Laura Macdonald, VP, Hotwire PR

People Tell Richard Stuff

We’ve fired up the satellite for this week’s podcast – I’m talking to Laura Macdonald, VP at Hotwire PR from her new surrounds in San Francisco.

Laura has been in SF just under a year – before that she was at Hotwire’s London office, looking after consumer brands and consumer technology sector practices.

Hotwire is all about creating dialogue with audiences rather than just shouting press releases at people – basically, ‘giving back’ through communications. I thought it would be great to chat with Laura about the change she’s seen in audiences, and how that equals opportunity for brands.

We talked about:
• Changes in the way people buy things, and how that affects the marketing funnel;
• Long-term brand relationships vs. big-blast transactional campaigns;
• The success metrics of these long-term relationships;
• How smaller, niche audiences can be more effective;
• Incorporating user-generated content in communications;
• What consumers expect from brands today;
• Great examples of brands providing a service through their advertising and comms;
• Working with ‘new’ and ‘old’ media;
• The importance of transparency;
• And one of Laura’s favourite campaigns.

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'We're seeing more and more of these micro-audiences. Getting those, and getting who influences them, is the key.' - Laura Macdonald, VP, Hotwire PR -

Laura on…

Niche media:

Niche media, which may have a smaller reach, can actually be more effective at driving traffic than bigger broader media. Because, if it’s a certain piece of content, that’s very targeted at a certain audience, then getting coverage on a niche site, to drive traffic back to your brand, can actually be much more effective.

Targeting audiences:

What we’re seeing more and more, is those micro audiences, and really getting those, and getting who influences those audiences is the key.

Giving customers value:

Marketing campaigns have to become an active part of the community as well, and an active part of their life, not just one-way communication but we’ll give something to you in return for this.

People Tell Richard Stuff: Episode 18
Laura Macdonald, VP, Hotwire PR

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