Drew Reid Kerr › Comments

Drew Kerr, 140 characters at a time. - Drew Reid Kerr

Do reporters really read quotes in press releases anyway? I asked several reporters if they read them and if they found them useful. - Drew Reid Kerr

According to data from YouGov's BrandIndex daily consumer perception research, the ads hit home. The data shows over a period of less than a week, from Sept. 11 – Sept. 16, Carl's Jr. value perception shot up nearly 5 points from 4.6 to 9.4 with adults 18 and older. Hardee's value perception grew more modestly, from 8.8 to a 9.4. - Drew Reid Kerr

Hollywood is a big illusion manufacturing machine, so it's not a stretch to imagine them concocting elaborately-staged "incidents" to create buzz around the water cooler the next day. No Zapruder films yet, but that's just a matter of time. This is PR's version of the Matrix, the staged moon landing and Pearl Harbor being allowed to happen -- what you are seeing may simply not be real but being planned by a cabal of highly-paid publicists and entertainment studios and networks. Robert Langdon should forget about the Illuminati and book the next flight to LAX. - Drew Reid Kerr

IMG Worldwide and TV's "Dog Whisperer," Cesar Millan, are looking to take a bite out of the growing pet-care market. - Drew Reid Kerr

Usually newspaper corrections range from mistakes such as spelling a name wrong to a flat out factual error. However, highlighted in Friday's online edition of the NY Daily News is an epic correction of grand magnitude, confusion and insanity. - Drew Reid Kerr

I thought this was very interesting.  Mobile Marketing Watch, has a good post on Jumptap, who has received a patent related to using behavioral targeting to influence search results.  For search, this is mostly ex-U.S. as far as I'm aware. - Drew Reid Kerr

The only Broadway musical of the rock era to spawn four Top 40 hits. As a matter of fact, other than Godspell's "Day by Day," I can't remember the last Broadway show to spin a real hit single. Here's a look at the four "Hair" hits, with videos. - Drew Reid Kerr

As the Whole Foods Boycott on Facebook continues to swell — the group now has over 27,000 members — we’re finding out that CEO John Mackey’s statements in The Wall Street Journal are affecting more than just angry Facebookers, but consumers in general. According to YouGov’s BrandIndex, which tracks the daily consumer perception of brands, consumer opinion towards Whole Foods has been falling fast on the Web since the editorial appeared. - Drew Reid Kerr

If press releases have any potency now, it comes from showing up in Web searches and, hopefully in the process, raising a company’s profile online. - Drew Reid Kerr

A sharp guide to writing more effective press releases and pitch letters, with emphasis on better lead paragraphs. - Drew Reid Kerr

While there is no question the the late filmmaker John Hughes touched many lives with his stories of teenage angst (The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Some Kind of Wonderful) and equally adult angst (National Lampoon's Vacation, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Mr. Mom, She's Having A Baby), you can't discuss Hughes legacy without talking about the music. - Drew Reid Kerr

RIM’s BlackBerry family of mobile devices has undergone dramatic consumer perception shifts in the past two weeks, according to market research agency YouGov’s BrandIndex. Since mid-July, BlackBerry’s value perception of adults aged 18 to 34 has tanked, while simultaneously rising among adults aged 35 to 49. - Drew Reid Kerr

Unless the company you work for or your client is the 800-pound gorilla of your industry or a Fortune 500 company, issuing press releases during trade shows is almost always a waste of time. - Drew Reid Kerr

Research from YouGov Plc's BrandIndex shows that McDonald's is the hands-down winner on value perception while Starbucks has a substantial lead in quality perception. - Drew Reid Kerr

Spend and you will get buzz. That seems to be one takeaway from YouGov's BrandIndex, which compiled daily feedback from thousands of consumers for the first half of the year in order to find out which brands consumers are buzzing about and which brands they're not. - Drew Reid Kerr

A company's worth is rarely equal to the sum of its assets. In fact, most corporations hold intangible value. An important case in point: brand image. Research shows that brand power can account for as much as 10% of the change in a company's stock price—up or down. - Drew Reid Kerr

I saw NY Post sportswriter Joel Sherman's blog mention a "behind the scenes" PR firm that the Mets use. This is the first I have heard of the team using an outside communications adviser. Why is their name not public? Why are they hiding? - Drew Reid Kerr

"Pay for play" seems like a back-up plan for a company that is just plain insecure about public relations. They know what it is and what it can do. They just don't want to invest in it if they don't have to. Not just monetarily, but relationship-wise as well. It's hard to imagine establishing much of a partnership or strategic collaboration on this basis. - Drew Reid Kerr

You want your bar/bat mitzvah video montage to be unforgettable. Not like those boring "60 baby picture" ones that everybody shows. - Drew Reid Kerr

By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N), parent of the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC chains, cut its full-year forecast for sales on weakness in its two biggest markets, the United States and China, and its shares fell 3.9... - Drew Reid Kerr

Seeing your name and company in an article or blog is half the battle -- it's what happens afterward that is the heart of any ROI. - Drew Reid Kerr

When it comes to getting the most bang for a buck at sit-down restaurants, Olive Garden, Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral, Applebee’s and Chili’s get top marks, according to 5,000 diners recently polled online by BrandIndex. - Drew Reid Kerr

Drew Kerr's photo page - Drew Reid Kerr

RSS is the communications technology everybody seems to have overlooked. It never fails to amaze me when I am speaking with a group and ask the audience to raise their hands if they have an RSS reader, and I get a sea of puzzled expressions. If you are a believer in the saying that "Knowledge is Power" and you want to be as well informed as possible with the least amount of hassle, there's no excuse not to have an RSS reader. - Drew Reid Kerr

RSS is the communications technology everybody seems to have overlooked. It never fails to amaze me when I am speaking with a group and ask the audience to raise their hands if they have an RSS reader, and I get a sea of puzzled expressions. If you are a believer in the saying that "Knowledge is Power" and you want to be as well informed as possible with the least amount of hassle, there's no excuse not to have an RSS reader. - Drew Reid Kerr

One person that didn't hold back their axe to grind was Jackson's former publicist, Michael Levine, who worked with the singer when he was accused of molestation in 1993. Instead of doing the classy thing and taking the high road, he belly-flopped right into the mud. - Drew Reid Kerr

"Rock With You," written by Rod Temperton. Just that little snare drum snap to attention intro, and you had to go dancing with Michael. Great vocal overdubs, chord combos, hiking up a half key, and you didn't have to moonwalk. Rolled up my blazer sleeves and got taken in. - Drew Reid Kerr

One person that didn't hold back their axe to grind was Jackson's former publicist, Michael Levine, who worked with the singer when he was accused of molestation in 1993. Instead of doing the classy thing and taking the high road, he belly-flopped right into the mud. - Drew Reid Kerr

"Rock With You," written by Rod Temperton. Just that little snare drum snap to attention intro, and you had to go dancing with Michael. Great vocal overdubs, chord combos, hiking up a half key, and you didn't have to moonwalk. Rolled up my blazer sleeves and got taken in. - Drew Reid Kerr