A number of weeks ago, I was invited by Text 100 to attend an event by Norton (yes, the people who make the anti virus), held at Equinox here in Singapore.
The first thing that I noticed at the event, was that it was a huge event. There easily over 60 people present, and further investigation revealed that some were bloggers like us, some were people interested in technology (like Tech 65), others were Norton enthusiasts and fans, others still were Norton detractors.
What? Norton’s paying money to feed detractors?
Yes you heard me right. If you watch the video by Effendy Ibrahim, he explains why it’s important to have a variety of people present to get meaningful feedback and conversations.
Later in the presentation, Norton said that while they have always been known for providing good protection, they were also known for being a computer resource hog, and agreed with that assessment. However they have learned their lesson and their latest version of Norton 360 takes up minimal resources.
That really blew me away. How many companies are mature enough and secure in their product to invite people who don’t like them, interact with them, and openly admit past mistakes? Not many, I can tell you that.
After the presentations, we broke up into smaller groups, depending on interests. I ended up in the “lifestyle” segment, where we talked about how to be safe when surfing the web. During this session it was mentioned that Generation Y spends the most time online compared to any age group, which prompted me to ask if Norton was aggressively going after this segment, given that Norton programmes are expensive and most of us students just go for the freeware.
The reply was surprisingly open (or maybe not surprising, by this time), saying that it was indeed an issue and that they were looking for an “in route” to the tertiary crowd. I was also informed that the student edition is not as expensive as I thought it was, estimated in the mid double-digits.
All in all, I was impressed not by the new version of Norton 360, but the openness towards communication with which Norton approached the session. This wasn’t an instance of a client engaging an agency to do an outreach programme for the sake of it, but the client genuinely wanting to reach out and create that connection with their audiences, knowing it will benefit them in the long run.
I have a copy of Norton Anti Virus (Gaming Edition) and a copy of Norton Utilities to give out (generously provided by Norton, of course). And all you have to do is comment why you should receive either of the products (specify which you want). Also, if you tweet this blogpost with the hashtag #Norton, you stand double the chances of winning. Closes Monday, 6th April!
What exactly is Nokia Comes With Music? Well it’s a range of phones (but most notably the Nokia 5800) that literally comes with music in the form of a direct link to Nokia’s music store (either via the phone or your computer), that allows you to download music directly to your device.
Here’s the best part: if you have the phone, your music from the store is free for a year. So essentially you have access to more than 4 million tracks (that usually go for S$2 each), for the price of the phone.
I think this is the huge selling point for the phone for me. One of the reasons why piracy is so rampant is simply because we (at least here in Asia) don’t exactly have alternatives when it comes to getting it legally. Comes With Music totally gets rid of that problem.
If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what happens after the year is up. Does Nokia lock up all the tracks you downloaded? Well the answer is no. The tracks are yours to keep, and can be played from your computer, but you’ll need a new Comes With Music phone to play them on a mobile device. To some, this may be a catch, but the few people I’ve talked to have said this isn’t a deal breaker. After all, Apple/the iTunes store, also has DRM built in that wouldn’t allow you to play your track on anything other than an iPod. I can’t even play it on anything other than iTunes!
I think the idea of having music just readily available to you at no added cost could be a very, very compelling reason to get this phone. Heck I gave serious thought to getting one just for access to the store. Nokia: C’mon let’s have a yearly access plan straight to the store!
As a blogger and a social media enthusiast, I’m always excited to get invitations to blogger events because as a consumer, it’s always exciting to be the first to know about products and get to interact with brands, and observing how companies and their agencies are using social media to get communication going out to consumers is always very interesting to watch.
I have to say I am particularly excited about the “Comes With Music” launch by Nokia (organised by Text 100) primarily because it’s just a great fit (they did their research: knowing I am a Campus Radio DJ and that I have a weekly Music Mondays segment on my personal blog), but also because the event itself sounds awesome (the All-American Rejects are appearing!) and the invitation they sent over is just full of fun. Have a look:
"Comes With Music" Invitation
"Comes With Music" Invitation Contents
I think getting bloggers excited to talk about you and generate word of mouth and media is not difficult. Something fun, a talking point, or simple “exclusives” that they can have first dibs to is all that’s neccessary, and the Comes With Music launch is shaping up to be just that. More on Friday night/Saturday after I’ve attended the event!
In the meantime, if you’re interested in finding out more about the Earn Your Stripes party (where you can buy the Nokia 5800 for just 58 cents), check out the Earn Your Stripes website for more details. The party is open to the public.
Van Tan has a very very good post on feedback to PR teams from a blogger’s perspective this week. So good it earned a share on my Google Reader. (Reader Trends tells me I’ve done this exactly thrice in the last 30 days).
I’m not going to rehash what she said here (you need to check out her post), but I will give a few additional points that I’ve noticed having been on both side of the coin (albeit very briefly for the PR side).
#1: Personalisation Is Shitty, But Necessary
Van talks about this in her post and I’ll elaborate on it from a PR person’s point of view. When we organised the HP TouchSmart event, it was absolutely laborious and took half a day to send personal emails to over 40 people. But it had to be done. Maybe with those bloggers you’re close with you could send a two-liner over Facebook, but for those you’re reaching out to for the first time, don’t expect a run of the mill email to get any attention.
#2: Blogger Public Relations Is Still About… Relations
I don’t normally name companies, but one company that does handle the relationship angle very well is Text 100. Whether it’s casual chat about Social Media Breakfast or highly personalised emails with invitations to blogger events, I really feel like I’m being invited to a friend’s event rather than a “company’s” event. Even when I can’t make it, they still make an effort to update me on what went on and direct me to a few links.
It’s a long process, but it definitely creates a difference. And that difference is crucial. Just because a blogger attends an event once, doesn’t mean they are branded yours like cattle. Like it or not, #2 is one of my ways to see how “actively” a company is involved in the social media space. If you’re all talk talk talk about social media but have no visible relations with bloggers, it doesn’t count.
I’d like to hear about this from bloggers and PR folk. What are your pet peeves? Other advice for the companies? Biggest difficulties from PR folk approaching bloggers? Let’s hear it!
