Altyrian View

I was contacted by someone that I met in Second Life who is doing some research to explore the relationship between a corporation and its PR agency. She wants to talk to about 30 corporate PR people to get their views.

If you are interested in helping, drop me an email. Read her original email to me for more information about the research. Good stuff…

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One of the challenging things about social media is the measurement of those that blog / podcast and those that read and listen. Our friend, Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions and The Medical Blogging Network are conducting a survey of healthcare bloggers. (more…)

MediaWeek has a new article outlining research from Mediamark Research Inc. According to the research

• 11.2 percent of adults report having a DVR up from 8.6 in the Fall
• DVR households are 23% less likely to be heavy TV viewers
• DVR households are 43% more likely to be heavy readers of magazines
• DVR households are 40% more likely to be heavy readers of newspapers
• DVR households are 81% more likely to be heavy Internet users
• DVR households more upscale than the entire adult population

Communicators take note! To me this looks like the profile of a social media user. They might be fast forwarding through commercials, but they are paying attention to media relations initiatives and social media. Advertising is not dead, it’s just shifting its focus. TV is still a major player in an advertising mix, but will it always be that way? No. The DVR is giving us television when we want it – just like YouTube and iTunes and Google Video. This study does not imply that DVR users are less plugged in, it tells me that they are even more aware of products and services than are their commercial-watching counterparts. We need to recognize that the DVR gives us more opportunities to reach our audiences, and it forces us to be more creative with our television promotions.

I asked Intern Matt to do a little Web research. The question: “Who is blogging and podcasting?” He found lots of stats that I’ll list below. Matt only listed findings from 2005 & 2006 and where there were contradictions, he went with the more popular “theory.” Not perfect, but it does give us a starting point. I’ve listed his sources at the end of each list.

Blog Stats

• Most bloggers write creatively or about personal experiences and only a small proportion focus their coverage on politics, media, government, or technology.
• US bloggers are evenly divided between men and women, and 40 percent of U.S. bloggers are non-white.
• 8 percent of US internet users (12 million adults) keep a blog. Five times as many, 39 percent (57 million adults), read blogs.
• 55 percent of bloggers write under a pseudonym.
• Four out of five blogs use text, while 72 percent display photos and audio links play on 30 percent of blogs.
• Blog readers are an attractive audience to advertisers: they are more likely young, wealthy, on broadband, and spend significantly online.
• Compared to the average Internet user, blog readers are significantly more likely to live in wealthier households, be younger, and connect to the Internet via high-speed connections.
• Blog readers visit nearly twice as many Web pages and are much more likely to shop online.
• The growing blog audiences is a strong appeal to many advertisers and marketers

Sources:
http://www.nevillehobson.com/2006/07/19/latest-blog-trends-from-pew-internet/
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/186/report_display.asp
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/demographics/article.php/3526591
http://www.webpronews.com/news/ebusinessnews/wpn-45-20050809EMarketingNewsAlertBlogReadersYoungRichandMale.html

Podcast Stats

• Average prediction from most internet sources is that by 2010, the podcast audience will reach an average of 56 million listeners.
• Men are most likely to listen to a podcast.
• Average blog/podcast consumer is male with income $75,000+.
• Those who regularly use RSS/XML feeds, podcasts, and blogs, usually have 5+ years of online experience, are male, and between 18-34 years old.
• Those who listen to podcasts are usually ones to spend money online.
• Podcast listeners comprises of a small audience in relation to total internet users.
• Right now, the people listening to podcasts are consumers who get excited about next-generation technology. They are music and technology enthusiasts and tend to be affluent and educated.
• The study shows that currently approximately 20% of users who have ever downloaded a podcast do so and listened on a weekly basis. This group downloads an average of six podcasts per week and spends approximately four hours a month listening to the podcasts they download.
• Approximately 4.8 million listeners in 2005 and 820,000 in 2004
• Advertisers looking to podcasts as a new market and medium.

–
Sources:
www.podtrac.com
www.eweek.com
www.answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=597303
www.adweek.com/aw/iq_interactive/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002312800
www.podcastingnews.com/archives/2005/11/survey_finds_48.html
www.bridgeratings.com/press_11.12.05.PodProj.htm

As many of you heard, JupiterKagan released some research a short time back about corporate blogging. Oddly enough, they weren’t willing to talk about the survey’s methodology causing many people to question the results. Bloggers all across the nation took up the issue and have caused a real PR nightmare for Jupiter.

This is where I first got turned on to the story.

As a way to wrap up the story, Fard Johnmar, who had purchased the research, blogged his final conclusions not only aboutthe research but also on the lessons we learned. In short, he points to 4 things that he learned. I think that these are good lessons we should all keep in mind with every project / client that we have. Visit his blog posting for explanation of each of the points.

Lesson I: Clarity Is King
Lesson II: Bloggers Can Make A Difference
Lesson III: Bloggers Are Not Journalists, But Should Act Responsibly
Lesson IV: PR Goes Way Beyond Distributing A Press Release

If there is one thing that I could add is a Lesson V: PR agencies can ruin their reputation by following poor client direction. This is from a comment I made on another blog:

When I first read of the incident, my reaction was that the agency was merely following the direction of the client. Many of us have had the unenviable position of having to follow poor client direction. We advise, but sometimes our clients feel that they have to follow a different course of action (lawyers anyone?).

In this case, however, I think that the agency does have to shoulder some blame. I would hope that the agency would have at least anticipated some of the questions from the media. Number one question would have to be: How did you conduct the research? As someone who has managed a fair amount of research, that is the basis of the believability of any research project. If I can’t provide that basic information *to protect my reputation* as well as that of my client, I am compelled to walk away.

Our responsibility as public relations pros is to provide accurate information for our clients to various publics. If that information is not accurate and we know it, we ruin our reputation and that of our industry. In this case, this agency might have provided accurate information, but they have done so in a way that it makes the information look suspect. They should have better advised their clients or offered a referral to another agency.

Broadcasted on June 9, 2006

Today, John Mims interviews Tom Gaillard, President of Concentric Direct Marketing. Gaillard discuses the market’s shift toward consumer centric marketing: its strategies and practices.

• The common approach before consumer centric marketing was product marketing where companies were pushing products at consumers, with little input. Now, with consumer centric strategies, companies experience an opposite effect with consumers pulling at products. Successful companies are able to determine, understand, and deliver what the consumer wants.

• Technology is causing the shift toward consumer centric marketing. With large data warehouses, the internet and collection tools, collecting and capturing data has become significantly easier and practical.

• As a result of consumer centric marketing, companies use more real-time and relevant communication with their customers. Consumers naturally create a media barrier, jaded from spam and other irksome advertising attempts, so it is necessary to deliver the right message, at the right time, and the right way.

• Cross selling opportunities are becoming more widespread. Companies target previous customers by analyzing their demographics. For example, if a customer opens a checking account, the next day the bank will send a thank you package with specific promotions and offers which would best apply to the interests of the consumer.

• Specific targeting saves money in the long run by not sending out unnecessary information. Companies now target customers specifically by sending out details and information the customer would be interested in.

Listen to the full broadcast on our iTunes Podcast Marketing Watch.
Feel free to contact us; we welcome ideas and feedback from our audience.

Broadcasted on Mar. 14, 2006

Today’s interview is with John Mims, Public Relations Director for Altyris Advertising. Mims discusses the importance of understanding consumers from market research.

• Primary research is defined as collecting original research data, and the two categories of primary research include: quantitative and qualitative research.

• Quantitative research comes from the collection data and is an example of a statistical liability, this includes surveys and polling. Quantitative research can be costlier than qualitative, but is usually more reliable.

• Qualitative research comes from anecdotal information: focus groups or interviews. This is typically less expensive; however there is no statistical liability as in quantitative.

Listen to the full broadcast on our iTunes Podcast Marketing Watch.

Feel free to contact us; we welcome ideas and feedback from our audience.