You cannot control social media

Almost every marketer and media person out there recommend that businesses should engage with their public on social media.  We find ourselves engaged in a new game on a new field with new rules.  There has been a definite power shift towards to the consumer.  Just being represented on the various social media is no longer acceptable.  Oh no, the modern consumer demands meaningful interaction, transparency, news about products without the hard sell techniques, choices ... in short, value.

Social media campaigns can change destinies when successful, however, they can also cause immense damage to companies.  The most important fact to remember is that social cannot be controlled.  You certainly need to monitor and react swiftly when things go wrong.  But, customers have their own view and are definitely not afraid to voice it.

Planning a social media campaign carefully is therefore of the utmost importance.  You really need to think outside the box to anticipate all possible reactions.  Let's look for example at JPMorgan's failed Twitter PR stunt.

JPMorgan announced with great fanfare that Jimmy Lee, the company's vice chairman, would answer questions.  Very quickly the company's Twitter account was flooded with sarcastic questions clearly showcasing displeasure with the company on a very big scale.  Unable to rectify the situation, JPMorgan canceled the conversation.

It is almost impossible to believe that the company could be so naive and clueless about public sentiment towards it.  The company has reached a $13 billion settlement with the Department of Justice for bundling up and selling toxic mortgages to unsuspecting investors.

Where do you draw the line?

The Sydney Morning Herald reported this morning that Facebook has lifted its temporary ban on content featuring graphic violence.  You will now be able to view decapitation videos on Facebook.

How do they justify this?
You will be able to post videos or pictures depicting graphic violence as long as you condemn these acts rather than celebrate them.  I am somewhat torn in two about this.  On the one hand I believe that we should not shelter ourselves from violence and acts against humanity that occur worldwide.  If we are not confronted by these brutal images, we cannot fully grasp the impact.  It is as if we have read about it in a book, it simply is not real.

Yet, I wonder: how does viewing these images affect us?   As adults we assume that we will be able to handle it, but it seems that that notion is wrong.

According to a recent study published in Psychological Science, by UC Irvine, frequent exposure to violent images from the Iraq War and the September 11th attacks increases the risk of psychological and physical ailments in U.S. adults

So if we are struggling, what about our children?  I know some people will respond immediately that children are not suppose to be on Facebook.  You have to be older than 13 to legally be on Facebook.

But guess what?  13+ is still very much a child!  Where do we draw the line?  How much exposure is needed to bring home the message?  What are the results that these images aim to achieve?  Shock, outrage, revenge?  How will you know whether viewers condemn or celebrate these images?  What about the dignity of the deceased person, aren't we just continuing to exploit this person's pain/humiliation?

Clearly I have more questions than answers/opinions.  However, there is one little thing that is really bugging me:  if it is acceptable to show decapitation, then surely it must be OK to show women breastfeeding?  Why is a female's nipple deemed inappropriate and offensive (not the case when it belongs to a male), but the depiction of violence is acceptable (as long as you condemn it of course).

Seriously Facebook, this logic simply does not add up.

Why are we so obsessed with numbers?

Social media revolves around interaction and this interaction is displayed rather deceptively through  numbers.  There are plenty of Facebook pages with an astounding number of likes, yet with very little interaction.

Is there any advantage in obtaining 'likes'?

Absolutely!  Likes will get your brand to the top of search engines and thus increase your online visibility. The amount of likes also increases your online credibility.  People are more likely to follow, like or listen to you when you have an impressive number of fans already.

However, according to Brian Moran (get10000fans.com/facebook ) you should not invest too much of your time worrying about fans.  Brian states that fans don't buy from you, customers do.  He points out that people often say that Facebook is useless for businesses because they focus only on creating fans.  We get so caught up in the frenzy of trying to increase the number of likes on our pages, that we forget the number one rule in business.

The number one rule in business is to attract paying customers.

Facebook is merely the first step in a process.  A very important step, but not the end goal.  People have already shown some kind of trust in your business by liking it.  For you to turn these fans into customers, you need to engage with them outside of Facebook.  Do yourself a favour and allow Scott from get10000fans to adjust your focus :-

 

Money or exposure?

What are your skills worth?  The answer to this question very much depends on whom you ask.  Looking at the cost of tertiary education you would certainly place a very high value on education and skill.  However, when you look at a new trend in the workplace, it seems that education, skills and experience have lost their monetary value.

I am referring to the alarming rate of jobs being advertised with no (yes NO) form of remuneration.  What I find utterly ridiculous though is that these arrogant companies have a long list of requirements for the "successful" candidate in terms of experience and education.

It is often encountered when you try to break into a new industry.  You might be expected to work for an extended amount of time in order for the employer to see if you are a good fit or for you to get to know the business.  Well maybe I have just reached that certain age where I am no longer bedazzled by big words and fancy promises, but in my book this is just plain wrong.  If my skills are deemed good enough to do actual work, I need to be paid in actual dollars.

Media Watch exposed that professional photographers are facing this very same problem.  Tennis Australia tried to lure experienced photographers to cover a tournament in Melbourne as volunteers.

A key requirement of this role is that you own your own camera and equipment and have a portfolio of work, especially action shots that can be submitted with your application.
— seek.com.au, 6th September, 2013

So what would this photographer using his/her own equipment, skills and time get by committing?  Well exposure of course!

This seems to be new buzz word - you work for free in order to gain valuable exposure.  It is a well known fact that media is struggling to come to terms with all the changes caused by technology.  However, expecting professionals to work for free or sourcing information and pictures from bystanders are surely not the answer.

Social Media already provides us with all the exposure we desire, what we need is for our work to be acknowledged, valued and paid for.  If you feel as strongly as I do about this, please show your support by joining https://www.facebook.com/fairgoforphotographers

Who's really to blame?

When Woolworths launched their Aussie Animal cards, I reacted like a typical teenager - rolled my eyes and smirked.  Surely a lame old fashioned campaign like this would never work!  Haven't they done their market research?  Kids are simply not interested in anything that it is not digitized.

Boy was I wrong!  This campaign turned out to be a resounding success.  It captured the attention of Aussie kids in a big way.  For starters, the timing was perfect:  it started just before all the sporting grand finals and peaked during the holidays.

Another factor contributing to the success was the "Swap Days" organized by Woolworths.  Children were encouraged to come into the shopping centres to swap around cards with other interested children.

The third stroke of genius was the albums that could be bought to store the cards.  These albums not only housed the cards, but also provided various activities for the kids.  Unfortunately one of these activities brought the whole campaign in disarray for some parents.


A swearword was hiding in a find-a-word game and low and behold quite a few of the children found it.  Some parents were outraged that Woolworths did not pick this up during the proofreading process. 

My take on the situation is that these games are randomly generated and at most you would ensure that all the words you ask the child to find are actually present.  What bothers me more is that a seven year old child actually knows how to spell the swearword!  Should we really be blaming Woolworths or should we be pointing the finger of blame closer to home?


Alternatively we could have a quiet chuckle and know that stuff-ups happen to the best laid out plans of mice and men . . .

Because size really does matter!

It must be plainly obvious by now that I have a thing for advertising and public relations.  Some people collect stamps, others teaspoons and I collect ad campaigns!

So as I was browsing some sites earlier this morning, image my intense delight in coming across this jewel in Business Insider:

Submarine Rises Through Milan's Pavement In Ridiculous Publicity Stunt

 

Picture:  @MediasetTgcom24

Firstly let me put your minds at ease - no actual damage was done.  The campaign called "Protect your Life" is run for Europ Assistance IT, an insurance group based in Italy.  A group of people created the scene very early in the morning - fake submarine and all - and waited for the public to arrive and start spreading the news.

It is a great example of buzz marketing.  Everybody took photos and were on social media in a flash.  In this way the campaign's reach spread far beyond national borders.  It is memorable due to the shock value, but also the connection between protecting your city/country against an invasion and taking out insurance to protect your life.

What do you think - brilliant PR stunt or did they go too far?

Personal Selling

"A salesman is somebody who sells goods that won't come back, to customers that will."  (Anon)

Personal selling is a promotional tool that creates value by establishing relationships based on trust.  A good salesperson knows that the focus is about identifying and providing the best product/solution for the customer's needs.

Advantages

• High customer attention
• Message is customised
• Interactivity
• Persuasive impact
• Potential for development of relationship
• Adaptable
• Opportunity to close the sale

Disadvantages

• High cost
• Labour intensive
• Can only reach a limited number of customers

7 Aspects of personal selling

Prospecting

Use a variety of sources like directories, referrals, trade publications and databases to identify new clients.  However, not all leads will be useful.  It is important to qualify prospective customers and screen out the poor leads.

Pre-approach

It is important to ensure you really understand the prospects' needs, how they use the brand as well as how they feel about the brand.  This knowledge makes it easier to create a sales presentation.

Approach

Armed with the essential background knowledge, the salesperson can be confident when actually making contact with the prospect.

Presentation

It is essential to tell the product's story in a way that identifies the needs and wants of the prospect.

Overcome objections

Objections should be viewed as signals that prospects need more information to make a decision.

Close the sale

Do not be afraid to ask for the sale!

Follow up

This step is crucial for customer satisfaction and to build long term relationships.  Contact the customer to ensure that the entire process was acceptable.

Sales Promotion Ideas (part 2)

Price promotions

What is it?  It is a sales promotion based on a sales discount offer.

Who benefits?  Both retailers and wholesalers depend on price promotions to lure customers into stores and to increase product sales.  However, Harvard Business Review states that these gains are merely short term.  After the promotion the customer reverts to his old ways.  Of more interest to me is the statement that stores may actually be financially worse off when using price promotions.  The argument is that the turnover of the product on special will increase at the expense of its competition, while generating a smaller margin of profit due to the sales promotion.

This clip from Small Business News explains the pitfalls for price promotion:

More SmallBusinessNewz Videos

Should I use price promotion?  Definitely!  What you should NOT to is to make price your point of differentiation.  Ensure that Quality, Selection and Service define your product or business. 

Examples of price promotions

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Sales Promotion Ideas (part 1)

There are a myriad of sales promotion techniques being applied successfully.  The key is create excitement among consumers in order to facilitate participation. Consumers view sales promotions as something that add value - they get something for free!

Promotions can be divided into two broad categories:  price and non-price promotions.

Non-price promotions

Premiums

Well-designed premiums are powerful motivators.  Customers view it as an offer they cannot refuse.  Premiums not only rewards the customer but also afford companies the opportunity to get to know their target audience.  Technology can be used to create targeted, interactive promotions.

Companies like Woolworths and Coles use loyalty cards to gain insight into their customers' shopping habits as well as to retain their share of the market.

 Sampling

This is often used to introduce new brands.  A significant change in sampling is the move away from mass distribution campaigns towards narrowly targeted dissemination.  Companies like Pinch Me create databases incorporating geographic, demographic and shopping preferences of customers.  This cuts down on waste and ensure that you have a captive, motivated audience reviewing your product.

Sweepstakes and contests

This is one are where marketers prefer cyberspace due to cost efficiency, immediate data collection capabilities and the ability to keep the consumer engaged.

Contest require entrants to perform some type of activity based on skills, e.g. to state in 25 words why they should win the competition.  The winner is determined by a panel of judges.

Sweepstakes generates enthusiasm as it is based on luck.  Participants are required to submit free entries from which a winner will be drawn.

Event marketing

Most people only classify corporate sponsorship, staged promotions and product licensing as event marketing.  However, this is a much bigger field.  It is also referred to experiential marketing, live marketing or participatory advertising.   Some companies manage to come up with very creative, entertaining and attention grabbing ideas!

Point-of-purchase displays

These displays are specifically designed for retail and directly influence how customers interact with brands in-store.  It determines whether they see your products or whether your brand just blend in.

What if my business sucks at social media?

A lot of businesses are caught up in the frenzy of social media.  They are desperately trying to stay on top of the myriad of  platforms - scrambling to create a very visible online presence.  I often hear small business owners saying that they are feeling overwhelmed by it all.  Another frequent response is that they have created the websites, the facebook pages and twitter accounts, but that they fail to attract customers.

My advice is to relax.  Social media is very important and will only continue to grow in importance, but you have to put it into perspective:  social media is just a tool to reach your target audience.  It certainly is not the end of the road if you need more time to master this tool.  You have an arsenal of other tools you should utilize in the mean time.

Just to refresh your memory, I am writing a short series of blog updates on the more traditional tools. 

Promotional Mix

The promotional mix consists of 7 aspects namely personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations, corporate image and exhibitions.  Each of these aspects allows the business to connect with its target audience, to communicate key attributes and to build long term relationships.

The most fundamental need of a business is to create sufficient sales. You need to inform customers about the attributes of your product and motivate them to purchase it.  Sales promotions offer a direct inducement to customers, salespeople and resellers to purchase a product.  It is extremely flexible and functions at both the consumer and trade levels, thereby creating high levels of distribution and goodwill.

However, there are also some disadvantages to sales promotions.  When implemented incorrectly it can damage the brand equity.  Care should also be taken to coordinate various messages across all the formats utilized.  When used too frequently it becomes the consumer expectation rather than a temporary sales boost.

Tomorrow's update will discuss specific techniques to inform customers about your product and how to motivate them to buy it.

Are we too sensitive?

 Huffington Post reports on an advertisement for Red Bull that is attracting complaints in the U.K. and yet remains on air.  Personally I love the ad, it incorporates a bit of risky humour, but nothing offensive in my view.  I think enough time has lapsed not to make humour of this kind offensive. 

No fun is being made of the people who lost their lives.  It is more a case of 20/20 hindsight.  The majority of viewers ought to identify with it - who hasn't looked back on decisions they made and thought: If only I knew then what I know now.

What do you think?  Do you find it offensive or distasteful?

Can a pirate be good for business?

Today is international Talk like a Pirate day.  Not exactly the type of event that makes the world stop, but a good enough reason for creative marketers to have a little fun while promoting business.

Both Krisy Kreme and Long John Silver's took to Twitter to create a buzz about their pirate offerings (#TLAPD).

Krispy Kreme in Portland, Beaverton and Vancouver gave a FREE doughnut to customers who talk like a pirate.  In some cases customers who dressed like pirates were rewarded with a dozen FREE doughnuts.

Long John Silver's simply required a half decent "ARRR" from customers to receive a FREE piece of fish.

Now if only the Rum manufacturers would see the brilliance of this marketing opportunity ;-)

Brilliant use of technology

There is a growing unease in society with the lack of manners people display when using mobile devices.  We've all been in the vicinity of people talking loudly on their phones in public spaces or sneaking a peek  a their texts during a conversation.  Seinfold joked about this very thing when he referred to people putting their mobiles on the table when meeting somebody.  According to him it sends the signal that the person has other options, if you bore him he can start texting any time.

What do you do in such a situation?  I ask the person politely to stop texting as I value my time and their undivided attention.  Should it happen a second time, I simply walk away.

Well, that was my tactic until I discovered Polar Beer's solution!

This company has listened to the grievances of its public.  Mobile devices are draining the life out of social encounters. The solution to this problem?  A stubby holder that not only keeps your beer cold, but blocks all 3G and 4G signals within a 1.5m range.  Sheer brilliance and something polar beer consumers can drink to - cheers!

The end is in sight!

Today is election day in Australia, finally!  This has been a long and exhausting run - and not only for the politicians.  The Courier Mail provides one final look at the weirdest moments of this election campaign.

With my new found insight into social media and marketing, this campaign took on a whole new dimension for me.  It was interesting to note that Labor spent most of their efforts on social media, while foregoing traditional ways of advertising.  The wisdom and reason behind this eludes me.  Surely all marketers know that social media is just another way of reaching target markets and not THE way.

In that sense the Coalition has run an excellent race.  Our oldest will vote for the first time today and our household was overrun with advertising media from the Coalition.  It arrived in the form of personalized letters and the variety impressed me.  Some explained their policies, some was written as thank you notes for the patience of young voters to put up with it all and others were promises that they asked young voters to hang onto.  The idea is accountability - the Coalition asked young voters to check whether they keep their word.  Maybe a bit risky when it comes to young impressionable voters and the track record of politics and specifically election promises ... but much better than the deafening silence from the other parties.

The only candidate that came knocking was the Coalition one.  We have also received  some advertising material from Clive Palmer.  However, that is all behind us now and all that remains is to learn in order to improve on future campaigns.

Reflections

A lot of university courses currently require students to write reflective essays.  The aim is to stimulate internal debate and to come to terms not only with the subject matter, but also with your degree of understanding.

Personally I am not a fan of reflective essays.  However, my problem does not lie with the idea or the process, but merely with the format.  So it is therefore not unusual that I find myself in a reflective mood ... usually on a Friday afternoon in an attempt to assimilate a week's worth of knowledge.

On this particular Friday afternoon I find myself reflecting on the future of journalism itself.  This whole process was sparked by tweets from PBS Media Shift.  They are running a series on this topic entitled Back to J-school.


Although there are no clear cut answers, it highlights the dilemma the industry and especially universities find themselves in.  What should journalism students be learning?  How do you prepare students in a time of great uncertainty about the future of journalism?

Garry Kebel asks whether universities that are "designed to make slow, incremental, deliberative and consensual changes [can] respond with the speed, risk-taking and adaptability demanded by today’s technological disruptions?"  I agree with his recommendation of teaching (all) students the necessity of change and risk-taking.  Although universities will struggle with this approach initially, we need to understand that it is OK to take risks and fail - the real challenge lies in the ability to adapt and try again.

As an ex-teacher I initially rebelled against Kebel's  idea of hiring people to teach whatever is in demand.  He argues that it is then up to the teacher to stay current with other skills or loose his/her job.  It just goes to show how entrenched we are in our way of thinking.  After reflection I cannot produce one valid reason why this should not work.  We are living in an ever changing world, why on earth not demand our teachers keep up with it?

Political campaigns

While the rest of the country is reaching saturation point with the election campaign, I am having the time of my life.  My interest is not the politics per se, but the public relations campaigns keep me spellbound.

It is simply not enough for modern politicians to speak in town halls, shake hands and kiss babies.  They are scrambling to stay in touch with voters on all the social media platforms.  What I love about the new media is that you simply cannot fool people - they detect insincerity quick smart.

My advice would be to choose only a few platforms that you really understand.  Kevin Rudd is crediting social media for gaining the youth vote and securing his '07 victory.  So it comes as no surprise that he is once again turning to social media.  He is an avid user of Twitter.

However, what he really is gaining fame for this time round is his beloved selfies.  The public seems split on this:  on the one hand there are people lining up for a selfie with Mr Rudd, on the other hand there are young people feeling quite offended by the selfies he tweets.  There is a real danger in patronizing the younger generation when you try to emulate them.  They want the Prime Minister to engage in conversation with them, to actually listen and value their input.

Yet, with Kevin Rudd I feel that what you see is what you get.  The public often complained about Julia Gillard displaying two personalities.  People found her charming and engaging when meeting her face to face; traits she did not display when addressing the nation.  A big part of Julia's downfall lies with her PR team.  It is the responsibility of a PR team to gauge public opinion and advice the politician on changes to improve relations.

Advice Mr Abbott's PR team should be dishing out in spades right about now.  It is one thing to be honest, but quite another to show lack of class.  Mike Carlton writes a very satirical article on Mr Abbott.  Just to put this in context, Carlton explains it as follows:

 Satire doesn't create anything new ; it just amplifies and enlarges what's already there.

It also seems that the race is the only thing our politicians are focusing on  at the moment.  When one announces a rather strict and backwards policy on asylum seekers, the other one pulls out a draconian policy to "outshine" it.  If one has 1 377 901 followers on Twitter, well then the other one should create the impression of people liking his policies too...

Thus, while the nation feels indecisive about choosing a leader, I too am still indecisive ... will social media once again play a vital role, will the PR teams truly engage in the development of meaningful relationships or will they simply be spin doctors focusing on catch phrases like "positive politics", "marriage equality" and "stopping the boats"?

Where do you hang out?

I must be the last person to finally "get" Twitter!  Until recently I have banished Twitter to the sphere of teenagers who would tweet every single thought that enter their head .... in a 140 words .... without editing it .... nightmarish stuff.  How wrong can one person be?

I was forced to spend time on Twitter for a course I am enrolled in.  My instructions was to follow a few journalists and to study their tweets and interactions.  For me Twitter is like an old transistor radio with bad reception:  it takes time to fine tune it into the station that you want to listen to.  However, once you have eliminated all the white noise, it is pure gold.

I am discovering news stories as they happen and read about stories that don't even make it into the papers.  It is a wonderful platform to mingle with the great minds of your chosen field.  And those 140 words that seemed so utterly ridiculous turns out to be a wonderful way of  illustrating that you grasped the essence of a story.

It is save to say that I love Twitter.  How many social platforms do you use and which ones are your favourites?

No evidence of journalistic principles

The Australian federal election has been called for the 7th of September 2013.  I think it is fair to say that most people have expected the newspapers to dig up dirt on the candidates to use as sensationalized headlines.

However, The Daily Telegraph sunk to a new low with this front page:

Of course no article can be 100% subjective, but at least most journalists aim to represent multiple sides to an argument.  That is journalists not working for News Corp.  Paul Sheehan wrote an insightful article explaining the reasoning behind this front page.  As we all know News Corp is owned by Rupert Murdoch - a man fighting to keep his news empire turning over a handsome profit.  And this is precisely here where the problem lies ...

Newspaper circulation has been in decline worldwide for quite some time.  In addition to that, Murdoch also faces a threat to his Foxtel cable TV monopoly in Australia.  This threat is in the form of Labor's National Broadband Network.

In Mr Murdoch's own words this is about business.  My opinion is that you are going about it in the wrong way Mr Murdoch - you are mixing mediums that should operate independently and in doing so you might bring about your downfall.

You have proven that you are quite willing to use unethical and even unlawful tactics to gain a scoop.  Does it then come as a shock that people are angered by your (once again) misuse of power in a blatant attempt to influence the Australian public?  What angers people even more is that you are doing it purely for your own self interest.  The rich dictating to the masses in order to enrich themselves further.

People are no longer solely depended on newspapers to be informed, there are countless (free) sources online that provide a multitude of views and insights into all kinds of issues.  Also, even without the NBN people are streaming their entertainment through the internet.  To me this looks like the desperate actions of a desperate man - a man who has not figured out how to change with the times and therefore finds his empire dwindling.

  

Trading your soul for a good story

There is outrage at a South Korean news channel for filming the suicide of a man without making any attempt to prevent it.  Rightly so.

What is happening to mankind?  When did it become acceptable, or even worse: the norm, to be a mere spectator to life?  Is this a negative effect of our modern age we weren't prepared for?


Advances in technology and social media have transformed us into journalists, critics, publishers and producers.  It started out as giving every body with access to technology the opportunity to voice an opinion.  And that is great!  Democracy at its best. 

We tasted power.  No longer can corporations afford to ignore our pleas or requests, no longer can our complaints be ignored.  There are few things that can hurt the reputation of a brand like an ignored, disgruntled customer on social media.

Where did it go wrong then?  In my opinion there are two factors to blame.  The first is that when we constantly place a machine between us and our fellow humans, they become dehumanized.  When you tear somebody to shreds on a discussion board, you do not think about the person or his/her feelings.  You become a key board warrior with the right to an opinion, even at the expense of somebody else. 

Secondly, competition has crept into the virtual world.  Whether you monetize your work or not, most of us are chasing hits.  It is all about exposure.  The same holds true for old media.  Viewers are swamped with content.  Journalists are constantly looking for new angles to attract attention.

There must come a time when we say enough is enough.  A time when we take a long, hard look at our values.  A time when helping a fellow human being is worth far more than ratings.

Media failing its duty as 4th estate

There is no other way to start this blog than in the traditional fairy tale manner of once upon a time. 

Once upon a time the media could be relied upon to ensure the health of democracy.

Once upon a time the media supplied unbiased information to citizens in order for them to make responsible, informed choices.

But those days are long gone.  Media has fallen under the spell of the spectacle.  If the truth no longer sells papers or lead to website hits, then a spectacle surely will.  More emphasis is placed on sensationalizing the news than on securing accuracy.

Mass media still influences the public's point of view.  Yet, even though we are aware of the manipulating ways of the media, we are quite often still fooled into thinking we know the real story, when in fact we have been deceived.

Listen to your clients!

Dear Tourism Australia,

I LOVE your advertising campaigns.  It captures everything I treasure about this beautiful country ... breathtaking scenery, relaxed lifestyle, friendly locals, sunshine, the bush, the beach ... could heaven offer more?

However, there is just one little bit of advice I would like to give you.  The marketing mix actually consists of 4P's.  It seems to me that you have the product, the place and the promotion down to a tee.  Yet, somehow you have missed out on a very important component:  PRICE!

Until you understand that price actually matters, Australians will continue to book the cheaper overseas holidays.  If you do not want to take my word for it, look at the results from a survey in The Brisbane Times.  This article was promoting the good old Australian beach holiday asking readers at the end whether they would choose an Australian holiday over a cheap overseas one.
70% of the 1794 readers responded negatively.

However, I am a positive person and seeing that the poll will run for 2 more days, I will keep an open mind.  I am also hopeful that you will realize in the near future that times are tough and that emotional pleas alone will not be enough to keep the Australian dollar in the country.

Creating news where there isn't any ...

Has there ever been a baby that received the same amount of media coverage as His Royal Highness Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge?  Although I agree that it is a joyous occasion, I am seriously questioning whether we could still refer to the greater media as the fourth estate.

What happened to hard news stories?  I feel as if I am living in a vacuum with the royal pregnancy and birth the only news.  Half of the time allocated for news on television were taken up by reporters speculating on the birth or the name.  All I am asking for is a little bit of perspective and thank goodness one newspaper delivered just that.  Take a look at the coverage of The Private Eye:

Edgy design crossing the line

There is a lot of speculation about Urban Outfitters' latest t-shirt - did they knowingly invoke the symbol used or was it an uninformed mistake.  The design on the front of the t-shirt resembles the gang symbol for Chicago based Gangster Disciples.  According to the Daily Mail this is definitely not a gang you would want to cross swords with.

The t-shirt was designed by Australian brand Vanguard.  It would have been perfectly normal to expect Vanguard to go into overdrive in order to stem the negative publicity.  However, in typical laid back Australian style the reaction of director of Vanguard, Jono Cottee, to this whole debacle is quoted by Pedestrian tv:

“It is a pretty widely used symbol, I thought. I thought Raphael the Ninja Turtle carried one around in his shell.   I am not up to date on my 'Chicago Underbelly' series 4 I guess. For us it was more of a trident/satan reference if anything.”

At least Cottee's statement clears up the speculation.  Personally I am not impressed with this statement.  It indicates a lack of understanding of global markets.  Just because a symbol does not have a specific meaning in Australia, one cannot simply assume that it would not carry a meaning in America.  This comment also indicates that Cottee does not fully understand the impact of wearing such a t-shirt in Chicago would have.

IM FROM CHICAGO. YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE STUPID TO BE WALKING IN THE STREETS WITH THIS ON. ITS LIKE SAYING " HEY IM WITH THIS GANG COME KILL ME"

(Comment from Nina - Daily Mail)

Iconic magazine getting it wrong

 

Rolling Stone was criticized heavily on social media for choosing the Boston bomber DZhokhar Tsarnaev as their cover.  The question is whether this is marketing gone wrong or good, investigative journalism.

Ever heard the saying that there is no such thing as bad publicity?  I think those days are over thanks to social media.  Consumers are able to share their opinions and show their disapproval. Every person engaged in social media has the ability to inflict real and long lasting damage to the image of a company.  It was evident that this topic was hot with 4465 people leaving comments, 2972 tweeting about it and 4.1k sharing it on Facebook.

 The general feeling on Twitter was that this decision of Rolling Stone elevates a criminal to stardom.  "Why not feature some of the survivors or the grieving families?" was the prevailing sentiment.  Some people felt so strongly about this, that they cancelled their subscription to the magazine.

Even before reading the article, I am bothered and puzzled by Rolling Stone's reaction.  I do not think that companies should sway to please their customers in every little way.  But let's face it, this is not a little way, this is an emotionally charged issue and an approach that most people find insensitive and downright insulting.  Rolling Stone defended the article with this statement:

Our hearts go out to the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing, and our thoughts are always with them and their families. The cover story we are publishing this week falls within the traditions of journalism and Rolling Stone’s long-standing commitment to serious and thoughtful coverage of the most important political and cultural issues of our day. The fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is young, and in the same age group as many of our readers, makes it all the more important for us to examine the complexities of this issue and gain a more complete understanding of how a tragedy like this happens. –THE EDITORS

My opinion was not swayed after reading the article.  It is written from a very sympathetic point of view.  I do agree that it is important to understand how a tragedy like this occurred, but using an angelic picture of the perpetrator and trying to get readers to identify with his struggles is hardly the way to achieve it.  I think you failed in your duty as journalists.  I think your marketing department failed in understanding your target market.  The only test that still remains is how your PR department will handle this?

Can your business afford PR?

The real question is actually whether your business can afford to continue without PR.  The 2012 IBIS report on PR in Australia points out that marketing budgets are the first items to be sacrificed during an economic downturn.  However, PR is often viewed as a more specialized field and therefore delivering better value for money.  The report also elaborates on the importance of communication with all stakeholders during a downturn.  This is precisely the time you need to focus on public relations in order to calm fears and avoid crises.

So what is PR?

Public Relations (PR) is a vast field encompassing all communications of a business.  The aim of PR is to engage, collaborate and develop trust between the business and its public.  It is about sensing and responding to change as well as to provide clarity in times of confusion.

What can PR do for your business?

Increase the visibility of your business
This is achieved through appropriate exposure to the media.  However, old media alone is no longer sufficient on its own.  It needs to be complimented with online communication in the form of interactive websites, blogging and social media sites.

Manage the business's image
Modern customers expect more than a good product at a good price.  They also want to know that the business stand for, what does it represent, what does it value.  In addition to exposure through media PR aids with this by organizing meetings and collaborating with community leaders and stakeholders.  It is also vital that your business give back to the community.

 A good PR team really becomes invaluable during a crisis.  The team will have the expertise to guide you through while keeping the potential damage to a bare minimum.

Raise your profile
With ever increasing competition, it is crucial that you set your business apart from the rest.  It will take time and dedication to build your credibility.  Yet, once your PR team have established it and people trust your knowledge and experience, you will have established yourself as the go-to business.

Create a loyal customer base
Good PR will build strong relationships with customers which in turn will lead to returning customers.  A business should never forget that it is far easier and more cost effective to retain a customer than to attract a new one.
 

8 things that make a story newsworthy

Have you ever wondered what it would take for your business to be featured in media?  It is really not all that difficult.  Before you pick up the phone to call a journalist, go through my list to ensure that you can provide a newsworthy angle.

• Well timed

Stories covering current events have the greatest news value.  In our technologically connected world, it is becoming increasingly difficult for media outlets to be the first to break a story.  Just spend a couple of hours on Twitter and you'll be amazed at the vast majority of news stories being covered way before the major media outlets get hold of it. 

I would urge you to entertain the thought of publishing your story via social media.  If you are still a bit skeptical or uncertain and prefer exposure through traditional media, ask yourself : What does your business have to offer that is new and exciting?  It might be a new product, discount or a special deal.  You'll gain the greatest benefit if you could tie it in with a particular event.  For example, if you are a landscape architect, you could pitch a story to a journalist before the annual Gardening Show about the free quotations on offer when people visit your store at the show.

Clearly planning is a crucial factor.  Mark all the big events that are related to your business on the calendar well in advance.  This affords you the time to organize your special offerings and releases of new products as well as enough time to get media coverage in a timely fashion.

• Proximity

Stories that occur closer to home, have a greater impact. The same principle rings true for media publications.  Your local newspaper will certainly be more likely to publish your story than a national paper.  People simply  care first and foremost about what is happening in their own back yard.

• Prominence

Stories featuring powerful or well know people carry more weight. If a high profile person has ties with your business be sure to flaunt it!  It might be as simple as featuring your local member of parliament enjoying his regular morning coffee at your shop. 

• Unusual

Stories that deviate from the usual lean towards the dramatic.  These stories are the conversation starters and mostly pure entertainment. Any unusual or quirky angle to your business will help to make it newsworthy.

• Conflict

We all share some sort of fascination with conflict.  It stems from our embedded need for security and well-being.  Stories about war or terrorism always occupy the most prominent position in newspapers and on the evening news. 

Although no business wants to be portrayed as experiencing internal conflict or the cause of conflict, it is great if you could pitch your business as part of the solution to any conflict.

• Impact

Impact deals with how many people will be affected by your business.  Say for instance you have opened a raw food restaurant.  You already have the advantage of this being something unusual, yet well timed as many people are working towards a healthier way of living.  If you could produce statistics of the benefit of incorporating raw food into your diet on a regular basis, it will emphasize just how widespread and important this issue really is.

• Human interest

Make that human connection by telling your own story - what lead you to this particular business?  Let a customer tell about the impact your business had on his/her life.  It is important to let the humans operating and benefiting from the business be the stars of the story.  It creates warmth and allow future customers to identify with you.

• Currency

Currency is about connecting with the bigger picture.  Look for similar stories currently in the media.  See if you have something new to offer to the current debate.  
 
 
 

Key components of the communication process

I am a firm believer in creating strong foundations - whether you are building a house, a business empire or an marketing campaign.  The very basis of creating a successful marketing campaign is to understand the communication process.  Communication in any business defines the relationship with the customers.

Key elements of the communication process

The source or sender

The source or the sender is the person or organisation that distributes information.  For marketing purposes it is better to convey information via a person as consumers relate better to individuals than faceless corporations.

The source needs to be credible.  The consumer will internalise the marketing message and make it part of his/her own belief system if they perceive the source to be reliable.  The attractiveness of the source will have a bearing on the likeliness of the receiver to identify with the message.  In other words, if the consumer find the message familiar or likeable, he/she is more likely to identify with the message. 

Receiver

Where marketing is concerned the receiver is referred to as the audience.  It is crucial that the marketer identifies the target audience in great detail.  The better your understanding of the demographic, geographic and psycho-graphic aspects defining your target audience, the more effective your marketing strategies will be.

Message

The message is any information you want to convey to your target audience.  It can range from awareness about the brand or product, in depth information about product attributes to images promoting positive associations with the product.  What is important to remember is that research indicate information presented first and last are remembered better than those in the middle.

Encoding

Encoding refers to the translation process of putting ideas and messages into symbolic form.

Decoding

This process occurs when the receiver tries to interpret the message.  Marketers know that the message might be decoded differently by different people.  This is due to the fact that the sender and the receiver are likely to have different fields of experience.

Feedback

Feedback is the part of a receiver's response that is communicated back to the sender.  It occurs in the form of purchases, inquiries, complaints, questions, store visits, website hits, etc.  Feedback assists the marketer in determining why a campaign fail or succeed.

Noise

Noise is anything that distorts a message or distracts the sender.



                       Image:  www.pixmule.com

Where to next?

The impact of the changing nature of digital technology is clearly visible in every sphere of life.  Think about films - not only is digital technology changing how movies are produced and what it actually looks like but it is also changing how we watch movies.  The days of film are over as digital projection are taking over at cinemas.  Image quality has improved tremendously and the wonders that can be created through digital special effects exceed even the wildest imagination (Dargis and Scott 2012).

James Cameron's Avatar.  Source: herocomplex.latimes.com

Social media opened up the world to us.  It also changed our expectations of society and of the web.  Just consider our changing views regarding copyright.  A huge amount of content is continuously shared on the net.  One would think that implicates infringements on copyright.  Yet, when you embed or share content, you are not breaking the copyright law.  The content never passes through your server, but is streamed directly from the host site.  Be careful though, as this does not apply to content that you copy.

Social media brought forth infinite access to free speech.  This can quickly turn into a liability in countries where no criticism against the government is tolerated.  Even in countries with freedom of speech it can still land you in hot water ... think of how many people has lost their jobs after ranting about their boss, work place or colleagues via social media.

The question now remains how social media and digital technology will influence our future?  Schaffer (2012) points out that humans are by nature social creatures.  We are turning away from mass media and are once again turning to one another with the help of social media.  He speculates that SoMo (social mobile) will be the focus point in the near future as more and more people are using their smart phones as their primary communication and web access tool.

Nosowitz (2012) argues that we will be able to control our daily activities from our phones with great ease.  We will turn off lights, change the temperature inside our homes, cook dinner, make the beds, brew coffee and feed the dog all with a few clicks on our phones.  Innovations like the Satis toilet from Lixill are able to connect to an Android smartphone via bluetooth.  All that is required of you to lift the seat or flush the toilet is to scroll on your phone.

For me the real potential for the future lies in the application of technology in warfare.  The Pentagon spends huge amounts in an effort to create superhuman soldiers.  While teams of geneticists work on a pain vaccine that will block pain for months at a time or figuring out how soldiers can regrow limbs, Raytheon has already developed an exoskeleton that turns ordinary soldiers into cyborgs.

Contemporary war has a new frontline, one where war is no longer fought physically but virtually, where the actors involved on both sides have increasingly started to replace bombs and bullets with weapons in the form of bites and bandwith.    Dr Kaempf 2010

The main focus of technology is to make our lives easier.  IBM will certainly achieve that once it figures out how to bring the power of Watson to smartphones.  Watson is a cognitive system that will change how we think and operate in the future.  In agriculture it can aid farmers by analyzing precipitation and scientific data as well as location trends before recommending which type of crop to plant.    It also looks very promising for the medical sector.

Whether you like or dislike the role technology plays in our lives, it has become so entrenched in the idea of modern society that the two are virtually inseparable.  My hopes for the future is not that development of technology should slow down, but that we should take the time to analyze its impact on our lives.  Is it still a tool enriching lives or are we enslaved by it?

References
Dargis, M & Scott, AO 2012, 'Film is dead?  Long live movies', The New York Times, 6 September, viewed 4 February 2013,
Kaempf, S 2010, 'Digital media technology changes nature of war', Phys Org, 21 September, viewed 4 February 2013,
Nasowitz, D 2012, 'Smartphone controlled Japanese toilet keeps a personal poop diary', Australian popular science, 19 December, viewed 4 February 2013,
Schaffer, N 2012, 'The future of social media in 2013: six points to consider', Social media today, viewed 4 February 2013, -six-points-consider>   

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying refers to bullying through information and communication technologies. It is a fast growing trend that is believed to be more harmful than traditional school yard bullying. The nature of the technology means that bullies have access to their victims 24/7 (Webster n.d.).

No bullying is harmless and can in some cases even constitute criminal behaviour. In the Australian legal system using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence is a relatively new cyber-stalking offence punishable by a maximum jail sentence of 3 years. Two Australian defence cadets will face trail in August 2013 under this law over sex acts being broadcast to other men without the knowledge or consent of the female cadet involved.

You should also reconsider sending foul-mouthed, derogatory and inflammatory text messages as this can result in hefty fines. Miko (2011) reports on a pair being fined $300 each for this very act. England cricketer Kevin Pietersen experienced backlash over his derogatory emails to South African players. Pietersen was dropped from the team over emails that he considered to be bantering at the time he sent it. He has since apologised.

Tragically sometimes cyberbullying leads to suicide as was the case for Sheniz Erkan and Megan Meier.  I mention these two specifically to illustrate the intricacy of the situation and the extent to which cyber-bullies go. Investigations into the circumstances leading up to the death of Megan revealed that she was bullied by a boy she really liked, or so it seemed at first. In reality that boy never existed. It was a fake personality orchestrated by the mother of one of Megan's friends. Yes the mother.

What really gets to me about Sheniz (and countless others since) is that they are being bullied even after death. Tribute pages set up in their memories are being desecrated by so called trolls. Trolling refers to any Internet user behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else in order to provoke a response.

Although hailed as heroes with great intelligence and a sense of humour by some, in the eyes of the law they are offenders. In 2010 Jessica Cook was given a suspended sentence for posting offensive material on the tribute page of Justine Jones. In 2011 Bradley Hampson was the first Australian convicted of internet trolling and sentenced to three years in jail for posting child pornography on the tribute pages of two slain schoolchildren.

In the above mentioned cases autism and loneliness were offered as explanation to justify their actions. However, not all trolls are created equally it seems. Insight ran a very educational program on this very topic.

 I learned a lot about the psyche self proclaimed trolls like Jamie Cochran. She classifies herself as a performance artist on the prowl for scalps. It is important to note that all trolls interviewed on Insight distance themselves from the desecration of tribute pages or hate campaigns. They do not classify behaviour like that as trolling but as vitriolic bullying. In Cochran's own words:

"Most of what I do, I do with great jest and playfulness. I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, I just want to make people think and laugh along the way.  I also look at [trolling] as a form of culture jamming, in the sense that it can disrupt the status quo to hopefully stop and make people think for a moment."

I doubt whether this play on semantics will impress Charlotte Dawson though. The ferocity of the death threats she received resulted in her ending up in hospital. She bravely tracked down her abusers in real life later. Their response once again highlights the severity of the problem. Some of them claim not knowing that things said on the internet would have a real impact in reality others claimed to have gained confidence in doing this.

For me the solution to cyberbullying lies in teaching compassion, because like Campbell (2005) I view bullying as a social problem. Only when we care enough about another being to imagine the pain we can inflict with our words, can we expect to turn this bullying trend around.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”
― Dalai Lama XIV

References
Campbell, , M 2005, 'Cyber bullying: an old problem in a new guise?', Australian journal of guidance and counselling, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 68 – 76, viewed 27 January 2013, <http://eprints.qut.edu.au/1925/1/1925.pdf>
Miko, t 2011, 'Texting lands couple in court', Central Queensland News, 29 April, viewed 4 February 2013,
Webster, C n.d., What is cyberbullying?, viewed 4 February 2013,