Twitter Becomes a Public Relations Tool

Qwest Communications International has launched a Twitter page to improve customer and public relations. Seven company reps take turns monitoring @TalkToQwest around the clock in a quest to provide prospective and existing clients one-on-one near real-time support. Qwest hopes @TalkToQwest will help reps resolve issues on high-speed Internet, billing, pricing, technical support, and more. The move comes as the telecom provider widens support online to social media sites such as blogs and social networks to communicate with customers, Laurie Sullivan of Online Media Daily reports. James Clark -- cofounder at Room 214, the Boulder, CO digital media agency that designed the Twitter program -- said addressing customer concerns and providing quick feedback is the first step. The challenge resides with integrating comments into daily processes. "Companies need to find a way to integrate the feedback in product development," he said. "Those that do that will have extremely loyal customers for life." Twitter has become more than a media relations tool or a method to keep friends updated on the hottest neighborhood coffeehouses for a growing number of companies. Room 214 has also supported The Travel Channel in a similar project. Qwest and The Travel Channel aren't the only companies reaching out to better service customers. Comcast, JetBlue, Odwalla and Starbucks, among others, monitor tweets on Twitter to respond immediately to consumer concerns, the best public relations practice. When Jarreau85 asked @JetBlue if they fly to Atlanta, the airlines' public response sent two minutes later read: "@Jarreau85 we don't, but let us know you want the route: http://is.gd/EYh." "If you tweet 'where can I find a Whole Foods in New York that has an olive bar,' the company will tweet back with the number and address," said Gregory Galant, CEO at Sawhorse Media, Brooklyn, N.Y., which recently published "The Shorty Report," which explores how companies use Twitter for business. Galant said a push for better customer service via Twitter has helped to diffuse sites like ComcastMustDie.com founded by Bob Garfield ( a PR nightmare for any company.) In a post on the Web site, Garfield explains plans to put the Comcast site to rest and redirect traffic to CustomerCircus.net, "where other infamously arrogant corporations will be subjected to power of aggregated rage." The value in Twitter for businesses comes from making requests and problems public. Customers believe companies face greater challenges to resolve issues quickly. Tweeting product questions on Twitter also gives other customers the option to find the answers. The tweets are achieved and searchable. For public companies, it could keep a public log to comply with government reporting regulations. Twitter is a way for businesses to regain a personal connection with customers, Galant said. Aside from customer service, companies use Twitter to list product announcements, special discount codes, and marketing opportunities, but they do it in a different way. Some companies offer feedback on inventory levels, dispatch dates, and answer questions about their products. Customers often know the first name of the person they're twittering with, which provides a personal touch. This is another way public relations is integrating new media.

Cultural Mistakes in Marketing Campaigns

It’s well known that the name and the slogan of a product are at least a half of selling success. However many companies, even the greatest, make mistakes while choosing names and slogans. They don’t pay enough attention to this matter and this result in market loss for them. Here are some examples of promotional marketing mistakes: Pepsi’ slogan of 1963 "Come Alive, You’re in the Pepsi Generation" was translated into Taiwan language and got an unexpected meaning: “Pepsi will make your ancestry to rise from graves” Taiwans were shocked. When Parker Pen entered the Mexican market, its advertisements which claimed that Parker Pens "won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you," it was mistranslated to "No te embarazará chorreándose en tu bolsillo" which means "Won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you.” Gerber introduced organic baby cereal in Africa with the famous smiling baby on the label. But the product was not selling. Turns out that in Africa there are a lot of illiterate people and as a rule companies print a photo on the label of what is inside. For instance if they sell oatmeal, they place oatmeal porridge on the label. Bacardi put on the market an upscale bitters drink named ‘Pavane’ which in French means stylishness, but in German it sounded too close to ‘Pavian’ – baboon. Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, in the German market only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "manure stick". Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux raised a few eyebrows in the United States when it came up with the slogan “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.” Coors beer had bad luck in Spain with its “Turn it loose” slogan. It translated as “You will suffer from diarrhea”. Frank Perdue’s chicken campaign created confusion with the tag line “It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken.” In Spain this became “It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.” KFC’ “Finger Licking” good’ slogan is used all over the world to highlight the tastiness of the product. However when the phrase was translated into Chinese for the Hong Kong market, it became ‘Eat your fingers off’. Needles to say, most customers opted for the fries instead. When American Airlines decided to advertise the luxurious aspect of flying business class to their Mexican customers, they thought it would make sense to focus on the leather seats. Therefore, they used the slogan “Fly in Leather,” which in Spanish translates to “Vuela en Cuero.” What the Spanish dictionary had neglected to inform them was that the phrase ‘en cuero’ is a slang term for ‘in the nude’. AA soon found out that there was little demand for mile-high nudism among Mexico’s business flyers. The Colgate-Palmolive Company introduced a tooth paste called Cue in the French market. Little did they know Cue is a popular French porno magazine. Puffs drapery had ill fame in Germany because ‘puff’ in German slang means ‘brothel.’ The Coca-Cola Company had a huge problem when choosing a name for their product in China. When Chinese pronounced ‘coca cola’ it meant ‘bite wax tadpole’. The company had to look through about 40 thousand different variations to find ‘cocu cole,’ which means ‘happiness in mouth’ in Chinese.