Social Media Archives - Page 3 of 6 - Wellons Communications

Starbucks takes a Venti “L” For its #RaceTogether Campaign

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Wellons team

Social media has increasingly become a tool used by companies to promote their campaigns through user-generated content. For example, Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke campaign provided a hashtag and encouraged consumers to share their Coke physically as well as virtually, generating a lot of buzz for the company and the campaign. However, not all campaigns have as much success.

Take Starbucks’ #RaceTogether campaign. In just one week the campaign was nixed due to a negative response from consumes and Twitter users. USA TODAY reported last Monday that, in partnership with Starbucks, they’ll be tackling the issue of race in America – one barista at a time. Yes, Starbucks and USA TODAY launched its “Race Together” campaign geared toward generating conversation about race issues in America.

Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, aimed to encourage Starbucks customers and its employees to discuss race, with the belief that this was the first step toward confronting and solving the nation’s race issues.

Within this campaign, Starbucks baristas were encouraged to evoke conversation with customers about their thoughts on race relations, and in addition, beginning Friday March, 20 USA TODAY’s print edition included a co-authored piece by both companies that will contain race relation “conversation starters” and questions. Customers were asked to tweet responses to these questions using their designated hashtag, #RaceTogether.

The Twitter community got a jump-start on the conversation and put its own spin on the hashtag, but not in the way Starbucks and USA TODAY intended. The campaign received a firestorm of backlash from Twitter users, so much so that Schultz deleted his Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/ebarteldes/status/580449482917167105

WOW! Just walked into my local #Starbucks & there are folks having a great conversation about race relations! Said no one ever.#RaceTogether

— BLACK CONSERVATIVE (@blackrepublican) March 18, 2015

Ask your @Starbucks barista why there are zero Starbucks in Ferguson, Missouri. Then tell them to enjoy a hot cup of STFU. #RaceTogether

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) March 18, 2015

I'd like to #RaceTogether on an open field, but
Sorry, @starbucks, I don’t want to pay $5 for a lecture on race, and meh coffee.

— ❂ Yübbîę Umoh ❂ (@Yubbie007) March 23, 2015

These were mild. However, amidst the firestorms were some who supported the initiative. Now the question remains, why did it fail? The high level of controversy surrounding the issue? Starbucks’ stigma? A lack of diversity in campaign ads? Or, should companies simply focus on their core values and initiatives rather than push the envelope and delve into controversial social issues such as race? PR News Online offers 3 PR lessons to learn from this campaign for companies who choose to use user-generated content through social media and fail.

The Dress, swords and truths about viral promises

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Wellons team

First of all, let me state my position: the dress is white and gold. My daughter insists the dress is blue and black – but I’m convinced otherwise.

The dress is the latest viral sensation – it was the talk of my office and even hit my sport talk radio station. What goes viral in digital media is anybody’s guess. And anyone who tells you they know for sure what it takes for something to go viral is telling stories.

Did you think 16 hours ago the color of dress would be Internet and social media buzz? Be wary of promises and big guarantees from marketing gurus and digital media experts.

With the media – whether traditional press or social – nothing is a certainty. Anyone who has worked for a city editor or news director knows that.

This week a story took off for Ripley Entertainment about a pregnant sword swallower who will perform in Dallas as the National Sword Swallower Day February 28. A nifty graphic helps tell the story.

Unusual stories, such as sticking a steel blade down your throat, have a good chance of catching an editors’ eye. But what is considered newsworthy or buzz-worthy is always changing and always fickle –again just look at the dress.

Maybe it is blue and black. Never mind, I am sticking to my position: the dress is white and gold.

In the News business, you get what you pay for

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Wellons team

Back in the day, gossip rags and celebrity media were frowned upon as second-tier. In the new age of citizen journalists, bloggers and a shrinking traditional media – the celebrity press is acting like the leaders of the pack.

All hail TMZ – the entertainment medium is the industry standard in breaking stories that people actually talk about and share on social media.TMZ exclusively released the audio tape of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling sharing his feelings about who should attend basketball games for his NBA team. This led quickly to Sterling’s banishment by the NBA.

Then, the media company followed that up with the release of the elevator fight seen around the world between Beyonce’s sister Solange and rapper Jay Z.

These are just two examples of TMZ lapping the field in “talkable’’ stories. Of course, they do come with a price. The company pays big dollars for quality content that will raise their brand above the competition.

What can normal businesses take from the TMZ model? To start with, it shows that quality stories may very well be worth the investment; and it does not hurt if that content has star appeal, either.

“There is a permanent record today and it is called the Internet”

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Wellons team

Privacy is a commodity. In today’s world dominated by the Internet, anything and everything can be posted instantaneously and shared with millions in mere seconds. David from “David After Dentist” would agree. However, privacy concerns are no laughing matter. Vigilance should be taken to ensure that the next breaking news scandal that hits the front page of Yahoo does not revolve around you, which is why we’re shaking our heads at Mitt Romney this week.

After secretly recorded comments from a private Boca Raton fundraiser leaked of Mitt Romney saying that 47% of Americans are victims dependent on the government, we can’t help but wonder why the aspiring President would vocally disparage almost half of his country. Here’s a tip for you Mitt Romney: if you are running for President, everything you say and do WILL be held against you in the court of public opinion, thanks to the Internet. The video was leaked to the press, and now everyone from Jon Stewart to Diane Sawyer is spreading the remarks to their audiences; meanwhile the Mitt Romney campaign has spun its gears to full-on damage control.

Another unfortunate recent example of the royal lack of privacy today comes from an Italian magazine publishing topless photos of Kate Middleton. The Duchess of Cambridge was simply enjoying a sunbathing session on a secluded French chateau getaway when a paparazzi photographer captured the scene. Now, the British royal family is taking the matter to court with hopes to stop further publications from printing the photos, but you can’t take back what has already been done. Amazing what a zoom lens and internet connection can do to the public image of a Princess.

Even the common person is not immune to the repercussions of online activity. Everything that you post, from Facebook cover photos to the latest Tweet about what you had for dinner, becomes fair game when you click “publish.” Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor and lawyer for high-profile defendants, says that young people nowadays don’t seem to value privacy. “They put stuff on Facebook that 15 years from now will prevent them from getting the jobs they want,” he said. “They don’t understand that they are mortgaging their future for a quick laugh from a friend.”

And that’s nothing to laugh about.