To mark this day, the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) is launching a new worldwide campaign called “Cancer can be prevented too”. The aim is to increase public awareness about the simple steps we can all take to prevent cancer, especially in our later years.
There are many cancers caused by viral or bacterial infections which can be prevented through very simple measures including vaccination, and lifestyle changes such as:
• Stopping tobacco use and avoiding exposure to second-hand smoke
• Limiting alcohol consumption
• Avoiding excessive sun exposure
• Maintaining a healthy weight, through eating healthily and exercising regularly.
It’s astonishing to think that the risk of developing cancer can potentially be reduced by up to 40 per cent through these simple lifestyle changes.
Now it’s time for everyone to help spread the message.
Firstly, let me say what an unfortunate name they’ve chosen. I can see where Apple was going — after iPod and iPhone, iPad was the next logical choice. But with iTampon as the second biggest trending topic on Twitter (earlier today), one wonders if they’ve signed up for endless ridicule.
However, according to Apple’s Steve Jobs, the jokes and teasing were expected and they’re sure people will get over them.
While the iPhone and iPod were both revolutionary, Apple has had its share of near (and not so near) misses. Remember Apple TV and the Rokr? But will the iPad be one too? Will we get past the jokes?
The iPad is supposed to fill the gap between smartphones and laptops; sadly it has fewer features. And from where I’m sitting, there aren’t enough differences between the iPad and the iPhone to spark my interest. I have an iPhone and a Macbook but I can’t see myself needing, nor wanting, one … not just yet.
I want more. I want a camera. I want a USB plug. I want to be able to plug it into my TV. And I definitely want it to be able to multi-task.
That said, there’s plenty to like about the iPad including the multi touch screen. On top of that the price is impressive, the keyboard dock is pretty cool, it’s light, has a big screen and iWork looks like a great application. I particularly like the interface for the new calendar. This really is a glimpse into the future.
It’s being heralded as a way to save the publishing industry. How? iBook will make a dent in Amazon but without the use of E-Ink or free 3G, I doubt it will eclipse Kindle. More importantly how will it affect the newspaper and magazine industries? The business models are still problematic and I doubt a device will solve it.
I don’t think the iPad effect will be immediate. Rather it will probably be a slow burn (i.e. 5 years). I do like where the iPad is headed, further simplifying devices. However, I think I will happily wait for another version with more features.
Although it’s been introduced to fill the gap between smartphones and computers, I think the iPad (and similar versions) will eventually nudge out computers, once and for all.
What will this mean for communicators? It’s a case of wait and see. All I know for sure is I’m looking forward to the journey.
Communicator’s Corner is a new section we’re adding to cellophane. Each month we’ll ask a communicator to answer a few simple questions about communication, the industry and their career. We thought we’d start with our own character – Jack Walden.
Me and my mum
Jack Walden
Managing Director, the c word
Tell us about your typical day in communications?
It starts with a quick check of Twitter, blogs and newspapers. Then it’s time to tackle the daily deluge of emails. Finally, after downing a second coffee, it’s time to crack into some strategy writing, planning, editing and tweaking. The afternoons are usually devoted to brainstorming and creative thinking. And the evenings are set aside for catching up with friends and colleagues. Usually there’s an event, opening or art show to check out before getting ready to do it all again.
When did you first know you wanted to work in communications?
This is a hard one. I’d have to say at a pretty young age because I grew up in a house where we all had pretty strong voices, and I loved the challenge of cutting through that noise. I guess I really decided to pursue a career in communication when I went to school in the ‘big smoke’ and found myself spending more time helping the fundraising department and seeking publicity for the school’s theatrical productions than in the classroom.
Who’s your communication hero/mentor?
There are too many to name. That said, I’ve been fortunate to work with some truly clever communicators – some of whom I hope will answer these questions in the year ahead. But I’m also lucky to have some communication heroes and mentors within my family. Mum inspires me on a regular basis with her practical approach and brilliant ability to think about what the customer/client would want and need. My sister is extremely witty and creative – nearly as witty as me *chuckle*. Dad constantly reminds me that he does ‘PR’ every day as a business owner and in many ways he does! And my brother has an amazing ability to speak on a range of topics in front of big audiences and engage them. Also, between my mother and grandmother I was never going to escape learning my ABCs.
Which tools can’t you live without?
My BlackBerry because I’m addicted to constant contact. My Laptop for making it possible to work wherever I am in the space-time continuum. And my collection of sharpies, post-its and butchers paper because they make me even more creative.
What are the biggest challenges in your role?
Fitting everything in to 24 hours.
Tell us about the best campaign you’ve ever worked on?
Again another question to test the memory – why did we ask these questions? Ok. It’s hard to go past the campaign we worked on last year for Safe Climate Australia. It was an incredible experience to work with a group of dedicated emergency services workers and visit some amazing places across Australia.
Which campaign do you most admire?
I really admire the beautiful campaigns that are created for Chanel. From the legendary 1979 “Share fantasy” campaign to the recent short movies starring Nicole Kidman and Audrey Tattou. They’re beautiful, classic and elegant.
What’s been the biggest change to communication/marketing/public relations since you began your career?
Speed. Internet. Facebook. The mediums may have changed but communication remains the same.
If you had to cut/keep something in your communication budget, what would it be?
I’d keep the money for evaluation. You need to be able to see where you did well and didn’t do so well and an evaluation is the only way you can do that and demonstrate the return on investment.
What quality do you look for in your communication team members?
Creativity. Commitment. Candidness.
What’s your favourite brand?
The Plaza Hotel, New York City.
The Plaza Hotel
What book/blog do you think every communicator should read?
Cellophane of course. *evil chuckle*. You might also check out Seth’s Blog.
What tips do you wish you’d known starting out in communications?
Simple plans and strategies are the best approach.
Would you be shocked to rock up to your architect’s house and find a renovator’s delight not yet renovated? Would you be horrified to attend an event hosted by a practically perfect Martha Stewart-esque television presenter with paper napkins? And would you cry over the hypocrisy of a world-renowned culinary sensation inviting you over for melted cheese sandwiches?
We’ve all heard the old saying “Practice what you preach!” meaning “do yourself what you advise others to do”. But do we really know what it means – and have we been listening?
Now we have all been guilty of not taking our own advice. I’m sure we all have one or two examples in our personal lives like telling your BFF she needs to take care of herself and eat right while you hoover down a burger, fries (and diet coke of course!). Or telling your partner to ‘clean as you go’, while you leave a trail of dirty dishes in your wake. Pause for a moment, and I’m sure you’ll think of some examples from the work place too.
On a daily basis c-worders are charged with the task of providing clients with ideas and strategies to raise the profile of their organisation and achieve their business goals. We’re often knee deep in creative communication approaches and plans, and you’d think that many of those ideas would be applied to our own business. Unfortunately we don’t always make the time to come up with creative ideas for our own business. Perhaps a good New Year’s resolution (albeit a late one) is to take our own advice.
‘Practice what you preach’ is one of the most common pieces of advice we offer our clients. It’s so simple but often one of the first things we business folk forget. We also encourage the c word’s clients to play to their strengths. For example, a graphic design firm known for their award-winning designs was using a simple word document as a company profile until we advised them to apply their design skills to their own material. The result was a redeveloped company profile that not only has the required information but looks sharp and shows off their strength.
Practicing what you preach and playing to your strengths can mean business success. It may sound simple enough, but what if you’re not sure what your strengths are? Strengths are not only the activities that form part of your core business, they might also be things you do for your clients as added value.
So how does one identify what their business strengths are?
• Write down everything your business is really good at and everyone enjoys
• Don’t forget to look at everything including: expertise, knowledge, relationships, and processes
• Now identify the common themes and activities – Writing? Social media? Campaign management? Teamwork?
• Take the time to service your business as well as your clients – make some you (business) time
• Reassess your strengths regularly. They will continue to grow as you, your business and your staff grow
Strengths can be many and varied; you could be a killer networker, an editing whiz or a planning pro. Whatever it is, ensure you have the tools and processes in place to harness those strengths for good.
Playing to your strengths also creates a greater sense of worth, better staff morale and an unwavering passion for the projects you work on. In the end you’ll find everyone’s a winner.
Marshall McLuhan’s phrase the “the medium is the message” probably had more significance this last decade than ever before. With the Internet, mobile phones and social networking sites flourishing in ways we could not have imagined.
While email remains the most common form of work place communication, it’s not that long ago that we were going through reams and reams of paper to fax media releases, invites and important documents. Remember those days?
An item that’s become as ubiquitous as the fax is the smart phone, which has brought the world to our fingertips. Well perhaps not the world but at the very least Google (same thing, right?). With our BlackBerry or iPhone in hand, we can email, confirm meetings, book interviews, tweet and Facebook from anywhere in the world. And there’s no such thing as downtime, for example, last year, when I put my computer in for a service, my work went on unaffected thanks to my iPhone.
Accessing information is easier than ever before. Who hasn’t been out somewhere and heard someone ask to Google this or Wikipedia that? Trivia nights watch out! And with blogs and RSS feeds, you don’t even need to go looking for information; it comes to you.
One cannot comment on the last decade without mentioning Web 2.0 – first came MySpace, then Facebook shot out of the barrel and then a weird little thing called Twitter.
As communicators, not only did we see the tools by which we communicate change drastically in the last ten years, but we’ve also had to hand over control of the message to the users. Broadcasting to a community has taken a back seat to engaging with it. And I for one like it.
Here’s to Twenty-Ten and the next round of changes.
It’s been a creative, colourful and a collaborative year for the c word. We welcomed new characters, Skyped with poets, talked privacy with a strategic advisor for Facebook, had breakfast with Al Gore, and clinked champagne glasses at designer launches. We ended the year running – albeit virtually – alongside 25 emergency services runners as the official social media partner for Run for a Safe Climate. We followed them from Cooktown to Noosa, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra and cheered them on as the crossed the finish line at St Kilda.
Between developing strategies and implementing campaigns, we launched our Cellophane blog about our work and the world of communication. And along the way we tweeted about what was happening in the day-to-day life of the c word.
I’m looking forward to another busy year filled with interesting projects – big and small. A big thanks to our cool clients, creative characters and cheeky collaborators – congratulations on another amazing year!
It’s not every day you spend time with someone who has worked with Presidents Clinton and Obama but in 2009 we did. In September, we managed a publicity tour with Mozelle Thompson, a former US Federal Trade Commissioner, a team leader of the Obama transition team and a privacy advisor to technology companies, including a little outfit in Palo Alto called Facebook.
Mozelle was in Australia to speak at the Australian conference of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, and we were engaged to develop a social media and publicity campaign for the event. We secured a significant amount of coverage including ABC2’s Breakfast News program, blogs, national radio stations and major metropolitan newspapers. We also developed brochures, web pages, posters, media releases, invitations, and tools to help the board members engage their professional networks. The end result was an increased number of attendees from the previous year.
Earlier in the year we worked with the Victorian Department of Justice team responsible for the establishment of a regional structure for their 6,000 employees. We worked on internal and stakeholder communication in the final months of the project and helped with the development of community engagement tools for staff, including a guidebook to assist staff with the transition. And we visited a number of Victorian regional locations to help produce videos about the staff and services in each region.
Our journey with Run for a Safe Climate began in July at an early morning breakfast with Al Gore. It was the launch of Safe Climate Australia – a group of business leaders, scientists and community members committed to developing a practical transition plan to move Australia to a safe climate. At the end of the breakfast, they launched the 6,000km run from Cooktown to Melbourne to raise money for the new initiative. A couple of months later we became the official social media partner for the run and joined the runners in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria to Tweet, Facebook and blog about their journey. The biggest challenge was translating complex ideas into simple messages, which we managed to do across a variety of social media platforms. We secured support from well-connected social media personalities and generated coverage on national and international blogs. In less than six weeks we attracted more than 850 Twitter followers and 1,500 Facebook fans.
Our weekly catch-ups with housemouse often involve coffee, plenty of new ideas and are definitely creative affairs. the c word acts like a marketing director and work closely with the team with weekly, monthly and annual ‘catch-up’ meetings. We advise on business development, marketing and public relations plus events. The biggest achievement this year was the development of their company profile – a visual representation of their experience, skills and knowledge. We should all take a leaf out of their book and practice what we preach.
For the second year running the c word worked with the Overload Poetry Festival, a 10-day smorgasbord of poetry. The program gets better every year, and this year’s line-up included exciting events at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Australian Centre for Moving Image. The most memorable moment was a stirring performance by poets at the National Gallery of Victoria – a must see in 2010. We secured coverage on radio and in print including The Age, Beat Magazine, Arts Hub, 3000 and Triple R. We also managed an exciting partnership with Overland Literary Journal, who focused their blog on the festival for the entire event.
Corporate video production
While we may not have been in front of the camera, we did produce a number of videos including corporate documentaries for the Judicial College of Victoria and the Dandenong Drug Court, a 30-second promotional video about housemouse and a community education video for VCAT. We interviewed judicial officers, authors, psychologists and educators, developed scripts, and treaded the boards at TheatreWorks in St Kilda. We also produced video newscasts for clients including the Neighbourhood Justice Centre.
Not only did we help housemouse launch their design magazine fluoro at Federation Square at the start of October, we also helped put it together – providing creative content to go with the creative designs. Early on, we defined the audience for the publication, which informed the design and content. We also collaborated on a killer guest list, which can be a challenging task at the best of times but when well executed you end up with a chatty, cool and creative cohort like the fluoro launch crowd. The magazine received rave reviews and was the topic of discussion on a number of radio shows. Watch out for the next issue in March and get the current copy at bookstores including Borders.
We think you’ll be seeing a lot more of photographer Kate Robertson. She’s been part of plenty of exhibitions in the past but this year she launched her first solo exhibition – ‘After the Goldrush’. We spread the word by developing media materials, writing copy for her brochures and post cards and providing feedback on her website. We secured coverage on leading arts website Arts Hub, and helped her develop an image blog with photos of things that inspire her on a regular basis and old family snaps. We can’t wait to see what she has planned next year and look forward to celebrating gold, silver and diamond anniversaries with her.
We clocked up plenty of train travel this year with Moving Galleries. The team puts art and poetry on Melbourne trains and it is easily the most visited exhibition in town. The latest exhibition included photographs of art installations that had transformed city spaces including laneways and major buildings. We helped develop new marketing materials including a brochure which doubled as a poster, and helped raise their profile in the lead up to the transition to a new train provider. We also worked closely with them to develop an authentic social media experience on Twitter and Facebook.
There will be plenty of gifts under trees this Christmas wrapped in the eco-friendly range of wrapping paper from wrapped by housemouse. It’s been a big year for the team with tradeshows, magazine photo shoots and meetings with big retailers. All the time the c word has been there with ideas and support – and tips on folding too. We’ve helped them develop a retail strategy for conquering Melbourne, Australia and the world plus we’ve come up with creative ideas for attracting media attention. To help the media get to know the product we worked on a designer press pack. We also shared advice on the fourth P of marketing: pricing. And we’ve got some pretty cool activities that will be unwrapped in 2010. Now all we need to do is wrap the presents to go under our Christmas trees – thankfully we have an abundant supply of eco-friendly wrapping paper.
Let’s kick of the silly season with a classic c word from Kool and the Gang – Celebration!
We’re knee deep in evaluations at the moment – wading through a sea of metrics, news clippings and feedback. Along the way, we’ve discovered some amazing results for a social media campaign we developed and implemented for Run for a Safe Climate.
Evaluations are a reflective process – a chance to step back and take stock of your situation. A good evaluation is like a good holiday, essential but often neglected because work gets in the way.
According to articles written on the subject on the PRIA website, evaluation is an important strategic tool because it helps you:
• identify the direction in which a campaign should take
• assess the opportunities or challenges a campaign faced during its journey
• set benchmarks against which the effectiveness of strategies, tactics and practices can be measured.
So what’s the difference between a good evaluation and a bad one? There are a number of factors that make an evaluation worthwhile. First a good evaluation relies on honesty, second it’s about scrutiny; looking at the project or campaign from different angles and through many different lenses, third a good evaluation takes time and fourth an evaluation should be timely.
Why is honesty an essential part of the evaluation process? Well, there’s no point going through an evaluation if you’re not prepared to accept the reality of the situation. If you’re going to dismiss negative results or findings, then there is no chance you’re going to learn from the process. Also if you sugar coat the information and don’t tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth (oh god having a Boston Legal Flashback) then you won’t discover what went well and what went wrong.
An evaluation should take the good with the bad. You should see things that didn’t work this time around as opportunities to learn and do better the next time. Evaluations are the perfect opportunity to assess the quality of your work/campaign and are essential to continual improvement.
For Run for a Safe Climate, we were able to identify areas where we needed to invest more resources and have a clear idea how to approach the campaign for the next run. For example, we identified the difference it makes having a dedicated social media team member on the road with the team with direct access to local scientists and organisations plus a live presence at events. This is something more and more campaigns and organisations will have to come to terms with in the next 12 months, the importance of dedicated social media staff members.
By Paul Ovenden for Run for a Safe Climate
Over the six weeks of the campaign, we successfully raised the profile of the run to more than 900 Twitter followers. Further data analysis showed that the potential total reach via Twitter exceeded 50,000 followers, when looking at our Top 30 Twitter champions who provided countless Retweets and @mentions. It was a similar story on Facebook, where we garnered support from Cool Melbourne, Greenpeace and Green Cross fan pages which helped us reach an additional 15,000 fans on top of our 1500+ Facebook fans.
An evaluation should dig deep and needs to gather information from a range of sources. It’s not just a numbers game, it’s about uncovering the real story. What parts of the campaign did the audience engage with? What did your audience think and what were they saying? What did your suppliers think and how were they supporting or not supporting you? Why did the media run or not run your story? Qualitative information is just as useful as quantitative.
By reviewing all the comments, @messages and interactions across the social media channels, we’ve found that people were inspired by the emergency service workers running for a safe climate. There was also very little resistance and negativity throughout the run – a pleasant surprise considering that climate change is such a divisive topic for the Australian public.
Another thing you need to do is give your evaluation process the time it deserves. Schedule it into your timeline from the beginning, and don’t rush it when the next project deadline is looming. An evaluation might take a day, a week or even longer – give it the time it deserves and make the time to talk to as many people as possible. Your overall report should have the figures to back up your success but you should also highlight the personal experiences behind the numbers.
It took us several days to collate the data from Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Twitpic and blogs, which we then spent a considerable amount of time reviewing both individually and as a group. It was a worthwhile way to spend our time, as we now have a clear picture of the reach of the social media campaign for all involved, and are better placed to develop a comprehensive plan to help the organisation take its next steps. Not only that, we had so much positive feedback from diverse parties that can only excite us as we move forward.
We mentioned the need to think about the evaluation before you begin. Think about what you will want to know at the end. It will even help you develop your plan and activities. Also when a client, whether they’re internal or external briefs you on their expectations, make them a part of your evaluation process.
Finally a good evaluation should happen as soon after you finish your campaign or project; the longer you leave it, the greater the chance is you will rush through the process or skip it all together. It comes back to scheduling in time for evaluation in your initial plan and budget.
Once the run reached the finish line at St Kilda Beach, we set aside time to breakdown each stage of the campaign. The whole social media team got together and identified highlights, challenges, wins and lesson learned. Coupled with the data collected, we were able to provide a useful and strategic evaluation report to our client that will help everyone involved when we attempt to circumnavigate Australia for the next Run for a Safe Climate.
That is going to be a huge campaign – 17000km around the mainland coastline of Australia – imagine the number of tweets, Twitpics and Facebook entries we’ll do for that.
Did you know what a spill was before last week? I have to spill the beans (pardon the pun) and admit until I saw it pop up on Twitter I didn’t. But that is the power of Twitter and like they say: “you learn something new every day”.
Australian politics has been littered with spills over the years. In fact this isn’t Malcolm Turnbull’s first nor second, it’s his third after winning his leadership in a spill vote against Brendan Nelson.
In June 1977, a parliamentary Labor Party leadership spill saw Gough Whitlam defeat Bill Hayden (32-30). Other famous spills include Beazley v Rudd and how can one forget Latham taking over the Labor leadership in 2003 from Simon Crean. Or his downfall in 2005 against Kim Beazley.
How times have changed from the mixture of radio, print and a little television coverage of earlier Australian political spills to the continuous coverage of the regular Labor party and Liberal party spills earlier this decade on television and websites. Twitter now brings us real-time coverage and commentary of Turnbull v Andrews v Hockey v Abbott in the latest #spill.
With no 24-hour free-to-air news channel in Australia (come on ABC, 7, 9, 10 & SBS), most of my information about the Liberal Party leadership spills came via Twitter. Of course we did manage to tween some information from Lateline and other current affairs shows.
However political journalist such as @sandraom, @smurray38, @annabelcrabb, @latikambourke, @Colvinius, and @David_Speers gave up to the minute accounts for their followers. It felt like you were walking the halls of Parliament House yourself. Watching the #spill feed on Twitter was far more entertaining and lively than any of the debates seen on television. I guess this fly-on-the-wall coverage is what makes Twitter such a useful news broadcasting tool.
Back to the #spill and for those of you out of the loop, Turnbull’s leadership was challenged for the first time last week after backing the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) with a motion to spill held at 1pm Wednesday. Opposition MPs opposed to the bill said there were many among their ranks to support them. However Malcolm Turnbull retained his leadership after the secret ballot with a result of 48-35.
Climate sceptic Kevin Andrew (of Mohamed Haneef fame) led the challenge with Wilson Tuckey putting forward the motion to spill. Most opposing this scheme believe the economic costs to individuals and businesses are far too costly to take on.
Tony Abbott was quoted as saying the leadership fight was not an issue of leadership but of policy, and said that had now been resolved.
As the weekend rolled around, rumours were flying left, right and centre that Hockey and Abbott would challenge. There were resignations, offers of support, wheeling and dealing.
Tuesday morning, another motion to spill was passed and Malcolm Turnbull lost the leadership to climate sceptic Tony Abbott following yet another secret ballot vote with a result of 42-41. Hockey was ousted from the race early on. We watched the Twitter stream and the live stream from ABC (Thank you ABC).
In a recent survey of editors and senior editorial staff by The Alliance, they encountered a mixed response, especially due to economic constraints putting added pressure on staff and quality. However not all respondents were quite so grim with some outlining the added engagement of audiences through online channels.
This is certainly the case with the recent coverage of #spill 1.0 & #spill 2.0 with some even prophesising #split as a demise of the Liberal Party. Yesterday during this battle of leadership, policy and whether or not the Liberal Party want to be a throwback to the 1950s or a party with foresight, there were 10,000 #spill tweets in three hours (statistic courtesy of @wolfcat). This doesn’t include all the tweets without the #spill hashtag. Those interested in politics were stuck to their screens and an organic political discussion about the Liberal party, its leadership and climate change policy has taken place over the last week. Coupled with traditional media, there has been a serious amount of coverage for Australians.
The most disappointing part about this whole fiasco is that it has pushed aside important dialogue about the ETS. If economic costs are such a big concern for Liberal Party members – how are they not disturbed at what the economic impact will be when the natural resources we rely on disappear?
If you’re interested in positive solutions and actions to curb climate change, please support our client Run for a Safe Climate. They are raising funds to develop and implement a Safe Climate Transition Plan.
As another year draws to a close, it’s time for television shows, their makers and their hosts to ask themselves the big question: will I stay or will I go?
Last Sunday Rove McManus invited everyone over for a barbecue and announced his plans to retire after 10 years on television – first on Channel 31, then on 9 and finally on 10. Of course Twitter was a flutter with discussion, everyone wondering what was next for the vertically challenged funny man. While the jury is still out on whether or not he’ll head to America, there’s plenty to keep him busy at home, with a number of projects coming out of the Roving Enterprise offices including The 7pm Project.
Of course it would be remiss of us to blog about the changing television landscape without mentioning Oprah’s big news! No she’s not pregnant and she’s not starring in the sequel to A Colour Purple! She’s moving on. But before she had a chance to shed a tear on national television (and shed them she did) Twitter, magazines, blogs and television stations were madly reporting the fact she was ending ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’, in two years time!
Oprah is the woman with the golden touch – products she endorse sell like hot cakes and there are many people waiting at this very moment to find out what to put under their Christmas tree. Never fear, we’re sure she’ll be around for plenty of time to come, just on a different network – her OWN if you must know: OWN – The Oprah Winfrey Network! I suppose why have a cake when you can own the bakery!
The New York Times wondered who would lead the airwaves in the post-Oprah world, and again asked who would wake up at some ungodly hour to fill Dianne Sawyer’s shoes on Good Morning America. After the announcement earlier this year that Sawyers would become the host of ABC’s World News – meaning two of the three anchors on US nightly news are women – there has been no word on who will fill her GMA spot.
Back home and the changes keep coming. Adam Boland has been tweeting about the freshen up they’re giving Sunrise – a new set and all! Unfortunately for the set designer behind shows like Martha, The Daily Show and CBS Early Show, there’s not as much room to play with in the studio that used to be a bank. It’s good news however for Channel 7’s The Morning Show which will get a facelift at the same time – no handme downs for this younger sibling.
Sadly we bid adieu to Sunday arts – to be replaced in 2010 with a snappier half hour arts program and expanded online content.
We wait with bated breath to see what morsels will be served up to us in the new year! It will hopefully be an exciting year with all the new channels – I wonder though what they’ll dish up to us on Go, 72, ABC2, ABC3?
All we ask is that the landscape doesn’t include Hey Hey It’s Saturday … haven’t we all been punished enough?
Happy television viewing,
the c word
PS. We thought we’d sign off with a favourite TV theme song of ours – and thank YOU for being a reader!
This week the classic children television program Sesame Street kicks off its 40th season – happy birthday to the birthplace of Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Count Von Count, Big Bird and all their friends.
With forty years under their belt, we thought we’d look at what we’ve learned from the colourful characters who’ve been entertaining and educating children (and their parents) since 10 November 1969.
As Gibbs says “Sesame Street’s genius lies in finding gentle ways to talk about hard things — death, divorce, danger — in terms that children understand and accept.” She asks the question though whether we’re ready to move beyond this and hear the truth!
As a communicator you often need to translate complex ideas into simple concepts or sound bites. This is something the people on Sesame Street have mastered, through their strong characters they are able to discuss complex issues broken down into simple terms.
I think you can also learn a bit from their ability to tailor communication for varying audiences – they have content for their primary views (children) and content for the secondary audience (the parents) plus resources and information for professionals as well. Check out their blog for parents which is clever and engaging!
Another thing we can learn from Sesame Street is the way it captures the reality of the situation and deals with real issues in real places. Yes the characters are muppets but they don’t sugar coat the truth and they surround themselves with places that are relevant for their audience.
The other thing that’s great about Sesame Street is they keep it simple. Each day they deal with one letter and one number and the show doesn’t try to deal with too many issues at the one time. Think about this the next time you’re wanting to raise awareness of a particular issue or want to educate your stakeholders about a change – don’t overload them with information.
Also check out the c word’s 7 tips for creativity and passion inspired by Sesame Street character featured on PRIA website this week. We’re certain you’ll find some pointers there that will inspire your work life.
Finally, I can’t help but continue to love Google’s themed homepages – this week they celebrate Sesame Street’s 40th with a Cookie Monster for Australians.
So tell us who’s your favourite Sesame Street character – add a comment below, tweet us @thecwordagency or send us an email to info@thecword.com.au. Our favourite one is the Cookie Monster especially when he sings about his favourite c word… Cookie!!
cellophane is the official blog of Melbourne PR agency, the c word.
We can share our views on communication, creativity, collaboration and characters.
Start a conversation by emailing us at info@thecword.com.au
Today is World Cancer Day.
