Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Over the past two months I have had the pleasure of working with Mobidia to increase the company’s profile leading up to Mobile World Congress in February. Mobidia’s technology provides mobile operators with a software platform that expands the capacity of their existing networks, and speeds the delivery of data to subscribers. It is a particularly exciting technology which provides mobile operators with comprehensive information about their wireless data networks. The rewards to mobile operators and subscribers are big: wireless operators save money, and their networks are improved for everyone. Data – like videos, images or VoIP – is sent and received faster from smartphones and laptop computers.
Leading up to Mobile World Congress, Mobidia wanted to brief industry analysts to build credibility and create the right perceptions about the company, as well as to generate demand for its technology. These briefings reinforce a positive profile of the company in the research reports written by analysts and purchased and read by potential customers. For more background on why an analyst relations program is important, check out this blog entry.
Chris Hill, vice president of marketing at Mobidia had this to say about our work scheduling analyst briefings:
“As we began the process of driving industry awareness of our technology, we wanted to brief industry analysts about the value of our innovation to gain third party endorsement. Communiqué PR did a fantastic job of reaching out to analysts and securing briefings on our behalf. The insight gained from these briefings and the analyst quotes we received will be instrumental in helping us prepare for our campaign at Mobile World Congress.”
I want to share some of the results we achieved for Mobidia. I hope this will help you gain a better understanding of what can be achieved by investing in relationship building with this very influential group of people.
Mobidia’s technology received a warm welcome from analysts, and we secured briefings with eight analysts, some of whom were able to provide quotes. Here are a few quotes we received about the market demand for Mobidia’s technology:
“Mobile operators’ networks are becoming increasingly stressed as more people send and receive broadband data – such as video, social networking and web traffic – with their laptop computers and smartphones. However the growing traffic volumes are not matched by equivalent growth in revenues, as the trend towards flat-rate pricing coincides with fierce competition. Consequently, there is a need for mobile operators to reduce their overhead costs. Among other approaches, mobile operators are looking at software solutions to optimize their networks, relieve congestion and reduce costs. If Mobidia’s trial results conclusively demonstrate a reduction in costs and congestion, it is likely to be of significant interest to mobile operators.” – Dean Bubley, Disruptive Analysis
“An increase in laptop, video and peer-to-peer traffic as well as the growing adoption of smartphones is placing tremendous stress on wireless data networks. Mobile operators are also faced with managing uneven data usage amongst subscribers. These challenges will only grow as operators aim to increase data users through subsidies on smartphones and data cards. Rather than putting an expensive band-aid on the problem by adding network capacity, operators should look for intelligent solutions to better manage and understand the data traffic on their networks. Mobidia’s technology provides mobile operators with a solution that increases the capacity of their existing wireless networks allows them to monitor traffic to improve the overall subscriber experience.” – Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Strategy Analytics
“Today’s wireless networks are struggling to cope with the high volumes of data traffic being transferred by an increasing number of smartphones and laptop computers. Mobile operators need to increase 3G network access and capacity while decreasing capital and operating costs in order to meet the growing customer demand, but the high costs to deploy new infrastructure can be prohibitive. Mobidia’s technology addresses the clear need for cost-effective software solutions that optimize data networks without degrading the end-user experience.” – Phil Kendall, Strategy Analytics
It was an absolute pleasure to have the opportunity to support Mobidia’s activities educating industry analysts.
In Linton Weeks’ recent NPR article regarding Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Weeks writes that the governor has opted for a strategy of “self-defense by public relations onslaught.” I wonder if this really is a strategic approach to counter the current impeachment proceedings and sway public opinion, or merely the desperate attempt of a man who loves attention.
While public relations is all about shaping public perception, its effectiveness and the final results will be influenced by the strategy and tactics employed. Without clearly identifying the objectives, understanding the target audience and developing a strategic plan, Blagojevich’s efforts are almost guaranteed to be ineffective or in this case counter-productive. Suggesting that he considered appointing Oprah to the vacant senate seat, for example, certainly did not strengthen his case.
If his goal is to change public perception about him and his past actions, it is unfortunate he is using his “15 minutes” of national media attention without having developed a plan or even thought about his desired outcome. Had he sat down and took a strategic approach; he may have been able to avoid some glaring mistakes and achieved his objective of winning public support.
Ultimately, the messages Blagojevich has communicated during his recent broadcast media blitz are simply reinforcing existing perceptions. As an observer, it does not appear to be a strategic PR campaign for self-defense but the behavior of a man who craves the limelight and is trying to hold on to it for dear life.
Last night Colleen Moffitt, Melissa Liton, Paulette Zimmerman and I had the opportunity to attend TechFlash’s launch party at the Palace Ballroom. What a fun night! It was terrific to catch up with the movers and shakers in Seattle’s tech community.
Highlights of the TechFlash event included mingling with Jeremy Lewis of Big Fish Games; chatting up Brian McAndrews before he shared his insights on the future of online advertising; catching up with Ken Myer, WTIA President and CEO; and talking with Blake Cahill of Visible Technologies and Rahul Sonnad and Autumn Radtke of Geodelic, Nick Wingfield with Wall Street Journal as well as countless others and friends.
After the TechFlash launch party, we headed off to Capitol Hill to catch up with Danielle Morrill at Pelago’s Whrrl party. Colleen and I enjoyed talking with Danielle (who is also our cousin) to learn more about Pelago’s Web/mobile application which is designed to leverage an individual’s social network using mobile location technology.
With Whrrl, a person can find out where his or her friends are, determine what they’re doing and where they’ve been. In effect, your friends light up your map with their experiences so you can discover cool places, events and even new people that you might otherwise have missed. You can use Whrrl on a Web browser, via SMS, or as an application on your mobile phone.
All and all it was a fabulous evening. If you were at either of these events, send us a comment we’d love to hear your impressions.
A recent article in PRWeek titled “Client Service Remains a Staple for Smaller Firms” makes a great case for why small PR firms are the best choice for many companies, especially in a down economy. The article points out several reasons why small firms have a competitive edge, including:
Client Service – Small firms can provide senior account executives for every client. These executives are accessible, quick to respond and they forge close relationships with clients.
Budget – Boutique PR firms can do “everything a large firm can with a more reasonable budget,” Scott Phillips of Chicago-based Phillips and Associates. They have less overhead and can therefore charge very reasonable rates. Small firms can also quickly scale the budget up or down depending on a client’s needs.
Dedication – Each client matters a great deal to a smaller firm, and they are willing to go the extra mile to exceed expectations and garner great results.
As companies reassess their PR budgets and strategies and consider hiring a small firm, there are a few important points to consider. We recommend asking the following questions before selecting a PR team:
Is your business complementary with their current portfolio or clients?
What experience does the PR person or firm have in your industry?
Are they passionate about what you’re doing?
Are they asking smart questions throughout the process?
Do they have the capability and bandwidth to do a good job?
We recognize that selecting a new team can be a difficult process and have developed a white paper to help organizations understand the various approaches and options available to them when faced with building and evaluating a high-performance PR team. The paper discusses the different processes for selecting a PR team, the advantages of each process, how to evaluate a potential candidate or agency and tips for building solid relationship with your PR team.
To receive a free copy of the white paper “Selecting a Winning PR Team: A Strategic Approach,” please e-mail info@communiquepr.com.
While television still remains to be the leading news source, you will notice a steady decline as shown in the Pew Research Center graph located to the right.
As the Internet continues to rise as a leading news source among consumers, it’s important from a PR perspective for organizations to keep in the mind the possibilities that exist for reaching audiences and sharing news via the Internet.
Given the widespread adoption of broadband in the home and the continued shift online print publications and newspapers are pursuing (read our past blog entry here), the survey results come at no surprise.
First, news online is now more mainstream than newspapers. A positive print article
about your organization in the New York Times will still earn high recognition, however, an article appearing in the New York Times online has the potential for reprints, pick-up and user comments -providing you with insight from readers.
Second, online outlets provide more flexibility for time. Online journalists are more likely to cover breaking news as it happens versus long-lead publications that often work 30 to 90 days in advance.
Third, the Internet has opened the door to blogs and social networking -creating even more ways for organizations to share news and connect directly with their customers. Many blogs that attract the masses (Tech Crunch, Digital Duo, mocoNews) also receive article reprints in newspapers such as Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Washington Post.
As you evaluate the best medium to share information about your organization, keep in mind the mainstream reach of the Internet and the possibilities for reaching your target audience.