We are delighted to highlight an initiative our Worldcom partners have produced. Composed of 21 contributed articles from 20 Worldcom PR Group partners, “PR in 2012: Emerging tactics and trends from around the globe” is a free e-book that provides perspectives from around the globe.

The book combines the collective savvy of leading PR agencies in business-to-business, consumer, crisis management, health care, public affairs and travel tourism. A foreword from well-known social media strategist, speaker and author, Jay Baer, captures the essence of the evolution of the ever-changing world of PR.

Click here to access the book.

Established in 1988, Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with 107 partner agencies worldwide, in 91 markets, across six continents.

Food manufacturers print health and nutrition information on pack in good faith - to help consumers make informed choices about the food they buy; to comply with labelling regulations; and of course to make their product stand-out from the competition.

But have they ever considered that these health claims and nutritional breakdowns might actually turn consumers off? According to a new study published online in the journal Food Quality and Preference, consumers find excessive information on health claims on food packaging off-putting and it has a negative influence on their perception of the sensory characteristics of the products. In other words, if the product seems 'worthy', then it is unlikely to deliver on taste.

The research team, from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology in Spain, specifically investigated consumers' perceptions of the food packaging of both enriched and reduced calorie biscuits. They were particularly interested in the expectations raised by nutritional and health claims and the nutrition panel, and their influence on the sensory perception of the biscuits.

They found that consumers were particularly influenced by the nutrition claims highlighted - colour and size - front of pack. Too much information was perceived negatively and with distrust. Interestingly, reduced sugar biscuits were expected to score lower on taste and were seen as a specialist product i.e. for people with sugar metabolism problems, rather than a healthier option.

So what's the take-out for food manufacturers? Since the first contact between consumers and your product is likely to be the packaging and its labelling, be aware of the potential impact of the words on pack. While working within regulatory constraints, it's key to strike a careful balance between full disclosure of the potential health benefits of your products versus appealing to your consumers' taste buds. After all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Brands are missing out on news ways to develop and grow as a result of a ‘hands off’ or non-focused approach to community management, according to research commissioned by Kaizo pr & digital communications.

With customers supposedly being placed at the heart of brands more and more, surprisingly nearly 40 per cent of people say brands don’t involve customers enough in product development and over 40 per cent believe brands don’t involve customers enough in creating marketing campaigns.

Reasons why people join a brand page or community on Facebook are typically related to strong category or brand interest, although incentives clearly play a part as well.

• 44% like and interact with a brand page on Facebook because they love the brand or buy the products already
• 27% join because they have the opportunity to win something
• And only 12% because of funny or compelling content

But the level of engagement once liked is critical. Frequency and type of brand posts can be a fine balance with three quarters of people say they turn off because of the number and type of posts whilst nearly four in 10 turn off because there are too many promotional posts. Only 13 per cent leave because there is no chance to win anything once liked.

Rhodri Harries, managing director at Kaizo, said:

“Brand communities are successful when they are authentic and inspire innovation rather than irritate. Successful community management involves building the right level of trust and online rapport first. So ask questions, don’t preach, provide relevant content not streams of consciousness, and know what the brand’s objectives for the community are.

Involving the community in your brand development and of course, importantly, reporting back about what you are doing every step of the way will spread word of mouth as well as stimulate sales. The benefits are clear to see.”

The research reveals nearly 40 per cent of Facebook users post about brands every month, one in five post about brands every week and over a third say they are more likely to share positive news.

Elderly people who have made a New Year”s resolution to improve their diet need to put eating more fruit, vegetables and oily fish at the top of their list.

According to a new study published in the journal Neurology, elderly people with higher levels of vitamins B, C, D and E and omega-3 fats in their blood perform better on tests of mental acuity and show less brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer”s disease. These nutrients come from eating a wide range of fruit, vegetables and oily fish, or fortified foods and supplements.

This first study to measure actual blood nutrient levels, rather than basing its findings on less precise data from food questionnaires, also shows that unhealthy diets produce the opposite result: a decline in cognitive performance.

With a third of aging consumers concerned about mental decline, food products aimed at boosting mental sharpness are fast entering the market. These ”senior nutrition” ingredients present a huge global opportunity for the food industry with demographics firmly on its side.

Not only is it estimated that 2 million + people will be over 65 years old by 2035, interestingly, brain ageing may kick in earlier than we thought. A study published in the BMJ shows that brain function can start to deteriorate as early as 45.

New research released today (15 November 2011) reveals the latest winners and losers in terms of brands’ online reputations, along with new insights into the impact that Facebook has on purchasing behaviour. Lumix comes out top overall in the study, with Morrisons, Lenovo, Weetabix and usual favourites Virgin Atlantic winning the sector battles.

The Kaizo Advocacy Index, a bi-annual audit of online reputation, has analysed digital news and social media outlets to rank UK household names including; supermarkets, cameras, airlines, breakfast cereals and computer manufacturers.

For this study the qualitative results were cross-checked with some new quantitative research, to both qualify the methodology and also look at the importance of online recommendations in terms of actual purchasing behaviour.

Between 31% and 38% of people say their purchasing behaviour is affected by what they see on social media – especially Facebook. And, for the majority of us, good news travels fast, as over a third of Facebook users are more likely to share positive news about a brand compared to 22% who would share negative news. In the new research we also found that 28% of Facebook users had posted a negative comment and 40% a positive comment in the last six months.

Rhodri Harries, managing director of Kaizo, commented:

“Lumix came out top overall and in the camera sector which was an overwhelmingly positive category, with reviews influencing strongly what is covered and what people share. The key to this research though is looking at how a brand compares against its competitors, so Morrisons’ rise up the supermarket rankings and Virgin’s continued dominance of the airline sectors should be admired.

“The brands that are faring well are the ones that take recommendations seriously and do all they can to influence them. Whether creating a consistent positive news flow, focusing on review sites, being creative and visual, and ultimately, involving customers and commentators, there isn’t a one size fits all approach. To win recommendations, brands need to be involved in consistent ‘conversations’ as well big bang campaigns.”

From advocacy to intent

Research of 2,000 UK residents conducted by OnePoll found that for 67% of the UK, Google is the first place they go to search for information about brands; this is followed by online media and Facebook directly.

And, the public is caring and sharing more than ever about brands online, over a quarter (26%) post on websites and blogs about brands every month – with 13% posting every week and 4% posting every day! For Facebook and Twitter users these percentages, perhaps not surprisingly, increase with nearly 40% of Facebook users and nearly 35% of Twitter users posting about brands every month.

Perfect picture for cameras online

The camera sector is buoyant online when it comes to recommendations, with all the brands we reviewed scoring very positively primarily down to reviews and news. Twitter proved a strong channel for customers sharing positive experiences and opinions in this category.

In an overwhelmingly positive group, Lumix Panasonic was ranked first (60%), closely followed by Fujifilm (53%), Olympus (52%), Canon (47%) and Nikon (42%) with Kodak ranking last with 30%.

Lumix scored strongly due to the quality of its products and its feature rich approach. With research conducted prior to the recent corporate issues, Olympus scored very positively in news search. Negative comments posted against brands were typically in response to competitive comparisons and, in the case of Kodak, corporate news.

Consumer research found that a comment on social media and Facebook about a camera will influence 38% of people in terms of their decision to buy or not.

Morrisons takes top spot as Waitrose suffers customer dip

Morrisons was the big winner amongst supermarket brands this time thanks to news on business performance being picked up across multiple channels and the announcement of its forthcoming e-commerce business.

Morrisons climbed from third place ranking last time to lead the way with 34%. Whilst second ranked Waitrose (12%) saw its score drop substantially, followed by ASDA (4%) and Tesco (0%). Bringing up the rear, Sainsbury’s (-6%) is the only supermarket to have a negative score and saw its position topple from second in the last Advocacy Index. Most brands suffered online from news and comments about poor customer experience either online or in store, with Waitrose the biggest losers here. Other issues ranged from labelling concerns to Christmas simply coming too early for some (a favourite with the ‘Twitterati’).

As might be expected this sector is very news rich with each brand providing a steady flow of announcements from products, such as Asda’s Quest E-Reader, innovations such as Waitrose’s new QR code and Tesco’s satnav app!

A strong anti-Tesco’s lobby against store expansions once again impacted the supermarket’s score, whilst Sainsbury’s lost both Jamie Oliver and its positive score due to a whole host of customer issues.

In new consumer research, we also found that a comment on social media and Facebook about a supermarket will influence 36% of people in terms of their decision to buy or not. Brands maximising their growing communities and social media news flow are those that will see the biggest financial benefits.

Virgin flies high online as industrial disputes ground BA

Virgin Atlantic once again was the most admired airline online with its inflight experience and new routes sited by many on Twitter and news sites, despite a relatively poor showing on Facebook and on general web searches.

Although Virgin Atlantic leads the way with 20%, the surprise winner this time around was BMI (17%) who saw its ranking rise thanks to positive media reviews, despite the initial rumours of the trade sale.

Negative scores caused by poor customer experience and industrial action were posted by British Airways (-10%), easyJet (-16%) and of course perennial bottom ranked brand Ryanair (-69%)

In this sector, the positive news typically came from news services, new routes and vocal social media fans. But as in previous studies, strikes, service disruptions, and inconsistent customer experiences were evident across all the brands.

Ryanair once again stole the negative headlines with removing toilets to create more space for seats, the latest announcement to incense the public and media alike.

New consumer research also showed that a comment on social media and Facebook about an airline will influence 36% of people in terms of their decision to buy or not.

Weetabix’s dancing teddies take brand to top online spot

In the cereal category above the line activity made a strong connection, with the public generally loving and sharing adverts including the Shreddies Knitting Nanas and the new street dance advert from Weetabix.

Recipes were also well covered, commented on and shared, whilst on social media, topics relating to healthy eating and allergies were more widespread.

Weetabix with 31% was best rated in the category with the other four brands researched scoring very similar levels; Kellogg’s Cornflakes (11%), Shreddies (10%), Shredded Wheat (8%) and Special K (8%).

Weetabix’s score was influenced by the new TV advert featuring dancing teddies and a little girl, as well as parents choosing Weetabix as the winner of the Children’s Foods Awards/Better Breakfasts.

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes score was balanced by cause-related marketing campaigns and issues with the Muslim community and ingredients.

Lowest ranked brand Special K saw a backlash to its diet, with people criticising it for ‘leaving you hungry’ and helping you to lose weight that you will pile back on after returning to normal eating.

A comment on social media and Facebook about a cereal brand will influence 31% of people in terms of their decision to buy or not, according to additional new consumer research.

Tablet talk boost Lenovo’s online brand

Lenovo was perhaps the surprise winner in terms of online recommendations in the PC sector, with reviews dominating the category featuring strongly on Google, News and on Blogs.

The rise of the Tablet was the most significant theme, even without featuring Apple in the study. Which company had the best, the newest and the fastest tablet was top of mind for many in traditional and social media.

Lenovo came top with 38% followed by ASUS (34%) and Acer (31%) with big hitter Dell lingering with 15%. HP brought up the rear with -49% following the announcement of its exit from the PC business and the corporate fall out that this created.

In new consumer research we also found that a comment on social media and Facebook about a PC brand will influence 38% of people in terms of their decision to buy or not.