Friday Five: A Full Serving of Foodie Insights, Fresh from BlogHer Food ‘11

 By Ashley Whitlock, Senior Account Executive, Edelman Digital

The third annual BlogHer Food conference was held last weekend (May 20-21) in Atlanta and was attended by nearly 500 bloggers. Edelman’s Food and Nutrition Practice also attended the conference through the practice’s co-sponsorship of the Closing Party and onsite support of several food clients.

Like past BlogHer Food conferences, this year’s event was full of high-profile industry speakers (David Lebovitz, David Leite and Laurie David to name a few), engaging sessions and insights into the world of food writing. This week’s Friday5 recaps five “foodie” themes from the weekend. For additional insights and details, you can find the full agenda on BlogHer’s website, along with live blog posts from each of the sessions.

1. The New Generation

The Kitchen Generation bloggers, Lauren McMillan, Kamran Siddiqi, Tessa Arias, Elissa Bernstein and Hannah Queen, shared what it means to be a food blogger as part of a digitally savvy, up-and-coming generation. The panel of teen bloggers, who each have individual blogs as well as their shared community, “The Kitchen Generation,” voiced their personal experiences growing up as writers at the intersection of digital and “real” life, and described how blogging has shaped their thinking and future plans. A lot can be gained from their perspectives on how a new blogging generation is “keeping it real – with guardrails,” while they publicly share their journey to find individual boundaries in a digital world, build networking skills – online and offline – and discover how cooking and blogging can, and will, influence their education and career decisions.

2. “Every issue I care about crosses my dinner plate”

Emphasized in several sessions, family dinners are not just making a comeback – they are viewed as mandatory for both personal and family health. As we’ve seen in our Field to Fork research series, consumers have a complex relationship with food and are often looking to food to meet a variety of needs. Food should provide a social experience, nourish and improve personal health, and in this case, enhance family health. Leading the charge for healthy, relational dinner moments, Laurie David, author of “The Family Dinner,” makes the point that “healthy” is not just what you eat but it’s also about your attitude. In the face of longer work hours, digital distractions, after-school activities – all of which make it challenging to align family schedules – making shared mealtimes a priority for the family, even if it’s not every night, is the first step.

3. Fresh and Natural are Mandatory

Not surprisingly, panelist and attendee sentiment was favorable towards fresh foods, farmers’ markets and anything not seen as “processed.” Food blogger Melissa Lanz told attendees that her strategy for family meals starts with shopping at the Farmers Market on Saturday. As food bloggers seek to arm themselves with the latest food knowledge to protect and nourish their families and readers, there is a strong desire to advocate for healthier foods away from home. Additionally they’d like to be vocal with schools and organizations regarding activity and sports schedules that interfere with family dinner. Generally speaking, they attempt to leverage the power of their blogs and collective voice to advocate healthy changes on the food scene that are perceived to be healthy.

4. The Business of Blogging

Food bloggers are a new generation of food writers and are actively searching for new ways to stay competitive, gain influence and, for many, monetize their blogs. Attendees were vocal about the need for a wide range of food, writing and digital skills – evidenced by the popularity of sessions focused on food photography, recipe writing, policy and regulation, digital networking and new methods for applying mobile technology, and the digital acumen of panelists like Alison Lewis, Carolyn O’Neil and Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan.

On quite a few occasions, sessions primarily focused on skill development and resource sharing turned to the ways brands could support a blogger’s growth through mutually beneficial relationships that offer research and resource sharing, educational sessions and access to subject matter experts (e.g., dietician boards).

5. Failure – and Growth – Are Part of the Journey in the Kitchen and on Blogs

Many bloggers expressed that it’s okay to fail in the kitchen and on a blog, because that’s the only way to learn and grow. For bloggers, every piece of work is documented for all to see, and it was not uncommon to hear bloggers express disapproval when looking back on their early blogging days (perhaps the pictures were blurry or the content lacked the same substance it carries today). While a lot of bloggers expressed a temptation to delete past work, they said they leave it as a representation of where they’ve come from and how much they’ve grown.

There is not one solid description of a food blog, nor is there one type of food blogger. As food bloggers individually and collectively try to find their niche in the blogosphere and the food space, each can share stories of individual struggles. In addition, they can forge mutually beneficial relationships with brands that don’t dilute their personal brand equity and share their story in a public-yet-professional way.

What trends are you seeing in the food blogging space?

Note: This post is taken from the Edelman Digital Friday Five blog and originally ran on May 27, 2011.

What Would You Give Up to Travel This Summer?

By Meredith McKee, Senior Account Executive, Consumer

When summer rolls around I try to go on as many vacations as possible to escape the Texas heat! And the annual AAA summer travel forecast reveals that I’m not alone. According to the study, Americans are traveling this Memorial Day no matter what, with an estimated 34.9 million travelers hitting the road over the holiday weekend.

Despite high gas prices about 30.9 million people will drive over Memorial Day weekend where the 2008 report revealed that gas prices kept many travelers at home. AAA’s study also found that just fewer than 3 million would take to the skies for the holiday weekend, an 11.5 percent increase year over year, despite the 14 percent airfare increase.

AAA is saying people are giving up other budget items so they can make their travels happen. I would rather travel than do most things. So I’m watching my shoe budget (I know this is shocking) and going on vacation. And remember there are still plenty of ways to save on travel. Here are just a few:

• New Airlines Coming to Town – Check your local airport and find out who’s new. They maybe offering special incentives or deals to kick off their business in your market. For example, Virgin America just landed in DFW and is now flying to LA and San Francisco. Virgin has been great at keeping pricing competitive, and they offered a Groupon for $100 off a flight. And Qantas just started flying out of DFW as well. Trip to Australia anyone?!

• Booking Tips – Book an opaque hotel, like Travelocity’s Top Secret Hotels, where you don’t know the name of the hotel until you have booked. This is an easy way to save up to 55 percent on your hotel bookings. Also, consider booking a vacation package where you book your flight and hotel at the same time. You can save a lot of money and you still get to pick your flight and hotel so there is no reason not to do it. You may even have some cash left over for vacation souvenirs!

• Staycations Sound Lame, But… – I’m in two weddings back-to-back this summer. This was going to cut into my travel budget big time with all of the dresses and showers until I realized that the wedding rate for the Ritz Carlton Hotel was so cheap there was no way we could not turn it into a staycation. Thinking of vacations a little differently has landed my friends and me poolside for a weekend.
  
  

So where are you going this summer? And what are your savings secrets? Let us know!

Making Connections about More than the Same Old Dog & Pony Show

By Mary Kate Smither, Vice President, Consumer

As PR professionals, we at Edelman know firsthand that vying for the media’s attention on behalf of our clients can sometimes be a challenge as they are inundated daily with phone calls, emails and, these days, even tweets, requesting their attention. I was reminded recently when we hosted a media tour for 10 journalists on behalf of our client Uptown Dallas Inc. that, in this sea of constant information, face-to-face time can often still provide a great means for making connections.

What I know too is that media aren’t the only people who are inundated with information these days – we all are. And it’s equally as important to find the time for in-person interaction with all of our audiences, whether they are brand stakeholders, business networking colleagues or community leaders. These people all have the ability to act as your brand advocates, and by connecting with them, you not only get the chance to share your messages, but also to learn valuable information and receive feedback that can help your brand as well.

Whether you’re planning to host a group of media, get together for a quick cup of coffee with clients or arranging a larger event to tout your brand, here are a few things to remember:

Know Your End Goal(s): Figure out what your goals are. Are you trying to launch a product, develop a new audience, refresh your brand, or reconnect on a different level with someone you might interact with regularly? By taking the time to determine where you want to end up, your path for getting there will be even better laid. You may find that small get togethers are more effective than a larger event for achieving your end goal or vice versa.

For example, we knew we wanted to help our media contacts feel excited again about Uptown to help generate new story ideas and to view Uptown Dallas Inc. as a resource about the development of the city. So, in a quick hour and a half we did this by making a point to showcase Uptown from a new point of view in a way our audience had never seen it before – aboard one of the neighborhood's historic McKinney Avenue trolleys.

Choose Your Audience(s): Because our goal for Uptown Dallas is to help educate Dallas area residents and visitors about all that Uptown has to offer, including great shopping, dining and real estate, we focused on connecting with Dallas lifestyle media. We knew that these folks all had the common bond of helping their readers find the best offerings in Dallas to enhance their lives, but what made them the right mix was their varying interests in areas like dining, nightlife, travel and fashion. The point was to include a mix of people whom we knew would enjoy each other’s company, but were different enough to have their own experiences to take away.

Make It Different!: Don’t just trot out your same old dog and pony show. Whoever you’re meeting with or inviting to your event may already be familiar with your brand; this is your opportunity to show them something that makes you new again in their eyes! So do something different, whether it’s a simple as picking a unique venue or adding a fun twist to your presentation that makes the event more interactive.

While every single person on our media tour had certainly lived, worked or enjoyed Uptown’s venues at some point or another, hosting our event aboard one of the district’s historic trolleys (one recently turned 100!) definitely created a fun atmosphere that most had never experienced before that day. The trolleys, which are unique to Uptown, gave us the opportunity to keep our audience captive, while also keeping the event moving (literally!) and showcasing all that Uptown had to offer, including visits from neighborhood chefs, food and wine tastings, stories from local legends and, of course, the sights and sounds of the area.

Whether you’re getting together with five people or hosting 500, creating face-to-face connections with a variety of audiences can provide great opportunities for listening, learning and, ultimately, growing your brand.

“Be Prepared” In a Crisis

By Sarah Hoffman, Senior Account Executive, Consumer

The Boy Scout mantra “Be Prepared” rings true not only for Scouting, but also crisis situations. (Disclosure: The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is an Edelman client.) Preparing for issues and potential crises surrounding a company or its products is critical to reputation management. Unfortunately, not every crisis can be anticipated. Nor is it possible to control all the factors that affect the severity of an issue.

When it comes to communicating in a crisis, the rules have changed radically over the years. Organizations under fire must contend with the issue at hand and the backlash that will occur if that problem is not properly addressed. It’s critical for organizations to have a comprehensive crisis communications plan in place and ready for implementation on a moment’s notice. A crisis communications strategy often includes a combination of the following tactics:

• Message Development: In today’s world of 24-hour news cycles and citizen journalists, it has never been more important for a company to communicate openly and transparently with ALL corporate stakeholders. More than simple talking points, messaging is the basis for telling your story; it captures what you are doing affirmatively, the steps you have already taken to resolve any issues, what you value, and why it informs and guides all future communications.
  
  
• Development of a “Tool Kit”: It’s important to have a tool kit of communications materials prepared to assist in the response, such as key messages, holding statements, Q&A, fact sheets and media lists. This will ensure consistency in message across the company.
  
  
• Primary Media Spokesperson: While multiple people within the company will need to be deployed to assist with various audiences, one person will need to be the “public face” - the person speaking to the media when you decide to engage publicly. Additionally, depending on previous experience of primary spokesperson, it may be necessary for the spokesperson to undergo risk communication training. Contrary to most media training models, risk communication training should concentrate on the personality type and specific nature of the individual. Risk communication training is an exercise in teaching persuasion, not confrontation.
  
  
• Third-Party Support: If possible, it would be greatly beneficial to leverage your organization’s affiliation with credible third-party organizations - both within your company’s industry and with external consumer safety groups - to build support and secure potential participation in media materials.
  
  
• Scenario Escalation Plan: In the stress of a crisis with multiple moving parts, it’s key to have pre-identified the types of anticipated issues, how impactful an issue can or will be (severity) and a tentative response plan (sample scenarios). Categories, severities and scenarios must be simple but also thoughtful and allow for flexibility. Frequently, the most impactful issues are those that can’t be anticipated.
  
  
• Media Monitoring: During and after a crisis occurs, it’s important to monitor and analyze all relevant media coverage in key markets and, depending on the nature of the coverage/crisis, provide detailed recommendations on response strategy.
  
  

Crisis and issues management can be defining moments for brands and industries. Left unmanaged or improperly managed, brand and market value suffers. Managed properly, however, crises become opportunities to demonstrate industry leadership, core values and to influence key stakeholders. Crisis situations can sometimes even have a happy ending.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from our BSA client. A Boy Scout troop in Louisiana went missing while hiking in Arkansas, and the story was quickly making national headlines. Edelman immediately drafted a statement, talking points and Q&A to help prepare local scout executives for media interviews. Fortunately, the troop was found unharmed nearly 36 hours after they went missing – they had been stranded by high water caused by heavy rains in the area. Afterwards, troop leaders conducted interviews with various media outlets, providing a great opportunity to discuss how BSA training prepared them for this type of trip.

Edelman was able to use existing health and safety messaging to develop a customized tool kit of materials that communicated the BSA’s health and safety policies, mission and training procedures. As a result, coverage of the BSA in this situation was mostly positive. Click here to read more about this story.

For more information about Edelman’s crisis and issues management capabilities, please visit http://www.edelman.com/expertise/practices/crisis/.

The New Media: The Ins and Outs of Working with Bloggers

 By Melissa Miller, Senior Account Executive, Consumer

Throughout the last five years, the media landscape has changed drastically. Newspaper staff is being cut left and right, and more and more, we’ve seen an increase in online engagement via Facebook, Twitter and individual bloggers. No longer are the days of sending out simple press release email blasts – it is now equally important that PR professionals take a hard look at the online status of their clients by conducting conversation audits to see where and how people are talking about the client’s brand.

Some of the biggest assets (or liabilities) a brand can have are bloggers. In layman’s terms, a blogger is simple a regular human being that decides to write about a topic (or topics) of their choosing as frequently as they wish. But what does that mean for brands?

Bloggers can be categorized by their role (parent, scientist, advocate, etc.) or topic of interest, but what’s truly important is the content they’re creating and sharing, as well as the fan base they acquire. Bloggers become powerful influencers for their readers, and brands should be acutely aware of how and where they are being discussed. Proper engagement with a blogger can turn him/her into a brand’s biggest advocate, ultimately spreading a positive message that could reach thousands of people in the brand’s target market.

So, how do you properly engage with a blogger? Here are three tips that I’ve learned are a must when reaching out to these online enthusiasts:

1. Use transparency. If you are contacting a blogger on behalf of a client, clearly spell that out in the first sentence of your pitch email. If you’re contacting them on behalf of your own brand, say so! According to FTC Guidelines passed in October 2009, bloggers who make an endorsement of any kind must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service, so it’s critical to be upfront and clear about your relationship with the brand when reaching out to them and helpful to remind them of the FTC guidelines as well.

2. Do your homework. As with any media pitch, it’s necessary to do some background work before reaching out to a contact. This is especially true in the case of bloggers – bloggers only want information that is relevant to them and their readers and can easily choose to say something negative about any pitches they receive that do not to pertain to them or their interests.

3. Personalize, personalize, personalize. This goes along with doing your homework, but it’s key to include details in your pitch note that point out why your brand/product is relevant to this particular blogger. Make each pitch email as individualized as possible, referencing recent posts and comments made by the blogger to show that you have done your research.

It’s a scary world out there because there IS a lack of control in social media. The online community can be tough to navigate, but successful blogger engagement can be one of the most rewarding programs for a brand. Beginning a conversation with a relevant blogger can create a solid brand advocate and demonstrates your brand’s commitment to relationships and dialogue. As public relations moves into public engagement, dialogue with your audiences – in the places and forms that they are communicating – is critical.

Going Green with Summer Travel

By Mattie Walker, Assistant Account Executive, Consumer

Being eco-friendly has been trendy for a few years now. We know Leonardo DiCaprio and U2’s Bono are leading the way on the celebrity front. Johnson & Johnson, Dell and HP boast some of the greenest policies by Fortune 500 companies. And, not to be outdone, the fashion industry is well represented by the likes of American Apparel and TOM Shoes and, in addition to being eco-friendly, both of these companies help children in need around the world. So what industry is missing from this list? It came to my attention recently that travel is often left out in green discussions.

The world recently celebrated Earth Week and my colleague Meredith and I were busy coordinating an eco-friendly trip to New York for our client Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome. When conducting research and brainstorming with the client, it amazed me all the green options available to travelers these days. Hybrid rental cars, green hotels and volunteer opportunities for guests to give back to the environment while on vacation. Green travel has truly come along way.

Now, if you’re like me lying on the beach with a peach margarita in hand easily beats out hiking to the top of a mountain to plant a tree. But that’s the point. Traveling green has never been easier and you don’t have to sacrifice your five-star hotel for a bed made out of a bale of straw. (Although there is a hotel that offers this … if you’re interested let me know.) From all-inclusive resorts to luxury boutique hotels, green travel possibilities are endless.

For example, Travelocity alone has more than 2,900 eco-friendly hotels flagged on its site indicating each hotel that has implemented rigorous green standards and policies. And, many vacation hot spots are now inviting guests to partake in their green programs. Traveling this summer? Here are a few easy ways to get started and go green on your next vacation:

• Use real glassware and silverware when possible
• Conserve water and don’t have your bedding changed every night 
• Opt for a paperless checkout
• Check out local sights by public transportation or by walking to them

These are just a few of the small, but important steps to protect our favorite destinations so we can still enjoy them in the future.