• Category losers: Ryanair, British Airways, TMobile and SAP
• Category winners: Orange, 3, Danone and Symbian

London: July 29, 2008 – Orange was ranked the mobile category and overall winner in the Summer Kaizo Advocacy Index released today.
The Kaizo Advocacy Index measures the impact of online Word of Mouth, or the brand recommendability, of 20 major brands across four sectors. The bi-annual Index examines independent links on four Google search engine tools – Web, News, Groups and Blog. Content is assigned a positive (Promoter), neutral (Passive) or negative (Detractor) score and an index is created by subtracting the percentage of Promoters from the percentage of Detractors.

Orange, 3, Danone and Symbian rated strongly and were category winners in mobile, food and software respectively. Ryanair and British Airways reflected the poor performance experienced by the entire airline category, while TMobile and SAP were the Word of Mouth losers in the mobile and software categories.

The Kaizo Advocacy Index highlights how global corporate news can impact the online recommendability of a brand in the UK.
As in past Kaizo Advocacy Indexes, Del Monte and Heinz both suffered from negative online coverage, resulting from news around US labour issues. This indicates a need for more proactive UK-based news generation and online engagement from these companies.

“In today’s Web 2.0 world of information sharing and user-generated content, it’s easy for positive comments surrounding brands to get lost in the ocean of general, passive comments. This means that brands need to be more active online to ensure the balance remains positive, particularly when they are faced with significant industry issues,” said Rhodri Harries, managing director of Kaizo.

He continued: “Tailoring brand activity to online audiences is therefore becoming increasingly necessary, with a real need for Media Rich Content or Digital News Releases when distributing news to media; both traditional and social.”

Research from the London School of Economics shows that companies with above-average recommendability and below-average negative Word Of Mouth, grew four to five times faster than other companies. Not surprisingly, negative Word Of Mouth is more powerful than positive Word Of Mouth by a factor of three and a half times.

Kaizo advises organisations that Advocacy Index scores must be considered in relation to competitors’ scores rather than in isolation, or against companies in different sectors. Some sectors have broad Word of Mouth appeal – such as cars, beauty and travel – and have a higher average rating than sectors such as software which are more niche in their appeal.
However, within a sector the Index score is a clear sign about who will be in winning the ‘recommendation stakes’ in the immediate future. As such, it is a very effective benchmark for comparisons within sectors

- ENDS -

Kaizo is the winner of the inaugural Web 2.0 award from the Public Relations Consultants Association for its campaign with Simple (www.simplycity.co.uk).

 To read the full Kaizo Advocacy Index report please click here

Kaizo has been awarded best ‘Home & Fashion’ campaign at the 2008 Sabre Awards, widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the European PR industry. The award was presented to Kaizo for its ‘Simply Web 2.0’ campaign for Accantia Health & Beauty. 

The ‘Simply Web 2.0’ campaign has transformed the way Accantia’s Simple brand interacts with customers and is a perfect example of how to use the web to generate direct dialogue at a scale that can benefit the business. SimplyCity, launched in April 2007, is a sustainable and scalable customer engagement platform that drives brand advocacy through product trials and involvement in key brand decisions. With over 10,000 ‘brand advisers’, SimplyCity is the UK’s largest single brand advocacy programme. The campaign delivers success and value on a daily basis, including helping to drive Simple’s largest ever market share. 

- ENDS -

- Card offers major breakthrough for retailers, online retailers and parents in challenge of age verification

Kaizo has launched the UK’s first ever prepaid card to incorporate Government-approved proof-of-age verification, the UreLife card.

Rhodri Harries, Managing Director of Kaizo, said: ”We were delighted to be appointed to launch this card which is a major step forward for parents, retailers and licencees in terms of age verification, but also offers those under and over 18 a new savvy option for storing and carrying their money. Our programme is multileveled and includes a significant digital element given the age of the audience we are trying to reach. ”

About UreLife

By combining a prepaid Visa debit card with a colour photograph and PASS[1] accredited proof-of-age hologram. This provides an entirely new way for parents and retailers, and for the first time online retailers, to stop underage spending on age-restricted goods. The ground-breaking new UreLife cards also offer teenagers and young adults new levels of freedom and security when shopping.

Carl Horne, Director at UreLife commented: “The UreLife card is a new, safer way to carry, manage and spend money. Under-18s will have all the benefits and freedoms of cashless spending, while the proof-of-age mechanism will restrict purchases of alcohol, cigarettes and other age-restricted products. The benefits for retailers and parents are clear to see.”

The UreLife card is available at launch for five age groups; 12-15 years, 16-17 years, 18-20 years, 21+ years and 60+ years. Cards are colour-coded according to the age category of the cardholder and a colour photograph, PASS hologram and printed date of birth makes the card unique. Application forms for the cards can be downloaded from the UreLife website at www.urelife.com

Online proof-of-age

The UreLife card incorporates a unique numbering system that allows online retailers to easily and automatically reject payments from underage purchasers. The long number on the card – required for online and telephone payments – directly corresponds to the cardholder’s age-bracket. The seventh and eight digit of the number reflect the age group in a simple and easily identifiable system.

 Mr Horne added: “We have developed a unique but uncomplicated way that allows online retailers to easily and automatically identify the age-group of cardholders for the first time. This offers online retailers and parents great peace of mind.”

The card can also be used as an online ‘gatekeeper’ to restrict adult access to specific websites, chat-rooms and social networks aimed at children.

Other key benefits

Unlike other prepaid cards, when topped up once a month, UreLife has no hidden costs, commission or fees. If this is done once a month, topping up the card by ten pounds means ten pounds is added directly to the card balance and the cardholder can spend the full ten pounds.

As a prepaid debit card, a UreLife card carries a balance that can be ‘topped-up’ by telephone debit transaction, direct debit or via cheque and postal orders – much the same as a pay-as-you-go mobile phone. The card does not include a credit facility, meaning that users cannot get into debt through the use of the card. Those under 18 need proof-of-age identification to gain membership to clubs and organisations, discounted products and travel cards.

UreLife allows them to prove their age and pay for the items with the same card. For UreLife cardholders over the age of 18, the card provides a useful budgeting tool that also acts as proof-of-age on night out or when purchasing age-restricted items.

Launching the card on Oxford Street were actors Hannah Lederer-Alton (17) and Ed Speleers (21), stars of ITV1’s Echo Beach. - ENDS -

- Special consumer advocacy programme to drive success of Sky Bingo through word of mouth 

April 15, 2007 – Kaizo has been awarded the brief to drive customers to Skybet’s new online Bingo offer – www.skybingo.com – by creating consumer advocates to stimulate word of mouth (WOM).

Following the success of the award-winning* consumer engagement panel SimplyCity for health and beauty brand, Simple, Kaizo has been tasked by Sky Bingo to penetrate a busy and burgeoning online bingo market. Kaizo will use its proven WOM techniques to capture market share from existing products.  

Emma Crowe, Head of Poker and Bingo Marketing of Sky said: “Kaizo makes the perfect partner for Skybingo as it has demonstrated a unique combination of understanding the psychology of consumer involvement and the proven smarts to deliver upon it. 

“Sky has a passionate customer following and Kaizo will help us to leverage this with innovative engagement and involvement methods. We’re confident that this approach will produce lower customer acquisition costs and generate a loyal following.”  

Crispin Manners, director of service innovation at Kaizo, said: “Sky Bingo is a great win for us. It’s exciting to see such a recognised international brand adapt its communications strategy with such an innovative and transparent approach. Web 2.0 has made it necessary for brands to rethink ‘tell’ dominated campaigns and adopt an ‘ask’ strategy that turns customers into advisers. After all, who knows more about bingo than bingo players themselves? We’re relishing developing a group of involved brand advisers and taking Sky Bingo to number one.”                                                                   -ENDS- 

*Kaizo won the 2007 PRCA Web 2.0 award for its work on SimplyCity (www.simplycity.me.uk) for the Simple beauty brand.

Wadja, one of the fastest growing  European mobile web, media and messaging service, has hired Kaizo to launch its mobile social network in the UK.  

Kaizo will develop a strategy that investigates the use of the mobile internet, tapping into social trends, including the need for consumers to be connected all the time, even while on the move. The campaign will combine thinking on social trends with existing customers to create advocacy and conversations to grow the user base and build brand awareness.  

Alex Christoforou, Managing Director, Wadja said: “Since launching Wadja in October 2006, we have seen significant growth across the globe. We believe that with this and our dedicated, fanatic, user base, Wadja is in a great position to revolutionise the mobile web industry, an industry which offers enormous revenue potential through mobile web based communication and content related services and platforms.” 

Wadja already has 1.2 million users worldwide with around 100,000, through personal recommendations, alone in the UK. By signing up to Wadja, users get the benefits of a social messaging tool on the move with access to free SMS services, free email and no spam. Users don’t need to rely on java downloads or cumbersome user interfaces with substandard functionality. The service eliminates the hassles associated with compatibility and geography that users previously experienced.”  

Rhodri Harries, Managing Director at Kaizo, comments: “We are excited to be working with Wadja on the UK launch and will be working with existing customers to create advocacy to drive word of mouth. We believe as early adopters discuss the benefits of the mobile web, consumers will begin to demand services like Wadja to keep them connected all the time.” 

-ENDS-

London: February 15, 2008 – Kaizo has been appointed as US-based Neterion’s UK PR agency. Neterion is the market leader in 10 Gigabit Ethernet hardware and software solutions that help eliminate I/O bottlenecks in enterprise networking infrastructures and enable broad deployment of virtualization. 

Neterion has partnered with VMware and will be making a significant announcement at VMworld Europe in Cannes later this month.  

“We are delighted to be working with Kaizo to increase awareness and understanding of how Neterion can help European customers achieve new levels of performance, availability and reliability in the datacentre,” said Ravi Chalaka, vice president of marketing at Neterion.  

Adelle Foster, Associate Director at Kaizo said: ”Our initial focus is on establishing the brand across Europe with key decision makers in the enterprise space, and supporting their exciting announcement”. 

Neterion successfully competes against industry giants Intel and Broadcom and its current customers include IBM, HP and EMC. 

Ends

08 January 2008 - As a specialist in sustainability communications, Kaizo is set to host a breakfast seminar intended to outline the commercial threats and opportunities posed by climate change issues in 2008. Hosted by leading speaker on sustainability and business, Christopher Broadbent, the seminar will be held in the Great Hall, 25, Southampton Buildings, London on Thursday, January 17th.The changing commercial landscape 

Mr Broadbent commented:“The influence of sustainability on commercial performance will continue to grow in the coming year and beyond, and climate change is already the primary issue faced by any business in the UK today. Changing legislation, regulation, consumer behaviour and media landscapes are all fuelling an immediate need for UK business to change – but many companies are still confused about the significance of climate change, what they need to do to become a low-carbon business and how they can establish a return on investment when going green. 

The next step

The Kaizo seminar aims not only to highlight the risks and opportunities for UK business, but also to outline the first steps that businesses can take in order to maximise the potential of investing in change and avoid the potential PR pitfalls of promoting green credentials. 

To attend the seminar, please contact Imogen England via email at Imogen.england@kaizo.net

* Insurance BPO and Software Specialist Seeks To Build Sector Awareness 

London, 3rd December 2007 - The Innovation Group, one of the leading providers of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and software solutions to the insurance industry, has selected Kaizo, the independent PR and Word of Mouth Communications consultancy, to handle its public relations in the UK.

The appointment of Kaizo, which is effective immediately, follows a comprehensive competitive pitch process and is aimed at building the profile of Innovation Group in the company’s key vertical markets. The Innovation Group is a global company with more than 2000 employees that provides BPO services to insurers and other risk carriers. The Group’s software solutions are designed to handle policy and claims administrative processes.

Mark Mellor, Chief Operating Officer at Innovation Group, said: “Kaizo demonstrated a deep understanding of our communications needs and innovative ideas that will build awareness and understanding of our unique solutions. Innovation Group has grown in part through a selective acquisition strategy and the support of Kaizo is fundamental in our need to take a unified message to the market.”

Rhodri Harries, Managing Director of Kaizo, commented: “Our strategy will be based on building one coherent approach for the group which puts them at the forefront of thinking on issues relating to insurance and outsourcing. We will be looking at building the brand through new thinking and new media.”

Kaizo is part of the Argyll Consultancies Plc and is also a member of Worldcom, the world’s largest network of independent PR Consultancies.
About Innovation Group

• Innovation Group plc (Innovation or Group) provides outsourcing services and software solutions to insurers and other risk carriers. The software solutions are designed for the handling of policy and claims administrative processes within the insurance industry. The solutions can be utilized in connection with the Group’s outsourcing operations or implemented on a stand-alone basis. 76% of the Innovation Group’s total revenues are now recurring with the remainder coming from the sale and support of its software solutions. The Group provides software and outsourcing services on a non-branded basis and does not perform insurance underwriting functions.

• The general BPO market is currently forecasted to outpace other IT services. In North America, BPO is estimated to grow by an 8.8% compound annual growth rate to $100 billion by 2009. Gartner 2005.

• Innovation has over 220 global clients including the Royal Sun Alliance, Ford Motor Company, Aviva, AXA Insurance, Toyota (South Africa) and Zurich (UK). The Group processes more than 3 million claims per year with 20% direct claims cost saving achieved. The software operates in 8 languages and the Group has approximately 2000 people across offices in North America, the UK, Germany, South Africa, Australia and Japan, visit www.innovation-group.com

• Since 2002, IBM and Innovation Group have worked together to deliver proven business solutions for insurance carriers that have brought innovation, clear business value and return on investment. Together they are enabling clients to realize the benefits of transformational change in core insurance functions such as Policy Administration and Claims Management.

Kaizo stole the show at the PRCA’s annual awards ceremony, picking up the inaugural Web 2.0 award, arguably the most sought after accolade as it represents the future of the communications industry.

Kaizo’s thought-leading work with Simple, the UK’s number one sensitive skincare brand, was recognised by the panel of judges as truly Web 2.0 because of the way that it engaged and involved Simple’s customers on a level never seen before in this market.

The challenge all businesses face in the Web 2.0 world is how to adapt and re-model their traditional marketing initiatives to the way consumers are now creating and consuming information. Kaizo’s philosophy is simple. Listen to your customers. With this in mind, Kaizo developed SimplyCity, a direct consumer engagement panel that to date has recruited 4,000 brand advocates. Advocates that voluntarily become involved in key business decisions and drive positive brand recommendations offline, whilst also providing Simple with clear, cost effective and invaluable consumer insight. In essence, the Kaizo strategy is turning Simple’s customers into a volunteer salesforce.

Crispin Manners, director of service innovation at Kaizo, commented: “Web 2.0 is changing everything. Businesses have to realise they have no control over what their customers say about them. It’s time for brands to rethink ‘tell’ dominated campaigns and adopt an ‘ask’ strategy that turns customers into advisers. What our effort with SimplyCity has proven, is that when you exceed customers’ expectations they love to be treated as advisers. We have been blown away by the complete positivity that our WOM approach has uncovered.”

* Connection yet to be made between environmental policy and commercial performance as businesses fail to take action

Despite increased media coverage and promotion of climate change issues, UK businesses are still unclear about the commercial impact it could have according to latest insights revealed today.

Additionally, businesses are failing to do all that they can to reduce their impact on the environment according to the new research into business attitudes towards sustainability conducted by PR and Word of Mouth consultancy Kaizo.

Key findings of the study called ‘Greener Business – Opportunity or Risk’ include:

* 49% of respondents believe their business is not doing enough to combat climate change
* 86% of respondents do not know the carbon footprint of their business
* 20% of businesses are still not making any changes at all to become a greener operation
* 67% of respondents still find media coverage of climate change issues confusing

Worryingly the research also highlights that the UK business community still sees climate change as a traditional PR issue, rather than a primary management consideration:

* 64% don’t rate climate change as an important influence on business management strategy
* 41% of respondents felt the biggest commercial opportunity was a boost to brand reputation

Christopher Broadbent, a senior consultant at Kaizo on sustainability issues commented:“The results of the Kaizo survey are alarming in that they expose a resistance to change seemingly fuelled by confusion, narrow scope and an assumption that ‘green clothing’ can be a substitute for action.

“Many businesses in the UK are not waking up to the broader commercial importance of sustainability, and the remarkable commercial benefits adapting business models to it can bring, let alone the moral imperative. Regarding ‘going green’ as a purely PR exercise is not only futile it is damaging.”

Further findings include:

* Only 6% of respondents see meeting customer demand as a primary opportunity offered by adopting a low carbon business model
* 13% of respondents felt that there are absolutely no risks for businesses that refuse to go green

Broadbent continued: “The idea that organisations failing to adopt a low carbon business model face no commercial risks at all is very naive. With the government’s (albeit weak) climate change bill in the pipeline, the tougher London Action Plan on Climate Change already in place, European production regulations tightening and energy costs rising, every business that does not address climate change will see an impact on its profits and it value.”

To coincide with these insights, Kaizo has launched a comprehensive Sustainable Communications offering, led by Broadbent. A specialist team of sustainability experts at Kaizo now counsel organisations on the changes that can be made to become a low carbon business before coordinating and executing communications programmes that unlock the commercial potential of those changes.

Rhodri Harries, Managing Director of Kaizo, commented: “Climate change has brought with it the requirement for a broader skill-set that sits outside of conventional PR. We have created a team that has the capacity to meet these new challenges and take ownership of what can be a confusing issue for many businesses.”

The full results of Kaizo’s survey, ‘Greener Business – Opportunity or Risk’ can be found here.