London's latest Banksy: graffiti artist's new work gets protection http://t.co/XQgbuYAN via @standardnews
The saddest conversation in technology PR
PR: Hello. We’d like you to travel to a briefing. Don’t worry, we’ll pay your train or plane fare as our client wants to meet you face-to-face. We want to talk to you about how videoconferencing does away with the need for expensive travel, saves you time and money and…hello?? Oh…He's gone.
This conversation has been taking place hundreds of times a month for the last 20 years. How can you ever convince people that the technology is any good if you don’t even use it?
It’s not just video. When a recent world leader in social networking wanted to speak to the press, they insisted on dragging journalists into town for separate briefings. Why weren't they bold enough to have an online conference or organise a meet-up on Facebook? Maybe because it takes guts to do something like that and obviously they'd be putting themselves on the line. The dividends, however, would be immense because they would prove beyond doubt that they could actually back up their claims.
Whenever a company talks about 'empowering the work force, giving them decision-making power and reacting rapidly', there is one thing they must not do. And that’s stonewall every question, no matter how innocent, with the words, “I’m sorry, I’m not allowed to say…I’ll have to get approved comment from the head office, but they’re seven hours behind us…”
If you are going to sell IT, you must walk the walk, rather than just talking the talk. Be bold and avoid all the clichés. Fortune favours the brave, you know. And, yes, that’s a cliché too.
- Tags: Facebook, media, PR, social media, video conferencing
About the Author
Gina Sharp
Gina Sharp has always been ahead of the public relations curve. Not that she planned it like that. At 20 she talked her way into a job at one of Europe’s first high tech public relations firms, BIPR in London, where she became the agency’s youngest ever account director. She helped to create brands such as Epson, NCR, IBM, Neve Electronics, Bose, Sony UK, Sun Alliance, Shiva, Pace, Fujitsu and Sage. When the agency was acquired by the Shandwick Group two years later, it gave her the opportunity to gain wider experience, devising pan-European campaigns for multinationals. However, because Gina wouldn’t conform, she came up against agency hierarchy that she regularly sidestepped in her clients’ best interests. This approach did exasperate her management team and her in-house nickname of ‘the little revolutionary’ stuck. However, the clients appreciated the difference.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Comments (2)
Clive Longbottom
It's more cost-effective to take a coach than a car, but a car is better for a family holiday. Video conferencing may cut down on costs and wasted time, but where real contact is required (or perceived to be required), it will not work. Where true interaction is required - rather than just ad hoc interaction - social networking doesn't cut the mustard; a proper "meatspace" meet-up may be required.
Video is fine for some things: updates, ad hoc discussions, one-to-one - but it does require effective equipment end to end. Imagine if a video conference vendor said "Right, guys, we've got the hottest video solution in town. Just use your £5 videocam and 0.5MB bandwidth line to tie in and we'll show you how well our immersive, high definition, hifi audio quality stuff works". A bit like Ferrari saying "Test drive our new car from the comfort of your own home. Just sit on your sofa and make loud, exciting "brrrm, brrrm" noises". Would you expect the video conference vendor to ship out and fit their equipment in the workplaces of every person they wanted to talk to, along with provisioning and paying for suitable connectivity for e.g. a journalist living in the wilds of Wales?
Sure, many vendors should eat more of their own dog food. Many meetings could be replaced with telephone calls or social interactions. But it's making sure that the right tool is used at the right time for the right content with the right person - no?
Administrator
Obviously it’s always a pleasure to see you in the flesh. But that’s because meetings with you are quality time.
I do take your point. But sometimes don't you think that some ‘meat-space’ stinks – especially if it’s been sweating on a coach for two hours. Did you see that report that said 90 per cent of business travellers don’t work when they’re on the train? Looks like those first class tickets were a waste of money then...
Yes, it’s not always possible to demonstrate state of the art meeting rooms technology to a journalist who’s at home.
But those are extreme cases. The feedback I’ve had from the hacks is that, 80 per cent of the time, they’re asked to travel into London for a briefing about ‘how Britons can work from home during the train crisis/olympics/blizzards’.
To borrow the old joke about Brazil - ‘Video conferencing is the technology of the future. And it always will be’.
Then again, by all accounts Brazil’s economy is booming now and it’s time has finally come.
Maybe we’ll be saying the same about video one day. Preferably over a bottle of Pino Grigio!”