Book Review: Unmarketing by Scott Stratten
Remember our 12 Essential PR Books post from December? Where we included books on the Stellar* reading list for 2012? One of those books was Unmarketing by Scott Stratten. It’s a good book if you’re new to social media (not so great if you’re more advanced) and the author provides an up-beat and casual narrative [...]
Selecting and using key messages in PR campaigns
In PR, key messages are used to communicate to the media the core points, benefits or aspects of a brand or product. They are the main aspects of the story you’re trying to tell about your brand and they are used in press releases, pitches and in conversations with journalists. When setting key messages, remember [...]
Australian street press: tapping into the undercurrent
Did you know that Australia has one of the most prolific street press industries in the world? It’s estimated that more than 400,000 copies of various street press titles hit the streets every week across Australia. Street press can be a fantastic avenue for reaching highly-engaged, niche audiences and sub-cultures, as an alternative to securing [...]
Brainstorming tips and techniques
The arrival of a new client brief is often followed by a brainstorm session to workshop ideas. Sure, plenty of ideas are thrown around, but are they really the BEST ideas and does everyone get a say? Author Susan Cain has some interesting opinions on brainstorms and ‘groupthink’. Cain suggests that we are surrounded by [...]
2012 marketing trends and predictions
It’s the time of year when everyone is talking about what will be big in 2012. By that I mean, what marketing trends consumers, brands – and their agencies – will be participating in. Tuesday night we headed to the Networx 2012 marketing trends forecast, to hear what a panel of those in-the-know (including Nigel [...]
An argument for organic Facebook growth
Organically growing a Facebook community can be a hard slog, unless your brand is iconic or has a cult-like status (Coca-Cola), or unless it’s just really awesome and lots of people want to find it and like it (Bubble O’Bill). Many brands feel like they must have thousands (even millions) of likes / fans to [...]
Social media growth in Australia 2011
We came across this little gem from Social Media News that shows the growth of each major social network in Australia over 2011 (click to enlarge). In fact, Social Media News is also a great resource for monthly Australian social media statistics. Check them out. Here are some key stats: Facebook growth and engagement continues [...]
12 essential PR books
Forget fiction, nonfiction is where it’s at. If you’re a PR person, these books are for you. Some are old thoroughbreds and some are shiny new ponies. I’m not sure why I used a horse analogy there, but let’s face it; things can get a bit loose at this time of year. If you haven’t [...]
Photography tips for the social pages
As a lifestyle PR agency, we do lots of events and one of the objectives might be achieving coverage in the social pages. This coverage is predominately photography driven and each media outlet has their own style and requirements. Here are some insights into social photography. 1/ What are the main social pages (Sydney based)? [...]
Why do people share content online?
Did this image appear in your Facebook newsfeed on the weekend? Timothy Straub, a regular guy from Wisconsin, US, shared this on Facebook and thanks to his small network of friends and family (and his open privacy settings) the photo is making its way around the world. It has already been shared over 18,400+ times and counting. Timothy is now [...]
Social media for journalists – resources and guides
The first Australian newspaper to employ a social media editor is the Herald Sun, and her name is Isabelle Oderberg, in case you didn’t know! It’s her job to improve the newspaper’s use of social media and to help journalists boost their own social media profiles, as reported in the Australian today. Also mentioned was [...]
Social media map
It’s not easy navigating through the social media landscape. It’s a big, busy place, much like the Tokyo subway. To help with general way-finding, the awesome folks at Overdrive Interactive in the States have just released this little gem. It’s a succinct, high-level look at the main social media tools and websites and where they [...]
Creating content that’s worth sharing
To some people this is just an ad, but to me it’s more – it’s a great piece of content. So compelling is this piece of content that I legitimately considered the offer. I found myself saying, “This would actually kill two birds with one stone and you know what, a bit of hard work [...]
Top tips for sponsorships
Agreeing to a sponsorship deal is like getting married in some regards. The two parties involved need to have a natural affinity for one another and a certain ‘fit’, they need shared values and objectives, a sense of ‘the team’, good communication, willingness to work on the relationship and solid trust and understanding if things [...]
We are loving this website
Ragan’s PR Daily is chock full of articles, tips, case studies, videos, interviews and all around PR goodness. It’s from the States but relevant in any market. Check it out.
PR education in Australia – what do you think about it?
Well? What do you think about it? I’m asking because I’ve just read a short essay that Professor Jim Macnamara wrote for a great report called Public Relations 2011, Issues, Insights, Ideas*. Titled PR Education – Getting the Theory-Practice Balance Right, the premise of his article is that PR students need more theory. By theory Jim means [...]
YouTube statistics 2011
One thing that the explosion of social media has given us is a remarkable array of mind-bending statistics, such as… “More content is uploaded to YouTube in a 60 day period than the 3 major US TV networks created in 60 years” or what about “If Facebook were a country it would be the 3rd largest [...]
Tips on blogger outreach by Lady Melbourne
This video by fashion and lifestyle blogger, Lady Melbourne, has sound advice for PR’s and brands on contacting and collaborating with bloggers. Check it out.
Evaluating event sponsors via editorial coverage
Big consumer events, big brands and big media appeal means big dollars invested - which also means someone standing there, at the end of the line, waving an even bigger measuring stick and demanding it be applied. So rather than having it applied to your behind in a whooping motion, here’s how you might use a measuring stick (of sorts) to evaluate event sponsors via the [...]
100 things to watch in 2011
The beginning of any new year is an optimistic time. Most of us are pondering what the new year will hold for us - what we’ll be doing, thinking, loving and perhaps loathing. Aside from the many prediction pieces that come out at this time, such as Mashable’s 95+ Predictions for the Web in 2011 which includes Public Relations, we really liked this presentation [...]
A Stellar* wrap up of 2010
What a year! It has been a cracker and in our last blog post for 2010 we’re looking back at highlights from some of the great projects, campaigns, brands and events we worked feverishly on this year. Click below to view. Enjoy!
Fashion and beauty blogger relations
Last week 130 PR people, brands, and bloggers gathered at Establishment in Sydney for a ‘meet up‘ hosted by Stellar* Concepts in partnership with iBlogFashion & Beauty. The aim of the night was for PRs to gain a better understanding of fashion and beauty bloggers and to encourage dialogue between the two. On the agenda [...]
AVE for measuring public relations
After a year-long inquiry and debate on the topic of using AVEs* to measure Public Relations ROI, the Institute of Public Relations Commission (IPR, from the USA) has concluded that there is no evidence to suggest that advertising and editorial space hold equivalent value. Most rational people already know this but it’s good the industry has taken a firm stance. This comes [...]
PR / blogger meet up… fashion and beauty focus
We never like to leave it too long between drinks, so we felt it was time to step away from our computers and get some old fashioned face-to-face human contact happening between PR people and bloggers. This month Stellar*, together with I Blog Fashion & Beauty, is hosting a PR / blogger meet up. This time the [...]
