Creative of the Week

Hand sanitizers were placed around Mount Sinai Hospital to encourage people to help control the spread of the H1N1 virus.

Creative of the Week

This Holiday Card was mailed to donors who gave to Mount Sinai Hospital as a reminder to do their part in controlling the spread of the H1N1 virus.

Measuring Online Papers

Why was there surprise when the New York Times announced it was going to begin charging for its online edition? Readership of the paper version is down 3.2%. Ad revenues for the paper version are down. The cost of newsprint and transportation is up. Their online version gets more than 18-million unique visitors — every day!

The New York Times is not unique, all newspapers are having trouble. The National Post only publishes online on Mondays. The top ten newspapers in North America all experienced online growth last year, and a decline in their pulp versions. Soon, all papers will be charging for access. It’s inevitable. They simply have no other choice. But overall readership of online versions will decline as a result. Many people browse several online news sources each day. When the publishers begin charging, the public will be more selective and quality publications will remain vital.

But what does this change in online readership mean from a measurement standpoint, particularly for clients and agencies? From a PR perspective, there was a simple formula for assessing the impact of a printed article on a client’s business or products. We simply took the circulation numbers for the papers as the number of impressions, and some multiplied it by 2.5 under the misguided belief that each printed copy of a newspaper was read by 2.5 people. This number has more to do with the wishful thinking of PR people than anything based on empirical measurement. Our Media Director actually laughed when I asked her if there was any validity in the 2.5 multiple.

So, now that online impressions can be measured and if a publication cooperates, views of a specific article can be accurately assessed, what does this do to the valuation of media coverage for a company or its products? The value of a news item has also been based on its position in the publication. We can console clients that a negative piece is buried at the bottom of page 26, or gloat when a new product launch is featured “above the fold” on B1. Unlike hard copy versions, online papers change their front pages frequently during the day and they often do not mirror the line-up of the print edition. Some people connect directly to a specific article and never see the homepage.

Media monitoring and valuation by PR professionals has turned a corner, and we need to be offering our clients a much more insightful and accurate way to judge the effect of earned media.

Monitoring the media is certainly easier in an Internet world, but the job of correctly assessing the real value to our clients requires more work and better in-depth analysis. We have to balance online impressions versus print and we have to delineate for clients the value of each individually, not merely lump the numbers together.

We’re finding new ways to evaluate coverage for our clients and the result is a much more accurate analysis.

- Paul Chater, Partner, paulc@marshall-fenn.com

The Article Says What?

You did your research and pitched the story. A journalist bit, so you set-up the interview with your client. After a couple rounds of media training, your client is ready for the interview. The big day arrives and everything moves flawlessly; the conversation is jovial and both the client and the journalist leave the room happy. A few days later, the piece appears in the media… and it’s not what you were expecting.  Worse, it wasn’t what your client was expecting.

Bad press happens. That’s not going to change. What has changed is the options open to PR people. Where a tightly-worded letter to the editor used to be a PR go-to, the expansion of interaction on the Internet and Social Media have enabled PR people to engage in a conversation created by the media.

Most print/broadcast publications have an online version and most media Web sites allow for user comments. Disagree with something that’s said in a piece? Create a post that:

1) Identifies yourself

2) Outlines your perspective

3) Provides facts to support your case

Properly executed, you can watch as the conversation in the comments section digests your post and – sometimes – turns around in your favour.

Not strong enough? Have you considered recording – and publishing – the interview yourself (http://theflack.blogspot.com/2009/12/pr-insurance.html)? Of course, you need to make sure all parties are aware of your intention to do this well in advance.

Modern resources have expanded a PR professional’s tool belt to the point that their actions after publication can have as big an impact as the original piece.

- Chad Heard, Senior Consultant, chadh@marshall-fenn.com

Your Mobile Phone is Now Your Debit Card

In Asia and Europe, mobile phone users have enjoyed advanced features not yet available to those of us in North America. One of those features is making debit payments directly from a mobile phone.  That feature is about to expand into North America.

Google’s Android mobile operating system, for example, will soon offer a new debit system called mPayy that will simplify the purchasing process down to a press of a button on your smart phone. For some, this kind of transaction may seem unsecure, but the developers promise a level of encryption that’s better than traditional debit cards and meets a higher standard than that used by credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard.

mPayy and its ilk will be a huge opportunity for mobile web sites that wish to conduct e-commerce transactions but cannot afford to build an extensive financial back-end.

As more people access the web through their mobile device, we can only expect more commerce to be conducted there and, where there is commerce, there is advertising. The small screen is moving beyond a simple phone to become your computer, your TV and your ATM; that’s a lot of power in every pocket or purse. Our buying patterns are going change too as we will be able to purchase any item over the mobile web whenever and wherever it fancies us. It won’t be long before your date — over a latte at Starbucks — says: “Hey look, I just bought that killer 60-inch plasma screen TV I wanted. Can you pass the sugar please?”

According to research firm IDC, an estimated $8-trillion of global commerce took place over the internet in 2009. That figure is expected to double by 2013 and much of that growth will be traced to mobile.

Stay tuned to see where this is all heading. The next few years are going to have us looking at our mobile devices more and more and the marketing industry is going to have to stay on top of emerging trends. Maybe we should also be on the lookout for thumb exercises.

- Jim Kabrajee, Partner, jimk@marshall-fenn.com

It Starts and Ends with the Brief. But What’s in the Middle?

I was asked last week: “What is the process you use to develop advertising ideas?”

If I’d had an ounce of integrity I’d have answered: “Actually, there is no process.”

There may be a process for developing a strategy; there may be a process for developing a media plan; but there is no process for giving birth to an idea. There never has been and there never will be.

If clients knew that, they might almost be as scared witless as creative guys are when we sit down and start with a blank page.

What helps, of course, is a tight brief. Clients who are used to seeing good ideas are also used to spending the time up front with the strategists and the account folk. They try to get the brief right.

Because the brief helps us evaluate the merit of each idea.

The best briefs are focused. There’s a consumer insight. There’s a tone that’s unique to the brand. There’s a single message with support points that prove it. And everyone agrees to it.

I am sure some clients would prefer things if we had a more proven method. Maybe we could reveal it on a fancy chart with arrows and boxes and buckets and silos and feedback loops and checkpoints and all manner of obfuscatory baloney. The chart could have a very important sounding title, like “Developmental Matrix” and it could show how, through consumer ethnographic analysis, the idea starts as a small phrenological stimulus and then by some highly-evolved, labarynthine system it’s transmogrified into a grand, unifying concept.

But that would be bunch of BS.

How it really happens is like this: a writer and art director are locked in a cage. The creative director opens the cage door just wide enough to throw in five pounds of briefing documents, memos, research reports, and old ads. He slams the door, yells “I need this stuff by Thursday, and it better be good” and runs off to lunch with his assistant. (Well, okay, I don’t actually have an assistant. But you get the point.)

So maybe what I should have said is: “Just bloody hard work.”

- James Dunlop, Creative Director, jamesd@marshall-fenn.com

Marketing in a Post- Recession

Budget cuts. Everyone is weary of belt-tightening, smaller budgets and lower revenues. But the apprehension and uncertainty bred by a recession will remain with us for quite a while.

Does marketing change in a post recession period? Should it?

One thing many pundits foresee is a long, slow climb back and the summit may not be as high as it was pre-recession. This economic downturn is indeed different, and marketers need to adjust to the fact that our world has changed and the strategies and tools you used prior to the recession may no longer be relevant.

Consumer confidence and trust are always shaken during a recession. Confidence in the financial systems south of the border were shaken to the core. While Canadian financial institutions weathered the downturn well, the lack of confidence in the US system has spilled across the border. Because so much of Canada’s economy depends on the US, we have to acknowledge that what happens there doesn’t stay there. That means confidence will be tempered and trust will probably take longer to recover than the economy itself.

So what does this mean for marketing communicators? You can’t go back. The mindset of the average consumer has changed. There is a whole generation of young consumers for whom this recession was the pin that burst their seemingly endless affluence and prospects for the future. For the young consumer, this recession was not only a first, it was a reality check.

We are all tired of bad news, grim forecasts, layoffs, cuts and pessimism. The media loves talking about the recession and it is a common watercooler topic in the office. Look up optimism in a thesaurus and you will likely find only one or two synonyms. You’ll find it has dozens of antonyms.

We are almost inured to the gloom which is why successful marketers in the post-recession period will benefit by raising consumer confidence and instilling a new sense of optimism. The marketplace is not going to return soon to the way it was, so your marketing strategies and tactics have to change.

Winning back consumers means appealing to their need to feel some optimism. The frequency and intensity of depressing news about the recession from governments, corporations and the media have had a major impact on the basic mindset of the average consumer. You have to counter it with positive, uplifting and hopeful messages in everything you do. Your customers are not just going to come back, they have to be won back. Competition for their trust, loyalty and dollars will never be more intense.

Here are Marshall Fenn’s Five Key Points for post-recession marketing:

Don’t assume consumer trust and loyalty will return to what it was.

Get back into full-fledged marketing programs before your competition and all the clutter returns.

Engage your consumer more directly and fully embrace Social Media. Stop seeing it as an experiment and commit to it as a powerful fulltime public relations tool.

Integrate your advertising, PR, promotions, sponsorships and online activities into a cohesive whole. It’s not only economical, it’s mandatory in the burgeoning online world.

Don’t be blinded by new online media and vehicles. The basic tenets of smart marketing communications still apply. You just have more outlets.

As the recovery strengthens we’ll look at some successful examples from the marketplace.

- Paul Chater, Partner, paulc@marshall-fenn.com

3 Ways Online Videos Fail

The popularity of YouTube is no secret. Reviewing the success of YouTube has already been done by the experts and won’t be repeated here. Suffice to say, it’s become a household name with hundreds of millions of videos viewed on the hosting site every day (http://www.youtube.com/t/fact_sheet) as people search to learn and be entertained. Should viewers find something that truly stands-out, they pass a link to their friends, post it to blogs, Facebook, etc. and, suddenly, the video becomes “viral”.

Marketers everywhere salivate at the thought of millions of self-motivated people passing along a video with a corporate message to their friends and family. But, similar to creating any marketing material, creating a video that lands online with a “thud” is a lot easier than capturing the attention of the Web community.

How do you keep your video project from falling into the Internet abyss?

1)  Your video must serve the viewer’s needs, not yours. If you’re looking for maximum eyeballs, heavy handed messaging will tune people out. But if it’s funny, educational, controversial or fascinating, you increase your chances for success.

Approach the video concept the way you would a new product or service: What can you provide that people want? Sometimes you can catch someone’s attention while promoting a product at the same time (http://www.willitblend.com/).

2)  Promote the video. As with anything else a company does, a communications push should be behind the launch of something new. That said, the traditional rules of communication still apply, so choose your words carefully.

For instance, marketing/advertising blogger Steve Hall (http://www.adrants.com) questions companies that call a recently-launched video “viral” in press releases before the success of the video can be evaluated (http://www.adrants.com/2005/07/viral-advertising-is-a-response-not-a.php). Always stick to the facts and leave the editorial to the recipient.

3)  Play nice with others. If you can’t produce a world-conquering video on your own, maybe someone else can. A well-run promotion asking the public to submit – and vote on – their own videos based on your criteria can simultaneously take your company into the online video world, create content quickly and encourage people to pass their work on to others. There are risks, of course, but with the right pain threshold, user generated content promotions are a boon for brand recognition.

While it’s tempting to just jump right in, success with online video is no different than any other marketing initiative: Requiring the establishment of objectives, effective execution, follow-up and management.

- Chad Heard, Senior Consultant, chadh@marshall-fenn.com

Next entry:  The recession of 08/09 may be over, but what does that mean for marketers?

0|\|L1|\|3 $P34|< or Online Speak – a Guide to Webisms

Have plans to increase your presence online and communicate with the public? It makes sense to become familiar with some of the terms that your customers may be using. There need not be changes to the key messages you want to convey – it’s simply where they are being communicated (online, on a multitude of websites) and how (appropriate writing style for your company). Take a look at the following for some terms or Webisms that might come in handy:

RT – retweet of someone else’s message on Twitter

Tweeps – Twitter followers, based on the word “peeps” for people

RSS – “Really Simple Syndication” alerts users/subscribers to recently published works especially those that are frequently updated, such as blog entries, news headlines, etc

Creeping – closely monitoring someone’s activity on Facebook by looking at pictures and wall, usually of someone known only as an acquaintance.

Sniping – waiting to the last second to bid on an auction site

Trolling – going on message boards, just to make fun of people

Leet or 1337 speak – an internet language, using substitutions of numerals, characters, or letters, to represent a letter or letters in a word (as in the title of this article). It was created to be unique to the community using it. According to Urban dictionary, 1337 was first created by people wanting to talk in a forum without any outsiders barging in. This may seem strange at first glance, but we do need to have some understanding of the language in order to communicate with these groups. Click here to see a chart of the alphabet.

Vlog – a blog containing video material

Web 2.0 – a website is created -like Flickr- which depends on users to populate it

Widget – an on-screen tool or gadget, eg. calculator, dictionary, converter, iTunes album artwork

Webisode – a TV show that can be seen through a website

P2P – peer to peer

<3 – not an ice cream cone, it’s a heart.

See something you don’t understand online? An excellent source for answers is The Urban Dictionary.

- Erin Farquharson, Account Executive, erinf@marshall-fenn.com

Next week, check out our new blog entry on Three Ways Videos Fail and our recommendations to avoid this.

Here’s my Phone Number, E-mail Address and Facebook Profile

With the continuous development of social media networks, PR professionals – as natural communicators – are jumping onboard. Their reasons are many, but most are a combination of professional and personal curiosity. Yet, an interesting dynamic occurs when the professional and personal lives collide on sites like Facebook.

Originally intended to help college students connect with one another on campus, Facebook has grown beyond its humble beginnings and (particularly in Canada) has become nearly ubiquitous. While companies around the globe grapple with whether they should restrict employee access to social media sites, PR folk will eventually have to decide if they want their personal lives on Social Media networks to meld with their professional world.

Services like Twitter have proven to be easier to integrate into the professional communicator’s world, but there’s an argument to adding a PR person’s Facebook profile Web link to business cards and e-mail signatures. This goes double for those in close-knit industries where relationships with journalists are often a key to success. But also consider the future. There’s a growing demographic for whom Social Media isn’t simply a place to share photos and stories; it’s as integral a communications tool as the mobile phone or e-mail.

Effective media relations has always necessitated organizations identify an easily accessible contact to provide a prompt response to a journalist with a need. But where deadlines used to be measured in days or hours, with the advent of blogs and online publications they’re now measured in minutes, even seconds.

For a new generation of journalists, bloggers and online influencers, services such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are critical tools that help them drive eyeballs to their paid professional work. They also serve as a platform to develop new forms of dialogue (such as Twitter chats) with consumers, raising their profile with the public and, by extension, those in the PR world.

So where does one draw the line? Do you accept a Facebook friend request from a journalist you just met? What about one you spent a week with on a media trip? What if it’s two people in a client-agency relationship? Do you create a profile for business and a profile for your friends and family? Or is it a moderated melding of both?

At its core, Social Media is about providing avenues and opportunities for conversations between groups of like-minded people. It used to be that PR would speak to the public through media relations during regular business hours. More and more, though, PR is expected to join a limitless online conversation facilitated by someone with a measureable online presence. The job of getting the message right is still there, it’s just that the mouth piece has become louder and everything that’s said goes on record – verbatim – for all to consume.

Whether it’s a crisis or an opportunity, how long does the PR profession have before the media not only expects an immediate response, but one using the same medium as the question was delivered? How we approach and manage this phenomenon requires as much forethought and planning as developing the message itself.

- Chad Heard, Senior Consultant, chadh@marshall-fenn.com