Headline Roundup – Public Relations in the News for September
backAs we head into back-to-school season and the final fiscal quarter for a lot of companies, public relations, advertising, and influencer campaigns are heating up as part of the fall push. Headlines this month continued to feature the Barbie marketing machine, how companies are reacting to inflation, arms dealers making street wear for some reason (?), and Toronto International Film Festival swag bags.
I know everyone is sick of hearing about Barbie, but there are so many lessons to be learned from the marketing of the film and iconic doll this summer. Using a bread crumb approach, the marketing team put out elements of the movie to stimulate conversation and generate earned media. The marketing of Barbie likely cost more than the film and has generated massive ROI for both the movie and Mattel. In this New York Times article, Mattel’s Windfall from ‘Barbie’, it talks about how creating a cultural moment and being willing to make fun of themselves has benefited the toy brand and increased its relevancy.
The curious incident of the shrinking Gatorade in the night-time of high inflation
The Globe and Mail looks at Gatorade to explore pricing and “usage-flation”, where companies advise customers to use more of their product to increase revenue.
Lockheed Martin but make it fashion
Also, in the New York Times recently was an article about Lockheed Martin, the arms dealer, getting into the street fashion game. This move is part of a South Korean trend called K-licensed Brands, where the logos of “non-fashion” brands are gaining popularity with young people. Brands participating in the trend include a host of unlikely suspects such as National Geographic, Kodak, and Jeep.
Everything inside this year’s ultra-luxe TIFF swag bag
Even though the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) wasn’t as star-studded as usual this year, it didn’t stop major brands from wanting to be part of the TIFF swag bag. I was at TIFF this year to see my sibling’s amazing film Swan Song premiere, but unfortunately couldn’t finagle a swag bag, which is probably for the best since I don’t think the Soda Stream would have fit in my carry-on.
