My Life
Slowly, but surely, the (legitimate) iPhone launch is making its way to Asia. Apple has recently partnered with O2 in the UK to be exclusive telco to distribute the iPhone. The added perk with this partnership is that the iPhone will have unlimited access to the Cloud partner hotspots around the UK.
I was watching the La Salle – Ateneo game this afternoon from a local bar in Makati and I couldn’t help but notice how the Samsung Mobile logo kept on appearing above the game timer. I don’t know about you, but whenever I see company brand names, I can’t help but feel desensitized. I don’t feel a connection with the brand. I don’t feel the need to buy “Samsung.” Now, say instead of the Samsung logo, they showed a photo of their new Ultra slim line of Samsung phones (the one that’s being promoted by Beyonce), wouldn’t that have a stronger impact to the audience?
Promote the product, not the company. I can think that the only exception to this would be “legacy brands” such as BMW, Rolex, and Coca Cola. But powerful companies are known first because of their products before they can become icons.
That’s the library on the second floor of my home, where I spent 1/3 of my childhood waking hours (the other 1/3 of my 80’s was spent in front of the television and the remaining pie was dedicated to toys). Afternoons and weekends were usually spent getting lost in the piles of National Geographic, Reader’s Digest, and original copies of the very first Marvel and DC comics which my dad hard bound.
As I grew into my teens, the library was reduced to a fleeting memory and the books gathered dust at the same rate that the newly opened mall in Alabang gathered traffic. I opened the encyclopedia less, and opened my email more. Nonetheless, libraries still fascinate me: Whether it be the rustic smell of a leather bound tome, the whispering voices that provide an ambiance or the iconic librarian that I was attuned to as a child.
I guess the modern day library would be the “reinvented” book store – I can sit and finish a book in one session if I have to.
Which leads me to why I like events that are held in bookstores. If you have the time, do drop by the WeeWillDoodle event this Friday at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street. And grab a moleskine while you’re at it.
In the communications industry, advertising in magazines is one effective means of getting your message across. Placing a one page advertisment on the right newspaper or magazine can most probably get the message to your target demographic. However, there is always a back door to getting published without having to pay a cent. Welcome to the strategy known as the press release – a means to get your message through without having to pay P100,000.00 for an ad space.
I was part of a panel last week at the “PR Rocks” PRSP Summit together with Ms. Pennie Azarcon-dela Cruz of Sunday Inquirer Magazine and Jones Campos of Globe Corporate PR. We discussed the Malu Fernandez controversy from an editorial perspective, corporate transparency to consumers, and tips on how to pitch to the media. Ms. Pennie, an award winning editor, gave some tips on how to make the editor’s job easier in choosing which press release to place.
Are you a PR or marketing practitioner? Here are some effective ways to get your press released published. You have to bear in mind that dozens of press releases make it to the inbox of newspaper and magazine editors every day. How does the editor pick the really good ones to publish? How do you make your piece of paper stand out from the rest of the stack? Here is a compiled list from Ms. Penny with some of my notes:
Although the term is widely used, I must give credit to Joey Climaco for lobbying the term nation building whenever we dialogue about advocacy campaigns.
Back in June, I volunteered my time with the Coca Cola Foundation for a project that made use of blogs as tools for documenting effective ways to help save the environment. This project is currently running as part of a contest for Coke Barkada, which involves the participation of 100+ college organizations across Metro Manila. Meaningful blogging is but one of the measures for this contest outcome as the students have to undergo tasks ala Amazing Race to determine the winners. Here is one of the examples of the blog of the UP Sandigan Organization maintained by Efriel Hazel Leynes: