Katie

According to the Observer, “Internet bookings will force a third of all travel agents to close within a decade, according to the man who used to run Lunn Poly, Britain’s largest chain of agents.”

While this article was published in the U.K., it would be foolish to disregard the widespread possibilities of this claim. It makes sense that this phenomenon would have a global impact, as the Internet has become a fundamentally utilized communication tool. Travel agents are becoming less popular thanks to sites like Expedia, Travelocity and Hotels.com. Of course, these sites are better for making travel arrangements or vacation plans for small groups, but quality is sure to follow growth – or so we hope.

Therefore, unless travel agents want to dwindle into near extinction, they must embrace the Internet as a medium and communication tool. Neil MacLean’s Travel PR Blog demonstrates how to effectively combine technology with travel and leisure businesses. In his blog, MacLean posts suggestions for travel agents looking to develop and build an online space for their business.

He throws out suggestions in the form of questions to aid those interested:

How about a blog module on the website with evolving commentary from the organisations leaders?
How about RSS feeds for members and the press?
And how about a social media session for next year’s convention?

His suggestions have merit. Travelers are more likely to stick with a travel agent who recognizes the benefits of online communication than one who doesn’t. Office visits are slowly becoming a thing of the past, but that doesn’t mean travelers are willing to lose the human element found in booking with a travel agent.

Getting plugged in to the Internet and online communication is sure to promote better consumer and relations, develop effective and inovative methods of marketing a service, and help travel agents stay off the endangered list.

 

I just arrived home for Thanksgiving break and I’m already making arrangements to fly home again for Christmas. As I begin my airplane ticket search, my first stop is the Southwest Airlines web site.  For as long as I can remember, my family has been loyal customers of the airline and has always preferred to fly SWA when we travel.   It is fast, friendly and convenient.

I’d like to add another quality to Southwest Airline’s list of benefits: entertaining. Since its initial flight, SWA has strived to be a playful and hard working company – genuinely loved by its customers and employees. I’ve always liked flying SWA for these reasons, and after my flight on Sunday, I enjoy its service even more.

I boarded the plane expecting a quiet flight from Birmingham to Houston. But to my surprise, and I imagine the surprise of other passengers, one of the flight attendants decided to give his rendition of the in-flight safety procedures.

I’ve done my best to be accurate, but his lecture is reproduced here:

“Unless you have not been in a car since the 1950s, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It should be worn like Britney Spears pants: low and tight across the hips…If this flight turns into a cruise, use your seat as a floatation device. Proceed to kick and paddle until you make it to shore. We will be right behind you serving peanuts and beer…In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, (which we don’t expect, otherwise we wouldn’t have come in to work today), large Dixie cups will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, or you are sitting next to someone acting like a child, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with two or more small children, pick your favorite and work from there…Federal law prohibits smoking in the lavatory. Folks, if you feel the need to light up in the lavatory, you will be fined $2000. And let’s face it, if you wanted to pay that much, you would have flown Delta…”

Needless to say, the flight attendant had the entire cabin’s attention. (I can’t remember the last time I listened to the safety instructions). Everyone was so entertained by the safety announcements, that they applauded the flight attendant’s efforts and humorous lecture.

More importantly, SWA’s free-spirited policies breed satisfied employee and customer relationships. Employees can be stand-up comics and customer’s minds are set at ease. And satisfied customers are likely to share their experiences, as I have done in this post, with others. Positive publicity for SWA – not a bad deal.

Thanksgiving break is finally here.  I’ve been looking forward to this week for the past month.  Of course I’m excited to spend time with my friends and enjoy fabulous Thanksgiving feast with my family, but I have a secret confession. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been craving time away from school…Are you ready for this?…to work on projects for school! (Yikes!)

I know I sound like a complete geek, but I believe the only way to make my Thanksgiving break enjoyable is to tackle my class projects in full force and pray to make significant progress before returning to Auburn. It is the only way to prevent a terribly excruciating breakdown at the end of the semester. So, I’m going to suck it up and do homework over the break. Well…that’s the plan.

However, now that I’m home, I am noticing other things that I could be working on, such as cleaning out my closet, running errands for my parents, and making plans with high school friends. In addition, I’m fighting the inevitable cold that lingers over every holiday break, which makes sleeping more attractive than building a press kit.

Lucky for me, I’m a project girl. It’s my thing and I feel that I do it well. It also doesn’t hurt to know that everything I have learned this semester will be vital to my future in public relations.  I value the past 3 ½ years spent at Auburn, but I truly feel that this semester has prepared me the most for life after college. That being said, I relish the opportunity to apply this semester’s curriculum in creative and practical ways that demonstrate my understanding and abilities. I feel more confident about my decision to major in PR and have more skills to add to my resume.

Right now I’m running off motivation, Mom’s cooking and cold medicine, but I believe when it is all said and done, it will be a rewarding experience – that’s if I survive!

I hope everyone has a fabulous holiday, spent with friends and family. Travel safely and enjoy the break! Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year, Reebok struck a deal with Mexican soccer team, Las Chivas, in order to launch a product line for its Mexican market. Within a month of the ad campaign introduction, U.S. Hispanics were flooding Reebok’s phone lines with requests for the product in the States.

Reebok made a bold move and responded quickly to U.S. consumer demands. Working with Latinthre3, a Miami-based online ad agency, Reebok introduced Barrio RBK, its first website for young Latinos.

By strategically using a mixture of English and Spanish, Reebok hopes to reach young members of the Latin community by leveraging the international tie with the Chivas and connect them with the urban feel of Reebok’s general market site. Marketers designed the website by combining Spanglish and Reggaeton music because these marketing devices are integral in connecting with the market segment; Spanglish is the language of young Latinos and Reggaeton is their music of choice.

“We did a lot of research about how to integrate that into the site in a smart way,” said Marc Firestone, Reebok’s global director of advertising and integrated marketing. “Spanglish makes a lot of sense from a cultural cue standpoint. It captures the way Hispanic teens communicate with each other.

In launching the Barrio RBK campaign, in conjunction with its “I Am What I Am” campaign, Reebok has put the consumer’s needs in the forefront of its Hispanic marketing strategy. Reebok has its finger on the pulse of the Hispanic culture, market and population, and this awareness has created a welcoming and mutually beneficial environment for producers and consumers.

The most impressive aspect of Reebok’s Barrio RBK campaign is that one month into the initial unveil, barriorbk.com received approximately 5,000 hits without promotion. In fact, Reebok is relying on public relations, Reebok’s general market sites and word of mouth to spread the word.

Reebok’s marketing communications strategy appears to be working. Young Latinos are quickly spreading the word and eager to share their knowledge of the product, thus eliminating the need for big budget advertising campaigns. According to Matias Perel, CEO of Latinthre3, “among U.S. Hispanics, penetration of Internet access on cell phones is at 4%, compared to just 1% for the general market.”

Looks like Reebok has found a good thing in Barrio RBK.

 

In the Sept. 18, 2000 issue of Christian Science Monitor, James McNeal, a leading authority on marketing to children, estimated that “children 12 years and under influenced family purchases to the tune of $500 billion.”  More than ever before, marketers are turning to children as a leading advertising target. But how healthy is their influence?

When it comes to food, it depends on the product.

By the age of eight, children are still establishing their tastes and habits.  Fast food chains rely on kids to consume a majority of their products.  Greasy burgers, fried foods, and syrupy beverages are perfect for children because fast foods are a deviation from the “well balanced” meals children receive at home. As a result, marketers have profited from placing celebrity and cartoon character endorsements on products that fall in the “junk food” category.

According to an article for The Independent, the Department of Health in the UK may soon ban food advertising to children that uses cartoons characters and celebrities. The documents were drawn up by the Food Standards Agency. The FSA is currently reviewing a voluntary code that will affect cinema ads, the internet and packaging aimed at under-12s. If passed, the new law might complicate relationships between food brands and production companies, which often join to promote their products in co-marketing deals with movie releases.

“Role models for children should not be used to endorse nor promote products [high in fat, salt or sugar],” said a Department of Health advisory document.

Not only would the ban affect cinematic commitments, but also cost celebrity endorsers in the process.  If the Department of Health chooses to put the document into effect, stars such as Gary Lineker and David Beckham face losing profitable marketing deals. However, the document outlines a distinction between characters created for brands and those licensed from cinema and TV. This means that characters such as Ronald McDonald, the mascot for the McDonald’s chain, and Tony the Tiger, a Kellogg’s mascot, would escape such a ban.

It will be interesting to see how marketers respond to restrictions, if the document passes. There will definitely have to be changes made when it comes to strategy and brand endorsements.

When I was in junior high and high school, everyone wore Abercrombie and Fitch printed tees. And our parents were ok with that. But if I had asked my mom to buy me a t-shirt that said, “Who needs a brain when you have these?” she would have looked at me like I was crazy. Luckily, I would never want to wear a shirt that suggested a nice chest was more important than intelligence.

I’m not alone. A group of female high school students from Allegheny County (Pa.) decided about a month ago to boycott, or “girlcott” as they call it, the retailer until the shirts were pulled. Their message: Stop degrading us.

“We’re telling [girls] to think about the fact that they’re being degraded,” Emma Blackman-Mathis, the 16-year-old co-chair of the group, told RedEye on Tuesday. “We’re all going to come together in this one effort to fight this message that we’re getting from pop culture.” -excerpt from RedEye article

However, Abercrombie and Fitch didn’t seem to think the shirts were degrading when it began selling them. For a company that relies heavily on the teenage girl market, it appears Abercrombie missed its mark. But critics don’t seem to think the retail giant will be hurt by the negative publicity.

According to David Krafft, senior vice president of Chicago-based Graziano, Krafft and Zale Advertising, “You figure they’re appealing to a younger audience demographic and (young people) are going to want go for brands that are more cutting edge, or viewed as more cutting edge. So it’s just going to be a benefit anyway to Abercrombie & Fitch.”

This isn’t Abercrombie’s first bout of media criticism. A 2003 catalog was pulled after an outraged response to the topless women and bare-bottomed men featured in the catalog. And last year, the company sold t-shirts featuring gymnasts and the phrase, “L is for losers.” The design was released after the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team failed to win a gold medal. These shirts were also pulled.

Now, Abercrombie & Fitch, along with the Women & Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania has released a joint statement, which can be found on Abercrombie’s investor relations page. In the statement, Abercrombie apologizes for the misjudgment and states that select t-shirts will be pulled from stores. Likewise, the Women & Girls Foundation has accepted the apology and noted Abercrombie’s quick action.

The girls might never have gotten their message across if it weren’t for the national media attention. As a student, it has been interesting to see how media relations, investor relations and consumer relations have been used to resolve this issue.

It’s weird to think that today is Halloween. I mean, it doesn’t feel like Halloween. Of course, minus a few cold days last week, it hasn’t really felt like fall, either, but being a Texas girl, I’m not complaining! But I think that since I’ve been celebrating the holiday for nearly a week, I’m in shock that it is only October 31.  However, that’s the great thing about college – every holiday is awarded at least a few days of parties and festivities!

My Halloween started Wednesday with a Halloween social, hosted by my sorority and a few fraternities. The social was at the new bar/club in town, Sky Bar, and one of my favorite 80s cover-bands, U.S. Band, provided the entertainment. Two of my sorority sisters and I dressed up as Jem and the Holograms, based on the 80s cartoon with the same name. It was great, because I love the 80s and relish any opportunity to pullout my authentic and oh-so-very old-school crimper. (Don’t worry, costume parties and Halloween are the only times of year I dust it off and heat it up!) I loved seeing everyone’s costumes, making note of the creative, tacky and sometime inappropriate party attire.

Halloween festivities consumed the weekend – I was invited to at least five different Halloween parties on Saturday night, and of course, all the bars and clubs had costume contests and parties all weekend long. I even saw a naughty nurse, Hulk Hogan and an astronaut at the football game on Saturday.

Despite all the revelry, I miss the Halloweens of my childhood. Tonight, instead of playing at a Halloween carnival, I’ll be manning a booth, and instead of collecting candy from my neighbors, I’ll be doing homework. My only real treat (since candy would cancel out my morning workout) is a new episode of Laguna Beach. It’s kind of a bummer.

Oh well…Happy Halloween!!!

I was digging through the Marcom Blog archives when I ran across an interesting post by Tara Smith. The post was in response to an earlier conversation about the MTV show PoweR Girls. If you recall, PoweR Girls followed the lives of four young women who competed for a permanent position at Lizzie Grubman’s New York City PR firm. However, the premise of the show was not what Smith’s post was about.

Rather, the post, titled “How NOT to be a PR Bunny,” tackled a popular question among my peers about breaking down gender stereotypes and surviving in the PR world. I was delighted to have a female public relations practitioner share her personal advice based on years of experience. And I was not surprised to see that 18 women commented on the post, all with the same comment: “Thank you!” 

If I could have commented, I would have said the same thing! It is hard for most of us to appreciate a woman’s role in public relations, because although most of our classes are dominated by females, we rarely receive advice from women in the field. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy drawing from the wisdom of other Marcom contributors, who are mostly male, but Tara’s advice has significant appeal and weight.

One of my favorite pearls of wisdom, “NEVER cry at the office,” hit close to home. Robert, our instructor, has very few rules in the lab. First, we are expected to respect the equipment and each other. And second, there is no crying in the lab. Like Tara, Robert expects us to keep it together in the classroom/business setting. This rule is especially important in a business environment and it goes hand-in-hand with having a thick skin and self-control. Life isn’t perfect and neither are people. Being able to control your emotions when a situation is difficult or upsetting allows you to build character, and with character comes self-confidence and the respect of others.

Personally, I do not want to enter the public relations field as a stereotypical PR bunny. By realizing this now, I can begin developing the characteristics that defy this stereotype and help to change the image of a female PR professional.

This summer I bought tickets to the Auburn vs. Louisiana State University football game because I had never been to Death Valley and I was dying for a fall road trip. Unfortunately, my friends and I failed to make reservations in a timely manner and we were scrambling to find a place to stay. At the last minute, I booked a hotel room at a Ramada Inn in Natchez, Miss. I was a little wary of the situation, because neither I nor my friends knew anything about Natchez and I feared the place might be a dump. However, we were desperate and ready for an adventure.

We started the road trip Friday afternoon by driving all over Auburn collecting passengers and running back to apartments to pick up forgotten items. Most of the seven hour drive to Mississippi consisted of catching up and telling stories. We arrived at our hotel late that evening and decided to get plenty of rest before game day.

Saturday morning, we explored Natchez and toured the Old South Winery before eating lunch at the historic Stanton Hall and Carriage House Restaurant. Then we drove to Baton Rouge to tailgate with friends.

We arrived in Baton Rouge at 2:30 P.M., quickly found a parking spot (little did we know it was on the opposite side of campus from the stadium), and started searching for our friends. As we made our way through campus, we were heckled by LSU fans (of all ages) yelling “Tiger Bait!” The phrase didn’t make sense since we are Tigers too, but this logic didn’t seem to faze the fans. I, however, was too busy admiring the campus to mind the jeers. The beautiful Spanish style buildings and large court yards reminded me of Southern California, and while I prefer small campuses, I enjoyed walking through the university grounds.

The game was exciting, to say the least. Tiger Stadium, often referred to as Death Valley, was enormous and incredibly loud. We had great seats in the Auburn section, located in corner of the south end zone. The noise and excitement during the intense game was out of control – I left the stadium with a sore throat and a headache. Despite five missed field goals, Auburn was able to keep the game tight. Although the loss was devastating, I was glad that the game was close.

My dad reminded me later that night that games like these are why I go to school in the SEC – to watch great football! I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to travel to LSU as a student and experience a thrilling game like Saturday’s in person. It will definitely be an experience that I will remember for a long time.