It isn’t often that you get a client in USA Today with such a hot headline.  Even better is when you get your client in USA Today on the day when one of its chief competitors launches.  The best part really is that the Voce Orb Networks PR team secured a great column in the national news daily that is quite lengthy.

Congratulations Orb team, you make Voce look good!

In the rapidly growing space of interactive online communications, Voce has established itself as a thought leader in Digital Advocacy programs scoring clients including Yahoo! and Discovery Channel. In a market that is developing even faster than its participants can track, Voce is looking to have a major role in the dialogue by seeking out Silicon Valley’s foremost DA advocates and visionaries. To that end, it is with great pleasure that we announce the newest addition to the Voce family, Mr. Colin Crook, Supervisor.   

Tiffany: So, you’ve just finished your first week here at Voce…is it what you were expecting?

Colin: Mike Manuel decided to go on vacation my first two weeks so I’m left to my own devices a bit. Believe it. I am really looking forward to working with him in the DA world, and to be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect, but it’s been enjoyable. The people are great… very funny.

Tiffany: Tell me a little bit about your background and what brought you to Voce.

Colin: Well, I’ve worked in high-tech PR for several years.  I would say a few years, but it’s time to be honest with myself. It has been several. Most of that time was spent focusing on backroom enterprise technology, data center servers, storage and enterprise software, but about a year ago I began working with the non-profit organization the Mozilla Foundation, prior to the launch of Firefox, the organization’s open source web browser. 

I was heading-up PR for the project and we decided to do things a little differently reaching out to a diverse group - internet and open source enthusiasts, as well to tech, business, and consumer media. Our pitch focused on how stagnant the browser market had become and we helped leverage an already existing user community to assist in the day-to-day operations of PR.  The average internet user was frustrated by the onslaught of pop-ups and viruses Internet Explorer had succumbed to - we used various online advocacy means to help educate the public.

The program worked out pretty well and more than 1 million people downloaded the browser the first day that it was available.  Building on my Firefox experience I worked with some other really cool players in the open-source space like SpikeSource and company out of Orange County, CA called Medsphere.  Those experiences started showing me how important digital advocacy is becoming in corporate communications, particularly for emerging and new technologies trying to leverage existing user groups in the online world. Influence and education has so much more to do with what appears in The Wall Street Journal, although that’s still a big part of it.

As far as what brought me to Voce, it started with a conversation I had with Matt Podboy and later Mike Manuel. We started talking about our experiences around DA and I became interested in some of the things that Voce had done with online and viral marketing.  We stayed in touch, one thing led to another, and now here I am.

Tiffany: Do you see online communications taking precedence over ‘traditional PR’ in the coming years?

Colin: No, I don’t think that will happen.  It’s pretty clear that online communications is growing, and will continue to grow, but it’s just one tool that companies should use when developing a well rounded communications strategy. There are communities being formed online around products and companies daily and more and more people have an active voice. The influence and education an ‘average’ user has is growing quite strong. In fact, I don’t like the term “average” user. Something we’ll tackle another time…

Tiffany: Interesting.  How did you get excited about open source in the first place?

Colin: Out of personal frustration, actually.  I was at home one night trying to pay a couple of bills online and found myself getting irritated because I kept getting pop-up after pop-up.  I spent ten minutes just clicking the little “x” to close windows and realized that it was actually more time consuming for me to pay the bill online than it would have been to write a check and put it in the mail. 

I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but last season Dave Chappell did a great skit about how if the internet was a real place - like a mall - it would be awful to visit.  You’d have viruses flying at you, dirty old men offering things that could make a sailor blush and solicitors stopping you every time you walk a round a corner.  As silly as it sounds I could totally empathize.  This was when I was introduced to the Firefox browser and that was my introduction to open source software. A community of passionate, very smart people had built a better browser. It was more secure, more trustworthy, had a sleek design and great features. After you get into it, and convert to an open source enthusiast, you realize the ‘traditional’ software model is becoming commoditized, with a couple of big companies dictating consumer experience. We all have our opinions of course. To me, this really means companies will have to adjust to what their customers want, and a lot will want the benefits of open source software, so companies will have to adhere.

Tiffany: If you had to pick one thing, what are you most looking forward to professionally in the coming year?

Colin: I think helping to show companies that wouldn’t necessarily consider digital advocacy as a means of influencing new groups of people, educating existing customers and even releasing news into the market, that it’s a viable thing. Something they need to take advantage of and embrace.

Tiffany: Can you give me one big PR prediction for the second half of 2005?

Colin: Sure, Matt Podboy breaks the record for number of times in a month the phrase ‘I came here to do two things, drink some beer and kick some ass. And I’m almost out of beer,’ is uttered. (record is 14 set by Steve Kerns of BitePR, in late 2002)

Tiffany: Enough about work.  What are your interests outside the office -  is there anything in particular that you like to do for fun?

Colin: I manage to keep myself pretty busy and get outside as much as I can. I coach a high school basketball team in addition to my work here at Voce. I am the assistant varsity coach at Terra Nova High School in Pacifica. I’ve been in the program for three years now and we should have a solid team this year. We return all five starters so if it goes sour, it’s obviously the coaching.

I also play softball with a bunch of friends every Tuesday night and basketball on Wednesdays - we call ourselves Dr. Handsome and the Ugly Finders and the Starship Troopers, respectively.  I recently moved to San Francisco and have been having a great time getting better acquainted with the city.  Basically, I take off more days than I’m allotted, travel a ton and explore the California coast as much as possible.

Tiffany: Any big plans for the summer?

Colin: Well I just got back from New Orleans for a friend’s bachelor party. Great time. I recommend going on an air boat swamp tour next time you’re there. Will be in Detroit for a wedding in August (my 92^nd this summer) and am going to take a trip with my Pop back to Pittsburgh, where his father grew up. We’re going to go to a few Pirates games, check out the old homestead, that kind of thing. Should be a lot of fun.

AlwaysOn assembled what it calls the Open 100 — a list of who it considers to be the top 100 bloggers (broken out by pioneers, trendsetters, practitioners, toolsmiths, and enablers.) Congratulations to Voce’s Mike Manuel with his honorable mention for “Media Guerrillla“.

A quote from the listing says it best:

—”These pioneers, and the many others who followed, realize that open media isn’t simply about blogs; it’s about empowering people to find each other and interact using the connective power of the internet. The Open Media Revolution has always been (and will continue to be) about how to openly share information, collaborate, socialize, and join forces to make this world a better place.”

Voce is happy to be a part of the Revolution with our Digital Advocacy work with Yahoo!, Discovery Channel, JotSpot, and other clients.

-John Welton

Well not exactly, but sometimes when trying to get your message out you have to get your hands a little dirty. (Do a little guerrilla marketing if you will…) Recently a few members from Voce spent a weekend in L.A. to help promote the Discovery Channel’s Greatest American TV Series.  The program allowed Americans to vote via the internet and telephone and select their choice for the greatest American of all time.  On Sunday, June 26, it was announced that the American public selected Ronald Reagan!

Having initiated a ground-up launch of the program with an aggressive Digital Advocacy program including creating GreatestAmericanblog.com, Voce took things one step further by hitting the streets handing out gift bags, stickers (a big hit with the kids) and magnets in an effort to encourage people to vote and submit blog comments.

We knew going into it that we were not marketing to the mass-consumer in a vacuum, so we took every opportunity we could to also take people aside and explain the Greatest American program, so that they would remember more than our cute trinkets. To heighten awareness at several consumer-friendly locations, we “installed” celebrity look-a-likes to make sure that we drew as much attention as possible to the promotional campaign.

All in all, it was a real success but a true reminder this is a competitive world - people are inundated with literally thousands of marketing messages every day. Getting their attention is a challenge enough, but getting them to remember why you got their attention is the ultimate challenge.

- Ben Hohmann

Some of our industry’s largest firms have been reticent to acquire or merge in recent years. I can think of only one major deal in the last few years — and that was the surprising and still confounding acquisition between Next Fifteen and Applied Communications. The recent Next Fifteen acquisition of OutCast speaks volumes. It demonstrates that targeted specialist firms are doing very well in this emerging market and that these specialist firms are forcing the global agencies to take a long look.

We are one of those specialists and we are pleased to see OutCast find a successful suitor. I see this as a validation of our model — managed growth, long-term client relationships, great brand representation and talent on staff. Next Fifteen made a smart move here. All credit to that management team for recognizing OutCast’s value.

OutCast will join Applied and be a part of one of the fastest growing PR conglomerates in the world — Next Fifteen. And OutCast received a pretty good deal given Applied’s asking price a few years back.

For kicks, let’s evaluate the most significant technology PR agency acquisitions during the boom and compare it with the most recent deals. And don’t even get me started on the complexities of the payouts. The formula created to take the entire acquisition net is based on profit margins, which are often impossible to reach when considering the employee turnover rates and ability to staff the clients after the integration of the two companies.

Andy Cunningham sold her firm to Incepta for £49m in 2000 (about US $48M). The dollar was a "bit" stronger in 2000. (If Cunningham were sold today at that same price £49m = US $89M.)

Pam Alexander sold her firm to Ogilvy in 1998 for an undisclosed amount (industry rumor is approximately $25M dollars).

Applied Communications sold for what it publicly stated was $1.5M. This was a firm approximately the same size as OutCast when it was acquired.

And today, OutCast for $13M.

What a difference a few years makes. Is it a trend up? I think so.

But a more interesting trend is the increasingly blind eye companies are taking toward conflict issues. When I worked at Shandwick International and we represented Compaq, it was hard to find any company under our portfolio that sold servers, storage or computers. Frankly, for as good as that account was to Miller/Shandwick and then Shandwick International, it was tough to find business that did not compete.

But now, firms are back to using that infamous “internal firewall" language and companies are buying it. Next Fifteen owns several brands of PR firms. They also have Sun, IBM, Dell and EMC under a single company representation. Three of the largest server companies in the world are all hand-in-hand under one PR firm. This is very surprising, especially if you get a chance to talk with folks within those companies. They view their market and competitors as in the midst of a death match. But they amazingly don’t see a conflict at all with their PR representation.

To illustrate the point for the PR firm — each PR brand is run by a different set of executives. They use a separate email system and they are essentially separate firms. But they do all share the same CEO and the same parent company. They all share the same CFO at the top of that firm. Just when and where does the line get crossed?

It is not unethical at all and I am not saying that this is a problem. I just find it fascinating.

For me, this is great news. Consolidation is a fundamental piece of a thriving market.

Those on the market for purchase, the price has been set at $13M for a technology firm with just over 50 people. Those who are settled in to continue to offer a specialized focus for clients, the market just shrunk by one. Congratulations to OutCast and Next Fifteen and good luck in the future.

- Richard Cline

This week, Voce celebrated its 6th anniversary at Buca Di Beppo in Palo Alto. Co-founder, Matthew Podboy summed it up nicely in his Active Voice post saying:

“When you work with people who are special, who you respect and care about, who don’t mind spending time with them. You wish the night could go on a few more hours.”

It was an opportunity for everyone to catch up and even for some to get to know one another (Ryan Lack chose June 15, 2005 - Voce’s Birthday - as his first day on the job).

President Richard Cline, gives the speech of a lifetime…

There were laughs…

There was food!

In PR Week’s June 13 issue, the NetApp PR team and the Voce team get respect for PR domination in an industry full of heavyweights often several times their size. NetApp once an “underdog” in the data storage market is no more.  NetApp’s CEO a strong supporter of PR sums it up well:

Quote from PR Week:

"PR has been our primary mechanism to get visibility in the marketplace," says CEO Dan Warmenhoven. "It’s very important to getting our name out there and educating the market to who we are and what we do. It’s much more credible than advertising. It carries more weight in the customer’s mind than us blowing our own horn."

The success of the program is a demonstration of how powerful PR can be - especially with strong support from the CEO who clearly sees value in the program.  Congratulations to the extended NetApp PR team for a job well done. 

-Voce

Voce is proud to say that our very own Mike Manuel’s blog named Media Guerrilla has received MarketingSherpa’s “Best PR Topic Blog” as part of the 10 Best Blogs for 2005 award.

Award highlight: “Even if you’re not into PR, definitely check out Mike Manuel’s Media Guerrilla Blog to see one of our fave Blogger self-photos. If you’re going to post a photo of yourself on your Blog — which is a great idea — this is one to be inspired by. Also, the writing and hotlinks rock. Mike deserved this award win.”

-John Welton

If you’ve been following the news at all lately you’ve likely seen the coverage of not one, but many data loss scandals recently.  I am always intrigued by how companies respond in these situations and their timelines for divulging information.  Needless to say, it’s moments like this when I am thankful that this is someone else’s problem. 

After reading the statement that Citigroup distributed publicly, it’s nice to see that they are not trying to shrug off blame.

In fact, I saw a great quote from a CitiFinancial spokesperson saying: “Clearly we regret that this happened with our customers. We’re trying to be upfront — to communicate and to talk about what the issues are.” (Someone clearly knows PR 101)

I remember reading in BusinessWeek how Iron Mountain commented on the Time Warner issue saying: "human error — it happens". I am not sure if that assuaged customers 100 percent but I could be wrong.

Regardless of the communication “exposure” details, the issue has been raised and consumer privacy laws similar to what has been discussed in California are taking center stage.

What a good time to be a storage company not promoting tape backup.

-John Welton

Voce’s very own Matthew Podboy will be speaking this week in Las Vegas at Ragan’s 14th Annual Corporate Communicators Conference, June 8-10, 2005 at Caesars Palace. Podboy’s session, “How Wikis Are Revolutionizing The Way Employees Communicate Online,” on June 9^th at 11:30 a.m. will include his views on communications consulting in the world of Digital Advocacy including highlights on blogging and new media influencers. 

Having worked closely with clients like Yahoo!, JotSpot, Peerflix and others, Podboy will bring his “in-the-trenches” experience to the dialogue.  It’s no secret that one of the biggest factors altering the media landscape and driving communications professionals is the rapidly growing influence of near-instantaneous communications. Podboy and the folks at Ragan plan to see where this is all headed. If you can’t make it there in-person you can read an event perspective on Voce Nation later. 

-Voce Marketing