Westmark Information in English

A Lovely Christmas and an Exiting New Year to all our Friends!

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 08:38:00 GMT

Thanks for this year! Now we will decorate the Christmas tree, cool the champagne and prepare for 2013.

It has become a tradition to give a gift to charity instead of Christmas presents. This year we support The Swedish Cancer Society (www.cancerfonden.se/sv/Information-in-English/) - an independent non-profit organisation supporting cancer research projects. Since the start in 1951, the organisation has raised five billion Swedish crowns.

Contribute to the research too if you want to.

The Abstract Noun Disease

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:04:00 GMT

Technology trends come and go - and using technical jargon is tempting in order to show that you are on the edge of things. But the PR and communication industry has a responsibility to stay awake and don't get caught with the Abstract Noun Disease.

We are so eager to take on any new emerging technology trend that we often miss what the story really is about. The abstractions become balloons drifting away from the audience.

Take Big Data for example, an area to watch 2012 according to industry analysts. The term itself attempts to pinpoint that we are dealing with very large volumes of data. But it can be interpreted in many other ways.

During the spring of 2012, we did a Big Data survey for a client among large organizations in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. The result clearly showed that many did not fully understand Big Data and the potential of including variable data from external and web based sources. And "analysis" meant full decision support for some - and printing ordinary reports for others.

As within many other professions, concrete nouns are replaced by more abstract nouns in the tech industry. When talking to colleagues with the same knowledge set, that works well. But when communicating more broadly, you risk loosing or confusing the audience entirely.

It is tempting to embrace new trends. Most of us remember the IP hysteria at the end of the last century. The term "IP" in a press release indicated that the company knew what they were talking about. And that the then prevailing stock value should be increased even more...

The challenge for PR and communication professionals is - as always - to take the out-side-in-perspective. To clarify and exemplify what you are talking about. And to vaccinate the stream of new PR and communication colleagues from the Abstract Noun Disease.

Mikael Westmark
CEO of Westmark Information

The influence game: 5th annual journalism study reveals how news is sourced and managed around the world

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 14:57:00 GMT

We are very excited to reveal the findings of our 5th annual Oriella Digital Journalism Study today. This year’s study marks more clearly than ever the deepening penetration of digital and social media into all areas of news gathering and reporting. And thanks to recent growth in our network in Asia-Pacific, this year we provide a truly global perspective spanning both emerging and mature markets.

The study was compiled in April and May 2012 using an online survey of 613 journalists in 16 countries from broadcast, national, lifestyle, regional and trade media and blogs in the Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Thailand, Vietnam, United Kingdom and the United States.

PR and marketing of new safety service

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:53:00 GMT

The entrepreneurial company Geomeer has selected us and the advertising agency Rodolfo for a new communications program. Geomeer has developed a safety service that use the social network as an alarm central and is now preparing for an increased reach to completely new target groups in Sweden.

We will manage PR and media contacts - and Rodolfo will develop a campaign concept focusing on digital channels.

Geomeer is privately owned and among the owners is Gustaf Brandberg who also is a board member of Secure Vending Sweden and the gaming company Starbreeze.

New web by the New York design team

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:50:00 GMT

Oriella PR Network has just launched a new web that you should check out. The new site has been developed by the design team in New York at the US agency Horn Group – one of founders of Oriella.

At www.oriellaprnetwork.com you will find client references, agency presentations and a yearly summary of our journalist survey "Oriella Digital Journalism Study".

For all technology freaks: The site is made with the open source CMS system Drupal and all inforation is cloud based to make it easy to develop and maintain.

A Peaceful Christmas and an Inspiring New Year to all our Friends!

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:00:00 GMT

Thanks for 2011! It’s soon time to summarize the past year and look forward to a new one after a short but much needed break.

We continue our tradition not to give any Christmas presents. This year we instead support the Vi Agroforestry Programme (www.viskogen.se/English) - a Swedish Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that runs six projects around Lake Victoria in Africa.

You can plant a tree too if you want to!

Oriella Expands Global Reach with New Partners in Russia and New Zealand

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:36:00 GMT

We’re pleased to announce that Oriella has added two new agency partners – Botica Butler Raudon Public Relations in Auckland, New Zealand, and Buman Media in Moscow, Russia – to our global agency alliance.

Both Botica Butler Raudon Public Relations and Buman Media are independently-owned firms with senior counselors, known for their expertise and quality of service, as well as their strength in business and technology communications.

Oriella is going into its fifth year and by welcoming Botica and Buman Media into the network we’re continuing to bring together the world’s best independent PR agencies.

Click here to read an interview with Buman Media about current affairs PR trends in Russia.

Video interview: Horn Group’s Sabrina Horn Sits Down with Brands2Life Co-founder Giles Fraser

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:00:00 GMT

On a recent trip to visit long-time partner Brands2Life in London, Horn Group’s president and CEO Sabrina Horn caught up with Brands2Life co-founder Giles Fraser.

Brands2Life and Horn Group co-founded Oriella five years ago in 2006. They talked about shared clients, business, technology and PR trends in the US and the UK.

Useful tools and apps

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 11:29:00 GMT

It's summer and time for some relaxation - and to review all the tips on programs and apps that came in during the spring. We want to take the opportunity to share some of our favourites to work smarter and more effective.

Dropbox

A web based storage service where you can share files and documents with others - and always reach the information from your computer, mobile or tablet. Free up to 2 GB per user. Easier to use than ordinary server solutions since the documents are stored in normal folders on the computer and the synchronization is done automatically.

Evernote

One step towards the paperless office? Evernote is an app to keep track of your notes and available for e.g. Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android. Many smart functions such as send e-mails directly to the notebook, store sound recordings, quickly take snapshots of a web page and take pictures. And everything (including the photos) is then searchable in Evernote.

Wunderlist

An easy but smart to-do-list with several list views, priorities and reminders. Available for most platforms. Also possible to share lists so that several people can add new activities - and tick them off when they are done.

Do you have any other good tips?

Have a great summer!

Social media in France

Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:08:00 GMT

Companies need to adapt their communications plans as they expand to different countries. Though the world is becoming ever smaller and inter-connected, differences in cultural and business practices still abound.

France, and Paris in particular, has a thriving start-up scene with a lively entrepreneurial community. But there are major differences between the Parisian and the Silicon Valley start-up communities.

Our partner Ballou PR in Paris has put together some reflections and advices to businesses and entrepreneurs with expansion in mind.

Click here to read the full article on the Oriella blog.