Last week, Crayola killed off the color Yellow (“dandelion” to be precise).
What’s notable to me, isn’t the fact that they withdrew a color (that’s one of the greatest gambits in marketing: create awareness & buzz by taking something away like Disney & the Beanie Babies have done), but the way they publically announced & released this.
So, historically (the way your great, great grandparents did it), if Nike or Adidas were going to release a new shoe, endorse LeBron James, or open a concept store, they would do that with some sort of Press/Media Release.
But that’s not what Crayola did – they released it on Facebook Live. Yup, Facebook Live was their Media/Press Release. They setup some cameras & mics, got under a tent (I think it was raining), and spoke to an audience of 250K+ in real-time. Do you think they would have 250K readers of a Press Release? Hell no!
Southwest got a ton of earned media when last summer they too used Facebook Live for a Crisis Management scenario. And instead of sending out a Press Release, they turned on Facebook Live and had their COO talk straight to people – you know, how humans do in the real world.
I say this every day to people: Communication has changed immensely. And I hear all the crap about how they need to “be careful”, how Facebook Live shouldn’t be used for this, and Snapchat & IG Stories shouldn’t be used for that – blah, blah, blah. Have you no recollection of history? Have you not read about why people thought the TV was going to destroy our world, and how the radio was going to shatter communication because we would stop writing to each other. Stop refereeing the way the next generation is communicating. According to a Harvard study done early this year, they’re communicating more and they’re more social.
So, if you’re one of the folks who were at my PRSA chat a week or so ago (I’m talking to you, Stacy – lol), are in PR, or would like to be in PR, you need to master all things live video on social. Instead of talking to the “media” and hoping they pitch your story correctly, you’re now the gatekeeper of telling your story. The day of being your own media company arrived a long time ago – welcome it. Figure this stuff out ASAP, because the future is rolling downhill with alacrity.
And if you need help with this stuff, I know a guy: www.AskMarkRyan.com
Cheerio.
