PR and marketing

Aprimo today announced the appointment of Jason Bargent as Sales Director for Aprimo Australia and New Zealand.

In this position Mr Bargent will be responsible for growing the Aprimo business within the Australia and New Zealand regions. He will be the driving force behind Aprimo, leading the Australia and New Zealand teams in helping many more businesses in the region to grow and enhance their marketing activities.

“As B2B and B2C businesses in this region continue to look for new ways to grow and be more competitive, I’m excited to be joining Aprimo, an industry leader in understanding the radical changes happening within marketing and sales teams,” Mr Bargent said.

Mr Bargent brings with him more than 19 years experience in business applications, technology sales and consulting experience across all industry sectors within the USA, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. “I believe in the value that an integrated marketing platform provides to all aspects of a business to drive growth into new channels whilst focusing on the investment and alignment to return.”

“As a sales leader accountable for growth, Jason is well aware of the challenges facing Aprimo’s customer base,” Says Dennis Samuel, Vice President of Aprimo Asia Pacific and Japan. “We strongly believe his expertise and leadership skills will further strengthen the Aprimo Australia and New Zealand teams.”

Prior to Aprimo, Mr Bargent held the position of Victorian State Manager for Optus Business, responsible for driving the growth and customer satisfaction of the communications and cloud offerings within the Business sector of Optus in Victoria.

Mr Bargent has worked across several companies in Australia and New Zealand, including MYOB, Oracle’s Technology Consulting Group, Lotus Development and IBM.

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For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9922 1063

About Aprimo
Aprimo, a Teradata company, is a leading global provider of marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organisations. Through the use of Aprimo’s Integrated Marketing Management (IMM) software for B2B and B2C, marketers can integrate their organisations, get control of budget and spends, eliminate internal silos with streamlined workflows, and execute innovative multi-channel campaigns to drive measurable return on investment. Hundreds of thousands of marketers trust Aprimo to revolutionise their marketing. Aprimo customers include over one third of Fortune 100 companies, and nearly one quarter of Global 100 companies. Founded in 1998, Aprimo is headquartered in Indianapolis with offices worldwide. For more information, call + 61 (0)2 9951 8015 or visit www.aprimo.com.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), Aprimo’s parent company, is the world's leader in data warehousing and integrated marketing management through its database software, enterprise data warehousing, data warehouse appliances, and enterprise analytics. Teradata acquired Aprimo in January 2011. For more information, visit www.teradata.com.

Recently I went off the grid. While I do have hippy tendencies, I don’t mean going solar! I went off the social media grid for a week.

For anyone who knows me, I’m pretty addicted to social media. It’s a part of my everyday life, both professionally and personally. For the week I didn’t tweet, Facebook, blog, LinkedIn or Instagram. I didn’t make a phone call, send or check emails or turn on a computer.

I didn’t take a photo on my phone and instantly share it (a photo is so much better shared don’t you think?). I didn’t even turn on my iPhone!

Did I start twitching nervously wondering if I would miss important conversations? Did I have withdrawals?

No. A very big NO. I loved it. It was great to truly have a break from the world.

Funnily enough, I found myself on an island in Fiji on a yoga retreat, teaching the resort owner how to do social media! They now have an up to date YouTube Channel and a Flickr page. Hilarious. I can’t get away from it, even when I try to!

Speaking this month: I am a panelist on the NSW Government’s Small Business September: PR & Social Media - winning strategies for business success on 16 September. I hope you can join me!

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.

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What's the real difference between marketing and PR?
As PR professionals we are often asked how public relations differs from marketing. Here are some useful analogies:

1. Activities/tactics: Marketing generally covers promotional, direct marketing and advertising which seeks to return direct sales; whereas PR is focused on reputation management through generating positive media coverage and stakeholder communication.

2. Target audiences: Marketing aims to reach current and potential customers, whereas public relations is all about maintaining positive relationships with anyone who has an interest in the organisation or brand. This covers a broader audience across customers and media, to employees and shareholders.

3. Two separate goals: The goals for marketing teams are to reach consumers and make them think, believe or do some kind of sales focused action. Essentially it is about selling the product or service. Public relations is about selling the company or brand through positively managing the communication channels between a company and its stakeholders.

4. Legitimacy of messages: Messages delivered through PR channels such as articles, conference speakers or reputable bloggers are subconsciously regarded by consumers as more legitimate than those presented through marketing tactics. Generally, people can clearly recognise that advertising and marketing are driven by a company’s desire to increase sales.

5. Business ROI: Marketing is generally defined as a business investment – paid branding and promotional activities with new customers being the ROI. Whereas PR is classified as free exposure for increasing credibility around a company’s image.

6. Longevity: Marketing is a relatively short term activity, whereas PR reaps its benefits over a longer period of time. While marketing seeks to drive instant, tangible sales success, the benefits of a PR program can be viewed as a long term investment that a company would recognise for future achievements.

Read the full article on the Public Relations Sydney blog.

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How to be a good ghost tweeter
Ghost tweeters are teams or individuals who are outsourced by companies to tweet on their behalf. It sounds like a simple concept, and in many ways it is, but tweeting for a client is very different to tweeting for your own company or for yourself.

If you are considering becoming a ghost tweeter for someone, or if you already are a ghost tweeter, here are some tips on how to make sure you do it well:

Get to know their topics of interest
Your client’s online presence on Twitter relies on consistency, as social media is all about connecting and engaging with a target audience. When tweeting for your client it is crucial you understand the topics that they wish to be tweeting about. Find out how they want to be perceived, research their areas of interest and stick to it.

Learn their language
When it comes to tweeting for your client you’ve got to know how to talk the talk...or tweet the tweet in this case! Learn the language of your clients. Read articles written by them, listen to them speak and take into account what industry they are in and who their target audience is.

Don’t do anything they wouldn’t do
It can be easy to forget at times that you are not tweeting for yourself. Before you reply, comment or re-tweet anything always ask yourself: “Would my client want to be associated with that person, company or comment?”

Although you may find the tweet funny, interesting or re-tweet worthy, your client may not – it may even be damaging to their reputation. From the very beginning you should learn what conversations your client can be engaged in and what conversations to avoid.

Read the full article on CP Communications News.

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Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:

Brand engagement in a multi-channel environment
It is more important than ever to understand the customer journey across channels and create a brand strategy for the connected customer. At this forum you will gain advice from retailers who will showcase case studies, and hear research conducted with 100 Australians on their route from search to purchase.
7 September – Sydney

Social media applications for business
This two-day intensive workshop introduces participants to the context of social media use for business, strategies for social media application and a practical introduction to the most common and useful social media tools for business.
7-8 September – Perth

Social Media Women September: Learn how to make your real life presence compliment and match your online presence
Today everyone is, in one way or another, digitally branded. Whether it is through Facebook, Twitter, a blog or LinkedIn, your personality and your brand are online for all to see. Mariette Rups-Donnelly will share with you some tips and techniques to make sure that when you meet your contacts in real life you compliment and match your digital personality.
13 September – Sydney

Future of Digital Publishing
Tablets are promising to breathe new life into the publishing industry, with more than 1.5 million tablet devices estimated to be sold in Australia in 2011. At this half day seminar, speakers from the magazine, news and web publishing sectors will discuss how they are preparing for the future of print and publishing.
21 September – Melbourne

Online Retailer Conference & E-commerce Expo
A four-day conference with guests discussing problem-solving solutions and career networking. Learn how to acquire new customers, optimise retail website performance, boost conversions, foster loyalty, improve marketing ROI and maximise business operations and profits.
26-29 September – Sydney

Call tracking solutions provider Zintel has announced the appointment of Data and Analytics Consultant Sergio Tapia.

In this newly created position he will be responsible for growing Zintel’s analytics capability in order to extend the added value the company provides to its clients.

He brings to the position expertise in analytics honed through his previous roles across various industries including inventory management/procurement, facilities management, call centre operations, insurance and digital publishing. He joins Zintel from Sensis Digital Media where he was responsible for digital metrics reporting and product analytics.

“I’m excited to work with a team that strives to become market leaders through innovation of their product offerings, such as call tracking. I look forward to partnering with our clients to provide insightful analysis and reporting solutions,” he said.

Sergio has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Graduate Diploma in Mathematics and Finance and is currently studying for a Masters of Scientific Studies degree specialising in Pure Mathematics through the University of New England.

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About Zintel
Zintel delivers call tracking solutions which help businesses monitor, optimise and measure both online and offline marketing. They have more than 2,700 customers in Australia that range from small and medium-sized businesses to government organisations and multinational corporations. Zintel is part of the Zintel Group of companies which has successfully been delivering solutions to businesses for more than 15 years. www.zintel.com.au

Make every marketing dollar count

As more and more marketing opportunities become available to businesses both online and offline, it can be a difficult task to track if your budget is being spent wisely.

While it’s easy to see how many hits your website receives or how many people are clicking on your Facebook ad, how do you know if that is translating into sales?

To read the full article on DynamicBusiness.com.au, click here.

Just like keeping your elbows off the dinner table and letting pregnant women sit down on the bus, the online world has its own etiquette.

These are especially important to know - and follow - if you are a business with an online presence, as offending potential customers and/or clients is certainly not the right way to go.

When online always keep in mind the following rules:

Interesting content: Whether on Facebook, Twitter or blogging make sure you aren’t just posting for the sake of uploading content. The content should always be interesting and add value to your business or the conversation.

Listen to your followers, don’t just talk. Always follow up and reply to people who have made an effort. Whether they have asked you a question through Twitter or made a particularly interesting comment on your blog, people like it when they know the person on the other side of the computer screen is paying attention and not just posting things for them to read. Social media is a two-way conversation, just like in the real world.

Be professional: You are a business and aren’t gossiping with your buddies down at the local watering-hole. Before posting or replying ask yourself `Would you say these things in real life to a client or customer?’ Because if you wouldn’t say it to their face, do not say it online where it is out there for the world to see. While it can be tempting to become over-friendly with followers online, think about your type of business and how casual you want to come across.

Never bad-mouth anyone or anything. Talking about another business or a customer/client in a negative way online will alienate people and it just looks petty. Like your parents told you, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

If you do happen to make a mistake online remember to be gracious and admit to it. Nobody likes a sore loser and sometimes a simple apology will suffice to get you back into the good books of whoever you offended.

Always keep in mind whatever you put online is there for the world to see.

Think before you send
By Dermot McCutcheon, Regional Director, Aprimo

Your mum receives an email saying “We noticed you haven’t been opening the emails we have been sending you...” while this may seem fine from a marketer’s perspective, it could scare your mother.

To read the full article on MarketingMag.com.au, click here.

Join Director of CP Communications, Catriona Pollard on a webinar on social media and the power of word of mouth marketing run by The Australian Businesswomen’s Network.

It's easy to underestimate how powerful word of mouth is to your business. And with nine million Australians using social networks such as Twitter and Facebook to spread the word online about brands they like, understanding the buzz around social media is fast becoming a must for any savvy business owner.

This webinar will teach you how to implement successful Word of Mouth marketing campaigns through the use of social media.

We will cover:

• What is Word of Mouth marketing and how does it work?
• How to spread the word about your business (and have others spread it too) using Social Media and Word of Mouth marketing
• How to use Word of Mouth advertising to promote your business
• Manage quality, costs, time and risk
• Examples of successful Word of Mouth messages
• Hot tips for using social media to build buzz amongst your customers and prospects

Event Details:
Social media and the power of word of mouth marketing
Date: Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Times: 10.15am for 10.30am - 12.00pm AEST
(Check your timezone.)

Venue: Webinar - Your home or office.
Price: FREE

Register here.

Aprimo was acquired by Teradata Corporation, the world’s largest company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics, last month. While the Magic Quadrant position is an evaluation of 2010 the change will provide new opportunities for innovation and growth for Teradata Corporations sizable customer base and extend Aprimo’s leadership in integrated marketing management into other high-value business applications. 

 “Our industry leadership extends far beyond MRM with best-in-class solutions for campaign management as well as email, lead management, event and social marketing. When this is combined with Teradata’s powerful data warehousing, analytics and campaign management capabilities, ours will be the only platform capable of delivering such breadth and depth to leading brands across the marketing mix,” said Mr McCutcheon. 

According to Gartner, “Leaders in the MRM market demonstrate exemplary performance. They deliver breadth and depth of integrated MRM functionality on large, enterprise-wide and global implementations that extend MRM across the marketing organisation and outside the database marketing domain. Leaders successfully articulate business propositions that resonate with buyers.” 

Aprimo's integrated marketing software puts B2C and B2B marketers in control of planning, budgeting and spending so they can execute multichannel campaigns that directly tie marketing investment to business results (ROI). Aprimo Marketing Studio™ for B2C, for consumer marketers, and Aprimo Marketing Studio™ for B2B, for business-to-business marketers, provide modular marketing solutions that manage online and offline marketing activities, track budget and spend management and provide workflow and digital asset management.

Aprimo will license the Gartner Marketing Resource Management Magic Quadrant report, and it is available for complimentary download.  

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The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2011 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Aprimo
Aprimo is a leading global provider of cloud-based marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organizations. The company’s integrated marketing software, Aprimo Marketing Studio® for B2C and Aprimo Marketing Studio® for B2B, enables marketers to navigate the changing role of marketing, by taking control of budget and spends, eliminating internal silos with streamlined workflows, and executing innovative multi-channel campaigns to drive measurable return on investment.