Waggener Edstrom PR Agency Leader Marianne Allison on Managing Microsoft’s Public Relations

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Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer of public relations firm Waggener Edstrom Worldwide Marianne Allison on the ins and outs of managing the Microsoft account.  

Marianne Allison is the Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer for Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, a PR firm that provides public relations services using innovative communication methods for global organizations impacted by change.

As CIO, Marianne is responsible for the PR Firm’s intellectual property strategy and promoting ideas and innovation internally through cultural and educational initiatives.

She was integral to the development and design of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide flagship Innovation CommunicationSM system, which helped ground the agency’s reputation for deep and substantive work in public relations.

Show Notes:

3:20 – PR consultant Allison describes her role at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide. 4:10 – Allison on how she became the Chief Innovation Officer.

5:23 – Public relations consultancy leader Allison explains how she advise clients on promoting early adoption of new, innovative products and services.

6:59 – Allison reveals the public relations consulting challenge of launching a new technologies.

8:44 – Allison on how public relations consultants accelerate the adoption of new technologies.

10:02 – Allison elaborates on steps to alleviating consumer anxiety toward new technologies and consumer electronics.

10:57 – Allison gives examples of how consumer dissent can positively impact product innovation.

13:53 – Allison on the importance of building trust through good public relations when introducing new technology products and services.

16:44 – Allison talks about whether philanthropic endeavors as a public relations tactic can work to build consumer confidence in new technology.

18:54 – Allison on the PR launch campaign for Microsoft Vista and the software giant’s future.

22:05 – End

Photo by Robert Scoble