LA Publicist on Image and Branding

Since we were little we have seen images of our favorite brands which will stick with us forever: Tony the Tiger, Pilssbury Doughbough and the Michelin Man just to name a few. We associate a name with a face and in this case a brand with their brand mascot.

Now that People has announced their” Most Beautiful” list, Inside Scoop SF is creating their “Most Beautiful People in Food list”. Among some of their popular contenders are: Aunt Jemima, Chicken of the Sea Mermaid and Samuel Adams.

Working in a pr agency you learn the importance of image and branding yourself properly. When it comes to food, some people are more familiar with products based on their appearance or looks. When you are buying salt, many people do not know that the brand is Morton’s, rather it’s the one with the girl in a yellow dress and an umbrella. Next time you go to the store check out how many of the logo’s you know or are conscious of…it’s pretty shocking!

To cast your vote on the “Most Beautiful People in Food” visit: http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2011/04/26/the-35-most-beautiful-people-in-food/

Xx

Maithili

What this LA publicist can learn from Anna Wintour

In the game of LA public relations, or public relations anywhere for that matter, you are always learning. Once you stop learning, you know you are doing something wrong. Working in PR since 2004, I can easily say that I have continued to do new things, do things in different ways, and time after time I have remolded my idea of what I think public relations really is. Of course, working in PR means booking press and interacting with the media, but today more than ever it is so much more than that.

Today working in public relations (at least in the type of public relations that Konnect PR prides itself on offering) is a lot about branding. After all, you cannot help a client achieve success if you don’t understand their brand and the overall message they are trying to get across. Publicists help build brands and as such we sometimes like to playfully refer to ourselves as “brand specialists.” At our pr agency, we have done things for clients that far exceed the realm of typical PR including things like helping to build a website from nothing, facilitating sales with well-known sites like GILT, heck, we have even helped with the development of logos, lookbooks, catalogs, etc. I digress. The point is, as publicists we have become very aware and educated on the power of branding – whether it be for a company, a person, a product, etc.

Upon reading the latest edition of WSJ Magazine, I came across an article that for me (a fashion junkie) was a must-read. The article is titled “Brand Anna” and is a feature on the brand, the icon, that is Anna Wintour, the Editor in Chief (EIC) of Vogue.

While Anna may be on the opposite side of the media spectrum (in theory, I am the one pitching and she is the one being pitched) there is so much that any publicist… or rather, ANYONE, could learn about branding from the queen herself. Anna has created an empire (a brand) for Vogue as one of the most serious and well-read fashion publications in the world, and her as EIC is part of that brand (I am not even going to delve into how smart that is and how that has, no doubt, contributed to her 23 year reign). In addition to giving a certain life and spirit to the magazine, she has also created a separate brand for herself, so much so that she is even a caricature now, complete with a short bob and round rim glasses. Immortalized in film form in The Devil Wears Prada and The September Issue, Anna has crossed over from being just an editor of a magazine to an international figure of power. Well it is my job to know editors of magazines, I can bet that the general public is not aware of many people in this position, except for maybe Anna.

While I am going to try to refrain from entering into total sad fandom, and while I promise I am not going to summarize the entire article for you, I do recommend reading it for yourself. If not captivated by this woman’s amazing life, and even if you are not impressed by her extensive list of credits and contacts, try and see her for the amazing brand cultivator that she is.

x Monica

Dr. Pepper: Not for Women?

Working in LA Public Relations, it has become second nature for me to check marketing and PR websites daily and I love to share when something stands out to me. This week, it is Dr. Pepper’s new soda, Dr. Pepper Ten, and its advertising campaign.

With this soda, Dr. Pepper is trying to overcome the stigma that diet sodas cannot be targeted to men. As diet sodas seem to be the future for the beverage companies, it is integral for them to incorporate men into their target audience. The key message of this new product is most obviously: This is the full-flavor diet soda for the man’s man. Men who are masculine can drink this low-calorie soda without feeling like it was meant for women; in fact it is expressly branded as “Not for Women.”

In branding this soda, Dr. Pepper has taken a very buzz-worthy approach. Take a look at their advertisement below:

This attention-capturing commercial targets men and tells women to “keep the romantic comedies and lady drinks.” The question is, does this deter women from trying the drink or make them want to try it even more? Did the advertisement go too far or is it perfect for attracting attention to the new beverage? These are the types of questions we ask at our public relations agency.

Only time will tell how this soda fares with the public.

~Hilary

Oprah’s OWN

As 30 Rock’s Liz Lemon once said, “I’m not religious, I just do whatever Oprah tells me to do.” In this office, we love Oprah. Getting placements in her O Magazine is pretty much the holy grail of consumer PR and cause for much celebration.

Today, Oprah unveiled the logo for her new network, OWN:

A logo plays a huge part of a network’s branding and recognition. NBC’s peacock, CBS’s eye, the E! exclamation point…even ESPN’s blocky red letters all create instant recognition wherever they appear. NBC has even launched its current ad campaign (“More colorful”) around the vibrant hues of its signature bird.

I think that, with time and Oprah’s unfathomable powers, the brightly-colored letters of OWN will become just as recognizable as the examples mentioned above. I wouldn’t be surprised if she blows the other “television for ladies” networks out of the water. Because that’s how Oprah rolls.

–Alison

Le Posh Yoga Photo Shoot

Today, part of the Konnect PR team went on a field trip to oversee a photo shoot for our new client, Le Posh Yoga Studio. Everyone was awesome to work with and the girls looked fabulous in their outfits, generously donated by NUX clothing. Check out the photographer in action:

Photo shoots are not only fun to observe, but are crucial to our work for our clients. Great, professional photos can be used to service media, for the client’s website, Facebook, creative elements, and so on and so forth. Even artsy images, like the one below, can be used to elevate a client’s brand image.

Doesn’t it make you feel peaceful and serene and ready for an amazing yoga class? We can’t wait to see the rest of the photos tomorrow!

–Alison