danleach.co.uk

For reasons I will explain at some point this blog has moved home.

Please visit http://danleach.posterous.com

Thank you
Dan

This is the most impressive use of augmented reality I have seen to date. A concept that not engages but drives sales as well.

Apple has just revealed that its ad budget for 2009 was half-a-billion ($)!

Remarkable investment given the recession but the results do speak for themselves as the Mac, iPhone and iPod continue to rise in popularity.

Read more here.

Five things you should check out before the week’s out:

1. Buzz and Snoop are teaming up for a rap duet. Sometimes the most unlikely partnerships can generate column inches
2. Kid reacts to his mum cancelling his World of Warcraft account. Never underestimate brand loyalty or consumer passion
3. Let it Ring! One of the most powerful and creative examples of communicating a road safety message I have ever seen. Previewed at Cannes Lions
4. Ever struggled to explain what Twitter is? The site’s co-founder Biz Stone provides an overview for @rbolivar’s Mum at Cannes Lions
5. Michael Jackson performing Man in the Mirror. A song by one of the greatest musicians of our time, in his prime

Have a great weekend.

Another day another Internet meme doing the rounds.

MIchael Litman from LitmanLive and [EDIT 30/10/2008] Paul Stallard have tagged me in the Three for Three post where bloggers are encouraged to list their three choices across three categories before tagging other bloggers to continue the chain.

So, here goes…

Top three non-work websites:

• - Football365.com – The number one resource for the UK football fan. It isn’t the mecca for stats that the BBC is but its mix of irreverent comment, insight and humour makes it a winner in my book!
• - Digg.com – The ultimate time waster but an incredibly useful one. An instant snapshot of what’s hot on the web
• - TheOnion.com – Older than the WWW itself. One of the few US sites to do satire very well

Top three karaoke songs:

• - Don’t Stop Believing by Journey – “I love Journey, but I hate baseball cards”
• - We Built This City by Starship – Guarantee you’ll get groans when this first comes on but 2 minutes in you’ll have the entire bar singing it with you
• - Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi – For little over 3 minutes you honestly believe you are a rock star

Top three weekend cocktails:

• - Mojito from anywhere
• - Raspberry Collins from Lab on Old Compton Street
• - Old Fashioned from Match just off Regent Street

That’s given me a craving for a bit of Journey…”She’s just a small time girl….”

You are now tagged…

• - Gaylene Ravenscroft from Collective Conversation
• - Candace Kuss from Brand Street
• - Paul Stallard from Paul Stallard’s Technology Blog

This week I watched an interesting video stream from Hot Dog Media where we discussed, amongst other things publishing content. Along the course of the debate we touched on whether making content available online means it should free and that artists/authors/developers should look to monetise their creations through additional services.

I argued that we shouldn’t assume that because something is online it is free however I do believe the way content is published should change.

For the music industry, I still find it amazing that the record companies continue to rip off fans with albums costing £15 plus. Their decision not to embrace the digital movement is leading to their own downfall as consumers look for more convenient and cost-effective means of getting their music such as Last.fm, Napster and of course illegal downloads. I have no doubt in my mind that the level of music piracy would plummet if labels offered consumers a fairer price for their purchase.

But, this issue isn’t confined to the music industry. We hear little from the publishing industry on the impact that e-books are having on hard-copy sales. Probably because e-books haven’t hit the mainstream in the same way MP3s have. However, with more cost effective readers coming on the market and mobile phones such as the iPhone offering e-book support, it is only a matter of time before this form of content overtakes the traditional hardback.

Authors and publishers are beginning to react to the growing e-book trend and finding new and innovative ways of distributing their work. A good friend of mine, Stephen Morris, wrote his second book last year and instead of popping it on the shelves of Borders he decided to distribute it online in five parts. The book was free until the final section where consumers were asked to donate £3 to homeless charity, Shelter. The book made thousands for the charity and provided some fantastic publicity for a young, new author.

Likewise another author-friend of mine left 20 copies of his new book on various London Underground trains in the hope people would pick them up, read them and pass them on. They did and he received hundreds of emails from grateful bookworms willing to buy the book.

Authors and the publishing industry are benefitting from the generational gap of readers. e-books are lagging behind MP3s but over the next five years I suspect we’ll see a sharp increase in e-book downloads and with it will come the inevitable financial and copyright challenges currently facing the music industry. Publishers have plenty of time to address the issue and plan a viable business solution that will allow the industry to thrive under sales of e-books but they can’t afford to wait for consumers to start exploring cheaper means of getting their reading material.

As I mentioned during the Hot Dog Media webcast, online content doesn’t have to be free but not adapting to an online audience will see creators and publishers lose out.

Tech PR blogger Paul Stallard has tagged me to list three communicators, living or dead, who have most influenced my way of thinking professionally and personally.

So here goes…

First one I’ll choose is Eugen Beer. Eugen was the founder of my first agency Beer Davies who were responsible for some fantastically extravagant PR stunts and campaigns such as Mattel’s Pink Street and the Cup-a-Soup comedy challenge. Eugen, more than anyone, has shaped my creative approach and taught me to stand by my convictions even when client’s raise eyebrows at our thinking.

Secondly, Oasis. These guys are a dying breed, a band that played music for the love of it and wouldn’t be sugar-coated by any producer, manager or record label. They said what they wanted, what they believed in and didn’t care who disagreed (or agreed for that matter). Oasis taught me one thing, consumers and the media will always forgive true talent.

My final selection is two-for-one: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Over the past few decades these two have become masters at using the media to achieve business success. And one couldn’t have done it without the other. The media love rivals and these two recognised that and have been playing the PR game ever since.

I tend not to invest too heavily in inspirational figures, which is why my selection was quite tough to reach however it’s quite fun to reflect from time to time and think about who has made me the PR I am today!

Who’s next? Well I’m going to tag Joel Cere, Candace Cuss and Will Sturgeon.

I’ve just been sent this and thought I’d share:

I trust brevity because it’s evident.

What you see is what you get.

Clarity and decisiveness inspire confidence.

Brevity doesn’t waste my time or make me work for something that may be nothing.

I trust brevity because it gives greater meaning and more time to ponder.

Less is more because I can take it or leave it.

It made me think about the way we present to clients and new business prospects.

PowerPoint has, for some time now, been the PR industry norm and is a staple in any presentation situation. But, we should remember the most effective weapon we have when presenting is ourselves. More and more I’m seeing lengthy PowerPoint slides with size 10 font portraying every miniscule aspect of a campaign. The problem is there is no life to it, nothing to make it “sparkle”.

Slide shows are here to stay but we should trust in brevity and use it as a supporting act to the lead role which should be played by us!

The AmIHotorNot of brands, Superbrands, has today announced its top brands in the UK and Google has knocked Microsoft off of top spot. Sony is the other tech brand to edge into the top 10 as the sector dominated the overall list.

It will be interesting to see how the growing privacy debate affects the public’s affection for the search engine over the next 12 months! But for now they’re sitting pretty…

The top 10 looks like this…

1. Google
2. Microsoft
3. Mercedes-Benz
4. BBC
5. British Airways
6. Royal Doulton
7. BMW
8. Bosch
9. Nike
10. Sony

I’ve just read Sally Whittle’s post exclaiming that journalists suck (she’s a journo herself so it’s okay). As a journalist she found herself on the other end of the PR process and ended up having to sell-in a weak story which (understandably?) received short shrift from some journalists.

PR blogs far and wide are getting in on the act on commenting about this story and there’s no way I’m going to be left behind!

Anyone that has been within a mile of a PR company will have heard the immortal words “journalists suck” or a stronger version with the same sentiment. Moaning about journalists is to PRs what cooking is to chefs. We love it; if our clients are pushing us to the edge of despair then it’s journalists that tip us over.

Whether it’s not wanting to run our story, or saying they will and then not doing so – dealing with journalists of every ilk can often cause us running through our broadening repertoire of words only suitable for over-18s. But, it’s journalists that can also provide some of our career highs – we all know (or at least should know) how good it feels reading a story crafting from our fair hands.

We need journalists and they need us so for the time being we’re all going to have to get along. The moaning is fine, and preferable to turning up at The Times with a machine gun, but in an age where our every thought can be shared with millions at the click of a mouse it’s important to ensure it is all kept behind closed doors. Journalist relationships are everything in the world of PR so keep your network sweet and reap the rewards. Relationships are built over years but can be destroyed in seconds.