Take a look at this screen shot. . This could be the first ever Canadian issued social news release and it was issued today by , a client of iStudio s sister agency, .
The iStudio team was privileged to be asked to design and produce this thing of beauty (we re very proud of it!) and Brandy has a over at our coporate blog where she talks about why we re so proud of this great initiative.
The new era of PR is about creating rich experiences (online and offline) for customers.
As a PR company, High Road s customers include both their clients and the media. I believe that we ve created something that a client would be proud of sending to a colleague, friend or family member (as opposed to from today).
We ve also, in my mind, created an incredibly rich experience for journalists.
Weblo hasn t penetrated the consciousness in the same way that Second Life has, so there are fewer shorthands a PR company could use when pitching the media. This page puts the story in context - additional media coverage, video interviews and commentary and trackbacks from the community.
What do you think?
(answers on please!)
*UPDATE* - Just noticed that this didn t explicitly say that I had nothing to do with this initiative. It was Brandy who lead the charge and coordinated the hard work of the technical and creative teams.
All are important, but only one is critical to a business success.
I m no expert on the changing media landscape but I do hold a BA in Common Sense (HONS) that would suggest if your traditional business model is falling apart you d try to do something about it.
As the has.
They re pretty much held up as the leading lights of a media organisation that get s it . They ve got a number of blogs, talk a great game when it comes to social media and offer geo-targeted advertising.
Oh, they also call their readers stupid.
No, wait they probably shouldn t do that right? And they probably really shouldn t do it when a rival media outlet is copied in on the email correspondence.
In this case, I think the situation has gone way beyond right or wrong, but into a pure customer service issue.
Your product may be fantastic, your agencies (ad, PR and interactive) may be the best money can buy but if your customer service ain t up to par, well, you re bang in trouble.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you via .
If the Guardian or Louise Taylor actually bothered to acknowledge their mail I might stop copying in Football365 who like to snigger at them but.
Anyway, in pursuit of helping Louise Taylor one day write a decent intro here goes:
Okay can you tell me what surgery, for a footballer is not potentially career saving? I mean, I am guessing they don t have operations for fun. Okay maybe they could struggle on with an ingrowing finger nail or something.
But pretty much anything to do with your major limbs is an essential for a footballer. In this case, any operation that doesn t work could mean their career is over.
To go over that one more time.
Footballers get injured they then need operations. If they don t have operations then they can t play. So every operation is a potentially career saving operation.
So why do you need to state the bleeding obvious? Or were you just trying to hype up an otherwise dull story and a dull set of quotes from Shola?
Hello, Guardian anyone out there?
Uruguayan footballer Dario Silva had surgery to have his leg amputated recently. This could hardly be described as potentially career-saving for a footballer. I hope this answers your question.
If you can come up with another one that isn t completely stupid, I might stop copying in Football365 too.
Are you serious? And nice tone you have with your readers.
I m fairly sure, as harsh as it sounds, that Dario Silva was no longer a footballer when it comes to the point of having the leg removed. It hardly changes the point that99.9 of injuries suffered by footballers are career threatening.
So hardly really worth pointing it out.
Oh and I ve copied in Football365 to save you the bother.
So it s okay for you to take a sarcastic tone with our writers when you re trying (unsuccessfully) to be smart, but not okay for us to do the same when we prove you wrong.
Why is that, then, Steve? Dario Silva may have been out of contract when he had his accident, but he hadn t retired. He was an unemployed footballer, but a footballer nonetheless, aged 32 and with several more years worth of gas in the tank.
You asked for an example of surgery on a footballer that isn t potentially career-saving and I gave you one off the top of my head. End of story - let it go.
Ahh I can see where the problem is arising now.
You wrote: So it s okay for you to take a sarcastic tone with our writers.
No, I really did mean that what Louise Taylor writes is bollocks. No sarcasm intended.
Sorry for your confusion.
And you give it up first. Go on I dare you.
Fair enough about the Dario Silva thing though. Actually I might start calling myself an out-of-contact footballer. Or maybe an astronaut.
I can t decide. By our own argument you don t need a club, a contract or it appears, the use of your legs to call yourself a footballer.
I can think of several more appropriate things you could call yourself, Steve.
At least Dario Silva proved that he could play football at the highest level, whereas the only thing you re proving is that you re not as clever or amusing as you think you are. I get the impression you re loving this attention, but when you re in a hole like this you should really stop digging. I didn t think it was possible for you to make yourself look more foolish than you did in your original email, but you re proving me wrong.
All the best,
Barry Glendenning, Guardian Unlimited Sport.
All good natured banter that really hurts the brand and alienates it from its core audience.
Is this a case of customers being too empowered too soon?
Has Steve s ability to correspond with a national newspaper and one of the world s best websites given him too much chutzpah? Are consumers so used to shouting that companies can no longer listen to their problems?
I think it may have been Seth who said a child that asks nicely gets what she wants; a child that screams and generally carries on like a Fury, doesn t.
There must be a better way for all parties.
Sidebar - my BA is not, unfortunately, from the School of Hard Knocks.
Before I start there is a bit of a caveat emptor here - I m writing about media interviews and media training but I ve only ever conducted one session of media training and sat in on, at most, just four more.
I have, however, been reading the excellent blog and now consider myself expert enough to talk about it. So you can blame .
As PR has grown from a line item to something of (hopefully) more strategic importance, so has the need to deliver good interview.
Unfortunately, the media s idea of a good interview (lots of contraversial soundbites) and the PR department s idea of a good interview (lots of on-message , relatively neutral soundbites) were pretty irreconcilable.
However, I think that in an era of the democratisation of media where more and more people are being called for interviews, and not just from the C-suite, the media and those who consume the media are bored with stale old rent a quotes.
No longer can interviewees use the trusted bridging technique of half answering questions before diverting them to safer ground.
First (then UK Home Secretary) and then (former Canadian PM) have both gotten into some serious hot water over this.
The trick , if you can call it that, is to be charming, intelligent, knowledgable and funny so you can appeal to those watching while answering the questions and telling your own story at the same time.
Here s an example of a : Oasis Noel Gallagher interviewed by Exclaim Magazine on a number of issues from Lars Ulrich to French speaking Canadians and piracy.
He s completely honest, very funny, answers all the questions and comes over as an all round good bloke.
What are your feelings on piracy, internet or otherwise?
See, I like pirates.
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