5 posts tagged “howorth”

Heading off to the Social Media Club Sydney Inaugural Event in the next 10 minutes. The tickets were snapped up very quickly and people have been encouraged to give the organisers a heads-up if they can't make it so they can open the availability up to other interested parties.

I am heading there tonight with my own posse - Graham White (Managing Director, Howorth), Brian Giesen (our digital guru at Ogilvy PR in Australia) and my colleague, Jonathan Nguyen.

See you all there! I'll make sure to update my blog tomorrow for those of you that can't make it tonight.

Cheers!

The hot topic at the moment is the uncertain economic environment - something that is rearing its head in all industries and all walks off life today. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am keen to explore over time what impact this changing landscape will have on the PR industry next year, particularly in Australia.

As PR budgets are typically the first to get stripped in organisations, will we see PR evaluation and measurement become an even more crucial tool for reporting in this uncertain economic time? Will we increasingly use it as a means for us, as PR professionals, to justify our worth?

And as my MD, Graham White, put it nicely: "More than ever we need to be accountable and in a recession, PR has to be part of the effectiveness mindset."

I'll be interested to see if the big agencies create, brand, package and sell PR measurement methodologies unique to their businesses and to their clients. If PR agencies are not already using PR measurement as a fundamental tool for measurement and follow-through on client campaigns and projects, surely it is something they will look to in the coming year.

Despite the importance of PR measurement and evaluation in this uncertain time, I would have to agree with many wise people before me that historically PR measurement has been (and still is) elusive. The complexities of measuring PR are never black and white.

I am interested in your take on this topic. Will we iron out the problems we have historically had with PR measurement? Will evaluation become second nature for PR professionals (if it isn't already)? Will PR take a hit from the economic downturn? 

Sorry Brad for not acknowledging your B&T feature on Australian marketing blogs earlier!

Although it's a fast moving target, I was happy to see myself also come in at #44 in the Top 50 Australian Marketing Blogs - compiled by B&T. And thank you Brad for my closing words :)

Shout out to the following top 10 that made the Top 50 Australian Marketing blogs:

1. Banner Blog
2. Servant of Chaos
3. Young PR
4. Laurel Papworth
5. Get Shouty
6. Copy Write
7. Corporate Engagement
8. Better Communications Results
9. Ettf
10. Online Marketing Banter

Keep up the good work Aussie bloggers!

So it's the official day one at the Frocomm New Media Summit in Melbourne. However, yesterday we did attend a session on the 'A-Z of Social Media'. The session was a bit of a social media 101 session and warmer for what's to come over the next couple of days.

There were some interesting speakers on last night's panel session including our very own Howorth MD, Graham White, who made some really interesting comments about social media and its implications on the comms. industry today. He did a great job as the first panelist to be put on the spot.

Some of the key points from the A-Z of Social Media:

Graham White, Managing Director, Howorth

• Content is KING
• Content needs to be engaging and something that people are compelled to actually share on [this is the conversational aspect of social media]
• Increasingly, the lines between PR and Digital Marketing are blurring. It is important that practitioners in both of these fields have access to people sitting on the other side of the fence as well. Clients don't want just PR or just marketing,  they want an integrated mix so it's important to be able to bring both into the fold for clients

Cameron Reilly, CEO & Founder, The Podcast Network

• You used to talk at the marketplace. It was a one way stream of communication. This has since changed
• Now - you talk with the marketplace
• Markets are conversations!! [just read Cluetrain Manifesto if you don't believe this]

Kylie Johnson, CSIRO

• The fascinating thing about social media is that it allows you to eliminate the gatekeeper!
• Social media allows you to tell your message or story yourself - instead of relying on a journalist
• The really interesting thing about this is that we often forget that this is at the core of what we do as PR practitioners. It is our job to tell the stories - and now we can do it ourselves

Con Frantzekos, Edelman Digital

• Internet has always had a conversational approach since its inception. This is nothing new
• The model used to be pray for space (hoping a journalist would write your story) or pay for space (by spending on advertising)
• It's about picking the right channel and means to target your audience

Laurel Papworth, Director, World Communities and Social Networks Blogger

• We are currently seeing a ripple effect thanks to social media
• It is bloggers (or citizen journalists) versus "heritage media" [thanks for that term Laurel] and both are impacting the others world. For example, we are seeing instances of where journalists are picking up stories from bloggers and vice versa
• Some forward thinking companies are even releasing news via social media ahead of heritage media [e.g. Harry Potter]

Overall, some really interesting points came out of this session. Stay tuned for more update today!

I'm looking forward to the Frocomm New Media Summit in Melbourne today. Shortly I'll be heading off here with one of my MDs, Graham White, and then it is back-to-back sessions, keynotes and workshops till I return later this week.

The New Media Summit will cover off all things new and social media including what it is, why it is important, legal considerations, Web 2.0, blogging and how you can apply new media to your business to achieve desired business outcomes.

I'll be particularly interested to listen out for case studies and instances where companies have integrated social media strategies and report back on cases where it has and hasn't worked. Hopefully there will be some best practice examples and key learnings that I can share with you.

The first round Tuesday speakers include:

• Laurel Papworth, Director, World Communities and Social Networks Blogger
• Andrew Maiden, Director, Media Relations, Telstra
• Greg Roebuck, Managing Director & CEO, carsales.com.au
• Mary Henderson, Founder/CEO, Geek IT Group
• Richard Lord, Chief Marketing Officer and COO, Hyro
• Tom Martin, Cirector, Strategic Communications, Department of Premier & Cabinet
• Michael Park, Senior Associate, Deakons' Technology, Media & Telecommunications Group
• Guy J Cardavlho, CEO, BrandAide Communications
• Kirsty Shaw, Director, Fairfax Digital and GM, Stayz
• Kate Torney, Head of Asia Pacific News, ABC
• Ben Wise, Online Editor, 3AW
• Simon Johanson, Online Editor, The Age
• Brian Semmens, Night Editor, Herald & Weekly Times
• Alan Parker, DIgital Media Specialist, Burson-Marsteller
• Corrie McLeod, Managing Director, Espresson Communications
• And our very own Graham White, Managing Director, Howorth, Ogilvy PR Australia
• And our very own Scott Rhodie, Media Manager and Digital Strategist, Pulse Communications, Ogilvy PR Australia

I will be posting regular updates to my blog, the Howorth website and of course to Twitter. Please feel free to comment on any of the information that I post. Looking forward to it!

Watch this space!!