Xan for the Holidays

Don’t ask me how I got so lucky to work on one of HKA’s yummiest accounts, Xan Confections. I couldn’t tell you why, but I’m certainly not complaining! The chocolates and caramels that Xan produces are the BEST I have ever tasted. From the 29-calorie Saintly Sins to the massive masterpieces known as the Big Mouths, Xan Confections has truly won my heart.

I wanted to share these treats with my family, who I get to see about twice a year, and so I stocked up at Whole Foods before going home on my most recent visit. My Grandma, who is diabetic, loved the low-glycemic Saintly Sins. These truly incredible little morsels are made of the finest chocolate encasing pineapple, strawberry, or raspberry fruit purees – sweetened with organic blue agave nectar – NOT sugar. My mom loved the Jewel Collection - delicate, decadent chocolate gems encasing Xan’s signature soft caramel while retaining the healthful qualities of being vegan and gluten-free. And I got to see my dad, who rarely eats chocolate due to his high cholesterol and other medical issues, quietly enjoying the Honey Truffle, made of raw eucalyptus honey blended with dark 45% Swiss milk chocolate. He really liked that one – and it meant a lot to see him enjoying a sweet treat. I know what I’ll be putting in his stocking this Christmas.

Family is important to the people at Xan too. Susan Johnson, President of both Xan Confections and Susan’s Healthy Gourmet, named the company after her three grandchildren by using the last letter of each of their first names: JaX, HelenA and BeN. Not to be left out, little George came along this past summer and inspired the new LadybuG Truffles. And the Big Mouth Collection is lovingly named after Morton Downey Jr., the father of Xan chocolatier Tracey Downey, and a famed talk show host who was nicknamed “Mort the Mouth.”

As we start thinking about what to get our friends and family for Christmas this year,  Xan Confections is a gift to keep in mind. They have truly mastered the art of exceptional chocolate, and don’t leave anyone out – dietary restrictions or not. I know they’re going to be a big hit under my family’s Christmas tree this year… even Santa might find chocolates instead of cookies on the fireplace! Xan Confections truly has something for everyone.

Keep up with Xan Confections on Twitter and Facebook

Proud to be Pink

 

 Some of us at HKA recently had a pink-filled week that included two prominent events with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Orange County Affiliate. The Pink Tie Ball on Saturday, June 6, brought out both men and women in their best pink formalwear to celebrate the hope brought to the fight against breast cancer by Komen for the Cure.

The atmosphere of the austere Noguchi Garden was transformed into an enclave of blue sky and butterflies—handcrafted “Wings of Hope” that were created by local breast cancer survivors and featured a message of inspiration on the back. The gala offered guests gourmet hors d’oeuvres, a live and silent auction, an opportunity drawing for a necklace valued at $20,000, and dinner and dancing under the stars.

The generosity of the sponsors, guests and volunteers was inspiring, and by the end of the night, $250,000 had been raised for local breast health research and care for underserved women. In difficult economic times such as these, the work done by Komen is even more vital as fewer and fewer women can afford adequate health care. We at HKA are proud to be a part of the Komen Promise to end breast cancer forever.

Later that week, the passion behind that promise was reignited as Nancy Brinker, the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, came to speak to the Orange County Affiliate – the first time in more then a decade. Nancy was a vibrant presence whose energy permeated the intimate room filled with Komen supporters and volunteers.

“I promised my sister I would fight for a cure for breast cancer if it took the rest of my life — I just didn’t realize it would take the rest of my life, and what a journey it has been!” Brinker told the group. She noted that in 1982, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients was 74 percent. Today, the five-year survival rate has risen to 98 percent.

It was a moving experience to realize that, out of the tremendous pain of her sister Susan’s death, Nancy has brought so much life, enlightenment and good into the world. Many, many women have survived breast cancer because of advances in research funded by Komen for the Cure, some of whom were able to express their stories to Nancy that evening.

 

With all we experienced, it was a week to remember, one that reminded us why even though HKA’s logo is famously blue, we will always be proud to be pink.

Well hello there, Peter Shankman!

Robyn, Peter Shankman, and Mari: HKA's latest brush with celebrity

To anyone in the PR world, Peter Shankman is probably a familiar name, if only for the HARO emails he peppers our inboxes with each day. His Help A Reporter Out email venture, which provides the useful service of bringing an aggregation of reporter queries directly to PR people on a mass scale, is only the very tip of the Shankman iceberg. In fact, as Robyn and I learned yesterday, icebergs actually played a role in making Peter Shankman who he is today.

“It Sank. Get Over It.”

To those of us who were blubbering, emotional preteen girls at the time the epic film Titanic came out, this phrase might not have resonated so well. But to the rest of the world, especially the segment who was underwhelmed with the Titanic mania that engulfed the planet circa 1997, “It Sank, Get Over It” probably reflected their sentiments exactly. As a young guy living in New York City, Peter took his rent money and used it to print up 500 T-shirts emblazoned with this slogan. He sold out  in six hours. And as if that wasn’t great enough, after contacting a reporter from USA Today about his idea and building a super-primitive sales website, he sold over 5,000 of the shirts at $15 each, making $100,000 which he used to start his own PR firm, The Geek Factory.

Why didn’t I think of that.

What makes Peter Shankman such a wunderkind in the PR world today is precisely this, and a collection of experiences much like this, that mix innovative thinking with refreshing simplicity in a way that is nothing short of brilliant. His free HARO email service, which is subsidized by advertising and is said to be worth about $1 million per year in revenues, is the perfect illustration.

This is why Robyn and I, and hundreds of other PR professionals, gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach yesterday to hear Peter Shankman’s insights into social media, which he quickly characterized a “way to screw up quicker and to  much larger scale.” In the midst of the fascinating stories and observations of this self-described ADD-boy, several particularly interesting insights emerged.

1) Transparency is key. Google has changed the tradition of a lack of transparency in big business with its ability to make fact-finding an everyman operation, and social media only compounds this. If you screw up, admit it and move on. And DON’T be like Motrin, who shockingly took 18 hours to respond to the flurry of negative Twitter activity it sparked by an ad that offended the massive online community of babywearing moms.

2) Listen to your audience. If you’re not distributing the information in the way they want to receive it, then they are not going to come out to you to get it. And don’t Tweet another Tweet until you’ve analyzed if what you’re saying is relevant to your audience. The job of the PR person has changed; it’s now our job to get other people to do our PR work for us. By utilizing social media in the proper way, we are convincing people that what we have is worth them talking about, and that is what creates the kind of buzz that we are constantly trying to achieve.

3) Lastly, brevity, something I have outright failed at in this particular post (too much good info to share!), is an important piece of communication today. The MTV generation has an attention span of about three minutes– about the time it took to watch a music video, back when music videos and MTV actually had something to do with each other. But today’s generation, and don’t laugh, has an attention span of about 140 characters, literally. That’s right, the 2.7 seconds it takes to read one 140-character Tweet on Twitter is about all we have to give as we filter the more than 16,000 hits of information that compete for our time today. For us PR-types, this means that in writing a pitch or a press release, or in trying to be persuasive over the phone, we’ve got about 2.7 second to hook the other party’s attention, or we’re done.

Although Robyn and I got our exercise for the day chasing Shankman down for this photo, it was definitely the cherry on top of the sundae that was the privilege of being there and hearing him speak.  Creative thinkers like him tend to inspire creativity in others, and while one of us HKA-ers may or may not have the next flash of genius for a T-shirt slogan, we will definitely be able to make better use of the online and social media resources that are at our disposal.

Shopping for a Cure – Something we all can do!

One of the organizations that is near and dear to our hearts here at HKA is breast cancer nonprofit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. On a personal note, my aunt passed away from breast cancer in 2004, making my family and I some of the millions who have lost a loved one to this tragic illness. HKA is proud to work with Komen’s Orange County Affiliate as they fight the good fight on behalf of breast cancer research and awareness, with the goal of one day eradicating the disease forever.

We are happy to be able to announce Komen OC’s new blog, which will be updated periodically with news and info about breast health, the organization, and its upcoming events. And if you are looking for a fun and easy way to become involved with Komen’s fundraising efforts, why not participate in the “Try it On for the Cure” fundraiser being held this Sunday at Coldwater Creek? All it takes is a visit to the dressing room of an Orange County location for $1 to be contributed to Komen OC. Visit Komen’s blog for locations and more information!

New girl says hello!

 

Hello InsightsOUT blog readers! My name is Mari Feazel (pronounced like Mary fuh-ZELL), and I want you to know that love PR. LOVE it! Public relations has served as the driving force and inspiration in my life and a hard-won education over the past four years. And as the newest member of the HKA staff, I can say without hesitation that I am truly, truly living my dream. But for a time, it looked like that would not come to pass.

 

Upon graduating with my B.A. in public relations from Chapman University in December 2008, all I could think was that it was some pretty bad timing on my part to be born in 1986 and entering the job market 23 years later in an economy that some might say is catastrophic. But because of the tremendous faith in me by Hilary Kaye, I now have the incredible honor of being able to call myself a part of the HKA team.

 

And quite a team it is. Hilary had flowers waiting for me on my desk on my very first day (still clinging to life, btw), and the rest of my new co-workers have followed suit by welcoming me with open arms. I am so privileged to be able to work alongside and learn from these exceptional minds.

 

My time here so far has been filled with Girl Scout cookies, Facebook fan pages, Twitter, blogs, and getting to know a whole flock of cats. And I LOVE it. I was so fortunate to find a major in school that absolutely held my passion, and to be chosen by a PR firm of the highest caliber to allow me to exercise that passion.

 

So thank you to Hilary AND her associates for making ME an associate. You’ve given me a great gift that I hope to be able to repay, and I look forward to associating with you all.