In this episode of PRobecast, Renatta Siewert joins me in talking about the idea of voting via smartphone, Disney and YouTube’s $10M deal and social media not being one-size fits all.

Voting with a Smartphone – Did you vote on Election Day? A Mashable writer suggested that many people don’t vote because voting is inconvenient. There’s the time limit, the specific locations as to where you can vote – all these things can often be roadblocks and the reasoning behind people not voting. He suggests the idea that smartphones could change all that. With all the apps available, a secure application could be created allowing people to vote directly from their mobile device. With people now being able to purchase things via their smartphones, why not vote?

Disney’s Deal with YouTube – Disney and YouTube have put together a deal to produce co-branded video content. Disney is trying to attract a bigger audience by teaming up with the video giant. On the other hand, YouTube is trying to better their reputation with parents by teaming up with this family-friendly company. Is this a good move for both players? Will we see more companies trying to partner with YouTube?

Social media: Every Channel Doesn’t Need to be Tapped – An article in PRWeek discusses how when it comes to social media, don’t jump in blindly. Companies need to be strategic as to which forms of social channels they decide to join – and have a plan as to what their ultimate goal is. Having a twitter account that isn’t geared towards your target audience is not going to help your presence. Being on Facebook, but not having any information about your company isn’t going to grow your “like”ers. When it comes to social media, brands need to be smart.

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week we chose the Disney/YouTube deal as the story that comes out on top. This deal makes perfect sense for both parties, bettering the images of both parties. Disney needs to expand their audience and seem “cooler,” whereas YouTube wants to better its sometimes explicit image with parents concerned about what their children are viewing.

Who do you think should have won?

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Technorati Tags: Disney and YouTube deal, How to use Social Media, Voting via Smartphone

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In this episode of PRobecast, Renatta Siewert and Caitlin Smith join me in talking about free blackberry apps, Dr. Pepper Ten and Lindsay Lohan’s trouble with the law.

Blackberry to give free apps to compensate for outages– Last week we discussed the Blackberry outages that effected users worldwide. Now, the company is offering users select premium applications free of charge that are supposedly worth over $100, along with one month free technical support to the company’s enterprise users. Is this enough for users to forget about the outage that was heard across the world?

Dr. Pepper’s ‘Manly’ Drink – So a new advertising campaign for Dr. Pepper Ten is causing quite the stir over the internet. Many are saying the campaign is sexist. The ad starts out with a man in fight/war gear running through a jungle shooting laser guns, saying that the new beverage is “10 manly calories” and is not for women. This ad was developed after research found not many men opted for diet beverages. Do you think the way Dr. Pepper went about advertising this was wrong?”

Lindsay Lohan might be going to jail – Lindsay Lohan is, once again, in trouble with the law. This time her probation is being revoked and she will be forced to complete 16 hours of community service at the morgue. Apparently, this spawned from her being kicked out of the Women’s Center for not showing up 9 times. The judge also said that she doubted Lindsay had visited her shrink once a week – something she was required to do. If you were Lindsay’s PR rep, what would you have her do. Can she save her image?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week Blackberry won. I mean, they tried. We don’t necessarily think their peace offering was effective, but they did try putting themselves in a better light by offering a few premium applications to users.

Who do you think should have won this week?

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Technorati Tags: Blackberry's free apps, Dr. Pepper Ten, Dr. Pepper's new ad campaign, Lindsay Lohan might go to jail, sexist advertisements

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