No respect on PR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The situation that public relations get no respect seems same everywhere.

In Japan, public relation is not common. Although companies have become to understand the importance of corporate social responsibility, CSR,  few companies have public relations as an individual department. Therefore, when someone asks me what I am studying in the U.S. and I answered PR, I have received many reactions like “Oh, PR! You mean advertising, right?” Or, when I say public relations, mos people do not know what it is. This is a critical situation. Gregory Galant, the author of the blog, quotes:

There’s no use putting lipstick on a pig. Arthur W. Page (1883-1960), the first PR man to serve on a the board of directors of a major public company, offered the principle “Public perception of an organization is determined 90 percent by what it does and 10 percent by what it says.” All too often the PR department’s only been able to influence the 10 percent part.

As it says, the influence of PR is less noticeable. PR is always practiced when the company is in crisis or did something wrong. I understand PR job does not attract most customers, it is most important position to keep the company in the right direction and in the stable position in the industry. Also PR is the only department or people to contact about the company. I think it is not an exaggeration that the success in PR  decides the company’s success.

 

 

Kamitori- Japanese restaurant in Eugene

(Top: David Panevin/ Left: lotusutol/ right: toyohara)

I was very excited when this Japanese restaurant opened a year and half ago, The name is Kamitori. The owner is from Kumamoto, on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu. He named the restaurant after the street in Kumamoto. The restaurant provides fresh seafood as sashimi and sushi. Although it may be a little expensive restaurant for students, the restaurant has kept its popularity in Eugene. The restaurant does not promote itself so much, but it is very popular. Most people know, or at least heard, about it. Why?

One of the reason is word of mouth advertising. I have told Kamitori to at least 15 new exchange students from Japan as well as American after my first try because I was satisfied the quality and enjoyed my meal. I think most customers have done the same thing as I have. EVen they do not have a flyer or poster, word of mouth is very strong and certain advertisements.

Other reason is Kamitori owns its website. It is nor common for the local restaurants to have their own website. You can find the reviews on Yelp, but not the restaurant website. This is a big factor of the Kamitori’s success. On the website, you can see menu, pictures and hours information. Also the first sentence you will see is “Are you tired of American style sushi?” It definitely interests people who like Japanese sushi and Asian food.

Also, the owner trains the part-time workers very strictly. The owner cares about the workers’ manners and attitudes for customers. Several friends has worked at the restaurant, but half of them quit the job because of the strictness. It is tough for workers, but I promise customers can have a nice time.

Kamitori is a good example of the local business. They provide high quality foods in a good atmosphere. This basic helps it to gain its reputation and position itself as a most popular Japanese restaurant in Eugene.

Victoria’s Secret has insulted Native American pride

(By Hotness 100)

The largest American retailer of lingerie, Victoria’s Secret, was criticized for using a Native American headdress in their fashion show in a careless manner.

Victoria’s Secret apologized for the use of a Native-American style headdress, and excused that there was no intention to upset anyone and insult a Native American culture. The superficial apology made Native Americans more upset. They are really indignant about the commercial use of their glorious clothes, as well as Victoria’s Secret’s lack of consideration.

It is reasonable that Native Americans are upset about a model in lingeries wearing a special headdress.

Incorporating other culture to their fashion styles is one of the method to make a difference from the competitors.  However,  the way Victoria’s Secret used a headdress shows no respect to the Indian culture and history. It is obvious that VS did not research about it. VS’s disrespectful use of a headdress could be understood as the US’s attitude for Indian Country since Victoria’s Secret is a big famous company.

They need to show a sincere attitude and prove VS is not idiotic lingerie company. I would suggest VS to support financially and show a respect to Indian Country as their Corporate Social Responsibility. Although it is too direct and too simple solution, there is few company obviously standing by Native American, VS has a chance to get their trust back and gain a reputation.

People are still creative even under the severe situation

(By The_Roc)

The hurricane Sandy hit the East coast and you can still see traces of the damage caused by the hurricane. Even under the severe situation, people did not give up and try to help each other. I have read the article about a creative fundraising ideas.

Among all heart warming creative stories, a pop-up Internet cafe started by 11-year-old girl was very interesting. 11-year-old girl, Lucy Walkowiak, established a pop-up Internet cafe and charging station for neighbors. You can donate some money to the Red Cross by plugging in . It is a very simple way to donate money as well as most useful and helpful volunteer for lots of people. I was very impressed that a girl, who is only 11 years old, made up her mind to support her neighbors and create the Internet cafe. It is not just a fundraising, but a very modern smart method. We can see how essential the Internet is among children in the present day.

Although I was trying to create something interesting fundraising way during the hurricane, nothing was more creative than the idea of providing the Internet and charging station.

Raumen museum

Do you like to visit museum? What kind of museum do you like? Art museum? science museum? Here is a museum you may be interested in: ~Ramusement park~ Shinyokohama Raumen museum.

http://www.raumen.co.jp/ramen/

This museum is not a typical museum with a ramen history. You can actually eat a ramen. You can try nine different ramens as well as traditional old Japanese restaurant, bakery, and fortune telling. Also, The term “Ramusement park” is discribes the museum concept well.

The concept of the museum is Showa period, which is the time from 1926 to1989 in Japanese history. When it comes to Showa period, Ramen is one of the typical things.

As I mentioned, you can try a special ramen from nine districts. It is good marketing for the ramen shop not from Tokyo or main cities in Japan. People living in Tokyo area visit at the museum and find a ramen they like. Then, they will actually travel to the city and try the ramen over there. It is good not only for the ramen shop, but also for the tourism. Some ramen shops have succeeded to promote the ramens at the museum  and they could have expanded their business to Tokyo, and other cities.

If you have  a chance to visit in Japan, the Ramen museum would be a good place to experience the Japanese culture with great food!

Social Media at a disaster situation

Hurricane Sandy has left traces of damages in the East coast. Many people were evacuated and have lost their property. My friend’s house was flooded above the floorboards and his car was completely destroyed, while people in Eugene were worrying about less rain this year.
Even though people have prepared for a hurricane this time using lessoned learned at the hurricane Irene last year, the East coast, especially New York City and New Jersey have got huge damage physically and economically.

 (By AndrewJohn2011)

From Journalistic perspective, social media seemed to play an important role in the severe situation in the East coast.

“….there were also tweets from ordinary people relaying very important information about their blocks, their neighborhoods, their boroughs. I knew what was happening to many of my friends as far away as the District of Columbia and as close as the guy up the block. There is no more important news than that” (Carr).

As Carr mentioned, Twitter is useful source for people to collect and share information. Those information can save your life sometime.

You can see the effectiveness of social media in the case of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake in March 3. 2011. The earthquake was magnitude 9.03, which was the largest earthquake has ever hit Japan. People were tweeting where they are, what conditions the towns were, when the next tsunami is expected to come, where to go to avoid the tsunamis, and all kinds of information. Many people could avoid the tsunami because of the tweets. Even people, who are not in the region, spread other people’s information to help someone facing to the hard situation. All of these information were much faster than broadcasts. Although the information were sometimes unsure if it is true or just rumor, Also, people shared the heart warming story at the disaster to encourage others to live strong. Twitter has tied people tighter and made people united to overcome the difficulty. It was very impressive for me. Since I have been in the U.S. at the time, Twitter and other online source were only tools to know what happened in Japan. Even though people did not know each other, Twitter has definitely connected people tighter than ever.

When people are at the risk of their lives, we do not have time to consider if it is acceptable information for the government or organizations. Sometimes, People just need more and faster information no matter what they are trustable.

Source
Carr, David. “How Hurricane Sandy Slapped the Sarcasm Out of Twitter.” Nytimes.com. Oct 31. 2012. Web. Nov 1. 2012

How many bakeries do you know in Eugene?

 (By InfoMofo)

Till recent, I have not noticed there are the many bakeries in Eugene. I have complained that there was no good bakery in Eugene for the first few months. Even I saw some breads at the Saturday market, I could never find a store. After living for two years, I have found out bakeries exists and some of them are really good.

Hideaway Bakery 
3377 East Amazon Drive Eugene, OR
Hideaway Bakery use wood-fired oven to bake with recycled wood (wasted wood). In spring and fall, all vegetables and fruits are directly come from their South Eugene firm, and they are organic. They sell breads at the Saturday market and

SweetLife Pastries 
755 Monroe St. Eugene. OR
SweetLife is famous for varieties of delicious cakes. Each cake is not cheap, but it is worthy to spend money. I like its caramel brulee and cheesecake. Not many people know that SweetLife has quiche, danish, and non-sweet baked foods as well.

They also make a decorated cake. I have ordered one raspberry cheesecake with a graduation hat and a diploma on it for my boyfriend.

Eugene City Bakery 
1607 E 19th. Ave Eugene, OR
This bakery is located right next to Prince Puckler’s Ice Cream. The oatmeal raison chocolate chip cookie is the best! Also the multi-grain raison walnut sourdough tastes very good. I call the area around 19th and Agate Street, ” Hungry zone.”

Humble Bagel
2435 Hilyard St. Eugene, OR
Humble Bagel does not own its website, but the place is worthy to visit. They have so many various kinds of bagels and provide seasonal menu as well. After enjoying your bagel and coffee, you can stop by the Sundance market to buy local vegetable and organic products.

Marche Provisions 
296 E 5th Ave. Eugene, OR
The Marche is located in the 5th Public Market. They have unique and fancy small articles and kitchen related things. But my favorite is the bread they sell. It is the closest texture and flavor to the breads I used to have in Japan. The 5th Public Market was used to be a chicken processing plant. You can find something interesting and colorful at the market.

Although these bakeries are definite my favorites. However, as I mentioned It took a long time to find these bakeries, all of them do not have a good advertisement or marketing strategies. Only obvious marketing we can see is that the Humble Bagel places their bagels at the Market of Choice. All of these bakeries need to raise awareness among their audiences. who are parents of UO students and medium-high income families.

I hope my reviews on this post helps to spread the bakeries name.