Why buy a newspaper?

Over the past few years newspaper sales have been declining, since the rise of digital media. Many newspapers throughout the country have gone out of business and the ones that have stayed opened have laid off staff, endured budget cuts, and the size of the newspaper itself has gotten smaller.

Just recently, Jeffrey Bezos, the chief executive and founder of amazon.com purchased the Washington Post for a whopping $250 million dollars. While John Henry, who owns the Boston's Red Sox has made an agreement with the New York Times Company to buy the Boston Globe for $70 million dollars. When the Times bought the paper twenty years ago, bought the Globe for $1.1 billion. Now the price tag just two decades later: a bargain-basement $70 million (guess Henry got a good deal).  However, the issue isn't entirely new, because the Times Co. used to have a minority interest in the Boston Red Sox (who knew?!) Nonetheless that's a far cry from being the principal owner.

Brian McGrory, the paper's editor, stated "We have no plans whatsoever to change our Red Sox coverage specifically, or our sports coverage in general, nor will we be asked," McGrory was quoted as saying in the Globe's story on the sale. "The Globe's sports reporting and commentary is the gold standard in the industry." (Maybe that's why Henry wanted to buy the Globe in the first place for the prestige. And Bostonians do love their sports, so owning another Boston icon maybe smart move for the businessman.)

But is it a smart move for these businessman? I'm not sure. I still see people on the train reading the newspaper, which is a good sign for Bezos and Henry. While more newspapers are able to be available online, it's still not the same as holding it in your hand. I've always been the type of person who loved having the hard copy. The smell of the paper, the ink on your hands, I guess I'm sort of a geek that way....

As for the fate for both newspapers, we're just gonna have to wait and see what happens.

The Twinkie Is Back...

Known as the "Golden Sponge Cake with Creamy Filling," Twinkies are an American favorite but their parent company Hostess filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on May 4, 2011. While many Americans were devastated to learn that an American classic would no longer be available on supermarket shelves. The company believed many Americans migrated to healthier foods, to other Americans saying goodbye to such an iconic brand was an end of an era because many people equate Twinkies with their childhood. But the mourning came to an end quickly when it was announced in March that Hostess would have new owners. A few months later new management announced that Twinkies (and other Hostess brands such as CupCakes) would return to stores nationwide starting in mid July. So was this a victory for the product or a new way to re-launch the product? I honestly don't know but it makes me wonder...
According to Hannah Arnold, a principal at LAK Public Relations stated,  “It was clear that America wanted this product back on the shelf and that set the stage for a fully integrated advertising/PR/guerilla marketing campaign....We had every one of those elements in play"  And that's exactly what they did to relaunch this product.  The relaunch campaign, dubbed “The Sweetest Comeback in the History of Ever,” featured pre-launch PR and marketing programs, including a new website with a countdown to the launch and street teams that hit some major markets (Chicago, Los Angeles and New York) to create hype. Self-made Vine videos around the theme of “Prepare Your Cakeface” also were created to publicity about the product. I think its better than a person dressed as a Twinkie on the street waving a sign or handing out flyers. Am I right? I always get a giggle  when I see someone dressed up in a costume trying to get a people in that store. But than I wonder does that form of marketing and advertising actually work? Or is it just to mock marketing and advertising in our society? At least Twinkie was smart enough not to do that to relaunch the product and used a much more modern approach such as social media marketing. I think their heading in the right direction and only time will tell. And the excitement from the public doesn't hurt either.

Publicis/Omnicom merger whats next for media companies?

Last week’s announcement regarding the proposed merger between Omnicom and Publicis to create the world’s largest advertising conglomerate has created a vast wealth of questions for the outcome of the communications industry, the two main players, their component agencies and their clients. When I heard of the news just last week I had an interview with Publicis Healthcare Communications for an information research assistant position, the same day I heard about the merger with Omnicom. While major things are changing for both companies will it be for the better?
The CEOs for both companies: John Wren and Maurice Lévy, respectively, promise prosperity, but many in the industry question their motives (wouldn't you?). But with a huge merger like this, how will some of their clients react? Adweek recently posted an article called, Six Big Accounts to Watch Amid the Publicis Groupe Merger Fallout that mentioned a number of big clients, including Toyota Motor, L'Oréal and Sprint shrugged off concerns. However competitors such as WPP, Interpublic Group of Cos. and Havas are already circling to try and pick off accounts that suddenly seem vulnerable. While most coverage has noted the obvious conflict that can happen when one company represents, for example, Coca Cola and Pepsi. On the other hand, Bloomberg (and other media outlets) pointed out that the new company will have a new thump to bargain better advertising rates in media buying. But only time will time will tell....

Leo Burnett v. The Crazy Ones

The Crazy Ones, revolves around the dynamics between a father named Simon Roberts (Robin Williams) and his daughter named Sydney Roberts (Sarah Michelle Gellar) set in the world of advertising. Sydney Roberts´s character can be described as pretty, intense, driven, organized and burdened with being practical. She is the creative director and life and soul of the Roberts and Roberts Advertising Agency at the center of the CBS comedy. She wants to be her father but is too busy having to parent him. However in the pilot the fictional ad folks are working on a campaign for McDonald's, one of Burnett's biggest clients. While I don't know what the offices of Leo Burnett look like, I'm sure they'll be a few similarities here and there. I'm excited to see the show though....

Dove: to photoshop or be natural?

Just recently I read this article called, "Dove Canada Uses Photoshop Trojan Horse to Shame Potential Body-Shamers," I noticed it when the article appeared on my news feed on LinkedIn and it caught my attention. While I don't use any of the Dove products I think its great how the company, I think it is great how the company embraces the genuine beauty of women. As a curvy girl myself its hard in todays society to feel "sexy" when all the models in magazines and TV are super skinny. But over the years I've learned how to feel sexy in my own skin. The fact that Dove created a campaign that made women feel comfortable in the skin their in was a fabulous statement to prove to society that you don't have to be a size 2 to be beautiful. But just recently their Canadian campaign, has added a Photoshop action that makes part of the campaign's image fake. While I think its okay if you airbrush a zit, is it really okay to Photoshop/airbrush your entire body? Kind of an oxymoron? I don't know what to think, but I've lost respect for Dove and this campaign

What to wear on the job

While I usually write about media and communications I decided to share another interest of mine with you. Recently I interviewed at fashion public relations firms where they asked me to write a blog post about beauty trends. I really enjoyed writing it and I thought I would share it on my own blog. So take a look:

Starting a new job is like the first day of school; you go through your closet trying to create the perfect outfit for your first day. But whether your at school or work there are few must items that are few necessities you need to make your outfit complete:

1. Comfy shoes are necessity whether your walking across campus or running all around the office doing administrative duties. While I would love to be wearing stylish stilettos, there is absolutely no way I can wear a pair of strappy pair of stilettos for 10 plus hours. However this doesn't mean you have to sport your Nike running shoes, some alternatives are a great pair of flats or sandals that don’t cut into your skin, or a pair of cute and casual sneakers.

2. A Long Lightweight Cardigan may seem unnecessary in the middle of the summer, but the AC in your office may be freezing and you need a cardigan to keep you warm.

3. A Blazer is a great way to help you attain that polished look. Whether your working in a corporate environment you may want to wear a solid color such as black or navy, with a tailored fit. While it's important to look professional, if you work in public relations, advertising, marketing or fashion company, experimenting with colored blazers (white, light pink, red) not only makes your outfit pop, but definitely shows off your creative side.

4. The Messenger Bag is both fashionable and functional. How can you go wrong?

5. The Watch: Pulling out your cell phone every other minute to check the time and your messages is not only rude, but it wastes your body. A watch is a great way to make your outfit sparkle!

Now that your ready, show off that outfit that makes you feel confident and comfortable at the same time.