Predictions for 2011

January 4th, 2011
Democracy PR predicts the future

As the nation takes down their decorations and prepares to tighten their belts, the team at Democracy PR predict the ones to watch in 2011.

It’s all about the numbers: (From Jennifer)

After a few years of being marketing’s funkiest team member, social media is about to get serious as communication teams and finance departments ask more questions about the cost of activity versus the results delivered. Supporting a Facebook page, engaging in forums, creating that online video all need to have a purpose and demonstrate return.

Consolidation: (From Simon)

Gowalla let’s you check into Four Square, twitter does locations and Facebook let’s you do everything (plus it’s making money) …. social platforms are trying to be all things to all people and in 2011 I think we’ll see consolidation as we simplify the channels we use.

Rather than a prediction, I hope twitter starts to make some money soon … we rely on it so much that without a revenue model their future is precarious, and I, for one, would miss it.

Location-Based Marketing: (From Maxine)

Thanks to sites and applications such as Gowalla, Foursquare and more recently, Facebook places, people are becoming more accustomed to the idea of ‘checking in’ at various locations. As these apps become more widely available on various smartphone makes and models, businesses will be able target user’s likes and interests- and offer tailored packages to suit individuals. If you’re not doing it yet, then speak to your social media agency about to make it happen (or talk to us!)

Daybreak in 3D?: Hannah

The whole 3D concept is nothing new, but my prediction for 2011 is that we’ll see the concept of 3D becoming common practice across all forms of media. Last month, Japan launched the first glasses free 3D TV to mixed reviews. As internet-connected 3D televisions starts to become more affordable, expect the demand for three-dimensional content (including online content) to take over. It will take time, and unless Daybreak makes some substantial changes, I doubt we’ll ever see Adrian and Christine on 3D.

Turning a page with e-books: (Fraser)

Based on massive sales figures in December 2010 my 2011 prediction is that, with Amazon’s Kindle spearheading the trend, the ebook will become the next big thing. The obstacles in the way of the ebook are ereader apps on tablets and smartphones, but with e ink so damned impressive on the Kindle I don’t anticipate this to be a difficult battle to win. Hardback books should be more expensive than their digital versions so as long as the recent ‘book lending’ initiative doesn’t become a victim of its own success (ebook unit sales will increase but surely book lending will hit publisher revenues) 2011 might well be the year that sees ebooks take a significant share of the book market.

Want to know more about our predictions for 2011? – then get in touch, we’d love to welcome you to our new office later this month.

Choose your twitter name with care

November 29th, 2010
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Anyone thinking creatively about choosing their twitter name should do their research and check out the tale of the American babysitter who decided to register @theashes, the nickname her boyfriend gave her.

Over the weekend, her followers rocketed from 300 to 5,525  as a confused or ‘stumped’ Ashley Kerekes received thousands of messages about cricket. After hours of bombardment, she cracked and sent this message: “I AM NOT A FREAKING CRICKET MATCH!!!” into the twittersphere.

Following on from the popularity, a campaign was launched to #gettheashestotheashes – and not to miss out on the PR opportunity the Qantas press office tweeted that the airline was bringing “@theashes to Australia for the Ashes”.

Not to miss a trick (unlike those behind our great cricketing institutions), quick thinking Kerekes has launched a T-shirt featuring her twitter outcry onsale for $19.99.

What’s more surprising to us is the lack of thought from those chaps responsible for The Ashes who appear to have missed the social media revolution and not got a grip of the way sports fans are communicating. Come on guys …. catch up!

BabyDeli at the Just So Festival

August 25th, 2010

Just So with BabyDeli from Democracy PR on Vimeo.

Everything is Just So

August 23rd, 2010
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This weekend for BabyDeli we’ve been at the delightful Just So festival with a pop up gastro restaurant for the under 2s.

It’s the first time that Louise has invested in live event activity to support brand building and the team at Democracy managed every aspect of the campaign – from the design and production of the vinyl branding, the management or the kitchen and the data capture tool – all supplemented by a social media campaign.

The event was fantastic, the visitor profile matched the BabyDeli target customer perfectly – and the cafe proved a real success with some parents popping along twice a day to feed their little ones delicious BabyDeli food.

The lovely Hannah also managed to secure a break at luxury family hotel Calcot Manor to encourage parents to check out the new facebook.com/LoveBabyDeli page.

We’ll upload more photos and some video footage later today. Can’t wait for next year!

Sherlock, iPlayer and the BBC

July 27th, 2010
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The BBC aired the remake of the classic tales of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson this Sunday, and Democracy Towers buzzed about it on Monday morning so much, that I caught up on iPlayer on Monday night.

Written by Stephan Moffat (the chap who’s been creating a stir with Dr Who), the fast paced excitement was brought bang upto date with blogs and geo location using smart phone technology all used as the plot evolved.

The evolution of the Sherlock Holmes story from the dark and murky streets of Victorian London to the modern world of laptops, mobile phones and carefully watched streets is a revelation and proves that well written stories featuring well developed personalities can be made as relevant today as they’ve ever been.

After a speedy romp through the back streets of London, the killer was caught by ….. as if i’m going to reveal that(!). Just like the adaptation of Sherlock, the BBC continues to meet the changing viewing habits of the public with their catch up service on iPlayer (thank goodness).

Today the press is awash with rumours that our growing online catch up consumption may cause the BBC to change their license fee structure. The existing model relies on us having a TV in our living rooms …. and if internet streaming takes off, they’ll be asking the government to protect them through legislation.

Any change to the license fee tends to create uproar – but if we can all embrace the evolution of  Sherlock into a modern day super sleuth, then maybe we can accept that the BBC, after 60 years, may have to do the same.

All the gear, no idea ….

July 19th, 2010
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Given everything that the internet can tell us about our clients, customers and ourselves, it’s almost unforgivable for new business approaches to be made without some basic desk research.

Our landing page gives you an idea of what we do, who we work with and a quick click to the team page tells you who the team are. We really do make it easy.

For the sake of saving their blushes, I’ve removed the details of the ad agency who sent this, however … let’s be honest, I don’t think they’ll ever see it.

SUBJECT: Digital PR

Sent to: info@democracypr.com

Hi

Do you guys offer your clients any digital services , or do you include them in any pitch work? e.g social media – facebook apps, iPhone apps, micros sites, games, data collection sites etc?

Mark


From: Jennifer O’Grady [mailto:jennifer@democracypr.com]

Sent: 19 July 2010 10:46

To: Mark

Yes we do

Sent from my iPhone


SUBJECT: Digital PR

Sent to: jennifer@democracypr.com

Hi Jennifer

In house or do you outsource?

I’m actually after a partnership – we have all the skills to make iphone app, mobile apps, facebook applications, custom facebook landing pages microsites, games , viral – all the things clients want as we see a shift from traditional media and move to have campaigns which have a digital element or elements to them.

In recent months we have started working with PR agencies , so that they can be confident when pitching campaigns or for new clients that they can include a digital element.

If you want pop into our Leeds HQ – top floor penthouse office, I’d be happy to spend 20 mins with you and explain how we can help.

+ don’t worry we are very used to working with NDA’s so you can rest assured that your clients are kept safe!

From: Jennifer O’Grady [mailto:jennifer@democracypr.com]

Sent: 19 July 2010

To: Mark

Hi Mark

We do everything in house outside the app building, however, we also work with a number of different agencies to deliver that.

We have reciprocal arrangements with them, meaning that we send business in both directions.

I’m unlikely to be in Leeds over the next few weeks, but if you’re ever over in Manchester feel free to pop in, I’m sure I have 15 minutes that I can spare.

I can’t see him making the journey over to Manchester for a 15 minute chat, but that’s OK, because the truth is that they don’t really want our business, if they did, they’d have put the effort in.

Taking time to get to know your target consumer, to understand what they want and be able to apply it is a basic communication tool that every business benefits from.

This weekend, we’ve been working on the launch of The Rock in Bury, staging a social media campaign that has amassed almost 3,000 fans in less than two weeks.

The heart of this campaign has been to really get to know and understand what the people of Bury want from their new retail and leisure destination. Some love it, some have areas where they believe it can be improved – but every one of those 3,000 fans know that The Rock is listening to them and cares enough to want and keep their business.

The Queen, Bruce and Facebook

June 14th, 2010
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This morning, GMTV interviewed TV comedy legend Bruce Forsyth about once again missing out on a knighthood in the latest Queen’s Honours.

The annual event is promoted to reward exceptional people and those honoured work in a wide range of fields including sports, education, medical research, heritage, and local arts and sports projects.

According to the official Gov website: “The people honoured this year include a pathologist, a nursery nurse, the coach of the England women’s football team, a GP, and a number of youth workers and volunteers. Among the more unusual professions on this year’s list are a station announcer at Fenchurch Street Station and the organist at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool.”

Bruce, who picked up a CBE in 2006, missed out on his knighthood again this year. On the GMTV interview he mused that the support that he’d received from 25,000 Facebook fans and the media, promoting his long years of service to the entertainment industry, may have influenced the final decision in the opposite direction.

If true, then this underlines how out of touch the decision makers are with the power of the ground swell of public opinion now harnessed by Facebook and other social platforms.

We’re not suggesting that knighthoods are given out based on the same voting system as the X-Factor, but a good leader (just as a good brand) uses all the methods available to listen to what’s important to their public, learns from them and makes decisions accordingly.

Who knows Bruce – next year …. the Queen will be saying ‘nice to see you to see you nice’, and you’ll get that Brucie Bonus you so rightly deserve.

Using Twitter to make news

June 8th, 2010
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The anti-twitter brigade often don’t see the potential of the medium, opting to believe that time wasted engaging the public online is worth less than shouting from a hill with a loud hailer.

So we like how much news twitter is making lately, not just as a way of assessing the groundswell of public opinin on everything from politics to Glee, but as a tool that’s making news across the traditional press too.

This week, twitter God Stephen Fry (and one, assumes festival organisers at the Hay Festival in Wales) revealed the most beautiful tweet in an international competition. Although I’m not convinced the criteria for judging has been explained in any of the press reports, the festival said the most beautiful tweet – posted by Marc MacKenzie from Canada – read “I believe we can build a better world! Of course, it’ll take a whole lot of rock, water and dirt. Also, I’m not sure where to put it.”

The winning tweet was revealed by Fry, who paused from his daily musings about Apple to praise the message for its humour.

The combination – new medium, social participation through an engaging competition and celebrity backer secured column inches in over 100 traditional and online titles and catapulted awareness of the Hay Festival in Wales to a new, wider audience.

With this much potential, are you missing a trick not including twitter in your communications campaign?

Food for thought

March 30th, 2010
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Apparently Jamie Oliver’s school dinners are making children cleverer. Since the introduction of his nutritious meals, SATs results have dramatically improved. Perhaps there’s a scientific reason, or maybe kids are being spurned on by the ever more infrequent reward of chocolate for doing well.

Oliver’s scheme may be making kids healthier, but the media don’t seem to like his “I was right all along” stance.

In fact school dinners are certainly on the media menu today as they also report on fingerprint scanners being introduced in a school in Brent, North London to substitute cash in canteens.

Although mother’s can watch what their kids are eating this way, danger surely looms. As a child, I was constantly worried about the infamous demand of ‘Give me your dinner money.’ Well imagine if a surly bully forced you to give him your thumb.

A Grand Day Out

March 29th, 2010
Duerr's Jam and marmalade

At Democracy, we love our clients, and the passion we feel for them is infectious. So much so, that when a friend of the agency spotted Manchester Marmalade on sale down south (!) they couldn’t resist buying a jar and taking it on an adventure.