Sunday, March 28, 2010

Nestle Killer





Greenpeace is on the move again and this time targeting Nestle. You might have heard about this from the YOUTUBE video Greenpeace posted about Nestle's use of palm oil in their products, mostly Kit-Kat, and how this is destroying rainforests in Indonesia and killing the Orangutans.

Nestle then demanded that the video be taken off YouTube and YouTube agreed to take it down. Although Nestle argued this they have said they realize a lot more could be done to help the natural habitat in Indonesia. Unfortunately they have yet to respond to the consumers on Facebook, which is bound to be a blow for business and not a ideal PR strategy.

Greenpeace has sent out the Press Release as follows.

San Francisco, United States — A new Greenpeace report (1) reveals Nestlé is using palm oil from destroyed Indonesian rainforests and peatlands in popular products like Nestlé Crunch, CoffeeMate, and PowerBar (2), pushing already endangered orangutans to the brink of extinction and accelerating climate change.

The new Greenpeace report, “Caught Red-Handed: How Nestlé Use of Palm Oil is Destroying Rainforests and the Climate” exposes how Nestlé is sourcing palm oil from suppliers, which continue to expand into virgin rainforests and carbon-rich peatlands, including habitat critical for endangered orangutans. Nestlé suppliers include the controversial Sinar Mas group, Indonesia’s largest producer of palm oil.

Nestlé, the world’s leading food and drink company, is a major consumer of palm oil. In the last three years, its annual use has almost doubled, with 320,000 tons of palm oil going into a range of products, including some of its most popular brands. (3)

“Every time you take a bite out of a PowerBar, you may be taking a bite out of Indonesia’s rainforests, which are critical for the orangutan’s survival. Nestlé needs to stop using palm oil from suppliers that are destroying rainforests and polluting the climate,” said Rolf Skar, Greenpeace senior campaigner.

The report launch and actions follows numerous attempts to persuade Nestlé to cancel its contracts with Sinar Mas. Most recently, in December, Greenpeace wrote to Nestlé with evidence that Sinar Mas is breaking Indonesian law and ignoring its commitments as a member the Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an industry body that claims to be making the palm oil industry more sustainable. Evidence shows Sinar Mas’s forest and peatland destruction continues unabated. (4)

In the face of its unacceptable environmental practices, several major companies, including Unilever and Kraft, have cancelled their contracts with the group. (5)

“Other big companies are taking action, but Nestlé continues to turn a blind eye to the worst offenders which supply them. It’s time for Nestlé to cancel its Sinar Mas contracts and support a halt to rainforest and peatland destruction,” said Skar.

The expansion of palm oil plantations is a leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia, a country with one of the worst rates of forest destruction on the planet.(6) Due mainly to forest and peatland conversion, Indonesia ranks third behind only China and the U.S. as the world’s largest greenhouse gas polluter.(7)

LOVE. WEAR. RETURN




A few weeks ago I came across a web site, RentTheRunway.com. The website was launched a few months ago by two young women trying to make it in the fashion world. They have dresses from designers like Alice + Olivia to Robert Rodriguez. You can rent the dress for four days or eight days depending on how long you need and and if you aren't sure about the size you get a back up size free! After looking at all the dresses I finally ordered an Emerald Green Thread Social dress for my boyfriends sisters wedding and I can't wait to wear it!

Another great thing about this web page is that they have a blog. The two women who started the website talk fashion and fun ideas and even have contests to get the readers coming back, very smart!


Matthew Williamson

THREAD SOCIAL

Herve Leger

The website does have a wait list to join but you should be able to join within two weeks at the most! I have sent an email out to all my fashion fabulous girl in Social Media for PR so get to renting! :)

St. Edward's 125th Anniversary

President's Meeting Podcast- To listen click here



For our podcasting assignment Christiana, Julie, and I decided to attend the Presidents Meeting to get a better idea of what the 125th Anniversary Celebration was all about. From the meeting, we got some great information about how far St. Edwards has come and where they started. We got to interview the President and get some information on the new 5 year plan being implemented for 2015. So if you’re interested in that, go ahead and tune in!



show notes:
Introduction- 00:35

History of St Edwards- 00:55

Information from Presidents Meeting- 1:35

Inside Scoop into 2015/ President’s Interview-4:10

Globalization of St. Edwards/Study Abroad programs -5:00

Last words- 7:20

Saturday, March 13, 2010

SXSW

SXSW has officially begun! Social media is now more important than ever when it comes to staying connected and sharing you views. If you plan to attend or not attend you can stay connected and get up to date news on all of the great things that are happened. I know Mashable will be updating since they will be at the even but you can also use Twitter as a good way to stay connected and feel as though you are right in the action in Austin!

Social media has evolved in many ways over the past few years and I think that YouTube as a social outlet has helped SXSW promotion extremely. A promotional video has be posted to draw attention to the event..



....After watching this video will you be attending????

Apple iPad


While visiting the Apple store this weekend I noticed all the advertisments for the new iPad. I first saw the unvailing in my PR class and I have to say I wasn't that impressed, to me it's just a bigger iPhone and who wants that?

So when I got back home I did a little bit of reading up on the press release and read about it on the Apple web page. Let me just say, it is much more than a big iPhone.

Some of the features include:

- Screen rotation lock: Apple has added a switch to the side of the iPad that locks the screen in either a vertical or horizontal position, no matter which way you turn it. This is sure to make using the iPad in bed or on the couch easier.

- ePub support through iTunes: Apple’s website now has a dedicated iBooks page that offers more information about the built-in e-reader and what formats it will support. If you already have DRM-free ePub titles,you can sync those books with the iPad using iTunes.

- VoiceOver Works with i-Books: Apple is integrating its VoiceOver technology into the entire device, including the i-books app. This means that blind or vision-impaired users can have the text read aloud. Sweet!

- Better video support: Apple didn’t highlight this feature, but on the Tech Specs page, we learn that the iPad will support more than just the standard Apple-approved video formats (*.mov, *.mp4, *.m4v) and will also support AVI and Motion JPEG. Apple has never supported AVI on its iPod/iPhone devices, so this is a great step.

- Share YouTube Videos on Facebook(): The YouTube page has an interesting note at the bottom — you can easily e-mail a YouTube() video to friends or share it on Facebook.

- Digital Camera Connector not available for pre-order: On the iPad’s Photos page, as well as in other photographs of the device itself, Apple notes an optional digital camera adapter that can be purchased to connect your digital camera to the iPad, using either a direct USB link or an SD card reader. However, as Macworld points out that adapter is not available for pre-order. Obviously the dongle is coming, but when and at what price is unknown. Macworld also notes that a similar adapter that was sold for the iPod Photo (heh, yeah, remember that? The red-headed stepchild of iPods that was quickly displaced by the far superior iPod Video()) for $29, which would jive with the prices of other iPad accessories that are available for pre-order. Personally, we’ll wait to see if Monoprice releases their own version of this product.


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Want one yet? Well you can now pre-order your iPad today at Apple.com :) ENJOY!!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Podcasting for ...Dummies




So last week I noted that in my Social Media for Public Relations class we are working on podcasts. I have to say I highly underestimated the amount of time it take to make a podcast, well for first time podcasters that is. As my group and I steadily have been working on our podcast with Audacity we have come across many bumbs along the way. We are working very hard to come up with a great podcast for the 125th Anniversary for St. Edwards University with interviews from many prominate people on campus including our president Doctor Martin. We will be completed tomorrow afternoon and I will have a link to the podcast and an update to how we have solved our bump in the road! :)

PR Newswire: Boutique 1

As I was scanning through the PR Newswire web page I came across an interesting news release about a major company in Dubai called Boutique 1 starting their own web page. This is big for the company because they are one of the first to become fashion forward in Dubai. On their web page you can shop for the latest Brian Atwood heels, read a fashion blog, catch what celebrities are wearing or find a
"book of the week".

Ziad Matta, CEO of Boutique 1, states, "With the new online store, Boutique 1 continues to be ahead of the curve. We are renowned for having had many firsts - from our concept itself combining fashion, design and culture to our acclaimed magazine. Our aim is to replicate our mix of great selection, outstanding and personalised service and impeccable presentation online. We have assembled a world class team headed by Julia Ewald and I am confident they will quickly establish Boutique1.com (http://www.Boutique1.com) as the destination for high fashion shopping on the web."

I higly recommed this web page to anyone interested in fashion and checking out their news release on PR Newswire!
Online features:

- The latest trends for the season
- New brands and collections
- Weekly online magazine featuring:

- One-on-one interviews with designers
- Celebrity style tips
- Boutique 1 Blog
- "Style IT" "Top 10 of the week"

- Online stylists
- "Mix and match" functionality
- Gift Card
- Boutique 1 Bulletin - our designated newsletter outlining trends, new
designers and promotions.
- Free return and exchange policy
- Customer care in Arabic, English, French, German and Russian
- Personal waiting list on reordered items
- Elie Saab and Missoni shop-in-shops

Monday, March 1, 2010

Maison Moschino for Hotel Philosophy


While I was dilly dallying on the web today I came across a Press Release for the HotelPhilosophy in Milan designed by Maison Moschino. I thought...Milan? Maison Moshino?.. pure heaven! I could only begin to imagine what this hotel would look like. As I read through the release I found that the rooms are decorated like dreamworlds and fairy tales. A dreamworld or fairytale for a girl like me is a room a fashion design amazingness. Come to find out that's exactly what this hotel offers but with the designs of Moschino would you expect anything less?

PRESS RELEASE 2009 MAISON MOSCHINO

The common thread connecting the rooms is a fairy tale theme because to sleep is perchance to dream, and dreams are fairy tales that we are allowed to experience first hand, the fables of a fantasy world that we have created. This is an alternate life in which we direct and stage the scripts of our very own play. The hotel interior reflects Moschino’s distinctive style where the ordinary world is painted with a brush of surrealism. Partner of the project is the company Hotelphilosophy S.p.A, Mobygest Group,while the actual owner of the real property is Allianz Global Investors SGR S.p.A – Fondo Ras Antares.


Please visit the hotels web site to see the pure genius of Maison Moschino
http://www.hotelphilosophy.com/maison_moschino_design_hotel_milan-776.html