Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Last week the energy team in London hosted many international colleagues, contacts and clients to our Demystifying Digital or D2 Energy event. We are happy to report that the event was a resounding success, with more than 80 delegates from across the energy spectrum and some great speakers. Some of the presentations will shortly be available online, but here I thought it worth sharing some of the key learnings that the day yielded.

Panellists debate 'The Age of Storytelling'

 1) Twitter is news

In a great anecdote from our keynote speaker, Carla Buzasi, we heard that at launch the editorial must have at the Huffington Post UK offices was two screens, one with a Twitter feed. This is not wholly surprising to anyone that has used Twitter, but rather neatly shows how important this platform has become in shaping the news both in terms of gathering content and in terms of quickly determining what stories have impact and interest.

 2) Use your “crazy geniuses”

During our panel one of our panellists explained that his company use their crazy geniuses to demonstrate their thought-leadership and engage expert audiences. This was something that Nikki Whiteman from Which? Had also eluded to earlier by saying “we thought it easier to teach our experts how to use digital tools than to teach our digital team to become experts”. Of course balancing this with the other calls on their time is not easy, but when that balance is right and the training, policies and strategy are in place, organisations often discover a wealth of compelling content exists within their own organisation to populate digital channels. Also when the person behind that content is more visible then the message is more compelling for an audience. As we were reminded throughout the day social media is just individuals interacting with one another. The more human that interaction can be the better. 

3) Listen first

This is something that we would always advocate to clients, but it was reinforced by a number of the presentations that we saw last week. Firms need to listen to the conversations about them and the markets that they operate in before deciding whether to or how to contribute to those conversations. Too often a presence is built on a platform before an organisation has listened and problems have arisen as a result. Audits, like H+K’s Pathfinder® are the best starting point, followed by monitoring that covers both a keyword analysis, but also a human review of conversations so as not to miss some of the nuances that automated monitoring can’t always capture.

 4) Be your own media

Our panel discussion with representatives from GE and Statoil was fascinating and this video from GE really captured the audience’s imagination and showed how rich and engaging content can convey complex ideas and messages directly rather than via traditional media. I think more generally it shows that organisations shouldn’t be afraid to think a little differently and try new things.

5) Good digital service can be a source of competitive advantage

Nikki Whiteman from Which? also talked about their approach to helping companies to serve their customers better and to bring to their attention customer dissatisfaction that is aired on social media platforms. There were several examples of organisations who simply by being responsive and ‘human’ in their digital interactions had clearly turned customer interactions into positive engagement and though that’s where the case study ended we can assume that a more positive and perhaps loyal relationship may have been the ultimate result if those customer interactions continued to be handled well through other channels.

Thank you to everyone that joined us at the event and for contributing to the breakout discussions. We hope you can join us again at our next event. If you have any questions or would like any H+K speakers to come and review some of the presentations with your team then do get in touch.

H&K were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to host a very interesting event by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)yesterday morning. The event was not only one of the first outings of new Director General, John Cridland, but also featured Secretary of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP in one of his first outings since the launch earlier this week of his government’s Carbon Plan. The CBI used this event to share some insights about consumer attitudes toward ‘low carbon economy’ products and initiatives and from a communications perspective the conclusions gave some food for thought. First though some really useful stats from the CBI report entitled ‘Making the Consumer Case for Low Carbon’:

•  Three quarters of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are either directly or indirectly attributable to consumer actions (Sustainable Consumption Institute)
• Seven out of ten people feel a sense of responsibility to do something about climate change (Ipsos MORI, March 2010)
• 39% of respondents to Ipsos MORI said that ‘clear evidence of reduced running costs’ would change their purchasing attitudes toward more energy efficient products
• 83% of respondents either strong agreed or tended to agree with the statement that ‘companies have a responsibility to give consumers as much information as they can about the energy efficiency of the products they sell’.
• When asked about which sources of information they trust to provide reliable information about energy efficiency or climate change, 40% said Which? Magazine, 30% Government or Government agencies, 28% scientists, 16% action groups like Greenpeace, 16% manufacturers, 12% trade associations. 9% newspapers, 9% TV and 9% retailers/shops. There were striking differences between different age groups too.

So what was so interesting from a communications perspective? Well one of the overriding messages that Mr Cridland was sharing with the audience and his members was that they had a challenge to communicate better with consumers if they were to convince them that low carbon products were worth their consideration.

When the leadership of an organisation like the CBI starts to make statements like this it can feel like manna from heaven for a communications specialist, especially when they conclude by saying that this is about more than spin and offering worthy but premium priced alternatives, it is about creating compelling price points and standards that consumers can trust. I couldn’t agree more and so look forward to working with our clients to define compelling low-carbon propositions for consumers. With the launch of the government’s Carbon Plan, policy appears to at last be providing a relatively clear path for more investment by business in the low carbon economy. Let’s hope the joined up approach continues.

A while back I had a bit of a rant on this blog about the launch of the London Cycle Scheme.  After a whole heap of pressure from colleagues on my team – who told me I wasn’t qualified to criticise the scheme unless I’d actually tried the bikes out - I was roped into giving the bikes a go.

For your entertainment here’s the result…

I like Boris. I really do.  In fact all my family are fans.  One of my three year old’s favourite books is Calm down Boris – about a messy-haired, friendly monster that goes round causing mischief.  Following the London mayoral elections in 2008 a bookseller set up a stand outside City Hall and shifted hundreds of copies. 

However, has he gone a step too far with the London Cycle Scheme that’s set to start later this week?  The theory behind it is good.  Providing an alternative, greener way to travel across the city is an excellent concept.  I can even see a rank of docking stations from my office window in Soho Square so there’s an even greater reason to banish those little one to two mile black cab bookings for a client meeting that each add greenhouse gases to our already polluted skies.

It’s not for me though.  I for one though won’t be using the scheme.  A straw poll around the Energy & Industrials team at work suggests I’m not alone.  Here are just some of the reasons why: 

• Free to use for the first half hour.  Great.  It’s not free though is it?  And it’s complicated.  First of all I should really become a member, then I need to pay an access fee, then I need to pay a hire fee.  It looks like it’ll be cheaper, quicker and simpler to get on the tube.  Particularly when the costs escalate rapidly after the “freebie” half hour.
• Whilst you can hire a bike, it seems that there’s no way of hiring a helmet to go with it.  The Melbourne bike hire scheme was a flop because it’s illegal to ride a bike without a helmet and – like London – they weren’t provided.  I used to cycle between Clapham and the office every day so can confidently say that London cycling takes a certain sense of determination and bravery.  James Cracknell is currently fighting for his life following his bike accident last week, and arguably would have been killed on the spot if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
• If the bike gets stolen or damaged there’s a £300 fine that I’m hit with.  No thanks.
• A number of the bikes have been produced in, and shipped from, Canada.  So not supporting British industry, and failing on environmental standards too.
• Oh, and it’s also a bit of a monster of a machine apparently.  23 kilograms to be precise.  That’s double the weight of a normal bike and doesn’t sound too easy to handle.

Boris has got a lot riding on this scheme.  Yesterday marked two years to go until the start of the 2012 Olympics, and the roller coaster that is Boris’ popularity had him soaring this week.  Some are saying that it’s a rise before a fall, and that failure of the Cycle Scheme could ultimately cost him his job.  I hope it doesn’t come to that, but equally I hope that the teething problems above – and there must be many more – get sorted out quickly.  Maybe then I’ll give it a try?