Make it Go Viral

This is one of my favorite cartoons released from Hub Spot. There have been so many times we’ve received similar instructions. “Make it funny,” “Make it different,” and “I love the cute sleepy things videos, can we do something like that?” And my personal favorite “We really want this to go viral and have everybody see it!”

I’m all for making videos and marketing materials memorable – they have to be! But there’s no rational reason to want everybody to see your video other than pure vanity. Even in the world of YouTube, only your target audience needs to see your video.

Companies that understand who their audience is and target their message specifically to that audience will fare much better than companies that blast an irrelevant message to the masses. If 80% of your ideal prospects get and react to your message, isn’t that better than 2% of the entire world that will probably never interact with you? The same tried and true marketing principles apply today as they did 10 years ago when there was no social media, only the means of distributing those messages has changed.

So yes, please make your videos and messages interesting, just make them interesting to people who actually mean something to you.

How long has it been since you updated your crisis communication plan?

As PR professionals today, we have a few areas we MUST pay attention to on a daily basis: monitoring what is being said about your company, handling media relations, engaging in online conversations about your brand, executing marketing plans and keeping your head above water in the new PR 2.0 world. Often times, we allow responsibilities with less immediacy to fall to the wayside when putting out day-to-day fires, like long-term planning of events, internal communications and crisis communication.

Yesterday I attended a local PRSA event that focused on crisis communication and it got me thinking about what our clients' crisis plans look like right now. Since handling crises is not something we deal with everyday, it’s also not something we think about everyday until it happens. However, even if you don’t have to execute it, continuously updating a crisis plan is most likely one of the most important things you’ll do as a PR professional.

So, once I got back to the office I began thinking about different scenarios our clients might face and how I can reach out as their PR advisor to help create updated crisis plans. During the process, I uncovered great online resources about crisis communication planning.

Here are some of the best:
Bulletproof blog - The blog on crisis communications
7 must-have elements in every crisis communications kit
Crisis Communication Planning: Organizing and Completing A Plan That Works
Will your crisis communication plan make you or break you? (okay, this is mine...)

To answer the title of my own blog post - TOO LONG! I'm contacting our clients this week to discuss updating their crisis communication plans. Any suggestions on how to make this a smooth and effective process?

Toward A More Meaningful Tweet

The Ad Contrarian today wrote about the complete worthlessness of some Twitter posts – most, in fact. He has a good idea for putting followers out of that particular misery. It's a good post - you'll enjoy it.

And it reminded me of a post I did last year about a another idea for improving content on Twitter, titled TwitterStarters. So for those of you who haven't yet read it (or read it and couldn't wait to read it again), here it is.

My Social Media Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference to illustrate how change happens as new ideas or technologies spread and gain momentum. He published Tipping Point in 2000, and at the time couldn't possibly have predicted the explosion of innovation and energy around social media.

Reflecting on the past week, I couldn't help but think that we're either at or past the tipping point for social media. It's beginning to feel like traditional media begins to take it's place with land lines and video stores as businesses whose best days are clearly behind them. Here are a few of the things I saw this week that convinced me:

• The Haitian relief efforts were led by Twitter and mobile texting, which raised $5 million in 12 or so hours, and continues today
• The embarrassing conclusion to NBC's Jay Leno experiment, as the once-proud peacock crumbled under the pressure of desperate local affiliates
  
• At our New North Social Media Breakfast Tuesday, we listened to panelists representing fine dining, a country western bar, and a business class hotel all describe how they were using social media as their new primary media to drive their brand message and promotional offers
• We started working with both a Canadian fishing camp and a country club to create social media plans to drive prospects
• Google is going eyeball-to-eyeball with China on issues of censorship, as the Chinese government tries to jam the social media genie back in the bottle.

Enough evidence? Tell me what you think---are we way paste the tipping point, or is it still to come? And how do you judge when we're there?

Operation Haiti Relief: Who’s Donated?

The devastation in Haiti from last week’s earthquake has sent shockwaves around the globe. The AP reported earlier today there are now an estimated 200,000 dead, 250,000 injured and 2 million homeless from the quake.

With the Haitian people in dire need of support, many charities, organizations, corporations, celebrities and political elite have stepped up to help fund the relief efforts. To date, donations have exceeded $305 million. Some have publicized their donations more than others, which makes you question their true intentions, but if you’ve been curious who’s donated and donated what, here’s a mentionable list:

The American Red Cross: through the text “HAITI” to 9099 mobile fundraising initiative, Americans have raised over $23 million via text message. Total donations to the American Red Cross in the last week, including all 9099 texts, is over $112 million

U.S. Fund for UNICEF: $22.5 million raised as of Tuesday

Catholic Relief Services: $16.5 million in gifts and pledges raised as of Monday

Corporate America: over $69 million in pledges from 34 companies have been raised as of Monday. Major corporate pledges include:
• GE: $2.5 million
• Citigroup: $2 million, including $250,000 to the Red Cross
• Microsoft: $1.25 million
• JPMorgan Chase: $1 million
• Morgan Stanley: $1 million
• Google: $1 million
• Walmart: $500,000 to the Red Cross, and $100,000 worth of food
• McDonalds: $1 million
• Go Daddy: $500,000
• UPS Foundation: $1 million to various relief efforts
• FedEx: providing shipping services for relief organizations
• General Motors Foundation: $100,000 to the Red Cross
• Visa: $200,000 to the Red Cross
• PepsiCo Foundation: $1 million along with Quaker products, bottled water, and Gatorade for earthquake victims
• Coca-Cola Foundation: $1 million
• Walt Disney Company: $100,000
• Target: $500,000 to the Red Cross
• Lowe’s: $1 million to the Red Cross International Response Fund

Celebrities:
• George Clooney: Of the a-list celebrities that have been involved with the Haiti relief efforts, it looks as though George Clooney is going to make the largest impact. He’s organized a mega, multi-network telethon that will be airing live tomorrow night (Friday 1/22)
• Sandra Bullock: $1 million donation to Doctors Without Borders
• Brangelina: $1 million
• Gisele Bundchen: $1.5 million
• Madonna: $250,000
• Lance Armstrong: $250,000

Political Elite: former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush announced they’ll be working together to raise funds for the cause. Michelle Obama has also been involved by supporting the American Red Cross through their public service announcements for the 9099 campaign.

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but it shows the true magnitude of the situation in Haiti and how America is stepping up to help. Show your own support and make a donation to the Haiti relief efforts today!

Conan v. NBC & Leno: Social Media Fuels the Fire

Open up Twitter or Facebook and here is an inkling of what you might see these days:

“Down with Leno!! NBC needs to repect(sic) its brightest star!!! Up with Conando!!!!”

“Sup guys just sayin’ I won’t be watching Jay Leno. I’ll go wherever Conan goes because #imwithcoco Please RT if you feel the same way.”

The Facebook posts and Tweets are pouring in at remarkable speed as Conan O’Brien’s 7-month stint as The Tonight Show host comes to an abrupt and bitter ending this Friday.

For the last few weeks all eyes have been on the no-holds-barred battle being waged between O’Brien, Jay Leno and NBC. Although NBC executive Dick Ebersol would insist that O’Brien is “chicken-hearted and gutless” and that the whole debacle is an “astounding failure” on his part, the booming voices of social media users have declared that they don’t agree.

Central to the social media “CoCo” movement is a Facebook group called “I’m With CoCo.” The group has grown to almost half a million avid supporters of O’Brien in a matter of days. So dedicated is this group to the red-haired comedian, that they even worked together to host support rallies outside of NBC studios in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle. More than 1,800 fan photos (and counting) grace the page, including images of NBC as the sinking Titanic, users with photoshopped bright orange hair and editorial cartoons poking fun at Leno and NBC. It is clearly “CoCo” territory and any Pro-Leno commentary is immediately and unforgivingly quashed.

Twitter paints a similar scene. No strangers to the trending topic list this month, the terms “Conan” and “#imwithcoco” are raking in the support. Users have added “CoCo” icons to their avatars, similar to the “twibbons” used for Haiti support, breast cancer awareness and others. Any support for NBC or Jay Leno buried in the O’Brien battle cries is far and few in between.

Unfortunately for NBC, social media has created an atmosphere in which fans feed off each other, transforming individual dislike for the decision into a wave of destruction headed straight for NBC’s already struggling haunches. I can only imagine the rallying force O’Brien would have if he himself were active on these outlets. For now, the streaming supply of NBC-bashing commentary he provides on his show and his infamous Craigslist sale of The Tonight Show and his "personal" services seems to be enough.

Social media has had a big influence, but other late night hosts like David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel have been doing their part to fuel the anti-NBC sentiment as well. Admittedly, it will be interesting to see if the support continues to flare after his show is removed on Friday. How will NBC ultimately fare from their decision if the social media tyranny continues? Will Jay Leno resume to operations as normal? Will people forget about Conan after a month or two?

I’m not sure. One thing I do know, however, is that social media is becoming a force to be reckoned with. Although it may have been too late for O’Brien’s fans to save him this time, you had better believe other networks are learning from the example and will think twice before infuriating the masses.

“You can do anything you want in life … unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too.” - Conan O’Brien

Let marketing control employee social media use, not IT

Back in November, I began a new writing adventure as the Technology:Emerging Media columnist for The Business News (yes, I gladly accept story ideas!). My first column focused on the big question many corporations have when it comes to social media access for employees: who controls it? Due to the injection of social media into many 2010 marketing plans, the article is just as timely today as it was in November.


For the last year or two social media has been one of the biggest “buzz” words throughout the Northeast Wisconsin business community (and everywhere else in the world). Most marketers have started getting involved, but proving to management and IT that there is value in opening social networks to employees to management and IT is one of the main barriers they face.

According to PRWeek’s 2009 Social Media Survey, 80% of the 271 marketers surveyed say their companies do not allow employees to use social media channels to share messages on behalf of the company or its brands. However, as social media becomes more important to companies, marketers are beginning to realize that employees can be their biggest brand advocates. To overcome management objectives, marketers need to start giving better reasons for allowing access to social networks in the office than IT departments are giving to restrict them.

Lee Aase, manager of syndication and social media at Mayo Clinic, has led the organization’s successful social media efforts for years and can offer great advice for corporations struggling with social media access for employees. In fact, each employee at Mayo Clinic is allowed access to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and encouraged to use the sites to connect with patients.

“For more than a century word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied patients have been the top reason for people preferring Mayo Clinic. Social media sites are just the way that word-of-mouth happens in the 21st century,” says Aase. “As we these platforms as ways to spread the word, it’s important that all employees be ‘in the loop’. We wouldn’t want to prevent them from seeing and hearing the stories by blocking their access to the sites.”

However, Mayo Clinic has never blocked social networking sites so, as Aase points out, they “didn’t have to go [into IT] and make the case for un-blocking.”

Unfortunately, for many companies, this isn’t always the case. Dawn Ruchala, marketing promotions and events manager at Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, has been at the forefront of a strategic social media push for the last few months but struggles with the hurdles she’ll need to go through to engage employees.

“We were able to get social network access to a few people [in marketing],” says Ruchala. However, the thought of having to explain why social media access should be allowed to employees for marketing support is a battle she’s hesitant to fight with other departments.

Tom Clark, director of marketing at Faith Technologies headquartered in Menasha, is facing similar struggles. Both marketing professionals realize they will need to show the value of social media to influence their IT departments’ perceptions before they’ll gain their support.

“If IT had their way now, they would stop all social media usage and [they don’t have a solid reason not to],” says Clark. “However, it’s our goal down the road to show them the value of social media for our business in order to gain access for employees.”

Faith Technologies currently utilizes a Facebook fan page to connect with employees in their 15 office locations throughout Wisconsin, Kansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Oklahoma. As Faith Technologies’ employees become engaged in social networking for internal communication, they might be more prepared to communicate with external audiences down the road. This evidence could help Faith Technologies’ marketing department’s case when convincing IT to bend on access restrictions.

Fortunately, many social media tools are also becoming available for companies to track social media success – a key argument marketing departments can use during their battle. Start with access for a few employees with clear guidelines you’re prepared to enforce. Then, tracking Web traffic, interaction and the amount of discussion about your brand online as a result of social media marketing efforts can be extremely powerful.

Other successes include recognition from customers and using social media for lead generation. Melissa Schultz, associate product manager at Hoffmaster in Oshkosh, has been involved in her company’s social media outreach for the past eight months. According to Schultz, her company has been actively seeking social media engagement from the Hoffmaster sales force.

“[Social media] is not just for marketing. It’s another avenue we can use to get our sales force excited about lead generation,” says Schultz. “I don’t foresee a need for guidelines on internal social network usage.” In fact, the company has already seen a few successful face-to-face interactions with customers and prospects they connected with on Facebook and Twitter.

So, as the world of marketing changes, marketers who see social media as an important business tool are slowly impacting the decision of employee social network access. “The world is changing and we need to change with it,” says Clark.

"OMG, I just had some really good Starbucks!!"

Go to the search box on Google and type "Twitter is..." and Google helps finish the sentence with the most popular search terms. They are, in order and as of Friday afternoon:

...down
...overcapacity
...retarded
...pointless
...lame
...a waste of time
...for old people
...dead
...frozen
...hiring

(Type in "Twitter should be..." and you'll get the suggestion "banned.")

For the last year and a half we've been talking to clients about the importance of Twitter. We've also been telling a few of them that it's, well...pointless, lame and a waste of time. Clients are pretty certain that they should be taking advantage of Twitter, but when we ask why they often answer, "Because everyone else is." If everyone else jumped off a bridge...

Here, in a nutshell, is how I counsel clients who are considering investing time to be part of the "Twitterverse."

Twitter is great for:

Clients who sell "passion products." If your business involves selling something related to a person's hobby, vocation or avocation (and that hobby, vocation or avocation is a big part of "who they are"), like scrapbooking, vintage cars, firefighting, teaching, gluten-free living, wine, photography, Twitter is a good way to let them get to know what your brand could mean for them.

Celebrities. People who love Oprah, Ashton Kutcher, Mariah Carey and those Jonas boys hang on their every inane word, and Twitter gets it out there far better than an occasional feature in People magazine.

News. Breaking news shot directly to followers is probably the best use of the Twitter platform, though you could just as easily get the same information in an RSS feed.

Your kids' school or anyplace you go regularly that might close in a snowstorm. Of course, you could get that same school-closing information via instant text message updates to your phone.

Narcissists. People who love to hear themselves talk (about themselves) can now delight all of us with their every thought...about coffee, how clever their kids are, their struggles balancing work and family, coffee, traffic, what's for dinner, coffee...

On the other hand, Twitter is a waste of time for:

Everyone else. Well, more specifically, it's generally not advisable for businesses that sell things people only want to hear about when they need 'em: flooring, legal services, auto repair, florists, etc. For these clients we suggest a blog – it's a great way to tell your story when people do search for your type of product or service and find your website.

In the end, even if you fit the profile of a Twitter-worthy business, will Twitter help you grow it? It depends on how well and for what purpose you're doing it. Exposure is always good, but how hard we have to work to get that exposure may prove, for some, to be out of line with what they're getting for all the effort.

Being Successful – There’s an App for That

Did you know that by 2013 mobile devices will overtake computers as the primary means of web access? According to Gartner Research, three years from now there will be 1.8 billion enhanced phones with browsers compared to 1.78 billion computers in use. Wow!

In 2009 mobile marketing was up 62% to an estimated $2.6 billion with $140 million in display and $178 million in search. Mobile advertsing (display and search) is expected to reach 1.56B in 2010 with each growing $80 million in 2010 alone!
That being said, companies not putting initiatives in place now to take advantage of those trends risk losing huge opportunities to their competitors.

Being mobile marketing friendly does not have to be a huge undertaking, it just requires a little forethought and a few simple steps.

Below are two very easy and relatively inexpensive strategies that can easily fit into your 2010 budget.

Simple ways to take advantage of the mobile marketing trend:

1. Update your site for the mobile platform. Don’t need a separate site, just cascading style sheet (CSS) attached to your website that feeds instructions to a mobile browser. Just keep a few things in mind:

• Keep all fonts very basic – no color or special type
• Screen size is very small – usually about 2” x 3”
• Mobile web is like the web used to be – typically just type and links so don’t use images or graphics unless absolutely necessary and forget the fancy stuff like Flash or Java
• Keep forms very simple and only use if necessary
• Simplify, simplify, simplify

2. Build your own app. Believe it or not, an app can be developed for as little as $199. AppMakr has two very low cost options:

• $199 for AppMakr to publish the app for you so you don’t have to have your own Apple Developer Account but AppMakr gets credit in the app’s opening page
• $499 if you use your own Apple Developer Account but still have AppMakr handle the licensing and management features.

Now, are you ready to be found by 1.8 billion mobile devices?

Resolutions to Tone Your Marketing

Forget about dropping the extra 20 pounds you've been whining about since you got married. You're more likely to lose your spouse than you are to lose that weight! So instead of resolving to take your BMI down to a chiseled 25, focus your new year's commitments on improving the marketing of your business.

Start with your marketing plan. Keep it simple with a few important and easily understood objectives, and let key strategies and action plans flow from the objectives. Activities that don't support objectives shouldn't be part of your plans. Don't bite off more than you and staff can handle. Better to do a few things well and know that the resources were deployed with discipline.

Audit existing communications. Take a look at messaging within your industry, including your own. Compare competitors who sound authentically persuasive with those that are "me too". Be critical of your own messaging and how well it really communicates a compelling and defensible competitive advantage.

Assess your website. How well is it really working for you, and how are you measuring performance? Use some of the free analytic tools to compare your site with competitors. Identify the low-hanging fruit kinds of improvements that will instantly improve SEO and corresponding traffic. As you're doing this, stop and think about the role your site does and should play in your overall marketing efforts.

Audit PR efforts. What kind of media presence to you have compared to competition? Do industry publications understand your positioning, and see where you fit in important editorial content? Start by identifying the key media contacts important to your industry, and begin making it a habit to connect with them regularly. Identify several story line directions that reinforce what your business should stand for, and find ways to promote those ideas regularly.

Start learning social media. Identify a small number of social media channels that are a good potential fit for your business and customer target. Commit to growing your experience within these channels with deliberate, measured steps.

Most of us have probably learned (repeatedly!) that the likelihood of sticking with a resolution is indirectly proportional to the number of resolutions we make. So be realistic, identify one of the five above that will represent the most meaningful impact on your business, and focus on it for 30 days. After 30 days, look back and see what you've accomplished. And then keep going!

Being Big is Big Business

I’m using the first day of the new decade to start eating healthier, exercising more and losing that last 5 pounds (okay, maybe 8…). And so is everyone else I talk to.

Diets and weight loss products are big business, especially this time of year. That’s why all us eager, committed (at least for now) dieters are being followed closely behind by smart marketers capitalizing on the frenzy to be fit by hawking their diets, books, gimmicks, foods…whatever. Huge amounts of money are being spent targeting the 64% of the US who say they are taking steps to lose 20 lbs or more, 75% of whom are likely to forget about it in the next couple weeks.

One of my favorite reality shows is Biggest Loser – one that ranks highly on Nielsen ratings, too. So it’s no surprise that the show is going beyond simply selling its air time, but putting out its own branded food scales, whey protein, books, calendars, videos, games…the list goes on.

They even push their products and their sponsor’s products within the show – a great product placement strategy. It gets a little much, though, after you’ve heard the phony spontaneous chatter about the products (“Hey, are you hungry but don’t want to use up any calories? Why don’t we grab some Extra brand gum? It’s got a ton of flavor and wards off hunger, too!”). It won’t be long before this season’s episodes are peppered with scripted promos for Jennie-O, Subway, Walmart, 24-hour Fitness and more, just like last season.

A few more examples of New Year’s resolution-related marketing I’ve noticed:

• Subway is capitalizing on the popularity of NBC’s Biggest Loser (and the popularity of one of last season’s contestants) by offering the heaviest contestant ever, Shay Sorrell, a new Subway spokesperson role. Shay will get $1000 for every pound she loses throughout Season 9, all the Subway Fresh Fit sandwiches she can eat, and a “follow up package” for her participation in in-show and on-line promotions including a mid-season weigh-in, periodic check-ins and complete public access to her progress via SubwayFreshBuzz.com, NBC.com and BiggestLoser.com.

• Taco Bell is hoping to replicate Jared/Subway’s success by introducing their Diet Drive-thru menu consisting of seven items all under 200 calories and 9 grams of fat. Their spokesperson, Christine Dougherty, says she lost 54 lbs. by making the Taco Bell Fresco items part of her healthy eating choices.

• Dunkin’ Dieters – Dunkin’ Donuts is offering egg white substitutes in any of their breakfast wraps or sandwiches reducing calories by 25%.

Employees of any local YMCA will tell you that the crush of new people creating long lines at the treadmills dies down 6 weeks after the first of the year. Same with weight-loss-related marketing. I have to say, I’m looking forward to it.

The PR Student/Intern 2010 Resolution List

Remember when you were in elementary school and the teacher had you write up a list of resolutions ranging from the mundane (eat an apple) to the serious (stop the nose-picking)? Whatever your resolutions were, it was always a pretty cool list to write, share and attempt to stick to.

I don’t know about you, but I want to put the oomph back in my resolution list. As a soon-to-be graduate, I have a whole lot of stuff I want to accomplish. What better way to sort it all out and set some goals than a resolutions list for 2010?

So, without further ado, The PR Student/Intern 2010 Resolution List.

1. Join a club or organization. PRSSA is a necessary option, but not the only option. Look in your community to find other young professional networking groups. Once you join, make the effort to attend and maintain communication with other members.
2. Pick up a PR book and r-e-a-d. Books provide a wealth of information that is extremely hard to find otherwise.(List to come later!)
   
3. Tour a newsroom. This is a tip I picked up from The Publicity Handbook. In PR you’ll be working with newspapers (etc) so, touring a facility in your area will give you a greater appreciation for the hard-working reporters you’re sending your pitches too.
4. Start blogging. Not only will this help you organize your thoughts and ideas, it also gives you practice writing. (I cannot properly stress how vital writing is for everything!!)
5. Elevate your social media usage. Start using it as a networking and professional tool whenever possible. It’ll also boost your name search results and give you some quality SEO. (I’m a self-proclaimed Google search-your-own-name addict.)
6. Get an internship. Obvious. Some of you have them, but even if you do… get another one!
7. Find your forte. Is there something you’re really good at aside from PR? Figure out how you can link the two together to add some extra depth to your marketability.
8. Volunteer. Reach out to local non-profits and offer to help them out with a press release or special event.
9. Create an online portfolio. There are very few quality online portfolios out there. By making one that is easy to read and clearly showcases your abilities, you’re well on your way to getting noticed.
10. Keep up on news. It can be daunting to try and stay up-to-date on all the blogs and news sites related to public relations. Pick three blogs that you really enjoy and read them each week. Spending time reading news sites will also be invaluable.
    

Because goals are hard to reach unless you track and look at them often, I’ve also devised a printable goal sheet for you to place on your desk, in your notebook, or on your wall. The sheet has space to fill in your achievements to help you visually see your successes as the year progresses.

I practice what I preach so I’ll be doing these too. If you need some support or want someone to share your experiences with, follow me on Twitter (@shmelanie) or connect with me on LinkedIn (Melanie Stepanek).

Have a great 2010!

5 new year resolutions for PR pros

2009 was a rough year for PR folks. We were spun even deeper into a whirlwind of slashed budgets, PR 2.0, social media and online publicity. Now that the unfamiliarity is behind us and we have a hold on how to navigate this crazy industry we all love, it’s time to look forward again. It’s time to make some resolutions for how we’ll take our careers to the next level this year.

Here are a few to start with:

1. Refocus on traditional media relations – Good ol’ publicity is not dead and for those who allowed social media to take over in 2009, it’s time to pick up that phone again.

2. Amp up networking – Although networking is what gained new jobs for many PRs out of work in ’09, many stopped attending conferences to save their firms (or themselves) some extra cash. Try to attend a regional or national social media or PRSA conference this year.

3. Have more coffee dates – Stir up more personal relationships this year by having coffee or lunch with the editors and writers you have e-mail relationships with.

4. Help a young PR pro – Public relations students are graduating during a time when jobs are only slowly recovering. Help them out by mentoring or offering more internship positions at your company.

5. Start a personal blog – Many of us blog on behalf of our companies, but few share their personal thoughts or passions in a blog. Create one to tune-up your writing skills and connect your PR skills to another passion, like event planning, fashion, design or outdoor sports.

Not an experienced PR pro yet? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post from our PR intern on new year resolutions for PR students.

What You See Ain't What You Get

When did we learn not to be shocked when the food inside the package has only a passing resemblance to the photo of it on the outside (Stouffer's lasagna comes to mind)?

When you're working on food packaging shots, you make sure what you're showing is damn close to what the consumer will find inside. Food styling is somewhat regulated by the Federal Trade Commission's truth in advertising laws, ever since, in the late 1960s, Campbell Soup put marbles in the bottom of a soup bowl to make the vegetables sit closer to the surface, making the soup look more, well...palatable. The rules aren't always followed, though – have you ordered a double cheeseburger lately?

The German website pundo3ooo has conducted a study of 100 different products, comparing the look of the products as shown on the packaging with the actual contents inside the boxes. I'm hoping someone does the same for American fare. (To view the photos, scroll down to the grid, click on the first photo in the upper left corner, then use the "nachstes" button to see all the others.)