MIND THE GAP Public Relations across cultures “International PR – challenges, opportunities and 2015 vision” May 3, 2011, Prague Yasmine Boucetta, LEWIS PR About LEWIS PR Global strength, local expertise 40% LEWIS PR campaigns are multinational Founded by journalists, run by journalists Private company, flexible approach 25 wholly-owned international offices Integrated PR and social media campaigns Dedicated international coordination team Comprehensive measurement methods 25 wholly-owned locations ANTWERP BARCELONA BUDAPEST DÜSSELDORF EINDHOVEN FRANKFURT LISBON LONDON MADRID MILAN US BOSTON SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO WASHINGTON DC APAC NEW DELHI HONG KONG MUMBAI SINGAPORE EMEA MUNICH PARIS PRAGUE STOCKHOLM WARSAW SYDNEY EMEA lead agency experience State of PR Definition PR is much broader than media relations, it includes: - Crisis public relations - responding to negative accusations or information - Industry relations - providing information to trade bodies - Government relations - engaging government departments to influence policymaking - Public relations is used to build rapport with employees, customers, investors, voters, or the general public International PR - Supports company’s overall marketing goals - Needs to be localised/tailored for local success Evolution and trends BEFORE NOW Monologue Dialogue Handful of tools Great variety of tools Very local More global Long cycles Immediate cycles & mediadriven world Verified information Independent from marketing Poor measurement 2001 Fast but not always accurate Integrated with marketing Very ROI-driven 2011 Yesterday reputation Today reputation In the room today Local Czech Republic companies Subsidiaries of Global or European companies Common denominators PR is changing It’s becoming professional & sophisticated Marketing and PR go hand in hand When budgets are cut, PR is the first victim PR survey key findings Survey methodology Assess state of PR in Czech Republic 12 questions sent to Czech marketing/PR professionals Between March 15 and April 15 70 responses collected Key findings – 1/2 56% of respondents reported that central content does not meet local market needs 30% don’t get enough information and guidance from the headquarters Advertising payment is a barrier for doing PR in CZ for 54% 41% think the content of PR news is too much sales driven and less oriented/adapted for media needs Key findings – 2/2 68% already use social media in comms but 32% still don’t 52% of those not using social media say it’s not a relevant comms channel for their business Facebook is leading social media tool with 86%, followed by YouTube (52%) and LinkedIn (45%) 35% don’t measure their social media initiatives Recommendations PR campaigns should reflect Corporate goals yet be tailored for local success Content should be adapted for PR and not too sales driven – include hard facts and proof points Education is still needed around social media as PR pros are missing the opportunity Clear objectives and metrics must be implemented ahead of any PR campaigns PR processes Our approach to generate results Content optimisation Content creation Engagement community client Measurement Check list Identify your target audience(s) Develop tailored messages Set measureable PR objectives Create content and pitch to media Our coordinated approach Structure CLIENT Defines campaign strategy, direction and overarching message, liaises with creative and coordination teams CREATIVE TEAM Develops PR messages, central ideas, content and campaign themes COORDINATION TEAM Plans activities, shares content with PR network, monitors implementation and evaluates EMEA PR network Localises material, pitches to relevant publications and shares results PR measurement Measurement – metrics IT’S ALL ABOUT ENGAGEMENT VIEW INTERACT CONTRIBUTE TRANSACT Clippings Views Readership Traffic Unique visitors Followers Fans Downloads Links UGC* Retweets Reviews Sales leads Inquires Subscriptions Conversions PR & SOCIAL MEDIA ROI Advice, training & support from LEWIS PR *User Generated Content Measurement – reporting Campaign sharing & reporting tools 24/7 access, customisable Ensures consistency, saves time Promotes PR internally, justifies spend Online Reporting Tool – PR activity reported by category (release, interview, product test, coverage). Excel downloads available for global/regional reports Extranet – PR content (photos, releases, ideas, plans, awards) and best practice sharing platform Challenges Challenges faced by local PR pros No clear guidelines from headquarters or local management Limited resources and budget Difficulties to justify PR spend No content/news or not enough content International PR challenges Understand local business issues, politics & know local audiences Know media landscape and differences in journalistic approach Find message themes that connect with audiences across borders and cultures Consider local language issues and different time zones PR tips Key success factors Tailor the message and content to the audience Explore all channels – traditional and social – and use variety of tactics Fast and opinionated comments will get you noticed Elevate debate (convert technical messages into business messages) & showcase benefits versus products/services functionality Prioritise quality over quantity Show differentiators Speak with one voice for more impact How to optimise what exists? Enhance press releases with SEO tactics Leverage customer and channel events Transform existing content into visuals How does international PR help? Sets strategy, messages and campaign direction Provides countries with PR content Implements measurement metrics and objectives Supports countries with tips and best practice examples Increases internal relationships and communications Drives the campaign for more efficiency and success Case studies & testimonials Case Study EMEA lead agency Goal: Save time to focus on strategic planning Strategy and approach: Drive campaign centrally (strategy, messaging, plans, content) for countries to localize & implement Central monitoring of industry news, to avoid duplication, creating additional media opportunities Coordination of product launches to create buzz and higher impact on regional sales Impact of coordination: • Provide strategic single point of liaison allowing time savings and economies of scale • Allows faster responses to breaking news • Brand has become stronger and now identified as a leading player in the PLM industry One of LEWIS PR’s strengths is that the agency reacts very quickly to industry news and market situations, which adds a lot of value to our company. I can totally rely on the strong support from LEWIS to lead the campaign both strategically and operationally. Claudia Lanzinger, Director Media Communications EMEA, Siemens PLM Software Further client testimonials “The success of a global brand like Lexmark is really supported by consistent strategy and messaging across all markets, and that’s where we really see the value of a single international PR network and of a coordinated approach. The results achieved by one pan-EMEA agency, both in terms of quality and quantity, speak for themselves with Lexmark currently working with LEWIS PR in a total of 7 countries across EMEA.” Norbert Neumann, PR Manager EMEA, Lexmark “The EuroCloud launch project would not have been the success it is today across 20+ countries, just five months after its launch, without a coordinated PR approach across Europe and the credibility of a PR agency recognised internationally in the cloud computing sector and other areas. All these criteria have been met by LEWIS, whose team showed as much dedication and commitment to EuroCloud as if it was a project of their own.” Pierre-José Bilotte, Founder of EuroCloud and President of EuroCloud France 2015 vision What to expect tomorrow More personalised PR More PR platforms for journalists Increase of blogs / online channels More monitoring and measurement – return on engagement Multimedia content – digital releases, videos, infographics, apps Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn will continue to be important but niche / industry-specific networks will be of greater value in the future Perspectives for Czech Republic Eastern Europe becomes an increasingly attractive market for international companies Some companies will choose Prague as its hub for EMEA PR (Prague is central and classified as a global city) How did you watch the Royal Wedding? Newspaper? Blog? TV? Video / livestream? By 2015, video / streaming will play a major role in PR Key takeaways Social media is changing the face of PR Measurement will become more important A tailored approach is the key to success International PR brings strategic approach to PR Questions & Answers Any further questions? Yasmine Boucetta - +49 89 17 30 19 40 / [email protected] http://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmineboucetta http://twitter.com/yasmineboucetta