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Entries in authenticity (3)

Monday
Jun282010

How Real Should Reality TV Be?

When most people think of reality TV, they think of “The Real World,” “Survivor” and maybe even “The Hills.” Yet what all these reality shows have in common is their disconnect to reality. “The Real World” is the story of seven strangers who get to live like kings and queens, work four hours a week and go through a seemingly constant stream of booze. “Survivor” shows how far people will go to “survive” on an island or, alternatively, how good they are at playing games in order to win $1 million and a car. “The Hills,” well, I don’t even want to go there.

Although these shows can’t be compared with the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” that network has a real dilemma on its hands: How much reality is too much? In February, Capt. Phil Harris of the Cornelia Marie suffered a massive stroke and passed away two weeks later. Because it happened during filming, the crew captured it all.

The producers decided to include some of the footage post-stroke—but not everything. When the captain’s sons were asked if there was any footage the network wanted to show that they were against, they said, “No, because we want it to be as real as it can get.”

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DateJune 28, 2010 | by AuthorBrian Goldberg | | tagged , , | CommentPost a Comment
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Friday
Jun042010

BP’s Branding Backfires

Originally posted on huffingtonpost.com.

For the past 40-plus days, BP’s devastated oil well has been gushing cautionary tales almost as fast as it’s been spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Executives should have listened to engineers who expressed misgivings about drilling technology. Corners should not have been cut. Regulators should have paid more attention to the company’s plans. The president should have paid more attention to the regulators. Perhaps everyone should have thought twice before drilling an oil well a mile beneath the ocean’s surface in the first place.

As a citizen of the world, I’m outraged by the environmental debacle that’s unfolding. But as a PR professional, I’m fascinated by the reputation meltdown that BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward has been enduring.

The damage to his personal brand has been largely self-inflicted. Even before he was recorded on Memorial Day apologizing to the families of the 11 oil workers killed in the April 20 explosion and to the Gulf Coast residents whose livelihoods are in jeopardy by saying, “We’re sorry for the massive disruption it’s caused their lives. There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I would like my life back,” he was mishandling his messaging.

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DateJune 4, 2010 | by AuthorMarian Salzman | | tagged , , , | CommentPost a Comment
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Monday
Nov162009

How Should Marketers Use Social Media Now?

I wrote in my last post about the changing social media landscape and what the future might hold. The results of MicroDialogue’s survey for Euro RSCG of 1,228 social media users and analysis of thousands of conversations in online communities, along with a number of recent news articles, point to a major shift in user attitudes—and to some serious challenges.

It’s remarkable how much people have changed in last five years. They have new definitions of what’s normal and sociable, and new ways of staying in touch with each other and information. There are new rules of appropriateness.

Our study found that 53 percent of people are using more electronic communication than they did 10 years ago, 48 percent are using more than five years ago and 36 percent are using more than they did just one year ago. Only a fraction report using less. Now 66 percent of us use e-mail every day, and 35 percent are on Facebook daily. (Only 27 percent use the phone that often.)

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DateNovember 16, 2009 | by AuthorMarian Salzman | | tagged , , , , , , | CommentPost a Comment
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