Innovative PR Strategies to Promote iPhone Apps: Toktumi and Line2

Toktumi may not be known… yet. But the company launched an iPhone app, Line2, that has all chances of becoming one of the top apps of 2010, and it should. Aside PR, this particular innovation has a number of features that recommend it. For starters, it’s free to try. Then the $9.95 a month fee is a bargain, since the app basically lets iPhone, iPod and iPad users make unlimited US/Canada and low cost international calls over WiFi or Cellular using the same number, even when there is no cell coverage. I can think of a number of ways to use this app to reduce my phone bill as well, but this is not a tech review.

Toktumi managed to get media attention from the start, with BlueGlass, one of Everything PR’s most acclaimed marketing companies of the year. The first reviews came from prestigious publications, like The New York Times, Mashable, and GigaOm, but somehow these were not enough. And savvy marketers know why: online, when you stop broadcasting yourself, the media attention shifts over to a competitor. The life of a product launch PR campaign can be measured in days, if not hours. You simply cannot stop, and finding innovative ways to capture media attention is a must.

When those innovative ways mean hiring a somewhat controversial JetBlue flight attendant to represent the brand, even better. And who else can be a better judge in a “crazy flight story” competition, than Steven Slater, who reportedly lost his temper after a dispute with a passenger, then fled the parked jet by deploying the emergency chute and walking across the tarmac to an unlocked door that led to the street? The event made Steven Slater a media darling and a popular hero of sorts, and now, Line2′s public face as he promotes the Mile High Text Club contest.

This contest in itself is an innovative way of promoting the aforementioned iPhone app, and downloading Line2 is a prerequisite of participation in the contest. But the rules are simple and fun: travelers are invited to text their “craziest” (i.e. most outrageous) flight stories to 222-222-2222 to enter to win prizes, including iPod touches, free Line2 service, and a Grand Prize of a weekend holiday shopping trip for two to New York City, including airfare, luxury hotel, lunch with Steven Slater, and a $500 Gift Card.

Toktumi’s Mile High Text Club Contest, runs November 16 through December 3 and it already features some funny entries. Since it started only two days ago, expect to see more on site by December 3.

Where PR and SEO Merge: Outreach & Building Relationships

There is a running gag in the SEO industry when it comes to the acronym PR: it means PageRank of course, not Public Relations. In recent years many forgot their PageRank fetish though and started approaching the public and increasing their time investment in relations. As SEO changes fast and PR adapts step by step… [Continue Reading]

“Ancillary Copyright” Law Set to Take Effect in Germany

When you are on top of the world, most people probably imagine that your life is carefree. To an extent, life is good at the top until one looks down and see the competitors vying to knock you off, restrict you, or otherwise challenge you. Such is the case for Google these days. The world’s largest search engine faces constant competition at home from Microsoft with its “Bing it On” challenge, restrictions in the emerging market in China, and a seemingly endless row of legal battles in Europe.

Terror and Catastrophe Be Gone: Feeling Safe and Warm in Toasty Europe

This morning on the outskirts of Trier, Germany, we awoke positive and enthusiastic as ever. At noon, even despite the fact it is only 8 degrees Celsius, we still believe it when experts tells us Earth’s atmosphere and weather is just fine. The Gulf Stream is fine, we’re all just fine, and dandy too.

Eurovision 2013 and Why “What If” Won’t Ever Happen, Not Ever

This year’s Eurovision contest showed promise. Promise of human beings coming together in Europe, maybe across the world. Now, days after Denmark’s Emmelie de Forest, sanging the winning song in the finale, Only Teardrops the idea and ideology still enshrouds Europe. With Azerbaijan launching an investigation into its own voting schema, and an enrage Russian fan base, the Europe of medieval times just doesn’t seem so far off.

Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor of the Eurovision Song Contest - Courtesy Eurovision

ZOA Calls for Israel Commentary on Netzarim Junction Affair

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) is calling for the state of Israel to hold a press conference to address a new investigation into what they say is a libelous past report on a Palestinian youth shooting.