stone junction guide to marketing in the slowdown

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    Executive summary 34

    How PR has had to respond to changes in publishing

    Executive summary 5

    Dealing with the national press 57

    Colour separations: The growing demand for payment 710

    Top tips on taking advantage of the changes 10 12

    How PR has had to respond to changes in Internet publishing

    and Social Media

    Introduction 13 17

    Reputation management in chat rooms 18 20

    Top ten free Web 2.0 sites for marketing pros 21 27

    Case studies

    Leading opinion: Toshiba Machines guide to return on

    investment in automation 28 29

    Trusting the message: Cressall Resistors nearly doubles

    in size in one year 29 31

    Closing message

    It's not a recession yet! Why business should come out

    fighting to beat the slowdown. 32 33

    About the author 34

    .../Table of contents

    1

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    et me begin by saying this isnt the first booklet Ive written about marketing in an

    economic slowdown. It may not be the last. This is because slowdowns and

    recessions happen on a cyclical basis. This remains true even though our current

    economic slowdown is partially the result of trends in US sub prime lending, which

    one might argue is a discrete element in the global economy, not an indicative factor of overall

    health. Nevertheless, you will find that your house is much harder to sell, your energy costs have

    increased and your weekly food bill is higher than this time last year. Much more importantly for

    B2B marketers, every market survey indicates that your budget is decreasing and the return

    expected from it is increasing.

    The question is, what should you do about it? As a consumer you can sit tight in your house

    before selling, switch your energy provider and make your

    weekly shop more efficient. As a business you can do this too;

    decreasing your capital expenditure until the bottom line

    displays the necessary profit is a legitimate tactic. But as a

    marketer you

    have

    a harder

    task.

    You

    may

    well

    have

    to

    continue to produce the same results, in the form of leads and

    sales, despite the overall decision to cut spending. In essence,

    you are reading this guide because you want to buck the trend,

    beat the market and profit despite the downturn. And you may

    have to do it without the benefit of a big budget.

    2

    .../Executive summary

    ,,,/ Is the economic slowdown

    effecting your business?

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    So, over the next few pages, Im going to present some ideas to save you money on your

    marketing spend and some ideas to make that spend more efficient.

    I mentioned at the start of my introduction that this isnt the first guide of this kind Ive

    produced. Well, in one I put together in 2002, I wrote, Businesses that reduce investment in

    marketing lose customers to those that market aggressively. In history, during lean times,

    farmers starved rather than eat the crops they needed for the next years seeds. UK industry

    should learn from this example when considering marketing budgets. I stand by those words

    today.

    .../Richard Stone, managing director, Stone Junction, 2008

    3

    Businesses that reduce investment in marketing lose customers to those that market aggressively. In history, during lean times, farmers starved rather than eat the crops

    they needed for the next years seeds. UK industry should learn from this example when considering marketing budgets, Richard Stone.

    .../Executive summary

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    hen one considers the effect of the economy on publishing over the

    last few years, one has to address four primary areas; the trade,

    online, regional/local and national media. I will be dealing with the

    online press separately, in my next chapter. The changes in that

    sector have been so all encompassing since 2000, the year that I regard as the dawn of online

    trade publishing for the engineering sector, that it merits a discrete section. In this chapter, I will

    first look at approaching the national and regional or local press, then the question of colour

    separations in the trade press. I will conclude with a number of top tips for targeting any media,

    but ones that will work particularly well with the engineering or technology trade medias.

    The national and regional media

    I come across a lot of engineering and technology businesses that believe that the national and

    regional press isnt a significant target for them. I would argue that this is generally not the case,

    although there are always exceptions; very, very small niche businesses might only find this kind

    of activity useful for recruitment purposes for example. However, if you decide that you want to

    include the nationals and regionals in your PR strategy, there is a big problem to overcome.

    This problem was highlighted by Hartmut Pannen, the newly appointed managing director of

    Trumpf's UK recently. He told industry Web site ManufacturingTalk that he had toured some 100

    UK companies that have sheet metal working shops in early 2008. He said he was astounded by

    the innovative equipment in use; also, that much of the equipment seen was (cont. overleaf)

    .../Responding to publishing The nationals

    4

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    contextualising pieces. However, the crux of the issue is that although the percentage is smaller,

    the number is probably higher and the buying power of the readers may well be high; they are

    more likely to be board members and senior staff. Depending on your product or service, this can

    be either beneficial or disadvantageous. Your argument can also be significant, after all, there are

    plenty of products where the buying chain includes both shop floor staff and senior people.

    Ultimately, there are opportunities for national coverage for everyone involved in Manufacturing

    listed or not. Its just that they are far more limited now than ever before. It takes a real nose

    for them, you have to dig out every column that could cover engineering and address them

    persistently. The first step would be to read the top five tips at the end of this article and act on

    them consistently.

    nce you move from the national and regional media to the trade press,

    things change. Immediately you are dealing with a group of journals written

    specifically for your sector; so your company becomes more interesting to

    them and you have to work less hard to generate coverage. However, the

    magazines themselves suffer from the increasing costs of publishing and decreasing advertising

    budgets. In times like these, journalists look for the best stories, the most incendiary copy and

    the most outrageous opinion pieces to keep the readership high. Sometimes though, it doesnt

    seem that this is the case when you are bombarded with requests for payment in exchange for

    running your editorial.

    6

    .../Responding to publishing colour separations

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    As a public relations junkie, sorry practitioner,

    Im often approached by firms who want to

    generate publicity for their products or services

    but have become tired of issuing press material

    only to be confronted by a request for payment

    before it is used.

    The question of whether or not colour

    separations are a good thing is a thorny one.

    Readers would give a magazine more credence

    and ultimately it would be able to charge higher

    rates for its advertising if it didnt publish colour

    separations. As a result, it wouldnt then have to

    charge colour separations for editorial! However, Im not here to argue with the business case of

    individual magazines Im sure they have a better understanding of their business models than I

    do. I know,

    and

    have

    worked

    for,

    plenty

    of

    businesses

    that

    use

    colour

    separations

    as

    a legitimate

    part of their PR strategy, including firms like Megger, WF Electrical and Aerotech.

    However, that leaves plenty of businesses out there facing the dilemma of what to do if they

    cant get publicity without paying colour separation requests. It may be that they simply cant

    afford to pay the colour separations or they might feel that the quality of coverage the seps

    7

    ,,,/ Companies question why they put releases out at

    all if they are only to met with colour separations?

    .../Responding to publishing colour separations

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    generate is low, or the response rates are insignificant. Irrespective of reasoning, there are

    measures you can take to help your releases attract the attention of journalists not salesmen.

    Tips for beating the colour separations trap

    Make it interesting: The main reason a journalist will not run the material you send them in

    the news or features pages for free is that it isnt interesting enough. The best thing you

    can do is make sure that your press releases arent short adverts for your company but

    rather news stories you could envisage one of your customers actually reading. If you then

    address the right magazine, you have a good chance of being published.

    Target the magazine individually: Its much better to generate one really strong piece of

    well targeted coverage than several poor quality pieces of badly targeted press. To this end,

    read the magazines you want to appear in and make sure the copy you send them is

    appropriate to their readership.

    Tackle every opportunity in the magazine: You should be producing news for the news

    pages, features for the features pages and letters for the letters pages and so on. Dont

    simply presume that a press release about your new widget will be perfect for the front

    cover. Instead find a home for it in the right part of the right magazine.

    Finally, as a caveat, advertise. Most magazines that charge to run editorial do so because

    they cant generate enough revenue through advertising. By choosing the right magazines

    for your advertising spend, no matter how small it is, you will find that the magazine is

    much healthier when you come target it via PR. This doesnt mean that, by advertising, you

    8

    .../Responding to publishing colour separations

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    gain the right to appear in the news pages merely that those news pages will still be there

    when you have the right story for them!

    s we have discussed, the PR landscape has changed. Once upon a time, all you

    had to do to get coverage for a technology product was write a press release

    and send it to your favourite trade press contacts. Then, bingo, rivers of

    coverage would flow in, mountains of media would spring up and you would

    have to hire another warehouse to put the sales enquiries in. But trade magazines have grown

    increasingly thinner and

    more and more pages are

    devoted to paid for adver

    torial or colour separa

    tions. So how, in this

    changed landscape should

    one continue to generate

    coverage? Well, here are

    Stone Junctions top tips:

    1. MAKE IT SPECIFIC: Ive seen lots of news stories that are relevant to multiple sectors. Take

    for instance the launch of a new industrial robot or actuator. It could find a home in the

    design, packaging, pharmaceutical, general manufacturing, plastics, electronics, automotive

    9

    .../Responding to publishing Top five tips

    .../ Businesses are increasingly looking for

    new ways to generate press coverage.

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    design, food processing or logistics media. But the vast majority of PR people just put the

    story out in one version, making their product look like a jack of all trades and master of

    none. Naturally, this will be less interesting to a specialist journalist than something that

    specifically address his specialism. It only takes a little effort to produce different versions

    of a story for different media.

    2. LOOK BEYOND THE MAGAZINE ITSELF: Where else could your press material be used?

    Direct to customer social networking sites, Blogs, online newsletters, industry Web sites,

    news sites and RSS feeds from your own Web site are amongst the possibilities.

    3. TURN NEWS DELIVERY INTO CONTENT CREATION: Once you have eked every ounce of

    media coverage out of your material, re purpose it as Web content for your own site,

    newsletter content for customers, staff magazine content or email marketing material.

    4. GET THE MOST FROM EVERY STORY: Most people look at a single event and see a single

    story. Take a product launch for instance you could just knock out a product press

    release. However, there might be more there. Was the product developed in response to

    legislative demand for instance? If so, there is almost always an opinion piece in there

    some where, just waiting to be drawn out. There might be a letters campaign on the

    efficacy of that particular piece of legislation or set of regulations. Maybe the product was

    developed in an unusual way or by a unique individual? Could there be a story there for

    10

    .../Responding to publishing Top five tips

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    the design press? Or a regional press release targeting the area the developer came

    from? How about profile work for the business press?

    5. MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE: If I had a pound for every PR tactic Ive seen left half

    done when its originator moves on to soon I would be rich. So rich in fact, I would barely

    need to write this guide. However, there is a serious point. If you dont measure the

    success of an activity, you cant tell if the results are commensurate with the power of the

    original idea. Good measurement will tell you if any ideas should be re visited to generate

    the extra column inches they deserve.

    My last tip is simple invest. A public relations campaign is an investment in the reputation of

    your company. As a result, invest your time, the time of your staff if needed and sufficient budget

    to make it work. If you are doing it in house but not getting results, maybe its time to hire an

    agency. If you are using an agency that isnt getting the results you expect, talk to them about

    why its not happening. If its a budgetary issue, you might find a few more agency hours or a

    little more

    attention

    from

    you

    makes

    the

    difference.

    And,

    of

    course,

    if

    it

    doesnt,

    youve

    got

    my

    phone number.

    11

    .../Responding to publishing Top five tips

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    knowledge of the product and any factors unique to the commercial sector. To have any

    influence through media relations requires some serious thought about how these factors can be

    effected by our efforts with the print and online media.

    When we decide which media to address with which message, we should consider how the

    customer group interacts with that media, if at all. To address the entire spectrum of the decision

    we need the print and online media. But each serves a different purpose at a different stage and

    requires different tactics and content. This is true not only because some of the people working

    on these sites have different agendas but also because the medium on which they publish is

    fundamentally different

    Today a good campaign has

    different pro active and re active

    strategies for influencing the

    online and print media and in turn

    influencing their readers. As its

    foundation this involves providing

    the right content to attract

    professional and influential

    non professional communicators

    who work in the online media. By

    13

    .../ The way we communicate with the online press is

    fundamentally different

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

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    non professional communicators I mean both Bloggers and administrators of genuine online

    communities. These online communities could simply be news groups; Engineeringtalks UKEPR

    (United Kingdom Engineering Public Relations) community for technology PR practitioners is one

    such group. Alternatively, they might be groups of people referring to a single point of informa

    tion when making buying decisions. In the food and pharmaceutical industries a good example is

    RSSLs (Reading Scientific Services Limited) e mail newsletter service. This appears to be impartial

    and doesnt feature extensive news from the company itself, instead focusing on news from the

    industries it serves. In doing so it has established itself as a sufficiently influential point of refer

    ence that, as a PR person, I am often referred to it by clients who perceive it to be a media outlet

    like any other.

    As Blogs become more and more influential, particularly over early adopters and visionary cus

    tomers, good PROs adapt their techniques to approach Bloggers. A straightforward product press

    release isnt going to be all that effective, indeed many Bloggers will regard a traditional elevator

    pitch sell in as too professional. Many will not be available during working hours because, for

    many, Blogging is a hobby.

    Bloggers love their subjects and are inspired by them, so the best way to communicate is with

    passion. You need to share the passion and be able to discuss honestly your clients relationship

    14

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    As Blogs become more and more influential, particularly over early adopters and visionary customers, good PROs adapt their techniques to approach Bloggers.

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    to the rest of the market. If its a technology Blog it helps to provide products for evaluation, just

    as one would with a consumer technology magazine. It is also well worth remembering that the

    coverage you obtain isnt going to remain at the top of the Blog for long, so it will be of value to

    your client to suggest ways of maximising its value while it is there.

    In contrast, many other online communities are run as

    marketing tools. The two organisations I mentioned above,

    Engineeringtalk and RSSL arent charities. They are profit making

    companies who, very intelligently, incorporate a community

    creation element into their marketing plans. And because the

    plan is working, for both of them, it will always be difficult to

    convince them to incorporate PR material into it. However,

    because it is a marketing plan, offering them something to further

    that plan, in the shape of material that is genuinely useful to

    their online communities, should be a compelling proposal.

    Once we have attracted the journalist, Blogger or community administrator we must ensure our

    content is optimised in such a way that it is influential to our two online audiences readers and

    search engines. The key to attracting the former is interactivity, either literally, in the form of

    downloads, or intellectually, in the form of useful information that will get repeated. The same

    research that tells me that 93.2% of buying decisions are researched online also states that 36.8%

    15

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ Stone Junction has ad

    dressed the online press as a

    speciality from day one

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    I felt that the right step was to stick my head above the parapet and in the end this was probably

    justified.

    Another instance arose recently with a client, an online retailer of mobile phones called mPhone.

    A poster, on the message boards of the Web site MoneySavingExpert.com, asked whether it was

    a good idea to buy from the client. Now, as many of you may know, there is a serious ethical

    issue with PR people posting things online about their own customers. At present, its frowned

    upon to not disclose who you are and your relationship to the client. There are moves afoot to

    introduce European legislation to stop non transparent posting happening at all. So, I duly

    reported the posting to my client and left a message, disclosing who I was and pointing the user

    to a series of testimonials on the mPhone Web site. It would probably have guaranteed my client

    more sales if I had registered a number of different user names and left messages saying how

    great the client was. But, it wouldnt have been ethical.

    18

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ Most visitors to online chat rooms, forums, Blogs and other sites that accept

    comments will now stop and question the motives of the OP (original poster), making

    transparency essential for PR professionals

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    Ultimately this kind of management is not governed only by the ethics of the person enacting it.

    There are moves afoot to have anyone with a commercial interest to disclose their identity when

    they appear on Blogs, chat rooms, forums or social networking sites. The move has been

    prompted by a number of gaffs made by large UK PR agencies and their clients, which I wont

    discuss here. The two examples Ive used here are deliberately low levelthey both illustrate

    that fundamental human character traits like bravery, honesty and integrity are the cornerstones

    on which online reputation management are built. So, if, like me, you ever feel like shooting your

    mouth off online, feel free. Just remember those two basic points.

    19

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ For a chat about your PR with Stone Junction, e mail [email protected]

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]
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    Web 2.0 is it all worth it?

    ne question Im often asked is, is this Web 2.0 and social media lark actually

    worth bothering with for a small engineering firm? I think the answer is

    that it soon will be. And, for the moment, many of the applications that

    have resulted from the Web 2.0 phenomenon certainly are. As youve

    probably already guessed, I'm something of a fan of lists, so Ive produced another onemy top

    ten favourite Web 2.0 applications. My definition of Web 2.0 here is a site that wouldnt have

    been possible had it not been for the mass take up of broadband allowing enhanced services to

    be delivered easily. Naturally, Ive focused on usefulness for marketeers. Contentiously, there is

    no Digg, Del.ici.ous or any other tagging site in this list!

    1. Blogger & Wordpress: I would be the first to concede that number one in my list is actually

    two Web sites! However, both serve similar functions. Both sites allow you to build Blogs in

    seconds, with Blogger being the best option for someone new to the concept. It features free

    20

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ My top ten Web 2.0 sites for marketing professionals

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    hosting and domain names (although all the domains will be .blogger.com) and doesn't require

    any downloads. In contrast, Wordpress, offers much more functionality but requires external

    hosting. The advantage is that you can make your Blog look like a regular Web site, making it

    much easier to apply corporate standards. (www.blogger.com and www.wordpress.org.)

    Main marketing uses: Creating Blogs, developing online press offices and news rooms,

    establishing simple and quick micro sites, creating advertising download centres and putting up

    quick and simple crisis management centres.

    2. Stock.xchng: If you have ever found yourself trying to find stock images for your Web site,

    press releases or brochure without paying a fortune, then you need Stock.xchng. Sadly, like a

    number of

    the

    sites

    in

    this

    list,

    it

    seems

    to

    think

    that

    vowels

    are

    an

    irrelevancy

    when

    developing

    a

    brand name (see Flickr, M.gnolia, Frappr). However, its functionality by far outweighs the

    annoyance factor of not being able to write the name easily. Thousands of free, or very cheap,

    stock images make choosing an illustration easy and cost effective. ( www.sxc.h u.)

    Main marketing uses: Finding free stock images, finding very cheap stock images

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    Sadly, like most Web 2.0 applications, a number of

    the sites on this list seem to think that vowels are an

    irrelevancy when developing a brand name (see Flickr, M.gnolia, Frappr)!

    21

    http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/http://www.sxc.hu/http://www.sxc.hu/http://www.blogger.comandwww.wordpress.org/
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    3. MailBigFile: A godsend for advertisers and exhibition managers, MailBigFile allows the user

    to send large files anywhere in the world easily. Even better, while the uploads can take a while,

    the downloads take seconds, making it easy for whoever you are sending the image to. Unlike

    the majority of these sites MailBigFile isnt entirely free. Users can send any file up to 100mg for

    nothing, but sending a larger file than that requires an

    account. That said, the accounts are inexpensive and

    good value. (www.mailbigfile.com.)

    Main marketing uses: Trafficking advertisements,

    sending material to printers and sharing design work

    with distributors, integrators and other partners.

    4. Google analytics: A great way of adding visitor

    tracking functionality to your Web site or Blog for free,

    Google Analytics provides an in depth monitoring

    facility better than most of those provided by Web design

    firms. Ideal for combining with Blogger or Wordpress

    (above), the function also works well with Google AdWords and other pay per click campaigns.

    Main marketing uses: Web and Blog traffic monitoring . Also useful for monitoring traffic

    generated via e mail marketing campaigns.

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ Mailbigfile users have to go the post

    box less frequently. Which is surely a good thing. Unless you need the exercise.

    22

    http://www.mailbigfile.com/http://www.mailbigfile.com/http://www.mailbigfile.com/
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    introduced. As a result, all of your videos tagged widget will come up in Googles search

    function when your potential customers type widget. (www.youtube.co.uk.)

    Main marketing uses: Free video hosting, viral marketing, improved SEO

    8. Flickr: As well as providing a handy photo hosting function, in the same way as Web

    shots.com and Photobucket, Flickr can also act as a useful PR tool. Its the most prominent of the

    photo hosting sites and, as such, the one most likely to be used by journalists and potential

    customers. By ensuring that your profile and images are tagged correctly, you can generate

    welcome clickthroughs to your Web site and, potentially, further custom. Furthermore, the

    photos can be automatically shared with interested third parties. You can also use Flickr to create

    useful online galleries that work in conjunction with your Blooger account. (www.flickr.com.)

    Main marketing uses: Photo and advertisement hosting, managing your online profile, PR

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    .../ For a chat about your PR , e mail [email protected]

    25

    http://www.youtube.co.uk/http://www.youtube.co.uk/http://www.flickr.com/http://www.flickr.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.flickr.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.youtube.co.uk/
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    9. Ning: Ning.com allows its users to create instant online social networks. Like Blogger and

    Wordpress, there is a clear opportunity to use Ning.com to create online press offices and

    marketing micro sites. However, one might argue that the real benefit could be for companies

    whose products are truly cutting edge, IT focused or grounded in an environmental argument. By

    creating an information site that gives visitors the opportunity to become members, the host

    creates the opportunity for product evangelists to network and share information. The downside

    is that Ning sites automatically feature Google AdSense , which provide income for Ning not the

    site owner. These can be removed, at a cost of around ten pounds a month. (www.ning.com.)

    Main marketing uses: Creating networks of product evangelists, responding to common technical

    questions from users, creating online press offices and marketing sites.

    10. Vertical Response: My final choice for this list is a entirely profit making venturewith

    none of the .org pretences found among the Web 2.0 cognoscenti like Wikipedia and Wordpress.

    However, its so useful it demands a mention . Vertical Response allows the user to create and

    manage e mail campaigns online and demands little or no experience to use. That said, the best

    results are definitely generated by someone with a little bit of graphical nous and some writing

    skills. Vertical Response is cheap and cost effective, a rare combination in my experience, and

    ideal for an email marketing novice. (www.verticalresponse.co m.)

    Main marketing uses: Straightforward email marketing

    .../Responding to the Internet & Social media

    26

    http://www.ning.com/http://www.ning.com/http://www.verticalresponse.com/http://www.verticalresponse.com/http://www.ning.com/
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    Stone Junction has supplied a successful PR campaign in 2008, with coverage appearing in twenty

    five different trade publications and on countless industry Web sites. It has also provided graphic

    and new media design work for advertising, trade shows and interactive content. This has

    included graphics boards for exhibition work, interactive video CDs, a new brochure and a series

    of adverts all produced in English and German.

    The overall response has been outstanding, with several hundred promotional CDs despatched to

    customers already. Nigel Smith, managing director of TM Robotics said, "The campaign has

    dovetailed together very effectively, with both creative ideas and Toshiba Machine's corporate

    style working in unison in all of the visual material, while the tactics intended to generate leads

    have worked well."

    Trusting the message: Cressall Resistors nearly doubles in size in one year

    ressall Resistors began work with Stone Junction at the beginning of March

    2006. The UK manufacturer of power resistors had an unusual challenge that it

    wanted to address through PR.

    In February 2006 Cressall had been acquired by Telema SpA of Italy through its British subsidiary TPR

    28

    .../Case studies from Stone Junction

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    Resistors. This brought together the UKs two largest resistor technology companies. However, the

    two businesses customers appreciated their chosen supplier for different reasons. TPR Resistors

    was a small and agile outfit that could bring the best design and integration advice to its customers.

    Meanwhile Cressall was a larger firm that was able to offer the advantages that go hand in hand

    with a long established business.

    The PR challenge was

    to assure both sets of

    customers that they

    would continue to

    receive the service they

    had come to appreciate

    from their chosen

    supplier. In addition, as

    a result of the two businesses merging,

    customers would have access to the best of both worlds. Of course, this needed to be achieved

    while also encouraging new sales and compelling potential employees to apply.

    The PR campaign was formulated to contain a balance of business news, case studies, face to face

    journalist meetings, product news, opinion pieces, letters and features contributions. In addition,

    Stone Junction prepared a crisis plan in case to mitigate for any negative publicity and suggested a

    29

    .../Case studies from Stone Junction

    .../ Cressall Resistors equipment in use at a high

    profile crane application

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    course of direct communication with customers to be carried out in house. A measurement metric

    was put in place that focused on advertising value equivalent (AVE) as a way of comparing efficacy

    month by month and key message measurement. The cornerstone message in the latter part of the

    process was the concept of trust between supplier and end user.

    A return on investment of 663% was produced in AVE and the cornerstone message appeared 11

    times in print media coverage. This included five different full page articles. There were also 32

    online clippings, not included in the AVE comparison. By the end of 2006 Cressall Resistors had

    outperformed its own financial targets by 14% against budget, with an order book for 2007 that was

    up by 37% and a 2006 turnover that was nearly 20% larger than pre merger TPR and Cressall

    combined.

    30

    .../Case studies from Stone Junction

    .../ To improve your marketing and PR, in the same way that TM Robotics

    and Cressall Resistors have, contact Richard Stone on 020 8699 7743

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    It's not a recession yet! Why business should come out fighting to beat the slowdown!

    hen the economic odds are stacked up against you, there are really

    only two options. The first is to retrench; cut costs wherever you can

    and simply outlive the negative economic environment. The second

    is to come out fighting, to communicate the benefits you offer and to

    win as much sustainable business as possible. Im offering you the chance to do the latter by

    requesting a complementary initial PR consultation now.

    The PR services offered by Stone

    Junction represent a way of

    talking to your customers through

    a media that they trust. Your

    customers all read the trade press,

    the local press and the national

    media and they are all influenced

    by them. In a slow economic

    environment, people with

    purchasing authority turn to

    authoritative sources like these to

    help with decision making. If you

    31

    .../Closing message

    .../ Its not a recession just yet, although it may well

    become one! The time is right to, prudently, invest in

    marketing. Those that do will come out of the slowdown ahead of their competitors.

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    About the author

    ichard Stone established Stone

    Junction, a London based PR and

    strategic communications firm, in

    2006. His previous experience includes

    PR campaigns for SKF, WorldCom, Roche, Arup, CIENA,

    AIT Plc and Toshiba Machine. Stone Junction offers the

    tactics and techniques to drive sales and lead opinion.

    Specialising in engineering, telecoms and information

    technology, services include trade, online and national

    PR, copy

    writing,

    email

    marketing

    and

    Web

    content

    optimisation.

    Contact details:

    Tel: 020 8699 7743

    Mob: 07980 223493

    Email: [email protected]

    Web: www.stonejunction.co.uk

    /Richard Stone managing director Stone Junction 2008

    .../Closing message

    .../ A

    photo

    of

    me,

    taken

    a while

    ago,

    when I was a bit younger and slimmer ;)

    mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.stonejunction.co.uk/http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/http://www.stonejunction.co.uk/mailto:[email protected]