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#84: Wednesday 15 February 2012 |
| FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOUR JOB AGAIN So, love was in the air at esPResso HQ yesterday, it being Valentines and all (and if most of the love was directed at the particulary fine new blend of coffee in the espresso machine, what of it?). Which got us thinking, do you love your job? If not, here's our top tips on how to fall head over heels with your career again. |
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Set a goal. Feeling aimless is one of the top reasons people start looking for a new job. If your firm isn't great at setting you targets, then start setting them for yourself. Learn a new skill, sit an exam, write a book, start a blog. The options are endless.
Play more. Being in the office 24/7 may feel like you're showing your boss how devoted you are to your job, but it can lead to you resenting your role and your colleagues. Try taking a little more time out and doing something non-work related out of office hours. Having different interests is what make a good team work well together. Who wants to hire a bunch of clones?
Remember why you work there. When you're first offered a new job it may seem that it's opened up the door to all sorts of new possibilities for your career. Unfortunately, once you've been in the role a while you can start to feel a bit jaded and unappreciated. Try to remember why you work there - is it the great people, the range of clients, the interesting campaigns, the variety of tasks. Going back to the reasons you joined a firm can give you an insight into what is really missing from your work life and how you might be able to address it.
Be thankful. When you were a kid your mum was always banging on about how it's better to give than to receive, right? Well mums know best and being thankful can be very rewarding. Make sure you thank all those people who go above and beyond to help you at work, including the receptionist who takes the millioneth Amazon parcel you've had delivered this week, and the Account Executive
who stayed three hours late to send out the invitations to your press event. Being nice pays. People will be nice back and that can only go to make work a more pleasant place to be.
Do something outside of your remit. Repetition makes for a dull job. Ask your colleagues if you can be involved in some new projects and volunteer to help out at events. Variety is the spice of life.
Make new friends. Being well connected can make your job much easier. Whether that's building great relationships with journalists, or being mates with others in the industry. It's amazing how your networks can come in useful and a bit of banter between professionals can make a boring day a little brighter. Pick a couple of industry events to attend and say hello to a few people you've not
met before. Ignite run regular (free!) networking events and the PR Prom is taking place next week so give one of those a bash.
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NEWS-BITE: TRIBUNAL CONSIDERS LINK LICENCE The UK's Copyright Tribunal considered the previously reported links licence issue yesterday, reaffirming last year's appeals court ruling that said such a licence is required by all media monitoring organisations, but amending the fees to be paid by said agencies. As previously reported, this affects any cuttings or PR agency, or in-house PR unit, that provides commercial media monitoring and reporting services, ie providing cuttings of or links to any coverage about a company, its operations or its competitors. Traditionally this service would involve making physical photocopies of coverage, and such copies required a licence from the copyright owner, ie the newspaper or magazine publisher. And this was usually administered by one central body, the Newspaper Licensing Agency. Increasingly these days, though, cuttings and PR companies provide clients with lists of headlines and links rather than physical cuttings, and some in the sector argued that, as physical copies were no longer being made, no licence should be required. Which probably makes sense at first sight. But the NLA disagreed, successfully arguing in court that a copyright also exists in a headline or any URL primarily made up of an article's headline, so even if no physical copy is made, a licence is still required - albeit a special online licence. And the Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal on this matter, meaning the Court Of Appeal's ruling in the NLA's favour stands. Though one additional issue is still to go before Supreme Court - one which revolves around a technicality of how web browsing works - ie when you access a website your browser makes a temporary copy of the content you see. Under EU law that temporary copy is exempt from any copyright licence requirement, though it isn't clear whether that applies in a commercial context, especially where an article is accessed via a commercially supplied link. That particular point is still to be argued in the UK's highest court. This week's hearing at the Copyright Tribunal was less to do with whether link licences are required, and more to do with what rates it's reasonable for the NLA to charge, and what form those charges should take. On this issue the PR Consultants Association and cuttings company Meltwater, who have opposed the links licence throughout, claimed a victory last night, saying that, in an interim decision, the Tribunal backed seven of the nine changes they requested be made to the new licence. Meltwater reckons those changes could save the PR and media monitoring industries £100 million over the next three years (though, it's worth noting, the NLA does not agree with that claim at all!). PRCA boss Francis Ingham told esPResso: "Both Meltwater and the PRCA have invested huge resources ensuring the PR industry and other internet users are not subject to unreasonable costs. The savings we have achieved for the industry highlight how important it was that we stood up to this scheme when others just accepted it. This is a huge win for Meltwater, the PRCA and its members. We have won the battle. We must now continue to fight to protect the broader principles of the internet. The mandate the NLA has been given is against the ethos of the internet and sets UK copyright law in a head on collision course with every day internet users. We share their concern and will now step up our campaign to make UK copyright law fit for a digital age". The NLA, which denies that the legal precedents that backs its links licence will ever actually affect internet users at large, also welcomed yesterday's tribunal ruling, the impact of which it claims is far less widereaching than Meltwater says. Their MD, David Pugh, told reporters: "We welcome today’s decision which follows two court cases confirming the legality of licensing. We are pleased that the Copyright Tribunal has upheld the principle and structure of our online licensing scheme, and confirmed that Meltwater is subject to the same requirements as media monitoring organisations. The judgment provides a measured, equitable regime that will ensure stability for both publishers and end-users alike: our customers will benefit from a transparent licensing structure and newspapers can be sure of a fair reward for their content". |
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NEWS-BITE: VALENTINES WITH MARMITE So, did any of you receive a Valentines card via Marmite yesterday? Because the yeasty food spread was last week encouring its fans to send out Valentine love messages with a Marmite theme via the brand's Facebook page. The 'love it or hate it' spread has over 770,000 fans on Facebook, who get access to recipes, can share Marmite stories, and bid to be Marmite fan of the month, which is surely what the internet was principally invented for. The Valentine e-cards also available on that Facebook page last weekend were designed for Marmite and their PR agency Splendid by Welsh artist Pete Fowler, probably best known for his Super Furry Animals artwork and Monsterism project. Commenting on the Valentines promotion, Nicky Waymark, Marketing Manger for Marmite makers Unilever, told Marketing Magazine: "Our fans are crazy about Marmite so we are always looking for new ways to engage them. Hopefully everyone will join in spreading the love and share the cards with their family and friends". |
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RECOMMENDED LINK: INFOGRAPHICS IN RELEASES? Ah, infographics, they've become fashionable haven't they, ever since we stopped calling them diagrams. But how about incorporating the new fad for visually pleasing diagrams and illustrated facts n stats into press releases? Well, personally I always prefer words in my press releases, but I can see that if you have a complicated story to tell or lots of figures to share that even journalists might respond better to a good infographic. And that's what Meryl Serouya of PR Newswire is finding. In a blog post for Ragan's PR Daily she writes: "According to a recent analysis of press releases by PR Newswire, the inclusion of multimedia assets significantly improves the number of views a message generates. In the age of social media, any advantage in grabbing a slice of your audience's attention is worth seizing upon". Read more of Meryl's thoughts on the issue, and check out three infographics she particularly rates, in her blog here. |
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NEWS-BITE: GORILLAZ PARTNER WITH BRANDS Damon Albarn's animated musical mates Gorillaz will release a new collaboration with Andre 3000 and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy entitled 'DoYaThing' later this month as part of their tie up with sneaker people Converse. The new track is part of the brand's 'Three Artists, One Song' marketing campaign. The track will be released via Converse's website on 23 Feb, with the Gorillaz's audiovisual Sound System also playing a show at the Converse-supported 100 Club venue in London. Gorillaz themed Converse shoes are also available. More at www.converse.com. Meanwhile, Gorillaz illustrator Jamie Hewlett has another brand partnership going on, this time with vodka company Absolut. The artist has designed a special London-themed bottle of the drink which will be sold at Selfridges and Harvey Nichols from next month, while a limited edition special gift pack version will be made available to fans via the Absolut Facebook page. Says Hewlett: "London has such a fascinating and rich history which has inspired me over the years. For Absolut London I chose to re-create seven iconic characters from different eras who are largely defined by their style as well as their impactful contribution to London's culture at the time". |
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RECOMMENDED LINK: APP TIPS FOR MARKETERS A wise man once told me that the first question you should always ask yourself if charged with the task of creating a smart phone app for a client is "why?" Are you sure the client isn't just jumping on a bandwagon. Apps can be good marketing channels, but unless you've got a great idea and some credible content, you'd probably be better off spending your digital budget elsewhere. But assuming you do have a great idea and some great content, then your next task should probably be reading this post on the Hubspot blog which has some great app tips for marketers, including distribution thoughts, content concerns, involving the right people, and using existing social media and web activity to get word out once your app is on sale. It's a good read. |
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NEWS-BITE: I CIRCULATION CONTINUES TO RISE The Independent's streamlined sister title i - sort of a cross between the Indy and Metro - saw its daily circulation rise to 240,000 in January. That means over twice as many copies of the i are distributed than the main Indy paper, and it now also out performs rival The Guardian if freebie copies are included in the mix. i's circulation has risen dramatically in the last year, partly because its publishers chose to transfer most of the Indy's 'bulk sales' - so those copies taken by hotels, airlines and such like and given to the consumer for free - over to its younger, slimmer sister paper. Though, that said, i has added paying readers as well, helped partly by a TV advertising campaign at the start of the year. The aim with i was to appeal to a younger demographic than the other quality papers, mainly targeting Metro readers who like the freesheet's concise and eclectic style, but were looking for a slightly more broadsheet approach to some stories. In terms of picking up readers, the new title, launched in October 2010, has been a success, and in the main its growth hasn't directly hit the Independent's circulation (aside from the shift of bulk sales over to the newer publication - which has resulted in the main Indy paper's overall circulation slumping). Whether that translates into commercial success or, indeed, increased web traffic, isn't clear. Certainly The Guardian, which now lags someway behind the Indy if both versions are combined, even when bulks are taken out of the picture, generally out performs its closest rival when it comes to online. Elsewhere in the latest ABC circulation figures for the national print dailies, all titles saw declines year on year, though month on month most were slightly up. The lowest year on year decline overall was the Mail, down 5.85%, while, excluding the main Indy paper, the biggest decline was seen by The Guardian whose print readership fell 17.74%. |
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NEWS-BITE: BROADCASTERS UNITE ON COURT CASTS The UK's three main news broadcasters - the BBC, ITN and Sky - united last week to urge the government to ensure plans to review the rules governing the televising of British court proceedings be included in the next Queen's Speech. That would in turn ensure the issue would be firmly on the parliamentary agenda in the year that follows. The broadcasters sent a joint letter to David Cameron and the other party leaders ahead of a Westminister Hall debate on the issue. That debate follows confirmation from the Ministry Of Justice last year that it planned to allow appeal court rulings to be televised, and that it will review the broadcasting of judgements in Crown Court trials too. Under current laws most British court hearings are banned from being televised, although Supreme Court sessions have been filmed for a couple of years now, and streamed live via the Sky News website since last Summer. BBC, ITN and Sky execs have been pushing for court hearings to be screened for years, but have made more progress of late, and now seem to want to maintain that momentum. In their letter they concede that strict rules would be required to govern such broadcasts, and that judges would always need to have the final say, but they argue that letting TV cameras into the court room would ultimately have a positive affect, and may increase public confidence in the British criminal justice system, which sometimes gets a hard time in the press. They also note that the UK is unusual in not letting most of its court hearings to be televised. The broadcasters' letter reads: "We recognise that concerns have been raised about the impact television coverage will have, particularly in controversial cases. However, we believe that the outcome can only be positive. The experience over the last two years of [filming in] the Supreme Court has shown that the presence of cameras has not affected the course of justice in any way. Instead it enhances public understanding and allows everyone to see justice being done. Everyone who believes in transparency should support this proposed change in the law". |
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NEWS-BITE: NEWS CHANNELS' TWITTER DILEMMAS To tweet or not to tweet? Tweet now or tweet later? Oh, those modern dilemmas. The Twitter policies of the UK's two main TV news networks have been in the spotlight in the last week after both Sky and the BBC issued new guidelines to their journalists about how they use the micro-blogging platform. The BBC's new guidelines focus on priorities when big news stories are breaking, or their journalists score exclusives, while Sky's new rules go further, barring its staff from retweeting news updates from rival organisations and making comments outside the areas they report on for the news channel. All kinds of companies are still grappling with their Twitter policies, though for media organisations there are extra concerns about the tweets of their big name reporters, partly because they often circumvent the sort of editorial checks other output linked to the news operation would go through, and partly because if and when that reporter moves to a rival they will have a direct line to a chunk of their former employer's audience via the social media service. The BBC insist that they value greatly the role Twitter now plays in their operations, but say that they don't want tweeting to hinder the provision of breaking news stories to viewers tuned in via their core channels, in particular the BBC News Channel. The Beeb's Chris Hamilton wrote last week: "We prize the increasing value of Twitter, and other social networks, to us (and our audiences) as a platform for our content, a news-gathering tool and a new way of engaging with people. Being quick off the mark with breaking news is essential to that mission. We're fortunate to have a technology that allows our journalists to transmit text simultaneously to our newsroom systems and to their own Twitter accounts. But we've been clear that our first priority remains ensuring that important information reaches BBC colleagues, and thus all our audiences, as quickly as possible - and certainly not after it reaches Twitter". Sky's new guidelines went much further, and the restrictions on retweeting have been seen by some as a misunderstanding of one of the more important elements of the social network - curation and recommendation - though Sky News say their new RT rule isn't based on concerns that their staff might promote competitors, but rather that any third party sites linked to won't have been vetted by the firm's editorial processes. Make of that what you will. It will be interesting to see what impact the new Twitter regulations have on the output of BBC and Sky journalists' Twitter feeds, and the number of followers they enjoy. |
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RECOMMENDED LINK: MIRROR SITE FAILS TO LAUNCH The Daily Mirror relaunched its website last Wednesday. Then it crashed, and they quickly put the old site back up! But the all new website has since gone properly live. And The Guardian's Roy Greenslade, writing when the new site was still having technical problems, was generally positive about the changes, which he called "a vast improvement". So if you haven't already, go check the new site out. The tabloids, whose websites have taken longer to take off than the broadsheets simply because of their target demographics, are busy making up for lost time and becoming dominant forces on the net. Presumably the Mirror is keen to capitalise on that trend with its new site. The Greenslade piece also includes a video featuring the paper's Digital MD, Web Publisher and Product Director discussing the tabloid's digital ambitions, which is also worth checking out. |
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RECOMMENDED LINK: INFOGRAPHIC SOCIAL STATS Everyone likes an infographic (or good old fashioned diagram, if you prefer), right? Well, this one contains a few interesting stats about social media usage that will be of interest to any of you working in the digital comms domain. Technically Econsultancy's chart is aimed at those using social media as a customer service tool, though it has some interesting nuggets of data for any communicators making use of Facebook et al. Check it out here. |
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