Something nice we like to do when a site launches (along with sending our lovely clients booze) is to send them a set of MOO cards, well it is de riguer right? It’s a wonderful way for our clients to promote all their hard work (and ours) and a really nice way for us to say thanks for working with us – talk about an integrated communications campaign.
Joshua wrote this on 27.08.08 – 7 comments
It's filed in the Design, Free things, Funny, Interesting, Marketing box
Here at NixonMcInnes we like to do our bit for the greater good and nothing says that more than growing a handsome moustache.
TacheBack is organised by the charity Everyman to raise money for testicular cancer. Tacheback’s aim is to raise as much money as possible by encouraging as many men as possible to sport a crumb catcher during the month of September. The male members of the NM team have heard the call and have flocked to make their pledge.
The TacheBack folks have developed a great website where you can sign up to recieve your own ‘Tache Warrior‘ page where you can add pictures, join a team and most importantly receive donations.
We are all very excited about being part of Tacheback and look forward to seeing you all donate tons of cash *hint hint* to the cause.
Cheers to makelessnoise for the pictures used for the tache montage.
Edward wrote this on 20.08.08 – 8 comments
It's filed in the NixonMcInnes box
Over the last eighteen months or so I’ve been involved in defining strategies for, planning, designing, building and deploying widgets.
Widgets are one of those digital technologies that come along, all loosely defined, with the threat that if you want to succeed online you MUST divert your spend into them now. There’s a sense of panic-y ‘I need a widget, and I need it now’, in the same way that in the 90s some marketers needed a website – but couldn’t really say why or what it needed to do.
At the mashup event devoted to Widgets back in February there was a slightly aggressive undercurrent, with the audience (mostly made up of corporate marketers and VCs) demanding that the panelists ‘show me the money‘. I sensed that this atmosphere was largely due to a lack of understanding of what widgets actually are and how they might be used strategically as part of the marketing mix.
It doesn’t help that Google in its wisdom calls them Gadgets but for my purposes here I’m going to define a widget as a piece of content or functionality that can be sited and shared anywhere on the wider web. This is still pretty loose but we’re getting there – bear with me!
Broadly speaking we can then break it down further into ‘personal’ widgets and ‘public’ widgets. This refers to where the widget might be placed and for whose consumption it is.
Personal widgets would be placed on a private space, such as the desktop of your computer or a personal start page. As they tend to be of some utility they will typically have low reach – but more engagement and therefore longevity. For this reason they can provide an excellent branding mechanism.
Examples might include the weather widget I keep on my desktop (to save me the effort of looking out of the window to check if its raining) or the London Underground journey planner I have on my iGoogle start page.
STA (the student-focussed travel agent) have created a set of widgets that appeal to young travellers, including a trip countdown and a tool to check the weather at your destination.
So, a personal widget is a tool that provides ‘branded utility’ – a long and lasting connection with your customer that defines you as useful and helpful and keeps your brand front of mind in a very positive way.
A public widget is generally a very different thing. Ivan Pope, Brighton-based guru of all things widgetty, has called them the ‘bumper stickers of the web’ in that they are used as badges to proclaim belonging or afilliation. This might be easier to visualise if we think where a public widget might be placed – picture MySpace and it should all become clear. A successful public widget would typically see a very high take-up but with little longevity – making this type of widget better suited to campaign activity.
Bloggers also use widgets, generally to give a more rounded view of themselves and how they exist across the social web – so we can see what tracks Dan from Innocent’s been listening to via last.fm, who’s been reading Anthony’s blog via MyBlogLog, the photos the NM team has taken on flickr, Will’s minutiae via Twitter or even where Matt is visiting via Dopplr.
For these online properties share-ability is a key part of the strategy for success – last.fm and flickr are ubiquitously used amongst the blogging population not only because they are excellent services but because they are so portable – and each placement on an influential blog leads to more referrals for the service – a form of free stealth advertising.
As ever understanding the needs of your audience is key to deciding what kind of widget would best serve your business needs – but it’s fairly certain that if you do use online as a significant business channel (and who doesn’t?) then widgetisation is something you should be considering.
Why? Because it’s all about distribution – and we’re marketing to an increasingly distributed and fragmented world. It’s no longer enough to try and shout your message to as many people is as possible – money can’t buy as much influence as it used to, but participation and usefulness can more than supplement that
As a marketer it’s kind of obvious that I’m going to slip in a bit of soft sell alongside all this educational stuff – so of course I’m going to mention our expertise in the planning, design and delivery of wonderful widgets. So far, we’ve run educational workshops for clients (including one of the largest search agencies in the UK and a major clothing retailer), we built and deployed the Sugarscape widget for UK publishing giant Hachette Filipacchi (check out the case study) and delivered two campaign widgets for Oxfam. We know our onions and are more than happy to share them with you.
Thanks to Flickr user jyri for the pic
Jenni wrote this on 12.08.08 – 3 comments
It's filed in the Marketing, Strategy, Widgets box
Disclosure: Channel 4 is a NixonMcInnes client and we like them very much. Everything we say here and on this whole website is biased.
Channel 4 has set itself the task of leading the industry in embracing the new era of online communications.
A bold mission, and one we’re outwardly chuffed to be helping with.
To accomplish their bold mission, like a few other smart brands (including BMW, who we’re also helping along a similar path) the head honchos in the Channel 4 Press and Marketing teams have recognised the need for a dedicated digital dude to unify and glue together the two converging worlds (Marketing and PR). This person – who could be you, or your friend – will help to continue driving Channel 4’s online marketing and communications activities ahead by being the lynchpin of a new virtual team to pioneer new techniques, new levels of engagement, new activities and new tools and processes.
So we’re hereby promoting this role to any smart cookies out there: if you’re a switched-on digital PR & Marketing person, check this little bad girl/boy out:
——————————
The Department
The Press & Publicity department is responsible for all Channel 4’s editorial dealings with other media. The department publicises Channel 4’s programmes across print, broadcast and online media, to drive viewers and users to the Group’s programmes and services and help it deliver its commercial objectives. The department also aims to protect and enhance the Group’s public service reputations through external communications. It is responsible for rapid rebuttal of critical press comment, generating positive executive profile and managing issues arising out of content and operations.
Key Responsibilities
Reporting to the Chief Publicity Manager and/or the Head of Marketing, New Media, he or she will:
- Co-ordinate a “virtual” digital promotions/publicity team, bringing together resource from across picture publicity, listings, publicity, marketing and new media to promote key programme priorities most effectively through online digital media.
- Lead the execution of the highest priority promotional campaigns in online digital media, seeding content across the web including social networking sites, portals and blogs.
- Establish, run and maintain community sites for these and other campaigns.
- Work with genre publicity teams to ensure that all lower level priority PR campaigns have a significant online element.
- Act as the key point of liaison between Channel 4 Press & Publicity and any journalists working primarily in online media.
- Create a directory of key sites, online journalists and bloggers for use by the press department
- Introduce publicists to key contacts at social networking and other sites to open dialogue about content placement
- Educate the wider press department about tactics for online PR
- Lead on opening up the press intranet allowing great access to press materials in conjunction with the New Media department
- Identify a set of metrics to assess success with the longer term aim of helping Channel 4 secure an equivalent share of voice in online media to print media.
Essential Skills and Experience
- Wide experience of delivering promotional campaigns in online media, including proven track record of using social networking.
- Extensive contacts within social networking and other key sites.
- Excellent personal/written communication and influencing skills
Desirable Skills
- Experience of consumer PR with leading UK brand
- Knowledge of UK broadcast sector.
Cool eh.
I think this is a brilliant opportunity. Genuinely.
Why?
Because it’s a super brand, because it’s a role sympathetic to the new online ecosystem (you’ll see words like community, dialogue, access and education above) and because these guys are already ahead of the game in that they’re thinking about this stuff, planning, and (ahem) working with some recognised specialists like us to pave the way.
Know someone? Apply here.
Will McInnes wrote this on 10.08.08 – what do you think?
It's filed in the Industry news box
Josh Russell has done a fantastic job of importing Social Media Cafe to Brighton. I’ve never managed to get to one of the London events so it’s great to have one on our doorstep.
It’s a free and informal meet-up for anyone interested in social media to chew the fat with their peers. Even the coffee is free, which is supported by sponsors (naturally we volunteered to sponsor the first event.) If you’re thinking of coming along, add yourself to the wiki. See you there.
First event: Sat 16 August, 11:00AM – upstairs at The Quadrant pub (map)
Tom wrote this on 09.08.08 – 1 comment
It's filed in the Brighton, Events & conferences, Social media box
We have recently announced the appointment of Pete Burden as our new non-executive Chairman. Pete has been working with us for two years as a business coach and mentor; this appointment formalizes the existing relationship between us and demonstrates our commitment to strengthening our management and governance. Read more…
Ruth wrote this on 07.08.08 – what do you think?
It's filed in the Business, NixonMcInnes, Strategy box
The background
Traditional digital marketing has been around for at least 10 years now. During that time benchmarks and standards have built up around this form of promotion. We have tried and tested techniques to measure and apply best practice to this area. At present, no such principles and values exist in relation to measuring social media and online PR. Queue MeasurementCamp.
Read more…
Ruth wrote this on 01.08.08 – 1 comment
It's filed in the Events & conferences, Industry news, Social media, Strategy, Web analytics box
