Futurecamp Findings

As our first semester at humberpr comes to an end we sit here in social media class and reflect on what we have learnt. The class was all atwitter as discussions began.

It is interesting to see how far we have all come; now using social media to its maximum to help us add value wherever our PR careers take us and begin building networks that will help us in the future.

It all comes back to a quote from one of our instructors on the first day of school:
"It is okay to be a B student, but be an A+ networker"

The more I learn about social media the more I learn that it is a great platform to get me the coveted A+ grade. By engaging with coversations with people in the PR industry through Twitter, blog comments, etc. and adding value through your own opinion and knowledge in given areas it can link you with people you would otherwise never have the chance to interact with.

To check out what fellow 1C students have to say check out Caitlin's blog for some 10 second interviews.

Mow Your Lawn

I am loving this youtube video right now!




Catchy and clever Wilkinson Sword has made female grooming different and entertaining!

If you are interested in getting your grass cut click here

Not Your Average Fashion Show...

Last week I was lucky enough to see The Heart Truth Show at LG Fashion Week. It wasn't the typical fashion show that I was expecting. The show consisted of 20 dresses by 20 different designers (with they own solo shows during the week) modelled by 20 powerful Canadian women all working together for one great cause.

It was great to see a relaxed show as the women danced, even shimmied, down the runway. In a week that is driven by fashion it was refreshing to see it working towards gaining awareness of an important cause.

With Olympic Athletes, TV personalities, actors and more there was someone that everyone Canadian woman could identify with.

Joannie Rochette in a dress by Nadya Toto
(snapped by me at the end of the runway)

Art Imitates Life: What are you eating for dinner?

Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper is one of the most identifyable paintings of all time and the topic of The Last Supper itself is frequently the subject of many artists.

In this morning's Globe I read an article offering an interesting new take on the famous paintings: the issue of portion size. It is commonly believed that art imitates life and it has been suggested that by chronicalling the growth in the size of the last supper itself one can see how our own eating habits have changed over time.

Check it out below for more info on the topic:



I think that while this is an interesting observation it is also interesting to note that while according to the art we are all eating more, the people themselves are not getting bigger. So while some aspects of art do imitate life body types and the ideal human form continue to be something idealised.

Think PINK: It worked for Victoria's Secret!

One of the most important tactics in a successful marketing campaign is knowing your audience. Victoria's Secret and their PINK campaign has mastered this perfectly.

PINK has abandoned traditional advertising avenues and dedicated themselves to creating awesome online presence. Considering their primary audience is high school and university aged girls this is a great area for them to explore.

Their strengths lie in creating an online presence in an area that no one like them had gone before. They were pioneers in creating a "personality" behind a clothing line. While now this is a more common occurrence PINK was tweeting before Twitter became cool and their Facebook fanpage is the number one fanpage in the fashion category.

PINK has even created PINK Nation, an online community for PINK lovers that offer them promotions and special offers so that they can purchase even more of the clothing that they love.

Even though PINK is doing such a great job of using social media there are always opportunities for growth. Since they have created such a following online it would be nice to use this to benefit others. For example they could partner with a charity such as the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (which is already themed pink)as a means of using their popularity to support those in need.

PINK has also fully embraced the social aspect of social media. Through PINK Nation, Twitter and Facebook they have created online communities that act as a forum for people to discuss the brand.

Overall, Victoria's Secret PINK campaign has always been one step ahead of the crowd and it doesn't look like they will be slowing down anytime soon.

To learn more check out Aislin's, Neil's, Casey's, Laura's and Christiaan's blogs!

It's That Time of Year Again...

For a lot of us when we think of Tim Horton's we automatically think of several things: A Canadian icon, Timbits Hockey, timbits themselves, Boston cream donuts (or is that just a personal thing) and of course Roll Up the Rim to Win.

I know it is Springtime in Canada when the snow starts to melt, the birds start chirping, and Roll up the Rim to Win starts at Tim Horton's.

It is day two of this year's Roll up the Rim to Win contest and already social media is buzzing with action. It reached trending topic status on Twitter both with "Tim Hortons" and their #tag #rolluptherim. In addition to being the hot topic of maybe Canadian bloggers.

Canadian's become so obsessed with this time of year that it has sparked the creation and invention of new products...enter the rim roller. Apple has even made an iTouch and iPhone app to keep track of your wins and loses.

In addition, this years contest coincided perfectly with the end of the Olympics. Tim Horton's received a lot of attention and publicity and is considered the most popular/successful ad run through the Olympic coverage despite the fact that Tim Horton's sponsored the Olympics in no way and their ad does not reference the event at all.

So what does this mean for PR? Tim Horton's has created such a great brand association with roll up the rim that it basically promotes itself now. While in the past they had launced ad campaigns promoting the spring blitz there has been relatively little coverage this year. They are getting more media coverage because of their competitors (specifically McDonald's who has been giving out free coffee) that they don't really need to do too much!

UPDATE: So despite my enthusiasum for Roll Up the Win and purchasing a coffee one or more times a day for its duration I only managed to win a donut. Maybe my lack of winning has something to do with this....click here. Considering how popular Roll up the Rim is they should do a better job of explaining the odds and chances of winning...so people like me don't get their hopes up.

Personal Brand: Seeing Things Differently

Since I have blogged about the importance of personal branding here is mine for you to check out. It outlines what I plan on accomplishing and how I am going to do it.

Personal Brand Plan - Catherine Flint

View more presentations from catherineflint.

The "Brand" New World of PR

Our generation takes the web for granted. We have grown up with email and instant messaging and have been on Facebook since it first began. So it is understandable how we can forget what a great tool it is in branding and communicating messages with consumers.

As a public relations student and future practitioner social media is one of the best tools in my toolbox. As Deidre Breakenridge outlines in her article "PR 2.0: A Communicator's Manifesto" "PR puts the public back in public relations."

For the first time consumers are in charge of what communication they receive. With so many different social media outlets now available it is the role of public relations to choose which channels are best and for which brand. With more brand transparency than ever before it is crucial that web branding represents what the brands wants to communicate. As Breakenridge says "Companies can no longer hide behind monikers" their human side is exposed.

The brand also has to be attractive. Since consumers can end communication at the click of the button the PR professional has to make sure the brand is appealing enough to remain on the computer screen.

That being said, you need to practice what you preach. No company will trust you to develop their online personality if they can't see evidence of you doing it for yourself. As a result the most important brand is you. You need to ensure that you put your best self out there. This can be done in a variety of ways. From as basic as Twitter or LinkedIn to more involved such as podcasts or blogging.

The importance of personal branding is best summed up by Mitch Joel in his blog "Six Pixels of Separation" where he discusses just how crucial branding is to success. It is a unique way of creating relationships online that would not be able to occur in the "real world". The human element is what keeps people interested.

Regardless of if it is your own personal brand or a client's the bottom line in the same. Branding through social media and PR 2.0 creates connections. The more connections you have the more communication you can engage in and the more people you reach.

Is Rothko Seeing Red?

From the first time that I saw a Mark Rothko painting I was hooked. His artistic use of colour as a means of conveying emotion was something that I instantly connected with. I didn't care that what he painted was a way of illustrating his depression and hatred of the world. To me it elicited feelings of calmness and serenity.

He painted his paintings for himself, knowing that whoever looked at them would have a different interpretation. That is the beauty of his art. It is a means of conveying feeling specific and personal to the viewer.

So I was surprised and disappointed when I heard that they were making a Broadway play, Red, based on the life of Rothko. Several things ran through my mind:

• I doubted this were something that Rothko himself ever would have approved of. He took his own life because he couldn't deal with the state of society. I doubt he would want the theatre going public to entertain themselves with his life.
• And I believe his art is refreshing because he doesn't tell you what to think or feel about it. I don't want to know that something that he painted while he contemplated his eventual suicide is the same painting that makes me want to tell my sister I love her.

I generally support the crossover of different mediums of art. However, this time I feel like I have to put my foot down. Rothko is a popular artist with many of his paintings breaking records at auctions worldwide. It seems to me that Broadway is trying to capitalize on his popularity without taking into consideration the values of the man himself.

Newsvine: News Simplified

Reading news articles on the internet has always been something that I have found challenging. I feel more organized when I have something tangible in my hands that I can read. Internet news cannot offer me this. However, after an internet savvy friend (Kiel) told me about Newsvine all of this might change.

Unlike other news sites which only display news stories written by individual sources and/or publications (ex: the Globe and Mail website or cnn.com) Newsvine has combined all of these sources into one user generated megasource.

I found the best part about Newsvine to be that it is easy to navigate. If you are looking for the most popular stories right at the moment they can be found on the homepage. These stories are a selection of articles that other users of Newsvine have read, found relevant and voted on.

As a result, Newsvine is a great public relations tool since it allows you so see at a glance the major issues being discussed right at the moment you click. The first stories you see are the most popular for that day, which isn't always the case with print newspapers.

Another interesting fact about Newsvine is that well known sources such as the Associated Press are mixed in with articles written by the users, known as citizen journalism. It possesses some characteristics associated with collaborative journalism. Newsvine itself asserts no voice. It acts as a social platform for others to voice their opinions.

However, all this being said Newsvine is not perfect. This is particularly true for those of us living in Canada, since it is an American website the news feed is generated by Americans. This results in little mention of issues affecting solely Canada. If there is a Canadian version of Newsvine out there I would like to see it!

For more information on Newsvine check out my video:

How to: Create a Facebook Fan Page

Let's face it. Everyone has Facebook. So let's use it to our advantage. Facebook fan pages, unlike profiles or groups, are specifically for supporting and promoting a brand and/or business. So for you PR students out there they are a great (read free) way of getting a brands image out to a wide audience. A good example of a well executed and interactive fan page is Coca Cola.

The best source I found for a basic step by step guide to how to create a fan page was this Youtube video:



Although parts of it are a bit tedious it is the best breakdown for someone who knows relatively little about how to use the internet. If you feel more comfortable with social media you could probably handle a more simplistic tutorial blog.

For those of you who don't find either helpful I made my own instructions!

Step One: Sign into your Facebook account (simple...yet important)

Step Two: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the link that says "advertising"

Step Three: At the tool bar at the top of the page you will see the option: advertising, pages, share and connect. Click on pages (you have to pay for the advertising option)

Step Four: Click on "create page"


Step Five: Enter the information for the brand/business that you want to promote on your page
(note: be careful when it comes to naming your page since this is the one thing that you will not be able to edit later) and click "create page"

Step Six: Your page has been created

However, take note, these are just the basics. While this shows you how to create the fan page the most important part is making sure people see it and keep visiting it. There are many techniques outlining how this can be achieved. While the Youtube video goes over this the most helpful source I found was a blog. You can also check out Aislin and Owen's blogs.

Happy Facebooking!