Public Relations

Even though the capital investment in social media advertising is rising, every second company questions the prosperity. Half of the members of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) are not sure if it’s worth it to invest furthermore in facebook, twitter, xing or other social networks. Advertisement in social networks can be e.g. a xing profile, a business account on twitter, a group on facebook, a typical advert on the homepage or the like.

So the is it really lucrative to call the customers attention on social media platforms?

The conclusion of the survey Value of a Fan by Millward Brown is that 23% of the members of the WFA think that it is profit-making to invest in advertisement on social media websites. There again 27% say that the cost-effectiveness is at an average or lower. Admittedly 96% of the respondents at last the investment in social media advertising but per contrast one quarter named that working on fan-pages claims more time and money than assessed.

The companies have nearly all the same aims: 85% said that they want to narrow the brand-loyalty of the people using social networks to their corporations as well as they are trying to get more information about their target audience. 80% want to heighten the number of their intercessors.

The combined members of the WMA represent 90% of the expenditures in marketing and public relations worldwide. Basis of the survey is a poll on marketing-guarantors of 24 multinational companies and 3.687 brand-fans of the companies. Questioned was the engagement they put on social media.

To fall back on internationally established project management standards helps to optimize competitiveness

The competence concerning the planning and controlling of projects is more limited in German creative agencies than in the majority of other industries. There, international management standards have already been established says the Hamburg-based project-management enterprise PM Firefighters based on a recent market monitoring. Facing the difficult market environment, advertising, public relations and internet agencies currently bet on structural adjustments, thus neglecting the potential to enhance the efficiency of the agency, the optimization of internal processes and management skills can present.

Often, the agencies´ project management focuses on schedule and cost management, which causes important sections to remain uncontrolled and creates typical but avoidable friction losses. Optimization potential especially exists in the sector of resource management. It regulates backlogs and continuous bottlenecks alike and helps improving the creative products´ quality as well as employee motivation.
Another relevant sector is the stakeholder management, whose role it is to control the information flow and integrate those involved in the project individually.

The objective should be to create the greatest amount of cooperativeness on all sides and to avoid the proverbial last minute changes. Change management – the question who can make which changes when – is a part of project management that, according to PM Firefighters, has already been incorporated by other industries.
This also holds true for the so called `lessons-learned-process´ that systematically analyses and documents experiences subsequent to the completion of a project and thus prevents the repetition of mistakes.

„Many CEOs and budget managers are concerned that a far-reaching project management will limit the company´s creativity and flexibility. But the opposite is true!” Hauke Thun, CEO of PM Firefighters, emphasises. „Professional approaches relieve the creatives from administrative processes, which generates more free space for high-quality campaigns and promotes the agency´s competitiveness.“

About PM Firefighters
PM Firefighters Project Management Ltd., which is based in Hamburg, was founded 2003 and has specialized in the management of operative project tasks for medium-sized companies and major enterprises.
The objective is the successful completion of challenging projects, particularly in critical situations. Another business area is the insourcing of lacking project management capacities on the client side. PMFF works intersectoral with references from the industries media/IT, telecommunications, medical technology and trade.
Please address any queries to: Frank Plümer l plümer)communications
Tel. 0049/40/35 70 13 50 l E-Mail: fp@pluemercommunications.de

Christopher von Greverode is a freelancer; a copywriter in the first place, but also a public relations and communications pro and a dedicated blogger. Here, he answers our questions. To get an impression of his writing and his literary ambitions, read his blog greverode.blogspot.com.

What was the most interesting project you have implemented?

That depends on what you define as interesting. As to working conditions it would be a Europe-wide marketing project for the University of Cambridge I was involved in for two years. Regarding creative aspects it surely was the „invention“ of a whole new company including a name, an image, a philosophy, and a Corporate Design.

What was the most difficult experience you have had with a customer?

The most difficult situation you can have with a customer is when he dislikes and rejects every new idea you come up with but fails to express what he actually wants. I’ve had that once.

What was the biggest challenge that you had to face?

Quitting my job and getting self-employed after a rather fatal one-year attempt to serve with a wicked real estate company…

Are there customers for whom you would not work?

Absolutely yes. The good thing about being self-employed is that you get to choose for whom you want to work. If a person or a company doesn’t suit me for moral or personal or whatever reasons I refuse to work for them. People who put ice in their single malt for instance.

Who is the client of your dreams?

The client of my dreams provides a huge budget and grants me plenty of time to come up with good ideas that he gratefully recognises as being absolutely brilliant and implements without further questions! And I get payed within 3 days.

Which characteristics distinguish your dream team?

The members of my dream team are creative but not obsessed with their individual ingenuity. They give their best without showing off. They listen to each other, and they can admit mistakes. They share the pain, and they share the glory. They are – well, a team!

What was your best performance for free?

Driving dear friends of mine to church for their wedding in my 1976 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow

How long have you been in the business?

About 10 years.

How many times have you changed your specialization?

Never. But I changed my working concept four years ago. I used to run my own avertising agency, but I ended up being a project manager with no creative tasks at all while my designers got to do the cool stuff. That was completely unsatisfying, so I closed down my business and became a freelancer. Now I work for several agencies, companies, or organisations with new challenges every day. And I like it.

Can you imagine to take another job?

I could imagine to have taken another job in the first place because I have many other interests, but I really love what I do now, so I don’t intend to change my ways.

What do you do in 10 years?

Probably quite the same stuff I’m doing now – thinking up good communication strategies and writing good texts. In 25 years, I might wind up growing wine or breeding emus or something…