It’s About Time, McDonald’s

Posted: December 16th, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: PR Opinion, Rants | No Comments

mcd-wifi From Mashable, this headline:
McDonald’s Adds Free Wi-Fi to the Menu

Halleluia!

I wrote a post on this very blog (well, it had a different design at the time, and maybe a different name, but it had the same URL anyhow) nearly THREE YEARS AGO, laying out a case for why McDonald’s needed to get rid of its $2.95 wi-fi fee. And, it appears the reason they switched is the exact reason I laid out in my post. Here’s what Mashable says:

…McDonalds is hoping to become a hang-out spot of the coffee shop variety — it also plans to start selling frappes and smoothies mid-2010. And given the fact that coffee chains like Starbucks charge customers to surf while they sip, the idea doesn’t seem all that pie-in-the-sky.

…and here’s what I said in my post, On Wi-Fi Hotspots and McDonald’s, on February 10, 2007:

Free web access [...] would open McDonald’s to an entirely different set of customers. If you walk into a Panera Bread Company store in the middle of the day, you’ll see that it’s crawling with business people who are eating and getting a little work done. McDonald’s could combine cheaper food with free Internet, and draw a bunch of those businesspeople in. Parents could even get some work done while their kids catch syphilis from those hamster tube play areas.

It’s nice when a big company reacts to a reasoned argument from a PR guy like me ;)

Audio from July’s New Media Seminars

Posted: July 3rd, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: PR Opinion, Social Media Opinion, Speaking Engagements | No Comments

I’ve got a busy July coming up for speaking opportunities and even teaching. I plan to cover that in a separate post, so that’s not important right now :) In this post, I wanted to share some audio from my most recent presentation.

I spoke this week at the July edition of the monthly New Media Seminars, organized by Advertising and New Media firm Madison + Main. I recorded my portion of the half-day workshop, and included it in the latest episode of my small business advice podcast, Startup BizCast. My topic was “How Social Media Changed Everything in PR”.

You can listen in the player below, or find out how to subscribe via iTunes, RSS, or other podcast directories by visiting the Startup BizCast blog.

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A PR Refresher from Ad Age

Posted: May 13th, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: PR Opinion | No Comments

Advertising professionals and PR professionals sometimes find themselves on opposite ends of arguments, usually over how much budget each will receive. Because of that, it was refreshing to read Jonah Bloom’s piece in Advertising Age this week explaining the basics of public relations. It should be required reading for ad pros and, in fact, all marketing pros. I particularly liked the section titled “Listen to the people you paid to help you.”

Check out the article here: With PR on the Rise, Here’s a Refresher Course in the Basics

Tags: public relations

Europe Invaded by Furry Monsters

Posted: April 6th, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: PR Opinion, Rants | 4 Comments

Ever walk into a situation that screams “this company is making a big mistake!” Okay … well, maybe not, but I did this weekend. My family and I visited Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA on Sunday, and I found that it has been invaded by furry little monsters and giant birds. While fun, I think it’s a Big Bird-sized strategic error.

Allow me to give you a little background, in case you’ve never been to this theme park. There are two versions of Busch Gardens. One is in Tampa and is a theme park based around Africa. The other is in Williamsburg, and is based around Europe. In Williamsburg, the park is broken into a handful of pieces — England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Germany, and France. Each “country” has its own architecture and feel, with attractions that are based on things that might be found there. I can’t speak for Busch Gardens Tampa (never been there), but I think Busch Gardens Williamsburg has done a very, very good job keeping “on message” with the Europe theme. It’s also generally regarded as one of the most beautiful theme parks in the world.

Given all of this, imagine my surprise when I find that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has added a new section between Italy and England called Sesame Street Forest of Fun.

>>Continue reading…

Tags: branding, marketing

10 Newborn PR Tactics

Posted: March 25th, 2009 | By: Steve Mullen | Filed under: PR Opinion, PR Tactics | 11 Comments

Last week I realized that this is my 10th year in PR. This was a shocking realization. The first thing I thought was that I’m getting old.

As I got over that thought, I started pondering all of the ways that PR has changed since I started in the industry. This pondering led to my post last week, 10 Dead or Dying PR Tactics, about common PR tactics we practiced 10 years ago that aren’t practiced anymore. I decided to write this sequel on common tactics practiced today that weren’t even thought of 10 years ago. If the tactics I wrote about last week are dinosaurs, these are newborns!

Please add your own suggestions in comments!

10 Newborn PR Tactics

10) Reputation Monitoring: I understand this isn’t an entirely new tactic, but who could have imagined the WAY we’re monitoring reputations today?
10 Years Ago: In existence, but in a different form

>>Continue reading…

Tags: media relations, media relations strategy, public relations