High Road Communications

Bell Canada’s recent new logo launch got me thinking. When businesses launch new brands, they often welcome the attention that the media pays the news – and why not?

After all, re-branding is all about attracting attention – getting people to look and see. And with well-crafted re-branding strategies, businesses attract interest in not only their new logos and themes, but also – they hope – their products and services.

Still, it’s surprising to see how well re-branding plays out in the media. Countless news stories and blog posts are being published about brands. People are quick to add their own comments to the debate. It’s clear that branding strikes a chord with many Canadians.

Setting aside arguments for or against the logos and taglines companies unveil, it’s interesting to note that the public is deeply engaged in this topic. People love monitoring and considering the messages that companies use.

This is informative for anyone considering a public relations strategy. Certainly companies seek to prime the media pump with press releases and pre-launch interviews, giving reporters and editors the opportunity to spread the word about new brand initiatives. This also gives the public the opportunity to consider the new brands within a rich context of expert opinions and industry insight.

All in all, it helps keep the public interested – and it helps companies become a part of the stories they’re trying to tell.

“A PR practitioner should always think like a journalist.”

Unless you’ve been a journalist, it can be hard to think like one. It involves rewiring a mindset steeped in PR principles and constantly asking “who cares?” and “so what?”

It’s a concept that all successful PR agencies and professionals know and follow, but it’s an abstraction that can be difficult for less experienced consultants to wrap their heads around.

Looking at this recent “Journalism vs PR” debate organized by the Media Standards Trust and the University of Westminster definitely posed some interesting questions, but more importantly hammered home the point that the traditional media landscape is changing. The successful PR pros will be the ones the best at injecting client messages within this brave new media world. At the end of the day, PR is platform-neutral and seamlessly shifting to collaborating with whoever the key influencers are is the ultimate goal.

And if PR is the process of influencing attitudes and behaviour, adopting a journalistic outlook takes it a step further – developing media materials that focus on telling a valuable and “headline-worthy” story first and foremost.

Recently, we were discussing industry trends when the subject of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) came up. It got me to thinking, “Is SaaS still a standalone story angle?”

Yes, SaaS platforms are hotter than ever and we are seeing it being adopted across a multitude of industries – so much so that it is now a standard method of delivery. On the other hand, bloggers and journalists have been writing about SaaS for ages.

So what should we be telling our clients when it comes to using SaaS in storytelling?

I entered “SaaS” into Google News and got 26 pages in today’s news so it must still be relevant. But when talking to major analyst firms we now gloss over the fact that clients offer a “flexible, constantly upgraded, easy to deploy, low-risk, SaaS solution” because it’s no longer a point of differentiation.

I must admit I’m conflicted on this one and have come to the conclusion that it must be judged on a case-by-case basis. Telling the SaaS story as part of a discussion on how low-cost, hosted solutions can help organizations during a potential downturn could garner strong results. Or discussing SaaS as a differentiator in a market where competitors are stuck offering on-premise solutions should also work.

But you don’t want to do a SaaS story just because you’ve joined the bandwagon. Instead, use it as a proof point for your product roadmap or to segue into a discussion about the changing SOA and Web 2.0 landscape.

After all, no one likes a “me too story,” wouldn’t you agree?

The reason we have two ears and one mouth is because we are supposed to listen more than talk, or so the old saying goes. 

The same applies online. You walk before you run, and you should read before you write. 

With such an abundance of communication channels, each with their own unique characteristics, listening is key to understanding the plethora of conversations that are occurring online. These conversations are taking place across blogs, Twitter, chat rooms flickr, forums and more. 

Many people find it difficult to try and be everywhere and read everything. I say, you need to work smarter, not harder. Make the power of RSS work for you and slide all of your favourite blogs into a feed reader. Monitor mentions of your brand on Twitter using any number of applications. I personally prefer Summize. If you want to see what is happening in the forums, you can try BoardTracker or BoardReader. Use AideRSS to quickly put a blog into perspective. Already using RSS but find it’s getting unwieldy? Show that feed who’s boss by filtering it so only content with the keywords you want gets through. Try Feed Rinse or Filter My RSS. 

Just as you have two ears and one mouth, there are as many ways to listen online than there are ways to speak. Funny, those old sayings.

Put your skills to work for a fast-paced PR firm with a stellar reputation – a place where you can be creative and really make a difference.

High Road Communications is an award-winning public relations agency dedicated to shaping integrated communications for technology and lifestyle companies – including some of the biggest brands in the industry. The firm serves clients across North America from offices in Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Ottawa, and Montreal.

We have immediate opportunities for both intermediate (3 to 5 years experience) and senior level (5 to 7 years) PR consultant positions in the Toronto office. The ideal candidates will have relevant technology and/or entertainment industry, social and digital media experience in an agency environment.

If you have the above qualifications, as well as a related academic background, please submit your resume to Raman Uppal, Human Resources Specialist at careers@highroad.com

For more information on High Road Communications – consistently ranked as one of the best places to work in Canada – please visit our Web site at www.highroad.com.