Rumors Of Traditional Media's Demise May Have Been Overstated
A recent media-usage survey conducted by Ketchum and the University of Southern California's Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center refutes the accepted wisdom that traditional media are
withering away into nothingness. The "Media Myths & Realities, 2006 Media Usage Survey" report compared the media-usage habits of 1,490 adult Americans and 500 communications industry
professionals and revealed that significant gaps exist between the two groups; however, it also demonstrated that consumers still rely heavily on their local newspapers and local TV news, while
increasingly using blogs and other emerging new media. Among the debunked myths:
Blogs are the dominant media
- 73.6% of consumers rely on their local TV news
- Nearly 70% depend on their local newspaper, and this heavy reliance cuts across all generations.
- Only 13.4% of the general public use blogs
- 4.8% use podcasts
- 4.5% access media via their cell phone
Social networking sites are just for kids
- 17.1% of the survey respondents ranked social networking sites such as Myspace.com and Friendster.com highest in usage among new media
- While adults ages 18 to 24 (41.9%) and 25-34 (30.9%) use social networks the most, 15.1% of adults ages 35-44 and nearly 10% of those 45-54 also use them
Key Brands That Transcend Age, Race, Sex, Popularity
Design consultancy Landor Associates and Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates released the results of their national "2006 ImagePower Newsmaker Brands Survey," which revealed key branding trends
that all communications professionals should keep in mind as they prepare for 2007 campaigns:
- Social Equalizers: The top winning brands, including Google, Las Vegas, Yahoo!, Target and eBay, have no boundaries in terms of age, race or income because they provide affordability,
personalization and one-stop-shopping experiences for consumers.
- Consistency is King: Google, Las Vegas and iPod were among the 2006 winners that also topped charts in 2005, suggesting that brand messages delivered consistently over time build loyalty and
resonate with consumers.
- Social networking falls short in popularity contests: Brands such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com and eHarmony.com rated poorly in 2006, perhaps because of their lack of reliance on user-generated
content, a la YouTube and Yahoo!.
Talent Management Challenges HR & PR
Human resource managers and their communications counterparts are making one significant New Year's resolution - to find, develop and maintain talent in 2007 - but their chances of eating
healthier and exercising more may be more easily accomplished, according to the ORC Worldwide "HR Priorities Survey." The study, which polled global HR executives from a cross-section of industries,
revealed that:
- 62% of respondents feel the most pressing strategic issue companies will face in 2007 falls into the realm of "talent management;"
- Following talent management, 23% said that transforming and leading the HR function will be a key area of focus (up from 17% last year);
- Cultural transformations were the third-highest priority, as stated by 8% of respondents;
These challenges, coupled with PR's role in management and leadership, provide opportunities for communications and PR professionals to work with HR executives to manage potential talent and
foster a diverse, effective workforce.
Banish The Buzz Words
The PR industry should consider an "out with the old, in with the new" mentality with clients and the C-suite in 2007, as a recent survey by The Creative Group indentified the "most annoying
industry buzzwords" in the eyes of senior executives. Among the losers:
"Outside the box"
"Synergy"
"The big idea"
"ROI"
"Paradigm shift"
"Strategy"
"Integrated solution"
"CRM" (Customer relationship management)
"Customer-centric"
"Voice of the customer"
"Critical mass"
"Buzz"
"Make it pop"
"Break through the clutter"
"Take it to the next level"
"Innovation"
"Free value"
"Organic growth"