Yesterday, Tuesday, January 11, 2011, MediaIntel hosted the first IntelTalk debate on media matters from the series spring 2011. Below you can find a few messages that came as suprises or simply powerful sum-ups of the most important happenings on the Czech media market in 2010-11:
- Petr Majerik, CEO, ZenithOptimedia: when the GDP is going down, ad expenditures are copying the trend, only that much more abruptly. In 2009, the CEE adspend decreased the most worldwide (-24.5%), but it also has the highest potential to grow by 2013 (31%). In 2011 the Czech ad market forecast is growth around 5%. In CEE, the TV and Internet market will grow at the expense of print media. Let’s hope the overall growth trend will be stable and sustainable in the Czech Republic, despite the small size of the market and the already high prices of ad space in this country;
- Istvan Leko, founder and editor in chief, Ceska pozice (www.ceskapozice.cz), the newest media project launched in Prague in December 2010: we know that, if we want to go for “clean” advertising only, we can’t be profitable. Our finances are covered by sponsors we won’t reveal in their and our own benefit so that we can preserve our neutrality. We want to focus on delivering highly valuable content and contribute at reducing vital problems in the Czech Republic such as corruption, poor educational, healthcare and social systems and achieving better ecology;
- Adam Zbiejczuk, social media expert, Ataxo Czech: if you canʼt be a love brand, be a trustful partner and a helping friend. If your employees don’t like their work and can’t engage and support your efforts, don’t go on social media. Everyone in a company needs to be involved and engaged in the conversation with customers. Ignore trolls and deceiving metrics such as the number of fans. And if you need to lie, do it with style. There is definitely a lot to learn in the field of social media in 2011;
- Martina Kemrova, senior head of corporate communication, T-Mobile: the biggest challenge in setting up a proper PR strategy isn’t the media, but the internal factors. If managers don’t understand the need for communication, the external factors are less relevant. However, if Czech journalists were less mobile and would spend more time in the same newsroom, it would also help building more trust between the media and the corporate sphere. Indeed, if Czech media managers were aware that staff fluctuation is harming their products and would put a higher price on quality staff, the Czech media market would grow on quality (my comment);
- Vladimir Bystrov, strategic planning director, Bison & Rose: bear in mind five letters:
- L = local & hyper-local levels. The closure of Nase adresa in summer 2010 showed that the Czech market isn’t ready for hyper-local yet, but we never know when this trend will become active in the Czech Rep.
- D = digitalization. It brings numerous changes and challenges, but it shouldn’t scare people away from its potential.
- F = fun & entertainment. As more Czech media are going for infotainment, bear in mind the human touch when you pitch a story to a journalist.
- P = professionalism. It’s going down on the Czech market, driven by cost cuts and newsroom pressures on hiring younger non-experienced staff. If the journalist isn’t professional, at least PR people should do their best to behave professionally, as the PR profession has more codes and rules than journalism, even though the media don’t like to hear that..
- O = obsession. Everything that is hidden must be evil. Journalists engage in witchhunts in an attempt to track everything that is hidden and reveal it, regardless of its relevance. Is this good? Is this bad? When you deal with journalists, treat them with care, as if they were sick people touched by obsessions and paranoia. This was one of the strongest messages of the evening. Coming from a reputable Czech PR veteran, it gains in importance. Vladimir most certainly knows what he’s talking about…
The next IntelTalk takes place on February 8, 2011. This time we’ll go through the Czech media legislation and how it protects companies and individuals when under media attack (http://www.mediaintel.cz/en/events/22_according-to-the-paragraph). See you there!
