Personal branding and responsibility, career building and best practices in PR are on the agenda at the 2. Annual Worldcom Youth Meeting in Budapest. A three days event gathers young consultants representing Worldcom PR Group agencies in the EMEA region.

Barcelona, June 19th 2012. The WORLDCOM Public Relations Group (Worldcom) announced today the start of its search for a new Managing Director to lead the organization starting in 2013. Current Worldcom COO, Daisy Guthin, who has led the organization for the last 17 consecutive years, has announced her planned retirement for 2013.

A selection committee of Worldcom partners, led by Hal Dash, Cerrell Associates, Los Angeles, is conducting a worldwide search over the next few months to select a Managing Director before the end of 2012. “We expect a smooth transition as we move into our next generation of leadership with both, the retiring and new leaders, working side-by-side for several months in 2013,” Dash said.

Corinna Voss, the newly-elected chair of the group board which governs the global organization said, “Worldcom’s board of directors, together with a Next-Generation committee, has consulted with our partner firms to redefine the leadership role. Plans are to add a full-time communications/administrative position, restructure marketing and finance and re-tool partner recruitment strategies.” She added, “These refinements have strengthened the partnership, and created a new business model for a more successful future.”

Guthin announced her impending retirement to the board two years ago, in order to give the partnership ample time to plan and hire a successor.

“Serving this global organization, comprised of some of the world’s most talented and successful independent public relations professionals, has been a dream job,” Guthin says. “It has been exhilarating to work and be in touch with firms located across the globe on a daily basis. It has also been a privilege to meet the individual culture-centric needs of our 108 partner firms, and to gain a wider understanding of the vast differences, as well as similarities, that exist among people and the PR profession worldwide. This position is especially suited to those who have an international soul coupled with the business acumen to lead this vibrant global organization.”

Qualified applicants may apply for the position through the Worldcom Public Relations Group website.

About the Worldcom Public Relations Group
Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with 108 offices in 96 markets, across six continents. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent firms could deliver immediate impact and sustained value through the intelligent use of communications – wherever in the world a client needs support. Partners serve national, international and multi-national clients, while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic areas in which they operate.

Worldcom is led by a Group Board and three Regional Boards in the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (AP). Worldcom partner firms occupy leadership positions in the world’s major public relations professional organizations and business communities. Worldcom firms, with a total of 2,000 employees, have combined revenues of $227.5 million.

LFChannel_Worldcom_Managing Director

June 7th, 2012 — Collabora Ltd. and Fluendo S.A., the leading companies in open source multimedia, have released a free and open source cross-platform software development kit (SDK) for the GStreamer multimedia programming framework.

Designed for programmers developing multimedia applications such as video editors, streaming media broadcasters and media players, the new SDK works on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X, and is available for free at http://www.gstreamer.com. Several Fortune500 OEMs have used GStreamer for multimedia development.

The GStreamer multimedia development framework allows an application to handle a wide range of media formats and sources, and has been developed and matured in the open source ecosystem for more than 10 years. The SDK broadens GStreamer availability, offering programmers an efficient way to develop full-featured multimedia applications across leading desktop platforms.

The SDK builds on the proven technology in GStreamer and provides a consistent, well tested and high quality multimedia sub-system for developers. Developers working with the SDK will find it to be functionally identical on Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X (version 10.5 or later on Intel) and all supported Linux platforms. This portability enables faster development and time to market.

GStreamer.com offers access to development resources
The release of the SDK coincides with the launch of www.gstreamer.com, a new initiative to facilitate the commercial adoption of the GStreamer project. Users have free access to the SDK, extensive documentation, tutorials and instructions for installing GStreamer and getting started.

Collabora and Fluendo will provide a range of products and services to augment the SDK. Fluendo provides a high quality suite of commercial audio and video codecs. Collabora brings a range of consultancy services. Other companies with offerings around GStreamer are invited to join this initiative.

“Fluendo is very enthusiastic about this SDK. We consider it to be a vital step toward broadening the use of GStreamer as the versatile and powerful multimedia framework it is. With this SDK, building multimedia-rich applications will be much simpler, giving developers the opportunity of spanning several platforms and operating systems in one single move”, said Julien Moutte, co-founder and CTO of Fluendo. “Once again, open source solutions prove to be a solid foundation for the development of new technologies both free and commercial”, he concluded.

“Collabora’s work with GStreamer in open source and commercial product contexts for the past six years has shown it’s unparalleled flexibility for building powerful multimedia applications and devices. We’re very glad to work together with Fluendo to augment this adoption and deliver GStreamer to a wider audience”, said Robert McQueen, co-founder and CTO of Collabora. “We look forward to continuing this initiative and joining forces with developers worldwide to bring innovative products to market.”

GStreamer is widely used in server, desktop, mobile, automotive (IVI) and set-top box (STB) environments. An upcoming release of the SDK will include support for Google Android and other mobile platforms.

About GStreamer
GStreamer is an advanced open source multimedia framework used in a wide range of operating systems and devices. The GStreamer project aims at providing a modern and modular system suitable for any major multimedia product. GStreamer is already the de-facto multimedia platform for Linux based operating systems and with the upcoming GStreamer 1.0 release series the power of GStreamer will become available to an even wider audience.

About the GStreamer SDK
The GStreamer SDK is a free and open source cross-platform software development kit that provides a consistent, well tested and high quality multimedia sub-system for amateurs and professional developers by means of packaged and pre-built libraries and tutorials.

About Collabora
Headquartered in Cambridge, UK with a network of developers worldwide, Collabora Ltd. is a software consultancy specializing in delivering the benefits of open source to the commercial world. Collabora combines years of open source software expertise with hard-won experience from working in the mobile and consumer electronics industries. They help clients effectively take open source technologies from the community to real-world consumers, re-using existing components to reduce time to market and focus on product differentiation.

About Fluendo
Founded in 2004 in Barcelona, Fluendo specializes in software development and consulting services to enable multimedia on multiple devices and operating systems. Fluendo employs several of the central developers of GStreamer, an Open Source framework which is quickly establishing itself as the de-facto standard multimedia framework for GNU/Linux and UNIX systems. Fluendo provides a wide range of products under and above GStreamer, including proprietary codecs (together with their respective patent licenses), a streaming server, the Fluendo DVD Player, and Moovida Pro. Fluendo develops multimedia software to offer cross-platform and open source-based multimedia solutions for computer devices and consumer electronics, always aiming at proposing an innovative perspective of entertainment. Contact us at contact@fluendo.com.

Android is a trademark of Google Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.
Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
Mac OS is a trademark of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and other countries.

LFChannel_Collabora_Fluendo_GStreamer SDK

Worldcom PR Group strengthens its client support in EMEA with new partners in Israel and Sweden

Barcelona. January 2012 – COM&SENSE from Israel and Oxenstierna & Partners from Sweden have been elected as the new partners of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading network of independently owned public relations counseling firms.

COM&SENSE is a leading public relations firm in Israel that creates a competitive edge for its clients in all media forms with the same outcome: promotion in a creative, dignified and credible manner. “COM&SENSE decided to join Worldcom PR Group due to the growth and strategic development of the firm. With experienced partners in every corner of the world, we hope to share communications expertise and clients with other like-minded agencies. We will share our unique insights, communication methodology and connections in the Israeli market with other Worldcom PR Group partners around the globe”, said Ben Johnston, Global Department, COM&SENSE.

Oxenstierna & Partners is a communications agency that offers both strategy and operations management in conjunction with communication activities. “Becoming a part of the Worldcom PR Group is a quality marker and a great opportunity for us to enhance and extend both our business and offer. Many of our clients require international PR and IR activities and as a part of Worldcom we have high hopes of providing other member companies with projects and assignments. At the same time, our experienced and professional team of consultants looks forward to helping Worldcom partners’ clients”, said Anna Oxenstierna, Partner and Senior Communications Consultant at Oxenstierna & Partners.

Both COM&SENSE and Oxenstierna have recently joined Worldcom, after going through a complete selection process and accomplishing the quality standards required to form part of the network.

“Selecting new partners is a thorough task, and a very important one for maintaining the quality standards of the Worldcom PR Group. Our goal is to have professional local partners with a deep knowledge of their markets, and therefore we are happy to welcome both COM&SENSE and Oxenstierna to our network,” said Corinna Voss, Worldcom PR Group EMEA Chair.

About COM&SENSE

COM&SENSE is a leading Public Relations firm in Israel that creates a competitive edge for its clients in all media forms with the same outcome: promotion in a creative, dignified and credible manner. COM&SENSE’s key practice areas are Strategic Communications, Corporate PR, Healthcare, Law firms and Public Affairs. Truly a 360 degree firm, COM&SENSE guides corporations, governmental agencies and organizations to strengthen their brand and message. The diversity and excellence of COM&SENSE’s work is continually recognized by the Israeli Public Relations Association. For more information: http://www.ces-global.com/

About Oxenstierna & Partners

Oxenstierna & Partners is a communications agency that offers both strategy and operations management in conjunction with communication activities. We provide advice in public relations and investor relations as well as business strategy and project management. We also produce websites, annual reports and other publications.
With broad experience in business management, project management and multiple communication disciplines, we place great emphasis on smart, effective solutions, complemented by an in-depth knowledge of our client’s business. More information: http://www.oxp.se

About Worldcom PR Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with some 107 offices in 93 cities worldwide. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through The Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel SL

Flor Calveiro
fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Tel: +34 93418 81 51
Twitter: @LFChannel_EN
www.lfchannel.com

Worldcom PR Group strengthens its client support in EMEA with new partners in Israel and Sweden (101)

Global Survey Shows Independent Public Relations Firms
Experiencing a Surge in New Business

Barcelona. January 2012 – Independent communications firms worldwide are starting off the year in better business shape than 2011, according to recent results announced today from a Worldcom Public Relations Group (Worldcom) survey. As the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations firms, Worldcom reported most partner agencies polled forecast hiring new staff and have already experienced an increase in business and budgets as they begin the new year.

“Professional service firms worldwide are leading the pack when it comes to new hires and business growth for 2012,” said Matt Kucharski, chair of Worldcom Public Relations Group and senior vice president of Padilla Speer Beardsley. ”We are seeing the same trend reflected by our Worldcom partners across all regions.”

Worldcom Public Relations Group surveyed CEO’s from national and international partner agencies servicing clients ranging from small to mid-sized businesses to Fortune 50 companies.

The survey indicates a high percentage of new business growth in the technology, consumer, healthcare, and professional and financial service sectors; with steady growth in travel and leisure, transportation, energy, and government markets also anticipated.

The Worldcom Public Relations Group survey tapped more than 100 firms from three regions: Asia/Pacific, Europe/Middle East/Africa and North and South America on 2011-2012 business trends. Survey responses include:
- More than 76% of firms surveyed have recently hired new staff to support new business or intend to hire in Q1 of 2012.
- 67% of firms have started off 2012 in better financial/business shape than 2011.
- More than 64% of firms saw a notable surge in new business activity at the end of 2011.

-more-

“What our Worldcom partners are reporting globally indicates markets are growing across a broad range of industries and businesses,” said Dorothy Pirovano, chair of Worldcom’s Americas Region and CEO of Public Communications Inc., Chicago. “We are finding clients to be much more optimistic moving into 2012 than they were a year ago, and while there is still some caution, there seems to be far more confidence.”

According to the survey, businesses across all sectors exhibited greater confidence in market opportunities and the value of public relations, retaining more agencies on an annual contract rather than project-by-project basis. The survey was fielded in December 2011.

About Worldcom PR Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with some 107 offices in 93 cities worldwide. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through The Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel SL

Flor Calveiro
fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Tel: +34 93418 81 51
Twitter: @LFChannel_EN
www.lfchannel.com

Global Survey Shows Independent Public Relations Firms Experiencing a Surge in New Business (116)

WORLDCOM Public Relations Group Announces
Its New Regional Board Members for 2011-2012

Adds New Firms to its Partnership of Independent Public Relations Counseling Firms

WORLDCOM Public Relations Group (Worldcom) the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, today announced its regional board slate for the remainder of 2011 and 2012. In addition, the global partnership announced the addition of two new partner firms to its roster of independent agencies. Established in 1988, Worldcom, a partnership comprised of 107 firms, in 91 markets, across six continents, operates through a Group Board and three regional boards – one each in the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (AP). Worldcom partner agencies occupy leadership positions in the world’s major public relations professional organizations and business communities, globally.

“We’re proud to have leaders of the top independent agencies around the world serving on the boards of each of our regions,” said Matt Kucharski, Chair of Worldcom Public Relations Group. “Individually, they’re among the best in the field, and collectively, they are a part of a global partnership that supports the communication and marketing needs of local, regional and international corporations, offering companies a global reach the world’s leading public relations agency partnership explore new opportunities for members and their clients.”

The Americas Region has elected the following new board members:
Regional Chair: Dorothy Pirovano, CEO of Public Communications, Inc.
Chair Elect: Todd Lynch, VP, Director Public Relations, St. John & Partners
Marketing Chair: Lauren Peters, President of PetersGroup Public Relations
Partner Retention Chair: Lisa Simon, President of Simon Public Relations
Practice Groups Chair: Tim Oliver, President of Morgan & Myers

Other board members elected for the 2011-2012 term by the Americas Region include: Angelica Consiglio (Planin, São Paulo, Brazil) Latin America/Partner Recruitment; Virginia Sheridan (M. Silver Associates, New York, NY) Immediate Past Chair; Elizabeth Sosnow (BlissPR, New York, NY) Online/Interactive; Sharon Linhart (Linhart PR, Denver, CO) Meetings; Francie Israeli (John Adams Associates Inc., Washington, DC) Peer Review; Sandy Hermanoff (Hermanoff Public Relations, Farmington Hills, MI) Professional Development; Aileen Katcher (Katcher Vaughn & Bailey Public Relations, Nashville, TN) Treasurer; and Stefan Pollack (The Pollack PR Marketing Group, Los Angeles, CA) Chair At Large.

The EMEA Region has elected the following new board member:
Treasurer: Crispin Manners, Director, Word of Mouth Communications of Kaizo

The AP Region has elected the following new board members:
Regional Chair: Cindy Payne, Managing Director of Asia-Pacific Connections
Immediate Past Chair: Doug Wright, Chairman of WrightsPR
Partnership Co-Chair: Tom Van Blarcom, Managing Director of TQPR Thailand
Treasurer: Gina Lee, Managing Director of Communications Plus
Secretary: Michelle Lam, Senior Account Executive of A-World Consulting

The newest worldwide partners include Realidades, based in Lima, Peru, which focuses on working together with the Peruvian government to promote social programs and other government-driven projects and The Garrity Group, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which specializes in issue management, crisis communication, media relations, government relations and social media.

About the Worldcom Public Relations Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms. Worldcom has 112 offices in 93 cities in 46 countries on five continents, more than 2,000 employees and revenue in 2009 of more than US $220 million. Established in 1988, Worldcom was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through Worldcom, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel SL

Flor Calveiro
fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Tel: +34 93418 81 51
Twitter: @LFChannel_EN
www.lfchannel.com

WORLDCOM Public Relations Group Announces Its New Regional Board Members for 2011-2012 (165)

Corporate Social Media Spend to Increase among B2B Companies Globally According to Worldcom Public Relations Group Survey

Twitter Most Popular B2B Channel Overall, Facebook Most Popular in Western

New York, NY – May 17, 2011 – According to a survey by the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading partnership of independently owned PR firms, more than half (54%) of companies surveyed plan to increase spending on social media in 2011. This bodes well for Twitter, the most popular channel, used by 85 percent of global respondents, followed by Facebook (74%), LinkedIn (72%), You Tube (69%) and corporate blogs (60%).

“Lange 360 has joined the Worldcom PR Group because the ‘new normal’ in communications requires global insights and the global brands we work with will benefit from us being part of a group of like-minded independently owned companies, who service best-of-breed clients across a variety of industries worldwide,” said Ruth Golembo, Managing Director at Lange 360.

The survey of more than 100 business-to-business (B2B) company leaders confirmed the significant increase in the use of social media. Nearly all companies (83%) are using social media to communicate with target audiences, and 66 percent have been doing so for more than a year. Most executives (89%) believe social media will increase in value for their company over the next year, and 58 percent expect the increase to be significant.

“Digital communities are an integral part of any business-to-business marketing strategy,” said Cortney Rhoads Stapleton, chair of the Worldcom B2B Practice Group and EVP at BlissPR in New York. “The survey shows that nearly all companies recognize the importance of social media, but many are still unsure how to use the medium to humanize their brand. We expect to see a much higher comfort level with social media by this time next year as companies devote additional resources and personnel to this area.”

These findings are from the Worldcom Social Media B2B Study which examined the use of social media at B2B companies primarily in North America and Western Europe. The survey was conducted by independent market research firm Persuadable Research in April, 2011.

Other major findings of the Worldcom Social Media B2B Study:

North America and Western Europe Differ in Social Media Approach. The biggest difference between social media use in North America and Western Europe is the approach to “thought leadership.” In North America, thought leadership promotion is the primary use of digital tools (30%); but it was not mentioned by any of the respondents in Western Europe. European companies focused primarily on social media to communicate with potential clients (31%) and current clients (25%).

“In Western Europe, companies are using social media as a source to actively find new contacts and business leads,” said Antonia Contato, program director of the Worldcom B2B Practice Group and account director at HBI Helga Bailey GmbH in Germany. “Our counterparts in the U.S. take a different approach, promoting company thought leadership via social media in order to draw leads in.”

This is also reflected by the difference in platforms used. In North America, 91 percent of respondents were using Twitter compared to only 62 percent in Western Europe. Facebook is the most used platform for Western European companies (31%) followed by Twitter (25%) and corporate blogs (25%). In North America, Twitter was used most (31%) followed by Facebook (25%) and LinkedIn (19%).

Companies Expect Social Media to Drive New Business. More than 80% of companies surveyed globally are using social media to communicate with potential clients, and when asked about the “most important” use of social media, 26 percent cited communication of their company’s thought leadership, followed by “communicate with clients” (23%) and “communicate with potential clients” (20%). Companies are also using social media to build a community as an extension of their website (60%), communicate with journalists (58%) and communicate with potential employees or alumni (50%), but very few cited any as a “most important” use.

Mid-Sized Companies Lag Behind. When broken down by revenue segment, small (under $50 million) and large (over $1 billion) companies emerged as the social media leaders. Nearly 80 percent of small companies and 88 percent of large companies have been using social media for more than a year, compared to only 57 percent of mid-sized companies. In fact, 34 percent of mid-sized companies surveyed have been using social media less than six months. Mid-sized companies are still grappling with the role that social media will play in their communication and business development strategies, and only 46 percent plan to increase social media spending this year compared to 68 percent of small companies. Many companies still lack a dedicated team of experts in this area and are unsure as to which platforms make the most sense for their business.

About the Worldcom B2B Practice Group

The Worldcom Public Relations B2B Practice Group is a multi-national partnership of PR firms with broad and deep experience in business to business communications that helps clients achieve competitive advantage.  Made up of both specialist and generalist firms led by seasoned senior practitioners – most of whom are agency principals – the group combines strategic thinking with a “get-it-done” philosophy. Members share proprietary research, tools and robust thought leadership while providing tactical expertise and client support. Clients benefit from a cohesive network of geographic and market expertise, along with assured confidentiality and agreed-upon standards of practice. Among the industries served by the B2B Practice Group are professional services, financial services, manufacturing, chemical & Industrial, technology and healthcare.

About the Worldcom Public Relations Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms. Worldcom has 112 offices in 93 cities in 46 countries on five continents, more than 2,000 employees and revenue in 2009 of more than US $220 million. Established in 1988, Worldcom was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through Worldcom, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel SL

Flor Calveiro
fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Tel: +34 93418 81 51
Twitter: @LFChannel_EN
www.lfchannel.com

Corporate Social Media Spend to Increase among B2B Companies Globally According to Worldcom Public Relations Group Survey (208)

Worldcom PR Group EMEA extends its client support with its first South African partner Lange 360

Brussels, Belgium. 26th April 2011 – Lange 360, one of the most influential PR and communication consultancies in South Africa, has been elected as the new partner of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading network of independently owned public relations counseling firms.

“Lange 360 has joined the Worldcom PR Group because the ‘new normal’ in communications requires global insights and the global brands we work with will benefit from us being part of a group of like-minded independently owned companies, who service best-of-breed clients across a variety of industries worldwide,” said Ruth Golembo, Managing Director at Lange 360.

Lange 360 has recently joined Worldcom in April, after going through a complete selection process and accomplishing the quality standards required to form part of the network.

“Worldcom has an unrivalled capability in the EMEA region and we look forward to adding value to our clients by working alongside some of the smartest operators in Europe”, adds Ahter Kutadgu, managing partner at Kutadgu Communications Consulting.

“We are very happy to welcome our new partner in South Africa and extend our network’s reach across the EMEA region. Lange’s proven experience in PR will surely guarantee interesting future collaborations,” said Corinna Voss, Worldcom PR Group EMEA Chair.

In the fall, Worldcom EMEA will have its annual meeting in South Africa, where Lange 360 will play a significant role.

These previous years, the Worldcom PR Group has shown significant growth in EMEA with the addition of new partners in Sweden, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland and the UK. Lange 360 is the first South African addition to the network.

About Lange 360

Lange 360 is one of the most influential PR and communication consultancies in South Africa. In business for more than 25 years, the agency has established a proven reputation for delivering effective, innovative and strategic PR and communication solutions. The company’s track record spans a diverse range of industries in the consumer, corporate, and financial arenas. Lange 360 has offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. For more info on Lange 360, please visit www.lange.co.za.

About Worldcom PR Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with some 107 offices in 93 cities worldwide. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through The Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Worldcom EMEA currently comprises 32 agencies with strong expertise in consumer, healthcare, travel & tourism, technology, energy & environment, financial services, investor relations, public affairs and crisis & issues management. Clients include Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Panasonic, Sony Ericson, LG Electronics, the EU Anti-Tobacco Campaign, Verbatim and Palm. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel SL

Flor Calveiro
fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Tel: +34 93418 81 51
Twitter: @LFChannel_EN
www.lfchannel.com

Worldcom PR Group EMEA extends its client support with its first South African partner Lange 360 (184)

Worldcom EMEA Survey on PR trends reveals that traditional media still plays a key role

Barcelona, March 1, 2011– Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s leading network of independently owned public relations counseling firms, has announced the results of its first survey on PR trends in Europe.

The study shows several similarities between European countries. For example, when a new client is launching a product for the first time in a specific market, all agencies have said that dailies are still very important. Nevertheless, they’ve all agreed on the fact that newswires, magazines, TV/radio and bloggers should also be invited. For a fashion and cosmetics announcement, bloggers can be more relevant than dailies.

If the client is visiting the agency’s country for the first time and has no local offices, the most recommended events are one-to-one interviews, or a breakfast / lunch meeting with a group of local media. But then sub-regions show different preferences towards this: Southern Europe agencies would still organize a press conferences in one city but do not recommend social events, while in Central Europe visits to editors are well received. Northern European PR Pros would organize either a breakfast / lunch or a social event, and only Eastern Europe agencies recommend to cover more than one city when organizing a press conference.

Across Europe, consumer goods’ press conferences are the ones that can expect the biggest number of attendees (about 24), while Pharmaceutical events are the ones with less quantity of attendees (less than 10). There are also significant differences depending on the country. For example, the number of people attending a press conference in the technology industry is around 20 in Southern and Eastern Europe while in Northern and Central Europe this will be less than 10. In the consumer goods industry we can find as much as 40 attendees in Southern Europe and as less as 5 in Northern Europe.

Concerning meetings and tradeshows that imply travelling, Southern European agencies explain that in their region journalists will not travel if their expenses are not covered, while in Northern Europe 4 out of 10 journalists would still travel on their own expenses. Most countries have said that they need press releases to be translated into their local language in order to distribute them to the press, except for Portugal: here journalists would prefer to receive press releases in English instead of Brazilian Portuguese.

Overall, 29,4% of agencies would recommend Facebook for a B2B campaign. This practice is more popular in Eastern Europe, where 75% of agencies encourage this, and totally unpopular in Northern Europe, where nobody recommended it. Concerning Twitter, most agencies (70,6%) have said that less of 25% of the journalists in their country use it as a professional tool.

“This is a very interesting survey, as it allows us to learn more about common PR trends in Europe, and also about key differences. Each country counts with specific local characteristics that make it unique. In consequence, the way of doing a same announcement even in neighbour countries can vary significantly”, said Imma Folch, Worldcom EMEA Marketing Chair.

The purpose of this survey was to identify differences between regions when dealing with media. Worldcom PR Group has analyzed media trends across Europe in the following market sectors: Tourism; Public Affairs; Pharmaceutical; IT, Technology and Electronics; Health; Fashion and Cosmetics; Food and Beverage and Consumer Goods.

This survey was done in December 2010, and counted with the participation of 17 agencies based in Central Europe (Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria), Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovenia and Turkey), Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom) and Southern Europe (France, Italy, Spain and Portugal).

About Worldcom PR Group

Worldcom Public Relations Group is the world’s leading partnership of independently owned public relations counseling firms, with some 109 offices in 95 cities worldwide. Established in 1988, it was formed so that the strongest, most capable independent public relations firms could serve national, international and multi-national clients while retaining the flexibility and client-service focus inherent in independent agencies. Through The Worldcom Group, clients have on-demand access to in-depth communications expertise from professionals who understand the language, culture and customs of the geographic arenas in which they operate. Visit www.worldcomgroup.com for more information.

Worldcom EMEA currently comprises 34 agencies with strong expertise in consumer, healthcare, travel & tourism, technology, energy & environment, financial services, investor relations, public affairs and crisis & issues management. Clients include Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Panasonic, Sony Ericson, LG Electronics, the EU Anti-Tobacco Campaign, Verbatim and Palm. Visit www.worldcomprgroupemea.com for more information.

Press Information:

Press Office Worldcom PR Group EMEA:

LF Channel
Flor Calveiro
Email: fcalveiro@lfchannel.com
Twitter:@WorldcomEMEA
Tel: +34 93 418 81 51
http://www.lfchannel.com

Worldcom EMEA Survey on PR trends reveals that traditional media still plays a key role (190)

LF Channel will manage ATEN’s communication strategy in the Spanish market

Barcelona, March 1, 2011 – LF Channel, full-service marketing and communication agency, has been selected by ATEN multinational company, a leading manufacturer of advanced connectivity solutions and KVM Switches, to develop a communication strategy for its brand in Spain.

In MATELEC, an International Exhibition of Electrical and Electronic materials held last October, the agency developed a pilot project promoting the family of solutions ALTUSEN for the management of servers. LF Channel’s methodology and extensive media knowledge generated very positive results for ATEN. This experience was decisive in the signature of the current annual arrangement for 2011.

After months of preparations to re-launch its brand in Spain, ATEN has decided to promote its brand image and products in Spain on a regular basis. To do this, ATEN will utilize the proven experience of LF Channel to take full advantage of the coordinated work between local dealers and the customer’s team located in Belgium. LF Channel will also provide support in producing content that will educate the market about the key role of connectivity technologies in high-impact sectors, such as data centers, broadcasting, and storage in general.

Founded in 1979, ATEN International Co. Ltd. specialized in connectivity solutions and systems management of information technology. Today, it is considered the leading manufacturer of KVM Switches worldwide. ATEN offers a wide range of solutions designed to meet the expectations of consumers, SMBs, and large corporations.

For more information about the online services offered by LF Channel, please visit: www.lfchannel.com

About LF Channel

LF Channel is a marketing and communications agency with 15 years of industry experience, specializing in developing and implementing comprehensive plans that suit the different needs of each client and market.The company’s main objective is to serve its clients with a number of vital tools to enhance the quality and quantity of their sales, market share, and image, allowing them to grow and evolve in an increasingly competitive and dynamic sector.

LF Channel has more than 40 specialists working, who are distributed among the various corporate communication disciplines: public relations and communications, marketing and event management.

LF Channel is part of Worldcom Public Relations Group, an international network of independent agencies, and is an active member of Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

LF Channel
Raúl García
Director of Communications
Email: rgarcia@lfchannel.com
Tel: +93 418 81 51
http://www.lfchannel.com

LF Channel will manage ATEN’s communication strategy in the Spanish market (190)