The Modern Marketer: Art vs Science?

News portal Social Media Today recently ran an interesting article on how the modern marketer needs to evolve to be successful. The traditional attribute of creativity, it argues, is not enough to harness the ever-evolving area of social media and that now the key to being successful is also being able to find and deliver measurable metrics to prove this success. It’s an interesting concept for the marketing and communications industry to consider. Traditionally and especially before the advent of online social media, it was much more labour-intensive and abstract to measure audience interest in any campaign. But the tools on offer with web analytics now mean that even the most simple of campaigns can be measured to a far more interesting degree. This means that the marketing resource need no longer just be viewed as a cost; results can be demonstrated clearly and measured in much the same way as any other part of the business.

So is the creative side of marketing now redundant? Far from it! In fact I’d argue that actually it’s even more important now. Excellent written content and striking images are crucial to any marketing and communications campaign, especially an online one. Compelling content is vital in attracting interest in what you have to say. A highly creative campaign needn’t necessarily add more cost to the bottom line either. Inventive content should stand well on its own and with the raft of free social networking sites available as vehicles, there is plenty of scope to grab the audience on merit alone. Then of course we can look at the other half of the story, analysing the impact of these activities and showing they have a beneficial effect on your audience.

If you would like to talk about how your marketing and communications can mix creativity and metrics, give us a call on 02380 111977 or visit www.mccint.com

Spring Cleaning your Marketing and PR

With the May Bank Holiday now behind us and with the surprisingly good weather we had for this one, it is finally starting to feel like Spring has actually arrived. There are a lot of hackneyed clichés about Springtime being about rebirth and Spring Cleaning, but actually there does seem to be a palpable change in attitude and mood for many of us. Energy levels are higher and undoubtedly this reflects in the world of business too. It’s no coincidence that the trade show season is well and truly in the swing now (for a number of our clients the upcoming IFSEC security show, 13^th-16^th May at the NEC Birmingham, is a vital showcase for products and services), so MCC International is busy working towards this, shouting about all that is new and exciting.

Although the Spring Cleaning metaphor for cleaning out the old and making improvements is a heavily used one, the truth is this is an excellent time for any business to really push its message and catch the attention of an invigorated audience. This could be a traditional PR campaign with the press, it could be an increased presence in online media (rapidly in the form of video content for example) and social media, it might even be the creation or beefing up of your internal news sharing (such as a newsletter or internal e-shot) to ensure your own team feel well informed and motivated. At MCC International we can help you with any of these and more, creating interesting and engaging content (whatever medium it may be used in) is what we are here for. Undoubted the most receptive audience is one that is already feeling motivated to find new opportunities, so why not capitalise on this and make sure your message isn’t going unnoticed! 

  

If you would like to talk about how you can do more with social media give us a call on 02380 111977 or visit www.mccint.com

Why Tradeshow PR Is Worth All Of The Hard Work

MCC International Director Graham Thatcher looks at the considerable benefits to be had from tradeshows:

Tradeshows can be a tough gig in the PR world. Getting the press announcements ready, making the calls and emails to journalists to schedule briefings (when you know they are getting exactly the same calls from your peers!), then there is the show itself. I am yet to attend an event at Olympia, Earls Court or the NEC with a pedometer but I am sure I should be getting sponsorship for the miles I cover I a day.  Providing PR support for events is hard work.

However last week, as the annual Infosecurity Europe circus rolled in to town, the team here at MCC International was reminded just how rewarding all of that effort can be.  We have been attending this show for many years with vendors large and small, and this year we had the pleasure of working with Winfrasoft.

So, on Tuesday morning as the sun looked ready to make rare appearance I entered the windowless Earls Court. First stop was the press office to check the press information was displayed in the vast racks and with that tick in the box I headed to the stand, which was looking great and already bustling with visitors. So, I grabbed my phone for the first of many tweets throughout the day (despite the appalling 3G and Wi-Fi signal!)

The first big highlight of the day came in the middle of the afternoon when Steven Hope from Winfrasoft presented in the Business Strategy Theatre. When we drafted and submitted the Call For Papers together months ago, we did not predict the queue of people that would be lining up to take their seats.

After the presentation as I stayed behind to make sure we got the video file of the event (great YouTube fodder), people had already made a beeline for the stand and were queuing to ask questions and take a look at their products.

That evening as I put my feet up for a well-deserved rest, the Winfrasoft guys headed out to the Hilton for the prestigious SC Awards Europe. We had worked together to enter PINgrid as the Best Transaction Verification Solution and everyone was delighted that we had been shortlisted.  As 10pm approached I logged on to Twitter to follow ceremony as it happened.  Throughout the day we had talked about how great it would be to win, but we all tried to manage our expectations. However, as the tweet appeared that Winfrasoft had won, my phone buzzed as they shared the good news. And whilst this is a little embarrassing I did punch the air and shout YESSSS to no-one but myself!

Needless to say a long day became a little longer as the press release was drafted to ensure it was ready first thing. So, as I switched off the laptop and reflected on the day I was  reminded why I work continue to love working in PR. The buzz of seeing nice things happen to nice people, being able to facilitate that in some way, however large or small, and being able to share in the joy of success is a hugely rewarding way to spend a day.

So thank you to Winfrasoft, Infosec and the SC Awards!