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Tonight is the night for our 10th edition of the PRWeek Awards. If you will be with us, or you just want to follow along - the hashtag for tonight will be #PRWeekAwards - you can already read about people gearing up for the night .
Based on conversations I’ve had with a number of people in the industry, measurement (and measurement during this recessionary economy) is a hot topic. Join me and PR executives from SAP, FedEx, and Weber Shandwick on February 17 where we’ll be discussing this topic via Webcast. Details are below, including a link to register:
Measurement in an uncertain economy
Historically, PR measurement was one of the first things to go when organizations cut budgets. But smart PR client-side professionals are making the compelling case to their bosses that measurement is even more important during times of uncertainty. These PR professionals will discuss the cases they make for measurement, how it impacts the bottom line, and will show the audience how to answer questions that might come from their clients or the C-suite.
Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Time: 1pm est/10am pst
Featured speakers:
Saswato Das, director, global communications, SAP AG
Bill Margaritis, SVP of worldwide communications and IR, FedEx
Tim Marklein, executive VP, measurement & strategy, Weber Shandwick
On Tuesday, PRWeek’s editor-in-chief Keith O’Brien moderated a mediabistro.com panel, “The Customer is the Company: How Social Media is Changing Business”. Among the seven panelists were Craig Newmark, Craigslist founder and customer service rep; Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos; and Jeff Howe, contributing editor at Wired and “crowdsourcing” expert.
The panel touched upon your typical social media issues - why/how/when to use, when to separate corporate and personal blogs and Twitter accounts, ROI, etc. - but the techy talk seemed to fall flat next to Hsieh’s passion for customer service and a discussion about Zappos’ internal comms and hiring strategy (and Keith’s jokes about robots, of course). At the end of the first week of the four-week long new employee orientation, which includes customer service training, Zappos offers employees $2,000 to quit to weed out those who aren’t completely dedicated to the concept of service and the brand– seriously!
While Hsieh focused less on social media than on how Zappos’ corporate culture - customer service and a positive staff energy - contributes to its success, it’s well known that the company served as a social media pioneer, using Twitter for customer interaction. So Zappos serves as a model that success in the digital age can also be rooted in Stone Age values.
On November 6, Erica Iacono and I traveled to Philadelphia to host PRWeek’s healthcare roundtable and a panel discussion. The roundtable, which is scheduled to appear in our December 1 print issue, covered everything from the FDA’s view on social media to how pharmaceutical companies need to educate reporters about drug safety issues.
The panel, which was open to the public, featured an hour-long discussion with Laurie Hurley, MD of the New York office of Resolute Communications; Gwen Fisher, assistant VP of PR at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; and Ray Kerins, VP of worldwide communications at Pfizer.
I’ve posted two podcasts (here and here) and a video where the three discuss the merits of social media for Big Pharma.
Last night, a few PRWeek staffers attended a Hill & Knowlton panel discussion called “Marketing in a Downturn” at Soho House in New York. The agency invited more than a few clients from big consumer brands like Johnson & Johnson, Google, and Martha Stewart to listen to the talk about the changes in the marketplace.
Much of the conversation focused on digital outreach - something that PR pros have been pushing their clients to do more of, regardless of the economic situation. John Quelch, a WPP board member and senior associate dean at Harvard Business School, talked about the role of social media during times like this, noting that people want to stay close to friends and family.
MaryLee Sachs, chairman of H&K USA and the only PR professional on the panel, shared her view that PR is best positioned to handle the changes of a changing media landscape as well as marketing in an economic downturn because PR has always managed in “an uncontrolled environment.”
Since we’re all about lists here this week, and it’s getting play elsewhere, enjoy this link to Pierce Mattie’s 20 publications to watch in 2008. For the record, PRWeek’s list of publications to watch is much smaller: PRWeek.
For both journalists and communicators, the news cycle never ends. At The Cycle, PRWeek’s editorial team offers commentary and viewpoints on how the latest marketing, business, political, and cultural news impact the PR industry.
Studios still beholden to TV spend
Marketing in a recession (or depression)
SAG and AMPTP reach agreement
Highs and lows of marriage
NYT looks at drug ad confusion among marketers
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