Author: Sarah Hattman

Blurred Lines: Social Media and The News

Sarah HattmanBlog, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , , , , , , ,

It has been nearly five years since I left television news for a career in public relations – or “the dark side,” as my friends and former colleagues in news call it. Five years isn’t a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it is plenty of time for social media to grow exponentially, shape the way newsrooms operate and change the way people consume news.

I remember it vividly. I was working at KRQE in Albuquerque, N.M. A colleague was walking out the door to cover a high-profile trial when the news director yelled from his office, “Don’t forget to live tweet!” It was 2009, and Twitter was exploding. During that year alone traffic on the site grew by 1,100 percent, and the total number of tweets increased by 1,400 percent.

Fast forward to 2015, and social media continues to become more and more intertwined with traditional media. Just a few weeks ago, I watched WTVD’s Stephanie Lopez record Facebook teases for her story about Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day. Thinking about how social media is impacting journalism, I reached out to Sean Maroney, evening anchor at WNCN, and Andrea Griffith Cash, VP of content at Durham Magazine and Chapel Hill Magazine. I asked them to explain trends that they noticed developing in the world of news and social media.

  1. Sean: “Social Media is changing the landscape in T.V. More and more people say, ‘I saw your story on Facebook.’ It’s changing the consumption of media and the way we interact. They comment, they share, they’re engaged.”
  2. Andrea: “It used to be that I only had to consider if a pitch was good for our print products. Now, I run everything through several filters. Would this be a good print story? Would this make a nice blog post? Is it worthy of just a shout out on Twitter or Facebook? Could it work for our weekly e-newsletters?”
  3. Sean: “When I got my start more than 10 years ago, I was an intern on the assignments desk at WTVD. I would start my day with a list of about 60 numbers that I would call up and say, ‘You got anything for me today?’ That’s how we got our news – by calling the police department and other agencies to find out what was going on. Now we have a list of Twitter accounts that we follow.”
  4. Andrea: “For writers, that also means that their jobs aren’t finished when they turn in the story. Often, they are being asked to promote it on social media and possibly update it online, if it’s a news piece. They also might check online comments and respond to them. They might work on a video that ties in with the print piece. In a lot of ways, you could say the story is never finished.”
  5. Sean: “I recently moderated a social media panel as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program. I told young journalists I understand that it is a race to be the first, but I encouraged them to be the first to get it right.”

Clearly, social media has changed the way members of the media report the news. How has social media changed the way you consume news?

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The Evolution of Food Delivery Service

Sarah HattmanBlog, In Our Community, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, , , , , , , , ,

With the rise of services such as UberEssentials, Google Express, local produce delivery companies such as Papa Spud’s (former Clairemont client and still loved by our team!) and monthly snack subscription boxes, you can plan to have groceries and orders of most food items delivered to your door. But what about when you want just a little something, and you want it now?

“I want something sweet.” It’s a common phrase heard at the Clairemont House – especially in the afternoon hours after lunch.

One of the perks of working in Downtown Raleigh is all the great dining options. From Oakwood Cafe to Centro – and every food genre in between the two – chances are you can find it in Downtown Raleigh. What makes it even better is that more and more restaurants are offering delivery service. But even if your favorite lunch spot doesn’t deliver, chances are you can get a third party food marketplace, like Order Up, to bring it to you.

But if you’re like me, after you finish your lunch you tend to get a craving for something sweet. Enter Insomnia Cookies and it’s menu fit for a sweet-tooth of any size! Cookies, deluxe cookies, brownies and ice cream can be delivered until 3 a.m. Advertised to be delivered “fresh baked & delicious,” you can order your cookies with a pint of cold milk.

Clairemont’er Dana Hughens recently decided to give Insomnia Cookies a try to surprise her son, famous Lego reviewer and recent teen correspondent to Mix 101.5‘s Gene and Julie Show, while he was conducting a late night livestream with fellow Lego reviewers. We think Dana loved the cookie tracker and the delivery status functionality of the website just as much as her son liked the cookies.

Screen Shot 2015-07-18 at 1.21.13 AM

Are you using delivery services for items you once purchased in a store? What are your favorite ones, and what cool apps or web features have you noticed to go along with them?

Like this topic? Checkout one of our previous posts called Trends Tuesday: Doorstep Delivery.

 

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75 Years of Dairy Queen

Sarah HattmanBlog, In Our Community, Public Relations, , , , , , , , ,

Dairy Queen – for many people those two words are synonymous with summertime and happy memories. No one understands that better than Andrew Valkanoff, owner and operator of Triangle Dairy Queen, who loves serving treats and takes pride in the quality of service his employees deliver. He’s been a Clairemont client since the beginning of the year, but you only have to spend a few minutes with him to realize how passionate he is about his business and the communities he serves.

This year marks the 75th “Fanniversary” of Dairy Queen, so we spent some time with Andrew talking about how Triangle Dairy Queen is celebrating this major milestone.

Love Dairy Queen as much as we do? Want to stay want to stay up-to-date on all future events? Be sure to like Triangle Dairy Queen’s Facebook page.

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Copy Cat: Can You Spot the Typo?

Sarah HattmanBlog, Copy Cat, Marketing, , , , ,

The way we consume entertainment has changed. More and more of us are using online streaming services to watch movies and television at a time and location that fits our busy schedules. Netflix is leading the charge with more than 40 million US customers using its service – clearly its doing something right. However, Netflix recently caught my eye for something it did wrong. Did you happen to catch the typo in the above picture? If you didn’t, take another look.

It’s the apostrophe in “parent’s friends.” The way it reads, it’s as though Netflix is asking that you tell only one of your parent’s friends. The possessive apostrophe is quite possibly my biggest punctuation challenge. The Associated Press Stylebook (AP Style) rules for forming possessive words are fairly straightforward.

  • The possessive of a singular noun is formed by adding an apostrophe and “s” to the word. 
  • The possessive of a plural noun is formed by adding only an apostrophe when the noun ends in “s.“

However, there are plenty of exceptions to the rules. For example, what do you do when the word is a singular noun that already ends in “s”? Well, it depends on the word following the noun. If it doesn’t start with “s,” you should add an apostrophe and “s.” However, if the word immediately following the noun does start with “s,” just add the apostrophe. E.g. hostess’s invitation versus hostess’ seat.

Whew! As you can see, it gets tricky fast once you start noting the exceptions, and that’s why my best advice is to keep the AP Stylebook close by at all times.

Perhaps the possessive apostrophe is Netflix’s Achilles’ Heel, but chances are this is just a case of a typo that was overlooked. Either way, hopefully it will help you pay closer attention to the use of apostrophes – whether writing copy of your own, or seeking entertainment outside of steaming online services in the form of a book or magazine.

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What Does a PR Agency Do? Lowes Foods

Sarah HattmanBlog, Case Studies, Raleigh PR Agency, , , , , , 1 Comment on What Does a PR Agency Do? Lowes Foods

Situation Analysis

Lowes Foods, a family owned, Carolinas-based company, rolled out its new brand to shoppers in the Triangle last year at a time when the grocery store landscape was drastically changing. Not only were Kroger and Harris Teeter merging, but Publix was also expanding into the area, and both announcements were generating a lot of  “noise” in the market. Lowes Foods’ executives recognized the need to incorporate a public relations component into the company’s rebranding efforts to ensure a thorough, integrated communications campaign. Hence, they engaged Clairemont Communications to raise awareness of three local redesigned stores.

Planning: As a result of the research findings, Clairemont established the objectives with our client as follows:

  1. Develop local community relationships with Lowes Foods prior to the grand opening of three local rebranded stores, securing at least eight community influencers to attend special preview events.
  2. Introduce the media to the new Lowes Foods brand by securing three traditional media (print and TV) stories.
  3. Secure at least three positive social media mentions and one blog post about the rebranded stores from an area mom blogger.

 Execution: In order to effectively meet the primary objectives, Clairemont focused its efforts on the following areas:

  • Preview Parties: Clairemont help our client compile a list of of influential moms, well-connected women, local dignitaries and community officials to invite to preview parties at the newly rebranded stores prior to the official grand openings. This allowed community influencers to experience the stores’ new concepts, including the Community Table, Pick & Prep, Chicken Kitchen, Beer Den and Sausage Works ahead of grand opening.
  • Ribbon Cuttings: Instead of a traditional ribbon cutting, we created a fun, visual and engaging approach that highlighted the stores’ commitment to fresh, local produce. We loaded the bed of the vintage Lowes Foods’ truck with fresh produce and tied a ribbon across the back gate. The store manager cut the ribbon on the truck and unloaded the produce by passing it down the line of local dignitaries and influencers.
  • Blogger Tours: We targeted several key mom bloggers for a behind-the-scenes tour of the new store before it was publicly unveiled. We crafted a series of talking points based on our knowledge of area mom bloggers and issues that they value.
  • Media Materials: An informative news release about Lowes Foods’ rebranding was written and tailored to highlight each of the rebranded stores in the Triangle. Clairemont Communications also filmed a video of employees and shoppers participating in the Chicken Dance at the first preview event. The video was incorporated into future media pitches and sent to media contacts in order to help them visualize Lowes Foods’ new, fun approach to grocery shopping.
  • Coordinated Pitches: Creative and individualized pitches were used to pique the interest of targeted media contacts. Clairemont pushed beyond the obvious, tailoring the angle of each pitch to maximize engagement from reporters and bloggers. For example, TV stations and newspapers received details about the stores’ new brand and what made it different from the competition, while others – particularly mom bloggers – received information on how the new brand was designed to inspire new ideas, save time and make grocery shopping fun for the entire family.

Evaluation

Lowes Foods’ rebranded stores were widely accepted in the local communities in the Triangle. As part of an integrated campaign, Clairemont met expectations by securing 10 community influencers at special preview and grand opening events. We exceeded our goal for media coverage by securing four media placements, including three print stories and one TV story. We met our objectives by securing one post from a mom blogger, and through our outreach to influential mom groups, Clairemont exceeded our goal for social media by generating 10 posts about the rebranded Lowes Foods stores in the Triangle. Additionally, on May 12, the campaign was recognized with an Award of Excellence at the 2015 NCPRSA InSpire Awards.

 

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