The Power of Social Media - Truffle PR

Today I had a great opportunity to go to Soho, London and visit the friendly team at Truffle PR; a boutique Public Relations agency owned by Ellie Hernaman.
In a great location with an inviting and creative office, this boutique company encapsulates everything that a modern PR company requires. Their passion for the social media and what it can do for brands is very relevant to today's lifestyle and culture.
Take The Special K's, for example. An up and coming band that Truffle PR supports. In juxtaposition with great press in the papers and online, Truffle are constantly tweeting about the band's success and re-tweeting the likes of Caggie Dunlop (Made in Chelsea star), who is a supporter of the band.
Their passion for Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter is fundamental to the success of their brands. Got Wood, an underwear brand by Wildhorse clothing, has reached 4000 followers on twitter. That is 4000 people reading about their brand, yet it costs them nothing..
More PR companies need to realise the importance of the social media, because it really is the future...

Something to Get Your Teeth Into..

With the social media being used by brands everywhere, it is no surprise that the UK's leading chocolate company, Cadbury, reached 1 million "likes" on its Facebook fan page. It was inevitable; Facebook users all over the world are liking thousands of pages a day, but I wonder how many of these pages like us back?

Chocolate has been proven by scientists to release heightened feelings of happiness/pleasure after eating it, so isn't it fantastic that Britain's No.1 chocolate company are striving to do the same? Cadbury decided to celebrate their chocolate lovers by creating an enormous Cadbury "like" button, made out of 100% pure Cadbury dairy milk pieces.

The challenge took days of designing, planning and constructing alongside a team of hard working employees. They then ended the challenge with a fan placing the last piece on the giant model... Okay, the final product wasn't exactly fine art but is it not a fantastic stamp of their appreciation and their loyalty to Cadbury's customers?

Whether or not you like it, I'm sure they have successfully melted the hearts of fans everywhere..(and probably a few hundred bars of chocolate too)! Overall, a massive 'thumbs up' to the brand!!!

Take a look at their "in-the-making" video here:

You're Having a Giraffe!

Just so you know, I am fully aware that this post has leaped onto an extremely late bandwagon. Although this story hit the headlines in January this year, the actual letter in question was received by Sainsburys in 2011.
However, my blog would feel deprived without it. Therefore I feel obliged to write about Sainsburys and their extremely strategical marketing campaign.

Published in the Telegraph, the Daily Mail and various other infamous newspapers, I am sure that you have all heard this heart-warming story:
Lily Robinson; a three year old child wrote a lovely (yet curiously intelligent) letter to Sainsburys, asking the following question:



Naively written alongside the help of her mother, Lily asked the unique yet significant question that many others had probably wondered themselves..(?) However, the unfortunate cynic in me cannot help but question whether Lily was a legitimate customer or whether she even existed?
Lily claimed that the marks on Sainsburys infamous Tiger loaf were far more representative of a giraffe than they were of a tiger and the manager Chris King could not agree enough.

The letter was released into the social media, with campaigns being strewn all over Facebook such as the "Campaign to turn Tiger Bread into Giraffe Bread at Sainsburys". The page received hundreds of likes, comments and suggestions to take Lily's advice and make the change.

Sainsburys finally decided to make the change in January this year, claiming that: “In response to overwhelming customer feedback that our tiger bread has more resemblance to a giraffe, from today we will be changing our tiger bread to giraffe bread and seeing how that goes.”

Hasn't this story turned into such a fairytale? I think not...
Although various commentators believed that this was Sainsburys carrying out a good deed; I cannot help but believe that this was simply a fantastic marketing trick.

Did a three year old girl REALLY write this letter? Or was this simply the Crème de la Crème of all PR stunts? Do not get me wrong, I am not condemning this stunt - I actually think it is bloody brilliant. But please do not mistake their intelligence for loyalty...

The conclusion of this story? Sainsburys PR department deserve a round of applause. They succeeded in telling a beautiful story of a company that are caring, loyal and appreciative of their customers in juxtaposition with a marketing strategy that shows off their intelligent and clued up methods of communication. They can be sure to hold their heads (and necks) up high...

Panoramic Advertising

Rethinkcanada, an advertising company based in Toronto & Vancouver, have launched a new advertising campaign that will take place on transit trains. As you can see from the picture, the advert is placed on the ceiling so that commuters can look up, see their lack of hair, read the advert and hey, presto! This hair loss treatment is for them! Is this in bad taste? I'm inclined to believe it is. Although the location of an advertisement is important, it should be deemed fundamental that their clients do not feel humiliated, upset or angry. I dread to think how this poor bald gentleman reacted when he looked up into the mirror, yet I do not doubt that he felt at least one of the emotions I just described.
This advert is screaming out people's insecurities; it is indiscreet and too revealing. It definitely achieves awareness and probably a lot of laughs, yet has this advert taken a step too far? Or am I just being too sensitive? I think the answer depends on whether you have hair or not...

£O.CD

With 12 out of every 1000 people in the UK suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a large majority of us do not know how frustratingly repetitive and obsessive a daily routine could become. Whether it is racing back to your front door over 10 times just to be completely sure you have locked it, or scrubbing your hands over and over until they are red raw, OCD can cause a high level of anxiety and can have long term effects on a persons life.

McCann Digital Israel, part of the top Worldgroup agency, were approached by the OCD foundation to create an advert that would spread awareness around the world. They did just that, spending £0.00 on a Youtube advert that has gained over 83,000 views since May, 2011. (The agency have also found huge success in their new Anti-Drugs Facebook Timeline campaign which can be found on Youtube.)

The successful OCD advertistment is 0.01 seconds long and will have to be played several times before the viewer can read the full advertisement. McCann Digital Israel wanted their viewers to
experience just a fraction of what a sufferer of OCD goes through each day. Although there is a slight annoyance in having to watch the video more than once, perhaps having to click play over and over again really is the most effective way of getting their message out there. Take a look at the video below (several times) and decide for yourself...

Sex Sells....Smoking?

Although we have (thankfully) moved on from February and the Hallmark holiday that fills singletons everywhere with dread and horror, I must painfully bring us back one last time to view V Magazine's "Happy Valentines Day" movie; a video directed by Justin Wu. Regarded as a well-esteemed and admired fashion photographer/film director based in Paris, his video successfully dropped the jaws of girls everywhere (And assumedly most men, judging by the stunning models such as Andrej Pejic in the film).


My personal highlight was 35 seconds into the video. I could frame that moment and keep it stashed away indefinitely; Francisco Lachowski looking up into the eyes of a beautiful woman, smoking a cigarette and looking extremely pleased with himself. This moment encapsulates the sultry mood of the entire film, yet stockings and red lipstick had nothing on this one prop; the cigarette. The video will have certainly successfully promoted V magazine, yet were we the victims of subliminal messaging in the process?


This is not the first time Justin Wu has taken this approach; by browsing through his work you often see his male models embracing their inner bad boy and smoking cigarettes. Here we see the model Malte Paulsen posing for Têtu magazine, a gay magazine published in France.

Smoking is often used in music/fashion and this is a classic example of using the fashion industry and advertising world to promote the habit; essentially it is romanticising the cigarette. Is this wrong? Probably, but if Francisco Lachowski was staring you in the eye whilst sensually sucking on a Malboro Light, would you REALLY care enough to turn him down? My guess is no...



Take a look at the video and share my enjoyment -

SHAPING THE FUTURE, UNITING THE MASSES - KONY 2012

Social media or Stalker paradise?

Do not get me wrong before I even begin to write this post; I am a huge fan of the social media and what it has provided for today's society. By talking to my friends, or simply browsing through my twitter and facebook pages, you will realise immediately that I am hooked on the stuff. And I am certainly not the only one either. Yet, whilst reading about the up and coming network trends for 2012, I could not help but laugh whilst reading about KLM's new campaign; the "Meet and Seat". Using both Facebook and Linkedin, passengers of KLM will be able to buy a ticket, login to their profiles and take a good hard look at who else they will be joined by on their flight. Not only can you see who you are sat next to, you can view everybody on the flight. The idea behind it is that you can meet people with similar interests before the flight departs, perhaps in the coffee lounge. But I'm sorry, if some stranger emailed me saying we were both flying to New York together and asking if we wanted to grab coffee beforehand, I'd probably run a mile! (What if being a mile high was exactly what he had in mind? Creepy!)

To take a look at the KLM video, click on this link!