It was a scene reminiscent of Col. Nathan Jessup on the stand in A Few Good Men. Despite her controlled demeanor, you got the feeling Prime Minister Julia Gillard wanted to scream at the journalist cross examining her this morning on the ABC that she had ordered the ‘Code Red’. “Yes, I took charge, because Kevin Rudd was destroying the Labor party and, if I hadn’t, Tony Abbott would now be destroying Australia,” she’d possibly say. After all, she lives in a world of threats that mere civilians couldn’t possibly conceive, and works 300 yards from opponents trying to destroy her. According to the latest leadership whispers, that also includes a fair few of her own caucus.
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Pinterest – The Next Big Thing in Social?
Pinterest is a definitely a big thing in social media right now. But like most social media networks, it takes time, resources, engagement and depth to make the most of it.
For the most part, numbers are at the low end of the scale, with even the most referenced brands (WholeFoods, epicurious) only generating numbers in the low thousands, but ofcourse this is increasing rapidly.
What will be the biggest challenge for Australian brands is dedicating the time and resources into curating their Pinterest sites. Many Australian offices of even large multinational brands would struggle to fulfil the requirements of adequately monitoring and managing Facebook, Twitter and other established social media networks. Adding another, which is seemingly even more time-consuming (trawling through the site and others to source relevant, interesting and attractive imagery), is likely to be beyond the resources of most in-house communications or social media managers roles.
All Channels to All People
In the realm of digital communications we are seeing an increasing number of businesses feeling that it is necessary to have a presence on all major social media networks and channels.
Businesses are asking users to follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, connect with them on LinkedIn, view their videos on YouTube, browse their Flickr photos and visit the corporate website and multiple microsites.
But is this always a good idea?
Team Player of the Year
The contributions of a single team member can make or break the outcome of a project or body of work. The typical agency environment is fast paced in nature, constantly changing and provides numerous opportunities for employees to shine and deliver top quality results.
Fleishman – Hillard Sydney prides itself on creating a positive and fun work environment where employees devote time and effort into going above and beyond for clients. Every year there is always, a unique individual who truly exemplifies the characteristics of what it means to be a team player. This year, Andrew Baber, Senior Account Executive at Fleishman-Hillard Sydney, won the prestigious title of the Team Player of the Year Award.
“Andrew went above and beyond to deliver first class work to his clients, while still finding time to help his co-workers and attend to office management type activities. Andrew’s proactive attitude and positive work ethic are qualities that we really appreciate here at Fleishman-Hillard Sydney.” Said Chris Newman, Senior Vice President and General Manager.
Congratulations Andrew on a fantastic 2011!
When Privacy Isn’t Privacy
Since the beginning of the Internet, one of the key rules of online content that Net-savvy folk have hammered into anyone who will listen, has been: “There is no privacy online”.
Unfortunately, with so many online services giving the sense of security to users, promising that content, credit card numbers and other sensitive information will be safe, this message has been lost.
Fleishman-Hillard Launches Global Capital Markets Services in Asia
Firm extends investor relations capabilities to world’s fastest-growing markets
Focuses on helping companies manage cross-border investor communications and close information gaps to avoid reputation damage and valuation discounts
HONG KONG, Nov. 17, 2011 — International communications consultancy Fleishman-Hillard has expanded its Global Capital Markets Services capability to meet the growing need for more active investor relations and financial communications programs for companies based in Asia and their investors around the world.
Fleishman-Hillard Takes Center Stage at SABRE Awards
Firm Recognized as 2011 Asia Pacific Consultancy of the Year
HONG KONG, Nov. 15, 2011 — Fleishman-Hillard won top honors in the inaugural Asia Pacific SABRE Awards competition. The program, conducted by the influential public relations publication The Holmes Report, highlights best-in-class campaigns and the agencies that led them.
Do You Have Your Twitter Filtered or Unfiltered?
Something quite extraordinary happened on Twitter last week, relating to the account of TV and film actor, Ashton Kutcher – @aplusk
In a nutshell, Kutcher Tweeted a complaint about the removal of a university football coach in the US, without first checking why the coach had been removed (he had allegedly covered up child sexual abuse), much to the chagrin of the Twittersphere.
Google Internal Rant Goes Public
Steve Yegge, a Google engineer, put the finishing touches on his 5000-word Google + post and hit the send button. What was meant to be an internal tirade for other Google employees was accidentally published externally to his 2000 or so followers and through the wonder of social media quickly gathered extreme momentum.
Steve contacted the internal public relations and communications team at Google and asked for their advice. Steve stated the team was supportive and didn’t want him to think that they were even hinting at censoring him. They stated that Google is an opinionated company, and not one of the kinds of companies that censor their employees. Ultimately, the choice to delete or keep the post was Steve’s.
Face our Digital Fears
Australians have a strong track record of recognition in the fields of marketing and communications, and 2011 was no exception.
However, when it comes to digital awards we seem to be underrepresented on the shortlists. In fact, at this year’s Cyber Lions Australian entries represented less than two per cent of the shortlist.
