We Bring Technology to Market.

ITAC IT Hero Awards seeks nominations

• Posted by Linda Forrest
• May 07, 2008
• Leave a comment

By Linda Forrest

We’re doing a bit of work for the Information Technology Association of Canada, helping to promote the organization’s IT Hero Awards program. The ITAC IT Hero Awards celebrate and recognize creative applications of information technology that significantly improve the lives of Canadians and readily demonstrate social and economic benefit.

Nominations are being accepted in both community and corporate categories until May 9 and the winners will be announced at the ITAC Chairs’ Dinner in Toronto on June 26. The nominees’ work highlighted in the submissions so far is impressive and truly making a difference in communities across the country.

Are you aware of a company or individual that might be worthy of a nomination? If so, please submit an online nomination form. A full set of guidelines and nomination criteria is available on the IT Hero Awards web site. We’re working to get media coverage for stand out nominees like Paul Gillespie and Dan Babineau, and could potentially promote outstanding work that is being done in your community to the media as well. Good luck to all of the deserving nominees and keep up the good work!

Linda Forrest

Posted in:

• Public and media relations
• Startups
• Technology marketing

Media getting even more social

• Posted by Danny Sullivan
• May 07, 2008
• Leave a comment

By Danny Sullivan

I’ve written a couple of posts recently about social networking and its link to PR, but its growth in this area was firmly driven home to than by a recent conversation with a reporter at a leading US trade magazine.

We were discussing a client and the relative merits of the company’s position as an expert source for future articles, and she indicated that we should join her LinkedIn group. She went on to explain that her first stop when looking for information for a story these days is now to poll her LinkedIn buddies. And what’s more, it really seems to work for her – usually getting a range of responses, allowing her to pick and choose the best ones to follow up on.

If ever we wanted proof that social networking is here to stay, then surely this is it. Only by providing true value to professionals in their day-to-day work can the phenomenon be expected to succeed, and this is a perfect example of such value being achieved.

Danny Sullivan

Posted in:

• Social media

The benefits of an agency having a horizontal account structure

• Posted by Linda Forrest
• May 02, 2008
• Leave a comment

By Linda Forrest

This week has been a perfect case in point for why inmedia has a horizontal rather than a vertical account structure. What I mean by that is that our agency, unlike a lot of agencies, puts at least two senior consultants on each account. It is these consultants, with support from the balance of the team, that do all – and I mean all – of the work on a client account, from initial briefings with the client to developing the media list, to writing the materials, to pitching the story to the media and so on. That way, if one of the consultants is unavailable or out of town on business as is the case this week, the remaining consultants can capably manage any and all requirements for that client because they’ve been involved from the outset and have the same knowledge about the client as the other consultant.

In agencies that employ a vertical account structure, the most junior of consultants with the least experience is typically tasked with outreach to the media, having had little to no involvement in the procuring of the client, the learning of their story or development of the materials. If a journalist has a question that requires additional knowledge beyond the news release that the consultant has been handed to pitch, well, let’s just say that it’s this lack of full understanding of clients and their stories that has given our industry such a bad reputation.

This has been a busy week, with a number of our consultants doing international travel, new clients coming into the fold, big projects with upcoming deadlines in production and preparations to be made for several major campaigns getting underway next week. Still, despite being far flung across time zones and countries, the team has been able to keep all of the proper plates spinning because of our account schema. This provides both our clients and consultants with peace of mind, knowing that the needs of clients are not superseded by out of office requirements and that work continues seamlessly on their behalf.

That said, it’ll be nice to have the Ottawa team assembled once again when two of our consultants return from overseas, to hear of their most recent adventures and determine whether any of them picked up a detectable brogue on their travels.

Linda Forrest

Posted in:

• Public and media relations

Cision’s media reputation index highlights value of content analysis

• Posted by inmedia
• April 30, 2008
• Leave a comment

By inmedia

Here at inmedia, we’re big believers in monitoring the media to not only capture coverage of our clients but to scan for issues upon which our clients might have a worthwhile perspective, to see what competitors are up to and to get a general sense of what the media is covering. A more in-depth monitoring of the media, and a capability that inmedia also offers, is content analysis. This comprehensive monitoring of the media provides quantitative and qualitative data on the coverage that appears in the media and can be useful to organizations that are hoping to manage their reputations through media coverage. It is this methodology that seems to be behind the Cision Corporate Media Reputation Index for Q1 2008, released today.

According to an article at PRWeek online, “Cision’s Corporate Media Reputation Index ranks the largest 100 US companies based on positive and negative reputation-driving attributes in nationwide daily media, as well as business and news magazines.” To find out who the media darlings of the corporate world are this quarter, see the PRWeek piece; for last year’s lists, visit Cision’s web site to view the news release that includes several top ten lists for 2007.

inmedia

Posted in:

• Public and media relations
• Random thoughts

Engaging the media: Part II

• Posted by Leo Valiquette
• April 30, 2008
• Leave a comment

By Leo Valiquette

All right, picking up from where I left off last time:

7) Be prepared: When you engage the media, questions can come from all directions. Even when you are taking a media call on a particular milestone, such as a new product launch, expect the unexpected. That doesn’t mean you should readily view the journalist with suspicion and expect to be ambushed with inappropriate questions. Perhaps the journalist is looking to follow up on old news, such as whether the company is still on track to reach profitability by a certain date, or if those hiring plans you mentioned a year ago worked out, what your future growth plans are, etc. When arranging an interview time, confirm what the journalist would like to discuss. For more reading on what materials to have ready for the media, see Providing the media with the tools they need to cover your company.

8) Keep it simple, stupid: That doesn’t mean talk to the journalist like he or she is an idiot. If they want something dumbed down, they’ll ask and you should accommodate. Better to take the time and demonstrate patience with questions that require something be explained in terms a 10-year-old would understand than risk a miscommunication. In the age of Google, retractions and correction notices do little to yank back errors that may be damaging to your company, or at least confusing for busy readers who want their information delivered in clear and obvious terms.

9) Good stories have drama, conflict and resolution: Journalists looking to tell a good story hate to hear that everything is perfect and peachy keen. That doesn’t mean they’re looking for trouble where there isn’t any, they just know the skies can’t be sunny and clear all the time. Don’t be afraid to be frank about challenges your business has faced. Instead, take it as an opportunity to talk about how you’ve persevered and overcome, the lessons you’ve learned, or at least, how you intend to overcome if the bio-waste is still flying from the fan. Remember what I said last time in Point #3? What you’ve learned in the School of Hard Knocks can help paint you as a seasoned and capable executive. It also makes for compelling reading that can imbed you in readers’ minds far better than a write up about your latest product’s bells and whistles.

10) Don’t hide: Sometimes, what you don’t want the world to know gets out at the most inconvenient times. Perhaps it’s bad news, or just news you’re not ready to share. It’s often better to set the record straight than ignore a journalist with a scoop that’s been obtained through avenues beyond your control. The journalist may have already scraped up enough information to run with a story before they even pick up the phone to call you. Don’t throw away the chance to tell your side of the story and clear up any possible misinformation, or negotiate an exclusive with the journalist that allows you to embargo the news, if that’s appropriate. Dodging the media is often perceived as a sign that you have something to hide, which only adds fuel to the fire.

On the other hand, don’t feel pressured to give that interview before you’re certain about what it is you want to say. Take the call, garner exactly what it is the journalist is looking for, and arrange for the interview to take place at a more suitable time. But appreciate and respect the fact that the journalist likely has a deadline and an editor breathing down his or her neck.

In conclusion:
It should be self-evident by now that there’s often room to negotiate the terms of engagement with the media. Ethical journalists are after the truth with fair and balanced coverage of the news, events, and organizations relevant to their publication. But how that coverage is obtained, how you agree to be the subject of public scrutiny and consumption, is up to you. The simple rule of thumb is don’t say anything to a journalist you don’t want to see in print. If you want to err on the side of caution, you could always give the media the cold shoulder. Of course, do that and you cut yourself off from the most effective means of generating awareness of your value proposition to potential partners, investors and customers. The media can be a powerful means to promote your business and the subject-matter expertise of your management team that you can’t afford to ignore.

Also of interest: No sandwich required

Leo Valiquette

Posted in:

• Public and media relations