Alert the Media: FRANk PR is here
Welcome to FRANk PR. As a social business agency that challenges assumptions about communications and looks at how we can engage with people in media, it was a logical next step that we incorporate PR into our offering, fusing it with our social business know how and connecting the missing link for our clients.
And I am the one who will help you do this – hi!
Who am I?
My name is Sarah Kempson and I come to FRANk Media after a number of years working across a variety of marketing disciplines. My background includes PR, advertising, branding and social across corporate, government and consumer clients, in both agency and client-side. I also produce my own blog and write for online and print publications, helping me to better understand the traditional and new media platforms and how best to engage them.
So what is PR today? And how do we address the challenge of integrating PR and social?
PR today is more targeted than even before. In an environment where most people in media have a Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest – or whatever the flavour of the month is – personalisation is required. Who is the right person to talk to? What is the best way to engage them? Who do they influence? Finding the right approach is paramount – one size does not fit all and it’s important to integrate across all platforms – old and new.
PR now needs to focus on engaged content, rather than just push content
Old vs New
PR Professionals need to be savvy in the way they approach journalists today – a press release emailed to the newsdesk is no longer enough to get your client in the media. Hooks need to be stronger; news needs to be quirkier; a unique point of difference is required. What makes your story special?
And it’s not just traditional media that we are sending a press release to anymore. Whilst print, radio and TV might seem the most logical (or most powerful) choices, are they the right ones? Or are they simply the ones we know and are familiar with? As the graphic below represents, half of our media consumption is now via the internet. Social media, be it viral campaigns, blogger engagement or getting your message across in 140 characters on Twitter – needs to be a part of this mix.
50% of our media consumption is via the Internet
Where to now?
At the end of the day, the basic premise of both PR and social business is the same as it has always been; the building and maintaining of personal relationships. This should always remain at the forefront of any planning for your brand’s PR and social strategy. The communications landscape is changing often and while it may seem daunting to keep up, the key will always be to keep it personal.
What are some of the best integrations of PR and social campaigns you have seen recently? Or, the worst?
FRANkademy for retail
Last Friday we had a FRANkademy session in the lovely hall next door to our Prahran office, this time with a distinct retail flavor. This was our 12th FRANKademy but was the first time we have focused on a specific business sector. For those who couldn’t make it, we discussed the importance of social business and how it can work for retail to facilitate customer service, drive customer loyalty and sales. We also covered off the trials and tribulations of some of the popular social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. and ways to integrate up and coming technologies with the platforms to excite and engage customers.
Many curious people attended from all different business types ranging from boutique businesses to large national corporates. It was an interesting session that generated a lot of questions and discussions afterwards.
Here is the presentation in case you missed the session, or would like to recap and share it. Please feel free to comment on it and ask questions if you got any – we are happy to help and talk you through any points you find particularly interesting.
FRANkademy: Social business for retail
Thank you for everyone who attended:
Random Acts of Marketing and Social Media – Are you Socially Guilty?
A quick hello & intro from me – my name is Bec, I’m new to the FRANk team . I’ve been told I’m not official until the first post, so here it goes…
I was driving through Chippewa, Wisconsin – population 480 – and there it was, right in front of me at the local petrol station, written with a sharpie & duct tape: “JOIN OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!”
It’s quite endearing thinking about the motivation behind this, but the marketer in me says…why?
This is what we like to call Random Acts of Marketing & Social Media (RAM or RASM). We don’t know why, who we’re targeting, or what the purpose is, we just know we need to be on Facebook/Twitter/FourSquare/Pinterest! You’re inviting consumers to your party, forgetting to provide nibbles and locking them inside. Bad host!
RAM has been around for years, and has pretty much gone un-noticed. Without little consumer insight or ROI, it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.
With RASM, however, you’ve baited your consumers with the promise of (insert content strategy, sales pitch here). Your brand is linked with your consumer’s social circle and they are expecting you to deliver. When you fail to, or no longer deliver content, your brand sits stagnant. You’ll lose your consumers trust and potentially their business.
Unfortunately for the consumer, it’s not just Mum & Pop shops that are taunting us with RASM, the big brands are doing it too.
Take this all too familiar corporate example from our friend Tom:
Big Boss Man: We need a Facebook/Twitter/FourSquare/Pinterest strategy!
Digital Chief: Social is a long-term strategy. I’m not sure what you mean.
Big Boss Man: We need a Facebook/Twitter/FourSquare/Pinterest strategy!
Digital Chief: I can pull money from “ x” and put in on Facebook/Twitter/FourSquare/Pinterest
Big Boss Man: Perfect – Now we have a strategy!
In comparison to the slow evolution of ad dollars to digital, at lightning speed, social media spending is about to explode.
So, like “Big Boss Man” above, some brands are quick to jump at whatever is trending without first developing their social strategy. Like it or not, social is in it for the long haul. Take this as your opportunity to prepare yourself for wherever the constantly evolving social landscape takes you.
Your strategy behind social should be approached as any other platform: with business values & consumer needs at the core.
So, if you’ve realized you may be guilty of Random Acts of Social Media – you should expect your business results to be just that: random. Not sure where to start? Give yourself a FRANk social business check.
Come across any interesting RASM lately? Share them below…
The Social Media Bus is Rolling…who’ve you got at the wheel?
So this morning I was fortunate enough to be asked to talk at a Monash Marketing event.
It was a great turn out and some great content from the three presentations.
Thank you to Christine Barnes from It’s the thought that counts for introducing me to Michael Valos who chairs the event.
As promised my charts are available here for all to view and share:
City2Sea – Running of the Mo’s
Sunday saw Melbourne’s first ‘The Sunday Age City2Sea’ 14km running event. 13,000 registrants showed at the NGV for kick-off at 9am. With a prompt start, we were off…
Okay so I didn’t quite keep up with the female leader (who managed to finish in 49:56mins) and a few pit stops were needed, but an 1 ½ later I was done! Conditions was near perfect and the best part for me was the post run festivities…
Movember were the main beneficiaries and was great to join their MO Tent afterwards for some nourishing food and beverages.
Congrats to those who participated and thanks to those who have donated towards the Movember cause.
Movember Launch 2011
Movember kicked off with a bang last night at the Melbourne Launch event held at Blue Diamond
It was an opportunity for everyone to see a glimpse into this year’s campaign, which is all about the country gentleman. Here’s a sneak peak into this year’s TVC series…
A great night was had by all and everyone received a gift bag full of all sorts of goodies thanks to Movember sponsors for 2011. Everyone also left with a visual memento thanks to nib who sponsored a photo booth, nice touch!
We are looking forward to a fantastic campaign this year. For those who would like to support our FRANk team, thanks in advance.
FRANkademy approach to social business strategy
Last Friday we re-energised our FRANkademy session at our fantastic new venue, 36B St Edmonds Road. It was a beautiful day and we had a great turn out.
We kicked off with why the need for a Social Business Strategy is becoming increasingly important to generate positive recommendation and close the loyalty loop. We discussed the opportunity for publishing to become the new marketing and build a sustainable point of difference as the long-favoured paid-for interruption model becomes increasingly expensive in the face of fragmenting audiences.
We agreed that the first-mover advantage is still there for most brand categories and it’s all about getting it right from the outset. Many brands have begun the process with a tool-based strategy and in most cases wondering why their social business-play isn’t working.
We emphasised that if they begin here then they are starting in the wrong place. The starting point needs to establish a social business strategy across marketing, customer service, sales etc. and decide which tools can help fulfil these objectives.
We talked about the hero tools of the moment in more depth; twitter, facebook, google+ and blogging summing up with a case history and the essential ingredients for a successful business strategy.
Thank you to all who joined us on the day and to those unable to join us we’re running another FRANkademy on October 21st .
Here’s a slideshare so you can have a look at our charts and share them with anyone who you think might benefit. Please feel free to let us have your feedback or any questions.
Serving is the new Selling
This is what happens when you head off to Bali for a week and leave your plant in the hands of your FRANk colleagues – Sorry Leanne!
However, help may be at hand thanks to a recent campaign initiative from Madrid. A shopping centre there has proven they understand “serving is the new selling” with their free full-board hotel service for plants, providing love and attention while owners are on holiday.
Across July & August, travellers who are concerned about the welfare of their plants can take them to Hotel Para Plantas, a designated floor at Isla Azul where they will be looked after by a team of professional botanists. All “guests” are given personal treatments tailored to suit their needs, including water, light, pruning, spraying and irrigation. There are even security cameras so customers can rest assured their pots aren’t neglected, and audio downloads available that stimulate plant growth and deter pests.
The campaign itself aims to drive more visitors to the shopping centre by responding to a real problem, building a customer database, and creating positive PR and a service with longevity after the campaign ends. There is also an incentive to win EUR 500 worth of vouchers when shoppers register their details.
Hotel Para Plantas is a creative, but functional solution that ticks all the boxes when it comes to building trust with consumers. How could you better serve your customers’ needs and keep them coming back for more?
You’ll be pleased to know that not all was lost with Leanne’s plant, with 24 hours of intense watering and plenty of sunlight prior to her return it was resurrected and is now thriving!
FRANk supports the Prahran Mission – will you?
Getting to work in a lovely light-filled office in bustling Prahran, I think, means we at FRANk do have it pretty good. There are loads of interesting shops, caffeinated people and great food stops around, so lunch hour is never boring!
But besides all the superficial charms of Prahran, we also do appreciate the work and beliefs of our down-the-road neighbour, the Prahran Mission. The Prahran Mission, located on Chapel St, focuses its efforts on providing emergency relief services to those experiencing poverty, homelessness and economic disadvantages as well as rehabilitation services to those experiencing mental illness and psychiatric disability. We stand with them in believing that everyone, regardless of their mental health or economic/social disadvantage, has a right to a full and meaningful life. You can read more about what they do and the services and support they provide on their website.
Up for grabs – Halter neck dress by Kim Kneipp
Earlier this month, a fashion fundraiser – Mission 65 – was organised to bring together a selection of Melbourne’s most accomplished design talent and students from the Whitehouse Institute of Design in a glamorous 1940s themed evening to celebrate 65 years of community support from the Prahran Mission. Mission 65′s fundraising involved an interactive fashion show and silent auction. Using clothing from the Mission’s op shops, esteemed Melbourne designers such as Jenny Bannister, Project Runway’s Anthony Capon and Madam Virtue created new from the old.
While many beautiful pieces were sold at the live auction itself, a few are still awaiting their fashionable owners. FRANk is proud to support the Prahran Mission in its fundraising cause, by organising and promoting an online auction of the remaining pieces. The garments have just been placed on eBay, so take a look, place a bid or two or three, and tell your fashionista friends – 100% of the proceeds go to the Prahran Mission and to helping people in need.
Check out FRANk’s freshly stocked online shop of designer couture for the Prahran Mission!
You can also see the glamorous pictures from the Mission 65 fashion show here.
Culinary Fun @FRANk: for the love of food & diversity
Australia recently celebrated Harmony Day, a day to celebrate community participation, inclusiveness and respect. It is an important day and here at FRANk we have our own little monthly celebration of community, participation, inclusiveness and mutual respect: We celebrate FOOD
We all have to eat lunch and FRANk has a very diverse team with people descending from South Africa, Germany, England, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Combined with the team’s sociability you have a great recipe for a special lunch gathering:
A group of two puts on lunch for the whole team once a month. We eat together and experience a new culture via food. See for yourself:
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
Cooking with a table top bbq
Espresso Martini Time
Pizza and Beer Feast
Pizza and Beer Feast
Cooking with a table top bbq
2011: The year to rethink and question everything
As we entered 2011 we hired a new addition to the social business strategy team: Nick
His first task here at FRANk is to do exactly what we do when we sign up a new client: Immersion. For those who have not worked with us, Immersion is the first step to a social business strategy. It is our process to find out what strategy works best for your company and industry.
We asked Nick to do the Immersion for our business for two reasons:
1) He needs to learn how we roll at FRANk
2) As a business we want to be the best in our category and we believe that we only get there if we rethink and question once a year our processes and own strategy
All our clients get a review of their strategy once a year and why should we treat our own business any different? You see we not only talk the talk, we also walk the walk!
Business is changing so rapidly these days and you need to keep up with the constant changes. Watch the video below from LeaderLabdotcom and find out why and how the changes affect your business:
No doubt most businesses are aware that the business world is changing. Open and collaborative business models (aka social business models) are on the rise and become more and more successful. Yet one of my biggest struggles as a social business strategist is to convince managing directors to invest into a social business strategy. They are not buying it because they are not keeping up with the developments and have stopped learning and questioning.
My grandparents always said “Stillstand ist der Tod” meaning standstill equals death. They have always sought to learn new things and kept their brains active. Puzzles, card games, buying new technology such as DVD players and laptops keeps their mind active, busy and YOUNG. As a result my 84 year old grandfather is flying to South Africa this May for the first time.
I encourage everyone to keep learning and be open to new ways of doing things because I know from my own experience that it is so worth it! It is worth it for both your private life as well as your business.
Watch this space too over the next months as I am sure it will change after Nick applied his magic.
Goodness Superfoods gets a FRANk makeover with social business strategy
After a few months of social business process we’re proud to unveiled the new Goodness Superfoods blog and like to thank Arnold, Steve, Colin and the rest of the team for their input and trust.
The new blog celebrates and encourages positive eating and is headed by our community manager Kara Landau who happens to be an accredited practicing dietitian and nutritionist. If you’re interested in nutrition, healthy eating and cooking, come and say hello on twitter, or facebook
.
Domino Relief for Flood Effected Animals
It began with a social business idea which led us to buy 2,000 dominoes on EBay, see below.
On arrival we discovered we’d just bought 2,000 bits of domino-size wood…awesome. (more of the original idea later when we actually find some dominoes).
A few days later the heavens decided to open in Queensland and we began to think about how we could re-purpose our bits of wood to raise money to help those affected.
An idea was agree
d upon and yesterday we had two stamps made. One depicts an outline of the State of Queensland and one says $5. Here they are stamped onto our bits of wood.
From here its simple…we aim to raise $10,000 (2,000 domino-sized bits of wood x $5) and will be donating to the RSPCA Queensland 2011 Flood Appeal. (The RSPCA is exempt from disaster relief funds offered to other charities that assist human needs.) I have just spoken to Mark Townend, RSPCA Queensland’s CEO, who confirms that $10,000 would be of massive assistance in these difficult times. If you wish to donate directly then go for it. Here’s their twitter and facebook.
We haven’t stamped all our bits of wood yet but we’re getting there…in one day we’ve raised over $200. There’s someway to go so if you’d like to be part of “Domino-Relief” then please drop in to buy one (or more) or take some away to sell to friends, family and colleagues.
Thankyou in anticipation.
Kiva Loans – Crowd Funding
If you know Kiva then you’ll understand what a worthy idea the cause is. Basically you can make a loan (min. $25) to people who have a business idea and as/if it works so they repay your loan, which in turn you can reinvest. “Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.” “Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.”
What i particularly like is that the money goes directly to people who have a viable business idea that can make a difference in their community. It promotes DIGNITY, TRANSPARENCY and ACCOUNTABILITY. I was recently given a $50 Kiva card and made 2 x $25 loans. One to Felix in Bolivia whose bus needs fixing and one to Nakachwa Gorret in Uganda who needs capital to expand her restaurant.
We all 
strugg
le to think of interesting presents for family, friends and colleagues…we all have more than we need after all. So if you haven’t heard of Kiva then here’s a good way to begin your (and others) involvement.
As i write there are over 850 loans being sought and to date over $100 million has been raised. So if you know anyone with a birthday coming up…go for it!
Social Santa
The smell as you enter the FRANkVizeum office at the moment is unmistakable, the freshly cut pine can only mean one thing….the festive season has arrived and Santa is on his way!
A few weeks back I asked my 7 year old niece if she had posted her letter to Santa yet, she looked at me in a curious way and asked “Auntie Ness, do you mean have I emailed Santa yet?”
How times have changed!
On further investigation it would seem that Santa Claus has well and truly embraced Social Media. Check out this blog direct from the North Pole, it’s where children can get regular updates and communicate with Santa himself leading up to the big day. Cute idea!
A tradition that we embrace here at FRANkVizeum is Secret Santa, and with the comfort of anonymity the presents get more daring and funnier each year. It was interesting to read the other day that the Secret Santa concept has gone social – Merry Tweetmas from Secret Santa.
A group of nearly 300 New Zealanders, many of whom have never met face-to-face, took part in exchanging gifts through social networking site Twitter. The idea was started by Sam Elton-Walters and by all accounts has been deemed a huge success. You can follow the progress here #nztwittersecretsanta
On that note….from all of us here at FRANkVizeum we wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!
Movember 2010
It’s that time of the year again when facial hair returns in style across the country as the mo’nth formerly known as November, Movember, rolls around again for a mo’mentous 2010!
In 2009 enthusiastic Mo Bros & Sista’s raised over AU$20million for Movember, supporting the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and Beyondblue – The national depression initiative. We were privileged this year to help Movember with their social media strategy and have again continued supporting their media communications planning – thank you to all media who have supported the cause this year.
This year Movember is about the ‘Modern Gentleman’ and is back bigger and better to put a brighter spotlight on men’s health nationally throughout the month & of course as support, we have our very own FRANkVizeum team. Donations are welcome!
FRANkVizeum & carsales.com.au create a media first!
Our good friends at carsales.com.au & Lookout Mobile have teamed up to bring sports fans the ultimate AFL and NRL iPhone applications for free in 2010.
Last year both apps were available @$3.99 and were the two most downloaded sporting apps in Australia. Aussie Rules live was also the 3rd most downloaded paid app in 09!
All the popular features of 2009 have returned like goal score updates and live text commentary, through to your team’s ladder position and fixture, with the inclusion of in-app integration of footytips.com.au and detailed player stats for the last 10 years.
The carsales.com.au sponsorship is the first of its kind in Australia, in which an iPhone application is available free, in return for sponsorship – “we are huge supporters of both sporting codes and innovative technology solutions and this was a way for us to show support to both mediums”, said Shane Pettiona, Chief Operating Officer of carsales.com.au.
The 2010 Aussie Rules Live & Rugby League Live apps are now available for download so hit the Apple iTunes App store today.
Enjoy & GO PIES!
Get a serious social media strategy in 3 simple steps
Melbourne’s freak storm on Saturday ended up as the most talked about topic on twitter and hundreds of videos were submitted to youtube:
This is mass media. This is main stream. This is where brands need to go next.
Here are three things to do BEFORE launching a facebook page:
1. Invest in social business strategy – don’t just start a twitter. Make sure you’ve got a plan first. This will be the best $20,000 you invest.
2. Find a community manager – earned media is not another task for your marketing manager. This will be the best $40,000 you invest.
3. Align social media with internal/external objectives – If you have the strategy and the management resource this should grow organically.
Anyone else with some more pointers?
A CMO’s Guide To The Social Media Landscape
A CMO’s Guide To The Social Media Landscape, originally uploaded by FRANkVizeum.
If you need to quickly figure out what’s social profiles are good for this is a great place to start. CMO.com just released this chart outlining the good, bad and ugly of social tools and made it very easy to understand the different uses available for marketers. I was forwarded this little beauty by Marcel De bie from The amber Theater.