Posts Tagged ‘PR’

The Lib Dem’s seaside conference

The Lib Dem Conference this year seems to have been more exciting than usual. I am afraid to say that too often I have dismissed it as a warm up for the main two conferences. But this year it has delivered a punch.

Whether you love Nick Clegg or you see him as a David Cameron downgrade, this year he has brought greater presence and press coverage to the conference than before. The newspapers have followed what, in particular, Clegg and Cable have had to say.

The two dominating policy announcements for me have been the ‘Mansion Tax’ - Vince Cable’s announcement that people with houses over £1 million would be charged a tax at 0.5% on the value of a house above this amount and Nick Clegg’s announcement of ’savage’ cuts.

These two issues gained great coverage. Cable’s was seen as wooing the left whilst Clegg’s was an admission that the Recession would lead to inevitable funding squeezes and the Lib Dems admitting that the way ahead would be difficult. With both of these two policy announcements the Lib Dems got the communications right, but the process and messaging wrong.

With the ‘Mansion Tax’ Vince Cable received great coverage and it has been debated widely in the press and on news channels. In fact people have been scrutinising it as if it could be introduced by a Government. This shows that the Lib Dems have been taken more seriously at this conference.

But equally that is why it has received so much criticism. Vince Cable was opposed by many colleagues on the issue, consulted thinly with MPs and has now admitted that he may need to consult more on the idea before updating the terms of it. In fact the initial big splash it gained has now been tarnished by the in-fighting that has followed. It has been a case of big splash with poor messaging.

Similarly Nick Clegg’s announcement of ’savage’ cuts was a strong call that gained a great deal of coverage, but again the messaging and PR behind the announcement was extremely poor. Nick Clegg has not thought through the messaging because ’savage’ cuts, as opposed to just ‘cuts’, suggests that frontline services will suffer. Again it is a case of Lib Dems making a great deal of noise and being scrutinised seriously and being found wanting on their messaging.

Overall the Lib Dems seemed to make progress this conference, being taken seriously. But their messaging has been found wanting. They need to now work out their proposals tightly and sell them with the right language that says they are a party that can govern not just a third option.

At 218 years old, The Observer is the world’s longest-running Sunday newspaper. But if reports are to be believed it might not make it to 219, as Guardian Media Group (GMG) looks at ways to cut costs after losing nearly £90 million in the year to March 29.

From a personal and professional perspective this would be terrible news. Personally I think the music, sport and food monthlies are among the best magazines in the UK and with my PR hat on, The Observer has led the way when it comes to looking at the environment and green technology, areas where tech and corporate PR has been very focused of late.

The end of print media has long been discussed for years but this would surely be a landmark day for those that predict it’s demise? Is there any long-term hope for newspapers? I’ve always believed print would pull through but I am getting less certain by the day…

As the late Michael Jackson once sang: “It don’t matter if you’re black or white.” A new study from Ruder Finn supports this hypothesis.

Ruder Finn Intent Index

The Intent Index reveals a new view on why people go online and redefines how we look at demographics. The important concept here for digital business trends is that marketers need to truly connect with their audiences, and not treat their online communications like a checklist of tasks.

As a result, Ruder Finn co-CEO Kathy Bloomgarden has said that “intent is the new demographic.” She continues,

“Delving deeper into the underlying motivations of online behavior is critical to developing proactive strategies. Just being online is not enough to leverage digital channels to drive business imperatives. Audiences must be targeted based upon their intent.”

She recently discussed the Intent Index in a video interview with PR Week in the US.

You can view the results, which will be updated quarterly, with a cool, interactive flash tool here: www.ruderfinn.com/intent

It’s quite addictive.

You can view the full press release along with interesting results here: RF’s New Study of Online Behavior Focuses On User Intent

The survey has the capability of being narrowed down for specific industries, and an EU-focused survey is planned for a future quarter. Please comment if you’re interested.

For those of you on Twitter, here are some “re-tweetable” findings (using #intentindex or #rfintent via @RuderFinn):

More than twice as many people go online to socialize (81%) than to do business (39%) or shop (31%)

72% of people go online just to become part of a community

Seniors are going online today for the same reasons younger people are; to have fun (82%) and to socialize (80%)

More people go online to connect via a social networking site (41%) than to post comments or opinions (34%)

More people go online to be entertained (82%) than entertain others (48%)

People seek education and entertainment: most people go online both to learn (88%) and have fun (83%)

Almost half of people (47%) go online to learn to improve themselves and nearly one-third (31%) to find self-help experts or books

The desire to learn drives people to the Internet; top areas are new subjects (68%), the world (65%), a disease or condition (61%)

Three times as many people go online to compare prices (66%) rather than people via dating sites (21%)

E-commerce isn’t dead — one-third of people (34%) go online to purchase an item

Top things people go online to buy: household items (49%), electronics (45%); music (35%), movies (29%)

More men (42%) than women (36%) go online to do business

Women comment, men read: 55% of women go online to find venues for personal expression compared to only 43% of men

The age of blogs: 44% of people go online to create or update blogs and 42% of people go online to read other people’s blogs.

Women (48%) are much more likely than men (39%) to go online to advocate for an issue or position

The Ruder Finn Intent Index is based on a study among Internet users that asks respondents how frequently they go online for 295 reasons. The Intent Index shows that a person’s intent may be a better indicator for how to develop a communications campaign than demographic formulas. This post also appears on Left Brain.

What is it about national print coverage that gets in-house PROs so excited?

Ruder Finn recently launched its Future of Communications report, based on a survey of 100 in-house Public Relations Officers (PROs) and 20 in-depth interviews with PROs.

The research, which looked at in-house PRO attitudes to digital communications, threw up a number of interesting angles including the inconsistent costing of digital services which Ruder Finn UK MD Nick Leonard discusses here.

But for me the most interesting was the fact that nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of PROs said that given the choice between getting their story placed in a national newspaper or the online version of the same publication, they would choose print. Even the supposedly more tech-savvy technology PROs still preferred the print to online coverage.

There is nothing wrong with being more comfortable with what you know, but a fear of the unknown shouldn’t blind PROs to the more obvious benefits of the digital world. Online press coverage is permanent, more likely to be read by someone you really want to read it and contributes to your search rankings; a newspaper is here today and gone tomorrow.  I know national print coverage has that wow factor, but in terms of tangible impact on a clients’ business is it really worth more?

What do you think – do you work in-house? What is it about national print coverage that really gets you excited? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

According to the recent Future of Communications survey Ruder Finn conducted, the answer is yes… though eventually and incredibly cautiously.

The ‘cautiously’ part is hardly surprising - in the regulatory environment that surrounds healthcare communications, especially prescription products, caution prevails.  Facilitating greater dialogue around prescription medicines raises a whole host of issues from the interpretation of promotion versus non-promotion through to complications around adverse risk reporting.  This cautious attitude is further amplified by the nature of the regulations surrounding digital communications. Although some regulatory bodies, like the ABPI in the UK, have taken steps to try and set down rules governing digital media, they are still peppered with ‘grey areas’.  Where some industries have already taken the plunge and are happily doing backstroke, the healthcare sector has only just rolled up a trouser leg and dipped a toe in the water.

It is important of course to exercise caution, but the ‘eventually’ bit of my answer is also important.  Not only must healthcare companies start to embrace digital communications in order to stay relevant, but if this does not happen, it will miss out on a consistently growing audience and medium with which to reach them.

Market research tells us that patients, carers and healthcare professionals use the internet more and more for health information.  In fact at a nurse advisory board I recently attended, the majority of the room stated that they often go online during consultations with patients to look up queries.  They of course had some favoured, trusted sources, but they were Googled nonetheless.  I also think of myself and my family - I’ll often consult the internet prior to consulting a GP and older members of my family have carried out extensive research on their conditions to find out more about their treatment options.

Information is out there, whether pharma companies want it to be or not, and people are accessing it.

The healthcare industry is full of intelligent and sophisticated marketeers who recognise this ‘evolution’ is taking place and want to be part of it. Our own experience tells us that some pharma companies are doing great work monitoring social media and reacting to issues. But the key word is ‘reacting’. It is the proactive work that is difficult and the bottom line is nobody wants to be first to run a big digital campaign.  But proactivity doesn’t have to mean taking risks. Healthcare will eventually fully embrace the digital age but it won’t be done in great leaps but small incremental steps.  Only by doing these small steps will regulatory departments, who are key to this change ever occuring, come on board.

So what do we mean by small steps? It’s doing a few simple things well.  Maybe that is sponsored links on google to ensure responsible web sites appear at the top of searchs when people look for counterfeit products. How about non-branded educational videos on Youtube, more of these are starting to appear now. Holding online advisory boards on secure networks, which are far more cost effective and allow flexibility for the participants. We could go on.

The way patients and healthcare professionals search for information and interact with each other has changed.  Therefore it stands to reason that how healthcare companies communicate with these audiences also has to change. This will happen and, to a certain extent, is already happening but it will take time and it will take a lot of small steps.

It is coming up to that time again.  Dissertations are in, final exams are looming and the prospect of leaving the fun university life that has been a reality for the past few years is becoming more and more real.

But, given the current financial climate™ what are the prospects for today’s graduates?

Rather than come up with a flimsy list of tips (that is the next post) I thought I’d speak to an expert.  Tony Byng used to work with me at The Weber Group before pursuing a career as a lecturer.  He is currently the programme Director for Leeds University Business School’s MA in corporate communications and PR. I asked him what he thought of the industry today and how tough it was for Grads:

… from what I gather, the market is still relatively open for those students who are prepared to ‘put themselves about’ or who have garnered some real experience during their summer vacations. Having said that, we have seen an increase in applications for our marketing-related Masters programmes of between 20-40%… suggesting many are hoping to ride out the economic storm by spending another year in education - if they can afford it!

We have a large Careers Service at Leeds and the University has a very good track record of graduate employment. While the ‘Milk Run’ is rather a sparse affair these days, Leeds is still targeted by many corporate employers - partly due to the quality of its education, but also down to the quality and background of the students we accept.

The issue with PR specifically, is that both agencies and in-house departments appear to be pretty poor at graduate recruitment. I have rarely come across agencies who start a recruitment drive in, say, November… interview in the spring with a view to employing in August/September. Most of them don’t seem to be able to plan that far ahead! And, it’s not just PR - most marketing agencies are the same, apart from the some of the larger ones. Of course, a lack of experience tends to shut the door pretty quickly as well.

I asked Tony what his advice is for this year’s graduates:

So, my advice to students considering a move in to PR is, perhaps, a little old-fashioned. I tell them to surf the web, read Guardian Media and PR Week, talk to anyone with even the slightest association with PR and encourage them to identify agencies they would like to work for (based on awards, client list, positioning, etc.) and then get on the phone… looking to find out who’s hiring, when they may be hiring and generally selling themselves and trying to get a network going. I even encourage them to ask for internships - even a day shadowing an account team. It’s difficult to say no to someone who appears keen and bright when they offer themselves for free! If they think this sounds too much like hard work, then they’re probably not cut out for the industry anyway!

How does the Uni help PR grads find work?

In terms of the University, I recommend that students look to the careers service for advice on preparing CVs, interview skills and using resources for researching target agencies. I also advise students to look at their whole CV and find something that differentiates them - not a just a rounded CV balancing work and play but something genuinely interesting to talk about. It is difficult for the education sector to do too much more when the industry appears to be less than organised. I would be delighted if you proved me wrong on this last point

I would also add a whole online dimension when targeting employers.  Many grads (see Jed and Michael to name but two) over the past couple of years have had success through building a digital network through twitter and blogging and this has really augmented the real life meetings they’ve had during the job hunting process.

To help prove Tony wrong, I will be speaking to PR students at Leeds over the coming few months and we’re also reviewing  how we promote the graduate scheme at Ruder Finn.

N.B. Cross posted on my blog

No matter how much work you do behind the scenes, as a junior PR consultant, a client will never know who you are or why they are paying for your time unless you take an active role in meetings. Getting started with this can be tough for many people, especially when there is a large team of more senior folks in the room.

Here are my tips:

1. Agree a role with your manager before you go in
2. Own a bit of the agenda to run through / update on
3. Keep something special to tell the client - a hit you got, an opportunity you secured or a new industry thing they might be interested in
4. Ask questions….think of something before you go in
5. Check their news daily - you won’t learn and feel confident offering an opinion if you don’t read
6. Look at the headlines before every meeting - any customer or competitor been written about that day?
7. Check the stock price, it’ll help you know what their focus is before the meeting
8. Introduce yourself and explain your role on the account
9. Listen in to as many calls as you can - good way of learning before you speak
10. Listen in to media briefings - helps you know the ropes before you host them yourself
11. Remember the client is paying for your time, always think about demonstrating value to them by making a contribution

Anything I missed?

This is cross posted with my own blog

Our director of digital strategies either decided he has far too much spare time and needs another platform from which to espouse his words of wisdom, or else his cruel boss has nominated him for a spot on the sparkly new PR Week site….either way, check out his new blog, called Kittens, babies, sunsets or flowers? Life online.

From an interview with Dell to a useful set of tips to consider when naming a web site or community, Ged provides insight into agency life and the wider PR industry as a whole.  The official blurb is as follows:

Ged Carroll of Ruder Finn blogs on online curios, direct-to-audience comms and technology for PR Week

N.B. Ged also blogs here and at his personal blog - Renaissance Chambara.  He can explain the reasons behind the name(s) far better than I can!

Although this piece covers POM-to-P drug switches (taking a prescription only medicine, POM, and making it available through Pharmacy, P) the principles discussed apply to any form of product launch, so please read on even if you’re not involved in a POM-to-P switch.

You may have read in the media about the launch of an over-the-counter (OTC) weight loss pill called Alli. Previously only available on prescription the European Commission announced at the start of the year that it could be made available through pharmacy. I have a lot of experience in POM-to-P switches and have followed Alli‘s progress with great interest. Alli will soon be available from a pharmacy near you so I thought I’d take this chance to review the coverage it has received to date.

What has been fascinating, and ultimately what prompted me to write this blog, is how the media, and then the public, have reacted to this announcement. This is a classic demonstration of no matter how hard you work to get a responsible, non-sensationalist message out to the public about a product, when you finally make an announcement what actually gets printed can be very different.

Exhibit A – The Daily Mail, 6^th Jan, runs the following headline “Diet pill helps woman drop a dress size”. ‘Drop a dress size’, could this be any further from what a diet pill for the clinically obese is designed for? It makes it sound like it’s a quick fix to get you from a size 12 to a 10 for your holidays. I’ve checked the GSK release about this announcement and it largely contains responsible messages like “lose weight gradually and steadily” and “in conjunction with a reduced calorie, lower-fat diet”. It never mentions or even alludes to the ‘drop a dress size’ opportunity at any point. When the story eventually appeared online 2 weeks later the headline was thankfully changed to a more appropriate “£1-a-day anti-obesity pill is going on sale without prescription”.

Exhibit B – That week a colleague of a friend of mine sprints into her office and proclaims, with some excitement, that there is a new pill that is going to help her lose weight. To provide you with some background my friend works in a highly respected profession and her colleague is someone I would put in the “successful, intelligent, rational human being” category. Furthermore, despite having two children she is at most a size 10 and if she wanted to lose weight it would be for purely personal rather than medical reasons. Now if someone like this can reach such a conclusion then where is the hope for others? Now I’m not saying it was the Daily Mail’s fault but coverage like theirs surely contributed to such a conclusion being drawn.

Exhibit C – The Daily Mail (yes again), 26^th Jan, runs the following headline “Revealed: The true cost of the £1 diet pill hailed as a weight-loss wonder drug”. Hang on, 2 weeks ago you were the ones “hailing” it as such. This article was about the ‘terrible side effects’ this treatment has. Well, it is true it does have nasty side effects but these are well publicised, so why didn’t they mention them 2 weeks ago when they were ‘dropping a dress size’. Whereas the first article focused very heavily on the positives, this article solely covered the negatives, again not what you’d describe as balanced coverage.

The worst part of this is that it is the media that are always quick to criticise Pharma for inappropriately marketing its products but it should really take a long hard look at itself before it starts wagging its finger.

So what’s the answer? How can we navigate our way through this minefield and gain balanced coverage for POM-to-P drug launches (or any product launch for that matter).

Well the truth is there is no simple answer. It’s always going to be hard to gain balanced coverage, especially in areas such as weight-lose where people are desperate to believe that there are quick fixes.

What you can do though is stick to the following:

• Plan for milestones – Understand when the media touch points are (in the case of POM-to-P switches it is during consultation, when the licence is agreed and when the product is launched) and prepare for them.
• Stakeholder management – Ensure you have undertaken a wide ranging, solid stakeholder management campaign. Knowing who will say what and when is half the battle to predicting media coverage.
• Due-diligence – Anticipate the sensationalist angles the media can take and pre-empt them i.e. this pill is not about dropping a dress size it is aimed at…
• Stay close to the media – Know what they are writing / broadcasting and when. If you don’t feel it accurately reflects your story, react quickly.

Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.  This was the reaction of my University friends when I told them that I was venturing into the glamorous world of PR.  As I had already done a period of work experience with a PR firm I knew that this was not the case, however I was more than happy to play along with the stereotype.  And with a certain level of smugness I tell them that I am a Junior Account Executive.  This is because executives stroll round in pin striped suits, slam doors and shout, “Come on, we need the Japanese report done by six o’clock.”  It is amazing how deceptive a job title can be.

It comes as quite a shock when you first realise how ignorant you actually are to the industry you have been appointed to work in.   Not since my first day at primary school when I managed to get myself locked in the toilets have I been so out of my depth.  But, there is light at the end of that long and murky tunnel.  My head has finally stopped spinning and some of these abbreviations that fly around the office actually make sense.  All going to plan, I will be an Account Executive before I know it.  So when people in the pub ask what I do I can sound just as obnoxious as I tell them that I am an Account Executive.  That is unless they work in PR and actually know what that means.