No Cause for Concern: Key Considerations to Help Demystify CSR Rankings

Alyssa Ehrlich, Senior Account Executive, New York

As stakeholders continue to increase scrutiny of companies’ performance beyond the bottom line, companies have been placing greater focus on measuring and tracking their social and environmental efforts. And with an increasing number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability rankings being released over the past several years, companies are commonly relying on these rankings as an easy way to assess their performance and benchmark against competitors.

Being included on highly visible rankings, such as Newsweek’s Green Rankings, Corporate Knights’ Global 100, the Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies, and Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s Best Corporate Citizens (to name a few), can strongly boost a company’s corporate reputation and be leveraged in internal and external communications to validate social and environmental performance. When companies are excluded from these rankings it could raise a red flag given that in today’s business environment “citizen consumers” increasingly want companies to spend time thinking about not just the interests of their own company but those of society as a whole.     

But before you run to see where your company, competitor or client stands on the most recent CSR ranking (the 2012 Newsweek’s Green Rankings were released a few weeks ago) and make judgments about performance, there are some important considerations to keep in mind:

1. Concern Over Credibility and Value of Rankings Exists

It’s important to raise upfront that there has been a significant amount of discussion over the past few years about the credibility of CSR rankings and whether they are truly helping or hurting the CSR field. Methodologies of CSR rankings vary significantly, making it difficult to glean any consistent insights. In many cases, CSR rankings do not account for differences in industries and sectors and as a result, the rankings are not truly comparing “apples to apples.” And in the case of those rankings associated with media properties, such as Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s Best Corporate Citizens, skeptics have raised concerns as to whether these publications have conflicting interests when determining rankings (e.g., selecting companies that will pursue sponsorships, advertising, etc.). 

2. Prioritize Some Rankings Over Others to Maximize Engagement

With an increasing number of CSR rankings appearing each year, it can be a bit overwhelming to determine which ones to prioritize. Many of the research companies that compile data for these rankings reach out to companies directly, offering an opportunity to review findings and provide any corrections or additional information. This is a time intensive process and as a result, it’s important to prioritize which rankings are most significant to you and your stakeholders.  

3. CSR Rankings Commonly Differ in  Scope and Scale 

While some CSR rankings focus on a variety of environmental and social attributes – such as greenhouse gas emissions, human rights, and philanthropy – several drill deep in a specific area. For example, Newsweek’s Green Rankings focus primarily on the environment while the Ethisphere Institute’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list focuses predominantly on ethics and compliance. Furthermore, some CSR rankings focus exclusively on U.S. companies while others are global in nature. Both the scope and scale of these rankings can have a significant impact on where companies stand and as a result, you should look past the overarching rank and where applicable, assess how the company performs against the specific attributes measured and against competitors in their industry/sector and geographic region.

4. Disclosure Is a Key Part of the Ranking Equation

Many rankings focus on companies’ disclosure and transparency of reporting on their social and environmental impact in addition to their actual performance. For example, Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s Best Corporate Citizens places emphasis on whether a company transparently discloses its greenhouse gas emissions versus the size of a company’s carbon footprint. Additionally, Newsweek’s Green Rankings includes an “environmental disclosure score,” which accounts for 10 percent of the total score that determines a company’s ranking.  

5. CSR Performance Isn’t Always Black and White

CSR rankings are commonly faced with a catch-22—they need to use a standardized “check the box” approach to objectively measure and compare companies’ operational performance across CSR areas yet this approach limits the opportunity to assess how sophisticated companies are tailoring their CSR efforts to strategically align with their business objectives and strategies. Through these rankings it is difficult to showcase how some companies are taking a “shared value” approach to enhancing both profit and societal impact. Nonetheless, it’s important that companies focus on taking a holistic approach to improving CSR performance as opposed to trying to check the boxes for a ranking.

Overall, when viewing CSR rankings with an understanding of the points above, these rankings can be helpful tools to generally track and assess companies’ CSR performance and reputation. However, rankings should by no means be viewed as the be-all end-all. At the end of the day, implementing CSR strategies that are tailored to your company and stakeholders and tracking against your short-term and long-term social and environmental goals should outweigh everything else.

Five Simple Ways to Give Back this Holiday Season

Lindsay Stout, Account Supervisor, Dallas

The holiday season is hectic – we all know that. But despite the added activities and stress, people seem to be more aware of others this time of year and eager to accept opportunities to be more like George Bailey than the Grinch.

However, amidst the decorating, shopping and preparing for parties and houseguests, there’s not a lot of spare time to be found. In an effort to make this holiday season a little less stressful, here are some thoughts on easy ways to give back this holiday season.

1. Raise Awareness
There are lots of great causes this time of year you can easily support without much effort. For example, if you’re a guy, there’s still a few days left to grow a moustache or ‘mo’ during the month of November, which is now becoming more commonly known as Movember. Edelman is adopting this global charity and Edelman client to help raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives. Whatever cause is most important to you, make sure to tell more people about it this year.

2. Make a Quick Donation
Whether it’s an online monetary contribution or dropping off actual goods, take a few minutes to make a donation. It doesn’t take much time to get on a website such as RedCross.org and give to those who have been affected by disasters like Superstorm Sandy. While you’re at the grocery store, you may want to consider picking up some extra canned goods for your local food pantry. Or, during your holiday shopping, add a few extra toys to your basket to give to a group like Toys for Tots.

3. Collaborate with Colleagues
In lieu of a holiday party this year, consider spending that time volunteering with your colleagues for a local charity, or pulling together funds to sponsor a child or family from an Angel Tree. If the holiday season proves to be too hectic for everyone, find time during the remainder of the year to give back in your city. In the past year, Edelman Dallas has helped paint and furnish an apartment to get it ready for a new family with Family Gateway and has helped make meals for Hunger Busters’ after school program.

4. Alter your Gift Exchange
How many times have you said, “I have no idea what to give so-and-so.”? The truth is many of us have more than we could ever need. If you’re not quite sure what to get someone this year, make a donation in his or her name or add the names of a few charities to your own wish list. Skip the Secret Santa and White Elephant gift exchanges with your friends and family, and pool the money you would have spent to make a more impactful gift to someone in need.
 
5. Clean Out Your Closet
As you start to look at your winter wardrobe, evaluate what you don’t need anymore, especially coats, sweaters, gloves and other winter gear. Look out for local coat drives and notices on your door about clothing item pickups, or drop off items with Goodwill or The Salvation Army. Also, check your cabinets for extra beauty products or toiletries you’ve picked up on your travels throughout the year that can be donated.

We hope these ideas will provide a little bit of inspiration for ways you can make a difference this holiday season for those in need. Send us a Tweet to let us know what you’re doing to give back this year.

A Better Version of Ourselves is the Best Gift of All

By Helen Vollmer, President, Southwest

It’s all about the gift.  As you’ll read in this issue of E-volution, my colleagues and I are focused on giving, both personally and corporately, not only during this holiday season but also all year long.

But this also is a good time to assess what it means to give the best of ourselves.  It seems that all too often we are more concerned with “getting it done” as opposed to “getting it done right” or “getting it done thoughtfully” or “getting it done to the best of our abilities.”  Perhaps the best gift we can give others is to take the time to stretch ourselves, hone our talents and expansively offer a better version of ourselves.

We all have talents and acquired skills.  We each have knowledge, interests and personality traits that can help our families, neighbors and colleagues.  Aren’t sure what your special gifts are?  Just ask those close to you – they’ll be able to tick them off in a nanosecond.

Who knows?  Maybe instead of quickly snapping off an answer that is at best a gut reaction, a thoughtful probing response would deliver a better strategy.  Or, showing off that dazzling smile can make a point that words can’t convey.  Do you have great penmanship?  Then win brownie points and some self- satisfaction in the form of a personally written note instead of an email.  Good at details?  Help someone organize a task they are putting off.  Got some bottled up creative juices?  Call an unexpected brainstorm on a challenge your team is facing.

At the end of the day, maybe it’s not about what we get done, but what we get done well by sharing our unique, personal gifts in ways that let others shine, too.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Have a safe, happy and healthy holiday.  See you in 2013!

Edelman Southwest Gives Back

Earlier this year, each of the Edelman Southwest offices participated in Edelman’s 60x60x60 “Summer of Service,” to support hunger and poverty alleviation in honor of our company’s 60th anniversary.

Below, please find a recap of how the Dallas, Austin and Houston offices gave back to their communities.


Dallas: Busting Hunger and Fighting Food Insecurity
By Rupa Patel, Account Supervisor, Dallas

For Edelman’s 60x60x60 “Summer of Service,” Edelman Dallas partnered with Hunger Busters, a local organization that provides much-needed meals to underprivileged children.

Few of us realized Texas was among the top four U.S. states with food insecure children. A staggering number of children are forced to go to bed without dinner, or as one Hunger Busters staffer told us, use substitutes like ketchup packets mixed with warm water as their meal.

We spent two afternoons at Hunger Busters and prepared 1,200 meals consisting of a sandwich, a piece of fruit, a fruit/pudding snack and a brownie. The three-person team at Hunger Busters explained they do not have the supplies to feed all the children in need, so they feed different grades daily, ensuring children have three meals at least two-to-three times a week.

Hunger Busters also introduced us to the “lunch box challenge” where volunteers fold as many meal boxes as they can in 60 seconds. After a few practice rounds, competitors lined up. The majority of us fumbled with our boxes, trying to close them without tearing edges or squishing food. Most of us only made it through six, but one assistant account executive, Mahsau Daee, sped through 12 boxes – setting a new Hunger Busters record!

Volunteering with Hunger Busters not only allowed us to help a wonderful cause, but it gave us valuable perspective on the prevalence of food insecurity in our own community. Hunger Busters is an incredibly inspiring organization and we are eager to continue to build on this relationship in any way we can. 


Austin Gives Back: Volunteering at the Capital Area Food Bank
By Alex Bernardin, Senior Account Executive, Austin

As part of Edelman’s 60x60x60 “Summer of Service,” the Austin office was excited to give back to the community by spending an afternoon at the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest hunger-relief charity in Central Texas. The Food Bank provides food and grocery products, nutrition education and social services outreach to 300,000 clients each year through a network of 300 partner agencies.

On a hot and sunny Thursday afternoon in August, 13 members of the Edelman Austin office turned on their out-of-office notices and headed down the road to spend the afternoon giving back. When we arrived at Capital Area Food Bank, we were given a brief orientation session and were assigned different duties. We spent the afternoon cleaning, sorting and putting together goods that would then be distributed to various partner agencies, like homeless shelters, throughout Central Texas.

Our team split up to perform our assigned duties, working hand-in-hand with staff and regular volunteers who showed us the ropes. We sorted through all different kinds of food and beverages that had been donated from local grocery stores, and used teamwork to work quickly and efficiently – our three hours flew by!

At the end of our shift, we learned that we had sorted and organized more than 5,600 pounds of goods, which equated to 4,480 meals that would feed hungry Central Texans. We really enjoyed our time volunteering, and have even discussed setting up a monthly shift on weekends for our Austin employees who want to participate to continue giving back to the community. 


Edelman Houston Takes Action Against Hunger in the Inner-City
By Janna Hughes, Account Supervisor, Houston

At the start of the summer, on a day with temperatures reaching the upper 90s, seven Edelman Houston employees put on food-service hair nets and gloves to assemble roughly 1,000 pounds of produce and non-perishable food items set to go to thousands of families in Houston’s inner-city neighborhoods as part of our “Summer of Service” efforts.

This endeavor was just one component of a year-round initiative to reach an alarming number of families in Houston’s inner city who lack accessible, affordable and healthy food. Each month, more than 12,000 families receive “bundles” of food from Target Hunger, one of Houston’s largest community-based organizations, which distributes over five million pounds of food annually through 12 food pantries, 11 senior day sites and 11 home delivery routes.

Recognizing the need to provide support close to home, Edelman Houston joined forces with Target Hunger earlier this year. Through the partnership, staff members have dedicated hours of their time to help plant gardens, assemble bags of food and distribute it to those in need. In addition, they have also provided professional counsel to assist with the development of Target Hunger client case studies, collateral and other communications materials requested by the organization.

Ongoing service to both local community and nationally-focused efforts continues to be a priority for Edelman Houston employees. In addition to supporting Target Hunger, a number of Edelman Houston employees have chosen a path of self-directed volunteering around the Houston area, including:

• Tutoring underprivileged teenagers
• Assisting adults with GED preparation
• Providing a place of refuge for individuals diagnosed with HIV
• Working with local animal shelters to find pets a loving home

Earning a License to Lead

Mark Hass, President and CEO of Edelman U.S.

Edelman turned 60 years old this summer, and the firm’s leadership and employees marked the anniversary by dedicating themselves to a summer of service in the 66 communities around the world where we live and operate.

We got a lot done, from Shanghai to Chicago, and our employees were energized with the idea that businesses in 2012 and beyond can play a key role in addressing many of the issues troubling our world. But to truly make a difference, this idea must extend beyond a summer of service into an ongoing commitment to make a business’s value to society every bit as much a priority as a return on equity. What’s more, with trust in government and media declining in most places in the world (source: Edelman Trust Barometer 2012), the time is right for business to play a larger role. 

A company’s customers, employees and other stakeholders expect that approach. Data that Edelman gathers as part of its Trust Barometer, GoodPurpose and 8095 studies show that:

• Societal attributes are more important to building future trust than operational attributes; 86 percent of people believe business needs to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on business interests
• Young people especially demand that business act with their communities in mind; nearly 50 percent say it’s important for a company to be an active member of its local community, and 41 percent say it’s important for a company to be involved in a global cause.

There are many great examples of companies that advance their values in the communities in which they operate.  Southwest Airlines has adapted its legendary corporate culture to the more than 90 communities it serves through a network of 40,000 employees who volunteer on a regular basis, embodying the company’s “live by golden rule” ethos.  And Starbucks’ Shared Planet conveys the commitment the company has to progressive social and environmental initiatives. (Disclosure: Southwest Airlines and Starbucks are Edelman clients.)

At Edelman, citizenship is an operating philosophy – in fact it’s one of the firm’s key values. Overall priorities and objectives are shared across the firm, like in supporting hunger and poverty alleviation during our Summer of Service, but local offices are empowered to determine how best to engage with their communities. 

We’ve also joined “A Billion + Change,” committing 15,000 hours of pro bono consulting with a $2.25M value to our communities. This national coalition of business, government and non-governmental organizations hopes to transform how businesses leverage their employees to make a lasting impact on society.

Every action business takes will matter.  Whether limiting greenhouse gases (Edelman is committed to reducing its greenhouse emissions by 5 percent by 2015) or expecting ethical behavior from business partners, no single undertaking exists on its own. And success ultimately relies on the actions of individuals who are motivated and supported by their employer. 

I’m grateful to be a part of a firm that walks the talk when it comes to making community service a vital part of our culture and our business operations.

A couple of weeks ago, I joined colleagues for an afternoon of service at the Off the Street Club, Chicago's oldest boys and girls club, which gives 4- to 18-year-olds a safe and friendly place to be in a neighborhood where gangs and drugs are can seem ever-present.  We gave the club a cash donation, but more importantly we talked with the kids, joked around and helped them carve Halloween pumpkins.

I’m not naïve enough to believe that one afternoon like that changes everything for those children, but I do believe that the more days like that they have, the better the world will be.  And surely, those few hours at the club were the most important work I did that day.

How is your company making citizenship a business imperative? I’m interested in your experience. Email me at mark.hass@edelman.com.

Innovation Looks Pretty Wonky to Me

By Helen Vollmer, President, Southwest

In a recent meeting of Edelman’s leadership we pondered what does our company (or any agency) look like in 2022?  We all had great individual as well as collective visions for the future.  Not surprisingly, we agreed that having strong data and analytic talent would be critical to future growth and stellar client service.  

At first blush, it sounds a bit wonky for a public relations firm to be filled with wonks, right?  But it’s clear that having access to, analyzing and strategically using real time data in a 24-7 world is what will drive employee and public engagement in the coming years.   Simply, it is data and content that will power our world.

That’s not to say that the need for strategists, relationship builders and creative types will go away.  On the contrary, their importance will build as the world becomes more collaborative.  This is one reason Edelman recently formed our Strategic + Creative Guild.  This is a group of strategists, art directors, copywriters and digital gurus from across our network working together on the best ways to build insight- driven initiatives for our clients, no matter their industry or practice.

New technology always has and always will change the way humans interact with each other – from the wheel  and telescope to steam locomotives, airplanes, automobiles, electric lights, movie projectors, computers, cellphones and apps for curing what ails us.  At the end of the day,  technology and creativity come together to produce innovation.  A step in the right direction for all of us.

Top Tech Gadgets for the Holiday Season

By Katie Gaskin, Assistant Account Executive, Austin

With the beginning of fall comes the inevitable stress surrounding holiday shopping. What to get for the person who has everything, or the tech geek in the family? In the digital world we live in, gadgets that allow for multitasking and provide the latest technology and fastest connectivity are highly sought after, making them ideal holiday gifts. Consumers are constantly seeking the newest, greatest and fastest technology as soon as it’s available, a trend exemplified by the craze surrounding Apple’s release of an updated iPhone each fall. Fortunately, a crop of cool gadgets has recently debuted, just in time to avoid any holiday shopping woes. Read on for some of the latest tech gadgets to hit the market.

iPhone 5
This is a given. If you know someone who wasn’t one of the 2 million-plus people to pre-order the iPhone 5 within the first 24 hours it was available, consider it a sure-to-please holiday present.  A 4-inch retina display, faster than ever Wi-Fi and a battery that manages to be more powerful while conserving battery life make the iPhone 5 a must-have for the mobile minded.

The HP Envy Sleekbook 6z
With features like Rapid Smart and Smart Response technology, and perks such as dual speakers and a subwoofer through the Beats Audio system, it’s hard to believe that the HP Envy Sleekbook 6 is only 19.8mm thick. The Sleekbook is the ideal size for transporting and has a battery life of up to 9 hours, allowing you to work all day without ever having to search for a plug to recharge.

iPad Mini
While Apple has not officially announced the iPad Mini, the device is hitting the rumor mill hard. The tech blog Gizmodo published pictures of a working device, while InformationWeek revealed specs for the gadget, which should measure 7.8 inches in diameter, similar in size to a Kindle and other Android tablets. Bloggers expect Apple to make an official announcement this month, so until then, keep this item in the back of your mind while doing any early shopping, as it is sure to top holiday wish lists this year.

Samsung Galaxy Camera
The Galaxy Camera by Samsung marks the first camera to offer 3G and 4G data connections in addition to Wi-Fi. Perfect for photography buffs or those who are constantly on the go, the Galaxy Camera presents the first real challenge to the portability and convenience of the smartphone. Other features include GPS, Bluetooth, the ability to download apps through Google Play and, of course, a 21x optical zoom, 1/2.3-inch BSI CMOS image sensor as well as a 4.77-inch LCD screen.

Toys R Us Tabeo Tablet
Not to forget the kiddos on everyone’s holiday list, the new Tabeo tablet released by Toys R Us is designed specifically for children. The 7-inch Android powered tablet is equipped with Wi-Fi (with plenty of parental controls), an HDMI port to connect to a TV and 50 preloaded games, educational apps and books. Last but not least, the tablet has a drop-safe bumper to protect it from any bumps and bruises. The Tabeo hits stores on October 21 and is available for pre-order on the Toys R Us website.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon’s newest e-reader, the Paperwhite, features higher resolution and contrast, an 8 week battery life and a patented built-in light. The Kindle’s screen lighting is its distinguishing feature from other tablets, allowing for optimal reading conditions without glare, even in the brightest of sunlight. The Paperwhite takes this feature to the next level with adjustable brightness that provides the perfect amount of light for reading in bed or relaxing by the pool. No additional reading lamp is needed.

Big Data Promise Tremendous Potential for Communicators

By By Kym White, Global Practice Chair, Health

 I’m just back from the Arthur Page conference in San Francisco, the twice-yearly confab for Chief Communications Officers, and this year’s theme was a steady drumbeat about data.

“Big data,” of course – data that ultimately hold the promise of more than volume, but actual diversity to power the answers to myriad questions. IBM’s John Kelly gave a terrific talk about what big data mean to communicators, speaking to “the four V’s” – the volume, velocity, variety and veracity that big data promise. Interestingly enough, he projects that in the next few years nearly 80 percent of our data will be coming in the form of video. While it’s difficult to think of the infographics we’ve all become so good at creating over the past few years as a passing fad driving audience engagement, Kelly predicts video will dominate in the not-so-distant future.

Ann Winblad, partner at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, discussed how a data-driven orientation is built into every company they are funding, no matter what the sector. The implications of this are enormous, especially as we think about IBM’s Watson taking up residence at Wellpoint for the last seven months.

In discussions following these presentations, the CCOs assembled to discuss the possibilities that big data advance. Having data is one thing, but what do we ask of it, learn from it, do with it? And where does the CCO fit in this picture?

Throughout the meeting, CCOs were polled real-time on questions relating to data use, ownership and measurement. Here are just a few data points generated at the meeting that might interest communicators:

• 41 percent of CCOs ranked big data as “very important” to their organizations – yet 30 percent acknowledged it is “important – but we aren’t doing much in this area yet”
• CCOs named customer feedback, brand research and formal media and opinion surveys as their top three sources of data in their current roles
• They also say that the CIO has the biggest share of budget for big data (45 percent), followed closely by CMOs (36 percent)
• 55 percent indicated they needed assistance in measuring the ROI of big data, with nearly 35 percent reporting they were unsure if they needed assistance, presumably related to the number of CCOs calling big data important but suggesting their companies are not deeply engaged with it yet

Big data is on its way. How do you think it will it change the way we work as communicators?

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on the Edelman Global Practices Blog, and can be found here.

How Dad and ‘Ma Bell Taught Me to Embrace Innovation and Change

  By Susan MacLaughlin, Account Supervisor, Dallas

My Daddy works for Western, and my Mommy works for Bell.
Considering Divestiture, I think I turned out swell.
Introducing Susan Kathryn, the newest Baby Bell.

So read the first few lines of the birth announcement for a third generation telecom brat.

My PR career has allowed me to work with a variety of telecommunications and technology companies that talk in bits and bytes and mostly work in rather bland office suites. But through my family’s history with AT&T and the Bell System, I’ve had an up-close view of an industry that’s moved from clunky landline rotary phones to smart devices and from an intricate maze of wires and poles to the cloud. 

With rapid innovation, old technologies often fall by the wayside. For example, there’s no longer a need for the porcelain and glass insulators that my grandfather once installed on top of telephone poles (they sure are pretty, though). While this may be the case, my Dad taught me how to balance my love for the products and services I pitch today with the promise of future innovation.

While Dad was among the engineers who worked on innovations like digital electronic switching, the time he spent improving long distance service to the towns and cities where he grew up were a highlight of his career. Through his work with Western Electric, he and his team were responsible for the construction and maintenance of a network of microwave towers placed throughout the rolling hills of Western Wisconsin.  They didn’t look like much – squatty little concrete buildings with metal towers pointing toward the sky – and were often placed smack in the middle of cow pastures. But at the time, the technology was mesmerizing – especially for an old farm kid like my Dad. Rather than relying solely on lines to relay the call, the microwave towers created a high frequency path for communication, relaying the transmission through the air from one tower to another until it was finally switched into our local telephone office and from there, to customers’ homes. 

Dad loved those towers. He loved them so much that he even brought my Mom to see them when they went on dates. Romantic, right? The towers were a huge part of his life. And then, just as quickly as the towers went up, they became obsolete. By 1989, AT&T announced that it would retire all its analog transmission facilities.   

On the one hand, it could be really easy to say that the thousands of hours he spent constructing microwave towers were a waste. But over the course of many drives through rural Wisconsin, what my Dad taught me as we passed by those defunct towers is that while those structures were a huge part of his life, microwave towers were a necessary step between the lines and poles my grandfather installed and the more advanced innovations that drive the way we communicate today. In fact, Dad was able to take what he learned from working on those towers and apply it to a twilight consulting career with various spin-off companies in Dallas during the telecom boom.

Dad has been retired for years now, but his lessons remain true. While innovation can lead to moments of reflection and nostalgia, the evolution of technology is also a good part of what makes working with it so incredibly fun and rewarding. Technology companies, including many of our clients, are constantly updating and improving their offerings – to the extent that when we look back at our pitches 10 years from now, their products and services will likely seem as antiquated as a 1970s-era microwave tower. And you know, even if the products and services we currently work with are gone within a year, we’ll have developed critical knowledge and relationships to help us keep having fun with the client technologies of tomorrow.  I know I’m still having a ball, and I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.
 
 

A View From TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012

By Maria Amundson, GM, Silicon Valley

This year’s TechCrunch Disrupt, the annual Mecca of Bay Area entrepreneurialism, was an inimitable combination of great ideas, sharp mentors, impressive startups and contagious optimism for the future, along with the inevitable dash of caffeine overdose, self-reverence, insider lexicon and crazy socks. The enthusiasm was palpable, with over 300 startups exhibiting in the hallways and competing in pitch-offs to panels of angel investors and venture capitalists. In between, TechCrunch journalists hosted interviews onstage with interesting figures like Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The startup competition was friendly but fierce, particularly in the transportation disrupt-ors field where Your Mechanic, Lit Motors and a bevy of ride sharing services like Uber and Lyft showed off their business ideas and pitching prowess. Other clusters of innovation centered on food and wellness, parenting, sports, entertainment, publishing, conferencing, fan sites, careers, learning and mobile commerce.

The revered wise elders (at least relatively elder) at Disrupt, like Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz and Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn and Greylock Ventures, this year pointed to the enterprise as a key area for disruptive innovation. Hoffman predicted “the next cycle of IPO’s will be enterprise. And what’s interesting about that is much of [the innovative development] has roots in consumer, like Workday. And these will be substantial, world-changing companies.” The Wall Street Journal subsequently picked up this refrain.

Beyond the visions of smart, dedicated and passionate idealists, TechCrunch Disrupt also gave an entertaining view of some of the silly insider lexicon: terms like “iterate, liftoff, and glocal” used with very straight faces. Google Ventures’ Kevin Rose put it well in this New York Magazine capture of some of the day one conversation overheard on the floor of Disrupt. I didn’t check his socks.

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on the Edelman Global Practices Blog, and can be found here.

Educate Yourself

By Helen Vollmer, President, Southwest

 

Education Reform.  Heavy sigh.  We hear a lot about it, but from my experience in querying people about it, the general response is,” yeah, we need it.”  But few can tell you what it is, what’s being done about it and at what cost (both financially and personally).  

This issue of E-volution is all about education from some of our experts in the field.  As we grapple with very real and emerging issues that affect us as a nation and society in general, one thing is certain.  Education is a very complex undertaking. 

In fact, education reform is so complex that it has been a topic of discussion since Plato’s time (The Republic).  Thomas Jefferson advocated ambitious reforms for public schooling, as did Rousseau, Thoreau, Dewey (remember the Dewey Decimal system?), Montessori and Bush (No Child Left Behind).

Clearly, no one has found the silver bullet yet to education reform.  In the meantime, according to an OECD report, the United States which ties for first place with Switzerland in annual spending per student, still lags far behind the schools of other wealthy nations in reading, math and science.

Education topics we all have a stake in include accountability, accessibility, teacher quality, curriculum standards, bilingual education, teacher quality, class sizes, instructional philosophies, academic standards, digital approaches, and mainstreaming students with learning disabilities.  And, oh, yes, did I say funding?

Education should not be a partisan issue but, of course, it is. The debate will rage on.  All we can do is educate ourselves, have a voice and work within our communities to better schools and academic approaches.  As schools and universities gear back up, let’s not forget we can always raise our educational standards for those to come.  We can do better. 

Higher Ed is Coming Apart at the Seams – Or Not

By Julia Weede, Senior Vice President, Education, Dallas

The hyper-saturated media world of economic, political and technological news is proving to be a dangerous place for traditional ideas about education this fall.  The 2012-13 school year finds schools and educators facing changes at a speed perhaps never seen before.

Education analysts, commentators and media have echoed several “memes” in the global dialog on education this year. But like all fast-spreading words of common wisdom, the details often get left behind, and it is the details that tell the tale.

Here’s a closer look at four themes we have seen over the last several months:

1. Online classes spell the end of traditional universities.
The Details: Well, yes and no. The reality is a bit more complex. Online college students are, for now, still very different from traditional students. According to a 2012 study by Aslanian Market Research, the average online student in the U.S is 33, female and Caucasian. She has almost two years of college credit, and had to leave school because life got in the way. She has a job and wants a promotion or is worried about the economy. Her online program is from a school within 100 miles of her home. She would prefer to go to classes on campus, but just wants to complete her degree, so she is fitting the program to her reality.

Two-thirds of all online students are currently pursuing degrees from a traditional, non-profit college or university. The next five years will see more traditional universities building out their online offerings. So will traditional universities change? Absolutely. Will they disappear? Most will not – at least not those who can see the value of working with students across a spectrum of their lives and needs for learning.

2. The fact that college costs are rising shows that schools are insensitive to the needs of families.
The Details: The little-understood fact of college costs is that university scholarships are a primary driver of increased costs. Why? Institutional scholarships are simply a discount in tuition. So in order to offer big scholarships, most schools end up increasing tuition.

So why not just cut out scholarships and drastically lower tuition? Most college enrollment people will tell you this would be institutional suicide. Here’s why. Answer honestly: If it was your child and you had a choice between a $40,000 per year education with $15,000 in scholarships, or a $25,000 per year education with no scholarships, which would you choose?

It could be argued that as consumers we get the college pricing system we want. Even in higher education – or maybe especially in higher education – most families equate cost with quality and scholarships with sheer merit. 

3. Liberal arts degrees are a waste of money.
The Details:  A January 2012 study found that college graduates with skills traditionally related to broad liberal arts degrees – critical thinking, analytical reasoning and solid writing skills – were three times less likely to be unemployed than those who didn’t have these skills. This Social Science Research Council data is notable in an economic climate where higher education has been commoditized into a 1:1 investment-vs.-first-job-offer equation.

U.S. Dept. of Labor statistics now show that most college graduates will have 16 jobs over three distinctly different careers; many of these jobs haven’t been created yet. Which job does a student prepare for? There are many paths to success for college graduates, and with the focus on core reasoning, communication and analytical skills, the liberal arts continues to be one of them.

4. Student Debt is Crippling a Generation Burdened by Six-Figure Student Loan Amounts
The Details:  Student loan debt is a serious issue, especially in an economic cycle where graduates face fewer job prospects. Casual observers of recent news might be forgiven for assuming that the average college student is graduating with a calamitous amount of student debt.

But a recent study from FinAid.org shows that only 1.5 percent of all college students graduated with $100,000 or more in student debt. About 90 percent of them had been students in graduate or professional programs.

According to a 2012 College Board study on student debt in 2009-10, there has been a rapid rise in the amount of overall student debt being incurred each year. But as NPR reports, “it turns out that the rise in total student debt is not primarily the result of each student borrowing more money. It’s the result of more students going to college.”

In reality, the average bachelor’s degree debt for grads from public universities was $12,300 in 2009-10. Private school grads took on a total average of $18,300 in student loans.  Even the priciest private schools see total student loan averages equivalent to that of an average car loan – and one could argue that the depreciation is not nearly as steep.

Mitigating Reputational Risk in Higher Education

By Andrew Liuzzi, Vice President, Crisis and Issues Management, Chicago

Higher education has confronted a number of high-profile issues and crises in recent years that have altered the academic landscape and sparked a new era of reputational risk to campuses across the United States.  As a working definition, Edelman defines reputational risk as the gap between an organization’s performance/behavior and stakeholder expectations. 

In the wake of scandals at Penn State, Syracuse, Florida A&M and Wisconsin, schools now face intensified scrutiny around the clock and, consequently, their stakeholders expect them to develop a robust capability to manage and mitigate reputational risk.

We believe that it’s crucial for a university to employ the same laser-focus on managing against reputational risk as it traditionally has devoted to other enterprise risks, such as operations (e.g., 2010 shooting at the University of Texas-Austin), financial (e.g., tuition shortfalls) and legal.

Here’s one reason why. Any sensitive issue that now emerges at a major institution will fuel media interest and trigger any number of stakeholder responses. This is especially true when the issue involves high-profile athletics. As such, any school must be prepared for such situations with a robust set of mitigation strategies.

The schools that properly integrate this risk into a broader Enterprise Risk Management strategy will almost certainly gain enhanced protection against destabilizing issues that threaten their core license to operate. Those that do not will likely experience a severe loss of confidence in their institution and erosion in trust that could damage alumni giving, enrollment and a school’s brand equity.

We have found that shortcomings in three key behaviors compel institutions to act to improve or overhaul the management of reputational risk: accountability, decisional analysis and preparedness. Accountability encompasses understanding of who is ultimately responsible for reputation-risk management; preparedness entails development and training against a crisis plan; and decision analytics serves as a foundational element for any risk-mitigation plan.

Crises often are created or greatly exacerbated by an organization's inability to make decisions quickly—this is only enhanced within higher-education as much of a university’s accountability and oversight management is decentralized and handled by school/discipline. While this framework works well given the wide range of components within the university structure, it also poses substantial risk and can raise questions of accountability and unchecked powers.  This usually reflects the highly charged emotional environment that a crisis creates, as well as the lack of tested procedures that channel the emotions and strain of a crisis into action and constructive public engagement.

Brain studies demonstrate that sound strategic decisions rarely emerge in the heat of battle. The military, obviously, doesn't wait for live fire to begin training and preparing their personnel for combat, nor does a school’s football team wait for the season opener to practice. That’s why schools cannot wait for a crisis to erupt before planning for its possibility.  Instead, the university’s officer in charge of risk must structure and employ a reputational risk decision-making process and protocol to facilitate needed information gathering. The officer also must identify and dismantle cultural and operational silos that hinder decision-making. This process will ensure a school’s early engagement to avert crisis.

Edelman favors a sound reputational risk decisional model built of three tenets:

• Reputational risk-based information gathering and decision-making is an ongoing process.
• Effective decisions are made on the basis of recurring analysis and strategic insight.
• Decision-making systems are informed by data and research and organized so that responsibilities are clear.

Just ask any administrator at a university or college who faced an unexpected crisis that damaged the school’s reputation; they will underscore the critical importance of planning ahead.  Their responses, alone, will underscore that such preparation should begin immediately.   

Continuing Education: Taking lessons from the Classroom to the Real World

By Amanda Hodge, Intern, Dallas

After arriving at Baylor University in August, 2008, I was among the swarm of freshman who weren’t exactly sure which professional path to take. I always enjoyed writing, studying literature, traveling and working on team projects, but I struggled to determine a career path that would best encompass my talents. After completing introductory mass communications classes and seeking the advice of several professors, I ultimately decided to prepare myself for a career in communications.

My major allowed me to take classes concerning writing, public speaking, film and digital media. And while my classroom-based education was extremely valuable, the education I received through real-world internships helped me to better understand the intricacies behind various types of PR that I wouldn’t have learned in class.

Baylor gave me my first taste of the real-world of PR through its unique New York City-based internship program.  After a lengthy application process, hours spent researching possible internships in New York and many chats convincing my parents that their youngest daughter was capable of surviving in the most metropolitan city in the country, I headed to New York City last fall for an internship with the corporate communications department at Madison Square Garden.

This internship through Baylor played a key role in helping prepare me for my internship this summer with the corporate team in Edelman’s Dallas office – my first agency experience. Edelman allowed me to channel the skills I acquired through school and previous internships towards various client projects, while also shedding light on new areas of PR that I had never experienced before. For example, I was called on to quickly learn how to conduct research using industry tools such as Cision and pitch reporters. Through pitching, research and organizational projects, my supervisors gave me the freedom to be creative and encounter a new level of multi-tasking that I wouldn’t have experienced in the classroom.

In seeing each client’s specific media outreach needs and the careful planning required for campaign implementation, I feel better prepared to support clients within various industries. Furthermore, I have seen first-hand the various components of public relations that, when combined and given a strong foundation, create a powerful client message.

There’s no doubt that an internship can help to round out the education we receive in the classroom. Based on my experience, here are five tips for recent graduates who are beginning their ‘agency education.’

1. Skills Matter: Master tools and resources such as Cision, Google and Microsoft Office so that you can quickly help your team complete research projects and other client deliverables.
2. Track your Time: Keep thorough track of your billing hours, as the time you spend on projects determines the amount you bill the client.
3. Pitch with Confidence: When pitching, put yourself in the reporter’s shoes, find relevant ties from your client to their specific beat, and always remain confident even if a reporter rejects your story.  
4. Look at the big picture: Try to understand the big picture behind your firm’s campaigns, because you will learn much more about the industry and be more invested in your projects.
5. Nurture relationships: Take the time to build relationships with your teams and clients because it’s as much about relationship building and team work as it is about completing individual tasks.

Truths and Myths About Selling Technology to Educators

By Josh Morgan, Vice President, Digital West

I was part of the first generation to have computers in classrooms.  In my sixth grade classroom there was an Apple IIe in the back of the room on a table.  For the most part it was used to play “Oregon Trail.”  I’m sure my teacher wanted to do more with the computer, and knew that she could do more, but there was no one showing her how.  She was just told that she was lucky enough to be one of the first teachers in the district with one of these fantastic new tools.

Flash forward almost twenty years and I was working at Apple as part of the PR team to help market Apple computers to education.  I’m not at Apple any longer, but at Edelman I still always work with at least one education-related client. While working with educators, administrators and technology consultants, I’ve learned a few myths about marketing to education, and a few things that always seem to be true.

Myth:  The Average Superintendent Is Only at Their Job for Two Years
The first myth one often hears when learning about technology in education is that the average tenure of K-12 superintendents is two years, so it’s not necessary to build a relationship at that level.  In reality, the median tenure of a superintendent is usually somewhere around twice that long, and when superintendents move to a new district, many of them take along the friends, partnerships and technology that they made in their previous district.

Myth:  School starts in September
If a company wants to reach teachers, September is not the time to be talking to them.  Many school districts start a new year in August, and most teachers were preparing for the school year in July. 

Truth:  Tie to Standards
The “success” of many teachers and administrators is tied to how their students perform on standardized tests and how well the scores stack up against similar districts. If you want to get the attention of administrators, let them know how your products can help their student s succeed against these metrics.

Truth:  Education is not a “Market”
If you want to turn off teachers immediately, start by explaining how education is “one of the most important markets for our company.”  To teachers, education is not a “market.” It’s what they do, it’s who they are, and they are doing very important work. The moment, you call them a “market,” is the moment they stop listening to you.

Truth:  Recognize Achievement and Say “Thank you”
There are teachers who stand out. The ones who are always looking for new ways to do something. The first ones to try a new technology, or integrate into the curriculum in a new way.  In the business world, this type of initiative can result in a bonus.  That type of financial incentive doesn’t happen in education.  The “bonus,” for innovative teachers is often recognition from their peers, and their ideas being used by others to help students learn.  Seek out the educators who are using your products, say “thank you,” and help them get the recognition they deserve.

Becoming a Member of the Family

By Helen Vollmer, President, Southwest

A recent article in the New York Times lauded the efforts of young scions of upper crust families who are becoming known for their philanthropy. It made me start thinking about my own roots in giving back to the community and why some companies—Edelman included—have philanthropy as part of their DNA and others don’t.

In my case, growing up as a fourth generation Texan in San Antonio, my family took seriously the responsibility that came from helping build a community from the ground up.  As a member of the Junior Conservation Society I learned that in preserving the past we build foundations to protect the future of a place. I was hooked at the age of 10 to appreciate my surroundings and to support those in need. Over the years, I’ve volunteered, given financial donations and sat on boards at many organizations that were meaningful to me and those close to me.
 
But in joining the Edelman family almost two years ago, it’s been a homecoming to see how this particular company – the world’s largest public relations firm which, by the way is family owned – has a legacy of giving back. This year, our 60+ offices worldwide are engaged in a “Summer of Service:” 60 days of volunteerism to support hunger and poverty alleviation.  In honor of founder Dan Edelman and the company’s 60th anniversary, the Daniel J. Edelman Family Foundation will provide up to $100,000 to match funds raised by our offices to support the United Nations World Food Programme.

Giving comes from the heart.  But I’ve found that it really does start with being part of a family, however you define it:  blood relatives, work colleagues, your neighborhood, school, or a social or religious group that connects you to larger bedrock of humanity.  Philanthropy is about inclusion. It’s about respect for each other.  It’s about dignity and what we leave the next generation as part of our own legacy.  You certainly don’t have to be born wealthy to give.  Most of us aren’t.  It takes very little effort to throw a lifeline out to others in need.  So, wouldn’t it be nice if we all joined the family of man this summer by giving just a bit more in time, service or money?  Let me know what you think.

Columbine Survivor Offers Message of Hope to Aurora

By Liz Carlston, Account Supervisor, Silicon Valley

Editor’s Note: Liz Carlston, an Account Supervisor in Edelman’s Silicon Valley office, is among those who survived the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. Liz developed the following column to offer a voice of support and hope to those impacted by the recent Aurora movie theater shooting. This piece was originally published by The Daily Beast, and can also be read here.

I am so sorry.

I am sorry for the lives that were lost. I am sorry for those who have been physically and emotionally wounded. I am sorry for the heavy sense of grief and shock felt in the Aurora community.

As a Columbine survivor and graduate, knowing firsthand what it is to encounter unprecedented violence ending in a shattered sense of reality at the graveside of friends and neighbors, I am sorry.

Since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, I’ve been blessed to move forward and ultimately choose a joy-filled life. At work on Friday, I learned about the Aurora movie-theater shooting, and my heart broke for the families and victims.

Because I had been there before, I knew that people needed to hear that it would be OK. Thirteen years ago, I didn’t have that confidence, but I want those in Aurora to know that it will be OK. An incredibly difficult journey lies ahead, one that you didn’t choose, but don’t you give up.

I was in my math class at Columbine on April 20, 1999. I was a junior, and my varsity basketball team had just completed our first winning season in 12 years. That morning, I escaped from the school with my classmates at the prompting of a strobe-lighted fire alarm after shots rang out. At the end of the day, 25 people lay wounded and 15 others were dead, including my basketball coach Dave Sanders.

In the initial days, I functioned half-humanly. Sleep was hard because the nightmare of the shooting would play out in my dreams. At the conclusion of a memorial service, I inexplicably burst into uncontrolled tears, and I couldn’t stop heaving. The shock creates a weird scenario where life stands still for you but moves right along for everyone else. This is normal. The fact is, there is no normal when something like this happens—and that’s OK.

Talk and give others the opportunity to listen.

Early on, my church hosted therapist-led focus groups where we gathered in classrooms to talk, sitting in a circle of eight to 10 students. I hated it, but talking, listening, and understanding what others saw was essential to healing. I told my story so often I was sick of hearing my own voice! At home, I eagerly waited for Aunt Karen’s daily phone call. She would ask how I was and let me talk, and talk, and talk. I felt like my experience mattered in some way, and the burden wasn’t mine alone. Tell your story. You’ll heal with each retelling.

Find gratitude.
Basketball was my life before the shooting, but after Coach Sanders was killed, I found it hard to play. Every time I picked up a ball, I’d think of Columbine. It felt so unfair to have another thing I loved taken away. However, time passed, and I started playing again. I began associating basketball with Coach Sanders, a hero who gave his life to save so many. What a great tribute that is. Having gratitude has given back a passion I truly love. Through tribulation we are made stronger.

Never, never give up.
I recently visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The experience was sobering, and I was touched by a video featuring a few survivors. One face was familiar; she had visited Columbine in 1999. After years of living in a concentration camp, losing her family, and emerging as one of the sole survivors of a death march through Germany, Gerda Weissman Klein’s words are so significant: “Never, never give up.”

“I’d been in a place for six incredible years where winning meant a crust of bread and to live another day,” she said. “Since the blessed day of my liberation, I have asked the question ‘Why am I here? I am no better.’ In my mind’s eye, I see those years and faces of those who never lived to see the magic of a boring evening at home. On their behalf, I wish to thank you for honoring their memory, and you can do it in no better way than when you return to your homes tonight to realize that each of you who know the joy of freedom are winners.”

Her visit to Littleton had such a profound impact on me. At times I would sulk in grieving the loss of friends, an innocent view of the world, and the profound impact the shooting had on my family. In that period I thought life would never be the same and that I would be emotionally damaged permanently. Then came Mrs. Klein, a living, breathing example of one who endured extraordinary hardship and endured it so well. We exchanged letters, and she always responded with more encouraging words. This is an individual whose example I followed and whose light helped lead me from a dark place.

Reach out and love.
On Monday a family stopped by the Aurora memorial with flowers. Asked why they came, despite having no direct connection to those involved, they said they felt compelled to pay their respects.

“If the shooter thought he would break us with fear and sorrow, he was mistaken,” they said. “He only made us stronger in our awareness, commitment, and love for others in our community.”

This is the greatness in tragedy—people responding with love, open hearts, and helping hands. There is so much good to do in this world, so many kind words to say, and a willingness to help another person on their way. Take it one day at a time, don’t give up, and remember, it will be OK.

What Every CEO Needs to Know about Corporate Reputation

By Tracey Gordon, EVP & Senior Strategist, New York

No CEO can ignore the public reputation of the company they lead.

But, how do you get a great reputation? And when you have it, how do you keep it?

A good reputation is the gold standard of the business world. It speaks to the DNA of an organization, and for the great companies it’s a matter of getting a lot of things right. Sure, a company can have a reputation for a single measure: financial health, management, a successful product line, what various constituencies – employees, investors, other executives, media – think of you. But, it’s getting most, or all of these right, that CEOs strive for.

They also know that bad reputations are hard to unwind, and even getting back to neutral will have high costs, not just in dollars, but also organizational pain, morale and time. Think of some of the companies, Toyota for example, that have had to get back to neutral, so they can rebuild its reputation.

This piece focuses on the positives, but one last reminder of what negatives can do to a business. Think of them as the corporate equivalent of termites. It may start with one, but it rarely remains so. They arrive one day, and next thing you know they’ve chewed away at your supporting walls. It’s hard for any company to stay upright with a full blown attack.

That’s why building a stellar public reputation is worth the effort.

Fortune Magazine does an excellent job compiling its “World’s Most Admired Companies,” list. Anyone interested in building corporate reputation, should take a look at how companies get on the list.

But, it’s the ones that stay there, year after year, that are truly remarkable and set the emulation benchmark. It’s not easy, and as Fortune itself says: “The only thing harder than gaining admiration from peers in the corporate world, is maintaining it.”

Here are a few recommendations:

It starts at the top
There are a lot of factors that go into the broadly defined mix that makes up reputation, and a lot of people have a stake in building one for the company. But the CEO has to be the champion and set the tone, both in defining the company’s values and what it has achieved. How do you separate what Steve Jobs stood for in terms of creativity and engineering ingenuity, and what the company delivered to its customers or its shareholders. Or Berkshire Hathaway from Warren Buffet; Amazon from Jeff Bezos. All three have been in Fortune’s most admired for years, Apple number one for four years straight.

Remember your employees are your best ally
Nothing replaces the bond employees have with the company they work for. You cannot overstate the importance of this core stakeholder in building and sustaining a positive reputation. Today, employees are not just the people that work for you. For many companies, they’re also customers, shareholders, and digital commentators through social media. Care for your employees, and you will find that they will care for you right back.

Everyone is watching you…all the time
Every interaction, every piece of communication, every interview belongs in the reputation bucket. These days, the blurring of audiences makes reputation management a cross-functional initiative. It can no longer live in one department. CEOs and their management teams must recognize that reputation seeps across and affects many parts of the firm, including all the business units, marketing, product development, PR and investor relations, how the regulators deal with you.

If you’re a company that is talked about, everything you do touches your reputation. As communications people, we’re very aware that one of the biggest challenges is keeping things inside the corporate beltway. There are the official watchers of course – media, buy and sell side analysts, researchers – who scour every nook and cranny of your business. But, today, individuals have equal power.

In a digital “share it all” world, years of hard work can quickly come undone by even the smallest things that escalate into big things. There was a time when a frustrated customer with a bad experience, would at the most, write a letter. Today, the experience is tweeted before she leaves the store or hangs up after a frustrating service call.  No one waits for consent to take action any more. The airlines have found this is out, as frustrated passengers start transmitting images of chaos from a plane that has been delayed several hours. That’s why they have teams of social media watchers monitoring every tweet and post.

A medieval English clergyman, said it best: “A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.”

A reminder that you can come back, but people remember, so don’t let the crack happen in the first place; even the best plaster job can’t really hide a reputation hit.

How Americans Use Their Smartphones

By Tim Hayden, Senior Vice President, Mobile Strategy

As the world goes “wireless,” more Americans are turning to their mobile phones as the primary device used to communicate, shop and discover the world around them. I don’t know too many folks who would disagree that we have become dependent on mobile technology to make it through our day, traverse across town, searching for the love of life and lifestyle fulfillment. At the same time, I don’t know that I’ve ever sat in a room full of mobile “experts” who agree on the direction of growth trends and behavioral usage of smartphones and tablets.

Enter the good folks at Edison Research and Arbitron, who were generous in sharing with me an advance copy of The Smartphone Consumer 2012, data resulting from a wonderful sampling of questions posed via telephone in English and Spanish to 2020 Americans, aged 12 years-plus. Oh boy, this data tells a story, and here are a few highlights with commentary for your enjoyment:

Half of [US] Cell Phone Owners Have a Smartphone
This has been substantiated and qualified by a number of research firms and analysts as the true tipping point for smartphone usage in the US. Businesses are far from prepared for the 2/5 of customers who seldom go anywhere without a pocket computer that is (almost) always connected to the Internet. Even less are they prepared for a workforce that expects the same efficiencies found on an iPhone to be at arm’s length while seated at a desk. Frustrations are sure to mount, as EVERYTHING must be made easier as our devices become “smart.”

Nearly One-Third of Smartphone Owners Purchased Their First Smartphone in the Last 12 Months
It is not just that we are awash in a landslide of adoption, but that it’s a very muddy one at that. As the price of the device planes out and all-you-can-eat data plans are still sub $100/month, those marketers who are investing heavily in native Android and iOS (Apple) applications and systems cannot be confident in that landscape being the status quo. The study shows that while 22% of the smarties are Android, 17% are iPhone and 16% of the market belongs to (8% each) Blackberry* and Windows operating system devices. Think about those numbers when iPhone had just 9% this time last year…many an American whose two-year carrier contract is expiring today walks into the phone store, past the iPhone display and/or is not crazy about Google seeing everything she or he does on this most personal of devices. This is far from a two-horse contest, race fans.

I often quip that smartphones are the “personal information kiosks” where consumers search for answers and information they need right now. A few other telling answers to this question are: 1) yes, we do use the internet in our pocket more than apps or social media; 2) a challenging game or one that flexes our creativity helps pass the time as well as anything; and, 3) our voice calls and text messaging dominate our time on the device. Do you have a mobile-friendly website? Do you offer “click-to-call” buttons on your most popularly searched landing pages? If the answer is “no” to either one or both of those questions…fix it, tomorrow, and do not pass “go.”

Nearly Eight in Ten Smartphone Owners with a Facebook Profile Access it through Their Phones
It is yesterday’s news that Facebook has a challenge in monetizing the mobile audience. What’s compelling is that more (51%) of that audience accesses the social network via their phone than (45%) those who access it via computer or laptop. 4% of smartphone owners access Facebook from their tablet, and I’m sure that’s because when it comes to the “lean back” experience of tablets we are more often reading or shopping, not communicating or socializing. More on that observation on this blog soon, I promise.

Half of Smartphone Owners Use Voice Commands on Their Phone
While the frequency of using Voice Actions for Android or iPhone’s SIRI is still not highly consistent in everyday use, this points to a larger reality I’ve had my eye on since we started the move from QWERTY keyboards to a touchscreen input method on mobile devices. Humans are not wired to type or read text on small illuminated screens; rather, we are programmed to have a voice and use it to communicate. How often do you mouth the words to those you type? Just wait, we are less than five years from when our cameras and voices become the dominant way we share stories in social media and engage in peer-to-peer communications…and it will feel so very natural, humans.

Smartphone Owners are Heavy YouTube Users
It is logical to think that the consumer who can afford to “adopt” a smartphone and its accompanying technology is of the same market segment that first had broadband connectivity in their home. However, there is another natural progression found here: the “untethered” (liberated from desk and computer screen) consumer is also becoming more tuned for face-to-face and animated experiences in the offline world. This will increasingly cause consumers to search for visual experiences that communicate to them in a similar way, video especially.

Check it out for yourself
I’ve only brought to you here a few of those observations I find most intriguing with this study. There is a game changing phenomenon happening today with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, and it extends further and more pervasive than anything since the Internet first blew our info-greedy minds. I encourage all marketers, communications and technology professionals to be diligent in rationalizing anything you read about the mobile revolution, and I believe this is one of the most telling collections of data you will find anywhere.  Go, now, over to the Edison Research website, where you can find the answers to all 40 questions included in The Smartphone Consumer 2012 study.

*Editor’s Note, Blackberry is an Edelman client