Mike Herman was a friend of Clairemont, PR mentor to more than can be counted and considered family (by blood or not!) by people all over the world. He inspired us to do our best. In honor of him, we are supporting the Michael Lee Herman Memorial Award Fund.
Mike, we promise to do our best to continue to encourage, teach and support the next generation of public relations professionals. We love and miss you, buddy!
xoxox
I’ll admit that it was the package design that caught my attention. It was the copy that moved me to purchase.
Doctor Lip Bang’s Lip Freak. Just the name raises my curiosity. Then, the front of the package breaks what I consider two copy rules. And I still love it. “The strongest buzzing lip balm in the whole world” — really? The whole world? That’s quite a claim, and one that, as a user of the product, I might be inclined to say is true. Still, in PR, we are careful with making such strong claims. For the packaging of a lip balm, it helps establish the personality of the brand.
Never end a sentence in a preposition. We all know that rule. I spend countless hours fussing over how to reword sentences to honor this one, and yet “Freak your lips out” works so much better than “Freak out your lips” on the front of the package. What other traditional grammar no-nos do you spy with your little eye on the back of the package? Warning to my fellow grammar geeks: it just might give you an eye twitch.
Despite the bending and at times total breaking of these beloved rules, I could just smooch the folks at Dr. Lip Bang’s for writing copy that puts a smile on my face in addition to the buzz on my lips! The product is just as fun as the packaging and never fails to be an entertaining conversation starter.
As PR pros, we love some good copy. Occasionally, we can’t stop ourselves from talking about bad copy. From pizza boxes to pet clinic signage, get in on our copy conversations here.
We’re running out of time! Christmas is just a little more than two weeks away, and somewhere young Harper and Zephyr’s Christmas fate might just depend on YOU helping us get a note from Santa in their sweet little hands.
In a letter dated December 5, 2015 on quite fancy stationery, Santa Claus disclosed that Harper and Zephyr are currently on the Nice List. However, he ends the letter with “I’ll be watching,” after saying to be good by sharing and listening to Mommy.
Could Harper and Zephyr possibly be teetering on the slippery slope of naughty and nice? Will they take their toys and retreat to their own selfish play and turn a deaf ear to Mommy’s polite requests to pick up their dirty socks off of the floor if we don’t take to social media to find them? At the very least, wouldn’t it be a shame for the beautiful calligraphy work of Mrs. Claus to never be admired by Harp, Zeph and Mommy? We can’t rob them of this heartfelt holiday keepsake!
Santa’s letter is a mystery. It was found on Glenwood South in Raleigh on Saturday. Did it fall from Santa’s sleigh as he was doing a pre-Christmas fly-by? Was it the victim of an overstuffed mail bag of holiday cards? Perhaps it was delivered to the children that morning. I can imagine Harper reading it to Lil Z and insisting on carrying it along for Saturday errands with Mommy. As they were released from their car seats and clasped hands to skip to The Cupcake Shoppe, it fell to the curb, caught wind and drifted up the sidewalk, just as Mommy’s gaze drifted down the street to the The Raleigh Wine Shop. Oh wait, maybe that was me…and then I found a letter from Santa!
Please help us find Harper and Zephyr by sharing this post on your social media channels. We want to be good little Santa’s helpers and deliver this letter to its intended recipients.
Public Relations is possibly the most misunderstood profession. If you are still wondering what people who work in PR do, go ask your mom. Better yet, ask Abbie Fink’s mom.
My dear friend and fellow PR pro wrote my favorite post about PR for the HMA blog four years ago. I still think about it when people ask me to explain my chosen career path. With Abbie’s permission, below is public relations as explained by Abbie’s mom, and you can view the original post here.
Now I know all of us in public relations have tried for our entire careers to explain what it is we do. And if you are like me, you’ve always been sure your parents really have no clue, “but as long as you’re happy, we’re happy.” Right? We were in Minneapolis for a family wedding. My 85-year-old cousin asked my mom “just exactly what does Abbie do for a living.” And this is how my mom explained it:Let’s assume you are a lettuce farmer. (The salad had just been set so it was the best she could do.) And you want everyone to know about your crops; well, you hire someone like Abbie to tell the newspaper and television reporters how great your lettuce is. But maybe you have a bad crop one year, but thanks to the work that Abbie does, she’s able to tell the reporters about that and also tell them some of the other great things you are doing at the farm.He goes on to ask, “how does she do that?”
She makes it a point to know all the reporters and editors at the different newspapers and television stations. You know she’s quite the busy-body so this is perfect for her. (yeah, I know, my mom has that part dialed in 🙂 )
So then he asks my mom if “Abbie does the Twitter thing.” And to that she says:
Yes, she does all that social media stuff. She uses the Facebook and the Twitter thing all the time (I’m sure there was a big emphasis on ALL and she probably rolled her eyes a bit as well.) She even teaches other people how to use it.
Not bad, right? So after 25+ years in business, I guess my parents really do know what I do.
I’d venture to guess that is hard to find someone who doesn’t know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. From pink bagels, to pink hotels to seeing the color on the field when you watch an NFL game during October, it seems that everywhere we turn this month, there is PINK! And with good reason. Consider these facts from The American Cancer Society:
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12 percent) of women in the United States alone will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. This year, approximately 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women, and about 60,290 new cases of non-invasive, early form breast cancer will be diagnosed. It is also estimated that more than 40,000 women will die in 2015 from breast cancer.
While recent years have brought criticism that too many companies are jumping on the bandwagon of supporting Breast Cancer Awareness Month, if you’ve ever lost a loved one to breast cancer or even had a “scare,” I hope you will agree with me that the more help in raising funds and awareness, the better. I like to see when brands get creative and do something more than wear a pink shirt or display the pink ribbon.
Take PDQ for example. If you’ve previously read our blog, you might know that Clairemont Communications was PDQ’s public relations partner in North Carolina for an awareness campaign last year. Building on the restaurant’s partnership with National Breast Cancer Foundation in 2014, PDQ partnered this year with an artist from one of its local markets to design PDQ’s Shake Out Cancer t-shirts. The personal touch? The artist’s wife is a breast cancer survivor. Read more about PDQ’s support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the artist in this news release issued by the company:
PDQ TO PARTNER WITH NATIONAL BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION FOR MONTH OF OCTOBER
Proceeds from Sale of T-Shirts and Milkshakes to Benefit NBCF
TAMPA, FL (October 2015) – PDQ (People Dedicated to Quality) restaurants and National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.® (NBCF) are joining forces again in 2015 to help raise money this October as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For the second consecutive year, PDQ will sell pink t-shirts in all of its restaurants and this year’s original design was created by South Florida artist Sergio (SURGE) Quinonez, whose wife, Adriana, is a breast cancer survivor.
Guests to PDQ can help raise needed funds in a few ways. Anyone can purchase a $6 PDQ “Shake Out Cancer” pink t-shirt and receive a free 14 oz. milkshake at the time of their t-shirt purchase. In addition, throughout the month of October, if the guest wears their pink PDQ t-shirt back into any PDQ restaurant, they will receive a free milkshake with the purchase of any combo meal.
A donation will be made to NBCF for every t-shirt and every milkshake purchased in October. In 2014, PDQ raised $23,000 for NBCF as part of its October initiative.
“We’re honored to partner with PDQ again this October,” said NBCF Co-Founder and CEO Janelle Hail. “The funds they raise will be used to help women both locally and nationally.”
“Collaborative efforts can help so many strong, amazing women fight this horrible disease,” said Quinonez. “I am proud to partner with PDQ and NBCF for this important initiative.”
“October is a very important month to help raise awareness and money for this disease that has affected so many women, including Adriana Quinonez,” said PDQ President Steve Erickson. “We are so appreciative of the work that NBCF does on a daily basis to assist in this fight.”
To find the nearest PDQ restaurant, visit www.eatPDQ.com/locations.
About National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.®
Recognized as one of the leading breast cancer organizations in the world, NBCF’s mission is to help women now by providing help and inspiring hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services. A recipient of Charity Navigator’s highest 4-star rating for 11 years, NBCF provides women Help for Today…Hope for Tomorrow® through its National Mammography Program, Beyond The Shock®, Early Detection Plan, and breast cancer research programs. For more information, please visit www.nbcf.org.
About the Shirt Designer – SURGE
South Florida resident Sergio (SURGE) Quinonez designed this year’s PDQ “Shake Out Cancer” t-shirt. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Miami, Urban Pop artist, Surge, has taken his bold, unmistakable style straight from his sketchbooks to the sun-stained streets of South Florida and beyond. Surge’s love for cartoons and brilliant colors, along with a passion for hip hop culture, has shaped his artistic identity. For more information, visit www.illsurge.com.
About PDQ
PDQ is a fast casual restaurant known for their hand-breaded chicken tenders, hand-tossed salads, made-to-order sandwiches, fresh-cut fries and hand-spun milkshakes with dine-in, drive thru or catering options. Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham and MVP Holdings CEO Nick Reader are the two principal owners of PDQ. The partners spent more than two years developing the concept behind the brand and quality of the food and establishments. On October 30, 2011, the original PDQ restaurant opened its doors in Tampa, Florida and the concept now has 46 locations throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. PDQ prides itself on delicious sandwiches and salads made with the finest ingredients and their 12 signature sauces and dressings are homemade every day on-site. PDQ stands out from other quick service restaurants by featuring an open kitchen, allowing guests to see the food preparation from start to finish. Restaurant Business Magazine recently named PDQ as the number one fastest growing small chain in America and Nation’s Restaurant News chose PDQ as a 2014 Hot Concepts recipient. All menu items are under $10 and combo meals start as low as $7.69. PDQ is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week with dine-in seating and a drive-thru. Catering is also available for events and carryout. For more information, visit www.eatPDQ.com.
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