• Staff dispute
• Shortage of stock
• Supplier goes out of business
• Negative comments published online
• Computer virus
• Change in working hours for staff
• Health and Safety

• Staff surveys
• Industrial relations
• Customers’ feedback
• Product development teams
• Suppliers
• HR and Legal teams
• Health and Safety audits

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As part of The Think Tank's sponsorship of B2B Marketing's Knowledge Bank PR Channel, our PR Director Samantha Dawe has produced a Whitepaper titled 'PR in a changing media landscape'.

The Whitepaper looks at the need for a new mindset in a changing media world. Many commentators have spoken about the basic model for media and marketing being broken. While media fragmentation is seen as a challenge, an expanding range of media options is also an opportunity.

The Whitepaper is free to download either from the B2B Marketing web site or by clicking the link below:

PR in a changing media landscape.pdf (254 kb)

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This piece has been written by Samantha Dawe, The Think Tank's PR Director.

Working with the press can be a great way to get stories about your products and your organisation across. But before you leap in for a chat take a few minutes to think through what you are going to say.

Using the press effectively to get your point across is a skill. In most cases, you only get one go at this in an interview, so you need to get it right first time when you are speaking to journalists directly.Whether you’re speaking at a planned face-to-face interview, a quick chat catch up at an industry event or a short briefing over the telephone, you will be in the spotlight. Here’s a short memory-refresher on the dos and don’ts of dealing with a press interview.

DO
Prepare, prepare, prepare
Wherever possible build in time to do some preparation before you meet the journalist. Read the publication they are writing for. Ideally find out what the journalist wants to cover in advance so you can be ready with the right sort of information for them. If you don’t know this in advance, ask them when you meet or speak to check. This will also give you time to collect your thoughts. Have you had some media training? It’s worth it if you are in any type of marketing role.

Know your facts and figures
Remember you can talk to a journalist about any information that has already been announced, and bringing in other examples as context can often help illustrate a point. Again, have facts and figures to hand (be prepared wherever possible) so you can refer to them.

Be succinct
Try to speak in short sentences and repeat key points that convey your view. This helps to minimise the risk of being quoted inaccurately. Resist the temptation to go on and on about your favourite theme unless this is the only subject to be covered in the interview.

Raise points that you feel may be of interest
The journalist may have done some preparation but you are also able to raise points on a subject too. Make sure they that are relevant to the journalist’s train of thought; showing them you are trying to give them as much information as you can is usually perceived as helpful as long as you don’t go overboard.

Be interesting
Bring in how you see the industry or your sector developing, if appropriate. This sort of insight also shows that you and your company are continuing to keep track and responding to change. Don’t speculate though unless you are happy to see your speculations in print.

DON’T
Don’t talk about areas you don’t know about
Don’t make forecasts about products, markets or sales, unless the information has been agreed beforehand and you can produce the data to back it up. If you don’t know much about a subject, say so. And wherever possible get someone in your company to speak to the journalist who is an expert.

Don’t gossip
And don’t be derogatory about the competition; it’s unprofessional. Just give factual information to the journalist, and let them make their own comparisons. Talking too much about the competition actually helps to sell it, so you may want to avoid that.

Don’t be evasive
If you don’t know something (see point 1 above) or you feel you need to get more information in front of you, say you will find out for the journalist and get back to them; check the deadline they are working on. This can also be used to ‘buy some time’ while you formulate an appropriate response to a tricky question. But if you promise further information, make sure it is followed up, even if it is to say that you need more time.

Use colourful phrases with care
Avoid the use of particularly colourful phrases unless you are absolutely sure you want them used. Otherwise, they may appear out of context or as headlines. A sub-editor may well select the juiciest quote from a journalist’s copy just for this purpose: “Widget Ltd’s Marketing Director Paul Smith says that they are murdering the competition”. Enough said.

Don’t go “Off-the record” unless you are really, really confident
This can be a dangerous trap – you are giving information ‘off-the-record’ for a journalist’s guidance, they should not publish it under any circumstances.

You have to tell the journalist the information is ‘off-the-record’ before you give them the information. The phrase should not be used retrospectively.

You should then say when the information you are discussing is ‘back on the record’ that means they can write up what you are saying.

A general rule of thumb is not using ‘off-the-record’ at all. In exceptional circumstances with a journalist that can really be trusted and you know – for example a trade press journalist you are in regular touch with and you know writes in a fair and informed way, and above all will respect this convention, you might be OK. But why chance it?

A Director I knew went ‘off the record’ with a journalist to say that he expected the privately-owned company he worked for would be floated in the next six months. It was a great story and appeared in print. You can imagine the fall out that happened when it was published.

This piece was written as part of The Think Tank's sponsorship of the PR Section of B2B Marketing's Knowledge Bank, and forms part of a series of guides, blog posts, case studies and a white papers.

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B2B Marketing has produced an infographic on The State of B2B Social Media 2013, built from the data included in their 2013 B2B Marketing Social Media Benchmarking Report.

From the infographic we can see that Twitter is the most popular platform for B2B businesses, however there seems to be an increase in the prevalence of Google+ in the B2B market.

We also see that a lot of companies don't calculate the ROI from social media.

Click on the image to see the full Infographic, or click here.

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In a recent survey by Pitney Bowes it was discovered that the majority of small businesses, from a sample of 500, did not have a marketing plan in place, with only 20% saying they did, whilst 35% admitted to dealing with marketing on an ad-hoc basis.

The study went on to find that SME's lose focus and prioritise low level tasks over marketing, including buying the stationary, cleaning and office repairs coming before marketing.

Whilst multitasking is important, it would appear that many are concentrating too much on the day-to-day running and not looking at the bigger picture. Always difficult when you are running a small business.


Read their full report here.

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Superbrands UK has announced their annual league tables for brands in the UK.

The league tables are based upon many different factors from sector reports to blogs to public nominations, and are narrowed down to a preliminary shortlist of 1700.

Through ratings given by judges and then a public vote this number is whittled down to 500 'Superbrands'. These are then seeded in order of ratings, which results in the main 
B2C (business to customer) table and a B2B (business to business) table.

All those involved in the voting process are asked to bear in mind the following definition: ‘A Superbrand has established the finest reputation in its field. It offers customers significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over its competitors, which customers want and recognise.’

The judging panel gives each brand a rating from 1-10, but members are not allowed to vote on brands they work with, competitor brands or those they are unfamiliar with, and the lowest scoring brands are removed from the shortlist.

In addition, the voters are asked to judge brands against the following three factors: quality, reliability and distinction.

The league tables show that Google, Apple and British Airways are highly rated as both B2C and B2B brands; all making it into the top 10 of both tables. Apple lost out to Rolex for the top spot in the consumer table, but was able to snatch first place the business table. The full tables are below, and you can read the full results here.

The B2C Superbrands are
1. Rolex
2. Apple
3. Microsoft
4. British Airways
5. Coca-Cola
6. Google
7. Hilton
8. Heathrow Airport
9. Kellogg’s
10. Mercedes-Benz
11. BMW
12. Heinz
13. BBC
14. Facebook
15. Lego
16. Disney
17. Marks & Spencer
18. BP
19. Dulux
20. Nescafé

Whilst the B2B Superbrands are:
1. Apple
2. British Airways
3. Google
4. Visa
5. Virgin Atlantic
6. IBM
7. Shell
8. Microsoft
9. London Stock Exchange Group
10. Mastercard
11. BP
12: BT
13. Bosch
14. Samsung
15. FedEx
16. Rolls-Royce Group
17. Royal Mail
18. PayPal
19. GlaxoSmithKline
20. DHL

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B2B Marketing has issued a new report on Best Practice use of Pinterest.

It looks at one of the fastest growing social media platforms, Pinterest, and examines the potential benefits for B2B companies looking for another marketing channel to target their customers.

This best practice guide looks at the basic principles of using Pinterest, through to creating a content strategy to build up brand loyalty, develop better customer service and gain customers’ trust. They say, 'The platform enables businesses to share visual messages with their audience, which, in turn, develops the brand, drives engagement and can strengthen their thought leadership position.'

Details of the report:

Understand the fundamentals of using Pinterest – the origins of Pinterest and how to leverage it to achieve marketing objectives.

Use Pinterest for brand development – create a brand personality to communicate your brand message responsibly.

Measure audience engagement – look for users repinning your brand regularly and use this information to improve your targeting and branding strategies.

Interact with your customers and prospects – if you notice fans taking an interest in your brand (positive or negative) there are various ways you can strike up a conversation.

The guide covers:
Strategy – integrating Pinterest into your social media and content marketing strategy.
Metrics – measure the effectiveness of your social media activity to build better customer service and advance brand development.
Content and timing – deliver a constant stream of relevant, qualified and valuable content.

You can order the report here for £99.

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Joel Harrison, Director of Editorial Content, B2B Marketing Magazine, discusses current trends and challenges in European business to business marketing at the International Business Marketing Association Conference. 

He spoke about the impact of the European economic crisis on B2B marketing activity, the explosion of East London's tech city and digital entrepreneurship and how European attitudes towards social media have changed and much more.

See his presentation below.

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Having managed the B2B Marketing Awards event for the past five years, The Think Tank was approached by the organisers, Silver Bullet Publishing, to develop the creative theme for the 2012 awards.  

Seeking to engage a wider audience, and increase entry levels from all sectors of the B2B marketing industry, The Think Tank was asked to produce a campaign that would resonate with marketers from both agency and client side and encourage them to engage with the awards at various levels. It was also very important that the theme would work in an integrated manner across a range of marketing channels as well as provide an engaging and fun format for the Awards event itself.  

The Think Tank developed several concepts that would answer the brief and the High Flyers campaign was chosen. It is designed to celebrate the outstanding creativity in the B2B Marketing sector and to position the awards as the premier industry event, not only for agencies but also for client-side marketers.  

The flexibility provided by the 'retro feel' creative execution allows the campaign to be extended from launch to the event and beyond, offering B2B Marketing the continuity of message they were looking for in 2012.  

The Think Tank is continuing to develop an integrated campaign to promote the awards over the coming months and encourage entry and engagement.

With a 20% increase in award entries in 2012 the campaign looks like a success.

For more information about the awards please click here.

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The Think Tank is a leading integrated marketing agency in Clerkenwell, London and we require a knowledgeable Account Manager to work on a variety of Business to Business clients.  

This Account Manager position will combine all aspects of marketing, both on and off-line, and the successful applicant will ensure the smooth running of accounts, including client liaison and managing timescales, budgeting and creative output.  

A background in a similar B2B marketing agency account management role or digital experience is preferred. Any candidate should be pro-active and self-starting with strong administrative, communication and organisational skills.  

The right candidate will manage a range of client accounts and should have the knowledge and experience to support a variety of marketing activities and will be rewarded with a competitive salary.  

This is an opportunity to make your mark within an established forward thinking business to business marketing agency that is growing and offering great prospects for development and career enhancement.  

To apply for this role please send your CV with a covering letter to Liam Bateman at liamb@thinktank.org.uk. 

Please note: this is not a PR Account Management position.

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