Digital Sketchbook

It is hard to not look at your employer through different lenses when you go to school for public relations. For me, that is La Vie En Rose. When I tell people I work at La Vie En Rose, they look at me with a blank face usually and ask “what’s that?” That is Canada’s “leading” lingerie company that actually has a global outreach. Let me put this into a perspective that our generation can understand. La Vie has 134 followers on Twitter and 18,166 likes on Facebook. To put this into perspective, its direct competition La Senza has 474,114 likes on Facebook. Women from 25-45 are the companies target audience. 

So, how could La Vie make its brand recognition stronger RIGHT NOW? Some of these are inside the box, and some of them are outside. 

1) Media Coverage:

One of the best ways PR can promote a brand is through free media coverage. By offering articles on dressing for Christmas parties and mentioning how to find the right bra for a dress or have a list of perfect gifts with pyjama’s as one might work. They can also supply fashion magazines with their new double gel bra, etc.  

2) Event: 

Holding an event is a great way to get brand recognition and media coverage. Holding an impromptu fashion show on the streets of downtown Toronto or some kind of event on Campus’ would get people talking. 

3) Advertising that gives PR something to talk about:

Pull something dramatic, such as a realistic advertising campaign. The values of this company are to make real women feel sexy, so ditch the plastic airbrushed models and go with real women and real curves. This will lead to some great media coverage and make the company stand out against the direct competition (La Senza and Victoria Secret don’t do this).

4) Social Media:

La Vie En Rose has very little social media presence. While advertising on facebook costs money, getting people interested in lingerie might not be very hard… Using in store advertising for social media might not be as successful, due to the low brand recognition to begin with. 

 

In October 2011 Qantas Airlines in Australia were grounded after contract negotiations ended and employees were locked out. This left tens of thousands of people stranded all across the globe. To say customer loyalty had been shaken would be a massive understatement. 

How did their public relations team try to work on crisis management and begin open and positive conversation with their customers? Why, Twitter of course. They put up a contest on their twitter page that asked users to describe their dreams luxury in-flight experience for a chance to win a vacation.

Customers began posting their frustrations and comments on the strike in reply to the contest. One post said Qantas luxury meant “being stranded on the other side of the world without warning when you just want to get home to your 10-month-old daughter.”

So what can we learn from this failure? While social media is a valuable tool, it requires the careful consideration and research that other media tools require. If Qantas had used the CAPS method for all forms of crisis management, they would have quickly realized that this was not an effective way to deal with the situation. 

Qantas has changed their tone of their Twitter page since this episode. There is now an entire page of apologies and compassionate comments to individual users.  Compassion and action should have came first, not have been an after thought. 

Recruiting the mass of students lingering in the hallways, chatting in the cafeteria, living in the residences and attending the numerous programs Loyalist College offers is the passion of Chantal Dilts.

As the Coordinator of Recruitment and Special Events at Loyalist College Dilts is responsible for the development, coordination and implementation of student recruitment programs. In addition, she assures that campus visit programs, Open Houses, March Break Days and the convocation take place each year. 

Successfully recruiting students to fill a variety of programs can pose challenges that include reaching isolated audiences such as mature students and maintaining an image of Loyalist that can easily be tarnished by individual experiences. To overcome these hurdles Dilts finds innovative ways to connect with potential Loyalist students and continually thinks quickly to highlight the many wonderful characteristics that the college offers. While demanding, she finds her position rewarding as it allows her to work with people and help them make positive life-changing decisions.

Chantal Dilts has been the Coordinator of Recruitment and Special Events at Loyalist College for almost two years, but she has deep roots at the school. She graduated from Loyalist with a two-year diploma in Business, a three-year advanced diploma in Business Administration, and a certificate in Human Resources Management. As a student Dilts procured her first job at Loyalist as a Night School Supervisor. She quickly proved that she was a valuable addition to the Continuing Education team during a time where online studies were quickly expanding and won the competition as the College’s first OntarioLearn Technician. When a position opened up a year later in Recruitment, Dilts passion and skills in communication landed her a job as a full-time Recruitment Officer. She excelled as a Recruiter for five years before she was promoted to her current position. Chantal Dilts fully embraced every opportunity she had while she was a student and impressed her future employers. Her effort eventually turned into a career where she is now able to be a mentor to current Loyalist College students.

While Chantal Dilts is passionate about her career at Loyalist, the centre of her attention is her family. She spends her leisure time walking or biking with her twins and two dogs in tow. While motherhood poses its own challenges in relation to her career, Dilts is thankful that she has a job that she loves. She is currently working towards her degree at Athabasca University. Chantal Dilts is sure to be the cause of climbing enrolment numbers for years to come, but she doesn’t know where the future will take her.

I am hoping to intern at the Tweed Municipality, under Joey Walsh, the new Economic Development Officer. I still have to be approved by Council. Let me just say it would be a dream come true. So, in my excitement I decided to write an entry about some of the current challenges th at Tweed is facing, which I hope to tackle with communications strategies this April.

I had heard of the Tweed Elvis Festival, but what I did learn was a rumour was started that Elvis wasn’t dead and was spotted living in Tweed, Ontario. This story developed into a part of Tweed’s identity. Every year Tweed now holds the Elvis Festival in honor of this piece of folklore and in an attempt to draw tourism to this city of 10,000.

Mr. Walsh was telling me about one of his exciting ideas to bring economic sustainability & increase tourism to Tweed, to give the downtown core a 50’s theme and extend the Elvis festival idea to a year around identity. After reading a  newspaper articlewritten in 2005 by Toronto Sun Reporter Mike Strobel, I began to be inspired a little more into the idea.

The most important part of changing a communities image is getting the public on board. From this article you can see that the ‘Elvis Spirit’ is already alive. Places like the Bradwood Diner, while joking about peanut butter and banana sandwhiches in the article, may be open to a cosmetic shift towards a 50’s diner. Evan Morton, the curator of Tweed’s Heritage Centre, has explicitly stated he has everything he needs for an Elvis exhibit. Street signs that double as tourist attractions already have a history and connection to Elvis. This is just what I have found in the last ten minutes through Google, I’m sure the citizens of Tweed have a few more great ideas.

What I really liked about Walsh’s idea was the general theme of the 50’s rather than just specifically Elvis. The newspaper article has the other side of Tweed’s reaction to the Elvis rumour, one of boredom and exploitation of the King’s popularity. The broader theme allows more creativity for the town’s image, tourism and events. For example, Walsh mentioned old cars that could reflect the 50’s theme. I know groups of local car collectors and enthusiasts are always looking for venues for getting together. A hundred car enthusiasts who happily flock to Belleville’s Canadian Tire or A&W parking lots for a night would make a significant impact on Tweed’s small economy. 

This idea actually reminds me a bit of another small town I’ve been to, St. Jacobs. The tourist destination that is between London and Toronto promotes the fact that it is home to 4,000 Old Order Mennonites. It has a one street tourist attraction (called King Street, ironically) that includes a couple museums, markets, diners, a bakery, clothing and local stores. Even the Tim Hortons bought into the theme, and has woodem support beams and a old time look. This town is a very small, agriculturally based community that has a sensitive and historical population. Economic and tourist development has made it a one of a kind popular and sustainable attraction. I believe Tweed should consider looking at this town as an example. 

 I know I said I would write about a couple challenges, but I never thought I would get this excited and write so much about one idea I heard today. I will definitely follow up in a day or two about another challenge and idea I have — Branding Tweed.

My posts so far have been about brands and campaigns that have targeted women. This post is about a woman that I admire — and has a REALLY cool public relations job.

Rachel Sterne is the Chief Digital Officer for New York City. That means coordinating the city’s use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Tumblr, Crowdmap and it’s own website. 

Recently, New York City went through Hurricane Irene. While everyone else was preparing for the worst, Sterne was bunkered down in City Hall with her MacBook Pro, Blackberry and iPhone. It was her job to communicate with the citizens during a natural disaster by giving alerts, breaking news, answering questions and submitting photos. It’s just one example of how vital digital communication is becoming. 

On a daily basis Sterne tweets about government programs, answers questions, upcoming events, charities, road closures, etc. 

Sterne is known as the ambassador between NYC and the Tech world. She networks with “techies” to look for ways to better improve NYC’s digital community, for example David Karp (the 25 year old founder of Tumblr). 

You can find Sterne on twitter @rachelsterne

For a little more information on Sterne’s appointment as Chief Digital Officer: http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/who-and-what-rachel-sterne-125536 

When you think of trying to sell the idea of safe sex and make-up, who would you put as the spokesperson? M.A.C cosmetics chose Lady Gaga to do just that, as the spokesperson for their Viva Glam campaign which funds their M.A.C AIDS Fund. The cosmetic company teamed up with the music icon to create Gaga inspired lipstick, with funds going to their charity.

Was Gaga a good choice for a spokesperson? I would say so…

She wears make-up like it’s her job, and is known for her outrageous style. She has millions of fans, the majority of them being females who would be an appropriate audience for M.A.C cosmetics. She is known for speaking out and standing up for her beliefs. For example, she spoke up for striking down the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of the U.S. Military. Lady Gaga has broken multiple music records, including the first female artist to have 5 #1 hits from a debut album and the best selling digital album of all time. She has over 27 million fans on Facebook and is #1 on Twitter with 7.9 million followers. Her latest album, Born This Way, is an encouraging beat that is about being proud of who you are. 

M.A.C definitely chose a spokesperson that would be able to reach a large audience through various media outlets, including social media. I believe that her ‘out there’ attitude and bravery is useful when trying to discuss a sensitive, slightly taboo topic. Her age and position as a young role model fits the younger generation that M.A.C is trying to speak to. Gaga is a trailblazer, who I see helping to blaze a new trail through older issues such as HIV and safe sex. 

For more information on the M.A.C AIDS Fund http://www.macaidsfund.org/