A hipster is ahead of their time, anticipating what is yet unknown and remote but is soon to become popular, cool and trendy.

 A hipster is not an old-school and predictable trendsetter but a trend creator. They do not follow. It is the others who follow hipsters.

It is cool to be a hipster, an early adopter of what is just about to be in. It is cool to be always ahead, whether it be just accidentally or intentionally; to be an authority on all the not-quite-simple, almost metaphysical issues. A hipster dictates how to be to be. Not what to wear, what to listen to, what to watch, what to drink but, first and foremost, how to be.

On the other hand, hard is the life of a hipster, especially in a country which in two weeks' time will co-host the biggest sports event in the Polish history, Euro 2012. All of a sudden your uniqueness and trend creating gift will be overwhelmed by ubiquitous national white and red flags, and your original Vespa, which you ride to picnics in the middle of town, will stop turning necks.

What do hipsters really do? They simply are. Appear here and there. Come in and out. They are like a file which can be copied but not interfered with.

A hipster is like Citta the Elephant from the Krakow zoo who has successfully picked the winner of the Champions League Final between Bayern and Chelsea, and will consequently indicate winners long ahead of each football game. The predictions will be made in line with the well-known procedure: Citta will be given three different fruits to choose from - two with the flags of competing teams and one signifying a draw. Enjoy, Citta! We hope that Poland will gain worldwide fame not only thanks to the excellent organization and unique atmosphere of the European Championships but also thanks to you!

Coming back to hipsters other than Citta the Elephant from the Krakow zoo. How do they do it? Nobody knows. What we do know is the price they pay. Their life is short... Not literally though. They live the short life of a hipster. Their gift, their skill in being an ultimate trend creator without trend-creating swankiness is very short-lived. Like someone who having completed their first work of art is labeled an artist and automatically loses all zest for creating.

Finally, a short description of a Polish hipster:

Moving about town: in a run-down Saab 900 or an equally old Volvo. Urban bikes: original urban bike - Dutch roadsters have become too popular and are thus disdained by hipsters who ride classic Wigry bikes with small wheels or folding bikes from the 1970's.

Eating & drinking: for a hipster being caught with a bottle of commercially produced beer is social death. A hipster only drinks regional beverages, such as Ciechan beer or home-made lemonade, and makes his own slow food.

Fashion: the latest hit are slippers, shoes which resemble house slippers. Generally, it is to give a nonchalant and laid-back look. No labels, no chain stores!

Hard is the life of a hipster. :)

Insights on Polish hipsters by Dawid Kornaga - young Polish writer http://www.kornaga.blogspot.co.uk/

Fortunately, given my boss had emailed me about it, the reality turned out to be somewhat different. Something far more edifying than a way for the older male members of JC to recover their previous…er…vigour.

As it turns out, it is actually scheme designed to help us men manage our work-life balance. Hardly a new idea you might say – particularly as trying to forge a successful career whilst enjoying a rewarding personal life is something with which we all battle every day.

So why mention it then?

Well, for me, a scheme like Gwen for Men is what modern business culture should be all about. A way of helping people find a way of working that suits the rest of their life – but without jeopardising any of the great stuff that we do for our clients or customers or anyone else.

It’s also extremely relevant to me personally.

Next month, I begin a period of Additional Paternity Leave, taking three months off to spend time looking after my new(ish)born son while my wife begins her own gradual journey back into working life. Apparently I’m the first JC-er ever to do it too – so I’m something of a test case! And, although I will miss day to day office life, in many ways, I can’t wait to enjoy a prolonged period of bonding with Dylan and being a full-time Dad.

It’s all thanks to a new government initiative to allow parents to split maternity leave to spend more time with their children – which is great in theory. But where Gwen for Men comes in is in helping make it work in practice.

According to a colleague involved in the programme, it’s all about “creating an environment where we embrace the complexity of life and where you can have the flexibility to find your balance, experience your moments and be transparent about your priorities.”

Which is a slightly long (not to mention American) way of saying it involves developing a way of working that takes your whole life into account, whatever that entails.

Since becoming a parent, I have enjoyed nothing but support in doing that and, thanks to the mind-set embodied by Gwen for Men, I have been able to have open, honest and fair discussions with the JC-powers-that-be about what working life looks like for me – now and when I come back from paternity leave.

Sure, I’ve had to work out for myself how to adjust to such a major change in my home life but being given the space and guidance to do so has been invaluable. And it’s not just for boring parents like me either. This is something that could and should work for everyone, whatever the demands on your time outside of work. Honestly.

So next time you miss dinner with your mum or that evening art class because you’re stuck in the office, remember Gwen for Men.

Well actually, remember Men for Gwen. Apparently I got the name wrong.

But that’s nowhere near as amusing.

Reposted from JCPRsays

Based at the home of most of the European Union’s institutions, we in Brussels often like to describe ourselves as being ‘at the heart of Europe’.  But at the same time, the civil servants and policy-makers who live and work here are often accused of being out of touch with the sentiments of people across Europe. This potential disconnect is more important now than ever, since the attitude of the European consumer is critical to our economic future. But does this supposed ‘European consumer’ even exist? And if so, are they likely to ride to the rescue of Europe’s economy?

Europe continues to struggle with the global economic downturn, and the specific difficulties caused by the indebtedness of certain EU countries, most notably Greece. Amidst all of the bail-outs of public and private institutions, and the cuts in public sector spending, one signal which politicians here in Brussels are looking to is that of consumer confidence. It would be an exaggeration to suggest that consumer spending can lift Europe out of recession, but the willingness – or not – of consumers to continue to purchase goods and services is seen as an essential element in the rebuilding of Europe’s economies.

This is particularly the case within the ‘Euro-zone’ – the 17 countries which share the same currency, the Euro, since its creation ten years ago, and who now find their economic fortunes linked to a perhaps uncomfortable extent.  Europe’s politicians discover themselves in a bind: the only answers to the Euro-zone’s economic woes seem to be an increase in economic integration, or the (at least limited) dissolution of the Euro. The latter option remains deeply unattractive to the Euro-zone’s political leaders. But the mood amongst voters does not seem in favour of greater integration either.

The current French Presidential election has reinforced this notion. Nicolas Sarkozy became the first incumbent President to fail to win the first round, where he trailed behind the Socialist contender François Hollande. One reason for his low rating - extraordinary for a serving President - is that Sarko is seemingly being punished for the failure of the much lauded Sarko-Merkel (French/German) axis to deliver economic stability. At the same time, the big story of the first round of the election last month was the rise of the Front National’s vote. Led by Marine Le Pen, the nationalist, populist, and xenophobic party of the extreme right achieved an electoral highpoint, polling around 17.9% of the national vote. Although she was eliminated, having failed to place higher than third, her share of the vote was higher than the 16.8% achieved by her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, when he reached the second round in 2002. And this was not achieved in the face of a low turn-out, but with a high level of participation (almost 80% of those eligible voted). Le Pen certainly exploited the far-right’s traditional xenophobic concern with immigration in her campaign, but also cannily moved to position herself as an economic protectionist who was opposed to the Euro and argued for a return to the French franc: themes which seem to have struck a chord with voters disillusioned with the prospect of European solutions to their problems.

But whilst some French voters are looking for national solutions to European (and global) problems, it seems the German consumer views the solution as lying even closer to home: with the individual. Edelman’s recent goodpurpose® survey examined the views of consumers towards social and environmental issues. Alongside asking whether consumers value brands which put good purpose at the forefront of their activities (they do, and the trend is increasing!), the survey also asked who should be responsible for addressing social issues. The majority of Europeans surveyed agreed that the government should take the greatest responsibility – perhaps not surprising given Europe’s tradition of social welfarism. But that figure is lower for German consumers, where only 43% believe that the government is most responsible. In fact, some 36% of German consumers believe that the main responsibility for addressing social issues should lie with ‘people like me’. This belief is shared by only 15% of Belgians, 17% of French and Dutch, and 18% of British and Italian consumers, exposing a huge divergence of attitudes between Europeans.

Why such a high emphasis upon individual responsibility within Germany? Well, one plausible interpretation lies with the financial crisis. The debt crisis of some EU Member States, notably Greece, Ireland and Portugal, has led to Germany playing a leading role in bailing out these economies, something which has not been popular with German tax-payers, who have seen themselves as paying for the profligacy of their Southern neighbours. The suggestion that the individual should take greater responsibility may be a way of expressing frustration with a perceived failure of responsibility within other countries, and those countries’ reliance upon the German state to come to the rescue. ‘Let everyone solve their own problems’ might well be the message from the German consumer.

At the same time as this difference over responsibility, however, there is convergence around the impact of the downturn. Over three-quarters of those surveyed in Europe admitted that they have been affected by the global economic downturn, and reduced consumer spending emerges as being one of the top outcomes of this squeeze across all European countries surveyed.

So where does this leave the EU policy-makers in Brussels and the national capitals? Perhaps they need to accept the uncomfortable truth that whilst the Euro has made shopping and trading easier, it has not led to a greater sense of common European identity. At the moment the evidence seems to suggest that Europe is in danger of drifting further apart. And the European consumer does not seem to be either willing or able to dip her hand into her pocket, in order to rescue the struggling European economy.

Perhaps it’s only a result of getting older or maybe it’s that as a country, we are going through unprecedented complicated times, but I have never noticed Mexican people as involved in the political process, as in this upcoming election. The presidential election is three months away, and has taken over topics of conversation everywhere. The most intriguing place it has infiltrated, to me, is the consumer marketing world.

Librerías Gandhi, Mexico’s best established bookstore chain has a tradition of launching edgy campaigns bringing to light the shameful fact that us Mexicans, as a population, don’t read. Somewhere along the way, the store’s campaign began incorporating the country’s frustration with current insecurity. Billboards like this one, which roughly translates to: “if the letter comes through with blood, then Mexico must be reading a lot” began appearing right next to the ones announcing the latest fashion collection, drink of choice, or ultimate driving machine. 

The popularity of the Gandhi campaign spiraled out of control when one of the presidential contenders failed to name titles of books that have influenced his life at a book fair press conference.  Bloggers and twitter users around the country produced their own Gandhi ads poking fun at the candidate creating a marketing campaign of their own viewed and viralized by thousands online and of course, devoured by the media.

These days, at movie theaters across Mexico, videos starring celebrities who endorse the Partido Verde Ecologista (Green Party), supporting life imprisonment for kidnaping, run alongside movie trailers and advertising.  Several versions of the spots can be found on YouTube and the participating actors contribute regularly on blogs and websites.

And then there are the more subtle, yet nationalistic examples of Mexican spirit. Bachoco, Mexico’s leading poultry producer, famous for Mexican themed billboards featuring chicken eggs with soccer motifs and slogans with local slang, recently ran a campaign showing its famous chicken character within an electoral ID photo.

For a country whose communication was traditionally controlled and open criticism of the government rare, Mexico has gone a long way. Although these are difficult times, marketing clearly shows that citizens are not keeping quiet; they are speaking their minds and even trying to see the lighter side in the process.  If this is going on three months from the election, I can only imagine what’s in store next.  I plan to watch closely, so stay tuned for more…

I am not a person who typically gets obsessed with social media crazes. I joined and participate in Twitter and Facebook because I need to in order to be savvy for my job, but in my personal life I am only a passive user at best.

So I was as surprised as anyone when I joined Pinterest – and officially became obsessed. Perhaps it’s because I’m attracted to visuals, and this is a channel that aligns with my interest in food, travel, gardening, home décor and fashion. And perhaps it’s because it’s a lot less messy than my hard copy version of Pinterest – which entails ripping out inspirational pictures in magazines and putting them in a folder. 

Whatever the reason for this obsession, I’m not alone. Pinterest is unique in the social media world, in that it’s not driven by the usual group of young men, but instead by women – specifically in the 18-35 age demographic. And according to Experian’s 2012 Digital Marketer Benchmark and Trend Report, which just came out in April 2012, Pinterest is now the third most popular social network on the web (behind Facebook and Twitter).

So how do marketers get involved?  A few best practices. . .

From a brand marketer’s perspective, Pinterest is enticing. It’s an opportunity to engage their community and target audience directly, through visual storytelling. 

Self Promotion:

When a brand engages on Pinterest, it is important to represent the image of the brand, while offering an opportunity to share. For a brand to succeed on Pinterest, we at Edelman recommend following the 70/30 rule for engagement. This means a brand will engage with content 70 percent of the time, and send out brand-specific content 30 percent of the time. For example, Whole Foods pins images that represent a healthy and active lifestyle. Their pins don’t always represent products you can buy in the store, but they bring further attention to the lifestyle and meaning of the brand. And on some occasions they might feature a pin that links to a product you can buy in their stores.

Sponsored Pinners:

Similar to influencers on other social media sites, there are Pinterest users who can set the tone for successful pins in a specific category. Well-known bloggers are often influential within their niche, such as food, design, etc. Connecting with individuals who understand a brand’s category and presence on Pinterest is a great way to make a meaningful impression within the Pinterest network and amplify the brand’s online presence and reach.

Sourcing:

Every pin is tracked by a link that will take the user to the original destination. When a pin is repined several times it can build up a substantial amount of back links. As a result it’s important the pin is linked with the correct source, providing the user additional information beyond the pin. A brand can use this tool when working with copyrighted images; however it’s not the recommended approach as most users rely on a further source of information.  And as with all social networks, be sure you have permission to repost, to avoid copyright infringement issues. (Note: Edelman is working on a POV specific to this issue, so if you’re interested please let us know and we will share it with you.)

Sharing on Facebook and Twitter:

Every pin can easily be shared via Facebook and Twitter channels. It provides a great way for a brand to connect their current communities with the Pinterest network; however the tool should be used with some restraint. Pins that are shared with a wider social network should provide additional context to those channels, rather than a stream of images.  With the new Facebook app for Pinterest, there is now a deeper integration for the two sites.  This can provide further amplification for repins that will automatically show up in a user’s timeline and newsfeed.

Description:

The description is where most users look to understand the context of a pin. The description of a pin can get lost in translation after several repins. Before repining something it’s important to make sure the description reflects the idea your brand wants to represent.

Number of Boards:

There is no set number for the number of boards a brand should have, and it will often depend on the context of the brand. However, it’s likely that boards below the fold of a page will gain less attraction from users. As a result we recommend sticking with a few boards that can represent a distinct theme and stand on its own.

Contributors:

For every board on Pinterest there is an option to add multiple contributors. This allows the creator of a board to grant permission to followers of their choosing to also pin to the board. This could be useful for a brand, to have all sponsored ambassadors and bloggers pinning to one board, allowing users to follow their interests relating to the brand in a core location.

Are you getting obsessed with Pinterest too?  Don’t worry, there’s more!

Since this just skims the surface of this social media phenomenon and the ways brands can participate, I have included a few recommended articles below.  And of course, if you’d like to talk with us more, please don’t hesitate to contact our Digital guru, Diana Kelter, at diana.kelter@edelman.com.

Interesting articles:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/12/pinterest-use_n_1339687.html
• http://mashable.com/2012/01/08/pinterest-13-tips-and-tricks-for-cutting-edge-users/ 
•  http://www.fastcompany.com/1808071/chobani-yogurt-tickles-the-tastes-of-pinterest-addicts-so-can-your-brand 
•  http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_businesses_are_using_pinterest.php 
• http://www.businessinsider.com/to-pinterest-a-love-letter-2012-1  
• http://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/can-pinterest-change-your-life 

And if you haven’t joined Pinterest because you don’t care for Facebook and can’t imagine you’d ever be interested in a social medium, I urge you to reconsider. I’m sure glad I did!

The number of women in senior management roles is increasing.

Despite this, progress in many places is still slow: while in Europe more women sit in boards, most countries show a limited women’s representation.

Since 2007, McKinsey and Company has committed globally to research into women’s representation in business.

Find an interesting reading in http://www.mckinsey.com/Features/Women_Matter

For more, click here or to provide feedback, please contact trend@jcpr.com.

Did you know that we have comedians, photographers, film makers and children’s authors who work at Edelman Toronto?

On Monday, March 5th at the Gladstone, 25 people from Edelman Toronto kicked off a pilot project called StoryLab – an immersive workshop to inspire our team to be even better storytellers for our clients. We wanted to push ourselves to go outside our comfort zones to tell stories through a variety of different art forms. 

One story told many different ways

We assembled a group of awesome artists like professional storyteller Dan Yashinsky, comedian Marilla Wex, photographer Nigel Dickson, film makers from Crucial Pictures and children’s publisher pdoink.  Each artist discussed his/her craft and brought to life the critical components of telling stories through their art form.

Then the real fun happened: we split participants up and paired them with a different artist to tell the same client story in that art form. Each group had three hours to bring their story to life. and then they presented their stories to a panel of Edelman experts including Canada CEO, John Clinton, our firm’s Chief Innovation Officer, Nancy Ruscheinski and EVP, Brand Stewardship, Howard Pulchin. 

I’ve been at Edelman for nine years and was completely blown away by the commitment from our team, the incredible collaboration and the creative talent from all different practice areas and levels.  It was truly an inspiring day. 

A lot of stories came out of this day but a few key takeaways: 

• PR professionals are artists. Really we are. We need to embrace this and turn our clients’ stories into magical and meaningful ones no matter the medium. 
• Dan Yashinksy taught us that ‘stories never tell us what to think and feel. They are just a story. We decide what it means.’  I love this as it shows how intricately involved the audience is in the story. 
• A great story can come from anywhere.  In fact, our IT director Walter Miraglia was on-site helping with our tech needs.  He joined the comedy group and injected great lines.  We need to ‘tap that’ more. 
• The written word is more important than even before.  It’s important to push ourselves to incorporate other mediums but let’s not forget to innovate in this area, always.  
• Howard Pulchin pointed out that good stories stand the test of time and are told over and over again. We should use this as one of our fiilters when considering our clients’ stories. 
• All artists need outside inspiration to explore and push themselves. That’s what StoryLab did for many of us in one day but we need to incorporate non-traditional ways to bring out our inner-storytellers.   
• I was amazed by how many stories our Canadian CEO had on the tip of his tongue throughout the day. We need to always collect stories and be able to retreive them and inject into any idea, conversation, environment to make a moment more memorable or longer-lasting. 

In one day, I heard an awesome children’s story, viewed an amazing film and stunning pictures and saw a hilariouis comedy sketch routine – all written, produced and created by my amazing colleagues. I can only imagine what 120 plus artists back at Edelman Toronto can create in a year for our clients!  Can’t wait to see more stories come to life back home at the ranch!  A big thank you to our fearless CEO for his commitment to making us better storytellers.

The end. Actually, it’s just the beginning for Edelman.

As arguably the world’s most  complex and diverse region, it is impossible to have even a surface understanding of the region without first taking the time to explore the nuances of subsets of consumers in each country. Most of  you, who work on global business, know this to be the case but, particularly in Asia, are stuck with that lingering question we all feel - “Where do I even begin?”

So, we’re starting something new. Attached, you’ll find the first issue of AsiaNext, a bi-monthly thought piece that explores the unique circumstances, needs and desires of subsets of different consumers throughout Asia.  While certainly not a definitive study, AsiaNext is meant to offer a broad but uniquely honest and personal look at these consumers to, in turn, inspire your own exploration of the subsets of consumers that matter most to your clients.

In Volume One, we’ll take you to China, and zero in on The First Generation Discoverists. They are a group that, unlike previous generations, have been granted access to unprecedented opportunity - for the pursuit of wealth, the pursuit of a career and, perhaps the most profound shift, the pursuit of self-driven identity and interests.

When people talk about consumer PR in 2012 many in the industry instantly think of clever Facebook pages, celebrity endorsements and big glitzy events.   

While this is all lovely and can work, I would like to sing the virtues of the good old fashioned sampling activity, actually getting the product into the hands of your target market. 

This might sound overly simplistic but I argue that the humble product sampling activity has raised its game significantly in the past couple of years and should once again be seen to be a vital part of the marketing mix.  Sampling requires a far deeper understanding of the product and target audiences than many other examples of the world of marketing.

A great example of this is some recent work the Edelman Melbourne Team has done with Kokomo coconut water.  Set with the challenge of increasing awareness, trial and ultimately purchase amongst casual fitness fans the team created a month of free yoga events at iconic Melbourne locations including St Kilda beach and Catani Gardens.

Yoga was chosen due to the striking similarities with Kokomo’s target market – 25 – 35, fitness fans but not fanatics, leading a healthy well balanced lifestyle.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the activity we took key areas of the Transmedia Cloverleaf and used them to amplify the activity:

• Social: The event was publicised through the Facebook page and Twitter account and images of the event were posted to the page after each event
• Traditional: We invited key media down to take part in the event and provided additional product to those that turned up
• Owned: Photography from the event was sent to picture desk and used across all social platforms

The key to the activity – the event – was hosted by a fantastic Yoga instructor, Gena, who lived and breathed the product and was able to be a legitimate champion of the benefits of Kokomo supporting the sampling staff in an authentic manner.

We’ve only just wrapped up the event so the total results are still under review but what we do know is that several hundred people attended the event over the month, thousands of units were given out and word is certainly spreading.

If you’re keen to try out sampling for yourself here are my five top-tips for real world PR:

• Think about how you can make it more interactive and engaging for participants
• Choose your location wisely, make sure it has plenty of relevant foot traffic
• Use ambassadors to provide authenticity if you have them, not just promo staff
• Spread the activity across the transmedia cloverleaf where possible
• Run it for more than one event if possible