The Center for PR Education: How Managers Hit PR Paydirt: "As a business, non-profit or association manager, you'll know it's PR paydirt when you're able to persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your department, division or subsidiary's success.
But to realise such results, you'll have to get personally involved with the public relations people assigned to your unit. Then shift their emphasis from communications tactics to a workable and comprehensive blueprint that will lead to your success as a unit manager.
A blueprint, for example, like this: people act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished."
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Levels of Geek speak for PR's
It is said that it does not take long to learn the basics of computer programming languages. Its not something I have done.
My approach to programming language is the same as my approach to other languages. When in Rome I speak English with a smattering of Italian words picked up on the way. Its fun and it puts me in the mood and, fortunately, Italians have a great sense of humour.
Most computers also have a sense of humour about the misuse of programming language . Sometimes its difficult to see the smile lines round the eyes when your frustration at you own incompetence boils over.
I would recommend that PR student did an appreciation course, just to get over the hang up between arts and sciences and find the smile lines of a geeks best friend.
What to learn? Try this list.
Oh yes, to find out what it is you will need a phrase book.
My approach to programming language is the same as my approach to other languages. When in Rome I speak English with a smattering of Italian words picked up on the way. Its fun and it puts me in the mood and, fortunately, Italians have a great sense of humour.
Most computers also have a sense of humour about the misuse of programming language . Sometimes its difficult to see the smile lines round the eyes when your frustration at you own incompetence boils over.
I would recommend that PR student did an appreciation course, just to get over the hang up between arts and sciences and find the smile lines of a geeks best friend.
What to learn? Try this list.
Oh yes, to find out what it is you will need a phrase book.
ONline PR tools and channels
A very, but by no means comprehensive, list of channels and devices for collaborative conversation with corporate constituencies is provided by Go2Web20.
A browse through these ideas may be valuable when trying to come up with a really cool creative approach.
A browse through these ideas may be valuable when trying to come up with a really cool creative approach.
State of play for Mobile Internet
I found this article by Dan Simmons, at the BBC very helpful because it puts the use and application of mobile web into perspective as a channel for communication.
It seems to be a bit of a turnoff but getting my gmail on my mobile is OK . It is a bit slow but then I seldom read email on my mobile in a rush.
Mobile web is coming and is important.
In the meantime there are a lot of communications channels that are available on mobiles that perform brilliantly and should be considered for all PR campaigns (even if they are then cast aside in for some reason).
It seems to be a bit of a turnoff but getting my gmail on my mobile is OK . It is a bit slow but then I seldom read email on my mobile in a rush.
Mobile web is coming and is important.
In the meantime there are a lot of communications channels that are available on mobiles that perform brilliantly and should be considered for all PR campaigns (even if they are then cast aside in for some reason).
Saturday, September 16, 2006
If you are a podcaster
You may like to note that directing your audience to iTunes to download your podcast may be a problem for your audience.
I noticed problems today and see that c|net has a report:
I noticed problems today and see that c|net has a report:
Apple unveiled iTunes 7 on Tuesday at an event in San Francisco. The new version delivers new features like Cover Flow, a parade of album artwork, and allows iTunes Store customers to buy movies from studios owned by Disney. It was available for download on Tuesday following the event, but the early feedback has not been positive.
The tipping month for UK political blogging
The three main parties are falling over themselves to woo this new breed of political blogger, offering computer facilities, background briefings and even access to big name politicians.
For Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats it is not just about appearing to be on top of the latest media trend - or showing how open to debate and criticism they are.
It is about getting a toe-hold in a medium which has been growing in influence at Westminster.
So says BBC Political Reporter Brian Wheeler
As the politiacl conference season revs up, this year will be a big year for blogging and I guess podcasting and video casting online. It is something to watch if you have a PR role with a political element.
A twist to traditional blogging
The scientific journal Nature is to adopt an open peer-review system to judge papers submitted for publication.
It may mean that lawyers and product managers will truly be singing of the same hymn sheet.
Manuscripts will be uploaded to a pre-print server and made available online in what is essentially a blog, allowing members of the scientific community to comment on the content's merit, reports PC Pro.
The range of applications for new media is very wide and this is an example. Inagine doing the same for internal reviewing and aproval for draft 'press release' or online comment prior to publication.It may mean that lawyers and product managers will truly be singing of the same hymn sheet.
Discredited by association with astroturfing
Be careful who you work with.
Netribution made this comment about Google:
BoingBoing is reporting that Google have appointed controversial Washington-based lobying and 'astroturfing' firm DCI to represent them in the US. DCI, run by Republican Party officials, came into public controversy earlier in the year when the Washington Post revealed it had pretended to be a 29 year old basement filmmaker to post a YouTube video attacking Al Gore and his film An Inconvenient Truth, released this week in the UK.
Pointing to This comment from Boing Boing:
Google's new lobbyists: lying, astroturfing, push-polling scumbags
Google's new DC lobbyists have a reputation for slime, astroturfing and push-polling.
The result of hiring a company associated with Astroturfing and other practices that are unpopular with social media commentators is probably not helpful to Google's reputation.
As Google becomes more pervasive in people's lives, its relationship with governments will become more important and any interface will be scrutinised in a very different light because of these comments.
There will be commentators who will look at this appointment in the light of the Google philosophy of 'do no evil'. For many Astroturfing is not good if not evil
Netribution made this comment about Google:
BoingBoing is reporting that Google have appointed controversial Washington-based lobying and 'astroturfing' firm DCI to represent them in the US. DCI, run by Republican Party officials, came into public controversy earlier in the year when the Washington Post revealed it had pretended to be a 29 year old basement filmmaker to post a YouTube video attacking Al Gore and his film An Inconvenient Truth, released this week in the UK.
Pointing to This comment from Boing Boing:
Google's new lobbyists: lying, astroturfing, push-polling scumbags
Google's new DC lobbyists have a reputation for slime, astroturfing and push-polling.
The result of hiring a company associated with Astroturfing and other practices that are unpopular with social media commentators is probably not helpful to Google's reputation.
As Google becomes more pervasive in people's lives, its relationship with governments will become more important and any interface will be scrutinised in a very different light because of these comments.
There will be commentators who will look at this appointment in the light of the Google philosophy of 'do no evil'. For many Astroturfing is not good if not evil
What Clients want - really want
Neville Hobson has a great post about how new media is being applied by the Public Relations industry. There are two video clips that are a 'must see'.
They are short contributions by David Brain, CEO Europe at Edelman, and Pete Blackshaw, CMO at Nielsen Buzzmetrics.
I would also recomend the contribution of Pete Blackshaw on 60Secondview about engaing with people who interact on line about brands.
These contributions are further demonstrations of how significant social media has become to the practice of Public Relations.
Note also that these video clips are also applications of New Media in their own right.
They are short contributions by David Brain, CEO Europe at Edelman, and Pete Blackshaw, CMO at Nielsen Buzzmetrics.
I would also recomend the contribution of Pete Blackshaw on 60Secondview about engaing with people who interact on line about brands.
These contributions are further demonstrations of how significant social media has become to the practice of Public Relations.
Note also that these video clips are also applications of New Media in their own right.
On line video is BIG
The PR industry has a big opportunity. Video.
Almost 40% of internet users download and watch videos on the web, according to a survey of 10,000 consumers. Reflecting the explosion in networking websites such as Bebo and video download site YouTube, the research also found that just over half of all young people (54%) want to create or share their own content on the web, reports Tara Conlan of the Guardian.
Almost 40% of internet users download and watch videos on the web, according to a survey of 10,000 consumers. Reflecting the explosion in networking websites such as Bebo and video download site YouTube, the research also found that just over half of all young people (54%) want to create or share their own content on the web, reports Tara Conlan of the Guardian.
The global study by consultancy Accenture found that audiences want more control over where and when they watch footage, and they want to make more of their own.
Sounds like an opportunity.
The drumbeat of XPRL
Last Thursday, there was an XPRL
First I have to say how delighted I was to meet Chris who I met via an introduction from For Immediate Release. He is great fun. It was very generous of him to make the effort to fly the Atlantic in time for the meeting and even more so to be invited to the inauguration of the London Chapter of the Social Media Club.
His summary of the central XPRL issue is this:
The nitty gritty part for me is the notion of interoperability. Which means that a client is able to use information, from many sources and plan and implement aims and strategies with tactical ease. The need to respond to developments that offer advantage or disrupt relationships as communication gets faster and to a wider audience means we now need new tools. They need to be able to draw together and distribute information and need a common, global language. We now need the underlying technology in place.
As I put it on Chris's blog:
First I have to say how delighted I was to meet Chris who I met via an introduction from For Immediate Release. He is great fun. It was very generous of him to make the effort to fly the Atlantic in time for the meeting and even more so to be invited to the inauguration of the London Chapter of the Social Media Club.
His summary of the central XPRL issue is this:
As the Chair of the group, Mike Granatt was trying to dig at some key questions, including “Why would the large stakeholders support this effort tactically and financially?” The group came up with 4 primary answers that I noted (in addition to several other secondary reasons):
- Financial savings through decreased effort required and easier interoperability of disparate systems that would lead to projects that have greater impact than traditional press releases.
- The added value of search engine optimization through distributing structured information instead of the typical unstructured format
- A stronger potential for measurement and tracking than currently exists with clipping services
- The future capabilities and innovations that will come as a result of a common standard
The nitty gritty part for me is the notion of interoperability. Which means that a client is able to use information, from many sources and plan and implement aims and strategies with tactical ease. The need to respond to developments that offer advantage or disrupt relationships as communication gets faster and to a wider audience means we now need new tools. They need to be able to draw together and distribute information and need a common, global language. We now need the underlying technology in place.
As I put it on Chris's blog:
XPRL needs to become the background drumbeat to the tools we use in our work. Without it, PR can have no rhythm and it is forced to serve the pounding timpani of others while our work is served up in musical phrases, each a delight but together, a cacophony lacking harmony and coherence. In an Internet mediated era, the output becomes ever more raucous.Its a good time to get rhythm.
One of the best bits on his blog post are the photos of the event which he posted to Flickr.
"This is your audience you want to attack, fool"
There is no doubt that the entertainment moguls are have not yet understood that riding rogh shod over their customers is barbaric.
Apparently not happy with how negotiations are going with YouTube and MySpace, Universal CEO Doug Morris is threatening action over what he sees as copyright infringement of Universal's music videos illegally posted to sites. He told an investor conference:
Them's fightin' words says Business2Blog. To which media critic/blogger Jeff Jarvis responds:
Media executives are realizing that there is a lot of advertising money to be made from online videos and their attitude is to try to grab as much of it as they can. But the YouTubes of the world are saying, "Wait a second. Don't just slap ads on this. The videos are a form of marketing in and of themselves."
Apparently not happy with how negotiations are going with YouTube and MySpace, Universal CEO Doug Morris is threatening action over what he sees as copyright infringement of Universal's music videos illegally posted to sites. He told an investor conference:
We believe these new businesses are copyright infringers and owe us tens of millions of dollars. "How we deal with these companies will be revealed shortly.
Them's fightin' words says Business2Blog. To which media critic/blogger Jeff Jarvis responds:
This is your audience you want to attack, fool. They are marketing and distributing your music for you. Don’t want them to? Fine. Plenty more where you came from.
Media executives are realizing that there is a lot of advertising money to be made from online videos and their attitude is to try to grab as much of it as they can. But the YouTubes of the world are saying, "Wait a second. Don't just slap ads on this. The videos are a form of marketing in and of themselves."
Your podcast chances are good
A good PR podcast will compete quite effectively with commercial sound tracks if this BBC report of Jupiter research is right.
The Jupiter Research report reveals that, on average, only 20 of the tracks on a iPod will be from the iTunes shop. Far more important to iPod owners, said the study, was free music ripped from CDs someone already owned or acquired from file-sharing sites.
That site could easily be one run by a public relations department.
The Jupiter Research report reveals that, on average, only 20 of the tracks on a iPod will be from the iTunes shop. Far more important to iPod owners, said the study, was free music ripped from CDs someone already owned or acquired from file-sharing sites.
That site could easily be one run by a public relations department.
Friday, September 15, 2006
The Next CIPR Chair after the next one
Elisabeth Lewis-Jones, director of Midland’s based consultancy Liquid Public Relations, has been elected President of the Charted Institute of Public Relations for 2008 reports the CIPR magazine Profile.
The 8th woman President of the CIPR, Elisabeth will take up her presidency on 1st January 2008, the Institute’s 60th anniversary year. Before taking over the position, she will serve as President Elect to Lionel Zetter, CIPR President for 2007.
Elisabeth, who has nearly 15 years’ experience working both in-house and in consultancy, is a former CIPR Young Communicator of the Year and chair of the CIPR in the Midlands. Today she is director and co-founder of Liquid Public Relations and a director and Honorary Treasurer of the CIPR.
Office 2007 beta 1.1.1
Microsoft is releasing the latest version of Office 2007, scheduled for mass market launch early next year.
The new version of the code has been altered based on feedback from earlier betas and is free to all existing beta 2 users. The company says it has improved performance, built in better product integration, improved collaboration tools and added general 'fit and finish' changes.
Sir Martin and the Tivo poacher create a gamekeeper and top gun
I love this Guardian story. WPP Group has signed an advertising deal with digital video recorder company TiVo. TiVo allows US users skip TV commercials. Tivo then developed a product that allowed it to show adverts from its own software.
It, in effect, replaces one advert with another. Under the deal, GroupM - WPP's combined media planning and buying agency - will buy an agreed minimum amount of TiVo advertising.
What I cannot understand is that if people try to avoid watching these horrid little adverting interruptions to their lives and go to extra-ordinary lengths to do so, why keep putting them in?
Soon TV adverts will be the kiss of death to brands. Both geese and both golden eggs gone in a moment of greed.
This could be a two way street. The advertising industry's lip smacking visits to The Ivy and eye-wateringly expensive trips to Cannes means that fewer than half of financial directors believe their agencies are trustworthy, according to a survey.
It, in effect, replaces one advert with another. Under the deal, GroupM - WPP's combined media planning and buying agency - will buy an agreed minimum amount of TiVo advertising.
I bet there will be a row over this and most of it will come from people who find scream marketing offensive and can't escape.
This is a big issue and one that the digital channel FX and others are trying to resolve. They find that people are getting very creative in time shifting to avoid watching advertisements.What I cannot understand is that if people try to avoid watching these horrid little adverting interruptions to their lives and go to extra-ordinary lengths to do so, why keep putting them in?
Soon TV adverts will be the kiss of death to brands. Both geese and both golden eggs gone in a moment of greed.
This could be a two way street. The advertising industry's lip smacking visits to The Ivy and eye-wateringly expensive trips to Cannes means that fewer than half of financial directors believe their agencies are trustworthy, according to a survey.
The Accounting for Creativity report, conducted with 100 financial directors in the creative services industry by independent research company Loudhouse, revealed that only 42% of those surveyed thought that clients perceived their agencies to be trustworthy.
Clients think they are being ripped off, customers turned off by the adds the Advertsing industry still thinks it has a future.Tomorrow, you have to get on line and try it out
If you have not already tried it out its time you did. YouTube is the fastest growing online brand in the UK, increasing the number of its users by nearly 500% in the first six months of 2006. It is a must for PR practice and offers a wide range of opportunities. With 3.6 million unique users in July, YouTube is used by more than one in eight Internet users in the UK.
Thank you to the Guardian for pointing it out but Put another way. This is 6% of the UK population. Its bigger than the Sun or the Mirror. Its 'readership' bigger than any newspaper. It can be on your 'press list' by Monday morning.
Thank you to the Guardian for pointing it out but Put another way. This is 6% of the UK population. Its bigger than the Sun or the Mirror. Its 'readership' bigger than any newspaper. It can be on your 'press list' by Monday morning.
Websites with user-generated content dominate the top 10 hottest online brands, according to Internet research outfit Nielsen NetRatings.
YouTube beat rival social networking sites Flickr, which increased by only 131%, and Rupert Murdoch-owned MySpace, which is only up by up 98%.
Now... we are talking 6 (yes SIX) months here not year on year.Come back in a year and do not be surprised to find that 15% of the uk total (baby Fiona, mum, dad, grandma and uncle Herbert) population all using YouTube.
Net inside the net
PR colleagues will have an excellent opportunity to develop platforms and channels for communication in thier very own private Internet.
The health service in the UK is linking everyone up using BT as the vendor.
"We have quietly created Europe's largest virtual private network that will connect every NHS site in England, enabling information to travel at great speeds between those sites," said the chief executive for BT's Global Services division Andy Green.
The network is due to be completed within 6 months. Currently 15,000 offices have been connected and he network will eventually link 18,000 hospitals and GP surgeries.
Source IT Pro.
The health service in the UK is linking everyone up using BT as the vendor.
"We have quietly created Europe's largest virtual private network that will connect every NHS site in England, enabling information to travel at great speeds between those sites," said the chief executive for BT's Global Services division Andy Green.
The network is due to be completed within 6 months. Currently 15,000 offices have been connected and he network will eventually link 18,000 hospitals and GP surgeries.
Source IT Pro.
Never before have so many Marketing People been so confused
“Never have there been so many media options available to advertisers and consumers, a trend that has both excited and frustrated brand marketers as media buying decisions have become more complicated by a market veering toward new media. But traditional media companies have responded by investing in multiple media platforms to reach this increasingly fragmented audience." said James Rutherfurd, executive vice president and managing director at VSS in an e-commerce article.
Now that old media has cottoned on the the idea that on-line is not about washing clothes and Google and others have presented statistics stuff to make decision making based on facts hard to avoid.
Add to this the growth of social media and the poor old marketing mind is in a whirl.
In PR we do have to recognise the growing range of communications platfoms and the range of channels available to us and the we have to plan.
Now that old media has cottoned on the the idea that on-line is not about washing clothes and Google and others have presented statistics stuff to make decision making based on facts hard to avoid.
Add to this the growth of social media and the poor old marketing mind is in a whirl.
In PR we do have to recognise the growing range of communications platfoms and the range of channels available to us and the we have to plan.
Optimising email marketing ROI
Some people like me are pathalogically averse to email marketing (you dont know me and want to send an email - phone or get your news to find me) but most are less irritated and some are quite sangine.
This made me look more closely at the article in e-commerce about email marketing.
The article and the white paper it references are both helpful and informative.
Can I now un peg my nose
This made me look more closely at the article in e-commerce about email marketing.
The article and the white paper it references are both helpful and informative.
Can I now un peg my nose
Add interactive content to Google Earth.
Google has added interactive content from the Discovery Channel and other providers to popular geospatial software Google Earth.
The overlays can be accessed by clicking a box in the software's sidebar, and support videos, photos, RSS feeds and blogs.
Is every corporate headquarters going to be added? Or can PR practitioners be much much more creativeThe Discovery Channel, for example, is offering video segments about landmarks, cities and tourist attractions around the world ..
"Google Earth Featured Content is a way for Google to connect users with really compelling, high-quality information being illustrated and shared on Google Earth," said John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps.
Create your own newspaper
I owe someone an apology. They pointed me to this and I just can't track back to who did it but its great.
Create your own morning or evening newspaper from Simply Headlines is really cool. You select where you want the news to come from and there it is in a newspaper. So your daily news could be from this blog, the BBC or the Economist or all three.
Here is a clipping service for online stuff.
It also has that half way house element about it.
People keep telling me that clients like to see paper, well here it is.
Create your own morning or evening newspaper from Simply Headlines is really cool. You select where you want the news to come from and there it is in a newspaper. So your daily news could be from this blog, the BBC or the Economist or all three.
Here is a clipping service for online stuff.
It also has that half way house element about it.
People keep telling me that clients like to see paper, well here it is.
Mobile - and NewsCorp - and bigness
I have no difficulty with agreeing with News Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Chernin
“I’m dead serious when I say that mobile could be one of the greatest entertainment platforms we’ve created.”
We have known for quite some time that the "mobile world" was going to be hot. In Asia, it has been for a long time and people maintain a very personal attachment to their phones.
Using a mobile phone, consumers can now pay bills, check a bank account, download books, games, and news content, surf the Web, podcast, share photos, download ring tones and music, and more.
So far none of these wonderful applications has taken hold.
Partly this is because of the silly pricing models associated with mobile. calls cost (almost) nothing and are chared, phones cost mony and are given away. It nuts.
The bundling of services is far too complex.
The application that allows someone into your head and imagination is a different to video and text but each of these is treated in the same way.
But - Mobile is big. We need the imagination to tap its potential.
“I’m dead serious when I say that mobile could be one of the greatest entertainment platforms we’ve created.”
We have known for quite some time that the "mobile world" was going to be hot. In Asia, it has been for a long time and people maintain a very personal attachment to their phones.
Using a mobile phone, consumers can now pay bills, check a bank account, download books, games, and news content, surf the Web, podcast, share photos, download ring tones and music, and more.
So far none of these wonderful applications has taken hold.
Partly this is because of the silly pricing models associated with mobile. calls cost (almost) nothing and are chared, phones cost mony and are given away. It nuts.
The bundling of services is far too complex.
The application that allows someone into your head and imagination is a different to video and text but each of these is treated in the same way.
But - Mobile is big. We need the imagination to tap its potential.
IP, copyright, secrets and who pays
Confused of Calcutta is a really good place to go if you want to be challenged. I go a lot.
The issue of Intelectual properties, patents and copyright is one that has bugged me for a while. I like owning what I own but keep finding out that when I share it, I get back more. This applies to software, comment and research and even this blog. I am more than please that these thoughts are also in the mind of a Nobel laureate.
JP Rangaswami reports on what he has just said in New Scientist.
....... There’s a fascinating article by Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz in the latest New Scientist. Yes, of course it’s hidden behind a paywall, what did you expect? Here’s the stub.
I quote from the article:
- Locking up products with patents is an unfair and ineffective way to reward innovation.
- There is a growing sentiment that something is wrong with the system governing intellectual property.
- Recent years have seen a strengthening of IP rights…..The changes have been promoted especially by the pharmaceutical and entertainment industries, and by some in the software industry….
- …[some] patents take what was previously in the public domain and “privatise” it — what IP lawyers called the new “enclosure movement”.
- In any system, someone has to pay for research. In the current system, those unfortunate enough to have the disease are forced to pay the price, whether they are rich or poor. And that means the very poor in the developing world are condemned to death
Yahoo upgrades its mail service.
Mail is really key for Yahoo, and its 255 million e-mail users are one of its most valuable assets so this upgrade is important.
Yahoo mail is first or second preference for quite a lot of people and was my first on-line mail service (when Adam was a lad and eve was trying to get him into Usenet).
More information is available from Richard McManus.
Yahoo mail is first or second preference for quite a lot of people and was my first on-line mail service (when Adam was a lad and eve was trying to get him into Usenet).
More information is available from Richard McManus.
Understanding virtual environments
Dan Greenfield do have a great blog and his interview with Aaron Uhrmacher, senior account executive at Text 100 is an excellent insight into Second Life.
Aaron's opening comment of:
The full interview is here.
But its in more than an interview it is a Second Life case study. It shows why an organisation might like to use these kinds of channels for communication - for commercial gain.
Aaron's opening comment of:
"Our SL presence stemmed from a presentation that we made at the Arthur Page Society on the future of communications and social media. In our work, we are very involved in peer-to-peer media blogs wikis, podcasts, etc. SL allows for a more immersive form of communications. In SL, you can collaborate in three dimensions. "Is an excellent introduction as to why people in PR should understand this form of communication.
The full interview is here.
But its in more than an interview it is a Second Life case study. It shows why an organisation might like to use these kinds of channels for communication - for commercial gain.
Social Abuse on line - a danger to kids and organisations
The BBC reports Computing Which has called on social networking sites such as Bebo and MySpace to do more to police what users do.
A study of the sites by the consumer watchdog unearthed pornographic images, evidence of bullying and inappropriate adverts.
It also proved easy to pose as a child as the sites did no age or ID checks.
It is worth remebersing that the kids may be at risk but so too are corporate reputations using exactly the same deception and similar tactics.
from iPod to Zune
Microsoft has announced that its Zune digital music player will be released in the US in time for Christmas.
Unveiling more details of the player, which it hopes will rival Apple's iPod Features include: wireless connectivity (allowing nearby users to exchange songs and photos), an ability to play videos and includes a radio.
Which online videos are popular?
Scott Button, of Unruly Media in London, called his four-week-old project "the world's first comprehensive and independent online video chart." The Viral Video Chart, a hit parade tracking the most popular videos on YouTube, MySpace and Google Video is worth a look. Thanks for knowledge to BL Ochman who has more about the results - beam me up Scottie.
The point being that if you see what is popular, you may like to include similar content in your work.
The point being that if you see what is popular, you may like to include similar content in your work.
Issues blogging
A WILMSLOW dad has set up a boozers’ blog. Says the Wimslow Express.
The website for fellow drinkers to exchange views about local pubs and bars is a reaction to the police pubwatch scheme - which he claims is one sided.
Harry Bingley, of Church Street, set up the discussion site ‘pubs4people.com’ for people to chat about their experiences of Wilmslow’s pubs and clubs on the web.
The 50-year-old former marketing consultant says it is a reaction to the changing nature of the town’s pubs and clubs.
He hopes his website will redress the power balance of schemes like pubwatch and encourage publicans to think more about the views of the paying punter.
He said: "I recently saw a joke cartoon in the newspaper where a man was banned from a pub for smiling after happy hour - that just about sums it up for me."
This is the kind of site that is worth watching. It is the sort of blog that could become popular and so, for some organisations being involved in conversations relevant to this blogger may be interesting and advantageous.
Brand messages down on the farm
Among some constituents there is a common affinity that it just creates content.
The magazine Farmers Weekly has a blog running where farmers can comments on how well they are getting on with this autumn's drilling (that is planing seeds for you townies).
The latest news is here.
One of the interesting things to note is the branding that goes with it. Seed types are brands and many are specific to seedsmen. In this blog they get coverage (Google Juice).
PS, the winter wheat is now sown in the field behind us here in Wiltshire. The got it in yesterday just before it rained and rained and is still raining.
The magazine Farmers Weekly has a blog running where farmers can comments on how well they are getting on with this autumn's drilling (that is planing seeds for you townies).
The latest news is here.
One of the interesting things to note is the branding that goes with it. Seed types are brands and many are specific to seedsmen. In this blog they get coverage (Google Juice).
PS, the winter wheat is now sown in the field behind us here in Wiltshire. The got it in yesterday just before it rained and rained and is still raining.
My girlfriend bit my foot - celebs in the news
Spongebob has a blog. He is a celebrity Squirrel Monkey, cute and with many adventures to tell. Not least that his girlfriend bit his foot.... you could not make it up ... Unless you were Freddie Star's publicist.
Spongebob went missing from the theme park and zoo in July but was later found being played with by children in Clapham. He had been kidnapped.
What a great way to build a brand and bring visitors to see this charming celebrity. More from the BBC.
Spongebob went missing from the theme park and zoo in July but was later found being played with by children in Clapham. He had been kidnapped.
What a great way to build a brand and bring visitors to see this charming celebrity. More from the BBC.
Playing Public Relations games
Ryan Gilbey uses this phrase in his article 'A Right Royal failure' in the New Statesman.
Of course it is nothing of the sort.
Public Relations 'games' are practice session in Business Schools. In real life public relations is there to create effective relationships between organisations and their constituency.
One might ask in analysis of the film based on the death of Diana 'The Queen' (15) which of the players has, in the long run, the best public relations The Royal family or Mr Tony Blair.
You see Mr Gilbey, public relations goes to the heart of the organisation and the fluffy bit, the bit that journalists see; the bit that marketing people so often use is mostly of peripheral consequence.
Like most journalists, Mr Gilbey, you have been succored into believing the spin of your colleagues, fluffy bunnies, marketing people and Tony Blair.
In their refusal to play the public relations game, the Windsors create an opportunity for Blair to nip in quick and claim the glory.
Of course it is nothing of the sort.
Public Relations 'games' are practice session in Business Schools. In real life public relations is there to create effective relationships between organisations and their constituency.
One might ask in analysis of the film based on the death of Diana 'The Queen' (15) which of the players has, in the long run, the best public relations The Royal family or Mr Tony Blair.
You see Mr Gilbey, public relations goes to the heart of the organisation and the fluffy bit, the bit that journalists see; the bit that marketing people so often use is mostly of peripheral consequence.
Like most journalists, Mr Gilbey, you have been succored into believing the spin of your colleagues, fluffy bunnies, marketing people and Tony Blair.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
An even bigger boooooom
Websites that offer users the chance to express themselves - whether by sharing their latest home videos or editing encyclopedia entries on obscure Japanese anime - are reaping the rewards in spades, research has found and reported in Silicon.com
Sites championing user-generated content have seen a significant leap in traffic on the year ago period, according to statistics from research company comScore - and several are now among the top 50 UK web property rankings.
Social Media makes money. Go get it.
How news moves between media
This is an actual case study.
The first parts of the story were published in online sites, then came the major newspapers: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times with their coverage. Their stories then helped spark the interest of TV and radio news crews.
It is about the events that surrounded the Foremski family and their uncovering of dark deeds on the Internet.
There are lessons to be learned in all sorts of directions here.
The first parts of the story were published in online sites, then came the major newspapers: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times with their coverage. Their stories then helped spark the interest of TV and radio news crews.
It is about the events that surrounded the Foremski family and their uncovering of dark deeds on the Internet.
There are lessons to be learned in all sorts of directions here.
PR Boom Boom
The Guardian's Katie Allen believes its boom time in PR. She writes: In the wake of recent bad press for big names such as Cadbury and Thames Water, companies are waking up to the importance of "reputation management", fuelling a boom in the public relations industry.
Managing reputation is not about public relations it is about managing managers. If the PR person (corp affairs person, comms officer or other description that avoids the words 'public relations') is not facing down managers who should have been put out to grass with Stalin, then they are not doing their job.
So this 'Boom' is built on a fallacy and PR managers who are not gutsy enough to sit in on the board and other meeting and stir the waters.
The other boom has to be teased out of this quote:
The reason I say this is that the online community is already disrupting the organisations (e.g. if you sell on-line you have systems that allow you to. This is the Internet audience changing the organisation for more about this see my lecture) it forces transparency and it makes organisations more porous.
It also means PR has to be the arm of the company that drives this area of activity.
So: Boom Boom!
Managing reputation is not about public relations it is about managing managers. If the PR person (corp affairs person, comms officer or other description that avoids the words 'public relations') is not facing down managers who should have been put out to grass with Stalin, then they are not doing their job.
So this 'Boom' is built on a fallacy and PR managers who are not gutsy enough to sit in on the board and other meeting and stir the waters.
The other boom has to be teased out of this quote:
The chief executive of Chime, Christopher Satterthwaite, said most companies were taking public relations more seriously as a result of advances in technology.
"If we live in the information age when anybody can find out virtually anything about any individual, any brand, any corporation, then the need to manage your reputation to me is so self evident that not to do so is corporately irresponsible," he said.
note the words 'advances in technology' - THAT is where the boom really is.The reason I say this is that the online community is already disrupting the organisations (e.g. if you sell on-line you have systems that allow you to. This is the Internet audience changing the organisation for more about this see my lecture) it forces transparency and it makes organisations more porous.
It also means PR has to be the arm of the company that drives this area of activity.
So: Boom Boom!
A scam, or just another list?
Below is a list of PR firms that maintain blogs it says here. It goes on to say: 'Please note that this list is meant to only include official PR firm blogs. Please only list blogs that are directly affiliated with PR firms. We welcome the listing of PR firms of all sizes on this list.
This is a little wizz by the Bivings Group and you might like to check them out before wasting too much time because I there seems to be no reason to do it that I can see except to drive traffic to thier white papers .....
This is a little wizz by the Bivings Group and you might like to check them out before wasting too much time because I there seems to be no reason to do it that I can see except to drive traffic to thier white papers .....
Message to feignt hearts - don't hide information
There ought to be a law that says “Information tends to go corrupt when hidden, and tends to corrupt those who participate in the process of hiding the information,” says JP Rangaswami.
We waste so much in the procurement process for the same reasons. We don’t use the tools we have to discover what’s out there. We don’t make the process a participative one. We make it worse by allowing the tenderers better access to the requirements than anyone else. I’m confused.
As with wikipedia and with the celebrity blogs, there will always be vandals, some in the interests of art, some in the interests of “freedom”, some for the heck of it.
But you don’t shut down record stores because Banksy makes a statement about Paris Hilton.
You don’t shut down museums because Marcel Duchamp puts a moustache on a copy of La Gioconda.
>So why do we do this? Why do we have so much fear of perfect information? So much so we blame the tools, the people, everything.
If you need to build a case for persevering, start here.Wigets make sense
In the early days of the Internet, most companies would create a destination website, wait for users to show up, and then make money from the advertisements. Now they use widgets to reel users in. Consider a typical MySpace user's page, studded with widgets that pull from video goliath YouTube or photo services such as Slide. Everyone's a winner here: MySpace, because it becomes stickier; YouTube and Slide, because they get the traffic; and the user, because he or she gets it all on one page.
To learn more about this see what Om Malik has to say and add imagination.
To learn more about this see what Om Malik has to say and add imagination.
Small businesses on the map
Google and Intuit agreed today to let all the small business owners who use Quickbooks automagically list their businesses on Google Maps, manage Adwords campaigns and post items to Google Base from within Quickbooks, says Eric Schonfeld. This is a must for all those small companies and smaller clients to help them gain effective presence in thier locality.
All in a days work
Shel Holtz makes a very good case for Public Relations people to be responsive to the medium they use. In his case he is talking about blogs. He says: There is an expectation in the blogosphere—and not an unreasonable one—that bloggers will check their blogs frequently and clear out their comment moderation queues quickly in order to keep the dialogue fresh and current. As businesses expand their presence in the blogosphere, they appear to be doing so at corporate speeds, not blog speeds. That’s a mistake. The blogosphere will not adapt to the pace of business.
I guess that if a PR person forgot to call journalist back they would suffer sanctions. So what is the difference?
I guess that if a PR person forgot to call journalist back they would suffer sanctions. So what is the difference?
New podcaster facility
A new opportunity for podcasters to market their content creation and technical production skills has just arrived in the form of an offer presented by Voices.com, a web service dedicated to giving everyone with a voice the ability to be found, listened to, and hired for podcasting and voice over work.
Meanwhile, the Independent reports BT is launching a podcasting service to give the nation a platform to show off its talents (or lack of) by making videos and audio clips available on a new internet service. The telecoms giant has teamed up with US PodShow Network to provide the service, to be available to all UK internet users.
Meanwhile, the Independent reports BT is launching a podcasting service to give the nation a platform to show off its talents (or lack of) by making videos and audio clips available on a new internet service. The telecoms giant has teamed up with US PodShow Network to provide the service, to be available to all UK internet users.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Bebo on the market?
while its one thing to see people talk about Bebo because its cool, the number of suits talking about it tells a different story. The latest one is here.
BT and the BBC must have run a ruler over it already and the hype is about price not functionality.
BT and the BBC must have run a ruler over it already and the hype is about price not functionality.
Here is an idea by Yahoo and Intel
Yahoo and Intel are teaming up to pipe sports statistics to TV screens, targeting fans who devour data about real-world players to manage their fantasy teams, Reuters reports.
The deal helps the Internet media giant expand away from the computer screen to the TV screen, while the world's top chipmaker aims to showcase the benefits of its Viiv initiative aimed at making the PC a hub for home media and entertainment.
But think of the other applications. Imagine being able to add PR messages to TV screens.........
Blog wiki combo
David Tebbutt is excited about about BEA's moves into the Social Computing and its "upcoming blog/wiki combo (called Builder)."
David knows about these things.
He says BEA will make sure that theirs is tightly integrated to organisational computer systems, giving the ability to surface material from these systems right up to the wiki, for example. Another element, called Runner, will provide access control and audit trails.
So if you need to implement a Blog/wiki corporate programme, have a look.
David knows about these things.
He says BEA will make sure that theirs is tightly integrated to organisational computer systems, giving the ability to surface material from these systems right up to the wiki, for example. Another element, called Runner, will provide access control and audit trails.
So if you need to implement a Blog/wiki corporate programme, have a look.
WPP storming the social media?
WPP has continued its online spending spree, leading a $2m round of funding in internet marketing for its LiveWorld acquisition e-consultancy reports.
The move comes after WPP and LiveWorld formed a joint venture in July, with both firms saying they have seen growing demand for marketing services focusing on online communities.
LiveWorld has developed social networking applications such as blogs and messageboards for firms including MTV Latin America and eBay.
"In less than two months since announcing the LiveWorld-WPP joint venture, we have already closed new community marketing programs with major brands," said Mark Read, strategy director, WPP and CEO of wpp.com.
BT is getting into content and out of satellites
The Guardian says BT is launching an online "social media network" that will combine elements of the video site YouTube with clips and shows from the entertainment and music industry.
One thing we can be sure, if BT can charge more for the Madley 'pipe' they will just as soon as the wreckers leave Goonhilly.
The site, called BT PodShow, is being launched as a partnership with the 18-month-old US-based PodShow.
BT is looking for content if you have some and the is a green eye element cast in the direction of MySpace.
The website is being positioned as a hybrid between the likes of MySpace and YouTube and fulfilling the online aims of traditional companies such as MTV and ITV.
Meanwhile, the BBC says that three-quarters of staff at the largest satellite communications station in the world could lose their jobs after BT said it planned to scale down the site.Ninety of the 120 workers at Goonhilly, in Cornwall, could lose their jobs or be redeployed, as satellite operations are moved to Madley, in Herefordshire.
I just wish it would provide me with a high speed connection without the packaging, fluff and hard disc junk.One thing we can be sure, if BT can charge more for the Madley 'pipe' they will just as soon as the wreckers leave Goonhilly.
Internet Mediated Public Relations - the building of strategies
Introduction
This is a story about two puppies. They are siblings and cute. They inspired this article.It is also about social media and Royal Canin. Royal Canin is a dog food.
Yesterday, there was a blog post about Royal Canin in the 'Hotdog blog ' it said: "Well I have tried Blue (puppy formula) none of my 2 puppies even touched it. They put one in their mouth, spit it out and that was it.. it stayed there untouched. No matter how I try, they just won't eat it. So I stick with Royal Canin (puppy, small) since the vet was recommending that one anyways."
This citizen endorsement will be available for anyone seeking information about this dog food for years.
There is another post which references a press release which says: Royal Canin is a world leader in Pet Nutrition (www.royalcanin.ca) specializing in high quality foods for dogs and cats including breed specific foods for …
This is another post that will be available for anyone seeking information about this dog food for years.
There is little doubt about which is the more powerful statement.
The statements that endorse the product are very evident in post after post.
"Royal Canin has done a lot of research in the development of their pet food," said Vicky Jones, who co-owns Petland in Murfreesboro with her husband, Bob Hyde. The couple, both veterinarians, re-opened the store in March, and sales have exceeded their expectations. "Geared to be breed-specific, there are foods for Chihuahuas, (Yorkshire terriers), shih tzus and others. Royal Canin is really giving Science Diet a run for its money."
"So, on Derek's suggestion (Derek is my gay boyfriend/dog trainer buddy, if you don't recall) I'm giving Royal Canin a shot. He swears by it."
"Royal Canin is really giving Science Diet a run for its money.”
Different aproaches to advertising
The blog posts
- The first is the authenticity of the voices. There are people endorsing and recommending the product.
- Second is how inexpensive this promotion was (free).
- Third, and this is key, they will remain available to people seeking information about the product for years to come. Its half life goes on and on and on.
- People seek this information in their time, when they want it and in a form that they want.
An advertisement
- The language of the company
- Expensive
- A life of a few days at most.
- Interferes with people's interests and lives when they don't really want it, have little current need and is disruptive.
Technically, we are talking about the value of 'the long tail' and the value of user generated content.
There is a need to build a strategy (see below) but we learn from the above that, with sympathetic engagement with ambassadors such as those above, we can lever the value of this endorsement a lot.
It has the advantage that it will be online for a long time and because we can engage such people, if only by offering a 'thank you' comment to their posts, we increase the google juice of their posts and our own web site. ROI is high and is measurable (links are assets ).
Optimising a blog (or wiki) post by adding empathetic comment, linking it to other blog and wiki posts and effective search engine optimisation, tagging, trackback and RSS implementation can increase the value of comment considerably. The investment in time and effort has a long 'half life'. The difference between issuing a release to the press and a blog post is that press comment has little by way of longevity but blogs (and press comment online) has a long life . What is important to know is that if its on-line it is cumulative.
Organisations that are not building a significant presence online now will have to race to catch up or they will be swamped by the sheer size of the presence of competitors.
There is one other issue. People who do not see (search for, don't have access to the web etc) are not excluded from these conversations. A person who offers a post and gets a comment, will talk about it to friends and family - even total strangers - and a greater affinity is developed. Of course, they might even spread the word by email, IM or other means as well.
Compared to an advertisement (seen today and forgotten tomorrow) online relationship building (always there, personal and human) online interaction is very powerful and is much less costly.
Building the strategy
Let's suppose our aim is to provide presence that aids development of market share for the product (I can't keep on promoting a dog food - even if our puppies do like it a lot and it keeps them fit).How, then would we build a public relations strategy ?
Working with a team (that could be a in a range of locations) using project management software a range of interactive tools and knowledge management facilities (that need not cost a great deal).
- We need to articulate our vision
- What do we do best. What do we like to do, what do we want to achieve. (remember, it has to be authentic. It is the building block for the whole approach). Perhaps we are best at creating the right formula product, we like to manufacture and distribute it so that everyone can enjoy its benefits.
- We need to develop a knowledge base.
- Our company, its people, products, processes, stakeholders , users and their interests.
- The events and activities we endorse, sponsor and why.
- The third parties we work with and are involved with and why.
- The content of the conversations about our organisation, products and service (what do people like to talk about)
- The empathetic and mutual interest between constituents and the company (what do we like to talk about that our constituency also like to talk about.
- Identify dissonance
- We need to articulate our objectives
- Articulate the benefits
- Create presence
- Build credibility through broad engagement of our stakeholders
- Involve our active, aware and latent publics
- Resolve dissonance
- Deliver ROI in the short, say, three months, and long term over a period of, say, 12 months through consumer involvement
- Mobilise our stakeholders in support of the company, its products and partners
- Directly and indirectly involve our consumer audience which is a broad constituency (age, sex, income, location etc).
- Encourage our consumer audience to consider us when they think about or are discussing dogs
- Address dissonant issues for that proportion of our consumer audience and stakeholders that are expose to them
- Mobilise our stakeholders in support of the company, its products and partners
- We need to articulate our strategy
- Timescale
- Platforms and channels
- Methods for optimising empathy
- We now have to undertake risk analysis
- Cost, time opportunity threat of platforms and channels
- Opportunity/threat in change in importance, influence and attitudes of stakeholder
- Analise cost benefits (advertising v PR; sponsorship v Social Media etc)
- Corporate and product brand risk/benefitRelative effectiveness
- Time to be effective
- Cost
- Investment
- Key performance indicators (time cost effect)
- Create tactical campaign brief
- Key (SMART) objectives
- Milestones
- Actions
- Responsibilities
- Key (SMART) objectives
- Approvals and reporting
- Implement.
Online PR is not as easy as it sounds, it is definitely not something to be done lightly.
On the other hand using corporate speak and scream marketing is dangerous, even fatal.
The rewards for PR are enough to make a puppy wag its tail
A week in cyberspace is a very long time
It seems incredible that the PR institutions are so slow when their members' interests are obviously at stake.
It seems like negligence.
Why are they not involved in this debate:
I think that PR-firms editing in a community space is deeply unethical, and that clients should put very firm pressure on their PR firms to not embarrass them in this way.
It is part of a very important post in Constantin Basturea’s weblog. This is much bigger than a spat between the PR industry and Wikipedia. It is about the ability of a PR practitioner to represent an organisation. It is not about in-house/agency differences it is about practitioners.
I realise that organisations like PRSA, CIPR, IABC and the rest are big lumbering giants of bebureaucracynd that it takes time to formulate policy and get consensus.
In the new world order for PR that is not good enough. There is a need to use social media to get concensus and for fleet footed responses otherwise events will overtake us.
This kerfuffle is two weeks old and there seems to be no visible stiring among the great and the good. This is going to cost PR practitioners a lot of money, not to mention angst. It will have legal consequences and provide precedentor many other PR activities including the ability to issue statements and news.
It is time that there was a rapid deployment force in the institutions to look at such matters.
Are these institutions monitoring the web and social media? Are they considering the implication for their members? Have they realised that the pace of change in communication is quite rapid. Do they know that a week in cyberspace is a very long time.
Six months is an eternity.
It seems like negligence.
Why are they not involved in this debate:
I think that PR-firms editing in a community space is deeply unethical, and that clients should put very firm pressure on their PR firms to not embarrass them in this way.
It is part of a very important post in Constantin Basturea’s weblog. This is much bigger than a spat between the PR industry and Wikipedia. It is about the ability of a PR practitioner to represent an organisation. It is not about in-house/agency differences it is about practitioners.
I realise that organisations like PRSA, CIPR, IABC and the rest are big lumbering giants of bebureaucracynd that it takes time to formulate policy and get consensus.
In the new world order for PR that is not good enough. There is a need to use social media to get concensus and for fleet footed responses otherwise events will overtake us.
This kerfuffle is two weeks old and there seems to be no visible stiring among the great and the good. This is going to cost PR practitioners a lot of money, not to mention angst. It will have legal consequences and provide precedentor many other PR activities including the ability to issue statements and news.
It is time that there was a rapid deployment force in the institutions to look at such matters.
Are these institutions monitoring the web and social media? Are they considering the implication for their members? Have they realised that the pace of change in communication is quite rapid. Do they know that a week in cyberspace is a very long time.
Six months is an eternity.
The Social Media bubble
Robb Hecht explores the question "When will the social media bubble burst?" in his blog today.
It is well argued and has contributions from a range of sources.
But, for those of us who lived (painfully) through the collapse of the last 'bubble' - the web bubble, the hardest thing to do was to tell people the facts about what had happened. The expansion, explosion of the web and web applications did not 'burst'. It kept growing and growing and growing.
Sure the get rich quick merchants go burned.
Just like the 'lets put advertising online' brigade will get burned.
Just like the 'it is all paid for by advertising' brigade will get burned but social media will continue.
For fun, you can bet on the outcomes at BizPredict.
What will make sense is the model that builds relationships of value and we are prepared to pay for that.
More of which later.
It is well argued and has contributions from a range of sources.
But, for those of us who lived (painfully) through the collapse of the last 'bubble' - the web bubble, the hardest thing to do was to tell people the facts about what had happened. The expansion, explosion of the web and web applications did not 'burst'. It kept growing and growing and growing.
Sure the get rich quick merchants go burned.
Just like the 'lets put advertising online' brigade will get burned.
Just like the 'it is all paid for by advertising' brigade will get burned but social media will continue.
For fun, you can bet on the outcomes at BizPredict.
What will make sense is the model that builds relationships of value and we are prepared to pay for that.
More of which later.
Resistance is futile
One of my heros is BL Ochman and her comment about acceptance of new media at corporate HQ is right (later today I will post further on this) . She goes back to a post by Jerry Bowles, "Why CEOs Are Afraid of Social Media" and extends the fact that most leaders do not want to operate their organizations as experiments in democracy or collective intelligence.
Resistance also is futile. Look at Dell. They ignored the great hue and cry about their customer service for years. Meanwhile, the online commentary grew to a tsunami. When Dell finally launched a blog, they still tried to play by the old rules and push their message out while ignoring the elephant in the room.
A week or so later, when the Dell battery recall was mounted, the company already had a way to communicate with customers, and that forum made it clear that they were trying. Looking back, I'm sure they're wondering why they were so afraid of customers.PR transparency
Perhaps what we are seeing at last is the enforced transparency that comes from the semantic web.
This was a conclusion we came to in 1999 at the CIPR Internet Commission. (It would be soooo useful if the papers were published by the CIPR - its site needs an archive capability. Perhaps we should introduce them to Google which is said to be building a global archive) .
Andrew Lark has a post on the subject of trasnparency and 'green policies and notes: What is going on here is interesting. Recognizing the very tangible commercial advantage of messaging green, companies like Sun, GE and Dell are moving beyond messaging as hyperbole and into making the message very real. The stand to gain from the mantra of "live the message and prosper".
This was a conclusion we came to in 1999 at the CIPR Internet Commission. (It would be soooo useful if the papers were published by the CIPR - its site needs an archive capability. Perhaps we should introduce them to Google which is said to be building a global archive) .
Andrew Lark has a post on the subject of trasnparency and 'green policies and notes: What is going on here is interesting. Recognizing the very tangible commercial advantage of messaging green, companies like Sun, GE and Dell are moving beyond messaging as hyperbole and into making the message very real. The stand to gain from the mantra of "live the message and prosper".
Chime does well
Chime Communications PLC said its first half year pretax profit rose 62 % to £5.4 million from £3.3 million a year ago.
Operating profit increased 65% to £6.1 million and margins continued to improve to 15.8% from 13.3%.
Chime chairman Lord Bell said the results were 'very encouraging' adding that the company is 'positive about the outcome for the full year'.
The Chime companies are:
Bell Pottinger (which includes several Bell Pottinger and Good Relations companies, Harvard, Insight, Resonate, Ozone, De Facto,The SMART Company, MMK, Rare and Traffic); the UK's leading research and consultation group (Opinion Leader Research and Ledbury Research) and now with VCCP, one of the fastest growing advertising and marketing services groups in the UK, including specialist agencies in financial services (Teamspirit) and property marketing (TTA).
Operating profit increased 65% to £6.1 million and margins continued to improve to 15.8% from 13.3%.
Chime chairman Lord Bell said the results were 'very encouraging' adding that the company is 'positive about the outcome for the full year'.
The Chime companies are:
Bell Pottinger (which includes several Bell Pottinger and Good Relations companies, Harvard, Insight, Resonate, Ozone, De Facto,The SMART Company, MMK, Rare and Traffic); the UK's leading research and consultation group (Opinion Leader Research and Ledbury Research) and now with VCCP, one of the fastest growing advertising and marketing services groups in the UK, including specialist agencies in financial services (Teamspirit) and property marketing (TTA).
Intelectual Property advice - and podcast
Own It offers free intellectual property advice for London's creative people.
It offers a range of services, from basic to specialist support, through online and face-to face seminars, workshops and, where appropriate, surgeries with intellectual property lawyers. They work with a network of IP advisors including lawyers and specialists at various trade associations associated with the creative industries in the UK.
Own It likes to keep with the times, and so that everyone, no matter of location, can benefit from Own It’s free intellectual property advice, they’ve created podcasts from some of our free events.
It offers a range of services, from basic to specialist support, through online and face-to face seminars, workshops and, where appropriate, surgeries with intellectual property lawyers. They work with a network of IP advisors including lawyers and specialists at various trade associations associated with the creative industries in the UK.
Own It likes to keep with the times, and so that everyone, no matter of location, can benefit from Own It’s free intellectual property advice, they’ve created podcasts from some of our free events.
Cancer Research benefit from podcast
We are seeing many PR applications for new media. It is an area of practice that grows by the minute.
N-E-Life reported another such event.
N-E-Life reported another such event.
Number one breakfast presenter of North East radio station Metro Radio, Tony Horne, is tuning into the i-pod generation with the launch of a unique series of podcasts dedicated to a selection of real-life topics and high-profile sporting events.
Launched on 7 September the podcast kicked off with exclusive coverage of Cancer Research pioneer Findlay Young’s Great World Run.Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Corporate assets need PR maintenance
I have argued elsewhere that hyperlinks are corporate assets (and should be on the ballance sheet).
Working from the Steve Rubel test, "Wikipedia articles on the top 100 advertisers in the U.S. are consistently among the most highly ranked pages in Google on direct searches." would suggest that keeping you organisations' Wikipedia entry up todate is a pretty good idea.
I know, you do that every month anyway - don't you.
Working from the Steve Rubel test, "Wikipedia articles on the top 100 advertisers in the U.S. are consistently among the most highly ranked pages in Google on direct searches." would suggest that keeping you organisations' Wikipedia entry up todate is a pretty good idea.
I know, you do that every month anyway - don't you.
Broadband via satellite
While is seems good for rail passengers that they will be able to access broadband connections via satellite under plans published today by media watchdog Ofcom, it is not the big application.
So what about ships, ferries, coaches, buses, cars and events? In fact any location that wants access on a moving platform or at a temporary location could benefit.
For people in PR who organise days out and events this could be useful.
The regulator is making a new type of spectrum licence available that will allow train operating companies to install "satellite earth stations" on trains.
Some operating companies already offer wireless broadband access through trackside terminals, but this is not always reliable.
So what about ships, ferries, coaches, buses, cars and events? In fact any location that wants access on a moving platform or at a temporary location could benefit.
For people in PR who organise days out and events this could be useful.
Getting with it - are we competent?
Robbin Goodman, Executive Vice President and Partner, Makovsky and Company. Goodman argues a strong case for corporate blogging as an emerging public relations and business tool in a paper at the Institute for Public Relations.
But the case that she makes stands in stark contrast with the other thrust of her paper - which provides the most complete published review of findings from the Makovsky 2006 State of Corporate Blogging Survey. That study - a nationwide telephone survey of 150 senior executives (directors and above) of Fortune 1000 companies - was conducted for Makovsky by Harris Interactive.
"Who will admit that in 1996 they questioned - even doubted - the power of the Internet to transform the way business everywhere would be conducted?" Goodman writes. "Despite evidence of another major shift taking place, many senior executives seem determined to doubt the Internet's power to alter business communications."
Oh... yes and what about the communications sectors like Public Relations. Did they see the web coming? This time it is dimensions bigger. The PR job is to show corporate leaders how big, pervasive and structurally different and to point up the dangers and opportunities of disintermediation.This is, of course consultancy. are we good enough at it yet?
Scream Marketers on-line screeching about reach
In terms of ad network reach, according to comScore data, the re-launched vcmedia network is now second only to Advertising.com in the UK but ahead of players including 24/7 Real Media and Burst Media.
The report in e-consultancy says:
Meantime, Burst Media this week shook the stock market because it did not think it would hit its financial targets.
I just have a feeling that this form of on-line advertising is getting less effective. It is based on the 'scream marketing' model and is a turn off.
The report in e-consultancy says:
ValueClick announced today that it has completed the integration of its vcmedia and Fastclick online advertising networks, creating a network with 59% reach among UK internet users.
The announcement, which follows the purchase of the US network Fastclick a year ago, is significant because it demonstrates the increasing competition in the ad networks space and the importance of reach as a selling point for the major players.
Meantime, Burst Media this week shook the stock market because it did not think it would hit its financial targets.
I just have a feeling that this form of on-line advertising is getting less effective. It is based on the 'scream marketing' model and is a turn off.
The growth of user generated content
User-generated content (UGC) has increased dramatically in the UK over the last year, according to research by comScore and reported in e-consultancy.
I am not sure about collective inteligence but that is a lot of extra eyeballs and shows how much PR has to do to stay with the media that is really beginning to count and be part of user generated content.
The firm found Wikipedia to be the top UGC property, and the sixteenth most popular site overall with 6.5m visitors in July 2006, up 253% from a year earlier.
Other UGC sites that have moved into the top 50 in the UK include MySpace.com (up 467% to 5.2m visitors), Piczo.com (up 393% to 4m), YouTube.com (3.9m visitors), and Bebo.com (up 328% to 3.9m).
"Web 2.0 is clearly architected for participation, as it attempts to harness the collective intelligence of Web users," commented Bob Ivins, MD of comScore Europe.
I am not sure about collective inteligence but that is a lot of extra eyeballs and shows how much PR has to do to stay with the media that is really beginning to count and be part of user generated content.
IBM in SecondLife
Philippe Borremans has posted about an IBM meeting in SecondLife
IBM has an island on SecondLife - the 3D online virtual world - and will use it to foster collaboration between employees, ex-employees and industry colleagues.
As he says: "Good attitude when it comes down to testing new ways to collaborate and communicate."
Cool idea huh!
IBM has an island on SecondLife - the 3D online virtual world - and will use it to foster collaboration between employees, ex-employees and industry colleagues.
As he says: "Good attitude when it comes down to testing new ways to collaborate and communicate."
Cool idea huh!
PR accused of mass human rights violation cover-up
According to Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International's Africa Programme Director, a cover up of mass human rights violations among the poorest people in Zimbabwe is a public relations practice.
I take offense.
His comments, published in ZimbabweJournalist.com and Reuters are a direct attack on the work of Sarah Green, Eulette Ewart, Neil Durkin and Steve Ballinger who are all practicing public relations employees of Amnesty International and whose profession, this statement infers, can be directed towards human rights violations.
A sad state of affairs that Amnesty should employ such people unless Kolawole Olaniyan mistakes public relations for state propaganda. If so one might expect a public apology to his colleagues and my profession.
I take offense.
His comments, published in ZimbabweJournalist.com and Reuters are a direct attack on the work of Sarah Green, Eulette Ewart, Neil Durkin and Steve Ballinger who are all practicing public relations employees of Amnesty International and whose profession, this statement infers, can be directed towards human rights violations.
A sad state of affairs that Amnesty should employ such people unless Kolawole Olaniyan mistakes public relations for state propaganda. If so one might expect a public apology to his colleagues and my profession.
Financial Dynamics acquired by a consulting company
The FT reports "Financial Dynamics, one of the top financial public relations companies, is being bought for an initial $260m in cash and shares by FTI Consulting, a US consulting and investigations company."
The FT says: "It is also the first time a financial PR firm has been acquired by a consulting company, rather than a media or marketing group."
This does not say a great deal for the media groups who own "Public Relations Consultancies".
It does reflect conversations with CEO's of PR firms owned by advertising dominated groups who are frustrated at the 'in yer face' publicity pitches they are routinely asked to provide.
The FT says: "It is also the first time a financial PR firm has been acquired by a consulting company, rather than a media or marketing group."
This does not say a great deal for the media groups who own "Public Relations Consultancies".
It does reflect conversations with CEO's of PR firms owned by advertising dominated groups who are frustrated at the 'in yer face' publicity pitches they are routinely asked to provide.
New Media Conference in Edinburgh
Blogs, podcasts and RSS newsfeeds create both opportunities and threats that communications professionals simply cannot ignore. The
This conference will consider how practitioners can adapt to ensure they continue to communicate with target audiences who are becoming increasingly selective. Presentations will be given by a roster of highly renowned international speakers who are experts in their fields and are at the cutting edge of these new communications practices.
The event is being supported by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Scotland offering a discount to CIPR members. Delegate tickets are £145 + Vat for CIPR Members and £185 + Vat for non-members.
For further information or to book your tickets please contact Nicky Wake at Don’t Panic on 01706 828855 or by e-mail nicky@dontpanicprojects.com
Tickets can also be booked on line at -
www.dontpanicprojects.com/booking.htm
Podcasting, a PR tool
THE City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra has become the first major ensemble in the world to launch a regular podcast.
The free 30-minute monthly download includes the latest CBSO news, interviews and discussions with musicians and conductors as well as music clips.
The report in the Manchester Evening News shows how podcasting can be used in public relations to help promote and build communities online. Well done City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Soccer podcast launched
The Times has announced that kicking off from next Monday, TheGame will make its first appearance as an online show in the shape of The Game Podcast – presented by Danny Kelly.
Each week, the show will bring news, chat, debates and interviews with top football players and managers, starting with an exclusive interview with Michael Owen, the England and Newcastle star.
No doubt a target for some PR interaction, this is also an example of how podcasts (and associated blogs) offer a channel for communicators.
RSS a PR technique
Offering content to web masters and social media editors has always been a useful tactic for PR practice. Vasrue.com is launching a directory for articles with free RSS news feeds, travel portal design refresh, a travel blog and a newsletter. It is an example of how technologies like RSS can be used to deploy PR services and is reported in Internet Travel News.
In an effort to support other webmasters, Vasrue.com is offering its original articles through RSS news feed free of charge. Now newspapers, ezines, magazines and independent websites can effortlessly integrate fresh, captivating content from the Internet portal in no time. Each article is available for PDF download, RSS feed or browser printing.
In an effort to support other webmasters, Vasrue.com is offering its original articles through RSS news feed free of charge. Now newspapers, ezines, magazines and independent websites can effortlessly integrate fresh, captivating content from the Internet portal in no time. Each article is available for PDF download, RSS feed or browser printing.
The mobile platform for PR communication
The increasing functionality of cell phones is an area of interest to Public Relations as this platform for communication increases the range of communications channels available for adoption for public relations practice.
A study reported in Cellular News has found that location aware services will prove increasingly popular with 3G phone users. This interest in global positioning technology was one of the findings in the 2005/2006 National Technology Readiness Survey (NTRS) released last week. The annual survey also found that besides voice calls, the current most commonly used features on cell phones include text messaging, web surfing, email and picture messaging.
Survey respondents also reported an interest in Bluetooth technology that allows users to connect their cell phones to other devices without wires. Broadband internet access and MP3 uploading were high on the list of most desired features.Monday, September 11, 2006
News coverage has changed - it never becomes history
Chris Anderson makes the obvious obvious. Your news release can be news for years. Your news release becomes more influential over time.... here is how he describes it:
Online, everything is equally available and relevance is not determined by where something is on a page but by what other people think of it. When you look at it from that perspective, you see that stuff that is deemed ‘good' builds its incoming links over time — that is, the longer it is out there, the more people link to it and the more people discover it.
Google and other search engines measure relevance on the basis of incoming links which will rank it higher and higher, and as a result it will appear higher and higher in search results and therefore get even more traffic. In a weird way, it completely inverts the calculus of news, which is that the new stuff is what matters and the old stuff doesn't matter — because the good old stuff gets more relevant over time as more people flag it and link to it.
I think it was a surprise to many people that search would be such a powerful driver of demand for news, especially when you consider that canonical search — the regular search rather than news search — doesn't even find stuff until a week or so after the fact because the spiders just take that long to find things. What you're realising is that people care much more about what's relevant than what's new.
Conversation more powerful than a press release
Dan Greenfield commented today: "No longer is a PR person’s reporter Rolodex the gateway to successful corporate communications. Instead, that Rolodex is as big as every customer, vendor, partner and competitor who interacts with your company."
What Dan discovered is that converastion is more powerful than the press release.
I am delighted. It is evidence of values driving public relations. His public is now defined by a convergence of values. The values of his constituency and his and his organisation's values.
In combination this is more powerful.
It is levering value from relationships instead of shouting at market segments.
I hope that thi is a virus that is attacking every PR department in the world and it seems that it is.
Now lets see if we can understand this better. It will inform PR practice and is applicable at the coal face too.
What Dan discovered is that converastion is more powerful than the press release.
I am delighted. It is evidence of values driving public relations. His public is now defined by a convergence of values. The values of his constituency and his and his organisation's values.
In combination this is more powerful.
It is levering value from relationships instead of shouting at market segments.
I hope that thi is a virus that is attacking every PR department in the world and it seems that it is.
Now lets see if we can understand this better. It will inform PR practice and is applicable at the coal face too.
BeebSpace - an acquisition plan at the BBC
e-consultancy were sharp eyed with this one: BBC Worldwide, the broadcaster’s commercial arm, is apparently looking for an acquisition to compete with Rupert Murdoch’s Myspace, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The paper says the BBC has £350m to spend on acquisitions and wants to target the youth market through a social networking site.
can I spot PR practitioners are rushing to Bebo to get some idea of what the new domian will look like.
9/11 London
The 67 Britons killed in the Sept. 11 attacks five years ago were remembered today at a memorial garden near the U.S. Embassy. Before an early afternoon ceremony led by U.S. Ambassador Robert Tuttle, bouquets of white roses and yellow carnations were piled beneath the oak pergola where the names of the victims are inscribed on three bronze plaques.
Herald Tribune
Herald Tribune
Free newspapers - the case for
Today Richard Addis argues the case for making newspapers free.
It is well argued and makes a lot of sense for a web 1.0 mind.
Of course he did not factor in the revenue stream from mobile, or interactive posters or other forms of digital signage. There are opportunities to provide content for other media and then there is the podcast ( vidcasts where there is a ton of money to be made.
With a bit more imagination, the day of the free newspaper, a 'marketing device' to get 'digital eyeballs' is not far away.
What then, will be the role of press agentry? Will it be as an aid to driving eyeballs to digital properties?
It is well argued and makes a lot of sense for a web 1.0 mind.
Of course he did not factor in the revenue stream from mobile, or interactive posters or other forms of digital signage. There are opportunities to provide content for other media and then there is the podcast ( vidcasts where there is a ton of money to be made.
With a bit more imagination, the day of the free newspaper, a 'marketing device' to get 'digital eyeballs' is not far away.
What then, will be the role of press agentry? Will it be as an aid to driving eyeballs to digital properties?
Creating a print mag to drive web traffic - but sell it online
ASOS.com, the online fashion retailer that sells cheaper versions of celebrity outfits, is to launch a monthly glossy magazine to attract more customers to its website. The Aim-quoted group is to charge £1 for ASOS, which will be sold on its website. Am I sure that I follow this Guardian story?
Long Tail - a reading challenge
Chris Anderson has presented us with a list of papers that are a must read.
They deal with the issue of the 'long tail'.
This is important to PR practice for a range of reasons.
There are the traditional reasons. The long tail is how organisations can generate revenues that are denyied to them when they have to limit their offering because of contraints like warehouse or showroom space (but can offer/display such products online at marginal cost and thereby offer a wider range). Another argument is that the long tail allows small organisations to compete in markets where mass marketing and product bundling is common.
Also the long tail is importnat in areas like the knowledge that an organisation might make available to, for example, journalists and, on the darker side, the long tail is where people will find criticism that could be half a dozen years old.
They deal with the issue of the 'long tail'.
This is important to PR practice for a range of reasons.
There are the traditional reasons. The long tail is how organisations can generate revenues that are denyied to them when they have to limit their offering because of contraints like warehouse or showroom space (but can offer/display such products online at marginal cost and thereby offer a wider range). Another argument is that the long tail allows small organisations to compete in markets where mass marketing and product bundling is common.
Also the long tail is importnat in areas like the knowledge that an organisation might make available to, for example, journalists and, on the darker side, the long tail is where people will find criticism that could be half a dozen years old.
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