A much cleaner Netimperative site launched today. Hurrah says those of us who have struggled with the old one for ages. A rather snazzy blog style and seems to be a bit faster to load too.
]]>Like Antony , I too am an optimist. I also lived through the similar, if not so public, growing pains of the digital ad agency industry. Back in the 90s these start-ups and specialists departments were dismissed by the powerful TV ad world. And we all know how that has changed now. We now have a very different marketing landscape with digital taking the lead and the more handsome budgets.
Looking at Antony’s four points, here are my thoughts
1. Old models are being disrupted everywhere.
Yes, PR and marketing is mashing together in the digital world. And the change is difficult. Partnering with digital agencies from design through to search is one solution (and one we take). Not so they can lead the strategy as Will suggests happens at WagEd, but so that we can move fast and in collaboration with the marketing skills clients can benefit from.
It is often the case that new innovation is led by two or three champions that trial the new techniques. And Antony examples how many agencies are bringing in or growing their own digital marketing talent. Sadly, in many cases the online talent is disassociated from the ‘normal’ running of the agency – wheeled out for a pitch or strategy meeting. These agencies continue to offer traditional PR and the teams never get to discover what online is really about - beyond the online version of their offline target media. It maybe that when the fee income starts to affect these agencies, the silo walls will come down and in a short space of time, the rest of the agency will catch up. As I said I am an optimist.
And whilst Antony mentions the two big PR players that are embracing online, we are also seeing hot shops and boutiques come into play. Remember the likes of Poke , AKQA and Glue London all started as online hot shops and are now considered major players in digital marketing.
2. PR agency models may be less able to assimilate than be assimilated:
Changing the agency model is difficult. We are moving to fluid account teams to challenge the ‘generalist PR model’: creating core centres of excellence and allowing teams to work in specialisms across clients. The biggest issue is that clients are only now letting go of the traditional model. They understand the way it used to work: that their account manager, director etc knows everything, advises on everything, is their one port of call. It is not an easy change to implement, but once done, the benefits are clear.
3. Spin has no place in networks.
Couldn’t agree more on this point. But I would add that the talent of PR communication is in telling a story. We understand the triggers that spark interest and encourage bloggers and press to positively write and talk about a client. Communicating within social media is a natural step for PRs. We tell the brand story in a way that engages the influencers and advocates. It’s in our bones!
4. You need to understand some hard maths. No excuses.
I would add that some industry collaboration is needed to tackle some of these thorny problems. I was talking to Simon Collister today and we both agreed that PR was one of the few industries that really didn’t like joining forces to resolve wider industry issues. We have a great opportunity to set benchmarks for cornerstone issues such as measurement and influence – much faster than the other marketing disciplines, as this is our territory.
My one question is where is the CIPR and PRCA in all of this? Instead we have new organisations like WOM UK beginning to move in on these issues along with their wider council of cross marketing disciplines. Shame.
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A much cleaner Netimperative site launched today. Hurrah says those of us who have struggled with the old one for ages. A rather snazzy blog style and seems to be a bit faster to load too.
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The video is rather nicely produced too. But the picture shown above is a screen grab as there is no way to scrape it onto my blog – a shame as it hardly encourages blog comments. Also, rather surprised that there is not a transcript to go with the video. That would gain a lot of SEO traction, but it is just a stand alone QuickTime video. Missing a trick?
]]>If we are to improve the situation, there are three core issues for agencies and in house to address:
For agencies and in house alike, understanding online PR and social media is time consuming. You have to play in MySpace and Facebook, you need to invest in uploading SEO releases and measuring and testing everything. Allocating time to play and explore online is a must.
Everyone at IF has access to the whole internet and the opportunity to trial tools and explore new online properties. There is no monitoring, site bans or restrictions (I know of plenty of places where PRs can’t access the BBC online, let alone social networks). The truth is that if you set the right culture, you will benefit from this knowledge with great results and a deeper understanding of online than just learning out of a book or a training course.
With budgets for online activity still not comparable to traditional PR it is not surprising that many PRs don’t invest this time in R &D. Whilst clients and companies treat online as a trial and test, the investment of time is hard to justify. But budgets are growing and as CEOs understand the importance of online, they will allocate budgets that reflect this rather than just paying lip service to its value.
]]>The slides really fall into four categories:
Here are the results for the top 25 most discussed brands.
Technology leads the way, with Disney and Ford just squeezing in the top 10. But split across the top 100 reveals that the industry sectors are quite evenly spread, with all of Intebrand’s top 100 brands getting a mention in social media.
Of course, this is just a snapshot and, before my friends at Onalytica and Market Sentinel rightly jump in, this research doesn’t take into account influence. Which we agree is essential. But the study does show that brands are being talked about and that is what we set out to confirm.
The full study will be available on the immediate future website on tomorrow or you can pop along to the OMS show at the Business Design Centre in London to get a free copy.
Technorati Tags: Google, Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Interbrand Top 100 global brands, social media, Disney, Ford, Onalytica, Market Sentinel
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Social networking groups are proving very popular in the UK. They are a very public demonstration of the connections between people and brands. Popular groups can quickly swell in numbers and influence large numbers of consumers online.
Understanding the sentiment of brand conversations is crucial. Frequency and popularity in the conversation is meaningless without a clear picture of whether the discussion is positive or negative.
We assessed groups set-up on three of the most popular social network sites: Flickr, Facebook and MySpace. We compared groups against the Interbrand Top 100 Global Brands. Groups that mention the top 100 brands were examined and brand sentiment (positive, negative or neutral in tone) recorded.
Automotive brands had the most loyal fan-based groups, Microsoft the most negative groups and Google hardly any negative comments at all! In fact, most Google groups were either advocating the search engine or explaining ways of using the technology.
The full report will be on our website on Thursday - for those that want the detail.
Technorati Tags: Facebook, Flickr, MySpace, Disney, Nintendo, Google, Brands in Social Media, Social networking, Microsoft
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What is the role of brands when blogs, social networks and recommendation services are harnessing people power to answer the questions the search engines can’t?
My view is that brands will adapt. They are not as stubborn as people like to think, and brands will learn that there are benefits to becoming the social currency of conversation. I like Rushkoff’s idea that brands will learn to tell stories and that is how they will engage audiences.
I also think that marketers will learn to understand the niche. Love the longtail and flex with consumers in collaborative and participative ways. But then I am always the optimist.
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We are launching research exclusively at the Online Marketing show this week. The study looks at the Interbrand top 100 global brands, to reveal which brands have the largest share of voice and the most positive conversations.
The report measures brand mentions across blogs, social networks, video and photo sharing sites, social bookmarking and news sites, to provide a snapshot of brand share of voice. It also details sentiment (positive and negative conversation) in social network groups. A section of social media that is increasingly being adopted by consumers in order to discuss brands.
Come and visit us on stand V6 at the business design centre (26th and 27th June) and you can get your free report, along with a whole range of guides and tips (a social media toolbox).
I am speaking at the workshop too, at 1pm on the 27th - worth a visit if you prefer an explanation along with case studies on how to engage with social media.
Drop me an email if you want to meet up during the show.
Now off to frantically look for a four-gang adapter so I can power up my laptop at the show.
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Trevor Cook and Lee Hopkins at the Corporate Engagement blog have just published their free (second edition) Social Media white paper. Updates on Second Life, Twitter and wikis and some new case study examples of Australian brands experimenting with social media.Great snapshot of the current social media space - a definite read.
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