INFOKETCHUM

Repaged – and interactive!

As you must have noticed already, the Ketchum Information has got a new layout. Much more modern and interactive, the vehicle has been developed by the Interactive Communication division in association with the Publishing and Content area. Besides approaching the agency’s main innovations, the bulletin, monthly, provides resources as audio and video.

The inspiration to create the electronic information came from other successful actions, as the On-line Solution bulletin, the Carrefour Financial Solutions, and the Warner Bros.’ “Batman – The Dark Knight”.
To debut with great style, the new format of the Ketchum Information presents some of the main projects implemented specifically by the digital media agency – an irreversible trend in the communication segment.

BLOGS

A meeting with bloggers

On September 30th, some of the main bloggers dedicated to web 2.0 and to social media communication from the capital of São Paulo had the opportunity to exchange ideas with James Andrews, vice-president and global director of Ketchum Interactive Communications (KIC). During the meeting, conducted at Espaço Chakras, in São Paulo, the participants discussed the dynamics and the popularization of social media, the focus of the Public Relationship professional’s work and the main trends in the virtual world.

CASES

Online relationship

The new and multiple electronic communication platforms are potentializing the interconnectivity between people and companies.  It is not by chance that organizations are substituting the traditional communication channels – as TV, magazines and newspapers – for online relationship programs. “Blogs and sites have been chosen by our clients for the launching of products and dissemination of events and actions”, says Wallace Baldo, Ketchum Strategy Interactive Communication manager. Next, he talks about actions of the kind promoted by the field, created in May this year.

LG Eletronics
In September last year, LG wanted to take 300 people, from among design and architecture professionals and academics, to its first International Design and Innovation Forum. With a tight time limit for disclosure – only 15 days – the Interactive Communications area got in touch with bloggers and community moderators from these segments through Orkut. The result was amazing. “Two days before the event we had already 400 confirmed names”, states Baldo. “We had 350 participants and we were able to publish the news in tens of blogs and communities that addressed design and innovation.”

Danone
Another successful example is the hot site www.saudedigestiva.com.br, created for Danone because of the 29th of May this year, the day when the World Digestive Health Day is celebrated. “Besides having leaped from fifth to first place in the Google site search, we assure users visualization from 13 countries”, reminds Baldo. According to the KIC manager, in only one day of disclosure 2,500 accesses of unique users have been accomplished. Furthermore, within only four days more than 4 thousand page views were recorded.

Duracell
These good results were achieved as well by the launching of the Power Pix batteries, Duracell Ultra M3 and Duracell Rechargeable Batteries, manufactured by P&G Brazil, which increasingly relies on communication actions performed in the blogosphere. The achieved visibility in the main technology blogs was great, like Meio Bit (ww.meiobit.com). “Solely through Orkut we reached 42 communities, which represents nothing less than 1 million and 800 thousand people”, states Baldo. Altogether, 19 posts about the subject have been published in blogs. Furthermore, entries for Wikipedia have been created. Whoever looks for Duracell and alkaline batteries, for instance, may now obtain correct and updated information in the collaborative encyclopedia.

PRESS-KIT

Digital mix

The Ketchum Strategy Interactive Communication surprised the journalists who attended the Rio Oil & Gas Conference, which took place from September 15th to 18th in Rio de Janeiro, by developing for Dow a press-kit in multimedia format. Besides making information accessible from any place in the world, the innovation gathered into the same place, texts, photos, videos, graphs, logotypes and spokespersons’ profiles, among other facts. Besides the good example for environmental conscience, the channel possesses an infinite storage capacity.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Interactive Communications on the PR Week

Ketchum published in September this year an announcement, by means of an interview, through one of the most dignified North-American magazines in the Public Relationship market, the PR Week. The theme presented was the trademark value maximization on the internet from the optic of someone who really manages the subject. In this case, James Andrews, Ketchum Interactive Communications’ vice-president  and global director; Chad Latz, Ketchum Interactive Communications’ senior vice-president; Simon Noel, Ketchum’s Mobile Marketing director in Spain; and Wallace Baldo, Ketchum Strategy’s Interactive Communications manager.

How is online different today compared to five years ago?

Simon: Today, Internet users not only consume, but also create content. Consumers now have free access to tools that let them become part of the media instantly. They can now create and take part in discussions and communities that often attract impressively large, loyal audiences, and that target very defined groups. Some of these consumers now create what is often up-to-the-minute, accurate, exclusive content and become important influencers themselves.

Chad: Online has become – finally – a true multimedia experience that is now the backbone of a seamless, ever-present, multichannel media environment. And, unlike traditional media that have a one-way flow, it's truly interactive, in multiple directions. This provides marketers with many new ways of learning about their customers – and engaging them.

What kinds of challenges are posed by these new media environments?

James: The biggest one is that there is far less control over how brands appear in media. On the other hand, the ways in which social media are consumed demonstrate that credibility and authenticity have real power in these environments. So it's a great advantage when brands become part of these dialogues in a natural and positive way.

How have shifts in media creation and consumption changed the role of the PR agency?

Wallace: As of five years ago, we worked with a fairly limited number of audiences and tools. Now, we engage influencers in hundreds of channels using a much wider array of tactics and media formats – from mobile marketing to social networks to blogs and wikis to webcasts. Being able to adapt to this ever-changing environment is what will set PR agencies apart.

James: Another new and vital role for agencies is coaching clients on how to inhabit the online media environment themselves – first, so they can understand it, and second, because there are many aspects of having an online presence that shouldn't be handed off to someone else. This has brought our roles as guides and strategists more to the fore.

What should be the most important goals in today's interactive environments?

Chad: Collaboration, interaction, conversation and proximity. Also, producing the right online experience, and not just content, often constitutes the most powerful kind of brand presence you can have. How things are done, and how they feel, rather than what things are said are often what create the most sustainable bonds with consumers.

What are the key considerations in integrating interactive PR efforts with more conventional PR programs?

James: Flexibility above all. Messaging that is not customized to the venue in which it will appear will not feel authentic – and this is crucial to fitting into an online ecosystem in a welcome and credible way. Today's influencers build relationships with peers, not spokespeople. That's why in social media, traditional press-relations models mostly don't apply.

Simon: This is where flexibility becomes crucial – in making traditional PR messaging portable to non-traditional media, as in content syndication, and making traditional formats, like online newsrooms, more adaptable to multiple audiences.

How is the performance of online PR measured?

Wallace: The position of a web site in search engine results, the number of members in a social network, or the number of RSS subscribers for a blog or column provide important metrics. There are many others, but the key is knowing which ones are appropriate. Perhaps the most important bit of advice regarding interactive measurement is an old one: Be clear about objectives. Then you can choose tracking options appropriate to what you want to measure.

Is there any general advice you’d like to offer about interactive marketing?

Chad: To be careful about generalities! There are no one-size-fits-all solutions online or anywhere else. But there is one general comment I'll confidently offer: Be true to your brand. If you do, you'll stand for something clear, and stand out in complex media environments.