5 Reasons Why B2B Marketers are Talking about ABM
Account Based Marketing (ABM) has slowly become an increasingly important part of a B2B Marketers strategy. As the latest “shiny” marketing tactic, ABM allows you to focus on opening the doors in your targeted companies while minimizing marketing expenses.
Our clients are increasingly asking about ABM, so we’ve put together 5 reasons why all B2B marketers should be thinking about ABM:
Budget is Spent on the Audience that Matters
The main reason for adopting ABM is to focus the marketing spend on the most important prospects and customers. Unlike trade media, SEO or most conventional marketing tactics, the money spent on content distribution is allocated specifically to key decision makers in specific accounts. By adopting ABM, marketers no longer need to worry about whether there is a proportion of their budget that is being wasted.
Return on Investment Increases
As ABM campaigns feature such a focus on targeted accounts, marketers generally find that return on investment increases dramatically. In fact, 84% of businesses have said that ABM delivers higher ROI than other marketing strategies (Forbes), making ABM a compelling choice.
ABM Uses Familiar Tactics
Although it’s a new approach, ABM is based on tactics many marketers will be familiar with. These include content marketing, display advertising, paid social media and search engine marketing. Although marketers may not have in-depth knowledge of programmatic advertising, which forms a large component of any ABM campaign, modern platforms simplify the use of programmatic techniques.
ABM uses Existing Content
One of the most compelling reasons for adopting ABM, is that campaigns can normally be developed around existing content, making it quick, easy and cost-effective to adopt the tactics. Although the impact of the content can be enhanced with personalisation, a good marketing campaign will generate content that is highly relevant to the key personas being targeted by an ABM campaign.
ABM Brings Sales and Marketing Together
Perhaps the biggest benefit of ABM is as a vehicle to engender cooperation between the sales and marketing department. Campaigns are much more effective when the marketing team uses account insights from sales, while the marketing team are able to directly assist the sales team in achieving their goals. This level of cooperation not only ensures ABM campaigns are effective but can also benefit other marketing activities.
Hopefully, you can now see the great advantages ABM can bring your marketing strategy. Get in touch with us today on 020 8667 9660, and find out how we can help you deploy your ABM campaigns today!
How to create value by converging your OT/IT operations
I am increasingly being asked to write about the convergence between the worlds of OT and IT, this blog discusses this issue and asks how industrial automation companies can help themselves.
Operational Technology (OT) and Information Technology (IT) convergence has become an important next step for companies on the IoT journey. But many companies are still playing catch-up.
- OT refers to control and automation technologies which support operations – so shop floor equipment such as factory automation convey systems
- IT refers to computer systems based in finance, HR and sales - so payroll, office computing etc
Historically these activities have been separated because of security and compliance issues however manufacturing companies are now playing catch-up and being tasked with completely changing their business structures.
These changes are happening because of the following;
- The increased use of Microsoft technology with the adoption of databases to collect and analyse production and process data
- The adoption of Ethernet-based communication protocols at machine level
- The dispersal of web-based user interfaces
- The increased popularity of mobile solutions to access data and perform tasks requiring Wi-Fi networks at the factory floor level
Companies that still have separate departments for OT and IT have a huge challenge, but it’s not insurmountable. Making sure company goals are aligned and undergoing training programmes which bring OT and IT together to share different skillsets, will help to move these changes forward.
So, is this convergence a good thing or is it potentially dangerous? Opinion is split with some industry spokespeople suggesting this new business model is introducing significant new risks, many of which are catching organisations entirely unprepared. For example, nearly 90% of organisations have now experienced a security breach within their Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition and Industrial Control Systems (SCADA/ICS) architectures, with more than half of those breaches occurring in just the last 12 months! And even more alarming, most of those breaches have resulted in a high or critical impact on their business, from compromising their ability to meet compliance requirements, to decreased functionality and financial stability, and even affecting employee safety.
For those OT organisations responsible for critical infrastructure, any sort of compromise needs to be taken extremely seriously.
This evolution isn’t going away. Time will tell how many companies embrace the change and effectively merge these two vitally essential functions and how many will ignore it, perhaps at their peril.
The Rise of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in Manufacturing
From consumer to manufacturing, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are revolutionising the world today. VR is aiding manufacturers to digitally simulate the product or environment, while AR helps manufacturers to project digital products/ information into the real-world environment. Businesses are now planning their production and assembly processes out in full in a virtual world. In turn, this is used to speed up factory and plant commissioning and operation.
We are seeing big movement, especially in the high-tech industry sectors; but it will be interesting to see how the technology will pan out in small/ medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) later along the line. In this blog, we’ll discuss how VR and AR are impacting how we manufacture today.
Virtual Vs. Augment Reality
Virtual reality is currently booming in the consumer market and is easily distinguishable by the big VR headsets that come with it. Once you’ve put on the headset you have immersed yourself in a new digital environment. VR headsets incorporate both visual and audio simulation.
Whereas augmented reality is a slightly different concept that involves transferring a digital interface onto the real world. Augmented reality is more commonly associated with the Pokémon Go app or IKEA’s new feature that allows you to view your chosen sofa or wallpaper into your own home; projecting a digital animation in the real word.
It's clear to see that the industry is embracing VR and AR technologies as a way to display the full abilities of their systems. Last year, BEUMER group, a client of our sister agency Napier, used VR and AR technologies at their exhibition stand. The virtual reality allowed visitors to fully immerse themselves into a real-life example. This VR demonstrated the abilities of their system, from start to finish.
The team also set up an augmented reality that demonstrated the capabilities of BEUMER baggage systems. The augmented reality showcased what the future of technology-lead airports would look like. Read the full blog on the stand we had at the air exhibition show here
Design Development
Taking it back to the very beginning, VR and AR are supporting the development of products. We are now using VR and AR to optimise and refine designs from the very start; allowing us to review, adjust, and quickly modify design concepts and ideas before they even go into production. The tools provide capabilities to animate and visualise what is being designed, leading to virtual testing and analysis. With better technologies being utilised this early in the production process, we can expect greater products at the end.
Another benefit of using VR and AR in manufacturing is the virtual product simulations for new products in their development phase. Virtual product simulations are used to make it easy for anyone to understand the look and feel of upcoming products. Which means there is less of a need for everyone in the team to hold a technical background and understanding of complex 2D and 3D models and drawings. Which is an essential ability to have when looking for buy-in during the product development phase.
Full Virtual World of Production
We can begin to look at how Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are affecting the production as a whole rather than for a single product. VR and AR enable businesses to speed up their operations and plan beyond one product, allowing them to plan out their whole production and assembly process in unison in one virtual world. More practically, AR and VR are aiding organisations to maximise productivity by positioning automation lines, production cells, robots, and people.
Rehearsing and training staff is a big task and guess what… AR and VR can do it for you! Younger generations are increasingly preferring interactive based learning. With the adoption of augmented and virtual reality, these game-like style teaching tools becoming a new trend.
5 Content Creation Hurdles and How to Overcome Them
Whether you’re B2B or B2C we are all aware that creating content for blogs, website, social media, and downloadable content is important. But if it were easy we’d all be churning out content like there’s no tomorrow… and that’s not the case, is it? That’s why it’s important to take it back a step and think about some of the hurdles that are holding us back and how we can overcome these challenges.
We’ve all heard how content is king and you’re probably pretty bored of hearing it, but it really is a vital part of your marketing strategy. Here are some key content creation hurdles and how to overcome them.
1. Not Mixing It Up
Once a writer has found their comfort zone it can be easy for them to continue writing in the same way, and eventually produce content that doesn’t feel fresh or unique.
Sticking with what you have done before (with the same structure and topics because you think that if it worked before then it will work again) is not the right approach and main reason why there is so much repeat content out there. This strategy might work for a while but is doomed to fail eventually.
How to Overcome:
Start by creating a list of blog titles that are relevant for your industry and your audience, if you are stuck for ideas think about what your site needs to be ranking for, and blogs to answers the queries that your potential customers may have. Once you have an initial list, you can use tools such as Google Trends or the HubSpot Blog Ideas Generator to expand this list by finding related topics.
Be unique and different – try new methods/ styles before your competitors do. Read and share content by industry leaders, to give insight and spark ideas for future blog posts for your own company. Frequently reading high-quality content will support your own content generation.
2. Balancing Creativity and SEO
When writing blogs or website content for your site it’s always valuable to keep in mind search engine optimisation (SEO). However, when faced with creativity over SEO it can be difficult to get the right balance. SEO is crucial for people to be able to find your site, but a blog that’s just written for the sake of SEO is not one that people are going to want to read or be interested in.
How to Overcome:
The key here is to choose your blog topic and a focus keyword (based on your SEO) and use the keyword where appropriate, but always write with your readers in mind! This means that the content must be well written and inform the reader of an area of interest to them. Keyword stuffing is not an effective route to go down.
Syndicated content is another solution to overcome this challenge. Producing syndicated content on other authority sites provides you with a backlink that will increase your sites SEO authority. This will also in turn, drive more traffic to your website and raise awareness of your brand to visitors of the authority site. Just make sure that these sites are relevant to your industry to ensure that your providing readers with useful content.
3. Time is Money
We are in fact against time itself when it comes down to writing content, we all wish we could produce great quality blogs in less time, but it doesn’t work like that.
Whether you outsource or write your own content, time is money, and writing good content is not quick nor easy. Companies often find that there isn’t enough budget to spend time on blogging in replace of activities that are considered to be more beneficial to the company.
Insufficient resources are amongst one of the many problems content makers face, especially in agencies when you’re constantly balancing client deliverability’s and fitting in time for your own content writing.
How to Overcome:
Delegation is a good method for splitting up the workload and achieving more content without too heavily impacting one employee’s workload. Of course, every workplace structure will be different, but this should be trialled to help overcome time challenges. When there’s a team of employees with different expertise, it allows better quality content to be delivered, by delegating content topics to people with specific knowledge.
4. Rising Above with Competition
Companies are now being faced with an increasing amount of competition when writing about the same topics that have already been mentioned in the industry; especially if your company is working within a small niche. Which brings the question, how do you produce unique content that stands out?
How to Overcome:
Make sure for every piece of content you post, it’s the best it possibly can be. Do this by taking the time to properly choose an interesting topic that will resonate with your audience. You should research your topic first, understand that good content isn’t going to be lightning fast to produce, and most importantly get your content proofed to ensure it hits the mark and that there are no grammar mistakes. There is nothing that will damage your brands reputation more than mistakes in their content, and it happens all too frequently.
5. A New Generation of Sponsored Content
There’s been a big shift towards the pay-to-play marketing and organisations paying for their content to get in the search results. Which, to be frank, is getting in the way of unpaid content being noticed in the organic search results. Don’t fear as organic still lives on, but as the big social media players such as Facebook and LinkedIn gain more intelligence and segmentation options, maybe it’s about time we consider opting for a part organic and part paid content strategy.
How to Overcome it:
As I mentioned, keep going with the organic but I’m encouraging you to give paid a go. For best results, define a suitable budget and set specific demographics for targeting your content at the right people, get goals (gain web traffic, more followers on social) and see if it is worth it. Try a few different approaches and see how it goes!
I hope this blog has helped you find solutions for some challenges content marketers face and inspired you to keep writing as your business grows.
Top 10 Tips to Deliver A Powerful B2B Email Campaign
In our digitally developing world, there’s no doubt that emails are one of the most effective ways to help build relationships with our leads. Communication through email can gather vital data to help your team boost its marketing performance and return on investment (ROI).
Here are our top 10 tips to help develop, execute and maintain a powerful email campaign, which will resonate with your audience:
- Know your audience with the use of a simple form
Start by identifying who are you going to send your emails to. Promote a simple sign-up form on your website homepage, through your social media channels, and blogs to kick-start the growth of your list of contacts. Keep the form simple, gathering data such as name, email address, job title and how they found out about your company is a great starting point to get to know your audience.
It really is a big open door to success. Finding out this information will enable you to answer many questions including; Who are our customers? What are they interested in? What are their most urgent concerns? What content do they want to see from us?
Once your audience is identified you can create buyer personas to help you deliver focused content, which will guide your audience through the buyers’ journey.
- Personalisation isn’t just another buzzword
Did you know that according to Campaign Monitor, personalising your email campaigns increases open rates by 26%?
Personalise your emails with the use of a first name or company name and include tailored content that will resonate with their persona. Keep your tone natural though, you don’t want to scare them off!
Once someone has signed up to receive your content, it’s always great to welcome your new lead with a friendly email telling them what to expect now that they have subscribed. You may find it beneficial to ask them to add you to their contacts lists, so that your mail doesn’t stray into their spam folder- this will help improve your email deliverability.
- Design your email campaign to fit your brand
Keep the delivery name of your emails consistent, so your recipients recognise who is emailing them. It’s also important to ensure that the overall design of your email campaign is consistent, so you can achieve maximum engagement and set a clear path for your audience. A different colour or theme for each email won’t help your campaign stand out. You want them to remember your brand and staying consistent will help you stay top of mind.
- Get the best out of your subject line
Make the most of your subject line. This is the first moment your audience will engage with your company and where you can really make your emails powerful, affecting the decision of whether your audience decides to open your email or just delete it immediately. Give the email a punchy subject line, or something they can engage with straight away. This could include a fact or statement, a question, or a general insight into what the content will provide them with. Make your audience want to open your email for the right reasons, then give them the right content to match…
- Make your content easy to R E A D.
This may sound obvious, but we’ve all seen emails that look so cluttered and full of content that we don’t want to actively read it. It’s fair to say that there is no point investing time and effort into writing a great piece of content if you’re not going to deliver it effectively. Divide your content into chunks so it’s easy to read, include images to support what you’re saying, and make your intentions obvious. If you really want them to download your piece of content, then make your call to action clear!
There’s nothing worse than sending content out without a purpose, this will only annoy your audience. You should only be sending an email when you have something valuable to say or share, and if it will be of interest to your reader. Without doing so could take its toll on the quantity of unsubscribes and ultimately, your ROI.
- Automate your messaging
Aiming for that added powerful impact, but just not enough time in the day? Using automated workflows in a marketing automation platform such as HubSpot, will help you deliver the right message to the right people, at the right time. With automation in place, you will simply be able to create tailored emails to your audience’s engagement history. If they enjoyed your previous email on social media, why not follow up with another email encouraging them to download a useful social media guide? Taking the small steps to engage with your audience in a natural manner will make your campaign feel less predictable, making your audience more likely to see your brand in a positive light, leave them wanting to know more, and as a result, progress through the customer journey.
- Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3…
As your audience evolves, so should you.
Did you know that according to emailMonday around 47% of people use a mobile device to open their emails? By not optimising your emails to be mobile compatible, you could really be missing out on some exciting opportunities.
So before sending out an email to your contacts, make sure you conduct a variety of tests to ensure it will work on a broad range of devices. Software such as Email on Acid, MailChimp, Delivery Doctor, or HubSpot will test your emails to ensure they make it into your contacts inbox and through their spam filter. Testing will also ensure that your content appears as it should across various devices.
- Include Social Sharing icons
Including social sharing icons within your emails gives the recipient the option to carry on the conversation with one or more of their friends or colleagues. Regardless of the content or offer, this opportunity would help spread the word and allow more people to enjoy your content. You never know, social sharing could also bag you some additional subscribers.
- Accept unsubscribes and keep promoting to new leads
Although it’s not a great thought, we must accept that we can’t always please everyone and that we will receive unsubscribes. The latest GDPR laws stated we must give recipients the option to opt-out of receiving emails, and it’s better to have unsubscribes than emails that are marked as spam and affecting our campaign analysis. Having recipients that do not want to receive content anymore is only natural, their needs may have changed from when they first signed up. Look at it as a positive, you get to tidy up your database so you can focus on those who are still interested and left wanting to hear from you. Focus on your existing subscribers and keep promoting to try and gain additional subscribers.
- Analyse your results
By analysing your results, you will see just how well your email campaigns have performed. Metrics such as delivered rates, open rates and click through rates will help you identify just how well your emails are perceived by your audience. Over time you will be able to pull conclusions by comparing results, finding out which type of subject line works best for you, what time of day your audience opens emails the most, and what content they are most likely to download.
Yokogawa IA's Maaike Goinga - Marketing Expert Interview
As part of our Marketing expert series, our sister company Peter Bush Communications interviewed Maaike Goinga, Marketing Manager at Yokogawa IA. Similar to our previous interviews, PBC asked a variety of questions to learn more about the life of our latest marketing expert:
- What do you like to do in your spare time (hobbies)?
This year I became a Yoga teacher as it is my hobby and one of my greatest passions. Yoga also gives me the balance I need between my busy work life, and relaxing in my own time.
- What is your favourite book?
‘A Little Life’ by Hanya Yanagihara- a great story about friendship. I read it last year and it really stood out to me.
It’s about a group of friends and how their friendship grows, and it really highlights their respect for one another. The friends take different paths and careers in life, some more successful than others, but their friendship never dies. There is one person that is very vulnerable and never speaks his heart, but everyone is so touched by him. It’s a very fascinating book. I believe Melanie at Peter Bush Communications has also read it.
- What other career would you have chosen if you weren’t in marketing?
I don’t know if I would be in another career other than marketing. It is one of the many things I love, including art and history. Sometimes I dream of having a gallery of my own or even going back to studying. But then there is also Yoga; I could imagine myself having my own Yoga school.
- What do you think have been the biggest changes to B2B marketing in the past 3 years?
I do think the speed of everything has increased over the past few years. For example, the development in technology and how there is now far less patience to get copy/content out there in the market! The market is definitely transforming with the growth of the internet and use of techniques such as marketing automation. Sometimes it gets hard to keep up to date with all the latest information, especially social media, with all the different touchpoints and channels being developed.
- What do you think is the most effective and least effective method of marketing?
I think to be effective in marketing you must be consistent across all your touchpoints with customers and target audiences. Ultimately if you don’t bring consistency and authenticity your brand won’t be associated with how you want it to be, and you will not make a difference.
I also think in this vastly developing digital world, people think that all things digital are ‘the golden bullet’, when in fact I don’t believe that. I do think that digital activities should be linked with some element of face-to-face contact as well, which people now often forget or dismiss. If your business misses out on that human interaction, you are likely to hit those consequences and not achieve your goals.
- If there was one thing you could change about how agencies work with you, what would it be?
For me, I think it works well when we can come together face-to-face, so we can really make a mark. As I work outside of the UK, Yokogawa and Peter Bush Communications often talk over the phone and through email, and we can achieve plenty through those platforms, however, things crop up from time to time which can be forgotten, so it’s great to come together to make a bigger impact, although we cannot spend our lives travelling!
- Can you explain how you define and measure success for your campaigns?
Depending on the type of campaign, success can appear in different forms. If you have set your objectives clearly before the start of your campaign you can measure the behaviours and buying habits of your customers.
- If there was one wish you could make to improve your company's marketing activities, what would it be?
Being in this business is all about the people who I meet and work with. I would really like to see all our people at Yokogawa get a voice in our campaigns to make our professional company approach seem more human.
I believe having more of a human aura to the company to solve customers’ issues, would be appreciated by our customers. They would trust our company more as they know more about the people behind our company. That would be my ‘genie in a bottle’.
HARTING's Natasha Sephton-Pike - Marketing Expert Interview
Natasha Sephton-Pike, Regional Marketing Manager at HARTING is the latest marketer to take part in our marketing expert series. From Natasha's view on the biggest change to B2B Marketing in the past 3 years, to the hobbies she likes to do in her spare time, we asked Natasha a variety of questions to learn everything we could about our latest marketing expert:
- What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to go on walks with my dog, Raspberry Beret (yes, she is named after the Prince song). The muddier and wetter the better is her motto!
- What music do you like?
The dog’s name gave this away; I am huge fan of Prince. He was an artist I grew up listening to and I just fell in love with his songs, his clothes and his voice! His performances and lyrics just blow me away. He truly was one of a kind and paved the way for many other artists to come.
- What other career would you have chosen if you weren’t in marketing?
I would probably have worked in some form of caring capacity, either with the elderly or disabled adults. I enjoy caring for people and helping to enrich their lives, the elderly is a section of society that can often be overlooked and not heard, which is really quite sad. I try to support elderly people in my local community and getting involved with organisations such as Contact the Elderly are a great way to help.
- What do you think have been the biggest changes to B2B marketing in the past 3 years?
- Big data opportunities
- Social media
- Changing audience demographics – particularly in an environment marketing to engineers, the skills gap here presents a unique challenge for how we communicate across this wide split in age and experience.
- What do you think will be the biggest change in the way you approach your campaigns in the next 3 years?
Data driven marketing campaigns to support our customer journey - incorporating our historical learned data about our customers and their interactions with us with external market data to produce tailored material across multiple channels, delivered to the right people at the right time.
- What are your 3 biggest marketing challenges?
- Time to stop and think and celebrate – As marketers, we can often be stuck in the role of project planning and execution, always under time deadlines and running from one project to the next. We find it hard to stop and think ahead; think freely and creatively but also to celebrate our success.
- Evaluating “the latest marketing trend” – What could help us, what is noise? It can be difficult to decipher the value from the noise with new technologies, tools and methodologies developing all the time. As a busy marketing department, understanding and testing what can help you be more efficient and effective is a tricky challenge.
- Proving marketing value – Having systems and processes in place companywide that supports the journey to linking marketing campaigns and interactions with sales. The marketing department must own this ROI project but need support from all areas of the company who are customer facing to truly get a clear picture of the customer journey and how marketing plays it part.
- What do you think is the most effective and least effective marketing activity you, or your company, undertakes (in terms of ROI)?
It is difficult to say, all our activity supports the overall goal of achieving a positive ROI. Some channels we use are easier than others to measure KPIs against such as digital trade press advertising, email marketing and website performance. Other activities such as PR, printed trade press and to some extent exhibitions, can be harder to measure KPIs against. Recording which touchpoints our customers interact with along their journey is the most important ROI activity that we do, we can see the whole picture, not just a snapshot of the quick and easy KPIs we can measure.
- Can you explain how you define and measure success for your campaigns
For each campaign we have a series of goals and supporting KPIs to measure how well we have achieved our goal.
- If there was one wish you could make to improve your company's marketing activities, what would it be?
Greater customer and industry research to support a deeper understanding of our customers and to deliver improved tailored content.
Getting the Pitch Right…
An effective pitch email has a huge influence on whether you gain valuable coverage for your press release or not. Knowing how to pitch your press releases to the media is an art which can reap bountiful rewards. It is a skill which may take some time to develop but investing the effort can be a game changer for you and your business.
Building relationships and trust are key factors to gaining acknowledgment of your emails. However, there are other, quicker ways in which you can dictate how an editor will react to your press release.
Before you even start typing out your covering message, have you thought about; visual formatting, tone of voice, or even the quality of your content? If not, it’s time to change tactics.
Editors have very little time and receive dozens of press releases every day, so we should be respectful of this. Yours is just one waiting in a queue to be read and either snapped up or discarded. You have just a couple of seconds of their valuable time in which to convince them to run your story. Be concise, straightforward and to the point.
Therefore, it is essential that you do all you can to capture their attention and stand out from the crowd. If you have not done that by the time they finish reading the headline and the first few sentences, the likelihood is you have failed, and your release is with the others- in the delete basket.
Editors rarely read to the end of a press release – but they will if you pitch it properly in your email.
First of all, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the email something you would want to receive?
Think about it- is the email something you have thrown together in just a couple of minutes? Does it sound too much like a sales pitch? Your email copy is as important as the press release, take the opportunity to present your content in a polished and formatted way which really grasps the journalist’s interest.
- Have you addressed the intended recipient?
Be authentic. Personalising your emails with a contact name or magazine title can not only increase your email open rate, but also establish trust and good relationships for the future. Tailoring your email highlighting how your product fits with the publication, story or subject will show them value and will encourage them to read on and cover your story. You should also make sure that your news is relevant to each contact you send to in order to avoid spamming inboxes.
- Is the subject line compelling?
Did you know that 47% of people decide whether to open an email based on just the subject line alone? Highlight your company name and aim to capture their attention.
- Have you included a teaser of the press release in the main body copy?
Ultimately the journalist is looking for relevant and news worthy stories. Let them know what to expect prior to opening your attachment with an interesting short summary. Be honest, and be upfront with what you are asking for, do we want them to cover the press release? Would we like them to test a product sample? Do we want a briefing call? – this will help the journalist understand your expectations straight away.
- Are all of your attachments you wanted to include really attached?
Don’t forget to attach that supporting image, or even your press release! Forgetting to do so could seriously damage your reputation.
Finally, let the recipient read and digest the information you’ve just given them. Picking up the phone minutes or even seconds later and asking if they received your email will only cause irritation.
In summary, how you deliver your press releases is the make or break of your news. Take the opportunity to make your pitch the best it can be before you hit that almighty send button!
At Napier, we specialise in media relations and our long-standing relationships enable us to craft great pitches to increase your news coverage, whilst delivering your key messages. To read more tips about PR in Europe, take a look at our ‘Guide to Tech PR in Europe’.
#STEMspiration for all of us
We’re in March and the chances are that you’ve broken your resolutions already, as have I, my landlady, my boss and my cat. The number one New Year’s resolution according to Statista is to eat healthier, followed by getting more exercise, with spending less and saving more coming in at 3rd.
But what about if we tried a resolution that was a bit different? We’re all for kicking off a new trend. This includes not beating ourselves up about the fact we picked up a chocolate bar on January 3rd – let’s face it, it’s too cold to diet – and starting again when we’re feeling more inspired. Let’s call it the #resolutionrevamp.
But more than this, we think it’s about time we all took a leaf out of Ann Makosinki’s book. Who you may ask? Well this bright spark was just 15 when she invented the hollow flashlight. The idea came to her when a friend in the Phillipines explained she couldn’t do her homework due to no access to electricity. Her recommendation, directed at teens at the TEDxTeen conference, was to “Pursue whatever you want to do…anything you dream of is possible but you have to start and work on it even if it’s just 20 minutes a day.” Advice meant for adolescents or not, I think we could all apply this to our daily lives. Yes, twenty-first century life is busy but without time for creativity, innovation and learning, our world wouldn’t be anywhere near as technically advanced as it is now.
It’s imperative that the next generation get stuck in when it comes to STEM. Skills such as HTML coding, software engineering and robot programming are just some of the many sought after abilities that employees are already in need of, and the future seems set to develop this demand even further.
But what about the rest of us? An idea which is echoed by our blog in April 2015 “Corporate Creativity: The Must Have Of The Digital Age” is that you’re never too young to learn a new skill. Why not make your 2018 resolution to have mastered the art of website design using user-friendly platforms such as Wordpress? Or even better, try and invent something that will make waves in this digital era.
The moment we’ve been waiting for – our zest for PR is celebrated at the Petroleum Economist Awards
Never in my three and a half years at Armitage Communications have I experienced such a build-up of emotions in such a short time. Over the last three weeks, there’s been an underlying tension building. Will we, won’t we? It’s been pushed back slightly from the forefront of our minds as our client’s projects maintained front and centre stage, but all along the suspense was rising in the background. We’d learned of our nomination for Energy Consultancy of the Year (PR).
At the beginning of the month an email was circulated telling us the good news – Armitage Communications had been nominated by the Petroleum Economist to be independently judged by a panel of industry experts. Completely anonymised, our approach to marketing digitalisation to the oil and gas sector would be evaluated by judges from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES). The people that really know their stuff when it comes to energy, oil and gas.
We knew it would be a challenge to impress the experts but something told us we were in with a decent chance. Our strong engineering roots and capacity for thorough research means that all of our campaigns are based on accurate and useful information which will genuinely benefit the sector, such as how to meet new safety regulations and lower production costs. We decided it was worth shouting about the nomination, taking time to create an e-signature which encouraged our clients and suppliers to begin to root for us too.
We spread our news on our social media pages as well, using gifs to illustrate both our enthusiasm…
— Armitage Comms (@ArmitageComm) November 21, 2017
…and growing anxiety.
— Armitage Comms (@ArmitageComm) November 21, 2017
Before long the evening we’d all been waiting for had arrived. Suited and booted and glammed up to the nines, the Account Directors made the trip by taxi from our PR hub Mill House in Beddington, Croydon to One Great George Street in Westminster. Upon arrival the guests were treated to glasses of champagne before retiring to the Great Hall where a scrumptious feast of seared tuna with lime and ginger dressing, followed by braised lamb shank and a dessert of elderflower mousse, was served. Soft jazz music was performed on stage to quieten the nerves of the awaiting audience.
I waited restlessly at home for the news.
Around 9.45pm, Helen Robertson, Managing Editor for the Petroleum Economist took the stage to introduce the awards presenter of the night, Stephen Sackur. Presenter of HARDtalk on BBC World News, Stephen Sackur had just returned from Libya and cycled his way to the event in a black tie. “I am very committed to phasing out the combustion engine. Is that a terrible thing to say at a Petroleum Economist Awards Dinner?” he joked, breaking the ice.
As the awards began to be read out, the Account Directors were almost falling off the edge of their seats in anticipation. Ed couldn’t contain himself any longer and began eating all of the chocolate on the table to try and calm down.
My phone was silent for a few minutes as I stared at the blank screen.
Then the news broke…”Energy Consultancy of the Year (PR) goes to…Armitage Communications!” followed by loud applause and our exuberant team jumping up in excitement. David Armitage, Managing Director and Tim Haines, Account Director, took to the stage to receive the award – a proud moment for both men as they started the company together over thirty years ago.
Well done @ArmitageComm! Winners of Energy Consultancy of the Year (Public Relations)! #PEAwards2017pic.twitter.com/yQYSAGKIvq— Petroleum Economist (@PetroleumEcon) November 21, 2017
I saw the tweet posted by @PetroleumEcon shortly before I received the many texts from my colleagues and an image of the award itself. Screaming with joy, I was just as thrilled as if I had been there sitting at the table with the team. A great moment for us – a fantastic night for a company that has worked together closely, using its understanding of automation, instrumentation, electrical, control and telecommunications technologies to communicate and raise awareness of the benefits that these technologies can bring to the world.
In other words, we are champs.
It’s not often that we sing our own praises but I think in all fairness, we deserve to make the most of this one.
And our story doesn’t end there. We have also been nominated for Comms Team of the Year at the Energy Live Personality Awards. Taking place on the 7th December, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. ;)
Got a new technology which could transform the industry? To find out how we can help you get your message across to the people who matter, email info@abb-oilandgas.co.uk or tweet us at @ArmitageComm.
Our fave five tools for marketing digitalisation to the O&G industry
A world without oil is a world without transport, buildings, laptops, cosmetics, clothing, medication and more. Vitally important in our day-to-day lives, oil has become the most important source of energy since the mid-1950s. Yet prices fell dramatically in June 2014.
This poses a problem for the Oil & Gas (O&G) industry as a whole – with prices remaining so low, how do these companies maintain their competitiveness?
The answer is with increasing difficulty unless they embrace the new technologies which support better insights, quicker decision-making and greater efficiency within day-to-day operations. Such advanced technologies allow operators to manage performance remotely and will transform the productivity of oil and gas plants around the globe.
But just how many O&G companies are prepared to change? How many are willing to embrace digitalisation?
Solution providers are embracing the challenge of turning O&G companies from technology-shy to committed participants with our help. 30 years of experience serving some of the world’s biggest blue-chip companies have given us an in-depth understanding of a range of technologies from automation and robotics through to telecommunications. Our experience has also taught us the best ways to reach the right customers, those who are likely to benefit from those technologies the most.
This experience has led to a number of successfully executed campaigns for a leading O&G supplier over the years and, most recently, to our nomination for Energy Consultancy of the Year (2017) in the Petroleum Economist Awards, alongside PR giants Edelman and Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
As an expression of gratitude for this award nomination, we have decided to share with you our favourite five tools for marketing new technologies to the O&G sector:
1) Whitepapers: A whitepaper engages the audience due to its rich, substantive content which educates the reader about the challenges and how the client’s products can overcome them. This leads the customer to grasp an understanding of their need for the product which proves far more effective than a direct sell. Combining innovative ideas with thought leadership on issues which are highly relevant and timely resonates with the reader.
Tip: Whitepapers must be thoroughly researched and planned. Without taking the time to do this, whitepapers simply won’t be effective.
Our O&G whitepaper has been referred to as the ‘Bible’ on digitalisation for the industry. It received substantial downloads via our client’s website and through advertising in industry leading titles. Why? Because we spent time extensively interviewing and researching the subject with clients, their customers and industry experts. Readers need only turn to page three to find pull quotes from an O&G player and a specialist in digital technologies.
2) Animations: Compelling content tells a story. This may seem simplistic at first and a more appropriate tip for a journalist, but the same rules apply when marketing to businesses. Animations provide the easiest visual way of accomplishing this. They enable us to get the message across within the right context and, when scripted correctly, provide a thorough understanding of a product’s features and benefits. It’s also worth noting that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text (Source: Hubspot). Many people prefer the quick and easy method of absorbing information through video rather than words.
Tip: Write the script first and then decide the images that you want to use to promote that message.
Our animation maps the upstream oil and gas plant and the digital technologies which, applied to each area, enable plant managers to maximise production and uncover hidden profits. Shared across our client’s website and social media platforms, the animation has received a total of 23,065 views and 119 likes on YouTube.
3) Positioning documents: A positioning document communicates exactly how a client’s product fills a consumer need in a way that its competitors don’t. For example, our client needs to convince the oil and gas industry that their products and services are going to support the transition from industry 3.0 to industry 4.0.
Tip: Use persuasive techniques such as emotive language and personal pronouns as well as graphs, flowcharts and imagery to engage the reader.
The opening pages of a key positioning document we developed keep it simple. ‘Turning chaos…into clarity’ provides a strong juxtaposition of the industry’s potential before and after digitalisation. From ‘dumb data’ to ‘analytic intelligence’ and ‘growing complexity’ into ‘simplified processes’ the highly contrasting language positions our client as the leader of the pack.
4) Infographics: Sometimes new technologies and their applications need to be communicated in a visual way to explore the benefits which are found at each stage of the process over the coming months and years. In this way, customers gain an insight into the long term advantages and improvements of installing our client’s products and services within each area of the plant.
Tip: Where possible, use real-life success stories explaining the products in action at existing customers’ businesses.
An infographic we created, available in static and interactive form, maps the journey from the upstream oil and gas pollution plants through to the downstream petrochemical plants. Mapping the benefits of digitalisation at each stage using case studies from ‘lowering costs by up to 30%’ at a FPSO to the control of ‘1850km of Europe’s gas demand’ at a natural gas pipeline gives the prospective customer a more in-depth understanding and belief in the success of our client’s solutions.
5) Microsites: As an agency we also endeavour to understand the most complex topics affecting today’s oil and gas operators. For example, Functional Safety, whereby analysers and instruments perform demands which prevent hazards occurring, has often confused industry participants.
Tip: Express your expertise loud and clear to position the client as a thought-leader.
In order to ensure that operators understand the role that our client’s products play in maintaining process safety, we created a dedicated online resource. This microsite includes information about our client’s safety management and training services as well as many PDF downloads for guides explaining the many aspects of Functional Safety from safety requirement specifications (SRS) through to industry good practice. Encouraging prospective customers to visit this website as a reliable source of educational information, not only promotes a growth of trust in the brand, but increases the likelihood that it will be our client’s products that the operator chooses to purchase when the time is right for them.
Our fave five tools for marketing to the O&G industry can, in theory, be applied to any other business market. Executing a marketing strategy which uses in-depth industry analysis as a foundation for content is a sure-fire way to get products and services in the limelight. The next challenge is to decide what mixture of collateral to use. We believe our multi-channel approach, such as the promotion of whitepapers, positioning documents, animations, infographics and microsites, linked with aligned traditional advertising methods, is the only way to ensure that your prospects are reached at all levels.
To find out more about how we successfully market new technologies, simply drop us an email at info@abb-oilandgas.co.uk or tweet @ArmitageComm.
Redefining UK engineering: why UTCs and businesses must collaborate
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| Andy Osborn, Head of Engineering at UTC Central Bedfordshire |
Ask any kid what they’d like to do when they grow up and the chances are the response you’ll get will be astronaut, firefighter or popstar. Little do they know the full spectrum of career choices out there, specifically within the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) fields.
Thankfully, there are now colleges devoted to steering the younger generation towards more technical subjects. UTCs or University Technical Colleges provide 14-18 year olds with the knowledge and hands-on training they’ll need in today’s UK industry. But with little government funding, marketing budget and a desperate need for more support from local universities and businesses, are UTCs being fairly recognised for the difference that they’re making to filling the UK skills gap? And could the difference be even greater if there was more collaboration?
We interviewed Andy Osborn, Head of Engineering at UTC Central Bedfordshire, for his perspective.
Tell us a bit about the UTC Central Bedfordshire.
Firstly, let’s get to grips with what a UTC is because not many people are aware of what they actually are. UTCs teach students aged between 14 and 18 years a number of mandatory GCSEs; however, instead of accompanying these with humanities, languages or art, they study whatever the UTC specialises in, typically technical and scientific subjects. We specialise in mechatronics, manufacturing and automation.
How else are UTCs different from normal secondary schools? What do they offer that normal state schools don’t?
They place emphasis on one area of study. Often students like UTCs because they offer specialist courses taught by teachers who specialise in that field. Similar to a university, no-one teaches outside of their area, whereas at a high school, a humanities teacher may also teach English - there’s a fair bit more juggling involved. Students also enjoy the excellent resources we have. At UTC Central Bedfordshire, we work with local employers to find resources such as PLCs, HMIs, robots and conveyor belt systems to really give the students some context for what they’re learning. The upshot is that they receive the training they’ll need to take them directly into an engineering role.
Local businesses seem to be supportive then?
Local employers provide their time in terms of training the staff to use the equipment correctly in order to effectively teach. The payback for supporting businesses is that it raises the talent pool in their sector. They can come and select the brightest students and fast track those who demonstrate the highest skill set to a job within their business. Lockheed Martin, a global aerospace company, and MJS Group, a medical electronic devices company, are two local companies we’re partnered with. They come in to see the students and educate them about typical roles at their companies, send previous apprentices in to present what can be achieved and set projects for the students to sink their teeth into – projects which reflect the typical applications they would have to deal with on the job.
Tell me a bit about your role as Head of Engineering.
Now you’re asking! As an engineering college, my role encompasses everything from employer engagement through to setting and certifying the curriculum, as well as ensuring the offer is kept fresh and relevant to satisfy the perceived local need. Of course I also teach as well, specifically sought after skills such as PLC programming, HMI and robotics engineering.
What kind of equipment do you have at the college to aid the students in their courses?
A large industrial robot, two table top robots, an industrial conveyor system and PLC Lab. We’d like to have a lot more but UTCs rely on industrial partners for donations as we simply don’t have the budget to afford the various types of equipment which would help us. I spoke with one robot supplier and they gave a price which was miles out of our range. In the end I went to a second hand refurbishers who have donated a robot so we could promote the technology in that area. Most robot manufacturers and automation companies are looking for robot programmers. If we had the equipment in place to train then this would feed back into the vacancies in robot engineering.
I think that most UK businesses need an appreciation of the bigger picture. If a student trains using equipment manufactured by a particular company, then that’s what the student will know when they go into the workplace. Then when they’re asked, ‘What HMI should we be using?” naturally they’re going to recommend the manufacturer that they trained with. The challenge is getting people to see that in the short term.
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| A joint venture between Unipart and Coventry University, the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing is a great example of what's possible when business and education work together. |
Have you any examples of how Central Bedfordshire UTC has developed students into workplaces or universities where they are likely to continue on a STEM career path?
We’ve never had anyone leave here NEET. But don’t worry, we don’t mean our students leave here looking like a scruff, NEET stands ‘Not in employment, education or training.’ Thirty percent of the year group about to leave have university offers, thirty percent have apprenticeships approved and the others are going through the university or apprenticeship selection process, all still within the STEM field.
In your opinion, are UTCs valued enough by the government in light of the STEM gap?
No. Coming back to my first point - nobody really knows what UTCs are. One of our main battles is marketing to the public. Yet once the students come through the door the conversion rate is as high as 75%. Students see the resources and if they want to study engineering they stay.
It’s difficult to persuade people to come out of the mainstream education sector. However, normal colleges and sixth forms won’t have the facilities for STEM subjects that UTCs do. If you want to study plumbing, woodwork, motor mechanics, electrical installation etc. then yes, I’d advise attending a regular college but if students want to engage in a technical specialism, then a UTC is the best place for them.
But are there enough apprenticeship schemes?
There are a lot more apprenticeship schemes than there were ten years ago when I first started teaching. The college had two engineering apprentices, nowadays it has around 100. Employers have recognised they have an ageing workforce, so they are coming to UTCs and further education colleges to source their employees. I’m a bit concerned about how the Apprenticeship Levy will change things though. Apprenticeships used to be fully funded by the government with no cost to the employer. Now there’s a cost which has unsettled things, and the exact nature of that cost to the employer is still not finalised. Apprenticeship schemes are also popular for micro-businesses and SMEs, and the worry is that any funding changes may make them no longer viable for this size of company.
How do you think careers in STEM are perceived by the younger generation? Is the stereotype changing in any way?
The students don’t really know what engineering is when they come, there’s still a typical ‘oily rags’ perception. There needs to be an overall change in the perception of where a career in engineering could lead. Engineering isn’t just in a workshop working on metal or wood, although these are still valuable skills. There’s a plethora of engineering roles out there from nanotechnology right through to aerospace, so what students need is a detailed explanation of the different sectors. The exciting thing about engineering today is that there are new roles being created all the time. At UTC Central Bedfordshire we’re educating students for jobs that don’t exist yet. We provide the underpinning knowledge that will secure them a job in the future. However, we do rely on local industry to keep us abreast of their technological needs.
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| As part of the #EngineeringFacelift campaign, we aim to spread the message about just how broad the spectrum of career opportunities there are for both men and women within the engineering sector. |
Do British parents also have a role to play in negative connotations of STEM careers?
The difficulty with most UK parents is that they also latch on to the ‘oily rag’ idea because they don’t fully understand what engineering is – again it comes back to education and spreading the message. Often engineering students tend to come from engineering parents. I’m not being sexist, but often the dads are the engineers, and they have more appreciation of what we do. Occasionally our students have mothers in STEM roles, but this is far less common.
This leads in nicely to our next question. In terms of gender roles, do you feel that girls are encouraged to pursue different paths?
Since I started teaching engineering 10 years ago the percentage hasn’t changed, which is a shame. There are 80 students at UTC Central Bedfordshire, 4 of whom are female. However I will say that the female students are always very good, perhaps they have to fight a lot harder to compete. Employers are always on the lookout for female engineers to act as ambassadors for their company. Again, it could come back to the common perception of engineering, and family background.
What extra-curricular activities could motivate young children to consider STEM as a career later in life?
I know HTML coding is now part of the national curriculum, perhaps this could be developed into an application based activity. Rather than just watching graphics move on a screen, actually making a piece of equipment do something. There’s plently of accessible, affordable kit available such as the Micro:Bit, RaspberryPi and Arduino. The important thing is to give the students freedom to make something – it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work – giving young people the space to have that creativity will inspire them to think more about how the world around them has been made.
Do you have any advice for any young people who are keen to become engineers?
Find out as much as you can about engineering and think big about where it could take you. Consider that UK industry has to bring the workforce over from abroad and pay them silly money because there are no local skills available. With a qualification in engineering you’re guaranteed a job and it can be just as lucrative a career path as medicine or law and certainly a more realistic one than being a pop star! There’s also a lot of flexibility – start researching the many different engineering roles out there and you’ll soon discover how varied, exciting and progressive modern industry is.
I know a young person who may be interested in attending a UTC. How would they go about applying?
Students can join a UTC in Year 10 or Year 12. The first step is to attend a UTC open day or event to get a feel for the school and its courses. You can find your local UTC and what its specialisms are here but I’ve also provided a full list of all of the UTCS nationwide below. Once you’ve decided upon the right UTC for you, application is as simple as visiting the website, downloading and filling in an application form and sending it back to us via email.
What are your thoughts? Are you a parent who feels that there’s not enough emphasis on STEM careers in secondary education? Or are you a UK business that feels the government should be doing more to help education and industry work together? Get in touch by clicking the Twitter button below or tweet using the hashtag #EngineeringFacelift.
Redefining UK engineering: why the rockstars of the future will need to study STEM
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| Naomi Climer, the first female president of the IET |
As a company whose clients range from suppliers of automation through to manufacturers of electronic components, we are on a self-imposed mission to do all we can to help shrink the UK STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) gap.
These are all jobs that can be had by science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduates. Yet young British adults display a distinct lack of interest in these courses. Why?
Why does engineering in the UK have such an image problem?
How can we change this perception?
The media is a powerful tool which has the potential to influence how we think and what society values. The IET is one of the organisations playing a huge role in educating influencers and parents through the media to help change impressions about engineering. I’m honoured to be leading the IET’s Engineer a Better World campaign which aims to inspire the next generation of engineers and technicians by encouraging young people and their parents to nurture their curiosity and think differently about careers in engineering.
Additionally, one of the activities is Engineering Open House Day which is running again on Friday 29 July this year and is the perfect way for engineers to communicate and celebrate their roles, face-to-face with the UK’s parents and children.
In a broader context, gender equality and celebrating professional women has become more of a media norm. With this in mind, now is the time to inspire and empower women about the rewarding career options in engineering. And, we most definitely need to make sure the momentum remains and that national conversations continue to ensure people know about the fantastic accomplishments that our engineers – both men and women – achieve.
Weaving a tale for ABB Drives & Motors at Brintons Carpets – the story behind the story
Whether it’s a holiday abroad, a restaurant or the latest smart phone, the value of a word of mouth recommendation is well known when it comes to finding new customers. Nothing reassures a potential customer on the brink of making a purchase more than letting them see a colleague, friend or family member enjoying a positive experience with that same product. It’s no different when it comes to the industrial marketplace. With end users quite rightly expecting value for money when making a purchase, any evidence highlighting how one of their peers benefitted from doing the same can be a powerful tool in helping to close a sale.
At Armitage Communications, we specialise in helping our clients to generate buzz around their products and services through the creation of thoroughly researched, conscientiously-written and well-delivered case studies. With the array of marketing channels open to us, we are able to make sure our client’s projects are promoted to the fullest extent, from a write-up in the trade media through to ongoing use as videos on YouTube.
That case studies are a valuable tool in helping to demonstrate the value of a company’s products or services is supported by a recent study by San Francisco-based content production specialist, Eccolo Media. Eccolo recently published a survey which found that 25% of technology consumers would be most likely to consume a case study over other collateral such as white papers, e-newsletters and videos.
This is just as well, as putting a case study together can be hard work. Ask any marketing or PR executive and they’ll tell you just how many hours of telephone calls are expended in trying to get in touch with end users, organising interviews, establishing approvals and getting hold of images. With many companies also operating a blanket ‘non-endorsement’ policy, putting together a case study can often be something of a labour of love.
Threading the needle
So when we heard how delighted famous carpet manufacturer Brintons Carpets was with ABB’s products during a recent electric motor upgrade project, we were quick to get underway with organising an interview and photoshoot at the customer’s location in Telford.
| Dave Evans, Electrical Coordinator, Brintons Carpets |
The story started with ABB Drives and Motors receiving notification through its Authorised Value Provider, Sentridge Control, of the successful performance of its AC motors at Brintons Carpets. In this way, a thread of communication was established between us – the agency, the product integrator – Sentridge, our client – ABB, and the end user – Brintons Carpets. Our next task was then to weave this thread into a full story, being mindful at all times of how the case study represented all parties, carefully gathering information from all parties, and gaining collective approval before the final version could be distributed.
The scope of the story lent itself to a face-to-face interview with the end user rather than a telephone interview, and so, with their permission, we organised a day on which we could visit the premises with a photographer in tow.
Stitching the tapestry
As an agency, we like to think we know what makes a good story. The process starts with a list of carefully-crafted questions, aimed at getting the information we need without unduly wasting the time of the interviewee, who we fully appreciate will have a thousand more pressing things to do.
On this point, it’s important to try to be balanced. Though we’re writing primarily for our client, it doesn’t have to all be ‘me, me, me’. It doesn’t hurt to give their customers a little free publicity as well, especially where they have an established heritage or interesting product. For this reason, we always throw in some questions asking end users about their company and what they do. This not only helps to make the experience more rewarding for the interviewee, but also gives us some useful added-value information that we can use when promoting the story, especially via social media.
For example, we discovered that Brintons is a truly British manufacturer, boasting a history dating back to 1783, the same year that Britain signed its treaty with America to end the American Revolution. Since this time the company has notched up some impressive accolades, including the granting of a Royal Warrant in 1958 and the reunion of the Spice Girls on a Brintons carpet in London’s revamped St Pancras Hotel in 2012, a nod to their first video which saw them performing on the staircase of the same building prior to its redevelopment. We’re certainly excited about what social media content we can curate with that info.
Once we’ve established some context, we ask what prompted the end user to get in touch with our client in the first place. In the case of Brintons, the company’s previously installed DC motors were obsolete and required regular maintenance. For Brintons this meant time and cost were incurred from disruption to its production process and the need to keep constantly repairing the motors. For this reason, they decided to switch to AC motors, which not only save on energy but increase production capacity.
Money talks
At the end of the day, we recognise that the best stories are the ones with good hard evidence, particularly when it comes to numbers. A business runs on money after all, and statements such as “a two year return on investment” or “£20,000 savings per year” help to grab a prospective customer’s attention like nothing else. We will always ask the end user if they have any idea of what savings they’ve achieved, in order to make the case study business-led.
| Writing a case study is like weaving a carpet |
In this instance our client’s products resulted in 19% energy savings, a return on investment of just
2.6 years and estimated savings of £40,000 per year.
Once we’ve pieced together a narrative for the end user, we will go back to our client to get their perspective. A simple quote is all that is needed to conclude the content, and touch on any key benefits or technical details which the end user may not have mentioned.
Finally, we will send the finished case study to all parties to gain their approval before we distribute and publicise.
Publicising case studies
To effectively engage our target audience we’ve established long-standing relationships with key industry journalists who we know will give our case studies the exposure they deserve. The Brintons case study is scheduled to appear in the trade and technical press in the coming months, so keep an eye out and let us know if you spot it!
Given the effort we expend in every case study we write, we are keen to ensure we use each one to its full potential. The Brintons case study will not only appear on the ABB Energy website, but will be rewritten into a blog format for the ABB Energy Blogspot. Although informality may seem initially inappropriate for B2B, the short-form, casual style of a blog lends itself well to end users who are strapped for time, and may not subscribe to any of the print publications where we’ve placed the case study.
Another advantage of blogging case studies is that their usability extends across to social media. Platforms such as Twitter, Google + and Linked In are all frequently used by Armitage to engage prospective customers, and drive traffic to our client’s blogs and/or website.
Marketing automation
Case studies will prove even more useful in the near future as they are worked in to our digital marketing campaigns. With the help of marketing automation, case studies can be used as engaging links with the aim of helping to gather extra intelligence on customer preferences by encouraging visitors to other content.
Once a prospective customer has been added to the database, they will be sent e-shots on a regular basis which will be customised to their particular interest, job title, and industry. In this way, lead nurturing becomes a strategic yet automatic system. Once the initial campaign is designed, the software will respond accordingly to our client’s customers, and give our clients the best chance of building new relationships and, ultimately, securing a sale.
We look forward to using the Brintons case study to weave an automated campaign and tell an engaging, persuasive, and, most importantly, valuable tale to our end users.
Would you like to know more about how we use case studies as key collateral in content marketing campaigns? Do you have a customer that would be happy to tell their story? Contact us on 0208 667 2210 or email info@abb-oilandgas.co.uk to find out how we can help.
Filling the STEM gap with the Micro:bit
As more and more jobs centre around digital technology, and the 'internet of things' becomes less of a buzzword and more of a reality, the pressure is growing for the education system to ensure the next generation of employees are prepared for the developing demands of the workplace.
We blogged about 'Technology, the frenemy of tomorrow's workforce' back in November 2014, but in the last few weeks, one of our clients has been involved in a project to 3D print a steel bridge over one of Amsterdam’s famous canals using robots and Autodesk software. The software is a project in itself.
The project will see the robots working autonomously on-site in much the same way as human construction workers, with the aim being to demonstrate the applicability of the technology to larger structural projects. If successful, the project could radically transform the face of the construction industry, with robots becoming a regular feature on future building sites.
The software used to run the robots is just one example of how the future of making things is dependent on people having the necessary STEM skills to lead these innovations. This reminded us again of how important it is for generation Y to be engaged in technology in both a creative and stimulating way.
In June of this year, Cisco CEO and life science graduate Phil Smith told the Telegraph, "The internet of everything is going to change the world. We'll have pills that can monitor how the body is absorbing them and cars that know when it is going to rain. We'll see a sweep of digitisation throughout every aspect of life, which means that if you know how technology works you're going to find it much easier to understand almost any industry in the future."
There has been much in the media about how the UK education system is failing to encourage its students to engage with STEM subjects, and thus hindering not only their future employability but also the UK's ability to compete on a global stage. Thankfully, there have been a few projects initiated by corporations recently, such as Barclays' Code Playground, and 'Make it Digital', the latest idea from the BBC which will see pocket-sized computers called Micro:bits provided to millions of UK students aged between the ages of 11 and 12.
This is the BBC's most ambitious education initiative since the 1980s, when the BBC Micro introduced children to computing for the very first time, some of which have gone on to be pioneers of programming. Take, for example, David Darling, who started coding games at home on the Micro and now runs Kwalee, a smartphone game developer. Another, David Braben, co-developed Elite, a space trading computer game which has now evolved into the highly popular Elite: Dangerous. David Braben is also co-founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a charity founded in 2009 to promote basic computer science in schools.
In much the same way, the BBC Micro:bit will enable today’s students to code, customise and control, spark their creativity and allow them to bring their digital ideas to life. Students will be able to create something that gives instant gratification, whilst the computer has the potential to handle much greater complexity if students wish to develop their skills further. Head of BBC Learning, Sinead Rocks explained in May, "There's no real way to tell you what it does - because that will be entirely dependent on how the children who get one choose to program it."
With a wide variety of features such as 25 red LEDs, an on-board motion detector, and Bluetooth Smart Technology, the Micro:bit is able to interact with its surroundings, such as phones, tablets, and cameras. It can be programmed from a computer, tablet or mobile phone via the BBC's soon-to-launch Micro:bit website.
Other tools in the Make It Digital scheme include the Technobabble "digital maker kit" which allows children to create their own computer games. The Make It Digital tour will also run throughout the summer, visiting 13 locations across the UK and providing opportunities to learn more about the digital world and coding.
We're excited to see how the Micro:bit and the Make it Digital initiative from the BBC will encourage the digital geniuses of the future, and hope the pocket-sized device lands in the hands of the next Justin Mateen (the inventor of Tinder), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) or Leah Busque (TaskRabbit).
Why the ‘ matters
A reader’s letter to my local newspaper caught my eye this week. It came from a 10-year old girl complaining about the incorrect use of an apostrophe in a headline.
Is this just a precocious schoolgirl pointing out a minor error, or does it highlight a deeper lesson for many grown-ups? I ask because just days earlier a senior engineer in a large company was telling me that with the prevalence of so-called text-speak, it doesn’t matter if a company’s communications contains the odd spelling or grammatical error – people will understand the meaning anyway.
But even if that is true, it misses the point. What kind of a professional image does a company convey if it has no eye for detail in its communications? Customers will (rightly) think the same attitude permeates all its operations. Such a lack of rigour can damage a business.
Great B2B marketing content is well-written and well-targeted. It addresses the customer’s needs. It educates and informs. It focuses laser-like on the customer, not on the company doing the marketing. And its meaning must be crystal clear, without errors.
Sometimes the young can teach valuable lessons to the more mature. Well spotted schoolgirl!
Oh and for some insight into how not to use apostrophes, there’s even a website devoted to the topic with hundreds of examples.
Client Case Study: Interview with an astronaut
Using the universe as a theme to promote an event may seem grandiose. However, when the challenges of reaching a particular target audience are considered it’s a little more understandable. Getting the right mix of communication tools could be compared to selecting the right crew for a mission into space, and the key note speaker at our client’s conference was lucky enough to be one of a select few who have made it there, to infinity and beyond.
Michel Tognini, born in France on the 30th September, 1949 made his first journey into space on 27th July 1992. He knows a thing or two about how important communications are, whether they’re between a client and their delegates or between a spaceship and mission control on Earth.
Thus, it was clear that Michel would be the ideal representative for our client to anchor their potential delegates. Of course, the next question was how to spread the message loud and clear. Drawing on Michel’s extraordinary experiences in the form of an interview seemed to be the answer. To be placed in the customer’s magazine, the aim was to secure substantial interest in the topic, and through this higher attendance at the conference.
Start the ignitions
Using our in-depth knowledge of the client’s products and services as well as the communications market enabled us to devise questions that would support the conference themes as well as uncover Michel’s own views of his experiences. For example, ‘What back up comms did you have during spaceflight?’ encouraged him to consider exactly how important communications were in securing his crew’s safety during their Columbia mission.
Researching Michel’s background and space travel experience was therefore fundamental to this campaign. Discovering the major problems that affected his Space Shuttle launch was both fascinating and humbling. To convey this to the audience was of significant value; garnering their curiosity was a sure-fire way of encouraging attendance.
Prepare to launch
The more challenging aspect of the project was deciding which information obtained in the interview was relevant for the piece. Creating an article which was accessible to a wide audience was important to us. Knowing the readers would be knowledgeable about communications technology but wouldn’t necessarily know much about the ins and outs of space travel, our Account Director left out some of the more detailed technical descriptions about the launch. Instead, he focused more on Michel’s comments which conveyed his excitement and wonder at being able to travel in space.
An interesting fact that Michel shared with our Account Director was that at one point during the mission, an electrical fault hit the Space Shuttle. All the lights in the cabin went out, which must have been very dramatic, and really quite scary. This information hasn’t been mentioned in any of the online documents covering the incident.
Mission complete
The interview was published in the customer magazine and featured on the front cover as a key anchor to tempt readers in. Once the audience became engaged with the interview, the likelihood that they would attend the conference became significantly higher. Their interest in the key themes of the event was stimulated through a fascinating tale of space, communications and mission control, encouraging their curiosity to find out more by attending the conference and hearing Michel Tognini, an ex-astronaut, speak in person.
ABB Case Study: No detail too small....
We always like to go to town when it comes to making our clients look good. And what better way to promote the use of your client’s products around Central London than an open-top bus tour of the capital itself?
This is exactly what we did as part of ABB’s recent Capital Markets Day event, which brought journalists from around the world to London to find out more about the company’s ambitions for the next five years.
Taking our idea from the popular open-top tour buses that are a ‘must-do’ for any tourist, we put together our very own whistle-stop tour of our client’s major reference sites.
Here’s a quick look at how we quite literally put our client’s products on the map.
From brainstorm to bus stop…
Did you know that buses are prohibited from travelling down the Mall? Or that there are 26,000 streets within a six mile radius of Charing Cross?
These were just some of the things we discovered as we put together both the route and the double-sided map that would be the focal point of the tour.
DID YOU KNOW? The Routemaster celebrates its 60th anniversary this year?
The destinations were easy enough to choose, but it was allowing for road closures and traffic congestion which proved a challenge.
Just in case Plan A went awry, our MD, ever the perfectionist, cycled the provisional route two weeks before, duly noting the details of every road work, one-way street, prohibitive by-law and anything else that could affect the route.
Making the map
That being done, a route was finalised and a map painstakingly produced, drawing on a variety of sources for its inspiration. For several days, our studio was awash with maps including the famous London A to Z, London tour guides and Dorling Kindersley pictorial books, trying to fit as many details as possible into the A2-sized format.
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The design team’s contribution didn’t stop there, with invites also made to ensure that the journalists were clear on how to get to the bus stop on the morning of the tour. These featured the iconic Tower Bridge image for both consistency and effect.
Next stop: The tour
Starting at The Gherkin, where ABB switchgear controls the dual power supply, the tour took in a variety of some of London’s most famous landmarks where ABB equipment has been installed, including Tower Bridge, The Shard, the Tate Modern, Trafalgar Square and the London Eye. Of course, no tour of London is complete without a tour guide, who was able to give chapter and verse not only on the sights of London, but also information about the ABB equipment featured in each one. We also made sure to film the whole experience to communicate the diversity of landmarks that ABB serves.
The day wasn’t limited to the Routemaster itself, as journalists were treated to a midmorning tour of Imperial College London. Recently voted as the world’s second leading university, Imperial College London is home to a new carbon capture pilot plant, which uses ABB drives, motors, instrumentation and automation to give students a truly hands-on experience of operating a real-life process facility.
After such an exciting start, journalists were then treated to a delicious lunch at Claridge’s, a hotel renowned for its timeless luxury. Not that this was the only consideration behind the choice of venue - ABB variable-speed drives also feature in the restaurant’s kitchens.
Because everyone loves a souvenir...
Finally, as a final touch to a brilliant day, the toy London bus, complete with ABB logo, was placed on each of the journalists’ tables at Claridge’s. The journalists were delighted to receive this reminder of their experience.
With cautious planning and great attention to every component of the day, the Capital Markets event achieved its objective– securing a great impression of our client’s business – providing automation and power technologies to the world’s most treasured landmarks in London.
Optimise your Twitter – 10 Tips On How To Gain and Keep Followers
A straightforward indication of the success of your Twitter communications strategy begins with examining the number of followers you have. Put simply – the larger the audience, the more exposure your messages or tweets are going to get.
We all judge the popularity and validity of a Twitter account by those digits under the followers heading, and despite this being like all judgements - rather shallow - it’s important to recognise that when visitors come across our Twitter accounts they will be doing exactly the same.
Of course, there are other factors to be considered during analysis such as the frequency of tweets, the times of the day your followers seem most receptive and how many retweets and favourites you get each month, but we think that in terms of cementing great foundations for your Twitter account to operate at its best, social media managers should focus on gaining and keeping followers, especially when an account is first created.
Remember, no followers equals no audience, but lots of followers doesn’t always mean the audience is receptive. It’s important to analyse your followers from time-to-time, to re-evaluate whether as an audience they are right for your campaigns as they develop.
So in order to keep this short and sweet, but thankfully not limited to 140 characters, we’ll share with you our top ten tips on how to get and keep the best Twitter audience for your social media strategy.
1) Remember the rules. Twitter works under the same rules as any other form of communication. Common sense, respect and manners will get you everywhere, whereas blatant ads or promotions will lose you followers.
2) Have a personality – show emotion, get excited, be humorous and people are more likely to engage with you. Entertaining your followers with funny comments is a great way of gaining retweets, but avoid any quips which could be interpreted as offensive. Technology can make us all seem like robots sometimes, so it’s important to portray the human behind the computer.
3) Don't forget to share. Any useful information or content that you stumble upon can be shared via tweets, just remember to credit the authors by mentioning their Twitter account, if they have one. There’s a good chance they’ll follow you and you will have enriched your own account at the same time.
4) Make the most of Follow Friday! Simply tweet #FF along with a few of your favourite followers - make them feel special and it’s likely they will return the favour. Ultimately, you should end up with a couple more followers every Friday.
5) Shorten where necessary. Depending on your audience and the context of your tweet you could try using text language, for example gr8 or yr. Only do this with obvious words though in a few parts of your tweet. It will save you characters at the end which you can use for hashtags or other people can use to comment if they RT you.
6) Avoid using @ spam. Long lists of attached usernames (except for #FF) can flag up your account as spam to other users and will quite likely result in your account being blocked, and, oh dear, less followers.
7) #takecare. Be careful when using a trending hashtag to promote your campaign. Certain political trends could really go down badly, whereas anchoring a relevant hashtag group such as #UKmfg for UK manufacturers could engage your campaign with the right business.
8) Name drop. Associating your brand with a well-known product or company can be a good way of getting extra attention. For example, when ABB Robotics installed a cell at innovative metal designer RoboFold, we made sure to tweet about it and mention their account, leading to their re-tweeting us and exposing our client to a whole new but relevant audience.
9) Take a joined-up approach. Leverage all your other social media and online platforms by linking them to your Twitter account. So if you have a blog make sure every entry has a share button which can be scaled across to Twitter, and a button which goes directly to your page. If you’re using Facebook, use one of the numerous apps which will share your Tweets - go sparingly though, as Facebook users don’t normally expect the high frequency of activity from a user that is common to Twitter.
10) Don't be needy. Neediness online is as unattractive as it is in the real world. Whatever you do, don’t be needy. Whether it’s for followers or an RT, it comes across as really unprofessional.
A courtship with content
There are many ways in which using content to win new customers is like trying to find a romantic partner. Not only do you have to stand out from the crowd and attract someone, but then you have to face the tricky business of keeping them interested too.
Like the Frankie Goes to Hollywood Christmas hit that somehow finds its way into your CD player every year, we believe that you should make love your goal when it comes to shaping and using your content.
Okay, so we’re no authors of Mills & Boon type romance novels, but a business to business marketing relationship can be compared to that of a blooming love affair of the 21st century. Take for instance, the initial meeting in which your target customer comes across your social media content or e-shot. For any social media content to drive visitors to your website, the media needs to be informative, entertaining and educational, not pushy – no avert promotional plugs please. Just like a cheesy chat up line which is transparent and quite frankly, embarrassing, the first encounter should be natural, with genuinely personable content leaving the visitor wanting more.
Letters of Love
Now you’ve snagged your ideal buyer persona’s attention – they’re aware and quite intrigued by your existence – you obviously want their mobile number, or by extension, contact name, email address and company details. For that to happen, they need to be pushed just that little bit extra to your landing page or website, so clear flags need to be posted such as links or buttons on your Twitter, blog, Facebook or e-shots. You wouldn’t have acquired your current boyfriend/girlfriend’s number without asking directly, would you (unless you’ve used some worrying tactics) and so, overt calls to action such as ‘Visit our page to find out more’ are vital if you want to further develop a relationship.
Fantastic, you’ve nabbed their digits, they have subscribed to an affair with your content, but will the affair turn into a fully-fledged committed relationship? Flirt on, content strategist, as this is where you drip feed the prospective customer with love letters or more specifically, in-depth marketing materials such as white papers, e-guides, webinars and videos. Don’t be shy, show off all your qualities! As you would optimise your appearance for a video chat with your crush, optimise your content to really exhibit how brilliant your brand or service is.
Furthermore, just as we all moderate ourselves to an extent to fit in with our perceived idea of what our lover wants, select materials which you believe are relevant to the prospective customer. For example, if you have a white paper which details your understanding of the type of service they’re likely to need, send, send, send!
Bring in the wingman
Now your love interest is seriously considering making the pair of you official, consolidate the business partnership and nudge them into actually paying for your products or services. This is achieved only through authenticity and clear presentation, with media such as product literature, testimonials and case studies being the most appropriate. Just as it would be better for you to get a friend rather than an ex to sing your praises, ask current clients to review your relationship, and communicate their positive comments to the potential customer.
So the deal is sealed, your bond has been validated for the entire world to see, you now have another client and a return on investment for all that hard work optimising your content strategy, or alternatively, staggeringly impressive pulling tactics. But remember, a happy customer will promote your company to other potential clients, leading to more business. You wouldn’t want your partner to badmouth you to his/her friends and family, would you? So don’t become complacent, wine and dine your client to keep them engaged.
Keep drip feeding them content to remind them of the brilliant customer experience they have had or are having with your business, offer news and views on themes which you know will draw them back in. A good relationship also provides a platform for you to inform them of other products and services that may complement their needs – surprise your darling, you’re not afraid to try something new – and before you know it, you’ve optimised on the potential ROI your content marketing strategy can achieve. You’re the real-life Romeo of the content marketing universe!
Want some advice on your content marketing strategy? Here at Armitage Communications, we believe content is king, and have plenty of tools to help you on your way. Call us on 0208 667 9660 or visit our website to find out more ;)
