Granted, not every one of us reads every inch of the Globe compulsively (don’t you judge me) – but anyone who follows the news can guess what the article has to say. Ewan Morrison, an established British writer, blames the advent of Internet self-publication for – in no particular order – the decline of literacy, the collapse of publishing houses, the explosion of ‘content farms’ full of junk, the disrespect of copyright and the collapse of civilization. Old and respected publishers are shrinking and vanishing, and in their place are eBook giants like the Amazon Kindle store or Toronto-based Wattpad.

His point of view aside, the trend he identifies is a real one, and it’s not just limited to the market for fiction or paperbacks. Just this year, Postmedia closed its wire service, Homemakers Magazine closed its doors entirely, and Newsweek considered going entirely digital. In the place of these old giants has risen the Huffington Post, which is demonized by some as profiting off the ‘aggregation of free content.’

Both camps have a point. The Internet has been extremely disruptive to many industries. Print and traditional media are feeling the pressure the electronic environment creates. But great writing and great reporting don’t come for free. T.S. Elliott may have been perfectly content to be both a poet and an accountant, but most writers need to immerse themselves in their creative process or investigation.

You can’t command the tide to retreat, and you can’t negotiate with market forces. Whether we like it or not, the new reality created by the digital media space is here to stay. We’re shifting from a publisher-driven model of a media back to a patronage-driven model of media. And perhaps it’s time for companies to adapt to it and own it.

A quick scan of Huffington Post Canada content reveals that it publishes essays and posts by people with authority and prestige. Peggy Nash, the federal Opposition Finance critic. David Suzuki, one of the planet’s foremost environmentalists. And of course – our very own Nick Cowling has one, too. These posts reveal insights from decades of experience in business, advocacy and politics.

Peggy Nash doesn’t write her blog for the love of journalism or out of an inner drive to comment on public policy. Rather, she writes it so that Canadians will be impressed by her insight and trust the New Democrats with their votes in 2015 – and the Party pays her salary, and the salaries of editors and communicators to make sure that her points come through strong and clear. Similarly, Citizen invests in Nick Cowling’s blog so that potential clients will read the blog, see his insights, and be more likely to engage Citizen for our PR services. And as the success of Arianna Huffington’s business demonstrates, there is nothing wrong with that. Consumers value this sort of content just as much as traditional journalism.

There will always be a place for the independent journalist. Nick, David and Peggy all have specific points of view, and can’t provide the third-party perspective that makes journalism so valuable. But a shift is happening from publication to patronage – and it’s something brands should leverage.

You have the resources to commission great content and great writing – and you should. Sun Life Financial said it best at the IABC World Conference: you are a media company. By commissioning great writing and great analysis, brands can fill a consumer need and achieve a business objective at the same time.  And writers shouldn’t be afraid that they’ll compromise their integrity by writing for a brand.

Twenty centuries later, we’re still reading Virgil. But who other than historians remembers that he was on the payroll of the Emperor?

To establish a 360 degree view of moms’ self-opinion, Citizen Optimum worked with AskingCanadians to develop a unique research methodology. The four-phased process (asking, discussing, listening and analyzing) is comprised of an omnibus survey, live online discussions, social listening and data analytics, combined to better understand the most important woman in our lives.

In today’s incredibly rapid and completely democratized media landscape, there are a small number of campaigns that manage to create a lasting impact, and they are able to do this because they follow a solid recipe for success. Here are that recipe’s four key ingredients:

Story: you can’t achieve success without a great story. There are a lot of ways to build a story, but the approach often determines whether it’s hot for 24 hours (or less) or has legs to run with for much longer. I like to think it can become almost mathematical: (Insight + Trend)\(Fact) = a great story that can stand the test of time. But there’s still plenty of room for art—you still have to develop relevant insights and have the foresight and conviction to identify and follow a trend.

Messenger: While it may seem secondary, selecting the face and voice of a story is as important as crafting the story itself. A great messenger needs to be credible: They must have both the passion and the background to sell the story. Charisma is also important. The messenger needs to have a personality that relates to a broad audience. Lastly, they have to be able to articulate the content to a multitude of audiences.

Delivery: How the story is released (or discovered) can determine so many things. This is not a time to decide the story is fluid and will “live or die” on its own. You need to be explicit and strategic about when, how, where and to whom the story is released to ensure you maximize your strengths. Ask yourself if it’s worthy of an exclusive, if it should be released online (and commented on) first or sent out en masse, if you can create some snackable pieces and release them to a number of platforms and channels or if you can orchestrate all of the above. There’s no right answer, but there is a right way to approach it—deliberately.

Maintenance: This is where you really add value. The coverage, comments and discussion about your story need to be considered and leveraged in your content marketing plan. You have to respond to both criticism and praise, keep the conversation going by adding depth, leverage any links with your community, and share the news and opinions you receive with both your supporters and your detractors. If that sounds like too much work, then at least consider spending more time on the story and keep the conversation moving with additional data, research, anecdotes and other relevant information that builds on what you’ve started.

Organizations of all sizes spend their hard-earned (and sometimes limited) resources on communications with a specific result in mind. They don’t always get the best results possible. To make your story stick and to get the success you deserve, you have to build a great narrative, you have to have a plan, you’ve got to use every tool at your disposal, and you’ve got to see the whole thing through to the end.

Follow Nick Cowling on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nickcowling

Nick Cowling for the Huffington Post Canada

To some, the term ‘creative process’ is an oxymoron. For others it’s simply a mystery.  Regardless of your personal take, it’s difficult to plan creativity that gets desired results without some sort of process (or a whole lot of luck). 

When it comes to designing a creative process, the process is as important as the creativity. Take, for example, a recent case I saw where a bunch of ‘creative’ people were jammed in a room with a whiteboard and a lengthy, boring brief. It wasn’t long before nobody wanted to participate and the session fizzled.

So, is there one creative process that’s superior to all the others? I think not. Even impromptu discussions in a cab on the way to a meeting can deliver fantastic results.  Every single creative challenge has a unique need and an equally unique solution.

Considerations can run the gamut, from the audience, the organization, its competition, its limitations, the time of year, the desired outcome, pop culture and current affairs - even the team of individuals at your disposal.  So, rather than losing yourself in the x-factors and mystery of the creative process, recognize that there are some simple guidelines that can help any group of people with any creative challenge to achieve a good idea.

Here they are:

Respect your audience:  At the end of the day, your audience will decide whether your idea works. So, engage them in the process.  I’m not suggesting if your audience is 40 year old men, you need a brainstorming session with 40 year old men. You do however need to get to know what they’re all about. What are they reading? What do they watch? How do they communicate and with whom? What influences their thinking? What do they do day to day? What matters?

If you didn’t start with an insight find one (fast): In order to resonate, you need to hang your approach on something that matters. If you don’t have a unique hook (one that really hits the mark), stop and go back to the starting line. Investigate your audience until your ‘eureka’ insight seems like simple common sense.

Keep your creative brief brief: Nothing can limit ideas like information. So, if it doesn’t matter, keep it out of the brief. Giving creative types excess information is like giving a high jumper hand weights - the more you do it, the less they soar. So, keep it simple by sticking to the 2W’s, Who and What. The other three (when, where, how) can wait, and might just stem from the ideas themselves. 

Nature vs. Nurture: When it’s time to storm brains, make sure you have a mix. When they are well moderated, creative types and pragmatists can come together for creative ideas that deliver practical benefits.

Test your theories: When it comes to research, I’m a firm believer that you need to present specific options to get valuable insights. Don’t ask a focus group for a solution, ask them what they think of your solution. And, much like getting to know your audience, if you don’t have time or funds for research, test your thinking on someone who fits the bill.

When developing a creative idea, adding process won’t compartmentalize the creativity - ideally they work in balance to generate even bigger ideas. It’s not mysterious, it’s not magical, it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach – it’s about understanding the challenge and using your resources appropriately, in your own way.

The fact is, PR is one of the best ways to target your customer with a relevant message that will make them act. Here are a few things you can do to maximize your PR efforts and deliver big time to your top and bottom lines.

Tell your story in a way that matters.

Journalism has become democratized—people are gathering information from any number of sources, from traditional news media to Twitter. You can spend a lot of money creating a website, but a site’s potential is only maximized through regular updates with company or product news, blog posts from the key executives, video testimonials from customers and links to any social media platforms you are participating in.

Don’t do these things just for the search engine optimization (although that’s great too), but rather, if you use multiple channels to spread relevant news and information, as well as the media, you will reach your existing and prospective customers where they are looking for it.

Do more than a standard press release.

Social media press releases use links, videos and images to tell the story, and there are a number of reasons you should consider using them.

Firstly, they attract much more attention. Think about it—the Internet is full of news aggregators, which crawl newswire sites looking for relevant releases (specific to their industry) to post.

Secondly, if someone finds your release, you want them to have content that they can easily share with others in their professional community.

Lastly, people at work have a short attention span—because they’re at work—so they want something easy to consume.

There are also other benefits. Providing that it’s written well, a newspaper may pick up part of the release verbatim. If video content is interesting, a blogger may grab it for her site. But most importantly, a procurement specialist doing a Google search may send the link to decision makers.

Please, please, please include a relevant call to action in the release. At the very least, include a link to your website and track the Google analytics so you can see the traction you get.

Be kind to journalists—don’t pitch stories that suck.

Newsrooms today are leaner than ever, which means journalists are busier than ever. A good journalist will take a look at your story and know if it’s right for his/her audience almost immediately. But if you deliver that story in a way that also describes why it’s relevant, you’ll get a much better response. You can’t expect a journalist or a blogger to take the time to investigate your story just in case it’s interesting—so tell them why they should care.

Target the right people. Know what they write about. Then tell them why your story is important to their audience (instead of why it’s important to you). Treat journalists and bloggers like your customers: don’t bore them or waste their time.

Note: It’s perfectly acceptable to distribute a release on a newswire strictly to be ‘on the record’—possibly for the sake of disclosure—but don’t waste time and money selling it.

If your story is dynamic, then demonstrate it.

The media want dynamic content too. They need great photos and videos for their websites to accompany their blog posts and stories. Make it easy for them to find the information they need, such as biographies, downloadable photos or essential company information.

Get more reach from your media coverage.

Once you get some great coverage, your job isn’t finished. This is a great time to have the organization cascade the content in social media (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are great ways to post and link to coverage), talk about it on your company blog and email it to your customers and prospects with a call to action.

Align your efforts and messaging.

Believe it or not, when marketing and PR use different keywords, it hurts your search engine rankings, drops your organic traffic and sometimes increases pay-per-click costs. Conversely, using the same keywords exponentially improves your ROI.

In the end, it’s still about the story.

While many elements of communications continue to change at a furious pace, one thing hasn’t—a well defined story. Here are a few key points to consider when putting your story together:

• Be clear and concise—good writing is always relevant

• Be consistent—once you’ve crafted your story, stick to it

• Develop your story with your audience in mind—what makes you different, the best or necessary?

There’s a ton of information available to help you define (and refine) your story and your audience. At the very least, social media platforms can help you clarify who your audiences are, where they congregate, and what they’re talking about—all of which can inform your PR and your marketing efforts.

PR is so much more than parties and press kits. In fact, PR practitioners were the first content marketers. So spend some resources tapping into this strategic discipline, and you’ll quickly find it’s an invaluable and cost-effective way to generate leads and ramp up your sales.

Follow Nick Cowling on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nickcowling
Nick Cowling for the Huffington Post Canada

Damien Lefebvre a sans aucun doute su capter notre attention. Grâce à sa présentation, nous avons pu mieux saisir l’importance que prendra, dans le futur, le fait de mettre en place une API pour mieux partager ses données. À cet effet, plusieurs exemples concluants d’organisations, qui ont accepté de libérer leurs données afin que n’importe qui puisse les utiliser pour ensuite les diffuser via des applications, nous ont été présentés. 

La Ville de San Francisco offre d’ailleurs un outil de géolocalisation des délits qui ont eu lieu sur son territoire (utile pour le choix du quartier de votre future maison!) alors que SparkleDine répertorie les restaurants à propreté douteuse… Très pratique! SF Park, un autre exemple éloquent du succès de la libération des données, est une application qui vous indique, quant à elle, les places de stationnement disponibles ainsi que les frais à débourser pour se garer. Vous voulez un exemple purement québécois? Zonecone.ca vous rendra certainement la vie plus facile au cours des prochaines années qui s’annoncent fort chargées côté travaux routiers.

Faut-il donner toutes nos précieuses informations gratuitement? D’après Damien Lefebvre, pas nécessairement.

L’ouverture des données peut se faire en partie, progressivement et même de façon payante. Il est donc très important de réfléchir aux modalités et à la façon d’ouvrir nos données sur le monde lorsque l’occasion se présente.  Définir un modèle de tarification, analyser la façon dont se connectent les gens avant de faire la refonte d’un site et adapter notre information aux multiples plateformes existantes aujourd’hui (IPad, IPhone, PC, etc.) sont d’ailleurs trois précieux conseils que Damien Lefebvre a tenu à nous communiquer.

Pour conclure, Henri-François Gautrin a présenté, de façon très sommaire puisque le rapport n’a pas encore été rendu public, son rapport «Gouverner autrement – Comment le Web 2.0 améliorera-t-il les services aux citoyens?». Ce rapport vise à intégrer, au sein du gouvernement, une forme de participation citoyenne via les médias sociaux. Pour le député de Verdun, ce projet n’est pas qu’un simple projet technologique, mais bien un projet de mutation sociale, un projet où la transparence, la collaboration et la participation du public seraient à l’honneur.

Bref, un projet de bien grande envergure qui, espérons-le, passera peu à peu de la théorie à la pratique!

Kloé Marchand
Conseillère en relations publiques, Citoyen Optimum

This isn’t just about the arrival of Target. Though that has been the inevitable focus of the market since that announcement was made and the side effects of the Target-Zellers transaction will ripple for years to come. Target coming to Canada after more than a decade of rumours has caused Wal-Mart to quicken expansion (acquiring 39 Zellers stores Target didn’t want), it has caused other U.S. retailers to dust off international (or Canadian) plans, and—most dramatic of all—it will take a well-known, yet the almost irrelevant retail brand, Zellers, out of the mix.

The Target move was a sleeping giant. It was not unexpected, but now that the sound of approaching footsteps is real and not mere myth, the market will scramble.

There has been plenty of “awakening” by retailers big and small. What we’re seeing is the tip of an iceberg of spending and marketing—with the largest activities and impacts yet to come. The marketing spend in the retail sector is showing every sign of a rapid increase in the next 12-24 months. In fact, it could easily be as much as a billion dollar increase in 2013—here’s a few signs of the times and reasons why I’d suggest that much:

• New competition: Everyone knows that Canadians are going to kick the tires of the newest store in town, but whether these customers will come back can often be determined by differentiators like price and promotion, as well as the customer experience and delivering on expectations.

• Fighting for Zellers customers: They had/have a loyal customer base, but with expected renovations to take months, there’s plenty of time to attract the Zellers customer, before the new Target opens.

• Fighting the Zellers fire sale: Target isn’t buying the Zellers merchandise, just the leases, so expect them to flood the marketplace with products at ridiculous prices as their stores prepare to close. Small and large retailers will try to compete at some level to ensure some reasonable level of traffic.

• Stagnant economy: While Canada’s economy is faring better than most others around the globe, it’s by no means flourishing. So retailers know they have to grab every penny of available disposable income. Retail is about commanding the attention of eyeballs, hearts, and minds (which is the goal of flyers, ads, and deals), then it’s about drawing and hosting the footsteps that follow (which is the goal of operations and merchandising). Marketing places an integral and exciting part of it all. But, nobody should envy the retail marketer charged with attracting customers in a stagnant economy, in a growing marketplace, when everyone is trying to protect and grow their piece of a static pie.

• The growth of new marketing channels: Many retailers are still addicted to traditional retail marketing channels, like the weekly flyer. However, there are some retailers spending money on online channels or integration strategies that give the best mix of on- and off-line approaches (all with the same message).

In the face of these kinds of challenges, retailers can cower or they can celebrate the fact that they’re in the most dynamic industry in the country. The Canadian Marketing Association has decided to help them do the latter, and has recently launched a Retail Industry Task Force. The association sees the inevitable and necessary growth in retail marketing and recognizes that some of the most sophisticated multi-channel marketing strategies are bound to come from this industry.

All told, these factors and a hundred others will be padding the marketing spend of retailers across the country as they battle in one of the most competitive retail markets in the world. The largest single contributor to whether retailers succeed or not will be direct link between the expectations they create and the ones they deliver on. There’s so much that can happen between the time a customer walks in the door (or online) and bellying up to the shelf or the checkout. Transparency, accountability and telling a great story can be the difference between just getting increased traffic and seeing a rise in sales.

Follow Nick Cowling on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nickcowling

Nick Cowling for the Huffington Post Canada

The modern face of corporate philanthropy
There’s a new generation and outlook on corporate social responsibility that establishes corporate philanthropy as more than just an added value for a company.  This new viewpoint reinforces it as a necessary business effort alongside fulfilling customer objectives and meeting corporate goals. The modern relationship between corporations and charities has grown beyond writing an annual tax cheque, as companies are looking for initiatives that are directly linked to their business goals. For Citizen Optimum, ensuring the volunteer initiative represented and helped instill our values of collaboration, imagination, agility and audaciousness were imperative.

The benefits of corporate philanthropy are numerous. Beyond establishing oneself as a committed corporate citizen, companies with strong social performance tend to have strong financial performance. Internally, current employees report higher job satisfaction, a greater commitment to their company and believe volunteer programs help them enhance leadership and professional skills. Externally, it provides a competitive advantage, as prospective clients and employees will see positive social associations linked to your brand.

Citizen Relations’ first corporate volunteer experience allowed us to maximize our creative talents within our organization and the external community.

Team Building
As we know, working in an agency means mastering the art of teamwork. While we frequently overcome client obstacles through communication, the challenge of communicating internally and working as a team is often just as great.

It has been proven that corporate volunteering activities act as an interactive way to anchor the importance of communication and collaboration across groups, teams and departments.

The team building experience of our volunteer initiative proved to be one of the most beneficial internal outcomes for the Citizen Optimum team. Familiar skills including problem solving, brainstorming and communication were challenged throughout the process and effectively used to put smiles on the Bloorview patients’ faces. Using these tactics in a different realm from our daily activities helped highlight the collaborative value they each hold for a team. It also allowed individuals who do not have as much daily engagement in business to learn about each other’s working styles and foster stronger group autonomy.

Citizen Optimum has learned that by honing teamwork skills the organization can act seamlessly as one unit and therefore provide our clients with a unified voice, vision and results.

Transferring Essential Skills
While working in a fast-paced environment and perfecting the art of multi-tasking is important in our industry, working in a foreign setting and overcoming its inherent obstacles can have an even greater long-term impact on professional development. For Citizen Optimum, working with children with physical and mental disabilities meant adapting to a slower pace and communication methods.

Working in this environment enabled our team to uncover elements of our skill set that are not always utilized to their fullest in our daily working life. Patience was a prime example, as it is often tested in our world of tight deadlines and multiple projects. Working in a slower-paced setting allowed individuals to tap into the patience they may have not known existed. As an essential skill for both organizational leaders and supporting members, being able to remain calm and strategically react to last-minute changes is crucial.

This day shed light on the inner potential of our individuals and unified team. Recognizing new skills and being able to better tap into existing ones will allow us to approach client objectives from a new angle and continue to develop and grow creative campaign strategies.

Overall, our first volunteer day was a unique experience that resonated with each team member in a personal and meaningful way. The entire Toronto office is looking forward to another fulfilling experience to give back, get inspired and broaden our knowledge at our next Citizen Optimum volunteer day.

For more pictures from Citizen Optimum’s volunteer day, visit facebook.com/CitizenRelations

However, simply understanding the world in which they operate is not enough.  Perhaps what is more important is that we have a solid understanding of the client itself – the same knowledge that employees have who work there day in and day out.  Only then can we truly understand and communicate the company’s message.  While we do our best to gain this knowledge independently, when clients provide their agencies with opportunities to learn more about their brand, it makes all the difference.  This is why I was so excited when I heard about Hyundai’s Communication Partners Trip.

In the early Fall of 2011, I received an exciting call from my client at Hyundai.  For the first time ever, the company was hosting a Communication Partners Trip to Seoul, Korea and he asked me to go on behalf of Citizen Relations. This trip would provide 65 partner agencies with the opportunity to be intimate and interactive with the brand they communicate each and every day in their respective countries.

On November 6th, I departed for an exciting adventure in a place I’d never visited before.  I arrived in Seoul 21 hours later, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and excited for the week ahead. 

The trip was executed like that of a well-oiled machine with every detail accounted for in what I would call the true Hyundai Way.  We began the junket with a visit to Hyundai’s CHQ followed by a tour of their steel plant, manufacturing facilities and R&D Centre.  Each stop was more fascinating than the next as we got up close and personal with their operations and the sagacity behind it.  This was not surprising coming from a company who just celebrated a 9.2 per cent sales increase year-to-date and its 33rd consecutive month of sales growth. In Seoul, it’s almost impossible to overlook the Hyundai brand as its presence there is so prominent.  With everything from Hyundai gas stations to a department store, the name is almost synonymous with “BBQ” which we later enjoyed as a group at our farewell dinner.

The culminating result of four intense days was a better understanding of the company’s positioning among its global counterparts, its corporate direction and its mission to become the most-loved car brand in the world.  All information that will help Citizen Optimum build public relations programs to help our client achieve its national goals and thus help the global organization achieve its overall, worldwide objectives.

After returning to Canada, I felt an even stronger sense of “belonging” and family feel that I admit was already percolating before the trip began.  While, working with this organization over the past six months has been a true partnership model, I expect this strong relationship to only improve as Citizen Optimum moves beyond simply being engrossed in the competitive automotive landscape and into the Hyundai Way.

Stephanie Nadalin (@StephNadalin)
Citizen Optimum - Toronto

BURNABY - I am not a gamer.  I have a wii, and the cute hair and big blue eyes that my avatar sports while bowling gives me joy.  That is the extent of my exposure to the gaming universe since the days of hanging out at the arcade in the mall.

So as I found myself at a pre- launch event for Assassin’s Creed Revelations, I had no idea what to expect. The last thing I anticipated was to be intrigued really, and impressed.
One of the game creators spoke to the group about the historical detail that is embedded throughout the game and the entire franchise. It takes place in 15th century Constantinople, and the main character is Ezio, an assassin on a quest of discovery and revelation, and like most of our modern and ancient heroes, in search of the truth.

What struck me about this game was the beautiful graphics and the layer of history that overlays the experience. The creator explained in detail about the landscape and many pieces of data and research that went into developing the mission- the plot- for each game. He talked about reading numerous books to find characters and inspiration from which to draw upon for the game.
Is this a modern National Geographic? A history textbook of the future? 

This game is a visual story of an ancient tale. It reminded me in places of Robin Hood, of Gladiator, of Braveheart.  The short film included in the game- Embers, Ezio’s epilogue follows the character into his twilight years. That in itself is a great story, with beautiful graphics and themes like hope, love purpose and human connection.

Of course there was violence, but it was the swashbuckling, sword play, hand- to-hand combat kind of violence that is miles away from the relentless machine gun fire of other popular games today. I was shocked that the elimination of enemies is not the sole focus- but that there is dialogue between characters, humour (eliminate the singing minstrels and take their clothes!), and a stunning array of actions that Ezio can perform including activating his “eagle sense”- a covert state reminiscent of Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, which helps to identify enemies.  This was interesting - a visual representation of intuition.

I came away thinking about this game as a legend that I could be part of.  A historical tale with the potential to educate and captivate players not just with the game play, but with the history lesson wrapped around it.  Maybe there is a future for Ezio not just as an assassin, but as an educator.

Shannon Kidd (@KiddShannon)
Best Buy Canada