MarCom Professional

The CIPR has hit out at the ASA for not consulting the PR industry on its proposed regulation of brands in social networks.

In a statement issued by the CIPR (disclosure: I’m a member of the CIPR panel) it said that it was given an undertaking in May that the views of the PR industry would be heard.

"We are disappointed this action has been taken without our involvement,” says Ann Mealor, Interim CEO at the CIPR. “We are writing to the ASA regarding our concerns and advocating the need for closer working relationships on this issue.”

The CIPR said that it has reservation about the planned changes to the ASA’s remit. More...

One of the real benefits of social media is that when a document is published such as the OFCOM Market Report last week or the Advertising Standards Authority’s (ASA) extension to include a digital remit published today, the combined might of bloggers and journalists are quick to review the document and share their thoughts.

Media and marketing experts have been quick to share their views on the ASA announcement published this morning.

Opinion is polarised: consumers need to be protected and advertising standards should apply to all media yet the ASA’s approach is heavy-handed and impinges on editorial engagement. More...

BBC director general Mark Thompson’s MacTaggart lecture last Friday at the Edinburgh International Television Festival was defensive and contained few surprises. But that’s understandable.

Last year James Murdoch took the same stage and spent much of his lecture bashing the BBC.

This year Mr Thompson called out Sky for its ”lack of investment in original content” and suggested that the satellite operator pay retransmission fees to other broadcasters. He rounded on critics of the BBC, claiming that it was more popular than ever.

“Systematic press attacks on broadcasters, and especially on the BBC, are nothing new… but the scale and intensity of the current assaults does feel different,” he said. More...

There is plenty of information online about using social media for thought leadership. The returns and values have been well-calculated and, in some cases, well-articulated. One great example is our friends over at Bloom Group, who are the thought leaders for thought leadership.

Few seasoned marketing professionals would argue that online thought leadership is a waste of time or money. Most would say it's an imperative. But while the "Must dos!" on this topic are whizzing past, the instructions on "How?" seem to have been left behind. To help with the how, I work with thought leaders within enterprises via a social media immersion program. More...

Influence is the subject of some of important conversations lately. Each time we surface questions, answers and new thinking that starts to reshape the landscape for how businesses view, define, and embrace influence.

The socialization has democratized content and equalized influence. As such, we are at the inception of an an era when everyday people are presented with an opportunity to earn authority, trust, and leadership based on their actions and words.

I’ve partnered with Vocus to take the conversation to you. As I believe that we all have a voice in the shaping and direction of any topic, it’s up to you to help us make sense of the future of influence. More...

The race is on for the hearts and minds of your customers...are you even on the starting blocks?

Okay, blatant plug time...

I've recently relaunched my 'sideline' blog SWEAT EQUITY. Please feel free to check it out, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Essentially, the website is forming the basis of a book I'm researching and writing called SWEAT EQUITY: What Small Companies Can Teach the Big Guys About Marketing.

SWEAT EQUITY is a marketing manifesto for a hyper-connected world. It’s a call to arms, a declaration of principles, an ethos for companies to live by. More...

The last time I was on TV it was the BBC's Working Lunch, March 2002. I was running Europe's first email money service at the time (before PayPal was available in these parts) and our servers were struggling quite a lot under the weight of our success on eBay UK. Facing up to a firm line of questioning, I was able to reassure Working Lunch viewers that any money they had stored with us was safe and sound.

Fast forward eight years and the definition of TV has changed somewhat. Indeed YouTube wasn't even launched until 2005, before going on to be the fastest growing website ever. By 2007, the capacity consumed by YouTube exceeded that of the entire Internet in 2000. More...

This week there seems to be a trend for social goodness going hand in glove with good internet marketing.  Getting a strong social conscionce into your marketing can give your brand a new lease of life as well as a new audience.

Take a look at the following – they range from the mundane through to the inspirational.

• Air New Zealand’s AirPointsFairy – where people’s “wishes” can come true – although only in terms of goods and services offered by the airline.
• Timbuk2 bag recycling – the bag manufacturer has linked up with RED to support their work in Zambia by offering customers discounts on bags returned for reccyling and those bags get sent to health workers in Africa.  A nice touch is the encouragement to add a ‘story’ about the bag so its future can be blogged about showing former and current owners.

More...