Client: Reuters Business Information International (RBI)
PR Team: Firefly Communications
Campaign: Dying for Information? An Investigation in to the Effects of
Information Overload
Cost: pounds 50,000
Timescale: Spring 1996 - ongoing
People in the 1990s have embraced the information revolution as a cure
all to their cluttered lives. Unfortunately, employees increasingly
claim to be suffering from a new ailment called Information Fatigue
Syndrome (IFS) caused by the increased detail of information they are
force-fed daily.
Following successful high- profile UK reports and campaigns on the
politics and economics of information previously designed and launched
by Firefly as part of Reuters’ media relations strategy, the agency
proposed a new international report for 1996 focusing on the ‘psychology
of information’.
Objective
To reposition RBI, traditionally perceived as a media and finance
service, as major player in the business arena, by establishing
‘ownership’ of the information debate and positioning its service as a
single solution for information overload.
Tactics
Firefly commissioned an independent research company to carry out a
survey polling 1,300 managers in Britain, America and Asia-Pacific
across a broad range of industry sectors.
The resulting 350-page ‘Dying for Information?’ report was fronted by
psychologist and fellow of the International Stress Management
Association, Dr. David Lewis, who helped with the questionnaire, drafted
the foreword and provided endorsement for the research’. Firefly also
found two IFS sufferers, Ruth Sacks and Diana Harris, willing to speak
about the ailment to the media.
The information was launched to the media through a series of one-to-one
briefings at the weekend following the Conservative and Labour
conferences and the report being published on the Monday. ‘We figured
there might be a news shortage and banked on it’ said account director,
Annabel Abbs.
Four RBI senior staff members, the two IFS sufferers and Dr. Lewis were
made available for individual interviews with key national and trade
journalists, while reports were sent out to over 200 media contacts.
Results
The campaign struck a nerve within the media industry with more than 100
pieces of coverage and 67 media interviews generated in a month.
The story first broke at 7 am Monday on Radio 4’s Today Programme. UK
highlights included a cover story in the Guardian Section 2, a full page
story in the Daily Mail, and features in the Independent and Evening
Standard. The Daily Telegraph alone published the story five times. TV
interviews ranged from Network News to the Jonathan Ross Show. The
international report was also picked up by Radio Australia, CBS, CNN,
Time and the Chicago Tribune.
Based on the stir caused by the campaign and the 200 reports sold so
far, RBI has decided to sponsor a worldwide conference addressing how
companies can resolve this issue internally as well as a management
guide with tips on how to prevent IFS. The company is also hoping to
make a documentary on the syndrome.
Verdict
At a time when falling education standards are coming under the
spotlight and up-to- date information has become a necessity in the
workplace, RBI’s report gave legs to a very topical issue. In turn, the
company’s ownership of the survey has been effectively established with
a good level of branding across a majority of media coverage. RBI also
took advantage of the extensive broadcast interview circuit set up by
Firefly to push their products. As Phil Wainewright, freelance for IT
Microscope points out: ‘a canny PR agency came up with ‘a rather neat
way of promoting its client’s information filtering products.’
RBI’s marketing manager, Paul Waddington agreed the campaign helped to
reposition RBI as a market leader in the business arena: ‘The campaign
has made general businesses think more about the importance of
information, making it easier for us to sell them information services.’
