The enigma of women in technology

Several years ago, Simon Hewitt (one of our top bloggers here at MCC International) visited Bletchley Park for a new business meeting. The meeting went well, but we were both particularly interested in looking around the museum, getting up close to the Enigma machine and discussing old war films.

This week, the National Museum of Computing on Bletchley Park has opened the Google-sponsored Women in Computing Gallery. The event acknowledges the important role of woman in technology past and present (and I hope future). Given their huge contribution during the Second World War, it is the ideal place to showcase technological achievements.

The exhibition is particularly significant as over the years the ‘face’ of technology has on the whole been male, of course there are a few exceptions (you are probably now thinking of either the former CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina, or the President and CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer). However, look beyond the figureheads and you will see a very different picture. In fact, I would say that the technology PR, marketing and journalist community in the UK is fairly evenly split. In fact here at MCC International it is an exact 50/50. However, traditionally the spokespeople that we typically push to the fore have been men, although this is beginning to change, albeit slowly.

Of course, there are sometimes some amusing incidents, and I recall being at a trade-show and watching from a safe distance a senior spokesperson (a man) from a company that shall of course remain nameless, being put through the technological mill by a reporter (a woman), as he got it very wrong and assumed her level of expertise was based on the height of her heels and the length of her skirt!

Back in the 1980s, I very much doubt I would have got a girlfriend by talking about my Sinclair Spectrum and prowess playing Double Dragon (that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!), it was a language that only boys shared, however, times have changed. Technology and more specifically computing has proliferated in to all of our lives. Sitting on the train in the morning you will see just as many women playing Temple Run as men, and all of us want the latest tablet and smartphone for both function and fashion. Yes some of us will be more concerned about colour choices of the new iPhone 5C, whilst others will fixate on the pros and cons of the Snapdragon processor in our Android tablet, but that isn’t a gender specific argument.

It is great that this exhibition is celebrating these often unsung heroes of the tech world, and if you get the chance, do pay a visit to Bletchley Park. There is a huge talent pool in the UK tech sector, both male and female and hopefully we will see the balance redressed higher up the corporate food-chain.

Earlier this year, research from Cranfield University showed women held 17% of the board positions among the companies listed on the FTSE 100, then just a few weeks ago it was suggested to much chagrin that this was due to women’s ineptitude at competitive sports such as chess. If this is the case why is it that the top three highest scorers on my friends list playing Minion Rush are woman, and I can’t get near their rankings for love nor money! 

Have a break, have an Android KitKat

Well if we thought last week was exciting to be in the world of tech this week has trumped it and then some and it is only Wednesday!

Yes, we are still fixated on the new Nexus 7 and the ease at which iTunes downloads can be transferred on to it!  Although our attention is also turning to the LG’s plans to take on the device in the 7inch tablet space. However, the big news of this week began breaking on Tuesday when Microsoft announced that it would be buying Nokia’s mobile phone business. When two organisations of this size combine it is always going to grab the headlines, but you cannot help but think of two tech giants whose best days are sadly behind them, only time will tell.

Today sparked debate in the office when Android announced that its new OS would be called KitKat, tying in with the chocolate bar which most of us had in our school packed lunch. We all like the statue Google has unveiled, but is it the start of multi-million pound bidding wars for organisations beginning with L, and is this co-branding a good thing.  As a marketer I have to say yes. However, we are looking forward to Android WagonWheel, in the distant future.

It has also been good news for ebook users this week with Amazon announcing its Matchbook scheme which will allow customers who buy printed books to get a copy of the digital version for free, or at a discount. This is something bookworms have wanted for some time and signs pointed to this earlier this year when they started to offer the instant digital download of an album when you ordered the CD.

Finally, you can never ignore the needs of Apple fans and things started to hot up this week when they confirmed 10^th September as launch day for the new iPhone 5s. But will they launch the expected low-cost iPhone 5C? What colours can we choose from? And, how will iOS7 fair? All these questions will be answered in just a few days.

Technology, Working and Twerking

Entering the short working week following the last bank holiday of the year can seem like the official beginning of the end of the Summer. However, as it turns out it was a rather exciting week in the world of technology.

We have a roughly 50/50 Apple vs Android split in our office. So, for half of us the opportunity to get our hands on the New Google Nexus 7 tablet, launched on Wednesday, was a mouth-watering prospect. Yet, I don’t think the guys at Asus or Google would have expected all of their efforts to improve the screen resolution and processor speed to have been put to use in order to find out what the hell twerking is, or the odd lunchtime game of hugely addictive Minion Rush! It would seem that for all of the jargon, buzzwords and acronyms we know everyone was oblivious to this one. The Nexus 7 is a fantastic 7inch slate and thoroughly recommended, although we are now waiting with bated breath for the UK launch of the Chromecast.

Meanwhile, EE was joined by Vodafone (who were also hitting the headline for talks with Verizon Communications about selling its stake in their joint US venture) and O2 as they began the rollout of their 4G offerings in the UK, prompting debate on Radio 4 mid-week on the future of 5G, as well as internally in the office whether Wi-Fi only or LTE tablets are the way forward.

One of the most popular types of App on any tablet is mobile banking. In fact it is projected that more than one billion people will be using these services by 2017. So, it was with interest that we read the initial findings of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) looking at concerns over the security and user friendliness of these programs. The full report is due early next year.

However, the biggest surprise of the week was the revelation from BT that it will turn off its dial-up internet access service on 1^st September, making us first wonder who has the patience for dial up these days (certainly no-one here) and then reminiscing on the sounds the old modem would make and the anticipation of the webpage loading.

So a short week that I am sure has felt rather long, but the weekend and the end of the month is nigh, and I have a new tablet to play with and will be installing my mobile banking with a little more trepidation to check how much is left after payday.

Industry Awards – You have got to be in it to win it

MCC International Agency Director Graham Thatcher reflects on another awards success!

Looking back over the first six months of 2013 one of the highlights has been seeing many of our clients receiving accolades for their product innovations. The latest to collect a trophy is LaCie,  winning the coveted MacWorld Awards 2013 category for Best Consumer Storage for its superb LaCie CloudBox product. The awards, which are now in their 18th year, recognise the best and brightest products and vendors that cater for the now diverse Apple-compatible products industry. In such a competitive industry it is testament to LaCie’s excellence and innovation that it won the coveted award.

The CloudBox is one of those products that every gadget obsessed techie and non techie member of the MCC team wants! Essentially it is a very attractive box designed by Neil Poulton in which you and your family can store all of your music, movies, photos and files (it is available in 1TB, 2TB, 3TB and 4TB versions, which even the most hungry digital content consumer will struggle to fill). Plug it in to a power supply and connect to your home network and you, your family and friends have easy and instant access to all of your content wherever you are (just so long as you have an Internet connection), whether you are using a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop PC. What is more  it has UPnP™ which mean your movies can be streamed to XBOX or PS3, iPad®, or any network-connected computer and TV. It even includes backup software for PC and Mac,  automatically backing up multiple computers in the home to ensure all files are safe - from movies and music collections to family photos.

Here at MCC we know that in order to win such an award you need to start with a fantastic product that meets are real market need. However, so many great innovations fail to get the kudos they deserve simply because they are not entered in to the right award programmes, or they entry doesn’t do the product justice. That is why so many of our clients ask us to take the reins of their award programmes, to give themselves the best possible opportunity to put on the tuxedo/or glamorous frock and receive the adulation from their team (and scorn of their competitors), as they collect their silver and glassware at a glitzy hotel in London from a comedian who you recognise from Mock The Week, but you don’t know their name!

There really are so many benefits to entering and more importantly winning award programmes. They provide a fantastic morale boost for staff,  reinforce the desirability of your products to your business partners and give you a wealth of marketing opportunities to capitialise on for a full 12 months until the next award season comes around. So, if you have a product that should be standing out from the crowd for all of the right reasons then give us a call.

If you would like to talk to us about how an award entry can benefit your organisation give us a call on 02380 111977 or visit www.mccint.com

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!

Is Social media taking over your life?

Social Media seems to have taken over our lives (at least for some of us anyway!) – think of pretty much any situation and you will often see people frantically Tweeting or updating their Facebook status on every point of interest, sharing it with online friends and contacts. There are those that cast a cynical eye over the phenomenon of course, Charlie Brooker’s excellent Black Mirror series of thought-provoking dramas seem to be obsessed with the effects that Social Media has on our lives (a recent episode even saw a woman speaking to an artificial intelligence version of her dead partner created and styled by using his online comments and persona). However, for better or worse (I’ll let you make your mind up on that) Social Media is very much a part of our contemporary society and banking provider First Direct has commissioned new research that suggests there are some very interesting groups or personas of online blogger that are emerging.

The research highlighters 12 different types of Social Media user:

·         The Ultras

·         The Deniers

·         The Dippers

·         The Virgins

·         The Lurkers

·         The Peacocks

·         The Ranters

·         The Changelings

·         The Quizzers

·         The Informers

·         The Approval Seekers

Even from the titles I think many of us can identify with at least one (or probably most) of the categories, either because we can identify ourselves or other users that we follow or have witnessed. Like any other area of human civilization, individuals deal with Social Media in a specific way that reflects their personality. Naturally when this is in the public eye it affects the way others see us, be it socially or professionally. At MCC International we would be the first to argue that your online persona is rapidly becoming as important (if not more so in some cases) as the way you conduct yourself offline. Reputation is a difficult concept to prove, but you certainly know it’s gone if you lose it!

 
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