the independent integrated agencythe independent integrated agency
Ruth HaffendenRuth Haffenden
@ruth_elizabeth@ruth_elizabeth
““Thinking beyond the blog Thinking beyond the blog trip”trip”
Pro-blogger think tankPro-blogger think tank
May 2013 – TBU May 2013 – TBU RotterdamRotterdam
the independent integrated agency
Did you hear about bgb?
Specialists in
travel & tourism
Specialists in
travel & tourism
PR, Representation, Culture, Luxury
and Online
PR, Representation, Culture, Luxury
and Online
Full range of
in-house services
Full range of
in-house services
Team of 20
in travel & tourism
Team of 20
in travel & tourism
Leaders in digital and social
media
Leaders in digital and social
media
Foundingmember of the
Pangaea Network
Foundingmember of the
Pangaea Network
Established in
1991Established in
1991
Part of Four Communication
s Group:Culture,
campaigning, sports,
sponsorship, marketing,
media planning & buying
Part of Four Communication
s Group:Culture,
campaigning, sports,
sponsorship, marketing,
media planning & buying
the independent integrated agency
But what do you know about Four?
Corporate PRCorporate PR Public affairsPublic affairs Social mediaSocial media Consumer PRConsumer PR
Crisis and issues
Crisis and issues
Media planning & buying
Media planning & buyingSports & ArtsSports & ArtsCommunity
consultationCommunity consultation
SponsorshipSponsorship CSRCSR DesignDesign Multi platform content
Multi platform content
Property marketingProperty
marketingDigitalDigitalCopywritingCopywritingTravel PR & Representation
Travel PR & Representation
the independent integrated agency
So you were PR and now you’re... what then?
Website design Website design Content
management systems
Content management
systemsSocial mediaSocial media Intranets and
extranetsIntranets and
extranets
Digital documents & presentations
Digital documents & presentations
SEOSEOE-newslettersE-newslettersBlogger relationsBlogger relations
Audio (e.g. podcasts,
interviews)
Audio (e.g. podcasts,
interviews)Micro-sitesMicro-sites Online media
buyingOnline media
buyingBanner
advertising Banner
advertising
Video filming, editing and post
production
Video filming, editing and post
productionAnimations Animations Online
monitoring Online
monitoring Mobile
developmentMobile
development
the independent integrated agency
Our clients include…
So who do you work for?
the independent integrated agency
Four the future: Meet the grads!
Rosie Beaument –Thomas, Graduate Executive - @rosiefourbgb
Clients: Stena Line, Exodus, Red Funnel,
Random bar chat fodder: Penchant for pasties and the like, rogue scotch eggs frequently found rolling around in handbag. Total bike geek, spends many mornings on the way to work pretending she’s Bradley Wiggins, commentating her own brilliance as she goes. Once over heard saying: “Live fast die young?! Nah, live slow, have a sit down and a pasty love”
Emma Liasides, Graduate Executive - @emmaliasides
Clients: County Durham, Atlantis, The Palm, Barbados, Red Funnel, Destinology
Random bar chat fodder: Stupendous bar banter, Emma could talk for England. Was a pantomime child star, once locked in a dressing room as a giant peach rabbit for over an hour whilst her curly red hair once caused a group of thirty monks to chase her through the streets of Bangkok for a photo.
Three Fours, to meet in one weekend – see what I did there?
the independent integrated agency
Carolyn Van Vliet, Senior Account Executive - @carolynvanvliet Ok she’s not a grad anymore but she was once and I had a theme going here...
Clients: Visit Wales, Caribbean Tourism Organisation, South Tyrol, Sun International. Cruise Association
Random bar chat fodder: Grew up in South Africa, spent her childhood removing various snakes from her shoes most mornings, can fly fish and is one of the smartest cookies you’ll *ever* meet
Three Fours, to meet in one weekend – see what I did there?
the independent integrated agency
So what do I do now?
Social media director at Four, covering travel, property, arts, culture, sports, consumer and corporate, with a bit of digital tech, SEO and social media buying thrown in to keep me awake at night
Clients at Four: See super duper print out
Random bar chat fodder:
• I have the a world map tattooed across the soles of my feet, I’m scared of bananas, I’m told dance like I’m riding a tiny horse, chilli gives me hiccups and the sun makes me sneeze. I hate emoticons as much as when people say ‘lol’ aloud. It’s not ironic it’s idiocy.
Some things you should know:• I know you’re all hung over! • I loathe smart art and bloomin’ obvious annotations...
So enjoy the accompanying lol cats/ baby gurns
Me! She was bgb and now she’s Four? Wtf?
the independent integrated agency
Session style
Show me the money!
Open forum
Think tank style approach
Best practice
and ideas sharing
Professional
discussions and idea
sharing
Campaign
profiling
the independent integrated agency
•Thinking beyond the “blog trip equals blog review post” set up
•Moving thoughts from coverage to content
•Positioning you as an expert
•Extended campaigns – what can you offer and for how much?
•Methods of tracking – Moving thoughts on tracking from you to them
•Think tank: Sharing best practice, brainstorming for real upcoming bgb campaign proposals, ideas for industry reform
•Discussions of professionalism, the power to handle agreements when things go bad and the knowledge to ensure they don’t
Desired outcomes
the independent integrated agency
Let’s think about you shall we?
the independent integrated agency
Stop thinking in terms of ‘coverage’
Start thinking about content creation
•What can you offer? •What are your strengths?
•Where is your skill set in terms of content creation?
•What do your readers engage with?
•Which channels do you really excel on?
Content creation
the independent integrated agency
1. Content you host• Video• Images• Podcasts• Posts• Pre, during and post• Interviews and
profiles• Behind the scenes
1.Reader generated content• Surveys and polls
• Live coverage across channels• Where are your
strengths?• Reader generated
Content creation
the independent integrated agency
2. Content they host• Video sets• Image sets/ galleries• Guest blog posts• Social media channel take- overs
3. Content that is third party hosted• Networks and affiliations• Other campaign partners• Additional commissions• Online chats
4. Content that links you to them • Banners• Widgets
• Instagram walls• Live twitter/ Facebook feeds• Competitions• Home page/social feed take-overs• DMs• Reader offers• Promoted posts• Facebook advertising
THINK TANK: What do you offer? What other content can we add to this list? How much are you prepared to commercialise?
Content creation
the independent integrated agency
•The basics – tracking for you:o Unique users, social media reach etc
•The next move – tracking for them o How many views did their content
get? How many re-tweets, likes, comments shares, clickthroughs, # impressions
o What can you add to track for them? Tracking links, widgets, reader offers, PR call numbers
•How much to track? Every campaign element or just on site?
•Produce a report: o Content createdo Numbers reachedo Engagement generated
Tracking, reporting and evaluation
the independent integrated agency
So what do you charge? Or more likely, how much do you accept for a job?
o Where are you in your career, do you need the case studies?
o Is the trip worth the pay off?o How many pieces of content are you offering?o How much reporting are you giving?o How long will you be in destination?o What is the length of the campaign?o What else are you bringing to the party? i.e. other
sponsors? Strategy?o How many work hours will that take you to create?o How much site time are you handing over?
Think tank: How much do you charge? Are you willing to share? What have you heard others charging? Should their be an industry standard?
Show me the money!
the independent integrated agency
Let’s think about them
the independent integrated agency
•Negotiating an agreemento Who are you talking to and what’s the
difference?• Marketing• Online manager• SEO• PR• Advertising
o Understanding their needs• Their business objectives• Their marketing objectives• Their social media objectives
o The contract: include the collateral you agreed to produce and when and what they offered in exchange. Reiterate their objectives and desired outcomes! *lets take a look at a contract
o Invoicing: Be clear on who to invoice, how and when you will get paid
Step 2 – lets think about them
the independent integrated agency
Consumer partnerships
What else can you bring to the agreement in terms of collateral?
Brining brand partners together can give your campaign weight and seem more appealing as well as providing mutual budget benefits
But who?•Cameras•Cars•Clothing brands•Sports brands
Think thank: who else? Have you worked with non-travel partners? How did you negotiate it and how could you turn it into something bigger?
How?Social media competition tie-ins?Partnered campaign to split costs?
the independent integrated agency
Campaigns that have moved beyond the blog trip:
-SVG
-Exodus
-South Africa
-Jordan
Thinktank: Which campaigns have you seen that were impressive? Why were they different?
Inspire me!
the independent integrated agency
Having a contract in place should avoid issues of misunderstanding/ differing expectations, but what if things go wrong on the trip?
•Speak directly to your contact – early
•Can you change the itinerary?
•Can you change the content plan?
•Ensure you are both in full agreement.
•Returning from a trip empty handed with an excuse is not an option.
Think Tank: What has gone wrong and how did you deal with it? What concerns you about more commercial arrangements?
When things go bad
the independent integrated agency
•The art of becoming an industry event ho!o Get on the circuit, get yourself known,
one event will quickly lead to another
•How and when to follow upo Immediately, get on their radar, o send your media kit,o add to your subscription list. o Suggest a business meeting. o Nothing? Leave it for a while until you
have some news
•Declines that don't close the dooro Be positiveo Explain your circumstanceso Suggest ways you could get involved
or they type of campaign you would be keen on
Forming relationships
the independent integrated agency
Ideas think tank:
•What are you currently working on?
•What has worked and what hasn’t?
•What can we create together? A look at the bgb client list and upcoming projects
o Case study: Atlantis, The Palm
•Professional associations, are they worth it?
•What do you need from the industry? What can we put in place?
What next? Brainstorm