Like many, I had my doubts after the firm sold part of its soul (stake) to what critics might call the devil but it hasn’t lost its, well, innocence yet. Even the 2011 AGM meeting sounds like the most fun day ever.

And Innocent is being clever again, this time for Valentine’s Day by launching a new promotion via a dedicated website that allows consumers to create their own ‘Love Label’, print it out and stick it onto a smoothie bottle to give to their special someone. The campaign is being supported by Facebook, Twitter and other online activity.

After choosing your favourite smoothie, you can complete the label by either writing your own message if you feel particularly inspired, or picking one of the not-so innocent messages. The barcode and logo also come in different shapes.

Valentine’s Day is usually the time of the year when most of the brands only seem to be able to come up with PR clichés, ideas that have been done to death or campaigns that offer no link between the season and their product, so it’s refreshing to see a new, original initiative that is both engaging and fits so perfectly with the brand.

Have a try – don’t you love these guys even more now?

Image via Wikipedia

Tetley grabbed my attention today when a friend let me know about its social media campaign. The firm already upped its marketing ante by bringing back the Tea Folk in television adverts so the next natural step was for Tetley to brew up a storm in the social media space.

It took me until 11am this morning to realise Tetley were conducting a competition on Twitter, which was to simply start following @tetley_teafolk and retweet one of their posts. This competition has already been incredibly effective with Twitter followers jumping up from 38,281 to over 39,000 (at the time of writing). The giveaway is a year’s supply of teabags and as a nation of tea-drinkers I think it constitutes as a pretty good prize that won’t even break the bank for Tetley, but will do wonders for its brand advocacy.

Another company ramping up its social media efforts is bmibaby; the airline has put a competition on Twitter to add cheer to a dull January day. On Friday, 20th January, bmibaby announced it would be giving away five pairs of tickets to help its followers make someone’s January special. Anyone who’s on Twitter will know about the ‘Follow Friday’ hash tag – #ff – used to suggest people to follow. The competition from bmibaby is, effectively, an extension of this; you nominate your friend using the hash tag #ffff, which stands for “Free Flight Follow Friday”.

So, are brands finally waking up to social media or are the just becoming less scared of it? With 61% of UK adults using social media sites it demonstrates that it’s a marketing opportunity not to be missed!

Brands should absolutely be looking to integrate social media into their marketing strategies to take advantage of such a vast audience. However, brands should proceed with caution – consumers see Twitter as a different way of marketing; it’s about dialogue and a sense of community. With Twitter, consumers have a direct communications channel with a brand and one that’s in a public forum, which if not handled carefully and respectfully can turn very bad, very quickly for a brand.

P.S The Tetley competition ends at 5pm today when a winner will be announced. Having now lived in England for the last couple of years I, too, have taken on the tea-drinking way of life and entered this competition; I’ve had my fingers crossed since 11am.

The romance that can spark through using SEO tactics

My friend raised a very good theory to me the other day which I felt deserved expanding further. He proposed that the rules for good SEO can be utilised for winning the heart of someone you desire.

After five minutes of thinking this through and perhaps one too many alcoholic beverages, the true genius of this theory began to shine through. After all, Search Engine Optimisation is all about getting your site to appear on your audience’s internet searches as often as possible and in the most prominent position. Let’s face it, the early days of dating is all about trying to stay on someone’s mind as much as possible, (but, you know, in a good way, not in a “I’m creeped out because this person’s in my head, kind-of-way”).

So, below I have taken this general idea and listed the five key rules to effective SEO and posed the question, does this also apply to the art of ‘making a move’.

1) Keyword search is the first step

For SEO purposes this is vital. You must know the keywords that your audience use to search the topic you are discussing. That way you can build your site and tag your posts to ensure you are appearing on the correct searches and start building upon your ranking.

For dating this is just as important. You need to do some research into what words gain the interest of different types of people. For instance, if they’re from the Shoreditch/Hoxton area then you’ll know that certain words will catch their interest. Use words like ‘dub’ or ‘retro’ in one of your first sentences and you’ll notice an increase in attention. I’d also recommend dropping in something about some form of art or design degree or at least the name of a DJ best friend you have (or have just made up) who’s latest work can be heard on Soundcloud. Similarly, if they’re from the lovely southern countryside, then try vocalising a hatred for the 50% tax bracket and suggest that foxes are actually a true scourge on our wonderful woodland regions. This will almost certainly peak their interest.

2) Build an easy navigation

When trying to make your site SEO friendly it is important to link between pages. Search engines like sites to be easily navigated.

When trying to stay on the mind of a “seed waiting to blossom” (as the same friend calls it) it’s important that they can get to you easily. Facebook, Twitter and general ‘social research’ are all there to ensure you keep popping up on her mind. Facebook and Twitter can also give you some good indications on keywords – for instance they may have have ‘liked’ TOWIE, suggesting that your opening conversation should almost certainly be about vajazzles and definitely avoid any classical literature (Charles Dickens will mean nothing to them).

3) Give good links

When it comes to SEO, each link you have facing your site is like a vote. It’s people saying that they found your topic interesting and others might too. Search engines take this into consideration and it’s the quickest way to boost your position.

One of the keys to successful dating is friend approval. Similarly to getting links from relevant sites, you want to create links from the person’s friends to yourself. If they see that their friends like you then they will think “oh…well they must be a nice person because I trust my friends opinions” – the beauty of this is that it works even if you aren’t.

4) Content is vital/it’s what’s inside that counts

Search engines like sites with regularly updated content. With that in mind, it’s important to build good content and use the correct keywords to tag each page. Also, let’s face it, there is no point boosting your SEO if nobody wants to read what’s actually on the site.

With dating, good content translates to good personality – I am not sure why this matters to people but from my understanding it does.  On the plus side, this does mean that anyone with a good personality can be attractive – it’s all about emphasising your best attributes. I’m not talking about dominating your date with a massive personality, but you need to try to impress. Looks can only get you so far, but if there’s nothing beyond a glossy front page, you’re not going to retain much attention after an initial look.

5) Own your domain

To reach the top of Google rankings you must hire a good hosting service with fast and stable servers. Search engines will not wait too long to load your page. Worse yet, they hate it when your page is off the air and if it is repeated many times you fall in rank with certainty.

We all know which domain really counts when courting and if you want to impress you best start owning it! There is nothing worse than putting all that time and effort into getting the person into your domain and then letting yourself down on the final hurdle – and if it is repeated let downs you will drop down their rankings with certainty.

To summarise…

The same tactics that will take your webpage to the top of Bing and Google will also help you land the object of your affection. Which, in my mind, one hundred per cent disproves the theory that none of us techie geeks can land a date on a Friday night, and instead spend it on Warcraft until the early hours.

Image via Flickr

Finally, production on ‘Bond 23’ has begun after long delays caused by studio bankruptcy. Over one hundred reporters from around the world congregated at last week’s press conference, where the film’s title, ‘Skyfall’, was confirmed.

The franchise is desperate to get back on top following unfavourable critical reactions to 2008’s ‘Quantum of Solace’. Daniel Craig’s previous Bond outing, ‘Casino Royale’, was the most lucrative Bond-movie ever, raking in £385m worldwide.

So, with just under a year to go until Bond is back, what can we expect? Will this be a return to form? How is the hype going to be driven?

1. Strategically creating distance from ‘Quantum of Solace’

Keen to let bygones be bygones, ‘Skyfall’ is being plugged as a standalone adventure, cut free from any association with its predecessor ‘Quantum of Solace’. Whilst this isn’t a reboot and we don’t have a new actor filling Bond’s boots, the new movie will arrive after a four year forced hiatus and is keen to roll with the ‘fresh-start’ feeling. Creating distance from ‘Quantum of Solace’ is a sound strategic move. Disappointingly, though, we can’t seem to shake Judi Dench as ‘M’.

2. Making the most of great, British brand loyalty

3. Engaging the press and fuelling discussion

At the star-studded press conference, Director Sam Mendes remained teasingly enigmatic, refusing to reveal solid character information. Speculation especially surrounds Naomie Harris’ casting as ‘Eve’, a character whose surname has been concealed. This secrecy has fuelled predictions that she is a new version of Miss Moneypenny, something which has already delighted the tabloids – the Daily Mail has even gone as far as ‘confirming’ it.

4.       Getting Q-branch up to speed with social media

Launching a social media offering on Twitter and Facebook last week, fans can now follow @007 and access unique video content on Facebook. In sync with the press conference, the synopsis of ‘Skyfall’ was revealed as a Twitter exclusive, paving the way for further fan and press engagement via the social network over the course of the coming year. This is an excellent way to maintain engagement with potential cinemagoers and a perfect platform for publicising the promotional content we can look forward to, such as trailers, sneak previews and the theme song. I’d personally like to see Muse penning and performing the ‘Skyfall’ track.

Here’s the synopsis, as exclusively unveiled on Twitter last week: “In SKYFALL, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.” …Did I mention that Judi Dench is a terrible M? *rolls eyes*

All in all, there’s plenty to keep us keen. Here’s to Bond bouncing back in 2012.

So, what could be better than spending a day with The Hoff talking to an enviable stream of journalists about the launch of Clintons new Celebrity Fastcard – video greetings cards for mobiles and MMS – and hosting a showbiz event at No5 Cavendish Square that’s resulted in great coverage.  Quite frankly, nothing.

Having dealt with multiple stakeholders, celebrity brand ambassadors and the cream of the UK celebrity and showbiz press, here are our top five tips for throwing a top party:

1. Never lose sight of why the event is taking place! Whilst it’s important to get the styling, canapé and cocktail selections right, it’s so much more important to keep the bigger picture in sight: What will the press want to get out of it? What will get people talking – before, during and after the event? What opportunities exist for creating as much content around the event as possible?  Will it deliver the right brand and commercial value for our client?

2. Always consider how to get longevity from your event. Whilst the event itself may be over in a few hours, video content, interviews, photography – and more – captured at the event, will give you a reason to talk about your cause for longer. Likewise, consider how else you might get further leverage from the event by involving consumers via competitions to attend, hosting live twitter feeds and debates, installing webcams etc.

3. Never scrimp on quality when capturing content at events, which are often noisy and badly lit for photography and film; this isn’t a job for a flipcam! You only have one chance to get the content that you need, so ensure that it’s professionally handled.

4. Organisation and communication are key – in equal measures. Every team member should have clear responsibilities but it’s equally important that daily updates amongst the whole team take place, as each detail will affect another. A comprehensive running order with even the smallest details listed should be accessible to everyone involved and kept updated.

5. Consider a ‘B plan’ for every detail so that you’re prepared when more photographers than anticipated turn up, when VIP guests arrive early – or late or when the champagne runs out earlier than expected! However, the most important element to a successful party and creating a big impression in a small amount of time, is being quick to adapt and react to the unexpected; some things you just can’t plan for!

For a sneak peek of the party and The Hoff in action click here to see what went on.

One week on and to date the launch event has generated over 45 items of coverage including broadcast, online and national print including the Daily Star, Daily Express & Metro plus over 2,700 new Facebook fans engaging with the brand on the Clintons Facebook page.

Celebrity Fastcard went on sale today exclusively at Clintons stores nationwide and on their website.

To try and guess who might win I’ve been taking a look at the number of Google searches for each contestant’s name, how many Facebook fans they have, how many Twitter followers they have, and how many daily page views each of their personal websites have been getting according to Teq Pad.

I’ve then given each contestant a score from one to four. The contestant with the lowest score is most popular with the public, and so in theory, may be most popular with Lord Sugar too.

The results are as follows:

1. Tom Pellereau (8 points)
1. Susan Ma (8 points)
3. Jim Eastwood (10 points)
4. Helen Louise Milligan (14 points)

Monthly Google searches in UK:

1. Jim Eastwood (1,900 searches)
2. Susan Ma (1,000 searches)
3. Tom Pellereau (480 seaches)
4. Helen Louise Milligan (260 searches)

Facebook fans:
1. Jim Eastwood (30,420 fans)
2. Tom Pellereau (6,836 fans)
3. Susan Ma (2,732 fans)
4. Helen Louise Milligan (1,982 fans)

Twitter followers:
1. Tom Pellereau (2,536 followers)
2. Susan Ma (1,642 followers)
3. Helen Louise Milligan (1,606 followers)
4. Jim Eastwood (23 followers)

Website traffic:
1. Susan Ma (1,146 page views)
2. Tom Pellereau (961 page views)
3. Helen Louise Milligan (568 page views)
4. Jim Eastwood (48 page views)

So there you have it! One of these four will win it.

Interestingly the top two match us with the latest odds on BettingPro.com.

1. Tom Pellereau (9/4)
2. Susan Ma (5/2)
3. Helen Louise Milligan (7/2)
4. Jim  Eastwood (5/1)

I mean we have all had those days when you receive an email at least once every 5 minutes asking you to ‘action’ something – whether it be finding an image for a journalist, drafting an award entry that’s deadline is only in a month, or pulling together a press release that’s already been scheduled to go out in just two weeks’ time. These tasks are often only broken up by the extraordinarily pressurising act of pitching for new business…where you are so desperate to come up with a creative idea that you hold brainstorm after brainstorm (which is essentially just people screaming random and hilarious ideas at you for an hour). Then these heart-pulsating days are finished off with the hyper stressful client and journalist after-work drinks…where God forbid you have to actually act like a normal human-being for the course of an evening. It is days like these that I think…why didn’t I just become a doctor, what’s at stake then? People’s lives…pfff…how’s that ever gonna be stressful.

Now as much as I may have just mocked the stress involved in PR, the fact is there are some pretty tight deadlines and quite heavy workloads. And considering the fact that most people that work in PR (myself included) haven’t actually done a day of hard-labour in their life – I can see why they would answer a survey and say their job is very stressful. However, I do have to question those healthcare professionals who said they don’t have pressure at work…it is one of the few industries where decisions can actually be life and death. I would think that would bring with it a certain amount of pressure. Pilots can clearly see that having people’s lives in their hands comes with a fair bit of pressure…why can’t the doctors and nurses of this world take the responsibility as seriously.

To be honest, I think I have come up with the reason the reports results has come out like this. We all know how terrible the Healthcare sector is at basic administration work, there is every possibility that they just filled out the survey incorrectly. Also, Dieticians came in as second least stressful job…I have to ask, did anyone take into account the stress the weighing scales in their offices under-go every day?

I also, enjoyed the fact that the reason given by Tony lee, publisher of the report, for PR being such a stressful job was: “As traditional forms of communication transition to digital, those who want to remain employed need to embrace new technologies or find a new career.” I have to admit; learning how to use Twitter has sent my heart racing with angst on almost a daily basis. Lee followed that amazing justification with a superb clarification on what a non-stressful job, unlike PR, entails – “Professions that involve low stress usually have very little danger and minimal physical demands.” – I must say that when I was younger I never fancied myself as a daredevil, but now I have seen first-hand the high amount of danger involved in my day-to-day routine as a PR; it is clear I was born to be one. And, well as for minimal physical demands; clearly all the miners up North have it easy compared to us PR’s – mining for coal…pff…try inserting a whole wad of paper into the photocopier at work – that’s physical exertion.

Finally, I’d just like to say that advertising account executive’s came sixth – four places below PR – I knew we were more important!

As we regularly talk to our clients about the value that can be gained from visualising data, I thought I’d take my own advice and create a few infographics from my findings. Some of the figures are a bit hard to see due to size constrictions, but if you click on each image it’ll take you through to an interactive version where you can view the data in all its glory.

All infographics were created using Many Eyes – an absolutely brilliant free tool for visualising data.

Articles are filtered into sections, such as Retail, Financial Services, Telecommunications, and IT, based on what news has been most shared by people working in a particular industry. This is handy if you want to find out what the hot topics in a specific sector are at any given moment.

Currently some of the news channels feature articles that aren’t relevant to that specific sector, as general interest stories, such as the earthquake in Japan, are shared by people from all industries. I imagine LinkedIn will develop the service in the coming weeks so that news, which isn’t relevant to a certain industry, is not displayed in that industry’s channel. I also wouldn’t be surprised if LinkedIn added a geographic filter to news channels so that you can view the most shared news in a specific region.

Since launching this morning, many of the channels have already acquired a few thousand followers. This will no doubt have a sizeable impact on the level of traffic that news sites receive when their articles are included on the site. This could see more publications adding LinkedIn’s sharing button to their websites in a bid to encourage people to share news on the social network, and in doing so, drive traffic back to their website.

What’s also interesting, is that you can follow a few select news sources and see which stories have been most shared. I’d love to see how this compares with the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Do people share different types of news on different sites? Considering that the way that I use Facebook, compared to Twitter or LinkedIn, I reckon we’d see some big differences in the news stories that are shared most on each network. What do you think?

So, for companies looking get acquired in 2011, what do they need to think about when developing their communications strategy?

1) Know your assets Will your company’s acquisition provide a cash cow, support growth, enable innovation or open the door to a new market?  Divide and conquer. Identify your best assets and talk about them in front of the right people.

2) Price it right. Attracting a better price is down to reputation and belief. Will your ‘unique asset’ change an industry or offer another company a significant competitive advantage? Demonstrate that your company will help shape the future or can deliver accelerated growth.

3) Courting the right people? Times have changed and the acquirers of yesteryear may not be the same as today. Which markets are your acquirers operating in and what are they interested in? Adapt your message quickly, but with substance.

4) Adjusting to the competition: the lines between sectors are blurring.  Has your product innovation put you up against a new type of competitor? Or, have other companies scooped up your old rivals?  Companies might find themselves competing for a different share of voice, in a market that behaves differently to what they are used to. Make what you say is relevant.

5) Build trust:  People buy from people they trust.  And, trust in the deal is more critical in today’s economic climate. The profile and personality of the management team is everything.  Does the acquiring company believe that the execs have the right market nous? That they have understood their customers’ enough to develop a technology or service that will make a real difference.  Show intellect by offering insight into market innovation and acquisitions.

6) Timing is everything: PwC believes that the first half of 2011 is prime buying time. Why should your company get bought now?  Have you educated potential acquirers on the dynamics of your business, growth strategy and why a technology shift needs to take place today?

7) Get social: M&As can be hostile, cultures may clash, employees become unsettled, customers twitchy and partners unnerved.  So, it is inevitable that conversations will spill over into social media platforms. Organisations that already understand the dynamics of the online communities and have a voice will be best placed to quell rumours and allay fears during M&As.

Don’t forget sales:  Whilst the management team may be focused on getting the company noticed for its best assets, the sales strategy must not be overlooked.  What sales campaigns are underway and how can they be supported? Put your products on your customers’ door steps and show them that other companies trust you.

At the core, it is about getting people to buy you because they’ve heard they should and managing reputation and risk in the process.  Of course, if you are in financial technology, the ‘Cloud’, mobile data or security, you are in with a better chance of getting acquired this year.