As travel begins to surge while we continue to emerge from the pandemic, Tripadvisor is aiming to restore confidence for travel brands through a new partnership with Lysol.
The Needham, Massachusetts-based travel brand announced recently that it will offer guidelines and advice as well as special Lysol sanitization kits for the eight million tourism and hospitality businesses on its site.
The disinfection kits, which are specially designed with Lysol, have names such as Restroom Rescue, Germ Busters, Lysol on the Go Starter Pack and Disinfect & Protect with products that include Lysol Wipes and Lysol Disinfecting Spray. They will be available to travel brands on a special site that will also include education and guidelines for cleaning and sanitation that business owners can use as a resource.
This initiative comes after a year in which travel brand ad spending fell 60%, according to Ad Age.
The Tripadvisor partnership, which will expand beyond the U.S. to global brands in the coming months, is just the latest of similar deals for Lysol, which is owned by the recently rebranded Reckitt. In recent months, Lysol has entered brand partnerships with Delta Air Lines, Hilton Hotels and Airbnb as brands strive to communicate their extensive cleaning protocols to germ-averse customers during the pandemic.
Journalism Crisis Project Key Findings & Impact Across Media World
Last year, the Tow Center for Digital Journalism began tracking newsroom cutbacks in the wake of the pandemic.
The findings focus on journalism’s ongoing crisis: an upheaval that hurt newsrooms, journalists, and – by straining journalism’s margins – the communities that those newsrooms and journalists are charged to serve.
Here are the key findings from the report:
The journalism crisis of the past year has been a crisis across the board, for digital media, magazines, radio & TV stations, and—especially—newspapers.
In October of last year, the Pew Research Center reported that newspapers were hard hit by the pandemic, experiencing a 42 percent loss in advertising revenue in the second quarter of 2020 (meanwhile, Fox News advertising revenue saw a 41 percent increase).
Broadcast and radio stations across the country also struggled. Pew reported a 24 percent loss in ad revenue for local television stations in the second quarter, though cable company re-transmission fees later made up the difference.
Magazines and digital outlets also saw cutbacks, but the prevalence of newspapers across the country and the disequilibrium in their traditional business model meant that newspapers bore the brunt of the pandemic’s effect on journalism: borne out in layoffs, mergers, furloughs, pay cuts, print reductions, budget cuts, and closures.
Significant layoffs happened across every medium.
There are no precise figures tallying the number of media layoffs, but the New York Times offered an “imperfect, but good estimate” that as many as 37,000 media workers may have experienced layoffs, furloughs, or lost pay amid the pandemic.
Print cutbacks accelerated the shift away from print.
The cutback tracker reported changes to print at more than one hundred and sixty outlets. Though some publications have worked hard to bring back print editions (and some print publications have even launched mid-pandemic), I wrote in July that “as business models and consumer habits continue to change, journalism outlets wrestle to balance business interests, accessibility, and keeping up with a changing world—and choices made during a crisis will ripple into the future.”
Cutbacks at Gannett loomed large.
Gannett – the largest newspaper chain in the country – implemented widespread furloughs in March, a round of layoffs in April, and another round of layoffs in June. In October, the company announced voluntary buyouts to all 21,000 of its employees; about 600 people opted in, Poynter reported, and Gannett accepted around 500 buyouts.
More than 60 outlets have ceased publication.
Though some outlets found ways to resume publication after shutting down – and, in some cases, new publications set out to fill news voids– the Tow Center reports the shuttering of 66 news outlets: fifty-six newspapers, three digital outlets, five magazines, and one radio station.
Microsoft in Chat to Potentially Acquire Video Game Community Platform
Microsoft Corp. is in talks to acquire Discord Inc., a video-game chat community, for more than $10 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Discord has been talking to potential buyers and software giant Microsoft is in the running, but no deal is imminent.
VentureBeat reported earlier that Discord was engaged in sales talks.
San Francisco-based Discord is best known for its free service that lets gamers communicate by video, voice and text, and people stuck at home during the pandemic have increasingly used its technology for study groups, dance classes, book clubs and other virtual gatherings. It has more than 100 million monthly active users and has been elaborating its communication tools to turn it into a “place to talk” rather than merely a gamer-centric chat platform.
Marshmallow Mic: Peepsi Anyone?
PepsiCo’s flagship soft drink – Pepsi – is ushering in spring with a sweet new concoction – marshmallow cola! Just in time for Easter!
Created in collaboration with Peeps, Pepsi’s newest limited-edition flavor launched recently and is tied to the nationwide #HangingWithMyPeeps sweepstakes that will award 10 grand prize winners who can demonstrate a show-stopping “Peepsonality.” (And no, the flavor is not an April Fools’ Day stunt.)
The Pepsi – Peeps collaboration is hardly the festive marshmallow brand’s first foray into cross-promotion this year. It’s done other partnerships with Crocs, Funko Pop toys, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats and others.
The collaborations follow a turbulent 2020 for Peeps that saw the Pennsylvania-based brand repeatedly halt production due to COVID-19; in fact, it didn’t produce any confections for recent holidays including Halloween, Christmas or Valentine’s Day in anticipation of the Easter rush, according to the Associated Press.
It’s also not the first time Pepsi will be getting into the more, um, unique flavor pairings. In December, the soda maker challenged fans to create “cocoa” cola: a blend of wintry hot chocolate and its signature cola.
Peepsi, anyone?
Each week, The Spin Cycle will bestow a Golden Mic Award to the person, group or company in the court of public opinion that best exemplifies the tenets of solid PR, marketing and advertising – and those who don’t. Stay tuned – and step-up to the mic! And remember … Amplify Your Brand!