Media relations is a powerful communications vehicle. Through reporting, journalists can help improve lives, expose corruption, create laughter and deliver breaking news. I enjoy working with journalists on stories that educate and engage consumers about our clients’ latest endeavors. But lately, I’ve been in the uncomfortable position of educating media about their inaccurate reporting of açaí (ah-sigh-ee).

The dark purple berry, harvested in the Amazon, has been the subject of weight-loss scams, lawsuits, inaccurate environmental sustainability claims and false health reports. Media and consumers seem fascinated and perhaps overwhelmed by information about açaí. Type the word açaí into Google and an infinite number of links will appear. Yet, many journalists and consumers remain unclear about its real benefits. Why?

• The U.S. doesn’t have labeling standards for açaí. Many companies do not disclose how much açaí vs. other fruit make up their product blends.
• Even if a product label reads “açaí juice” in big bold letters or is listed as the first ingredient in the nutrition panel, it does not mean açaí juice is the main ingredient or that the juice has not been filtered or watered down with the pulp removed (which contains many of the nutrients).
  

This confusion will begin to clear when Sambazon (client), the global leader in açaí, launches a new consumer awareness campaign: Real Deal Açaí.The campaign will expose the lack of transparency in labeling açaí products, urging consumers to learn about types and amounts of açaí in products and asking companies to be transparent about what their products actually contain. The campaign will include an informational hang tag, a webpage and a nutrition spokesperson.

If you find yourself having to educate media about your clients’ products or services, it might be a good idea to follow Sambazon’s example and create an awareness campaign. If media don’t understand your product, chances are your consumer audience probably won’t either.

--Maureen O’Connell, Senior Account Supervisor

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate to attend GasPedal’s Word of Mouth Supergenius conference in New York City. It’s nice on occasion to step away from my day-to-day work and just spend the day learning. The big win comes when I get energized and inspired to try new things that can make me a better professional. That’s what the day represented for me, and there are nuggets I took away that all professional communicators can learn from.

Word of mouth (WOM) is nothing new. In reality, it’s one of the oldest communication channels in existence. But, with the decline of some traditional channels and the emergence of social media, WOM is increasing in importance and perhaps now easier to spark and facilitate than ever before. One only has to consider recent phenomena such as Zappos’ customer service, the Old Spice guy and Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World.

It’s easy for most of us to spot successful WOM, but achieving it is another story. It reminds me in some ways of when I hear people talking about creating a “viral video.” It’s tough to do when you’re assuming you can guarantee something will go viral, which we all know isn’t possible. It’s the same with WOM – it takes time, a thoughtful approach and a pinch of luck. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try because WOM can be a powerful weapon in our ever-evolving communications arsenal.

GasPedal presented the “5 Ts” of WOM campaigns:

1. Talkers - who will tell their friends about you?
2. Topics - what will they talk about?
3. Tools - how can you help the message travel?
4. Taking Part - how should you join the conversation?
5. Tracking - what are people saying about you?
   

For most people, it would be pretty easy to sit down for 30 minutes and figure out nos. 1, 3, 4 and 5. But no. 2 is the special sauce.

If you can’t give your stakeholders something interesting, fun, unique and surprising to talk about – no matter how well you do the other elements – you won’t get WOM. You need something they’ll remember, you need to tap into some kind of emotional connection and you need to make it easy for them to share. That topic could be something inherent to your business (hot doughnuts coming off the conveyor belt at Krispy Kreme, Swedish Meatballs at IKEA) or something you create (Jones Soda’s unusual holiday-themed flavors). Regardless, you need to take a step back and consider it.

So think about it. What will get people buzzing about your company or product? How can you get the power of WOM working for you?

--Marc Berliner, Vice President

“Generation Z,” or children born between the years of 1994 and 2004, have likely never known life without the Internet, cell phones or YouTube. That makes them the most digitally connected generation ever. Although children aren’t permitted to register for an account on social networking sites such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook until the age of 13, that’s not stopping them from embracing the digital age.

Social Media
Teens ages 13-17 make up 10 percent of total Facebook users, but let’s not discount those younger than 13 who are using social networking sites. Togetherville, also known as “Facebook for kids,” allows children 10 years and younger to play games, acquire virtual gifts and watch YouTube videos with their friends. The site requires parents to sign up their kids and even allows them to monitor their children’s use in real-time. A separate social network called Scuttlepad, or “Twitter for kids,” asserts that it lets children “tell your friends what you're doing (...just like the older kids do!).”

Brands seem to be taking notice of Generation Z’s online interests. Mattel recently launched the Barbie Video Girl, a toy that makes it easy for girls to create and edit their own video and post it on YouTube. They’re also asking consumers to follow them on Foursquare and Twitter as Barbie travels the US for a chance to win a Video Girl doll. Other YouTube channels, such as Sesame Street and Fred, have racked up thousands of views and prove that even pre-schoolers are familiar with social media.

Gaming & Web
Children are spending about 17 minutes per day playing online games – that includes even the tiniest of tykes. To meet the growing demand, toy company Fischer-Price offers a collection of educational games for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers, while PBS’s Sid the Science Kid game teaches children all about antibodies, weather and vocabulary.

Going Mobile
In 2009, the average child was given his own cell phone at 9.7 years old; that’s actually down from 10.1 years in 2008. Children are spending this time sending thousands of text messages a month, playing pre-installed games, taking pictures and listening to music. And although Leapfrog’s “baby Blackberry” isn’t actually a phone, it certainly teaches tiny tots how to type on a Qwerty keyboard at a surprisingly young age.

Parents are Adapting, Too
It seems that parents are becoming more and more comfortable with their children being active in the digital space and are especially comfortable with it being used as an educational tool. In fact, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only three-in-10 children have restrictions on media use, and Retrevo.com reports that 31 percent of parents think children under nine are ready to own their first computer.

At this point, it seems there’s no turning back for Generation Z. Whether kids are addicted or just more social, it’s clear that they’re spending more and more time consuming digital media.

-- Christa Keizer, New Media Intern

Remember how you felt about computers from the ‘80s or cell phones from the ‘90s? You thought of them as ground-breaking, big ideas. Eventually, us marketers will start to feel that way about the recent “Old Spice Guy” media stunt, too.

You all know the story by now. During the Super Bowl, the Old Spice Guy sprung to life via a very creative series of commercials by ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. They featured a sexy, charismatic character – along with great writing and execution – that got people talking. The commercials became so popular that the character has gone on to develop a huge following on YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and Twitter.

So what was the agency and brand team to do with a commercial character that obviously struck a pop culture nerve? They did a simple and brilliant thing – they took the traditional, advertising format of a static, network commercial and turned it on its head by giving the campaign the appearance of being tailored for the consumer and the moment. They did this by hiring actor Isaiah Mustafa for two days to directly respond, in character, to select consumer, media and celebrity social media requests through a series of “almost live” mini commercials. From one studio location, the commercials were written, shot, edited and distributed in almost real time, allowing the agency and brand team to break through the preverbal “third wall.” Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore and George Stephanopoulos took the bait, and the Old Spice Guy ran with it.

The results were enormous. Old Spice body products’ sales rose 107 percent during the past month, the brand’s YouTube channels were viewed by more than 58 million people and Isaiah just signed on to appear in a movie starring Jennifer Anniston. But the big question for marketers is, “Where do we go from here?” It will be difficult for other brands to replicate this execution exactly since the stars truly aligned for Old Spice. It had a great commercial concept, a pop culture-friendly character and a developed social media fan base that responded to him.

So take a cue from the Old Spice Guy. It’s important for brands to think about media convergence now. A brand directly communicating to consumers in real time is a practice that has been happening for a while and continues to evolve. However, the big challenge will be transforming traditional marketing platforms, such as television commercials, and making what the Old Spice Guy did in two days, happen every minute, every-day.

How brands and marketers will exactly meet this emerging consumer interest in a tailored, real-time approach depends not only on technology but how creatively we use it.

-- Mark Malinowski, Vice President

Throw out the old communications models. Consumers are taking back control over their purchasing decisions. Or at least seeking a second opinion.

Before deciding whether to purchase recommended products or services, more than four-out-of-five consumers (81%) will go online to verify those recommendations, even from the most trusted of sources. Increased skepticism of traditional media, technology advancements and growing online connectivity have American consumers turning to online influencers to confirm their opinions prior to making purchase decisions. Heeding this behavior shift, marketers began targeting consumers’ inner circles with word-of-mouth then social media campaigns as the new marketing tipping point for purchase decisions.

Today, these campaigns are no longer enough. Data from the 2010 Cone Online Influence Trend Tracker reveal consumers have added yet another step prior to reaching for the credit card – online verification. Thus, personal recommendations alone are no longer enough to guarantee a purchase, as three-quarters of consumers (77%) agree they are more likely to purchase products or services when they can find additional recommendations about them online. Among 25- to 34-year-olds, online verification is even more vital; 91 percent will go online to verify recommendations before making a purchase and nearly the same number (90%) are more likely to purchase products or services after finding additional online recommendations.

The tone of online information plays a powerful role in the purchase decision, often outweighing the initial recommendation. More than two-thirds of consumers (68%) agree negative product or service information found online can be a mitigating factor in deciding whether to purchase. Conversely, positive information reinforces purchase recommendations for a full 80 percent of Americans.

Online verification may not be required for every product category, but our research shows that there is a wide range of products and services that will be scrutinized via the Internet regardless of price point. Verification is now the deciding factor to drive consumers to that final purchase, and marketers who ignore this behavior shift will miss out on a golden opportunity to influence purchase decisions.

Be sure to check out our fact sheet, and let us know what you think. How often do you go online to confirm purchase recommendations?