Censorship does not lead to sales

My mom used to always tell me “If you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” I’m sure we can all say that. But what if your mom is Chapstick and her idea of not saying anything at all is deleting your comments because you disagree with her posting what’s being called a sexist and objectifying advertisement?

The company has been deleting comments related to its latest ad where a woman’s butt is front and center as she hangs over a frantically torn apart couch searching for something – change, the remote control, possibly Chapstick?

The only clue you get is the graphically placed bar below the woman with the statement “Where do lost Chapsticks go? Be heard at Facebook.com/Chapstick.”

I guess “being heard” was really only being offered to people who like the brand.

The Power of the Quote

What’s the purpose of a news release?

Dictionary.com says it is “a statement prepared and distributed to the press by a public relations firm, governmental agency, etc.”

I like what Entreprenuer.com has to say about it better. It calls a news release “A public relations announcement issued to the news media and other targeted publications for the purpose of letting the public know of company developments.”

But what do you do when you have developments that cry out for a news release but the boss refuses to acknowledge the importance of the quote?

Is video the best way to send out your message?

Could video really be the content king? I’m told it is great Google juice and I’m starting to believe it. In the past month, I have done interviews with local television media and it has caused my employer’s website to blow up – in a good way.

The interviews drove traffic to the website the day they aired but gained the most exposure the day after; when people viewed them online. The first interview aired on an NBC affiliate about an impending electric rate hike and electric choices customers could consider. The day the interview aired traffic rose 56 percent then peaked at 163 percent the following day.