Media Orchard’s only New Year’s resolution was to not post a list of resolutions. We’re done with lists until next year. We did find a few interesting lists created by others, however — which you’ll find below.
Well, that’s a wrap for Media Orchard in 2005. We’ve had a great time developing this blog over the past 10 months, with your suggestions and support, and we can’t wait for 2006.
A heartfelt thank-you to all readers, commenters and referrers!
Technorati tags: Resolutions, New Year
From the East Valley Tribune:
A Texas public relations blog lists Arizona State University President Michael Crow’s response to Playboy magazine’s party school ranking as “one of the worst spins of 2005.”
The year’s “Top 10 Worst Spins” was published Wednesday on the blog Media Orchard, a Web commentary run by the Dallas firm Idea Grove. Crow was 10th on the list of worst spins, which was led by former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown, who had resigned amid outrage over his lax response to Hurricane Katrina. Ford Motor Co. was second on the list for its decision — which it later rescinded — to pull advertisements from gay publications, the blogger wrote.
The blogger criticized Crow for his response to Playboy’s recent declaration that ASU is one of the nation’s top party schools. Crow said the adult magazine’s characterization of the university had little to do with the type of institution it truly is. “Michael doth protest too much, wethinks,” opined the blogger, who signed the commentary with the initials “SB.”
The blog’s criticism of Crow came just weeks after the university leader started his own Web commentary on ASU’s site — one of the first blogs written by a college leader.
Crow said Thursday he stands by his comments that Playboy’s ratings are “not valid in a survey sense.”
“We are a great place to learn and have fun,” Crow said.
Idea Grove blogger and owner Scott Baradell of Dallas said the goal of the rating was to critique bad public relations moves. He said Crow should have responded to concerns about Playboy’s distinction with a different spin. ASU should “focus on the positive (attributes) and not worry about whether they’re on the Playboy list or not,” Baradell said.
Oh — and the mysterious “SB” is Scott Baradell, if there was a question.
Technorati tags: PR, Public Relations, Marketing
It’s been derided as a “can of dumb-ass,” but Media Orchard thinks Sofia Mini — the pricey canned champagne from Niebaum-Coppola – is a marketing phenomenon waiting to happen. Why?
1. It’s named after a hip (but substantial) female celebrity, Sofia Coppola.
2. It comes in a cute pink aluminum can.
3. An equally cute fuchsia straw is attached to the side.
4. It costs a mere $20 for a four-pack.
5. Oprah likes it.
Perfect for the “echo boomer, Generation Y, largely female” customer Niebaum-Coppola is targeting.
From The Washington Post:
“It is cute,” says Niebaum-Coppola President Earl Martin, who knows how out of line a cute can is with the vast majority of wines sold in traditional 750-ml bottles closed with corks…
Martin says the target demographic is “echo boomers, Generation Y, largely female,” he says. “And, yes, you could say it’s a girly wine.” The winery, which declined to give sales figures, upped Sofia Mini production last year to 50,000 cases after a test-run of 5,000 sold out, according to Wine Business Monthly, which earlier this year deemed cans “the hottest packaging innovation to hit the wine industry.”
Think 21-year-olds stepping up from wine coolers; think “Sex and the City” reruns. See Sofia’s sofiamini.com for upscale-but-not-snooty still-life photos of beautiful people, mostly female, with their cans of Sofia looking like fashion accessories.
Does this analysis stereotype young, affluent women? Of course it does. But that’s what marketers do — right?
Stock the bar.
Technorati tags: Web 2.0, PR, Blogs, Websites, Public Relations, Marketing, Advertising, Media
