Archive for December, 2007
December 11th, 2007
“As a journalist, it’s always refreshing to deal with a PR company that is both friendly and professional without being overbearing. Liberate’s unique understanding of the digital media industry means that they know exactly what kind of stories I’m looking for and what the readers of Marketing magazine are interested in.”
Gareth Jones, Interactive Editor, Marketing Magazine
December 11th, 2007
“There are many who claim to do good PR differently and then there’s Liberate Media. I found a higher degree of contacts and enthusiasm and then something far more interesting. They listened, challenged and questioned with a focus and knowledge that I’ve never experienced before.”
Andy Mitchell, Group Commercial Director, Associated Northcliffe Digital
December 11th, 2007
Liberate Media is a forward-thinking online PR and social media consultancy focusing on the technology and digital industries.
Its senior team of consultants combine journalist, social media and PR expertise, with a vision for the future of digital communications.
December 6th, 2007
As everyone in PR knows, December is the month when the world slows down, the media takes a break, and we sit back playing games and planning our Christmas holidays…Yes that was sarcasm.
Would whoever keeps proliferating this December slowdown nonsense please stop. I’ve not experienced it yet and quite honestly I feel left out. With the added bonus of at least one event to go to every night and planning for 2008, December is not a quiet month.
Anyway, I’m not here to rant, I’ll save that for later, I’m here to regale you with tales of Chinwag.
Yes, last night the Liberate Media December event tour rolled into Chinwag Live, and it was an evening of predictions for the digital marketing and advertising industries.
As a Chinwag newbie I was pleasantly surprised by the event in general, the panel debate was lively and interesting, the assembled digerati were open and friendly. I was even greeted with a beer and ushered through the crowds to a seat as soon as I walked in. (thanks to Ian Howie and the 1upSearch team!) You can’t ask for more than that.
The panel debate featured Guy Phillipson - Internet Advertising Bureau, Nikki Barton - CIMEX, Jon Bains - Lateral, Andy Hobsbawm - Agency.com & Green Thing, and Pete Robins - Agenda21.
There were some good predictions and even tips for the future, including ‘the mouse is dead’ the future of search is ‘brain implants’.
There was even some interesting PR-related comment. Not just the PR bashing that seems to be increasingly popular recently, but candid and honest appraisal of the current situation. This ranged from quotes such as ‘PR is at the top of the strategic agenda for CEOs’, and ‘there’s never been a better time to get into digital PR’, to ‘PR will disappear as digital marketing strategies continue to push towards openness’ and a threat from the floor to stop investment in PR from a client who wasn’t happy with their existing results.
Although not all good, it was encouraging to hear that the panel had mainly positive PR experiences and were supportive.
I agree that the PR industry, and more specifically digital PR, has a massive opportunity.
However, although PR has its pioneers as with any other sector, as an industry it’s quite slow moving. The top 5% are sucking up the ideas and running hard to stay abreast of the changes and opportunities in the market. But the traditional and slower moving agencies are either too busy to notice or simply can’t be bothered to get into digital until the margins are better. Unfortunately the client experiences are usually driven by the masses rather than the few.
My advice to the client who said he had wasted his money with PR and wasn’t seeing the results is not to give up but to find the right agency for the job. They are out there. In fact they weren’t a million miles away at Chinwag last night, at least four were sitting very close by.
The other thing I noted last night was something we at Liberate have been talking about for a while. In PR we’re lucky enough to work with some of the brightest and forward-thinking people in our individual sectors. The smart PRs take on that knowledge and use it to their benefit and I think this wider picture view is one strength that PRs should exploit more.
I’m not talking about giving away client secrets, instead we should be combining the lessons learnt through our clients with our strategic knowledge and build our campaigns with an open and all-encompassing approach. Yes the PR bashers have some valid points - measurement is an ongoing sore point, digital understanding has been slow to improve, but I firmly believe that the PR industry will shake this archaic ‘press releases and clippings’ approach and blossom into a more integrated digital future.
Enough for now. On the events front, today its Widgety Goodness in Brighton, it’s a good job December is a slow month…
Technorati tags: chinwag, digital+marketing, PR
December 4th, 2007
The party season is in full swing for Liberate Media. Last night we dusted off our bowling shoes, and joined ROO Media for some festive fun at All Star Lanes in Bayswater.
See the pictures after the jump