By Francis Moran
Ottawa technology entrepreneurs were reminded again this morning that India is the world’s second-fastest growing market encompassing 1.1 billion consumers, 300 million of them middle class and about 500 million of them under 25, and that with a confluence of manpower, money and a can-d0 attitude, it’s a market most technology companies will want to consider.
At the same time, Peter Sommerer, a veteran of Ottawa’s telecom sector who now advises companies on how to do business on the sub-continent, warned that there are still many challenges associated with chasing that opportunity. Quoting his former boss and current investment partner Terry Matthews, Sommerer said, “If it wasn’t easy, everyone would be doing it.”
Sommerer, who heads up consulting firm Erlauf Holding, was speaking to the regular Dollars and Sense CFO’s forum along with Raj Narula, co-founder of TaraSpan Group, which also helps companies explore business opportunities in India. The two also presented what they called a platform that has been developed by TaraSpan and Matthews’s private investment company, Wesley Clover, that technology companies can use to expedite their entry into the Indian market.
By Linda Forrest
At the outset of an engagement with a new client, we have a checklist of materials that we need to develop for the media and analysts to whom we are about to roll out the company, in order for these influencers to gain a comprehensive understanding of the company and its offerings. This includes, but is not necessarily limited to, backgrounders on the company and the technology, biographies of key spokespeople, a fact sheet that provides information at a glance, and a news release to front the information package. Still, there are additional materials that are of great value and that ideally should be available at the time of the launch.
Chief among these additional materials is images. We work hard to ensure that the printed words that we’re sending out on our clients’ behalf do a good job of telling their story, but as the adage goes, a picture tells a thousand words. If your company offers products, have available high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) images of the product in action that would be suitable for printing alongside your product announcement. If your key spokespeople will be quoted in the media, or if you plan on sending out hiring announcements, high-resolution images of your company’s executive team or that new hire will be requested. It’s also good to have your company logo available to any outlet that might be interested.
Rather than sending all of this information unsolicited to media and analyst targets, just have materials at the ready and when requests come in, they’re easily fulfilled. Another, and perhaps the best approach, is to have a fully stocked newsroom on your web site that houses all of the components I’ve listed above. I’ll address our best practices approach on web newsrooms, and links to some sites that do it particularly well, in a future post.
By Danny Sullivan
Supported by the recent news of AOL’s acquisition of popular social networking site Bebo for $850 million, it is clear that the phenomenon continues to be considered an influential and valuable market segment.
And there is little doubt that social networking represents a significant new marketing channel for consumer-oriented products companies. Indeed, there are already many strategies and approaches out there advising on just such a topic, and viral marketing has never been so popular as a result.
But what does it mean for the B2B sector? Are social networking strategies an important PR component for companies selling enterprise software solutions or new server technology?
Well, we’re probably not talking Facebook or Bebo here. As far as I’m aware, these sites don’t yet host large groups of CIOs swapping tales of ROI and disaster recovery strategies.
But social networking extends beyond the realm of those well-known sites, and there are networks catering to members holding virtually every job description known to humankind.
Still, although such networks do present opportunities for PR professionals, any strategy to target them should be carefully considered. You can’t join a networking group and then start spamming everyone with your news releases… well, I suppose you can, but you won’t be in the group for very long!
A consumer product company will seek to generate excitement and interest for its products among social networkers in its target demographic, and a B2B vendor must seek to do the same. And in doing so to a (usually) well-educated and (almost always) sceptical audience, the approach and method must be well thought out.
As with contributions to conventional media outlets, companies seeking to influence such networks must present value to the audience and should not embark on blatant pitches for business. Providing relevant, interesting and thought provoking content is key.
Social networking is all about sharing – and this philosophy must be upheld by those seeking to take advantage of it.
By Linda Forrest
Arguably one of the least favourite tasks that we PR folks must do is database maintenance, ensuring that media and analyst contacts and corresponding contact information (phone number, fax, email, address, etc.) are kept up to date. This is one of those “invisible to the client” tasks that we undertake on your behalf that greatly impacts the effectiveness of your campaign or program, but cannot be seen by the naked eye.
There is a wide variety of database programs that media relations practitioners can use, from software solutions like Filemaker Pro and ACT! to online solutions like Salesforce. One attribute they all share is that the inputted data needs to be kept relevant and up to date in order to be of real value.
Inevitably, people change roles or publications or leave the field entirely while new outlets appear and need to be added to your database. Keeping on top of these changes can be difficult if left for too long. Best practices would suggest that routine maintenance is the best way to stay on top of changes that affect your database.
Because we at inmedia never assume that we have the right contacts already in our database for a new client, we do extensive research at the outset of our engagement to build a relevant media and analyst list, with current contacts and accurate contact information. Still, despite our best efforts, a few of the emails may bounceback when we initially send out the release. We immediately get on the phone to find out whether the contact has moved on, whether the outlet has ceased publication or if there’s a new email address that we should be using. By inputting the new data as soon as we learn that what is currently in the database is out of date, and resending the materials to the corrected address, we ensure that we’re keeping on top of this activity before the task becomes unwieldy.
There is no easy, one-step solution to maintaining one’s database. Even the online media databases that purport to be comprehensive are wildly out of date in areas and unreliable. It’s absolutely imperative that your agency does the legwork to maintain its database so that your materials are reaching the intended recipients in a timely fashion. If there’s a new relevant outlet or contact, they should be added promptly so that the appropriate contact details are in place for when your agency sends out your next news release, is looking for suitable story pitch targets or scanning editorial calendars for pertinent opportunities. It’s not glamorous, but it’s important.
By Danny Sullivan
I’ve been approached by a few companies over the past few weeks, all of whom were offering some PR tool or another designed to make the life of the PR consultant that little bit easier. Often at first glance, these tools seem to offer some snazzy new features, but after you sit down and think “what is this actually going to do for me, and more importantly, my client” you begin to realize that, in many cases, these tools offer little in the way of true value.
Now, of course, I’m not saying that we should all arm ourselves with nothing more than a phone, pencil and paper. Technology is a marvelous thing and there are some great PR tools out there, many of which I use myself, but some careful discernment should be used when making the decision to add a new one to your arsenal.
The technology products and services available to PR folk are many and varied and many of them perform the same or similar tasks as others. Don’t end up in the position where you are paying for three separate tools that all provide the same basic functions. And never assume that some great-sounding features will mean the thing actually delivers on its promise… always try before you buy.
Also, it must be remembered that, while software, web services, outsourced resources and so on can go a long way in helping lower the poor flack’s workload, they still do not understand your client’s stories the way that you do. Putting your faith and your client’s PR program in the hands of a piece of code is risky business.
By all means, use technology, but remember who is supposed to be the expert here.
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inmedia’s “Team iPhone” triggers productivity crash
March 11, 2008 by Francis Moran
By Francis Moran There’s an ongoing debate in my household, where both adults work in technology marketing, about whether I’m a geek or not. I maintain that since I don’t build technology, I merely enthusiastically embrace it, this makes me an early adopter rather than a geek. (In fact, I recently ordered the vanity license […]
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When and how to inquire about editorial calendar opportunities
March 06, 2008 by Jill Pyle
By Jill Pyle Last week, I wrote about evaluating editorial calendar opportunities. This week, I’d like to share some tips related to inquiring about editorial calendar opportunities. If you’re unfamiliar with what an editorial calendar is, you can read Linda’s editorial calendar primer. Once you’ve evaluated the list of available editorial calendar opportunities and created […]
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Major publisher of technology media titles declares bankruptcy
March 06, 2008 by inmedia
By inmedia Under the banner “The Death of Print,” Gawker today reported the filing by Ziff Davis Media for bankruptcy protection. Ziff Davis is responsible for PC Magazine, among other gaming and technology titles. Upon reviewing the filing and the coverage this news has received so far, we’re relieved to see that not all the […]
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2008 Canadian budget a boon for entrepreneurs
March 05, 2008 by Peter Kemball
By Peter Kemball In its 2008 budget released last week, Canada’s Conservative government proposed beneficial changes for entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists seeking to create wealth by building businesses from the foundations upward. When laying the foundations of a business, Canada’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development Program (SR&ED) tax refunds earned by early-stage technology […]
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Components of an integrated PR program: Media monitoring
March 05, 2008 by Linda Forrest
By Linda Forrest In today’s instalment of my series about the various components of an integrated PR program, I will shed some light on the reasons for media monitoring as well as different approaches and tools. What is media monitoring? Just that – scanning media coverage for specific keywords and issues and presenting them to […]
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It’s easy building green
March 04, 2008 by Francis Moran
By Francis Moran A developer who hopes his new building will soon be certified as the most environmentally benign mixed-use building in North America told an Ottawa audience yesterday afternoon that achieving the most exacting green building standards in the construction industry was “actually not all that difficult.” And, he added, if similar practices were […]
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Not all journalists are angry
March 03, 2008 by inmedia
By inmedia In the February edition of Insights from the PR blogosphere, we pointed readers towards the AngryJournalists.com link that had been making the rounds. Today, we have a more positive link to share, HappyJournalist.com. For now, the number of anonymous comments on the angry site drastically outnumber those on the happy site. With journalist […]
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Checking out the Scottish Technology Showcase
March 03, 2008 by Danny Sullivan
By Danny Sullivan It was with a spring in my step that I set off to the Scottish Technology Showcase last week. Two years previously, I had visited the same event and it was where I first came across the incredible company that is Touch Bionics. If this year’s event could boast some stories with […]
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It’s Summertime…and the Networking is Easy? | THE MERRAINE BRAIN : [...] In fact, summer is perhaps one of the times least used to network, yet at the same time has shown to be the most productive time to network. People tend to be in a brighter mood compared to during the gloomy winters-especially where I am from in England! Networking needs to be fun and not approached as another chore, like mowing the lawn. (http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/social-media-strategy-why-meeting-in-the-real-world-matt...) [...]