Lessons from the Front: How PR is Leveraging the Social Media Opportunity

Could a Closer Relationship with Advertising Yield Better Results for Both?

Elizabeth SosnowElizabeth SosnowJanuary 28, 2011

You can’t contain disruptionYou can t contain disruption

2Photo by: Direct Dish

This is notThis is not…• A speech about why social media is importantp y p• A speech to share the latest social media trends and

tools• A speech about how to judge successful

advertising/social campaigns• A speech about why PR is “doing it right”• A speech about why PR is doing it right• A speech about why Advertising is “doing it wrong”

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This is a speech about:This is a speech about:

Le eraging Opport nit• Leveraging Opportunity• Getting more clients

B ildi lli• Building more cross selling opportunitiesD i i fit• Driving more profit

Photo by: The Big Quack4

Industry leaders & observers are worriedare worried

"I left my cushy job at a global agency. Actually, I didn't leave; I was pushed out " – Ad professionalout. Ad professional

"Creating more work for less money is the big paradox" -- Matt Howell, president of Modernista

"Our power has been matched and, in some categories, rivaled by user influence" – McCann CEO

"Marketing in the future is like sex. Only the losers will have to pay for it." – Jon Bond

“In our business whenever there's a disruption our clients need guidance"In our business, whenever there's a disruption, our clients need guidance" --Interpublic CEO

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Why am I speaking to you about this? I i d tI was worried, too.

• In 2007, we are a B2B PR firm. We don’t care about social media

• In 2008, not one client had conducted a social media campaigncampaign

• In 2009, we established digital footprints for about 75% of our clients

• In 2010, almost every one of our clients added social to their marketing mixWe reaped the financial benefits• We reaped the financial benefits

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How did we do it?How did we do it?• Led the charge myself, instead of delegating it• Hired my own teacher• Accepted that this would be a slow build process to educate clients• Built little programsBuilt little programs• Understood that the gold rush mentality around “setting up a Twitter

feed” would not last• Relied heavily on our history of thought leadership to drive initial• Relied heavily on our history of thought leadership to drive initial

content• Pushed agency employees to accept their job descriptions had

changedchanged• Leveraged adjacent services such as SEO and video production• Fell in love with Google Analytics

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How to avoid common SM pitfalls

• Plot out where your old services can – and cannot – be yextended into new offerings

• Evangelize, but only when it reflects your knowledge of ifi t / i hspecific sectors/niches

• Prevent employees from taking the global agency POV • Spend much more on digital training then you would like• Spend much more on digital training then you would like • Support the client’s desire to own social• Leverage the many free tools that exist to offer better g y

data• Work late. A lot

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There’s plenty of business for everyone

• Social Network Ad Spending Worldwide 2009-Social Network Ad Spending Worldwide 20092011

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2010 Opportunity Snapshot2010 Opportunity Snapshot• McKinsey research says companies that use social media achieve

higher profits• YouTube introduces skippable ad format • Email remains most dominant mobile activity in U.S. (38.5% time y (

spent)• App users download an average of 27 apps• iPads and Kindles hasten rise of content marketingiPads and Kindles hasten rise of content marketing• Search engines confirm social influence = improved ranking• Billboard debuts new “Social 50” chart

Bi d i di $750 00 1 000 000 di it l t i i• Big ad agencies spending $750,00-1,000,000 on digital training programs

• U.S. Location-based service users jumps from 12 to 33 million

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Unilever’s Axe campaign inspired the t i l h tt i 2010most social chatter in 2010

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Old Spice was everywhere…perhaps the t f l i l di imost successful social media campaign ever

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Pepsi Refresh demonstrated integration across platforms

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The Swagger Wagon got multiple plays in my house

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Converse Domaination offers continuous communication

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Movember’s mustaches reminds illi f t thi k b t h lthmillions of men to think about health

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World’s Biggest Dorito bagWorld s Biggest Dorito bag

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Oxy Clinical demonstrated power of PR i t ti i l di bl t hintegration, including blogger outreach

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What does TAAN think of the social media opportunity? How does itmedia opportunity? How does it

compare to PR’s take?• 4Q survey of 50 TAAN members and 50 Worldcom

members• Qualitative interviews with 5 TAAN leaders as well as• Qualitative interviews with 5 TAAN leaders, as well as

several PR thinkers:– Bob Travers– John McCallum– Gordon Hochhalter– Rodrigo Rodriguesg g– Sean Duffy

• Integrated PR leader Matt Kucharski also offered valuable insightvaluable insight

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Does PR lead in Social Media?Does PR lead in Social Media?Pleased with their Profession's approach to SM

64%

40%Keeping Pace

12%Innovative Advertising

20%

52%

PR

84%

52%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Positive Rating

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0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

Lower Social Media Self Esteem for Advertisers

Ratings given by PR and Advertisers

54%

48%Keeping Pace

20%Innovative PR gives Advertisers

13%

68%

Advertisers give PR

67%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

Positive Rating

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Working Relationships are in the eye of the beholder

Working Relationships are in the eye of the beholder

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Working Relationships are in the eye of the beholder

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PR folks less likely to work with Advertising

Social Media

64

Advertisers like to work with PR

Social Media

General

64

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

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Social Media Revenue Growth for Ad Agencies

Social Media Revenue Growth for Ad Agencies

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More than 33%

124

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15%‐25%

25%‐33%

2011

40

25

445%‐15%

2010

3625

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Less than 5%

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Social Media Revenue Growth for PR Firms

Social Media Revenue Growth for PR Firms

4

825%‐33%

24

3215%‐25%

2011

36

16

445%‐15%

2010

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0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Less than 5%

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United in Social Media Growth Strategies

8%Educate their clients about the potential of social media

16%Invest in new people or training to get their organizations up to speed

35%Integrating social media in all campaigns and programs 35%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

Integrating social media in all campaigns and programs

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TAAN Members are Scoping the S i l O i d Pi f llSocial Opportunity…and Pitfalls

• “Social media is an investment that we think is beginning to pay off.”• “We lost our social person to (big agency). They learned on the job.”• “TAAN members are still struggling with scoping the social media offer and

making money.” • “Our client contacts are on LinkedIn, our creatives are on Facebook.”• “We realized if we didn’t do it, someone else would.”• “2011 is the year we define the social media opportunity for our clients.”• “Brazil is just starting with social media now. Right now, 42% of the

country’s marketing budget goes to ads.”• “We see social media work developing from interactive agencies, not ad

agencies You design a website then you get to develop a social program ”agencies. You design a website, then you get to develop a social program.• “Our in-house SEO is an inverted version of a media buyer. He makes the

stuff and now they come to him.”• “Ad agencies used to be entertainers now we can offer more concrete• Ad agencies used to be entertainers, now we can offer more concrete

business value and measure it.”26

TAAN Members on PR’s Place in Social

• “Social media bridges the gap between advertising and g g p gPR.”

• “We never hear from PR after initial meeting. Are they t ti th i b d t?”protecting their budget?”

• Social media is part of the PR function – it is a relations activity.”activity.

• “We look to PR firms for their media contacts…we do our blogger outreach in house.”

• “Large PR dropped the ball on social.”• “It’s not a discipline issue, it’s a generational issue. Are

you a traditionalist or you open to change?”you a traditionalist or you open to change?27

Why does PR appear more confident about social?

• PR starts with ongoing “brand builder” mindsetPR starts with ongoing brand builder mindset vs. finite project “promoter”

• PR more used to “heavy time, low cost” activitiesy ,• PR jumped on idea of becoming influencers

themselves• PR likes words – and words are free & fast• Advertising grappling with (sometimes) small d e t s g g app g t (so et es) s a

social budgets• Advertising still refining perspective on digital, as g g p p g ,

well as social28

My Social Media success formula

• Self model the presence you would like to sellSelf model the presence you would like to sell• Senior social knowledge should eclipse juniors – not

the reverse• Make sure Google confirms your personal and

agency brands• Research, research, research. No shortcuts, ever.• Accept that “conversations” are time consuming,

arduous workarduous work• Social = giving, not receiving

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How can PR & Advertising collaborate more closely?

CollaborationData Analysis

Messaging“Listening” (monitoring)

Content Creation

Collaboration

Influencer Identification & Outreach

Community Management Crisis Management

Earned POVT h lTechnology

Visual creativityMultimedia savvy

Media planning insights

Idea Packaging & Extension

1-1 ConversationsSEOPR AdvertisingVideo

HumorPaid POV

BlogsMeasurement

Training

Advertising

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2011 Client To-Do List – How can you h l th hi th bj ti ?help them achieve these objectives?

• Integrate web 2.0 into employees’ day to day activitiesg p y y y• Ignore viral in favor of “extraordinary ordinaries” such as email

campaigns• Build mobile “pure plays” (not retrofitted)• Build mobile pure plays (not retrofitted)• Have a POV on how to extend projects with location• Embed a “preditor” at client site 1x per monthp p• Create a content universe with continuous big and small

bangs• Build an analytics dashboard• Build an analytics dashboard• Identify and equip client community managers• Develop proprietary products that extend your current

positioning31

Conversation StartersConversation StartersIs it realistic to think that Advertising and PR can collaborate gon social? What roles would you want to “own” in a joint pitch?Does PR over-rate its capabilities in SM? Does it under-rateDoes PR over rate its capabilities in SM? Does it under rate advertising’s SM potential?Is there an opportunity for smaller ad agencies to “pull the r g o t” from nder big agencies ith high ol me of smallerrug out” from under big agencies with high volume of smaller projects?How many of your current social media campaigns fall into the “promoter” vs. “brand builder” buckets?How much agency budget have you invested in digital and social training? Why?soc a t a g y

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Last slideLast slide

“It is the people who figure out how toIt is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities ofpeople who mastered the complexities of the past, who get to say what happens in the future ”in the future.

Cl Shi kClay Shirky

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