Archive for December, 2008
December 23rd, 2008
So here we are again, the end of the year, well end of the working year for us at Liberate Media at least. Traditionally this is the time for looking back at last year’s predictions and making new predictions for the year ahead.
However, I don’t feel that next year will be a year quite like any other, so I’m going to avoid making a set of predictions as such and look at what we know.
First of all, don’t worry, this isn’t a post of doom and gloom, but allow me to set the scene before we delve deeper: Financial crisis, GDP at lowest level since 1990, recession, nearly everyone is feeling the squeeze in some way or other, in fact let’s be honest, most people just want 2009 to be over before it has already begun.
So, where does that leave us in the PR industry? Well for starters the game has changed. By game I mean whatever strategy, business plan or focus you had, will ultimately need to change to consider this new environment. No prediction there, just common sense.
Secondly, there will be casualties, agencies will make redundancies or disappear just as we have seen businesses go across the board. Clients will at least cast a close eye over PR spend and probably make reductions, and in some cases stop all together.
However, it’s not all bad, there are opportunities. Over the last month, at Liberate Media, we’ve had a large amount of new business enquires. This isn’t me shouting about how clever we are, this is simply a fact. Of those new enquires, most have been linked to social media or online methodologies in some respect. In affect, what was true prior to the crisis is true now, brands are investing in social media and progressive PR, but they are looking at it from a different perspective and in some cases this spend isn’t coming from a PR or marketing budget, it’s coming from a digital budget. There is no doubt that clients are more cautious, but the opportunity is there.
So, is this leading up to a big sales pitch for Liberate, no it’s not supposed to be. The point i’m making is simple, the PR industry was going through an evolution already, it started years before this economic crisis, but now the affects of this evolution are much more obvious.
As i said in my recent post: PR isn’t online or offline it’s through the line, the fundamentals of good PR are as true now as they have ever been: open and honest communications either online or offline is a simple rule to live by, where as spinning a story and talking ‘at’ audiences is a sure way to fail. The fact that an open and measureable communications model is the accepted approach online, puts the emphasis on online as the new model, but in reality the same is true offline.
So, although we will see a slow down across the board i think those that have embraced the change that PR has needed for so long, will continue to see opportunity. It’s a harsh way to look at it, but perhaps for the PR industry at least, this new environment will help to accelerate our much needed evolution.
If you’re after more predictions, allow me to point you in the direction of Stephen Waddington, who has done an excellent predictions post that I heartily agree with.
Merry Christmas!
December 19th, 2008
As you will have no doubt seen by now, Michael Arrington over at TechCrunch U.S. has killed/banned/stopped, call it what you will, the embargo. As you can image, it’s caused a bit of a stir and many hundreds of comments including counter points, general name calling and some insightful questions/points/suggestions.
Cutting through the wittering that surrounds such, let’s be honest - dramatic announcements, I tend to agree with the main issue; that fundamentally embargoes are dead, or are at least holding on for dear life. Blame who and what you will, it doesn’t really matter, there won’t be an agreement from all sides.
The fundamental point is that news is live, so if you’re trying to halt the flow of news or communications to favour one outlet or another, ultimately the environment has changed so much that it simply isn’t going to happen consistently. But, if you are successful in this endeavour now, it’s going to get harder and harder, so let’s all just move on sooner rather than later and reduce the pain endured by all.
So, a few requests: to the media that ask for exclusive stories only, clients that want stories in specific ‘favoured’ titles as well as going out to all, and PRs that pile on the embargo pressure or don’t stand up to one or the other and say ‘it’s not possible!’, stop. Do now what’s going to have to happen anyway, and move onto trying to embrace the wonderfully open news environment that we find ourselves in, rather than trying to cling onto the past.
Five on Friday - five fabulous Web 2.0 tools and sites of the week (19-12-08)
December 19th, 2008
Hi all, back again with a pre Christmas round-up of five fabulous Web 2.0 tools and sites of the week.
Just to let you know, there will be no round-up on the 26th as I will have eaten too many Christmas treats and become too bloated to type! - back again the following Friday with a New Year special.
1. A little bit of fun to start with:) I’m in with like you. “Why hang out with your friends in person when you can do it on the internet? No need to wear clothes that way. Seriously, this is bigger than Jesus and wrestling put together.”
This is a really great flash site with the aim of making friends whilst playing against them over a series of fun individual games.
2. This next one is touted is an Opinion search, it is called OpThink. Simply type in the electronic product you want to find reviews for and off it goes, you end up with a list of search results.
3. I’m a big fan of Computer and video games so this next one is right up my street, it’s called dawdle - it’s a marketplace for buying and selling used video games, consoles and accessories.
4. Radio Beta . Yes people do still listen to radio, and if you need to try this site out! You can search stations by genre, location, tags, or geography. Radio Beta offers a nice clean interface with some decent options.
5. Finally today is Yonkly a site you can go to and create your own Microblog network. Features include:
- Monetize through Ads
- White label solution
- Use your own domain
- Advanced Control Panel
- Make it unique with your own skin
- Threaded conversations
- Picture sharing
- Background Picture
- Search friends and messages
- Advanced user interface
- Widgets-enabled sidebar
Happy Christmas!
PR case study: digital marketing agency
December 18th, 2008
At Liberate Media we’re always eager to share research or nuggets of information that we discover on a daily basis. In the interest of continuing this theme, we’ve just published a case study on a campaign that we’ve been working on over the last two years, for digital marketing agency iCrossing.
The case study offers a brief overview of the campaign that we developed following Spannerworks’ acquisition by iCrossing in early 2007, and the subsequent activity to drive iCrossing’s awareness in the UK.
We hope you find the case study of interest, and if you would like to find out further information on the online and offline PR services that we offer at Liberate Media, please get in touch.
Is Twitter just a weekday tool?
December 17th, 2008
After a hard week there is nothing better than a relaxing weekend. Unfortunately, last weekend was not as relaxing as I had anticipated, as I was still very much at my desk, head down and working hard. While checking my Twitter feeds I was surprised by the lack of tweets from the usual suspects, and this got me thinking, is Twitter just a week day tool?
I did a little reseach into some brands and high profile Twitter users, and came up with the following:
Owyang
So, as you can see from this very, very brief snapshot of brands and high profile users, it looks very much like Twitter is a great communications channel, but only during the week.
I guess it’s pretty obvious really, the people behind the brands are probably paid to Tweet while at work Mon-Fri and the rest of us, give or take a few, Tweet while working at our desks or via mobile devices in our various working environments. To be fair, personally, I too am a Monday to Friday man.
Just one more thing before i go, look again at the examples given, usage seems to peak midweek and then slightly fall off towards Friday. It seems that the Friday feel means less tweeting as well.
