Some of us watch the Super Bowl for the ads. (Hand raised.)
Oh sure, touchdowns and Tom Brady are great. But I’m in it for those 30-second clips that give me a glimpse into how Matthew Broderick would spend a day off or realize just what Jerry Seinfeld would do to be the first in line for a new Acura.

It used to be that we actually had to wait for game day to see what was in store for us. But this is 2012. And in the tidal wave that is social media, many of this year’s advertisers aren’t waiting for game day to make us laugh, talk and think. They’re getting more bang for their multi-million dollar campaign buck by going viral. It’s a smart strategy in any ad campaign, but when you’re talking about the most highly anticipated ads of the year, it’s a no-brainer. When else do we actually “stay tuned” for the commercials?

About half of the advertisers who will air their ads during the Super Bowl this year have already launched their commercials online or put out teaser videos in hopes of being the first to spark our interest. And it’s working.

Uploaded onto YouTube on Jan. 26, Honda’s play on Ferris Bueller's Day Off has already garnered more than 10 million views. Audi’s glimpse at what happens when a new NSX arrives at a vampire party has logged more than 3 million. That’s not to mention the play these ads are getting on Facebook, bloggers’ websites and in television newscasts as anchors banter about the clever commercials. At $3.5 million for a single on-air play, the value of word-of-mouth is priceless.

While Super Bowl ads are the “ultimate” in advertising, they do serve as great examples of what is possible with social media. Crossing media platforms by using Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and traditional broadcast media can generate great buzz. And that should be the goal of any ad campaign: To get people looking, talking and taking action.

When it comes to PR and social media strategies for our clients, we are constantly looking at new ways to weave branding and messaging to reach that ultimate goal... to create a buzz that will enhance relationships between our clients and new or existing customers. Being social media savvy and studying multiple platforms to find what works in today’s quickly-changing world is just one way we stay ahead of that curve.

So this Sunday as you laugh your way through the commercial break, consider this: what will you remember most about the Super Bowl? Is it what’s happening on the field… or will your status update buzz a brand name instead?

Julie Swartz: Omaha floods
One of the most dominant local stories in 2011 was the flood and its ongoing impact on local families. The floods came at a time when Omaha was in the national spotlight – for the first College World Series at the new TD Ameritrade Park. The flood’s impact on Omaha was lasting and is the biggest local news story of the year, in my opinion.

Staci Dudley: Tornadoes in Joplin, Miss. and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Mother Nature’s wrath ended up being a great example of how generosity can triumph over tragedy. Seeing the media follow the story – from the initial impact of the storms, to the outpouring of support from around the country, to the lives being rebuilt afterward – made America feel connected. One national news program showed a home that had been leveled, with only a hallway still standing. The family who lived in that home had hidden in that very hallway – and they survived. I’ll never forget the miracle illustrated by that imagery.

Jenna Gabrial Gallagher: Middle East
The Middle East is a topic that always has a prominent place in international news. In 2011, social media led the charge in a relatively peaceful revolution. Would the chains of events leading to the falls of Mubarak and Qaddafi have been possible if people hadn’t felt empowered by revolutions elsewhere? In any other era, the iron fisted government control of media in these countries would have made revolution nearly impossible. In many ways, social media empowered the powerless.

Joni Williams: Casey Anthony trial
The judgment against Casey Anthony may have been innocent in the justice system, but in the court of public opinion, social media found Anthony guilty. Through the twists and turns of the trial, plus the ongoing news coverage and live-streaming of the verdict, the public was able to follow every detail of the case in real-time – and we were all hooked.

Sally Stalnaker: Millard South tragedy
The New Year started off with a dramatic story in Omaha news: The shooting death of the principal at Millard South High School, serious injury of the assistant principal and suicide of the shooter. Yet this story is another example of how tragedy can unite a community. In the hours, days and weeks after the shooting, the outpouring of unity and support from other schools, as well as the general public, was admirable.

Kristine Danley-Greiner: Gabrielle Giffords’ shooting
On Jan. 8, 2011, innocent bystanders were gunned down at a peaceful political gathering outside a busy local supermarket. Among the targets was Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic congresswoman from Arizona’s 8th District. Six people were killed, and Rep. Giffords suffered a near-fatal head wound. Moments before the shooting, Giffords had Tweeted that she was ready to begin her first “Congress on the Corner” event. Social media kept the public up-to-date on the events as they unfolded. Giffords’ spirit throughout this tragedy serves as an example of how good triumphs over evil and how a person with a wonderful spirit can persevere – even when faced with a dire situation.

Tom Albers: Osama bin Laden’s Death
As a news story, the death of Osama bin Laden came out of nowhere. After so many years, it seemed like we would never know what became of him. And, all of a sudden, bin Laden had become a trending topic. While many bloggers have broken stories online, I will remember bin Laden’s demise as the first worldwide story where almost everyone, including myself, either heard about the story first through social media, or at the least, went to the web for confirmation prior to President Obama’s telecast.

These are just a few examples of news stories that resonated with our staff, and I’m sure we could pick several more. Please share with us your top news story for 2011 and how it has impacted you.

It helps create financial stability and local ownership which, in the opinion of this Omaha native and admirer of the news business, are a winning combination.

I know some in our community are concerned about the influence that Berkshire Hathaway, in general, and Warren Buffett, specifically, could have on the newspaper’s editorial policies and coverage decisions. But Buffett’s track record as the owner of other newspapers suggests that these concerns are unfounded.

The editorial integrity of the newspaper would be in far greater jeopardy if it had been forced to become part of a larger (read: out-of-town) news chain. Not that this was necessarily on the table, but it could have been a reasonable option to consider for financial stability. As a World-Herald news reporter stated on his personal Facebook page last week, while employee ownership was preferred, a sale of some sort was inevitable.

In the last 10 to 20 years, the trend across the country has been to consolidate news organizations into conglomerates. This isn’t all bad, but in these cases the biggest threat to the integrity of local news operations can often be the financial decisions that are made for the benefit of the entire chain -- without consideration for how these decisions impact the quality of local news. The reality is, even though you may be running a profitable local news operation, corporate budget decisions may tie the local publisher’s hands.

The World-Herald faced some tough decisions of its own, and as the newspaper outlined in its Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, edition, it took several individuals – Terry Kroeger, Mogens Bay and Walter Scott – to make this deal happen. It’s reassuring to me that that these decisions were made by Omahans for Omaha’s newspaper.

The Buffett purchase is good news all around, for the newspaper’s employees, the World-Herald’s retired stockholders who will be able to receive cash for their investments and the entire state of Nebraska.

This week Omaha will be able to recognize a sampling of the abundant young talent who are leading our city into the future. On Friday morning, the Midlands Business Journal will honor its 2011 40 Under 40 recipients – 40 young, local professionals who have accomplished significant business milestones or made a notable difference in our community.

We have the pleasure of working with three of this year’s winners, and I can attest that they are all extremely deserving of the honor. Albers clients who are being honored in 2011 are:

Nicole Mitchell of M7 Marketing, Inc. – We started working with Nicole six weeks after she opened the doors to her full-service, organic transportation solutions company. It’s been our pleasure to accompany Nicole on her quick journey to becoming an industry leader. We also helped Nicole launch her organic nonprofit, My Organic Nation, which combines her personal and professional passion and expertise.

Steve Heller of P&L Technology – Steve has had a bright career at P&L, leading the company’s client acquisition efforts and contributing to its 35 percent growth in 2010. We’ve been fortunate enough to work with Steve and P&L this year, and it’s easy to see how he helps the company remain on the fast track; P&L was named one of Inc. Magazine’s list of 5,000 fastest growing companies in the U.S. for 2011.

Clark Bellin of Mundy & Associates – Clark has been a longtime client, and he is truly a brilliant financial advisor. His ability to stay on top of the ever-changing economy, especially through the turbulence of the stock market, is a testament to his passion for his work. He always keeps his clients aware of how the stock market is impacting their investments, and he understands that open communication is key to building a long-term, trusted relationship.

We’re so honored to work with each of these bright, young individuals and look forward to celebrating this honor on Friday. Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients on your success.

The events of the past several days have been dizzying from a crisis management perspective. And I don’t necessarily think the correct steps have been taken as the details of the case have unfolded.

A few questions to consider:

Has Penn State acted quickly enough? Might seem like a silly question, considering the scandal has lingered deep in the university’s underbelly for more than 15 years. While the governing body may have stubbed its toe by initially taking a series of small steps – canceling the weekly news conference, for example – they were finally able to slow the momentum of the crisis through one grand gesture – last evening’s firing of Joe Paterno.

What will happen to the school’s reputation in the long-term? Universities have faced PR problems before. The sex and drug scandal involving boosters at the University of Miami in 2010 is one example (although the key players and circumstances were very different). The Penn State scandal involves university officials, secrets, lies, cover-ups – and the lives of several innocent children. History books will write this as more than just a blemish on the school’s record.

What does the scandal mean for Paterno’s legacy? Fans of Penn State and Paterno may remain loyal in spite of the controversy. Surely you can’t argue with Paterno’s win record, the amount of money he’s brought to the school, what he’s meant to college football, and the money he has donated and raised for worthwhile causes. But I would argue that his moral judgment should be called into question for failing not to do everything he could to help the victims and prevent this from continuing to happen.

In a statement released yesterday, Paterno said the following:

“This is a tragedy,” Paterno, 84, said through an independent public relations firm. “It is one of the great sorrows of my life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more.”

Does this statement go far enough? Is the termination of Paterno enough? Not in my opinion. The fall-out from the scandal, along with the interview requests and amount of press will only intensify as time goes on. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here, but I’m crushed for the innocent lives that were ruined for the sake of protecting a football brand.

How would you recommend Penn State attempt to recover from this scandal?

I had the celeb’s number because she was a contact in my former job, but we’re not exactly friends. Luckily, she was cool about the whole thing. Charmed, even. But we both agreed it was insane to be phone-stalked by a toddler.

That’s the beauty of an iPhone. So easy, even a two-year-old can figure it out.

A few hours later, I glanced at my TweetDeck app and saw Steve Jobs was trending. I just knew… but I tapped on Facebook to confirm. Sure enough, all the early adopters from high school were eulogizing their fallen hero. Acquaintances were re-posting his TED speech. Sentimentalists had found the old Think Different ads and changed their profile pics accordingly.

I thought about the irony of this. It’s thanks in no small part to Jobs and his iCult that social media has become such an important part of our lives. Would we really be able to keep up with Facebook and Twitter as well as we do if we couldn’t check it out while standing in line at Starbucks? Would we shoot and upload as many videos to YouTube if the camera and the app weren’t already pre-loaded on our phones? Would Foursquare even exist?

IPhones weren’t the first, and they’re probably not even the best, but they are the most iconic. They taught us to expect our phones to be all that. Most iPhone owners would agree that the phone is the least useful function on the machine, but through them – and their close relatives, iPads – Steve Jobs has given us the power to reach out and touch… every minute of every day.

Tom Albers, at left, with Pancake Man Jim Kuper

This past weekend, I had the rare opportunity to work side-by-side one of Omaha’s brand-building gurus.

No, it wasn’t Warren Buffett, Chip Davis, or Conor Oberst.

From a local perspective, there are few brands that are better known within the Omaha-metro area than The Pancake Man For curiosity sake, last night at a large family gathering, I asked the crowd how many people have been at an event catered by The Pancake Man….100 percent of the hands in the room went up.

The Pancake Man, whose real name is Jim Kuper, has been entertaining crowds and helping nonprofit organizations raise money for 25 years. This weekend, for the annual Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast held in conjunction with River City Roundup in downtown Omaha, The Pancake Man’s batter preparer didn’t show up for work. According to Jim, this is the first time in a quarter century that this has ever happened.

As a Kiwanis volunteer at the event, I was asked if I would help The Pancake Man prepare his famous batter. Are you kidding me? I’ve always wanted to know what it feels like to prepare a secret recipe in a huge batch, just like they do in the kitchens on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

I could tell The Pancake Man was a little nervous about leaving his product in the hands of an unknown…me. But after a few pointers, and a few successful batches, he became comfortable with me as his baking assistant.

Throughout the morning, between his stints at the huge griddle, I asked The Pancake Man about his success. He attributes his brand recognition and loyal following to delivering a consistently good product at a price that no one else can match. Where else can a nonprofit organization or corporation receive a fully catered meal for less than $3 per person? He calls his business recession-proof since sales actually go up when the economy goes down.

He says the third element in his staying power is the entertainment factor. Right from the company’s start, the former farm equipment salesman knew that he had to stand out from the competition…and so was born the idea of tossing pancakes hot off the griddle to hungry dinners standing across the room with their plates held out in anticipation of catching a fresh flapjack. It adds fun and electricity to any event.

I think all of us who are responsible for helping companies build their brands can learn important lessons from The Pancake Man. Ultimately a brand is all about the relationship your customers have with your people, products and services. Does that experience leave them feeling flat as a pancake or does it consistently leave them wanting more?

However, is it realistic to accept that Facebook won’t make changes to enhance its service? Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is just a way for Zuckerberg and his underlings to mess with your head; it’s not. All businesses need to adapt with the times. We don’t have to understand why the service changes – and we certainly don’t have to like it – but we do have to appreciate that there’s undoubtedly a business strategy behind the cosmetic restructure.

In order to remain relevant, competitive and top-of-mind, all businesses – from the mom and pop grocery store down the street to multi-billion dollar companies like Facebook – need to have a strategy in place to best serve their customers…and gain new ones. It would be curious to see how many new users joined Facebook today, amidst all of the national press about the updates.

When it comes to our PR and social media clients, it’s fair to say that we have adopted the “Facebook strategy.” What I mean by that is that we’re constantly thinking of new ways to reach new customers, enhance relationships with existing ones and increase name recognition for their companies or brands. Isn’t that precisely what Facebook has done today? Certainly everybody is talking about it.

Which leads me to think of another old saying that doesn’t always hold true…There’s no such thing as bad press.

But etched even more vividly will be those stories that got away. In PR, especially when dealing with the media and breaking news, it’s a given that there are circumstances we don’t control.

I was reminded of this last week when the immediacy of severe storms washed out news coverage about a client’s new service.

One of my most memorable “breaking news” encounters was when I showed up early to help a client prepare for a TV interview, only to be told by the news crew via cell phone that they had been called off to cover a possible drowning at a nearby lake.

It turned out that the “capsized boat” was actually an inflated shark – a pool toy – turned upside down in the water. Of course, I was happy that no one was hurt. I found out shortly thereafter that the “shark” was set loose in the lake by a group of teenagers, which included the son of one of our staff members.

For me, the infamous OJ Simpson trial is synonymous with lost exposure opportunities. On the day the verdict came down, while many people were ruing the jury’s decision, my most immediate concern was that the extended news coverage of the decision had bumped several of our clients from live interview spots that had been scheduled weeks in advance.

The silver lining is that there are times where you can turn the momentum of the news cycle in your favor. For example, within the past few weeks we’ve had our clients displaying their expertise in big, urgent news stories about subjects such as the dramatic stock market fluctuations and flooding.

It reminds me of the time we were able to achieve coverage for one of our clients in USA Today for the good works done by their employees in Mississippi in response to hurricane Katrina.

I’d love to hear your own stories of media coverage that didn’t happen because of breaking news, or how you were able to turn the news cycle tide in your favor.

Each issue sounds familiar and has been a topic of discussion for our staff. Have we figured out all the answers? No, but we’re constantly working toward solutions and we realize what worked yesterday probably isn’t good enough today.

Here’s what the PRSA Counselors Academy identified as the top issues facing agencies when they surveyed attendees at the spring conference:

• Connecting PR to the C Suite
• Demonstrating ROI
• Measuring Results
• Providing Authentic, Strategic Counsel
• Mastering Social Media
• Recruiting and Retaining Talent

Connecting PR to the C Suite: Ask 10 different people what PR means, and you will likely get 10 different answers. If you’re not familiar with PR and aren’t involved in the process, understanding its place in your company’s strategy can be a challenge.

Demonstrating ROI: Business leaders who employ a PR strategy want to understand what they’re getting in return for their investment. Because PR is a long-term approach, it can be challenging to show immediate results. ROI will become evident over time, but it requires commitment to a PR plan.

Measuring Results: We are probably asked this question more often than any other – how do I know if PR is working? Just like any management function, your PR plan should be supported with specific and measurable objectives. You’ll know if PR is working if you are reaching your objectives. So, yes, PR is measurable.

Providing Authentic, Strategic Counsel: PR shouldn’t be done in absence of a strategy. We work with our clients to fully understand their business before recommending anything tactical. And we take client feedback every step of the way as we execute your company’s PR plan. Sometimes the best authentic, strategic counsel is to be honest enough to tell prospective clients that PR may not be the right approach to reach their particular objectives.

Mastering Social Media: You know the saying: The more things change, the more they stay the same. With the ever-changing nature of social media, staying one step ahead while simultaneously mastering the current tools that are most valuable to our clients is part of our jobs every day.

Recruiting and Retaining Talent: PR isn’t easy, and it’s not for the thin-skinned. It takes tenacity, strategic thinking and commitment. Some people are a good fit for PR, and some aren’t. We’re lucky to have a team of PR experts who are passionate about helping our clients tell their stories.

While we identify with these top issues facing PR firms, our focus is always on how we can help our clients achieve their strategic growth and visibility goals. When we do this, everything else takes care of itself.