Public Relations and Social Media Intern
At KSV I continue to build my skills in the Public Relations and advertising fields. Some of the projects I am currently working on are listed below.
Check out my latest post on the KSV Corporate Blog. I have reposted the post below.
I was recently invited to write a post on KSV's Corporate blog about social media innovation in the academic sphere. You can read the original post here. I have re-posted the blog post below.
Recently KSV acquired a new client, ACORN shoes. I had the opportunity to help draft the press release announcing the partnership.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Here is a sample of my work at KSV so far:
Blog Post for KSV's internal "Connections Blog"
Facebook’s New Design Reveals Networks of Opportunity
At KSV I continue to build my skills in the Public Relations and advertising fields. Some of the projects I am currently working on are listed below.
- Interact daily with local and national clients regarding PR, and Social Media strategy.
- Produce a social media baseline pulse report for a national utility client.
- Daft press releases and pitches for a variety of clients.
- Lead social media campaign for nonprofit client.
- Research and monitor our clients in the social media sphere
- Utilize CisionPoint, Radian 6 and Vocus
Check out my latest post on the KSV Corporate Blog. I have reposted the post below.
Generation Now
Forbes recently published an article about a study finding that Millennials place “money, fame, and image” as more important life goals, whereas goals concerning “self-acceptance, affiliation, and community” are less so.
Born in 1989, I fall into this generation and find the study, and others which label my generation “generation me”, or “generation stuck,” very troublesome.
Although attitudes towards Millennials vary by report, there is no question we differ greatly from our parents’ and grandparents’ generations. A recent Nielson study gave my generation yet another nickname, “generation C,” to reflect the connectedness of Millennials. As a generation we consume more media, socialize, and share more experiences through electronic devices than any other age group.
While this connectedness offers marketers more touch points to reach us, marketing to Millennials also presents new challenges. Forbes cites that 35% of Millennials distrust big business. In addition to that skepticism, Millennials tend to be savvier and more conservative with spending habits.
Perhaps the most positive attribute to come out of recent Millennial studies is our entrepreneurial spirit. CBS News reported that Millennials are clever multitaskers and self-starters. Although our entrepreneurial spirit is often praised, our work ethic is still questioned. 60 Minutes ran a story criticizing Millennials for thinking they can “roll into work with their iPods and flip-flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday.”
Despite conflicting predictions for Millennials in the workforce, most reports agree that as a generation we provide new insight and creativity, due in most part to our education. Business Insider says that Millennials are on track to be the most educated generation in America.
The Pew Research Center recently conducted a study on Millennials, similar to the one cited by Forbes, but highlighting very different findings. The study stressed that Millennials are confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat, and open to change.
In a world that is ripe for some serious change, a generation armed with education, self-expression, and optimism might be exactly what we need.
I was recently invited to write a post on KSV's Corporate blog about social media innovation in the academic sphere. You can read the original post here. I have re-posted the blog post below.
The Global Classroom
Chances are your memories from fourth grade do not include video chatting with students from Morocco to discuss culture and food trends. However, for some New Hampshire elementary students, and an increasing number of classrooms across the country, global video conferencing is becoming a common classroom occurrence.
Skype, an application that allows users to make voice and video calls over the internet, released its“Skype in the Classroom” program late last year. The free online program brings teachers together to set up global classroom chats. Focusing on culture, language and discovery, Skype in the Classroom is providing a global networking platform for classroom collaboration. Teachers set up online profiles listing their classroom interests, specialties, and locations to find partner classroomsacross the globe.
For example, after being frustrated with a lack of counter viewpoints in Australian textbooks on WWI, a history teacher from Australia partnered with a class in Turkey to discuss different points of view on the conflict.
Skype is not the only brand providing the infrastructure for this type of education based exchange. A site called Glovico for instance, sets up a marketplace for online language tutors and video chat based lessons. A startup called Verbling takes a different approach and organizes free language exchanges, allowing users to speak in one language for a designated time and then switch to the other users language for the remainder of the session.
Skype in the Classroom also encourages national classroom conferencing, promoting partnerships with experts such as Olympians, scientists, and authors. This year a third grade classroom in Maine hosted former first lady Barbara Bush, via Skype, to discuss the importance of reading and grammar. Some teachers on the site even invite busy parents to call in from their offices, creating “virtual career days.”
According to Skype CEO Tony Bates, Skype in the Classroom reached 20,000 educators in December with the ultimate goal of connecting one million classrooms. Currently 170 different countries are represented in the global classroom program.
Video chatting is not the only way digital and social media are being used to connect with the youth education market.
Wikispaces, a website free for educators, allows teachers to build interactive sites where students can contribute content, and collaborate on discussion boards. Another media sharing site,Schooltube.com, provides a place for educators and students to share videos ranging from raps about math to detailed calculus lessons. Here at KSV, our team is partnering with VSAC to launch a Facebook App to assist students with planning for life after high school.
How else do you see brands using digital and social tools to connect with students in the education space?
Recently KSV acquired a new client, ACORN shoes. I had the opportunity to help draft the press release announcing the partnership.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: Alexandra Tursi
Kelliher Samets Volk
802-862-8261, x2856
atursi@ksvc.com
ACORN PICKS KSV – AND IT FEELS LIKE THE PERFECT FIT
October 14, 2011 – Burlington, VT – KSV is now strategic marketing partner to ACORN, a leading brand in comfort footwear, based in Lewiston, Maine. Unique to the new relationship is a further partnership with Forty Forty, a CA-based agency with proven experience building footwear brands. KSV and Forty Forty will provide ACORN with a range of marketing services.
Founded with the goal to bring “Comfort on Earth” to customers, ACORN grew from a hobby into a company with a global footprint, providing a line of products to customers as near as New England and as far as outer space (ACORN outfits NASA astronauts).
KSV will partner with ACORN to promote the brand’s innovative design, high quality, and desire to provide people with a level of comfort that is unsurpassed.
“We are thrilled to announce that we’re already hard at work taking the ACORN brand to the next level,” said David Coats, executive creative director at KSV. “Our Network Branding approach will help ACORN connect with and inspire its customers.”
Kelliher Samets Volk is a marketing group with more than 30 years of experience building brands and businesses. Founded in 1977, the firm employs more than 60 people at its offices in New York City, Boston, and Burlington, Vermont.
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Social Media Copy
Twitter
The shoe fits! @KSVTweets is now strategic marketing partner to ACORN, a leading brand in comfort footwear. #comfortonearth
[Link to press release]
Facebook
It’s a perfect fit! KSV is now strategic marketing partner to ACORN (TAG to ACORN’s FB PAGE), a leading brand in comfort footwear. We’re also stoked to partner with Forty Forty (TAG), a CA-based agency, to provide ACORN with a range of marketing services. (link to ACORN’s website)
[Link to press release]
LinkedIn
KSV is now strategic marketing partner to ACORN, a leading brand in comfort footwear. We’re excited to partner with Forty Forty, a CA-based agency, to provide ACORN with a range of marketing services, including creative.
[Link to press release]
Here is a sample of my work at KSV so far:
Blog Post for KSV's internal "Connections Blog"
Facebook’s New Design Reveals Networks of Opportunity
On September 22, Mark Zuckerberg and the creators of Facebook unveiled major changes to the social media site at the F8 developer conference. The changes will revolutionize the way users and marketers, utilize the site. While Facebook will ultimately be more visually impressive, looking more like a Tumblr blog, the changes go far beyond visual aesthetics.
Zuckerberg explained is now focused in getting users more connected and adding depth to their experience through newly designed apps. Zuckerberg cited the fact that this year, on one day, more than a half a billion users worldwide logged onto Facebook.
The changes: Facebook’s new “Timeline.” The feature will make the site more like a virtual scrapbook, allowing users to scroll back in time and see the important moments of the user’s virtual life. Timeline is image heavy and much more graphically appealing. A new cover photo allows people to introduce their pages with a much larger graphic, while keeping the profile picture smaller and in the corner. The flow of information through time is continuous as you scroll through the page, with important stories, and pictures highlighted. Users also have the ability to click on any year in the timeline and insert new content in chronological order. Facebook will automatically determine which stories are important and pull them to highlight in Timeline; however, users can “star” and “un-star” stories and change privacy controls on every action on their personal timeline.
Open Graph apps. The applications are being developed for what Zuckerberg refers to as “frictionless experiences.” The apps will require only a one-time click to be fully integrated into Facebook. Then, any time a user listens to music, reads a book, hikes a trail, or cooks a meal, the corresponding app will post the information directly in the user’s newsfeed without asking permission.
New Ticker Feature. App activities will be reported in Facebook’s new Ticker feature, which reports “light” action, and will only show up on their wall or newsfeed if Facebook senses a pattern or something significant about the activity. The goal of the new app heavy Facebook is that users will discover things from their friends more easily and more often.
For example, if a user sees in the Ticker that their friend is listening to a song, they can put their curser over the Ticker and immediately begin playing that same song through the application their friend is using. Facebook calls this “real time serendipity.” It means that users will be much more connected to their friends’ interests and actions and will be using Facebook in a much more connected way.
So what do all these changes mean for KSV and other marketers?
Facebook is pushing apps to fill in users’ pages. The apps are being fully integrated into the system and are going to make it harder for other brands to get noticed. The goal of getting users to “like” your page is no longer as relevant. Markets need to create more compelling and social content to integrate into users’ lives. Brands that have boring pages with little action will show up as light activity in the new Ticker, and will never make it to the news feed or individuals’ Timelines. Apps and brand pages will need utility, not just a visual presence.
An example of a brand already succeeding with the new Facebook design is Nike. The company associated their brand with the action of running, and the social action of sharing running routs. Now when a Facebook user with theNike app goes for a run with their iPhone, her run will be tracked via GPS and reported on Facebook so her friends can see her route. Nike has tethered its brand to a social action to gain a presence on Facebook.
The good news is Facebook is connecting people in the hope that they will talk to each other and to brands in ways not previously possible. Zuckerberg believes that people will learn and discover things from their friends, creating networks that are extremely connected just like KSV’s Network Marketing. We realize that for brands to live and breathe, they need to live in the networks their customers do. Facebook can now give our clients better access to those networks.
