Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Mystery “insider” communicates confidential product information about RIM products to tech blog Engadget, says the Globe & Mail in this article. Here’s where it gets hardcore -Engadget runs a quote from the mysterious “Genius Boy”:

“RIM, I know you love how The Boy Genius has your stock above $80 per share for the first time since April. This is viral marketing at its best. Please look for all my scoops, and reviews here exclusively at Engadget.”

If there is even a sliver of truth to BG’s claims that his “scoops” have resulted in RIM’s stock price rise, 30 per cent in August alone according to the G&M article, this may only be the thin edge of the wedge in how blogs could be used to pump stock prices.

So who is Boy Genius? An employee – it doesn’t appear so, as he (or she) seems to have insider scoops on products beyond RIM’s alone. Or could BG be the front of what might be a highly successful yet ethically questionable marketing campaign? I would hope not. Or simply, there’s a leak the size of a New Orleans levee that needs fixing.

Likewise, is it sufficient to simply state, as a RIM spokesperson is quoted as saying, that “the on-line rumor mill is simply a fact of life for any manufacturer, but it doesn’t typically change a company’s launch plans.” From an outsider’s perspective, that seems a tad trite as there appears to be a lot more fire here than smoke. 

Is this what happens when the lines of communication break down internally?

Courtesy of Boing Boing, an employee of Lockheed Martin turns to YouTube to air complaints about security which triggers action by some heavyweights in government…

The other day the boss and I were talking numbers, specifically, the ongoing rise in online spending across WPP companies. While it wasn’t possible to identify what portion of that spend was on digitally-related PR versus online advertising (granted, I haven’t really tried, though I’m sure there is some spreadsheet in the vaults of the mother company that provides that data), the hamsters were certainly churning over how to translate this trend into more revenue for H&K Canada.

Pontiac’s decision to move it’s entire marketing budget for its G5 online shows that the potential is certainly there. The question, however, is how to integrate digital PR into the marketing mix. Without doubt, the lines between PR and advertising are much greyer online. At the same time, I’ve already fought (and lost) a number of battles with ad agencies to retain ownership of digital projects that also have PR elements included. Why is this? Is it because PR agencies themselves haven’t truly defined what digital PR is (apologies for the poor grammar)? Should we even be trying to define it lest we once again find ourselves confined to that similar niche we typically find ourselves in the traditional PR role ie. PR = “media relations” (albeit social media vs mainstream media)? 

My firm belief is that PR must always be working hard to demonstrate it’s value in the online world. And while this typically is less so when it comes to more corporate, public affairs, reputation and internal communications issues, when it comes to consumer and B2B marketing I am convinced we have to become even more creative and innovative in defining our niche and our value. Because I do believe that there is value in engaging PR firms that have a strong understanding of online behaviours and the various channels and tools used to reach and engage these audiences. The question is how?

My thoughts:

1. Don’t think just PR. Think holistically, across all disciplines and feed in ideas even if they’re executed by others. Big picture thinkers will always be asked back to the table. 
2. Bring to bear your understanding of non-traditional marketing channels, and their increasing importance – employees, suppliers, and other champions – on reaching out to and influencing consumers/buyers.
3. Look beyond the short-term marketing hit and build on the importance (and value) of building long-term relationships and (dare I use the word) conversations with influencers and consumers themselves.

To all National Capital and Eastern Ontario-based PR and public affairs practitioners, communications advisors, flacks and any other category I’ve missed. Don’t forget to mark Monday, September 25th on your calendar as the date of the inaugural Third Monday social media and PR meetup in Ottawa.

Conceived by ex-H&Ker and fellow PR blogger, Joe Thornley, and with the support of myself, Colin McKay, and Ian Ketcheson, this group hopes to bring together like-minded communicators to talk about all things Web 2.0, and the impact of social media on the business of PR, public affairs and corporate communications.

I’ll let Joe dish out the full skinny on the event. However, I have to mention our first speaker: Shel Israel of ‘Naked Conversations’ fame. I’m looking forward to it, and to meeting fellow practitioners from across the greater NCR.

For those of you in Toronto and the GTA, and as Joe mentions, a Toronto version, Third Tuesday,  is also being set up at which Shel will be speaking on September 26th. Hope you can make it out to one or the other.

See you then.

Only a few days after this story broke regarding comments made by Liberal MP Borys Wrzensewskyj following his recent fact-finding mission in Lebanon – which not only incurred the wrath of political opponents and fellow MPs but also resulted in his resignation yesterday – citizen pundits, smelling blood, unleashed this and this onto the Web.

Ouch!  But, then again, after this… what did you expect?

UPDATE: And just in time for Christmas, we also have this. The issue with all of these sites, however, and regardless of how entertaining they may be, is their lack of credibility given the absence of any acknowledged ownership. Without any understanding of who is behind this and why, these sites cannot be taken seriously as legitmate critiques of the Liberal Party, its members, and its potential leaders-in-waiting. Are these rogue Liberals, Tories pretending to be rogue liberals, or other political activists simply taking potshots at easy targets?  Show yourselves, web provocateurs, share with us your motivations…

UPDATE 2: AUGUST 29th: Ah, Hezboliberal, we hardly knew ye… but again, what did you expect?

(courtesy of Bourque)

This Toronto Star story about a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan being ordered to stop blogging raised some questions…

While I understand the Canadian military’s position (and the views of many current and past soldier’s themselves), that too much transparency could imperil the safety of fellow soldiers, I also wonder if the top brass might have overlooked a potential opportunity to strengthen the image of Canada’s armed forces, and the Government of Canada’s own PR campaign for the Afghan mission.

Giving these soldiers – many who are extremely proud to be doing the work they are doing - a sanctioned forum to openly discuss their experiences serving overseas, to share not just with their own families and friends but with Canadians regardless of their political stripes, the challenges, joys and dangers they face in representing our country, could serve a number of National Defence objectives related to morale, recruitment, reputation and issues management, as well as broader government policy objectives.

Does this make the job of the military harder? Of course. Could the military face criticism from within its own ranks or have to deal with an inappropriate in-the-heat-of-battle comment? Perhaps. But I would believe the potential benefits (when combined with reasonable controls and policies) far outweigh the risks and negatives. Images and videos such as this and this, so long as they don’t put our soldier’s at unnecessary risk, portray the stark reality of the job we are asking our soldier’s to perform in ways that we’ve never experienced before. 

The faster the military can put a blogging/social media policy in place, one that respects operational and personal security concerns, the sooner I believe Canadians can more fully understand the contribution and sacrifice our soldier’s are making.   

A slight detour from my regular rantings, but to all readers out there who are also art fans, I would point you to Peter Harper (brother of Ben) who is running a “best of the best” competition of works people have submitted to his site. My sister Kerry, graphic designer and exceptional artist, is one of the contenders.

I encourage you to vote… (for Kerry, of course)… not because I ask, but because her stuff is good… good things will happen if you do… I’m sure of it… sort of…

BH

Now back to regular programming…

Some interesting things happening in the world of political blogging in Canada:

1. Liblogs founder Jason Cherniak publishes his Draft blog report to the Liberal Renewal Commission (and then removes it), not sure exactly why, other than it seemed, at times, a somewhat simplistic and, in some areas, flawed analysis. In a nutshell, however, the report (which admittedly was draft) provides some interesting pointers and considerations, as well as insider perspectives, on the use of blogs and outreach to the political blogging community by the Liberal party.

   In addition to highlighting those bloggers who he believed to be the most influential, Cherniak’s comments on blogs, the media and the federal Liberal leadership race were particularly interesting, and confirms a trend that is already underway, particularly in the United States:

   “Almost all leadership campaigns have blog campaigns and the media has been paying attention. Bloggers have been interviewing candidates, reporting on speeches, providing analysis and organizing on the ground. Without blogs, many Canadians – journalists included – would have much less information about the different candidates.”

   Among his proposals, Cherniak suggests that Liberals pre-announce to bloggers that a new policy direction (in a specific area) will be coming down, in order to spark discussion and buzz prior to announcing the policy in the media. He also suggests that more Senators and MP’s should consider blogging, and that the Party host regular conference calls with key political bloggers. Will his suggestions be accepted? I would be curious to see any future drafts.

2. In trying to (re-)locate Mr. Cherniak’s post, I came across this interesting blurb which, in my view, is even more interesting – and encouraging. It appears that Mr. Cherniak – a Liberal and co-chair of the Stephane Dion leadership campaign - had brokered an interview between Mr. Dion and a Blogging Tory. Given the tendency for politicians and political bloggers to stick to their own (and often eat their own), this effort to step outside the traditional partisan comfort zone is encouraging and deserves applause. I hope more of our politicians follow this example, and that bloggers don’t waste the opportunity to spur a meaningful dialog by resorting to the usual partisan sniping, bluster, and apoplexy.

First day back from a two-week hiatus, and already exhausted… so here goes:

First off, congrats to Niall on the birth of his daughter Tabitha… even as a father of twin girls, it’s impossible to describe the pure pleasure of parenting… so I won’t, and rather leave it to everyone to either agree, or find out for themselves.

Nice to see another list of Canadian marketing/WOM/PR bloggers. Kate and I chatted briefly about this a while ago… so kudos to Sean for his efforts… (with 5 bloggers hailing from Canada, maybe we’ll see an H&K name up there one day… best get writing…)

The debate between Colin and Joe on Astroturfing is an interesting one (which I sadly missed jumping in on), and definitely requires serious consideration given our role in helping clients to galvanize grassroots support around a given issue. I, for one, support Keith Jackson’s answer (given on Paull Young’s blog) to Joe’s question “Where is the line between artificial manipulation and legitimate grassroots mobilization?“ The difference is, indeed, transparency. Grassroots mobilization, by its very nature, is manipulation of the masses to take a specific action. “Artificial manipulation”, or astroturfing, however, implies the improper use of information, or lack of it, to mislead those masses – whether it be information that identifies the source, or information to convince us to take action. All of which reinforces the importance of transparency. But do we even need to worry? The ease by which individuals are now able to “follow the money” makes it, in my view, virtually impossible for an organization to astroturf on a widespread scale, intentionally or no. We (and our clients) have no choice but to be completely transparent. Those who attempt to be anything but will, as we’re already seeing, be flamed and suffer the consequences to their reputations and their business. This is, I’m sure, only the start of the debate.

I spent the last two weeks in cottage country about an hour and a half north of Ottawa, near the town of Gracefield, without laptop or crackberry, where I’m currently in the process of building a small cottage with friends and family. For nearly 10 days, I lived a very small town life and found myself enjoying the simple pleasures of chatting over coffee and breakfast in local diners, dropping in unannounced on friends and friends of friends, and speaking with people face-to-face versus on the phone or online. There is certainly something to be said about the power of the web to enable communications… but I do believe that there is also something we lose when we extract ourselves entirely from the face-to-face experience.