Dear Ms. Pollard,
Just a few months ago, I've subscribed to cpcommunications e-newsletter, and I can't congratulate you enough on how you delve into PR complexities and turn them into an easy-to-read, afternoon-under-the-sun reads. I'm an 18-year-old Egyptian journalism student, who is very interested in the digital realms and spaces of PR agencies so as to speak, and I believe your efforts have truly been marketed on global levels.
Yours,
Nadeen
Ouch! I have blisters on my hands. On Sunday I paddled in Sydney Harbour across the heads in a kayaking challenge.
It was more fun than a challenge – in fact the whole time I was paddling I kept thinking “how lucky am I”! Gorgeous day, beautiful harbour - if I could have, I would have jumped for joy.
The challenge was to raise money for Lifestart, a group that provides support for kids who have an intellectual disability or developmental delay. Before this challenge I hadn’t heard of Lifestart.
This type of fund raising event is a great way of raising the profile of a charity. Not only from media coverage for the actual event, but also by creating word of mouth from the participants – and there were over 700 of us.
Our team was a collection of people mostly connected through twitter. (I mean – how amazing is twitter!). We are connected because we all have a sense of adventure, community and gratitude. We promoted the event through our social media networks. So it reached thousands of people who, like me, probably hadn’t heard of this charity before.
Our team – The Paddlesteamers – did the 17.5km in 2hr 26m and were 59th of 195 teams. We raised money and awareness for Lifestart – and in the process we created even stronger personal and professional connections beyond twitter.
The blisters on my hands are a very small price to pay for a sense of achievement and gratitude for having such an amazing experience. See photos of the paddle and there is still time to donate.
PS To celebrate inspirational experiences, we are giving away a copy of the The Me Myth, a personal development book written by bestselling author (and our friend) Andrew Griffiths. The book has a brilliant, inspiring message — stop looking inwards for answers and start looking outwards. Andrew’s simple yet profound message is a result of an eye-opening personal journey. The 5th person to email me will receive the book. Good luck!
The results are in. PR drives news.
Organisations employ us to influence the news. That is the role of a PR agency. We come up with story ideas and media angles and pitch them to journalists writing for publications our clients’ target audience reads.
And it seems it works.
Crikey in conjunction with the University of Technology (UTS) Sydney’s Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) investigated the role PR plays in making the media.
They analysed a five-day working week in the media finding nearly 55% of stories were driven by some form of public relations. The Daily Telegraph came out on top with 70% of stories analysed triggered by public relations and The Sydney Morning Herald had 42% of PR-driven stories for that week. Melbourne’s The Age were 47% public relations driven compared to 65% in The Herald Sun.
Of 2,203 articles analysed, more than 500 or 24% had no significant extra perspective, source or content added by reporters. So 24% of journalists in that week put their byline on stories that were republished press releases with little or no significant extra journalism work.
Interestingly, the highest levels of PR content were found in the innovation/technology sections (77%) and police rounds (71%).
I understand that perhaps people that think they are reading original researched articles in the newspaper will be up in arms about this. But this highlights two things for me:
Firstly, it highlights that many journailists critically rely on PR people to supply them with stories.
Secondly, if you don’t have a PR Agency- Get one!
Four easy steps to take to increase traffic to your website.
Just having a website isn’t enough; you need to get traffic to your site. We asked expert Inbound Marketing & Social Media Strategist, Clodagh Higgins for her top tips to increase website traffic.
In today’s online world – Google’s metrics have a major influence on making sure your website will be seen quickly by people who are looking for your business. Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
Google is the #1 search engine currently owning a whopping 65% market share in Australia, which means that 65 out of 100 Aussies go to Google to type in problems that they need solutions for.
It’s a bit like a popularity contest; if you tick all the boxes for the things that Google deems to be important, then you will be rewarded by appearing on the first page, even at the top of the first page, if you are very good!
To make sure that qualified potential clients find your website can you answer yes to these four questions?
1. Do you have a blog on your website?
2. Are you advertising your website in offline publications like specialist magazines for your industry?
3. Are your main keywords in the title page and/ or front page of your domain?
4. Do you advertise your website in Yahoo Directory every year?
If you answered no to one or more of these questions then you are missing out on online traffic and subsequently missing out on leads for your business.
Upcoming events
Networking & Self Promotion
Founder & Managing Director of Women’s Network Australia, Lynette Palmen will talk on networking and self promotion. This event will teach skills on how to make connections for business success and also give you the opportunity to put these skills into practice.
13 April 2010
Social Media Women
Women with an interest in social media are invited to attend the next meeting to be held by the newly launched formal networking group Social Media Women. Whether you are an expert or have never used social media – you will find it an inspirational and collaborative group.
13 April 2010
CeBIT Australia
CeBIT Australia is the leading business event in the Asia Pacific region for information and communications technology driving business strategy. 600 exhibitors and over 30,000 highly qualified trade visitors from overseas will be in attendance.
24-26 May 2010
XMediaLab
This event will feature a selection of expert digital media practitioners from around the world. People with original digital media ideas can connect with a network of independent creative thinkers, technology wizards, commercialisation experts, potential business partners, and potential resources.
28 May 2010
Australian Business Events Expo 2010
This event will focus on Australia’s event industry. It will showcase products and services amongst other items that will assist when it comes time to organise an event. This event is free to attend.
22-23 July 2010
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First impressions last- create the perfect elevator pitch
Whether you’re trying to gain the interest of a potential customer, trying to get the attention of a journalist or simply explain what you do, having a strong elevator pitch is your key to success.|
Measuring the success of social media tactics Social media can be very much like PR – how do you measure relationships and credibility? In PR we can measure things like the number of key messages in articles and the amount of media coverage. For social media there are many ways we can measure how successful the strategy is: |
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Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
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ME Bank Starlight Cinema is presenting the award-winning Best Of Australian Shorts programme from the famous Bondi Flickerfest to North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
Producer of ME Bank Starlight Cinema, Jill Keyte said “We’re thrilled to be showing the Best of Australian Shorts from Flickerfest this season and presenting directors, Chris Kezelos and Hannah Hilliard, and producers, Christine Kezelos and Linda Micsko.”
“They will be speaking about making and showing their films. Their panel discussion will be followed by a Q&A session,” said Ms Keyte.
Director of Flickerfest, Bronwyn Kidd said “Flickerfest received over 1600 entries in 2010 making us Australia’s largest short film competition and the only one with Academy® accreditation.”
A total of 97 short films were selected in competition and the ‘Best Of Australian Shorts programme’ represents the cream of the crop of Australian shorts, demonstrating the outstanding talent that exists in Australia’s local short film community.
“The programme has been embraced by audiences from Byron Bay to Alice Springs, along the 25-venue national tour and now we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring Flickerfest over the bridge to North Sydney for one last Sydney screening of these fabulous shorts,” said Ms Kidd.
Screening in the programme is recent Berlin Film Festival hit and winner Franswa Sharl.
This film won a top prize at the Berlinale – the Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film, continuing it’s runaway success after winning the IF Media Award for most Popular Film at Flickerfest 2010. The Crystal Bear is voted by the Youth Jury.
“We have fingers crossed for another highlight of this programme, Miracle Fish, for the film’s recent Oscar® nomination. We wish director Luke Doolan and producer Drew Bailey all the best for the ceremony on Sunday 7 March,” said Ms Kidd.
Other highlights screening in this programme include Celestial Avenue – winner of the Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film at Flickerfest 2010, and IF Award-winning Ralph, directed by much- loved Australian actress Deborah Mailman.
Gate opens at 6.30pm.
Meet the Filmmakers: 7.00-7.45pm
Films commence at 8.00pm
For event details visit http://www.mebankStarlightCinema.com.au and check out the Events page. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Gate of North Sydney Oval on Sunday 14 March.
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BEST OF AUSTRALIAN SHORTS full programme:
ZERO
Australia/13min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Christopher Kezelos
PROD: Christine Kezelos
In a world that judges people by their number ZERO faces constant prejudice and persecution. He walks a lonely path until a chance encounter changes his life forever: He meets a female zero. Together they prove that through determination courage and love... nothing can be truly something.
Winner Gold Award - Australian Cinematography Society 2009
Australian premiere Flickerfest 2010
RALPH
Australia/10min/Video/2009
DIR: Deborah Mailman
WRI: Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair
PROD: Jessie Mangum
For Maddie, it will take more than just dreaming about the Karate Kid, to survive school, it will take a friend.
Best Short Film - IF Awards, 2009; Message Sticks indigenous Film Festival
BOXER
Australia/12min/Video/2008
WRI/DIR: Michael Latham
PROD: Lester Francois
With the speed and grace of a middle middle-aged man, Gary navigates his golf buggy through a giant warehouse only to encounter a defiantly misplaced box. Gary’s desire to organise and neatly shelve the box leads him to discover that there is something in the box... and it’s alive.
Nominated Best Short Film Dendy Awards - Sydney Film Festival 2009; Accelerator Program - Melbourne Film Festival 2009
MIRACLE FISH
Australia/18min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Luke Doolan
PROD: Drew Bailey
8 year-old Joe has a Birthday he will never forget. After friends tease him he sneaks off to the sick bay wishing everyone in the world would go away. He wakes up to find his dream may have become a reality.
Academy® Award Nomination 2010; Movie Extra Special Jury Award & Miller Australia Award for Best Cinematography, Flickerfest 2010; Sundance Film Festival 2009; Winner Youth Jury Prize, LA Award - Aspen International Film Festival 2009; Dendy Award for Best Live Action Short 2009; Craft Award + SBS Television Award - St Kilda Film Festival 2009; AFI Award for Best Short Film 2009
CELESTIAL AVENUE
Australia/20min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR: Colin & Cameron Cairnes
PROD: Scott Alexander
Kath has been looking for love in all the wrong places. Then she finds herself in Chinatown. In the middle of a less than successful blind date she overhears the soulful Cantonese singing of kitchen-hand Ah Gong. Kath is intrigued. But is there more to Ah Gong than meets the eye? Celestial Avenue is an offbeat tale‚ part karaoke video part cross-cultural comedy about love personal reinvention and startled pigeon.
Madman Award for Best Australian Short Film - Flickerfest 2010; Talent Assist Award - SPAA 2009; Grand Prize – Rhode Island International Film Festival
Australian Premiere Flickerfest 2010
THE NOT NOT-SO SO-GREAT EUGENE GREEN
Australia/13min/Video/20 2009 09
DIR: Michael Hill
WRI: Michael Hill and Jamie Messenger
PROD: Melanie Brunt
Eugene Green is a strange elderly man with a simple dream: to entertain his world through the art of vocal sound effects. Unfortunately he has an annoyingly small repertoire.
Sydney Film Festival 2009; Revelation Perth International Film Festival 2009; Nominated for Best Animation Short - AFI Awards 2009
CROSSROAD
Australia/8min/Video/2008
WRI:Michael Hoath
DIR/PRO: Maziar Lahooti
A nobody becomes a local hero when he rescues two kids from a car wreck.
Western Australian Screen Awards 2009
TWO MEN
Australia/4min/Video/2009
WRI/DIR/PROD: Dominic Allen
One man sees another man running towards him and ponders his motives.
Australian Dendy Short Film Finalist 2009; Best Shorts Winner - MIFF 2009
FRANSWA SHARL
Australia/14min/35mm/2009
DIR: Hannah Hilliard
WRI: Hannah Hilliard & Greg Logan
PROD: Linda Micsko
Twelve-year old Greg has inherited his father’s competitive streak. On a family holiday to Fiji they have different ideas about where Greg should focus his talents. When his creative pursuits fail to amuse his father Greg sets out to win him back. Based on a true story.
World Premiere & IF Media Award for Most Popular Film, Flickerfest 2010; Crystal Bear – Berlin International Film Festival 2010
Duration: 112 minutes
Brainstorm your way to creativity
In PR, or any business for that matter, we are constantly looking for new ideas, new angles, new products and new ways to service clients, because creativity gives businesses an edge. It keeps things innovative, interesting and drives business forward. Without creativity we’d be seeing and hearing the same old thing.
So what can we do to expand our creative thinking? There are a number of different techniques and the most common approach is brainstorming. Our clients find our brainstorming sessions for PR and social media strategy very enlightening.
The purpose of brainstorming is to write down ideas and solutions in a structured or unstructured way to find out some possible options. It’s a way for people to stimulate each other’s creativity and produce an array of ideas. If a brainstorming session is with a group make sure you have a leader and a scribe.
Here are some rules to guide you through a brainstorming session:
Do not criticise
This is important if you want your team to speak up. A team member may not share any more ideas if their first idea is ridiculed in front of others. Take on each idea and discuss the more practical ones later. Encourage a positive and uncritical attitude among the group members.
Quantity is key
The more ideas you have, the more you can work from and the broader your imagination can span.
Build on ideas presented
The ideas being shared in the brainstorming session can arouse more ideas. Modifying, combining or elaborating ideas will lead to more specific solutions. This can take the idea into a new direction or simply make the original idea better.
Want to know more techniques to drive creativity in your organisation? Read the full story in Public Relations Sydney.
Taking the first step into social media
More and more businesses are using social media because it gives them another avenue to connect with customers. There are so many social media applications to choose from, but with all the options, how do you determine which ones best suits your business? Here are a few questions to answer and points to think about while creating your social media strategy.Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
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Recently I have been helping a lovely friend of mine, Margaret Carey, with setting up her newsletter and blog. She is off to East Timor volunteering her time in an NGO for a month or so. While she is away she asked if I could help with her next newsletter. That’s easy. The software we used sits in the cloud. Not the raining type of cloud. The cloud refers to the ability to use software and data on the internet instead of on your hard drive.
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So why PR?
I often get asked why PR? What can PR do for my business that advertising or marketing can’t. Whether you run a small or large business, have a start-up company, or simply expanding into a new country or geographical area, PR is an important tool for you.
Here is what I think…
Credibility – Public relations holds a powerful position in the communications suite. One of the major impacts of PR is media relations, which assists you in achieving editorial coverage. People in your target market may see editorial as an independent and objective evaluation of your company.
Due to the perceived objectivity of editorial coverage, PR is said to hold more credibility than other forms of marketing communication. Editorial coverage is trusted more than running an advertisement.
Cost Effectiveness – Public relations can be less expensive than other forms of paid communication, even if you hire an external public relations agency rather than performing this task in-house. Whilst you are paying for the services of a PR specialist, what you are achieving in the way of media coverage and changes in public perception may have otherwise cost you much more.
So what are the Twitter rules?
I was interviewed for TechMarketing magazine about the key rules for using Twitter, and I thought I would share it with you.
What would be your rules for your clients as to how to use Twitter?
Twitter is immediate and permanent. (Technically, you can delete a tweet but it hangs around). The key rule I tell my staff and clients is to only tweet something you will be happy to see on the internet now and in the future.
Twitter needs to be credible so obviously only tweet information that assists to build credibility of the brand and the organisation. If it doesn’t, then don’t tweet it.
The role of Twitter is to create relationships with your followers (and target audience) and relationships based on public slanging matches will not last. So if you are having a bad day – log out of twitter or hand it over to a colleague.
What are some of the advantages for PRs when it comes to using Twitter on behalf of their clients? What are some of the pitfalls?
We tweet and blog for our clients and for organisations that don’t have the in house expertise or resources, this works well.
Although transparency is important for some twitter accounts, take for example Kevin Rudd’s account – we want to know if he or one of his staff is tweeting. For most companies this isn’t necessary. It’s the quality of the tweets that build followers rather than who is doing the tweeting.
Quality is key and to figure out how to get that you need to develop a strategy. Asking what type of information would my followers want to read? How can we drive followers to the Facebook fan page? How personal do we go? etc
How would you advise a client to implement damage control in the event of a social media stuff-up?
Because social media is immediate, you need to be immediate in your response. Join in the conversation immediately. Be honest and explain the situation and what you are doing to fix it. Say you are listening – and actually listen – and act on the complaints. Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in: LAN Brazilian Festa at Starlight Cinema The LAN Brazilian Festa returns for a second year to ME Bank Starlight Cinema, transforming North Sydney Oval into a mini Brazil. Starting at 4.00pm with everyone’s favourite Brazilian food, music, caipirinhas from the Sagatiba bar, football clinics and games, frescoball, kid’s activities, dance workshop and lots of fun. Film commences at sundown 28 February 2010 PRIA NSW is offering practitioners a fantastic opportunity to gain a detailed insight into the strategies behind last year’s most outstanding campaigns at a showcase event. 2 March 2010 Ignite Sydney Changingtools.com runs a course that aims to conquer the anxious, terrified and frustrated feelings associated with public speaking. This course will help you overcome any fear of public speaking. 15 March 2010 Relay for Life is a unique, overnight fundraising event! The three aims of the event are to celebrate survivors and carers of cancer; remember those lost to cancer; and to pledge a plan to make a change to fight cancer! 27- 28 March 2010
Do not go quiet, do not say no comment, let your followers know how often and when to expect a response or communication from you.
Upcoming events
Award Winning PR Case Studies Breakfast
Here some great speeches including Claire Moffat discussing how to connect to women using marketing and social media. Each speaker has 5 minutes on stage with 20 slides which rotate automatically after 15 seconds.
2 March 2010
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