Roll Those Dice McDonald's!

           McDonald's has started there largest promotion again this year. Monopoly.  The promotion ran from October 5th to November 1st and even though it is officially over some stores still hand out the game pieces. The public relations department spends the entire year working on this large money making promotion in order to boost sales and increase consumers.  

             Several years ago I worked for the 1-800 customer service line for McDonald's as we took questions concerning the largest promotion for the corporation.  The Golden Arches has tagged Monopoly as their largest selling point next to the children's Happy Meals. 
  

           As consumers have more than one option to play the popular game prizes are handed out frequently.  The popular tag is "1 in 4 Wins" for this years game.  Consumers become obsessed with the game and collecting pieces in order for their chance at fame.  A large amount of blogs are posted during this time such as the Popular Thoughts Blog which helps readers understand a short summarized version of the game. 

            On Weight Loss Thought an individual blogs about the difficulty she has staying away from McDonald's this time of year because of the possibility of winning an amazing prize. 

         Let me assure you this IS part of the McDonald's PR campaign.  They are not necessarily wanting you to have a difficult time loosing weight but they are strongly focused on increasing consumer sales.  In addition to playing in the store the increase in technology has made it easier for people too play online with their codes.  This allows consumers and additional chance to win a prize. 

            A recent article by Robert Dougherty explains the business aspect of the Monopoly craze and how important it is to the large fast food chain. 



Using blogs in a public relations' crisis

"Broadcast Yourself"

        At this point everyone knows the term "broadcast yourself" and the effect and changed that it brings to the world.

       Although YouTube started off basically for the younger generation it has become the number one place for PR activists.  Remember back to a few years ago when President Obama was running for his current office. 

       YouTube is now being used as a strategic PR method in order to advertise and promote their services and products.  As I piece this PR focused blog together YouTube becomes essential in the making and process in order to visually show strong points in the post.

       For advanced users there is now a blog devoted to new perks and creative ideas for personal or professional use.  Everyone seems to be raving about the effect YouTube has on the economy which are further explained in the article Using YouTube as a Cost Effective Public Relations Tool.

      All over the world social public relations is taking advantage of YouTube and additional social media networks. 

       Many different companies are taking advantage of what YouTube can offer their business.  People even produce and develop videos on how to create a YouTube channel in order to gain additional ideas for their public relations campaign. 

The Importance of a Celebrity Spokesperson

"See Ashton and his new Nikons in action."

           Ashton Kutcher has become an irresistible icon for the Nikon cameras.  Kutcher has appeared in a large amount of the recent commercials for the company.  Recently he has been the spokesperson for the new Nikon camera that takes five photos in a single second as his tag line throughout the commercial is "I've got it!".  This new campaigns features Ashton in each television commercial and he has been the celebrity spokesperson for several years now.  Ashton has become such a successful celebrity spokesperson for Nikon he now has his own website link in conjunction with Nikon.  

      Nikon became interesting in gaining Kutcher as a spokesperson because of his continued connection with fans through Twitter and other social media networks.  I gained more information and background knowledge on this particular campaign through Corporate Eye.  
     
    Even though Corporate Eye discusses a campaign that was held over a year ago it does get to the point that whomever your celebrity endorser is will have a large impact on the reactions consumers have on your product.

      His accomplishments have been well talked about for years and even recently in The Photographer's Blog where they give do give credit to his accomplishments and endorsing Nikon.

Domino's® Pizza Turnaround

           Not only does Domino's strive for the 30 minute delivery they also came out with an entire new recipe and ingredients!

       We have all been in the situation before where we have paid good money for pizza that is horrible and delivered to us in an unpresentable way.  Several public relations specialists for the company speak and address many of the consumers issues and concerns with products in the uploaded video. 

         Domino's clearly wants to improve their products and their pr department is in full force with new campaigns and ideas in order for consumers to have a great experience.   

I truly enjoy this video because this company does address the issue straight on instead of avoiding the negative comments from consumers. Even the television commercials reflect all the criticism and negative comments and then focus on how they have changed as a whole. 

         I love how Domino's has even created their own blog in order to reach out to more individuals.  Their public relation campaigns have clearly improved and changed which I think is something that most consumers like to see.  We enjoy and trust the companies that go out of their way to improve what is being voiced by the public. 

         They have also joined the bandwagon and you are able to add them on Facebook!

Possible Downfall for the Big 4 Networks??

      Is there a possible chance that the big four networks have additional competition?  As hard as it is for me to believe and imagine there is another network competing with the famous four networks. 

      As I have gone through four years of mass communication classes at the university level there was never discussion or concern if the big four networks would ever meet their match.

      Univision is a Spanish-language broadcaster that never dreamed of catching up or even surpassing the predominate four networks in the United States.  Univision has placed their network comfortably at the fifth position for the network. 

       I was not surprised when I found out that the big four would not answer any comments or address the situation.  I feel they are working on a new pr campaign in order to keep their top positions across the board.  This pr campaign would be extremely important to the different corporations because it also links into their revenue from advertisements. 

        Univision signed on 55 new brands for advertising on their network.  This seems to be a massive jump in advertising sales that has lead to a double-digit rating growth.  It is extremely interesting especially considering a large amount of advertisers were avoiding the Spanish networks to advertise their products and services. 

       A few blogs were also discussion the issues and concerns with this uprising Spanish network.  As this network is the leading Spanish Network in the United States things will not be staying the same in the future. 

       This is the largest wake up call the big four networks.  I can just see all the scratching heads at the discussion table!

Soup Stop PR Commercial

        I have put together a :30 PR commercial for the Soup Stop in Charleston, Illinois.  This program is non for profit and serves hot meals to people in the community for free.  It runs completely off of donations and volunteerism from the Charleston area. 


       I have been volunteering at the Soup Stop kitchen for almost 3 months and I really enjoy the work and the organization as a whole. 

     Putting together this television commercial spot became a personal interest and I hope my fellow followers get an understanding of not only the organization but also their public relations need in the area. 

     I was able to edit this final project into Final Cut Pro and focused on the fact that Soup Stop needs helpful volunteers in any way possible. 

       A website centered around advertising and non-profit organizations helped me gain additional knowledge and ideas for my commercial. 

        This blog includes information on thousands of non-profit organizations globally.  It is a great network of people who volunteer their time and resources in order to make a difference in a person's life and a difference around the world.