The efforts babies go to in order to overcome everyday challenges – like learning to crawl, walk and balance—are world class in their effort and determination. To celebrate these little athletes and their unique spirit of play, Pampers partnered with two-time Olympic Games Gold Medalist (Beach Volleyball) and Team USA Hopeful, Kerri Walsh and her family, including husband, Casey Jennings, and sons, Joseph and Sundance as they make their way to the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Pampers announced the partnership with Kerri and her family in conjunction with the brand’s roll-out of new Limited Edition “USA” diapers and wipes, which hit shelves in April. The CitizenPaine team helped drive widespread awareness and media buzz of these engagements at launch via an in-depth media day, which included a blend of sit-down and editorial phone interviews with Kerri, as well as live and taped television segments. To date, stories have run in prominent national news outlets including the likes of ABC News Now, Associated Press, BetterTV,  ESPN.com, Reuters, The View, and Yahoo! Sports.

To extend excitement even further, starting on April 16th, parents will also have the opportunity to log on to the Pampers Facebook page, visit the special “Spirit of Play” tab, and enter for a chance to win exciting prizes, including packs of the new Pampers “USA” products, signed paraphernalia from Kerri Walsh, and even a chance at winning a year’s supply of diapers and an all-inclusive trip for their family to attend the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Working with Kerri has been a complete joy and the CitizenPaine and Pampers team will certainly be cheering for her all the way to London!

At Citizen Relations, we believe that people of the world are bound together in profoundly common, simple ways.  We’re all members of a community.  We love our family.  We want to provide for our kids. We’re fiercely protective of our “home.” We want to be treated with respect.  And, ultimately, we want a purpose – to be part of something greater than ourselves.

Can good be more than just greed? I’d like to think so but first we’ll need to do some soul searching about how we, as an industry, approach the subject.  Social impact must regain its rightful position as the primary purpose of CSR – not reputation-building.  By focusing on actions, not words, and embracing a shared desire for a happier, healthier society, businesses can build authentic relationships with customers and achieve some amazing things. 

“Doing good” and demonstrating one’s citizenship can be a source of pride, build admiration and lead to meaningful change.  Activating that instinct is the center point of our work. 

Corey Langworthy is a Group Director at Citizen Paine

For the casual football fan, or even the how-many-points-do-you-get-when-you-make-a-touchdown? non-fan, the Super Bowl provides something for them too. An opportunity to eat nachos and chicken wings (my wife, being from the Buffalo-area, has engrained in my head that the proper nomenclature is in fact chicken wings, not Buffalo wings), drink a few beers or your libation of choice and relax a bit on a Sunday night. A time for parties and Super Bowl boxes and socializing with friends – a somewhat rare occurrence during most Sunday nights of the year – but not this Sunday. Normally, Sunday nights are reserved for relaxing at home getting mentally prepared for a long work week – but not this Sunday. This Sunday we come together as a nation to let loose, kick back and enjoy ourselves and watch….the commercials??
For the majority of the nation, Super Bowl commercials have become a bigger draw than the game itself. And the numbers back this up. Over the years, the commercialization of the Super Bowl has grown in epic proportions - this year, like every year, NBC (the network broadcasting the “Big Game”) has completely sold out all available spots, this despite the absolutely ridiculous cost of running an ad during the game. In 2012, a 30 second Super Bowl spot will cost a preposterous $3.5 million dollars – a 17% increase and double the rate charged for a 30-second spot 14 years ago. But companies will continue to pay and the networks will continue to demand more money.

However, are we as marketers missing the mark? Why would a company spend so much money to unveil a Super Bowl ad only to then provide a sneak preview or even showcase the entire spot (or in many cases, an extended version) before Super Bowl Sunday? The answer may be in the ROI - why make a big splash on one or two days of the year when you can drive buzz for your product for a week or two, or longer? 

This year’s car advertisements provide a great example. In the race for the best “Big Game” automobile spots, this week we have already been privy to Jerry Seinfeld battling Jay Leno to get his hands on the first Acura NSX, Matthew Broderick channeling his inner Ferris Bueller tooling around town in his new 2012 CR-V and Volkswagen’s Star Wars-inspired reprise of their 2011 Super Bowl winner (this time it has something for dog lover’s too!). And the buzz is obvious – type in any of these companies into your favorite search engine and news articles abound, impressions mount, a clear PR win.
The debate will rage on – many companies use the Super Bowl and the week leading up to the Big Game as the perfect launching pad for a new product and while some experts question this thinking - see CNBC’s Darren Rovell’s recent tweet: “@darrenrovell Baffled by how many companies make the mistake of launching something during the Super Bowl. Better to own next week” – regardless, the Super Bowl will remain one of the most attractive destinations for marketing and PR campaigns, simply because of the sheer number of folks paying attention this week and on Sunday.
So when that annoying person at your Super Bowl party “shushes” the crowd during a timeout so he/she can hear the commercials – that same person who doesn’t know Eli Manning from Danny Manning or Tom Brady from Marsha Brady – I, for one, will try not to get too upset. This after all, is what Super Bowl Sunday is all about, right?

GO GIANTS!
by: Michael Kingston, Client Service Manager, Citizen Paine

How does this work?
When you’re out & about in your life - at a restaurant, an airport, sporting event - if you see someone famous -observe what they’re doing, if you’re close enough listen to what they’re saying, who are they with, what are they wearing, eating?  Any fun details that we can potentially put together and serve up as news to our friends in the media - and of course - we’d only send details to the media that are positive!

How does this ultimately benefit our Citizen Paine clients?
In our experience - when we share un-branded sightings like these - we are remembered by these outlets and contacts when we have our launch events or ongoing celebrity spokespersons that we need to get positive, branded client mentions for.  More often than not - these media outlets recall (or we gently remind them!) that we gave them a great celebrity sighting - exclusively!  And what’s great about sharing celebrity sightings with related media is that they really appreciate it - especially if it is someone who they cover on a regular basis - and often crates a win/win for us all!  These outlets are more likely to consider our client news - as we helped them fill their columns with fun news!

Some great recent examples:
Stacy DeFino saw actress America Ferrera last week, out for a stroll near Central Park - she shared the details with me - I shared them with the daily newspaper AM New York - the item appeared in the paper the next day!

I was on the subway on Friday evening - and actress Cynthia Nixon happened to enter the train and sit right opposite me.  I shared the details with the New York Daily News “Gatecrasher” column yesterday - it appears in the column today!

CYNTHIA NIXON likes her crossword puzzles. On Friday night, a source spotted the actress getting on the 1 train on 72nd St. clad in a “fuzzy winter hat.” During the ride downtown to 50th St., our spy says Nixon, now on Broadway in “Wit,” was “intently focused” on a crossword puzzle, and was even overheard “mumbling potential answers” to herself.

Christopher Gustafson, Senior Media Director, Citizen Paine

One of the pioneers in this space that I worked with on a P&G project a few years back is SocialVibe. The premise is simple – consumers interact with a branded unit, and are then rewarded with points. Their points can then be donated to a number of charities. The P&G program had incredible results – the time consumers spent on our unit learning about the brand was much longer than traditional ad units, and the click through rate was over 86%.

A new company called Crowdtap launched a platform at SXSW 2011 that has a similar concept – consumers participate in quick surveys and games and can bank their points for either gift cards or to donate to charity. What seems different about this is that it takes 5-10 seconds to complete several of the activities, so it’s really simple and quick. And for some reason, I keep going back. Crowdtap seems to have figured out that “stickiness” factor to get people to return, and has increased the gamification factor by rewarding you with levels and badges. I’m interested to see how this shapes out as the company gets more funding and grows.

Recyclebank also has a brilliant business model where they incentivize positive consumer behavior to help the environment in two ways: first they work with municipalities to incentivize families for recycling; then they work with companies doing environmental initiatives and offer consumers incentives for engaging in branded units on their site (very similar to the models mentioned above). I love how they are changing consumer behavior for good – both online and offline.

What I am hungering for with services like SocialVibe and Crowdtap is taking it to the next level – how do we keep consumers who engage in the branded activities interested in having a relationship with the brand over the long-term, and how do we increase our ability to target consumers we know really care about the cause we are working with?

I was really excited when Chris Hughes of Facebook launched Jumo in 2009. This was driven by non-profits on a Facebook-like platform that let NPOs have conversations with followers to motivate and activate. However, it didn’t seem to get much traction after the initial launch (my personal opinion) and now they are joining forces with GOOD on a new collaboration TBD.

The latest gaming for good initiatives is coming from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof. According to Mashable, Kristof’s new game “will be similar to FarmVille, and will enable players to make micro-donations to humanitarian efforts worldwide as well as contribute to causes in other ways.” It’s being developed in partnership with Games for Change; a company that creates games designed for social impact, and will be played primarily through Facebook. I’ve interested to see how he’s able to target the type of person that cares about social justice, and keep them engaged for the long-term.

What social good sites and I missing that you like? What is the next generation of social engagement/social gaming for good? Tweet me @kgaffney and let me know your thoughts.

by: Kara Gaffney, Client Manager, Citizen Paine

image credit:

For me the show is first and foremost about the work, but it’s most definitely about the people. Coming from a consumer tech background, it’s always a reunion of old friends, past clients, media contacts and your current mix of both clients and colleagues. The days are spent working hard, but the nights are typically spent even harder—blowing off steam.
I always head into the show dreading it – the long hours, screaming feet by the fifth hour, lower back pain, no chance to eat during the day, losing your voice after talking all day, the smoke from the casinos, feeling like a human prune from the dry air – I could go on. Once you’re there though, the adrenaline kicks in, you know you have a job to do, and you dig in and get it done. You’ve packed your Dr. Scholl’s inserts, you’ve got your bottled water and your Excedrin – you’re good to go.

I was lucky to have a terrific, dynamic team on-site – a first timer and a true CES veteran, who weathered both the days and the nights like champs.
This year’s CES was headlined by two huge announcements for Citizen Relations’ client, Duracell Powermat, the first iteration of the joint venture between P&G’s Duracell brand and wireless charging technology superstar, Powermat.

Thinking beyond the typical talking-head/spokesperson model is a freshly inked partnership with none other than new dad, Jay-Z. Mr. Carter is now an investor in the company, helping us decide what’s next and having direct impact on what’s to come. We also announced a partnership with Madison Square Garden, outlining an initiative to bring Duracell Powermat wireless charging to places in the Garden so that you’ll be able to charge your phone at a Knicks or a Rangers game or while seeing a concert. The Garden’s being totally redone this year, and Duracell Powermats will be a big part of that. It’s the first of many public places to come where people will be able to charge their phones on-the-go.

So after 9 years of heading to Vegas in early January to manage media and publicity on behalf of various clients, I put another behind me, and once again feel very proud for the work that we did, and all that was accomplished. I’ve stored my trade show shoes (if you’ve been you know the pair – ugly as sin, but the best things ever for trade shows), I’ve put my badge with the collection on my office doorknob, and we’re putting the finishing touches on the wrap report.

Can’t wait until next year.

by: Krys Grondorf, Director, Citizen Paine

It seems that everywhere I go, toddlers are interacting with digital devices in restaurants, doctor’s offices, movie theaters and even at playgrounds.  I was in awe again when I accompanied my friend and her children to a local playground only to see a group of kids sitting on a bench for hours with their iPads instead of playing on the swings or in the sandbox.  When did this happen?

Like today’s youth, brands have quickly adapted to and embraced social media in the business world.  It has certainly opened the doors for many unique opportunities to reach and engage with their target audience - but, it also introduces some challenges in terms of not being able to control how the message is received, commented on and further distributed by the consumer.  It’s like unleashing a wild animal into the forest – once it’s off, it’s hard to control. 

With today’s youth in mind, social media’s impact on business (and the way people do business) is immediate and apparent every day - with results that can be viewed very “youth-like”.  For example, we have high-level executives using acronyms in everyday communication (LOL, OMG, LMK), emoticons decorating key documents, learning what CEOs had for breakfast via Twitter, looking at a potential new hire’s Linked-In and Facebook profiles before granting them an interview, important e-mails being ridden with typos from a Smart Phone, people not listening during meetings because they are checking e-mail, and so on.  The list goes on and on.

Of course, even though I ultimately embrace social media and the ways it has impacted our business, I can’t help but be bothered by the image of the kids sitting with their digital devices on the playground instead of running around and simply being kids.  Since social media is being embraced by such a young age, how will things continue to change?  Facebook for babies?  Twitter for tots?  And with all this in mind what does the future of our business look like? 

A magazine reporter recently said to me that she misses the days when PR folks would send her a traditional creative mailer, so she can see, touch and feel a new product.  Instead, all she receives is information on a product digitally.  I feel the same way when I experience pure joy when opening a traditional card via snail mail.  Sure it is nice getting 500+ happy birthday wishes on my Facebook page, but it sure doesn’t beat the beauty and thoughtfulness of that one hand-written card.  ☺

By Jennifer Jones, Director, Citizen Paine

Mashable has put together a beginners guide for those of you that want to try it!

What are you thoughts on Pinterest? Do you have any examples of brands that are using it well? Let us know.

Cheers,

@JonCronin, Managing Director of Social Engagement at Citizen Paine

Note: this post was originally published here

Even the most stalwart of PR professionals will eventually crack under the pressure of performing nonstop, though, and it is for their sake that I offer this advice:

Pause.

A sizable percentage of you just scoffed inwardly, “Not me! I need to go-go-go! You don’t know, you don’t have my clients, my deliverables, my deadlines!”

Pause.

“The media never sleeps, lady. Welcome to the world of social, where success depends on constantly monitoring and measuring, projecting and responding.”

Pause.

“You mean just sit there? Without checking email? Without consulting my blogroll? Without Googling myself or confirming my client’s Klout score?”

We professionals (for by no means is this exclusive only to PR) will use, find or invent any excuse possible to avoid stopping or even slowing down. We may fear the wrath of a client or supervisor who thinks we’re slacking if we leave the office to take a walk around the block. Maybe we think we’ll fall behind our colleagues, who are surely producing better results if they’re chained to their desks for 12 hours a day.  We probably think that pausing makes us less professional, less capable and/or less responsive to our clients’ needs. In fact, the opposite is true.

Pause => Perspective => Process => Produce

Pause: When we can step back from our daily flurry of internal thinking and external activity – perhaps to take that walk, make ourselves a cup of tea, or simply to sit in silence for five minutes – we give our minds the opportunity to recover from all that action. Over time, these pauses actually rewire the brain make us less reactive to circumstances and more confidently grounded in our own experience.

Perspective: We start to see things for what they really are, now that we’re no longer running to keep up. We can see priorities more clearly, let go of stress and other emotional baggage that was standing between us and our goals, and start to connect the dots.

Process: Our brains can now begin to process all that activity in an orderly way. We have more control, not less, because we are now operating from a place of power. We are leading from a foundation of solid understanding rather than running alongside of circumstances, trying to make them make sense.

Produce: We are refreshed and renewed. We work smarter, not harder. We are more engaged with our work and less overwhelmed. Our creativity is crackling, our insights impressive and our enthusiasm contagious. We hear our clients more clearly and see new possibilities emerging at every turn. Everyone wins.

It starts here, in this very moment. I invite you to try one of the following, really focusing your energy into the pause, and see what happens:
• Stand up and stretch, breathing deeply
• Set a timer for five minutes and sit upright with your eyes closed, enjoying the stillness
• Take a walk, preferably outside with a view of living things (trees, birds, etc.)
• Chat with a colleague about something other than work, and listen with no agenda whatsoever
• Draw or doodle without a final image in mind

Now, go forth and pitch … and prosper.

- Kristen Stancik, Client Service Manager, Citizen Paine

Let me further explain, for those who work in the PR industry like myself, or marketing or advertising, you can most certainly relate. We spend a significant amount time developing innovative programs to leverage client social channels – for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – and we also work on building relationships with key influencers to raise awareness about client programs among their readers. Furthermore, every day, if not every hour there are dozens (emphasis on the plural) of blog posts and new studies that highlight the value of social media as it relates to B2C and B2B. Taking all of this into consideration, the reality is social media is here to stay and will only continue to become increasingly more important to a company’s bottom line.

‘So how do brands and companies work to leverage their social channels?’ I’m glad you asked, and the answer is simple: brands need to create incentives for fans through exclusive content and shared experience in return for consumer loyalty.

To create experiential incentives marketers should think of their brand’s Facebook page and Twitter handle as platforms to distribute exclusive content to followers. Hosting a sweepstakes on your company’s website or sponsoring a concert? Bring those programs to Facebook and Twitter, only allowing people who ‘Like’ or follow your brand to gain access and participate. Think about Facebook’s initial launch; it was a social club for college kids. You got into college, and with your college email address you suddenly had access to this platform. Now take this model and apply it to your brand’s content. Sure, anyone can ‘Like’ or follow your brand, but the exclusivity of the events and content is a motivating factor for consumers to stay engaged.

Then there’s the experience. Whether it’s an invite only event or interaction with a celebrity – social experiential marketing rewards fans for their loyalty. A recent example is Degree, who did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) with Bear Grylls on the social network Reddit. The event engaged an active online community and put the brand on the top of the Reddit page, driving more traffic to Degree’s Facebook page than ever before. This unique engagement rewarded current fans because the event was fan-gated, so non-fans had to ‘Like’ the page in order to gain access to the content, which ultimately increased the brand’s fan base. Access to this exclusive event was a great way to recognize loyal brand followers, generate interest among new consumers and increase engagement within the community.

And rather than creating an experience on one social channel – make it larger and spread the exclusive opportunities across multiple social platforms to further awareness among a broader community; activating others to follow the brand and get involved. For this let’s look at Citizen Paine client Old Spice – specifically, the Old Spice Guy’s ‘Responses’ campaign. Through this first-of-its-kind campaign, with the Old Spice Guy personalizing videos to brand fans and key influencers, the campaign generated mass buzz, increased the number of followers on Facebook and Twitter, and increased YouTube channel and video views; both during and after the experiential activation took place through a combination PR outreach and viral buzz.

As the web rapidly becomes a more social space, shared social experiences are critical in order to attract attention, break through the clutter and create engaged, vibrant communities. In this new digital era the currency for brands are ‘Likes’ and engagement; and in exchange consumers are expecting unique experiences, exclusive content, recognition and rewards.

Aaron Berger
Citizen Paine