Articles by Helen Bannigan

HELEN BANNIGAN has close to two decades of experience in telecoms, technology and international PR.

She has resided and worked in 4 European capitals: Paris, Lisbon, Madrid and Rome. She worked for several years at US Embassy in Portugal (Commercial Services), assisting US companies enter Europe and then co-founded one of the first approved alternative long distance service providers in Portugal following deregulation. She was European Project Manager for éclat Marketing’s major multinational accounts while in Spain, then moved on to International Business Development at Eurocom Worldwide.

Helen is a specialist in cross-cultural effectiveness, helping companies to work efficiently across cultural borders. She arranged worldwide pro-bono PR representation for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to raise awareness of world hunger. Helen was also co-founder of GRACE, a non-profit to raise awareness of corporate social responsibility in Europe. In addition to her native English, Helen speaks Italian, French, Portuguese and some Spanish.

As BondPR COO, Helen now oversees the lifecycle of all of BondPR’s clients, ensuring that expectations are communicated and received effectively by all parties, and campaigns are followed through in the most efficient, results-driven manner possible.

The Pope does Facebook

May 29, 2009 in Fascinating Facts, PR by Helen Bannigan | No comments

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Living in Rome as I do, one becomes used to reading about the latest Pope Watch News: from condom usage in Africa to global interfaith dialogue, to his favorite flavor of gelato (Pope John Paul II was apparently a fan of marron glace - the verdict is still out for the current Pope Benedict).

I loved the recent announcement that His Eminence was starting a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, providing content for iPhones, and joining the wacky world of Twitter.  What a hipster, that Popester.  Who knew?

It’s all part of the celebration to mark the World Social Communication Day (May 24), founded by the second Vatican Council following a decree on the media of Social communications back in the 60’s.  The church uses “Social Communications” to refer to the mass media in general – so not necessarily referring to the “social networking” phenomenon that are embodied by Twitter, Facebook, etc.  This Vatican decree overturned a previous Church position that was critical of the liberty of the press, and the day has been used to give an annual update to the followers of the Catholic Church and to foster communication amongst the faithful.

PR, of course, is all about communication, and the exploding social media phenomenon insists that this now be two-way communication with our stakeholders and our community influencers in order to survive.

The Vatican has clearly recognized that it needs to keep on top of its PR game as much as any multi-national corporation in order to maintain visibility and credibility in the global marketplace.  To survive in the competitive area – jockeying for position amongst innumerable faiths and, every more increasingly, the growing tide of “non-faiths” (agnostics and atheists) – the Catholic church must maintain this critical two-way dialogue in a meaningful way with its “customers”.  They must strive to ensure that they don’t migrate to the “competition”,  and try to attract new customers interested in buying its celestial “product”.

How successful will the Holy See be in his endeavor ( www.pope2you.net )?  Will the young, and the not-so-young, flock to the papal Facebook page or track Benedict’s Twitter updates or stay tuned to the Vatican YouTube channel  (http://www.youtube.com/vatican?gl=IT&hl=en-GB )?  Will the content be engaging, uplifting, valuable, provocative, inspiring?  Will the church be able to utilize this medium as an effective crisis control tool?  Will the Pope follow in Ashton Kutcher’s footsteps and surpass a million followers?

God only knows.

Musings on Mobile World Congress

March 5, 2009 in PR by Helen Bannigan | No comments

 

Mobile World Congress, formerly called 3GSM, is the world’s largest exhibition for the mobile industry, showcasing the latest innovations in mobile technology and services and generally celebrating the industry’s many achievements over the past 25 years.

 

Until 2 years ago, the event took place in Cannes, during its 3GSM days, and many attendees fondly remember client meetings on yachts, extreme wining and dining,  and the overall more intimate nature of the gathering.  Now, around 2 decades later, attendance is in the range of 50,000 with around 1,300 companies exhibiting (though this years attendance was down by about 10%).

 

Economic undercurrents

 

While there was an underlying unspoken sense of muted fear and trepidation, many singled out the unique roll of the mobile industry in the difficult economic times.  During the congress, the number of global mobile connections surpassed 4 billion –the total human population of the globe stands at 6. 7 billion (I looked it up!).  Of course this isn’t the total number of mobile users worldwide, since many consumers have more than one handset, while others in emerging markets often share.  Nonetheless 4 billion mobile connects is an astounding figure to consider.

 

It’s against this backdrop that Mobile World Congress (MWC) participants discussed the unique role of mobile industry in lifting the world out of recession.   It’s one of the few sectors that is well positioned to weather the downturn and the industry, according to some, is one of government’s best answers to that downturn; in generating jobs, innovation, productivity and high technology, and doing so in a more environmentally sensitive way.  What’s more, the mobile sector is one of the few industries that has not required a global government bailout during the downturn.

There was still some star quality to the event, especially with lead singer of Will.i.am, of Black Eyed Peas fame, at the Mobile Backstage entertainment show and Kevin Spacey as host Mofilm short film festival.   

In my view, the show this year was just as notable by what wasn’t there, as by what was

 

What wasn’t there:

 

·         Apple wasn’t there, though the iPhone was there in spirit, with lots of competition scrambling to emulate it’s basic technology.

 

·         Pre-event buzz was all about Google’s Android open source mobile platform.

Yet I didn’t see one Android handset that was ready, actually commercially available.  Was Microsoft responsible for killing Android?

 

·         Huawei’s entered the smartphone market with their Android-based prototype, but the actual launch is scheduled for some time later this year.

 

·         HTC phone, Magic was based on Android platform, but wasn’t actually commercially available yet.

 

·         Microsoft launched the new Windows® phones with a free My Phone service that will enable people to access, manage and back up their personal information to a Web-based service, making it easier to upgrade phones without the worry of losing important information.  Focus on “will” here, the My Phone service is currently available in a limited invitation-only beta format

 

·         On the environmental front there was not a whole lot of green stuff (some cell phone recycling, but not much more)

 

What was there:

 

·         App stores - Nokia and Microsoft both launch their versions of app stores, with many others clamoring to develop their own version of an application storefront, where users can easily discover and download applications for their smartphones and developers can easily create and monetize those apps.  Trick is: they need stuff to put in those stores!

 

·         Touch screen - Quite simply, everyone’s doing it.

 

·         Meemix – yet another innovative company coming out of Israel, Meemix offers a music service which allows users to create and share personalized Internet radio stations and video channels for free. What’s really unique is that they’ve developed this taste prediction technology, which gives users their favorite music while introducing new artists that match their own individual tastes and in accordance with your current mood.  Way cool.

 

What I liked the best, amidst all the hype and the undertones of economic nervousness, were the simple things that came out of the show.

 

SIMPLICITY

·         Imagine if all cell phones were made to use the same cell phone charger!  Life is about to get a little bit easier.  The mobile industry agreed on one standard cell phone charger that will work with the majority of new handsets by 2012.  Not only will the number of chargers being manufactured each year be cut in half, but the new charger is also targeting a 50 % reduction in standby energy consumption and a three times more energy efficiency than the current chargers.  Good news for those amongst us who have settled with dead batteries for lack of compatible charger in sight.  And bonus: good news for the environment.

 

·         GSMA and Gates Foundation target the ‘unbanked’ – this partnership aims to bring financial services to developing countries via mobile phones. There are over one billion people in emerging markets today who do not have a bank account but do have a mobile phone, and this solution allows them to transfer money simply, efficiently, and cost effectively.

 

·         ForgetMeNot Software is another company that offers this simplified wire transfer solution via mobile phones.  But they do another cool thing:  they allow users to send IMs and emails via any telephone without the need for downloads or any special technology, via SMS technology.  So, virtually any cell phone on the planet can now send emails, essentially for the cost of sending an SMS.  For the developing world in particular, but for all markets around the world, this is very good news.

 

Finally, events such as Mobile World Congress are always crucial from a networking standpoint.  As in previous years, this added advantage was in full force.

 

Networking

The BondPR business model of multi-country campaigns made simple means that we do business with clients and PR partners around the world, and we’re always looking for ways to make the process more efficient and effective – both from a cost perspective and otherwise.  Around the time of the conference, we needed to schedule meetings w/ our PR partners in Germany, the US and Scandinavia; plus meet with clients based in Sweden, UK, Asia and the Middle East — we were able to consolidate all those meetings in the form of Mobile World Congress, saving on time, increasing efficiency. and minimizing our carbon footprint to boot!  That is good news indeed.

 

 

Who knew that naming your dog could cause such a cultural divide?

February 3, 2009 in Marketing, Media, PR, Politics, Reputation, Responsibility by Helen Bannigan | No comments

We’ve had our beloved chocolate lab for 8 years now and I only just recently learned from a random Muslim cab driver in Paris that her name is highly offensive and insulting to Islam.

And that made me think about how much our choice of words matter.  Hidden meanings can communicate a message completely different from that which we wish to convey.  As a PR person, I ensure our client’s message is received in the way it was intended, and help to “translate” the words to diverse cultures outside of the client’s comfort zone.

And yet here I was, making a mess of naming our furry friend and insulting a number of my not-so-furry friends in the process.

I originally chose the name Aisha because I love the song by Algerian Rai artist, Khaled, called Aicha. I’ve always been attracted to Arabic culture, fascinated by the Islamic religion, and when living in Paris I fostered very close and dear friendships with some wonderful Muslim people.  Naming my dog Aisha was – in my mind -  a show of respect and honor, as our family pet is very much a revered part of the family.

When a Muslim friend of mine expressed her surprise, saying I shouldn’t name my dog Aisha because it’s a girl’s name, not a dog’s name.  I thought it’s just because it was a little silly, the equivalent of naming a dog Tom or Susan.

What I didn’t know was that it’s relatively unheard of for Muslims to even have a dog as a family pet.  Canines are considered not just unclean but downright vile and contaminated.  It is said that angels do not enter a house which contains a dog.  Calling someone “a dog”, while odd in Western culture, is amongst the worst insults you can give to someone (up there with throwing your shoes at someone’s head ).

Not only that, but Aisha was the favorite wife of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad’s, and referred to as the “Mother of all Believers”. Amongst the most prominent of Muhammad’s wives, Aisha became an educated spokesperson for the teachings of the Prophet and has been revered as a role model by millions of women.

 Had it not been for that lovely Parisian taxi driver, I never would have known how offensive my innocent act was perceived in the very culture I was intending to honor.

A useful reminder of stuff I already know (but apparently need to be reminded of!):

Know your audience. Know the cultural translation of the words you chose to use.

Words matter.

Ana aasif !

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Coming Home

October 15, 2008 in Business by Helen Bannigan | No comments

With the increasingly global economy, executives are moving to new countries at an unprecedented rate to further their careers and to support corporate growth and expansion.  At some point many of these global execs end up moving home and find an unexpected challenge.  The truth is; repatriation – moving back to your original homeland - is much more difficult than expatriation, much to the surprise of many who experience both.  This very fact makes the experience challenging from the start, since the expectation is that the transition will be easy and it rarely is.

Depending on how long an expat lives abroad, there comes a time when they don’t fit in any more at home (Americans returning home are considered too European, for example) but they never fully fit in their adopted country (they’ll always be a foreigner, no matter how well they assimilate).  This means the person is never fully “in”, always an outsider to a certain degree, always a foreigner even in their original homeland.  Some people are ok with this and even welcome it – others struggle with it.  The key is to identify where you stand and find ways to deal with it either way.

When I did a short stint at repatriation 100 years ago (!), I realized that I failed the “test” miserably. My cultural references were totally lacking – I didn’t know most of the latest jokes, TV shows, gadgets, celebrities.  It’s hard to keep up in a conversation when you keep asking “what”?  “who”?  And that was just the beginning.

I’ve since counselled many senior executives in cross-cultural communication and awareness to help then navigate the pitfalls that come with this process and help them find their most effective voice when chartering this surprisingly unknown territory.  A company’s spokesperson needs to be clear on corporate talking points while at the same time being comfortable in their cultural environment – and when your birth country suddenly becomes a foreign one, there’s a lot to re-learn.

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