It seems every time you turn around there is a new social media website or platform. One of the latest to become popular is Pinterest. Pinterest is an online scrapbook site that allows you to organize and share all types of things you find fascinating. Users create “pinboards” to save their favorite images, recipes, or videos and share them with their friends and followers.
While Pinterest is a great tool to use if you’re planning a party, wedding, or decorating a new home, it is also a great way for brands to engage their consumers. Perhaps the most useful part of the platform is the potential of its viral effect. Because Pinterest automatically links to users’ Facebook and Twitter accounts, everything uploaded is tweeted and posted on Facebook (as long as privacy settings allow), making the potential reach for brands to be bigger than ever.
A few companies that are maximizing this new social networking site include:
1. Popchips: The brand of healthy chips has created boards on Pinterest that include recipes and images of their products.
2. Chobani: The brand offers “Simple Swaps” with ideas on what ingredients you can replace with Chobani, recipes and images of the company’s traveling “CHOmobile.”
3. Williams-Sonoma: In addition to images of store events and great gift ideas, the boards of this brand are filled with pins of their most popular products and different ways to use them.
With over seven million unique visitors per month, Pinterest is a great way to promote your brand. You can tell your story visually by creating a company board to share brand news, new products, recipe ideas, tips and more. By tracking how many people “repin” or “like” the pins on your boards, companies can also measure the reach of their Pinterest account and interest in specific posts.
A great new way to connect companies with individuals …
Happy pinning!

-The Nation’s Leading Nutrition Experts Weigh-In on Diet Trends for 2012:
Go Green with Fresh, Sustainable Foods & Spice it Up with Exotic Flavors-

December 21, 2011, New York, NY – Looking for the hot new diet trends to follow in 2012? Who better to ask for help than the nation’s top nutrition experts? In a survey by Pollock Communications, a full-service public relations agency with long-standing relationships in the food and wellness industry, responses from more than 200 RDs in their network were tallied to identify the top 2012 nutrition trends for consumers and food companies. The survey revealed five nutrition trends that will make news and affect your choices in the coming year:

1. Go Green & Add Some Spice!
Unprocessed, natural foods will be the biggest consumer nutrition trend in 2012
Most RDs (72%) predict that consumers will continue to demand more local, organic, sustainable, fresh, minimally processed foods. With consumers returning to the table and cooking at home, they will become more aware of where their food is coming from and what it contains. RDs also agree (46%) that simplifying the ingredient list, (39%) sodium reduction and (37%) eliminating high fructose corn syrup, will play key roles in dietary modifications in the coming year. In addition, consumers will look to spice things up with exotic and ethnically diverse flavors and cuisines.

2. Diet Trifecta: Vitamins, Minerals
Eat more antioxidants and phytonutrients…and get more fiber
Of the 204 responses, almost all RDs (96%) emphasize more antioxidants and phytonutrients in the diet, and many (59%) say consumers need more vitamins and minerals. While most agree that consumers are already consuming enough protein, carbohydrates and fats, RDs say Americans are lacking sufficient amounts of fiber from whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

3. ‘Tis the Season!
Seasonal and local fruits and vegetables rise to the top
Almost all RDs (94%) agree that in the coming year there will be a bigger push for Americans to consume more fruits and vegetables. Eating seasonal and local plant based foods that are organically grown will be a big trend in the coming year, as well.

4. How Low Can You Go?
Go low with trans and saturated fat, sugar and sodium
The majority of RDs (78%) name trans fats as the most harmful nutrient in the diet, followed by added sugars (68%), saturated fat (58%) and sodium (52%). In 2012, we will see a greater emphasis on reducing these harmful dietary hazards.

5. Make Your Plate Look Like MyPlate!
Use USDA’s MyPlate as your guide
Many (69%) RDs are using MyPlate to counsel patients and it will continue to play a role in diet recommendations through 2012. MyPlate recommends half the plate consist of vegetables and fruit, with the other half made up mostly of whole grains and a small portion of lean protein.

“As RDs, we are at the forefront of nutrition issues, consumers’ perceptions and diet and lifestyle behaviors,” says Julie Upton, MS, RD. “It’s our goal to help provide our expertise to debunk the common myths and misperceptions and provide our insights with consumers and food and beverage manufacturers.”
When it comes to diet and nutrition, RDs know best. Louise Pollock, founder and President of Pollock Communications, adds, “As key influencers in food and nutrition, RDs shape consumer food shopping decisions, affect health policy, impact nutrition trends in the media and promote evidence-based recommendations. At Pollock, we always seek their expertise when advising our food clients.”

About Pollock Communications

Pollock Communications is an independent, full-service health and wellness New York City-based communications firm launched in 1991. They create innovative partnerships that link brands to health and wellness platforms, and have experience in communicating the taste, health and lifestyle benefits of brands and commodities to consumer, retail and business audiences.
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According to a piece in National Mortgage News, the sales of smart phones are expected to surpass sales of standard computers this year. Therefore, retailers are taking advantage and developing smart phone applications to reach their consumers. The ultimate goal is to equip shoppers with product information and purchasing power in the palm of their hand. Without skipping a beat, grocery stores across America are revamping and creating personalized mobile apps for their shopper.

Leading supermarkets across the country are giving shoppers apps that provide tools for shopping and information specific to their local store. Hy-Vee launched their mobile app last month to provide shoppers access to weekly ads, coupons, shopping list functions, recipes and even find items while in the store. Winn-Dixie’s app could replace the hand-written shopping list and helps consumers locate the closest Winn-Dixie store, view advertisements and learn about local sales promotions. Giant Eagle’s app lets shoppers enjoy similar tools for shopping and also check fuel discount balances.

Food companies are adding supermarket functions to their apps as well. With a sponsorship from ConAgra, Phil Lempert, the Supermarket Guru, launched a smart phone app for consumers called “Smarter Shopping with Phil Lempert”. The app includes Lempert’s Tip of the Week to give consumers ideas for shopping and saving money. The app’s Smart Substitutes function offers tips for making food substitutions in recipes for general health, allergies or weight control.

Be sure to check your local grocery retailer’s website to see if they have a smart phone app that may help make shopping easier – or at least more high-tech!

Green is the hot color this year…it’s on the best dressed list! No, we’re not talking about fashion trends or red carpet best and worst lists…we’re dishing about the hot new diet trends for 2012, and green is the way to dress your plate this year. Pollock Communications huddled with the nation’s top nutrition experts to identify the top 2012 nutrition trends for consumers and food companies. The survey of more than 200 RDs revealed five nutrition trends that will make news and affect your choices in the coming year:

1. Go Green & Add Some Spice!
Unprocessed, natural foods will be the biggest consumer nutrition trend in 2012
Most RDs (72%) predict that consumers will continue to demand more local, organic, sustainable, fresh, minimally processed foods. With consumers returning to the table and cooking at home, they will become more aware of where their food is coming from and what it contains. RDs also agree (46%) that simplifying the ingredient list, (39%) sodium reduction and (37%) eliminating high fructose corn syrup, will play key roles in dietary modifications in the coming year. In addition, consumers will look to spice things up with exotic and ethnically diverse flavors and cuisines.

2. Diet Trifecta: Vitamins, Minerals & Fiber!
Eat more antioxidants and phytonutrients…and get more fiber
Of the 204 responses, almost all RDs (96%) emphasize more antioxidants and phytonutrients in the diet, and many (59%) say consumers need more vitamins and minerals. While most agree that consumers are already consuming enough protein, carbohydrates and fats, RDs say Americans are lacking sufficient amounts of fiber from whole grains and fruits and vegetables.

3. ‘Tis the Season!
Seasonal and local fruits and vegetables rise to the top
Almost all RDs (94%) agree that in the coming year there will be a bigger push for Americans to consume more fruits and vegetables. Eating seasonal and local plant based foods that are organically grown will be a big trend in the coming year, as well.

4. How Low Can You Go?
Go low with trans and saturated fat, sugar and sodium
The majority of RDs (78%) name trans fats as the most harmful nutrient in the diet, followed by added sugars (68%), saturated fat (58%) and sodium (52%). In 2012, we will see a greater emphasis on reducing these food ingredients.

5. Make Your Plate Look Like MyPlate!
Use USDA’s MyPlate as your guide
Many (69%) RDs are using MyPlate to counsel patients and it will continue to play a role in diet recommendations through 2012. MyPlate recommends half the plate consist of vegetables and fruit, with the other half made up mostly of whole grains and a small portion of lean protein.

When it comes to diet and nutrition, RDs know best. So go green and spice it up with exotic flavors for a fun and healthful 2012.

Seems like what’s old is new again. Used to be that stunts were a mainstay of PR. Then they were considered passé…old fashioned. But, with the explosion of social media, smart PR practitioners are realizing they can extend the life of a one-off stunt via online channels and the viral nature of social media. P&G’s Charmin Times Square portable potties are a great example. They’ve become iconic in the digital age and have generated ongoing traditional and social media buzz year after year.

With celebrity endorsements getting harder to come by and more expensive, and traditional media difficult for established brands to secure, smart marketers are maximizing existing content, events and traditional fodder online.

But, many of the newbies doing this work came up in a social media world; they aren’t often grounded in the need for a long term strategy that fits their client brands’ personality and heritage. It’s important to make sure that a stunt – as cool and viral as it seems – is based on the clients’ core business objectives. And , it needs to be integrated into the full marketing campaign to give it a longer shelf life.

A recent Wall Street Journal story, “PR Stunts in a Digital Era,” features a young PR firm that promoted a retail account by wearing prom dresses around New York City for a month…culminating with a fake prom at a hip NYC hotel. Very clever. Wouldn’t it be cool to keep the momentum going with ongoing contests to find the coolest holiday dress, best nightclub dress, most romantic Valentine’s Day outfit…you get the idea. That way, the retailer’s name stays current and top-of-mind with its target audience all year long.

Snapple has done it right. Its stunts always reflect its hip, young and offbeat personality…they’re true to the brand. And the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island has become a classic PR stunt that has actually morphed into a long term brand campaign.

As we approach 2012, its’ a very exciting time to be in PR. We can and should learn from the great marketers and PR folks of yore. But, the question we need to ask ourselves as we brainstorm for the next big thing in Times Square or Grand Central Station is, “How do we make this one-off stunt work hard for the brand all year long?”

We’ll be initiating a very cool campaign for our Purdue Products laxative client in 2012…one that’s sure to help bring the constipation conversation out into the open and online. But, you can be sure it will make sense for the brand and its overall digestive health story. You’ll just have to come back to the site to check it out!

The new 2011 American Pantry Survey results were released last month. According to the Deloitte/Harrison Group annual American Pantry Survey, consumers are researching brands and prices before they go shopping rather than making on-the-spot decisions in the store. The results show that 90% of shoppers know what they are buying before they arrive at a store and 83% have a set of brands in mind that they will consider.

Not only do shoppers know what they want in advance, they report that they are more confident in their shopping habits than they were a year ago. The results show that:
• 75% of survey respondents assert that that they are smarter shoppers than they were a year ago
• 86% believe they are getting more precise in what they buy
• 80% say they have become more efficient at getting in and out of the store

“Shoppers today expect to get a deal on the products they purchase. With this mindset, it is critical that consumer products companies take measures to enhance brand loyalty by connecting early and often with key audiences in environments outside of the store,” says Pat Conroy, Vice Chairman, Deloitte LLP and consumer products sector leader in a post on the Deloitte website. Brands can take heed by communicating with shoppers through channels outside of the store in addition to their traditional shopper marketing tactics.

Consumers have come to expect sales and discounts before they enter the supermarket. Modern day technology has enhanced consumer’s ability to plan shopping trips in advance. Supermarkets build customer loyalty by sending sales information and coupons via e-mail, smart phone apps and websites like Living Social and Groupon. Consumers are smarter because of the many tools at their disposal. Gone are the days when the daily Sunday newspaper was the only source for coupons outside of the store!