Brand Central Station

(from Bulldog Reporter)

When:  Thursday, June 17
Where:  Teleconference
Cost:  $99 per registrant

No one needs to tell you that the economy is picking up speed again—with consumers opening up their wallets as they haven’t done in several years. The upshot is that this coming holiday season promises to be a boon … if you can get your product or service in front of product review and gift guide editors now. After all, the early bird gets the media hit when it comes to gift guides—and many outlets are doing their seasonal planning right now. It’s the same for summer wedding gift guides, Valentine’s Day gift guides, Mother’s and Father’s Day gift guides,graduation gift guides and so on.

So what are the new consumer triggers that drive Americans to buy now? What are the new editorial hot buttons that gatekeepers at the nation’s top gift guides require when it comes to products and goods they’ll cover? And how can you get your product or service out in front of them before the competition does? To learn the answers and win a spot for your gift when and where it counts most, join Bulldog Reporter’s PR University for a behind the scenes look at thesecrets of scoring valuable coverage in the nation’s top gift guides—from the very editorial gatekeepers who decide what runs and what doesn’t. They’ll outline what they’re looking for now, this year’s hottest items, the latest consumer buying behaviors and trends—and how public relations can position items for optimal product placement in front of millions of shoppers this promising turnaround year.

What You Will Learn

• The New Consumer Mindset: What cautious consumers and the value-seeking public want now in holiday gifts and products—and from the products coverage they trust
• 2010 & 2011 Editorial Hot Buttons: The gadgets, goods, gear andtop shopping trends editors will be covering this holiday season as the economy gathers steam—and how to emphasize these pegs in your media outreach
• How top holiday gift guides differ in scope and mission—and how to use these insights to get products reviewed in today’s changing media environment
• Early-Bird Techniques: Best ways to pitch embargoed products, negotiate exclusive first looks and manage beta runs months in advance
• Pitching product blogs and websites: How online gift guides differ from their print counterparts—and how to provide multimedia toboost your digital footprint
• Cost-Cutting Tips: Easy ways to get product in the right editor’s hands without wasting time and money on blanket campaigns
• Packaging, pitches and press kits that grabs editors’ attentionevery time
• New Product Protocols: What journalists can (and can’t) receive and how they prefer to receive mailed items and seasonal gifts
• How JPEGs, graphics and four-color artwork can help you edge out the competition for valuable editorial real estate
• Why freelancers could be your back door to coverage … and how to use them as allies when pitching seasonal products to top editors
• How smaller concerns can earn more holiday coverage than corporate giants with deeper pockets (and resources)
• Social Media Update: How these media outlets use social media to source and seek product to cover—plus how you can use tools like Twitter to build relationships with them and even pitch items for them cover
• Advanced Media Relations: How the best PR pros have gained the ear—and trust—of these editorial gatekeepers—and how you can do the same

This seminar is offered as part of Bulldog Reporter’s PR University.  Register Now to make sure you have a spot!

(from Bulldog Reporter’s PR University)

When:     Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 1pm EDT (90 minutes)
Where:   Online
Cost:        $ 299

Are clients asking you to integrate social media with their existing PR programs—but you’re unsure how to tie it all together? You’re not alone. By now, most in PR have tackled in social media tools—and implemented social media campaigns and on-offs for clients on channels ranging from blogs and Wikipedia to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and beyond. Some have even launched proprietary networks for clients while others are still focused on online forums. Regardless your level of proficiency with various social media tools and tactics … chances are that your success has often been limited because these ad-hoc efforts typically lack a coherent strategy. What’s more: Clients and companies don’t pay for tactics—they pay for strategic counsel that moves the needle.

The good news: You can maximize your digital footprint across multiple social media platforms—and quadruple your results—by following this proven and practical program guaranteed to help you create an advanced social media strategy for all of your new media efforts. Designed to help your team create and execute successful social media campaigns and initiatives in seven easy steps, this strategic regimen will help you boost your Internet ROI, grow your online visibility or reputation and increase your search ranking for your company or clients. Join one of PR’s leading Web 2.0 gurus and best social media instructors for this intensive, interactive webinar to learn how it’s done. In just 90 information-packed minutes, she will give youstep-by-step practical guidelines for using all these social media tools in such a way that they complement each other and support your traditional PR program to drive organizational goals. If you are looking for apowerful social media strategy to help you build buzz, brand and the bottom line online, then this is one PR training event you and your team can’t afford to miss.

Key Takeaways:

• Why you should not go one more day without drafting a social media strategy
• How to sell a comprehensive social media strategy to skeptical management
• Understanding the role social media optimization (SMO) plays inonline reputation management (ORM) and search engine reputation management (SERM)—plus how PR can tap these tools to build a bigger digital footprint
• How to position PR and communications as a vital player in the internal conversation about leveraging your social media strategy and supporting new technologies
• A Seven Step Guide designed to help you create and execute measurable social media campaigns and programs for your client, company or brand, including:
  • How best to create a social media team to drive your strategy
  • New ideas to help you draft a social media policy that matches your organizational culture
  • New tools and techniques to help you build a listening program
  • How to establish goals and metrics for your social media program
  • Best ways to assign social media roles and responsibilities
  • Checklists to help you decide which social media tools and networks are best suited for your goals and audiences
  • How to monitor and adjust your social media program for greater results
• How to optimize your client or company’s web presence via social news buttons, blogging, Web video, online photo sharing, online social networks from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter…and beyond
• How online newsrooms and Social Media Releases can play an important role
• SEO Fundamentals: First steps for bringing your SEO tools and SERM techniques up to speed as part of your social media plan
• Social media strategy do’s and don’ts—plus warnings from brands that blew it
• Best Practices : Examples you can take to your execs to show how a social media strategy can help build brand and the bottom line
• How to track and measure the value of your social media program and prove it to management
• How to talk to the C-suite about your new social media strategy

YOUR PRESENTER:
Jennifer Cisney is the chief blogger and social media manager at Eastman Kodak. She has been with Eastman Kodak for twelve years, resulting in a broad knowledge of the various businesses and in depth experience with the corporate website, kodak.com. Her contributions to Kodak’s online experience have been inspirational photography, design expertise and creative content. She helped create and now manages the corporate blogs. After launching Kodak’s social media initiatives, she oversees Kodak’s presence on social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Flickr. Jennifer has been a speaker at such social media conferences as BlogWorld, BlogHer, Marketing to Women, 140 Characters Conference and The Inbound Marketing Summit. Jennifer was also recognized as one of Advertising Age’s 2009 Women to Watch.

YOUR MODERATOR:
Brian Pittman is content director of Bulldog Reporter’s PR University and the weekly email newsletter Journalists Speak Out. Previously, Brian served as editorial director at Infocom Group, where he edited, reported for and launched titles such as Media Relations Insider, PR Agency Insider, Ad Agency Insider and Managing Partner. Prior to that, he served as editor of Utah Business magazine, among other titles. He is a seasoned reporter with extensive experience interviewing such personalities as Steve Forbes, Bob Edwards and Margaret Thatcher. Complete Bio

(from Bulldog Reporter)
When:     Thursday, June 3, 2010 starting at 1pm EDT

Crisis veteran Gerard Braud shares his inside response secrets.

Search “BP” online right now—and what do you find? It’s a nightmare, of course. Chances BP will suffer from today’s horrible online buzz for years and years to come, thanks to the “long tail” effect of the Internet.

So what do you do when your company, client, CEO or brand faces a crisis—online or off? How do you win the war on the Web when bad news, flat-out lies or rumors strike in social media? How do you stem the tide before the damage goes viral?

As you know, the key to crisis survival is preparation—the ability to develop messages and implement response plans immediately, before the 24/7 media bang down your door, before you’re “tweeted” to death.

Here’s some solid help: To make sure your organization’s crisis plan is current and robust, I urge you to listen in on PR University’s upcoming audio conference: “Social Media When “It” Hits the Fan: What PR Must Know about Online Crisis Communications to Win the War on the Web.”

In just 90 information packed minutes, crisis guru Gerard Braud will reveal proven crisis response strategies that are guaranteed to increase your competence and confidence when combating reputation or brand disasters in today’s multi-dimensional communications environment.
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