"Swim the M50!", is this the future for print magazines and info on happenings in media...

“Swim the M50!” - & help a charity

“Swim the M50” takes place tomorrow, Wednesday 29^th October between 7am and 10pm at the swimming pools in Ballyfermot, Ballymun, Finglas and Markievicz Sports & Fitness Centres. This is a shameless plug for an event I’m involved with – but it’s all in a good cause. 

The Challenge at each Centre is to have people swim a total of 45km or 1,800 lengths during the day – so whether you can do 1 length or 100, your help in getting to the overall total will be warmly welcomed!  Admission at the Centres is free tomorrow but participants and onlookers will be invited to donate to a local charity collecting at each of the Centres.  “Swim the M50!” was devised to mark the rebranding of Dublin City Council Sports & Fitness Centres and aims to create an added buzz and excitement around each Centre in their own local community. www.dublincity.ie/sportsandfitness

The future for print magazines?

This is a very interesting development from Brazil - it does sound a bit cumbersome and can’t imagine how much it costs - but I’m sure it will be simplified over time!  Trialled in a special edition of a celebrity magazine, readers could ‘like’ products on Facebook by pressing buttons embedded in the print editions.  Readers signed up via Facebook to receive the magazine and each one had a chip embedded with a link to that reader’s own Facebook page.

http://www.springwise.com/print-magazine-features-working-facebook-like-buttons/

Some quick media updates:

It’s been a busy few days with media announcements which may be of interest to your business – they include:

the launch of a new online food and drink Irish magazine – www.thetaste.ie – and some info on that is here:

http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/48118-new-online-food-and-drink/

from the people who bring you Joe.ie and Her.ie comes the news that on 6^th November a new sports online platform will be launched – more detail on Sportsjoe.ie here

http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/48140-sportsjoe-ie-to-launch-next/

two UTV Ireland/Newstalk stories here – Newstalk will be supplying news for UTV Ireland when it starts broadcasting in the New Year and Newstalk Breakfast presenter, Chris Donoghue becomes the Anchor for news and current affairs on the new TV station but will also retain his breakfast stint at Newstalk – good news as Ivan wouldn’t be the same without Chris!

http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/48103-newstalk-to-supply-news/

http://www.businessandleadership.com/marketing/item/48072-utv-ireland-announces-chris/

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PR lessons from "Gone Girl", design a 'Guybrator' & who'd be Sinn Fein's PRO this week

4 PR lessons from “Gone Girl”

Fresh from seeing the film last night, I couldn’t resist this piece offering PR lessons from the book and film!  The tips include preparing for the media, coming clean and calling in the experts.  What was shown to great effect in the film is how quickly the story caught hold and how Nick found himself under siege by the media with his marriage being discussed and torn apart on TV by so-called ‘experts’!   And a couple of twists later -  how he is loved by the media!

http://bit.ly/ZLziiy

Design a Guybrator please!

It’s all about the language you use - whether selling a vibrator, guybrator or an e-cigarette according to the case studies in this interesting article.   When the guys who designed “Pulse” – a guybrator – or vibrator for men – stopped calling it a ‘sex toy’ and instead described it as a “therapeutic massager for the health and wellness sector”, designers and the banks began to listen!  Similarly the ‘Blu Ecig’ is not described as a smoking cessation device but as a ‘lifestyle choice’.  Design-wise, it’s black with a blue tip which re-enforces that messaging.  When selling a controversial product, the advice is to “do it with conviction” – like Red Bull does.

http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/oct/20/challenge-of-selling-controversial-product

Worst PR job this week – PRO for Sinn Fein?

I don’t usually go political in my blog but, from a communications point of view, it will be a challenging week for Sinn Fein.  Who’d want to be their public relations officer?  Interesting to see how they handle the Mairia Cahill story over the next few days?  How will Mary Lou McDonald separate the ‘new’ Sinn Fein from the old?  For example, Mairia Cahill, who seems to be brave beyond belief and believed by most people, stated this morning on Newstalk Breakfast that her grandfather recruited Gerry Adams into the IRA – yet he still maintains he was never a member. Ms. McDonald made a point of emphasising her Dublin roots i.e far removed from what went on in Belfast during those years.  So how will she show Sinn Fein has moved on and is an open transparent organisation while supporting Gerry Adams’ denial and the old SF/IRA hierarchy?

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/mairia-cahill-my-grandfather-recruited-gerry-adams-into-the-ira-30677311.html

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Snapchat introduces opt-in ads, Don't over-promise and is your Press Release easy to scan?

Snapchat introduces Opt-in Ads

Be interesting to see how this works – Snapchat has introduced opt-in ads as it tries to monetise its 100+ million users.  The ads will be woven in with ‘stories’ which last 24 hours and not just seconds.  This will be avidly watched by brands targeting a younger target audience – apparently Lynx and McDonald’s trialled the ads on a limited basis.

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/4011838.article?cmpid=directfocus_596317

Don’t over-promise

Reading the article below – which is about getting an online business ready for Christmas - reminded me of a recent disappointing experience I had when I checked out a new Irish online store for yoga and fitness gear.  I've seen this company profiled quite extensively in the Irish media - broadcast and print- and am in the market for some Pilates clothing.  The owner also referenced Sweaty Betty whose clothes I really like (see photo above) – they’re pricey but good quality and are designed to meet the requirements of people doing yoga, pilates, running etc.  Anyway when I logged on, I was disappointed with the very small selection of clothing on offer from the new company – a big fuss had been made about a limited offering. I acknowledge that they are only starting out and that the stock may be increased as the business grows – I hope so.  But my advice is, only do a soft launch when you’re starting out especially if only offering a limited stock.

http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/oct/13/ecommerce-online-shop-winter-sales

Is your press release easy to scan?

Newsrooms are like many businesses – they’ve cut back on staff over the past few years which means journalists are even busier.  Many also have to produce content for online as well as offline versions – and they receive hundreds and even thousands of emails daily – of which your press release is just one.  So chances are they will scan the release first to see if there’s anything of interest for them.  The article below has tips on how to make that easy for them including putting the news up front, using bullet points and cutting out the faff.

http://bit.ly/1w1YmMT

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Now we have "Super Thursday", finding your voice on Twitter & Guardian launches online book store

Introducing “Super Thursday”

We’re familiar with “Black Friday” (day after Thanksgiving) and “Mega Monday” (biggest day for pre-Xmas online sales – but I don’t know which Monday that is?!!) – anyway, this Thursday 9^th October is officially “Super Thursday” – where independent booksellers will launch 315 new titles in the race for the Christmas best-seller.  Unofficially apparently they’ve done it before but this year the publishers have got behind them.  It’s a big campaign as they’ve got artist Tracy Emin on board as the face of the campaign and she’s also designed a “Books are my Bag” Tote – literary ‘celebs’ including Michael Palin are also lending their support.  Interesting to see how this goes – and what amazon and the big book retailers do?

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/05/bookshops-super-thursday-publishing

Twitter helps SMEs sing!

I missed this article when it first appeared in September but it’s got one crucial  message – how having your own ‘voice’ helps SMEs distinguish themselves on Twitter.   But my tuppence worth is that this actually has a wider application than just Twitter – the same ‘voice’ should be used in all communication whether it’s via online or offline media, with customers, with staff, with stakeholders, with whoever!

http://www.independent.ie/business/technology/news/twitter-can-really-help-small-businesses-to-sing-30560590.html

Newspaper looks at new way to generate income

This is an interesting development from the Guardian newspaper – it has launched its own online bookshop – how long until the Irish Times does likewise?!  I’m on a panel regularly surveyed by the Times and a recent survey asked about a book club – so surely an online shop is not far behind?!  I like the Guardian’s honesty about their rationale – “Every book you buy from us helps the Guardian to continue providing free online global news and supports independent, liberal journalism.”

http://bookshop.theguardian.com/?CMP=ema_2167

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