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The Apple takeover on the New York Times page is an excellent example of how a creative ad format along with an innovative media placement can come together to overcome banner blindness. By navigating the website real estate between the leaderboard and skyscraper banners, John Hodgman and the Mac guy were effectively able to communicate the Macintosh value proposition. There was no need for the user to click away from the message. There are several other examples of innovative creative formats; the Pointroll Fat Boy ads that expand to reveal deals from CVS pharmacy and the "Intel's History of Innovation" rollover banner come to mind.

The ASPCA used a different approach to combat this drop off. To increase the number of its Facebook fans and Twitter followers, the ASPCA used a cost-per-lead banner. In such, the user fills in personal information within the banner. Upon hitting the submit button, the user information is sent from the publisher to the advertiser on the backend. The user continues to stay on the website. By using a banner that had a built-in mechanism to capture user information, the ASPCA was able to avoid drop off, and grow its Facebook and Twitter members quickly.

In a teaser effort that begins this week, Ms. Brown will arrive in social media, taking over the M&M’s fan page on Facebook, at facebook.com/mms, and sending messages on Twitter, where the character will have her own account with the handle @mmsbrown.

There will also be print, online and mobile ads as well as a deal to incorporate Ms. Brown into the radio program “Elvis Duran and the Morning Show,” syndicated by the Premiere Networks unit of Clear Channel Communications. Other elements include events in Los Angeles and New York, displays in stores, radio commercials and appearances for Ms. Brown during episodes of the new season of “The Celebrity Apprentice” on NBC, which begins on Feb. 12.

It’s a sales pitch that’s been working for A+E Networks, a private New York company owned by Hearst and Disney (DIS) that operates a portfolio of cable channels, including History, Lifetime, and A&E. (A+E is the name of the company; A&E is the name of the channel.) According to data from SNL Kagan, ad revenue at A&E grew from $366 million in 2008 to $477 million in 2012. During that same period, ad revenue at History grew from $310 million to $499 million. A+E Networks generates roughly $1.2 billion of profit on $3.6 billion of annual revenue, according to a network source who was not authorized to speak publicly about the company’s finances.

Ad buyers know that over the past year, few companies have done a better job of capturing the fragmented attention of TV viewers. A+E has thrived thanks in part to a slate of reality shows that focus on lifestyles far removed from the office-tied lives of the white-collar, urban strivers who make TV. A+E executives brag that their channels air 18 of the top 50 entertainment shows among adults on ad-supported cable. The current lineup includes Ice Road Truckers (about arctic truck drivers operating in remote, dangerous conditions), Ax Men (logging crews), Swamp People (Cajun alligator hunters), Pawn Stars (Las Vegas pawnshop owners), and American Hoggers (feral pig exterminators in Texas). History recently aired the fifth season of Top Shot, a reality competition in which contestants shoot rifles, handguns, and grenade launchers.

The VW crisis falls into the general PR crisis category of scandals and shenanigans that entail often-shocking revelations about a company. They often implicate specific corporate executives or managers. They can involve any type of aberrant behavior including accounting mischief, safety practices, and sexual activities.

Other types of crisis include: Accidents and disasters. These cover terrorist activities, plant fires and explosions, vehicle crashes, disease outbreaks, and other man-made catastrophes or natural disasters. Corporate crises in this category can be “no fault” for the company or the organization may bear full responsibility. The BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico is an example. Product, service or staff snafus.  These are negative customer experiences caused by employees, usually reported on social media or captured by citizen journalists. The category also involves product defects. Antagonistic attacks. These involve online or offline actions initiated by customers, competitors, activists or regulators who have a bone to pick with your business.

While the standard PR crisis playbook can apply to most crises, the Volkswagen emissions scandal is far from typical. It involves intentional government rule breaking, rather than straightforward mistakes involved in other recalls. The wrongdoing almost certainly involves many VW engineers and decision-makers, not just a few people as in many other PR crises.

The emissions test fraud was one of the most egregious examples of corporate misconduct in recent times, perhaps exceeded only by Enron’s financial fraud in the previous decade. Unlike most other examples of corporate maleficence, the emissions test rigging impacts most everyone in the world by causing more pollution. 

The PR Crisis Management Playbook The standard PR crisis playbook calls for corporations to: Follow a previously prepared crisis management plan that defines the decision-making process, spokespersons, outlets to contact, communications channels, and which stakeholders to update. Act quickly. Quickly disseminating information and responding to media inquiries is essential in crisis communication. The first 48 hours are critical. Silence enables speculation and reflects badly on the brand, as media outlets will publish stories and the public will reach conclusions whether the company comments or not. Be open and transparent. Release all the information you have in an open dialogue with the press and the public, using both traditional and social media channels, including the organization’s website and other owned media. Apologize. Delivering an appropriate, timely and sincere apology is a vital part of responding to a crisis. PR and business executives can learn from previous corporate apologies. Quickly cut ties with company employees, employees of affiliated firms or celebrity spokespeople accused of wrongdoing. Make amends. Provide help for any victims and their families. Demonstrate that the company is taking steps to protect the public. Actions speak louder than words in these situations. Monitor the situation. Employ a media monitoring service to obtain up-to-the-minute reports, identify media mentions that call for responses and gauge the effectiveness of  corporate communications.

Steven Levitt, president of Marketing Evaluations Inc., which produces Q Scores, responds that expecting people to fill out 46 attributes on 25 celebrities in one sitting, as E-Poll does, is unreasonable. His company's relatively simple rating—respondents can either indicate that they don't know a celebrity, or rate him or her on a scale of 1 to 5—allows him to ask respondents to rate 450 celebrities in one sitting, he says. But Q Scores are collected by mail, a time-consuming process that happens at most twice a year, unless a client makes a special request. As a result, the company's latest Woods numbers date from last summer, before he became gossip-page fodder. At the time the golfer had a positive Q score of 28—meaning he was named as a favorite by 28% of the 86% of respondents who recognized his name. His negative Q score—the percentage of those who knew him and rated him only fair or poor—was 19. These figures were little changed from six years earlier.

But these numbers can't be truly validated, as most of those who produce them say. There is no way to know if casting someone with a higher ranking in a movie or ad guarantees a bigger box-office take or more sales.