Kaizo has been shortlisted for TWO Golden Hedgehogs!
The nominations are for Best Use of Research with Elsevier and Best Media Relations with House of Marley. The awards take place in London on 21 March 2013. Fingers and toes crossed.
05 Nov 2012
Leading international PR partnership votes in two new partner agencies in EMEA region, Blumen Group from Serbia and Manifesto from Turkey in a regional meeting in Moscow
Worldcom Public Relations Group EMEA region voted in two new partner agencies, Blumen Group from Belgrade, Serbia, and Manifesto Communications Group from Istanbul, Turkey, in a regional meeting in Moscow on 27.–28. September. A total of 31 partner agencies offer creative and reliable PR and communication services from all Europe to Middle East and Africa.
Natasa Pavlovic Bujas, founder and managing director of Blumen Group, states: ”We think about our partnership as a great possibility to exchange knowledge and experience with respected colleagues from all around the world.”
With more than 20 years of experience in business and communications, Blumen Group has a very good reputation and a steady network of agencies and communication professionals not only in Serbia, but also in other countries in Balkan region.
Manifesto Communications Group is a communications consultancy firm, with headquarters in Istanbul and five secondary offices in the EMEA region. Selin Bozkurt, CEO of Manifesto comments: “Our motto is «Together With Its Clients, Wherever They Are». We aim to become the most effective global brand originating from Turkey.”
Worldcom’s strong partner network with local experience will leverage Manifesto in serving the needs of its clients, wherever they are.
”Our membership will create many advantages to all Manifesto clients, especially in establishing trustable business development opportunities”, Selin Bozkurt says. ”Manifesto’s strong brand name in Turkey, accumulated experience of our team, fifteen years’ of managerial experience, ability of strong network management with all media groups and a wide business network will add value to Worldcom’s brand in Turkey.”
The meeting in Moscow was one of the most successful ones of the Worldcom PR EMEA. It gathered more than 40 representatives of partner agencies all over the region for lively discussions and up-to-date information about business, economic growth and PR in Russia.
Kaizo is once again delighted to support the annual Tom Olsen Lecture, held every year at St Bride’s, the church of the media and press, just off Fleet Street.
This year’s lecture, to be held at 6.00 on 24 October, will be delivered by two leading figures from the world of media and public service; The Mail on Sunday’s columnist Peter Hitchens and ex Mayoral candidate and Deputy Assistant Commissioner of the Met Brian Paddick.
The theme is “Drug Laws in Britain – a waste of time, or an essential barrier to grave danger?” and Peter will be arguing the case for increasing the law and Brian for its relaxing.
Time and location
Wednesday 24th October, 6.00pm for 6.30pm
St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8AU
Those interested in joining us for what is always a thought provoking event in a spectacular setting, please email events@kaizo.co.uk.
New research released today (06 June 2012) reveals the latest winners and losers in terms of brands’ online reputations. Lumix comes out top overall in the study, with budget airline Easyjet, ASDA, Shreddies and ASUS 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. The study is based on consumers’ actual behaviour and experience by analysing what appears on; the first three pages of a Google web, news and blog search, the top twenty tweets and the top ten Facebook pages, discounting any pages owned by the brand in question. The sentiment is recorded and a percentage score calculated which can be positive or negative.
Lumix ranked first overall in what was a very high scoring camera sector, whilst all PC brands also scored very highly, as both sectors relied largely on positive product reviews to influence the sentiment of coverage. Meanwhile, Shreddies proved that content remains king in the cereal category, by creating engaging, shareable content that focused on nutrition and health, a subject of high importance to many parents.
With the economy and value clearly top of mind, no frills airline Easyjet and budget supermarket chain ASDA performed the best in their sectors. Whether it’s introducing small benefits to improve customer experience without compromising on price or a real push towards cheaper own-brand products, during periods of recession, those companies which focus on value are likely to fare well.
Supermarket and airline brands in particular often suffer from large volumes of negative feedback, particularly on social media, by consumers dissatisfied with the service they receive. Brands can help to counter these negative posts by creating positive news, great examples of which include Sainsbury’s renaming its tiger bread ‘giraffe bread’ following a letter from a three-year-old girl, Virgin Atlantic launching its ‘Upper Class Red’ lipstick, and HP hiring chauffeur-driven vans to whisk business people around London.
Below are the headline summaries for supermarkets, airline, cameras, cereals and PCs. The full press release including executive summaries for each sector can be found here and overall results for each sector can be viewed in the main report here
Crucial.com, a leading online retailer specializing in computer memory (DRAM) upgrades and solid state drives (SSD), announced today that it has retained Worldcom PR Group partners, The Pollack PR Marketing Group (PPMG) (USA) and Kaizo Ltd., (UK), together with PhE Communication (France), as PR agencies of record in their respective countries. Crucial.com is part of Micron Technology, one of the largest semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. The team won the assignments after a competitive review of agencies through a recent RFP process.
PPMG, Kaizo and PhE have been engaged to develop and execute three distinct in-market regional and national PR and marketing campaigns designed to increase the reach of Crucial.com among mainstream consumer computer users. Activity will drive awareness of, and traffic to, the e-commerce site, and demonstrate the unique benefits of a computer memory upgrade from Crucial.com in the context of computer performance.
”We are enthusiastic about our new PR partners. The combined team has impressive institutional knowledge, extensive existing relationships with consumer media and a proven track record in working with consumer electronic brands and e-tailers. We look forward to leveraging their expertise as we continue to grow,” said Crucial.com Marketing Director, Roddy McLean.
“We can all relate to the frustration that results from working on a slow and unresponsive computer, and many believe that the only solution is to purchase a new system,” said Noemi Pollack, founder and CEO of The Pollack PR Marketing Group. “This is an exciting opportunity to engage with an international audience of consumers while building awareness of Crucial.com and the online tools, customer support and expertise aimed at helping consumers extend the life of their computers with a do-it-yourself memory upgrade.”
ABOUT CRUCIAL.COM
Crucial.com is a leading online retailer specializing in computer memory (DRAM) upgrades and solid-state drives (SSD). Headquartered in Boise, Idaho and backed by Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of computer memory products, Crucial.com offers more than 250,000 upgrades for nearly every system: home and business, old and new, PC and Mac computers. Utilizing a suite of easy-to-use, free online tools, including the Crucial System Scanner and the Crucial Memory Advisor™, consumers are able to quickly assess, select, and purchase compatible memory upgrades to restore computer performance, improve system reliability and increase productivity. For more information, visit www.crucial.com.
ABOUT MICRON
Micron Technology, Inc. is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.
ABOUT THE POLLACK PR MARKETING GROUP
The Pollack PR Marketing Group (PPMG) headquartered in Los Angeles with offices New York, is a 26-year old mid-sized, multi-specialty agency that develops communication platforms and programs, manages corporate reputations, launches new products and services and promotes brand engagement for clients ranging from innovative start-ups, to Fortune 500 companies, with a focus on consumer products and services, technologies and professional services. PPMG is a partner in The WORLDCOM Public Relations Group, a consortium of over 100 partners with offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.ppmgcorp.com, or http://www.pollackblog.com, or follow us on Twitter @PollackPRMktg.
ABOUT KAIZO LTD
Kaizo is an award winning independent UK PR and digital consultancy, serving clients that include; Cisco, Fitbit, Gemalto, Unilever, and Johnson and Johnson.
ABOUT PhE COMMUNICATION
PhE Communication, created in 2007, is a communications consultancy that provides advice and assistance to businesses through customized communications and public affairs strategies in order to generate quick and tangible results. PhE, acting as an “Engineer in Philosophy” for its clients, developed its activity mainly for technology companies, international corporations or start-ups. For more information, visit http://pheblog.blogspot.com/ or follow us on Twitter @PhECom.
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.
Kaizo supported the campaign in the United Kingdom with two events which were themed ARIGATO, the Japanese word for thank you.
As part of the Mayor of London’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations on Sunday 18 March Japanese performers including Maiko, Geisha and Japanese traditional instrument performers, as well as Japanese nationals living in the UK from Wakayanagi school of Japanese dancing dressed in traditional Kimonos took part in the parade through central London and festival in Trafalgar Square. “Tasting JAPAN WEEK” meanwhile offered a Japanese experience at Westfield Stratford City with Japanese food and Japanese alcohol on offer.
NEW YORK (January 23, 2012) – The world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, WORLDCOM Public Relations Group, announced today that it is launching a Destination Awards program. Developed by Worldcom’s Travel and Tourism Practice Group, the professional awards will honor public relations and marketing programs that demonstrate the highest standards within the international travel and tourism industry.
Winning organizations will be selected from the following six distinct categories: events with budgets of less than $100K; events with budgets of more than $100K; programs of less than $200K; programs of more than $200K; crisis management; and originality in public relations. Those that wish to vie for an award, can submit their entries on the Destination Awards website, where they will be voted upon by the larger community. Community members will have the opportunity to vote anonymously for finalists of their choice, within each category. Judges from the Worldcom Travel and Tourism Practice Group, as well as selected professionals from the international travel and tourism industry, will choose the winners of the Destination Awards from the list of finalists, as determined by the community’s votes.
“Worldcom’s Destination Awards will put a spotlight on great international marketing and PR programs within this industry,” said Norman Stowe of the Pace Group, Vancouver, Canada and Chairperson of Worldcom’s Travel and Tourism Practice Group. “As leaders in the field of public relations, Worldcom is witness to remarkable programs all over the globe and we feel compelled to give innovative and creative organizations the accolades they deserve,” adds Stowe.
The Destination Awards will accept entries today and voting can begin anytime thereafter. The deadline for submissions will be on April 30, 2012. Following the judging process, The Worldcom Travel and Tourism Practice Group will announce the six category prizewinners on May 15, 2012.
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.
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