Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Following on the success of H&K Canada’s 2006 Federal Election Predictor, itself born from the UK’s 2005 version, Hill & Knowlton Ducharme Perron (HKDP), H&K Canada’s wholly-owned Quebec subsidiary, has unveiled the latest, Quebec-based version.

You can try it out here… http://www.predictionshkdp.com (click the image or “commencer” to launch the predictor itself). 

Now we know that no predictor is 100% accurate. However, we think we’ve got a pretty good formula, one that will add an element of fun and debate to the Quebec election race now underway. Use the split predictor (Repartir) to show how percentages for the main parties are transformed into a predicted election result. OR test the swing tool (Transferer) to see what happens when a percentage of the vote shifts from one party to another. You can view your results in a table (tableau) and as an interactive map (carte).

We’ve also included a number of tools that give it a social media flavour, including:

• the ability to view saved predictions via Google Maps (click “Toutes les predictions” to launch the map and you can see mine – Cazoo),
• the ability to blog your saved predictions (once you save a prediction, click on “Mon compte” then “Ma prediction” then “Envoyer et Partager” and add the code to your blog),
• The folks at HKDP will also be blogging through the election, pointing to interesting items from across the parties, and
• We’ve included (off the home page) the RSS feeds from all the political parties in Quebec that provide RSS feeds, and if you click the tab “Sondages” you can view the predicted outcomes of the leading pollsters.

Update: due to some problems with the RSS feeds coming from the various parties, we’ve unfortunately had to disable that feed – but we’ve got something in mind to replace it…

So start predicting! And don’t be shy with your feedback.

As an aside, the main parties’ acronyms are used on the site, but they are:

• Quebec Liberal Party = P.L.Q
• Parti Quebecois = P.Q
• Action Democratique Quebec = A.D.Q
• Green Party = P.V.Q
• Quebec Solidaire = Q.S.

In Norway, apparently, PDF versions of newspapers are going over like lead balloons… which makes me wonder how Canada’s two major afternoon dailies are doing.

Granted, the Norwegians typically have to buy theirs whereas ours – quirky headlines and all – are free (other than the cost of paper and ink – particuarly if you want to read it in full technicolour – and we know that ain’t cheap) and less bulky.

But, personally, I don’t see these experiments hanging around for much longer, free or no. And me a crossword and Sudoku buff!? The simple reason being that I can’t picture myself – for reasons both selfish (read lazy) and environmental (read lazy) - printing off an update of news that I’d likely get were I to visit the website that I’d have to visit anyway if I wanted to print off the PDF.

But that’s just me.

After storms resulted in the cancellation of 68 flights over the weekend, JetBlue now faces the first major test of its recently-launched, and much-touted Customer Bill of Rights.

YouTube videos by the CEO and ’enshrined’ commitments aside, and despite all the widespread backslapping across the industry – as much for the company’s use of 2.0 technology to communicate its apology as for its approach to managing the crisis – the proof will now be in the pudding as the company seeks to respond to the hundreds of passengers affected by this latest dose of Mother Nature’s wrath.

One hopes that JetBlue, in setting out its commitments, considered the potential of a repeat scenario happening within such close proximity to the first. Because unless you can respond adequately to those who challenge you to “prove” yourself able and willing to match your messages with substance, the damage to your reputation will likely be worse than having said nothing at all.

You want to galvanize a community, raise awareness around an issue, shape perceptions, and do it on a dime? Look no further than your local activist groups – those without the resources of large corporations to conduct massive ad campaigns and who instead rely more heavily on word-of-mouth, the creativity that comes with having to do a lot with a little, and the opportunities inherent in digital technology.

And it’s typically the community to whom I look when I need a boost of creative inspiration…

Recently, however, and what I have found more interesting, is how individuals and activists are increasingly (and creatively) exploiting digital technology, and social media in particular, to help make the connections that none of us might see otherwise… essentially doing the work that investigative journalist’s might have done in an earlier age. A recent example is The Real McCain, a site developed to highlight John McCain’s flip-flop’s (to use Jeff Jarvis‘ term) on key issues, and which I briefly referenced in a previous post.

Another, and perhaps more interesting example, is an older site that I was alerted to on Monday: Theyrule.net, which graphically highlights the connections between board members of America’s largest corporations – it’s like an earlier version of Linked In, except for, well, board members. Granted, the site has not been updated since 2004 (which is disappointing)… however, the expressed purpose of the site, that being to highlight “connections of power… not always visible to the public eye”,  is a clear example of how transparency is being imposed even at the highest levels. Claims the site: “The people who head up these companies swap on and off the boards from one company to another, and in and out of government committees and positions. These people run the most powerful institutions on the planet, and we have almost no say in who they are.”

Whether you agree or not is irrelevant. In the end, and so long as the information is accurate, the value in such tools is that we as citizens are left to make our own assumptions and arrive at our own conclusions based on what we see and how we ourselves use and manipulate the data.

In a world of colliding messages, where confusion reigns and we’re all shouting to be heard above the noise (or to paraphrase Emile Zola: “Live out loud“), finding a site like everythingisok.com reminds us that there is equal, if not greater, strength in simplicity.

The power of the message is as much in the subtlety of the delivery as in the combination of words, images and links that combine context with action…

I guess the scary part will be when, on a given day, everthing is no longer ok…

In keeping with my colleague Boyd Neil’s recent focus on politics, spin and social media, I was awkwardly impressed by the efforts of civil libertarian and Canadian firearms activist Bruce Montague’s use social media as a means to elevate and sustain the debate around the infamous federal gun registry. 

In this amusing yet high-impact video (via here), Bruce’s 13-year-old daughter Katey highlights a number of little-known facts that shine a rather unfavourable light on the much-maligned registry. (I should add that I was less impressed and somewhat disturbed by Bruce’s other videos on his site which, in my view, bent toward the extreme with respect to fear-mongering and sensationalism, though perhaps that was the intent).

Yet it is precisely this form of citizen-driven advocacy and outreach that we will likely see more of, both in Canada and in the U.S. as highlighted through Jeff Jarvis’ recent discussion (hat-tip to Rob Hyndman) on the power of citizen media and Youtuber’s in particular to expose the hypocrisies and inconsistencies of our politicians and other elected (and unelected) representatives – whether through their own investigative work or, interestingly, by doing what the media often seem incapable of doing, connecting the dots using their own coverage.

That said, the degree to which these videos impact voter decision will likely remain suspect for some time… However, by simply opening our eyes to information that we might not have seen previously, or packaging information in a way that makes us question general assumptions, biased or no, democracy is clearly being served.

…and to be quite honest, I don’t know much more about the book than what I read here, and from there, here and here (which includes a great Q&A with the authors). Though I tend to have a fair bit of faith in each of their opinions.

And yet even in simply reading these other blog posts about “Made to Stick”, the Heath brothers’ premise makes a lot of sense – even from the perspective of PR and the campaigns, strategies and messages we create for clients. Like any great idea, they work because they are:

Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Stories

I was particularly drawn to a great quote from one of the Heath brothers in response to a question from Guy Kawasaki in his interview:

…Lots of research in economics and psychology shows that when we know something, it becomes hard for us to imagine not knowing it. As a result, we become lousy communicators. Think of a lawyer who can’t give you a straight, comprehensible answer to a legal question. His vast knowledge and experience renders him unable to fathom how little you know. So when he talks to you, he talks in abstractions that you can’t follow. And we’re all like the lawyer in our own domain of expertise.

Too often, simplicity is the essential requirement for effective communications, and yet I’ve seen, on a number of occasions, companies and consultants alike either presuming they’re audiences know more than they actually do, or being so closely connected to their business, technology or product that they are unable to speak in anything but the jargon of the business they’re in. And, in doing so, destroying any potential to connect with those audiences they might have had.

As Guy warns, “If you read this book, you’ll revamp a lot of your marketing material (as you probably should).”

From CTV political blogger David Akin, via the ever-vigilant Ian Ketcheson, comes word that Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s team has been posting clips of speeches, announcements, Christmas wishes and other miscellany to YouTube for the past month or so.

Worthy of applause? Certainly for the effort and acknowledgement that there’s really nothing to lose and a lot to gain by embracing such practices.

That said, rather than simply feeding up footage that we’d see via CPAC or the mainstream broadcast media, I’d rather see the Harper team exploring how to use this medium to add further context and meaningful depth around the announcements that we already see or read about in the traditional media; perhaps asking Canadians to comment (although that could open a true can of worms even with the most stringent commenting guidelines – so maybe not), or perhaps to at least initiate a discussion and point Canadians to sites or departments that are equipped to handle such debates and dialogues.

YouTube and politics are certainly not new – particularly in this age of perma-electioneering. However, and much like the blogs “authored” by candidates on the campaign trail, I can’t help but think that an opportunity is being wasted by simply regurgitating the same soundbites via a different forum… I look simply to Steve Jobs’ recently posted open letter on DRM as an example of doing it right. By taking the time to explain the issue, thoughtfully establish his position, and do it sans-spin while acknowledging different sides of the debate and by taking it directly to his audience, Mr. Jobs and Apple are demonstrating a clear understanding of “lobbying” and advocacy in the digital age. This, in my opinion, is an opportunity for Mr. Harper (and other politicians) to move beyond the soundbites and the “spin”… and when that happens, the real value of social media will emerge.

And, David, judging by the views (recognizing it’s still early days yet), I’m thinking they’re still going to need you media types a while longer.

Now this I like.

Let me begin by saying that I was always a tad leery about the concept of the Social Media News Release (as were a number of others, it seems, which resulted in quite a hullabaloo in recent weeks). That’s not to say that the notion of enabling the news release in such a manner that it extends its reach beyond traditional media - i.e via RSS, the ability to post to various social networking, bookmarking and other sites – isn’t appropriate or useful given how fundamentally easy it is to do. The same could be said for enabling comments. Why wouldn’t you do it? But ultimately, and in my opinion, I kind of felt they put the cart before the horse given that the news release is still a rather unique beast with a fairly specific purpose – and then there’s that whole issue around content.

Now, seeing Todd’s latest effort, I’m starting to think we’re finally on the right track.

An organization’s newsroom is, in the vast majority of cases, the pulse of an organization’s public-facing website. Whereas it ‘lives and breathes’, most other sections of a corporate site remain largely static. And when done right, it not only serves as a convenient one-stop resource for journalists (who rely heavily on the internet – and corporate web sites – for timely, useful background information around a company, product or issue), it becomes a potent vehicle for communicating to all interested audiences (dare I say that word) the vision and values of an organization through its news announcements, speeches, testimonials, editorials, white papers, and other relevant information that it chooses to share via this section (and perhaps others). The newsroom becomes, in many respects, the single-most powerful communications vehicle for validating and substantiating an organization’s messages.

It is quite simply the ‘broadcast hub’ that allows an organization to speak directly to its most important audiences (oops! I did it again). And in that respect, organizations should be looking at ways to make the content within this zone as accessible as possible – so that people can respond to it, share it, research it, see what others have said about it, tag it, subscribe to it… and the beat goes on.

I have been a long-time proponent of the newsroom becoming much more than a digital press kit comprised of a list of press releases, a fact sheet or two, and a few bios. More than ever, I see the newsroom evolving into a portal of sorts configured to channel content – be it video, audio, text, photos, blogs, podcasts etc. - in a way that creates a significantly richer experience, and which can meaningfully impact the myriad of variables that drive reputation – from the perspectives of accessibility, relevancy, transparency, and context. 

The Social Media Newsroom – as shown in Todd’s excellent live example on his own site – is a giant leap forward in the evolution of effective online corporate or organizational newsrooms. 

About a week ago, I was invited to talk to the Journalism class at Algonquin College here in Ottawa, my alma mater. As always, it was fun and the questions were interesting enough that I’m going to blog some of them later… but what interested me the most was when the class prof explained to me that, unlike other years, this year’s class contained a large percentage that had no interest in journalism and were focused more on getting into the communications field.

In my day that’d be considered blasphemy and worthy of a cat-o-nine-tails across the backside. But, in all honesty, it was heartening to see students broadening their horizons, and looking at the non-traditional and, dare I say, the dark side for inspiration. God forbid we should see PR students becoming reporters… but then again, and as I read the blogs around me, I think that’s already happened.