Harvard has strengthened its board as it gears up to take advantage of a changing PR environment. Chris Cartwright becomes the new Managing Director while Ben Maynard joins the board alongside existing director, Charlotte West. With over 12 years’ experience in corporate PR, Cartwright has consulted at the highest level with some of the biggest brands in technology, media and telecoms including Oracle, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, BT, Hewlett-Packard, Openwave and ICL/Fujitsu. His experience spans roles at Brands2Life, Bite PR, Firefly and GBC.

“I feel I’m joining Harvard at an interesting time in the industry”, says Cartwright. “Companies are increasingly asking their agencies to deliver more than ‘tick box’ PR and create communications that can really impact a business – have influence on an audience, for example, rather than merely generate awareness which has typically been the extent of PR, both in terms of what agencies have been delivering and companies have been briefing. Harvard’s audience-centric approach, which focuses on changing behaviours, is perfect for this new climate, so I am delighted to be joining them at this exciting time.”

Ben Maynard returns to Harvard after a two year absence, during which time he was head of corporate communication at SHL plc and head of technology PR at Band & Brown. As well as client-facing work, Maynard takes up the role of head of client services at Harvard, covering such aspects as service delivery, new product development and enhanced value and quality. He will champion a number of programmes looking at how we can improve the range and quality of products and services we offer on a continuous basis to exceed client expectations at every turn.

Maynard, whose client-side experience exposed him to a lot of me-too agencies, says, “We need to get out there and show clients how PR can help them achieve far more than has traditionally been the case or most companies have been used to. Maybe we need to forget the term PR altogether”, continues Maynard, “because too many associate PR with press relations, and the media is only one part of the solution. Harvard's channel-agnostic approach is far more relevant to clients' needs today.”



Join the social media debate

2006 has been the year of social media. Seemingly out of nowhere, blogging, podcasts and other aspects of social media have become hot topics in the media, within organisations and around the dinner table. The PR community has been swift to get involved, with some hailing social media as the beginning of a new era of communications, both as a channel and as an audience. But has all the hype really led to changes in the way PR and communications teams go about their work?

New research undertaken by Harvard amongst PROs in the technology, media and telecoms sector, reveals that although some practitioners are already embracing this channel, many are still unsure of what they should do and how to take the first steps. Harvard is holding a couple of breakfast debates on November 24 and December 8 in London to help answer some of these questions and share the findings of our research.

The events aim to get behind the hype and look at the reality within today’s businesses. We’ve all heard enough about the ‘what’ of social media, this seminar will address the ‘how’. How do I find the real influencers; how can I build a business case for social media engagement; how can I defend against risks in the blogosphere; how do I target bloggers?

Speakers include: Ben Maynard, Director, Harvard Public Relations, who will present our research findings; Riyad Emeran, Editor-in-Chief, www.trustedreviews.com, who will look at the changing media mix and what it means for PR; Nick Sharples, Director of Corporate Communications, Sony Playstation, who will cover social media crisis management; Jack Schofield, computer editor of the Guardian, who will touch on the do’s and don’ts of interacting with bloggers; and Jon Leach, Head of Integration, Bell Pottinger Group, who will introduce influencer and stakeholder mapping.

There are only a couple of remaining places at the second event. If you are interested in coming along, or have a social media project that you would like to discuss, please email chris@harvard.co.uk as soon as possible.



Stop press – free TV on your mobile

Harvard has just been appointed by ROK to launch FreeBe TV, the first TV service on mobile phones which is subscription-free to users. As well as driving consumer adoption and promoting the service to advertisers and content providers, activity is also aimed at encouraging user-generated content for its You-Made-It channel, a mobile equivalent to YouTube. See the next issue of our newsletter for a case study of the launch.