Fresh Thinking: The Best of Public Relations Published February - March 2007 The PR Influences team scours the globe for what we are believe are some of the best examples of 'fresh thinking' in pr and marketing. Dell goes Green One of the trends for 2007 often touted has been the increasing concern by citizens about global warming. Dell is tapping into this sentiment with executive Michael Dell proposing the increased planting of trees in order to promote global health and wellness.  The “Plant a Tree for Me” initiative which hopes to raise money for environmental advocacy institutions is also up and running along with plans for computer recycling programs.  Dell’s green initiative has received positive media coverage tapping into consumers current concerns with global warming.  For more information view their website http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/corp/environment/en/tree?c=us&l=en&s=corp (Source: Bulldog Report January 2007) Good Night Sleep - Priceless Most hotels do not like to talk about noise.  How many times have you been on a business trip and had a bad night sleep due to parties, TVs blaring through the wall and external road noise and the like?  Well a hotel chain based in Minneapolis, AmericInn, recently began a promotion that a noise-free night is part of the deal. The chain, with more than 200 hotels in 23 states, has an advantage in its new campaign of promoting quiet rooms with its slogan “Welcome to the end of the day”. The hotels have concrete block walks filled with foam, insulated windows and guest room doors with thresholds to cut down on hallway noise. (Source: New York Times - 29/8/06)   P&G Launches Social Network sites  Proctor & Gamble is launching two social networking sites to gather information about consumers and generate ‘buzz’ about their products.Capessa, http://health.yahoo.com/experts/capessa/bio;_ylt=AhoIexBHs3k9.9zMVDbxe6gJU9MF which was unveiled as a test last month, is geared to subjects such as women’s health and parenting.  It is produced for the health section of Yahoo. The other site, The People’s Choice Community, (www.pcavote.com) will deliver news on fashion and celebrities. P&G last year also capitalized on the popularity of social networking sites when they wanted to create buzz about Secret deodorant and also showcase the brands 50th anniversary.  The campaign asked women “Are you strong enough to share your secret?” and then directed them to a micro site (http://www.secret.com/share/) where they could add anonymous confessions.  The campaign successfully generated more than 250,000 responses and the total secrets were viewed over 1.4 million times.  Coca-Cola embraces Crisis Management 101 in India Three years ago, a private research group alleged that soft drinks produced by Coke and Pepsi contained dangerous levels of pesticide residue.  At the time Coke practically ran from the allegations.  Sales plummeted. In August last year the allegations surfaced again but this time Coke hit the allegations head on, hiring researchers to talk to consumers and opinion leaders about the allegations. Coke then used the research findings as the basis of a television advertising campaign featuring testimonials by influential celebrities one of which was local movie star, Aamir Khan. Coke concurrently launched the first of three rounds of newspaper ads refuting the claims The result?  Recently India’s Health Ministry said in a sworn statement to the Indian Supreme Court that Coke and Pepsi beverages tested in three government labs contained little to no pesticide residue and none of the levels found exceed statutory limits Vice president of marketing for Coke in India said: “We knew we had to address it head on”.  It’s a pity they hadn’t applied this strategy the first time the allegations were raised.  (Source: www.ajc.com, 3/12/06) For 'Fresh Thinking' contact Sydney based public relations firm Network PR, publisher of PR Influences. View our website www.networkpr.com.au to discover our innovative online pr services that finds and influences your stakeholders wherever they are.

PR Influences: Fresh Thinking: The Best of Public Relations article by Sydney based Network PR an online pr company specialising in technology business clients.