Mediaboss Marketing

Ive written before about accidental PR disasters such as the McDonalds #McDStories campaign (instead of nostalgic memories it led to disgruntled customer tirades), government sites that went dark during the federal governments shutdown, or even a physical altercation between a PR lead and a heckling journalist, all recorded on video.

This month yet another PR gaffe is making national headlines: the Topps Company (maker of the Ring Pops jewel-shaped candy on a plastic ring) may beinvestigatedby the FTC for their most recent social media campaign #RockThatRock a promotion that invited teenagers to upload photos of themselves wearing Ring Pops to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.The complaint alleges the campaign violatestheChildrens Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting and disclosing personal data from children under 13 without their parents permission.

The R5 band featured Ring Pop photos in a music video (Image courtesy of fan site Ready5SetRock.com)

Not the outcome the company was looking for, clearly.

A blog article in the New York Times reports the company launching the campaign earlier this week inviting teens to submit pictures of the ways they rock their edible bling with submissions going up on the companys Facebook and Twitter pages along with contestants social media names. Winning pictures were also featured in a music video by R5, a pop-rock band that is popular with teen and pre-teen girls.

But some of the photos featured teenage girls and some who appear even younger in provocative poses with their lips wrapped around the Ring Pop candies. Parents and advocacy groups erupted in rage.

Showing young girls licking the candy in a Lolita-type way, its outrageous, Michael Brody, a child psychiatrist in Potomac, Md., told the New York Times. By knowing the contestants user names you could get in contact with them. Children shouldnt be put in this situation.

Oops.

As brands work to engage audiences on social media it is critical they understand FTC guidelines, best practices and even the practical implications of the ways a seemingly innocuous social media or PR campaign can go wrong. Katie Creaser,vice president of NYC-based PR and social media firmAffect, has offered up the following tips and planning questions for marketers to consider before launching social media campaigns, as follows:

Says Creaser: When you decided to engage on social media, you are agreeing to stand on a very public stage and allow your customers to tell you what they really think about you.What sounds like a great idea or a promotion in a marketing meeting may not play out well once its launched online.

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Marketing Gone Wrong: Is Your Social Media Plan Legal?

For ordinary Russians, what they learned about the rubles collapse depended greatly on where they turned for information.

While independent media said the central bank should have intervened more directly, and that the increase of the benchmark interest rate to 17 percent could create a crisis in the banking system, state-run outlets steered any criticism away from President Vladimir Putin and portrayed the government as ready to take firm action.

Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has regained government ownership of every major television station. With TV serving as the main source of news for most Russians living outside major cities, thats given the state incredible power to shape the news citizens receive.

The state-run media has a totally different task, said Alexei Makarkin, deputy head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Technologies. Their job isnt to inform people, but to carry out propaganda. And so theyre trying to reassure.

The ruble plummeted into a freefall yesterday, losing as much as 19 percent in the biggest one-day drop in 16 years, as panic swept across Russian financial markets after a surprise interest-rate increase overnight failed to stem the run on the currency. The ruble is being hammered as the global price of crude oil, Russias main export, plunged below $60 a barrel for the first time in five years. State-run Channel One didnt cover ruble plunge at all, except for saying that the central bank increased the key rate.

Media owned by the state or allies of Putin focused on the governments response to the crisis, if they reported on it at all. Rossiya 24 TV and Izvestia highlighted an interview with Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina saying she would act to defend the ruble. Rossiyskaya Gazeta and REN TV carried optimistic coverage that the ruble had strengthened after its decline.

In July, Russian state television reeled off almost every possible reason why a Malaysian Air passenger jet exploded over rebel territory in eastern Ukraine, denying some western military experts opinion that a Russian-made missile fired by pro-Russian insurgents. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Coverage on government-owned television is understandable in this case, said Yulia Bushueva, who helps to manage about $500 million at Arbat Capital in Moscow.

State television is having limited ruble coverage now in order not to cause panic among the people and make them run to the banks to swap their savings into dollars, which would harm the ruble even more, as those savings are pretty large, she said. Still, that may not help as Russians remember the 1998 and 2008 crises, and dont pay attention to what state TV says in such cases, she said.

Vladimir Rudenkov from Voronezh, a city about 500 kilometers (311 miles) from Moscow, was one of those ignoring the government-media assurances and taking action. Rudenkov transfered a portion of his savings into dollars yesterday and said he regretted that he didnt exchange it all.

More here:
Russians Sell Ruble as State-Run Media Says Crisis Under Control

The following is the text of the Joint Statement EU-US High level Dialogue on Non-Proliferation, Disarmament and Arms Control:

Brussels, Belgium 12 December 2014

The EU and the US met on 12 December 2014 in Brussels for a High level Dialogue on Non-Proliferation, Disarmament and Arms Control. The US Delegation was led by Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Tom Countryman and by Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance Anita Friedt. On the EU side, the meeting was chaired by EEAS Principal Adviser and Special Envoy for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Jacek Bylica, and it included senior officials from 28 EU Member States.

The EU and the US had extensive and very constructive discussions on the following topics:

The European security environment; the preparations for the 2015 NPT Review Conference and possible contributions for a successful outcome of the Conference as well as on the recently held Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons; and various regional issues related to the NPT and the process on a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East; the way forward for the Missile Technology Control Regime and the Hague Code of Conduct, including support for its implementation and universalisation; the ongoing preparatory process for the first Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty; the objectives for the 2016 BTWC Review Conference; the issue of preventing proliferation financing; as well as the plans for advancing the draft International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities.

Both sides agreed to continue their very fruitful cooperation as long-time partners with a shared interest in promoting international security, non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control.

Original post:
Press Releases: Joint Statement on EU-US High level Dialogue on Non-Proliferation, Disarmament and Arms Control

A terrorism expert has warned that social media could interfere with future operations like the one which brought the Martin Place siege in Sydney to an end overnight.

"It's natural we have that curiosity to figure that out, but somebody sending a tweet saying 'I've just seen a man in SWOT gear climb a ladder', the gunman could be hearing that in real time and making a response," Professor Greg Barton told 7.30.

"We have to be careful. Maybe in this case it didn't have a consequence but there'll be other cases in the future."

At the height of the siege, NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Catherine Burn confirmed that social media was hampering their ability to control information.

"We are monitoring what's happening on Facebook clearly," she told reporters.

"We are monitoring what's happening on Twitter and that is forming a part of our tactical response in how to handle this."

But it is not just the media and a general public hungry for information that are using social media.

"Increasingly with modern terrorism we're seeing an increased focus on getting publicity and modern media, particularly social media," Professor Barton said.

"Islamic State (IS), the latest variation of Al Qaeda, is intensely interested in media and publicity and very, very good at getting it.

"And even when they've inspired some rather pathetic character to do something that's not particularly professional, what they've achieved via this guy is getting the whole world to pay attention for a 24-hour cycle."

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Sydney siege: Social media could hamper police operations, being exploited by modern terrorists, expert says

Mars has shifted its media planning accountfrom Starcom to Mediacom as part of a global alignment to streamline its business.

Today Mediacom confirmed its has picked up the planning element of the accountin Australia, a welcome boost for the local division which is in the midst of internal audits after irregularities were discovered in TV reporting figures for three of its clients.

Starcom will still handle the buying on the account.

US trade magazine Adweek broke the news overnight, with a Mars spokesman saying: With the constant change in the media landscape, this model will allow us to better collaborate across our global business to drive efficiency, effectiveness, and coordination in our media planning.

This change brings our planning model in line with our existing global creative agency structure, and will allow us to further focus media as a growth driver.

The move applies to all four Mars divisions Petcare, food, chocolate and Mars-Wrigley in Australia.

Mars brands include Pedigree, Whiskas, Uncle Bens, Masterfoods, Malteasers, Milky Way and Skittles.

The group had an estimated main media spend of $43.2m between November 2013 and October 2014.

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Mars shifts global media planning from Starcom to Mediacom