This is exactly the kind of video media people need to post to YouTube:
In a little under three minutes, these two WGN anchors showed their unique personalities. They've thoroughly choreographed this handshake during years of commercial breaks. The video is quirky enough to make you laugh - but shows subtle dedication and professionalism.
At the end of the day, what can one local news station offer that other stations can't? All local news stations offers news, but many watch one station in particular for the people they recognize. Make your anchors likable and you'll keep all eyes on you.
YouTube is a way to make yourself stand out. Don't be surprised if this video goes viral.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Sometimes, "sorry" is the best medicine
If you've ever fought with a friend, you know how hard it is to make amends without one of you saying "I'm sorry."
Why should crisis communications be any different? Occasionally bad blood fizzles out, but companies in crisis usually have to be vindicated by the news media or make some sort of apology or announcement of regret before they can rebuild relationships with consumers.
When Fox had Hulu take down 3 seasons of the hit show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Hulu experienced some immediate backlash. Perhaps the negative response wouldn't have been so strong if it weren't for the popularity of the show.
But was the removal of the show really even Hulu's fault? Fox owns the rights to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and rights ownership issues are dangerous territory - Hulu had no choice but to anger consumers.
But Hulu consumers weren't just angry that the content was removed - they were angry that it was removed with no notice. Recognizing the PR crisis at hand, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar issued a heartfelt apology and returned the shows to the site with permission from FX, giving users an additional two weeks before removing the episodes.
On the social news Web site Reddit, responses to Kilar's statement are varied and interesting. Most believe this is exactly how a company should behave in a crisis situation:
"If every company out there had this level of respect for their customers, there would be FAR FEWER incidents of deleting users' data.
Companies should regularly be grovelling at the feet of their customers. They exist solely thanks to the willing contributions of the customers, and without the customers, they are nothing.
And it's only recently that companies have really forgotten that."
-innocentbystander
While some users are baffled by the apology's intensity:
"This is a wildly excessive apology for such an event. It's not as if they deleted users' data or cancelled their vacations."
-acontorer
But the vast majority of Redditors agreed that the apology was appropriate, which shows how far an apology can go in winning back the trust of the public. As Kilar himself said, "Customer trust is hard won, easily lost."
Why should crisis communications be any different? Occasionally bad blood fizzles out, but companies in crisis usually have to be vindicated by the news media or make some sort of apology or announcement of regret before they can rebuild relationships with consumers.
When Fox had Hulu take down 3 seasons of the hit show "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Hulu experienced some immediate backlash. Perhaps the negative response wouldn't have been so strong if it weren't for the popularity of the show.
But was the removal of the show really even Hulu's fault? Fox owns the rights to "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and rights ownership issues are dangerous territory - Hulu had no choice but to anger consumers.
But Hulu consumers weren't just angry that the content was removed - they were angry that it was removed with no notice. Recognizing the PR crisis at hand, Hulu CEO Jason Kilar issued a heartfelt apology and returned the shows to the site with permission from FX, giving users an additional two weeks before removing the episodes.
On the social news Web site Reddit, responses to Kilar's statement are varied and interesting. Most believe this is exactly how a company should behave in a crisis situation:
"If every company out there had this level of respect for their customers, there would be FAR FEWER incidents of deleting users' data.
Companies should regularly be grovelling at the feet of their customers. They exist solely thanks to the willing contributions of the customers, and without the customers, they are nothing.
And it's only recently that companies have really forgotten that."
-innocentbystander
While some users are baffled by the apology's intensity:
"This is a wildly excessive apology for such an event. It's not as if they deleted users' data or cancelled their vacations."
-acontorer
But the vast majority of Redditors agreed that the apology was appropriate, which shows how far an apology can go in winning back the trust of the public. As Kilar himself said, "Customer trust is hard won, easily lost."
Friday, January 9, 2009
Burger King: pandering to that elusive 18-34
Many Facebook users are "Facebook friends" with people they don't know or care about. This ironic reality of social networking is riffed on often by cynical young adults with more "Facebook friends" than real-life acquaintances.
That's what makes the Whopper Sacrifice such a clever strategy in Burger King's quest to win over those crazy kids with integrated marketing communications. The challenge Burger King poses to Facebook users: get rid of 10 Facebook friends for a free Whopper. Oh, the potential drama!
But why is "defriending" - that dreaded social slap-in-the-face - so offensive, especially if you honestly don't know your "friend" very well? After all, the taboo of defriending is what makes this campaign interesting. The answer looks pretty obvious; passively maintaining a Facebook friendship takes no effort, but one actually has to go out of his way to defriend someone. Ouch.
I gotta say, I'm pretty hungry after reading this website. Who will I sacrifice?
That's what makes the Whopper Sacrifice such a clever strategy in Burger King's quest to win over those crazy kids with integrated marketing communications. The challenge Burger King poses to Facebook users: get rid of 10 Facebook friends for a free Whopper. Oh, the potential drama!
But why is "defriending" - that dreaded social slap-in-the-face - so offensive, especially if you honestly don't know your "friend" very well? After all, the taboo of defriending is what makes this campaign interesting. The answer looks pretty obvious; passively maintaining a Facebook friendship takes no effort, but one actually has to go out of his way to defriend someone. Ouch.
I gotta say, I'm pretty hungry after reading this website. Who will I sacrifice?
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