‘Follow Me’ for 2010 International CES

Written by:  Tom Cherry

CES is about a lot of things but one of the most obvious is ‘cool gadgets’. Huge TVs, amazing stereos, remote controlled everything. Normally, as the official news distributor we are just reading the press releases about the cool gadgets but, this year, we get to be part of one! CEA has signed Core-apps to Provide the Official Smartphone Application ‘Follow Me’ for 2010 International CES. All news from Virtual Press Office and Business Wire will be featured on the app providing everyone with constant updates of the latest breaking news. Cool.

The app will be available for download soon from CESweb.org, the Core-apps website, and the application stores for $1.99. The web based application will be free.

So get your news loaded into the CES Online Media Center and read all about it on your phone.

Let’s Get Buzz’d!

Written by: Allie Schick

It’s time to “Get Buzz’d!”

Introducing, EventBuzz, an awesome new service provided to you by VPO! EventBuzz is the first social media analysis platform that has been specifically designed for the trade show industry.

Want to learn what people are saying about your company,  product, or even your competitors, heading into an event?- Get Buzz’d! This new service will track your social media footprint on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, web portals, photo/video social networks, etc.

It’s no secret that social media activity spikes prior to and during a trade show. Become empowered! Start to control, track, and analyze your event buzz today!

Click here to read more about VPO’s EventBuzz.

A little fun on a Wednesday afternoon…

Just a little Wednesday fun…looks like one of us crazy kids at the VPO got loose with a mower. Who wants to guess which special VPO’er created this masterpiece on the front lawn??

CES 2010 Press Room Goes Completely GREEN!

Written by: Allie Schick

This just in: the CES 2010 Press Room will be completely GREEN!

Keeping true to their declaration that “Going Green” will be a major story at CES 2010, today the CEA has announced that the press room will be paperless! No hard copy press kits will be displayed in the CES 2010 press room. Instead, all exhibitors are encouraged to post and distribute their press kit online to the CES 2010 Online Media Center.

Read about it here.

Virtual Press Office and Business Wire are proud to be named the official providers of the 2010 International CES Online Media Center.

Not only is the Online Media Center solution environmentally friendly, but the media have requested this!

The Online Media Center centralizes all exhibitor news, is key word searchable, and is constantly updated providing a comprehensive feed of all the latest headlines before, during and after the show.

Make sure to keep checking our blog leading up to the show! We will be providing helpful and innovative tips for marketing your CES press kit URL.

P.R. Connections…How important are they really?

Written by:  Jennifer Ro

I don’t want to fall back into the Michael Jackson media craze, but I’m going to for a minute, so bare with me.  After reviewing Allie’s last blog entry (“A where-were-you moment in a digital age”), PR has definitely morphed into something new…almost unrecognizable to some.  An icon suddenly passes away, how do you go about disseminating the news? If you asked Brooke Hammerling, Founder of Brew Media Relations, I would put my money on her contacting one of her many prominent voices (co founder of Twitter) and have him tweet what’s going on.  Of course, Michael Jackson is out of her niche but humor me and please read on.

In this new and tech savvy world, PR professionals are using different tactics to release their client’s latest and greatest news.  In a New York Times article titled “Spinning the Web: P.R. in Silicon Valley,” written around Brooke Hammerling’s PR techniques, it stresses the importance of building relationships/networking with these higher up individuals to carry out your news aka “Name Dropping”.  The traditional method to have a journalist blog/write about it is out the window like chivalry.  The article also mentions that journalists would rather receive news from a direct source that’s “in the know” instead of reading a fabricated story written by an individual who probably doesn’t even care about the product or release.

On the other hand,  Richard Edelman, CEO and President of Edelman PR goes against everything Hammerling practices in his blog “PR Profiling.” Hammerling used to work for Zeno Group, a subsidiary of Edelman PR.   How ironic is that?

In the end, there is no right or wrong.  Different things work for different people.   But everyone is entitled to their own opinion/practices…so what are yours?

“A where-were-you moment in a digital age”

Written by: Allie Schick

While I was stuck in Lincoln Tunnel traffic last Thursday night, the radio DJ came on air and said there were unconfirmed reports that Michael Jackson was dead. My immediate reaction? I need to get online now. This immediate need for online access was simultaneous across the globe, causing massive chaos on the Internet.

It became apparent that night, that how receive news now has greatly changed. Gone are the days where people crowd around the TV to watch CNN or other major news stations to learn the latest details on a breaking news story. People turn to the Internet, to Google, to social networks to discuss with friends and get other people’s reactions.

While I admit, I did turn CNN on for a brief five minutes that night, I quickly turned it off, and stuck to Facebook and Twitter for the rest of the night. Somehow Wolf Blitzer, the host of “Situation Room” On CNN reporting the facts of MJ’s death with “beat it” playing in the background did not resonate with me.  The raw, honest emotion was not there.

This emotion was however pouring out of the Internet stories and social networking sites online. Yes, people flock to the Internet to receive news because facts are easily accessible and instantaneous, but in my opinion, people also long to feel the honest emotion that results from a news story such as this. CNN is not going to be able to report on how a breaking news story affects my generation, my personal social network. It will not be able to report and reflect on the many memories my friends and I share to the soundtrack of Michael Jackson. Facebook and Twitter will, and for me, these are the bigger stories.

“News of Jackson’s death first spread online”

Sharing is Caring

Written by: Tom Cherry

Since VPO opened its doors in 1996, we have operated a closed website requiring registration in order to access content. The primary goal for this approach was to protect the “press” content to allow PR professionals to communicate with the media at global events. Much has changed in 13 years on the web and VPO has evolved to keep pace with, and in some cases establish, new communication practices.

The latest major development at VPO has been the removal of the registration requirement in order to view content on our pages. We continue to offer customized news feeds to users who register on the site and will shortly be introducing an improved layout of our popular Release on Demand service. However, opening the content doors has faciliated numerous sharing opportunities that provide increased visiblity for our clients (exhibitor and event organizers) and easier access to content for our readers.

RSS feeds are currently being established with groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and we are discussing partnerships with other web portals to include the VPO event news in their listings.

Audiences have shifted. It is increasingly difficult to know where the next influential post/comment/article will come from and the focus for many clients is now on communicating with all parties in real-time.

VPO will continue to identify appropriate forums for sharing content to meet these shifting needs. After all, sharing is caring.

Friday Fun Fact 5/29/09

Did you know?

It would take about 288 years for one person to spend one night in every hotel room in Las Vegas!

“HELP” A Reporter Out

Written By: Polina Opelbaum

In my “out of college for almost a year, but still remember the taste of Fat Sandwiches” point of view, I expected the relationship between PR professionals and the media to be straight forward. I anticipated the PR person’s need to communicate their client’s story, and the journalist’s need to grab and run with the idea. It seems easy enough, but I’ve realized it is a bit more complicated. (probably had one too many Fat Sandwiches in college)

I’ve realized that the journalist is on a constant deadline and bogged down with too much information. The PR person is unable to get a hold of an editor, and when he/she does, they only have 20-30 seconds to hook a journalist.

I read a Twitter update recently from Scott Hepburn that encapsulates this dynamic: “HARO stands for HELP a Reporter Out, not “Bug a reporter. That would be BAR. Don’t forget the HELP.”

While working at VPO, I’m realizing that there are many ways we listen to this “cry for help.” A journalist’s inbox is inundated with press releases on the first day of a trade show. Perhaps in a perfert world he/she would sit for hours reading each release, but in reality, many simply delete all, overwhelmed by the mass. To help alleviate this, a journalist is able to create a custom news feed with VPO. They are able to choose the time they would like to receive this email and the frequency. They receive their news “on demand,” and as a result, the PR person can rest assured their press releases are not being sent to the trash.

Now that the world has a healthy dose of HELP, perhaps my initial vision of the PR person and the journalist chatting over a nice cup of coffee can actually come true.

Spotlight On: The Otterbox E-Newsletter

Written by: Tom Cherry

A big congratulations to our friends over at Otterbox for having great success with their new approach to press release distribution: an e-newsletter.

A few months back, Otterbox approached us with a dilemma; “how can we go about distributing 40-60 product announcements over the course of the year without completely overwhelming our audience with news?”

After some collaboration, we came up with an e-newsletter that would link to multiple press releases, and incorporate social media, case studies, and product images.

Entitled, “The Newsletter, News You Otter Know,” Otterbox’s new approach to press release distribution has been met with positive feedback and much success!

Read about Otterbox’s innovative approach to press release distribution in B to B Marketing Magazine!