Archive for the 'Online PR Research' Category

Dublin’s 1st MeasurementCamp

On Tuesday last I had the pleasure of attending MeasurementCamp in the Odeon on Harcourt St in Dublin. MeasurementCamp has been going in the UK and the US for some time but this was a first for Dublin. Now, anyone involved in the tech industry will have seen their calendar somewhat fill up in the past few months. You could make a full time job out of attending digital media conferences and networking events - and you could pay anything from €0 to €400 to attend.

I have to say recently I’ve cut back on these events as I had a string of disappointments…these make it difficult to justify putting the time into them and spending the money (Digital Engagement 2009 in the Burlo springs to mind!).

Thankfully, on Tuesday, I found my enthusiasm hiding behind a plate of yummy pastries in the Odeon (thanks to FHS I believe).

3569617727_a2c879f1f2-1

Tweeting away at MeasurementCamp!

The MeasurementCamp assignment had been distributed on Twitter the day before…

For tomorrow’s measurement camp we will split into groups and work through a fictional client brief (below). Please have a look at this beforehand and come armed with thoughts and ideas! The emphasis will be on measurement, rather than the creative behind the campaign.

Client Brief - KSwift

K-Swift are a shoe company that typically target young males, aged 18-30. They are keen to widen their appeal and change their brand image, by launching a new line, aimed at 18-30 yr old women.

The client has an offline marketing campaign which includes traditional PR, television and print advertising, in-store promotions and competition giveaways.

You have been brought in to implement the online campaign, which includes media spend as well as your fees. They are keen to tap into the areas and sites where their target market are active online. KSwift would have clear KPIs but there is opportunity to set your own KPIs, room for creativity and the possibility to integrate offline and online behaviour.

Consider :

* What your campaign would involve (this can be kept quite broad)
* What measures are necessary before, during, and after the campaign
* How you would integrate online marketing with offline
* How you would demonstrate to the client that the campaign has worked – what does ‘success’ look like?
* Are there any ‘traditional’ marketing measures that can be applied to your campaign?
* The benefits of online marketing compared to offline (how would you justify the online budget for the next campaign?)
* What problems might arise for demonstrating the value of your campaign.

The assembled crowd (around 60/70 eager social media fans) were instructed by Mulley to break away from the comfort of their mates and colleagues and join a group of strangers to work on the brief.

I bunked in with the ‘gas’ lads, a boards.ie vetern and a handful of PR ladies  - a tactical move I think you’d agree? I could see from the floor surrounding our table that there was a strong knowledge of all things ’shoe’ .

We got down to business and planned our campaign - launch a microsite “MissK Swift.ie” by holding a photo/videocall with well known macho Irish attempting to walk about in stillettos.  Then an online ‘design your own shoe’ competition  - the winner will feature in Sex and the City 2 believe it or not! Throw in a few facebook ‘what shoe are you’ apps and a bit of offline promotion and Bob’s your uncle.

In hindsight, I think we may have focused too much on the creative and less on the measurement end of things - but we did outline that success would be measured through sales, brand awareness and perception and traffic to the site (including competition entries etc.)

Throughout the brainstorming session there was a fantastic buzz in the room - creativity flowing.  It was a really nice environment to work in.  At the end, one person (or two in one case!) from each group presented their team’s work…I always end up with that job for some reason.

While there was a lot of repetition there were also some really interesting ideas.  I think however, we were all guilty of running away with the creative (come on…when do we ever get to plan a campaign where money is in endless supply?) and focusing less on the measurement end of things, but I think this will come with practice.  I got the impression there were a lot of social media virgins in the room peppered amongst the ‘gurus’ and I’d imagine they probably took the most from the 2 hour session.

We also discussed a subject I feel quite strongly about  - is it necessary to engage bloggers in a campaign just for the sake of it?  of late, many brands and companies are holding blogger events to woo citizen journalist.  Sometimes its necessary and effective, but I can’t help feeling its being done more often to ‘tick a box’.  I fear bloggers, who are not stupid, will start to feel used and will shun these events as they would an unsolicited email!

All in all it was hugely enjoyable, hugely worthwhile, excellently executed (by Lauren Fisher and Damien Mulley) and I for one am looking forward to the next MeasurementCamp Dublin.

@mmcdublin

http://measurementcamp.wikidot.com/measurementcamp-dublin



By George, I think they’ve got it! Irish Media on Twitter

by @emilytullytwitter_logo

The Irish media really seem to be getting to grips with Twitter.

RTE radio 1’s Morning Ireland ran a package on it this morning thanks to reporter @ElMcM

Yesterday’s Sunday Tribune and Sunday Times had articles about it

Today, The Irish Times Politics Blog discussed it

Last week, Jenny Kelly (@cupidkelly) of The Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM started using it

So what Irish journalists and mainstream media types are using Twitter?  For the sake of argument we’ll use the term ‘using’ lightly!

Here’s a preliminary list - feel free to add to it!

Rick O’Shea (@rickoshea) - 2FM DJ and one of the pioneers of twitter broadcasting

Jenny Kelly (@cupidkelly) - Presenter/producer of the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM

Mairead Farrell (@cocomairead) - Presenter/researcher of the Ray D’Arcy Show on Today FM

Pamela Halton (@cheekypamela) - Today FM’s Tony Fenton Show

Ray Foley Show (@rayfoleyshow) - Today FM’s Ray Foley Show

Eleanor Burnhill (@elmcm) - Reporter on RTE Radio 1’s Morning Ireland

Dick O’Brien (@dickobrien) - Sunday Business Post journalist

Harry McGee (@harrymcgee) - Irish Times political editor

Louise McSharry (@louisecm) - i102-104 DJ/presenter of iWake Up

Claire & Ger (@claireandger) - Newstalk Breakfast Show

Maria Shannon (@mariaS98) - 98 News reporter

Paraic Gallagher (@paraicnt) - Newstalk Political Correspondant

George Hook (@ghook) - Presenter of The Right Hook on Newstalk

Conor Pope (@conor_pope) Irish Times reporter behind the Pricewatch column

Sophie Gorman (@dayandnightmag) editor of the Irish Independent Friday magazine Day & Night

Add to Technorati Favorites

Irish Blogs

Online Press Releases - How do you like yours?

Dear Bloggers,

More and more organisations are waking up to the benefits of including you in their contact lists and informing you of what they’re at.

As ‘online PR’ becomes the norm, organisations realise that as well as their own site ranking high in search engines when a keyword is searched, its also of huge benefit to have other websites and blogs saying nice things about them  within the same search results - just like this from IGOpeople’s google search results…

IGO search results

But the question is, how do you, the blogger, the online journalist, like to receive this information?

US company, Shift Communications are credited with pioneering the social media press release, but have things moved on since then? Or is this exactly how you would like to receive information?

For obvious reasons, as a PR professional, I would like to provide information to bloggers in the best and most convenient way.

I’d really appreciate if you could take a moment to share your thoughts on this - I’ll share the data in a later post!

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Your blog address

What elements would you like to see in an online press release addressed to you?

Add to Technorati Favorites

Irish Blogs