Hard work, hard drives and a happy new year

Well we are almost three weeks in to 2014 and already there is much to be excited about in the world of tech PR here at MCC International.   We have been busy generating content for blogs and social media, articles have been drafted, placed and published in the media, press releases are streaming out the door and journalist briefings are filling up the diary. We have also been busy updating our own online publication SolentTechNews.

Highlights of the year so far (yes we already have highlights!) are the launch of LaCie’s new hard-drives, Fuel, Sphere (see the image below) and Culbuto, announced at CES in Las Vegas. In the last week we have a huge amount of brilliant exposure for these products online and in print including Shortlist, Gizmodo, Digital Arts, Mac User and NUTS. Also, NICE Systems revealed it had reached the milestone of the $1billion bookings for 2013, as well as being all over the security media for its work in the city of Sochi, as hype around the Winter Games in Russia builds with the opening ceremony just weeks away.

It is always a great time of year getting out (albeit in the rain) meeting with clients and putting plans in to action.  This week included a leisurely lunch with the team at EEMA and Revolution Events, held at the famous MP hangout, The Cinnamon Club in Westminster, being a bit of a foodie I couldn’t wait to taste the delights of Head Chef, Vivek Singh. The lunch menu cannot be recommended highly enough and I am sure I will be making several more visits in the coming months for press briefings and launches.

ENDS

Too Parochial? Tech PR and the Vicar of Dibley

Thinking about audiences is a huge part of our work in tech PR. Yes, we do the big, ‘all guns blazing’ flavour of consumer PR (and very successfully - you’ll have seen our work), but it’s sometimes sobering, when planning B2B campaigns, to realise that the people we’re targeting might number only a few dozen. The flip side is that we know very quickly if your campaign is working from feedback at trade shows, from journalists, clients and the movers and shakers online.

So, just occasionally, it’s nice for the broader value of technology communications to be vindicated. Last night, turning up to my first village Parish Church Council (PCC) meeting, I walked into a lively and well informed pre-meeting debate on the relevant merits of Outlook versus open source alternatives. Now, I don’t think anyone would be offended (I did say I’d write a blog on it) by my noting that the average attendee would likely have retired well before the dotcom revolution: nor by my characterising my Oxfordshire village as ‘Vicar of Dibley’ country. Neither, I think, would the – somewhat senior – Rector himself mind my recalling his surprise at discovering a passionate 87 year old open source advocate in the village.

Now, whatever our thoughts on the present direction of consumerised open source, its spread and popular relevance is humbling (kudos, Mr Bridgwater…). It’s also a wake-up call to marketers everywhere not to be blinkered by the stereotypes and perversely narrow audiences we invoke in marketing plans. And, just maybe, it shows us a little bit of the broader value of what we do as communicators.

Have I got news for you!

Monday morning at MCC International typically begins with a flurry of press release activity; distributing them to the journalist community that have arrived at their desk, strong coffee in hand, ready for their early fix of the latest breaking stories.

The press release has, as far back as I can remember (and that is some time!), been a stable of the PR armoury. It is the tried, tested and proven format (the who, what, when, why and how) for getting stories out to journalists quickly and efficiently. Topics for press releases can be diverse: a new customer win, launch of a new/improved product or service, personnel appointments, announcing a strategic partnership, disclosing financial results or, publishing survey finds. The list is endless!

But today, the press release has value far beyond that of the media coverage it generates and has become somewhat of a misnomer. In fact these short, snappy and interesting stories have an increasingly important role to play in the overall communication of the company message directly to its marketplace.

Traditionally, the press release was a ‘carrier’ of news to journalists, who would in turn interpret the story and communicate it out to their readers, viewers or listeners. Whilst this is still happening, all day and every day, the press release has become more fundamental than ever before.

Think about the last press release your company issued. Chances are it will have been sent out to the media, placed on the company website and Intranet, the URL posted on Twitter, your LinkedIn profile updated with the news, maybe even your Facebook status and the story filed for use in the next company newsletter or e-zine.

The press release is more powerful than it has ever been, but perhaps as PR professionals we need to start referring to them as news releases; otherwise we are not doing true justice to these two-page performers. Afterall, we don’t refer to the powerful computers that we write them on as typewriters any more!

MCC Grows The Team

It has been an exciting start to 2009 for MCC so far, as we are pleased to announce that we have appointed two new members to the team. Account Manager, Simon Hewitt and Senior Account Executive, Alexandra Kenchington are already proving to be valuable additions to their client teams, working across various technology and science B2B accounts.

Now in its 21^st year of professional PR, the award winning media and marketing consultancy MCC International is one of the UK’s longest running and most successful media relations agencies, working across a number of business sectors including technology, science and consumer.

Simon Hewitt has joined MCC International, with 5 years experience in Account Management within PR consultancies in the IT and technology industries. As well as being a PR consultant, he was a member of the in-house PR team for civil engineering consultants, Scott Wilson and is an NCTJ-trained journalist and news editor with extensive all-around editorial experience in the local press.

Alexandra Kenchington has a BA degree in Public Relations and brings with her to MCC International three years work experience in PR and Marketing. She has previously worked for charities, events management companies and consumer business and more recently spent two months in Asia as a volunteer at both an orphanage and elephant sanctuary.

“MCC is clearly focused on providing a creative and pro-active service to its clients so the contribution of two such experienced individuals is invaluable,” says Sharp. “We have a strong workforce that understands the need for fast-moving campaigns and the ability to turn editorial opportunities around quickly for optimum coverage. Alex and Simon have hit the ground running and their clients will benefit from their clear thinking approach to marketing communications.”

TallyGenicom's Thriving Press Office - The Latest MCC Case Study

"I’m particularly impressed that we’ve met with a lot more journalists since MCC has been working with us," says Senior VP, Worldwide Marketing at TallyGenicom, Robin Edwardes. "They arrange regular meetings, giving us the opportunity to put our points across in person and increase the chance of Tallygenicom being featured in the press."

Find out more by downloading a PDF of the latest MCC case study...

TallyGenicom's Thriving Press Office - The Latest MCC Case Study

"I’m particularly impressed that we’ve met with a lot more journalists since MCC has been working with us," says Senior VP, Worldwide Marketing at TallyGenicom, Robin Edwardes. "They arrange regular meetings, giving us the opportunity to put our points across in person and increase the chance of Tallygenicom being featured in the press."

Find out more by downloading a PDF of the latest MCC case study...