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‘Obama Online’ shows what’s possible for businesses

By Laura Mead

 

Yesterday undoubtedly marked a special day in history as President Obama hosted the first ever live presidential chat.  In the form of an online town hall meeting, he addressed questions from citizens across the country.  As the whitehouse.gov portal ‘Opened For Questions’, Americans didn’t hold back – a quick peek before showtime yesterday showed over 90,000 people submitted more than 100,000 questions, ranging from legalising marijuana to create jobs and stimulate the economy to the reasons behind spending billions bailing out Detroit rather than supporting small businesses or higher education. 

 

Not only were Americans encouraged to submit questions but also to vote on those questions submitted by their fellow citizens.  It’s no surprise that this was hugely popular with more than 3,500,000 votes tallied already. 

 

It’s really a brilliant idea – an online portal that lets Americans voice their concerns directly to the President while sharing their fears, concerns and views with each other at the same time.  And, with a platform to disseminate information and engage directly with the American people, Obama learns first-hand what is most important to the general public while giving the American people a way to feel more involved, motivated, and that they are directly capable of influencing public opinion and government decisions.    

 

Take it one step further and surely there’s a lesson in here for the business world.  In today’s economy where competition is stiff and budgets scarce, businesses should really look to follow in Obama’s footsteps, taking advantage of technology to get a better understanding of what matters most to customers and to get information out to those people – whether employees, customers, partners or the media – who need it as quickly and efficiently as possible. 

 

He may be a hard act to follow but Obama’s latest social networking initiative certainly sets a great example for anyone ready and willing to ride the tech bandwagon. 

Financial crisis is separating the IT wheat from the chaff

By Ingrid Daschner

 

'Crisis? What Crisis?' asked the British band Supertramp in 1975 on its eponymous LP. This is also the question being asked by numerous IT businesses. After all, every crisis has its winners, and some vendors – particularly those in mission-critical sectors like IT security – are certainly winning at the moment.

The fact is that investment decisions are more thoroughly thought through in times of financial strain and limited budgets. This undoubtedly separates the wheat from the chaff. Whilst in times of plenty firms will spend money on all kinds of gadgets, when navigating the troubled waters of recession, they will focus on the proven essentials.

 

And while some vendors slash their marketing budgets in recessionary times, now is not the time to shy away from a bit of publicity.  Indeed, as market conditions get tougher still, differentiation becomes even more important. 

 

For example, under the title 'Die Mutmacher' [The Encouragers], the March edition of the German magazine IT-Business showcased positive news stories from the IT trade fair CeBIT, and in response to its 'call for papers' it has received a flood of contributions.

 

It seems there is still lots of competition for column inches from many successful and optimistic IT firms – not just a few isolated good news stories.

 

Online feedback forums for public services - good or bad?

Kathryn Mills-Webb vs Tom Kirkham

 

Following this week’s announcement that Gordon Brown intends to let citizens provide feedback on UK public services via the internet, two seasoned JK debaters offer contrasting views of the new proposals.

 

FOR: Kathryn Mills-Webb

There’s no doubt that greater transparency is needed in terms of how public services are measured and reviewed.  At the moment, if you have a complaint about a particular organisation, you have two realistic choices.  You can either phone them up and have a 45 minute argument, only for your grievance to be logged, filed and forgotten – without ever being seen by anyone in a position of authority… Or you can call up the Daily Mail and attempt to induce a national scandal…

 

The new proposals – if properly executed – could put an end to both the unsubstantiated mud-slinging currently engaged in by politicians, the media and the public at large, as well as the pass-the-buck, hide-the-culprit culture that does seem to propagate much of the public sector. 

 

While a line needs to be drawn in order to protect against unprovoked, irrational attacks on individual public sector employees, the new system can provide a meaningful, open platform for feedback and dialogue on public services.  It can offer a means of lavishing justified praise on the many organisations performing to a high standard, as well as identifying legitimate failings without over-stating the problem and thus wasting more of the taxpayer’s money setting up independent inquiries and review committees to investigate what went wrong.

 

AGAINST: Tom Kirkham 

You can’t evaluate your local hospital or council in the same way as you would a hotel or an eBay seller.  I know there’s a current obsession with trying to offer citizens more choice and flexibility in their public services, but any suggestion that the public sector can replicate current online buying habits seems insane. 

 

You can move between eBay, Amazon, Tripadvisor and Travelsupermarket within seconds; the fact remains that we don’t have total mobility in the UK – you can’t just move from the outskirts of Newcastle to a village in Dorset on the basis that the local GP got a decent write-up.  It would make much more sense to invest this time, effort and cash in remedying some of the deep-rooted failings that we already know exist, such as the public sector’s appalling record on IT project delivery.

 

Also, think about a typical customer service department, and the ratio between the letters of complaint and letters of praise they receive.  As technology has progressed – particularly online commerce/services, which now offer unprecedented ease and immediacy – people simply expect services to work, and it’s when services don’t meet their expectations that they are most likely to vocalise their feelings. 

 

Rather than providing a balanced perspective on public services, the new sites could just turn public sector complaints departments into open online forums, serving only to offer a soap box to the sizeable percentage of the population that don’t seem to have sensible and realistic expectations about anything!

 

CONCLUSION

Both participants veer seamlessly between offering brilliantly articulated, insightful perspectives and indulging in demented rambling.  However, Ms Mills-Webb wins, as Mr Kirkham is afraid of her.

 

Want mass brand awareness? Advertise that you’re recruiting

By Alexandra Radius

 

What do you need to create a really good media buzz? The latest evidence would appear to indicate a nice island in the Pacific, plenty of money and good communications skills. 

In early January, a tourist information office offered a six month job contract as an island caretaker, based on Hamilton Island, off the North Eastern coast of Australia.  For a salary of $104,000,the caretaker will enjoy flexible working hours and the opportunity to explore “one of the world’s greatest natural wonders”.  

 

It’s pretty safe to stay that the media stunt worked with some people going so far as to hand deliver their application to the Australian embassy in their country while others translated their application into six different languages (not sure what the benefit of that was). The website was a victim of its own success.  Just one hour after going live, 350 applications had been posted and 250,000 connections registered. The next day the site became almost inaccessible.

 

To date, “the best job in the world” has been advertised on more than 1,300 blogs and the website has received more than 2.3 million visits. And when you Google search "The Best Job in the World ", 29 of the first 30 results speak about the job offer from the Tourist information office!

 

Faced with the worst economic recession in many years, people obviously need to dream and the idea of escaping the global turmoil on a paradisiacal island and getting well paid for it   seems like a pretty attractive option. Hell, even in an economic boom the offer would still be enticing! However, if you haven’t already applied, you’ll just have to wait until the next ‘best job in the world’ comes around. The 50 finalists were announced on Monday March 2^nd and this number will be whittled down further to eleven candidates with ten chosen by the tourist information office and the final candidate voted for by the public. The finalists will be flown out to Australia to be interviewed with the winner revealed on May 6^th.  It looks like the buzz is not about to abate any time soon and Hamilton Island is now most definitely on the map.

What the tweet?

By Jacqui Depares

Unless you’ve been stuck underground for the past year or so, I’m sure you’ll have heard of a little social phenomenon known as Twitter.  The current darling of the social media space, twitter classes celebrities such as Stephen Fry and John Cleese amongst its key championers – providing their followers with regular updates on their day to day adventures, no matter how seemingly strange or apparently newsworthy.

 

That said, it’s not all rock and roll and celebrity glamour.  That’s right people – there is a dangerous side to twitter (cue dramatic music)...

 

In one particular and very public incident (as detailed below), a technology reporter for the National Post, one David George-Cosh, tweeted just a little too much in response to a post from a marketing consultant who had failed to provide him with comment for his story.  NB – for the sensitive eyes amongst you, I’ve replaced any potentially offensive words with the word tweet.

 

sirdavid: @aprildunford what the tweet. I called you for comment two days ago. What did you expect when you called me back? Don’t post that tweet online

sirdavid: @aprildunford furthermore, I called you several times in the afternoon. Don’t be condescending to me when I actually wanted to talk to you

sirdavid: @aprildunford how about you stop blasting personal conversations on twitter and call me back. what the hell is wrong with you.

aprildunford: @sirdavid All I did was return your call. I didn’t expect you to do anything. Wow. Like, seriously, calm down. 

sirdavid: @aprildunford & then repost everything? & then hang up on me & don’t call back? I’ve recorded everything. U don’t look as nice as u put on

aprildunford: @sirdavid Dude - I never said who you were. Twitter meet David. David is having a bad day. David, meet Twitter.

sirdavid: @aprildunford hey april – tweet you. seriously. tweet you.

sirdavid: @aprildunford if u can’t handle any heat from what u post and immediate hang up, tweet u. u know my number. u call if you want to settle. 

aprildunford: @sirdavid Re-read what you have just Twittered. Then re-read what I Twittered. Deep breaths David. Calm.

 

So what’s the lesson here kids? Don’t go on twitter when you’re seriously twittered off J

Why work life balance makes business sense

By Mike King

Of course, any agency’s greatest asset is its people.  That goes without saying.  Pretty much any agency head will tell you that, but the reality is that most agencies don’t operate that way.  Staff in many PR consultancies are overworked, poorly trained and given little support.  And in tough times, where staff retention becomes less of an issue it tends to get even worse. 

I’ve seen PR agencies openly describe themselves as ‘PR sweatshops’, seemingly proud of the fact that they overwork and exploit their staff, claiming that this is what clients want to see.  I beg to differ.  Clients want to work with the best people and the best people work where they are happiest.

That’s why, at Johnson King, we place so much emphasis on not only trying to recruit the best people, but also on providing them with ongoing training and support and a clear progression path.  And on the whole our approach works – we’ve got a great staff retention rate (and not just during a recession). 

Ever since we started, we’ve always put a huge amount of effort into providing ongoing training and support to help people develop the skills they need to excel and progress.  Good training alone isn’t enough, not unless you want to exist as a training ground for the rest of the PR industry.  Which, frankly we don’t.  So it is very important that we are able to provide clear career progression paths and ongoing feedback so that people know how they are doing and what they need to do in order to progress to the next level. 

The flip side of operating an open meritocracy, with ongoing assessment and feedback, is that you also have to accept that not everyone comes up to the required standard.  When an agency’s greatest asset is its people, individuals that don’t come up to scratch have to go.  Not pleasant for anyone but essential if standards are to be maintained.

A critical factor that is often overlooked in the PR consultancy world is the importance of a friendly, professional environment with a decent work life balance.  

All of which is why I feel particularly pleased that Johnson King has just been awarded “Best international specialist consultancy to work for” by The Holmes Report.  Most significantly, this is an award that is based on the individual responses of agency staff.  Each and every member of Johnson King responded to an online survey, and we won the award based entirely on their input.  We must be doing something right. 

Why PR campaigns must never go musical

By Tom Kirkham

 

While many industry speculators continue to obsess over the impact of recession on the tech sector, I’m currently more preoccupied by the fact that there are 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, including a musical episode.  At the risk of angering Buffy fans worldwide, I’d argue that the ‘Once More, with Feeling’ musical diversion is sufficient proof that the series outstayed its welcome by one episode at the very least.  And at the most?  I’d sooner not say. 

 

The truth is the vast majority of television programmes – however fabulous – jump the shark sooner or later, shedding their audience figures and ending up on the scrapheap.  Sadly, a great many PR accounts befall the same fate.

 

A lot of PR business is won on the back of a ‘big idea’ that exceeds the prospective client’s expectations and blows away the competition.  The best campaigns are often driven by an initial spark or concept – a launch, event or announcement that is capitalised upon and exploited to its full potential.  Similarly, some of the most popular TV programmes have worked in this way… “Who killed Laura Palmer?”, “Who is going to kill David Palmer?”, “Why did Mary Alice Young kill herself?” and various other hit shows involving characters that may or may not have died.

 

Depending upon the strength of the ‘big idea’, impetus can be sustained for quite some time without diversifying or changing course.  Indeed, if the idea is particularly fabulous, you can really milk it!  But at some stage the spark will fade, and the onus is then on the PR agency or scriptwriters to come up with something new before they lose momentum.  Some succeed; a great many fail.  Buffy’s ratings dropped continually from year three onwards, while Twin Peaks didn’t even make it beyond a second season; in contrast, 24 and Desperate Housewives have proven far more robust and been able to sustain their viewing figures over several years. 

 

In PR, the industry average client retention rate of approximately 18 months says it all – too many campaigns fail to deliver on their initial promise or never get off the ground in the first place.  Obviously it would give the industry a better reputation if there were more successful long-term client/agency relationships, but frankly, if agencies can’t deliver beyond their initial pitch, then it’s absolutely right for clients to consider wielding the axe.

 

PRs can’t rest on their laurels and rely on good-will from journalists the way that TV shows can sometimes rely on a faithful viewing public, who’ll continue to tune in irrespective of how poor a programme is becoming.  Once a company is dismissed as a has-been, a dinosaur, or just very very boring, it can be a real challenge to win the media over again, demonstrating the importance of continued campaign regeneration and the ability to keep things fresh.  In essence, we PRs must avoid the path of the musical episode, and strive instead to become Desperate Housewives.

 

N.B. In case you’re wondering, I’ve used US rather than British television examples due to the differing season lengths.  US shows can run for as long as 22 episodes at a time, so almost half a year, providing a more direct comparison with a typical PR campaign.  I also wanted an excuse to criticise the musical episode of Buffy, which is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.

The weather’s snow joke for PRs: a tribute to Jacqui and Rich

By Juliana Wimmer

 

In PR, hardly anything is left to chance.  Particularly when organising bigger events like press tours or roundtables, every step follows a certain timeline and organisational structure.  Who, however, would have thought that all this planning could be thwarted by an elemental yet simple force – the weather.

 

Johnson King’s three European offices have taken a battering so far this month.  First, with the heaviest snow falls for 18 years, London was lost in chaos at the beginning of February: schools and airports were closed, mail was not delivered, buses were suspended and what was still running faced heavy delays and cancellations.

 

A few days later Paris was hit by extremely high winds. Airports were shut completely for the first time since 30 years and some 400,000 homes left without electricity.

 

Germany was not spared either. Due to heavy snow falls and icy roads, flights were cancelled and some highways were closed completely, leaving drivers nothing to do but sleep in their cars.

 

Just try organising a pan-European press event with all this going on.

 

PR in times of bad weather is by no means simple, but it is just about possible.  Just ask Jacqui and Rich (left).  Even when a storm prevented journalists AND their spokesperson from turning up to face-to-face meetings, it didn’t compromise media coverage.   

 

 

All's fair in the battle for column inches

By Flora Haslam

The tech PR industry can be a fiercely competitive place – we’re all looking to get better results than our counterparts, so it was with only slight surprise that we made the shocking discovery this week that a ‘psychology student’ who’d asked for help with some research on cybercrime was in fact an ‘International superstar trapped in the body of tech PR Manager’ (with thanks to Twitter!).  Turns out it wasn’t an innocent academic request, but rather an information gathering exercise in an attempt to discredit one of our clients’ news stories.

The reason?  Apparently one of our clients has been “pulling out all the stops to raise awareness of the latest threats and make themselves stand out from the crowd”.  Ahh, I see the problem.  But can anyone else see the irony in sending out a press release to berate a security vendor for using “publicity seeking gimmicks to capture computer owners’ attention”?

If I was a cynic, I’d suggest that this vendor might just be so desperate that they’ve resorted to sending out releases about other, more media-friendly companies, in order to secure some coverage...

Are serious bloggers damaging their own credibility?

By Richard Ratcliffe

 

The term Web 2.0 has been doing the rounds since around 2003 and during this period the way that we interact with the internet has become a more collaborative process. While some user generated content is taken more seriously now than in the early days, there is a general consensus that many in the blogoshere would like to attain the same amount of credibility that is afforded to conventional online information sources like bbc.co.uk or the sites of mainstream media organisations. Despite this desire, some news-based blogs may be shooting themselves in the foot by taking an irresponsible approach to serious issues. 

 

Political blogger Guido Fawkes writes one of the UK’s most popular independent blogs and is often scathing about the content and approach of his mainstream rivals. While Fawkes is clearly an influential and respected news source, his approach to the recent Israel Palestine conflict has been somewhat contentious.

 

For example, his 9 January caption competition invited readers to comment on a picture of Israel Defence Force soldiers sharing a pizza sent by Fawkes (Fawkes has been supporting a campaign to send pizza to the IDF for a few years now). Predictably this led to a number comments being posted, some of which could be considered to be in bad taste or even overtly racist.

  

Of course Fawkes isn’t directly responsible for these comments and, in fairness, you get offensive comments on mainstream news sites as well.  The difference is that Fawkes is intentionally asking users to make “humorous” comments about a situation in which over a thousand people (many of them innocent) have lost their lives and he does little to filter out posts that may offend.

 

Freedom of speech is one of the central principles in the Web 2.0 world and it is important that censorship is kept to a minimum.  However, bloggers who like to think of themselves as journalists (as Fawkes does) may need to exercise some self-restraint, otherwise they could just end up providing an easy platform for the ignorant to vent their bile.  And if this happens, what hope does the blogging movement have of attaining the level of legitimacy enjoyed by mainstream media?