01.09.10
Kaizo Wins CA Technologies Social Media Account

CA Technologies has retained Kaizo to develop a strong social media presence in Europe following a competitive pitch. Kaizo will carry out a strategic review of the blogosphere for the leading IT management software and solutions company to establish where to focus activity and then establish CA’s subject matter experts as leading commentators in their fields.

Sarah Atkinson, Vice President Communications Europe at CA Technologies, said : “Kaizo had the most thorough approach to running a social media campaign. They will work with our team to establish a strong online presence in all our target areas. They really understand what it takes to create and sustain online conversations.”

Crispin Manners, who leads the CA Technologies team at Kaizo, said: “Unlike a number of brands out there who see social media as a new channel for broadcast communications, CA Technologies wants to stimulate direct online conversations to build relationships with customers, partners and online influencers. We are looking forward to helping establish CA Technologies as the best practice approach to B2B social media communications.”

About CA Technologies
CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) is an IT management software and solutions company with expertise across all IT environments – from mainframe and distributed, to virtual and cloud. CA Technologies manages and secures IT environments and enables customers to deliver more flexible IT services. CA Technologies innovative products and services provide the insight and control essential for IT organizations to power business agility. The majority of the Global Fortune 500 relies on CA Technologies to manage evolving IT ecosystems. For additional information, visit CA Technologies at www.ca.com

21.07.10
ARGYLL APPOINTS NEW BOARD DIRECTOR

The Argyll Consultancies PLC has appointed Stephanie MacLeod to its board of directors with effect from July 1, 2010.

Ms MacLeod joined Kaizo, the PR and Digital trading arm of Argyll, in August 2009. Since then, she has made a major contribution to expanding business with existing and new clients, and as a highly effective member of the management team.

Rosemary Brook, executive chairman of Argyll, said: “Steph has brought great drive and enthusiasm to the company and we are delighted to welcome her to the Board so that she can participate even more fully in the development of the Argyll business.”

Ms MacLeod joined Kaizo from Bite Communications Ltd, where she was the Director responsible for the Consumer division. She has 14 years’ experience in corporate, consumer and business-to-business communications consultancy, working for agencies including Fleishman Hillard and Firefly Communications.

Ms Stephanie MacLeod previously held the role of director at the following company within the last 5 years:

• Bite Communications Group Limited

The Company confirms that there is no further information about Stephanie MacLeod requiring disclosure under Rule 71 and/or paragraph 18 of Appendix 1 of the PLUS Markets “Rules for Issuers”.

For further information please contact:
Rosemary Brook
Chairman
+44 (0)20 3043 4169
rosemary.brook@kaizo.net

-END-

19.07.10
Kaizo appointed to help funding organisations navigate social media at European Science Foundation annual meeting

Kaizo, independent PR and digital agency, was appointed to educate communicators on the benefits of investing in social media at the 4th European Science Foundation (ESF) Communications Network meeting in Turin on 8th July 2010.

The event challenged communicators and press officers from the research funding organisations of 17 European countries to investigate new ways to engage their stakeholders in the research they fund.

The “science and social media” session involved the use of case studies and introduced a “social media toolkit” to raise awareness of the opportunities posed by social media to enable ESF member organisations to increase public engagement and develop their relationship with the researchers.

Emma Potter, Consultant at Kaizo, said: “With so many stakeholders to please and considering the current pressure on research budgets, it is no wonder that funding organisations have anxieties about using social media. This session was designed to put some anxieties to rest and demonstrating the opportunities posed by social media to this audience.”

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For more information please contact:

Emma Potter
Kaizo
020 3043 4191
Emma.potter@kaizo.net

07.06.10
Worldcom PR Group appoints new EMEA Chair

The Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading network of independently owned public relations counseling firms, announces the appointment of Corinna Voss as the new EMEA Chair.

With more than 20 years of experience in PR and Marketing, Corinna Voss is Managing Director of the renowned Munich-based agency HBI International PR & MarCom. Among her experience, she has worked for several clients from the IT sector, tourism and renewable energies. She studied Political Science/Anglistics and Psychology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and did her Magister Artium in Political Science.

The appointment was officially confirmed at Worldcom’s AGM (Annual General Meeting) held in Shanghai from 18 to 21st May, and has become effective immediately. With 34 partner agencies in the EMEA region, many of them added during 2009 and the first months of 2010, Worldcom already covers a vast territory in Europe and the Middle East. In this context, Corinna has set up as an important objective the addition of new members in Africa. Besides, she will be working on the internal communication of the network at a regional level, in order to strengthen the relationship between members and ease the integration of the new partners.

“I’m looking forward to lead the consolidation of the network as a solid and experienced PR group”, Corinna said, after assuming her new position, and added: “We will continue investing and developing web 2.0 initiatives and also in creating synergies between agencies that allow us to deliver added value proposals for our clients in the vast variety of areas covered by our partners in EMEA”.

About Worldcom PR Group
Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with some 109 offices in 95 cities worldwide. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through The Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Worldcom EMEA currently comprises 34 agencies with strong expertise in consumer, healthcare, travel & tourism, technology, energy & environment, financial services, investor relations, public affairs and crisis & issues management. Clients include Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Panasonic, Sony Ericson, LG Electronics, the EU Anti-Tobacco Campaign, Verbatim and Palm. Visit www.worldcomprgroupemea.com for more information.

27.05.10
Two wins at European Sabre Awards

At a PR star studded night, Kaizo picked up two awards at the European Sabre Awards held at the Roundhouse in London.

In the product category we picked up the award for best European Webcast for our campaign for Unilever entitled “What If People's Hearts Stayed Young?” which promoted globally a joint initiative with the WHF as well as encouraging uptake of Unilever Becel’s Heart Age online tool. The campaign was also shortlisted in the Best Multi Country Programme Category.

We also picked up the awards for Best European Product Media Relations for “Do you Flip?” a campaign for Flip Video (part of Cisco) to drive awareness and sales amongst youth audiences and mums. The campaign also picked up a certificate of Excellence for Best use of Broadcast for the same campaign.

Both awards have taken pride of place in our reception and are having hourly polishes...

26.05.10
New Kaizo crew

Kaizo is delighted to welcome two new consultants, Clodagh Boyle and Adam Winfield.

Clodagh brings extensive agency experience working across a range of of blue chip business to business and consumer brands such as Toshiba, Virgin Media, TrustMark, AMD and Brocade. She also extends our Celtic contingent even further.

Adam is a passionate gamer with a keen interest in technology, which will stand him in good stead working across our growing range of consumer tech clients. A journalist by training, his eye for an angle will keep us on our toes.

16.04.10
Crispin honoured with PRCA Fellowship

Crispin Manners, Director of Word of Mouth communications here at Kaizo, has been named one of the Founding Fellows of PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association), the trade association for the UK PR consultancy industry.

The PRCA has recently announced the creation of the title Fellow of the PRCA (FPRCA) and its Founding Fellows. The 45 Founding Fellows have been selected by the current PRCA Board of Management (BOM) for their outstanding contribution to the business of public relations. Crispin is in esteemed company with Lord Bell and Sir Martin Sorrell also receiving the accolade.

The Fellows will join an open annual debate on a topic set by the PRCA's BOM with a formal report being published after the debate. Topics will be selected that have a direct impact on the industry.

Congratulations Crispin - we’re all proud of you!

07.04.10
Vodafone and Del Monte share the winnings in the latest Kaizo Advocacy Index

 

Vodafone and Del Monte scored the highest in this season’s Kaizo Advocacy Index published today (7 April 2010), thanks to Apple and a Naked ice lolly respectively. Overall, though, the trend across vital sectors such as airlines and mobile telecoms was down, with disaffected customers becoming increasingly vocal online.

 The Kaizo Advocacy Index is a biannual study that measures the online reputation of 20 brands across Food, Software, Airline and Mobile sectors.

 The study found that in order to increase online reputation, brands need to be creative and make the most of new product launches, whilst maintaining a reliable and sincere service.

 Vodafone benefited from a raft of positive coverage around the launch of the mobile brand’s network on Apple’s iPhone helping it increase its score by the most across all brands. Del Monte once again promoted its products in a fun, creative way. This year’s promotion of its ‘Naked Fruit’ range using the Man from Delmonte wearing nothing but his Panama hat created positive reaction online. Completing the top five across all sectors were Hovis, Symbian and SAP.

 Rhodri Harries, Managing Director of Kaizo, said:

“Del Monte is a great example of a brand which is not afraid to take a few risks and customers clearly respond to this online. Associations with popular brands also often help increase positive conversations as shown with Vodafone.

 “The current economic climate means that consumers want more from products and services. If brands are honest, provide helpful customer service, offer true value for money, or provide some light relief, then they will be consistently recommended. If not, then their reputation can suffer.”

 Virgin Atlantic, knocked off the top spot in the last report due to Del Monte’s launch of an ice lolly shaped like 007 actor Daniel Craig, saw its score slip further. The airline sector in general performed poorly, as poor customer experiences over delays, cancellations and extra charges were all aired by frustrated customers online. With research completed prior to the BA strikes we can expect this to have worsened in recent weeks. Most mobile brands also performed poorly as consumers bemoaned network coverage and the quality of customer services.

 Improved product ranges and appealing promotional offers ensured food brands remained ahead of the pack. Hovis performed well alongside Del Monte, with its decision to only use British wheat in their loaves generating a rich supply of positive content. Creative PR also helped food brands score high with fun publicity stunts such as Kellogg’s development of a laser to brand their Corn Flakes with the Kellogg’s logo boosting scores.

 Of the software brands, Symbian increased its score, pulling away from the rest of the brands in the sector, as it strengthened its reputation for being a robust and flexible operating system for mobile devices.

 Harries continued:

“When consumers care about the product or service, such as a flight or phone, they are more likely to talk about negative issues that arise than positive experiences. With many brands still feeling the effects of the downturn, social media is playing an ever-increasing role.”

 The Kaizo Advocacy Index uniquely explores a brand’s reputation from the position of a customer’s own online experience and directly compares this with other brands within the industry. Replicating the way customers search for information on the Web has shown that brands which actively promote online communication generate more positive comments as a result.

 

ENDS

 

Notes to Editors

Kaizo is an independent award winning PR and Digital Consultancy. Our strategies and campaigns seamlessly integrate traditional and social media to increase opportunities for business and consumer brands online and offline. We achieve genuine results across a range of sectors that includes: technology, consumer gadgets, food & drink, FMCG, health, science, transport & travel and industry.

Clients include: Unilever, Flip Video, Elsevier, Quantum and Johnson & Johnson.

 Background to study

Google is the first port of call for 80 per cent of web searches and has a significant influence over the way consumers form brand opinions. Consumer generated content in Google Blogs and Groups are having an increasing impact on a brand’s recommendability. Even brands that perform well through a news search can be negatively impacted by user generated content.

 Research from the London School of Economics shows that companies with above-average recommendability and below-average negative word of mouth, grow four to five times faster than other companies. Not surprisingly, negative word of mouth is more powerful than positive word of mouth by a factor of three-and-a-half times.

20.11.09
Kaizo Wins Energenie Account In Four-Way Competitive Pitch

The account will focus on building the Energenie brand online as well as with key energy influencers and consumers. Alan Tadd, Managing Director of Energenie commented: “The Kaizo team really came at the brief with a refreshingly different approach. Their creativity and enthusiasm for what we’re trying to achieve was impressive and made them stand out.”

Activity kicked off with issues hijacking during Energy Saving Week on the 19th October and has been followed up with extensive outreach to key eco-chic bloggers, forums and of course media.

21.10.09
Kaizo Wins Best Consumer Campaign at PR Week Awards

Last night’s PR Week Awards, saw Kaizo beat a strong shortlist of brands including Cadburys, Sainsbury’s and Aldi to win the 'Marketing Communications: Consumer Award' for Flip Video’s ‘Now Playing You’ campaign.

Judges commented: “The Flip Mino has torn a gaping hole in the market, which is testament to Kaizo’s sensational work”. Hopefully, the PRCA judges will feel the same when judging the ‘Best Technology’ and ‘Best Media Relations’ categories, for which we’re shortlisted, on the 3rd of November.



Image source: www.prweek.com