Effective PR for successful business November 3, 2009
Posted by kerryn27 in communication.Tags: ABSA, communications, marketing, marketing communications mix, Michelle de Pons James, Mohale Ralebitso, Monash Business Communication Forum, Monash South Africa, public relations, reputation, reputation management, Stone
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On Tuesday, 20 October I attended the third Monash Business Communication Forum hosted by Monash South Africa and Stone, at the Monash South Africa campus. The speakers gave some interesting insight into the importance of effective PR and communications in the business environment.
Mohale Ralebitso, Global Marketing Director: ABSA, asked the question, “Where does PR fit in the marketing communications mix?” He explained that PR has often been relegated to the background, but successful organisations have elevated PR to its rightful status as a priority discipline along with paid-for advertising. He emphasised that PR is a ‘before the fact’ rather than ‘after the fact’ discipline – it is not to be used merely when there is image and reputation damage. Michelle de Pons James, MD of Fleischman-Hillard Cape Town, added to this idea by asking the question, “Does communications in your company fall under marketing?” She feels that if it does, it hasn’t reached its optimal level. As a communicator, you should understand the business strategy and work to achieve full and active buy-in from the company’s leadership. Communications and PR should be a separate and recognised part of a company.
According to Ralebitso, we have moved away from offering limited services and not listening or taking the consumer’s opinion into consideration, to championing to consumer’s wants and needs and producing services that meet these needs. He added that reputation and reputation management is increasingly important, and it is necessary to maintain the balance between what the organisation stands for and what it lives up to – this is where PR comes in, because it is only by establishing and maintaining strong and loyal relationships with consumers that companies are able to gain constructive feedback from their consumers and have the ability to listen and put this feedback to use.
Newsclip’s Nicoli Cloete cautions that we need to consider that reputation is made up of much more than just a media perspective – it is necessary to take into account aspects such as market research, and conduct analysis on the perceptions of your consumers and stakeholders, in order to gain a more holistic perspective of reputation, rather than simply relying on the media to determine your company’s reputation. This ties in with Ralebitso’s thoughts that it is necessary to establish relationships with consumers and take their feedback into consideration.
Add your thoughts to this discussion by commenting here.
Sharing knowledge across the generation gap October 30, 2009
Posted by kerryn27 in Uncategorized.Tags: generation gap, Generation X, knowledge sharing, Millennials
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Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge; information; skills; and expertise is exchanged. Organisations have recognised that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for creating and sustaining competitive advantages.
Charlene van Onselen of N-Beginnings business consultancy discusses that our relationship to knowledge differs across generations, and this often causes frustration in the workplace. Generation Xers and Millennials are able to listen to the radio; SMS; and maintain a conversation simultaneously, adopting a network model of handling information, while older generations seek in-depth knowledge and expertise is seen as important. Van Onselen goes on to explain that Generation Xers were taught in a linear manner and value depth of knowledge, while Millennials see information as expedient and only know a certain amount as anything else is just a click away on the internet.
According to an article in Business Week, Millennials seems to be the most knowledge-hungry generation, craving learning opportunities and using a wide range of media and technology to connect with others in order to build relationships and share knowledge. They do not believe in the idea that knowledge is power and that it should kept to oneself, but rather see the value in sharing knowledge for their personal fulfillment as well as the good of business.
Sharing knowledge is important for the survival of business. This is because intangible products (ideas; processes; information) are becoming more and more important, and the only sustainable competitive advantage is the continuous application of new knowledge. There is also an increase in turnover of staff so it has become necessary to ensure that when someone leaves your company, that at least some of their knowledge is retained within the company.
It is necessary to create a knowledge sharing culture to making knowledge sharing the norm and encourage people to work together more effectively in order to make organisational knowledge more productive. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from all individuals at all levels within an organisation. This requires multiple generations to not only work together but also to listen to and communicate with one another.
The value of AVE for the PR industry September 15, 2009
Posted by leigh3a in communication.Tags: AVE, multipliers, Newsclip, PR, PR effort
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There’s been a lot of fuss about PR agencies choosing to use multipliers resulting in weighted values when providing AVE (Advertising Value Equivalence) figures lately, with some using it as proof of Return On Investment (ROI).
This exaggerates publicity exposure results, such as gaining coverage on the front-page as opposed to a run-of-paper story, and proof that a press release has been used in a certain way to frame an event as intended. Unfortunately, this downsizes the importance of AVE, and is increasingly frowned upon in the industry, as it devalues legitimate results.
Newsclip’s MD, Simon Dabbs recently stated that we need to develop a code of conduct and an accepted unit of measure for AVE to become truly comparable, which will greatly benefit the industry and increase the value of AVE.
Click here for a more detailed discussion.
What do you think? Do you use multipliers when providing AVE stats? Do use disclose that the figure has been inflated, and explain why this has been done?
My education at the Third National Talent Management Summit August 3, 2009
Posted by leigh3a in Publicity News.Tags: Barrie Bramley, David Conradie, Deloitte, Human Capital Institute, Nedbank, Professor Shirley Zinn, social networking, sucession planning, The Forum/The Campus, Tomorrowtoday.biz
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I attended the first day of the Human Capital Institute’s third annual Talent Management Summit, held at The Forum/The Campus in Bryanston on 29 and 30 July. What a mind-blowing experience! While the Summit’s overall theme was ‘Human Capital Leadership in a talent-stretched economy’, the first day’s speakers focused on themes of leadership and change. This is a key component of public relations management and internal communications, which is why I attended.
Most interesting to me were the first and last sessions of the day. The first segment was an interview and case study discussion titled ‘CEO Succession: The art and science of filling your own shoes’. This involved a video interview by Barrie Bramley, Chief Imagination Officer of TomorrowToday.biz, with current Nedbank Group CEO, Tom Boardman. This was interspersed with Bramley’s live interactive discussion of the topic with Nedbank Group HR Director, Professor Shirley Zinn, who is also an HCI Africa Advisory Board member. I had not even considered the thought processes and psychology that develops if one puts their name in the hat for a specific job, and the need for formal succession plans.
The final keynote speaker for the day was David Conradie, Director at Deloitte Consulting, who is behind the Best Company To Work For Survey. His presentation was titled ‘How work really gets done’, aimed at leveraging organisational networks to drive performance, explaining how social networking activity is providing transparency to formal and informal networks through which work gets done – and adds that ‘wiki’ is the Hawaiian word for ‘quick’, which defines the social networking aspect – it is a manner of forming quick, meaningful connections with like-minded people. It is also a low-cost activity, easy to use and to learn to use.
Lots to think about, and it definitely broadened my understanding of the HR industry. Click here to read my feedback in full.
The youth sure know how to communicate… June 23, 2009
Posted by leigh3a in communication.Tags: Anglo American, English language oral communication, Grade 11 and 12, public speaking, South Africa, speaking talent, spelling bee, study bursary, Young Communicator of the Year
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I’ve always been fascinated by kids born with natural confidence in their abilities to speak; spell; and communicate. Back in the day, I was a big fan of anything to do with ‘Spelling Bees’, and became a member of the school public speaking and debate team – it was terrifying, yet so empowering to get up in front of intelligent peers and speak your mind.
I was therefore very interested to hear about the annual Anglo American Young Communicators Awards (YCA), one of the country’s most exciting public speaking competitions, which culminated this Saturday, 20 June. (Fitting, as youth development and education initiatives receive particular attention this month!)
Following an electric competition at which words took centre stage, Kanyisile Vilakazi, a Grade 12 learner from Lowveld High in Nelspruit, was announced the 2009 Young Communicator of the Year, winning a R30 000 study bursary and R10 000 for her school.
Now in its 16th year, the Young Communicators Awards (YCA) has become one of the most highly-anticipated events on the high school calendar, as it continues to uncover local public speaking talent and potential leaders of South Africa.
I think this is a fantastic initiative as it gets learners off to a good start when they enter the world of work. Open to learners in Grades 11 and 12, the competition promotes English language oral communication amongst second and third language speakers, while encouraging a pioneering spirit among the young people of South Africa; nurturing their assertiveness; and embracing leadership development and personal growth.
Nominate us! March 9, 2009
Posted by leigh3a in Uncategorized.add a comment
Nominate this blog for the 2009 SA Blog Awards…
Simply enter publicityupdate.wordpress.com when asked for your favourite blog, at www.sablogawards.com (you’ll have to make at least three nominations, though!)
Engage with ’stubborn consumers’ in their space August 25, 2008
Posted by leigh3a in Uncategorized.Tags: AMASA, brands, consumers, Converse, Doritos, Facebook, trends
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Our Editor, Daniel Munslow, attended the annual AMASA media planning workshop at Little Switzerland in the Drakensburg recently. He wrote an article about ‘Challenging existing media paradigms’, especially as we approach a recession (because contrary to popular belief, we are not actually IN a recession… yet.)
Consumers can be stubborn. There’s no doubt about it. As Munslow points out, “As consumers become more resistant to traditional media and traditional advertising, media planners need to become more creative in their placement plans and strategic thinking of advertising. And who decides whether an ad or an idea is creative? The consumer – they are the ultimate brand controllers.”
Because, as the saying goes, ‘The customer is always right.’ Therefore, advertisers need keep up with consumer trends in order to keep their target audience interested. This means agency staff should don their thinking caps and engage in the new media platforms out there – blogging, social networking and mobile, for starters- in orderto engage with consumers in the place they feel most comfortable.
Munslow adds, “It is crucial to ensure that ads are created and shared with their correct target market – planners cannot work on the principles of reach and frequency, and hope that this spray and pray approach works… ads that do not relate to consumers will be sucked into black holes.”
Therefore, if you’re advertising a youth-targeted product, like Converse shoes or Yoguetta suckers, you need to reach the youth where they’re most likely to spend their time – not necessarily in magazines and traditional media, but on the internet and thumbing their way through reams of info on their mobile phones. So, start a Facebook group, like the successful Doritos Taco campaign, advertise on MXit (there are a myriad options available), and make sure your message hits home.
Simple.
Keep those customers in mind… August 25, 2008
Posted by leigh3a in Uncategorized.Tags: AMASA, consumers, customer service, Facebook, Hello Peter, Service please
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Our Editor, Daniel Munslow, attended the annual Advertising Media Association (AMASA) media planning workshop at Little Switzerland in the Drakensburg recently. He wrote an article describing the second day’s discussion of the role of client relationship management in communications and advertising, which got me thinking.
In a nutshell, client relationship management (CRM) is about fostering good relationships with your consumers, which will lead to better engagement with and reach of the consumers. But companies need to keep in mind that consumers are fickle. Your product might have the brightest packaging and offer the best promises, but if it doesn’t deliver what the consumer expects, chances are they will not use it again, and may even boycott the whole product line. (Trust me, it happens!)
But it doesn’t stop there – in the past, disappointed or unimpressed clients would use their word-of-mouth skills to tell their friends and family, and warn them off the product or service… so one bad experience resulted in an overall loss of up to ten potential consumers, depending on how long the game of broken telephone is played.
But it gets worse – in today’s super-linked, take-action-now world, not maintaining good relationships with your consumers is dangerous. ‘Prosumers’ (today’s proactive consumers) decide for themselves when, how and what they consume… and are influenced by their peers opinions – whether they know them personally or not.
Users will vent their experiences on service delivery websites like ServicePlease and post their feelings on Facebook groups (which are known to form at the merest hint of upset). And unfortunately, folk are far more likely to grumble than to rave about outstanding service. Take a look at HelloPeter to see this in action – you’ll see the number of smiley-faced compliments is far outweighed by the frowny-faced complaints… But keep in mind that companies need to pay a fee in order to respond to comments on the site.
The best way for companies to handle this and better manage their client relationships is to be open and actively engage with their audience. This can be in the form of forums on websites, and forming Facebook groups and discussion boards (a concept most SA banks have embraced) and launching Facebook profiles where clients can share their views and experiences, and even offer suggestions. This enhances two-way communication and as a result, the relationship between the customer and the company; as the company now has a public arena in which to respond and handle issues raised – whether good or bad.
Daniel’s article suggests asking the following questions in order to better manage your client relationships:
* What do we do with our customer information?
* How can be drive value from the customer?
* How can we turn unprofitable customers into profitable ones?
* Is there a way to enhance our company’s value in the eyes of our clients and consumers?
* How can we put the whole picture together and make decisions that work for both our company and our clients?
He concludes as follows: “It costs an estimated seven times more to gain a new client than to keep an existing one! It is even more costly to win back a disgruntled client.” Well said. Companies should keep this in mind as incentive to better manage their client relationships!
