As the social media partner we followed all the activities closely – and gained some fascinating insights along the way. There were three big takeaways from our experience at the event:
1. Newsjacking is now an essential part of PR.
We heard from David Meerman-Scott that the 24/7 news cycle is now a 45 second one. There is now a necessity to respond and participate in live breaking news. From CEOs to staff on the ground, brands need to be ready to quickly activate social media to join in news conversations immediately. This requires clear frameworks and an always-on approach to monitoring and resourcing.
2. Gamification as a force for good.
Jane McGonigal, game designer and author of “Reality Is Broken” shared some powerful examples of gamification being used to engage audiences in mass problem solving. The idea of engaging millions of people around the world to actively solve major world issues sounded like a powerful argument.
One of the keys to success seemed to be making it fun – not just worthy. So if we could convince the makers of Grand Theft Auto and Halo to build this into their games, we could be onto a winner. This mirrored the wider sessions which uncovered the importance of CSR for businesses – not for PR but for their bottom line.
3. Millennials are all spoilt and shouldn’t be hired.
Only kidding, but some of the learnings from the multiple millennial sessions did sound that way. We were told millennials don’t really like being told what to do, will always understand digital better than the CEO and don’t expect loyalty to the business they work in.
The good news is they want to work for ethical firms and will actively promote brands they like. So the world isn’t doomed just yet.
