News – Nov 07
Posted in News on November 7th, 2007Event Management Tips on Calculating Your Potential Audience
There are 10,000 attendees at the show, but how many of them should you expect to reach with your exhibit? Here, from Exhibit Surveys Inc. is a quick formula for calculating this figure: Step 1: Determine the percentage of high-interest attendees at the show. To do this, multiply the net attendance (excluding media, exhibit personnel, spouses and students) by the show’s Audience Interest Factor. (AIF is the percentage of the total audience that visits two out of every 10 exhibits.) AIF varies by show. However, if you can’t get an AIF figure from show management, use the all-industries average of 44 percent. For this example, we’ll say the show’s net attendance is 33,000 and the show’s AIF is 44 percent. Thus, the number of high-interest attendees is 14,520 (33,000 x .44 = 14,520). Step 2: Next calculate the size of your potential audience. To do this, multiply the number of high-interest attendees by the percentage of attendees who indicate a high level of interest in seeing your particular type of product. If data on product interests is not available from show management, use the all-industries average of 16 percent. Based on the previous calculations, if the number of high-interest attendees at a show is 14,520 and the interest factor for your product is 16 percent, then your potential audience is 2,323 (14,520 x .16 = 2,323).
On-Line Advertising Behaviour
Privacy advocates have proposed the creation of a do-not-track list akin to the Do-Not-Call-Registry, and announced this proposal at a news conference on Wednesday. This proposal comes in view of large Internet companies looking to increase the tracking of users’ online behavior to tailor ads to their interests. Nine groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology, the Consumer Federation of America and the World Privacy Forum, submitted the proposal to the Federal Trade Commission ahead of a two-day conference on behavioral advertising. The groups suggested that there be a requirement that advertisers, as a part of their online ads, give those that they advertise to the details of what they intend to track about them. If this proposal comes into effect, government regulators would have the power to enforce the measure against companies that secretly track users or keep more information than they say they do. There are very real privacy concerns with regards to user data, especially with recent developments in advertising relationships with Facebook and Microsoft, not to mention the ever advancing juggernaut of the Google data acquisition machine. All this leads me to think – in a world, where these privacy advocates have their way, am I going to be inundated with privacy policy pop-ups every time I navigate to a new domain? I simply don’t think its feasible for something like this to be executed, and even if it were, would we want the government in charge of enforcing compliance? Source
Danone Public Relations Dispute
Groupe Danone SA said it has withdrawn a lawsuit against the state trademark office amid a bitter dispute with its Chinese partner. "During the legal process, we believe the facts around the written reply from the state trademark office have been clarified," an official from Ogilvy & Mather, a public relations firm which represents Danone in China, told Shanghai Daily by telephone yesterday. But the spokesman declined to elaborate further. Earlier media reports said Danone was forced to drop the case after the firm failed to meet the expiry deadline to file the suit. The world’s biggest yogurt maker has been vying for ownership of the Wahaha brand for a long time because it was provided under the partnership deal with Wahaha Group, China’s largest beverage maker since 1996. Danone sued the central trademark authority in August because the French firm claimed the written reply from the body turning down the transfer of Wahaha brand to its joint ventures was not done according to legal procedures. It also accused Wahaha Group, along with its Chairman Zong Qinghou, of failing to complete a trademark transfer process. "The withdrawal does not mean Danone has given up," said Xu Zhengguo, director of Shanghai Jinhu Trademark Service. "It could still fight for the brand through other methods." The ownership of Wahaha, the nation’s prominent beverage brand, is vital in the dispute between Wahaha and Danone, which went public since April. Danone sued Wahaha for using the brand without permission by making same-brand products outside the joint ventures, thus violating the contract. But Wahaha claimed it still owns the brand and demanded arbitration in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, to halt the brand transfer to the joint ventures. Danone, which said the spat has hurt its sales in Asia, hopes for an amicable solution with Wahaha and to settle the case out of court. Source
Yahoo, Bebo tie up for online advertising
In an interesting development, Yahoo has reached out an agreement with Bebo to share its advertising links at the social networking site, although the no financial details of the deal are available to us. The search giant will sell the majority of Bebo’s display ads in the UK and Ireland, where the social startup has 10.6 million of unique visitors. The available data shows nearly 75 percent of the U.K.’s online users visit Bebo regularly. Most of the users are 13-24 age groups. Going by the above figures, the deal with Bebo will provide Yahoo an ample opportunity to hit these potential customers and strengthen its shrinking advertising business. It was speculated that Yahoo might acquire Bebo for $1billion. It may be false. One thing is clear that the search company is making good use of Bebo. Yahoo’s traditional rival Google tied with MySpace in a billion dollar advertising deal and Microsoft with Facebook. It is interesting to note the fact that Microsoft has agreed to provide Windows Live IM service for Bebo community. Will Bebo pay off Yahoo?
Who are the new integrators in PR?
Finding holistic communications consultants in the changing world By Louis Capozzi, Chairman, Publicis PR and Corporate Communications Group, and President, International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) If you go to a foot doctor and complain of headaches, it is said, he’s likely to find something wrong with your feet. The same holds true for communications. Ask an advertising agency for advice on a communications problem, and they are likely to recommend a 30-second spot. Ask a sports marketing firm and they will put your logo on a race car. As integration has become the holy grail of communications, clients desperately seek unbiased advice on how to deal with the increasingly difficult environment of the 21st century. The decline of advertising effectiveness, increasing audience skepticism, unbelievable noise levels and the 24/7 realities of the Internet all fuel their frenzy. There’s plenty of agreement in the communications and marketing communities about the need for unified strategies that form the foundation for all the elements in the communications mix. But who should lead the development of those strategies? After all, putting together a team with representatives from all the communications disciplines might lead to a strategy "without prejudice," but only if the team leader is truly objective. Clients need communications programs that are "wisdom driven" Until recently, the "golden rule" has applied to leadership of these integrated teams – "he who has the gold, rules." On brands where there’s $100 million in advertising on the table, along with a PR program and some ‘below the line’ promotional work, there has been little doubt the advertising agency would take the lead on the integration team. If it’s a multi-million dollar Olympic sponsorship, the events managers lead. In a bet-your-business takeover defense, the PR team is out in front. But the current environment mandates that we reexamine this default model. We may understand the need for integration, but most communicators haven’t even scratched the surface on how to properly build an integrated program. Quite often we are starting from the wrong place and using the wrong terminology. Integration has to be more than picking the right tool from the toolbox. Our model needs to ensure that strategic business planning remains in the center. Hand in hand with strategic business planning is finding the people who will lead with a management orientation – The New Integrators. What kind of skills and abilities are required of these "New integrators?" It’s time for a new model. Instead of competing for budgets, communications firms from all disciplines need to learn how to work together. The New Integrators must be the focal point for finding the right solution, implementing it flawlessly, and measuring the work, regardless of which discipline is employed. Public relations consultants are uniquely qualified to lead in this new environment. Here are some of the reasons. Sensitivity to Multiple Constituencies – The digital age has ushered in a new need for transparency for any successful organization. On the one hand, micro-segmentation is a new option, on the other all of the audiences are interconnected and your interactions with them must assume full interaction and transparency among them. Everyone sees everything. Consultants who focus on a "bulls-eye" target audience – often called "consumers" – won’t cut it. Working with multiple audiences is like being a plate spinner in a circus – always hitting the wobbling plate. Public relations consultants offer a sensitivity to multiple constituencies – employees, the community, government, AND customers, that must be a part of a The New Integrator’s DNA. Comfort With Lack of Control – in the digital environment, you have to give up control to gain power. The analogy is that if you have a friend who’s always telling you what to do, they won’t be your friend for long. The same thing is true of brands and companies. This is a disturbing notion to agencies who have worked only in strictly controlled communications disciplines like advertising or promotions, where every word, every comma, and every pixel is tightly managed. Public relations consultants know how to embrace this new world and work with it. A Global View — Globalization adds to the complexity, and to the need for a broader view. Look at the example Al Reis points to in his book, The Fall of Advertising, The Rise of PR. A global food company might be wrestling with the obesity issue in the US while in Europe their big issue is genetically modified ingredients and in Africa the problem is malnutrition. Many public relations consultancies are part of global networks which allow them to deal with all of these in an environment where all the global audiences are exposed to each other’s messages. Communication without prejudice. As anyone knows who has tried it, producing excellent advertising is a very tough job. Making a 30-second TV commercial that works, and selling it through a gauntlet of approvals is enormously challenging. But this tactical skill does not necessarily grow the broad strategic perspective required of The New Integrators. Advertising, though, isn’t going away – because publishing isn’t going away and it needs advertising to support its business model. So, advertising has to change. What has to change the most is the mentality of the people. Public relations consultants bring a broader view to client challenges and create an opportunity to change the mentality. The new model must be advice-centric. The client’s problem, analyzed and interpreted from the broadest possible communications perspective, must be at the hub of the effort. Team members from multiple disciplines can contribute to and enrich the advice, but in the end the disciplines support the advice, they don’t drive it. Public relations consulting is advice-driven. We counsel our clients not just on what to say, but most importantly on what to do to align their interests with those of their key constituencies. The BRIC Markets – A New Chance to Get It Right Look to China or Russia or India for the new model. The so-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have the chance to jump over old technologies to new models – just like jumping over wired telephone networks to wireless – jumping over gasoline directly to hybrids or hydrogen. Maybe communications in China can jump over the old model too- miss completely the bad days of disjointed communications – and go right to some new model. If they do, bet on public relations consultants to play a major role – especially those with a public affairs orientation. After all, in a communist country the role of the government is disproportionately important. It’s time for a new tone as well – from selling to factual. From big bang to continuous conversation. From "shovel ware" to tailored. As Richard Edelman has said, "we need to admit complexity and contradiction." The bottom line is this: the training and skills required to deal with this complexity are hard to find. Many of the individual disciplines of communications — especially advertising and other "controlled communications disciplines" — don’t teach the skills require
d. But our firms need to step up to the challenge. In order to make the most of this dramatic new opportunity, we must change as well. A new set of skills First, our industry needs step up to the need for measurement and accountability. New models are needed for tracking, evaluating and analyzing the results of our programs. We need to understand the impact and influence of our work has on audience attitudes and behavior, and the factors that drive the change. As Jack Welch, the venerable former Chairman of General Electric is famous for saying, "if you can’t measure it you can’t do it." Second, firms need to attract more and better talent to the agency business. Future agency leaders must be: Business people — capable of handling higher-level business relationships and understanding the businesses and industries they serve; Strategists – whose work is rooted in strategic audience insights that line to overall business objectives and goals; Marketers – who understand all aspects of the marketing mix in order to seize opportunities and leverage the elements; Scientists – who fully understand the importance of research and know how to measure a program’s value and impact; and, Globalists – who are accustomed to and appreciative of the differences across cultures and geographies. Public relations firms have an enormous opportunity ahead of them to lead the next generation of marketing and communications activities around the world — to become The New Integrators. Maintaining a broad view, building experience, staying on top of technological change and recruiting the best people with next-generation skills will take our industry where it has the potential to go.
Employment Law Breakfast seminars
Adare Human Resource Management is one of Ireland’s leading HR Consultancy and Service providers. We are delighted to announce details of our upcoming Employment Law Breakfast seminars on ‘Key Employment Challenges Facing Irish Businesses’ on 15th and 27th November in Fitzwilliam Hotel from 7.30 a.m. – 8.30 a.m. Key topics covered will include ‘Contracts of Employment, Legal Exposure arising from Bullying, Harassment and Sexual Harassment Complaints and Unfair Dismissals’. This is a free seminar hosted by Adare Human Resource Management and is a must attend event if you are an owner manager, financial controller with responsibility for the HR function, work in HR or are looking to get a better working knowledge of employment legislation affecting your employees. More information can be found at www.adarehrm.ie or by contacting by email Samantha or Barbara at queries@adarehrm.ie or calling (01) 6127092.
