While most traditional Public Relations campaigns have completely stated objectives and goals that they are trying to reach, Wal-Mart decided on a different route when campaigning against having to give their employees more spending on health insurance. They way in which they conducted their campaign was completely different than any of the other business in its sector. While the Wal-Mart one of the largest companies in the United States making up roughly 7 percent of our total Gross Domestic Product, campaign on legislation issues is vital.
Wal-Mart is moving to the bloggers to help with their campaign instead of using traditional media sources. In fact, Edelman, Wal-Mart’s Public Relations firm, is part of this campaign and says that information is disseminated from the top and then distributed by email to bloggers around the country. These bloggers then post on their walls denouncing legislation for better health insurance for all employees. While this may be an ethical, the promotional campaign used to reach Americans who can influence their legislators is ingenious. Wal-Mart and Edelman say that they do not compensate their bloggers for the messages they post on their boards, however the information that comes out in the blogs looks very similar to the traditional press releases that arrive days later.
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest employer, is trying to regain some respect with the American public after its fallout in 2004 and 2005. The company believes that more and more Americans are going to the internet to find “varied, credible and trusted” sources. Wal-Mart wants to be one of the first to join this on-line conversation, and they want something in return as well. In their blogs, readers will find very pro-Wal-Mart conversation where they will be talking about a new store opening in Illinois or a high number of applications received that month. Using the bloggers, Wal-Mart also has the ability to rely on them to bash some of their competitors. For example, last Christmas when Target, Wal-Mart’s strongest competitor, would not allow red-kettle collectors in front of their stores, the bloggers jumped all over it accusing Target of raising “zero” dollars for the Salvation Army. Wal-Mart believes this is the best way for them to tell their side of the story in a completely new light and Public Relations arena. When asked by the New York Times about this new marketing campaign, the bloggers said that they were never paid for their work nor were they ever told to keep the messages secret.
I believe that this is a great, and new, way to reach to American public on a completely new level. When people read blogs they generally tend to agree with bloggers because they feel it is personal opinion and anyone can say anything they want. This is the case with Wal-Mart and they feel that they can take full advantage of the new situation by expanding their publics, and promoting a positive company image. The fact that they do not wan to give their employees more health insurance is a whole other issue, but the fact that no legislation has been passed yet shows the success of their marketing campaign.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Cancer Blogs for Heal!
For the new Heal Magazine, a new publication about cancer survivorship opening in April of 2007, my Advanced Communication class has been asked to help with starting a blog in order to get the word out. Blogging is a good way of getting people to talk about a new magazine or idea or just creating PR buzz in general. The idea for this blog is that it will be linked to other blogs and websites in order to begin networking as well as creating the advertising. Linking this site to other blogs is a great idea and I will throw my two cents in, however, I will also look to link this site up with some good informational websites as well.
General Living (Best Cancer Blog/Website)
WebMD is one of the leading online medical information websites on the internet. Their mission is to bring objective, trustworthy and timely health information. It is a website with an abundance of information not only on cancer, but everything someone would need to know about healthy living. Additionally, this site will lead you to other medical websites, discussion boards and blogs. The nice thing about WebMD is that they are completely willing to link with other sites that are related to health (granted you must accept their terms and conditions). It would be a great place to start to get ones name out because of the mass following that is already in place.
Visit WebMD.com for more information
The Body
To learn more about the body and cancer the best blog on the internet for cancer survivors was suggested to me by one of my classmates. After much searching I realized that she had found the best website for cancer survivorship and keeping the body healthy. The blog is named the CardioBlog and it gives tips on everything from healthy eating to keeping the body healthy in general. It is very similar in format to the CancerBlog and is a great way to network and find other areas where bloggers are discussing similar body issues. Again, I believe that linking the Heal Blog with others will help disseminate important information and link readers to other areas.
Visit thecardioblog.com for more information
Just For Kids
When talking about children with cancer there are an abundance of websites and blogs that can effectively produce insightful information. One of these websites/blogs that I have found is called the Rare Cancer Alliance. This is a website that can link you to many of the blogs on cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. The thing that I really enjoyed about this blog is the fact that it has many links for children with cancer or children surviving cancer. It will take you to many new places for kids that would a regular blog.
Visit pediatric.rare-cancer.org for more information
I also wanted to suggest another blog which is very timely and relative to the location of the magazine. Recently Governor Rick Perry passed a law making it mandatory for six grade girls to receive the HPV vaccination in the state of Texas. One such blog is named The Blog That Ate Manhattan it discusses much about the idea of a mandatory vaccination for all girls for the HPV vaccination from Merck. This blog site is also focused on health and good living in general. I thought there would be blogs specifically related to the HPV vaccination but so far must of what is on the internet is from other blogs related to health in general.
Visit theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com for more information
General Living (Best Cancer Blog/Website)
WebMD is one of the leading online medical information websites on the internet. Their mission is to bring objective, trustworthy and timely health information. It is a website with an abundance of information not only on cancer, but everything someone would need to know about healthy living. Additionally, this site will lead you to other medical websites, discussion boards and blogs. The nice thing about WebMD is that they are completely willing to link with other sites that are related to health (granted you must accept their terms and conditions). It would be a great place to start to get ones name out because of the mass following that is already in place.
Visit WebMD.com for more information
The Body
To learn more about the body and cancer the best blog on the internet for cancer survivors was suggested to me by one of my classmates. After much searching I realized that she had found the best website for cancer survivorship and keeping the body healthy. The blog is named the CardioBlog and it gives tips on everything from healthy eating to keeping the body healthy in general. It is very similar in format to the CancerBlog and is a great way to network and find other areas where bloggers are discussing similar body issues. Again, I believe that linking the Heal Blog with others will help disseminate important information and link readers to other areas.
Visit thecardioblog.com for more information
Just For Kids
When talking about children with cancer there are an abundance of websites and blogs that can effectively produce insightful information. One of these websites/blogs that I have found is called the Rare Cancer Alliance. This is a website that can link you to many of the blogs on cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship. The thing that I really enjoyed about this blog is the fact that it has many links for children with cancer or children surviving cancer. It will take you to many new places for kids that would a regular blog.
Visit pediatric.rare-cancer.org for more information
I also wanted to suggest another blog which is very timely and relative to the location of the magazine. Recently Governor Rick Perry passed a law making it mandatory for six grade girls to receive the HPV vaccination in the state of Texas. One such blog is named The Blog That Ate Manhattan it discusses much about the idea of a mandatory vaccination for all girls for the HPV vaccination from Merck. This blog site is also focused on health and good living in general. I thought there would be blogs specifically related to the HPV vaccination but so far must of what is on the internet is from other blogs related to health in general.
Visit theblogthatatemanhattan.blogspot.com for more information
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Al Gore is on Fire!
Al Gore is hot, hot, hot. The new “Ozone Man” has been making headline news all over the world in some of the most popular magazines and newspapers. He is one of Time Magazine’s top 100 people that have helped shape our world. Gore was named Policy Leader of the Year by Scientific American in 2006. He is the leading spokesman on the issue of Global Warming and has produced the documentary film “An Inconvenient Truth” which has won two Oscars. The movie became the most successful per-screen documentary film opening in history and the book reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list last summer. In addition, Gore has been nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on fighting Global Warming worldwide. He even won the majority vote in the 2000 Presidential elections. So what hasn’t Al Gore done you ask? Al Gore has never been President of the United States.
Gore, 58, insists that he has no intention for running in the Presidential elections of 2008 but he finds himself in his most opportune time to run again. There is a large Democratic grassroots movement to elect Al Gore for President in the next election. The movement is called Draft Gore and has been picking up major steam over the last year. American citizens are signing onto a draft at the website called draftgore.com and they currently have over 52,000 signatures. The movement believes that Gore is the true voice of the Democrats and the only statesman that can effectively return the White House to the American people. They are truly a grassroots movement and are not backed by any powerful group, instead they insist that the movement is built on the “enthusiasm and passion” of the American people. The group believes that the majority vote winner from the 2000 election is still the best candidate for 2008. While Al Gore has not declared to throw his hat in the ring as of yet, the group prides themselves on the fact that they are doing everything in their power to promote his candidacy. It is starting to become a national movement with chapters opening up in every region of the United States.
It is not only a grassroots movement either; many political analysts are stating that they believe that Gore would be the best candidate for the 2008 election. Journalists and commentators Pat Buchanan, Tony Blankley and Eleanor Clift all have stated that they believe Gore will run in 2008. Additionally, ABC’s George Will predicted that Gore will run in the next election. Former President Jimmy Carter has also come out and is publicly supporting him saying that “If Al should decide to run, I would support him.” There is more to it than just these top political analysts’ predictions; recent polls have shown that Gore is ahead of some of the candidates that have already announced their campaign. In a CNN.com poll Gore was ahead of John McCain by 47% to 46%. In a DailyKos poll he leads all other potential candidates by 68% and he also leads heavily in an AlterNet poll. On February 27, 2007 a poll conducted for Time magazine showed that Al Gore has gone up 10 points in a public opinion poll while Hillary Clinton has gone down 4 points. Even the Economist Magazine is supporting Gore by saying, “Mr. Gore is the ideal candidate for the Democratic stalwarts who turn out to vote in the primaries. He came out strongly against invading Iraq. He has spent the past six years warning the world about global warming. And he was robbed of victory in 2000.”
For more information visit, draftgore.com
Gore, 58, insists that he has no intention for running in the Presidential elections of 2008 but he finds himself in his most opportune time to run again. There is a large Democratic grassroots movement to elect Al Gore for President in the next election. The movement is called Draft Gore and has been picking up major steam over the last year. American citizens are signing onto a draft at the website called draftgore.com and they currently have over 52,000 signatures. The movement believes that Gore is the true voice of the Democrats and the only statesman that can effectively return the White House to the American people. They are truly a grassroots movement and are not backed by any powerful group, instead they insist that the movement is built on the “enthusiasm and passion” of the American people. The group believes that the majority vote winner from the 2000 election is still the best candidate for 2008. While Al Gore has not declared to throw his hat in the ring as of yet, the group prides themselves on the fact that they are doing everything in their power to promote his candidacy. It is starting to become a national movement with chapters opening up in every region of the United States.
It is not only a grassroots movement either; many political analysts are stating that they believe that Gore would be the best candidate for the 2008 election. Journalists and commentators Pat Buchanan, Tony Blankley and Eleanor Clift all have stated that they believe Gore will run in 2008. Additionally, ABC’s George Will predicted that Gore will run in the next election. Former President Jimmy Carter has also come out and is publicly supporting him saying that “If Al should decide to run, I would support him.” There is more to it than just these top political analysts’ predictions; recent polls have shown that Gore is ahead of some of the candidates that have already announced their campaign. In a CNN.com poll Gore was ahead of John McCain by 47% to 46%. In a DailyKos poll he leads all other potential candidates by 68% and he also leads heavily in an AlterNet poll. On February 27, 2007 a poll conducted for Time magazine showed that Al Gore has gone up 10 points in a public opinion poll while Hillary Clinton has gone down 4 points. Even the Economist Magazine is supporting Gore by saying, “Mr. Gore is the ideal candidate for the Democratic stalwarts who turn out to vote in the primaries. He came out strongly against invading Iraq. He has spent the past six years warning the world about global warming. And he was robbed of victory in 2000.”
For more information visit, draftgore.com
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