Bye Bye Fake News!

Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on you again!

That's how I feel about misleading headlines.  Shame. On. Them.

At Casey & Sayre, we believe that a well-written headline should be both honest and intriguing.  But for the past year, Facebook News Feeds have been dominated by hoax-headlines that are purposefully misleading. We've dealt with everything from headlines saying Betty White "dyes" in her home (and when you click, you realize they are saying she dyes her hair) to blatant lies about new technology operating systems that offer insane features that aren't technically feasible. 

Well, friends, Facebook has heard how annoyed we are, and the company is doing something about it!  Starting this week, News Feeds will be equipped with a "false news story" notification option that you can click when this type of hoax is shown in your News Feed.  Similar to the "spam" or "hide from my timeline" options, the new "false news story" option will be in a dropdown menu on the top right of the news stories.  

There are already reports about the possibility of people misusing this feature, but here's to hoping that it keeps our News Feeds a bit more honest.  I'd like to never be fooled again!

Do you think the new "false news story" feature will help Facebook?

Fashion and Technology Collide at CES

Technology and Fashion.

These two words don't typically go together.  But at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, there has been a large focus on incorporating technology into fashion.

Wearables have been a trend now for awhile, everything from Google Glasses to Fitbit.  But to make things even more fashionable, dresses, vests and fabric itself are now being made tech-friendly.

Nick Verreos, of Project Runway fame, hosted FashionWare at this week's CES, a runway show complete with vests that display your latest tweets, dresses that change color with LED lighting and belts that doubled as phone chargers!  

In theory, this is all very cool.  But the looks are still a bit avant garde for my taste.  And while more practical applications like the belt/phone charger do seem like they would be pretty handy, others are kind of silly.  Do I really need my dress to show my latest tweet like I am some kind of walking billboard?   #IDontThinkSo

What do you think of these tech fashion looks?

Real-time Social Media Marketing At Its Best!

What does the movie Home Alone have in common with Allstate Insurance?

Well, if you watched any college football last night, you know!  #MayhemSale

Allstate pulled an amazing social media marketing campaign during the college football playoffs, which they called "The Mayhem Sale".  Similar to the plot of the classic "Home Alone" movie, where burglars break into the home while the family is on vacation, Allstate's campaign showed the "Mayhem" character as a burglar, having broken into a fictitious home after its "owners" overshared about their location on social media.  Following this so far?  Then the character proceeds to say he is going to sell all the couple's things and thats where the fiction ends!  Allstate held an actual, real-time auction of regular household goods.  Selling things like a 60-inch television for $60 and a car for $200!!  

Each of the items sold were published on Twitter first (making #MayhemSale a trending topic worldwide for much of the night), with many of the best having their own commercial during the games.  Allstate then suggested viewers go to the MayhemSale.com website, and it worked!  In fact the site received so many visitors that halfway through the Sugar Bowl game, it crashed!  Luckily, the site was only down for a few moments so eager bargain-hunters didn't have to hold their breaths too long!

This Allstate campaign was definitely one of the more successful online-meets-offline campaigns I have seen for awhile.  And while the the selling of these items was a bit silly, the underlying message was more serious.  It was a warning to viewers about using social media posts while on vacation, as that is a way burglars actually use to find victims.  

What did you think of the idea?  

The Social Media Holiday Cheer Award Goes To....

One of my favorite things in the digital scene during the holidays are the creative campaigns and acts of good cheer that people post!  And I am awarding my first ever Social Media Holiday Cheer Award!! This act transforms one of the worst things that can happen in a day to one of the best.

Ever been pulled over?  Not that I have (wink wink) but I would imagine that the feeling you get in your stomach when you see police lights behind your car is TERRIBLE.  Well, in Lowell, Michigan, the local police teamed up with UPtv (short for Uplifting TV) to transform that experience. 

The police pulled over drivers on a snowy afternoon for supposed traffic violations.  The video then shows the drivers getting out their license and registration while the police office makes small talk with them, namely about what they or their children want for Christmas.  Then, in an incredible sneak attack, the officer stalls the fake ticketing process long enough to radio to his co-workers at the nearby toy store who bring the exact wish-list gift!  Instead of getting a traffic ticket, the unassuming drivers get a wonderful holiday surprise!

The video is awesome and guaranteed to make you smile!!

Have you found other uplifting stories on social media this holiday season?  Share them below!!  Maybe I'll award another Social Media Holiday Cheer Award next week!

A More Serious Side of Social Media

In Public Relations, social media is often highlighted on the softer side of a brand or cause.  Large social media campaigns are often used to increase brand awareness, positioning or help influence thought leaders in an industry.

But the recent explosion of the Bill Cosby accusations have highlighted the more serious side of social media and its effects on public opinion and mass media news. 

Longstanding accusations against Cosby for rape were highlighted in social media last week due to an onstage "joke" that went viral about Cosby's rumored actions.  In a perfect storm of happenstance, Bill Cosby had just put out a challenge to those who followed him in the digital world to meme pictures of him. Little did he know he was adding fuel to the fire, and most who participated "memed" him with allusions of Cosby drugging and raping women. Probably not what he had in mind when putting that challenge out there!

These two actions, the onstage joke and the memes, both went viral, bringing a long dormant accusation to light and blowing up the mass media everywhere.  Essentially, shredding Cosby's reputation and leaving many asking why this didn't get more attention earlier.

The answer is because social media is now bringing issues to light.  There is far less space to hide anymore- and some argue that there is nowhere to hide!  It will be interesting to see if this sad revelation brings more issues in Hollywood to light.  And for Cosby and his accusers, this trial by Twitter seems to have just heated up.

Is GIRL POWER the fastest way to go VIRAL?

We've gotta talk about #AlexFromTarget. 

I mean, if nothing else, we have to just bring it up.  It's only been a week since this young man's picture was tweeted as a "cute" bagger from Target.  But the week has certainly been eventful.  With his handsome smile and boyish good-looks, Alex has - without doing a single thing other than unknowingly had his picture tweeted - gained half a million followers on Twitter, been featured on the Ellen show and CNN and become one of the fastest and most popular memes of all times.

But perhaps the most unique aspect of the #AlexFromTarget phenomenon is that it might have been set up.  Strangely, earlier this week a company called Breakr claimed that it was behind the rise to fame of #AlexFromTarget.  

Breakr's CEO, Dil-Domine Jacobe Leonares, claimed that his company's goal of helping small content creators spread their content was the force behind the viral sensation of #AlexFromTarget.  And the key to this viral nature, Leonares claims, is girls.

"If you rally the fan girls, you can translate that following into a career," Leonares claims.  Sure enough, "fan girls" are powerful.  A lady sees a cute boy and tells her friend who tells her friend who shares it with everyone she knows.  I mean, really, the Jonas Brothers and Justin Beiber are just modern day version of Beatles fandom!  And, with social media today, the fandom rise is just that much faster.  Or in the case of #AlexFromTarget, takes place in a week!  Heck, he is in LA now looking for an agent!

So, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding #AlexFromTarget, who tweeted this morning that he had dever heard of Breakr. Hmmmm.  Well one thing I can agree on is that fan girls are really the key to getting anything to go viral.  That's why our firm, Casey & Sayre, always strives to bring young celebrities that appeal to teen girls to our client events!  Their tweets and instagrams go a long way in attracting interest and building fans!

What do you think of the sudden fame of #AlexFromTarget?

Is this real life, or a plot for the latest RomCom?!

I’m sure you’ve heard of people using social media to help with their vacation planning before.  But a popular story this week takes that to a whole new level!

A Toronto-based man, Jordan Axani, has used the popular social media news site, Reddit, to post a once-in-a-lifetime offer: a free, round-the-world trip to one lucky female!  There’s only one catch.  Your name has to be Elizabeth Gallagher.

Strange as it sounds, it’s true.  Axani, a 28-year old adventurer, booked this dream trip earlier in the year for himself and his then-girlfriend named... you guessed it, Elizabeth Gallagher.  Well, since then, the couple has broken up, leaving heartbreak and some open tickets!  Due to restrictions around the plane tickets and cancellation policies, it is apparently a mega-headache to try to get anything for cancelling the tickets.  So, like a good millennial, Axani went to social media to try to salvage some good from the tickets.

His Reddit post, just published Monday, has been shared thousands of times and it looks like several Elizabeth Gallaghers (with Canadian passports, the other element needed) have come forward.  I’m not surprised, Axani’s post actually sounds pretty convincing, he sounds normal and realistic that he isn’t looking for anything in return, just doesn’t want the tickets to go to waste!  No “winner” has been selected yet, it seems.

Fingers crossed that he finds a great trip mate.  And, of course the romantic in me sees this as a great plot to a romantic comedy movie!  What if he and the woman who claims this fall in love and then have a great story to tell the grandkids!!

Seems too good to be true!  Possibly even worth changing your name for!?