Thank you for being with us for the second month of our new blog. In case you missed any posts, here is a recap, beginning with, in chronological order, the lastest installments in our ongoing series on getting technology to market, The Commercialization Ecosystem, which explored startup incubation, the right stuff entrepreneurs need to succeed and other pearls of wisdom.
This is the first contribution to this blog by Associate Caroline Kealey, an internationally recognized communications strategist, speaker, trainer, facilitator and author.
By Caroline Kealey
In my experience, decision making executives in a variety of sectors often fail to recognize the value their communications people bring to their organization. Often, this arises because the communicators themselves have not adequately conveyed the value they provide in a way that resonates with management.
As a senior decision maker, regardless of whether your organization is a startup or a mature technology company, you can make a powerful shift in your thinking by framing the communications function as a strategic element of your organization’s business development and revenue generation activities. Effective communicators contribute far more than the typical “stuff” of communications, such as news releases, speeches or events. They can provide unique counsel that will bring insightful and strategic “outside-in” thinking to your organization.
By Linda Forrest
Late last year, PRNewswire gave a presentation at PubCon that shared its data about pitching in the new media world, what modes journalists – and PR practitioners – were using in 2010 and in what numbers. The results were as follows:
84 percent of journalists like to get pitched via email. In addition to email, these journalists also use Facebook (79 percent), LinkedIn (64 percent), and Twitter (58 percent) to search out potential stories.
By Alayne Martell
The Internet. Love it or hate it, most of us need it. And with it comes many debates. Most recently the controversy is growing over the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) recent ruling regarding usage-based-billing (UBB). The ruling would allow large telecom companies such as Bell and Rogers to force independent Internet service providers (ISPs) to adopt the same UBB structure they use. Interestingly enough, the same big guns sell wholesale access to these smaller ISPs, essentially preventing them from remaining competitive.
Then the federal government chimed in. Last week, during an industry committee hearing, the CRTC indicated it would be delaying the implementation for 60 days while it is reviewed. Industry Minister Tony Clement followed that up with the proclamation (by Twitter no less…that could be fodder for a whole other blog post) that if the CRTC comes back with the same outcome, cabinet would overturn it.
Looks like this debate could become heated.
By Leo Valiquette
The Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC) is one of Canada’s leading marketing organizations, tasked with making the most of the fact that, when it comes to having a globally recognized brand in the international tourism industry, Canada ranks number one.
CTC president and CEO Michele McKenzie spoke at the Ottawa Chamber’s monthly Eggs n’ Icons breakfast this morning about how the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver served as a platform for promoting that brand to the world and how, in the Olympics’ “afterglow,” the challenge remains on how to capitalize on all that positive press.
International tourism is a huge and growing market. According to McKenzie, emerging economies are firing shots across the bow of traditional, more established tourism destinations that must scramble to maintain market share, redefine their messaging and ensure their brand remains visible in markets such as Brazil, China and Korea. These emerging markets are experiencing dramatic growth in the volume of outbound travellers versus “traditional” sources of foreign tourists, such as France, Germany and Great Britain.
While Canada has experienced steady growth in the volume of foreign visitors, 80 per cent of our tourism industry remains driven by domestic tourists. While this is a rich and valued customer base, McKenzie acknowledged, and rightly so, that it is limited, especially compared to a market such as China, which expects to have 100 million (yes, that number is correct) outbound tourists heading to international destinations by 2020.
As a big brand with a premium product to sell, we need to put ourselves on the radar of these huge new customer segments. As with any business, we can’t afford to keep most of our eggs in one basket. Market diversification is crucial to long-term sustainability.
