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.
On August 8, one of Communiqué PR’s clients, Nintex, announced the commercial availability of Nintex Reporting 2008. To see the full announcement, click here.
Nintex Reporting 2008 allows organizations to monitor, audit and gain valuable insight from the content and activity information within Microsoft’s SharePoint technology. It allows system administrators and business owners to make more efficient business decisions by providing valuable knowledge into workplace usage, trends, behaviors, and other key information. Perhaps more importantly, Nintex Reporting addresses issues such as SharePoint compliance and governance, two hot topics surrounding SharePoint.
Nintex, a global innovator of software products which extend Microsoft technology, was preparing to commercially launch Nintex Reporting 2008. In order to spark media attention, Communiqué conducted media outreach in advance of the launch and facilitated meetings with key journalists and analysts under embargo.
Offering the news under embargo allows journalists to follow up with any questions or feedback prior to the release of the announcement and thus helps to reduce inaccuracy in the reporting of the story. It also serves as a relationship building technique and allows the journalists to get a first look at the announcement.
Results included significant coverage in top-tier outlets including PC World, Network World and ComputerWorld to name a few.
Here is what the media is saying about Nintex news;
“Nintex Reporting 2008 collects a wide array of data about how SharePoint is being used in an organization and lets IT administrators or any authorized user view a variety of usage statistics.” –Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service.
“So the folks at Nintex USA LLC in Bellevue, Wash. are releasing today Nintex Reporting 2008, which will give you the scoop on everything from the most popular spreadsheet among your finance types to the most-updated slide deck used by the field sales force as well as which Web sites are getting traffic and who’s finding forums useful.” –Mark Hall, ComputerWorld.
Additionally, please see below for a list of current coverage Communiqué has garnered for Nintex.
On Windows, August 11, 2008, “Nintex Reporting 2008 Released.”
Science Technology, August 11, 2008, “Nintex Software Helps Track SharePoint Usage.”
SkyNewswire, August 8, 2008, “Nintex Reporting 2008 Now Available.”
IDG News Service “August 8, 2008, “Software Helps Track SharePoint Usage.”
IDG News Service article Reprints
Data Recovery Strategies
InfoWorld
ITWorld
ITWorld Canada
Notebook Computer Software
PC World
Security News Portal
TechWorld
Webwereld
CIO, August 8, 2008, “Microsoft SharePoint Add-On Tracks Usage, Value,” Chris Lynch
ComputerWorld, August 8, 2008, “Live, Eat, Breath SharePoint,” by Mark Hall
CMSWire, August 8, 2008, “Nintex Reporting Eases MOSS Administration, “by Barb Mosher
If you are a journalist or analyst interested in learning more about Nintex, please feel free to call us at (206) 282-4923 ext. 118
The emergence of social media is significantly changing the current media landscape. The days of newspapers, magazines and network news programs have given way to a new generation of information sharing on the Internet. Blogs, social networking sites such as Second Life and Facebook and video-sharing sites like YouTube have changed the way information is being accessed, shared and personally processed.You may be thinking that social media, often called Web 2.0, is the sole domain of today’s teenagers and tech-savvy professionals. Not true. With its far-reaching impact, social media can provide new opportunities for organizations to reach, engage and retain audiences in a transparent way through digital channels.
PR and marketing professionals, as well as forward-thinking organizations, are realizing that these new media tools have legitimate business applications and are integrating them into traditional PR campaigns. According to Technorati, of the 112.5 million blogs on the Web, 5,000 are corporations using social media elements such as blogs to reach their core audiences. And that number will continue to grow. Well-known names such as Coca Cola, Starbucks, Delta Airlines and Kodak have dabbled in social media, launching corporate blogs to drive online discussions and reach audiences where they’re at the most – online.
While social media presents new opportunities for companies to promote their products and services it also comes with challenges that need to be considered before implementing a campaign. There are books, conferences and companies dedicated to the education of the pros and cons of social media, but there’s only one cardinal rule – BE TRANSPARENT. Whether your CEO is writing his/her own blog, commenting on another or sharing information with a Facebook group, it’s imperative to remain open and transparent with your audience.
Below is a quick primer on social media elements to consider integrating into your overall communications strategy:
* Corporate Blogs
A corporate blog can serve as a platform to interact with journalists, consumers and other key audiences in an intimate manner. It also offers an opportunity to establish thought leadership and drive online discussions about relevant topics or trends the author/company are passionate about.
* Spokesbloggers
Spokesbloggers are employees who are already active in the blogosphere either through their own personal blogs or by commenting on other blogs/outlets. Spokesbloggers can be used as “champions” to insert the company, its products or services into the online dialogue in a non-marketing manner. They should be used to speak on behalf of the company as opposed to themselves.
* Social Community Campaigns
Companies can create viral buzz around a compelling piece, news or product by launching a social community through Facebook, Second Life or MySpace. These groups offer another platform for the company to share photos, videos, announcements and other relevant information to engage users online and drive word of mouth.
* Viral Video Campaigns
Like advertisements, creating videos and posting to video-sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo or Vidder is another way companies can raise visibility. The videos can be anything from a product demo, keynote presentation or fun creative videos targeted at consumers.
A great example of a successful viral video campaign was done last year by BigFix, a Bay Area enterprise software company. BigFix decided to implement a viral video campaign to establish itself as one of the few honest software companies in the market. The fictitious campaign was set in Washington, D.C., to investigate the heavy-handed billing practices (and over-promises) of big enterprise software companies. They launched a fake news site which featured a series of videos of an actor being grilled by a fictitious Software Truth Commission.
That initiative garnered 250,000 visits to the BigFix site, 370,000 page views and 1.2 million downloads, more traffic than from the company’s ads on Google. In addition, the campaign drove a significant amount of business leads to the company.
As PR professionals we’re always looking at how these mediums can help amplify clients’ message to journalists and consumers and create evangelists for the brand. As the social media landscape evolves integrating social media elements will become even more critical for organizations who want to stay competitive. We’ll continue to explore these topics in future postings.
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When budgets shrink and companies look to cut costs, what gets the axe first? This question is particularly relevant during difficult economic times as procedures are streamlined and excess spending is trimmed. It would be easy to brush off public relations and marketing as expendable luxuries which are not intrinsic to a company’s bottom-line. But in a recent study by the USC Annenberg Strategic Relations Center, CEOs rated PR as one of the top contributors to organizational success. Perhaps it’s time to take a practical look at the value PR dollars add to business.
The comparative value of a well placed article to an advertisement has long been a hot topic. When a product or service is mentioned in an article, it is perceived as the subject of a journalist’s objective review. Readers trust journalists to write with the audience’s best interests in mind. Advertisements, however, are often viewed less favorably. While repeated exposure to an ad will certainly keep a product top-of-mind with an audience, readers often suspect ulterior motives and feel manipulated by sales pitches and profit-turning schemes. Advertisements are also considerably more expensive to place. Purchasing space in a widely circulated publication is astronomically high, especially in comparison to the cost of pitching a story to journalists.
Another important way strategic public relations can drive business success is through strengthening analyst relations. In many industries, analysts play a key role by fostering credibility and creating buzz. Analysts act as a third-party endorsement without a hidden agenda. An expensive ad won’t earn your company a coveted analyst mention. Public relations can play an integral role in strengthening analyst relationships by maintaining consistent communication and securing meetings to discuss new industry developments.
A company’s success is in jeopardy if it falls from the radar of shareholders, media, and current and potential customers. Shareholders need to know how a company is performing, especially during a recession. Any success should be publicized and will likely stand out even more as a triumph over adverse economic circumstances.
When times get tough, public relations is more important than ever in order to maintain a successful public profile.
“As long as any business depends on its customers, their concerns, at whatever level, should also be the concerns of the business.” This quote from Forbes magazine succinctly describes the philosophy behind corporate social responsibility, or CSR. Proponents of CSR laud its capacity to combine success in business with sustainable practices. Yet despite these positive associations, CSR is often criticized as being little more than a publicity stunt and a far cry from the fundamental profit-seeking role of business.
When practiced with integrity, CSR can go above and beyond blatant attempts to gain favorable press or to meet minimum statutory obligations. Companies can better their public image while also helping their customers, employees, communities, and the environment.
Vodafone, the world leader in mobile telecommunications, is one company which has excelled in its CSR practices. In 2006, the company was ranked first on the Fortune 500 list of the world’s largest companies according to six criteria which measure socially responsible business practice (source: www.money.cnn.com). Vodafone fosters positive relationships with the communities it serves by proactively addressing concerns and implementing standardized practices amongst its operating companies.
Vodafone has also worked to make its products more accessible by introducing low cost, easy-to-use phones. Additionally, their supply chain management ethics serve to eliminate both forced and child labor and discriminatory practices as well as to provide good wages and hours for employees at every level of the supply chain.
Finally, a phone-recycling program was implemented by the company to re-use old phones or break them down into component parts to be recycled. All proceeds from this campaign are donated to the YMCA.
These practices enhance the company’s image and directly contribute to positive public relations, but many Vodafone investors questioned how a doctrine of social responsibility would impact short-term profits. The company has addressed these concerns by introducing a “One Strategy” business model in which CSR and business objectives are aligned toward a common goal. By increasing access to phones for the world’s poor, for example, the company is granted access to developing markets.
The overarching goal of increasing a company’s profile and profits can only be achieved by delivering a consistent, positive customer and community experience. Fostering these kinds of relationships requires socially responsible behaviors. In this way, business objectives and CSR can act as mutually dependent concepts.
What do you think about incorporating CSR into a business model? Do you have any examples of companies who have excelled in this area? We’d love to hear your thoughts.
