Mi liberty

Who’s in the hot seat?

Dee Gibbs

Sum up your agency’s 2010 in less than 140 characters

We celebrated 12 years of Mi liberty, from a small back bedroom in 1998 to an international tech agency with a fantastic team and loyal clients, we feel quite grown up!

Name your three best technology clients or account wins

Over ninety per cent of our business is based on recommendation and the contacts we have built in the industry. I’m touched that the media and the industry regularly reference the quality of our capabilities. Our reputation could not be built without them. Here’s three clients we won on referral which also happen to be three of the most exciting wins for the agency too:

WeDo Technologies – referred by a key member of their target press, WeDo began discussing their plans for an outsourced agency partner in mid 2010. WeDo Technologies is a global organisation offering revenue and business assurance solutions for blue chip companies.

PSonar – referred by an ex-client and mobile and music industry luminary, Psonar selected Mi liberty to work on its first foray into public life which was timed to coincide with MIDEM, a music industry event held in Cannes, South of France each January. Psonar offers a cloud music service with a new Pay Per Play proposition. Tracks can be listened to in full, uninterrupted and with no advertising or fixed monthly subscriptions.

MoreMagic – referred by an ex-client who was freshly appointed to lead MoreMagic’s marketing out of Boston, USA. MoreMagic chose Mi liberty in November 2010 and have used the capabilities across the agency including PR and marketing for the build of its new website and trade show presence.  MoreMagic Solutions provides mobile commerce and financial services solutions to enable a global mobile financial ecosystem that brings mobile operators, financial institutions, NGOs, distribution partners together.

What was the most exciting technology PR campaign you ran in 2010?

It’s difficult to pick just one because we worked on some really exciting campaigns, some of which were extensions of existing or rolling programmes, and some which were entirely new and diverse. So, I’ve picked the one which I think showcased our agency capabilities in the best way:

• Telmap – Challenge of the Mobile Navigation Market

Faced with the challenge of Google and Nokia entering the mobile navigation market, our client Telmap was confronted by a wall of cynicism and predictions of failure regarding its white label, operator-based navigation offering. We worked with Telmap’s marketing team to establish clear messaging and launched an aggressive thought leadership campaign securing more than 50 media and analyst briefings in the UK alone. More than 725 pieces of coverage were generated, of which 95% featured either one or two Telmap messages or a sizeable quote from its key spokespeople. By July 2010, the fruits of our labour started to show and Telmap was described as the “LBS giant” and “a leading authority in mobile location services”, with an offering that's clearly differentiated from the Google and Nokia offerings.

What was the best piece of technology PR work NOT done by you in 2010

• Launch of the HTC Desire.

Not only because it is a great functionality handset but it also has Qualcomms snapdragon chip set. The PR programme led to many positive reviews and helped to educate consumers to the benefits of the android operating system.

Significant technology hires in 2010

Succession planning is a focus and in 2010 we promoted a senior account director to lead client services, an account director to senior account director and promotions were awarded at all levels of account manager and executive. We’ve brought in junior support from the graduate community and we’ve bolstered our support in North America. We hired a senior industry executive to lead Mi liberty’s brand new consulting business - designed to help companies launch into Europe in a cost effective manner.

Highlight of 2010

Having a really supportive senior management team who have been loyal and hard working. We successfully created a client services role to reflect the Mi liberty ethos and approach to client satisfaction which is the bedrock of all we stand for. The result? Additional revenues from existing clients and opportunities to cross-sell digital marketing services. Oh, and we upgraded our look and feel too!

What do you think will be the key trends for technology PR in 2011

We’ve always known this, but there is a real shift from technology for technology sake stories. More and more companies are being challenged to raise their message to the boardroom and C-suite decision makers and this means that Technology PR practitioners are being asked to create compelling business driven campaigns that the business press/broadsheets and financial titles will take notice of and cover.

Alongside this, technology firms are now looking for communicators to come up with those BIG ideas, the wow factor that will stand their technology solution out from everyone else’s. We’ve seen this for a while too, but it’s a growing trend and one which we meet in nearly every PR brief we receive. Of course, the trick here is to balance the “out there” idea with a pragmatic and realistic campaign approach which will actually rollout in practise.

And finally, I’d like to see the adoption of technology in technology PR.  Far too often, it’s the tried and tested, the safe and samey tactics which are offered up.  In this fast-moving and ever-developing world of tech PR, it’s time to think how technology can better communicate the message whether that’s the development of a social media news release, a mobile app, a digital collaborative portal or other new 2.0 tool.

Plans for 2011

Consolidating our industry position is key. We’re excited at our prospects and think that our new Mi liberty consulting offer will resonate well with companies looking to establish themselves in Europe in a cost effective manner across business development, marketing and PR.

To take more breaks. Seriously, I know that I can be effective when I’m away from the day to day. I’m lucky enough to have a solid, trustworthy group of talented people around me at Mi liberty and it would be wrong for me not to give them a chance to take Mi liberty forward whilst I kick off my heels from time to time! I’m sure they’re counting the days….;-)