Over the break, our group took a trip to the WPST studio in Princeton. The studio is located in the Sovereign Bank Building. We learned many things about the studio, including where they make and produce the commercials, the Promotion Department and where they film the Live Lounge (which is mentioned in previous posts).
First, we saw the Sales Department. This took up a huge section of the studio and it was just for people who worked in the department. These people help set up different events, such as their freedom festival. The Sales Department creates different events than the events created by the Promotion Department. The Sales Department organizes the big events while promotions set up the little, weekly events
After the Sales Department, we were led to the offices where the company takes care of all of the commercials. This group of people are responsible for recording the commercials. However, if they’re not recording commercials, they find other people, even interns, to record them. Within these offices, they also edit the commercials and send them to the network in order for them to be put on the air. As well as broadcasting and editing the commercials, they also talk to many organizations and companies to get them to promote themselves, via commercials, to be aired on PST.
We also got a chance to check out Dave McKay and Matt Sneed's offices. Dave McKay works with all types of artists to get them to come to WPST to perform in their Live Lounge in order to help promote themselves.(We have mentioned and discusses the Live Lounge in previous posts) Dave McKay's office is filled with signed photographs of many famous artists, that he has collected over the years working with WPST. Matt Sneed, along with being a DJ at WPST, also is WPST’s Music Director. This means that Matt chooses the playlist for WPST every day. Matt's office is filled with CD's of different genres of music; this shows that Matt is dedicated to choosing a variety of different music for WPST's listeners every day.
Next on our tour was the Promotions Office. This office is where promotions sits and researches different promotions that WPST can take part in. In addition, they call many different organizations where they would like WPST to visit in order to promote the station. We had the opportunity to meet Tony Henry who is the Promotions Director for WPST. He is in contact with different organizations everyday and sets up different events such as the Parking Lot Pig-Out that takes place every other Wednesday. With every event that Tony schedules for WPST, he writes it down on a calender they have posted on the wall so the rest of the PST crew can see the different events for the month and determine whether or not they would like to attend them.
Within the station, we were able to tour the three main studios. The first two studios is where WPST's DJs air their radio shows. The third studio isn't used as much because that is where Nassau Broadcasting airs one of their religious stations. In addition to the three main studios, they also have four smaller ones across the hall. These four studios are where all of the commercials are recorded. DJs can go in these small, sound proof studios and record any type of commercial they need. WPST employees as well as interns also have the opportunity to use these studios to record.
Finally, we also visited the WPST Live Lounge which consist of a lounge inside their studio where artist come and perform. It also the place where the fans come and meet their favorite artists.The Live Lounge is decorated with pictures autographed by each artist who have visited WPST Live Lounge. The artists come in and perform exclusive performances that are more intimate affairs than other larger shows that they perform. The crew and interns can also watch these live performances with some well known artists sometimes.
For this week's blog post, our group focused on WPST's PR plan. We followed WPST and how they run their business as well as any problems we see within the radio station. We also evaluated their company through a variety of different media functions and how they interacted with fans and listeners.
After talking to a former Intern at WPST, a growing problem seems to be their communication: one of the major factors in running a business. Although WPST's website is very interactive and great for social media, the communication is still a little off and lacks some things. DJ's can be contacted on their blogs with questions regarding them, and you can also call WPST directly. But, in today's day and age, email is a huge factor for communication. During this interview, email came up a lot as well as how they manage their emails. Some feel as though their communication can be a lot better. Over the next few weeks we will be conducting an interview with WPST and hopefully we can help them solve part of this problem.
Another concern of WPST's PR plan is the demographic they target. WPST is mostly focused on the "tween" (ages 10-15, and adults ages 30+). They are missing out on a great target audience, which are the older teenagers and college students (ages 16-25). WPST does many great things to promote themselves to the audiences they want, such as concert events that feature artists that young teenagers listen to and lunches and cookouts for local businesses. However, they could do much more to try to get college-aged listeners. They could come to different college events, such as our Cranberry Fest or even sponsor our fall and spring concerts. WPST would really benefit by opening up their target audience and going out of their way to get more listeners from different age groups.
During the entire Fall '09 semester, we have been following WPST on Twitter. The first thing we noticed was how easy WPST is to search and how accessible they are for their fans. They usually tweet every three hours. Tweeting often is a good public relations tool, because it makes WPST a fun and informative radio station to follow. We also following other radio stations such as,WAYV 95.1 and Q102. Both radio stations do not tweet daily, and sometimes it takes them a week for them to tweet. Not updating your Twitter often creates lack of communication among them and their fans and also a bad public relations. Although WPST is doing a great job on managing their Twitter account, we did not see any interest from the radio station on following their fans. They are only following 41 twitter profiles and the majority of people who are they following are celebrities. We have been trying to get WPST to follow our Twitter page since the page was set up and we would suggest that they follow us in order to let them know about our opinions and our project.
We did not only follow WPST on Twitter, but we also became fans of their Facebook profile. Their statuses are also updated every four hours. The DJ's often share links and also pictures with their fans. This is a good public relations strategy because they give their fans an opportunity to know about the radio station events and crew through this popular social website that everybody logs in often. Their Facebook profile is filled with useful information about their events and other links to their other social websites profile such as, Youtube, Twitter, Blog, and their main website. As a fan we can also comment on their links and statuses.
As we've been studying WPST inside and out, through following their Twitter, Facebook, website and conducting a helpful interview, with hopes in acquiring a larger one. We've learned a lot about how their radio station works and functions. They do a good job at updating both their Facebook and Twitter, two exceptional PR tools of this age, but there are still a few suggestions we could make to improve their connections with the outside world a.k.a. their current listeners and general public that they wish to attract. By observing and evaluating WPST, we've devised a great list of questions that we plan to ask the DJ, whichever one we obtain when we acquire the interview, to ask the station (improvements, suggestions and such) that they will hopefully take into account. With our hopes and intentions, this will widen their event schedule, branching out to new genres of people (college students and older adults, etc.), increase their demographic to other ages, and overall, make WPST a more appealing radio station that people of all ages will be attracted to.
Social media is a very important way for WPST to reach their fans. It is also a way for the station to acquire listeners from around the world. They are able to receive instant feedback from their listeners and use this on the air. They use their website, DJ blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Take a look below at some information about their social media!
Web 2.0 WPST's website is a complete interactive website. Not only is there sections for e-news and weather, but there are interactive sections for WPST listeners such as chat, web cam, the loyal listeners club and PST mobile. The website is focused on having music for their listeners. There is a live lounge, an on-demand audio and numerous videos available to watch. The website is considered a 2.0 website since it is not only information but graphics, videos and audio.
Blogs WPST's website also allow their listeners to follow their favorite DJ's Blog entries in which they describe events or comments about any topic.They also post and share pictures related to their topic discussed in their blogs in order to make it more creative and less boring. DJ's Blogs can be found WPST's website inside each DJ's page. Every reader have the option of expressing their reactions by clicking on the three given options of:funny,interesting or cool. They can also simply post their comments, and by doing this the DJ have the chance to interact back and forth with his or her listeners.
Twitter Twitter is a great public relations tool for WPST. The station has the ability to sign onto their Twitter account, updating their statuses throughout the day for all of their fans. For example, on November 13th they signed on to let people know that they would be giving away free passes to PST's midnight showing of "New Moon" and the different things that they would be talking about that day encouraging people to call in at certain times to give their opinions. In addition, the DJs have the opportunity to sign onto the Twitter account everyday while they're on the air. On this particular day, for example, Newman signed on and asked for people's opinions on which honking style is correct with a link to his blog where he described different types of honks. They also update their Twitter account everyday at 4:00pm to give their fans the PST Mobile EBuzz which is a text they send about the entertainment buzz of that day.
Facebook WPST uses and maintains their own Facebook account with fans and friends who write and post to their main wall. Just as they do with their Twitter account, WPST updates their Facebook status at around 4pm everyday with PST mobile ebuzz. Radio station DJ Matt Sneed has his account linked in with other Facebook users and he also spreads the word to fellow Facebook friends. Keeping this sort of interaction with fans lets WPST remain loyal to its listeners and the relationship is strengthened. More people around the area will listen in and look for Facebook messages from different DJ's and will feel a connection with each one of them.
Youtube WPST has their own Youtube channel. They have over 90 uploads including interviews, live performances and DJ made videos. Yotube channels allow for fans to subscribe and comment on different things that the station is doing on the channel. It is a great way to "put a face" to the DJ's and the different things the station is doing or promoting. We encourage everyone to check this tool out, it is very interesting and very diffrent.
So in conclusion, social media plays a major role within WPST. Social Media is their way to reach thier fans and to get their name out their. WPST uses almost all of the social media tools that are used today around the nation, the major ones at least. This seperates them from the rest, because not all radio stations have these tools just yet. WPST is on top of thier game, and is doing their best to promote thier company and reach all of their listeners!
On December 27, 2003, Martha Stewart sold 3,928 shares of ImClone Stock. The next day, the stock dropped around 18%, saving Stewart around $46,000. It was later learned that ImClone founder, Sam Waksal, had tipped off Stewart. Stewart kept her innocence even after she was indicted of nine federal counts. In July of 2004, Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and an additional five months of house arrest. She was also required to pay a $30,000 fine. This all looks very bad in a PR aspect. How could "the perfect stay-at-home mom" be involved with insider trading and be going to prison? Stewart's team now needed to come up with a plan and a way to bring her audience back.
After Martha Stewart was convicted and sentenced to five months in prison and soon after she was forced to another five months of house arrest, she was faced with many objectives in order to get her life back on track. Although it was tough for Martha and she faced many challenges, she stayed strong and worked hard in order to accomplish these objectives. At one point, Martha even stated to fans, “I will be back,” (Martha Comes Clean) to show her true determination. Amongst her many objectives after being released from prison, Martha had to be willing to work hard to win her fans back. She also needed to work hard to jump start the Martha Stewart Organization and make changes to redirect the organization in the right direction. In order to take part in this redirection, Martha needed to expand products, and even re-brand and repackage them. In addition, Martha needed to put forth much effort to get back into the public eye through TV shows, books, press conferences, and much more.
The real question to Stewart’s regrouping after her arrest was whether she could return to her throne as homemaking queen. With Stewart's public image tainted, she would have to strategically attempt to make her way back into the public’s eye, and make sure that they were willing to trust and accept her again. Stewart's own home-cooking show had been taken off the air and new episodes were no longer airing, so a strategic move would be to film new episodes and have new special guests appear in order to have people start viewing again. With sales dropping and the Martha Stewart Living Organization’s image in doubt, the company would also have to come up with strategies in order to jump start their organization. With Stewart as the CEO, they would likely have to start by demoting her or firing her from her position as head of the company, if they were to redirect their company in the right direction. Another strategy that the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) company would need is the expansion of the products into other retail outlets in order to get the brand name out in more places. The company would also need to re-brand their image again to make sure people would not hesitate to purchase one of Stewart’s products because of Stewart’s legal woes. Not only could the company re-brand and repackage their products in new and efficient ways, but they would also have to find ways to separate themselves a bit from Stewart’s name to compel the public to realize that Stewart’s legal troubles were separate from the operations of the company. This would help the companies image and ultimately sales, despite people thinking that Stewart was a convict. Gaining the trust back from the consumers and viewers would allow Stewart and her company to run efficiently and smoothly.
Overall, Martha Stewart had her company respect at all times for building a business empire. According to The Wall Street Journal, consumers don't care about Stewart's personal moral decisions because they still rely on her expertise. MSLO created a supportive relationship with Martha Stewart during her trial. They knew that they were not going to survive without her expertise, knowledge and image. Although, Chief Executive Susan Lyne helped stabilize the company during the legal travails of the company's founder, having a specialized and wise executive chief was crucial for the company to survive during Stewart's trial. MSLO executives had the opportunity to support their founder and also take care of business by not involving Stewart's legal aspects with the company daily business performance. They continued selling their products in K-Mart Stores and they also introduced them in stores such as Wal-Mart, Macy's, 1-800-Flower.com, Costco Wholesale Corp. and Michael Stores.
Before going to prison, Martha Stewart gave a press conference in New York. She persuaded people and advertisers to keep loyal to her products. By giving this press conference she clarified that her legal situation should not make a negative impact on her products sells. The five months sentence imposed by the courthouse allowed her to be released on time to film her show "The Apprentice." She also signed a major contract with Sirius Satellite Radio to broadcast a show aimed for women lifestyle. The life experience gained at the prison inspired her to publish her book "Martha Rules".
Her position in MSLO changed. According to Kessler Robert in his news article "Stewart paying up in trading case", she continues working in to work in creative and other non financial areas.
Even though Stewart made an attempt and has still been making attempts to meet her objectives of winning back her audiences, many did not even find this effort necessary. There are a large number of fans who supported Stewart throughout her whole experience with prison. In fact, many traveled to greet her in West Virginia to welcome her home when she was released. According to an article entitled "Fans trek to prison to say goodbye to Stewart", one woman named Kathy Herrmann who was going through chemotherapy at the time, traveled across the country from Washington to see Martha when she was released from prison. “I’m tired but it meant enough for me to come out here anyway,” Herrmann said. “It’s all about support." Herrmann who had always been a fan of Stewart, did not allow Stewart’s distressing situation get in the way of her dedication to Stewart. Another woman by the name of Lisa Huff stated that she was never a fan of Martha; Huff actually became a fan of her after she was sentenced to her five months in prison. “When she went in, I thought she was mean. But when she decided to go to jail, now she looks more contrite. I think jail has been great for her,” Huff said.
Although there is no documented calendar for Stewart (Gannt chart or written evaluation), here is a compiled a list of both her corporate and personal losses throughout the years she experienced her troubles. In July 2002, not even a year after she was indicted on her federal charges, MSLO's third quarter earning were cut in half. In 2003, Stewart's publishing revenue for her magazine, "Martha Stewart Living," fell 26%. As a result, MSLO reduced the circulation of their magazine from 2.3 million people to 1.8 million. Shortly after this happened, MSLO's partnership with K-Mart, their largest partner and distributor of products, didn't want to be associated with Stewart. K-Mart filed a lawsuit against Stewart for being overcharged for their services. Because of this, MSLO's merchandising unit fell 16.6%. On June 4, the day Stewart was found guilty and charged, her New York damage control firm, Citigate Sard Verbinnen, launched a new website, marthatalks.com. From a PR perspective, this was the beginning and probably most crucial part of her crisis management. The website was one of the biggest steps Stewart took to reviving her image as the wholesome person she was originally perceived as. The website posted open letters from Stewart herself, along with fan mail, legal briefs and case updates. This was a way for Stewart to actually communicate with her fans and supporters and show that she could and would overcome the situation she was in. The first day the site was launched, it obtained 2 million hits. On her damage control firm's part, this was the perfect PR plan to recovering her image and career. In 2004, immediately after her verdict was announced, the shares of her company, MSLO fell 23%. In March, after Stewart stepped down as the Director, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of MSLO, she lost $95 million. As a result of this, the company devised a new plan to try and recover Stewart's company and image. They got rid of the "Martha Stewart Living" magazine and completely re-designed it and renamed the magazine to "Everyday Food." In September and October, Stewart made a personal choice, and "strictly business" decision; she requested to start her prison term early, against prosecutors desires to appeal. "I must reclaim my good life," she said to a federal judge. People felt as if they won since Stewart went to jail. They saw her as s humble and well-grounded person for making such a decision. In 2005, right before Stewart was released from prison, MSLO posted their yearly losses for the first time since the company was founded in 1998. Since the stability of a company is a public record, the company probably never sustained a loss. However, since the scandal, the public opinion probably caused their losses. However, in February, when NBC announced its new version of "The Apprentice," featuring Stewart as the host, her companies stocks hit the highest they had hit in 5 years. According to crisis management professionals, this was "a remarkable turnaround."
After being sentenced and put in jail many did not know where Stewart’s career was going to take her. Little did the world know that Stewart had plans to be right back on top where she left off. After being released from prison, it was all about the positives for Stewart. She wanted to retain her fan base and continue to be a model citizen for America. Stewart stayed away from the negative media and thrives to make the positives show. For example, stepping down from CEO of her company, going back on the air for her TV show and releasing a new book. All of these things brought Stewart publicity and that is exactly what she was looking for. She wanted to clear her public image and that is exactly what Stewart did. Today Martha Stewart is worth over $600 million dollars; yes, people will always remember her scandal but the world has moved forward.
In conclusion, Martha Stewart has gone through all 8 PR Elements and this is the reason why her public image and fan base is positive again. Stewart and her PR team set objectives and tactics and stuck by them all the way to the end. The 8 basic PR elements run in a full circle, if you complete each stage you will end up with your overall goal at the end. In the case of Martha Stewart, she accomplished all 8 stages of the PR elements and salvaged her public image. Through out her process, Stewart kept her fan base and we believe this is one of the major reasons why Stewart has salvaged her career. We do not believe you can salvage ones image any better than Stewart did. She followed the stages of the PR elements and got everything she deserves. Now America can move past the scandal and look at Martha Stewart with new eyes.
A timeline of relevant events in the Martha Stewart stock trading scandal:
•Oct. 31, 2001: ImClone Systems asks the government to review Erbitux, its new cancer drug.
•Dec. 26, 2001: ImClone founder Sam Waksal is tipped that the government will deny the company's Erbitux application, then tips his daughter to sell her ImClone stock and tries to sell his own.
•Dec. 27, 2001: Stewart sells all 3,928 shares of ImClone stock she owns. The government later contends she was tipped that Waksal was trying to sell his shares.
•Dec. 28, 2001: The FDA makes its decision public. On Dec. 31, the first trading day after the news, ImClone drops 18%.
•Jan. 7, 2002: Stewart's broker, Peter Bacanovic, tells Securities and Exchange Commission attorneys that he and Stewart had agreed on Dec. 20, 2001, to sell ImClone if it fell below $60.
•Feb. 4, 2002: Stewart gives the SEC, federal prosecutors and the FBI the same information about the $60 stop-loss order.
•June 12, 2002: Waksal is arrested and charged with insider trading. Stewart issues a statement repeating her assertion that she had a $60 stop-loss order.
•June 18, 2002: Stewart insists she is "fully" cooperating with authorities.
•Oct. 2, 2002: Former Merrill Lynch & Co. assistant Douglas Faneuil pleads guilty to taking a payoff to keep quiet about the Stewart stock trade.
•Oct. 15, 2002: Waksal admits tipping his daughter to sell ImClone ahead of the government decision and trying to sell his own shares.
•June 4, 2003: Stewart and Bacanovic are indicted on nine federal counts in the ImClone scandal. Both plead innocent. Stewart resigns as chairwoman and CEO of her company but remains chief creative officer and a board member.
•June 5, 2003: Stewart unveils a personal Web site in which she proclaims her innocence and insists she will fight to clear her name.
•June 10, 2003: Waksal is sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
•Nov. 7, 2003: Stewart tells ABC News she is scared of prison but "I don't think I will be going to prison, though."
•Nov. 18, 2003: U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum refuses Stewart's request to toss out two of the five charges against her, including a securities fraud count.
•Jan. 6, 2004: Potential jurors fill out a questionnaire that reportedly asks whether they have visited Stewart's Web site or cooked with her recipes.
•Jan. 26: Jury of eight women and four men is selected.
•Jan. 27: Prosecutor claims in opening statements that Stewart sold ImClone stock based on a "secret tip," then lied to cover it up. Stewart's attorney compares case with the Big Brother novel "1984."
•Feb. 3-4: Faneuil testifies that Bacanovic ordered him to tell Stewart that Waksal was selling stock. Faneuil claims Bacanovic pressured him repeatedly to cover it up.
•Feb. 10: Stewart assistant Ann Armstrong testifies Stewart personally altered log of a message Bacanovic left on day she sold ImClone. But Armstrong says Stewart ordered the message changed back and never asked her to lie.
•Feb. 19: Expert testifies ink Bacanovic used on worksheet of Stewart's portfolio to make an "(at)60" notation next to ImClone is different from other inks on the document. Stewart friend Mariana Pasternak says Stewart told her days after ImClone sale that she knew about Waksal selling and says Stewart added: "Isn't it nice to have brokers who tell you those things?"
•Feb. 20: Under cross-examination, Pasternak backtracks on "Isn't it nice" remark, saying it could have been something she herself thought. Government rests its case.
•Feb. 23: Jeremiah Gutman, former Faneuil lawyer called as witness for Bacanovic, instead backs up Faneuil testimony. Defense ink expert says "(at)60" ink may match ink from a dash mark elsewhere on the worksheet. Heidi DeLuca, a Stewart business manager, says she has a memory of Bacanovic discussing plans to sell Stewart's ImClone shares at $60.
•Feb. 25: Stewart lawyers call just one witness — a lawyer whose notes raise question about what questions Stewart was asked in interviews with the government. Government plays tape of Bacanovic saying he never discussed $60 plan with DeLuca.
•Feb. 27: Judge throws out securities fraud count against Stewart. The charge accused her of deceiving investors in her own media company by claiming she sold ImClone because of the $60 agreement.
•March 3: Jury begins deliberations.
•March 5: Stewart convicted on all charges; Bacanovic convicted on all but one charge, making a false statement.
In order for WPST to promote themselves and different featured artists, WPST uses Live web cams and shows that they broadcast online. WPST calls their live shows The PST Live Lounge, which we will take a look at below. They also use a web cam in their studio, calling it the Live Studio Cam. These are just a few of the technology friendly features that WPST uses to draw in their fans and audiences.
The PST Live Lounge is a lounge located within the studio where artists come and perform live for their fans. They also sign autographs, take pictures and answer any questions that their fans may have. While this is all going on within the lounge, they also have a live web cam set up so that the fans that weren't able to come to the studio can watch the performance from their computer at home. While watching, they also have the opportunity to join a live chat room. At all times, there is a member of the PST crew talking to everyone in the chat room, and when the performance is over people from the chat room get the opportunity to ask the artist questions. When they post their questions in the chat room the artist answers all of the questions live.
The Live Lounge has featured artists such as The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, Good Charlotte and Metro Station. You can find all of the performances done in the lounge on the PST website. All shows are posted on their web page, which makes it a great tool to refer to and go back to as you please.
Another great feature that WPST offers is their Live Studio web cam. This feature allow fans to not only listen in on their favorite bands and singers, but also listen to live interviews and other events going on within the studio. This feature is free and can be found right on the WPST website. They also allow you to comment and chat with others that are watching the same web cast as you are. So as you are listening and watching you are able to interact with others that have the same interests as you. I encourage everyone to come and take a look at this feature. Here is an example of the Live Web Cam:
The live shows, web cam and technology allow for listeners to get up close to their favorite artists and to their favorite radio station without even leaving their house. This is a great way for WPST to not only promote themselves but to promote different artists right off of their web page. A lot of these artists go on the live show when they are in town for a concert. This is a great way for the artists to promote themselves and hopefully sell tickets to their upcoming show. Having the web cam in the studio shows listeners the culture of WPST. They are doing their best to stay on top of technology and provide new ways to interact with their fans. It shows how fun the studio can be and how much fun the DJs and the guests can be. Having these features online also not only promote the station to people in our area but to people all over the world, since they are on their web site. If only WPST had international advertising to let people know that these features were there. Not everyone knows about these features, which is why we believe that they are not being used to the best ability they can be.
