By Tony Balasandiran on October 6, 2011
“The world has lost a visionary. And there may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented.” -President Obama | October 5, 2011
We’ve lost one of the greatest innovators the world will ever know. The man who urged us to Think Different, and in effect, changed the way we think today. The man who brought us the technology that have become necessities of our time—the Macintosh (now MacBook), iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. This was the man who had a vision, had a dream of putting “a ding in the universe,” and used his passion to do something we take for granted daily.
He humanized technology.
Steve Jobs was a remarkable man, for several reasons. As PR pros/marketers, building, nurturing and protecting a brand is one of our foundational responsibilities. And, there is no one we can learn more from in that respect. He built Apple into the global force it is, by staying true to his vision—focusing on marrying the best hardware with the best software— to bring us the coolest devices we had ever seen, and creating such manageable user interfaces that he made this advanced technology user-friendly, and simple to navigate.
These young rappers today love talking about their swag. But, if we still used actual dictionaries and you looked up the word, you’d likely see the Apple logo. The genius of Steve Jobs was he created a brand that he truly believed in—not just for business, but because he knew this brand and its innovations would lead him to his goal of putting that ding in the universe.
But, Steve was never complacent in his amazing accomplishments. As the Think Different ad stated, he was one of those “crazy ones,” here to “push the human race forward.” That ding he put, echoed throughout the universe, and that resounding echo will never fade.
Technology changes. Brands lose touch. And, that’s why Steve Jobs was the greatest innovator ever: He changed technology, and built a brand with so much affinity and loyalty, that while others were talking about changing the game, he revolutionized it. Because he was never on the same playing field as his competitors. He controlled the game they’re playing.
Steve Jobs | 1955 – 2011 | Co-founder, Apple Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios
Photo credit: Jonathan Mak.
Posted in Hot Topics | Tagged Apple, brand affinity, Brand Loyalty, Branding, iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, MacBook, Macintosh, Pixar, President Obama, Steve Jobs, Think Different
By Tony Balasandiran on October 5, 2011
Yesterday was the day of reckoning for iPhone enthusiasts. Tim Cook, who recently replaced the beloved Steve Jobs, would take the stage in Cupertino for his first announcement as Apple CEO. For the past year, the Internet had been going nuts about the iPhone 5—from its design, to its specs. And, with Apple’s next announcement rumored for Fall 2011, along with the yearly “new” device cycle, everyone anticipated the next generation iPhone, and collectively held our breath on October 4th.
Anticipation became disappointment upon the announcement of the iPhone 4S—the upgraded 4, including features like the dual-core A5 processor, iOS 5, iCloud, faster performance and download speeds, world phone capability, 8 megapixel camera, 64GB version, and Siri. Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately for Apple, the company that usually does so well with such announcements, it seemingly failed to do something for the event that would a) unveil its latest device, and b) introduce Tim Cook as a worthy heir.
They didn’t manage expectations. But…are our expectations simply unrealistic?
While we were so dissatisfied, cursing Apple for not delivering a new model of a device it had only released last year, we failed to see this for what it was: a genius business move.
With the 4S launch, Apple has effectively cornered the smartphone market, using strategic timing. This release comes at the forefront of holiday shopping season, making the 4S the device to own, and dominate wish lists. On October 14th, lines will be long, and the cash will rain steadily. If the 5 was ready for market, it would’ve made its debut yesterday. The fact that it didn’t, along with Apple’s history, leads me to believe that the 5 will arrive sooner than later. In fact, IMO, the 5 announcement will come at the end of Q1/beginning of Q2 2012. And with that announcement, all who couldn’t wait and upgraded early, will again curse Apple. But, many of them, along with the droves who held out, will again line up at stores to pump more revenue into Apple.
Holiday, and tax season revenue. Can’t knock the hustle.
Posted in Hot Topics | Tagged Apple, iOS 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, Siri, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook
By Tony Balasandiran on September 27, 2011
Last week, I woke up, and like any rational-thinking person would…I grabbed my BlackBerry. Saw the name Reed Hastings in my inbox, and realized I was reading an apology letter from the co-founder of Netflix:
“I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”
Indeed you did…in July. With “news” given the potential to go viral via social media, a delayed response is as effective as no response. Especially in a situation with such heated customer backlash.
Full disclosure, I’m a Netflix customer. I recently switched my plan to streaming only, after wrestling with both options. At the end of the day, I couldn’t justify spending $16/month for a service I was currently spending $10 on. And, I know—it’s six bucks. But, it was never about the price.
It was the principle.
While we were notified about the sudden price bump, it was the notification itself that fueled the backlash. The explanation was why it made fiscal sense to the company—not to customers. As a consumer and PR pro, I struggled with the messaging for a few reasons:
1) When announcing a change in service—especially in price—the messaging must connect with your customers, letting them know the company came to this decision after analyzing the situation, then focusing on the impact on their customers. This is Customer Service 101.
2) An explanatory brand announcement should be tailored around the customer. Make it a personal one that makes them feel like the company they’re paying for a service values them. “Dear Tony” does not personalize the message, btw.
3) Work to put out the flames when they start—not after they’ve spread like wildfire. PR crises happen daily. It’s the world we live in. The key is preparation and knowing your audiences, to understand how to properly communicate with them, in a manner that will effectively engage them. Addressing the situation immediately is typically a good first step.
So that’s that. Everybody makes mistakes—brands, corporations, and people. Just remember this: it’s the response, timeliness, and authenticity that determine whether you sink or sail.
(Photo courtesy of Caro Wallis.)
Posted in Hot Topics | Tagged Crisis Communications, Crisis Management, Customer Service, Netflix, News Stories, PR, Reed Hastings, Social Media
By Tony Balasandiran on August 19, 2011
This past Sunday, Shannelle Armstrong, Director of Public Relations, Sears Holdings Corporation hosted a brunch for some of the most influential fashion and mom bloggers in the LA-area, at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Held in the luxurious Gable Lombard Penthouse, the bloggers were on hand for brunch, and a very candid and engaging conversation about the back to school season, and some of the great options and features Sears offers to get your kids ready for the new school year, or to prepare to send them off to college.
As we all know, the back to school season is an exciting time for kids and parents alike, but can also be highly costly. As the bloggers found out, Sears has some great options like layaway, to help parents and college kids financially manage, without sacrificing on quality and most importantly, without breaking the bank.
Armstrong led the bloggers in a dialogue to discuss not only Sears Back To School (BTS), but what concerns the moms had when it comes to shopping for their kids, and getting them prepared for the new school year. Following the free-flowing, candid conversation, she led the bloggers upstairs to check out some of the Sears BTS options from varying fashion lines, including Bongo, U.S. Polo Assn., and Southpole among others, and then to the rooftop to take in the breathtaking panoramic view of the City of Angels.
We had a great time connecting with each of these amazing bloggers, and look forward to continuing the conversations with them. Thanks to Clever Girls Collective, Blogalicious, and all the bloggers for joining us. Best of luck with the back to school season, and Make This Year Amazing! Here are some pics from the event:
Shannelle Armstrong leading the Back To School discussion
@socalmom, winner of the Kenmore 4-Burner Gas Grill raffle
Armstrong w/ all of the bloggers on the Gable Lombard Penthouse rooftop
For more information on Sears Back To School, check out:
@SearsDeals
@SearsLatino
facebook.com/Sears
facebook.com/SearsLatino
Posted in Events | Tagged Blogalicious, Clever Girls Collective, Hollywood Roosevelt, Sears, SearsBTS, Shannelle Armstrong
By Juan Alvarez on August 9, 2011
I’m sure this has happened to you at some point in your everyday online life: you’re looking at couches for your living room on, let’s say, the IKEA website. All of a sudden every single website you visit after that for weeks shows you banner ads for couches and furniture. Do you find this disturbing or helpful? It’s called online tracking. Google, or some other ad venue that’s tracking your browsing habits, “sees” that you were looking for couches, and serves you ads that compliment this need.
Because some see it as an invasion of your privacy, this method of targeted advertising has been getting a lot of scrutiny in other countries. In Europe, Google and Facebook are in court, for precisely this reason. Here’s what the European court ruling is about.
Because advertisers can see which way the wind is blowing, they expect the FTC will at some point start targeting this issue in the States, as well. In fact, it already has taken some tentative steps towards this.
This would not go well with these companies, so a large number of online ad companies got together to attempt a self-regulating program, instead of having the government dictate how much they can track you. This website gives you control over which companies can target you, and if you prefer, you can opt-out completely. The program is billed as “the online home of the Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising.” It can be found here.
As of August 5th, half a million consumers have signed in to prevent these marketers from tracking their browsing habits. This program though, doesn’t include Google, AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo, nor does it include opt-outs on the browser-level on Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer and others, so it’s not known how effective it will ultimately be.
Does online tracking worry you? Do you like to be served content relevant to your needs?
Let us know in the comments.
Here are some more links on the issue if you want to explore more:
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2011/08/04/report-scrutinizes-online-tracking-practices/
http://mashable.com/2010/11/03/behavior-tracking-privacy/
(Photo courtesy of andercismo.)
Posted in Advertising | Tagged Advertising, Facebook, Google, Online Tracking, Privacy, Targeted Ads
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