Category Archives: Company Blog

MWC has seen some fantastic buzz this year, and the Liberty team have definitely been enjoying it from the show floor. There has been lots of discussion of 5G that we won’t recap, but safe to say it has been an exciting show for everyone.

On this final day of MWC until next year, Stephen Stokols, Founder and CEO of FreedomPop, argued in a panel session that if your technology is good enough then you shouldn’t need customer services. FreedomPop is known for its Freemium model, offering a baseline free mobile service that comes with optional premium additions to generate revenue for the company.

This is quite an interesting notion, and one that has been echoed across MWC – tech is replacing human interaction, not because it’s better for companies, but because consumers want it. For example, in Hall 8 there were Pepper Robots that people could interact with. In a world led by technology, the question many are asking now is do we prefer do-it-yourself and automated self-service platforms to talking to real customer service representatives?

The final day of MWC 2018 also saw what has become an annual Women in Tech Event, featuring inspirational speakers such as Emma McGuigan from Accenture, Berit Svendsen from Telenor Norway, and Julia Woods-Moss from Tata Communications. These speakers joined the stage for the final keynote on what was a thought provoking series of panel discussions covering diverse issues including how to build pipelines, evaluate best practice, and work to close the gender gap through role models, internships, and many more programmes.

One key question posed was that since we are now seeing the global participation of women in politics increase, can we expect a similar shift in tech soon as younger women joining politics and the workforce now get more aspirational figures to emulate in their own lives?

The final day also included the GSMA’s own announcement about the show. We now know that more than 107,000 visitors from 205 countries and territories attended Mobile World Congress 2018. With over 55% of this year’s attendees holding senior-level positions, including more than 7,700 CEOs, that’s a lot of suits! The Women-in-Tech speakers may be right, as 28% of all speakers in the conference programme were female, up from 21% in 2017.

And there we have it, another exciting MWC. Thanks to all our clients who were with us at the show – it was great to see and support you all. Thanks also to all the media and analysts who came to meet our clients and discuss the latest developments in their respective industries. It was great to meet so many new faces and learn about new technologies, and we are already looking forward to MWC 2019!

It may be three quarters of the way through Mobile World Congress 2018, but 5G continues to dominate most of the headlines. Today saw another leading operator draw a line in the sand and commit to timeframes for launching 5G services, as T-Mobile US confirmed plans to build 5G in 30 US cities this year. Top of the list, according to the operator’s CTO Neville Ray, are ‘places that matter’ – namely New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Dallas.

While Ray acknowledged that it won’t be until 2019 that 5G mobile devices can take advantage of the network, he explained that T-Mobile will use equipment from Nokia and Ericsson to build a network spanning the operator’s 600MHz, 28GHz and 39GHz airwaves.

But it isn’t just American operators aiming to lead the 5G charge. Telenor Norway’s CEO Berit Svendsen today expressed confidence in her country’s capability to continue its impressive track record with 4G and keep the ‘leader jersey’ in 5G while speaking to Mobile World Daily. Given Norway’s similarly impressive pedigree in the Winter Olympics, I’d have been tempted to go with ‘flag bearer’. But that’s just me.

Outside of 5G, one of the other big stories to emerge from day three of MWC 2018 was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the GSMA and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Signed by GSMA Director General Mats Granryd and ICANN President & CEO Göran Marby, the MoU aims to advance the organisations’ shared objective of fostering the continuous expansion of interoperable networks and ongoing deployment of information and communication technology. Both organisations have committed to a number of joint activities as part of the agreement, including a series of workshops and regional events.

Away from the technology talk, the weather has been a topic of conversation amongst many. Reports and pictures of the aftermath of the ‘Beast from the East’ have caused many here in Barcelona to worry about flights being cancelled, redirected or rescheduled.

It’s a far cry from the warmth on display from the 900+ exhibitors welcoming thousands of delegates to their stands; not to mention the heat sensing cameras on display between halls 5 and 6, which we couldn’t help but stop for a selfie in front of.

So bring on tomorrow MWC and the final day of what has been another fascinating show.

These days we buzz about the latest technologies. But back in the late 90’s, the latest technology buzzed us!

As part of Liberty’s look back on 20 years of technology, I’m talking about the pager, or what the cool kids colloquially coined, “the beeper”. Before there were texts, Slack channels, Tweets, Facebook messages, and emails, the best way to reach someone was sending them a beep. And if you really wanted someone’s attention, you’d thumb out a “911” beep, which was code for a VIB (Very Important Beep). 

Pagers were the status symbol of the day, and the more beeps you got, the more VIP you were. Looking back, it’s hard to believe that “my beeper is blowing up” was a saying, but each generation has their own unique idiosyncrasies, and this was ours.

These days we stay glued to our emails and phones, even when we leave the workplace. But back then, if you were on call at work, then you were on “beeper duty”. And that meant having your beeper positioned snugly in your waistband at all times, not wanting to miss something important. It’s how bosses stayed in touch with employees, how moms stayed in touch with kids, and how loved ones checked in on you.  

So, what happened to the pager? It’s the same story as anything else that becomes obsolete; something new and shiny came along, in the form of the cell phone. But at its cultural and technological peak in the mid-to-late 90s, there were roughly 61 million pagers in use. That’s a lot of buzzing.

It was a different time, a different place, and a different way to communicate. And for a generation on the cusp of some of the greatest technological advances in history, the pager will always hold a special place in our hearts. Or at least within our belt buckles.

It’s day two at Mobile World Congress 2018 and the news keeps coming. This morning was dominated again by 5G. FCC chairman, Ajit Pai, told the conference in his keynote that the US plans to launch 5G auctions later this year. Pai stated that the US needed “modern, flexible, light touch network regulation,” to help it progress rapidly with the development and roll out of 5G services.

Meanwhile, for the UK, the national telecoms regulator, Ofcom, announced it has approved six telecoms operators to take part in the forthcoming auction of 4G and 5G friendly radio spectrum, which will see 40MHz of frequency in the 2.3GHz band and 150MHz in the 3.4GHz band being distributed. Vendor, Airspan and urban Wi-Fi provider, Connexin have been named as two surprise bidders alongside mobile operators EE, O2, Three and Vodafone.

In further 5G related news, Sprint announced that it will be bringing 5G networks to Los Angeles, Washington DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Houston first, with the six cities beginning to experience “5G-like capabilities” from April whilst China Mobile plans to start large scale 5G trials in the second quarter across 17 cities.

And taking a more stratospheric view, Nokia and Vodafone Germany have launched plans to build a network weighing less than a bag of sugar to live stream HD video from the moon. In addition to Nokia, Vodafone Germany is working with PTScientists, a volunteer group of scientists and engineers, and Audi in what has been described as the first privately funded moon landing.

What will tomorrow bring? Stay tuned and we’ll fill you in! As for us, we’re off to apply our blister plasters and hand sanitiser and walk the halls with a tortilla sandwich at the ready! See you tomorrow!

Make sure to follow Liberty on Twitter for all the latest updates at MWC this week.

Mobile World Congress Barcelona has once again welcomed thousands of delegates to see the latest innovations, hear from industry leaders and network with the great and good of the technology world. With a healthy selection of AR/VR, 5G, IoT and AI there’s more than enough to get the blood pumping – especially for those of us inclined to appreciate a good abbreviation.

This year’s overarching theme is ‘Creating a Better Future’, a concept that ties together devices and content along with the likes of 5G, IoT and AI to highlight the maturity of the global tech ecosystem. In 2018, MWC is about showing how these technologies are all transforming the tech playing field on a global scale.

Take 5G for example. According to new GSMA Intelligence research, 5 billion people will be connected to mobile internet by 2025, representing an increase of almost 1.7 billion from today. As 5G quickly turns dreams into deployments, millions of people around the world will enjoy high-speed access to the internet, opening up new possibilities for work, education and leisure. Meanwhile, as 5G grabs the limelight, vendors are turning their attention to the next-generation mobiles to harness the powerful new networks. Nokia in particular impressed onlookers with the reveal of its Sirocco 8 model, showcasing a high-end device that includes wireless charging and an ultra high definition curved display.

With day one drawing to a close we’ve already seen flying taxis, next-generation virtual reality (as modelled by Liberty’s very own Finbarr Goode Begley) and more lightning fast connectivity solutions than we ever imagined.

As we continue to celebrate the last 20 years of technological innovation, I’ve chosen to give credit to video-sharing platform, YouTube.

As a member of the so-called ‘millennial’ generation, I was 13 when YouTube launched in 2005. At the time, it was difficult to predict just how ubiquitous the platform would become.

The most successful video in YouTube’s first year was an online tutorial for paint design titled ‘I/O Brush’. It’s a pretty dry video and amassed just 247,000 views that year. By contrast, as of January 2017 – the latest figures to be announced – the music video ‘Despacito’ had been seen almost three billion times.

YouTube’s growth in views year on year correlates perfectly with how video content has shaped our daily lives. The founders behind YouTube predicted the move towards video consumption, which left a lot of industries playing catch up – not least our beloved journalism sector.

13 years since the platform’s inception, however, it is common for users to associate YouTube with cute (or grumpy) cat videos or getting “Rickrolled”. It’s easy to forget that YouTube is a platform for all kinds of content. From video game walkthroughs to party political broadcasts, YouTube has a user base of over a billion users who benefit from the platform almost every day. That’s almost one-third of everyone on the Internet – so YouTube says.

It’s important to note that YouTube has its problems, too, most recently in battling the spread of terrorist videos. These problems must be addressed, but it’s also important to recognise the positive impact that online video content has had on society, and few companies have been as instrumental in that movement as YouTube. I look forward to seeing how the company adapts its technology the next 20 years!

As we continue the countdown to our 20^th anniversary next month, so we resume with our series of blogs detailing our favourite technology innovations of the last 20 years. And today it’s the turn of in-car GPS navigation.

The best way to celebrate how fantastic an innovation it was when the likes of Garmin, Magellan, TomTom and others flooded the market around the mid-2000s, is to think back to how it was before.

Remember those joyous car journeys of 20 years ago with the front seat passenger sifting through a stack of print out directions from AA Route Planner? Ah the heady days of mum and dad cursing at each other as the final piece of paper highlighted that you’d ‘arrived at your destination’ and you glanced out the car window from a layby on the A466 to see a herd of cows staring back at you.

In many ways it can be difficult today to imagine how people actually got anywhere 20 years ago. Having a strong sense of direction and being able to recall every inch of the M6 from the trip you’d done the week before seems almost superhero-esque. Nowadays we are surely guilty of taking being able to get from A to B so easily for granted.

The introduction of in-car GPS navigation really was quite revolutionary. A perhaps little known fact is that publicly available GPS devices had actually been around since the 1980s, but it was only after an intervention from Bill Clinton that the accuracy of consumer-based GPS navigation systems increased dramatically and devices became more mainstream.

While it’s true that sales of TomToms and the equivalent have fallen over the past few years, largely due to market saturation and the exponential growth of smartphone technologies, many of the cars of today continue to offer the very latest by way of in-built and voice activated GPS systems.

Unfortunate incidents aside (driving into a Canadian lake is never a good idea), today it really is easier than it has ever been to simply not get lost. Go back 15 years or so and we have in-car GPS navigation to thank for taking us on that journey.

Twenty years ago, our fearless leader Dee Gibbs decided to drop the shackles of company life and start her own agency. Thank God, she did, because that was how Liberty was born.

Let’s take a look at what was going on March 15th, 1998, a day we might consider the birthday of Liberty Communications:

Music
The songs at the top of the charts that day were: My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion in the UK and Getting’ Jiggy Wit It by Will Smith in the US.

Two pretty drastically different musical choices if you ask me. But Liberty ourselves are pretty different on both continents, but combined we know how to get hit after hit. If these two songs combined, the mashup could be called My Heart Will Get Jiggy Wit It (probably NOT going to be a hit).

Movies & TV
On that day, the Titanic rose back up from the depths and surpassed the stars (Star Wars) to become the highest grossing film in North American box offices. And the show If I Ruled the World starring Clive Anderson was, in fact, ruling the UK airwaves as the leading show on TV.

Books
In a somewhat, unsurprising way, the best-selling book was the Beanie Baby Handbook, 1998 edition. Why people needed a handbook for a toy stuffed with tiny plastic beans we might never know, and even more perplexing was the fact that there were yearly editions of it.

However, the publishers clearly knew what the audience wanted to read, much like Liberty stays on top of the trends that help our clients stay relevant and get their brands in the hands of the public.

News
At the core of Liberty, we strive to have our finger to the pulse of what news is breaking every day. On that day, the headlines were:
• Bay of Pigs: the Secret Death of Pete Ray in the LA Times
• FedEx Worker Trapped in Belly of Cargo Jet in the Associated Press
• PBJ Takes on New Meaning for Kids; This ‘Headmistress’ is Cloaked in Surprise; Reprise of Alex Haley’s ‘Roots’ on Cable’s Family in the LA Times
• I do – and Hang the Expense Wedding Bills are Soaring in the Daily Mail
• A Stew of Hatred Stirred by Hacks in the Independent

Sounds like 20 years ago was a pretty interesting time. I’m personally looking forward to the day in 20 years’ time, when we look back on today’s news and wonder, “What the heck was going on back then?”

In our first series of blog posts as we enter the 30 day countdown to our 20th anniversary in March we thought we’d have fun looking look at some of our favourite technology highs and lows.

It’s incredible thinking back 20 years and remembering we didn’t have much of the technology that today we take for granted. Much of this technology has helped shape our current lives – helping make it easier to connect with and enjoy the things we love. For me one of the main things was the introduction of online streaming and it’s add on services.

I can still remember the times I would go to Blockbuster to rent a film which came in a big plastic box. In 2007, Netflix introduced online streaming to personal computers and the next year saw the addition of streaming to Xbox 360s, blue ray disc players, and TV set-top boxes. At Liberty we have been lucky enough to have worked with some of the biggest names in this space helping make TV on demand a reality for many.

The last 20 years has also seen a whole slew of new mobile technologies capture the public’s imagination – from smartphones to MP3 players, USB sticks and touchscreens to Wi-Fi, 3G and now 5G and more. As a nation we have become increasingly plugged into an always-on, totally portable, always-connected existence.

But whilst these innovations may have helped change the quality of our lives in the lucky developed world, it’s the technological changes further afield that I think really matter – those advances that have literally changed lives – helping give people access to clean water and electricity for the very first time, to immunisations and healthcare services and to education.

As consumers in the UK and US, our view of ‘technology’ is often limited to smartphones, tablets and other gadgets that make our daily lives better but there is so much innovation happening –ways in which technology is changing people’s lives for the better, where poverty is high and quality of life can be poor.

It’s this innovation which I think is so humbling. It certainly makes me proud to be involved in tech!

It’s hard to believe, but today marks the 30 day countdown to our 20th anniversary celebrations. And what an incredible 20 years it has been! We’ve worked with some of the best in the industry, partnered with some amazing companies, connected with inspiring people and helped launch the careers of so many rising PR stars.

In this next succession of blog posts we will look back on the last 20 years – celebrate some of the milestones that have helped shape our industry, make predictions for the next 20 years ahead and have fun remembering some of our highlights.

Thanks for sharing the ride with us – we are looking forward to continued collaboration with you all in the months, years, and decades ahead.

Communications and public relations can be confusing at the best of times.

The suite of services that PR professionals provide to clients can appear overwhelming; the methods that firms employ strikingly diverse.

But from pitching, event hosting and press release distribution to social media management, an important line in the sand bisects all communications activity: the distinction between editorial and non-editorial content.

By way of context, editorial content refers to ‘earned’ media, that is to say, content penned– (or facilitated by) a member of the press based on its value to the story alone. ‘Unearned’, meanwhile, refers to content placed using additional funds provided directly by the client on a sort of ‘pay-to-play’ basis.

This type of article, while   still legitimate, often appears as an ‘advertorial’ or ‘partnership’ piece that, crucially, looks markedly different from an earned, editorial opportunity.

Over the last few months, a number of articles have surfaced that claim a new type of practice is quickly gathering momentum – one that straddles the imaginary line in the sand. This ‘payola’ journalism looks to take something of a Hovis approach: supposedly embracing the best qualities of each with the limitations of neither. Yet in reality, payola sees some members of the press offered unofficial and undisclosed compensation in return for including a business in a seemingly editorial capacity, directly contravening journalistic norms in the process.

In 2018, where the boundaries between earned and unearned media seem to appear more blurred than ever, the onus is on responsible agencies to communicate the distinction between editorial and non-editorial content to their clientele.

With a renewed emphasis on transparency and trust, public relations and communications specialists can ensure clients understand the different types of media, their own unique value to businesses and the dangers of diluting editorial integrity now and in the future.

I’ve just got back from Learning Technologies at Olympia – with more than 8,000 visitors and 200 exhibitors it was buzzing! I was lucky enough to meet with some fascinating people – all of whom shared the same view that development in education technology is moving at a rapid pace. In fact the EdTech market has changed more in the last 5 years than in the previous 100 years that came before it. Digitisation, personalisation, automation and globalisation are ripping up old models, bringing out a massive change in how people learn and train.

But looking at the long view – where do we go now? How do you create brands that are global and will be digitally recognised? Currently, 2.5% of education has been digitised but we need much more than that to truly drive change. According to one person I spoke to we need to see a $100 billion spend in digitisation in education by 2020. The money is there but we need the drive behind it to make it happen. Done right, education could be the economic driver of the 21^st century. That’s really exciting and makes events like the one today feel so important.

If you want to talk through how we could help your brand do get in touch!

The workplace of today is dramatically different than it was a few years ago. From the ways in which people find their jobs to the means with which a workforce communicates with each other, the differences are stark. The professional spaces people also use to work have also changed. Hot desking and flexible working are now the norm and the idea of a traditional 9-5pm job seems to be disappearing.

The traditional hierarchical structures which used to exist years ago have also given way to a more flexible, flat system – with opportunities for everyone (regardless of their level) to be part of something bigger.

At Liberty we are really trying to embrace these cultural and social shifts for the benefit of our clients, the business and our team. Whilst for our clients a global team means 24-7 support, for our team it means the opportunity to work flexibly, collaborate more across time zones and work in a strategically more efficient way. We are a modern business with a modern team but to make it work we need to listen to each other, to trust each other, be sensitive and never forget the human touch.

Liberty is more than just a PR consultancy – we are a brand of our own using all of the tools available to us (many of which we are lucky enough to count as clients) to keep growing our company across time zones and geographies. We are not an agency made up of separate offices – we are one company with one team and one vision. So as we approach our 20th anniversary this year, whilst we’ll never be able to predict perfectly what the future will hold, we can be sure we will be prepared, constantly learning and evolving and listening to each other so we are in a stronger position for whatever the future holds.

Tell us a little about your background

I’ve worked in public relations in a variety of industries including entertainment, non-profit and my favorite – technology. I find creating messaging in the technology industry exciting because there is a lot of room to be creative and introduce a new product that could revolutionize the way people live life.  As public relations professionals, we have the opportunity to be at the forefront of cutting edge and disruptive technology.

I have experience in both agency and in-house positions, where I was able to learn about all the different aspects of PR.  I’ve worked on social media at Hortonworks, pitched campaigns to Warner Bros., created messaging for Chick-fil-A and got to witness, first hand, my agency supporting Pepsi when they were under siege.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

When I came to interview at Liberty Communications I knew right away that this was an agency I wanted to work at. Liberty demonstrates quality clients, quality work and quality team members. It’s important to me that I am able to work on accounts that I am passionate about and work with people who are also passionate about their work– at Liberty I get to fulfill both of those needs.

What are some of your hobbies?

Some of my favorite hobbies include listening to true-crime podcasts, finding new recipes online to test out on my family, hiking 6-mile trails, browsing farmers markets and scouting out the best Thai food in the Bay Area.

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

I love memoirs because they are little snippets into someone’s life. The Glass Castle is the last book I read and it is a set of stories that depict the unorthodox childhood of author, Jeanette Walls.  Currently, I am catching up on modern politics with Michael Wolff’s, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump Whitehouse.

The last song I listened to was Finesse (Remix) by Bruno Mars and Cardi B.  I love that the two artists came together to collaborate on today’s RnB and gave it a ‘90s hip-hop twist.

We here at the Liberty Communication always aim to hit our targets. So, what better location for a holiday team building retreat than a place where we can hone our targeting skills, the archery range located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

We sharpened our focus under the guidance of an experienced instructor, and our outing hit the bullseye, literally! And we rewarded ourselves with a little picnic.

To top off the day, we sang our hearts out doing karaoke over sushi. We’re usually known for our pitches, but that night we might have been a little off our game, but we did light up the restaurant with some yuletide cheer!

Tell us a little about your background:

Originally from New England, I moved to the Bay Area in April of 2016. I graduated from Suffolk University in Boston with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Political Science. Shortly after graduating, I was offered a position with Kel & Partners, a medium sized communications agency in Boston, where I created social media content for B2B and B2C clients.

I made the journey to the west coast last Spring and joined UPRAISE PR, a boutique agency in San Francisco. During my time there, I worked with a variety of clients including a robot laundry folding machine and a nonprofit organization focused on teaching and empowering girls to code. I wore many hats, including leading a client team, creating content, and launching a viral campaign.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

I’m eager to join an agency that represents a diverse set of clients, each with their own needs, wants, and challenges. Over the course of my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work with “mainstream” companies as well as niche organizations and startups. Liberty Communications represents that range of clientele, as well.

I couldn’t be happier to be joining the US team at Liberty Communications as an Account Executive. I look forward to whatever challenges come my way; I learn best when the tasks are challenging and require creative thought. I’m excited to bring my own skill set into this position, while learning more tools of the trade.

What are some of your hobbies?

When I’m not creating stories or content for clients, I’m usually exploring San Francisco –  there’s so much to see and do. As mentioned below, I’m a bit of a nerd, so I like to take some time each week to play video games. It’s a hobby I’ve had since 1998, when I was catching Pokémon on my Gameboy.

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

I’ve been investing in graphic novels and recently read seven volumes of the “Saga” series. It’s a blend of Romeo and Juliet, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones. It’s beautifully written and illustrated; a must read if sci-fi is of any interest.

I’m a “Top 40” person, so anything that’s mainstream piques my interest. Lorde’s new album, Melodrama, is one of my favorites of 2017. Currently listening to “Supercut” as I type this!

This month we’re continuing our series of profiling our senior executives. We sat down with Jim Lubinskas, a Managing Director at Liberty in our San Francisco office. Let’s learn more about him:

Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. Our first question is, what is your management style?

I tend to manage like I like being managed. Namely, I give people lots of room to develop their own style and manage their own work flow. That being said, I also want to make sure everyone is on the same page so I like to have frequent check ins to make sure things are running smoothly. Luckily, Liberty employees tend to be self-sufficient and responsible. So it is the right environment for this management style.

If you could predict the future, where would you like to see Liberty in 5 years?

Liberty is in the enviable position of growing steadily through good work and referrals. This is the best way to grow, especially in PR as great performance and superior service are highly praised among all clients. We are a well-regarded agency amongst reporters and other PR professionals in the Silicon Valley so we must be doing something right. As we grow, we have to keep our reputation for high standards in mind.

What is your favorite/proudest memory during your time at Liberty?

One thing that stands out is getting recommended by a client who we had only been representing for a few months. To be able to make such an impression upon a customer in that short a time is very pleasing. It is always nice to be noted for doing good work.

Beyond that, I’d say just the day to day energy amongst our Liberty US team has been great. We have a small but efficient team in San Francisco. There are a lot of moving parts but the team handles things with a degree of efficiency that I had not seen before. Plus, everyone has a really great attitude and wants to be here working in tech PR. That makes a big difference.

On a more personal note, if you could live in a book, TV show or film, what would it be?

 Mad Men. I know it is dramatized but the 1960s were a key time for the marketing industry. Maybe I could have handled PR for Sterling Cooper! The early 60’s especially seemed to have an energy and drive that I would have liked to have been a part of. The characters remind me of my older family members and I love the style. Of course, I would have hated all the smoking and would have had to wait until after work to start drinking!

Besides being a PR super star, what was your dream job growing up?

I was into sports and dreamed of being a professional athlete.

Jim, thanks so much for sharing your answers with us today. We appreciate all your contributions to Liberty US.

Make sure to tune in next time, as we continue to interview the senior management team here at Liberty Comms.

This year, for our summer away day in the US office, we took a trip to Napa. The wine country escape offered beautiful views, delicious treats and abundant team bonding experiences.

We hope you enjoy our album and we already can’t wait to go back!

This month we’re continuing our series of profiling our senior executives. We sat down with Katie Finn, a Senior Account Director at Liberty in our London office. She has been with Liberty since 2014 and has played a role in Liberty’s continued success. Let’s learn more about her:

Hi Katie, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Our first question is, what is your management style?

I aim to create a positive workplace environment, where people feel supported and rewarded for their achievements. I believe that when people are happy and motivated they go the extra mile for both their clients and teams, which in turn helps to fuel a good atmosphere and results in excellent client service – it really is a win-win situation!

If you could predict the future, where would you like to see Liberty in the next 5 years?

So far in my time at Liberty it has been really exciting to see Liberty US grow, and our client base continue to expand with really innovative and cutting edge technology companies. Both the technology and the media landscape are changing rapidly, so it’s important for us as an agency to keep pace with these trends, and make sure we’re always ahead of the game. In the next five years, I’d like to see our client portfolio continue to grow, while still offering the boutique service we’re renowned for, and possibly opening a new Liberty overseas!

What is your favorite/proudest memory during your time at Liberty?

My proudest memory at Liberty was winning the annual client services prize.

On a more personal note, if you could live in a book, TV show or film, what would it be?

I’d probably have to say Arrested Development, for the brilliant California sunshine and so I could hang out with the Bluth family.

Besides being a PR super star, what was your dream job growing up?

I wanted to be an actress, which needless to say hasn’t materialised!

Katie, thanks so much for sharing your answers with us today. We appreciate all your contributions to Liberty UK and US.

Make sure to tune in next time, as we continue to interview the senior management team here at Liberty to see what makes them tick.

Tell us a little about your background:

I graduated from Cardiff University in 2007 with a BA in English Language Studies. After completing three work experience placements at PR companies in the South West of England, I secured my first full time position as a Junior Account Executive at an agency that specialised in technology in Bath.

Within a couple of years, I worked my way up to Account Manager level, supporting a mix of B2B and B2C clients across the UK, Europe and US in a range of sectors including cybersecurity, gaming and healthcare.

After I had been with the agency for three years, I felt it was time for a new challenge, and I joined a B2B agency in Bristol specialising predominantly in professional services, cybersecurity and manufacturing. During my three and a half years at the agency, I was promoted to Account Director.

My next position was in the business & corporate division of a larger agency in Bristol. This was a fantastic opportunity, with the agency’s parent company consisting of an AIM-listed network of integrated, multi-discipline, multi-sector agencies specialising in marketing/comms and employing over 1,000 people in 20 offices around the world.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

After two and a half years with my previous agency, it felt that the time was right to make the move to London before life had completely passed me by! I had interviews at a few agencies, but Liberty was the one that caught my attention.

My immediate impression was that Liberty is an agency with a strong people-focus and collaborative culture, which is exactly what I was looking for. As for the clients, it feels to a degree that I have come full circle, with a great opportunity to get back into the world of technology.

What are some of your hobbies?

I enjoy watching and playing most sports, but particularly love tennis and football. I’m also a big fan of quizzes and have embarrassed myself on UK TV quiz shows including Eggheads, Brainteaser and Revenge of the Egghead! From time to time I’m also guilty of binge watching a TV series with my all-time favourites being Breaking Bad, The Wire and The Sopranos.

What was the last book you read or song you listened to?

I’m an avid reader, particularly of crime fiction thriller novels by the likes of Linwood Barclay, Harlan Coben, Lee Child and Tom Wood. But the last book I read (well technically re-read!) was The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s set in Barcelona just after the Spanish Civil War and follows the life of a young boy who is taken to a secret library by his father and allowed to choose any book to keep on the condition that he must protect it for life.

Without giving too much away, he picks a book called The Shadow of the Wind – and from there it starts to become clear that the novel is actually a story within a story. I highly recommend it!

Tell us a little about your background:

I’ve always lived my life by one simple quote: “The journey is better than the end.” That journey has led me from New York to South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and now San Francisco. I am a Senior Account Manager here at Liberty, working out of our 17^th floor office in the busy Financial District.

I have my B.A. in Mass Communications and Philosophy from SUNY Oneonta, and earned my M.A. in Public Communications from American University in Washington. In my former life, I was an aspiring journalist who worked in various television newsroom roles in New York and South Carolina. I’ve been practicing public relations for over a decade, working for Fortune 500 companies, global enterprises, fast growing startups, trade associations and non-profits.

Why are excited to support Liberty and our clients?

If you’re practicing tech PR, there’s no place else you’d rather be than San Francisco. The opportunity to work with Liberty’s creative team, plus the ability to partner with some of the most innovative companies is why I chose this career path. I’m looking forward to watching our clients grow with us, and I’m excited to share their stories.

What are some of your hobbies?

I thrive on creativity. I’m constantly on the lookout for new endeavors that push my creative limits. Along with PR, one of my passions is filmmaking. I am a director/editor, creating award-winning short films and documentaries with my production company. I also enjoy walking around the city on the weekends with my Canon Mark II, sharpening my photography skills. On top of all that, I’m also a graphic designer and fledgling guitar player.

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

I recently finished reading Animal Farm, again. I enjoy revisiting the classics that I forgot about. The last song I listened to is Ophelia, by the Lumineers. It’s a great song that is definitely worth listening to!

There is no doubt that living in the Age of the Algorithm has transformed the way we make decisions. Mechanisation has saved the world time, money, and (in the case of the emergency services) even lives. In addition, there are obvious business and marketing advantages to using intelligent technology that claims to “personalise” our online experience and helps us find what we’re looking for. But are we at risk of letting the use of algorithms and ‘big data’ shape our decision-making, and influence our individuality?

In the late 1990s, book editors for Amazon were writing hundreds of reviews for the increasing number of books being published annually. With demand on staff increasing, Greg Linden, an engineer at the online retailer, used correlation data for products that were often bought together by consumers to create automatic recommendations. Ironically, whilst the algorithms used had the effect of creating a “personal” recommendation, in reality they were not linked in any way with the individual’s purchasing history, and so were devoid of anything classically categorised as personal. In spite of this, the effect this has had on sales since is undeniable, with estimates showing that currently a third of Amazon’s sales arise from these mechanised recommendations.

More recently, Facebook, a company that’s growth is due in part to its complex use of big data, has continued its global domination and grossed almost $6 billion in the first three quarters of 2016. Even more incredible is its 1.79 billion monthly active users, which make Facebook (a company claiming it isn’t in fact a media company) the most powerful media organisation in history. Scarily, Facebook’s “walled garden” approach to news feeds, paired with its goal to “deliver the right content to the right people at the right time” using controversially secret algorithms, means that our exposure to information is being restricted, albeit by the mechanised mirroring of our own choices.

It seems fair to surmise that the use of algorithms online can be a double-edged sword. No consumer can deny the convenience of such appropriate and tailored suggestions, nor is the effect that they have had on streamlining online services and augmenting profitability in business in question. However, at a point where big data weaves itself almost inextricably through facets of society people are beginning to ask themselves whether they really know what they’re looking for, and wondering how accurate these online assumptions can be. It seems that, as a result, in the midst of this Age of Algorithms, human sensibilities are still in demand.

Liberty’s own Megan Keesee attended SXSW in Austin – an annual conference that covers the future of everything. It is perhaps the most generalized professional conference in existence today, organized from chaos to coherence by categorizing all events into one of four tracks: Interactive, Film, Music, and Comedy. There’s literally something for everyone. Megan attended the interactive track, focusing on the most exciting tech developments in the connected world.

There was tangible excitement in the air as the streets of Austin filled with hopeful millennials, entrepreneurs, and creatives from all walks of life, conference badges hanging proudly around their necks as they sauntered out of local bars and hip restaurants where events were being held by Silicon Valley’s best.

Megan’s weekend was spent supporting our clients who were speaking or attending; sitting in on panels and sessions providing insight into the top trends, and attending the most anticipated media parties and pop-ups. Here’s what she observed, learned and brought back with her.

Standout Sessions

Keynote speakers like Corey Booker and Joe Biden as well as event subtracks on European government and “Trump’s America” electrified the conference with political undertones and pushed a polito-innovation agenda. Perhaps the most memorable session included Joe Biden’s appearance as part of SXSW’s Connect to End Cancer series, and not just because Megan is in fact his #1 fan. His talk outlined the plans for the Biden Foundation’s Cancer Initiative, calling on attendees to join him in his efforts to cure cancer by 2020. Biden energized the crowd with his passion and optimism, and he even stuck around for a few selfies with fans afterward.

Another session close to the hearts of all our Libertinis was a panel titled“Brexit: How UK/European Tech Companies Are Coping,” which we secured and managed at SXSW. The panel explored the changes that tech companies in Europe have experienced and will continue to experience as the effects of Brexit take shape. The panelists included our friends and clients from Wire, WaveOptics, Blis and Jobbatical, who candidly shared anecdotes on how they are  managing the changes brought on by an evolving political landscape and how they plan to face the challenges that lie ahead. The session brought perspective from a diverse group of companies and leaders. Perhaps we’re a bit biased, but this session had to be one of our favorites because of the honesty amidst uncertainty that was shared by panelists.

Pop Ups and Panels

In addition to the main event, one thing that makes SXSW unique to the conference grind is the volume of pop ups and “house parties” hosted by brands on the side. During the week of the festival, most of the venues downtown Austin are completely booked for these side events, and there’s no lack of daytime or evening activities. Megan was able to chat with  Tim Ferriss, who turned  up at the SXSW bookstore to sign copies of his latest work Tools of Titans and also stumbled upon a pop-up promoting one of her all-time favorite books turned television show, American Gods.

In true PR fashion, Megan spent quality time talking to journalists at the TechCrunch Day Party, complete with musical appearances from Kishi Bashi and Madame Gandhi. She made sure not to miss out on good ole Texas bbq and Tex-Mex which she shared with our attending clients. She saved up enough conference momentum on her last night in town to make it to the annual and ever-notorious #MashBash party hosted by the editors at Mashable to celebrate the first weekend of SXSW. Who says you can’t work and play at the same time?

Looking Forward

In the heart of Austin, an oasis of modern thinking in the middle of traditional Texas, SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. The conference features a variety of tracks that allow attendees to explore the realm of unfolding possibilities in the worlds of entertainment, culture and technology.

In the last decade SXSW has built a reputation for highlighting the technology and trends that  shape industries, empower people and enable new possibilities. This year, that meant focusing on the geopolitical changes taking place internationally, as the technology of politics and politics of technology took center stage. The biggest takeaway from individual sessions was that the tech community has the power to influence public debate and shape our future.
The larger takeaway, though, in a conference that has become a behemoth of innovation and trade events, is how brands can cut through the noise to make that impact. Those that attended SXSW certainly had the opportunity to practice.

Liberty’s own Megan Keesee and Leah Monteleone attended the World’s Fair Nano Conference in San Francisco – a festival featuring virtual reality, drones, motorized skateboards, wearable tech, robotics, IoT, 3D printing, and more. This event provided a sneak peak into the future of tech with an all-star speaker lineup of founders and CEOs to share their experiences and insight. Read on for a recap.

To set the scene, this conference looked like Coachella met SXSW in 2050. The day was spent listening to speakers discuss the future of journalism, feminism, AI, robotics, medicine, automation and human connection.

Standout Sessions

With a variety of great talks from neuroscientists to NGOs, the conference truly had everything. Some of the most memorable talks were The Future of IoT and The Future of the Brain. In the Future of IoT session, If This Then That (IFTTT) CEO, Linden Tibbets, pegged the big compatibility problem with the accelerated development of IoT and all our smart appliances. IFTTT’s vision for common, secure API standards looks very bright.

David Eagleman, PhD and Neuroscientist at Stanford University, blew us away with his research on the brain’s perception of senses. He has  developed a vibrating vest that can help the deaf hear, the blind see, and the rest of us develop brand new senses and perceive things like infrared light, radio waves, even the pulse of other human beings.

Another memorable talk was given by Dave Pell, writer and publisher of NextDraft – an email newsletter of the day’s top ten most fascinating news items. He spoke on the future of journalism and how PR will continue to evolve in a society where fake news and alternative facts have become commonplace. He also discussed the relevance of biased news sources and stressed the importance of educating ourselves on both sides of every news story. As PR professionals, we cannot just expose ourselves to news consistent with our thoughts and beliefs.

Tech on Display

In addition to the presentations, the conference had row upon row of cutting edge tech on display. We saw consumer and enterprise drones, virtual reality headsets, artificial reality demo booths, smart baby monitors, new and improved wearables and more.

Looking Forward

Our main takeaway? The tech world is continuously evolving. In order to remain relevant as tech PR professionals, we must make sure we remain nimble and change with the times. It is essential we continue to challenge ourselves as an agency and our clients in this ever-changing digital world to ensure we stay at the forefront of the tech industry.

With a whopping 2.5 quintillion bytes of data now being produced every single day, the debate around data privacy is showing no signs of slowing down;  consumers and businesses are still asking the same fundamental question – how, where and by whom is our data gathered and stored? This issue is at the heart of the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Designed to bring more transparency and structure to data protection, it is the first major legislative change to European Data Protection law since Directive (95/46/EC) in 1995, which regulated the processing of personal data.

Despite the importance of this regulation, lots of British companies are seemingly unaware of it. This has been partially due to indecision on the part of UK businesses about whether to invest resources in achieving GDPR compliance, given the lack of clarity around the power of European directives and acts post-Brexit. However, following the UK government’s confirmation that it will implement the GDPR, despite the decision to leave the EU, businesses will need to be compliant by 25 May 2018 or face enforcement action.

In light of this, now is a good time to look at exactly what the GDPR is, what it will mean for UK businesses and how your organisation can prepare for it.

What is it?

Simply put, the GDPR is the new regulation framework to create tighter limits on the processing of personal data and give greater rights to individuals. It essentially protects the right of European residents to regain control over how their personal information is shared and used. It will apply to EU-based organisations, as well as the data processing activities of those who target EU data subjects – meaning that if your business is involved in the acquisition, use, transmission, storage, destruction and breach of personal data in any way, you will be affected, regardless of whether your business stores or processes data on EU soil.

The act contains eight principles data processors must abide by when it comes to personal data – these include provisions that data need to be processed fairly and lawfully, be obtained only for specific purposes, be accurate and kept up to date. Finally, anyone holding the data must take measures to protect it, with data not transferred to a country outside the EU unless that country also has rules in place to adequately protect it. There are also new limitations surrounding consent, as data owners must grant separate consent for different processing activities and can withdraw them at any time, or have their data erased under the GDPR. Furthermore, if a company has already made information public, then they have an obligation to pass the deletion request along to others.

It is important to note that GDPR only applies to Personably Identifiable Information (PII), which may comprise a very small percentage of an organisation’s data. However, GDPR covers a wide range of PII and can include URLs, pseudonymised data, physical data and so on. Personal details such as email, for example, may not hold PII and therefore do not need to become part of the compliance envelope.

Why you should care

As discussed, the GDPR will define how organisations can collect, use and transfer personal data. Not only will businesses need to adhere to local laws governing information retention in every market they operate in, but they also need to re-evaluate their individual business requirements and risk appetite. Failure to comply with the GDPR risks a maximum penalty of either €20 million or 4 percent of worldwide turnover (whichever is greater) – it can cost your business money, reputation, credibility and more. Equally, the first organisations to become compliant can use it as an accolade, highlighting that personal data is safe in their hands.

In addition, service providers or ‘data processors’, which  were not previously subject to the more restrictive aspects of data protection legislation, will also now be affected. Organisations that use third parties will have to ensure that their data provider complies with the regulations as, in case of a breach, both data processor and data controller will be considered to have shared liability and will be penalised. Furthermore, all public authorities and organisations where core activities involve ‘regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale’ or large-scale processing of ‘special categories of personal data’ will be required to employ a dedicated Data Protection Officer.

Always be prepared

Ahead of the GDPR, it is very likely that most businesses will need to overhaul their framework to ensure compliance and that they are aware of what data they hold, why they hold it, where it’s kept and how long it should be kept for. They will also need to re-think what data is actually needed to manage business and employment relationships.

Organisations will be required to build a transparency framework that re-thinks how they engage with individuals, from contracting and permissions processes to providing clear and comprehensive information on how they handle personal data. The next step is to review contracts with third parties, and include a right of audit in their contracts. As part of this process, there is a huge education element involved. Regular data protection training will of course be required and will have to be extended to contractors and other third parties.

Becoming GDPR compliant will no doubt be a long and laborious task, but will also be a significant achievement, and potentially one of the screening criteria for tenders in the future. Let’s not forget that all businesses handling personal data will be required by law to become GDPR compliant by 25 May 2018, so it’s crucial to start planning and revisiting your data strategy today.

Liberty is excited to welcome on board the latest client to our San Francisco HQ, FutureDial.

Based in Sunnyvale, California, FutureDial is the leading provider-of-choice of mobile device processing solutions for Wireless Carriers, Retailers, Mobile Device Buy-Back Trade-In companies, Third-Party Logistics, and ITAD Providers. It has appointed Liberty to provide public relations communications and counsel, with Liberty supporting FutureDial’s core North American business and its ongoing operational expansion in Asia and Europe.

2016 was a record year for FutureDial, marking its highest recorded business volume. Given year-end residual value averages, FutureDial solutions processed over $6 billion worth of smartphones worldwide, within secondary markets. Looking at 2017, mobile device processing volume is expected to further increase with more trade-ins and buy-backs. FutureDial offers its customer base of mobile device reverse logistics operators, wireless carriers and retail operators powerful software to receive, triage and clear devices via its proprietary Lean One-Touch™ as well as its other solutions, which all improve efficiencies and increase throughput for faster turnaround times in mobile device processing operations and retail centers.

Dee Gibbs, Founder and Global CEO at Liberty, said: “We’re delighted to be working with a market leader such as FutureDial. Mobile device processing is a very dynamic market driven by the continual evolution of mobile technology to offer ever greater functionality and increased processing power. Our goal is to reinforce the position of FutureDial at the forefront of mobile device processing and strategic solutions through innovative insight, thought leadership and compelling storytelling.”

Thomas Rayas, SVP Marketing & Customer Success for FutureDial, commented: “Liberty has a reputation for their focus on mobile technology and telecom markets, which aligns well with our go-to-market strategies. Liberty’s communication efforts are already yielding positive results and we look forward to a successful partnership.”

We are thrilled to welcome FutureDial to our list of clients!

Tell us a little about your background:

My background is in professional dance, which is perhaps a little unorthodox compared to most in tech PR. I graduated from Northern Ballet School in the Summer of 2012 and traveled for 2 years abroad Celebrity cruise ships performing in their theatre productions and teaching ballroom dancing. I was lucky enough to explore the southern Caribbean, Norwegian Fiords, Russia and Scandinavia as well as the more familiar sights of the Mediterranean.

Whilst this experience was truly amazing the constant changes involved in this career had me pining for a more stable profession, so, I hung up my dance shoes and moved to London in 2014 and had a brief venture into sales and event planning with Wimbledon based music agency, Earcandy. At the end of 2016, I  joined Liberty’s work experience program. I felt drawn to tech PR in particular because of the rapid pace: on a day-to-day basis I might be looking at anything from AR to cyber-security, and staying on the pulse with the media and latest technology advancements is really exciting.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

During my initial experience at Liberty, I was struck by the dynamic and creative atmosphere just as much as I was by the exciting prospect of working with such a wide variety of clients, all at the forefront of technology today. I see no better way to learn about this fascinating industry than by being exposed to such a wealth of shared knowledge and experience and of course the ever changing and developing landscape of technology itself.

What are some of your hobbies?

Given my background in the arts I have at times been obsessive about fitness and nutrition. Some of this remains (though thankfully with less of the original intensity) as I regularly run to decompress after a long day. I love to cook for my fiancé, family and friends as eating together has always played a fundamental role in my understanding of family time from childhood to now. I also salsa dance at various clubs in the city from time to time but deny that this is any sort of prep for an elaborate first dance!

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

The last book I read was Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. I studied World War I  and II  literature during my schooling and find they offer important perspective for life today; and there’s nothing like losing yourself in the facts or fiction.

The last song I listened to was 1999 by Prince. I’m ashamed to say I’m only just educating myself since his music has been available on Spotify -but I love it!

Tell us a little about your background:

I was born and raised in Connecticut but attended Catholic University in Washington D.C. and ended up staying in the area. I studied philosophy and, while I enjoyed my classes, I decided there was not much of a job market for philosophy majors. Hence my move into public relations.

I have nearly 20 years of public relations experience in agency, association and corporate environments. This includes directing PR campaigns for clients including: Microsoft, Cisco, USA TODAY and Monster Government Solutions. I have also worked with smaller companies and start-ups to create media strategies and generate market visibility.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

I couldn’t be more excited to have joined Liberty, and looking forward to supporting its clients.

In fact, I will be moving to San Francisco for both family and career reasons, which is a great position to be in. The San Francisco area is home to some of the greatest technology brands and visionaries in the world. Any tech PR professional would be thrilled to work in this booming area which is home to many key journalists and influencers. This is especially true with regard to Liberty, as we are continuing to build out our San Francisco office to grow alongside the thriving tech sector in Silicon Valley. It is a very exciting time and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

What are some of your hobbies?

I have two young kids so that takes up a lot of my time. I like to stay in shape with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, boxing and kickboxing. I also love music, movies, books and hanging out with family and friends.

Tell us a little about your background:

I’m originally from central Finland, where I studied at Jyvaskylan Kristillinen Opisto and received a degree in Children and Family Welfare. After graduating, I became an Au Pair in a small coastal town in Scotland. In 2014, I moved to London as I wanted to pursue career in the technology field.

Prior to Liberty, I worked at a startup called AnyVan and this is where I fell in love with communications and PR. From AnyVan I moved to a PR agency that was fully consumer tech based, where I supported Acer with their communications and PR in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

My past experience and interest in tech were the main factors I wanted to join the Liberty team. I was really impressed by the company’s client base and am excited to start as an Account Executive.

So far I am really enjoying my time at Liberty because of the fast paced environment.

What are some of your hobbies?

I enjoy walking, hiking and anything outdoors related; luckily London has many great green spaces to offer!

I also love taking advantage of all of the amazing museums and art galleries that London has to offer.

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

I’m currently reading a couple of very different books; Tess Gerritse’s, Playing with Fire and Ernst Fischer’s, A Kim Jong‑Il Production.

Last song I listened to was; Friends – Tom Misch remix. This song is really bittersweet and anyone who has friends overseas can relate!

It is time to look ahead to what the New Year might have in store…

Predictions are always a tricky thing to make. Fast forward twelve months and you will either look smug or red faced – as an agency with fee paying clients, neither is particularly desirable. So rather than risk the annual prognostication gauntlet, this year we are going to suggest a couple of trends that as communications professionals, (in-house and agency-side) you might like to consider.

You can bet that trade shows and events will be on agenda for our clients in this year and one of the perennial challenges in PR and marketing is how to elevate a brand message above the crowd and thus making clients stand-out. The start of the 2016 saw a big ground-swell for VR, and while this will no doubt continue, the success of Pokémon Go (to us at least) highlights the great opportunity represented by AR from a comms perspective in 2017 too. Being less immersive and more interactive with the physical world, AR must be on the radar of comms people as a genuine tactic for events and campaigns alike in the New Year.

Content will always be king for my money, but what has changed however, is the type of content that agencies should look to be encouraging with clients in the New Year. We would definitely keep an eye out for visual storytelling trends; for example, how brands implement Instagram stories or Twitter videos into their online marketing and communications strategies – done well they can offer the ‘wow-factor’ and attract attention to core brand values and messages.

Artificial Intelligence is big news across the pantheon of global media. Whether it’s autonomous vehicles, cybersecurity or marketing orientated news, AI is here to stay and with the ‘Big 5’ all vying for a piece of the pie, with various offerings such as Siri, Cortana, Alexa & Echo, 2017 will see plenty more developments.

But have we thought of the potential of AI from a comms perspective? What if you could have a link to a chatbot at the end of an email or press release rather than a stagnant corporate boilerplate or URL to a ‘press section’ on a company’s website… wouldn’t that be different? It would certainly be something innovative and could even serve to elevate awareness of the brand over its competitors.

Finally, part of our job is to remain at the cutting edge of the comms space as it grows, morphs and changes direction. A favourite in terms of discoveries in 2016 was Medium (essentially long-form Twitter), and Ghost runs a close second!

As 2017 in upon us, keep your eyes wide open for new platforms that might provide a good fit for presenting client messages untapped to areas and audiences – it is no longer enough to simply revert to ‘type’ and the likes of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as the social media platforms when considering campaigns.

So there you have it, 2017 in a nutshell… let us know if you agree, or indeed if you have any ideas of what you think will be big in the comms space in the New Year – we’d love to hear your opinions too!

Tell us a little about your background:

I graduated in September from the University of Lincoln with a degree in English, but have been working since late April, when university all of a sudden, sadly, no longer was a thing.

Prior to arriving at Liberty, I was a freelancer for Hotwire PR’s B2B and consumer tech accounts, drafting by-lined articles along many verticals including robotics, AR/VR, home technology devices and 3D printing.

Before I started working in PR, I was the Lifestyle Editor of the university paper, The Linc, and I wrote articles for my regional newspaper, the Leicester Mercury, over the course of my degree as an intern. In my second year of university, I wrote a theatrical play, which was performed in February 2016, for which I won an award at the end of year awards ceremony. During the production, I headed a marketing campaign for the play, which achieved several pieces of regional coverage; technically my first PR experience!

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

The main reason I wanted to be in PR was because I am passionate about writing and creativity, and I’m also keen to work for brands that develop products that are perpetually changing. Therefore, tech PR is the space to be a part of in this evolving new digital age.

Liberty’s fantastic range of clients caters towards many of my personal interests, and I am ecstatic to be working not only with a brilliant team here in London, but also with the great team over in the US. What also attracted me to the agency is its global presence. The fact that the agency has offices in the UK and US is testament to the fact that it is doing very well, and I love having the opportunity to work with people from all over the world on a daily basis!

Another big reason why I am excited to be supporting the team at Liberty is that I really want to build my media network. Clearly, Liberty has extensive connections in all corners of the media world. To build my own network through Liberty is not only great for me professionally, but also highly satisfying on a personal level.

What are some of your hobbies?

My passion has always been writing, especially stage and film scripts. My friend and I are currently in the early stages of producing two short films that I have written. We eventually aim to get funding to film them on a larger scale! I also love reading (I’m thankful for books on the long tube commute), swimming and travelling – you can find my travel ramblings on my blog, if you have nothing better to do!

What was the last book you read or song you listened to?

Ironically, the last book I read was Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?  by Philip K. Dick.  Inevitably, this has resulted in some seriously dangerous existential thinking whilst at work, but I’m comforted by the fact that a robot apocalypse perpetrated by the robots we work with won’t be TOO bad… right?

I am confident we can all agree that 2016 has been quite an eventful year on the world stage.  In the UK the news that BREXIT was going to happen came as a shock to most, and in the US, the presidential elections completed the uncertainty double.  With the political climate changes and some fairly radical shifts, we’ve been thinking about what that means for the Liberty Comms team as we come to the end of 2016 and embark on a new year which promises continued technological advances whatever happens on the world political stage.

Our global Liberty team has had plenty of positives to share from both sides of the Atlantic.

At Liberty in London, we announced a new managing director for the UK business with Elena Davidson taking the reigns.  We welcomed Riikka Heinaaho and Michael Walker and in San Francisco the team continued to expand.  Just two short years after launching our office in California, we’ve grown the business with some fantastic client support and welcomed new team members who brought the best of the Silicon Valley PR scene to Liberty’s door.  We welcomed Megan Keesee as a Senior Account Executive and two new Junior Account Executives, Leah Monteleone and Anna Palagi. Adding to the senior team,  Liberty’s senior consultant, Mark Button supports from San Diego.  We’re on the lookout for more new talent for 2017 as we plan for further growth – in our world nothing stands still and we’re looking forward to the next phase of Liberty’s story.

2016 brought exciting new clients to our already outstanding roster. In the UK, we forged partnerships with iTalent Corp., Smart IoT, Fleep and WaveOptics. In the US this year, we had the pleasure of working on projects with the Estonian government’s e-Residency Program, Kobi Technologies and Devicescape and established continuing partnerships with Blis, FutureDial, Teleport, Efima, and THINKWARE. It has been a busy and hugely rewarding year – and we wouldn’t want it any other way. We love being part of our clients’ teams and being part of their success in the technology sector around the globe.

Liberty is gearing up for a new year with fresh eyes, open minds and new ideas. I am confident that my international team of PR professionals will kick off 2017 with greater momentum and enthusiasm than ever. As always, we want to extend our gratitude to our amazing clients and partners. We wouldn’t be where we are today without you. Cheers to a successful 2016 and a prosperous new year!

At Liberty we think it is important to honor all of our employees, especially the people who have helped build this agency into what it is today. With that being said we are excited to kick off a new series profiling all of our senior executives.

First up is Liberty’s new Managing Director, Elena Davidson, coming to us from our London office. She has been with Liberty since 2008 and has played an important role in Liberty’s continuing growth. We sat down with Elena to learn more about her:

Hi Elena, congratulations on your promotion and thanks for volunteering to help us kick off our new series. Our first question is, what is your management style?

I think Liberty has a very special culture – one that is centered around an ethos of support and collaboration. I am a firm believer in this and the benefit it brings to the team spirit we have within our offices. It’s far more motivating to work hard for a company you believe in and who believes in you!

Let’s take out our crystal ball, shall we? We wanted to know, where would you like to see Liberty in the next 5 years?

Liberty is founded on great service for our clients and great opportunities for our team. As we look to 2017 and beyond I see us continuing to create and deliver exceptional international PR services for our clients. We also have an ambition to build our business organically by creating a team that we hire ourselves, knows each other, believes in our business and collaborates across time zones.

What is your favorite/proudest memory during your time at Liberty?

My proudest memory at Liberty was becoming Managing Director. It is both a privilege and an honor!

On a more personal note, if you could live in a book, TV show or film, what would it be?

I am going to defer to my daughter on this one – she’d say Frozen which would probably be quite a good choice!

Besides being a PR super star, what was your dream job growing up?

I wanted to be a teacher. Lucky for me, I married one instead!

Thanks so much for joining us today Elena, we really appreciate everything you do here at Liberty. Thanks for sharing your insight!

Make sure to tune in next time, as we continue to interview the senior management team here at Liberty to see what makes them tick.

Just because you don’t have hard news doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the news cycle. By creating your own news team and developing a unique point of view around topical issues, you can generate a steady flow of news and relevant commentary between major events like funding, partnerships, product/service launches or new hires.

Contributed content– Contributed articles/bylines are a great way to gain executive visibility and brand awareness—plugging you directly in front of your ideal audience. A contributed article is drafted directly from the perspective of a company’s thought-leader, and is then published by a target publication for their readers. Not only does this build a reputation for your executives, but it also allows the company to strengthen its brand voice with a solid stance or opinion on topical industry news. However, it’s crucial not to come off too self-promotional in these pieces, as publications will be inclined to steer clear of anything that feels like an “advertorial”. To gain even greater visibility, be sure to amplify and distribute these contributed pieces via your social channels.

News hijacks– Identify top trends that matter most for your business and develop a compelling point of view on each subject. This is helpful in addition to bylines and can be leveraged to insert your company’s voice into bigger industry news. More importantly, timeliness is key, so in addition to having a unique perspective, make sure you have content ready to go once news hit. Furthermore, consistently offering prepared comment to journalists on a set of topics will help establish your reputation with them, which will lead to them thinking of you and your company next time they have a story that needs influencer insight.

Research– Make the information and insights from your organization work for you by creating a report on trends that only your company can identify, based off the data you collect. If you have compelling data or research that you can share, turn that into a campaign that hits home with broader market trends. It is even better if there’s enough data to create a quarterly report, to remind media who you are and what you can offer. You’ll want to use data that demonstrates your company’s unique selling point, as these reports act as proof to journalists that your company really is the ONLY place to obtain the information you’re supplying. And even if they don’t write about your report, it will demonstrate to them why you’re different, and what you can offer. And when there’s no news, it’ll be these relationships that will create new press opportunities.

In all, the takeaway is simple. Don’t depend on expected news, create your own. By planning strategically ahead and creating intriguing storylines, you can be in the driver’s seat of your company’s story.

Last month we were joined by journalists and friends of Liberty to celebrate a British-themed evening at San Francisco’s Whitechapel gin bar for our inaugural media happy hour. The bar gets its namesake from the infamous East London neighborhood and is home to the largest gin selection in North America. It is styled as a mix between a Victorian-era distillery and an abandoned London Underground tube station.

Inspired by the Liquid Lunches hosted by our counterparts in the UK, the evening was an opportunity to spend time with the friends and media that have helped to make Liberty a success in the US. The evening was well spent with everyone, sipping remarkable cocktails and sampling delicious food prepared in an incredible setting.

We wanted to say thank you to everyone who joined us for our inaugural event. Thanks for making it a great one, we look forward to seeing you all at our next event!

Pokémon GO has achieved astonishing success since its release so far, and with over 20 million users in the US alone, the game has the highest number of downloads in the history of Apple’s app store. Consequently, many businesses have already begun to use the trend of Pokémon GO as a promotional tool, for example, through the use of ‘lures’ to encourage users to enter their stores or restaurants to catch rare Pokémon to add to their collection. With the launch of Pokémon GO, marketers have also found another new method to engage with their customers; Augmented Reality (AR). Yet how can marketers seize the AR trend, as an opportunity of reaching the masses?

In the past, previous developments of AR have failed to amount the same level of success. In 2013 “Google Glass” was viewed as the next step towards a new era of technology. The product was designed in the style of eyeglasses, which displayed information through the lenses and included an attached camera. However, it was ultimately deemed a failure with no real insight as to why a customer should pay $1500 for a product they struggled to find a need for. Was it the technology that was the problem, or was the world simply not ready for AR? Since the widespread approval of Pokémon GO from across the globe, perhaps now is the perfect time for further development in AR.

However, the use of AR has been no secret for marketers. Last year, Ford created an app which allowed users to see what a Mustang would look like on their own driveway, giving them the ability to alter preferences on the model, colour and wheels of the car. Although we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of AR, it’s inevitable that other companies will start to follow the trend over the next several years and introduce the technology as part of their own marketing proposition.

The trial and error of using AR by marketers has been recorded over several years, but with consumers’ appetite at an all-time high, now is the time for businesses to push forward in the development and application of the technology. It goes without saying, Pokémon GO users haven’t been playing the game with the intention to be targeted by marketers, however the subtly of marketing behind the game is proving to be effective. For now.

(Image source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/07/09/ten-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-started-pokemon-go/#77aa31cd1d8a)

Tell us a little about your background:

I’m originally from St. Andrews, a small town on the East coast of Scotland about 45 mins north of Edinburgh. Although my parents sound proper Scottish, I appear to be the exact opposite, which may be due to the fact that I went to an international school.

I studied a four-year joint honours Master of Arts degree in International Relations & History at The University of Aberdeen, where I specialised in the increase in female involvement within terrorism and international relations, as well as gender issues in the USA and their IPE (International Political Economy). Throughout my time studying, I incorporated a year abroad at The University of Stockholm, in Sweden through an exchange programme. While there, I even took Swedish lessons and am now fairly proficient!

I was confident that PR and Communications was what I wanted to do in terms of a career from my last year at university – my degree provided a lot of transferable skills and I always found the industry interesting.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

I think Liberty is an amazing agency! What I love about it, is the size – it’s a large enough agency for me to learn, network and advance in my career, but at the same time, small enough to really learn the fundamentals of this industry with a great team around me for constant support. Furthermore, coming from a generation where tech was embedded in my life from a very young age, I have an awareness of tech and the essential nature attached to the industry, which I’m excited to bring to the clients at Liberty.

What are some of your hobbies?

I love to run, and I try and go every day after work, as it de-stresses me and gives me time to clear my head. I live in Islington, which offers great access to parks right on my doorstep so it would be a shame to waste this.

I’m also into fashion and design; I’m always looking for new ways to improve my room and I use Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration. Worth mentioning that, any spare time I get, you’ll probably find me catching up with my family and a lot of my friends who live abroad on Facetime/Skype/Whatsapp etc.

What was the last book you read/song you listened to?

The last book I read was called ‘Mind Change’ by Susan Greenfield, which basically discusses the impact of digital technologies on our minds. I usually like books that are informative, which stimulate and challenge my way of thinking.

The last song I listened to was ‘Cheap Thrills’ by Sia, which is essentially my weekend song.

Tell us a little about your background:

I graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a degree in Public Relations and Advertising and a double minor in Women’s Studies and Public Law. I’ve been in public relations since my sophomore year and most recently worked at The OutCast Agency and SutherlandGold Group in San Francisco.

I’ve worked with a range of clients, from small startups to Fortune 100 companies. I also have experience in entertainment PR, and worked promoting films such as Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and Bad Country, as well as assisting in managing the PR efforts for Kim Kardashian and Johnny Depp.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

I was drawn to Liberty because of my experience with enterprise, business and consumer tech. I’m excited to be working within an agency that has such an impressive lineup of clients. I’m thrilled to join the Liberty Communications team as a Junior Account Executive, and know this will be a fun yet knowledgeable experience

What are some of your hobbies?

When I’m not storytelling, you can find me blogging to share everything superficial in the world of lifestyle, styling and art. I spend my time traveling, frequenting the gym, experimenting in the kitchen, and collecting shoes.

What was the last book you read or song you listened to?

I just finished reading #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso, a novel that is deeply personal yet universal. Filled with cunning and frank observations and behind-the-scenes stories from the Nasty Gal’s meteoric rise, #GIRLBOSS covers a lot of ground. It proves that successful is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to follow and which to break.

Social Media is everywhere, and with worldwide social media users are predicted to reach 2.55 billion by 2018, it’s essential to make sure you’re active on it to engage with your target audience. This is particularly true when it comes to events. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn can be excellent ways to promote your participation in an upcoming conference, whether your company is speaking, sponsoring or exhibiting. But why stop there?! It’s essential to continue promoting your participation during and after the event.
We’ve therefore come up with these 5 social media tips to promote your participation at the next industry event:
1. #Hashtags are Key
Many events create a unique, short hashtag to help get the discussion going. Using the specialized hashtag for the event can enhance your social buzz by allowing your followers to track the conversation around the event, and increase participation. Promote it everywhere, including your company’s website, dedicated emails, social networks, etc. The hashtag is a great way for attendees to engage with the event content, speakers, and each other.
2. Time is of the Essence
Get started now! The earlier you promote your participation at the event and use the dedicated hashtag, the greater your chances are for success. This helps to create momentum and help you reach a larger audience. If you’re trying to gain a lot of recognition at one of the larger industry conferences, it would be best to start promoting a few months in advance to ensure a wider reach.
3. Reach Out
Social media is an ideal channel for initiating conversations. If you’re participating in an event, reaching out to attendees, speakers, and prospective conference-goers can help get them excited about the conference. Whether it’s an RT (retweet), a direct message, or even sharing their content on platforms such as Linkedin, this will help you stay relevant by sharing related content around the event and initiate social buzz.
If you’re speaking at an event, engaging with other speakers via social media can help promote your participation. . The more attendees at the event, the more people that get to hear the awesome content they have to share, so it’s in the interest of all speakers to promote both the event itself and the other exciting speakers on the lineup. Therefore, when you tweet, make sure to mention other speakers with the hopes of a retweet! This can also work for event sponsorship/exhibiting.
4. Keep your Followers Updated
It’s essential that you maintain the momentum during the event by posting in real-time. Activities, photos, sponsors, special guests, speakers, agenda info, and anything else that is cool, and relevant for the conference can provide great content for Twitter feeds, and can be scheduled in advance as well as live-tweeted on the day.
5. Follow Back
Most importantly, engage with and follow-up with those who you met at the event. From the hashtag, you’ll be able to get feedback from attendees about what they liked best, least, and what they hope to see for next time (hopefully your participation is a part of this). This will increase the likelihood to return the following year and share their positive experiences with their own networks.
Don’t miss out on all the added value that can be created by utilizing the wonderful world of #social media.

Kourtney, Junior Account Assistant

Tell us a little about your background:

I graduated from Southeast Missouri State University (near my hometown of Jackson, Missouri) with degrees in both Global Cultures and Languages and Mass Communications. I’ve been in the public relations and marketing industry for almost three years now. I most recently held a position as Assistant Account Executive at The OutCast Agency in San Francisco, and prior to that, worked at Golin in Chicago. In previous positions, I’ve worked with a range of clients, from small startups to Fortune 100 companies—such as Facebook, Amazon Web Services, Box, Minted, Walmart, Corona Extra and Silk. I love writing, content strategy, and brand building with a dash of media relations.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

I was drawn to Liberty by the fact that even as a small agency, breaking into the Silicon Valley market, it has proved its worth with U.S. campaigns supporting European government programs, leading tech companies, and new players that challenge the status quo of some of the Valley’s most successful startups. This is a lucrative agency quickly making its way to the top with some of the most interesting clients I could hope to work with. Liberty is going places and I just really want to be along for the ride.

What are some of your hobbies?

I’m passionate about humanitarian efforts and languages. I speak roughly three languages— English, Spanish and ein bisschen German— and am currently learning Portuguese as a fourth. I really love to travel and learn about new places and people. Most recently, I spent New Year’s in Japan, navigating through Tokyo with a few broken Japanese phrases and snowboarding in Niseko. I’m also a member/volunteer for the United Nations Association as well as More Than Me, a nonprofit organization focused on women’s education in Liberia. I’m a big fan of outdoor activities, from hiking, running, snowboarding, rock climbing, to canoeing and camping, along with my boyfriend and our German Shepherd mix, Champ. This year I also plan to try my hand at skydiving and surfing.

What was the last book you read or song you listened to?

I am almost done reading two books;  The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson and Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th Century Practice and 21st Century Potential, by Gene Sharp.

Tell us a little about your background:

I graduated from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo in June of 2015 with a degree in Communications and Psychology. After a month-long graduation trip to Southeast Asia, I started work at The OutCast Agency where I worked with various B2B and B2C clients.

At my last agency, I was involved in a multitude of projects including: Super Bowl 2016 crisis communication strategizing, cloud computing industry and competitive landscape analysis, proactive story angle and content creation, and interactive team brainstorms.

Prior to OutCast, I interned with South San Francisco biotechnology company, Solazyme, where I supported both the public relations and marketing teams. I also spent a summer interning with the San Francisco Giants as a brand ambassador for their nonprofit organization, The San Francisco Junior Giants. The Jr. Giants were created to provide underprivileged children in the SF area with a summer baseball camp, free of charge. After a couple summers of building brands and sharing their stories, I decided to pursue public relations.

Why are you excited to support Liberty and our clients?

My experience with enterprise, business and consumer tech led me straight to Liberty where I am elated to be a part of the team.

As a lover of reading, writing and storytelling, I knew PR was the perfect career for me. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to tell a captivating yet concise story – especially in technology, for those stories are the most challenging (yet fun!) to tell. In order to convey a compelling story, the narrator must also believe in the company or product. That’s why I chose Liberty – with an impressive lineup of tech clients, I knew I’d have the time of my life!

I am honored to join the Liberty Communications team as the new Junior Account Executive in the San Francisco office. I am ready to ramp up and plan to hit the ground running. I am confident that this is going to be a fun and knowledge-rich ride. I am excited to get the ball rolling and look forward to learning all things Liberty.

What are some of your hobbies?

When I’m not storytelling, I enjoy reading, scuba diving, cooking, traveling and practicing yoga. You can find me at most SF Giants games supporting Joe Panik and Buster Posey or meditating after a long day of pitching reporters. I have recently taken up the piano and I am currently perfecting The Beatle’s infamous “Lucy in the Sky”.

What was the last book you read or song you listened to?

I just finished reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, a heartbreaking historical fiction novel about the Nazis invading France during WWII. Hannah captures WWII from the perspective of the French women in an emotional yet inspiring story.

Wow! What an exciting year 2015 has been here at Liberty Communications.

Following the success of Liberty’s San Francisco presence, we’ve been growing our US team footprint. We welcomed Rene Musech who has recently enjoyed a promotion to Account Director status after only 6 months with the Liberty team and   Kourtney Evans, who joined our junior team members. New hires meant more space so we’ve also celebrated moving into brand new San Francisco offices in the heart of the tech hub, overlooking beautiful city views offering easy access to our growing roster of West Coast based clients.

At Liberty’s London office we’ve also seen team additions welcoming Molly Andruskevicius to the junior team, Maria Loupa to the account management team and Donna Airey to our account directors. We’ve also moved our London office suite upstairs at The Plaza and now have access to additional brainstorm seating areas and a dart board no less!

We launched our brand new website in December at www.libertycomms.com offering a wealth of information about who we are and what we do. Liberty is a boutique agency with a global reach, so we’re proud to offer our clients best in breed services with a regional footprint all for exceptional value. Why choose anyone else?

Liberty has been delighted at the response to our global footprint. 2015 saw us bring on a fantastic roster of technology focused companies including GENBAND, including Kandy and the fring Alliance, Company Cue, Exact Ventures, Mobileum, Globetouch, Pryvate and Starship Technologies. Liberty’s existing clients Quickplay, CBNL and WeDo Technologies have also enjoyed Liberty’s support for the North American market and the recommendations from the industry keep coming, so we’re confident that 2016 is going to bring new and exciting client accounts for the agency as a whole. In the UK, new clients have included all of the above plus SmartIoT – a brand new trade event taking place in London in April 2016.

We’ve been delighted with our momentum from the past year and can’t wait to see what 2016 has in store for us on both sides of the Atlantic! A huge thank you to all Liberty partners, here’s to another successful year! We’ll be sure to bring an update on our activities in a few months.

In my first three-months in the Liberty Communications’ San Francisco office I’ve learned that the most important part of working in public relations all boils down to one thing: relationships.

The first relationship I had to build was one with my alarm clock. I mean, I was never the type to sleep-in until noon, but the earliest start time I’ve ever had for a job was 10am. Now, imagine waking up at 6am and having to be fully alert for two hours worth of client calls before your day even starts! Here we are, three months later, my roommates are still in awe when they see me running out of our apartment before they’ve even had breakfast. But I’ve also learned that when you’re headed to a place where you enjoy working and feel motivated, waking up early isn’t actually a chore anymore.

The second important relationship I’ve built over the last few months is with my co-workers. I’ve learned that it’s vital to open up to the people on your teams so that they feel comfortable giving you feedback, which in turn, leads to professional growth. As you continue to work together, they might also introduce you to passions you never knew existed. In my case, I’ve discovered an interest for big data and real-time communications technology.

Next, I’ve learned that the relationships built with journalists, editors and clients are amongst the most important. You thought your mom was harsh about making sure you mail those graduation photos and thank you cards? Ha! Try not answering a clients’ email in a timely fashion, or not doing your research to present relevant information that fits a reporters’ beat before sending a pitch. This is another aspect in which paying attention to detail comes into play, as it’s important to keep the relationship with a reporter in mind, not just settling for the fact that you’ve secured a briefing or a decent piece of coverage.

I’ve seen first hand that trust between a client and their PR team is what builds a great relationship. Once a client sees that we have their best interests at heart, the opportunities to show value are countless. That kind of trust only comes from transparent professional contact, exceptional communication, mutual respect and taking the time to really understand your clients’ needs.

Last, and certainly not least, is the relationship you need to develop with yourself. I’ve been extremely fortunate to join an agency and a team that is more closely-knit than I had originally expected, especially since some of my colleagues are over 5000 miles away in London. The team has helped me focus on my strengths and build on them. It’s truly a remarkable feeling to be a part of Liberty, and I love being able to support my teammates and see the direct effect of my contributions.

As I move into my fourth month working at Liberty Communications, I’ve realized just how much I’ve learned since starting. In college, you learn the concepts and practice your writing but it’s not until you put your education to use that you actually begin to learn that there’s so much more to know. These interpersonal relationships are critical to your success in the exciting – and sometimes challenging – world of tech PR.

Kourtney, Junior Account Assistant

There is no question about it; technology has carried art leaps and bounds over the past 100 years. From the progressive development of photography and film, to technologies used on the stage in theatres, the evolution of art is intrinsically linked to technological advancement. The uncertainty of the future is inevitably going to be regarded as exciting and we will never stop fantasising about what is to come, and what this will mean for the art world. One recent exhibition that opened this summer at the Tate Britain in London seems to have discovered the future of technology by travelling back in time through art.

Until now, the 4D experience has only existed in movie theaters. However now it’s time for 4D cinema to take a step back to make room for the 4D art experience. The Tate Sensorium is an incredibly small exhibition with no more than four paintings on display. The creative company Flying Objects partnered up with Tate Britain to tantalise the senses through works of famous artists; Francis Bacon, David Bomberg, Richard Hamilton and John Latham.

The former three purely focus on four senses: taste, touch, smell and sound, to catalyse the audience’s imagination and temporarily transport them back into the era of the artwork, fully immersing them in the painting. However John Latham’s piece, Full Stop, is dedicated to the fifth sense, touch.

By using ultrasound technology, Ultrahaptics and Flying Objects created a physical space which the audience can feel and hold the image portrayed in the painting by touching nothing but air. The ultrasound travels from multiple speakers and reaches the audience’s hands, vibrating to create a sensation as if they were touching the object. The ‘mid-air tactile feedback technology’ allows the audience to feel the object in the painting whilst visually studying it, enhancing the overall experience.

This exhibition has provided us with a concept that seems alien to us; to be able to touch something without touching anything at all. With this in mind, the technology has opened a new area for us to work towards and has given the world a glimpse of what we will see in the future.

Artists are constantly searching for ways to push the boundaries of expressionism and technology has provided the art world with a platform in which to progress. With this latest exhibition, it seems that this combination of art and technology may have already kick-started our ‘future’.

Looking back at London Fashion Week this September, I’ve enjoyed keeping up to date on what my favourite designers have showcased, and while it’s pouring down with rain right now, I’m already excited for Summer 2016 just so I have an excuse to buy next season’s clothes.

As a self-confessed fashion victim I look forward to this time of year; Fashion Week for me is like CES for the tech industry – brands revealing new products that are set to revolutionise consumers’ lives. This year we’ve seen tech and fashion coming together like never before and the next generation of designers have been building tech into smart products that are both fashionable and functional – yes even that smartwatch that alerts you every time you’ve gained weight.

However, tech has also prompted a change in the Fashion Week’s ethos. Fashion Week used to be a prestigious event that only the elite would be invited to. Now it’s accessible to everyone – whether you’re live streaming a show on your tablet, watching clips on Instagram or gaining backstage access via Snapchat, as designers put social media at front of mind. Burberry, for example, unveiled its Spring/Summer 2016 collection exclusively on Snapchat, effectively opening their show up to a mass audience. But while it’s great that the traditionally snobby and exclusive fashion industry is open to everyone, part of me does feel like that glitz and glamour has been tarnished slightly.

I remember the first time I attended a fashion show at Somerset House (note, I was interning, I wasn’t actually lucky enough to be invited) and the moment I stepped into that room, the buzz was electrifying and the anticipation in the air, well I can’t describe it. But, now we can watch the show in our pyjamas without really experiencing that buzz that the week truly deserves.

Ateliers spend over eight weeks and eighteen hours a day creating one garment and what keeps them going is not just receiving a nod of approval from the designer, but knowing that their masterpiece is going to be published in the fashion bibles such as, Vogue and Vanity Fair. Sadly that isn’t always the case anymore. Images of their creations are now released ahead of the show due to that ‘backstage access’ option on Snapchat and ruined by that Sepia filter. While this is intended– to make it look more ‘edgy’ this frustrates me, as ateliers are not receiving the acknowledgment they deserve. And don’t even get me started on the ‘click to buy’ option that is now available! Remember I mentioned how long designers spend on creating one garment? Well thanks to that ‘click to buy’ option the industry has created a ‘fast fashion’ culture, with high street stores producing cheap, dupe products in a matter of a day – Christian Dior would be turning in his grave right now.

This fast fashion culture makes me wonder whether brands have actually lost control of what they get to showcase during Fashion Week as a result of social media and the pressure for high-street brands to mimic designers’ ensembles, or whether they just need to adapt to technology to keep up with consumer demand to discover and share fast content, anywhere, anytime, on any device.

The fashion industry is known for its elitism and while I might never be personally invited to a show, I do like the idea of the ‘outside looking in’ element that Fashion Week once had. I’m also a bit fed up of seeing the Kardashians at every.single.fashion.show, but that’s a rant for another day (#NotKeepingUpWithTheKardashians). The question I pose today is, and wait for it… Should all forms of communication/social media be banned during Fashion Week? Who knows, maybe the designers who do decide to ban smartphones during their show would create an even bigger buzz and receive the recognition they truly deserve #winning.

Nonetheless, whether you chose to watch the action by smartphone or tablet, in your pyjamas or even on the frow (if you were lucky enough to have been invited), September’s 2015 London Fashion Week has made for some captivating viewing for audiences everywhere.

Whether you’re at the coalface of Mobile World Congress goings on as an exhibitor, operator, OEM or vendor, or work more ‘behind the scenes’ as we do as a marketing consultancy, if you work within the telecoms sector you can’t help but recognise the importance of the world’s leading mobile trade show.

This year’s event shattered all previous records as the GSMA reported that 93,000 visitors from over 200 countries attended in Barcelona.

Although we’ve been to MWC many times before, walking into the Fira Gran Via on the first day remains an overwhelming and inspiring experience! The array of colourful exhibition stands and vast flurry of people is a great reminder of just how expansive and diverse the industry is. And as an industry observer and commentator (albeit largely on clients’ behalves) it’s brilliant to see some of the year’s biggest announcements and strategies unfold around you.

The unveiling of new flagship smartphones, like the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge with its curved screen and metal case, the latest cutting edge software solutions like WeDo Technologies’ RAID Telecom, the promise of superfast 5G, smart toothbrushes of the future and IKEA furniture that can charge your gadgets and devices were just some of the standout announcements and common trends showcased this year by more than 2,000 exhibiting companies.

As a communications professional, one of the most iconic features of MWC has to be the Mobile World Live platform. Although it may have evolved from more humble beginnings as the print edition of the Show Daily to encompass its own television channel (featuring our very own Tony Poulos on the day 3 highlights panel talking about everything from wearables and “injectables” to the developing telecoms market) and a raft of digital formats, it’s still a thrill to see clients’ news there in print as you grab your copy on the way into the Fira. It was fantastic to see that WeDo Technologies was included in not one, but two editions of the Mobile World Live Show Daily this year – firstly in the day 1 edition, where the RAID Telecom news announcement was included in the ‘News in Brief’ section on page 6and then a more ‘social’ reference to WeDo’s flash parties in the ‘Show in Pictures’ round up in the day 4 edition on page 29.

Since being introduced at last year’s event, it was great to see how popular WeDo’s flash parties have become. People (us included) couldn’t get enough of the delicious custard tarts and Port on the WeDo Technologies stand – they even got a special mention in Telecoms.com’s A Week In Wireless MWC round up!

MWC is truly an event like no other. It provides an unprecedented platform for networking and making new industry contacts, grants you access to some of the most innovative technologies in the world and through panel discussions and speakerships allows you to hear the thoughts and musings of the most renowned players in the industry.

That said, our tired feet (yes, still tired even a week on) are quite glad they don’t have to walk around the Fira again for another year!

This blog post was originally published on the WeDo Technologies’ blog.

I’m so grateful that Liberty UK has extended across the pond to open an office here in the US – and that my experience living amongst the rain swept roads of foggy London can come to use as I reside amongst the fog covered hills of San Francisco in my home state of California.

As I quickly settle into my role here as a Senior Account Executive I’m realizing all the joys that come from being a California based yank working for a British firm based in London. I can’t help but feel grateful to have had four years of living in London, to help me bridge the gap between the two offices.

Here are a few of my favorite things about working on for a bi-continental company.

1. Liberty Never Sleeps

They say that the news never sleeps and just because you’ve clocked out for the day doesn’t mean the media has. Having offices in two different time-zones means we can offer our clients round the clock assistance. This is amazing for us too, because it means either offices can sleep soundly knowing that our counterparts on the other side of the world are on duty. And we need that rest too, because once we wake up we have a full day of emails to catch up on as we experience an internal “changing of the guards”.

2. English is Not Strictly English

Living in the UK for four years meant being made fun of for saying things like “elevator” or “trash can” but after living in the US for two years I’ve quickly forgotten all my favorite words. Working with Liberty let’s me use them all again! This is ace, now I’m well chuffed!

3. Gathering Around the Digital Waterhole

One of my favorite things about starting a new role is getting to know my new co-workers. With so many people abroad, I’ve not had the chance to see their faces yet, but the Liberty UK team has not let 5,351 miles (roughly 8611 kilometers) keep us apart. Upon my addition to the team I was immediately friended on Facebook and Skype by my counterparts and have enjoyed getting acquainted with everyone digitally. Additionally, myself and Scott Beaver, VP and General Manager of Liberty US, are flying across the pond next week to meet our colleagues face to face for the company Holiday party (and secret Santa) and the digital world will become physical.

I’m still pretty new but I’m really excited to be a part of this amazing agency. And one day I look forward to reflecting on my early days here and be able say “oh yeah, I’ve been with the Liberty US office since the beginning!”