wom issue 18

News

WELCOMETom Coombes, CEO

Welcome to another edition of WoM, Cognito’s newsletter for marketing and communication professionals in the financial sector. In this issue we look at new developments at Cognito including celebrating promotions of some of our staff in London and New York, as well as feature articles on how to effectively use social media, a case study on SimCorp and tips and advice from a selection of our experts.

Continued uncertainty in the financial markets, particularly in Europe, makes our clients’ functions even more demanding as they are faced with internal demand to deliver improved results, often with static budgets.

At Cognito we are working hard to make sure our clients are equipped with the right consultancy and technology to enable them to do their jobs as effectively as possible. This year we will also be hosting a number of complimentary educational and training events for all firms in the market in both webinar and live event format. More details of this to follow but please visit our website or follow our Twitter feed, @cognitoPR, to keep up-to-date.

We look forward to seeing and working with you in 2012.

BEING ENGAGED

Ensuring team members are engaged and enthusiastic means that they can bring that same excitement and passion to their client interaction every day. As a consulting business, employee engagement is fundamental to Cognito’s strategy for success.

Cognito was delighted to have this recognized by being named one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces™ in 2011 by Achievers, the fastest growing global employee rewards and social recognition company.

Other firms listed in the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces included; 3M, Aflac, Alcoa, HubSpot, KPMG, Siemens, Sybase and Zappos.com.

TRADETECH PARTNERSHIP

WBR’s partnership with Cognito has also grown to include TradeTech Asia, with Cognito Singapore selected to promote the 2011 event held in November at the Grand Hyatt Singapore. Back in London, Cognito will be promoting TradeTech Europe for the fourth time and incorporating social media channels into the program. The event takes place at London’s ExCeL Centre on 24 - 26 April and is expected to attract over 3000 buy and sell-side trading professionals, 140 speakers and 120 exhibitors, including many of the city’s largest investment banks.

INTERNATIONAL PROMOTIONS

Cognito’s business has grown significantly over the last 12 months across all regions. In January 2012 Cognito was delighted to announce a number of promotions at both its London and New York offices which reflect the endeavor, commitment and talent of many individuals.

From the London office these include: Charlie Morrow and Claudia Coleman rising to Account Managers and Sarah Nadif being appointed as an Associate Account Executive.

In New York: Sophie Fischman has been promoted to a Senior Account Executive,Jessica Kleinman and Oksana Poltavets to Account Managers and Caitlin Mitchell has been promoted to a Senior Account Manager.

01 | [email protected] Word of Mouth | Q2 2012

Osney Media has reaffirmed its relationship with Cognito for the third year to raise the profile of TSAM, the biggest event in Europe focused on improving buy-side services. Cognito will utilize traditional PR and social media to increase awareness and encourage attendance. This year’s TSAM event is at The Lancaster Hotel, London on 7th March and will bring over 500 attendees and 75 speakers.Cognito will also be working with Osney Media to promote TSAM North America in May

TSAM


When Cognito visited the Occupy Wall Street protest just north of its New York office Cognito thought those camping may have some time on their hands.“Why not read a book or 14?” Loretta Mock, Cognito’s Vice President, New York thought and shared Cognito’s proposed reading list for Occupy Wall Street Protestors, with CNBC

1. The ABCs of the Economic Crisis: What Working People Need to Know by Fred Magdoff and Michael D. Yates2. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank 3. The Great Financial Crisis: Causes and Consequences by John Bellamy Foster and Fred Magdoff4. Keynes Hayek: The Clash that Defined Modern Economics by Nicholas Wapshott5. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying by Shepherd Mead and Stanley Bing6. Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis7. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie8. Organizing For Dummies by Eileen Roth and Elizabeth Miles9. Poor People’s Movements: Why They Succeed, How They Fail by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward10. Protesting Power : War, Resistance, and Law by Francis A. Boyle11. Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin 12. Your Dream Career For Dummies by Carol L. McClelland and Richard N. Bolles13. When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein Dealbook.nytimes.com14. Eight Days: The Battle to Save the American Financial System by James B. Stewart , The New Yorker, September 21, 2009

We would like to hear your suggestions, tweet us @CognitoPR

COGNITO’S READING LIST FOR #OCCUPYWALLSTREETAS FEATURED ON CNBC

www.cognitomedia.com | 02Word of Mouth | Q2 2012

OCCUPY THE HOLIDAYS

Rounding off 2011 in style, over 200 industry peers attended Cognito’s exclusive holiday parties.

Cognito New York held its holiday party at the Polar Bar, an arctic-inspired lounge underneath the Marcel Hotel in New York City. Clients had time to network and mingle with journalists as they sipped on one of our signature finance-themed cocktails, like ‘The Vodker Rule’.

Cognito London kicked off its Christmas party in the heart of the City, at the impressive venue Pacific Oriental. Clients and journalists celebrated the start of the festive period with canapés and a special winter treat, the bespoke finance-themed cocktail ‘The Rouge Trader’.

We would like to thank all of our clients and friends who attended the events, and for all the great work over the last year. We’re looking forward to continued success in 2012!

Visit our blog for more photos of the events: http://marcoms.cognitomedia.com

4. Embrace compliance rules and communications policies Don’t forget the important regulatory constraints of our industry. Work with your compliance teams: get them on board early and ask them to be clear about the legal rules – if any – that govern what you can say publicly in your particular role. If your organization doesn’t have a social media policy – many don’t – it will have existing policies in place that govern external communications like email and speaking to

The truth that some social media consultants may not always be keen to volunteer is that social media isn’t really that complicated, nor is it that different to your other communications efforts. All the basic rules still apply. It starts with clear objectives and strategic alignment; it’s made hugely more effective by careful planning; and it benefits significantly from a little imagination and some careful monitoring.

What differentiates social media – and indeed what makes it so powerful – is: 1) it’s online (and therefore mostly public); 2) people opt-in to it (the days of spam are over); 3) it works on the basis of people with common interests coming together; 4) it’s very fast; 5) it has an incredible potential to amplify and increase the reach of your message; and, finally, 6) it offers the potential for engagement and interactivity.

Over the years of consulting with firms on social media best-practice for B2B financial services, we’ve boiled our advice down to 10 guidelines:

1. Establish business objectives Whatever you do, don’t succumb to the pressure of “we need to do something in social media” and rush into anything. Like any other communications activity, begin by asking “what are we trying to achieve?” The answer to that simple question should inform everything you do and – crucially – what you choose not to do.

2. Align strategically Social media should never be a silo activity that is handed down to a junior member of staff to execute. To be effective, it should be integrated with - and complementary to - your other communications activities, executed by experienced team members and

aligned strategically with your business’ goals.

3. Listen Establish who you are trying to reach, what you want to convey to them, and how you want to do it. Spend time identifying the channels where your audience is holding its conversations. There’s an enormous amount of benefit in just sitting back and listening. Social is about relationships and communities. Invest the time to understand your audience and how their communities work.

Allan SchoenbergDirector, corporate communications, CME Group @allanschoenberg

“In a very short time span, social media has transformed the speed and approach communicators think about research, content creation, relationships, distribution and monitoring. What was once considered a fad and then a niche solution, is now making professions from advertising to public relations rethink how and what we do. This is an exciting and challenging point in time for the industry and the counsel we provide to our clients and executives.”

The 10 Cognito commandments of social mediaFor those who are new to using social media for business purposes, it can seem like a daunting

task. Where to start? What channels to use? How to navigate the pitfalls and realize the many

benefits you keep reading about

the press. Following the spirit of these and adapting them for social media will provide a solid framework.

“The online world is, sadly, characterized by material that is usually of poor quality, of questionable motivation, and a remarkable sameness of content. For a business to project a presence in social media and be heard, actually heard, they must have a voice that is distinctive and smacks of honesty - not of the keen hand of a compliance officer. Your content must be genuinely worth someone’s time. If your social media “stream” is burdensome and boring to write, imagine what it will be like to read? Imagine how quickly you will be “unfollowed”?”

Dan MarovitzCEO, Buzzumi@marovdan

5. Empower colleagues Social media is far more effective when done as a group of individuals rather than one anonymous corporate face (see commandment number 10). So, make sure that existing policies are clear and that staff have clear parameters, in which they can operate, and helpful guidelines. After that, trust and empower them to use social channels. Guide them, don’t try to control them.

6. Advance the dialogue Sharing other people’s content is good. Adding your own thoughts, opinions and questions before passing it on is even better. Your aim should be to make people think, to add value, to drive the dialogue forwards. By all means draw attention to your company or



“Social media requires discipline just like any other marketing activity. But this is often about personal discipline as social media is instantaneous, continuous and often in the hands of individuals, not departments. My discipline is to only push information which I consider relevant and helpful to my audience.”

André Casterman Head of banking and trade solutions, SWIFT @andrecasterman

The 10 Cognito commandments of social media

All of the best-practices you already know and use in other areas of communications apply to social media.

What distinguishes social is that it’s public yet also tends to target those with common interests. It’s very fast, and it has the potential to hugely amplify your message and provide real engagement with your audience.

Setting business objectives and aligning yourself strategically with the rest of your activities are key to success.

The time you devote to listening and familiarizing yourself with compliance rules and communications guidelines is time very well spent.

Social media works best when it’s done by many different representatives of the company, all aligned, armed with the same guidelines and seeking to add value to the conversation rather than merely promote themselves or their product.

Be sure to track and measure your activities, and adapt accordingly.

Relax and be yourself.

product but only do so when it’s a natural way to advance the dialogue taking place. People can smell a sales pitch a mile away and don’t respond well to it on social channels.

7. EngageRemember that one of the six defining characteristics of social channels is that they are interactive. This is perhaps their most distinguishing feature. So, once you’re ready, be sure to engage with people. In order to extract the maximum value from social, it needs to be a two-way process.

“Social media cannot simply be a marketing activity: it needs to be part of your company’s DNA. This means that senior management must support and encourage social media activities and that contributing to company-based social media is considered a relevant part of a role’s skill set.”

Jennifer ReidMarketing operations manager,Caplin@jennmaitland

8. Track, measure, adaptOne of the key benefits of social channels is that they can be tracked so your activity and impact can be measured. Use this data, review it regularly against your objectives and adapt your strategy and tactics if necessary.

9. Commit to the long-termThere are no short-cuts in social. Accept that it will take time to reap the benefits: to find those with common interests, to build relationships with them and to begin influencing the audience. Be prepared to invest some time on a daily basis in the process. Once you start, keep at it and be regular.

“As with any marketing campaign, the key to a successful outcome in social media is to be clear about the specific business objectives up front. It’s important to know what the business is trying to accomplish so that the results can be effectively measured. ”

Lenore KantorHead of marketing and communications, FXall@lkantor 10. Relax and be yourself

People engage with people, not corporate logos. So, be sure to inject some personality into your presence on social media. You don’t have to be too personal or reveal details of your private life but be sure to provide some insight into what you are like as a person - your interests, thoughts and perspectives. Relax and have fun. n

Key take aways

one of the best things about Cognito Analytics is being able to see where the news has had the most impact by viewing the impact bubbles. This feature has provided us with information that has really challenged our views of what is newsworthy within the market.

DO YOU USE IT TO PLAN AND TRACK COMPETITORS?Absolutely. Analytics helps us to easily see when we are doing well and where the gaps are for us to fill and helps in monitoring two competitors. One should always operate from a position of information, which is what this functionality provides for us. However, just because our competitors do something, does not mean that we should do the same.

IS PR A VITAL PART OF YOUR BUSINESS STRATEGY?As media relations is a fairly indirect way of communicating with prospects, I was skeptical about the effectiveness of PR in reaching SimCorp’s audience. However, I can now see its benefit and our coverage in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times continue to help the sales process.

Gone are the days when people see something in the press and call with a request for a demo on the same day. However, PR helps our credibility when the media and analysts say positive things, rather than our company saying it about ourselves. Third party validation through the press can be a very effective tool to connect with prospective clients.

Public relations is a great way for us to increase SimCorp’s market awareness and demonstrate the brand’s attributes.

WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR SIMCORP?We have an excellent brand reputation in the Nordic markets, which I would like to replicate in North America. We have a lot to offer the asset management industry here; we totally believe in the technology, have an amazing talent pool that supports the product and are a company that operates with very high integrity. n

WHAT DOES SIMCORP DO AND WHAT IS YOUR ROLE?Since 1971, SimCorp has been providing investment and portfolio management software and services to the world’s leading investment managers, asset managers, fund managers, fund administrators, pension funds, insurance funds and wealth managers.

I am the head of marketing for SimCorp North America. When I joined in 2010, one of the first things I did was an audit of our media coverage and our position compared to the competition to assess how we could effectively use media relations. Today I develop and implement annual marketing and press campaigns that result in consistent sales increases.

WHAT CHALLENGES WERE YOU FACING THAT LED YOU TO USE AN AGENCY?We learned from the audit that there was a lack of awareness of SimCorp in the market. For those who had heard of us, a lack of understanding that we have a very strong and robust local presence in North America.

HOW DID YOUR ENGAGEMENT WITH COGNITO OCCUR?Shortly after joining SimCorp, I issued an RFI to several leading agencies serving the financial industry to see how they would suggest using PR. We were able to quickly identify the most interesting firms who thought outside the box and offered new and innovative ideas. At the end of this process we selected Cognito as our agency in the U.S.

HOW HAS YOUR EXPERIENCE BEEN?It quickly became evident that Cognito ‘got it’ - they understood the industry as well as our business. When looking for an agency, you are often met with a ‘pitch and switch’ - you receive junior staff who don’t fully understand the business and who are not as knowledgeable or competent as the team leads. I don’t have the time or bandwidth to educate an agency about our business. However, it was very clear that Cognito understands our business and where we stand relative to other providers. This gave

me the confidence of knowing that the team is on top of everything without management overhead on my part.

It was also important to get buy-in from the rest of the executive team, as our managing director and head of sales for North America will be involved in media relations and interviews. They needed to believe in the team’s ability to get the best possible opportunities, to understand our business and to communicate our key messages to the press.

People often overlook the importance of chemistry in PR; I appreciate the candor Cognito showed. We have very honest discussions about what we need to accomplish and they are not afraid to push back when they have an idea. I also liked the creativity they showed; Cognito was not limited to doing things in a pre-determined or set way and everything was up for discussion. We always look at different strategies for approaching the press and getting our messages across.

WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE?Early in the pitch process, Cognito conducted an audit to find out what the media knew about SimCorp. The results showed that many saw us as a small Danish company and some couldn’t describe what we do. Moving forward to 2012, we have corrected this perception and educated both clients and the press about our strong presence in North America and that we are serious about this market.

HAVE YOU USED COGNITO ANALYTICS?Cognito Analytics was one of the reasons we decided to partner with Cognito. I am very metrically driven and believe you have to be able to measure what you are managing. Analytics enabled me to audit the marketplace and discover what types of coverage our competitors were getting, which helped determine what kinds of coverage we wanted. I love being able to log into the system without waiting for reports to arrive on my desk; I can get a sense of where we are in real-time.

Regarding the functionality of the system itself,

Q&ACOGNITO SPEAKS WITH SUSAN PETER AT SIMCORP ABOUT BEING METRICALLY DRIVEN AND UNDERSTANDING THE MARKET PLACE


The Grossian formula for PRWhy Bill’s press is good press, even when it’s bad by Jason Lahita

WHAT NOT TO DOWhile it may take you a long time to reach the Grossian level of PR prowess — because you need not only his publicity and dedication but also the credibility that comes with running a successful entity — I can tell you what not to do: Do not be a fair-weather source. Get in the game with vision and voice. You may occasionally stumble and fall, but get up and back out there — if you run an honest business, have a strong opinion and are committed to doing good when clients need guidance and perspective more than ever, do not sit on the sidelines. Start telling your story. And when you get to the PR pinnacle, give my regards to Bill Gross.

To read the full article and others contributed by regular RIABiz columnist, Cognito’s Jason Lahita visit: www.riabiz.com

On December 31st, I was in New Jersey on vacation with my family. While enjoying my morning coffee I happened across a New York Times article featuring Bill Gross.

There was certainly nothing surprising about seeing the founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC in the public domain. On the contrary, since January1st, Gross has logged well over 300 pieces of media coverage — and that doesn’t even include PIMCO’s website or proprietary news, as well as broadcast and video exposure.

But what jumped out at me in the article was that it contained a hint of negativity. Just a smidge, mind you. But after all, this is Bill Gross we’re talking about — a man so revered, so well respected, with a reputation so immaculate that even the slightest less-than-fantastic mention makes me do a double take.

To quote the offending passage: “Mr. Gross made a rare misstep last year, avoiding United States Treasuries on the plausible theory that the economy would strengthen and interest rates had nowhere to go but up.”

Indeed, PIMCO’s flagship fund, the $244.1 billion PIMCO Total Return Fund, had finished 2011 with an estimated $5 billion in net outflows — its first-ever calendar year of negative flows. Granted, the article called his theory on Treasuries “plausible” and went on: “But few can rival the long-term record of Mr Gross. Over five years, the Total Return Fund has outpaced 98% of its rivals, according to Bloomberg,” putting the long-term track record of Gross and Total Return firmly back on its pedestal.

LAST LAUGHAnd that was that. But then, on January 3rd, Bloomberg ran a story: “PIMCO Total Return Saw $5B in ’11 Withdrawals.” My initial reaction: “What?!” I’m not astounded at the news but would the rest of the media pile on?

As someone who represents financial services firms, if Gross were my client that would have me

up at night, sweating, strategizing, mapping out a plan to respond. But then I would pause and tell myself to relax because, Bill Gross is every PR person’s fantasy client.

Despite a heavy positive media presence that could set lesser spokespeople up for backlash, Gross seems impervious to bad publicity. He’s a freight train of PR momentum so powerful that it would take Bloomberg, Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNBC, Forbes and The New York Times attacking him in tandem to derail him. Brooke Southall, founder of RIABiz, has called him “the most heavily quoted and least-questioned source of information about bonds, interest rates and even the economy in general.”

My point was proven in a blog post in Barron’s. “Lead manager and PIMCO founder Bill Gross seems to have the last laugh … PIMCO’s actively managed bond and equity mutual funds finished the year with $38.8 billion in net inflows.”

THE RIGHT STUFFSo what is the takeaway? Your PR program must be tightly in sync with your credibility. If you build up credibility carefully, become a well-respected figure, not only due to your thought contributions but because you value and make yourself available to the media, you too can attain Grossian PR heights.

Gross has done so much right, has received accolades for his accomplishments in the media, been available to the reporters, and most importantly honest, that he is presently the PR Teflon Don of Finance.

The Grossian Formula: Strong Business + Credible Opinions + Proactive PR Strategy + Availability to the Media = Good Publicity.

My former boss, Joe Duran, himself a true PR disciple, coined a term: PR is credibility marketing. It is simple. You have a message and that message needs to be targeted, honest and in line with who you are. You need to be proactive in pushing this out and available for comment.

About RIABizby Brooke Southall, founder & editor in chief

If at all possible, we aim to provide people of the RIA business with the brainfood they need to be among the in-the-know and on-the move of the industry.

We founded RIABiz in August of 2009 and started by throwing out the thou-shalt books that tell how to run magazines, newspapers, blogs, news websites, directories and research services. We wanted the color, captions and quality of The Economist, the timeliness of Bloomberg, the personality of your favorite blog and the online destination that doesn’t look like a makeshift way of putting print content onto a website.

When we get a pile of research we want to share, we try to put it into English. We are competitive people and want to break every useful story. We are intellectually vain and want to introduce every new angle - or find columnists capable of the task. We want to be part of the Google+ generation that puts information with faces and we use them at every opportunity.



By Dan Simon for PR NewsWhen considering how to raise their profile in the wider market, some companies instinctively begin the search for a PR agency. Others immediately post an opening for a PR manager. The majority simply don’t know where to begin and have no idea which route is most appropriate. As the president of a PR agency, it’s easy for me to give the canned outsourcing sale but in reality it depends on a firm’s unique needs, the stage of a company’s growth and in no small part on the management’s own preferences and biases.

Below are some criteria to think about when weighing up in-house recruitment against hiring an agency:

INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGEIn theory, hiring an in-house manager should give them a much greater opportunity to learn the ins and outs of your industry - a critical factor in developing any successful PR campaign. However, plenty of agencies, like ours, focus on a specific market niche and can bring decades of experience across team members. The key is to evaluate both equally and whether looking at a new hire or a third party, to ask: how much knowledge do they bring with them, and what’s their future capacity for developing a more detailed understanding of my business? The answer may be counterintuitive. PERSPECTIVESome firms hire PR managers to ensure they can be ‘in the loop’ within the company.

Others choose agencies or consultants precisely to offer them the outsider’s perspective. It depends on which is most valuable to you at the time – the insider’s view or the outsider’s? A smaller company entering a new market may value the external perspective. For a larger, established and more complex organization the likelihood is an agency will never fully know what it’s like to be inside your organization and an insider will never develop as complete a picture of the landscape outside your office walls.

ACCOUNTABILITYOn the surface of things, knowing whose neck to wring when things go wrong is a compelling reason for insourcing a PR role. Of course the reality is often more complicated and some firms choose to outsource PR precisely because it enables a more clinical approach to result measurement without the softer elements of people management. Put bluntly, agencies can’t - or shouldn’t! - offer as many excuses as employees for not achieving set goals. The more important thing is to ensure that, whether in-house or outsourced, your objectives for the program are clear from the outset and there is no room for doubt about your expectations.

SUSTAINABILITYEmploying people directly brings risks, most obviously that they will leave at some inopportune moment. Agencies with team structures offer a theoretical buffer against this risk but it is critical to interview a potential agency as you would a potential employee.

Just as you might look at an employee’s track record as an indication of their future loyalty, ask an agency what their own retention levels are.

COSTCost is one of the trickiest areas to compare because so much depends on the size of the PR agency, the scope of the work and the professional experience of the full time candidate. Either insourcing or outsourcing could end up costing considerably more or less than the other. One thing firms often do overlook when making this evaluation, however, is the hidden or escalating future costs of an in-house role. When an agency presents a proposal, its budget should reflect the total cost to the client. Conversely, once the cost of a full time PR manager has been allocated and they have been brought on board, their first, and completely legitimate, question is usually: “so what’s my budget”? Many companies forget that agency budgets usually reflect embedded savings on media databases, coverage tracking tools and the other indispensable machinery of PR, not to mention healthcare, insurance and paid vacation.

In conclusion, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Both insourcing and outsourcing PR are perfectly legitimate and successful avenues and there is no right time to do one versus another. The most important thing is to evaluate both carefully and to be clear about the expected future outcome whichever direction you eventually choose. n

Read the full article at: www.prnewsonline.com

Word of Mouth | Q2 201205 | www.cognitomedia.com

ABOUT COGNITOCognito is a specialist integrated communications firm for the financial services sector. From offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Singapore, Cognito works with financial institutions, investment companies and system/data providers to implement programs that help them improve their business’ profile, reputation, marketing and lead generation.

WoM is written and designed by Cognito.

London: +44 (0)20 7438 110 0 | New York: +1 646 395 6300 | Los Angeles: +1 310 246 9530 | Singapore: +65 6818 9025

| [email protected] | www.cognitomedia.com | www.cognitoanalytics.com |

wom issue 18

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