It’s becoming widespread news in the advertising industry that my current employer, Draftfcb, is closing the Melbourne office. It’s been a shock to all involved and a very sad week here, but yesterday we had something to celebrate. After much time and hard work, we saw the launch of our last TVC campaign for National Stroke Foundation.
Social Media killed the spin: online comms in a crisis
Today I went to a great IABC talk on Crisis and Reputation. PR gurus Barbara Sharp (Pax Populus) and Sam North (Ogilvy Public Relations) gave us some really great insights about recent crisis situations to hit Australian businesses and how they were handled from a communications view-point.
I wanted to share a few of the take-home pointers that I noted down during their talk.
Thoughts on Google+ as a LinkedIn killer
LOTS of talk on the web today about Google+ as my nerdy digital-comms friends and I snapped up our early invitations before Google closed off the invitation service earlier today.
At the moment, Google+ looks like a bleak version of Facebook, causing a lot of speculation and online chatter about whether or not Google can take on the social network. For a moment though, I want to consider Google+ not as a potential Facebook killer, but rather a LinkedIn killer.
World of Mouth
Why your message isn’t getting passed on…
In the early 00’s there hit a point where organisations stopped wondering whether or not they needed a web site, it became a necessity. Now in 2011 this turn is starting to creep in for social media. Instead of asking “do we really need social media” the question is becoming “what should we use and how do we tell people about it?”
Are you in? Leading your industry with LinkedIn
First published on The Unspun Blog 02/06/11
If your organisation had the opportunity to contact almost every professional working within the industry and hold open discussions with them, would you use it?
LinkedIn Groups provides just that. With over 100 million members and counting, LinkedIn is a big player within the social media realm and Groups is the place to tap in.
Asking during a disaster
This week Australia has been rocked by one of the most devastating floods in decades. Many people of this generation won’t remember anything like it (myself included). A number of us have friends or family in affected areas and are heartbroken by the stories that we read. Not unlike the Black Saturday bush fires that hit Victoria in 2009.
Australians always pull together when disaster strikes and donations collect very quickly. At the time of writing this, the Queensland’s Premier Flood Relief Fund stands at over $35million and counting.
Take advantage of the conversation
If you had asked me a few years ago what charities ‘sell’ when it comes to marketing and fundraising, I probably would have said something along the line of an emotional connection. In fact, I’m pretty sure I said something along those lines for my interview when going for my first not for profit gig. If you ask me now, I’m going to say something very different. Not to discount the emotional connection or ‘feel good’ factor, as I still believe that is true to an extent, however my answer now would probably be closer to ‘bragging rights’.