Media

Wilson Hartnell puts best foot forward in Sockies

WILSON HARTNELL PR, part of the Ogilvy Ireland group, has been crowned agency of the year at the Bord Gáis Energy Social Media…

Thu May 24 2012 - 01:00

WILSON HARTNELL PR, part of the Ogilvy Ireland group, has been crowned agency of the year at the Bord Gáis Energy Social Media Awards – aka the Sockies.

It also picked up an award for the National Lottery in the Best Facebook Page for a Business category, while its work for clients Eason, Marks Spencer, Captain Morgan, Guinness and the Dublin Marathon was shortlisted. But what makes the 40-year-old public relations firm’s understanding of social media prizeworthy?

Teleprinter could have rung its Ely Place offices in Dublin to find out, but decided the inquiry would be better directed to the team that maintains its @WHPR Twitter account instead. After initial contact was made on the public timeline, @IrishTimesLaura fired off six questions to WHPR in the guise of digital account director Cliodhna Lamont (@CliodhnaL), pictured, via direct message (DM).

The joy/challenge of the 140-character limit applied.

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Q1: Can you sum up your Sockie award-winning approach to social media in a single tweet?

WHPR: “An integrated PR/Digital solution delivering a cohesive and efficient model for the brands we work on.”

Q2: Describe the most recent social media strategy you executed on behalf of a client and what it achieved.

“For Eason, we optimise social media platforms by delivering relevant and rewarding content to drive awareness and affinity for the brand.”

Q3: Do clients demand a social media element to their marketing/PR campaigns or do you more usually have to encourage them to embrace it?

“Clients have different requirements so it’s a bit of both.”

Q4 (temporarily lost by the notoriously unreliable DM function): Apart from now, do you ever talk to journalists via Twitter or Facebook, or is it usually to connect directly with consumers?

“Yes – it would typically be in support of other forms of communication with media.”

Q5: What’s the most common mistake companies/agencies make when they use social media?

“Jumping into social media channels without a clearly defined long-term strategy.”

Q6: Does your win prove that companies that want to use social media in campaigns don’t need to hire specialist digital agencies?

“We believe that social media has a natural home within PR as both are about creating compelling content and strong connections.”

So there it is. Next week: Teleprinter thinks about conducting an interview over Skype – then thinks again.