Sun Shines Brightly Today in the Black Hole

Tim Richardson is Executive Vice President at Maroon PR. Contact him at Tim@MaroonPR.com

Reebok: EasyTone, Schmeasy Tone

By Kate Korson

As a public relations and marketing undergraduate, we study examples of advertisers making faulty claims. I came across this story about the Reebok EasyTone sneakers and thought it would an interesting case to study.

It all started in 2009, when Sketchers first released the “Shape Ups” sneakers, which promised to tone leg muscles. Since then, other athletic brands such as Reebok and New Balance, have been competing to create a similar product. Reebok went above and beyond, producing clothing that promised effortless toning of the arms, back and legs.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently investigated Reebok’s advertising claims, which indeed turned out to be false. The ads in question say EasyTone shoes result in 28 percent increased tone and strength in the buttock, and an 11 percent increase in the strength of calf and hamstring muscles. Rather than engaging in a drawn-out legal battle, Reebok agreed to settle by refunding $25 million to customers.

Reebok refuses to admit to the FTC’s allegations, claiming they have received “overwhelmingly enthusiastic feedback” from EasyTone customers and sales numbers support their statement. Customers have always been skeptical of EasyTone and other toning shoe brands, but it did not prevent them from making the purchase. In any other industry, an event to this caliber would discontinue a product and diminish the credibility of the brand. Research analysts do not believe these FTC allegations will ruin the product line because of its nature as a beauty-enhancing product, and the sense of hope that goes along with the purchase.

Despite the questionable legitimacy of advertising promises, customers purchase EasyTone shoes envisioning a healthy lifestyle with the ultimate multitask: working out while you go through your daily schedule. Even if the product is not proven, it gives customers a boost of confidence and the resistance feels like your legs are being toned. So unfortunately those goofy-looking toning shoes are not going away anytime soon—toning or not.

Kate Korson is an Associate Account Executive for Maroon PR.  Contact her at Kate@MaroonPR.com.

Measuring Your Social Media Influence

By Eve Hemsley

For those of us working in the PR world, measuring the reach and impact of the messages we send out is a big part of the job. Finding values for traditional media outlets can be a challenge, but when you add social media marketing into the mix, measuring our effectiveness becomes even harder. But it’s not just public relations firms that have to deal with such a quandary, every company from Ford to Joe’s Backyard BBQ is on Facebook these days trying to promote their services and spread the word about their products. Companies are creating entire departments dedicated to the strategic upkeep of their social media networks, and, when managed correctly, can use social media as an effective tool to increase their company’ visibility and influence. But how does anyone really know that they are making an impact and achieving their desired results? What percentage of posts, pics and tweets are actually reaching your audience in a productive way?

While an exact science for figuring out these questions has yet to be discovered, a few sites have popped up that are a good first step in measuring how effective your social media accounts are. Social Media Examiner put together a list of the top five tools that offer easy ways to keep track of your influence. Among the more well-known is Klout, a resource that uses data from your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Foursquare accounts to evaluate user’s behavior and analyze content to measure a user’s influence. Klout’s influence score is based on a user’s ability to drive action through tweets, mentions, etc. Similar to Klout is TwentyFeet. TwentyFeet analyzes much of the same information while also giving a quick overview of your activity and influence over a period of time as well as in-depth information about your followers.

My Web Career gathers information from your various social networking accounts as well as web search results to determine the size of your network, your overall social media presence, and the strength of your connections. It also provides insight into exploring your connections and taking advantage of your network.

Number four and five on the list are focused on a user’s Twitter account. Crowdbooster, which I find extremely interesting and potentially quite useful, determines when your posts will receive the most interaction and have the most influence. It can recommend the best times for you to tweet and shows stats for your account like your number of replies, retweets, likes, comments and the number of people that have been reached.

Last but not least is TweetStats. TweetStats provides a general overview of how you use Twitter and can even compare your account to others. Generally focused on your Twitter activity, TweetStats creates graphs, timelines and ‘clouds’ detailing which days you are most active, whom you interact with the most, which interfaces you use most regularly, friend and follower growth and finally what user names and hashtags you use on a regular basis.

Eve Hemsley is an Associate Account Executive at Maroon PR.  Contact her Eve@MaroonPR.com.

All Apples Are Amazing

By John Maroon

Yesterday the visionary leader of Apple, Steve Jobs, lost his battle with cancer. The business wars that Jobs endured are legendary and in the end he persevered and his company completely changed the way that we live as a society…what a legacy. iPod, iPhone, iPad…incredible.

It got me to thinking about apples overall. What’s the old saying? “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and it has become our country’s most popular fruit with countless health benefits (I’m eating one now!).

Then there is Apple Records, the legendary recording label of The Beatles. They only changed the way the world understood and appreciated music. Their first album came out in 1963 and their last in 1970. During that time they turned out 12 albums and dozens of legendary hits.

I guess my point is that today we should take a minute to celebrate The Apple as a whole…the visionary company, the legendary music label and, well, the terrific fruit.

John Maroon is President of Maroon PR.  Contact him at John@MaroonPR.com.

The Armadillos Are Coming!

By Mitchell Schmale

Climate change is being credited with some interesting and unusual side effects across parts of the United States. Armadillos are on the march and heading north into areas never expected by biologists. Scientists attribute the climate-related migration to a warming atmosphere across much of the country.

Armadillos have been synonymous with images of Texas and parts of the South for many years, often as road kill on the side of desert highways. But, the unusual looking mammals are packing up their armored shells and heading north to try their luck in some new territory and crossing some different highways. They have already made it as far as parts of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Missouri – one tiny step at a time. Scientists say that if the northern migration continues, armadillos may end up making it as far north as Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and parts of New Jersey.

I wish them luck on the journey. The more the merrier. I think it would be cool to have armadillos hanging out as the newest addition to area wildlife on the east coast, despite stories of them digging up backyards and gardens looking for food. So, the next time you are sitting in traffic on your commute to work in Washington, D.C. and an armadillo crosses your path… you aren’t seeing things. The armadillos have arrived.

Mitchell Schmale is Vice President of Maroon PR.  Contact him at Mitchell@MaroonPR.com.

: ) Happy Birthday Smiley Face ; )

By Kristen Seabolt

A colon, a hyphen and a bracket...who would have thought : - ) could start an emotive phenomenon?

Twenty-nine years ago in 1982, Scott Fahlman, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University, first proposed these three characters as a way to convey emotion using text. His logic behind it was simple – Typing lacks body language and tone of voice, so if someone types a sarcastic remark or joke, people fail to understand its meaning.

However, even though Fahlman is credited with proposing the first emoticon, it is no secret that using symbols to convey emotion were used long before the 80's. In 1862, more than 100 years earlier, a speech by President Abraham Lincoln appeared in The New York Times, and within the transcript was the symbol ; ) (coincidental typo or not?). Furthermore, the bright yellow smiley face we have grown to love came about in 1963, when a freelance artist Harvey Ball designed it for a button to boost company morale.

Since then, much like computers, emoticons have grown to become more than a simple : - ) and : - ( . Hundreds of characters and codes have been created to express emotions and objects, ranging from love, shock and greed, to pigs, cows and monkeys. Back in 2007, Yahoo! Messenger released a survey which showed that 82 percent of users at the time used emoticons on a daily basis, and 61 percent said they felt they best expressed themselves in instant messaging using these symbols.

However, in our fast-paced and ever-growing digital age, are elaborate and detailed emoticons losing steam and popularity? Today, the iPhone text message does not automatically support emoticon graphics, and Gmail’s Gchat default emoticon settings are text-based with simple animation. Are the days of ô¿ô behind us (yes, I remember that code from my days of AOL IM)?

But, if you are one of those who can’t get enough smiles and smiley faces, this Friday is World Smile Day, which is celebrated every year on the first Friday of October. Be sure to show off your smiley pride in your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Gchat and blog worlds : )

Kristen Seabolt is an Associate Account Executive at Maroon PR.  Contact her at Kristen@MaroonPR.com.

Grantland

By Pete DeLuca

With football season in full swing and baseball’s postseason rapidly approaching; I - like millions of fans worldwide – remain glued to ESPN for constant highlights, news, and updates. And whether it is the Coors Light Cold Hard Facts or the Chevrolet Clubhouse, I find myself willing to sit through any poorly named segment in order to get information about my favorite team – regardless of SportsCenter relentless product placement.

But just when I thought I was wise to all the Gatorade Ultimate Highlights and Bud Light Top Ten Plays segments – ESPN throws a curve ball and begins airing this commercial:



Wait… What is Grantland? I saw a Subway logo in there, and Dove soap one too… but what is Grantland?! Thirty seconds and I was hooked. I caved. I ran to my computer, opened up Explorer, and typed in “grantland.com” so fast that I misspelled it twice.

Turns out, Grantland.com is a new website launched by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons. The site provides a new take on sports journalism – articles written in a narrative format aimed at connecting sports to broader cultural trends. Simmons, as well as a collection of other talented writers, cover everything from Fantasy Football to Brad Pitt’s Moneyball Oscar Odds. I spent a few minutes on the site before closing my lap top and moving on.

ESPN launched Grantland.com as a new, innovative way to present sports news. But, the marketing of the site breaks from their norm. For a channel whose lineup includes such shows as “College GameDay Built by The Home Depot” and the “GMC Post Game Show”, it was intriguing to see such a subtle advertising. And it worked. It’s a lesson that thousands of advertisers can learn from.

Pete DeLuca is the Manager of Creative Services at Maroon PR.  Contact him at Pete@MaroonPR.com.