By PromptBoston

December 17th, 2012

Who searched what? A Google-based year in review

Who searched what? A Google-based year in review

With 2012 winding down and the New Year quickly approaching us, the search engine masterminds at Google have published the company’s annual Zeitgeist list for the past year. The list highlights the top ten trending and most popular searches each year, dating back to 2001, when we were more concerned with old-time favorites like Harry Potter and Windows XP.

Harry, Ron and Hermione didn’t make into this year’s list. Here’s what did make it in, ranked by Google as the three most popular search topics of 2012 in the US:

1. Whitney Houston – Due to her unexpected death back in February, the much-loved recording artist, actress and producer was a frequent search term throughout the year
2. Hurricane Sandy – The natural disaster hit the Caribbean, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the US in late October, with New York and New Jersey affected the most. The super storm flooded streets, tunnels and subway lines and power was lost in across many areas, including New York
3. Election 2012 – It was the Obama vs Romney battle heard around the world (or so it seems). This year’s presidential election was seemingly everywhere. During debates and campaigning, ‘Big Bird’ became more than just a Sesame Street character and ‘binders full of women’ quickly caught on with critics, comedians and the overall general public. Though a close race, President Obama secured four more years in the Oval Office, beating out opponent and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney

Other topics to round out the top ten list included (in order of most searched to least): The Hunger Games, Jeremy Lin, Olympics 2012 (thinking of you, Prompt London), Amanda Todd, Gangnam Style, Michael Clark Duncan and KONY 2012.

Of course, as a public relations firm with a strong interest in technology, we had to ask ourselves – where are the big tech names, like Apple, Microsoft or Samsung, on this list?

Technology products were dissected in a separate list by Zeitgeist, that revealed the top five tech gadgets: in first place ranked the iPad 3, followed by iPad mini, Samsung Galaxy S3, Kindle Fire, and last but not least, Nexus 7.

To view the complete list of trending technology and gadgets, including a neat list of most liked Google Doodles (I personally like the Olympic sports Doodles run during the summer months), please click here.

Whatever your preferred choice is in tech products, presidents and even Google Doodles, the Prompt team hoped you had a joyous and happy 2012 filled with many unforgettable memories. Here’s to the New Year, and to the new opportunities (and Google searches) it will bring!

By PromptLondon

December 14th, 2012

(Public Relations viewpoint) Reasons tech PRs love Covent Garden #29: The world’s largest LEGO advent calendar

(Public Relations viewpoint) Reasons tech PRs love Covent Garden #29: The world’s largest LEGO advent calendar

Just around the corner from PromptLondon’s Covent Garden office is the world’s biggest LEGO advent calendar.   It was designed and built by Duncan Titmarsh, who, if you didn’t already know, holds the title  “the UK’s only certified LEGO professional” [As a sidenote, we’d like to know who handles his public relations].   

Every day at 4pm a new window is opened to reveal a new festive LEGO surprise.   Yesterday’s is below – it’s a bowl of Brussels sprouts (if you can’t make it out you go and try to recreate some  Brassica oleracea out of small plastic bricks).

The LEGO advent calendar raises two sets of questions. First:  what items will the other windows reveal?   We’re rooting for the obvious stuff: snowmen, the three kings, Christmas trees, turkey dinner, baubles, beautifully-wrapped presents – as well as some more off-the-wall 3D creations:  everyone asleep during the Queen’s speech, several empty bottles of Baileys, an inferno-esque Christmas pudding,  or the look on your aunt’s face when you ask if she kept the receipt.  

The other question is how Duncan Titmarsh got certified, what it means, and how can we get certified?   We’re going to find out and will report back  – watch this space.

By Hazel Butters

December 13th, 2012

You say December 13, I say 13 December

You say December 13, I say 13 December

Date formats. Is it 13 December today, or December 13? Working as a transatlantic PR and copywriting team, we know that the accepted format is largely decided by which side of the Atlantic you happen to be working on. While PromptBoston would say December 13, PromptLondon would always use 13December (but let’s not call the whole thing off).  Add the year too, and PromptBoston would say December 13, 2012 while PromptLondon would use 13 December 2012 (note the lack of comma).

One of the first things we ask anyone joining the Prompt team, wherever they are based, is to get used to writing the month part of the date out in full, so as to avoid confusion on reports, editorial trackers, client updates, internal planning documents and communications generally. “What do you mean America is going to celebrate independence on 7/4/2013? Really? In early April? That seems wrong?”  “No, Saint David’s Day (Patron Saint of Wales, if anyone is wondering) isn’t on 3 January, I said it was on 1/3/2013, and I’ll be donning my daffodil and making cawl on the first of March.”

The largest slice of the world’s population uses the date format that we’re familiar with in Britain – the majority of Europeans, Asians, North Africans, Latin Americans and Australasians use this ‘little-endian’ approach, beginning with the smallest measurements of time (day, then month, then year). The reverse, ‘big-endian’ format, is preferred most notably in China, Japan, some neighbouring Pacific states, and a handful of Eastern European countries. It is also part of the international ISO standard. The ‘middle-endian’ format (month, day, year) is used almost exclusively in the North America, with the exception of Belize, as far as we know. However, as a Brit who has spent a lot of time in America, I can still see logic in the American approach – the month comes first because it changes less frequently than the day, then you just add the specific date and top it off with the year.

Whichever format you are used to or see as the most logical (please tell us, we’d love to hear your opinions), we all at least get to write the date format the same way once a month (and yesterday brought the further novelty of the year matching too – 12/12/12).

Over the upcoming seasonal break (in between encouraging my British family members to drink eggnog while arguing over Trivial Pursuit), I’m going to spend some time trying to figure out why the date format flips in its journey across the Atlantic. Should we blame George Washington or King George III? Perhaps we can point the finger at Jonathan Swift? In the meantime, please don’t even get me started on why we drive on different sides of the road…

By Hazel Butters

December 6th, 2012

Which tablets do you take? And is the mouse a squeak away from extinction?

Which tablets do you take? And is the mouse a squeak away from extinction?

Regular market research is essential to ensure that you are still tapping the correct markets for your products and services. At Prompt, we undertake all aspects of research, data collection and statistical analysis. Perhaps the easiest and quickest way to take a rapid snapshot of market opinions, is to conduct a survey.

One recent survey we conducted across US and UK tech consumers proved to be a great example of rapid opinion gathering. The survey was conducted online and in-person. It revealed that Apple is still far more sought after than its competitors in the tablet world, and remains better thought of than its competitors in terms of innovation, design, usability, retail and marketing effort.

Perhaps most tellingly, despite significant launches from Microsoft, Samsung, Google and Amazon in 2012, more survey respondents are hoping for iPads, iPad minis and iPhones in their stockings this year, over other tablet-like devices!

In the tablet and smartphone market, companies are constantly looking for ways to become more innovative and to aggressively increase their market share. A responsibility lies with these vendors to be clearer about specs, features and benefits, and to help consumers to navigate the maze of new mobile devices. Clarity, common English and transparency are crucial. Meanwhile consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what products are available and the features they are looking for, while gaining a deeper understanding of comparable benefits.

In the same survey, we also found that although losing popularity with the rise of tablets, the computer mouse isn’t headed for extinction just yet.  That finding probably surprised me the most – personally I work at a touchscreen computer, a laptop with a touchpad, a tablet and a smartphone – all without a mouse in sight. I still carry one around in my handbag though, so perhaps I’m just sentimental…

Would you like to weigh in with your own opinions? Perhaps you’d like to add your own support for Apple, provide some vocal backing for other tablet brands, or just stick up for the mouse? We’d love to hear from you. The survey is still open. Please just click here to share views on tablets, mice and your holiday wish-list.

By PromptBoston

December 5th, 2012

Prompt survey: Why do consumers favor Apple over Microsoft? And is the computer mouse heading for extinction?

Prompt survey: Why do consumers favor Apple over Microsoft? And is the computer mouse heading for extinction?

Mobile device survey finds Apple iPad 2, iPad mini and iPhone 5 rank above competing devices from Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Samsung, while the mouse is alive and well

5 December 2012 – Prompt Communications, a transatlantic copywriting, PR and social digital communications agency, has conducted a survey of consumers to unveil opinions of mobile devices, brands, computer mice and Windows 8.

The survey, conducted online and in-person, asked consumers which brands they preferred, which brands they considered to be the most ‘innovative’, and which products they thought were the most exciting launches of 2012. Respondents were given the opportunity to provide opinions on product features, their personal tablet wish-list, and the future of the mouse.

Apple was named as the most popular and innovative technology company, beating industry rivals Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Samsung, with 40% of respondents naming Apple’s iPad 2, iPad mini or the iPhone 5 as the most exciting launch of 2012. Apple was followed by Samsung, with almost a fifth of respondents (18%) voting for its Galaxy S3 or Galaxy Note, followed by 14% in favor of Microsoft’s new Surface tablets.

When told they could “ask Santa for one tablet-like device for Christmas”, 40% said they would put an Apple iPad on their list, 18% opted for a Microsoft Surface; 15% chose an Apple iPad mini, and just 6% said they’d ask Santa for a Google Nexus. On the topic of the computer mouse and whether it is heading for extinction, a surprising 69% said that they didn’t think it was, although a third of respondents (29%) did believe the mouse was living on borrowed time.

The survey also asked consumers to score Apple and Microsoft in a range of categories spanning products, services and reputation, and found:

• In retail Apple ranked highest against Microsoft thanks to its App Store with 96% of consumers choosing Apple, compared to just 4% of users selecting Microsoft
• In marketing Apple scored 93% against Microsoft’s 7%
• For hardware design 78% chose Apple compared to just over a fifth (22%) opting for Microsoft
• For operating systems, 62% of consumers said Apple’s OS was best, with 38% voting for Microsoft
• In usability 60% of consumers preferred the Apple, compared to Microsoft’s 40%
• However, Microsoft was favored over Apple when it came to corporate compatibility with 77% of respondents preferring Microsoft devices for ‘business use’.   

When asked about Microsoft’s new Windows 8 launch, around two-thirds (61%) said it was “just another ordinary Windows update”, while almost a quarter of respondents said it was “a big fuss about nothing”. However, 15% did say they thought the launch was “revolutionary”.

The device market looks set to swell further through fresh partnerships, such as that recently forged by Google and Samsung. Apple may have 100 million tablets on the market today, but it’s estimated that by the end of 2014 Android shipments will exceed that of iOS devices. With further market complexity, any resulting buyer confusion could mean a black mark not only for one vendor, but for an OS, or the market itself.

Hazel Butters, CEO of Prompt, said: “In the tablet and smartphone market, companies are constantly looking for ways to become more innovative and to aggressively increase their market share. Meanwhile consumers are becoming increasingly aware of what products are available and the features they are looking for, while gaining a deeper understanding of comparable benefits. A responsibility lies with vendors to be clearer about specs, features and benefits, and to help consumers to navigate the maze of new mobile devices. Clarity, common English and transparency are crucial.”

Hazel concluded: “The one thing that surprises me is that more people didn’t say that the mouse is headed for extinction. Perhaps computer users have an emotional attachment – personally I work at a touchscreen computer, a laptop with a touchpad, a tablet and a smartphone – all without a mouse in sight. But I still carry one around in my handbag – perhaps I’m just sentimental.”

Would you like to weigh in with your own opinions? We’d love to hear them, and the survey is still open. Please click here to share views on tablets, mice and your holiday wish-list.