The Power of Social Networks in Singapore

By on November 14, 2011

John Bailey is Managing Director of ICON International Communications, Ketchum’s exclusive affiliate partner in Singapore and Australia.

The power of social networks to mobilize popular opinion has been seen in situations as diverse as the Arab Spring and the 2008 election of U.S. president Barack Obama. But on a much smaller scale, it is clear that companies need to consider the ability of customers, employees or other stakeholders to express their opinions forcefully through online networks.

A recent example in Singapore showed the importance of thinking through the impact of management decisions on every stakeholder, and of being prepared to deal with the potential reaction if they feel ignored or mistreated.

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Aren’t We There Yet?

By on November 11, 2011

It’s a question that was asked with an exasperated tone toward the end of a Ketchum-sponsored panel at PRWeek’s Next Conference on Wednesday in New York — and it’s one that some PR professionals have been asking for years.

The “there” in question, of course, is the “table” — as in the one that PR professionals have been yearning for a seat at for decades. The short answer to the question is, “Yes, we’re there, and we have been for a while.”

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FedEx Panda Express Takes Flight

FedEx Panda Express Takes Flight

FedEx carefully shipped pandas from China to zoos in Edinburgh and Paris on the FedEx Panda Express. Generating an estimated audience of 2.9 billion viewers and over 2,850 media clips, Ketchum and FedEx leveraged the shipments to expand brand identity in a highly visible, consumer-friendly way.

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HTAR (How to Abbreviate Right)

By on November 11, 2011

Texting language like LOL, OMG and ROTFL is popular for a reason: It offers a faster way to write much longer words. As such “letter words” increasingly become part of our everyday language, it’s worth noting that such writing shortcuts are nothing new. If all of today’s common texting terms disappeared overnight, the English language would still have plenty of first-letter-abbreviated expressions to fall back on. . . . But they’d likely be written inconsistently from one person to the next.

As PR professionals, our daily writing is filled with terms that are best known in their abbreviated forms (“PR” being a case in point). But the texting trend of using all capital letters and no periods doesn’t always reflect the best way to write them. Here are some of those abbreviations with guidance on how to write them right.

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Now Companies Can Get on the Same Page with Google+

By on November 10, 2011

Roughly 100 days ago, Google launched a new social network, Google+, and, after gaining 40 million registered users in an amazingly brief time, they have now taken it to the next level by launching Google+ Pages. These are roughly the equivalent of Facebook pages, and they’re open to anything nonhuman — brands, companies, organizations, publications, TV shows — you name it.

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Managing the Right Impact for CSR Programs

By on November 10, 2011

Last week, when I met one of India’s largest business groups to discuss a public relations program, the leading question was how to build higher impact for the company’s corporate social responsibility program.

Admittedly, CSR now enters the discussion on public relations planning in India more frequently than it did five years ago. Yet what struck me as different in this conversation was the emphasis on increasing impact – not just media impressions, which is often what PR managers focus on when planning CSR programs.

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The Creativity Paradox: Desire and Rejection of New Ideas

By on November 9, 2011

Innovative marketers aim for new ideas and creative solutions. Agencies are hired for their creativity and disruptive approaches. So, most agency briefings start with bold requests for new approaches and a strong call for breakthrough thinking.

But the seeming appetite for breakthrough ideas is often dampened by an innate fear of them. This paradox was recently uncovered in a study published by Cornell University and titled “The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire But Reject Creative Ideas.”

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Memo to Herman: The Rules of Engagement Have Changed!

By on November 8, 2011

To say it’s been a difficult two weeks for Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain would be a gross understatement.

We haven’t seen a presidential primary media scrum like this since Bill Clinton in 1992 and Gary Hart in 1988 – long before social media, Twitter, or even cable news channels, for that matter.

The rules of engagement have changed completely, though Cain seems to have missed the memo.

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Time to Refocus on Reputation

By on November 8, 2011

I think we’ve let ourselves get distracted over the past couple of years by the digital bandwagon. We’ve got all of these new communications channels all around us that promise so much. But what has really changed?

Regardless of whether you are broadcasting on Facebook, Sina Weibo or YouTube, we still have our target audiences just as we had with newspapers, TV and radio. We’ve always had “fans” who “like” us and detractors who don’t. Deciding which side of the fence to sit on is still based on values and behavior.

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It's in Your Own Hands

By on November 7, 2011

Recently a group of colleagues were introduced to a new agency partner. We all shook hands and then immediately got in the elevator to go to the meeting. We could hardly contain ourselves till the elevator doors closed to let escape our squeals of disgust and grimaces – limp handshake. Gross. Eeew.

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Digital Tweets from Ketchum Peeps – Nov. 4

By on November 4, 2011

Truth is, I’ve been sick all week. So, to get back in the loop, I’ve turned to my Ketchum colleagues’ tweets.

From what I can see, we’ve had a big week. We’ve seen how a lobster restaurant utilizes Foursquare for free advertising (and doubles their sales at the launch of their new location), we’ve got some insight into the best liked and most commented on Facebook pages (here’s a preview of the top four: Jesus Daily, The Bible, Dios Es Bueno! and Justin Beiber), and thanks to Google integrating YouTube with Google+, going on a date is way less intrusive than ever before (because you can now video-chat and watch a movie with YouTube on Google+ at the same time).

Here are the rest of the highlights from this week. Happy Friday!

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