By Lindsey Campbell, Captains of Industry
Hey Captains’ Readers,
I hope you all had a safe and smog/smoke-free Memorial Day. Here’s your Tuesday Deal:
1. On to Plan E
This is the 42nd day crude oil has been continuously gushing into the fragile ecosystems of the Gulf Coast. And it’s only going to get worse. The Top Kill plan was nixed this past weekend, so BP’s going to try a new kind of cap. If it doesn’t work, a relief well is the only guaranteed way to stop the oil. But according to BP, it could take months to drill.
If you’re anything like me, you may be wondering how this situation got so out of hand. And while you think about the poor pelicans, oysters and shrimp slowly dying in the bayous of Louisiana, you just might want to unload your anger and aggression onto someone. Anyone. But before you kick off heated arguments with a random stranger on the train, or start ticking off the latest oil spill statistics at your office status meeting, remind yourself who’s responsible for this mess in the first place: BP. In fact, I applaud anyone who wants to tell the oil company EXACTLY what they think of the worst oil spill this nation has ever seen. And if you find yourself running out of ammo, check out the 6 reasons why no one should trust BP by Grist. That’ll get your blood boiling again.
Do you think the citizens of this planet will start advocating renewable energy NOW? God, I hope so.
2. You can put your heinie on Heineken
First, M&M’s and Hershey’s Kisses let people write their own personal messages on their chocolaty candies. Then, Nike had you creating your own sneakers. Now, Heineken wants you to design your own beer sleeve. In the age of interactivity, brands are constantly trying to dream up ways to get their consumers to engage with them. And by playing on everyone’s desire to set themselves apart from the pack, companies are letting buyers make their favorite products more personal. So if you’re looking for a good present to give your buds this summer, or a great way to dole out some serious revenge, a 6-pack of Heineken emblazed with an incredibly embarrassing picture might just do the trick.
3. Don’t wash your tweets
What the heck is tweetwashing? Well, according to Michael Troiano of Scalable Intimacy, it’s like greenwashing (how cynics try to capitalize on the public’s growing predisposition to conservation and renewable energy) except in social media land.
The beauty of the online social world is in its honesty and authenticity. Now that most businesses have realized that they need to have a social media presence, they’ve bypassed actually understanding how it works, and have created budgets and recruited 20-somethings to make their social media problem “go away.” So here’s a message to you newbies on the social media scene. Either try and understand what it is and how it can help your brand, or do us all a favor and get off. There’s nothing worse then seeing a brand proudly proclaim they’re on Twitter or Facebook, only to spam you with lawyer-approved messages every 25 seconds. FYI: social media is your brand’s chance to show that there are actual people behind your logo. So try and keep it real. You might just find you’ll make a couple of friends along the way.
Until tomorrow,
Captain Lindsey
Responses
No comments have been posted yet.