Fried Logic - HMP

Photos from the VIR raceway

Chris Gupton — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:04:43 +0000

I recently went with a friend on a very amateurish photo shoot to the VIRginia International Raceway, located in Southern Virginia between Danville and South Boston. It has one of the world’s finest road courses. It was a lot of fun and if this is your thing, it’s most definitely worth checking out.

FourSquare Tools for Business

Sarah Findle — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:30:19 +0000

The New York Times blog, “Bits” announced that FourSquare, a well known location-based social network, will soon provide free analytics tools for businesses. As the use of location-based applications continues to grow, the analytics will offer valuable information for businesses about their customers.

Some of what the analytics will provide:

Who has “checked-in”*
When they arrive
Male to Female Ratio
Most active times of day
Option for instant promotions to engage customers

*Note: There will be an opt-in, opt-out setting in the privacy panel that will give Foursquare users the ability to keep their information private.

A restaurant can look at the screen and see who recently checked in and welcome them, ask what kind of food they like, etc. In addition, if a business notices a customer has not checked in recently, they can contact them with promotions and incentives to come in.

The tools seem like they will be a win-win opportunity for both businesses and customers as businesses get to know their customers and customers get more deals and promotions catered toward their wants and needs.

I’m excited to give it a go when it is launched to the public! What do you think the biggest benefit will be?

Even with Robots the Nutcracker still sucks

Maximillian Hill — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:57:54 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sorry Tchaikovsky, but it’s true.

Creative Department Triumphantly Returns to Fried Logic

Steve Olshansky — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:17:32 +0000

After a long departmental absence (thank you PR and Jim Stevens for picking up slack), our very own lawsuit waiting to happen, Chris Gupton, has set aside his freelance work to make a vital contribution to the agency blog.

Join this tattooed Senior Art Director as he takes you on a journey through the oval halls and inner workings of HM&P.

Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video. Click here to view the embedded video.

Wordle.net – Make Images From Keywords

Joshua Craig — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:26:54 +0000

Wordle is a great service which will take an RSS feed from your site (or anybody else’s site) and convert it to an image. Larger words are found more often, smaller words are found less.

Here are a couple of examples.

From our very own blog (http://www.merrellgroup.com/blog/feed/):

And from my personal site (http://www.joshuarcraig.net/feed/):

Go try it out for yourself!

National Humanities Center Names HM&P Public Relations Agency of Record

Jessica Redman — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:12:24 +0000

Howard, Merrell & Partners will provide public relations support to increase visibility and build awareness for National Humanities Center, a national non-profit organization. As an institute for advanced study dedicated to the humanities, the National Humanities Center provides fellowship support for scholars, training and resources for high school teachers, and public outreach programs that address a wide range of topics.

The PR team is excited to work the Center – read the full announcement here.

Ignoring the Numbers: ¿por que?

Sarah Findle — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:20:00 +0000

Despite Growing Social Media Activity, U.S. Latinos Ignored by Big Brands http://www.clickz.com/3639701

A few statistics:

• 80 percent of Hispanics use social sites and collectively total $1 trillion in buying power

• “What we have found is Latinos are extremely social,” Orci said. “So they are very eager to communicate with whoever wants to communicate with them.”

• between 78 and 89 percent of the respondents said they believe Hispanics will dramatically impact the following areas in the next five years: food, fashion, beauty, entertainment, and technology/communications.

…..YET…..

• Seventy-eight percent of Fortune 1000 companies are not employing social media sites to market to Latinos,

Where is the disconnect? It hasn’t been done before? People are afraid to skew from the norm, yet hispanics are BECOMING the norm.

A recent article on Clickz discusses new data released by Hispanic-focused agency, Orci. He said that despite the growing social media activity of hispanics and their increased influence as consumers, they are being ignored by big brands.

A few key points:

• 80 percent of Hispanics use social sites and collectively total $1 trillion in buying power.

• “What we have found is Latinos are extremely social,” Orci said. “So they are very eager to communicate with whoever wants to communicate with them.”

• Between 78 and 89 percent of the respondents said they believe Hispanics will dramatically impact the following areas in the next five years: food, fashion, beauty, entertainment, and technology/communications.

…..YET…..

• Seventy-eight percent of Fortune 1000 companies are not employing social media sites to market to Latinos.

Where is the disconnect? Is it because it hasn’t been done successfully before? People are afraid to skew from the norm, yet Hispanics are BECOMING the norm.

Who will be the first to take the plunge (see Melea’s article on standing out from the competition) and showcase a successful online Hispanic marketing campaign? Keep your eyes peeled, it will be a game changer.

Defense Department OKs Operation Social Media

Carlyle McCoy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:03:26 +0000

A new policy released Friday by the Department of Defense has reversed multiple bans on social media websites effective immediately, including YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social tools.

This is a great step towards bringing families and friends closer to their loved ones overseas as more and more communication takes place over these channels – especially Facebook. The new policy is far-reaching, but as NYT’s “At War” Blog points out, it isn’t without caveats. Especially for the Department of Defense, it is hard to find a balance between security and information sharing and general conversation with friends and family.

The Department of Defense is not alone in this dilemma. Many organizations and companies have been working to balance the same transparency yet security in establishing their own social media program. Yet this policy reflects the ever-increasing importance of social media in the communications realm.

The Defense Department’s statement is a great platform for organizations hoping to delve into the world of social media. It shows that organizations can embrace social media, while at the same time providing baseline rules to keep company strategy and goals on course.

So if you’re trying to keep up with a friend or family member overseas, this policy will definitely help, but citizens should not worry that national security secrets will live in the Twittersphere and beyond.

If interested, you can access the PDF of the new policy here.

Financial Services Department Welcomes New Member to Team

Jessica Redman — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:24:22 +0000

Esther Wallace joins the team in the financial services department. Wallace is a financial services assistant, and in this role helps manage the daily accounting responsibilities as well as assisting in month end billing and reporting.

Welcome to HM&P!

Read the full announcement.

Job Opening: Account Supervisor, Public Relations

Stephanie Styons — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:48:56 +0000

We are looking for a Public Relations Account Supervisor. Must have experience developing, managing and executing multifaceted B2B public relations programs. Knowledge of AP style and national media relations experience a must. Strong writing, communications and presentation skills necessary. Agency experience and social media marketing knowledge a plus. Experience with personnel management and growth required.

Job responsibilities include: Serve as day-to-day client contact. Oversee all client PR activity. Ensure the agency’s clients receive strategic and professional counsel and quality service. Management of junior staff.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree, at least seven years relevant PR experience (post graduation)

Send resumes to: sstyons@merrellgroup.com