"We have been fortunate enough to have worked over the past nine months with Francis Moran and Associates to deliver virtual CMO services for our company, and so far it has been highly effective. With this relationship, we get access to a level of experience and expertise which would be unaffordable to us if we were to hire a full-time equivalent." Dave McIlhagga, Founder and CEO
"When I hired Francis Moran to lead our marketing efforts in 2011, I had very high expectations. We needed to completely rebuild our marketing from the ground up. Francis and his team not only met those high expectations but exceeded them. He brought a very high level of strategic thinking, professionalism and creativity to our organization that will be felt for many years to come in our quest to build a successful IT company."
Marty Hilsenteger, Founder and CEO
There has been a trend emerging with online content in the past months: sites that had previously allowed only paid subscribers to access full content have opened access to everyone. The latest site to do so is the Wall Street Journal. It’s exciting as technology marketers to see the content that results from our efforts available to the general public, increasing the reach and value of media coverage on these sites. Increasingly users are using search engines to find solution providers and hitting roadblocks when they landed at subscription sites. Now, the promotional value of editorial pieces will bear fruit as more than just the first paragraph is viewable. On the downside, as a consumer, it’s going to mean watching more advertisements as the revenue model changes from subscription-based to advertising-based. Still, the increased visibility for the companies featured in the content is a good thing from this marketer’s perspective.
Just a quick note of appreciation to all those who hung around for the very last session of the day at BarCampOttawa4 on Saturday and heard my colleague, Jill Pyle, and me talk about this very blog you’re reading. To get a two-thumbs-up for what we’re doing from inveterate bloggers like Alec Saunders and Joe Thornley was phenomenal validation, as was all the other commentary, feedback, tips and even challenges we received from those in the audience. It was, to my mind, a classic BarCamp session insofar as we shared our ideas about how to do something and you all were generous in your feedback to it. Thank you.
PR gets a bad rap. Why? Because of bad pitches, misdirected or poorly written announcements being spammed en masse to writers and editors, hyperbolic claims of world-altering developments by companies that lack self-awareness or an understanding of what the media really needs. Experiences like these have soured some decision makers’ thoughts on media relations. Those in our industry who don’t take a best-practices approach have earned this reputation for the rest of us and it can be a challenge for us to have to communicate that we’re different.
That said, we are constantly surprised that our approach is seen as novel, when we feel it is the only effective way to engage with the media based on a process that has been honed over time: An objectives-based program that targets specific results and relies on expert knowledge of what the media need from us in order to derive mutual value from our engagement with them.
We feel that a best practices approach is one that presents information to the media in a definitive, easily understood way that doesn’t include spin or hyperbole. The consistent and sustained effort against the proper targets will deliver the full news value the story deserves. Period. There is no magic bullet, it’s not all about the relationships (Francis will surely address this fiction in a post in the days ahead); it’s just working smart and working hard that gets the results that our clients are looking for.
It’s disheartening to see companies suffering from their PR mistakes or to see the media’s collective eye-roll at the latest outlandish news release that crosses their path. When companies see little or no results from their media relations “programs” – that often consist of nothing more than sending out news releases and not taking an integrated approach – it creates an unfair portrait of the potential of media relations to move their market.
Media relations is not the right tactic for all companies; other marketing activities like advertising or direct mail might make more sense based on your companies’ customers and their buying habits. But it’s such a shame that so many companies are soured on PR because of bad experiences, poor guidance.
The PC World Canada email newsletter just alerted me to their Partner Resource Centre, which is featuring How new technology can help your Small Business’ bottom line(PDF). The article discusses some of the challenges small businesses are faced with when trying to measure the ROI on technology investments and shares the following tips:
1. Study headcount and work processes for different jobs and assess their related costs.
2. Examine overall workflow, paying special attention to any ad hoc or manual processes that could be helped through automation.
3. Analyze the cost of maintaining an older technology, then factor in the savings you may realize through reduced maintenance or service costs.
4. Check out remote monitoring and other outsourcing services and compare that to managing your own systems in-house.
5. Identify the quickest areas of return (e.g. integrating POS data with accounting systems can reduce input requirements and administrative headcount).
Specifically, the article recommends small businesses invest in technology that will allow them to automate routine processes, create real-time business reports and connect business information and staff. For more details, head over to the Partner Resource Centre.
By inmedia Yes, you heard correctly. Just as the world seems to be reaching a general level of acceptance about the link between air pollution and global warming, New Scientist informs us that the blanket of smog that now covers much of India is being credited with reducing the effect of global warming in the […]
By Jill Pyle In preparation for the presentation that Francis and I will be giving at BarCamp on Saturday, November 17, I’ve decided to shed some light on what goes on behind the scenes at inmedialog.com. I won’t be getting into too much detail here; we’ll share more about editorial strategy, implementation and early results […]
By inmedia This morning’s Network World Daily News pointed to a news item “Back up e-mail, judge tells White House” outlining that “The White House must preserve e-mail and maintain copies of millions of backup e-mail messages that were allegedly deleted improperly from servers, according to a temporary restraining order issued Monday by a U.S. […]
By Danny Sullivan Technology industry watchers have long been waiting for India to start competing on a par with the world’s biggest technology nations. And with good reason – the Indian IT market was recently noted to have passed the $50 billion mark, with phenomenal year-on-year growth. Today’s news that India is now home to […]
By inmedia The November issue of Baseline features a large piece on business intelligence, “Getting Smarter, But Still Learning.” In the article, Darrell Dun writes about the growing adoption of BI, as well as the obstacles that are keeping it from reaching its full potential. The article includes a list of pain points identified by […]
By inmedia As the calendar year winds down, we begin to see lists, lists and more lists being released by the publications to which we subscribe. Topics for these lists range from assessing the near-term state of the technology nation, to round ups of the “best” technologies, from the greatest products of the year, to […]
By Francis Moran The announcement this morning that global computer services company IBM has struck a deal to acquire Ottawa’s Cognos will end months of speculation over who would eventually claim the largest remaining independent business intelligence software company. However, the disappearance from the public markets of Ottawa’s second-largest (after Nortel) publicly traded company is […]
By inmedia Today’s CIO Insider newsletter points to a recent report by Forrester Research that analyzes the current state of IT and improvements that can be made. According to the article, “unnecessary IT complexity adds costs, reduces effectiveness and stalls innovation… the answer lies in strategic and ongoing consolidation.” But won’t this suggested consolidation cost […]
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...) [...]
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Traditional Marketing is Dead – Long Live Bikini Waxer Marketing | Scalexl : [...] pointed out by Alexandra Reid on the Francis Moran website content marketing is becoming more and more like journalism. So, it is not just about the content, [...]
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...) [...]