Ignite PR & Marketing – Page 2

Media storm of the month – June 2011

June 28, 2011/in Media relations, Social media, Trends and Comment, Uncategorized/by ignitepr

One of the previous month’s biggest stories has been a tragic one – the murder of a Gold Coast police officer Damian Leeding. Shot in the head late in the evening on Sunday May 29, his family then had to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support machine.

The media coverage of the murder and subsequent funeral was extensive with all mainstream print and broadcast media covering the initial reports, the following progress of the officer and then his state funeral on the Gold Coast, attended by thousands.

The sheer scale of the response was huge. The power of the media was used for good as all the major TV stations were asking the public to donate to the Damian Leeding Remembrance Fund for his young family left behind – more than $150,000 has been raised so far, a huge amount for what might have been a small local charitable fund.

Damian had one of the biggest state funerals ever with the public moved to show their support. The event was broadcast live and online and was a topic of much interest on the social networking site Twitter. The Catholic Leader printed the homily delivered at the funeral.

And other brands got in on the act to help out – the police officer’s young son even got to meet the Queensland State of Origin team.

The murder itself exposed issues of police protection – a new taskforce was announced following Damian’s death. There has been a spate of violent crime in the Gold Coast so far in 2011, predominantly linked to drugs and biker gangs. In fact, Damian’s boss was himself injured following a drug raid just weeks after his death.

Trying to make some sense of the increase in crime, the Queensland Police Union has linked it to the global financial crisis.

But as well as the heartbreak for Damian’s family and the tragic loss for his police colleagues, the media storm surrounding the current crime spree on the Gold Coast has further negative implications.

Local politicians have claimed it’s having an effect on education with foreign students cancelling their courses after seeing the recent stories in the news.

The evaluating committee for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, for which the Gold Coast is a contender, have had to make a statement saying that the crimes won’t affect Gold Coast’s chances of hosting, but it’s hard to see how it won’t.

And there are some indications that tourists are cancelling trips. The new CEO of Sunshine Coast Destination Ltd has even said that selling his destination as a safe place to holiday could help them attract the tourists now not visiting the Gold Coast.

If we want to help the Gold Coast now to try and stop these crimes happening we shouldn’t be deserting the area in its hour of need but keep visiting in our droves to keep the tourism and surrounding industry buoyant so that people can have gainful employment and less need for the drugs as a result of despair. It’s a simplistic viewpoint, but something worth considering. The media are doing their job in reporting the facts, but it would be good if they can help with the recovery as well.

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6 questions: Cayla Dengate, Features Editor, mX

June 23, 2011/in Media relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Cayla Dengate, features editor of free newspaper mX.

1) What is your deadline day?

We write mX News early each morning to be ready on the street by 2.30pm, so our news deadline is about 9am Monday to Friday; however features are arranged weeks earlier. Ideally, we want to know about an event two weeks in advance.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

I like to get to know contacts in Brisbane, so a phone call is always appreciated, but email is the failsafe.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

I’m in the office 6.30am-2.30pm Monday to Wednesday.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

I find the best way to meet contacts is at launches and openings. That way, I can meet PRs in their element and hopefully get some story ideas in the process.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

One: Mobile contact – unless it’s genuinely urgent, I’d prefer work messages to stay on my work phone.

Two: Calling the day of an event – by that stage, it’s mostly too late for mX.

Three: Forced familiarity – it’s not expected for a PR to know everything about every journalist they contact, and it can be embarrassing when they pretend to.

Having said that, I mostly love working with the PR community. Quite a few PRs have helped out mX with last-minute photo requests and contact information!

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

While I’d like to say the perfect pitch is one that’s baked into a cupcake, that’s not necessary. mX is looking for stories that directly relate to the 18-35 age demographic. Whether it’s a serious issue or a community event, we want to know why young people should be interested. In terms of photos, we are always looking for a brightly coloured shoot with young, spunky people and lots of props and movement.

There have been some very memorable PR pitches – from an offer to find me my Soul Mate (already taken, thanks) to a photo opportunity with live tigers – but my favourites have to be the illustrated invitations that arrive before fashion week each year. They’re tiny pieces of art that I often keep for years to come.

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Client close-up: Jim Cornish, Nanotek

June 20, 2011/in Business, General/by ignitepr

Welcome to the second edition of our regular feature talking to our clients to find out about their experiences of business, good and bad, and any advice they might have for other business leaders and owners.

Name: Jim Cornish

Job title and company: CEO, Nanotek

Pitch your company and what it does in a sentence: Nanotek (formerly ecowash mobile) is the world’s no.1 mobile waterless car washing franchise system. Utilising liquid polymer nanotechnology Nanotek provides unmatched quality and convenience.

How did you get to where you are now? By learning from all our experiences (good and bad) and continually moving not only industry goal posts but our own – we are constantly refining and developing our system (hence the change to Nanotek).

What has been your worst moment in business so far? Before Nanotek as a Marketing Director of a Multinational Organisation, I watched 10 people get retrenched without notice – it made me appreciate the fragility and insecurity of employment and inspired my passion for personal business ownership.

What has been your best moment in business so far? Most recently our launch in Russia, but any time I see one of our mobile units in a new market it is an incredible sensation.

Have you had any business mentors and what did they teach you? My father, who taught me that clear principles and integrity provide the foundation necessary from which to make sustainable decisions.

How does PR help your business/ why is it important to you? PR tells a story – it gives third person insights and perspectives which are beyond the scope of corporate derived advertising. Advertising creates brand awareness, but PR is far more effective in positioning and developing the personality of a brand.

Why do you work with Ignite PR & Marketing? Barrett and Trina are great – very responsive with a thorough understanding of the franchising segment. It is great to be able to confidently outsource such a critical element of our business and know it will be done right.

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Why businesses should consider outsourcing PR

June 16, 2011/1 Comment/in Business, General, Public relations/by ignitepr

When it comes to marketing your business, there are a number of specialist areas that need to be looked at including graphic design, marketing and public relations. Whilst you might be able to do the basics in-house, there is expertise attached to these specialist areas. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in your PR rather than DIY-ing it:

1) We’ve got years of experience and expertise: chances are we’ve done it all before, we’ve written the press releases, we’ve done the media training, we’ve spoken to the journalists, we’ve pitched the stories – we’re doing the job day in, day out, for a varied client list.

2) We can bring something new to the table: coming from an outside perspective we can put forward new ideas, different ways of doing things and challenge the way you do things ‘just because’. We’re there to make your business grow so we can grow too.

3) You can get results without another ‘mouth to feed’: the breadth of our experience means that we are often more cost-effective than it would be to get the person/ people necessary in-house to cover all the tasks we can undertake.

4) We can react fast: if something needs turning around quickly, if you need more hands on deck, an outsourced company should have the extra resource and capability to turn that around for you.

5) We can help upskill your team: working closely side-by-side should mean that your in-house team learns more and more about PR and what it can achieve for your business.

Outsourcing is an investment and it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before taking that step otherwise you may end up resenting the company that is working for you, rather than using them to their maximum potential and allowing them to work with you and integrate with your team.

The best time to get in the PR experts is if you’re running out of ideas, if you don’t want to make a long-term commitment initially and dip your toe in the water, if your in-house marketing team is overworked, if your head office and marketing function is overseas, if you’re a start-up business and focussed on the core business, if you want to inject fresh ideas and new skills.

But if you choose to go down the path of outsourcing you must be very clear about the objectives and how you will measure success, i.e. what the desired outcome is. It’s important for you to meet the team who would be working on your ‘account’ – you should get on with them and they should have the enthusiasm and skills necessary to deliver.

The best PR agency-client relationships are partnerships where the business is open and honest with the PR consultancy – being up front about business objectives, praising good work, working alongside the agency team and keeping them informed of everything happening in your business.

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6 questions: Alex Tilbury, Finance reporter, The Courier-Mail

June 9, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Alex Tilbury, finance reporter from The Courier-Mail.

1) What is your deadline day?

Deadline is normally every day from 4pm onwards. The afternoon news conference finishes around 3:30pm so that is when the section editors know what they want for the next day. The Your Money section is nationally syndicated across all News Ltd tabloids and is normally done and dusted each Wednesday for the following Monday.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is definitely best. I don’t want faxes. I am just dipping my toes into the Twittersphere so even a tweet is good. I check it a few times a day. Follow me @AlexTilbury.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Please don’t ring any daily newspaper journo in the late afternoon as it is simply too busy to talk. Mornings are always best to call, if you must. As a rule, news conference starts at the Courier-Mail at 9:30, then 10:30am. We are very keen to hear about video/audio options. If you can package a story for an iPad edition (every day at 5am and 5pm), then that’ll work in your favour too. We have to sell our own stories across all the multi-media platforms.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

I definitely like to meet up but I prefer people to come to our office at Bowen Hills. I don’t have a lot of time to get out basically. It’s also very posh in the new newsroom, all renovated and we even have great coffee here.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

I am constantly surprised when PRs call and ask if you have run such and such story and it may have run already but many PRs don’t actually read the book! Buy the paper, it’s so fundamental. Not every story gets uploaded online. In fact it is only going to get worse when the content online will eventually be subscriber-only. And, don’t ring me and ask who you should pitch a piece to. Start with the Chief of Staff and then contact journos directly.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

Case studies really help, especially in business reporting. Find me a happy customer and it’s an easy way for people to relate. We are definitely not a trade magazine, so nothing extremely single product specific. Be aware of what is happening in the news and in terms of data coming out. New car sales data, retail data, building approvals… all these are hooks to a genuine news piece that highlights your car dealer, shop owner or builder. Think a little more ‘newsy’.

Best pitch… still waiting! Every day is different. I think the best PRs are the ones who understand we are all here just to do our jobs, fill the book and find the best angle for our readers.

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BRW’s five questions to ask a PR firm

June 6, 2011/in General, Public relations/by ignitepr

Last year, BRW wrote an article about some of the top PR firms in Australia, as part of that article it recommended five questions to ask a PR consultancy before considering appointing them. We thought it would be a useful exercise to give you our answers to those questions.

1) Have any of your staff worked as journalists?

Yes, our senior account manager is trained as a journalist and spent several years working as a journalist and newsreader in FM radio.

Many of our account managers have journalism or communications qualifications, ensuring they know what makes and how to write a good story. And all our staff are tertiary trained in either journalism or public relations writing.

2) What is your approach to developing a PR strategy?

We sit down with the prospective client and ask why they think PR is a good idea for their business and try to determine what their underlying business objectives are. These questions are critical because if a client is just interested in launching or promoting a particular product, for example, and looking for instant enquiries / sales, then advertising may be a more effective option for them. However, if the client is looking to increase the brand awareness and reputation of their organisation, this is where PR can be most effective.

The most important question is almost always “Why do you feel your business/ organisation needs PR?” the answer to this question often determines the direction of our strategy.

With a clear idea of their business objectives and expectations, we go back to the Ignite team and open the discussion up for ideas generation on the best strategy mix for the client. Given that we specialise in the franchising industry we may, for example, choose to focus our efforts on a number of different parts of the industry depending on the client needs. These might mean we develop a plan that incorporates activity targeting consumer media (for a retail product), business media (for corporate level exposure) and franchising media (for franchise business development).

The strategy mix depends entirely on the client’s industry and their objectives.

3) Who would be working on my account?

As a rule our clients have at least two people working on them at all times. This usually consists of a senior manager or director, who handles the contact with the client and more complicated content, while an account manager may handle some of the simple content and background work.

However, all staff within the agency are briefed on the details of all new accounts, so are able to step in quickly to work on content if required.

4) How do you measure results?

As any good agency should: in a variety of ways.

To start with, if we are talking about straight ‘column centimetres’ PR then it is possible to measure what is called Advertising Value Equivalent. This is good for clients as it gives some measurable numbers from a return on investment point of view, but it also only tells about half of the story and should not be used as the only measure of success.

It’s one thing to achieve a large number of clippings, which add weight to an AVE measurement, but if these clips are ‘off message’ then their value is negligible. We also run qualitative analysis on the key message statements of our clients to make sure they are appearing in the coverage they are receiving.

Finally, we run quarterly client satisfaction surveys to ensure our account management staff are performing at the highest possible level. Our aim is for our clients to feel that they have their own in-house PR and marketing manager and these surveys are the best way for us to ensure that this level of service is always being delivered.

5) How proactive is your team?

In our client surveys, one of questions relates to ’proactive ideas generation’ and this is a key factor on which staff are selected for the agency. As a boutique agency with smaller staff numbers, it’s vitally important that everyone in our team is able to think on their feet and come up with creative, out-of-the-box ideas, not only for addressing client needs, but also to harness opportunities, especially in the media arena, which may not be immediately obvious to the client themselves.

What is crowdsourcing?

June 3, 2011/in Social media, Trends and Comment/by ignitepr

An interesting infographic from oBizMedia.com giving a visual representation of crowdsourcing.

A talk at the recent Ideas Festival 2011 at the State Library of Queensland talked about ‘Crowdsourcing: how do you engage those on the edge?’. It was an interesting look at the history of crowdsourcing and how to unlock its potential. It was presented by Tom Hulme from OpenIDEO, which also ran a workshop to actively demonstrate the power of crowdsourcing.

How can you get others involved in your business challenges? And how can you incorporate the techniques used to encourage innovation within your own ranks?

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6 questions: Krystal Manson, Drive journalist and newsreader, 101.9 Fox FM

June 2, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Krystal Manson, Drive journalist and newsreader from 101.9 Fox FM in Melbourne.

1) What are your deadlines throughout the day?

3.30pm, 4.30pm and 5.30pm for bulletins at 4, 5 and 6pm.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is best.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

For my particular shift before 3pm; between about midday and 3pm is preferred.

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

No. There’s no time for that really in radio.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

One: PR people that call right in the middle of a reading shift or close to news time (6-9am and 4-6pm).

Two: Sending out a release then not having the talent ready to go.

Three: Really looooong phone pitches without taking a breath to let us say NO THANKS!

Also, please don’t ask me what questions I’m going to ask or for a copy of what went to air.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

The best story pitches are the ones with the best stories. Don’t waste my time if what you are trying to sell isn’t timely (in the news at the time) or meaty (have some research to back up what you’re saying). I can’t say that I’ve had any amazing pitches, but the ones I usually go for are short, not pushy, and relevant (something I would have likely put a phone call in for anyway).

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Media Storm of the Month – May 2011

May 30, 2011/in General, Media relations, Social media, Trends and Comment/by ignitepr

By the time you read this, the media phenomenon that is ‘planking’ will have gone the way of Y2K, Napster and Rebecca Black – relegated to the scrapheap of dull irrelevant news from yesteryear.

But if you can cast your mind right back to the beginning of the month, you might recall the social media driven pastime was hitting the news in a big way, especially after the tragic death of an intoxicated Brisbane planker.

Fairfax papers had plenty to say after the incident:

It was a harmless craze just four days ago. Kerri-Anne Kennerley opened her television talk show lying balanced, face-down, on the back of a couch. Karl Stefanovic was lying flat on the Today show desk in front of the cameras.

But early yesterday morning, the ”planking” fad sweeping social networking sites proved fatal. Acton Beale, 20, was positioning himself on a balcony railing seven storeys up in Brisbane when he lost his footing and plunged to his death in the car park below.

Calls to ban the fad came thick and fast. News Limited described the phenomenon as “spreading like a virus around the world” and conservative commentators derided the youth of today and called for reinstated compulsory national service to give Gen Y something constructive to do.

So what gave the planking craze such strong media kudos? Sure 130,000 odd people ‘liked’ the Planking Australia page on Facebook. So what? More than four million people ‘like’ the page for chocolate chip cookies, but you don’t see Karl gorging himself on biscuits on Today, nor do we hear about the “cookie eating plague sweeping the globe”.

The answer comes down to a couple of simple journalistic rules known as news values.

The idea goes that any potential news item can be assessed for newsworthiness based on six or seven key criteria.

These are often defined as impact, timeliness, prominence, proximity, bizarreness, conflict and currency, or some combination of these.

Unfortunately for all of us, planking ticks a couple of these boxes with a big red felt pen.

First is impact. The story ‘grew legs and ran’ after the first death associated with the craze. This was made doubly appetising for media due to two extra factors.

1) The man who died was a young person, i.e. under 30, and;

2) The man who died was under the influence of alcohol at the time (Australia’s binge drinking culture is another hot media topic).

This brings us to the second key media value that planking satisfies perfectly: currency.

The rapid rise of social media has sparked an insatiable news appetite for the phenomenon. This means stories that might be insignificant on their own, for example bullying, infidelity or petty crimes, are given extra exposure whenever the issue is linked to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Don’t believe me? Consider how often you hear media reports concerning cyber-bullying compared with plain old garden variety harassment.

News values drive all news coverage and this often leads to criticism of media for ‘sexing up’ some trends far beyond what is warranted, while completely ignoring others which don’t fit the necessary criteria.

So, if you found yourself drowning in the sea of planking stories in May, hopefully now you understand a little more about why.

6 questions: Jayne Munday, Journalist, Queensland Business Review

May 26, 2011/in Media relations, Public relations/by ignitepr

Next up in our series finding out how journalists like to work, any issues they have with PRs, how they like stories to be pitched to them, etc, is Jayne Munday, journalist from QBR – Queensland’s only dedicated online news source for business owners and operators [QBR is also on Twitter].

1) What is your deadline day?

QBR is an online publication, so stories are uploaded throughout the day (Monday to Friday). Our daily e-newsletter is compiled in the afternoon comprising all the top news from the day and is then sent to subscribers at around 3pm.

2) How do you prefer to be contacted (i.e. email, phone, fax, post)?

Email is usually the best option in case I am conducting an interview or in a meeting. If it’s sitting in my inbox I can always go back to it once I get some down time.

3) Is there a particular time of day you prefer to be contacted?

Later in the morning and early afternoon are ideal for phone calls. The 3pm e-newsletter deadline means my afternoons are fairly busy. However, I am happy to receive emails 24/7 – news never stops!

4) Do you like to meet companies and bosses for coffee/ lunch? If yes, do you have any favourite venues?

I am always willing to build better working relationships with PR people and Queensland companies – it just depends on my work schedule. Daily deadlines can make it tricky to leave the office.

5) What are your three pet peeves about PRs?

As a business journalist I welcome the contact from PR people. While I can’t say I have any ‘pet peeves’ as such, I do prefer follow-up calls/emails to wait a few days once the initial email is sent.

Knowing about the publication (whether it is online or print) is always a plus, as it shows you have done your research.

6) What would the perfect story pitch be for you? And what’s the best PR pitch you have ever had?

While no one pitch in particular stands out, I can say a one or two page press release with a photo attachment usually catches my eye when checking emails. A visual component is always good to accompany an online story.

It’s also a bonus if the news is given to me before it hits the mainstream media. Being a daily publication means I can get the news out to readers in a timely fashion.

If the ‘hard’ news is made clear in the first two paragraphs it is also more likely to get picked up.

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