Now the purpose of this is to not humiliate these companies but to actually learn by their mistakes.  Although it is refreshing to hear that fortune 500 companies have their failures to remind us that even the best marketing professionals in the industry aren’t perfect.

1.) General Motors- In March of 2006 to help promote the Chevy Tahoe, GM launched the online PR campaign called  “Chevy Tahoe’s Roll Your Own Commercial Viral Marketing Campaign”.  At that time with the rapid growth of You Tube and during the early childhood years of Facebook along with the midlife crisis of MySpace, it seemed like a wonderful idea to have others make their own home video commercial about a Tahoe.

The campaign soon turned into an assault on the Tahoe with videos popping up attacking the vehicles as a gas guzzling, safety challenged ego enhancement for environmentally irresponsible dorks.  After a couple of weeks, GM eliminated the campaign but many of the videos still get views on YouTube to this day.

2.) Samsung- Although this happened in Australia, it has now been seen all over the world. Last month Samsung hired a bunch of people to protest outside of an apple store in Australia. They made the protest confusing by having the protestors yell “wake up” while holding “wake up” signs, wearing all black and coming out of a bus that says “wake up”.

Everyone is still awkwardly confused and sadly this doesn’t help brand a company in a good way. If your marketing to confuse the public…This video has now been seen all of the world, not good PR at all.

3.) BP- During the great Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico BP decided to spend millions of  dollars on commercials and advertising letting everyone know that they were cleaning up the Gulf. Unfortunately while the millions were being spent, businesses all along the coast were suffering because of the oil spill and BP was doing nothing to help those businesses out. The campaign left an oily taste in the mouth of many residents along the Gulf coast and will be questioned for years if it was actually good PR.

4.) Facebook- Last year Facebook hired the giant  public relations firm Burson-Marsteller to plant news articles promoting a supposed privacy problem with google. Writers for Burson, Jim Goldman and John Mercurio contacted a number of journalists proclaiming that Google is collecting , storing and mining millions of people’s personal information from a number of different online services and sharing it without the knowledge, consent or control of the people involved.

This offensive attack seemed to be working until Newsweeks Dan Lyons gained evidence that singled out Facebook, who then claimed it was true.  Then the story really went Viral.

When planning out a PR campaign it’s so important to consider the unexpected. Campaigns will always have the potential to back fire and the risk always needs to understood and considered.  If GM really understood the bad reputation the Tahoe had among the public they wouldn’t have asked the public to make a commercial about the vehicle. If Facebook really considered the potential of their offensive attack leaking they might have really thought twice. Offensive attacks on other companies usually will never work, just look at Samsungs offensive attack, we’re still confused. The moral of the story is to really think things out, plan for the unexpected then consider if the PR campaign is really worth it.

Author:

Aubrey Phelps is currently an account manager at PRMarketing.com, her background experience includes four years of SEO experience and two years of online PR experience.

Freedom Flies Theme

Theme “Runner-Ups”

Lighting up the Night

Yamaha Theme

i See Stars

Gerberas in the Wild

Oops 404 Error Page Theme

The Saints Nation

Texas Bluebonnets

Create Your Own Browser Theme

If you would like to enter the weekly “Theme of the Week” contest to have your theme featured on one of our blog posts and all our social media accounts, simply create a theme using our free browser theme tool. We will pick the winner each week. Full details on our contest are here.

One of the most intriguing uses of a Firefox add-on is that it can be used as a tool to gauge your own site against your competitors. Whether it’s getting their PageRank, keywords used, or any other type of metric, there is a Firefox add-on that will help you get a leg up on everyone.

We’ve listed below just a couple of the available Firefox add-ons that allow you to investigate your competitors for research. Knowing what makes them successful will give you new ideas and tactics that can help your own site succeed.

SearchStatus Add-on

Search Status Addon

This add-on is one of the most comprehensive options for getting statistics on just about any established website. SearchStatus (created by Craig Raw) gives you all of the following information on a website directly in your browser:

• Google PageRank, Alexa rank, Compete rank, SEOmoz Linkscape mozRank
• Keyword density analyzer
• Keyword/nofollow highlighting
• Backward/related links
• Alex information and plenty of other SEO tools

If you are an SEO professional, or simply want to monitor certain competing sites, SearchStatus is the perfect Firefox add-on for you.

SEO Doctor Add-on

This is another great tool for internet marketing professionals, though this particular extension is also geared towards beginners who are looking to learn the trade. This easy-to-use add-on will point out problems on a page, assigning an overall score, while also providing information on link structure, page rank flow and much more. Best of all, SEO Doctor (created by Vladimir Prelovac) is completely customizable, allowing you to quickly get the stats you need most.

These are just a couple Firefox add-ons that are sure to give you a leg up on your competitors. With them, you are able to measure your own SEO capabilities against similar sites. This kind of research helps you form new strategies of your own and, ultimately, a clearer set of attainable goals.

Install Firefox add-ons like these today and you’ll begin to improve your website’s presence.

How to Customize Your Google Homepage Theme

First, make sure that you have a Google account and sign in with it. Then, at the bottom of the screen, you’ll see the option to “Change background image.”

From there, you have a number of options for selecting a new background. You can select from the public photo gallery that is featured in the Picasa Web Albums or you can choose from your uploaded photos in your own Picasa Web Albums. You also have the options of choosing from a recent image you’ve selected as a background or simply returning to the plain white background. Customize it however you’d like.

It’s just that easy! Setting up Google homepage backgrounds is a simple task, and you’ll have fun finding the perfect picture (here’s a tip: this is a tool that is ripe for use when pranking your friends and their computers).

When finding a photo for your Google homepage themes, be sure to find one that is wider than it is tall, and is at least 800 x 600 pixels. Additionally, keep in mind the formats that Google homepage backgrounds accept: .jpeg, .tif, .tiff, .bmp, .gif, .psd, .png, .tga and other RAW formats.

Google Homepage Background Themes

Here are some examples of themes you could spice up your homepage with. More great background themes can be downloaded for free from Google’s gallery: http://www.google.com/ig/directory?type=themes

Lake Tahoe Theme

Rainbow Background Theme

Sea of Fog

Cassiopeia

Mountain Background

Google Homepage Theme Sites

If the Google gallery is not enough for you, there are a number of 3rd party sites that have background themes you can choose from or even create your own. Here are some of the best ones out there:

• GoodSkins.com
• StartSkins.com
• Pimp My Homepage
• PowerHomepages.com
• ThemesMyHomepage.com
• NetJungle.com

Google Chrome Themes to Go With Your Homepage Themes

If you like playing around with different Google homepage themes, you’ll love being able to install your own Google Chrome themes as well. Spice up your background themes and your Chrome browser at the same time. Brand Thunder offers a vast library of different Chrome themes that will enhance the look of your browser, and they all come with a variety of other features that make the browsing experience even better. Be sure to check out our available Google Chrome themes.

Do Share just so happens to be one of those time-saving, efficient Chrome extensions that is perfect for the avid Google+ user. The add-on is easily accessed from your bookmarks toolbar, and comes with all of the following features:

• Write and share your Google+ posts right from the add-on in a clean, rich text editor
• Choose which circles will see your post
• Save your drafts and edit them later
• Share any photos from your Google+ albums

And the best part about Do Share? How about the ability to schedule all of your posts? Popular platforms like Hootsuite have yet to include scheduling options for Google+, which makes Do Share an immensely helpful tool for users.

There are a wide variety of posts that can be scheduled out for a later time. If you have an announcement that you want to ensure reaches a wide audience, there are certain times during the day that are more ideal. The ability to schedule all of your posts simply makes that planning process easier.

Do Share is an easy-to-use, readily accessible Chrome extension that is perfect for people who post on Google+ on a regular basis. And if you’re looking to increase your presence on the social network, this is a perfect way to make that goal more attainable.

The Do Share Chrome Extension was created by ex-Googler Tzafir Rehan.

Manga Fox Naruto is one of the popular storylines. To quote Manga Fox Naruto’s page:

Twelve years before the start of the series, a powerful creature known as the Nine-tailed Demon Fox attacked the ninja village Konohagakure, decimating many people. In response, the leader of Konohagakure’s ninja military – the Fourth Hokage – sacrificed his life to seal the demon inside his newly born child Naruto Uzumaki. Konohagakure, however, regarded Naruto as if he were the demon fox itself and mistreated him throughout most of his childhood.

The plot tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, now a adolescent ninja who constantly searches for recognition and dreams to become the Hokage, the ninja in his village who is acknowledged as the leader and the strongest of all.

Here is the browser theme dedicated to Manga Fox Naruto and our “Theme of the week”:

Theme “Runner-Ups”

Summer Sunshine

Painting Poppies

Purple Night Reflection

Never Forget USA

Create Your Own Browser Theme

If you would like to enter the weekly “Theme of the Week” contest to have your theme featured on one of our blog posts and all our social media accounts, simply create a theme using our free browser theme tool. We will pick the winner each week. Full details on our contest are here.

Language Immersion Extension for Chrome

Learning a new language takes time, and not everyone has the time to sit down and truly take the time needed to become fluent. That being said, Google Labs and Use All Five have introduced a new Chrome extension that will make learning bits and pieces of a new language as easy as ever.

Introducing: Language Immersion: By using Google Translate, Language Immersion is a Google Chrome extension that allows users to simply switch words and phrases from a website into any of the 64 compatible languages. Users are also able to set their experience level (novice to expert) to help with the learning process.

The extension is easy to use – simply click on a translated word to switch it back to English or roll-over the translated word to hear it pronounced.

If Language Immersion interests you (and it should, because it’s pretty cool), be sure to check out the demo video below to learn more about this Chrome extension:

While Language Immersion is an incredibly neat and useful tool, even its developers admit that it’s not an exact science. And sure, it’s not 100% accurate, and won’t immediately make you fluent, but it will give you plenty of opportunities to begin learning a new language.

If you’ve wanted to start learning a new language – or just wanted to see what some words and phrases sound like in Afrikaans, then Language Immersion is the perfect Google Chrome extension for you. Give it a try today – it’s a surprisingly addictive and educational tool to add to your Chrome add-on repertoire.

Looking for other Google Chrome extensions? Check out the Google Chrome Extension Store.

Here are 15 of the best Google Chrome extensions available to users today:

1. WordPress Stats

If you’re a serious blogger, you obviously are keeping tabs on the analytics surrounding your site. The WordPress Stats Chrome extension gives you real-time statistics, including your blog’s referrers, top posts, search terms, clicks to your blog and more. It provides easy blog management by allowing you to save time while checking your stats. via PlaceforBloggers

2. Xmarks Bookmark Sync

Many programmers, SEO professionals, and writers end up using multiple browsers out of necessity. Make the process easier on yourself by installing the Xmarks extension – it stores your bookmarks, passwords and open tabs across separate computers and multiple browsers. It’s another big time-saver, and is perfect when working across browsers is a necessity for work.

3. Send to Kindle

It’s not uncommon to constantly be on-the-go these days, and if you’re a particularly busy person, the Send to Kindle Google Chrome extension is essential. Whether you simply prefer reading web content on your Kindle or you just don’t have to time to read something right away, this is the perfect extension for you. via http://www.klip.me/

4. Google Calendar (by Google)

Another great time-saving extension, the Google Calendar extension for Chrome places a button in the browser that allows you to check your calendar without leaving the page. You also have the ability to easily add events to your calendar, so if you’re constantly adding meetings, appointments and more, this is a must-have extension.

5. Mega Button

Easily access your bookmarks, history, plugins, extensions, downloads, DNS, memory and cache directly in your browser’s toolbar. via: http://haroldsanchez.co.cc/

6. SEO for Chrome

This extension is a must-have for any search engine optimization (SEO) professional. It gives you all the tools needed to gather information and provide analysis on any site, including keyword research, competitor analysis, PageRank checks and more.

7. Readability

Take the clutter out of reading on the web with the Readability Chrome extension. It makes reading any kind of content on the web simple, and includes an option to send the page to a Kindle.

8. Twitter Tweet Button

Avid users on Twitter – whether it’s for personal or professional use – can easily share any web page with this extension. As social media grows in influence, it’s important that you and your brand maintain an authoritative status, and that means consistent updates, especially on Twitter. This simply makes it easier to do so. via http://mt-hacks.com/

9. Shareaholic

Speaking of social media, if you’re particularly adept at sharing, this Google Chrome extension easily allows you to share any web page and track all of your links in one place. This provides a huge list of places where you can share links, which is a perfect feature for bloggers.

10. Spotify Chrome Extension

No Spotify user or avid music lover will want to be without this extension, which allows you to highlight an artist or group on a web page and hear what they sound like through your Spotify client.

11. TabCloud

Do you open a ton of tabs during every session? TabCloud allows you to save and restore a window session for future use or when you need to access it on a different computer.

12. Radio Player Live

Add your own feeds or radio stations to this extension and watch the workday melt away that much faster. Radio Player Live easily lets you listen to any audio stream, helping you organize your favorites as well.

13. VerticalTabs

Going back to the tab maniacs (not that we’re picking on you), VerticalTabs arranges your tabs in a clean, easily-accessible vertical drop-down menu.

14. AdBlock

Exactly what it says – it blocks ads ALL over the internet, even inside games and videos. So if you’re particularly troubled by the ads you see all over web pages, this is a perfect solution.

15. Brand Thunder Chrome Themes

OK, we might be a little bias on this one but our Chrome Extensions provide a wealth of fun for your Chrome browser. From sports and entertainment to lifestyle themes and more, Brand Thunder has a vast library of Google Chrome themes that are sure to spice up the look of your browser. Each one offers a host of other interactive features, so you’re bound to find something that interests you.

Other Great Google Chrome Extensions Reviewed

• 30 Useful Google Chrome Extensions - WebDesignLedger.com
• 20 Best Google Chrome Extensions – TechRadar.com
• 25 Best Google Chrome Extensions You NEED to Download – Complex.com
• 40 Best Chrome Extensions – TomsGuide.com
• 100 Top Chrome Extensions – MakeUseOf.com
• 10 Essential Chrome Extensions

The Avengers

Theme “Runner-Ups”

Amazing Flowers

This “Amazing” theme features a bright array of beautiful flowers from yellow to pink to blue and green.

Mountain Lake

Go camping right in your browser with this beautiful landscape design with a crystal clear lake against the backdrop of a mountain range.

Winter Dreams

It will NEVER be Winter with this Beach-inspired theme with bright blue Caribbean waters and a private beach just for you.

Gothic Bridges Browser Theme

This is a browser theme for architecture fans. Showcase your love for Gothic bridges with this theme featuring eight different Gothic-inspired bridges.

Make your Own Theme

If you would like to enter the weekly “Theme of the Week” contest to have your theme featured on one of our blog posts and all our social media accounts, simply create a theme using our free browser theme tool. We will pick the winner each week. Full details on our contest are here.

With easy access to updated scores, team news and more, you’ll wonder how you ever got along without an NBA browser theme from Brand Thunder. Our NBA interactive personas are available for Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer, so everyone can join in on the basketball fandom! Each theme comes equipped with the latest team news, scores, highlights and quick links to the team’s social media sites. Never miss a beat and stay connected with your favorite NBA playoff team this Spring.

Here are just a few of the NBA browser themes we have for this year’s crop of playoff participants:

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic may be without center Dwight Howard for the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the team is going to just give up. They’ve got plenty of fight and you need to show your support. Get all the latest news and game updates with this interactive persona.

Philadelphia 76ers

With the injury to Derrick Rose, the Philadelphia 76ers stand a real chance to move on in this year’s playoffs. This team has some great young pieces and they’re fun to watch, so jump on the bandwagon!

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are the top team in the West, but can they avoid another playoff disappointment? Led by the seemingly ageless Tim Duncan, the Spurs are loaded and ready to make another deep run to the Finals. Spurs fans – keep up on all the latest playoff news with this interactive persona!

Atlanta Hawks

The Atalanta Hawks are in the playoffs it seems every year but aren’t quite able to make it to the Finals. Maybe this year will be their year to take the Championship back to Atlanta.

Jeremy Lin

He may be injured, but Jeremy Lin – remember him? – is looking to make a comeback for the New York Knicks’ playoff run. And in their match-up against the Miami Heat, it seems that the Knicks could use him. If you’re a Jeremy Lin (or just a Knicks) fan, it’s essential that you install this theme.

More NBA Browser Themes

Cleveland Cavaliers

Sacramento Kings

Basketball Interactive Persona