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Swine Flu is moving fast, WHO flu expert Dr Keiji Fukuda said yesterday that: “Containment is not a feasible operation” and that it has raised the alert level to four (only two steps short of a full pandemic).  News and information on the issue in the digital world is moving at an incredible pace but there are now on-line means of monitoring and managing it. We have set up a simple listening post which can be used to focus relevant information into one useful place - http://tinyurl.com/ogilvyswineflu. It is worth checking out the site that Ogilvy in Asia have set up on this particular issue – flu.ogilvy.com.hk/.

Whether it becomes a pandemic or not Swine Flu will have implications for business especially in this time of low confidence – share prices in the airline industry are falling sharply, the pork industry is bracing itself for falling sales and on a smaller level business trading with Mexico will experience an impact. If it does become a pandemic then the implications will be much more widespread and, as Mexico is already experiencing, have a substantial economic and business impact.

Getting into the habit of setting up the sort of monitoring processes highlighted above will help shape your ability to manage your reputation and minimise any potential financial impact. Make sure your pc, laptop and mobile are connected and delivering clear perspectives on the world you operate in.

For more information on Crisis Response Management, take a look at the following presentation:

It has come to my attention that I am literally inhaling media. I know I work in PR, and am a “Generation X”er and all that Jazz. But doing this little log over the past 24 hours is quite startling when you look at it all laid out like this. The little subconscious checks of twitter, the musing of blog posts yet to be written, it wouldn’t suprise me if I start unwillingly speaking in 140 character sentences!

So much of this media has just become 2nd nature, a part of the stream of our consiousness, and so little of it we actually question. Monday Morning. Office. Sit Down. Boot Up. Log On. Tweet. Eat. Tweet Again. Blog. Read. Digest (Digitally & Physically). Google. Email. Tweet Yet Again. Tag It. Digg It. Cast it. Download. Power Down. Go Home.

You get the picture…

So back to where we started – I decided to conduct little survey of my media diet. Consumption. Call it what you will. Let me take you back via the medium of blog (and some wavy scoobie doo effects) to Monday morning…

6:50 AM -  *Beep Beep Beep… THWACK!* Alarm clock knocked lazy from bedside table, rolling over, pushing girlfriend aside reaching for iPhone. Missing iPhone. Rolling back over. Snooze Button. 20 Minutes of Chris Moyles drowning out my dreams and bringing me (not so gently) into the new working week.

7:00 AM - I take a second attempt at reaching for iPhone. More successful this time. Read/Delete Spam.

7:50 AM - On tube now, dive head long into the wonderous hub of investigative journalism that is The Metro… lose interest around page 13…

7:59 AM - Once again distracted by Twitter on iPhone… *silent wish that people would not keep writing “Good morning everyone!” tweets… the old adage rings true, if you haven’t got something nice to say…

8:00 AM – 8:35 AM … Listen to Podcast.

Monday: Friday Night Comedy – Radio 4 (Listen)

Tuesday: Relevant Magazine (Listen)

Wednesday: This American Life (Listen)

Thursday: NPR – Poetry Magazine (Listen)

Friday: Genius Playlist on iPhone… (Info Here)

8:37AM – 9:02Am - As i’m plunged into the darkness of the Jubilee line* (See More…)  and am severed from my 3G connection to the world I revert to a analogue approach in the form of Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller’s fantastic mini essay series on non religious spirituality… (He blogshere). Until I succomb to the inevitable release of a Amazon Kindle 2 UK Version, paper reigns supreme for sub-terrainian entertainment.

9:10AM – 9:45AM - Arrive at work, bum on seat, Latte in hand, croissant in front of keyboard and all is well. Boot up, Log In, wait for work Email server to get it’s act together, then begin to breathe in 1′s and 0′s in the form of Twitter, Facebook, Hotmail, Google Reader, Delicious Tags,Radian6 (our social media monitoring tool here at Ogilvy) and news source of choice (for usability not politics) Guardian Online…

11:00 AM 11AM jumps out from behind a bush at me, startling me somewhat about it’s urgency in getting through the day. It’s about this time (usually musing over a latte) that the latest round robin email from the London Ogilvy Interactive group catches my attention – usually in the form of a YouTube distraction or some other digital delight. Sip. Click. Sit. Click. Back to work. Wait. This is work.

11:10 AM Check back into the twittersphere… Not much happening. Does FollowFriday do anyone else’s nut in or is it just me! (As an aside it is important to bring to light the troublesome issue that the MacBook – wonderful that it is – doesn’t feature a hash key on the keyboard! Grrrr…)

12:50 PM As hunger strikes (cue the Shreddies soundtrack) heading for lunch deleteding more (and more) spam from personal email on iPhone – ooo. My next LoveFilm is on it’s way… Michael Macintyre! 

13:45 PM - Stomach full, email inbox equally bloated. Quick twitter update before some serious digital digestion takes place, predominantly in the form of some Radian6 fishing and the odd blog inspiration from Google Reader.

2:00-5:45PM -As the sound of the neuvo-classical Flight of The Concordes hit thuds in my head, this point in the afternoon is officially “business time” – (for those of you unaquainted a little help from YouTube can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGOohBytKTU)  The result of which means, that aside from the spiradic twittering and lingering tap of the iPhone, very little goes on here other that – as would be expected – work.

6:00 – 7:00PM - Pretty much a repeat of 7:45 AM – 9:15AM but in reverse order. After a fairly media heavy day I tend to tail off by the time I get home. Suprisingly I still remember how to speak to people face to face! (Those who know me well will know this has never truely been a problem however…)

So there we have it, that pretty much wraps up the day. And sadly (possibly not the case for you routine junkies out there) – most days it’s the same story. Living a truely digitally native life, as one of the first generations to have never known what it is to not have a PC in the house is quite a priveledge I suppose. However this does provoke an almost subconscious dialogue within me, that is constantly thinking of the angle, the wall post, the tweet, a constant desire to replicate my offline life digitally. So how do you describe that? Inhalation. Breathe In.

This blog can also be found at jamespoulter.wordpress.com where James blogs on all things digital from the wrong side of caffiene

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This week we have a piece of poetical musings about the subtle nuances of the world of PR from our very own Clair Whitefield, Account Manager Extraordinaire…

Enjoy.

IF..

If you can keep your head in the midst of a media storm

Keep your enemies close and your contacts warm

If you can master word counts but not let word counts become your master

Crack deadlines by getting sign off faster

If you can hold off a journo with a well placed retort

And still have time to update your status report

If you can work with comedians and lawyers and treat them both the same

Brief photographers, track coverage and media train

If you can seize AND save the day

Take the most demanding brief and still make headway

If you can juggle a celebrity guest list

And perfect the art of the air kiss

If you can tell a good story and also sell one in

Be broadsided by a client and take it on the chin

If you can restore reputations, trumpet causes, build brands

Raise awareness, give counsel, hold hands

If you know the name of niche trade publications

And can manage expectations

If you can craft copy and surrender the by-line

& get talent to the interview on time

If you can pick up the phone and be ready to pitch

To reporters from Newcastle to Redditch

If you can write a proposal and celebrate a client win

& cut down to size those who say you practice spin

If you can keep your head in the middle of a media storm

Keep your friends close and your contacts warm

If you can meet a last minute request with an open smile

And always be prepared to go the extra mile

If you can, then you’ll succeed and go far

And have marked yourself out as a my kind of  PR

It sounds like the script for an action movie… Cars… Girls… Cigars… And it’s kind of felt that way in the past few months!

The Ogilvy Broadcast & Digital team have had a cracking start to 2009 with big european projects for Nissan and Infiniti at the Geneva Motor Show. Barbie’s 50th Birthday took the team to the Neuremberg Toy Fair, and The Festival Del Habano (Cuban Cigar Festival) sent the team to Havana, Cuba for the sixth year running!

We have had some amazing coverage for our clients across these projects, and it felt right to shout about it, so the team have pulled together this little showreel to show of the best of best!

Enjoy…

Ogilvy Broadcast Event Showreel

Cheers… James.