Blogger See, Blogger Do?
It's not news that blogs are here to stay both here and abroad (see p. 2), but the following results from a Peppercom and Bulldog Reporter survey of 1,162 marketing industry
executives from the United States and United Kingdom shed more light on the trendy subject:
- Almost 89% of U.S. respondents and nearly 83% of U.K. respondents believe blogs are an important digital communication;
- More than half of all respondents said no one is blogging on their or their clients' behalf (U.S.: 63.5%, U.K.: 63.4%);
- Most respondents confess they or their clients don't have an official blogging policy (U.S.: 86.5%, U.K.: 82.1%);
- Nearly one third of companies that claim to have a blog say it is written by the company's CEO;
- 62.3% have not adapted their communications strategy to include proactive outreach to blogs, message boards, and other forms of digital media;
- Respondents in both countries consider the ability to share information quickly and broadly as the most important consideration for blogging (U.S.: 84% and U.K.: 73.9%)
- 63% of U.S. respondents feel lack of credibility to be the major down side of blogs; 62.8% of U.K. respondents prefer other forms of communication to reach audiences;
- 53.7% of respondents are not involved in the writing, creative or approval process for corporate or CEO blogs;
- Most respondents (77.8% of U.S. and U.K.) believe that the public relations department should handle fallout from bad news breaking in the blogosphere; and
- 49.2% of respondents don't monitor blogs.
Businesses And CSR
On the corporate social responsibility front, Americans are looking to businesses to take the lead when it comes to addressing global challenges. A study released this month by APCO
Worldwide at a joint event with Harvard University's Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative found that Americans expect more from U.S. businesses than they do from the American
government when dealing with many high-profile issues. Among the findings:
- 40% of Americans believe that businesses should be spending more money than they are now to help solve global challenges facing people in other countries;
- Only 23% want business to be spending less;
- 65% of the 805 Americans polled feel that contributions American businesses make to other societies can help improve America's image abroad; and
- "Fewer than 10% of Americans have a great deal of confidence that American businesses are helping to solve the challenges facing people in other countries," says Brian Dumont, senior vice
president, APCO Insight.
End-Of-Year Agency Hiring Study
RSW's recent "end-of-year" study reveals what clients consider most important when hiring an agency. The study's executive summary includes the following findings:
- Only 22% of clients use a roster system;
- 48% of clients said their previous agency relationship lasted less than two years;
- Of the four main reasons given by clients for reviewing, three involve issues that are in the power of agencies to control and prevent;
- Typically, having decided upon the need to review, most clients take up to three months before a final appointment is made;
- When reviewing, 53% of clients saw six or more agencies; and
- Of the factors influencing clients to meet with an agency, a timely approach continues to be highly significant, with 41% of client decisions influenced in this way. Agency marketing efforts and
agency Web sites are also very influential.
For the full report, visit http://www.agencynewbusiness.com.
'Tis The Season To Be ... Sick?
Here's a healthy dose of holiday cheer: CareerBuilder.com's annual absenteeism survey revealed that the practice of calling in sick when perfectly healthy is a practice that's alive and
well, especially during the holiday season:
- In the past year, one in three workers has called in sick when they're not;
- One in 10 said they did so three times or more; and
- Women are more likely to take a sick day when they are not sick than men, by 37 to 26%.
The results also suggest that employees should take care when considering whether to take a sick day for shopping or mental health: 27% of hiring managers have fired a worker for calling in sick
without a good reason. Bah, humbug.