Unrest in Egypt: The Beginning of the End

As America and the rest of the world learned last week, the country of Egypt is in the middle of a violent and chaotic insurgence against its president, Hosni Mubarak, which has disrupted the nation and produced an assemblage of protestors. Tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and beyond in anger and frustration over poverty, rampant unemployment, lack of democracy and repression.

What I found interesting was the way in which Mubarak and his regime responded to the turmoil. They blocked major social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook, which was being used by organizers to coordinate the protests. But this action not only enraged Egyptian citizens, it also brought increased national attention to the uprising.  What quickly became the largest pro-democracy protests in the history of Egypt and perhaps the Arab world in its entirety also became the first forceful step for political change in the majority Muslim nation and has made a significant impact worldwide.

President Obama has just called on Egypt’s government to respect the rights of the people, saying they have the right to free speech and peaceful assembly. But he also said he is committed to working with the government. Egypt has been an ally of the United States and a major influence in the Middle East for decades, so Obama’s call for help comes not as a surprise but rather a much encouraged expectation. Mubarak, who for 30 years has been a major figure in Arab politics, said he will oversee a peaceful transfer of power to another president following elections to be held in the fall.

Although not unaware, I do sometimes forget what an incredible difference lays in the political structures of America’s government and the rest of the world’s. We are so fortunate and blessed to have the freedoms we do. I think about my job in public relations and how important living in a society where I have the ability to interact with the media when I want and choose to really is. This is something that impacts my position and performance every single day, a freedom that without my work could not exist.

 No matter what happens now, things have changed irrevocably in Egypt and will never go back to what they were before citizens became weary of its dictatorial leader and decided they finally had enough. This may be the beginning of the end of the type of authoritarianism that has been the hallmark of Egyptian politics for decades. It may be time to give democracy a chance.

Xoxo- Shonte

‘Tis the Season for Capriotti’s

As I have mentioned before on this blog, Capriotti’s makes an amazing, award-winning sandwich called The Bobbie. Made with turkey roasted in-store each night, whole cranberry sauce, homemade stuffing and mayo on a fresh sub roll, The Bobbie is the king of the sandwich world and a tribute to the flavors of Thanksgiving year-round.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, The Bobbie has gotten love from local TV stations in markets where Capriotti’s restaurants are located. Today, WITI, the FOX affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisc., featured The Bobbie on their morning show, Wakeup on Fox 6!

Every PR agency loves morning TV – you catch people as they’re getting ready for work and beginning to start their day. Seeing Capriotti’s delicious sandwiches may incite viewers to try them out for lunch that day, and boom: new customer! And new customers are always the goal, no matter what product you’re repping.

So if you’re in Milwaukee, go check out Capriotti’s in Chase Tower! You won’t be sorry (except you may develop intense cravings, as our office often does!)

–Alison

A peek into my life…

I always find it interesting when I go to the movies, or read a book and find myself entirely identifying with the main character. It is like looking at myself from the outside, and realizing for a split second what do the others really see.
Last night I went and saw Morning Glory - a cute little film about a morning show producer that desperately tries to keep her program on the air, despite the fact that ratings are low and that she cannot book anything decent. Not to mention that Good Morning America, Today Show and even The Early Show are way ahead of her “Daybreak”. However, in the end she succeeds not only to keep it on air, but to get noticed by Today and get offered a job- which of course she doesn’t take.

While the movie is silly and follows a typical Hollywood story angle, I enjoyed Rachel McAdams‘ character. Some will say she’s naive. Others will say that the show was all she had and of course she had to make it work.

But when I look at her character, I see someone with Passion. Someone that believes in what they do because they actually LOVE IT. Someone feeling adrenalin rushing through their veins when great things happen at work. And for these people, “work” sure does not sound like “work” any longer.

Saying that I LOVE what I do is truly an understatement. Every single part of my brain is and thinks PR at all times. When I watch a movie I wonder how did that brand get in there, who’s their production company and who does their clearance and integration- cause I really need to get on that bandwagon. When I flip through a magazine, I think what’s new, what’s out there and why am I not pitching that section. When I walk down the street, I look at people and think of potential story ideas that I can pitch, campaigns that I can put together for clients and so on. I talk about my job all the time- yes I know it sounds extremely annoying and boring.

But it’s not! Because there is so much passion in what we do as publicists, there is so much energy in the way we represent our clients that usually people want to hear all about it. No one ever says “Gosh you talk about work all the time”. On the contrary- they want to know “How did the Alexandra St. Clair opening go?”, “What press are you booking for such and such client” and so on.

It is fun and exciting when you are truly passionate. When you go to work every day exhilarated and happy and knowing that it’s going to be an amazing day! When you think like that, you forget you have a job and whatever you do becomes part of who you are.

And as far as I know everyone love seeing passionate, excited people that believe in what they do with all their heart.

So get on this bandwagon- it’s truly a fascinating journey!

Xoxo

Sabina

Behind the counter and behind the scenes with Capriotti’s

You may be wondering why I’ve just posted a picture of a TV camera stationed in front of some poultry. Now here’s your answer:

Sabina mentioned last week that I was on the road to Las Vegas to do a shoot with our client Capriotti’s and now I am back with a report! Capriotti’s was given the opportunity to shoot a segment for popular Food Network show UNWRAPPED for their 2011 Holiday Foods show!

You see, Capriotti’s signature sandwich, The Bobbie, is known countrywide as “Thanksgiving on a Bun”. Made with fresh turkey roasted in-store every night (see picture for evidence!), stuffing, whole cranberry sauce and mayo on a delicious sub roll, the Bobbie reminds Capriotti’s fans of Thanksgiving year-round.

So after months of coordination with the show’s producers and the team at Capriotti’s, the shoot finally took place on Friday. I’m a big Food Network fan, so this was a real treat for me on a personal level, but also on a professional level as well. It’s always so interesting to see TV being made – there’s so much more going on than meets the eye of the viewer sitting at home on the couch. One intrepid Capriotti’s team member had to take a turkey out of the oven a couple of times before the camera guy was satisfied with his shot!

Next, the production team will take this raw footage (including interviews with Capriotti’s VP of Operations as well as the CEO) and craft it into an amazing segment for Food Network. It’s going to be awesome and we were happy to be a part of it!

–Alison

Good Monday and why we love TV…

Another cause for celebration in our office is seeing a client on television. Whether on a reality show, a morning segment or in a news round-up, it doesn’t matter- we love it.

Today TITAN was featured in an awesome segment on The Early Show called “The Best and Worst Suitcases on Wheels“.

Peter Greenberg rounded up some of the best (and worst) bags in the wheelie category and TITAN was not only the sole ”scratch-proof” BEST choice but also one of the lightest in the market.

He proudly spun the TITAN 360 Diamond Edition around showing off the cool Ocean Blue color.  Funny enough this is one of my favorite bags as well.

The trolley looked awesome in the shot and both Peter and Erica had some nice comments about the bag!

Check out the segment below!!!

xoxo

Sabina

DMA is the name of the game

Last night marked a big milestone in broadcast history: for the first time ever, more viewers tuned in to a regular-season football game than to a World Series game. The World Series is the pinnacle of baseball’s season, while football is just getting started. So what gives?

Media markets (or DMA, designated media markets) play a huge role in all television viewership on a national level, and sports games are no exception. When the Yankees, hailing from New York (the country’s largest media market — DMA 1), are in the World Series millions more viewers tune in from all corners of the country, largely built on a roster of stars that are recognizable to fans outside the Big Apple. Derek Jeter represents countless national brands, Mariano Rivera is the face of Brioni suits and A-Rod is…A-Rod. However, in this year’s Fall Classic, the San Francisco Giants (DMA 5) and Texas Rangers (DMA 6) can’t command the same attention. Can the casual sports fan name more than one or two guys on each of these teams?

That’s not to say that their players are less talented than those on the Yankees (SF’s Tim “The Freak” Lincecum has won two Cy Youngs and the Rangers’ ace Cliff Lee is simply a phenom), it’s just that due to the pull of the market they play in, they are simply below the radar and command less attention than the boys in pinstripes (or their nemeses in Boston, who shall remain nameless, as the author of this blog post is biased against them).

What does this have to do with PR? Media markets play a big role in how a brand (in this case, a sports team) gains notoriety and thus creates ROI. A morning show in NYC will reach far more viewers than one in Tulsa, OK, so it’s beneficial to our clients who have national brands to focus on larger media markets to better disseminate their product or service to a bigger audience.

Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to blog about baseball

–Alison