Heal Magazine's New Blog for Cancer Survivors

When our class was asked to help Heal magazine with their blog site, a publication for cancer survivors being launched in the spring, I immediately thought of my best friend, Gina. Gina was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor in the sixth grade, and after major brain surgery and radiation she is now living a healthy life at 22 years old. I remembered how traumatic the experience was for her and her family and thought I would ask her opinion on what might interest her now that she is a cancer survivor.

Based on the research I have done on existing cancer blogs and the information that Gina offered, I am attempting to make what I think will be good suggestions for Heal’s cancer survivorship blog site.

A written disclaimer, like the one found on www.thecancerblog.com should be at the top of the blog. It should explain that the information on the blog should not be perceived as professional medical advice. It’s necessary because Heal, as an open forum about medical issues, cannot be held responsible if a reader chooses to use someone’s advice that isn’t authorized to give it.

Next, it should state its purpose clearly so readers are aware of what kind of cancer blog this is, because there are already quite a few out there. And my suggestion for Heal is that it should be consistent with their magazine’s mission, which sticks to cancer survivorship as opposed to cancer patients.

Sidebar items should include other cancer survivorship blogs, but also cancer blogs that are more general, like www.thecancerblog.com, which covers various cancer topics for both patients and survivors. It also has endless links to resources that are useful for survivors, patients and families. Also, topics like medical resources and recent technology that would include several links to the latest news for helping cancer survivors.

I don’t think it is bad to use celebrity to get people’s attention about cancer because it works. The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship website used fashion designer and cancer survivor Carmen Marc Valvo to design a t-shirt for their new campaign. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the National Breakaway from Cancer Initiative, which also has the support of actor Patrick Dempsey, whose mother is a two-time ovarian cancer survivor. The Breakaway from Cancer Initiative provides a direct link for patients and caregivers to various professional resources.

Lastly, this blog needs to stand out from other cancer blogs and cancer survivorship blogs. My friend, Gina, has looked at cancer survivorship information on the internet and none of it interests her. She says that it is mostly geared towards seniors and not toward her age group. A good example, though, is Glamour's blog, Life with Cancer, written by a young staff member who survived leukemia and is using her job at Glamour as a way to share her experiences with other cancer survivors. Although, Heal magazine’s readership is mostly those above the age of 60, I believe that Heal could reach out to the 20-35 age group. Blogging, as an emerging technology, already attracts a younger crowd; therefore Heal’s blog should attract a younger audience and hopefully encourage them to read Heal magazine as well as the Heal blog.

Overall, the Heal blog should act as an open forum for survivors to write about their struggles, offer advice and simply be a place to relate with others going through the same experiences. Gina is looking forward to a place where she can read about others’ experiences as cancer survivors and hoping that it will be able to attract a younger crowd who she can better relate to. I am happy to be a part of something that is not only benefiting the cancer survivor community, but also my friend Gina, who has given me a glimpse at an insider's perspective and will help me better serve our class in developing a blog for Heal magazine.

"Dawn Dishes it Out"

When researching successful PR case studies, I came across one carried out by Procter & Gamble that caught my attention. I was intrigued because they managed to take an everyday household product, Dawn dishwashing liquid, and turn it into a newsworthy item. Here is how it unfolded:

-2003, Dawn dishwashing liquid was losing out to its competitors who claimed to offer more soap for less money. However, consumers were merely uninformed, because Dawn claims that just one 25 ounce bottle can clean over 10,000 dishes.
-P&G hired Marina Maher Communications to design a communications campaign to get the message out clearly, that "just a little Dawn cleans a lot of dishes." And so they created the "Dawn Dishes it Out" campaign.
-The campaign consisted of a massive eating event proving that just one 25 ounce bottle of Dawn can clean over 10,000 dishes, Hispanic market location and Hispanic celebrity (to appeal to their secondary target audience of Hispanics), "wow" visual for media coverage, and celebrity spokesperson, Robbie Knievel.
-1,685 people showed up to the main event where they started with breakfast, followed by a "wash-a-thon" with 300 washers, dryers, runners and stackers. DJ's and other celebrity guests provided entertainment. For the finale they stacked 10,000 clean plates for Knievel to jump over, and it was all captured for the TV commercial

The campaign succeeded almost every goal they projected for the event, including over 575 TV stories spotlighting Dawn, a story run by the L.A. Times and the photo of Knievel's jump becoming one of the most popular photos on yahoo.com. Dawn also saw ten percent dollar share and eight percent volume share increase in Dawn sales compared to a year ago. I think this is a great example of a case study that really got creative and followed through with their research. They transformed dishwashing soap from a low-interest category into a news spectacle.

For more information on the Dawn case study and other case studies go to: http://www.prfirms.org/resources/case_studies/Integrated_Marketing/2006/Dawn1.asp

PR Tips on getting your client ink

With the advancement of technology today, there are becoming more and more ways in which to grab the media’s attention. This is great, but it also makes it harder to stand out when the media is getting bombarded with press releases from all different avenues. Now, I realize that I am no expert on ways to get your client publicity, but I did my research and have found some great PR pros that offer their advice on ways of grabbing the media’s attention.

• Build relations with the media.
This is probably the most important way to get your client publicity. According to an online survey by indiaprblog it is important to develop a strategy when dealing with the media. Several tips they offer include, giving journalists exclusive stories, building credibility with them, handing over your client list and feeding them precise and newsworthy information. The survey also says that friendship and sharing good stories can be a good combination from time to time.

• Write good press releases.
Kirsten Osolind, CEO of Reinvention marketing firm, writes on her blog that press releases need to be straightforward and to the point. She also says to “include quotable stats, top 5/10 lists, and facts of interest that people want to know. Make your point quickly and make it well.”

• Know what is going on in the world.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to be well read. As a PR professional you need to not only know your client, but also know the industry, its competitors and recent trends. Kevin Dugan of the bad pitch blog wrote, “One of my bosses always said you have to know the news to make the news.” If the amount of news seems overwhelming to you, he suggests creating a blend of print, electronic, e-mail/RSS/online news consumption so no one approach bogs you down.

• Pick up the phone.
It may be one of the oldest forms of communication but it is still one of the most effective and direct ways to get in contact with somebody. When Al Golin spoke at SMU last year he stressed more than anything to not forget to use the phone even in our technologically advanced world. It is so much more personal than emails, voicemails and blogs.

• Build a good media list and keep it updated.
Knowing which journalists to contact for what is key in getting your client’s story out there. You should constantly be reading their articles to know what they like to cover so you can approach them in a certain way. When I interned for Burson-Marsteller last year they always kept me busy updating their various media lists and stressed how important it was to keep their information up to date.

• Use current and advanced media channels
Blogs, podcasts and YouTube are becoming so popular with PR practitioners because they are so useful in getting their client’s message out to the public in an effortless way. Golin Harris just launched a YouTube campaign for their client, McDonald’s, to introduce a new addition to their menu, the snack wrap. The contest winner will be featured on YouTube’s homepage, a coveted spot for those trying to get their message out, and usually only features big brands. You can check out the video here.

I would love to invite more tips and advice…please feel free to leave your comments below.

Blogging as a tool for PR

When the concept of blogging was first introduced to me, my first thought was, how can firms just let anyone with internet access write whatever they want for the whole online community to see? I felt it was somewhat dangerous to allow that kind of freedom. Blogs certainly don’t have the censorship that magazines, print ads and tv have. I pictured employees getting fired for misrepresenting their companies on personal blogs and people using blogs as propaganda.. But then I remembered that this is the United States, and we use our first amendment right to its full extent. So I started getting over how controversial blogging can be and began to see how it benefits the public relations industry.

When I really thought about it, blogging is the perfect tool for the PR field. Professionals can promote their own business and create buzz for their clients in a cost-free and effective way. They can use it as a networking device to see what other PR professionals are doing in the field. Corporate blogs are now open forums for employees of all levels to voice their opinions and ideas. Lots of PR blogs are from well-established professional PR practitioners who are willing to offer their advice and thoughts about the current PR industry. Jeremy Pepper’s blog, Pop! PR Jots (http://pop-pr.blogspot.com/), shares advice with other PR pros about his experiences with starting his own PR business. Even CEOs like Harold Burson (http://hb.burson-marsteller.com/) and Richard Edelman (http://www.edelman.com/speak_up/blog/) have hopped on the blogging band wagon and have their own personal blogs.

Several blogs are devoted to what not to do as a PR professional, like the Bad Pitch Blog (http://badpitch.blogspot.com/index.html), started by Richard Laermer and Kevin Dugan. They have been in the field almost twenty years and offer some pretty hilarious commentary about the don’ts of the PR field. They actually use people’s real names to cite the bizarre and amusing events that happen to them on a daily basis. Their main complaint and title of one posting: “One year later, the pitches still suck.” Blogs like Google’s (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/), use the open forum to promote new features on their website and discuss recent business deals.

Ultimately, PR professionals need to be tuned into this new online tool, because its their job to know the newest and latest ways to promote their clients. Blogging has created a new way of creating buzz and it’s a great asset to the PR field. Overall, we can see that the world of blogging has infiltrated the field of communications and is becoming widely used by more and more professionals daily