2006 June | Dallas Public Relations Idea Grove

Or buddy tragedy…too early to tell.

NBC has gone from big-timing the folks at YouTube to paying them big bucks — or at least raising the startup’s profile. Here’s the deal via Forbes:

Judging by the “Top Favorites” section on Sequoia Capital-funded video-sharing site YouTube, Internet users like watching students performing robot dances, teenagers playing electric guitar versions of Pachelbel’s Canon, half-witted dogs scratching themselves and the pratfalls of small Mexican boys. So beware any corporation looking to seed the site with promotional content; regular “Tubers” will reject the clips if they appear to be a shameless attempt to gatecrash their frat party.

General Electric unit NBC, which has hectored the video site over copyright issues in the past, announced Tuesday it would use YouTube to promote its fall television lineup in a partnership that draws attention to the Internet’s growing role in generating buzz around traditional media content. The AP reports that the agreement includes an integrated, cross-promotional advertising relationship on the YouTube service and significant on-air promotion provided by NBC.

Alas, “Tubers”–no couch-potato jibe intended–are still not likely to find legit clips of Lazy Sunday, the Saturday Night Live parody rap that circulated widely on YouTube and other sites before NBC Universal’s legal eagles asked for its removal. The deal will instead highlight promos made by or for NBC, including clips from new programs or old ones such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, behind-the-scenes interviews and other features largely exclusive to the Internet.

Great! We’ve been looking for a place to watch Leno commercials online. We can’t get enough of that guy. Funny stuff!

(Image from Celebopedia)

June 28, 2006 in Media Orchard, Media Relations by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
How to Make an Awkward Public Statement with Dignity

By Barbara Walters, via Gawker.

June 28, 2006 in Advertising, Brand launches, Brand Strategy, Media Orchard by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
Chick Says "Hooters for Neuters" is Bad Marketing

From the AP:

LOS ANGELES – Several city officials on Tuesday sharply criticized a planned bikini contest to raise money for spaying pets, saying the “Hooters for Neuters” event was degrading to women.

Hosted by the Hooters restaurant chain, the July 13 fundraiser will donate money to the spay and neuter programs at Los Angeles Animal Services.

“Are we going backward here?” said City Controller Laura Chick. “We are a city with all kinds of progressive programs that empower women and end discrimination in the workplace, and now we’re being connected with a Hooters bikini contest. It isn’t right.”

Councilwoman Jan Perry said the department’s attempt to be creative in telling pet owners to sterilize their animals “crosses the line.”

The “Hooters for Neuters” campaign has actually been going on in various markets some time now — with little protest. We expect Hooters will come out the public-perception winner in this dispute.

(Photo by Troy Snow)

June 28, 2006 in Celebrity, Media Orchard, Media Relations by sbaradell@ideagrove.com
Couric’s "Listening Tour" Gets Ripped

Welcome to the nightly news, Katie. Here’s Cal Thomas:

Emulating the “listening tour” of Hillary Clinton when she first ran for the Senate, the newly minted anchorwoman of the “CBS Evening News,” Katie Couric, will soon embark on a listening tour of her own. Executive Producer Rome Hartman says, “It’s an attempt to hear from regular folks on a whole broad range of things that help us make decisions on how we can better serve our viewers.”

The general manager of the CBS affiliate in Denver, Walt DeHaven, said in a news release that when Couric visits his city, “She intends to meet a diverse cross section (of people) so that she can really get to the heart of the community.” In order to be in the presence of the first female permanent anchor of a broadcast evening news program, one must fill out an application. From those applications, “100 people from all cross sections of the community will be contacted and given the opportunity to participate” in the July 13 forum.

I suppose this is good public relations, though Couric is already one of the most recognizable faces in the country. What I don’t get is DeHaven’s comment that Couric’s visit will help her “understand what Coloradans feel is important, what issues our community faces and how she can help bring significant news stories to television viewers, not only in Denver, but nationwide.”

By the time one ascends to the anchor chair at a broadcast network, shouldn’t it be assumed that the person already knows what news looks like and what the public needs to know? Does a surgeon ask a patient for advice before operating? If our children say they want cereal for dinner, instead of a balanced meal, do we agree to their tastes, or tell them to eat their vegetables?…

I’m all for anchors visiting “fly-over country,” but given their privileged lives, large salaries and the similar worldview held by their friends and professional associates, don’t look for Couric’s listening tour to be much more than hype for the new “CBS Evening News.”

Thomas uses the rest of the column to rip Katie’s left-leaning viewpoints, but — frankly — CBS has given him a fat target here. Couric’s “listening tour” is an example of a public relations initative with little raison d’etre, for the reasons Thomas explains.