London Technology Public Relations agency | Social Media Strategy | B2B PR | Chameleon PR

My bet is most of this chatter is PR practitioners talking about social media, online PR or digital PR and the impact on PR agencies and their clients.

But do we really understand why social media communications should be an integral part of a marketing campaign, why is digital so important and where’s it all come from anyway?

To help out our clients (and other PRs) we’ve put together a potted history of all things digital, some reasons why marketing programmes should integrate digital PR and what you should think about when developing a digital marketing strategy.

It’s really one view of the explosion of digital technologies and in no way is an exhaustive guide of everything that has happened in the last 30 years. It’s meant as a rough guide, giving examples and strategies so that when asked by the boss “what is digital and shouldn’t we be doing something about it…?” you’ll have an understanding and an answer.

If anyone has any feedback on the guide or wants to share what early taped computer games they played, let us know…

Along with the likes of ‘leverage’ and ‘outreach,’ I hate ‘strategy’. It’s a dirty word that people often hide behind. It’s a word that protects the jobs of senior PR staff, who no longer do ‘real PR’, but just saunter out their office when a good brand is in the meeting room. Strategy, you see, is expensive, and clever, and only for the crispest of suits.

Except, of course, that it isn’t. It’s essential, especially if all the hard PR work is to culminate in something worthwhile; a genuine shift in how people perceive a company. It’s logical, and you need market insight. It might even involve measuring exactly how a brand is perceived now, and some work to envisage how the company wants to be seen in the future. But it’s not a science to remain the exclusive domain of those who still lunch.

It’s about knowing where you are, where you want to be, and how to make the journey between those two places. It requires some thinking, but it’s far from mystical. Without some thought up front, all the PR tactics in the world – no matter how successfully delivered – may be rendered useless. Now that would be a waste of time and money.

Chameleon and Komodo work with Innovation Norway and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in the UK to promote Norwegian tourism, business and culture.

As part of this work, I recently accompanied a group of UK travel journalists on a trip to Fjord Norway, an area on the western coast of the country.

Only an hour and a half from London, the fjord region is an area of breathtaking and majestic scenery. Our visit began in Avaldsnes where we saw the river crossing from which Norway (the way to the North) derives its name, and where the first King of Norway united the country to win the hand of a fair maiden. Clearly, chocolates and flowers just don’t do it for some people.

 Subsequent days were spent in amazement at stunning views, homely hospitality, Viking villages and hotels with their own historic tales to tell. For example, one where the composer Edvard Grieg had a cabin to focus on his work and where Queen Sonja of Norway goes for winter sports breaks, another where Kaiser Wilhelm is said to have conducted a long running affair.

On a visit to one of the villages along the fjords, I noticed that all the houses in the area were flying their Norwegian flags at half mast. I asked our guide if there had been a national disaster or if a dignitary in Oslo had died. Our guide explained that a man from the area had died recently and, as his funeral was taking place that day, the community had half-masted its flags out of respect and support for his family. I was touched by this gesture of community solidarity, particularly as we rarely see the Union Jack or St George’s Cross in the UK.  

Our visit to Norway ended with two days in Bergen, Norway’s second largest city, Newcastle’s twin town and a former Hanseatic League port. The city skilfully blends the wooden houses and narrow cobbled streets of the old town with modern attractions. For example, a quick ride in a cable car takes you up a mountain and opens up panoramic vistas across the city.

Five days was not enough to do justice to such an extraordinary country and its blend of the old and new, natural and hi-tech. Why the Vikings ever left there is beyond me.

Media coverage so far has included Travel Weekly and the Bath Chronicle.