PR and marketing

Rural and regional Australians are unprepared for the impact a faster internet service will have on their businesses and everyday lives when the National Broadband Network (NBN) is introduced – with many seeming confused about what the changes will mean for them.

These are the findings of a recent survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians conducted by FatCow.com.au, an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. The survey revealed confusion over the NBN with contradictory opinions surfacing about whether any impact will even be noticeable, especially to their businesses.

Over a third of rural and regional business owners said they would not take advantage of the NBN to promote their business even though over half of all the business owners surveyed claim to be found by customers via the internet.

Commercial Manager for FatCow.com.au, Paul Ryan, said, “Regional and rural Australians don’t seem to understand the incredible potential of the NBN. Many business owners don’t believe their customer numbers will increase and the majority believes competition will stay the same, which shows a real lack of education about what the NBN can actually lead to.”

When business owners were asked about the NBN and possible increases in competition and customer numbers and orders:
· Almost 54 percent stated they did not think their business would be negatively impacted by customers buying products from overseas online stores.
· 71 percent did not believe the NBN would create more competition for their business.
· Over half believed the NBN would not help to deliver more customers or orders.

Although more than 70 per cent believe owning a business website is important and 85 per cent will continue to engage online, 60 per cent of regional and rural Australians are worried about the cost of the NBN.

“The NBN will bring fantastic opportunities for all regional and rural Australians. It will bring forth the potential for increased revenue in business, faster internet which will improve productivity and a much wider scope for business services. Yet many Australians are unwilling to pay for it,” said Mr Ryan.

While almost 96 per cent of non business owners believed the internet was a viable channel for buying and selling agricultural products online, 72 per cent would not consider starting a business regardless of faster internet access.

Rural and regional Australians were surveyed about the effects of major issues on their town including the economy, environmental issues and cost of resources.

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For more information please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
P: 02 9922 1063

About FatCow.com.au and the survey
FatCow.com.au is an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, FatCow.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of August, September and beginning of October, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.
 www.fatcow.com.au

The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace: Assessing Progress, Issues and Gaps symposium will be held at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management November 24 -25, 2011.

It will be run by Macquarie University’s Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing and Management and the Centre for Workforce Futures, in collaboration with the Diversity Group (University of Sydney) and Hudson. It will focus specifically on gender and cultural diversity.

Scholars from Macquarie, Sydney and NSW universities will provide brief overviews of their research on issues relating to women, migrants and cultural diversity and engage in panel discussions of the issues raised by their work.

Head of the Department of Marketing and Management, Professor Lucy Taksa said they were fortunate to have a world leading expert as part of the event, “Professor Ozbilgin is an expert in diversity and management and we are very much looking forward to able to share and discuss ideas with all involved.”

“This symposium will reflect on progress, issues and gaps in relation to equity, diversity and inclusion in workplaces and will focus on issues relating to gender and culture using both research and organisational perspectives and practices.”

There will also be other presenters from Macquarie University, the University of Sydney, University of Technology Sydney and the University of NSW. There will be a closing discussion held in the last hour of each day, covering the topics brought up through each presentation.

Details:
Date: 24 November 2011, 9am - 4pm and November 25 2011, 9am - 5pm
Where: Macquarie Graduate School of Management, 99 Talavera Rd, North Ryde
Cost: Free
http://www.mm.mq.edu.au/research/two_day_symposium

Christmas is on its way and Social Media Women are celebrating the end of another fantastic year filled with a range of amazing speakers who have contributed to the success of Social Media Women.

As a thank you to everyone who has attended and contributed to our Social Media Women events we would like to invite you to help us to celebrate its success on the last Social Media Women night for 2011.

Feel free to join us anytime from 7pm on the 13th December at The Oxford Street Hotel. We would love to see you there!

Register now for our December event at http://socialmediawomendecember.eventbrite.com

Date:    Tuesday 13 December 2011

Time:    7:00pm-8:30pm

Venue:  The Supper Club at the Oxford Hotel, 134 Oxford St, Darlinghurst (Enter the Oxford St side of the hotel and walk up the stairs. Metered parking is a few steps away on Bourke St, $1.10 per hour)

Meet amazing women as well as discussing the ever changing world of social media.

The open discussion about social media is one of the best parts of the event. So bring your social media questions for the group to answer.

GOLD COAST, Australia (16 November, 2011) – The Hilton Surfers Paradise complex on Queensland's Gold Coast will be officially launched tonight and is central in the revitalisation of the Hilton portfolio in Queensland and Hilton’s expansion in Australasia.

Development in the region has been an important source of expansion for Hilton over the past decade, and the revitalisation of the Hilton brand in Queensland has been a major part of the company’s growth plans.

Vice President Operations Hilton Worldwide Australasia, Ashley Spencer said, “development in Queensland has been central to our growth strategy across Australasia, our new flagship property in Surfers Paradise is the first new upper upscale international hotel to be built on the Gold Coast in over 10 years.”

While the prevailing view is that Surfers Paradise is a predominantly leisure market, the hotel has been multipurpose built with growth in business travel in mind.

The Gold Coast caters to half of the business travel expenditure in Queensland, with the new Hilton Surfers Paradise being an instrumental addition to support growth in this market.

“About half of the investment spent on business travel in Queensland is on the Gold Coast, and this is only expected to rise following the introduction of new business class flights and returning business confidence,” said Mr Spencer.

Initially the project stalled, but was re-commenced in 2009 when ANZ and Brookfield Multiplex put together a financing and development management structure that saw the recommencement of the $700 million project, including a retail complex, apartments as well as a Hilton managed hotel.

Brookfield Multiplex Australasia managing director George Kostas said the innovative, world-class design of Hilton Surfers Paradise catered for a wide range of markets.

“Hilton Surfers Paradise is one of the first projects of its kind of this scale in Australia. It’s a landmark for the Gold Coast, featuring both a dedicated hotel and residences with access to hotel services,” he said.

“We have achieved more than $430 million of apartment sales in a particularly tough market and, as a result, we believe Hilton Surfers Paradise will be a catalyst for more of this style of development across Australia, catering to visitors, residents and investors alike.

“The development was delivered ahead of time and on budget, providing two new signature towers on the Gold Coast skyline and a significant boost for its economy. It will continue to have a positive impact on the community well into the future.”

Stage one, Boulevard Tower opened last December, and the second and final stage, Orchid Tower opened this month. The 32 and 57 level properties include a signature restaurant by Luke Mangan, Salt Grill, executive lounge, fitness centre, pool and the highly anticipated eforea: Spa.

Hilton Surfers Paradise General Manager David Kelly said the complex had been specifically designed in response to the demand for more flexible and spacious holiday options in the area.

“This is an absolutely striking addition to our portfolio, with state of the art design, optimised technology and impeccable service standards for which our company is founded on,” said Mr Kelly.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter said the Hilton Surfers Paradise was an instant icon on the Surfers Paradise stage.

“What a spectacular addition to the famous Surfers Paradise experience, this is an iconic venue with a world class offering and a globally renowned brand right in the revitalised heart of Australia’s most popular tourist destination.”

Catering to both business and leisure travel markets, the two towers feature a combined 410 one, two and three bedroom residences, and a 169 room Hilton hotel. Purchasers of the residential apartments also have the option of placing them under the management of the Hilton.

About Hilton Surfers Paradise
Hilton Surfers Paradise is the first leisure-focused hotel and residences from Hilton Hotels & Resorts in Australia. It is also the first global upscale hotel to be built on the Gold Coast since 2000. The development consists of two spectacular curved towers rising above the city skyline, with the Boulevard Tower opening its doors to both residents and guests in late 2010 and the Orchid Tower which welcomed its first guests in September 2011. The complete project offers Hilton guests a combination of 250 one, two and three bedroom residences, and 169 guest rooms and suites.

About Hilton Hotels & Resorts
One of the most recognized names in the industry, Hilton Hotels & Resorts stands as the stylish, forward thinking global leader in hospitality. From inaugural balls and Hollywood award galas to business events and days to remember, Hilton is where the world makes history, closes the deal, toasts special occasions and gets away from it all. The flagship brand of Hilton Worldwide continues to build upon its legacy of innovation by developing products and services to meet the needs of tomorrow's savvy global travelers while more than 144,000 Team Members shape experiences in which every guest feels cared for, valued and respected. Today, the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio includes more than 540 hotels in 78 countries and the brand remains synonymous with "hotel." Access the latest Hilton news at www.hiltonglobalmediacenter.com or begin your journey at www.hilton.com. Social media users can engage with Hilton at www.twitter.com/hiltononline, www.facebook.com/hilton and www.youtube.com/hilton. Hilton Hotels & Resorts is one of Hilton Worldwide’s ten market-leading brands. 

About Hilton Worldwide
Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 93 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,750 hotels and timeshare properties, with 615,000 rooms in 85 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. For more information about the company, visit www.HiltonWorldwide.com or connect with Hilton Worldwide at www.HiltonWorldwide.com/Media.

About Brookfield Multiplex
Brookfield Multiplex is a leader in global contracting and development management – we build, engineer and maintain property and infrastructure assets.
Delivering major projects on behalf of landowners across Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Canada, Brookfield Multiplex is one of the few international contracting businesses that offer expertise across the entire design, development and construction life cycle of a project. 
Brookfield Multiplex was established in Australia in 1962 and over nearly five decades Brookfield Multiplex has completed more than 723 projects across the globe with a combined value of AUD$ 47.7 billion.
The Brookfield Multiplex contracting business currently has an AUD$ 8.1 billion global workbook across 38 projects spanning a variety of sectors including residential, entertainment, health, retail, commercial and education.
Brookfield Multiplex is known for its industry expertise and award-winning approach having won over 410 awards for innovation and setting standards across all sectors.

Contact:          
Charlotte Seymour
Hilton Worldwide
+61 447 710 099           
charlotte.seymour@hilton.com

CP Communications
+61 2 9922 1063
catriona@cpcommunications.com.au

Aprimo today announced the appointment of Jason Bargent as Sales Director for Aprimo Australia and New Zealand.

In this position Mr Bargent will be responsible for growing the Aprimo business within the Australia and New Zealand regions. He will be the driving force behind Aprimo, leading the Australia and New Zealand teams in helping many more businesses in the region to grow and enhance their marketing activities.

“As B2B and B2C businesses in this region continue to look for new ways to grow and be more competitive, I’m excited to be joining Aprimo, an industry leader in understanding the radical changes happening within marketing and sales teams,” Mr Bargent said.

Mr Bargent brings with him more than 19 years experience in business applications, technology sales and consulting experience across all industry sectors within the USA, UK, Europe and Asia Pacific. “I believe in the value that an integrated marketing platform provides to all aspects of a business to drive growth into new channels whilst focusing on the investment and alignment to return.”

“As a sales leader accountable for growth, Jason is well aware of the challenges facing Aprimo’s customer base,” Says Dennis Samuel, Vice President of Aprimo Asia Pacific and Japan. “We strongly believe his expertise and leadership skills will further strengthen the Aprimo Australia and New Zealand teams.”

Prior to Aprimo, Mr Bargent held the position of Victorian State Manager for Optus Business, responsible for driving the growth and customer satisfaction of the communications and cloud offerings within the Business sector of Optus in Victoria.

Mr Bargent has worked across several companies in Australia and New Zealand, including MYOB, Oracle’s Technology Consulting Group, Lotus Development and IBM.

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For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9922 1063

About Aprimo
Aprimo, a Teradata company, is a leading global provider of marketing software and services that enhance the productivity and performance of marketing organisations. Through the use of Aprimo’s Integrated Marketing Management (IMM) software for B2B and B2C, marketers can integrate their organisations, get control of budget and spends, eliminate internal silos with streamlined workflows, and execute innovative multi-channel campaigns to drive measurable return on investment. Hundreds of thousands of marketers trust Aprimo to revolutionise their marketing. Aprimo customers include over one third of Fortune 100 companies, and nearly one quarter of Global 100 companies. Founded in 1998, Aprimo is headquartered in Indianapolis with offices worldwide. For more information, call + 61 (0)2 9951 8015 or visit www.aprimo.com.

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), Aprimo’s parent company, is the world's leader in data warehousing and integrated marketing management through its database software, enterprise data warehousing, data warehouse appliances, and enterprise analytics. Teradata acquired Aprimo in January 2011. For more information, visit www.teradata.com.

On the weekend I attended the launch of ln Situ, an exhibition featuring traditional sculptural works and contemporary installations in shops along Military Road in Mosman.

The exhibition is billed as “Australia’s newest art trail with over sixty works by Australia’s leading sculptors and installation artists.”

One of my fibre sculptures is featured in the exhibition and when I was listening to the speeches it occurred to me that Mosman Council is using this as a tactic to create community as well as drive visitors to the area.

This year it is part of a bigger event called Festival of Mosman with the tagline as “An unmissable Sydney experience”. Obviously Mosman isn’t Bondi, but Mosman Council is aiming to draw in crowds from outside the area like Sculpture by The Sea. It’s a great idea.

The sculptures are in shops so it’s like taking art to the people, and hoping they shop while they are there!

They using Twitter, Facebook and Youtube to promote the event and build online engagement. When I was installing my sculpture a videographer shot footage for the Youtube channel and was taking photos for the Facebook page.

They have also used an augmented reality program,Layar, which recognises real world objects and display digital AR experiences on top of them using a smartphone.

Its early days for their social media engagement, but it’s good to see a council taking steps to use social media and art to engage their community.

I hope you enjoy reading this newsletter.

Outsourcing your social media campaign
So you want to start up a social media campaign for your business but don’t know where to begin? If you decide its best for your business to work with an expert there are a few things you need to think about.

Do your research before picking a company. Different companies work within different sectors, such as lifestyle and retail, and can be experts in different fields.

Set targets: Know what you want out of the social media campaign and set realistic targets. This can be a certain amount of engagement, comments on a blog or number of customers taking up an offer from a social media site.

Communicate with the company to make sure you are both on the same page. Social media is an ongoing, daily activity and you want to make sure you both have the same idea when it comes to the message and public persona you want to showcase. 

Read the article on CP Communications News.    

  
How to determine your target audience
Your target audience are the individuals, groups and communities that have influence and decision making power over your brands’ products or services. They are the ones you are trying to attract and sell to – they are the people want to communicate with.

The key is to dedicate time to really refine your audience before you start ‘talking’ to them. To clarify your target audiences answer these questions:

• Who needs to hear your message? Who are the people that would be interested in hearing and learning about what you have to offer them?
• Who are the influencers? All target audiences have people who have great influence over their decisions. They can be family members, friends, authoritative figures such as doctors and even the media.
• Who must be moved to action? Who are the targets that actually follow through with the purchase?
• Who has the greatest impact on the business’s outcome? Who are the people who will affect whether you fail or succeed?

Once you have researched and determined your target audience, you can now begin to create strategies, messages and tactics that are tailored to your target audiences needs, wants and values.

Read the article on the Public Relations Sydney blog.    

  
Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:

Social Media Women: Website and Ecommerce: Set- up and beyond - Tips, trends and ideas with Nancy Georges
Websites and Online Stores are essential for EVERY business. Integrating the website to your social media & offline activity is as important as the site itself! Nancy will discuss her own experiences with a wide range of products and services, and will give you the information to get you started and to define the world that we are now operating in.
8 November – Sydney, NSW

Magazine Week
Magazine Week is a full week of events that will bring all segments of the magazine publishing industry together to learn and share the latest information on business and technology trends. Featuring international and local industry experts and case studies, the Magazine Week conference will offer guidance on how to do better business.
9 November - Sydney, NSW

Google Analytics Seminars for Success
Learn Google's own best practices directly from a Google Analytics Certified Trainer. Ensure the accuracy of your website visitor data and learn how to use Google Analytics to measure the performance of your website and online marketing results. The seminar is great for people involved in marketing, advertising, public relations, e-commerce, business development or web management.
9, 10 and 11 November - Melbourne, Vic

ADMA Digital Day
Marketing is evolving more rapidly than ever before as technology empowers customers and marketers across the globe. Digital Day brings you some of the world’s most successful digital marketers from leading brands to help you improve marketing efficiency and effectiveness through deeper insights, enhanced capability and the implementation of new platforms and technologies.
14 November - Melbourne, Vic

Social Media and Communications Summit
The Social Media and Communications Summit brings together Australia's leading social media intelligence, communications, Innovation, generation and trend practitioners to share industry insights with your organisation. Four of Australia's thought leaders on social media and digital communication will power your organisation with a SWOT analysis of your social media strategy.
15 November - Sydney, NSW

The 5 Pillars of Web Engagement Management Revealed
Online Engagement Management is the new idea in web publishing – it’s no longer enough to simply publish material and hope your customer gets the right message. Join Mammoth Media, and web veteran Greg Baxter from Sitecore, for a journey through the new paradigm, and understand the power behind the “connected customer”.
18 November - Brisbane, Qld   

As the Carbon Tax has been passed through the lower house, regional Australians voice their opinions and concerns about what it may bring for the future of their businesses and everyday lives.

The 2011 FatCow.com.au Industry Survey has revealed that 78 percent of regional Australian business and non-business owners do not support the carbon tax, with 65 per cent stating that they do not believe the Carbon Tax will reduce carbon emissions. Considerable doubt seems to exist even amongst the minority group of Carbon Tax supporters (22 percent) of which 46 percent reported uncertainty about whether the Carbon Tax could reduce carbon emissions.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians, conducted by FatCow.com.au, an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors, investigated the trends and issues surrounding rural and regional Australians.

The survey showed that when the attitudes of rural business owners and non business owners were compared, business owners were the most cynical towards the Carbon Tax. Over 80 percent of rural business owners stated that they would not support the Carbon Tax and 87 per cent showed they were concerned about the implications for their business.

Group Sales Manager for FatCow.com.au, Paul Ryan said, “Many regional and rural Australians have placed a negative connotation upon the Carbon Tax, stating that it won’t encourage them to reduce their carbon emissions – yet most are concerned about environmental issues for the future.”

Some comparisons of business and non-business owners included:
· 82 per cent of business owners stated they did not support the Carbon Tax as opposed to 72 percent of non-business owners.
· Almost 70 per cent of business owners do not think the Carbon Tax will reduce carbon emissions as opposed to 58 percent of non-business owners.
· 58 percent of business owners would not switch to alternate energy sources due to the Carbon tax as opposed to the 45 percent of non-business owners.

Regional Australians are also showing some confusion around what effect the tax will have - with many having contradictory thoughts about the use of alternative energy sources.

As a contradiction to these negative Carbon Tax responses, rural business owners are the most willing to reduce pollution and emissions and make an effort to switch to alternative energy sources.

“We can see that most of regional and rural Australians are concerned about climate change and are doing what they can to support environmental sustainability,” Mr Ryan said. “The Carbon Tax is just another way Australians can support the effort to reduce global warming.”

While majority of those surveyed would not use alternative energy sources due to the Carbon Tax, over 92 per cent state they are already making an effort to reduce pollution and carbon emissions.

Rural and regional Australians were surveyed about the effects of major issues on their town including the economy, environmental issues and cost of resources.

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For further information or interviews please contact:
Lauren Milne
CP Communications
Phone: 02 9922 1063

About FatCow.com.au and the survey
FatCow.com.au is an online business directory servicing the Australian farming, agricultural and horticultural sectors. Owned and operated by Catch, an online division of Reed Business Information Australia, FatCow.com.au provides a comprehensive central online source containing the latest product, company and industry news updates.

The survey of 1030 rural and regional Australians over the age of 18 years was carried out over the months of August, September and beginning of October, covering all states and territories of Australia and representing all demographics.
 www.fatcow.com.au

• One of Sydney’s most respected PR Agencies
• Learn from one of the best!
• Get noticed in a small team!

The opportunity exists for a new graduate ideally with some PR Agency experience to get their foot in the PR door!

Pioneers in PR and social media strategies, we’re one of Sydney’s most respected and innovative boutique PR agencies.

People who work with us describe us as “absolute professionals” who are “always on the lookout for new ideas and points of difference.” We work in a proactive way, so our clients can achieve the exposure that’s right for their business goals. Many have remained loyal for almost ten years.

We’re looking for a PR Coordinator who will be a key team member and:

• Assist with PR and social media campaigns
• Coordinate media monitoring
• Responsible for the Agency’s social media
• Assist with media liaison and story ideas
• Assist with writing so much more than just boring media releases!

You will have:

• Completed degree qualifications in Public Relations, Journalism, Business Marketing/Advertising, or a related field
• High level of written and verbal communication
• High level of computer literacy, including the ability to research online, learn how to use new online tools and be proficient in all Microsoft Office applications
• Be flexible, adaptable and ready to learn quickly 

In return we can offer you a fun place to work with a team of like-minded professionals plus the creative stimulation that comes from working with one of the most highly regarded names in the business.

To find out more about what makes us tick read our blog Public Relations Sydney and read our client testimonials on the CP Communications Website  

Catriona Pollard, CP Communications, info(at)cpcommunications(dot)com(dot)au