Dove's Not-So-Clean Ad Campaign

Nothing illustrates the power of the blogosphere more perfectly than a textbook PR dilemma. The Dove soap brand recently came under fire for a national ad that many claim to be racist. Before I delve into the crisis, take a glance at the ad for yourself:


See anything questionable? The ad is for Dove’s VisibleCare Body Wash, which claims to improve the overall appearance of women’s skin in just one week. Dove’s media headache began when the blog ‘Copyranter’ posted the following about the ad: “Dove body wash turns Black women into Latino women into White women.” The post explained how the ad shows black skin as bad and white skin as good, by having the skin color get progressively lighter by the ‘after’ or better side of the ad.

This dilemma brings up the question of how PR professionals should react to negative blog or social media posts. Fight back and risk saying something offensive or let the people talk and spread rumors? In this case, Dove kept a low profile by simply replying once to the original blog saying,

“…The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week. All three women are intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”

Little action on Twitter has been taken by Dove, and their Facebook page has been managed by one Dove commenter to defend the company. In my opinion, Dove handled this situation very responsibly, by replying to the original blog that started the chatter and to no one else. The new world of blogging creates these new types of problems for PR professionals everyday, and crises such as these are prime examples of how to deal with them.

Personally, the ad should have never seen the light of day, because when looked at closely it does give off a negative image towards darker skinned women. Looking at the ad again, it would make much more sense to have all of the women standing under the ‘after’ sign, showing that women of all skin colors are beautiful.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

Fundraising for Social Good

As the nonprofit cheerleader and advocate that I am, one of my favorite twitter feeds and blogs is @Nonprofitorgs (http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com). One of the most critical responsibilities tasked to nonprofits is raising sufficient funds for the organization. Thanks to social media, nontraditional approaches are allowing nonprofits to reach wider audiences, gain more awareness and visibility and therefore increase overall funds raised. The blog Nonprofit Tech 2.0 posted a great article on 6 online fundraising tools that many may have never heard of:

1. Swipegood: This resource enables donors to round up all of their debit and credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and allows them to donate the difference to the charity of their choice. It's an easy and effective way for people all around the world to put good use to their spare change.

2. Philanthroper: Just like Living Social or Groupon, Philanthroper is a daily deal site, although instead of selling you pizza for half price, the website shares a different nonprofit's mission and story daily. If you like what you read, you have the choice to donate $1 to the organization.

3. GiveBack: GiveBack allows donors to create their own foundations (giving portfolios) where they can follow their favorite nonprofits, donate directly, and allocate dollars raised through their online shopping portal.

4. Give A Tweet: Give a Tweet was founded to leverage the real-time power of Twitter to make it easy to donate to non-profits. Donors can either give directly to nonprofits, or match another donor’s gift. It’s a creative way for business brands on Twitter to get recognized for their philanthropy.

5. Cauzoom: Cauzoom allows nonprofits to create projects/cauzs that can then be crowdfunded or endorsed by individuals and businesses.

6. BroadCause: BroadCause is a social good platform where individuals can join cause communities and nonprofits can create wish lists, events, and fundraise. Integrated with Twitter, there is also a corporate giving component where brands can sponsor your nonprofit’s cause.

Social media is revolutionizing the way nonprofits conduct their fundraising campaigns and it provides these organizations with brand new tools that will enable them to continually increase their donor base and overall funds. Nonprofits have always had to struggle with having their message heard, however with the development of social media, their messages are not only heard but easily spread around the world.

What other fundraising tools do you use when supporting nonprofits or raising funds for your own organization? Share with us!

Representative Weiner’s Big Twitter Problem

United States Representative Anthony Weiner experienced a bit of a problem over the weekend, possibly in more ways than one. Rep. Weiner, who is best known as a Democratic firebrand in congress, may now be known for something more evocative of his last name.

The vocal New York congressman is an avid Twitter user. Many of his tweets are personal in nature, ranging from everyday life situations to politics and sports. On Friday, May 27, Weiner’s Twitter account posted a tweet that took personal to a whole new level. The tweet, which was sent to a 21 year-old college student, contained a photograph of a man’s bulging underwear.

Weiner removed the post from his account almost immediately. A few days later issued a statement dismissing the issue and claimed that his Twitter account had been hacked. He told reporters that the post was a prank but he did not file a police report. He instead hired a lawyer and refused to talk anymore about the issue, a move that helped to fuel the growing media speculation about the incident.

On Wednesday, June 1, Weiner broke his silence and confirmed to an MSNBC host that the post was a prank. However, he could not say with certainty that the photograph posted was not of him. Luckily for Weiner, the recipient of the photograph wrote an article for the New York Daily News that identified a probable culprit and debunked many rumors that were floating the media.

Weiner should have fully addressed the issue sooner through his Twitter account and media relations operation. Trying to ignore an issue will almost always have negative consequences, especially for a public official. Finally, Weiner’s claim that he did not know whether the picture in question was of him or not is a horrible media relations move. That blunder may drive future speculation and media coverage. Weiner may get lucky this time, but in the future he needs to address gaffes sooner and more effectively to avoid a public relations crisis that could end his political career.

Is it Worth it to Interact?

This past week The New York Times experimented by replacing its Twitter automatic feed with its social media editors Liz Heron and Lexi Mainland. The experiment started off by @LHeron and @LexiNYT asking, "What do you want to see from us?" a standard question that generated numerous promising responses. Heron states in the article "Why The New York Times replaced its Twitter ‘cyborg’ with people this week" by Poynter, "This week’s experiment is about changing the perception, and it’s about being a little more strategic about what we put out there — finding the most engaging content."

While The Times is just starting on the human interaction journey, the Wall Street Journal has been interacting with its followers since January 2010. Zach Seward, the man behind @WSJ, explains how the activity increased instantaneously. So why is New York Times just starting to interact with its followers? Short answer, man power. The big issue that New York Times is trying to tackle is determining whether hiring full time employees as well as editors and even an entire staff dedicated to social media necessary. While hesitant in taking the human interaction lead, Zach Seward has proven the extra work in payroll is necessary.
 
The results are not in but the future of The New York Times rests in the follower's hands. 

Public Relations in Business Schools?

As we have seen from recent examples in crisis communications, companies affected by these conflicts would have greatly benefited from some training in public relations or strategic communications.

For example, if Tony Hayward, formerly of BP, was knowledgeable on how to protect the reputation of his corporation, he would have replaced his complaints for wanting his life back with an effective plan on how to move on from the devastating effects of the oil spill.

PRSA did an analysis of highly ranked MBA programs and found that only 16 percent offer a single course in crisis and conflict management, strategic communications, public relations, or whatever you choose to describe protecting the reputation of their company.

While the inclusion of these classes would most likely be considered electives, business executives need to consider that especially in today's digital environment, they need to not only effectively run their company, but also know how to protect it in times of need.

To read the full PRSA article click here.

@LanceArmstrong vs. 60 Minutes

On Sunday the 22nd, 60 Minutes premiered its weekly episode in which Lance Armstrong was featured. Armstrong has been accused in the past of using performance enhancing drugs in order to accomplish his seven Tour de France wins. The 60 Minutes episode was no exception. In response to the expose, Armstrong tweeted the following:

“20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case.”

In support for the athlete, the tweet was reblogged thousands of times, sweeping across the web. In a practice he had adopted following his final Tour de France win, Armstrong offered no interviews, leaving just the tweet as the only direct quote from Armstrong himself for the media to base off of.

By doing so, the 60 Minutes segment featuring Armstrong was deemed unreliable by many viewers who had seen the tweet, causing ratings to drop significantly.

To read the rest of the PRdaily article, click here.

What do you think? Did Lance Armstrong do the right thing? Should he have appeared on the show and given a full interview instead of a vague tweet, to dispel rumors?

Rookie Mistakes

It didn’t take long for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 25-year-old press secretary to run into trouble with the media. Tarrah Cooper, a graduate from the University of Missouri’s journalism school, might be in a bit over her head, according to Chuck Goudie, the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago.

Recently, Goudie posted a story about his first run-in with Cooper, who—in his opinion—failed to act professionally when he called to ask questions about a story he was investigating. Goudie said, “rather than simply answer the questions, Ms. Cooper stated that she wished to speak ‘off the record.’”

According to Goudie, Cooper also supplied him with misleading and false information. Deciding that he was going to comment on this unprofessional interaction, Goudie sent Cooper some basic questions about her background and position. Cooper again asked to speak off the record and has since ceased all communication. Here are some of the questions that Goudie asked:

• Is there a set of written guidelines or protocols that you are working from in dealing with reporters and news organizations?
• How involved is Mr. Emanuel in setting the tone for dealing with the press and in what manner? Does each story inquiry get run by him?
• What qualifies you to be press secretary for the mayor of the third-largest city?
• How much will you be paid?
• What are your career aspirations?

As a student in the public relations field it aggravates me to see this type of basic communication faux pas.

Cooper’s job as a public communications official is to communicate the actions and positions of the administration with the public. I think that Cooper should have been prepared to discuss the topic at hand with Goudie, or at the very least be prepared to find out the answers and then follow up with the correct position of the administration. Saying, “Let me get back to you” is always better than asking to speak about your opinion off the record.

As for failing to answer Goudie’s inquiry into Cooper herself: I think that she did more harm than good to herself by not answering the journalist’s questions. I believe that when acting as the face of a new administration, it is crucial to paint oneself as an honest, open and frank mouthpiece in order to be effective.

But I am left wondering: Does Tarrah Cooper, or for that matter any 25-year-old, posses the necessary communication skills that a press secretary position requires? What do you think, and how would you have handled Chuck Goudie in this situation?
To read the whole article by Chuck Goudie here at the Daily Herald, click here

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jacob DeChant.