It can sometimes be hard to find a timely topic for this blog. Thanks to LeBron James and Cleveland Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert, a backseat-driving PR goldmine dropped in my lap.
Here’s a recap: James is regarded by many as the NBA’s brightest star. From his first day in the NBA, James’s star power has been so strong that folks from CNBC often talked about the economic benefits he brought to Cleveland, a city hard hit by recession. Free agency came calling this year, and the James sweepstakes was narrowed down to several teams, including the Cavs, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.
Typically, when free agents sign a contract, they release a media statement. James, however, scheduled a primetime ESPN special to announce he’s joining the Heat. Within seconds, Cleveland fans disowned him, Facebook lit up and President Obama released a statement (OK – the last part didn’t happen). The most common knock against James was that he publically embarrassed his home state by announcing on live television that he was leaving.
But it didn’t end there. Apparently confusing owning a franchise with owning a human being, Gilbert wrote a scathing letter about James and posted it on the Cavs’ website. While James and Gilbert both made mistakes, James comes out on top, and I’m sure the Boys and Girls Club of America appreciated the $2.5 million raised from the ESPN special.
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Twitter recently launched “Promoted Tweets,” a new service that will allow businesses to pay for tweets to receive special placement and recognition. If you were to type in “coffee” on Twitter’s search menu, instead of seeing entries about what everyone in the world drank this morning, you may see a Tweet from Starbucks at the top of the search return. You would also find similar results for other companies that are working with Twitter during this testing phase, including Bravo, Sony Pictures and Virgin America.
Although Twitter is still formulating how much they will eventually charge companies for Promoted Tweets, don’t expect the cost scale to be identical to services like Google AdWords, which can base charges on the number of clicks an ad receives.
For Twitter, the new service is a balancing act between maintaining what made the social media channel popular – its independence – and a way to make a profit. For businesses and PR folks, it presents an opportunity to touch customers who – now more than ever – expect to be reached in unique ways.
Now, before we all accuse Twitter of selling out or draft its obituary, here are some things to consider:
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It was the battle of Nike versus Michigan State University fans using the social media powerhouse, Facebook, as their megaphone. At stake was whether MSU would replace its 30-year-old Spartan logo with a redesigned Nike creation.
MSU alums, students and fans became aware that the university planned to change the current logo when a new version was uncovered in January on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Web site. MSU’s athletics department soon found itself facing angry fans that were fiercely loyal to its current logo.
Fans created a Facebook page, “The Old Spartan Logo.” Within a few weeks, more than 63,000 people had joined. To put that number in perspective, The Oprah Magazine page has less than 7,500 fans. Even beloved basketball coach Tom Izzo became involved when he publicly berated fans opposed to the change, “For all of you out there complaining, shame on you.” (That included yours truly, a 2003 alumnus.)
In the end, the fans on Facebook won. Athletics Director Mark Hollis announced Feb. 5 that MSU’s current logo will not change. Nike will still design new uniforms, bringing all MSU athletic teams into a unified look, but the logo will stay untouched.
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Drivers of Ford Motor Co. models will soon be able to hear what friends are Tweeting thanks to new technology, the automaker announced last week. The announcement quickly sparked a debate about whether it would improve driver safety or distract us even more.
Ford’s public relations team positioned the announcement as a way to enhance safety, because drivers will no longer have to take their eyes off the road to check their cell phones. In partnership with Microsoft, using technology called Sync, automobiles will read Tweets aloud through the vehicle’s speakers.
Here’s how it will work. New models of the Ford Edge and Ford Focus released later this year will be the first of the company’s lineup to have this new technology. (The autos will also be armed with Pandora Internet radio, which will allow drivers to create their own customized radio stations.). The Edge and Focus will take a drivers’ mobile devices and Sync (hence the name) information into their systems. Drivers will then use voice commands to tell the models when they want to hear Tweets.
Here’s a nice spot for a friendly disclaimer. I come from a Ford family – we buy them, we’ve worked for them and I was born in Dearborn, Ford’s world headquarters city in Michigan.
All of that aside, I still think it is a brilliant move for the company.
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Chad Previch joined Saxum in October 2007 and now works as an account supervisor, responsible for managing national and statewide client accounts.
In 2008-09, Previch co-chaired the public relations committee for Crystal Darkness Oklahoma, a statewide anti-methamphetamine campaign. He wrote press releases and promotional material and helped secure media coverage for the documentary, which aired on more than 20 television stations in Oklahoma and northern Texas. The campaign won the Award of Merit in Public Service Campaigns from PRSA’s OKC Chapter and the Lowe Runkle Distinguished Service Award from the Oklahoma City Advertising Club.
Previch came from The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, where he last reported on the state desk. At The Oklahoman, Previch was part of an investigative reporting team that won first place from the Society of Professional Journalists Oklahoma Pro Chapter. Previch also won the SPJ’s Reporting on Open Government award. He was frequently interviewed live by the local CBS affiliate and appeared on the CNN network.
Previch graduated with a journalism degree from Michigan State University in 2003. While a reporter for The State News, Previch won Michigan Collegiate Journalist of the Year from the Michigan Press Association.
He is on the board of the Vilakazi Foundation, a grassroots charity benefiting South African children, and on the board of the Sooner State Softball Association. He lives in Oklahoma City.
