Estee Lauder Gets Women Ready for Their Social Media Close-ups

Social media campaigns are often employed by trendy brands targeting young audiences. However, iconic brands targeting middle-aged women have begun to realize their audiences are tuned into social media as well.  According to the 2009 Women and Social Media Study, 28.9 million American women ages 44-62 are avid Internet users and 13.3 million use social media sites regularly. Because this generation is less lured by freebies and flashy tactics than Generation Y, social media marketers interested in this audience have to be creative.

In an effort to acknowledge the rise of middle-aged women tuning into social media, cosmetics giant Estee Lauder plans to launch a campaign offering free makeovers and photo shoots to produce photos women can use as avatars and profile pictures.  The campaign, which will target 35-55 year old women but also aim to draw in younger customers, will begin on October 16^th at Bloomingdale’s in New York.  Photos will be completely complimentary (as opposed to ‘gift with purchase’ deals) and even include light airbrushing.  The campaign is being promoted on Estee Lauder’s Web site and Facebook page, and each photo will be branded with an Estee Lauder background.

I think this campaign is incredibly creative.  It is a great example of how a classic, traditional company can reach its growing social media audience and without losing its brand identity.  Social media’s influence is growing by the second, and I’m sure many longstanding brands will begin integrating similar campaigns into their marketing strategies.

To read a complete article about the Estee Lauder campaign, visit this AdAge page.

To read about other campaigns successfully using social media, visit Mashable’s blog.

Transparency vs Secrecy: Social Media & the Fashion Industry

For almost 100 years,the fashion industry has run on the basis of secret construction and planning of lines,displaying at a runway,then pitching to buyers. However with the new social media culture the fashion industry is feeling the pressure to adapt to the changing times.

With all the new channels of communication opened up by social media tools such as facebook and twitter, I can just as easily communicate with designer Betsey Johnson as a buyer for Nordstroms can. The pressure is growing to jump into the social media pool as a way to advertise as well, especially as the sales of magazines are declining (a reported 47%, according to Forbes).

Some designers have seen the huge benefits of being involved in the social media scene, and have started to change their marketing,and advertising tactics. Designer Tory Burch partnered with the fashion site Polyvore, and ran a contest asking fans to create artwork using pictures from her new line. Also fashion label Exuve has begun asking customers to vote on clothes and designs, bringing the customer into the fashion process from beginning to end.

There are also designers that worry that too much transparent communication could lead to the stealing of ideas. With no secrecy, everyone would know about Zac Posen's new watercolor dresses,and allow another designer to make similar garments.

Is this a step in the right direction? Should designers,and fashion labels minimize communication with buyers, and instead focus their attention on twitter relationships with the consumer? Or should we continue to trust our department stores to pick the relevant clothes for us, I mean, it has been working for years...

Tweet What?!?

After a few weeks of tweeting on Twitter, I have to admit, the experience was not as bad as I thought. Twitter is a great new sector into social media that helps the world to network. Being able to tweet is a useful tool that allows people to network with companies, co-workers, employers while keeping up with friends, family and the occasional glimpses into celebrities lives. Now, faster than ever, the world is able to communicate information, thoughts and ideas in seconds! That pretty amazing...though, tweeting is definitely NOT for me. Constantly logging on to write a limited 140 character comment isn't something I find very entertaining. It's nice to see and hear other peoples thoughts and knowing that many of the people that I was following shared the same interests in music, laughed at the same jokes or questioned the same random acts of stupidity. However, as a simple minded person, who likes to get straight to the point and avoid technology at all costs, Twitter is definitely not for me. I guess i'll stick to the oldfashioned hallmark cards and catching up at the local coffee shop.

Social Media in PR

After watching the social media revolution video in Gee's class, it really opened my eyes. I wouldn't say that I thought social media was a fad, being a part of Generation Y I am very much involved in Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets. However, I never realized what an immense impact social media has begun to take on the world around us. Sure, all my professors have told me to clean out the "cyber skeletons" in my closet because future employers now stalk Facebook accounts; but it wasn't until this class that I realized social media really is the way of the future.

Take in to account when you watch an E!News segment, they are constantly bombarding their viewers with celebrities' Twitter updates/reactions on recent events. For example, after Kanye's outburst at the VMAs last week, many entertainment news stations mentioned celebrities' reactions via their blogs, Twitter or Facebook account. Even larger (more serious) news stations have noticed the advantage of connecting to its audiences thru social media. CNN has a Twitter account (which I follow) and they also have CNNLive which is linked through Facebook. Nancy Grace has a Facebook fan page that includes status updates about most recent crime headlines. The list goes on and on as to what major corporations reach their audiences thru the internet. Social media is instaneous, it gets its message out to its audience as soon as something is posted vs. waiting for the next morning's paper to mention what already happened.

The whole purpose of social media is fast, instant interaction with others. We live in a society where people expect near instant gratification. If I want to know what's happening RIGHT NOW in politics, easy - go to CNN.com, click on their politics section and you're updated. CNN.com updates its homepage every few minutes, at times within seconds. Not to mention Google, Yahoo, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Social media is the easiest way to get information without ever having to leave your home. When was the last time a student honestly went to the library to research something? Not very recent I can assure you. Eresereves are huge on college campuses as well as pdf downloads for reading materials. You can even order electronic versions of the textbook your professor requires and save tons of money. iPhones, Blakberries and other smart phones allow its owner to access internet anywhere, anytime.

Status updates, tweets, blogs, youtube videos, iChats, etc have now become the newest, most acceptable way to communicate with one another. The internet has a worldwide audience with so many people who are willing to listen. The only thing we need to remember is safety - ever since the first news article was published (8 or so yrs ago)about MySpace stalkers/pedophiles, parents and educators have been drilling it in to our heads that we need to watch what we post on the internet. Especially now when it comes to looking for a career, whatever a company can find about you on Google, Facebook or Twitter will no doubt overrule what's on your resume. There's no doubt in my mind that social media is NOT a fad.

In case you missed it in the title, here's the link to the "Social Media Revolution" video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E

Interesting PR Blog

If you haven't heard or checked it out yet, I suggest you all take a look at Brian Solis' blog titled "PR 2.0" (http://www.briansolis.com/). Brian Solis is a PR professional who blogs on new communications, social media, and marketing in today's society. His articles are very interesting and relevant to the material we are learning in class. Brian also invites guest bloggers to share their knowledge of the PR profession.

One particular article I found helpful was "If This Headline Doesn't Catch Your Attention, I Failed" by guest blogger, Shannon Paul (http://www.briansolis.com/2009/08/if-this-headline-doesnt-catch-your-attention-i-failed/). She basically stressed the importance of a good headlines in writing press material. Before reading this article I never put much thought into how important a good headline is. I decided to summarize some key points that I took from the article.

1. A headline should be worthy of attention- good content will be recognized.
2. Make headlines relevant for readers. It must have good key words and phrases that the public is searching for. PR professionals must write attention-grabbing material.
3. A headline helps position press material in the best interest of the public.
4. PR is more than just writing and pitching.

A Social Media Career

At this point in my college career, my professors have made one thing very clear: social media is crucial to the future of all communication. From building relationships and networking with professionals around the world to demonstrating marketable skills, social media is a major key to success as a future Public Relations Practitioner. Consequently, professors have not just encouraged, but required Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts with the complete understanding that this is only the beginning.

Now, I’ll admit to a Facebook addiction and even some growing feelings for Twitter, but it never actually occurred to me that there are huge organizations behind these social media sites that are taking over the world of communications! Take Twitter, for example. In late September, Twitter was estimated at a $1 billion worth (http://mashable.com/2009/10/04/twitter-stats/). That’s not too shabby if you ask me!

The way I see it, learning about social media in class not only helps us become better communicators, but opens up students’ minds to job possibilities within social media. In such a profession, we could truly be at the heart of growing trends within communications.

Check out these pictures of the new Facebook offices in Palo Alto, California: http://www.shelterpop.com/2009/09/29/inside-facebooks-super-cool-designer-offices/?icid=mainmaindl3link3http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shelterpop.com%2F2009%2F09%2F29%2Finside-facebooks-super-cool-designer-offices%2F#
If this is the environment I’d be working in, I would LOVE to work for a social media site!

As a French girl and mainly because I'm Parisian, fashion is part of my life and Paris Fashion week is one of my favourite time… fashion, party what can top that ? And this year...

...Lindsay Lohan fashion debuts, an amazing PR action lead by the fashion house Ungaro!

This season, she collaborated for the first time on the new Ungaro collection, which leads to this question:
Will she be able to bring the house to the front lines of fashion again? For sure she brought a high crowd to the front row.

Lohan worked on Ungaro new line with Estrella Archs, a designer who has collaborated with hype designers like Miuccia Prada. Both were brought on within the last couple of weeks.

The show aim at knowing if, we could consider Lohan as a real designer or was she set up to fail?

The reactions were towards bad, and all loved to witness the fall of the celebrity/designer.

Hopefully next season, they will have another chance to rock Ungaro fashion world... but by now we cannot take that for granted!