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What the New Facebook Newsfeed Means to Brands

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:03:00 +0000

My grandfather was a very particular fellow and kept notes of everything. He was always on the lookout for ways to streamline what he was doing as an old pieceworker it was just a habit of efficiency that he never got out of. “A tidy mind is a healthy mind” was his motto. So when I heard about the new Facebook updates I had to think of my dear old Grumps. With the strapline “Goodbye Clutter. Hello bright, beautiful stories” the ‘new’ Facebook seems right up his street.

The changes to the newsfeed that Facebook announced last week, allow for consistency across the mobile and desktop experiences and giving the user more control over what they see, and what they show. In theory Facebook’s new updates should remove the endless scrolling through updates that aren’t of interest to you – it’s a proper spring clean for your timeline.

Scheduled to be unveiled to all members over the next three to four weeks, the new News Feed will eventually impact each and every way users interact with the world’s most popular social utility. From laptops and desktops to mobile phones the look and feel will be entirely unified from platform to device. It’s streamlined, but it’s also been designed to encourage people to spend more time on the platform – Mark Zuckerberg wants Facebook to become a “personal newspaper” for all your friends to read.

But what will all this mean for brands? Increased focus on subsections such as music and photography will mean that brands will need to fight for attention, and at the same time create content that is immersive, engaging and that people will want to engage with in order to earn their place in the new news feed.

It may be a little while before Facebook gets the balance right and are able to please both the brands that fork out for advertising, and the main user base of consumers. But one thing is for certain – Facebook is tidying things up and streamlining processes, and in a world where we’re used to doing things faster and easier I don’t see anything wrong with that.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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When Did a Brand Last Surprise & Delight You?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:18:00 +0000

I’ve just started working with global customer experience research company Strativity, and as so often happens when I’m getting under the skin of a new client, I start seeing brand interactions through their lenses. The passionate team at Strativity focuses on the need for companies to act energetically on the principle that simply meeting expectations isn’t enough; that a brand must be exceptional for customers to remain excited, interested and therefore loyal.

Reviewing brand interactions with that filter has made me think about PR.

I loved Jessops. The chap in the Oxford shop sold me my first Digital SLR camera last year and he never once failed to ask me if I was enjoying it, each time I popped in for a filter or photos. It delighted me every time and it was authentic. I’m gutted they’ve gone.

Hobbycraft has possibly the most helpful people I have ever encountered. I went in for advice about a piece of textile art that I didn’t want to frame behind glass. The minute I explained my problem, a member of the team swiftly got someone to take over from her on the till and chatted to me for a good ten minutes or so until she had worked out a solution. She surprised me with such fantastic service and if I were the crafty type I would be a regular.

Contrast those experiences with my trip to The Phoenix Picturehouse, part of the chain recently acquired by Cineworld. I’m a Phoenix devotee and this weekend I indulged in a Saturday afternoon trip on the spur of the moment (Lincoln, since you ask). When my small popcorn arrived I quipped that it was too big for one person and that next time I’d ask for a child’s box. Rather than laughing along or even saying "here, let me do that now", the guy behind the desk said with no smile: "You could try but I don’t think you’ll have much luck. That’s for the children’s shows".

Imagine the difference if he had said: "tell you what: give me 20p less and you can have a child’s one". If front line staff were allowed to be spontaneous and go off script occasionally, wouldn’t we all get a better experience? I’m sure retail jobs must be more interesting when you can devote time or thought to little acts of kindness.

This is what got me thinking about the relation to PR. If customer service strategists asked their PR folk to join them in creating exceptional experiences for customers, I’m convinced we could help. We’re used to working with tight budgets but heaps of imagination. When we communications people are dreaming up media headlines or engaging campaigns for Facebook, we should ask: ‘Does this fit the brand promise? Will frontline staff live up to this experience?’

These two sides of a business are coming together in social media, driven by the increased use of Twitter and Facebook as channels for complaints. Wouldn’t it be better if we teamed up regularly for positive results, creating exceptional experiences for customers?

by Carole Scott, Director
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Vine from Twitter: What You Need to Know

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:35:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, Twitter launched something new and shiny upon the world of social media in the form of Vine. Vine is essentially Twitter in video form; short, six second looping videos without sound. Twitter says Vine is “a new way to share video” and stresses that the brevity of six seconds means that you have to be highly creative. Many, including myself, have already been highly dismissive of the concept due to the way it encourages insanely fast cuts and pace. But in the interest of balance, there are definitely opportunities for brands to utilise Vine effectively if they spend some time getting to grips with it.

Vine lends itself nicely to creating a call-to-action. If you’re a clothing retailer and you’ve got a great new range of jeans, you could film them, flash up the price and a web address where you can ‘buy them now’. If you’re a charity, you could encourage people to take part in fundraising activity. Or if you’re holding an event, you could show what’s going on backstage in the build up and highlight your event’s Twitter hashtag.

Things like testimonials may work with Vine. Or product launches. Or meeting your teams.

The most important advice I can offer if you’re considering getting involved in the world of Vine is to spend some time testing things out and seeing what works. Too many cuts and trying to force too much content into six seconds makes for a confusing, head-spinning experience that’s good for man nor beast. But do have fun with it; Vine is new, so the more innovative and creative you are with it, the better.

Worth bearing in mind is that the Vine app still has a long, long way to go in terms of functionality. It only works on mobile devices, so everything you do must be done through your phone, not your computer. If you choose not to share immediately, getting a link to your video to share on is a torturous process. And you cannot really edit your video once you’ve filmed it. You could spend half an hour setting things up and filming the first five seconds, screw something up in the last second and have to start all over again. I know; I’ve done it. Also, Vine is currently only available for iPhone, so if you’re on Android, tough.

My overall advice? Vine is very, very new and worth considering as a small part of your wider social media engagement activity (despite my personal scepticism). But please don’t just rush in before considering how you’re going to use it, doing your research and planning out your video beforehand, and weighing up whether it will actually add anything to your communications mix.

by Paul Sutton, Head of Social Communications. Follow Paul on Twitter and check out his social media blog, FutureComms
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Has Social Media & SEO Become a Popularity Contest?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 09:28:00 +0000

It’s never really been about the number of fans you acquire during the course of a social media campaign… Whilst seeing fan numbers tick up on Facebook, and your follower numbers slowly inflate on Twitter is certainly a boost to those people behind the social media activity, what has always been important is how relevant the people you are reaching are and whether claiming their fan-ship will ultimately have business impact.

Even Google is looking to capture the human impact of influencer. It’s no longer the number of back-links your website has that impacts on SEO value, Google is now considering the role, and influence, of the people writing the content. I have to wonder whether changes like this increasingly recognize that, as much as we’d like to see the online word as a level playing field, some people’s opinion will matter more than others.

The world has always been full of influencers – it’s why celebrity advocates are a popular tool to encourage consumers to buy into a brand - but this has been magnified online. Influencers now have the potential to not only drive opinion through recommendation, but also directly impact SEO. Companies with corporate blog for example now need to identify who should be their content authors (ideally those who are active/influential online) in order to ensure that they are maximizing both quality content and search engine optimization requirements.

Whilst I see the value of Google Author (in fact it makes a lot of sense to me), I do worry that this will mean that the internet will, at least for in the short term, become even more the domain of the highly influential and opinionated. It will take people some time to jump on the Google Author band wagon, and adapt their strategies in such a way as to maximize their spokespeople – and then they might find themselves playing catch-up.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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Pop Goes The Brand

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:41:00 +0000

Can’t get you out of my head. Kylie put it so well, in what some people considered her finest pop song, and others of us instantly recognised as her thesis on branding. Because isn’t that what we’re trying to achieve – a brand pop-song? Isn’t song-writing a more apt description, than ‘storytelling’?

All the stuff about ‘story’ can lead, too easily, into complexity – chapters, narrative arcs, dramatis personae. When really, we just want our brands to sing us a song.

Medieval bards sang news-songs as they moved from village to village. In the sixties, David Frost and the ‘That Was The Week That Was’ team gave us a Topical Calypso. And Coke would still like to teach the world to sing (in perfect harmony).

Catchy. Simple. Sticky. Boy meets girl. Man bites dog. Over and over. Like a rolling stone.

Intro - Verse – Chorus – Verse – Chorus – Bridge – Verse – Chorus - Outro. Applause.

Verses, to move the simple story along. Choruses, for unashamed repetition of the theme. Bridge, to bring change, heighten tension: the turning point and fulcrum. Final Verse to resolve, big chorus to play out.

The listener is left with the tickle of the brand ear-worm, and an infectious brand tune to whistle. It doesn’t have to ‘become’ a song, any more than a brand storyboard must become a 30-second TV spot. It’s just a succinct summation of the brand (and if you’re looking for something to play on the phones when customers are on hold, it gives a good place to start).

My suggestion:

Do the brand positioning work (competitors, customers, meaningful, relevant differentiation)

Determine the brand persona (I’m an archetypes guy)

Find the song to match: Shirley Bassey’s ‘Big Spender’ (for a ruler brand?) to Frank’s ‘My Way’ (for a maverick?)

Have some fun re-writing the lyrics

Innocent Smoothies: How about the theme song to the ‘Banana Splits’?
Samsung (v Apple): ‘Blue Suede Shoes’?
Berocca: Elbow’s ‘One Day Like This’?

Your thoughts, comments and MP3s are welcome. Now That’s What I Call Music...

by Colin Cather, Marketing Director
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The Drawbacks of Facebook Ranked Comments

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 10:47:00 +0000

Have you heard the news? Facebook is testing a new feature. Yes, more new features. It can’t just be me that has noticed how the social media giant seems to be whipping up a new tool, or advertising option or stream every week. As social media users we’re like a child at Christmas, surrounded by so many shiny things and strange shaped objects that we just don’t know what to play with first. But I have to wonder whether consumers are really interested in playing with all these news toys at all? Maybe our well-loved and familiar security blanket is all we need?

Facebook’s newest update is planned to be a re-jig of company page timelines. Rather than the chronological stream of updates that currently appears on a brand’s timeline, the whisper is that Facebook is currently testing a timeline that prioritisesthose updates that have generated the most engagement.

On the surface, 'ranked comments' sounds great. A brand wants to create engaging content, wants fans to engage with that content and push that content to a wider reaching network of potential fans who may then like the content and so on, and what better way to achieve that than by positioning it at the top of the timeline. Currently posts are pushed down the wall as they are succeeded by newer updates. But that’s my problem…what if those newer updates are actually more relevant to current fans?

What happens in a crisis situation? A company Facebook page often becomes the focus for consumers voicing their opinions, and when magnified enormously as in a crisis situation the 'engagement' of a post could go through the roof. But that’s not going to help the company manage the situation. If anything it could prolong it. Maybe Facebook is trying to turn itself into a more transparent platform where everyone is able to see the positives and negatives easily and things can’t be hidden down the wall but I can see this causing problems if there aren’t safeguards in place.

The new feature also makes a big assumption that Facebook users travel away from their news feeds to consume their network’s updates. In fact, over 90% of all interactions take place inthe news feed, meaning that users have no need to travel to a Facebook wall – which makes the order that the posts appear in rather redundant.

The new feature is still in testing, so it might be one of those things that gets refined when it is rolled out. But from what I’ve heard so far, I remain fairly sceptical.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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Churchill Does the Right Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Churchill Insurance's decisive action to cut its ties with Martin Clunes quickly and concisely is a great example of how best to handle celebrity relationships when they no longer fit the brand. It was clear from all the press coverage that Clunes had worked closely with the insurer to end the relationship in a responsible and planned way. As a result the coverage had a factual feel to it rather than dramatic or sensational. I felt warmer to the brand than I normally would. Usually the sight of that nodding dog and the tedious 'guessing game' conversations between it and Clunes are as much of a turn off as that bloody awful Go Compare opera singer (to be clear, I bear no grudge to the actual singer - merely the personality he has taken on for the ads! I'm sure he's a lovely man). When I can, I mute the ads to avoid the Clunes/Churchill deathly combo.

So the question now is what direction will Churchill's creatives take the ads? Is it too late to make a plea to kill off the dog for good - a tongue in cheek ad that had the dog caught speedy and sacked would definitely push my creative buttons.

Alas, it's unlikely to happen, as I'm sure research has shown time and again that the British public love their slow speaking, nodding dog. Probably as much as they love their acutely annoying meerkats.

Yes, I know I'm a miserable old git and these brands have done a superb job on their campaigns. You don't need to tell me that. And I definitely don't have an alternative that would deliver a long-lasting campaign that could be spun through numerous creative iterations.

But just because successful campaigns are successful doesn't mean I have to like them!

by Carole Scott, Director
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EdgeRank: Why It's Important & What You Need To Know

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:20:00 +0000

Anyone who manages a Facebook Page and works in social media marketing will be all too aware of the need to keep the Page interesting and active in order to leverage any marketing value. However, there's a hidden element to Facebook that is hugely important, but that many Page administrators are unaware of; an algorithm called EdgeRank. EdgeRank determines how many people see your status updates in their newsfeed, and as the vast majority of action on Facebook happens in the newsfeed, a high EdgeRank score is vital.

Edgerank: What You Need to Know on Prezi

by Paul Sutton, Head of Social Communications. For more from Paul, check out his social media blog, FutureComms
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Social Media & Employee Engagement

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:45:00 +0000

Marketers are encouraged to engage with stakeholders, and this is nothing new. But it amazes me how, in many situations, companies are not using their key communications platform to communicate with some of their key stakeholders, that being their employees.

Companies are afraid of how to manage social media within their own business. There’s a lot of confusion and hype that simply puts people off. We’ve all heard the stories about 'the-colleague-of-a-friend' who doesn’t do any work, and just spends the day updating their statuses, or the company director who left their Twitter profile logged in only for it to be abused by an intern. Even Goldman Sachs, which has a 1% stake in Facebook, blocks access to the social network giant on its company machines. However, allowing access social networks for internal communication doesn’t necessarily mean that it will have a detrimental impact on your business.

Whilst unlocking the social media firewall isn’t going to be right for all businesses, access to social networks can bolster stakeholder engagement across key business areas.

Customer service: Using internal social networks can provide instant access to organisational expertise
Product development: When used as a strategic tool, access to social networks can identify potential opportunities and threats within the market
Human resources: In addition to facilitating recruitment by providing access to social networks, employees feel a greater sense of trust and that they are respected

At BOTTLE we use Yammer as our internal social network. Tools like this are a great way to facilitate internal communications, allowing colleagues to communicate with each other without cluttering up inboxes. When employees across a business are connected, improvements and developments can be accelerated.

Whether your company is ready to have its own Facebook page or Twitter profile is one thing, but whether it is ready to engage internally is quite another. Ultimately social media is a communications tool that, if used appropriately, can have direct business impact just as long as the use of social media remains strategic.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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No Future?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 12:11:00 +0000

Future Gazing and Trend Spotting – the market-data-mining and sophisticated analysis mixed with a long-range view from beneath a dampened towel. Leaning backwards in your chair as the eyeline extends from the nugget in your hand, out towards the mists on the distant horizon. And there it is.

Boom.

The nifty neologism, the perky portmanteau.

EGOnomics. EVEolution. AtmosFEAR. (all courtesy of the Faith Popcorn BrainReserve)

EGOnomics – whereby consumers attempt to offset an increasingly depersonalised society, and crave recognition of their individuality.

And I look on these, and I smile the smile of recognition, and begin to consider how this Periodic Table of Societal Elements will form the molecules of my next chemistry meeting with a new client.

Except. The smile is faltering. What the? It’s not working. Sure, I can recognise these things, this future.

And the client’s board members - climbing into their hybrids - can certainly whiff a bit of AtmosFEAR.

But their customers - with their bus passes, and with their trainers from Matalan – can they recognise it? It’s not that concerns for the environment and ratios of women-in-the-broardroom are the privelege of the prosperous, it’s just that – well, Maslow probably had it about right – the pointy-bit of the pyramid needs to rest upon the satisfied-levels beneath.

The futures into which Future Gazers gaze look decidedly like the worries, concerns and aspirations of the Self-Actualisers. The ‘Worried-Well’, as GPs have been known to call them.

They look a bit like #firstworldproblems.

Which is fine, up to a point. The tingling nerve-endings of these wants and desires are ready for our finest marketing micro-surgery. The nuanced, subtle craft we feel we’ve been sharpening our scalpels for. And – neatly – these are the guys with the dosh, too.

Except. It misses a lot of people. People in the #firstworld and people elsewhere too. Everyday People. Joe and Jo Public. The ones whom the Self-Actualisers consistently disregard (and so over-estimate) when they’re asked “what is the average income in this country?”

Yet Jo & Joe have futures, and aspirations, and worries, and concerns. And they’re consumers, too.

So my question is: is anyone gazing into their future?

by Colin Cather, Marketing Director
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Research from Youth100

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:39:00 +0000

I've always been a fan of The Beans Group. When he was at start up stage, I had a lovely conversation with James Eder about PR and ever since then I've followed the brand with interest and admiration. In a new move, the group has introduced a new brand ranking, Youth 100; the top 100 brands enjoyed/liked by 16-24 year olds.

The research (a sample size of 1,000 followed up by focus groups) didn't reveal too many surprises; Greggs is the favourite fast food, Apple top in tech, YouTube top website/app and so on. I was quite surprised that Baileys made it into the top five spirits list and that IKEA was the second favourite retailer but overall, it confirmed what the majority of us oldies would guess at.

Image credit: http://ow.ly/eW4NR

More insightful was what the focus groups revealed. Its very easy to assume that young people only want cool and desirable but in the majority of categories, it was value that came number one in young peoples concerns. Greggs offers very filling food at a reasonable price, not just cheap food. H&M was a popular fashion retailer because it offers fashion value, not simply cheap clothes. Similarly, Converse came top in this category not because of clever marketing but because the sneakers are durable at a decent price (and look good, whatever your style).

There was only one area that was really about status symbols. Yep, its tech. Luke from Student Beans, who headed up the research, reported that young people are mesmerised by Apple. He reported that one student confessed her embarrassment at turning up to uni with a laptop when everyone had iPads. She bought an iPad.

But it was reassuring that this kind of status envy was rare in the whole exercise. There was much talk in the panel discussion about the need fully to appreciate that brands must meet an authentic need or desire felt by young people in order to engage successfully with them. Critically, added-value doesn't mean freebies. For Spotify (represented on the panel by the eloquent Chris Staples) added value is exemplified by moving quickly to ensure that Spotify is fully integrated into social lives. As he said, someone hears a track in a bar that they like, they Shazam it, share it on Spotify, all while theyre chatting in the bar with friends.

The winners in the business of gaining love and loyalty will be the brands that get that, the panel advised, as it is those brands that will forge the sought after status of friend among young people.

Great food for thought.

by Carole Scott, Director
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The News Release is Dead, Long Live the News Release

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:21:00 +0000

The good old news release, the press release, the media release (whatever you want to call it) packs a punch despite our ever growing dependence on social and visual media to get messages across. The news release has come a long way since the first modern version of this means of communication was created in 1906 by the Ivy Lee agency which was working with Pennsylvania Railroad and needed to get the company’s messages out about the Atlantic City train wreck. Ivy Lee sent the news release to journalists and even invited photographers to the scene of the wreck in what was probably one of the earliest modern day examples of crisis management.

Even today, while our means with engaging with journalists may have become more instantaneous, the news release, while now competing against other tools in the PR professional’s armoury, still holds power. Get the timing wrong of a news release as Google found to its cost last week, or the content or end audience, and the repercussions on the reputation of an organisation can be major.

At the same time, with the increased use of social media to engage with employees, customers and media, we’re beginning to question how effective the ‘traditional’ news release actually is. My view is that while it’s interesting to look at the evolution of the news release over the years, we need to think more carefully than ever before about what we want our releases to achieve. We still need to get our clients’ stories out and whereas traditionally, the news release may have played a bigger role, we’re using other media much more frequently to reach journalists now such as eshots, email pitches and Twitter.
That said, the news release is far from dead. Most organisations hold an online bank of current and archived news releases which media and other stakeholders find highly useful. Particularly in corporate communications and in the financial calendar, the news release is how financial results are communicated and is central to the effective communication of this kind of highly detailed or share price-sensitive information. News releases also are still the number one way of reaching the newswires such as Bloomberg and the Press Association.

The underlying principle with the news release as with all other means of communications is the consideration of who we need to reach, what we want to say to them and what we’re trying to achieve. These needs will drive the format of the news release for years to come and while we’ll use new tools and new platforms to achieve our communications objectives, I believe that the written word in the format of a news release will continue to live on.

by Johanna Cassells, Director

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The ROI from Social Shoppers

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 15:33:00 +0000

I needed a new dress. BOTTLE was shortlisted for two Digital Impact Awards when disaster struck: I realised that my faithful 'I’m-going-to-an-awards-ceremony' dress hadn’t returned from its last visit to the dry cleaners in top-notch condition. So I frantically started shopping.

I didn’t go to a shop. I didn’t log on to an online store. I went to Facebook.

I’m terrible at deciding what suits me or what suits an occasion, so my first shopping port-of-call was to source recommendations. My friends were great – some emailed me links, others offered to take me shopping, but ultimately I was really let down by the Facebook social shopping experience. I visited brand page after brand page, shop after shop, and every single one was so driven and focused on closing the sale my needs as a shopper were forgotten.

In a retail setting, lots of energy is put into presenting the product on a hanger, or attracting potential customers through the door through visual merchandising. Inside, you might get a casual “can I help you with anything?,” but generally you’re left to browse at your own pleasure. But online this casual interest gets heightened into a hard sell. When I left a post on a brand’s Facebook page 80% of the brands responses were to direct me to their website to purchase. There’s the disconnect. I wasn’t ready to purchase. I’m still admiring, mentally showcasing all I’ve seen before deciding what I might be interested in. But instead, before I’ve had the chance to engage in the social experience of shopping I’m being press-ganged into a sale.

Of course you have to keep ROI in mind, and the quickest way to secure a return is to push sales. But social media allows both direct marketing and customer service to blend, and that should enhance the experience. If I have a question before I buy I can ask it – and that in itself should be a valuable insight for the retailer.

A proactive Facebook page should contain a community of brand advocates, but instead of engaging with them, some brands are directing people away from the page as soon as they arrive. I just worry that in our rush to make a return some brands are putting their consumers off the social shopping experience – and as engagement increases the likelihood of increased lifetime value, I have to wonder whether this really is the best way to achieve return on investment…

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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On Combating Your Fears

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 05:00:00 +0000

“That’s silly.” That’s what my little girl said when mummy told her that daddy was going to go to the top of a very tall building and climb down it. And standing on the roof of the maternity unit of the seven story John Radcliffe hospital in the pouring rain, cold, petrified and peering down 100ft to a group of cheering supporters who looked impossibly small, I was very inclined to agree with her. There is much wisdom in a three year old.

Abseiling is not a pastime that I ever saw myself taking up. Largely due to the fact that I’m not overly enamoured by heights. Being in a light aircraft makes me nervous. So dangling from a rope off the side of a building is not my idea of a fun way to spend a Sunday morning. And yet here I was, attached to a complicated rope structure by a couple of karabiners while a man called Alan instructed me to “adjust your feet, relax and just lean back off the roof”.

Why?!

Three months previously I’d signed my life away for two reasons. First, at BOTTLE every employee is encouraged to take on a ‘Bring it On Challenge’ once per year; something that forces us to step out of our comfort zone. Or in my case, ‘off’ it. And second, my wife bullied me into it.

A friend of hers was organising the abseil in order to raise funds for the neonatal intensive care unit at the JR hospital, which cares for very seriously ill babies. A year previously, her son William was born with an unending list of medical issues and he spent the first six weeks of his life in this unit. He was cared for with such skill and devotion by the amazing NIC team that, against all the odds, he survived the first few days and weeks and became well enough to transfer to Southampton General Hospital for heart surgery to further prolong his life. Unfortunately, William lost his fight at the end of September 2011, aged under five months old. But for the time his parents got to spend with him thanks to the JR, his mum said "we will always be eternally grateful".

My wife was eight months’ pregnant herself when she heard of the abseil and, with potentially serious complications, it was not beyond possibility that our new baby may end up at the JR (he didn’t, thankfully). And so, under much duress (fear of heights anyone?!), I signed up to walk off the roof of a seven story building.

Zoning Out

I remember leaning back into a harness that was cutting me in half (it’s just as well I’ve already had kids, that’s all I’m saying) and I remember landing on terra firma. But I recall very little from how I got from the top of the building to the bottom. I kind of ‘zoned out’. I didn’t hear my wife and little girl cheering me on from below; I didn’t hear the taunts from my friend above me that she was catching me up. I just remember concentrating on my feet and making sure they were in contact with the wall as much as humanly possible.

Would I do it again? For a good cause, yes. For fun, no thank you very much. Leaning back off that roof, 100ft up in the air, was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. People do bungee jumps and leap out of planes, and good for them. But I think on Sunday I found my limit. I’m glad I did it, though. Personally I’ve raised over £500 for the JR hospital and, as a group, we’ve raised an estimated £8000 (you can still donate through JustGiving). But for suggesting it in the first place, my wife will pay. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But soon...

by Paul Sutton, Head of Social Communications. For more from Paul, check out his social media blog, FutureComms

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Is Digital Connectivity Always a Good Thing?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 11:51:00 +0000

I read an article today about how over a quarter of UK Journalists now believe that they couldn’t do their job without access to social media. Now whether or not that’s something you believe isn’t the point – what it illustrates just how much reliance we now put on technology.

Cast your mind back just 15 years. You’d travel to a meeting without the help of a mobile app to tell you if your train was delayed, or the assistance of Google Maps and a handy GPS locator to guide you to the door of your meeting. To call ahead to let them know if you were delayed would’ve required stopping off in a telephone booth, and the meeting itself would have probably been done over reams of paper because your computer would have been far from portable…

But that seems antiquated. Out of date. Old. We’ve simply adapted, rapidly, to a world being shaped by technology.

A recent survey in the US showed that more than half of teenagers between 13 and 17 spend more than 30 hours a week using web connected devices. And that’s outside of school. Our teenagers find their environments being transformed into a fast-paced and highly interactive two-dimensional space on a regular basis, and it won’t be long before their brains physically adapt.

Our brains have evolved to adapt to our environment. Our brain cells are shaped and strengthen by individual experience…so what will happen when the external world we experience changes?

I’m sure we’ve all been in a situation when someone just won’t meet our eye. It’s uncomfortable. Eye-contact is a pivotal component of human interaction and yet in the majority of social networks this simply doesn’t exist – our skills for building relationships and empathy are already adapting – the more continuously connected people are in cyberspace the less isolated we feel. We share out thoughts in updates, our movements through check ins, even our entertainment choices online almost without thinking.

Our technology driven world is not only changing how we live, but it is also changing how we interact. Technology has dramatically changed the world in the last two decades, so much so that we no longer notice how connected digitally we are. Whether this is a good thing or not, I’m undecided.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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How to Put the 'Me' in SME

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:40:00 +0000

Perusing my fiancé’s monthly edition of First Voice, the official magazine for the members of the Federation of Small Businesses, I was blown away by two statistics. First, small businesses in the UK generate over £1,500 billion for our economy, and second, they employ over 14 million people. I knew that the UK’s small business sector was key to the growth of the UK, but £1,500 billion? You can hardly count the noughts.

From a business perspective this is a huge market opportunity and it really adds to the onus of communicating with these businesses in the fastest and most effective way.

I have worked for a number of PR agencies and I can honestly say that BOTTLE is the best at developing a communications strategy that is 100% founded on having an in depth audience understanding. Many of our clients businesses are rooted in selling to small businesses – which makes our job clear; reaching and influencing them.

This can only be achieved by making a solution relevant to the challenges faced by small businesses, to ultimately put the “me” in “SME.” By flipping the focus to look at the customer first, clients can be assured that they are being positioned as solution focused – which in turn lends itself to an array of thought leadership opportunities within publications that are written for and read by small businesses. Win, win.

by Claire Jones, Senior PR Consultant

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Whatever Happened to Second Life?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:01:00 +0000

Anyone remember Second Life? We had a hoot in the office when a colleague referred to going to pick up her son as starting her ‘second life’. I hadn’t thought about this weird ‘other world’ for several years and remembering the hype made me laugh out loud. Needless to say the ‘young ones’ didn’t even know what it was.

But those of us old enough to remember will also remember the panic of its hype as 'the next big thing’ and not really knowing what the hell to do with it. I gave up at the first hurdle when I discovered that I didn’t even have a free choice of Avatar name (I was presented with a list of about ten surnames to choose from) and dismissed it as just too difficult. But I remember being assailed by a nagging anxiety; that I should get in there and investigate, that I would fail my clients if I didn’t, as I’d be the cause of them failing to exploit the biggest thing on the internet since, well, the internet.

Reminded of Second Life yesterday, I did a wee Google search and found a very good article from a year ago on the Guardian’s website that talks about why Second Life never lived up to the hype. It's worth a read.

It seems obvious now that Second Life’s complicated set up would prevent it ever having mass appeal, but the reaction of the media at the time had us all in a right old panicky sweat. There is one thing it had the potential for, though, which I liked the idea of – virtual hang outs. Now, how could I do that in a much easier to access way, I wonder? Ah yes, Google+ hangouts.

Will Google+ hangouts do for brands and services what Second Life simply couldn’t because of its high barrier to entry? Time will tell but I think it could. Personally speaking I’ve been slow to adopt, but last night’s trip down memory lane has made me rethink…

by Carole Scott, Director
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What Can Charities Learn from London 2012?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 08:53:00 +0000

In the two weeks since I’ve returned to work from volunteering as a reporter at the London Olympic Games, there’s been one question quietly circling my brain: can charities learn from the way volunteering was branded and promoted at London 2012?

I’m not a volunteer by nature. I used to work in the charity sector and left feeling that I had ‘served my time’; for years I was underpaid and my work wasn’t appreciated. Since then, I have struggled whenever asked to give voluntary help. I have a sense of wading through treacle.

I know there will be many people who say that we don’t need clever branding to attract volunteers in the UK. We have a rich vein of amazing people who give up their time to do difficult jobs that organisations couldn’t pay for. I know this because I have a friend who volunteers in her local Oxfam shop as well as being a trustee for at least three charities for whom she is very active. She’s only 43 and in a very responsible, busy, job.

But for every person who has that inner motivation and volunteers for all the right reasons, there will be thousands of bright, talented people who don’t and who could be put to good use in their spare time, who miss out on that amazing sense of community because they fear the voluntary sector, think it will be boring and a drain. If charities want to appeal to those people (and they should because they have a lot to offer), they will need to work harder to make volunteering feel like a once in a lifetime opportunity, make it feel exciting and dynamic and – above all – tap into the selfish gene, the one that asks ‘what’s in it for me?’. It’s brutal but true.

That’s what London 2012 did so well.

It was a genius move to give us a name, rather than simply calling us volunteers. I extolled the virtues of this in my previous post. It clearly gave the media a rallying call for praise too. Frank Dalleres wrote in City A.M. during the Olympics, that allowing Games Makers to let their personality shine through was one of the best initiatives from the organisers. I agree. But there was so much more done for and with Games Makers before, during and after the Games that all contributed to the feeling of belonging. Some of it involved big budgets but

I discovered a new-found respect for McDonald’s as a result. While I will never, ever eat a McDonald’s (I tried once in the Games Maker canteen and I will never repeat the experience) I do have an admiration for the company that I never had before, because it put the training programme together for the Games Makers and did a brilliant job of it. To me, this is further evidence of how devising a branded programme and stimulating personal pride in volunteering can have a highly beneficial impact.

Okay, so not every charity has huge ‘once in a lifetime’ budgets or corporate support. But I’m convinced that there are things that smaller organisations could do to make volunteering more attractive. Whatever your budget, I believe you can create a programme, give it a name, make people feel part of something special.

by Carole Scott, Director
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The Genius of the Games Maker Olympic Branding

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:54:00 +0000

I am a Games Maker. I hope you can detect the pride with which I state that.

I am a Games Maker and I will carry that badge of honour with me for the rest of my life.

Praise has been heaped upon praise when it comes to the way we helped make the Olympic Games and no doubt the same will happen during the Paralympics. Coming back from the glory of working at the Games to real life, I’ve been thinking a lot about the care and intelligence that went into the Games Maker programme.

What made the Olympics different was the sense of it being a once in a lifetime opportunity – the Games are unlikely to be back in the UK in my life. Then, as I began the application process, something very very clever happened. I was striving to be something – Games Maker. There would be thousands of us, so we would all just be tiny cogs, but at the same time I felt a sense of excitement at being part of it. The buzz started when I sat with 19,999 other people at Wembley with Eddie Izzard on the stage urging us to be the best we could; to take pride in our roles. By the time I was given my ‘I made the Games’ baton on my last day, I truly felt that this was a title I will treasure.

The London 2012 Village Life Office

I had a jammy role as a Games Maker, which was a joy to do. I was one of 12 volunteer reporters for Village Life, a daily, full colour, eight page newspaper created for Athletes and distributed throughout the Athletes’ Village. We were a fun bunch – journalists, writers, communications and public relations specialists – bright, sparky and determined to do a good job. Two editors (Andrew Shields, Susannah Cooper) and four designers were the backbone of the team. The professional team had been with LOCOG for years, part of an Editorial Services team that produced circa 2,000 publications for the Games. They were amazing; staying in the office while we got to do the fun bits – interviewing athletes, taking great photos.

It was an immense privilege being based in the Village. I interviewed athletes from all over the world, from countries as diverse as Bhutan and the Bahamas. Walking in every day to mingle with people from 204 countries from teeny tiny gymnasts to super tall basketball players was a unique experience. We have – according to our Editor based on IOC feedback – created the gold standard for Olympics to come, which is a great achievement and what he set out to do from the start. I’m thankful to have been part of that. And I’m very proud of the fact that an idea I had at training was taken on board – to interview a Games Maker every day, so the athletes could understand the varied and fascinating backgrounds of the people in the purple and orange polyester uniforms.

There were a number of things that contributed to my excitement about volunteering at London 2012. But of all of them, being named Games Maker was the smartest. Whoever created the name deserves one of the many honours that will come out of London 2012. For all the fun I had, I just don’t think I’d have felt quite the same sense of belonging if I had simply been an Olympic volunteer. See the difference that makes? Say it out loud. Olympic volunteer. Games Maker.

This is part one of a two part series on London 2012. In the second part of this post, Carole will look at what charities can learn from the way volunteering at London 2012 was branded and promoted.

by Carole Scott, Director
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7 Key Ways to Leverage Instagram & Pinterest

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:40:00 +0000

A couple of weeks back, photo sharing network Instagram confirmed it has surpassed 80 million registered users, who have shared over 4 billion photos. Log onto Facebook now and you don’t have to scroll very far before you find a shared Instagram photo, and it’s on course to hit the 100 million user mark by the end of September. Combine this with the rise and rise of Pinterest and, just in case you still haven’t caught on, images are now big business in social media.

Back in March I wrote about the power of visual storytelling; communicating your brand’s story through imagery rather than text. Much of the feedback I’ve had or the examples of brands doing this I’ve seen since betray companies struggling to get to grips with the concept. And yet both Instagram and Pinterest are gaining big adoption from businesses, with 40% of the top 100 global brands now having a presence on Instagram and 51% having a presence on Pinterest.

There are some notable successes among those. As well as acknowledged social brands you’d expect to see on a platform like Instagram (the likes of MTV, Starbucks and Nike have large followings), others such as Gucci, Tiffany and Audi are capitalising on their ability to show their customers (and potential customers) glimpses behind the shop window.

So what can you learn from their approach? Here are seven key tips:

1. Post original photos and images that followers can’t find elsewhere. This might be behind-the-scenes snaps and peeks of what’s to come elsewhere. Maybe from an ad shoot, or from a company event, or from product development, or of your products in use.

2. Be creative and experiment. Share pictures that are compelling and interesting, and that draw the eye in a feed of other images. Bland and boring doesn’t work on Pinterest and Instagram.

3. If your photos tell your brand story, then it stands to reason that they have to be authentic to your brand. Don’t be forced, don’t look like you’re trying too hard. People use Instagram in a very casual way, and you need to try and replicate that.

4. Be consistent. As with all forms of social media, posting a burst of five pictures in an hour and then nothing for three days is bad practice. So spread your posts out and post enough to keep people engaged and wanting to see more.

5. Pay attention to what users like and comment on most. Photos are emotive and you’re trying to build genuine emotional connections with your followers. So put thought into your content, where it comes from and what it looks like before you post it. Refine your content strategy as you go.

6. Whatever else you do, engage the community. Follow other users, like their images, repin them, comment on their photos. Posting is only half the job when it comes to visual media.

7. And finally, one of the big things with both Instagram and Pinterest is to really get to know the platform. Only by using it yourself can you understand the user experience and get to grips with how and why users want to consume content, what sort of imagery works and how to best interact with others.

by Paul Sutton, Head of Social Communications. For more from Paul, check out his social media blog, FutureComms

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7 Ways to Kill a Presentation Stone Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Sutton) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:46:00 +0000

Back in May, our CEO wrote a great blog on 8 Ways to Perfect the Art of Presenting which stirred up quite a bit of debate in the office. Everyone has been in the situation where they feel the end is nigh via 'death byPowerPoint.' We all have horror stories to share about the rising nausea you feel when the presenter says they are only “half way through” at slide 100.

I was recently asked to write an article for a client about what not to do in a presentation. In the spirit of sharing, I asked my colleagues for their thoughts. The answers were so insightful and amusing, I thought it was subject worth revisiting.

What Not To Do in a Presentation

Don't do a presentation for presentations' sake. If it at all avoidable, don’t do it
Never use a template. The chances are your audience won't be a crowd of idiots and they will recognize that you've deployed a search/replace tactic and just inputted their company name
Don't forget that the average concentration span is five minutes. You need to mix it up with audience polls and Q&As at regular intervals lest you want to be met with a resounding eye-glaze of boredom
Always try to talk at your usual speed. Unwittingly you'll be upping the tempo for fear of boring the audience, but your words still need to be legible
Always use minimal text on your slides. Your audience will read it and zone out, leaving an audience of snoozy-joes
Never use certain phrases renowned as presentation killers. The worst is: “I will touch upon that later”, which makes people zone out in the knowledge that there is no end in sight. Another turn off is prefixing any sentence with “obviously”: if this is the case, why on earth are you saying it?

Lastly, and most importantly, never, ever go over time. People who go over deserve the audible groans that greet them. Don’t be fooled into thinking "I am on a roll - they want to hear more!" They don't. They never do. They want you stick to time.

by Claire Jones, Senior PR Consultant

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What a stunt!

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Dunford, @rainbowclaire) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:27:00 +0000

In the PR industry, the weeks between June and August are often referred to as ‘silly season’. It is defined by Wiki as the period lasting for a few summer months typified by the emergence of frivolous news stories in the media. And guess who generates a majority of these stories? Us PRs.

Some silly season stories already this year include Haribo’s sweet portrait of the Queen and a dress made out of human hair for the Miss England contest. Love it or hate it, silly season is often full with stunts but whether they drive sales, increase brand engagement and influence consumers is another question. As PRs we’re often asked to think up BIG stunt ideas for our clients so with this and the fact that silly season is in full swing, I thought I would challenge the old age idea of stunts.

Often stunts can secure fantastic media coverage in high profile nationals and I am sure we can all think of one or two examples, the polar bear on the Thames or the Pimms giant deck chair on Bournemouth beach but do they truly deliver?

I believe there are three types of stunts:

The memorable: Gail Porter on the side of Big Ben. The stunt immediately made news headlines in the UK and within two days was covered in every tabloid paper - many as a front-page leader. A day later, the stunt had attracted broadsheet coverage and within a week it became a global news story. The FHM projection is still widely regarded as the most successful guerrilla advertising campaign ever in the UK and was voted best stunt of the 20th century by the BBC. Although the organizers said it successfully met their primary goal: penetrating the media, did it sell more copies of FHM on an on-going basis? I don’t know.

The measurable: Chantelle Houghton and Lakeside’s ‘Living Christmas Fairy’. Not only did the image of the Big Brother star adorning a tree generate 48 pieces media coverage but actually boosted footfall and sales for Lakeside retailers, so a good result. Another was Heinz. In 1999 they let it be known, in a suspiciously public way, that it was considering killing off its Salad Cream brand. Whether it was a PR stunt or not, it succeeded in temporarily doubling sales and resurrecting interest in the brand. Perhaps more important for Heinz, it proved that while it may not have had a growing brand on its hands, it did at least have a product with a nostalgic brand that could depend on a loyal customer base and sustain premium pricing.

The questionable: I read recently how a Hong Kong newspaper published an article about two smart phone users who saw a ghost in the picture they took with their phones. The pictures created a lot of online buzz but it was later announced that the “ghost” was actually a special effect created by an android phone application called Camera 360 and was a joke by the app developer.. I actually really liked this stunt – it was clever and spread across the social media as well as print but whether it had any impact on app / phone sales is another question.

There are many challenges when doing a stunt including getting across your key messages, and creating an idea that is of media interest in order to generate awareness in an attempt to ultimately meet the desired objectives. Whether the stunt is as simple as the smartphone example in Hong Kong or Gail Porter on the side of Big Ben, stunts can be effective communications tools when done well and for the right reason, but they can also be huge time and money wasters when not.

Like a lot of activity we conduct as PR professionals, there is no guarantee that stunts will get the desired cut-through - but with thought, careful planning and experience, stunts can deliver and the best PR stunts are the ones that meet the communications and business objectives.

by Victoria McGovern, Associate Director
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Controlling a Crisis - Are You Prepared?

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Dunford, @rainbowclaire) — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 14:40:00 +0000

At the summer passes and thoughts over the coming months move towards looking at budgets for 2013, businesses will start to review their strategies, commercial objectives and marketing plans. What is often not considered though is what happens and who does what if a crisis hits – i.e. a crisis communications or business continuity plan. For any company, a crisis can hit at any time. This could range from a breach of security on your website to an employee accident to a product recall and the implications for a business, if not handled effectively, can be enormous for its reputation.

So why do many businesses fail to think about plan B in the event of a crisis? Many businesses in the SME sector fall into the trap of thinking that it is mainly public sector, central government or large organisations that are affected by a crisis. Certainly, the larger crises such as G4S’s recent failings to secure fully trained personnel to man the Olympics are what make the headlines. But crises tend to hit smaller businesses in a way that may not be newsworthy yet are still detrimental to their reputation.

Take businesses’ dependence on technology for example. What if one day, you suddenly find your email has been compromised, you can’t fulfill customer orders and your entire operating system including your website is down? What processes would you implement to fix the problem? Companies should provide a working solution to employees to handle work offline and communicate with customers about what the problem is, what it means for them and how soon it will be before things get resolved.

While our dependence on technology is here to stay, it makes real sense to have an offline back up plan. At a basic level, your business continuity plan should explain who does what in a crisis, who the main spokesperson is for the business both internally and externally and the mobile phone numbers of everyone who needs to be reached. How flexible could you be without your office building if suddenly it were out of bounds? Your business continuity plan should cover critical areas such as data backup if your operating system is compromised, a secure, secondary location from which to continue work and a process for dealing with employees, customers and other stakeholders by telephone in the event they can’t be reached online. If your business had to move to a new location within 24 hours and if you didn’t have access to work email or any of your customers’ contact details, how would you handle this challenge?

Perhaps that should be the starting point for your 2013 business continuity plan.

by Johanna Cassells, Director

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Marketing, Sponsorship, PR, commerce? Very.co.uk proves you can create true integration

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Dunford, @rainbowclaire) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:25:00 +0000

As we head towards the V Festival, I am curious to know how well Very.co.uk is doing with its initiative to build on its sponsorship of Virgin Media’s V Festival.

Announced in July, I loved the idea as a PR campaign. Everyone in our industry knows that Festivals represent a great way to reach target audiences, hitting a sweet spot where people are relaxed, receptive and will associate positively with a brand that’s seen to be supporting their favourite event.

As festival goers themselves, Public Relations consultants are great at dreaming up creative ideas brands at festivals. What we’re not so good is asking how the idea could go beyond brand building into a full commercial, sales generator.

Of course, we have no way of knowing whether young women heading toward V will really have their mind on buying new clothes, when there is every likelihood that they’ll want to save their cash for fags and booze (oh yes, and maybe a bit of food too), and it is noticeable that there were no sales targets set for the exercise. Quite right. If a brand is going to experiment and do something that goes beyond the norm, then to set sales targets would be the wrong thing to do. An experiment should be allowed to be an experiment.

To me, this is PR with a commercial twist, rather than commerce with some good PR coming out of it.

Even so, I’d still love to know whether it does well in sales terms and I hope we’ll get to see a case study showcasing the ROI.

by Carole Scott, Director

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Influence and the Social Media Buying Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Claire Dunford, @rainbowclaire) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:42:00 +0000

Last month I found myself in desperate need of a new car. I was in a hurry to get a reliable motor in my driveway, but I still needed to make sure I was making the right decision. I asked friends and family for recommendations, I hit forums, websites, Twitter and Facebook to get more guidance from the online community, needing to increase my knowledge before I handed over my credit card.

The social media age has seen the buying cycle lengthened. Making up your own mind is no longer enough. Even when we’re in a rush to buy, the majority of us carry around a smartphone or a tablet, which means that we are still able to squeeze in a quick tweet or web search to make sure other people agree with our opinion.

The results of a study released this week indicate that after online publications, advice and recommendations from Facebook friends is the second most influential factor in the purchasing decision making process with brand Facebook profiles high on the list of influencers.

Any communications effort has to be accountable, and linking your activity back to ROI should be central to any activity so this makes it even more important, especially for consumer brands, that companies listen to what their customers want and adapt their social media content strategies accordingly in order to influence the buying cycle.

By targeting messages via appropriate social media channels, companies can attempt to make a window into that decision making moment that takes place during research. And the influence of connections should not be downplayed – further research suggests that even brand loyalty can go out of the window if a close connection hates your preferred brand.

Whether you’re a technology company or a laundry product, there will be people online talking about your sector – so even if you’re not engaging, your competitors may be. Social media gives you the opportunity to get involved in those conversations, to influence opinion and decision making in the buying cycled and to ultimately increase sales.

by Claire Dunford, Social Media Executive

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