A Great Marketing Opportunity Brought To A Knee

Bro Being Iced

Bros Icing Bros was many things more than just some simple drinking game originating somewhere in the Spring heat of South Carolina.  It was an incredibly viral meme that brought the brand Smirnoff Ice back into the everyday lexicon of a generation of recreational drinkers who would have happily lived on without ever remembering that it existed.  For one brief blink in time, holding a Smirnoff Ice was not something to feel shameful of.  It was something to be rejoiced, laughed about with friends, filmed and later uploaded on YouTube for the whole world to see.  Yes friends, for several weeks it became almost a right of passage for a young man to strut into a liquor store, proudly hand the clerk a six-pack and proudly proclaim “no bag thank you, just the Smirnoff Ice” loudly enough for others to hear.  Smirnoff Ice had never had never enjoyed so much attention from the non-purse, carrying portion of the population in all its days.

The meme was so brilliantly executed that surely it must have had some wight behind it.  An ad buy here, an influencer outreach there.  Something must be driving this.  Smirnoff Must have poured thousands into this campaign.  While some applauded, Smirnoff couldn’t seem to get over the public scorn.  As quickly as it began to build steam, big daddy Diageo (Smirnoff’s parent company) brought down the no-fun fist and tried to force the movement to a knee.

Playing Bros Icing Bros

For those have gone without being iced.  ”Bros Icing Bros” is a very simple, albeit ingenious, drinking game where the loser (or winner… no, sticking with loser) must drop to one knee and chug a Smirnoff Ice.  The game’s foremost authority, brosicingbros.com (now defunct) kindly laid out the only two rules of this glorious game.

How to play Bros Icing Bros

But Ices Were Never Meant To Be Chugged Damn It!

Critics were outraged that Smirnoff could promote something like this and despite Smirnoff’s fervent insistence that they had nothing to do it, the suspicions lingered on.  Can you blame them.  Like chugging Smirnoff Ice doesn’t fall in line with their current Facebook promotion that offers contestants the chance to win 400 gallons of foam for a party at their own house.  No, seriously.  It’s a promotion they’re offering.  Checkout their Facebook Page.

Sadly, Smirnoff Ice seems to be blind to the fact that although a small portion of the population think the drink is the coolest thing since Ed Hardy trucker hats, a much larger portion of the population will flat out leave any public establishment where the beverage is being served.  The take away from all of this is that is you can’t seem to make your product cool, maybe you should try to make giving your product away cool.  Smirnoff Ice should have embraced the old addadge that “it’s better to give than it is to recieve”.

Smirnoff Ice Facebook Page

Four-What?

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year (disclaimer: I only heard about it 2 months ago) you’ve likely read about how location-based social media sites are changing the way businesses and marketers are connecting with their publics.  Foursquare allows you to “check-in” to places you go and updates your Facebook or Twitter status appropriately.  Users can earn points for frequenting venues and are notified of their friends’ movements.  At only a year old, Foursquare already has over half a million users and set a single day record of 275,000 updates.  Many in the social media world feel that location-based apps are still just in their infancy stage.  Mashable’s Pete Cashmore even felt strongly enough to dub Foursquare as “next year’s Twitter”.

Foursquare’s Impact

Aside from providing yet another forum for “friends” to jockey amongst themselves over who has the most interesting life, apps like Foursquare have the ability to fundamentally change the way in which businesses and customers interact.

Attracting New Customers And Rewarding Loyalty

Customer loyalty cards are old news.  Some sort of sub-card or coffee-card can be found floating around in almost everyone’s purse or wallet.  Foursquare, and other apps like it, provide the opportunity to rethink this antiquated concept and, at the same time, provide an extra benefit to businesses.  Companies can now provide their clients with cards which they swipe every time they make a purchase.  With these new loyalty cards, customers can gain reward points towards future purchases, similarly to when a traditional card is stamped. That is where the similarity ends. With Foursquare’s API, an automatic Twitter update can be made each time a card is swiped providing the business with an increased online presence.

Businesses And Customers, Getting To Know Each Other Better.

Foursquare provides a platform for businesses to speak directly to their existing customer base as well as offering the ability to reach potential new customers based on location.  At the same time, it allows business owners to better understand the habits of its customers.  Foursquare also has great implications when measuring social media ROI by providing an accurate account of online impressions and how well those translate into sales.

Marketers Can Better Direct Their Messages

Not only can marketers send messages to potential customers based on proximity (imagine walking through a mall and automatically being sent information on sales as you pass by stores) but they can make suggestions based on related products.  Just left Golf Town?  How about some reviews of golf courses.  Late night check-in at a bar?  Maybe you’d be interested in a cab.

Where Were You Last Night?

Unlike its competitor Gowala, Foursquare doesn’t require geo-tagging as proof of a check-in.  Keep this in mind the next time your significant other comes home smelling like someone else’s perfume but hands you an iPhone, assuring you that they were honestly just visiting their grandmother at her retirement home.

Just Who’s Watching You?

We all know that insurance companies have been investigating claims with the use of social media, but who else might have an interest in where you are?Last summer, news agencies and blogs reported the story of Israel Hyman, who claimed that his house was robbed due to a Tweet announcing that he and his family were away on vacation.  Though his claims cannot be proven, sites like Please Rob Me have capitalized on these privacy concerns.  Please Rob Me is (was) a website that aggregates publicly-shared location updates by announcing that a user has “left home” and lists where they currently are.

The success of Ford’s Fiesta Movement is staggering, and its not even over.  Though the social media campaign can not take all of the credit for Ford’s resurgance, neither can the rest of Ford’s team.  Surely a thank you letter addressed to Toyota’s president, Akio Toyoda, is in order.

Why Even Bother Making Your Own Commercial When You Can Have Someone Else Just Do It For You?

Related Links:

Can Social Media Save Ford?

New Meaning to Talk and Txt

Social Media Campaign Review: Would you buy a Ford Fiesta?

Ford Fiesta Social Media Campaign

For time immemorial, those engaged in the business of promoting another’s product or service have been faced with the task of justifying themselves in the language of an accountant.  It would seem as though businesses which have been formulated around tangible products can’t seem to wrap their minds around something that cannot as easily be physically counted or assigned a monetary value.  Why is it, that this need for financial certainty is demanded of advertisers, marketers and public relations practitioners?  Does a business require that a water company financially justify the effects of a well hydrated work force?  Must a cellular provider present a diagram outlining the potential for an increase in the firm’s bottom line if its staff were to be given Blackberries?

Eventually, this double standard of expectation was overcome within the realm of traditional media.  The business community accepted that an ad in a newspaper was worth $X if it were ‘H’ by ‘W’ in size and the news paper was read by ‘Y’ number of people each day.  Communicators everywhere breathed a collective sigh of relief.  As social media began to spread and started presenting a real challenge to traditional media outlets, the game changed and a new breed of social media marketers once again find themselves struggling to quantify their legitimacy.

There are several reasons why calculating a traditional notion of ROI (return on investment) is made difficult within a social media campaign.

• In most cases, social media campaigns are carried out over a wide range of social platforms, each with its own metric (likes, diggs, friends, retweets, comments…).  Is every metric created equal?
• The Conan Effect: If a single, highly influential individual retweets your message and it is picked up by that person’s followers, you could experience an exponential boost in social awareness.  Although it can be measured in hindsight, any outlying data will make it difficult to predict the ROI of future campaigns.
• Time Frame: Many traditional ad campaigns are like hit and runs.  Smack the viewer with an impression then wipe your hands clean.  Social marketing campaigns are often fundamentally different.  It’s not about “finally getting on” a social media site.  Once you are there, you need to create your community and nurture it.  There is a lot of maintenance work that needs to be put in so that your followers, once hooked, do not later feel neglected.

Yes, social media campaigns are about conveying a message but it goes further than that.  It is about building relationships that run two-ways.  Many adults see their children engaging in social media and think that there is nothing to it.  Comparing a teenager’s online presence to your business’ is like comparing a lemonade stand to Vitaminwater.

In order to get a better picture of the performance of a campaign we need to ditch any preoccupation with determining a return on investment and begin thinking in terms of a return on influence.

Tips For Measuring Social Media ROI

Don’t get hung up on quantitative results like your number of followers.

Begin to Establish Qualitative Goals.

• Increase brand satisfaction – Goal: Discover customer grievances and work to fix them, generating an increase in positive responses.
• Increase presence and authority – Goal: increase site traffic and linkbacks, increasing page-rank.
• Influence a position on an issue – Goal: increase the amount of conversations the issue, increase the % of favourable tones.
• Develop loyalty – Goal: increase the number of positive conversations about you.

Develop Your Own Key Points of Interest (KPI).

• Volume – fans, followers, tweets/minute
• Engagement – retweets, subscriptions, comments, sentiment, likes, time spent
• Conversion – click-throughs, linkbacks, leads generated, sales, actual action

Whatever your method of determining ROI, define your keys for success narrowly.  Social media campaigns are part of a bigger picture and are never a stand-alone.

It is shocking that a survey conducted by Mzinga and Babson Executive Education showed that 84% of social media programs don’t even bother to measure ROI.  Despite the difficulties in measurement, one must recognize that messages which don’t have an online presence are quickly being left in the dust.

Still need convincing?  Check out this video.

Bicycle sharing programs have been growing in popularity around the world after having been given a huge public boost by the launch of Paris’ Vélib’.  Montreal jumped on the bandwagon with its Bixi (bicycle & taxi) program last summer after installing 400 bike-dock stations which offered 5000 bicycles to peddle-happy commuters and tourists alike.   One year ago, a City of Toronto staff report recommended the launch of a similar program in Spring 2010.  With Spring around the corner, it’s not looking good.  True to the city’s character, the potential for a bike sharing program in Toronto has been bogged down  in endless debates between advisarial interests and financial worry.

I’m just going to come out and say it: “I’m a bike person”.  Not one of those spandex-clad speed racers, or mud-covered adrenaline junkies.  I guess I’m not really even a biking enthusiast, just call me a guy that occasionally likes to ride a bike.  Now, I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to do some travelling abroad.  I have crusied the beaches of Barcelona, whisped past the trees lining Paris’ Champs-Élysées and traversed the cannals of Amsterdam; all done while sitting atop a bicycle seat.  Some of my best memories of Europe came from the view behind a set of handlebars.  In my heart, I always embraced the cities that embraced the bicycle.  Last year, when Montreal (the city of both my alma maters) received the gift that was Bixi, my summer got a little brighter.  Now back in Toronto with the weather getting warmer, I find myself yearning for those clunky, grey monstrosities.

Whats With All The Hate?

Bicycles are an important part of a city’s transportation system and play an important role in a public transit system.  Even though bikes are a part of the system as a whole, for some reason, motorists see any real estate devoted to bicycles as a loss to cars.  This isn’t a zero sum game.  More cyclists = less cars = less traffic.  Next you hear about the shop owners complaining about losing business if there is less space for parking?  Really?  Unless there is a law about carrying a wallet with you when you are riding a bike or your store only sells car air fresheners this type of thinking needs re-evaluation.  Shop owners learned long ago that they could attract dog walkers if they offered a passersby with a place to tie up their pooch and set out a cold bow of water for Rex.  I’d love to see a world in which Second Cups offered me an air pump and and a rail to lock my bike to.

A Declaration!

Riding a bicycle, which was once a right of passage as a child, now seems to be one of the most political acts a commuter can undertake.  For many, a city which embraces its cyclists is something to be revered.  Something which can bring a city international prestige.  While many cities around the world are making real efforts towards promoting the use of bicycles, Toronto’s efforts at promoting bicycles seem to lack true substance and commitment.

Bicycle sharing programs like Bixi have a lot to offer a city.  Montreal decided to jump right in by installing a few hundred bike dock stations along with a few thousand bikes.  They opted to see what happens and to iron out any problems as they arise.  Toronto has decided to ride down a different path by endlessly debating the issue in order to avoid any issues.  Has the city forgotten what it was like to learn how to ride a bike?  Sure, training wheels have some merit and everyone needs someone else to hold onto their seat until they get the hang of it.  Thats all fine and good but you will never learn how to ride unless you have a chance to go at it on your own.  Sure, you might fall a few times, but you pick yourself up and keep on going until you get it right.

Get Out, Ride a Bike and Let Me Know What You Think!

Feel free to add any comments you have.  This conversation never ends.

For all the “grammatically-oriented people out there”, the conversations looked at here took place largely over Twitter, so leave your hang-ups at home.  Nonetheless, in an attempt to cover myself, I’m going to lob in a big “[sic]” that applies to the entire post.

Questions Tabled

1. How do I brand myself when I have many different interests?
2. How do I know what my personal brand is if I don’t know what I want to do?
3. What do PR employers look for in a personal brand?
4. What do you want to be famous for?
5. How do I keep morals and ethics out of my personal brand?
6. Is online personal branding essential to a successful career?  How true is the statement “if you can’t be found in google, you don’t exist”?
7. How do I soar like a creative eagle when I am a turkey in applied graphical arts? (creative)
8. How do I elevate my brand to Elmer Fudd status? endearing — yet feared. How do I stand out, get recognized, be “remarkable” etc? (positioning)
9. How lucrative is having a well established personal brand? What are the competitive advantages in PR?
10. How do I remain authentic?…. I hate sell-outs.
11. How do you balance different aspects of your life online ? Do you need to focus on one aspect for your brand?
12. Do the main components of personal branding happen over a blog and Twitter? What are other ways to build up a personal brand online?
13. How do I establish credibility as a young person?
14. Does the concept of “bad branding” create personal censorship?
15. How can I effectively develop a personal brand through social media while still protecting my online identity?
16. What are simple, effective Social Media Optimization routines that I can adopt?
17. Can a personal brand limit me? What if I do it wrong?
18. Are there “types” of personal brands?
19. How do you/can you manage online profiles that are exclusively personal during your professional career?
20. Where do you draw the line between professional and personal online branding?

Question 1 - How do I brand myself when I have many different interests?

Adrian Capobianco – “Personal brand is a perceived set of values and it is critical to make sure you understand YOUR value/s and how they are perceived by others.” @AKthe5th – “Let your persoinality shine through. no matter your interests, people appreciate authentic excitement on your fave topics!”

Casey Mundy – “The main thing I learned at personal brand camp is that you don’t need to pick a specific interest right now and make it your personal brand for your entire professional career. More than 1 mentor pointed out to me that everyone has multiple interests and so unless you are completely confident about the path you want to take, you don’t have to pigeonhole yourself. I am going to keep my own personal brand somewhat general so that I can blog about many of my different interests. It was also cool to learn that if you do indeed have 1 major interest you want to focus on you can always write a ’guest blog’ to encapture a different topic. I liked how the mentors made it clear that recruiters are people too and they want to know about our interests and what makes us stand out! One mentor suggested including pictures and videos with our resumes- something i hadn’t thought about previously.”

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Question 2 – How do I know what my personal brand is if I don’t know what I want to do?

Bhupesh Shah – “Your personal brand will be who you are – what represents you – the image and feeling one gets when they think of you. It’s not “what your personal brand is” – you determine what that is through your positioning.  Personal brand is not about what u like – it’s about who u are. You have a “theme” in terms of what your interests are. Ladder up and try to define who you are at your core. Keep going higher and higher to define who you are.”

Caterina Ventrella – “Pbcamp taught me I don’t have to be an expert to join the online convo.Instead, be real, connect & add value.”

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Question 3 – What do PR employers look for in a personal brand?

Terry Fallis – “To me, authenticity in your personal brand is key. I want to know that your personal brand reflects the “real you ” and is not a carefully concocted artiface.”

Joseph Thornley – “Vulnerability is the key to an authentic personal brand.”

Aneeta Parmar - “Employers look for value-added online presence. Being critical is encouraged. Don’t be a “yes” person.”

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Question 4 – What do you want to be famous for?

Question 4 was a hot topic on Twitter.  Some contributers thought that “famous for” should have been substituted with “known for” or “respected for”.  While the responses were diverse, I felt the most poignant response came from Rick Weiss, who pointed out that “a personal brand isn’t a limiting checklist. Anyone who’s approaching it that way is missing out.”

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Question 5 – How do I keep morals and ethics out of my personal brand?

Bhupesh Shah – “You shouldn’t – morals and ethics are part of what makes you who you are.”

Merrill Matthews – “Our table discussion came to the same conclusion…You shouldn’t keep your morals and ethics out of personal brand because your personal brand is who you are.”

As Erin Bury quoting Scott Stratten – “Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want on a billboard with your name next to it and your mom staring at it.”

Video of Erin Bury, community manager for Sprouter, on morals and ethics in personal brands.

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Question 6 – Is online personal branding essential to a successful career? How true is the statement “if you can’t be found in google, you don’t exist”?

Joseph Thornley – “People will find you if you have content.  Passion is a way to stand out. Talk about what interests u and it will show through.  There are always ppl who will be interested in the real you.”

Kristy Beaulieu – “Start to talk about what interests you – BLOG, BLOG, BLOG!” Focus on what your post will do for you.”

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Question 7 – How do I soar like a creative eagle when I am a turkey in applied graphical arts? (creative)

April Dunford, speaking about the types of tools available.

Michael Cayley‘s main take away points: “a) the tools are very easy to use and sourcing great visuals, etc is easy but still few make that effort. b) just do it. you will discover little methods, tricks and routines that your community will begin to recognize as yours. keep up the trial and error until your unique elements emerge apparent.”

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Question 8 - How do I elevate my brand to Elmer Fudd status? endearing — yet feared. How do I stand out, get recognized, be “remarkable” etc? (positioning)

Promod Sharma –  ”To stand out, start with a social media audit to make sure you’re consistent and up to date.  In blogging, how do you stand out? Many others write about the same topic.  Add your personal experiences (which are unique by definition).  You’ll evolve over time.  To be memorable, be specific. Use less common words. Avoid cliches.  How are you helping others?  That makes your brand look good and stand out.  We’re seen at our best when you help others.  To stand out on LinkedIn, complete your profile to 100% (photo, add contacts, give recommendations, get testimonials, answer questions).  Quality of your contacts matter more than how many.  Testimonials need not be only from people you worked for.  Join groups.  Make your profile detailed so you’re more likely to show up in searches.  Make your content easy to read.”

@sayurie84 – “Consistency is key! Keep your avatar & voice the same across social media platforms and you will be recognized!”

Mr. Sharma has also created a great blog post to help further this discussion.

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Question 9 - How lucrative is having a well established personal brand? What are the competitive advantages in PR?

To start off, George ONeill points out that you don’t separate yourself from your on-line brand because it is about being authentic.  ”Do you know your mission? If so, this can help you define your personal brand. The starting point is knowing yourself.  Connect at a personal level on-line.  Be consistent with your messaging so your brand can be communicated.  [On being lucrative] I have not seen an RFP in the past year that does not contain a Social Media Marketing component as a requirement.”

Shannon Morton – put forward this great article by Helen Obourne, written for The Guardian.

Ujwal Arkalgud – “I’ve gotten employed and have met some amazing people only after I started paying attention to my personal brand.”

Mr. ONeill further elaborated on the topic with many great insights so make sure to check out the entire transcript.

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Question 10 - How do I remain authentic?…. I hate sell-outs.

Eden Spodek – “Be yourself – be true to yourself. It doesn’t mean you have to lay everything about you online for others to read but you need to be honest and consistent. Once of biggest compliments I’ve received is when people who meet me for the first time aren’t disappointed because my online and real life personalities are the same. Often people are disappointed when they meet people in real life who are nothing like how they portray themselves online.”

Zoey Fiksel - ”Listen before your jump in.”

Joseph Thornley - ”To be authentic you need to be vulnerable, be real, be human.”

Mary Jo< – “Keeping your core values is key to your authenticity.  Remain true to yourself; not everyone will like your brand.”

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Question 11 - How do you balance different aspects of your life online ? Do you need to focus on one aspect for your brand?

Kathryn Boland – “Even if you are talking abt same subjects as everyone else, doesn’t mean you can’t position it your own way.  Our personal brand is our mini empire and should include everything about you.”

Bhupesh Shah - ”Is it positive to be defined by one aspects like art? or photography?  Yes but what if u change?  Better to be defined by who you are – ur core.”

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Question 12 - Do the main components of personal branding happen over a blog and Twitter? What are other ways to build up a personal brand online? (channels)

David Bradfield‘s PowerPoint on Personal Branding.

David Bradfield – “Starting your online brand is about starting with what u know.”

Ed Lee – “Add value and show your smarts. Many people try to do #2 but neglect to do #1.”

It is important that you fully utilize any social media channel you chose to be a part of, however, watch that you don’t spread yourself too thin.  Pick which medium works best for you and run with it.  Social media is supposed to cater itself to your life, not the other way around.

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Question 13 – How do I establish credibility as a young person?

>Jacqueline Clarke – “Say yes to everything! You are never too young and you never know what kind of opportunity will be thrown your way.”

>Erin B – “Honesty, Engagement & the drive to always learn more!”

Shane Fallowfield- “Building credibility when you’re young means sticking up for your opinions.  Establish your viewpoints, and your opinion.  Academics is key; stay with the school and help as much as you can.  You can get overwhelmed but just have to find the balance.  You have to take small steps to build on your career.  Give it your all, all the time.  Early on, the cost/benefit will be tilted, but you have to work your ass off for it to pay-off.  Immersion in social media is key.”<

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Question 14 – Does the concept of “bad branding” create personal censorship?

Ujwal Arkalgu – “No. If ur doing that then your personal brand doesn’t represent your true identity. A brand’s essence has to be real.”

>Eden Spodek - ”We censor or edit almost everything we do. It doesn’t mean we’re dishonest or not being transparent. Different places and people may shape how we share or expose our thoughts and ideas.”

katy – “This is 2 questions. 1 – yes, “bad branding” does create personal censorship.  2 – assuming that you are concerned about bad branding enough to self-censor, the limits that you place on yourself MAY negatively impact your personal brand capital.”

Andrew Murphy – “Do you mean, “Have you ever stopped yourself from doing something foolish because you worry that other people will think that you’re an idiot?”  It depends on the context: Is it something I really want to do?  Do I care if I look like an idiot?”

MrGamma – “Of course it does. When we brand we make a conscious effort to appeal to a specific type of client. Very rarely do we make an attempt to appeal to the lowest common denominator, like lets say, Google.”

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Question 15 – How can I effectively develop a personal brand through social media while still protection my online identity?

Question 15 sparked a great back and forth conversation.  It would be hard to pick and choose a selection of quotes because it would be taking away from the exchange of ideas. Check out the transcript and search for the Twitter hashtag #pbcq15 for an insight into the dialogue.

The main points to take away are that in today’s level of online exposure, it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish one’s personal and public lives.  Ultimately, what you chose to publish is limited only to your personal discretion. Scott Stratten‘s recomendation to not “say anything online that you wouldn’t want on a billboard with your name next to it and your mom staring at it” certainly comes into play here.

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Question 16 – What are simple, effective Social Media Optimization routines that I can adopt?

RobCampbell – “Hyperlink your name and include a popular search term that is your business; so I might write Smojoe web stories to eventually rank for the term ‘web stories’.  Know your own keywords, and your client’s keywords and anchor your media to those search terms as much as possible.”

Mr. Campbell offers up a first hand account of his experiences leading the conversation at table 16 alongside fellow mentor Deborah Weinstein with a great blog post.

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Question 17 – Can a personal brand limit me? What if I do it Wrong?

Simren Deogun – “The point of the personal brand is to carve out a focused identity and then build around it. If you’re unsure of that identity, of the core of your career path, then limitations and damage are certainly possible. Introspection is the key. Determine first who you are professionally and where you want to go, with those pieces in place you will realize how versatile even a highly specified brand can be!”

Zach Bussey – “For me, my personal brand is professional and personal. Not always at the same time, but they are both there. My brand is firmly in the social media arena, and the key word is social. I interact with everyone and love doing it. What you see in my Twitter stream is mostly personal conversations. What you don’t see is that I’m establishing business relationships in DMs. I’m not afraid to be honest and open about any conversation that comes up, because people have come to learn that it’s what I am. I’m honest. I’m direct. Both in personal and business relationships.”

Julie Tyios – “So far, we’ve had some great conversations about whether or not a personal brand can be limiting. Some personal brand pros suggest you should keep the door open as a blanket approach, covering as much ground as possible, whereas others say you should limit yourself to one or two subjects of interest so as not to dilute your message. How do you juggle multiple interests? Is it okay to occasionally divert from your main focus to create other conversations? Where do you draw the line?”

Question 17 drew quite a bit of great feedback and insight.  For some great tips on developing a personal brand that will help your career, make sure to check out the conversation’s transcript along with the Twitter hashtag #pcbq17.

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Question 18 – Are there “types” of personal brands?

Neil Sareen – “Are there “types” of personal brands? According to what I took away from Paul Cupcott’s thoughts, yes, there are “types” of personal brands because everyone has something that is unique to them. Whether it is a particular passion or just a simple quirk, it is up to you to decide how you will best exude and live out your brand.”

Nadine Rashad – “A common approach to discovering your personal brand is to find the overlapping aspects of your target audience, internal components and external components. This will point you towards your “type” of personal brand.”

Paul Copcutt – “My thought is there are not types because we are all unique.”

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Question 19 – How do you/can you manage online profiles that are exclusively personal during your professional career?

Julie Tyios - ”I keep my personal life offline. No matter how hard you try, everything online is subject to public scrutiny.”

Casie Stewart - ”I keep my personal Tweets/blogging/fb updates during the day to a minimum (which for me is still more than most people!). Because my work is using social media, if my work isn’t finished, everyone can see why. It’s important to not abuse the freedom of social media during work, it’s the first place people will look if you’re not doing a good job. Also, make sure your boss/work peeps are on limited profile if you don’t want them to see all your photos/updates etc. I have heaps of FB friends but most are on limited. My tagged photos are also not seen my most people. FB has privacy setting for a reason, USE THEM! If you want to build your personal brand & work in social media, you have to be real & authentic and I think it’s good to show your personal side. I don’t talk about relationships/dating but being open and sharing is what has build a following for me.”

Fabrice Calandooffers up a blog post written by Darren Rowse, addressing the battle of personal vs. public as played out on Facebook.  A great read, check it out here.

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Question 20 – Where do you draw the line between professional and personal online branding?

When it comes to drawing a line, context is everything.  In this case, context could be a physical place or a mind set.  Many contributers agreed that differnt social platforms should be published with different ratios of professional to personal content.  While Facebook is seen as more of a place for the personal, many feel that Twitter should be more business oriented.  Context also plays a role in how shared information is viewed.  As social creatures, we obviously filter ourselves depending on the context.  This is by no means being fake.  Think of all the various people in your lives and how you act, dress, and hold yourselves when communicating with them.  You are still you even if you don’t divulge to your boss that you for some reason tend to eat chocolate when you’re bored. Employers understand that great potential employees will have both professional and social lives.  They want to see the personal to know that you’re a good person.  It is impossible to draw a line in the sand between the two, but with everything in life, balance and moderation are key.

Connie Crosby did a fantastic job of transcribing Question 20′s exchange.  Make sure to check it out.

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Check out some of Personal Brand Camp 2′s moments caught on film

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A Communications Game Changer

PR 2.0 PUTS THE “PUBLIC” BACK INTO PUBLIC RELATIONS

It’s Everywhere You Are (and need to be), March 1, 2010 – Web 2.0 has lead to the democratization of web content.  Consumers now gather and share information in order to make their own decisions.  Old command and control styles of communication have given way to direct, symmetrical conversations between brands and individuals.  The nature of PR has not changed; the industry is simply adapting its tactics.  PR 2.0 forces the industry to get back to its roots by once again recognizing that PR has always been about building relationships, and strong relationships have always be based upon reciprocation.

PR 2.0 is not about new technologies, they are merely tools which facilitate new conversations.  It’s not about “finally” getting on the latest social media site.  Many practitioners get caught up in these new tools, but it’s not about them at all.  It is about the communicator.  Somewhere along the way, PR practitioners got caught up in all the buzz words, spin, the hype and later, the social media apps.  Becoming more obsessed with theatrics than authenticity, many forgot that relationships are what good public relations were always meant to foster.

Web 2.0 has exponentially increased the amount of user-created information being disseminated across the internet.  21^stCentury consumer behaviour demands direct attention from brands and bloggers are more than willing to fill the conversation voids left by absentee companies.  Like never before, social media allows brands to reach out, on a personal level, to an enormous amount of followers.  People are actively participating in these dialogues and brands must respond to them.  Web 2.0 is forcing the “public” back into public relations and the recognition of this provides an opportunity for practitioners to take back the industry’s credibility.

These changes create many more challenges for effective PR campaigns.  The direct conversations have limited the credibility of 3^rd party endorsements.  Search engine optimization and PR are now closely intertwined.  The language of PR must change in order to support SEO.

Citizen journalists have changed the very nature of media and reporting.  Blogging voices have become dominant trend-setters.  Blogger relations are the new media relations.  PR practitioners must understand who these influencers are and that they must be addressed.

PR 2.0 represents a bright future for PR practitioners by providing an opportunity to shake of many of the negative stereotypes surrounding the profession.  This can only be accomplished by PR pros who understand that relationships built on two-way streets are their real goals and that the public is always recognized as the most important part of public relations.

For more information, check out Deirdre Breakenridge, Mitch Joel, and Brian Solis.  Three fantastic expert sources on everything that is Web2.0 and how it drives public relations.  Also be sure to check out Coerced Musings often for new tips and information.

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A Communications Game Changer

Please Comment And Digg, Let’s Make Some More Connections

In his 2006 election campaign, Mayor David Miller had publicly stated his desire to divert 70% of Toronto’s waste away from landfills by 2010.  Ecological concerns aside, over the last several years, the mega-city has struggled to find takers for its refuse.  The growing objections of smaller communities to the North compelled Toronto to ship its waste South of the border to Michigan where the City’s garbage trucks were once again faced with local outrage.

Among the City’s other waste-reducing initiatives (including the highly criticized green bin program), on March 31, 2009, Council approved a bill which would force retailers to charge customers 5¢/plastic bag by a vote if 30-13.  The fee of 5¢ was negotiated by City Councillors and by the largest grocery companies operating within the 416.

The 5¢ Bag Fee

• Goal: Reduce volume of plastic bags, encourage the use of reusable bins/bags.
• Retailers charge 5¢ per  plastic bag requested and must provide a free alternative.
• Retailers must display prominent signs explaining the fee.
• Retailers are entitled to keep the revenue from the bags.

City Council itself was not free of opposition.  Karen Stintz, city Councillor for Ward 16, argued instead for a voluntary fee based on the fact that the city already accepts plastic shopping bags into its recycling program.  Arguments like this are lost on me.  I wonder how Councillor Stintz believes that a voluntary fee would be effective for two reasons.  What percentage of consumers, by their own volition, would simply start paying for plastic shopping bags after a lifetime of receiving them free of charge?  Secondly, just because plastic shopping bags are recyclable is by no means a reason to ignore the issue when there are extremely simply methods for discouraging their use in the first place.  It seems that any reduction in material heading for city recycling stations would save taxpayers’ dollars and is therefor a good thing.

Groundbreaking?

Hardly.  On May 9, 2007, the Ontario Government launched a campaign against the use of plastic shopping bags along with a report stating that Ontarians use 80 plastic bags per second in the province.  That means that every year Ontarians are taking 2,522,880,000 bags home with them, all of which are destined to be either incinerated or to languish within a landfill for the next 1000 years.  The campaign was directed towards capturing the hearts and minds of consumers, urging us to stop and think about whether or not we really need to double bag a bag already containing three bags of milk (yes, thats how we drink it here, get over it).

In many ways, some grocery stores had caught this train long before.  For years, No Frills has been charging customers for their yellow plastic bags.  Something apparent to any observer of a No Frills parking lot as a steady stream of customers can be seen exiting the store, clad with groceries protruding from used boxes once packed with bananas or diapers.

Toronto is by no means the only city in Canada with a policy of charging a fee for plastic bags.  Nor is Canada itself a trend setter.  In 2002, retailers in Ireland began charging the equivalent of 36¢ for plastic bags (although the country imports more plastic bags now than it did in 2002).

The Early Results

Metro has recently reported that it has witnessed a reduction in the use of plastic shopping bags at its stores by over 70%.  A theme that is echoed by almost every grocery retail chain in the province.  By this measure, it seems hard to argue against the success of the program.  The Communications Director for the World Wildlife Fund, Josh Laughren, seems to agree.  Laughren cuts through any criticism by asserting that “it does reduce bags” and that seems good enough.

Although every commercial enterprise is legally required to charge 5¢ per plastic bag, (aside from crown corporations) it seems as though grocery stores are only retailers to have fully adopted this policy.  This may simply come down to this issue of having to offer a free alternative.  Many small stores seem to be lagging behind the requirements by not maintaining a supply of paper bags and boxes, while on the other end of the spectrum, many LCBOs seemed to have abandoned stocking plastic bags at all.

So What About All These Nickels?

It appears that the average consumer truly believes that this fee is a tax.  If you were among those who was under the impression that the money generated from the 5¢ bag fee went directly into municipal recycling services you would be mistaken.  Officials with the Canadian plastics industry estimate that since June 2009, retailers have taken in an additional $15 million in revenue generated from the sale of plastic bags (not including the revenue generated from the sale of reusable bins).  Metro’s reports that bag use has dropped from 5 million/week to 1.2 million/week equates to an additional $3.12 million a year.  Grocery retailers seem torn over what to do with the additional funds.  Although the City doesn’t force the issue, Council “recommends and supports” that the money goes towards environmental causes.

Since January 2009, Loblaws has pledged $3 million over the next 3 years to the WWF.  Sobeys donated $370 000 to 22 various charitable organizations and Metro has founded Green Apple Grants, which has given $2 million to primary and secondary schools in Ontario and Quebec.  It should be understood that these pledges all fall far short of the revenues generated by the sale of plastic bags in all three companies.

This fact is not lost on the public relations practitioners for the grocery chains.  Tracey Chisholm, the Communications Director for Sobeys would like to see more of the money going towards environmental causes but worries that in doing so, consumers would be missing the very point of the The 5¢ Bag Fee.  The fee is not supposed to be about funding environmental cleanup, otherwise it would have been established as a tax that would go towards financially supporting municipal programs already in place (believe me, they need the money).  The fee is all part of the “hearts and minds” strategy.  The idea is simply to create a consciousness within consumers’ minds over the impact of their use of plastic shopping bags.  This awareness then spreads to other unsustainable areas of consumerism.  As Chisholm states, if the proceeds from the sale of bags went directly to environmental causes, the raison d’etre of the program would be compromised because people would begin to feel good about buying plastic shopping bags.

The Ruling

The The 5¢ Bag Fee program was never meant to be a stand-alone.  It is a very small part of the larger initiative towards reducing Toronto’s environmental footprint.  It was designed to be a simple and digestable as possible.  It has clearly reduced the use of bags and has accomplished the program’s goal.  No matter what the issue, there always seems to be an externality or two.  In this case, City Council managed to implement a simple program that quickly facilitated the generation of large revenue streams within the private sector during an economic downturn.  How many grocery clerks’ jobs were saved is open to speculation.  In any case, Coerced Musings gives a thumbs up a for the 5¢ Bag Fee!

How Much Is This Costing Me?

The Personal Vehicle Tax or the Toronto Car Tax, as some call it, is a municipal vehicle registration fee which was officially launched on September 1st, 2008 by authority of the City Of Toronto Act.  Under the tax, the owner of a vehicle is charged an additional fee upon their annual registration.  The fee is $60 for cars and $30 for motorcycles (commercial and “classic” vehicles are granted an exemption).  The justification for the tax was that Toronto already suffers from a structural budget deficit and that the additional revenue generated would go towards transportation infrastructure.  The tax was initially projected to bring in $56 million, with last year taking in $46 million in additional revenue.

Toronto City Council passed the bill on October 22, 2007 by a 25-20 vote.  Councillors, however, were not the only Torontonains who were divided on the issue.  The tax was lobbied against by the Toronto Automobile Dealers Association as well as several other consumer groups.  A great deal of the public’s opposition derived from sentiments that Toronto car owners were already subject to enough vehicle-related taxes.

Taxes For a New Car Buyer

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) – 5%
• Provincial Sales Tax (PST) – 8%
• Gas Guzzler Tax – $75-$7000
• Air Conditioner Tax – $100
• Yearly Vehicle Validation Fee – $74 (car)
• + new Personal Vehicle Tax (PVT) – $60 (car)

- For the average $30 000 new car, the purchaser would have to pay an additional $4 309 in taxes.

In addition to these taxes and the tax on mandatory car insurance, federal and provincial taxes account for roughly 1/3 of the cost of gas at the pump.  This means that for an individual purchasing $60 of gas a week translating to $3 120/year, about $1 030 of that cost is paid as a tax.  These figures do not account for “taxes” garnished from parking meters (You only have yourself to blame for those parking tickets so don’t try to pass it on).

What You Get, and What You Don’t

Any rational car owner will recognize all of the freebies they have received when it comes to driving.  The average driver on the road today purchased their heavily taxed vehicles, filled them up with highly taxed gas and pulled out on to a series of roads and highways which cost countless billions of dollars forked over by a collective society long before that driver was born.  No driver truly believes that they are exempt from this “deal” and understand the need to pay it forward.  That is why, for the most part, taxes related to driving are seen as being fair and are handed over, again, with little resistance.

The new Personal Vehicle Tax just doesn’t fit into this equation for two reasons:

1. The additional tax revenue generated is not specifically earmarked for driving related concerns such as road maintenance and congestion alleviation.
2. Even if it were directed towards these issues, only vehicle owners residing in Toronto proper are subject to the tax.  A huge percentage of drivers on the streets and motorways within Toronto reside in the 905 suburbs and beyond.  These users, who regularly contribute to traffic congestion and the degradation of transit infrastructure, should in some way contribute to related funds.

A City Facing Some Problems

Regardless of your opinion on the tax in question, traffic related issues remain a huge concern in this city and, as well, the municipality’s structural deficit requires swift attention.  The fact remains that 71% of the region’s population is car-dependent.  Simply put; people need to drive places and the infrastructure that supports that need must be maintained.  At the same time, congestion within the city is not just a matter of annoyance but has economical ramifications as well.  It is estimated that the loss in productivity caused by traffic congestion, costs Torontonians $2 billion per annum.

Another Way?

There are many alternative solutions, albeit with higher degrees of complexity, than a blanket fee.  Several cities around the word have experimented with and have implemented varying forms of congestion control including commercial vehicle taxes and user fees (most notably in London, England).  It is in these places where Toronto City Council should look for more than just a band-aid solution.  Mayor David Miller, who was one of the main proponents of the PVT, has also advocated toll roads as a viable means.

Get Informed

This issue is already a point of contention for the upcoming Toronto Municipal Election.  Rob Davis, candidate for Ward 15, has launched publicity campaigns against the tax.  As far as Mayoral candidates are concerned, George Simtherman has stated that he is against the tax and is open to toll road discussion, however, is neither for nor against the use of tolls.  Both Giorgio Mammoliti and Joe Pantalone voted in favour of the tax.  Rocco Rossi has also yet to take a position and former candidate Adam Giambrone also voted for the tax.

To see how your City Councillor voted click here.  Additionally, here is the actual report presented to City Council.

Prior to last December, I wasn’t really familiar with young Giambrone.  To be fair, I had been living in Montreal for the past five years.  Now, for better or worse, his name has been etched into my mind along with the minds of countless more.  Let’s take a look at how we got here.   By many accounts, Giambrone was the NDP’s rising star.  In 2003, he was elected to the Toronto Council at age 26.  Going on to be named president of the federal NDP, later Now Magazine appointed Adam “Best City Politician” in 2008.

A Young Councillor in Big Shoes

Often being referred to as Mayor David Miller’s protégé and close friend, Miller appointed Giambrone as the Chair of the TTC, a role not taken lightly as public transportation was one of Miller’s key platform issues during his 2003 and 2006 election campaigns. Following budget cuts suffered under former Premier Mike Harris’ Common Sense Revolution, the TTC has been beleaguered by financial turmoil since 1996.  Currently the “Red Rocket”  is one of the largest public transportation systems in North America that does not receive provincial or federal funding.  As a result, the TTC garnishes 70% of its operational revenue from fare boxes.  Despite this, the TTC began to see expansion with Giambrone at the helm and, among other improvements, a new website was launched, next vehicle arrival information systems were put into place, and several stations were refurbished.

The first cracks began to appear on March 16, 2007 when Giambrone unveiled his plan for Transit City.  An aggressive plan to expand the city’s public transportation coverage by constructing 120km of electric light rail.  Feverous opposition to the plan has come mainly from two camps; fiscal conservatives who are enraged by the plan’s budget as it has ballooned from $6.1 billion $8.3 billion and by the standard showing of NIMBYs.

Things really started looking bad when, on Jan 9th 2010, a TTC rider snapped a picture of a ticket collector sleeping on the job.  By the 22nd, the TTC was engulfed in a media firestorm.  Even amongst the public’s outrage, on Feb 1st Giambrone officially announced his intentions to run for mayor.  Despite the pollsters’ insistence that he didn’t stand a chance, whether he was being criticized by political pundits for his YouTube video which had been “leaked” in January or by those like Mayoral candidate George Smitherman who called for his resignation as TTC chair, Adam Giambrone’s name could be found wherever one turned.

The Short-Lived Campaign

Seeing himself as the only candidate who was completely comfortable with Web 2.0 and social media, the Giambrone camp launched an aggressive online campaign.  Although Giambrone had clearly made stances of several issues other than public transportation, it was hard to distance himself from the public’s anger.  That was until Feb 8th when he publicly admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship with a young woman”.  This followed allegations by Kristen Lucas, a university student and aspiring model, who claimed that the pair had a sexual relationship with encounters taking place at city hall.  Lucas also made claims that Giambrone had shared sensitive information about the TTC and of his dealings within the council’s chambers.  Giambrone asserted that the relationship was not sexual.  Though Adam is not married, he had made public appearances with Sarah McQuarrie, described as his long-term, live-in partner.  After two days of near silence, Giambrone made a brief public statement followed by a statement from his assistant who notified the press of Giambrone’s withdrawal from the race.

The Missteps and Miscalculations

For everything that Adam Giambrone claimed to have known about social media, he made several fatal errors that could have been averted if he had only adhered to a few basic principals of good PR.

• Lay it on the table – Giambrone was quick to tell people of his strengths but feared acknowledging his weaknesses.  Although this rang  true throughout his entire campaign, he seemed reluctant to publicly address all of the allegations and to admit to his mistakes.
• Clear the air – Giambrone could not afford to get caught in anything more that is hidden.  He should have taken the opportunity to come clean when the opportunity was given to him by the Toronto Star on Feb 8th.  Initially denying the claims only hurt him further.  This was his fatal mistake.
• Hiding away fixes nothing – Once the media has gotten a hold of an issue that has legs, reporters will do anything they can to feed that fire.  If the person who is at the heart of the issue cannot be reached for comment, others will step in to fill the void.  In Giambrone’s case that void was happily filled by Kristen Lucas, his political opponents, and those willing to speculate.
• Make yourself accessible and practice transparency when holding a press conference – By all accounts, Giambrone’s press conference did more harm than good.  Again, it would have been best to come clean by publically addressing every allegation as opposed to offering blanket apologies.  Running from the questions of onlooking reporters was a huge mistake.  In many people’s eyes, the story had already been told  and they were then looking for Giambrone to show some type of real accountability.  From its setting, unrehearsed delivery, rushed nature, down to the tears in Giambrone’s eyes, the entire press conference lacked professionalism and was held almost as an after thought.

The axiom “even bad publicity is good publicity” is not intrinsically true.  To bring this into reality, you must claim ownership over your bad press and redefine it within the context of the brand you wish to portray.  A sex scandal involving an unmarried 32 year old man is hardly a career ending situation.  By shying away from the issue, Giambrone passed on the opportunity to demonstrate his skills in crisis management.  Skills which were already in question based upon his performance as chair of the TTC.  It is baffling that as the TTC union walked around like it runs the commission, Giambrone still felt it necessary to take a few days to himself following the announcement of his withdrawal which he was unable to deliver himself.  It has since been reported that on Feb 11th, Adam and Ms. McQuarrie had left the country to go on a vacation.  I am sure it will be one to remember.