Jeremy Woolf's Public Relationships

The PR Agency Problem with Integrated Communications

2018-02-03T01:38:00.000+08:00

During a recent job interview, a senior PR person asked me an interesting question: "What have you learned about our industry from your job search?"

This got me thinking. In the past few months, I’ve had more than thirty interviews with senior PR folks and recruiters. While the agencies I’ve spoken to have ranged from the biggest companies in our industry to disruptive start-up firms, one recurring theme struck me: the challenge of selling genuinely integrated services to large clients. Understandably, this was especially the case for companies that had built their brands on media relations services.

This really won’t come as a shock to folks in PR. Many large clients have separate marketing and communications functions, and agencies typically reflect their clients’ personal metrics. So, if the agency reports to comms, and the comms team is measured on securing top tier media coverage, then that’s what the agency delivers.

Birds (and people) stick in their swim lanes

This is compounded by a perception that PR = media relations. While most agencies and our industry bodies have done a fair job of trying to shift this perception, there’s more work to do. If the RFPs I’ve received over the past couple of years are anything to go by, media relations is far and away the dominant service prospective clients are wanting, with perhaps a desire that agencies ‘help’ with social amplification and the occasional blog post.

Now, before I completely disenfranchise my readers, there certainly have been great examples of integrated digital, social and media campaigns from PR agencies big and small over the past few years. I’ve had the good fortune of being involved in my fair share. But retained, recurring integrated communications at scale eludes many larger companies.

My interviewers shared a perspective that while one-off campaigns certainly got attention, their larger clients struggled to adopt a genuinely integrated mindset for day-to-day communications.

The mid-sized and larger PR agencies all seemed to have dealt with the need to offer integrated services by creating dedicated digital and social centers of excellence to service emerging client opportunities. These stand-alone digital and social teams typically did great project work - but the agencies still struggled to embed digital and social tactics – and, more critically, an integrated mindset - into retained programs alongside media relations.

So, what to do? While I can’t say I’ve cracked this nut, there are three things I feel can help any agency struggling with this challenge.

1. Double down on integrated strategy

The digital, content and social team center-of-excellence model makes sense for a bunch of reasons. The team members often have specialized skills, and the functions frequently are held to different metrics. But while they exist in a silo, they run the risk of being shrouded in mystery, especially in agencies whose revenues are dominated by media relations services. If these silos are orbiting like satellites around the business, then they’ll never get the sales, marketing and client attention they need. The answer lies, in part, to cut across the silos and focus on an integrated communications approach.

Seeing beauty in the abstract

To paraphrase Abraham Maslow, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. If your silo is media, then you’ll default to media. Same for social. Rise. Repeat. So, it’s time to go back to agency basics and collaborate on an integrated approach to communications. Build a new methodology that reflects the business environment, new, proven avenues of trust, and the content and channels that genuinely influence the audiences you’re trying to reach. Putting the right people on this exercise, throwing aside previous assumptions, and creating a scalable, truly integrated attitude to communications is a step towards embedding an integrated mindset in your agency (and its clients). It’s also critical to pilot this approach across the firm, with ‘friendly’ clients and in new business responses. This is as much a change management exercise as it is a consulting one, and can’t succeed if training equals PowerPoints shared over email. It will also require the agency’s leadership to drive the change – and hold people accountable for seeing it through. The result will be a proposition that will resonate with your more integrated-leaning clients, and help build connections with their marketing colleagues.

2. Consider the new PR baseline skills and reinvent

The perennial agency staffing/skills challenge is working out how far ahead of client demand you can afford to get. It’s a chicken/egg thing – if you know in your heart of hearts that influencers are where it’s at, and you feel you could sell in influencer marketing services, but lack the skills, do you take a punt on a specialist? Or sell first, hire later? You could tie yourself in knots. But I’d suggest before over-investing in silos, research your teams’ current skillset (and areas of interest), and assess against known short-term and medium-term needs. You might be surprised what you find.

This needs / skills assessment should point you to a new ‘core’ service offering and ideally help you reduce the silos across your business. Social media community management is an obvious tactic that should be in the tool kit of any modern PR professional. While you may need specialists with a deeper understanding in areas such as social advertising, the ability to tell stories using social channels and content is eminently teachable and, I feel, best placed in the hands of the day-to-day account teams. Identify other existing and desired talent areas, and then take another look at your silos. Hopefully you’ll find that you now can build to a much stronger base of integrated / multi-skilled consultants, and smaller, more focused centers-of-excellence…

3. Embed integrated leadership

I’ve had a handful of genuinely agency-changing client experiences in my career. At my first agency, it was securing a national contract to launch a new sporting competition. At my most recent, it was winning global business that touched almost every market and employee. The game changing clients allow you to do your best work, at scale, but are challenging to manage. Their scale and metrics can make thing

s like methodologies redundant. And if you’re hired to do media relations, you’ll probably still be doing media relations forever. This isn’t for a lack of desire. It’s for the reasons I outlined above, combined with the day-to-day challenges of running large pieces of business.

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to this, but one place to start is embedding a senior integrated strategist into the business. Have someone with a broad communications skillset commit to finding and creating opportunities. This person should sit on the core team but also have the freedom to walk the halls.

To start with, it may be as simple as getting infographics into press releases, taking a quarterly research paper and turning it into a microsite, or ensuring media coverage becomes a discussion point in a client’s LinkedIn group. But these small actions will help give both the client and the agency confidence in integrated services. From there, negotiate a pilot with a single business unit and bring your integrated methodology into the quarterly planning process. Staff the resulting program with your best integrated consultants, with support from the centers-of-excellence. From these tiny acorns, mighty (integrated) oak trees grow.

This isn’t rocket science. It’s also not easy. But if PR is ever going to get into the integrated communications game at scale, it’s going to take thinking at a strategic/practice, HR and client team level. It will take strong agency leadership combined with a friendly client who’s willing to join you on this journey. I’d throw in something about marathons, sprints, journeys and single steps, but you get the point. Just remember, when it comes to PR and integrated strategy It’s not me. It’s us.

The Hunt Part Eight - The Best Interview Question, Ever

2018-01-24T04:13:00.001+08:00

I’m not a huge believer in the mystical power of dates. But I’ve certainly used the passing from 31 December 2017 to 1 January 2018 to think about my career search. Now that the November/December lull is behind us, I’m grabbing the bull by the horns, putting my nose to the grindstone, and embracing other clichés in search of the next big thing. This next phase is built on some accumulated industry and personal lessons from the past few months. Here are some highlights…

A man I spotted sitting on a hill, probably pondering the meaning of life

Hit the Refresh Button

It’s time to hit refresh. In part, this is inspired by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s excellent Hit Refresh. To quote Nadella, “…when you reload a web page, some things change, but others stay the same.” When it comes to my career search, it’s time to look at those things I want to change, and those that I want to highlight. And ensure I’m giving both the appropriate attention.

The practical reality of my refresh is two-fold:

1. Spear-gun fishing (not driftnet)

I’m now focusing on targeting firms I want to work with, and spending less time trying to squeeze into advertised roles. My strike rate with advertised vacancies (even with well-crafted cover letters) isn’t great. I feel this is largely a reflection of my eclectic, international career. Or maybe it’s my deodorant…

2. Hanging out a (small) shingle

The job hunting cycle is wearying, and I need to focus my brain on other things (and make money). I’m working on a series of service offerings for both agencies and companies, and plan to get these into the wild shortly. In the meantime, if you’d like help with awards entries, copywriting, integrated planning, new business support (or washing dishes), do let me know…

Give Up the Ghosting

I’ve met with probably 20 firms, either to discuss advertised vacancies or for informational interviews. These have generally been good experiences, I’ve learned a lot, and in many cases the conversations continue.

However, on a couple of vacancy discussions, I’ve experienced the job application version of ghosting. For those over 40, here’s a definition. This has happened to me a couple of times in recent months. In one case, I had been through three interviews, and there was a commitment made to more conversations. In the other, I’d met with eight people at the company, and felt things were going OK. But in both cases, the communications just stopped cold, and my emails went unanswered.

Now, I’m not being precious here. I’m old and ugly enough to know that there are no guarantees in this world, and hiring senior folks is a challenging task. But to stop the conversation cold seems an odd decision. Now, I get it. Hiring managers and HR people are incredibly busy. But as a candidate, especially one in the age of employer branding, I figure a little communication goes a long way. Especially from communications agencies.

The Best Interview Question, Ever

I had a great chat with a senior PR person last week. We covered a lot of ground (client consulting, building teams, integrated communications planning, client sales, the role of PR versus marketing…) but one question stood out: ‘What have you learned about our industry from your job search?’. After a pause, I talked about the challenges (nay opportunities) the agency world has shared with me through many conversations with senior folks.

The full response warrants its own post, but, in short, I’ve learned that the agencies are worrying about digital leadership (and how to legitimately embed integrated services into agencies that rely heavily on traditional media relations support). Secondly, agencies are working to develop the PR person of the future, tackling questions like ‘what is the base-line skillset versus the need for specialized roles?’. And, following my beloved Steve Jobs rule of threes, agencies are trying to establish practice structures that resonate with clients, current (and anticipated staff skills), and differentiate them from a very competitive landscape.

Heady stuff, but a great question. Hopefully one that leads to more discussions.

OK, better get back to writing my website copy, finishing Nadella’s book, and whipping up a quick chicken tetrazzini for dinner. As always, gentle reader, I have one ask. If you liked this post, ‘Like’ it. If you have a thought, please comment. And if it would help your community, please share.

The Hunt Part Seven - Thinking on Linking (and Drinking)

2017-12-06T01:48:00.002+08:00

As my job hunt weeks have turned into months, my inner anxious kitten has needed to find things to keep me focused (or is that distracted?). Perhaps it’s just a symptom of colder, darker post-Thanksgiving days, but I must confess that what was once an exciting chance to ‘reimagine my career’ is starting to drag a little.

Sorry to bring you down, gentle reader, but there’s hope in the words that follow. I’ve found that mixing it up with new people, places and shiny things has given me a boost. And hopefully my ramblings will help anyone who’s stuck in a rut, or wanting a change …

The Social Butterfly Effect

Social media has been part of my professional and personal lives for many, many years. It kind

I like light fittings. I call this one 'chiaroscuro'

of worries me just how long I’ve been liking, following, and connecting. This blog post from 2008 summed up my thinking and I still agree with 2008 Jeremy’s conclusion – “..The nature of influence has changed with dialogue driven by word of mouth (and mouse) being the key weapons in the marketers’ arsenal.”

The truth is, I’m (currently) no longer helping clients build channel partner networks on LinkedIn, working with influencers to raise brand awareness during the Paris Marathon or using busy financial services professionals’ social profiles to help turn them into company and industry influencers. But I believe more than ever in social’s ability to help small brands (like me!) reach an audience (like you!) and generate a measurable action (like…a like, share or comment…or even a job opportunity).

Social has been incredibly helpful in my job search. Posting content like this to LinkedIn and my blog and amplifying through Facebook and Twitter is infinitely better than putting it in envelopes and mailing it to thousands of people. But – and here’s something that hasn’t really changed since 2008 – it’s a tactic, not a strategy.

Looking that the five roles I’m currently interviewing for, only one came directly through social or digital channels. While I hope my social profile has helped people either remember me, or decide if they want to meet me, friends and former colleagues have been a much more reliable source of real opportunities.

Getting by With a Little Help

Every couple of weeks I meet with a small group at the Crazy Mocha coffee shop in Montclair New Jersey. While our backgrounds are different, we have one thing in common – we’re all searching for our next, next big thing.

While I love a good pithy tweet or LinkedIn message thread as much as the next unemployed PR consultant, there’s nothing like comparing notes with folks who are fighting the same fight over flat whites and assorted caffeinated drinks.

We help each other with resumes, talk about local health care markets, and discuss the nuances of cover letters. I’ve shared my to-do lists, resume template and career audit. And, I think most critically, we’ve commiserated with each other.

This finding-a-job thing is really hard. It’s an un-nerving time for any ‘mid-career’ professional. And coffee with friends at the Crazy Mocha is a panacea I’d definitely recommend. Take two and call me in the morning if unemployment melancholy persists…

Keep Your Ears In

I try to keep up-to-date with PR and technology industry trends. When I was employed, my continuing education was largely through consuming a heavy diet of the podcasts that made my commute bearable (and me look smarter as it helped me ruminate on the latest thinking on cloud computing courtesy of the Daily Tech News Show or PR news via the PR Week.

I also had a habit of signing up for webinars but struggled to attend them. Or if I did, they were, at best, listed too in the background while I did something else. One of the joys (for want of a better term) of not having as many ‘somethings else’ is being able to focus on webinars as part of my continuing professional education.

There’s a wealth of stuff out there – in the past week I’ve caught up with KD Paine’s latest thinking on connecting media coverage to business objectives and seen Hootsuite’s take on practical social media trends for 2018. Today, it’s “AI…Friend or Foe? – Is Your Agency Ready?”. I can’t wait. My money’s on ‘friend’…

Whatever your industry, I’d recommend breaking your routine with some thought-provoking webinars. Great to keep you connected with the latest thinking (and perhaps good interview content…).

Enough for a Wednesday. Back to the networking, vacancy scanning, writing, promoting, learning, research, interview follows-up and waiting anxiously by my in-box that keeps me out of trouble. As always, gentle reader, I have one ask. If you liked this post, ‘Like’ it. If you have a thought, please comment. And if it would help your community, please share.

The Hunt Part Six - Dances with Woolfs

2017-11-17T05:59:00.000+08:00

I’m a poor dancer. I blame growing up at the height of disco (which I hated instinctively, even as a nine-year-old). My Electric Slide lacked power and I could never spell Y.M.C.A. Such is life. I learned to cope and evolved a perfectly serviceable set of dad dance moves that serve me well to this day.

But why, you ask, am I going on about dancing?

Simply because the last couple of weeks have been all about the latest craze - the interview dance. Since I last posted, I’ve had seven interviews (three informational, four for actual roles). Now I’ve finished patting myself on the back (forgive me for celebrating micro-victories), I thought it would be good focus on these meetings and squeeze out some wisdom.

Getting to Know You

My Hong Kong farewell party

I’m starting to believe in karma. Y ’see, gentle reader, when I was gainfully employed, I’d get a lot of requests for informational interviews. There would be with fresh-of-the-boat expats (or wanabee expats) trying to understand the New York communications landscape. Sometimes it would be folks from other types of agencies wanting to break in. Or, most often, keen young things would reach out seeking knowledge on agency life (always with a freshly-minted resume in their hands).

I’d always take these meetings. I enjoyed the exchange of ideas, it was good to hear people’s stories, and offer them my p.o.v. (for what that was worth). Agency-world (like most) can be insular and an outside perspective was a good shot in the arm.

Today, I find myself on the other side of the informational interview table. And I’m very thankful for those that have given up their time – and those that have helped me get into the various rooms. Not sure if it’s wisdom, but here are my outtakes…

1. Establish a Shared Agenda

As I said in my last post, I’m a huge believer in understanding what companies want, and mapping to my story. People frequently take these interviews because a colleague or friend made the introduction. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time, so will always research the company, and figure out an empathetic line of questioning. Measure twice and cut once, and all that.

2. Practice Makes Perfect

Informational interviews are also a good place to practice telling your story. There’s an art in getting to the point (something these posts sadly lack…). The more you tell your story, the stronger it becomes. And unlike recruiters or hiring managers, informational interviewers seldom have any clear outcome in mind, so will appreciate you leading the discussion.

3. Own the Follow Up

This one’s obvious, but I’ll say it anyway. Always, always, always follow up. Email is best. Keep it short, remind them of something you discussed, don’t expect an immediate reply, but send that note. And here’s the key, also follow-up with whoever helped set up the meeting. A quick update creates a nice endorphin rush for your friend. And feeds karma…

The Other Side of the Table

I must have interviewed hundreds of people over the years. And now, having spent more time on the other side of the table, I have to say it’s oddly fun. The whole dance reminds me a little of the media training sessions I’ve run over the years. I’m comfortable with my messages, have my proof points ready to roll, and can offer anecdotes that support my arguments. I can consult on the fly with the best of them, and this is incredibly helpful whether it’s a C-level brainstorm, or a screening call with the VP of Human Resources.

But the most important interviewee skills I’ve found, are being able to create empathy through experience, and to really listen. I can’t tell you how many interviews I’ve managed where the answers sounded like something out of a text book, and the candidate came across as mechanical. There was nothing necessarily wrong with what they said, but they treated the interview as a performance or exam. Sure, you get points for knowing the answers. But people want to work with people.

The good news is (according to NPR), PR specialists only have a 17.5% chance of being automated in the next 20 years. Add that to the fact that every agency I’ve met with have said they’re a ‘people-first business’ and that their key differentiators are their people, then mechanical candidates aren’t likely to get another meeting.

Companies want someone who will discuss Stranger Things 2 in the kitchen. Or join the Fantasy Football team (even though they know nothing about American Football). Or will compile the RFP response then race across town to FedEx Store as the clock ticks down. Or will pull the all-nighter to get the pitch into shape because someone had to (damnit). For this reason, robotically checking all the boxes against a job description isn’t going to get you hired.

Whether over a phone call, Google Hangout or meeting room discussion, be the right candidate, sure. But be human too.

And so, the interview dances continue. I’ve got a couple more meetings before Thanksgiving and will be working on my tango. It may look more like the Sprinkler, but it will be mine. As always, gentle reader, I have one ask. If you liked this post, ‘Like’ it. If you have a thought, please comment. And if it would help your community, please share.

Whose Turn is it for the Moral Compass?

2017-11-07T08:40:00.000+08:00

Spin. Smoke and mirrors. Propaganda. Fake news. My chosen industry, public relations, is dogged by derogatory terms. To most people, PR is used to twist the truth. The mainstream media usually only mention ‘PR’ alongside words such as ‘fiasco’ or ‘crisis’.

And, I guess, this isn’t surprising. Our industry is typically happiest when it’s behind (well behind) the news. Media relations (just one of the many instruments in the modern PR toolkit) is a perfect channel for us to help our clients “…build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Source: PRSA

And with five PR people for every journalist, it’s not surprising, then, that we play a role in many news stories. But, as a counter to the fake news, propaganda and spin accusations, if these stories are well written, accurate, based on valid sources, and present a story in context, then if a PR person was involved, what’s the harm?

I’m happy (well, maybe not) that you asked. Lately, it seems, some cracks have started to form. PR is getting its own ‘ink’ – coverage that’s causing the industry to gaze deep upon its collective navel.

In January, from the highest profile PR pulpit in the USA, came then White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s infamous Trump inauguration crowd number exaggeration. Instead of attempting to roll back the claim, counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway defended Spicer’s use of ‘alternative facts’.

A high-profile scandal saw UK-based agency Bell Pottinger expelled from the PRCA, a trade association, accused of running a secret campaign designed to create racial tensions in South Africa.

And today, social media channels like Facebook and Twitter are being charged with being conduits for fake news, manipulated by foreign actors to create division and influence thinking, with stories spread by well-meaning people who can’t tell the difference between propaganda and news (or, to be honest, don’t care).

All of this has caused the various PR associations and some high-profile players to again consider the role of ethics in PR. They’re reflecting on our collective responsibility in this easy-to-manipulate environment. The rules have shifted. The available channels of influence have exploded. And the question must be asked: do we need to change?

Richard Edelman, CEO of the world’s biggest PR agency, called for an industry-wide code of ethics. He proposed a “PR Compact” – designed to drive ethical behaviors and fact-based communication.

I agree with Edelman that our industry has struggled to keep pace with changes in content, channels and the communications echo chambers that social media has enabled. And while I think the principles are valid, I wonder, even with adoption by the industry and agencies, supported by training programs, we’ll see the change he’s looking for.

I worry that it’s hard to take the moral high ground as a supplier unless we have the explicit backing, support and remit from the clients that pay our bills.

Thinking then about remits, I must have received hundreds of RFPs (Requests for Proposal) from large and small companies representing many industries over the years. While they consistently wanted an agency that would become “…a long-term partner, not just ‘arms-and-legs’…” and one that “…could provide senior counsel”, they seldom, if ever, asked for an external moral compass. The closest I can recall are clauses on confidentiality, ownership of information and privileged information, frequently buried deep in contracts.

I worry that unless the clients start to empower agencies to act as moral compasses or ethical guardians, it will be a brave agency that takes this necessary burden upon itself. And a braver client, that allows their agency to operate as such without a very explicit remit.

The good news is, there are precedents for this type of change. I recall that post Sarbanes-Oxley, agencies were required to improve their practices as part of an extended supply chain. Companies had to ensure they had appropriate controls in place, and these were dictated by strong contracts and procurement audits.

More recently, there’s increasing pressure from clients for diversity in their agency rosters. Some of the more recent higher profile agency reviews have specifically called for increases in the number of women and people of color in agency leadership roles.

I wonder what it will take for businesses to require not just ethical practices but ethical accountability and ownership from their agencies? Perhaps it will be an extension of one of the most critical roles agencies hold - exposing a company to external perspectives and getting value from outside thinking.

I love the idea of extending the agency role to fake news and ethical behavior monitor. I just feel that even with a united front from agencies and their industry bodies, we’ll not get our hands on the moral compass unless it’s handed to us directly by the client’s CEO.

The Hunt: Part Five - People Who Know People

2017-10-31T23:52:00.000+08:00

I talk funny. My accent is an odd amalgam of New Zild, Strine (Google these), Hong Kong English and whatever we speak in Northern New Jersey. I’ve learned to embrace my odd linguistic journey and use it professionally – and, more recently, in my job hunt. It’s always a good ice-breaker, disarming HR people and recruiters, and it often leads to a story.

I told my oddly-accented story three times last week (to two agency HR folks and one recruiter). They were good chats and one has already led to a second discussion.

This week, I’ve been thinking about how these meetings came about, and why they’re working when the driftnet fishing exercise that is online job application typically lands boots and assorted detritus (no Aflac, I still don’t want to sell insurance).

People Who Know People

A candle that has nothing to do with this post

Sales is a long game. Well, I’ll rephrase. Winning business you want to win is a long game. When I ran sales for my last agency, we had a good pipeline of inbound leads. While I’m a huge fan of serendipity, I learned quickly that simply reacting to what was in front of you wasn’t a path to changing an agency client mix. So, we put together a proactive sales plan, targeting companies we wanted to win, and created a basic account-based marketing plan. We did this knowing that this approach would, at best, get us into conversations over the next two or three years (unless we had an established relationship or the target company was in the process of preparing for an RFP).

As I look to selling myself (in a nice way), I’m trying to use the same logic. The mistake I made in the beginning was to naively assume that I could walk into discussions based on online job applications (more here). My ego is a cruel mistress, fed by companies reaching out to me over the years and my last job hunt (which lasted two weeks, involved three interviews, and led to 18 years of employment).

So, as I look at two of the meetings I took last week, there are a couple of common threads. Neither had been advertised, and both came about through people I’ve worked with in the past. You know who you are, so no names named, but heart-felt thanks (dumplings are on me). This has been an important lesson.

Over the past month, I’ve shifted gears away from online job applications, to focus on targeting. As I did when I ran sales, I’ve reached for my handy-dandy spreadsheet and built a list of target agencies I’d like to talk to. It’s not an exhaustive list, and I’ve used qualifying criteria that tie back to my career mission statement, with filters like ‘awards won’ and ‘growth rate’. And the most important column? ‘Connections’.

Reaching out to friends and former colleagues is opening doors. It’s not rocket science, but this shift in emphasis is getting me into conversations. And while I love the serendipity of unknown, exciting companies and opportunities, as they great Barbara Streisand once said, “…people who need people are the luckiest people of all.”

Why Me?

No, not looking for pity. Well, maybe a little. But ‘why me?’ is a question I’ve been asking a lot. As in ‘why would you want to hire me?’ Again, harking (harking?) back to my agency sales days, ‘why us?’ was a question we always asked. I always said, reputation (plus handsome and charming sales people and consistent, creative brand marketing) gets you in the door. But unless you can clearly say why they should pick you, you’re destined to come second. And no-one wants to come second.

As I’ve managed research ahead of interviews, I keep coming back to this question. And it’s been a creative exercise recently, as I’ve had a couple of conversations about roles that aren’t completely defined. And this, for me, is a sweet spot. While background research can show you’re clever (or can use Google), if you can position yourself as a problem-solver with a perspective, then things can grow.

In addition to handy-dandy spreadsheets, I’m also a huge fan of Venn diagrams. A simple trick that’s help keep me on message during interviews has been to create a diagram with the company need/background on the left, my mission statement on the right, and in the middle? The things I want to reinforce on the screening interview. Again, not rocket science. But it’s helped me get around my ego – and tell the story I want to tell.

The 'M' Word

In agency sales land, you always dreaded the budget slide. I mean, the briefs you often received were camels (horses designed by committee). And many required you to deliver a detailed budget, sometimes across multiple countries, with little guidance or boundaries. ‘You tell us what we should spend’ was all too common. So, we’d present ranges, or be specific if required with caveats that hopefully would be respected in procurement discussions.

I’m finding a similar thing in job interviews. After 40 minutes of nice conversations, featuring me hopefully answering ‘why me’, alongside a quaint retelling my life story in an accent where all vowels sound like the letter ‘u’, there’s one question every interviewer asks. It’s the money question.

It’s either a question about range, expectations, or explicitly what I made at my previous job. And I’m honest about my expectations. But I also have a mantra of my own. Put simply, if I’m keen on the company, I tell them, I’d hate for a conversation to end on money. It’s a fine balance, but there are always creative ways to work this out. I’m legitimately about the right place for me (and them).

For more thinking on doing the right thing, you’re never too old to re-watch Alan Watts.

Best run. I’m talking to the CEO of an exciting high growth agency in a couple of hours (referral from a good friend), and need to work on my Venn diagram and flat vowels. As always, gentle reader, I have one ask. If you liked this post, ‘Like’ it. If you have a thought, please comment. And if it would help your community, please share.

The Hunt: Part Four – What’s Your Story?

2017-10-25T02:46:00.001+08:00

What a difference a week makes. I had two interviews (one face-to-face, the other a phoner) and things seem to be warming up. Thought I’d spend some time today looking two reasons why I think these interviews are happening. These reflections are kinda important, as I shift gears and focus on specific targeting and pay less attention to the spam that online job sites create.

What’s Your Story?

Cool lights I saw at an AI/Voice presentation in Brooklyn last night

When I was hiring new bright young things, I used to ask job candidates ‘what’s your story?’ They’d pause as, this question isn’t in the top ten list of interview questions they’d googled the night before. Nor was it in the job description ad we’d posted. I traverse the often-choppy waters of my own job hunt, I find this question is more critical than ever.

One realization I’ve had, is that when I started doing this, I didn’t really have a story. I had a collection of professional experiences, but not a true narrative. There was no real arc to speak of, and my resume read like a patchwork quilt of roles, titles, countries and responsibilities. It’s taken the best part of two months for me to figure out my story, and having now tested it out on bots, algorithms, executive recruiters, HR directors and CEOs, I can’t speak highly enough of storytelling.

I think it really takes time to figure out your story, whether it’s your first job or your twenty first. It’s unreasonable to expect someone reading your resume or interviewing you to do this for you. As I’d tell my clients in media training, you need a strong, central narrative that supports your brand, product or company goal. And then you need the ability to put that into your own words, supported by evidence and anecdotes, so when you tell your story, your audience ‘gets’ it.

My advice for those starting their next big thing journeys (or about to start) is to camp yourself in your favourite coffee shop and work out your story. You’ll save yourself and others a bunch of time. And who knows? Maybe this self-discovery exercise will unearth a truth that gets you hired.

Don’t be the Weakest Linked(In)

I used to run global Digital and Social Media for my last agency. As most of its clients were B2B technology vendors, that meant spending time helping clients do interesting things in LinkedIn. From building and running communities for Lenovo’s North American partner network, to helping executives build connections and gain influence and geo targeted ad campaigns, I used to think I was relatively good at this social thing.

As LinkedIn has become my main marketing channel, though, I feel I’ve underestimated what it can do. For too long, I’d almost taken a check-box mentality to LinkedIn when it came to my own profile. At best, my behavior was the occasional self-promotional (or sanctimonious, through be told) status update, the odd comment or re-share, and a sharp resume. I failed to really appreciate the genuine connectivity that LinkedIn creates. The reaction to these posts has really brought this home.

Between you and I, gentle reader, I’m writing for a bunch of reasons here. I enjoy the creative freedom and intellectual challenge of putting fingers to keyboard. There’s nothing like the dopamine high you get from likes, comments and shares. These posts are resonating with people who are sharing stories of their own job searches. And, most critical of all given my objective, this tactic is reminding people that I exist (as I rapidly fade from corporate and industry memory). The posts opening doors, and getting me into discussions before jobs are posted, or creating chats with senior people at agencies and inside companies.

There’s a living, breathing community out there (in here?). And if I put birthday messages (WTF?), spammy forums, and ridiculous ‘skill’ endorsements to one side, this is a wonderful place to commune, genuinely share and connect.

What I Miss About Agency Life

I’m in my third month of looking around. I like much about my new existence, and have enjoyed teaching my son to drive, regular dinners with the family (and the occasional afternoon nap). But I do miss some of the life I knew for 18 years. Specifically…

Tech Support, Where Are You?

I used to think I was relatively tech-savvy. Back in the day, I was an amateur network engineer, oversaw LAN installations, and knew my way around a BIOS. Today? Not so much. I’ve had the good fortune of working with a bunch of very talented IT folks over the years. And I miss them. Terribly. My laptop seems to have a life of its own. It needs cuddles in the morning to get started. For some reason, I’m sitting at 100% disk utilization most of the time. And while I applied my best surgical skills to the last paper jam, I think I left a scalpel in the printer…

Serendipity with Your Coffee?

My favourite place in my last company was the kitchen. Not just because the snack game was on fleek (as the young folks say). I loved the banter over the coffee machine. Whether it was discourse on the latest episode of Stranger Things, helping colleagues navigate the slings and arrows of agency life, pontificating on ethics in PR, or getting to know what the newest intern loved about their job, the kitchen in the morning was the best time of the day. While I do like my new world’s witty banter (often limited to arguments with the cat over her irrepressible desire to scratch my furniture), it’s just not the same.

OK, that’s all for now. I need to set up some meetings, write some thank-you notes, and contemplate PR’s role in the fake news era (more on that shortly). For now, gentle reader, I have one ask. If you liked this post, ‘Like’ it. If you have a thought, please comment. And if it would help your community, please share. Between you and I, I could do with the dopamine hit…

The Hunt: Part Three – Duck and Cover (Letters)

2017-10-17T23:55:00.000+08:00

Another has passed week in job-hunt land, and I’m happy to share some more observations – and thanks to those who’ve commented, liked and shared. It’s been good to learn that my experiences aren’t unique - and that there is a strong community of grey-haired PR people looking for their next new thing.

This week, I can report a couple of interesting face-to-face interviews, two informational meetings, some old friends helping connect me with companies, and two more executive recruiter chats. Overall, I’m encouraged by the real-world interaction, and not surprised by the continued chorus of crickets from digital outreach. Let me know your thoughts, likes, shares and other digital goodness.

A random picture I took in a coffee shop while waiting for my car to be repaired

Duck and Cover (Letters)

It is a little known(ish) fact that I started my communications career as a radio copywriter. I plied my trade writing, casting and producing 30 and 45 second stories for radio stations and production studios in Wellington, New Zealand. I originally moved into PR as a long form copywriter (brand journalist in today’s parlance), producing brochures for credit card companies, a magazine for the alcohol industry (Brew News) and a finance company’s client newsletter (3,000 words on why someone borrowed $100K to buy a new fleet of tractors by Friday!). In the intervening years, I’ve written books, speeches, by-lined articles, hundreds of press releases and pitches, magazine articles and blog posts.

Today, I’m writing cover letters. Lots and lots of cover letters. They’re odd things, but I’m struggling to think of an alternative. Recruiters and online experts tell me that the cover letter is “…a critical means of bringing your resume to life…” and will open doors to the job hunter’s unicorn, the in-person interview. So far, my strike rate sucks. I started using a rather generic letter that was tweaked to reflect the key job responsibilities. No dice. So, I’m now writing as if I was speaking to the person (machine?) who’s reading the letter. Acknowledging that this is an odd process, that I ‘get’ what the letter is for, and then offering some very specific examples that hopefully show I’ve done similar work (award-winning no less!) before. I sign off with a simple ask: To let me know if you’d like to continue the discussion or consider me for future opportunities. These letters take a couple of hours to write. My success rate is zero from 12. Perhaps I’m holding it wrong…

Bring Your Tap Shoes

Much as I like my dogs and cat, people are more interesting (sorry Pepper, Lucy and Cleo). So, I’m happy to report I’m starting to talk to human beings with greater frequency. Interviews are funny things, though. I’ve probably interviewed hundreds of eager job seekers over the years, and it’s odd being on the other side. Do you treat it like a well-choreographed dance and train for hours? Or do you rely on years of experience and wing it? The worst interviews are with people who’ve done no prep and walk in completely cold. I also never liked those who had studiously rehearsed answers and sounded like robots. Nothing can defeat my New Zealand B.S. detector.

My approach so far has been to go right down the middle. I’ve been doing this too long to dance and winging it shows an astounding lack of respect for the company that you’re talking to. I see the interview like the qualifying calls I used to do when I ran sales for my last agency. I’d do as much homework as time would allow. Have my prepared questions ready to go (but not be slavish with them), and treat the opportunity for what it was – a chance to consult, to inquire, and demonstrate that you’re worth another discussion. Does this work? I hope to tell you next week…

Rats and Mice

For those long time (well, three week) readers out there, here are some quick updates on previous rants. If you want to catch up, links are here and here.

Selling Life Insurance

Mutual of Omaha has (again) found my resume. If you’d like a referral, let me know. Something called Climber.com (DON’T GO THERE) continues to send badly recorded messages from ‘Erica’ to my voice mail. And, in a new twist, Sears Home Improvement in South Jersey thinks I might be interested in something. I’m not.

Throw Me a Bone

I’ve applied for 17 jobs online since August without response (and I do clean my spam filter on a regular basis – hygiene is very important). The big failing here is that recruitment is on-boarding. My impression is that these companies aren’t interested in me for these roles (which is fine, I’m a grown-up). But they’re also lacking the business courtesy of replying (automated at least). So much for ‘it’s all about our people’. Bah, humbug.

Right, I need to write some more cover letters and send them to heartless machines. On the plus side, I also get to do some research ahead of a couple of interviews. For those in New York City, this is Communications Week and I’ll be at a couple of events. If you see a grey-haired New Zealander wandering around, boring people with his disruptive approach to integrated communications planning (and sharing pictures of his pets) please do say ‘hi’.

The Hunt Part Two: No, I Don't Want to Sell Insurance in Omaha

2017-10-11T00:06:00.000+08:00

My mid-career change hunt continues. And to keep me thinking (and hopefully create conversation), I’m capturing it in blog / article format. I’m hoping this is a short (REALLY short) series, but I fear these posts may be keeping me warm through a long, cold New Jersey winter).

This week, my dogs and cat have had to endure the following observations. If you have any thoughts, please add them. And if you really like this post, please share. As we all know, sharing is digital currency (and other social media stuff).

A cup of coffee. For no particular reason

No, I Don’t Want to Sell Insurance in Omaha

One of the first things I did after dusting off my experience and throwing myself into the job hunt, was to register on a bunch of websites. Perhaps naively, I felt this would help me spread my digital profile and surface some opportunities. Scratch that, it was naïve, but considering the last time I was looking for work, Bill Clinton was President and Cher’s ‘Believe’ was the rocking the charts, I can, perhaps, be forgiven. While there are some good ones (Glassdoor, Kimble Group, LinkedIn), I’ve discovered that many are aggregators. They’re scraping the ‘real’ job sites, reposting stuff (often way out of date), and pushing my carefully curated resume to parts unknown. And for some reason, they’re inspiring companies to ask me to sell insurance. Now, I’ve got nothing against insurance per se. But there’s nothing in the career preferences I select that says I want to sell it. That doesn’t seem to put off the bots (sorry “teams who have reviewed my resume” who now bombard my inbox. Apparently, Aflac, Mutual of Omaha, State Farm, American Income Life Insurance of New Jersey and a bunch of others are looking for “self-motivated, hardworking, entrepreneurial, blah, blah, blah” people. I now spend my days playing email playing whack-a-mole, unsubscribing to these things as quickly as they pop up. Much as I love the thought of selling insurance in Omaha, I must wonder who bites on these things – and what kind of insurance sales people they create.

Beware Resume Doctors Bearing Gifts

Another byproduct of posting stuff to job sites has been the seemingly thousands of people who want to help me with my resume. Now, I’m very open to advice and want to make sure that my digital self is as bot-friendly as possible (see last week’s post). But the way they do this is kinda spammy. I’ve had several occasions where I’ve been filling in details on seemingly legitimate sites, only to discover (towards the end, natch) that I’m being led down a path to payment. There is, perhaps, a valid industry built around helping people with their resumes. But the ‘free’ assessment that puts you on a path of passive aggressive spam emails is just not welcome. I’d much rather get advice from trusted executive recruiters and friends in the industry versus what appears to be automated analysis that read more like horoscopes. The kicker was a phone call I received five minutes after leaving one of these resume honey traps. The person asked me if I was having trouble with the form. ‘No’. Then, he asked why I didn’t complete it. ‘I don’t want to pay for your services’. Why? ‘I don’t need to pay for your services’. Pause. OK. Dial-tone. While I’m no expert (hence this prolonged job hunt), I have been writing stuff for a while. I’m happy to help fellow seekers with their words. And if you want some thoughts on resume writing, here’s something I wrote for Quora. For free.

Open the Magic Window

I heard early on from a couple of recruiters that the ‘magic window’ for vacancies is the time between Labor (Labour!) Day and Thanksgiving. This is based on the logic that companies with January through December fiscal years are looking for folks to help bring their new fiscal year plans to life (and are setting aside appropriate funds). Now there are some rumblings that the market is uncertain this year. After bad Q2s across the communications /marketing industry and flat Q3s, perhaps agencies and communications departments are being more conservative in planning for 2018. Personally, I’m hopeful that companies are using this time to reset and dive deeply into what the market (be it client or audience) now demands. Not wanting to be totally self-serving, but I hope those markets are looking for a 25-year PR/communications veteran with a B2B tech bias, practice, client and office/geography leadership experience and a quaint New Zealand accent…

Enough for now, I need to do research for an informational interview (hopefully more on that next week). Back to bouncing ideas off my dogs (who I go to for positive feedback) and asking the tough questions of my cat (who will always tell me like it is). Taking a leaf from the New York networking groups handbook, I have one ask of those who’ve made it this far. If you know senior agency or brand leaders who would be open to informational interviews over a flat white coffee, please connect the dots.

The Hunt: Part 1 - Algorithms Suck

2017-10-03T23:14:00.000+08:00

As some of you know, I’m looking for a new job. I’ve been hunting properly since the middle of August, and wanted to share some thoughts on what it’s like to look for work in New York, in 2017. While this may be old news to many readers, I’ve got to be honest. This is harder than it was in Sydney in 1999. This post is not a cry for help. But, perhaps, in a cathartic way, it’s an opportunity to vent when right now I’m spending too much time in intellectual debate with my dogs and cat.

So, some observations.

1. Algorithms Suck

In 1999, Google was one year old. Jobs were advertised in the newspaper (which was made of paper). You’d speak to recruiters, they’d go through their rolodex (look it up millennials) and stuff would happen. It was a gentler, simpler time. Today, I’ve discovered that algorithms rule. And I get it. I’m no luddite. You’re dealing with thousands of applications for roles, and need a filtering mechanism to create short-lists. Algorithms weave their magic and help recruiters, HR directors and hiring managers immensely. But candidates? Not so much. Being on the other side of these things is kinda soul-destroying. Even with APIs that connect to LinkedIn, you still end up cutting and pasting furiously. And for what? To meet the needs of the algorithm? To customize experience down to keywords to satisfy the machine? I don’t really have an alternative (see ‘venting’ above) but it’s an impersonal dance, more reminiscent of Tinder profiling than a genuine attempt to understand someone’s appropriateness for a role. There, first vent over.

2. Throw Me a Bone

Back in the day (any sentence that starts with ‘back in the day’ should be followed up at some point with a plaintive ‘would you kids get off my lawn’ but I digress) …back in the day there was something of a badge of honor achieved by collecting ‘rejection letters’. In my early 1990s job hunt, I accrued a fine pile of form letters from prospective employers that ‘thanked me for my interest’, told me ‘while I was clearly qualified for the role, they were going in another direction’, and promised to ‘keep me in mind should a more appropriate role come up’. Lies, lies, and more lies. But, at least, someone sitting in their grey cubicle (everything was pink or grey back then), had the ability to create a mail merge, print out letters, either sign (or faux sign them), put them in envelopes and send them out to eager applicants. Today? Not so much. You’d think with the magic of machine-based learning, natural language processing, bots, artificial intelligence and basic courtesy, there would be some form of response. People are busy, I get it. But the machines? There’s more processing power in my Apple Watch than a Cray-2 Supercomputer. Get your machine to thank me, wish me well and promise to keep me in mind. Go on. Lie to me. Throw me a bone.

3. Keep the Advice Coming

The only thing keeping me from picking up sledge-hammer and bashing my laptop has been the advice of friends old and new. While the platitudes of ‘when one door closes, another one opens’, ‘this could be the best thing that ever happened’ and anything to do with life, lemons and lemonade are fine, they don’t keep me warm at night, nor put food in my belly. The two best pieces of advice I’ve received so far have been as follows:

1. Do a career audit

Simpler times - PR for the Speight's Coast to Coast event in 1997

The first executive recruiter I met asked ‘you haven’t written a CV for a while, have you? She saw me coming. But then offered a great piece of advice – do a career audit. Go somewhere different and spent at least four hours writing down everything you’ve done, and highlight the successes and things you really want to do next. So, I did. It’s 1,500 words long and could keep me warm at night should I need to start a fire. But, critically, it reminded me why I got me into this game in the first place. Great, creative work for cool companies big and small. Successes that changed my company and its clients. And the thrill that comes with creating a plan, managing the small stuff (it really is the small stuff, yunno) and working with a team to get shit done.

2. You Don’t Often Get a Second Second Chance

I was with my former employer, Text100, for 18 years out of a 25-year career in communications, PR and advertising. Since I joined the firm, the world’s population has grown by 1.5 billion, we’ve had the dotcom crash and Great Recession, and I’ve raised two well-balanced (sort-of) teenagers and moved them to Hong Kong and New York. Given this, my friend told me, don’t jump at the first job that comes along. He said “You don’t often get another go at mid-career transition. Use this time to think about what you want to do, and do that.” Wise man. I’ll buy him a beer.

And there, I leave you (for now). Back to conversations with my cat, scanning automated emails much as I once scanned the ‘situations vacant’ pages, and algorithm battling. But, more importantly, back to those that really make a difference – the people that offer genuine advice and continue to open doors for me, for no reason other than they’re great people. Despite the cool stuff that tech does, it’s no match for the quick conversation, words of encouragement, and connections that humans create. I, for one, do not welcome our new robot overlords.

How can I start a successful personal brand from no platform with no friends/followers?

2017-09-15T03:57:00.002+08:00

Another Quora response. Not really sure if anyone is listening, but I hope I help!

I’d recommend creating some kind of long-form publishing platform (your own blog, publishing long-form on LinkedIn, or a company or public news site). This content ‘home’ will help you show depth beyond social updates, and will be a place for more specific discussions about your content.

Once you have your core platform, look at which social platforms are most relevant for your target audience and focus on them. Don’t try to be everywhere.

Also pay careful attention to your content strategy. Focus on no more than three key topics, form a unique POV, and stay on message. Publish regularly in your content hub and promote through social.

Also identify the subject matter experts on your core topics and be sure to follow them regularly. Place value-added comments (early) to their posts (linking only when useful) and try to engage them in appropriate online discussions. Their endorsement will help grow your follower count.

In addition, make sure you’re tracking appropriate forums (start with Quora and non-promotional LinkedIn groups if you’re a B2B person). Watch the discussion, and add value where you can.

Finally, remember social media is, well, social. In addition to promoting your own work, be sure to retweet or share other people’s content, and try to engage the right people in conversations.

What Should a Public Relations Resume Look Like?

2017-09-13T02:34:00.002+08:00

I wrote this quick response up to a Quora question. Do you agree? Anything else to add?

PR is about storytelling and you want to show prospective employers that you can tell your story in a compelling fashion. That said, recognize that many recruiters and hiring managers will use software to assess your resumes. So don’t put it in a pizza box. I suggest you focus on the basics:

Focus on the scope and scale of your experience. Scope highlights the breadth of your role (not the things you did). Scale will help the reader understand the company or business your worked for. Don’t assume they’ll know. Be specific.
Be honest and avoid hyperbole. Machines won’t value it and recruiters will see through it.
When it comes to formatting, use bullet points and don’t write a novel. Forget graphics and tables. Keep it simple, and focused.
Proof read it (or better, have someone else proof it). It’s a cliche, I know, but you only have one chance to make a first impression. Don’t blow it with bad grammar or poor spelling.

Artificial Intelligence, Marketing and the Gap Between Promise and Reality

2017-09-13T02:28:00.003+08:00

I attended an AMA session last week on artificial intelligence and marketing run by Mike Moran (Google him, well worth it). The presentation opened my eyes to the gap between AI's promise and agency application.

There's so much being done by gut feel today and while PR will always be a mixture of art and science, with AI developments, the science is getting a lot more interesting.

I was inspired to let my fingers do the Googling and found this article from David Meerman Scott (of The New Rules of Marketing and PR fame). A great 'primer' blog for those who similarly inspired to learn more about developments that are changing our industry...

Digital's Impact on Global Communications

2017-09-13T02:19:00.002+08:00

It's great to see a global perspective on digital's impact on communications.

This piece from Forrester's Thomas Husson reinforces how brands are going to have to get much closer to their audiences than ever before in order to win their trust.

The days of 'throw it over the wall' marketing strategies are long gone. Consumers demand that brands align with their personal values. Local competitors are typically better at doing this than large global brands.

And I'd challenge any brand to look at how mobile is being used outside of the US (especially in China) if you want to see what the future holds. Or, more critically, get ahead of demand...

What Tools Can I Use to Find Influencers?

2017-08-09T23:42:00.003+08:00

Caught this question on Quora and thought I'd share my POV...

I’ve used several over the years, most recently Traackr and Appions. Both had strengths and weaknesses. I think they certainly save time in identifying influencers, but the key is that their methodologies can assess influencers against a wider pool using known behaviors.

Traackr, for example, measures people on Reach, Relevance and Resonance. While it does skew towards Twitter, the three R approach means you can introduce other influencers into your survey and they’ll be measured against the wider set.

My experience is mainly looking for B2B technology influencers, and third party tools aren’t great at creating definitive lists. I’d always recommend using other data sources (such as best selling authors on Amazon, client recommendations, third party influencer lists…) then add them to your tool. This means you’ll get the best of the existing database, the wider community, and a consistent measurement methodology.

B2B Marketing 2022 Part Three: Meet the New Marketing Pro

2017-08-08T23:10:00.000+08:00

This is the third post in a three-part series looking at B2B marketing trends that are driving change between now and 2022. Check out parts one and two.

Trend 4: Meet the New Marketing Pro

We’re in the midst of the most significant shake-up our industry’s ever seen. The writing is on the wall – by 2022 we’ll be in the age of ‘post-digital’ marketing. This refers to a time when ‘digital’ marketing activities are no longer separated from other activities. Just as e-commerce became ‘commerce’, ‘digital’ will be part of the whole, perhaps a more flexible and quicker way of achieving marketing goals.

Structurally, many companies have taken steps that make the ‘post digital’ change even more profound. Marketing has taken on responsibility for customer-facing, revenue-generating systems and applications. The CMO has more budgetary control than the CIO. And the Chief Marketing Technologist is on the rise.

We’re seeing tech sales development teams reporting into marketing. With ABM on the rise, this makes a huge amount of sense. Also, the rise of the omni-channel millennial buyer, the more integrated the marketing machine, the better. Messages have to be delivered in multiple forms, across an array of channels. And there needs to be someone they can legitimately interact with on the other side of each message we tweet, post to Facebook, sell into media or embed in a web video or TVC.

For marketing and communications professionals, these trends create a huge potential opportunity. For recruiters, they create a huge headache! The modern in-house marketer is no longer bound by channels. Leading marketers work to develop relevant, personalized, and data-driven campaigns.

Marketers must create new and innovative experiences that can be enjoyed physically, documented digitally and shared socially. And this ‘unicorn’ employee also has to increasingly have a deep knowledge of the sales process, given they’re likely to be directly involved in it.

In Summary

This is the best time to be in our industry.

In spite of change, some things are as true today as they were when Don Draper sipped his first old fashioned. B2B technology buyers are driven by four fundamental needs. A need to communicate, collaborate, consume and create.

Today’s marketers must build bridges and find common ground with the communities that their companies touch. We do this understanding the millennial B2B buyer. By assessing and prioritizing content and channels. By being active in the moment (because our customers certainly are). And by building teams around the new marketing dynamic.

The path to 2022 isn’t easy. We’ll sometimes fail (hopefully fast). And we’ll thrive because of our historical passion for narrative, understanding of audiences, industries, and buyer behavior combined with an array of new and established marketing techniques.

And while the pace of marketing change may be daunting, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

B2B Technology Marketing 2022 Part Two: New Content and Real-Time

2017-01-29T04:07:00.003+08:00

This is the second post in a three-part series looking at B2B marketing trends that are driving change between now and 2022.

Trend 2: Re-establish Content Priorities

Top of the funnel content will always be important, especially for our B2B technology buyers early their journeys, or if they’re passively consuming your brand information. Given the number of people involved in the buying decision, though, lower funnel influence will get greater emphasis in order to improve win-rate over the other 3.2 technology vendors that typically end up on short-lists.

Top of funnel tactics like blog posts, videos, infographics, media coverage and eBooks continue to be important. But lower funnel tactics such as white-papers, case studies, and how-to guides need greater emphasis, especially as these assets are ideal for sharing within a buyer’s enterprise.

Social media, in particular, will come under the spotlight as B2B brands determine the correct tactical emphasis across their marketing mix. While B2B buyers continue to use multiple social media platforms in their decision-making (especially Twitter and LinkedIn), our new millennial buyer is less reliant on social. These channels are effective at the top-of-funnel, but interpersonal relations become more critical the closer they get to a buying decision.

I’m not saying B2B brands should move away completely from exploring emerging consumer technologies and social channels in particular. But ROI pressure and the merging of marketing, communications, IT, and sales functions will mean marketers are increasingly accountable for more meaningful customer metrics such as in-person meetings.

We will move increasingly away from basic awareness metrics toward KPIs that attribute marketing activities to more profound (and measurable) downstream sales engagements and revenue generation.

Trend 3: Real Time is the Only Time

CNN, Twitter, Snapchat and Facebook Live have made sure there’s no such thing as a media cycle. You can’t go to bed at night and assume that the story will have moved on by the next day. We can’t fight this. We need to prepare for it – and embrace it – as the next five years we will see a continued need from our buyers to get information on their terms.

Feeding the real-time machine are the numerous messaging apps, which are becoming the defacto home screen for many buyers. This is fueled by chatbots, led by major social and messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, Google, Skype, Salesforce, Slack, Twitter DM, and WeChat.

B2B buyers are becoming used to messaging platforms and engaging with consumer brands through the feeds. This will quickly set an expectation that they can manage similar discussions with their prospective vendors. While AI-fueled bots won’t replace the millennial buyer’s need for bottom-funnel real-world interactions, it will be a pre-requisite for top-of-funnel research.

Live streaming video will become another real-time non-negotiable tactic. Millennial buyers group up in the age of online video, and while many marketers find it cost-prohibitive, new tools and skills are moving it up the list of preferred tactics.

And finally, we can’t exclude the role of immersive content in the B2B decision. The HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PSVR and Samsung Gear VR are less than a year old, and have yet to get widespread adoption.

By 2022, AI, VR and Mixed Reality real-time experiences will have benefitted from technical improvements, price reductions, social acceptance - and the realization that immersive content is perfectly suited to supporting complex B2B technology sales.

Keep an eye out for the next trend, Meet the New Marketing Pro…

B2B Technology Marketing 2022 Part One: The Times, They Are, a Changing

2017-01-23T01:32:00.001+08:00

More has changed in marketing functions in the past five years than in the previous 50. And I don’t see this slowing down between now and 2022.

Today, we have Facebook live videos. Buyers are getting news from Alexa, and customized Facebook news-feeds. Similarly, advertising is tailored based on our behaviors. And our buyers are increasingly happy to engage via bots in chat apps. The walls have come down.

Today’s companies are dealing with everyone, all the time.

They’re meeting with heads of state, government officials, and advocates in digital channels. And critically, B2B technology buyers are forming deeper relationships with companies, but on their own terms.

So what does the next five years hold? Let’s consider…

This is the year Gartner’s bold budget prediction comes true with CMOs forecast to spend more IT dollars than CIOs
Your customers will have more influence on your brand perception than your marketing team
The Marketing and Communications departments – as we knew them – will need to evolve or die
The people you hire today won't be your hires in five years' time

It will be a bumpy ride. But our destination will hold marketing even more accountable for success – and will be built on the true cause and effect we’ve always known our profession was capable of generating.

What follows are posts outlining four key trends that are driving the greatest changes. And, most critically, what you can do about it.

Trend 1: The Rise of the Millennial Tech Buyer

Millennials have officially become the largest generational group in America’s workforce. They’re having a profound impact on their organizations, and, critically, on the B2B vendors who want to do business with them. With more and more millennials moving into decision-making roles, B2B tech marketers need to adapt. We need to be prepared to market and sell to them on their own terms.

They are the most media-savvy – and media-agnostic – generation in history. This generation is processing thousands of marketing messages every day. And they’re resilient to the continual noise in the system. They don’t want to be ‘marketed’ to. In fact, they are going out of their way to avoid us. We need to understand the content that informs their decisions.

With up to 90% of a buying decision made based on information buyers find online (including news media), well before a salesperson has a chance to get involved, we need to build brand or personal relationships on the millennial buyer’s terms. So, at the top of the sales funnel, B2B brands must take an app-centric view of the world.

This means UI, UX, design in particular will be a critical part of the B2B purchase. Human-centric design will rule and be important in early decision-making. Ultimately, our new buyers will demand technologies that meet their expectations, and those of their engineers and customers.

As they travel through further through the sales funnel, though, millennial B2B buyers transition from needing media coverage, web experiences, analyst reports and customer testimonials to wanting interpersonal interactions with vendors. At the final phase, face-to-face meetings with vendors, and live demos are most critical.

Clearly, millennials want to know your brand on their terms and preferred content types, and then quickly transition to your experts for deeper discussions.

Keep an eye out for the next trends, Re-establish content priorities and Real Time is the Only Time…

Contributed Article: Is the #hashtag dead for marketers?

2016-01-26T22:27:00.000+08:00

It's been awhile. Bad blogger. Here are some words I penned for PRWeek on the venerable #tag. I was tasked with creating as case for its demise. While I feel there's still room for the properly applied #tag, the task was to come out on the negative.

My full article is here, which also includes a pro-hashtag counterpoint. Note, this is behind a firewall.

Enjoy on, gentle reader. More to come in 2016...

Hashtags have jumped the shark. They have moved from a means of gathering disparate discussions around a topic to a punchline.

Brands often find well-constructed hashtags become the playthings of haters and trolls, while most people use them as a form of Internet humor. It’s time to move on.

Let’s look at the facts. Marketing on Twitter is littered with hashtag #fails (sorry – couldn’t resist). Naïvely, some brands assume a hashtag will guarantee the ability to shape social conversation. Not so.

In 2012, McDonald’s #McDStories became a target for haters, who happily shared their horror stories. #QantasLuxury went live the day after the fleet was grounded, generating vitriol – not the desired brand love. The NYPD’s #AskACop trended nationally, but did so for the wrong reasons. And the less said about Susan Boyle’s #susanalbumparty, the better.

Still, there have been successes. Hashtags can create engagement, categorize discussions, garner clicks. But in a reflection of traditional media’s sense of "if it bleeds, it leads," the vocal minority love finding and exploiting flaws in brand hashtags.

We have to work out if the risk of attempting to create a conversation around a core phrase outweighs the benefits. And before we use them, run them past teenagers to see if they can find innuendo (they probably can).

There are other indicators of the hashtag’s demise. For example, Twitter has called the # symbol "arcane," and improved search functions in social networks are increasing their ability to categorize and group conversations. Realize that success isn’t just in getting clicks but in being relevant.

And brand love for hashtags is hurting this once-valuable feature. The overuse of hashtags is leading to a backlash whereby they are increasingly seen as representatives of brand noise and not compelling content.

There’s an imbalance – brands are hoping people will rally around a strapline versus playing a meaningful role in community-generated conversations. This surely is the key. Listen and join when appropriate. Add value to the conversation.

Interview: Your Disconnected Culture – A Ticking Time Bomb For Your Mobile/Internet...

2015-01-26T22:37:00.000+08:00

Last week, Taimour Zaman from A Million Acts of Innovation called and posed a couple of questions. Here's the first of three interviews, this one looking at cultural change in the digital age...

Measure Twice, Cut Once (and Cut Out AVE)...

2015-01-19T23:29:00.002+08:00

I was copied on an internal discussion about AVEs (Ad Value Equivalency) the other day. The question was, how else can we prove the value of our media relations efforts? Here are some rambling thoughts. Over to you, gentle reader...

If the question was ‘what’s the financial value of our media coverage’ then our industry struggles. While seemingly a valid question if you’re used to purchasing ad space, as we all know we can’t measure editorial in the same way. Does raise a good question, of course, on how we can measure editorial. I’d rather measure editorial’s ability to do something.

Most B2B and B2C buyer studies conclude that editorial plays a critical role in the awareness and consideration phases of the decision. At first, coverage such as news announcements help our buyers understand the available solutions and provides product or industry information. At the consideration phase, coverage such as case studies or op-ed pieces help more informed buyers create qualified short-lists as they move on towards their decisions.

The tough thing in assigning a financial value to this (or any) broad marketing output is that the B2B buyer in particular is naturally influenced by a range of content through a number of channels. Not to mention, of course, historical vendor preference, predetermination to buy from existing suppliers, relationships with sales people, proofs of concept and 101 other things that ultimately contribute to a purchase decision.

On the plus side, marketing automation tools like Eloqua, Marketo and HubSpot are helping us understand the role these buyer touch points are playing in driving people towards a B2B decision. Once someone has entered the purchase funnel and exchanged some kind of profile info, they’ll typically be tracked in some way. Their content preferences will be used to create an marketing approach that will push a variety of content at them (plus salesperson engagement if warranted). The program will evolve based on the actions the prospect takes. Once purchased are made, this buyer behavior data can be used to create ROI metrics showing the value of the marketing tactics versus the value of the ultimate purchase.

So, back to editorial. In the model I put forward, unless there’s a link in the article to a particular client-owned webpage, it’s very difficult to determine with any accuracy the specific role it played in the ultimate purchase (unless media coverage was the only promotional technique for a particular event and then you could measure foot traffic). You could use some funky math to work backwards from a typical sales cycle and assess related media coverage to see if there was any correlation.

But I think we’d be chasing our tails a little if we went down this path. If the client is wanting to answer this question, it will take a combination of educated guesses, primary research and integrating media relations with their pre-sales processes. I’m thinking:

1. Primary research to question know prospects and buyers and determine the role media coverage (and other content / channels) plays in the stages of their decision (awareness, consideration, intent, purchase). Best to extend this to other tactics.

2. Establish touch-points in the communications program where media coverage / other tactics can hand-off to marketing automation / demand generation / lead generation systems (or in the case of B2C purchases, fulfillment systems).

3. Build programs aimed at getting people into the funnel or to purchase – using tactics such as driving traffic to landing pages. Referral traffic data will show the if media outlets are driving traffic and goal / conversions in Google Analytics or marketing automation systems will show if prospects from media coverage convert. Given B2C purchases frequently occur in-store, you could look at things like dynamic number insertion (DNI) where unique 800 numbers are put on webpages for different campaigns and then fulfillment can track back to this interaction.

Sorry for the ramble, but a good discussion to have. Long story short. We need to work out the pieces we can be accountable for influencing in the purchase. And measure our ability to get people to take those actions.

So...Which Brands Won CES 2015?

2015-01-14T22:20:00.000+08:00

On January 7, the Text100 data team lookedat whichbrands were being discussed, which individuals or outlets drove conversations and which products were getting the getting the most mentions. Two days later, we dived into Intel’s dominant role in CES.

Today the team analyzes the same three criteria to see who took the honors for the show as a whole, and review changes in topics as the show progressed. Not surprisingly, 95.9 per cent of the mentions came through tweets, with the remainder in Facebook and in online news.

Brand champions

Intel dominated discussion with more than 48,000 mentions, almost double second-placed Samsung (who led discussions in our previous analysis). Product updates and a diversity initiative announcement contributed to the wider discussion. LG came in third with 25,000 mentions, mostly attributed to the G Flex 2 curved smartphone.

Apple jumped Sony to come in fourth, largely on the back of Apple Watch and Home Kit discussions. Panasonic and Toyota dropped out of the top 10, replaced by Betabrand and Razer, both with big jumps in mentions on January 8. Betabrand’s partnership with Logitech generated more than 15,000 mentions while Razer’s jump can be attributed to its Razer Forge TV announcement.

Figure 1: Top Brands by Online Mention, CES 2015

Conversation drivers

@CNET, with more than 132 million impressions led CES online reach. Engadget (@engadget) moved from number 10 to second place, thanks in part to celebrity retweets from will.i.am (@iamwill) and Justine Ezarik (@iJustine) on January 7 and 8 respectively.

TV-personality, music producer and CES Entertainment Matters Ambassador, Nick Cannon (@NickCannon) came in third place for the show, largely on the back of tweets covering personal appearances. He was followed by @iamwill with 69 million impressions and media outlet @mashable with 66 million.

New to the top 10 is live streaming video platform Livestream (@livestream). They only mentioned CES directly 10 times during the show and vendors tagged them less than 150 times. However there were more than 62 million impressions generated through @mentions and retweets.

Figure 2: Top Media/Authors by Impressions, CES 2015

Products you want

The number one product mentioned over CES was LG’s Flex 2 with 12,500 mentions. The Flex 2 featured heavily in show recaps and benefited from being announced pre-show. The Apple Watch came in second place – with the yet-to-be available product being used as benchmark for all wearable announcements and benefiting from a range of clones that were available at the show.

Razer’s Forge TV came third with 6,746 mentions and the Lenovo ThinkPad came in fourth with almost 5,000 mentions (disclosure, Text100 is Lenovo’s agency of record). Samsung’s CES Best-of-Innovation award-winning SUHD TV rounded out the top five.

Figure 3: Top Products by Online Mention, CES 2015

Text100’s data team and our partners Redshift Research and Brandwatch will next manage a research exercise to assess consumer reaction to CES, compare this with mentions and impressions and develop a perspective on how brands can make the most out of their CES investment. More on this to come.

Methodology: Text100 used Brandwatch to monitor online news, Twitter, Facebook and discussion forums between January 5 and 10, 2015. We tracked and analyzed more than 675,000 US CES mentions over this period.

A version of this post appeared on Text100's HyperText blog on 13 January 2015

Who’s Winning CES 2015?

2015-01-08T22:20:00.003+08:00

Last month, my employer Text100 in association with our partners Redshift Research and Brandwatch undertook a comprehensive study to help brands make the most of their investments in CES. The study, which compared consumer needs with brand output raised several key findings. They included a conflict between brand and media use of Twitter and consumers’ use of this channel as a discovery mechanism, and significant disconnects between media interest and consumer desire.

Now that the 2015 International CES has kicked off, Phil Kam who leads Text100's data team and I took a look at related online conversations to understand who’s driving or, more critically, leading conversation, which brands are dominating discussion and which topics are capturing the imagination of your consumers.

Brand champions

Out of a quarter million online mentions tracked between January 5 and 6, Samsung dominated discussion with more than 16,000 mentions. It’s clear the range of announcements helped them lead overall buzz. However, disappointment in the fact that they weren’t releasing a new phone also contributed. LG was second with 13,000 mentions, mostly attributed to the G Flex 2 curved smartphone. Sony came in third with its Walkman ZX2 contributing to more than 10,600 mentions. Twitter accounted for 95 per cent of conversations, followed by Facebook (4 per cent) and online news (1 per cent).

Top Brands by Online Mention, CES 2015

Conversation drivers

While media outlets such as @CNET, @mashable, @USATODAY and @engadget dominated the top 10 in terms of online reach, it was interesting to note that individuals also drove online conversations. Of the 350,000 CES-related impressions tracked, rapper / songwriter / actor and philanthropist will.i.am (@iamwill) came second to @CNET in terms of impressions, undeniably aided by his more than 12.7 million followers. Mashable journalist Samantha Hey (tweeting as @HeySamantha) and the Wall Street Journal’s Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) also cracked the top 10, with Fowler outpacing the @WSJD tech handle by more than 17 million impressions.

Top Media / Authors Ranked by Impressions, CES 2015

Products you want

And now, where the rubber meets the road. The top five products so far at CES are dominated by Lenovo (disclosure, Text100 is Lenovo’s agency of record) with ‘ThinkPad’ and ‘ThinkPad Stack’ coming in first and fifth respectively in terms of overall mentions. Apple Watch comes in second - which is significant as Apple didn’t make any CES announcements, nor is the company participating in the show. Netflix – both a product and brand – came in fourth with 2,500 mentions over the past two days. While in previous years, the talk was all about tablets and wearables, TV and PCs seem to be making a comeback.

Top Products by Online Mention, CES 2015

Methodology: Text100 used Brandwatch to monitor online news, Twitter, Facebook and discussion forums between January 5 and 6, 2015. We tracked and analyzed more than 250,000 US CES mentions over this period.

A version of this post appeared on Text100's HyperText blog on 7 January 2015

I've Seen the Future of Marketing (and it's all about the Data, the Content and the Influencers...)

2014-10-22T02:22:00.000+08:00

I recently attended the MarketingProfs B2B Conference in Boston. This conference is all about what's working and what's next. It brought together 850 fans and customers of all things B2B marketing to worship at the altar of content.

This is my second Mprofs event and this year brought a mix of new ideas, rehashed old ideas and original stuff...So what's the future of content? Funny you should ask...

1. Data, data, everywhere

At last year's conference, big data was the holy grail. We nodded happily and software companies bombarded us with emails. The future was clearly automation and predictive analytics - we could all go to the beach and let the bots do our job. It was refreshing this year to hear a more cautious approach from many of the presenters. Not saying data isn't great (it is!), but more that data's messy. We don't know what we're going to get from a research exercise - and that's OK. Speakers talked to the challenge of getting disparate forms of data into some kind of legible format, the causation / correlation issue and the dangers of reading too much into social media data (especially from teens). Great to hear that the industry's love affair with data has moved from infatuation to pragmatism.

2. Sales funnels aren't going anywhere (for now)

While we've been spending a bunch of time trying to reinvent the sales funnel, it appears the majority of companies (based on this rather biased sample set) are still using the classic funnel. While McKinsey and a raft of others have tried to turn it into moebius strips, dodecahedron and a range of other shapes, the challenge of leaving the beloved funnel behind is that it's simple. While purchases and decisions are complex, mapping a marketing strategy onto another shape is tough. Regardless of the shape, however, the drive continues to map behavior to marketing content or action.

3. Hackers will take over marketing

The love affair with geek culture has made it into content marketing. Several speakers talked to ways of taking the hacker / coder ethos into marketing. And why not? It lends itself to creative solutions, solving problems in different ways, and is all about the consequence of actions - the mystical cause and effect of marketing that we've desired forever. Understanding technology has shifted from being a 'back end' discussion to being critical in the way we reach and engage with consumers. The rise of the CDO - Chief Digital Officer - with one foot in IT and in marketing is testament to this shift in approach. Have we moved from 'every company is a media company' to 'every company is a software company'? An app company?

4. What do we do with influencers?

At last year's show, influencer relations was the new black. An array of software vendors shared their wares, each claiming to be THE answer to influencer identification and management. One take out from the conference was the need to use multiple influencer ID tools (and the need to talk to your client's SMEs, vendors and customers) in creating your influencer list. It was also interesting in the intervening 12 months was to discover the industry has moved from ID to engagement - and an array of tactics were discussed. One of the most compelling was co-creation, where brands looked for opportunities to collaborate on collateral such as eBooks or conferences. Great to see brands are moving beyond simple Twitter interactions and LinkedIn shares.

5. Making great content

I've always said, just because you can publish, doesn't mean you should. It's great to see the industry is taking this to heart, with a move to creating better quality content.

The publish and pray approach we embraced when we discovered that every company was a media company has moved to a more considered approach that focuses on quality and engagement versus simply the output. The rallying cry was 'write content for the audience that will amplify' and this connection between brand content and advocates and influencers is a great step forward. Also critical was the need to mix up your content. After all, B2B isn't boring to boring.

Any thoughts? Fire me a comment, tweet, build me an infographic, show me data to support your case, or have a third party reach out on your behalf...

I Troll Therefore I am: A Case for Social in the Age of Trolling

2014-09-10T03:33:00.000+08:00

I was recently contacted by Campaign Asia for some thoughts on online crises, social monitoring and how brands should react. The Q&A follows. I'll revert with a link to the story when it runs. Happy reading!

Do brands need to be hypervigilant?

I feel brands need to be more vigilant than in the past, but I don’t think they need to be hyper-sensitive. A social monitoring program is hopefully now just part of the cost of doing business, and this should certainly be used to identify both negative and positive opportunities for response or proactive commentary.

How can they guard against the worst offenses?

Establish a strong social monitoring program, be clear on who is influential conversation around their brands and topics of interest, establish relationships with brand advocates, and have a comprehensive strategy in place to deal with potential crises or issues.

But do they want to be completely inoffensive? Is this a good comms strategy?

If you mean do brands want to be completely inoffensive, then I think ‘vanilla is a dangerous strategy. They need to have the audacity to have an opinion, a brand ‘voice’ and personality. I’d err away from deliberately offensive, unless you’re aiming to shock (like Burger King in Singapore in 2010) and even then it should be used with a great degree of caution. Don’t be afraid to express a controversial opinion, but do so only in keeping with the established brand personality, otherwise you’ll be at odds with yourself.

What have brands who have offended in the past learnt from their mistakes? (could you references some cases that have been in the public domain?

The classic example is Dell, who after suffering the well-publicized ‘Dell hell’ blog posts, have created one of the world’s best social customer strategies. More recently, US Airways suffered major embarrassment with a NSFW response to a customer tweet, but has subsequently been very responsive to twitter issues and customer comments.

Sometimes brands have done nothing wrong (Cadbury Malaysia / Jollibee Singapore) and yet they're a target. What can you do when this situation arises?

Hashtags are frequently the source of twitter issues. While campaigns such as McDonald’s #mcdstories or the New York Police Department’s #myNYPD started with the best intentions, brands have to realize they don’t own hashtags – and that internet trolls are quick to pounce. Before running any social media program, best to run it through a filter to ensure any possible mischief is planned for (and communicated internally as a possible outcome). When the situation arises, best to be contrite, reinforce the intentions of the program, hope brand advocates come to your aid, and, if all else fails, fall on your sword and kill the program.

If you can’t guard against everything, what should you do?

If this is the mindset, then don’t use social channels. Yes, things can go wrong. Certainly, plan for eventualities. But don’t use the fear of problems stop your brand connecting with its most important audiences through social channels.

Update: Here's a link to the resulting article