In the News

Pundits and press from around the country weigh in on Chrysler Super Bowl ad

The Rest of the World Thursday, February 10, 2011

Nothing single handedly created more quality buzz about Detroit than Auburn Hills-based Chrysler's riveting Super Bowl ad, "Imported from Detroit." Local journos began writing about the longest and most expensive Super Bowl ad ever about as quickly as everyone began posting, tweeting and blogging about it on their favorite social media outlet. The rest of the world has become just as riveted and is talking about the ad, the city and the impact almost as quickly.

The Wall Street Journal takes a hard look at the ad's honesty and why that made it successful. NPR points out the ad does exactly what its supposed to do, "generate a lot of attention, most of it good."

Entertainment Weekly provides the behind-the-scene's aspect of the ad, including how the director who made the instant classic Super Bowl ad also directed "Smells Like Teen Spirit", arguably one of the greatest music videos ever.

Buffalo Rising points out how the ad can be used as an example of rebranding the Rust Belt.

Advertising Age points out how the commercial turns the region's malaise into a "gritty, fighting spirit" everyone can rally around.

AOL gives the inside story on how the commercial came about, and how it nearly didn't happen.

And not surprisingly, SmartPlanet takes a look at why spending $9 million on "Imported from Detroit" during the Super Bowl was a smart move for Chrysler.

Urbanophile Blog on the power of the Detroit brand

Urbanophile Blog Thursday, September 16, 2010

Locally, we call our region a lot of things, ranging from Metro Detroit to Motown to southeast Michigan. One of the leading voices nationally on urban areas, the Urbanophile Blog, argues that we shouldn't dance around our name and should embrace Detroit, an under-rated brand that could serve as the linchpin for renewal.

Excerpt:

Detroit is one of America's most powerful brands. I realize this is not what most people think. Many would say it is one of America's most tarnished brands. That might be true, but that doesn't diminish its power. There are lots of cities that are struggling right now, but how many of them have a stream of international reporters, film makers, artists, etc. coming to see it in person for themselves? How many of them have attracted random bloggers from all over the country to analyze the place and propose remedies? Why is this place thought to hold lessons for America while so many others do not?

Yes, Detroit is a brand with power. Yet too often its own residents feel the need to downplay it, euphemistically referring to the region as "Southeast Michigan" or to the city as "the D", as if the brand has to be changed in order to attract people or investment. That might be true to some extent, but this is not what is going to attract the pioneers and early stage investors who are going to reverse the cycle of decline. Changing the brand will be the consequence, not the creator, of civic renewal. To attract those first people and businesses, you need to lure them in a different way � you need to inspire. So I say embrace Detroit, stand up and be proud of the city and what it is and what it could be. It is the only way to generate the inspirational motivation that can bring renewal.

Read the rest of the story here.

Pure Michigan ads rake in awards, national attention

USA Today Thursday, August 19, 2010

Michigan is setting the standard for branding the right way and gathering a lot of positive attention while doing so. The Pure Michigan ad campaign continues to win awards and remind people how special the Great Lakes State really is, yet it's still having a hard time finding funding. Now that's Pure Michigan.

Excerpt:

PORT HURON, Mich. � This state's tourism ads make people feel good enough to cry. They give hope to the jobless and goose bumps to the jaded. Daily they win new fans on Facebook, new followers on Twitter. When they come on the radio, they inspire listeners to turn up the volume.

They even get people to visit Michigan.

The ads are the stuff of "Pure Michigan," a campaign to replace images of gutted cities and shuttered factories with visions of vineyards, lighthouses, waterfalls, sand dunes and the nation's longest fresh water coastline.

Designed to boost out-of-state tourism, Pure Michigan has boosted in-state morale.
"It's given Michiganders something to be proud of � a bit of redemption in the eyes of the nation," says Dan McCole, a Michigan State tourism professor.

Pure Michigan is a prime example of state "branding," the process by which a state (or any other place) plants a readily identifiable notion of itself in the national imagination. The goal is to make people visit, move there, do business there, or buy its products.

A branding success such as Pure Michigan, which has made www.michigan.org the most-visited state tourism website,is "not just a marketing campaign," says Mitch Nichols, a Phoenix-based consultant.

"It repositions the very identity of the state."

Read the rest of the story here.

Airfoil Public Relations helps companies make friends

Detroit News Thursday, February 19, 2009

Southfield-based PR firm brings social awareness to clients' digital media campaigns.

Excerpt:

�Airfoil's staff has an average age of 28. And that is exactly why Airfoil's clients hire them, said President Janet Tyler. They know Airfoil's employees will know the difference between a phonebook and Facebook�

For example, Airfoil's newly formalized Digital and Social Media Department aims to connect all of Airfoil's clients with Web 2.0 communications, such as blogging, Twitter and Facebook�

While the economy has slowed business for public relations companies generally, Airfoil is doing well and has high hopes for a bright future in Michigan and California, where it also has offices.

Read the full story here.

Downtown Detroit and its delights

Detroit Free Press Thursday, March 20, 2008

Detroit was granted $750,000 by the corporate leadership group Detroit Renaissance to sell itself. The grant will go toward the usual suspects restaurants, shops, and attractions, but a portion will trickle its way down to spruce up brochures, maps, and websites. This grant will cover the city for three years.

Excerpt:

Ann Lang, president of the partnership, said downtown is cleaner and offers more attractions today than at any time in many years, and the new marketing effort is an attempt to spread the word further.

"I think we have incredibly strong entertainment, cultural and sports venues," she said last week. "We have a growing residential population. And we have an image that improves itself by every person who comes here."

Read the entire article here.

Adcraft Club honors creatives in The D on Nov. 28

Creative Energy Alliance Thursday, November 08, 2007

The Adcraft Club of Detroit will honor the community's advertising and marketing professionals with "The D Show," scheduled for 6- 11 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit.

Excerpt:

Now more than ever, we are seeing a convergence of Media, Creative, and Entertainment and Production. Now is the perfect time to bring these communities together. To that end, we have formed a council of agency, media, digital and production company representatives to recognize, each year, what is truly the best of our industrial strength ideas. We will be a sub-committee of Adcraft, which will handle the administration of the Council and The D Show.

Read about details here.

Arb Camp 'Un-Conference' set for Oct. 27

Connect Ann Arbor Thursday, October 25, 2007

Connect Ann Arbor is hosting a one-day gathering on October 27 with the broad theme of social networking. The concept is that the agenda will be set by participants. Joseph Jaffe is the headline speaker.

Find out more and sign up here.

Pure Michigan ad campaign nabs top award

Great Lakes IT Report Friday, August 24, 2007

The "Pure Michigan" advertising campaign was named the best state advertising campaign by the National Council of State Tourism Directors.

Excerpt:

Travel Michigan vice president George Zimmermann said the Pure Michigan campaign had "driven the dramatic increase in volume" at the state's tourism and economic development Web site, www.michigan.org, which attracts more traffic than any other state tourism Web site.

Read the entire article here.

ePrize sponsors on-line marketing contest for entrepreneurs

ePrize Thursday, July 12, 2007

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize has teamed up with Entrepreneur magazine to hold an online marketing makeover contest. The winning business will receive up to $20,000 in services and technology.

Interested companies should submit a 200-word essay to www.entrepreneur.com/marketingjolt by August 31.

Media relations course for elected officials June 7 in Dearborn

University of Michigan - Dearborn Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Georgella Muirhead and Bob Berg, partners in the Detroit-based public relations firm Berg Muirhead and Associates, will teach a course in media and community public relations for elected officials on June 7.

In a statement, Sheila Cockrel, Detroit City Council member and assistant director of host organization Institute for Local Government, said this installment will cover three issues of media relations: understanding how the media operates on a daily basis, how to cultivate working relationships with reporters and editors, and how to stay cool and collected during interviews.

Find out more and register here.

EPrize embraces March Madness

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Pleasant Ridge-based EPrize has embraced March Madness by encouraging its employees to watch basketball while working.

Research from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. found that US companies can lose more that $1.2 billion in productivity due to the NCAA basketball tournament each March. EPrize is combating this by encouraging its employees to watch the game while working on their laptops.

PR/Marketing : In the News