Entries Tagged 'Public Relations' ↓

In a world dominated by smartphones, cloud computing, biometrics, and chip cards, big data is the driving factor keeping the economy rolling along. Thanks to big data flowing wild and free, GDP increases up to $450 billion annually, and countries that push data sharing across borders enjoy 40 percent more economic benefits than their less-connected counterparts.

So said Big Data industry expert Ajay Banga in a recent article reviewing the economic benefits of Big Data. Banga then outlined multiple different ways Big Data is changing how we interact with our world and each other. Big data helped healthcare workers beat back the Ebola virus in West Africa because the right data was being shared by the right people.
While data sharing in the healthcare industry tends to bring up concerns about privacy and protecting personal information, healthcare professionals across the globe are finding ways to implement big data while also protecting their patients’ rights to privacy.

It’s a tightrope walk, but big data’s rapid development is happening with these safeguards being built in place, giving people the benefits of evolving data science while honoring legitimate privacy concerns.

Some are calling for greater security measures, demanding that data be held in the nation by which it is collected. Banga said that’s a bad idea.

“These restrictions often confuse concerns about access to data for national security and law enforcement purposes with commercial use of data. The outcome is the fragmentation of data that creates a ‘splinternet,’ one that risks not only stifling economic growth but reversing it as well,” Banga wrote.

From a public perception perspective, that collision of safe-seeming restrictions and the loss of benefits caused by these decisions creates a constant cost-benefit tug of war between those feel the technology is moving too far too fast and those who are focused on the intense benefits being revealed – and enjoyed – by those who have begun to enthusiastically adopt big data science.

The bottom line in this back and forth is very simple: nations and businesses need the data, not just access to data but the ability to move it safely, for the world to fully realize the benefits of big data. This doesn’t mean anyone – I mean ANYONE – can get sloppy with data security. In fact, all efforts should be made to protect the sanctity of information in all its forms.

However, creating artificial walls that, when it’s all said and done, randomly restrict without offering any additional protection, hurts everyone.

If there’s one truism in the auto industry, it’s that keeping customers is job number one. That means, when new tech innovations hit the market, you better not be far behind.

Enter self-driving cars. This science fiction staple is actually already in use in some places, and most industry brands are experimenting with their own version of the technology. Commercial fleets see massive potential in this innovation, so you can expect brands depending on commercial sales to chomp at the bit to market a successful application of the technology. Continue reading →

In soda, it’s Coke versus Pepsi. In trucks (and auto racing) it’s Chevy versus Ford. But in retail, the biggest of the Big Box battles is waged between Sam’s Club and Costco. When both brands are doing well, it’s a sign things are moving swimmingly in the economy as a whole. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a front-runner. Continue reading →

Once the darling of Silicon Valley, one of a new breed of “Unicorns” (privately held companies worth more than one billion), Jawbone is hurting. In fact, the tech firm recently told CNN it has laid off up to 15% of its staff…that’s 60 people for those scoring at home. Worse, the company has elected to close its NYC offices, officially evacuating the east coast. Continue reading →

Vice is more popular now than ever. No, not the “fun” kind of vice … we’re talking about the documentary news program. After exploding onto the scene to instantly redefine news media in the 21st century, Vice has now been offered their own channel, the A&E owned “H2” channel. Continue reading →

Sprint announced plans some time ago to shut down their WiMAX connection completely on November 6. That didn’t happen, at least not completely.

Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen supply nonprofits, libraries, and schools with a wireless connection using the WiMAX network. The groups, along with several nonprofit organizations filed for an emergency injunction to stop the shutdown – at least regarding their access to the network. The injunction said “emergency relief orders Sprint to maintain the WiMAX network in certain areas for 90 days to allow Mobile Beacon and Mobile Citizen time to migrate their users to Sprint’s LTE network.” Continue reading →

Supergirl’s premiere on CBS was a success, faring very well in the ratings. Of course, it helped being sandwiched between The Big Bang Theory – CBS’s power series, and Scorpion, another big hit for the network. But considering the show faced stiff competition from NBC’s The Voice, and CW’s Gotham – with the girl of steel stealing some of Gotham’s viewers from the second half of its Monday night airing, she must have done her better-known cousin proud. Continue reading →

Public Relations (PR) techniques have been estimated to be as ancient as recently discovered Mediterranean clay tablets that promoted one farmer’s advances in agricultural methods. PR has been used by Egyptian and Babylonian kings, to increase their popularity and promote their right to rule using magicians, diviners and courtiers.

PR methods were used by the United States during World Wars 1 and 2 to promote patriotism and national support for the war efforts using news reels and magazines.

PR has advanced considerably with its subsequent use in brand promotion to consumers and as a critical and the primary outcome deciding political strategy.

PR in 2015 Defined

2015 was the year when the online dimension of PR developed in techniques and to levels exceeding former PR media efforts.

Even in the areas which have been promoted using “offline” methods, PR has become a primarily online means of brand promotion and personality and cause publicity, using web-based content techniques which utilize methods involving multimedia, storytelling and online social media venues.

2015 PR Trends

1. Increased Mobile Publicity

The ubiquity of mobile devices in years leading up to 2015 resulted in major changes to the way companies design their websites, publish their business/ brand content and promote their companies.

Earlier this year, search engine giant, google.com, released statistics revealing that more than 50% of the search requests that it receives originate on mobile devices. The implications of this are not novel. Subsequently, google.com further announced that companies whose websites were not mobile friendly would find their positions in the search results which the search site returns, deprecated.

Consequently, publicity efforts have increased their focus on ensuring that online promotions maintain a high level of mobile device compatibility.

2. Social Media as a Publicity Tool

Promotional efforts utilizing Facebook.com, Twitter.com, Linkedin.com, and other online social sites, have surged. 2015 saw continued growth in the use of these popular social media sites.

Marketers and publicists have increased employment of content editors, writers, and other creative professionals with the skill-sets necessary to tell the story associated with their brand, personality or cause.

3. Increased Use of Multimedia

Data released in prior years culminated in reports in 2015 showing that higher visitor retention and brand conversion resulted from implementing professionally developed visual content. Website visitors are several times more likely to retain a casual visitor and for longer amounts of time if their website has relevant video and other visual contents. Visual content also increases the likelihood of a visitor’s return by several-fold.

This trend’s momentum in 2015 ensures that it will further continue to remain important well into 2016 and beyond.

4. The Value of Quality Content

Quality content came to the forefront of quality PR as online marketers and publicists saw the highest popularity ratings going to those companies that focused on creating professionally implemented content. Today’s marketers and publicists are dealing with a user-base which is inundated by every type of content imaginable.

Delivering compelling content which entertains and involves the user and assists the user with making choices became a PR focus and priority of 2015.

5. Increased Responsiveness and User Interactivity

Today’s customers want responsive promotion feedback with which they can participate and view immediately. They do not make decisions in a vacuum and there is heavy interaction by these users with review-based websites before making critical decisions.

Publicity efforts which included fresh and regularly updated content, reflected current trends and events, and included the ability to allow a user to receive updates was an important publicity trend in 2015.

Conclusion

PR has come a long way since its origin on Mesopotamian clay tablets and WW2 newsreels. 2015 saw a large number of exciting PR trends develop and increase momentum. These PR developments benefited their implementers promotional efforts as measured by increased popularity and awareness of their brands, personalities and causes.

Adidas is developing a new product and process to take advantage of existing sports shoes and other products to become part of future sports shoes, especially soccer cleats. The process is not complete, they estimate another three years before it will be on the market, but the excitement is already building around this concept. Continue reading →

With social media in everyone’s pocket these days, it seems like everybody with a smartphone wants to be in journalism. From riots to protests to presidential stump speeches and neighbors attacking each other with machetes over dog poop (thanks, Florida) journalism has become even more “real time” than on TV. This shift continues to stymie many “traditional” news outlets. How can they take the time to investigate and accurately report breaking news when Joe Sixpack and Janie Boxedwine already posted it on Facebook and Periscope? Continue reading →