Saturday, September 30, 2006

Links for 2006-09-29 [My Web 2.0]

The buck stops where? - A good article on HewlettPackardgate

Terry Semel's long pause - Interesting, but sometimes unfair analysis of Yahoo!

Winners and loser from BenQ Mobile's Bankruptcy - business analysis of the tragedy of the former Siemens mobile handset business

The great middle


I remember at an agency that I used to work at that we let go just under 20 team members and upgraded the soap and hand cream by putting Moulton Brown products in the bathrooms. It caused internal uproar, being viewed as insensitive by the staff who were left to pick up the pieces.

Conversely penny-pinching can have as adverse effect on an employees view of their organisation. Penny-pinching is a tax on the middle-ranking employees, senior executives usually don't have the same rules applied to them in a validation of Leona Helmsley's maxim that 'only little people pay taxes'.

Slate columnist Daniel Gross received a deluge of responses from readers when he asked about incidents of petty pinching. Between secondary research and the readers responses banks Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse and Bank of America came off as being particularly unpleasant and petty employers.

However, whilst these companies may be proud of their stingyness, it may impact them in their future recruiting requirements thanks to word-of-mouth, internet forums, industry gossip blogs, job sites and the media.

When such a decision is combined with bad news that the company is trying to manage however it can add petrol on the fire. A classic example of that is my former employer Yahoo!. The company is in a continual talent war for the best technical and commercial staff with rivals (notably Yahoo!) and the good work being done by Hack Day for geek hearts-and-minds risked being undone with this memo.

Internally the memo went down like wet concrete, especially as there was widespread talk about a 1BN USD splurge on Facebook - that may or may not happen.

The memo taken with the recent downturn on internet advertising pronouncement was seen to show the company in an even worse economic light to analysts and business folk because it smelt like economic trouble. Yahoo! was scrimping on its pennies because the numbers were apparently very, very tight. The truth is that the numbers are likely to be on the low end of the expected range, but we don't live with truths but perceptions.

People tend to forget internal communications is not just about internal emails going out allegedly written by senior management or the unread newsletter pinned to a notice board, but about every touch point that an employee has with a company.

The barriers between inside the company and outside no longer exist either.

With HR professionals in large companies increasingly wrapped up in red tape and compliance work for hirings and firings, there is a case to be made that these kind of operational decisions are too important to be left to personnel departments or middle managers.


Cool packaging

Cool cereal packaging

Usually Budgens is a desert for cool consumerism but my faith was restored with this fantastic packaging form Dorset Cereals. Gone are the day glow colours, literal illustrations and wack cartoon characters. There is no stock photography of women exercising that ends up being used on feminine hygiene product advertising as well.

Instead the simple but reassuring design with dye cut windows and foil print on quality matt card provides a quality ensemble. Its a cereal equivalent of Innocent Smoothies.

Friday, September 29, 2006

Links for 2006-09-28 [My Web 2.0]

The Big Question: In 2006, are Catholics really being discriminated against in Scotland?

The Business Editors

I'm on Wikipedia, get me out of here

WS survey reveals rise in direct-to-consumer comms - Media Relations - Brand Republic

BenQ Mobile Germany faces insolvency

Click Fraud

Mobile Couponing May Soon Catch ‘Fire’ « Screenwerk

Amazon Unbox Could Unbundle Too - SeekingAlpha

The 463: Inside Tech Policy

Only a "moron" would buy YouTube, says Cuban Tech&Sci Internet Reuters.com

That PR catfight that has been doing the rounds (read from bottom)


----- Forwarded by Xxxx Xxxxxxx/Biss Lancaster/LON/EMEA/EURORSCG on 29/09/2006 16:21 -----

"Liz Hunt"
29/09/2006 15:57
To"Maria Murtagh" , , "Ashley Douglas" , "Marc Landsberg"
cc
Subject
FW: PR Disaster![Scanned]
Ah

From: Stella Bayles Sent: 29 September 2006 15:45
To: SplendidComms
Subject: FW: PR Disaster![Scanned]

From: Rachael Powlesland [mailto:rachael@kazoo.co.uk]
Sent: 29 September 2006 15:45To: Jo Johnston; Stella Bayles; Elliott White; Strickland, Steve (LDN-WSW)
Subject: FW: PR Disaster![Scanned]
Hmmm x

***Rachael Powlesland
Kazoo Third Floor 12 Goslett Yard London WC2H 0EQDirect Dial: +44 (0)20 7479 4317Switchboard: +44 (0)20 7479 4310Fax: +44 (0)20 7734 4672Mobile: +44 (0)7789 713607-

----- Forwarded Message
From: David Phillips
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2006 15:31:09 +0100
To: all@kazoo.co.uk
Subject: FW: PR Disaster![Scanned]Read from the bottom up….

Smithy thinks it’s a stunt… I’m not so sure!!
***David PhillipsKazoo Third Floor 12 Goslett Yard London WC2H 0EQSwitchboard: +44 (0)20 7479 4310Fax: +44 (0)20 7734 4672

From: Adrienne Merrill [mailto:Adrienne@borkowski.co.uk]
Sent: 29 September 2006 10:47
To: miki@goldengoosepr.comCc: Tamsin; lauralou@goldengoosepr.com; louise.hannah@mailonsunday.co.uk; esther.walker@standard.co.uk; karen.stretch@mailonsunday.co.uk; helen.nugent@thetimes.co.uk; Georgina Pattinson; katie.hind@thelondonlite.co.uk; andy.morris@condenast.co.uk; zoe.griffin@thelondonpaper.com; Mark Borkowski; Ian Hall; laura@goldengoosepr.com

Subject: RE: Great Fun!

I must stress – Borkowski have nothing to do with Supper Club, never have done, never will do. It was my private client who I worked on BEFORE even joining here! Surely you were aware of that Miki? They are not even aware of the SC organization. I see you fantastically out bitched me! A true pro. I have much to learn. Sigh.

Thanks for the advice

Adrienne

From: Griffin, Zoe [mailto:zoe.griffin@thelondonpaper.com]
Sent: 29 September 2006 10:46
To: Adrienne MerrillCc: andy.morris@condenast.co.uk; esther.walker@standard.co.uk; Georgina Pattinson; Nugent, Helen; Ian Hall; karen.stretch@mailonsunday.co.uk; laura@goldengoosepr.com; lauralou@goldengoosepr.com; louise.hannah@mailonsunday.co.uk; Mark Borkowski; miki@goldengoosepr.com; Tamsin

Subject: RE: Great Fun!

I also thought that the event was well-organised and that the girls threw a fabulous party. Rather than inviting C -list celebrities that don't fit with the image of the brand, they made the wise desicison to have people who were influential in London and who would want to join Tamsin's club.I have written about it in today's londonpaper, after the girls helped me find a photo of Tamsin looking glamorous.

That alone makes the party at cafe de paris look far better than the one at Sound in leicester square last night, when they were so many reality television star nobodies and C-list 'celebrities'.

Zoe

From: katie.hind@thelondonlite.co.uk [mailto:katie.hind@thelondonlite.co.uk]
Sent: 29 September 2006 11:37
To: Adrienne Merrill
Cc: andy.morris@condenast.co.uk; esther.walker@standard.co.uk; Georgina Pattinson; Nugent, Helen; Ian Hall; karen.stretch@mailonsunday.co.uk; laura@goldengoosepr.com; lauralou@goldengoosepr.com; louise.hannah@mailonsunday.co.uk; Mark Borkowski; miki@goldengoosepr.com; Tamsin; Griffin, Zoe

Subject: RE: Great Fun!

I thought that Golden Goose were fantastic last night. They never fail to help me out when I need a favour and this, quite often leads to fabulous coverage for their clients. The Supper Club will be no exception. Tamsin and the Golden Goose girls will have a great plug in my dating column on Tuesday. Thanks for a lovely night, ladies. xx

"Adrienne Merrill" 29/09/06 11:20
To: cc: "Tamsin" , , , , , , "Georgina Pattinson" , , , , "Mark Borkowski" , "Ian Hall" ,

Subject: RE: Great Fun!

Sorry – do I know you?


-----Original Message-----

From: Miki Watson [mailto:miki@goldengoosepr.com]
Sent: 29 September 2006 11:18
To: Adrienne MerrillCc: 'Tamsin'; lauralou@goldengoosepr.com; louise.hannah@mailonsunday.co.uk; esther.walker@standard.co.uk; karen.stretch@mailonsunday.co.uk; helen.nugent@thetimes.co.uk; 'Georgina Pattinson'; katie.hind@thelondonlite.co.uk; andy.morris@condenast.co.uk; zoe.griffin@thelondonpaper.com; Mark Borkowski; 'Ian Hall'; laura@goldengoosepr.com

Subject: RE: Great Fun!

Dear Adrienne,

We're delighted that you enjoyed last night's Supper Club party; it was fabulous wasn't it! I'm terribly sorry that you obviously don't know your media well enough to recognise some of the UK's most influential press by face.

We were looking after Esther Walker from the Evening Standard, arranging a photograph feature for Karen Stretch at the Mail on Sunday Live Magazine, introducing some of our guests to Louise Hannah from the Mail on Sunday, arranging a 'date' with one of the country's most well known jockeys that is being written about by Katie Hind in the London Lite and entertaining the GQ editorial team who are writing about Tamsin in November.

Oh and Helen Nugent from The Times was having a great time in VIP, along with Georgina Pattinson from BBC.co.uk whom, when she last wrote about an online networking client of us (BeautifulPeople.net), generated 9,000 hits for our client in one day.

Pretty good contacts, don't you think? But as you don't know them, we thought we'd introduce you to them on this email; as we always like to help people out in PR here at Golden Goose...it's a pretty sad, bitchy industry when you don't, wouldn't you say?

As for Dave Benett...it's a shame he didn't get a lead picture for today's Diary, but Tam - he had a fabulous time and your picture has also made a story in today's London Paper with a great plug for the Supper Club..

Zoe Griffin is very kindly posting us a copy for you now. Regarding celebrities..well, I don't recall that the Supper Club was meant to be about celebrities? It's about a calibre of person whom you get to meet at the most brilliant soiree. I think last night ticked every box. I don't know if Borkowski solely regards celebrity attendance or celebrity association as the epitome of a campaign's success; but at Golden Goose PR we look at what we've generated in terms of column inches, brand identity and revenue for our client's business.

Daily Candy, OK! Mag and London Lite pieces which ran even before the party started yesterday were only the beginning. Anyway, I'm way too busy to write about all the other pieces of editorial we're working on as my phone is going and people are asking for pictures....

I suggest, Adrienne, that you get back to doing your job too. Have a lovely weekend everyone,

Miki xxx

Miki Watson Joint Managing Director, Golden Goose PR Currently shortlisted as 'Best new consultancy 2006', PR Week Awards www.goldengoosepr.com "

email/MSN: miki@goldengoosepr.com "
Office: 0207 223 4488 I Mobile: 07900 690 574 The Nest, Buckmaster Road Studios, 143 Battersea Rise, London, SW11 1HE

Proudly supporting the Pink Ribbon Foundation during Breast Cancer Awareness Month www.pinkribbonfoundation.org.uk

From: Adrienne Merrill [mailto:Adrienne@borkowski.co.uk]
Sent: 29 September 2006 10:37
To: Tamsin
Cc: lauralou@goldengoosepr.com
Subject: Great Fun!

Dear Tamsin,

We all had such a great time last night, fantastic entertainment & drinks and music by the DJ was brilliant – we all danced until out feet hurt!!! As for the PR from Golden Goose – well - the celebrity attendance was what……zero?

Oh no, let me think now, oh yes Syed (the one that didn’t even come second in what was that show, The Apprentice?) he was there. And journalists, well now, I did have a pretty full house crack team of publicists with me try as we might to spot one, well I think it was what…zero?

Oh, no, wrong again, Chris Sullivan was there.

He did let slip to me though that he only popped in to see Mick (the lovely promoter) and he’s not exactly a target writer for the Supper Club.

We all make mistakes.

Addi xxx