Will you buy BP's slick PR blitz following Gulf oil spill?

Nearly 20 months after its massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill – and just as the nation focuses on New Orleans, host of the BCS title game – BP is pushing a slick nationwide public relations campaign to persuade Americans that the Gulf region has recovered. Do you believe the hype? We found this interesting, but admit that we have not been down to the Gulf coast to see it for ourselves.

The information we have listed below is from a Huffinton Post article. There is an interesting website from PBS that has facts about the spill http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/oilnumbers.html
What do you think?

BP PLC's rosy picture of the Gulf, complete with sparkling beaches, booming businesses, smiling fishermen and waters bursting with seafood, seems a bit too rosy to many people who live there. Even if the British oil giant's campaign helps promote the Gulf as a place where Americans should have no fear to visit and spend their money, some dismiss it as "BP propaganda."

The PR blitz is part of the company's multibillion dollar response to the Gulf oil spill that started after the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the coast of Louisiana on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and leading to the release of more than 200 million gallons of oil. As engineers struggled to cap the out-of-control well, it turned into the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Now, BP is touting evidence that the Gulf's ecology has not been severely damaged by the spill and highlighting improving economic signs.

"I'm glad to report that all beaches and waters are open for everyone to enjoy!" BP representative Iris Cross says in one TV spot to an upbeat soundtrack. "And the economy is showing progress, with many areas on the Gulf Coast having their best tourism season in years."

The campaign, launched just before Christmas, has ramped up for the two-week period around the Sugar Bowl and Bowl Championship Series title game to be played on Monday between LSU and Alabama.

The company is paying chefs Emeril Lagasse and John Besh to promote Gulf seafood, it's hired two seafood trucks to hand out fish tacos and seafood-filled jambalaya to the hundreds of thousands of tourists and fans pouring into the city for the football games and it's spreading its messages at galas, pre-game parties and vacation giveaways.

But the ad campaign rings hollow to many folks here.

"They talk about areas being all open. There are areas that are still closed," said A.C. Cooper, a shrimp fisherman in Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana. He listed some bays and fishing spots that he says the state still has closed due to oil contamination. "It's bogus, it's not the truth."

The Evolution of Marketing Agencies Like Fake Grape

The marketing agency ecosystem is rapidly evolving. Marketing agencies and consultants now have the ability to deliver greater value via a blend of traditional and digital services, spanning the core disciplines of search, mobile, social, content, websites, digital advertising, public relations, analytics, and email.

In fact, 80% of chief marketing officers think integrated services will increase in importance over the next five years, according to a study by The Horn Group and Kelton Research. However, in the same study, 60% of CMOs indicated that they are unable to find an integrated firm to meet those needs.

As a result, unparalleled opportunities are available for emerging agencies and consultants to transform, disrupt, and thrive within the developing marketing-services ecosystem via evolved and integrated strategies, hybrid skill sets, and the effective use of technology.

What's Driving the Marketing Agency Transformation?

Changes in consumer behavior and advances in technology are driving the need for tech-savvy, versatile, and forward-thinking agencies.

Building a Tech-Savvy Marketing Agency

Agencies that understand technology trends and innovations are able to more readily adapt their own business models, continually increase efficiency and productivity, and ensure that client campaigns evolve. But how do you create that type of tech-savvy firm? The following are some considerations when getting started.

Is our pricing model efficient and results driven? Is pricing aligned with our customers' perceived value for the services?

Does our team have diversified and versatile skill sets? Can it create and manage integrated campaigns that combine brand, Web, mobile, search, social, content, public relations, and advertising? Is it motivated to be great?

Are services integrated and aligned with trends in consumer behavior? Should we invest in more training and education in certain areas? Can strategic partners fill the void in service gaps?

Is our infrastructure scalable? Could it handle the demands of new clients or employees? Are we taking advantage of cloud computing, social networks, mobile devices, and other technologies to improve operations and collaboration?

How are we marketing our own services? Are we connecting with and engaging buyer personas where they already interact? Do we have an integrated marketing campaign in place that combines traditional and online strategies?

Does our sales system effectively nurture and convert leads? Do we have the proper infrastructure and personnel in place to accommodate lead volume without sacrificing quality?

How do we measure and report results to clients? Do metrics directly tie to the bottom line? Are strategies adjusted based on historical and real-time performance? Do we make a valuable impact on our clients' businesses?

Are our clients happy? What steps are we taking to build client relationships and loyalty? Do we always over-deliver on our promises?

Do we take risks? Is disruptive innovation ingrained in the agency's culture? Do we pursue opportunities and ideas that have the chance to advance the agency, or do we simply maintain the status quo?

Does our firm have a purpose? Do employees feel like they are a part of something greater than themselves?

It is an exciting time to be in the marketing-services industry, as we have the opportunity to directly affect clients' businesses like never before. But to achieve that success, we must look within—and start asking the questions above—to honestly evaluate our capabilities and make sure they evolve with the times.

Thoughful Tips for Event Organizers

Since we are in full swing of event and conference season we thought we’d share some thoughtful tips from TED. We’ve thrown some super, start studded events in our day but the TED talks have a great reputation for big ideas and great networking, but especially for exceptional production.

Everything from the stage lighting to the program guide is carefully crafted to optimize the experience they want to provide attendees. While much of the magic is in the arrangement of elements, there are some strategies that they’ve employed over the years that any conference or event planner can learn from. Here are some tips from their blog.

1. Plan More Break Time And Let People Experience The Event As They Wish
TED keeps people on a grueling schedule. Each day has 3 or 4 2-hour sessions filled to the brim with heady talks and performances. What’s surprising though – especially for regular conference attendees – is that the breaks in between are each an hour, and lunch is an hour and a half. That’s a huge amount of break time at event so heavily branded around content. What’s more, every session is simulcast into lounges where people can eat, type or socialize while watching. These are explicit design choices that let people customize the experience for them. It’s tempting for event planners to try to craft the “perfect” experience, but ultimately, each attendee has a slightly different perfect.

2. Appeal to Both Sides of the Brain
Down to its name, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a multidisciplinary event. Here, this means that a talk by a neurobiologist will be followed by an avant-garde dance performance will be followed by a new technology demo. But appealing to both sides of your attendees’ brains isn’t necessarily about what happens on stage. It means taking care and time to design the social spaces. It means doing more than throwing together a little party. It means asking if there should be music playing when people arrive in the morning (almost certainly, yes)?
Humans are complex creatures. We love complete experiences and immersive worlds. No matter what the actual subject matter of an event is, there is an opportunity to have it be an incredibly fun, social, communal experience. But this only happens if the planners take the time to make it happen.

3. Invest in Teams That Care
The TED staff loves TED, and it shows. The firms that TED works with love TED, and it shows. The sponsors who help pay for TED love TED, and it shows. But it’s more than that. TED is the only conference I’ve been to where the baristas apply from roasters all around the world to be a part of making coffee for attendees. When your team loves your event – not just likes it but really loves what they get to be a part of – they cease to be a set of skills that can be deployed in the service of getting things done, and instead become an animating force that not only organizes but breathes live into an event.

4. Take Risks
In the last five years, TED went from an elite California event to a massive global intellectual brand. Many of the risks it took to achieve this are well known – making talks available for free to the general public, hosting new extension events, and perhaps most of all, allowing people around the world to organize their own TED events through the TEDx program. But there are more quiet risks, as well. The TED Prize is an annual gift of some money and a community of support.

Last year, they gave the award to the amazing French photographer JR. While JR was somewhat well-known before the Prize in Europe and in artistic circles, he was certainly not a household name in the US. What’s more, the project that he proposed was an edgy, community-driven street art project. The choice has paid off in droves though – from an acceptance talk in Long Beach in March that took the house down to the premier today of the first two episodes of a new web documentary about the project. The most important lesson of TED’s risks is that the best of them had the chance to, if they failed, undermine the brand, and if they succeed, to lead the brand in directions both unplanned and sometimes, uncontrollable. With great risk comes great reward.

No event other than TED has to be TED, and what makes a great event great is so deeply anchored in its DNA that its dangerous to abstract too much from one to another. But the ethos above are largely transferable, and are big elements of how great events transcend themselves to become institutions.

Brought to you by Fake Grape Marketing & Public Relations Denver Agency Works in Boulder, San Diego, San Francisco or where innovation is happening. Our marketing firm does great marketing events, public relations, design, marketing communication, product marketing, packaging design, social media management, mobile app development, mobile marketing and more

Is Having a Personality Important for Building a Company Brand?

Yes! Having a strong brand personality is critical in brand building. A brand isn't a logo or your website...a brand comes down to what your customers and partners think of your products or services.

People identify and seek social identity through branded products and services.
Never forget that creating a brand for your company is sooo very important. Branding is the source of the promise to your customer.

In order for that promise to radiate from every part of your company, create the personality your company needs in order to succeed: a brand.

Topics:
Branding agency, marketing firm Colorado, San Diego B2B Marketing & Brand Agency, Denver Marketing Brand Agency

Tips from the Inbound Marketing Summit in case you missed it!

Fake Grape Marketing and PR attends summits, conferences and events to stay on top of technology, trends and best practices so our clients get the benefit of up to the minute strategies and tips to build their brands, acquire and retain customers!

The Inbound Marketing Summit 2011 was held in San Francisco earlier this year. Our heads are full of the best inbound marketing practices - along with case studies and data to back them up. Most of what we learned from our colleagues is reinforcement to what we already do on a daily basis, but we were happy to contribute to this well attended event in our favorite city.

Here are the top 10 sound bites we’d be happy to expand on with you…Enjoy!

1. It's the experience that you sell.
2. We've gone from greeter to concierge.
3. Social Social Social…
4. If it’s boring for you to make it, it’s boring for me to read it.
5. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, imagine how many words a video is worth.
6. Mobile touches everything that we do.
7. Press releases are curated content with brand value and 3rd party validation.
8. You can't define what your customers think, but you can influence it.
9. Retention is the new acquisition.
10. Use science, not gut to determine sales-ready leads.


Fake Grape Marketing & PR Agency (Denver, Boulder, San Francisco & San Diego) has been brand building, creating websites, installing social media programs, developing collateral, mobile sites, applications, campaigns & getting our clients noticed since 1995.
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