How to do PR in 2008

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Shel Holtz has a great story that illustrates how really savvy PRs should be operating in today’s always connected society. It’s about a US magazine (MAD) and a big electronics retail chain (Circuit City). The magazine ran a spoof Circuit City ad (sort of sub-Private Eye style) and an executive at Circuit City took umbrage and order the mag to be cleared from the shelves and destroyed.

As you’d expect in today’s citizen journalist world the offending email was leaked and published in the blogosphere (on Consumerist). The story then took off and received 114 comments, an amazing 1935 Diggs (with a further 165 comments) and was picked up by AP.

But, this is where it gets really good. Instead of acting like a big, old, dumb corporate Jim Babb, a savvy PR in Circuit City’s corporate communications department sent a witty email that: a) Admitted the mistake; b) Tried to put it right; and c) Apologised.

The result was acclaim from The Consumerist and the apology received 63 comments – almost universally positive.

Shel quite rightly points out that the mistake should never have been made in the first place. It’s essential that potential reputation issues are run past the experts (i.e. the public relations people) and that every manager and indeed employee has a basic grasp of when they might need to take counsel.

The story illustrates how word of mouth marketing can be negative as well as positive, so it pays to get expert advice to help you manage it.

How will the new Consumer Protection Regulations work in practice?

At the end of May I attended one of the WOM UK Espresso Briefings on the new Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. There was an excellent presentation from Stephen Clarke, head of marketing and privacy law at law firm Osborne Clarke, who went through the details of the new law. There was also a rather less illuminating presentation from Marina Palumbo, legal director of the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, who simply went through some of the best known case studies that most word of mouth practitioners would already know very well. Both presentations are available on the WOM UK website.

But the big questions about the CPRs remain as to how they will be interpreted by case law and how they will be enforced?

Ian Delaney, editor of New Media Knowledge (NMK), has an interesting post on his personal blog. Reading the post it looks very much like Carphone Warehouse, or one of its agencies, is engaging in unlawful activity by blogging without revealing their identity.

It looks like some Carphone Warehouse ‘fans’ have been commenting about how wonderful it is on Ian’s post about his negative customer service experience. All of the comments have Hotmail addresses, but come from the same IP address.

But here’s the rub, Just because it appears that Carphone Warehouse is guilty doesn’t mean it is. It genuinely could be some quite nutty Carphone Warehouse fan posting all three comments. But now Ian has blogged about it then the damage to the brand is done.

This raises interesting questions for online reputation managers such as the need to monitor for situations such as this and respond to them as appropriate.

It also illustrates the need for guidelines for employees (it is directors and senior managers who will go to prison) – guidelines will help prove a due diligence defence. You do want employees to engage in conversations, but in way that benefits them and you, not one that potentially damages you both.

Word of mouth is not created, it is co-created

“Word of mouth is not created, it is co-created. People will only spread your virus if there’s something in it for them.” - Hugh MacLeod.

Excellent words of wisdom from Hugh MacLeod, via Hugh MacLeod, via John Moore of Brand Autopsy.

Is 21 the perfect age?

Hi my name’s Beth Jones and I’ve just started a work placement at Wolfstar.  Although I have almost finished studying for a Broadcast Journalism degree at the University of Leeds,  I have decided that PR is the way forward and what better place to start learning than at Wolfstar.

Finishing uni is just starting to sink in and it’s a horrible thought, despite this I have come to the conclusion that 21 is the perfect age, or at least with my limited experience I think it is. After my holiday in Atlanta this Easter visiting my folks I realised that I must appreciate every minute of being 21. I could see the nostalgia engulfing my dad as he rattled off stories from the good old days. The one which stuck in my head, and probably the one he was most passionate about, was his drunken antics on his 21^st birthday while posted by the RAF in the Borneo jungle.

Clearly I have already had the brilliant experience of visiting Atlanta this year. Apart from the lovely weather and friendly people, there is so much else that makes it such a great city. Firstly there was the scintillating dinner at the renowned Sundial restaurant, then there is the endless number of shops in Lennox Square but my favourite activity, which any visitor to Atlanta must do is visit the Turner Field  for a Braves game. I was a baseball virgin before this trip but having watched my first game, I’m hooked! Even if you don’t want to get immersed in the game itself there is so else much to do, the best part had to be watching the crowd on the big screen, laughing and waving desperately once they realised they had been caught by the camera. Ahhh good memories!

Not only does being 21 and a student allow the freedom to travel, it grants you the luxury of time. So my next venture is likely to be a festival. As an avid fan of Global Gathering (having been three years on the trot) I think it’s time to spread my wings. However this poses a problem, as I look to fellow friends hoping for some guidance in what to do, I end up torn between Barcelona’s Sonar festival  and Benicassim near Valencia. Hmmm who knows? Any advice? Either way it’s going to be an experience not to be missed!

If your looking for something a bit different, check out the Guardian’s guide to ‘20 British festival’s you’ll never have heard of’.

All I know is I won’t stay 21 forever and as my final summer of ‘no work and all play’ draws nearer I am on a mission to make it the best yet before I embark on my journey into the depths of the world of PR.

Ethics, cheerleaders, schools and word of mouth marketing

It seems Beth’s last post on word of mouth being used for youth marketing has sparked off quite a debate both in the comments and other blogs. It has also flagged up quite a few issues, which I’ll deal with in turn:

Blog policy - our own opinions

First of all I’ve noticed that our house rules blog policy isn’t actually on the blog! Something, which I’ll sort out straight after this post. The reason that it’s important is that it says “All views expressed are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Wolfstar and other members of the team.”

Blog policy - drive by spam press releases

Secondly, we won’t tolerate rude and ignorant people who think it’s OK to paste a press release in the comments and can’t be bothered to take part in the conversation like a normal, polite person. So Lisa at Six Flags I’ve deleted your comment - the first time we’ve had to do so on the Wolfstar blog. You are welcome to come back and join in the debate.

Youth marketing

And now the crux of the argument, which is the around the ethics of youth marketing.

I did have some disquiet when I first read Beth’s post about how some brands in America have started to use word of mouth marketing to target influential teenagers - in this case cheerleaders.

However, you have to read the post carefully and see exactly what it is actually saying:

Samantha Skey at Alloy Media & Marketing, a youth marketing agency, says: “So advertisers are going into schools, forging new platforms for youth connection.”

Now personally, I don’t have a problem with that as children are exposed to thousands of brand messages and it can actually be beneficial that this happens in a controlled school environment and is done in a responsible and ethical way.

I agree with both Ourman and Sally in the comments that schools should be for learning and “kids protected from commercial pressures”. But that’s an argument to allow marketing in schools, in order to educate and protect children.

As my daughter grows up I want her to develop the critical skills to be able to understand marketing messages. It is my responsibility as a parent, and her teacher’s responsibilities when she starts school, to help her acquire those skills. I’m actually more relaxed about responsible marketing in schools than I am about some of the more irresponsible advertising you see for fast foods and soft drinks.

Secondly, most of the examples Beth cites aren’t actually in schools and are aimed at older students (16+).

My personal view as MD of Wolfstar is that we would be more than happy to engage in marketing in schools. But anything we did do would have to be totally ethical, honest and transparent. It would also be up for discussion by the whole team as to what we consider to be ethical. Just since Beth’s post we’ve had some lively discussions about what we would and wouldn’t be willing to promote.

Personally I’d have a problem with soft drinks, not so much because of a moral objection, but more because I don’t like the taste (far too sweet and sickly) and I can’t believe why anyone would pay good money for sugary water. That said, everyone else in the team appears to live off soft drinks.

I think the real point of the debate is probably more what the product is, rather than the principle of marketing in schools. I used to sit as a none-exec board member at a Development Education Centre. The DEC was contracted by charities such as Oxfam to produce resources for use in schools. Those resources were very explicit in pushing Oxfam’s development messages. But that’s OK, because it’s Oxfam.

If the principle of marketing in schools is OK for Oxfam, it’s OK for brands. But it must be done in an ethical and responsible way.

My final point is that this should be addressed in legislation and by regulators, in a similar way to Ofcom’s total ban on adverts for unhealthy food and drink around programmes for under-16s. Although I think a better idea than a ban would have been a levy on advertisers, so that for every pound spent on advertising junk food, then three pounds was spent on advertising healthy food.

Spreading the word, cheerleader style. Word of mouth: the new cool in youth marketing

We keep banging on about Word of mouth and its bountiful possibilities over here at Wolfstar and now it seems that the big brands are starting to catch on to this clever technique.

The LA Times featured an article yesterday about how brands in America, struggling to reach the youth market, have started targeting the influencers in the teen world to spread the word about their products. And who better to shout about the latest stash out then cheerleaders.

“Forces are making it very difficult for advertisers to connect with young people,” said Samantha Skey, executive vice president of strategic marketing at Alloy Media & Marketing, a youth marketing agency. “So advertisers are going into schools, forging new platforms for youth connection.”

Companies like Herbal Essences and CoverGirl have been giving out free samples at national cheerleading competitions and Gatorade sponsored ‘hydration breaks’ at cheerleading camps across the US. And it doesn’t stop there. Old Spice have been targeting high school football players and department store giant Macy’s Inc. sent templates of T-shirts to elementary schools encouraging students to design shirts and enter their designs in a contest.

The idea is that these teens are people that other students admire and look up to and are therefore ‘mavens’ in their own rights. And we all know that teenagers LOVE to talk. Nearly half of teens talk about personal care and beauty products, compared with just 29% of the general public, according to a study by research firm Keller Fay Group.

I personally hope that the trend catches on, most of all because I am a cheerleader myself. Anyone want to give me some stuff to talk about?…Anyone?… Prada?

Are we seeing the fall of advertising?

For some time now I’ve firmly believed that word of mouth marketing and social media have been becoming much stronger as effective marketing tools for companies to use to promote their products. However, I have never really had any strong proof to back it up, other than the usual statistics from surveys and reading other people’s opinions.

I read an interesting article on CBC (Newspaper print ad revenue falls at record pace in 2007, online ads rise) that highlighted how, in New York, newspaper print advertising fell by a record percentage in 2007 whilst online newspaper advertisements increased but at a slower pace (the slowest pace from 2003), leaving quite a big gap in amounts spent.

Although the article does not mention word of mouth or any other forms of marketing it makes me think that surely these have been partly to blame.

I know there are threats of a global slowdown and a possible recession but I don’t believe that marketing teams will have just stopped spending money by reducing their advertising budgets. I think they will have just found much more tactical and effective ways of promoting their goods to their consumers.

Something must be filling the gap where advertisements used to be and in my opinion word of mouth marketing and social media will probably be somewhere in there eating up these big budgets.

Acer customer support 1, PC World 0

Yesterday I attended WOM UK’s first ‘How To’ workshop event. Very interesting day, with impressive presentations from Fiona at MESH, Andy from Ramp, Dave at Bzz Agent and Ivan at Wildfire. After even just a day out of the office it always seems to take a little longer than you’d like to get your inbox in shape, and your to-do list back on track.

For example - I’ve only just picked up on a post written this afternoon by a colleague that sits no more than 1.5m away from me. And… thinking back on the busy day, I do suddenly recollect a fair amount of agro coming out of his ‘moody’ corner. It seems the level of customer service he received from PC World regarding a fairly serious IT issue, was dealt with in a somewhat poor manner….

On the flip side of Wolfstar’s IT scenario, I myself sent my Acer Travel Mate off for repair (that only took two short conversations, one with Acer and one with DHL) last Friday - today it was sat back on my desk, fully fit and raring to go… so hat’s off to the Acer crew down in Plympton - thanks very much!

Google announced as world’s number one brand

Yesterday Google was announced by ‘Superbrands‘, as the UK’s number one  business brand beating off giants such as the BBC. This has made me appreciate just how big this company really is. I myself use the search engine ‘Yahoo’, simply because that was the first engine my Dad introduced me to years ago. Interestingly, all my friends find it bizarre that I don’t use Google, as if the organisation owns a monopoly over searching on the internet. But of course they don’t and there are probably thousands of other search engines on the net, so why has Google gone on to rule the net, winning the crown for the brand with the best reputation?

Speaking of Yahoo, the business recently rejected a bid made by Microsoft for a ‘friendly takeover’. According to The Lang Report, Yahoo has just announced 1000 job cuts, its largest ever amount since the dot-com crash. Perhaps this due to the effects of Google’s growth in this sector. I believe in forthcoming years, the fate of companies such as Yahoo will be unsure, as Google continues to reign.

My university tutor suggested that the popularity of Google could be thanks to the idea of WOMM (word of mouth marketing). This is an interesting thought and I think he is right, especially when you think of the phrase ‘Google-it’.  It has become synonymous with internet searching and it is very common to hear people in work, the press and even teachers at school using the phrase to their pupils. I am told it actually makes an appearance in the dictionary now too!

Wolfstar’s new management structure

Starting a new business is both exciting and a challenge. And since starting Wolfstar it’s certainly been a roller coaster ride. I’d been planning to to write a post about our first year, when we’d actually got to the end of it. But some recent changes at Wolfstar have made me think that now’s probably a good time to give a quick summary.

Wolfstar started in April 2007 with four founders:

Stuart Bruce, director: a partner in Bruce Marshall Associates, with a background mainly in traditional corporate relations, B2B and public sector public relations who has more recently specialised in social media, online PR and digital marketing.

Susie Lawrence, director: a freelance PR consultant, with a background of working in big London PR agencies working on mainly consumer brands.

Kirstyn Pollard, director: a director of Raw Creative, Wolfstar’s sister design and brand consultancy with a track record of working for big consumer brands and a wealth of experience in the property sector. Kirstyn was also previously the editor of PAD magazine.

Tim Sinclair, director: the founder of Sinclair Mason, which he grew into one of the north’s largest integrated corporate marketing communications companies, before selling it to the Huntsworth Group to become the northern office of Trimedia Harrison Cowley.

At the start it was only Susie and myself that were active in the business as Tim was still on his earn-out period from Huntsworth and finally became active in the business in September. After a great start in the first couple of months, things slowed down significantly, with the main barrier for growth that that we were spending most of our time on servicing existing client projects.

The Wolfstar team has now grown with account manager Sebastian Mysko onboard from the start, account executive Beth Kay joined us in July and account director Chris Norton started in November. In November Susie also took the decision to leave and pursue other interests.

New management structure

This month we’ve introduced a new management structure in Wolfstar.

I’ve taken on the role of managing director to lead and direct the growth and development of the business.

Tim has become chairman whose primary responsibilities are to use his experience of growing a big marketing communications business and to take a lead in identifying new business prospects. Becoming chairman also reflects the fact that Tim has a number of other business interests including being the chief executive of WOM UK, the new association for the word of mouth marketing and communications industry.

Kirstyn is also taking a much more hands on role in Wolfstar and I’m taking on responsibilities with Raw so that the two businesses provide an integrated corporate communications service to clients.

Finally Karen Bruce, my wife and a partner in Bruce Marshall Associates, is starting to finish her maternity leave and is able to join Wolfstar to significantly strengthen our public sector, event management and community relations capability.

New client wins

I’d also like to be able to announce a couple of new client wins, but both are still too new to be able to talk about them much. One is a social media project for a big consumer brand in Europe and the other is a stakeholder relations campaign for a public sector organisation. Subscribe to the blog to find out more!

XP: A PR Guy’s Musings

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