Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Forrester Research recently published its Five-Year Interactive Marketing Forecast report and shared information about its results with the readers of Advertising Age. In an article titled, “Advertising Will Change Forever,” Josh Bernoff, an analyst with Forrester Research, explains how interactive marketing methods have proven more effective than traditional advertising.
The report predicts that interactive marketing activities including social media, e-mail marketing and mobile marketing will reach $55 billion in 2014 and represent approximately 21 percent of overall marketing spend. For many, the focus on interactive marketing comes as no surprise as strategies involving social media are providing companies with new and improved ways to engage directly with customers.
Further research from IPG’s Universal McCann and AOL also supports this trend citing one out of every seven minutes of media consumption today takes place via mobile devices. In fact, research from these two companies points out that there are 63 million mobile Web users in the U.S. It’s no surprise that brand managers rely more heavily on interactive channels like mobile versus more traditional avenues such as print advertising.
*The above Forrester graph illustrates the increase in mobile marketing, social media and e-mail marketing analyst predict through 2014.
Clearly, interactive marketing tools and strategies are paving the way for the future of marketing. Brand managers are now transitioning away from traditional tools and are taking a blended approach, rely more heavily on interactive marketing strategies that incorporate viral functionality.
Remember the T-Mobile UK Dance for its “Life is for Sharing” campaign? On January 15, 2009, 350 dancers spontaneously started dancing at the Liverpool Street Station in London. The event not only grabbed the attention of onlookers, but the video quickly became a viral online force as consumers captured the dance on their mobile phones and uploaded content online. The YouTube video has received more than 13 million views and there is a Facebook profile page dedicated to the T-Mobile Dance.
This was a great example that illustrates how leading organizations are introducing social media and interactive marketing into their strategies. Real change is happening in the way organizations are using marketing and PR and according to Bernoff, “If you’re in advertising, you’d better learn to speak digital, because that’s the way the world is going.”
Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer recently published a post titled, “Three Keys to Nonprofit Success in Social Media,” and outlined what he believes are the three keys to realizing success for nonprofits in social media.
1. Have a compelling story to tell.
2. Make a specific ask or establish a specific goal to reach.
3. Make it astonishingly easy to give.
We’ve included our take on these three keys to nonprofit success below. We also included a fourth tip in order to keep the campaign front and center with your target audience.
Have a compelling story to tell:
In order for a nonprofit organization to connect with its audience and drive a call to action, it must tell a compelling story which creates an emotional bond with its potential followers. For example, when I see someone talk about their mom or dad suffering from cancer it makes me think about my parents as potential victims of the disease. This creates an emotional bond between me and the organization and encourages me to support the cause.
Make a specific ask or establish a specific goal to reach:
In May, Communiqué PR partnered with the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden to launch its first fundraising campaign. The PlayGarden is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a place for both mentally and/or physically disabled children and their normally developing peers to share a safe, stimulating and fun playground environment. While the goal of the campaign was to raise $230,000 through Facebook and Twitter for the construction of the PlayGarden, the team asked social network users to donate a specific amount, just $10 or $20 each, to reach this goal. The campaign clearly outlined what the donations would be used for and how the PlayGarden would benefit the community.
Make it astonishingly easy to give:
It’s important to have a clear call to action. However, it’s equally important to make it easy for the person to donate. If you’re asking people to donate money, specify how they can do this – whether it’s by clicking a link and putting in a credit card number or dropping off their donations at a specific location – the less steps there are, the easier it will be for people to donate.
Keep your audience up-to-date:
Social mediums like Twitter and Facebook are also great for keeping your donors, potential donors and target audience up-to-date on the progress of the campaign or fundraiser. This is a great way to continually engage with your target audience and continue to generate awareness of your cause. Additionally, post regular updates to share how the donations are impacting the organization or those served by the organization.
Social mediums such as Twitter and Facebook are great for building awareness around global issues such as healthcare and education, but they can also be an effective tool for publicizing philanthropic events and social causes. However, as with any PR campaign, it’s important to establish clear strategies in order to gain advocates and supporters for your cause.
Recently, a French hacker known as the “Hacker Croll” broke into Twitter CEO Evan William’s e-mail account and uncovered confidential documents containing information about Twitter’s business plans as well as user accounts and passwords. Since then, a controversy has unfolded over Michael Arrington’s announcement that he would publish some of the documents he received including an e-mail about a pitch for a Twitter-related reality TV show on TechCrunch, a Weblog dedicated to profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies.
On July 16, Arrington made good on his promise and published an article by Eric Schonfeld entitled, “Twitter’s Internal Strategy Laid Bare: To be “The Pulse of the Planet.” While many criticize Arrington’s decision to publish this confidential information, some according to Ian Paul with PC World speculate, “this entire affair may have been a PR stunt concocted by TechCrunch and Twitter to raise the microblog’s brand.”
In an interview with VentureBeat, Arrington reveals TechCrunch engaged in a dialogue with its readers to decide which documents to publish and corresponded with Twitter to give them a heads up. However, he notes approximately 80 percent of his readers disagreed with his decision.
It is no surprise that conversations surrounding this controversy have spread like wildfire in the blogosphere:
“I think that this helps Twitter get to the next level. Why? Because it brings us deep inside Twitter where we see what they are thinking. It humanizes Twitter. It opens up Twitter in a way that Facebook simply won’t be able to respond to.” – Robert Scoble
“It shows them [Twitter] to be very deliberate and thoughtful about a lot of things, that’s for sure.” – Bill Kinney
“This came up in our discussion, this might actually help Twitter. This is the first time everyone’s pretty much siding with them and giving Twitter sympathy.” – David Spinks
Whether or not this was a pre-meditated act to gain publicity for Twitter, journalists are discussing the ethical issues behind this event. While some believe it was unethical for TechCrunch to publish confidential information, others believe readers deserve this kind of access.
What do you think? Was it wrong for TechCrunch to publish this information? If this was a PR stunt, do you think it was successful or deceitful? We would love to hear your thoughts.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently unveiled a plan to help get the media industry back on its feet. Known for being the media capital of the world, the city’s strategy includes eight plans that focus on innovation, research, retraining and new technology.
According to an article in Ad Age, the strategy includes the following:
Forming a New York City Media Lab for media companies, universities and others to collaborate on research, share findings and provide a physical center for networking, lectures and workshops.
Issuing tax-exempt bonds to help companies buy new manufacturing, research or production facilities; retrofit existing buildings for high-tech servers; or make big information technology purchases.
Starting a Media and Tech Fellowship program meant to encourage start-ups and innovation. The program manager, whom the city plans to choose by October, will pick about 20 recipients a year to receive training, mentoring and support services.
Helping start-ups and small tech firms do business with the city. The plan calls for encouraging companies and start-ups to team up on bids for city IT contracts, hosting forums on the city’s procurement process and connecting big contractors with small potential sub-contractors.
Hosting an annual software competition called NYC Big Apps seeking digital applications that use city data.
Starting a center for media freelancers in lower Manhattan. The city plans to outfit a 5,000-square-foot space with work stations and services such as contract editing, news feeds and conference space. The center will provide space for 50 freelancers as well as 1,850 part-time and drop-in workers.
Creating a training program to help people find opportunities in new media. The program, called JumpStart New Media, will include a training “boot camp” and 10-week unpaid “apprenticeships” with new media companies. The first class will include about 50 participants.
Recruiting across Asia, the Middle East, Silicon Valley and greater Boston for businesses to locate in New York.
It’s encouraging to see such an aggressive plan from the city of New York. The economic climate will surely pass, but the shifting media landscape will no doubt continue. While it’s too early to tell if this plan will give the industry the jump start it needs, I believe out-of-the-box strategies such as these are a positive move in order to find a formula that works for this evolving industry.
Transparency is an issue that continues to arise as social mediums and online communications gain momentum. Social media provides companies with a great opportunity to represent their brands and interact and build relationships with key influencers and consumers. However, if a company fails to be completely transparent in its online communications, the result can be devastating to its reputation and tarnish key relationships.
A great example of how crucial transparency can be to an organization and a brand can be found in a recent incident involving De’Longhi, a leading producer of small kitchen and comfort appliances.
A communications manager for De’Longhi posted a positive review of two of the company’s high-end espresso machines on Amazon.com. Looking for a new espresso maker, Blogger Russ Taylor conducted research online and while doing so, realized that the Amazon.com review was actually written by an employee in the PR department of De’Longhi. Publications including Consumerist and the Wall Street Journal‘s The Wallet blog wrote articles highlighting the inappropriateness of the review and had negative ramifications for both De’Longhi and Amazon.
Being transparent in all forms of communications, whether it’s a blog post, product review, or Twitter account, is paramount to the success of an organization’s communications efforts. Transparency enables a company or a brand to lay the foundation to build thoughtful and engaging relationships with their customers. It also allows companies to instill trust and loyalty with key audiences.
As a rule of thumb, company and PR representatives should do the following:
Provide full and clear disclosure of who you are and which company you are representing at all times.
Never fake a positive review of your company’s product or service. Inevitably, it will come back to you and create unnecessary negative publicity.
If you’re posting or having a discussion about a company, product or service and was paid or hired to do so, inform your audience of the situation to avoid backlash.
As print and digital communications continues to converge with social media platforms, it’s important for companies and PR professionals to abide by ethical business practices and identify the company they are representing to avoid situations such as the one with De’Longhi.
Yesterday, our client Digonex, a provider of real-time, automated, dynamic pricing technology was featured on National Public Radio’s (NPR) Morning Edition in a story on the impact dynamic pricing technology can have on the digital music industry. The piece coincides Digonex’s partnership announcement with The Orchard, an entertainment solutions provider focused on building and monetizing audiences for its clients.
Reporter Laura Sydell reports, “What Digonex is doing is what economists like University of Southern California professor Joseph Nunes call “dynamic pricing. Nunes says economists and retailers have been trying to nail this for years.” “We know on hot days people drink more, so if a supermarket could rush out and change the price of their soda very quickly, they would,” says Nunes.”
Unlike variable pricing models, meaning there are more than one set of prices available for a service or product which digital music retailers such as Apple are using, dynamic pricing models allow pricing to adjust up or down based upon consumer demand. This enables music labels, retailers and other organizations to offer prices that are market-driven, and consumer and seller friendly. Digonex believes that dynamic pricing models will reduce the cost of items such as albums and singles which will increase the value for consumers, and empower them to explore and discover new products they might not have otherwise.
While sophisticated pricing models are still a relatively new concept to the market, the impact that dynamic pricing can have on selling and purchasing behaviors is significant and can provide a win-win solution for retailers and consumers. Dynamic pricing is already becoming prevalent in many industries including e-commerce, ticketing, and digital media.