New edition of ‘Ignition’ out now
The latest issue of our newsletter, Ignition, is out now. You can read it here. Email trina@ignitepr.com.au if you want to be added to our mailing list.
How to run a brilliant brainstorm
“I don’t have a creative bone in my body” is something we’ve heard a few times. Luckily not in the office, as being creative and having good ideas are all part of a PR professional’s role. But we believe that everyone can have great ideas, it just takes some facilitating in the form of a ‘brainstorm’ or ‘thought shower’ as the politically-correct police are calling it (apparently ‘brainstorm’ might affect epileptics).
Brainstorms are when a group of people gets together to come up with loads of ideas to solve a particular problem. The problem can be anything from “what can X company do next year to generate publicity?” to “what shall we call this event for client Y?” to “what new products can we develop?” – basically, anything. The aim of a brainstorm is to come up with as many different ideas as possible, some way out of leftfield, some things that have been tried before, and some that are just pure original brilliance, to come up with the best possible solution.
In PR and the marketing industry in general it’s important to think differently and come up with great ideas and new ways of doing things. We regularly brainstorm for clients and potential clients and even ourselves. But a word of warning, don’t just be creative for creative’s sake – the solution must be right for the problem and also the client. Here are our top five tips for effective brainstorming.
1) Establish an atmosphere for creativity
Select the room for the brainstorm, sometimes it’s good to get outside or away from the norm. Make sure it’s prepared and a relaxing place to be – play some music, have some refreshments available, make sure there are plenty of coloured pens and pencils, flip charts, sticky notes, paper, etc. Have any props you might need ready to hand. Ensure that it is decided beforehand who will document all the ideas – consider recording the brainstorm so that no ideas are lost. Make sure you have an agenda for the brainstorm and make sure you set a time limit from the outset so people know how long they need to commit to.
Consider doing some warm up exercises for five to ten minutes to create a more relaxed atmosphere and get people thinking laterally, for example:
Word association game: Everyone stand up in a circle facing inwards. Have a ball. The first person with the ball throws the ball to someone else in the circle whilst saying a word, e.g. carrot. The second person who receives the ball says a word that instantly comes into their head associated with the first person’s word, e.g. orange, whilst throwing the ball to the third person. And so on.
One word story-maker: Go round the group creating a story one word at a time, have signals that change the direction of the story, e.g. the story might be travelling clockwise round a group of people but by putting your hand up you can change the direction to be anti-clockwise. See whether you can actually create something coherent.
2) No idea is a bad idea – set the ground rules
If possible, give the participants the brief before the brainstorm so they can come with some ideas already. But make sure you just give an introduction to the problem, don’t plant any ideas to limit the thinking.
It’s important for the person chairing the brainstorm to establish the rules and manage the whole process, including reinforcing the rules.
BRAINSTORM RULES
- Anything goes – don’t judge ideas, they can be possible solutions but they may also be something that stimulates another idea from someone else in the group, so no idea is a bad idea, every idea is equally important and valid
- Encourage people to think as broadly and wildly as possible
- It’s all about quantity not quality at this stage – you want as many ideas as possible
- Encourage laughter and chat, but don’t allow criticism. And encourage everyone – don’t let one or two people dominate
- Stay focused on the problem/ topic
3) Use different techniques
During the brainstorm you can just present people with the problem and get them to come up with ideas, but often there needs to be more structure to a session. There are many different tools and techniques to use.
Six thinking hats: Developed by physician, author and inventor Edward de Bono, this technique advocates that everyone has to think a particular way at the same time. There are six different ‘states’ of mind – the six thinking hats – that have been assigned a colour. Switching mind state can be done literally or metaphorically by switching hat colour.
| WHITE | Information – what information do you know, what information do you need? |
| RED | Emotions – what’s your hunch or feeling about something (without justification) |
| BLACK | Bad points judgement – why might something not work, use logic to identify barriers to success |
| YELLOW | Good points judgement – why something will work, use logic to identify benefits, why something might work |
| GREEN | Creativity – what are the possibilities, the alternatives, follow thoughts to new ideas |
| BLUE | Thinking – manage your thinking |
All of these thinking hats are supposed to help everyone in a particular thinking hat stage think more deeply. They present problems and solutions about the ideas you might come up with.
Opposites: what is the worst possible solution to the problem? If you can think of the worst outcome, this may facilitate thinking about the best!
Flash cards: you know the children’s ABC flash cards with a letter and a picture of something? Well they’re great for brainstorms. Take a card and associate whatever you see on there with the problem in hand.
Random words: similar to flash cards, take a random word or thing and try to associate it in as many different ways as possible to the problem.
Personas: encourage people to think as if they were a different person – come up with various different personas to make people think about a problem from someone else’s point of view. This is quite useful if you work in an office where the demographic is very similar and everyone is thinking of solutions from their own point of view, it can introduce new thoughts and difference perspectives.
Other things you can do are:
- Split into smaller groups, give each group a flipchart to brainstorm, move to the next flipchart and brainstorm around the ideas on there
- If people are initially nervous about sharing ideas verbally, get them to write ideas on sticky note
- If you’re planning a long session, have a break-out room with snacks and refreshments for breaks
- Give people yellow cards to put down if someone is being too critical and a grey card when ideas are becoming too boring or mundane
4) Define and refine
At the end of the brainstorm, if there’s time, go through all the ideas and get everyone to vote on the five best ideas that can then be further developed. Or split all ideas into three groups – ideas that can work immediately, ideas that may work in the future with further development, ideas that just don’t or won’t work. If there isn’t time, make sure you sit down after the brainstorm session to do this.
Also after each brainstorm make a note of what worked well and what you think could have been done differently so you can hone the process and techniques you use.
Once you’ve had your first brainstorm you always have more to combine, extend or develop ideas from the first one, it doesn’t always have to be about coming up with brand new ideas.
5) Look outside the box
When choosing people to attend a brainstorm don’t restrict yourself to people in your office, think about bring outsiders into the brainstorm. If possible, make selections on who comes according to their expertise and interests, throw in some people from different business areas or with different skillsets as this might throw up something new.
The more you brainstorm, the better you get, it should be part of every pitch or planning process or just everyday business to unearth new ideas and ways of doing things and reinvigorate brands and businesses. Enjoy!
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The value of work experience
It’s likely that everyone, at some stage in their life, has had their ear talked off by someone about the value of work experience when it comes to PR. For me, it was every single one of my lecturers. Each new subject I started came with a long speech on how important it was to get work experience in the industry before we finished our degree. After a year of this my brain started to automatically switch off whenever someone even mentioned the word ‘experience’. It wasn’t until I walked in the door of one of my second year PR subjects that my perspective changed. My PR lecturer opened the first lecture by saying that if we didn’t have a solid year and a half of work experience under our belt by the time we finished, then no company would hire us. Well, that certainly caught my attention.
Although I feel the lecturer slightly over exaggerated in terms of no career prospects, I have to say getting work experience was one of the best decisions I ever made as a student. It gave me the opportunity to actually put the theory I learnt at university to use, not to mention develop vital skills in the media relations field, which you can only gain through practice. For those who are still unconvinced, here are my top five insights into the value of work experience.
1) Real world experience teaches you necessary industry skills. Real world experience includes learning how to liaise with journalists (who can be scary but this skill is vital if you want to get any results for clients), write media releases (have you heard of a successful PR practitioner who can’t do this?) and effectively communicate with actual clients (not hypothetical university clients). When I started work experience at Ignite PR last year I had no idea how to pitch a story to a journalist; this just isn’t something you can be taught in a lecture. Now I know how to pitch, I consider this a necessity if you are planning on a future in the public relations industry or really any industry that involves dealing with the media.
2) You get to work on a range of different projects. Work experience adds a whole new dimension to the term ‘popularity’. Everybody wants you on board their project for the extra support despite your lack of practical skills. This means that not only do you get moulded into the perfect PR technician but you also get to work on a variety of different client projects. This contributes even further to your knowledge base and level of expertise.
3) It offers networking opportunities. Working in a PR company (or any company for that matter) is a fantastic way to meet professionals in both your industry and other related industries. Building a basic network of contacts will certainly give you a leg up on the career ladder and this network will only grow as you advance. It’s all about who you know!
4) Looks great on the resume. The skills you can gain from doing work experience are the main motivator to go out and work for free, however an additional benefit is that it looks great on the resume from the perspective of potential employers. With thousands of other fish swimming around in the same pond, employers are likely to remember the fish that has an extra fin (or in this case, practical experience in the field) above all others. Having work experience under your belt gives you a strong advantage in the hunt for a job.
5) Possibility of permanent work. The best outcome you can hope for in doing work experience is being offered a permanent job at the end of it. Although this isn’t a guarantee, if you work your hardest and prove yourself valuable to the company they may find it hard to let you leave after your time is up. Even if there is no job offer at the end of it, be assured the company will think of you when there is a job opening in the future.
This is only a small snapshot of the benefits work experience has to offer. I hate to sound like my lecturers, but it really is important to get work experience in the industry. The only way to realise its true value is to put your name out there and get your hands dirty. Thanks Ignite PR!
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How to be the perfect client
Let it be said that obviously all of our clients are wonderful to work with, but everyone has their ‘moments’ so we thought it would be a useful exercise to look at what clients can do to help their PR agencies so that time is being spent in the work that will get the best results possible.
Believe it or not, you play a crucial role in ensuring our success with your organisation. We will show enthusiasm and understanding for your business and listen to your daily pressures, but similarly in a perfect world there are certain criteria that go towards making the perfect client.
1) Let’s work as a team: don’t make it be you vs. us, we want to be part of your team, like an extension of your in-house department, so let’s work together like that. We might be able to bring a different perspective to the table as well, so use it. We want to be a partner, not just another supplier. We’ll need input from you as well; if you think we can work in silo you won’t get the best from the relationship
2) Trust us and listen to our advice: you hired us for our insights and expertise, so please listen to us. We might not always tell you what you want to hear, but we never said it was going to be easy.
3) Share and share alike: share your information with us as much as possible as early as possible, if we don’t know the full picture we can’t sell your stories.
4) Don’t set us up to fail: give us reasonable timeframes and reasonable budgets to allow us to do the best job possible and have realistic expectations of what can be achieved.
5) Appreciate the value of PR: you hired us so hopefully that means you have an understanding of PR and what it can achieve.
6) Give us time: it will take a while for us to establish relationships with you and your audiences, give us at least six months. If you’re not happy after that, then you need to have serious words with us.
7) Work out how you will determine success: work with us to come up with some measurable goals so we’ll both know whether something’s worked and has been a success, for example just because it’s a big media title doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right one for your business, so, if you’ve told us who your audiences are, listen to us on that one.
8) Speak up: if you don’t like what we’re doing, at any point, tell us. We’d rather hear it and try and fix it than not know and have you suffer in silence or worse still, sack us.
9) Know what you want: the better the brief, the better the solution.
10) Make your mind up: if you must change your mind about something make sure you understand and appreciate the implications.
11) More work means more money: we’re a business too and much as we love you, we don’t work for free.
12) Pay us on time: slow payers get slow workers.
13) Give credit where it’s due: it’s nice to get a thank you.
And on the nitty gritty day-to-day stuff:
14) Appreciate deadlines: you have deadlines, we have deadlines, journalists have even tighter deadlines and generally if we don’t hit them we’ll miss the opportunity.
15) Be prepared: if you’ve got an interview and we’ve given you briefing notes, please read them.
16) Know the value of a good picture: good photography is very important; it can make or break a story.
17) Understand the bigger picture: you or your product aren’t always going to be the main event, there’s a lot of news and competing information out there.
18) You might need to wait for coverage: we’re pitching to long lead and short lead media, stories might not appear straight away.
19) Be available: if a story is breaking, make sure you’re available should journalists need to talk to you.
20) Have a laugh: everything’s much better when you have a laugh with us.
Obviously no-one’s perfect, but hopefully the above points have given some food for thought. Do you agree with us?
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Media Storm of the Month – March 2011
This is a new regular blog-slot where we look at a news story that has taken off in that month.
March has been awash with controversy and genuine news, from the aftermath of the Christchurch quake to the even more tragic Japanese earthquake and its resulting tsunami, rising death toll and imminent nuclear meltdown. Not to mention the scandal in the AFL with player manager Ricky Nixon and allegations of misconduct with a 17 year old girl, to Charlie Sheen’s outrageous public outbursts and increasingly weird behaviour to the prospect of war with Libya and more floods in Queensland and New South Wales.
The story we’re going to touch on as a Media storm of the Month though is the story about the YouTube video of the Year 10 Sydney student being bullied by a Year 7 boy. The story broke around the time of the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence. A video was posted online of a much smaller boy punching another boy in the face and body; after several rounds the larger child suddenly retaliates, lifting the smaller boy off the ground and smashing him into the ground and leaving him to stagger off.
Daily Mail grab: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368886/Bully-bodyslammed-Casey-Punisher-says-s-sorry-blames-victim.html
Something that should have been sorted out by the school, the boy’s parents and the boys themselves has, thanks to the huge popularity and growth in social media and online networking sites, grown out of all proportion.
There was media outrage at the video and the attack and we now know that the larger Year 10 boy is 15 year old Casey Heynes, who has been bullied most of his school life and considered committing suicide last year, and the bully is 12 year old Ritchard Gale.
Both boys are now part of a media circus with interviews on major TV networks and coverage in all the main newspapers.
It has aired some interesting points and, it can’t be denied, was ‘good timing’ for a national bulling campaign. It has sparked a debate about bullying and violence in schools making other children affected not feel alone. Anti-bullying and children’s help charities such as Headspace, BeyondBlue and Kids helpline have all been able to jump on the bandwagon getting out their messages and contact details for all the other children who might be in need.
But the talk is also about what is it right to do to stand up for yourself? Casey had obviously been provoked and bullied for a long time, but was it right for him to retaliate with such force?
And how about the boy who filmed the whole incident on his mobile phone, shouldn’t he have been reprimanded as well? Should mobile phones be banned from schools all together? What can we do about this apparent rise in ‘cyber’ bullying?
But also, do children need to be protected from the media and journalists? In their desperate quest for ‘exclusives’ and ‘scoops’ the television news shows particularly escalated the issue and have effectively given credence to a schoolboy disagreement by asking ridiculous questions and adding weight to immature thoughts and feelings. Channel 9 even apparently showed Channel 7 interview coverage and claimed it as its own. A story about a schoolboy fight provoking a media battle, what is the media world coming to?
Connecting with your social media community
With the continuing evolution of the social media sphere, we are finding more and more clients are looking towards social media networks to generate leads and raise awareness about their brand.
However, the way most companies are approaching social media is fast and furious.
You can rush things through to catch up with everyone else but if you haven’t thought your approach through properly you won’t get the desired results.
For some this topic might seem a bit ‘101’ Social Media but we continue to come across businesses that don’t really understand how it works and the power it possesses in influencing a brand positively or negatively.
Social media is a real-time medium that has to be approached differently to other mass-advertising channels. Social media networks are more about the ‘soft sell’ rather than the hard sell – no-one likes being sent hundreds of spam emails or receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls – and your social media community is the same. Blatant advertising material on social media channels is unacceptable as most people have joined for a bit of fun. The exception to this is when it is a specific promotion page and people are aware of this when they sign/ join up/follow.
With this in mind, it is important to have clear objectives for why you want your brand or business to engage in social media. Is your target market reached easily via this channel? It’s not good enough just to be ‘on’ it.
Brands can benefit from building genuine connections with the market on social media but it needs to be consistent with the overall marketing strategy, which includes integrating above and below the line elements. Social media requires a a long-term commitment but there are a few things you can do to engage fans quickly and easily. Simple things like asking questions or running specific online promotions through applications are two strategies that encourage engagement.
Roger Federer is one of the biggest sports brands in tennis (and sport in general). Part of the reason he continues to remain popular with both sponsors and fans is through his innovative approach to social media. Roger and his team consistently put in efforts to connect with his Facebook & YouTube fans and this has paid off with his number of Facebook fans recently hitting 4, 811, 836. His comments and videos regularly attract feedback in the thousands. I am sure many of you are aware of his recent video for Gillette, which went viral on the internet
The screen capture below is a great example of a recent post he made calling for fans to ask him any questions they would like answered. Note: this one post attracted 9, 261 comments and 13, 9223 ‘likes’ – one of his less popular ones!
'The Fed' is a social media ace
You will notice it actually seems like Roger himself is using this page – it is not all marketing material and this is a key element in its success as a fan page.
As a business owner it’s important to start with the end goal in mind so before doing anything consider what you really want to achieve in the social media sphere then act accordingly. Do research, check what competitors are doing and ensure you are familiar with social media tools so you can truly understand how it works and can be applied for your business.
If your business is already engaging in social media, assess how successful it is and make sure there are consistent efforts to engage and connect with the online community.
Social media is a powerful communication tool but it is not a one size fits all medium.
Internships – Are they really worthwhile?
The importance of internships is discussed frequently at university by lecturers but is it really that important to undertake one?
I believe it is. I have just started an internship at Ignite and already I can see the advantages.
There are so many benefits to be gained from internships but the most important is the real world experience you garner. Everything I am learning will help me with my studies and when I enter the workforce I will be more prepared than other graduates.
Taking on an internship allows you to decide if a job is suited to you and if it is the career path you really want to follow, which is especially important to decide before you finish your degree and obtain a job that you might not enjoy.
Internships allow you to finally apply all the knowledge and practical skills you’ve had drilled into you during lectures in a real work setting.
Nothing can beat the experience and reference you gain during an internship and as a bonus it looks excellent on a resume. In addition, employers are more likely to employ a graduate that has practical experience over another who simply has a degree.
Internships are also a great confidence booster. After gaining real world experience in the industry and the skills and knowledge that follow, you’re immediately going to be more confident when you graduate and go through the process of finding a job. Just knowing you have some relevant experience behind you gives you an edge. Internships also become great networking opportunities.
I’ve only been at my internship for a couple for weeks, but I’ve already had the chance to undertake activities which if I was working in the industry I would be responsible for on a regular basis. For example I have written media releases, business appointments and undertaken pitching and following up. I have gained real word experience on public relations activities and I have observed how a standard day would operate for a practitioner.
My experience is strictly from a public relations field but I believe that internships are valuable in any industry. No university degree can give you the same experience an internship can.
If you have the time and get the opportunity while at university to undertake an internship I highly recommend it, I promise you that you will see the benefits.
Maximising the client lurrve…
In the PR and marketing game the relationship between the agency and the client is paramount. Client satisfaction and maintaining this status quo is the lifeblood of a consultancy and account managers work extremely hard to ensure success. It can be both rewarding and (if we are honest) down-right frustrating at times but with passion for PR as our driver we ‘fight the good fight’ day after day.
Each client is different and there is not a one size fits all approach for client management but there are a few basic criteria both the agency and client can fulfil to gain the maximum potential from the partnership.
Honesty is the best policy
Like in any relationship honesty is the cornerstone of trust and this approach is important to ensure clients get the best advice from an agency, and the agency knows what the client expects. Clients often think they know best but if you can honestly advise against an idea and recommend something that will work better; you will build stronger longer standing trust between both parties.
Regular communication
The more we know about a client the better we can do our job but in today’s busy world this can be hard. It takes effort and attention. The rule of thumb I spruik is contact with a client at minimum three times week and at least one face-to-face meeting a month. This helps to ensure the agency is considered an integral element of a client’s communications team, and it provides all the fodder necessary for great idea development and thus good results.
Trust your instinct
If you sense something is up it generally is, and this is where tip one is vital. Be honest, talk to the client and ask them if there is an issue they want to discuss. Clients find it refreshing. It shows you care about them and the business. In most cases it results in solving a minor problem rather than a large one.
Be creative
In this business creativity is part of the foundation of success so it pays to have regular brainstorms to keep the ideas and initiative flowing. This can be a fun exercise to do with clients as well.
Follow these simple rules and the love will flow.
– Trina McColl, Managing Director
Tips for Memory & Memorability
Last week myself and fellow Ignite PR team member Lyla went along to the final Networx Brisbane event for 2009 at the Press Club in Fortitude Valley.
The Ignite PR team has been to all of the Networx events this year and Memory & Memorability: the key to making a lasting impression and succeeding with others was by far my favourite. Jennifer Goddard, Director of Buzan Centre – Australia/NZ and Fuzz2Buzz was insightful, engaging and relevant.
I’ll be the first to admit that my memory is shocking at times. So in the plush interiors of the Press Club I dutifully sat, listened and left realizing there is someone else out there as enthusiastic as mind maps and infographics as I am.
I wanted to share some of the tips Jennifer shared with us during the event:
- Keeping your mind open is the key to creativity
- Look for your Von Restorff moment. What is the one thing that will be remembered more than others? This could be for a media kit concept, a key message in a pitch presentation or a key piece of information in a report.
- Find a ‘signature’ style and/or concept and stick with it. For example, the first public relations agency I worked for would send a box of cherries to clients every Christmas. Over time this became tradition and clients expected to receive the box each year, often calling if it had not arrived around the time it normally would in December.
- Use mind maps for note taking and note making – use them to plan your meeting agenda with clients, plan a client’s strategy or to set your daily goals.
- To enhance memory use the 12 memory and crea8tivity principles including: Colour – don’t stick to blue pen on blue-lined paper. Mix it up!; Association – use association to remember someone’s name you’ve just met. i.e. Lani who has red hair.
- Don’t utter the age old “What do you do?” question. Ask something more friendly and open such as “What is an interesting project you’ve been working on lately?” – this gives the person you’re talking to an opportunity to talk about something other than their profession. They might tell you about a home renovation project or perhaps a charity they’re supporting.
Lastly, thank you to Lisa Ma and the Networx ladies who put these events on each month.
Now, grab your blank paper, coloured pens and let your mind mapping begin!
– Lani Pauli, Account Manager
Rebranding – soul searching for a company
The past few months transitioning from LapePhelan to our new identity Ignite PR & Marketing has reaffirmed the power in strong branding and how integral it is in shaping market perception –both internal and external.
The decision to rebrand led me to embark on a ‘soul searching’ mission of sorts. Firstly to determine why it was necessary, and then what did I want my new brand personality to be and represent.
Some poignant questions had to be answered: what did I want the agency to stand for; how did I want potential clients to feel from being exposed to the brand; how did I want current clients to feel; how did I want staff to be engaged; were my business values represented and aligned; how would I represent the agency’s point of difference?
Put simply, the process involved assessing the four key aspects of any brand- attributes, benefits, values and personality. The culmination of which results in the most potent angle of a brand – the essence – the central purpose and direction for the entire business and everything it does. Here is a simple example of how the brand development process works:
| Attributes | Benefits | Values | Personality |
| Big, leafy structure | Provides shelter | Kind | Motherly |
| Hard wood trunk | Provides building materials | Spiritual | Undemanding |
| Turns Co2 to o2 | Helps planet breath and function | Generous | Stoic |
| Bears food | Peaceful | Strong | Dependable |
| Green | Provides food | ||
|
ESSENCE = supporter of life |
This process takes time but is invaluable in harnessing and unlocking the power and potential of a brand and ultimately your business.
The development of Ignite has not only re-energized me but the business, my team and clients. It was certainly the best path for sparking our growth.
– Trina McColl, MD Ignite PR & Marketing