4 Fuks Saké

"Too Much MySpace Sonny?"

"Is Technology Changing Our Brains?" The Guardian's Jackie Ashley asked me from the book I was reading on holiday last week. Jackie was fired up by a speech from psychologist, Baroness Susan Greenfield. I myself was lying in 90 degree heat on a sun lounger with other things on my mind, but it caused me to sit up. The story goes like this....

Once upon a time, (quite recently), Greenfield made a thought-compelling speech to the assorted deadbeats lining the benches of the UK's House of Lords. No doubt lost on them, The Guardian picked it up.

Greenfield set the scene, saying that traditionally: "Human brains programmed information and converted it into knowledge." Using the building blocks of words, grouped into components such as books, stories or a speech - our brains used that flow of information to build up a "personalised conceptual framework, where we can relate incoming information to what we know already." Greenfield continues: "Traditional education (and the brain's processing role within it) allows us to turn information into knowledge."

Now though, the brain operates in a completely different environment. The flow of words have disappeared, to be replaced by a barrage of fast, frenetic, non-sequitur images, icons and pictures machine gunned at our brains from every angle. We've learnt how to multi-task, thereby pulling information on parallel, diluted levels. The click-click, always online, never satisfied information environment has created a new information flow to the brain - the era of contemplation and 'the patient acquisition of knowledge' is passing.

So the question that's stressing Jackie Ashley, from listening to Greenfield, is this. If the method of input into the brain has changed, surely that effects the output?

Ashley's speculation on the brain's reaction and output is interesting, suggesting that this image/icon/never satisfied brain input can be attributed to rising agitation levels and general restlessness in classrooms. So is the PC responsible for the rising levels of Ritalin and Prozac consumption amongst today's kids?

On the flipside, I wouldn't mind having another look at this. I'll wager that the new brain input is developing a new level of intuitive, emotional and communicative skills amongst many of today's kids.  As a kid I learnt how to gauge moods, either by listening to a tone of voice or looking in the eye of someone in front of me. Today's kids can do all that and more, interpreting each other's feelings by an IM chat, the punctuation used in a text message or god help us, the carefully selected choice of a 'smiley.' Maybe the PC is actually accelerating emotional and intuitive maturity amongst kids?

Who knows? There's a few quid in it for consultants to run studies - but frankly, I think we could do with finding out a little more.

The Joy Of Immersion

There's so much we can learn from this man. Not least how to get shot at over 200 times and never get hit.

Whilst the brains in the global PR industry are breaking their balls to get us up to speed on digital influence, I wonder if anyone else in the PR industry can help us navigate through some of the knock-on effects of the digital age.

We are constantly told, and assume, that 'no-one has any time.' I hear it in my work here, when we are attempting to influence anyone. "The thing about CEOs / CIOs / footballers / Mums / car mechanics / pimps (delete as appropriate), is they just don't have enough time." Sure enough, our consumerist can-do culture makes heroes of the busy. An empty diary is a symbol of stupidity, laziness, or worse, simply not being wanted.

Digital is exacerbating this. An RSS aggregator with 40 feeds means - oh look - I am now fully up to speed on Iran, Iraq, Britney and Matt Hayden's broken toe via interpretations of a series of 5 word headlines.

However, Iet's not forget that influence does not have to be immediate or instant. There is joy to be found in glorious immersion. Cityofsound refers to 'Binge watching', noting the rise in popularity in DVD box sets and mass viewing of TiVo / Sky + saved TV series, (such as Jack's 24). As PR people we should be taking note. Our job is to influence. Let's not forget that the 'dumbed-down' consumer and the smart CEO is showing as much evidence that they are revelling in the glory of immersion, as much as they are pining for the news in 3 syllables.

PR People Are Allowed To Be Smart

It was refreshing to read this post on Pink Air earlier this week. Another circular debate around the question, 'what is an insight?' Nice to see it is unresolved. Jeremy Bullmore's article, referenced by many of the contributors, does state that there "is no universal agreement" on what an insight is, so I guess they could have left it.

What insights provide though, are creative inspiration. They give you an emotional perspective on how people view the world or a given situation. For example - insight: 'teenage boys will do anything to get laid,' inspires the "Axe Effect." That's lasted a good 20 years and gives me an excuse to use this picture.

One thing that the Pink Air post doesn't address - and why should it, it's a community for advertising planners after all - is that insights are not solely to be mined by planners in advertising agencies.

PR people have to think too.

There is a reason why historically, we have spent our days persuading journalists to write stories. Those journalists' stories get read by their readers. Hopefully, once the readers have read it, they think differently about a product or company.

If we want them to think differently - we have to know how they think in the first place. You can't move someone's opinion from A to B, if you don't know where A is.

I worry (as my colleagues will testify), that we PR people aren't obsessed enough by the search for insights.

Secondly, I worry whether PR people really have the confidence to really tackle the search. The more our audiences break away from those lovely, easy-to-manage media channels and become harder for us to preach to - the more crucial it becomes for us to understand what makes them tick, so they'll listen, engage and come back to us. Our future depends on it.

"So, what is it you actually do?"

Before I go on, I'd like to get something off my chest - and that's really what drives the title of this blog.

I traded in a small, sparky agency loaded with ideas and opinions, to this big and very successful global one. One thing I've realised in two years, is that it is unwise to underestimate just how little people in a wider communications world, genuinely understand what PR is, what it's capable of, and how to use it. Books are being written, and people are making money out of conferences over a variety of issues - the death of advertising, the rise of PR, 'did you know You is Time's Person Of The Year?' (yes, I've seen the slide forty times now). Poor Brand Managers - they're like lambs to the slaughter.

Here's where PR fits in.

Think of it this way. You are a human being. You lost your mobile phone in a taxi on Monday. On Saturday, you know you've got to go down the shops and buy a new one. How do you decide which one to get? Do you:

a) rush home, stay in and watch the ads on TV all night waiting for the Motorola or Nokia ads to appear?
or
b) seek out the opinion of someone you trust?

Could be someone at work who always has the smart phone. It could be your child. You might buy a magazine. If you're digitally literate like us lot, you might go to Google and type in 'mobile phones', or even better, seek out the communities online who are full of opinions on them.

Our primary job in PR is to make sure that those opinions, stories and conversations are directing you to the 'our' part of the store. We have lots of help from advertising, retail marketing and so on - but that's what our job is. Make those positive conversations, stories and opinons flow.

PR 'sells' via the sources people actually trust. That's why I really fancy our chances of succeeding as a discipline. I just wish we'd all put the long words to one side, and concentrate on developing the ideas and stories that fuel those conversations, (whether it be selling products, looking after a corporate reputation, persuading people to buy stock in a company, or motivating a workforce). That's what we PR people are all paid to do.

I'll move on I promise.

Open, Honest & Social In Asia?

We’ve been in Hong Kong for the past two days, as we roll out the Ogilvy PR 360 Digital Influence team across Asia-Pacific. It’s been a good couple of days talking about the concept of ‘digital community’ in China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and Australia.

The already traditional view that digital media, is personal, social, authentic and honest - seems out of kilter with much of the evidence of what’s going on out here, in particular, mainland China and Taiwan. Negative, slanderous attacks are commonplace here – integrity is often hard to find.

Roger Chen from i-want joined us, and shared some examples of the cut-throat world of the automotive industry. False and often ludicrous claims of dodgy products are fired out by individuals (most likely with a large corporate force stood behind them), looking to hold companies to ransom with tales of products bursting into fire or falling apart after 2 miles on the road.

In the West, where freedom of expression has been cherished politically, so the digital community has responded with similar respect. In societies where freedom of expression has been traditionally suppressed, whether politically or within existing relationships – we are seeing a different response. Why treat freedom of expression with respect now, when it hasn’t been for hundreds of years?

Let's get moving then...

Welcome to another digital pocket of hot air.

Let me introduce myself to begin with, and you can make your own decision as to whether you want to stay.

This is going to be about public relations, advertising, any form of communication, Asia, UK, sport probably, and any stuff I find that's interesting.

I promise I will never post with the following phrases:

• "I had a typically combative conversation with x, my client, the other day..."
• "As I was boarding a flight / waiting at an airport lounge it occurred to me..."
• "We are close to kicking off an exciting project with client x..."

and will do my best to avoid the words '3rd party,' 'influencer,' 'opinion former,' and 'brand equity.'

What I will be writing and talking about are the things I'm passionate about - one of them being the discipline of public relations. I've spent ten years in this business creating stories that have helped sell things for Nintendo, Reebok, Nokia, Unilever, Intel and many more. I've worked in Europe and now Asia-Pacific.

It's a simple job really, made complicated by PR people who try their best to make it complicated. When people want to buy something, they seek opinions from people they trust. Our job is to make sure those opinions they receive are accurate, attractive and exciting.

More on this, provided I keep myself interested.

From home in Hong Kong.

Jim