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Many of us, actually MILLIONS, are enjoying the digital solution Internet radio delivers: playing or “streaming” only the music styles and genres we prefer to hear. From classical music to Top 40 hits, Internet radio provides us the ability to easily create “stations” and listen to these personalized music playlists on our desktop or mobile phone.

The more popular and recognizable services, such as Pandora, Spotify, Grooveshark and AOL Radio, powered by Slacker, have helped Internet radio grow substantially the last decade. Pandora, for example, currently boasts 125 million registered users!

Advertising and Promotional Opportunities
The deep integration of Internet radio services, such as Pandora, into the daily lives of its users creates ample opportunities for your business message to reach audiences.

When users create their online profile, it’s required to submit their birth year, US zip code and gender. This identifiable information allows you to create campaigns for the exact users you’re trying to reach based on location, age, gender and even time of day.

Additionally, unique online promotional opportunities may be available to further extend brand awareness and engage with your customers, such as:
•  Branded radio station(s)
•  Data collection: polling, sweepstakes, registration and song submission
•  Concert series sponsorship

Internet Radio vs. Traditional Radio
How does Internet radio stack up against the tried-and-true broadcast methods? Are we recommending abandoning traditional radio? Not necessarily.

Choosing the right radio format really depends on your target audience, marketing goals and budget – in some cases, you may want to consider using both radio formats. Broadcast radio is great for communicating to the masses in a specific geographic area while Internet radio provides personalized experiences and the ability to reach listeners around the world.

Here are few advantages Internet radio offers:
•  Personalized: a more positive user experience as they customize their radio station(s)
•  Targeted Audience: pinpointing users by location, age and gender
•  Commercials: no more than three (3) per hour, so your business message is in a much less cluttered environment

If you’d like more information on Internet radio services and how to best navigate its advertising options for your business, give us a call.

 

Also published in The Record, Friday, January 20, 2012

THE TRAGEDY of the Costa Concordia and the stories of apparent cowardice and incompetence of its captain, Francesco Schettino, reminds many of earlier disasters at sea, including the ill-fated Andrea Doria and the infamous Titanic.

I am instead reminded of the long-forgotten sinking of the Flying Enterprise and its heroic captain, Henrik Kurt Carlsen, in the stormy north Atlantic 60 years ago in January 1952.

Like so many other positive events where everyday people demonstrated the good that surrounds us, the story of Captain Carlsen has been shorn from our memories, replaced all too often by our need to focus on all that is bad or negative.

First, the Andrea Doria and the Titanic, two of the more glamorous ships of their respective eras. Both did the improbable, if not impossible, of running into something, literally, in the middle of the Atlantic (actually, the Andrea Doria was only hours from port). We all know the story of the Titanic, at least the versions depicted in multiple films.

The Andrea Doria’s sinking was even more improbable. It had radar and all of the technology available in the mid-20th century. So did the Stockholm, the Swedish liner into which it collided. By all accounts, the officers and crews of both ships distinguished themselves.

The conduct of the officers and crew of the Titanic is based too much on fictional accounts, though we know that the owner, Joseph Ismay, died a recluse after being shunned for fleeing rather than going down with the sinking ship.

The Flying Enterprise was not a grand ship. It was a passenger/freighter. There were no swimming pools, water slides or rock-climbing walls. You would not have found it on luxury liner row on the West Side of Manhattan. Carlsen appeared to be a seaman perfectly placed on such a workmanlike ship.

Raging storm in the Atlantic

The drama unfolded when the Flying Enterprise sailed into a raging north Atlantic storm shortly after beginning its transatlantic crossing. Carlsen ordered the 40 crew members and 10 passengers to leave the freighter and board rescue ships as the Flying Enterprise took on water and began to list dangerously.

Captain Carlsen refused to abandon his ship, believing that it could be saved. For more than a week, as the world watched through the new wonder of television, listened to radio and read morning and afternoon papers and “extras,” Carlsen remained on board alone, battling the elements, refusing to leave until it became all too clear that the Flying Enterprise was doomed. He was joined by a tugboat mate, Kenneth Dancy, only on the last day.

As the ship took its final plunge, I recall seeing the image of Carlsen clinging to a lifeline and being hauled onto a waiting rescue ship. He was a true heroic figure.

The postwar world had a new hero. My generation (I was 5) had its first (soon, however, replaced by Mickey Mantle — we learned only later that we should have stuck with Carlsen).

But few remember this brief moment in history today. It was a moment when time stood still for a week and the world watched as one man stoically took on the elements, committed to his duty to his ship and the spirit and traditions of the sea.

A plaque was dedicated to Carlsen, coincidentally, just 10 days ago in Woodbridge, N.J., where Carlsen lived in his later years.

The tragedy of Captain Schettino and the Concordia was not the result of nature’s fury. It was, according to reports, blatant incompetence.

The stoic heroism of Carlsen, consistent with the traditions of the sea, are contrasted by the conduct of Schettino, who has already been branded a coward.

My guess is that Captain Schettino will become far more legendary than Captain Carlsen. That’s unfortunate. It’s part of our focus on what’s bad rather than what’s good.

Being cynical about anything positive and assuming the negative: The Costa Concordia and its captain are in so many ways a metaphor for how the public today views society and its institutions. The Costa Concordia was, to steal a phrase, “too big to fail.”

Schettino was clearly unprepared for anything out of the ordinary, ignorant of risk and not concerned about responsibility.

Captain Carlsen, on the other hand, reminds me of Gary Cooper, Sheriff Will Kane in “High Noon,” standing alone against all odds, committed to fulfilling his responsibility. He was a heroic figure, frequently cited at that time as a metaphor for those in Hollywood and elsewhere who stood up to Sen. Joe McCarthy’s “red-baiting,” who was simply looking to do his job.

Captain Schettino will become a household word. He and his ship will become the target of late-night comedians and anyone looking for a quick laugh. He’ll probably write a book. Leaving early will be known as “taking a Schettino.”

He will reflect the media’s and society’s passion for individuals who defy customary traditions and standards.

Captain Carlsen will remain forgotten. He was content to know he had done his job and all that could be expected of him, taking on Mother Nature, giving her a great fight before succumbing to the inevitable.

Quite a comparison. To borrow a notion from Simon and Garfunkel, “Where have you gone Captain Carlsen, a nation turns its lonely eyes to you…”

On Saturday night around 9 p.m., I learned via Facebook that Joe Paterno, the former football coach at my beloved alma mater, had passed away.

Within nine minutes of Paterno’s alleged death, it was publicized all over Twitter and other media outlets, including CBS Sports and the Huffington Post. But before the news had the chance to sink in, I found out that it was actually a false report. It turns out the premature announcement was based on an unverified student website report.

CBS later said in a statement that it had failed “to verify the original report.” The Huffington Post said it had failed to attribute its article to a source.

No doubt I was one of millions of people who thought (for a few minutes, at least) that Joe Pa passed away that night. Penn State students even flocked to the Paterno statue on campus to honor his memory Saturday night, not knowing he was still alive.

Within an hour, a spokesman for the Paterno family denied the reports and two of Paterno’s sons even used Twitter to deny the rumors. I feel sympathy for the Paterno family for having to try to set the record straight during such a difficult time… even though it was only hours from his “real” passing.

But this incident truly demonstrates the inherent flaws of social media… and we can all learn from it.

Most of us enjoy using Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social networking sites for social interests, professional interests, and have come to rely on them for news, too. But we have to remember that anyone can create and publish information.

While Twitter and other sites possess opportunities to quickly inform large numbers of people, we have to ensure we aren’t sacrificing the accuracy of news. Though the technologies enable us to get information fast, as users of social media, we need to be good “consumers” and question the validity of claims as news.

And, hopefully up-and-coming journalists will learn from CBS’ mistake – that “breaking” the story isn’t nearly as important as getting it right.

Last week, more than 75,000 websites participated in a protest against two anti-piracy bills called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). Most Americans had never heard of this controversial “Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley” battle until January 18 when they saw search-giant Google black out their homepage logo or weren’t able to access English Wikipedia for a full 24 hours.

Companies supporting the bills, such as the Motion Picture Association of America, Viacom and Nike, propose stricter enforcement to protect intellectual property, including books, music, movies and trademarks, from being illegally uploaded and posted online.

Opponents, such as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia , argue that the bills threaten the safe harbor protection from the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and could cause entire websites and online communities to be shut down because of a single user.

By the end of the day on Wednesday, the SOPA Strike accomplished what it set out to do – get the attention of the American people and of Washington legislatures.

A number of lawmakers pulled their support for the bills, 7 million people signed Google’s petition and Senate websites were knocked offline by the swell of visitor traffic looking  to contact their local representatives.

The tech industry superpowers ramped up their traditional lobbying efforts and unleashed a digital protest never before seen.

Their success continues to be marked as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made a statement on Friday postponing the January 24 vote on PIPA. The chief sponsor of SOPA, Lamar Smith, also pulled the House bill the same day, which was scheduled to move forward in February.

What are your thoughts on this battle between “Hollywood and Silicon Valley?”

I’m pissed off.

How can our government demonize U.S. Marines sent to Afghanistan to kill the Taliban for what appears to be an (albeit “tasteless”) post firefight celebration? Had the Taliban been victorious would we be outraged by their form of celebration? You bet we would. We’ve been exposed to all too many beheadings, etc. And no one would respond except for a few words of outrage.

I’ve never been in military combat and so have no idea what level of emotion that brings. It’s certainly more stressful than playing football and we’ve seen how demonstrative those end zone celebrations can be. So while I would like to think that urinating on my conquered, dead enemy would not be something I would relish I am willing to be open minded and accept that this might in fact reflect a degree of justice.

Amazingly, our government seems more outraged by this incident than they were over the killing and beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and scores of other atrocities visited upon American citizens.

Let’s focus our outrage where it belongs.  This latest incident is a drop in the bucket.  Isn’t it about time that we got pissed off for the right reasons?

Somehow, 2012 is less than a week away – so naturally I got to thinking about New Year’s resolutions. The fact is though, only one in 10 people actually stick to their resolutions each year (which usually have to do with losing weight or breaking some kind of “bad” habits). But what about professional New Year’s resolutions?

With the New Year’s promise of starting fresh, I thought of a few resolutions for those in PR to consider:

1- Engage more often in real-life interaction rather than real-time with an avatar on Twitter. It’s easy to fall into this habit given the instantaneous nature of social media, but face-to-face meetings and conversations are good to have, too!

2-Be humble and encourage clients to do the same. Remember the ChapStick fiasco resulting from how the brand handled feedback for its new ad campaign? Customers may not always be right, but they want to know you’re listening.

3-Keep social media crises in mind… and don’t create any crisis communication plans without it! A simple blog post or tweet can ruin your day. Chrysler and Kenneth Cole won’t soon forget this one.

4- Be consistent. This becomes increasingly important as more and more messages are shared across the Web and via social media channels. Conflicting answers create confused, unhappy customers.

What PR resolutions do you have to add to the list?

Social media can be pretty addicting. We’re constantly posting updates, checking in, tweeting , sharing photos… so much so that it’s actually hard to picture a day without it.

In fact, the most recent data says U.S. citizens now spend 16 percent of their total time online using Facebook. That’s an enormous figure!

With the holidays in full swing, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and let time slip away too quickly.  And the constant need to feel connected through social media just adds to the chaos.

That’s why I propose we all consider taking a social media “timeout” this holiday season.

I’m not suggesting a complete abandonment of Facebook or Twitter… just less.  So instead of focusing on how to condense a holiday memory into 140 characters or come up with a cute caption for a photo of your tree that you just finished decorating, stop and really enjoy these moments.

This holiday season, whatever you are celebrating, I say celebrate with your immediate network… not just your extended network.

Penn State’s historic “jockocracy” made the downfall of Joe Paterno inevitable. Like Richard Nixon’s Watergate where the break in was just the tip of the iceberg ( “Dirty Tricks,” the breaking in of Daniel Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, the “plumbers,” etc. all contributed to a culture of  a deeply flawed administration) Penn State’s reputation appears to have been built on a house of cards glued together by deceit.

In fact, the main difference between Penn State and the Nixon White House may have been perceived moral standing. And we know that perception is generally not reality.

Penn State cannot isolate its problems to the football program because the football program IS Penn State. It’s certainly not the chess club that brings over 100,000 to Happy Valley on Saturday afternoons in the fall. Joe Paterno was the symbol of integrity and moral gravitas which made Penn State unique…or so it seemed. Like Nixon who fancied himself tough on crime and proudly proclaimed “I am not a crook,” Paterno would have us believe that Penn State was as idyllic as its Happy Valley appearance.

Nixon and Paterno have a great deal in common. They accomplished a great deal. They preached moral values. They sought to set high standards. They hung around for a long time. And their fall from grace was caused by the actions of others. All they had to do was follow what they essentially preached: do the right thing. Unfortunately, they didn’t.

Has any celebrity or politician (the two ARE mutually exclusive) ever dished food in a homeless shelter on a non-holiday?  Or without the media in tow?  What about parents who want to instill a message of “caring and sharing” by bringing their kids to the shelter for an annual visit? What about the other 350 plus days in the year?  Who is serving those meals?  Shouldn’t someone be taking THEIR pictures?

Has any reporter or photographer ever asked a celebrity of politician “when will you be back”?

There is nothing quite so annoying as celebrities and politicians (to say nothing of liberal for a day parents looking to ease their collective conscience) using the poor and homeless as props to suggest that “…we really care.”  Caring people would look for,  contribute to and demand a permanent solution and not just a photo-op. Their commitment would extend beyond the media’s short term interest.  People who care do so every day and without the need for publicity.

Why not require every celebrity, politician (or conscience seeking parent) who wants to dish food on Thanksgiving or Christmas to come back another day…one not listed on any calendar as a special or holiday?  Just think of how much additional attention this could bring  to the plight of the homeless?  It might even contribute to finding a permanent solution for this national disgrace.

The horrible case of a former Penn State assistant football coach raping and abusing young boys has raised a number of public relations challenges for the university and the people involved.

Not all of these public relations challenges are fixable. Public outrage to the alleged crimes are visceral and complicated. Anger towards the university, the football program and the people involved has led to dramatic changes that are punishing people who may or may not have culpability. But these changes, if implemented earlier, probably would not have affected the sexual abuse of children by a prominent coach in the Penn State program.

The crisis at Penn State does expose a number of public relations truths.

1. Emotion always trumps facts. The outrage and anger seems to have clouded the facts, as it often does. In 2002, according to a grand jury report, the rape of a child in a shower by the accused assistant coach was witnessed by another assistant coach. The second coach has been accused of not saving the child, but there is no evidence that this is true. There is some evidence that his walking in stopped the incident, but this also is not clear. What is clear is he spoke to his superior about the incident and this evidence is included in the report from the grand jury.

2. Responsible people must be punished. Three people – the accused coach and two university administrators including the athletic director – have been charged with crimes that allege a cover up by the university. But it is not clear from the charges who else knew something about the child assaults and what they did with the knowledge. Two other people were fired by the Penn State Board of Trustees: the university president and legendary football head coach Joe Paterno. The trustees gave no reason, but the presumption is the head of all Penn State programs and the head of all football operations should have known about sexual abuse of children by an assistant football coach and done something about it. Paterno, according to testimony, was told of the 2002 child rape and reported it to his superiors. But it is unclear whether reporting it was enough or whether he was obligated to do more.

3. Perception is the truth. In this case, the perception is everyone associated with the accused assistant coach covered up his acts and continued to allow him privileges at Penn State that may have allowed sexual abuse to continue. There are two known actions that were taken. After an allegation in 1998, the assistant coach retired or was forced to retire in 1999, and the second is that the allegation was investigated and dismissed by the Centre County District Attorney. At the same time, the accused assistant coach did continue to use Penn State facilities and continued to run a youth program. Here, the truth is elusive and may not be known for some time.

We cannot predict anything from what we know today. Some have said this is the end of Penn State football, but that may have more to do with the end of the Paterno era than the scandal. At some point, a new head coach will be hired and will build a program based on his own philosophy. We know it will be different but we don’t know if it will be successful.

How the university’s reputation comes through the scandal is murky. It is understandable and appropriate for students and football fans to remember and support Paterno as a college football legend, even if they question some of his actions in this case. But the criminal charges against the two administrators do raise questions about the university’s actions that will require more information and adjudication to sort through.

It will require time and information to make a full judgment. Even the accused assistant coach is presumed innocent until proven guilty. One previous district attorney never found enough evidence to bring charges against him.