Case study: Superga vs Converse
June 30, 2012 § Leave a comment
Mythic Superga were forgotten deep down in our wardrobe since Alexa Chung appeared on scene. It seems that everything she touches becomes shiny gold. In fact, Superga is now the hottest choice for this season. What has happened with Converse then?
Well, Alexa Chung seems the best choice when it comes to brand ambassadors. Nowadays she is the “it girl”, a fashion icon trusted by press and fashion addicts, who has a great power of influence all over the fashion industry. And this is something really important to consider. While Superga is trying to appeal ELLE and VOGUE readers, Converse is driving to a narrower niche with Dazed & Confused.
Superga advertising campaign with Alexa Chung. Images from Superga.co.uk
With her election, Supega is trying to appeal a more fashionable market: professional men and women, who value elegance, sobriety and style when it comes to choose confortable footwear.
Converse instead is now tapping into underground music and art, targeting urban tribes who look to reaffirm their identity through an exclusive pair of shoes.
In their website, Converse offers different ideas to inspire the creation of your own and only pair of shoes. Among other strategies, they have teamed up with Dazed & Confused to support the Converse Dazed 2012 emerging artist award and they have chosen skateboarding ambassador Raymond Molinar to promote the newly redesigned Sea Star LS.
Image from Converse.co.uk
On the other hand, Superga has pushed a celebrity endorsement strategy that has brought their brand up to be the top choice for this season. Celebrities such as Katy Holmes, Fearne Cotton, Kelly Brook, Guy Ritchie, Sienna Miller or Kristen Stewart, are now Superga fans.
From the press section of their website, you can directly buy Superga’s shoes featured in fashion & lifestyle magazines, you just need to choose your size. In addition to this, you can also give yourself a red carpet treatment by buying directly from their celeb section the shoes that “it girls are wearing now”.
Images from Superga.co.uk
Images from Superga.co.uk
Converse has always tried to appeal niche markets but they were once the comfy shoes for fashionable girls too. Now, even though both brands have the same price range and cover exactly the same need, when it comes to choose one or the other, Superga seems to be their answer.
My president is a style icon
March 24, 2012 § 3 Comments
After having seen David Cameron in a sexy and provocative pose in the cover of GQ magazine and making funny jokes when collecting a prize for being one of the most stylish men in the country, I am not sure what politics is about…is a good looking president a better president? Do they really need to be funny?
While some critics have raised concerns about this phenomenon arguing that the celebrity presence inhibits the serious political process, others support the fact that a public performance can actually attract a wider segment of population to participate in politics.
In fact, everything started with the first televised political debate between Richard Nixon and J.F.Kennedy in 1960. TV had already changed the course of communications but after that, a new concept of politics started and the way candidates interact with their audiences changed completely.
The 1960 presidential debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon and Sen. John F. Kennedy, Memorable TV moments
Don Hewitt, CBS News Executive, produced and directed that debate, which proved a turning point in the presidential race. Nixon was still recuperating from a staph infection and Mr. Hewitt gave him advice that could have changed the course of American history: professional make up. Nixon refused to use professional make up, opting for a cheap product instead and his sickly appearance was credited with helping to turn the election in Kennedy’s favour, who was gorgeous with his amazing tan.
Daniel Boorstin, author of The Image , argued that while the debate was intended to provide citizens valuable information in assessing each candidate, it provided no insight into the candidate’s capacity to serve as President; it simply showcased their ability to perform on TV. Kennedy won the debate because of his charm not because of the political value of his speech.
Don Hewitt produced and directed the first televised presidential debate, between Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, Boston.com
Coming back to the 21st century, last month President Obama surprised his guests during a tribute to the blues at the White House signing a few lines of “Sweet Home Chicago”. As a crooner, it wasn’t his first time but on this occasion the song not only suited his voice but also affirmed his African-American identity in the middle of a campaign where candidates seek to reaffirm their base.
President Obama during a tribute to the blues at the White House, The New York Times
Compared with other countries, American presidents are in fact the coolest ones: Crooner Obama, Saxophonist Clinton, pianist Truman…
In the UK for example, even though Blair playing guitar hit the media a few years ago, politicians are more interested in fashion.
Tony Blai, Vogue Men's, The Daily Mail
David Cameron, GQ Magazine cover, The guardian
Janice Min, editor of News Week, affirmed that having an interest in entertainment and celebrity is not exclusive: “people can be interested in fashion and also care about politics”. In fact, mixing both worked for Cameron; he was featured as Style Icon by GQ magazine when he was on the opposition in 2007 and double selected as one of the best-dressed men when being PM in 2010.
While some political communications experts affirm that an interest in music or fashion humanises the politician, connecting him to culture and emotion, others argue that it ridicules them, reducing democracy to nonsense.
For example, when Gordon Brown went to Piers Morgan’s Life show during the last British political campaign, some critics describe the interview as a political disaster. While the UK was in the middle of a critique offensive in Afghanistan and unemployment was rising rapidly, the Prime Minister exposed himself to be compromised about his private life, talking about whether he and his wife were members of the mile-night-club.
Piers Morgan and Gordon Brown, The Guardian.
Actually, the interest in celebrity is greater than the interest in politics so a combination of both has been seen as a political communications tactic to enable politics with other segments of population that otherwise won’t be interested in the subject. In fact, editors confirm that his kind of news help to sell newspapers.
However, in political communications seems that it is no longer about the political message but about which president is cooler, more stylish or funnier and because of that social problems can be forgotten in favour of entertainment, confirming the fact that in politics, style exceeds the substance.
References:
Boorstin, J., The Image, first edition, Vintage Books, New York, 1992
Perkins, A., The Celebrity Debasement of Politics, The Guardian online, Monday 15th February 2010,
retrieved 20th March 2012, <www.guardian.co.uk>
Owen, P., David Cameron: Style icon, The Guardian Online, retrieved 20th March 2012, <www.guardian.co.uk>
Bernstein, A., Don Hewitt, 86; in creating ’60 minutes’ altered TV, Boston online, retrieved 24th March 2012, <www.boston.com>
Pareles, J., A Humanizing Tune From the Songster in Chief, The New York Times online, 22nd February
2012, retrieved 20th March 2012, <www.nytimes.com>
And after all, The Sun shines on Sunday
February 27, 2012 § Leave a comment
“Three cheers for the rising of the Sun on Sunday and for Rupert Murdoch’s undiminished appetite for a fight”
That is how Ian Monk, former executive at The Sun, starts his article regarding the launch of The Sun on Sunday in PR Week and, to be honest, I think it completely defines the whole thing. After all, Rupert Murdoch empire is still out there.
I would say that launching a new edition of The Sun in the middle of a wave of uncertainty, illegal practices, the Leveson Inquiry and a general criticism from the whole press is at least brave. It may look like a joke, perhaps we are just looking at a masterclass of how to fight a corporate crisis.
Although the Sunday issue is covering the place left by News of the World, News International has build a strong communication strategy in order to separate both publications. Their PR set-up has been billing the newspaper as an extension of The Sun, trying to highlight the strength and popularity of the current brand.
PR Week reports that before confidentially launching the Sunday issue, News International displayed an army of trusted PR: Lorna Carmichael, a publicist from The Sun; Helen Prowse, former PR manager for The Sun and the News of the World and now a campaign director at Diffusion PR; Georgina Lipscomb, associate director at Propeller PR, and Raymond Jaffe, a former Sky director and now owner of promotions agency The Promotions Factory, all of them were called in to work on the launch.
News International marketing team has also been working with WPP to manage its advertising across all media platforms and alongside with their PR strategy, the in-house team has also used current journalists as brand advocates to speak in the press about the news paper.
Rupert Murdoch launched new editions of The Sun in 1969 and 2012, The Sun
Murdoch has been taking care of this new edition as his new baby and considering the media analysis I would say it really is. He has adopted a female-friendly tone to regain market leadership on Sunday and he has also hold its reduced 50p price point, breaking down the Sunday’s market. Apparently, this is a beautiful treat that he can afford: Media analyst Roy Greenslade says that it will cost him about 20 times less than the News of the World, with Sun journalists on a seven-day rota.
A couple of weeks ago The Sun was on the news because journalists were arrested and only yesterday, they launched an extra issue, selling 3.26 millions copies; the biggest sale of UK newspaper for four years.
I can only say congratulations but, if you don’t mind, I will finish this article with Dan Sabbagh -The Guardian – words: “Don’t write Murdoch off – after all, maybe it will be the UK that disappears first.”
References:
Luker, S., News International calls in trusted PR allies for Sun on Sunday launch, PR Week online, retrieved 27th February, <www.prweek.com>
Ian Monk, Ian Monk: The Sun shines on UK press industry, PR Week online, retrieved 27th February, <www.prweek.com>
Sabbagh, D., The Sun on Sunday has risen – but a new week will bring even more heat, The Guardian online, retrieved 27th February, <www.guardian.co.uk>
Toynbee, P., If the Sun on Sunday soars Rupert Murdoch will also rise again, The Guardian online, retrieved 27th February, <www.guardian.co.uk>
Generating a public debate: NGOs, Activism and PR
February 5, 2012 § 2 Comments
I have seen so many activist campaigns but when I found out that Greenpeace was targeting Mattel, it caught my eye. They said that Barbie was a serial killer…. my Barbie? Really? Since she is my favourite doll, the whole story became personal.
.
Greenpeace not only released this video where Ken literally insult her girlfriend, they also scaled the dizzy heights of Mattel headquarters to post a massive 100 square billboard in which Ken was shown to publicly humiliate his girlfriend, proclaiming: “Barbie, You’r Dumped. Girls That Threaten Furry Animals Make me Sick”
Even though I loved this little doll, I certainly applauded Greenpeace’s creative efforts for making sound and generating a public debate.
So then, what did she have to say?
In that respect, Mattel answered in a really cleaver way: although they could sue the NGO or start a public battle, the company raised their green paper packaging standards.
Mattel controlled the situation from the very beginning without entering Greenpeace’s game. They didn’t even mention the stunt in their press prelease; they just neutralised the activist attach with an improvement.
If an NGO critiques your company, it is always a good idea to listen at them so an activist attack can seriously damage your reputation. NGO’s are perceived to be independent of any economic self-interest and therefore they have got more credibility than business. In fact, Edelman’s Trust Barometer shows that NGO’s remain most trusted institutions globally for the fifth year in a row.
As PR practitioners we have to look at NGO’s as an active public that needs to be listened. Looking at their protocols and establishing a dialog with them will definitely help to avoid any activist attack.
On the other hand, there is an increasing trend for consumers driven ethical and environmental purchasing so your consumers will definitely appreciate any improvement in this direction. Actually, I feel much better knowing than my Barbie won’t be a serial killer anymore!
Listen actively will also help to develop a more sustainable company and, as a PR practitioner, that should be one of our goals too.
If McDonald’s went green thanks to Supersize Me, a better company will always be possible.
Crisis management: danger and opportunity?
January 29, 2012 § Leave a comment
There are hundreds of academic definitions of Public Relations but in essence we could say that the main role of PR is to manage brand reputation. Reputation influences who we buy from, work for, invest in…it plays both, the emotional and personal attachments that we have with an organisation. It is one of the most important business assets but it is so fragile. Potential threads constantly challenge it and that is basically why crisis management is one of the most important tools of Public Relations.
On the book “Risk Issues and Crisis Management” Michael Regester affirms that threads to reputation can destroy, in hours or days, an image or a brand developed and invested in over decades. That is why this treads need to be anticipated:
Christian Dior’s House tried to send Galliano to rehab so many times but the designer rejected to work on his additions. They knew that they had a silent boom in-house that one-day or another was going to exploit. What they didn’t probably expect was an anti-semitic scandal. In fact, no one could ever expected that his creative director could have said, “ I love Hitler” in the middle of a lovely café in Paris. Even though the designer denied everything at the very beginning, the surfacing of a video showing the real facts, was enough evidence to show that a real crisis was threatening the reputation of the fashion house. During the golden hour, Dior remained in silence. All news papers around the world were echoing the news and the Oscars were about to start. Natalie Portman, one of the most treasured faces of Dior, refused to wear a Galliano dress that night. It was pretty obvious that the house had to stop protecting its designer and move on. To help mitigate the damage to its reputation, the fashion house hired PR crisis firm Kekst and speaking publicly for the first time since the scandal started, Galliano made a statement: “Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence.” In the end, Dior decided to fire him and, this time, the designer went directly to rehab.
Even though the fashion house was living its darkest moment, it had the opportunity to show that no matter what, human value goes first. In an honest statement, Dior finished its contract with the creative designer that had raised its fashion reputation to the top but also threatened to fall to the bottom.
As we have seen, a crisis can threat business’s reputation but if it is managed properly, it can be an opportunity to generate trust. That is why it is equally important to identify potential threats than react consistently when something unexpected happened.
References:
Regester, M., Larkin, J., Risk Issues and Crisis Management, third edition, Chartered Institute of Public Relations, 2005
Allen, P., John Galliano ‘goes into rehab’ and apologises unreservedly – but faces trial, Mail Online, retrieved 29th January 2012,<www.dailymail.co.uk>
Pearcy, A, Dior’s Galliano issues apology as fashion label hires PR firm, Regan’s PR Daily, retrieved 29th January 2012, <www.prdaily.com>
houseofpr.wordpress.com 