Fancy yourself as a highly creative communicator??
Melbourne daily freesheet MX is offering creative agencies the chance of free advertising space by sending in their most “outrageous” creative ideas which could be published FOC.
MX is hoping raise its own profile as an idea vehicle for running more risqué creative ideas, as these ideas will fit in with its main target demographic of Gen Xs and Gen Ys. The promo push is supported by a natty campaign by Melbourne ad agency Smarts. Nice campaign with PR extendability, guys.
May 9th, 2008
Sydneyside legal eagle Nick Abrahams sent me news of a survey by his law firm, Deacons, showing that corporate recruitment efforts can be hampered by restricting employees’ Social Media access.
“…In the Deacons’ Social Networking Survey 2008, almost half of those who used social networking sites at work said that if given a choice between two jobs equal in all other respects, they would choose an employer which allowed access to these sites over one which did not.
Nick Abrahams, head of Deacons’ Technology, Media and Telecommunications law practice said:
“There are risks with social networking sites in the workplace, such as adverse impacts on productivity, as well as heightened chances of harassment claims…Our research suggests organisations need to weigh these risks and learn to manage them — as they have for other new technologies like email, instant messaging and the Internet itself.
Deacons’ research provides a snapshot of Internet use in Australian workplaces.
The survey found 62 per cent of workers have access to the Internet from work and of these:
· 14 per cent use it at some time to access social networking sites. Usage
is significantly higher among younger workers with 32 per cent of 16-24
year olds and 23 per cent of 25-34 year olds reporting frequent or
occasional use.
· 20 per cent said their employer blocked access to social networking sites
while 57 per cent said their employer allowed it (23 per cent did not know).
· 76 per cent of workers who use the Internet at work could see a benefit to their organisation in allowing access to social networking sites.
May 6th, 2008
While I’ve been over in New Zealand, talking with comms advisers and colleagues mostly about Online Reputation Management, Australian politics has unearthed another cracker of a PR disaster. Liberal MP Troy Buswell has admitted he sniffed a seat that a female staff member had very recently been sitting on…classy eh?
Buswell has some other sexist ‘form’ (read below) which suggests that this scenario reveals the man’s true character; and it’s the unsavoury nature of his character that’s undoing his reputation. Even admitting the incident to the media, Buswell’s tears seemed as much to do with getting caught as they were about remorse for the offence caused to the woman whose, erm…seat he sniffed.
Recalling the scenario (which happened 3 years back) the unnamed woman said that, in front of other staffers, Buswell started sniffing the chair she had been sitting on at his Parliament House office in December 2005. Mr Buswell has previously admitted to snapping a Labor staffer’s bra as a drunken party trick and has been accused by retiring Liberal MP Katie Hodson-Thomas of making sexist remarks to her.
Here are a few telling quotes about the issue from Buswell’s Liberal colleagues (as reported to ABC TV) - what do they tell us about their views of Buswell’s actions and character??
“Troy has had the bra strapping incident and you know he’s had a, you know, the same as anyone else, had a background of fun, fun times and I mean we’ve all had that, we’ve all had times we’ve regretted.” Barry Court, WA Lib Party President
“He’s a rough diamond with a robust sense of humour“: Kim Hanes
“Troy is a very sensitive, a very dignified person in all of his dealings with me and I think that these issues are issues that are well and truly passed.” Helen Morton
May 1st, 2008
Around 7.45am this coming Thursday, I’ll be clearing out the ol’ tartan tonsils afore speaking at this year’s Communicator of the Year Breakfast (Thursday 24 April) at Melbourne’s rather august Windsor Hotel.
Last year climate change expert Professor Tim Flannery scooped the award and also participated in a panel discussion entitled Politics, Principle and PR. This year’s theme is “Facing up to the Brave New WWWorld” looking at trends in social media, particularly as they relate to the public relations and professional communication industry.
Other event speakers include:
Hugh Evans – founder and executive director of the Oaktree Foundation, former Young Australian of the Year and driving force behind the Make Poverty History campaign.
Laurel Papworth – online media strategist, lecturer in social media at the University of Sydney, and adviser to media and telecommunication companies.
Jenny Weight – artist and researcher in media trends, lecturer in networking and programmed media at RMIT University.
Gerry McCusker – author of Talespin: PR Disasters and outspoken commentator on public communication issues in the online environment
April 21st, 2008
Just a quick note for regular PR disaster-ites; this blogsite has had some back-end problems (oo-err missus), and will don a green paper smock and shuffle about looking embarrassed before some light remedial surgery, tomorrow. We may be off the air for a few hours on Saturday.
Hi-tech Dr Leigh Mannes will be performing the op, and predicts a swift recuperation for the patient. So if your Saturday feels empty without being able to access your weekend PR gaffe check-in, we suggest you get a life, or some patience.
Ta. G
April 18th, 2008
Proposed security laws may affect email privacy
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2216185.htm
This story caught my eye because I used to work for an agency that freely spied on employee emails, at least once bullying its staff after the company had broken privacy laws without the employee’s consent.
Log on for your webinar
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/log-on-for-your-webinar/2008/04/14/1208025088756.html
Sometimes those of us who work in PR and comms forget just how advanced our work practices and skills are…here’s an article from yesterday’s Syd Morning Herald where the journo heralds the arrival of the ‘webinar’; I (via PRIA) and others have been doing these for ages, so how come the biz community sees it as news?? (No wonder Web2.0 adoption is somewhat slow).
April 16th, 2008
My fave New Zealand PR insider (Kelle) pokes us towards a TV report that shows how Olympic torch relay skittishness has spread to New Zealand. When TV show Campbell Live tried to interview a kiwi torch carrier to see if/how the Tibetan protests were affecting him, the PR’s got a wee bitty uptight. This national TV segment shows how N.B.P.R. insisted that interview questions were sent to them in advance (sensible enough) but that they wanted time to ‘coach’ Aaron on how to answer these questions (too much disclosure guys??), and that a live personal interview was outta the question. Oh, and just before the TV company sent a film crew to visit Aaron, N.B. PR called to say their client (Samsung - who sponsor the torch relay I think) was too nervous to let any interview go ahead; Great national (and web) publicity for Samsung and its kiwi PR team eh?
April 15th, 2008
London’s Torygraph newspaper reports that “Wal-Mart is on the verge of a potential public relations disaster over a batch of video clips of male store managers parading in drag in front of thousands of colleagues as they all sing the corporate song, employees mocking dangerous uses of a product sold in its stores, and even founder Sam Walton referring to then non-executive director Hillary Clinton as “one of us”. These videos are now being made publicly available.
By whom, the inquisitive among you ask??
Seems what could be interpreted as ‘embarrassing footage’ is ” being made available to lawyers, unions, and media organisations after a falling-out between the production company - Flagler Productions - that shot the videos and the retailer. In a move that seems part-highway robbery and part-blackmail, Flagler wants poor Wal-Mart to stump up $2m (£1m), but Wal-Mart is offering $500,000.
April 12th, 2008
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PR disasters, spin doctors and reputation management gone wrong, by PR analyst and author Gerry McCusker.