Author: Brian Lee

Pinterest: the future of consumer-brand relationships

Posted on by Brian Lee

Until recently, Pinterest has been the social media site for dreamers. People shared and pinned their favorite images but were unable to take any action on those images.

For example:

  • A woman who pins fashion pictures of her favorite outfits could use those images for inspiration but was unable to determine where the clothing came from and how she could buy it.
  • An aspiring chef who pins food could mimic the meals on Pinterest but could not always find the exact recipe.
  • A movie buff who pins a poster for a new movie cannot watch the trailer, research the cast or read the reviews.

As of late May 2013, that has all changed. Pinterest is taking its first steps in integrating images with brands. The process is intended to make it easier for Pinterest users to interact with brands, make their desires a reality and generate revenue for both Pinterest and those selling goods on the site.

Pinterest has created new pin types for food, retail products and movies. Food pins will display ingredients, recipes and nutritional information. Retail product pins will give users the option to buy products. Movie pins will give users information about the cast, the plot and what the reviews have been.

Pinterest is not currently making profit off of this system, but it is expected to expand and bring in revenue for all parties involved. Pinterest has already partnered with eBay, Neiman Marcus, Whole Foods, Netflix and many more.

Some people may say that this change will ruin the magic of Pinterest, changing it from a site of inspiration to another place to buy goods.

I would have to disagree. I think this change is a positive for producers, consumers and Pinterest. Not only can people now pin their favorite images, but they can learn all about them. Each image pinned will come with some sort of information, whether it is who makes the product, how to create the product, where it comes from or how to buy it.

This change will increase interactions between consumers and brands, building stronger relationships. The new Pinterest will also benefits brands through free marketing. When Pinterest users re-pin what they see, or take note of images on their friends’ pins, they will also be taking note of what brands their friends are interested in.

Pinterest keeps emphasizing that this change is not a form of advertising. Pinterest wants to associate action with its website and add value to the sharing experience. I believe the changes Pinterest is making will make each user’s experience more significant and useful. In fact, I have never been an avid user of the site, but I am now more enticed to increase my pinning.

Perhaps the outcome of this change will be an uptick in Pinterest users, more partnerships with brands and stronger marketing power for brands.

Augmented Reality: Engaging or Intrusive?

Posted on by Brian Lee

Can technology become more realistic and interactive without growing more intrusive?

It seems every aspect of modern life is being integrated with technology, and with it, people are losing privacy and human interaction.

In public relations, this next technological step is augmented reality, which is the use of computer-generated data to reflect real-world images. AR allows consumers to learn more about a place, object or brand simply by holding a smartphone or tablet above it. For example:

So far, augmented reality has mostly been used for mobile apps but has had success in a variety of campaigns this year. The World Wildlife Foundation and Coca-Cola allowed European museum visitors to see the effects of the melting ice caps and President Obama virtually high-fived voters during his campaign.

AR changes the constraints regarding where and how customers can consume messages and interact with brands. It allows for deeper, more realistic relationships between brands, campaigns, products and consumers.

The goal of public relations is to build a relationship between brands and consumers. In my opinion, the ability to bring brands to life and create interactions with consumers is thus a great opportunity.

Augmented reality changes public relations only by make interactions more life-like. I don’t think there is any or much fear of intrusion with augmented reality because it is projecting a message and creating a consumer experience that gives the consumers control of where to access this augmented reality and when to end the engagement.

The importance of accreditation in PR

Posted on by Brian Lee

The Public Relations Society of America announced this week that it’s planning to enhance the profile and prestige of the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) Credential.

In an article titled, “Should PR pros get accredited?” on PR Daily, I talk about how accreditation helps separate the contenders from the pretenders. That’s because public relations is an experience-based profession, meaning that you learn more on how to do it outside the classroom than inside. As a result, it has a low barrier to entry, and anyone can claim they “do PR” without an education of the basics.

Let’s take a look at media relations (e.g. pitching), what a lot of people associate PR with. Many so-called PR practitioners will promise only media coverage for their clients. But all accredited professionals know that media coverage alone is not a goal or objective, it’s simply an output.

Thus, it’s unfortunate that a few bad apples can spoil perceptions about the profession, an example being Facebook hiring a PR firm to plant negative news about Google. I’m hopeful that as more professionals earn their accreditation, the perception of PR–both internal and external–will be much improved.