The Fun Theory

VW launched a new PR campaign dubbed "The Fun Theory." The tagline is "Fun can obviously change behaviour for the better." VW's street crew is taking over parts of Sweden to prove that if they make mundane things more fun, like recycling bins making fun noises.


The most recent viral video transforms a subway staircase into piano, ala the movie Big. Sorry, I was not able to embed the video. SPOILER It works, 66% more people took the stairs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lXh2n0aPyw&feature=player_embedded

The project is a great combination of community relations and guerilla marketing. But it is hard to tell what they are promoting. The image of fun and Volkswagon do not seem to resonate, and there is little product promotion for a video that is supposed circle the web and create a buzz about a product. When I searched for the site, I had difficulty finding the blog. It was not indexing high on Google. Perhaps, Volskwagon should stake more on SEO in their social media campaign. Maybe because it is for another country? Not sure. The small logo placement at the end of the video is not blatantly promoting the product, but it is not doing much to get VW in the front of people's minds while watching. It is creating a positive, environmentally friendly image of the company.

Here is The Fun Theory Blog
I found this campaign from an article on Mashable

Twitter Updates

As a fairly active Twitter user (paigemichele), I did not have any problem tweeting for class. And to evaluate my past two weeks on Twitter, I decided to go about it from a third party stance. I found an article on Twitter etiquette by Fast Company, a magazine dedicated to entrepreneurs written by blogger/ PR agency CEO Norman Birnbach. There are tons of articles on Twitterquette but I felt Birnbach's really encompassed a wide variety of Twitter topics.

Read Birnbach's article here.

Where I dropped the ball was number 8.1 "Do not use 'I am.'"
I am finally reading the @mutribune and excited to see they printed Baucus' name... yes I am a nerd
I am wearing my favorite pashmina in hopes it will brighten my day
Tweets are supposed to answer the question "What are you doing," and Birnbach believes its a given that you are doing something, hence no need to say "I am." I understand where he is coming from, but out of normal conversational English, most people would start their sentences with this phrase.

I am happy to say that according to these 10 rules, I did excelled at 6. quality over quantity(A great team RT @MUSG: off-campus Senators are Bill Doerrer, Kate Gregory, Kevin Lefeber, Carly Nusser, & Holly Peterson) , 7. interesting links (Question would you pay a tax on pop? @adage American Beverage Association Launches Campaign Against Soda Tax: ttp://bit.ly/2mSDRR) and number 4. stream of consciousness tweets (most of the time).

I am closing in on my one year anniversary of my Twitter account and have passed my 1,000 tweet while sitting in Gee's class. It has been a long year and my motives for Twitter have changed from testing it out, to using it for news sources and finally using it to search for a job. I am a Twitteraholic, but I did not start that way. I have learned two things from Twitter that I would like to share.
1. It takes time to adjust your Twitter account to what you want to see come of it.
2. "Facebook is where I connect with people I know, Twitter is where connect with people I want to know." ( I stole this from different tweets)

About Me

ADPR 4600 About Me

What’s your full name? Paige Michele Jorgensen

Were you named after anyone? No

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Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it? None

What’s your astrological sign? The two fish, Pisces

Are you a morning person or a night owl? Morning person, I love my sleep

Do you wish on stars? Shooting ones

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Never, and I hate untying them when I go to put them back on

Do you have tattoos ? No

What do you do most often when you are bored? Send out texts to my friends to do something

Donkey or Elephant or Neither? Donkey! Who has ever heard of getting a nice piece of elephant

What makes you angry? People who walk slowly or stand on the left side of an escalator

What did you do last night? I met a friend for dinner then went out for free drinks at Caffrey's Lady's Night

What frightens you? Losing family and friends

How many keys are on your key ring? Depends on which key ring, the one in my school bag has 4

What do you do to relax? Watch crappy TV

Do you believe in superstitions? Not wholeheartedly

Have you attended a church or religious event outside of your own? Yes, I find them interesting and love when friends invite me

Name a foreign language that you know. French. Six years of studying it, and I remember not a thing

Name three things most people don’t know about you.

1. I was one of the 200 girls to attend an all-male high school.

2. I have a weird obsession with the state of Montana, ask me anything I probably know it.

3. I claim that I live in the city of Chicago, but honestly I live four blocks from the city limits.

Family, Pets, & Friends

Do you have any siblings? I am the older sister of Ian, a senior in high school, and Clare, a freshman in high school.

Who is your best friend in high school? Amy and Jackie

Do/did you have any pets? I have a dog named Doug

Cat person or dog person? Dog!

Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? Bridget

Travel

What states have you been to? I think it is easier to say where I haven't been Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, Rhode Island and there might be a few more in there.

What countries have you been to? Mexico, Canada, Netherlands, Denmark and France

In how many states have you lived? I have lived in Illinois, Wisconsin and DC (technically a district but who knows statehood could happen)

When is the last time did you take a train? A few weeks ago I took an eL

Food

What do you like to eat for breakfast? I eat anything for breakfast but I am weird and don't like breakfast foods. I don't like eggs or maple syrup.

What is your favorite food? That changes on my craving

What foods do you dislike? Eggs and maple syrup

What ethnic food do you like and dislike? I like roti and hate goat. Yes I have eaten goat.

What is your favorite chip flavor? Barbeque

What is your favorite sandwich? Jimmy Johns number 4 without, no mayo with mustard

What is your favorite drink? Odwala Green machine

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate chip cookie dough

What’s your favorite salad dressing? Oil and vinegar

Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? Buttered and salted

What’s your favorite pie? Cherry pie (also my favorite dessert)

What’s your favorite fast food place? Portillos

Media

Which Harry Potter characters are you? Hermoine- smart, strong, a little nerdy with attitude

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Funny People, not so funny

What is your favorite TV show? Greek

Last book you read. The Women

What picture is on your computer wallpaper? Looking at the Jefferson Memorial from the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival

What is your ring tone? I always have my phone on silent or vibrate

What are three favorite songs on your iPod? Kanye's Workout Plan, The Unicorn Song (seriously) and Say by John Mayer

Do you have a Facebook page? Who doesn't

Do you have a Twitter account? Yes, and I am proud of it. Follow me paigemichel

Do you have a blog? Yes, you are reading it

Wishes

Where would you retire to? The beach

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Java

Would you ever bungee jump? Skydive? Yes and Yes

If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Evergreen Green

Write your injuries in dust, your benefits in marble.

As PR students we write, we write all the time. We are taught how to write releases, PSAs and even Tweets. Versatility has to come with you job to know the audience that you are writing for. I have written for a variety of internships and jobs from a car-agency advertising agency to the fourth most powerful U.S. Senator. Every new job is even more exciting and challenging. I know how to write for others; how to immerse myself in the culture and write for the audience. But what about when you write for yourself? Who is your audience? What style do you write in? That is what I still grapple with.

A blog is supposed to be a manifestation of yourself to the world. Of course I am not going to show the side that sits on the couch and watches Tool Academy on VH1, but I still want to stay true to me. Blogging for this class will be a lesson in self-discovery and I am excited to dive in.

And by the way, I am not brilliant enough to think of the title for my post. Its a quote from Benjamin Franklin.