Save the Children's #HelpIsComing

Save the Children's #HelpIsComing...

At the time of this campaign (2014) there was 19.5 million refugees around the world and half of them are children. Save the Children decided to raise awareness and try to raise money for the cause by releasing their 'Most Shocking second a day' video. The video featured a little girl celebrating her birthday in the opening shot and finishes with her celebrating another birthday a year later after the effects of the Syrian Civil War. However its the inbetween that is the important part. It showed to affect and ruin that the Syrian civil War had on its many children and families that have suffered, and how quickly their lives were turned upside down.

Birthday at the opening scene: 

 

 

Birthday at the finishing scene:

#HelpisComing was one of the most powerful social media campaigns of 2014. The video launched in the wake of the 3rd anniversary of the Syrian Civil War and really played on peoples emotions. If humanised the situation and let the audience see that this is happening to familys, little boys, little girls just like us all around the world and we all need to do our bit to help. 

The Campaign was so successful it has managed to reach over 55,000,000 views worldwide.. and counting. Save the Children pulled off this campaign so well because they successfully were able to get the audience to relate to the problem and realise how important it is. The video allowed for the audience to empathize at a deeper level with the little girl. 

Bibliography

David, E. (2015) Top 10 influential Social Media Campaigns of 2015. Available at: http://www.adherecreative.com/blog/top-10-influential-social-media-campaigns-of-2015 [Accessed 30 November 2016]

Save the Children. (2016) Help is Coming. Available at: http://helpiscoming.org/ [Accessed 30 November 2016]

 

Lowes #FixInSix

Lowes #FixInSix...

Lowe's Comapanies, Inc. is an American company, founded in 1946 which operates a chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Lowe's has 1,840 stores throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Lowe's created an ongoing social media campaign called #LowesFixInSix. The campaign is basically an idea that Lowes will post clever home improvement tips on social media for their followers to get ideas from, all done in short 6 second videos. This makes the information short and sweet and will result in more people giving the videos attention as it does not take up too much time, little time to get bored of what your watching. 

The videos use stop-motion and clay-like animation to demonstrate the tips ranging from many many different ideas. The videos are a great idea because they really do give customers useful tricks to use in the home and will keep customers following Lowe's if they like the #FixInSix videos.

Here are some examples of #LowesFixInSix... 

 

Use Coffee Filters to keep soil where it belongs - In your flowerpots.

Wrap Christmas lights around gift wrapping tubes for easy storage, in an attic far away.

 

Bibliography

Gallegos, J. (2016) The best social media campaigns of 2016 (So Far). Available at: http://www.tintup.com/blog/the-best-social-media-campaigns-of-2016-so-far/ [Accessed 29 November 2016]

Lowe's. (2016) Lowe's. Available at: https://www.lowes.com/ [Accessed 29 November 2016]

  

Always #LikeAGirl

Always #LikeAGirl...

 

The #LikeAGirl social media campaign carried out by Always was one of the top 10 YouTube ads of 2014. The objectives of this ad and campaign was to confront gender norms and raise awareness by using the term 'like a girl'. Always asked a group of people (male and female) to demonstrate what they thought it was like to run/fight/throw 'like a girl' and all made a comedy attempt at the task, showing that the phrase 'like a girl' is used in a negative manner meaning that 'a girl' cannot perform as well as anyone else. 

However, when they asked a group of young girls to run/fight/throw 'like a girl', they all gave it their best effort showing that they did not thing of 'like a girl' as a stigma for someone who does not perform the best. The video/ad was to raise awareness on the harm these sayings can have on a growing girls self esteem and sense of accomplishment and using 'like a girl' as an insult is incorrect and has side effects.

Even during a World Cup Year when most ads were dominated by high profile athletes, Always ad managed to generate 53 million views. The add generated a lot of audience feedback and support as it went viral all over social media, especially Facebook. The Facebook Award winning campaign managed to achieve their goals and increase emotional connection with their audience, raise awareness and boost their sales in the process.

The #LikeAGirl video has since become the most watched video in Procter & Gamble history with 76 million views.

Bibliography

Viddyad. (2016) The top 5 Social media campaigns of all time. Available at: http://www.viddyad.com/the-top-5-social-media-campaigns-of-all-time/ [Accessed 29 November 2016] 

Sales force. (2014) The 30 Most Brilliant Social media campaigns of the last half of 2014. Available at: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2014/12/the-30-most-brilliant-social-media-campaigns-of-the-last-half-of-2014-152015.html [Accessed 29 November 2016] 

World Wildlife Fund #LastSelfie

World WildLife Fund #LastSelfie...

When Snapchat was first becoming a huge social platform the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) saw an opportunity and decided to take it. In 2014, WWF set up the '#LastSelfie' campaign. The objectives of this campaign was to use snapchats timed messages to highlight the importance of saving the worlds endangered species for time runs out. WWF Snapchat accounts became an active awareness & donation channel for the social medium. WWF would sent out selfies of endangered animals with different catch phrases on them showing the growing threat of extinction such as...

- Don't let this be my #LastSelfie

- In ... seconds ill be gone forever, but you can still save my kind #LastSelfie

- Better take a screenshot this could be my #LastSelfie

Before the picture would disappear it would end by asking for help by sharing, adopting an animal or donating through SMS.

The campaign was a major success with just after one week generating 40,000 tweets hitting 120 million twitter timelines, this meant that 50% off all active twitter users were exposed to the campaign. #LastSelfie raised extreme global awareness about the problem and within only 3 days they managed to reach their donation target for the entire month.

Bibliography

Viddyad. (2016) The top 5 social media campaigns of all time. Available at: http://www.viddyad.com/the-top-5-social-media-campaigns-of-all-time/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

World Wildlife Fund. (2016) World Wildlife Fund. Available at: http://www.justforthis.com/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge...

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Disease (ALS) is a disorder that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. According to population studies in the U.S, a little over 6,000 people are diagnosed each year, which is 15 new cases a day! Although the disease is variable, the average life span is 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis. ALS is an extremely progressive disease and will eventually take away a persons ability to walk, dress, write, speak, swallow, breathe and live. 

In the Summer of 2014, ALS Association ran one of the most engaging social media campaigns of its time, the 'Ice Bucket Challenge'. The campaign required you to record yourself getting a bucket of ice cold water thrown over your head in order to raise awareness for those suffering with ALS. After you have taken part in the challenge you must nominate your friends to do the same, passing on the challenge and spreading awareness and donating to the cause. The campaign generated 70 biliion views and raised $220 million dollars for the ALS Association.

The campaign was so popular that many many celebrities also got involved. Doing their bit to donate to the cause and spread awareness to their fans. Some of the most famous celebrities in the world competed in the challenge, just fuelling its success and social media power within the world such as, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates and Martha Stewart.

The ALS Association spent no money on promoting this campaign, because it was a good idea it sold itself. People were very eager to get involved and do their bit for a good cause because it involved fun, community and charity. ALS Association was awarded the Facebook for Good award in the Facebook Awards for the success of the campaign.

During the campaign, ALS responded to the masses of support and donations around the world with an update of how the money was being used towards helping the cause. As you can see in the image below, the majority of the earnings went towards research of the disease and hopefully one day finding a cure or a way to help those suffering.

Overall, The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was an amazing success and got the world involved together to raise awareness for something important. The fact that the campaign cost nothing to run and still turned over a major profit means that if social media is continued to be used appropriately for all media and public relations campaigns, good results can be made and objectives can be met.

Bibliography

Viddyad. (2016) The top 5 social media campaigns of all time. Available at: http://www.viddyad.com/the-top-5-social-media-campaigns-of-all-time/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

Holen, M. (2014) Ice bucket challenge has raised $22million worldwide. Available at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2014/12/12/ice-bucket-challenge-has-raised-220-million.html [Accessed 28 November 2016]

Stampler, L. (2014) Here are the 27 best celebrity ALS Ice bucket challenge videos. Available at: http://time.com/3111965/here-are-the-27-best-celebrity-ice-bucket-challenge-videos/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

ALS Association. (2016) ALS Association. Available at: http://www.alsa.org/about-als/facts-you-should-know.html?referrer=https://www.google.ie/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

12,000 Mini Miracles - WestJet

12,000 Mini Miracles...

On December 9th 2015, West Jet ran a campaign called '12,000 Mini Miracles' in order to motivate all 12,000 of their employees to carry out, record and submit 12,000 mini miracles to social media channels throughout the course of 24 hours. These mini miracles, or random acts of kindness varied from many different gifts of all different shapes and sizes such as, flights to reunite families for the holidays, handing out free TV's, handing out winter gear and cookies at Calgary homeless shelter. 

West Jet's holiday cheer campaign was extremely successful worldwide. It was mentioned in 400 media outlets in 214 countries with over 2 billion media impressions. In 2016, West Jet won the Shorty Award for best use of social media.

The whole campaign was a raging success because it used social media to bring people together and show that West Jet, as an organisation care about their customers and want to give back. It develops a humble relationship between the company and clients as they appreciate all the good publicity the campaign has created. Throughout the hard work of the actual campaign, West Jet employees still found the time to have fun and holiday cheer when an impromptu snowball fight broke out at Grouse Mountain, Vancouver. 

12,000 Mini miracles is an excellent idea for a social media campaign because as well as spreading holiday cheer and making people happy, the campaign also got the company noticed. The extraordinary scale of the campaign, got West Jet mentioned in 214 countries in a positive light, this is great value from a public relations perspective and for their original campaign objectives. 

Bibliography

Gallegos, J. (2016) The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2016 (So Far). Available at: http://www.tintup.com/blog/the-best-social-media-campaigns-of-2016-so-far/ [Accessed 23 November 2016]

WestJet. (2016) WestJet. Available at: https://blog.westjet.com/christmas-miracle/ [Accessed 28 November 2016]

Ferreras, J. (2015) WestJet Christmas video sees Airline perform 12,000 'Mini miracles'". Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/12/16/westjet-christmas-video-mini-miracles_n_8821008.html [Accessed 28 November 2016]

#RedCupContest - Starbucks

#RedCupContest...

From November 6th to November 10th 2015 Starbucks ran a festive Social Media Campaign called the #RedCupContest. The #Red Cup Contest" consists of two simple steps, first you upload your most beautiful or creative image of your Starbucks red cup with the caption '#redcupcontest' and second, check back on the website on the results day for your chance to be one of five that will win the grand cash prize of $500. 

The #RedCupContest was a major success, generating over 40,000 entries. The objective behind this campaign is to raise customer engagement with Starbucks, make purchasing from the store fun and satisfying so you want to return. Not only did the #RedCupContest persuade over 40,000 people to buy a red cup and compete, but it also got these customers engaging and enjoying their time with the organisation, which is extremely valuable to most public relations objectives. 

The #RedCupContest is an example of a clever and fun way to engage with your audience/customers while sending your message or selling a product. The campaign gave customers a reason to chose Starbucks over other competing branches. The use of the # on social media gives these ideas to gain group interest and go viral. The message can spread extremely quickly if the right social media tools are implemented.

Bibliography

Young, H. (2015) The 30 Most Brilliant Social Media Campaigns of 2015. Available at: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2015/12/2015-most-brilliant-social-media-campaigns.html [Accessed 23 November 2015]

Gallegos, J. (2016) The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2016 (So Far). Available at: http://www.tintup.com/blog/the-best-social-media-campaigns-of-2016-so-far/ [Accessed 23 November 2016]

Starbucks. (2016) Starbucks. Available at: https://www.starbucks.co.uk/ [Accessed 23 November 2016]

#ShareYourEars - Make-a-Wish & Disney

#ShareYourEars...

Make a Wish and Disney have been granting the wishes of children with life threatening conditions for more than 35 years. Every year, nearly 8000 Disney-related wishes are granted for young children, whether that be on their Disney cruises, Disney theme parks, visiting the TV and movie sets or meeting the characters. Disney is the most popular request made by children at Make-A-Wish and together they have created magical memories for many young children. 

In celebration of the Disneyland Resort Diamond Anniversary, from January 29 until March 14th the social media campaign #ShareYourEars ran for Make-A-Wish and Disney. Disney announced that for every image of you with your 'ears' (whether they be Disney characters or a creative design) shared on social media with the tag #ShareYourEars, they would donate $5 to Make-A-Wish, capped at $1 million. Due to the viral success of #ShareYourEars, Disney doubled their original donation and capped the donation at $2 million instead. 

The campaign encouraged the audience to take photos of themselves and their loved ones with their 'ears' and post them onto their social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. with the hashtag '#ShareYourEars'. This became a major hit and caused a trend of celebrities to join in such as Jessie J, Theresa Caputo and Alfonso Ribeiro . This kind of celebrity endorsement is great publicity in a public relations campaign as fans of these stars are more inclined to engage in a social media campaign if they see a respected role model (celebrity/expert) doing the same thing.

This social media campaign was a major success because Disney and Make-a-Wish used the resources that social media has to offer in the world of media and public relations in order to gain awareness of the wonderful work that they do for children and that if we all work together we can help these and many other good causes to raise awareness and money.

Bibliography

Young, H. (2015) The 30 Most Brilliant Social Media Campaigns of 2015. Available at: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2015/12/2015-most-brilliant-social-media-campaigns.html [Accessed 23 November 2015]

Gallegos, J. (2016) The Best Social Media Campaigns of 2016 (So Far). Available at: http://www.tintup.com/blog/the-best-social-media-campaigns-of-2016-so-far/ [Accessed 23 November 2016]

Make A Wish. (2016) Make A Wish. Available at: https://worldwish.org/en [Accessed 23 November 2016]

Walt Disney Parks Resorts. (2016) Disneyland Resort and Make-a-Wish celebrate the Success of Worldwide "ShareYourEars" Campaign. Available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/disneyland-resort-and-make-a-wish-celebrate-the-success-of-worldwide-share-your-ears-campaign-300235681.html [Accessed 23 November 2016]

Bloom, T. (2016) #ShareYourEars: Disneyland fans encouraged to take part in charity campaign. Available at: http://ktla.com/2016/02/20/disneyland-fans-encouraged-to-share-your-ears-as-part-of-charity-campaign-for-make-a-wish/ [Accessed 23 November 2016]

Flickr?

What is Flickr?...

Although it is not as widely spoken about as the main social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube etc. Flickr is still a social media outlet for more than 112 million users spread across 63 countries. Being the home to more than 10 billion images, I suppose Flickr could be considered a sort of digital photo album. It is a social networking site based around users photos. Members upload their photos and assign tags to them, grouping them with other photos with similar tags. This tagging system allows for members to connect with each other and similar interest groups where they can comment on each others photos.

Flickr allows users to:

According to Flickr, 2016 their organisation is the "best online photo management and sharing application in the world" and they as a social media website have two main goals in mind for what their website can do for their users;

1. Available to those who matter - Flickr is aware of all the magical moments its users want to keep stored for themselves and their loved ones and takes it into its main objectives to have your photos kept safe and available to those who you want to share those memories with. One of the ways in which Flickr enforces this objective is by getting users photos and videos in and out of the system in as many ways as possible such as from the web, from their mobile, from whatever software they use to store their content pretty much. This makes it easy for users to upload and delete on the website and so it prevents making the organizing of your images an inconvenience.

2. New ways of organizing - The digital age has opened us into a world of internet and computer storage and the vast amounts of images and videos that we can upload are immense. This gives us all the want to take photos of all occasions and keep them safe to look back on, Flickr gives users a way to satisfy that want and use their website to store and discuss them with whoever you chosse, such as public, private, friends, family. 

Flickr in media and public relations

Flickr is used frequently by 112 million users meaning that in the world of media and public relations it is a wide outlet for communications with the public. If clients/organisations made Flickr accounts and used the photo based social networking site to upload images of their message/product/service, it would reach the targeted audience and allow for interest to circle and information to spread, which is the main objectives in many public relations campaigns. 

Bibliography

Hacking, E. (2010) Youtube, Flickr and MySpace: a Beginners Guide. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/EmmaHacking/a-beginners-guide-to-youtube-flickr-and-myspace [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Flickr. (2016) Flickr. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/ [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Slideshare?

What is Slideshare?...

SlideShare was bought by LinkeIn in May 2012 for an extraordinary $119 million. SlideShare is a slide hosting service which allows irs users to upload a range of different files such as powerpoint, Keynote, PDF, or open document presentations either publicly or privately. Then the slides can be viewed from the actual side itself or embedded on other sites. The kind of networking that Slideshare provides allows its users to retain information and get your information out there!

Slideshare allows users to:

1. Faster learning - SlideShare allows for quick learning, meaning it gives you an outlet to get information fast and in simplistic format. The idea behind the slides is that you can absorb the same information quicker from a concise presentation with well-presented content from top experts rather then scrolling through masses of text.

2. Any topic - SlideShare have an immense about of topics to explore on their website from "experts in every imaginable field" (Slideshare, 2016)

3. Share Insights - Slideshare allows you to share what you know through visual formats such as presentations, infographics, documents or videos. Slideshare allows you to share your content to an audience that is interested with over 80% of slideshares 70 million visitors coming through targeted search. 

4. Get Noticed - Using the tools that Slideshare has to offer can help build your reputation with the right audience and generate more professional opportunities.  

Slideshare in media and public relations

1. Share useful industry information - Through slideshare you can create slides that include relevant links to important industry information. This is a great way to get noticed and share relevant information to the right audience and build up good public understanding between your company/organisation and its publics. 

2. How-to guides - If your organisation/client is trying to send a message or sell a product, using slideshare to create 'How-to' slides can help ease the line of communication. How-to guides will give a simple way to learn by making it easy for the public to see how steps are carried out and hopefully enforce a higher level of understanding.

3. Draw people in - Attractive, valuable content is well recognised between an organisatio/client and its publics. If slideshare is utilised correctly it can help for great recgonition for your organisation/client.

Bibliography

Slideshare (2016). Slideshare. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/ [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Bullock, L. (2015) What, How and Why to use Slideshare. Available at: http://www.commsaxis.com/what-how-and-why-to-use-slideshare/ [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Warring, D. (2014) 7 Ways to Use SlideShare for Your Business. Available at: http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/slideshare-for-your-business/ [Accessed 21 November 2016]

 

Linked In?

What is Linked In?...

 With over 400 million users, Linked In is the worlds largest professional network. The social networking site has been a hit from the start, it was officially launched in May 2003 and within its first month had a total of 4,500 members. Linked In is an extremely well recognised social media outlet worldwide, with offices in 30 cities around the world and more than 10,000 full time employees throughout.

 

Linked In allows users to:

1. Connect - Linked In allows its users to build up their professional profile, showcase their skills, qualifications and accomplishments. It provides an outlet where you can keep in touch with your colleagues and classmates while letting the world see your professional advancement throughout your profile.

2. Strenghten your career - The nature of LinkedIn is a social media website so ofcourse the main theme is communication. Being able to communicate with professionals all around the world provides users with the chance to discover professional opportunities, business deals and new ventures.

3. Learn & Share - LinkedIn also provides the latest news and insights into your industry of interest. This allows users to collect information in the field they are interested in and be up to date with any advancements in their sector. 

Linked In in media and public relations

The Exposure retained by using LinkedIn for your professional profile can be matched by no other platform available. The social media site allows every user the chance to establish their expertise, connect and share thoughts with world business leaders and current and potential clients/partners. 

LinkedIn in the world of media and public relations is a huge asset. Public relations professionals can use this to make many connections in the industry, which is the key component to a successful career in the industry. Building up your profile will give users the opportunity to get noticed for their accomplishments and use it to their professional advantage. 

 

Bibliography

Linked In (2016). Linked In. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/ [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Herd, C. (2013) What is the point of LinkedIn? Available at: https://42hire.com/what-is-the-point-of-linkedin-9a8faf7c41fc#.y4rxs67n7 [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Brown, L. (2012) Ten Do's and Don'ts of LinkedIn. Available at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/ten-dos-and-donts-linkedin [Accessed 21 November 2016]

Tarbaj, C. (2015) What are some mind blowing facts about LinkedIn? Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-mind-blowing-facts-about-LinkedIn [Accessed 21 November 2016]

  

YouTube?

What is YouTube?

The first YouTube video was uploaded in April 2005 and since then the social media site has been an incredible success worldwide. Youtube has over one billion users which is almost one third of all people on the internet and every minute, there is more than 100 hours of video uploaded. Youtube can be navigated in more than 75 different languages which covers 95% of the worlds internet population. This makes it an extremely useful social media outlet but also public relations medium. The difference in YouTube to all other social media forums so far is that its main communication network is through audio-visual material rather then written format. The idea is to share your moments and thoughts with the world with the best form of communication, giving a better experience for the audience, this works well in the world of media and public relations.

YouTube allows users to:

1. Set up your own personal account - Like most social media sites, YouTube allows for its users to set up their own account, or 'channel' where they can personalise the videos they upload and watch to their own personal interest. You can personalise your 'channel' with your own colours and images, giving a sense of individuality and importance on the site for its users. 

2. Upload Videos - Uploading a video onto YouTube, has been made an easy task. Once you have shot and edited your video and saved to your computer you go to the 'upload' button on the site and follow the simply steps from there. Each video can be made 'public' or 'private', giving you the option of who you would like to see the video. This gives users their own choice in using the page and they can still get the enjoyment of the site without posting everything to the entire public if they do not wish to. 

3. Analytics - There is a down arrow situated next to the upload button and this lets you into using analytics. Analytics is essentially how you can track your video performance, rated on views, estimated minutes watched, subscribers, likes, comments, dislikes, favourites added etc. This is a great way to keep a constant eye on your YouTube success. 

4. Subscribe to channels -  Since YouTube allows for its users to make its own personal channels it also allows for those channels to connect with one another and 'Subscribe' to their page, giving them access and notifications of when new videos are uploaded to 'channels' they have found interest in. Despite the enormous size of the site, YouTube does its best to promote the largest channels with good content, based on ad sales. 

YouTube in media and public relations:

1. Brand Awareness - Youtube is a great outlet to launch a new product or idea, giving you a great way to show its uses and benefits through the art of audio-visual language. Youtube is a free communicative channel with a huge potential audience giving you so much opportunity to promote and build brand awareness for your company/client. 

2. Communicate messages - Youtube not only allows you to communicate with the local audience but to spread a message worldwide. YouTube allows for the use of over 75 languages meaning you can reach those all around the world without the added pressure of a language barrier by adding subtitles to your message. 

3. Respond fast to risk - Organisations can respond quickly to any potential crisis due to one of their videos or somebody elses video. Analytics allows for us to monitor everything and may help in fast acting to prevent or stop a crisis. 

4. Personal touch - By using what YouTube has to offer, PR companies can add some humanity to a faceless corporation, by sharing videos of their work place or personal messages from faces of the organisation. This will help the publics to connect more with your organisation and message and hopefully bring more support. Many companies use YouTube to display the benefits of working for them and has become an essential part in the recruiting process for big organisations. 

Bibliography

Larson, E. (2013) The Beginners Guide to YouTube. Available at: http://mashable.com/2013/10/05/youtube-beginner-guide/#2cR9EZNRkkqa [Accessed 01 November 2016]

Galuszek, M. (2013) Why PR Professionals should pay more attention to YouTube. Available at: http://blog.lspr-education.com/pr/warning-htmlspecialchars-function-htmlspecialchars-charset-utf-7-not-supported-assuming-iso-8859-1-in-hometuumbormpublic_htmlblogwp-includesformatting-php-on-line-2747why-pr-professio/ [Accessed 01 November 2016]

Factslides. (2016) Factslides. Available at: http://www.factslides.com/ [Accessed 01 November 2016]