The troubled economy is stirring a lot of stories on ways to cut back, save money, get value from products, etc., which is perfect for many of our drug store brands! For example, the February issue of Elle magazine featured ROHTO eye drops as a professional stylist pick in a “cost-conscious makeup bag.” Elle has a readership of 4.3 million.
Archive for March, 2009
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009March 2009 Agency News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009Directing the Chatter: RL&A Hires Director of Social Media
The New York Times (February 23, 2009) reported in an article, “The Facebook Era is for Adults, Too,” that more than 60 percent of baby boomers are avid consumers of social media, such as blogs, forums, podcasts and online video, up from roughly 40 percent a year ago. This is music to our ears, as RL&A grows its Chatter RL&A social media department with the hiring of Christian Brucculeri as director of social media. Christian starts this month bringing a broad skill set and unique perspective to his position with his experience in the digital and entertainment arenas.
As a Senior Account Director for YouCast Corporation where he spent several years, Christian played a central role in transforming the YouCast product from a marketing vehicle for bands and Web products into a platform for major consumer brands to enter and participate in the online conversation. In 2008, Christian developed and activated successful social media campaigns for Snapple, Pepsi, Energizer, Schick, Macy’s, Pandora Radio, KFC, Triaminic, Sony, Warner Bros. Entertainment and others.
Christian began his marketing career as an intern for Bullygoat Records (Warner Bros.) where he helped launch Active Rock & Metal bands in digital media. Promoted to Director of Artist Management for Zen Media Group in 2004, Christian was responsible for managing online strategies for Anthrax, Mudvayne (Epic Records), Otep (Capitol), Bloodsimple (Warner Bros) and Krista (J/RCA Records). He holds a BBA in Management from The George Washington University and is currently an MBA student at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
John Whitcomb, social media coordinator at RL&A for the past year and a half will report to Christian and together with him, help enhance Chatter RL&A’s cutting edge digital and social media campaigns. If you would like to learn more about what Chatter RL&A can do for your company, contact Christian at Cbrucculeri@robinleedyassociates.com.
RL&A Signs New Clients
Just a little more than halfway through the first quarter of 2009, we’re pleased to announce several new RL&A client programs, including one for Taro Pharmaceutical’s Ovide for Head Lice, an Rx, first-line product that eradicates both head lice and nits and is safe for children and adults. For Diopsys, RL&A will conduct a public relations and social media program targeted to both pediatricians and moms for its Enfant Vision Screening test. Expanding on the work we already do for The Mentholatum Company of Buffalo, NY, including Softlips Lip Conditioners and ROHTO eye drops, RL&A will be conducting a campaign for Cherry Chest Rub for Kids, a topical rub that acts as a cough suppressant.
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009RL&A’s Chatter social media division has greatly stepped up efforts to target the influential blogging community with key products/messages, particularly mommy and beauty bloggers. These influencers are actively producing content on a daily basis for a group of loyal constituents who follow their blogs on a regular basis. In the past couple of months, some of our larger blog hits included:
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009 |
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In our outreach efforts to gain editorial coverage in top alternative health publications for select clients, Florastor and Sambucol were both featured in Natural Health, a top health magazine with a readership of nearly 1.5 million geared toward “alternative health enthusiasts” as well as those who have adopted a natural health lifestyle.
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Ever wonder how to make yourself look more awake than you actually are? Well, Gita Bass, our own celebrity makeup artist for the ROHTO PR campaign, answers that very question in the March edition of Shape (readership 6.8 million), including ROHTO eye drops to help “whiten your eyes.”
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
People magazine has a number of popular online outlets. One of the most popular is the Celebrity Baby Blog with almost 700,000 visitors a month, which reviewed the pHisoderm Tear Free Gel Wash, noting they were pleasantly surprised that it smelled like a baby, but had no harsh chemicals in it.
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
And just a few of the highlights in the mommy blogger category included Frugal Mommy of 2 Girls (18,000 monthly), CentsibleSawyer (114,000 monthly) and MommieswithCents (27,000 monthly) all of whom reviewed Sambucol Black Elderberry giveaways to their readers as a result of our efforts.
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
LA Pretty.com (30,000 monthly) – beauty blog geared toward the Los Angeles area featured Softlips, Phisoderm and ROHTO in a recent entry.
Clients in the News
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Shefinds.com (150,000 monthly visitors) is one of the largest blogs out there in the beauty industry recently featured Softlips lip balm.
Chit Chatter
Thursday, March 5th, 2009Extending Your Message with Online Video
If it seems like online video is invading your digital space lately, that’s because it is! According to Pew Research, more than 57% of internet users regularly watch online videos, and some of the more popular videos are seen by millions of us each day. Online video can be an incredible vehicle to engage your audience and deliver your brand message – if it’s done properly.
Before jumping into video as a marketing tool, it’s important to start with a set of end-goals. So before you break out the camera, be sure to answer these questions:
Who is the audience for your videos?
Perhaps your audience isn’t your whole target demo, but a particular segment of it. Just as with any form of marketing, these videos might appeal more to a certain age group or gender. Maybe you want to focus on reaching moms or college students, which would be a younger demographic. Whatever target you choose, make sure the video subject speaks to them, their likes and their dislikes.
What messages do you want your videos to convey? Are you educating or entertaining?
This step concerns the content and production of the video. Do you want it to be a how-to or more entertainment focused? Do you have an expert that you want in the video? Maybe you have hired actors or are using friends to participate. If you are creating an educational video, you want it to be real. For example, don’t have an actor playing a physician or healthcare professional; and go for the best professional you can afford to offer the most credibility to your messages. (This is pretty much the same as for picking a spokesperson for any aspect of a PR campaign). If you want viral spread and entertainment value, production quality is less important. Bottom line, make sure before you hit “Record” that you know what you want your video to look like and what you want it to convey.
Will your content facilitate sharing and discussion?
All videos that live online should facilitate sharing, discussion, or some other form of social engagement. Remember, for online video campaigns to be successful, they need to spark the conversation!
Where would you like your videos to live online?
YouTube is a wonderful place to start, but there are a number of other options that you may want to explore. Do you want your videos to live on your main Web site? Do you want your video to live in a branded video player and be available for others to post? Maybe e-mail sharing is the best way to go. Again, this decision will be answered by your audience and your content.
What promotional tactics will you use to create awareness of the videos?
As soon as you upload your video to the public or begin to share it with your target audience, you have started your promotion. This step refers more to additional promotion that you might consider. For example, one method might be to e-mail your base audience (brand ambassadors) and encourage them (in some way) to share your video. You can also share videos through Facebook, MySpace, or virtually any social network blog or forum. This leads us to the final step, which is tracking.
What kind of tracking methods will you use?
Determining what the goals of the video campaign will help you determine the metrics that you want to use in tracking. If your goal is to just spread awareness, then the metric of views is the most important. If your video has a specific call to action, such as visiting your Web site, then that is what you should track.
From setting up the content, to the delivery of the video to the tracking of the campaign, it is important to decide on your goals and who the target audience is and adjust your campaign to not only reach your audience but make them glad that you did.
For more information about how Chatter can help you with your online video campaign, contact our new Director of Social Media, Christian Brucculeri, at 914-241-0086 ext. 31 or e-mail him at cbrucculeri@robinleedyassociates.com.