It’s tough being an island - all alone and conspicious.  There are many social media islands out there in companies.  These people have been tasked with “getting some social media going”; they’re doing what no employee has done before; and what’s more, it doesn’t even look like real work.

If you feel like a social media island at your work the good news is that tomorrow is your day because Sydney (and the world) is having a Social Media Day. It’s essentially the world’s first unified day that celebrates online communities and a chance for social media champions to get together, share a drink, and tell war stories about fighting the good fight to make the world a better and more connected, social place. 

The folks at Mashable came up with the global idea and Australia’s Laurel Papworth, social media strategist, has turned event manager to organise proceedings which will be held at ivy.

In Sydney, visiting BBC journalist and social media expert, Euan Semple, will be sharing his knowledge and expertise around introducing social media tools into large, successful organisation such as Nokia, The World Bank and NATO.

The worldwide event has drawn interest from over 8000 people across 86 countries, with nearly 500 worldwide events taking place tomorrow.  Attendees will use the hash tag #smday on Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

When: Wednesday, 30 June at 6.30pm

Where: Ivy Ballroom at 320-330 George Street

How: RSVP to MeetUp here / Follow on Twitter / Join Facebook

Posted by Renee Creer

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 knowledge and understanding about bloggers and blogging. 

So in an effort to improve relations between PR professionals and members of the food blogging community, Stellar* is hosting a ‘meet up’ and panel discussion.  Please click here for event details and registration.

If you would like to gain some insight into the food blogger communities in Sydney and Melbourne; gain an understanding of who food bloggers are, how they work and what they do and don’t want; learn how to approch bloggers (without pissing them off) and build positive relationships, then please join us for this FREE event. 

Likewise, if you have questions you’ve been too afraid to ask - now’s your chance!  Ask on the night, email questions through to us prior OR leave a question on our blog.

The format is a panel discussion followed by an open Q & A session.  Speakers include:

• Ed Charles
  Melbourne based freelance journalist and food blogger behind Tomato, which attracts +30,000 page views per month.
• Helen Yee
  Food enthusiast and the appetite behind one of Sydney’s longest-running food blogs, Grab Your Fork, online since 2004.
• Reem Abdelaty
  A passionate foodie with an aptly titled and popular blog called I Am Obsessed With Food.

Why are we doing this?  Because as we stated here “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”.  We want to help to make things better and we thought that this would be a step in the right direction for all parties.

Big thanks and shout out to Restaurant Arras for providing a beautiful venue and ‘hatted’ nibbles for the night.  And to Ed for making the trip up from Melbourne.

Posted by Renee Creer

With Christmas fast approaching, our thoughts turn to eating, drinking, presents and of course… the office Christmas party.

Some see this anticipated event as an opportunity to show off their extra curricular skills - kung fu dancing, ear-splitting karaoke, jumping through their own leg (I’ve seen this and it’s awe inspiring!). Sound all too familiar?

You may think of the above as such tom foolery; that surely we, as PR extraordinaires, would keep our own Christmas parties as high end and stylish as our clients’. Ha ha, think again. Between us, we’ve seen and done it all!

So in the interest of saving you potential embarrassment (and possible retrenchment) here is our list of dos and don’ts for your office Christmas party.

DO

1. Carefully consider your party outfit. Anything that makes you look like you’ve fallen out of a lap dancing  club is probably not the most appropriate choice for advancing your career

2. Drink slowly. I’m not saying drink in moderation as, let’s be honest, that’s not going to happen, but do pace yourself. A flaming Sambucca over lunch is only going to lead to trouble

3. Ban all cameras and camera phones. Facebook can’t wait to get its little paws on that shot of you dancing with your dress over your head. Or, as Bono found out, sitting with a half dressed floozy on your lap

DON’T

1. Assume that because the work experience boy smiled at you that it’s a green light to clamber across the table and pash his face off. He was probably just concealing a burp

2. Complain that you hate your Kris Kringle gift. Your colleague probably spent hours trudging round the shops to find the offending diamante i-pod cover, so just pretend you love it and move on

3. Corner you boss for a quite one-to-one about your desired pay increase whilst spilling your drink all over their new shoes and telling them how much you love them. You may find your desk cleared the next day

These are merely our tips for the big event, the rest is up to you. If necessary, we are always available for reputation management should the need arise.

If you have any funny Christmas party stories we’d love to hear them.

Posted by Helen Lear

We’re in the business of blowing other people’s horns.  We’ve become so accustomed to this role we often forget to blow our own.  However, today we got this email from our client, The Wine Society, so we’re using it to blow our own horn:

“Thank you for all your hard work and dedication.  If people cannot see that Stellar* Concepts is the best PR agency in the known universe then there is something wrong with them.  I cannot wait to send around your PR update for the Young Winemaker of the Year because people will fall off their chairs” Eva Gero, Events Executive, The Wine Society

The finalists with MC, Jean Kittson

This is a big wrap.  It could be a slight exaggeration but who are we to disagree with a client.

What did we do to achieve such lavish praise?
For the second year we supported The Wine Society’s annual event, the Young Winemaker of the Year Award, with a publicity campaign.

What did we deliver?
This year to date we achieved 97 clippings nationwide and in NZ with a couple of big, juicy features still coming (see Sunday Magazine in Syd and Melb in Dec).  This equates to a circulation figure of 2,551,984.

Is this a lot of coverage?
Yes, yes indeed.  This is a veritable mountain of coverage.  If this coverage was a wine bottle it would be the size of a Melchizedek.

Why was this campaign so successful?
The story had national and international scope - so wide reaching appeal, while still being community centric (good for community press) + it allowed tailored, personal messages for specific media outlets.  Also, it was a newsworthy, topical event with a high number of participants which again, increased the appeal.

What was the business outcome?
Publicity helped drive a stronger field of entrants and attracted sommelier judges making the quality of the event greater.  It also helped to increase entrant numbers (up on 2007) and generated greater awareness around the awards program and The Wine Society itself.

I’ll drink to that!

Posted by Renee Creer

Here’s part 2 of our tips on getting your event in the social pages:

5. Hold your event later in the week when the social pages are being prepared and when people can feel a weekend coming on. If you hold your event on Friday or Saturday night don’t expect social coverage (see point 8). Wednesday or Thursday night is best and don’t rule out a breakfast or lunch timeslot for a product launch. Check the proposed date for other competing events on Social Diary, an industry diary of social events registered by people like us.

6. Don’t skimp on the invitation; it’s the first touch point so make it count. If it looks cheap you’re sending a message about what kind of event you’re putting on. Make the invitation stand out and try sending an invite that’s not just paper in an envelope. We always get asked about whether an email or hard copy invitation is better. Again, it depends on your brand and event but a birdie once told us that hard copy was good for social editors because they can put in a folder and it doesn’t get lost in their inbox.

7. Seven to ten days prior, leak details of the event to key media. This is a good way to touch base with social editors about the event and ensure they’ve saved the date in the diary. It will also generate buzz and you’ll notice a spike in rsvp’s as people start reading about it and getting excited. Social networking sites are also a great avenue to create buzz.

8. Be mindful of press deadlines. Sunday newspaper editions are put to bed by Friday lunchtime, so make sure journalists have everything they need and be sure to be contactable on Friday so journalists can check facts if needed.

9. Hire your own photographer so you can widen the publicity reach. Also, try and set up an exclusive shot the day of the event to ensure coverage the next day. On the night, don’t forget to ensure the social editor and photographer is being looked after because the coverage is written from their perspective.

10. Cross your fingers and hope for the best because these things are beyond control. Getting in the socials shouldn’t be your only measure of success. Other measures – attendance numbers, quality of guests, number of media guests, engagement with the brand and feedback from the client – should be used.

Did we forget anything? Let us know if you’ve got any other tips.

Posted by Renee Creer

I love a party. The best party I ever went to was a wake. Let’s just say if it was the subject of a joke it would start something like this: “Fourteen people and a blow-up dolphin are in a spa…” but that’s a story for another time because I would like to keep my job and reputation in tact.

We all know Sydney loves a party, but last week we learned that Sydney really, really loves a pool party, especially if it’s hosted by the notorious party master, Justin Hemmes.

Last Thursday we helped Justin launch ivy’s Pool Party, which was named Party of the Week by Amy Cooper in The Sun Herald S; just one of 14 clippings secured pre and post event.

At Stellar* we are often set the task of getting coverage in the social pages. This is not easy; competition is fierce, coverage can’t be guaranteed and reviews can be harsh.

If you’ve got aspirations for your event to make the socials or get the kind of coverage that will generate awareness, increase patronage, sell product or create buzz, the following list of tips will come in handy.

We’re posting this in two parts; the remaining tips will follow later in the week.

1. First, check your objectives. Clients often want a party without really drilling down on what the objective is and who their target consumers are. Who can blame them really? Parties are fun, however your objective might not be best achieved via an event. Similarly, if your targets are boomers, the social pages aren’t a good match and you should look at a more intimate event with different media targets.

2. Have a cool hook or theme that relates to your product or brand. The theme must be visually strong because coverage in the social pages is concise and image driven – so you’ve only got a small opportunity to get your message across. Plus, always include the brand or product name in the party title so that at the very least you’ll get a mention here.

3. You’re going to need young, good looking people, models and celebrities (they don’t have to be A list). That’s the simple truth of it. You’re going to need these people and lots of them, unless your product or brand is super sexy, has a certain level of cache, or the event idea is so out-of-this-world no one has ever heard or seen anything like it.

4. Events that offer a unique experience always have an advantage. They help with rsvp’s, talkability and coverage. Offer this via a ‘first ever’ happening, a special guest, a unique location, an exclusive performance - anything people can’t normally get, have access to, or experience. Aside from celebrities, media also love access to senior management, particularly if they have a public profile.

We’ll outline some practical tips in part 2, later this week.

Posted by Renee Creer

I once complained to friends about occupational food and wine fatigue brought on by Good Food Month.  The scorn that ensued was unparalleled.  I quickly learned that such talk about the struggle of eating and drinking one’s way through a month long parade of degustations, wine dinners, noodle markets, cheese tastings and the like, was best kept within industry circles with those who knew and could understand.

Indeed there are many conversations kept within industry circles.  This adds to the mystery of what we get up to here in the world of public relations.  This blog will hopefully expose some mysteries and open up some of those conversations to give you an insight into the industry at large and life at Stellar* Concepts.  Mostly we hope it will keep our clients, colleagues, friends and lurkers informed and entertained.

It seems fitting that we’ve launched our blog during Good Food Month; it’s by far our favourite time of year and we’ve been busy helping Brown Brothers, Citigroup, Brasserie Bread, Merivale, Café Sydney and The Trade Commission of Spain infect Sydney with their passion for food and wine.

Next year should be bigger and better with the recent announcement of the Sydney Morning Herald’s International Food Festival which will replace Good Food Month in 2009.

So, are we suffering from food and wine fatigue?  The question is, are you?

Posted by Renee Creer