By Mike Rush, 360PR @Home Practice Leader

My trip out to Chicago for the Housewares Show was fitting.  With inclement weather following me wherever I seem to travel (which I   dodged by a hair), I hunkered down on my flight with 360PR’s latest book club read, What The Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell, which details the rise of Ron Popeil, inventor of the Chop-O-Matic and king of direct response TV infomercials.  I couldn’t help but think of our favorite As-Seen-On-TV brand at 360PR, The Snuggie, and how we PR folks are all pitchmen (and women), too.

For those of you that have never attended the Housewares Show, especially foodies, there are a number of questions you find yourself pondering in awe:  “Do I have enough storage space below my kitchen countertop to fit this?”  “Will a magnificent lime green mixer still look good in 10 years?” and “If only they were passing out samples…and I had brought an extra suitcase or two.”

After a full day of combing the show floor (which could have easily been a week), I was able to surmise a few emerging trends for 2013:

Colors.  Lots of them.  Retro colors on appliances started to pop up a few years ago – and I wished my mother had held onto her avocado-colored blender from the ‘70s.  But, this year, housewares are emulating ‘80s fashion, with turquoise, fuchsia, baby blue, and hot pink to even KitchenAid mixers in leopard and zebra prints.  Every year, PANTONE, the world’s authority on color standardization, selects the Color of the Year – and for 2013, it’s Emerald Green.

Kids as Foodies. With the rise of food TV for the whole family, like Food Network’s Cupcake Wars or TLC’s Cake Boss, kids are becoming serious foodies.  And food creations are becoming a central part of after-school and weekend fun for parents and kids.  Take 360PR client FamilyFun magazine – they nailed this trend early (check out my favorite “Treat of the Month” from February – Punxsutawney Pudding Cup).  Baking, cooking, and even cleaning up the mess that follows are all activities marketers see as a celebrated and fun opportunities for families – from OXO and Bakelicious to smaller companies like Boston Warehouse’s “Smart Cookie” line of kitchenware, which are designed specifically for kids’ small hands but are clearly not toys.

Brands Playing Nice in the Sandbox.   Last year, 360 launched the first-ever Honeywell with Febreze fan, which merged the $38 billion Honeywell brand with Procter & Gamble’s $900 million Febreze® brand to deliver air circulation AND odor elimination.  This year’s Housewares Show spotlighted a few unexpected partnerships.  SodaStream announced a strategic agreement with Ocean Spray for “a portfolio of juice blend concentrates co-developed exclusively for the SodaStream home beverage carbonation system.”  iRobot’s Roomba also now comes with neat accessories – scent strips developed with Yankee Candle so that the mobile vacuum cleans the floor and freshens the air.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, PR Industry, Retail by Admin - 2 Comments →

Imagine buying your groceries as you whisk through the transit station on the way home, with a simple swipe of a billboard with your mobile phone.

Peapod.com makes it possible, with their new virtual grocery stores at commuter rail stations in Boston, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The first of its kind in the U.S., the virtual store technology features billboards of larger-than-life grocery aisles on train platforms. Commuters with iPhones, iPads, iPod touches or Android phones simply scan a QR code on the billboards to download a free PeapodMobile app and start shopping on the spot by scanning bar codes of the products displayed in the virtual “aisles.”

Millions of consumers learned about this cutting-edge, convenient way to do the weekly grocery shopping as a result of a 360PR media storm, including a CNN Newsource segment distributed to 200 TV stations across the country, a FOX Business segment, stories online on Yahoo! News and Mashable, among others.

Want to give the PeapodMobile app a try? Download it now: PeapodMobile for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, PeapodMobile for Android.

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Filed under: Digital PR, Food Industry, Mobile Industry, Retail by Admin - 2 Comments →

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry this Friday to great fanfare. Perhaps the most talked and written-about event of 2011, the Royal Wedding has people all over the world in a tizzy. While your average commoners like you and me may be curious about the dress, guest list and honeymoon locale, some companies are concerned with wedding-related revenue.

Companies with food at their core, in particular, are hoping to cash in. Louisville, Ky-based chain Papa John’s commissioned a food artist to create the likeness of the prince and his bride on a pizza that “tastes as good as it looks.” The mosaic pizza portrait made from mushrooms, salami, peppers, and of course, cheese, can be purchased by residents across the pond.

If you’re stateside and planning on watching the early morning telecast (TODAY’s coverage beings at 4am EST), you’ll certainly need a cup of coffee.  Why not accompany your java with Dunkin’ Donuts Royal Wedding Donut? According to the Behind the Bean, Dunkin’s blog, the heart-shaped, glazed, jelly-filled masterpiece was created with wedding traditions and Will & Kate’s favorite flavors in mind.  If your sweet tooth isn’t satisfied after a Royal Donut, or if you’re looking for something to serve at your Royal Wedding viewing party, stop in to your local cupcake shop. Many across the country, like Boston’s Sweet, are selling the bite-sized treats with toppers featuring royal wedding-related images like Will and Kate’s engagement photo.

What royal-related marketing campaigns have you seen?

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Internet, Media and Press, Retail by SkyeMcIntyre - 3 Comments →

If the Favorites folder on your browser is chock-full or you often find yourself saving links and images to re-visit them down the line, you’ll want to keep tabs on Pinterest, self-described as “a place to catalog the things you love.”

Essentially, Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board where users ‘pin’ things they find interesting – recipes, images, products, quotes, etc. – to their own boards which are categorized by theme. The option to ‘repin’ an item that another user covets is where the social aspect of the site comes in. Repinning is highly encouraged and you can also “follow” other users and their collections to receive updates on friends’ pins and site activity. Social media junkies will be pleased to find that Pinterest is integrated seamlessly with Facebook and Twitter.

Pinterest is too early in its infancy to tell how it will ultimately affect companies, but judging by its current content, Pinterest could serve as a cultivation point for brand fans and those passionate about spreading the word about everything from diamond-studded shoes to cheese knives to snow globes.

Though it’s unclear exactly when Pinterest began welcoming users, blogs including Apartment Therapy have been buzzing about the Palo Alto, CA-based site since last spring. Still in BETA, Pinterest is currently invite-only. For more information, check out Pinterest’s official blog, Oh, How Pinteresting!, here. Tastemakers pining to pin can request an invite here.

Filed under: Internet, Retail, Social Media, Social Networking by SkyeMcIntyre - 3 Comments →

By Amanda Gonzalez

It’s Valentine’s Day! Have you already picked up your card, chocolates, flowers, jewelry, etc?! If not, you better get on that pronto. But these Valentine’s Day staples aren’t the only way to show that special someone you care.

In a recent USAToday.com article, the newspaper shows us how marketers are using social media (like Facebook, Twitter, email, etc) to push their product and brand and help Valentines the world over display their affection in a unique way.

Mattel used Valentine’s Day to write another chapter in the epic love story of Barbie and Ken by asking fans to vote on whether or not the couple should get back together (they went their separate ways in 2004) and using Facebook and Twitter to give Ken a voice.  They also turned Barbie’s Facebook page into an online store on Valentine’s Day selling merchandise from the famous couple. FYI – they reunited today!!

We at 360PR also got into the Valentine’s Day promo mood as our Safety 1^st client launched a Valentine’s Day giveaway on both Facebook and Twitter of their new S1 product line. Not only did entrants get to enter for a great travel system, but they also got to post adorable pictures of their little lovies on Facebook AND $1 was donated for every entry towards infant health kits for families in need!

Have you chosen your Valentine yet?! Did you see any great Valentine’s Day promotions that you thought were clever/unique? Comment below and share!

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, FaceBook, Internet, Retail, Social Marketing, Social Media, Uncategorized by Admin - 1 Comment →