News July 2009
Posted in News on July 2nd, 2009Using social media rules to improve ’offline’ PR
Here’s a thought: You actually don’t have to be ‘doing’ social media to benefit from social media and everything it stands for. Whaaaaaat? Exactly that – the offline PR world can learn heaps from social media without ever having to tweet, blog or open up a Facebook account.
Social media is, can be, and should be, more about a state of mind than a set of tools.
Sure technology is critical because it drives social media, but without the right attitude and willingness to be open, networked, responsive and ‘conversation-friendly’, all the technology in the world won’t help you be an online success.
With that thought in mind, here is a quick guide as to how brands can benefit by following emerging social media protocol.
By following these five ‘rules’ in the physical world, not only will brands improve their overall PR efforts but also they will be more ‘social media ready’ once they decide to fully embrace the new media landscape.
(Please note: by PR I mean the full gamut of communications – marcomms, corporate comms, internal comms, media relations etc.)
1. Increase transparency
Start opening up the organisation and communicating with spirit and candor, internally and externally. Take baby steps – let out more information than you may have done in the past; empower individuals with additional communication duties without eyeballing their every move. Stop trying to counter every argument with spin.
>>> Transparency is the currency of social media. If you’re not open, welcoming and responsive to two-way conversation, you’ll fail in your social media efforts. That said transparency works incredibly well offline as well. It’s a must in today’s communications.
2. Cut the jargon
As a rule, large organisations have poor reputations for spinning and polishing every word of their communications (press releases, websites, brochures, newsletters etc.) – the result of which is a morass of bland, unintelligible gobbledygook that no one takes any notice of. Humanise your corporate copy so that people can understand it – who knows, they might start trusting the source!
>>> Doublespeak and psychobabble does not cut it in social media circles for very good reason – it’s non-communicative, and social media is all about communication and connection. If you keep in mind the language and content of a conversation you’d have face-to-face, then you’re thinking in the right direction.
3.Ramp up your face-to-face efforts
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from immersion in social media, it’s that face-to-face activity is more important than ever! By upping your quota of strategic face-to-face activity through events, briefings, roadshows and the like, you will crystallise connections and deepen relationships with influencers.
>>> While social media has increased and improved social banter, allowing more conversations and creating more ‘tribes’, we must not lose sight of the basic human need to connect with each other in person. Of course, this need merely improves the communication aspect.
4. Recognise and leverage the power of communities
We live in a world where communities and tribes and niches are multiplying exponentially via the web. They are gaining greater power as their conversations get louder. Try tapping into the ‘flight to community’ trend – become involved offline in a positive way and your communication efforts will be magnified accordingly.
>>> Social media is all about community – hundreds and hundreds of thousands of communities, bound together by a common interest or cause. This is a trend that is only going to increase as more and more people turn to the social web.
5. Listen
Last but by no means least – learn to listen! Sorry, no, don’t just learn, ‘do’. Today! This will improve your communications significantly.
>>> The first rule of social media, especially for an organisation, is to listen. Monitor the conversation. Take the pulse of the community before bursting forth with too much enthusiasm and your key messages under your arm. This has always been the case, of course, but social media has reminded us how important it is to listen in the real world to anyone with the potential to impact our business and reputation e.g. staff, suppliers and partners, consumers, government, the media. Source
A time and place for ads
Ipsos Mackay has released a report that has found consumers feel inundated by advertising and that recession themed ads were viewed with differing attitudes, depending on perceived authenticity.
The report examined consumer response to the contemporary advertising landscape, which techniques are seen as unpopular, the future of advertising and the marketing implications of these attitudes.
It highlighted awareness of dissonance between encouraging purchases at a time when some are insecure about their finances and the economy.
What was on offer and whether the consumer felt the GFC was being used as a marketing ploy determined their perspective, the study found.
Respondents indicated that advertising was permeating Australian culture and that they supported additional restrictions. The study also found Australians are marketing savvy, hold negative attitudes toward advertising and believed it did not influence their purchasing decisions.
Inappropriate timing and placement often raised consumer’s ire, the report said.
“The context of ads is an important factor for consumers and a majority pointed to inappropriate erectile dysfunction treatment ads on billboards and radio during school pick-up times,” Ipsos Mackay director of research, Dr Rebecca Huntley said.
Dr Huntley elaborated, saying consumers did not appreciate certain products being advertising while children were viewing. She also said that advertisements for luxury goods juxtaposed with news items involving human misery were viewed negatively.
“Participants readily discussed the reasons for their antipathy to certain types of ads and the techniques they found most offensive. People had no difficulty in nominating advertisements they hated. In fact, consumers much more readily identified ads they did not like rather than ones they did,” explained Dr Huntley.
Most respondents agreed that humour was the most attention grabbing way for an ad to communicate. Furthermore, catalogues and pamphlets were well received and even seen as a cheap form of entertainment.
Telstra Big Pond’s ‘Great Wall of China’ and alcohol ads in general were singled out as appealing. The best received and most enduring advertisements carried a short, simple message that was endearing or funny, the report concluded. Source
Sydney Morning Herald’s ’Ultimate Traveller’
Background: In November 2008, smh.com.au relaunched their travel section as ‘Traveller’ in keeping with their print counterpart. The aim was for the online content to benefit from the print heritage and enrich the online offering with original features. The new section included tips, blogs and photo/video galleries on travel. Content was searchable by keyword, map, activity or holiday type.
This launch presented a promotional marketing opportunity for ’Traveller’, The Sydney Morning Herald and smh.com.au. It would be Fairfax Media’s biggest ever integrated competition: Ultimate Traveller.
Brand: smh.com.au and The Sydney Morning Herald
PR Agency: Red Agency
Objective
Given the scope of the promotion, we set our objectives high:
§Attract 30,000 new members to the network
§Drive sales for The Sydney Morning Herald
§Increase unique visitors/page impressions for smh.com.au
§Grow brand Traveller brand awareness across both print and online channels, and
§Increase subscriptions to smh.com.au’s Traveller newsletter.
Strategy
Every day in March a luxury holiday for two was given away to some of the world’s most sought-after locations such as New York, Paris, Bangkok, Italy and Barcelona. The prize package included airfares, accommodation, transfers, $2,000 spending money and luxury extras. The competition ran in conjunction with the Preferred Hotel Group, Qantas and Be Interactive.
The competition required readers of The Sydney Morning Herald or Sun Herald to find a daily code word in the paper and enter the competition online at smh.com.au/ultimate. This strategy encouraged consumers to engage with The Sydney Morning Herald and smh.com.au.
To drive further exploration of the site, readers could gain an additional entry by searching for a bonus code elsewhere on the site. The bonus entry was limited to one per day to preserve the incentive to purchase The Sydney Morning Herald.
Existing members of Fairfax Digital simply needed to login to enter and people who weren’t yet members needed to sign up – driving new members to the network.
Once consumers entered the competition, they were encouraged to spread the word and gain an additional three entries by inviting friends to enter, helping the campaign go viral. This element further increased the unique browsers and page impressions of smh.com.au.
Execution
In the lead up to the campaign launch, a promotional wrap-around banner was designed with images of the 31 prize locations to go around the Traveller liftout in The Sydney Morning Herald.
A competition microsite was developed that was highly visual and interactive – displaying various holiday destinations with the main visual focusing on the daily Ultimate Traveller destination.
A TVC was created that featured opulent, luxury destinations that The Sydney Morning Herald readers could escape to. The ads ended with a direct call to action: pick up the paper for your chance to enter. The visuals in the TVC and throughout all aspects of the campaign demonstrated the luxury destinations people could win trips to – appealing to Fairfax Media’s affluent demographic.
The TVC campaign was supported by radio live reads on the Australian Traffic Network, as well as print advertisements and cover page editorial pointers in The Sydney Morning Herald every day. Online ads ran on smh.com.au and an electronic direct mail was sent to a database of interested travellers residing in New South Wales. Search marketing was also part of the campaign including search words from the TVC and radio ads to capture people who picked up some of the campaign messages.
Results
The Ultimate Traveller campaign far surpassed all expectations and goals, achieving over 620,000 total entries during the promotional period, exceeding targets by 400%. The campaign attracted nearly 50,000 new members to the Fairfax Digital network.
The campaign demonstrated that Fairfax Media’s target audience identifies the traditional print version of The Sydney Morning Herald and online, smh.com.au, as one brand with a rich heritage and trusted reputation.
Success Stories:
2008 NICKELODEON KIDS CHOICE AWARDS…AIRSHIP, FLUTTER AND TONS OF SLIME…
Aztech Events in conjunction with Freehand TV and Pogue Productions staged this “live” televised event involving a huge cast of high profile Australian and internationally recognised musicians, artists and presenters. As Event Producers, Aztech Events managed all the event components including the technical, production direction and stage management of the show.
The venue: Hisense Arena (formerly Vodaphone Arena).
A complex project with a short time frame involving high level production values, needed exceptionally detailed methodology and a totally fun approach to all aspects of the event. A huge lighting rig, sophisticated sound requirements and OB contingent, video screens, design and construction of a custom-made set, including automation and all manner of special effects: a flying airship, pyrotechnics, glitter, flitter, flutter and a couple of tons of oozy green slime. Spraying thousands of litres of sticky green slime over a few thousand kids presents some interesting logistical challenges. Protecting the surface of the international standard tennis court in the middle of the arena and finding an innovative way to get the slime mid-air over the kids and artists in a practical and visually cool way for television. Once out there we had to minimise the impact on the kids and the venue that involved much planning including safety data and chemists reports on the slime itself. An army of cleaners, artist minders & stage hands for set and prop changes, de-slime zones, slime showers and a host of other interesting approaches to control the ooze…
Round the Clock…installation and rehearsals need a calm approach…This was a rewarding challenge! The event installation and rehearsals were conducted around the clock over two days with the actual event on day three and the challenging post event de-rig for the Aztech team and suppliers to be out of venue by sunrise the next morning.
"The kids loved it and seeing them so excited made it all worthwhile".
Aztech Events Address: 3/1 Danks St, Waterloo NSW 2017
