SOCIAL MEDIA MORE IMPORTANT THAN MASS MEDIA,
ONE IN TWO BUSINESS LEADERS SAY
Veritas Communications launches com.motion to help brands and organizations in social media marketing space

just the facts

• One in two Canadian business leaders say social media is becoming more important than mass media. 46 per cent say social media tools such as Facebook, YouTube and blogs are becoming even more important than television, radio, newspapers and magazines.

• The results are contained in a poll of 444 Canadian business and marketing leaders, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for com.motion, a new offering from Veritas Communications.

• Veritas Communications has launched com.motion to help Canadian brands and organizations navigate the social media marketing space.

• The survey also found that executives are sharply divided over the use of social media in the workplace. Two-thirds (66 per cent) said employees shouldn’t use social networking sites such as YouTube and Facebook at work, while 34 per cent said it is important for employees to participate in and understand the medium.

• One quarter (26 per cent) of business and marketing leaders say they are less familiar with social media marketing than their customers. Among those who describe themselves as “executive management,” one-third say they’re less familiar than their customers.

• Veritas is also launching several blogs to help Canadian marketers stay on top of the latest developments:

  • breakthrougblog.ca, written by Beverley Hammond, provides insights into ideas and campaigns that break through the clutter

  • com.motionblog.ca, written by Keith McArthur, covers the social media marketing landscape

  • glossblog.ca, written by members of Veritas’ marketing PR team, zeros in on marketing to the 22-to-30 year old female consumer

  • mededblog.ca, written by David Airdrie, focuses on communications in health care sector and the specialized services offered by Veritas’ IHC division

quotes

From Keith McArthur, Principal of com.motion and Senior Director of Media Innovation at Veritas Communications:
“It is astounding that one in two executives say social media is becoming even more important than television. TV advertising is still where marketers spend most of their money, while social media represents a tiny sliver of the budget. It’s clear that’s going to change.”

From Robert Hutton, Executive Vice-President & General Manager at Pollara Strategic Insights:
“Canadian marketers appear to understand that social media represents a ground-shifting communications opportunity, but many are unsure how to proceed. This is an evolving medium with an evolving set of rules, but marketers who watch from the sidelines will be left behind.”

From Beverley Hammond, president of Veritas Communications:
“Our clients are telling us loud and clear that this is somewhere they need to be in 2008. We are launching com.motion to provide brands and organizations with the support they need in this evolving medium. Veritas is committed to being a leader in social media marketing.”

contact Info

background information

http://del.icio.us/com.motion/background

coverage to date

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comments

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Name: Craig McGill
Date: 12/17/2007
Comment:
An interesting experiment, but do journalists have the time to digest all that info instead of just ripping the text from the properly written version? Also, unless it is sent straight to their mailboxes many won't click on a link to go to a website. I do like it though, I just can't see journalists - or many PR agencies - having the time to pull it all together or digest it.

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addtional information

Traditional Press Release – PDF

Detailed Survey Results – PDF

video

Keith McArthur, com.motion, discusses social media

Beverley Hammond, Veritas, discusses social media

Robert Hutton, Pollara, discusses social media

photos

about veritas

Veritas Communications is a national specialty communications organization and a member of the MDC partners network. At Veritas we help our clients grow their businesses by delivering strong results in below-the-line communications programs across our three practices: Marketing PR; Corporate and Public Affairs; and Health Education. We live and die by the strength of our people and the big ideas that come from igniting passion and fostering collaboration. We are proud to be the national communications sponsor for Special Olympics Canada. We are also Bullfrog powered. Are you? Visit us at www.veritascanada.com to see how we break through.

about com.motion

com.motion is a specialty practice within Veritas Communications which helps brands and organizations to break through online. With tactics including blogger relations, online reputation management, social media marketing campaigns and the proprietary Grassroots Multiplier™, com.motion is at the leading edge of Direct Audience Activation: the next evolution in marketing communications.