Digital

UK clean tech innovators look to move abroad for cash

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:25:00 GMT

Greenbang is today launching a report on some of the UK’s most impressive clean tech start-up companies.

The study reveals that some of the UK’s major innovators in this space could move offshore to attract investment.

“There is a danger that some very smart technologies could move offshore to places like the US where investors are happier to take a risk,” says Greenbang Editor Dan Ilett. “Some of the companies we selected for the index said they had to jump through hoops to get investment in the UK, particularly to grow from small to mid-size. It shows that while there is a lot of noise about around clean tech and green business, innovators in the UK are simply not getting the cash they need.

“While there are some universities and government departments helping companies, the research showed that not all companies are finding it easy to get such support. Saying that, the research highlighted some inspiring clean-tech business ideas in the UK. The range of ideas and the potential for some of these companies is astounding.”

The Greenbang Clean Tech Start-up Company Index, a snap-shot of the UK’s clean tech market, profiles young companies innovating in carbon, construction, energy, resources, technology and transport markets. It also asks how these start-ups think businesses and consumers could cut their dependency on fossil fuels.

Green innovation and business news website Greenbang produced the Index, which was sponsored by the University of Bath and PR company Hill & Knowlton.

Other major findings include:

Getting seed capital from investors is relatively straightforward but moving products from the prototype phase is tricky
Transparency around new technology is key to avoid greenwash
Alternative energy technology is the way forward, people are unsure of the carbon cost
Energy security is essential – another driver for looking at alternatives

With global temperatures and the price of fossil fuels showing no signs of cooling, a target has been set to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by between 26 – 32% by 2020 in the UK. Combined with the growing awareness of an environmentally savvy consumer, there has been an explosion in innovation, which is a crucial step forwards for the environment.

Currently the UK leads the way in tidal and wave energy research, but it could risk its current advantages to overseas enthusiasm. Aquascientific, a two-year-old company which designs tidal turbines commented on the threat, "We are focused on environmentally attractive and reliable designs which give a high return on investment. As we can see from this report, the UK is home to some great innovators in the cleantech space. However, growing overseas commitment to tidal energy in particular, means without greater funding in the UK, we are in real danger of attracting technology away from the UK."

Political and regulatory uncertainty was found to be a risk and a deterrent for investors. High capital expenditure puts off investors even though the cost of renewable energy is falling as oil costs are rising.

Some investors have been quick to realise this. One example of success in the index is Onzo, a start-up that produces real-time energy displays.

Joel Hagan, Founder of Onzo, comments: “Scottish and Southern Energy were impressed by our products and services and placed a £7m order to secure exclusive distribution rights in the UK and Ireland. The simplicity of the design means that it can fit through a letter box for delivery and return for recycling, and has the sort of interface anyone can understand.”

Universities remain keen to help move the clean-tech industry along. Simon Bond, Director of the University of Bath Innovation Centre said, we are excited about collaborating with start-up clean tech companies - the UK has a strong research base in this sector and, with the proper support and funding, we have a real opportunity of taking this world class technology into global markets."

Amanda Groty, Hill & Knowlton, Global Client Services Director & Vice President of Technology in EMEA, comments on how communication is vital for these innovators. ”For start-up companies in general, but especially those in a relatively ‘new’ industry like clean tech, PR and marketing is crucial. Targeted communications helps these companies raise funding, drive awareness of environmental issues, influence government regulation and supports the overall business plan for growth. Clean Tech is a priority area for H&K and we have built up considerable experience working for clients such as Better Place, BrightSource Energy, Poweo and Solar Century. It is an exciting area to be working in.”

But the question is how much does the UK want to lead in this?

Google Chrome - privacy issue?

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:55:00 GMT

It's been all over the news...or rather, tech gurus have been talking about its release on twitter and blogs...the release of Google Chrome. It is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.

Apparently, everything you search or type is sent back to Google, and Google will make suggestions on what you are looking for in the URL. Joe Wilcox questions the Google's privacy issue as he read the terms and conditions and highlights a few key points you may want to consider prior to downloading.

"Your copy of Google Chrome includes one or more unique application numbers. These numbers and information about your installation of the browser (e.g., version number, language) will be sent to Google when you first install and use it and when Google Chrome automatically checks for updates. If you choose to send usage statistics and crash reports to Google, the browser will send us this information along with a unique application number as well."

Apparently if Microsoft had to do this, everyone would be over it like flies! If you're interested in finding out more about Google Chrome, have a look at this comic book like guide.

8 September 2008 - Looks like Google made a mistake with their Terms i.e. copy and pasted their standard terms and applied it to Chrome. Thankfully, the uproar highlighted the issue and they have now downloaded it...now so am I:-)

Future of digital in the PR world

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 14:03:00 GMT

I'm finding it increasingly interesting how more and more people within PR are starting to look at the future of digital. What's interesting is that we are looking at what is the best way to structure digital practice within a digital agency, how to increase digital knowledge amongst all PR professionals. The same question was posed on LinkedIn, and now I've picked up a few blog posts.

One that is worth a read, is Sally Falkow's blog post titled, UK PR companies missing out on digital opportunities..."According to a survey of Britain's 100 leading press and public relations agencies, 79% of the industry's major players have yet to develop a set of online and social media services. Perhaps not surprisingly, over half of the agencies that do offer online PR are based in London".

The difficulty we're finding is that not all PR professionals see the true value of digital for clients and the impact it has on deliverable results. Additionally, the client does not always understand or have the backup to support these initiatives. I think the days of PR vs Marketing or PR vs Advertising are coming to a head as we cannot keep talking about digital PR vs online marketing...they are synonymous and should be looked at with an integrated view point by all parties.

Any suggestions or insights would be much appreciated, from both evangelists and cynics!

Britain - adapted to digital age or not?

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:27:00 GMT

Ofcom, the media and telecoms regulator released a report today, discussing the state of communciations in the UK.

"Consumers spent 429 minutes, or more than seven hours a day, watching television, listening to radio, surfing the internet and making fixed-line and mobile calls in 2007, compared with 423 minutes in 2002."

FT.com reported it and mentioned although we as a nation thrive for novelty of the digital age, old habits die hard.

Have a look here for all the detail on the FT article.

Monitoring trends

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:25:00 GMT

Lately, I've been quite frustrated with some of the tools we use for monitoring. With the rise of social media and web 2.0 tools I felt the need to explore further. My aim is to ensure that our clients receive the best that there is to offer and that our research, as well as analysis are as in depth as possible. The one disadvantage to most monitoring tools, is that they are too linear. As we are based in the UK, most of our clients are interested in either UK or European mentions. As you can imagine, it's a hefty job and very time consuming. We have to comb the entire internet - which is global, as we all know - and filter through relevant mentions.

I posted the question on LinkedIn and Twitter. I was not surprised to see that through LinkedIn, I received about 10 answers! I recently stumbled upon www.silobreaker.com, and awesome trend monitoring tool. It shows networks in relation to entities as well as related topics.

I thought I'd share with you some of the recommendations:

www.andiamosystems.com
http://www.techrigy.com
www.serph.com
http://www.radian6.com

Voxswap - Learning languages social network

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:07:00 GMT

I've just been introduced to VoxSwap, a great way for those who are wanting to learn a language and connect with people who can teach you.

It doesn't matter if you are a student needing help to get better language grades, a former student who doesn't want to let their language skills go rusty or a business person needing to speak another language for work. VoxSwap's premise is to ensure you can talk to real people and offer one another pointers on how to excel in a language.

This is another example of the beneficial uses of social networking, an alternative to Facebook! Whereby you can actually do something useful and stimulating whilst socialising.

To have a look and register go to http://www.voxswap.com/

Corporate Reputation Watch 2008

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:42:00 GMT

To understand the role of reputation in the global War for Talent, Hill & Knowlton commissioned Penn, Schoen & Berland to conduct a survey of more than 500 students from some of the World’s leading business schools.

We wanted to understand the role of reputation in this war for talent. How important is corporate reputation in
attracting today’s brightest and best?

We interviewed MBA students at some of the World’s leading business schools and some very clear trends appear.

– Reputation matters, and the reputation of the company is based on far more than just its financial performance
and the quality of its products and services.

– The employee experience matters deeply. Talent is not prepared to sit and wait for the golden opportunity
of 20 years hence; they want it now.

– Values matter too - everything from ethics and corporate governance to environmental policy and social
responsibility. The reason it matters so much is that the leaders of the future have a clear understanding of the
link between reputation and financial performance.

You can download the survey research results from our website -

http://www.hillandknowlton.com/crw.

You can handle the web without an adviser

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:44:00 GMT

The article posted by FT.com columnist Michael Skapinker has been a hot topic within Digital lately.

He asks the question, "How will consumers respond if they sense the companies’ hand – or that of their PR advisers – behind future campaigns?"

As a company, we work with many brands and look at innovative and creative ways of engaging with their audience. In the past our services have predominantly focused on traditional media. However, with the change in our social behaviour, which seems to rely more and more on the internet, no wonder as communications agencies we are looking at other avenues of conversation. If we weren't, we would be out of business in the very near future.

However, I do feel that it's more a question of where is the world of marketing leading. How are brands adapting to this phenomenon of social media and how are we as a society communicate and influence each other? That is the real question, from there it leads us to a world of opportunity of creativity and conversation!

What I do find interesting about his article, is that here he is working within a Web 2.0 world, blogging about his opinions expressing them openly, which is great. He speaks about how brands want to control this medium, however should his readers want to send comments one needs to email them through. What happened to user-generated content and open forum of discussion?

My colleague Guy sent him an article which has not been published as yet and took it upon himself to blog about it...He is definitely a more eloquent writer than myself. Have a read...and let me know what how you feel social media is affecting the PR industry or perhaps how PR is influencing social media...

Digipalooza keynote speakers - 11th October 2007

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:05:00 GMT

We've had some interesting discussions covering various topics today. We began around 8:30am introducing everyone. It's great to meet more of our European counterparts who are active Digital consultants. Below is a list of some topics, both Niall and Guy have been blogging about them.

David Muir, CEO of The Channel (WPP) - The New Marketing Environment
Paul Gillin, Author and Consultant - Coping with a World Where Messages Don't Matter
David M Scott, Author and Consultant - The New Rules of PR
Paul Taaffe, CEO H&K Worldwide - The Importance of H&K Digital
Peter Imbres, James Gregson and Niall Cook - Social Media 101
Claudia Husemann, Director H&K New York Technology Practice - What Clients Want Now!
Melissa Robinson, H&K SVP Marketing Communications - Marcomms & Digital
Brendan HOdgson, H&K VP Digital Canada - Digital Crisis Issues Management

Then dinner and I'm sure some party!:-)

Digipalooza Event: Blogging live - Social Media 101

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:03:00 GMT

We're in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, USA discussing the importance of Digital at Hill & Knowlton and showcasing our work globally. CEO, Paul Taffe has just spoken about the role of Digital for H&K, Niall blogged about this, to view click here. Right now Niall Cook, Peter Imbres and James Gregson are presenting Social Media Principles.

Why do we need it? There are no rules when engaging with Social Media, until someone makes a mistake, someone broken the rules that is when clients recognise it. It's about how we respond to these mistakes which is the important part and keeping ahead of the trends to ensure crisis management.

Guidelines for personal and offical blogs and social media engagement including a code of conduct. Mainly to protect Hill & Knowlton and its clients' reputations.

We need to focus on encouraging clients to be transparent, authentic and encourage participation. As Niall says, "Yes it's about listening and about understanding, but it's about participation if we encourage dialogue."

Peter discusses the difference between Social Media and traditional media. Social media describes online technologies and practices that people use to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media themselves and cannot be measured the same as traditional media. Social media is about trust and a vehicle for word-of-mouth.

James discusses blogger outreach, our approach with both the client and bloggers. How it should fit in the greater marketing campaign, fully integrated in the mix. He finishes off with some facts:
1. All major social networking sites have developed a mobile functionality to access your network - 61% were in the femail / maile 16-24 range.
2. According to MMA, 22% of mobile phone users were open to receiving and engaging with products via their mobile phone.

I think Digital, is no longer about the Internet only ~~online~~ and it's no longer about pushing editorial / information to users and consumers. It's about engaging with communities, changing the perception of traditional branding and how our PR function fits or even drives that...

An answer to my social networking nightmare...

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:31:00 GMT

I've been wondering how long it would take for a social media guru to not only create a site that could incorporate all your social networking profiles into one profile but also incorporate feeds of you and your friends on your profile! I've become a Facebook addict and love seeing who is doing what on the social corner. Never mind my MySpace profile, Flickr account with all my 'forget-me-not' photos, my business network, a definite must on LinkedIn, it goes on and on and on...

It seems the answer thus far is Wink - The people search engine! Wink specifically targets their search engine to find individual people who are active web and social network users. A few others such as 8hands, ProfileFly, and Tabber.

The Wink feeds pull in information about your friends from del.icio.us, Twitter, which has recently been added to Wink’s search tools, Flickr, Jaiku, MySpace, Facebook, Wordpress and more. You can find more on the subject on Mashable.

There is still a long way to go before it becomes 100% integrated, as I'm still playing with it and it's not exactly where it should be. However I do feel it's a good step in the right direction. I look forward to seeing what happens next. Below is a widget from Wink which will be placed on all my profiles shortly...

where i'm at...

Digital Revived!

Gaylene Ravenscroft — Thu, 31 May 2007 12:17:00 GMT

I know it's been almost a year since Netcoms blogged, which is quite sad as Social Media and blogging in particular are our core strengths. Although it is the agreement that what you do best, you do last for yourself!

Alas, it is now revived, and best you hold on to your seats, because the very first piece of knowledge you'll be receiving from our team is that we have a new identity! No longer are we 'Netcoms', or 'Netcomms', or 'Net Comms 'or 'Net What'? We are now called...Digital!

The reason for simplicity I'm assuming is for those who go blank whenever you mention anything related to IT can grasp it straight away:-)

First piece of enlightenment I would like to share with you is how word of mouth is the #1 influence on business purchase decisions and is best leveraged through face-to-face marketing efforts...click here

Heart of Leon

Chris Colby — Thu, 27 Jul 2006 11:53:00 GMT

Much of Soho to our west is currently suffering with a power cut, leaving officies emptying onto the street, restaurants closed for business and an eerie feeling about the place.

A bad day for business you would think. However, I received an unexpected email from the Leon healthy fast food restaurant in Carnaby Street. It explained their dilemma:

"The power in and around us here at our Carnaby Street restaurant is down. Electricity, it has been confirmed today, plays a useful role in our restaurant. We can’t open as normal, but want to make sure you don’t go without. We have the where-with-all (is that the word?) to make sixty packed lunches, and we want to take care of you."

A nice way to notify their regulars as to the problem and a great way of making them, and me, feel special and more loyal. In the interests of 'research', I went down with the email in my hand as instructed and claimed one of the 60 free salads and piece of cake and fruit. Delicious.

No doubt they had already made the salads, but the generosity to add cake and fruit turned it into a neat piece of marketing and a great way of making the best of a bad circumstance.

I'll be back when the power's back on.

Which came first - the ad or the viral?

Chris Colby — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 09:56:00 GMT

Just how do you follow Burger King's legendary viral 'Subservient Chicken'? Well, the wags at Crispin Porter + Bogusky keep trying with various degrees of success.

The latest chicken-themed campaign is Huckin Chicken, involving a man on a motorcycle in a chicken suit performing a series of increasingly dangerous stunts. The viral is a clever extension of the related Burger King ads using behind the scenes footage. As the number of visitors grows, they show additional clips, leading to a 'world record' chicken jump after 1m visitors.

At the time of writing, I'm not aware of whether the Guinness Book of Records has added the record to their books. Perhaps they are waiting for other flying chickens to come forward first?

Given its relation to the ads, it is heavier branded than previous virals, with brand mentions in the ad, on the back of the bike and the final ads themselves on display.

It's well executed and another creative piece of work, but maybe it's time to move on now, guys. We've all seen enough viral chickens for one lifetime.

P.S. One disturbing note was a throwaway comment saying that the pit was specially dug to film the footage as 'originally this was all giant redwoods'. I sincerely hope not, as I know which I'd prefer to see.

Chocolate break

Chris Colby — Fri, 26 May 2006 13:43:00 GMT

If things have been a little quiet on here lately, there's a good(ish) reason. No, I haven't fallen out of love with the blogosphere - quite the reverse. It's all down to Chocolate, you see.

For some weeks now my affections have been elsewhere as one of the Chocolate bloggers, a blog our Netcoms team set up to amplify a blogger relations programme we are running for the LG Chocolate phone.

While it can be considered poor form to post about client work (I think this is my first), I have been itching to share some observations into the programme so far. Observations which probably don't have a natural place on the Chocolate blog. So, here we are. Sorry.

My colleague Niall has already blogged about some of the more mainstream insights he has gained, so let me just make a few personal observations:

Bloggers don't bite, as long as you ask nicely and do your homework.
It helps if you have an interesting product to talk about. A lot.
Prepare to learn something. Despite mugging up on the phone for a good week, almost every review has taught me something new.
Bloggers don't follow the classic 'press review' formula. Reviews are personal, passionate and go in unexpected directions. Little things matter.
Take a deep breath. This kind of activity makes people nervous.
Be yourself and try to have fun. It shows.
The higher profile an activity, the weirder emails you get.

In the interests of full disclosure in case I haven't made it clear, LG is a client of ours ;)