Will Streaming Kill the TV Star?

May 23, 2013 BG&A Staff
Here’s our favorite contradictory statement of the month: “Linear TV is popular and ripe for replacement.” -Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.   Are TV networks dinosaurs being wiped out by a big asteroid called...

Five Tips to Help Your Social Media Outreach

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
1. You never have a second chance to make a first impression. Think carefully about what you want to say, and keep it professional – you may never be able to delete it from the internet. 2. Try to pick a voice – you must distinguish yourself from the billions of other things your audience may be interested in, and keep them coming back to you for more. 3. Keep content fresh and update frequently. We’re not saying it needs to be every day, but the more you can keep it new and interesting, the more engaged your audience is. This is true for comments too – respond often and keep the conversation going. 4. Be on every site that your audience can be found. If you want to reach the largest audience possible, you'll have to use all of the social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram. However, quantity is not always as important as quality. If you have a good engagement level on one, focus on that and then, if you have the capacity, move onto other sites as well. 5. Engage in the online community to continue building your audience. By doing this, you are staying relevant for current followers and also getting yourself in front of other potential new followers – especially if you want to expand onto other sites. Read more: http://www.themthdegree.com/social-media/top-5-social-media-tips/ http://www.technewsdaily.com/16916-5-social-media-tips-supermodel.html

Net Promoter Scores Show How You Compare to Competition

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
If you thought brand loyalty was accomplished with advertising, think again. According to the bestselling book “The Ultimate Question” by Fred Reichheld, the thing most service providers wonder is, “Would my customer recommend my service to a friend?” Carriers are trying to focus on increasing their net promoter scores, which is an index premised on the fact that customers’ satisfaction and loyalty can be measured and compared. Net promoter score is calculated by taking the percentage of customers who are considered “Promoters” (meaning that they rated the company 9 or 10 on a zero-to-10 point scale) minus the percentage of those considered “Detractors” (rating six or lower). Essentially, this translates into more revenues from existing clients and more clients based on the promoter’s recommendations. Obviously, service providers want to increase their net promotion scores to as high as possible. With a recent Coleman Parkes-Amdocs survey, it was reported that 84% of customers are more likely to recommend their service provider if it could identify and solve customer care issues proactively. Although the net promoter score is important to measure how customers feel about their service providers and the experience they provide, measuring it should not the ultimate goal. As Verizon Wireless has shared, it is an indicator that helps you decide what to focus on to improve the customer experience, and proactive care plays an important part in achieving that. Read more on the Amdocs Voices blog

Goodbye 2012 – Things That Are Gone (And Won’t Be Missed)

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
How tumultuous was 2012 for you? Here are some things we won’t miss. What’s on your list? Mayan doomsday stress – Dec. 21 came and went with nary a whiff of sulfurous ash. We’re here and calm, at least until the next bat-poo-caked antiquity is trotted out bearing portents of the apocalypse. Presidential election season - By the time November rolled around, even the most hard-core political junkie wheezed “Enough, already!”  Our airwaves are now political advertising free – at least until next season starts in, oh, 12 months from now, for the 2016 election. RIP journalism, 2012 edition – Last year we said goodbye to the print editions of Newsweek and The Sporting News; the Times-Picayune of New Orleans (whose reporters won a Pulitzer Prize braving Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath) had its delivery cut to semi-weekly; and single-community dailies like the Laurel Leader Call (MS) disappeared forever. Even The Daily, a Murdoch/Fox-backed new media tablet-targeted platform, failed to lure an audience. Local bookstores – Yes, we all have our smart phones and tablets, but personally, we will miss wandering the aisles, chatting up the clerks and finding great titles without the aid of a computer. Picking up the latest Tween literary sensation at Costco along with 72-packs of toilet paper? Just not the same thing. Twinkies – Though they long ago lost their rank as the go-to comfort food, we believe that, just like Cher and cockroaches, these treats are survivors and will be resurrected (under new ownership – the Twinkies, not Cher).

CES 2013: Tech Gone Wild!

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
Our Bob Gold & Associates team experienced a digital wonderland of sights and sounds as well as controversy while supporting multiple clients at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where we were busy from morn till night. The biggest story and PR lesson in years came out of the show that saw nearly 150,000 attendees. Who in America doesn’t now know about the surprising controversy created when CBS CEO Les Moonves personally pulled the Best in Show Award as voted by his CNET’s editorial staff for our client, EchoStar’s design and manufacture of the Dish set top box, Hopper with Sling? CBS got an avalanche of bad publicity when their own editors’ votes were tossed aside by too-big-to-care corporate brass. Suffice it to say that, as PR professionals, we know independent editorial judgment is among our most prized freedoms. Beyond the awards fireworks (and another example of poor judgment that only seems to occur in Vegas), we were also wowed by: Panasonic’s ginormous 3D TV display.  Jaw-dropping doesn’t do it justice Samsung’s TVs moving like Rockettes in a smooth million-dollar staging – Ultra HD anyone? Intel’s cyclone of personal laptops Everyone seemed to have a tablet – even old brands attempting comebacks like Polaroid and RCA Chinese brands that start with an H (Hisense, Haier and Huawei, for starters) Non-tech brands got in the game - New York Times, Lowe’s and even Ford The next wave of CE products will be centered around the connected “smart home” with IP security cameras, home healthcare gadgets and energy-efficiency solutions. That means your cable company will be in the game, right?

5 4 13: Five Tech Trends for 2013

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
1. Continuity Across Devices- With more users on multiple devices, 2013 will see a move to provide the missing link in today’s computing experience – the ability to change devices and pick up the session in exactly the same place you left off. 2. Transformation of the Television - Mobile TV (as on cell phones) officially arrives! The app-ification of media by innovative firms like Slingbox across connected devices will further drive content delivery beyond traditional TV. 3. M2M - The Internet of Things - In 2013, the physical and digital worlds will continue to fuse. From RFID tags on a marathoner’s bib to the real-time camera feed from traffic lights, the physical world is becoming a digital information system to build a better, more connected world. At least, that’s the plan – until one smart MIT dropout or terrorist cell takes control of the whole digital ecosystem and politicians are called in to save us! 4. An Increasing Role for Analytics – Big Data. Big Data. Big Data. Learning to manage the daily addition of multiple terabytes of new data will drive innovation and desperation. How customers are engaging and the amount of information about each of us that is unprotected makes George Orwell look a bit tardy, but not forgotten! 5. Wearable Computing - Everything Gets Smart. Not just Maxwell Smart, but the proliferation of owning and carrying “smart” devices such as Google Glass—becomes standardized and easily connected to the cloud (If you think “cloud” was overused in 2012 – just wait till this year!)

We’ve Moved!

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
In August, Bob Gold & Associates settled into our new 7,000+ square-foot office just two blocks from the ocean in the Riviera Village community of Redondo Beach, California. Our staff can now enjoy a view of the mighty Pacific from their new offices and walk to over 24 local restaurants and boutique shops. “This has been a longtime dream – to create a work space that reflects our flexibility and engages our associates,” said Agency President and Founder, Bob Gold. “Our office space is designed to reflect how we really work – collaboratively and efficiently.”

One Very Special Breakfast for a Very Special Client

May 1, 2013 BG&A Staff
BG&A recently journeyed to New York City to produce a brand enhancement event for our client, Clearleap. This digital entertainment technology innovator has created an important new solution that ensures programming networks and television service providers can more quickly move their content onto multiple platforms. Unique and unmatched, Clearleap is making a major difference for advertisers, programmers and service providers. Our newsmaker breakfast prominently positioned Clearleap's solution at Michaels, THE place where the NYC advertising community dines in a fast-paced multiscreen discussion moderated by our own Bob Gold. Top executives from Scripps Networks Interactive, home to six major networks including Food Network and HGTV, Nielsen and Clearleap were on hand to tout the deployment. Because of Clearleap, Scripps now has the ability to drastically expand their content library available on demand and on the third and fourth screens. Scripps and Clearleap both received positive feedback from attendees and the event was attended by media as diverse as the Wall Street Journal and Advertising Age. The day’s announcement was also covered in key industry trade publications.
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