• "Teensy" Videos: PR Opportunity
• Online PR Survey on Digital Media
• PR Grants for Non-Profits
• Getting PR in Wikipedia
• The Economist: On the Value of PR
• New Low-Cost Media Measurement Service
• The Myth of PR Multipliers
• Job Openings: PR and Marketing
• Most Read Articles From Previous Issues
• F.R.E.E. Media Monitoring Trial

    The explosion of video on the Internet offers extraordinary PR opportunities. There are now dozens of new outlets reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers (millions if a video achieves "buzz") for short PR videos sometimes referred to as "tiny" or "teensy" videos because they are viewed on small screens including desktop monitors, iPods, and cell phones.

To date, online video has few fixed forms or formats. Today's short attention spans however, dictate brevity. Short playing time - under two minutes - seems to be a key imperative.

The most successful online videos also feature the following characteristics:

1.	Humor - The most successful teensy videos are funny and spontaneous. Wacky comedy is by far the most viral of all content. Violence, sex and spirituality are also successful.
2.	Early Hooks - Attention spans are really short. Fingers click quickly. Something must hook viewers in the first 10 to 15 seconds.
3.	Originality - Always the case. Take-offs of TV shows or movies worked at the outset, but have lost their mojo.
4.	Eye-Catching Visuals - Video rules apply. Attention-grabbing visuals are vital.
5.	Interesting Characters - But, of course.
6.	Music - Adds to entertainment value. Consumer-generated videos use copyrighted music with impunity. In commercial uses, take care of copyright issues.
7.	Grabber Title - The title listing is a big deal. You need to craft a title that demands viewer attention - and tells the story in a few words.
8.	Niche Culture - Target audiences by demographic or culture.
9.	Low-Key Promotion - Slip in the product story slyly; don't pound it.

The first step to creating a successful viral video is to view the Internet's "smash hits". Here are some of them. (When viewing the videos, notice the number of "views".)

Jay Leno YouTube Compilation
Ask a Ninja series
Dancing Baby
How to Fold a Shirt
She Said No
Ikea Tidy Up
Shakira-Hips Don't Lie
GoDaddy Super Bowl
Evolution of Dance
Gay Referee
Hey Clip
Incredible Machine
Crazy Frog Brothers
Quick Change Artists
Extreme Pogo Sticking
Cingular Presents YouTube Underground
The Numa Numa Kid
Dennis Rodman Wife Carrying Contest

A few things to notice:

•	In "She Said No," notice how the half-time game promotion went "viral" to tens of thousands of additional viewers on the Internet.
•	In "Dennis Rodman," notice the obvious promotion and your own reaction to it.
•	In "Numa Numa Kid," notice the use of traditional "documentary" techniques.
•	In "Hey Clip," think about how you could incorporate product placements into the performance.
•	In "Cingular Presents," think about new sponsorship possibilities in your space.
•	In "Quick Change Artists," think about the value of "sponsoring" online performances.
•	In "How to Fold a Shirt," think about "how to" videos you can create - or ones you already have.
•	In "Ask a Ninja," think about what you can create.

The most important "outlets" or distribution channels for online video according to ComScore are:

Web Site		Visitors (7/06)
		(in millions)
1. Yahoo Video		21.1
2. MySpace Videos		20.1
3. YouTube		16.1
4. MSN Video		14.6
5. AOL Video		10.5
6. Heavy		8.3
7. Google Video		6.8
8. Ebaum's World		5.4
9. iFilm		3.3
10. Break		2.6

Other outlets include Metacafe, Atom Films, CollegeHumor, Veoh, Grouper, and Revver. It's quite acceptable to place a video in more than one web site.

Creative tip: Wacky Performance + Product = Success

Production tip: Graphics have to be really, really big with very few words to be readable on small screens! Test all videos on small screens before distributing.

Like all promotion programs, online videos need to be vetted by company legal staff.

    For the fourth consecutive year, CyberAlert, Inc. (www.cyberalert.com) the online media monitoring company, will award a minimum of 10 public relations grants to not-for-profit organizations. Each grant consists of one full year of free news monitoring / press clipping services, ranging in value from $2,700 to $3,900. In the previous three years, CyberAlert has awarded 49 grants with a cumulative value of over $165,000.

All not-for-profit, educational and charitable organizations in the United States and Canada are eligible to apply for the grants, except previous grant recipients. CyberAlert is accepting grant applications until December 31 and will announce the grant recipients in January. More information and a simple and secure grant application is available online at https://secure.cyberalert.com/grants.html.

    How are you using digital media in your PR programs and practice? Peppercom (www.peppercom.com), and Bulldog Reporter's Daily 'Dog newsletter (www.bulldogreporter.com) are conducting an online survey on Digital Media in PR - blogging, podcasting, search engine optimization and integration of "digital" into PR communications programs.

For US-based PR professionals, the survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=231252450354
For UK-based PR professionals, the survey is available at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=510862556773

It takes two to three minutes to complete the survey. All participants will receive a) a copy of the survey results and b) a chance to win one of three new digital still cameras from Panasonic.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia built collaboratively on the Internet, has emerged as a primary reference resource on most every topic. It's page views are in the millions each month.

In most any search on a company or brand name, the Wikipedia write-up often gets first page ranking in search engines, especially Google. For example, The listing for Accenture, the consulting company, is currently listed sixth on the first page of Google results.

In the September 11, 2006 entry in his blog Micro Persuasion, Steve Rubel of Edelman analyzes the Google results for Wikipedia articles about the top 100 U.S.-based advertisers. In most every case, the Wikipedia article on the company ranked in Google's top 20 results. Many of those Wikipedia articles contain negative information about the companies. Febreeze's Wikipedia entry (Currently #2 on Google) notes that the product may be harmful to household pets.

Rubel believes that trying to police Wikepedia article content is asking for trouble. He advocates a "look but don't touch" position. William Comcowich of CyberAlert, the media monitoring company, maintains that, while copy manipulation and brand promotion is verboten, companies should absolutely not let inaccuracies stand in Wikepedia articles — and should employ light-handed, journalistic-type editing to correct factual errors. In handling negative charges, companies should let the charges remain in the article, but provide the "other side of the story".

Clearly, what's in Wikipedia can affect corporate or brand reputation in a major way. PR professionals should review all pages in Wikipedia in which their company/clients are mentioned. If you want to make a change, use the Wikipedia Help pages to learn how to modify the article or place a new article.

    In an analysis of the PR industry entitled "Do we have a story for you!", The Economist, the UK-based business publication, contends that as advertising struggles, PR steps into the breach. According to the article, PR is emerging as an increasingly vital marketing tool - especially as traditional forms of advertising struggle to catch consumers' attention. The article cites an internal study at P&G that concluded that the return on investment was often better from a PR campaign than from traditional forms of advertising. The article is worth the read - and good supporting evidence for the value of PR.

    CyberAlert, Inc. (www.cyberalert.com), a worldwide media monitoring service, has launched ClipMetrics, a comprehensive, low-cost media measurement and evaluation service designed especially for mid-size and smaller companies, not-for-profit organizations and agencies.

The new service is an online dashboard that provides easy-to-use tools for clip analysis and up-to-the-minute media measurement reports available at anytime, from anywhere covering any time period up to one year. The ClipMetrics service provides the tools to measure tone, prominence, dominance, key messages, type of article and spokespersons. ClipMetrics can also measure the client company against competitors.

ClipMetrics automatically aggregates, measures and analyzes viewership/readership metrics attached to all news clips from CyberAlert and then instantly displays up-to-the-minute media evaluation reports in precise, colorful, and easy-to-understand charts and graphs that measure and demonstrate the success of the organization's media relations and public relations activities.

More information and a free demo on the ClipMetrics media measurement, evaluation, and analysis service is available at http://www.cyberalert.com/mediameasurement.html.

    Multipliers are often used by PR professionals to factor circulation or audience figures when calculating impressions. Multipliers are generally rationalized by users to take into account pass-along circulation and/or to assign a higher value to PR impressions than advertising impressions due to a perceived higher level of credibility. In an article entitled Dispelling the Myth of PR Multipliers and Other Inflationary Audience Measures, Mark Weiner of Delahaye and Don Bartholomew of MWW Group argue that the facts do not support the use of multipliers and their use may actually hurt the credibility of the public relations profession.

    Optimizing and Measuring News Releases on the Internet

    How to Create a Successful Business Blog: Tips and Pitfalls

    The Truth About Website Analytics

    Media Monitoring Market Survey Results

    Tips for an Effective Online Newsroom

    Preparing Executives for Media Interviews

    CyberAlert is now offering a 2 in 1 no-risk 14-day F.R.E.E TRIAL of both its CyberAlert 4.0 online news monitoring and clipping service and its CyberAlert TV broadcast news monitoring service. The online news monitoring service monitors over 25,000 online news sources worldwide in 20 languages while the TV news monitoring service monitors the closed caption text of all news programs on more than 500 TV stations in the U.S. The F.R.E.E. TRIAL is available by completing a simple online form at https://secure.cyberalert.com/ftpyoorder.html. Service starts the next day. No credit card is required. In its special promotion, CyberAlert is offering a 2 for the price of 1 news monitoring special. New clients who order the news monitoring service at the regular retail price of $225/month for online news monitoring also receive the broadcast monitoring service at absolutely no additional charge for one year.