For today’s post, we asked former c-worder Laura Crowden to reflect on the difference between newspapers in Australia and the United Kingdom. Laura is currently living in London and working as a Senior Media Officer at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM).

Any media or PR professional seeking work in the United Kingdom will undoubtedly be grilled on their knowledge of the UK media, and in particular the complex hierarchy among the national print media

In Australia, most capital cities boast a maximum of two daily newspapers, complimented by the local and regional titles. Australian communication professionals can be confident of each paper having a clearly defined audience and approach. In Melbourne, the Herald Sun is clearly a mass-market tabloid, while The Age is pitched as a quality broadsheet. The same distinction can be made between Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sydney Morning Herald.

The UK print media is a far more complicated beast, with England boasting no less than ten daily papers, adding to the plethora of local and regional titles. In addition, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have their own set of newspapers. Despite most of the country’s leading newspapers being based out of London, they are read all over the UK.

Working as a PR or media professional in London requires – at a minimum – a reasonable understanding of the distinction between the capital’s major newspapers. Any media announcement or PR event needs to be carefully pitched at a particular newspaper segment, depending on the desired audience. A business PR firm would seek coverage primarily in the financial and broadsheet papers, while a celebrity agent would be focused almost exclusively on the tabloids.

Although the “quality” UK press are loosely referred to as the broadsheets, not all have retained the traditional broadsheet layout, many opting in recent years for either the compact (The Guardian) or Berliner format (The Independent and The Times).

Another difference between newspapers in Australia and Britain is their coverage of elections. Where Australian newspapers adhere to at least a vague aura of impartiality, UK newspapers make no secret of their political allegiances, with headlines clearly trumpeting or disparaging political parities in the lead-up to each election. Unlike Australia where political bias is disguised and all political parties are given coverage, most UK newspapers run a blatant campaign in favour of a political party, often using smear campaigns to undermine the opposition.

The best-selling “quality” title is The Daily Telegraph, sometimes scathingly referred to as the ‘Daily Torygraph’ due to its consistent backing of the conservative party. Left-of-centre and socially liberal, The Guardian is usually seen as close to the Labor Party but backed Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats in the 2010 election.

The Independent, as the name suggests, claims to be independent but expresses centre-left, liberal views. Rupert Murdoch’s The Times supported New Labor during Blair’s reign but returned to backing the Conservative Party in 2010.

At the other end of the spectrum are the tabloids, newspapers that make the Herald Sun look worthy of a Pulitzer Prize. Known as the “red-tops” due to their distinctive red banners, along with the “middle-markets”, they are referred to as the “popular press”. Unashamedly focused on human interest and celebrity stories (particularly footballers and their wives, and reality TV show contestants), the tabloids devote little coverage to politics or international news.

The most notorious is The Sun, infamous for its ongoing inclusion of the ‘page 3 girls’ – topless women accompanied by incongruously intellectual quotes on issues of the day. Another Murdoch title, it recently backed the conservatives, although is a former Blair supporter. Other tabloids include The Daily Mirror (only paper to outrightly back Gordon Brown’s Labor in 2010) and Daily Star (right-wing and populist).

Clearly not broadsheet but quite a true tabloid, the so-called “middle-markets” have strong human interest content but less celebrity smut. Both sensationalist middle-markets, Daily Express and Daily Mail, are consistently politically right-wing and supportive of the conservative party.

Most of the titles also have a Sunday version, such as the Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph, although confusingly The Guardian’s Sunday stable-mate is The Observer. Further adding to the mix are the free MX-style newspapers handed out each day at railway stations and tube stops, such at Metro and City AM.

Last year, after 180 years of paid circulation, the respected Evening Standard became free and is now handed out each evening. Definitely of a higher quality than most free papers, it has doubled its circulation since becoming free and put many competitors – notably defunct London Lite – out of business.

Predictably, each leading newspaper has an impressive online presence. Controversially, The Times recently followed The Financial Times’ lead in charging non-subscribers for online content. Staying ahead of the game, this month The Times moved closer to digital integration by launching a special edition available only for iPad users.

The UK print media offers both confusion and opportunities for antipodean ex-pats. Each paper comes with its own complex history, audience, reputation, and political allegiance. The huge difference between the broadsheets and tabloids should be obvious with one shocked glance at page three of The Sun. Understanding the subtle differences between titles – such as the similar Daily Express and Daily Mirror – takes time.

The benefit to a communications professional is greater choice – both in terms of audience and agenda. The mix of broadsheets and tabloids means you can direct your announcement, product or client to an appropriate title.

A huge leap from Australian print media – renowned, thanks to the dominance of Fairfax and Murdoch, as being the world’s most concentrated – the UK print media is a magnificent beast. Where else can some of the world’s oldest newspapers provide you with either an in-depth analysis of Middle Eastern politics, or an in-depth analysis of Danni Minogue’s outfits on X-Factor?

Cassie Govan

This week we chat with Cassie Govan, Director and Co-Founder of Empirica Research.

What’s your elevator statement – who are you professionally and personally?

Professionally, I’ve always been driven by two big passions. One is for the pace and creativity of marketing and advertising; the other is for the more scientific side of consumer psychology. I had always thought that they were mutually exclusive – so I tried both. I satisfied the nerdy side by doing a PhD in psychology and then moving to Stanford University in the US. I then moved back to Melbourne to work for a traditional research firm in Melbourne – but I found myself missing the academic world.

So, Empirica brings both those worlds together. As a consumer research agency, Empirica provides all the familiar marketing, advertising and PR research services, but we also bring the science of consumer psychology to bear on projects in a way that I think is genuinely unique and powerful. When projects call for it, we bring academic partners from the US, Europe and Australia into our commercial research projects and we leverage the cutting-edge research that is being done in universities on how to motivate people to attend, process, and ultimately act on a message. This mix of both worlds keeps the nerd and the business sides of me very happy!

When I’m not working, you’d probably find me running at the gym or around the lake, in a Body Attack class or at Bikram Yoga South Melbourne. I’ve been an exercise addict my whole life and most of my good ideas come to me on the treadmill; bikram is my newest addiction.

Tell us about your typical day in communications?

My business partner David Neal, who is also a psychology professor in the US, and I have just launched Empirica in Melbourne and LA…with a new business across two countries, a “typical” day just doesn’t exist. But, any day starts by getting up to date with the news and ads, coffee, emails, talking to ad/pr agencies, discussing upcoming projects with clients, keeping our academic partners in touch with the projects we’re doing, writing, reading, more coffee…and of course a run or a bikram class at some point.

When did you first know you wanted to work in communications?

When I was a kid I used to get in trouble for channel surfing to watch the ads, so I think I always knew advertising would be part of my career… I coupled my love of advertising (fun) with a PhD in Psychology (nerd) and that’s how I landed here. People often think it’s weird that I studied psychology for so long, but work in marketing/advertising worlds. To me, it makes perfect sense – psychology is how people think, make decisions, communicate, and behave – and I think that also sums up marketing and advertising. Plus, it gives me an excuse to watch ads and call it “work.”

Who’s your communication hero/mentor?

Malcolm Gladwell comes in at the top of my list. He has an amazing gift for talking about some of the great work from the academic side of psychology and making it interesting and fun for everyone to read about. His books are also powerful guides on how to ensure that your message hits home in the mind of your audience (e.g., in The Tipping Point and Blink). There are so many fascinating areas of research in academic psychology (like non-conscious influences on decision-making, stereotypes, behaviour change, negotiation tactics, consumer behaviour, and message framing techniques), but a lot of it gets stuck inside the ivory towers. I love that Malcolm Gladwell gets some of those insights out to everyone.

In a way, that’s what we want to do with Empirica – use the great research that’s being done in the academic world and bring it to the eyes of those in the commercial world.

Malcolm Gladwell is not only an amazing writer, but also an amazing story-teller. I just saw him present at a Psychology conference in the US and was impressed that he lives up to his reputation: no PowerPoint, no slides – just story telling.

Which tools can’t you live without?

My MacBook Pro, my iPhone, my business partner (n.b., he just proof read this and officially objects to being called a “tool”), my running shoes, internet, Skype/iChat, google…

What are the biggest challenges in your role?

With our launch of Empirica, David and I are seeing the biggest challenge as simply balancing the business development side of things with the actual research side of things. Working across LA and Melbourne time zones can also be a challenge in terms of finding time to sleep!

Tell us about the best campaign you’ve ever worked on?

Tough call…I loved working on the ads for the TAC – they really value research and they have put out so many great ads that it’s hard to pick one. Here’s a montage for their 20th anniversary:

I also loved working on WorkSafe’s campaigns – again, hard to pick one, but I loved the Youth campaign. It was a big challenge to make young people take workplace safety seriously and personally.

I think John Thompson (TAC) and Steve Gosbell (WorkSafe) are doing world-class campaigns in “selling safety.”

But, aside from those social marketing campaigns, I loved working on a research piece for Skins (compression gear for exercise/fitness) – they are exceptionally good at communicating to males, but had some early challenges in the female market. I loved that they placed so much importance on a substantial research piece to really understand their female market – I’m excited to see the campaign and product results of that research over the next year.

Which campaign do you most admire?

From a purely superficial point of view?! Calvin Klein X Marks The Spot.

From a branding point of view, I love Apple and Nike campaigns. From a social behaviour change point of view, I think the TAC and WorkSafe are doing great things in this space.

What’s been the biggest change to communication/marketing/public relations since you began your career?

The meteoric rise in social media tools…and I think we still have a long way to go until we understand how best to harness social media tools in a marketing/communications sense.

If you had to cut/keep something in your communication budget, what would it be?

Keep – Research (blatant self-promotion? Yes, but I really believe in the value of good, well-planned and meticulously- executed research)

Cut – depends on the audience and the campaign of course, but hard-copy printed materials are not always necessary…and typically neither are over-animated websites.

What quality do you look for in your communication team members?

Enthusiasm, great writing skills, a great personality, and that indescribable X factor that you can’t put your finger on but that you pick up within seconds. I also look for people who are willing to think harder and deeper than the competition, every time.

What’s your favourite brand?

I know it’s the cop-out answer, but I do love Apple.

What book/blog do you think every communicator should read?

The Perfect Pitch by Jon Steel. Blink and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. …and for a laugh and a bit of a reality check of ad-land: things real people don’t say about advertising

What tips do you wish you’d known starting out in communications?

Network network network…it’s so important. Also, when it comes to presentations, don’t be afraid to do something different…think about how many text-heavy, boring PowerPoint presentations your clients must see every week – give them something different.

Finish this sentence:

‘Communication is…the most important c word.

The White House after sunset taken by C Spence (Flikr)

While many people are celebrating the 50th anniversary of John F Kennedy’s inauguration as the 35th President of the United States of America, we’re celebrating the momentous communication milestone that followed.

Four days after being sworn in as President, JFK became the first American President to deliver a live televised press conference.

While previous Presidents had often delivered press conferences, none had used the new medium of television to speak directly to Americans, live and unedited. In the years that followed, JFK gave Americans unprecedented access to the inner workings of his government, paving the way for the communication practices we see today.

According to an interview with Pierre Salinger, Press Secretary to President Kennedy, “…when President Kennedy started televised press conferences there were only three or four newspapers in the entire United States that carried a full transcript of a presidential press conference. Therefore, what people read was a distillation. . . . We thought that they should have the opportunity to see it in full.”

Fifty years after Kennedy delivered the first of 63 live press conferences, President Obama continues to use live press conferences as well as weekly online videos to deliver messages direct to the public. Technology has made it possible to further expand on Kennedy’s vision for communication, with Obama using his weekly online video to deliver both the good, the bad and the ugly news of the day. And Obama isn’t the only video star at the White House. The Vice President, First Lady and senior staff members all use video to communicate complex messages in a simple way, with a recent video using a whiteboard to show healthcare savings and demonstrate the benefits of the new law.

While Kennedy may have been the first US President to deliver a live televised press conference, Harry S Truman was the first President to deliver a television address from the White House. In October 1947, Truman recorded a plea for his fellow Americans to support the food saving program of the Citizens Food Committee, to provide food to send to starving Europe.

Television was so new in the 1940s that J. Leonard Reinsch, a former radio adviser to the White House recalled “…going into the President’s office when they had the first television set. There was a pickup from the Congress and no one, of course, knew how to tune the set. This was a RCA set, and I was in the communications business. I was a television man as well as a radio man; therefore, I should know all about television sets; so, they expected me to tune the set in properly, I walked over to the set — I had never seen the controls before — and was fortunate enough to get a real good picture. My reputation as a communications man remained on a high level at least in that area.”

The television in the Oval Office (if there is one at all) might be flatter and larger than Truman or Kennedy’s sets, but the medium continues to be one of the most powerful channels to update a nation about natural disasters, domestic and international conflicts and legislative reform.

Press conferences continue to be a popular choice of politicians the world over, and live crosses are becoming more ubiquitous with the growing appetite for footage from 24-hour news channels and online media.

While we could go on about the changing face of press conferences for kilobytes, we thought we’d take a moment to look back at some of the other changes in communication that have occurred since Kennedy’s inauguration.

There are three in particular we think deserve consideration: photography, the Internet and electronic mail.

Photography played an important role in Kennedy’s communications activities. White House photographers and media captured the youthful family in the White House and provided Americans with a glimpse inside the ‘people’s house’. Many of the images from Kennedy’s time in the White House are now stored at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and form part of a remarkable digital project celebrating the 50th anniversary. The way we take photographs has also changed, with the ability to snap a photo from a camera phone and upload it to a news site or blog in seconds.

The second thing that’s changed since Kennedy took office is the introduction of the Internet. While President Kennedy may have millions of page impressions across the world wide web, it was only a dream during his presidency. The internet has allowed Presidents to communicate directly with their constituents in their homes and at work. The White House now tweets, has a Facebook wall, blogs and posts photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube. What would JFK think?

Thirdly, while Kennedy and his predecessors ran their White House with the help of telegrams and the good old American Postal Service, his contemporaries rely on the speed of electronic mail. No doubt millions of emails are sent and received by the White House every day with everything from media releases, images and RSVPs.

Sadly President Kennedy didn’t get to see out his first term nor see any of the advances in communication technologies that followed. However, he will forever be remembered for his famous inaugural address which included the lines: “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for country”.

That’s a full lid people.

Australia's red centre (Photography by hekris on Flickr)

In less than two hours, hundreds of thousands of Australians will start a tour of Australia with Oprah as their guide; a holiday slide show of sorts.

And less than 24 hours after the first of four episodes aired in America, we’ll get to see just how Australia looks through Oprah’s lens.

What will it look like and will it bring millions of people from America and other parts of the world to our shores?

We’ve already seen millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage both domestically and overseas during the eight days she was in Australia. Many would argue this has already returned Australia’s investment. It will be a few months before we start to see an accurate picture of the Oprah-effect but one would imagine there are plenty of people already booking flights and accommodation.

At home, Oprah’s celebration of Australia will no doubt remind us of the wonderful country we live in. From the majestic reefs and tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland to the dramatic red earth at Uluru to our cosmopolitan city centres, Oprah’s footage will provide a much needed lift to our spirits (something she’ll be very happy about) at a time when we really need it.

While a boost to our spirits will be nice, we could also do with a major injection of cash into our economy. Oprah’s shows may just answer Queensland Premier Anna Bligh’s call for local and international people to visit the sunshine state. Already, millions of Americans have been targeted as part of a $5 million campaign by Qantas to coincide with the four shows, and then there are the 100+ countries around the world yet to see the episodes. As Oprah said, money can’t buy that sort of coverage!

And if Oprah has anything to do with it she’ll be sending all her ‘friends’ to the country where the people are just so darn friendly.

Now the only question …. when will Oprah be back to inject some of her hard earned cash into the Australia’s tourism economy? Surely she’ll need a break after signing off as the host of the number one daytime talk show.

Let us know what you think of the c-overage … and enjoy the show!

Cheers,

the c word

Christmas Characters taken by Nicolai Kjærgaard (flickr)

We’ve profiled some colourful, creative and cheeky communicators in 2010 and we’re looking forward to speaking with many more in the year ahead for our “Communicator’s Corner”.

In the meantime, here’s a look back at our year of chats with communicators.

We kicked off “Communicator’s Corner” with a chat with our MD, Jack Walden where he told us about getting a taste for communications while helping promote his school plays.

Then we asked David Taylor, the Director of Privacy Awareness for the Office of the Victorian Privacy Commissioner a few questions. He told us he can’t live without curiosity and admires the Obama campaign.

After David we chatted about copy with our content strategist Aimee Said. Her biggest communications challenge is Convincing People to Stop Overusing Capital Letters. (We Promise We’ll Kick Our Habit In The New Year!)

It’s been a busy year for The Sunday Age’s State Political Reporter, Melissa Fyfe with a federal and state election. She shared some insight into life as a political reporter. We’re sure she’s looking forward to a well earned rest after a year of reporting from the campaign trails.

In the week leading up to the AFL Grand Final we spoke to Heath Evans, the Communications Coordinator at the AFL Players’ Association. He shared a heart-warming story about working with AFL Samoa in the 2008 AFL International Cup … yet another reason why we all work in communications!

Then we headed to Delhi where Liz Franzmann was helping a non-profit get ready for the Commonwealth Games. She chatted about the challenge of embracing social media.

Closer to home we got behind the wheel (well not literally) with Olivia McLean, Advertising Manager, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific. She said it’s never too early to find a mentor and seek to learn effective strategic influence skills – they are like gold in the business world whatever your role.

Then it was off to the movies with Gabrielle Oldaker, Theatrical Marketing Manager, Madman Entertainment. Our chat coincided with the 20th anniversary of IMDB.com and she shared her favourite marketing campaigns for movies.

Finally, we headed back overseas for a chat with a former c-worder who’s living and working in London. Laura Crowden is the Media Officer for South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, (the United Kingdom’s oldest and largest, mental health hospital).

Thanks to the cool communicators who shared their valuable experiences, tips and insights in 2010.

Cheers,

the c word

Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (Flickr: Gabriel Villena)

There are plenty of c-words the Queen could be sharing on her new Facebook wall: crowns, courtships, the Commonwealth, ceremonies, corgis, Charles and Camilla … and so the list goes on!

Queen Elizabeth II is the latest public figure to move into the social media world, following in the footsteps of Obama, Oprah and Ashton.

While she may not be sitting in the throne room sending updates herself (although one never knows!), the newly crowned Facebook star has already amassed a loyal band of fans … 266,399 at last count!

While she may have a lot of friends, she’s also faced the challenges of moving into the social space with many negative comments being posted by fans and removed by her team, including comments about Camilla’s dress sense!

It’s a reminder that organisations or individuals entering the social space need to consider the positives and negatives of their social media presence and also be prepared to commit to connecting with their new community.

So why are more and more celebrities, business leaders and royal families embracing Facebook?

The reasons include:

• making new friends and reach the growing number of people using Facebook and other social media channels as their primary source of news and information.
• finding a new place to share photos, news and announcements; information that was previously limited to offline distribution.
• checking the pulse of the community
• cutting down on the paper used for event invites … although I doubt we’ll be receiving an invite to a Royal Garden party via Facebook anytime soon … I’ll keep checking just in case!

Finally, her grandson, Prince William, gave her something to tweet, Facebook and Flickr about this week by announcing his engagement to Miss Catherine Middleton.

So next year, they’ll be “going to the chapel” …

Chat soon,

the c word

PS. I wonder if The Queen is one of the 4000+ fans of the Facebook page about Corgis?

Coffee or tea?

Whether you’re a sole trader with multiple personalities or a multinational organisation with thousands of employees, you’d be lost without internal communications.

Given the importance of internal communications, I thought I’d share some notes from PRIA Victoria’s recent internal communications seminar with Rupert Hugh-Jones from Scaffidi Hugh-Jones, Sarah Makris from NAB and Anthia Galanis from Telstra.

Internal communications means something different to every communicator and every organisation. For some organisations it’s about circulating a monthly staff newsletter, while others focus on building personal relationships across the organisation.

With this in mind, Andrea Davies from NEC kicked off the discussion by asking the panellists to define internal communications.

Anthia defined internal communications making sure people have the information they need to do their job. We should all ask ourselves if people need the information the next time we’re promoting the office jumper party!!

Rupert said there are two approaches to internal communications: a transactional approach designed to get the information out and a strategic approach where you focus on creating a shared story and helping employees understand the bigger picture.

The panellists agreed there is a blurring line between internal and external communications, and both need to work side by side.

With definitions out of the way, the discussion moved on to some tips for good internal communications.

Rupert reminded everyone that you can’t leave face-to-face communication out of your internal communications activities. He also suggested pulling staff aside after meetings and asking them what they got out of the meeting and if they had any major questions.

NAB’s Sarah Makris talked about the importance of using informal and formal networks. She encourages her team to pick up the phone and ask their contacts across the organisation what their questions are.

And then we were onto one of our favourite c-words – conversations. Rupert talked about the importance of conversations to internal communications and the importance of having a well-developed road map of your activities.

Anthia said a key role of the internal communicator is helping people across the organisation find the gold in their stories. This is particularly important if you want people to respect your communication channels.

The panellists also talked about the importance of measurement. Sarah talked about NAB moving their videos online with a better ability to track what people are watching.

After an extremely interesting discussion, here are s0me tips for internal communications:

• pick up the phone and ask your colleagues what they need to know
• don’t forget face-to-face communication
• keep your internal stories interesting and relevant
• measure your internal communications activities so you can demonstrate the value to the organisation and also show the importance of best practice internal communications activities.

Cheers,
the c word

PS. Here’s a clip from the movie “Employee of the Month’!

Candles by Cade Buchanan (flickr)

It’s been 20 years since IMDB.com was launched … well 20 years and 1 day … and a lot has changed!

VCRs have been replaced by DVD players, which will soon be replaced by downloads direct to your television. And drive-in theatres have almost completely disappeared, in their place people are turning their homes into personal theatres with large screens and cinema chairs!

If you don’t know, IMDB stands for Internet Movie DataBase. It originated from two lists – one about actresses’ eyes and another rating movies.

Two decades later it has become one of the most popular sources of information about movies, television shows and video games.

The plot thickened in 1998 when Amazon purchased IMDB outright. This allowed Amazon to market their DVDs to people searching for videos … a fantastic marketing opportunity and one that has no doubt seen many DVDs purchased along the way!

We thought we’d celebrate IMDB’s first 20 years by searching for 20 movies about advertising, PR and media through IMDB. Here’s the list:

1. Bewitched (1964)
2. Who’s the boss? (1984)
3. Broadcast News (1987)
4. Murphy Brown (1988)
5. Crazy People (1990)
6. Absolutely Fabulous (1992)
7. Wayne’s World (1992)
8. Boomerang (1992)
9. Picture Perfect (1997)
10. Wag the Dog (1997)
11. Sliding Doors (1998)
12. The West Wing (1999)
13. What Women Want (2000)
14. America’s Sweethearts (2001)
15. Absolute Power (2003)
16. In Good Company (2004)
17. Thank you for not smoking (2005)
18. Mad Men (2007)
19. Sex and the city (2008)
20. The Social Network (2010)

Happy birthday IMDB!

Cheers,

the c word

Pizza photo by Flickr's wEnDaLicious

A few notes from last night’s Social Media Club Melbourne discussion or #smcmelb as it’s known to the cool cats on Twitter!

The event was a panel discussion with Kristen Boschma, Telstra’s Head of Online Communications and Social Media, and Stephen Ronchi, the 
Strategic Communications Manager, Local Search at Sensis.

Three things I think we can all learn from the discussion:

• Killer content is essential – bad content will kill your site
• Think of social networks as an eco-system and remember you need to give back
• Social media and traditional above/below the line campaigns can co-exist and support each other

Kristen used the Telstra Desire social review campaign to talk about the importance of giving back to the social media ‘eco-system’. Stephen talked about using the content created by social media networks during the Hidden Pizza campaign in their follow-up above/below the line campaigns.

Just quickly, a little bit about Telstra’s Desire campaign. In May 2010, Telstra recruited 25 social reviewers to test drive their new HTC Desire and review it online. The search attracted more than 2,200 entries and the reviewers generated significant online content, which has left a lasting library for anyone searching for a new phone.

The only rule Telstra had in place was around transparency. Everyone involved had to include a note about receiving a new phone in their social media profiles and also be honest with their reviews! Transparency is definitely critical!

Now onto pizza. In April, Yellow Pages launched a clever unbranded marketing campaign which gave people the chance to get a free pizza if they found the Hidden Pizza restaurant. The aim was to show how many people turn to Yellow Pages content to find small businesses. Not only did they give away thousands of pizzas, they also generated significant social media coverage and secured content for a variety of other marketing sources.

While we were keen to hear about what was involved with the campaign, we were particularly keen to hear Stephen’s take on responding to negative social media coverage. The main reason for the interest was Lachy Wharton’s article about the campaign which painted Sensis as archaic – not good news for a company trying to raise awareness of its digital offering.

Lachy  who also helped generate huge social media interest in Hidden Pizza with his article (oh you have to love social media!) was was their to hear Stephen talk about the process of preparing the reply to the article and I’m sure would have had a fun conversation afterwards!

Finally, huge congratulations to Yvonne Adele from Ideas Culture for a terrific job as facilitator.

Cheers to all,

the c word