I have to admit, I’m much more interested in the commercials and half-time show this Sunday.

Although Madonna’s half-time show is not expected to be as risqué as Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson’s, Madonna is certain to provoke and provide lots of opportunity for talk. TMZ and others have leaked that “Vogue” will most likely be one of the five songs during her performance.

But what have me excited about the Big Game are the much anticipated commercials. From Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno for Acura to Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller, to the CareerBuilder.com chimps, the spots are bound to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. For a sneak peek at some teasers, check out AdWeek’s preview.

By the way, the Giants are playing the Patriots.

The bottom line is Carnival had the opportunity to do a lot more during the initial investigation.  They missed opportunities to try and rebuild their credibility, which quickly eroded when the poor decisions of the ship’s captain came to light.  As divers continue to search for bodies, Carnival is trying to move on and sell more cruises.  They have an opportunity to talk about policies and procedures on board all their vessels to reassure the general public that their ships are safe and secure.  Expect Carnival and the cruise ship industry as a whole to take a financial hit as potential passengers look elsewhere for vacations.  The long-term effect is up to Carnival.  How they handle these difficult weeks and months ahead will determine the future of the company and quite possibly the industry.

Think about it, if you were a passenger or you had a friend or family member on board, what would you want Carnival to do? What would you expect them to say? If you haven’t discussed your own corporate messaging strategy lately for everyday news or crisis communications, call TVG at 314-991-4641 or click here to send us an email.  We can help.

Did Keith need to go that far in his apology? I would say no, but the fact that he did speaks volumes about Keith as a leader and about the entire MoDOT organization. When it comes down to it, MoDOT guessed wrong based on the forecast, and they accepted full responsibility for that guess. When is the last time you saw someone accept full responsibility for something that was out of their control? If Keith and his team had guessed the other way, treated the roads with solution and salt, and the forecast had been wrong, they could have been criticized for wasting taxpayer dollars. From a media and crisis communications perspective, Keith did everything right. He accepted responsibility and vowed to do better in the future. Now, let’s cut MoDOT some slack and see how they do with the next snow storm this winter.

When was the last time you or your spokesperson had media and crisis communications training? If you can’t remember, give us a call. We can help! You can also take our crisis communications threat matrix quiz.

Andy Likes, Director of Media Relations, accepted the award for TVG. The program encourages companies to take steps toward more sustainable business practices.

Some of the ways TVG improved our sustainable business practices in 2011 included:
• Our Green Team held employee educational sessions that discussed tips for being greener around the office and at home,
• TVG provided recycled materials to a local church to help in their fundraising efforts, and
• TVG used and recommended soy ink and recycled stock for marketing materials.

Photographer: Kris Buetlmann

Keeping It Legal

The always evolving realm of social media provides opportunity for growth and advancement. It is also important to stay on top of to the latest developments. In order to use this tool effectively, make sure you’re aware of the legal issues surrounding social media. Even the smallest promotions and contests on Facebook or Twitter are subject to regulations. Learn more about keeping your company out of trouble if you’re thinking of running an online contest.

Blogging Like a Pro

Want to grow your blog like a Fortune 500? There is a strategic way to accomplish that goal. Some of the steps include reflecting on your previous quarter and checking who is reading your blog. These steps, while basic, provide a great insight into how you can attract more readers and increase participation. What tactics have you used to grow your blog?

Social Media Management Tips

If you offer social media services to multiple clients, managing all of the accounts takes preparation. There are a few tips that can help keep your social workflow under control. Remember to delegate tasks from the start of a project, this will help identify problems quickly and avoid confusion. Organizing an editorial schedule and other account details in one location can also help keep the entire team on the same page. Management tools like Pulse, HootSuite and Tweetdeck can ensure your team doesn’t miss anything.  If you need help managing your company’s social media accounts, contact us for a list of services.

Baseball and Social Media: A Great Combo

The St. Louis Cardinals take on the Cubs this weekend in Chicago, but don’t forget about Social Media Night at Busch Stadium next week. Attendees get access to specials and the chance to network with other social media professionals in the area. Will you be there?

The Vandiver Group is proud to be the Top PR Firm in St. Louis for the second straight year. We look forward to showing you why we’re number #1.  Give us a call or drop us an email today.  And, thank you everyone!

• Alert the media ahead of time, but not too early.  If you let them know too far in advance, the event’s information may get lost in the flood of other e-mails the media receives.  Alerting them a few days prior to the event is generally the best way to capture and keep the media’s interest. Also, don’t forget to follow up the day of the event as a reminder.
• Intrigue the media with enough information, but not too much.  If they have all of the information they need prior to the event, they may see no need to attend your press conference.
• Be accessible and ready to answer the media’s questions in a timely manner.
• Help reporters get the best story they can.  Arrange interviews for the media with key spokespeople where they can get questions answered and have an opportunity to go more in-depth on areas of interest piqued during the press conference.  Explain to the media in advance how the questions will be handled so they will be prepared.
• Supply background materials to the beforehand and bring extras to the event in case the media forgets to bring the materials with them.
• Make your event “one-stop shopping” for the media. Make sure they can get everything they need for their story in one place (visuals, sound, logos, experts, etc.)
• Ensure your speakers have prepared key messages that they can deliver during the press conference in five to seven minutes.  Try to keep the number of people speaking during the press conference to three to five, if possible.
• Don’t forget to use new media tools to promote your press conference and share information during the press conference.  Tweeting is a great way to spread the word about an announcement and gain extra exposure.

Clearly communicating with the media and spokespeople will facilitate a more effective press conference and help ensure successful media stories.  Do you still have questions about planning and implementing an upcoming press conference?  TVG can help.  Our team has the media relationships and event planning expertise to make your next press conference a success. Give us a call at 314-991-4641 or email us at tvg@vandivergroup.com.

The staff of the Federal Trade Commission is updating “Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising,” the guidance document that advises businesses how federal advertising law applies to advertising and sales on the Internet. The online world has changed dramatically since the original guidance was published in 2000, and the FTC is seeking public comment about how it should be modified to reflect these changes.

Since the FTC staff published Dot Com Disclosures, mobile marketing has become a reality, the “App” economy has emerged, the use of “pop-up blockers” has become widespread, and online social networking has emerged and grown popular. In seeking public comment on possible revisions to the guidance document, the staff is interested in the technical and legal issues that marketers, consumer advocates, and others believe should be addressed.

The FTC will seek public comment for 45 days, beginning today and continuing through July 11, 2011. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form. Hard-copy comments should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex I), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580.

To submit comments electronically, click here.

To download “Dot Com Disclosures,” click here.

Chrysler recently had a big “oops” when someone at a firm hired to manage their Twitter account accidentally tweeted from the @ChryslerAutos account instead of a personal account. The tweet dropped the F-bomb, reading: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f****** drive.” Needless to say, their recent branding efforts (Imported from Detroit) and the company as a whole took a big hit. Oops.

Even though things like not attaching a document to an email or posting to Facebook instead of Twitter may seem like harmless mistakes, we can still set parameters to help us avoid these situations. Here at TVG, we encourage clients to develop cohesive communications strategies that involve consistent messaging across all outlets. This helps ensure that all communications by a company—both online and off—support the bigger picture (i.e. business objectives). It also helps to have a system of checks and balances that focuses on the security and accuracy of all company communications. This can prevent avoidable mistakes from affecting your reputation.

But even with systems and securities in place, “oops” moments happen, especially with the rapid pace of social media. One wrong response on Facebook or one misconstrued tweet can flip the panic switch and send your team into crisis mode. A crisis communications plan is a necessity for any company, but the best way to avoid a social media crisis is to set up a social media policy and teach your team how to use social media correctly. Just as with every medium, make sure you align your social media communications with your overall strategy.

TVG offers social media training and refresher courses that can help you take proactive steps to avoid those “oops” moments. We also can work with your company to develop an effective social media policy to prevent a Chrysler tweet disaster from happening to your company. To learn more about TVG’s services, check out the Services page of our website.

It has become common practice for most companies to tell the consumer that they are taking our information and sharing it for purposes of e-mail marketing or handling of a customer account. But they are not really being transparent about where the email addresses are going. Very few companies handle email relationships in-house. This means consumer email addresses are going to firms like Epsilon, who are capable of tracking e-mail response rates, mapping them to in-store purchase decisions and demographic information, and analyzing the data with a host of other marketing tools.

This is all well and good for marketers, but for consumers this means your information is not housed safely within the walls of your favorite company. Some consumers might be outraged by this, but in the end we are the ones who handed over our information in the first place. And so, fair or not, our personal online privacy must ultimately be our individual responsibility.

What it comes down to is using common sense. Don’t provide sensitive information over email and don’t respond to emails from senders you don’t know. This will prevent a flood of spam to your inbox and protect your email account from being mined for other sensitive data. Just make sure you use an extra dose of caution and even an extra secure password to protect your information. Not sure about an email? Check that the recipient URL is it consistent with the URL usually used when you get information from that company.  Worried about a scam?  Search for the email topic or sender address on snopes.com.

For more information on this story, click here.