ELATE IS LOOKING FOR B2B TECH PR TALENT


Elate is landing some great new B2B tech PR wins, so we’re looking for candidates at the SAE / AM level to come on-board. Technology areas include: AI & machine learning; cloud database technology; payment fintech; marketing technology and software development.

We’re looking for a new joiner, someone that has proven experience in B2B tech PR. So, if you’re around the senior account executive or senior account manager level, looking to take that next step up, this could be you. You’ll have a few years PR agency experience, having worked on tech-related brands in the UK.

The role will include UK & Pan-Euro work, inc: strategic planning, messaging, media relations, industry analysts, content development, social media management, digital, client liaison – all sprinkled with a healthy dose of new biz activity. You will be organised, resourceful, media-savvy/connected and client-centric.

We’re looking to build a team of competent individuals, who are happy to work remotely and collaboratively.  The client base is growing, and consists of a great set of technology brands, that have compelling stories to tell, both in the UK and Europe.

To apply, just email us on: hello@elatecommunications.com with your up to date CV and a tight paragraph of why you’d be a good fit.

 

ELATE SECURES GREAT CLIENT WIN IN THE AI B2B TECH SPACE


We are delighted to say that we’ve been appointed to support the UK and European PR for H2O.ai, a leading Silicon Valley based AI technology software company. We’re excited to help the firm communicate the commercial benefits of a strategic AI and ML approach to digital transformation amongst enterprise European CIOs and business function heads.

Stay tuned for more new client wins!

 

How to Sprint Towards a Successful ‘PR / Comms’ Business Relationship


On my run this morning (boy it was Brass Monkey weather today!), I thought about sharing some tips on how to ensure a successful ongoing client / agency relationship.  There are always ups and downs in these arrangements, as it’s of course partly linked to personal chemistry, but here are some of my key points for new, and even the more established PR, comms & marketing professionals, and agencies, on how to keep things positive and mutually successful for 2020.  

Plant Solid Foundations:

Providing upfront clarity is important.  Getting a clear brief, ideally a written one, but a verbal one could work too, on what the business actually needs is key. Beyond providing the key elements of the PR/comms brief, being clear on why the business needs support and what the business goals are, is required.  Is it, for example, about customer acquisition, investment, executive profile, geographic expansion or more likely a combination of connected goals?  Be honest and upfront, to avoid nasty surprises down the line. 

Active Listening:

From the beginning, and throughout the relationship, it’s important that both parties listen, really listen, to each other.  This is not only about building trust, and demonstrating understanding, but will enable the agency team to acknowledge, capture and integrate those ‘golden nuggets’ in to the programme.  Otherwise, these ‘magical gems’ could remain hidden, unsaid or worse still, said but unheard.  Likewise, agency consultants are providing advice that should be well thought-through, so brands should listen carefully, and seriously consider the advice.

Keeping It Fresh:

After the honeymoon period is over, that’s when the real work and fun begins.  The ongoing programme, linked to a clear plan, concise messages and agreed measurables, kicks off in earnest, but is partly dependent on contact, content, collaboration, chemistry and creativity.   Frequent contact with local and global teams will help trigger thinking and ideas, so build that into the schedule.   Content is still king, so ensure that there is a plan and process of identifying and building the smartest content from the most eager executives.  Collaboration with the broader team is key, as this will often inspire and spark ideas, but be frank about what will work in your region.  Chemistry and creativity are big issues, so more may follow here, but separately…

Marathon Not A Sprint:    

Linking ‘rather clumsily’ to my morning run, both sides desire a long term business relationship that is mutually beneficial.  Both honesty and realism are key, from the outset.  When it works well, it’s great, and we’ve all witnessed it work well, and indeed less well.   However, don’t shy away from contentious areas such as budget, mission creep, message challenges, KPIs, choice of agency partners or less than enthusiastic spokespeople / executives, as this all can be addressed.   

If we all collectively strive to move in this direction, this will help set us all up for a sustainable and successful long term and valuable Communications relationship.  Jog on!This is a work in progress for everybody, even us, but it has served us as a good directional guide.  

FOUR TIPS TO GIVING A QUALITY PR BRIEF


A quality PR brief is your way to finding the right agency partner.  A considered approach, tailored to your needs, will help you to assess if the agencies can demonstrate an ability to support your business goals. Here are our four tips for communications professionals to keep in mind when creating that perfect brief:

Business Goals:

Be clear on what you want in an agency partner.  Know how you want them to fit into your working life, and the goals that you want them to achieve.  You need to be clear on the company’s business objectives, whether this is a specific sales target, sign-ups to a service, or a quality audience to attend an event. Aim to pick out at least three business objectives, that will determine the communication objectives, and ultimately the PR programme.

Know your PR Objectives:

Once you’ve laid out the business objectives, you need to overlay your PR objectives, and outline what the agency will need to work towards and be measured by. We suggest including at least three key messages that a PR campaign should cover.  This helps the PR agencies streamline thinking around your messages, and the programme.  The objectives should ideally be SMART (specific, measurable, agreed, realistic & timed). If you don’t know your messages, then this will need work. Ensure that different stakeholders across the business, and across regions, are aligned on objectives, to save confusion down the line.

Measures of Success (KPIs):

Your potential agency partners need to know what campaign success looks like, which should align back to your business and PR objectives.  You’ll also need to know what you want your budget to achieve. Outlining clear and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) allows the interested agencies to know what they should strive for to meet the objectives.  There are industry best practice measurement approaches to consider here too, but well defined KPIs will eliminate poor fit agencies, and save time for you and them.

Budget Clarity:

The best briefs won’t go down the route of asking what the agencies can come up with, with a blank sheet of paper.  To understand agency thinking, consider giving them an additional ‘project brief’ to test ideas.  But, for the core brief, provide a full understanding (or at least a range) of the budget available, which will allow them to create the right sized campaign plan, linked to the budget available.  This will give you a clearer idea of what can be delivered with the resources available on a level playing field. Budget clarity will also rule out some agencies, if the budget is deemed too small, or too large.

Best Fit Summary:

Investing the time to create a thoughtful, commercial-oriented brief that provides transparency about what your business is looking for in a communications partner is key.  This will help ensure that you see quality proposals and agencies, that are better aligned with business goals.  This is not an exact science, but will help allow you to select the most suitable PR partner, with the right strategy to positively drive your communications programme to the next level.

ELATE HITS FOUR YEARS OLD & UNVEILS NEW WEB SITE


Ok – so, a warning that this post is a little ‘self-puffy’, but here it goes anyway!   Elate Communications has now been in business for just over four years, and we’re ‘elated’ with the success to date.  But, the journey is just starting …

We’ve had the pleasure to work with a quality selection of start-ups, midmarket and blue-chip clients across many technology and B2B sectors, from across the world.  We also work with great staff, and partners, who will go beyond the ‘call of duty’ for our clients, and the business – and for that we are very grateful.

We’re pleased with the progress made to date, but even more energised about the future.  Yes, there will be some political and business uncertainty, amidst a fast-evolving communications landscape, but that’s not unique.  We are cautiously optimistic that the future will be positive, for us and our clients.

Not wanting to sound too much like a ‘happy-clappy’ 1970s Coke Ad, we’ll continue to enthusiastically help our clients – and staff – grow and prosper.  As we grow, we recognise, too, that feedback from our community is essential. Therefore, we’re open to feedback, suggestions and future partnerships.   So, feel free to ping us. Let us know what you really think.

We’ve also updated our web site (www.elatecommunications.com) and we welcome your thoughts. And, if you want to meet up to discuss communications, marketing, business, politics, sport or whatever, we look forward to it.

PUBLIC RELATIONS TO GROW IN IMPORTANCE


We had a great 2016, having delivered some impactful PR programmes for our clients. What’s more exciting for us, and the broader PR industry, is what’s in store this year. Here are our five views (and hopes) on how PR can further grow in importance.

Strategic PR Planning:

Businesses destined to stay ahead of the crowd will work with a strategic PR partner, and be increasingly open to a holistic PR approach. To achieve this, they should consider a partner that is not only robust on the execution, but is closely aligned with the business strategy.  Quick fixes & hits can work in the short-term, but having a strategic view will serve your brand better in the longer term.  The CIPR’s recent ‘State of the Profession’ report which indicated that 70% of agency practitioners now play some role in the business strategy, is a positive.

Messaging Refresh:

Many firms will need to look (or re-look) at how they describe their value proposition, the competitive point to their offer and how they identify and engage with audience-relevant issues. Especially in the B2B and technology world, jargon needs to be binned, as firms work hard to combat the ‘so-what’ factor.  Clearly articulating the vision, value and message for an increasingly time-poor audience will be crucial.

Content Marketing Evolution:

Research from The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) found that 66% of marketers expect to increase their budgets and the volume of content marketing in 2016. The winning firms need to get more interactive to appeal. Investigate more photos, video, slideshows, podcasts, infographics to complement the written word.  PR writing skills are not to be neglected, and this needs to be extended from articles, blogs and social media to other marketing disciplines.  PR pros should know the message, and how to write, to make a positive difference.

Better Measurement:

Businesses, quite rightly, want more measurable objectives across their marketing channels. Always a challenging question for PR firms, but we (clients & agencies) need to work together to agree what and how to measure.  The Amec framework (being developed further) is a good start, and enables both parties to plan, monitor and measure results against objectives. It considers all the stages and can show how your audience moves from awareness to interest, preference, action & advocacy.

Closer Partnerships:

This relates to even closer and more fruitful partnerships between brands and agencies (or multiple agencies) that truly understand each other’s goals and motivations. Real listening and empathy have a place here, and will go a long way to ensuring that objectives and thinking are aligned for mutual benefit.  Being polite, humble and kind also goes a long way, but that’s for another day…

Nothing rocket science here (we don’t think) but the challenge is for both parties to focus on the above during the year.

Have a productive and happy 2017!

Elate appointed to drive the UK PR for mobility leader, Kony


The PR challenge is focused on helping Kony to communicate the commercial benefits of an enterprise-led mobile strategy to UK CIOs, business function heads and the developer & designer communities. Analyst firm, Gartner, recently named Kony as a leader amongst mobile application development platform providers.

The UK programme will include messaging, media relations, analyst relations, event support and social media. Working closely with the US Corporate Comms and EMEA teams, Elate will bring on PR partners across EMEA, as appropriate.

Jean Kondo, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Kony Inc, said: “We were looking for a UK PR partner, which could help us build on our technology leadership, and extend our awareness and impact amongst key enterprise decision makers in the region. We found that ability and experience with Elate, and look forward to a productive partnership with them.”

Simon Glazer, MD at Elate Communications said: “This is a great new client win, and we are delighted to be working with such a marquee mobile technology brand within this high growth and exciting market.”

More client wins, news and insights on the way, so stay tuned.

Elate selected by energy technology pioneer, Tendril, to deliver its european PR programme


We could not be more excited about one of our newest clients, Tendril, a Colorado based Energy Services Management company.

Selected to support this disruptive firm with its European PR programme, our focus will be on helping Tendril build its profile amongst European energy utility firms. The challenge – which we’ve already started tackling – is to explain the value of Tendril’s cloud-based software platform, which is capable of delivering more personalised energy services to business and residential customers.

Our support is not limited to the UK, as we’re also spreading the word about Tendril and its game-changing offering to target audiences in France. For this programme, we’ll be hands on with messaging, media relations, analyst relations, event support and social media.

Brad Langley, Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications, Tendril said: “We were looking for a European PR partner, which could help us extend and localise our US leadership to the European market. Following a kick-off project, we found that the Elate team had the right strategic thinking, European contacts and executional know-how to take us to the next level. We are looking forward to continuing this productive partnership with them.”

Simon Glazer, MD at Elate Communications said: “This is a great new client win, and we are delighted to be working with such a recognised and innovative technology brand within this exciting and evolving market.”

More client wins, news and insights on the way, so stay tuned.

HOW MARKETING & PR NEEDS TO SUPPORT THE EVOLVING SALES FUNCTION


Progressive technology & B2B firms recognise that their prospective buyers are far more sophisticated than before.

They are assessing your digital footprint, before you’ve even met. Data from Forbes found that 78% of salespeople using social media to sell, out performed those who weren’t. This has big implications for marketing and PR teams, in supporting this evolving sales function. Smaller and forward thinking firms can have a distinct advantage over their larger competitors. Here are ‘some’ basic tips on how to maximise the potential.

Audience Focus:

Take time to consider who your audience really are and where they are likely to be, across the numerous social platforms. This takes some work, but it is important. Don’t be tempted to spread yourself too thinly across all channels, and be everywhere at once. Start small and do it right – then build from there.

Valuable Content:

The business narrative has moved from product benefits to value provided. Across your audience, do a little research to assess what they value, the market & competitive context and how your proposition can add value. Focus your messaging around how you solve business problems, not the speed of your widgets.

Take a Position:

Linked to the above, position yourself as an expert in your field or take on a more challenger or niche role. You should be creating new, content and highlighting new initiatives or thinking. Or take a different slant on an existing client problem.

Build relationships:

This is a tough one, but as in normal life, this takes time and effort. Find out what your customers want and where are their pain points. Be honest and try not to be ‘too marketing’. If you can’t help them, perhaps you know somebody that can? The greater the engagement, the better it will be for your brand and sales efforts.

Keep Track:

Once you’ve got the basics in place, you need to monitor progress and quantify it, as best you can. There are tools available, in assessing what this social activity is actually doing for the business from social metrics up to sales.

There are no sure-fire answers, but if you are not part of the right conversations, in the right places, your competitors no doubt will be. Get going and re-focus, to help your brand and sales grow.