2008 Symposium & Awards Gala
July 29, 2008 | 8 Comments
The 3rd Annual SNCR Research Symposium & Awards Gala was held on Friday, November 14th at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Mass. Thanks to everyone who joined us as participants, speakers and sponsors. We hope you found the event to be educational, interesting, valuable and fun!
See the proceedings and download all the presentations here.
See all the Excellence in New Communications Award winners and read all the winning case studies here.
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Join us for the 3rd Annual Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala on Friday, November 14th at the Hotel Marlowe in Cambridge, Mass.
Register now! (Take advantage of reduced pricing for SNCR members! For more information about SNCR membership rates and benefits, visit http://sncr.org/membership)
This event will feature the presentation of the Society’s Fellows’ latest research projects and winning case studies from around the world through the Society’s awards program. Be the first to hear the latest research on new media and communications, social media, ICT and mobile media.
Later that evening, the Society will hold a gala dinner to honor the winners of the 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards. Each year SNCR presents these prestigious awards to honor corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities and virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations and corporate communications, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives. In addition, the SNCR Fellows honor their choices for the SNCR Visionary of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Brand of the Year.
Event Agenda:
8:00am – Breakfast & Registration
8:30am – 12:00pm - SNCR Research Presentations:
Results from the Middleberg/SNCR Global
Don Middleberg & SNCR Executive Director Jen McClure
Findings from SNCR Senior Fellow Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes ‘ benchmark study of Social Media Adoption by the Inc. 500
Analyzing Social Media in the 2008 Presidential Election
SNCR Fellows Emily Metzgar, Ph.D., Albert Maruggi & Michael Adolph
12:00pm – 1:45pm – Luncheon
2:00pm – 5:00pm - SNCR Research Presentations:
Results from the 2008 Tribalization of Business study
SNCR Senior Fellow Francois Gossieaux & Ed Moran, Deloitte
Insights from The ROI of Online Press Releases study
SNCR Fellows Shel Holtz & Mihaela Vorvoreanu, Ph.D.
& Jiyan Wei, Vocus, SNCR Vendor Council member
Economic Decentralization & the Growth of the Small Business
SNCR Founding Fellow Steve King
5:00pm – Symposium Concludes
7:00pm – 10:00pm – Awards Dinner Gala
Event Pricing
Full Event: $395. SNCR members/$495. non-members
Symposium Only: $320. SNCR members/$395. non-members
Awards Gala Dinner Only: $95. SNCR members/$150. non-members
Awards Gala Table Sponsorship: $1,500.
Please note that the Society for New Communications Research is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit foundation & 30% of your event registration is tax-deductible.
(Take advantage of reduced pricing for SNCR members! For more information about SNCR membership rates and benefits, visit http://sncr.org/membership)
Travel & Accommodations
The Hotel Marlowe, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts is within close proximity to Boston’s Logan Airport.
SNCR has arranged for a special rate at the beautiful Hotel Marlowe. For accommodations, call the hotel at 617.868.8000. Mention the Society for New Communications Research to take advantage of the special event rate of $299. per night. (Discounted rate expires October 12th.)
Sponsorship opportunities available. Download the prospectus here.
Invite Your Friends & Colleagues to Join Us!
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Social Media Usage by the Inc. 500 Nearly Doubles in Just One Year: Society for New Communications Research Senior Fellow Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes and Eric Mattson Lead First Longitudinal Study of Corporate Social Media Adoption
July 21, 2008 | 2 Comments
Palo Alto, Calif., - July 21, 2008 - Thirty-nine percent of the Inc. 500 are now blogging, a 20 percent increase in just one year according to a new research study, “Social Media in the Inc. 500.” The study was conducted by Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D., Chancellor Professor of Marketing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Senior Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research and Eric Mattson, CEO of Financial Insite Inc., a Seattle-based research firm.
The study represents the first statistically significant, longitudinal study on the usage of social media by corporations. For the first time, growth in familiarity, adoption and importance to mission has been documented. The new study compares corporate adoption of social media between 2007 and 2008 by the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies compiled annually by Inc. Magazine. This study revisits the Inc. 500 approximately one year later (using the 2007 list) in the first longitudinal study on corporate use of these new technologies.
In 2007 (using the 2006 Inc. 500 list), the first study of this group and their use of social media was released and revealed that the Inc. 500 was outpacing the more traditional Fortune 500 in their use of social media. For example, at that time, 8% of the Fortune 500 companies were blogging compared to 19% of the Inc. 500.
Questions explored familiarity and adoption of six social media types: blogging, podcasting, online video, social networking and wikis.
Key Findings include:
* From familiarity to usage to importance, social media is expanding rapidly within the Inc. 500. The adoption rate of social media by Fortune 500 companies pales in comparison to that of Inc. 500 companies over the same time period.
* All six forms of social media have enjoyed growth in the adoption of these tools with 77% of the Inc. 500 reporting use of at least some social media tool.
* The social media type that continues to be the most familiar to the Inc. 500 is social networking, with 57% of respondents in 2008 claiming to be “very familiar with it” (compared to 42% in 2007).
* In 2007 just over one quarter of the Inc. 500 reported that social media was “very important” to their business/marketing strategy. That number has increased to 44% just one year later.
“Not only is this widespread adoption being driven by strong familiarity with social media, but also from recognizing the critical role of social media to a company’s future success in today’s online world,” noted Barnes. “It’s clear that this group of fast-growing companies considers the use of social media a central part of their strategic plans.”
“If the Inc. 500 is embracing social media at this record pace, can the rest of corporate America be far behind,” added Mattson.
The full executive summary of the study is available for download at http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/blogstudy5.cfm.
In addition, Dr. Barnes will publish a paper based on the findings in the upcoming issue of the Society for New Communications Research’s Journal of New Communications Research and will present the findings at the 3rd Annual Society for New Communications Research Symposium, which will be held in November in Boston, Mass.
About the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth
To facilitate the economic development of the region by providing an affordable, high-quality economic alternative to meeting business needs for research, training, and consulting in any and all aspects of Marketing. The Center for Marketing Research is associated with and maintains a close relationship with the Chambers of Commerce within southeastern Massachusetts. This unique relationship provides the Center with an effective business networking capability. For more information, visit http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/.
About the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)
The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit think tank dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society. SNCR creates a bridge between the academic community and practitioners using these new tools and methodologies, and is focused on research, education and best practices. For more information about the Society for New Communications Research, visit http://www.sncr.org or call +1 (650) 331-0083.
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Word of Mouth, Insights, Customer Loyalty Biggest Benefits of Online Communities, Says New Study by Beeline Labs, Deloitte & Society for New Communications Research
July 15, 2008 | 5 Comments
Involvement, not technology or funding, is greatest obstacle; eight emerging best practices
Palo Alto, Calif. / Boston Mass., July 16, 2008 – The greatest value of online communities is increasing word of mouth (35%), increasing brand awareness (28%), bringing new ideas into the organization faster (24%) and increasing customer loyalty (24%), according to a survey of organizations using online communities conducted by Beeline Labs, Deloitte, and the Society for New Communications Research.
“The 2008 Tribalization of Business” study found that the greatest obstacles to making a community work are not technology-related or getting funding, but getting people involved in the community (51%), finding enough time to manage the community (45%), and attracting people to the community (34%).
Interestingly, management was not cited as an obstacle either. Just 9% of the respondents said that their management was unwilling to share with community members.
“At conferences around the world we’ve heard marketers say that their biggest challenge is executives’ resistance because they fear losing control,” said Lois Kelly, a Beeline Labs partner. “But this research indicates that this may not be as big of an issue as marketers think. Clearly the bigger challenge is focusing the community around a purpose that people want to contribute to and be involved with – and devoting the right resources to promote and support the community.”
What Contributes Most to Effectiveness: People Giving and Getting Help
The features cited as contributing most to community effectiveness were:
• Ability for community members to connect with other like-minded people: 54%
• Ability for members to help others: 43%
• The community is focused around a hot topic or issue: 41%
• Quality of the community manager/community management team: 33%
Measurement: Mix of Hard and Soft Measures, Business and Analytics – and Disconnects
Just as most marketers use diverse measures to assess overall marketing effectiveness, so is there diversity in how they are measuring the effectiveness of online communities. The top business measures being used are:
• Greater awareness: 49%
• Number of new ideas from the community: 41%
• More referrals: 28%
• Increased sales attributable to the community: 26%
The top analytic measures included:
• Number of visitors: 63%
• Number of “active” users: 58%
• How often people post/comment: 57%
• Number of registered users: 49%
• How often people visit: 45%
“One interesting discovery was the apparent inconsistency between what organizations set as goals and what they actually measure,” commented Francois Gossieaux, a partner at Beeline Labs, and Senior Fellow with the Society for New Communications Research. “We also noticed mismatches between what respondents set as goals and the investments they actually make, as well as between their goals and the talent that they deploy against the community initiatives.”
Key Takeaways from the Survey:
• A majority of community efforts are more focused on improving the top line revenue than reducing costs.
• Communications?related benefits seem to dominate the objectives, and are achieved most successfully.
• There is generally a mismatch between the web stats that companies track and the stated goals for the communities.
“These findings mirror what we have seen in our earlier studies of organizations using social media channels in their communications initiatives,” stated Jen McClure, executive director of Society for New Communications Research, a co-sponsor of the survey. “This may be indicative of the maturity level of the communications industry in terms of their understanding of how to best deploy and measure new communications tools and methodologies. We hope that this study will help to add to the knowledge base and provide some best practices for how organizations can better use online communities.”
Lessons Learned, Advice for Others: Eight Emerging Best Practices
When asked what their most important piece of advice is for others creating online communities, survey participants’ advice focused on eight areas:
1. Start with the end in mind: “Start with a business strategy, defining carefully what you want to accomplish through the community.” “Invest most in the area that services your key business objective.” “Be clear about the purpose of the community.”
2. Focus on the value to the members: “Make sure you deliver real, special, unique, obvious value to the core group you’re hoping to attract.” “Build the community around existing passion groups.” “The core of the community needs to be of high value or interest to people, a focus worth contributing to.” “Get insight into what motivates members to join the community; we found a different motivation than we hypothesized.”
3. Don’t start with the technology: “Too often people get drunk with Web 2.0 tool excitement and then try to push their business and customer goals into the wrong tool.”
4. Keep it simple and intuitive: “Focus on the least common denominator first. Keep it easy to navigate with simple tools to use.” “People are busy; they need information in brief, easy-to-scan bits they can quickly choose what is interesting to them and go right to it.”
5. Keep it fresh and active: “Keep activity levels up, constantly add new content.” “Think of how to create ‘events’ – what can you do to excite people and get them to share in the community.” “Update regularly, find topics for discussion.” “Content is king.”
6. Have dynamic community leaders: “Make sure you devote enough time to managing the community; letting it fester is worse than not having it in the first place.” “Participate but do not try to control. The community belongs to the people, not you.”
7. Think through who to involve – or not. “ Get commitment from top management and communicate, communicate, communicate.” “Get Legal and PR to buy-in and help on design, but keep them out of active management.”
8. Get a passionate core of participants active before launching: “Make sure you have a committed core of passionate users before you launch.” “You must have a critical number of high-quality participants to get the momentum going.” “Beta test and seed before launch.”
About the Survey
The survey measured the responses from more than 140 organizations – business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and non-profits — which have created and maintain online communities. The communities ranged from fewer than 100 members to 10,000+ members.
About Beeline Labs
Beeline Labs, a marketing innovation firm, specializes in creating Marketing 2.0 strategies and programs that not only deliver business results on their own, but also make traditional programs – like lead generation, events, public relations, sales support and customer communications—work much more effectively. The company has specialized expertise in social media strategy consulting, making online communities predictably successful, and creating new types of online and offline content. For more: www.beelinelabs.com.
About Deloitte
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte LLP. Please see Deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.
About the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)
The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit think tank dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society. SNCR creates a bridge between the academic community and practitioners using these new tools and methodologies, and is focused on research, education and best practices. For more information about the Society for New Communications Research, visit http://www.sncr.org or call +1 (650) 331-0083.
Media Contacts:
Francois Gossieaux, francois@beelinelabs.com, 617-899-1698
Lois Kelly, lkelly@beelinelabs.com, 401-333-5464
Jen McClure, SNCR, jmcclure@sncr.org (650) 331-0083
Society for New Communications Research Announces Call for Entries for 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards
July 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
PALO ALTO, Calif.—July 14, 2008 – The Society for New Communications Research, a nonprofit think tank focused on the latest developments in new media and communications, today announced a call for entries for the 2008 Excellence in New Communications Awards (http://www.sncr.org/awards).
This prestigious awards program honors the work of corporations, governmental and nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, online communities and virtual worlds and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations and corporate communications, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives.
Awards are granted in six divisions: Corporate, Government, Media, Nonprofit/NGO, Academic, and Technology Innovation (for New Communications and Social Media Technology Vendors), and in seven categories: Online Reputation Management; Behind the Firewall; Blogger Relations; External Communications & Communities; New Media Creation; Collaboration & Co-creation; and Mobile Media. In addition, the Society’s Fellows will select and honor the Visionary of the Year, the Innovator of the Year, and the Brand of the Year.
Entrants submit case studies detailing their initiatives and technologies. The winning case studies are published on New Communications Review (http://www.newcommreview.com) and the winners will be honored at the 2008 Society for New Communications Research Symposium & Awards Gala, which will be held in November in Boston, Mass. Entry guidelines and the online entry form can be found at http://www.sncr.org/awards. The deadline for entries is September 8th, 2008. No extensions will be granted.
Entry fees: SNCR members can submit their entries free of charge. Non-member fees: $49.USD per entry through 8/8/08; $70.USD per entry from 8/8/08 - 9/8/08. (For information about SNCR membership rates, levels and benefits, visit http://www.sncr.org/membership.) A portion of each entry fee is tax-deductible, and all proceeds benefit SNCR, a 501c3 foundation. For more information, contact info@sncr.org or call +1 650-331-0083.
About the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR)
The Society for New Communications Research is a global nonprofit think tank dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society. SNCR creates a bridge between the academic community and practitioners using these new tools and methodologies, and is focused on research, education and best practices. For more information about the Society for New Communications Research, visit http://www.sncr.org or call +1 (650) 331-0083.
Media Contact:
Jen McClure
Executive Director
Society for New Communications Research
(650) 331-0083
jmcclure@sncr.org
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