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How Social Media Boosted Black Friday Statistics

Black Friday 2010 is a strong example of how social media and the Internet are changing the way consumers shop. Shoppers who chose to scour the Internet instead of the malls on Black Friday gave online merchants a 16 percent revenue increase from 2009. According to Coremetrics, online shoppers also spent more this year on […]

Kanye West: Empathy or Empty Apology?

Every year on Thanksgiving Day, millions of viewers tune into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with thousands of performing entertainers to celebrate the festivities. This year, Kanye West made an appearance on the Big Apple float with an unhappy audience booing and chanting “Taylor” as West passed the crowd. Although the MTV Video Music Awards […]

Effective PR tactics lead to Vick-tory

As an Atlanta native, I never saw Michael Vick, the former Falcons quarterback, making a comeback. In 2007, Vick was convicted of running a dog fighting ring and training pit bulls for fighting purposes. Avid football fans all over the U.S. were disgusted with his behavior. How could a man so powerful and wealthy practice […]

90% of You Won’t Read This Blog Post

We’ve all seen status updates on Facebook stating the corresponding user is associated with a certain cause/religious faith/political ideal and dares others to post the same status, claiming that anywhere from 93 percent to 97 percent “won’t re-post this.” Where do those statistics come from? Nowhere. They are assumed and fabricated. There is something very […]

Can LeBron Take the Heat?

With the NBA season starting, the much publicized team re-alliances are back in the headlines. The leader of these shifts is LeBron James’ abandonment of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the more championship-favored Miami Heat. The announcement, made by James in a one-hour ESPN special July 8, left Cleveland fans heartbroken and betrayed by their once […]

Olbermann “Contributes” to Ethics Scandal

On Tuesday, Nov. 9, Keith Olbermann resumed his position as host of the MSNBC news program “Countdown,” after a weekend suspension. Olbermann was suspended for contributing to the campaigns of three democratic politicians. While he claims not to have known about the no-contribution rule in his contract, Olbermann apologized to his fans for causing “unnecessary […]

PR Makes a Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

The University of Alabama (UA) in Tuscaloosa paid homage to alumni Autherine Lucy Foster, James Hood and the late Vivian Malone by hosting an event recognizing the three individuals for their contributions to the school. On June 11, 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace stood in the doorway of UA’s Foster Auditorium to prevent the enrollment […]

Weighing in on Marie Claire’s PR Disaster

“Kiss my fat rolls.” That was just one of more than 3,600 responses to a Marie Claire blogger’s post called, “Should ‘Fatties’ Get a Room? (Even on TV?).” The post, in which blogger Maura Kelly addresses her disgust for overweight couples on television shows like the CBS sitcom “Mike & Molly,” has been the root […]

Social Media: The New Polling Machine?

Have you ever logged on to Facebook or Twitter and noticed a common theme among statuses or tweets? Within minutes you probably found yourself exploring what all the buzz was about. By the end of the day, you probably commented on the trending topic yourself. Whether the breaking news relates to celebrity gossip, an economic […]

Bridging the Gap Between the Logo and the Message

Who knew three little letters could cause such a stir? Gap, the clothing store known for its iconic white-on-navy logo, launched a new look on Oct. 4. The revamped logo featured thick, rounded Helvetica font with a small blue-gradient square. Less than one week later, however, the retailer announced its decision to return to the […]

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