What Happened to All the Brands that Didn’t Have Super Bowl Ads?

The Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots weren’t the only ones competing on Super Bowl Sunday. Twitter turned the big game into a social media competition with #BrandBowl52.

#BrandBowl52 marked Twitter’s attempt to solidify themselves as the social network for all Super Bowl advertisers. They honored not only brands that viewers saw over and over, but they included brands that didn’t air commercials during the big game. The brands that were the most often referenced on Twitter during the game were the big winners.

Besides the spotlight, winning brands will receive actual trophies, as well as access to exclusive Twitter ad products and consumer research and exclusive 90-day use of a custom emoji. Ryan Oliver, Twitter’s head of brand strategy for the U.S. and Canada, called #BrandBowl52 the “first ever social subscription for users to get TV spots delivered to them on Twitter.” What does this mean for the future of the multimillion-dollar Super Bowl commercials? One things for sure, Twitter is making it more inexpensive for brands to get their message out there.    

Here is the full rundown of the #BrandBowl52 brand winners:

#MVP
Awarded to the brand that received the highest percentage of brand-related tweets.
Winner: Pepsi

#Blitz
Awarded to the brand that generated the most tweets per minute.
Co-winners: Doritos and Mountain Dew

#Quarterback
Awarded to the brand that received the most retweets on a single tweet.
Winner: Universal Pictures’ “Jurassic World”

#Interception
Awarded to the brand that did not run a national TV spot during the game but received the highest percentage of brand-related tweets.
Winner: Ally Bank

Twitter also recognized the most tweeted-about brands in several verticals.

Alcoholic beverages
Winner: Bud Light

Automotive
Winner: Ram Trucks

Consumer packaged goods
Winner: Tide

Dining
Winner: Avocados from Mexico

Entertainment
Winner: HBO’s “Westworld”

Financial services
Winner: E-Trade

Home and health care
Winner: No winner named (no home and health care brands enrolled in the competition)

Retail
Winner: Amazon Echo

Technology and telecommunications
Winner: T-Mobile

Travel
Winner: Tourism Australia

Written by Nicole Naiden from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Facebook Introduces New Partner, tbh

Facebook is doing their part to “spread posi vibes” by partnering with a new app called tbh. This app allows users to anonymously answer kind-hearted questions about their friends and then sends the results back to them as compliments.

For example, the question may be, “Who is the best to bring to a party?” followed by a multiple-choice option of 4 of their friends. The user will select their opinion and the app will then notify the chosen friend in the form of a compliment. The creators of tbh hope to spread more positivity through social media by teaching teenagers to highlight the good things in the people around them, as well as fuel self esteem.

Through tbh, young adults not only spread love, but also remind themselves to practice self-love. The founders of this app have expressed the importance that teenage mental health has to them.

That’s a cute idea, but will today’s young adults really be interested in something like that? Absolutely! Tbh was downloaded over 5 million times within the first 9 weeks and of that 5 million, over half have used it daily. The app has collected over 1 billion poll answers since its launch in August and it has topped the free app charts for teens and high school student users.

It’s a breath of fresh air to social media junkies that Facebook took on tbh instead of cloning it like they have with several other popular teen apps. The entire operation and style of this distinctive software sets it apart from its adoptive big sisters like Instagram and Snapchat.

An app like this could be the start of an entirely new species of social media. Encouraging young people to find the positive in things around them entices the possibility of altering their perspective of the world. By persuading teens to practice this form of mindfulness, it could not only enhance their lives, but also the lives around them.

 Written by Sarah Roberts of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Alfred Angelo Bridal Causes PR Disaster

This past month Alfred Angelo Bridal has caused quite the uproar with the closing of their stores nationwide. The company closed their doors after nearly 80 years in business with no warnings to their employees or brides-to-be. Many brides were left without word of where their dress was, whether it was going to be located, or whether they would be able to obtain a refund. Some were lucky enough to obtain their dresses right before the company closed the doors.

One can only image what a mess this has made for the company’s publicists. As someone in PR I think there are many ways that this situation could have been avoided. With the knowledge that they were going out of business Alfred Angelo Bridal should have informed employees and brides that their stores were closing. This would have given employees enough time to find new work and more time for brides to either get their refund or get their dress faster. Their publicists would have had an easier time doing damage control had they taken that route instead of keeping everyone in the dark.

So why did Alfred Angelo not make it known that they were going out of business? Probably because they were embarrassed to announce that they were filing for bankruptcy and because chances are they didn’t and still don’t have the money to give brides refunds. Hopefully, brides are able to get their dresses sorted out in time for their big day!

Written by Tiffany Jackson from Rebecca Adele PR & Events

What is an “Instagram Aesthetic” and How to Establish Yours

Instagram has over 500 million active monthly users who have shared over 40 billion photos to date. Most people use this app to share photos of themselves, friends, family and good times. But for some, Instagram is where they showcase their personal brand. Have you ever had a friend say, “I can’t post this! It doesn’t match my Insta-aesthetic” and been confused? Continue reading and that confusion will disappear. You might even find yourself saying the same thing!

An Instagram aesthetic is basically a theme that all your photos follow. Whether you choose to have a dark and moody theme or a bright, pastel one, staying consistent in your theme is essential. Follow these tips below to perfect your Instagram aesthetic.

1. Download the essentials.

Apps like VSCO, Afterlight and Lightly let you edit photos and choose different filters than Instagram.

2. Think of your feed as a whole.

You want to post photos that look good next to each other so it is important to think of your feed as one. That may be a great picture you’re about to post but how does it look next to the others?

3. Change what you take pictures of.

Is your feed full of selfies? It is important to include other aspects of your life. Try photographing your morning coffee, beautiful scenery, cool street graffiti or even the cosmetics you use and be sure to spread out similar photos!

4. Edit all your photos the same

Use the same filters and settings when editing your photos. Play around with brightness, highlight and saturation until you find a look you like then continually use the same settings on your photos. This can help keep your photos consistent to your aesthetic.

5. Put your hashtags in the comment section

Hashtags can be a great way to grow your followers and get more likes. However, when you caption a photo with tons of hashtags it can look like spam. Try commenting your hashtags instead so your followers won’t see them unless they click on your comments.

6. Take your photos using the square setting on your camera.

Taking a great photo only to have it look awkward on Instagram is the worst. Use the square setting on your camera to take your pictures so you can avoid this!

Written by Katie Nutall of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Switching from Print Journalism to Public Relations

When I first started college, my major was Multi-Platform Journalism. This involved interviewing sources, doing research, and then writing a 600-word article. As I reached my junior year I began to find myself disliking this sort of writing. I had to stick to the facts and nothing but the facts. I began to realize that print journalism was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Although it was too late to change my sequence and restart on the Public Relations track, I did manage to find a loophole.

If you find yourself in the same situation as me, don’t panic! It’s not too late! You can still go into public relations without changing your major! You just have to alter your writing style a little bit. Public relations requires you to think more about your audience and allow your creativity to flow. I find that when writing plans, it is easier to find your photos first and then think of fun and interesting captions to go with them! It is also important to remember that a lot of online readers tend to skim articles. So, you have to capture their attention and keep it with only a few sentences or words! The best thing about Public Relations and writing for social media is that it isn’t routine, every day is something different and that’s why I am so happy to have changed my career path before graduating!

I have been very blessed to be given the opportunity to work with Rebecca Adele PR & Events. In just the three weeks that I have been here I have learned so much! I have been able to break free of the writing style I was so accustomed to and have allowed the creativity to flow. Being here has only made my decision to continue a career path in PR even more certain! So, if you find yourself stuck between the two, my advice is to go for it! Maybe later on in life you’ll find yourself missing print but at least you’ll have the skill set to write for both and your opportunities will be endless!

Written by Tiffany Jackson of Rebecca Adele PR & Events

Twitter Announces New Layout Update and the Internet Goes Crazy!

This past week Twitter gave itself a major makeover but instead of welcoming the new look Twitter users were furious. Scrolling down the timeline Twitter was flooded with memes showing user’s dislike for the update. Using the hashtag #twitterupdate you can find all the memes and jokes on the app. But why do users hate the update so much? It can be any worse than when Instagram changed their app design in 2016 or when Twitter got rid of the Favorite Star for the new Like Heart. Is the new update really that bad or are people just resistant to change?

The “major” changes included in the update is the new layout of the timeline. The “setting” have been switched around as well you’re own personal page. Now located on a navigation bar you can click on your “profile picture” to access your page and “settings”. Another change includes your “notifications” where the “explore” button use to be. Speaking of profile pics, Twitter has also gotten rid of the classic square frame and replaced it with a circle frame following the trends of Snapchat and Instagram. Twitter has also changed its “reply” icon which is confusing at first but instead of someone's names being included in the 140 characters it’s not which is better for replying. 

However, with all these updates Twitter has done they are still forgetting one major update, editing tweets. The only thing worse than tweeting something that has a grammatical error is tweeting something and not having the time to go back and fix it before someone sees it.  It's kind of like how Apple keeps releasing new IOS updates and all we really want is 3-way Facetime. Despite these changes Twitter has grown from 9 million to 328 million last quarter, so I don’t think it's going anywhere any time soon!

Written by Jamia Richardson of Rebecca Adele PR & Events