MJ’s brilliant career, B&T’s December issue
Marguerite Julian (or MJ as we like to call her), Stellar*’s founder and managing director, has featured in this month’s B&T magazine. As a PR person it’s quite comforting to have someone like MJ around because over the span of her career she has seen it, done it and PR’d it all! The thing is, [...]
What we did to win a Beauty Directory ‘Star Award’
We’ve been basking in the shiny golden rays of PR glory for the past couple of weeks because at the recent Beauty Directory Star Awards, Stellar* won the Luxe Category for Best PR Campaign. We graciously accepted this starry award for our work with ghd at this year’s Rosemount Australian Fashion Week (RAFW). [...]
Hammer time @ the Social Media Club
When I think MC Hammer I think three things: 1/ Hammer pants; 2/ Hammer time; and 3/ You Can’t Touch This I don’t think social media entrepreneur. At least I didn’t until last night when we social media ruffians packed into a UTS lecture hall to hear the Hammer break it down at the Social [...]
Measuring publicity results
When I started writing this post I thought I liked graphs a lot; probably more than most people but as I found out, not nearly as much as Craig Robinson who in the space of 10 minutes has become my personal hero. Unlike Craig, who once audited his life into a range of magnificent pie charts, my interest has [...]
Memoirs from an exhibitionist – tips on exhibiting at shows (Part 2)
Following on from last week’s post, we have part 2 of our top tips for exhibiting at shows. Manual Read the exhibitor manual in detail – it’s your bible! This will contain all of the info you need to know for the show including bump in/bump out times and details, delivery details, permits, health and [...]
Memoirs from an exhibitionist – tips on exhibiting at shows (Part 1)
Today, I proudly call myself an exhibitionist. I believe this is a fair title after working on projects for the Good Food & Wine Shows in Melbourne and Sydney and the Food Show in Auckland – in addition to attending several shows a year as a spectator. So whilst I am fresh off the back [...]
Regional press – the (sometimes) forgotten hero
It’s not wise to have a narrow view of the media (or anything for that matter!). While glossy magazines and metro newspapers are big alluring publicity targets, they’re not the be all and end all. So give some thorough consideration to the unsung hero that is regional press. As Rural Press states on its website: [...]
New knowledge for PR professionals: how much do you know?
“I’m supposed to be on top of what’s new in tech, but there’s just too much, too fast; it’s like drinking from a fire hose” I like this quote a lot. American tech columnist, David Pogue, said this and it’s sometimes how I feel trying to keep up with social media. Today’s PR professional needs to be on [...]
15 tips for blogger relations
On 29 June a bunch of PR people and food bloggers got together to discuss blogger relations in response to some recent and very public PR stuff ups involving food bloggers and journos. At the meet up, a panel discussion was held with Helen from Grab Your Fork, Reem from I Am Obsessed with Food and Ed from Tomato. [...]
Food bloggers & PR professionals’ meet up
Lately, there has been some very public instances in which PR people have been ‘named and shamed’ online - on blogs and in twitter – for the way they have approached food bloggers. It hasn’t been pretty and when situations like this occur, it doesn’t do anyone any good. I attribute this strife largely to a general lack of [...]
James Halliday goes Gen Y
Proving that you’re never too old school to be new school, James Halliday has launched his own iPhone application. For those who don’t know, James is a leading wine critic and vigneron whose career spans over 40 years. He has contributed to more than 50 books on wine and has had them translated into [...]
A new manifesto for PR
Is it just me or has PR been slammed more in the last month than in the last few years? The industry appears to be copping it from all sides. We’ve had: Neil Shoebridge’s AFR piece titled How to lose clients and annoy reporters. He argues that the PR industry is awash with incompetent people and [...]
Microsoft technology you won’t believe
I have been trying to think of a clever intro for this post for about five minutes but the only words that come to me are: radical technology.
Your news, your publicity, your side of the story, in full and unedited
In the words of Freddy Mercury: “Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?” The title of this post is a PR ‘fantasy made reality’ by the intro of a website called The FULL STORY. And not just for PR but for any business; we’d all like our news published our way. One of the best [...]
Stellar* Analytics PR measurement and evaluation
You don’t know this but today is the Birthday of Stellar* Analytics; it’s officially 1 year old! We’ve been pretty quiet about our new baby but after 12 months of getting to know it, we are ready to unleash it! Stellar* Analytics is our custom measurement, analysis and reporting tool. It’s also a sophisticated online media centre which has [...]
What is a consumption cocktail?
Is Monday too soon to be thinking about cocktails? I say no. This is PR and of course, all we crazy PR hedonists do is booze up. So as I poured my first Hendrick’s cocktail of the week (respectfully 1 minute after 12 noon), an interesting article by Fi Bendall caught my eye. It describes, among other really interesting points, the media consumption of her Gen Y teenage [...]
Making money from viral videos: behind Beached Whale
I attended a New Media Conference last week. By far the most entertaining speaker was Dan Ilic. His talk was more stand up comedy routine than conference presentation which at 9.30am on a Friday, was fine with me. From his viewpoint the best virals are strong on character, content and narrative; they make an emotional connection and stay true to the idea. Controversity, [...]
Consumer trend predictions for 2009
I’m not very good at long-term predictions but I’m so good at short-term predictions sometimes I wonder if I’m psychic. For instance, I can predict that my boyfriend won’t have done the washing up because he’s probably spent most of the day doing this. I can also predict with 100 per cent accuracy that my mum will [...]
A quick bitch about a slack pitch
Today something happened that made me appreciate why journalists loathe PR people who ‘slack pitch’ them. Let me explain. This morning I got an email from a PR person who was pitching their client to me for a possible story on the Stellar* blog. Firstly, the email was addressed to the sender with my email [...]
Part 2: How to work with a PR agency
Here’s part two of our post on how to work with a PR agency (part one here if you need it). These tips can make the difference between having an excellent experience or one you’d rather forget. Integration PR works best when fully integrated with your business and the rest of your marketing mix. Ensure that your [...]
The best complaint letter ever
Having returned from Japan yesterday the memory of aeroplane food is clear in my mind (see some fine examples here to refresh your memory). After coming across Oliver Beale’s letter to Richard Branson today about the “culinary journey of hell” he was put through on his flight I was grateful that I didn’t fly Virgin (however I’d [...]
Part 1: How to work with a PR agency
Now you have gone through the selection process and picked your agency, you need to figure out how to work together to ensure the best results for you and your brand. Think of your agency as your best friend to get the best you can out of the relationship. Here is the first set of [...]
How to choose a PR agency
Public Relations is unfortunately still one of those professions that I find myself constantly having to explain to people at dinner parties, in taxis, to my grandma (I have tried many times to no avail!). So if you are a PR virgin and looking for an agency, what should you really be looking for? If [...]
