O&MGuide tO OwninGshare-

of-voice at anEvEnt

8

nikolaj birjukow, Managing DirEctor, MarkEting anD contEnt, o&Mjeremy katz, worlDwiDE EDitorial DirEctor, o&Madam kornblum, Social MEDia DirEctor, o&M

PrE-Plan

staffing

PlanProject Director

Social Media/Content DirectorDesignerEditor*

Writers (2)* Copy Editor Interviewer*VideographerPhotographer

Network of Tweeters

Make certain that at least some of the contributors have names/bylines/reputations that are credible to the event and, ideally, that they can bring

in a substantial following of their own.

*Depending on the size of the event and your budget, you can double-up one or more of these roles.

PrEconDition This plan is based on the assumption that your organization has a substantial social

presence. A reputation for thought leadership will smooth the path as well.

before you promise brilliant performance to your ceo, figure out what you are going to accomplish.

"What do I want to achieve?"

"Who should I reach?"

"What value can I deliver?"

build a hub and

agrEE on a haShtagYou can (and probably should) use an existing property as the underlying engine for your hub.

Brand the hub, but make clear that it is about the event, not your brand. You must adopt and maintain an editorial posture.

Your #hashtag should be clearly tied to both the event and your brand.

create an

editorial calendarDon’t just send a bunch of folks over there with a fat T&E and good luck wishes. Work from the published event agenda to plan out what is worth covering. It’s impossible (and unwise) to cover everything, but it is essential to weigh in where you can add value. Develop a theme or storyline that fits with your brand’s point-of-view or area of expertise and that of your event team.

Build in the flexibility to change on the fly.

build shareable

gEnEric aSSEtSFor each item on your editorial calendar build templates for...

1. A single-page sharable infographic for Twitter and Facebook.

2. A deck for SlideShare and other placements.

create media

PartnErShiPSResearch which media outlets would be interested in covering the event but may not be able to attend. Strike partnerships with them—you supply exclusive articles/content, and they run it as editorial, not advertising. To make this work, the writer of the piece must be a contributor the outlet would want to publish anyway, and the writer must be coached to think of him or herself as writing for the media outlet, not your brand. By setting up this partnership, you are giving the writer editorial independence and must stand behind that.

2 wEEkS Prior to EvEnt

precede event with

MagnEtic contEntSeed the social sphere with magnetic content that conditions your audience to look to you for valuable, perceptive content. Your aim is not to show that you’re going to be objective. Rather it is to demonstrate how worthwhile and enjoyable your point of view will be.

The most retweeted tweet at Cannes 2013

thE EvEnt iS hErE

kick-off meeting to align

rolES anD rESPonSibilitiESIt seems like a small thing, but it is crucial, especially if your event team is global.

EvEnt covEragE

be a

rEPortEr- Listen for bias, agendas, and point of view.

- Listen for and extract the structure of the talk

- Accurately transcribe memorable lines/quotes.

- Be prepared to bail if it sucks. Spend your time and editorial resources on something better, even if it wasn’t in your editorial calendar.

- Grab an interview if you can. Capture it on video, on audio, or even just with good notes.

tweet

conStantly- Make sure to cover sessions/speeches from clients and influencers

- Don’t ask your reporter/writer to tweet the session s/he is covering. Assign someone else.

- Pick up and add your own spin to tweets from others. Don’t just retweet.

- Use your #hashtag and the event’s #hashtag in every tweet.

- Use one account and give multiple people access (and VERY clear guidelines).

instagram

likE crazy- Use one #hashtag and one account for multiple Instagrammers.

- Treat it as editorial—tell the story with the pictures and people you capture.

intErviEwS - Since you’ve identified your interview subjects in advance (see editorial calendar), reach out to them through personal and professional contacts to set up interviews (but be open and in place for serendipitous opportunities).

- Have a videographer in place to shoot the video.

- Ask 4 questions at most—aim for 3 minutes of final video—and minimize editing by being fluid and controlling the interview.

- Your interviewer should be on camera and be visually appropriate for the event and your brand.

write quick and

inSightfully - Don’t delay on writing up each session/talk. Your reporters/writers should aim to have a 600-1000 word piece done within 2 hours.

- Lay out the main argument of the session/talk, but add your own experience, examples, perspective, and voice. Aim for the provocative, not the anodyne.

- If there were discrete points made, lay them out as bullets for the reader.

- If not, draw out your own points, and make them stand out in your piece.

fill in your

gEnEric aSSEtS - Using the piece you just finished as a guide, take the individual points you made and turn them into provocative headlines. Write up short, catchy summaries of each point. Place an emphasis on direct quotes from the speakers. This is the text you will use to fill your infographic and, in slightly longer form, your slide deck.

- You can also create an infographic and slide deck from a presentation that you did not write about. In that case, use quotes sourced from Twitter and any of your own sources to create an infographic and slide deck that puts your POV on the session.

recap

nightly - Remember when you were a kid in school and the writing teacher told you to, “say what you’re going to say, say it, say it again”? While that’s terrible writing advice (once you’ve graduated from high school, that is), it’s exactly what you need to do when covering an event. Plan, write/post, and recap.

- Have a universal recap asset prepared for each night of the event, and fill it in with something other than the generic what-I-did-last-summer drivel that your competitors are spewing out. Develop a voice and a strong point of view, both of which you can combine with a thematic look back at what the day held.

- Don’t just talk about what you’ve already written. Instead, draw the day together for readers, linking to your posts and maybe even those of your competitors. Bring in outside references and ideas. Put your perspective on the day, and then put your perspective into a larger context. Your job here is to show your readers not just what happened but why they should care.

share, share,

SharE - Post articles, video interviews, and daily recaps to your hub and social channels as soon as they are done

- Submit your content to the media partners

- Tweet shamelessly about your articles, infographics and slide decks. Retweet anyone who mentions your work.

- Engage with your supporters and detractors, and use your existing body of thought leadership (if it exists) to buttress your points.

- Enlist the support of those who you are covering by sending them the links to your work. If you’ve done a great job writing up the sessions, they’re likely to share it enthusiastically through their own social presence.

- Spend a few bucks promoting your tweets, articles, infographics, and slide decks. And spend your influence (and a few favors) getting your material reblogged or reposted everywhere you can.

rESultS

if you do everything right,

thiS iS what your Sov will look likE

this works.

rESultS at cannES.

"ogilvy remained leagues ahead in the hashtag stakes." -Salesforce

#ogilvycannes earned126 Million iMPrESSionS.

#ogilvycannes 126 Million iMPrESSionS on twittErmentioned in

17,483 twEEtS

#1 most retweeted tweet for all of #canneslionsSOURCE: SYSOMOS

y-o-y growth on twitter reach

673%% total number of retweets for #ogilvycannes:

13,972y-o-y growth: 576%

shared content on facebook skyrocketed y-o-y by8,325%

slideshare

52,122 viEwS on our thought leadership pieces SOURCE: SLIDESHARE

facebook posts earned

58,530 likESSOURCE: FACEBOOk INSIGHTS