Wadds' tech pr blog
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Voda-moan
AGMs - notoriously difficult to generate good PR from - seem to be becoming even more of a banana skin. Especially when you’ve just announced a £15 billion loss.
Arun Sarin, Vodafone’s under-fire chief executive, could tell you all about that after a bumpy ride this week that saw him survive a confidence vote from investors. He bagged 86 per cent in favour and will stay on at the helm. Whereas his PR people, I'm sure would have liked the headlines to focus on 4.5 million new customers and 1.3 per cent growth in Q2 this year, other factors – such as European Union capping of roaming charges - made the AGM a trickier proposition.
It goes to underline the power of the AGM as a PR minefield – so many parties and agendas in one room at the same time, in a public forum. Sarin may have dodged the bullets overall but just ask Patricia Hewitt what a potential PR danger zone public meetings can be… Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 4:56 PM
AGMs - notoriously difficult to generate good PR from - seem to be becoming even more of a banana skin. Especially when you’ve just announced a £15 billion loss.
Arun Sarin, Vodafone’s under-fire chief executive, could tell you all about that after a bumpy ride this week that saw him survive a confidence vote from investors. He bagged 86 per cent in favour and will stay on at the helm. Whereas his PR people, I'm sure would have liked the headlines to focus on 4.5 million new customers and 1.3 per cent growth in Q2 this year, other factors – such as European Union capping of roaming charges - made the AGM a trickier proposition.
It goes to underline the power of the AGM as a PR minefield – so many parties and agendas in one room at the same time, in a public forum. Sarin may have dodged the bullets overall but just ask Patricia Hewitt what a potential PR danger zone public meetings can be… Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 4:56 PM
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Active Kids scheme doesn't add up
Schools up and down the UK have been chasing parents for Sainsburys’ Active Kids vouchers for new playground kit.
The scheme has just closed for the year and head teachers have been filling in their order forms to claim sports kit.
52 vouchers, equivalent to a parent spending £520 at the supermarket, gets a single playground ball. 82 vouchers, equivalent to a supermarket spend of £820, gets 12 coloured tennis balls.
Active Kids is a laudable initiative but it isn't particularly generous. It is like Dell manufacturing a green PC but pricing it at a premium over standard kit. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:24 PM
Schools up and down the UK have been chasing parents for Sainsburys’ Active Kids vouchers for new playground kit.
The scheme has just closed for the year and head teachers have been filling in their order forms to claim sports kit.
52 vouchers, equivalent to a parent spending £520 at the supermarket, gets a single playground ball. 82 vouchers, equivalent to a supermarket spend of £820, gets 12 coloured tennis balls.
Active Kids is a laudable initiative but it isn't particularly generous. It is like Dell manufacturing a green PC but pricing it at a premium over standard kit. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 10:24 PM
Financial value
Andrew Smith has questioned the financial valuation of PR agencies. According to an article in PR Week last week, firms are currently valued at a multiple of 5.5 times profit.
The focus on bottom line, rather than top line performance, means that there are some very large firms in the UK that currently have little or no financial value.
Duncan Chapple of Lighthouse AR reported last year that Plimsoll - which analyses the 1,000 largest PR agencies - reckons that a fifth of all agencies are trading at a loss.
It would be an interesting exercise to calculate the net value of the UK PR industry based on its profitability. I doubt it would excite the City somehow. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 2:05 PM
Andrew Smith has questioned the financial valuation of PR agencies. According to an article in PR Week last week, firms are currently valued at a multiple of 5.5 times profit.
The focus on bottom line, rather than top line performance, means that there are some very large firms in the UK that currently have little or no financial value.
Duncan Chapple of Lighthouse AR reported last year that Plimsoll - which analyses the 1,000 largest PR agencies - reckons that a fifth of all agencies are trading at a loss.
It would be an interesting exercise to calculate the net value of the UK PR industry based on its profitability. I doubt it would excite the City somehow. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 2:05 PM
Time's up
Tech occasionally creates odd and unforeseen discontinuities. Everyone predicted the convergence of the PDA and the mobile phone, but what about the mobile phone and the more humble wrist watch?
I don't wear a watch anymore; I rely on my mobile instead. And I'm not alone. Business Week reports on a survey by Seiko in Japan that less than 50 per cent of people wear a watch – down from 7 in 10 in 1997.
But when consumers do buy a new watch Seiko reckons that they’re opting for more expensive wrist apparel, possibly for special occasions. It reports that while unit sales are down by a third over the last decade, unit value has increased 8 per cent.
Thanks to MobHappy for the story. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:46 AM
Tech occasionally creates odd and unforeseen discontinuities. Everyone predicted the convergence of the PDA and the mobile phone, but what about the mobile phone and the more humble wrist watch?
I don't wear a watch anymore; I rely on my mobile instead. And I'm not alone. Business Week reports on a survey by Seiko in Japan that less than 50 per cent of people wear a watch – down from 7 in 10 in 1997.
But when consumers do buy a new watch Seiko reckons that they’re opting for more expensive wrist apparel, possibly for special occasions. It reports that while unit sales are down by a third over the last decade, unit value has increased 8 per cent.
Thanks to MobHappy for the story. Permalink | 2 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:46 AM
Out of business
PR Business is closing as a weekly and may return as a monthly.
The PR industry isn’t sufficiently large enough to support two industry publications and in terms of content most of the major industry stories are now broken via blogs.
Antony Mayfield and ...the world’s leading... both have more on this story. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:44 AM
PR Business is closing as a weekly and may return as a monthly.
The PR industry isn’t sufficiently large enough to support two industry publications and in terms of content most of the major industry stories are now broken via blogs.
Antony Mayfield and ...the world’s leading... both have more on this story. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 11:44 AM
Monday, July 10, 2006
Web bangers
In the UK Tory leader David Cameron is making a bid to reach the urban youth vote today with his "hug-a-hoodie" campaign. Cameron would be better using his laptop to reach this disaffected group. The preferred means of communication for so-called web bangers to report their escapades is via blogs and myspace. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:15 PM
In the UK Tory leader David Cameron is making a bid to reach the urban youth vote today with his "hug-a-hoodie" campaign. Cameron would be better using his laptop to reach this disaffected group. The preferred means of communication for so-called web bangers to report their escapades is via blogs and myspace. Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:15 PM
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Great firewall of China
The University of Cambridge reckons that it has managed to breach the Great Firewall of China by bombarding Government firewalls with data packets containing keywords that would normally be censored.
While this appears to be good news for freedom of speech it isn’t going to take the Chinese Government long to create a software patch to block it – particularly as details have now appeared on Silicon.
The far bigger question is whether Western companies disregard democratic principles and circumvent Chinese censorship in a bid to deal with the emerging superpower? Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 9:04 AM
The University of Cambridge reckons that it has managed to breach the Great Firewall of China by bombarding Government firewalls with data packets containing keywords that would normally be censored.
While this appears to be good news for freedom of speech it isn’t going to take the Chinese Government long to create a software patch to block it – particularly as details have now appeared on Silicon.
The far bigger question is whether Western companies disregard democratic principles and circumvent Chinese censorship in a bid to deal with the emerging superpower? Permalink | 0 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 9:04 AM
Radio gaga
The Beebs' director general Mark Thompson has unveiled auntie’s next big idea – personalised radio.
The service will run on the Beeb's iPlayer which melds existing online radio services and TV on demand, to allow the audience greater flexibility and choice over when it can view or listen to shows.
A cool feature of the proposed iPlayer is that it will make TIVO-type radio suggestions, based on what you’ve previously been listening to and the contents of your profile.
iPlayer launches in the autumn, although I can't help but think its announcement is a knee-jerk reaction to Channel 4s' online radio launch. Regardless, it's a great idea, but its not going to help me get over my penchant for the Archers.
Thanks to Drew Benvie for the tip off. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 8:28 AM
The Beebs' director general Mark Thompson has unveiled auntie’s next big idea – personalised radio.
The service will run on the Beeb's iPlayer which melds existing online radio services and TV on demand, to allow the audience greater flexibility and choice over when it can view or listen to shows.
A cool feature of the proposed iPlayer is that it will make TIVO-type radio suggestions, based on what you’ve previously been listening to and the contents of your profile.
iPlayer launches in the autumn, although I can't help but think its announcement is a knee-jerk reaction to Channel 4s' online radio launch. Regardless, it's a great idea, but its not going to help me get over my penchant for the Archers.
Thanks to Drew Benvie for the tip off. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 8:28 AM
Monday, July 03, 2006
Crème de la Custard
Bit of a late post. Congratulations to Gareth Davies, aged 27, director of Rainier PR consumer tech subsidiary, Custard PR.
The "pit bull with an iPod" has been named one of PR Week’s top 29 PR Professionals under 29.
He’ll still be expected to make the tea. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 4:00 PM
Bit of a late post. Congratulations to Gareth Davies, aged 27, director of Rainier PR consumer tech subsidiary, Custard PR.
The "pit bull with an iPod" has been named one of PR Week’s top 29 PR Professionals under 29.
He’ll still be expected to make the tea. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 4:00 PM
Travel gadgets
Ged Carroll praises Virgin Trains for the innovation of adding power sockets to its fleet of trains on the North West mainline enabling laptop users to work en route without fear of fading batteries.
Steve Rubel has found a neat piece of kit that I’ve added to my shopping list. It’s a cable adapter that enables a mobile device to be charged using an airline armrest audio socket. The power output is tiny but is reckoned to be sufficient to charge an iPod.
The one gadget that I always pack when travelling is a Vodafone 3G data card. In a strong signal area it provides a 300 kbps IP connection – even on Virgin trains between London and Manchester. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:44 PM
Ged Carroll praises Virgin Trains for the innovation of adding power sockets to its fleet of trains on the North West mainline enabling laptop users to work en route without fear of fading batteries.
Steve Rubel has found a neat piece of kit that I’ve added to my shopping list. It’s a cable adapter that enables a mobile device to be charged using an airline armrest audio socket. The power output is tiny but is reckoned to be sufficient to charge an iPod.
The one gadget that I always pack when travelling is a Vodafone 3G data card. In a strong signal area it provides a 300 kbps IP connection – even on Virgin trains between London and Manchester. Permalink | 1 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 3:44 PM
Portuguese winker
"Wayne: I’ll split him in two" cries The Sun, subtle as ever this morning.
With England again going down to ten men after a young player with the weight of the nation's expectations on his shoulder is sent off for...well I'm not quite sure yet, the media have began the hunt for a (preferably foreign) scapegoat.
The talk today on the nation's front and back pages is all about Wayne Rooney and the part his Manchester United team mate, Cristiano Ronaldo played in the dismissal in Saturday’s England Portugal match.
Ronaldo's conduct in trying to intimidate Rooney, gesturing to the referee to send him off and winking at team mates when the red card came out, just wasn't sport.
Rooney is often rightly criticised for his quick temper but fans up and down the country adore him for his spirit and determination.
Let's just hope the "Portuguese Winker" gets what he wishes and signs for Real Madrid because it'll be rowdy on the terraces at Old Trafford come the start of the new football season if he doesn’t. Permalink | 5 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 2:52 PM
"Wayne: I’ll split him in two" cries The Sun, subtle as ever this morning.
With England again going down to ten men after a young player with the weight of the nation's expectations on his shoulder is sent off for...well I'm not quite sure yet, the media have began the hunt for a (preferably foreign) scapegoat.
The talk today on the nation's front and back pages is all about Wayne Rooney and the part his Manchester United team mate, Cristiano Ronaldo played in the dismissal in Saturday’s England Portugal match.
Ronaldo's conduct in trying to intimidate Rooney, gesturing to the referee to send him off and winking at team mates when the red card came out, just wasn't sport.
Rooney is often rightly criticised for his quick temper but fans up and down the country adore him for his spirit and determination.
Let's just hope the "Portuguese Winker" gets what he wishes and signs for Real Madrid because it'll be rowdy on the terraces at Old Trafford come the start of the new football season if he doesn’t. Permalink | 5 comments | Stephen Waddington @ 2:52 PM
