Image via Jon Cronin and Whrrl

In case you missed all of the action over on our Twitter Stream, DeVries Public Relations teamed up with Jeff Pulver’s 140 Conference, the premiere Twitter conference focused on the “State of Now”.

At the #140conf events, we look at twitter as a platform and as a language we speak. Over time it will neither be the only platform nor the only language. #140conf is not an event about microblogging or the place where people share twitter “tips and techniques” but rather where we explore the effects of the real-time Internet on Business.

Our President, PRMama, a.k.a. Stephanie Smirnov wrote a great summary about the event and I have included an excerpt below and you can read the whole post here.

Our agency sponsored the “140 Characters” Conference in Los Angeles last week, supporting a two-day exploration of what conference organizer Jeff Pulver calls “The State of Now” and the effect of the real-time internet on culture. We created a DeVries PR Buzz Lounge in the lobby of the Kodak Theater, a place for everyone at the conference to recharge and connect. We kept them stoked with free caffeine, cupcakes and ethernet connections. We also thought it would be an interesting challenge to see if we could capture video sound bites from conference speakers and in something close to real time, send those sound bite packages out across the interwebz to give people at home a taste of what was happening at the conference. You can view and share these segments at our DeVries YouTube channel; meanwhile, this is a bit of what went on behind the scenes as we worked to bring our Buzz Lounge concept to life.

You can watch all of the videos on the DeVries PR YouTube Channel

Media is changing dramatically right before our eyes. We all know this. The seismic shift unfolding over the past 15 years is still close to the beginning of its life. We are all digital toddlers learning to speak our first few words. Some have managed to connect a few words together to form basic sentences and others are still pointing at things and saying “this” or “that”, “dog” and “cat”, but most of us are still watching from the sidelines, sometimes occasionally updating our Facebook status, to let people know that we are trying to understand this new language.

Nowhere has the change been more visible than in the habits of journalists, news organizations and PR practitioners. The shrinking newsroom and the social web has changed the job of a journalist forever. They can no longer just report on a story, but now they must incorporate the voice of the reader, in almost everything they do. Theses voice comes in the form of: short response videos, reader comments, blog responses, mash-ups, digital photos, ireports, tweets, and more…. The inclusiveness of opinions is critical to the success of the modern news organization and this shift has already occurred.

At the same time, the authoritative voice of the media is spreading out and in many cases is being usurped by individuals that have no formal background in journalism, but are passionate drivers of news and trusted much more than many journalists. Their ability to contribute to the conversation through the connective and immediate power of blogs and citizen journalism sites, has flattened the playing field and given us exponential places to learn about the topics we care about.

PR practitioners have moved quickly to adapt to these changes. They have moved from pitching and broadcasting to educating and informing, from controlling the message, to openness and inclusiveness, from influencing a few in high places, to engaging with many across a multitude of digital locations. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Whrrl, Flickr, Message Boards, Chat Rooms, the list of locations of influence goes on and on and on… The media landscape changes, but the core tenets of the profession are still intact, making our clients shine, as best as possible, and building trust with influencers, by providing VALUE to them.

Jon Cronin
Director of Digital Media

Follow me on Twitter

If you haven’t read our President and resident Mommy Blogger thoughtful and engaging blog posts lately, you can check out some of them here:

October 4th - I am over the moon that I get to attend the World Business Forum as a featured blogger alongside an extremely serious group of digital big kids. Full Post

September 23rd - Time for another PR Mama guest post, and what the hey, let’s hear it for the boy…again. I had such a good time hosting PR Cog last time, I decided to invite another one of my favorite social media dads over to discuss balancing family and work life in this crazy business of ours. - Full Post

 This post, by our own Kathy Casciani was originally posted at The PR Breakfast Club Blog.

Let me just start by saying that I don’t like conflict. I’m a people pleaser. So I often watch with a strange mixture of trepidation and admiration when I see controversy brewing in the blogosphere. Twitter is full of folks who aren’t afraid to speak their minds, even if it means incurring the wrath of others. And then there’s me. Sure, I have my opinions (Nike…what the heck??) but I am not what you call a pot-stirrer. Truth be told, I just want everyone to get along.

I guess that’s one reason why I have extra sympathy for the PR professionals that represent brands in a time of crisis. When Jet Blue faced intense media and consumer backlash last winter, all I could think was “thank god I’m not on THAT PR team.” I know it comes with the territory, but it must have been a heck of a tough few weeks. The rise of social networks has only fueled the frequency and scope of brand backlash. Technology has enabled things such as the WWF 9/11 ad and the Domino’s video to spread like wildfire, whereas 5-10 years ago it was unlikely they’d end up on the public’s radar. The wall between consumer and company has eroded and suddenly every consumer with a blog or a Twitter profile can be an “influencer”….for better or for worse.

Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago, our Tide client was chosen as by Brandweek as one of the ten “Marketers of The Year,” in honor of last year’s fashion forward campaign that launched Tide Total Care. Brandweek acknowledged the P&G brand team and all the agencies that contributed to the campaign…including the team at DeVries!  As the piece explained, “…Tide Total Care, was the detergent brand’s first foray into the world of washable fashion.”

So it was only fitting that on September 15th, Tide Total Care sponsored Geren Ford’s Spring 2010 show at Elle’s Style 360 event during New York Fashion Week.  Tide Total Care chose to partner with Geren Ford to once again illustrate to consumers and media that “washable is fashionable”, as 65% of the pieces featured in the show were made from washable fabrics.

In a unique departure from traditional Fashion Week fare, Tide invited four “real moms” to walk the runway in looks by Geren. Three were mom bloggers that the team has gotten to know over the past year, including Victoria Pericon of Savvy Mommy, Colleen Padilla of Classy Mommy and Audrey McClelland of Mom Generations. These ladies opened the show in machine washable looks that were chosen specifically for each woman by Geren’s team. As busy moms and businesswomen, Tide’s blogger models demonstrated that fashion can be easy to maintain and should fit seamlessly into a real woman’s lifestyle.

During the show, the bloggers enthusiastically captured the event through pictures, vlogs and tweets. After the show, the bloggers wrote posts detailing their experiences at the show. Each blogger noted what an amazing experience it was to walk in the show,  and talked about how about Tide Total Care helps moms stay fashionable while maintaining a busy lifestyle.   Audrey McClelland commented, “Geren Ford’s SPRING 2010 Collection debuted to the world yesterday, and it was perfection. Tide Total Care  sponsored her show, which I thought was absolutely ‘fitting’ since 65% of her runway fashions are washable wear. That’s right – ‘washable is fashionable’ – saving us moms tons and tons of time!”

From September 10th-17th, thousands of chic fashionistas and trendy taste-makers traipsed around New York City to get a first look at their favorite designers’ spring ’10 collections.  This season, Sebastian Professional and Wella Professionals teamed up with some of the hottest and hippest, sponsoring the Michael Angel, Costello Tagliapietra, Diego Binetti and Thakoon shows where their hair teams stretched creative boundaries to define “what’s next.”
Thomas Dunkin, lead stylist for Sebastian Professional, led a diverse team of Sebastian flagship stylists to craft three hair looks that were unique yet cohesive to the designers’ collections.

From the perfect ponies at Michael Angel, to the romantic, faux bobs at Costello Tagliapietra and the textured, tousled braids at Diego Binetti, the Sebastian team took texture to a whole nother level.  The team went out with a bang this season, styling the surfer samari, sun-kissed ponytails under the direction of Wella Global Creative Director Eugene Souleiman at the Thakoon show. Wella lead colorist Eva Scrivo and a team of Wella colorists hand-painted extensions integrated into the final hair look to reflect the designers palette of muted watercolors while adding dimension and life to the overall shape to the hairstyle.