CHICAGO: Edelman has unveiled its Creative Newsroom service, which works with clients to monitor and respond to relevant social media conversations in real-time.
The unit has locations in Edelman's New York, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta offices, as well as one in the UK, said Cricket Wardein, head of US digital at the agency and one of the service's leaders.
Clients using the service include Adobe, ConAgra Foods, Dairy Management Inc., Juice Plus+, and PayPal.
Wardein said that while there are a few executives and “editors” who work solely for the newsrooms, the firm has hundreds of staffers taking part in it, especially those who were already creating social content for clients.
Each newsroom location has a morning meeting with an editor, community manager, and creatives, who can assess what is happening in the news and see what is relevant for clients. An on-screen monitoring tool also allows Edelman to follow industry- or client-specific news or trends, added Wardein.
“What we're finding for most clients, even if we're doing real-time, at least 80% of the great content can still be planned, but adding that layer of being able to respond to what the communities are already talking about is what takes us to the next level,” she explained.
Wardein added that one factor that sets Edelman's service apart from other real-time monitoring platforms is that the firm has “great experience in crisis communications,” along with storytelling and brand management.
“You're dealing with mini-crises in your social channels every single day, but if you look at what the brand stands for and what you want to say, and you build that crisis and engagement on top of it, then it's a real differentiator,” she added.
Edelman recently appointed April Umminger, previously a journalist at The Washington Post and USA Today, to serve as co-manager of the Chicago newsroom. Cybil Wallace, formerly with the Associated Press, CNN, and Ustream, was hired as a manager for the San Francisco newsroom, working alongside Kate Shay, who previously worked at Tibbr. Shay joined the San Francisco newsroom as an associate creative director.
Drew Vogelman, who previously worked at BBDO, was brought on as director of creative production in New York.
