Thought Leadership Archives - Page 2 of 2

Canadian cell phone emergency alert system coming soon

UPDATE – As of April 6, 2018, these emergency alerts are in effect.

Would you want to receive a text message from authorities if your life may be in immediate danger?

From the 2012 Eaton Centre shooting in Toronto to the 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray (incidentally the anniversary of the evacuation is this week), the ability to send a text message on the advanced wireless network could minimize chaos by sending accurate information to 97 per cent of the Canadian population instantly.

Well up until now in Canada you couldn’t receive those alerts. But, that’s about to change. On April 6, 2017, the CRTC “directed all wireless service providers to implement a wireless public alerting system on their LTE (long-term evolution) networks by April 2018.”

In an effort to catch up to other jurisdictions, the CRTC consulted last year about appetite for wireless service providers’ (WSP) participation in the National Public Alerting System for dangers to life and property. This would include “broadcast immediate alert messages” such as “imminent or unfolding dangers to life (including tornadoes, forest fires, industrial disasters, and tsunamis).”

The United States has had a system in place since 2012 – called Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs), which was a WSPs voluntarily initiative led through a partnership between the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Such an alert was used in the most recent New York bombings.

Australia also has an emergency alert system, using location-based SMS.

This evolution is part of other emergency innovations the CRTC is building upon including launching an interactive map for emergency alerts from broadcast media and next generation 9-1-1 (i.e. maybe 9-1-1 texting).

Some are opposed to the idea but the major wireless service providers are in favour – at an estimated $25M cost. All submissions on the change were made public following the close of the consultation last year.

“We agree that Wireless Public Alerting (WPA) will be a significant benefit to Canadians and should be mandatory for all Wireless Service Providers (WSPs), including primary brands, extension brands, and resellers.” Bell Mobility submission

“TELUS fully supports the implementation of a national wireless public alerting system in Canada. TELUS maintains that “a full wireless emergency alerting system implemented across Canada must be effective, reliable and robust.” TELUS Communications Company submission

“Rogers is committed to the next chapter of Canadian National Public Alerting System (NPAS) through the rollout of Wireless Public Alerting.” Rogers Communications Canada Inc. submission

Considered a lifeline for many already, this change to our cell phones will likely pass without most of us realizing it – that is until its service is most valuable, at a time when we need it.

Diane Bégin is VP, brand communications & social marketing at ruckus Digital. Also learn about our experiences on the ground during the Fort McMurray wildfire (video) and a Storify recapping our third ruckus makers event also on the wildfire.

Need digital help? Drop us a line.

Posted on 1 May 2017
By Diane Bégin
In Thought Leadership

Big vs small: Which agency size is better?

Size matters. But, does that mean bigger is better?

At a November 2016 SoDA Academy session, Jack Skeels, CEO and Founder of Agency Agile, described how he realized at a previous job, the bigger they got, the bigger he felt the shark chasing them got as well. Essentially, as they grew larger as an agency, so too did their efficiency problems in delivering good work.

Skeels’ exploration led to the study of the Theory of the Firm, rooted in pioneering research from Ronald Coase in The Nature of the Firm.

Coase explores three areas when asking the question: is a bigger better?

“First, as the firm gets larger, there may be decreasing returns to the entrepreneur function, that is, the costs of organising additional transactions within the firm may rise.
Secondly, it may be that as the transactions which are organised increase, the entrepreneur fails to place the factors of production in the uses where their value is greatest, that is, fails to make the best use of the factors of production.
Finally, the supply price of one or more of the factors of production may rise, because the “other advantages” of a small firm are greater than those of a large firm.”

The first two reasons given most probably correspond to the economists’ phrase of “diminishing returns to management.”

‘I wish we could go back to the days when we were larger,’ said no one ever. The research suggests that this is due to the intersection of “economies of scale” and “dis-economies of management.”

Economies of scale simply means cost-sharing within an agency (e.g. a fixed yearly expense such as social media monitoring platform Sysomos) amongst a larger group of clients brings its cost down for each client.
Dis-economies of management means that as an agency grows in size, so too does its costs because it means an increase in management, which leads to an overall decrease in productivity and in turn increased cost to provide service.

So, size does matter. What you do with it too. And hitting that sweet spot in the middle is your key to agency satisfaction.

Diane Bégin is VP, brand communications & social marketing at ruckus Digital / APEX PR (mid-sized agency). Need digital help? Drop us a line.

Posted on 1 Mar 2017
By Diane Bégin
In Thought Leadership

Where do good content ideas come from?

Creating great content isn’t an exact science. At a recent event hosted by Rethink at the YouTube space in Toronto, the panel (featuring Alison Lawler-Dean, Rethink’s VP of Marketing and Communications) discussed how content is developed from various perspectives.

In addition to how a non-profit like Rethink approaches the concept, Lawler-Dean was joined by fellow panelists that included agency heads and a YouTube creator.

So where do good content ideas come from? There are underlying threads behind every strategy and each piece of content must demonstrate the following:

Understand what motivates your audience.
Identifying who you are creating for is important, but that’s just the start – what’s more important is knowing what motivates them. Whether developing recipes or influencer programs, reaching the audience is only as useful as much as you can motivate them to act. Whenever working through scripts or storyboards, constantly ask yourself: “who is this for, and what does this mean for them?”
Communicate through partnership collaboration.
Being a good partner and facilitator isn’t easy. The saying that collaboration “starts in frustration and ends in compromise” resonates with far too many, unfortunately. Place an increased emphasis on making sure partnerships work and are a good fit for all involved– whether it’s working with non-profits like Rethink, or influencers and celebrities – make sure goals and content align. Vigorous vetting means that you can start with excitement and end with results.
Listen. Listen.
When participating in conversations, use a mix of quantitative analytics, as well as qualitative data from your online communities to gauge how your content is performing. Listening to your community – to their wants, needs and desires – and incorporating what you’re hearing into your content will help to build your credibility and in the end will help drive results.

Dimitri Bariamis is an consultant at ruckus Digital. Need help with your content? Drop us a line.

Posted on 1 Feb 2017
By Diane Bégin
In Content Creation, Thought Leadership

Four things I learned working with mommy bloggers

While some digital marketers are still debating the definition and value of “social influencers,” others are incorporating them into brand campaigns, using their expertise and audience to get a few more (relevant) eyes on a product or service.

Recently, I’ve started working closely with a bad-ass group of influencers that have dominated the blogosphere for quite some time – mommy bloggers.

After working with several of these lovely ladies on a few different campaigns, I’ve learned a few things that (I think) are worth sharing.

The more info you can give the better

When you’re prepping a blogger on a campaign, the more background information you can provide the better. Yes, they are in creative control of the content produced, whether a blog post or social image, however if you can provide tips on what a client loves to see (or prefers to avoid) you ensure the success of the content on all fronts – you, your client and the blogger are happy with the result.

Work towards long term relationships

Building long term professional relationships is key, and it’s no different when you’re working with bloggers. Not only does it make sense to build ambassadors of a brand that are truly into the product or service, the content can flow more easily across campaigns and channels when it’s not a one-off post.

Set actionable KPIs

Measurement is a whole lot easier if you set actionable goals. Rather than impression estimates, why not count how many people responded to a call-to-action – commented on a post, entered a contest, bought a product etc., etc. – and determine the success of a program based on those results. This provides a benchmark for bloggers to work towards and for clients to understand the success (or failure) of a campaign.

Put some paid media behind your stuff

Blog campaigns take a lot of work – so it makes sense to arrange for some paid media behind the post. The budgets don’t need to be huge, and you’ll want to focus your efforts where your target audience is hanging out, but overall paid posts will help you get more out of the awesome content you’re creating.

Sarah Rogers is an account coordinator at ruckus Digital. Need help with your influencer strategy? Drop us a line.

Feature image from @beautycocktailsgirltalk

Posted on 1 Feb 2017
By Diane Bégin
In Influencers, Thought Leadership

Ad targeting: Let’s go beyond demographics

Considerable thought goes into content creation, but often marketers forget about reaching the right audience and social media advertising can help. If only we could just publish content and the perfect audience would just find it – but we don’t always get that lucky.

With social media advertising you don’t have to rely on audience assumptions. For example, not all 30-year-olds are starting a family and reading Today’s Parent. Or all not all teenagers need fashion advice and watch MTV.

Marketers can tap into the 71% of Canadians visiting Facebook weekly, and use the data they collect to deliver more relevant and interesting content to audiences.

Be smarter when targeting your audience with these options:

Custom audiences: Target users that have engaged with your Facebook page in the past, watched a video, used your app or visited your website. This is great for reaching loyal fans with which you want to maintain a relationship.
Lookalike audiences: Reach users who are similar to your audiences based on the individuals who liked your page, had some trackable actions after viewing your ad through conversion pixels [which can be added to your website to track who visits or purchases] or any other relevant Custom Audiences listed above. This is a great way to reach new consumers that have similar interests and behaviour to your current fan base.
Interests: Target users based on their interests, activities and the pages they engage with. This could be interest in movies, parenting, yoga, pets or biking. This helps you tap into consumer interest that aren’t easy to see based on demographics.
Relationship status: Looking to reach those who are planning their weddings? Serve up your ad to users in this target. Local venues, bridal fashion or DIYs for centre pieces – they’ll love to see it!
Network/smartphone: Have a product or app specifically compatible with iPhone or Android? Target users based on their smartphone or the network they use or don’t use.

What targeting criteria have you seen great success with for your content? Let us know on Twitter.

Katie Boland, @kathrynboland is a digital strategy account manager @ruckusdigital. Need help with your paid social media strategy and targeting? Drop us a line.

Posted on 25 Jan 2017
By Katie Boland
In Media Buying, Thought Leadership

Top 5 of #Canada150

Remember Canada’s 125^th? Branded as “Canada 1-2-5,” this was the commercial.

In the pre-internet days, TV spots and brochures were really how I remember Canada shared its ideas about how to celebrate.

Fast forward to 2017 and Canada’s 150^th (aka #Canada150, or the more fun #sesquicentennial #sesqui) and we’re seeing commemorations popping up everywhere – mostly shared online.

At ruckus, we’ve been working with clients for some time planning how they will take part.

It will be a crowded space this year – as it should be as every individual and every organization in this country is part of the #Canada150 story.

There are official @Canada150th Signature Projects, Community Projects and then a whole bunch more.

Here are my top 5 #Canada150 projects:

Canada C3 – Coast to Coast to Coast
In my experience, most Canadians haven’t seen most of Canada. This a 150-day sailing journey from Toronto to Victoria through the Northwest Passage. Totally a dream trip.
Explore 150
Lots of us actually don’t know the history and culture within our own back yards. This includes an Android or an iPhone app to both publish and discover those secret spots.
ParticipACTION 150 Playlist
Canada is by far the best world’s best playground – so a list of 150 activities to stay fit is, well, a natural fit.
The Great Trail
Then there’s this 22,000 km trail that goes through all 13 provinces and territories. The Trans Canada Trail reports it’s now 90 per cent done, to be complete by July 1, 2017.
We are the Best by Ricardo
And what is culture without food? Canadian chef Ricardo Larrivée travels the country to bring you food in 52 three-minute video bites. Knowing your agriculture is where it’s at.