Thursday
The Biggest PR Stunt of All...
You Gotta Give a Little...
Toms Shoes a small American shoe company is making the most of both its PR strategy through social media and its status as an NGO.
Established in 2006, Toms Shoes was built on a simple and concise idea, one for one. For every pair of shoes purchased Toms Shoes gave a pair of to a child in need a pair. This simple concept is changing the business world and their strategy is as innovative as they come.
Relying solely on word of mouth and their dedication to the use of social media is commendable to say the least. Having multiple blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is simply not enough for Toms Shoes. Toms uses these platform as a way to speak to followers and spread their message further. Using this innovative approach before the days of Obama, Toms Shoes has positioned itself as one of the most recognizable shoe brands in the world.
To change things up this week I have compiled a powerpoint/slideshare to give a better understanding of Toms Shoes. Enjoy!
Bohemian Rhapsody via Skype
Wednesday
Vote or Die... or Obamanos?
The 2004 presidential race, as far as the youth vote was concerned, was a landmark election, bringing out nearly 21 million voters under the age of 30 to the polls, according to Peter Levine, CIRCLE's deputy director
Monday
Innovative Webcast to Educate Millions
- Social media sites like facebook, youtube, and myspace get a combined total of over 250 million visitors monthly.
- Print newspaper distribution is down 7 million in the last 25 years.
- Online newspapers are up 30 million in the last 5 years.
- Internet traffic is growing at a 50-60% growth rate per year.
- Social Media engages the consumer into two way communication and allows for the free flowing of ideas.
The XX Factor
- women find a more welcoming environment in PR and see more opportunites to advance than in other communication fields.
- women still make more money in PR than comparable female dominated fields
- a woman can start a PR firm without a lot of capital
- women tend to have better listening communication skills than men
- women are more senstitve than men in facilitating two-way communication
Seems to me that the true problem here is the glass ceiling effect. The glass ceiling refers to a barrier that can simply not be broken. Differences in pay scale and advancement to higher level jobs between male and female practitioners are two examples of the glass ceiling effect. This effect seems to be systematic and not only referring to PR but most industries are seeing the same effect, however being that PR is a female dominated field this effect seems to be more severe.
It is disheartening to say the least, to look at these statistics as a female practitioner. Out of my MA course we have 30 females and 4 males and statistically speaking the males have a better shot at succeeding than we do because of the sex that we were born with. However, change is on the rise and it is up to females to rise above. We should no longer accept a technician role as success, but strive for a higher position. The stage is set for success, but will men get there before us?