Digital Thinking Spring 2011

Digital Thinking
Insights into an evolving online world

Spring 2011

Introduction
Doris Juergens
I am confident in asserting that NATIONAL’s
client base cuts across all business sectors and
all types of organizations: large and small; public
and private; for-profit and not-for-profit. The
range and scope of the collective businesses of
our clients is what makes working at NATIONAL
so fascinating. In the same way, social media
cuts across all audiences: there is something for
everyone, from mass appeal to obscure interests,
from the collective good to the good of a select
few. And social media can be extremely local or
completely regionally agnostic.
Fortunately for our Firm and for our clients, we For this second edition of Digital Thinking, we
have a group of extremely engaged and devoted asked team members to prepare a blog post
professionals who make social media their on a topic of interest to them as it relates to
business. NATIONAL’s Digital Leadership Team social media. The diversity of subject matter
includes members from all of our offices and all from luxury brands to the regulated environment
of our divisions, including NATIONAL itself, Sonic of pharmaceuticals, is truly a reflection of the
Boom Creative Media, our digital media agency, limitless possibilities – and challenges – of digital
and AXON, a specialist healthcare consulting firm. communications. Feel free to contact any one of
our DLT members to carry on the conversation, or
follow us on Twitter @nationalpr !

Doris Juergens,
Partner & Chair,
Digital Leadership Team,
@juergens

The future of marketing: Convenience
The ability to engage the consumer on the go
it’s in the palm of your is the main benefit of mobile marketing. Is your
hand website optimized to be accessed on mobile
operating systems? Can relevant information be
Jennifer Shah found quickly and accessed in other applications
(such as tapping a phone number to call a store
Mobile marketing is more than the latest buzzword.
location or highlighting an address to have it
It’s effective and engaging and it’s here to stay.
mapped from your current location)?
Gartner Research predicts that by 2014, there will
be 6.5 billion mobile connections worldwide. For Context
marketers, this presents an amazing opportunity Context is getting a relevant message at the
to reach people, drive transactions and optimal time. Context drives transactions.
enhance loyalty. Location-based services are incredible tools
to push messages to customers. Check out
But where to begin? First, remember that mobile
McDonald’s recent Foursquare promotion,
marketing needs to be integrated into your overall
resulting in a 33% increase in check-ins, or
marketing communications strategy, not a distinct
Facebook’s decision to allow businesses to offer
activity or ‘‘nice to have” addition. And, it may
coupons through its Places feature.
not be for everyone – yet – depending on your
target audience. Cost
Every budget can accommodate mobile marketing
For maximum ROI, consider our four Cs of mobile
– it’s not just about splashy mobile applications.
marketing: Customer, Convenience, Context
Start small with opt-in text messages or an event
and Cost.
that offers mobile ticketing. Measure success
Customer and expand your mobile marketing portfolio
Who are you targeting, and what are your accordingly.
objectives? Not every organization has an
Our advice? Use the four Cs of mobile marketing
audience glued to their devices. Perhaps you
to evaluate your needs and look at mobile as a key
want to enable a mobile workforce or reach small
part of your integrated marketing strategy.
business owners looking to save money on office
supplies. Is a mobile application the right tool? For
Jennifer Shah,
many clients, simple text messages are best to
Manager, Marketing
promote time-sensitive and money-saving deals.
Communications,
Toronto,
@jenn_shah

Why we blog
Bruno Guglielminetti
Pioneer blogger Justin Hall “created” blogging
back in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2004 that the
blog gained popularity as a public publishing
platform.

Today, one in four Fortune 500 companies
uses a blog to share its views publicly. A blog
serves primarily to position a company with its
audiences and provides a channel where it can
articulate its corporate vision and its stance on
various issues.
Individual bloggers generally have a somewhat
different motivation for blogging. Many people And this is where journalists and influential
start blogging when they feel that the traditional bloggers cross paths: both provide information
media have failed to represent their viewpoint. and both want to attract attention in their
Bloggers are passionate about their subject and area of interest. In this context, an influential
generally feel that it either isn’t getting enough blogger’s keystrokes are just important as those
attention or that the media’s views on the topic of a journalist. What they both represent is
don’t align with their own. public opinion.
These failings are one of the key reasons that
Bruno Guglielminetti,
experts and people with a keen interest in a given
Manager, Digital Communications,
issue feel it is important to express their views
Montreal,
through blogs, so that the issue can get the
@Guglielminetti
visibility they feel it deserves. Another key reason
people blog is for recognition and enhanced
self-worth.
For now, more people still read newspapers more
than blogs, but bloggers can generally reach their
target audience more quickly.

Bloggers and journalists:
toward a single
profession?
Claude Arsenault
By now, we are all aware of the dramatic shift
occurring in the media world. Newsrooms are
shrinking, revenues are decreasing, readership
is declining. Most people agree that the Web in
general and online news outlets in particular have
been a major factor in this shift. A recent survey
conducted by PRWeek in collaboration with CNW
Telbec shows that journalists have seen their
workload increase over the past year to include
online reporting and social media presence. I think not. Why? There is significant difference
On the other hand, bloggers are becoming more between both groups: most bloggers don’t
and more influential. Their reach and exposure have to write about a topic that was assigned to
have increased exponentially – not to mention them – in fact, they don’t even have to write at
their credibility. all. Their personal interest can therefore become
a greater driver than public interest. Bloggers
But the word “blogger” remains hard to define:
and journalists also use different sources: while
Online journalists or citizen reporters? Amateurs
bloggers rely heavily on social networks and
or professionals? Credible news sources or
online sources, journalists turn more frequently to
rumour mills?
offline sources.
Although both blogs and traditional outlets are
The media world is undoubtedly evolving, and
now considered media by most standards, and
more people are seeing their opinion published
even though more and more journalists also take
and respected. But in a fast-paced environment
on the role of bloggers, can we go as far as to
like the Web, care must be taken to establish the
assume that bloggers and journalists are blending
credibility of authors before giving them our trust,
into a single profession?
and that is especially true for public relations
practitioners who must engage with bloggers for
professional purposes.

Claude Arsenault,
Consultant, Montreal,
@cl_arsenault

The new black: luxury
brands embrace digital
Jeffrey Spivock
The world’s most famous luxury brands share
similar origins – a forward-thinking entrepreneur
had a keen insight into a unique need and created
an innovative solution for a premium price. Coco
Chanel created clothes for women who sought
to shed their corsets. Christian Dior sensed the
hunger of post-war women for a sleek New Look.
Louis Vuitton gave the first generation of globe-
trotters stylish luggage solutions.
Today, luxury retailers continue to set the
benchmark for discriminating shoppers,
A recent study found that 71% of Canadians
including high-calibre design, differentiated retail
visited a store website for shopping information,
experiences and concierge-like service. Oddly,
and 52% visited a store website before they
they lag in digital marketing as a fundamental
visited that store to make the purchase.
part of the customer experience. This despite
Through exclusive online offers, targeted email
high net-worth individuals (HNWI) being among
messages, mobile personalized messages, video
the first to embrace new technologies, given their
testimonials and other techniques, luxury retailers
higher disposable income.
can embrace their HWNI audience and stay true
It seems there’s a fear that “luxury” cannot be to their brand.
delivered in a digital format, which simply isn’t the
As more consumers embrace digital as a way
case. Consider Net-a-porter.com, for example,
of life, retailers need to step up their game and
which became a $600 million company in less
embrace it. A simple website or a lone Facebook
than five years by making luxury accessible and
page does not honour the entrepreneurial spirit
delivering its products to your front door.
of the founders. Truly integrated digital marketing
Digital marketing isn’t just about the transaction, enables a brand to glean further customer
but enhancing and adding value to the customer insights, provide more personalized service and
experience. When customers seek information deliver both meaningful and unique benefits.
about a brand – whether via their laptop, tablet or What could be more luxurious than that?
mobile device – the online experience becomes a
critical touchpoint in the purchase decision. Jeffrey Spivock,
Senior Consultant, Toronto,
@JeffRetail

Digital ideation: sourcing The “My Starbucks Idea” is another example of
crowdsourcing done well. The initiative is aimed
great ideas from your fans at retaining customer loyalty for the coffee giant
by giving fans an avenue to share their ideas for
Mark van Tol
making Starbucks better. Everyone votes on the
Crowdsourcing is one of those new digital words ideas and the best ones are implemented by the
on everybody’s lips. It’s become hugely popular company.
because it is cost-effective, engages your target
As these examples demonstrate, digital marketing
audience and can provide a brand with a much
can be a great way to engage your fans in your
needed breath of fresh air.
brand. Keep in mind that the right incentive is not
Crowdsourcing is really the “outsourcing” of always money – it can be a unique experience,
ideation to the general public or a specific a job, or recognition. It’s important to align the
invested community. When successful, a crowd incentive with your “ask”. The more you demand
sourcing campaign can create buzz, viral content, from your community, the greater the incentive
and positive media coverage – all for a relatively should be.
small investment. Crowdsourcing develops a connection between
So when should companies consider stepping in organizations and their audiences. By asking
the fray? for direct input from your fans and followers, it
not only leads to great ideas but also a sense of
Understanding your audience is paramount.
ownership and possession of your brand, which
Without this your campaign will never blossom.
engenders true customer loyalty and audience
You want your crowdsourcing program to build
engagement.
brand loyalty and ultimately drive purchase
decision. The more engaged participants are, the Mark van Tol,
better the ideas will be. Consultant, Toronto,
For example, Chiquita’s Banana’s recent sticker @mvt
design contest invited consumers to visit Eat a
Chiquita.com and asked them to design their
own personalized stamp on the classic sticker.
Winning designs will be featured on millions of
peels. It’s a fun and unique contest, using video
and other tools to facilitate sharing.

Digital marketing in a
social world
Carolyn Ray
Over the last five years, Facebook, Twitter and
other digital marketing tools have dramatically
and permanently altered the way businesses
interact with customers. Never have we had so
many new and exciting opportunities to engage
with diverse audiences.
But are Canadian organizations embracing digital
marketing in a big way, or are we still waiting
for the light to go on? Recently, I attended the
Canadian Marketing Association’s Digital Day
in Toronto. With speakers from Molson, HP,
Looking into 2011, savvy marketers should
Ivanhoe Cambridge and others integrating digital
consider integrating mobile and video into their
marketing as part of their overall marketing
marketing communications strategy. Hailed as the
communications strategy, it’s clear that digital
next frontier, mobile goes far beyond applications
marketing tools such as Facebook, blogs,
and includes location based services, badges,
micro-blogging and email campaigns are no
SMS contests, mobile advertising, couponing and
longer optional.
Bluetooth notifications. With its ability to stimulate
Fuelled by the recession, businesses are viral movements, online video marketing is an
migrating from traditional vehicles to Facebook, engaging way to create preference and affinity.
search-engine advertising and email campaigns.
As marketing communications professionals,
In Ipsos Reid’s annual Digital Marketing study,
we have an incredible opportunity to use digital
66% of senior management are very interested in
tools to drive dialogue and influence choice,
digital marketing, an increase of 10%.
and help brands become more relevant to their
In North America, 70% of marketers use search- target consumer in an increasingly connected and
engine marketing (SEM) and search-engine social world.
optimization (SEO), up from 56% just two years
ago. With 89% of consumers using search, SEM/ Carolyn Ray,
SEO is fundamental. Social marketing sites, Vice President,
such as Facebook, have increased significantly, Marketing Communications,
with 52% usage (from 35% in 2009). However, Toronto, @dialoguedivaray
despite the increase in micro-blogging and high
consumer awareness of Twitter, only 8% of
Canadians use Twitter.

Getting noticed in
a cluttered media
environment
Nadia Paquet
Even with the growing popularity of social
media, the so-called traditional media are still an
essential news source with a decisive influence
on public opinion. Last year, daily newspapers
in Canada sold over 4.1 million copies every
day. Many people still see newspapers as
more credible than their instant-access web
counterparts.
But the traditional media are adapting to the new
digital reality by changing the way they do things. You can make the most of the information
They are offering new avenues for distributing overload in newsrooms by ensuring your content
content, as evidenced by their websites and is carefully adapted and of the highest quality.
journalists’ blogs. In this context, journalists appreciate your
customized suggestions since they stand out
How do you stand out in this environment
from the rest and satisfy their needs.
of information overload and beleaguered
journalists? In addition, the traditional media must focus on
depth and analysis to remain competitive. Let’s
A recent survey commissioned by
give them content they can use to put the news
anInconvenientPRtruth.com made an alarming
into perspective.
finding: 78% of news releases emailed to
journalists – to the tune of more than 1.7 billion More than ever, public relations specialists
annually – are considered irrelevant. need to be relevant by providing their clients
with a personalized media strategy adapted
Today, it’s no longer enough to put a release on
to each media outlet and a credible, available
the newswire and follow it up with a generic call.
spokesperson who understands this reality,
Greater effort is required up front since, more
regardless of the platform.
than ever, communication is a two-way street.
Regardless of the media outlet, it’s important to Nadia Paquet,
be relevant and serve the needs of its audience. Manager, Media Strategy,
Montréal, @nadiapaquet

Rx to communicate: the Physicians themselves are embracing social
media and trusting online education and patient-
e-patient will see you now support resources. Tactics like brand-sponsored
patient communities (such as PKU.com and the
Mario Nacinovich
HER Story Community), non-brand sponsored
Across the multidisciplinary fields of healthcare, communities (such as dLIfe and Patients Like
social media is thriving and facilitating Me) and exclusive healthcare professional
understanding through the availability of health communities (DocCheck, Medscape Physician
information sources, dynamic communication Connect and Sermo) are changing the landscape.
tools and two-way ongoing symmetrical
Bottom line: social media is empowering patients
conversations. Nowhere is there a greater need to
to seek solutions and this, in part, is improving
meet the demand for increased communication
connections with healthcare providers online and
and trust than between patient and healthcare
off. While we are witnessing dynamic evolution
practitioners and patient and healthcare brands.
within many healthcare systems around the
Pew Research recently reported that 60% of globe with the diagnosis and treatment of various
people search for the health experiences of illnesses or medical conditions, the touchpoints
“someone like me.” E-patients are using social and channels that are being advanced online are
media to gain other patients’ perspectives helping provide a holistic approach to addressing
on decision-making and beyond. With blogs, unmet patient needs and communicating with
Facebook communities and daily tweets of health patients on their terms.
status or information, social media in healthcare
From physician practices to pharmaceutical
is changing the very practice of medicine.
companies, we must now consider how best
While there are concerns across many healthcare to connect with patients and facilitate an
systems regarding legal and privacy issues, the unparalleled and ongoing engagement.
social media conversation is proving difficult to
regulate. E-patients are finding new ways to seek Mario Nacinovich,
diagnostic support with healthcare professionals. Managing Director,
And in some countries, branded and unbranded AXON, New York,
product education and promotions from @nacinovich
marketers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical
device and diagnostics industries are driving the
online conversation.

Pharma goes social
Elisabeth Mozel-Jury

For many industries, social media have become
a standard element integrated into their
product and company marketing plans. The
pharmaceutical industry, however, has lagged
behind, dissuaded by both the real and perceived
barriers posed by the industry’s stringent
regulatory environment. However, with 70% of
online Canadians accessing – and discussing –
health information online, the time for keeping our
head in the sand is over.
The reality is that even if you, as a company, are
not driving online content about your brands,
Beyond ensuring that a branded or disease-
the general public likely is. Patients are sharing
specific campaign aligns with Health Canada’s
the specifics of their treatments, symptoms and
imperatives, any initiative must also be
progress online. Regular monitoring can help
monitored regularly to ensure that any UGC,
marketers understand the concerns of patients as
such as comments, photo or video uploads,
well as the misinformation that is online. All of this
or forum posts do not move the site into non-
helps inform a comprehensive marketing strategy
compliance. As the owner of the site or page,
both on and offline.
your organization maintains responsibility for
Once you have the lay of the online world, the content, even when it isn’t yours – and must
the question becomes how and when to start remove any content that falls outside of what
involving social media proactively in your is allowable. Having disclaimers on the site, or
plans. Recently the Pharmaceutical Advertising tools in place to allow vetting of UGC before it is
Advisory Board and Advertising Standards posted can help maintain a compliant site.
Canada opened the door for those who want
Our advice for pharmaceutical companies? Make
to take the plunge and start engaging online. In
the move to social media, and when you do, be
a nutshell, their stance is that it is possible to
sure to navigate the regulations and understand
create sites or pages that allow user-generated
how to reach your audience effectively.
content (UGC) but it is important to note that
any online activity related to pharmaceuticals is
Elisabeth Mozel-Jury,
considered advertising.
Senior Consultant, Toronto,
@LizMo

Garbage in, garbage out: Monitoring consumer brands is especially
problematic. At least 80% of social media
the perils of unexamined postings and conversations about most brands
social media monitoring consist of mass-produced invitations to purchase
the product. Automated filters are helpful
and measurement but still leave behind far too much unwanted
and irrelevant material to take at face value.
Casian Moscovici
Commercial blogs, tweets and postings are
No less an authority than Wikipedia informs us so cleverly disguised as information or normal
that Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO) is a phrase conversation, it is virtually impossible for even
that was popular in the early days of computing, the most sophisticated algorithms to filter out all
but applies even more today, when powerful the spam.
computers can spew out mountains of erroneous
What can we do about this deluge of garbage
and irrelevant information in a short time.
that overwhelms filters and makes a mockery
Blogs, tweets, forum postings and shared videos of the pretty charts and tables generated by
and pictures are certainly not exempt from the our well-meaning but oblivious tools? There are
GIGO disease. Loaded with rants, spam, lies two approaches.
and advertising disguised as information, social
One is to use monitoring tools and services that
media postings cannot be collected, analyzed or
index selected social media sources which have
acted upon without an examination of their origin,
been vetted for relevance and authenticity. The
provenance and content.
other is to manually select a sample of relevant
Such examination requires hard work and healthy and legitimate posts, tweets and conversations
skepticism from analysts, researchers, brand for analysis and reporting.
managers, communications staff and anyone
The choice, of course, depends on many
else interested in social media conversations.
variables, but whatever approach is selected, to
We can’t leave quality control to Google or the
report monitoring and analysis results based on
social media aggregation tools and services we
unexamined and poorly filtered data is neither
employ to provide content for our monitoring and
honest nor accurate. We must provide reports
analyses. Our clients and colleagues depend on
based on legitimate sources and authentic
our expertise and judgment.
conversations to properly understand and
measure the social media presence, reputation,
penetration and influence of our organizations,
brands and campaigns.

Casian Moscovici,
Vice President, Research,
Toronto

Tweeting your way to a While social media is more than the one-way
pushing of information, any IR program already
liquid stock responds to inquiries and engages in discussions
with its investors. Just as the concern about
Peter Block
disclosing non-public material information at a
For many small to mid-sized companies, getting conference does not prevent companies from
attention is always a challenge. The historical attending, similar concerns should not bar
reliance on analysts and the media does not work the use of tools to reach those interested in
when there are fewer sell-side analysts (Ernst & your company.
Young estimated a drop of more than 80 per cent
A good IR program informs investors about the
over the last decade) and reporters.
company, enhancing liquidity and improving the
Social media can address that void, but many efficiency of the market. A recent University of
companies have a degree of trepidation when Michigan study found that dissemination of news
the subject is raised. It is either seen as a via Twitter was associated with lower bid/ask
considerable investment of additional time spreads, particularly for smaller companies with
and effort or a significant disclosure risk that few analysts covering them.
is best avoided. So let’s discuss what an
Social media need not be intimidating,
“integrated investor relations” program can do for
excessively time consuming or a risk of
your company.
violating securities rules. Rather, it can help
Investor relations (IR) is a two-way flow of keep a disparate group of investors informed
information between a public company and the and engaged about what is taking place at
investment community. Social media allows your company, allowing them to make better
users to disseminate information using highly investment decisions.
accessible and scalable publishing techniques.
“Integrating” them can be done by: Peter Block,
Vice President,
• Posting your investor presentation on
Financial Communications,
SlideShare
Toronto, @PeterBlock
• Uploading any corporate videos to YouTube
• Joining relevant industry discussion groups
on LinkedIn
• Inviting investors to submit written questions
in advance of your next quarterly conference
call via your website. Answer the questions
on the call and post the transcript
• Creating and keeping current a Wikipedia
page dedicated to your company
• Using Twitter to push corporate
announcements and send links to relevant
industry developments

For 35 years, NATIONAL Public Relations has
helped Canada’s leading organizations reach
their business goals with bold thinking that drives
innovative communications solutions. And for over
15 years, Sonic Boom Creative Media has helped
clients understand, embrace and optimize the
massive potential of the digital world. Together
we have the strategic, creative, technological and
subject matter expertise to help you seize the
potential of the digital landscape.

Contact us: digital@national.ca
twitter.com/nationalpr

Digital Thinking Spring 2011

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