CIPR’s SMNR for the World PR Conference & Festival
Posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 11:39am in Business, PR General | 3 Comments
Webitpr’s just put out a social media news release (full disclosure) for the CIPR’s up and coming World Public Relations Conference and Festival. From the SMNR, “The World PR Conference and Festival, organised by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (UK) and Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, will bring together professional communicators from across the world to discuss global issues and industry trends impacting on their day jobs.
Themed ‘The public benefit of public relations’ and taking place on 23 and 24 June at the InterContinental Hotel, Park Lane, London, the conference includes 30 sessions on issues as diverse as:
• Communicating in London, the world’s most diverse city
• How businesses such as car manufacturers and gas suppliers can handle climate change and environmental challenges
• How cities attract investment – the reputational issues that count
• Appealing to different audiences and cultures – lessons from the front-line”
I’m attending the sessions taking place on the Monday so obviously looking forward to it. I’ll probably be writing a blog post either during the course of the day or afterwards. And, of course, I’ll be twittering it.
Anyone else going?
Internet primary news source in five years
Posted Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 8:10pm in Blogging, Business, Media | 2 Comments
So says a report by the Word Digital Media Trends, a not-for-profit organisation which includes members from 76 national newspaper associations in 102 countries. According to an Associated Press article in Yahoo News covering the report, newspapers will lose their dominant grip by 2013 as more and more people consume their news from their respective online versions. The articles also states that rising online advertising revenues and the increase in mobile web usage will also play a part in this shift.
How they calculated the five year time-span is unclear. What does seem to be clear, however, is that newspapers will form much more of a love/hate relationship with bloggers. Love because they appreciate how bloggers will take their news articles, link to them and add an opinion on them (as I’m doing now). Hate because it’s an equal level playing field where bloggers could potentially steal readers away from them.
For example, why do I have to read a newspaper’s motoring supplement when there are blogs like Autoblog? Why do I have to read a newspaper’s football (soccer) section when there are sites like Soccerlens? And why would I have to read a newspaper’s celeb section when there are blogs like Perez Hilton, who is much more catty and snarky than a mainstream celeb gossipist would ever dare to be?
Things will become more interesting if/when digital paper is introduced. It’s going to do to reading what the iPod did to music, apparently.
That said, proper journalism covering hard, thorough and indepth news will always shine through; there is no better substitute for it. But given that a number of newspaper websites now include the ability for people to comment on them, like the Times, should journalists be accountable for their news articles and respond in the comments?
Obviously there is a time issue involved but the every-day person is beginning to demand some form of two-way conversation online - and a journalist that does not respond could (stress: could) potentially be perceived as somewhat ignorant and out of tune with this two-way nature of the internet.
Article found via a tweet by Tiffany Berryman.
Carphone Warehouse listens
Posted Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 12:03pm in Blogging, Business, PR General | 7 Comments
Editor of NMK and blogger at twopointtouch, Ian Delaney recently received poor customer service from mobile phone supplier, Carphone Warehouse. Ian, who has used the company for around four years, was due a phone upgrade and was contacted by a Carphone Warehouse salesperson to renew his contract. In a nutshell, the salesperson was shisty and provided Ian with incorrect information on his new contract along with a false extension number to contact him on should any issues arise. This resulted in Ian receiving a hefty bill for using the mobile internet when he believed he was on a fixed cost.
After receiving little help from other Carphone Warehouse staff Ian eloquently detailed his experiences on his blog. The clever part of Ian’s blog post and probably the most important which people fail to understand is what he calls “The Science Bit” and how aiming to make a quick buck results in poor treatment of customers and loss of reputation which affects the bottom line: cold hard cash.
HAPPY ENDING
Less than 14 hours after writing his less than positive blog post, Ian received a phone call from a customer services manager from the company who had been alerted to the post through an email notification from her Google Alerts subscription. The customer services manager promptly retrieved Ian’s files and called him up to sort out the matter. Two hours after the phone call he received an email confirmation that his account had been credited with the money. This was all done on a Saturday.
The question remains unanswered whether Carphone Warehouse has procedures that proactively monitor company mentions online or whether this was a sole initiative from a smart employee. Either way damage limitation was quashed in a short period of time and such efficiency deserves extra credit for happening on a weekend. Remember, the internet doesn’t take the weekend off unfortunately.
In his latest post on the issue Ian rightly states, “A lot of people might see this as a victory for blogs and bloggers. I’d agree, sure. But, on reflection, I think it’s more of a victory for Carphone Warehouse.”
Agreed.
Innocent gets Twitter wrong
Posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at 7:18pm in Business, PR General | 11 Comments
Ask any British based PR or marketer about which brands they most admire and chances are Innocent Drinks will be somewhere near the top of their list. And rightly so. Innocent is a great brand which has been praised on this blog on more than one occasion. Everything from the company’s brand narrative to the little cheesy notes included on their smoothie cartons is sheer genius and guaranteed to give you a warm and gushy feeling.
The company also should be praised for its efforts in social media. A blog, YouTube channel, various worthwhile initiatives on Flickr and a popular Facebook Group and Fan Page. The blog has been put to good use by the company on a few occasions, most notably in May last year when it decided to partner with MacDonald’s by supplying Innocent smoothies to each of the fast food chain’s UK outlets, which in-turn created a lot of negative commentary from the Innocent fan base. Nevertheless, the company had the guts to address the issue openly on the blog guaranteeing two thumbs up from any social media enthusiast. Bravo.
Recently, Innocent has set up a Twitter account for the company’s upcoming 2008 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and can be found at http://twitter.com/innocentAGM2008. By general standards, however, it’s a relatively poor attempt at using Twitter. So far it’s been updated 26 times, has 28 ‘followers’ and is ‘following’ no one. No dialogue, no insights, no interest in other users (by choosing not to follow anyone) and, perhaps most importantly, bringing nothing interesting to the Twitter party. Well, unless you care about people tuning in bit televisions, that is.
Alex Pearmain disagrees and believes that it has no need for dialogue because it’s a Twitter account set up purposely for the company’s 2008 AGM. Alex has a point but one can’t help feeling that this is a poor attempt from a company that usually sets such high standards.
Don’t Panic Guide to social media
Posted Monday, April 14, 2008 at 10:05pm in Blogging, Business, Media, PR General | 5 Comments
____________________________________________________
VENUE: THE MARRIOTT HOTEL, REGENTS PARK, LONDON
DATE / TIME: FRIDAY 23 MAY 2008, 9.30AM TO 4PM
TICKETS: £295 + VAT, £250 + VAT EARLY BOOKING & CHARITY RATE
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ABOUT THE CONFERENCE
The internet has revolutionised the way we seek and share information and has acted as a catalyst for wide ranging social interaction and potential communication opportunities with individuals, niche audiences and mass markets. In a few short years weʼve seen the rise of social networking, hugely popular user generated sites and bloggers with the influence to make or break brands and
reputations.
The Donʼt Panic Guide To Social Media is aimed at senior communicators and will examine the rapid growth of online PR and the social media tools that are driving the revolution. Delegates will hear the latest insight into how and why social media is an essential part of the communications mix alongside case studies as diverse as Oxfam, Frank PR and Dell.
The conference takes place at the Marriott Hotel, Regents Park, London and features an unmissable line up of speakers. Refreshments, lunch and access to presentations are included in the ticket price.
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SPEAKERS
SAM BARRATT, HEAD OF MEDIA, OXFAM
Oxfam is one of the world’s most respected aid agencies and continues to be at the forefront of pioneering fundraising work to tackle poverty and famine and raise awareness of climate change and fair trade issues. Sam will be talking about Oxfam’s online activity that has increasingly made use of social media to reach new and existing audiences through their blogs, Facebook
groups and YouTube channel.
He has worked for Oxfam since 2000, leading on all of Oxfam’s campaigns as well as events such as Oxfam’s response to the tsunami, the WTO meetings in Cancun and the war in Afghanistan.
www.oxfam.org.uk
KERRY BRIDGE, HEAD OF DIGITAL MEDIA & COMMS, DELL (EMEA)
Dell is a leading manufacturer and retailer of computers and peripherals with millions of global customers in over 100 countries. Kerry’s presentation will examine the value of social media to a multinational organisation and will cover the learning curve resulting from the much publicised ‘Dell Hell’ case.
Relations with consumer bloggers are now firmly at the fore of Dell’s communication strategy including the customer focused online forum IdeaStorm and Direct2Dell blog.
dellideastorm.com
direct2dell.com
STEPHEN DAVIES, SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, WEBITPR
News travels fast on the World Wide Web and as citizen journalists, bloggers and the mainstream media increasingly use multimedia content some might say the traditional press or news release is dead. Stephen’s presentation will provide an insight into the rise of the Social Media News Release, a modern alternative that enables the sharing of information, links and even
content such as Flickr galleries and YouTube videos.
Webitpr have distributed SMNRs on behalf of a number of multinational clients such as ITV, Sage and Cisco and the likes of Coca Cola, Ford and Yahoo! are also using them to reach audiences and create dialogues with consumers, influencers and traditional news outlets.
Stephen blogs at prblogger.com
ROBIN GOAD, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, HITWISE
Hitwise are leaders in online analysis and each day provide an insight into how almost 8.5 million UK internet users interact with over a million websites across a variety of industries. Robin will be delivering highlights from their latest white paper on the impact of social networking in the UK including analysis of who’s using social networking sites and predictions for the impact they will have in 2008.
www.hitwise.co.uk
GRAHAM GOODKIND, CHAIRMAN, FRANK PR
Graham was previously MD of ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ PR consultancy Lynne Franks PR, he then founded Another.com, one of the UK’s leading internet brands, before returning to PR and setting up Frank. Frank are one of the giants of the UK PR scene and Graham’s presentation will look at creativity, buzz and word of mouth and how they successfully generate these elements online. Frank also look after a retired greyhound called Flying Frank, the only dog with a blog.
www.frankpr.it
NEVILLE HOBSON, NEVILLEHOBSON.COM
Neville Hobson, ABC, is a communicator, blogger, podcaster and Second Life explorer, one of the leading European early adopters and influencers in social media communication for business. He is a passionate advocate for new and emerging technology tools and channels with over 25 yearsʼ experience in public and media relations helping companies build dynamic relationships with customers, employees, shareholders and other key audiences and influencers.
Neville will be chairing the conference and providing the opening overview presentation examining the rise and impact of social media and the opportunities it presents for communicators. Along with his California-based colleague Shel Holtz, Neville is responsible for the highly influential business podcast For Immediate Release: The Hobson & Holtz Report forimmediaterelease.biz
He has been blogging since 2002 and currently does so at nevillehobson.com
MARSHALL MANSON, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY, EDELMAN UK
Marshall Manson is Director of Digital Strategy for Edelman in London, and a leader in the field of online strategy, communications and reputation management. Previously, he was Vice-President of Online Advocacy for Edelman in Washington, DC.
His presentation will focus on how technology is driving changes in the way audiences get and share information and the implications of that shift and where it may lead us in the future. He will also examine how businesses are using social media in the US, UK and elsewhere and the success or otherwise of their strategies.
Marshall blogs at ontapblog.com and edelmandigital.com
MEG PICKARD, HEAD OF COMMUNITIES AND USER EXPERIENCE, GUARDIAN UNLIMITED
Meg describes herself as a creative geek and has worked in New Media for about ten years including consultation roles with small startups, global brands and charities. She currently works at Guardian Unlimited where she is responsible for developing and managing existing and new social web strategy and experiences. Before this she was Consumer Experience lead for Social Media at AOL Europe.
Her presentation will examine the importance of social media strategy for organisations and their audiences.
Meg blogs at meish.org
SIMON WAKEMAN, HEAD OF MARKETING & PR, MEDWAY COUNCIL
Simon is a qualified marketing and public relations professional with a passion for new technology and its impact on the way we communicate. He will be exploring the extent of social media usage in local government with examples of those authorities who have used social media channels to reach their audiences. He will also consider the reasons why some authorities may still be reticent to create truly open dialogues with those they serve.
Simon blogs at simonwakeman.com/blog
SOCIAL MEDIA PANEL DISCUSSION
The conference will close with a social media panel discussion where delegates can seek the advice of our speakers, raise issues and get involved in the conversation.
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BOOKING
Ticket prices are £295 + VAT or £250 + VAT for charities and early booking before 30 April 2008. For event booking or further information please contact Nicky or Andrew at Donʼt Panic on 01706 828855 or alternatively places can be securely booked online at - www.dontpanicprojects.com/booking.htm