Awareness

Competitive Landscape

Cluttered

Competitive

Noisy

The World is Flat

The World is Flat

In today’s global marketplace ...

We need to master the evolving communications techniques of the global digital environment ... in order to bring

value to our work.

Communications has Changed

• Top-down communication is failing.

• Talking “at” has been replaced by conversations “with.”

• Organizations must release control, stop selling & promoting ... begin listening and participating in conversations.

• We have enhanced ability today to manage brand image with more credibility.

Communications has Changed

Traditional tactics of public relations, advertising and marketing ... which promote,

sell & push messages ... are less effective in the digital era.

Facts About Online

If you talk “about” your organization ... no one cares ... and no one will listen.

Today’s audiences only care about themselves and value to themselves.

Facts About Online

• Only 14% of people online trust advertisements.

• 25% of search results for top 20 brands are user generated material.

• 78% of consumers online trust peer opinions over ads.

• There are approximately 200 million blogs.

Source: Erik Qualman, author, Socialnomics

Facts About Online

• Content is essential as consumers look for information that is most convenient.

• 346,000,000 people globally read blogs.

• 77% of active Internet users read blogs.

• 900,000 blog posts every 24 hours.

• People online actively seek new information.

Source: eMarketer.com

The Second Internet

Sharing

Successful Second Internet companies are powered by similar features, including:•Platforms open their API to developers, giving

code developers essential building blocks to enhance a site or application.

•Continuous and rapid pace of innovation (such as Facebook and Huffington Post).

•The company/brand must listen to the dialogue and participate with customers.

•Customer contribution is a large percent of the value/experience.

•Every customer has a personalized experience.•Social graph connections drive discovery rather

than search.

Who is Today’s Media?

• Mainstream papers, magazines, TV, radio, cable

• Blogs, social media, forums

• Online news services

• Online news aggregators

• Maybe someone you never heard of ...

• Lines have become blurred between pure journalism, entertainment and opinion

Who is a Journalist?

• Trained, experience reporter

• Blogger, with or without experience

• Celebrity, notable, attorney

• Someone with absolutely no skills or experience in journalism

What is Brand Journalism?

Using the credibility and influence of news to tell a corporate story to

achieve competitive differentiation.

What is Brand Journalism?

A completely different style, technical and approach than PR.

Brand journalism is news, not PR.

PR is promotion & “pushing.”

Value of Brand Journalism

“In the Internet age, executives have to learn how to shape information about themselves and their companies ... or the Internet will do it for them, and it won’t be pretty!”

Mark Cuban, billionaire entrepreneur, Chairman of HD Net

Brand Journalism• Accomplished communicators with journalism

experience.

• Knowledge to create and strength original online content, deepen engagement through online communities and develop new brand awareness models.

• Clear purpose-driven objectives and results.

• Commitment to openness, transparency, accuracy and balance.

Why Use the Blog Platform?• Easily adapted for news sites and other

purposes.

• Easily updated with no technical skills required.

• Dynamic, interactive and highly search engine friendly.

• Provides greatest online awareness.

• Represents the latest online software developments.

Tactics Then ...

Tactics Now!

Essentials of Brand Journalism

1. Evaluate and cast off old or bad habits

Old, Bad Habits

“About”

• “About” boilerplace. No one cares!

• Blast, unsolicited emails.

• Press releases that are not stories.

• Pushing out self-serving messages.

• Being inaccessible.

• Not listening.

Bad Habits

Essentials of Brand Journalism

2. It is journalism ... not PR or marketing

PR Message Gulf

YouThe Media

PR Message Gulf

Your Press Release Actual News

Story

Essentials of Brand Journalism

3. Sharpen focus to achieve more impact

Focus on Influencers

Essentials of Brand Journalism

4. Seek clarity of journalism, not jargon.

Essentials of Brand Journalism

5. Constant updates and news style.

Newsfeed

Photos

Ranking, infoFeatures

Categories

Comments

Visitors

Social mediaSocial mediaSocial media

Related

Social media

Comment

LinksFeed

Twitter Facebook

Twitter

Links

Related

Essentials of Brand Journalism

6. News style writing, stories, photos, video

Outstanding Visuals

Essentials of Brand Journalism

7. Drive traffic to your news relentlessly

Essentials of Brand Journalism

1. Cast off old or bad habits.

2. It is journalism ... not PR or marketing.

3. Sharpen focus to achieve more impact.

4. Seek clarity of journalism, not bureaucracy.

5. Constant updates and news style.

6. News style writing, stories, photos, video.

7. Drive traffic to your news relentlessly.

Brand Journalism ... the most important competitive

asset for influential communications

Strategic Directions

• Advocate change - Learn new styles, trends & protocols.

• Avoid compulsively marketing and promoting ... start to listen and engage.

• Use plain language.

• Embrace storytelling.

• Become the credible voice and face.

• Reach out to fewer to achieve more.

Awareness