Who doesn't love a good diagram?

I came across this diagram that displays the differences between branding, advertising, public relations and marketing. I think it is a great visual of the motives behind each practice.

Do you agree with the way each practice is portrayed? What would the diagram for social media or search engine marketing look like?

Fantasy Football is Genius

Fantasy Football.  For those of you who don't know (I am assuming there are a few) Wikipedia defines Fantasy Football as:

"a fantasy sports game in which participants (called "owners") are arranged into a competitive league, earning “fantasy points” by using the statistics of real football players. The owners of each league draft real-life American football players, typically from either the NFL or NCAA, filling a roster containing the various offense or defensive positions on a team, such as Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End. Depending on how well the players on an Owner’s team do in a given week, the team earns Fantasy Points to compete against the other owners in the league."

My boyfriend (@bryanschnicker) and guy friends are all Fantasy Football freaks. Ladies, I'm sure you know a few of them/your boyfriends may be one. Fantasy football freaks are glued to their computers on Sundays and their conversations revolve around "who they are playing this week, injuries, points, and key match ups."  They live and breathe the NFL and their moods are often directly correlated to the performance of a) Ben Roethlisberger b) Aaron Rodgers c) Tom Brady or d) Peyton or Eli Manning (Drew Brees always plays great so he isn't included).

I am a huge football fan and I love the NFL so my boyfriend crowned me "pseudo assistant coach" of his team and before I knew it I was tuning into every game to see how well my players fared. A moment of truth hit me and I realized what I was becoming. I also realized that this "fantasy football league" was making me crazy. I was obsessed with the NFL which is why I believe fantasy football is genius. Dare I say fantasy football is a stealthy public relations campaign?

The league incorporates many facets deemed necessary in any successful public relations campaign. Most of which are being discussed and valued by professionals attempting to connect with consumers today.

1. Engagement: F.F.F. (Fantasy Football Freaks) are engaging with the NFL brand on a daily basis. They are picking their NFL players and visiting the NFL and ESPN (Also Yahoo, etc) websites numerous times a day to check on their team and stay on top of what is happening in the league.

Another facet of engagement are the feelings experienced while participating. I believe that many F.F.F.s get a rush from Fantasy Football. How is their team going to do? How many points are they going to get this week? No offense men, but we all now the male species thrives on these kind of emotions. At the end of the day, most F.F.F.s are loving the NFL strictly based on the excitement that is Fantasy Football.

2. Loyalty: A F.F.F. will most likely never miss a game that their players are participating in. You can count on them tuning in to Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, and Monday Night Football.  In the highly unlikely chance that they do miss a game, you can count on the F.F.Fs to be checking ESPN.com or watching highlights from the games on ESPN the next day. The F.F.Fs are loyal to the network and to the NFL brand. Not to mention, most F.F.F. create a new team and join a league every year. 

Apart from engagement and loyalty, Fantasy football has progressed into a nationwide phenomenon. ESPN has an entire show dedicated to Fantasy where sports casters make predictions, report injuries, and discuss stats. A television show, The League, has also been created based on Fantasy Football!

Personally, participating in the league has made me buy into the ESPN and the NFL brands. Not only do I love football season, I love fantasy football season. If that makes me a Fantasy Football Freak so be it. Great public relations tactic, NFL. I'm sold.

What do you think? Any self proclaimed F.F.Fs out there? Come on, fess up.

Kanye West and the VMA's

As I'm sure you have head, Kanye West caused quite the stir last night at the 2009 MTV VMA awards in New York City. A crazy Kanye grabbed the mic from mid-acceptance speech Taylor Swift protesting the award and claiming that Beyonce "had one of the best videos of all time." (Cringing as I remember Kanye's saying it!)

I must say I do like his music but that is pretty much it. As the VMA's continued, Twitter was heating up over the outburst. It wasn't long before #Kanye became a trending topic soon followed by #TeamTaylor. Taylor eventually thanked her fans on Twitter after Beyonce called her up to finish her speech.



Needless to say, this whole drama made me think about two things:

1. Twitter. Twitter is so cool! It was really great to see the audience engaging with the show and I loved Taylor's shoutout to her fans on Twitter that supported #TeamTaylor. Once again, behold the power of Twitter.

2. The saying "Any publicity is good publicity." Does this ring true for Kanye West? Yes, he is the talk of Twitterville and has caused quite the commotion but not for anything good. This will obviously add to his already bad image but does it matter?

What do you think about all of this?

What I'm Reading

What a great Saturday!

Today I biked to the Palatine Public Library with one mission in mind, getting a bunch of great new reads. I have been reading the Twilight Saga (yes, I am admitting it) for too long. My co-worker Kate (@katefrankenberg) helped me see that. It was getting to be pretty embarrassing.

Hence my 5 mile bike ride. Minus sweating and my i-Pod dying, I came home with a backpack full of wonderful books. I'm sure some sound familiar, here is what I'm reading:

1. The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR (Al and Laura Ries)- Very excited about this one.. "Today's brands are born with publicity, not advertising. A closer look at this history of the most successful brands shows this to be true."

2. Making It In Public Relations- An Insider's Guide to Career Opportunities (Leonard Mogel)- "How to break in, What the insiders say, and advice on finding a job during a tough time." Right up my alley..


3. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)- An amazing classic, pretty self-explanatory. Oh Heathcliff...

4. The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging (By the Editors of the Huffington Post)- "Getting started, getting noticed, building a community, finding your voice, and best practices" Sounds like a good read to me, one can never know too much about blogging.


5. Word of Mouth Marketing- How Smart Companies Get People Talking (Andy Sernovitz, foreword by Seth Godin, afterword by Guy Kawasaki)- Do I even need to explain why I'm reading this one? Didn't think so...

6. Rules for the Unruly (Marion Winik)- "Shows us how taking risks, living creatively, and cherishing our inner weirdness can become the secret of our happiness and success, not our downfall" Written by National Public Radio commentator Marion Winik. For some inspiration.


7. Love is a Mix Tape- Life and Loss, One Song at a Time (Rob Sheffield)- Reccommended by my fabulous co-worker Lauren (@laurensvoboda).


Thank goodness for my three hour commute everyday. All my books are due September 12th.. wish me luck.

Here we go...

Hello!

First off, thank you for taking the time to read my first post! There are many blogs dedicated to public relations so I sincerely appreciate your interest in mine.

I have created "PR Crunch" in hopes of providing insights and a few laughs. Although I have partly just begun my journey into public relations and the professional world, I love the opportunity that blogs provide. I will give my opinions, share my experiences, and host a forum online where the young and old can come together and partake in the oldest pastime- conversation.

I look forward to conversing with you and seeing where this blog can go.