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Feb 03 2012

How to Learn PR from Pinterest, Downton Abbey and Susan G Komen

Pink Car
Used with cc License, thanks Fabrice79

What a week, huh? If you haven’t been paying attention, you missed a ton. Here’s a recap. Oh, and spin on over to New Frugality to take a look at a cool side project that Dave’s part of.

1. Pinterest is officially huge – and possibly overrated.

Heard about Pinterest yet? Well, we don’t wanna explain it – we’ll leave that up to the experts. Like Francisco over at Social Mouths. His post tells you just about everything you need to know about Pinterest.

What’s the PR takeaway?

80 percent of users, according to Francisco, are female. Thus, know your audience.

The delightful Sean McGinnis asks whether Pinterest will become the next Quora or Empire Avenue. Good questions.

2. Downton Abbey is worth the hype.

Haven’t seen the BBC-turned-PBS English Lords and Ladies Programme yet? Neither had Dave before two weeks ago.

Now, I’m officially hooked. And almost caught up. Why? It’s a quality program(me).

What’s the PR takeaway?

Storytelling is NOT going anywhere. Thus, learn to write – and learn how to tell a story.

The richness of prose is not JUST because people spoke more formally back in the day (the 1910s). The complex characters, the story arcs that are going for years. When’s the last time you actually sat down and planned your business for the long term?

3. Susan G Komen for The Cure didn’t read the tea leaves.

Yeah, it’s a firestorm. But, as Dave shared on Facebook earlier today, the real issue here isn’t pro-life vs. pro-choice, or access to women’s health care. The real issue is “pinkwashing.”

What’s the PR takeaway?

Think things through, and don’t be a bully. Thus, just because someone wants to give you money in exchange for association with their brand – make sure that’s a good idea.

Komen underestimated how polarizing this issue would be; as a result of their off-again, on-again support of Planned Parenthook, they alienated first the Left, then the Right. AND, as a result, they are now subject to more questions – from the Left, Right AND Middle – as to how they spend their money, what they spend it on, and whether it’s all supporting their cause – or just pinkwashing.

Pink Guns Don’t Help, either.

Hype from Pinterest, Story from Downton Abbey, and Pinkwashing from Komen. Lots of PR Learning this week.

 

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Written by Dave · Categorized: Buzzwords, Causes, PR

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