Aylesbury, UK, 23 June 2010: Ranieri Communications, the consumer technology public relations specialist, has announced that it has been appointed by Eye-Fi, makers of the world’s first wireless memory card for digital cameras, to drive sales and build the brand in the UK.

Ranieri Communications won the account following a competitive four-way pitch, and takes over from incumbent Red Consultancy. The agency will implement a twelve month campaign intended to take Eye-Fi out of the technology press and into the lifestyle press, working with other European agencies to drive consumer adoption of its X2 family of products.

Eye-Fi’s technology wirelessly and automatically uploads photos and videos from digital imaging devices, including digital cameras and the iPhone, to online, in-home and retail destinations. Launched earlier this year, the “X2” family of Eye-Fi cards have faster-than-ever wireless photo and video uploads, improved performance, and virtually endless storage capacity with Endless Memory mode.

Ranieri Communications will report to Simon Faulkner, EMEA Business Director for Eye-Fi. Simon commented on the reasons for appointing Ranieri Communications: “We wanted an agency with proven capabilities within the lifestyle press, and Ranieri matched this with a clear understanding of our product. The agency’s extensive range of contacts and track record in this field, not to mention its enthusiasm, mean that we’re looking forward to working with them to make Eye-Fi a consumer essential in 2010.”

Andy Crisp, who is overseeing the Eye-Fi account at Ranieri Communications, said: “The digital imaging market has seen incredible growth over the last few years, as social media drives consumer demand for the latest equipment. We’re hugely impressed by Eye-Fi’s products and are delighted to have the opportunity to help the company move on to the next level. This win is a strong endorsement of our consumer media credentials, and in our ability to generate sales.”

Eye-Fi has received numerous product awards including Mac Observer’s Editor’s Choice 2010 Award and Popular Photography’s 2009 Photography’s Outstanding Products (POP), and was named a CES 2010 Innovations Honoree. For more information, please visit www.eye.fi or follow us on Twitter @EyeFiCard.

Tell us about your industry…

What technology/gadget do you think will be big in 2010?
I would love to say Apple’s iPad, but the iPhone and iPod already have a vast customer base and following, so the next versions of each will be a big event. I also think HD Freeview and Freesat will be big news, especially in a World Cup year. I watch HD satellite now via an Elgato EyeTV receiver and it looks great even on a 24″ computer monitor.

Do you think PR is useful and does it help you do your job?
Yes. For practical things like getting your hands on gadgets, publicists are great. They also help you remember new things are out, and new things drive web traffic, readers and magazine sales. The few I’ve met in recent years have all been lovely.

Do you have any tips for businesses looking to increase their Twitter followers?
Avoid what looks like links to press releases etc. Avoid simply sending out corporate style messages. Interact and show your human side. Be conversational and reply to anyone who contacts you. Tweet regularly. Offer Twitter only deals, competitions and freebies. Some of the UK mobile phone providers do a good job Tweeting, they offer another level of customer feedback that anyone can read.

Tell us about you…

What is your favourite gadget and what piece of technology could you not live without?
My Mac and the internet, you can pretty much work anywhere, anytime, day or night. Also various digital tools are a big help for organising your thoughts, grabbing info for reviews etc. I also love the iPod touch, the poor man’s iPhone, it’s great for checking emails on the go, reading digital books, listening to podcasts, playing games, even watching TV.

What was the first song or album you ever bought?
I’d like to think it was one of The Beatles compilations that were released in 1970s – ‘Red’ or ‘Blue’ – actually it was the earlier ‘Red’ one that covered 62-66. Not much later I discovered punk and a life lost in music began.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I’ve always loved illustration but never had the drive or ambition to follow it. An old woman who claimed to be psychic told me that my twin and I had our brains mixed up and if I had my sister’s fearless get-up-and-go I’d have been a millionaire. I’m actually trying to write a novel, although that’s another story. It’s semi-autobiographical, so not much happens. Joking aside, I’ve never had a career plan, I make it up as I go along.

What was your first ever job?
Market research – a job I took when I was about 25, only because my then girlfriend insisted I pay for my own drinks. It was a terrible job, everyone felt undervalued and we were often sent home early, unpaid when jobs had finished. You could spend £3 travelling across London to earn a fiver. It was not a great start to a working life.

Tell us a joke…
Q. What did Steve Jobs say to the journalist?
A. Nothing, he doesn’t speak to journalists unless you work for the Wall Street Journal, and then it’s off the record.

So said former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates after England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, and little did he know how he’d be proved right 16 years later by one of his Stamford Bridge protégées.

News of John Terry’s sacking as England captain following recent revelations about his private life is set to reverberate around the footballing world for months to come – at least until the dust has set on the World Cup final in Johannesburg on 11th July. If Rio Ferdinand, or whoever else takes Terry’s place as captain, has lifted the cup the decision will be proved right. If, however, England stumble to the same inevitable failure as in previous tournaments, then Terry may well be painted in some quarters as a martyr to the cause.

What is interesting about the sacking of Terry is just how big a role was played by the media in Fabio Capello’s decision. Rumours of an outbreak of back slapping amongst the gents of the press may be greatly exaggerated, but the media campaign against Terry inevitably made it very difficult for Capello to do anything but sack his captain. Terry’s heavy-handed attempts to quash the story clearly meant that the press had reason to go after him once the judge overturned the gagging order, but the sheer scale of the attack suggests that Terry wasn’t perhaps as successful at buttering up the media as he was with the ladies.

Terry appointed PR expert Phil Hall on Tuesday, but it proved too little too late. They were up against a slavering press pack with an axe to grind – not to mention Max Clifford. John Terry is another in a long line of misbehaving footballers, yet it seems his disregard for the media proved his undoing.

The media, the same media that will be behind ‘our boys’ in June, have brought about a big change in the set up of the England squad just 5 months before a tournament that England could win. And whilst some might say this could have a destabilising effect, I think that the reasons Capello gave in his media statement suggest that the fear that his captain’s actions might destabilise the squad was precisely why Terry got the boot. “What is best for the England squad has inspired my choice.”

We’ll see in July whether he was right.

According to research carried out by the Employment Law Advisory Services, up to 350,000 employees are expected to ‘pull a sickie’ at a cost of £30 million to the economy. This seems a staggering number, especially after all the bad weather…surely people are bored of being at home!

But maybe the problem is a more serious one, as Nick Frost demonstrates here:

Fortunately, it takes more than man flu to strike down any of the Ranieri team! All present and reporting for duty!

Tom

It did make me think though, as we get approached all the time by online reviewers asking us for product to review. However, we often only have limited numbers of review products and are forced to prioritise where they are sent, dependant on the importance of the magazine/newspaper/online site.

I’m not going to get into the argument of online vs. print, but it does make me think about how you rank the importance of online news sites and blogs as there are now so many?

New media and the advent of citizen journalism has opened up journalism to the masses, and made it even more difficult for PR’s to identify who are the most influential online sites, and recognise those with the potential to be the next big thing.

I think moving forward PR’s are required to be much more informed about the online media asking them for information. In the old days it was fairly easy to be aware of the magazines and papers and who wrote for them, but the ever expanding media landscape makes this a bit more complicated.

Referring back to what I was reading earlier, it seems to me that PR’s shouldn’t be embarrassed to ask for proof of how many visits an online site has if they are unsure. I also think that if a site only has a few thousand unique hits per month, then the journalist should be prepared to make a case as to why a PR should spare one of a limited number of samples.

I’m not suggesting for one moment that there is going to be some sort of role reversal, it’s just food for thought.