New Flexible Capped Pay-As-You-Go Public Relations Service

Budgets, budgets, budgets - you set them to spend them. Or at least many organisations did. Many still do.

But come on - setting a budget doesn't mean you have to spend it. In fact good budget management and business sense means setting a budget of what you can spend, but ideally limiting your spending to what you need to spend within that budget whilst still getting the value you require. The cash savings you make by not spending your entire budget go to profit, or are allocated to something else to achieve profit.

It’s a simple comparison, but many parents are opting for the flexible, capped and pay-as-you-go mobile phone contracts for their children precisely to manage their household budgets. A few mobile network operators are offering such tariffs. So as not to teach you to suck eggs, but to help make my point, have a look at this article about T-Mobile or the video below from Tesco Mobile.

It's very simple, responsible budget management.

That's how it should be, shouldn't it? And if you can apply the concept to your business's service suppliers, that probably makes good business sense too. Get the results you need but only for the money you need to spend.

Before the recession prospective clients often said, "I want to be able to manage my budgets, so I just want to define an amount of money I'll be committing to you each month for public relations, and you do a good job." We said, "No problem. But we'll still time every minute of work we do for transparent time sheets and show you what we're doing so you know you're getting value for money."

However, these leaner times are showing us that businesses want help to manage their budgets differently using innovative billing options. Their imperative demands are flexibility, control and value. We're finding businesses want a billing system like the pay-as-you-go mobile phone services, where they don't have to commit to spending the budget they set, have greater control on what they spend, and only get surprise bills of the good kind at the end of the month - where the figure in red at the bottom of the invoice might even say, "£0.00".

That's why Parker, Wayne & Kent is launching this new flexible, capped, pay-as-you-go public relations service. We agree monthly public relations priorities and an associated capped budget for activities with the client. We don't bill over the monthly budget without client approval. If they don't want any activity in any given month, they don't get billed. We use technology to time every minute of our work so we can bill clients by the minute and deliver totally transparent time sheets. (Some of us here have worked at PR agencies where time sheets were filled in at the end of the month, relying on PR execs' memory or a 'finger in the air' estimate of hours worked for clients - neither accurate nor ethical in our opinion.)

Unlike the mobile network examples above, we don't tie clients into fixed term contracts, there's no minimum spend, and there's no minimum cap / budget limit. We're even working with one client on a cap of just 450 minutes per month. To reiterate: that's not a minimum spend, that's the monthly capped budget. If we don't work for them, they don't pay anything at all. If they task us with some activity, and it's approaching their 450 minutes cap, we merely alert the client and they decide whether they'd like to approve more budget in that month to get maximum value out of the project, take time from the following month's capped budget, or halt the activity.

However, it's important to be upfront about the drawbacks of this system. Just as with mobile phone tariffs, the price per minute is higher than if we were working on our monthly fee or project-by-project contract basis. Also this method of working is largely client led, so any activity is responsive to client requests. This means we don't get to be as proactive as we'd like to be in generating news for clients to seize the media agenda or to creatively take advantage of the editorial opportunities we may become aware of within our network of journalists.

Both established companies and start-ups are taking advantage of this new form of relationship with us. They want to get their companies into media articles - thus avoiding the high prices of advertising - and manage their PR budgets as effectively as possible, rather than just committing to spending them.

It can work for your company. You just need to find out more by emailing us.

PR RANGERS - ENTER THE BUNNY VIDEO

The era of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century saw the public relations industry invaded by fluffy bunnies. This is the story of one small team of PR Rangers that refused to submit to the advancing hoards of hares. It happened in spring, in the year of the dragon. The bunny entered - and was entered. Enter the bunny

Social Media’s Not Enough for LinkedIn

It was odd. All these people waffling on about how great social media is, and they’re all at a trade show, meeting together - actually talking. If you listened to the enthusiasm enunciated in their words, you’d have thought that social media was the be-all-and-end-all of marketing, news, and social interaction in general. Nothing else mattered. But I was meeting them face-to-face at a trade show. The irony was lost on most, but Social Media World Forum showed that whilst social media is a go-go, the reality is that the trade show still has an imperative role in effective engagement.

Yet a study conducted by Altimeter Group shows the level of hype continues unrestrained. A third of the 140 social-media strategists interviewed spend between $100,000 to $500,000 a year on social media marketing. This suggests that social media is worthy of a high budget, but not as cost effective as you might think. The ROI of social media campaigns is largely unknown.

Like most companies, LinkedIn, the fast growing professional network, employs a clear social media marketing strategy in line with its well established online reputation. One of LinkedIn’s successful social media channels is its blog where employees at LinkedIn post specific information they've spent time developing, but which failed to make the cut of the company's PR campaign. It has become an unexpected success turning into a resource hub not only for LinkedIn users, but also journalists and other bloggers to discuss current issues making conversations and feedback more immediate. LinkedIn has used its blog to implement a more simple and effective communications strategy than traditional media outreach allows by creating an online forum accessible to a number of different stakeholders.

However, in its work up to IPO the online network’s membership base has grown over 160 percent in the last two years to 150 million users , with the number of corporate customers increasing by 450 percent in the same period through investment across marketing disciplines. The decision to use a variety of channels indicates the company’s recognition that relying on social media alone cannot achieve the level of success desired.

LinkedIn's marketing campaign has to maintain current users whilst enticing potential new customers – or “product”  – to become part of the ever growing online social media boom. That oft quoted “If you’re not the customer, you’re the product,” is most clearly demonstrated by LinkedIn. Unlike other social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, LinkedIn has cleverly defined users who are true customers – those that spend money with LinkedIn on premium profiles and advertising – from those who are “product”, merely signing-up to benefit from the free services that LinkedIn offers. One of the most valuable customers for LinkedIn are recruitment consultants. These customers want to benefit from LinkedIn’s “product” – all those people who put all that CV information up online. Hence why LinkedIn exhibited at Recruitment Agency Expo in February 2012. (See the pic.)

By exhibiting at the Recruitment Agency Expo trade show LinkedIn’s marketing team demonstrated that traditional marketing cannot be ignored in spite of the hype around social media. Contrary to the array of extravagant, eye catching and expensive stands at trade shows, LinkedIn’s presence was simple, honest and understated. Consisting of just a couple of white pop-up stands scattered with the company logo – costing no more than £200 each - a camera, a laptop and a stool, the multi million pound company’s minimalist stand intrigued passers by. It didn’t have fancy banners, flat screen TVs and an extensive floor space as you might expect of such a large and innovative company, but what it did have was a clear, effective and extremely simple stand that did exactly what it was supposed to do – generate sales leads for LinkedIn.

Visitors could have their photo taken against a backdrop of the LinkedIn logo and set up an account there and then. The LinkedIn logo is then in clear view on the person’s profile image for all to see. However the person who looks at their profile picture most frequently is the person whose profile it is. This reminds that person that LinkedIn offers services to recruiters whenever they check their profile. LinkedIn’s decision to exhibit at the Recruitment Agency Expo enabled paying-customer lead generation from the range of attendees from recruitment firms, rather than just gaining individuals that simply benefit from the free services that LinkedIn offers. They acquired customers, not just product.

Trade shows provide exhibitors with the opportunity to network, promote products and services and learn more about their target audience’s needs. A study outlining the value of trade shows claims that 75% of attendees have a personal agenda with a good idea of the companies they want to see, whilst 46% of executive decision makers make purchase decisions whilst at a show. Equally trade shows enable exhibitors who attend to extend their promotional reach beyond the footfall of the event by liaising with the journalists. This enables a business to share information about its products and services, increase its standing in the media and raising its profile amongst consumers or relevant publications who didn’t attend the event.

Cynicism about the value of trade shows is rife and online networking through social media is often touted as a replacement for industry events. But social media isn’t replacing other marketing channels; rather it provides an additional communication avenue that is most successful when used in conjunction with more conventional methods. Kay Luo, director of corporate communications at LinkedIn, says its outreach strategy includes both traditional and social media including PR, advertising and trade shows.

Interaction with customers remains key and it’s important that marketers remember that their advertising must be effective rather than expensive – a mantra effectively demonstrated by LinkedIn’s modest but effective stand at Recruitment Agency Expo. Strong effective offline marketing is just as vital as newer techniques when engaging with audiences, building brands and strengthening the level of trust between company and customer. Companies will always seek to employ the most contemporary marketing methods to grow their business but sometimes its best to take a responsible step back. Effective marketing doesn’t necessarily mean expensive marketing. LinkedIn, the largest professional network has demonstrated the value of offline marketing tactics better than anyone by employing simple, cost effective strategies that have increased its client base and allow it to continuously grow and dominate the professional online world.

News International falls flat by blowing its own trumpet

Amid the ongoing phone hacking scandal News Corp has been desperately clambering for the public’s confidence through stories published in their own media titles. News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch, his son James and News International chief Rebekah Brooks have relied entirely on their own organisation’s media platforms rather than venturing outside the walls of News International for third party endorsements. Transparently biased cries for leniency and gentle support from News Corp titles have fallen on deaf ears with the anti-News International rally continuing to gain momentum, appearing in national and international publications, and especially social media.

News Corp is stubbornly continuing with its current strategy that still fails to deliver any PR success. The most recent failure to appreciate that people don’t trust their editorial can be seen in Trevor Kavanagh’s article in The Sun. Kavanagh paints a picture of a harassed and victimized organisation suffering a human rights abuse when all they were doing was standing-up for the public and putting a pair of tits on page 3.

Any PR Executive can tell you about the importance of encouraging media titles that your target audience trusts to carry your messages. Neutrality and non-biased stories are extremely important for news reporting. The public expects media titles to offer accurate stories on current affairs. One can even say that the public have romanticised journalism, expecting their news sources to be modest and integral members of society. Endorsements in mediums such as these that have the support from the public are extremely important to swaying general opinions.

The reputation of News Corp is tarnished following the scandal and the numerous arrests. The public’s trust has been lost and it is extremely difficult to gain back through a medium that they don’t believe in. The general public is disgusted with their behaviour and are now wise to the use of News Corp’s various content outlets across the world that pathetically pledge support and defend its UK titles.

In another attempt to rescue its reputation The Sun tried to remind people of all the good it has done, with the claim that: “News International's record as a friend of the armed services and of our servicemen and servicewomen, is impeccable”. Unfortunately for the UK’s most popular paper this was published in the midst of the revelation that servicemen and women’s families’ phones had been hacked by their colleagues over at the News of the World. This left their readership outraged, seething with anger and baying for blood in concert with other news organisations who were more than happy to puncture the chink in the News Corp armour. The public are enjoying reading about the destruction of the News of the World more than about any attempt to defend it - as most journalists at both The Sun and The Times know all too well.

News Corp media titles also received widespread criticism from American media. American magazine, The Atlantic, criticised TV Network, Fox News for down scaling its reporting on Murdoch dropping his bid for 100% control of BSkyB. The Atlantic said: “An hour after everyone else, the Fox site now has a small above-the-fold mention of Murdoch dropping the BSkyB bid. This is like the way the Soviet press covered Chernobyl: ‘small problem in the Ukraine’.”

Murdoch’s power in the media industry has not been enough to pull him out of this scandal. The media mogul has had to face up to his faltering public profile and bit the bullet last year to bring in the help of PR agency, Edelman. Edelman’s approach was to take a leaf out of The Evening Standard’s Ad campaign in 2009, encouraging the Murdochs to apologise to everyone who had been victims of the scandal. Apoplectic readers, however, didn’t care for the apology and saw through this latest PR ploy as a shallow, transparent and particularly crass exercise in spin.

The News of the World was never going to survive the controversy it had embroiled itself in, but elements of the scandal could have been avoided. The immediate resignation of Murdoch’s long time protégé Brooks would have saved the company from cultivating the perception that it was forcing an entire newspaper staff out of work to save the career of one executive. After resisting many calls for her to quit, Brooks eventually fell on her sword in an undignified manner. Hacking revelations, the collapse of the News of the World, her arrest and, of course, some fitting harassment from the media –all had to take place before she finally gave in to public pressure. Brooks has become nationally despised, perhaps even more so than Andy Coulson, as people reveal various ugly stories about her practices.

Funnily enough the strongest boon to News Corp’s PR was when Rupert Murdoch got hit in the face with a foam pie. What followed is the impassioned third party endorsement from this wife, Wendi Deng, who landed a right hook on the perpetrator Jonnie Marbles, that gained her and her husband widespread support. The Daily Mail claimed that the general opinion on her had changed from being an opportunist to someone who genuinely cared for her husband. Murdoch’s profile was also given a boost as the foam helped to wipe away some of the egg on his face, tackling the public’s perception of him as cold and difficult to warm to. Public sentiment to the scandal momentarily softened – but only momentarily.

Media companies can’t just rely on their own pages for effective PR. Third-party endorsement is extremely important when it comes to rallying support in the face of a crisis as seen in the case of News Corp. This is why political parties are so desperate to get a third party declaring their support for them, and why senior figures such as Tony Blair and David Cameron have always been so happy to form an alliance with News Corp. Politicians have looked to these publications for support in times of crisis, to gain that all important third party endorsement, because nothing better cements credibility than an outsider weighing in on your behalf.

When the hacking scandal broke with full force last summer News Corp was left floundering, drowning under its own weight. Without any third parties willing to throw it a lifeline, it will face a long and arduous uphill struggle to repair its severely tarnished reputation.

But last week, one might finally feel that News Corp was getting that third party endorsement it so desperately needs – and from a Government minister, no less. Education Secretary Michael Gove honoured the media mogul saying that Rupert Murdoch “should be applauded and not criticised” for setting up new – although looking very much like the old – Sunday newspaper, the Sun on Sunday. However, Michael Gove was an ex-News International employee, having previously worked with The Times, so can’t really be called a third party. Moreover one questions Gove’s motives in fawning over a media title and its proprietors. For the public to be persuaded, third party endorsements must come from true third parties.

Community management in iGaming video: Playscan

Sara Larsson, Chief Marketing Officer at Playscan, talked Parker, Wayne & Kent through Playscan's community management tools for iGaming and gambling websites:

 

Playscan is the first tool worldwide to offer players a way to keep track of their gambling behaviour, both in terms of their own perception of gambling via a traffic light system, and provides an analysis based on their actual gaming data.

Online gambling video: TopBetta

Todd Buckingham, CEO of TopBetta, introduced Parker, Wayne & Kent to a brand new social betting platform:

TopBetta is the world's first social betting platform for sports and racing tournaments that enables sports fans to compete against each other, rather than the bookie. It's changing the way in which people bet on sports to make it all about the users, and how wisely they can place their bets. Punters don't even have to put any money down, as TopBetta provides free to play tournaments that enable players to win cash prizes without betting a penny. TopBetta combines the best of social gaming and online gambling to provide users with a rich, unique and rewarding sports betting experience.

Educational technology video: Learnetic

Parker, Wayne & Kent has been visiting a great deal of trade shows this year. We’ve met lots of new people from very different industries, and they always seem to be doing interesting things. We’ve decided to launch this video blog to showcase why it’s great to meet new people, and give them a chance to show just how and why their companies stand out from the crowd in their industry.

Parker, Wayne & Kent met Artur Dyro, Chief Executive Officer at Learnetic, who talked to us about the future of device agnostic content in educational technology:

Learnetic is the international partner of Young Digital Planet, a leading worldwide educational software publisher and eLearning technology provider based in Poland, which became part of the Sanoma Group in 2010. Learnetic's interactive and personalized resources adapt to students' skills and learning preferences while supporting a wide range of teaching styles. Working with educational publishing and other business partners, Learnetic is dedicated to satisfying the diverse needs of contemporary educators and learners worldwide.