Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
This report provides best practices and actionable insights into how to engage employees, consumers,
investors, regulators and media.
For more information on the event, including webcasts of the panel sessions,
visit www.newmediaacademicsummit.com/Summit09/agenda.asp.
Table of Contents
Industry and Brand Insights
From PR to Public Engagement by Richard Edelman..................................................................................... 2
The New Era in D.C.: A Discussion with Bob Shrum (D) and Tony Blankley (R).............................................. 7
Global Perspectives........................................................................................................................................ 8
What’s Next?................................................................................................................................................. 13
Academic Insights
Workshop: The Pros and Profs: Building the Future Communications Workforce...........................................14
2
The State of Media: “We don’t know all the best models yet. People who are
young, who have less to lose – I’m jealous of my stu-
Today and Tomorrow dents for that – they get to be the ones to reinvent what
we will have…I’m interested in celebrating that there’s
an enormous amount of experimentation going on in
Media is reinventing Itself content ideas. This means we’re going to have plenty of
Dan Gillmor good journalism in the future. The difficulty will be sorting
In the social media world, news travels far and fast.
Director, the trustworthy from the untrustworthy journalism.”
Knight Center
for Digital Media Case in point: the Mumbai terrorist attacks. This incident – Dan Gillmor
Entrepreneurship
and Kauffman
showed how social networking can be a vital newsgathering
Professor of Digital tool. At one stage, CNN saw five Twitter posts every second.
Media Entrepreneur-
ship, Arizona State
Reports on the coverage showed that the e-mails, cell Key takeaways:
University
phones and observer filings gave a much better picture of
what happened on the ground than expected. But the chal- • With the rise of social media and a
lenge remains how to separate the wheat from the chaff. major shift in media habits, traditional
journalism has changed forever.
Nick Wrenn of CNN said that journalists must make
Social media puts the burden on media
sense of all the “noise” to make sure that accuracy isn’t
companies to keep experimenting – while
sacrificed for speed. Media who want to be relevant in
a Twitter age will need to remodel themselves and see not sacrificing accuracy for speed – and on
social media as a complement to their media coverage, universities to keep up with new tools.
David Kirkpatrick
not as a threat.
Senior Editor, • An enormous amount of experimentation
Fortune
According to David Kirkpatrick, who is writing a book on is taking place and will lead to new, profit-
the social media giant, Facebook is becoming an influ- able business models and no shortage of
Nick Wrenn ential platform for consumers as well as media. In fact, good journalism in the future.
Nielsen data showed that time spent on Facebook in-
Vice President,
creased 700 percent in the U.S. between April 2008 and • The digital era demands more active media
International Digital
Services, CNN April 2009, and that every three of 10 people on the users, which presents an opportunity for
Internet in the world are using Facebook. academia to integrate social media more
into its curricula.
Alcoa, Inc. entered the social media realm when, for bud-
getary reasons, the company chose to conduct a meet-
ing via Webinar. The result was a much richer discussion
that has led to continuous dialogue among the top lead-
ers of the company. Now, Alcoa uses webcasts called
4
Advancing Reputation: So why would a company want to engage in social media?
Participation can help companies extend the reach of their
Every Organization is a campaigns and initiatives, and can even add a new dimen-
sion to customer service. It can provide a fresh platform
Media Company for launching new products, and for engaging employees
in new ways.
Mike Slaby
When Andy Heyward, the former CEO of CBS, said that
Chief Technology Finally, remember that it’s not the online metric that
Strategist, “every company is a media company,” he was acknowledg-
matters most. Understand how the online behaviors are
TomorrowVentures; ing a seismic change in the business and communications
formerly Chief triggering offline actions – that’s the real opportunity of
worlds. Companies no longer have to filter their content
Technology Officer, social media.
Obama for America; and messages through the media; they have the means to
Technology Director, create and distribute their own content – and potentially
Presidential “The gift of social media is that it’s all about telling your
to advance their own reputations – through the channels
Transition Team own story, which is an intensely personal thing. People
they choose. By this token, every company today is arguably
miss the opportunity with social media when they treat
a social media company, too.
it like a broadcast channel.”
As companies venture onto the social media stage, there – Mike Slaby
are a few best practices this panel suggested.
6
The New Era in D.C.: “The Internet is going to weaken parties in the same
way that television weakened parties in the earlier
A Discussion with years. . . Now that Obama has shown how you can
organize in the real world through digital communi-
Bob Shrum (D) cation, the function that a party provides, which is to
organize and get votes out, is reduced in value. We’ll
Bob Shrum
Political
and Tony Blankley (R) see more entrepreneurs in politics, less connected to
their parties.”
Consultant (D)
Tony Blankley and Bob Shrum discussed the evolution of – Tony Blankley
new media’s role in political campaigns, the potential for
digital communication to become a tool for persuasion “The digital revolution is one of the most interesting
and politics in Washington, and the changing political developments I’ve seen in the very long time I’ve been
landscape in D.C. in politics. It is more democratizing than any other tool in
the world because in some ways, it’s absolutely uncon-
trollable, and in other ways, it gives you more power to
Tony Blankley
Digital’s evolving role direct events than anything else we have.”
Political
Shrum asserted that the real revolution in digital began – Bob Shrum
Consultant (R)
during the 2004 presidential elections when we saw a
“democratization of fundraising through the Internet.” In
2008, the Obama campaign went a step further by using Key takeaways:
the Internet to raise funds and mobilize voters. Now, com-
panies, trade associations and organizations are following • Digital will continue to dominate the way we
suit; even political movements are all being organized on communicate; mass communication of the
the Internet. Looking ahead, digital media will transition 21st century will look archaic 10 to 15 years
Rob Rehg
from a communications tool to a persuasion tool. from now.
Moderator
• Digital communication – Facebook,
President, Edelman
Washington, D.C. Presidential communication Twitter, YouTube – has reduced the amount
of time that it takes to mount an opposition
The panelists disagreed on whether – with the many digi- campaign. However, on larger issues
tal and traditional media tools available to use – President (e.g., healthcare reform) a truly effective
Obama is overexposed as a communicator. Shrum said opposition campaign is still more involved
that “Obama has defied the old, conventional warnings and multifaceted.
about overexposure. The world has changed and people
want the immediacy of their leaders. Obama has sensed • The term “new media” is obsolete;
that...and as a result, he’s out there all the time.” How- digital communication is well-established
ever, Blankley cautioned that using the president as the and here to stay.
spokesperson on every issue is “an experiment that we
don’t know the result of” and stressed the importance of
having a deep well of communicators from which to draw.
8
Earl Whipple,
Senior Director,
Health: Using New Media said her organization learned important lessons along the
way. For example, maintaining a high level of transparency
Business
Communications
in a Regulated Industry with online audiences is critical to authenticity, yet doing
so means giving control of the community to the forum
and Digital Media,
(moms in this case), thus opening the gate to potential
AstraZeneca The health sector is no stranger to the digital revolution.
criticism. CHPA embraced its role as a participant in the
An estimated 115 million to 120 million people are look-
conversation as opposed to the director of it, resulting in a
ing online for health information, and 60 percent of them
highly successful online community.
change their approach to dealing with their health based
on information they learn online. This has companies and
There is much work to be done before the health industry
organizations such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & John-
finds its “groove” in engaging with key audiences online,
son and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association
but that won’t keep them from trying.
(CHPA) looking for ways to meet this online demand, while
also keeping legal and regulatory guidelines in mind.
“People are turning to information from people like
Marc Monseau
themselves because they don’t trust information from
Director of Corporate Consumers looking for information online often seek infor-
people like us [the pharmaceutical industry]. If anything,
Communications, mation from “people like themselves” because they may
Johnson & Johnson the ability to start to provide useful information can
see peers as more trustworthy than business or even gov-
really help to build that trust within the organization and
ernment sources. But the risk is that health information
provide the health information people need to make
from someone other than a medical professional could be
important decisions.”
inaccurate or misleading. As such, many in the industry
see a real opportunity to provide content to consumers. – Marc Monseau
But engaging online for the pharmaceutical industry is not
without its challenges.
Key takeaways:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working to
Virginia Cox
overhaul its direct-to-consumer communication guide- • There is a need for credible, authentic,
Senior Vice President,
Communications and
lines, which were written with consumer advertising in trustworthy health information online.
Strategic Initiatives, mind rather than social media. But until more evolved In the absence of credible information,
Consumer Healthcare regulations are in place, industry must determine how to people will settle for what they trust –
Products Association
engage online in a way that takes privacy and potential
(CHPA) and this may not always be accurate.
liability into consideration.
• Industry has a role to play to build real
relationships with consumers, provide
Healthy social media participation information that is both credible and
trustworthy, learn about consumers’
Regulation should not keep industry from participating,
needs, and then help to educate
said AstraZeneca’s Earl Whipple. “The questions need
regulators about the information
Laura Gordon
to be, ‘What are we jeopardizing by not engaging in this
space?’ and ‘How might patient health be at risk from the needs of consumers.
Moderator
proliferation of inaccurate or misleading information?’”
General Manager,
Health Policy
& Public Affairs, Johnson & Johnson’s Marc Monseau elaborated: “This
Edelman has created a mandate for us…to figure out a way to
Washington, D.C.
get online at the very least to correct any misinformation.
Beyond that, we are companies that have deep informa-
tion about specific disease states, and we are companies
of relationships. We have this opportunity to tap into the
information that we have and provide it to people who are
looking for health information online.”
10
NGOs: Advancing Issues Lessons for academia
According to Edelman’s 2009 Trust Barometer, NGOs are Academic curricula should incorporate what the most ap-
the most trusted institution globally – more so than busi- propriate social media tools to use are for specific tasks.
ness, media and government. This panel discussed what Some situations would benefit from a Twitter campaign,
NGOs are doing to build relationships with and engage while others require a dedicated blog. It is important for
Dan Morrison
stakeholders through social media. communicators in this new era to understand the differ-
Founder and Director,
1 Well
ences and learn how to apply these tools. Succeeding
in the social media realm will require not only technical
skills but also a deep passion for the mission and an
NGOs and social media: understanding of how traditional marketing vehicles can
A snapshot foster dialogue and drive action.
• Relinquishing message control: The most challenging “Social media is not always an obvious fit for us…let-
task for nonprofits is learning to let go of message ting go of control is not something that comes easily.”
control. But this is essential to shift from one-way
Kira Marchanese – Kira Marchanese
communications to open dialogue about a cause. The
Director of Online
Communications,
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is one organization
that is taking steps to release some control of its “We’re building a platform that will empower people
Environmental
Defense Fund established brand – including having its president to leverage new media tools to take our message
tweet. The organization is positioned well online – it out there…and then, engage in a dialogue with their
is accessible and consistently active on most online social network and start that conversation and drive
networks, and has gained modest success in mem- them to action.”
bership. However, what is most beneficial to the orga- – Dan Morrison
nization is seeing how conversations among thought
leaders spill over into the new media space, creating
an echoing impact.
Doug Ulman
Key takeaways:
President & CEO, • Embracing the social media era: Newer NGOs em-
The Lance brace social media from day one. This is the case • NGOs must learn to release control of
Armstrong
with 1Well, which mobilizes social networks to help their messages and allow for free dialogue.
Foundation
accomplish its international development projects.
• Social media allows organizations to be
It identifies partners in high-need communities for
“social venture capitalists” to engage directly in proj- transparent and see immediate results.
ects in which they believe.
• In the nonprofit space, it is no longer about
how many people the company has access
• Engaging – not e-mailing – constituents: The
marketing success of nonprofits typically has been to, but more about how many people it can
gauged by the size of its e-mail databases. Today, it empower to support its cause.
Peter Segall
is no longer about the numbers but the core audience
Moderator a group can empower. The Lance Armstrong Foun-
Managing Director, dation has adapted to these changes, allowing the
Edelman
Washington, D.C.
organization to find alternate ways to create a valu-
able campaign without wasting money and effort. For
example, the Foundation’s new media director held a
tutorial session to show its followers how to use Twitter
to supplement the cause of the Foundation.
12
What’s Next?
As social media changes at a rapid-fire pace, predict-
ing “what’s next” is challenging. In fact, according to the
panel, getting social media predictions right 30 percent of
Steve Rubel the time is a good achievement.
Director of Insights,
Edelman Digital Nevertheless, there were a few common themes and key
takeaways that emerged from the discussion and the
two-day Summit:
– Steve Rubel
14
Teaching Social Media: Additional related social
media skill sets include:
What Skills Do
Communicators Need? • Collaboration – harnessing the collective intelligence
of the Web, which grows in value with more user par-
Sree Sreenivasan ticipation.
During a roundtable lunch panel, professors of journal-
Dean of Student
Affairs and professor, ism, public relations and communications discussed the • Ethics – Model authentic, transparent and ethical
Columbia University’s need to teach students a “convergence of skill sets” in social media use.
Graduate School of
an increasingly fragmented, digital media world. They
Journalism
agreed that students must hone their skills in storytelling “Teach principles of social media, not tools.”
across media formats; learn critical thinking and news
– Karen Russell
literacy; and understand the strategies, not the tools, of
using social media.
The State of Media: Today and Tomorrow Insights from the U.S. Administration
about Engagement
Dan Gillmor, Arizona State University
David Kirkpatrick, Fortune Clay Johnson, Sunlight Labs (Sunlight Foundation);
Nick Wrenn, CNN formerly Blue State Digital
Jim VandeHei, Politico David Almacy, Edelman; formerly
Shelby Coffey, Newseum Director Internet Operations, The White House
Mike Krempasky, Edelman
Employee Engagement:
Encouraging New Conversations NGOs: Advancing Issues
Jack Bergen, Alcoa, Inc. Dan Morrison, 1Well
Susan Bishop, General Electric Kira Marchanese, Environmental Defense Fund
Jason Greenspan, McDonald’s US Doug Ulman, The Lance Armstrong Foundation
Gary Grates, Edelman Peter Segall, Edelman