

Alan Pearcy. Alan doesn’t like when people refer to themselves in third-person, so he will henceforth, stop it, now. Born and raised in Springfield, Ill., I’ve had my fill of all-things Abe Lincoln. Inching upstate on the map little by little, I attended Bradley University in Peoria, where I graduated in 2008 with a B.A. in communications and advertising. I kept moving on up until I reached sweet home Chicago a couple years ago. After a stint at Leo Burnett in the Windy City, I freelanced as a writer and advertising pro of sorts, along with a few other odd-jobs, until joining forces as an editorial assistant with Ragan Communications. Things you should note: I am a Gemini, I am blonde, single, I bruise like a peach, I have webbed-toes, I will stop at nothing to wear flip-flops, and that aside from writing, I sustain sickly obsessions with popular culture, exercise, coffee, and amazingly poor choice in both film and TV. I also fall a lot.

If you have a job you would like to see highlighted on PR Daily, please email me or send me a message on Twitter @iquotesometimes. 

Visit PRDaily where this excerpt originally appeared.

Journalism Ethics that PR Should Consider Adopting

Successful public relations hinges on the ethics of its practitioners. Like journalists, PR practitioners often face challenging ethical issues that are best solved by adhering to the industry’s code of ethics.

The biggest difference between public relations and journalism’s adopted ethics codes are the people each code serves. While journalists serve the public and its right to know, PR professionals primarily answer to their clients and companies. 

PRSA’s ethical guidelines are perhaps the industry’s most widely recognized code for ethics. They cover the necessity for honesty, accuracy, integrity and confidentiality.

The Professional Standards Advisories (PSAs), designed to keep the PRSA code timely, address PR-specific areas and modern practices, including recording conversations, use of interns, video news releases, pay-for-play journalism and disclosure guidelines.

Both codes are quite comprehensive and benefit PR agencies and companies when followed. But are they comprehensive enough? Perhaps it’s time for PR to adopt some of journalism’s ethical guidelines. PR inherently serves the public (it’s in the name), and PR practitioners are functioning more as journalists; more PR content is now reaching the public directly without review and editing by the press or other independent journalists.

With this in mind, we’ve examined some principles from The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, not (yet) covered in PRSA’s code, that may be worth adopting by PR.

Give both sides the opportunity to respond to allegations. Support the open exchange of views, even views found “repugnant.”

To follow their promise of being “fair and balanced,” reporters must always get all sides of the story. This is why you’ll often see statements like, “Mr. so-and-so did not answer calls for comment.” The mention is proof that the reporter attempted to get the other side’s point of view.

Even recognizing that PR is an advocacy profession, the inclusion of some balance would likely enhance the credibility of PR-produced communications materials. That balance is especially important in the appropriate use and interpretation of facts and statistical data. Suitable balance can be achieved by including the viewpoints of independent experts.

Adding the layer of credibility can gain trust of PR practitioners and the businesses they represent from both journalists and consumers.

Make certain that headlines and content do not misrepresent. They should not oversimplify or take incidents out of context.

Public relations specialists should never choose a witty or mysterious headline over one that tells the truth. Make it a principle never to mislead your audience, especially on social media when creating clever messages to attract more attention.

Out-of-context messages can also backfire, as The Colbert Report’s PR team recently learned through this social media post.

Avoid misleading reenactments or staged news events. If reenactment is necessary, label it.

This guideline pertains mostly to photographs and videos used in news articles. Staged photographs have gotten journalists fired because they don’t accurately represent the scene.

When you stage a product demonstration, the demo must accurately and precisely portray the capabilities of the product or service as it exists at that time – not as you expect or hope it will exist in the future.

Up until 2011, the White House would often reenact speeches and photo-ops for the press. For example, when President Barack Obama finished his on-air address about the death of Osama bin Laden, he then re-enacted his walkout and the first 30 seconds of the statement for the press. The White House has since stopped its practice of staging photos, but until that point, the public could not be sure whether footage of the president’s speeches was real or fake.

Never distort the content of news photos or videos.

Similar to the guideline above, PR should take all steps necessary to be honest with their audience. When using photographs, it is inappropriate to distort them through editing.

Avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status.

Stereotyping is not always deliberate, but can sometimes show up in PR materials. Prohibit it and always look out for it.

Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.

Stifling dissent and criticism, once a standard responsibility of PR, is no longer an effective PR tactic given the all-permeating presence of social media.

On social media, anyone can be a witness, everyone has a story to tell and, eventually, everything gets out; covering up dissent or criticism is now nearly impossible.  Like journalists who are bound to present all sides of the story, PR can successfully embrace open discussion by encouraging fans and critics to share content.  Companies that are “good guys” and do the right thing ultimately win the battle of minds. Other important journalism ethical guidelines to consider:

  • Recognize that the process of gathering and reporting news may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news and defense of published materials does not give  license for rudeness or arrogance.
  • Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.
  • Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment.
  • Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money. Avoid bidding for news.
  • Accept, work with and even encourage the public’s ability to voice grievances against the news media (or in this case, your company or PR agency).

Bottom line: PR is best served by adhering to both PR and journalism ethics. Some journalism guidelines are not entirely appropriate for the PR industry, but  may provide guidance on behavior not addressed in PRSA’s code of ethics.

Which journalism guideline(s) do you think PR should follow? Share in the comments below.

William J. Comcowich is the editor of Media Monitoring News and the CyberAlert Blog, where a version of the story originally appeared. He is also founder, president and CEO of CyberAlert, Inc.