Brent Diggins

Corporations Reimagined As The Media: A Look Ahead

Brent — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:08:11 +0000

**posted in full at www.naked-culture.com**

Despite the high-definition world that we live in, the role of corporations in our society is getting blurrier on many levels.

Not too long ago, corporations gave a few bucks to a non-profit and maybe sent a kid with cancer on the trip of a lifetime. Those acts were carefully filed away in their “corporate responsibility completed for the year” cabinet, not to be opened again until tax season. Today, companies are behind some of the most successful and thriving non-profit organizations.

There is another change that is happening before our eyes that society is seamlessly embracing. We are seeing the beginnings of corporations evolving to become influential content distributor—AKA the emergence of corporation-as-media. You can see it happening around us already (have you read an in-flight magazine, downloaded a book penned by a CEO, or visited nba.com lately?), but it is something that societal shifts and technological advancements will push at a much faster pace.

Yes, corporations are reinventing how they communicate with the consumer. This is not simply about content production; it is much greater. It is aboutbecoming the media. It is about putting USA Today to bed and awakening a new media.

Where are we Now?

So why are we at an evolutionary point of corporation-as-media?

While there are many factors, the two most important are:

1) We are in a technology golden-age (especially those technologies that foster communication), which has facilitated...to read the full post continue on here.

ASU/Diamondbacks PR Stunt

Brent — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:06:29 +0000

On 4/5, I spoke to a group of marketing students at Arizona State University. I gave a presentation on PR stutns with a special focus on baseball as my co-presenter was Karina Bohn, Senior Director of Marketing at the Arizona Diamondbacks.

At the end of the presentation, I asked students to come up with a PR stunt (as an excercise only) for a mid-season PR stunt/promotion to drive ticket sales.

If you are a student responding to the exercise:

1) Please post your idea in the comment section below

2) Please leave your group number/designation after your response

3) Please submit by 4/9/11

4) Karina and I will judge responses and award prizes

Real Life PR Lessons: Big O Tires

Brent — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 21:05:00 +0000

I love real life lessons in creating positive public perception and sentiment. Here's a real life tale from my experience at Big O tires. The Situation: For the past couple of months I've been getting into my car and seeing a "low tire pressure light." At first it would come on every couple of weeks (easily ignorable), but over the last week it was every day so off to find a tire store I go. The choice; a no brainer--The Big O Tires I see everyday driving on my way to work. Why? Convenience.

PR and CEOs--What's to Know?

Brent — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0000

When it comes to CEOs, PR is a funny business. On one hand, a lot of people in middle to upper-middle management are like "what the hell does PR do?" and on the other hand we often find ourselves in direct contact and influence with CEOs on a pretty regular basis. So the question is, what do CEOs want/know of PR? Here is some of my experience and insight. Where we PR people win (or can win) and where we fail (or can fail).

Biggest iPhone in London Video Game Stunt

Brent — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 23:48:24 +0000

Tech & Gadgets has a piece on how the video game Lara Croft and Guardian of Light used London's biggest iPhone to show off the game.

"Commuters in London St Pancras International station this morning were welcomed with a huge billboard in the shape of an iPhone. The huge iPhone shape was formed of 56 iPads to help promote the new Lara Croft and Guardian of Light game.

Commuters at the station passing by were handed a iPad with Guardian of Light already preloaded to play with. The company who made the world’s largest iPhone is Square Enix, well so far its proven to be a good marketing campaign."

Author Puts Himself on Stock Exchange

Brent — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:40:00 +0000

"Author" Cathal Morrow is putting himself up on the London Stock Exchange selling 30,000 shares in him at £10 apiece. "I'm floating the value of me, that is the intellectual property of the story of my flotation on the stock exchange," he says. "If it goes viral, if we get book deals, and a big movie studio wades in with a big chunk of cash, then that could be worth a considerable amount. The more 'famous' I become, the greater the value of me."

Vodafone Twitter PR Stunt Turns Smile Upside Down

Brent — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:48:46 +0000

So a Vodafone Twitter giveaway went terribly wrong. I guess the lesson learned is Twitter giveaways need to have some thought (does your social media expert understand risk or business?). No fault of Vodafone on this one as far as I can see, except for the fact that the hashtag they chose is already pretty popular, which is silly. Here's a story from Epic Mobiles:

"A Vodafone PR stunt on Twitter backfired spectacularly this week, after tax avoidance protesters hijacked the promotion's hashtag and used it to spread their message via the PR stunt.

Vodafone had intended to give away free handsets to Twitter users sending messages using the hashtag #mademesmile to describe something which brightened their day. However, activists protesting against Vodafone's alleged tax avoidance used the tag to spread their message instead, with their Tweets appearing unedited on Vodafone's website."

Oprah to Australia

Brent — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:39:25 +0000

If you have not heard already, Oprah is bringing 300 fans to Australia. It is pretty much plastered on every media outlet, not to mention the biggest...Oprah herself.

What you may not know is that the week-long trip has been funded by government-owned Tourism Australia in the hopes that the exposure will boost the country's struggling tourism industry.

One thing to remember on these types of stunts (partner stunts) is making sure that you receive as much exposure as your partner. Oprah is looking great for giving away free (to her) trips to Australia, and the country is getting coverage on media throughout the world.

If increasing awareness of their country's landmarks and offerings was the goal, I think Australia Tourism 100% achieved it.

STUNT GRADE: B+ (so far, so good, this grade will likely move up when everything is said and done, just want to see how it plays out).

Here's a link to a story on the trip for more info

The Best Press Release Ever...

Brent — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:58:00 +0000

Anyways, so there I was in another PR-centric daydream when I asked myself..."What is the best press release ever?" I can name great ad campaigns, great pr stunts, great marketing campaigns, but great press releases? Bwa ha ha ha ha. But then it hit me; clear as day. I KNOW the best press release ever....

PR Jobs--What do I Look for When Hiring Entry Level Positions?

Brent — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 22:34:37 +0000

n my career, and especially recently, I've had the opportunity to interview all sorts of people for all sorts of PR positions. What do I look for when hiring entry level positions or internships?