filter by author: Cici Gordon

As communicators, there is obvious fascination with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement – so much so, that it became the focus of several discussion, among many other topics, during last week’s annual PRWeek NEXT Conference. Below are some themes and thoughts that emerged.

Overstock.com CEO and founder Patrick Byrne observed that the OWS movement is leaderless and suffers from a “message vacuum. It needs to get back on message. Right now it is just becoming a pool of discontent.” Janet Rolle, EVP & CMO at CNN, and Terrence Samuel, deputy national political editor from The Washington Post, concur. Rolle pointed out that “[OWS] has no clear definition of the antagonist and no clear message of what they are trying to enact or change.” Samuel observed that the initial story was a “rag-tag gathering of intense grievances but now the story is that it’s not going away.” He posited that it was “better that it wasn’t covered by mainstream media [initially] because that allowed it to become a huge social media frenzy.”

When the topic shifted to information and influence, much discussion naturally centered around online communication. Peter Rojas, co-founder of Gizmodo and gdgt, noted that the Internet has really brought a “democratization of authority and a fragmentation of influence.” This has allowed anyone to access the “collective wisdom of this community.” So, as he explained, even if your friends are not into whatever subject you are, you still have the ability to “tap into actual user experts.” No longer is communication just about reporting, but the online community is “helping people figure out what to buy and how to use it. It is a very positive community, not just fighting it out on news stories.” Yet, Bill Holstein, president of the Overseas Press Club remarked, “the advent of online has brought about a decline in quality and standards.” This is likely central to the fact that consumers now need to see a story four, five or more times before they believe it.

The topic of democratization of information and news was central to the speech by Dan Abrams, legal analyst for ABC News. “Mainstream media no longer dictates what the public gets to see. Consumers have more of a say in the brand now – brands are a democracy, not a dictatorship.” And, CNN’s Rolle agreed. “Brand is the most overused word in the English language. A brand is a tribute that is paid to you by consumers. The emotional relationship between you and consumers is the brand.”

When the future of tablets took over discussions, Gizmodo’s Rojas felt that the tablet’s “place” is still settling out. “While smartphones are ‘out and about’ and laptops are about work, the tablet can be just anywhere. It has people engaging in different ways. For example, tweeting reactions while watching TV, shopping in real time as something is viewed elsewhere.” The long-term challenge as marketers figure out how to capitalize on the tablet is to see where it lands – is it a personal device, like a smartphone, or a shared device, like a PC? Is it more in-home or equally out-of-home? In a similar vein, Duane Bray, a partner at IDEO, observed, “the distinction between online and offline is really going away, consumers don’t think that way anymore.” The tablet will likely contribute greatly to that, as the smartphone already has, allowing simultaneous online and offline interaction. Witness folks tweeting about conferences while attending and following others' comments and threads – online interaction supporting offline activities.

How consumers are being communicated to by brands, and the distinctions between owned, earned and paid media, comprised a good portion of the event. Simon Lowden, CMO of Pepsi Beverages Co., declared to the room of PR professionals that “The 30-second ad is here to stay, but US consumers don’t trust it anymore.” This has contributed to Pepsi looking at its marketing not as TV-centric, but as idea-centric – and not as control, but as collaboration. Sean Cochrane, senior analyst at Forrester Research, reported that “in 2009, 500 billion word-of-mouth impressions were made by people to other people. WOM is now a trackable earned media.” But with the advent of online communication and networks like Twitter, “six percent of adults create 80 percent of conversations; so short-term data needs to be balanced with long-term measurement.” We need to be careful not to rush to judgment when relying solely on very short-term topics and trends.

Where is this all headed? Forrester tells us that mobile is the next big battleground for agencies. But, as yet another form of communication in this increasingly blurred world of online and offline, it only makes sense that public relations and communications professionals take the lead. Carry on!

--Cici Gordon, Senior Brand Strategist

I had the pleasure of attending last week’s Council of PR Firms Critical Issues Forum. The focus of the forum was on the world of social media. The event featured an excellent keynote speech by Obama’s former press secretary, Robert Gibbs, followed by a panel discussion with some leading practitioners and thinkers in this space, all cap-stoned by a moderated interview with Mashable founder Pete Cashmore.

Below are the most interesting insights from the day:

Observations

• The power of the Internet is not in its infinite nature, but rather in its ability to connect micro-communities.
• Social networking is not a new concept. Maryam Banikarim, CMO of Gannett, recalls the Iranian revolution of her youth, where folks were making cassette tapes and passing them out at mosques to help mobilize support and drive change. Same underlying logic, same desire, just different tools that existed.

Challenges

• Gibbs raised a concern that the “Amazon Model” of feeding you information based on past choices can actually be very polarizing – people will only be seeing and reading things like those they’ve seen before. He cautioned that we all need to be at least aware of both points of view to breed greater tolerance and acceptance.
• The massive volume of communication that goes on today means that we all have to work much harder just to keep up. There are many more implications for every communication today because of all the places and ways it can show up. There is no such thing as an “internal memo” anymore. People are becoming overwhelmed with worry about being left behind.
• Gary Hoenig, general manager of ESPN publishing, lamented that it’s very difficult with the immediacy of communication today to discern if consumer dissatisfaction is a “mosquito attack” or “nuclear attack.” The concern is how you determine how much energy or emphasis to place on these events when they are unfolding so quickly.
  

Predictions

• Cashmore’s optimism about the future of social media stems from the speed at which they have impacted the world. He is excited to see how embedded it will be a decade from now. In fact, in his vernacular, Twitter will become just like plumbing, it will be there as another regular communication tool that is used all the time and serves its purpose.
• When asked to comment on wikileaks and whether it’s good or bad, Cashmore’s viewpoint was that transparency is here to stay and we must adapt to it. In essence, that genie cannot go back in the bottle.
• When asked what Mashable will be writing about 36 months from now, Cashmore responded that he doesn’t know and that’s what’s so exciting. For example, is voice (as appearing on the new iPhone 4S) a fad or a trend? Who knows?
• If starting any company today or attempting to be the most successful PR firm in 2020, Cashmore’s answer was the same – be on the cutting edge doing something that is totally new. It’s easiest to grab the space and the most defensible position. Today, he would go to mobile first; that’s really the “new place,” whereas when Mashable launched in 2005 the Web was the “new place” to be.
• And finally, always embrace the next trend.
  

–Cici Gordon, Senior Brand Strategist

There seems to be a trend emerging wherein agencies and clients use new media and Web analytics to catch each other sleeping. It started with the Zappos agency review in July in which one respondent, Ignited, tracked Zappos’ review of its submission and found the company had spent fewer than 15 seconds per page viewing only five of the 25 pages submitted. Right, wrong or otherwise – as usual both sides have their story – the point is that Zappos was “found out” thanks to Google Analytics.

And just yesterday, Marty St. George, senior vice president of marketing and commercial at JetBlue, tweeted the following:

We're pitching our advertising AOR. Curious on digital savvy....first test is how many of the agencies will find me on twitter. #sneaky
10:57 AM Feb 17th from UberTwitter

I would look at these examples as an eye opener for parties on both sides – you better be on top of new media or it’s likely to bite you in the “you-know-what.” The hashtag #sneaky at the end of JetBlue’s tweet gives me a sense of the spirit in which it was done. But, for Ignited, I think it was a legitimate test to see if there was any valuable return on its hours of time invested.

Some follow-up tweets from JetBlue indicate the sneak attack may not have been as fun as initially thought, but it was a great wake-up call to agencies on the types of metrics some clients are beginning to use. No longer should we just view new media as a way to communicate, but realize that they’re also a way to track us, like a bloodhound. Sarbanes-Oxley would be proud – you can run, but you can’t hide.

As someone involved in business development, these tactics initially make me question the authenticity of a relationship we might be about to embark upon. If the client and/or agency is setting up “tests” for us to fail or pass and we don’t even know we’re being tested, it seems sneaky (no hashtag needed) to me – the wrong way to lay the foundation of a trusting relationship. Shouldn’t the quality of our work, the quality of our strategies speak volumes? Isn’t that what they are hiring us for?

The JetBlue example also feels arrogant. But even if I “passed” the test, found the tweet and presumably were as smart as the client, I’d constantly have to wonder what next test was being administered. Would I start to think up some of my own tests to get the upper hand (even if I never told the other party)? Wow, this could get interesting…

--Cici Gordon, Senior Brand Strategist

I had the good fortune of being in Beijing at the one-year anniversary of the 2008 Olympic Games. What struck me while all the Olympic hype was being relived is that China is most proud of the way the Olympics helped to integrate it into the world at large. As a country that spent decades focused internally and essentially closed off to the “outside world,” China is now relishing its global assimilation.

The early July riots in the Xinjiang province in northern China are still widely discussed, but not for the reasons you might think. The Chinese are proud the global media were granted instant access to the scene and the story was not “managed” or covered up. This access to China is one of the biggest legacies from the Olympics.

As Shanghai gears up for the World Expo in 2010, there is another push to get the city ready for the world stage in much the same way we learned that Beijing was prepped. Among the enforcements put in place, Beijingers were told not to spit on the street and to “respect the queue” on designated days, helping to change the Chinese culture of never waiting in line. In Shanghai, residents are being asked to dress properly and avoid the habit of wearing pajamas out of the house.

But, as I looked around and saw countless McDonald’s and KFC restaurants and my kids’ favorite cinnamon roll instant oatmeal at the supermarket and as I walked through the brand new Oriental Plaza mall – one that is more American than any I’ve ever been to – it struck me that I hope Beijing and Shanghai don’t head into this globalization too quickly or place too much effort on “fitting in.” After all, what sport is there in “respecting the queue” instead of reigniting my stagnant rugby skills? And why shouldn’t I see that Shanghai culture makes it perfectly acceptable to wear your tattered PJs for a trip to the store?

As marketers, I can only hope that we help China celebrate its culture and that our work there is focused on bringing our products and ideas to them in a culturally appropriate way that does not Americanize them.

(But I will confess, as a true American, I enjoy finding corn flakes buried in some corner at the store, as my kids aren’t quite ready for the spicy congee breakfast.)

I had the good fortune on Friday, May 15 to attend the gala celebration for the grand opening of the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago; a near flawless addition designed by famed architect Renzo Piano. The building is beautifully concepted, and executed so well that it truly celebrates the art it was created to house.

It is nice to see that an organization like the Institute has the vision and commitment to raise the funds necessary to build a wing of the finest materials and workmanship and does not merely raise enough to just meet current needs. This is a building that will be enjoyed by generations long after we have all left this earth.

Too often today you see organizations just making do or letting budget constraints drive short term thinking and decisions.  I love it when organizations understand the value of "doing it right," hiring the top experts in their fields and then giving them the license to truly practice their craft.  Often you see the client "playing designer,"  making significant changes that compromise the integrity of the concept, or cutting corners to save a few dollars.  But when people have the courage and commitment to avoid these pitfalls, it is a gift to all of us of near perfection.

Kudos to the Institute and Mr. Piano for a remarkable achievement.