The digital wave may be moving fast, but smart PROs are surfing it with enthusiasm

Can you imagine life without emails, texts and social networking? Even for those who started off their careers working on typewriters (and for anyone who has been in the business for over 20 years, this is likely), the idea of living, let alone working, without our little online helpers is almost unimaginable.

But the digital revolution hasn’t just altered how PROs work, it has completely transformed the work itself. Whether this is for the better is often a subject of debate. However, all the PROs that PRmoment interviewed for this article, are firmly in favour of the increased options that digital media offers.

Katharina Winkler, account manager, corporate at Ogilvy PR in London, says that she feels “thrilled” to be part of the new digital scene, and explains that at Ogilvy there is an extensive drive to train all PROs in the organisation to become social media and digital experts, rather than have a separate division specialising in these skills. Winkler believes that over the last ten years, “everything has changed”. She explains that there are two main areas that have been affected: “First, our communications are much more efficient. This is especially useful when dealing with our many international clients, as tools such as emails, webinars, conference calls and shared online document systems, make communications so much easier and quicker. Second, and more importantly, the whole media landscape itself has changed. Communications have become much more personal, interactive and democratic. Traditional media has had to adapt because of all the types of social media that are now available.”

Some believe that the digital revolution has not just improved PR, but has actually saved it. Julia Ruane, head of PR at digital agency DigForFireDMG, says: “Without a shadow of a doubt, digital has resurrected the ailing profession of PR. With digital communication – and by that I mean such things as social media sites, email and blogs – PROs can more accurately assess brand allegiance as well as use these channels to broadcast their message (and their clients' personalities) further.“ Ruane also points out that digital media has helped the profession increase its measurability, while encouraging PR professionals to become more innovative: “With so many routes to an audience now, PROs also have to be more canny and creative in their campaigns, and also constantly up-to-date with where their audience is.”

Today’s digital media may offer new and exciting ways to communicate, but one drawback is that there are so many options available, it can be confusing deciding which tools to use. Nick Rome, director of financial and business communications consultancy Bishopsgate, appreciates that it is hard to keep up with the times, but says that this must still be a priority for PR professionals. His advice is to focus on thinking up original strategies that really play to the strengths of the new media. He adds: ”The right-here, right-now world that we live in means that companies and publications must expand their online presence via websites, blogs and Twitter pages, for example, with the emphasis shifting to short, snappy and importantly, interactive, visual content."

Looking at just this one area of PR work, creating and sharing visual content in itself can be a minefield, as there are many ways to do this. Paul Doran, founder of marcoms agency Switch Communications, which focuses on the technology sector, says that although he is not that old, he is old enough to remember the days when sending images meant “sticking photographs in an envelope“. Things have moved on quickly since then, but Doran is not sure whether the advances in content now available has been driven by a hunger for it, or simply by the natural speed of technological development. Nowadays, he says,  “there are really smart ways for journalists to take the content that they want”. Doran says that he feels privileged to be at the forefront of the digital wave. He adds: “I have to pinch myself! We are a lot further ahead with the technologies we use because of the clients we work with. We are privy to early emerging technologies, and so we are particularly willing, and confident, to embrace them.”

To illustrate how interactive media are transforming advertising, marketing and PR campaigns, the following case studies describe how two leading brands are using today’s media to entertain as well as inform their customers.

Case Studies

1. PR Agency Edelman: (in partnership with Wonderbra)

Jackie Cooper, creative director and vice chair at Edelman, describes how the Wonderbra campaign uses digital media to maximise its impact:

“Fifteen years ago, the Hello Boys campaign for Wonderbra hit our high streets and our media in an extraordinary way. In an era where celebrity and media firsts made news and where brand battles justified headlines, we delivered over £50million worth of coverage with only £130,000 above-the-line spend. A key insight to our success was to never treat Wonderbra as a mere bra, but to position it as a brand – a cultural phenomenon – representative of the time.

 “When Wonderbra approached us last year, its dream was to recreate this stellar success. Our solution? The strategy remained the same – exploit the zeitgeist – but how that has changed! We built a communication strategy rooted in social media, building noise and dialogue that would be impossible to ignore. And while the poster and the 30-second spot may be dying, the world of compelling content is alive and well – this formed the heartbeat of our campaign. A multi-platform, multi-purpose seductive mini film.

“Enter the queen of burlesque, Dita Von Teese. A collector of vintage lingerie, we contracted Dita to be a designer, spokeswoman and star of our film, The Science of Sexy. An online audit identifying reach and conversation around Dita and Wonderbra guided our creative and outreach to influential social communities and bloggers. We designed and hosted a digital hub to house our multi format content – the film, the teaser and the stills shots. Fuelled by the teaser film, the online buzz gave us the justification to approach wider media, delivering them an already talked-about campaign and nailing publicity in the nationals, TV and radio as we built to launch day. The launch photocall and Dita press day completed the build, climaxing in Dita’s film (see here) being the number-one, most-viewed entertainment video on YouTube in week one – supported by over 516 features and over 3,000 blog posts, with 74 per cent of fashion-conscious females reached 9.1 times.

2. In House: Debenhams

On Monday 19 October, Debenhams launched a new brand identity – Design in Every Department. Ruth Attridge, PR manager at Debenhams, describes the digital element of this campaign (Steel is the digital agency and 33 Digital is the social media agency that worked with Debenhams on this):

“Digital is now a vital part of all Debenhams’ PR and marketing campaigns. There are four levels to our digital campaign