Friday, July 28, 2006

Did I send a New Media Release?

As mentioned previously on this blog, I am a faithful listener to For Immediate Release, which most people (including me) consider to be the best Public Relations podcast. I mention the podcast because they have led coverage of how the press release is being adaped for new media. Specifically, FIR has added a separate podcast called the NMRCast, with NMR standing for New Media Release.

A release from Shift Communications jumpstarted an effort to develop a template of the Social Media Press Release and now there is a Wiki and a del.icio.us tag. Much of what they're discussing is giving the press release more multi-media that is usable by bloggers and online journalists and making it more discoverable through the use of social tagging, RSS etc.

But I sent a release on PRWeb this week that I think accomplishes most, if not all, of what they're talking about with the new media release. In addition to all of the event information, my release included numerous social tagging features, an RSS feed, trackbacks, a PDF version of the release, links to a previous press release from the client of mine, a photo, a downloadable logo and even a podcast interview with me that can be retrieved from iTunes. It also gives me statistics so I can see the number of page views, which was substantial. It was perfect for my client which has online and social media as a significant portion of their overall marketing plan.

Does PRWeb cover everything that's being discussed about the new media release? According to a release from the company, they clearly think it does. What do you think? If you're a blogger or online journalist of any kind, is there anything else that you'd like to see from a press release?

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded

That famous quote from Yogi Berra certainly applies to a favorite restaurant of ours: Sushi Masa. Despite very little advertising (I think the Yellow Pages might be it), they're always full.

In fact, the best advertising for this sushi hotspot is the queue of people that forms every day (see photo) just before it opens for lunch at 11:30. Their 15-20 tables are usually gone before the line is...and if you don't get there by 11:30 (sometimes 11:20), you won't get in. But the sushi is worth it, so the locals continue to wait in line for a chance at one of the tables.

The response of the average restaurateur to turning people away might be to expand...our open a second location...or a third. Not here. Their positioning seems to be a dose of exclusivity with a bit of the "best kept secret" thrown in for good measure. A large part of that aura is the daily queue. Do they make their patrons wait outside so passing drivers in downtown Sioux Falls will see the line and perceive the restaurant to be the popular stop? I doubt it, but if so, it seems to be working. It may seem weird for an advertising blog to ask this question, but: is your brand too accessible? Could it use a dose of exclusivity?

Sunday, July 9, 2006

PC strikes back at Mac attack!

Fresh Glue is evenly divided among Mac (Greg Veerman) and PC (me) users. It is for that reason that we had much different reponses to the most recent Mac ads, which were designed to "take the mickey" out of PC users. Well, the PC has issued its response...but it didn't come from Microsoft (although it should have) or any other PC company. It came from my favorite video podcast, Best Week Ever.

This strikes me as the perfect response to the Mac ads and it took someone other than a PC company to come up with it. Take that Greg Veerman and other Mac users! We're not going to just sit back and take your abuse any longer!