2010

2010 was an amazing year, it was definitely a year of growth, change and lots of eating of course! I also started this blog about a year ago and I hope to continue to write more. I was just on my friend Kelly's blog and she inspired me to do a little recap of 2010 as well. In no particular order, here are my top 10 in 2010


Birthday trip to NYC. The highlight of this trip was going to Kleinfeld's for the first time and meeting Randy in person. He put on my girlfriend's veil, it was a very sweet moment.


After completing PR school at Centennial College, I landed an internship and a full-time job offer at Strategic Objectives. I also met some fabulous PR people along the way.


The Miso Black Cod at Ame. Hands down, one of the most delicious dishes I ate in 2010. I still think about it from time to time, yes it is that good.


Epic dinner parties with my favorite people.


I have stalked this bag for a year and when I had the opportunity to buy it in New York I hesitated. It was a huge regret, but I ended up buying it at a discount in Toronto. I think it was meant to be.


My girl crushes, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley. They are gorgeous, talented and have amazing taste and style.


Stars concert at Massey Hall


Ordering many rounds of Uni (Sea urchin) sushi with my family. We are obsessed.


Discovering stylemepretty.com was pretty major in 2010. I am obsessed with weddings and I visit this blog on a daily basis


Eating the Mac Attack at Cafeteria in New York. The truffle oil mac is my favourite.

Happy New Year!
xoxO

My PR Tips

I know I have only been working in PR for about a year (I am including several internships prior to PR school at Centennial College), but I thought It would be fun to share my top PR survival tips.

1. Lists. Write down a to-do list to ensure that nothing is missed.

2. Email folders. Organize your inbox with folders. Once something has been taken care, store it in its designated folder.

3. Follow up. Not just with media, but with your team. Communication is key.

4. Keep food at your desk.

5. Take a walk when needed.

What are your PR tips?

xoxO

Coach and Fashion Bloggers Collaborate

Two of my favourite fashion bloggers, Cupcakes and Cashmere and Karla's Closet recently joined forces with Coach to design handbags. Emily and Karla each designed handbags that matched their personal style and taste.

Here's a peek at their creations:



Karla's Clutch "City Girl" (Image via karlascloset.com)


Emily's Satchel "Sweet Whimsy" (Image via cupcakesandcashmere.com)

This is what I call effective blogger outreach. Coach definitely chose the right fashionistas to collaborate with them because they are definitely getting a lot of attention in the fashion blog community. Smart move Coach, what a great way to target fashion readers. Not only will this increase their website traffic, but readers may even purchase a handbag.

From a PR standpoint this is really great for Coach because it is important to build relationships with bloggers. Traditional media relations is still key, but as more and more people are getting their information online it is crucial to practice effective blogger outreach and to maintain these relationships.

Whether it is the usual product review or in this case a design collaboration, make sure to include bloggers in your media relations.

xoxO

On the topic of viral videos..

How appropriate. I am currently working on my viral video assignment for Online PR and came across this. I have already seen it on TV, but now it has gone viral and everyone is talking about it. You don't have to be a dog owner to appreciate this commercial because it has all the elements of a successful viral video.

1. The video is short, 1:31.
2. Interesting visuals, ie: the slow motion.
3. Definite wow-factor.
4. Unique.

The power of Twitter after the Chile earthquake

A woman was able to track down her missing sister-in-law thanks to the help of a fellow tweep in Chile. Read full story here.

It just shows that when it comes to social media, there are no barriers or limits. All Sheryl Breuker did was tweet about her missing sister-in-law, Maria Alicia Moya, with hash tags (#Chile #quake) and the response she received was incredible. Within two hours, she was able to locate Moya and was relieved that she was safe. Breuker's tweet connected her with someone from Chile who was close enough to go her family's address to check up on Moya. We already witnessed the huge role social media has played to raise funds for Haiti, but this is just on another level.

When Dave Fleet came to speak to our PR Writing class last semester, he talked about the importance of social media. He then went on and talked about using Twitter as an effective communications tool and that one person can reach a lot of people. For example, he tweeted one question and over the course of 10 hours he received 46 replies on Twitter. This further demonstrates the power of social media because you can reach out to millions of people through just one channel.

What an amazing story! I am awed by the power of Twitter.

Virtual front-row seats at New York fashion week

New York fashion week officially begins tomorrow morning and if you have access to the internet you can live stream Fall 2010 shows from a few designers. Marc Jacobs, Alexander Wang, Calvin Klein, Rodarte and Ports 1961 have confirmed that they will be live streaming their runway shows on select websites.

According to FocusOnStyle.com, you can be a part of fashion week on various websites.

I wonder how Anna Wintour feels? She is already sharing front row seats with fashion bloggers and now the general public gets to be a part of fashion week.
Thoughts?

Mildred's Kitchen Temple promotes sex in its bathrooms.

I am sure the title has caught your attention, as it did for me when I came across the article this morning in the Toronto Star. Apparently, Mildred's Kitchen Temple has always been suggestive and welcomes little trysts in their bathrooms. Click here for the full story.

From a PR and social media standpoint, this story has generated some publicity for the Liberty Village restaurant. According to one reader, he commented that Google searches for “Mildred’s restaurant Toronto" hit 95,400 since the story was posted. So far, the story has been shared on Facebook 390 times and people have been tweeting about it since yesterday. Prior to the release of this story, foodies have been tweeting about their winterlicious dining experience at Mildred's. It's not bad for a small restaurant in Toronto.

There has been some negative comments going around, but to be honest, I have been to Mildred's and never knew of the sex in bathrooms. I don't think that this actually happens in their bathrooms (well, I hope not!), but they are definitely suggesting that there could be room for a bit of romance.

The purpose of the story is to promote the restaurant's "Mildred's Weekend of Big Love" for Valentine's Day, but conveniently Winterlicious is going on at the moment. They definitely chose a good time to run this story because they may even get a few last minute Winterlicious reservations booked before February 11th.

As for the negative comments, I say brush it off. At the end of the day the restaurant got tonnes of publicity and hits. Good work Flex PR.

What are your thoughts?
Cheeky or sleezy?

British "it" girl Alexa Chung joins J Crew

Do you remember back in September when Michelle Obama was on the front page of the Globe and Mail? If you don't, read the full story here. Michelle was spotted wearing J Crew in several public appearances, which was an unexpected but amazing endorsement for the retail chain.

Awesome PR, in my opinion.

Now four months later, J Crew is collaborating with Alexa Chung to design a fall collection for the Madewell line. The concept behind the line reflects her wardrobe which is a mix of modern and vintage. (read more) Now that Alexa's show on MTV is cancelled, she can focus on designing. And who knows, she may surprise us.

I think J Crew has made a good PR move for a few reasons:

• Collaborating with a trendsetter like Alexa will drive sales. She is not renowned designer, but she is definitely in the fashion spotlight.
• Take H&M and Target as an example, they have collaborated with many designers/celebrities such as Stella McCartney, Madonna and Jimmy Choo. These collections were hot sellers and were only available in select stores.
  
• This collaboration will allow J Crew to target a new and younger audience.
  

It all began unexpectedly with the First Lady and now they are turning to a fashionista. J Crew is definitely raising their profile in the retail industry. Good move J Crew, I may even shop at your store in the fall.

Claire Robinson is kitchen chic

For those of you who know me very well, you know that I watch the Food Network religiously. A few of my favourite shows are Giada at Home, Jamie at Home, Barefoot Contessa, Chuck's Day Off, French Food at Home, Top Chef, The F Word and the list goes on. Recently, I have discovered a new love, 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson. Her show features recipes that can be prepared easily with five ingredients or less. I was hooked on the show immediately. I mean she is unpretentious, down-to-earth and stylish. What's not to like?

Now from a PR standpoint, I would like to suggest a few things to Claire, who I believe has the potential to become a huge celebrity chef/TV personality. First of all, maintain an updated blog! Your fans want to know more about you and what you are up to. Next, write a cookbook and go on a book tour. The exposure may give you more air time on the Food Network. Also, this is not related to PR, but I believe you are starting up a store called Robinson-Craig and I have a personal request. Please have your rocker stud embellished aprons (see picture) available for purchase because I would like to own one.

Heart healthy eating is the new black

In November 2009, my team (Pulse communications) and I held a charity event at Loblaw Cooking School. The event was called "Bringing Healthy Back", a play on Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" song. Our event featured a live cooking demo with Chef Martin Raymond. He presented our guests with a heart healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner that is easy, affordable and delicious. Through ticket sales, raffle tickets and online donations our team was able to exceed our objective and raise over $1000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The heart healthy menu included:

Breakfast: Steel cut oats with apples and cranberries
Lunch: Bulgar wheat salad with cranberries
Dinner: Herb crusted red snapper with a yogurt, lemon and dill sauce

Although it was a successful event, we did encounter a few bumps along the way. Here are some tips and lessons learned:

• Sponsorships: Start early and be prepared for rejections. It really helps if you know the sponsor personally. It's ok to call in a favour.
  
• Working staff: Be clear about your objectives and communicate your expectations with everyone prior to the event. This will ensure organization and professionalism.
  
• Venue: Always check out the venue with your team and never assume that the space will be clutter-free for set up. One hour prior to our event, we realized that we had no place to store our personal belongings. We had to be creative.
  
• Follow up: The constant emailing and phone calls with Martin, the coordinator and chef of Loblaws ensured that we met our deadlines. If they don't respond or answer their phone, continue to follow up until you get an answer.
  
• Every little detail counts: It shows that you have given your event a lot of thought and planning, and it definitely pays off. We included little note pads for our guests to write cook's notes during the demo. It wasn't a necessary item, but it definitely added a nice touch.
  
• Reactive PR: We were approached by the East York Observer and the Courier for a preview and a news story. We were definitely surprised because we did not have to pitch a story to anyone. Not to say that we did not plan on pitching to the media, but I guess our event was unique and never done before in the CCPR program.

Now onto the good stuff, our successes. The results are based on a survey which was completed near the end of our event.

• Attendance: 100%
• Satisfaction: 100% of our guests enjoyed the event
• Learning experience: 100% said they learned something from the cooking demo and nutrition presentation.
• Healthy eating and cooking: Almost all of our guests said they would try out the recipes and attempt a lifestyle change.

Did I mention that this my first event? What a great experience. Go Pulse Communications!

Here is a recipe for you to try out!

Breakfast: Steel cut oats with apples and cranberries



Ingredients:
1 cup steel cut oats
1 apple - gala (sliced)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup currants
2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Bring 41/2 cups of water to a boil
Stir in oats and reduce the heat, let oats cook for 20 min at a light simmer
Stir in the fruit at the 20 min mark and remover from the heat
Cover and set aside for 15 min

*Tip from Chef Raymond: Make the steel cut oats in bulk and have it for breakfast throughout the week!