IABC International Conference – Shel Holtz

• • No Tags

Shel HoltzBlogger and podcaster Shel Holtz led a session on The practical impact of social media on your organization. And as he has several times through the conference, he held the attention of an audience that included a full range of experience and knowledge from veteran bloggers through to novices who have not yet subscribed to a blog.

Shel noted that this IABC Conference has had at least five sessions on social media, compared with only one or two in the past.

Some truths:

New media do not replace old media. Yes, old media may shrink. But they also adapt to do the things they are best at.

The press release is not dead. It is being reinvented. Look at the new release format developed by Todd Defren.

Markets are conversations.

The audience controls the message. Once you have put out a message, the audience takes it up and talks about it. They extend, build and comment on it.

And it’s not just the most-read bloggers who count. The Long Tail means that everyone counts.

Therefore, institutions must cede control in order to participate in the conversation.

Blogging and other social media software have lowered both the technical and cost barriers to the point that virtually anyone with a computer can participate.

We are going through a seismic change that is driven by shifts in trust combined with demands for transparency. Communications must change to reflect this.

We have entered the era of social computing, in which power is in the hands of communities, not institutions.

The technology doesn’t matter. With the coming of IE7, people will no longer need to be conscious of RSS. They’ll just look for the orange icon. And they’ll be as unconscious of what RSS is as most people today are unconscious that they use SMTP every time they send an email.

RSS feeds have tremendous potential for eliminating email clutter in organizations. It is an ideal platform for the distribution of news and announcements.

Shel provided several examples of corporate blogs. When questioned about the time requirement for blogging, he noted that one CEO had indicated to him that he sees communication as part of his job. And he sees blogging as a useful new tool. So, he blogs. But he doesn’t spend more time on communication. He has simply shifted to his blogging some of the time that he previously spent on other communication activities.

One interesting example of a company that is exploring the potential of creating new communities is wetpaint, with their stable of wikis, such as wikifido.

Tagging is enabling people to experience the wisdom of crowds, seeing what others considered important and relevant to a topic. This is being used by individuals and companies. IBM tags information on their intranet to make it easier for other people to find it. Hill and Knowlton collects and shares market intelligence using del.icio.us.

Podcasts and vidcasts are beginning to make their way into corporations.

The impacts:

Personal relationships are being developed online. Many bloggers and podcasters experience the doppelganger effect of meeting someone in real life who they feel they already know and have a relationship with through their social media interacitons.

For business, new forms of trust are emerging on the net based on sustained exposure and interactions through social media. Hobson and Holtz frequently receive invitations to make joint presentations even though they have no business together.

The workplace will see new methods of collaboration and more two way communications replacing top down communications. These communications will be less formal, more conversational.

To be used effectively, blogs and other forms of social media must be integrated into a comprehensive communications strategy. They should not be approached on a standalone basis. They have particular strengths and uses that should supplement, not replace other communications vehicles.

 

IABC International Conference – Lynne Lancaster

• • No Tags

Lynne LancasterThis year’s IABC Research Foundation luncheon speaker, Lynne Lancaster, addressed the topic Minding the gaps: Engaging four generations in an info-saturated world.

What happens when generations collide?

Generational differences can be very challenging when you are required to communicate across four generations in any one day. The magic lies in people who are able to see through the eyes of another generation.

65% if resondents to the Generations Survey conducted by Lancaster and her partners reported that generation gaps make it hard to get things done at work.

The four generations now in the workplace:

  • Traditionalists – born pre-1946 – 75 million in the USA (8 million in Canada)
  • Babyboomers – 1946-64 – 80 million (9 million)
  • Generation X –  1965-81 – 46 million (7 million)
  • Millenials – 1972-2000 – 76 million (8 million)

When approaching generational analysis, be careful not to put people in a box. The analysis is just one way to get extra insight into people.

Key issues:

  • Succession planning: As 80 million baby boomers leave the workplace, they will be followed by only 46 million Gen Xers.
  • There will be a shortage of skilled workers – 4.2 million by 2010 and 14 million by 2020. Companies like Ernst & Yonge have established programs to stay in touch with their alumni as a source of potential future recruits (*”Boomerangs”).
  • Knowledge transfer will become an issue as institutional memory walks out the door with longtime employees.

Generations in motion

Traditionalists

72% of Traditionalists plan to return to work after they retire. This is a change from traditional norms. This is driven by several factors, especially a fear of being unable to afford retirement.

60% of Traditionalists say they do not have a clearly defined career path in the place they work. Companies who address this will be able to retain or hire Traditionalists, with their strong work ethic and reliability. Wells Fargo is a company that has understood the needs of Traditionalists and is using this understanding to recruit Traditionalists to return to work.

Baby BoomersBaby Boomers set out as optimistic, idealistic people who could make things better. Today, the number one reason for boomers to stay in a job is “making an impact.” However, this have become increasingly difficult for them to do and frustration is setting in.As boomers age, they are questioning themselves, their situation and rethinking.Boomers are a sandwich generation – sandwiched between aging parents and the needs of their kids. Boomers are feeling “pretty burned out.” They want more personal time. 75% say that “more time off” is the most valuable reward they can get in the workplace.

Generation X

One of the most formative experiences on Gen X was the explosion of media. By age 20, the average Gen Xer had watched 23,000 hours of television.

They witnessed the veil of privacy on the part of public personae drop away in an “anything goes” television environment. This fueled a profound skepticism. Gen Xers believe that they have a better chance of seeing a UFO in their lifetime than they do of receiving a Social Security cheque.

Communications must respect the skepticism of Gen Xers and work with it. Moster.com has done a superb job in doing this with a television ad that plays to Gen Xers’ belief that they cannot rely on institutions to take care of them.

When dealing with Gen Xers give them short, simple, to the point information, honestly.

Millenials

The digital generation: 50% of millenials have a computer monitor in their bedroom. Consider what they have seen – unfiltered. They have tried to sort through information their entire lives.

One of the most essential functions of communicators in dealing with Millenials is to provide cues regarding the reliability and trustworthiness of sources of information.

Millenials arrive in the workforce with less work experience. Teens work less than previous generations. Additonal school requirements, divorced parents, requirements for community service, keep many out of the workforce during their formative years. Employers will have to provide much of the cues and information necessary to help them learn the workplace norms.

Millenials are impatient with the pace of communication. Voice mail demands too much time. They have moved on the immediacy of Instant Messaging.

Millenials look for information online. They have learned to live their lives virtually online. Colleges have increasingly taken their courses and the recruiting experience online. They will expect this from their employers.

However, remember that technology does not equal communication. Technology will never take the place of good research, good planning and well thought-through communication.

Organization communications standards must be flexible to try new things.

 

IABC International Conference – Shelly Lazarus

• • No Tags

Shelly LazarusShelly Lazarus, the Chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather addressed the issue of Building brands in China: Challenges and opportunities.

Highlights:“This is not your parents’ China” China is emerging as a world force.

60 million downloads of a Motorola viral marketing video clip by the BackDorm boys

James McGregor: China is the largest startup and the largest turnaround the world has known.

“You must read your history if you want to have an effective China strategy.”

China is building a modern economy from scratch.

“In China it’s happening all at once. … What would take 50 years in other places happens in China in 20 years. … This is the economic equivalent of Formula 1 racing.”

Of Ogilvy’s 1,000 employees in China, 90% are Chinese.

50% of the work that Ogilvy does in China is for local brands.

Ogilvy also does work for global brands. “But the work is a very delicate balance. You have to take the global brand and make it relevant for China and Chinese culture. Lazarus showed a KFC commercial produced in China and directed to a Chinese audience that echoed themes of family and social responsibility – with very western music.

Ogilvy operates as an integrated communications company in China. This fits both the company’s desired 360 degree positioning and the Chinese condition. The Chinese did not have a history of advertising and PR and other marketing disciplines working in isolation. So, it made sense to integrate them.

Ogilvy’s PR discipline in China represents a proportionately larger share of the company’s revenue than in any other part of the world.

“The best advice I can give you for your China strategy? Focus on your brand.”

“We are the new. We are the future. We are Lenovo. That might be the message for all Chinese brands.”

China Mobile has 250 million subscribers. It has been ranked as the fourth most valuable brand in the world by Milward Brown.

“The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be the biggest coming out party the world has ever seen.”

“Talent is the number one issue in China. … There are not enough experienced people for all the growth. … Ogilvy conducted over 3,000 interviews to hire 345 people. … We’ve had to be very creative and aggressive in our outreach. … Outreach is only a start. Retention is the really hard thing. It’s the biggest problem we face. … We train them. And they they’re stolen for twice the salary. … You have to promise them a career path.”

Interesting presentation from a razar sharp mind.

 

 

IABC International Conference – Tom Keefe

• • No Tags

UPDATE: Tom Keefe has posted his slides for this presentation at the IABC Cafe.

Tom Keefe

Tom Keefe tackled the subject Building and online community: New medium, new challenges?

He cited the June 2006 Fast Company cover story, observing that social media sites are growing up and technical barriers are going away.

Most importantly, people are interacting with other people, not just with computers.

Keefe identies three key elements that must be present for community: people with common interests, common location and interaction.

  • Traits that build online community include:
  • Trust: Trust is necessary in both a living and a virtual community. In an online community, trust is built through taking a person’s word that they are who they are.
  • Support: In an online community, one of the biggest things that we give to one another is support. Technical. Practical. Intellectual.
  • Commitment: People must have commitment to post and maintain their content as fresh.

The common element to all communities is communication – communication which spans social, emotional and intellectual dimensions.

He pointed to tagworld, friendster, linkedin as examples of online communities. In particular, ebay has been particularly successful in creating a community with a high trust quotient.

He pointed to the RSA (Royal Society of the Arts) as an example of a successful small-world network.” The small-world network has many advantages over hierarchy:

  • better connected
  • faster responding
  • more fault-tolerant

Social media are being integrated into companies. However, not all forms make sense in all situations. “Walk before you run (or you’ll risk chasing your management away from the idea.)”

He illustrated the challenge of introducting social media into companies by referencing his employer Volkswagen Credit. Externally, Volkswagen Credit is podcasting and has a MySpace presence. Internally, they have RSS availability and some Sharepoint services.

Volkswagen introduced podcasting at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show. Results? They saw a 31.6% click-thru rate for an emil to owners announcing our podcast project. Interveiw podcasts received 13th rank in A&E category

The company produced another podcast for the April 2006 New York AutoShow.

Volkswagen’s presence on MySpace was used for the GTI campaign. They also created MySpace profiles for fast and Helga.

The IT Department has not been enthusiastic about social media. It is important for communicators to work with IT to explain to them how social media can be a benefit to the company.

At present, Volkswagen does not encourage employees or managers to blog. There continues to be a concern about confidentiality within the company. Tom’s own blog is a personal blog.

IABC International Conference – Monday afternoon sessions

• • No Tags

Tod MaffinEven lunch can be a productive time at IABC Conferences. Podcaster and blogger Tod Maffin will override dessert with his presentation, Twenty-first century communication: Are you e-xperienced? The advance blurb for Maffin’s presentation suggests, “While [communicators] may be actively employing today’s new media, they’re probably playing using yesterday’s old rules. … Tod will explain his model of ‘swarm communicating’ – and show you how to undo years of indoctrination in top-down communicating and embrace being an influential part of a viral swarm.” Oh yeah, I’ll be there ready to swarm! 

Tom KeefeLater in the afternoon, I’m looking forward to Tom Keefe’s presentation, Building an online community: New medium, new challenges? Promised takeaways include: “incentives and disincentives to online participation”; “applying social network theory to online community building”; and “a strategy for communicating with a mixed group of techno-phobes and digital evangelists.” I can definitely use the latter at family gatherings.  

IABC International Conference: Mark Burnett

• • No Tags

Mark BurnettMark Burnett delivered the keynote address. Some takeaways:

“There’s so much spin in America that’s untrue. I read my own press releases and ask, ‘Is that really me?'”“Canadians are like Americans with manners.”“In America, you can come from nothing and have a chance.”

“Only idiots try to communicate to everybody with a canned approach.” There are four kinds of people: the engineer kind of person; the artist; a passive person; and the aggressive person. “Analyzing those four kinds of people is how I’ve moved forward in my career.”

“Looking at our world, the only thing that won’t change in the next five years is movies – people will still go the movie theatre. Television will change. More and more people have access to broadband at work. Five years from now, the new prime time may be between 9 to 5 during the day.”

“Doing the same thing won’t work. You always have to be ready to fall on your face. Playing defensively is boring. You have to be willing to take chances in order to win.”

A very entertaining, totally engaging personality. I think I’ll tune into one of his shows. Maybe the one coming up this autumn that he’s produced in collaboration with Stephen Spielberg…

 

 

Peek behind the scenes of the launch of a web 2.0 company – Riya

• • No Tags

Munjal ShahMunjal Shah, the CEO of Web 2.0 start-up Riya, is writing a series of posts recounting the first two months following the launch of the company’s public beta.  Riya offers “face recognition technology [that] automatically tags people in photos so you can search for just
the photo you want. In your albums. In your friends’ albums. In our public albums.”

In his introductory post, Munjal provides a taste of what is to come:

The last 60 days has been just a whirlwind. In the next eight/nine blog posts I’m going to recount the last sixty days of Riya in detail. Each blog post will cover a week.

I will recount the days following our launch, the cocaine like high and subsequent crash of the Techcrunch effect, the final analysis on whether Riya’s technology worked, the feedback we recieved from users, the competitors we beat (at least in traffic), the flaw in the Riya business strategy we uncovered, the crisis it precipitated, the concern I developed for the entire Web 2.0 industry as the numbers rolled in, the search for a new strategy as Azhar, Burak, and I sat in a conference room for almost 10 days straight, the customer data that lead us to a counter-web 2.0 and counter intuitive strategy, the board meeting and debate about it, and the first execution around it.

They say consumer Internet companies are all about launching, getting feedback, and iterating. Well, welcome to Riya Iteration 1.

Today, Munjal posted Episode 1: March 21 6am PST to March 28 6am.

Thanks to Tara Hunt for pointing to Munjal’s posts.

Ted Demopoulos wants you for his next book!

• • No Tags

Ted DemopoulosTed Demopoulos is looking for people to interview for his next book, What No One Ever Tells You about Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere.

He’s looking for people who will talk to him about about “issues/topics in podcasting, making money from blogs, promoting your blog, blog planning, and more – ANYTHING is open.” He’s already published an initial set of interviewees and topics.

Interested in being in Ted’s book? Email him (ted[AT]demop.com) or blog your own idea with a link to his post.

Hmmm. Come to think of it, maybe I could suggest an idea….

PRSA Counselors Academy: Robert French, Josh Hallett, Giovanni Rodriguez

• • No Tags

Counselors Academy topped off the first day with top level panel discussion of the future of newspapers and the implications for PR. Robert French and Giovanni Rodriguez originally were to be joined by Tom Foremski. However, Foremski came down with a “bad knee”. So, Josh Hallett was recruited to pinch hit fresh off his all star turn in the Bloggety, Blog Blog session immediately prior to this panel. (After almost three hours on stage in two successive sessions, Josh gets the Energizer Bunny award from Counsellors Academy.)

Giovanni RodriguezGiovanni Rodriguez

Rodriguez asked the audience to think of Blogs as Do It Yourself (DIY) publishing; Podcasts as DIY broadcasting; and Wikis as DIY communities, markets and social movements.

These three developments, with their consumer generated character constitute challenges for both journalism and PR.

Giovanni indicated that he is involved in a work thatthe Society for New Communications Research has initiated to understand these challenges and to become an information resource regarding them. Rodriguez laid out a list of 10 things to watch:

10 Historic decline: “We can’t kid ourselves, newspapers have been in decline for a long time.”

9 Consolidation: “There are now three major newspaper chains in the U.S.A. … There are fewer stories being told. There is a troubling uniformity in reporting.”

8. Metros in trouble: “Some major city newspapers are in trouble. … They are in highly populated centres, but they are not getting the circulation and advertising necessary to support them.”

7. Stocks: “Family controlled papers are disappearing. Publicly held companies will tend toward a similarity of voice” as they seek to maximize returns.

6. The Internet – Advertising: Google’s advertising growth is being drawn from media like newspapers and magazines.

5. The Internet – Debundling content: Craigslist and Yahoo Finance are focused content internet channels that break down the newspapers’ model of bundling content.

4. The Internet – DIY Content: podcasts; wikis; blogs

3. Content across platforms: “The future may be about focusing on the content distributed across all channels. Telling a good story is still the core of journalism. Now, the channels are broader.”

2. Talking about “my” generation: myspace.com; Ohmynews; backfence; Greensboro101.

1. Investing in “my” generation: “Rupert Murdoch has not done anything with myspace.com – yet. However, there is no doubt that he and other large organizations are studying social media closely.”

Rodriguez concluded with the observation that, “There are always opportunities for innovation at times of change. … The future of journalism is innovation. Look for the new leaders who understand these ten rules and others.”

Josh HallettJosh Hallett

Josh Hallett’s consulting to both public relations agencies and newspapers gives him a unique perspective on the impact of social media.

Most notably, he is working with the Orlando Sentinel on new media channels. The Sentinel is transferring their columnists and B reporters over to the web.

Looking at the early results, he noted that blogging is having an impact on news gathering and writing. A couple of the Sentinel’s columnists use blogs as opportunities for citizen input on developing stories. Lawyers, interested parties and others comment on their blogs regarding stories. And the coverage can evolve as a result of this input.

In response to a question, Josh added that “In only two cases in the past year have stories been held for the print edition. They post on the blogs that they are working on stories and start to see tips start to come in.”

Josh noted that this development has implications for PR pros as well. As we see the stories develop this way during the day, we may be able to participate in the process of shaping them.

One potential negative impact on the public: “We are getting more and more into the daily need. We can construct our news feeds as content silos in which we do not encounter any news that disturbs you.”

Robert French

The driving force behind Auburn University’s progressive approach to blogging and journalism, Robert French is also a practicing PR pro and a “reformed journalist.”

Auburn is using social media in its classes. And French indicated that this is having a positive impact on the career prospects of his students. In fact, he reported, one student has just been recruited by Edelman in New York to work on the Wal-Mart national campaign. Edelman in New York. A dream job for a new graduate.

So, how are social media integrated into the student’s curriculum?

“All of my students are required to blog,” said French. “They must interact with other PR bloggers. … They must write in their blogs two times a week and they must comment in their blogs two times a week.

“We teach our students to write the new kinds of press releases using wikis,” he added. “Our students have taken to livejournal and myspace.com. They have incorporated SMS into campaigns.

“We practise Experiential learning. We run campaigns for clients in our classes. You cannot graduate unless you have run one of these campaigns.”

French believes that, “More of these programs will pop up in universities and colleges around the world” And he counsels PR executives to look for students who have this kind of interaction.

Robert also reported some recent research findings by both New York University and Auburn on the use of blogs by newspapers:

  • New York University has looked at the major market websites for the top 100 newspapers; 84 were incorporating blogs; some were incorporating podcasts and video.
  • 83% of the newspapers surveyed by Auburn are being updated as events happen on a 24/7 basis.
  • 60% never place anything behind a paywall.
  • 68% do not provide extra services to print subscribers in their online offerings.
  • 35% of their online efforts account for less than 15% of the newspaper’s overall budget — it’s inexpensive to do and many are still wary
  • 69% indicated that their online effort generates less than 15% of revenue — they can’t figure out a way to make money from it

Finally, he observed that the content in print newspapers is beginning to suffer because investigative journalism is being cut and younger, less experienced people are being used as reporters.

PRSA Counselors Academy: Julia Hood

• • No Tags

Julia HoodCounselors Academy Steve Cody conducted an interactive one-on-one conversation with Julia Hood, Editor-in-Chief of PR Week.

Cody led off the conversation by noting that the membership of Counselors Academy is predominantly small and mid-size agencies and that these firms have a sense that “PR Week seems to give inordinate attention to the large agencies.”

“The large firms have larger marketing budgets, more staff, huge global clients and better opportunities to get our attention,” Hood responded. However, she added, “We pay an inordinate amount of time trying to cover medium sized agencies.”

On the question of how she believes PR agencies are doing in relation to advertising in getting the seat at the executive table, Hood had a positive message, seeing PR, “Definitely making strides. The thought leadership that is coming out of the PR world is definitely resonating, especially with CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers). … More and more, you can see advertising agencies understanding this. Advertising agencies are bringing PR agencies in earlier and earlier. That shows that advertising agencies realize that they are not doing the total job.  …. For PR, this is the moment.”

The most animated discussion revolved around PR Week’s treatment of the ethical controversies in which major agencies have become embroiled.

Speaking directly to the overbilling scandal involving Fleishman Hillard’s Los Angeles office, Hood initially suggested that, “No agency leader can say, ‘It can never happen to me.’ So I don’t sense a lot of glee coming out of the industry at Fleishman’s expense on this.”

She was challenged aggressively on this position by questions from the audience. One questioner asked, “Where is the institutional control? the tone of the coverage has been allowing them to get away with it.”

To this, Hood responded, “I think we’ve been pretty unflinching about Fleishman’s responsibility. Fleishman, at the end of the day, was not on trial. I don’t think we let Fleishman off easy. There were times when I wasn’t talking to anyone at Fleishman. At times I felt we had a reasonable point of view and they thought we didn’t.”

This answer elicited follow up question, “Have agencies cut you off?” Hood seemed nonplussed at this question and after some hesitation answered that, “I sat with a senior Fleishman person one time and they were not very happy. But we got through it. For myself, I take this responsibility very seriously. Communicate your displeasure, but don’t abandon the normal rules of dialogue.”

Question: “Who is responsible.”

Hood: “The individual is ultimately responsible.”

Question: Why isn’t there more criticism?

Hood: “It’s not PR Weeks job to impose an ethical standard. That’s the job of organizations like the PRSA. I don’t feel the need to come out on this because I’ve seen evidence of the industry dealing with it.”

Hood was also asked about her reaction to recent reports of attempted “pay for play” (allegations made by Robert Reich). “When talking about the issues of credibility and media and PR’s role,” she offered, “PR has to have an interest in preserving the credibility of the media platform and not undermining it. … We asked CMOs whether they would consider paying for media coverage and, thankfully, the vast majority said no. … This is something you have to address every day. And you’ll have to challenge clients who want to take the easy way.  … It’s a very grey area. A daily reality check to say, Is this crossing the line?”

Hood was also asked for her sense of why mainstream media do not accord PR the same level of coverage that they give to advertising. She noted that, “Richard Edelman just did a Q&A in the Wall Street Journal. Crispin Porter + Bogusky [the subject of a cover story in Business Week] is not really an advertising agency … They were on the cover of BusinessWeek because they challenged the conventional mindset of their industry. … Richard Edelman has changed many of the rules of the game by being out there and talking about their clients. … A lot of PR people do not want to talk about their clients. …. What does that do to the PR industry and its own promotion efforts?

“Finally, I think there is still a basic discomfort on the part of journalists in covering PR, because they know how important their relationships with PR agencies are – and they don’t want everyone to know. …. There is a certain amount of plausible deniability going on in the media … As long as those people feel there is something wrong with disclosing that there is a give and take, there’s a problem there.”

Finally, Cody asked Hood to put herself in the shoes of a start-up PR agency and to suggest how she could get on PR Week’s radar screen. She responded “The first thing I’d do is go online and get a copy of the editorial calendar. Six weeks before publication, we decide on what to do the feature on. Idea generation is absolutely critical. … If you see something in the editorial calendar that you have a unique expertise in or a story about, contact the publication.

“The second thing would be to make sure I know who the news editor is and who the features editor is. All the reporters have beats and they will return to the people who helped them the last time. They want people who will get back to them. Be interesting. Be quotable and be prepared to go on the record. Let us know what the trends are. If you pitch us, give us a clear idea.

“You see stories about large agencies because agencies large agencies pitch us.  We need help to find you sometimes.”

To close the session, Cody asked, “Is Pr Week making money? How can firms here who can’t afford advertising help you out?”

Hood responded that, “PR Week is doing quite well. What’s really pushed us ahead are special projects. … I believe that display advertising is not going to be the centre of the universe for PR Week. …. One thing that does bother me is people who want to be in the magazine who don’t subscribe. That level of participation for your trade publication …. you should get at least one subscription for your company.”

Julia, I’d love to subscribe. If I do, can I persuade you to cover Canadian PR agencies?