business

YOU DON’T KNOW MEEEEEEEE

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

Why oh why oh why in an age where it has never been easier to reach a diverse population or hire a team that fully reflects a diverse range of people, do soooo many agencies leave diversity down the bottom of the priority list.  This isn’;t about box ticking or an equal opps rant.  This is about common bloody business sense.

Want to sell to mums, errr, have some mums on your team.

Want to sell to flexible workers….maybe don’t have an entire team of London-based twenty-somethings who live in Clapham and don’t have families doing the comms.

Running a campaign for women? Why are there only men on the senior account team?

You get it. I know. So I’ll stop ranting.

But a final plea to the PR industry….mix it up for Gawd’s sake….let’s get rid of this typical white middle class industry with mostly women at junior ranks and mostly men at the top. If we can’t get our shit together for equal opportunities, at least let’s get better at what we do.

useful comms quotes #329 – Seth Godin

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

If you don’t get it built, the work doesn’t matter.

So when you’re pitching, writing plans, costing proposals and brainstorming endlessly, remember – that work, that investment, that blood sweat and tears doesn;’t matter if you can’t actually persuade someone to take the risk, run with the idea and do the campaign.
As an industry, we place a lot of emphasis on creativity and ideas people.
But the people who make them happen, push them through, get them bought and finish them off are the ones you need in your team too.

reading: what Google+ will mean for brands

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

A great summary of the way brands are approaching Google+ and what is in it for them from Andrew Blakeley @ The Wall Blog

– They don’t see this as a “Facebook killer” and said several times during the meeting, “you’ll still need Facebook, and you’ll still need Twitter”

– They don’t see it as as social network, rather a social enhancement to the whole web. One day everyone will need a G+ account because it’s practically impossible to use the internet without using Google owned sites.

– It’ll be nice and open for competitions for brands, UNLESS they are trying to use them to gain +1s on their content, in order to affect search results. You will be able to use inclusion in Circles as an incentive for contests.

– The +1 Button is going to be huge. By owning a brand page and using +1 Buttons on your other owned sites, you create a link between them, demonstrating that they are official, and improving search rankings.

– +1 Buttons will appear on all ads in the Google Display Network. +1ing them will count towards the final landing URL. Users will be served more relevant ads than ever, based on their friends’ +1s and ad clicks.

– Circles will be great for segmentation. Brands will be able to segment their users into different circles and push out different messages to each.

– G+ will be a testing ground for ideas – trying them on a small circle of fans – say 100 – and seeing how that goes before pushing an idea to the entire consumer base.

– Hangouts are the main distinction from Facebook. The ability to host hangouts with fans, and consumers, and then publish them to YouTube for the whole world to see is likely to become much more normal. Only 10-15 may be able to participate at once, but thousands can watch a “stadium” hangout.

– People are already using Hangouts innovatively, from Dolly Parton chatting to fans, to hosting focus groups, to creating a remote baby-sitting tool.

– Another thing that may be useful for brands is the Android App and Instant Upload – imagine being at a brand event and being able to put the pics up, for everyone who couldn’t make it, in seconds.

– The Android app and Instant Upload will make brand events more instantly shareable to the web. Imagine being at a brand event and being able to put the pics up, for everyone who couldn’t make it, in seconds, without having to go through any complicated upload sequences.

via What Google+ will mean for brands | The Wall Blog.

reading: investors ask chairmen to clarify positions on women in the boardroom

Posted on by Becky Green (was McMichael)

Chairmen of UK FTSE 350 companies have been asked to disclose what their goals are for increasing female representation on their boards.

The move by seven leading institutional investors in UK listed companies is designed to send the message to businesses that gender equality is an important issue to asset and investment managers.

via Investors ask chairmen to clarify positions on women in the boardroom || Equality, Diversity And Inclusion News || inclusiveemployers.co.uk.