eMarketing for European HQs

I’m always writing about aggreration and aggregators i.e. “a web application which aggregates syndicated web content such as news headlines, blogs, podcasts, and vlogs in a single location for easy viewing (Wikipedia)”

Aggregation can be extremely valuable in two respects in particular:

• As a learning tool: you’re being fed content from a wide array of sources - issue, market, sector or personal interest news - constantly and with little effort; great for keeping on top of developments
• As part of your content strategy: add third party content to your own sites, enriching your content without actually producing any yourself and increasing credibility via third-party association

At ZN, we’ve created what we call “issues dashboards” on energy, food and environment, bringing in feeds from a number of sources as well as via keywords from search engines. Here they are:

• Environment
• Food
• Energy

If you have other sources to recommend please let us know.

This is a cross-post from Steffen’s blog.

There’s too much fragmentation going on in Brussels. First there’s internal fragmentation of communications within organisations. Marketing are doing this, product guys doing that, issue specialists saying X, PR saying Y. Surely companies need to be better integrated. In particular, marketing and PA especially need to be telling the same story far more. Why? Because selling to consumers and legislators is a lot more similar than it was a few years ago. Marketing back then would have said: we’re cheaper and/or we’re better. PA would have said: we’re providing jobs and innovation. Now? They’re still saying that, but they’re both also saying “our company is a model citizen because of X, Y, and Z” and in this respect, there needs to be a lot more collaboration.

Beyond that, there’s what I’d call external fragmentation on issues, which is totally different, but is still about fragmentation, so I’ll put it in the same post. Call me lazy. What do I mean? That when looking at an issue for a client or prospect, everyone is always struck by the mess: multiple players at national level and pan-European level, public and private entities, associations and pressure groups, old media and bloggers. Even within the Commission say, DGs can have totally different priorities on an issue. People are talking about pharma this week: it’s now largely under DG Enterprise, but DG Sanco want it because surely Pharma is about health, they say. Whatever the outcome, fact of the matter is that their approach would be quite different.

In communications terms, what this fragmentation of players results is in turn a fragmentation of content and story which frankly makes an issue appear far more complex than you as an organisation want it to be. It’s hard to thrive within complexity because your story is one of a thousand; legislators might not have the time, the nous nor the willingness to really understand it well.

So what should you do about it? You create your own story that is tangible and relatively easy to digest of course. In addition, and more importantly, you should be the one player that makes sense of the fragmented landscape, and you can do it online. How? You become your issue’s portal by aggregating and hyperlinking content from all stakeholders in one online HQ available on your site - whether they’re private, public, competitors, pressure groups, media or bloggers.

What’s the point?

• You’re doing people a favour by making things easier. They’ll appreciate it.
• Making things easier will also enable people to understand your take on an issue more clearly, as well as understand it within the context of other stakeholders.
• The base assumption is that your argument is valid and that most of the content you bring in backs up your story. Assuming that’s the case, the outside content you bring in will give you the 3rd party credibility you crave.
• Becoming the focal point for web content will enable you to own the discussion online, naturally making you a key stakeholder rather than just one of many. Search comes into it too. By becoming an online hub, others will link to you and you’ll get better a search ranking on your key issues.
• You’ll showcase both sides of the argument (again, assuming your side is strong) and thus prove that you’re a fair and open player.
• You’ll have taken step one of the the four-step approach to online engagement. I’ll be building on this in the coming weeks, so watch this space.

This is a cross-post from Steffen’s blog.

After the event organised by IABC last week on Web2Eu, an exciting conversation started:  people shared ideas and content on the ning platform that was set-up by Hugh Barton Smith while several emails, tweets and other discussions took off.

Seeing as people clearly seem to want to continue the discussions that had started, we thought of a simple way to do it: let’s meet again!  In order to make this simple and cheerful we went round the corner from the ZN office to a place Le Break de l’Abbaye (they have a facebook group so you can even check pictures) and asked if we could use the room they had upstairs for people to get together to discuss how the internet was changing communication in Europe.  He said ok - as long as you pay for your drinks!

So there goes.  For those who want to continue the conversation or join it, pencil this date into your agenda:

Thursday 18th June at 16.30.  The address is rue saint Georges 2A (coin rue de l’Abbaye); 1050 Bruxelles (maps and satellite information will be provided shortly).

The format will be simple:

People can first introduce themselves and tell us what they are interested in.

3 or 4 speakers will make a five to ten minute speech (no powerpoint slides allowed) and share some thought provoking experiences with the others.  The rest will be an open discussion, followed by networking.  Nice and easy.

No charge to come, as long as you register (to make sure we know who is coming).  Casual, friendly, basically a social network but offline.

We will focus on how you as an association or communication professional can get your head round key concepts and tools, how you can address objections, what works and what doesn’t.

Helen Dunnett will be back by popular demand, followed by my colleague Steffen (aka blogger steffen78) and myself.

Any suggestions for the format and topics are welcome.  If you want to come or bring a friend register on the hyperthinker ning or on the IABC ning - feel free to invite guests, just keep us posted on the numbers.

See you there.

Phil

Today I will be speaking at an event organized by IABC (www.iabc.be) on the subject of the impact the internet is having on the political world. In this post I will share a few links that the participants might want to visit:

The hyperthinker ning community: (http://hyperthinker.ning.com/) - it’s free to join and is a great place to get an experience of a small network. Ning has the added advantage of enable you to sign-up to several communities with the same login and password and consult them all from one place if you want to.

If you are a member of IABC, Hugh Barton Smith has just started a another ning community (http://be-iabc.ning.com/), which I strongly suggest you join, as it will be a good place to continue the discussions started at the forum.

You might also want to set-your own personal dashboard by going to netvibes.  In order to select interesting blogs you might want to check some selections we have made on a range of topics:

Environmental topics: http://www.netvibes.com/environmentdashboard

Food related issues: http://www.netvibes.com/fooddashboard

Energy related issues: http://www.netvibes.com/energydashboard

I also wanted to list some of the blogs of the participants:

Helen has made a great start at a very interesting blog that has the advantage of coming from the perspective of someone who worked in a Brussels association and is sharing her ‘learning experience’ with people who are eager to learn. She also is very active on twitter so if you want to follow her trial and tribulations sign-up with her:
http://hdunnett.wordpress.com/

Check out the blog/site she helped set-up at ECPA (www.ecpa.be): www.persticideinformation.eu

Mathew blog’s at blogactiv (which he helped to create): http://mathew.blogactiv.eu/

Neville is an established authority on all things new media and has a great podcast that can be checked here.
http://www.nevillehobson.com/

I also recommend checking out Steffen’s blog (http://steffen78.wordpress.com) (who works at ZN with me) which gives you some penetrating thoughts on political communication and the internet.

Looking forward to continuing our conversation.

We had a coaching session last week on developing the right attitude to work together as a team. Earlier in the morning, I come accross this nice video called Smile and Move, I wanted to share this because it is something that might brighten you day. Also nice web production, using the same style as the ‘girl effect’ but with a different angle. It shows how a simple production can deliver a powerful message.

Those were the last words of Seth Godin from a presentation he just made at TED on the power of Tribes.

A great thought provoking presentation from a famous blogger who wrote a free ebook called The Ideavirus which propelled him to hyperfame.

Several things tribes need:

- To challenge the status quo
- To Create a culture (a language that means something to the people in the tribe)
- Curiosity - to learn about what the others know in the tribe
- To connect
- An to commit to the tribe.

Sounds like a good plan. Working on to build the hyperthinker tribe (we have language, a blog, a community). Now we need to get a thousand people to join to get the ball rolling.

On May 28th, I will be speaking at an event organised by IABC (the international association of business communicators). Helen Dunnett, client and leading Brussels blogger will be joining us alongside a panel of experts.

Check out the info below (from the IABC site) and register here

A broad panel of social networking practitioners discuss how to weave your issues into the fabric of web 2.0 and gain influence through wider engagement.

* From Facebook via Linked In to Twitter, more and more people
are interacting professionally and politically online.
* Major news vehicles are adding their voices to the blogosphere.
* Companies and institutions are increasingly YouTubing.
* Even Queen Elizabeth II is now using email.

And for the moment all you’ve got is a web site.
Your presence on the net is a billboard in a side street.
This seminar is designed to explore how your messages can leap off that wall and mingle with the crowds where they congregate.

Panelists include:

* Charles Crouch, eBusiness Lecturer at Boston University,
* Helen Dunnett, a pioneer of Web 2 for the ECPA trade association,
* Philip Weiss, internet entrepreneur and HyperThinker from ZN,
* Mathew Lowry, the driving force behind the launch of Blogactiv,
* And over the web, the UK’s influential blogger and podcaster Neville Hobson.

Date: 2009-05-28

Event time: 14:30 - 17:30

Venue:
Boston University in Brussels
Boulevard du Triomphe 174

1160 Brussels
Join us for an intense afternoon of presentations and discussions on how to navigate today’s information stream.
Places are limited by the venue so get your registration in now!
Only €60 (€90 for non-members).

Register for this event

Campaign site of The Green Effect

I just finished reading ‘Leadership In the Era of Economic Uncertainty’ by Ram Charan and I found it a very practical guide for senior executives during the downturn we are currently facing.  It provides useful advice and gives a down to earth approach and shows how being prepared, facing reality and communicating clearly with your team and suppliers your current situation and approach.   Ram Charan also does a very good job at showing what priorities need to change in this context and how it affects every key parts (and roles) of the business.  I feel that he doesn’t overplay the downturn and the ‘worst thing since the 1930s’ panic angle that journalists seem to be relishing and but he also avoids the cliché this is a great opportunity for everyone.  He is realistic when he says that most companies will face negative growth and need to prepare for keeping focus on cash and coming through what could be a prolonged situation (one to three years in his estimates).

His advice his summarized in the amazon editorial review page:

• Protect cash flow vigilantly, even daily, and use cash more efficiently
• Use ground intelligence to survive the storm and position your business to thrive in the aftermath
• Develop a better understanding of your customers
• Reevaluate your pricing strategy and capital expenditures.
• Use cost cutting strategically

All of these are explained in a clear and concise way and give concerned executives a framework in which to approach the recession and plan ahead.

Perhaps insufficient attention is paid to the opportunities that this environment creates for corporations, such as making much needed changes to the communication approach and rethinking certain aspects of the corporate structure that have been shielded from changes by the ‘good times’.  In my mind, this period is a time to challenge, rethink and review what didn’t work as well as it should.  However Ram Charan identifies the key fundamentals and I am sure senior executives will find a very useful read.

I just picked up this recent post from Helen Dunnett (disclaimer: she is a client of ZN and we think she is great) on some feedback she received from various audiences in political communication when approaching the internet as a core communication tool.  Over the past year she has been sharing her experience and enthusiam about the web and it’s power to transform communication with her rapidly growing network. 

Her comments will be very useful for those trying to find the best way to explore the web as a core strategic tool in getting the right message out to the right audience.  We have, in the course of our many meetings with a number of players in the Brussels political scene been confronted by many similar questions so it is great to see them put from a client perspective, from someone who has been able to make the case for this and seen the benefits for her own organisation follow.

After reading the objections she has faced my suggestions to the bold communicators interested in taking this further are the following:

1) Everyone now accepts that the internet is an important and powerful tool in shaping perception on critical issues.  The key problem is they don’t know how to act on this knowledge.

2) A personal and direct exposures to the tools and the social networks that are driving this change is key to enable communicators to form the correct strategy.  So like or not, you need to sign up to a number of online networks (linkedin.com - which most people do passively, facebook.com, and others that you find interesting) and actively use the tools (by posting on forums in linkedin for instance). 

3) The right tools for you and your organisaton keep on evolving so it is best to do some background reading of ebooks and follow some blogs (Helen’s own called learning curve or the one written by my colleague Steffen could be a good starting point). 

4) Meet regularly with people (agencies, consultants, colleagues) so you can learn about what works and gain insights from other people who have faced similar situations than you.

5) Get started.  Take some small, below the radar, steps with some online initiatives to get comfortable with the territory.  Start a blog, take it personally and see for yourself how it can help to get your message accross.

6) Get help.  Once you have decided to move forward in this space, surround yourself with a strong team with the right advice and experience as well as technology, create a plan and sell this to your management.  Then go forward and start learning.