O2 blueroom

The O2 Cocoon blogger outreach has been reviewed in Revolution Magazine. It’s a really great review and definitely worth checking out. You can see the article here

Chris Norton at Wolfstar has posted some great thoughts and examples of seeding campaigns… You can see his original post here.

“I wrote a post a while ago about how I was approached to cover an interesting internet news story on my blog.

The blogger relations approach from the PR practitioner was a little clumsy but I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt and I felt the story was interesting - so I covered it on the blog. He actually thanked me for it afterwards and apologised for the way in which he approached me which I thought was a nice touch.

At Wolfstar we have been involved in quite a few blogger relations and outreach programmes and we have been targeted for them too. Some are great approaches with great products, some are poor approaches with poor products and some are simply a mix of the two.

A couple of examples of outreach programmes which have reached our radar recently include the launch of the Skype Phone, 02 Cocoon phone, 02 XDA and the launch of a new James Bond book.

I read a great post yesterday from a twitter friend Todd Defren at Shift Communications. I respect Todd hugely and yesterday’s post was so good I felt I should share it with others too.

Blogger Relations Advice

If you are considering using blogger relations for a communications campaign, the first and most important thing to do is good old fashioned research. Then follow this up with lots more reading. Unfortunately it’s not a quick process but if it’s done correctly it can be a very useful tool for communication for your clients or brand.

Here are my ten top tips on how to approach a blogger:

1. Research the blogosphere carefully using blog search engines such as Technorati, checking the blog’s ranking and authority to find the most popular
2. Actually read the blogger’s posts don’t just skim it - read several first to get a feel for their interests and personality. Check out the categories they cover which will also help - subscribe to their feed and check it daily
3. If the blog is irrelevant - don’t send information to the writer anyway as this could cause more harm than good
4. Make useful and constructive comments on posts which interest you - try and make the comments mean something
5. Never make blatant plugs for your own or a client’s company straight away - this can cause major irritation
6. Approach the blogger only after you think he may actually recognise your name. The approach should usually be personal but if it’s a team blog, address the team properly and say hello
7. Use simple public relations - make sure you relate to this specific public
8. Make sure your story is relevant before you send it
9. Try and send other pieces of information with it rather than just a plain news release - try sending useful demo videos, photos and research all in an easy to digest format
10. Apologise for the approach if it’s not relevant - these people aren’t journalists so take that into consideration

(more…)

Lolly, has given a great post talking about her thoughts on seeded campaigns:

“Steve at VCCP asked me a while back how I felt about the 3 Skypephone seeding programme. The timing is perfect to share my thoughts as I have just agreed to take part in another seeding programme…

1) Pitch it right

In case you didn’t know, my name is not Darryl and no I don’t live in the US! I am not quite sure how I would be able to blog about a US product when I don’t have any knowledge of the market… Read my blog (or at least pretend to read it!) and understand what makes me tick and what doesn’t. In the 5 minutes that you take to customize your pitch, the chances of me blogging about your product has gone up from 1% to 100%…

2) So I’ve agreed to write about your product…

Comments and feedback about my posts are always welcome – it shows that you’ve bothered checking your links (more…)

as posted by Wil on UnWired 

“So it’s true that o2’s next music phone to be released - yes, that one - might be getting most of the attention. But the Cocoon is a neat little clamshell phone that’s a bit different, a bit quirky and really quite fun. The design is certainly unique, and that’s a good thing in the sea of mediocrity that is the mobile phone market at the moment. If you don’t want the iPhone in your pocket, this might do the trick.”

as posted by Laurence-Hélène on ‘blog till you drop’

I have been an O2 customer for years, and every year around upgrade time, I start looking into the different types of mobile phones on the market.

I have to say that advertising is very influential because it’s very difficult to escape ads on the Tube! In addition to advertising, I usually browse the O2 website as well mobile phone reviews sites hence the importance of viral marketing especially in the case of O2 who do not advertise their phones.

I had a little look at the phones available and the Cocoon is currently featured on the front page under the phones section – so far, so good!

However when I clicked on the picture of the Cocoon to get more info about it, I felt the description on the site was letting the phone down – what about the alarm clock feature, the nest, the map of the O2 arena? In addition, I could not find a link to the Cocoon’s blog or the Cocoon’s webpage!

Can someone point me in the direction of these links?
Why did O2 set up a webpage for the Cocoon, a blog as well as sending a free phone to bloggers if they are not going to clearly advertise it on their site?

This story appeared on the Ministry of Sound website on 20th September

Mixing using two mobile phones comes to clubland at the Ministry of Sound this weekend…

This Saturday night (22nd September) sees a groundbreaking DJ set take place at London’s world famous Ministry of Sound nightclub.

To celebrate the launch of O2’s exciting new Cocoon handset, fast rising DJ and producer Patrick Hagenaar will play a 30-minute set in the Baby Box room (from 11pm), using two of the exciting new handsets in place of regular decks or CD players.

The aim is to showcase the high quality music facilities on the O2 Cocoon, which combine with camera, video, radio, organiser, alarm clock and innovative LED display to take the multimedia functions of a mobile phone to new heights.

Pushing Boundaries

“I’ve always been into pushing boundaries when it comes to DJing and technology,” says Patrick “and I think that this is a great opportunity for me to try something new and different. I’m excited, yet quite nervous as well as I know it’s not going to be easy to pull off!”

Just to add to the pressure, Patrick’s set will be recorded in both audio and video so people who weren’t there on the night can enjoy it online in the coming weeks.

Ministry of Sound TV will be there to interview with Patrick, grab feedback from the clubbers, and show exactly how he did it. The video can then be viewed on www.ministryofsound.com/tv, or downloaded as a special vodcast.

Attempts to DJ by phone have been made before, but never on this scale at such a prestigious venue and on such a superb soundsystem.

“Cueing the tracks and mixing them in is going to be the biggest challenge,” states Patrick ” and there is no way for me to correct the track once I pressed ‘play’!”

New Level

The O2 Cocoon looks set to take the mobile phone to a whole new level, and while it may not be a serious DJing tool yet, storing 500 tracks (with the option of expanding to 1000), 15-hours of playback and playlist facilities mean it is already a challenger to other portable music devices DJs use like iPods and flash memory cards.

So does Patrick have a dream of what the O2 Cocoon of the future could do for him?

“I’d love to have some music software on there, so that I’m able to produce ideas on the go. I think in a few years time the mobile will become more like a mini computer, allowing this. Today’s Cocoon already has a slick design. Now let’s see how this puppy functions…”