CorpComms Magazine

It may be a truism, but the only thing you can reliably say about a prediction of the future is that it will be wrong. So, when I was invited to present, along with several luminaries far more expert than I from the world of digital marketing, search and social media, at Predictions Eleven, I wasn't sure quite what to expect. Each speaker provided a unique perspective on what was going to be hot, and what not, over the coming year. It was a focussed half day; a slide slam of predictions, trends and futures... as thought provoking as it was fast and furious, mixing the macroeconomic with the mobile. One of the experts reckons that this will be the year of the mobile website (having been confidently predicting it for a few years!) - with evidence of clients speedily bringing forward plans for bespoke mobile web sites and applications. Yes, 2011 would finally be the year of device convergence and we might fondly recall the days when we used a phone just to talk.

There was also brilliant insight based on Edelman's research into the so-called 'Millennials' or the '8095-ers' - the generation born between 1980 and 1995, who are being handed the big target market baton from the Baby Boomers, but who buy in so many different ways to the traditional marketing 'funnel'. Multiple feedback loops and a long tail replace pushing customers along that linear journey from awareness through to action/purchase. Now, the post purchase review and rating by individual buyers are as important as the new product review by a journalist.

According to Edelman, data hungry Millennials typically look online for product information 7.4 times a month, with mums leading the way at 9.2 times per month - 'Millennials can tap the whole world of data - not just a pithy catchphrase or celebrity endorsement - to form opinions about brands'. And there's 1.7 billion of these Millennials shaping the world of brands. In terms of what is still important, the power of brands shone through loud and clear. Of the 8095-ers in the Edelman study, 70 per cent will recommend their favourite brands to friends and family, including via social networks, 47 per cent will write about good experiences online while 40 per cent will criticise brand experiences.

What was also clear was the power of relationships with consumers who care passionately about their brands. Collaboration, conversations with customers, the importance of trust, 'authenticity, integrity and an ability to deliver' all raise the bar for brands - including corporate brands - and raise the stakes for those who fail to live up to high expectations.

So where is the public relations profession in all this? I believe in a good place. As the advocates of word of mouth, deeply linked to corporate reputation and as the conversation starters (with an authentic voice, 'speaking human') PR is well placed to carve out a new niche. And, well placed to deliver those additional engaging activities to build communities of consumer brand advocates and critical friends. The Millennials will subscribe to brand communities in exchange for exclusive access to branded experiences and events. The growth in location marketing like Foursquare centred on mobiles, Twitter and Facebook all loads the dice in favour of smart PR.

If you want a great example, just look a FreshNetworks' case study on the Jimmy Choo Trainer Hunt to launch their new trainer collection. According to FreshNetworks, they suggested the best way to engage customers online was to use Foursquare, but then encourage them to interact with the Jimmy Choo brand offline through a real-time treasure hunt where people had to physically chase a pair of the trainers in London using the location clues. A member of the FreshNetworks team 'checked in' the trainers at fashionable hangouts and sent out real-time updates about their whereabouts on the 'catchachoo' Foursquare, Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Whoever reached the venue in time to catch the trainers would win a pair. A three-week hunt ensued before a lucky winner amongst the 4,000 active participants snagged the trainers. With 285,000 Facebook views, 250 blog posts and acres of coverage, the campaign was a great success, with metrics like daily trainer sales, which leapt 33 per cent on one day after coverage in the Evening Standard. It's a nice example of how the new marketing, PR and online tools can create the buzz, fun and engagement around a brand and its followers.

Finally though, a word of caution before we get carried away on a tide of social media, online PR and marketing. As Chris Kirubi, chairman of Coca-Cola Nairobi, said: 'You don't need a social media strategy - you need a brand strategy that leverages social media. Don't get off the brand strategy just because there's a new communication channel; that's how you lose the plot as a brand. Technology is the tail, not the dog.'

Channels will change - but great brand strategies based on sound customer insight, supported by PR, marketing and digital content and execution will still be the bedrock of the communications industry. Shifts in channels can be seismic, none more so than the online shift, but the medium is never the message and compelling content is still king. As the editor of a media trade title once remarked to a roomful of newspaper editors: 'I have seen the future, and we're not in it'. The newspaper format may not be, but the content will.

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