CommIT News - September 2009
Welcome all to another CommIT News - grab five minutes, a coffee, sit back and read about our 10th birthday, how to use Twitter in B2B, and what a few of our clients have been up to. Enjoy!
Shelley Grell, Director
Communicate IT is 10 years old!
The first bit of news, which I can't quite believe myself, is that on 2 August Communicate IT officially notched the 10 year milestone.
I still remember my first presentation here in Christchurch, when PR tailored to the needs of the technology industry was a brave new world for many tech-firms in New Zealand.
Today the technology industry has fully embraced PR at every level; from strategic education and awareness programmes to support product launches, raising the profile of key individuals to establish thought-leadership positioning,
blogging on social media sites and company websites to share industry information and views, through to stakeholder communications that truly add value as well as satisfying corporate governance.
But what has had the biggest impact on PR over the past 10 years, is the seismic shift in communication channels now available.
In 1999 Twitter and Facebook didn’t exist and free blogging programmes had only just become available, leading to a huge surge in the popularity of blogs.
Since then, the sheer pace of change and rate of adoption of social and business online activity has been truly breathtaking.
For those of us in the technology industry and working with the ever evolving media on a daily basis, it has been a fascinating journey.
Nothing is so certain that over the course of the next 10 years the pace of change will only quicken.
The number of ways we can communicate with our customers, employees, stakeholders and prospects continues to increase, but a fundamental truth remains;
our reputation is our most valuable possession in business and must be nurtured, protected and managed.
This is still the core premise of every good PR, we are the guardians of our clients’ reputations and with the proliferation of communication channels;
it is a role that is becoming ever more crucial to every organisation.
So Twitter's great, but what am I supposed to do with it?
Have you noticed that you are reading anything remotely connected to Twitter lately?
Previously the domain of celebs, teenagers and hip consumer brands, businesses from every sector have jumped on the Twitter band wagon.
Indeed, for marketing professionals around the globe it has become some what of a right of passage.
No communications strategy is complete without a chapter dedicated to Twitter's promised land.
And rightly so - as a communication channel it simply cannot be ignored.
And this, for many businesses still hovering on the side lines or with one toe in the water,
is part of the challenge - "I cannot ignore Twitter, but I have no real idea how to use it to its best advantage". Read on..
It's all about our clients!
We secured some great national coverage recently for our client, Activate Technologies Limited, appearing on NZI Business
and in the NZ Herald. Making the most of Shaun's flying visit to NZ before he headed back to Activate's office in San Francisco.
Continuing to make waves in the health sector, July proved a great month for another client, Emendo, the makers of CapPlan.
We made the most of an award win in the UK for Emendo's capacity planning software with a half-page profile in The Press,
coming hot on the heels of successfully pitching them to NZI Business in May.
Strategic Public Relations Workshop for Canterbury Development Corporation - Thurs 24 September, CDC Level 2, 193 Cashel Street
This month I'll be running a Strategic PR workshop at the Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC), looking at how to match PR tactics to your business strategy -
Who do you want to talk to? What are the key messages you want to get across? What communication channels should you use? What type of PR should you be doing?
The answers to all of these questions will be driven by your overall strategy; are you launching a new product or service? Increasing your customer base? Entering a new market? Seeking investment?
I’ll look at the different options available to businesses, in terms of both types of PR (digital, news driven, thought-leadership, stakeholder communications and Government relations) and the communication channels available (social media, national and regional press, radio, TV, online and vertical sector outlets), and make some recommendations using some example business strategies.
The session runs from 9am – 12pm and is free to attend. All I ask is that you come with a few good questions prepared to make sure you get the most out of the time. Included in the workshop attendance for approved businesses is a 1.5 hour one-to-one coaching session following the workshop. To register log on to www.cdc.org.nz/registration or email: training@cdc.org.nz
